Hancock County, Illinois - Chapter 16: Educational, 1880

Chapter 16: Educational

lu a new country and among pioneers, is not the place where prosperous colleges and seminaries, or even high schools, are usually found. Hence common schools, and, in many instances, vei-y "common" ones at that, were the best means of education in Hancock county in the early days. These, so far as we have been able to report them, will be mentioned in another chapter under the head of Township Histories.

We shall here group together notices of a few eiforts made in the direction of higher education begun in the county, - only the last mentioned of which has been attended with much success.

Caethage Female Seminary

The first educational enterprise begun in Hancock county was that known as the " Carthage Female High School and Teachers' Seminary." With Rev. Thomas H. Owen in the Senate and Mark Aldrich in the House of Representatives, a charter was passed through the Legislature, and approved Feb. 15, 1837, incorporating an institution under the above name, and to be located within one mile of Carthage. Rev. John Lawton was mainly instrumental in getting up and perfecting the bill. By the charter the institution was to be made open to the pupils of all denominations, and no profession of religious faith was to be required. Liberty was also given the Board of Trustees to introduce a system of manual labor, whenever they deemed it best.

The following named citizens of the county were the corporators mentioned in the charter: Sidney H. Little, David W. Mathews, Samuel Marshall, Benjamin F. Marsh, Thomas H. Owen, Mark Aldrich, John Lawton, Samuel M. Newhall, Walter Bagby, Thomas Gregg, Ellis Hughes, Homer Brown, E. D. Vandervoort, David Greenleaf, Michael Rickard, Valentine Wilson, Wesley Williams, Julius A. Reed, Ero Chandler and Cyrus Felt.

These twenty corporators were carefully selected from the various sects and shades of religious opinion. No action was taken under the charter till 1S41. In August of that year, a meeting of the trustees was held at Warsaw, at which an organization was effected, with Mr. Marsh as president, and Mr. Gregg, secretary. Rev. Lawton, then in New Hampshire, was appointed a general agent to solicit funds. Robert Miller and Rev. B. F. Morris were elected to fill vacancies occasioned by the deaths of Mr. Little and Mr. (435)

Newhall. At a subsequent meeting, held also at Warsaw, on Sept. 1, 1842, a letter was presented announcing the death of Mr. Lawton, at Hillsborough, jST. H., and that he had obtained in money, notes, books, etc., donations to the amount of about $1,100. These subscriptions were afterward returned to the donors by his administrator. At this meeting George Rockwell, John D. Mellen and Geo. A. Chittenden were elected trustees, in place of Dr. Marshall, resigned, and Messrs. Vandervoort and Reed, removed from the county.

Warsaw University

In the summer of 1840, we believe, under a charter from the State, an institution of learning was attempted at Warsaw, which was also to contain a medical department. Rev. Gideon B. Peny, D. D., was chosen its president, and a quasi preparatory department was set in motion in connection with the common school, while one or two professors stood ready to act whenever the way was opened and the pupils appeared.

A commencement day was appointed, and President Perry delivered an inaugural address; but commencement proved also to be its ending, and the Warsa\y University ceased to exist.

La Haepe Seminary

We come down now to a much later period. In or about 1876, the Protestant Methodist Church Conference conceived the plan of establishing a seminary of learning somewhere within its bounds. Consultations were held with the citizens of La Harpe, and it was finally agi'eed that if the citizens would raise the necessary funds for the ground and the building, the Conference would endow the institution. The citizens, with commendable pride and zeal, went to work and raised the sum of $15,000, and put up a neat and commodious edifice; but the Conference had counted too fast; the endowment money could not be raised, and the project fell through. The citizens now found themselves with the building on their hands, covered by a mechanic's lien to the extent of about $5,000. Thus matters stood till some time last year, when James Gittings, Esq., a wealthy farmer in the township, redeemed the building, and through the exertions of the citizens established a private school, under charge of Prof. Cassell, of Adrian College, Michigan. The school bids fair to become a success.

It was opened Sept. 3, 1879, under the following instructors: Literary Department, I. W. Cassell and Edgar Hurdle; Department of Music, Miss E. Beal; Department of Painting and Drawing, Miss Ada Shriver.

The seminary building is large and commodious, being one of tlie best buildings for school purposes in the State. It has an attendance of 75 scholars, and the facilities for instruction are amply provided for, and tlie corps of teachers sufficiently large to supply all the requirements of the several departments.

Carthage College

It had long been felt that an institution of learning of high grade was necessary to the best interests of the rapidly growing Church in the West. Several efforts had been made to establish such an institution, but without permanent success. The different Lutheran Synods in Illinois, and the one in Iowa, in connection with the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States, assured of the need of union and co-operation in the work of establishing a college, called an Educational Convention to meet at Dixon, Illinois, August 31, 1869. There were represented at that convention the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Northern Illinois, of Central Illinois, of Southern Illinois and of Iowa. The meeting was characterized by great harmony of sentiment and earnestness of purpose.

