Delaware County, Ohio - Chapter 12: Education (ii), 1908

Ohio Weslevan University

[This chapter is based largely on a history of the University prepared by Prof. Wm. G. Williams for the volume entitled "Fifty Years of History of the Ohio Wesleyan University," permission for the use of which was kindly granted by the University.]

The city of Delaware is largely indebted for its present size and importance to the location here of an educational institution of highest standing, of which it may well be proud. It was largely because of Ohio Wesleyan- University that the first railroad was brought into the city of Delaware, and today the university brings a volume of business amounting to at least $400,000 per annum into the city. It can be truthfully said, therefore, that the education of young men and young women at Ohio Wesleyan University is the leading industry of Delaware. The University was founded in 1844 and owes its location, if not its establishment at that particular date, to the famous White Sulphur Spring in Delaware. This spring had early attracted the attention of tourists and seekers after health. In order to accommodate these, and to encourage further patronage, two enterprising citizens, Thomas W. Powell, Esq., and Columbus W. Kent, erected, in the year 1833, on a spacious lot, embracing the spring, a fine hotel, which soon became known to the citizens as the Mansion House. The waters were salubrious and the locality healthful; and for some years the Mansion House was kept in successful operation. But the town of Delaware was not very widely known, and was not easily accessible, and it was perhaps, too early in the history of the State to hope for large returns from a business enterprise of

About this time the Methodist College at Augusta, in Kentucky, to which the Ohio Conference was contributory, had been suspended. Augusta was on the wrong side of the river to suit the growing anti-slavery sentiment of the Methodists in Ohio ; and it was already manifest that the school could never secure their patronage or contributions. Practically this largest Protestant denomination in the State was without a home institution for the education of her sons. The thoughtful men of the church were naturally solicitous in regard to the educational future of Ohio Methodism, but as yet no forward steps had been taken toward providing for these wants.

At this juncture it was suggested by the Rev. Adam Poe. the Methodist pastor in Delaware, that the citizens of the place should purchase the Spring property, and offer it to the Ohio and North Ohio Conferences of the Methodist Church, jointly, as a site for a college. This suggestion met with cordial approval.

The property thus proposed for a college site comprised about ten acres of ground, lying in the suburbs of Delaware, towards the southeast quarter of the town, and separated from the rest of the town by the insignificant "Delaware Run." Of this ground a part, on which the Mansion House stood, was held in fee simple; and the remainder, including the spring, by a perpetual lease without rent, from the corporation of Delaware. The investment in the grounds and buildings was about $25,000; but the owner offered to con- vey his interests in the entire property for $10,000. This sum, it was thought, could he raised by a subscription among the citizens of the town and county, and, accordingly, a delegation was appointed to wait on the conferences, and ascertain whether they would accept the property if conveyed to them as proposed.

The North Ohio Conference met August 11, 1841, at Wooster. To this body the delegation first applied. The conference considered the matter favorably and appointed a committee of five to confer with a like commitee to be appointed by the Ohio Conference. August 25th the delegation appeared before the Ohio Conference, at Urbana-. On the following day Dr. Charles Elliott and William P. Strickland were deputed by the conference to visit Delaware and examine the premises. They carried back a favorable report and many long remembered the Irish enthusiasm With which Dr. Elliott advocated the establishment of a Methodist college and the acceptance of this property. The conference was ready for the measure, and voted that it was expedient to establish a Methodist college in Ohio ; that the two conferences (embracing about two-thirds of the State) should unite in the enterprise, and that, if the Sulphur Spring property was conveyed to the church, on the terms proposed, Delaware should be selected as the seat of the college. A committee of five was appointed to act with the committee from the Northern Conference.

The joint committee thus constituted met at Delaware, September 1, 1841. The committee consisted of Revs. John H. Power, Adam Poe, Edward Thompson, James Brewster and William S. .Morrow, from the North Ohio Conference, and Revs. Jacob Young, James B. Finley, Charles Elliott, Edmund W. Sehon and Joseph M. Trimble, from the Ohio Conference. Of these distinguished men, to whom was committed this weighty responsibility, Dr. Joseph M. Trimble was, for many years, the last survivor, and died May 6, [891. The committee voted to accept the property if the citizens should perfect their offer, and if

The way being thus prepared, a subscription was opened by the citizens and was signed by one hundred and seventy-two persons. No subscription exceeded $500 and the aggregate amounted to but $9,000. That the movement might no,t Mail, certain parties, trusting to future local subscriptions, obligated themselves for the deficit. But no further subscriptions were obtained, and some years afterwards, $500 were raised by voluntary contributions among the ministers in the North Ohio Conference, to relieve the Rev. Adam Poe from the payment of a note given on this account. Such was the difficulty, at that time, of raising even this small sum for an enterprise which, as the citizens said in the preamble to their subscription, "would greatly add to the value of property in the town and county, and be of great public utility and benefit."

But the town was small; at the United States census the year before, 1840, the population was but 893 ; there was not much business and there' was but little accumulated wealth in the community. The inducement they offered to secure the location of a college, destined to be the central institution of a great church, was absurdly small. But the amount raised in Delaware was the just measure of the ability of the place at that time. The University was welcomed to the town, and it has often since met with a generous response from the citizens to its appeals for aid. On the other hand, it has brought with it population, and wealth, and prosperity to the town.

