Sherman Day Thacher, (November 6, 1861 - August 5, 1931), was the founder and headmaster of

The Thacher School The Thacher School is an elite private co-educational boarding school in Ojai, California. Founded in 1889 as a boys' school, it is now the oldest co-educational boarding school in California. Girls were first admitted in 1977. The first co-ed gra ...

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

Early life, education and degrees

Thacher was the son of Elizabeth Baldwin (Sherman) Thacher, granddaughter of

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...

, and Thomas Anthony Thacher. The family had a history at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. His mother's father, Roger Sherman, Jr., had obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Yale in 1787 and his father obtained his 1835. His father was also both an administrator and a professor of Latin at Yale. He had a sister, Elizabeth Thacher Kent, who married U.S. Congressman

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...

and a brother, William L. Thacher, who would join him in the Thacher School. Thacher attended

Hopkins Grammar School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...

in his youth before himself attending Yale, where he served on the eleventh editorial board of ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

''. He distinguished himself in English, taking second prize in English composition during his second year. From 1883 to 1884, he worked as a salesman for W. & J. Sloane in New York City, before, in 1886, he earned a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with honors from Yale, taking the Townsend Prize and the

John Addison Porter John Addison Porter (March 15, 1822 – August 25, 1866) was an American professor of chemistry and physician. He is the namesake of the John Addison Porter Prize and was a founder of the Scroll and Key senior society of Yale University. Academ ...

Prize. In 1923, Yale would bestow upon him an honorary

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 ...

. During his college career, he was a member of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

, and

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. In 1926,

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

of Los Angeles made him an honorary charter member of the Delta chapter of

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 ...

Career

After graduation, Thacher moved to California and took up of government land to plant an orange grove. In 1889, he founded the Thacher School at Ojai, California, serving as its headmaster. In 1895, his brother William came to work with the school. He remained as headmaster until his retirement in June, 1931. During his career, he held a number of other positions, honorary and actual. From 1898 to 1912, he was trustee of the San Antonio District School. From 1908 to 1922, he was president of the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Nordhoff High School in California. He stood as president of the Headmasters Association of the Pacific Coast Private Schools for Boys from 1930 to 1931. He was an honorary member of the Headmasters Association of Eastern Private Schools for Boys. From 1918 to 1919, he was the vice president of the Yale Club of Southern California and represented it on the Alumni Board at Yale after 1920. In 1924, he was a member of the Yale Committee for Participation in the Restoration of the Library of the University of Louvain Active in civics as well, he chaired the executive committee of the Ojai Valley Men's League from 1910 to 1920, and in 1912 chaired a standing committee of the Ojai Board of Trade. In 1918, he served the local Exemption Board for

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

. He was a Four-Minute Man and the director of the Ojai Civic Association. He stood on the advisory committee of the California Junior Republic from 1920 to 1931. He was an honorary trustee of the National Society of Mental Hygiene. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Personal life

On June 24, 1896, Thacher wed Eliza Seely Blake in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. Although Blake herself was a graduate of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

(1895), her family were Yale alumni as well. Her father, Charles Thompson Blake, had graduated with a BA in 1847, and her grandfather

Eli Whitney Blake Eli Whitney Blake, Sr. (January 27, 1795 – August 18, 1886) was an American inventor, best known for his mortise lock and stone-crushing machine, the latter of which earned him a place into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Early life Blak ...

had graduated with a BA in 1816. The couple shared nine children. In addition to three sons who died in infancy, they had Elizabeth, George Blake, Anson Stiles, Helen Sherman, Harriet Janet, and Sherman Day, Jr. Two of their sons, George Blake and Anson Stiles, carried on the family Yale tradition, in 1925 and 1927 respectively. (George Blake would go on to attend the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1927.) Two of their daughters, Helen Sherman and Harriet Janet, attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

(1930, 1934). Their eldest child, Elizabeth, graduated from the University of California in 1920. Thacher was 69 years old when he died, on August 5, 1931, of operative shock. He left behind his wife, three sons, and three daughters. A

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 ...

, Thacher attended the Ojai Valley Community Church from 1887 until his death. His great-grandson, Mateo Thacher, graduated in June 2020, and served as the Thacher School Chair (or head of the student body).

References

External links

Yale Obituary Record, 1931-32, pages 65-66

Charles Thompson Blake Papers (Father-in-law)Sherman Day Thacher, Tribalism & Community Riding and Caring for Horses a Key Part of CurriculumGreat-Great Grandson Mateo Thacher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thacher, Sherman Day 1861 births 1931 deaths Founders of schools in the United States Yale Law School alumni Hopkins School alumni