THE MARY EDWARDS DWIGHT FAMILY
After studying at some length the family of the eldest son of Jonathan
Edwards, it is worth while to study the family of one of the daughters.
Mary, the fourth child born at Northampton (1734), was married at the
age of 16 to Timothy Dwight, born in Vermont (1726) and graduated from
Yale in 1744.
It is interesting to find a daughter of Jonathan Edwards marrying a Yale
graduate, who "had such extreme sensibility to the beauty and sweetness
of always doing right, and such a love of peace, and regarded the legal
profession as so full of temptations to do wrong, in great degree and
small" that he persistently refused to study law, though it had been his
father's great desire. The conscientiousness of Major Dwight is well
illustrated by this incident. There was a lottery in the interest of
Princeton college, authorized by the legislature of New Jersey, and
Dwight was sent twenty tickets for sale. He returned them, but the time
required for the mail in those days was so long that they did not reach
the destination until after the drawing. Major Dwight was notified that
one of his twenty tickets had drawn $20,000 and all but one ticket had
drawn some prize. Major Dwight paid for the one blank ticket and would
not take a cent of the large prize money. This was worthy a son-in-law
of Mr. Edwards, the progenitor of a family of mighty men.
Major Dwight was a merchant in Northampton, a selectman, judge of
probate for sixteen years and was for several years a member of the
legislature. At the time of his death, 1778, he was possessed of 3,000
acres of valuable land in Northampton, and he willed his wife $7,050,
and each of his thirteen children $1,165. At that time there were but
five painted houses in Northampton and but two were carpeted. Of the
fourteen children, thirteen grew up, and twelve were married; and their
entire family adds greatly to the glory of the family of Jonathan
Edwards. The oldest son, Dr. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale, said
with much tenderness and force, "All that I am and all that I shall be,
I owe to my mother." She was a woman of remarkable will power and
intellectual vigor. She was but seventeen when her first child was born
and was the mother of fourteen children at forty-two.
The first-born, President Timothy Dwight, S.T.D., LL.D., born 1752, was
one of the most eminent of Americans. He learned his alphabet at a
single sitting while a mere child, and at four knew the catechism by
heart. He graduated from Yale at seventeen; taught the Hopkins school
in New Haven at seventeen and eighteen; was tutor in Yale from nineteen
to twenty-five years of age; wrote the "Conquest of Canada," which was
reprinted in London, at nineteen. This work was dedicated to George
Washington by permission. At twenty-three, he was in the fore front
of the advocates of independence. At twenty-two, General Washington
appointed him a chaplain in the army, and personally requested that he
accept. His widow received $350 a year pension because of this service.
He was a member of the Massachusetts legislature and secured an
important grant to Harvard university. He was offered a professorship
at Harvard and could have gone to Congress without opposition, but
he declined both, and at thirty-two accepted a country pastorate at
Greenfield Hill, Connecticut. He remained there twenty-two years. His
salary was $750. He also had a gift of $1,500 for accepting the call,
a parish lot of six acres, and twenty cords of wood annually. This was
said to be the largest ministerial salary in New England. At forty-three
he was called from the country parish to the presidency of Yale. His
salary as president was $334. Later he had $500, from which he paid $150
for two amanuenses which he required because his sight had failed him.
He published fourteen important works. He was largely instrumental in
organizing the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions; the
American Missionary Society and the American Bible Society. To him is
largely due the establishment of theological seminaries in the country.
For forty-six years he taught every year either in a public or private
school or college, and all but one year of that time he preached every
week and almost invariably he prepared a new sermon. When he died, from
a cancer at sixty-five, the children insisted that the estate should be
for the mother during her lifetime, and when she died there was found
to be $26,000 although his salary had always been ridiculously small.
The eight children were all boys, and all but one grew to manhood.
Timothy was a hardware merchant in New Haven and New York for more
than forty years. He endowed the "Dwight Professorship of Didactic
Theology in Yale," which was named for him. There were nine children,
grandchildren of President Dwight by his eldest son. Of these the
eldest, also Timothy, was the leading paper manufacturer in the trust
mill headquarters at Chicago, and his six children were enterprising and
successful business men in Illinois and Wisconsin. John William Dwight
was one of the leading manufacturers of chemicals in Connecticut. Edward
Strong Dwight, of Yale, 1838, and of Theological Seminary, Yale, was for
many years a trustee of Amherst and a prominent clergyman. J.H. Lyman,
M.D., and Edward Huntington Lyman, M.D., were names that added luster to
the family of President Dwight. Benjamin Woolsey Dwight, M.D., another
son of the President of Yale, was a graduate of Yale and treasurer of
Hamilton college for nineteen years. Among his descendants are Richard
Smith Dewey, M.D., of Ann Arbor, in charge of Brooklyn City Hospital;
charge of military hospital at Hesse Cassel in Franco-Prussian war;
assistant superintendent Illinois State Insane hospital at Elgin. Also
Elliott Anthony, of Hamilton, 1850; Chicago lawyer; city attorney; a
member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1862 and again in
1870; founder of the Law Institute, Chicago, and for several years the
president. Also Edward Woolsey Dwight, who was a leading citizen and
legislator of Wisconsin.
