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1 Sketch, ‘
By 'Ex=President Edward H. Merrell.


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RIPON COLLEGE.
A Historical Sketch,
BY

EX-PRESIDENT EDWARD H. MERRELL.
The first building in what is now the City of Ripon was erect-
ed in the summer of 1849. In 1850 three were added, making
four in all. The Wisconsin Phalanx, a company of Fourierites,
were on the ground adjacent some years before, having begun
operations in May, 1844, with nineteen resident members. They
increased in numbers, secured about two thousand acres of choice
land, and laid out the village of Ceresco, which occupied the
ground of the First ward of the present City of Bipon. “ The
want of social adhesion” led them in 1850 to divide their prop-
erty and assume individual claims. Although at this time Ge-
resco was much more important than the newly platted village of
235.?99
__ 2 __
Ripon, which edged up to the old town with a saucy defiance, yet
it lacked what Itipon had, a leader. This leader was Captain D.
P. Mapes, in many ways a marked man. Trained in business in
the States of New York and Pennsylvania, afterwards the owner
of a steamboat that plied between Albany and New York, accus-
tomed to the tough conditions that belonged to business life be-
fore the days of railroads, or even of canals, he brought to the
enterprise of building a new city the courage, sagacity, and mag-
netism, that mark the veteran general of many hard campaigns.
His steamboat was sunk at the Palisades in the Hudson river,
and with her Went down the bulk of Captain Mapes’ fortune. At
that day there was one commonly accepted way of mending a
broken fortune: it was to gather up what remained, if anything
remained, and migrate to the wonderful West. Captain Mapes
heeded the prevailing impulse and set his face towards the set-
ting sun. His steps were led, shall we say by a divine hand ‘2 to
the delightful spot which is now the seat of Ripon College. He
secured a large tract of land, laid out a village, and at once be-
gan the pioneer work needed to make his city the ideal one for
all this portion of the State. He wrought with a missionary
spirit of sacrifice and enthusiasm, and soon gathered a company
of strong men and women who had caught the inspiration of his
unflagging courage and his personal magnetism.
No model town is complete without a college. So thought
Cgptain Mapes and his co-founders. In the winter of 1850-51,
though the hamlet was small and the people poor, the building
of the college was projected. Even the prairies surrounding the
village were occupied by only a few, and were for the most part
untouched by the plow. “ It was no uncommon thing,” says a
historian referring to these days, “to count from fifty to a hun-
dred wagons a day passing through to the then newly opened In-
dian Land.”
“The gronnd for the first building,” writes one who assisted
in its erection, “was staked out in a snow storm by three men,
who together were not probably worth $15,000, and no part of
that in ready money. Still the contracts were made, and the
walls of the building pushed up.”
Another writer speaks of the location as follows: “On the
west side of the village of Ripon is an elevation of about ten
acres of land. This eminence is covered with shrubs and un-
—— 3
derwood, with occasional oaks, which thicken westward, and at
the distance of twenty-five or thirty rods mingle with the thick
growth of forest trees, which spread over nearly two hundred
acres. The middle of this elevation is nearly circular, about
one hundred yards in diameter, smooth and level, and has an al-
titude of over thirty feet above the surrounding country. Upon
this hill, at the exact spot staked out by the two grim, determ-
ined men in a snowstorm, stands Brockway College.”
The act of incorporation of the new college was approved Jan.
29, 1851. The original incorporators were David P. Mapes, Ezra
L. Northrup, Alvin E. Bovay, Warren Chase, John S. Horner,
Jehdeiah Bowen, Almon Osborn, Asa Kinney, Edwin Lockwood,
Dana F. Shepherd, Alexander B. Beardsley, William S. Brock-
way, Edward L. Bunals, and William Starr.
Work began in earnest in the spring of 1851. The ground was
given byCaptain Mapes, a square acre on the highest point of
College Hill. the spot now occupied by East College. Subscrip-
tions to the amount of eight hundred dollars were secured, “pay-
able in goods, lumber, labor, lime, grain, and such other com-
modities as were then current.” Of money there was little; of
hearty good will there was a very great deal. The leader of the
enterprise gave in his gold watch to the work as the need became
pressing, the precious reminder of more prosperous days. Dur-
ing the summer the walls of the square building, fifty feet on
each side, went up to its full height of three stories. But at this
point the work halted for want of funds. Tradition has it that
Mr. William S. Brockway then subscribed the amount necessary
to put the roof over the walls, about $300.00, and that the pro-
jected institution was named Brockway College in recognition of
a gift which, for the time, was regarded as munificent. In his
“ History of ltipon ” Captain Mapes says: “ In order to dispose
of stock, 1 proposed to grant the privilege of naming the college
unto the person who should take the largest amount. Mr. Brock-
way proved to be the man, and the college bore his name until
1864, when “ Bipon ” was substituted in the charter for “ Brock-
way” by an act of the legislature.
At this point “the builders took a rest,” is the significant re-
mark of Mr. Jehdeia-h Bowen, the author of a brief historical
paper. And he continues: “ If the question were asked, what
u as intended to be done with that building ? the replies of those

.____4_____
who contributed might have differed widely. While some would
have said that it was designed for a high school, others would
have replied that it was built on purpose to entice settlers, that
the proprietors might sell village lots. But whatever motives
there may have been, one great one inspired all: the pioneers
were bound to show their respect for education, and through
dark days as well as sunshine, this love of education has never
been quenched among our people.”
For a- year the walls of the new building stood bare, the trus-
tees having incurred a debt in building, and being in doubt as to
what exactly all this work was for. But a divine purpose under-
runs the acts of men, though they often recognize it not. Look-
ing about for some religious denomination to take up the work,
the trustees made overtures to the Winnebago District Conven-
tion of Presbyterian and Congregational churches, proposing
that this Convention assume one-half of the debt, amounting in
all to about $800.00, complete the college building, and open a
school in the spring of 1853. The Board ofi'ered to convey the
entire property to the Convention when they should engage to
meet the conditions. The proposition of the Board was con-
veyed to the Convention by the Rev. F. G. Sherrill, minister of
the Congregational church at Ripon. The ministers and churches
of this convention had the traditional instinct of Christian edu-
cators, and were not slow to respond to the overtures that seemed
to come to them so providentially. But at this time the churches
were very poor, and the failure of the Wheat crop that year added
to their distress. They could assume no additional burdens,
however small. It chanced, however, that the Rev. J. W. Wal-
cott had recently come among them and was minister for the
Congregational church at Menasha. He had been at the head of
an academy in New York and had brought to the West a little
money, the savings from his frugal life as a teacher. To him
the Convention appealed, asking him to assume the work of the
new college, and practically hold it for the Convention, until the
churches should be able to take it off his hands and reimburse
him to the amount of what he should expend from his private
funds. After various negotiations the arrangement was made,
Mr. Walcott purchasing from the Trustees the entire property.
In October, 1852, the convention met at Racine, and the follow-
ing action was taken : “A proposition of the Trustees of Brock-


