1869. The history of the class of 1869, Amherst College ... 1889 online

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1869



THE' HISTORY



OF THE



CLASS OF 1869

AMHERST COLLEGE
"LIGHT"



1889



NEW YORK

PRESS OF STYLES & CASH, 77 EIGHTH AVENUE






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Katonah, N. Y., June 26, 1889.
My Dear Classmates : A second edition
of the History of the Class of 1869 of Amherst
College, covering the entire period of twenty-
years since our graduation, is now offered to
your kind consideration. It was planned to
have it ready for distribution at our reunion
at Amherst, July 3d, but a delay of a few
days has become necessary. The great
majority of the class have responded to the
appeal for information with a promptness
most delightful, but a few have waited for a
second or third prodding, and they must
bear a large measure of responsibility for the
delay, Our most efficient Secretary, W.
Reynolds Brown, gave the undertaking a vig-
orous start in the circular letter sent out last
March. Since then the pressure of his busi-
ness cares has been such that the task of edit-
ing the material gathered has devolved upon
the undersigned. There have been many
pleasant features of this work, and if the
result prove of any interest and value to you,
and serve to strengthen the bond of class



fellowship, I shall feel amply repaid for the
time and trouble it has cost me. The im-
portant matter of publishing the history has
been under the supervision of Donald, who
very kindly assumed that care.

Errors and omissions cannot of course be
avoided with the utmost precaution against
them. Your indulgence in this matter is
confidently asked, and an early correction
will make future work of this kind easier and
more complete.

Five more of our number have won stars
in our record since 1879 — E. A. Adams,
Emmons, Fuller, Warn, and Chittenden.
Adams and Warn died on the same day,
January 7, 1882.

With the exception of L. E. Wells, M.D.,
everyone, both of the graduate and non-
graduate members, has been heard from.

The pages devoted to statistics with their
totals of eighty-seven boys and seventy-four
girls are pleasant reading, but the frequent
stars upon these pages witness that some of
our number have passed through deep waters,
and call forth our loving sympathy.

Only five of our graduate members and



two of the non-graduates remain in a frac-
tional condition and refuse to be reduced to
unity. Not all of these cases are hopeless,
but some we fear are.

Let all have photographs taken during
January, 1894, and then expect a third, illus-
trated edition of our history for our quarter
centennial.

Very truly yours,

John H. Eastman,



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

GRADUATE MEMBERS OF

THE CLASS.

* Edward Austin Adams, son of Austin
and Almira (Stearns) Adams, was born May
5, 1848, at Lawrence, Mass. He prepared
for college at Oakham, Mass., where his
parents resided at the time he entered col-
lege. During the first three years after
graduation he was engaged in teaching at
Cummington, Mass., Spring Run, Penn., and
Cornwall, N. Y. In October, 1872, he com-
menced the study of medicine with D. W.
Miner, M.D., of Ware, Mass. His medical
studies were subsequently pursued at the
Medical Department of the New York Uni-
versity, and at the Buffalo Medical College.
From the latter institution he received the
degree of M. D. in February, 1876, and soon
after became Assistant Physician at the State
Asylum for the Insane, Kalamazoo, Mich.,
where he still remains. The institution at
present contains 560 patients, of whom
Adams has immediate charge of about 120,
visiting them twice daily. The nature of his



CLASS OF iSbq



professional work is leading him in his
studies to give especial attention to biological
science.

This report of our classmate appeared in
our Decennial Record, and we were permitted
to greet him at our Reunion in 1879. But
when we came together again in 1884, a ten-
der and impressive feature of our meeting
was the recital of his sad death, given us by
his chum, R. M. Woods. The latter has
kindly furnished the following sketch in
memory of one beloved by us all : —

At the time of his death, Dr. Adams was
Assistant Medical Superintendent of the
Michigan Asylum for the Insane in Kala-
mazoo. While on his daily round of inspec-
tion he was assaulted and stabbed by one of
the patients. This assault took place Friday
morning, Jan. 6, 1882. Death followed at
six o'clock the following morning. This
patient had previously threatened Adams'
life, and on this account had been carefully
searched, but nothing was found in his pos-
session of a dangerous character. His enmity
was due to a suspicion that the Doctor failed
to forward letters he had written. The wound
seems at no time to have given much pain.
Adams only became aware of it by the appear-
ance of blood, and was slow to believe himself



AMHERST COLLEGE



seriously hurt. But when examination made
evident the nature of the injury, he recog-
nized at once what the end would be. Mani-
festing no agitation, his feeling found expres-
sion only in a few words of sympathy for his
friends at home.

