<\/p>\n
Most of the early American colleges were founded by religious denominations, and they all, even Harvard, had a hard time financially in their early years. That was certainly true of Colby.<\/p>\n
There have recently come to light a number of letters written between 1823 and 1835 having to do with how students got the money to pay college fees, board, room and incidental expenses.<\/p>\n
Because Colby was founded by Maine Baptists and the original incorporators were all residents of Maine, it has long been supposed that financial help came chiefly from individuals and Baptist Churches in this state. On the other hand it has been well known that there was, as early as 1825, when classes had been held at the college for only seven years, considerable distaste among Maine Baptists about the new college. Many didn’t like Jeremiah Chaplin’s insistence, after Maine became a separate state, on applying to the Maine Legislature to change the name to Waterville College, placing emphasis on the literary or liberal arts side of what had been the Maine Literary and Theological Institution. While the founding of Newton Theological Institution by the Baptists in 1826 seemed reason enough for the Waterville College to abandon its theological course two years later, many leading Baptists in Maine, especially some of the clergy, did not like it, and went so far as to set up for a short time their own theological school at Thomaston. The result was that already meager support of Waterville College by Maine Baptists was further reduced.<\/p>\n
The 46 letters recently discovered reveal how the college was able to keep going during the 1820’s and 1830’s. All of those letters were addressed to various secretaries of the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society, reporting on the status of that society’s beneficiaries at Waterville College, the institution that is now Colby.<\/p>\n
Examination of the record reveals that in the classes that graduated between 1825 and 1835, more than half of each class were given assistance by that Boston society. Without that aid those men would not have been in college at all. Most of them entered only after they had been promised the annual stipend from Boston. The practice of the Society was to have some officer of the college, where it had beneficiaries act as agent for the Society and make reports at the end of each of the three annual terms. In Waterville, the first agent was the president, Jeremiah Chaplin, and about a dozen of the letters carry his signature.<\/p>\n
When Chaplin felt that his duties, especially his long money-raising absences from the campus, demanded another agent, he suggested his faculty colleague stephen Chapin. Chapin soon got the other professor (there were only three including the president) Avery Briggs appointed joint agent with himself.<\/p>\n
Then after Colby’s great year of crisis came in 1833 with the resignation of President Chaplin and two of the professors (by this time the total was 5), one of the two who loyally held on was Prof. George Washington Keely. He became agent for the Boston society, and all the latest letters in the collection were written by him.<\/p>\n
The students who were helped were not all in college classes. In those first years of the college, Chaplin often found eager applicants unprepared to do college work. They could not pass even the lenient oral entrance examinations then used. So he set up a preparatory division within the college, obviously with the purpose of helping certain young men under his wing until they could be made ready to pass the examination. In charge of that kind of prep school was some college senior, who taught the prep boys besides attending his own classes.<\/p>\n
In 1825-26 that teacher was Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who 11 years later would be killed by a mob in Alton, Illinois, because he refused to stop publishing antislavery articles in his weekly paper.<\/p>\n
On March 29, 1823, President Chaplin wrote to the Baptist secretary in Boston: “We are pleased that you granted aid to Clarke. He is now assiduously employed in preparing himself for college, and will do his best to qualify for entrance into the freshman class next August.”<\/p>\n
In the same letter Chaplin acknowledged a gift to the college. “I am grateful to our friends in Roxbury who sent us some fruit trees this spring.” He added, “I shall begin my tour as soon as the mud dried sufficiently for me to go in a chaise. That may not be before the first of May.”<\/p>\n
Typical of the reports favorable to all beneficiaries was Chaplin’s letter of December 3, 1828. “Williams retains high rank as a genius and a scholar. He underwent a serious examination yesterday before the college government (that was the old name for the faculty) augmented by several literary men of this vicinity, and he acquitted himself not only to their satisfaction, but to their expressed admiration. We hope, when leaving our seminary course, he will be assisted by your society to enable him to go through a full theological course at Newton. Garland and Ricker are young men of good promise. They are somewhat lacking in scholarship, but have strong talent in public speaking and should be useful preachers. Rice has not yet entered college, being in our preparatory school, but will enter next autumn.”<\/p>\n
Chaplin spread it on thick when he wanted to get a new name on the list. In 1830 he wrote: “There is another young man here, Harvey Da-.ves, who desires aid from your society. He was here last autumn as a theological student, and then concluded he needed a regular three-year course. During the winter he was employed teaching school. He has now manifested the desire to obtain a thorough education and has begun the study of Latin. Prof. Conant agrees with me that he ought to be encouraged. He is a young man of unquestioned piety and good-natured talents. His discouragement concerning a college course lies in his poverty and his age. He has no property whatever and he is 27 years old. He cherishes the hope, however, that you will aid him to the extent of $50 or $60 a year. He believes that his wife, by her industry and economy, will support the family for several years. He hopes by teaching three or four months a year, and by working in the mechanic shop at the college, to be able to pay the greater part of his expenses. If you can grant him the money, not as a gift but as a loan without interest, he believes he can repay you within a year or two after he has completed the college course,<\/p>\n
