CHAPTER XXIX.
HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN GREENE COUNTY.
The educational history of Greene county is peculiarly rich in its institutions of higher learning.
As far back as 1805 or 1806 there was a so called seminary in operation in the county near Xenia,
and from that day down to the present there have been what are denominated institutions of
higher learning. It was more than half a century after the county was organized in 1803 before
there was any kind of a public school approaching the present high school, but during this period
the children of the county were not entirely without the means of higher education. There were
seminaries, academies, colleges and even universities in operation, while of other private schools
of high grade there were always a few to be found.
Beginning with the seminary of 1805 there has followed a succession of these so called higher
educational institutions. The following pages tell of the Xenia Female Academy, Xenia Female
Seminary and Collegiate Institute, Xenia Female College, Xenia College, Antioch College,
Cedarville College, United Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Xenia and Wilberforce
University. Of these several institutions there are now only four remaining : Antioch College,
Cedarville College, Xenia Theological Seminary and Wilberforce University.
FIRST INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN GREENE COUNTY.
The word seminary seemed to appeal to the older generation; it was a high-sounding term, one
which seemed to have a scholastic connotation that endeared the word to the citizens of the early
part of the last century. The word is seldom used in these latter days, being now confined largely
to theological schools or institutions for girls. But a hundred years ago the word seminary was
applied to all sorts of schools, male and female, and both; to what we would today call high
schools, and to colleges which did about the same work which is today found in our better grade
of high schools.
All of which is prefatory to a brief description of the first seminary in Greene county—the first
institution which might be called a higher institution of learning. The data concerning this
institution is naturally very meager, and only the most casual references to it have been
preserved. It opened, as near as can be ascertained, in 1805 or 1806 in the Union church which
stood about two miles south of Xenia, a log structure which had been
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built in 1804 largely through the efforts of Moses Trader, Frederick Bonner, John Sale, Philip
Davis, James Towler, George Wright, James Butler, Isaiah McDaniel, Timothy Heath, Nathanial
Bell and Bennett Maxey. Trader, Towler, Sale and Maxey were preachers.
Who the first teachers were—there was certainly not more than one at a time—how many pupils
they had, or what the length of term may have been, are some of the unanswerable questions
concerning this infant school. But the school must have thrived, since on August 3, 1808, the
trustees of the seminary held a meeting to discuss plans for a building to house the institution.
The trustees at that time were Rev: Bennett Maxey, Rev. James Towler, James Butler, Frederick
Bonner and Peter Pelham. Just what action the trustees took is not known, but from subsequent
developments it seems that they were of one opinion concerning the needs of the seminary.
The next definite date in the history of the seminary is January I, 181o, on which date school was
opened in a new building. Previous to this date occurred certain events which can be arrived at
only inferentially. It is known that James Butler, John Sale and Philip Davis donated three acres
of land for a site; that the new building was a log structure, thirty by twenty feet, ten feet in
height, with two doors and four windows of twelve lights each, the panes being ten by eight
inches, with a solid oak flooring and a chimney of generous size at each end of the building—all
in all, a quite imposing building for those days.
Such was the first real institution of higher learning erected in Greene county. A log cabin,
sixteen feet square, was built close by for the teacher, John Finley. He was selected by the
trustees and was given permission to teach twelve months in the year. They guaranteed him
twenty pupils to begin with and allowed him to charge tuition at the rate of two dollars a month
(or term), half in money and half in produce, or, if they had the money, it was to be one dollar
and a half. Whether, he had his twenty pupils, or more, or whether he got his money, or his
produce, are some more unanswerable questions. But he did start, and he did teach—how long is
not known, but presumably until schools were established in Xenia and placed on a firm basis.
The trustees ( John Sale was president of the board and Peter Pelham, secretary) laid down a code
of rules to govern the seminary, among which was permission to use corporal punishment on all
refractory pupils under the age of twenty-one. Furthermore, a strict prohibition was placed on
"bad language," the rule not specifying just what was deemed such language. The course of study
was also set forth, although just how this was graded to meet the various ages: of the prospective
pupils is left to the imagination of the reader. The books which were to be studied included the
following: "Webster's Spelling Book" ( fourth edition), "American Preceptor" (probably
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some kind of a religious treatise), "American Selections and Columbian Orator," "Stephen Jones'
Improvement of Sheridan's Dictionary," "Workman's Arithmetic," "Harrison's Grammar" or
"Wilson's Grammar" and "Morse's Geography."
This concludes the history of the first seminary in Greene county as far as it has been possible to
follow its career. Undoubtedly, it was well patronized during the time it was in existence, and
quit its labors only when other and better schools were provided. But that the early settlers of the
county should have felt the need of such an institution right after the county was organized shows
that they were men of discernment.
BELLBROOK ACADEMY.
The building which housed the Bellbrook Academy stood on the lot east of the Presbyterian
church. It was erected in the early '30s and for a score of years many of the leading citizens of
Bellbrook and vicinity received the greater part of their education in it. Edmund H. Munger, fresh
from college in 1848, taught at least one year here. There was a hall in the building where secret
societies and political parties held their meetings, and among the things in the hall was a banner
used by the Democrats against the Whigs in the campaign of 1852. On this banner was the legend
"Fuss and Feathers," an epithet of derision which was applied to General Winfield Scott, the
Whig candidate for the presidency in the campaign.
Sometime in 182 the old academy, which then belonged to Harrison Vaughn, caught fire. When
the fire was first discovered it was between the ceiling and the roof, but the owner would not
allow Harry Hosier, a fire fighter, to break through the ceiling to get at the blaze because it would
ruin the plastering. The result was that the old building burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt
and for many years its cellar remained filled with rubbish and broken bricks.
XENIA FEMALE ACADEMY-XENIA FEMALE SEMINARY AND COLLEGIATE IN-
STITUTE-XENIA FEMALE COLLEGE-XENIA COLLEGE.
The story under this head is peculiarly complicated, a complication arising from the fact that the
same institution changed its name so frequently during the first few years of its existence that it is
difficult to follow its career. Starting as the Xenia Female Academy in 1850, it became the Xenia
Female Seminary and Collegiate Institute in 1854, the Xenia Female College in 1856, and Xenia
College in 1863, continuing under the latter designation until it closed its doors in the latter part
of the '80s.
The inception of the first institution, the Xenia Female Academy, was an act of the General
Assembly of the state, dated March 21, 1850, which
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granted a charter to an institution known by that name. The incorporators were Thomas Coke
Wright, David Barr, Joseph A. Coburn, Abraham Hivling, Dr. Joshua Martin, Roswell F.
Howard, Daniel Martin, Hugh McMillen, Thomas S. Towler, Joseph G. Gest, William B.