Since graduation Dr. Adams had changed
as little as any member of '69. He was " the
Doctor " still. In figure, he remained slender.
In his movements, he was quick and nervous.
There were still frequent indications of that
shyness and reserve which characterized him
in College. He was as honest and guileless
the last day of his life, as he v/as in boyhood.

It was predicted when Adams was at Am-
herst that his shyness and what some call
" ignorance of the world " would prove grave,
if not insurmountable, obstacles in the way
of his success in life. But, if they were ob-
stacles, they were nobly mastered. At his
death Adams had gained the position and
reputation of a rising man in his profession.
Always in connection with his regular work,
he pursued some independent line of investi-
gation. The position which he held, he had
gained by repeated promotions in the service
of the State. His skill and usefulness as a
physician received many marked recognitions.

The doctor won friends wherever he was



CLASS OF i8bQ



known. He was a favorite with the officers
and attendants at the institution, and the
patients generally were fond of him. Those
who remember his aversion to composi-
tion will be interested to learn that Adams'
letters to the friends of patients in the asylum
were particularly admired. They were always
so honest and clear in the information they
gave, always so kind in spirit.

It is hardly necessary to dwell at length on
Adams' success in college, nor on the affection
in which he was held by his classmates.
Quick to appreciate fun, even at his own
expense, frank and decided in the expression
of his opinion, eager and enthusiastic as a
student, he entered heartily into every phase
of college life. Some who came to him ten
minutes before the recitation, and asked him
to translate the Greek for the day, can testify
to his unselfishness. Those who argued
with him, competed with him for honors, or
played with him at practical jokes, all knew
how free he was from anything that savored
of envy, or anger, or malice.

He left, at his death, a father and mother,
two sisters, and a brother, all living in Oakham.
He was the oldest of the children — the com-
mon object of affection and admiration. His
annual visit was the event of the year. His



AMHERST COLLEGE II

invalid brother lived in anticipation of the
doctor's return. His funeral was attended at
Oakham, where the services were conducted
by his college chum.

Singularly guileless in spirit, pure in life,
chaste in word, to the end he kept himself
"unspotted from the world." One of the
youngest of the class, his sad end seemed
not like the fall of a man, but the striking
down of a noble boy.

Our cause of sorrow must not be measured
by his worth, for then '* it had no end."

The following resolutions will be of interest,
as showing the high esteem in which he was
held by his professional associates.

At a meeting of the Trustees of the
Michigan Asylum for the Insane, Kalamazoo,
held Jan. 26, 1882, the following preamble
and resolutions were unanimously adopted:

Whereas, Our late friend, Dr. Edward A.
Adams, the Assistant Medical Superintendent
of this Institution, has been suddenly stricken
down, while at his post of duty, in the prime
of manhood, and in the midst of his useful-
ness, and,

Whereas, The purity of his private life, his
unfailing gentleness and sincerity, his refine-
ment and courtesy, as well as the zeal, fidelity
and intelligence with which he discharged his



12 CLASS OF i8bQ



official duties, render it fitting that we place
upon record our high appreciation of his per-
sonal character, and his services to suffering
humanity ; therefore

Resolved^ That the untimely death of Dr.
Adams is a calamity to the Institution, and
an irreparable personal loss to all who knew
him.

Resolved, That we desire to express to his
afflicted friends our sense of their loss and
our profound sympathy in their bereavement.

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread
upon the minutes of the meeting and a copy
of the same be forwarded to the parents of
the deceased.

