Boston University School of Theology, 1867-90

William Fairfield Warren

The hiring of William Fairfield Warren in 1866 changed the path of school dramatically. With his study and teaching in Germany, he had a wider view of education, and raised the teaching to a higher academic standard. At the end of the twenty-year lease in Concord, the school was moved to Boston as the Boston Theological Seminary, situated first on Pinckney Street on Beacon Hill, and later at the new Wesleyan Building on Bromfield Street.

36 Bromfield St Boston Original School of TheologyBoston University

Warren became President of the new Boston University, which began classes in 1869, and the seminary officially became the first professional graduate school in 1871. For nearly half a century, Warren was President of the University and sometimes Dean of the school.

Lee Claflin, Jacob Sleeper and Isaac Rich became the original incorporators of Boston University in 1869. By act of the Massachusetts Legislature, signed by Governor William Claflin (Lee Claflin’s son), the seminary was formally merged with the University in 1871 and became Boston University School of Theology, the first professional school of the University. Dr. Warren hired James Latimer, a respected educator from New Hampshire, to be Dean of the School of Theology in 1873.

72 Mount Vernon Street, Beacon Hill (1886-1949)test022

Soon outgrowing the space on Bromfield Street, the school acquired a double townhouse at 72 Mt. Vernon Street on Beacon Hill.

Dean Latimer died suddenly in 1885 just before the move, and President Warren became Dean again. Though the plain Methodists were criticized for having a school in a “palace”, 72 remained the home of the school for over sixty years.

test017As befitting a university, a respected and published faculty was assembled, including prominent scholars such as Borden Parker Bowne (philosophy, founder of Personalism, 1880-1910), Henry Clay Sheldon (church history, 1875-1895, and systematic theology 1895-1922), Luther Townsend (practical theology, 1871-1894), Marcus Buell (New Testament,1884-1905) and Hinckley Mitchell (Old Testament, 1885-1905). Warren himself frequently taught a theology course, sometimes in German.

The following are names of students at the school under the year of their graduation.  Students who did not graduate are listed with an asterisk (*).

1868

Robert G. Adams – Egbert A. Braman – Levin P. Causey – Benjamin F. Chace – Melville B. Chapman, A.B. – Henry Dorr – William H. H. Pillsbury

1869

Antonio A. Arrighi – Edwin G. Babcock – Samuel J. Carroll – Seth С. Сary – Albert L. Dearing – Emory A. Howard – Samuel H. Noon – James Noyes – William P. Ray – Lorenzo D. Watson – Hiram D. Weston

1870

Garrett Beekman – Harvey E. Burns – Edward P. King – James F. Mears – James Mudge, A.M. – Otis B. Rawson – John N. Short – Almona B. Smart, A.B.

1871

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

John W. Hamilton, A.M. Henry C. Sheldon, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Samuel M. Beale – Miner H. A. Evans – Nathaniel B. Fisk – Charles S. Nutter – Frank K. Stratton – James H. Trask

1872

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Alonzo M. Bullock, A.B. – Wilbur F. Crafts, A.B. – Henry A. Starks, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Charles B. Armstrong – Andrew W. Baird, Jr. – Romanzo R. Bruce – John G. Campbell – Elisha M. Dunham – Joshua Gill – Warren B. Osgood – Nathan F. Perry – Lyman E. Rockwell – Eben Tirrell, Jr. – John E. Williams

1873

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

J. Henry Allen, A.B. – Alexander Dight, A.B. – William E. Dwight, A.B. – William W. Foster, Jr. – Raymond F. Holway, A.B. – James H. Humphrey, A.B. – William E. Huntington, A.B. – Virgil W. Mattoon, A.B. – William R. Peters, A.B. – Bradford P. Raymond, A.B. – Wilbur F. Sandford, A.M. – Jonathan Zook, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Jesse M. Durrell – Franklin D. Goodrich – John D. Pickles – Walter J. Yates

1874

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Richard W. Copeland, A.B. – Charles G. Deming, A.M. – Charles. W. Drees, A.B. – John H. Emerson, A.B. – Edwin C. Ferguson, A.M. – Ernest H. Leseman, A.M. – Charles W. Mossell, A.B. – John P. Otis, A.M. – Willard T. Perrin, A.B. – Silas Sprowls, A.B. – Wilbur F. Steele, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

George W. Bent – Everett A. Boyden – A. W. Bunker – James W. Fulton – John Jarman – Joel Martin – Gilbert C. Osgood – William J. Parkinson – William G. Richardson

1875

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

John Fletcher Brant, A.B. – Marcus Darius Buell, A.B. – David Wasgatt Clark, A.B. – Samuel Porch Craver, A.B. – Samuel Silas Curry, A.B. – George Walker Dubois, A.B. – Robert Cornell Glass, A.B. – George Keister, A.B. – Matthias Marley Kugler, A.B. – William McLaughlin, A.B. – Louis Ferdinand Postle, A.B. – William Wesley Siberts, A.M. – John Alfred Story, A.B. – James Jordon Watts, Jr., A.B. – Joseph Rand Wood, A.B. – Edmund Rex Zimmerman, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Samuel Lynch Beiler – William Edward Bennett – George Wesley Buzzell – Henry Howard Clark – Thomas William Gregory – Eugene Cyrus Herdman – Alphonso Ethelbert Higgens – Elias Hodge – William Henry Meredith – William Nathaniel Roberts – Isaac Francis Row

