Class LP 57^ I Rook .13*717 PRESENTED UY i%57 =* Sfe THE STORY LIFE AND WORK OF OREN B. CHENEY Founder and First President o F Bates College EMELINE BURLINGAME-CHENEY Published for Bates College by the Morning Star Publishing House Boston, Massachusetts, '.' '.' 1907 I AM GLAD YOU ARE WRITING THE LIFE OF THIS ONE OF THE BEST MEN I EVER KNEW. SI NCERELY WM. P. FRYE. To All Who have Been Blessed By His UIFE AND WORKS. CONTENTS CHAPTER I Ancestry ; Boyhood . . . i II Conditions in Country and Church n III School; Relation of Early Free-Will Baptists to Education ; Parsons- field Seminary; First School Temperance Society ; Religious Experience . . . .19 IV The Young Teacher ; College Life ; Baptism ; Opposition to Religious Service in School House ; Work for the Indians ; Sunday Serv- ices ; "Male and Female Created He them " . . .29 V Teacher ; Marriage ; Parsonsfield — Teacher — Preacher ; First Ser- mon ; Whitestown ; Theological Student — Teacher ; Death of Mrs. Cheney ..... 43 VI Christian Politician ; Pastor — Leb- anon ; Lebanon Academy ; Au- gusta ; Legislature; A New Home Life • • • • 53 VII Augusta Pastorate ; Political Activ- ity ; Official Position ; Editorial Contributor to the Morning Star 67 CHAPTER PAGE VIII The Vision ; Maine State Semi- nary ; Difficulty in Securing a Charter ; Location in Lewiston ; Charles Sumner Furnishes a School Motto; Letters from Charles Sumner . . . 83 IX General Conference in Maineville, Ohio ; Political Excitement ; Stirring Incidents ; Plans for Raising Money for the Seminary ; Children's Offering . . . 101 X Opening of Maine State Seminary ; First Year's Success ; Financial Panic; Brighter Days . .111 XI Contemporary Events; College Needed ; Opposition Defined ; Benjamin E. Bates Promises Fifty Thousand Dollars ; Trust- ees vote in Favor of a College Class ; Professor J. Y. Stanton Elected Teacher . . .121 XII Early College Days ; Co-Educa- tion ; Interwoven Incidents . 141 XIII President Cheney visits John Storer ; Mr. Storer gives Ten Thousand Dollars for a Freed- men's School ; Harper's Ferry Selected as the Location ; G. H. Ball, D.D., a Valuable Helper ; Rev. N. C. Brackett Secures a CHAPTER XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI Charter ; First Bates Commence- ment i57 Important Beginnings ; Effect of Civil War on Status of Women : The Baptist Union . . .167 Success ; Disaster ; Difficulties Sur- mounted ; After Ten Years ; A Character Sketch . . 1 7 7 Vacation Experience ; Presiding Officer ; Letter by L. W. Anthony 187 Death of Benjamin E. Bates ; Sec- ond European Trip ; Delegate to English Baptists ; Wine-Drinking Incidents 193 Free Baptist Centennial ; Ocean Park ; College Extension Plan . 205 Efforts for Christian Union ; Plans for More Effective Missionary Work ; Bereavement . . .211 Faculty for Miscellaneous Work ; College Development ; Student Testimonials ; Catholicity and Cosmopolitan Character of Bates ; The Student Body . . .219 New England Free Baptist Associa- tion ; General Conference Incor- porated ; General Conference at Harper's Ferry ; President Cheney Moderator ; His Politi- cal Sagacity .... 235 CHAPTER XXII Ex-President Cheney ; Important Plans Uncompleted ; Home Com- panionship ; Testimonial Ban- quet ...... 241 XXIII The Sunset Slope ; A Surprise Party ; California Trip ; At Home in Lewiston . . . . .255 XXIV Reflected Sunshine ; Bates Round Table Celebrates Dr. Cheney's Eighty-Seventh Birthday; At Rest . . . . . .271 After-word 279 Fore-word When, at the request of the Trustees of Bates College, I entered upon the work of telling the life-story of Oren B. Cheney, it was with loving appreciation of the twelve years of congenial com- panionship that had given me such an insight in- to his character, and with deep gratitude for the blessings that had come to my life, through influ- ences exerted by the organizations originated, or made more effective through his efforts. If " truth is stranger than fiction " real lives must embody more of interest than imaginary ones, and biographies should have a keener interest than works of the imagination. Lives are made up far more of small and apparently unim- portant events than of great ones ; and yet most biographies move with stately tread along beaten highways, or ascend heights for wide views, ignor- ing the forest retreats where flowers grow, taking no note of the pebbles and mosses in the by-paths. In this life-story, I have so interwoven little, daily occurrences with important events that what may seem trivial to the reader is sometimes pre- sented with more minuteness than is used in tell- ing of plans or events generally denominated great ; but it is with the purpose of giving better insight into the character portrayed, and of bring- ing the reader into more sympathetic touch with his personality. FORE-WORD I am conscious of the impossibility of truly re- producing a life-history, but, as from treasured rose-leaves there continues to be diffused an aroma that suggests the fragrance of the rose, so these pages may at least give to the reader the essence of the life lived. This is by no means an attempted history of Bates College, although much is told concerning its foundation and development. It is left for other pens to do justice to the faithful, self-sacri- ficing co-workers, who helped bring the College to its present degree of usefulness. In what is said about Free Baptists, the reader must realize that this is the story of one man's relation to the denomination, without any attempt to do adequate justice to other workers who were his associates. I wish to express appreciation for the help received from the many friends who