USA > Oregon > Marion County > Salem > Oregon and its institutions; comprising a full history of the Willamette University, the first established on the Pacific Coast > Part 14
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Doane in connection with the school at the same time, consequently the latter left the institution for other service, and Mr. Hoyt, after his arrival, which took place late in 1850, took charge of the school in accord- ance with the design of his appointment. Mr. Hoyt was connected with the institution for ten years as pro- fessor and president, or from 1850 to 1860, his reappoint- ment from the conference having been annually request- ed by the Board of Trustees. During the long period of Mr. Hoyt's service as the principal and president of the institution there was, with the exception of the president, but little permanency in the Board of In- struction. While he had the direction of the school the assistants that were employed under him were numerous, and a particular account of them all would extend this chapter to an undue length. It will be sufficient simply to insert their names as nearly in the order in which they served the institution as the data which we have in our possession will admit. In con- nection with the Primary Department the following names appear : Miss Belle Walker, now Mrs. Cook ; Mrs. Dillon ; Miss Mary Leslie, since Mrs. Jones, now deceased ; Miss Julia Bryant, now Mrs. Terry ; Miss Mary Waller, now Mrs. Hall ; Miss Sarelia Pringle, now Mrs. Northrup ; Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. S. B. Wilber, Miss Jordan, Miss Draper, now Mrs. Arthur Nicklen, and Miss S. A. Cornell.
In the Academic or Preparatory Department dur- ing the same period we find the names of the follow- ing persons : Mr. J. Dillon, Mrs. Hoyt, Mr. C. Hall as Professor of Exact Sciences, Mr. Newcomb, Mr.
15
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D. L. Spaulding, Mr. S. B. Wilber, Miss Lucia A. N. Jordan, Miss L. Boise, Miss Mary Miller, now Mrs. Col. Kelley, Mr. I. L. Powell, Mr. F. D. Hodg- son, Mr. Barnard, Mr. Stinson, Edwin Cartwright, Mrs. Joseph Wilson, Mr. F. Grubbs, and Mrs. Thurston, now Mrs. Wm. Odell.
Doubtless there were other persons that taught in the school during the administration of Mr. Hoyt, but the above-named were the principal. their assistance the Oregon Institute, under the super- intendence of Mr. Hoyt, moved on slowly but surely in the path of improvement, from the character of a primary to that of a well-developed academical and preparatory school, and had already begun to as- sume many of the airs of even a collegiate institution. At the session of the Oregon Annual Conference, held at Albany in August, 1859, President Hoyt was elected a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to be held the following May in the city of Buffalo, in the state of New York. Consequently I find in the records of the Board under date of October 19, 1859, this action : "On motion, it was voted that Mr. Hoyt be allowed leave of absence to visit the Eastern States, and that his salary be continued without intermission during his absence."
This action of the Board was with the expectation that Mr. Hoyt, after having discharged his obliga- tions as a delegate to the General Conference, and availed himself, by visiting colleges and other insti- tutions of learning, of the more recent improvements
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and facilities for the conduet and management of such institutions, would return again to Oregon and resume his position as president of the Willamette University. In this, however, the Board was doomed to disappointment. Mr. Waller, who was the col- league of Mr. Hoyt to the General Conference, had returned, and in a meeting of the Board, held at Salem, August 18, 1860, gave the information that President Hoyt had made application for a situation in the Ohio Wesleyan University ; but as no official communication had been received from him by the Board no action was taken at this time. At a meet- ing, however, held Sept. 26, 1860, the president of the Board of Trustees, Rev. David Leslie, presented a letter from Rev. F. S. Hoyt, resigning his situation as president of the Willamette University, which was read, and, on motion, the resignation was accepted.
The following preamble and resolutions were then read and adopted :
Whereas the Rev. F. S. Hoyt has resigned his position as president of the Willamette University in order to return with his family to the Atlantic States ; therefore,
Resolved, That after an intercourse of nearly ten years, during which time he has had charge of this institution, we have learned very highly to appre- ciate the capabilities of Rev. F. S. Hoyt as an in- structor of youth, a Christian gentleman, and fellow- laborer in the cause of education.
