USA > Ohio > Delaware County > History of Delaware County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio biographical sketches etc. V. 1 > Part 65
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But new ideas have effected some changes in the old policy of the colleges. The literary world will be slow to admit that the best culture can be attained without an acquaintance with the classics. The classic tongues of Greece and Rome must ever continue the basis of all liberal learning ; yet, in the presence of other. important, though not more " practical," studies, the classics have ceased to be the sole condition of college honors. In most in- stitutions of the country, while the classics still maintain their foremost place for the " regular " course of study, a parallel course of equal or nearly equal extent has been established, with a prepon- derant amount of mathematical, and especially of scientific, work.
For this course distinctive degrees have been provided. In 1868, such a course was first estab- lished in this university. It threw out the Greek language entirely, but required three years of Latin, and the study of one modern language. In addi- tion to this. a certain amount of deviation from the
studies of the regular course was allowed in the sophomore, and the junior years in favor of mod- ern languages, or additional scientific studies. This is a safe compromise; and allows a sufficient lati- tude of election, without, at the same time, pre- scribing a course which can be called partial, or one-sided. The degrees given in the classical course are Bachelor of Arts, and, three years after- ward, Master of Arts; in the scientific course, Bachelor of Science. A second degree has not yet been established for the last course.
The Normal Department has been revived, and a fair course of study, extending through three years, has been prescribed, adapted especially to those who would fit themselves for teaching in the common schools. It is the hope of the university to make this course both attractive and useful to this large class of youth. A professional certifi- cate, but no degrec, is given to those who com- plete this course.
All the above courses are now open to ladies, and some ladies are found in each of them ; but, since the union of the schools, a special ladies' course has been established, to meet the taste and wants of such as seek a thorough and liberal culture, yet do not desire to take the classical or scientific course. It covers the same time as these, but dif- fers from them mainly in substituting for the Greek of the classical course, and the more ex- tended mathematics and sciences of the scientific course, a thorough course in music, painting, draw- ing, and art criticism. Upon the graduates in this course is conferred the degree of Bachelor of Literature.
Education is, the world over, largely a gratuity. and especially so in the higher institutions of learn- ing. In the older and better-endowed colleges, no student pays one-tenth of the actual cost of his education. Grounds, buildings, cabinets, libraries, endowments, and all the educational appliances of science and art are the gifts of the founders of the school to the students who attend it. A college, to be eminently successful in its work, should have all these before it opens its doors to the public. Fortunately, this is sometimes realized in the ben- factions of wealthy men. But in former times, iu this Western country, neither State nor denomina- tional schools could afford to wait for the accumu- lation of all these before beginning their work, and the result was, that most of our schools were started upon very meager foundations. Such was the case with the Ohio Wesleyan University. The Board of Trustees started with nothing, and were
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in debt. To secure a present support and a future growth was, of course, a matter of immediate and vital concern.
The only resources of the institution were the contributions of its friends, and these, at first, came slowly and sparingly, and it was not until 1849 that the indebtedness for the purchase-money was all paid. Meanwhile the conferences were devis- ing plans for the endowment of the university. In 1843, the Ohio Conference appointed Revs. Frederick Merrick and Uriah Heath, agents to raise funds from donations to the university, or by the sale of scholarships entitling the bearer to tuition, at the rate of $100 for five years. The following year, the North Ohio Conference ap- pointed similar agents to work within its bounds. These agents, in the course of two years, had ob- tained subscriptions and notes for scholarships to the amount of about $50,000, and some donations of land worth perhaps $15,000 more. The inter- est on these notes, and some tuition fees, constitu- ted the sole revenue of the institution for the support of the faculty. As the sale of scholar- ships progressed, the tuition gradually fell to noth- ing. The faculty was then wholly dependent on the income from the endowment notes. But, though agents were continued in the field for the sale of scholarships, the aggregate did not percep- tibly increase. At the end of six years, the insti- tution was still on the borders of inanition ; the total net assets were estimated at only $70,000, and, of this, the endowment money and subscrip- tions reached only $54,000. It was evident, that, unless a more effective policy were adopted, the school was destined to failure, or, at best, to a feeble career.
