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Eliphalet Nott (June 25, 1773January 25, 1866), was a famed
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 na ...
minister, inventor, educational pioneer, and long-term president of
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia ...
,
Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
,
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.


Early life

Nott was born at
Ashford, Connecticut Ashford is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Connecticut Quiet Corner. The population was 4,191 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1714. Eastford was a part of Ashford until 1847, when the former split of ...
, on June 25, 1773. He was the second son, and youngest of nine children, born to Stephen Nott and Deborah (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...
Selden) Nott. In 1795, he earned a degree from Rhode Island College (which later became known as
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...
).


Career

Around 1802, he was called to the
Presbyterian Church 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 na ...
at Albany, where he took a prominent position as a preacher and was heard by large congregations. Among his successful pulpit efforts at Albany was a sermon on the death of
Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
, entitled ''On the Death of Hamilton'', condemning the practice of dueling, that had profound influence in curtailing the custom and remains recognized to this day as an exemplary period example of the orator's art.


College presidency

In 1804, at the age of 31, Nott became president of Union College, a role he served in until his death in 1866, during which time more than 4,000 students are estimated to have graduated from Union. He also served as president of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen V ...
from 1829 to 1845, where he "visited the school at least every third week and was compensated with one dollar per visit plus all graduation fees." Upon assuming the presidency of Union, he reportedly found the College financially embarrassed and successfully worked to place it on sound footings. In the early 1830s, after the founding of the
Union Triad The term Triad is used to designate certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America. Union Triad The Union Triad is a group of the three oldest existing Greek-letter social fraternities in North America that were founded ...
fraternities, Nott called for the dissolution of all fraternities. He was dissuaded from this by a member of
Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo ...
named John Jay Hyde. In 1805, the College of New Jersey conferred upon him the title of D.D. (Doctor of Divinity), and in 1828, he received the title of LL.D. His publications include collections of sermons, ''Counsels to Young Men'' (1810), and ''Lectures on Temperance'' (1847). In 1814, Nott was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...
. A number of imprints authored by Nott, or related to him in some way, reside in the society's collections.


Inventor and real estate investor

As a scientist, he studied heat and obtaining some thirty or more patents for applications of heat to steam engines, but was best known in his day as the inventor of the first stove for
anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
, which was named for him. Nott was an important land speculator and developer, partnering with his nephew Henry Sheldon Anable, buying several farms on the
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
shore of the
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
that became the sites of industrial enterprises.


Personal life

He married Sarah Marie "Sally" Benedict (1774–1804), the daughter of Rev. Joel Benedict of Plainfield, Connecticut, under whose instruction in early life he pursued his classical and mathematical studies. Before Sally's death at the age of 29 on March 10, 1804, they were the parents of: * Sarah Marie Nott (1799–1839), who married Bishop Alonzo Potter, brother of Bishop Horatio Potter. * John Nott (1801–1878), who married Mary Ann Lawrence (1824–1911) in 1830. * Benjamin Nott (1802–1881), who married Elizabeth Cooper (1808–1867), parents of Charles C. Nott. In 1807, he married Gertrude Peebles Tibbits (1771–1841), who died in January 1841. In 1842, a year and a half after the death of his second wife, Nott married the much younger Urania Elizabeth Sheldon (1806–1886), a Troy Female Seminary graduate who was a well-known superintendent of several women's schools and the leader of several local benevolent associations. Beginning in 1860, Nott suffered a series of strokes while serving as president. He died on January 25, 1866, in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, and was buried at the Vale Cemetery in Schenectady. His widow died on April 19, 1886, at age 80.


Legacy

The Nott Memorial, a centerpiece of the Union College's campus, was built by his grandson, and Union graduate, Edward Tuckerman Potter and named in Nott's honor. Nott Road in Rexford, New York, the location of his farm, is named for him, as are Nott Street and Nott Terrace, which border Union College in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
. He remains the longest serving college president in the United States to this day.


References


External links


Rensselaer President Eliphalet Nott
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nott, Eliphalet 1773 births 1866 deaths People from Ashford, Connecticut Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers People from Schenectady, New York Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty Presidents of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Members of the American Antiquarian Society Presidents of Union College (New York) Brown University alumni