Resolved, That while we part with himself and family with regret, we learn with pleasure that he
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has become connected with an eminent institution of learning in Ohio, and that we follow him with our most ardent wishes for success.
Resolved, That we cherish a most grateful recol- lection of the peace and harmony with which our mutual labors with our beloved brother have been characterized, and shall richly enjoy such correspond- ence in the future as the duties of his new relation may permit.
Thus terminated the long and onerous term of service of Rev. F. S. Hoyt, as principal of the Oregon Institute, and president of the Willamette University. Before taking leave of him after having so faithfully conducted the growing institution in the midst of many discouragements, arising as well from its poverty as from the heterogeneous character of its patrons and students, for ten long years, it will be proper here to accord to him the meed of praise which is justly his due. As a teacher, inside the walls of the Institute, he was decidedly popular and efficient, gaining not only the good-will and affection of the students generally, but also their highest re- spect. With the Board of Trustees his course was characterized by kindness, affability, a high respect for their judgment and authority, and a manifest disposition to carry out faithfully the instructions which from time to time they thought proper to communicate. This rendered him popular with the Board of Trustees, while his character as a gentle- inan, a Christian, and a minister was such as to en- title him to the high consideration of the public
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generally where he was known. Before entering upon his labors in connection with the Ohio Wes- leyan University, he returned to Oregon, disposed of his property, took leave of his friends, of whom he had many, and bade adieu to the scenes of his early toil on the Pacific shores, and returned to the East, where it is hoped that his labor will be vastly lighter, his usefulness more extended, and his emolu- ments and honors much greater than any that he could have secured in the Western world. He now, 1867, occupies the chair of theology in the Ohio Wesleyan University, having been connected with that institution since he left Oregon.
On the 3d of August, 1860, the Board received in- formation through Hon. J. S. Smith that Professor T. M. Gatch, who had been teaching in Washington Territory, and who was previously connected with a college in California, had, in answer to a proposition made to him some time before, indicated to him his willingness to be employed as a professor in the University, and consequently the Board proceeded at once to elect T. M. Gatch Professor of Ancient Languages and Moral Science. This was before word was received that Mr. Hoyt had severed his connection with the institution. So soon as this in- formation was given, at a special meeting of the Board held Sept. 26, 1860, it was resolved that Professor T. M. Gateli be constituted the acting president of the institution until a president shall be duly elected. Measures were taken also to hold correspondence with various persons on the subject
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of the presidency, preparatory to an election at the next meeting. This was held October 3, 1860, and the correspondence reported that they had had the subject under careful consideration, and recommended the immediate election of a president. Whereupon the Board proceeded to ballot, and the Rev. Wm. J. Maclay was unanimously elected president of the Willamette University. The secretary of the Board, Rev. Wm. Roberts, was instructed to inform Mr. Maclay of his election, which accordingly he did, and on Dec. 5, 1860, the Board was informed that Mr. Maclay declined to accept of the presidency of the institution. Immediately upon this, Professor T. M. Gatch was placed upon nomination, and having re- ceived the vote of every member present, twenty-two in all, he was declared duly elected president of the Willamette University. Mr. Hoyt, who had not left the country, was appointed a committee to wait on Mr. Gatch and inform him of his election, and ask him to signify his acceptance. Being assured that the election was unanimous, Mr. Gatch signified his acceptance, and Mr. Hoyt had the pleasure of placing one well qualified to fill it in the chair which he had vacated by a voluntary resignation.
Various changes had occurred from year to year in the membership of the Board of Trustees, but it is not necessary to speak of these particularly. At the time, however, of the election of Mr. Gatch to the presidency of the institution the classes stood as follows :
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TRUSTEES ELECTED IN 1858.
Win. Roberts, C. S. Kingsley, Thos. Cross, W. Hanxhurst, L. F. Grover, D. Leslie, Geo. Aber- nethy, Geo. H. Jones, J. S. Smith, John Ford, J. R. Moores, A. M. Belt, F. R. Smith.
TRUSTEES ELECTED IN 1859.
J. D. Boon, J. H. Wilber, J. Lamson, J. H. Moores, J. L. Parrish, T. H. Pearne, J. M. Garrison, A. W. Ferguson, H. K. Hines, HI. Gordon, W. H. Odell, J. Watt, I. N. Gilbert, J. H. Nicklin, J. M. Harrison, A. C. Gibbs, A. S. Abernethy.
