Cyrus David Foss (January 17, 1834 – January 29, 1910) was a prominent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the latter 19th century, primarily serving in

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and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Biography

Foss was born in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...

, on January 17, 1834. He attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, graduating in 1854. He began his career teaching, and then entered the ministry. Foss was "pastor of the most prominent Methodist churches in this city ew Yorkand Brooklyn." Foss married Mary E. Bradley in 1856. She died in 1863, and he married Amelia Robertson in 1865.Archives.gcah.org
Foss was elected the sixth President of Wesleyan University in 1875, and he held that post for five years. His term in office was generally prosperous. By all accounts, Foss was a genial and avuncular man. Foss is widely credited for saving the school when it was in a time of financial ruin, following the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

. To raise funds, he created a new program of disciplined Christian living for the students, and met with many prominent Methodist church leaders of New England. This Christian living program lasted until spring 1877.Google books
Wesleyan University, 1831-1910 Collegiate Enterprise in New England He lived on a hill behind the campus, and "Foss House" was a prominent campus fixture until the late 1950s. It was used to house veterans during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is now the site of West College. The hill is still known as "Foss Hill." In 1880 Foss was consecrated a Methodist bishop. He served as a bishop in Minneapolis and Philadelphia. Later in life, Foss travelled the world extensively for the Methodist Church, and he published an account of his travels as ''From the Himalayas to the Equator: Letters, Sketches and Addresses, Giving Some Account of a Tour of India and Malaysia''. After visiting missions in China he became ill, and did not recover his health. Foss died in

Philadelphia 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 ...

on January 29, 1910, and was buried in

Pawling, New York Pawling may refer to: *Pawling (town), New York, in Dutchess County **Pawling (village), New York, in the town of Pawling ***Pawling (Metro-North station), train station for the village **Pawling Nature Reserve, in the northern section of the to ...

. His papers are kept at Wesleyan and Drew Universities. A biography of Foss was published posthumously.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Cyrus David Presidents of Wesleyan University American Methodist bishops Wesleyan University alumni 1834 births 1910 deaths Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church 19th-century Methodist bishops 19th-century American bishops Wesleyan University faculty Burials in New York (state)

Biography

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References

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