1876

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

James Whitford Bashford, A.B. – Henry Faville, S.M. – John Faville, S.M. – George Swan Innis, A.M. – William Martin Johnson, A.B. – Albert Daniel Knapp, A.M. – Hinckley Gilbert Mitchell, A.B. – Anna Oliver, A.M. – Leander William Pilcher, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

William Gibson Colesworthy – Robert Duncan Dyson – Abner R. Gregory, Ph.B. – Joseph Hammond – James Edward Jacklin – Lambert Edgar Lennox – Olin Leslie Sherburne – John Wesley Walker

1877

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

William Henry Ash, A.B. – Joseph Mercer Avann, A.M. – John Marshall Barker, A.B. – Samuel Lynch Beiler, A.B. – William Gibson Colesworthy, A.B. – George M. Huddleston, A.B. – George Washington Hudson, A.B. – Ira Haynes La Fetra, A.M. – Vincent Douce Lawrence, A.B. – Joel Marvin Leonard, A.B. – Winfield Scott Morrison, A.M. – George Fletcher Oliver, A.B. – William Frederick Penney, A.M. – John Davies Pickles, A.B. – Edwin Pitman Stevens, A.B. – Richard Taylor Stevenson, A.B. – Edward Matthew Taylor, A.B. – Henry Witham, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Marcus Francis Colburn – Thomas Rogers Pentecost – John Henry Vincent – Elijah Roberts Watson – Henry Clarence Weakley – Charles Phelps Wellman

1878

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Lyman Daniel Bragg, A.B. — Joseph Edmund Corley, A.M. — Bedford Lewis Duckwall, A.B. — Thomas Jefferson Everett, A.M. — Erastus Watson Goodier, A.B. — Jacob Whitmer Gosling, A. B. — Joseph Brown Hamblin, Jr., A. B. — Addison Wilbur Hayes, A.B. — Austin Henrie Herrick, A.B. — Wilbur Julian Hodges, A.B. — Alexander Thomas Jeffrey, A.B. — James Dunning Monroe, A.B. — John H. Shidler, A.B. — Lucius C. Smith, A.B. — Everett Schermerhorn Stackpole, A.M. — Daniel Corwin Stevenson, A.B. — George Stuart Umpleby, A.B. — James Winfleld Walker, A.B. — Thomas Corwin Watkins, A.B. — Lorenzo Dow Watson, Ph.D. — William George Wilson, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Warren Applebee — Winfred Baldwin — Olen Lester Carter — Ebenezer Comstock — Anna Howard Shaw — Osmond St. James — Alexander Pratt Stowell

1879

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Thomas Hudson Armstrong, A.B. — Edwin Orlando Buxton, A.B. — Merrick Dempster Chilson, A.M. — George Washington Coon, A.B. — Shepherd Fisher Harriman, A.B. — Charles Herbert Morgan, A.B. — Justus Henry Nelson, A.B. — James Franklin Smith, A.B. — Elbridge Root Willis, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Smith Wellington Brown — George Hamlin Cheney — Charles Marshall Comstock — Joseph Criswell — Israel Derricks — Eli Clark Farwell — William Ferguson — Amos D. James — Isaac Gilbert Price — Caleb Lamb Rotch

1880

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Edward Bennett Bancroft, A.B. — Olin Alfred Curtis, S.B. — Henry Potter Haylett, S.B. — Francis Marion Kirgan, A.B. — Henry Clay Milliman, A.B. — James Donehoo Spriggs, A.B. — Telletson Arminius Turner, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Elizabeth Hinckley Delavan

1881

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Frank William Adams, A.M. — Robert Emory Buckey, A.B. — George Shaw Butters, A.B. — John Scott Davis, A.M. — William Nathaniel Groome, A.M. — William Ingraham Haven, A.B. — Winfield Chester Helt, A.B. — Isaiah Burroughs Hudnutt, A.B. — George Marshall Jeffrey, A.B. — Abner Merrill Osgood, A.M. — Thomas Baptist Snowden, A.B. — Wilbur Patterson Thirkield, A.B. — Samuel Whitney Trousdale, A.B — Percy Clinton Webber, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Katharine Adelia Lent — Homer Beach Mason — Charles Fremont Sharpe — Clark Erwin Swartz — William Willcocks

1882

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Solomon Edmond Breen, A.B. — Howard Eugene Cooke, A.B. — John S. W. Dean, A.M. — Albert Freeman, A.B. — George Alexander Grant, A.B. — William Druet Gray, A.B. — Allan James Maxwell, A.B. — William Fraser McDowell, A.B. — Glesen Asbury Reeder, Jr., A.B.— Thomas Trelease Rowe, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Charles Marshall Hall — George Henry Hastings — Harriet Ellis Stone

1883

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Camden McCormick Cobern, A.M. — William Dawson, A.B. — Frederick Sargent Huntington, A.B. — William Dixon Marsh, A.M. — George Alcott Phinney, A.B. — Samuel Plantz, A.B. — George Othel Robinson, A.B. — Byram Green Sanford, A.M. — Wilbur S. Smithers, A.B. — Charles Tilton, A.B. — George Henry Trever, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Henry Hugh French — Cassius Miller Westlake, S.M.

