DKE History
WILLIAM WOODRUFF ATWATER
November 4, 1824 ~ March 15, 1874
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
William Woodruff Atwater was born in New Haven, Nov. 4, 1824, the son of Ira
Atwater, a chief architect and builder, and Roxanna Atwater. His grandfather,
Amos Atwater, a native of Bethany and a resident of Prospect, was descended from
David Atwater, who was among the settlers of New Haven. His mother was the
daughter of Deacon Ebenezer Buckingham.
He fitted for college with Mr. Amos Smith, of New Haven, and entered with the
class. After taking his degree he spent a year in teaching at Goldsboro, N.C.,
and three years in studying theology; two years at New Haven, and one at
Andover, Maine; was licensed to preach August 7, 1849, by Middlesex Association,
Conn.; was ordained December 3, 1850; preached in Lima, Niles and Hudson,
Michigan, about two years each; at Elkhart in Indiana, three years; returned to
Conn. in 1860; was installed pastor in Prospect, October 31 of that year, where
he remained six years. December 17, 1865, he began to preach at Avon, West
Parish. In 1869 he accepted an invitation to preach at South Killingly, where he
now labors (1871).
He expresses his hearty satisfaction with the work of the gospel ministry,
and has been blessed with several revivals of religion among the people of his
charge. He has labored earnestly in the temperance cause, and to improve the
sacred music in his parish. He has occasionally contributed to the newspapers,
and prepared a church manual.
He married Mary Elizabeth Olmstead, September 27, 1847, at Bridgeport, Conn.
They have had five children, viz., William Olmstead, born Nov. 22, 1848 (class
boy), married Jan., 1871; Frank E., born Jan. 5, 1851; Lillian E., born June 9,
1856; Leonard E., born May 31, 1861; Edward L., born June 16,1858, died Feb. 2,
1859.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
President, Beethoven
Teacher, Goldsborough, North Carolina, 1846 -
47
Married May Elizabeth Olmstead, September 27, 1847, Bridgeport,
Connecticut
Andover Theological Seminary, 1847 - 48
Yale College
Department of Theology, 1848 - 50
Home Missionary, Lima, Michigan, 1850 -
52
Congregational Church:
Niles, Michigan, 1852 - 54,
Hudson, Michigan,
1854 - 56,
Elkhart, Indiana, 1856 - 59
Prospect, Connecticut, 1860 -
65
Avon, Connecticut, 1865 - 68
South Killingly, Connecticut, 1869 -
73
Librarian, Law Library, Yale College, 1872 - 74
Clergyman, New Haven,
Connecticut
Deceased: March 15, 1874, New Haven, Connecticut
EDWARD GRIFFIN BARTLETT
January 31, 1824 ~ July 23, 1889
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Edward Griffin Bartlett, son of James and Lucy Bartlett, descended from the
family of that name in Maine, "where for generations they have been farmers,"
was born at Portsmouth, N.H., January 31, 1824. He fitted for college in the law
office of Albert Hatch, Esq., and entered with the class. After graduating, he
went to New York, and was for a time a member of the Union Theological Seminary;
but his health was not firm, and in 1849 he entered the New York University
Medical School. In 1850 he took his M.D., and entered at once into practice.
In January, 1856, he removed to Madison, Wisc., resided there two and a half
years, thereby acquiring a knowledge of
the diseases of the West, and, he
mirthfully adds, "having myself had one not put down in the books, 'land
speculation fever,' which proved only fatal to the amount of money invested, as
the bottom all fell out of the West in 1857."
He returned soon after to New York, and succeeded in securing a lucrative
practice in a few years as a homeopathic physician. He has occasionally written
for the medical journals. His taste for painting he can gratify only to a
limited degree. His voice has lost none of its musical qualities. He married
Jane Ball, only daughter of Dr. A.S. Ball, of New York City on September 24,
1850. They have had eight children, of whom the following survive: Jennie, born
1855; Willie, born 1859 (now at the school of our classmate, Lyon); Helen, born
1863; Lucy, born 1865; Mary, born 1859. Dr. Bartlett is a member of the Broadway
Tabernacle Church, Rev. J.P. Thompson, DD (Yale College 1838), pastor. His
residence is 43 West 11th Street, near 5th Avenue, New York.
From the
1910 DKE CatalogueB.A., Yale College
Founder, DKE
President,
Beethoven
M.D., University of the City of New York, 1850
Married Jane W.
Ball, September 24, 1850, New York City
Physician, Madison, Wisconsin, 1856 -
59
Physician, New York City, 1859 - 89
Deceased: July 23, 1889, Nantucket,
Massachusetts
FREDERIC PETER BELLINGER, JR.
January 22, 1826 ~ October 30, 1849
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Frederic Peter Bellinger, son of Hon. Frederick P. and Mary Bellinger, was
born in Herkimer, N.Y., January 22, 1826. His grandparents, Peter F. Bellinger
and Jacob Weber were among the earliest settlers of the Mohawk Valley. His
Grandfather, Bellinger, was shot while aiding to defend a fort in Herkimer
County during the Revolutionary War.
An elder brother, J.W. Bellinger (Yale College, 1841), died much lamented
while studying for the ministry, 1844.
