6 5 2 4 2 LiBRWtf WLLUAMo COLLEGE DUPUCA i JOHN MILLOTT ELLIS. A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN MILLOTT ELLIS, D. D v PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN OBERLIN COLLEGE. From the Faculty to the Alumni of the College. OBERLIN, OHIO: PEARCE & RANDOLPH, PRINTERS. 1894- MEMORIAL. LIFE SKETCH. JOHN MlLLOTT ELLIS was born on the 2/th of March, 1831, on the hill-farm of his father, Seth Brittain Ellis, situated at the foot of Mount Monadnock, near the village of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. His infancy and early boyhood were spent amid farm scenes and activities. Subsequently the home was changed for a time to the village, and in 1840 the family, consisting of parents, four sons, and five daughters, came to Oberlin, where the colony and College were in the first stage of their struggle for existence. Here young Ellis entered upon mingled work and study. From the first the aim of his parents, in which he fully sympathized, was that he should have a collegiate educa- tion, and whatever effort and sacrifice were necessary to this end were cheerfully contributed. During his youth, and while pre- paring for college, he fulfilled the terms of a virtual apprentice- ship to a mechanical trade in his father's planing mill, which was long a landmark of earlier Oberlin. This thorough manual training proved of the greatest advantage in his subsequent life, equipping him as it did for the practical service in connection with the planning and construction of college buildings and the public improvements in the town, which service so conspicuously marked his busy life. Entering Oberlin College in 1847, he for the most part supported himself during his collegiate course by teaching in the district schools of the State and otherwise, and was graduated in 1851 with his class of seventeen, which included in its mem- bership General J. D. Cox, Charles G. Finney, Jr., Colonel Sam- uel F. Cooper, Rev. Lorenzo J. White, Professor L. F. Parker, and Professor J. A. R. Rogers. For some months following his graduation he was employed as teacher in the Academy at La- peer, Michigan. From 1852 to 1855 he was Professor of Lan- guages in Mississippi College; during the next two years he pursued his theological studies at Union and Oberlin Theological Seminaries, graduating from the latter with the class of 1857. In 1858 he was appointed Professor of Greek in Oberlin Col- lege, serving in that capacity until 1866, when he was trans- ferred to the Chair of Mental Philosophy and Rhetoric, with work also for several years in Evidences of Christianity, Polit- ical Economy, and English Literature. During the last twelve years his work of instruction was confined to the field of Philos- ophy. From 1867 to 1874, in addition to his college duties, he was associate pastor of the Second Congregational Church of Oberlin, and during the entire period following his gradua- tion, he preached in many pulpits in his own and other States, and was an influential member of very many of the ecclesiastical conferences and conventions in Ohio and elsewhere. Professor Ellis was ordained as a minister of the gospel in 1 865, and received from Oberlin College the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1893, being the first one upon whom that degree was ever conferred by Oberlin. His versatility of talent and his many- sided ability and forcefulness resulted in his being almost as much a man of affairs as he was teacher and preacher. While scrupulously refraining throughout his life from all connection with secular business in his own interest, he was ever prominent and serviceable in the business affairs of the College, and was actively interested in whatever measures tended to promote the welfare of the community and the country. During the civil war, although he did not wear the military uniform, his work in behalf of the Union cause, both in his own community and with the soldier at the front, was zealous, continuous, and most effi- cient. In 186162 he served a term as Mayor of the village, and from first to last he was intelligently identified with all matters of local government and local improvement. In 1883 he made an extended tour of central and southern Europe, and while nominally resting from overwork, he did not fail to bring back to the College valuable fruits of his careful studies in other lands. In 1891 he was appointed by the United States Government a commissioner to Europe in the interest of the World's Columbian Exposition, and in this official capacity visited the capitals and conferred with the government authorities of Great Britain, Ger- many, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. On August 28, 1862, Professor Ellis was married to Minerva E. Tenney, of Oberlin, who survives him, together with his two sisters, Mrs. C. H. Remington, of Takoma Park, D. C., and Miss Josephine M. Ellis, of Oberlin, and the four sons, Albert, Theodore, John, and Luman. His decline in health dated from a severe attack of the grip in 1891, while his fatal illness, ap- parently tuberculosis of the lungs with involvement of the heart, definitely manifested itself about the first of Januaty last, when he was compelled to relinquish his work, and went with his wife to Redlan.ds in Southern California. There, at the hospitable home of his classmate Colonel S. F. Cooper, and in the con- stant care and companionship of his wife, he spent two months in perfect rest and comfort, enjoying the soft air, the sunshine, and the cordial greetings and affectionate messages of friends, but with no check to his progressing weakness. On the 2istof March they proceeded to Los Angeles, where a thorough ex- amination by a specialist resulted in finding the malady to be what is known as Addison's disease an incurable disease which cannot be identified until it has reached an advanced stage, when its presence is revealed mainly by a peculiar bronzing of the skin. The case being obviously beyond cure or material re- lief, it was the sick man's own wish to start immediately home- ward, although frankly informed that there were many chances against his surviving the trip. His weakness steadily increased as the journey progressed, although he was uniformly comfort- able and free from pain, and in less than two hours after reach- ing Chicago he died in the invalids' room of the Santa Fe terminal station. The party, consisting of Professor and Mrs. El- lis and their nephew, Bernard F. Tenney, were met at the train by John T. Ellis, who was recognized by his father before final unconsciousness supervened. Chicago friends kindly aided in arrangements necessarily following the sad event, and on the subsequent arrival at Oberlin the station was thronged by a mul- titude of sympathizing friends, including Faculty, students, and town people. Such is a colorless outline of one of the strongest and sweet- est lives that it is given to men to live. Through more than thirty years of close fraternal intercourse, including all the vicis- situdes and exigencies that necessarily come with the middle period of active lives, my regard for John Ellis and my admira- tion for his character have grown and deepened. His was pecu- liarly a well rounded, a balanced nature. A man of strong convictions and pronounced opinions, he was the farthest possi- ble remove from bigotry or fanaticism. He was blessed with a strong sense of the humorous, which was never permitted to pass into levity. Profoundly and always impressed with the seri- ous and even solemn aspects of the life that he was living, as well as of that upon which he has