Samuel Blatchford (university president)

Reverend Dr.
Samuel Blatchford
Samuel Blatchford
Samuel Blatchford, from the frontispiece of the 1912 book Blatchford Memorial II
Born 1767 (1767)
Devonport, Devon, England
Died March 27, 1828(1828-03-27) (aged 60–61)
Lansingburgh, New York
Office President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Term 1824–1828
Predecessor none
Successor John Chester
Spouse(s)
Alicia Windeatt (m. 1788)
Children 17
Ecclesiastical career
Education Dissenting College of Theology at Homerton, Cambridge
Religion Presbyterian
Ordained November 4, 1789

Samuel Blatchford (1767–1828) was the first president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[1]

Early life

Blatchford was born in Devonport, Devon, England in 1767.[2] He was educated at the Dissenting College of Theology at Homerton, now called Homerton College, Cambridge.

Religious career

On November 4, 1789, he was ordained and became pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Kingsbridge, Devon.[3] In 1791, he became pastor of the church in Topsham, Devon.

In 1795, Blatchford moved from England to the United States, where he became pastor of a church in Bedford, New York, and later pastor of a church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1804, he became pastor of the Presbyterian churches in Lansingburgh and Waterford (which later merged).

Educational career

Upon becoming pastor of the church in Lansingburgh, Blatchford was also asked to be principal of Lansingburgh Academy.[4] In 1805, he was appointed a trustee of Union College and later a member of the Board of Examiners.[4]

In 1824, Stephen Van Rensselaer appointed him trustee and the first president of the Rensselaer School, which grew to become Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

He was given an honorary master's degree by Yale College in 1798 and the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by Williams College in 1808.[5]

Blatchford died in Lansingburgh on March 27, 1828. Eliphalet Nott, the president of Union College and later the third president of RPI, delivered the sermon at the funeral services.

Family

Blatchford married Alicia Windeatt on March 25, 1788. They had seventeen children.[6]:63–65

Richard M. Blatchford, the ninth of their children, was a prominent attorney and politician in New York City.[6]

A grandson, Samuel Blatchford (son of Richard M. Blatchford), was an attorney, judge and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[7]

A great-grandson, also named Richard M. Blatchford, was a career officer in the United States Army who attained the rank of major general, and was a veteran of the Spanish–American War and World War I.[8][9]

Academic offices
New institution President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
1824 – 1828		 Succeeded by
John Chester

References

  1. ↑ Nason, Henry B., ed. Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1824-1886, Troy, NY: William H. Young, 1887, page 28
  2. ↑ The Blatchford Memorial, New York, 1871, page 1
  3. ↑ The Blatchford Memorial, New York, 1871, page 9-10
  4. 1 2 The Blatchford Memorial, New York, 1871, page 33
  5. ↑ The Blatchford Memorial, New York, 1871, page 32, 38
  6. 1 2 Blatchford, Eliphalet Wickes (1912). Blatchford Memorial II: A Genealogical Record of the Family of Rev. Samuel Blatchford, D.D. Chicago, IL: E. W. Blatchford. pp. 67–69.
  7. ↑ "Samuel Blatchford." Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
  8. ↑ Blatchford Memorial II, pp. 67-69.
  9. ↑ Davis, Jr., Henry Blaine (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 231779136.
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