TRUSTEES ELECTED IN 1860.
A. F. Waller, G. Hines, F. S. Hoyt, E. Strong, Jos. Holman, E. N. Cook, G. II. Williams, C. N. Terry, E. N. Barnum, Charles Craft, Daniel Waldo.
The officers of the Board elected at the previous annual meeting were as follows: DAVID LESLIE, president; JOHN H. MOORES, vice-president ; WM. ROBERTS, secretary ; GEO. H. JONES, treasurer.
L. F. Grover, C. N. Terry, A. F. Waller, J. H. Moores, J. S. Smith, F. S. Hoyt, and Gustavus Hines, executive committee; J. R. Moors, C. N. Terry, and J. S. Smith, auditing committee.
Sustained by this array of ability on the part of the Board, every member of which seemed to feel a deep interest for the advancement of the institution, Mr. Gatch applied himself to his responsible task
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with great tact and energy, which seemed to extend into every department of the school, giving it, as it were, new life and vigor, and causing it to exhibit satisfactory evidences of real prosperity.
At a meeting of the Board held February 20, 1861, Mr. Gatch made a statement in regard to the school, in which it appeared that it was more full than ever known at any corresponding season of the year. Mr. Gatch himself, during the quarter, had taught twelve classes, and the necessity of assistance in the Board of Instruction was obvious, and measures were taken to procure such assistance.
The Board of Instruction at this time consisted of the following persons : T. M. Gatch, L. S. Dyer, F. H. Grubbs, Mary Millar, Lucia A. N. Jordan. Dur- ing the year William E. Barnard was added to the list of teachers, by an election to the chair of math- ematics, and also Mrs. J. G. Wilson was employed for one term. Mr. L. J. Powell was elected teacher in the school, November 20, 1861, to perform such duties as might be assigned him by the president, and being informed of his election, he at once came forward and entered upon his work. There were other teachers employed during this collegiate year, so that at the close in July, 1862, the following per- sons were found to have rendered service some por- tion of the year : T. M. Gatch, William E. Barnard, L. J. Powell, F. H. Grubbs, T. H. Crawford, Mary Millar, Lizzie Boise, L. Draper.
By a vote of the Board, August 19, 1862, Mr. L. J. Powell was promoted to the chair of mathematics,
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heretofore occupied by W. E. Barnard, who had re- signed his place, and J. A. B. Stinson was elected a teacher under the direction of the president. With these changes in the Board of Instruction, the first. three years of Mr. Gatch's administration passed away harmoniously and prosperously ; but at a meeting of the Board, which was held at the chapel January 17, 1863, the president presented the following paper :
" REV. DAVID LESLIE, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY.
" DEAR SIR: I hereby resign the presidency of the Willamette University. Permit me through you to return my sincere thanks to the honorable Board of Trustees, for their hearty co-operation in every- thing that has pertained to the successful manage- ment of the school, and let me express the hope that the confidence reposed in me has not been entirely misplaced. With the assurance that I earnestly desire the prosperity of the university, I subscribe myself.
Yours, respectfully,
T. M. GATCH."
The Board received this announcement with deep regret, and proceeded at once to pass the following preamble and resolutions :
" Whereas President Gatch has tendered to this Board his resignation of the office of president ; and whereas his administration has been entirely successful, having the respect and confidence of the community, the affection of the students, and the
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unqualified approbation of the Board of Trustees ; therefore,
" Resolved, 1. That the Trustees have received the communication of President Gatch with feelings of profound regret. That during his continuance in office he has showed himself eminently fitted for the trust reposed in him at his election by the unanimous vote of this Board.
"2. That it would be very gratifying to the mem- bers of this Board, and in their judgment highly promotive of the best interests of the university, if he would consent to withdraw his resignation, and con- tinue his past relation to the school.
"3. That if he cannot, consistently with his inter- ests or views of duty, consent to remain permanently at the head of the university, he be requested to continue to perform the duties of president thereof as long as he conveniently can, and, if possible, until the close of the collegiate year."