have given me facts, and especially for invaluable assistance from the Associate Committee, President G. C. Chase, LL.D., and Prof. A. W. Anthony, D.D. E. B. C. LETTER FROM EDWARD EVERETT HALE In an address, delivered at Ocean Park, Maine, in August, 1907, Mrs. L. M. N. Stevens, President of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, referred to Bates College, with hearty com- mendation of its healthy moral tone ; and also told about hearing Edward Everett Hale speak publicly with high appreciation of its work. Wishing to obtain Mr. Hale's direct statement, the author of this book wrote him and received in reply the following letter: Boston, Mass. Dear Mrs. Cheney: I have often found occasion to refer to the noble and self-sacrificing work of your husband in founding Bates College and also to the large and valuable place which the College is filling in the educational world. Wherever one goes in the east or west he comes in contact with the good work being done by Bates graduates. More than once in traveling in the West, have I lighted upon a high school or academy where I have been interested in the moral tone of the school, and on inquiry have found that one of your boys was at the head of it. Thanking you for writing me, Yours sincerely, Edw. E. Hale. Sept. 9, 1907. Abigail Cheney Mother of Oren B. Cheney Moses Cheney Father of Oren B. Cheney ANCESTRY BOYHOOD On the tenth of December, 1816, while a snow- storm was raging without, in a modest, but com- fortable home, in a quiet New Hampshire village, a blue-eyed baby boy opened his eyes and caught his first glimpse of life. On December twenty-second, 1903, those eyes closed on earthly scenes and a few days later a stately form was laid at rest. The life lived and the influence exerted in the years that bridge these dates will be the theme of this book. Heredity is of uncertain value. Men that have honored themselves and their country have changed their names, because of the stigma des- cending from unworthy ancestors. Others, whose lives are insipidly weak, show an overweening pride in tracing their line of descent back to noble or heroic characters. Yet the man is not living who would not rejoice in an honorable ancestry. Oren Burbank Cheney was born of sturdy New England stock, in which the religious element had been strongly developed through several genera- tions. A high type of character distinguished his forebears on both his father's and mother's side. His father, Moses Cheney, was stately and dig- nified in form, conscientious in every act and thought, and seemed the embodiment of true man- hood. He served God and never forgot that man LIFE AND WORK OF was his brother. He held important offices in church and state and was several times a member of the state legislature. He also held the unpop- ular position of conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped flying fugitives on their way to liberty. About the time of Oren's birth, Dea- con Cheney, in company with his cousin, went into the paper manufacturing business, at Holder- ness, now Ashland, New Hampshire. For this his experiences as apprentice and workman had afforded a thorough preparation. The paper-mill of " Cheney and Morse " — the name by which the firm was best known — was one of the first built in New Hampshire. Their paper was sold not only near home, but in Portland, Boston and New York. Oren's mother, Abigail (Morrison) Cheney, from Sanbornton, New Hampshire, was a woman of great energy and strength of character. She became the mother of eleven children, of whom ten reached maturity. All of these have honored her by their characters and lives. Her impress upon Oren was such that everything connected with her memory ever had a sacred association for him. Many a Bates student remembers that President Cheney, in the midst of receptions at his home, would cause a hush in the jollity and, lifting a worn leather-covered bible, would say, perhaps with tears in eyes and voice : " This was my mother's bible." OREN B. CHENEY Visitors at President Cheney's summer home at Ocean Park, will remember how, in his later years, he fondly called attention to an old chair, saying, " That was mother's chair. She used it as long as she lived." In the control of her children, Mrs. Cheney was not only kind, but firm. Of the home life the youngest daughter says : " Our family attachments were very strong. There was harmony in our home, and to do right was the lesson taught us." It was a very hospitable home into which the blue-eyed baby came. Frederick Douglass made it his resting place when in the vicinity. Among welcome guests was Harriet Livermore, a preacher, a woman of marked and unusual characteristics, referred to by Whittier in the evening scene in " Snow-Bound." Deacon Cheney and his wife were Free-Will Baptists, and ministers and others of that faith always knew that they would be made welcome in their home. Affairs of state, religion and reform were freely discussed and Oren absorbed an interest in them from babyhood. In this typical home the boy developed. BOYHOOD PICTURES In order to understand character, we must observe its traits in their earliest development. One of our first glimpses of the boy, Oren, is of a little tot, running as fast as his feet would carry 6 LIFE AND WORK OF him to the mill-pond, not far away. Mother's remonstrances proving unavailing, she followed him one day, unobserved, and ducking him suddenly into the water, gave an effectual check to his love of travel. A little older, we see him tenderly caring for his sisters, or wiping his mother's dishes. Next, a sturdy little youngster is picking up chips for his