Fairchild and James J. Winans. These men, all residents of Xenia or the immediate vicinity,
represented the leaders in several professions. Here were ministers of the gospel,' lawyers at the
bar, newspaper editors, physicians, merchants and practical business men of different callings.
The incorporators held their first business meeting on June 1, 1850, and organized by electing
Daniel Martin president and Joseph A. Coburn secretary. It was decided to solicit subscriptions
to the capital stock, which, by the charter, was to be limited to $25,000, divided into five hundred
shares of fifty dollars each. Daniel Martin was authorized to canvass the city and county for stock
subscriptions and he met with such success that on June 29 the incorporators, all being
stockholders, met for permanent organization. The stockholders elected nine trustees : Abraham
Hivling, John B. Allen, James J. Winans, Joseph G. Gest, William Cooper, Daniel Martin, David
Barr, Joshua Martin and Hugh McMillen. Two days later, July 1, these nine trustees met and
effected a permanent organization by electing the following officers : President, Dr. Joshua
Martin.; treasurer, Daniel Martin ; James J. Winans, secretary.
Success Assured From the Start.—The history of the academy shows that its promoters were
anxious to get it going as soon as possible. On July 4 the trustees held a meeting at which they
decided to advertise the opening of the academy in the fall of the same year, that is, in the fall of
1850. It seems that at 'this same meeting the trustees elected Dr. Thomas S. Towler
superintendent of the academy, although it was not until October 19 that Nancy M. Hartford and
Mary E. McGuirk were elected as additional teachers.
The trustees had secured an option on the old county seminary building on East Church street,
and it was proposed to conduct the new school in this building until it could be seen whether a
new building should be erected. In this building, accordingly, the first term of the Xenia Female
Academy opened during the latter part of October, 185o. A part of the building was set aside for
housing such pupils as might come in from outside the city, the dormitory, if it may be so called,
being placed under the charge of Mrs. Huntington.
The school year of 1852-51 was such a success that the trustees felt justified in proceeding with
the collection of funds for the erection of a new building for the academy. On May 21, 1851, they
appointed a committee to select a suitable site for the proposed new building. This committee
made its final report on July 30, 1851, and recommended that the building be
456 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
erected on East Church street. The trustees had previously given notice that the first installment
of the stock subscriptions would be called for on August 1, 1851. On July 22 the trustees had
re-elected Dr. Thomas S. Towler superintendent for another year, and on the 30th of the month,
the day the committee reported their selection of the new site, the board of trustees appointed
Hugh McMillen, David Barr and Superintendent Towler as a committee to take charge of the
erection of the building. Meanwhile, school was to continue in the old building. The board
elected Mrs. Lewis Wright and Mary Eliza Harbison as assistants to Superintendent Towler,
these two teachers continuing with the academy during the two succeeding years.
The new building was completed in the summer of 1852. At the close of the school year in 1852
the trustees of the new institution were in considerable doubt as to its future possibilities. The
new constitution of the state had provided for a new system of common schools, a system
whereby the old subscription school was to be abolished and free public schools opened. Up to
this time all the better schools had been tuitional, but when it was proposed to establish
throughout the state a complete system of free schools, open to every one, it soon became
apparent that the many private tuitional schools would have to close their doors. Therefore, in the
summer of 1852 the trustees of the Xenia Female Academy had a serious problem before them.
What would they do with their new institution ? They could hardly expect to get the patronage
they expected, especially when they had calculated on doing much of the same work which was
to be done by the free public schools, considering the fact that they had to depend on tuition for
the support of their school. It was at this juncture that the history of the school takes a sudden
turn.
Church Lines Rigidly Drawn.—In the '50s church lines were much more sharply drawn than at
the present time. With all due regard for the religious faith of our forefathers, it must be said that
they were far from being as tolerant of faiths other than their own as their children are today.
Men and women still living in Greene county can recall when a Presbyterian would not have
dared to attend the services of a Methodist church, and conversely a Methodist would hardly
have risked his soul's salvation by venturing into the precincts of a Presbyterian church. A
knowledge of these conditions is necessary to explain the next change in the history of the Xenia
Female Academy. The Presbyterians had a female school of their own in Xenia, but the
Methodists were not altogether certain that it would be the right thing to allow their daughters to
attend such an institution. Hence, and for reasons just stated, it is not surprising that in the
summer of 1852, when the management of the Xenia Female Academy were discussing the
future of their institution, that the Methodists began to consider taking over the school
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and turning it \into an institution for their daughters. The result of the negotiations between the
Methodists and the trustees was an offer on September 27, 1852, to .place the school under the
management of the Cincinnati Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The church agreed to assume the control of the school under certain conditions : First, that six
thousand dollars should be raised in Xenia and immediate vicinity for the purpose of building a
boarding-house and making other stipulated improvements, and secondly, that the trustees of the
academy should transfer to the church a sufficient amount of stock in order to give it a
controlling interest in the school. The church, on its part, appointed Rev. Charles Elliott, Rev. .A.
Lowry and Rev. W. I. Ellsworth to represent it during the time the Academy trustees were trying
to fulfill these conditions.
The full amount was raised by February 15, 1853, or at least it was guaranteed by Dr. Joshua
Martin, Michael Nunnemaker, Alfred Trader, Nathan Nesbitt, I. S. Drake and Casper L. Merrick.
At the same time sufficient stock was timed over to the church to give it control of the school.
With these conditions met, the church assumed the management of the Academy, a control which
was maintained through all the successive changes in name and policy of the institution until it
was closed.
On February 26, 1853, the church appointed Abraham Hivling, Alfred Trader and Dr. Joshua
Martin as a building committee and instructed them to confer with the conference in regard to the
erection of the proposed boarding-house, Doctor Lowry was appointed principal of the school on
May 16, 1853, at the same time being authorized to act as fiscal agent for the school. The
boarding-house was erected in the summer of 1853 and was ready for the reception of students in
the fall of that year. With the new management in charge the school took on a new lease of life
and managed to weather all the adverse conditions. It was still called the Xenia Female Academy,
but on June 30, 1854, Dr. Joshua Martin and C. L. Merrick were ordered to take such legal steps
as might be necessary to change the name to s the Xenia Female Seminary and Collegiate
Institute. Rev. Mansfield French had been elected superintendent on May 18, 1854, and he
wanted to make the school co-educational. This change in policy made it necessary to change the
name of the school, hence the bisexual appellation which was given it—Xenia Female Seminary
and Collegiate Institute—the first half being feminine and the last half masculine. During the
incumbency of French, 1854-56, the school became recognized as an able institution. On May 7,
1856, Rev. 0. M. Spencer became the head of the school, being succeeded on August 4, 1858, by
William Smith, A. M., who. was to remain in charge for a quarter of a century.
