U. S. and Harvard, II

TL;DR -- We can split the group of Heads into three eras by a major event. The Revolutionary War (Declaration of Independence) ends the Colonial period. Then, we go until 1900 covering a century of frontier living with respect to the interior. From there, we stop at 2000. We have looked at some of these periods, already having spent some time roaming the interior, with the last two being restricted to virtual looks. 

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We had an earlier post on this subject (U.S. and Harvard, I) that was motivated by History of Harvard (ours) in the 1900s. Another interest behind the stop and look had been our experience in looking for the pedigrees of these folks, many of whom are of New England families. A few were new arrivers. 

This time, we are looking at generations using fuzzy founds, which result in three categories: Colonial, Revolutionary War to 1900, and, then, post 1900. Let's look at each of these and identify the Heads as they relate to the period.  

• Colonial - The fifth generation was heavily involved with the war that ended this period, however the fourth provided crucial leadership. After all, they had been trained by the Crown to fight in the French-Indian affair. 

Here we start with the era of Eaton (0th) and Dunster (who was on 1st) and end with Samuel Langdon who was the 11th). The count? Eleven if Eaton is excluded. But, Samuel Willard brings it to twelve. 

• Revolutionary War to 1900 - This period saw the U. S. Civil War which was an affair of the 8th generation. C. E. Eliot (21st) came in right after this conflict and was there until the end of the period. There were seven Heads from the turn of the century (1800 or pre-Lewis/Clark) until the Civil War. This is a period of huge adjustment. Was that later one (from the Civil war on) larger?  

With this, we have the eras of Langdon (11th) and Willard (12th - his ggp was a Head, as well) in the beginning; the twentieth century found C. E. Eliot still as the Head. Count? Eleven (see image). 

• From 1900 to 2000 - A period of huge changes, all around. We have not touched upon this as of yet, due to privacy concerns. As in, going to 1900 excludes most of the living who are in the sets of interest (Cape Ann, Essex County, Massachusetts, New England, U. S., where this series applies to both space and time). But, we can research and protect the living (the Census waits 70 years - data from the collection of 1950 recently released; we can be a little more current). 

Here, we have a start with C. E. Eliot continuing his reign and an end Neil Rudenstine (26th). Count? Six.  

Even with the first period, we can cover a lot of area due to the presence of other colonial efforts: Spain, France, and others. The last period seemingly has no bounds as development in the U.S. continues at a pace that is astounding, especially since the influx of people never really slowed down much. In that middle period, we have dared to tread for several reasons. In terms of the theme here, we will finish up the Heads and then make sure that we have appropriate information for each about heritage and family history. Then, we will venture into the various research schemes that are pending.  

Remarks: Modified: 10/07/2022

10/07/2022 -- Aligned the image with the Revolutionary War bullet.

James Walker

TL;DR -- James Walker followed Jared Sparks as Head, both of them sixth generation Americans. He had several accomplishments; however, one huge impact came from his support of Charles W. Eliot being named Head. 

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We continue covering all of the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) with James Walker (Wikipedia) who followed Jared Sparks who is of so much interest (sixth generation (child of the Revolution era) and representative of things left to research). This post completes the list to Thomas Hill, except for the two short periods of John Winthrop. 

Portrait from
Harvard Square Library 

As we look at the Heads, we have done some research related to their families, mostly using WikiTree. The term of Walker (1853-1860) who was born in Massachusetts followed that of Sparks (1849-1853). And, like for Sparks, Walker does not have a WikiTree profile. However, Wikipedia does identify his parents. 

Taking a look at the trough of the www with "John Walker - Lucy Johnson," WT still does not show up; but, there are lots of people interested in this family. Too, Harvard has a bio, James Walker at harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies; this site will become a regular resource. After looking at the bio for James, we sampled a few to note that a personal history can appear. So, we learn that Walker's father, John, received a commission of Maj-Gen from President John Adams in 1798. 

Note: Biographies of notable Unitarian Universalists and other individuals relevant to the liberal religious tradition.

Later, we will post more about Walker's life.    

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

Walker died in 1874. More later (see following notes).

Notes:

1. Looking further at the Harvard Square Library, we see that Walker was instrumental in getting Charles W. Eliot (Post in this blog) into the Head of Harvard position. 

2. We will use Walker as a pivot with respect to generational issues that map to U.S. history, in a full sense. A slight delay might be seen here as we traced several threads which came up while reviewing Walker's term. Too, Queen Elizabeth II left a legacy that parallels U.S. history due to her long reign's touch of almost half of the 20th century. 

3. ...

Remarks: Modified: 09/17/2022

09/17/2022 -- Added in the list which points to related themes. 

Jared Sparks

TL;DR -- Jared Sparks was born right after the Revolution and later served as Head of Harvard as the western expansion was getting into full swing to be derailed by the Civil War. This is a sparse post to set the framework which will be filled in as we learn more about Sparks. 

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This time in our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), we go back in time which was prior to the Civil War but down the pike with respect to the western expansion of the U.S. 

Jared Sparks (Wikipedia) was in the photo with Cornelius Conway Felton of five Harvard presidents, which photo also included Quincy, Everett and Walker. With this post, all will have been covered in a post, except for Walker.  