REV. DANA LAMB.
__ 5 __
way College to make a conditional surrender of its charter, sub-
scription list, buildings, and so forth, into the hands of the Con—
vention was discussed, and the whole management of the matter
was given up to Rev. J. W. Walcott.” The Convention was not
yet in a condition to assume the control; nor was it able or will-
ing afterwards, a fact that proved a great trial to Mr. Walcott.
Practically it never came fully into the hands of the Convention,
as will appear.
Mr. Walcott immediately assumed control of affairs, and be-
gan the work of fitting the college building for school purposes,
and of laying the foundations of an “institution of the highest
order.” Four rooms on the east side of the building were finish-
ed and furnished during the fall and winter of 1852-53 besides
the hall, and the school was open for instruction June 1st, 1853.
This was not accomplished without strong effort on the part of
the leader and the willing co-operatio'n of many men. The lum-
ber was hauled by Julian Rivers from Neenah, a distance of over
thirty miles. Mr. Wolcott purchased land adjacent to the orig-
inal plat, so that now the campus has about eleven acres in all.
The opening of the school was an occasion of great joy. Says
a local historian, “In due time the opening came. Cur citizens
and those of the neighboring towns had looked forward with many
doubts to that day; and it is difficult to realize the feelings of
our little community, when this step was gained.”
From the date of opening till 1855 the school was under the
exclusive management of Mr. Walcott, with such assistants as
he was able to secure from a very slender income. Miss Martha
J. Adams, Mr. M. W. Martin, and Mr. Alvan E. Bovay and
others were the leading assistants during this period. Young
men and Women were instructed in the same classes, and the
studies were those ordinarily accepted in fitting for the colleges
of that day and the English branches intended'to furnish a prac-
tical education. No college classes were formed, and no college
work was attempted in the years following, till the autumn of
1863.
At the meeting of the Winnebago District Convention at Fond-
du Lac, Oct. 5, 1854, Mr. Walcott made a definite proposition to
transfer the College property to the Convention or to a Board of
Trustees to be appointed by Convention; and a committee was
appointed to correspond with the ministers and churches within
__ 6 __
the bounds of Convention, to mature a plan and report at the
next regular meeting. The next meeting occurred at Rosendale
en J an. 16, 1855. At this meeting a committee of seven was ap-
. pointed, which was charged with the duty of appointing an agent
to raise $2,500 for the general purposes of the College, and a
further sum to purchase the college property of Mr. Walcott. On
March 14 following, the committee of seven reported to a special
meeting of Convention held at Ripon. Their report was in the
form of a set of resolutions which they had previously adopted,
and recommended that Convention purchase the college property
of Mr. Walcott; that an effort be made to raise money for en-
dowments so that the college department could be organized,
also to raise $10,000 within six months to purchase the college
property and erect a dormitory building; that, inasmuch as there
was “ground to apprehend that the charter under which the Col-
lege was working” was void, applicatiOn be made to the legisla-
ture for a new one; and that Jackson Tibbets be employed as
financial agent. The Convention adopted the report of the com-
mittee, but on condition that the charter members of the Board
of Trustees “fill the vacancies existing from such persons as the
Convention shall nominate, or approve, and that all future va-
cancies be filled in the same manner.” The committee on their
own motion had already secured the new charter, which was
granted by the legislature Feb. 9, 1855. The members of the
Board named in the charter were Ezra L. Northrup, J ehdeiah
Bowen, Jeremiah N. Walcott, Silas Hawley, Dana Lamb, Bertine
Pinckney, Charles H. Camp, Harvey Grant, Sherlock Bristol, and
the “president of the collegiate faculty for the time being.”
These members were given power to increase their number to
fifteen, and on March 19 the following persons were added on
nomination of Convention: A. M. Skeels, Jeremiah Porter,
Joseph Jackson, A. B. Preston, and Richard Catlin.
' Although the money had not yet been raised to reimburse Mr.
Walcott, and the title of the property was still in him, yet the
Board proceeded to secure funds for the contemplated dormitory
building. The Board met on April 23, 1855, when the commit-
tee on subscriptions were able to report $4,000 pledged for the
new building. Encouraged by this, the Executive Committee,
with Messrs. Skeels, Northrup, and Lamb added, were appointed
a building committee, and this committee was instructed to
__ 7 __
“ erect as speedily as the means raised by the agent should per-
mit, a dormitory building, three stories in height, and not to ex-
ceed one hundred and ten feet in length by forty-four in widthgh
and that said building be of stone.” This building, erected ac-
cording to the general plan indicated above, is the present Mid-
dle College.
On Feb. 21, 1857, Mr. Walcott deeded the College property to
the Board of Trustees, they securing him for his claim of six
thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven dollars by a mortgage
on the entire realty. The deed recOgnized the right of the Win-
nebago Convention to nominate candidates to fill vacancies in
the Board, and had a clause providing that the property should
revert to Mr. Walcott or his heirs, if it should ever be used for
other than school purposes. The campus conveyed embraced
about nine acres, which has since been enlarged by the purchase
of about two additional acres. The dormitory building contem-
plated in the vote of April, 1855, was not ready for use till the
latter part of the autumn'of 1858, and was not fully completed
till the summer of 1863. The years from 1855 to 1862 witnessed
serious struggles and strifes in the young college enterprise. Al-
though several efforts were put forth, little progress was made
toward paying the claims of Mr. Walcott. A misunderstanding
arose between Mr. Walcott and several of the largest subscribers
to the building fund on account of which conferences and nego-
tiations were had that extended through several years. Besides
those immediately interested, a large number of citizens and
members of Convention and of the neighboring churches became
involved in the case, and the result was no little acrimony and
loss of moral enthusiasm. Mr. Walcott retired from the Princi-
palship of the College and resigned his membership in the Board
of Trustees, and the offended subscribers to the funds of the Col-
lege refused to pay their subscriptions, claiming that they were
morally released on the ground that the management of the Col-
lege had not been what they had a right to expect. This refusal
led to the most serious financial embarrassment, for obligations
had been incurred by the Board relying on these large pledges to
meet them. Besides all this, the policy of the College was as yet
unsettled, the votes and discussions of these years indicating a
doubt whether the institution should ultimately become a real
college ; whether, if it should, men and women should be educat-
__ 8 __
ed together in it; or whether it should at length be a “female ”
seminaryaor college, with a preparatory department for boys and
girls. A strong influence from the southern part of the state, es-
pecially from the supporters of Beloit College, was constantly
felt adverse to the plan of making a full college for men and
women.
An educational convention was held in Ripon on the 16th of
July, 1856, which had for its object the adoption of some basis
on which all the churches could stand in support of the College.
Representatives of the various conventions were present, and the
President of Beloit College took a leading part in the discussions.
The debates, according to the authority of the Rev. Edward
Brown, who was a member of this council, gathered about the
two questions of “ coeducation ” and of “ a complete college
course for young men at Ripon.” Pres. Chapin opened the
session with “ an excellent lecture on female education, near the
close of which he expressed himself very mildly against coeduca-
tion in higher colleges,” says Mr. Brown. As a result‘of the de-
liberations, which continued through one entire day, the follow-
ing conclusion was reached : “ This convention is of the opinion
that a union of all parties here represented may be secured upon
the following basis :——-
1. That the establishment of a college for males be left in its
present situation until such time as God in His providence shall
indicate its necessity.
2. That the preparatory department both for males and fe-
males be continued, and that thereibe a faithful execution of
every trust.
8. That the main object be a female seminary.
4. That the five ecclesiastical bodies come in as equal shares
in the trusteeship, expenses, and responsibilities of the institu-
tion.”
On the 29th of July following the Board at its annual meeting
took up the action of the educational convention for deliberate
consideration, and a vote on ad opting it as a basis of action was
“unanimous in the negative.” A committee was immediately
appointed to issue a circular “ setting forth the action of the
Board in reply to the educational convention’s resolutions, the plan of the future operations of the Board, together with an
appeal for help.” This circular was soon issued, but the plan
STORRS HALL. M.



.___..9_____
O
outlined leaves the question of a full college course for young
men still indefinite. There is no doubt, however, that the Board
throughout held firmly to the idea of establishing a college in the
full sense for both men and women, and that the indefiniteness
of thought was more with the supporters of the work who were
outside of the governing Board. Their wavering and uncertainty
was for the time an element of weakness. 1.
An editorial writer in The Advance of April 14, 1887, says,
“Ripon is in a measure a child of Oberlin; one of the numer-
ous colleges that have been built up by graduates of that Institu-
tion.” This statement needs modification ; for the plan of
coeducation was fully accepted, though not without spirited de- ' '
bates, long before any Oberlin man or woman was a teacher or
other officer in the Institution or a minister in the Winnebago
Convention. The early promoters of the work were doubtless
influenced by the Oberlin experiment, (for the Oberlin College in
the fifties had hardly passed the experimenal stage), but no Ober-
lin teachers wrought among the substructures till 1862. From
that date to 1885 there were several.
The local estrangements referred to above and the divided
counsels indicated had a depressing influence in these early
years. “Finally the financial crisis of 1857 came upon the
country with a crash which with the other difficulties shook the
faith of many. Nevertheless, though embarrassed, the cause
was not deserted. The school was maintained, and efforts were
still continued to weather the storm.” Among those who ren-
dered efficient and largely unremunerated service during these
years were, Rev. Dana Lamb, a shrewd, magnetic, and courage-
ous man; Rev. J. W. Walcott, who, though buffeted, never al-
lowed his love for the College to grow cold; Rev. H. M. Chapin,
a determined and persistent solicitor of funds; and Rev. J. J.
Miter, the scholarly and accomplished pastor of the church at
Beaver Dam. To recount in detail the labors of these men, to-
gether with those of others who faithfully served the College 10-
cally, would require volumes.
The spirit in which these pioneers worked is well illustrated by
the toils and sacrifices of the Rev. Dana Lamb, to whom refer-
ence has already been made. He was a native of Vermont, and
a graduate from her University with the valedictorian’s rank.
He had been, before coming to the West, a New England pastor
I
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in one of the small and straitened Vermont parishes, and had
learned how to eke out his slender income by expert farming. In
the autumn of 1847 he came with his wife and five children to
Wisconsin, and settled in the township of Springvale, Fond du
Lac county, on a farm now occupied by a son. He was a man
of powerful physique, standing six-feet-two in his stockings, and
was an expert in all forms of farm labor. These facts are gath-
ered from a biographical sketch written by his son, the Hon. Dana
C. Lamb, who also tells the following anecdote: “While engaged
in soliciting funds for the erection of the new college building, he
come to a farm on Democrat prairie, four or five miles north of
Ripon. The sun was declining and the distant college stood out
in bold relief against the sky. Tying his horse to the fence, he
entered the field where the farmer was engaged with an old fash-
ioned reaper in harvesting wheat, having at least a half dozen
men binding. Mr. Lamb approached him, and calling his atten-
tion to the beautiful view of the college, solicited his aid. The
farmer replied roughly with an oath that he had no time to talk
about college, but must bind his wheat.” Said Mr. Lamb, “have
you any objection to my binding around with you ‘2 ” “ No,” re-
plied the farmer, “if you will keep up.” They all started alike,
Mr. Lamb and the farmer side by side, talking as they bound.
Gradually the minister gained one bundle, then another, and so
it went around the forty acre lot. Corner after corner was turned,
he keeping one or two bundles in the lead. As they arrived at
the starting point, the farmer, completely out of breath and drip-
ping with perspiration, exclaimed, “here, give me that book; no
priest shall beat me binding, and I not do something for him,”
and he thereupon subscribed $50.
On the last Sunday of July, 1861, Mr. Lamb preached three
times as he was wont to do, riding many miles to meet his ap-
pointments. The weather was hot, and, being greatly exhausted
by the labors of the day, he was taken violently ill in the night.
A meeting of the Trustees of the College was called for the fol-
lowing day, Monday, and, against the remonstrances of his fam-
ily, he determined to attend. He rode to Ripon, thirteen miles,
in a burning sun, in the farm wagon of a neighbor who was mak-
ing the journey on business. He was hardly able to walk when
he arrived, but insisted on taking his share in the deliberations
of the Board. The Board met at the house of Mr. Lamb’s son,
I
A x "
4 5 :-~
__ 11 _____
where, lying on a lounge, he helped to mature plans which proved
to be most important toward fixing the policy of the College and
establishing it on a solid foundation. On Tuesday he was pres-
ent at a session of the Board, whither he was conveyed in a car-
riage. On Tuesday night he grew rapidly worse, and died on
Wednesday morning, lamenting only that his work was but half
done. The last words on his lips were an injunction to Dr. Hall
to care for the College, and so the superb old hero passed to his
blessed reward.
But the hardships and storms without did not disturb disas-
trously the quiet within, for the work in the schoolrooms went
steadily on. A pleasant picture of the internal work, as well as
an illustration of the faith and loyalty of the students, is given in
a letter written by one of the pupils to a friend who was contem-
plating attendance at the College. There is something in college
life, especially in the pioneer years of an institution’s history,
well fitted to kindle moral enthusiasm, and the letter referred to
indicates that the writer had caught it. It was dated July 29,
1856, and says: “I am gratified to learn from your letter that
you are expecting to attend school the coming winter. I will
briefly answer your inquiries in respect to this Institution. It
has a college charter, but has only the preparatory male and
female departments in operation. The first building erected is
of stone, and as far as completed will compare most favorably
with the vaunted models of the East. The school and recitation
rooms are finished with butternut oiled and varnished. The
desks are of the same material, and calculated for but one stu-
dent. The whole is arranged on an original plan, which is pro-
nounced the most perfect that could be adopted, uniting the es-
sential elements of elegance and convenience. The moral influ-
ences exerted over students are of a high character. There are
two distinct departments of the Institution; young ladies and
gentlemen, however, recite together in certain classes. We re-
ceive instruction in all the higher English branches, and in those
classical studies necessary to fit young men for college. It is the
aim of the teachers to make our studies practical, and to qualify
us for active business; to this end much attention is given to
book-keeping and practical arithmetic, as well as to all those
branches necessary to prepare teachers for their work. The
course of instruction in the higher mathematics and natural sci-
__ 1'2 __._
ences is complete and thorough. I am informed that it will be
the aim of the Board .to provide immediately fora full course of
collegiate instruction for young ladies. The difficulties in ob-
taining board and suitable rooms for students, which have hith-
erto been so serious a hindrance to the progress of the Institu-
tion, will be in a great measure obviated by the completion of the
new building, which will contain about forty study rooms, with
a bedroom and clothespress attached to each, and a commodious
dining hall in the basement. Everything is arranged in the best
taste. The college lot affords ample play-grounds, and is the
most beautiful imaginable. In conclusion I would say that the
prospects of the Institution were never more favorable than at
present. If you conclude to attend, you had better come early
in order to obtain suitable accommodations, as we shall probably
be somewhat crowded.
Yours, etc,
W. H.”
Mr. G. B. Cooley and Miss. Martha J. Adams, and afterwards
Mr. C. C. Bayley, and Mrs. C. T. Tracy were the responsible
heads of the work from 1857 to 1861. Mr. Bayley was a grad-
uate of Amherst College, and an old teacher, and an especially
fine. classical scholar. Though there Were no college classes for
him to teach, yet he did fitting work of most excellent quality.
Mrs. C. T. Tracy was appointed matron and teacher Oct. 8, 1859,
and has had a continuous service on the grounds from that day
to the present time. The appointment of Mrs. Tracy was an
event of providential significance. A woman of great intellect-
ual vigor; well equipped in the branches in her department, es-
pecially in mathematics and botany, in the latter of which she
is an acknowledged expert; of uncommon strength and nobility
of character; unoonquerable in courage and fertile in resources;
self-sacrificing to the last degree for any good cause she may have
espoused ;-she has been a center of moral and intellectual unity
through trying years, on which the faith of weaker natures has
taken hold as of a cable of steel in a difficult pass. It is no
wonder that Pres. Merriman on one occasion, in speaking of her
surprising capability in managing the internal domestic affairs
of the College, declared that he considered her service to the Col-
lege of more importance than his own.
On the 10th of September, 1861, the Executive Committee,



















