Illinois Wesleyan University - Wesleyana Yearbook (Bloomington, IL)

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A few of Wesleyan's founders. TOP ROW: john E. McClun, Peter Cartwright, Charles P. Merriman, William J. Rutledge Isaac Funk, William H. Holmes. ROW 2: Thomas Rogers, john S. Barger, Lewis Bunn, William H. Allin, John Miller, johm VV. Ewing. ROW 3: William Wallace, Silas Watters, John Magoun, james Allin, W. C. Hobbs, Kersey H. Fell. In the late summer of 1849 the need for a univer- sity was publicly voiced, and Bloomington was men- tioned as the logical seat of such an institution, in a central location and with no neighboring college. At the 1849 conference of the Methodist Church there was some discussion of higher education spon- sored by the denomination, and a committee was ap- pointed to confer with the friends of education in Bloomington who were then promoting a school to be styled McLean College. Nothing constructive resulted from the conference, possibly because of the prospect of Methodist control. A later committee of the Methodist conference recommended that such an institution be established under the patronage of the Methodist Church, with the name of Illinois University, since no state uni- versity had yet been foundedg and nine trustees were actually appointed. Soon after, the board was in- creased to thirty members and the proposed title was changed to Illinois W!6.l'f6'1'!ll? University. The University thus apparently became the third oldest American educational institution to bear the name of John Wesley, eminent English scholar, church- man, and missionary to the colonies. So, as Elmo Watson pointed out in his Ilfinoir Werfeyalz Slory, 1950, Unlike many universities that can trace their lineage back to one particular source, the Illinois Wesleyan of today is the spiritual -and physical-heir of several institutions of learn- ing. And, unlike many an institution that is the lengthened shadow of one man, Wesleyan was sired by many menf, Readers of this 1960 yearbook should appreciate the glowing contemporary statement of Rev. john S. Barger, writing early in 1851, May hundreds and thousands of the best and brightest of the ransomed race graduate at Illinois Wesleyan University and go out from the halls of sanctified learning with all the light and grace of a finished Christian educa- tion. As we shall find, he foresaw that all of these would be young men. Writing in 1895, for his historical sketch pub- 9

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Histor THE LoNo, LoNG TRAIL Q185O-196Oj Standing at the west end of University Avenue is the Founders' Gate. Vandals periodically attack the lamp over the column on which is inscribed a portion of the Conference Record of 1854, stating the founders' purpose. 2mhy ' nw,wa TOP ROW: john Dempster, president in nbrefzfin. 1852- 1854, Reuben Andrus, founder and first teacher, 1850-1852: BOTTOM ROW: Williariu Goodfellow, president pro fem, 1852-1854, Charles W. C, Munsell, financial agent, 1856- 1875. To fefiezz' liar zrifb the pair need no! fzlruzyf be daydremu- ing: if nzfzy be mpltzing old ,f0lll'L'8.f of .ff7'677gfl7 for neu' n1.fk.t.' -Simeon Strunsky In 1850 Bloomington was a small town, first set- tled in 1822 and officially founded in 1831. By 1845 it had a population of only 800, by 1849 only 2,500, but in 1850 it sought and received a city charter from the state legislature. Thus the City of Bloom- ington and Illinois Wesleyari started together. The establishment at Jacksonville of the Illinois Conference Female Academy fnow MacMurray Col- legej in 1846 may have aroused the interest of cer- tain leading citizens of McLean County in the cause of higher education, because the W62.VfE7'll Wlvig of May 19, 1849, contained the hrst notice of a move- ment to promote a seminary of learning to be called McLean Collegiate Institute. This project did not materialize, but seeds were thus sown leading di- rectly to Illinois Wesleyan University. 8

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An early commencement program. Note the sentimental titles of music inspired by the Civil War and the last line: 'lThe Fall Term will begin Tuesday, September 13th, 1861 This was in the days when each graduating senior gave an oratifm. The Law Class of 1914. The school of law, 1874-1927, had its lished in 1896, President William H. Wilder said, While the university was placed under the control of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was intended that it should be positively and broadly Christian, rather than purely secular or sectarian. Such has been and is its characterf' Carved on the West Gate of the campus are these words: We stand in a position of incalculable re- sponsibility to the great wave of population over- spreading the valley of the Mississippi. Destiny seems to point out this valley as the depository of the great heart of the nation. From this center mightly pulsations, for good or evil, must in future How which shall not only affect the fortunes of the republic, but reach in their influence other and dis- tant nations of the earth. This is an excerpt from the report on education to the annual meeting of the Illinois Conference held at Springfield in 1854. Here we recognize the great responsibility felt by the founding fathers as they stood on the threshold of a great, new western country. Education in a democracy was actually being promoted, and Illi- nois as a growing prairie state was to make a vital contribution in various directions. Reduced to a convenient chronological table, the essential early events and dates in connection with the origin of Illinois Wesleyan are as follows: SEIYIEYIMI61' 23. 1850-Thirty men met and signed articles of agreement establishing An Institute of learning of Collegiate gradef, This was the real founders' day. largest enrollment for the year 1923-192-i with a total of 133 students, The instructors were local practicing lawyers, It was discontinued because it could not meet the standards of the North Central Association. Many local lawyers got their training here.