The next change in name was made on May 6, 1861, when the school
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became known as the Xenia Female College. Two years later, however, it was again made
co-educational and so continued until it closed its career. When it was decided to open it to both
sexes in 1863, the school was given its fourth and last name—Xenia College, the name by which
it was thereafter known. Its history from 1863 until the retirement of its president, William
Smith, in 1884, is within the memory of a large number of people still living in the county.
Professor Smith was a man of unusual ability as an instructor and hundreds of people of Xenia
and the vicinity still testify to the excellence of the instruction which they gained in his school.
Upon his 'retirement the school passed into the charge of Professor DeMotte, who conducted the
school for three or four years and then it was closed forever, conditions in educational affairs
having reached a point in Xenia where it was no longer profitable to conduct a private school.
The two buildings later were purchased by Eli Millen and the college building proper, which has
since been remodeled into a dwelling house, is still owned by his estate. The old boarding-house
was torn down a few years ago and the brick were used in constructing part of the present Bijou
Theatre.
XENIA FEMALE SEMINARY.
In the latter part of the '50s,os, a large three-story brick building was erected on West Third
street, the same building which has been used by the Xenia Theological Seminary since 1879. In
this large and pretentious looking building, it was hoped to establish a seminary where the
daughters of Presbyterians could be given all of the education demanded by the girls of that day.
The school had only fairly started when the Civil War opened, and this brought about a
suspension of its work.
In 1861 the school was re-opened by the three daughters of the Rev. John Ekin, a Presbyterian
minister, who had been preaching for some years in the South on account of his health. When the
war opened in the spring of 1861 Reverend Ekin and his three daughters, all of whom had been
teaching in the South, carne to Xenia at the suggestion of Rev. R. D. Harper, pastor of the First
United Presbyterian church of Xenia, who thought that the three sisters could very profitably
open a seminary in the building on West Third street. Accordingly, the summer of 1861 saw
Reverend Ekin and his three daughters located in Xenia, and in the fall of the same year the
sisters opened the school to the girls of the community. The sisters cleaned the three-story
building from top to bottom themselves, washed the windows and scrubbed the floors, for the
simple reason that when the family reached their ,new home they had only fifty dollars. The
sisters were as efficient teachers as they were housekeepers, and they soon had a goodly number
of students enrolled under their instruction. Among these girls of
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more than a half century ago were Ella Harper, Julia Barr, Chessie Reid, Chrissie Moody, Mattie
Leman, Rebecca Jacoby, Mattie Allison, Fannie Smart, Sallie McDowell, Hattie Williamson,
Anna McCracken, and the two Millen sisters, Jennie and Emma. The Ekin sisters continued the
school for five or six years, but with the opening of the public high school in the city in the latter
part of the '60s, both the Methodist and Presbyterian seminaries for girls began to lose their
students and it was soon evident that the seminary on Third street would have to close its doors.
The building in which the seminary was conducted was purchased by the Xenia Theological
Seminary in 1879, and is now used as a dormitory by. that institution.
ANTIOCH COLLEGE.
Antioch College, established in Yellow Springs, Ohio, by the Christian church in 1852, was the
pioneer of pioneers in co-education. That was a fundamental principle of its founders in the
establishment of the college. Horace Mann was sought as its first president because he was the
foremost distinguished advocate of the idea of democracy in education. He accepted the call to
the presidency because the whole plan of the college in this regard was the fulfillment of his own
dream of what a college should be. His career in Massachusetts had been a brilliant one
educationally and politically. The outlook for him there was as promising as a man of his high
ideals of personal usefulness could wish for. But the call of the West to become the leader of a
great co-educational enterprise, to throw his life into the realization of a great hope, appealed to
him more than a brilliant political career.
Oberlin had had a partial co-educational system for a number of years before Antioch was
founded. But it did discriminate against women, so that they were not upon equal terms with
men. There was a separate course for women, and those who took it had a separate
commencement. Those who took the regular college work were not permitted to appear upon the
platform along with the men and to read their orations. Oberlin had taken an advanced step, and
probably was as far ahead 'as her constituency would approve at that time.
Antioch removed all discriminations as to sex in class room and upon the graduating platform.
This attitude appealed to many young people. Some of the women at Oberlin resented the
lingering of the discriminations against women there, and a few came to Antioch and graduated
with its first class, and two or three of them became distinguished educators.
Antioch College has proven abundantly the soundness of the co-educational idea. 'Her records
will show that women are not only the equal of men in class room work, but that usually the
honors for high grades have gone to them.
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The Beginnings of Antioch.—The first date connected with the history of Antioch College may
be set down as October 2, 1850, on which date a convention of the members of the Christian
church was held in Marion, Wayne county, New York, for the purpose of discussing the
establishment of a church school. They decided to call the proposed school Antioch, this name
being given because it was in that ancient city of Syria where the followers of Christ are said to
have first been called Christians. It was not decided at this meeting of 1850 where the college
was to be located, how the money was to be raised for its establishment, or anything definite
concerning its future, other than that it should be called Antioch if it ever materialized.
Two years were to elapse before the college began to take definite form, although in the
meantime a committee had been appointed to devise a plan whereby the college could be
financed, the committee also looking over the country for the most eligible location. The general
scheme of financing the institution was based upon the sale of scholarships, it being planned to
sell scholarships at the rate of one hundred dollars per pupil. It was proposed to raise fifty
thousand dollars in this manner, which would mean that five hundred scholarships would have to
be sold. As before stated, the committee was instructed to look for a suitable location
"somewhere on the thoroughfare between Albany and Buffalo." This committee held a meeting
on October 29, 1851, at Stafford, New York, to make a survey of the situation. They found that
churches of the old Northwest Territory had been working hard to raise funds for the college,
and, strange as it may seem, they had outdone the Eastern states in raising money. In fact, it was
the state of Ohio that led all the other states in the amount of money raised, and at a subsetquent
meeting held at Enon, Ohio, on January 21, 1852, It was decided to establish a college at Yellow
Springs, Greene county, Ohio.
There can be no question that William Mills, the proprietor of Yellow Springs, was responsible
for the location of the college in his town. He gave twenty acres for a campus and pledged
$20,000 personally, while he induced some other citizens of the town to pledge an additional
$10,000. This $30,000 was to be paid in ten annual instalments of $3,000 each, and it was hoped,
would provide sufficient money to meet the current expenses of the infant institution. The
buildings built in the beginning of the history of the school are still standing. They are three in
number : The main college building, known as Antioch Hall, and two dormitories, one for the
male and the other for the female students. The main college building is in the form of a cross,
170 feet long with a transept of H0 feet, the structure being three stories high. It contains the
auditorium, lecture rooms, library, and in fact all of the different departments of the college. Both
dormitories are 40 by 160 feet, and four stories high. The president's house, a brick struct
461- GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
ture three stories high, was erected in 1854. These four buildings were erected at a cost of
$120,000.