Bellinger attended school in Utica, but completed his preparation for college
with Rev. Dr. Chassell in Herkimer, and entered with the class. After leaving
college, he entered the law office of Cagger and Hill, in Albany, N.Y., but a
slight hemorrhage of the lungs made it prudent to return home.
He continued the study of the law with Judge Graves, of Herkimer, until his
health failed in the spring of 1849. He died with pulmonary consumption, October
30, 1849. He was buried from the Reformed Dutch Church, of which he was a
member. The sermon was preached by his former teacher and warm friend, Rev. Dr.
Chasell.
His sister, Miss Elizabeth Bellinger, who kindly furnished the above, adds
(what his classmates are ready to believe) that, "He was a general favorite in
this community, and his early death was deeply deplored."
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Law Student:
Albany, New York, 1846 - 47
Herkimer, New York, 1847 -
49
Deceased: October 30, 1849, Herkimer, New York
HENRY CASE
November 19, 1823 ~ March 12, 1884
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Portrait discovered in July, 2008
by Grant D. Burnyeat, Phi Alpha "65
Henry Case was born in Norwich, Conn., November 19, 1823, the son of Deacon
Samuel, of the First Church in that town, and Sally (Bailey) Case.
He fitted for college at the Bacon Academy, Colchester, Conn., Rev. Myron N.
Morris, Preceptor, and entered with the class, having J. W. Backus for his
roommate through the four years. After graduating, he studied law in Norwich,
began successfully its practice at Winchester, Ill., then removed to Middletown,
Conn.
Subsequently he studied theology at New Haven and elsewhere, and was ordained
at Norwich, July 31, 1855. The sermon on that occasion was preached by the Class
Secretary. He went immediately to Ohio, and was stated preacher first at
McConnellsville and afterwards at Cuyahoga Falls. After some years, he resumed
the practice of the law.
At the breaking out of the war, he enlisted, was appointed Colonel of an
Illinois regiment, served four years, and accompanied Sherman on his march to
the sea. On the return of peace, he again opened his office at Jacksonville,
Ill.
A friend writes: "He came near being elected to Congress before the war. He
made a grand officer, and was brevetted Brigadier General since the war. Is a
confirmed bachelor." No answer to the circular. P.O. Address, Jacksonville,
Ill.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Jr. Ex. Speaker
Phi Beta Kappa
Commencement Speaker
School
Principal, Lyme, Connecticut, 1846 - 47
Law Student, Norwich, Connecticut,
1847 -
Lawyer, Winchester, Illinois and Middletown, Connecticut
Yale
College, Department of Theology, 1853 - 55
Pastor of churches in
McConnellsville and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 1855 - 63
Bvt. Brigadier General,
March 16, 1865
Lawyer, Jacksonville, Illinois, 1866 -
Lawyer, Norwich,
Connecticut
Deceased: March 12, 1884, Norwich, Connecticut
GEORGE FOOTE CHESTER
January 31, 1824 ~ December 19, 1889
Lt. Col. George Foote Chester
53rd New York Infantry
Carte-de-Visite image
by R.A. Lewis, New York
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
George Foote Chester was born January 28, 1828 in Lawrenceville, Gwinette
Co., Georgia, the only son of Elisha Walworth Chester, attorney at law, and
Harriett (Bliss) Chester, who were originally from Groton, New London Co., Conn.
While yet a boy, his parents returned north.
From 1839 to 1868 his residence for the most part was in the city of New
York, where he fitted for college with Mr. Charles Wingate; was a part of a year
a member of the New York University, and entered Yale May, 1843. After
graduating, he spent a year reading law and other books. During most of the year
1848 he taught a school in New London, Conn.; thence he returned to New York,
and was admitted to the bar March, 1849.
The winter of 1850 - 51, he spent in Minnesota; but, preferring the East as a
permanent home, returned to New York, and entered in a law partnership with his
father. In April, 1852, he wrote of a visit to New London, ten days previous:
"Am happy to state that I stayed just long enough to break my arm, on the 14th,
by the upsetting of a buggy." At the outbreak of the war, he went out as private
in the 71st Reg. N.Y. State Militia, for three months, sharing in the first
battle of Bull Run. Afterwards he was Captain and Lieut. Col. in the 53rd N.Y.
Reg., and, still later, Colonel of the 101st Reg. N.Y.V. He was "present at the
first battle (Aug., 1862) at Bristow's, three days at the second Bull Run, or
Groverton, three days at Fredericksburg." The regiment, greatly reduced in
numbers, disbanded soon after the Fredericksburg affair.
From 1863 to 1865 he was a dealer in petroleum at Titusville and in New York.
In 1868 removed to Titusville, where he still resides (1871).
An extract from a letter, overflowing with mirthfulness, to a classmate in
1851, is too good to be lost, and reveals, in a characteristic way, the early
and honorable plans of his life: "The goal of my worldly ambition is comfort --
not a name and all sorts of restless successes. If I can peg along without ever,
by a selfish act or an unkind word, permanently embittering a fellow traveler's
happiness; if I can, with all the means in my power, do good to those about me,
quietly and unostentatiously; if, in my case, to use Mr. Swiveller's happy
phrase, 'the wing of friendship shall not moult a feather, but shall ever be
expanded and serene; -- if, added to all this, I may dare to hope, through grace
-- 'To receive my part, Of everlasting treasure, In that just world, where each
man's heart Will be his only measure,' -- Why, then, to use the words of another
good soul, 'I may, possibly, glide down to the silent tomb with a gleam of joy.'
