History of Cincinnati, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 50

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co.
Number of Pages: 666

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be a princely fortune to his descendants, were it in their possession, but what has written his name among the benefactors of the church. Several of the Kempers par- ticipated in the gift.

The offer of Mr. Kemper the board gladly accepted, and thus the site was fixed here, where the value of the land has contributed to place the institution on a solid financial basis. At either of the other locations pro- posed, the land would still have only a value for farming purposes, in addition to the disadvantage of distance from the city. It was no exaggeration, then, when the corresponding secretary, Dr. Warren, wrote to Mr. Lane, after the selection of this site: "The seminary will be delightfully located for health and pleasantness."

The act of the legislature incorporating the institution was passed February 11, 1829.

Remembering how new and unsupplied was everything here fifty years ago, it is not to be wondered at that our fathers should grasp at the supply of everything at once; so an institution was planned which should be prepara- tory, collegiate, and theological, all in one. Such a re- port was presented January 5, 1829; and the board entered upon the adoption of it by beginning at the bot- tom, and nominating a tutor for the preparatory depart- ment. By action of the board, July 6, 1829, the theo- logical course was extended to three years. The pre- paratory department was opened November 15, 1829; and a faithful effort was made to get the whole extensive machine into operation, but it was too heavy, too ex- pensive. As early as March 22, 1833, an earnest dis- cussion was had on the motion to reduce the institution to a theological seminary, with a limited literary depart- ment for pious young men. This discussion continued at intervals for a year, till, at the annual meeting, October 30, 1834, the following was adopted :

WHEREAS, It appears to this board, after the experience they have had, and the best counsel they can obtain on the subject, that a pre- paratory or literary department in the seminary is not favorable to its best interests ; therefore,

Resolved, That from the present time the preparatory department be discontinued.

Thenceforward, therefore, the theological department, which had gone into operation with the inauguration of Drs. Beecher and Biggs, December 26, 1832, had exclu- sive possession.

The first financial act of. the board was to order the treasurer to borrow fifty dollars. Their credit appears to have been able to endure the strain. Agents were ap- pointed east, west, and south, to raise funds to organize the new institution, and commence the erection of build- ings. Little success was met with except in this vicinity, where some fifteen thousand dollars appear to have been subscribed. The collection of this appears subsequently to have been attended with considerable difficulty, owing to causes which need not here be described. A part of the local subscription was never realized. Efforts were made in the east, also, to secure endowments of profes- sorships. Mr. Arthur Tappan, of New York, agreed to give twenty thousand dollars to endow the professorship of didactic theology, provided Dr. Beecher could be ob- tained, The professorship of church history and church

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

polity was begun and well advanced in Philadelphia ; while Mr. John Tappan, of Boston, subscribed ten thous- and dollars; Daniel Waldo and sisters, of Worcester, Massachusetts, four thousand more toward the professor- ship of sacred rhetoric. These generous offers opened a door of hope, and the board felt authorized to go for- ward in the complete manning of the institution.

It must be that what was known as the "Kemper school-house" was used at first for the preparatory de- partment, or "Walnut Hills school," as it was designated; yet this nowhere appears in the minutes. The first building erected was the boarding-house, the contract for which was made April 12, 1830, with W. H. Pierce, for three thousand five hundred dollars. This building was so damaged by fire, April 18, 1868, that it was replaced by the present boarding-hall during the following summer.

The next structure undertaken was the dormitory, which was begun in 1832. The money for this building appears to have been raised in Cincinnati-a meeting having been held for that purpose in the vestry-room of the Second Presbyterian church, about New Year's, at which a subscription was started, and subsequently in- creased to near twelve thousand dollars.

The chapel began to receive attention in the fall of 1834. For a good part of a year they labored on the design and the location. The architectural outcome of so much labor seems hardly adequate. Finally this minute appears: "A new plan for a chapel was sub- mitted which would place the end toward the street, and having six brick pillars in front, which was considered; and, on motion, it was resolved the plan be adopted, pro- vided the expense of the chapel shall not exceed eleven thousand dollars; and J. C. Tunis was requested to call on Mr. Walters, the master builder, and obtain an esti- mate of the cost of the building on the above plan." May 25, 1835.

