LD5^8l Houffh, Franklin Benjamin UT2H8 Historical Sketch of Union College. UNIV' CHNIA fflSTORICAl. S ISTORICAl. PKETCH UNION COLLEGE [ NOW A BRANCH OF UNION INIVFRSITY. ] Founded at Schenectady, N. Y , February 25, 1795. Prepared in covtpliance ivit/t an invitation /roiii (he Commissioner 0/ the liitrcau 0/ Education^ representing the Department 0/ the Interior in matters relating to the National Centennial 0/ 187(1. WASH 1 n(;ton: GOV K R N M K N I' 1' K I N T I N r, O V V I C I 1876. Ho- fe^^Ni^Li^ S>eN3'/^M fN Historical Sk UNION COLLEGE. [ NOW A BRANCH OF UNION UNIVERSITY. ] Founded at Schenectady, N. Y., February 25, 1795. Prepared in compliance with an invitation from the Commissioner of the Bureau of Education^ representing the Departjnent of the Interior in matters relating to the National Centennial of 1876. WASHINGTON: G O V E R N M E N r 1' K I N T I N G O I' F I C E . I 876. PREFATORY. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, IVashi/igion, D. C, Januaiy 27, 1876. This summary of the history of Union College is sent out as a specimen of the work being done in preparation for the Centennial of 1876, and as covering the leading points of in- quiry embraced in a series of circulars issued from the Bureau of Education, inviting the co-operation of colleges and uni- versities in the attempt to collect a full series of statistical and historical materials for this occasion. The returns will be aggregated in general tables, and, under the direction of Dr. Franklin B. Hough, of this Bureau, such generalizations and illustrations will be prepared with a view to publication in a final report, as the materials may warrant. JOHN EATON, Commissioner. UNION COLLEGE. ORGANIZATION AND EARLY HISTORY. The only college within the colony of New York before the Revolution was King's College, of New York City, which was re-organized soon after the peace as Columbia College. The rapid growth of settlements toward the north and west had suggested to thoughtful minds the pressing need of some institution for superior instruction at a convenient point in the interior, and this idea of central accommodation for all interests, not many years later, led to the removal of the State capital to Albany. Even in the midst of the Revolution we find the project of a college at Schenectady seriously entertained,* but it did not gain sufficient strength to secure actual existence until * From a manuscript in the New York State Library, (Clinton Papers, No. 3467,) it appears that, in compHance with petitions circulated in 1779, a project was started for the incorporation of Clinton College at Schenec- tady. The preamble of the charter as then proposed is as follows : "Whereas a great number of respectable inhabitants of the counties of Albany, Tryon, (Montgomery,) and Charlotte, (Washington,) taking into consideration the great benefit of a good education, the disadvan- tages they labor under for want of the means of acquiring it, and the loud call there now is, and no doubt will be in a future day, for men of learn- ing to fill the several offices of church and state, and looking upon the town of Schenectady in every respect the most suitable and commodious seat for a seminary of learning in this State, or perhaps in America, have presented their humble petition to the governor and legislature of this State, earnestly requesting that a number of gentlemen may be incor- porated in a body politic who shall be empowered to erect an academy or 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE, some years after the peace. A project like this is seldom dis- cussed without exciting local interests, and before the choice fell upon the quiet old Dutch town on the Mohawk, the claims of Poughkeepsie, Albany, and Waterford were strongly urged as suitable points for the establishment of a college in the interior, but not to the extent of dividing the effort which was for the common benefit of all. A beginning in literary life at Schenectady was made in the formation of an association for mental improvement and debate in 1793, and on the 29th of January, 1793, a clas- sical and scientific school was incorporated by the regents of the university under the name of "The Trustees of the college in the place aforesaid, to hold sufficient funds for its support, to make proper laws for its government, and to confer degrees." The feature of this charter (which never passed the seals) most worthy of notice is, that it contemplated the creation of a corporate body by an executive act, therein following the colonial precedents. Seven years later the regents of the university were created in nearly their present form, and empowered to grant charters to colleges and academies. The proposed corporators of Clinton College were : Eliphalet Ball, Barent Vrooman, Thomas Romaine, John Rodgers, Eilardus Westerlo, Daniel Gross, John Livingston, Alexander Miller, Philip Schuyler, James Duane, Robert R. Livingston, Abraham Ten Broeck, Abraham Yates, jr., Robert Yates, Levi Pauling, Dirck Brinckerhoff, Isaac Vrooman, Christopher Yates, John Cuyler, Henry Glen, Jacobus Teller, Hugh Mitchell, An- drew McFarlan, Abraham Oothoudt, Dirck Van Ingen, James Gordon, Robert Van Rensselaer, Pieter Vrooman, Peter Waggoner, jr., and Ebe- nezer Clark, of the State of New York ; Ashley, of New Hamp- shire, and Timothy Edwards, of Massachusetts. The annual income of funds was to be limited to ;^3,ooo sterling, and the president must be of the Protestant Reformed faith. The journals of the legislature show that the petitions upon which this project was founded were signed by 850 inhabitants of Tryon and Albany counties, and by 140 of Charlotte County. It is reasonable to suppose that this early attempt was not en- tirely abortive, since it must have created a general impression that a • college would some day be established in the interior, and that Schenec- ady would be a proper site. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 7 Academy in the Town of Schenectady."* A building was erected on the northwest corner of what are now Union and Ferry streets, t and in 1793 a school was opened under the care of Col. John Taylor, of New Jersey, This academy appears to have been conducted with much ability, and being well sustained by the community in which it was planted, became the germ of the college, which, fifteen years before, had been an object of earnest effort and active dis- cussion; nor can we doubt that through these years of hope deferred the favorite thought was cherished, until the plan was fully realized. The legislature having vested in the regents of the univer- sity the right of granting college charters, a memorial was addressed to that board by the trustees of the academy, which led to the granting of a charter to twenty-four persons therein named, and their successors, under the title of "The Trustees of Union College in the Town of Schenectady, in the State of New York."| They were empowered to hold * In this early efifort the Rev. Dirck Romeyn, pastor of the Reformed Dutch church at Schenectady, deserves honorable mention. He had much at heart the founding of a college under the patronage of his own denomination, as proposed in the movement of i779-'8o. He was pastor at this place twenty years, and died April 16, 1804. t This building was of brick, two stories in height, about 50 by 30 feet on the ground, and cost about $3,000. It was used as the first and only building for Union College until 1804. tThe first trustees were Robert Yates, Aln-aliam Yates, jr., Abraham Ten Broeck, Goldsbrow Banyar, John V. Henry, George Merchant, Stephen Van Rensselaer, John Glen, Isaac Vrooman, Joseph C. Yates, James Shuter, Nicholas Veeder, James Gordon, Bcriah Palmer, Samuel Smith, Henry Walton, Ammi Rodgers, Aaron Condict, Jacobus V. C. Romeyn, James Cochran, John Frey, D. Christopher Pick, Jonas Piatt, and Jonas Coe. Of these seven resided in AUiany, six in Schenectady, three in Ballston, and in Saratoga, Troy, Kinderhook, Palatine, Herkimer, and Whitestown, N. Y., and Hackcnsack, N. J., one each. Originally there were nf) Stale officers holding ex officio as trustees; 8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. an estate witli an income of $iS,3S3y5, were vested with the usual powers of a college, and were empowered to fill vacan- cies in their board by election of the remaining members. The trustees of the academy were, a few days after, allowed to vest their property in the college.* The name " Union College " was given as expressing the intention of uniting all religious sects in a common interest for the common good by offering equal advantages to all, with preference to none. It was designed to found an institution upon the broad basis of Christian unity, and this idea has ever since been faithfully followed in the spirit of the original intention, no particular religious denomination having at any time claimed or attempted to control its management, or to influence the choice of trustees or faculty. It is believed that this was the first college in the United States not confessedly denominational in its character. but under an act passed March 30, 1805, the charter was amended by the regents, March 29, 1806, by reducing the number to twenty-one, and adding the chancellor, justices of the supreme court, secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, attorney-general, and surveyor-general, by virtue of their civil offices. The constitution of 1821, by reducing the number of the judges, made further vacancies, which, by an act passed February 14, 1823, were to be filled by the governor and lieutenant-governor. The constitution of 1846, by abolishing some of the above offices, required further changes, and the ex-officio trustees are now the governor, lieutenant- governor, attorney-general, secretary of state, comptroller, and treas- urer. *Act of April 6, 1795, allowing the trustees of the academy to con- vey, and those of the college to accept, upon which the corporate powers of the former ceased. From the regents' records it appears that the academy received two apportionments from the literature fund, one of $310, in 1793, and the other of $400, in 1794. The chronicles of the day record that the event of receiving a college charter was celebrated by great rejoicing, with the ringing of bells, dis- play of flags, bonfires, and a general illumination. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 9 The college was organized on the 19th of October, by the election of the Rev. John Blair Smith, D.D., of Phila- delphia, as president;* John Taylor, A.M., as professor of mathematics and natural philosophy; and the Rev. Andrew- Yates, as professor of Latin and Greek languages. The first commencement was held in May, 1797, and the first degree conferred upon three young men who had finished the course of study then required. This was an occasion of signal and novel interest to all the country around, and drew together a large and enthusiastic audience. t Dr. Smith was succeeded by the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D.D.,| who died in 1801, and was followed by the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy, D.D.,§ who resigned in 1804. Although frequent changes are generally adverse to pros- * Dr. Smith was a son of Rev. Robert Smith, a Presbyterian clergy- man of Pequa, Pa., and was born June 12, 1756. He was graduated at Princetorf, in 1773; studied theology with his brother, the Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith, president of the Hampden Sidney College in Virginia, where, in 1779, he succeeded as principal. In December, 1791, he was installed over the Third Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, to which charge he returned after leaving Union College, and died there August 22, 1 799, aged 43 years. fThe first commencement exercises were held in the old Reformed Dutch Church, which continued to be the only place for these occasions during many years. Afterward the Presbyterian Church was used on alternate years, and this custom still prevails. The old Dutch Church was replaced in 1814 by a building burned in 1861, and this has since been rebuilt, in Vieautiful architectural style, rendering it peculiarly well adapted to commencement exercises. t Mr. Edwards was born at Northampton, Mass., May 26, 1745, O.S., and was the second son