Oneida Institute
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The Oneida Institute was a short-lived (1827–1843) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the emerging
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
movement. It was the most radical school in the country, the first at which black men were just as welcome as whites. "Oneida was the seed of
Lane Theological Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
, Western Reserve College, Oberlin and Knox colleges." The Oneida Institute was located near Utica, in the village of
Whitesboro, New York Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,772 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler. The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Town of Whitestown. History The vi ...
,
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
of Whitestown,
Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...
. It was founded in 1827 by
George Washington Gale George Washington Gale (1789 – September 13, 1861) was a Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Presbyterian minister who founded the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry. Early life Gale was born in Stanford, New York, St ...
as the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry. His former teacher (in the Addison County Grammar School,
Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History One of ...
, 1807–1808) John Frost, now a Presbyterian minister in Whitesboro with Harriet Lavinia (Gold) Frost his wife — daughter of
Thomas Ruggles Gold Thomas Ruggles Gold (November 4, 1764 – October 24, 1827) was a United States representative from New York. Biography Born in Cornwall, Connecticut, he pursued classical studies and was graduated from Yale College in 1786. He studied law, w ...
, — who was the primary partner in setting up the institute, bringing her considerable wealth to the enterprise. They raised $20,000, a significant part of which was from the philanthropist and abolitionist brothers
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
and
Lewis Tappan Lewis Tappan (May 23, 1788 – June 21, 1873) was a New York abolitionist who worked to achieve freedom for the enslaved Africans aboard the '' Amistad''. Tappan was also among the founders of the American Missionary Association in 1846, which ...
; Arthur had helped various "western" institutions, to the extent of tens of thousands of dollars, "but his favorite among them was Oneida Institute". (In the early 19th century, Utica was western, the gateway to western New York.) With this they bought land and began construction of the buildings. The institute occupied "more than bordered by Main Street and the
Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...
and by Ellis and Ablett Avenues in Whitesboro village." The first student movement in the country, the
Lane Rebels Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
, began at Oneida. A contingent of about 24, with an acknowledged leader (
Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
), left Oneida for Lane and then, more publicly, soon left Lane for Oberlin. Oneida's first president, Gale, founded Knox Manual Labor Institute, later Knox College, in
Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...
. Oneida hired its second president,
Beriah Green Beriah Green Jr. (March 24, 1795May 4, 1874) was an American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, minister, and head of the Oneida Institute. He was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views". He has been described as ...
, from Oberlin's competitor in northeast Ohio, Western Reserve College. All of this is very much linked to the explosively emerging topic of the
abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
.


The first president: George Washington Gale

The institute opened in May 1827 with 2 instructors, Gale and Peletiah Rawson, the latter a
Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
graduate and engineer that had worked on the just-completed
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
. There were initially 20 students, including most of the 7 that had been working in exchange for instruction on Gale's farm in
Western, New York Western is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,951 at the 2010 census. The Town of Western is an interior town of Oneida County, north of Rome. History The town was first settled ''circa'' 1789. The Town of ...
, a pilot project.
Theodore Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
, who would become the leader of the students, was among them. Enrollment soon grew to 100, and by 1830, 500 applicants were turned away for lack of space. It was chartered in 1829 as the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry. Through Frost, it was "intimately connected" with the
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 ...
church of Whitesboro. Oneida was the first and leading American example of the
manual labor college A manual labor college was a type of school in the United States, primarily between 1825 and 1860, in which work, usually agricultural or mechanical, supplemented academic activity. The manual labor model was intended to make educational opportuni ...
, which Gale thought he had originated, although there were earlier examples. His goal was to supplement study with the physical and spiritual or psychological benefits of exercise; for the time this was an innovative and informed position. By "unit ngclassical education with agricultural, horticultural, and mechanical labor," Gale was also trying to make education more affordable. "Students worked on the farm, or in the carpenter, trunk and harness-making shops"; a printing shop was added later. The first year, floods destroyed the crops, but the second year, students "Religious fervor was kept at a white heat. Studies were interrupted to hold protracted revival meetings." Gale replaced the study of Latin and Classical Greek with Hebrew and Biblical Greek. The charismatic, influential
Christian revival Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
ist
Charles Finney Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism." Finney rejected much of tradi ...
had been a student of Gale prior to Oneida, and Gale sought at Oneida to train students "as emissaries of the new revivalism". "The result was a large crop of crusaders and reformers, who were later turned loose to fulminate against drink, slavery, Sabbath breaking, ndirreligion, some of whom became famous in their proseletyzing fields." Gale "lacked the qualities of a leader". In the summer of 1833 a debate on colonization led to the formation of a colonization and an anti-slavery society. Student dissatisfaction led to a mass walk-out in 1832, with about 24 students leaving for Lane, then Oberlin. Gale soon desired to be replaced; he went to Illinois, where he began
Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...
, and the Knox Manual Labor College, which in 1857 became Knox College. Gale left the institute with "fiscal problems", saddled with "numerous financial obligations".


