James Andrus Blinn Stone (1810–1888) was a minister, professor, and school administrator. He was the first president of the

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...

. His wife, Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, was a partner and administrator at the school. He helped establish the Republican Party.

Biography

James Andrus B Stone was born on October 28, 1810, in

Piermont, New Hampshire Piermont is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 769 at the 2020 census. It is home to Camp Walt Whitman and Kingswood Camp for Boys. History Incorporated by Governor Benning Wentworth in 1764 and settled in ...

. He was educated at the local district school and a college preparatory school in

Royalton, Vermont Royalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,750 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton. Vermont Law School, the state's only accredited law school, ...

. He graduated with honors from Middlebury College in 1834. After graduation, he was a tutor at Middlebury, and was then a principal at Hinesbury Academy. He attended

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. ...

for three years. He then was a minister at Gloucester, Massachusetts. He taught at the

Newton Theological Institution Newton Theological Institution was a Baptist theological seminary founded on November 28, 1825 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts.Hovey, Alvah, Historical Address Delivered at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Newton Theological Institution, June 8, 1 ...

. Stone led the school that became

from 1842 through 1863. Stone was responsible for institution of high academic standards that allowed the college to receive its charter in 1855 and secured the support of the Baptists to establish the college. He became the first president about 1860. In 1843, Stone married Lucinda Hinsdale after he moved to Michigan. She was the first principal of the Ladies Department at the Kalamazoo Branch of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, which became Kalamazoo College. Both administrators, the Stones introduced coeducation. They also promoted women's rights and abolitionism. Stone also played a role in the creation of the United States Republican Party. A meeting of disgruntled Michigan Whigs, Democrats, and abolitionists at the Stones'

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

residence set the date for an anti-slavery convention in Jackson, Michigan that resulted in one of the formal births of the Republican Party. Stone died on May 19, 1888, in Detroit, Michigan, during a visit to his son James H. Stone.

References

Bibliography

* 1810 births 1888 deaths Kalamazoo College faculty Presidents of Kalamazoo College People from Grafton County, New Hampshire Middlebury College alumni Andover Theological Seminary alumni {{US-academic-administrator-stub