The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 76

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082

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" Upon all sides, Green Lake Prairie spreads its rich. rolling surface, like a boundless gar- den ; checkered, striped and dotted with little groves of underwood, and oak openings ; while its streams are fringed with forest-trees. The traveler, as he approaches Ripon from any direction. will have, as he crosses the high wave of the prairie, a full view of a front of Brockway College at a distance varying from six to eight miles. If the liveliest imagination could be clothed with creative power and give form, substance and vitality to its most brilliant paintings, it could only mar the beauty which the Almighty Builder has crowned this spot for a public edi- fice-a city of light set on a hill. The College lands include the whole of the ten acres."

In February, 1855, in accordance with a resolution of the Convention, a new charter was obtained, naming as the new Board of Trustees the following gentlemen, designated by the Con- vention : Ezra L. Northrup, Jehdiah Bowen, Jeremiah W. Walcott, Silas Hawley, Dana Lamb, Bertine Pinkney, Charles H. Camp, Harvey Grant, Sherlock Bristol, and the President

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

of the College, ex officio. The new charter increased the limit of income of the College to $20,- 000, and conferred some other enlarged powers, particularly with regard to establishing a nor- mal course of study and other courses, and with regard to holding lands adjacent to " Out Lot No. 4."

The Board was organized under the new charter in March, 1855. A writer in July, 1856, says : " Brockway College has a charter, but only the preparatory male and female depart- ments are in operation. The building now erected is of stone. The school and reeitation rooms are finished with butternut, oiled and varnished. The desks are of the same material. The moral influenees exerted over students are of a high character. There are two distinct depart- ments in the institution ; young ladies and gentlemen, however, recite together in certain classes. Instruction is given in all the higher English branches, and in such classical studies as are necessary to fit young men and women for college."

In 1857 (February 21), the College grounds and the building were conveyed to the Board by warranty deed, from Mr. Walcott. During this year, a liberal subscription having been obtained for that purpose, a second building, now Middle College, was ereeted. Its erection, however, exhausted the limited means of the Board and left it deeply in debt ; and the financial disasters of the country in that year affected its resources very severely. For about five years the institution struggled with great financial difficulties, in consequence of which, at the open- ing of the rebellion. the school was for one year suspended. Many of the students enlisted in

RIPON COLLEGE.

the army, and the College grounds were leased to the Government for a camp, being oceupied by the First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry .*

In 1862, the Convention and steadfast friends of the College rallied, and a subscription to pay the debts of the institution was so far successful that the Trustees re-opened the school, and in September of that year, Prof. E. II. Merrell assumed the charge of it. This gentleman was, in 1862, but recently graduated from Oberlin College, and has been longer connected with the College than any other of the corps of instructors. He was assisted by efficient lady teachers.

The school grew so rapidly, and its prospects seemed so favorable, that in April, 1863, the Trustees began the organization of a permanent faculty for regular college instruction. Rev. William E. Merriman, of Green Bay, a graduate of Williams College, was elected President, and E. H. Merrell was elected Professor of Languages. At the annual meeting of the Board in July following, the President entered upon his duties, and the policy of the College was defined. At the opening of the term in September of that year, the first college elass was formed. Before that time, the institution had only been a high school. It now began its career as a regular college, with a preparatory department attached. During that first college year, the debts of the institution were all paid, the library was begun, and amendments to the charter were obtained, changing the name to Ripon College, and granting some additional privileges.

* The school was suspended during the first year of the rebellion, and, in 1862, a subscription was made to pay the debts of the insti- tution ; the school was re-opened in September. Many of the young men who had studied here previous to 1861, no doubt went into the Union army, but of them, as identified with the College, there is no record.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

In 1866, three years after the permanent organization of the College, the institution had outgrown its accommodations, and the next year the third College building, now West College, larger and better than either of the others, was erected and occupied.

The title of the College grounds and buildings is perfect, and the property wholly unin- cumbered. It has been built up mainly by the Congregationalists and Presbyterians. A majority of its Trustees have been ministers or members of Congregational Churches, and the Board has the confidence of that denomination. Although the College is under such influ- ences and looks to the churches for support, it is not sectarian. Its privileges are open to all on the same terms.