The second and last president: Beriah Green

After a search, the trustees settled on abolitionist firebrand
Beriah Green Beriah Green Jr. (March 24, 1795May 4, 1874) was an American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, minister, and head of the Oneida Institute. He was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views". He has been described as ...
, who started in 1833, and "for whom Gale had nothing but scorn". The school was dominated by Green's personality and was known as "President Green's school".


Curriculum

Green "revamped Oneida's curriculum by giving greater attention to the study of ethics or
moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
than was the case during Gale's tenure, or indeed at most American colleges in the 1830s." He replaced the study of Latin and
classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
with Hebrew and
New Testament Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
. In 1836 (another source says 1838), in the "juvenile department",
William Whipple Warren William Whipple Warren (May 27, 1825 – June 1, 1853) was a historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. The son of Lyman Marcus Warren, an American fur trader and Mary Cadotte, the Ojibwe-Metis daughter of fur trader M ...
studied arithmetic, English grammar, geography, and " the Greek of Matthew's gospel". In 1843, a letter seeking funds gives the "Course of Study" as "Greek, Hebrew, arithmetic, bookkeeping, algebra, anatomy, physiology, geometry,
natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...
tudying nature, forerunner of science
natural theology Natural theology, once also termed physico-theology, is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics (such as the existence of a deity) based on reason and the discoveries of science. This distinguishes it from ...
, evidences of Christianity,
political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
, science of government, exercises in
declamation Declamation (from the Latin: ''declamatio'') is an artistic form of public speaking. It is a dramatic oration designed to express through articulation, emphasis and gesture the full sense of the text being conveyed. History In Ancient Rome, decla ...
and composition." For admittance to the school, Green stated:


Abolitionism; admitting Black students

The curriculum was in line with Green's goal of training abolitionist activists, which he believed was what Christianity mandated. Abolitionism was a "sacred vocation". The institute under Green was "an abolition college", "a hotbed of anti-slavery activity," "abolitionist to the core, more so than any other American college." Oneida and Whitestown Anti-Slavery Societies were soon formed, declaring that slavery was not just an evil, it was a crime and a sin. Green accepted the job on two conditions: that he be allowed to preach "immediatism", the immediate emancipation of slaves, and that it be allowed to admit African-American students. These were agreed to. Prior to Green, there had not been any Black students at Oneida; so far as is known, none had applied. In 1833, allowing African-American students into educational institutions alongside whites was controversial at best, and aroused bitter, even violent opposition. (Even schools for black students only could be the object of violence.) While there had been one African-American graduate each from
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, Bowdoin, and Middlebury, these were exceptional cases. The
Noyes Academy The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated N ...
in New Hampshire was destroyed in 1835 after it admitted African-American students; farmers with ninety yoke of oxen dragged the academy building to a corner of the Common, leaving it "shattered, mutilated, inwardly beyond reparation almost." Four of its students then enrolled at Oneida. The city of
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 ...
in 1831 unexpectedly and decisively prevented the setting up of "a new college for the instruction of colored youth", of which there was none in United States. (See
Simeon Jocelyn Simeon Jocelyn (1799-1879) was a white pastor, abolitionist, and social activist for African-American civil rights and educational opportunities in New Haven, Connecticut, during the 19th century. He is known for his attempt to establish America's f ...
.) In New York, 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 ...
would not allow even a lecture series for blacks on history. The
Canterbury Female Boarding School The Canterbury Female Boarding School, in Canterbury, Connecticut, was operated by its founder, Prudence Crandall, from 1831 to 1834. When townspeople would not allow African-American girls to enroll, Crandall decided to turn it into a school for A ...
, in
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, was forced to close after it admitted one African-American girl in 1832, and the school for "young ladies and little misses of color" which replaced it was met with such escalating violence from the townspeople that director
Prudence Crandall Prudence Crandall (September 3, 1803 – January 27, 1890) was an American schoolteacher and activist. She ran the first school for black girls ("young Ladies and little Misses of color") in the United States, located in Canterbury, Connecticut. ...
was forced to close it out of concern for the students' safety.
New-York Central College New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was the first college in the United States founded on the principle that all qualified students were welcome. It was thus an abolitionist ...
was forced to close in part because of local hostility to education of African Americans, and even more so to African-American professors. A month before Green's arrival in August 1832, 35 students formed an antislavery society on immediatist principles, the first in New York State. 34 students formed a
colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
society; colonization was not in favor of full emancipation, and thought the best place for free blacks was "back to Africa",
e.g. Eg or EG may refer to: In arts and media * ''E.G.'' (EP), an EP by Goodshirt * ''EG'' (magazine), a journal dedicated to chess endgame studies * Eg White (born 1966), a British musician, songwriter and producer * E.G. Records, a music record la ...
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
. In his inaugural address, Green called for "immediate, unconditional, and uncompensated emancipation".
Compensated emancipation Compensated emancipation was a method of ending slavery, under which the enslaved person's owner received compensation from the government in exchange for manumitting the slave. This could be monetary, and it could allow the owner to retain the s ...
meant that owners of released slaves would be compensated for the loss of their "property", as they were, in part, when the District of Columbia's slaves were emancipated in 1862. In this environment Oneida admitted African-American students, the first college in the country to admit them without restrictions. According to alumnus
Alexander Crummell Alexander Crummell (March 3, 1819 – September 10, 1898) was a pioneering African-American minister, academic and African nationalist. Ordained as an Episcopal priest in the United States, Crummell went to England in the late 1840s to raise money ...
, there was "perfect equality" between the black and white students. There were generally 10–14 "colored students". In 1840, "including Indian blood", there were 20.


