Fond du Lac District Continued.--Appleton.--Early History.--Rev. C.G.
Lathrop--Lawrence University.--Incipient Stages.--Charter.--Trustees.
Agent.--First Board of Instruction.--Buildings.--Faculty.--Rev. Dr.
Cooke.--Rev. Dr. Cobleigh.--Rev. Dr. Mason.--Rev. Dr. Knox.--Rev.
Dr. Steele.
Leaving Oneida, I next visited Appleton, where I was kindly received by
Rev. C.G. Lathrop, the Pastor, and his good wife. Though three years had
scarcely passed since the echoes of the woodman's axe first rang through
the forests of this locality, yet I found Appleton to be a village of
considerable pretensions. The location of Lawrence University at this
point, and the great promise of business, given by its almost
unparalleled water-power, had already drawn together an enterprising
community. Good buildings had been erected, and the village was putting
on an air of thrift.
The first sermon preached in Appleton, and probably in Outagamie County,
was delivered by Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Oct. 8, 1848, in a shanty occupied
by Brother John F. Johnson and family. The first class was formed by
Rev. A. B. Randall, the Pastor of Oshkosh circuit, whose charge included
Appleton, in February, 1849. The first members were Robert R. Bateman,
Leader, Robert S. Bateman, Mary Bateman, Amelia Bateman, Electa Norton,
Theresa Randall, L. L. Randall, J.F. Johnson and D.W. Briggs. Brother
Randall organized the first Sunday School in March, 1849, with Robert R.
Bateman as Superintendent.
The meetings were held in private houses until the Chapel of the
Institute was ready for use. They were held in the Chapel thereafter
until the first Church was erected. In June, 1854, the corner-stone of
the Church was laid by Edwin Atkinson, Dr. Edward Cooke officiating. The
lecture-room was occupied during the following winter, and the Church
was dedicated by Dr. N.E. Cobleigh in June, 1855.
The Quarterly Meeting, the first held in Appleton, was convened in the
Institute Chapel, Sept 27, 1851. The members of the Quarterly Conference
present were C.G. Lathrop, R.O. Kellogg, Jabez Brooks, D.L. Atwell,
George E. Havens, Charles Levings, John Day, H.L. Blood, A.C. Darling,
L.L. Randall, D.C. Weston, William Rork, and J.F. Johnson. The meeting
was well attended, and the services indicated a healthy spiritual
condition.
Rev. Curtis G. Lathrop entered the Rock River Conference in 1842, and
his first appointment was Aztalan. Before coming to Appleton he had been
stationed at Lancaster, Oneida Indian Mission, Green Lake and Fall
River. After leaving Appleton his fields of labor have been Green Bay,
Oneida, Indian Mission, Presiding Elder of Watertown District, Menasha,
Neenah, Waupaca, Dartford, Fox Lake, Vinland and Randolph. He took a
superannuated relation in 1868, but during 1870 and 1871 he was able to
serve as Chaplain of the Western Seaman's Friend Society, at Washington
Island. Having removed to Nebraska, he was made effective in 1874 and
transferred to the Nebraska Conference.
Brother Lathrop is a man of vigorous mental endowments. He is an able
Preacher, has a reliable judgment, and possesses a kind spirit. He hates
shams and thoroughly detests the superficial. He never hangs out a flag
to catch the popular breeze, and does not turn the prow of his craft
down the stream. His convictions are strong, but Curtis G. Lathrop is
the soul of integrity, and is most highly appreciated where best known.
The Lawrence University, located at Appleton, deserves special notice,
it being the first, and, at the present writing, the only school of the
Church within the bounds of the Conference.
In the Spring of 1846, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson received a letter from H.
Eugene Eastman, Esq., of Green Bay, informing him that a gentleman in
Boston, Mass., proposed to donate ten thousand dollars to found a school
in the West. And as the gentleman entertained an exalted opinion of the
adaptations of the Methodist Church to the work contemplated, he was
authorized to give the proposition that direction. The conditions on
which the trust must be accepted were, that the School should be located
on the Fox River between Neenah and Green Bay, and that an additional
ten thousand dollars should be contributed by other parties.
