John McDowell Leavitt (May 10, 1824 – December 12, 1909) was an early
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
lawyer, Episcopal clergyman, poet, novelist, editor and professor. Leavitt served as the second President of
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
,
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
, and as President of
St. John's College in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
.
Biography
![LehighUniversityLibrary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/LehighUniversityLibrary.JPG)
John Leavitt was born on May 10, 1824, at
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...
, the son of
Humphrey Howe Leavitt, a
U.S. Congressman
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Ohio and later
U.S. District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
judge, and his wife Maria Antoinette McDowell, daughter of physician Dr. John McDowell of
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...
. John Leavitt graduated
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
from Jefferson College (now
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...
), and subsequently studied law with his father and with Judge
Noah Haynes Swayne
Noah Haynes Swayne (December 7, 1804 – June 8, 1884) was an American jurist and politician. He was the first Republican appointed as a justice to the United States Supreme Court.
Birth and early life
Swayne was born in Frederick County, Virg ...
. Leavitt established a law practice at
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, but after four restless years he gave up his practice and entered the theological seminary at
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,391 at the 2010 census.
Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. A major feature is a gravel path running the length of the village, referred to as "Middle Path". This ...
.
After his graduation from seminary, Leavitt was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1848, and deacon in 1862. (Leavitt's great-grandfather was the
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
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 ...
minister Rev. Alexander McDowell.) Leavitt embarked on a career as an editor poet, professor, writer and university president. From 1868 to 1871 he served as the editor of ''
''. Leavitt taught at
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...
and
Ohio University
Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
, which conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and where he served successively as professor of mathematics and later of languages. Leavitt served briefly as a rector, at St James Episcopal Church in
Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...
during his tenure as a Kenyon College professor.
On September 1, 1875, he was named president of Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
, which was founded in 1865 as a four-year technical college. During Leavitt's tenure Lehigh was divided into two schools, general literature and technology, and under his incumbency the college began offering a Ph.D.
But Leavitt's tenure wasn't tranquil. The brilliant minister, who had been appointed after delivering a graduation address some found electrifying, sometimes alienated the faculty. The University's trustees soon found "that with Leavitt they had a president who was brilliant, energetic and tactless," writes William Ross Yates in his ''Lehigh University'', a history of the institution. "Leavitt had been a child prodigy, graduating from Jefferson College with honors at the age of seventeen." But Leavitt lacked the "orthodoxy and restraint of his predecessor," and his five-year tenure was "unhappy." Leavitt was estranged from the faculty almost from the beginning, Yates writes: "A zeal for reform and a lack of tact in proposing it disturbed the professors, who by the time of his appointment were entrenched in their control of several departments." On top of the fractious relations with his faculty, Leavitt also found himself serving during a "severe economic depression." (The entering classes of 1877 and 1878 consisted of 35 students – half that of 1876.)
Within five years, after the enrollment at Lehigh dropped precipitously, Leavitt left for St. John's College, where he was named president of the Annapolis, Maryland, institution in 1880. During his tenure, St. John's established a department of
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
, where an engineering officer from 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 ...
took up residence as professor. But once again Leavitt's tenure was rocky, and marked by another difficult financial situation, prompted by the withdrawal of an appropriation by the Maryland legislature.
Dr. Leavitt spent four years at St. John's, which awarded him the degree of
Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...
(LL.D.) in 1889. The College subsequently commissioned a portrait of its former president, and it was hung in McDowell Hall.
Following his service at St. John's, Leavitt was named to the Professorship of Ecclesiastical History at Theological Seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church 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 ...
, where he subsequently became the Seminary's dean.
Leavitt's best-known book was ''Kings of Capital and Knights of Labor'', initially published by New York's John S. Willey Publishing Company in 1885. Leavitt also published 11 volumes of poetry, several novels and many works of non-fiction on subjects ranging from church history to philosophy. The Episcopal priest also founded and edited ''The International Review'', as well as serving as editor of ''The Church Review and Ecclesiastical Register'', the official journal of the Episcopal Church, for three years (1868–71). He also published ''Americans in Rome'', ''Reasons for Faith in the Nineteenth Century'', ''Visions of Solyma and Other Poems'', ''Old World Tradigus from New World Life'', ''Hymns to Our King'' and ''Paul Errington and Our Scarlet Prince: A Book for the American People''.