The main college building was opened for the reception of students on October 5, 1853. The
faculty had been selected at a meeting of the board of trustees on September 15, 1852, and was
composed of the following : Horace Mann, president, C. S. Pennell, Miss R. M. Pennell, Rev.
Thomas Holmes, Rev. W. H. Dougherty and Ira W. Allen. A. L. McKinney was made principal
of the preparatory department. A word should be 'said about President Mann. At the time of his
election to the presidency he was recognized as one of the foremost, if not the foremost, educator
in America, and as long as he Was president of Antioch College he gave it a reputation which
made it a college of recognized high standing. When the school was opened in October, 1853, the
college proper enrolled six students, while the preparatory department had more than two
hundred. The original freshman class of six was augmented by others before the conclusion of
the four-year-course, raising the first class which graduated on June 27, 1857, to fifteen—twelve
men and three women. Sixty-one years have passed since this first class was graduated and
during that time thousands of students have received all or part of their collegiate training within
the walls of Antioch.
It is not necessary to enter into a detailed discussion of the financial troubles of the school during
its early years, but a brief notice of them is pertinent to an understanding of what the college has
had to pass through in order to maintain its very existence. It had been stipulated in its original
charter that two-thirds of the board of trustees should be members of the Christian church, and
naturally the church in a sense was looked to as being behind the institution. It had been planned
to sell scholarships and the money thus derived, supplemented by the donations of Mills and
other Yellow Springs citizens to the amount of thirty thousand dollars, and a nominal tuition
from those not having scholarships, was supposed to be sufficient to provide enough money to
erect the buildings and keep the school in operation. But not all who subscribed scholarships paid
for them. The tuit¬ion did not measure up to the expectations of the trustees ; the thirty thousand
dollars was to be paid only in three-thousand-dollar annual payments ; expected donations from
interested persons did not all materialize. The net result was that by 1857 the expenses of the
school were exceeding the revenue by nearly ten thousand dollars each year. Something had to be
done, and done quickly.
EFFORT TO GET ON SOUND FOOTING.
At this crisis agents were sent out to solicit subscriptions. The Unitarians of Boston and other
Eastern states were appealed to for aid and they responded in a liberal manner, but still the
situation was far from being satisfactory. The year 1857 found the institution with debts
amounting to
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more than eighty thousand dollars, every apparent effort having been made to reduce the debt.
Money had been borrowed; mortgages had been laid, the friends of the school had done their
utmost—and still it was evident that a change had to be made. After considering the question
from every angle, the trustees, in June, 1857, decided to assign the property of the school to F. A.
Palmer, of New York city, president of the Broadway Bank, of that city, and a very liberal friend
of the school. Two years were to be devoted to the liquidation of the debts of the institution, and
these two years, 1857-59, were full of forebodings for the future of the school. The college was
kept open, the faculty having been reorganized in the summer of 1857, President Mann agreeing-
to stay and wait the outcome. The faculty divided the receipts during these two years, this forcing
them to be content with only about half of their regular salaries.
Finally came the day of the sale, April 19, 1859. A suit for foreclosure had been entered in the
spring of the year by the Hartford Insurance Company, which held a first mortgage on the real
estate. The courts appraised the real estate at sixty thousand dollars and the personal property at
ten thousand dollars. On the day before the sale the friends of the school held a meeting at which
they agreed to pool their funds and attempt to retain the school by outbidding any other
prospective purchasers. When the school was offered for sale it was bid in by F. A. Palmer, the
assignee, at two-thirds its appraised valuation, no other parties making a bid. The college
immediately was turned over by Palmer to five provisional trustees for the same amount, and by
the latter, on April 22, 1859, to the trustees of a newly organized corporation known as "Antioch
College, of Yellow Springs, Greene County, Ohio."
The new corporation had agreed to pay about forty thousand dollars for the school, although it
was agreed that certain of the debts of the former management should be met, the debts
aggregating about forty thousand dollars. This meant that the new management was assuming an
obligation of about eighty thousand dollars. Steps were at once taken to raise this amount among
the Christian and Unitarian churches, each denomination giving about half of the full amount.
The new board of trustees, twenty in number, were divided between the two churches, twelve to
the Christian and eight to the Unitarian. President Mann, one of the incorporators, became
president of the corporation. The faculty and general policy of the school was continued without
change, it having proved that President Mann had put the school on a basis which commanded
the respect of the best educators of the country.
Thus the year 1859 may be taken as the beginning of a new era in the history of the school. It was
starting out free from debt and it has never allowed itself to get into the unfortunate condition
suffered in the first few
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years of its career. In additions to the liberal donations which the friends of the school had made
toward its purchase in 1859, a number made additional donations so that the school was provided
with an annual income of five thousand dollars for three years ; that is, that much above the
tuitional revenue.
The Death of Horace Mann.—But the year 1859, while it saw the emergence of the institution
from the clouds which had hovered over it for three years, was also destined to witness the death
of its masterful president, Horace Mann. He had labored for the school with such energy that his
health gave way under the strain. He died within sight of the college which, more than any other
man, he had helped to establish and bring through its most trying years. August 19, 1859, marked
the end of his connection with Antioch Coltlege, and with his death the college lost its first and
undoubtedly the greatest president it has ever had. This is said. with all due respect to the able
men who have followed him, for, be it said, Horace Mann is to this day looked upon as one of the
greatest educators the country has ever produced. He was buried in the college grounds, but the
following year his remains were exhumed and taken to Providence, Rhode Island, and inhumed
by the side of his first wife.
In September, 1859, Rev. Thomas Hill, D. D., was appointed president of the college and
remained at the head of the school until June, 1862, when he resigned to accept the presidency of
Harvard University. The friends of the school pledged an additional two thousand dollars a year
for three years, this giving the school seven thousand dollars annually above the tuitional
revenue. The school, however, gradually lost students, although the class of twenty-eight in 1860
still remains as the largest class ever graduated from the institution. But in 1861 there were only
seven graduates, while the following year saw eighteen graduates completing the course. At the
close of the school year in 1861, the president went to New England to attempt to raise an
endowment fund, and while there Ft. Sumter fell. This blow which plunged the nation into a
four-year struggle came very near being the doom of Antioch. Doctor Hill had to give up the idea
of getting an endowment for the college at this time. The pledges of seven thousand dollars were
all redeemed in June, 1862, and there seemed to be nothing to do but close the school.
The next three years, 1862t65, mark another trying time for the unfortunate school—three years
when the whole, nation suffered. Antioch was not the only college which was practically forced
to suspend for the period of the war. In the summer of 1862 Professor J. B. Weston assumed
charge of the school at the request of the trustees, and some of the teachers agreed to remain and
be satisfied with such compensation as might be prorated
464 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
among them from the tuition fees. Only a few of the college classes were maintained and the
classes of 1863, 1864 and 1865 had but one graduate each.