The Conference Committee met November 17, 1841, and received from Mr. Powell a bond for the conveyance of the property donated by the citizens. The title was finally passed in 1850, to the Board of Trustees. In addition to the ten acres thus conveyed, the committee purchased from Judge Powell an adjacent property on the south, of five acres, at a cost of $5,500, and the furniture of the Mansion House at about $2,000 more. Dr. Trimble paid Judge Powell fifty dollars as an earnest to bind the contract for the additional

Immediate steps were now taken looking to a formal organization. A committee composed of Jacob Young", Joseph M. Trimble and Adam Poe was appointed to apply to the Legislature for an act of incorporation. A special charter, under the old State Constitution, conferring university powers, was granted by the Legislature March 7, 1842. The corporate powers were vested in a hoard of twenty-one persons from different parts of the State. These were William Neff, Samuel Williams, ex-Governor Allen Trimble, Lemuel Reynolds, Thomas Orr, William Bishop, William Armstrong, Rev. James B. Finley, Rev. Jacob Young, Rev. Edmund W. Sehon, Rev. Leonidas L. Hamline, Judge Patrick G. Goode. George B. Arnold, ex-Governor Mordacai Bartley, Frederick C. Welch. Wilder Joy. Henry Ehbert, John H. Harris, Rev. Adam Poe, Rev. William Burke. Rev. Leonard B. Gurley. These men were of prominence in state or in church. They have long since yielded their places to others. Dr. Gurley, the last survivor, died in 1880, at the ripe age of seventy-six years. Of these trustees, though the charter did not so prescribe, fourteen were laymen and seven were ministers ; and this ratio of ministers and laymen has always been kept in filling vacancies. By the provisions of the charter, the corporators at first held their office for life. The right of perpetuation of the Board was vested in the two patronizing conferences, each appointing to all existing vacancies, alternately. These conferences were afterwards divided into four, each with the same right of appointment. The arrangement for alternate appointment continued until 1869. when, by a general law of the State, under the new Constitution, the president of the University was made, ex-officio, a member of the Board, and the remaining twenty members were divided into four classes of five each, which were assigned, severally, to the four conferences, and the tenure of office was reduced to five years, so that each conference should annually elect one trustee for the period of five years. In 1S71 the charter was further so modified as to give the Association of Alumni a representation on the Board equal to that of each Annual conference; and in 1883 the West Virginia Conference was admitted as one of the patronizing bodies, with equal right of representation in the Board.

One of the conditions of the donation to the church was that the academic work of the college should be begun within five years ; but the committees from the conferences did not wait even until the organization of the Board of Trustees. It was thought best to commence this work immediately, and a sub-committee was appointed to secure teachers and open a preparatory school. This committee at once engaged Captain James D. Cobb, a graduate of West Point and an ex-army officer, as instructor in the new school for 1841- 42. Captain Cobb was about fifty years of age and was assisted by his son. It was arranged that he should have the free use of the Mansion -House, but look to tuition for his compensation. He had a mixed school of boys and girls. At the end of the school year Captain Cobb resigned his place and moved to the South for his health.

The Board of Trustees held their first meeting at Hamilton, where the Ohio Conference was in session, October 1, 1842. At this meeting the Board elected the Rev. Edward Thomson, at that time the principal of Norwalk Seminary, to the presidency of the LJniversity, with the understanding that the appointment was only nominal for the present, but a pledge to the church and the public that a college faculty would be appointed and the college opened at no distant day. The Board, however, determined that a Preparatory School should meanwhile be maintained, and appointed the Rev. Solomon Howard as principal, with authority to employ his own assistants. He was given the use of the buildings and furniture, and was expected to get his support from the tuition fees of the pupils. Prof. Howard began his school November 1, 1842, and continued it successfully for two years. Both sexes were still admitted, and the atendance was largelv local. He had at first but four little boys as his pupils, but the number for the year was 130. During the second year of his school he was assisted by Mr. Flavel A. Dickinson, a recent graduate of Yale, who had taught one year as principal of the Delaware Academy, and who brought his school over "en masse."

Though no large immediate income was to be expected from subscriptions or from tuition, yet the Board of Trustees felt great confidence in the final success of a school supported by the large numbers and the growing wealth of the Methodist Church in Ohio. Relying upon these the Board, September 25, 1844, resolved to organize a faculty to open the institution with a college curriculum and college classes. Dr. Thomson, who had recently been elected editor of the Ladies' Repository, was re-appointed president, though again with the understanding that he should not immediately enter upon duty. As it was foreseen that the school would for a while be small, and the income limited, the Board established but four additional places, and made the following appointments : Rev. Herman M. Johnson, professor of Ancient Languages; Rev. Solomon Howard, professor of Mathematics; William G. Williams, principal of the Preparatory Department; Enoch G. Dial, assistant in Preparatory Department.

The salaries paid, or rather promised, to these men were gauged by the resources which the Board hoped to have at their command by the end of the year. The president's salary, when he should enter upon duty, was fixed at $800; the professors were to be paid $600 each, and the teachers in the Preparatory Department $400 and $350 respectively, but it was many years before even these meager salaries were paid as they became due.

Wednesday, November 13. 1S44. was the day appointed and advertised fen- the opening of the school, hut the opening was less encouraging than had been hoped. Dr. Thomson was present but for a day or two, and did not enter upon duty tor nearly two years afterward, and Prof. Johnson was detained for many weeks. The other three teachers of the five who were appointed to positions in the faculty, met in the basement of the Mansion House, the former dining room, which had been temporarily fitted up as a chapel, and proceeded to enroll the students applying for admission to the classes. Only twenty-nine presented themselves. This was a smaller number than had previously attended the preparatory schools under Captain Cobb and Prof. Howard. But the students now were all males of a mature age, and more advanced standing, and most of them were from other parts of the state. From this small number the faculty were able to organize all the college classes below senior, though the representation in the upper classes was very small. By the end of the year there were only two juniors, two sophomores, fourteen freshmen, and there were ninety-two in the Preparatory and other courses. Such was the initial cata- 1< >gue of a university, which, long before its jubilee year, enrolled more than forty times the first number of students, annually, and graduates more than a hundred at a time.

Endowment

Education, the world over, is largely a gratuity, and especially so in the higher institutions of learning. In the older and better endowed colleges, no student pays a 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 something realized in the benefactions of wealthy men. But in former times, in the Western country, neither State nor denominational schools could afford to wait for the accumulation of all these befi ire beginning their work, and the result was, that most of our schools were started upon very meager foundations. Such was the case with Ohio Wesleyan University. The Board of Trustees started with nothing, and were in debt. To secure a present support and a fu-

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 of $7,- 000 for the purchase money was all paid. We have seen that the conferences early devised plans for the endowment of the University. In 1843 tne 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 hearer to tuition, at the rate of $100 for five years. The following year the North Ohio Conference appointed similar agents to work within its bounds. These agents, in the course of two years, obtained subscriptions and notes for scholarships to the amount of about $30,000, and some donations of land worth, perhaps $15,000 more. The interest on these notes and some tuition fees, constituted the sole revenue of the institution for the support of the faculty. Tuition for the regular Academic studies was early fixed at $30 a year ; and it has never been changed, though, since the era of cheap scholarships, no student has paid tuition. Art studies alone are not covered by the scholarships. As the sale of scholarships progressed, the tuition gradually fell to nothing. Perhaps two or three hundred of these higher priced scholarships were sold, mostly "on time," but, unfortunately, many of them were never paid for, though the tuition had been promptly claimed and enjoyed. 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 perceptibly increase. At the end of six years, the total net assets were estimated at only $70,000, and, of this, the endowment money and subscriptions reached only $54,000. The institution was still on the borders of inanition. It was evident, that, unless a more effective policy was adopted, the school was destined to failure, dr, at best, to a feeble existence.

