Alfred Langdon Elwyn (9 July 1804 – 15 March 1884) was an American physician, author and philanthropist. He was a pioneer in the education and care of people with mental and physical disabilities. He was one of the founding officers of the

Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind The Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was established in 1832. Its present site, in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, was acquired in 1890. Along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the Western Pennsylvania S ...

in 1833 and founded the Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children in 1852. The community of

Elwyn, Pennsylvania Elwyn is an unincorporated community located in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA. Elwyn has a latitude of 39.907N, longitude of -75.41W and an elevation of 253 feet above sea level. Elwyn is home to Elwyn Inc., a facility c ...

and the Elwyn Institute are named in his honor.

Early life and education

Elwyn was born in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

to Thomas and Elizabeth Sherburne Langdon Elwyn. His grandfather was

John Langdon John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the 2nd governor of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Elwyn graduated from Exeter Academy in 1819 and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1823. He read medicine with Dr. John Gorham in Boston and in 1826 traveled to London, Edinburgh and Paris. He returned to the United States in 1829 and received his medical degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1831 but never practiced medicine. On January 31, 1832, he married Mary Middleton, daughter of James Mease and granddaughter of

Pierce Butler Pierce or Piers Butler may refer to: *Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467 – 26 August 1539), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland *Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye (1652–1740), Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland *Pi ...

of South Carolina. Together they had a son and daughter.

Career

Elwyn was one of the founding officers of the

in 1833. He traveled to Boston for a meeting of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 1849. He had promised to take a letter from Rachel Laird, a blind girl living in Philadelphia, to

Laura Bridgman Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, twenty years before the more famous Helen Keller; Laura's friend Anne Sullivan became ...

, who was a famous blind deaf mute in Boston. Bridgman was studying at the South Boston Institute for the Blind, and while there Elwyn visited a classroom for mentally disabled children run by teacher James Richards. Elwyn was impressed with Richards' work, and resolved to do something similar in Pennsylvania. In 1852, with Richards, Elwyn established a training school for those with mental disabilities in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1853, the Pennsylvania State Legislature formally chartered "The Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children" with Richards as its first superintendent in Germantown. The institution was only the third of its kind in the United States. The school soon outgrew its facilities in Germantown, and in 1857 a farm was purchased in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

to house a new facility with help from the Pennsylvania legislature. The buildings were completed in 1859 and Elwyn, Richards and 25 students moved in on September 1, 1859. The school was officially dedicated November 2, 1859 and industrialist John P. Crozer spoke at the ceremony. Elwyn became head of the school in 1870. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1844. In 1850, Elwyn founded the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society and

Farmers' High School Farmers' High School is a national historic district located on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park / State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 37 contributing buildings and 1 contributing ...

and served as president of a society for prevention of

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...

. He served as treasurer of the

between 1849 and 1870. He belonged to the

Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

and was a director of

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon h ...

. He published several books including the poem ''Bonaparte'', ''Glossary of Supposed Americanisms'', ''Letters to the Hon. John Langdon, during and after the Revolution'', ''Melancholy and its Musings'' and ''A Few Hints to the City on Intemperance''. Confederate Currency $10 1861 T-24

Elwyn's son, also named Alfred Langdon Elwyn (born 1832), was as a child the subject of a portrait painted by

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nationa ...

. The portrait was owned by

Edward L. Carey Edward Lawrence Carey (April 7, 1805 – June 16, 1845) was an American publisher and Aesthete, notable for co-founding the publishing firm Carey & Hart alongside Abraham Hart. Biography Edward Lawrence Carey, born April 7, 1805, was the son ...

and hung in the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

in Philadelphia. In 1862, the portrait was used on the ten dollar Confederate States banknote. The son had become an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

as an adult, but his identity was unknown when the portrait was chosen.

Death and legacy

He died on March 15, 1884, and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The town of

and the mentally disabled care facility Elwyn are named in his honor.

Bibliography

*'' Bonaparte'', Philadelphia, 1848
Papers relating to public events in Massachusetts preceding the American revolution
1856, T.K. and P.G. Collins, Philadelphia
Glossary of supposed Americanisms
1859, J.B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia *
Scenes from an Atheist's Life
', 1871, J.B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia *''Letters to the Hon. John Langdon, during and after the Revolution'', 1880 *''Melancholy, and its Musings'', 1881 *''A Few Hints to the City on Intemperance.''

References

External links

Elwyn History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwyn, Alfred L. 1804 births 1884 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American physicians 19th-century American poets American agriculturalists American animal welfare workers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Educators of the blind Harvard University alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Philanthropists from Pennsylvania Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Physicians from New Hampshire Physicians from Philadelphia Special educators