Thomas Lamb Eliot ( – ) was an
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
pioneer, minister of one of the first churches on the west coast of the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, president of the Portland Children's Home, president of the Oregon Humane Society, a director of the Art Association, director of the Library Association, and founder of
Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...
.
Early life and education
Thomas Lamb Eliot was born in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, as the first son of Rev.
William Greenleaf Eliot
William Greenleaf Eliot (August 5, 1811 – January 23, 1887) was an American educator, Unitarian minister, and civic leader in Missouri. He is most notable for founding Washington University in St. Louis, and also contributed to the foundin ...
, D.D., of the Church of the Messiah in St. Louis. An injury to his eyes interrupted his education at
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, which his father helped start and run. Hoping to improve his eyes, he sailed around
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
to California in 1860 where
Thomas Starr King
Thomas Starr King (December 17, 1824 – March 4, 1864), often known as Starr King, was an American Universalist and Unitarian minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War, and Freemason. Starr King spoke z ...
said to him, "The Pacific Coast claims everyone who has ever seen it—there’s Oregon!"
His sight was not remedied by the trip, and upon his return, for several months of Divinity school he had to have his books read aloud to him.
Eliot was in the first class to graduate from
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
in 1862.
Eliot enlisted in the Union Army, but never engaged in battle. He fired his musket once under orders to shoot a deserter, but he missed.
After graduation he enlisted in the
Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
of Missouri, but served only within the state. For two years he ran a mission house for the poor of St. Louis connected to his father's church while studying with his father for the ministry.
He married
Henrietta Robins Mack of St. Louis on November 28, 1865.
He graduated from
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
in 1865, doing two years of study in one, despite eyesight so poor his books were often read to him. In 1866 he earned a Master of Arts from Washington University.
Ministry
Eliot ministered in Louisville, Kentucky and, for several weeks at a spell, assisted the Church of the Messiah in New Orleans.
Eliot was recruited in 1867 by churches in Portland, Maine; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon. He accepted the offer from Oregon, from the newly built First Unitarian Church,
having wanted to relocate to the Pacific Northwest since his first trip to the west coast.
He moved to Portland with Henrietta and their infant son, traveling through New York and Panama.
By 1869 when
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first gene ...
visited Portland, Eliot also began holding one outreach service per month at institutions in town including the Insane Asylum of East Portland, the County Jail, and the County Farm.
He also occasionally hosted services at the Oro Fino saloon.
E. Kimbark MacColl stated "Within a decade of his arrival in Portland... he became the city's most influential religious figure."
Eliot was the only minister to greet women's rights advocate
Abigail Scott Duniway
Abigail Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 – October 11, 1915) was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining voting rights for women.
Biography
Abigail S. Duniway was born Abigai ...
to Portland.
Civic legacy
One historian noted Eliot's pervasive role in the civic and cultural life of the city, observing that he "played a central role in creating and shaping the educational, cultural, and civic landscape of Portland. He had a hand in steering virtually every major public institution in the city, crowning his career with an achievement that would have made his father proud: the founding of Reed College." Another wrote that Eliot "founded the
First Unitarian Church, the
Oregon Humane Society, and the
Boys & Girls Aid Society; worked to improve conditions in the county jail; ministered to orphans, the poor, and the mentally ill; championed public schools, the public library, and
women's right to vote
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
." He was a board member of the "
Portland Art Association
The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...
and the
Library Association of Portland
Multnomah County Library is the public library system serving Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A continuation of the Library Association of Portland, established in 1864, the system now has 19 branches offering books, magazine ...
, steering those organizations toward the founding of the Portland Art Museum and the Portland Public Library (now the Multnomah County Library)."
Upon Reed College's opening in 1911, Eliot was named chair of the board of trustees, serving there until 1924.
In 1935, the arts and sciences building on campus was named for Eliot to "honor his dedication and service to the college."
See also
*
Eliot, Portland, Oregon
Eliot is a neighborhood in the North and Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon. It is approximately bounded by the Willamette River on the west, NE Fremont Street on the north, NE 7th Avenue on the east, and NE/N Broadway on the south.
The neigh ...
* Eliot Glacier
*
Eliot Hall
Eliot Hall is a historic building at 7A Eliot Street in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston. It is sometimes referred to as "The Footlight Club," after "America's oldest community theatre," which owns and operates out of the bui ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Thomas Lamb
Oregon Country
1841 births
1936 deaths
Oregon pioneers
American Unitarians
Oregon clergy
Eliot family (America)
Washington University in St. Louis alumni
Harvard Divinity School alumni