But as for making a tempest in my teapot, doing everything 'on the large,' in
King Cambyses vein,' is not my way. I enjoy too keenly the smoke and bubbling of
other people's uncomfortable kettles."
Twenty years later, alluding to his early idea of "comfort," he says: "I
trust that I have attained to some truer views of life. I am finding comfort in
Sunday school work." A mission school, of which he is superintendent, was
started by his Bible class, is always full, and, as a result, a mission chapel
is now building. He is a communicant of St. James' (Episcopal) Church. He
married Jane Parkin Winthrop at New London, Conn., September 8, 1852. They have
no children. P.O. address, Titusville, Penn.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Teacher, New London, Connecticut, 1848
New York Bar, 1849
Res.,
Minn., 1850 - 51
Married Jane Parkin Winthrop, New London, Connecticut, Sept.
8, 1852
Lawyer, New York, New York 1852 -
Private, 71st New York Infantry,
U.S. Army, 3 months
Colonel, 101st New York Infantry, July 25, 1862
-
Mustered out December 24, 1862
Dealer in petroleum, Titusville,
Pennsylvania, 1863 - 65
Resident of Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1868
-
Counsel, Standard Oil Co., Cleveland, Ohio, 1877 - 80
Deceased: December
19, 1889, San Mateo, Florida
JOHN BUTLER CONYNGHAM
September 29, 1827 ~ May 27, 1871
John Butler Conyngham, one of the 15 founders of DKE, Yale Class of 1846.
Portrait discovered in July, 2007,
by Sam Thomson, Zeta Zeta '67.
Taken from the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College
Class of 1846, published 1871, and from two histories of the Civil War.
John Butler Conyngham, son of Judge John Nesbitt Conyngham and Ruth Ann
(Butler) Conyngham, was born September 29, 1827, in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
His father, a native of Philadelphia, was President Judge of the Eleventh
Judicial District of the State. His mother was a granddaughter of Captain
Zebulon Butler, a Revolutionary officer who commanded the patriots in the battle
of Wyoming, on July 3, 1779.
Conyngham was educated at the Wilkes Barre Academy, and he prepared for
college at St. Paul's College with Dr. William A. Muhlenberg, in College Point,
Long Island, N.Y. He entered Yale College at the beginning of his sophomore
year.
He graduated from Yale in 1846, with all of DKE's founders, and afterward he
studied law for three years at Wilkes Barre. He was admitted to the bar of
Luzerne County at the August term, 1849, and he opened an office there and began
practice. Two years later, in Dec., 1851, he left Wilkes Barre for St. Louis and
practiced law there for five years.
Returning to Wilkes Barre in 1856, he resumed business there, which he
followed successfully until the opening of the Civil War. He had been connected
with the militia, as a member of the Wyoming Light Dragoons, and upon the
outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he volunteered, enlisting as a private at the
first call for three months’ volunteers, in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. He
was chosen 2nd Lieutenant of his company, and on his return he re-entered the
Army for three years or for the war, as Major of the 52nd Pennsylvania
Volunteers, a veteran regiment with which he assisted in recruiting. This
promotion to Major occurred November 5, 1861.
Early in the year 1863, the Fifty-second was sent to the Department of the
South, and here he was engaged in all the operations undertaken for the
reduction of Fort Wagner. The siege was especially severe, and the labor in
making regular approaches, under the sun in a southern climate, was very
wearing. Its fall was a subject of great rejoicing. Upon the reduction of that
fort, Major Conyngham was placed in command of the defenses of Morris
Island.
In the winter of 1863 was sent with his regiment to Port Royal, South
Carolina, where he was detailed by General Terry in April, 1863, to make a night
reconnaissance of Fort Sumter. In November, 1863, he was promoted to the
lieutenant colonelcy, and he went with his command to the Peninsula, and in the
battle of Fair Oaks won the warm commendation of General Naglee, for his courage
and skill displayed in a pressing emergency.
In June, 1864, a scheme was formed for the reduction of Charleston, which
involved the capture of Fort Johnson, across Charleston Harbor. The advance was
to be made in three columns embarked in boats. One o'clock, on the morning of
July 3, was fixed for the embarkation. It was low-tide at that hour, and the
party which the Fifty-second headed had difficulty in crossing the bar which lay
in the way; but that was passed, and when nearing the shore they were
discovered, and the alarm was given. Without quailing before the fire that was
opened upon them, they landed, captured a two-gun battery, drove out the foe,
and, charging the main work 200 yards on, crossed the side of the fort and
gained the coveted position, when it was found that the supporting columns had
failed to follow. No alternative but surrender remained, and the entire party
fell into the hands of the Confederacy.