HON. JEHDEIAH BOWEN.
__ 13 __
having been empowered by previous action of the Board to do so,
let the buildings and grounds of the College to the Government,
to be occupied by the First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry till
the 10th of October. At a subsequent meeting the time was ex-
tended to Dec. 1st, and the grounds were not vacated till Novem-
ber 28th.
At this time the conditions were not favorable for opening the
school. Many of the young men had entered the army, the Prin-
cipal that had been engaged to take the place of Mr. Bayley, who
had resigned at the end of the previous school year, could not
then be secured, and the financial distress of the College was ex-
treme. It was decided to suspend the school for one year. Mrs.
Tracy, however, occupied two rooms in the Dormitory Building
and taught a school on her own account, and Miss. Martha
Wheeler, now Mrs. G. M. Paine, of Oshkosh, occupied other
rooms, and taught classes in music. Not a little work was done
in this year to raise money to pay the indebtedness, chiefly by
the Rev. J. A. Hawley, President of the Board of Trustees and
pastor of the Ripon Congregational church, and Rev. H. M.
Chapin, who had been employed as financial agent. On July 30,
1862, report wasmade to the Board that $10,000 had been se-
cured, an amount deemed at that time sufficient to meetjall in-
debtedness. But many of these pledges were given on condition
that when paid all debts against the College should be extin-
guished, and another class was made up of subscriptions diffi-
cult to collect, so that the conditional pledges could not be called
in. The debt was drawing interest at the rate of twelve per cent.,
and as a matter of fact collections could be made only about
sufficient to pay the interest as it accrued. A debt of from $10,-
000 to $12,000 drawing interest at the rate of 12 per cent. ; sub-
scriptions to meet it the larger part of which could not be col-
lected because of conditions attached ; the college property greatly
damaged by the soldiers and no more than enough at forced sale
to meet the indebtedness against it ; a general feeling of doubt as
to the possibility of carrying the enterprise successfully through
the difficulties with which it was encompassed ;-such were the
conditions that confronted the teachers who reopened the school
in September, 1862. Mr. E. H. Merrell, Principal, Mrs. C. T.
Tracy, Matron and Teacher of Mathematics and Botany, Miss
J. R. Hosford, Teacher of French and English Branches, and
___14__
Miss Augusta Camp, Teacher of Music, were the instructors.
Twenty-three pupils greeted the teachers the first day, and the
number increased to nearly one hundred before December.
This year was a prosperous one so far as the internal work was
concerned, and did much to win back the confidence of the peo-
ple towards the struggling college. Mr. Hawley put forth no
little effort to raise money, but almost no progress was made
during the year in lifting the burden of debt. Still, a new life
was infused into the enterprise which was prophetic of triumphs
to come.
On April 23d, 1863, the Rev. William E. Merriman, a graduate
of Williams College and of Union Theological Seminary, a popular
preacher and pastor and an accomplished scholar, then pas-
tor of the Presbyterian Church at Green Bay, was elected to the
Presidency of the College at a salary of $51,000 a year, and Mr.
Merrell was made Professor of Ancient Languages. The appoint-
ment of Mr. Merriman was an epoch in the history of the
College. He accepted the appointment on the 21st of July, and
began work at once. The obstacles that Eonfronted him were
extraordinary, but he at once exhibited a power to overcome
them which was also extraordinary. He was in the prime of
mature manhood, and though infirm in health even then, he had
the power of swift and effective work. His intellect, naturally
of great strength, was so completely trained that he was a master
in dialectics. He was looked for to make the best speech on any
occasion that called strong men tOgether, even when he had re-
ceived no previous notice that he was expected to appear. His
princely will commanded every last faculty and resource with-
in him. His Christian consecration and enthusiasm were so
complete and magnetic that he carried about with himself a liv-
ing rebuke for selfishness and inspiration for the fainting.
Though the care of the College was depressing enough, yet he
found neither indifference nor distrust; for they fled before him
like the mists before a fresh breeze. Knowing that men find in
conditions largely what they have predetermined to find, he de-
termined to find, what he actually did discover, the elements of
success. He was full of schemes, using the word in its best
sense, and if one failed he was ready with another. His quiver
was full of arrows, and a second was instantly in place if the
first failed of the mark. He missed no opportunity to put in
__ 15 __
effective" work for the College or for intellectual and spiritual up-
lift among the students and people. Although the Institution
had at this time no endowment, only one professor besides the
President, and less than a half dozen students of college grade,
yet it took its place at once among the churches and people, of
intellectual and moral leadership. In President Merriman’s
letter of acceptance we find an entirely characteristic platform
for the guidance of future work. It is evidently the product of
a mind that knew precisely what was needed, and that had no
faltering doubts as to ability to meet the need. The principles of
this platform were the guide in the administration of the financial
affairs of the College for many subsequent years, and the con-
sequence was a constantly constructive policy in its manage-
ment. The President said: “ I hereby accept your appointment
and Will begin my official duties immediately. But I here dis-
tinctly state that I accept this appointment with the following
express understanding: 1. That it is the aim of the Trustees
and friends of this Institution to raise its grade so fast, and only
so fast, as its own growth and the wants of the country allow, till
it becomes one of the highest order. 2. That meanwhile we
will prosecute the work of preparatory and academical instruct-
ion as efficiently as possible; and that we will neither let our
work at the present limit our plans for the future, nor our hopes
for the future interfere with the needed work of the present. 3.
That we will on no account allow the Institution to incur any
more debt. 4. That we will exert ourselves to the utmost to pay
the present debt, and complete the buildings this year; and I
would have it fully understood that I give no promise or en-
couragement of continuing in the service of the Institution, if
both of these objects cannot be effected during the year to come.”
The work of raising the money for the completion of the build-
ings fell to the lot of Prof. Merrell and was successful. The
west half of the East College and all of the third story presented
only bare walls up to this time, and Middle College needed doors
for the upper story, stair-rails, balusters, and so forth. Both
buildings were completed and furnished within the year, and
were well filled with students. As to the debt the President re-
ported, July 20, 1864, as follows: “Both mortgages on the col-
lege property have been paid up and satisfied.
Mr. Walcott gave $500 for this purpose, in addition to his for-
__ 15 __
mer subscriptions. There is now no incumbrance on the col-
lege premises. The floating debt is all paid but about $300.,
which it is expected will be removed very soon.” Besides the
work of soliciting funds and lecturing before the students, the
President had preached in various places on Sundays. He did
an especially efiective service in supplying the pulpit of the Con-
gregational church of Ripon, which had become vacant by the
resignation of Mr. Hawley. This vacancy gave him a rare op-
portunity to lead and impress the entire people. For all of this
service he received but a pittance as salary. In his annual re-
port is found this item: “The President will receive for his ser-
vices this year the board of himself and family (four persons) in
the college building about three fourths of the time. The rest
of his salary he relinquishes to the College, so that it may be
brought out of debt.” During the period of his service for the
College he received an average salary of about $800 a year,
though he was frequently offered many times that sum for work
in other fields. _
In'this great work of clearing the College of debt, mention
should be made of the Rev. Sherlock Bristol, a member of the
Board of Trustees, then residing at Dartford. But for his sac-
rifices and faith, it is difficult to conjecture, even at this day, how
the work of the President could have been successful. He had
converted his worldly effects into money, expecting soon to re-
move with his family to California. Mention has already been
made of the fact that several of the largest subscriptions were
conditional, and to be paid only when the payment of them
would extinguish the entire indebtedness. At the suggestion of
the President, Mr. Bristol bought all of the smaller subscriptions
and those slow of collection in a lump, and paid for them in
cash. With this money in hand, the President immediately
called in the conditional pledges, and the mortgages were paid
on the fifth of July, 1864. The Board ratified the arrangement
by formally turning over to Mr. Bristol “the assets of the Insti-
tution, except what was on the college premises, after paying the
residue of the floating debt.” When the money had been real-
ized from the largest portion of these assets, Mr. Bristol gave
the rest to the College, a gift from his slender fortune of more
than a tenth of the whole. Such was the spirit of the founders.
In this year three changes were made in the charter by act of









