USA > New York > Schenectady County > Schenectady County, New York : its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 36
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The petition called for the creation of a corporate body by execu- tive act. This may have raised the question which resulted in 1786 in the creation of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, with authority to grant charters to colleges and academies, so that the college in Schenectady may be said to be, in an indirect way, the origin of the Board of Regents, or the entire educational system of the state.
Early failures, however, did not discourage the friends of educa- tion. In 1784 the Rev. Dirck Romeyn became pastor of the
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Reformed Church in Schenectady. A man of ripe scholarship and of aggressive energy, he threw himself at once with great enthusiasm into the movement, and became the leader to whom more than to any other one man final success was due. He first organized an academy in Schenectady in 1785, and this academy becaine the visi- ble representative of the struggling cause. Dr. Romeyn seemed to realize the strategic importance of fostering an educational institu- tion, even though it fell far short of their dreams and desires. And, without doubt, the existence of this academy deterinined finally the location of the college in Schenectady.
That the academy was regarded only as a means to a higher end, appears from an interesting letter written by Dr. John H. Livingston to his friend, Dr. Dirck Romeyn, in the winter of 1785-86. He says : " If I can be serviceable to you in anything relating thereto (i. e., to the college project ) I shall be glad to receive your directions," and in another letter, dated February 25th, 1786, he writes : "I shall be happy to hear from you, and wish to know what prospects remain of our sanguine expectations respecting your intended college. I have understood some little misunderstanding has taken place in conse- quence of different claims to the same lands which were intended to be appropriated for a fund. I hope it may be amicably settled. It would doubtless prove a great advantage to the town to have a col- lege placed there, and its importance to literature and religion in that quarter of our state need not be mentioned." From this time, 1786, almost every year brought some petition to the legislature, either for the academy, or for the longed-for college. One of these petitions, asking that power might be given by law to three or more of the petitioners to purchase 15,360 acres of land from the Oneida Indians at a nominal price for the benefit of a university, was referred to a committee of the legislature, which reported as follows :
" That if it would not be derogatory to the interests of the state, the prayer of the petitioners ought to be granted. Therefore, resolved, that it would be derogatory to the interests of the state to grant the prayer of the petitioners. N. B. "Interest" in this report means dignity, honor, interest, peace and public faith. Rejected and ended."
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In a memorial dated February 29th, 1792, the proprietors of the academy state that they had at that time about eighty students in the English language, and nearly twenty pursuing the study of the learned languages and higher branches, in preparation for the first or more advanced classes in college. They were fully convinced of their ability to establish and maintain a college. As a foundation for their fund, the town of Schenectady was willing to convey to the trustees of a college, as soon as they were appointed, a tract of land containing 5,000 acres. A pledge of 700 acres more was offered from individuals, and a subscription of nearly £1,000. The Con- sistory of the Dutch church offered to give a building called the " Academy," worth £1,500, and {250 for a library. In this memo- rial we find another name for the college suggested, viz .: "the Col- lege of Schenectady."
The application, however, was denied on the grounds that sufficient funds had not been provided. The academy continued to prosper, and one year later, in 1793, had 128 students, of whom thirty-eight were pursuing the classical languages and other higher branches.
The next petition was for a charter for the academy, and this was granted January 29th, 1793 ; but an effort to obtain a college charter one year later failed, because the state of literature in the academy did not appear to be far enough advanced, nor its funds sufficient to warrant its erection into a college. We must regard with special gratification this jealous guarding of the degree-conferring power in the early days of our commonwealth. It is all the more noticeable in view of the easy indifference with which this power has been granted in more recent years. Far from being dismayed by their repeated failures, the promoters of the college inovement gathered their forces for another effort, which finally proved successful.