At length, in the summer of 1849. tne faculty, upon the suggestion of Prof. 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 trustees 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 jeopardize 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, $29; (3) for six years' tuition, $25; (4) for eight years' tuition, $30. Unlike the old series of scholarships, the new ones were to be paid for in full before they were used.

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 quieted all criticisms. Three agents wer 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 sufficent to raise the nominal endowment, in 1854, to a round $100,000.

The exact number of scholarships sold was 3.740, calling for a little more than 25,- 000 years of tuition. It was estimated that an average annual attendance of 500 students would exhaust this large aggregate in fifty years. As the attendance has not averaged this figure, the period for the final retirement of the scholarships may he somewhat prolonged. Subsequently, the agents, under the authority of the Board, issued a few hundred additional scholarships to the value of money or lands ostensibly given to the University, but for which the institution paid a full equivalent. But this policy has now been

Part of this amount was still in unproductive land, and is in uncollected scholarship notes. But the income for the following year, 1855, was estimated to be $8,500, which the committee of Ways and Means, in their report to the Board, say "will be amply sufficient to meet and defray all current expenses." In view of this hopeful condition of the finances, the salaries of the facultywere 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 decennium saw the institution in a healthful financial condition, and with good prospects for the future.

The conference agencies for the endowment and building fund were continued for some years and the endowment slowly increased for a number of years. At length, in 1866, the centennial year of American Methodism, a general advance was made throughout the connection. Educational interests were everywhere the foremost, and, in Ohio, the result of the effort was a large addition t> 1 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. Unfortunately, the resources for building and grounds did not prove as ample as was hoped, and, after the "hard times" of 1873 set m< '* was deemed necessary to draw upon the endowment fund for these purposes. About $40,000 were thus consumed. The growth of this fund has, nevertheless, been so constant, that the heavy draft upon it was soon more than made good.

Buildings And Grounds

The original college campus included the ten acres donated by the citizens, and the five acres bought by the conference committees. Additional purchases of ground were subsequently made at an expense of over .$20,- 000, until now the campus contains about twenty-five acres lying in one continuous tract, .besides the ten acres where Monnett Hall stands. In addition to these tracts, the University purchased at a cost of a little more than $10,000, what is commonly spoken of as "The Barnes Property," where Prof. Davies now resides and where the Observatory is located. On the added lot of five acres (already referred to), purchased from Judge Powell, was a comfortable cottage near the street, the home of Mr. Powell. This was subsequently occupied by the president of the college, or by one of the professors, until 1856, when it was sold and moved off the campus. In the rear of this cottage, and in front of the present Sturges Hall, was a row of a half-dozen or more summer cottages, built for the accommodation of the guests of the Mansion House during the watering season. In 1855. all these buildings were removed, leaving the space in front of the University buildings open for the planting of additional shade trees.

The College Campus 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 reconstructing the surface, making walks and drives, draining and planting. Since that time the low ground in the later additions has been filled in and regraded. Since i860, more than 1 ,000 varieties of .domestic or exotic trees and shrubs have been planted and properly labeled.

The college buildings rank among the best for architectural beauty and convenience. Elliott Hall, formerly "The Old Mansion House," was built for visitors seeking the invigorating climate and the health-giving waters of Delaware. It is three stories and a half high with a basement. It was of frame, lathed and cemented on the outside, but the interior was finely finished in walnut and tastefully decorated with plaster mouldings. The drawing-room and parlors on the first floor, and some of the large rooms on the second floor, were converted into recitation rooms or the professors' studies. The chambers on the third tioor were let to students, until, some years later, they also were needed for general purposes. In the basement, the old Mansion House dining-room was reconstructed into the college chapel, and the large kitchen, with its huge fireplace and brick oven, became the lecture-room and laboratory for the professor of Natural Science. On the south side of the main building was a large two-story annex, which was let as a boarding house to a steward for the accommodation of two or three of the faculty and a half-score of students who had rooms in the building. In the rear of the Mansion House, on the east side, were long wide porches, level with the first and second floors. 12 and 25 feet from the ground. In 1S48, the boarding house was discontinued : the cement outside of the main building was replaced with a good close-jointed covering. The lofty and unsafe porches were, torn down, and the annex removed to a location near the spring. Here it was let to students, and, happily, was soon burned down. In 1892, Elliott Hall was removed to its present location, and placed in good repair. It has served educational purposes well for upward of sixty years, and its desirable recitation rooms may be in use for at least another half century. The department of physics occupies the first two floors of this hall. On the third and fourth floors are the rooms of the School of Business. In the rear of the building and connecting with it is the Engineering Annex, erected during the summer of 1905, at a cost of $5,800, which was borne by Messrs. David S. Gray and William R. Walker, both of Columbus, Ohio. It contains the apparatus necessary for instruction in the courses in wood and metal turning, and in engineering.

Thompson Chapel. The corner-stone of this building was laid on July 26, 185 1. during Commencement Week, and was dedicated the following year. Its cost was about $20.- 000. The structure was in the Doric style of architecture, three stories in height, and measured 85 by 55 feet. The main audienceroom, 23 feet high, covered the entire upper floor. The capacity of this room was about 600 sittings, which was then thought the utmost probable need of the institution for years to come. The building stood on the site of the present library, and was named in honor of the first president of the University. The Lecture Association of the students in 1874 contributed $800 toward the furnishing if the chapel : and by the efforts of the faculty and the senior class, a fine organ was installed at a cost of $1,600. By this time the audienceroom had grown too small for ail occasions except daily prayers, and as early as 1885, the student-body had increased to such proportions that it became necessary to excuse a number of students from attendance at the daily exercises for lack of room. From 1889 to 1891. the daily chapel services were held in the auditorium of St. Paul's Church. This arrangement was found inconvenient, and Thomson Chapel again came into use. in September, 1 89 1. but with the prospect of adequate relief in the immediate future.