uncle, at a penny a basket, sometimes going home with twelve cents in his jacket pocket. When Oren was eight years old, one of the first Sunday schools in that part of New Hampshire was started at Holderness, by William Green, cashier of the Plymouth bank. Oren's parents were severely criticised for allowing him to attend but they were not afraid of institutions because they were new, but sought rather to know if they were good. In seeking the influences that were developing Oren, one should note that his Sunday school teacher was Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, so well known in connection with the anti-slavery movement. He was an able lawyer and editor of the " Herald of Freedom," the brightest of the anti-slavery papers. That Sunday school still sur- vives as a flourishing part of the present Free Baptist church at Ashland. One day, when Oren was ten years old, while all alone in a retired place, stung by the taunts of playmates that he dare not swear, he said aloud, with much emphasis, "I will swear! Devil!" OREN B. CHENEY Frightened and conscience-stricken by his daring sin, he was never tempted to profanity again. "I never swore but once," he would often say with a peculiar twinkle in his eyes. At another time, rankling under the sneers of playmates because he had to take care of his younger sisters, he said to his mother, " When I am twenty-one I will do as I please." With flash- ing eyes the mother replied : " You will mind me, if you are as tall as a meeting-house." "And I did," was his familiar comment. Two years later Oren had an interesting boyish experience in going to a General Training of the State Militia. Before light he tallowed his shoes and with high anticipations and nine-pence in his pocket he saw the day dawn. But, alas, some pretty girls wore bright calico dresses, such as he had never seen before, and his homespun garments abashed him !* He spent his nine-pence for honey and gingerbread, the greatest available luxuries, and ate enough of the former to last him a life- time. That he was not yet ready to yield himself to the requirements of a Christian life is shown by a home incident. David Marks, a prominent Free- will Baptist Evangelist, was visiting in the Cheney home and was sitting one evening in the chimney corner, reciting to his wife a lesson, for *Cotton mills were just beginning to produce calicoes and other goods, which superseded the homespun materials. LIFE AND WORK OF her education was much better than his. When the lesson was finished, while a comfortable glow from the crackling fire pervaded the room and the candles sputtered sympathetically, " Elder " Marks talked to Oren about being a Christian. In order to make a show of indifference, the boy cut a notch in the window-sill with his jack-knife, but the words cut a deeper notch in his conscience, and made an impression which was never erased, although not then heeded. Oren early began to work in his father's paper mill. The method of manufacturing paper has so changed, that, in order to understand this part of the boy's experience, we insert Dr. Cheney's reminiscence, written when he was over eighty years old. " In those days paper was made of rags, not of straw and wood as now. It was made by hand, sheet by sheet. The wonderful machines which now roll paper off by hun- dreds of yards and cut it into sheets of any size needed were yet to be. In the old time, after the rags were ground into pulp, the pulp was dipped into a vat of water, pailful by pailful, as needed to make the mixture of right condition for use. The size of the sheet to be made was indicated by the mold. This was a kind of sieve to let the water go through and leave the pulp in the compact form of the sheet. The vat-man, after giving the right drainage and shake, sent it to the couchman for being couched. This consisted OREN B. CHENEY 9 in turning the mold over upon the felt or cloth, which was a little larger than the sheet. Thus the pile grew, first a felt, then a sheet and so on until all the felts were used, over a hundred in number ; next the press (moved by hand or water power) was applied, by which as much water as possible was pressed out, and then came the work of the lay-boy, which was carefully to separate the sheets from the felts and pass the latter back to the couch- man. The felts often needed washing. This was clone in well-soaped hot water by the couchman ; but they were not fit for use until rinsed in cold water, which was done by the lay-boy, stooping on a plank on his knees over the running water that came from the wheel-pit. As lay-boy I have rinsed felts when icicles formed on my sleeves. I was very young when put into the mill as lay-boy and filled the position for several years. Father furnished the paper on which the Morning Star and other early Free-Will Baptist publications were printed. It is a pleasant remembrance to me that I handled sheet by sheet, for several years, the paper on which all our denominational life expressed itself. I was not only lay-boy by day, but often by night I tended the engine, as the machine was called, in which the rags were ground. How life would stretch out before me with its castles, its dreams and its plans, as I spent those long nights of boyhood in the old mill alone. The fifty cents a night received for my labor seemed a large sum on which to build something for the future. My services 10 LIFE AND WORK OF in the daytime were, according to custom, claimed as my father's right." That Oren was a trustworthy boy is shown by his being often sent by his father on important business — always walking — to the Plymouth bank, five miles away. He