At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the academy upon the 19th day of August, 1794, the board appointed Stephen Van Rensselaer, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, John Saunders, Nicholas Veeder, Stephen N. Bayard, Joseph C. Yates and John Taylor a com- mittee to digest and report a plan for a college to be established in the town of Schenectady, and instructed the committee to form the
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plan upon the most liberal principles, so as to remove the objections offered by the Regents. This committee inet on the 17th day of September, and after full discussion, resolved :
I. "That public utility, liberality of sentiment and entire exclu- sion of all party whatsoever ought to be attended in formning a plan for a college ; and
2. That in order to render the business more extensive, and to collect the sentiment of others, this committee will meet at Albany upon the IIth day of November next, and invite a number of gen- tlemen of information in the city of Albany to unite with thein in carrying the business of their appointment into effect."
This adjourned meeting was held at the house of James McGourk, and was attended by representatives, not only from the city of Albany, but from the northern and western parts of the state. Jere- miah Van Rensselaer presided, and a general outline of a plan for a college was agreed upon, and a committee appointed to perfect the plan, and report at a subsequent meeting to be held on the 16th day of December. This committee consisted of John Taylor, Joseph C. Yates, Stephen N. Bayard, John Saunders, Simeon De Witt, Himloke Woodruff, John V. Henry and William Pitt Beers.
Another committee, composed of John Lansing, Jr., Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and Peter Gansevoort, Jr., was appointed to draw a circu- lar letter to be printed and distributed through the northern and western parts of the state, inviting prominent gentlemen to this December meeting.
The meeting was held according to agreement, again at the house of James McGourk, when the full text of the appeal to the Regents was agreed upon. In this appeal an elaborate plan for the college was proposed, covering the organization and government of the Board of Trustees, the constitution of the faculty, the range of studies, the fees of students, and the salaries of the professors. The curriculum was to include the Latin and Greek languages and anti- quities, mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy, geography, rhetoric, logic and the Belles-Lettres, history, chronology, moral philosophy and natural jurisprudence. The matriculation fee was to
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be two and a half dollars, tuition sixteen dollars per year, and gradu- ation fee six dollars. The president's salary must be not less than $750, and a professor's salary not less than $500. No president or professor being a minister of the Gospel could assume pastoral charge of a church.
One reason for the failure of earlier efforts was undoubtedly the jealousy of other cities or towns. Various places were advocated by interested citizens : Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Lansingburgh, Waterford and even Stillwater, but the most formidable opposition came naturally from Albany. As early as January 4th, 1792, the Common Council of Albany voted to convey a part of the public square for the use of a college, provided that a charter could be obtained, and a committee was appointed to secure subscriptions. Efforts were increased when Albany learned of the activity of Schenectady in the fall of 1794. A meeting was held in the City Hall of Albany on the last day of that year for taking measures toward securing a charter for Albany College, and when Schenec- tady's petition came before the Board of Regents in January, 1795, it jostled against another from Albany proposing two acres for build- ings and $50,000 in money.
It would be interesting to know the considerations which con- trolled the decision of the Board of Regents as between these rival claimants to the honor of a college site. It is not difficult to dis- cover some of the determining factors in the case. First, the lack of enthusiasmn in Albany as coinpared with Schenectady. There was no such hearty unanimity in that city indicative of the longing for an educational institution that made the people of Schenectady one in their efforts, year after year. After reading the whole story of the contest one is convinced that Albany was not so eager for a college because of what the college represented, as she was eager to keep the college from going to Schenectady ; and so her efforts were spas- modic, and she became thoroughly aroused only when she saw her rival about to succeed.
Then it must not be forgotten that some leading Albanians honestly favored Schenectady, as shown by the meetings held at the residence of Mr. McGourk. After Dr. Dirck Romeyn, the inen most
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prominent in the college movement were General Philip Schuyler and Governor George Clinton, and both advocated the Schenectady site. It was doubtless their influence that turned the scale in favor of the smaller city ; but the importance of Dr. Romeyn's influence is very pleasantly set forth in an interesting letter written to his son, the Rev. John B. Romeyn, by Governor De Witt Clinton, as follows :
" When the legislature inet in New York about thirty years ago, your excellent father attended the Regents of the university to solicit the establishment of a college at Schenectady. Powerful opposition was inade at Albany. I was the secretary of the univer- sity and I had the opportunity of observing the characters of the men concerned in this application, and the whole of its progress to ultimate success. I have no doubt that the weight and respectability of your father's character procured a decision in favor of Schenec- tady. Governor George Clinton and General Schuyler, alinost always in opposition to each other, united on this question. I had frequent occasion from my official position to see your father. There was something in his manner peculiarly dignified and benevolent, calculated to create veneration as well as affection, and it inade an impression on my mind that will never be erased."