MRS. CLARISSA T. TRACY.
17 ---~

Legislature published April 11. The name of the College was
changed from “Brockway” to “Ripon;” the College was per-
mitted to hold for its uses “lands in the city of Ripon” instead of
merely “adjacent lands” to the campus; and “to hold free of
taxation any land acquired by donation, or bequest, expressly for
educational purposes, and for the endowment of the Institution,
to the amount of ten thousand acres at any one time, while held
in fee simple and unincumbered.”
In this year of 1863-4, the first college work was done, a class
of solid students having been carried through the Freshman
year. The most of these were subsequently graduated and have
achieved distinguished success in the world. The works of Pink-
erton and Tracy have been widely celebrated.
For all of the achievements of this crucial year, we are not sur-
prised that the Board tarried to put on record their feelings of
“ devout gratitude to Goc .” ' .
One of the prime characteristics of the President appeared in
a vote passed at the end of this July meeting of the Board in
1864. He never sat down with the question whether or not the
conditions were favorable for an advance, or whether he had in-
fluence to win favor to the College. He assumed that the ad-
vance was to be constant, and that influence was to be secured
by a steady progress. During his entire administration he had
in hand some especial work of upbuilding to which he committed
himself with his immense energy. At his suggestion therefore
the Board voted to proceed at once to attempt to raise $12,000
within one year to endow one professorship, “ with the express
intention of raising other endowments as soon as practicable un-
til the whole amount raised should be $50,000.” $1,000 also
was to be sought during the year for books and apparatus.
The platform of the President in regard to debt was severely ad-
hered to. It was a common statement in speech and print, that
the College was operated on its own earnings, and all money con-
tributed was used for building up the Institution. The Presi-
dent’s salary was nominally $800 a year, but was not paid in
full; the salaries of the other teachers were from $300 to 25600
a year. .
By 1866 the buildings were filled to their utmost capacity, and
steps were taken to erect a new one. At its meeting on May
22nd, 1866, the Board voted “ that the Executive Committee
__ lg __
be authorized to proceed with the erection of the new building,
when, in their judgment, the subscription shall amount to a suffi-
cient sum to warrant such commencement.” At this meeting,
the Revs. W. Ward, M. Montague, and Mr. Daniel Merriman
were appointed to professorships—a venturesome step, since
there were no endowments for the chairs to which they were as-
signed, and the income from the general endowment at this time
was less than enough to pay the salary of the President.
Work for the new college building, now West College, was be-
gun in April of 1867, citizens of Ripon having subscribed about
$6,000 towards its erection. It was completed and opened for
occupancy at the beginning of the term in September of the same
year. The last bills for this building, amounting to above
$3,000, were paid by the President personally, he taking the risk
of reimbursing himself by future solicitations. He was finally
paid in full, though he carried the debt without an\ charge for
interest, and he never allowed work to raise money f r this pur-
pose to interfere with those larger movements for whi -h he was
constantly soliciting funds.
In the year 1868 a point was gained which was perhaps more
important to the College than any other in its history to that
time. This was the endorsement, in November of that year, of
the work by the Society for the Promotion of Collegiate and The-
ological Education in the West. Up to this time the work had
been local and its aim equivocal; the endorsement of this Socie-
ty, which placed it on its list for promotion at the East, commit-
ted all its officers and supporters to the work of building accord-
ing to the American college idea and plan beyond the possibility
of honorable retreat. It was very important to have that ques-
tion settled once for all. But what was essential to the securing
of this endorsement was of scarcely secondary importance. Sec-
retary Baldwin of the College Society had been on the ground
and had studied the problem with care. Great interest was felt as
to the conclusions he should reach, for he was the working head
of the Society and, what was quite as significant, he was confess-
edly the broadest and most capable man of his time in the busi-
ness of American college building. Before he left he assured
the Trustees that two things would be essential to the securing
of even a consideration of the case of Ripon College iy the D1.
rectors of the Society. First, the reversionary right of Mr.
Walcott must be given up by him ; and, second, the College must
19 -———
be made free of all denominational entanglements—which refer-
red to the right of the Winnebago Convention to nominate the
candidates for the vacancies in the Board of Trustees. The pol-
icy of the Society was then, as it always has been, to require
that all institutions aided shall be under the control of independ-
ent and self-perpetuating boards. Both of these points were
happily gained; the latter, however, not without a long and sharp
debate. On July 9, 1868, Mr. Walcott executed to the Board
a deed of trust, in which he conveyed to them “ all his right, ti-
tle and interest in and to the reversionary clause ” contained in
the former deed. But this deed properly specified that the prop-
erty shoulc “ be held by them in trust for the uses and purposes
specified,” in the former deed. That is, Mr. Walcott constituted
the Board his personal trustees to carry out his will that the col-
lege property should be used forever for educational purposes.
At the meeting of the Winnebago Convention, June 15-18, 1868,
after protracted debate, among other resolutions, the following
. was passed by a large majority: “That, as the reasons why it
has hitherto been important that the Convention should control
the election of trustees of the College have ceased, and as it is
now essential to the prosperity and progress of the Cellege, and
especially essential to obtaining the aid of the Western College
Society, that it should be free from ecclesiastical control, this
Convention relinquishes all claim to the right of nominating trus-
tees for vacancies in the Board of Trustees.” In another reso-
lution it was added that “ this action was not intended to detach
the College from the interest, influence, and sympathy of the
Convention or of the churches, but to engage the churches more
earnestly in building it up.” .
Another preliminary step towards securing the support of the
College Society consisted in gaining the endorsement of the Col-
lege in its aims and application by the General Convention of the
Congregational churches of the State. At its meeting at Ripon
in October, 1868, the Convention “unanimously endorsed and
recommended the College in its proposed effort to obtain $100,-
000 for endowment, and also the aid of the Western College So-
ciety.” The spirit of this action has been reaffirmed in many
subsequent votes of the-Convention, so that the time has long
passed when the question as to what the churches intend con-
cerning the College needs to be raised.
In November of 1868, the President made application to the

____ 20 __
College Society for recognition and endorsement, and the appli-
cation was acted on favorably. “The Directors of the Society
resolved to accept Ripon College as one of its beneficiaries, and
to aid it in obtaining at the East $50,000 for endowment.”
This action put the Institution on a footing of fair recognition in
the fraternity of colleges, and from this point its financial con-
dition began to improve rapidly. At the annual meeting in July,
1869, the salary of the President was raised from $800 to $1,000
a year, and the salaries of professors from $700 to $840.
The years from 1868 to 1875 can well be called the period of
prosperous consolidation. No marked events occurred to change
the order'of things or to initiate some great advance. The ‘well
defined characteristics of the College appeared in hard work by the
Faculty, a spirit of consecration to the service, marked diligence
on the part of the students, and a vivid and strong current of re-
ligious influence. No student in those years could be connected
with the College for any considerable period without being pro-
foundly impressed, and great numbers were brought trium-
phantly under the saving power of the gospel of Christ. The
College took its proper place of preeminence in local reforms,
and its influence was marked throughout the churches of the
commonwealth. It is but historic justice to say that this was in
a great measure due to the superb intellectual and spiritual lead-
ership of the President, though he was grandly supported in his
chief aims by the Faculty, the students,'and the local church.
Believing, as he once remarked, that he had at his hand more of
moldable mind than any pastor in the State, he sought oppor-
tunities to address and instruct the students assembled in chapel,
and the impressions of his powerful appeals are among the
things vividly remembered and often mentioned by the older stu-
dents.
The domestic and social life of the College in these years had
in it elements of great intellectual and moral strength. Many
things were lacking in general equipment which, even in the
present days of modest requirement, are esteemed essential, and
the appointments for the home life of the students often fell far
short of what would now be regarded as indispensable for com-
fort; but students and teachers shared alike in trials and tri-
umphs, and a close intercommunication of interests gave mutual
support and general content. The condition of the primitive