sometimes carried on these errands several hundred dollars in his jacket pocket. CONDITIONS IN COUNTRY AND CHURCH II When Oren was born, James Madison was near- ing the close of his second term as President. But one year had passed since the close of the war of 1812-1815. The interpretation of the pro- visions of the National Constitution was still uncertain and under discussion. Business was in an unsettled condition. Slaveships were surrep- titiously, although illegally, unloading their car- goes at southern ports. Rum was sold by grocers as freely as molasses. Steam was just beginning to be applied to navigation and land travel. Any point beyond the New England and the Atlantic states was "out west." But little wheat was raised. In Oren's boyhood, the family occasion- ally enjoyed the luxury of flour bread and dough- nuts. Generally the food was of corn meal or rye and very simple. CHURCH Oren B. Cheney was never a sectarian in its narrow sense, yet he was always so true to the people of his choice, the Free-Will — afterward Free — Baptists, that a brief history of their origin and extension seems necessary as a setting to the events of his life. In 1770, as a result of the preaching of White- field, a resident of New Castle, a small island in Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, Benjamin 14 LIFE AND WORK OF Randall, at the age of twenty-one, became an active Christian. After a careful study of the Bible, during several years, he found that he could not agree fully with the teaching of any of the leading denominations. Believing it to be his duty to preach, he presented the truth as he under- stood the bible to teach it, making prominent free salvation for all who believe, free Communion for all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, and large freedom for the individual conscience. The doctrines of John Calvin were the almost constant theme of a majority of the pulpits of New England in those days ; and the creeds had so much of the "straight-jacket" character that expression of independent opinions was rare. When, therefore, Randall began to present the truth as he discerned it, it was in such contrast to the general belief of his time, that he was at once denounced as a fanatic and heretic. Persecution followed. Mobs gathered around his meeting places ; tar and feathers were prepared for him, and he narrowly escaped being killed by brick- bats. There followed much searching of the Scriptures, to know if he were right or wrong, with the result that many accepted his teachings. They were nicknamed " Freewillers." In 1779, Randall was called before a Baptist meeting, to answer for his errors, especially for not preaching the generally accepted doctrine of election. As the result of this and subsequent OREN B. CHENEY 15 trials, fellowship was withdrawn from him and from all who accepted his beliefs. Then first these disfellowshipped Christians organized a church of their order at New Durham, New Hampshire, with Benjamin Randall as pastor ; and although Ran- dall never favored the name, they finally permitted themselves to be called Free-Will Baptists. A simple covenant was adopted embodying their belief and based on the Sermon on the Mount. This was in marked distinction from the intricate, elaborate creeds of the day. Thus the Free-Will Baptist denomination had its birth. For a time, the preaching was mainly by men of the evangelistic type and in country places, where independence of thought was greater than in the cities. The preachers were men of conse- crated lives, good native ability and especially gifted as leaders of the common people. The establishment of many country churches followed, and from that day to the present, the principles of this people, through the removal of its repre- sentatives from their country homes, have been carried to city churches of different denomina- tions. How much Free-Will Baptists have con- tributed towards a simpler faith and broader Christian charity will never be fully known until the final summing up of all earthly events. From the beginning, their great respect for per- sonal convictions in regard to belief and duty has prevented distinctions in race or sex. Their early 16 LIFE AND WORK OF preachers were accustomed, at the close of their sermons to request any who felt " moved " to do so, to "add a few words." Women, as well as men spoke on such occasions, often very impres- sively. There were a number of women preachers and evangelists in the denomination during its first quarter century. That these were not of an erratic type is shown by the descriptions given of them. Of Clarissa H. Danforth, who founded many churches in New England, it is said : "She was of a good family and well edu- cated. She had extraordinary talent and undoubted piety. Tall in person, dignified in appearance, easy in manners, she had all the elements of a noble woman. As a speaker, her language was ready and simple, her gestures appropriate. Her voice pene- trated to the corners of the largest house. She held hundreds with fixed attention, listen- ing by the hour to the claims of her heavenly Master." David Marks, one of the most successful evange- lists of his day, gives much credit to Mrs. Humes, who assisted him, but says she had much to con- tend with because of the popular prejudice against women as preachers. When we remember the belief, at this time, in some of the leading denominations, that it was wrong for women to speak even in small social meetings of the church, and that half a century OREN B. CHENEY 17 later, Rev. Theodore Cuyler, D.D., was arraigned before his presbytery for allowing Hannah Smiley to give