now entered, he carried with him an atmosphere that was not only cheerful but joyous. With almost a feminine purity of thought and instinct, he combined a stalwart manliness that could never be misunderstood. To me, at least, the departure of such a spirit gives to the world almost a tinge of loneliness. A. B. NETTLETON. SERVICES AT THE CHURCH. Tlie funeral services were held in the Second Church, Sunday afternoon, April ist. A large' audience filled the house to its utmost capacity. As the casketwas slowly borne into the church, to the soft and solemn organ prelude, the congregation arose and stood until it was placed in position. An impressive tribute of flowers from friends far and near, spoke eloquently of the warm place our dear friend held in hearts scattered all over this coun- try. After the opening exercises, consisting of an anthem by the choir, a passage of Scripture read by Professor Churchill, and prayer by Dr. Tenney, PROFESSOR MONROE spoke substantially as follows: Professor Ellis had a judicial mind, and was capable of looking at a subject upon all sides. This implied that he was free from personal feeling, from prejudice, and from bias, and made his judgment of great value to us. This quality revealed itself in all the relations which he sustained. It was appar- ent in the class-room and was appreciated by his pupils. It is safe to venture the statement that no student of Professor Ellis ever complained that he had been unfairly treated. He marked fairly, judged fairly, both the ability and the character of his pupils, and was quite capable of looking at things from their standpoint. He respected the scholarship and good qualities of his students. None of them ever left his recitation room with- out a sense of encouragement, without feeling that they could do something in the world with the powers which they had. His influence was always encouraging, never depressing to those under his care. He taught them to respect their own powers and to be hopeful as to the results of their future work. The same quality showed itself in Faculty meetings. His ability to look upon all sides of subjects and of characters was there exceedingly useful. Some members of the Faculty used to wait until Professor Ellis had spoken, when a question was under debate, in order that they might be able to get a complete view of the case, and make up their own minds as to how they would vote. He had left a vacancy in the meetings of the Fac- ulty which it would be very difficult to fill. The same fair-mindedness showed itself in the meetings of the Second Church and in the management of its business. He was there also relied upon for counsel and advice. His judg- ment was equally valued by citizens of the town, as shown in meetings of the Council, in public meetings and in private con- sultation. It was not uncommon, when difficult questions were under consideration, to hear citizens say, "-Let us see Professor Ellis and talk with him about it." A neighbor who wished to consult him was always made welcome, and always found Pro- fessor Ellis at leisure to hear the case and give his judgment. In former years he had invitations to leave Oberlin and ac- cept positions which many would have thought more desirable. He never entertained these invitations any further than to con- sult with his brethren as to whether they would encourage him to leave. But as he never got any such encouragement he never left us. He had no desire to separate himself from the work here. He was wholly devoted to Oberlin and its service. It was said that he became a kind of Oberlin incarnate. He loved the work here because he thought it the best means of making his powers useful for the cause of Christ. No doubt this was the way to make a great school, and it was also the way to make a great man. Here Professor Ellis built his altar. He laid him- self upon it, and the answer came by fire from heaven. To-day the offering has been consumed. This spirit showed itself in other relations, but time would not permit that they should be mentioned. To-day we all have that profound sense of satisfaction which comes from feeling that there is but one place, one home, to which the released spirit can have gone. There was but one Presence in which a pur- pose so noble, a self-denial so complete, a consecration so per- fect, a temper so candid and fair, a life so absolutely devoted to the work of Christ there was but one Presence in which such a spirit could be found and could be at home, to which it must be drawn by its proper attractions; and that was the presence of his Redeemer and his Lord. PRESIDENT BALLANTINE spoke of the moral traits of Pro- fessor Ellis. His remarks were as follows: I have been asked to speak of the moral traits of Pro- fessor Ellis. And this is easy to do. Of all the men of your II acquaintance, you have known none more thoroughly than you knew John Ellis. His character was so transparent, so sincere, so consistent, that it was soon understood; and once learned it was always afterwards found to be the same. In considering the moral purpose of the noble life now ended, we are impressed with its unity, its comprehensiveness, its unselfishness, and its loftiness. Professor Ellis was fortu- nate in early finding the place and sphere of his life work. For fifty-four years he was a citizen of Oberlin; for thirty-six years he was a professor in the College, during which long time he was but two terms absent from his post. He grasped with peculiar firmness the great thought of the founders of Oberlin a Christian community holding in its bosom a Christian school and to the realization of that idea his life was devoted. A man of unusual activity, industry, and ef- ficiency, he labored from early morning until late at night, in term time and in vacation, with but one thought the prosper- ity of village and College. There was nothing narrow in this concentration; for the pur- pose was most comprehensive. There was no local pride or prejudice. He valued Oberlin not as a local enterprise, but for what it could do for the world. His supreme regard was for the kingdom of God in all its breadth. Nor was he especially interested in any single aspect of the work. Every need of the community and institution engaged his attention. Progress in every line, sanitary, social, musical, political, educational, the- ological, religious, he equally strove to promote. The unselfishness of his life was most remarkable. There are different degrees of unselfishness. There are good men who are willing to devote themselves to a great cause if they may choose the part of the work that suits them. Professor Ellis had no choice; all that he asked to know was that the service was needed. It might be to oversee the repair of a leaking roof, or of a walk across the campus; it might be the erection of a building, the care of the College investments, the appointment of a new professor, a public address, a sermon, the instruction of a class in Greek or Philosophy. It might be to admonish a way- ward student, to visit the sick, or to conduct a village funeral. Wherever practical sense and a great Christian heart were re- quired, he was ready for the task. He never thought of the gratification of his own literary taste, or the making of a reputation, or the accumulation even of a competence. It never occurred to him to ask whether he had not worked as many hours as he was paid for. After all these years of unremitting toil, he died a poor man. The frugal sup- port of his family was all the earthly reward he had ever contem- plated. No life can have a loftier purpose than this one