REV. WILLIAM E. MERRIMAN. D. l).
21 -—-
church, when “all that believed were together, and had all things
common,” was fairly suggested. For many terms all of the
teachers had rooms in the Middle College, the building replete
with interesting memories, and sat with the students about the
daily board. This meant much when it is remembered who
those teachers were. Besides the President, there was Prof. W.
H. Ward, one of the few men who, having carried his investiga-
tions into many fields, has become an accomplished scholar in
them all; Mrs. Woodrow, who combined vigor with gentleness
and sat a queen in the teacher’s chair; Mrs. Merrell, whose
character was symmetry and grandeur; and, besides them, Mrs.
Tracy, Prof. Montague, and the rest, whose works of sacrifice are
held in grateful remembrance among men and are recorded with
approbation on high. Intercourse between teachers and pupils
was unrestrained, and the rounds of the students’ rooms were
often made by the teachers, who visited them without formality
or official constraint. Meetings for conference or inquiry were
common, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world that
the conferences and inquiries should concern religion. Among
themselves the teachers were often together, not simply in the
formal meetings of the Faculty, but in gatherings for consulta-
tion respecting individual students or the general interests ; and
their cares, their desires, and their hopes were unitedly carried
to the throne of grace. In the midst of such a life the thought of
hardship was extinguished in the joy of service, and the common
mind was quick in invention and discovery of those things which
could supply individual and general need. The student who was
poor became rich in serving and being served.
The boarding hall during several of these years was an object
of most interesting study in domestic and social economy. The
teacher of Botany and Elementary Mathematics was the head of
it within doors, while the Professor of Creek was Assistant Treas-
urer and general purveyor. During several of the terms all of.
the work was done by students, who by domestic service earned
a part or the whole of their support. But it would be a vast
mistake to suppose that, on this account, the work was confused
or imperfectly performed. On the contrary, the precision as to
times and methods was that of a military camp, and many have
testified that they learned in the famous old M. C. the art of ex-
peditious, thrifty, and skillful housekeeping. It is safe to say

-—— 22
that here was exhibited the maximum of accomplishment and
comfort at a minimum cost. There was abundance without pro-
fusion, and economy without meanness or ungenerous stint.
No new buildings were erected in the period from 1868 to 1875,
and little was added to the equipment for illustrating the sciences
or laboratory work. Large additions, however, were made to
the library, and about $50,000 was secured toward the general
endowment for the payment of teachers. During these years
and the previous ones as far back as 1862, it is difficult to see
how the work of the College could have been sustained on the
accepted principle of operating it on its own earnings, but for the
surprising thoroughness and economy with which the domestic
department was managed. The number of boarders was large
and the income from the department exceeded the expenditures
by a handsome sum each year. Doubtless less was accomplish-
ed in the last years of Pres. Merriman’s administration, much
though it was, than would have been possible, if his health had
not been impaired. He often labored for weeks together in in-
tense pain. A scholarship scheme was adopted and canvassing
for the sale of certificates begun, but the work of carrying it
through was impossible on account of the President’s impaired
health and of other limitations.
At the annual Board meeting in 1874, the President was grant-
ed leave of absence on account of ill-health for six months, with
salary continued, and Professor Merrell was requested to act in
the place of the President during his absence. But this respite
did little toward restoring his health, and at the annual meeting
June 29, 187 5, the Board voted to grant him a “complete release
from all official duty connected with the College, excepting such
as he might choose to perform, until in his own judgment and
that of his physicians, he should be so far restored as to be able
to return to his work.” His salary in the meantime was to be
continued, but he did not accept the generosity of the Board in
this respect. Professor Merrell was made Acting President, to
continue such during the absence of the President. The Presi-
dent spent the following year in travel in Europe and the farther
East. His health was little improved during the year, so that
his work for the College practically ended in June, 1875. At the
annual meeting, June 19, 1876, his resignation as President was
presented to the Board, and it was accepted, though with great

__ 23 _.___
reluctance. Professor E. H. Merrell was appointed his successor
at the same meeting.
The incumbency of President Merrell continued to the end of
the school year in 1891, his administration covering a space of
sixteen years, including the one year of acting presidency. At
the end of this period the double duty of conducting the adminis-
tration and caring for a department of instruction was undermin-
ing his health, and his resignation at length became a necessity.
The labor of building up the material side of the work, a respon-
sibility that rested on the President, exacting at all times, had
come to be excessive. By the desire of the Faculty and Trustees
Mr. Merrell retains his chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy.
President Merrell had been connected with the College since
the autumn of 1862. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, and
of Oberlin Theological Seminary, and was a tutor in his alma
mater at the time of his first appointment at Ripon. Having
been connected with the College during its formative period, he
had learned to turn his hand to many forms of work. He
had taught more or less in all departments, had given much
thought and labor to the “ secularities ” of the Institution, and
was fully imbued with the spirit of the new enterprise. It was
a remark of President Merriman, that Mr. Merrell’s work during
the year 1862-3 had brought the College to such a condition that
he dared to take hold of it.
During President Merrell’s administration the general policy
of the College as to intellectual and moral aims and spirit, as
well as that relating to economy, was maintained. Large ad-
ditions were made to the library, chemical and biological labora-
tories were established, four new buildings were added, includ-
ing the rebuilding of East College, and the endowment funds
were about trebled. During these years the interest in the fa-
mous Erwin estate was secured, from which it is expected that
$100,000 will soon be added to the resources of the College.
This was not accomplished without much hard labor for par-
ticular objects.
In the autumn of 1876 the Chemical Laboratory building was
erected, together with the Transit House annexed. The impulse
to secure this enlargement was given by the offer for sale of the
t ansit telescope and the chronograph that had been in use in
the Mitchell Observatory, Cincinnati. The instruments were so
-—-24-— ‘
excellent and the terms of sale were so reasonable, that promi-
nent citizens of Ripon thought they should be secured for the
College, and they offered liberal sums for their purchase. It was
decided while making a house for these instruments, to build for
the laboratory also, and the result was the Laboratory and Transit
building as it now stands, together with the equipment for both
branches of the work. The laboratory form of instruction began
with the completion of this building and was under the direction
of Prof. A. H. Sabin, a large invoice of material having been
purchased for him in Germany. Before this time Chemistry
had been taught on the old lecture and text-book plan. The
money for this improvement was subscribed by friends in Ripon
and other neighboring towns.
In 1877 the income of the College was found to be less than
the necessary expenses, and on Dec. 3d of the year a plan was
adopted to secure one hundred pledges of $125 each to aid in
payment of current bills. These pledges were made payable in
installments of $25 each, one payment a year for five years.
Each subscriber was permitted to Send to the College a student
free of tuition during the five years. The pledges were all se-
cured, and yielded the sum of $2,500 a year in a time when the
aid from it was essential to the safety of the College. The credit
‘of suggesting and promoting this plan is largely due to Mr.
Willard Merrill, of Milwaukee.
An event of the utmost consequence to the College was the
offer of Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, of Malden, Mass, in the
year 1880, of $20,000 for the endowment fund, to be paid when
her gift should make the fund $125,000 in all. In order to meet
the terms of this pledge, there was needed on December sixth of
that year about $28,000. This was raised during the fol-
lowing year and the full sum paid in to the endowment. Out of
gratitude to Dr. H. Willcox, of Malden, Mass, a nephew of Mrs.
Stone, and a constant adviser in the distribution of her great
wealth in beneficence, the Board, with the approbation of Mrs.
Stone, named the Greek chair for him, the William H. Willcox
professorship. These additions to the endowment made it pos-
sible to go on under the old law, “To operate the College on its
earnings.”
The year 1880 found the College in great need of more room
for various purposes. The Library was crowded into a corner