Sturges Hall. This building is named for Mr. William Sturges. of Putnam, Ohio, who in 1853. offered the University a liberal subscription for a library, on condition that within a year a further subscription of $15,- 000 should be secured for a suitable library building. Prof. Merrick undertook the agency for this, and raised the amount within a fewweeks. The building was finished and dedicated in 1856. The two lower stories were used by the literary societies of the Universitv. and the top floor served as library until the present Slocum Library was completed. At present the Hall contains the Chemical Laboratory, and lecture rooms and private office of the Professor of Chemistry. On the second floor are located the general collection of specimens illustrating structural and dynamic geology, and the Merrick-Trimble collection of minerals.

Merrick Hall is a substantial edifice, three stories high, and built of Delaware blue limestone. It contains the lecture-rooms and laboratories of the Departments of Geology and Zoology, and on the third floor the Museum of Natural History. The Board began the erection of tin's building" in 1869, but a failure of the building fund delayed the completion of the building until 1873. Its cost was about $40,000, a large portion of which was finally taken from the endowment fund. The Hall was named for a former president of the institution, Dr. Merrick.

Gray Chapel and University Hall. At the session in June. 1890, the Board of Trustees ordered the immediate erection of a University Hall that should furnish first and foremost the much-needed college chapel, and also more and better accommodations for the academic work of the institution. The cornerstone was laid June 18, 1891, and it took two years to complete the building. It is a massive stone structure, 160 feet long, 150 feet deep, and four stories high. The entire pile bears the name of University Hall. It includes the chapel, now called Gray Chapel, in commemoration of the noble life of Rev. David Gray, a venerable pioneer preacher in Ohio, the father of David S. Gray, Esq., of Columbus, Ohio, president of the Board of Trustees, who gave $27,000 toward the building fund, and through whose generosity and leadership the erection of the building was so promptly assured. This beautiful auditorium seats 2.000 persons, and can be enlarged by the opening of the adjacent lecture-room for the accommodation of 400 more. The chapel is octagonal in form, with the floor rising from the rostrum with a slight incline. The seats are arranged in seven sectors, with aisles radiating from the pulpit as a center. A spacious gallery, with seats placed in ascending tiers, extends two-thirds of the circumference of the room. The dome in the center of the chapel rises to a height of fiftysix feet from the floor. It is lit from above by clay with beautiful opalescent glass, and by night from dome, gallery and walls with hundreds of incandescent electric lamps. The splendid organ was built by the Roosevelts, and cost $15,000.

The University Hall contains, besides the chapel, a commodious and well-furnished hall for the Young Men's Christian Association, capable of seating 500 persons; several lecturerooms, ten recitation-rooms, six society halls, the administrative offices, professors' studies, ladies' parlors, wide corridors and other needed conveniences. The cost of this structure aggregated $180,000. The building stands on the original site of the "Old Mansion House."

The Slocum Library building bears the name of Dr. Charles Elihu Slocum, by whose generosity, its erection in 1897 became possible, he being the chief contributor to the buildingfund. The building stands on the site formerly occupied by the Thomson Chapel. It is 1 15 by 125 feet in dimensions, built of Bedf< n'd limestone, three stories high. The stack room has an estimated capacity for 175,000 volumes. The reading-room, finely lighted from above, is 60 by 100 feet in size. In addition to the administrative offices of the library, the building contains a series of rooms equipped for seminary use, and several classand lecture-rooms.

The first ten years of the University were years of limited outlay. During these years, however, the need of a library was not only recognized but steps were taken to meet it. The agents of the University were authorized to solicit books wherever they could and 700 fairly well chosen volumes were the result of their efforts.

In 1853 Mr. William Sturges of Zanesville, Ohio, offered to give $10,000 for books if the church would build a library buildingcosting $15,000. By this time about 3. OOO volumes had been acquired by gift and solicitation. In a short time after the offer of Mr. Sturges. sufficient pledges were secured for the erection of a building which was begun in 1855, and dedicated in 1856.

Meanwhile, President Thompson visited Europe and purchased a valuable library of about 3,000 volumes with the money - $6,- 600 - paid by Mr. Sturges. Contributions were also received from Dr. Joseph Trimble and William A. Ingham, members of the Board of Trustees. After Dr. Ingham's death, his widow placed in the library about 500 of bis private books. The widow of the late Dr. Charles Elliott gave the bulk of his private library, rich in patriotic and controversial literature. The widow of Dr. James

F. Chalfant, of the Cincinnati conference, gave his select library, consisting largely of philosophical books. Benjamin St. James Fry. editor of the "Central Christian Advocate," St. Louis, Mo., left his library of Methodist Church history. Bishop Isaac W. Wiley bequeather to the University his library in memory of his son. The friends of Rev. John X. Irwin. D. D., an alumnus of the class of 1S70. purchased his library for the University. John O. McDowell. M. D., an alumnus and trustee of the University, bequeathed his library of over 300 volumes as a foundation for a medical library. This collection was supplemented by a gift from Mrs. Philip Roettinger, of Cincinnati, of about 200 volumes from the library of her father. A. C. McChesney. M. D., of Cincinnati. John W. King, an alumnus and trustee, secured for the library fairly complete sets of the great English quarterly reviews and monthlies. Several of the University clubs, especially the Delaware Association of Alumni, contributed liberally. Numerous individuals made special additions of books in art, criticism, historical research and English literature. Being a depository, the library received copies of all United States Government publications as well as Ohio State documents. In 1898, the Slocum Library building was dedicated, having been completed at a cost of about $65,000.