bible readings in his pulpit, the mission of Free Baptists in giving to women the utmost freedom of their convictions will be more highly appreciated. Without tracing further at present the develop- ment of this young denomination, we may note that in 1828, when Oren was twelve years old, it had been organized into seven Yearly Meetings in six different states, with about four hundred churches, most of them in country places ; and that it was admirably adapted, both in its oppor- tunities and needs, to aid in the development of Oren's life of usefulness. In 1826, we see him, as lay-boy, carefully separating the sheets of paper, that are to contain the first imprint of The Morning Star, in that year founded and thenceforward to be the organ of the Free-Will Baptists. As the printed copy comes back, week after week, we see the boy eagerly listening, while one of the " hands " reads from its pages to the assembled group. In 1827, the date of the First Free-Will Baptist General Conference, it is significant to note the interest with which Oren listens to the reading of the report of the doings of the religious body, over which, many years later, he was repeatedly to preside. SCHOOL RELATION OF EARLY FREE-WILL BAPTISTS TO EDUCATION PARSONSFIELD SEMINARY FIRST SCHOOL TEMPERANCE SOCIETY NEW HAMPTON LITERARY INSTITUTION RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE Ill Oren's early school life consisted of a few terms at a little school kept by his aunt ; a few at the public school ; and a short time in Dr. Dana's private school. When he was thirteen years old, in using a corn- sheller, he cut off the end of his thumb. Then, farewell future paper manufacturer ! In the thrifty Cheney family, there was no time wasted, so while the injured thumb was healing, the boy was sent to New Hampton Institute, five miles away. Of that time Dr. Cheney says, in his reminiscences, " The night before leaving for school, mother came to my room and, kneeling beside my bed, prayed for me. I well remember her advice, in view of the dangers of dawning manhood. No talisman could have guarded me so securely." In going temporarily to New Hampton, Oren little realized that he had reached a turning point in his life, for as soon as his thumb healed, he returned to the mill. But, while at New Hamp- ton, he was under the influence of Hosea Quinby, a Free-Will Baptist, preparing for college, and also acting as assistant teacher. Quinby was in- terested in the promising lad and exerted a power- ful influence over him not only in school, but later in his home. 22 LIFE AND WORK OF RELATION OF EARLY FREE-WILL BAPTISTS TO EDUCATION It is sometimes said that, at first, Free-Will Baptists were opposed to education. In order to throw light upon their position, let us note that in those days a college education was almost entirely limited to young men who were to be ministers, lawyers or physicians. Free-Will Baptists in their first third century may be denom- inated " a voice," protesting against narrowness in creed, and formality and lack of spiritual power in the pulpit. It seemed to them that the theo- logical teaching in the leading denominational schools was producing a class of " man-made " ministers, lacking in real spiritual force. The fear of having such a ministry led to fear of the causes which they regarded as producing it. At the same time, Randall, Buzzell and other denominational leaders were men of sound judg- ment and good common sense, and hence ready to be inspired and led by an educated man of tact, like Quinby. In fact this earnest pioneer found many supporters among both clergy and laity in his work of establishing a Free-Will Baptist school. During his course at Waterville, now Colby College, Quinby judiciously prepared the way. John Buzzell gave his hearty support and he and others raised the money for a seminary building ; so that after Quinby's graduation, in the fall of OREN B. CHENEY 23 1832, he opened a Free-Will Baptist school at Parsonsfield, Maine, known as Parsonsfield Semi- nary. Through Quinby's influence, Oren's father was induced to send the boy there, and in September, 1832, we see him riding on a load of Morning Star paper, on its way to Limerick, where the Star was published. The distance to Parsonsfield was forty miles, and the journey required three days. Of his experience at that time, Dr. Cheney says in his reminiscences : " To my boyish vision the Morning Star was a bright luminary. Now, I was going to see John Buzzell, the editor. The village of North Parsonsfield consisted of a single street, a half-mile in length, lined with neat farmhouses, the seminary building at one end, Elder Buzzell's meeting-house at the other, and about half way between, a store, where dry goods, groceries and books were sold. " The meeting-house was of typical New Eng- land construction, with high pulpit and sounding- board, square, high-backed pews, gallery all around and ' singing seats ' in the gallery facing the pulpit. Dear old house ! Many good men preached a free gospel in it. A mob once surrounded it, be- cause there were in it men and women consult- ing about giving freedom to the slaves. John Buzzell was an off-hand, earnest, ready speaker. His theme was generally free salvation as opposed to Calvinism. He was a good singer. There were 24 LIFE AND WORK OF sermons in his songs. His hymn-book was among the earliest Free-Will Baptist publications." The Parsonsfield school opened with a good attendance in a neighboring school-house, as the Seminary building was not quite completed. Three or four incidents, connected with the year spent here, throw light upon Oren's develop- ing