New York Central College

Abolitionism The American Baptist Free Mission Society broke away from its parent, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, over the issue of slavery, more specifically whether slaveowners could be members, missionaries, or donors to the society. From the beginning, the College was to be open to all, whatever the "race" or gender. At the presentation to the citizens of McGrawville, its description begins by stating it will differ from the Hamilton Literary & Theological Institution (now Colgate University) in only one feature: "it lays down as a broad platform, the rights and privileges of all classes of citizens as of paramount importance. It will be an Institution of Learning from which no individual will be rejected." this made them "guilty of the awful crime of abolitionism", and the Legislature almost immediately withdrew the College's $5,000 appropriation. The appropriation was immediately restored. Speaking at the laying of the cornerstone, Grosvenor "vindicated the character of Women, repelled the idea of her inferiority to man, and maintained the necessity of giving to our daughters an education equal to that given to our sons." Of the students whose gender can be determined, 35% were women.{{cite book The Bible was "to be introduced as a text-book and test-book from beginning to end of the course of instruction." Manual labor, including farmwork, was to be part of students' daily activities.{{cite news Some opposition from those with means of the labor requirement was met with a stinging reply: {{blockquote|It is said that manual labor connected with colleges and literary institutions [non-theological colleges] will have a tendency to fill our learned professions with a race of slovens. Let it be so. Let the sacramental host be led on to victory, and the portals of the scientific arcana, be opened and lit up by the blazing genius of sturdy clowns in homespun, with master intellects, and daring spirits, rather than be offered by Knights of the reticule; valorous in their onset upon cologne bottles; and prodigies of prowess among spices of Rosemary..... this MODEL COLLEGE, based on the republican rock of changeless truth, and canopied by the star-jeweled firmament of philosophy, which is in truth, designed to rebuke the withering spirit of caste, and make all forms of useful industry respectable, and furnish community with practical men and women.With emotions of irresistible joy, I hail the dawning of the day in which, by the influence of the system of CENTRAL COLLEGE all aristocratic distinctions in societry, created by wealth, sect, party or learning, shall be brought down to a REPUBLICAN LEVEL. New York Central College was the name decided on, and the College was chartered by the New York State Legislature on April 12, 1848. The Board of Trustees had 24 members.{{cite news The College began activities on September 4, 1849. Black professor Charles L. Reason delivered an inaugural address, on the topic "Harmony of the Principles of the College with Man's True Destiny and the Tendencies of the Present Age." It was described in the press as "full of clear comprehensive, philosophical thought, clothed in a neat and classical dress." President Grosvenor spoke on "Education: Physical, Mental, and Moral." The abolitionist philanthropist Gerrit Smith also spoke. There was a "congregation" of more than 2,000 at the induction of the faculty, the following day.{{cite news == Overviews of the Central College experience ==

As part of an unsuccessful attempt to have a medical school open to all students established in McGrawville, William G. Allen wrote to Gerrit Smith that "[n]o where is the state of things more favorable to the colored man's progress than in McGrawville, and no where would he receive a warmer welcome." At the time—1852—Allen was the only Black college professor in the country. A description of the people at a college dinner, 1850 {{blockquote|What a sight at the tables! The interview will remain in our memory as one of the most happy events in our life! ...Professor Reason sat at the head of one table, Rev. Dr. Bush on his left, and on his right President Grosvenor, ourself, still flanked by [A. H.] Benedict of the [Cortland County] Express, his mouth watering for the baked beans and Graham bread. Professor Reason is a mulatto, we believe—a noble looking man, urbane and polished in his manners, and his countenance the undisguised index of goodness and truth. To the left of Dr. Bush, were two negro students. still further down was Mahomah , a native from the interior of Africa, now a student here, after many vicissitudes. Across from our table...sat a squaw of the Onondaga tribe.... A runaway slave sat near her, while her father, husband, and brother were in view. After supper, the stewardess with some of the female students, sang: "Be kind to each other" [a hymn]. The Onondagas then gave one in their own tongue, Mahomah chanted one in Arabic. Miss Havens sang in Latin and French. The President made some remarks in Hebrew by way of carrying out the idea, and with hearts warmer with kindly feelings, the interview terminated. May we all meet again as happily. Two Onondaga Native Americans enrolled in the Preparatory Division.{{cite news Summary by a graduate This is how the college was described by an alumna and instructor, Angeline Stickney: ==Faculty, students, curriculum==