It is the aim of the institution to provide for the liberal education of young men and women and to keep its methods of instruction in harmony with the most enlightened views of education. It aims also to furnish a thorough preparation for the pursuit of college courses, and to provide a sound practical education for such as may desire to fit themselves for common- school teaching or for business. Its purpose is also to make the expense of pursuing a course of liberal study as low as is consistent with a high degree of excellence in its results, and thus to keep a liberal education within the reach of young men and women of limited means. It is likewise the earnest purpose to conduct the institution on distinctively Christian principles, and to have it pervaded with a strong and healthy moral and religious influence. While aiming at the best results of intellectual training, its instructors will ever bear in mind that character is more than these, that the development of character is an essential part of the work of an educa- tional institution, and that there is no sound basis of character except in Christian principle.

The institution is divided into the following : The College, the Preparatory School, the English Academy, and the School of Music. In the College two liberal courses of study-the classical and the scientific-have been arranged, each extending through four years. The course of preparation for the classical course extends through three years ; that for the scien- tific course through two years. The course of study in the English Academy extends through three years : it is intended to provide the essentials of a good English education. The courses of study in the School of Music extend through two years each. Besides these courses of study, a musical and literary course has been arranged for such students as may desire to pur- sne an extended course in music, and at the same time acquire a liberal culture in other direc- tions. It comprises a preparatory course of three years, and a college course of four years. These courses of study are open to students of both sexes. Ladies reside with the lady teachers, in a separate building ; but students of both sexes are instructed in the same classes. enjoy the same privileges. and may take the same degrees.

The College grounds include nearly twelve acres, centrally situated, on high ground with a rolling surface relieved at intervals' by native oaks and other shrubbery. The grounds, and particularly the buildings, are visible at great distances in all directions. There are three College buildings, all of stone. East College is fifty feet square and three stories high, with a cupola. It contains four recitation-rooms, the cabinet, the reading-room, an apparatus-room and several rooms for students. Middle College is one hundred by forty-four feet, three stories high, besides the basement and the attic, which are finished throughout. This is the ladies' building ; it contains, in the basement. the college boarding hall; on the main floor, teachers' rooms, parlors and office ; in the upper stories, apartments for young ladies. hall of their literary society, and their gymnasium. West College is eighty by fifty feet, and four stories high. It contains the chapel, the library, the general office, recitation-rooms, the hall of the young men's societies, the gymnasium and rooms for young men. The buildings afford rooms sufficient for the instruction of 450 students, of whom about 200, with several teachers, may reside in the buildings. These structures are plain and unpretentious, having been erected at the least possible cost consistent with sound construction ; but they are serviceable and comfortable.

In 1868, the College, through its President, made application to the Directors of the " Society for the Promotion of Collegiate and Theological Education in the West," to adopt Ripon College as one of its beneficiaries, and to assist it with funds from the East, so far as may

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

be necessary for its equipment and endowment. The application was granted, and a large part of the present endowment fund has been obtained at the East through the personal solicitation of President Merriman.

The property and resources of the College are estimated as follows:

Number of acres of land owned by the institution. 440

Estimated cash value of land owned by the institution. $ 4,440 00

Estimated cash value of buildings owned by the institution. 65,000 00

Amount of endowments and funds except real estate. 160,000 00

Since the organization of the institution as a College, in 1863, it has been operated mainly upon its own earnings. Up to 1868, the teachers received nothing but the income from tuition. The College has never had a paid agent, and every dollar contributed to it has been used in building up the institution without diminution for raising money or for current expenses. It is the purpose of the College to pursue the same severely economical policy ; that is, to spend nothing given to it in operating it, but to use every donation in augmenting its permanent means of instruction.

The College library contains more than 4,000 volumes. The cabinet has been increased in size, and furnished with new cases for specimens ; about 4,000 specimens have been received during the year 1878, and the present facilities for storage and exhibition are good. Cases have also been provided for the botanical specimens, so that there is now a good herbarium.

The new building-the Laboratory-recently erected, furnishes better facilities than ever before for the Chemical and Astronomical Departments. It contains a chemical laboratory, a chemical lecture-room, an apparatus-room, and a room designed to accommodate the fine transit telescope and chronograph that have recently come into the possession of the institu- tion. A fine astronomical clock has recently been added, and a considerable amount of apparatus from Germany, together with a supply of chemicals.

There are three literary societies : One for gentlemen of the Preparatory School and English Academy ; another for gentlemen of the College, and a third for ladies. The societies have well-furnished halls. and afford their members valuable means of voluntary improvement.

Mrs. John W. James, of Boston, gave $1,000 for the encouragement of English composi- tion in the College, the interest of which is annually distributed in prizes, for the purpose intended by the donor. Mrs. James has recently added $500 to the previous benefaction. The late Rufus Dodge, of Beaver Dam, Wis., left the College a legacy of $5,000, as a permanent fund to aid young ladies of limited means in getting their education. The interest of this fund is distributed annually among such students as the testator provided for.

