Madison College (Pennsylvania)

Madison College was an educational institution in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church.^[1] The college was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1827, and it was operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1832, after which it became associated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.^[2] Andrew Stewart was instrumental in its physical construction.^[3]

Henry Bidleman Bascom was the first president, 1827–29, and Charles Elliott (languages) and John H. Fielding (mathematics) were the first professors.^[4] After Bascom left, Fielding then served as president between 1829 and 1831, and John Clark took over Fielding's math professorship.^[5][6] Among the students of the late 1820s were William Hunter and Rice G. Hopwood.^[7] Waitman T. Willey was the first graduate of the college, and the second graduating class contained six students: James H. McMechen, Alfred Sturgis, James A. Van Dyke, Philip Ross, Samuel Austin, and William Austin.^[8] Bishop Matthew Simpson, who gave the funeral speech at Abraham Lincoln's funeral, was an alumnus.^[9] Thomas Brownfield Searight,^[10][11] William H. Barclay,^[12] and James F. Dayton^[13] also attended the college, and Wilton B. Goff was a professor of mathematics and natural science.^[14]

Richard H. Ball was inaugurated as president of Madison College on Sept. 1, 1851, at which time the college was under the auspices of the Methodist Protestant Church.^[15] Faculty members during the 1850s included J.F. Crocker (mathematics), W.J.T. Carroll (languages), J. Dawson (chemistry), J.B. Howell (law), Augustus Mot (modern languages), and G.B. McElroy (preparatory department).^[16] Francis Waters was selected as president in summer 1853 but left later that fall because of family illness; Samuel K. Cox became the interim president and then was named president in summer 1854.^[17] For the fall 1855 session, George Brown was president of the college, and the faculty consisted of P.S. Bancroft (mathematics and science), M.B. Goff (languages), and George B. McElroy (English and preparatory department).^[18] The college's final session occurred in fall 1857, with George Brown serving as president and John Deford (an alumnus of the college), William Campbell, and Amos Hutton serving as faculty for the several dozen students enrolled.^[19] The growing division between north and south over the issue of slavery, plus the establishment of some additional religiously affiliated colleges in the southern states that attracted southern money and students, contributed significantly to the demise of Madison College.^[20]

The facility was used as a school for orphans of soldiers after the Civil War.^[21][22] In the late 1880s the buildings were used by the Gilbert Collegiate Institute, which was run by C.A. Gilbert.^[23]

References

1. Reynolds, G.T. (1902). "Madison College". In Haskins, Charles Homer; Hull, William Isaac (eds.). A History of Higher Education in Pennsylvania. Government Printing Office. pp. 155–7. Madison College Pennsylvania.
2. Daniel, W. Harrison (January 1979). "Madison College, 1851-1858: A Methodist Protestant School" (PDF). Methodist History. 17 (2): 91. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
3. "A Worthy Example" (PDF). Raftsman's Journal (Clearfield, PA). February 23, 1870. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
4. Cummings, A.W. (1886). The Early Schools of Methodism. New York: Phillips & Hunt. p. 62. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
5. Hopwood, Robert F. (1938). History of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Uniontown, Pa. Uniontown, Pa.: Robert F. Hopwood. p. 71. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
6. Cummings, A.W. (1886). The Early Schools of Methodism. New York: Phillips & Hunt. p. 62. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
7. Hopwood, Robert F. (1938). History of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Uniontown, Pa. Uniontown, Pa.: Robert F. Hopwood. pp. 22, 24, 96. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
8. "A Leading Man Gone" (PDF). Wheeling (WV) Daily Intelligencer. January 15, 1889. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
9. Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson (1912). Philadelphia A History of the City and its People A Record of 225 Years (Volume 4). S.J. Clarke Publishing. pp. 5–9.
10. "Thomas Brownfield Searight". House Archives. Archives of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
11. "Thomas Brownfield Searight". Senate Library. Library of the Senate of Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
12. "The Pittsburg Candidate" (PDF). Pittsburg Dispatch. July 3, 1890. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
13. "James F. Dayton Dead" (PDF). Wheeling (WV) Register. September 12, 1895. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
14. "Tribute to Two Good Men" (PDF). Pittsburg Dispatch. November 16, 1890. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
15. Addresses Delivered at the Opening of Madison College, Uniontown, PA, September 1, 1851. Baltimore: Methodist Protestant Book Rooms. 1851. p. 6. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
16. Circular of Madison College, Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania (March 1, 1852 ed.). Baltimore: Sherwood & Co. 1852. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
17. Daniel, W. Harrison (January 1979). "Madison College, 1851-1858: A Methodist Protestant School" (PDF). Methodist History. 17 (2): 99. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
18. Daniel, W. Harrison (January 1979). "Madison College, 1851-1858: A Methodist Protestant School" (PDF). Methodist History. 17 (2): 102–103. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
19. Daniel, W. Harrison (January 1979). "Madison College, 1851-1858: A Methodist Protestant School" (PDF). Methodist History. 17 (2): 103–104. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
20. "Annual Conference of the M.P. Church" (PDF). Daily Pittsburgh Gazette. 7 September 1857. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
21. "[A Branch of the School]" (PDF). Wheeling (WV) Daily Register. 14 December 1866. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
22. "[The Uniontown, Fayette county]" (PDF). Lancaster Intelligencer. 12 December 1866. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
23. "[Gilbert Collegiate Institute]" (PDF). New Dominion (Morgantown, WV). 4 June 1887. Retrieved 22 July 2023.