After the library was removed to this building. Dr. M. J. Cramer, ex-consul to Germany, bequeathed his library of 5.000 volumes. John Williams White, Ph. D., professor of Greek in Harvard University, a member of the class of 1868. purchased abroad a library of 2,000 volumes, which constituted a working library in Greek and Latin. At the time of removal into the new building, the total number of volumes owned by the library was 24.870. The number of accessions by gift. exchange, binding and purchase now equals 55,148. The number of periodicals received has been increased three fold now numbering about 400. The library is now open seventythree hours per week, an increase of twentynine hours and the recorded circulation for 1906-07 was 31.710; which does not take into

Of even more importance than this growth and increased use of the library, is the steady progress made in library administration. The introduction of modern library methods has resulted in a working library well fitted to supply the needs of a thousand students.

Athletics. In 1888 the students took up among themselves a subscription of about $800 for a gymnasium. The Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, of the class of 1872. added $2,000 to this amount. The total cost of the building which is located southeast of Elliott Hall, was $5,000, the balance being paid from the general fund of the University. The gymnasium was equipped with the needful apparatus, but did not prove as successful or as useful as was hoped, for the want of a competent trainer, who could devote his time to this work. The Athletic Association of the students was formed in 1890, and has been carried on with characteristic interest. The University appropriated two acres of ground for this purpose, and the Association fenced the grounds, graded the surface and erected a grandstand for spectators. The cost of these improvements borne by the Association was about $2,000.

The John Edwards Gymnasium was named for the late Mr. John Edwards, at the time of his death a member of the Board of Trustees of the University, and whose widow and son were the principal contributors to the building fund. The Gymnasium cost about $75,000, and was opened February 22, 1908. It is a rectangular structure 150 by 83 feet, with one projecting bay in front and two in the rear, to accommodate the stairways - a solid and substantial building, the first nine feet of stone, the remainder of brick, with stone trimmings, and the roof of red tile. In the basement are a swimming-pool 50 feet long and 22 feet wide, having a water depth of four feet at one end and seven feet at the other, the gift of Mr. Z. L. White, a trustee of the University, and several large courts that can be used for hand-ball, bowling alleys and drill rooms for the military companies of the University. The second tl « ir

. contains the administrative offices of the Director of the Gymnasium, a locker room having a capacity of 700 lockers, and bath and toweling rooms. On the third floor is the main gymnasium, 150 feet by S3 feet, which is equipped with all the necessary apparatus for a complete gymnasium. Above it and suspended from the roof is a running track of fifteen laps to the mile. The main floor will accommodate banquet tables for 1 ,200 persons, and for such occasions there is a fully equipped kitchen with 7,000 dishes.

The athletic field is located east of the gymnasium. It is 000 feet long and 400 feet wide. There is a quarter-mile oval track and a 100-yard straight-away. The field is almost level, but is a little higher in the middle. The surface water runs to the track and straightaway which carry the tile for drainage. The grand stand and bleachers are located at the west end of the field and have a capacity of 1. 000. There are also several lawn tennis courts. The ticket office and gateway were built as a memorial by the class of 1807. The grading, fence, grand stand, bleachers and gateway cost $11,000.

Art Hall, formerly the residence of Mr. G. W. Campbell, was purchased at a cost of $5,000 by Dr. A. J. Lyon and Mrs. Abbie Parish, and presented by them to the Universitv in 1898. It is devoted to the work of the Art Department of the University.

Hartupee Hall, which was opened in 1899, was presented to the University by Dr. and Mrs. Gaylord H. Hartupee, to be used as the home of missionaries' children while they are being educated at the University. The house and property are maintained by contributions secured by a Board of Directors, an organization in no way connected with the University.

The Perkins Astronomical Observatory, which occupies an excellent site on the old Barnes property, is a handsome building of pressed brick, with a frontage of 62 feet. It includes a dome for the telescope, a transit room, clock room and computing and library room. It was built in 1892, and represents an investment of over Si 5,000.

Ohio Wesleyan University

The Cleveland College of Physicians and Surgeons was founded in 1863 by Dr. Gustav C. E. Weber, who, during the Civil War, was surgeon-general of the State of Ohio. It was then known as Charity Hospital Medical College, and was the pioneer in providing hospital and clinical advantages for its'students - this feature continues to be one of its chief aims for the junior and senior students.

In 1869 it became the Medical Department of the University of Wooster, ami remained as such until 1896, when it became affiliated with the Ohio Wesleyan University and received its present name. Its graduates holding diplomas as Doctors of Medicine from the Ohio Wesleyan University, are recognized as members of the Ohio Wesleyan Alumni Association, with all the rights and privileges pertaining to the same.

More room and better facilities were required to properly carry out the teachings made necessary in the advancement of laboratory work, and to this end the new building, at the corner of Central Avenue and Browned Street, in which the College is now established, was built, the value being conservatively placed at $60,000. It was completed and dedicated on November 22, 1900.

The Ohio Wesleyan Female College Monnett Hall

In the establishment of the University, while no provision was made for the education of women, there was a felt want that the daughters of the church should have 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 families whose sons were entered in the University. The first attempt to supply this demand was made by 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 encouraging; but, in 1852, Mr. Grissell found that he could no longer carry on the work with success. At this time the idea of a college for ladies was taking hold of the public mind, and several meetings of citizens who were interested were held in relation to the matter. Just at this time, in 1852, the parish now known as St. Paul's, in South Delaware, had been constituted of a small colony of about thirty members, mostly from William Street Methodist Church, of which the late Rev. John Ouiglev was appointed pastor. They met for worship in the chapel of Mr. Grissell'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. Accordingly, 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 successful college must be more eligible and the accommodations 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 homestead of the late William Little as the most desirable site in Delaware. This suggestion met with instant favor, and when it was found that the family consented to sell th^ property, an organization was at once effected and a subscription was opened to obtain the needed amount. The result was that in April. 1853. "The Ohio Wesleyan Female College" acquired "a local habitation and a nam..."

Among the incorporators, twenty in number, were Dr. Ralph Hills, Prof. William L. Harris. James C. Evans, Augustus A. Welch, Rev. Joseph Avers, and Prof. William G. Williams.

The property which the incorporators bought contained seven acres, to which three acres were subsequently added (1867). The price paid for the original purchase was $7,- 000, and for the addition nearlv as much nv >re.

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 chapel and large recitation rooms was erected as a temporary relief. This served the purpose for a few years, but the continued growth of the school led, in 1855, to larger plans. The southern wing of a building which was supposed to be large enough for the probable wants of the school was first erected ; then, after some years, the central block and the other wing.