It was resolved to secure a location, and to proceed at once to establish a college of high grade. To carry this resolution into effect, a committee, consisting of three persons from each synod represented, was appointed. On the 29th of the following December this Commission met at Carthage to deliberate and to receive bids for the proposed college. Numerous competing towns presented inducements, but the fairest and most liberal offer was made by Carthage and Hancock county. They agreed to erect suitable buildings, on the condition that the Lutheran Church would provide the endowment. A local Board of Trustees was immediately constituted, of which James M. Randolph, M. D., was elected President, and David E. Head, Esq., was made Secretarv. Prominent in this movement were H. W. Draper, B. F. Scofield, R. W. McClaughry, A. J. Griffith, Boyd Braden, and other well-known citizens of Carthage and Hancock county.

In the summer of 1870 the local Board began the erection of the fine college building situated in the northeastern margin of the town, on a beautiful plat of ground containing seven acres. The corner-stone was laid on Wednesday, May 10, 1871, in presence of an immense assemblage of people, drawn together from the neighboring counties. The building, 85x65 feet, and four stories high, was completed in the autumn of 1873, at a cost of nearly thirty-five thousand dollars. Since that time eight acres of land have been added to the campus, and the whole ornamented with trees and shrubbery. Two large dormitories were erected in 1873, and a president's hoiise was purchased in 1S7-1. The cost of the buildings and grounds was nearly fifty thousand doUars.

5, 1870, in a rented hall in town, by Prof. L. F. M. Easterday, A.M., who had been Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in the Illinois State University. In the autumn of 1S71, the school was transferred to the college building. During the first two years Prof. Easterday was assisted b}^ Rev. C. Kuhl, who taught German. The school increased so rapidly in numbers in the second year, that it was deemed wise to provide a larger corps of instructors for the immediate future. This was done on the third dav of April, 1S72, by the election of Eev. D. L. Tressler, A.M.', of Lena, Illinois, as Professor of Ancient languages, and of Kev. J. D. Severinghaus, A.M., as Professor of the German language and other branches of study. Mr. Tressler accepted the position and began his work the following September; but Mr. Severinghaus having declined the call, Rev. 0. Kuhl was continued as instructor in German, and Mr. G. W. Fi-aser was made tutor in the Preparatory Department. The school still rapidly increasing in numbers, it became necessary to organize a college Faculty. Accordingly, on the twenty-sixth day of February, 1873, Prof D. L. Tressler, A.M., was elected President; Prof. L.F. M. Easterday, A.M., was continued as Professor of Mathematics and Astronomj'; Rev. J. W. Richard, A.M., of Empire, Illinois, was called to the chair of the Latin language and of History, aud Mr. F. R. Feitshans, A.M., was elected to the chair of the Greek and German languages. Mr. Feitshans having declined the position, Mr. E. S. Breidenbaugh, who had passed tlirough a course of scientific study at Tale College, was called to the chair of the Physical and Natural Sciences. Prof Breidenbaugh withdrew about the first of January, 1874, on account of failing health.

The Faculty, as first constituted, consisted of Rev. D. L. Tressler, A.M., President; L. F. M. Easterday, A.M., Professer of Mathematics and Astronomy; Rev. J-. W. Richard, A.M., Professor of the Latin language and of History; E. S. Breidenbaugh, A.M., Professor of the Physical and Natural Sciences, with Mr. W. S. Cress as tutor, and Mr. J. M. Helfrich, teacher of Music and instructor in German.

In May, 1874, Mr. E. F. Bartholomew, A.M., was called to fill the chair vacated by the resignation of Prof Breidenbaugh. During the summer of 1875, Rev. E. F. Giese, A.M., was called to the chair of the Greek and German languages. In 1876, Rev. John Brubaker, A.M., was made Professor of the English language and Literature.

It is proper also to state that Mr.' P. M. Fasold served from 1875 to 1880 as tutor, and Mr. E. C. Hughes in the same capacity during the academic year of 1879-'80.

On the 20th of February, 1880, the College was called to mourn the loss of Rev. D. L. Tressler, Pli. D., who for seven years had filled the ofiice of President. He died at Carthage after a brief illness, lamented by a large circle- of friends who esteemed him for his many excellent qualities of head and heart.

The institution has had connected with it, from the opening of the preparatory school in September, 1870, to the first of May, ISSO, eight hundred and sixty-four students. Of this number, sixty-four liave been graduated, the majority of v.'hom liave either entered the learned professions or are engaged in teaching. The career of the College has been one of great prosperity. By dint of hard labor and persevering effort on the part of the Faculty, and through the devotion of its friends, Carthage College has attained a high position among the educational institutions of the State, and may justly be regarded as the pride and ornament of Hancock county.