At length, in the summer of 1849, the faculty, at the suggestion of Professor Johnson, devised and proposed to the Board of Trustees a system of scholarships at a much cheaper rate than those at first sold. It was hoped that these would be popular, and be sold to an extent sufficient to give the institution both money and students for, at least, all present necessities. The Board held a special session to consider the subject, September 24, 1849, at Dayton. where the Ohio Conference was in session. The measure was felt to be perilous ; a failure would jeopard all; and they deliberated a long time before they came to any conclusion. Finally, with the approval of the conference, the Board adopted the plan, and ordered the sale of scholarships, entitling the holder to tuition, at the following rates: (1)
For three years' tuition, $15 ; (2) for four years' tuition, $20; (3) for six years' tuition, 25; (4) for eight years' tuition, $30.
The system was needlessly complex ; the second and fourth rates alone would have been better than the four ; and the price could have been one- half higher without lessening their salableness. But the success which crowned the effort has quieted all criticisms. Three agents were appointed by each conference to put the new scholarships upon the market. In two years, they had sold nearly three thousand, and paid into the treasury of the university, besides the expense of the agency and the support of the faculty meanwhile, a sum sufficient to raise the nominal endowment, in 1854, to a round $100,000 .*
Part of this amount was still in unproductive land, and part in uncollected scholarship notes. But the income for the following year was esti- mated to be $8,500, which the Committee of Ways and Means, in their report to the Board, sav " will be amply sufficient to meet and defray all current expenses." In view of this hopeful con- dition of the finances, the salaries of the faculty were now increased as follows: The President was paid $1,400; the professors, $1,000 each ; the tutors, $500 each. The value of the real estate, and other property of the university, had also largely increased ; and may be estimated at another $100,000. Thus, the end of the first de- cennium saw the institution in a healthful financial condition, and with good prospects for the future.
But the most gratifying result of the new schol- arship system was the increase in the enrollment of students. In 1850, before the effort began, the number of students was 257; in 1851, after the agents had been a year at work, the number was 506. nearly double the attendance of the pre- vious year. This was not an unexpected result ; indeed, one of the dangers that had been predicted was that of overwhelming numbers. But the friends of the measure relied on the general laws of average in such cases, and anticipated just about the number that came. They could readily enough instruct this number, or even more. Their greatest inconvenience was the lack of a chapel.
* The exact number of scholarships sold was 3,740, calling for a little more than 25,000 years of tuition. An average annual attend. ance of 500 students would exhaust this large aggregate in fifty years. As the attendauce has not averaged this ngure, the period might be somewhat prolonged; but it is estimated that probably one-third of the number will never be claimed. Many persons bought scholarships simply to help the institution ; and others have lost or forgotten their certificates. Recently, the agents of the university have resumed the selling of scholarships.
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This exigency constituted an appeal to the church, to which it was prompt to respond. On July 26, 1851, the corner-stone was laid of a building large enough for a chapel, and a number of recitation- rooms. The building, which cost about $16,000, was dedicated the following year. It has since been named Thomson Chapel, in honor of the first President.
The agencies for the endowment and building fund were continued with little interruption ; and it will be seen by reference to the table of statis- tics further on that the endowment slowly in- creased for a number of years. At length in 1866, the centennial year of American Methodism, a general advance was made throughout the connec- tion. Educational interests were everywhere the foremost ; and in Ohio, the result of the effort was a large addition to the funds of the university. A portion was devoted to building and general improvement ; and the endowment was increased to considerably more than $200,000. Unfortu- nately, the resources for building and grounds did not prove as ample as was hoped ; and, after the " hard times " of 1873 set in, it was deemed necessary to draw upon the endowment for these purposes. About $40,000 were thus consumed. The growth of this fund has, nevertheless, been so constant, that the heavy draft on it has been more than made good. The actual endowment is now a little above a quarter of a million dollars; and each of the four patronizing conferences has under- taken the endowment of another professorship, in the amount severally, of, at least, $30,000. Such efforts are easier now than they once were. In the Central Ohio Conference more than this amount is secured, and the other conferences will probably soon accomplish their undertaking. The prospect is hopeful for even better things than these.
