Union College - Garnet Yearbook (Schenectady, NY)

Page 29 text:

THE GARNET. of Schenectady.” A building was erected on the northwest corner of what are now Union and Ferry streets, and in 1793 a school was opened under the care of Col. John Taylor, of New Jersey. This academy appears to have been conducted with much ability, and being well sustained by the community in which it was planted, became the germ of the college, which, fifteen years before, had been an object of earnest effort and ac¬ tive discussion ; nor can we doubt that through these years of hope deferred the favorite thought was cherished, until the plan I was fully realized. The legislature having vested in the regents of the university the right of granting college charters, a memorial was addressed to that board by the trustees of the academy, which led to the granting of a charter to twenty-four persons therein named, and their successors, under the title of u The Trustees of Union Col¬ lege in the Town of Schenectady, in the State of New York.” They were empowered to hold an estate with an income of $ I 3 333 were vested with the usual powers of a college, and were empowered to fill vacancies in their board by election of the remaining members. The trustees of the academy were, a few days after, allowed to vest their property in the college. The name “ Union College” was given as expressing the in¬ tention of uniting all religious s£cts in a common interest for the common good by offering equal advantages to all, with preference to none. It was designed to found an institution up¬ on the broad basis of Christian unity, and this idea has ever since been faithfully followed in the spirit of the original inten¬ tion, no particular religious denomination having at any time claimed or attempted to control its management, or to influence the choice of trustees or faculty. It is believed that this was the first college in the United States not confessedly denomina¬ tional in its character. The college was organized on the 19th of October, 1795, bv the election of the Rev. John Blair Smith, D.D., of Philadel¬ phia, as president; John Taylor, A.M., as prolessor of mathe¬ matics and natural philosophy ; and the Rev, Andrew Yates, as professor of Latin and Greek languages.

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20 THE GARNET. 4p:nion -ifjollcge.- - ORGANIZATION AND EARLY HISTORY. TIE only college within the colony ot JSlew York before the Revolution was King’s College, of New York City, which was re-organized soon after the peace as Columbia College The rapid growth of settlements toward the north and west had suggested to thoughtful minds the pressing need of some insti¬ tution for superior instruction at a convenient point in the in¬ terior, and this idea of central accommodation for all interests, not many years later, led to the removal of the State capital to Albany. Even in the midst of the Revolution we find the project ' of a college at Schenectady seriously entertained, but it did not gain sufficient strength to secure actual existence until some years af¬ ter the peace. A project like this is seldom discussed without exciting local interests, and before the choice fell upon the quiet old Dutch town on the Mohawk, the claims of Poughkeepsie, Albany and Waterford were strongly urged as suitable joints for the establishment of a college in the interior, but not to the extent of dividing the effort w’ ch was for the common benefit of all. A beginning in literary life at Schenectady was made in the formation of an association for mental improvement and debate in 1793, and on the 29th of January, 1793, a classical and scien¬ tific school was incorporated by the regents of the university under the name of “The Trustees of the Academy in the Town

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22 THE GARNET The first commencement was held in May, 1797, and the first degree conferred upon three young men who had fin¬ ished the course of study then required. This was an oc¬ casion of signal and novel interest to all the country around, and drew together a large and enthusiastic audience. Dr. Smith was succeeded by the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D.D., who died in 1801, and was followed by the Rev. Jon¬ athan Maxcy, D.D., who resigned in 1804. Although frequent changes are generally adverse to pros¬ perity, and although the college was still feeble, it was not without enterprise. Under the presidency of Dr. Edwards, a new edifice was begun, on a scale magnificent for that ||| day and still one of the finest and best-built in the city. An event, howevei, occurred in 1804 which proved to be of peculiar advantage to the institution, and from which its success may be justly dated. This event was the choice of the Rev. Eliphalet Nott, as president. Mr. Nott was then a young clergyman of Albany, known at the time as an elo¬ quent and effective public speaker of dignified and court¬ eous manners and distinguished learning, but not as yet known for that talent in the education of young men which this election gave him the opportunity to exercise and which has scarcely been surpassed in the history of any American college. Endowed by nature with a keen perception of character, a discriminating judgment in developing latent talent, a dignity of manners commanding both love and re¬ spect, a facility in governing young men, wherein the secret lay in teaching them to govern themselves, and a zeal and earnestness in the discharge of every duty, he acquired and held, through a long and active life, a comamnding position as an educator which was felt and acknowledged through¬ out the country. Dr. Nott found the college wanting both means and stu¬ dents. The inhabitants of Schenectady had proposed an endowment of $30,000 in lands, obligations and money ;