As we look at the Heads, we have done some research related to their families (mostly using WikiTree). Sparks was born in Connecticut which might suggest a New England pedigree. But, he had not been added to WikiTree, as of yet. We will look into that. 

At least, Wikipedia mentions the town of birth (Willington, CT) and that he grew up on an impoverished farm. On a further look, we found a book by H. B. Adams which has some interesting titles for sections in Chapter 1: Boyhood, New England character, and Youth. It is nice to see scholars take an interest in the personal part of someone's life. We expect that to be a continuing (growing even) trend. 

 

Later, we will post more about Spark's life. For now, let's look at the above book as a proxy representing some of his New England heritage.   

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

Sparks died in 1866. More later (see following notes).

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Notes: 

1. So, the book? Great. Names his mother (read Locke) and one of his grandmothers. Quotes Emerson. You know, we have written elsewhere (John Gardner and the Merrimac) about classroom life versus facing reality (a theme of extreme importance now, where Harvard can weigh in with more than a top-down hammer supposedly conveying veracity to the masses). Then, we learn this: he married a Crowninshield. Great. We're back to Essex County of MA. ...

2. Oh yes, hardship. Rose above it. Which quiets a person (I never met a braggart who really went, successfully, through this type of thing). But, a good woman. His maternal aunt. ... 

3. Finally, on page 7 (did I miss any earlier reference), his father was Joseph Sparks. Now, on page 1, we learned that his mother was Eleanor Orcutt. On a quick look at the trough provided by modern technology, those two raise a slew of nibbles to look at further. ... 

4. Forgot to mention, the most important thing. He was a carpenter. Went to school when he could. Studies with whatever material he could find. Autodidact, in other words. ..., Finally, a Harvardite of substance?, .., 

5. The Harvard Square Library has an extensive bio of Jared Sparks which information about his life and various roles. Looking at this got an awareness of the North American Review which started in 1815. Sparks was editor for a while. The earlier editions are available on-line (Hathi Trust); this is the modern web site for the publication. 

6. The combo of Sparks and the next Pres, Walker, was interesting, for several reasons. For one, lots of parallels of the families over the years (including, btw, collateral relationships); in some cases, almost diametrically different, but not. View deals with the American Dream(s) in all of its variety. 

... 

N. ..., When we have sufficient notes, we'll see about how to create or update WikiTree profiles for all of those that we have found whose information has been less than sparsely considered. 

  

Remarks: Modified: 09/03/2022

09/01/2022 -- One comment, prior to proceeding, seems apropos. With regard to #4, in a variety of was, this is a story of great significance. For now, the reference to 'carpenter' ought to be reflected upon since we are dealing with an epitome of the Judeo-Christian cultural heritage in which Christ is said to have worked with his hands. A hint, if necessary? Head and heart. Many cultures have this. But, intellect goes with the first with all of its rational facilities. One theme? Divorced from reality. As evidenced by? The whole of the computationally-framed notions which is very much in need of some overview that is not related to power, money, fame, ... Wait, we did mention veracity. Now, the second? Heart. Large affair which really outweighs the intellect, always has. Oh, that would be amenable to thinking associated with Harvard and its efforts at glory? Oh yes, athletics was a lame substitution for real stuff. As in? More than mere playing where ego stroking is the deal, not substantive production. Like, food for people? Or, presentation of modern topics in a manner that can be grasped by the minds that are other than intellectual (some of these people surpass in intelligence those who score well on tests which we will look at further - courtesy of cousin Conant. 

09/03/2022 -- Reading that Sparks edited the NAR for a bit, went looking (wrote a post). Was done in Boston; now, done in Iowa. The archives are digitized. So, what a gem? 

Cornelius Conway Felton

 TL;DR -- With Cornelius Conway Felton, we are at the start of the U.S. Civil War. By this time, too, we had the western expansion in full swing. Post the conflict, the railroad started to cover the whole of the country. One of Felton's brothers was involved in those events. So, our theme of Harvard and the U.S. continues. 

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Last time in our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), we brought in Nathaniel Eaton for several reasons. For one, our focus is 400 years. Then, there have been many changes over those years with respect to worldviews, some of which involve issues unresolved today. 

With Cornelius Conway Felton (Wikipedia), we deal with a time of major upheaval. His time in the position saw the start of the U.S. Civil War. Harvard writes that most southern students left and never returned. Our theme, of course, is heavily oriented to New England, however the scope covers area far beyond that little collection of colonies and New England was of the south, too. 

Quincy, Everett, 
Sparks, Walker 

As we look at the Heads, we have done some research related to their families (mostly using WikiTree). Felton was born in Massachusetts, but no other specifics are given. Actually, that was one reason that we waited to look at him. However, as we looked at the Dickens visit to Harvard, we saw that Felton was there, as well as was Josiah Quincy, III and Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

We started to look at Massachusetts records, but, thankfully, Rutgers provides details to start with. His parents: Cornelius Conway Felton; Anna Morse. Rutgers also mentions two marriages, 1838 and 1846. Then, West Newbury (Essex County, btw) put up a plaque noting his birth place.  One might wonder of our interest: the 400th, as mentioned; too, the 250 of the U.S. (D.A.R./S.A.R.(see Langdon), etc.). 

 

Later, we will post more about Felton's life. For now, a Morse uncle (Moses Morse - WikiTree) can serve as a proxy representing some of his New England heritage.   