Charles Herbert Allen was born in
Lowell, Mass., April 15, 1848, and prepared
for college in the High School of his native
city. After graduation he engaged in busi-
ness, and since January 1, 1875, has been a
member of the firm of Otis Allen & Son,
extensive manufacturers of lumber at Lowell.
Taking an active part in public affairs, iden-
tified with the interests of his city and emin-
ently successful in business, he has from time
to time been called to a prominent share in
the direction of the educational and other
public institutions of Lowell. But a wider



AMHERST COLLEGE



13



sphere of public service soon summoned him,
and at our class reunion in 1884 we were
happy to welcome the Hon. C. H. Allen,
who, after two terms (1880-82) in the Mas-
sachusetts House of Representatives, had
just completed a term in the State Senate,
He was also Col. Allen, and we felt proud of
our representative upon Gov. Robinson's
Staff at that Commencement. We felt that
these were but the first upward steps of a
rising man, and were not surprised to learn a
few months later that our classmate had been
chosen to represent the Eighth District of
Massachusetts in the Forty-ninth Congress,
Two years later he was re-elected and served
with distinction in the Fiftieth Congress, his
second term ending March 4, 1889. Last
autumn, but for his peremptorily declining
the honor, he would have received a unani-
mous renomination for a third term.

Allen's career in the service of his State and
of the Nation has been a most honorable
one, and the Class of '69 heartily joins in the
abundant commendation it has received. He
was recognized as one of the working mem-
bers of Congress, faithful to the interests of
his constituents, and taking an intelligent
and eloquent part in the discussion of the
important questions affecting the welfare of



14



CLASS OF il



the whole country. It is emphatic but well-
merited praise to say that he achieved dis-
tinction among the Congressmen of a State
whose Representatives have always stood in
the first rank of our National Legislators.
A member of our class, meeting not long ago
a representative of one of Lowell's greatest
industries, asked him if he knew Congress-
man Allen of his district. *' Know him," he
replied, " everybody knows him. He stepped
into the shoes of one of the ablest men we
have had for years, and while people were
wondering how he would manage to get
along, he stepped out in advance of his
predecessor and has continuously acquitted
himself with distinction and honor. Know
Charlie Allen ! I rather think I do."

In the Forty-ninth Congress Allen was a
member of the Committee on Indian Affairs,
and his maiden speech was delivered March
11, 1886, upon a bill affecting some of the
Indian tribes. Another noteworthy speech
was made January 20, 1887, upon the Inter-
State Commerce Bill, and during the same
session he was one of the speakers at the
service in memory of the Hon. Austin F.
Pike, Senator from New Hampshire, who
had been an old friend of his father. We
find him taking an active part in the great



AMHERST COLLEGE



15



Tariff discussion of 1888, making several
speeches, which evince a thorough study of
the questions involved, and present them
with a wealth of pointed illustration, and
frequent play of humor and sarcasm which
have given them a charm for your historian
not possessed by the ordinary treatise on
Political Economy. January 19, 1888, a
special service was held in connection with
the presentation to the House of portraits of
former Speakers, who had been Representa-
tives from Massachusetts. Our classmate
was the orator chosen to present the portrait
of the Hon. Joseph Bradley Varnum, and his
speech on that occasion richly merited the
praise given it by the leading papers of the
country.

It may be well to state that these facts
have been obtained from a careful observa-
tion of Allen's Congressional career, the gen-
tleman himself in his report for the class
history disposing of these four years in as
many lines. Though retiring for the present
to private life, we confidently expect letters
from our sons in the not distant future
describing Commencement at old Amherst
honored by the presence of Gov. Allen and
Staff.

Allen was married November 10, 1870, at



l6 CLASS OF li



Manchester, N. H., to Miss Harriet Coleman
Dean. They have two children, Bertha, born
April 2, 1872, and Louise, born February 25,
1875. His residence is 411 Middlesex Street,
Lowell, Mass.

William Osborn Ballantine was born
at Ahmednagar, India, February 9, 1849.
His preparation for college was made at
home under the instruction of his father, the
Rev. Henry Ballantine, for many years an
honored missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. in
India. The three years following graduation
were spent in New York City, studying medi-
cine, and he received the degree of M. D
February 21, 1872, from the New York
University. During the year 1872 he filled
the position of house surgeon in the Colored
Home in New York City. In 1873 he
removed to Columbus, Ohio, where he prac-
ticed his profession for about a year. Called
home to Amherst by his mother's death, he
soon after received an appointment from the
American Board to engage in missionary
work in India. January 6, 1875, he was
married to Miss Alice Cary Parsons, at East-
hampton, Mass., and they embarked for India
January 23, 1875. About a month was spent
in England and on the Continent, while on



