DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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must be made by a majority and not a plurality vote. Rockville and Greencastle then combined forces and the latter was selected. The Rockville delegation stood by the new school most loyally. The very excellent charter was written by General Tighlman A. Howard, a citizen of Rockville, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. The first Board of Trustees was composed of strong men. The most gifted speaker, possibly not even excepting Ilishop Roberts, whom the late Col. R. W. Thompson declared to be the most eloquent bishop in Methodism, was Tarvin VV. Cowgill, who was undoubtedly instrumental in placing the University in Green- castle. Some readers of this paper may wonder that so little allusion is made to Bishop Asbury in an account of the origin of the school, since it was named after him. The reason may be given in a single sentence. Bishop Asbury had been dead sixteen years before the school was founded, and his name was chosen by vote of the Board from several that were proposed. I-lad the school been named for its chief projector and organizer, it would have been called Roberts Universityf' from Bishop Robert Richard Roberts. lt is poetic, or better, providential, justice that the only formal monument on the college grounds is that which stands in the West Campus at the graves of Bishop Roberts and his good wife. An event of great prominence in the early history of the University was the laying of the corner stone of the first building, the rectangular part of what is now West College. It occurred june 2oth, 1837. lt seems to have attracted much more attention than the dedication of the edifice when completed. Many of the early settlers of the town and county were from' Kentucky. It was natural, there- fore, that a great orator should be imported from that state for the address. A most worthy speaker was secured in the person of Rev. Henry BQ Bascom, D. D., who in 1850, at St. Louis, was elected a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Among the survivors of the corner stone ceremonies is Mr. john Gilmore of this city, who was present, a lad of fourteen, and testifies to the immensity of the crowds gathered from far and near, the variety of means of travel, the entertain- ment of the hosts of visitors, and the fine appearance and splendid eloquence of the orator. lt was said of Bascom that Henry Clay pronounced him the most impres- sive preacher that he had ever heard. Another testimony to his' popularity if not his greatness is in the fact that about that period a very considerable number of boy babies in Kentucky and lndiana were honored with the Christian name of Bascom. The new University enjoyed a great uplift in its first President, Matthew Simpson. Ile became famous at the outset as an organizer, administrator, preacher and writer. Iflis prominence gave the school wide recognition and brought forward many friends and supporters. . It is well to notice here one feature of this formative period which deeply marked the institution and became a leading tradition, viz., the attention to public speaking. A college born in such an atmosphere of oratory as that created by Bishop Roberts, Governor Wright, General Howard, Tarvin Cowgill, Bishop Bas- 24 U

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Historical Sketch of DePauw University A brief sketch of DeI'auw L'niversity may well begin with a reference to the city in which it is located. The first white man who lived on the present site of Greencastle was Epliraim Dukes, who entered land here in l82l and built the first house on what is now the northeast corner of College Avenue and VVashington Street. Ile donated land for the town site on condition that it should become the County Seat. He came from Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and named the town after his former home. lt has been found that Greencastle, Pennsylvania, was named after Greencastle, Ireland, which is no mean city, when its ivy clad castle and surrounding scenery are taken into account. In this respect our Greencastle is a worthy grand-daughter of her Irish fore-mother. It had become the policy of the leaders in lvlethodism both in lingland and in this country to establish schools for higher education. In many instances the zeal of the fathers in this direction was more praiseworthy in motive than in achievement. Some hopeful beginnings of schools had been made in the older conferences, as for instance at liast Greenwich, R. I., Meadville, lla., and Middle- town, Conn. In this state the movement took definite form in 1835 when the In- diana Conference comprised all of Indiana and part of Illinois. A committee was raised, consisting of Allen Wiley, Calvin W. Ruter, and james Armstrong, to consider and report to the Conference on the advisability of projecting 21 Sem- inary or College. The report of this committee contains some very interesting expressions. Notwithstanding our limited space we will quote it in full as given in the journal of the Conference: Deeming, next to the religion of the Son of God, the lights of Science best calculated to lessen human woe and to increase the snm of human happiness, and having learned from observation and information that where superior schools and colleges are neglected ordinary schools are almost universally in a langnid state, and many persons live and die without any educa- tion, we, therefore, report that a Seminary or College, under good literary and moral regulations, would be of incalculable beneht to our people, and reconimend the establislnnent of such an institution. The report was adopted and other coni- mittees were appointed to raise funds. select a location and a name for the new institution of learning. The contest over the question of location was very interesting, The principal competitors were Rockville, Greencastle and Indianapolis. VVhen it seemed certain that the last named would obtain the prize a motion was adopted that the decision 23 I

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com, Bishop Simpson, and other princes of the pulpit and the bar, could not be otherwise than a training school in eloquence. This accounts in large measure for the life and power of the Literary Societies held in grateful esteem by all the 'fold timers. Many of the characteristics of the enthusiasm for athletics in the modern college were seen in those days in connection with these societies. In the first place, they were expensive. Not all students then, as now, were poor in purse, but all were rich in the generosity begotten of intense rivalry. Each society was determined to have the best hall, the nicest furniture, the Finest pictures and the largest librarv. One society spent over a thousand dollars on portraits. The libraries were of great value, mostly because they were easily accessible. The VVhitcomb or College library was so well preserved that scarcely any one could use it. College politics, factional contests and personal rivalries made storm centers of the literary societies. A con- cluding number in every program was irregular debate. Never did an exercise have a better name and yet men who became famous as e.rfcnzfw0re speakers dc- elared that their maiden effort was when called out in the irregular. Not the least of its irregularities was in the fact that often the war of words continued long after the stipulated hour for adjournment. This excess brought on a crisis. 'it oe- curred during the administration of President Curry. After many expostulationg in the eH'ort to induce the societies to adjourn at a proper time without success, the order went forth that they must meet in the afternoon. This order met with furious protest. Students spanked their hands, shook their fists and shouted that they would die before sunrise rather than allow their societies to suffer such hu- iliation, The town as well as the college was all aflame with the agitation. Nor t ll l lustei NI my students withdrew and went to Illoomington. m .was the excitemcn a J .' '. 2 This was before the day of the honorable dismissal' As the years went by the bitterness of this contest passed away. Nearly all the students were restored to their classes and President Curry continued to advance in the esteem of the Uni- versity, the Church, and the Nation. The Literary Societies came out of the epi- better ideas of their true function and became much more beneficial to sode with their members. v The next event in the life of the University which awakened general interest was its reorganization and change of name from Asbury to Delfauw. Many good friends of the school, as well as distant and ill-informed observers thought this transaction altogether mercenary and disreputable. A prominent minister in Michi- gan made a picture of a sculptor on a scaffold before a lofty monument, cutting out the name Asbury and ehiseling in the word .l3el'auw. The picture was followed with about ten six-line stanzas in which was given a solemn dirge over the awful saerilege. A city paper contained a long protest against the destruction of the in- stitution to which ,llishop Asbury gave many years of arduous toil and the principal part of his estate. ln vain did the friends of the school show that llishop Asbury l efore it was founded, not a dollar of his estate went into it 'ustifitble on the amplest grounds of both necessity and had died sixteen years J and that the change was J .' 2 25 O