All the departments of instruction are now well organized and filled with competent instructors. During the year 1878, besides the improvement made to the buildings, valuable additions have been made to the library and cabinet. The endowment subscription is paid in and well invested.

The department of music aims to provide thorough instruction in playing the piano-forte, in solo and chorus singing, and in musical theory, including harmony, counterpoint, and the elements of form and composition. Its instructors seek to lay such a sure foundation in technics as shall insure the progress of the pupils, and make it possible to introduce them to the works of the best composers. The true appreciation and interpretation of real works of art are steadily kept in view.

Until the organization of a permanent College Faculty, begun in 1863, the following were the instructors in the various branches taught in the institution : J. W. Walcott, A. E. Bovay, M. W. Martin, Miss Martha J. Adams, Miss Elizabeth P. Smith, Mr. G. B. Cooley, Mrs. Mary Chapin, Miss Martha J. Leonard, Miss Orphia J. Leonard, Mr. J. G. Evans, Ira Bushnell, Miss M. J. Childs, M. H. Stemple, C. C. Bailey.

The names of those who have been members of the Faculty since the organization of the College, in 1863, are: Rev. William E. Merriman, A. M., President, and Professor of Mental and Moral Seience; Edward H. Merrell, A. M., Professor of Greek ; Rev. William HI. Ward, A. M.,

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

Professor of Latin, Natural Sciences and Physical Training ; Mrs. C. T. Tracy, Superintendent of the Ladies' Department, and Instructor in Mathematics and Botany ; Miss Julia R. Hosford, Instructor in Latin and French ; Mrs. Frances E. Woodrow, Instructor in Rhetoric, Physiology and Higher English Studies ; Rev. M. Montague, A. M., Professor of Rhetoric; Daniel Merriman, Professor of Natural Sciences : Rev. Oliver Sloan, A. M., Professor of Mathematics ; Mrs. L. M. Beach, Instructor in French and German; Theodore Wilder, A. B., Professor of Mathe- maties ; Justus N. Brown, A. B., Professor of Latin ; Miss Frances E. Durand, Instructor in Higher English Studies : Miss Luthera H. Adams, Instructor in Mathematics; William M. Bristoll, A. M., Professor of Latin ; Joseph M. Geery, A. B., Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature ; John C. Fillmore, Professor of Music ; Lyman B. Sperry, M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Natural Science ; Miss Martha E. French, Instructor in Higher English Studies; Mrs. Frances E. Wilder, Instructor in French ; Erastus C. Beach, A. M., Professor of Mathe- matics and Astronomy ; Carlos A. Kenaston, A. M., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy ; Miss Kate A. Bushnell, Principal of the Ladies' Department ; Rev. John P. Haire, A. M., Profes- sor of the Latin Language and Literature ; William G. Ballantine, A. M., Professor of Chemistry and Natural Science ; Mrs. Minerva B. Norton, Principal of the Ladies' Department; Cyrus G. Baldwin, A. B., Professor of the Latin Language and Literature ; George C. Duffie, A. M., Instructor in English Studies ; Henry B. Miter, A. B., Instructor in Latin ; Rev. James A. Towle, A. B., Professor of the Greek Language and Literature; Herbert G. Denison, A. M., Principal of the Preparatory School and Instructor in Greek ; Alvah H. Sabin, S. B., Professor of Chemistry and Natural Science; Lyman F. Brown, Professor of Music; Miss Sarah A. Barnes, Preceptress ; Dwight F. Stillman, Professor of Music ; Mrs. Lucretia H. Kendall, Preceptress ; Miss Laura W. Ladd, Instructor in Latin.

The present Board of Trustees and Faculty are as follows :

Trustees-Rev. Edward H. Merrell, ex officio; C. M. Blackman, Esq., Whitewater ; Rev. F. B. Doe, Ripon; Rev. Joseph F. Dudley, Eau Claire; Rev. E. Y. Garrette, La Crosse; Allen P. Harwood, Esq., Ripon-Term expires with the collegiate year, in June, 1880. Hon. William C. Allen, Racine ; F. S. Eldred, Esq., Janesville; Storrs Hall, M. D., Rosendale; Rev. Arthur Little, Chicago, Ill .- Term expires with the collegiate year, in June, 1881. Jehdeialı Bowen, Esq., Ripon ; Hon. Llewellyn Breese, Portage City ; W. C. Hamilton, Esq., Fond du Lac ; Hon. E. D. Holton, Milwaukee; Hon. Willard Merrill, Milwaukee-Term expires with the collegiate year, in June, 1882.

