Monticello College - Echo Yearbook (Godfrey, IL)

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v '• l'-y- «■ THE RON BAL DWIN Born: Goshen, Conn., July, 1801 Died: New Jersey, May, 1880 Closely associated with the name of Captain Benjamin Godfrey is that of the Reverend Thcron Baldwin, who was graduated from Yale in 1827 and became a member of the “Yale Band”. This group was composed of ardent young graduates who came to the frontier to found schools and churches. Mr. Baldwin came to Illinois in 1829 and a few years later became the chief adviser in the development of Monticcllo as an institution to give western girls the same opportunity as western boys for higher education. Captain Godfrey told Mr. Baldwin that if he would take the direction of the school he would not limit his expenditures, but if he declined the enterprise would be abandoned. Mr. Baldwin consented to undertake the task with the understanding that his work would be preaching and lecturing and exercising a general superintendence, while the organization of the teaching would be done by a woman chosen to act as Dean of the Faculty. In 1837, at the request of Captain Godfrey, Mr. Baldwin made a tour of the Fast in the interests of the new seminary. On July 25, he started for New England. On the way lie visited Miss Seward’s Seminary in Rochester, New York; the Albany Female Academy in Albany, New York; and talked with several leading educators in other educational centers-After spending a few days in New York City he proceeded to South Hadley in Massachusetts where he discussed the principles of education with Miss Mary Lyon who was at that time founding Mt. Holyoke College. He also visited Mrs. 'A. F. Grant’s school at Ipswich and the Castlcton Co-educational Seminary in Vermont. On October 30 lie reached home in Jacksonville, Illinois, having been absent three months. He had traveled in that time 4,639 miles. It was the Reverend Thcron Baldwin who really set the wheels in motion at Monticcllo. 'Flic first catalogue was published in 1840; the first class was graduated in 1841. In the catalogue of 1841 the first Board of Trustees and the first Board of Instructors were listed as follows: Trustees: Rev. Thcron Baldwin, Mr. Enoch Long, Mr. Winthrop S. Gilman, Mr. Benjamin Godfrey, Hon. Cyrus Edwards. Principal: Rev. Thcron Baldwin. Teachers: Miss S. M. Sturtevant, Governess; Miss Philcna Fobes, Teacher of Rhetoric and Moral and Intellectual Philosophy; Miss Mary Cone, History and Natural Science; Miss Rebecca Long, Mathematics and Physics and Astronomy; Horace Munson, Vocal and Instrumental Instructor; Miss Jane Stoddard, Moni-tress; Mrs. Miriam Stoddard, Superintendent of Boarding Department. In 1843, the Rev. Thcron Baldwin was invited to take the Secretaryship of the “Western Collegiate Society”. He remained nominally connected with the Seminary until 1845, when lie resigned the office of Principal. This involved a great loss not only to the Seminary, but to the whole state. It would not be possible to estimate the influence of Dr. Baldwin and his contemporary companions of the “Yale Band” upon the advancement of education and general improvement of society in the fast growing state of Illinois. Thf.ron Baldwin