The advance upon the main work was made in the face of a terrible fire, in
which Colonel Conyngham received a buckshot wound in the cheek. “The boats,”
says General Foster, in orders, “commanded by Colonel Hoyt, Lieutenant-Colonel
Conyngham, Captain Camp, and Lieutenants Stevens and Evans, all of the
Fifty-second, rowed rapidly to the shore, and these officers, with Adjutant
Bunyan (afterwards killed), and 135 men, landed and drove the enemy; but,
deserted by their supports, were obliged to surrender to
superior numbers.
They deserve great credit for their energy in urging their boats forward, and
bringing them through the narrow channel, and the feeling which led them to land
at the head of their men was the prompting of a gallant spirit, which deserves
to find more imitators.”
Colonel Conyngham, with the officers of the party, was confined a number of
months in the prison camps at Charleston, Macon, and Columbia. While a prisoner
at Charleston he was one of the number selected as hostages to be shot in case
of a bombardment of the City by Union forces; however, numerous letters received
by his family afforded cheering evidence of the estimation in which he was held
as a soldier and a gentleman.
In March, 1865, Conyngham was promoted to the colonelcy of his regiment,
which office he held when mustered out of service with his regiment on July 12,
1865.
According to Yale College records, he was present at the College Commencement
in 1865, and soon after he visited Montana. Returning to Pennsylvania, in March,
1867, Col. Conyngham was appointed captain in the 38th infantry, United States
Army, and transferred to the 24th infantry, November, 1869. In 1871 he was
brevetted major and lieutenant colonel for gallant service in the field. During
his term of service in the regular army he was mostly employed on the Indian
frontier.
Near the beginning of 1871, while stationed at Fort Clark, in Texas, he
suffered from apoplexy, followed by Bright’s Disease of the kidney.
His father, a man highly esteemed by the citizens of Luzerne county, in
Pennsylvania, on hearing of his sickness, set out to bring him home; but on the
way, at Magnolia, Mississippi, was killed by a railroad car, February 24, 1871.
Conyngham lived to reach Wilkes Barre, where he died three months after his
father, on May, 28, 1871.
At the 25th reunion of the Yale Class of 1846, a classmate by the name of
Attlee, who knew him well, spoke of him as “A good, solid tough character, of
ancient race, not one to be shaped and twisted by the contact of what it met in
moving about the world.”
Conyngham was connected with the Protestant Episcopal Church. He never
married.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Law student, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, 1846 - 49
Lawyer, Wilkes
Barre, Pennsylvania, 1840 - 51
St. Louis, Missouri, 1851 - 61
Private, Co.
C, 8th Pennsylvania Infantry, U.S. Army, April 22, 1861 -
Second Lieutenant,
1861
Major, 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry, September 28, 1861
Lieutenant
Colonel, January 9, 1864
Colonel, June 3, 1865
Mustered out, July 12,
1865
Res., Mont., 1865
Captain, 38th U.S. Infantry, 1867 -
Deceased:
May 27, 1871, age 43, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
THOMAS ISAAC FRANKLIN
October 10, 1827 ~ 1848
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Thomas Isaac Franklin was born October 10, 1827. He came to college from
Berlin, Maryland. His name first appears on the catalogue in Sophomore year.
After receiving his diploma, he studied law, and was just entering upon its
practice when he died, 1848.
His success in college afforded reasonable ground for the hope that he would
take a high stand in his profession. No reply has been received to inquiries for
fuller particulars of his life.
From the 1910 DKE CatalogueB.A.,
Yale College
Founder, DKE
Jr. Ex. Speaker
Commencement
Speaker
Lawyer, Berlin, Maryland
Deceased: 1848
WILLIAM WALTER HORTON
August 27, 1825 ~ 1865
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
William Walter Horton was born at Huntsville, Alabama, August 27, 1825, and
entered the class. Little has been learned of his history after he graduated. At
the class meeting in 1866, he was reported dead.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Jr. Ex. Speaker
Commencement Speaker
Major, C.S.A., Staff, Gen.
Hagood
Planter, Marengo County, Alabama
Deceased: 1865
WILLIAM BOYD JACOBS
November 1, 1827 ~ March 30, 1905
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
William Boyd Jacobs, the son of Samuel O. and Clara S. Jacobs, was born at
Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1827. He fitted for college at St.
Paul's School, College Point, Long Island, of which Rev. W.A. Muhlenberg, D.D.,
was the principal. He joined theclass at the beginning of sophomore year.
After taking his degree, he engaged in farming and the manufacture of iron at
his native place. For the benefit of his classmates, he states that he is "bald
headed, gray bearded and (irreverent boys would say) pot bellied." In reply to
the circular, he says: "Being generally considered a rusty, crusty old bachelor,
I am tempted to consider your questions as to my 'wife's maiden name, number,
names, ages of children,' as rather impertinent, and intended to ruffle my
amiable temper--but in vain--it can't be done. I know how envious all you
unlucky Benedicts will be, and can, therefore, stand your gibes at my happy
state with serene indifference. However, seriously, I am like Canning's knife
grinder--'Story sir! Bless me, I have none to tell!' I have led a very quiet and
uneventful life since we separated in 1846, having had my share in most of the
comforts of life; though, like every one else, I suppose, I have had my ups and
downs, too. I had hoped to attend the class meeting, but a rather unexpected
pressure of business detained me."