Finances

When Green became president, the institute was in debt. American abolitionists, including
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...
, pledged $65,000 () towards the support of the institute, although because of the
Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...
not all were able to fulfill their pledges. The Panic left the institute $9,000 in debt. In 1839 Green and the other faculty published in '' The Colored American'' an appeal for donations.


Enrollment

Before 1840, there was an average of 100 students. After incurring the large debt ( Charles Stuart called it, "embarrassments"), "in 1841 the instructors relinquished nearly all of their salaries", and enrollment was cut to 25; the following year, 50–75. Just before closure, counting the president there were four professors, "and an able financier". The school's transformation into a "hotbed of abolition" was not well received by authorities.
Milton Sernett Milton C. Sernett is an American historian, author, and professor at Syracuse University. He has published many books, articles and book chapters on African American history. His published works in African-American history focus on abolitionism, r ...
called it, under Green, "far too radical for its time". " e education societies withdrew their aid from its students, because its course of study substituted Hebrew for Latin, and it was called an Institute, not an Academy, College, or Theological School. And the charges that have been sung among the pro-slavery influences of church and state around it, on the 'nigger school' cannot well be numbered." According to Sernett, the Presbyterian Education Society and the
American Education Society American Society for the Education of Pious Youth for the Gospel Ministry was organized in 1815 for the purpose of aid in the education of Protestant clergymen. It was renamed American Education Society (AES) in 1820, 1911-1913 It was formed under a ...
"struck Oneida Institute from its list of approved schools" in 1834. Another source says this was in 1839. In 1836, the New York Senate passed a resolution "directing the Committee on Literature choolsto inquire into the propriety of denying the Oneida Institute all participation in the Benefits of the Literature Fund." This was because it was "regarded as the hot-bed of sedition, ndthat Beriah Green, the principal, had been active and successful in propagating the doctrines of abolitionism." The Legislature took no action after more than 150 people met to protest and to demand
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
. During 1833–1834 Frost's employment is specified as "Agent, Oneida Institute". By 1835 Frost had left Whitesboro for a pulpit in Elmira, (which he helped make an
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
center). His replacement, David Ogden, was not an abolitionist. This led to a withdrawal from the Whitesboro Presbyterian Church of "seventy-one communicant members, including most of the elders", to form a new
Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
under Green's direction. As a result, "Green and his school ere leftwith fewer and fewer friends"; he could no longer turn to churches for funding. The Oneida Institute ceased operations in 1843. One factor was the
New York Anti-Slavery Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
's failure to pay the institute $2000 for the printing costs of their paper ''Friend of Man'', but even if it had, there was no way to make the institute financially viable. According to Dana Bigelow, "Green left the institution a wreck". He identifies the causes of its failure as three: first, the manual labor scheme; "unskilled labor was found to be unprofitable". (The $1000 mentioned above did not cover costs.) Second, replacing the
classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
with the Bible; "this did much to disconnect the institution with the general theory and habit of culture in the country and to stamp it with a certain reputation of singularity which could not fail to be in many ways disastrous." Finally, the treating of black and white students equally, and its "iconoclastic zeal for the overthrow of social institutions and interests", led to "much popular odium". "Oneida was the seed of
Lane Theological Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...
Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
826 Year 826 ( DCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 826th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 826th year of the 1st millennium, the 26th ...
Oberlin
833 __NOTOC__ Year 833 ( DCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine-Arab War: Emperor Theophilos signs an armistice for p ...
and Knox College
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" Through the Whitestown Seminary it is also a predecessor of
Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
(1855). A graduate,
William G. Allen William Gustavus Allen (c. 1820 – 1 May 1888) was an African-American academic, intellectual, and lecturer. For a time he co-edited ''The National Watchman,'' an abolitionist newspaper. While studying law in Boston he lectured widely on abolitio ...
, became the second African-American professor in the country at nearby
New-York Central College New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was the first college in the United States founded on the principle that all qualified students were welcome. It was thus an abolitionist ...
, which also admitted African-American students and was also short-lived.