1884

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Edward Payson Childs, A.B. — Theo. Woodruff Haven, A.B. — Wm. Lenoir Hood, A.B. — Marquis D. Hornbeck, A.M. — Almon Franklin Hoyt, A.M. — Geo. Washington Miller, A.M. — Leroy Sunderland Stowe, A.B. — Wm. Arter Wright, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Franklin Willis Hamblin — Matthew Dorr Sill — Perry Wayland Sinks

1885

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

John Wesley Edward Bowen, A.M. — John Otis Denning, A.M. — John Merritte Driver, A.M. — Charles Warren Hollister, A.B. — Winfield Vance Jeffries, A.B. — Albert C. Jones, A.M. — Joseph Patterson Kennedy, A.B. — Fred Harrison Knight, A.B. — William Frederick Lawford, A.B. — Arthur Wells Tirrell, A.B. — Cyrus Lorenzo D. Younkin, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Alfred George Creamer — Lawrence Keister, S.B. — Lewis Edward Perry

1886

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Albert Reid Archibald, A.B. — William Nesbitt Brewster, A.B. — Frank Roscoe Butler, A.B. — Edward Power Dennett, A.B. — Frank Adelbert Everett, A.M. — Webster Millar, A.M. — Philip Price, A.B. — Jefferson Ellsworth Scott, A.B. — Francis Marion Warrington, A.M. — William Dodge Woodward, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Samuel Frederick Johnson, S.B. — Frederick Israel Kelley — Fred Cutter Pillsbury — William Henry Summers — Arthur Thompson

1887

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Carlos Lemuel Adams, A.B. — Artemus Canfield Bell, A.B. — Arthur Hyslop Briggs, A.M. — George Albert Coe, A.B. — James Tippett Docking, A.B. — Doremus Almy Hayes, A.B. — Bennett Wertz Hutchinson, A.M. — Benjamin Franklin Jackson, A.B. — Charles Edward Jefferson, A.B. — Henry Butler Schwartz, A.B. — John Robert Van Pelt, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Robert Thomas Wolcott

1888

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

Carl Axel Anderson, A.B. — John Dillon Bronson, A.B. — Paul Desjardins, A.M. — Charles William Harshman, A.B. — Oliver Wertz Hutchinson, A.M. — Francis Marion Larkin, A.B. — Joseph William Luccock, A.B. — John Thomas McFarland, Ph.D. — Arthur Page Sharp, A.B. — Eugene Hamlin Thrasher, A.M. — Alfred Augustus Wood, A.M.

Graduate in Theology

Frank Marsh Haight, L.B. — Francis Peabody Harris — Richard FitzHenry Kay — William Love — Arthur William Laroy Nelson — Orville Cram Poland — John Webster Ward

1889

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

William Perry Arbuckle, A.B. — John Franklin Belknap, A.B. — George Henry Bolster, A.B. — Charles Reynolds Brown, A.M. — Acton Theophilus Civill, A.B. — Lewis Addison Core, A.B. — Liverus Hull Dorchester, A.B. — Trumbull Gillette Duvall, A.B. — Lewis Michael Flocken, A.M. — John Nichols Geisler, A.B. — George Wm. Frieze Glendenning, A.B. — Albert Hallén, A.B. — John Linnaeus Hillman, A.B. — Laurence Keister, A.B. — William Albert Mansell, A.M. — Lucius Hix Massey, A.M. — George Brown Norton, A.B. — Byron Palmer, A.M. — Charles Edward Spaulding, A.B. — Elmer Ellsworth Tarbill, A.B. — William Warren Trout, A.M. — Allen Weston Whaley, A.B. — Henry Eli Wolfe, A.B. — Franklin Asbury Zimmerman, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Andrew Lyford Chase — Paul Clarence Curnick — Louis Ellms — Frank Lincoln Goodspeed — Duane Nelson Griffin — Elwin Lincoln House

1890

Bachelor of Sacred Theology

John Hamline Buckey, A.B. — Buel Owen Campbell, A.B. — Luther James Covington, A.M. — Francis Henry Ellis, A.B. — Edwin Stanton Havighorst, A.B. Isaac Taylor Headland, A.M. — Clement Elton Holmes, A.B. — Oliver Huckel, A.B. — James Matthew Larmour, A.B. — James Mahlon Lewis, A.B. — George Mansfield Meese, A.B. — John Haydon Newland, A.B. — Elmer Ellsworth Powell, A.B. — Frank Harry Wallace, A.B. — John Nikirk West, A.B. — John Cozier Willits, A.B. — William Andrew Wood, A.B.

Graduate in Theology

Frank Lester Brooks — Melmoth Alonzo Covington, Sc.B. — George Henry Flinn — Henry Pearce — Frank Alexander Tyler — Raymond Parkhurst Walker — Richard Murry Wilkins