Much to his disappointment, the same thing occurred again at the 25th
anniversary. In reference to the invitation to bring the wives to that meeting,
he says: "My wife would be happy to accept it, but, unfortunately, she died of a
fever induced by cutting her teeth some 35 or 40 years ago." But,
notwithstanding this affliction, he sent the warmest greetings to his
classmates. P.O. address, 1800 Pine Street, Philadelphia, Penn.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Married Abby Bolton, December 4, 1879
Secretary and Treasurer,
Rockhill Iron and Coal Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 1905
Deceased:
March 30, 1905, Windsor, Vermont
EDWARD VanSCHOONHOVEN KINSLEY
July 11, 1825 ~ April 1, 1888
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Edward Van
Schoonhoven Kinsley, the son of Zebina James Duncan Kinsley and Eliza (Van
Schoonhoven) Kinsley, was born at West Point, N.Y., July 11, 1825. He fitted for
college with Hon. A.N. Skinner, at New Haven, and his own father at West Point.
He entered with the class as a freshman. After receiving his diploma, he studied
law, and was admitted to the bar at the November General Term of the Supreme
Court at New York, Nov., 1848. After the death of his father, whom he had aided
in teaching, he succeeded him as principal of the Classical and Mathematical
School at West Point in 1849. Some years later, he made a visit of nearly a year
to Europe, and had a narrow escape from drowning by falling overboard as he was
returning. The death of his father and four sisters was sudden. Two of his
sisters were lost in the burning of the Henry Clay on the Hudson River,
1851.
For several years, he suffered much from ill health. In the autumn of 1867,
he sailed for Europe, and, visiting London, Paris and Madrid, was so much
pleased with his reception at the United States Legation in the latter city,
that he prolonged his stay until March 7, 1868, when, by the aid of the chaplain
of the British Embassy, he was united in marriage to Lizzie L., daughter of Hon.
John P. Hale, American Minister at Madrid. After nine months of journeying
through Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and France, they returned to Madrid, where
he became private secretary to the U.S. Minister, and afterwards for several
months Acting Secretary of Legation. Later, in 1869, he spent several months in
Paris, where a son, John Parker Hale Kinsley, was born, October 2, baptized by
Rev. Dr. Robinson, of the American Chapel, and not long after buried in the
cemetery of Antenie. The next winter he visited Italy, and returning through
Germany reached home at West Point in June, 1870. He attends church at the
Chapel of the Military Academy. P.O. address, West Point, N.Y.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Jr. Ex. Speaker
Phi Beta Kappa
Commencement Speaker
New York
Bar, 1848
Prin., Class., Math and Military School, West Point, New York, 1849
- 55<
Married Elizabeth Little Hale (Mass.) March 7, 1868 at U.S.
Legation, Madrid, Spain
Acting Secretary, U.S. Legation, Madrid, Spain,
1869
Lawyer, Highland Falls, New York
Deceased: Highland Falls, New York,
April 1, 1888
CHESTER NEWELL RIGHTER
September 25, 1824 ~ December 16, 1856
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Chester Newell Righter, son of John and Locky Righter, was born in
Parsippany, N.J., September 25, 1824, fitted for college at Wantage Select
School, Deckertown, N.J., with his uncle, Edward A. Stiles.He joined the class
in October, 1842. As his father was engaged in agricultural, mercantile and
manufacturing business, and greatly desired that after his graduation he should
engage in one of these, he was put, at once, in possession of a store and stock
of goods. His success for a year was such as to show unusual fitness for
practical affairs. But, yielding to his mother's wishes and his own sense of
duty, he gave up business and entered the Yale Divinity School. He was licensed
to preach, in 1849, by Middlesex Association, Connecticut. After completing his
course at New Haven, he spent some time at the Theological Seminary, Andover,
Massachusetts, and preached in various places, with much success. His eyes
failing, he set out for Europe in the spring of 1853, having his classmate Hill
and Rev. S.I. Prime, D.D., for companions. They visited Great Britain and the
Continent, and proceeded, by way of Switzerland and Italy, to Greece and the
Orient. At Jacob's Well, while heroically endeavoring to protect Dr. Prime from
a band of Arab robbers, he was badly wounded by a spear. He returned home after
a year's absence, with much improved health. Being urged to undertake the agency
of the American Bible Society in the Turkish Empire, he accepted the call and
was ordained in the autumn of 1854 to the gospel ministry by the Presbytery at
Newark, N.J. September 30th of that year, he sailed in the Pacific, for
Liverpool, and reached Constantinople December 1. He engaged at once in
distributing Bibles and Testaments among the soldiers of the allied army and
Russian prisoners. This carried him to the front and brought him in pleasant
contact with some of the highest officers of the French and English armies.
Afterwards, in the duties of his agency, he visited Egypt and Palestine, and
proceeded to Eastern Turkey, taking the ruins of Nineveh in his way. He died
December 16, 1856, after a few days' illness, at Diarbekir, in the house of Dr.
Nutting, one of the missionaries of the American Board. His funeral was attended
the next day by Rev. Augustus Walker (Yale College, 1849), Dr. Nutting and
others.
An interesting sketch of his life, with many of his letters, edited by Rev.