The "Lane Rebels"

Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
, who had studied at Oneida from 1827 to 1830, was dissatisfied with Gale's leadership. He led a 1833 exodus of "Oneida boys...disenchanted with Gale's leadership and the lack of regular theological courses"; they rafted down the French and Allegheny rivers to Cincinnati, and constituted 24 of the 40 members of the
Lane Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood ...
's first theological class.


Whitestown Seminary & afterwards

To satisfy debts its facilities were sold to the
Free Will Baptists Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal est ...
, who created the Whitestown Seminary in 1844. A condition of the sale was that the new seminary admit students of "all colors". Several Oneida Institute students enrolled. Whitestown Seminary merged with the
Cobb Divinity School Cobb Divinity School (also known as Bates Theological Seminary or the Free Will Baptist Bible School) was a Baptist theological institute. Founded in 1840, it was a Free Will Baptist graduate school affiliated with several Free Baptist institution ...
to form the Free Will Baptist Bible School, which moved to the
New Hampton Institute New Hampton School is an independent college preparatory high school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, United States. It has 305 students from over 30 states and 22 countries. The average class size is eleven, and the student-faculty ratio is five ...
in 1854 before moving to
Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
in 1870 and eventually merging the school's religion department. A predecessor of the Whitestown Seminary was the school of H. H. Kellog, in Clinton. Elizabeth, "lady principal", daughter of Robert Everett, two of whose brothers attended the Oneida Institute, married John Jay Butler. According to ''Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography'', in 1845 Green founded a Manual Labor School in Whitesboro. The school buildings are no longer standing: the land is now occupied by a factory, a funeral home, and some residences.


Students

Green's policy was to accept any qualified student that applied. As a result, student Grinnell described the student body as "a motley company", consisting of:


Alumni of the Oneida Institute


African-American students

Listed in bold are students who were at the
Noyes Institute The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated ...
before it was destroyed, in August 1835. No Black students from Oneida enrolled at Lane. *
William G. Allen William Gustavus Allen (c. 1820 – 1 May 1888) was an African-American academic, intellectual, and lecturer. For a time he co-edited ''The National Watchman,'' an abolitionist newspaper. While studying law in Boston he lectured widely on abolitio ...
(1820–1888), lecturer and professor at
New-York Central College New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was the first college in the United States founded on the principle that all qualified students were welcome. It was thus an abolitionist ...
, the first college to employ African-American professors *
Amos Beman Amos Gerry Beman (1812-1872) was a 19th-century African American pastor and social activist from Connecticut. He was a prominent African American abolitionist. Early life Beman was born in Colchester, Connecticut, and later moved to Middletown, Co ...
(1812–1872), abolitionist and Congregationalist pastor in
New Haven, Connecticut 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 ...
. * Garrett A. Cantine *
Alexander Crummell Alexander Crummell (March 3, 1819 – September 10, 1898) was a pioneering African-American minister, academic and African nationalist. Ordained as an Episcopal priest in the United States, Crummell went to England in the late 1840s to raise money ...
(1819–1898), abolitionist; first an African Methodist Episcopalian minister in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, then a missionary. Formerly a
Noyes Institute The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated ...
student. * John V. DeGrasse, physician * William D. Forten *
Amos Noë Freeman Amos Noë Freeman (1809—1893) was an African-American abolitionist, Presbyterian minister, and educator. He was the first full-time minister of Abyssinian Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, where he led a station on the Underground ...
(1809–1893), teacher, minister, and abolitionist *
Henry Highland Garnet Henry Highland Garnet (December 23, 1815 – February 13, 1882) was an African-American abolitionist, minister, educator and orator. Having escaped as a child from slavery in Maryland with his family, he grew up in New York City. He was educat ...
(1815–1882), escaped slave, abolitionist, minister, educator, and orator. Became a Congregationalist minister in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
. Formerly a
Noyes Institute The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated ...
student. * Samuel A. Jackson *
Jermain Wesley Loguen Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen (February 5, 1813 – September 30, 1872), born Jarm Logue, in slavery, was an African-American abolitionist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and an author of a slave narrative. Biogra ...
(1813–1872), escaped slave, abolitionist, bishop of the
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
* Jacob A. Prime. Remained at the Whitestown Seminary after the institute closed. * Elymus P. Rogers. Had been a student of
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...
's Peterboro Manual Labor School during the one year of its existence. * Thomas Sydney (c. 1818–1841), one of the four
Noyes Institute The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated ...
students. *
Samuel Ringgold Ward Samuel Ringgold Ward (October 17, 1817 – ) was an African American who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor, labor leader, and Congregational church minister. He was author of the influential book ''Autobiograph ...
(1817–c. 1866), escaped slave, abolitionist, teacher minister, and newspaper editor *
Augustus Washington Augustus Washington ( – June 7, 1875) was an American photographer and daguerreotypist. He was born in New Jersey as a free person of color and migrated to Liberia in 1852. He is one of the few African-American daguerreotypists whose career has ...
(c. 1820–1821–1875), later studied at Dartmouth, daguerrotypist, emigrated to
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
* Julia Williams (1811–1870), abolitionist, future wife of
Henry Highland Garnet Henry Highland Garnet (December 23, 1815 – February 13, 1882) was an African-American abolitionist, minister, educator and orator. Having escaped as a child from slavery in Maryland with his family, he grew up in New York City. He was educat ...
, whom she met at the
Noyes Institute The Noyes Academy was a racially integrated school, which also admitted women, founded by New England abolitionists in 1835 in Canaan, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, whose then-abolitionist president, Nathan Lord, was "the only seated ...
. Before Noyes, was a student in
Prudence Crandall Prudence Crandall (September 3, 1803 – January 27, 1890) was an American schoolteacher and activist. She ran the first school for black girls ("young Ladies and little Misses of color") in the United States, located in Canterbury, Connecticut. ...
's short-lived
Canterbury Female Boarding School The Canterbury Female Boarding School, in Canterbury, Connecticut, was operated by its founder, Prudence Crandall, from 1831 to 1834. When townspeople would not allow African-American girls to enroll, Crandall decided to turn it into a school for A ...
. Oneida's only known female student, accepted perhaps because she came as part of a group of four from Noyes.


Native American students

* Kunkapot *
William Whipple Warren William Whipple Warren (May 27, 1825 – June 1, 1853) was a historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. The son of Lyman Marcus Warren, an American fur trader and Mary Cadotte, the Ojibwe-Metis daughter of fur trader M ...
(1825–1853), white–Ojibwe historian and interpreter