The affairs of the college were conducted with a high degree of informality and lack of rules relative to today's standards. There was no "mission statement", no academic ranks, no specific degree requirements (that would have been difficult to maintain with an ever-changing, variably qualified faculty). Only board of trustees minutes and financial records were kept, supplemented by correspondence and many newspaper articles. Most of the faculty's time was spent in contact with students, teaching formally or informally. McGrawville was a small town, most attended the same church, and all interested heard the same visiting lecturers. Alcohol was prohibited even to faculty, and (even more unusual) tobacco also forbidden in the college. College finances There were no financial plans or budgets at the college, and little fundraising. As a result, the school's financial affairs were disorganized and difficult. In contrast with its predecessor the Oneida Institute, no one went calling on possible donors, and the college did not publicize itself, either to raise its esteem or attract applicants. Inadequately funded from beginning to end, the college ended in bankruptcy. Except for Gerrit Smith, it had no wealthy donors, and over its short history and few college-level graduates no meaningful alumni pool to draw upon. The American Baptist Free Mission Society gave what support it could, especially at the beginning, but it was a small group with limited resources. There are contradictory reports about subvention(s) from the New York State Legislature, such as Union College, Columbia College, and others routinely received. If there was legislative support, it was not ongoing. The student body was relatively poor, required to pay its own tuition, room and board, and transportation. With a student body composed half of African-Americans, and most of whom were at the high school level, and 30% female, could neither make the school financially prosperous nor even self-sufficient. The 30% of the students who were female were also anything but prosperous. Some money was brought in through the manual labor department, but not enough. Tuition was set low to accommodate the students it attracted, inadequate to cover expenses. In the college division it was first $24, then $30 per year (), and in the preparatory (high school) division, $15.{{cite news Funds available to pay faculty, therefore, were very limited, and doubtless contributed to the high faculty turnover. Except for Grosvenor, whose children were grown, faculty were unmarried and did not have families, as their salaries would not permit it. Previously schools with "racially" integrated bodies (the Noyes Academy and the Canterbury Female Boarding School) were quickly destroyed by white mob violence. New York Central College avoided such difficulty during its brief tenure. ==Faculty==

There were no written criteria for selecting faculty; some came with a college degree, but many did not. Apparently the President, Grosvenor and then Calkins, decided himself whom to hire and what they would teach. There was no public announcement of vacancies, neither was there an application process nor documents required. Personal contacts and correspondence played a big role. The difference between the courses and teachers for the large preparatory or high school division, and the smaller college division, was not rigid. Two faculty (Caldwell, Smith) began as students and joined the faculty upon their graduation; one (Stickney) was teaching in advance of her graduation. The subjects taught varied depending on available personnel. There was, therefore, not a faculty in the sense of a body of full-time employees, and turnover was frequent. Central was the first college to hire African-American faculty. There were three very well qualified African-American professors, who successively occupied the same position: Charles L. Reason (1849-1852), William G. Allen (1852–1853), and George Boyer Vashon (1853–1859). There are two known lists of the faculty (in newspaper announcements). The original faculty, in 1849, were: • C. P. Grosvenor, President, and Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy (epistemology and ethics). He resigned at the end of 1851. Her sister Maria E. Lathrop [Bean] (1833–1908) studied at Central and also taught painting there. • G. L. Brockett, A. B., tutor. She was still employed in 1858, when she spoke "forcibly" against the skirt at a National Dress Reform Convention (see Bloomers (clothing)). • A. J. Chamberlain, teacher of French and drawing. • Lydia A. Caldwell, enrolled as a student when the College opened in 1849. The year in which she graduated and became a teacher, if she did in fact graduate, is unknown, but she remained until 1855 as "Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature". She died in 1857 of tuberculosis ("consumption"). Students The student body has been well studied by Marlene Parks. There are 1,062 known students; most were in the preparatory (high school) program. Of them, 64% were men, 35% female, 1% unknown. and approximately 50% were African-American. Most were in the college's preparatory (high school) program. ==Curriculum and faculty==