of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, afterwanl ]>resi- dent of the College of New Jersey. He was graduated in 1765, and, after serving as tutor and professor, he took charge of a church at New Haven, Conn., in 1769, and at Colcbrook, Conn., in 1796. He died at Schcnec- t,ady, August I, 1801. ^^ Mr. Maxcy was born in Attlcborough, Mass., September 2, 1768; was graduated at Brown University in 1787, appointed piofes>>or of 10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. perity, and although the college was still feeble, it was not without enterprise. Under the presidency of Dr. Edwards, a new edifice was begun, on a scale magnificent for that day and still one of the finest and best-built in the city. An event, however, occurred in 1804 which proved to be of peculiar advantage to the institution, and from which its suc- cess may be justly dated. This event was the choice of the Rev. Eliphalet Nott,* as president. Mr. Nott was then a divinity in 1791, and in 1792 became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Providence. Upon leaving Union College he went to South Carolina, as president of the South Carolina College at Columbia, S. C, and re- mained till his death, June 4, 1820, aged 52 years. A monument is erected to his memory on the college campus of the University of South Carolina, at Columbia, S. C. * Dr. Nott was born at Ashford, Conn., June 25, 1773; received his first degree in the arts at Brown University in 1793, having gained his education under circumstances of peculiar difficulty ; studied theology with the Rev. Joel Benedict, of Plainfield, Conn., and, in 1796, became pastor of a church, and teacher of a classical school at Cherry Valley, N. Y. His talents soon gained feim a call to the Presbyterian church in Albany, where he remained until 1804. His wider opportunities there found a congenial field for the display of the extraordinary powers of pulpit elo- quence which he possessed, and while in this office he made perhaps the most fortunate effort of his life, in a sermon on the death of Hamilton at the hand of Burr. From this time he was looked upon as one of the rising powers of the age, and he was soon after chosen president of Union Col- lege, with which institution his name was ever after closely identified. He held this office with distinguished success the unbroken term of sixty- two years. During this long course of years, nearly four thousand stu- dents received their diplomas, and entered upon the active duties of life, becoming, in their turn, as talent and opportunity favored, centers of influence and very many of them distinguished ornaments to society in every field of honorable ambition and noble achievement. The powers of a life devoted to active mental labors gradually yielded to the infirm- ities of age, until terminated by death on the 29th day of January, 1866. Had Dr. Xott given his time and energies to scientific discovery and business management, he would have doubtless won both wealth and honors in ample degree. His inventive genius applied to the construe- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UXIOX COLLEGE. II young clergyman of Albaiij', known at the time as an elo- quent and effective public speaker of dignified and courteous manners and distinguished learning, but not as yet known for that talent in the -education of young men which this election gave him the opportunity to exercise and which has scarcely been surpassed in the history of any American college. Endowed by nature with a keen perception of character, a discriminating judgment in developing latent talent, a dignity of manners commanding both love and respect, a facility in governing young men, wherein the secret Jay in teaching them to govern themselves, and a zeal and earnestness in the discharge of every duty, he acquired and held, through a long and active life, a com- manding position as an educator which was felt and ac- knowledged throughout the country. Dr. Nott found the college wanting both means and stu- dents. The inhabitants of Schenectady had proposed an endowment of $30,000 in lands, obligations, and money; but the largest subscription was only $250, the next $100, and the total sum altogether, from sources other than direct gift of the State, but $42,043.74. Some grants were made by the State in years as below specified.* The building begun tion of stoves for burning mineral coal led to the first great success in this line of useful discovery, and his plans for the improvement of steam navigation proved the soundness of his philosophical reasoning and his distinguished ability as an inventor. *Act of Ajiril 9, 1795, for books and apparatus $3, 750 00 Act of April u , 1 796, for buildings 10, 000 00 Act of March 30, 1797, for salaries during two' years I, 500 00 Act of Marcii 7, 1800, for completion of building 10,000 00 Act of March 7, 1800, ten lots of 550 acres each, in the mil- itary tract, for support of president and jirofessors 43, 483 93 Act of A\m\ 8, 1801, and April 3, 1802, sale of garrison lands near Lake George 9, 378 20 Total Slate grants before 1804 78,112 13 12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. under Dr. F.dwards's presidency was still unfinished, and the college was burdened with a heavy debt.* The means that had been provided were, of course, quite inadequate to the wants of a prosperous college, and to supply the needed endowment recourse was had to an expedient now forbidden by a better public sentiment, but then deemed proper for raising funds in aid of every relig- ious, educational, and benevolent enterprise of the day, and for every public improvement. King's College, in New York City, had already been aided to funds by a public lottery, but other institutions had since arisen which had received no such aid. It was there- fore deemed advisable to urge the passage of a law, which * The building referred to in the text, and known in after years as "West College," was begun in 1798 and finished in 1804. It is in the Italian style of architecture, and probably from the designs of Philip Hooker, then an eminent architect of Albany. It is of stone, three stories high, besides a high basement, and is surmounted by an elegant central cupola. The ground plan measures 150 by 60 feet, and the original cost was about $56,000, besides $4,000 for the site. It contained a residence for the president, the chapel, library, and recitation-rooms, and a considerable number of dormitories. In 1815 it was sold to the city and county for a court-house, jail, and city offices, and while thus owned it was commonly known as the " City Hall." The college received in payment 3,000 acres of land in detached parcels in various parts of Schenectady County. In 1831 it was repurchased by the college for $10,000, and used for the library, cabinets, and residence of freshman and sophomore classes until 1854. It was then resold to the city for the sum of $6,000, and' is now in use by the city union schools. Between 1805 and 1810 a row of two-story brick buildings was erected on College street for use as dormitories. It was known as "Long College," and was sold about 1830. A one-story brick building, about 30 by 80 feet, was erected by the city in the rear of the old college (while used as a court-house) for a Lancasterian school. It was afterward fitted up for the college cabinets and is still in use by the city schools. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 1 3 was secured March 30, 1S05, for raising the sum of $80,000 by lottery.* A few years' experience showed that the location in the city was not sufficiently ample, and the observing eye of Dr. Nott, at an early period in his presidency, had noticed in the suburbs a better one that combined in rare degree every advantage desirable. On the eastern border of the city the fields rise by a gentle slope to a plain of moderate elevation and of easy access. Near the upper edge of this slope the construction of a terrace a few feet liigh would afford a level campus of ample space, and a site for buildings that would overlook the valley, the river, and the neighboring city, while northward glimpses of mountains blue from distance, and southwestward ranges of hills dividing the waters of the Mohawk and Susque- hanna Rivers, would present a panorama of peculiar loveliness. A gently murmuring brook issuing from dense woodlands flowed across the grounds just north of the proposed site, and in the rear alternating fields and groves extended several miles eastward to the Hudson. A tract of some two hundred and fifty acres was secured and new buildings begun ujjon plans drawn by M. Ramee, a French engineer then eminent in the country, and for a time employed by the National Government in planning for- tifications and public works. Construction was begun on * This sum was to be drawn at four successive lotteries of $20,000 each. The act directed $35,000 to be applied to the erection of addi- tional buildings ; an equal sum to be invested upon bond and mortgage, the interest to be applied to the support of professorships ; and the remaining $10,000 to be invested, one-half of the proceeds for a classical library, and the balance toward defraying the expenses of indigent scholars. Some changes in the law were afterward made, relating to the mode of investment, and for anticipating the payment of moneys that were becoming due. It a])pears from a legislative report made in 1814, (Assembly Journal, 1S14, p. iicS,) that hut $55,000 were realized from this grant. 14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UN'IOX COLLEGE. College Hill in 1S12, and the buildings were so far advanced that they could be occupied in the summer of 18 14. To provide the means for these improvements and for a sub- stantial endowment, application was made for another grant of a kind similar to the last. An act was accordingly passed, largely through the efforts of Dr. Nott, for raising the sum of $200,000 for Union College, and considerable sums for other institutions.* The proceedings consequent upon these transactions extended through many years, and the drawings of the lotteries were not entirely closed until the end of 1833. From the time of the completion of buildings on the new site, and the re-occupation of West College, no event of special interest occurred to mark the history of the institution for many years. The accompanying tables represent a season of general prosperity, and the unusually large proportion in * Of the sum allowed to Union College by the act of 1814, there was specially given : For the erection of buildings $100,000 For paying an existing debt 30,000 For library and apparatus 20,000 For the relief of indigent students 50,000 Total, including all sums previously given by the State, $331,612.13. There was also assigned in the lottery grant of 1814, the sum of $40,000 to Hamilton College, $4,000 to the Asbury African church of New York, and $33,000 to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the City of New York. An act passed April 5, 1822, allowed the institutions in interest to as- sume conjointly or to appoint one of their number to complete these transactions and assume the responsibilities, the State being absolved from all liabilities that might occur therein. Union College undertook to close up the business, at which time the sum allowed to be raised was $322,256.81, of which $45,279.74 belonged to Hamilton College, and $17,000 were afterward paid, amounting to $62,279.74; the sum of $33,971.56 belonged to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, $4,529.30 to the Asbury church, and $12,000 to the New York Historical Society, making in all $112,780.62 to be deducted from the total sum that then remained to be raised. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNIOX COLLEGE. 1 5 the senior classes shows a fact well known throughout the country, that many students, after passing through the lower classes elsewhere, came hither to enjoy the instruction of Dr. Nott, and receive from him their first degree.