The means for all this expenditure were raised mostly through the labors of agents appointed by the patronizing Conferences. Of these, the Rev. Joseph Avers, 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. 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. afterwards Mrs. John W. Bain, a pupil of the school, who, in 1857, gave $10,000 toward the building fund. Her timely help made the completion of the building certain and immediate ; and in recognition of her benefaction, the entire building bears the name of "Monnett Hall."

About 1870 the south wing of this building was injured by fire. The roof and the upper story were destroyed, and other parts deluged with water. But the operations of the school were not suspended, and the parts burned were immediately replaced, better than before.

The school was always self-supporting, and. for most of the time, the tutition and the boarding fees not only paid the faculty, but yielded some revenue for the general purposes of the institution. A scheme for an endowment by scholarships, similar to that of the

In 1866 certain ladies, mostly alumnae of the institution, organized themselves into an association to raise a fund for a college library. They soon had 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 alcove in the University library, gave this college $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 when the union of the schools took place ; and, in view of the large University library, which thus became accessible to the ladies, and the inability of the Board, the association forebore the formal collection of the amount.

The first president of the College was Prof. Oran Faville, M. A., of McKendree College, Illinois, and Mrs. Maria M. Faville was the first preceptress. Their united salary was fixed at $1,000. A number of other teachers were appointed in the academic and musical departments. The first term opened August 4, 1853, and the calendar was arranged to agree with that of the University. The enrollment the first year was 159, and the number of pupils attending each year afterwards generally largely exceeded 200, and sometimes reached 300. In 1 855 President Faville's health compelled his resignation and he removed to Iowa, of which State he was subsequently lieutenant-governor, and commissioner of public instruction. His successors were the Rev. James A. Dean, who remained but a short time, and Rev. Charles D. Burritt, who also resigned before the end of a year. The Rev. Park S. Donelson, D. D.. was elected in 1856, and remained President for seventeen years, until 1873, when he resigned to engage in pastoral work. The next President, and the last before the union of the two institutions, was William Richardson, M. A., who had been favorably known in public school work, and who, in 1877, resigned to reenter that field.

The degrees conferred by the institution were Mistress of Liberal Arts for those who took the classical course, and Mistress of English Literature for those who took the scientific course. The classical course embraced studies largely the same, at first, as those in the University, except Greek. This language, too, was finally included as optional, and upon the few who took the entire course the degree of Eiachelor of Arts was conferred.

The graduates of the College numbered, in 1877, when the union with the University took place, over 400. They have long had an alumnae organization, and the local graduates have, for many years, maintained a literary association with monthly re-unions.

One of the original articles of association, adopted in 1853, provided that it at any time the union of the two institutions could legally be effected, it should be brought alxxit. It was not until a quarter of a century had passed that the friends of this movement felt strong enough to bring to fruition the hope that had been entertained by some, at least, of those who had participated in the establishment of the College.

In 1877. the Board of the University adopted a resolution, that, if the trustees of the Female College should discontinue the academic work of that school, and transfer the property, free from debt, to the trustees of the University, they would accept the property, and open the University to the ladies, and would establish a special course of study of high order for ladies, with appropriate degrees for the completion of the course. The proposition was accepted. A debt of about $9,000, which had been incurred for additions to the campus, was paid by the Ohio Central Conference from the amount raised for the University by its agents ; and thus the University came into the unincumbered possession of a property worth at least $100,000. had an addition of nearly 200 students per annum to its enrollment, and ,gained an increase of thirty per cent, in its income. There were other gains. The union of the schools removed a distracting question from the councils of the University and the Church, put this large and influential school abreast of the sentiment and progress of the age, and concentrated upon itself the interest and the benefactions which had been diverted to another institution, or altogether lost between the conflicting claims of the two rival schools. The advantages from the union of the schools and from co-education of the sexes are so manifest and so great, that, in summing up the result, minor inconveniences can be patiently adjusted or quietly ignored. There has also been a reflex beneficial influence on the development of the Ladies' Department. The expensive tuition fees were at once cancelled, as all the ladies were admitted to the University on scholarships. The attendance of ladies rapidly grew to three times what it was the year before the union was consummated. In 1876 the number of ladies was 172; for the five years prior to 1894, it ranged from 444 to 537; the enrollment for the fall term in 1907 was 502. This number is far beyond what the founders of the Female College expected in their most sanguine hopes. In 1890 the building was enlarged to twice its former size, at a cost of over $50,000. The old Monnett Hall of the Female College, with its two wings and central block, is now, in fact, but one of the wings of the new Monnett Hall of Ohio Wesleyan University. The building as it now stands is 200 feet long, 100 feet wide, and four stories in height. This large building has ample accommodations for 250 ladies, giving each a separate room or suite of rooms. The upper floors are accessible by several wide stairways, or by an elevator. The building contains an assembly hall or chapel, conservatory of music, reception rooms, parlors, library and reading-room well supplied with books and periodicals, three halls for the ladies' literary societies, and a large. light dinine-room.

The veranda of Monnett Hall was built at an expense of $5,000, which was paid by that generous friend of the University, Mr. D. S. Gray, of Columbus, Ohio. A loggia, or art annex, is being constructed. This will add fifteen feet to the width of the building for a distance of thirty-five feet, and in the space thus acquired, numerous works of art will be placed. The cost of this improvement will be about $2,500, which is being defrayed principally by Mrs. Anna Clason. There are now about 3.000 volumes in Monnett library. At the beginning of the fall term of 1907, there were 502 young ladies enrolled at Monnett Hall ; of this number 260 reside at the Hall, besides officers, teachers and help. For the first six years, until 1883, Dr. W. F. Whitlock was Dean of Monnett Hall ; since that date Dr. C. B. Austin has filled the office.

Results Accomplished

A brief glance at the results actually ac-. complished by the University will be of interest. Unfortunately, the statistics have not been collated to date and we shall therefore have to content ourselves with a quotation from "Fifty Years of History," which brings the figures down to 1894.

"Two thousand one hundred and eightysix students have been graduated. About seven times that number have drunk at the same fountain for a longer or shorter period, in the earlier history of the institution the relative number of those not graduated was much larger than in recent years.