Grosvenor "proposed a 'free institution,' for the 'literary, scientific, moral, and physical education of both sexes and of all classes of youth.'" The school's curriculum included Classical education as well as agricultural science. The Rev. Grosvenor served as the school's first president, 1849–1851. The college was modeled after Oberlin, which in 1835 began admitting blacks and in 1837 women. However, New York Central College was the first American college founded on the principle that all are created equal: black and white, male and female. Qualified Black, female, and Native American students were all welcome. It was also the first to have African-American professors, in a position filled by three men: first Charles L. Reason. An unexplained disagreement with Grosvenor led to his departure. His replacement was William G. Allen, a graduate of the Oneida Institute, another short-lived school which was a predecessor of the college. After Allen's departure (see below) he was replaced by George Boyer Vashon, the first African-American graduate of Oberlin. Reason was the first black college professor in the country. Allen was Professor of Rhetoric and Greek; in 1850, when he was appointed, he was "well known as a lecturer upon the origin, literature, and destiny of the African race." In May 1850 there were over a hundred students enrolled, and college housing being full, students had to take rooms in private houses. There were those in Syracuse and Rochester who wished to move the College to their city, but nothing came of it. The Corresponding Secretary of the Trustees, A. H. Benedict, who was also editor of the Cortland County Express, said in an editorial that no such discussions had taken place, even privately. He suggested that instead of the College relocating to Syracuse, Syracuse should relocate to McGrawville, once "it has done with theatres and their appendages, and her other and numerous sources of corruption.... The moral atmosphere of a city is not congenial to the habits of students, nor the growth of an institution founded on the manusl labor principle, and on equality of sex and condition, as is this college." A few weeks later, another report says that the college received an appropriation of $25,000 (), {{cite book The college's first commencement was in 1855, with 5 graduates.{{cite news In 1857 Howard W. Gilbert was hired as Professor of Modern Languages. A news article refers to his mastery of French, German, and Italian.{{cite news Also in 1857, the college had a Teachers' Department, training, at the high school level, teachers for the primary grades (normal school), an Academic Department preparing high school students for college, and a Collegiate Department. There was a class in public speaking. ==Facilities==

Boys and men were in the dormitory occupying one floor of the main building; girls (no adult female students are recorded) were in a separate residence, with a matron. There is no reference to any housing specifically for colored students. However, there was a separate cemetery for Black college students. ==Hostility to the college==

Because of its equalitarian treatment of Black students and its Black professors, the "nigger college at McGrawville", as it was called by racists, At that time, there not being any public colleges in the state, the New York State Legislature would appropriate funds to Union College, Hamilton College and others. A proposed appropriation to New York Central College in 1851 was the topic of much comment, the subject "the center of attractions [in the Legislature]...for some hours". Others objected, with less outrage, to "the amalgamation of sexes, as well as of races." However, the appropriation passed comfortably, and was increased in size. In 1868 it became part of the McGrawville Union School, and remained in use as a high school until a new building was constructed in 1885. ==Alumni==

Marlene Parks has published an exhaustive collection of information about Central's alumni. • Herman Ossian Armour, co-founder of Armour & Co. • Edgar M. Marble, U.S. Patent Commissioner, 1880–83 • Grace A. Mapps, graduated in 1852, possibly the first black woman to graduate with a four year college degree • Benjamin Boseman, physician in Charleston, South Carolina, after serving in the Civil War as surgeon in the U.S. Colored Troops. Served three terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Appointed postmaster of Charleston by President Ulysses S. Grant. • A. J. Warner, school principal. attorney, member of Congress from Ohio, President of the American Bimetallic League. • George B. Davis, Esq., attorney, Ithaca, New York (not George Breckenrith Davis) • Emma Grosvenor (ca. 1852–1853), daughter of founder Cyrus Grosvenor, died aged 21 • Sarah Grosvenor, her sister, married a Baptist minister and died at 92. • John Quincy Cowee (1830–1921), Kansan farmer, described as "a scholar and a gentleman", with "an enviable reputation for truth and sobriety". • Judson Smith, D.D. (1837–1906), Congregational minister, professor at Oberlin, missionary • Truman J. Ellinwood, for 35 years stenographer of the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher. • Martha B. O'Donnell (1836-1925), temperance activist == See also ==

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