* Although prominence is given to the personal influence of its president, during many years of prosperity, justice requires us to record the fact, which all the graduates will indorse, that a large measure of gratitude is due from them to the other * This fact, with his reputed readiness to receive students who had been unsuccessful elsewhere but for whose improvement hope might be entertained, attracted many to him, and filled the higher classes of the institution. One of the leading educators of the country has lately re- marked that while this course subjected him to criticism, and might be regarded in some respects with disfavor, it still resulted beneficially, not only to many individuals, but also in rendering college discipline everywhere more parental and inter-collegiate comity more humane. In that day practical efficiency in affairs was most needed for the develop- ment of the country ; but now, while this is still important, it is felt that thorough training, mental discipline, and complete scholarly furnishing is no less essential to the college graduate. Hence the present aim of Union College is to elevate constantly the standard of scholarship, and with this result in view to secure a well prepared and numerous freshman class. It is found that by an ample and varied course .of study, accom- panied by rigorous examinations, numbers are much reduced as the class once entered advances from year to year. While this enables in- dividuals who find themselves unfitted for collegiate or professioiir'l life to retire without dishonor, and with advantage to themselves and their fel- lows, those who attain a regular graduation and degree are, it is be- lieved, well fitted for those needs and circumstances of the times which distinguish the present and future from earlier ye irs of national progress. Thus, while stricter examinations tend to decrease the numbers as classes advance, a higher standard of entrance prevents the higher classes from receiving such large accessions from other institutions as were formerly customary. The lower classes, therefore, will be the largest, the base of the pyramid, its broadest part, if the institution is conducted on the sys- tem approved bv its president as adapted to the present era, enforced heartily by its faculty, and earnestly insisted upon by its alumni and friends, as essential to its reputation, usefulness, and present welfare. l6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE, members of the faculty for their talent, fidelity, and ability in conducting the interests more especially confided to their care.* But advancing age brings its infirmities; and in 1852 the Rev. Laurens P. Hickok, D.D,,t was called from the Auburn *The names of those who have at different periods held a place on the college faculty down to the present time are given in their proper con- nection in another part of this article; but it will not be invidious to here particularize, in the order of time, those serving ten years or more as tutors or professors : Rev. Andrew Yates, D.D., (1797-1801, 1814-182-,) professor of Latin and Greek during the first period, and of moral philosophy and logic afterward. He died in Schenectady in 1844. Rev. Thomas Macauley, D.D., LL.D., (1805-06, i8ii-'22,) tutor, lecturer, and professor of mathematics and natural philosophy. Died in New York in 1862. Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, D.D., LL.D., (iSos-'ip,) successively tutor and professor of logic and belles-lettres, lecturer on chemistry, and professor of rhetoric and chemistry. Afterward Protestant- Episcopal bishop of the diocese of Connecticut till his death at Hart- ford in 1865. Pierre Gregoire Reynaud, (i8o6-'22,) professor of French. Died in Philadel])hia, Pa. Rev. Francis Wayland, (i8i6-'26, ) tutor, and then professor of mathe- matics and natural philosophy. Afterward president of Brown Uni- versity. Died in Providence, R. L, in 1865. Rev. Robert Proudfit, D. D., (i8i8-'6o,) professor of Greek and Latin languages till his death in i860. Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., LL.D., (i8i9-'26, i83i-'4S,) tutor, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and afterward of rhetoric and natural philosophy. Left college to assume the duties tDr. Hickok was born in Danbury, Conn., December 29, 1798, graduated at Union College in 1820, and, after serving some years as a pastor, was elected professor of theology in the Western Reserve College. In 1844 he became a professor at Auburn, and in 1866 president of Union College. He resigned this office in 1868 in accordance with a long cherished purpose that at the age of seventy he would retire from active life and devote his time to the revision and extension of his own literary labors, in which he is still engaged. He is residing at Amherst, Mass. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 1 7 Theological Seminary to serve as vice-president, and upon him gradually devolved the cares of the presidency, although they were not actually conferred in name until after the death of Dr. Nott in 1866. But in this we are passing over two events of peculiar interest in the history of the college that require a special notice. SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF UNION COLLEGE. This event in the history of the college was celebrated in connection with the commencement exercises of 1845, pre- parations having begun the year before in the appointment of committees and the organization of plans.* The occasion of Protestant-Episcopal bishop of the diocese of Pennsylvania, and died in California in 1865. Joel B. Nott, A.M., (i820-'3i,) tutor, lecturer, ami then professor of chemistry. Now resides in Guilderland, N. Y. Benjamin F. Joslin, M.D., LL.D., (i822-'37,) tutor, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy. Died in New York in 1S61. Rev. John Austin Yates, D.D., (i823-'49,) tutor, and then professor of Oriental literature till his death in 1849. Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, D.D., (i826-'36,) instructor in P'rench. Died in Utica. Isaac W. Jackson, LL.D., (since 1826,) tutor, and since 1831 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy. Rev. Thomas C. Reed, D.D., (i826-'5i,) tutor, professor of political economy, and afterward of Latin language and literature. Now r«sides at Geneva, N. Y. Rev. John Nott, D.D., (i830-'54,) tutor, then assistant professor of rhetoric. Resides in Amsterdam, N. Y. Jonathan Pearson, A.M., (since 1836,) tutor, assistant professor of * One man from each of the first twenty classes was designated to this duty, and at the commencement season of 1844 they met to arr.ange the programme. It was decided that two addresses should be delivered, one from the older and one from the later classes, thus representing, so far as might be, the two epochs of the occa.sion. The Rev. Jos. Swectman, of the first class graduated, was chosen for the former, and the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, of the class of 1818, then recently elected Bishop of Pcnn- 2 U l8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. called together an immense number of the alumni of the col- lege and literary strangers, to receive whom the common council extended the hospitalities of the city, and all the principal citizens opened their houses to receive guests. The proceedings, which extended through several days, were pub- lished in a finely printed memorial volume, and left an im- chemistry and natural philosophy, and since 1849 professor of natural history. Since 1854 he has also filled the office of treasurer. John Foster, LL.D., (since 1836,) tutor, assistant profes;«or of mathe- matics and natural philosophy, and since 1849 professor of natural philosophy. William Mitchell Gillespie, LL.D., (i845-'68,) professor of civil engineering and adjunct professor of mathematics. Died in 1868. Alexander M. Vedder, A.M., M.D., (i84g-'63,) professor of anatomy and physiology. Tayler Lewis, LL.D., (since 1849,) professor of ancient Oriental languages and literature. Elias Peissner, A.M., (i85i-'62, ) assistant professor of Latin and teacher of German language and literature, lecturer on political economy. Was commissioned as colonel of the One hundred and nineteenth Regiment New York Volunteers, September i, 1862, and was killed in battle at Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863. Rev. John Newman, D.D., (i852-'63,) professor of Latin language and literature. Now resides in Poultney, Vt. William Wells, A.M., (since 1865,.) professor of modern languages and literature. Maurice Perkins, A.M., (since 1865,) professor of chemistry. Among those of the faculty who held for a short term may be men- tioned Mr. P^ederick R. Hassler, who, in i8io-'ii, held the office of sylvania, but still acting as a professor in the college, was chosen to repre- sent the latter. This selection was eminently fortunate, since no man was more fully imbued with the spirit of progress or better fitted to represent the cultured intellect of the living age. Among the names on the com- mittee were the Hon. William H. Seward, Bishop Thomas C. Brownell, and Hon. Samuel A. Foote,' of whom the latter is still living. A tent of immense size was erected for the dinner, and the tables were set for a thousand guests. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 1 9 .pression upon the memories of those who participated that would last through life. SEMI-CENTENNIAL OF DR. NOTT's PRESIDENCY. This occasion was celebrated on the 25th of July, 1854, preliminary measures having been taken by the alumni a year before, and the trustees of the college being in full professor of mathematics and natural philosophy. He became first Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, and began the precise observations and measurements which have since been continued under his successors, giving this work a just celebrity for accuracy and com- pleteness. The literary publications of the faculty amount to over sixty in ■ number, and many of them are works of substantial merit. List of publications by members of the facility of Union College. Rev. John Blair Smith, first president of Union College : 1. The Enlargement of Christ's Kingdom. 2. A Sermon a*^ Albany. 1767. Rev. Jonathan Edwards, second president of Union College : 1. History of the Work of Redemption. Two volumes. 2. Two volumes of sermons. 3. Two volumes of observations on important theological subjects Rev. Eliphalet Nott, fourth president of Union College : 1. Counsels to Young Men. 2. Lectures on Temperance. 1847. 3. Sermon on the Death of Hamilton. 1804. Rev. Laurens P. Hickok, fifth president of Union College: 1. Rational Psychology. 1848. 2. Moral Science. 1853. 3. Empirical Psychology. 1854. 4. Rational Cosmology. 1858. • Rt. Rev, Thomas C. Brownell : 1. Commentary on the Book of Common Prayer. 2. Consolation for the Afflicted. 3. Christian's W.alk and Consolation. 4. Exhortation to Repentance. 5. Family Prayer-Book. 20 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. accord. As on the previous gathering, the hospitah'ties of the city were tendered to the returning sons of Union and to the Hterary strangers called together by so unusual an event. The central point of interest was in the address of Dr. Nott, which was a compact review of the labors, joys, and trials of the last fifty years. He might well address to them as a father List of publications, Ssfc. — Continued. 6. Religion of the Heart and Life. Five volumes. 7. Religious Enquirer Answered. S. Youthful Christian's Guide. Rev. Francis Wayland : 1. Moral Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise. 1S23. 2. Duties of an American Citizen. 1825. 3. Occasional Discourses. 4. Elements of Moral Science. 5. Elements of Political Economy. 1837. 6. Moral Law of Accumulation. 7. Limitations of Human Responsibility. 183S, and other works. Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter : 1. A Treatise on Logarithms. 2. A Treatise on Descriptive Geometry. 3. Political Economy. 1840. 4. Principles of Science. 1841. 5. The School and Schoolmaster. [With G. B. Emerson.] 6. Handbook for Readers and Students. 1843. 7. Religious Philosophy of Three Witnesses. 1872. Benjamin F. Joslin: 1. Homoeopathic Treatment of Epidemic Cholera. 1849. 2. Principles of Homoeopathy. 1S50, and other publications concern- ing homoeopathy. Prof. Isaac W. Jackson : 1. Elements of Conic Sections. 1S54. 2. Elementary Treatise on Optics 1854. 3. Elementary Treatise on Mechanics. Prof Jonathan Pearson : I. Early Records of the City and County of Albany, translated from the Dutch, with notes. 8vo. 1869. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 21 to his children words of counsel, of admonition, and of en- couragement; and advice thus given could not fail of making a deep and lasting impression.* List of pithlications, ^'c. — Continued. 2. Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany. 1872. 3. Contributions for the Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of the Town of Schenectady, 1662-1800. Svo. 1873. Prof. William M. Gillespie: 1. Rome as Seen by a New Yorlvcr. 1S43. 2. Roads and Railroads. 1845. 3. Philosophy of Mathematics, from the French of Comte. 185 1. 4. Principles of Land-Surveying. 1S55. Prof. Tayler Lewis: 1. Nature and Ground of Punishment. 1S44. 2. Plato contra Atheos. 1845. 3. Six Days of Creation. 1855. 4. Science and the Bible. 1857. Prof. Elias Peissner: 1. Elements of the German Language. 1854. 2. Elements of the English Language. 1858. 3. Elements of Italian, Spanish, and French, compared \\ ith Latin and English. 1859. 4. Course of German and Literature. 5. English Address at the Great Turner Festival, Albany. 1S58. 6. The .American Question. 1861. Rev. Robert T. S. Lowell, D.D. : 1. Five Letters to a Romish Priest. 1853. 2. The New Priest in Conception Bay. 1858. 3. Poems, i860. 4. The Commemoration Hymn fur Harvard University Memorial Celeliration. 1865. 5. Antony Brade. * The principal orators of the occasion, l)esidcs the venerable president, were the Hon. William W. Campbell, of Cherry Valley, and the Rev. Francis Wayland, then president of Brown University. These proceed- ings were also carefully printed in a collected form. 22 Hl~~litKlCAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. RECENT HISTORY. On the retirement of Dr. Hickok, the Rev. Charles A. Aiken, D.D., of Dartmouth College, was chosen president, and he filled the duties with acceptance until 187 1, when, for domestic reasons, involving the health of a member of his family, he resigned to seek a less rigorous climate; and in the selection of a successor the choice fell'upon the Rev. Eliphalet Nott Potter, D.D., a grandson of Dr. Xott, and son of Bishop Alonzo Potter, already mentioned. This selection of a man at an age much younger than that at which college presidents are usually chosen, might appear to the stranger as a bold departure from established precedent. But the friends of the college justify this action by pomting to the marked improvements since inaugurated, the new buildings erected, the noble endowment funds since received, and the increasing numbers in attendance, especially in the lower classes; and upon these they base their expectations of the future, and look forward with confidence to a new and vigorous growth of the college, with increasing means and a wider field for active usefulness.* * A reference to the accompanying tables will show that the number of Students hrs for several years been steadily increasing, so that the last enrollment in the freshman class was the largest in the history of the col- lege. It is a matter of history, which our statistics painfully illustrate, that with the declining years of Dr. JSTott the number of students decreased, while during the late war the college was nearly stripped of its students by the withdrawal of the whole number from the South, while many from the North were attracted to new institutions that were competing for favor, and appealing to the pride of locality and to various special motives for support. I: became a subject of serious thought on the part of those intrusted with the affairs of Union College as to how the emergency was to be met, and n > plan appeared more feasible than that of yielding to the progressive s; irit of the age, by enlarging its facilities, extending its courses of stui'y, and in the best sense of the word rendering it fully the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 23 PRESENT BUILDINGS. The principal buildings of Union College are North College and South College, six hundred feet apart, and each with a colonnade facing inward; a Memorial Hall midway between, but standing back three hundred feet from the front line ; a gymnasium in the rear of South College; a President's House, and three other dwellings on the line with the main college buildings, and a professor's residence at some distance east of the principal group of buildings.* The original plans con- peer of the first institutions in the country. The result appears to justify the soundness of this argument, and to encourage persistent and vigorous effort. *The plans of North and South Colleges are alike except as to the position of the colonnades, and when viewetl in front each appears as a pair of large three-story dwellings, connected by a four-story building, the lattei faced with pilasters to the whole height and arches extending up to include the first and second stories. Each college building is 200 by 40 feet on the ground. The end portions are used as residences for pro- fessors and the central part as dormitories for students. This central portion has three separate entrances front and rear, with four rooms on each floor, making, originally, forty-eight rooms in each college. Within the past few years a renovation of the interior has been undertaken, and rooms in some cases connected for greater convenience, so as to appear more cheerful and home-like. The colonnades are eacii 250 feet in length liy 25 in breadth, and terminate in square-roofed buildings one story higher. These Iniildings are each 80 by 50 feet on the ground. The North Colonn.ade and building are used for chemical and philosophical apparatus and lecture-rooms, the chemical laboratory and cabinets of tlie engineering department. Those on the south are used for chai)el, library, cabinet, office, and recitation- rooms. Memorial Hall, so long a familiar object on paper, and originally de- signed as a chapel, was delayed from various causes, so that its founda- tions were not laid till 1858, and the effort was then suspended when the walls had reached the level of the first story. Work has been recently resumed by the aid of funds given by two brothers of President Potter, amounting to $50,000, and the work at the time of writing is fully in- 24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. templated two other college edifices to the rear, facing west- ward upon the campus, with a semicircular connecting colon- nade, but it is doubtful whether these intentions will ever be fully carried out. PRESENT GROUNDS. The original groiinds acquired for college uses have been somewhat reduced by railroad and street improvements, but are scarcely liable to further encroachment, and are amply sufficient for every probable want. They embrace about one closed and rapidly approaching completion. The building has sixteen equal sides, is eighty-four feet in diameter and fifty feet in height to the top of the walls. It is surmounted by a dome of corrugated iron, covered with metal plates, and within plastered for frescoing. The dome is spangled with gilded stars and has other appropriate ornamentation. The walls are of bluestone, from the vicinity, with white Ohio sandstone trimmings, and cylindrical columns of polished granite in the windows. The dome rises one hundred and twenty feet above the floor, and the interior will form one spacious rotunda, with galleries and alcoves for the library, and an appropriate repository for works of art. The gymnasium was completed in 1S74, at the cost of prominent alumni of Albany and Troy, and through the efforts of students in gathering subscriptions, and is one of the largest and best equipped establishments of the kind in the country. It is under the control of a professional gymnast, whose theory is to use its peculiar opportunities for physical development and manly exercise, to the exclusion of all useless and dan- gerous feats. The building is 80 by 40 feet on the ground, and two stories in height. The President's House was built in 1873, chiefly from the donation to the Christian Union endowment-fund by a member of the board of trustees, and its style is in harmony with the general plan. A cottage in the Swiss style of architecture was built in the gardens north of North College in 1873, and from its fine location, half concealed by trees, it presents a picturesque appearance from favorable points of view. All of these buildings, except memorial hall and the cottage, are of brick, rough-cast with ash-colored cement, with pilasters, arches, and trimmings in white, presenting a general unity of plan and symmetry of proportion that is quite pleasing in general effect. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 25 hundred and thirty acres, including the campus, gardens, and grounds properh' belonging to the college and essential for its use, besides some one hundred acres of woodlands and fields adjoining. THE JACKSON GARDEN. During the residence of Prof Thomas Macauley, more than fifty years ago, a beginning was made in the improve- ment of a garden north of North College. The work was, however, scarcely more than a beginning until Prof. Isaac W. Jackson became a resident of the adjoining dwelling in 1831, when a series of improvements were begun, which, aided by a small annual grant from the trustees, have gradually trans- formed a wild ravine and tangled woodland into a charming ramble and pleasant retreat. The grounds embrace some twelve acres, and combine many attractions of sylvan solitude and floral beauty.* COURSE OF STUDY. The details of the course of study first established in Union College cannot be determined with certainty from existing records, but the curriculum of 1802 will be found in the fol- lowing table. \V'e also give the course of study at nearly even decennial periods, so far as the data at hand will per- mit. * By the act of 1814 giving to Columbia College the title to the botanical gardens, that have since formed so noble a source of wealth, it was pro- vided that within one year at least one healthy exotic flower, shrub, or plant of each kind in duplicate, with the jar containing it, should be sent, if applied for, to each other college in the State. There is not found any record showing that any plants were received by Union College under this act. 26 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Classical course of study in Union i8o2. 'S33- 1S44. i •a c u Cicero de OfBciis, de Ami- Livy. ca tR ■^ citia, &c. Horace and Latin Pros- ^ J^'SS Horace and Latin Pros- ody, with composition **? U 3 ^ ody, with composition and declamation. £! t! 4> =5 5"^ and declamation. Xenophon's Anabasis. ^ i Herodotus and Thucydides. ^ f Xenophon's Cyropsedia Herodotusand Thucydides. : b 1 ^Ic and Anabasis. Horace, Roman Antiquities. N YEAR Second t ^o^ Horace, Roman Antiqui- Algebra to Chapter III, --=J ties. (Bourdon.) >-''t^ Livy, with composition and declamation. < f s Sallust. Cicero de Officiis, with a'n.r: Algebra, (through equa- composition and declam- "< ^ii tions of the tirst degree.) ation. w b m jr~ c Lysias, Isocrates, and De- Algebra, (continued.) 0^ :^ .2 ujo mosthenes, with compo- Lysias, Isocrates, and De- sition and declamation. mosthenes. g IJJI naSfc - ci'iS''!' a Sri Tacitus' History. Xenophon's Memorabilia Tacitus' Histor\' ; Geology 5 £°cg-5?S8 twice a week . t. -S ^ and Plato. Xenophon's Memorabilia. ^ ■ Algebra, (continued.) Plane Geometry. Ct! C 2 !- e ^' 6 r Aristotle, Dyonisius, and Greek Majora. < I Longinus. Juvenal and Terence. E YE ondti Tacitus, (continued.) Solid Geometry. x-5 c 5 "2 S Plane Geometry. e< ^ 1 « o ^ iC a-r p. O 'o >■ Si Homer's Odyssey. Horaer's Iliad. «-~2'i5: Solid Geometr}-.' Trigonometry. « =^ '5 =7 S s Logic. Abercrombie's Intellectual o ::: . ■3 .SM'^-.- g.-§ Powers ; Botany, (twice t« -^ £ u / - = " !^ a week.) g L HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. College at different periods. 27 1854. 1S64. 