S.I. Prime, D.D., was published in 1859 by Sheldon & Co., N.Y., entitled,
"The Bible in the Levant." He never married.
BRIEF BIO
Chester Newell Righter was born in Parsippany, Morris County, New Jersey,
September 25, 1824. He graduated from Yale College in 1846, and subsequently
studied theology at New Haven and Andover.
After traveling in Europe for his health, he was ordained September 22, 1854,
and sailed for the Levant the same year, where, on his arrival, he acted as an
agent of the American Bible Society.
He died at age 32 in Diarbekir, Turkey, December 16, 1856, while raveling the
Middle East as a missionary, working for the American Bible Society.
Excerpt from the chapter "College Life" in "The Bible in the Levant; or the
Life and Letters of the Rev. C. N Righter, Agent of the American Bible Society
in the Levant"
In the fall of 1842 Righter entered Yale College, and after completing his
course of study there and graduating with honor, he pursued the study of
theology at New Haven and Andover. One of his classmates in College, who was
afterwards an intimate friend, and our companion in travel, the Rev. George E.
Hill, has given me a few memoranda of his literary career which I here employ.
"He entered college with high resolutions to lead a life of devotion to study,
and to such discipline of heart as would prepare him for the profession which he
sought. He was regarded by his associates as exceedingly reserved and diffident.
His reputation was that of a diligent student, rather than a social companion,
and rarely did he mingle in the sports of college life.
With his fine talents and this exemplary diligence, it was a matter of course
that his standing as a scholar was high. Modest and retiring, but always a
gentleman in his bearing and address, he was universally respected and esteemed.
Indeed I never knew that he had an enemy. "We were together again in the closing
year of our theological studies, and then for the first time I began really to
know the value of our friend. He was still the same diligent student, but his
soul was now glowing with a warm ambition to be useful in the service of Christ.
His former reserve had melted away. He was ready to speak for his Master, and
earnestly engaged in winning souls for him. This strong desire was seen and felt
in his labors in a Bible class connected with the Centre Church, New Haven.
"I well remember too, the ardor with which he entered upon our first
preaching enterprise, in the little brick schoolhouse at Hampden, five miles
east of the city. Here we held religious service every Sabbath evening, in the
winter's cold, but we were warm for our hearts burned within us, as we walked by
the way. It was then and there, in speaking for the first time as an ambassador
of Christ to his fellow-men, that his tongue was really loosed, and his whole
soul glowed in his earnest face as he besought men to be reconciled to God. How
often on the vessel's deck, and in strange lands beyond the sea, as we have sung
together those familiar songs of Zion, has he spoken of the meetings in the
brick schoolhouse, as among the happiest memories of his student life."Of the
subsequent character and career of our friend and brother I have no need to
write to you, for you knew him afterward, even better than I. But his uniform
benevolence, his unselfishness, his tender regard for the interests and the
feelings of others; his unaffected modesty coupled with a manly heroism that
despised danger and never felt fear; his fervent and consistent piety; his
powers of endurance and his willingness to do and to suffer in the service of
his Master, all this and more you know, and will portray, if you put your pen to
the delightful work of perpetuating the memory of our beloved Righter."
Book Review:
The North American Review, Volume 89, Issue 184, Published July, 1859.
"The Bible in the Levant; or the Life and Letters of the Rev. C. N Righter,
Agent of the American Bible Society in the Levant"
By Samuel Irenaeus Prime
New York: Sheldon & Co. 1859.
This is another book which owes its rich charm and high interest to the
missionary service. It is the story of the life, labors, and early death of one
who, at the age of 32, fell victim to the inhospitable climate which he
encountered in the cause of human salvation.
He was a noble man, a brave and earnest worker, a faithful preacher of
righteousness; and as such he will be inscribed on the martyr roll of Christian
heroes, whose names must brighten in history, as those of conquerors and
destroyers fade from the revering memory of men. The story is told, as far as
was practicable, in Mr. Righter's own letters, and in those which describe his
last days and closing scene. These Mr. Prime has connected by a loving and
graceful narrative.
Book Review:
New Englander and Yale Review, Volume 17, Issue 67, August, 1859.
"The Bible in the Levant; or the Life and Letters of the Rev. C. N. RIGHTER,
Agent of the American Bible Society in the Levant"
By Samuel Irenaeus Prime
New York: Sheldon & Co. 1859.
This book is a sketch of what Mr. Righter did in the last year of his life,
rather than of what he was as a thinker and as a man. Those who knew him as a
student in college and the Theological Seminary, could have told Mr. Prime much
which he did not seem to care to know, else he
would not have been content to give so hasty and superficial a view of the
marked and distinguishing features of so interesting a person. Mr. Righter was
not only the buoyant-spirited, the cheerful and the earnest man whom his
biographer describes but he was also ardent in his pursuit of truth in Science
and Theology, and fearless and independent in the avowal and defense of his
opinions, he was a very ardent admirer and affectionate pupil of the late Dr.
Taylor, his principal Theological teacher. He made special studies of Geology,
Metaphysics, and Literature while a Theological student, and was ever wakeful
and eager to learn whatever might be known.