Of the amounts given by individuals to the university, it is proper to name a few. Mr. Jed- ediah Allen early gave a tract of ground in Marion County, which he estimated at $15,000; it was finally sold for nearly $18,000. Thomas Parrott, Esq., of Dayton, one of the Trustees, bequeathed in 1864, $20,000, which was devoted to the en- dowment of the chair of Mathematics. John R. Wright, Esq., of Cincinnati, another Trustee, and an alumnus, has paid in $25,000, and obtained subscriptions from others to the amount of $5,000 more, for the endowment of the chair of Greek. Phineas P. Mast, Esq., also a trustee and alumnus, has paid in $10,000, besides other benefactions. Mrs. Eliza Chrisman, now of Topeka, Kan., has paid
$10,000, and subscribed an additional $10,000 to the chair of Biblical Literature. Judge D. J. Corey, of Findlay, has paid $10,000. Mrs. Rebecca Brown, of Bellefontaine, has given a tract of land adjacent to that town, estimated to be worth $10,000, toward the endowment of the chair of Latin. John B. Kessler, of Troy, Ohio, left a bequest (1868) which yielded about $8,000. Mr. William L. Ripley, of Columbus, has bequeathed (1880) his estate to the university, which, it is thought, will eventually yield §30,000. In ad- dition to these, the Board of Trustees has been notified of other wills executed in their favor, some of which will add amounts as large as the last_ named. One very liberal provision in behalf of the university, worth probably $10,000 a year, which had been secured to the institution by will carefully executed many years before the death of the testator, was finally lost by his revocation of the will in extreme old age, and at the point of death.
Recently, the university has been in the receipt of various sums, to an aggregate of about $20,000, on which it agrees to pay certain annuities, upon the condition, that, at the death of the annuitants, the sums thus given shall fall to the institution.
By the benefactions of one or two friends, and by contributions from the conferences and the Church Educational Society, the university has an annual sum of about five hundred dollars for the help of worthy young men. The amount given to each is small, and usually in the form of a loan. The late John Taylor, of Zanesville, Ohio, left to the university for this cause, a property worth $10,000, which will be realized, however, only at a future day. It were to be wished that the institu- tion had some immediate provision of generous amount for a student's aid fund, like that found in some of the Eastern colleges.
Occasional prizes for excellence in scholarship have been offered by friends, but no systematic pro- vision of this nature has yet been made.
In 1853, Mr. William Sturges, of Putnam, Ohio, offered the university a very liberal sub- scription for a library. on condition that within the year, a further subscription of $15,000 should be secured for a suitable library building. Prof. Merrick undertook the agency for this, as he had for the chapel, and raised the amount within a few weeks. The building, which bears the name of Mr. Sturges, was finished and dedicated in 1856. Meanwhile President Thomson had visited Europe | and purchased a very valuable library of about
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three thousand volumes with the money -- 86,600 -paid by Mr. Sturges. Two large alcoves in the library are the contributions respectively of Dr. Joseph M. Trimble, and William A. Ingham, Esq., who are still making annual additions to their shelves. The widow of the late Rev. Dr. Charles Elliot has given the bulk of his private library, rich in patristic and controversial literature, to the university ; and other persons have made valuable additions to the general stock. The library now catalogues about ten thousand volumes.
The library-room is open daily for about eight hours; its tables are well supplied with periodical literature, and the use of all is free to the students of the university.
-In connection with Mr. Ingham's contributions to the library, should be named the liberal founda- tion given by him, in 1870, for a course of lectures on the Evidences of Revealed and Natural Religion. In pursuance of his wish, the faculty selected ten of the ablest thinkers they could find to deliver such a course before the university. The lectures were heard with profound interest and satisfaction by very large audiences, and, after the completion of the course, were gathered and published (1873) in a volume, which will long remain among the ablest discussions known to the church.