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

Felton died in 1862 leaving, at least, one milestone: the 1860 Harvard class had "more than 100 graduates." 

Remarks: Modified: 08/13/2022

08/13/2022 -- 

 

Rev Nathaniel Eaton

 TL;DR -- The year of 1636 followed Winthrop's arrival closely. There are many factors to consider with respect to those times and their interests to the problems of today. We have another go-around coming up with a new twist, technology. Going forward, new ways to know will be emerging; yet, reflection on history will be a continuing theme. We will continue to look backward and forward. 

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Our Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) work is progressing. It was only recently that we thought to bring in Nathaniel Eaton (Wikipedia, WikiTree). We now know sufficiently enough to discuss him and his times. Of late, Nathaniel came to fore while we looked to add Edward Holyoke to our list.  

Portrait of Nathaniel Eaton
accidentally painted on a
John Harvard Olympus Cigar label
in place of Harvard's founder
John Harvard 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

We learned early in our work that Nathaniel Eaton (Benjamin Brown Gardner) needed to be on the ancestor list having been ignored for several generations. Once we made this find, we started to consider why he had been cancelled (using the modern  concept). We looked at his academic record, for instance (The Hebraist). We read lots of stories, some of which were fairly new rehashes of questionable value. But, at the time, we were in a position of trying to fill in gaps. 

Then, we realized that others had been looking at the guy, too. In fact, they referenced our digging into the details concerning the son left behind and his progeny. That citation was in The American Genealogist. This article and the referenced article are now in the database of the NEHGS with appropriate bit of index information to support future research. The below image shows the first page of the TAG article plus the page that references the article that Thomas Gardner Research, Inc. published in The Essex Genealogist. 

There has been more research done since then which we will get back to. But, all along, our thought was about the veracity of statements, especially from the youngsters. Some have studied the relationships twixt the institution and the students along Harvard's history. We will look at that, as well. Let's leave this, for now, with a quote from the prior post dealing with Holyoke. 

Edward was also associated with changing the "intellectual climate" through several means such as having a focus on merit rather than pedigree, stressing scholarship, and removing flogging (which was a very much unanticipated theme). With regard to the last, Eaton ran into issues due to being abusive. In her article titled "The Dilemma of Corporal Punishment at Harvard College" that appeared in the History of Education Quarterly ( 1974, Cambridge University), K. C. Moore looks at the issue which is easy to "pass over" for several reasons. With respect to the Eaton incident, one might make comparison with other situations such as the U.S. Navy (and other organizations of the like). We have an eye witness account by Richard Henry Dana (Two Years Before the Mast), who had been at Harvard, of a flogging at sea almost two hundred years later. 

On another note, this series of posts has been quite instructive for several reasons. It's 400-year coverage of the U.S. allows us to relook at themes that are broad and deep. For instance, New England turned out to have a very long reach both across the interior of the country as it was developed and around the world. As the 250th looms, this viewpoint will be significant. Too, though, we are at the threshold of the remembrance of things related to the Cape Ann's venture. Hence, we can say that we are looking forward to the next few years (decades). 

When we started our research in 2010, things were hugely different from what we see now. From time to time, we see older sites still extant. Hopefully, some of those may persist. Otherwise, we can hope to learn from "wayback" approaches. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/23/2022

07/22/2022 -- 

 

Samuel Langdon

TL;DR -- With Samuel Langdon, we have a Patriot and the start of the Revolution. Langdon had served as a Chaplain in the French-Indian Affair. During the Revolution, Harvard moved to Concord while activities related to the war took place on campus. Langdon has a Profile in the D.A.R. database as an ancestor of members. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) is getting interesting as we start to explore U.S. History. 

With Samuel Langdon, we have a real-life Patriot with respect to the Revolution as it followed the long period of colonial life. It is said that Langdon was "obnoxious to the Tory students." As well, Langdon was of the 4th generation and had been involved in the French-Indian affair during which time the Crown had trained the leaders who would rebel. 

Langdon was of a family (WikiTree) with some New England pedigree. He attended the Boston Latin School and Harvard. Shortly after he took his office at Harvard, the battles of Lexington and Concord took place. The College, which moved to Concord, closed for a time and barracked soldiers. Gen. Washington set up headquarters on the campus. The troops who had been bivouacked left a trail of damage from stripping metal from buildings to be used for the bullets.   

Later, British prisoners of war were placed at Harvard including in the Adams House. 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• 
  Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

Langdon died in New Hampshire where he went after he was asked to leave Harvard by the students. 

Langdon had descendants, some of whom are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution organization. His D.A.R. Patriot record shows several members (A068943) through two of his children: Mary and Paul. 

Note: Finding a DAR entry is a first for us in this research. We will go back and determine if there ought to be other Presidents with this honor. 

Remarks: Modified: 07/16/2022

07/16/2022 -- 

 

Edward Holyoke

TL;DR -- We now have the Heads covered up to the time of the Revolution and beyond. Everyone is gearing up for the celebrations (DAR, SAR, and others). We can look at that first period more closely now, say from the beginning to the split with England. Then, there will be a couple more periods: 1812's continuing conflict with England, the frontier (including the Civil War), and the latter part of the 19th century. We have already seen that Harvard's experiences match up well with our generational view that will be in the focus for a bit.  