"Three hundred and seventy-seven graduates have been ministers of the Gospel, and six thousand five hundred years of service already stand to their credit. * * * After the war many of the graduates began to seek professional training in the leading universities of this country and of Europe, and have secured the degrees of M. A. and Ph. D. from them. More than one hundred have taken a full post-graduate course in law and received the degree of LL. B.. and are in the van of advocates and jurists in many of the

States of the Union. The same is true of the medical profession. Some sixty of the graduates have become college presidents, about three times this number college professors, and a still larger number have been instructors in academies and the public schools. Dr. Nelson estimates six thousand years of service in the work of teaching. * * * He also says that one hundred and forty-six homes have been built up in which both husband and wife are alumni of this institution ; that sixty of the University's grandchildren have been graduated ; and that great-grandchildren have already been enrolled.

"The statistics make clear what has long been the pride of trustees, faculty and friends - a prevailing missionary spirit. Sixty-four graduates and fifteen undergraduates have gone to the ends of the earth in the holy and heroic crusade of missionary work. They are in every mission field of the Church, save Africa. Such men as Drs. Nathan. Sites and H. H. Lowry in China; T. J. Scott and William A. Mansell, in India ; J. F. Thomson and Charles W. Drees, in South America, will indicate the cast and the efficiency of the workers sent forth."

The enrollment of students in the University for the first year was one hundred and ten and gradually increased until in 1850 it numbered two hundred and fifty-seven. The next year showed 506 names. This sudden increase was due to the system of cheap scholarships put into successful operation that year by the Board of Trustees. Since 1851 the attendance has always been large. Only once, in 1863. the dark year of the war. has the aggregate fallen as low as 300; and up to the union of the two schools it usually exceeded 400. After that event, the enrollment sprang at once to more than 600 and in two years went up to nearly a 1,000. The University has matriculated upwards of 26,000 students. The enrollment in the departments at Delaware, but not including in this statement the Medical College at Cleveland, is as follows for the past fourteen years: 1894, 785; 1895, 848; 1896, 763; 1897, 736; 1898, 775; 1899. -~2\ 1900. 757; 1901, 802; 1902, 800; 1903, 886; 1904,

905; 1905, 914:1906, 921; 1907, 1,003. The most cordial relations have always existed between the University and the citizens. No invidious class words are known here such as, in the University towns of the Old World, mark the antagonisms between the university and the people - "Gown and town;" "College and Philistines." Living as most of the students do, in the families of the citizens, intermingling in the same circles, attending the same churches, members of the same political or other organizations, many of the students coming from the families of the town and many of the students from other places finally intermarrying with the families here, there has been no possibility, as there has been no occasion, for antipathy between them.

Officers Of Instruction

Wesley Branch Rickey, B. L. Director of Athletics. John. Wesley Page, B. A.. Director of Gymnasium. William Henry Siebert, M. A., Professor of European History, Ohio State University, Lecturer in History.

Mary Elizabeth Davies, Instructor in German. Evelyn May Albright, M. A., Instructor in English. Nathaniel Waring Barnes, M. A., Instructor in English (Summer Session, 1907).

Robert Pelton Sibley, M. A., Instructor in English. Russell Hissey Erwine, B. L, Instructor in History. George Norton Thurston, B. S., Instructor in Physics.

Harriet Pyne Grove, B. L., Instructor in Latin. Homer Calvin Bayliss, Instructor in Engineering. Daniel Abraham Ferree. Instructor in Mathematics. Edith Salmans, Instructor in Spanish. Jason McVay Austin, Major of Cadet Battalion. Murray Thurston Titus, Leader of Cadet Band.

The Ohio Wesleyan Transcript

The official publication of the students of the University is the Ohio Wesleyam Transcript, a sixteen-page paper that is issued weekly during the academic year by a board of editors appointed after a competition. Its publication is vested in a permanent organization, consisting of the junior and senior members of the editorial staff in any single year and three representatives of the Faculty. This board administers the business affairs of the paper, passes on the work submitted by the candidates for vacancies on the editorial staff, and makes appointments to the staff. The editorial conduct of the paper is entirely in the hands of an editor-in-chief and his associates, who are responsible for its policy, and for the various departments, local, athletic, exchange, literary, and Monnett, which comprise the paper.

The Transcript was established in 1866 by Joseph B. Battelle. of the class of 1868. under the name of The Western Collegian; in 1873 the name was changed to The College Transcript. In 1874 the ladies of the senior class at Monnett were admitted to a representation on the editorial corps. In 1902. when the present method of competitive appointment was adopted, the name was changed to The Ohio Wesleyan Transcript. In 1888 Wilbur F. Copeland. of the class of 1889, started The Practical Student, a weeklv that for ten

1. The Rev. Edward Thomson, M. D., D. D., LL. D. He was torn in 1810, at Portsea, England ; but by growth and education he was an American. His home from early youth was at Wooster, Ohio. He received a good classical training, and afterward graduated in medicine at Philadelphia. In 1832 he entered the ministry, in the Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, anil at once became noted for his ability as a preacher and a writer. In 1838 he was chosen principal of the Norwalk Seminary, the first Methodist school in the State of Ohio. His success here established his reputation as an educator, and pointed him out as the fittest man for the presidency of the University, to which position he was elected first in 1842, and again in 1844. In the spring of the last named year, he was elected editor of the Ladies' Repository in Cincinnati, but resigned this office after two years' service, to assume the active duties of his position at Delaware. For fourteen years he filled and graced this office. No college president in the Church has shown larger administrative abilities, or won a more enviable place in the affections and admiration Mt' College and Church alike. In i860 he was called by the General Conference to edit the Christian Advocate, in New York; and again, in j 864, to the higher office of bishop in the Church. He died suddenly in Wheeling, W. \'a.. March 22, 1870.