character. One day his cousin Elizabeth expressed to him chagrin because other students had good meeting-houses in which to worship, while at their home in Holderness, they wor- shiped in an old school house. Oren replied with much emphasis, " When we go home we will have as good a one as anybody." He kept his word and soon after their return, there was built on his father's farm, over a boulder on which he had often played, the church that has been in use ever since. Oren began his temperance record even when a boy in school, and to explain this, we must go back a little. In 1830, the first temperance lecturer visited Holderness and gave an address to a large audience. When, at its close he asked for signers to the pledge, Oren's mother and a foolish lad were the only ones who arose. This made Mrs. Cheney a butt for ridicule through the village, but little she cared. She saw a truth. That was enough. Her home was at once cleared of all that could intoxicate. No ministers were OREN B. CHENEY 25 afterwards treated to liquors at Deacon Cheney's sideboard. One day, when Oren was at the grocery, a prominent church member ostentatiously went to a barrel, drew a glass of rum, sweetened and stirred it vigorously, then, as he drank it, told the boy to go home and tell his mother that drank a glass of rum. Oren protested to his mother against going to meeting with such a man, but she replied gently, " Oh, my boy, he is a good man, but he looks at things in a different light from what we do." Mrs. Cheney was a crusader thirty or more years before the Woman's Temperance Crusade started. Knowing that a temperance measure was to be acted upon at a town meeting, Mrs. Cheney and some other women went with their knitting work to the town hall and, uninvited, sat there knitting, knitting while the measure was dis- cussed. The men voted by ranging themselves on opposite sides of the room. One man started to go to the side representing the liquor interest, but seeing the eyes of the women upon him, he hastily retreated to the other side. The side of temper- ance prevailed and the women went home happy. These early influences help us to see why, at Parsonsfield, Oren was a leader in starting a school temperance society. He was chairman of the committee on constitution. Another member 26 LIFE AND WORK OF said to him, " We must have some big words in it." "What would you suggest?" was Oren's query. " Well, ' tantamount ' would be good," was the wise reply. Although the big word did not get into the constitution, the society flourished and is believed to be the first school temperance society in the country that prohibited in its pledge fermented as well as distilled liquors. Oren belonged to a family of good singers and from a child had an excellent voice. At Parsons- field he felt himself suddenly some inches taller when invited to the "singing seats." He always remembered with amusement one Sunday's experience. In the gallery, at his right sat a boy with uncommonly red hair. Just behind him a sober looking lad attracted much attention, at an important stage of the sermon, by holding his outstretched palms near the fiery hair, then rubbing them together as in process of warming them. The preacher must have wondered what there was in his sermon that could excite so many smiles in the "choir loft." As fires were not used in meeting-houses in those days, except in foot- stoves for women, there was a quaint appropriate- ness in the boy's act. About this time, the young Free- Will Baptist denomination began to awaken to the duty of foreign missionary work. In 1832, Buzzell, Quinby and others interested held a meeting in the Buzzell meeting-house to inaugurate the work. OREN B. CHENEY 27 Oren heard of it and went, an interested listener to the plans which resulted in the formation of the society of which later he was for many years Recording Secretary and afterward President. The year spent at Parsonsfield was in many ways a fruitful one in Oren's development. He had in Hosea Quinby not only an excellent teacher, but an inspiration to the best manhood. In being under the ministry of John Buzzell, Benjamin Randall's successor, he came in close relation to the beginnings of the denomination to whose development he afterward contributed so much. But it was inconvenient to be so far from home, and the next year he entered New Hampton Literary Institution, at New Hampton, New Hampshire, which at that time was a Baptist school, and there finished his preparation for college. Previous impressions as to duty had been maturing and while at New Hampton, fully decid- ing to give himself to the service of God and his fellow-men, Oren kneeled in a retired pasture, and with sincere prayer and pledge, consecrated his life to Christian service. To the vows then made he was ever true. THE YOUNG TEACHER COLLEGE LIFE BAPTISM OPPOSITION TO RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN SCHOOL HOUSE WORK FOR THE INDIANS SUNDAY SERVICES "MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM" IV During his New Hampton course, in 1834, he taught one term of the Holderness village school. An incident which occurred here showed that Oren already possessed the elements of a firm, brave teacher. One day a drunken father entered the school-room, flourishing an ox goad, and accusing the youthful teacher of punishing his boy, thus throwing the school into a panic. Nothing daunted, Oren took a ruler over his shoulder and marching up to the man, eyed him keenly and soon quieted him. The frightened children then returned to their seats. At New Hampton, Oren did good work and when he graduated was well fitted for