Things went from bad to worse, and the worse became so bad that nothing seemed to be able to
save the college from' complete extinction. Church squabbles helped to relieve the monotony, but
they only aggravated conditions. The Unitarians seemed to have contributed more money than
the Christians, and consequently they demanded more of a voice in the management of the
school. The members of the Christian church wanted to blame the Unitarians for all the trouble
that had come upon the school, while those who had invested in real estate in Yellow Springs
with the hope that it would prove a profitable investment blamed both churches. It was certainly
an unfortunate situation viewed in any light.
Church Rivalry Comes to a Head.---The upshot of the difference between the two churches lead
to a curious agreement between them. In June, 1862, the Christians began an attempt to raise an
endowment of fifty thousand dollars in one year, later extended to two years—but if they could
not do it, then the Unitarians were to have a like opportunity. The church which secured this
amount was to have the school.
The Christians, being the first to make the attempt, would seem to have had the advantage, but at
the end of their two-year effort they had secured pledges for less than one-tenth of the
amount—less than five thousand dollars. They acknowledged their inability to raise the fifty
thousand dollars, and in June, 1864, the Unitarians began their two-year effort to raise the
amount. The Unitarians wanted it stipulated before they began their campaign for money that the
board of trustees, should they get the full amount raised, should be chosen irrespective of any
church affiliation. This was granted, and they went to work. Evidently there were more
Unitarians with money than Christians ; at any rate, on June 21, 1865, they announced that they
had not only raised the full amount of fifty thousand dollars, but had actually raised double that
amount—one hundred thousand dollars.
Thus a second time the institution was saved from utter annihilation. With true christian
forbearance the Unitarians did not try to force the members of their own denomination on the
board of trustees, and although all the Christian members of the board had resigned, most of
them were re-elected to their former places on the board. At this happy meeting on June 21,
1865, the Civil War then being over, it was planned to open the college in all its departments in
the following September. A full faculty was provided, and Andrew D. White, later and for many
years president of Cornell University, was elected president. However, he did not accept, and the
trustees made Prof. Austin Craig acting president. In 1866 Rev. G. W. Hosmer, D. D., of Buffalo,
New York, was elected president, and he served with distinction
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until he resigned in June, 1872, the resignation to take effect on January 1, 1873.
The history of the school since its re-opening in the fall of 1865 has been quiet and uneventful.
Doctor Hosmer continued as professor from January 1, 1873, until the close of that school year,
the board appointing Prof. Edward Orton to take up the duties of the presidency. The latter,
however, resigned in June, 1873, to become president of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical
College at Columbus. The board selected Prof. S. C. Derby as acting president in June, 1873, and
he served in this capacity until 1881. At present he is the oldest professor in Ohio State
University, having been at the head of the Latin department of that institution a great many years.
Christian Church Again in Charge.—In 1882 the management of the college was again assumed
by the Christian church, an arrangement being made with the board of trustees by which the
revenue arising from the endowment fund was to be placed in the hands of the church and its
general. management entrusted to them. 0. J. Wait, of Fall River, Massachusetts, was elected
president in the summer of 1882, but served only one year. He was followed by Dr. D. A. Long
of North Carolina, who served until 1898. In that year an Indiana educator, William A. Bell, a
graduate of the institution and founder of the Indiana School Journal, was elevated to the
presidency. Doctor Bell remained at the head of the college until 1902, when Stephen F. Weston,
a graduate of the college, was made dean and placed in active charge, although the presidency
was given to Franklin W. Hooper, head of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. President
Hooper remained in Brooklyn at the head of his school during all of the time that he was
president of Antioch, the actual direction of the school being in the hands of Dean Weston. This
divided responsibility was maintained until 1906, in which year Dr. Simeon D. Fess, the present
congressman from this district, was elected to the presidency.
Doctor Fess was elected to Congress in 1916 and took his seat on March 4, 1917. After taking his
seat in Congress Doctor Fess suggested to the board of trustees that he resign the presidency of
the college, but they urged him to continue as head of the school. However, the country was soon
at war with Germany and Congress was kept in session. For this reason Doctor Fess urged upon
the board of trustees the acceptance of his resignation as president of the school. This they did
and then offered the position to Dr. George D. Black.
Doctor Black had been connected with the faculty of the college since 1907, having been elected
in that year to fill the chair of New Testament Literature and Comparative Religions, and at the
same time was made vice-president of the college. For some time before President Fess went to
Con-
(30)
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gress he was absent from the college making speeches in its behalf and also appearing on the
lecture platform. Thus Doctor Black, as vice-president, was frequently called upon to serve as
acting president. And when the board of trustees offered him the presidency, they felt that they
were securing a competent successor to Doctor Fess. However, Doctor Black declined to accept
the appointment, but consented to .serve as acting president. He felt that the state of his health
was such that he could not give the college the time and attention which it demanded.
The history of Antioch College would not be complete without mentioning the names of some of
the men who have been connected with it, either as teachers or students. .A study of its graduates
shows that more than half of them later taught school, while practically all of them engaged in
some business or professional career. Among the most notable men who have been connected
with Antioch may be mentioned the following: Dr. Thomas Hill, who went from Antioch to the
presidency of Harvard University; Prof. C. W. Russell, for many years vice-president of Cornell
University; Dr. Edward Orton, the first president of Ohio State University ; President G. Stanley
Hall, of Clark University ; Prof. James K. Hosmer, the historian and for many years professor of
history in the University of St. Louis ; Prof. James E. Clark, for many years professor of
mathematics in Yale University ; Prof. S. C. Derby, for the past twenty-five years professor of
Latin in Ohio State University ; Prof. E. W. Claypole, late professor of geology, Throop College
of Technology, Pasadena, California ; Prof. C. H. Chandler, who went from Antioch to Ripon
College ; Dr. J. B. Weston, late president of the Defiance Theological School : Prof. Nicholas P.
Gilman, late professor of sociology in Meadville Theological School and auth0r of several books
on social questions ; Dr. Frank H. Tufts, late professor of physics in Columbia University ; Dr. J.
Y. Bergen, the botanist ; Dr. Amos Russell Wells, managing editor of the Christian Endeavor
World; and George H. Shull, professor of biology, Princeton University.
Dr. Amos R. Wells, editor of the Christian Endeavor World, a graduate of Antioch and for nine
years one of its professors, said a few years ago that no other college in Ohio, according to the
number of its professors and graduates, had had so many men and women of distinction in the
educational and professional world as Antioch.
CEDARVILLE COLLEGE.