White students

Listed in bold are those students who, under the influence of Theodore D. Weld, left Oneida for the
Lane Theological Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
. All of them were white. * John Watson Alvord, Congregational minister; President of the
Freedman's Savings Bank The Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, known as the Freedman's Savings Bank, was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1865, to collect deposits from the newly emancipated communities. The bank opened 37 branches acro ...
, 1868–1874. *
Joel Prentiss Bishop Joel Prentiss Bishop (March 10, 1814 – November 4, 1901) was an American lawyer and legal treatise writer, referred to by more than one commentator as "the foremost law writer of the age." Early life Bishop was born in a "small log house in th ...
(1814–1901), attorney and legal writer * Albert A. Bliss (1812–1893), Ohio State Treasurer * William H. Brand (1824–1891), legislator in New York State * George Bristol * Charles Peck Bush (1809–1857), Michigan legislator *
Horace Bushnell Horace Bushnell (April 14, 1802February 17, 1876) was an American Congregational minister and theologian. Life Bushnell was born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with futu ...
(1802–1876). Bushnell and Dresser were the first two to enroll at Lane. *
Amos Dresser Amos Dresser (December 17, 1812 – February 4, 1904) was an abolitionist and pacifist minister, one of the founders of Olivet College. His name was well known in the Antebellum period because of a well-publicized incident: in 1835 he was arrested ...
(1812–1904). Bushnell and Dresser were the first two to enroll at Lane. Dresser left Lane with the others, but did not go to Oberlin. In 1835, in a nationally publicized incident, he was tried for possessing anti-slavery publications, convicted, and whipped publicly in Nashville, Tennessee. * Alexander Duncan, perhaps to be identified with Alexander Duncan (1788–1853), physician and legislator * John and Robert Everett, who both graduated; they learned the printer's trade working on ''Friend of Man'', and went on to print the Welsh religious magazine ''Y Cenhadwr americanaidd'' of their father Robert Everett. Their brother-in-law J.J. Butler was professor of theology in Whitesboro, then went to Lewiston, Maine, and finally to the new Freewill Baptist school, Hillsdale College. *
Charles Grandison Finney Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism." Finney rejected much of trad ...
(1792–1875), leading revivalist, second president of
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
. Finney was a student of Gale at his pilot project, not the institute itself. * Hiram Foote * Joseph L. Frothingham, disappeared when he was at Whitesboro about to begin studying. * Samuel Green, Beriah Green's oldest son, who published information on him. *
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (December 22, 1821 – March 31, 1891) was a U.S. Congressman from Iowa's 4th congressional district, an ordained Congregational minister, founder of Grinnell, Iowa and benefactor of Grinnell College. Grinnell was born i ...
(1821–1891), U.S. Representative from Iowa, founder of
Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who were ...
, benefactor of
Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-st ...
* Augustus Hopkins * Russell Jesse Judd * John J. Miter * Lucius H. Parker (1807–1872). Graduated from Oberlin Seminary in 1838. * William F. Peck, later a professor at Oberlin * Joseph Hitchcock Payne * Ezra Abell Poole * Samuel Fuller Porter (1813–1911), from Whitestown. * Charles Stewart Renshaw * Benjamin Burleigh Smith, missionary to India *
Henry Brewster Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the '' New York Tribune,'' the ''New York Sun,'' and William Lloy ...
(1805–1887), abolitionist. Future husband of
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
, older brother of Robert L. *
Robert L. Stanton Robert Lodowick Stanton D.D. (March 28, 1810 – May 23, 1885) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and college administrator. He served as president of Miami University of Ohio from 1868 to 1871. He also served as president of Oa ...
, younger brother of Henry Brewster * James Steele (1808–1859) * Asa A. Stone * Sereno W. Streeter * Two sons of abolitionist
Lewis Tappan Lewis Tappan (May 23, 1788 – June 21, 1873) was a New York abolitionist who worked to achieve freedom for the enslaved Africans aboard the '' Amistad''. Tappan was also among the founders of the American Missionary Association in 1846, which ...
. One was William Tappan. * Ebenezer Tucker, graduated in 1840; continued his studies at Oberlin. Became a teacher at the integrated
Union Literary Institute The Union Literary Institute, located in rural Randolph County, Indiana, at 8605 East County Road 600 South, Union City, Indiana (at its founding, "two miles east of Spartanburg"), was a historic school founded in 1846 primarily for blacks by aboli ...
, in
Randolph County, Indiana Randolph County is a county located in the central section of U.S. state of Indiana, on its eastern border with Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 26,171. The county seat is Winchester. History The Indiana General Assembly authorized the ...
. * Giles Waldo. One of the "Lane Rebels", but, uniquely, shows up as a student at Oneida after leaving Lane. * Calvin Waterbury. In 1831, "Waterbury got a school at
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
on the Licking River in Ohio. When in the spring Waterbury talked too much
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
, the inhabitants threatened to ride him out of town on a rail. He prudently climbed aboard a raft and floated down to Cincinnati." * Augustus Wattles * Edward Weed "There was a town gathering at Chillicothe on the same day of last week, when Mr. Weed arrived in town on some business; and being known as an abolitionist, some indignities were offered to him—such as shaving his horse, removing the wheels of his wagon, &c.; that Mr. Weed soon after left town, was followed by the mob, his wagon broken to pieces, his horse killed, and at length ''himself suspended to a tree by a rope of bark,'' until he was dead." *
Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
(1803–1895), leading abolitionist, friend of Finney. Studied at Oneida 1827–1830; by 1832, "the most famous of the Oneida students". In 1833 he led a group of 24 who decamped en masse for
Lane Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood ...
, then, after debating slavery at the Seminary was prohibited, to Oberlin. * Samuel T. Wells *
George Whipple George Hoyt Whipple (August 28, 1878 – February 1, 1976) was an American physician, pathologist, biomedical researcher, and medical school educator and administrator. Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 with George ...
*
Hiram Wilson Hiram Wilson (September 25, 1803 – April 16, 1864) was an anti-slavery abolitionist who worked directly with escaped and former slaves in southwestern Ontario. He attempted to improve their living conditions and help them to be integrated into ...
(1803–1864), abolitionist, founded the school for fugitive slaves in Canada in which William Allen taught in 1841. One of the "Lane rebels".