The month of February, 1795, witnessed the final triumph of a cause which had found its first popular expression sixteen years before. Upon the 8th of that month the trustees were named, and upon the 25th the full text of the charter was ratified by the Regents. The news of the granting of this charter was received in Schenec- tady with every manifestation of delight. I quote from the address of Mr. Sweetman at the semi-centennial celebration. As he was a member of the first class graduating, he was an eye-witness of what he describes.
" The old brick academy on the corner of Union and Ferry streets resounded with the tidings of success, and the night following the windows were well studded with candles, and at a concerted sig- nal all instantly in a blaze; the little bell on top of the house jing- ling most merrily; the interior filled with happy boys, and the streets crowded with sympathizing spectators. Had you been there,
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you would have witnessed a joyful night, when the academy was metamorphosed into Union College."
Mr. Sweetman describes what interested him most. as a student, the academy being the center of the whole scene, but the chronicles of the day speak of the whole town given over to rejoicing, a general display of flags, the ringing of all the bells, bonfires, and a great illumination.
And so began the life of this historic institution. The first trustees were : Robert Yates, Abram Yates, Jr., Abraham Ten Broeck, Goldsbrow Banyar, John V. Henry, George Merchant, Steplien Van Rensselaer, Jolın Glen, Isaac Vrooman, Joseph C. Yates, James Shuter, Nicholas Veeder, James Gordon, Beriah Palmer, Samuel Smith, Henry Walton, Ammi Rodgers, Aaron Condict, Jacobus V. C. Romeyn, James Cochran, John Frey, D. Christopher Pick, Jonas Platt and Jonas Coe.
Of these, seven resided in Albany, six in Schenectady, three in Ballston, and one each in Saratoga, Troy, Kinderhook, Palatine, Herkimer, and Whitestown, N. Y., and Hackensack, N. J.
By the terms of the final petition for the charter, a majority of the Board of Trustees could not belong to any one religious denom- ination, and this led to the selection of the name "Union College " . as expressing the intention of uniting all religious sects in a com- mon interest for the common good by offering equal advantages to all, with preference to none. The purpose was to found an institu- tion upon the broad basis of Christian unity, and this idea has ever since been faithfully followed in the spirit of the original intention, no particular religious denomination having at any time claimed, or attempted to control its management, or to influence the choice of trustees or faculty. It is believed that this was the first college in the United States not confessedly denominational in its character ; and in this respect, as in inany others, Union College was a pioneer in the educational world.
But the non-sectarianism of the college was only one way of emphasizing the fact, to which allusion has already been made, the distinctively national character of the institution. The state recog- nized 110 religious creed as of supreme authority, neither should the
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college created especially to serve the state. Still the college, like the state, should be distinctively Christian in its spirit and aims.
A few months after the granting of the charter, the trustees of the Schenectady Academy transferred their property to the trustees of the college, and the latter body completed the organization of the college, on the 19th day of October, 1795, by the election of the Rev. John Blair Smith, D. D., of Philadelphia, as president, John Taylor, A. M., the principal of the old academy, as professor of mathematics, and the Rev. Andrew Yates as professor of Greek and Latin.
A glance at the social and economic conditions under which the infant college began its life may prove of interest.
Schenectady numbered less than 3,000 inhabitants. It was thor- oughly, conspicuously, desperately Dutch. Many of the houses were built of bricks brought from Holland, and all had their gable ends toward the street. Dutch was the language of the home and the market-place, and Dutch also were the hospitality to strangers, the love of liberty, the simplicity of life, public and private virtues.
