Eleazar Wheelock facts for kids
Eleazar Wheelock (born April 22, 1711 – died April 24, 1779) was an American minister and teacher. He lived in Lebanon, Connecticut, for 35 years. He is most famous for founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Wheelock also taught Samson Occom, a Native American from the Mohegan tribe. Occom later became a Presbyterian minister and was the first Native American to publish writings in English. Before Dartmouth, Wheelock started the Moor's Charity School in Connecticut to educate Native Americans. Dartmouth College mainly educated the sons of American colonists.
Quick facts for kids
Eleazar Wheelock
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Portrait by Joseph Steward
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| 1st President of Dartmouth College | |
| In office 1768–1779 |
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| Succeeded by | John Wheelock |
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| Born | April 22, 1711 Windham, Connecticut Colony, British America |
| Died | April 24, 1779 (aged 68) Hanover, New Hampshire, United States |
| Alma mater | Yale College (1733) |
Contents
Eleazar Wheelock's Early Life and Schooling
Eleazar Wheelock was born in Windham, Connecticut. His parents were Ralph Wheelock and Ruth Huntington. They had a large farm. Eleazar's great-grandfather, also named Ralph Wheelock, was the first teacher of the first free school in the United States.
In 1733, Eleazar graduated from Yale College. He won an award for being excellent in classics, which means he was very good at studying ancient Greek and Roman literature. After Yale, he continued to study religion. He was allowed to preach in May 1734.
Family Life
Eleazar Wheelock got married on April 29, 1735. His first wife was Sarah Davenport. She passed away in 1746. Besides being a pastor, he and his wife also managed a farm. He traveled around preaching in the 1730s and 1740s.
Later, he married Mary Brinsmead. She was a widow with two children. Eleazar had eight children with his wives and two step-children in total.
His Work as a Minister and Teacher
Wheelock became the pastor of the Second Congregational Church in Lebanon, Connecticut, in February 1735. He served there for 34 years. He also became a traveling preacher during the First Great Awakening. This was a big religious movement that started around the time he finished Yale. He was a very important supporter of this movement in Connecticut.
Wheelock cared deeply about the Native American people in New England. Their numbers had gone down a lot due to sickness, wars, and changes to their way of life. This also included colonists taking more of their land.
Teaching Native American Students
In 1743, Wheelock welcomed a student named Samson Occom. Occom was a Mohegan man who knew English and had become a Christian as a child. Wheelock taught Occom for four years. Occom was a quick learner. He learned to read and write in Hebrew and studied religion deeply.
After preaching to the Pequot people on Long Island, Occom became a Presbyterian minister. He returned to Connecticut to preach to the Mohegan people. He later helped organize Christian Native Americans into the Brothertown Indians.
Wheelock's success with Occom made him want to start a school for Native Americans. He opened Moor's Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut. He planned to teach boys both school subjects and Christian lessons. The idea was for them to return to their tribes as missionaries. Girls would learn "housewifery" (home skills) and English reading and writing. People in New England and England gave money to support the school. Some students missed home or got sick. Few became missionaries.
Founding Dartmouth College
Wheelock sent Samson Occom and another minister on a trip to England. They went to raise money for the charity school. Wheelock then decided to make the school bigger. He also wanted to add college classes for American colonists. These classes would teach classics, philosophy, and literature.
He started looking for a new place for the schools. Wheelock received a special paper, called a charter, from King George III. This charter was given on December 13, 1769. Occom and the British group of trustees, led by Lord Dartmouth, had helped raise money for Native American education. They did not agree with adding a college for colonists' sons.
Wheelock kept the money Lord Dartmouth had donated. He named the college Dartmouth College after him. He chose Hanover, New Hampshire, for the new location. Wheelock became the college's first president. In 1771, four students graduated in Dartmouth's first ceremony. One of them was Wheelock's son, John. While some Native Americans did attend Dartmouth, it mostly served the sons of American colonists.
Eleazar Wheelock passed away during the American Revolutionary War, on April 24, 1779. He is buried in Hanover. He wrote a book called "Narrative of the Indian School at Lebanon."
Legacy and Honors
- The town of Wheelock, Vermont, is named after him.
- His son, John Wheelock, became the second president of Dartmouth College.
Images for kids
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Portrait by Joseph Steward