Alumni of the Whitestown Seminary

For a list, taken from ''History of Oneida County, 1667—1878'' by Everets and Farriss, se

*
Amos L. Allen Amos Lawrence Allen (March 17, 1837 – February 20, 1911) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Maine. Born in Waterboro, Maine, Allen attended the common schools, Whitestown Seminary in Whitestown, New Y ...
(1837–1911), U.S. Representative from Maine * Lewis A. Brigham (1831–1885), U.S. Representative from New Jersey * Edward Davies (1827–1905), minister and author *
John Fullonton John Fullonton (1812-1896) was an American pastor, academic and legislator. Fullonton was born in Raymond, New Hampshire in 1812. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1840, and from the Baptist Biblical School (later renamed Cobb Divinity Sc ...
(1812–1896), Free Baptist Theological School professor, member and chaplain of the New Hampshire House of Representatives * Jay R. Hinckley (1840–?), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. *
James Liddell Phillips James Liddell Phillips (1840–1895) was a medical and religious missionary. Born in Balasore, India, Phillips always considered himself an "Indian boy." His father, Jeremiah Phillips, was also a medical and religious missionary whose work inspired ...
, physician and missionary * Jacob A. Prime. Remained at the Whitestown Seminary after the institute closed. *
Evan Pugh Evan Pugh (February 29, 1828 – April 29, 1864) was the first president of the Pennsylvania State University, serving from 1859 until his death in 1864. An agricultural chemist, he was responsible for securing Penn State's designation in 1863 a ...
(1828–1863), head of the
Farmers' High School Farmers' High School is a national historic district located on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park / State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 37 contributing buildings and 1 contributing ...
, then the
Agricultural College of Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania State University was founded on February 22, 1855 by act P.L.46, No.50 of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania. Centre County became the home of the new school when J ...
, predecessors of
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
*
Ellis H. Roberts Ellis Henry Roberts (September 30, 1827 – January 8, 1918) was an American politician who served as a Representative from New York and 20th Treasurer of the United States. Roberts was born in Utica, Oneida County, New York on September 30 ...
(1827–1918),
Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...
, 1897–1905 *
James Schoolcraft Sherman James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was an American politician who was a United States representative from New York from 1887 to 1891 and 1893 to 1909, and the 27th vice president of the United States under President ...
(1855–1912), Vice President of the United States (1909–1912) *
Mary Traffarn Whitney Mary Traffarn Whitney (February 28, 1852 – March 8, 1942) was an American minister and editor, as well as a social reformer, philanthropist and lecturer. She was one of the early Universalist women ministers, later changing her association to t ...
(1852–1942), minister, editor, social reformer, philanthropist, lecturer


References


Further reading

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in Oneida County, New York Defunct private universities and colleges in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1827 1827 establishments in New York (state) African Americans and education African-American history of New York (state) 1843 disestablishments in New York (state) Educational institutions disestablished in 1843 Antebellum educational institutions that admitted African Americans Schools in Oneida County, New York Buildings and structures in Oneida County, New York 1844 establishments in New York (state) Abolitionism in the United States Underground Railroad locations Recipients of aid from Gerrit Smith American manual labor schools