Brother Sampson submitted the proposition to the Conference, which met
in August, and was instructed by that body to continue the
correspondence, and, if possible, reduce the negotiations to a
definite form.
In December following, Rev. Reeder Smith, who had been employed as Agent
of the School at Albion, Mich., came to Fond du Lac, bearing the
proposition directly from Hon. Amos A. Lawrence, the gentleman referred
to. Not finding Brother Sampson at home, he went down to Brothertown and
secured the co-operation of Rev. H.R. Colman in making an exploration of
the Fox River. They went to Green Bay, thence to Kaukauna, and,
accompanied by George W. Law, Esq., thence to Grand Chute, the present
site of Appleton. After looking over the grounds now constituting the
campus of the University, they passed on to Oshkosh, and thence to
Fond du Lac.
Brother Sampson had now returned, and it was decided to hold a meeting
in Milwaukee for consultation. The meeting was convened December 2 8th,
1846, and was composed of the following members of the Conference: Wm.
H. Sampson, Henry R. Colman, Washington Wilcox, and Wm. M.D. Ryan. To
these were added Reeder Smith, Geo. E.H. Day, and doubtless several
others whose names I have not been able to learn. At this meeting a
Charter was drafted for the Lawrence Institute, and Rev. Reeder Smith
was sent to Madison to lay it before the Legislature. The Charter
received the signature of Gov. Dodge, Jan. 17, 1847, and the following
gentlemen were constituted the first Board of Trustees: Henry Dodge,
Loyal H. Jones, Jacob L. Bean, Wm. H. Sampson, N.P. Talmadge, Henry R.
Colman, H.S. Baird, Wm. Dutcher, M. C. Darling, M.L. Martin, Geo. E.H.
Day, D.C. Vosburg, and Reeder Smith.
The first meeting of the Board was to have been held in Fond du Lac,
June 30, 1847, but as there was not a quorum present, the meeting was
adjourned to Sept. 3d. At this meeting the Board was duly organized by
the election of the following officers: Hon. M.C. Darling, President;
Hon. N.P. Talmadge, First Vice President; H.S. Baird, Esq., Second Vice
President; Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Secretary, and Hon. Morgan L. Martin,
Treasurer. Rev. Reeder Smith was appointed Agent.
Geo. W. Law, Esq., and Hon. John F. Mead now offered a donation of
thirty-one acres of land each, on condition that the Institute should be
located at Grand Chute. The offer was accepted, and the location was
made, the name of the place being soon after changed to Appleton. In due
time the Law Tract was conveyed to the Trustees, but, by some strange
mismanagement, to say the least, on the part of the Agent, the Mead land
was conveyed to another party, and it was lost to the Institute.
At the Conference of 1848, Brother Sampson was appointed Principal, and
was expected to serve as Agent until the building to be erected was
ready for occupancy. In pursuance of this arrangement he left Fond du
Lac, Sept. 7th, to enter upon his new field of operations. He took the
steamer to Neenah, and then obtained an Indian "Dug-out" for the balance
of the journey. As the craft carried no sail, he was compelled to put
her before the "white ash breeze" across Lake Butte des Morts, and down
the river to the point of destination, his craft being nearly swamped by
a gale on the Lake.
On the 8th of September he began to cut a road to the grounds and clear
the brush from the campus, thereby making the beginning of both the
Institute and the city of Appleton. The lumber for the building of the
Preparatory Department was purchased of Hon. M.L. Martin, and was
delivered at Duck Creek. The timber was furnished by Col. H.L. Blood.
Through the indomitable energy of Col. Blood and the co-operation of the
agents, the building, seventy by thirty feet in size, and three stories
high, was ready to receive students on the 12th day of November, 1849.
The Faculty with which the school opened were Rev. Wm. H. Sampson,
Principal, Rev. R.O. Kellogg, Professor of Ancient Languages, Mr. James
M. Phinney, Professor of Mathematics, and Miss Emeline M. Crooker,
Preceptress. The first catalogue, published in the fall of 1850, showed
a list of one hundred and five students, which was certainly a very
creditable beginning. The name of the Institute was now changed to
Lawrence University.
