Henry Otis Dwight,

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 ...

(June 3, 1843 – June 19, 1917), was an American

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and author.

Biography

Henry Dwight was born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, the only son of

Harrison Gray Otis Dwight Harrison Gray Otis Dwight (1803–1862) was an American Congregational missionary. Biography Harrison Gray Otis Dwight was born on November 22, 1803 in Conway, Massachusetts. His father was Seth Dwight (1769–1825) and mother was Hannah Strong ...

. He entered

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

but left college in 1861 to enlist in the 20th Ohio Regiment and serve in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Military

In the spring of 1863, Dwight was part of

Grant's Grant's is a blended Scotch whisky, produced by the company William Grant & Sons in Scotland. History In 1886, William Grant started working in the distillery business as a bookkeeper. In 1898, Pattison's, the largest Scotch whisky blende ...

invasion of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

at Bruinsburg on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The invasion preceded the

Battle of Port Gibson The Battle of Port Gibson was fought near Port Gibson, Mississippi, on May 1, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union Army was led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and was victo ...

, and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

troops had taken control of Windsor mansion, where Dwight sketched the only known drawing of the antebellum home. During the war, Dwight participated in more than thirty engagements, including the

siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

(1863), the Atlanta Campaign (1864), and the

Savannah Campaign Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major ...

(1864). Shortly before the war ended, Dwight was commissioned a captain and left the military in 1865.

Missionary

In 1867, Dwight returned to Istanbul as a missionary for the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

, where he edited publications of the Turkish language. For 15 years, in the late 1800s, he was the

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

in Constantinople for the

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

. During the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, Dwight had responsibility for guarding missionary interests in Turkey. He was ordained a minister in 1880, and returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1901, after resigning his commission as a missionary. In 1897, Dwight was conferred the honorary degree of LL.D. by

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

. He edited the ''Report of the Ecumenical Conference on Foreign Missions'' (1900) and the ''Encyclopedia of Missions'' (1904). He was the author of several books: * ''Turkish Life in War Time'' (1881) * ''Treaty Rights of American Missionaries in Turkey'' (1893) * ''Constantinople and its Problems'' (1901) * ''Blue Book of Missions'' (1905; second edition, 1907) * ''A Moslem Sir Galahad'' (1913; second edition, 1914)

Personal life

Henry Dwight was married three times: Mary Bliss (m. 1867–d. 1872) to, Ardelle Griswold (m. 1874–d. 1884), and Isabella Bliss (m. 1887–d. 1894). He was the father of one son and five daughters. Dwight died June 19, 1917, at his home in Roselle, New Jersey.

References

External links