From various records it would appear that the chapel was finished during the year 1836.

After inquiries and correspondence, the appointment of professor was tendered to Rev. George C. Beckwith, then of Lowell, Massachusetts, April 13, 1829. He ac- cepted August 26, 1829, and appears to have arrived on the ground about the first of November, for on the sec- ond day he is present at a meeting of the board; he is then charged with all the theological instruction, and is directed to make out a course of study for the institution. It is not known that Professor Beckwith ever gave any instruction in the seminary. Temporary teachers were provided for the preparatory school.

February 24, 1830, he was appointed agent to solicit funds in the east; and, proceeding thither, he labored there without success, and September 20, 1830, resigned.

October 22, 1830, Dr. Beecher was appointed Presi- dent and Professor of Didactic Theology, and corres- pondence was opened with him. January 17, 1831, Dr. Biggs, then of Frankford, Pennsylvania, was appointed Professor of Christian History, on condition his profes- sorship be completed in Philadelphia.

January 23, 1832, Dr. Beecher's appointment was re- newed, and Dr. Biggs' acceptance was received.

August 9, 1832, Dr. Beecher's acceptance was re- ceived, and at the same date Dr. Stowe was appointed Professor of Biblical Exegesis.

December 26, 1832, Drs. Beecher and Biggs were in- augurated, and the work of theological instruction fairly commenced.

Some things characteristic of the early times we may profitably bring to mind. What would we think now, for example, of the following proposition to board stu- dents: "We will board not less than ten, nor more than twenty-five, orderly, well-behaved boys or young men, from the tenth instant to the first of May next, in the fol- lowing ways: Their table must be plain, consisting of a change in bread, vegetables, meats and soups. Their principal lodging-room must be in the third story, and is forty feet long by thirteen wide, is well plastered, and is commonly called the garret, lighted by four small win- dows. We will furnish one large room with a fireplace, which must be common to all our boarders, and at the same time our dining-room, which room the students must warm at their own expense. This grade of fare we will furnish for one dollar and twelve and a half cents per week (neither candles or bedding here)." November 2, 1829.

December 23, 1829: "Resolved, that the students in the Lane Seminary be required to labor three hours daily until further directed." But, then, they were impartial in their requirements, for October 1, 1832, it was "re- solved, that every teacher in the Lane Seminary be re- quired to labor as regularly as possible, and, when prac- ticable, daily;" and a committee of four, with Rev. James Gallaher as chairman, was appointed to confer with the teachers on this subject. It does not appear what measures were taken for the health of the trustees.

March 4, 1833. Some students petition for the com- fort of coffee in the boarding-house, but it was resolved "that it is inexpedient at this time to make any change in the fare."

November 30, 1832. "Resolved, that the smoking of segars will, in no case, be allowed in any building of the Seminary," and I nowhere find any repeal of this. Nor of this: "June 25, 1834. Resolved, that it is inexpe- dient for students, during their continuance in this insti- tution, to form connections by marriage, and that form- ing such connection is a sufficient ground for dismission from the Seminary."

It would be hard, I think, to prove that such rules are so antiquated as to have lost all their "sweet reasonable- ness."

If any have found it difficult to understand why the trustees should have laid out a cemetery on their land, it may be a relief to hear the last of many reasons given by a committee appointed to draw up a report on the sub- ject. Among other reasons this appears: "Inasmuch as those who are studying for the ministry need time and opportunity for meditation and self-examination, a ceme- tery in proximity to the institution will afford a favorable retirement for that purpose."

The Life of Thomas Morris, formerly Senator of the United States from Ohio, contains the following inter-

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esting note of an old-time episode at the Seminary, which was briefly noticed in our annals of the Fifth Decade :

The Trustees of Lane Seminary, in 1834, prohibited the formation of an anti-slavery society, and declared that all discussion on the subject was improper. This action, so contrary to the genius of Christianity and of free institutions, compelled the students to leave the institution and go where free discussion was tolerated. The institution itself was threatened with an attack from a mob, if there was not a suppression of the Anti-Slavery Society. The venerable president of the institu- tion, Dr. Lyman Beecher, whose family have, by their genius and writ- ings, given to the anti-slavery sentiment of the nation and the world an extraordinary extension and power, said to the students: "Boys, you are right in your views, but most impracticable in your measures. Mining and quiet strategy are ordinarily better as well as safer methods of taking a city, than to do it by storm. It is not always wise to take a bull by the horns. You are right ; but in your way you can't succeed. If you should succeed, I will be with you, and swing my hat and shout huzza !" Leading literary magazines and newspapers of Cincinnati combined to disband this Anti-Slavery Society of Lane Seminary, de- claring it "discreditable to the institution, and calculated to inflict a deep wound on the great interests of education ; and the indignation of the public will put it down."

The following extract from the historical note prefixed to the catalogue of 1879-80, brings the history rapidly but sufficiently down to the present time:

Among those who have served the Seminary since its organization, the name of D. Howe Allen, D. D., is especially conspicuous. He was Professor of Sacred Rhetoric from 1840 to 1851; and from that date till 1867, when he resigned, the Professor in Systematic Theology. Like Dr. Beecher, lie continned to be Professor Emeritus till his death, which occurred in 1870. George E. Day, D. D., now of Yale Theological Seminary, was Professor of Biblical Literature from 1851 to 1866. Henry A. Nelson, D. D., now of Geneva, New York, was Professor of Theology from 1867 to 1874; and Thomas E. Thomas, D. D., Profes- sor of New Testament Literature from 1871 to his death in 1875. Jona- than B. Condit, D. D., and Elisha Ballantine, D. D., have served the Seminary for shorter periods. Henry Smith, D. D., LL. D., who died on the fourteenth of January, 1879, was Professor of Sacred Rhetoric from 1855 to 186r. In 1865 he returned to the same department of in- struction, and remained in the discharge of his duties, with the addi- tion of Pastoral Theology, till his decease. He also gave instruction for some years in Church History, and, during the illness of Dr. Allen, in the Department of Theology.

The whole number of alumni is about seven hundred, of whom five hundred are still living. The large majority of the brethren have been or are still engaged in the missionary work of the Presbyterian church, in the region between the Alleghanies and the outlying territories of the west. They are distributed in seventeen States and territories. More than thirty have gone into the foreign field. Many of them have sig- nalized themselves as capable and effective preachers, and as earnest and practical laborers in every department of ministerial service. In the two States of Ohio and Indiana more than one-fifth of the actual working force of our church are graduates of Lane.

In this year (1879-80) the faculty of the seminary numbered five professors, and the students numbered thirty-four-thirteen juniors, thirteen of the middle class, six seniors, and two resident ministers-representing thirteen States.

The Smith Library hall was erected in 1863, and named from its principal benefactor, Mr. Preserved Smith, of Dayton, who also contributed half the expense (ten thousand dollars) of a beautiful Seminary hall for chapel, gymnasium, etc., dedicated December 18, 1879.

THE CINCINNATI THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

was an organization started by the Old School Presby- terians, to whom the theology of Lane seminary was not acceptable, in May, 1850. The professors were pastors of churches in the city-the Rev. James Hoge, D. D., in the chair of church polity and ecclesiastical history, and Rev. N. L. Rice, D. D., in that of didactic or polemic

theology. Teachers of Greek and Hebrew, and of ori- ental and Biblical literature, were also in the original plan. It was remarked as a novel feature that the school had no building, dormitories or lecture-rooms, except the church lecture-rooms of the pastors, where they met their students. There were but twelve of these during the first session-that of 1850-1-and it soon be- came evident that the patronage of the school was not such as would justify its permanent maintenance. It was consequently short-lived.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

is a Roman Catholic institution, occupying a command- ing site on Price's Hill, west of the Mill Creek valley, on the highest ground in the immediate neighborhood of Cincinnati. It was founded about 1852, and has had a very eminent career as a preparatory school for the Catholic priesthood. Its library is a superb collection of more than fifteen thousand volumes, including one hun- dred editions of the Bible and many rarities in the shape of old Bibles, manuscripts, and other literary and ecclesi- astical curiosities.