Cedarville College was chartered in 1887 by the Legislature of the state of Ohio, but it was seven
years before the institution was opened for the reception of students. It is under the control of the
General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian church, which has directed its career during the
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 467
thirty years that it has been in existence. It opened for the reception of students before the present
building was erected, its first term being held in the house formerly owned by Rev. Hugh
McMillan where he had conducted an academy half a century before that time. In this quaint old
house the first students of Cedarville College gathered on September 19, 1894, but in the
following fall the new building was ready for occupancy.
The campus, the building and practically everything connected with the college has been the gift
of the members of the church, although the citizens of Cedarville contributed generously to the
establishment of the college irretspective of their church affiliation. The present income of the
college is derived from tuition, collections from church congregations, voluntary subscriptions,
voluntary donations from friends within and without the church, and interest on the endowment
fund.
The credit for the beginning of the college should really be given to the generosity of William
Gibson, of Cincinnati, who left a fund of twenty-five thousand dollars to be used for the
establishment of a church college, the bequest being given in honor of his father, Peter Gibson,
for many years a member and ruling elder in the Cincinnati Reformed Presbyterian church. A
few years later, Robert M. Cooper, an elder in the Cedarville congregation, bequeathed a
two-thirds interest in a large farm. Subsequent bequests of importance may be summed up as
follows : John R. Lyons, of Marissa, Illinois, gave five hundred dollars as a memorial to his son,
James Burney Lyons, who lost his life in the Civil War ; Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Harper, of
Cedarville, gave five thousand dollars to found and maintain a chair in economics, provided the
friends of the college raised a similar amount, the amount being readily raised, Whitelaw Reid
contributing one thousand dollars toward the fund ; W. J. Alford gave the old church building
and fitted it up as a gymnasium, his gift being in honor of his parents, Rev. and Mrs. John Alford
; and lastly, Andrew Carnegie gave the college eleven thousand seven hundred and ninety dollars
for the erection of a library, the same being completed in 1908.
College Buildings and Faculty.—The college now has three buildings—the main building,
erected in 1895 ; the gymnasium, known as .the Alford Memorial, which was fitted out in 1902 ;
the library, opened in 1908. The atttendance has been averaging about one hundred a year, and
since the estabtlishment of the college there have been 206 graduates. There are a number of
collegiate courses offered, all leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. There is also a course in
agriculture ; a course in education, courses leading to the degree of Master of Arts and several
courses in theology; also courses in home economics and music. The first summer school was
opened in 1915
468 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
and 142 students were enrolled ; in 1916 there were 130 students ; in 1917 there were 118
students.
The college has had only two presidents during its career : Rev. David McKinney, D. D., LL. D..
of Cincinnati, was the first president and served until June, 1915. At that time Rev. Wilbert
Renwick McChesney, Ph. D., D. D., was elected president, and was inaugurated on the 12th of
the follow-. ing November. The faculty now numbers fifteen members, and for the year 1917-18
consists of the following in addition to the president : Frank Albert Jurkat, A. M., LL. D.,
treasurer and professor of modern languages and history; Rev. Leroy Allen, Ph. B., dean and
registrar and Harper professor of Latin, Bible and sociology ; Anna Margaret Schneder, A. B.,
professor of English and German; Helen Pauline Oglesbee, director of the department of music;
John Edmiston Bauman, A. B., C. E., professor of science and mathematics ; Rev. Arthur St.
Clair Sloan, A. B., professor of Spanish and education ; Ralph Stewart Elder, A. M., secretary to
president and dean, intstructor in Greek ; Allen Bird Turnbull, assistant in chemistry ; William
Rife Collins, instructor in physics ; Sherman 0. Lining, instructor in mathematics ; 'Grace
Morton, A. B., instructor in home economics ; Mrs. W. H. McGervey, instructor in voice, and
Mary Lucile Gray, librarian.
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN SEMINARY OF XENIA.
There is but one theological seminary in America that may with any show of reason contest the
claim of Xenia Seminary to be the oldest theological school on the Western continent ; that one
is the seminary of the Reformed church in America, located at New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Although the Dutch church had had an organized existence in America as early as 1628 it was
subject to the Classis of Amsterdam and was not authorized to educate and ordain ministers. It
was not until after its independence of the mother church had been recognized in 1771 that this
authority was claimed ; and inasmuch as the Revolutionary War followed soon after, the right
was not exercised until after the Rev. John H. Livingston's election as professor of theology in
1784.
The Associate Church.—In the summer of 1753 the Rev. Alexander Gellatly and the Rev.
Andrew Arnot came into the valley of the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, and, as they had been
directed to do by the mother church in Scotland, on November 2 of that year, they organized
themselves into a presbytery, which they styled the "Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania." Its
growth in twenty-three years justified a division of forces, and on May 20, 1776, the prsbytery of
New York began to be. Very soon after its organization this presbytery recognized the Rev.
Robert Annan, D. D., as an instructor in theology by the ordination of his first student—his own
brother,
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David—in 1778 ; and by the licensure of his second student, Mr. William Morrison, in 1782. In
1778 the presbytery of Pennsylvania made provision for theological training within its borders by
the appointment of the Rev. John Smith, of Octoraro, Lancaster county, "to direct the studies of
such men as were preparing to, pursue their studies with a view to the holy mintistry."
Dr. Annan and Mr. Smith received students in their own homes. The teacher was the school.
Where the professor was there was the seminary. Both had been enthusiastic advocates of union
with the Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) church, and in 1782 had cast in their lot with the
resultant organization, the Associate Reformed church, Mr. Smith continuing for some eight or
ten years his work as theological teacher in that body. The entire presbytery 'of New York entered
into this union, but five members of the presbytery of Pennsylvania as it was constituted at the
time the vote was taken—two ministers and three elders—refused to accept the proposed basis,
and so the organization of the Associate church was preserved. A little more than one year after
this action of the presbytery of Pennsylvania the Associate synod of Scotland, in answer to a
petition from the "remnant," sent aver the Rev. John Anderson. He reached Philadelphia in the
autumn of 1783, and was joined by the Rev. Thomas Beveridge in the spring of 1784. The
interests of the Associate church and of the United Presbyterian church were nobly served by
these two men. The former was the founder of the theological seminary at Service, Pennsylvania,
in 1794, and for more than a quarter of a century the sole professor. Doctor Beveridge was first
named by the presbytery to the professorship, but he declined the appointtment because he
believed Doctor Anderson to be the better qualified to fill the position ; however, a son who bore
the father's name, Thomas Beveridge, was called to render a like service to his church at
Canonsburg, to which place the seminary had been transferred in 1821. After twentyt-five years
of the labor of love there he removed to Xenia, on the second change of location, and for sixteen
years longer he exercised a hallowing influence upon the young men whose good fortune it was
to receive his instruction. His period of service was the longest save one, that of Doctor
Moorehead, in the one hundred and twenty-two years of the seminary's history.