college. Through influences exerted while there, Oren was led in the fall of 1835, to enter Brown University, President Wayland's reputation being an especial inducement. In going to Brown he took his first car rides, from Lowell to Boston, then from Boston to Providence, thus traveling over two of the three railroads in the country. To the eager hearted lad it seemed the greatest event in his life. The term spent at Brown was full of oppor- tunities for development, not only in college life, but in city and state. With his love of seeing noted places it did not take Oren long to find the 32 LIFE AND WORK OF various points of historic interest, prominent among them being the landing place of Roger Williams and his associates. This was the year when Garrison was mobbed in Boston and the mob-spirit entered Rhode Island. Hearing that a meeting of anti-slavery women was to be broken up, Oren was on hand to observe the exciting scenes. But the spirit of Roger Williams was there also. The mayor dis- persed the crowd. Rhode Island's reputation for religious liberty was maintained. But the indig- nation that thrilled young Cheney as he noted the spirit of the mob made him an out-and-out abolitionist, and from that time he lost no oppor- tunity to do all he could by voice and pen for the emancipation of the slaves. Hearing that at Dartmouth College anti- slavery sentiments were allowed more freedom of expression than at Brown, influenced also by family and financial considerations, with a letter of recommendation from President Wayland, our young student after one term at Brown, returned to his parents' new home at Peterboro, New Hamp- shire, and, in the following spring enrolled him- self as a student at Dartmouth College. He soon after accepted an invitation to teach the winter school at Canaan. At just that time this village was the center of anti-slavery interest, for near the district school house there had stood, a few weeks before, a fine Academy ; but news O. B. Cheney About 1845 OREN B. CHENEY 33 having spread that " niggers " were attending this Academy, some of the townspeople, at night, with their oxen drew the building a mile away and left it in a swamp. As a curiosity in literature and an illustration of the spirit of the times, we append the following extract from a speech delivered to a crowd that gathered in a Canaan church at the conclusion of this notorious act : ' "The work is done, the object obtained. The contest has been severe but the victory glorious. No sable son of Africa remains to darken our horizen. The abolition monster who ascended out of the bottomless pit is sent headlong to perdition, and the mourners go about the streets. You, gentlemen, who have assisted us in obtaining this glorious victory, in behalf of the inhabitants of this town, I present to you my sincere and hearty thanks for your prompt attention and unex- ampled exertions in repelling an enemy far more to be dreaded than the pestilence that walketh in darkness and the destruction that wasteth at noonday. May the sun of liberty continue to shine on you with increased splendor and never be obstructed by the sable clouds of Africa ; and should it be your misfortune to be again invaded by a similar foe, we pledge ourselves to unite our exertions with yours in putting down by all lawful means every plot that threatens the subver- sions of our liberties, or disturbs the public tranquility. 34 LIFE AND WORK OF " May that Being that presides over the destinies of Nations reward you a hundred fold in this life, and in the life to come life everlasting." Dr. Cheney tells this story of his experience in going there : " A young Baptist minister took me by horse and sleigh to Canaan on Saturday. We arrived at the house of the agent of the school early in the evening. As we sat at the tea- table, and afterwards before the fire, the whole story was told by the agent of the bringing of ' niggers ' into town and of the driving them out, with the words added in strong emphasis, ' We will not have an abolitionist teach our school.' " As my friend left me that evening, I fol- lowed him to the door and said, ' What shall I do ? I am an abolitionist. I cannot teach the school here.' 'O,' said he, 'say nothing about it. It will never be known what you are.' " Taking his advice I began the school. Everything went on in silence and pleasantly for about three weeks. But the silence was on my part. The town was discussing the question, ' On which side is the master ? ' I saw the mistake I had made in listening to the advice given me. I could not endure such a non-committal life, and in a quiet way I let my anti-slavery principles be known. The whole town was thrown into excitement as the news spread. The joy of the abo- litionists, few in number, can hardly be told. OREN B. CHENEY 35 The opposition let me alone, and I finished the school term. " It may be well to add that among the colored students driven out of town by the removal of the academy, was one who became a lecturer in the anti-slavery field, and a pastor in a colored church in Washington, D.C." In the spring of 1836 Oren entered Dartmouth College. There was much in the spirit of this school, founded as a missionary enterprise for the education of the Indians, that strongly appealed to the youth. In a little enclosure on the campus is the grave of Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College. The place had a strange fascination for the new student, and as he often meditated by it, undefined possibilities in his own future took intangible form. But his life was far from gloomy. Professor John Fullonton, who entered college the next autumn, told his daughter, Ida, in later years, that when he crossed the campus for the first time, he heard voices ringing out harmoniously across the yard. Looking up, he saw several young men sitting in the window and singing the church hymns then in vogue, and one of them, as he learned later was O. B. Cheney. "That window," said Dr. Fullonton impressively, " faced the east and Oren Cheney has faced the rising sun ever since." On entering college, he was at once invited to sit in the "singing seats." 