1875- Livy, 3 books. Xenophon's Anabasis, 2 books. Algebra, to Square Root. Livy, 3 books. Xenophon's Cyropaedia. Algebra, to " Series." Livy. Xenophon ; Homer. Algebra — (continued) — to "Series." Greek prose composition. Latin prose composition. Horace, 3 books of Odes ; Prosody. Demosthenes' Philippics. Algebra, (to «th root.) Horace, 3 books of Odes ; Prosody. Xenophon's Memorabilia. Algebra, (completed.) Horace. Xenophon; Homer; Hero- dotus. Algebra, completed. Greek prose composition. Latin prose composition. Cicero de Officiis, 2 books. Cicero de Officiis, 2 books. Homer's Iliad, 4 books. Homer, Iliad, 4 books. Geometry, Plane, 5 books. Geometry, Plane, 5 books. (Throughout Freshtnan (Throughout Freshman year,exerc{sesin Latin ■ ycar^exerciscsinLatin andGreek composition.') ' and GrecKComposition.) Cicero de Senectute and de Amicitia. Xenophon; Herodotus; Eu- ripides. Geometry, Books VI to IX. Trigonometry. Rhetoric, with composition and declamation. Greek prose composition. Latin prose composition. (Physical culture 3 hours a -week^and English com- position throughout the year.) Tacitus' History, 2 books, or Germania and Agric- ola. Homer, Odyssey, 6 books, Geometry, Solid, 4 books. Tacitus' History, 2 books, or Germania and Agric- ola. Homer, Odyssey, 6 books, Geometrj', Solid, 4 books. Rhetoric. Tacitus. Euripides ; jEschylus. History of the United States. Rhetoric, Art of Discourse. Review of freshman math- ematics. Juvenal, (ist and loth ;) Terence, (one.) Xenophon's Memorabilia, 3 books. Algebra, (completed ) Juvenal, (ist, 3d, and loth ;) Terence, (one.) Euripides, one or two Dramas. Algebra, (completed.) Study of Words. Juvenal and Terence. Euripides ; .dischylus. Conic Sections. Logic. Logic. Euripides, one or two Drama.s. Trigonometry, Plane and Spherical. Horace, Satires and Epis- tles, (voluntary.; Horace, Satires and Epis- tles. Sophocles, 2 Dramas. Trigonometry, Plane and Spherical. ( Throuf;hout Sophomort yea r, exercises intra ns- latingGreck into Latin.') Horace, Satires and Epis- tles Euripiflcs; Sophocles; Plato. Statics and Dynamics. Study of Man. Botany, (voluntary.) History. (I'hysical culture 3 hours a toee-, ami composi- tion ami HeclamatioH throughout the year.) 28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Classical course of study in Union Col lS02. 1833. 1844. r ^x: o Trigonometry and Appli- Conic Sections. ^• £ P"^ cations. Hesiod and Sophocles. 5 _; ^- t« Hesiod and Sophocles. Rhetoric. r; <£« Rhetoric. Heercn's Ancient Greece, ^ ■ r-'O.y (twice a week.) > 111 'C — J= I ^ i: rt c '■'■^ YEAR. a 5 Political Economy. Political Economy. *; Medea, &c. Medea, &c. ■S tr.-s y Natural Philosophy, Dy- Natural Philosophy, Dy- !^ - cfi — a> u namics, Hydrostatics, namics, Hydrostatics, .^^- *^^- &c. &c. g "2 =15 Technology. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 2g lege at different periods — Continued. iSs4. 1864. 1875- Cicero, Tusculan Ques- Cicero, Tusculan Ques- Cicero, Tusculan Disputa- tions, 3 books. tions, 3 books. tions. Rhetoric. .(Eschylus, 2 Dramas. Sophocles; jEschylus; Conic Sections, (Jack- Conic Sections, (Jack- Thucydides. son's,) or Analytical son's,) or Analytical Mechanical Work — Hydro- Geometry. Geometry. statics, Hj'drodynamics, English Language. Pneumatics. Chemistry, (inorganic.) Elocution. Political Economy. Chemistry. Quintilian. Plato, Phsedon or Gor- Lucretius or Quintilian. Sophocles, 2 Dramas. Plato ; Demosthenes. Statics and Dynamics. gias. Elocution. Rhetoric. Heat: Steam-engine; Elec Chemistry, (organic.) tricity ; Meteorology. Physiology. Ethics. Political Economy. Statics and Dynamics. Acoustics ; Magnetism ; Plato, Phaedon or Gor- Geology. Galvanism; Electro- gias. Physiology. Magnetism. Hydrostatics; Hydrody- Chemistry. namics; Pneumatics ; Heat ; Steam. History of Civilization. Zoology. Botany. (Composition and declam- ation and physical cul- ture 3 hours a week throughout the year.) 30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Classical course of study in Uttion Col 1S02.* jS33. 1844. ( Intellectual Philosophy. Moral Philosophy. ^~s- Lectures on Electricity, Astronomy and Lectures S'5>>'i and Biot's Optics. on Electricity. s Elements of Criticism. Technology, (completed.) -a ■o=.S-5 Elements of Criticism. ■S S g =* J! Astronom3'. Optics. •- ^~ Moral Philosophy. Psychology. :; C p K 'x Kames, and Lectures on Kames,and Michelet's His- k "■Slj." Chemistry. tory. •»• c— S'" Lectures on Magnetism, "^ . s|y Galvanism, and Electro- . s Magnetism. i^ H - f ^ < -^ 5 3i tii > L '3 1) ^ Di o °£jZ =-r Hebrew. Hebrew, with Lectures on c. ^~~ Vs Greek Testament, with Biblical Literature. VL ■S «-S 2-S Lectures on Biblical Lit- Guizofs History of Civili- gu^g^ erature. zation. % M so S Lectures on Elements of Butler's Analogy, (twice V. c _'_•- " Criticism, Chemistry, a week.) iL - ii5S'a.& Botany, and MiBcral- Botany, Geology, and ■ts s; "C-c.^ " ogy. Mineralogy. •£ ^ y^>.S Anatomy and Physiology, g ■= £ Hv. o- (3 times a week. ) ^Si 3 p « Synoptical view of the — = 3 c~ Sciences, in Lectures. « S — .2 >. •5 £ tl'S. ■i"=^- (Lectures are also deliv- ered during the course •i sc-o a 5 - K on Natural Philosophy^ Rhetoric and Oratory, c/3 >^o'3-S Political Econotiiy, Met- aphysical and Moral Ph ilosophy , and the Philosophy 0/ History.) * The statutes of 1802 prescribe, besides the course of studies given in the table. The freshmen and sophomores shall recite three times each day, in term-time, ter vacation, and twice each day after the winter vacation until commencement. time each day until their final examination. The sophomores, juniors, and seniors shall exhibit compositions of their own, in time for this purpose, the recitation on Fridays in the afternoon shall be omitted . indecent, profane, or irmnoral. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. ege at different periods — Continued. 31 1854. 1864. 1875. Optics. Plato contra Atheos, (vol- Optics; Wave Theory of Light and Radiant Heat. Sound ; Electricity ; Mag- untary.) n e t i s m ; Galvanism ; Hydrostatics ; Hydrody- Mental Philosophy. Electro-Magnetism. namics : Pneumatics ; Lectures on G reels Philos- Mental Philosophy. Heat ; Steam. ophy. Criticism . Optics. Mental Philosophy Lectures on History of Geologj'. Plato contra Atheos, (vol- Plato contra Atheos, (vol- untary.) untary.) Philosophy. Applied Chemistry. Chemical Laboratory ex- ercises. Astronomy. Aristophanes, Birds or Astronomv. Aristophanes, Birds or Clouds, (voluntar\-.) Ethics. Clouds. Sound; Electricity ;'Maff- Christian Evidences. Moral Philosophy. n e t i s m ; Galvanism ; Lectures on Greek Philos- Criticism . Electro-Magnetism . ophy and Poetry. Astronomy. Aristophanes, Birds or Moral Philosophy. Clouds, (voluntary.) Lectures on Ancient Poe- Hebrew, (voluntary.) try. English Literature. Lectures on the Bible. Comparative Philology. National and Constitu- History of Philosophy. Christian Ethics. tional Law. Principles of Eloquence. International Lawand Con- Anatomy and Physiology, English Literature ; Lec- stitution of the United (Lectures.) tures. States. Moral Philosophy. Lectures on Classical and Agricultural Chemistry Lectures on English Poe- and Geology. try. Modern Literature, Ar- Lectures on Biblical Lit- Lectures on English Lit- chitecture, &c. erature, Architecture, erature. &c. Lectures on Biblical Lit- erature. Lectures on Greek Poetry. Lectures on Art. Lectures on History. Mineralogy, (voluntary.) (Rhetorical exercises by (Physical culture 3 hours Seniors, Juniors, and a week, and rhetorical So/j/iomores be/ore the exercises throughout the whole Collei;c, in the year.) Cha/>el, on Saturdays, at a a. tn.) the following requirements : during the year. The junior three times each day, until the beginning of the win- Thc seniors shall recite twice each day until the winter vacation, and from that ^e English language, every Saturday morning. That they may have sufficient Every student is strictly forbidden to exhibit anything in his compositions that is 32 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Scientific course of study in Union \ 1833. 1844. ISame as in Classical Course.] [Same as in Classical Course.] %l r [Same as in Classical Course.] [Same as in Classical Course.] FRESH^ Th ird term. [Same as in Classical Course.] [Same as in Classical Course.] _. r ^ 1 L History. Arithmetic. Algebra, (continued.) Tacitus; Geology. History. Plane Geometry. MORE YEAR. Second term. History, (continued.) Natural Theology. Plane Geometry. Natural Theology. Juvenal and Terence- Solid Geometrj'. SOPHO 77/ ird term. Natural History. Solid Geometry. Logic. Natural History. Trigonometrv and Applications. Abercrombie's Intellectual Powers, and Botany. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 33 College at different periods. 1854. 864. 1875. [Same ais in Course.] Classical [Same as Course.] in Classical Latin Grammar and Reader. French Grammar. Algebra — (continued) — to "Series." History. [Same as in Course.] Classical [Same as Course.] in Classical Latin Grammar and Reader. French Grammar and Reader. Algebra, (completed.) i'^ame as in Course. 1 Classical [Same as Course.] in Classical French Grammar and Reader. Geometry, Rooks VI to IX. Rhetoric, with composition and declamation. Trigonometry. (Physical culture 3 hours a tveek a>itl English com- position throughout the year.) French. French, (Grammar.) French Classic Poetry. History. History. German Grammar. Geometry, Solid, 4 books. Geometry, Solid, f( ur Descriptive Geometry. books. History ot the Onited Rlietoric. States. Rhetoric; Art of Discourse. Review of freshman math- ematics. French, (continued.) French, (Reader.) Contemporary French Lit- Draughting. Geometrical Draught "R- erature. Algebra, (completed.) Algebra, (completed. > German Grammar. Study ol V\ ords. Conic Sections. Logic. Ancient History, eclectic. Mensuration, eclectic. Descriptive Geometry, ec- lectic. Logic. Trigonometry, Plane and Contemporaneous French land-Surveying. Trigonometry, I'lane and Spherical. Literature. Land-Surveying, (Parts German Grammar and Spherical. 1, 2, 1.) Reader. Descriptive Geometry, Draughting, (voluntary \ Statics and Dynamics. (voluntary.) I'rench, (.NIoliere or Ra- Study ol Man. Italian, (voluntary.) cine.) Botany, (voluntary.) Italian, (voluntary.) Analytical Geometry, ec- Botany, (voluntary.) lectic. Surveying, eclectic. (Physical culture 3 tiiiiri a weik: liugtish comfio- sition and declamation th rough out th c yea r ) 3u 34 IIlsrORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Scientific course of study in Union Col 1833. 1844. :^ - Trigonometry and Applications. Algebra. Rhetoric. Conic Sections. Algebra. Rhetoric . Heeren's Ancient Greece, (twice a week.) ■ "i - as 1 > o French. Descriptive Geometry; Analytical Geometry of two Dimensions. Natural Philosophy, (Statics.) German. Chemistry. Natural Philosophy, (Statics.) Heeren's Greece, (completed.) Topography, (extra study.) JUNI Third term. Differential and Integral Calculus. ' Analytical Geometrj' of three Di- mensions. Natural Philosophy, (Dynamics, Hydrostatics, &c.) Differential and Integral Calculus. Analytical Geometry of three Di- mensions. Natural Philosophy— Dynamics, Hydrostatics, &c. Technology. French, (extra study.) Surveying and Leveling, (extra study.) HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 35 •/t;f4' at different periods — Continued. IS54. 1864. 1875. German. German, (Grammar.) German Literature. Rhetoric. Analytical Geometry. Mechanical Work ; Hydro- Conic Sections, (Jack- Descriptive Geometry. statics ; Hydrodynamics ; son's,) or Analytical English Language. Chemistry, (Inorganic.) Pneumatics. Geometry. Political Economy. Draughting, (continued,) Elocution. (voluntary,) Lectures. Drawing. Leveling, (voluntary,) Lectures. •Chemistry. German, (Reader.) German Literature. German, (continued.) Rhetoric. Elocution. Statics and Dynamics. Chemistry, (Organic.) Heat; Steam-engine; Elec- Differential and Integral Differential and Integral tricitv ; Meteorology. Calculus, (voluntary.) Calculus, (voluntary.) Physiology. Draughting, (continued,) Draughting, (continued,) Ethics. (voluntary.) (voluntary.) Engineering ; Mensura- tion, (voluntary.) Applied Mechanics, (vol- untary.) Political Economy. Statics and Dynamics. Acoustics; Magnetism; (ierraan, (continued.) Geology. Mineralogy, (Determina- Galvanism; Electro-mag- Hydrostatics; Hydrody- netism. namics ; Pneumatics ; tive), (voluntary.) Chemistry. Heat ; Steam. Analytical Mechanics, Zoology. Analvtical Mechanics, (voluntar>'.) History of Civilization. (voluntary.) Draughting, (continued,) Botanj-, (voluntary.) Higher Surveying, (vol- (voluntary.) untary,) Lectures. Strength of Materials, (voluntarj',) Lectures. German, (Literature,) (voluntary.) Physiology. Applied Mechanics, (vol- untary.) Lectures. Botany, (voluntary.) (Physical culture 3 times a week, and co»iposi- tion and declainalien throughout the year.) 36 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. Siicntijic course of study in Union Col ^ \ 1833. J844. Boucharlat's Mechanics. Lectures on Electricity and Mag- netism, and Biot's Optics. Elements of Criticism. Boucharlat's Mechanics. Astronomy, and Lectures on Elec- tricity. Technology. Elements of Criticism. Topography and Practical Astron- omy. Moral Philosophy. Astronomy. Karnes, and Lectures on Chem- istry. Optics. Psychology . Kames and Michelet. Prometheus Vinctus of ^Eschylus,. to an extra division. Law, (Kent or Blaclc^tone.) Anatomy and Physiology. Lectures on Elements of Criticism, Chemistry, Botany, and Min- eralogy. Law. Michelet. Butler's Analogy, (twice a week.) Botany. Geology, and Mineralogy. Anatomy and Physiology, (three times a week.) Sj-noptical view of the Sciences, in Lectures. (A lecture is also delivered each Sunday etIoral Philosophy. Criticism. Engineering Construc- tion, (voluntary.) Bridges, (voluntary,) Lec- tures. Hydraulic Engineering, (voluntary,) Lectures. Sound; Electricity; Mag- netism; Galvanism; Electro-Magnetism. .