In 1859, the university purchased from Dr. William Prescott, of Concord, N. H., his cabinet of natural history, valued at 810.000. This cab- inet was large, and, in some of the departments, very complete. But there was' no room on the premises large enough for displaying its riches, ex- cept the chapel. This, which already seemed small for the wants of the institution, the Trustees at once appropriated to the uses of the cabinet. It was fitted up for this purpose, and so remained until 1874. Meanwhile the chapel services were held, at first in the lecture-room of the Methodist .church, but afterward, by dividing the students into two sections, in one of the large lecture-rooms of the university. In 1869, the Board began the erection of a large stone building on the high ground near the spring. This was intended for recitation-rooms and for chapel. A failure of the building fund delayed this building till 1873. Its cost was about $40,000, a large portion of which was finally taken from the endowment fund. It bears the name of President Merrick -" Merrick Hall." Upon its completion, it was thought that the room designed for chapel afforded a more con- venient place for cabinets and museum, and they have finally been arranged there.
Large additions have been made to the cabinets. In 1858, Dr. R. P. Mann, of Milford Center, Ohio, at great expense of his own time and of money, made for the university a collection of many thou- sand fossils and rocks, illustrative of the geological ages. These are arranged in a separate cabinet, adjacent to the Prescott cabinet.
William Wood, Esq., of Cincinnati, has con- tributed, at the expense of about 83,000, a full set of the Ward casts of fossils. These wonderful and monstrous forms are faithful reproductions of orig- inals from the best scientific museums of the world.
A very good beginning of an archaeological museum is already made, of about a thousand relics.
These collections taken together contain prob- ably a hundred thousand specimens.
The old chapel was now restored to its former use. The Lecture Association of the students con- tributed 8800 toward the furnishing of the chapel, and, by the efforts of the faculty and the senior class, a fine organ was placed in the chapel at an expense of over $1,600. The audience-room has capacity for about six hundred sittings, but has grown too small for all occasions, except daily prayers. The commencement exercises were held here for a few years; but no building has capacity for the crowds that now attend these annual cele- brations. For many years the commencements have been held in the grove of the college campus. Excursion trains are run from the neighboring cities, and the attendance has been estimated as high as 5,000.
The college campus, of about twenty-five acres, has a diversified character, which art has greatly improved. In 1872. Messrs. Wright and Mast, of the Board of Trustees, spent about $5,000 in re- constructing the surface, making walks and drives, draining and planting. These improvements were on the northern part of the grounds. The south- ern additions have recently been filled and re-graded. It was in the plan of these generous alumni to slope the front of the lot to the level of the street, but the day has not yet come for this work.
Another friend of the University, and of science, Rev. Joseph H. Creighton, of the Ohio Confer- ence, has given largely of his money, and yet more of his time, to the establishment of an arboretum on the college grounds. This contemplates the planting of at least one specimen of every tree, domestic or exotic, that can be made to grow in this climate and soil. Since 1867, Mr. Creighton
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has, under singular difficulties, gathered, planted, and properly labeled nearly one thousand varieties of trees and shrubs. When this plan is completed, the collection will add greatly to the embellishment of the grounds, as well as give them a scientific value found in but one other instance in the United States.
The Ohio Wesleyan Female College is of more recent origin. In the establishment of the uni- versity, no provision was made for. the education of women. But there was a felt want of some institution at this place which should give to the daughters of the church the same privileges of education as were afforded to the sons. The rapid growth and the success of the university increased this sense of want, especially in the case of fami- lies whose sons were entered in the university. The first to attempt to supply this demand were the Rev. William Grissell and wife, who came to this place in 1850. Encouraged by the citizens. Mr. Grissell bought the old academy building in South Delaware and opened a ladies' school in September of that year. The attendance was en- couraging ; but, in 1852, Mr. Grissell found that he could no longer carry on the school with suc- cess. At this time the idea of a college for ladies was taking hold of the public mind, and several meetings were held in relation to the matter. Meanwhile (in 1852) the parish now known as St. Paul's, in South Delaware, had been constituted of a small congregation of about thirty members, mostly from William Street M. E. Church, of which the Rev. John Quigley was appointed Pastor. They met for worship in the chapel of Mr. Gris- sell's school ; and, in order to retain their place of worship, and for other local reasons, encouraged the movement for a college on this site. Accord- ingly the property was bought from Mr. Grissell, and an organization effected under the name of " The Delaware Female College."