The great festivals of the year were Christmas, when Santa Claus came, Paas and Pinxter. There were a few families of wealth and prominence, but the great majority lived in comfort if not in luxury. Poverty and wretchedness, as seen to-day, were almost unknown. There were few demoralizing influences to greet the youth leaving the restraints of home for the larger freedom of college life. Although nearly as old as Albany or New York, Schenectady was virtually in 1795 a frontier town. Beyond it to the west all was wilderness with here and there a little settlement, as at Cherry Valley, Cooperstown, Palatine and Fort Stanwix, now Utica. But the beautiful and fertile valley of the Mohawk had already begun to attract immigrants, and the population along the river increased rapidly. For all the ambitious youth of this region the new college held out its arms, and its accessibility was a large factor in determin- ing the prosperity which came a few years later. In return it sent back to the growing villages young inen trained for professional and public life, and so contributed largely, from the earliest years, to the intelligence and public spirit which have made this the Empire State.
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But to return to the college itself. Its beginning was feeble. For the first two or three years barely a score of students all told were in attendance. Nevertheless, confidence in the future never wavered and enthusiasmn never failed. At the first commencement in 1797, three seniors only were graduated; but the occasion was one of rejoicing, and was deemed of sufficient importance to draw many distinguished visitors from a distance. The exercises were held in the Reformed Church, then standing in the middle of Albany street, now State street. To quote from one of the graduates of that day in his address fifty years later :
" There within its massive and venerable walls, sparingly receiving the light through the sinall squares of glass, on a cloudy and chilly day, the first Wednesday in May, 1797, was celebrated the first Com- mencement of Union College. But it was May Day and the spring time of Union College ; not the dog-days of later years, when we are sweltering with heat and panting for air. And we talked of flowers and zephyrs and the loveliness of the renovating year. The number of graduates was few indeed, only three. The house was filled to overflowing. Amongst other distinguished citizens Governor Jay and Stephen Van Rensselaer, lieutenant-governor, were present. Dr. Smith, the president, acquitted himself to admiration. His parting address to the graduates was pointed, parental, affectionate. The whole audience was moved, and when he turned to speak of the future, he lifted the assembly to new thoughts and prospects of Union College, when it should rise with the rising country, increase its numbers, extend its influence, acquire a name, win the confidence of the community, and command the respect and patronage of the state."
From these words, it is evident that President Smith shared the popular confidence in the future of the college. He was a inan of experience in educational work, having been president of Hampden Sidney College in Virginia, although he came to Union College from a Philadelphia pastorate. The rigors of our northern climate proved, however, too severe for his health, and he resigned the presidency in 1799, to return to his former charge. He was succeeded the same year by Jonathan Edwards, the younger, who brought the prestige of
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a great name with character and ability that promised to add to its greatness ; but after two years of service, marked by the steady growth of the college, he died suddenly, and was succeeded in 1801, by the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy, a graduate and president of Brown University, and a Baptist, while his two predecessors had been grad- uates of Princeton, and were Presbyterians, thus confirming practi- cally the undenominational character of the institution. Dr. Maxcy's term of service was also brief, as lie resigned in 1804, to accept the presidency of South Carolina College.
The story of these early years should include a brief financial statement, especially as this illustrates the relations between the college and the state.
The trustees of the town of Schenectady gave originally $20,301 60 Other, gifts in land and money by citizens of Albany,
Schenectady and other places fram 1795 to 1798 16,213 50
The State Legislature appropriated in 1795, for books and apparatus 3,750 00
In 1796 for building 10,000 00
In 1797 for salaries for two years 1,500 00
In the years from 1797 to 1804, for various purposes 62,862 13
Total of all gifts to the college from 1795 to 1804 $114,677 23
The amount seems large for that early day, and doubtless was, but it should be remembered that much of this was in unproductive lands and $56,000 had gone into the new college building, leaving a very small sum for income-bearing investment. So that in reality the college was seriously crippled financially.