had. It was to do the utmost for others. Here was a genial sympathy that took in every person and every interest of this whole com- munity. Professor Ellis was peculiarly a man of the people. No consciousness of professorial dignity lifted him away from his neighbors. He was a "great commoner." And he was equally near to the students. No member of the Faculty knew so well just how the boys felt. He was interested not in the cause of learning in the abstract, but in developing Christian character in the living men and women around him and through- out the world. A great man is always greater than any one of his actions. The greatest service Professor Ellis has rendered to Oberlin has been in letting us all see the sublime unity and un- selfishness of his life. He has been a living example of the type of character which this community was founded to produce. Dear friends of the village and College, shall we not to-day, looking for the last time upon this beloved face, mutually pledge ourselves to live more devotedly for this same high purpose? Shall not the spirit of Professor Ellis live in a multitude of lives here and shine out from a multitude of faces in all the years to come? DR. TENNEY spoke of the relation of Professor Ellis to the Second Church: The death of Professor Ellis comes as a severe personal bereavement, in which our tears flow in sorrowing sympathy with his immediate family. His connection with the Second Church dates from its or- ganization. During more than half of the thirty-four years of its history it has been served in the pastoral office by professors in the College, and of this service Professor Ellis has borne a large part. And more fully than any of its installed pastors he has entered into the details of its varied life and work. When not officially an acting pastor, he has been more to its pastors than a pastor's assistant could be. Everything that has been of interest to the Church has been of interest to him. Into the erection of this house of worship his thought and effort largely entered. Always, in stated supply, in occasional services, and in pastoral vacations, his pulpit ministrations have been abundant, instructive, and spiritually quickening and inspiring. Rarely has his place been vacant in the prayer circle, and seldom have we missed his voice in counsel and in prayer. In the business of the Church and in pleading for its benevolences, he has been our natural spokesman and our representative in the meetings of the conferences of the churches. No one has entered more cordially and sympathetically into the family life of our members, and no one has been more heart- ily welcomed in our homes. In times of sorrow, and on funeral occasions, it has been to Professor Ellis that we have naturally turned. Had the service of his life been limited to the work which he has wrought in connection with the Second Church, it would have been a noble life work. After the chorus, " Happy and blest," from the oratorio- St. Paul, was sung by the choir, PROFESSOR G. FREDERICK WRIGHT spoke of the relation of Professor Ellis to the com- munity. He said in substance: The intimate relations in Oberlin of the College and the community are of priceless value to all-concerned. No small part of the practical efficiency of the education here given, depends H upon the harmony and closeness of these relations. The dis- tribution of our students in households loyal to the College, scattered throughout the whole village, prevents much of that separation from ordinary society which is the great bane of uni- versity life. While the whole organization of the College and colony in Oberlin has favored the intimate and harmonious relations of the two, the results attained have not been secured merely by the existence of propitious circumstances, but largely through the capacity and character of the persons entering into the part- nership. Probably all would be united in saying, that, through- out the last thirty years, Professor Ellis, more than anyone else, has combined in himself the qualities which have both promoted and represented the totality of Oberlin interests. The record of his unrequited work in promoting the general welfare of the community would fill a volume, and be an object lesson of the greatest value to the theoretical students of social science, illustrating to them the fact that the highest interests of society are promoted not so much by the forms of the social organization, as by the wisdom and the unselfish devotion of its members. Time after time in the years of darkness and conflict, during the civil war, it was Professor Ellis' duty and privilege as chairman of the local committee to secure volunteers, to protect Oberlin from the draft. Through his efficient service, money was raised for bounties in sufficient quantity to secure the filling of Oberlin's quota by voluntary enlistments, and his sympathy and interest followed the soldiers everywhere, from beginning to end. He visited them in their lonely camps, and cheered them by his commanding presence and his words of sympathy and encouragement. In conclusion, we have but to say that the commanding form of. Professor Ellis was a true index of the commanding ability which was so generally recognized by every interest in our community, and by the whole Oberlin constituency. We follow him to the grave with a depressing sense of a loss which cannot easily be replaced. PRESIDENT FAIRCHILD spoke as follows: My friends, you will not expect many words from me to- day. I would prefer to sit in silence with the mourners. But I cannot permit the form of our friend to be buried from our sight without bringing my personal tribute of grateful remem- brance. Professor Ellis came to Oberlin,a child in his father's fam- ily, nine years of age, in 1840. I was then a student in the- ology. Our acquaintance began early, and has become more in- timate, with every passing year, through the fifty years. It was not mainly a friendship of sentiment, although it could not be entirely lacking in this element; but rather a friendship of sym- pathy and co-operation in a common work. In 1858, after having completed the course in College and in the Seminary, and having taught three years as Professor of Languages in a Southern college, he was elected Professor of Greek at Oberlin; and from that day to this, we have been in- timately associated in all the work and business affairs of the College. I was not President until some years later, but many matters of administration fell to me as chairman of the Faculty, and I soon found in Professor Ellis such an adviser and helper as I needed. From the beginning of his official connection with the College, he took its interests on his heart, and never laid them off until he laid off all earthly care. It was never with him a question of its bearing upon his personal interest or advan- tage. There was a great work to be done, and if he could do it, it was his to do. He was a self-forgetful worker. We have had many such at Oberlin; no such enterprise was ever carried on without them. Professor Ellis has been prominent among them all. It was natural for him to lead, but he led in work, not merely in setting others to work. He was early appointed on the Prudential Committee, and from that time on became famil- iar with all the business affairs of the College. The time and i6 strength and wisdom which he has given to these affairs have beeyi an essential contribution to the prosperity which has at- tended the work. Not an important movement has been made whfch has not had the benefit of his clear discernment, and his effective