REV. ED\NARD H. MERRELJJ. D. D
I\Ql\
__ 25 __
in the West College, in which room also the Faculty held their
meetings; the Treasurer had no proper office; the Chapel was
over-crowded, and generally unfit for its purposes ; and there were
no suitable recitation rooms and rooms for the Museum and for
the college literary societies. The old East building had served
its day. Nothing about the College in its early days is more
vividly remembered, and oftener referred to in mirth, than the
great windows, set thick in its four sides, with their little six-by-
eight panes of glass. But the windows were no more behind the
times and need than the rest of the building. A plan was adopt-
ed in June, 1880, to rebuild it entire, but the work was post-
poned on account of the occurrence of Mrs. Stone’s offer in the
autumn of that year. In the summer of 1882, however, the re-
construction was begun, and the Chapel portion was ready for
use by the following January. The entire building was come
pleted in the first half of the following year—the comely struct-
ure as it now stands. Nothing but the bare walls and a portion.
of the timbers of the old building was retained, but these in
some measure satisfy the sentiment of reverence for that on
which the fathers wrought. The changes by which the entire
second floor of the building, before used for the Library and
Reading Room, was made into the fine suite for the School of Mu-
sic, were not made till the year 1891. The money for all these
improvements to the building, about $10,000, was given in re-
sponse to the solicitations of‘the President among friends in the
East and the West.
Mrs. Helen C. Knowles of Worcester, Mass., died in Novem-
ber, 1884, leaving a conditional legacy to Ripon College. By
the terms of her will the College was to receive $10,000 towards
the endowment of the President’s chair, provided that within
two years from the date of her decease the friends of the College
should contribute $10,000 more to be used for the same purpose.
The money was raised within the time specified, and the $20,-
000, by action of the Board, was named the Knowles Endowment
of the President’s Chair.
Before the money was fully secured to meet the terms of the
will of Mrs. Knowles, a plan was adopted to raise $25,000 by the
sale of low-priced scholarships. This plan was adopted Septem-
ber 28th, 1885, and embraced the following chief particulars :—
1. It is proposed to issue one thousand scholarships, to be
sold at each.
26 ——
2. Each scholarship to secure “tuition” for any twelve terms
of instruction within eight years from the date of issue, and to
be good for any person presenting it; except
3. That scholarships, non-transferrable, and to be used only
by the persons named in them, shall be good for the tuition of
twelve terms if used within twenty years from date of issue.
4. Scholarships to be issued when the one thousand are sub-
scribed for in trustworthy subscriptions, and the entire proceeds
of the sale of them to go to the general endowment fund, the in-
terest only to be paid for instruction.
The work of securing the subscriptions was done by the Presi-
dent, assisted by the Rev. I. N. Cundall and Mr. P. D. McAssey,
and was successful though the last one fourth of the certificates
were taken by a syndicate of gentlemen who were to hold them
till they could be resold. Of the $25,000 subscribed on this
movement, about $7,000 was pledged by citizens of Ripon and
vicinity. Students began to be received on these scholarships
at the opening of the school in September, 1886, and the large
majority have been admitted on them up to the present time.
It was understood that the income from $25,000 would yield to
the College a revenue as large as would be received from tuitions
without the plan, and then when the scholarships should be
used, or void by lapse of time, the College would still have the
revenue from this permanent fund.
The need of room for a biological8 laboratory and of a better
building for the women students pressed upon the Faculty heav-
ily in these years from 1880 to 1887; and “in April, 1887, steps
were taken towards erecting a cottage for young women and
towards reconstructing Middle College, hitherto used as a dor-
mitory for the lady students, so as to provide for biological lab-
oratories, for the art rooms, and for dormitory rooms for college
men. On June 28, 1887, the plans of the present Bartlett Cot-
tage were adopted, and the building committee was authorized
to proceed With its erection so soon as money sufficient to enclose
it should be subscribed. The committee was able to begin the
building by the first of August, and the roof was on before
winter. In the following spring and summer it was completed,
so as to be ready for occupancy by the fall term of the school~
year. The Treasurer had been authorized in April to borrow
the money needed for the completion of the work, and the Board
were not without apprehension that the College would be left

__ 27 .____
heavily in debt when the Cottage should be finished and furnish-
ed, and the changes should be made in Middle College and the
laboratories equipped. But in God’s good providence a friend
came to the need. Mrs. Lucy Bartlett, of Oshkosh, already a
large subscriber to the building fund, and the benefactor who
had founded the Bartlett scholarship, offered to the Board $6,000
more to pay last bills on the new cottage. In consideration of
the payment of this pledge, it was stipulated that the new build-
ing, at present the finest one on the college campus, should forever
bear the name of Bartlett Cottage, in honor of her husband, Sum-
ner Bartlett, deceased, and of the family of which he was the
honored head. The new laboratories with their equipment, and
the art rooms were ready for use in September of this year, 1888.
The Dawes Cottage was secured to the College and opened for
occupancy in the autumn of 1887. It was the gift of William
Dawes, Esq., of Milwaukee. Since its opening for students it
has been enlarged and refitted, and now has rooms for fourteen
women students, besides the parlor, dining room, kitchen, and
so forth. It is managed according to a favorite plan suggested
by Mr. Dawes, and for which he made this provision, as a Chris-
tian family, the young lady students, by turns in order, perform-
ing all the domestic service. On this plan, the cost for board is
about one dollar a week.
In May, 1888, the grounds for athletic sports were purchased,
about eighteen acres in extent. The movement to secure these
grounds was initiated by an alumnus, Mr. John G. Ingalls. In
view of this fact, the Board at its annual meeting in June, 1889,
passed the following resolution: “ That the grounds purchased
for athletic sports be called Ingalls Park, in honor of Mr. John
G. Ingalls, who initiated the move to secure the grounds, and
who contributed liberally and worked earnestly for the funds
needed to pay for them and improve them.”
The title of these grounds is in the College, but they are con-
trolled by a Board consisting of the Treasurer of the College, the
Secretary of the Faculty, and the President of the Athletic As-
sociation, all ex-officio. A grand stand has been built upon
them and other excellent improvements have been made, so that
they are now regarded as equal to any in the State for their pur-
poses. The Athletic Association is strong and has already made
a splendid record.
At the meeting of the Board in July, 1890, a movement was
_ -—— 28 ——
made to secure $10,000 to extinguish debts that had occurred on
current account. The lowering of rates of interest and the in-
ability to make prompt interest collections on portions of the in-
vestments, had brought a temporary distress. The $10,000
was pledged within a year, greatly to the relief of the College.
The mention of these improvements secured in the fifteen
years previous to 1891, indicates that the College was making a
steady advance, as it was. That it accomplished all that seemed
possible and desirable cannot, however, be maintained. In the
last half of the period its work was much obstructed by doctrin-
al and and other controversies. To assume that these contro-
versies had no influence to limit the growth of the College would
be untrue; to discuss them at length would be entirely out of
place in this sketch; but to ignore them wholly would be affecta-
tion. The judgment of the Board in regard to the gravity of the
case, as well as in respect to the place of religion in connection
with the building and conduct of the College, can be sufiiciently
gathered from an extract from the minutes of the meeting of
January 21, 1889. The following minute was adopted unani-
mously:
“The Board of Trustees of Ripon College, having given careful
and extended consideration to the subject of the religious needs
of our work, record their agreement and purposes as follows :—
1. “While the College has not been and is not intended to be
in any sense sectarian, it was the thought of the founders and, it
is the purpose of the present Board, that it be distinctively and
permanently Christian.
2. “By this it is intended, that instruction in the College shall
recognize, and be coincident with, the principles of inspired truth,
as revealed in the Christian Scriptures, and interpreted in the
historical thought and expressed in the best life of the so-called
orthodox churches; that this truth shall give to the entire work
its fundamental name, that the evangelical spirit which is the
proper fruit of the embracing of the truth permeate the life of
the College: and that the. Bible shall be a text. book never to be
displaced or neglected.
3. “Assent to these propositions as fundamental implies a
duty which is cardinal and imperative, to protect the College
against 'error, to establish and maintain suitable religious in-
instruction, and to see that appropriate means are employed in
various ways to bring the thought of the students into the light
of a true Christian intelligence, and under the constraint of the
Christian motives.
4. “In view of these facts and principles, and believing that
the time in the history of the College has come for better provis-










REV. RUFUS C. FLAGG. D. D.
__ 29 .____
ion for making these principles efiective in our practical work, it
is resolved:
I. “So soon as the funds of the College will allow, to appoint
a Professor of Biblical Theology, whose duty shall be in general
to teach the Scriptures, and supervise the Biblical instruction of
other teachers in all departments, and to assume the office of
College Pastor and Preacher.
II. “Until such Professor shall be appointed, in addition to
the means for religious instruction and work now employed, to
direct that public Sunday services with preaching and suitable
worship be instituted in the College Chapel, to be under the di-
rection of the President and such professors as he may be able
to call to his assistance.
III. “For the successful promotion of these services and the
best interests of the students, and the encouragement of good
order, that we recommend the formation of a church, to mem-
bership in which officers of the College, students and citizens of
Ripon, be invited, and that attendance on the part of all students
be required except when excused for proper reasons.”
The funds of the College have not warranted the expense of
the professorship contemplated; and after extended delibera-
tions and conferences, the formation of the new church, the time
of which the Board left with the Executive Committee, was in-
definitely postponed.
No quorum of the Board was present at the time for the an-
nual meeting in June, 1891, but President Merrell announced to
the members present and to the public, that he intended to pre-
sent his resignation of the office of President as soon as the
Board could meet to receive it. The Board met in Milwaukee on
the 21st of the next month, when the resignation was presented
and accepted, the chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy being
still retained.
On Sept. 30 of this year, 1891, the Hon. Edward D. Holton, of
Milwaukee, deeded to the College a valuable piece of real estate
lying in the city of Milwaukee; the deed, however, being placed
in the hands of a trustee to be handed over to the Trustees of
the College, if within one year $50,000 additional should be
pledged to the endowment funds of the Institution. This sum
was secured, chiefly in pledges given in response to the solicita-
tions of the new President, Dr. Rufus C. Flagg. When this
realty is sold, it is expected that the total of the Holton endow-
ment will amount to about $80,000.
On Feb. 16, 1892, the Board by a unanimous and hearty vote
elected the Rev. Rufus C. Flagg, D. D., then pastor of the Con-
30 ——