His modest manners and his symmetrical character veiled and obscured the
force of his intellect and the range of the attainments which he had achieved. A
large circle of friends will value this well-intended memorial to his honor, and
only regret that it is not more complete.
Extracts from Chester Righter's letters and journals can be found in "The
Bible in the Levant; or, The Life and Letters of the Reverend C. N. Righter,
Agent of the American Bible Society in the Levant,"
by Reverend Samuel I. Prime, D. D. (New York, 1859).
Link to the online text
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Jr. Ex. Speaker
Phi Beta Kappa
Commencement Speaker
Yale College
Department of Theology, 1848 - 50
Res. Licentiate, Yale College Department of
Theology, 1850 - 51
Europe and Holy Land, 1853 - 54
Ordained,
1854
Agent, American Bible Society, Turkish Empire, 1854 -
Deceased:
December 16, 1856, age 32, Diarbekir, Turkey
ELISHA BACON SHAPLEIGH
November 6, 1823 ~ December 10, 1892
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Elisha Bacon Shapleigh, son of James Waldron Shapleigh and Hanna (Lee)
Shapleigh, was born at Elliot, York County, Maine, November 6, 1823. His
grandfather, Capt. Elisha Shapleigh, served with honor during the whole of the
Revolutionary War, and at its close marched his company from Philadelphia to
Maine. His grandmother, Elizabeth Waldron Shapleigh, was from Dover, N.H., and
was related to Col. Waldron, the famous Indian fighter. Shapleigh's mother's
father was Rev. Samuel Chandler, Congregational minister of the North Parish, In
Kittery, now Elliot, Maine; a graduate of Harvard, a learned and good man, at
once pastor, schoolmaster, model farmer, gardener, hunter and fisher, whose wife
was Lydia, daughter of Rev. Dr. Spring, the predecessor of her husband and a
graduate of Princeton.
Shapleigh fitted for college at the academy in Elliot and in South Berwick,
with Israel Kimball and Mr. Barry; entered with the class as a freshman, and
after taking his degree, studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania,
where he graduated in 1849. He spent a year in Lowell, then removed to
Philadelphia and engaged with much success in the practice of his profession. He
has written occasional articles for medical journals. He says, "I have a hobby
(who has not?), and intend when I can find time to write on medical
jurisprudence."
"I was very sorry I could not be at the last class meeting (1866), for no one
has a stronger love for old Yale and classmates. I have no reason to complain of
my success in life in any particular, for which I hope to be duly thankful."
He attends St. Jude's Episcopal Church. He married Annie Spackman Loyd at
Philadelphia, June 7, 1864. They have one daughter, Mary Ann, born June 14,
1865. His address is No. 440 North 8th Street, Philadelphia.
BRIEF BIO
Elisha Bacon Shapleigh was born October 6, 1822, the son of James Waldron
Shapleigh and Hannah Lee Chandler Shapleigh. He graduated from Yale College in
1846 and was a physician in Philadelphia.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Linonia
M.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1849
Physician, Lowell,
Massachusetts, 1850
Physician, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1851 -Coroner's
Surg., Philadelphia Co., 1862 - 1874
Married Annie Spackman Loyd,
Philadelphia, June 7, 1864
Member: College of Physicians, Northern Medical
Association, F. & A.M. Club.
Deceased: December 10, 1892, age 70
THOMAS DuBOIS SHERWOOD
October 23, 1823 ~ May 25, 1875
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Thomas DuBois Sherwood was born at Fishkill, Dutchess County, N.Y., October
23, 1823. The son of Samuel and Ruth (DuBois) Sherwood, he prepared for college
at Fishkill and Amenia, and entered with the class as a freshman.
After leaving college, he studied law at New York and New Haven, and engaged
in its practice in the former city with his brother, John D. Sherwood (Yale
College, 1839). With answer to class circular, as a reason for a little delay,
he says, "My calling has been that of asking, and not answering questions.
Again, your questions I consider 'leading,' and hence legally objectionable.
Regret I was not at the class meeting, but (as I wrote to Collins) I did not
intend by my presence to admit that it was 20 years since I graduated." ["E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires." --Sec.]
January 25, 1849, at Boston, Massachusetts, he married Mary, youngest
daughter of Judge Samuel J. Hitchcock (Yale College, 1809), who was a professor
in the Yale Law School. She died at Brooklyn, N.Y., October 13, 1852, leaving
one child, George Spencer Sherwood, born November, 1850. In May, 1858, Sherwood
married, in New York, Fanny A. Fitch, daughter of I.S. Fitch, Esq., of Marshall,
Michigan. She died in New York, August 9, 1868, leaving one child, Catherine
Fitch Sherwood, born June, 1860. Post Office address, New York City.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Fresh. Berkeley Pr. Sec., Linonia
Married Mary Hitchcock, January 25,
1849, New Haven, Connecticut
New York Bar, 1853 -
Lawyer, New York City,
1853 - 75
Married Fanny A. Fitch (Marshall, Michigan) May, 1858 in New York
City
Police Justice, New York City 1873 - 75
Deceased: May 25, 1875, New
York City
ALBERT EVERETT STETSON
May 2, 1826 ~ July 5, 1857
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Albert Everett Stetson was born in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts,
May 2, 1826, the son of Caleb and Susan H. Stetson, who removed to Boston a few
years after his birth. In Boston, his father was for many years a commission
merchant and afterwards President of the Shoe and Leather Dealers' Bank. His
brother, Amos W. Stetson, is now President of the State National Bank, Boston.
