Adonijah Strong Welch (April 12, 1821March 14, 1889) was a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

and the first president of Iowa State Agricultural College (now

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...

). Welch also served as Michigan State Normal School's first principal (now

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

Early life

Born in

East Hampton, Connecticut East Hampton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,717 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). East Hampton includes the boroughs of Cobalt, Middle Had ...

, Welch moved to

Jonesville, Michigan Jonesville is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,176 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by brothers Benaiah and Edmund Jones, who came here from Painesville, Ohio in 1828 and purch ...

, in 1839 and graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1846. Welch was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

in 1847 and became a high school principal in 1849. He spent about a year participating in the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

of 1849.

Career

Welch served as the first principal of Michigan State Normal School (now

) from 1851 to 1865. In 1859, he married Eunice P. Buckingham and they had three children. In 1865, Welch moved to

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...

, and eventually to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, for unspecified health reasons. There, he established a lumber mill and engaged in orange growing. His wife, Eunice, died in 1867. In 1868, he married Mary Beaumont Dudley, with whom he had two more children. As part of the post-Civil War

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, Florida was readmitted to the United States in 1868. Welch was elected by the legislature to the U.S. Senate as a Republican. He served in the Senate for less than nine months but declined renomination. Adonija Welch married Mary Beaumont Welch on February 3, 1868. Instead, he chose to accept an appointment as the first president of

Iowa State Agricultural College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...

. He served as college president from 1869 to 1883 before resigning. Welch felt that Iowa State was a progressive institution and was proud that it allowed women to attend classes. From 1885 until his death, Welch served as a

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

professor at Iowa State. In 1889, he died at his summer home in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

. Adonijah Welch is interred at Iowa State College Cemetery in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary me ...

Welch Hall

Welch Hall, named after him, was constructed in 1895 at Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University). Welch Hall is the second-oldest building on the EMU campus. The building is designed in the

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

style. The building's original name was the "Training School"; it served as the Teacher Training School from 1896 to the 1960s. During the building's lifetime, Welch has served as classroom space and various department offices. Due to poor maintenance, the building was closed during the 1980s and almost demolished. In 1984, Welch Hall was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Today, Welch Hall has been restored. It houses EMU's executive offices, which include the Office of the President.

References

External links

Adonijah Strong Welch
at PoliticalGraveyard.com

at Iowa State e-Library

at American National Biography, published by Oxford University {{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Adonijah 1821 births 1889 deaths Florida Republicans People from East Hampton, Connecticut Republican Party United States senators from Florida 19th-century American politicians University of Michigan alumni Presidents of Eastern Michigan University Presidents of Iowa State University 19th-century American educators

Early life

Career

Welch Hall

See also

References

External links