\stronomy. Moral Philosophy. Spanish, (voluntary.) Engineering, Mensura- tion, &c., (voluntary,) Lectures. Astronomy. Ethics. Christian Evidences. Lectures on English Liter- ature. Lectures on the Bible. Physical Laboratory E.x- ercises. National and Constitu- tional Law. Anatomy and Physiology, (Lectures.) Moral Philosophy. Geodosy and Practical Astronomy, (volun- Ury.) Architecture, (voluntary,) Lectures. History' of Philosophy. Lectures on Miblical Lit- erature, Architecture, &c. Principles of Eloquence. English Literature, Lec- tures. Agricultural Chemistry and Geology. Higher Surveying and Engineering Statics, (voluntary.) (Rhetorical exercises by Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores be/ore the luhole College, in Chaf>- ely on Saturdays at 8 a. m.) Christian Ethics. International Law and Con- stitution of the United States. Lectures on English Poe- try. Lectures on Biblical Liter- ature. Higlier Sur\-eying and En- gineering Statics, (volun- tary.) Mineralogy, (voluntary.) Lectures on .Art. Lectures on English Liter- ature. Lectures on History. {Physical culture 3 hours a iveek, and rhetorical exercises throughout the year.) 3S HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING. This was established in 1S45, under the direction of Prof. WiUiam M. Gillespie;* its course of instruction aiming to impart skill and experience in mechanical draughting, in- strumental field-work, and numerical calculation, combined Avith the study of te.xt-books and lectures on numerous sub- jects where these are wanting. The canal, with its extensive aqueducts; the various railroads centering in Schenectady, with their numerous bridges and other structures, and exten- sive locomotive works, founderies, shops, and factories, aftbrd a fine opportunity for examination and study in this depart- ment. This course has recently been extended to four years, and intermingled with the scientific course of the college proper. The student thus gains a knowledge of modern languages so essential to the civil engineer, and the advan- tage of that mental discipline that tends largely to success in life. The department is well supplied with models, the most important of which is the Olivier collection. t * Professor Gillespie, who was distinguished alike as a teacher and an author in the special lines of his study, died in New York, January i, 1868. t This consists of about fifty models, representing the most important and complicated ruled surfaces of descriptive geometry, particularly warped or twisted surfaces. Their directrices are represented by brass bars, straight or curved, to which are attached silk threads representing the elements or successive positions of the generatrices of the surfaces. Each of these threads has a weight suspended by it so as always to make it a straight line. These weights are contained in boxes sustaining the directrices and their standards. The bars are movable in various direc- tions, carrying with them the threads still stretched straight by the weights in every position they may take ; so that the forms and natures of the sur- faces which they constitute are continually changing, while they always remain "ruled surfaces." In this way a plane is transformed into a par- aboloid, a cyhnder into a hyperboloid, &c. These models were invented by the lamented Theodore Olivier, while professor of descriptive geometry HISTORICAL SKETCH OF U.VION COLLEGE. 39 CHEMICAL LABORATORY. A laboratory was established for chemical analysis in 1S55 at a cost of about $7,000 for fixtures and $10,000 for chemicals and other stock. It has been successively in charge of Professors Charles E. Joy and Charles F. Chandler^ (now both of Columbia College,) and of Maurice Perkins, M.D., the present incumbent. It has working fociiities for twenty students, and fifteen are now attending. COURSE OF STUDIES IN THE ENGINEERIN'G DEPARTMENT, UNION COLLEGE, 1 87 5. FRESHMAN CLASS. First term. — Latin — French grammar — Algebra (con- tinued) to "Series" — Drawing. Second term. — Latin — French grammar and reader — Alge- bra, (completed) — Drawing, plane problems. Third term. — English language— French grammar and reader — Geometry, books VI to IX — Trigonometry, plane and spherical — Calculations ; rapid, accurate, and ajJiMoximatc. (Physical culture three hours a week and English compo- sition throughout the year.) at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in Paris. One set of them is now deposited there, and a second is in the ConservatiM-y of Madrid. Copies of some of them are to be found in most of the polytechnic schools of Germany. The Union College set is the original collection of the inventor, having been made in jiart by his own hands, and after his death in 1853, retained by his widow till bought from her by Professor Gillespie, in 1855. It is more complete than that in the Paris Conservatoire. It may be worth noticing that the silvered ])lates on the boxes, reading '' Invenle par Thwdore Olivier,'" &c., were added by Madame Olivier after the purchase, at her own expense, as a tribute to the memory of her husband; her own words being " ^(' Unais a ce que cliaqut' instniniint portiit le noiii dii ur.iDit doiit la irpiitalioii pisMra a In posteritc."' 40 HIsroKlCAI. SKETCH OK UNION COLLEGE. SOPHOMORE CLASS. First h'l III. — French poetry — German grammar — Descrip- tive geometry — Rhetoric — History of the United States — Review of freshman mathematics. Second term. — Contemporaneous Frencli hterature — Ger- man grammar and reader — Conic sections — Descriptive ge- ometry — Mensuration — Logic — Drawing, shades and sha- dows. Third term. — Contemporaneous French literature — Ger- man grammar and reader — Statics and dynamics — Survey- ing — Analytical geometry — Study of man — History. (Physical culture three hours a week and English compo- sition throughout the year.) JUNIOR CLASS. First term. — German literature — Hydrostatics, hydrody- namics and pneumatics — Surveying — Machines — Political economy. Second term. — German literature — Electricity, magnetism, galvanism — Physiology — Calculus — Drawing, oblique pro- action. Third term. — Chemistry — Heat, steam-engine — Strength of materials — Zoology — Topographical mapping. (Physical culture three hours a week and composition and declamation throughout the year.) SENIOR CLASS. First term. — Road engineering — Geology — Optics — Chem- istry — Stability of structures. Second term. — Engineering construction — Astronomy — Metallurgy — Ethics — Drawing. Third term. — Physical Laboratory — Physical geography — HISTORICAL SKETlH OF UNION COLLEGE. 4I Moral philosopliy — Law of contracts and riglit of way — Botany — Thesis. (Throughout the year, physical culture three hours a week -and rhetorical exercises.) MILITARY INSTRLCIU'N. In 1S73 Union College applied to the War Department, requesting that an officer of the Engineer Corps might be de- tailed for the purpose of giving military instruction, in jiur- suance of the policy favored by act of Congress, with the view of inducing colleges to supplement in some degree the work of the military academy in this department of useful knowledge. The Government has, in accordance with this Tcquest, supplied the college with muskets and equipments for drill and instruction, under a commissioned officer of the Army. A plain, inexpensive uniform has been adopted, .and a course of military instruction has been added to the 'College curriculum without abating anything from the course 'Of studies formerly prescribed. The drill is regarded chiefly as a physical training. Capt. Thomas Ward of Second Ar- :tillery, U.S.A.. is the present military instructor. COLLEGE SOCIETIES. Union College has at present two literary societies with Sibraries,* a theological society ,t societies for practice in par- *The Philomathcan Society was formed in 1793 l)y young men in town, at theold academy, before a college charter was granted. It was fust called •the "Calliopean," and it held its first meeting under its present name in '•October, 1795. It celebrated its semi-centennial (somewhat behind time) jn 1848. Its hall is in the upper story of the south dwelling of South College, and it possesses a library of aljout three thousand volumes. The Adelphic Society was founded in 1797, and celebrated its semi- t Formed in 1831 for discussion of moral and religious subjects. 42 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. liamentary debate,* seven "Greek letter" societies,! and a chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.^ An ahnnni association was formed in 1857, and has several branches. § centennial in 1848. Its hall is in the upper story of the north dwelling of North College, and its library contains about three thousand volumes. The Delphian Institute, originally formed in 1819, by students from the South, was hmited in membership to thirty-six. In 1848 it was merged into the Adelphic. Its hall was in the upper story of the south dwelling of North College. * A "senate" and a "house of representatives" were formed for pur- poses of debate on political subjects, the former consisting of the senior and the latter of the junior class. The rules of order and method o' procedure are modeled, as near as may be, after those of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States. t These societies in the order of establishment here have been K. A., Kappa Alpha, 1825; 2. *., Sigma Phi, 1827; A. ^., Delta Phi, 1827; ^.T., Psi Upsilon, 1833; A. T., Delta Upsilon, 1834; X. ■^., Chi Psi, 1841; 9. A. X , Theta Delta Chi, 1847, (not now in existence here;) Fraternal Society, O. K. E., 1834, (united with A. A. 4>. ;) O. A. or Equitable Union, 1837 ; Z. ^., Zeta Psi, 1856. (discontinued here;) A. K. E., Delta Kappa Epsilon, 1857, (discontinued here;) A. A. n^RU,AI, SKEICH OF UNION COLLEGE. 111. I'Ri/KS AND Med.\ls. — The following prizes have been established in Union College: Name. Princi- pal. Annual value. Object and remarks. 1 Blatchford Or.\to- $1,000 $40 and $30.. For first and second grade of R I c A I- Medals. — merit in oratory, " regard being (Bv the late Richard had alike to their elevated and M; Hlatchford, of classical character, and to their New York.) graceful and effective deliv- 3. Warner Prize. — 714 $50 in money erv. To the graduate of the classical (By Hon. Horatio or plate. course standing highest in the performance of college duties, G. Warner, of Ro- chester.) and sustaining the best charac- ter for moral rectitude and de- portment, without regard to religious profession or practice. 3. IXGHAM Prize.— (Bv 1,000 ?7o in money To a graduate (of at least two Hon..\lbert C Ins- or plate. years' residence) for the best ham, of Meridian, essay on one of two subjects. X. V.) previously assigned, in English literature or history. IV. Prize Essays. — Prizes are awarded to the two mem- bers of the senior class who present the ISest essays on English literature, on subjects assigned the previous term. V. Prize Speaking. — Prizes are awarded to the two members of the junior and sophomore classes, respectively, who deliver the best orations on the occasion of prize speak- ing during commencement week. Six juniors and four sophomores are selected for this e.xercise; regard being had both to composition and to delivery. The prizes are in the form of valuable books, and are announced at commencement. VI. Special Prize. — The inaugural prize, established by the president at his inauguration, is assigned from year to year under such conditions as may be previously announced. college libraries. There are three libraries connected with the institution, of which the college Hbrary proper contains about twelve HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 47 thousand volumes, the Philomathean Society Hbrary three thousand, and the Adelphic three tliousand volumes.