executive force. He was good to plan and equally good to perform. We often had to say to him as Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since the Lord hath shown thee all this, there is none so good to execute the plan as thou art." He never de- clined such service to save himself from burdensome work. That it needed to be done, was sufficient for him, whether it was the location of a sewer, or the repairing of a roof; the collection of funds for completing Council Hall, or for the endowment of a professorship. His varied natural gifts, and his earlier and later training, qualified him for all these duties. One who has carefully traced the outward changes of the last thirty years and more, can see in every walk, in every building, traces of his work and thought. But the life and strength of Professor Ellis have not been chiefly occupied with these outward material things. These have been but incidents, mere symbols of what was more real to him, though invisible. As a teacher, he has impressed his thought and life upon the hundreds who have come under his forming hand. The intellectual and moral force of his charac- ter and life have entered largely into the tide of helpful influ- ence which has been sustained here in the College and the com- munity through all the years, which has lifted and borne on to a higher plane of life and service the thousands that have sought their education here. In this great work he has not stood alone. No one can accomplish such a work alone, but we are permit- ted to assign to him to-day a large undivided share in the grand result. He never claimed much for himself. He had a gener- ous appreciation of the work of his associates, and was content to be one among them. I do not think that any unkind or un- generous criticism of his co-workers ever fell from his lips. He rejoiced in the good work they were able to do, and gave it a generous appreciation. In a work so varied and extended as he has accomplished, it is difficult to analyze and discriminate the various forms of helpfulness; but I cannot forbear to mention his contribution to the work of clear thinking and lucid statement of truth at Ober- lin, in which the fathers gave us the lead, and which has been continued with more or less of success to our day. Professor Ellis has not left us any permanent and visible record in the form of books. Perhaps if ten years more had been added to his life, the book might have appeared. But this is scarcely a serious matter. Books are easily neglected and forgotten; but the im- pressions made upon a living soul have a permanency and vital power which no skill of the printer can impart. In this form and with this power, his work will remain and extend. It would not be difficult, if this were the time and place, to specify some of the contributions which he has made to the common treasure of Oberlin thought and teaching. But we have these treasures in possession, and they will be transmitted and diffused though all men forget out of whose store-house they came. A large vacancy is left among us by Professor Ellis' depar- ' ture, and this will not be filled. We shall miss his stately form as the years come on. We shall sometimes wish that he were here to continue or complete his work. No one can take his place; others will come in their own places and do their work, not his, and the building will go forward under the eye and hand of the great Master-builder, whose we are and whom we serve. After President Fairchild's remarks, prayer, was offered by Dr. Brand, and an opportunity was given to look once more on the face of our beloved friend, after which the casket was re- moved to its final resting place, in Westvvood. i8 JOHN MILLOTT ELLIS. When Nature planned this man she said of him, " Be his the kindly heart, the beaming eye, The ear to hear, to heed the humblest cry The fate to toil in lowliest ways and dim; To be no slave to mean caprice or whim, To walk serene enwrapt in thoughts that lie Within the depths of God's unfathomed sky, Finding his life enclosed in duty's rim." Obedience his true child of Oberlin ! When this behest into his soul was borne, No doubt e'er dwelt that patient heart within; Nor was his life thereby of gladness shorn, But filled with peace amid life's hurrying din. Such was thy son mourn, Alma Mater, mourn ! Ellen Bartlett Currier. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE FACULTY, APRIL 23, 1894. Whereas, God in his providence has removed from his earthly sphere, after many years of devoted and successful labor, our honored and beloved associate, John Millott Ellis, we bow in reverent submission to his will, and, while mourning the loss, gratefully acknowledge the noble results which have been ac- complished by the life and labors of our brother. We desire to put on record our high appreciation of his marked executive ability, of his symmetrical development of mind and character, of his unselfish devotion to the interests of the church of Christ, and especially of Oberlin College and community, of his un- wearied attention to the welfare of the great number of students who have come under his care, and of the heroism with which he has endured the trials of life and met the ordeal of death. Therefore, Resolved, that we extend to his family and immediate rel- atives our heartfelt sympathy, and that, with the great number of his pupils and friends scattered over the world, we unite in the prayer that the mantle of our departed friend may fall on T 9 those of us who remain, enabling us to take up successfully the work which he has now laid down. FENELON B. RICE, G. FREDERICK WRIGHT, WILLIAM B. CHAMBERLAIN, MRS. A. A. F. JOHNSTON, A. A. WRIGHT, Committee* RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE THEOLOGICAL ALUMNI, MAY 10, 1894. In connection with this annual, gathering, the absence of our friend and brother, Professor John M. Ellis, brings to us all a sense of loss which demands expression. During the thirty- seven years of his membership in this Association, his unfailing presence at our annual meetings and his helpful counsels and suggestions have contributed greatly to the interest and effective- ness of our work. Although his strength was given more di- rectly to another department of the College work, yet all the interests of the Seminary rested upon his heart, almost as if he had been one of its professors. Himself an able and effective preacher, the preaching of the gospel seemed to him the great work, and the training of young men for such service, of supreme importance. Theological thought and study never ceased to be attractive to him, and his -strong common sense and clear philo- sophical discernment have contributed not a little to the com- pleter statement of the Oberlin Theology. While we keenly feel the loss of our departed friend, we would not fail to express our gratitude to God for the gift to the Oberlin work, during these many years, of a life so full of help- ful service. To Mrs. Ellis and the bereaved family we tender our Chris- tian sympathy and love. JAMES H. FAIRCHILD, G. FREDERICK WRIGHT, HOLLAND B. FRY, Committee.. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE OBERLIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AT PITTSBURG, PA., APRIL 28, 1894. The Oberlin Alumni Association of Western Pennsylvania has learned with deep regret of the recent death of Professor John M. Ellis, and would place on record its sense of his great worth and of the loss sustained by his decease. Its members recall with unalloyed pleasure their acquaint- ance with him during College days, in the class-room, in social and church life, and in private intercourse. They gladly bear testimony to his exalted character and bearing in all these rela- tions. In the class-room he was an able ?.nd inspiring teacher, enthusiastic and unbiased in his search for. truth, clear and fair .in his expositions and his defence of it, and greatly interested in the successful attainment of it by his pupils. In social life he was uniformly courteous in his demeanor, and considerate of the feelings and the welfare of all. In church and Christian life, as a preacher of the gospel and as a follower of the Divine Master, he presented a noble illus- tration of loyalty to his Lord, of devotion to His teachings, and of love to His disciples. In private intercourse with his pupils, few teachers ever manifested more fully the unselfishness and large-heartedness of a generous and thoughtful nature intent on imparting blessing to others. His presence was always stimulating towards every- thing that is lofty and good, and his influence helpful in encour- aging every holy purpose. We recognize now, as we look back upon the years when his voice and his commanding form were familiar to us, how large a part he had in impressing upon us his own noble conceptions of life and truth and duty. We shall cherish through our coming years the inspiring memory of his character as teacher, Christian, and friend. T. H. ROBINSON, '50. ALICE I. JONES, '91. Committee. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE OBERLIN COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, AT CHICAGO, ILL., MAY 25, 1894. Whereas, on March 29, 1894, the life of Professor John M. Ellis came to an untimely end in this city while en route for Oberlin: Resolved, that we are rendered peculiarly mindful of the great loss of our teacher and friend by his sudden death in our midst. Resolved, that we spread on our records and send to his family these minutes expressive of our sympathy for them, in their bereavement, and of our recognition of his great usefulness to the College. As student, instructor, and professor he had for more than forty years been connected with Oberlin College. He had ab- sorbed and become inspired by the spirit of the founders, and did much to preserve their ideal through all the changes of time. He exerted a vigorous influence for good in the affairs of the town, in the work of the church, and in every department of the College. He was a public-spirited man who gave freely of his time, his strength, his thought, and his means for the man- ifold needs of the grosving institution. His life was inseparably interwoven with' the history of the College* and, so long as it continues, his memory will be kept green. Resolved, that through his devotion to the college of which we are members, we have become the beneficiaries of a debt which we can never repay to him. But that our return must be made to the school which he loved and to the principles which it teaches. We therefore here resolve that it is the privilege of us who are spared to carry forward the work to which his life and that of his predecessors were so nobly given; that we so improve our privilege that they shall not have sacrificed in vain; and that we here anew devote ourselves to the promotion of that union of learning and labor, of plain living and high thinking, of culture, patriotism, and true religion which they, and he, held dear. 22 RESOLUTIONS, ADOPTED BY THE MEDINA CONFERENCE, AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING, OBERLIN-, APRIL 26, 1894. God in his infinite wisdom has removed from our midst our honored and beloved brother, Professor J. M. Ellis. We, as members of the Medina Conference of Congregational Churches, desire to put on record our sense of personal loss and bereavement in the death of this brother. Professor Ellis was a valued and useful member of this Conference. His interest in the meetings of our churches and all that pertained to their wel- fare and upbuilding was not merely official and honorary, but real, vital, and personal. He was uniformly present at our meet- ings and helpful in all our counsels. We desire to extend to this Second Church of Oberlin, of which he was a most valued member, and to his bereaved family, our heartfelt sympathy, and we join in commending them to the loving care of Him who doeth all things well. TRIBUTE OF THE PRESS. Professor John M. Ellis, who for thirty-six years had been a professor in Oberlin College, and had lived in the town from early boyhood, was throughout life one of the truest and most characteristic products of the spirit, life and culture of Oberlin ; of the Oberlin College which can never be thought of apart from the Oberlin Town. His identification all these years was as perfect with the life of the town as with that of the college. With the utmost simplicity of motive, it was remarkable how many-sided were his living interests ; and his interests in any matter were always of the most practical, often of the most pragmatical, nature. He had no cant, no pretense, no hobbies, and very few prejudices. If not accounted brilliant, his candor and fair-mindedness made the action of his mind not only sane and clear, but luminous in its perception and practical judgments. His depart- ment of instruction was that of Greek, and later that of Philosophy ; but from first to last he was wholly devoted to Oberlin, and to the whole of Oberlin. He was indeed one of the most wholesome of men. No life could have a nobler purpose than his, to do the utmost in his power for others. As Pres- ident Ballantine says of him, the greatest service he rendered to Oberlin was in letting all see the sublime unity and unselfishness of his life a living ex- ample of the type of character which that community was founded to pro- duce. As Professor G. F. Wright remarked, for thirty years he combined in himself more perhaps than anyone else the qualities which both promoted and represented the totality of Oberlin interests. Xo students, says Professor Monroe, ever left his recitation room without "a sense of encouragement," without feeling that they could do something in the world with the powers they had. And so, better than a dozen lectureships on applied Christianity was the incessant instructiveness of his owa personality and life, so vigilant and so instant in response wherever practical sagacity and a great heart with aptitude for all kinds of affairs were wanted. In this respect, pertinent to him would have been the remark of Emerson, " I cannot hear your words your actions speak so loud." No amount of talk about "civics" and "soci- ology" and so on could have had such influence over the thousands of Ober- lin students as the factual witness day after day of this man along with his like-minded associates, matching the activities of each day with its own op- portunity. For, he was exactly the same in the town-meeting as in the class-room ; and as sure to be at the one as at the other. When Mayor of the town nobody thought of asking whether or not he would enforce the laws. As Chief of the Oberlin Fire Department he was an expert. And then, a crowning grace of his unselfishness, as of all the qualities which made his scholarship, his ministry, his citizenship, was the unconsciousness of it all which left him "at leisure from himself" to go on unhindered in doing the needed thing at the right time. And thus it was that, both as fact and continuing factor, at once as per- sonal resultant and in turn producing cause, according to his measure and in all his relations to the community, the college, the church, the common- wealth and the country, Professor