It is impracticable to give the record of many of the distinguished
members of such a family, but a brief notice of a few will give some
idea of the standard of the family.
Benj. Woodbridge Dwight, Ph.D., b. 1816, g. Hamilton 1835, Yale
Theological Seminary, professor in Hamilton; founded Central
Presbyterian church, Joliet, Ill.; established "Dwight's High School,"
Brooklyn; editor-in-chief of "The Interior" of Chicago, which he owned
and edited; contributor to many magazines; author of several scholarly
works; had the first preparatory school which placed German on a level
with Greek in importance, and founded a large preparatory boarding
school at Clinton, N.Y. He was a man of rare ability, character and
success.
Prof. Theodore William Dwight, LL.D., b. 1822, g. Hamilton 1840, g. Yale
Law S.; professor Hamilton College sixteen years; dean of Columbia
College Law S. from 1858 to 1892. James Brice of England placed him at
the head of legal learning in the United States and said: "It would be
worth an English student's while to cross the Atlantic to attend his
course." Another eminent English lawyer, A.V. Dicey, in "Legal
Education" wrote of him as "the greatest living American teacher of
law." He gave a course of lectures each year at Cornell; was a member of
the N.Y. Constitutional Convention in 1867; was a member of the famous
committee of seventy in N.Y. City that exposed the Tweed ring; was
president of the New York Prison Association and presided when Mr.
Dugdale was employed to study the Jukes; associate editor "American Law
Register;" was legal editor of "Johnson's Encyclopædia," and made many
important contributions to the legal literature of the country. There
have been few men of equal eminence in our country's history.
President Theodore Dwight Woolsey, D.D., LL.D., b. New York City,
October 31, 1801, was the grandson of Mary Edwards Dwight and great
grandson of Jonathan Edwards; g. Yale 1820; studied at Princeton
Theological Seminary and g. at Yale L.S.; studied in German
universities; professor in Yale twenty-two years; president of Yale
1846-1871. Wesleyan conferred degree of LL.D. and Harvard that of LL.D.
and S.T.D. all before he was fifty years of age. President of the
Evangelical Alliance held in N.Y. City 1873, the leading American on the
Committee for the Revision of the Bible. After resigning the presidency
he continued to lecture at Yale until his death, 1889. There was no more
eminent American in unofficial life from 1840 to 1890 than he. President
Hayes once said that he was greatly perplexed at one time as to the line
of public policy which he should pursue until it occurred to him that
President Woolsey was the one American on whose judgment he could rely,
and after consulting him his course was entirely clear and his action
wise. He was the author of several valuable and standard works. Yale's
first great advance was in the time of President Timothy Dwight, its
second was in the administration of President Theodore Dwight Woolsey.
When he became president the classes about doubled in size. He
introduced new departments at once and endowments came in, such as had
never been considered possible. The tuition was raised from $33 to $90;
the salaries were greatly increased, graduate courses were introduced;
many new buildings were erected and everything went forward at a
radically different pace. Yale and American thought owe much to
President Woolsey. He wrote many scholarly works.
There were thirteen children born to President Woolsey. Of these, one
daughter married Rev. Edgar Laing Heermance, a graduate of Yale and a
useful and talented man; one of the sons, Theodore Salisbury, was a
graduate of Yale, and professor of International Law at Yale.
President Timothy Dwight, D.D., LL.D., b. 1828, g. Yale 1849, g. Yale
Theological School, studied at Bonn and Berlin in Germany; was professor
at Yale and president from 1886 to 1897. He has been an eminent American
scholar for half a century. If there were but two or three such men in
a family it would make it memorable. Yale gave him the degree of D.D.,
and both Harvard and Princeton that of LL.D. He was editor of "The New
Englander." It is a singular fact that the three great advances which
Yale has made have been in the times of the two Dwights and of Woolsey,
all descendants of Jonathan Edwards. By the end of his third year the
number of students had risen to 1365 and the sixth year to 1784. The
gifts to Yale in each of the fifteen years of his administration were
fabulous as compared with any past experiences, often above $350,000.
