Seth Hathorn (1780–1856) was a Maine philanthropist who made large donations to the founding of

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

Maine Central Institute Maine Central Institute (MCI) is an independent high school in Pittsfield, Maine, United States that was established in 1866. The school enrolls approximately 430 students and is a nonsectarian institution. The school has both boarding and da ...

, and the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

. Seth Hathorn was born in

Woolwich, Maine Woolwich is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,068 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Woolwich is a suburb of the city of ...

(then part of Massachusetts) to John and Tabitha Gowing Hathorne. Hathorn was a grandson of Lieutenant John Hathorne and Esther Wyman Hathorne. He married Mary Hathorne (1781–1868), a daughter of William and Mary Jenkins Hathorne. In 1856 after a conversation with Rev.

Oren Cheney Oren Burbank Cheney (December 10, 1816 – December 22, 1903) was an American politician, minister, and statesman who was a key figure in the abolitionist movement in the United States during the later 19th century. Along with textile tycoon Ben ...

, Seth and Mary Hathorn donated $5,000 to construct

Hathorn Hall Hathorn Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1857 to a design by Gridley J.F. Bryant, it was the college's first academic building following the move of the Maine State Seminary (as it ...

, the first building at

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...

. At the time of the donation, Mary remarked to Cheney, "I have been hoping and praying that God would open the way for a portion of our property to be disposed of where it would do good after our death. I believe the Lord sent you here." The Hathorns later donated land for the formation of

and the

. None of the Hathorns' children lived to adulthood, but their grand-nephew, Henri J. Haskell attended the Bates College's Latin department. After Seth Hathorn's death, his widow, Mary Hathorn, was sued due to his grave becoming a nuisance, and the case was appealed to the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

. After her death in 1868, litigation over the use of property she owned was also appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Mary Hathorn left a large amount of her estate to the Free Will Baptist Foreign Home Society and Free Will Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hathorn, Seth Philanthropists from Maine Bates College people 1780 births 1856 deaths People from Woolwich, Maine 19th-century American philanthropists