A record of the early years of struggle and sacrifice necessary to found
the University would fill a volume, and cannot be given at length in
these pages. Having been a member of the Board for nearly a quarter of a
century, I could say much of the noble men who performed double service
on half pay, but such a recital cannot here be given.
Rev. Dr. Edward Cooke was installed President of the University June 29,
1853. At the same time the corner stone of the College building was laid
by Hon. M.C. Darling, Rev. Alfred Bronson, D.D., delivering the address.
The edifice, a substantial stone structure, one hundred and twenty by
sixty feet, and five stories high, was pushed forward to an early
completion by the untiring energy of the agents, Rev. J.S. Prescott and
Col. H.L. Blood. For college purposes the building ranked among the
first in the West.
In both Students and Faculty Lawrence University has been fortunate from
the beginning. As to the former, she has sent out not a few
representative men to the several occupations of life, several of whom
will find mention in these pages. As to the latter, she has enjoyed the
labors of a class of instructors whose names have found an honorable
place in both the clerical and literary circles of the Commonwealth.
Of Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, the first head of the Faculty, a record has been
made in a former chapter, and it would afford me pleasure to refer at
length to the several members of the first Faculty, as also to all the
Professors who have followed, but I find it will be impossible to do so
in these brief pages.
Rev. Edward Cooke, D.D., the first President, entered the New Jersey
Conference in 1843. He was a graduate of the Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Conn. His first appointment was Principal of the Pennington
Male Seminary, N.J. In 1847 he was transferred to the New England
Conference, and stationed at Saugus. His subsequent appointments were
Union Church Charlestown, D. Street, Centenary, and Hanover, of Boston,
Mass. He was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1853, having
been elected President of the University. As a President he was very
popular, and during his administration of six years had the satisfaction
to see the Institution rise from a feeble preparatory school to a
full-fledged University. In addition to the ordinary duties of his
position, he was largely concerned with the financial matters of the
enterprise, but in every portion of the work Dr. Cooke showed great
wisdom, tact and devotion. And during his term he laid the friends of
education in the State under lasting obligations.
After leaving the University, he was stationed at Summerfield Church,
Milwaukee, but, returning to Boston at the close of his term, he was
elected Principal of the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., where he
has enjoyed great success in his administration. Dr. Cooke is a man of
fine presence, and a good Preacher. Genial in spirit, full of anecdote
and well read, he is very companionable. He has a multitude of friends
in Wisconsin.
Rev. Nelson E. Cobleigh, D.D., was elected Professor in 1854. He was
also a graduate of the Wesleyan University. On coming West, he was first
elected Professor in the McKendree College, Ill., from which position he
came to Appleton. His first visit to these "northern wilds," as
Appleton was then called, was a memorable one. It was a Commencement
occasion, and in connection with the other exercises, the annual
Missionary Meeting was held. Under the leadership of Dr. Cooke, Brother
Cobleigh was appointed to deliver one of the addresses. There were three
speakers appointed as usual, and the second place was assigned to Dr.
Cobleigh and the last to Dr. Cooke. The first speech, brief and to the
point, was made, and as Chairman I introduced Dr. Cobleigh. The speech
opened in a quiet, clear, and common-sense way, none expecting more than
a good, average effort. But before the speaker had proceeded far, his
sentences began to grow intense, and the blood began to shoot upward in
deep, livid lines along the neck and face, and wreathe his forehead. All
eyes were turned upon him, and each hearer began to feel the kindlings
of a strange inspiration. But the speaker was lost to everything except
his theme. He dashed on from one burning thought to another, carrying
his audience with him, in such storms of eloquence as had never before
enchanted the walls of the University Chapel.
At the expiration of a full hour, the great orator came to himself and
resumed his seat, amid the shouts of the people. As soon as quiet
intervened, I introduced Dr. Cooke. The Doctor came forward and stated
that as the speakers had been limited to thirty minutes each, and as his
good friend, Dr. Cobleigh, had used an hour, without any fault of his
own, however, as he could not help it, he would not attempt to make a
speech himself, but would adopt the last half of the last speech, which
was infinitely better than he could do if he were to speak. The fine
turn of the Doctor was taken with a good zest.