President Sereno Edwards Dwight, D.D., g. Yale 1803, practiced law in
New Haven; author of important books which were republished in England;
became a clergyman at the age of twenty-nine; pastor of Park St. Church,
Boston; was chaplain of the U.S. Senate; established successful boarding
school in New Haven. Among his students were the two boys who afterwards
made the famous Andrews & Stoddard's Latin Grammar. His literary work
was extensive and valuable. Standing by himself he would shed lustre
upon the names he bore, Edwards and Dwight. He was a tutor in Yale and
was third president of Hamilton College.
William Theodore Dwight, D.D., b. 1795, g. Yale 1813, tutor at Yale,
practiced law in Philadelphia; became a clergyman; pastor in Portland;
overseer of Bowdoin College. He was offered three professorships, which
he declined. He was one of the religious leaders of America for many
years.
Hon. Theodore Dwight, b. 1764, lawyer. Editor "The Connecticut Mirror"
and "The Hartford Courant;" member of Congress, where he won honors by
successfully combating the famous John Randolph; secretary of the famous
Hartford Convention; established and edited 1815-17 the "Albany Daily
Advertiser;" established and edited the "New York Daily Advertiser"
1817-36; wrote "Life of Thomas Jefferson," and many other works of
importance. There were few men in his day who occupied a position of
such influence.
Theodore Dwight, 2d, b. 1796, g. Yale 1814, eminent scholar, imprisoned
in Paris for distributing the New Testament gratis in the streets; spoke
seven languages; was the warmest American friend of Garibaldi and was
authorized by him to edit his works in this country; was director
N.Y. Asylum for the Blind, and of the N.Y. Public School Assn.; was
instrumental in having music introduced into the schools of N.Y. City;
was prominent in religious and philanthropic as well as educational
work. In the Kansas crisis he induced 3,000 settlers to go to Kansas,
and indirectly caused nearly 10,000 to go at that critical time. He
edited at various times "The N.Y. Daily Advertiser," "The Youths Penny
Paper," "The American Magazine," "The Family Visitor," "The N.Y.
Presbyterian," "The Christian Alliance," and wrote several successful
text-books and many literary and historical works. He was a leader in
the noblest sense of the term.
Nathaniel Dwight, M.D., b. 1770, surgeon in United States Army,
practiced medicine in Providence; prepared the first school geography
ever published in the United States; wrote many historical works;
original advocate of special institutional care for the insane. After
eleven years of ardent championship he saw the first insane retreat
established.
Henry E. Dwight, M.D., b. 1832, g. Yale 1852, g. Andover Theological
Seminary 1857, studied in Germany and France and was an eminent
physician in Philadelphia. Rev. S.G. Dwight, g. Union Theological
Seminary, and was a missionary in the Sandwich Islands.
Here are a few who can only be named: John W. Dwight, b. 1820, g. Yale,
eminent divine and trustee of Amherst College for many years.
Mrs. Rensselaer Nicol, of New Haven, a leader in prison reform and other
philanthropic movements.
Thomas B. Dwight, b. 1857, g. Yale, district attorney of Philadelphia
and eminent lawyer.
Sereno E. Dwight, surgeon in British army.
James A. Dwight, b. 1855, in United States navy.
Samuel H. Stunner was with Sherman in his march to the sea.
Mrs. R.H. Perkins, b. 1819, eminent teacher, principal Duffield school,
Detroit.
William H. Sumner, officer in U.S. regular army.
Thomas Berry, banker in Cleveland.
General Robert Montgomery, of Pennsylvania.
O.H. Kennedy, officer in U.S. navy.
Fenton Rockwell, judge advocate and provost judge in New Orleans;
officer in Civil war, and in many important battles.
William R. Dwight, New York banker.
George S. Dwight, large railroad contractor.
William Allerton, leather merchant in Boston.
Mrs. Egbert C. Smyth, wife of the dean of Andover Theological Seminary.
Rossiter W. Raymond, eminent specialist, author, and lecturer.
W.M. Bell, manufacturer, Allegheny.
Colonel A.S.M. Morgan, U.S.A.
J.E. Jacobs, insurance manager, Chicago.
E.S. Churchill, Portland, Me., merchant.
W.D. Bell, manufacturer, Philadelphia.
George Collier, rich St. Louis banker.
E.A. Hitchcock, tea merchant, Hong Kong.
M.D. Collier, graduated from Yale; St. Louis lawyer.
