The History of the University of Pennsylvania/Chapter X
Chapter X.
Account of the Professors of the University.
It will be most convenient, for the sake of avoiding confusion in the subsequent narrative of events, to pursue at once down to the present time the succession in the faculty of arts, without immediate reference to the particular situation of the seminary at the period of each new appointment As the mere name of an individual is a blank to those unacquainted with his person, character, or history, a few condensed biographical notices will be necessary, in order that correct conceptions may be formed of the condition and merits of the institution of which the subjects of the proposed notices were the conductors.
The Rev. Dr. John Ewing, the first provost of the university, had risen by his own exertions from very humble beginnings. The son of a farmer of moderate circumstances in Maryland, and one of a numerous family, he had neither, when a boy, the advantages of a regular education, nor, in his manhood, the assistance of any influential relatives to push his fortunes in the world. Gifted, however, with a strong propensity to scientific pursuits, he improved the slender opportunities which were afforded him in his native place by industrious and eager application; and when old enough to enter upon an independent course of life, left his father's house, to seek elsewhere the means of instruction and support. Both objects were secured by an engagement which he formed, in the double capacity of pupil and assistant, with Dr. Allison, who then taught a private school, with much reputation, in the province of Pennsylvania. Such was his diligence in his new station, and such the extent of his acquirements, that on application for admission to the college at Princeton, he was not only received in one of the higher classes, but was also employed as a tutor; and was thus enabled to continue his plan of improving himself, and of earning a livelihood by assisting in the improvement of others. Having obtained his degree, he devoted himself to the study of theology; and returning to Dr. Allison, now vice-provost of the college of Philadelphia, qualified himself, under his instruction, for admission into the ministry. His first connexion with the institution, over which he was ultimately called to preside, took place soon after this period. The absence of Dr. Smith in Great Britain, on the business of the college, having occasioned a temporary vacancy in the faculty, Mr. Ewing, though then only twenty-six years old, was thought qualified to supply his place in the charge of the philosophical classes. Shortly afterwards, he entered into the pastoral office as minister of the first Presbyterian congregation of Philadelphia, to which he continued attached during the remainder of his life. It was in consequence of this station that he became one of the trustees of the university, founded by the legislature upon the ruins of the college; and his elevation to the office of provost, while it was due to his attainments in learning and science, was undoubtedly facilitated by his known attachment to the principles of the revolution, and to the independence of his country. That he should have countenanced the injury done to his former friends, and even been willing to partake of their spoils, is only a proof that the best men, by the violence of party excitement, are apt to have their vision so perverted, that an act of injustice, if it promote the great political object in view, assumes in their eyes the colour of necessity, if not of virtue. It has been seen, that on the union of the schools, his claims to the provostship were thought to overbalance the high qualifications and long services of Dr. Smith. He continued to preside over the university, and to perform the duties of professor of natural philosophy till 1802, when he died, at the age of seventy-one years. But for a short time before the close of his life, he was disabled by ill health from that steady and vigorous application to the business of his station which had characterized the early period of his employment, and by which alone he could compensate the university for that unfortunate division of his time and attention, which his adherence to the pastoral office rendered necessary. From the accounts which are left of Dr. Ewing, he appears to have been characterized rather by strong judgment and indefatigable application, than by great genius or brilliant imagination. As a mathematician he was thought not to have a superior in the Union. His classical attainments were highly respectable, and by a fondness for biblical researches, he was led to devote much time to the study of the Hebrew language. While the extent of his acquirements commanded the respect of all, the mildness and goodness of his character, and the excellence of his social qualities secured him the kindness and affection of his companions. On a visit which he paid to Great Britain, before his elevation to the provostship, he was received with the highest marks of favour in the literary circles of Edinburgh and London, where he acquired the friendship of several distinguished men, particularly of the celebrated historian Dr. Robertson, by whom he was remembered affectionately to the time of his death. It was on this visit that he received, without solicitation, the title of Doctor of Divinity, conferred upon him by the university of Edinburgh. The lectures on natural philosophy which he delivered to the classes under his care, were printed after his death, and, though at present out of date, attracted considerable attention at the time of their publication.
The place left vacant by the death of Dr. Ewing, was not filled by a new appointment till the year 1806, when John McDowell, LL. D., of Annapolis in Maryland, was induced to resign his station as principal of St. John's College, in order to accept the professorship of natural philosophy in the University of Pennsylvania, which was offered him by a unanimous vote of the board of trustees. In the commencement of the following year he was elected provost: but the state of his health was found to be incompatible with the duties he had undertaken to perform; and in little more than three years after entering the institution, he retired into the country, and left to the trustees the embarrassment of another choice. He afterwards evinced his attachment to the school, by supplying a temporary vacancy occasioned by the resignation of his successor; and still later, by the bequest of his books, which now form a valuable part of the library belonging to the institution.