West of this institution and near the city limits, on the Warsaw turnpike, is the Young Ladies' Academy of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic school for girls, upon a spa- cious tract, formerly the residence of Mr. Alderson, a brother-in-law of Mary Howitt, the celebrated English authoress. The dwelling there was formerly called the " Cedars," and from it were written, many years ago, the charming letters embodied by the sister abroad in a lit- tle volume entitled "Our Cousins in Ohio," from which we give extracts elsewhere. It was bought by the Sisters of Charity March 10, 1851, and made the mother-house of the order. Twenty more acres adjoining the "Cedars" tract were purchased in 1853, and in 1858 a new building was put up for the use of the order and the school.

THE HEBREW UNION COLLEGE

is under the presidency of the renowned Rabbi Wise, of the congregation of Benai-Jeshurun. It was established in 1875, by the union of American-Hebrew congrega- tions, and has been maintained prosperously for several years. The departments are preparatory and collegiate, of four years each. The course of study includes Jewish history, literature, and theology, semitic philology, and special preparation for professorships in the last named branch and for the Israelite pulpits. Pupils in the colle- giate course, if they enter for the degree of rabbi, must attend the undergraduate course at the university of Cin- cinnati. The attendance in the year 1878-9 was twenty- three regular students and twelve extra hearers.

THE MEDICAL AND LAW SCHOOLS

have a history of their own in this city, and shall receive due notice in our chapter on the Bar and on Medicine in Cincinnati.

BUSINESS EDUCATION .*

To the west belongs the credit of originating the Amer-

* This section, for the most part, has been kindly contributed by Mr. Richard Nelson, president of Nelson's Business college, at the south- east corner of Fourth and Vine streets, and author of the well-known Cincinnati book on Suburban llones.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

ican business college, and the pioneer in the enterprise was the venerable R. M. Bartlett, of Cincinnati. A citi- zen of the east, Mr. Bartlett first attempted to establish a school in Philadelphia, and afterward at Pittsburgh; but those cities were not ripe for the experiment, and in 1838 he removed to Cincinnati and opened an institution under the name of Bartlett's commercial college. Contrary to his expectations, Mr. Bartlett's school was looked upon with disfavor by the professional merchants of that time and their book-keepers; but there was a class of traders for whom it was specially adapted-the rising traders, who were generally men of limited means and education. These attended the college during the evenings, and soon were joined by clerks and broken tradesmen, the latter attending day and evening, to fit themselves for positions of responsibility in the houses of their more fortunate brethren.

The system of teaching adopted by Mr. Bartlett was well fitted to meet the wants of his patrons. They all had more or less experience in business, knew something of clerking, and more of selling goods. They wanted only a knowledge of book-keeping, and that by double entry.

At that time text-books on book-keeping were not nu- merous or well suited for the use of the school room. The principal were Bennett's and Jackson's; the latter an English work. These were written with little regard to a progressive course of study, and contained few exer- cises for teaching the theory and art of journalizing, post- ing, and closing books. Discarding their use, Mr. Bartlett introduced numerous diminutive sets of books, each complete in itself, so that the student, in every set, had to go through all the operations of opening, journal- izing, posting, and balancing books. These exercises gave him plenty of employment, and familiarized him with the various rules,

In the course of time the college attracted to its rooms young mechanics and farmers, who pursued their studies during the day, and soon made the day sessions more important than those of the evening. Additional branches were added to the curriculum. Penmanship, taught by a professional teacher, was an important branch, and busi- ness arithmetic was another. Lectures were also deliv- ered on mercantile law by prominent members of the bar.

Mr. Bartlett's success was attended with the usual re- sult-competition. Mr. John Gundry, a professional penman, opened what he termed a Mercantile college, and associated with him one or two others, until he met a Mr. Bacon, a pupil of Mr. Bartlett. Mr. Bartlett com- plained that his former pupil, Bacon, was making use of his manuscript sets of book-keeping, and gave the part- ners some trouble. Messrs. Gundry and Bicon soon separated, each opening a college, called respectively Gundry's Mercantile College and Bicon's Mercantile College, the former on the northwest corner of Fifth and Walnut, and the latter on the corresponding corner of Walnut and Sixth streets. These proving successful, still more colleges of the kind were called into existence, till at one time there were six or seven.