After serving the University several years, Dr. Cobleigh went back to
McKendree College as President. He next served as Editor of Zion's
Herald, in Boston, then was President of our College in Tennessee, and
at the last General Conference he was elected editor of the Advocate at
Atlanta, Ga. But his work was soon finished, and he passed on to join
the great and good who have entered the Heavenly gates.
Dr. R.Z. Mason came to the University as a Professor in 1855, and
continued to hold this position until the resignation of Dr. Cooke, when
he succeeded to the Presidency. He remained at this post until the
election of Dr. Steele, when he entered upon business pursuits in
Appleton. The Presidency of Dr. Mason was distinguished by great anxiety
and severe labor. Like the Presidents who went before, and those who
have followed, he was greatly burdened with the financial management.
The several schemes which had been adopted to secure an Endowment Fund
for the University, had not fully met expectations, and in consequence,
an indebtedness had been incurred. To lift this incumbrance became the
special concern of President Mason. He traveled over the State, visiting
the charges in person, and taking subscriptions wherever they could be
obtained. And I am happy to say that through his great ability in this
direction, and his unbounded persistence, the work was carried forward
to a grand success.
Rev. Loren L. Knox, D.D., was another member of the Faculty. Brother
Knox had also given the greater portion of his life to educational work.
His successful administration of the interests of leading institutions
of learning in the East had fully prepared the Board to expect in him a
valuable accession to the Faculty, and they were not disappointed. He
was found to be a thorough scholar, a wise and careful instructor, and
a Christian gentleman of the highest and purest style. After leaving the
University, Dr. Knox did good service in the pulpit for several years,
but, finally, his health so far failed that he was compelled to take a
superannuated relation. At the present writing he is residing at
Evanston, where he is giving such attention to literary work as he finds
himself able to perform.
Rev. Geo. M. Steele, D.D., the President of the University at this
present time, is a man of fine literary attainments, an able
administrator, a superior preacher, and a writer of pronounced
reputation. He is also a graduate of Middletown, and has had
considerable experience as an instructor. He was elected President of
the University in 1865, and has more than met the highest expectations
of the Board. In addition to his duties at the head of the Faculty, he
has given his personal attention largely to the financial interests of
the Institution. In this particular he has achieved a grand work, both
in managing the current expenditures, and in increasing the Endowment
Fund. The Doctor is a great acquisition to the University, and is highly
esteemed by his brethren. The Conference have delighted to honor him in
all appropriate ways, and especially in sending him to both General
Conferences which have occurred since he became a member of the body.
Having thus paid our respects to Appleton and the University, we are
prepared to pass on to other fields. To complete the round there were
two charges yet to visit, but as these will claim our attention
hereafter I need not refer to them now, except to give an incident that
transpired at the Quarterly Meeting held on one of them.
The meeting was held in a school house. The new schoolteacher, a nice
youngster, concluded to lead the singing. Gathering a few young people
around him, and displaying a tuning-fork, he was ready for the services
to begin. I gave the hymn commencing,
"Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove."
When I had finished the reading, the chorister arose with superlative
dignity, and gave the key. Unfortunately, the choir dropped a tone or
two too low, and the first verse was sung at that disadvantage.
Discovering the blunder, the key was again given, but the singers were
now getting nervous, and instead of rising, they went still lower, as
they sang,
"Look how we grovel here below."
Certainly the chariot wheels of Pharaoh did not roll more heavily than
the numbers from that orchestra. I remembered old Balerma, and felt
deeply for them. But our young knight of the tuning-fork was not to be
vanquished. With a dash he brought the fork down upon the desk, and gave
the key again. But alas! for all human expectations! The choir dropped
down to a dead monotone, as they went on with the next verse:
"In vain we tune our formal songs,
In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies."
Both the choir and congregation felt a relief when the Minister said,
"Let us pray."
Having completed the first round of the District, I returned to Fond du
Lac to begin the second. But it is not my purpose to give the details of
each round or year, as the labors of a Presiding Elder are too
monotonous to furnish a record that would be entertaining to the
general reader.