Ellis notably illustrated the qualities, rather the combination and adjustment of qualities, which the peculiar con- ditions and still aching problems of modern society are so anxiously calling for. Editorial by the Rev. Simeon Gilbert, D. D., in The Advance for April 12, 1894. One of the original and most honored members of Oberlin's Faculty is dead. A few months ago Professor Ellis went with his wife to California, a very sick man, but hopeful. The change did not benefit him, and when told there was no hope of recovery, he desired to start immediately for home. He died in Chicago Thursday morning. Professor Ellis studied at the College in its infancy; pursued the theo- logical course, graduated from it with high honors and accepted a professor- ship of the Greek language. He had been connected with the College in various capacities for half a century, and has discharged every duty devolved upon him with ability and distinction. He was a fitting representative of Oberlin theology, and that class of noble men who built Oberlin College in the wilderness, from nothing to its present high and world-wide reputation. Highly respected and esteemed by all whose good fortune it was to know him as a teacher, adviser or citizen, he will always be remembered as a man of noble character, rare intelligence and scholarly attainments. As a professor of the dead languages, he will be remembered throughout the world. Pro- fessor Ellis visited Grand Rapids several times in the interests of Oberlin 24 College, and while here called on his former pupils and preached several sermons in the Park Congregational Church. Many of our citizens will re- member him. We testify our respect for his memory, our admiration for his virtues, and our belief in the constant honest purposes of his life. That his genial courtesy and quiet dignity will be long remembered among us, and his untiring energy in promoting the interests of his pupils be worthy of emulation throughout the entire country, we have no doubt. We tender to the family of Professor Ellis our heartfelt sympathy in this their sad afflic- tion, still aware that wounded hearts cannot be healed by human sympathy alone. His life work is done but well done. His crowning characteristics were those of faith and Christian living. He lives in death. C. G. Swens- berg in the Grand Rapids (Mich.} Herald for April 8, 1894. In the death of Professor Ellis, Oberlin College loses one of its best friends; one of its most devoted teachers; one of the men who, putting the work of more than a generation into it, has brought it up to its present com- manding position. None knew him but to respect and honor him. His ideals of duty were lofty. In the service of his Master he counted no sacrifice too great. The writer of these words will not soon forget the work he did among the soldiers in the armies of the Potomac and the James, and at Richmond just after the surrender, nor the interest he took in the social questions which even then were just beginning to press for a solution. He was one of the men who believed in the adequacy of the principles of the gospel for the settlement of all difficulties. The Congregationalist, April j, 1894. The sudden death at Chicago yesterday of Professor J. M. Ellis of Ober- lin College will be felt as a personal affliction by very many residents of Cleveland, who have known and esteemed him as a teacher and friend in years that are past. Professor Ellis has been connected with Oberlin Col- lege as pupil, tutor and professor nearly forty years. His life has been de- voted to good works and the memory of his deeds and influence will be abiding. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, March jo, 1894. MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY. The following are extracts from a few of the many letters received by Mrs. Ellis from friends at a distance: CINCINNATI, April 11, 1894. My affection and admiration for John has never lessened from the high measure it had with me when I first knew him as a classmate in 1846. It needed the intimacy of boys preparing for college to give the truest idea of his mental lucidity and easy grasp of every study which made the student's work easy to him, and made high rank in a class seem so natural that no one wondered at it. So far from seeking to show superior excellence, he had from the beginning a contempt for exhibition that made him rather hide his 25 power, under a natural modesty that treated it as nothing but what was a matter of course, and least of all to be proud of. I think those boyish esti- mates are the truest and best. We knew him through and through, and consequently knew how honest, how pure, how unselfish, how strong he was. If we all have sometimes wished he had not so many cares and so varied duties thrust upon him, so that by narrowing his field he might have made his great powers more dominant in some single line of thought and world- teaching, I am sure his sense of duty was a better guide, and in doing what- ever the College needed he has left his impress more durably upon it and upon generations of students yet to come than he could have done in any other way. Sympathizing deeply and earnestly with you in your great present grief as I do, I yet cannot indulge in mere grief I am led to think of him as of a character so high and so safe in the list of true worthies, that I involuntarily yield to the impulse to admire rather than to weep to thank God for the life he lived rather than bewail the close of it. Is it not a precious fruit of such a life that the satisfaction we all must feel in its full and rounded perform- ance of duty softens even our mourning, and gives a reality to the immortal part of him that makes even his death seem unreal in the comparison ? You have the unspeakable comfort of knowing all this better than any of us, and we can only help to assuage your natural sorrowing by reminding you how much there is in the last thirty years to glory and rejoice in, and how slight the break will hereafter seem in a holy and everlasting comrade- ship. J. D. Cox. BOSTON, April 3, 1804. No one in Oberlin save President Fairchild was so intimately associated with my life while a member of the Faculty ; and I can hardly think what Oberlin will be without Professor Ellis. The College, the Prudential Com- mittee, the Alumni, the Church, the Town, the Conference, Forest Street ; how he will be missed in them all. JUDSON SMITH. MARCH 31, 1894. Professor Ellis was so staunch and upright! He was good to lean upon^ I can never cease to remember with keen gratitude the patient kindness, and the calm good judgment with which he upheld me when I was fainting under the deepest trouble and perplexity of my life. MARTHA E. FRENCH. CLEVELAND, OHIO, April i, 1894. To Mrs. J. M. Ellis, Oberlin, Ohio : DEAR MADAM: The Session and members of the Euclid Avenue Pres- byterian Church send to you a message of sympathy in your hour of trial. While we have no right to penetrate the inner sanctuary of your grief, we 26 give our prayers with your own to the end that holy and true consolation may come to you even in this supreme sorrow. The ministrations of Professor Ellis to this congregation during a period of transition and anxiety were helpful and most wise. He gave us of that wisdom and prudence, of that hope in the future, with which God had so conspicuously endowed him, His honored servant. The memory of our friend is sacred within these walls where his voice has so often resounded. May we not send back to you that passage of Holy Scripture which he himself declared to one of our members to have been "especially helpful" to him Isaiah 1. 