The new colleges added little, if anything, to the effi- ciency of the course of study. On the contrary, the character of the instruction degenerated, till the colleges lost the respect and confidence of the public, and espe- cially of business men. Boys and young men were gradu- ated as book-keepers, when many of them could not make out a bill from dictation or draw a receipt for a given purpose. The day for obtaining the patronage of the business community had passed, and no change was made in the curriculum to adapt it to the wants of the young mechanics and farmers who then made up their patrons.

In 1856 another teacher, Mr. Richard Nelson, ap- peared in the community, whose attention was directed to the defects of the popular system of instruction, and he at once proceeded to remedy them. For this purpose he organized the school as a business community, and thus placed every student under the necessity, not only of making out bills, but of giving and receiving all the vouchers necessary for the safe transaction of business. It was thus that the actual business method of teaching had its origin, and Nelson's Business College, of Cincin- nati, has the credit of originating it. The following is a description of the course of study:

At certain hours of the day, the students, assembled in the College hall, are an organized business community. The hall has suitable fur- niture for carrying on banking, insurance and transportation business, besides desks for the business of each student and firm. Students are instructed how to buy, sell, and collect, in accordance with law and usage. A bank of issue supplies them with currency. They keep bank accounts, issue notes of hand, checks, etc., and conduct a correspond ence, buy and sell and exchange ;- in short, act as any community of merchants, bankers, etc., which they really are. Their merchandise is represented by printed cards, their business forms are printed neatly and in mercantile style. Immediately on entering, the beginner has advanced to him a sum of money and is commissioned to buy for his principal. He is shown how to enter the check and how to make his deposit ; learns the condition of the market, buys to the best of his knowledge and skill, delivers his goods and invoices, and, when his funds run low, renders a statement and draws upon his principal for more money.

When he has made enough in this way, and his books have been kept satisfactorily, he is allowed to do business on his own account. He then buys from first hands; and, being unrestricted as to persons, sells to whom he pleases and on the best terms he can make. He is thus led to depend upon his own resources, and compelled to consult his best judgment in all his business affairs. If he has maturing obligations, he must hold himself prepared to honor them, as neglect would impair his credit, and that would retard his progress in study, because without capital he could not do business on his own account,

Doing business, as each student is, with cvery other student, there is a continual check on his records. Besides this, at short intervals, the books, papers, etc., are examined by the President, who points out errors, if any, and suggests improvements.

Having an efficient secretary and treasurer to manage the concerns of the office, the president is enabled to give his personal attention to every student. Besides this, he is the head of the miniature city and has business relations with every student of every grade. A corps of clerks assist him in this capacity.

He is also a legal adviser, and is consulted as such on frequent occasions; and every set of books written by students has to pass a rigid examination, and the writers a further examination, so that principles will not be overlooked in the interest attached to doing business.

This personal supervision, it will be conceded, adds materially to the efficiency of the college. In its absence actual business is only a sham.

Doing business as merchants, clerks, tellers, etc., students become perfectly familiar with the use of vouchers, and acquire great dexterity in drawing them.

Besides this, drill exercises are daily given in business calculations

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from simple addition up to foreign exchange, in which the students of each section engage in vigorous competition. Nelson's mercantile arithmetic was published to aid the teachers in giving instruction in the most concise methods of footing long columns, extending, com- puting interest, commission, etc.

Owing to the hurried manner in which children are forced through the first rules of arithmetic and the limited knowledge of the majority of teachers regarding the wants of business, we seldom find a student of any literary school or college who is either rapid or accurate in figures. Instead of drilling children in expeditious methods, teachers occupy their time in working out by mental processes problems that will never be called into use in after life and are of comparatively little value for culture.

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History of Cincinnati, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 50

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co. Number of Pages: 666

Author: Ford, Henry A., comp; Ford, Kate B., joint comp
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, O., L.A. Williams & co.
Number of Pages: 666