Rev. Leavitt's works occasionally engendered controversy, and were not always warmly received by the critics. Dr. Leavitt is "exclamatory in style, and expects to carry the defenses of the enemy with a rush," wrote
John Bascom
John Bascom (May 1, 1827October 2, 1911) was an American professor, college president and writer.
Life
He was born on May 1, 1827 in Genoa, New York, and was a graduate of Williams College with the class of 1849. He graduated from the Andover ...
in ''The Dial'' in 1901, reviewing Leavitt's book ''Reasons for Faith in Christianity''. "His words are full of enthusiasm, and are fitted to give much satisfaction to those who entertain the same opinions as the speaker."
Having been a well-known Episcopal clergyman for more than 40 years, Leavitt created a stir in 1889 when he elected to leave the
Protestant Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
for the Reformed Episcopalians. Saying that he could not be a consistent Protestant Episcopalian, largely because of what he considered to be a growing tendency in the Church toward Roman-style ritual, Leavitt spoke at churches across the county, where he explained his position. At a sermon at the First Reformed Episcopal Church, located on Madison Avenue and 51st Street in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in October 1889, Leavitt spoke out.
"Dr. Leavitt is well-known not only as a clergyman of power and learning," wrote ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "but as an author and publisher." In his sermon Leavitt spoke of being "compelled to abandon my ministry or abandon my church," according to The Times. Leavitt complained bitterly of an Episcopal church leaning towards Rome, with its version of "confession, Mary worship, Mass, prayers for the dead if not prayed to the dead, and other practices which I believe to be against Scripture and the law of the Church. As the Bishops will not enforce the law, they force me to withdraw." Leavitt complained of an unnamed Episcopal clergyman in New York who, Leavitt said, "I myself have heard him preach that which many Bishops on the bench would condemn and have reported him to the ecclesiastical authority, and still he holds his way undisturbed."
[''The New York Times'', October 19, 1889](_blank)
/ref>
Leavitt's declaration followed the establishment of the Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The REC is a founding member of ...
in 1873, when its initial declaration of principles rejected what it called a movement within the established church to follow sacraments which were "repressive of freedom in prayer."
John McDowell Leavitt was married to the former Bithia Brooks.[''Prominent and Progressive Americans, An Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography, Vol. I'', Mitchell C. Harrison, New York Tribune, 1902](_blank)
/ref> They had four sons: John Brooks Leavitt, an attorney, graduate of Columbia University Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestig ...
, and crusader against municipal corruption; Edwin Ransom Leavitt, a New York City lawyer; mechanical engineer and inventor Frank McDowell Leavitt, who also lived in Brooklyn, New York; and Humphrey H. Leavitt II, attorney; and two daughters; Bithia (Leavitt) Mersereau; and Anna Goodrich Leavitt, who married Lieut. James C. Cresap of 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 ...
. John M. Leavitt died in Annapolis in 1909. His wife Bithia Brooks Leavitt died in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, in 1880.
See also
*John Leavitt
Deacon John Leavitt (1608–1691) was a tailor, public officeholder, and founding deacon of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in America and the oldest church in cont ...
* Humphrey Howe Leavitt
* John Brooks Leavitt
References
Further reading
''Kings of Capital and Knights of Labor'', John McDowell Leavitt, D.D., published by Powers & Le Craw, New York, 1885"> ''Kings of Capital and Knights of Labor'', John McDowell Leavitt, D.D., published by Powers & Le Craw, New York, 1885
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, John Mcdowell
People from Steubenville, Ohio
19th-century American novelists
Leavitt family
American religious writers
American male novelists
Washington & Jefferson College alumni
Reformed Episcopal Seminary faculty
19th-century American poets
Ohio lawyers
American Episcopal priests
American biblical scholars
Kenyon College faculty
Ohio University faculty
Presidents of Lehigh University
1824 births
1909 deaths
American people of Scottish descent
American male poets
19th-century American male writers
Anglican biblical scholars
Novelists from Pennsylvania
Novelists from Ohio
American male non-fiction writers
19th-century American Episcopalians
19th-century American clergy