Faculty-Rev. Edward H. Merrell. A. M., President, and Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy ; Joseph M. Geery, A. M., Professor of English Literature, Rhetoric and Political Philosophy; Carlos A. Kenaston, A. M., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy ; Cyrus G. Baldwin, A. M., Professor of the Latin Language and Literature : George C. Duffie, A. M., Principal of the English Academy; Rev. James A. Towle, A. B., Professor of the Greek Language and Literature; Herbert G. Denison, A. M., Principal of the Preparatory School and Instructor in Greek; Alvah H. Sabin, M. S., Professor of Chemistry and Natural Science; Dwight F. Stillman, Professor of Music; Henry B. Miter, A. M., Instructor in Latin; Mrs. Clarissa T. Tracy, Instructor in Algebra and Botany ; Irene I. Wileox, Instructor in Painting and Drawing; Mrs. Lucretia H. Kendall, Preceptress ; Prof. Joseph M. Geery, Librarian ; Prof. Carlos A. Kenaston, Secretary of the Faculty and Registrar of the College; Prin. George C. Duffie, Assistant Treasurer.

The Alumni of the College are as follows : Class of 1867-Luthera H. Adams, B. A., Harriet H. Brown, B. S., Mary F. Spencer (Thayer), B. S., Susan A. W. Saulsbury *. B. S. Class of 1868-A. Jerome Chittenden, B. A., Emily S. Cook, B. A., George C. Duffie, B. A., Lyman B. Everdell, B. A., Myron W. Pinkerton, B. A., J. HIorace Tracy, B. A. Class of 1869-Caroline D. Chittenden (Turner), B. S., Isabella S. Cragin, B. S., George M. Steele, B. S. Class of 1870-Daniel de Loss Bathrick. B. S., Josiah B. Blakley, B. A., Eunice E. Durand (Lyman), B. S., William Sylvester Holt, B. A., Ella E. Mapes, B. S., Rosa E. Olds

* Deceased.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

(Bristol), B. S., Annah M. Smith, B. S. Class of 1871-James A. Blanchard, B. A., James H. Bradish, B. A., Joseph G. Davis, B. S., John T. Evans, B. A., Moritz E. Eversz, B. A., Sarah E. Powers (Bradish), A. A., Albert F. Rust, B. A., Charles H. Yeomans, B. A. Class of 1872-John W. Allen, Jr., B. A., James M. Brush, B. A., Frank I. Fisher, B. A., Sarah E. Scribner, B. S., Martha A. Shepard, B. S., Margaret B. Shoemaker, B. S., Harmon M. Wilcox, B. S. Class of 1873-Henry S. Akin, B. A., Horatio A. Brooks, B. S.,* Sarah F. Combs, B. S., Rowland S. Cross, B. A., Ida Elwell (Tilson), B. S., William Foulkes, B. A., Oscar E. Hanson, B. S., Marietta Hunter, B. S., Harriet A. Johnson (Foulkes), B. S., Henry B. Miter, B. A., Charles M. Pond, B. S., Jesse F. Taintor, B. A., Frederick W. Rogers, B. S. Class of 1874-Emma W. Blair, B. S., Isabella V. Campbell (Blakely), B. S., Ezra P. Chit- tenden, B. A., Edward Evans, B. A., William F. Hillman, B. A., Almira I. Hobert, B. S., Benjamin F. Thomas, B. S. Class of 1875-Carroll Atwood, B. S., Rosina E. Batson, B. A. John W. Hargrave, B. A., Mary E. Harris. B. S., Silas H. Hillman, B. S., Kossouth K. Kennan, B. A., Mary A. MeAssey (Pinch), B. A., Albert J. Miller, B. A., John W. Pinch, B. A., Pearse Pinch, B. A., Adelaide A. Sargent, B. S., Jeannie C. Sherwood, B. S., Lyman H. Warner, B. A. Class of 1876-John G. Ingalls, B. S., Louis K. Strong. B. S., John W. Savage, B. S. Class of 1877-Joseph H. Bottum, B. S., Ada Clark, B. A., David Davies, B. A., David E. Evans, B. A., Charles W. Headley, B. A., Susan A. Jeffris, B. S., Williams M. Lewis, B. A., Perry Niskern, B. A., Alonzo R. Northup, B. A. Class of 1878-Irenæus J. Atwood, B. A., Frederick A. Dawes, B. A., Sarah J. Sherman, B. S., Ella M. Slater, B. S., Abbie A. Strong, B. A., Frank N. White, B. A., Emma M. Williams, B. A. Class of 1879-Thomas Armstrong, Jr., B. S., Wells W. Cook, B. S .. Williard A. Hodge, B. A., Mary E. Hodge, B. S., Orville W. Mosher, B. A., Robert T. Roberts, B. S.