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As we finish our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), we will start to pull together a timeline that includes the threads here in terms of generations and add in information related to major themes which are influential today. Bringing in Edward Holyoke (Wikipedia) will allow us to look at the period before the Revolution. But there is an unexpected category to discuss: corporal punishment (see below). 

Edward was of the fourth generation (WikiTree) of a family with a New England pedigree. His family had gone west and helped start Springfield in Hamden County. Edward went to Harvard and was associated for a couple of decades with a church in Marblehead (Essex County). Samuel Cheever had invited Edward to come be a Pastor. 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

With respect to history, the Revolution's generation was the fifth with leadership by the fourth. Many of these leaders were at Harvard when Edward was President: 

Samuel Adams (A.B. 1740), James Otis (A.B. 1743), Jonathan Mayhew (A.B. 1744), Thomas Cushing (A.B. 1744), James Bowdoin (A.B. 1745), John Hancock (A.B. 1754), John Adams (A.B. 1755), Joseph Warren (A.B. 1759) and Josiah Quincy Jr. (A.B. 1763). 

Edward was also associated with changing the "intellectual climate" through several means such as having a focus on merit rather than pedigree, stressing scholarship, and removing flogging (which was a very much unanticipated theme). With regard to the last, Eaton ran into issues due to being abusive. In her article titled "The Dilemma of Corporal Punishment at Harvard College" that appeared in the History of Education Quarterly ( 1974, Cambridge University), K. C. Moore looks at the issue which is easy to "pass over" for several reasons. With respect to the Eaton incident, one might make comparison with other situations such as the U.S. Navy (and other organizations of the like). We have an eye witness account by Richard Henry Dana (Two Years Before the Mast), who had been at Harvard, of a flogging at sea almost two hundred years later. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/28/2022

06/28/2022 -- 

 

John Rogers

TL;DR -- As we continue or pace through the terms in an other-than-linear manner, we next see John Rogers who as born in England, was a graduate of Harvard, married into the Dudley/Bradstreet mix, worked with Rev. Hubbard come into his brief term as Head. Of note will be the Ipswich influence, that is, the Ipswich of Essex County of Massachusetts. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) has been driven by different factors since we started the work. This one allows us to finish the early Heads with John Rogers (Wikipedia), so that we can start looking at periods. He came as a youngster from England with his parents but attended Harvard. 

Initially, the interests for looking at the Heads were several, but we can start with this list: 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

As we complete a first pass through the list, we will tie U.S. generations back to these Heads in terms of general views of the U.S. For instance, D.A.R., in an overview of their mission, stresses the upcoming 250th where the U.S. split from European influence, somewhat. It still had to contend various ways. On the other hand, D.A.R. notes that the whole idea of an American Spirit has lapsed. To us, that has been apparent for some time. 

Does having an old pedigree mean anything? John Rogers married into a family that lived in Ipswich. This Essex County town is of importance to us for several reasons which we will get into. For the Heads, we like to provide WikiTree information: John Rogers; his wife, Elizabeth Denison. Her grandfather was Gov. Thomas Dudley. Too, John had William Hubbard, as in law. 

John Rogers' term which started after that of Urian Oakes was brief. Increase Mather came into the office next. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/28/2022

06/28/2022 -- Updated the typo in the Wikipedia reference. 

 

Legacies of Harvard

TL;DR -- Recently, President Bacow released a report by a committee that looked at Harvard's involvement with slavery. The report is about the first phase of an on-going project that associates with our interests in Harvard as an archetype, of sorts. 

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Legacies? There are many. This post deals with a recent report which is very much apropos for further discussions about the History of Harvard (our look). But, there are many other legacies to note, many of which will deal with the U.S., in particular, while others are of a more universal flavor. 

Report by 
Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Quote: On April 26, 2022, Harvard President Larry Bacow released the Report of the Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. 

The site's concern is the first phase of a project for which it provides a message by Bacow and identifies the Committee. There is other information available such as the following:

• List of Human Beings Enslaved by Prominent Harvard Affiliates

The list includes the "Enslaver," the "Harvard Affiliation(s)," the "Enslaved Persons," the "Documentation Dates," and any "Memorialization(s)." The first line is for "Nathanial Eaton (1609-1674)" who was "Schoolmaster (1637-1639)" and who owned "The Moor". The list has footnotes that have extensive links. 

We will follow the progress of this Initiative, as it is an example of Harvard and the history of the U.S. through time. Also, the timeline, explicitly, includes the first Head who was the first "enslaver." What we see in the table is that the next row is Increase Mather (who was involved from 1686 to 1701). That points to little to none slavery involvement in New England early on. 

That needs to be studied. Casting Eaton as a sole rogue may have been fun, but the research needs to expand due to Harvard's senior, and influential, roles, across the board. 

So, we can say that this gets Eaton listed in a different context. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/02/2022

05/02/2022 --  On the names, we can look at absences as well as presences. There was a run of Heads that can be looked at. The only 'Gardiner' was in the Perkins family. Other than that, 'Gardner' does not appear. Nice bit of research that has been sorely needed for a while. Appreciate the focus on the American Indian experience. Now, how about the Quakers? 