AMHERST COLLEGE



17



their way to India, where they arrived April
18. During his residence in India he has
combined the work of a physician and a mis-
sionary, dividing his time between Ahmed-
nagar, a city of 36,000 inhabitants, and
Rahuri, twenty-two miles distant. In his
latter capacity he has had the superintendency
of a station and several out-stations, with a
number of native preachers and teachers
under his charge. In connection with his
medical work he had charge of a dispensary
at Ahmednagar, and has met with gratifying
success. In 1879 he was employed by the
British Government on special duty to report
concerning the famine. Mrs. Ballantine died
September 9, 1878. In June, 1883, he re-
turned to America for a vacation, and
remained until October, 1885. He was thus
able to be present at the reunion of the class
at Amherst in 1884. During his stay in
America he took a partial course in theology
at Andover Seminary, and was ordained to
the work of the ministry, July 8, 1885, by a
council held in Pilgrim Church, Dorchester,
Mass.

He was married August 20, 1885, at Fitch-
burg, Mass., to Miss Josephine Louise Perkins,
and returned to India with his wife soon
after their marriage. Since his return he has



1 8 CLASS OF It



been stationed chiefly at Rahuri, where he
has carried on dispensary and educational
work, and has had charge of nearly the same
out-stations as formerly.

A young missionary is in training now in
their home, Joseph William Ballantine, born
July 30, 1888. A letter has recently been
received bearing date, Rahuri, Western India,
April 3, 1889, in which Ballantine writes :

" I wish very much I could be present at
the next class reunion. I am hoping to send
my wife and child for a six-months' vacation
to America, but I must stay by the work
here for the present, especially as I feel so
well and hearty as I do. You must tell the
boys that I will remember them when they
meet together again, and shall try to picture
to myself much of what will be said and
done on that occasion. If all or any one in
the class feel disposed to make a donation
toward my dispensary work, or toward the
building of some new school house in the
district, 1 certainly shall be glad to give them
the privilege of doing so. The people are
beginning more and more to appreciate our
work and to clamor for schools and education.

" The same is the case with regard to the
practice of medicine. Each year sees the
people appreciate medical work done for



AMHERST COLLEGE ig

them, and large numbers flock to us for
treatment,"



William Marsh Benedict was born in
the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., November 17,
1847. His preparation for college was made
at the Polytechnic Institute of that city.
After graduation he began the study of law
in the office of S. T. Freeman, New York
City, where he remained until the following
spring. He then entered the office of William
L. Gill, of Brooklyn, but after a few months
was obliged to discontinue study on account
of ill health.

In September, 1870, he was able to resume
his law studies with the firm of Lewis & Mac-
Kay, Brooklyn, where he remained until
admitted to the bar September 15, 1871. He
began the practice of law in Brooklyn, but in
February, 1873, was prostrated with a severe
nervous illness, confining him to his room
until the following May, when he took a trip
to Europe, remaining abroad until the Septem-
ber following. On his return he resumed his
law practice in Brooklyn. In May, 1875, he
went abroad again, with an invalid sister.
Returning in September he resumed his
practice at 367 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, and in
New York City. His present office is at 219
Montague Street, Brooklyn.



CLASS OF i8bq



He was married October 10, 1878, to Miss
Grace Dillingham, of Brooklyn, and a gradu-
ate of Vassar College, Class of 74. They
reside at 225 Cumberland Street, Brooklyn,
and have two children, Melissa M., born
August 17, 1879 ; and Susan D,, born May
5, 1881.

Edward Augustine Benner was born at
East Pittston, Me., March 31, 1848, and fitted
for college at the High School, Lowell, Mass.
After graduation he devoted two years to
teaching in a preparatory school for boys, at
Cornwall, N. Y. In the autumn of 1871 he
began his studies at Andover Theological
Seminary, graduating in 1874. The following
September he accepted the professorship of
Mathematics in Drury College, Springfield,
Mo. Here he remained for three years until
1877, when ill-health from chronic bronchitis
obliged him to resign his professorship, and
to spend a year in rest at his old home in
Lowell, Mass. In 1878 he accepted a pro-
fessorship in Colorado College, and was
detailed to have charge of an academy at
Salt Lake City. This position he still occupies,
having the supervision of the New West
Education Commissions* work in Utah.
Benner simply writes : *' I am still pushing



\MHERST COLLEGE



Salt Lake Academy, which has obtained some
credit in this region." The fact is, that it is
impossible to exaggerate the importance of the
work he has been doing in its bearing upon
a satisfactory solution of the perplexing
Mormon problem. The institution over
which he presides has made most encouraging
progress under his energetic and wise admin-
istration, and occupies a leading position in
the educational work which is doing so much
to undermine Mormonism. We are glad to
know that his health was restored ten years
ago when he first came to Zion.