But the most significant part of the above statement is the alinost annual appropriation from the legislature, showing that Union Col- lege was at the beginning practically a state institution, thus giving evidence that at that day the relation of sound learning to the general welfare was appreciated. It may be questioned whether the state ever spent money more wisely than when it thus fostered the beginning of the institution that has given back to it and to the nation more than 6,000 educated men, whose characters and talents
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have contributed much to the development of American civilization. It is generally admitted that no college in our land has during the same period sent forth a larger proportion of broad-minded and public-spirited citizens, who became leaders of men.
In 1804 we come upon the determining event in the life of the college. The Rev. Eliphalet Nott, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, was called to the presidency, and held the office until his death in 1866, or for a period of sixty-two years, the longest presidential term in the history of American colleges. Dr. Nott made Union College. The story of his administration is the story of the progress of the institution from weakness and obscurity to a position second to none among the colleges of our land. A man of vigorous intellect, of limitless resources, of marvelous tact, of broad sympathies, of imposing figure and an inspiring personality, he brought all of his remarkable endowments to the service of the col- lege. Students gathered about him in increasing numbers. From fifteen in 1804, the Senior class numbered fifty-nine in 1814, ninety in 1824, 105 in 1834, reaching the maximum 162 in 1860. In 1845 at the close of the first fifty years of its life Union College had sent forth nearly one-half as many graduates as Harvard College in all her history of two hundred years.
Dr. Nott was pre-eminently a judge of men, and surrounded him- self with teachers of recognized ability. The faculty contained such men as Francis Wayland, afterwards president of Brown University; Alonzo Potter, afterwards Bishop of Pennsylvania; Andrew Yates, Robert Proudfit, Tayler Lewis, Isaac W. Jackson, William M. Gillespie and John Foster.
The original site of the college was the northeast corner of Union and Ferry streets, and its home the old academy building. In 1796 a new and larger site was secured further east on Union street between the present Erie Canal and North College street. A build- ing was erected which doubtless seeined ample for all possible needs of the new institution, but under Dr. Nott's vigorous management it soon became evident that more room was needed. And with characteristic foresight and ambitious purpose he secured a tract of several hundred acres on the rising ground east of the city, and in
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1813 the work of transforming this wilderness into a beautiful and commanding college domain was begun under the direction of Jacques Ramee, a French landscape architect, who had been em- ployed by the United States government in laying out the city of Washington. Mr. Ramee prepared an elaborate plan which included not only the artistic treatment of the grounds, but also the grouping of the buildings and even the designs of the buildings. This accounts for the fact which has been often noted that Union College alone, among our older institutions of learning, shows the early adoption of a consistent and comprehensive plan, and that the characteristic features of this plan are essentially foreign. There is a suggestion of an old world convent or monastery in both the archi- tecture and arrangement of the buildings. The original plan, bear- ing the date 1813, and the signature of Jacques Ramee, was discov- ered in Paris as recently as 1890 by Mr. W. E. Benjamin, a graduate of the college, who secured it and brought it to America, where it came into the possession of R. C. Alexander, a trustee of the college, and by him was presented to the college.
With removal to its new site, the college assumed a dignity and a relative importance which led almost at once to a large increase in the number of students, and from that date to the beginning of the Civil War, Union was generally recognized as among the three or four leading institutions of the country. The name of Dr. Nott became known throughout the land, and his genius as an educator commanded attention and inspired confidence. His liberal policy provoked wide-spread discussion, and while it aroused opposition, it also gained favor. For the privilege of graduating at Union, many students left other colleges at the end of the Sophomore or Junior year, and completed their course under Dr. Nott, so that for many years the upper classes at Union were larger than the lower. It has been said so often that it is commonly believed that these upper classes were recruited largely from students expelled from other institutions. It is true that Dr. Nott welcomed such students, believing that every man should be given a second chance, and the result in almost every instance justified his course, but the number who came in this way was relatively small. The great majority
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