Edward Everett

TL;DR -- As we pursue the list of Heads, the sampling has been informal. Today, we pick by family name and look at Edward Everett who had quite a career outside of Harvard. He disliked the 'rowdy' students, one report said. But, he helped get an applied focus in place, namely science and engineering. Harvard over the 400 years of the U.S.? Significant in many ways. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) has been quite cursory so far. This one was interesting due to Edward Everett (Wikipedia) being about half-way from the start to now. Just a quick review brought up several topics to pursue. For instance, he has a solid New England pedigree; his wife has one that is even more complete. So, we will venture further in that domain than we have before, at some point. This post is a mere summary. 

Initially, the interests for looking at the Heads were several, but we can start with this list: 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

After completing a first pass through the list, we will tie U.S. generations back to these Heads in terms of general views of the U.S. For instance, D.A.R., in an overview of their mission, stresses the upcoming 250th where the U.S. split from European influence, somewhat. It still had to contend various ways. On the other hand, D.A.R. notes that the whole idea of an American Spirit has lapsed. To us, that has been apparent for some time. Does having an old pedigree mean anything?

Okay, Harvard? Early on, it might have argued about a universal view where country was mere borders established somewhat arbitrarily. That universal view would have been heavily Christian. Later, a more technical spirit emerged. That encouraged the elite view that was there from the beginning to take strong hold. Hence, Harvard is of the world's upper crusts, somewhat. 

 

Edward Everett

Aside, we'll go back to Rev. John Wise to found a proper discussion, at some point. A pamphlet of his was reprinted by Patriots over 250 years ago. What does this have to do with Everett? He would have been a progeny of those of that time. Too, he lived in the era of the Civil War. 

For some Heads, WikiTree had little information which is usually the case where there are no children involved. That is not the case, now: Edward Hill Everett (Everett-650); Charlotte Gray Brooks (Brooks-2069). However, the WikiTree Profile of Brooks has no regular interest. When we talk New England, the basis, for us, is Cape Ann, or, one might say, Essex County. Brooks has many threads from that little locus. 

But, Harvard is more than involvement with the trivia of everyday life. Oh? We will discuss that notion, too, as the changes seen on the horizon now indicate that some lessons to be learned were not, both here and elsewhere. So, Harvard dropped the ball? 

One commenter expressed that Everett grew dissatisfied with the Head role fairly quickly (one alleged factor? rowdy students). His time in the office was close to three years. One achievement was getting the Lawrence gift applied. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/30/2022

04/30/2022 -- For starters, we can take a brief look at the Daughters of the American Revolution. There are three looks at different times, 1953, 2003, and 2021. Plus, the Encyclopedia's coverage considers some of the history plus the mission. D.A.R. has evolved like the rest of us. 

Urian Oakes

TL;DR -- The U.S.? Lots to say about its history and future. The latter is problematic as we do not really know the former. Turns out that Harvard's parallel existence over the long years from the colonies to today is very much of interest to a relook at the U.S. A small beginning is this pass through the Heads. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) has been quite cursory so far. This one was interesting due to Urian Oakes being the fourth in the role. He spent time here and abroad; his family was involved with the Ancient & Honorable Artillery company which bears a closer look. 

Initially, the interests for looking at the Heads were several, but we can start with this list: 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

After completing a first pass through the list, we will tie U.S. generations back to these Heads in terms of general happenings as well as specific family involvements through the 400 years. Before 400 years, plus or minus, we will be looking at the colleges near London which are of such fame. 

a

This post introduces Urian Oakes (Wikipedia). Urian and his wife were childless leaving them on the stack of forgettables that we intend to pay attention to. Hence, there is no WikiTree record for Urian. However there is one for his brother, Thomas Oakes (WikiTree) who was a Physician. 

Urian Oakes was a chaplain for the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. His brothers, Thomas and Samuel, were members. Urian preached the election sermon in 1672. 

Penn has a collection of sermons by Urian Oakes (1631-1681).

Remarks: Modified: 04/29/2022

04/18/2022 --

Benjamin Wadsworth

TL;DR -- In our long look at the U.S. and before, we will use Harvard with its association with the beginnings of the country. Benjamin Wadsworth's time after the Witch ordeal and before the turmoil of the wars (French-Indian and Revolution) needs further attention. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) has been quite useful with only a cursory look. We will be taking this theme as a regular meme while we continue the review of the U.S. through time, including before and after the Revolution whose 250th anniversary is coming up. Initially, the interests were several, but we have started with this look: 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

After completing the list, we will tie U.S. generations back to these Heads in terms of general happenings as well as specific family involvements through the 400 years. Before 400 years, plus or minus, we will be looking at the colleges near London which are of such fame. 

This post introduces Benjamin Wadsworth (1725-1737 -- see Wikipedia, WikiTree). Per usual, we did a quick genealogical check to find New England links, such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but there is a lot more research that could be done (we will list the Heads for whom very little genealogical research has been done, at some point) to identify collateral families related to Wadsworth and his wife. 

His biography at Harvard's archive indicates the transitional period of the early 1700s where Wadsworth focused on College rules and curriculum. However, the times were those of loosening virtue. Too, the whole of the period after the Witch ordeal and the turmoils of the wars was very influential to the making of the U.S. spirit and needs attention with respect to current times and their troubles. 

The Harvard archive now points, via the "wayback machine", to all of the graduates of the colonial period with their class identified plus their death date.  