gregational church at Wells River, Vt., President, and he began
work with the College at the opening of the spring term in that
year. Dr. Flagg is a graduate of Middlebury College and of the
Andover Theological Seminary, and is a man of scholarly attain-
ments, breadth of judgment, and conciliatory temper. He has
been received with great heartiness by all members of the Fac-
ulty and by the students and friends of the College, and his ad-
ministration gives promise of great prosperity.
CHARACTERISTlCS.
Since the beginning of college work in 1863, the lnstitution has
exhibited well-defined characteristics, some of them perhaps dis-
tinctive. As in the best American colleges, the center of interest
and effort has been at the courses of study. The able men and
women who have from the beginning been the members of the
Faculty, have been agreed in the thought that scholarship, in-
tellectual life, according to the best conceptions of college men
in all time, should be the central concern of young men and
women while pursuing their courses. They have agreed also,
that when a degree is conferred, the recipient of it should be a
man or woman educated up to the standard college grade. And
the scholarship and intellectual life have been constantly direct-
ed according to the liberal aim, that is, with man for its end.
They have been practical, but have discarded “that practical-
ness that would take from man to add to his possessions.”
But while the first concern of the College has been its intellect-
ual life, there is a sense in which this even has been second.
“While aiming at the best results of intellectual training, its in-
structors bear in 'mind that character is more than these, that
the development of character is an essential part of the work of
an educational institution, and that there is no sound basis of
character except in Christian principle.” So that while intel-
lectual life is the immediate aim, all this, by pervading every
form of the work with a moral and religious intelligence and in-
fluence, is shown to be subservient to the cross of Christ, and to
the personal appropriation of the grace of Christ by the individ-
ual student. Our students have pretty uniformly borne testi-
mony to the fact, that the College has given them nothing more
valuable than the religious aims and impulses which they have
so clearly and fully received. The Spirit has again and again
descended in reviving and converting power, and under the im-
__ 31 ___.
pressions received here those purposes have been formed which
have led large numbers into the ministerial, the missionary, and
other forms of Christian service.
For the promotion of the religious work, Christian associations
have been formed, which have been well maintained, and a re-
ligious service has been held by Faculty and students together
on Tuesday evenings for the last thirty years. These meetings
have often been intellectually and spiritually stimulating in a
very high degree, and old students have often referred to them
as among the most helpful advantages of their college life. For
many years a weekly lecture was delivered on Friday afternoons
to the whole body of students, and this, especially in President
Merriman’s time, afforded some of the finest results of moral
and spiritual address. -
ALUMNI.
The whole number of graduates from the various courses is
one hundred and sixty-f0 ur, of whom one hundred and two were
men, and sixty-two were women. The smallest number in any
one class has been three, and the largest number fifteen. Of
these graduates twenty-eight have become ministers; nine, for-
eign missionaries; six, physicians; twenty-five, lawyers; twenty-
nine, business men; thirty-two, teachers ; and twenty-four women
graduates have married. Several of the younger graduates are
now in professional schools. But besides those who have com-
pleted the full courses of study, a very large number have been
connected with the various departments of the College and have
here received their intellectual fitting and moral training for
lives of wide usefulness. The students in regular college classes
have on the average been less than one fourth of the total num-
ber enrolled, and the work for the larger number who have
studied for a time, and often irregularly, has been a contribu-
tion to the world of inestimable value. The smallest catalogue
enrollment for any one year was one hundred and eighty, in
1864-5 ; the largest number was three hundred and seventy-one,
in 1872-8. About this time, the influence of the State Normal
Schools, particularly that at Oshkosh, began to be felt in dimin-
ishing the number of students. In 1876-7 the number of stu-
dents was three hundred and one, and from that time to 18536-7,
it was less than three hundred annually. In 1887-8 the enroll-
ment reached three hundred and twenty-five, under the impulse
given by the issuing of scholarships.

DEPHRTMEN TS PIN D IN STRUCTORS.

THE COLLEGE .































DEPARTMENTS. NAMES. DATEs.
NIENIIII ANI] MORAL SCIENGE William E. Merriman, 1868-76.
Edward H. Merrell, 187 6——
SIIIIIIII SCIENIIE. Bums 0- Fla-gig, 1892—4
GREEK, Edward H. Merrell, 1868-76.
James A. Towle, 1876-87.
John Bigham, 1887-89.
Wilton W. Truesdale, 1889-91.
William A. Eckles, 1891——
INIIN. William H. Ward, 18611-66.
Justus N. Brown, 1866-68.
William M. Bristoll, 1868-73.
John P. Hairs, ‘ 1873-75.
Cyrus G. Baldwin, ' 1875-84.
Newton S. Fuller, 1884——
NIITIIRAL SGIENGES, Daniel Merriman, 1865-67.
Lyman B. Sperry, 1870-73.
William G. Ballantine, 1874-7 6.
Alvah H. Sabin, 1876-80.
Edwin A. Scribner, 1880-81.
MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. Oliver Sloane, 1864-65.
Theodore Wilder, _ 1866-70.
Erastus C. Beach, ' 1870-72.
Carlos A. Kenaston, 1872-81.
Stephen M. Newman, 1881-83.
Charles H. Chandler, 1881—-
IIIIEIIIIIIII IINIl ENGLISH IIIINIIIIIIIE Joseph M. G eery, 1868-85.
Albert H. Tolman, 1884—-
IIIIEIIIIIIII. M. Montague, 1865-66.
IINEMISINY IINIl BIOLOGY. C. Dwight Marsh, 1883—-
IlIIENIISIIIY IINIl PHYSICS. George P. Bacon, 1888-89.
William S. Leavenworth, 18829——
IIYNNIIIIG ELECTRICITY. Elisha Gray, , 1881-88.
THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC.
PIANO AND THEORY, Miss Augusta Camp, 1862-6-1.
Mrs. A. A. Davis, 18641-67.
m>w-_i OOFFmOm.
7N

.'


___33___












PINNII IINII INEIINY ININIINIIEI]. Miss E. A. Billings, 1867 -69.
John C. Fillmore, 1868-7 7.
Lyman F. Brown, 1877 -7 8.
Dwight F. Stillman, 1878-84.
Miss Cora Farnsworth, 1884-85.
Charles A. Ellenberger, 1884-88.
Andrew J. Wells, 1888-89.
Edwin H. Pierce, 1889-90.
H. William Dubee, 1890-92.
Bossetter Cr. Cole, 1892.—
Miss Fannie Louise Gwinner, 1892.—
Vflflfll GUHURE, Miss Camilla M. Nettleton, 1870-7 8.
Miss Louise E. Clark, 1878-74.
Miss Eva White, 1874-76.
Miss Emma J. Ells, 1876-79.
Samuel B. Ellenberger, 1884-87.
Miss Hattie S. Thome, 1888-90.
SCHOOL OF ART.
IIIIIINIIIG IINII PIIINIINN. Miss Emma A- Lee, 1864-66.
Miss Harriet H. Brown, 1866-67.
Miss Irene I. Wilcox, 1878-84.
Miss Anna B. Smith, 1884-85.
Miss Effie Dawes, 1885-80.
Miss Flora E. Hockenhull, 1889.—
LADIES DEPARTMENT.
SUPENINIENDENIS, PIIINCIPNIS, Mrs. Clarissa T. Tracy, 1862-71.
IINIl PIIHIEPIIIISSIS. Miss Martha E. French, 1871-72.
Miss Kate A. Bushnell, 1872-74.
Mrs. Minerva B. Norton, 1874-76.
Mrs. Clarissa T. Tracy, 1876-77.
Miss Sarah A. Barnes, 1877-78.
Mrs. Lucretia H. Kendall, 1878-84.
Miss Mary 1. Dana, 1884-86.
Miss Fanny Cundall, 11886-88.
Miss Susie E. Cushman, 18%).“
PREPARATORY SCHOOL AND ENGLISH ACADEMY-
PRINGIPMS ANDINSIRUCTORS, Edward H. ivlerrell, 1862-68.
Mrs. Clarissa '1‘. Tracy, 1850.—
Mrs. Julia Hosford Merrell, 1862-(1'7.
Miss Frances E. Woodrow, 1861-66.
Mrs. L. M. Beach, 1865-66.
Miss Luthera H. Adams, 18126-76.
George C. Duffie, \1868-86.


____34____
pm“ [PM Him; mg Miss Sarah E. Dorr, 1869-70.
GONINNUEDN N U6 Mrs. Frances E. Wilder, 1868-71.
Herbert Cr. Dennison, 1876-80.
Mrs. Wm. M. Bristol, 1872-78.
Henry B. Miter, 1875-84.
Miss Laura W. Ladd, 1878-79.
Miss Josephine F. Krogman, 1882-85.
James F. Eaton, 1884-89.
Albion E. Smith, 1884-85.
Isaac N. Cundall, 1887-88.
Miss Jenny Wheeler, 1887 -88.
Miss Thekla Eversz, 188'7-88.
Mrs. Harriet P. Fuller, 1889.—
Miss Susie E. Cushman, 1889.—
Miss Maud L. Merrell, 1891.—