But it was felt by many that the location for a college must be more eligible, and the accomoda- tions more ample than the old academy and two- fifths of an acre of ground could present. To Dr. Ralph Hills is due the first suggestion of the home- stead of the late William Little as the most desira- ble site. This suggestion met with instant favor, and, when it was found that the family would consent to sell, an organization was at once effected, articles of association adopted and a subscription opened to obtain the needed amount. The result was, that in April, 1853, "The Ohio Wesleyan Female Col- lege " acquired "a local habitation and a name."
The property which the incorporators bought con- tained seven acres, to which three acres were sub- sequently added. The price paid for the original purchase was $7,000, and for the addition nearly as much more. The grounds were beautiful and romantic, and the house on these grounds was large and commodious. The property was at once offered to the North Ohio Conference, and accepted by that body, with the right of perpetuation of the Board of Trustees. Subsequently, the Central Ohio Conference and the Ohio Conference became joint patrons of the school with equal rights.
In the course of the first year, the necessity for more room was felt, and a two-story wooden house with large recitation-rooms was erected as a tem- porary relief. This served the purpose for a few years, but the continued growth of the school led. in 1855, to larger plans. One wing of the pres- ent building was first erected, then, after some years, the central block and the other wing. This building is ample for the accomodation of 150 boarders and for twice as many day-pupils. It has a large chapel, recitation-rooms, studios, library, society halls, parlors, refectory and other applian- ces for a first-class school. Few college buildings in the State equal it ; none surpass it in conven- ience or adaptation to the demands of a school and home. The means for all this expenditure were raised mostly through the labors of agents appointed by the patronizing conferences. Of these, the Rev. Joseph Ayers, at that time Presiding Elder of the Delaware district, was the first; and a large part of the initial labor of founding the school was done by him. Subsequent laborers in the same field were Revs. Samuel Lynch, Wesley J. Wells. John A. Berry, Thomas Bark- dull and others. These agents did not have an unreaped field in which to gather, as the univer- sity agents were also at work during the same years. But, by indefatigable effort, the means were gradually obtained, and the end was at last reached. Of the many who contributed to this cause, particular mention must be made of Miss Mary Monnett, now Mrs. John W. Bain, a pupil of the school, who, in 1857, gave $10,000 toward the building fund. It is, perhaps, not too much to say that hier timely help made success possible. and, in recognition of her benefaction, the entire building bears the name of " Monnett Hall."
The school has always been self-supporting, and, for most of the time, the tuition and the boarding have not only paid the faculty, but have yielded some revenue for the general purposes of the
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institution. A scheme for an endowment similar to that of the university was at one time proposed, but the attempt was soon abandoned, and no per- manent fund was ever secured.
In 1866, certain ladies, mostly Alumnæ of the institution, organized themselves into an associa- tion to raise a fund for a college library. In pur- suance of their plan, they had soon raised about $2,000, which sum the Trustees borrowed for the completion of the college buildings, as being just then a more pressing want than the acquisition of a library. But, in 1869, Mr. William A. Ingham, of Cleveland, who had undertaken to fill an al- cove in the university library, gave this college also $1,000 worth of books. in honor of his wife, formerly Miss Mary B. Janes, who, in 1858-62, had been the teacher of French and belles-lettres in the college. In view of this donation, the Board ordered the Executive Committee to fit up a library and reading-room in the central building, and to invest $1,000 of the ladies' library fund in books. The balance of the loan, the Board had not repaid to the association when the union of the schools took place, and, in view of the large library which thus became accessible to the ladies, and the inability of the Board, the association forbore the formal collection of the amount. Aside from these two generous provisions, no movement has been made for the internal wants of the school.
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