Remarks: Modified: 07/30/2025

07/30/2025 -- George Washington used his house during the Revolution (Siege of Boston). 

John Leverett

TL;DR -- We continue our look at U.S. history by way of the Heads of Harvard with a look at the first Head of the 18th Century. This was shortly after the Witch ordeal of Andover and a couple of generations prior to the U.S. revolution. John Leverette initiated the changes that resulted in the eventual 'secular' turn at Harvard. 

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We continue to use the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) to establish our index for the U.S. through time. Initially, the interests were several, but we have started with this look: History of Harvard (ours); History of the Presidency (Harvard); graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and Harvard in the long history of the U.S. We are about 1/2 way through these folks. After getting the list going, we will tie the goings on back to these Heads in terms of general happenings as well as specific family involvements. 

Though we saw John Leverett (Wikipedia, WikiTree) on the list of Heads earlier, it was seeing his predecessors that motivated today's entry. Also, we learned a little about his family. His grandfather was Governor and also a member of the Artillery Company of Massachusetts.  Leverette was Head of Harvard after Increase Mather left his role to be follow by Samuel Willard who fell ill while serving as an interim Head. 

The biography at Harvard has interesting information about Leverett's contributions to making Harvard a liberal institution while firming up its style as well as the demeanor of the students. This period is right about the turn of the 18th century with the closure of the Salem turmoils and a couple of generations prior to the U.S. revolution. Leverette was instrumental in starting the secular turn of Harvard, according to its Historian, Samuel E. Morrison. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/09/2022

03/09/2022 --

Drew Gilpin Faust

TL;DR -- We continue our look at U.S. history by way of the Heads of Harvard with a look at the first  female Head. Drew Gilpin Faust was from Virginia and a Historian of the Civil War. 

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Our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) has been quite useful with only a cursory look. We will be taking this theme as a regular meme while we continue the review of the U.S. through time. Initially, the interests were several, but we have started with this look: 

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

We are about 1/2 way through these folks. After completing the list, we will tie U.S. generations back to these Heads in terms of general happenings as well as specific family involvements through the 400 years.

The first female president (and #28) was Drew Gilpin Faust (Wikipedia, WikiTree - her father, McGhee Tyson Gilpin). She was a graduate of Bryn Mawr and the first since 1672 to hold the position while not being a graduate of Harvard. She was in the office from 2007 to 2018 (News, President Faust), brought back the ROTC, and installed the first Muslim chaplain. 

Her biography at Harvard is the index (get direct link) of the archive.org collection. She was a Historian of the Civil War and from Virginia, a southern state. As well as looking at her accomplishments, we will look at the family history for connections to New England, north. 

Notes: 

1. We mentioned Drew in our post on Emmy Noether who ought to be better known and in the one on Women's History Month, 2022. Derek Bok was interim in the role prior to her time. 

2. ...

Remarks: Modified: 03/13/2022

03/13/2022 -- This was the first post of the Women's History Month theme. There is an in-law tie and several cultural ones. One pedigree line for Faust goes back to the Downing family which was connected to son Joseph. Culturally, both graduates and professors of Bryn Mawr have associations to look at further. 

 

Increase Mather

TL;DR -- We started our look at U.S. history by way of the Heads of Harvard with Conant who has a real early pedigree in Plymouth and Essex Counties and, with this post, continue or sampling. This time we confront the time of the Andover ordeal about which much has been written as it has a hold on the popular imagination. 

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We are using the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) to establish our index for the U.S. through time. Initially, the interests were several, but we have started with this look: History of Harvard (ours); History of the Presidency (Harvard); graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and Harvard in the long history of the U.S. We started with James B. Conant who descended from a member of the Cape Ann party. Then, we picked the next several using an associative approach. For each of the Heads considered so far, we have provided links to material on the web plus some of our own research when it is apropos. So far, we have not looked at the time of the end of the 17th century and do so with this post. 

Though we have not mentioned Increase Mather (Wikipedia, WikiTree) in particular, he is of interest for several reasons: son of a member of the Board of Harvard Overseers,  father of Cotton Mather, and in the Head position during the turmoil related to the Witch Trials. Earlier, we detailed the impact on the lives of an extended family in an article (Trials of the Wilson Family) which represents a continuing study that has more than importance than that related to the families. 

The brevity of this post does not represent lack of interest, rather we will be touching upon this theme in the context of the whole of U.S. history. 

Remarks: Modified: 02/18/2022

02/18/2022 -- Point to Wikipedia. Create 'Harvard' label. 

Leonard Hoar

TL;DR -- As we walk the halls of the Heads, our fashion is not random but sensitive to the current research theme. The last Head was in his role during the turmoil prior to the Revolution. This post looks at an early Head who was before the time of insanity, namely Leonard Hoar. He was the first to be a late entry. 

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There are not many Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) to cover, so this series has a limit. But, our interests are several: 

• History of Harvard; 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar - see below - the Catalogue); 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S.; 
• and more. 

As we have gone through the names where the focus was related to the context of interest at the time, we have done posts consecutively. This will happen now where we do this post and get off onto other topics that can bear our attention. The last post was on Rev. Samuel Locke. He was in the role of Head during the turmoil leading up to the Revolution. We have written of the training ground for the upheaval. That is, the French and Indian affair afforded the colonials an opportunity to learn military manners under the auspices of the Crown against which they would rebel. 