He fitted for college at the Leicester Academy, and entered with the class as
a freshman. After graduation, he studied medicine at Harvard; received his M.D.
in 1849, and commenced practice in South Scituate, Maryland. He served one year
in the Legislature as a representative from that town. Finding the long rides,
incident to his profession, injurious to his health, he removed after some years
to Milton and continued in practice there until his death, which occurred in
1857.
He published one or more lectures. He attended the Orthodox Congregational
Church. In 1852, he married Miss Holbrook, the daughter of Henry J. Holbrook,
Esq., of Braintree. They had two children, Francis and Emma Stetson. The boy
died when a few years old.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Fresh. Berkeley Pr.
M.D., Harvard University, 1849
Physician, South
Scituate, Massachusetts, 1849 -
Massachusetts General Ct. House
Married
Miss Holbrook in 1852 in Braintree, Massachusetts
Deceased: July 5, 1857,
Dorchester, Massachusetts
ORSON WILLIAM STOW
May 30, 1820 ~ November 10, 1883
From the 25th Anniversary publication of the Yale College Class
of 1846
~ Published 1871 ~
Orson William Stow was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut May 30, 1820, the son
of Solomon and Eunice (Shepard) Stow. His father was the third of that name in
the family, which was noted for its longevity--one of his ancestors dying at 94,
his great-grandfather at 85, his grandfather at 77, and his father at 75 years
of age.
Stow fitted for college at Southington, with Lewis J. Dudley (Yale College,
1838), afterwards well known to the class as an enthusiastic and highly
successful teacher of Greek, and Rev. George Richards (Yale College, 1840),
afterwards tutor, and pastor of the Central Congregational Church, Boston, and
at Monson, Missouri, with Rev. Charles Hammond (Yale College, 1839).
He entered the class in the spring of 1844, and after graduating, entered the
Yale Divinity School, of which he was a member three years. His health, to his
great disappointment, hindered his asking for approbation to preach, and in
June, 1849, he engaged, in his native place, in manufacturing tools for works in
tin and sheet iron, with his father and brother, hoping soon to be in a
condition to preach. But his health continued poor for eight years, when he
spent nine months in the Water Cure at Northhampton, and obtained much relief.
Since then, he has done an extensive business. He has taken out from 15 to 20
patents, some of which have paid well. In 1866, his factory was burned, and soon
after rebuilt. He took an active part in the formation of the Plantsville
Congregational Church and Society, organized in December, 1865. He has been from
the beginning a Deacon of the Church and Clerk in both; also a liberal supporter
of the enterprise, and a hard worker for its growth, which has been rapid.
He says, "With most of my classmates, I have reached that period of life when
men begin to look back rather than forward." He regards it a kind, though at the
time severely afflictive, dispensation of Divine Providence that shut the door
of the ministry against him, and assigned him his place in Southington. He had
important work to do there.
On June 13, 1849, he married Sarah Walkley in Southington, whom he calls "My
good angel." They have two children, Lucretia Amela, born June 7, 1851, and
Francis Solomon, born April 23, 1863. His daughter, at the date of his letter
(Feb. 20, 1871), was in the freshman class at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. He
also has, since 1863, an adopted daughter, a child of the brother of his wife,
whom the war made an orphan. P.O. address, Plantsville, Connecticut.
Orson William Stow was born May 30, 1820, in Rocky Hill, Middlesex,
Connecticut, one of eight children of Solomon and Eunice Shepard Stow.
In 1871, Stow became vice president of Peck, Stow & Wilcox Manufacturing
Company in Southington, Connecticut, a major tool company formed in 1870
from the merger of the S. Stow Manufacturing Company; Peck, Smith & Co.,
and the Roy's Wilcox Co.
Peck, Stow & Wilcox manufactured and sold bits,
braces, chisels, dividers, draw knives, hammers, household tools, machinist
tools, screwdrivers, tinsmith tools and wrenches. The company marked its tools
with various combinations and configurations of the full name, "P.S.&W. Co."
PEXTO, etc. Plantsville, Connecticut and Cleveland, Ohio were additional factory
locations used in some marks.
The company was bought out by Billings & Spencer in 1950, but the name
continued in use for some time afterward. The company's household tools included
a variety of meat cutters, choppers, and grinders, sausage stuffers and coffee
mills.
The brand name "Little Giant" was used on some of these.
From the 1910 DKE Catalogue
B.A., M.A., Yale College
Founder,
DKE
Yale College Department of Theology, 1846 - 49
Married Sarah Walkley,
June 13, 1849, Southington, Connecticut
Selectman, Plantsville, Connecticut,
1850
Connecticut General Assembly, House, Town of Southington, 1873 -
77
Vice President, Peck, Stow & Wilcox Manufacturing Co., 1871 -
83
President, Southington Water Co.
Deceased: November 10, 1883, age 63,
Plantsville, Connecticut