10: "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obey- eth the voice of. his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Respectfully, JAS. HANDVSIDE, Clerk of Session. MT. HOLYOKE COLLEGE, SOUTH HADLEY, MASS., April 5, 1894. There was not the shadow of an unrighteous thought in him pure and true, devoted to duty and truth; the friend of everybody, unselfish in deed as in thought. Everybody trusted and loved him. I rejoice that I ever knew him, and that my children knew him, and felt the force of his strong char- acter. ELIZABETH S. MEAD. YORK, NEB., April 5, 1894. Professor Ellis had been our teacher and friend, and his Christ-like spirit endeared him to us all. The great student world will mourn his loss, and Oberlin College will greatly miss him as a teacher, manager, and a Christian light. E. H. BAKER. SOUTHOLD, N. Y., April 15, 1894. It was such a true and beautiful life, that there can now be only sorrow, and no sting, for those who are left. And we can bear sorrow. It must be such a happy thought for you that he influenced and inspired so many lives, and opened up to them such new and helpful avenues of thought, that all their after life cannot but be changed and bettered and broadened. LOUISE C. POND. DENVER, COLO., April 5, 1894. I cannot but be glad that my college days came in his time, and that among many precious memories I have that of his kindly face and cheery words. KATE COWAN JAMES, '89 O. C. 27 OAK PARK, ILL., April i, 1894. We all remember with much gratitude your husband's devotion to each of our college interests. I enjoyed especially my work with him in the Evi- dences of Christianity; and it is satisfactory to recall how clear his convic- tions and understanding of the great truths of Christianity always were. Memories of his life will strengthen the lives of many of his students, I am sure. ANGINETTE B. HEMINGWAY. i MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., March 30, 1894. A good man has gone. He will be greatly missed. He has done a large and useful work, and a work which will go on and on without ceasing. Thirty years ago last fall I began my acquaintance with him, when, in the late fall of '63, I went to Oberlin carrying a letter of introduction to him. He received me cordially, and counseled me wisely. We have always been good friends since, and our friendship has grown. I often went to him for advice, and always got good counsel. It would have been better for me had I always followed his advice. And I am only one of a great number who can and will testify the same thing. Only God can measure the good he has done in his quiet, unselfish, wise, energetic life in Oberlin. S. V. S. FISHER. ALLEGHENY, PA., April 30, 1894. When I think of him it is not of his position in the College, of his schol- arship, or any of his public relations. , I did not know him much in these. It is of his large and open heartedness, the honesty and guilelessness and unselfishness of his nature I knew him as a friend and brother. We were not in the same class, and so had not the bond of classmates. Our lives were soon thrown apart. We seldom met. We were in different churches and each loved his own church, so that it has been somewhat contrary to cus- tom if not to nature, that our friendship should live on. . . . From the days when we sat beside each other in the choir and sang in serenades and in concerts, we continued to think of each other. I shall hold him in hearty memory for the rest of my days. He was the one in Oberlin that most strongly drew me there. T. H. ROBINSON. ST. PAUL, MINN., April 17, 1894. He was a friend of my boyhood. I well remember the day he became a Christian and the powerful influence his decision had upon my conscience. He at once became an ideal to me, and for fifty years I have drawn from his. consecrated and scholarly manhood deeper inspiration. It has not been my privilege to often meet him, but my thoughts of Oberlin have always included him as a part of its pure and exalted life. EDWARD P. INGERSOLL. 28 LAKE ERIE SEMINARY, PAINESVILLE, OHIO, April 14, 1894. The tributes from the associates of Professor Ellis are beautiful and true, especially those words of Professor Monroe: "A purpose so noble, a self-denial so complete, a consecration so perfect, a temper so candid and fair, a life so absolutely devoted to the work of Christ." And the words of Dr. Fairchild, coming straight from his heart out of an experience of fifty years. There must have been great comfort for you in such words, and the comfort will remain. MARY EVANS. REDLANDS, CAL., March 30, 1894. I can never forget the Professor's kindness to me in his father's home while I was a student in the Seminary. He was a constant helper and in- spirer in that work. We went to Oberlin, strangers, but through him we found home and friends. And then his brotherly interest in all these years his hearty welcome to his own model home and not the least his kindly interest in our children as they went to Oberlin, make this event one of pecu- liar tenderness and sorrow. O. H. SPOOR. GRINNELL, IOWA, April i, 1894. The past is rich in happy, honorable memories; the future radiant with the hopes inspired by the faith he cherished. We can change nothing; in- finite love infinitely wise has done just what is best. L. F. PARKER. HINSDALE, MASS., April 2, 1894. I have known him long and have loved him better every year. Such a clear head is not always with such a warm heart. Such manly independence of thought does not in most men find it so easy to co-operate with fellow- workers. J. H. LAIRD. I NEW YORK, March 30, 1894. New York Oberlin Alumni offer warmest sympathy and love and mourn with you. R. T. HALL. NEW YORK, April 13, 1894. DEAR MRS. ELLIS: The knowledge of your husband's death was first received by most of the New York Alumni at the annual meeting of the New York Association recently held. His presence with us two years ago was still so fresh in the recollection of most of us, and the love and reverence which we, in common with all those who have learned from him, had for him, was so strong that our hearts went out in sympathy for you and your chil- 2 9 dren who have suffered such unspeakable loss. It was the unanimous desire of those present to express this sympathy, and the Secretary was therefore directed to convey such expression. It is in obedience to this expressed wish that I write and tell you, what you already know, that we, his former pupils, feel that we have suffered loss with you, and grieve with you. WILLIAM M. BENNETT, Secretary. GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., April 5, 1894. He was a friend to me, and helped me long before I realized it. He was a noble, stalwart figure, toward whose dimensions I unconsciously aspired. He was a preacher of righteousness, not only in the pulpit and in the class- room, but in his majestic character and life; and long before any of us came to know his teachings, we felt the power and the uplift of John Ellis, and this was true not only of me, but of my brother Dwight before me. In- stinctively we had turned to this man as one who represented all that was manly and honest and noble. . . . It will be strange to think of Oberlin without Professor Ellis. In the dark days of Oberlin in the '70*5, when the outlook was discouraging and the means limited, and the buildings were shabby, it was the hearty, cheerful courage of Professor Ellis that made all happy in the feeling that brighter days were to come. DAN F. BRADLEY. RIPON COLLEGE, RIPON, Wis., April 9. 