Benner was married August 31, 1874, at
Lowell, Mass., to Miss Mary S. Carter. They
have five children, Caroline Frances, born
May 26, 1875 ; Burnham Carter, born May
6, 1877; Edward Hopkins, born July 12, 1878;
Mary Katharine, born February 20, 1884, and
Allen, born March 17, 1885.

Joseph Hegeman Bogart was born at
Roslyn, L. I., November 11, 1846, and pre-
pared for college at Flushing Institute,
Flushing, L. I.

The autumn of 1869 found him beginning
his medical studies at the Dartmouth College
Medical School. His second and third
courses of lectures were taken at Bellevue



CLASS OF i86g



Hospital Medical College, New York City,
where he received the degree of M.D., March
1, 1872. He began practice at once in
Roslyn, L. I., his native place, where he still
resides, attending so closely to his profession
that he has taken a vacation only once in the
last ten years. In 1882 he was appointed
Visiting Physician to the Queens County
Lunatic Asylum, a position which he still
holds. His standing among his professional
brethren is seen in their making him the
President of the Queens County Medical
Society. In 1887 he was elected a member
of the Holland Society of New York City.

For fourteen years he has been a member
of the Board of Education of Roslyn, and his
interest in the welfare of the rising generation
is now greatly increased by having two pro-
spective pupils in his own home. He was
married February 21, 1884, to Miss Ethelena
T. Albertson, of Mineola, L. I. Their two
children are Jennie, born January 23, 1885,
and Ethelena, born June 8, 1888. For the
information of classmates who have not seen
Dr. Bogart, it may be mentioned that he is
much more of a man than in 1869, the per-
pendicular measurement the same, but in
breadth much increased.



AMHERST COLLEGE



23



Clarence Fuller Boyden was born at
Attleboro, Mass., March 5, 1846, and pre-
pared for College at the Stoughtonham Insti-
tute, Sharon, Mass., his home at the time of
entering Amherst.

A professorship in mathematics at the West
was offered him after graduation, but circum-
stances requiring his presence near home, he
accepted the position of master of the North
Providence Grammar School, R. I. Here he
remained during the school year of '69 and
'70. During the following autumn and winter
he was engaged in book-canvassing ; and,
while thus employed, began the study of law
in the office of Judge Allen, of Salem, N. Y.,
continuing his studies there until the spring
of 1872. Called home by the death of his
father, he soon after became sub-master in
the high school in Taunton, Mass., a position
previously filled by Seabury and also by
Chickering. Since that time he has been
connected with the public schools of Taun-
ton as master of the Weir Grammar School,
assistant principal of the High School, and
now as master of the Cohannet Street Gram-
mar School.

He was married July 4, 1876, to Isabelle
H., daughter of James H. Anthony, of Taun-
ton. His present address is 27 Summer St.,
Taunton, Mass.



24 CLASS OF J86g



William Reynolds Brown was born in
New York February 15, 1846, and prepared
for college in his native city. After gradua-
tion two years were spent at Cambridge,
Mass., in the study of law. After receiving
the degree of LL.B. from Harvard University
in 1871, he began at once the practice of his
profession in Morrisania, N. Y., in association
with Judge S. D. Gifford. Two years later
he removed his law office to White Plains, the
county seat of Westchester Co. In 1874 the
law firm became Brown & Westcott, and in
1877 Hall, Brown & Westcott, with offices
both in White Plains and New York City.

This was his status ten years ago. His
residence continues in White Plains, but for
several years his business has been wholly in
New York. In 1882 his partner, Mr. Hall,
left the firm to go on the bench of the City
Court of New York. He continued the
practice of law under the firm name of Brown
& Westcott until 1884, and then for one year
alone. But in 1885 sedentary office life not
agreeing with his health, he decided to give
up the practice of law and devote himself to
a more active out-of-door life in developing
the business of a real estate corporation, at
the head of which he had been for several
years. As President of the Port Morris Land