H.R. Bell, Chicago physician.
D.W. Bell, Pittsburg lawyer.
A.S. Bell, Pittsburg lawyer.
George Hoadley, born in 1781; graduated from Yale; mayor New Haven;
eight times mayor of Cleveland.
W.W. Hoadley, born in 1814; Cincinnati banker.
Dr. T.F. Pomeroy, Detroit.
General J.H. Bates, U.S.A.; Ohio state senate.
Governor George Hoadley, born in 1826; graduated from Western Reserve
College; supreme court judge; president Democratic convention that
nominated General Hancock for the presidency.
Major W.W. Winthrop of the Civil war; graduated from Tale.
Major W.T. Johnson, graduated from Yale; killed at battle of Big Bethel.
Theodore Weston, graduated from Yale; civil engineer of Croton water
works.
J.M. Woolsey, born in 1796; graduated from Yale; capitalist, Cleveland.
Sarah C. Woolsey is "Susan Coolidge."
Mrs. Daniel C. Grilman, wife of the president of Johns Hopkins
University, and formerly president of University of California.
Samuel Carmalt, wealthy land owner in Pennsylvania.
Dr. W.W. Woolsey, born in 1831; graduated from Yale; physician, Dubuque,
Ia.
T.B. Woolsey, flour merchant, New York.
Samuel W. Johnson, graduated from Princeton and Harvard law school; New
York lawyer.
Woolsey Johnson, M.D., graduated from Princeton and New York Medical
College; physician, New York.
Theodore S. Woolsey, graduated from Yale; professor in Yale.
Charles F. Johnson, graduated from Yale; professor United States Naval
Academy, Annapolis.
W.W. Johnson, graduated from Yale; professor Kenyon College.
J.H. Rathburn, lawyer, Utica.
J.O. Pease, merchant, Philadelphia.
A.S. Dwight, lieutenant U.S.A.; killed at Petersburg.
George P.B. Dwight, New York custom house.
Henry E. Dwight, born in 1813; Southern planter.
Theodore Woolsey Porter, b. 1799, g. Yale 1819, eminent teacher;
principal of Washington Institute, New York City.
Timothy Dwight Porter, M.D., b. 1797, g. Yale 1816, was in the New York
senate and a successful practitioner.
Imperfectly as these names represent the achievements of the descendants
of Mary Edwards Dwight they do hint strongly at the vigor, character and
scholarship for which the family of Jonathan Edwards stands in American
life.
There is another large family of Dwights, direct descendants of Jonathan
Edwards, through his granddaughter, Rhoda Edwards, but these are not, of
course, included in this list of Mary's descendants. Many of these are
eminent men, and reference is here made to their omission, lest some one
should think the facts regarding them were not gathered.
A MODERN INSTANCE
It was known that John Eliot Woodbridge removed to Youngstown, O.,
about one hundred years ago, but no trace of him was found until these
chapters were in type when it appeared that this undiscovered remainder
was a most important branch of the family.
Congressman R.W. Taylor, of Ohio, chairman of the committee to pass
upon the case of Mr. Roberts of Utah, is a descendant of Jonathan
Edwards through John Eliot Woodbridge. His masterly treatment of the
case is recognized throughout the country. Here is what the "Detroit
Free Press" said of him at the time of the investigation:
"In appearance he is not of the robust order of statesmen. With fair
face, shoulders that he has always permitted to droop, indispensable
eyeglasses, and hands that nine women out of ten would envy, modest
demeanor, and kindly instincts, he is among the last of men that a
casual observer would pick as fitting leaders where nerve,
aggressiveness, and fearless determination must be joined with an
ability to give and take in legal controversy.
"But this passing judgment would be at widest variance with the truth.
College mates of Taylor will recall the deceptiveness of this outward
appearance. It concealed muscles of steel and a will that had only to be
right in order to be invincible. He was the peer of any amateur baseball
catcher in his day, and held the same enviable place as a student of the
classics. He was the strong man for the D.K.E. initiations, and took the
same rank in all scholastic competitions."
Dr. Timothy Woodbridge, of Youngstown, was a graduate of the medical
college of Philadelphia, and was one of the eminent physicians of
Eastern Ohio. His grandson, Benjamin Warner Wells, of Chicago, was a
graduate of Annapolis naval academy. He was Admiral Schley's flag
secretary in the engagement at Santiago. Dr. John Eliot Woodbridge,
Cleveland, is an eminent specialist in typhoid fever cases. Robert
Walker Taylor was comptroller of the United States treasury for fifteen
years.