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CAPTAIN GODFREY Horn: Chatham, Mass., May 20, 1794 Died: Godfrey, Illinois, August 13, 1862 Before settling in the West, Captain Benjamin Godfrey spent twenty vears u| on the sea. He traveled to all parts of the world, many of his voyages being very dangerous. Finally, he was ship-wrecked in the Gulf of Mexico and his entire fortune was lost. After this disaster he lived for seven years in Mexico and then returned to the United States. In 1832 he became a partner in the firm of Godfrey Gilman in Alton, Illinois, and in 1834 he established his home in the village of Monticello. Since there is another Monti cello in Illinois, the name of the town was changed to Godfrey. Here at Godfrey, Illinois, he accomplished the great work of his career—a work such as few men in his sphere of life, and of his unpretending humility have been permitted to accomplish—the founding of an institution for the higher education of women, and the placing of this institution in the hands of a Board of Trustees. Captain Godfrey was an eminently thoughtful man, with a broad and just point of view. He was a notable man, enterprising and benevolent, with an unaffected modesty which caused him carefully to shun notoriety. He had very little formal education himself, but he realized its importance and had a clear conception of its aim. In the original deed of trust which Captain Godfrey wrote, he said: The end of all true education should be to develop the powers of man, both physically and mentally, and to lit him for enjoyment, and for the discharge of his duty in all stages of his existence. Captain Godfrey BEGINNINGS OK MONTICELLO Scattered over the West were many families who were anxiously looking for good schools where their daughters could be boarded as well as taught. Many young women in different parts of the country were full of aspirations and enthusiasm for knowledge, and were awaiting the opportunity to obtain an education. Reflection upon the influence of the mother upon her child, and the influence of women in the home and in general society led Captain Godfrey to undertake the founding of Monticello Female Seminary. The spot chosen for the site was the edge of an open forest of majestic trees which growing apart gave a grove-like appearance. The building, begun in 1836 and completed in 1838, was made of stone with three stories above the basement. It was expected that the work of instruction would begin in the autumn of 1837, at the same time that Mary Lyon opened the doors of Mount Holyoke, but in consequence of the unfinished state of the building, the opening was delayed until the following spring. Monticello Seminary opened April II, 1838, with sixteen pupils. Earlv life at the Seminary was interesting from the novelty of its circumstances and the freshness and beauty of the surroundings. Monticello was in more than one sense a bright spot in the wilderness. ’I he lawn, which sloped from the building to the gateway contrasted in its more cultivated aspect with the woods and o| en prairie stretching away to the horizon. In those days traveling was very difficult and Captain Godfrey, always alive to the interests of the school, decided to build a railway between Alton and Springfield over which the majority of the pupils would pass. He wished it clearly understood that this consideration more than any other influenced him to risk his fortune in the enterprise. In 1841 the railroad was begun and finally after years filled with many difficulties it was finished. In 1853 the citizens of Alton presented to Captain Godfrey a handsome silver pitcher as a token of their appreciation for the two great undertakings of his life—the construction of the Alton II Springfield Railroad and the founding of Monticello Female Seminary.

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Pmii.ena Fobes PHILENA FOBES Born: Onondaga County, New York, September 10, 1811 Died: Roxboro, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1898 The name of Philena Fobes is indissolubly connected with Monticello and the influence emanating from its teachings. For twenty-seven years she was the institution’s presiding genius. Miss Fobes’ range of study and information was astoundingly broad and thorough, vet practical and available. She received her early education in Albany, New York. At the age of twelve, she attended a small private school which formed the ground work of many an ideal seminary that arose in her imagination. In 1830, she entered Cortland Seminary in Cortland, New York, where she completed her formal education. In 1834, Miss Fobes was invited to teach classes in the Seward Seminary in Rochester, New York. While at Rochester, she received a call from Theron Baldwin who invited her to take charge of a department in a seminary to be established at Monticello, Illinois. Her family had recently left the F.ast and established a home in Illinois. Under the escort of a brother-in-law who had come east on business, Miss Fobes journeyed to the West in 1837. I raveling at that time was dangerous and fatiguing. The journey took seven weeks, part of the trip being by train, part by steamer and part by stage-coach. Miss Fobes came to Monticello as Dean of the Faculty and as teacher of Rhetoric and Moral and Intellectual Philosophy. She won the esteem of associates and students, and her ability as a leader was quickly recognized. She was fitted in all respects to be the woman’’ to assist in the opening of the new institution on the Godfrey Prairie. Monticello 1845—1865 In the autumn of 1845 Miss Philena Fobes was elected the second Principal of Monticello by the Trustees. She had been the Acting Principal since 1845. At the time of her nomination the finances of the Seminary were in a sad condition. The national currency was greatly depreciated and Captain Godfrey had met with severe losses as a result of the current depression, but friends and teachers rallied to the cause and the institution was soon on its feet again. In 1855 the church opposite the Seminary was completed. In the summer of 1856 work was begun on the south wing, which included an octagonal tower, a public hall, a gymnasium. and additional rooms for students. A fourth story was also added to the original structure. Captain Godfrey lived over again the founding of the original building in planning and working for the needed addition. In 1862, Monticello was in deep mourning over the death of Captain Godfrey. He was always a personal friend and counsellor, an efficient trustee, and from the beginning of the enterprise to the last week of his life, he gave everything lie had to the interests of the school. In 1865, Miss Fobes left Monticello to join friends in Rochester, New York. On leaving Rochester in 1S6S, she made her home in New Haven, Connccticutt. In 1881 she went to live with friends in Roxboro, near Philadelphia, where she lived until her death in 1898. Xlontieello in IS5S after the addition of the new south wing begun in S56 and eonip eted in the spring of $57. 23