William Greenleaf Eliot (August 5, 1811 – January 23, 1887) was an American educator, Unitarian minister, and civic leader in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. He is most notable for founding

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 ...

, and also contributed to the founding of numerous other civic institutions, such as the

Saint Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, ...

, public school system, and charitable institutions. The modernist poet T. S. Eliot was his grandson.

Early life and education

Eliot was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the son of Margaret Greenleaf (Dawes) and William Greenleaf Eliot. After attending the Friends Academy in New Bedford, Eliot attended Columbian College (now the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

) in Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1831. Eliot did graduate work at

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 ...

and graduated in 1834. He was ordained a minister of the Unitarian church on August 17, 1834.

Career

After his ordination, Eliot moved to

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 ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life, until 1887. There he founded the Church of the Messiah, the first Unitarian church west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Today it is called the First Unitarian Church of Saint Louis. He led the congregation from 1834 to 1870, through a period of rapid expansion of the city. Eliot was active in civic life and was instrumental in founding many civic institutions, including the St. Louis Public Schools, the

, Mission Free School, South Side Day Nursery, and the Western Sanitary Commission to provide medical care and supplies during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In 1861, he was part of a small group of men who helped Generals

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginning of the conflict, to forestall secret secessionist plans of th ...

and Francis P. Blair to retain

in the Union. He contributed to the development of the Colored Orphans' Home, Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Memorial Home, Blind Girls' Home, Women's Christian Home, and other charitable institutions. When

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

visited St. Louis, he met Eliot and called him "the Saint of the West." Eliot publicly associated himself with the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

and served as president of the St. Louis’s Young Men’s Colonization Society. Despite his anti-slavery beliefs and acts of emancipating slaves and assisting in emancipation, he did not agree with Northern abolitionist politics but instead supported gradual emancipation to avoid

. Eliot had a strong interest in developing educational opportunities in St. Louis. He co-founded

(initially called Eliot Seminary - much to his chagrin) in 1853. He donated funds to its construction and served as its chancellor from 1870 to 1887. In 1859 he founded Mary Institute, a school for girls which he named after his daughter, who died young. It is now part of the co-educational Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School. Eliot was also a writer, publishing ''Doctrines of Christianity''; ''Lectures to Young Men''; ''Lectures to Young Women'' (re-printed as ''Home and Influence''); ''Discipline of Sorrow''; and ''The Story of Archer Alexander: From Slavery to Freedom''. These ranged from works of theology in the Unitarian tradition to specific moral advice to young people. He advocated individual responsibility. In public policy he supported women's suffrage and

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

of alcohol.

Legacy and honors

* Eliot was honored for his civic contributions with a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

. * Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood, Missouri, is named for W. G. Eliot.

Family

The Eliots had 14 children but not all survived to adulthood. Among their children were Rev. Thomas Lamb Eliot, Regent and Trustee 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 ...

, and Henry Ware Eliot, businessman. W.G. Eliot was the grandfather of poet T. S. Eliot, Martha May Eliot, a pediatrician and expert in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and her sister, Abigail Adams Eliot, co-founder of the Eliot-Pearson School at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. Dr. Eliot was the brother of Thomas D. Eliot, U.S. Congressman from

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. William Greenleaf Eliot's wife, Abigail Adams Cranch, was the daughter of

William Cranch William Cranch (July 17, 1769 – September 1, 1855) was a United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. A staunch Federalist and nephew of President John Adams, Cranch moved his le ...

, a nephew of

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

. William G. Eliot's father, mother, and wife were first cousins of each other. Their mothers were three of the daughters of William Greenleaf (Elizabeth, Margaret and Nancy respectively.)

References

*Eliot, Charlotte, C. 1904.
William Greenleaf Eliot
'. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., The Riverside Press. Cambridge, MA. *Holt, Earl K. III. 1985. ''William Greenleaf Eliot—Conservative Radical''., published by First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.

at ''Eliot Family Genealogy'' *Scott, Henry Eliot. 1988. ''The Family of William Greenleaf Eliot and Abby Adams Eliot, as Chronicled by their Descendants, to 1988'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, William Greenleaf Chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis American Unitarians 1811 births 1887 deaths Harvard Divinity School alumni Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Eliot family (America) American temperance activists Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery

Early life and education

Career

Legacy and honors

Family

External links

References