* COLLECTIONS IN NATURAL HISTORY. From an early period the college has been a center of in- terest for students of natural history, and collections were added from time to time, especially in 1841, when a consid- erable number of minerals and fossils were received from the State cabinet. In i860 the "Wheatley collection " of shells and minerals, valued at the time as worth $20,000, and now still more, was presented by Mr. E. C. Delavan. The dredgings upon our coast in recent years have enriched the cabinet with many forms of marine life, and within the last three years an extensive collection of specimens was added by Prof. H. K. Webster as the result of his labors in dredging at Eastport, Me., on the coast of Massachusetts and Virginia, and the west coast of Florida. A valuable herbarium has been given by Dr. Cieorge T. Stevens, of Albany. PHILOSOPHICAL DEPARTMENT. In this department the collections, under the care of Prof. John Foster, have grown to be among the finest in the country. The donations of friends have added largely to their value,t but the principal part has been purchased by the friends of the college or by special funds raised for this pur- * In 1873 Mr. James Brown, of New York, gave the sum of $10,000, under the name of the "Coe memorial fund." The income is applied to increasing the college library, which it does at the rate of about two hundred volumes a year. tThe donors to this department are William 11. II. Moore, Hon. A. II. Rice, Henry C. Potter, M.D., Henry R. I'ierson, Howard Potter, William A. Whitbeck, C. N. Potter, Lemon Tiiomson, and A. <^. .Stevens. 48 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP" UNION COLLEGE. pose. The professor has very recently, while in Europe, pro- cured many articles of especial interest as illustrating the more advanced discoveries of the day. The more important instruments owed by the college are as follows : In electricity : Thompson's divided ring electrometer and reflecting galvanometer; Wheatstone's bridge; British Association standard unit' of resistance; positive and negative electrophorus ; Holtz machine, by Ruhmkorff; Grove's galvanic battery of 40 elements; small induction coil, giving spark of 2 inches, by Ruhmkorff; large coil with interrupter giving spark of 17 inches ; battery of 4 jars, en cascade, for the large coil; Chester battery of 8 large elements ; Bunsen galvanic battery of 60 ele- ments ; Foucault's electric lamp; collection of Geissler tubes; magneto- electric machine ; Morse register and relay magnet ; Gaugain's tangent compass; Lamont's electrometer for atmospheric electricity; pile of Zamboni ; large thermo-electric pile of 36 elements according to Marcus's method of construction; jar with movable coatings; apparatus for pierc- ing glass with electricity. In magnetism : Lamont's magnetic theodolite for determining the absolute intensity ; additions to the theodolite for finding the absolute declination; dipping needle for observations; magnetic engines. In LIGHT : Porte lumiere; Duboscq's magic-lantern, adapted to the use of either the electric or lime light; Marcey's sciopticon; complete photographic apparatus ; circle for demonstrating the laws of reflection, refraction, polarization, e made of the portraits and busts of such as have been proiuiiu-ntly cuii nected with the history of the college. 52 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. The Spectator is under the care of a corps of editors from the advanced classes and representatives of the hiw and medical schools in Albany belonging to Union University. It is still published monthly, partaking more of the journalistic char- acter, while the Union College Magazine represents the more literary features of the magazine. THE SONGS OF UNION. This feature of college literature deserves a passing notice. For many years they were floating waifs, and although some of them were productions of real merit, no collection was attempted until i8 — , when they were published in a neat volume entitled " Carmina Concordise," under thQ editorial care of a member of the class of 1856.* OTHER COLLEGE PUBLICATIONS. No catalogues were published in the early years, and when the practice was begun it was limited to a broad sheet. The regular annual issue began in 1820, and in 1832 a separate edition was published by the students. The latter usually contain the lists of secret and other societies not in the ofificial edition. General catalogues were published in 1819, 1825, 1828, 1834, 1843, 1^54) ^^d 1868, the last two being in English, and the earlier ones in Latin. * A few of these songs are perenHial in their fragrance, and are always sung on festive occasions. This is especially true of the song to Old Union, composed by Fitzhugh Ludlow, of the class of 1856, and now deceased. It is always sung on commencement day, at the close of the graduating services. The hearty good will and feeling with which return- ing sons join in the grand chorus — "Then here's to thee, the brave and free, Old Union smiling o'er us, And for many a day, as thy walls grow gray, May they ring with thy children's chorus," — show tlut the gifted poet did not attune his lyre in vain. HISTORICAL SKKTCH OF UNION COI.I.KCi:. 53 The affairs of Union College have been frequently made a subject of report to the legislature, and these papers are scat- tered through the legislative records, and their titles are readily found in the general indexes. No complete series is known to exist in collected form. Scmi-ccntcmiial proctnlnigs. The semi-centennial proceedings in 1845 and 1S54 were published, the former making 186 and the latter 122 pages. The semi-centennial proceedings of the Philomathean Society were published in 1849 in a volume of 154 pp.; (juarter- centennial proceedings of A'. A., ^851. The proceedings at the inati'^nralioii of pirsuleiUs. The exercises connected with the inauguration of Rev. Charles A. Aiken, D. D., June 28, 1870. Proceedings at the inauguration of Rev. V.. .Xott Potter. D. D., as president of Union College, 1872. Ci^idlogncs. A cataloi^aie of the college library has iic\cr bcL-n ]iiinlcil, Init one of the Philomathean Society was printed m 1833, 1841, 1856, and 1863, aiid of the Adclphic Society in 1836' 1843, 1847, 1852, 1856. These societies have repeatedly published catalogues of their members, the principal editions being, of the Philo- mathean, 1820, 1830, 1S40, 1847, 1850; of the .Adelphic, 1837, 1841, 1846, 1851; of tlie Delpliian Institute, 1837, 1844. General catalogues '. K. address. 1821. Samuel Young. '. K. 1850. Thomas M. Clark. (P. B. K. 185 1. Luther F. Beecher. Theological Society. 1851. Benjamin N. Martin. '. K. 1852. Ralph Hoyt. Poem. (P. />'. A'. 1852. Dr. E. Nott. Semi-centennial address. 1854. Francis Wayland. Semi-centennial address. 1854. George W. Clinton. '. A'. 1857. H. W. Warner. Semi-centennial. 1859. D. H. Hamilton. Alumni address. 1861. H. G. Warner. ^. //. A. 1861. William Tracy. 0. B. K. 1862. Robert J. Breckinridge. . K. 1874. 56 HISTURICAI. SKKI'CH OK UNION COLLEGE. CRANTS AND ENDOWMENTS. ( I ) S/i-tia/ public grants and endowments. Date of grant. Land-grants. c g c M n cti $3,750 10,000 1,500 10,000 X C « bio lU c 0) 3 > •• E.Ttent. Value. By what authority granted. •0 u C u < c c V < 2 »> 73 B 3 I 1 C 3 C > Conditions and remarks. Act of legislature, 1795 1796 1797 1800 1800 1801 I 1802 j For a library and apparatus. For buildings. Professor's salary. College edifice. Support of president and professors. General purposes. April 9, 1795. Act of April II, 1796. Act of March 30, 1797. Act of March 7, 1800. Act of March 7, 1800. Act of Aprils, 1801, j April 3, 1802 1 5,500 1,449 .. $43,484 0:1-78 (2) special public grants of privileges producing funds. Date of grant. Name of grant — special object. Amount. By act of legislature, March 30, 1805. By act of April 13, 18 14, and April 5, 1822. Do Lottery for general purposes $55,000 30,000 Do Lottery for library and apparatus Lottery for indigent students Do 50,000 * In former times, when banking privileges were monopolies difficult to secure and reasonably certain of large profits, the privilege of subscription to bank stocks was sometimes granted to educational institutions as a bonus to aid their funds. With this view, by an act passed April 2, 1813, the privilege of subscription to the stock of several banks was granted to L'nion College. The enterprise resulted in loss to the institution, instead of benefit. HISTORICAL SKKICH OF UNION COLLEGE. (3) Special grants from corporations. 57 Grantors. Date.' Amount. Trustees of Schenectady Reformed Dutch Church of Schenectady Old Academy Presbytery of Albany , 179s 1798 1798 1798 $24,954 8,307 564 35 Remarks. General purposes. Do. Do. Do. (4) Individual benefactors.' Names. Original subscriptions Goldsbrow Banyer... .Abraham Vates, jr... Eliphalet Nott William and George Doug- lass and sister, Mrs. Cru- ger. Divers small subscriptions . C. X. Potter, Howard Potter H . G. Warner R. M.Rlatchford. Do T. H. Powers Rev. Jas. C. Van Benschoten Rev. James A. H. Cornell H. C. \'an Vorst /ames Brown Do Catharine L.Wolfe Do Do S. B. Brownell Do William H. H. Moore.... Do Johnston Livingston C S. Titsworth William Tracy R. D Hitchcock William H. Scheiffelin ... Hiram Gray Robert Knrl Jno. \. Lansing L. D. Baldwin William A. Rigliter James H. Cook G. D. (i. Moore Alex. H. Rirc Henry C. Potter , 1795 1795 1795 1853 $7,433 500 250 760,523 18.59 2,970 1874 35,000 i«sq 7M 1868 1,000 1874 10,000 187, 3,000 1864 S6 1867 50 i«73 250 187, 10,000 187^ 100,000 187^ S,ooo 1874 50,000 187, 3,000 187:5 1,000 .872 250 1874 1,928 1874 1,000 187s 1,000 i»75 250 .873 1,000 1874 20 1874 100 •87s 100 187s 200 '87s SO 187, 100 >«7S 250 187.S SO '875 250 1872 400 1872 400 Object, &c. General purposes. Do. Do. For professorships, scholarships, li- brar\-, astronomical observatory, &c., originally called $610,000, but now by accumulation inventoried at 1760,523; all given by trust deed. For house for president and Mrs. Nott. For Memorial Hall. Do. Prizes for good conduct. &c. Prizes for oratory. General purposes. Lectures. Books. Library. Do. Do. General purposes For indigent students. Do. For art purposes. Professorship fund. Physical apparatus. Do. Professorship fund. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do Do. Do. Do. Do. Physical apparatus. ' Do. 5^ HlSrORlCAI, SKETCH OF UNlOX COLLEGE. (4) Individual liLnefactors — Continued.* Names. Date. Amount. Object, &c. 1872 1872 1872 1872 1872 1872 1873 1874 1874 1874 1845 1850 $400 400 400 400 200 25 10,000 1,000 1,027 2,873 250 Phj-sical apparatus. Do. William A. Whitbeck C. N Potter Do. Do. Do Do. Residence for president. Gymnasium. Uri Gilbert Divers small subscriptions . . Benjamin Brandreth Do. Physical apparatus. (The Wheatley collection of min- erals and shells,valued at $20,000 ) (.\n air-pump, cost $150.) (.\ painting, 6x8 feet, of Galileo before the Inquisition.) (Portrait of Dr. Wayland,late pres- ident of Brown University.) 1870 Do Do (A portrait of the late Professor William M. Gillespie.) ♦Several of the large subscriptions since 1870 have been given in aid of the Christian Union Endoxvment Fund, as a measure tending to perpetuate and strengthen the unitv vihich lirst suggested the name of the college, and which is expressed in the motto of the newly adopted seal : " In Essentials, Unity , in Non- essentials, Liberty ; in all things. Charity." This fund is designed to be applied in the erection of new buildings, and in otherwise advancing the material interests of the college. Unproductive funds, {not before mentioned.) Value. Remarks. $362,545 THE GREATEST WANT OF THE COLLEGE. Although Union College has ample facilities and consider- able special endowments, it most needs funds that may be applied to general objects. The expenses of living have so increased that men receiving salaries deemed sufficient twenty years ago, cannot now afford to give their services without HISTORICAL SKETCH OK UNIOX COLLEGE. 