John Anderson must have been about thirty-five years old at the time of his coming to America.
He had practically given up the distinctive work of the ministry. He had been licensed as a
probationer for that office sevteral years before, but owing to his very unimpressive personal
presence, his weak voice and diffident manner, he received no encouragement to aspire to the
pastorate of any of the congregations of the church in Scotland. Neverttheless his brethren had
not failed to recognize his great gifts of mind and of
470 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
heart, and his thorough furnishing through diligent study and exercise for any service he might be
called to render as a minister of the gospel. Consequently, when the petition came from their
representatives in the new world, Mr. Anderson was at once selected as the man to go to their
assistance. Their estimate of his attainments may well be expressed in the words of one of them,
Doctor Nisbet, who said of him that, "Such a body of divinity had never before crossed the
Atlantic."
Had the conditions that occasioned his entrance upon his mission to America not risen ; had the
question of union with the Reformed Presbyterian church not.been opened, or, had the action of
the Associate church in this matter been unanimous, in either case there can scarcely be a doubt
that the appointment of the Rev. John Smith as instructor in theology would have been
continued, as it was indeed continued by the Associate Reformed church. In this event the origin
of the Associate Theological Seminary might properly be carried back to the year 1778,
anticipating that of the New Brunswick Seminary by six years. But had a divinity school been
established under such auspices it may well be questioned whether it would have been marked by
the exalted character which distinguished the Service Seminary from its beginning. The two
teachers were nearly of one age. They were both students of the younger Moncrieff, and in
general scholarship and theological acquirement they were quite equally ranked. In oratorical
power John Anderson may scarcely be compared with John Smith, but in the better, worthier
elements that enter into personal character the former was immeasurably the superior.
Brief mention may properly be made in this connection of certain characteristics of Dr. Anderson
which reveal the man, as his brethren—especially his students—knew him. Two of the latter
class, Dr. Thomas Beveridge and Dr. Alexander McClelland, have left sketches of his life and
work. Written long after Doctor Anderson's death, their affectionate tributes to the memory of
their teacher and friend furnish signal proof of the profound impression that he had made upon
their minds and hearts. Unquestionably, as these students saw him and as others associated with
him marked him, he must have possessed in notable degree that grace which our Lord
distinguishes as meriting the first beatitude. This spirit of meekness and lowliness was all the
more noticeable because his natural temperament made him somewhat easily provoked and
impatient of contradiction. Occasionally in earnest discussion of vital principles the law in his
members would gain a momentary ascendancy. "This did not often happen, but when it did, he
would at once withdraw that he might be alone with God, and on his return he would manifest
the deepest penitence and would solicit again and again the pardon of those against whom he had
spoken with severity, confessing with the greatest grief this infirmity of his nature. The poverty
in spirit that was so manifest in the
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life of Doctor Anderson was accompanied by the complemental grace of godtliness in such
degree as elicited from his students a tribute of reverence as profound as may warrantably be
tendered to mortal man. Doctor Beveridge writes : "The trait of character for which he was most
eminent, and which made him seem like one not belonging to the age in which he lived was his
extraordinary piety. Few if any in modern times have lived so near heaven as did this venerable
man. A large portion of his time, both evening and morning, he spent in secret prayer, in reading
the Scriptures and in spiritual conversation."
The Seminary at Service.—It was left with Doctor Anderson to make selection of a site for the
seminary building which should serve as the center of theological training for the Associate
church. For his own convenience he decided upon a location near his own cabin home, since the
duties of his double pastoral charge required him to remain within its bounds ; and for the
accommodation of the students a small two-story log house was erected. Here, from 1794 until
1821, the school of the prophets that was to have so large place in the life of the church
remained, sheltering and furnishing for their office as ministers of the Word young men who
came from regions near at hand or far removed. Probably at no time were there more than ten
students in attendance, and usually there were but five or six ; yet the expense of time and labor
in serving these was as great as if the number had many times been multiplied.
It had often been admitted that a change of location would be desirable, especially in view of the
inconvenience that was experienced by students fr0m distant points who must journey over great
stretches of sparsely settled territory; but so long as Doctor Anderson might be able to perform
the duties laid upon him no one would venture to propose a removal. However, when in 1819 the
venerable professor announced his purpose to resign his office, plans were laid for the
establishment of an eastern branch of the seminary at Philadelphia. They were carried out in 1820
by the election of the Rev. John Banks, D. D., to be the head of the new institution. Doctor Banks
was at that time pastor of an Associate church in that city, and also filled a professorship in the
University of Pennsylvania. He was a linguist of great attainment—without superior in America
at that day—and was eminently qualified to lead students out into the vast fields of Biblical
literature. Doctor Banks was the sole professor in the Philadelphia branch from its opening until
his death in 1826. No successor was selected, as the impression began to prevail that it would be
the part of wisdom for the synod to return to the policy of maintaining one seminary.
Accordingly the eastern contingent was reunited with the western in 1828.
The Seminary at Canonsburg.—The Service Seminary continued to hold the field in the west
until the election of the Rev. James Ramsey, of Canons-
472 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
burg, Pennsylvania, to succeed Doctor Anderson. In this case, as was the rule in those days, the
professor was the seminary, and the parsonage, located on a farm one mile from the town,
became the resort of young candidates for the ministry. While the action of synod uniting the two
divisions of the semtinary was taken in 1828 it was not fully carried out until 1830, when it was
resolved to erect a building in Canonsburg and to consummate the union by electing Doctor
Ramsey to the professorship of the reunited branches. The choice of Canonsburg as the new site
of the seminary was for many reasons most favorable. The town was a center of educational
influence of the most pronounced religious type. It may well be reckoned also as, at that time, the
very heart of the Associate church. The service rendered to the cause of Christ at home and
abroad during the seminary's continuance there—a full generation, 182 I - I 855—is incalculably
great.
The Seminary at Xenia.—Deeming it wise to conserve and also to increase her interests in the
rapidly expanding western fields, the synod detertmined to make another change of location for
the seminary ; accordingly it was transferred to Xenia, Ohio, in 1855. Dr. Abraham Anderson,
who had occupied the chair of didactic and polemic theology for eight years, 1847-1855, died on
the 8th of May of the latter year, and at the next succeeding meeting of synod the Rev. Samuel
Wilson, D. D., pastor of the Associate congregation of Xenia, was chosen as his successor. The
one remaining professor at Canonsburg, Dr. Thomas Beveridge, had been pastor of the same
congregation from 1821 to 1824 ; hence these teachers were not strangers to each other nor to the
community to which the seminary was now to be removed. Establishment in the new quarters
was somewhat delayed owing to the unfinished state of the building provided, but when this had
been completed the seminary was quite as comfortably domiciled as similar institutions of that
day. In 1879 a larger and more commodious building was acquired through purchase and
exchange, affording, in addition to class-room and library, dormitory privileges for fifty students.