A copy of the above resolutions was put into the hands of President Gatch, and resulted much to the gratification of all the friends of the institution, in his withdrawal of the act of resignation, and continuing the president of the school.
Favored with the supervision of an excellent pres- ident, and a corps of teachers that were disposed to labor with him in perfect unison, the school pro- gressed satisfactorily to all concerned through the collegiate year, terminating July 14, 1863, with but little change in the personnel employed, save the addition of a few new names to the list of teachers.
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In the third quarter of this year, May 20, 1863, the name of Luey A. M. Lee, still a student in the school, first appears among the teachers for half time. Miss Samantha Cornell was also employed to enter the Primary Department at a future time. Mr. John W. Johnson was elected as a teacher, but never con- nected himself with the institution.
The faculty at this date stood as follows : T. M. GATCH, president; L. J. POWELL, professor ; W. E. BARNARD, academical department; MARY B. MIL- LAR, preparatory and French; LUCY A. M. LEE, as- sistant ; MRS. BELLE COOK, primary department.
At the close of the year, July 16, a slight change appears in the list of teachers, but no names that have not already been mentioned. Thomas H. Craw- ford is added to the list, and Samantha A. Cornell takes the place of Mrs. Belle Cook.
The annual meeting of the Board, the twenty-first since the school was founded, and the thirteenth since it became a chartered university, was held in the chapel of the Institute, July 14, 1863.
The officers of the Board eleeted for the ensuing year were : DAVID LESLIE, president ; CHESTER N. TERRY, secretary ; E. N. Cook, treasurer; JOHN H. MOORES, J. S. SMITH, A. F. WALLER, THOMAS CROSS, T. M. GATCH, GUSTAVUS HINES, J. L. PARRISH, ex- ecutive committee ; J. C. PEEBLES, ELISHA STRONG, J. R. ROBB, auditing committee.
The faculty underwent a slight change, as will appear from the following action of the Board of Trustees :
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" Resolved, That the Board of Instruction for the ensuing year consist of the following persons, and that we agree to pay them the following rates of salary : T. M. Gatch, $1,200; Lucy A. M. Lee, $500; L. J. Powell, $1,000; Samantha A. Cornell, $500.
And it was also ordered that the Executive Committee be empowered to employ any additional teachers that might be needed.
The Board of Trustees at this meeting, which was well attended, there being some twenty members pres- ent, was very highly gratified and encouraged by the evidences of the growing prosperity of the institution which appeared before them. A number of the old trustees who witnessed the struggles of the school for existence in its earliest infancy, and had watched it with the most earnest solicitude at every step of its history, were present, and what they were now per- mitted to behold was to them exceedingly satisfactory and cheering. Previously to this, though there had many persons left the school who had received a thorough education in English science and literature, yet there had but two persons regularly graduated, after having entitled themselves to the honors of the institution by completing the whole course of study.
The first graduate was Emily J. York, in 1859, who, having finished the course prescribed for young ladies, was constituted Mistress of English Literature.
The second was Addie B. Locey, who received similar honors in 1862 .*
* Deceased.
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At the present meeting of the Board, however, the president of the university, T. M. Gateli, made a communication which showed that the harvest time of the institution had already come, when the labor- ers were to reap the fruits of their exertions.
The communication was as follows :
" TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY.
" GENTLEMEN : The following young men have completed the full classical course of study in the university : Thomas H. Crawford, Francis H. Grubbs, and J. C. Grubbs, and the same are hereby recom- inended as entitled to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and Latin diplomas certifying to their attainments.
" Emily N. Belt, Margaretta Grubbs, Lucy A. M. Lee, Mary M'Ghee, Angeline Robb, and Nelly Stipp have completed the course prescribed for young ladies, and Colon T. Finlayson, Alva M'Wharter, and John B. Waldo have completed the English branches laid down in the course, and it is recommended that a suitable diploma be furnished each.
" Respectfully submitted, T. M. GATCH, " President Willamette University. "July 14, 1863."