1894. I have always regarded Professor Ellis as one of the remarkable men among the superior leaders at Oberlin. His great breadth and solidity of judgment, his genuine and wide charity, his Christian simplicity and con- stant faith, made him a man of extraordinary influence over all with whom he had any personal relations. Other leaders in Oberlin may have been more brilliant than he, but on the whole I doubt whether any of them have been more grandly intelligent. An uncommon, loving man. He will be a great loss to Oberlin College and to the State of Ohio. EDWARD H. MERRELL. NEW YORK, April 7, 1894. He was one of God's noblemen. His heart was well adjusted to his manly frame. His deep religious experience, his clear insight into God's word, his tireless devotion to the interests of his Master's kingdom, his un- faltering love for the College, which owes so much of its life and growth to him, his warm welcome to his friends, his fatherly affection for the great multitude of young people continually passing through Oberlin College and Seminary, give him a very warm place in a multitude of hearts. He will be greatly missed in Oberlin. If I apprehend rightly, no man has done more to 3 build up that College than he. It is the best monument he or any other man could have as a memorial of a most faithful and devoted life service. L. H. COBB. CHICAGO, March 29, 1894. His strong positive character counted as a force with every one of his scholars one that they never can forget. His prudence never spared; his charity never wasted. He loved all. He helped all. We feel like a great host of children. We feel as though we had lost our leader. MERRITT STARR. MARIETTA COLLEGE, MARIETTA, OHIO, April 10, 1894. He was one of my best and closest friends, our friendship beginning while we were classmates in the Theological Seminary at Oberlin, and con- tinued throughout our lives. When we were together at Oberlin a mutual friend, now Rev. Dr. Mc- Kinley, was wont to say of him ("John Ellis," as we all called him), that he was the ripest and best fruit of Oberlin culture. I was glad to agree with that judgment. He has done a most useful, important, and honorable work for education and religion at Oberlin and for Oberlin. I doubt if any man has done more than he to make Oberlin College and Oberlin village what they are to-day. N. J. MORRISON. HARTFORD, CONN., April 3, 1894. We have not lost that blessed soul, that prince among men, that friend whose affection was so deep and tender. Even those of us who had him for a dear friend were unspeakably rich; but how much richer you and your dear children, who had him for your very own. We are all rich still, and if our hearts are heavy, we will let the God of all comfort, who knows how to comfort us in all our trials, comfort us with His peace. JOHN A. R. ROGERS. WASHINGTON, D. C., March 31, 1894. Having known him so long and so well, and loved and admired him so- much, we cannot but feel that we too are personally bereft, and that the College, the Church, and the world have met with a loss that cannot be filled. While mourning his death, we can but thank God for such lives, and such men, whose influence can never die. And the good they have done will ever live. MR. AND MRS. C. H. BUXTON. CHICAGO, April 2, 1894. More than once when I was in need of help, he gave it to me as no one else could have done. Hundreds will write or think just such words. ELIZABETH K. CLARK. 3 1 NEW YORK, March 30, 1894. His life and character will ever be a bright and beautiful thing in our memory, and his loving friendship one of the most precious possessions that has ever come into our lives. WILLIAM KINCAID. ROME, ITALY, April 21, 1894. I feel very thankful that I had the privilege of studying under Professor Ellis and knowing him as a friend, and I hope I may never fall below the ideals which he taught me, not so much by word as by his life. I think of him now as I used so often to see him in chapel offer his chair to some be- lated young lady. It was an act of thoughtfulness and gallantry, a little thing to speak of, perhaps, but it was just one of the many things which made him so loved by his students. Many young men in New York have told me, since I graduated, that after they left college, the Professor who remained in their memories as the most esteemed and as having most influenced their lives for good, was Professor Ellis. This is my testimony too. AGNES E. WARNER. DENVER, COLO., April 28, 1894. Professor Ellis' place in the hearts of the Oberlin people and students was indeed a large one. How much dear President Fairchild will miss him! He was so close to him and in sympathy with him. We remember with great pleasure our meeting him abroad and the kindly attention and service he rendered us. He was the noble Christian gentleman, that we sometimes fail to find in all places. But we cannot doubt that through his unselfish ex- ample others have been won to the better life, and his influence will never cease to exist. IONE M. HANNA. FRIEDENAU BEI BERLIN, April 17, 1894. I can hardly make it seem at all possible that Professor Ellis is really gone from among us. I had come so to revere and love him that it seems to me in an unusual degree a personal loss. Not many men could have proved so considerate as he, in the position of an older associate in a department. His kindness and ready co-operation have been constant. I can never forget his high and unselfish spirit. I have never known him to fail to respond sympathetically to any high appeal in any thing. No other vacancy has meant to me what this means. HENRY C. KING. HONOLULU, April 18, 1894. I enjoyed his sermons as much or more than those of any one else in Oberlin. His death was a great shock to me. MARY CASTLE. 32 ROLLINS COLLEGE, WINTER PARK, FLORIDA, April 2, 1894. I cannot tell you how my heart aches for you. Nor can I tell you how much I have learned to love and respect Professor Ellis. In more than one place of most unusual stress he bore himself so nobly, so bravely, so unsel- fishly. Such a life is a permanent possession for us all. Death cannot touch it. CHARLES G. FAIRCHILD. PACIFIC GROVE, CAL., March 30, 1894. He was an Oberlin man. He never knew how to spare himself. He saw duty only to do it. We all hoped that his life might be prolonged for other years of work and counsel and, not least, for further companionship with our dear old President; but we have many compensating thoughts of the good man and all he has been to the College and the church and the town and the state and the world, and to his friends, his children, and to you. We can only say, as President Fairchild has said to us so often and taught us to believe, "Our Father makes no mistakes." MR. AND MRS. EDWIN SIDNEY WILLIAMS. Los ANGELES, CAL., April 3, 1894. It is very pleasant to think of him in our home, lying upon the lounge or sitting by the window in the sunshine. He was so quiet and patient, so little trouble, and so interested in our conversation about old friends and ac- quaintances, although he was so ill. But best of all, he was so perfectly re- signed to all that was before him, whether it was life or death, and when he learned that it was surely death, so calm and undisturbed. It was wonderful. His presence here was like a benediction upon our home. MR. AND MRS. HENDERSON JUDD. REDLANDS, CAL., March 31, 1894. I cannot tell you what sacred joy will ever be the memory of the days and hours given us to minister to his comfort and happiness while under our roof here. His presence was a constant blessing and benediction for which we shall always be profoundly thankful. SAMUEL F. COOPER. A ooo so? UCSB LIBRARY