Colby College - Oracle Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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pcgiaifjsiijl IQKW 20 ,ll close II .lic Qlnlhg Glnllege 1820-1902 by EDWARD W. HALL, LL.D., Librarian and Registrar in 19025 1902-1920 by THE EDITOR Colby College originated with the Bowdoinham Baptist Association, which in 1810 appointed a committee to consider the propriety of peti- tioning the legislature of Massachusetts to incorporate an institution in the district of Maine for the purpose of promoting literary and theological knowledge. Similar action was taken in 1811 by the Lincoln and the Cumberland Associations, and a petition prepared by the joint committees was presented to the Senate of Massachusetts by Rev. Caleb Blood in 1812. This petition stated that although the Baptists were undoubtedly more numerous in the district than any other denomination, yet they had no Seminary over which they had any control, and in which their religious young men might be educated under the particular inspection of able men of the same sentiments. This first petition for incorporation was not successful. The follow- ing year Rev. Daniel Merrill of Sedgwick was appointed to present a second petition and succeeded in obtaining a charter, approved February 27, 1813, for establishing a Literary Institution for the purpose of educat- ing youth, to be called and known by the name of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution. The title given was at that time a favorite designation attached to many seminaries of learning in which collegiate and theological classes were united. The trustees named in the charter soon organized with Rev. Sylvanus Boardman as chairman and Rev. Otis .Briggs as secretary, and entered upon the preliminary work of securing a suitable location for the Institu- tion. By a resolve dated February 15, 1815, township No. 3, originally purchased from the Indians, and embracing the territory now occupied by the towns of Alton and Argyle on the west bank of the Penobscot river, was granted to the Institution. This township had been selected by the trustees as the best selection, in their opinion, that can be made from the unlocated lands of the commonwealth for the establishment of the Institu- tion. It yielded an excellent growth of timber, the sale of which main- tained the young seminary for many years. The plan of locating the Institution on the very township granted was found impracticable, and in 1816 the legislature granted permission to locate and establish the build- ings in any town within the counties of Kennebec and Somerset. The corporation appointed a committee in 1817 to visit Farmington, Bloomfield and Waterville, towns which had expressed a desire to have the school, and eventually decided in favor of Waterville. The town authorities pledged three thousand dollars and the citizens subscribed two thousand in aid of the enlerprise. A tract of land eighty-six rods wide, extending from the Kennebec to the Messalonskee, was purchased of R. H. Gardner in 1818 for iB1,797.50, which amount was contributed by citizens of Waterville. This lot, contain- ing 179 acres, was afterward increased by the purchase of the Briggs 1.9 Centennial Number

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fc 0 LKYYMW 20 llQ1QAc:1.1f.-:E estate adjoining it on the south. The southern boundary of this land, which also extended from the Kennebec to the Messalonskee, coincided with the south line of the lot on which the Dutton house, owned by the College, now stands. In J une, 1818, upon petition of the trustees a bill was reported grant- ing four additional townships of land and 83,000 annually for the main- tenance of the Institution, but was referred to the next legislature for final action. At that session a number of printed petitions signed by citizens in several towns in Maine and Massachusetts, were offered, urging the passage of the bill. The language of these petitions, presented by Hon. Wm. King, a trustee and later governor of Maine, was severely criticised, and Gen. Alford Richardson, a trustee and member of legisla- ture, expressed great dissatisfaction on that account. This trivial cir- cumstance led to the failure of the bill by a vote to 13 to 10, and entailed upon the Institution many years of poverty and sacrifice. Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin of Danvers, Mass., who had charge of the theological students of the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society, was chosen professor of theology in February, 1818. Accompanied by his wife, two children, and several of his pupils, he sailed from Beverly, Mass., on board the sloop Hero, which brought the little company as far as Augusta. The remaining twenty miles to Waterville were accomplished in a long-boat, which Mrs. Chaplin in her journal describes as provided with sails and having a booth or cabin at one end. When the breeze failed them, the young men of the party landed and dragged the boat by a rope. On their arrival at Waterville they were met by a number of citizens, among whom was Hon. Timothy Boutelle, who made a short address of welcome and provided for their entertainment. Mrs. Chaplin's journal gratefully records the courteous reception accorded them by Mrs. Boutelle, Mrs. Clark and Mr. Partridge at this time, and it is mentioned that she found friendly neighbors who did not seem to be such ignorant, unculti- vated beings as some have imagined. It is gratifying also to read the following statement: Many of those whom I have seen appear to be people of education and refinement, nor have we been destitute of Christian company. 1 The new seminary was opened and instruction by Professor Chaplin commencedkluly 6, 1818, in a house standing where the Elmwood Hotel is now situated. In May, 1819, there were seventeen students in the theo- logical department. Tuition was fixed at 34.00 per quarter, board was obtained for 351.00 a week, and wood for 81.50 per cord. An Address to the Public, issued in 1819, proved that the school was established not as a theological seminary, but also for those who are desirous of engaging in any of the learned professions. Rev. Avery Briggs was chosen professor of languages and the literary department was opened by him in October, 1819, with twenty-five students. The first session of the legislature of the State of Maine in 1820, author- ized the college to confer such degrees as are usually conferred by uni- versities, -the sum of 351,000 annually for seven years was also voted, one-fourth for the tuition fees of needy students, a principle which was ' 20 Centennial Number