John Eaton, Jr. (December 5, 1829 – February 9, 1906) was an American educator who served as the U.S. Commissioner of Education and a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

during 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 ...

. On March 12, 1866, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed his January 13, 1866 nomination for appointment to the grade of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865.

Early life and education

Eaton was born in

Sutton, New Hampshire Sutton is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,978 at the 2020 census. Sutton includes the villages of Sutton Mills (shown as "Sutton" on topographic maps), North Sutton, South Sutton and East Sutton. No ...

, and attended Thetford Academy in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He was the eldest of nine children and his father was a farmer. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1854, studied at

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

, and was ordained in 1862 to the

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 ...

ministry. He had to teach all four years he was in college in order to pay his board and tuition. He received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Legum Doctor 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

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Career

Civil War

Eaton entered the American Civil War as a chaplain of the 27th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 15, 1861.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 222. In November 1862, after Lincoln's preliminary

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

appointed him superintendent of freedmen and was later given supervision of all military posts from Cairo to Natchez and Fort Smith. In November 1863, Grant appointed him as the Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

; there Eaton supervised the establishment of 74 schools. On October 10, 1863, Eaton was made colonel of the

63rd United States Colored Infantry 63rd may refer to: ;Metro stations *Ashland/63rd (CTA station), on the Green Line *East 63rd-Cottage Grove (CTA), on the Green Line *63rd (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line *63rd Street station (SEPTA Market–Frankford Line) on the Market-Frankford L ...

. On January 13, 1866,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

nominated Eaton for appointment to the grade of

of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.

Postbellum career

General Eaton left the military and eventually returned to his career in education. He remained with the freedman bureau until he was discharged on December 18, 1865 and then became editor of the '' Memphis Daily Post'' in 1866. From 1867-1869 he was the state superintendent of schools of Tennessee. He was then appointed

United States Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the United States Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior in the United ...

in 1870 and served with efficiency in the

United States Bureau of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated i ...

where he, among other things, organized Washington, D.C.'s Board of Education and reorganized the

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a U ...

. From 1886 to 1891, Eaton was president of

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

, and, in 1895, he was appointed president of

Sheldon Jackson College Sheldon Jackson College (SJC) was a small private college located on Baranof Island in Sitka, Alaska, United States. Founded in 1878, it was the oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska and maintained a historic relationship with the Presb ...

Sitka, Alaska russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

. In 1898, he became inspector of education in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and played a role in the centralization of its educational system. At the same time, he was the president of Westminster College in Salt Lake City. He also served as Councillor of the American Public Health Association, Vice President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and president of the Association of Social Science. He was a representative of the Interior Department at the centennial exposition and the organizer of the educational exhibit at New Orleans. He was president of the national congress of education and of the American Society of Religious Education. Eaton wrote a history of Thetford Academy, "Mormons of Today", "The Freedmen in the War", "Schools of Tennessee" and several reports, addresses and magazine articles.

Personal life

After several years of failing health, he took ill on February 8, 1906 and died one day later in his apartment in the Concord Flats in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. Four years later,

John Eaton Elementary School John Eaton Elementary School is an elementary school in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. It is part of the District of Columbia Public School system. It opened as John Eaton Public School # 160 at 3301 Lowell Street NW on O ...

was named for him. Eaton's daughter,

Elsie Eaton Newton Elsie Eaton Newton (February 6, 1871 – January 12, 1941) was an American educator with the United States Indian Service, and the first Dean of Women at Marietta College in Ohio. Early life Elsie Eaton was born February 6, 1871, in Washingto ...

(1871–1941), was an educator associated with the United States Indian Service, and later served as the first Dean of Women at Marietta College."Mrs. Elsie Eaton Newton"
''Chicago Tribune'' (January 13, 1941): 10. Retrieved September 18, 2019, via Newspapers.com

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . :

Notes

External links

President Rutherford B. Hayes on U.S. Commissioner of Education John Eaton: Original Letter
Shapell Manuscript Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton General), John 1829 births 1906 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American educators American non-fiction writers Editors of Tennessee newspapers People from Sutton, New Hampshire People of Vermont in the American Civil War Andover Theological Seminary alumni Rutgers University alumni Dartmouth College alumni Union Army colonels United States Bureau of Education people Writers from New Hampshire Writers from Vermont Thetford Academy, Vermont alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery