John Blackford Van Meter (September 6, 1842 – April 8, 1930) was an American

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 ...

minister, educator, and the co-founder of

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

. Van Meter also served as the college's first dean and as acting president from 1911 to 1913.

Early life and education

Van Meter was born on September 6, 1842, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, to Thomas Hurley Van Meter and Johnetta Blackford. He was of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French descent, and his grandmother was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

. He graduated from Male Central High School in Baltimore, which later became

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

. Van Meter did not pursue a college degree, which he said was due to his lack of financial means.

Career

Methodist ministry and Navy

After graduating high school, Van Meter worked as a teacher and later as a principal for several local schools. After briefly contemplating studying law, he instead pursued a career in the Methodist ministry. In the 1860s, he was a minister and preacher at several churches in Maryland and Pennsylvania. In December 1866, Van Meter married Lucinda Cassell of

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a great ...

. In December 1871, Van Meter was commissioned into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

and confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in January 1872. He resigned from the Navy in April 1882.

Founding of the Women's College of Baltimore City

Through his involvement with the Methodist church in the Baltimore area, he became acquainted with fellow minister John Franklin Goucher, who would advocate for Van Meter's appointment to the annual Baltimore Methodist Conference. In the early 1880s, the Baltimore Conference was considering the establishment of a women's college, deliberations in which Van Meter and Goucher became heavily involved. The women of the conference formed an association through which they pushed for such an institution, and Van Meter supported their efforts, at one point exclaiming that "the Conference houldmake the foundation and endowment of a female college the single object of its organized effort." Goucher and his wife, Mary Fisher Goucher, offered to help endow the institution, and in 1885, the Women's College of Baltimore City, now

, was chartered.

Dean and acting president of Goucher

In 1910, the Women's College of Baltimore was renamed to Goucher College, in honor of co-founder John Goucher. In 1911, Goucher's third president, Eugene Allan Noble, stepped down. Van Meter, who was then the dean, was asked by the board of trustees to serve as acting president while they searched for a permanent replacement. Van Meter held the position of acting president from 1911 to 1913, during which time financial difficulties, namely persistent annual deficits and growing debt, threatened the survival of the school. With support from nearby educational institutions and associates and alumni of the college, the college completed a $1-million fundraising campaign, which was enough to sustain it. Van Meter reassumed his position as dean when the administration named

William Westley Guth William Westley Guth (October 15, 1871 – April 19, 1929) was an American attorney, Methodist minister, and academic who served as the fourth president of Goucher College. Early life, family, and education Guth was born on October 15, 1871, ...

as the college's fourth president. Van Meter also remained on the faculty as a professor of

and

biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

. Van Meter stepped down from his position as dean at Goucher in 1914, and in 1920 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the school.

Later years

Van Meter lived out his final years in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He died in 1930 and was buried in

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as many ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Meter, John Blackford 1842 births 1930 deaths Goucher College faculty and staff Presidents of Goucher College United States Navy Chaplain Corps 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators American Quakers American Methodist clergy 20th-century Methodist ministers 19th-century Methodist ministers American people of English descent American people of French descent Baltimore City College alumni American biblical scholars 19th-century biblical scholars American academics of English literature Methodist biblical scholars 19th-century Christian biblical scholars 20th-century American clergy 19th-century American clergy