This building is now wholly reserved for the accommodation of the young men of the
seminary—the new structure, dedicated October 10, 1905, and designated "Anderson Hall,"
furnishing chapel, library and recitation rooms.
The Seminary of. the Associate Reformed Church.—The Xenia Theological Seminary claims to
have succeeded also to the rights and titles of Oxford and Monmouth, hence a brief sketch of
these seminaries will be given in this connection.
The founding of Oxford Seminary dates from the year 1837, when, at its meeting in. October of
that year, the Associate Reformed synod resolved to remove its seminary from Pittsburgh to
Oxford, Ohio. The eastern part of this church was not pleased with this action, and at the next
meeting of synod the opposition was sufficiently strong to revoke the order of the former
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 473
meeting, and also to transmit to the presbyteries an overture to determine the permanent location
of the seminary; At the same time the question of a division of the synod into two coordinate
synods, subordinate to a delegated general synod, was placed before the church in overture. The
result of the vote in presbyteries was held to justify this division, and to warrant the rettention of
the seminary at Pittsburgh and the establishment of another at Oxford. each seminary to be under
the control of the synod in whose bounds it had location. The first session of the Oxford
Seminary was opened late in the autumn of 1839, the Rev. Joseph Claybaugh, D. D., and the
Rev. S. W. McCracken having the work in charge. Doctor Claybaugh was practically the sole
professor from the date of the opening until that of his death, September 9, 1855. Temporary
arrangements were made for students in atttendance during the session 1855-1856, and at the
meeting of the synod held in the latter year, the Rev. Alexander Young, D. D., was chosen to
succeed Doctor Claybaugh, and the appointment of the Rev. William Davidson, D. D., as
temporary instructor was continued. Doctor Young entered upon the work to which he had been
called in the fall of 1855 ; but at the meeting of synod in 1857 action was taken in view of the
prospect for union with the Associate church, transferring the seminary to Monmouth, Illinois, in
order that one of the four seminaries of the united church might be in the west. Doctor Young
accompanied the seminary to its western home, and in connection with Dr. John Scott, continued
with it throughout the whole period of its history in Monmouth. Dr. A. M. Black also served the
church as teacher in this seminary from 1864 to 1874, and Dr. David A. Wallace from 1867 to
1870. In 1874 a second removal was made and Monmouth Seminary was consolitdated with the
Xenia Seminary, one of the conditions of the transfer being that the synod of. Illinois should
share in the management of Xenia Seminary, and the Second synod should join in the control of
Monmouth College.
Professors.—During the one hundred and twentytthree years of the seminary's history, under
various names and in different places, in all twentytnine men have served as professors for more
or less extended periods of time, as follows : John Anderson, 1794-1819; John Banks, 1820-26;
James Ramsey, 1821-42; David Carson, 1834; Thomas Beveridge, 1835-55; Thomas Beveridge,
1855t71; Joseph Claybaugh, 1839-55 ; Samuel W. McCracken, 183940; James Martin, 1842-46;
Abraham Anderson, 1847-55; Samuel Wilson, 1855-75 ; William Davidson, 1855-58; Alexander
Young, 1855-57; Alexander Young. 1858-74 ; John Scott, 1858-74; Joseph Clokey, 1858-73;
Andrew M. Black, 1864 ; David A. Wallace, 1867-70; David A. Wallace, 1883; William Bruce,
1871-80 ; James G. Carson, 1873-88 ; William G. Moorehead, 1873- 1914; Jackson B.
McMichael, 1873-78; James Harper, 1879-99; David MacDill, 1884-1902 ; Wilbert W. White,
1889-94; John D. Irons, 1895-1905 Joseph Kyle, 1899; Jesse Johnson, 1902; John E. Wishart,
1905 ; John H.
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Webster, 1908; Melvin G. Kyle, 1914. The last five now constitute the faculty.
Present Conditions.--The service rendered by this seminary has been of such character as to call
out in many instances kindly recognition on the part of the church. Bible institutes and
theological seminaries located in larger cities have made specious representations of the
supposed advantages, ecclesiastical and sociological, which may be found in such communities.
It may be said for Xenia that, in the exemplifications of standards of pulpit ministration and in
the provision made for practical Christian service, her churches are not one whit behind those of
more populous places ; while her public institutions open to evangelistic ministry afford the
student the finest fields for exercise such as will fit him for his calling in after years. It may
rightfully be claimed. also, that every sociological problem with which the present-day pastor
will be confronted may be met as definitely and studied as thoroughly in the cities that have ten
thousand inhabitants as in those that have a population of half a million. On the present home of
the seminary there has been no extravagant outlay, but in all things that minister to the student's
health, comfort, convenience, and recreation, Xenia's buildings and grounds are second to none
in all the land ; while in point of helpful influence, social, moral and spiritual, no other
community furnishes better advantages. The rooms of the dormitory are all large and well
ventilated, are furnished throughout and are warmed by steam.
In closing this sketch it will not be out of place to direct attention to the fact that Xenia's
graduates constitute thirty-six and one-half per cent. of the ministry of the United Presbyterian
church at the present time, not reckoning native ministers of India and Egypt. At least ten other
seminaries have representatives among those of the other sixty-three and one-half per cent. of the
church's ministerial strength. Of the 559 ministers in the part of the church west of Pennsylvania
to the Pacific coast according to the Assembly's minutes, 269 are graduates of Xenia Seminary,
but ten less than one-half. The seminary is under the direction of a board of managers
representing the Second synod (Ohio and Indiana), the synod of Illinois, the synod of Iowa, the
synod of Kansas and the synod of Nebraska, of the United Presbyterian church, with the
following officers : President, C. P. Proudfit, D. D., Des Moines, Iowa; vice-president, John A.
Henderson, D. D., Dayton, Ohio ; secretary, Jesse Johnson, D. D., Xenia ; assistant secretary, T.
Dales Kyle, Xenia. The board of trustees for the current term (1917-19) is composed of B. R.
McClellan, M. D., Xenia; J. M. Prugh, Dayton, Ohio ; John C. Williamson, Xenia ; A. S. Frazer,
LL. D., Xenia ; D. M. Stewart, Xenia ; James Carson, Springfield, Ohio ; Hon. C. H. Kyle,
Xenia; J. S. McCampbell, D. D. S., Xenia ; T. D. Kyle, Xenia ; Joseph Kyle, D. D., LL. D.,
Xenia, ex-officio member, with the following officers : President, Joseph Kyle, D. D., LL. D. ;
sect