The Board carried out the recommendation of the president, and the appropriate degrees were conferred upon this interesting class of twelve young persons, the legitimate fruits of our toils in sustaining the now rising institution. On the following day after this
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action of the Board the large Methodist Episcopal Church in Salem, beautifully and appropriately dec- orated with festoons and mottoes of evergreens, and hung with the national banner, the red, white, and blue, was filled to its utmost capacity with the popu- lation of the town and visitors from the surrounding country to witness what was never seen before on the Pacific shores, but what is doubtless hereafter often to be witnessed-a large, respectable, and thoroughly educated class of young gentlemen and ladies pub- licly receiving the honors to which they had entitled themselves by their industry and perseverance, and then to take their affectionate leave of each other, of their long cherished friends and teachers, and of their young alma mater, and go forth to take upon themselves the responsibilities of life for which, by long years of faithful study and training, they had endeavored to qualify themselves. The orations of the young men, and the essays of the young ladies on this occasion were truly of an elevated character, and did great credit to their respective authors, reflecting much honor also upon the faculty of instruction. Indeed all present to witness these commencement exercises, the Board of Trustees, the patrons and spectators, were all impressed with the great importance and immense value of the institution which was now be- ginning fully to develop its capabilities of meeting the educational demands of the community, and thereby of becoming of incalculable benefit to the rising country.
The Board of Instruction for the collegiate year
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commencing September, 1863, was changed only by the addition, by the election by the trustees, of Francis H. Grubbs, to take charge of the Academical Depart- ment. The faculty stood as follows :
T. M. GATCH, President of Faculty, and Teacher of Ancient Languages; L. J. POWELL, Teacher of Mathematics and Natural Science ; LUCY A. LEE, Teacher of French and English Composition ; FRAN- CIS H. GRUBBS, Academical Department ; SAMANTHA A. CORNELL, Primary Department ; LOUISA BRAY- MAN, Music Teacher.
The Board of Teachers during this year assumed a little more permanency than formerly, there being fewer changes called for on account of the transient character of the material employed. This is in part accounted for from the fact that the school itself, through its thoroughly trained graduates, was now providing for its own wants as well as those of the country at large. This corps of teachers oper- ated in great harmony, as a general rule, both in their teaching and in the discipline which they exer- cised over their respective departments. There was, however, during the third quarter of this year a mat- ter of discipline which it may be proper and useful to relate. A meeting of the Board was called, at the instance of Mr. Gatch, to decide a case of discipline in relation to one of the students, concerning which there was a difference of opinion between him and Professor Powell. It appears that Professor Powell had dismissed a student from his department for some misdemeanor, and that President Gatch had received
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him back, so far as his department was concerned, to recite Latin and French, which were not taught in Professor Powell's department. Professor Powell thought that the president ought not to have received him back to those classes until he had made the satis- faction required. The matter elicited considerable discussion, and, as a result, a resolution was pre- sented which embodied the views entertained by the Board : that we consider the discipline of Professor Powell in the case of the student in question to have been correct, and therefore should be sustained ; and that as neither he nor President Gatch understood that his dismission from Professor Powell's depart- ment was an expulsion from the school, that there- fore the act of President Gatch in allowing the stu- dent to recite Latin and French in other departments was also correct. Entertaining these views, the Board passed a resolution sustaining the course of President Gatch.
Mrs. C. A. Wilson, during the first part of this year, made arrangements for the accommodation in her commodious house of a number of young ladies both with rooms and board for the benefit of the school. This arrangement was advertised in the papers, and resulted in the collection of several young ladies at Mrs. Wilson's. To enable her to exercise a proper discipline and control over these young ladies she was, at Mr. Gatch's instance, at the close of the third quarter, appointed governess of the Ladies' Department of the university.
The school moved on without anything occurring
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of special interest in its internal character, except that it was characterized by general prosperity, until the close of the collegiate year, when, at the annual meeting, held July 19, 1864, President Gatch pre- sented the following communication :
"TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY.
" GENTLEMEN : Charles W. Parrish and Sylvester C. Simpson have completed the full classical course of the university ; Eliza A. Cross, Anna R. Robb, Clara A. Watt, and Pauline Whitson have com- pleted the course prescribed for young ladies. Jo- seph P. Jones has completed the English studies of the institution. As all these have passed satisfactory examinations, it is recommended that the degree of Bachelor Artium be conferred on Mr. Parrish and Mr. Simpson, and that suitable diplomas be granted to all herein mentioned.
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