Daniel C. Van Norman (August 17, 1815 - June 24, 1886) was a Canadian-born American educator, clergyman, and school founder.

Early life and education

Daniel Cummings Van Norman was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, August 17, 1815. After a thorough preparatory course, he entered Hamilton College, in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. Van Norman was one of some 25 or 30 students who came over from Canada during the first decade of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

-sponsored Cazenovia Seminary, in

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...

where he was a student 1833–36. He was graduated at

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 ...

in 1838.

Career

He joined the Canada Wesleyan conference in 1839, and was appointed professor of classics and physics in Victoria College (now

Victoria University, Toronto Victoria University is a federated university forming part of the wider University of Toronto, and was founded in 1836. The undergraduate section of the university is Victoria College, informally ''Vic'', after the original name of the univers ...

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, in 1839-45. In 1844, Van Norman was ordained to the ministry. He founded the Burlington ladies' academy,

, in 1845, and was its principal till 1851. In 1851, he assumed the charge of Rutgers Female Institute,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which post he held till 1857. He then founded and became principal of the

Van Norman Institute Van Norman Institute for the education of young ladies (originally, Dr. Van Norman's Classical School) was an American girls' school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1857 by the Rev. Dr. Daniel C. Van Norman (1815-1886). After his dea ...

, a school for young ladies, conducting it until the spring of 1886. Van Norman wrote many articles for newspapers. In conjunction with Louise Pujol, he wrote a complete French text book. He received the degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from Wesleyan University in 1860. Although he held no regular

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, he preached more than 4,000 sermons. Late in life, Van Norman left the Methodist and united with the Presbyterian church. He was recording secretary of the American Foreign and Christian Union for many years, and was one of the founders of the American Chapel in Paris. Later in life, an Elder in the

Central Presbyterian Church Central Presbyterian Church may refer to: ;in Canada: * Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton) ;in the United States: * Central Presbyterian Church (Little Rock, Arkansas), listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Central Presbyterian Church (Denver, Col ...

. He was also a member of the Society of Science and Art, and

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...

fraternity.

Personal life

He married Sarah Maria Spencer, of Cazenovia, New York; they had four children. In 1875, he married Amelie Veiller of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France.

Death and legacy

Van Norman was taken with a stroke of paralysis on April 5, 1886, which proved fatal. He died at his residence on West 57th Street, in New York City, June 24, 1886. A monument to his memory was erected at

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, in 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Norman, Daniel C. 1815 births 1886 deaths School founders People from Nelson, British Columbia Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian clergy Educators from New York City 19th-century Methodist ministers 19th-century Presbyterian ministers Cazenovia College alumni Wesleyan University alumni