One amazing thing we learn from these letters is how little time the students spent at the college. They were constantly being granted an absence to teach or preach, and sometimes they stayed away for more than a term. It is commendable that most of them did eventually graduate, and those who took absence of no more than one term at a time usually graduated with their class.<\/p>\n
Listen to what President Chaplin wrote the Baptist Society in 1830: “Your letter enclosing a draft on the Globe Bank for $108 was duly received. As it contained no direction regarding division of the money, I decided to divide it equally among Bliss, Ricker and Rice, giving each $36.<\/p>\n
“As Garland had been absent more than a year and a half. I felt he had no claim on your society. Mason has been absent four or five months, and was besides considered not sufficiently economical in his expenses. I thought it inexpedient to allow him any part of the money.” The college was indeed small in those days. In the same letter Chaplin said, “We have admitted eight for the fall term and expect at least 15 when classes commence.”<\/p>\n
President Chaplin considered it his duty to be frank with the Boston society concerning their beneficiaries. In 1831 he wrote: “I regret to state that Bliss and Rice have greatly changed as to their religious character. Although change does not imply immorality, they did not advance their profession as Christians, and in their deportment they did not distinguish themselves from unconverted men.<\/p>\n
“As for Parker, while away he evidently did not study as he had promised. With respect to his talents as a preacher I can say nothing, as I have never heard him. I have some doubt about his economy and practical common sense.”<\/p>\n
In another letter Chaplin became unusually explicit. “While most of your beneficiaries have conducted themselves well during the term, I cannot say that of Edwards. A member of the Second Church of Salem, he came to us well recommended, and I at first had a favorable impression of him. But recently some things have happened that caused me to change my opinion. A short time ago he requested permission of the college government to leave, alleging that circumstances rendered it necessary for him to teach school. His request was granted. We supposed he intended to return, but on being informed by one of the offices that he would be examined when he returned, he said he had decided to sever his connection with the college and of course would not report for examination.<\/p>\n
Then we had reports unfavorable to his reputation. I investigated those reports carefully and learned that he had been negligent in study, had not paid for his board and washing, and had conducted himself indiscreetly at his boarding place, and had plunged foolishly into debt. He told fellow students he had given up the idea of studying for the ministry.”<\/p>\n
In a letter written in 1828, Chaplin complained of the long absences of ministerial students and lamented even more what he considered the cause of those absences. This is what he wrote: “Cummings is now at Salisbury, N. H. and has been there during the whole term. He expects to settle there soon after commencement. After the term began he wrote to the college government giving several reasons for leave of absence such as the divided state of the church and society previous to his coming, and the prospect of a happy union if he remained. The college government considered his reasons sufficient and granted the leave.<\/p>\n
“Garland and Merchant have been here all this term but both want leave for at least a part of next term.<\/p>\n
“Dodge has leave for six months, first to teach at Hampden Academy, then to go to New Hampton to preach.<\/p>\n
“Freeman, last vacation, went to Eastport for his health and on business for the college. He expected to return when this term commenced, but he was asked to take the place of Mr. Merriam in the Eastport church while the latter was holding revival services in Halifax. When Mr. Merriam returned, Freeman started for Waterville but was taken sick and is now with relatives in St. John, N. B.<\/p>\n
“Ropes spent the winter at Machias and expected to return with Freeman. He did come with Freeman as far as Camden, when Freeman’s illness and departure for St. John delayed him. Owing to the peculiar state of the Camden church, Ropes was prevailed to stay there through this term and the next vacation. It is a subject of deep regret to us that young men of this college should so often be urged by the churches to stay out, and that they so often yield to that solicitation.”<\/p>\n
The help these young men received from the Boston society was, by today’s standard very modest indeed; but they didn’t need much to meet college expenses. Tuition was only $4 for each of the three terms, or $12 a year. Room rent was $3 a term, $9 a year. The college had not yet started its commons to feed the students, but the price of board and washing in private homes was $1 the Greek and Latin texts most used – could be rented from the college for 25 cents a term for each book. The text in mathematics was usually furnished at a cost of 50 cents each. Even if a student bought all his textbooks the cost did not exceed $5 a year.<\/p>\n
Year: 1976<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #1103, Broadcast on December 5, 1976<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35493,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9660"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}