In the foregoing table no attempt has been made to give an
exact statement of departments. These have been frequently
changed, and the same teacher has often wrought in more than
one. To have given them in exact detail would have required
an amount of repetition which for the present seemed needless.
SPECIHL. FUNDS.
The College has a few funds contributed for special purposes.
Their names and objects are as follows :
The Rufus Dodge Fund.
The late Rufus Dodge, of Beaver Dam, left the College a leg-
acy of $9,000 as a permanent fund to aid young ladies of limited
means in getting their education. The interest of this fund is
annually distributed for this purpose among such students, ac-
cording to their need. i
The James Fund.
This is a fund of $1,500, given by Mrs. John W. James, of
Boston, the income from which is distributed annually in prizes
for the encouragement of excellence in English composition.
The Lewis Prize.
This prize was established by Hon. J. T. Lewis, of Columbus.
The annual income of a fund of 35200 has been presented to that
student in the College who in the opinion of the Faculty has
made the greatest mental improvement during the preceeding
year.
The Knowles Endowment Fund.
This consists of $20,000, the income to be used towards pay-
__ 35 __
ment of the President’s salary. It is named for Mrs. Helen C.
Knowles, of Worcester, Mass, who gave 810,000 towards it.
The Sumner Bartlett Fund.
This is a fund of $51,000, founded by Mrs. Lucy Bartlett, of
Oshkosh, the income from which is to pay the tuition of one stu-
dent at a time, who is a candidate for the gospel ministry, or for
missionary service.
The David Whitcomb Fund.
This fund of $1,000 was given by the gentleman whose name
it bears, and the income from it is used yearly in aid of needy
students.
The Cook Scholarship.
This was founded by the Rev. E. W. Cook, a gift of $500., to
be a perpetual scholarship giving tuition to one student at a time.
COURSES OF STUDY.
The College offers three liberal courses of study, the Classical,
the Scientific, and the Literary, whose characteristics are suffi-
ciently indicated by their names. Each of these courses leads
to the degree A. B. They are open to students of both sexes,
and students of both sexes are instructed in the same classes.
These courses provide also for a liberal number of elective stud-
ies. Besides these college courses, others are arranged for
students in music and for those fitting for college or for pract-
ical work in life. The standard of American colleges is fully
maintained. .
HONORARY DEGREES.
The College has not been profuse in conferring honorary de-
grees. In 1881 a committee appointed the year before to con-
sider the subject reported as follows :
1. That the time has come on account of age, reputation, suc-
cess, and increasing influence, to confer such degrees with fitness
and dignity.
2. That this honor should be conferred considerately and
sparingly.
8. That the degree of Doctor of Divinity be conferred on the
Rev. Daniel Merriman, of Worcester, Mass, on Wednesday next,
in consideration of his Christian learning, the high 1)()Si-’.'I()ll he
now holds, and his warm interest in the College as manifested in
various ways.”
__ 36 __
The report was adopted with one dissenting vote from a mem-
ber who questioned the wisdom of giving honorary degrees at all.
The College has conferred the degrees indicated in the follow-
ing:
Rev. Daniel Merriman, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1881.
Rev. Geo. H. Ide, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1882.
Dr. J. T. Reeve, A. M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1882.
Rev. Geo. W. Andrews, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1886.
Rev. Burdett Hart, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1887.
Pres. Ezra Brainerd, LL. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1888.
Rev. J. Edwards, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .1889.
Prof. Brainerd Kellogg, LL. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1890.
Rev. Moritz E. Eversz, D. D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1892,
TRUSTEES. _
The history of the College has been greatly enriched byjithe
gratuitous service of strong men who have been members of its
Board of Trustees, as well as by the gifts in money of that large
number who have contributed to its materia'lsupport. An ex-
tended mention of many of them would seem due, but it is pos-
sible now to do no more than to set down their names and the
time of their service. Beginning with the charter members , of
1855, this role of honor is as follows:
J ehdeiah Bowen, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-86.
E. L. Northrup, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-58.
J. W. Walcott, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-58.
A. M. Skeels, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1855-57.
Jeremiah Porter,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1855-56.
Sherlock Bristol, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j 1855-59.
7 1864-67.
Richard Catlin, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j 1855-58.
I 1869-78.
J. B. Preston, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1855-56.
Dana Lamb, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-61.
Silas Hawley, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-58.
Bertine Pinkney, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-61.
Harvey Grant, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-57.
Joseph Jackson, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-56.
Charles W. Camp, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-77‘.
_Mason C. Darling, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1855-57.
Hiram Freeman, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~ . . . . .1856-60.


W>ISFWRS OQAJSSHUW.

___37___.
E. J. Montague, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1857-61.
Asahel Finch, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1857-61.
Luther Clapp, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1857-61.
Edward D. Holton, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. j 1857-68.
I 1864-92.
J. J. Miter, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1858-74.
George Dawes, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1858-61.
W. W. Chase, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1858-58.
C. C. Bayley, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1858-62.
William M. Taggart, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1859-61.
W. H. Marble, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1859-62.
Storrs Hall, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1860—
Charles F. Hammond, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1861-78.
James A. Hawley, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1861-64.
William Richards, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1861-66.
H. M. Chapin, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1861-70.
William Starr, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1862-77.
James C. Catlin, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1862-64.
H. A. Miner, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1862-77.
George Stewart, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1862-65.
EdWin M. Danforth, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1865-7 6.
Henry \Vright, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .1865-68.
James McLean, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1866-70.
John P. Gulliver,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1866-69.
C. L. Fay, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‘ . . . . . . . . . . .1867-68.
Franklin B. Doe, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1868-88.
Thomas H. Little, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1869-75.
Anson Ballard, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1870-73.
Edward P. Goodwin, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1870-7 8.
Arthur Little, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1873-90.
Joseph F. Dudley, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1874-80.
Lluwellyn Breese,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1874—-
William C. Allen, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1875-87.
A. L. Smith, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1876-77.
C. M. Blackman, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1877-86.
E. Y. Garrette, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1877-78.
Allan P. Harwood, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1877-86.
F. S. Eldred, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1877-87.
Willard Ailerrill, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1878-89.
Woodman C. Hamilton, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1878——
__38 __
Edgar P. Sawyer,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1880-86.
Uriah Davies, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 880-86.
J. A. Chamberlain, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1888-84.
Moritz E. Eversz, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1884-87.
Robert T. Roberts, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1886——
O. J. Clark, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1886——
Fred Hurlbut, . . . . . .' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1886-89.
Joseph Scribner, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1886—-
E. G. Durant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1887-91.
F. J. Lamb, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1887——
Thomas D. Kellogg, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1887-92.
Elisha D. Smith, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1889——
Royal P. Houghton, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1889-92.
Elias H. Bottum, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890——
David Davies, . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1891—-
Gibson Johnson, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1892—-
C. H. Ingram, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1892—-
George Houghton, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1898——
George L. Field, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1898—-
Officers of the Board.
The officers of the Board since 1855 have been as follows :——
Richard Catlin, President, , 1855-56.
E. L. Northrup, “ 1856-58.
Bertine Pinkney, “ 1858-61.
James A. Hawley, “ 1861-68.
N’Villiam E. Merriman, “ 1868-76.
Edward H. Merrell, “ 1876-91.
Robert T. Roberts, “ 1891-92.
Rufus C. Flagg, “ 1892——
Bertine Pinkney, Vice President, 1856-58.
George Dawes, “ “ 1858-59.
William Taggart, “ “ 1859-61.
J ehdeiah Bowen, “ “ 1861-65.
Sherlock Bristol, “ “ 1865-67.
Charles W. Camp, “ “ 1867-72.
J. J. Miter, “ “ 1872-74.
Arthur Little, “ *‘ 1874-78.
Woodman C. Hamilton, “ “ 1878-86.
Edward D. Holton “ “ 1886-87.
____39____

Woodman C. Hamilton, “ “ 1887 -
J ehdeiah Bowen, Treasurer, 1851-61.
Charles F. Hammond, “ 1861-65.
J ehdeiah Bowen, “ 1865-82.
Allan P. Harwood, “ 1882-86.
Joseph Scribner, “ 1886—-
J. W. Walcott, Secretary, 1855-58,
Hiram Freeman, “ 1858-59.
C. C. Bayley, “ 1859-61.
H. M. Chapin, “ 1861-62.
James C. Catlin, “ 1862-64.
Storrs Hall, “ 1884—-
The College in the War.
Any complete list of students who entered the service at the
breaking out of the civil war we now lack the data to make.
That Ripon, and especially the College, was a marked center of
patriotic fervor is well known. In the old Congregational church
on the brow of College Hill, the first local organization was form-
ed in that splendid party which was named Republican and
which elected Lincoln. The enlistment of teachers and students
caused the suspension of school work for the year 1861-2. In
“Wisconsin: 1886 compared with 1866,” by the Rev. S. A. Dwi-
nell we find the following statement: “Ripon College includes in
its army roll only those who were members of the lnstitution
about the time of their enlistment. Of teachers and students,
sixty-seven were in the Union army, of whom twenty-one were
commissioned officers, and eleven lost their lives.”
Growth, Position, and Needs.
Since the Institution was organized for college work thirty
years ago, it has had a healthy growth and made a steady ad-
vance. Old debts have been paid; an endowment has been
gathered sufficiently large to make it possible on the present
scale of expenditure to meet current liabilities from the annual
income; four buildings have been added to the two existing in
1868, making six in all; a library of ten thousand volumes, a re-
spectable mineralogical cabinet, a botanical cabinet, and con-
siderable apparatus for illustration and laboratory work in
chemistry and biology, have been gathered; a full faculty has
been organized whose work covers the ordinary departments of
__ 40 __
college instruction; and, best of all, a very large number of
young men and women, graduates and others, have here received
the intellectual discipline, moral training, dignified aims, and
spiritual impulses, that have fitted them for noble service in the
world. They are to-day a great multitude and constitute a
tower of strength to the College.
But the triumphs of the past do not remove, but only add to
the weight of responsibility for the present and the future. If
the thought of the founders was wise, and the sacrifices of those
who have carried the work to its present advancement have not
been mistaken and wasteful, then surely we are not likely to
overestimate the importance of the College to the field which is
properly its own. To consent to inferiority in equipment and
work is to fail gravely in duty. The following points obtrude
themselves upon our attention as clearly involved in our case :—
We are building the College in a time of general revival of in-
tellectual activity, when all men are thinking for themselves, and
systems of knowledge are unsettling and becoming formed
anew.
A result of this awakening demands not only greater fertility
of thought on the part of those who assume to be leaders, but
also economy of thought by the multiplication of special depart-
ments.
To meet these demands, sums of money of unprecedented
magnitude are being devoted to educational and special work.
Hence an equipment for a college that would have been con-
sidered ample fifty or even twenty-five years ago, our young peo-
ple pass by as wholly inadequate.
Our need is enlarged by the fact that we aim to support not
only the intellectual but also the Christian ends in education;
for to cover this wider range properly requires not only a greater
breadth of instruction, but also a thoroughness in general work
that shall secure respect for the education which includes the
idea of Christian character.
Besides the breadth of the work, it istrue also that a vast
territory is naturally tributary to the College.
We have accepted the responsibility of occupying this field,
and the friends of Christian education have a right to expect that
the College will meet the high duty of filling adequately and well
the large place to which every consideration in the nature of the
case urges it. i



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