59 an increase of pay. A grant restricted to a particular use affords them no relief; and in this respect most of the older colleges of the country are in the same condition, and in one sense poor. A professional endowment-fund would, perhaps, confer the most substantial benefit to education of any meas- ure that could be proposed, as by this means alone the highest talent can be secured in a faculty, and therein the greatest -benefit conferred upon students.* SUCCESSION IN THE SEVERAL PROFESSORSHIPS OF UNION COLLEGE. Professors of Mathematics and N'atural Pliilosofhy. 1797, Col. John Taylor, A.M., died i8oi. 1798, Cornelius Vander Heuvel, M.D., died 1799. 1800, Benjamin Allen, LL.D., resigned 1809. 1805, Rev. Thomas Macauley, D.U., resigned 1822. 181 o, Frederic R. Hassler, resigned 18 ri. i8r6, Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., resigned 1826. 1822, Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., resigned 1826. 1827, Benjamin F. Joslin, LL.D., resigned 1837. 1 83 1, Isaac \V. Jackson, LL.D. 1839, John Foster, LL.D. 1865, John A. De Remcr, adjunct professor of mathema- tics, resigned 1867. 1875, Lsaiah B. Price, C.K., adjunct professor of physics. Professors of Greek and La/in Lani;i/ai^es. 1797, Rev. Andrew Yates, D.D., resigned 1801. 1 80 1, Timothy Treadwell Smith, A.M., died 1803. * At the commencement of 1874, it was proposed to raise a fund for endowing three i)rofessorsIiips, of .$30,000 cacli, lobe named in gratitude to three old and faithful niemljers of the faculty, the Jackson, Foster, and Lewis professorships, the first benefits to be allowed them as emeriti ]irofessores. 6o HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 1S07, Rev. Henry Davis, D.D., resigned iSio. i8i8,Rev. Robert Proudfit, D.D., died i860. 1849, Rev. Thomas C. Reed, D.D., resigned 1851. 1839, Rev. James Nichols, A.M., assistant professor, re- signed 1 84 1. 1846, Rev. Robert M. Brown, D.D., assistant professor,, resigned 1846. 1852, Rev. John Newman, D.D., professor of Latin, re- signed 1863. 1858, Benjamin Stanton, A.M., professor of Latin, died 1874. 1865, WilUam C. Macy, A.]\L, adjunct professor of Greek, resigned 1866. 1863, Henry Whitehorne, A.M., professor of Greek. 1873, Rev. Robert T. S. Lowell, D.D., professor of Latin. Professors of Moral and Menial Philosophy . 1 814, Rev. Andrew Yates, D.D., resigned 1825. 1868, Nathan Hale, A.M., acting professor, resigned 1869. Professors of Logic, Rhetoric, and Belles-Lettres. 181 1, Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, D.D., resigned 1819. 1831, Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., resigned 1845. 1839, Rev. John Nott, D.D., resigned 1854. 1849, Wendell L'Amoreux, A.^L, resigned 1853. 1863, Rev. Nathaniel G. Clark, D.D., resigned 1866. 1866, Rev. Ransom B. Welsh, D.D. Professors of Chemistry and Natural History. 1814, Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, D.D., resigned 1819. 1822, Joel B. Nott, A.M., resigned 1831. 1834, Chester Averill, A.M., died 1836. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 6 1 1837, Edward Savage, A.M., died 1840. 1839, Jonathan Pearson, A.M. 1S55, Charles A. Joy, A.M., resigned 1857. 1858, Charles F. Chandler, LL.D., resigned 1865. 1S65, Maurice Perkins, A.M. Professors of Modern European Languages. 1806, Pierre Gregoire Reynaud, resigned 1822. 1826, Pierre Alexis Proal, D.D., resigned 1836. 1838, J. Louis Tellkampf, resigned 1843. 1849, Wendell L'Amoreux, A.M., resigned 1853. 1 85 1, Elias Peissner, A.M., died 1863. 1865, William Wells, A.M. Professors of Ancient Oriental Languages. 1827, Rev. John Austin Yates, D.D., died 1849. 1849, Tayler Lewis, LL.D. Professors of Civil Engineering and Military Science. 1845, William M. Gillespie, LL.D., died 1868. 1868, Cady Staley, C.E. 1873, Capt. Thomas Ward, United States Army. Professor of Anatomy and Physiology. 1849, Alexander M. Vedder, M.D., resigned 1863. PRESENT FACULTY. Rev. Eliphalet Nott Potter, D.D., President and Professor of Moral Philosophy, and of the Evidences of Christianity. Tayler Lewis, LL.D., Nott Professor (No. 6) of the Oriental Languages, and Lecturer on Biblical and Classical I literature. 62 HISTORICAL SKETCH OK UNION COLLEGE. Isaac W. Jackson, LL.D., Nott Professor (No. 2) of Mathematics. John Foster, LL.D., Nott Professor (No. 8) of Natural Philosophy. Jonathan Pearson, A.M., Professor of Agriculture and Botany. Henry Whitehorne, A.M., Nott Professor (No. i) of the Greek Language and Literature. William Wells, LL.D., Professor of Modern Languages and Literature. Maurice Perkins, A.M., M.D., Nott Professor (No. 3) of Analytical Chemistry, and Curator of the Museum. Rev. Ransom Bethune Welch, D.D., LL.D., Nott Professor (No. 5) of Logic, Rhetoric, and Mental Philosophy. Cady Staley, A.m., C.E., Professor of Civil Engineering. Harrison Edwin Webster, A.M., Professor of Natural History. Rev. Robert T. S. Lowell, D.D., Professor of the Latin Language and Literature. Capt. Thomas Ward, U.S.A., Professor of Military Science and Director of Physical Culture. Isaiah B. Price, C.E., Adjunct Professor of Physics. Charles James Colcock, C.E., Tutor in Mathematics. Jonathan Pearson, A.M., Treasurer and Librarian. Edgar Marshall Jenkins, Esq., Assistant Treasurer and Registrar. Henry Coppee, LL.D., Lectures on History. Sydney A. Norton, A.M., M.D., Lectures on Experi- mental Physics. Rev. Edward A. Washburn, D.D., Lectures on Old English Literature. Rev. Samuel Osgood, D.D., LL.D., Lectures on Ger- man Literature and Modem Thought. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 63 Prof. M. Wendell L'Amoreux, A.M., Lectures on the South European Languages and Literature. Prof. Selah Howell, A.M., Lectures on Enghsh Literature. Preparatory Department. Charles Storrs Halsey, A.M., Nott Professor, (No. 7,) Principal of the Classical Institute. Samuel Burnett Howe, A.M., Adjunct Nott Professor, (No. 4,) Principal of Union School and Superintendent of the Schools of Schenectady. 64 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNIOX COLLEGE. Shitistics of attendance and graduation. Undergraduate classes Years.' 1796.. 1797.. 1798.. 1799 •• Iiioo , . iSoi .. l302 . . 1803 . . 1834.. 1805.. 1806.. 1S07 . . i3o8 . . 1809 . . 1810 .. iSii . . l3l2.. 1813 .. i3i4 . . 1815.. 1810 .. 1817.. 1818.. 1819 . . 1820 . . 1821 .. 1 322 . . 1S23.. 1824 . . I )25 . . 1826 . . 1827.. 1828.. 1829.. 1830.. 183I.. 1832.. 1833.. 1834.. 1835 . . 240 209 208 228 268 Undergraduate classes. Years. 1836. 1837. 1838. 1839. 1840. 184 1. 1842. 1843. 1844. 1845 1846. 1847. 1852. 1853- 1854. 1855- 1856. 1857. 1858. 1859. 1867. 1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873. 1874. 1875. 97 98 104 105 92 80 72 66 73 52 43 43 37 37 25 23 25 23 32 100 99 109 94 80 96 77 81 69 73 88 96 118 96 89 97 83 68 70 87 122 132 121 134 133 109 89 76 81 72 59 46 40 46 26 77 los 102 122 112 84 96 75 81 79 III 140 104 102 106 89 81 83 102 130 14s 159 148 140 124 99 n Z- ■ < o.Si tT > 3 306 293 286 295 278 265 242 222 243 289 299 328 322 266 257 235 223 241 300 383 395 411 440 437 390 352 285 294 2i9 223 199 162 164 114 103 89 134 160 71 91 93 106 loS 80 90 72 81 72 90 80 79 109 77 78 69 , 62 50 51 66 78 91 77 98 75 66 62 57 46 36 38 25 18 26 24 13 18 HISTORICAL SK.EICH OF UNION COLLEGE. Students in civil cm^ineerinsr. »r ooocooocoo-« nvo r^oo o O t^ r>- 1^00 < HISTORICAL SKETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. 67 «.mN -ON -. ■ f. " : ►1 M « MOM : " " . M • » H -4- -» C< : : : " : « m MrtOfONOt^N N « « « m ■a- « « ro^ fO«i-i .-.«„„►,««« "* 1 ■* 00 * . « ■«-N N M W • N • • "" . . . . . « N • rOM N -J- N CtrnMNnNCMO « N • M ■«■ 0(0 « M M M M r^o mm rr, MVO 10 M t^ « « 11 11 11 M tM ■ H«N.......«-««-m. • « " : : " : : " : : -l-\o" »n r^vo f^ o» -4-0 r^ rn in to u^vO vo 00 00 w c> - f^ c cvoo r^oo r%oo ►- t^\c \o m «roo fL Cv s;32 o->o N « ON M 1-1 .10 ro« « « M ro- •« -ro-M .►, . .mMN-4-- m « • >0 N M M 10 ■♦■ M . 11 « « roM « fO Om-> • :""""""""" : " : .- : " " " .■ " " " : : " » N _. : " • M . . " : : : " . . : : " » . . . M H M . • X ; ; ; M « ; M _• _• • • • 10 « • " ; • M « ^ M • 1^ u^oo a» »o i^^o 't 00 0^0 CO M 0^ lOVO f. t-.M-«-|^«IO-«-«><«iO ^^0 ro , . ^ . .... lO'O • • -^ •* • M rON . . . M M M : : " • M . M . . M . ::::: ":::;::■.""'' : H H « . « ►< N « M . fO « « o»o o> • « *" '""'" coioor*fOM •«MfO»ciHCieoH^ ** ; " M « M ■«■ W . - ::::::'::'.::'.'.:'.'.:'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.''■','''.''.'.'" • • n " : : • • • n ri n « « M ro fo 00 CO M CO CO 00 00 00 '/o'tO 00 CO 00 r-» - N "^ •«• ""« f^co "* g, i"^ ," ^ ,"*■ .""f .'J;'?' p'^2 ^o oTco'co oooooooocooocooovioocooooooocooocooooooooooo N ^ >C vO >0 ""•"'"■*'''' 6S HISTORICAL SK.ETCH OF UNION COLLEGE. I •IB^OX j •S3JBJS uSiajo^q 1 ::":":::::: \ %■ •uisaoost^w 1 :::::"::::"Im ■BiniSjiA 1 ::":::::::: 1 !? ■<-««« • m • •«!-■ -loo •SBX3X 1 ::::":::::: 1 '^ •3ass3au3x j ::::":::::: | s "BnnojB^ qjnos | :: ■.:":: I ::" | " TJ •puBisi apoq^ 1 ::":::":::: M •BiuBAiXsauaj o c •oiqol^ c^roM . « « M . M - 1^ o I. •BunojBQ qwoK 1 ::::::::::: 1 f^ •3iJ0^\ A\3X 00 f*^ ^ »^ (^ t^oo t-^ -^ < e •Xasjaf -wax """:""":; ;" •s •aaiqsdniEH ^vax | ":::::::::: | vg ■•E5(SBiq3x 1 :::::::":::!" •unossij^ 1 "":::"::::: 1 j; V •iddississipt 1 :::::"::::: 1 2 •Bjosanuij^ 1 ::::::::::: 1 " •J •uBgtiiDti^ 1 : '^ ^ ::::::": \ m 5: ■s;;3snqDESS'Bi\r : : : « •puBiyiiBp^ ::::"::":::|¥ •aUlBp^ 1 " ;NMM -M -M . ;j<» •■BUBismo'i ::"::::":":|j:r ,-s •Ajjonjuax 1 :"::":::::: | ? l 20 Jackson garden 25 Joslin, Dr. B. F 17, 20 King's College 5 Laboratory, chemical 39 Lancasterian School 12 Land-grants - 5^ Legislative grants 5^ Lewis, Prof. Tayler 18, 21 Libraries 46 Literary societies 41 Logic, rhetoric, and belles-lettres, professors of 60 Lottery grants 12, 13, 14, 56 Lowell, Rev. R. T. .S 21 Macauley, Rev. Thomas 16 McClelland, Dr. John, benefactions of 44 Magazines and periodicals 51 Mathematics, professors of 59 Maxcy, Rev. Jonathan 9 Memorial hall 23 Meteorological station "](> Military instruction 41 Military science, professors of 61 Modern European languages, professors of 61 Moral and mental philosophy, professors of 60 Name of college, origin of 8 Natural history, collections in 47 Natural philosophy, professors of 59 Newman, Rev. John 18 North College 23 Nott, Rev. Eliphalct 10, 19 Nott, Joel B 17 Nott, Rev. John 17 Nott scholarshi j)s 45, 57 Olcott meridian circle "]() Olivier models 38 Organization and early history 5 So IXDEX. Page. Pearson, Jonathan 1 7, 20 Peissner, Prof. Elias *. 18, 21 Periodicals, college 51 Perkins, Prof. Maurice 18 Philosophical department 47 Portraits, collection of 5i>5^ Potter, Rev. Alonzo.... 16, 20 Potter, C. X. and H., gift of 57 Potter, Rev. Eliphalet Nott ., 22 Prefatory note 3 Preparatory department 70 Preparatory department, professors in.. 63 Present buildings 23 Present faculty 61 Present grounds 24 President's house 24 Prize essays 46 Prize speaking 46 Prizes and medals 46 Proal, Rev. P. A 17 Professors of over ten years' service 16 Professorships, succession in 59 Proudfit, Rev. Robert 16 Publications by faculty 19 Ramee, M., plans by 13 Recent history , 22 Reed, Rev. Thomas C 17 Reformed Dutch Church, gift of 57 Residence of alumni 65 Reynaud, Gregoire 16 Romeyn, Rev. Dirck 7 Schenectady Academy 70)7i Schenectady, early project of a college at 5 Schenectady, gift of trustees of 57 Schenectady Lyceum 71 Scholarships 43, 57 Scientific studies, comparison of periods 32-37 Secret societies 42 Semi-centennial of college..,, 17 INDEX. 8l Page. Semi-centennial of Dr. Nott's presidency 19 Semi-centennial publications 53 Signal-service station 76 Site of permanent college 13 Smith, Rev. John Blair 9, 19 Societies, college 41 Songs of Union 52 South college 23 Special prizes 46 Stevens, Dr. George T. , herbarium of 47 Students from othei colleges 15 Study, comparison of periods -<'-37 .Succession in ])rofessorships 59 Tryon County, memorial from 5 Union Classical Institute 7' Union University 72 Vedder, Dr. A. M iS Wants of the college 59 Warner prize 46, 57 ^Vayland, Rev. Francis 1 6, 20 Webster, H. E., contributions of 47 WeUs, Prof. William 18 West college 12 Wheatley collection 47, 5S Wolfe, Miss Catharine L., benefactions of 43) 5'> 57 Wolfe, John Dayid 43 Yates, Rev. Andrew i (' Yates, Rev. John A 17 6 u O I DATE DUE m3 ... CAYLONO rniNTCOINU.S.A.