* Deceased.

NOTE .- The College has thus far conferred no honorary degrees.

CHAPTER VII.

A DIVORCE REFUSED-ORIGIN OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY-OLD SETTLERS' CLUB OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY-COMMON SCHOOLS-LITERATURE AND THE FINE ARTS-FOND DU LAC COUNTY'S WAR RECORD-A RETROSPECT.

A DIVORCE REFUSED.

Soon after the erection of Green Lake into a separate but small county, the people of Ripon began to agitate the matter of dividing Fond du Lac County and joining the western tier of towns on to Green Lake County, making Ripon the county seat. The matter has been agitated in various ways several times since, but only once has it been submitted to popular vote. The test has been made in the County Board whenever the question of a new Court House or the erection of other county buiklings has been raised. The people of Ripon always favored a division for the reason that it would benefit their city to have the county seat located within its limits, and the people of Fond du Lac always opposed the division for the reason that the smaller the territory in any county the higher will be the taxes necessary to maintain a county government. Finally, in 1859, the Legislature passed the following bill, at the instance and through the exertions of Alvan E. Bovay, then member of the Assembly from Ripon :

An Act to annex a part of the County of Fond du Lac to the County of Green Lake.

The People of the State of Wisconsin represented in Senate and Assembly do enact as follows :

SECTION 1. Township number 16 north, of Range number 14 east, embracing the territory of the town and city of Ripon, is hereby detached and set off from the county of Fond du Lac and attached and annexed to the county of Green Lake.

SEC. 2. This act is hereby submitted to a vote of the people of Fond du Lac County in the manner following : That is to say, on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November next, an election shall be held in the several towns and wards in said county, at which election any qualified elector of said county may vote " for detach- ing Ripon," or "against detaching Ripon," on a separate ballot written or printed, to be deposited in a box used only for such ballots ; such election shall be held in the several towns and wards during the same hours of the day as the election which is held for other purposes on that day, and the votes of the towns and wards severally, and of the whole county, shall be canvassed in the same manner as the votes for State Senator are canvassed in Fond du Lac County, and said canvass, when so made, shall be recorded by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of said county in his office, and a certified copy of the same shall be forthwith forwarded by said Clerk to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his office.

SEC. 3. The Sheriff of Fond du Lac County is hereby authorized and required to give notice of the election mentioned in the preceding section, by publishing a notice of the same for at least three weeks previous to said elec- tion, in at least two weekly newspapers of said county.

SEC. 4. If a majority of all the votes cast at such election in said county on this subject shall be " for detach- ing Ripon," then this act shall be in full force and effect from and after the Ist day of December, 1859.

SEC. 5. This act is hereby declared to be a public act, and it shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved March 11, 1859.

This bill was no sooner approved than the work of securing its adoption by popular vote was begun. The vigor of the campaign was astonishing. The Western Times, published at Ripon, declared the division should take place for the following reasons ;

" Our commercial relations have all been severed from Fond du Lac by the erection of the Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad. We are obliged to travel fifty miles by rail or twenty-four by wagon, requiring two days, to transact the smallest item of county business.

" Owing to the great dissimilarity of soil in the eastern and western towns, it has been, and will continue to be, a very difficult matter to equalize the assessments of the two localities satisfactorily.

" We are, to all intents and purposes, a foreign people to Fond du Lac.

" We are the commercial center of Green Lake County, most of the shipments of grain by the farmers of that county being made at Ripon.

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HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC COUNTY.

"We regret exceedingly the bitter warfare that must inevitably follow from the refusal of the citizens of Fond du Lac to consent to a peaceful separation. Having exhausted every other means to obtain a peaceable separation, we are now fully resolved to fight for it, and, if we do not conquer in peace, we shall be much mistaken in the result."

The scheme was defeated, although by no decided majority. The people of the western tier of towns, especially Ripon, exhibiting a most extraordinary capacity for voting. The whole number cast November 8, 1859, was 5,315, of which 2,604 were " for detaching Ripon," and 2,711 against the proposed separation. The year 1859 was jocularly referred to afterward as the one in which " Ripon granted universal suffrage."

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The history of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Part 76

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1082

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1082