At the period of Dr. McDowell's retirement, Dr. Andrews had been vice-provost for nearly twenty years; and his services both in the college and university, together with the respectability of his attainments and character, entitled him to what little addition of honour and emolument was to be derived from his elevation to the higher post. A native of Maryland, he was, at the age of seventeen, sent to receive his education in the college and academy at Philadelphia, where he graduated A. D. 1765, and was immediately employed as a tutor in the German school; thus beginning his career in the lowest station of that institution, in the highest office of which it was destined to close. Having qualified himself for the ministry, and received regular ordination in the Episcopal church from the bishop of London, he entered into the service of the celebrated English "Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts;" and, in the capacity of a missionary, preached at different places in the interior of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The revolution found him settled with a congregation in the latter of these provinces; but as his political sentiments were not exactly accordant with those of the great majority of his parishioners, his situation soon became so uncomfortable as to induce him to remove to Yorktown, where he maintained himself for many years by the profits of a flourishing school. In 1785, he accepted an invitation to take charge of the Episcopal academy then just established in this city, which he continued to superintend till, upon the revival of the college and academy, he was induced to become a colleague of his former master, Dr. Smith, in the management of the philosophical school. I have already spoken of his long services in the university. In December 1810, he was unanimously elected provost; but his health now began to give way, and he was compelled to withdraw from the institution, after having enjoyed his elevation little more than two years. Though not described as a man of splendid abilities, Dr. Andrews was highly esteemed as a first rate classical scholar, and. an excellent teacher. The works he has left behind him are the living records of his diligence and skill—they are the numerous men of note in the various walks of professional life, the foundation of whose reputation was laid in the instruction they received from him in their youth.
In reply to the letter in which Dr. Andrews, a few months before his death, announced his desire to resign his station in the university, the trustees expressed their high sense "of the unremitting industry and great ability with which he had successively filled the offices of provost and vice-provost;" and communicated their unanimous resolution that the salary which he had hitherto received should be continued to him during the remainder of his life. The Rev. Frederick Beasley, the present learned and respected provost, was chosen to succeed him in July, 1813.
Having spoken of the successive principals of the university, it remains that I should briefly notice their several co-adjutors. It will be remembered that Robert Patterson was one of those who were selected from the faculty of the late university, with which he had been connected from its origin, first in a subordinate capacity as a teacher in the mathematical school, and afterwards with the title and privileges of professor. Few teachers in this city have passed through a career at once so long, so uniformly correct, honourable, and prosperous, as that which prudence and fortune combined to mark out for this gentleman. Though an Irishman by birth, he came to this country before the revolution, and possessing therefore all the rights and feelings of a citizen, exhibited, throughout the course of his life, a warm attachment to our republican institutions, and a passionate interest in our national honour and greatness. Some previous experience in the art of teaching, and a skill in the mathematics which was the natural result of diligent application, great mental accuracy, and clearness of intellect, fitted him well for the chair, which, without the extraneous influence of friends and relatives, they enabled him to attain. To the professorship of mathematics, after the death of Dr. McDowell, he united that of natural philosophy; and in the year 1810 was made vice-provost, in the place of Dr. Andrews. Independently of his emoluments from the university, he for many years enjoyed a considerable salary as president of the mint. Thus comfortable in his circumstances, he was enabled, in the decline of life, to withdraw from the fatigues of his professorship, and to seek that repose which was now essential to his tranquillity. Testimonies of the public esteem followed him into retirement The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by the institution which he had so long and diligently served; and in the presidency of the philosophical society, to which he was appointed on the death of Dr. Wistar, he received the highest literary honour in the gift of any association on this side of the Atlantic.
At the time of his resignation, a favourite son had been chosen to supply his place till a regular appointment should be made. He lived not only to witness the confirmation of this son in the professorship, but to experience, from his honourable exertions and well merited reputation, the purest gratification of which the parental heart is susceptible. To crown the felicity of his lot, he had united the Christian with the philosopher; and, at a good old age, went down to his grave, with the full assurance that he should rise again to a happier and more exalted existence. Dr. Robert M. Patterson, the present vice-provost and professor of natural philosophy, succeeded his father A. D. 1813.
Of the professors who belonged to the college before its overthrow in 1779, Mr. Davidson alone had retained his station through all the subsequent changes. In the superintendence of the academy of Newark in Delaware, he had exhibited such evidence of his familiarity with the learned languages, and of his abilities as a teacher, that on the death of Mr. Beveridge, he was thought qualified to supply the place of that accomplished scholar, and was invited towards the close of the year 1767, with offers too favourable to be resisted, to take charge of the Latin school. That his talents continued to be held in high estimation is evinced by the fact, that in each successive change of the institution, care Was taken to secure his services. The same fact speaks favourably of the prudence and general moderation of his character, by which he was enabled to steer through the embarrassments of a most agitated period, without either striking against the prejudices and passions which beset him on all sides, or suffering himself to be carried away by the violence of the currents which swept across his course. In the same tenour of usefulness and respectability his life ran evenly on, till at length the debility of old age overtook him, and rendered a retirement from active duties advisable on account of the university, and necessary for his own comfort Upon the occasion of his resignation, the board of trustees, expressing the "high regard and respect" which they entertained for him, resolved that "in consideration of his long and faithful services," he should be allowed an annuity of two hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and the use of the house which he then occupied, during the remainder of his life. Mr. Davidson resigned in February, 1806; and in the month of May following, James G. Thompson, the present excellent professor of the Latin and Greek languages, was appointed in his place.
The Rev. William Rogers, professor of English and the belles-lettres, was a clergyman of the Baptist church. He had served during the revolution as chaplain in the army, and afterwards had the charge of a congregation in this city. His office in the university, though nominally on a footing with the other professorships, was in fact regarded as less essentially connected with the interests of the seminary, and therefore commanded less both of influence and emolument. Of so little importance indeed was it considered, that, in a change of regulations which took place in the year 1810, the trustees resolved that it was expedient to suppress it: but, at the same time, unwilling to wound the feelings of Dr. Rogers, they determined that it should remain in its former condition till after the death or resignation of that gentleman. The latter of these contingencies was soon realized. Unwilling that the institution, from a regard to his convenience, should continue to suffer an unnecessary burden, he withdrew from it altogether, and left the board at liberty to make whatever arrangements they might deem most salutary. Dr. Rogers, after surviving all his former colleagues, died recently at an advanced age.