Ebenezer Fitch (September 26, 1756 – March 21, 1833) was an American

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and educator. He was the first president of

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

. Born in Norwich, Connecticut,George Ripley And Charles A. Dana,
Ebenezer Fitch
, ''The American Cyclopaedia'', Volume 7, 1873. Fitch graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1777.Elizabeth O'Grady
Ebenezer Fitch (1756-1833)
Williams College Archives and Special Collections The

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

was ongoing at the time, but because Fitch was a student and then resident tutor (1780–1783) at Yale, he was exempted from the

military draft Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

then in effect.Calvin Durfee,
Sketch of the Late Rev. Ebenezer Fitch: First President of Williams College
', Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1865. He later tried his hand at business, but was largely unsuccessful, and was invited in 1790 to move to

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

, and serve as preceptor of a new free academy for boys. Fitch took the position and made many changes to the institution, converting it into a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

in 1793. As one of only two faculty members at the beginning, Fitch taught many classes himself. Highly religious, he gave the sermons on Sundays at the college and introduced the Westminster Catechism to Williams. But the college foundered, and Fitch resigned in 1815. He then served as a pastor at a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church, and continued to preach until his death in

West Bloomfield, New York West Bloomfield is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 2,760 at the 2020 census. The Town of West Bloomfield is on the county's western border and sits parallel to the Town of East Bloomfield, both of which lie ...

. Mount Fitch in the town of Adams, near Williamstown, was named after Fitch. Fitch was a son of Dr. Jabez Fitch and Lydia (Huntington) Fitch. His siblings included Jabez G. Fitch, who served as U.S. Marshal for Vermont.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Ebenezer 1756 births 1833 deaths American Presbyterian ministers Religious leaders from Norwich, Connecticut University and college founders Presidents of Williams College Yale College alumni People of colonial Connecticut American librarians