Erastus Otis Haven (November 1, 1820 – August 2, 1881) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

academic administrator, serving as president or chancellor of three universities in succession from 1863-1880. He was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

from 1880 until his death.Leete, Frederick DeLand, ''Methodist Bishops''. Nashville, The Parthenon Press, 1948.

Biography

Early life

Haven was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Jotham Haven, Jr. and Elizabeth (Spear) Haven, having descended from early colonists from

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

, including

Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

one of the founders of

Sudbury, Massachusetts Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a rich colonial history. History Incorporated in 1639, the bou ...

.Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Descendants of Edmund Rice 9-generation Database, CD-ROM, available fro
Edmund Rice Association
/ref> He is also a descendant of John Alden of the ''Mayflower''.

Education and early career

He graduated from

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 ...

in 1842. He had charge of a private

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, while at the same time pursuing a course of

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and general study. He became Principal of Amenia

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in 1846. He entered the

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 ...

ministry in the New York

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

in 1848. Five years later he accepted the

professorship Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

at 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 ...

. The following year he became the Chair of English language, literature and history. He resigned in 1856 and returned to Boston, where he served as the editor of ''Zion's Herald'' for seven years. During this time he also served two terms in the Massachusetts State Senate, and part of the time as an overseer of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Administrative appointments

In 1863 he became the second

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of the

, where he served for six years. He then became the sixth President of Methodist-related

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. In 1872 he was chosen Secretary of the Board of Education of the M.E. Church. In 1874 he became the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Methodist-related

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in New York. In 1880 he was elected a bishop.

Honors

He was given the degree of

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1854, and a few years later that of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

. Prior to his election to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, he served five times in the General Conference of the M.E. Church, and in 1879 visited Great Britain as a delegate of the M.E. Church to the parent Wesleyan body. A street in

is named in his memory and an endowed chair, currently held by

Carole LaBonne Carole LaBonne is a Developmental and Stem Cell Biologist at Northwestern University. She is the Erastus O. Haven Professor of Life Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences. Education and early career LaBonne received ...

and

Luís Amaral Luís A. N. Amaral (born 12 July 1968) is a Portuguese physicist recognized for his research in complex systems and complex networks. His specific research interests include the emergence, evolution, and stability of complex social and biological ...

, was established by

Death

He died in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, and was buried at

Lee Mission Cemetery Lee Mission Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States. History Lee Mission Cemetery was established in 1842 with the burial of Lucy Thompson Lee, the second wife of Rev. Jason Lee. The cemetery's gate has the date 1838, which ...

in Salem.

Selected writings

*''American Progress'' *''The Young Man Advised'', New York, 1855. (discourses delivered in the chapel of the University of Michigan) *''Pillars of Truth'', 1866. (on the evidences of Christianity) *''Rhetoric'' *''Autobiography of Erastus O. Haven, D.D., LL.D.'', 1883

References

External links

* *
A Classic Town: The Story of Evanston By Frances Elizabeth Willard (1891)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haven, Erastus Otis Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church American theologians 1820 births 1881 deaths University of Michigan faculty Presidents of the University of Michigan Presidents of Syracuse University Wesleyan University alumni Harvard University people Presidents of Northwestern University Editors of Christian publications Massachusetts state senators American Methodist bishops American essayists American sermon writers American autobiographers Methodist writers 19th-century American newspaper editors American speechwriters Burials in Oregon American male journalists American male essayists 19th-century male writers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century essayists 19th-century American clergy