Leonard Hoar
FindAGrave

Now, we step back and look at the earlier times and a training ground, of sorts. Leonard Hoar (Wikipedia, WikiTree) was the third Head. Or the fourth, if we count Eaton. This post will begin the presentation of the case of why Nathaniel is important to the History of the U.S. Hoar followed Chauncy and Dunster. The thing to note is that Eaton, Dunster and Hoar incurred some type of controversial reactions by those of the time. 

The image on the left is from the 2nd catalog and shows a lot of familiar names, one of which has been mentioned here with respect to the Revolution: Rev. John Wise. 

It is that theme that leads to the "training ground' statement. Not long after Hoar's death, we had the witch hunt. One colleague of Hoar's participated, namely Cotton Mather. In short, those who disliked Hoar shunned him; he had a reaction which needs further study. A little look at the controversies over the years.

Oh yes, the witch hunt? We know lots more about that now due to recent research that filled in details related to the persons involved. That type of historical perspective will continue to progress and offer us a much fuller sense of the reality. 

Leonard Hoar was a late comer, so to speak. He actually had been a student at Harvard, left the country, and came back. And, he was of noted abilities. Lots to look at as we proceed. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/28/2022

06/28/2022 -- Added link to, and image from, the FindAGrave profile of Leonard Hoar and added link toe New England Historical Society article (Harvard Student Beaten in 1674, President takes Fall). 

Rev. Samuel Locke

TL;DR -- Samuel Locke was Head of Harvard in the period prior to the Revolution in which he is noted to have been a Patriot. He is one of the neglected Heads about whom little has been written or has been lifted to public attention. Given that our 250th view of those times is coming up, we expect to spend some time looking at Samuel. He was from Woburn, MA as was Count Rumford. 

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As we continue our look at Harvard, we have started to build a list of pertinent posts: History of Harvard (ours), Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), History of the Presidency (Harvard), Catalogues of Harvard (Hathi Trust, mainly for the classes, years and graduates) and several posts in this blog concerning specifics of Presidents, their times, lives, and families (including information from WikiTree). We had been picking interesting Presidents due to their being pertinent to some point that we were researching starting with James Bryant Conant who had been mentioned in a New Yorker article in 2021. 

Grave of Samuel Locke

The subject of today's post comes from the period right before the Revolution which was 250 years ago, to which event SAR and DAR are  paying attention. Samuel Locke (WikiTree: Locke-1406, the Collection of his papers) came into his role in 1770 which was 150 years (six generations) after the noted arrival, but he had a short reign. 

Locke graduated from Harvard in 1755 during the reign of Edward Holyoke who has not been covered yet in this series of post (will be soon). Locke was ordained at Sherborn, MA. His Harvard position started in 1770 during a time of turmoil. We will look at that further. 

Locke has minimal information published about him in Wikipedia. The Biography at the Collection is much better and mentions his patriot stance in the Revolution. Locke was the first Head where we thought to look for information in the SAR/DAR databases and in the multi-volume Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailor collection; however, he died in 1777 (we will review other Heads of that time). The material on him given at the History of the Presidency site at Harvard can support more research. 

Future work will look at Woburn, MA, the birthplace of Locke. Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, was born there. Locke was followed by Winthrop, for a brief time. Thompson, when young, had attended, unofficially, lectures by Winthrop. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/28/2022

06/28/2022 -- Added link to post on Edward Holyoke. 

Charles Chauncy

TL;DR -- We pick up one more President from the early years. In 1665, Harvard graduated its first American Indian. There are other topics of interest from the early times that we will look at further. As we go forward, we will bring in MIT, for balance, as we consider the scholarly side of things. 

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This post is about the 14th of a series of unknown length. As such, it continues a theme related to the history of the U.S. as it might be seen through Harvard's history and as we focus on New England's influence from its beginnings, principally the northern realm. The topic of the post is change from the former technology focus which seems to drive the modern viewpoints more than does others. Seems is apropos, as there are plenty other views just as true. In fact, our getting a proper balance on technology will come from a broader scope in scholarship and in normal life. 

With respect to Harvard, these posts figure centrally: History of Harvard, Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), History of the Presidency (Harvard), Catalogues of Harvard (Hathi Trust, mainly for the classes, years and graduates) and several posts in this blog concerning specifics of Presidents, their times, lives, and families. Of the last group of posts, we have picked interesting Presidents due to finding them instrumental to some point that we were researching. The first one was James Bryant Conant who had been mentioned in a New Yorker article. 

Today's post came from a search on American Indians and Harvard. We found a Harvard Gazette article that mentioned the first American Indians graduate whose graduation was in 1665. As well, there was mention of the Charter of 1650. Henry Dunster was President, then, the 1st. In 1665, we find Charles Chauncy. He has a WikiTree profile and a pedigree that we will look at further (Magna Carta - WikiTree: Chauncey-8). This somewhat motivates us to look further at the lineage of some of the others, mainly, with respect to tying U.S. particularities, in its early stages, back across the waters. After all, many who came here left descendants who have trouble, now, closing gaps left 400 years ago. 

We have had several posts on American Indian issues with respect to Essex Count, New England and the U.S. as a whole. With respect to institutions, MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences will be added to the list of research topics. We have been following several American Indians sites via the internet. 

