Stephen Olin Garrison (1853–1900) was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister and scholar who developed ''

The Probationer's Catechism ''The Probationer's Catechism'', also called ''The Probationer's Handbook'', is a catechism authored by Methodist divine S. Olin Garrison for probationary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church seeking full membership. First published in 188 ...

'' for Methodist probationary members and founded The Training School in

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

Personal life

Garrison was born in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400, In 1872, he graduated from the Pennington Seminary, a college preparatory school. He went on to

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, earning a B.A. in 1876 and a Master's in 1879. Afterwards, he attended the

Drew Theological Seminary Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...

. Garrison married Elizabeth Baldwin August 29, 1879, with whom he had four children; Charles Henry (1880), Norman Scott (1882), Ida Richardson (1884), and Frances Willard (1887). Between 1879 and 1887, Garrison served as a minister in several Methodist congregations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. During his ministry in Philadelphia, he published two books; ''

'' (sometimes called the ''Probationer’s Handbook'') and ''Forty Witnesses''. The former has been one of the most widely used

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

s for probationers seeking full membership in a Methodist

connexion Connexion is a variant spelling of connection and may refer to: Technology and Internet * Connexion by Boeing, an in-flight online connectivity service * Connexions (now called OpenStax CNX), a repository of open educational resources started a ...

. The latter, originally published in 1888, was chosen for the Scholar Select series as “being culturally important, and … part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.” Another notable achievement of Garrison centered on care and education of intellectually disabled children. In 1888, Garrison created what came to be known as the Training School at Vineland (described below). Ten years later, he began to suffer from an undisclosed illness. In early 1900 he had surgery in Philadelphia. The surgery was deemed a success and he returned home, but he never fully recovered. He died on April 17, 1900 surrounded by friends and family. He was 46 years old.

The Training School

Garrison had a long-standing concern for people with

intellectual disabilities Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signific ...

. Two of his siblings were considered "feeble-minded," as the disabled were then called. In the 1840s, his father had tried, unsuccessfully, to pass legislation requiring New Jersey to provide care for citizens with intellectual disabilities. During the younger Garrison's time in Pennsylvania, he began planning a private school for children with these disabilities. By 1887, Garrison and his family had returned to Millville, New Jersey. With no public institution to care for the intellectually disabled, Garrison and his wife Elizabeth opened their home to seven children in need. Many more families sought their help, which would have exceeded the capacity of their house. Garrison, began to raise money for a larger facility.

philanthropist, B.D. Maxham was willing to donate a property called the Scarborough Mansion, which sat on 40 acres. Garrison used the mansion and other cash donations to open what was initially called The New Jersey Home for the Education and Care of Feeble-minded Children. Not long after, the school was renamed The New Jersey Training School and later The Training School at Vineland. Garrison became the school's first superintendent. On March 1, 1888, the seven students living in Garrison's home were transferred to the new facility. By the end of the year, the school had 55 boys and girls in residence. By 1893, the Vineland School employed 11 teachers and had 200 residents. At the time of his death, the Training School had grown to 170 acres and had ten buildings with an estimated worth of $200,000. Garrison insisted that children be treated with kindness and respect. He believed that they should be taught practical skills so they could lead independent lives. Rather than being housed in dormitories, Garrison believed children should live in smaller, free-standing houses that more closely approximated family life. In 1892, he began moving students into “cottages.” Garrison's approach, which became known as “The Cottage Plan,” came to dominate thinking on custodial care. He diversified the school's curriculum and created a medical staff including a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, a gynecologist, a pathologist, an otologist, a laryngologist, and specialists in speech defects. But Garrison's interests extended beyond the needs of children. Garrison was instrumental in creating the Vineland Institution for Feeble-minded Women. It provided custodian care for adults and opened in 1888, just across the street from the Training School. He served for six months as that Institution's superintendent until a permanent replacement was selected. In the late nineteenth century, the treatment of

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

was in its infancy. In 1896, Garrison persuaded the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

to appropriate $58,000 to create the State Village for Epileptics in

Skillman, New Jersey Skillman is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Montgomery Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. By 1898, Garrison realized that his health was failing, and began a search for someone who could carry on his work at the Training School. He chose

Edward R. Johnstone Edward is an English language, English given name. It is derived from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements ''wikt:ead#Old English, ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ''wikt:weard#Old English, weard'' "gua ...

, the Principal of instruction at a similar institution in Indiana. Johnstone, became Vice Principal at Vineland and, upon Garrison's death, succeeded him as Principal. In 1902, he was named superintendent and served in that capacity until his death in 1945. In a 1988 history of the Training School at Vineland, Eugene Dol argued, “it is probably not an exaggeration to say that for the first half of the 20th century it dominated the field of mental retardation worldwide.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrison, Stephen O. 1853 births 1900 deaths Drew University alumni Methodist ministers People from Millville, New Jersey The Pennington School alumni Wesleyan University alumni