Williams College - Gulielmensian Yearbook (Williamstown, MA)

Page 30 text:

Volume LVII. 1914 29 William Rankin, LL. D., 1831 15 September 1810 20 October 1912 Fortunate indeed is an institution which establishes intimate connection between the present and its earliest days. Tradition is preserved. West Col- lege speaks to us ol' the origins of the Free School. Griffin Hall daily reminds us of the days of strivings necessary to maintain the college ,neath the shadow ol' tl1e hillsn. But in a more unusual way Dr. William Rankin, since 1001 the Pa- triarch of the great family of Williams men, bound the late twenties to our day. In his time six presidents bore the responsibility of the executive oflice, many classes held their last reunions, and he celebrated the eighty-firstanniversary of his graduation. And with these years increased happy relations between him and the college. In the days of President Grillin, at the Commencement of 1827, a serious lad of seventeen entered Williams from Newark, New Jersey. The powerl'ul per- sonality of the President commanded his respect. I-Ie felt the unity of the col- lege community, four professors, two tutors, and eighty-six students gathered together into two buildings. In an article in the Class book of Williams 1910 he tells of his attending in October 1828 the dedication of Griffin Ilall, the third building ol' the campus. Indeed that very building witnessed the establishment of his reputation as an orator. The newspaper of the day, the American Ad- vocate , preserves in its issue of July 1, 1829, under a heading Independence , - The procession will move to the New Chapel, where the usual Fourth of July oration from the Sophomore class will be delivered by Mr. William Rankin, Jr. It further l'CC01'dS these quaint words in the issue of a week later, The usual address from the Sophomore class was pronounced by William Rankin and for its clearness of thought, beauty of arrangement, and force of expression, to- gether with the eloquent manner in which it was delivered, received as it litly deserved, high praise. At the'Comn1encement of September 7, 1831, he delivered an eration on Cardinal Wolsey. Fraternities were not established until later, but the records of the Philologian Society show his active inembership. After his graduation he studied law and practiced in Cincinnati for sixteen years, when he was elected Treasurer of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. His duties during the thirty-seven years C1850-18871 for which he held this important office took him all over the United States and even into Mexico, and his experiences and acquaintaneeships in them found their way into

Page 29 text:

-...L WILLIAM RANKIN, LL. D

Page 31 text:

30 The Gulielmensian two books from his pen, Handbook of Missions , and Missionary Memorials . Nor did hc forget the college during these busy days. He sent two of his three sons to be educated at his Alma Mater, one in tl1e Class of 1876 and the other 1879. After his retirement, in the evening hours of his life, the interchange of cour- tesies from the college pleased him exceedingly. The last commencement he attended was that in 1901, but the Society of the Alumni never gathered in Wil- liamstown after that without sending him the greeting of all Williams alumni. The most notable of these was sent on the occasion of his one hundredth birth- dayg an illuminated parchment bearing the names of tl1e president and secretary of the Society, with those of a local connnittee of graduates. This centennial celebration was widely mentioned in the press and is believed to be one unique in the 2Lll11tl.lS of American colleges. WVhen in 1910-11 an appeal went to all the classes for contribution to the 1Villiams Professorship fund, Dr. Rankin, representing' the class of 1831, respond- ed with a generous contribution. Last May he represented the college at the Centennial of the Princeton Theological Seminary. To his age was added soundness of mind and good health till the last, but tired out, his faithful heart stopped beating 011 October 20, 1912, and in his one hundred and third year Dr. Rankin departed to renew old acquaintances. John Adams Loire . Q ' 5' ,wx-wg-snr --., . 5 -, . ,, I . ,- l ,,',n75---. . - . pm, ,Vial BERKSIIIRE Q UAD RAN GLB