Here is an example article of note.

• Voice of America: For Native Americans, Harvard and Other Colleges Fall Short   

Note: earlier, we converted all references of Native Americans to American Indians. Our use in this post follows the use in the articles that are provided as reference. We will use the terms interchangeably. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/07/2022

03/14/2022 -- The wander though the hall of the Heads of Harvard has been quite interesting. We will summarize at some point about the varied cultural and societal aspects that come up. For instance, Chauncey (WikiTree pedigree: Chaucey-8)is on the list of Gateway Ancestors who represent descendants of aristocracy who came over here. In short, many of these are cousins of Prince William and Prince Harry, and others. Another tale, related to Harvard, is that (one of) the Cottons told some cats who wanted to come over with privileges that, no, come here and be like everyone else. Lose your pedigree. How would Harvard handle that now? 

04/07/2022 -- Changed most Native Americans mentions to American Indians. 

Samuel Webber

TL;DR -- Samuel Webber was a student at Harvard during the time of the Revolution. His term as President was in the period right after the split was accomplished and before the War of 1812. Those crucial times, 250 years ago, will be getting more scrutiny using new methods allowed by computing. That is, history can be made more relevant through personalization. 

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Continuing the look at the History of Harvard (ours) through the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), we next consider Samuel Webber (Harvard, Wikipedia, WikiTree: Webber-762) who distinguished himself as a Mathematics Professor at Harvard prior to his short time as President. During his time, the secular spirit was rising and changing the character of Harvard. That topic has always had our interest which we will follow more closely now, given that we can identify family names to go with the discussions. One of Samuel's specialties was surveying which we have an interest in, for several reasons, such as Gardner surveying (early 1600s) and the carving of the west of the U.S. But, we want, as well, to get into changes with respect to mathematics during those times of turmoil, albeit more brainy than brawny. 

Born in Essex County, MA, Samuel moved with his family to New Hampshire. He attended Harvard as class of 1784. So his time matches up with the events of 250 years ago. There will be lots to look at. For instance, the Wikipedia bio does not agree with that of Harvard and WikiTree. Too, Webber is in our large extended family. Samuel was on of the Presidents of Harvard with little genealogical information available. 

His son married the daughter of a Loyalist. Great. So was Count Rumford whose money came in later. 

Remarks: Modified: 02/18/2022

01/17/2022 --

A(bbott) Lawrence Lowell

TL;DR -- A(bbott) Lawrence Lowell served as President of Harvard after Eliot and before Conant. He changed the focus to be more scholarly and collegial with decisions like having the dormitory experience cut out the 'Gold Coasting' that had become the New England way, say as we saw with Boston Brahminship. 

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We have been adding Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia) to our list (History of Harvard) while taking a brief look at each with respect to time and affiliations, such as family and connections to New England. Our research started with a recent President (James Bryant Conant) who followed Lowell, and we have done a few more. For each of those chosen so far, there was a motivation involved which we will document. 

A. Lawrence Lowell came to our attention due to his family ties. He has a large New England pedigree (Lowell- 642) according to the researchers at WikiTree. We will be checking that. However, we noticed, too, that not much has been written about Lowell. We have seen this of several Presidents.  

So, on looking further, we found that there is a page at the Harvard site titled "History of the Presidency" at which one can learn more about each person. Lowell helped move the culture such that a common spirit might develop. We learned that early classes were ranked by the social status of the family of the student. 

Lowell built dormitories and emphasized the need for students to live in these. Prior to that, how the student lived was, again, according to social status. One might say, the infamous 'Gold Coast' of the Boston Brahmins which had been encouraged by the prior President, Charles William Eliot. An example is the Adams House which became a dormitory - its website.  

Like the others, Lowell's time had its ups and downs. Example: Writing the Wrong (2005). Also, Lowell had accomplished siblings (Percival Lowell and Amy Lowell) and cousins (John Lowell Gardner). 

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As we have gone through our look at the Heads of Harvard (Wikipedia), we have put together the following list of pointers to foster discussion which we are adding to the early posts after our first which was on James Bryant Conant (dated - 26 Aug 2021).  

• History of Harvard (ours);
• History of the Presidency (Harvard); 
• graduates of Harvard (list initiated by Hoar); and 
• Harvard in the long history of the U.S. 

This has been a very useful series with tons of work now pending to bring the 'real' history of the U.S. to fore as an example of what future work and analysis will involve. 

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One person of note to our research is Col. T. W. Higginson who was old family and a Harvard graduate. He wrote of his lineage which he self-published in 1910. In that work, we have some sixty references to Harvard graduates, including two references to Presidents (Kirkland and Lowell). So, that is of interest. Some of the graduates were related by marriage to the family. The early Higginsons had an association with Theophilus Eaton who was the brother of Nathaniel. 

Remarks: Modified: 09/23/2022

01/07/2022 -- Doing, finally, a post on Boston Brahmins. Plus, Lowell paraphrased: every issue has a Harvard man on the wrong side. 

02/02/2022 -- Add 't' to Abbott. Put a link to the Wikipedia page. 

09/23/2022 -- Added list of links plus noted the relationship with John Thornton Kirkland. And, note about Col. T. W. H., who was a graduate as were many in his family.