President Thomson taught but little during his connection with the University. He usually had the senior class in one study, but he found his happiest field of instruction and influence in the Sunday lectures before the University. It was here that he made his wonderful power felt, and left the lasting impress of his thoughts and spirit on his rapt listeners. His lectures, whether written or extemporized, were models of sacred eloquence, worthy of any audience for their depth, beauty and fervor. Bishop Thomson's publications are numerous,

2. The Rev. Frederick Merrick, M. A. He was born January 29, 18 10, a native of Massachusetts, and was educated at the Wesleyan University, Conn. In 1836 he became principal of Amenia Seminary, New York, and in 1838, professor of Natural Science in Ohio University, Athens, and member of the Ohio Conference. For one year, 1842-43, he was pastor of the Methodist Church in Marietta. In 1843 tne Conference appointed him financial agent of Ohio Wesleyan University, to which institution he thereafter devoted his life for fifty-one years.

In 1845 he was elected professor of Natural Sciences, and was made acting president for the year, until Dr. Thomson entered upon duty. In 185 1 he was transferred to the chair of Moral Philosophy; and, on the resignation of President Thomson, in i860, he was chosen as his successor. He held the office for thirteen years; and then, in 1873, m view of failing strength, he resigned the presidency, and was appointed lecturer on Natural and Revealed Religion. This relation to the college he sustained for twenty-one years, until his death. In addition to his other duties, President Merrick was auditor of the University for nearly forty years, and often acted as its agent in raising the endowment, or in getting funds for improvements upon the buildings and grounds. He died March 5, 1894.

President Merrick's life as an educator was one of marked excellence and influence. His interest in young people and his sympathy with them in their work were unbounded. As a teacher, his enthusiasm and devotion knew no limit. As a man of affairs, he possessed rare foresight, wisdom, and efficiency. His consecration, self-sacrifice, and generosity to the institution of which he was so great a part were complete. By his Christian zeal, earnest appeals, spiritual leadership and saintly character, he moved multitudes to a Christian life, and by the cultivation of a missionary spirit among the students, his influence has been felt to the ends of the earth, through those whom he inspired to go thither.

Ani<mg- all who knew him his presence was felt as a benediction, and the example of his daily life as an inspiration to a stronger Christian manhood. And the wise provision which he made in the "Merrick Lectures before the University" for the stated inculcation of religious principles and practice, will perpetuate his influence in the University, the Church and the world.

After President Merrick's resignation, the Rev. Fales Newhall, D. D., of Boston, was elected to the presidency; but. from prostration induced by intense and continued literary work, he was unable to enter upon his duty, and resigned his office the following" year. Dr. Newhall died April 6, 1883. The University meanwhile, and until the accession of his successor, was for three years successfully administered by Prof. McCabe, the senior and vice-president of the University.

3. The Rev. Charles H. Payne, D. D., LL. D. President Payne was born at Taunton, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1856 at Wesleyan University, Middletown. Connecticut. He taught several terms in his early years, and was tutor for six months after graduation, but spent most of his life in the ministry. A vigorous thinker, an accomplished speaker and writer, and a devoted pastor, he served some of the leading Methodist churches in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. It was from this last city that he was called to the presidency of the University in 1875. He took his seat the following year. His administration began in the gloomiest days of financial depression ; but the growth of the University during his administration was rapid and great. A quickened interest for the University was felt throughout the Church ; the patronizing Conferences were stimulated to renewed efforts for the endowment ; the school was advertised on a much more liberal scale than before; the area of its patronage greatly enlarged ; and, not least, the University and the Female College were united. As the result of all these influences, both the enrollment and the income of the University were doubled in a few years, and the endowment was largely increased. Dr. Payne was always alert for the interests of the University. It was during his administration that the beautiful President's House was built, in 1885 (on a lot given by Mr. Mast ) , at a cost of $10,000. Dr. Payne remained president for thirteen years, until his election by the General Conference to the office of corresponding secretary of the Board of Education.

4. The Rev. James W. Bashford. Ph. D., D. D., was born in Wisconsin. He graduated at the University of Wisconsin in 1873, and was elected tutor in Greek. He took postgraduate courses in Boston University, in theology, oratory and philosophy, completing these courses in 1879. In 1880, and again in 1887, Dr. and Mrs. Bashford spent many months abroad, traveling and visiting the German universities. His pastoral work began while he was a student in the School of Theology ; and he here revealed the characteristics that were to make his ministry so marked a success. He subsequently filled leading pastorates in Portland and Buffalo. He declined repeated invitations to professorships and to the presidency of colleges, but in 1889 accepted his election to the presidency of Ohio Wesleyan University as a call from God.

President Bashford's genial personal qualities, and his remarkable ability and versatility in the class-room, in the religious culture of the students, and in the management of affairs, gave him a strong hold on the University. During his administration, the growth of the school was rapid, constant and gratifying. Its scholastic, religious and material interests were never more promising. The courses of study were reconstructed, the work better digested and distributed, the faculty strengthened, the enrollment of students greatly increased, the buildings doubled in extent and convenience, and the endowment increased one-third. Dr. Bashford resigned on June 14, 1904. During the interregnum, Dr. William F. Whitlock served as acting-president.

New York City, November 4, 1862, where his father, Peter A. Welch, was engaged in business as a merchant. He was graduated from the New York grammar schools, with the Girard medal, in 1877. He subsequently entered Brooklyn College and Polytechnic Institute and was graduated therefrom in 1880 with a diploma for proficiency in the scientific course. He then spent two years in classical study and in 1882 entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., where he continued as a student for several years, being graduated in 1887 with the degree of B. A. He was out of college, however, in 1884 and 1885. In 1890, after a three years' course he was graduated from the Drew Theological Seminary with the degree of B. D.. and in the same year obtained his M. A. degree from Wesleyan University. He received that of D. D. from the same college in 1902, and that of LL. D. in 1906. In 1902-03 he was a student in Oxford University, England.

After his graduation from Drew Seminary Dr. Welch filled successively various pastorates in the New York Conference and afterwards in the New York East Conference; he was pastor of the First Church at Middle - town, Conn., in 1898- 1902, and pastor of the Chester Hill Church. Mt. Vernon, N. Y., 1903-1905. In the year last mentioned he accepted and entered upon the duties of his present position as president of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. His services in this capacity have been eminently satisfactory. Dr. Welch is the author of various scholarly contributions to religious literature and is active in promoting various educational, missionary and other religious and philanthropic enterprises. Several years of his life have been spent in travel in the United States, Canada and Europe. He was married in 1 891 to Adelaide F. McGee, of Plainfield, New Jersey, and has two children - both daughters.