36 LIFE AND WORK OF The habits of economy, with which he had been reared, governed Cheney's life while in college. He and his classmate, G. G. Fogg, experimented at boarding themselves. Evidently, neither was an adept at cooking. They lived on a concoction of Indian meal, cold water, salt and saleratus — calling it a johnnycake — with the result that Oren fell sick and never afterward could bear the taste or even the smell of saleratus. The young reformer was now in a sympathetic anti-slavery atmosphere. At one time he went with a company of students to a town near by, to hold an anti-slavery meeting in a beautiful grove, where a large audience had gathered. Dr. Cheney's reminiscences describe the events thus : " Early in the meeting the place was sur- rounded by a crowd of men and boys with drums and horns for the purpose of making a disturbance. But we made the grove ring with anti-slavery songs, the speakers kept right on and the meeting proved a great success. We returned to college with flying colors, feeling quite as happy as any of the baseball or elocutionary victors of today. " Boys of twenty-one years of age living in Hanover were then allowed to vote, and when it was found that our votes were cast in the interest of anti-slavery, the legislature de- cided that if we voted we must perform mili- tary duty. 'All right,' was our reply, and forthwith a company was organized with a senior for captain and other officers from the OREN B. CHENEY 37 other classes. We secured a competent drill master and prepared for the next general training at Lebanon, which occurred on a beautiful day. "With officers in fine uniforms, the rank and file in black coats and white pants, armed with bright new muskets, we marched beneath the folds of a beautiful new flag that had been presented to us, to the music of a first- class band, secured from a distance at much trouble and expense. Some of the other com- panies were not in uniform and had only drum and fife accompaniment, and we com- pletely captivated the admiring crowds that thronged our line of march. The waving of handkerchiefs by women, young and old, and the cheers of the crowd showed how great was the victory we had won over the pro- slavery spirit that had thought to crush us. I was told that the accident to my left hand would exempt me from military duty, but I wanted to enjoy the fun and so I was in it with the other boys." BAPTISM Oren's religious life had been steadily devel- oping after entering Dartmouth ; and feeling impressed that he ought to be baptized, in May, 1836, he walked to his old home in Ashland, forty miles away — to ride would cost too much — was baptized by Rev. Simeon Dana, and united with the Free-Will Baptist church then worshiping in the house that he had helped to build. During LIFE AND WORK OF the return tramp, his thoughts were occupied with high purposes and noble resolves. The following winter he again augmented his finances by teaching school at Peterboro. Hav- ing an earnest desire to benefit his students in every way possible, he held a series of prayer- meetings at the close of the school exercises, inviting all who would to remain. This did not please a prominent business man in the place, who requested the teacher to desist. It would not have been Oren Cheney, had he yielded. His opponent then called a district meeting. He had a large number of men in his employ and the school-house was crowded. The whole town was stirred. After a long discussion, a resolution was passed by one majority, in opposition to the teacher's course. Amid a deathlike silence, the stripling of twenty years calmly arose and quietly informed the audience that he held his position by vote of the school committee and should leave only at their request — that he had conscientious convictions about the matter and could not dis- continue the service. The school committee voted unanimously to sustain him, one of them, not a church member, saying that such a service was what every district needed. Young Cheney was called back to the same district the next winter, and to another school in the same town the year following. Seven years later this opponent of the student OREN B. CHENEY 39 teacher came near being defeated as candidate for governor of New Hampshire, by the use against him of these circumstances of which others had learned and had published in a campaign docu- ment. WORK FOR THE INDIANS SUNDAY SERVICES Although, in the seventy-five years that had passed since the founding of Dartmouth College, the Indians had been pressed back by the advance of civilization, a company of them, men, women and children, used annually to encamp for several months in the Vale of Tempe, a short dis- tance away. They were treated with the greatest kindness by the college authorities and students, no pains being spared to educate them. During a part of his college course, Oren went daily with a classmate to the camp-ground and taught the Indian boys and girls, neither expecting nor receiving any remuneration for the service. The fact that this classmate, a Southern young man, was paying his college expenses from the proceeds of the sale of a slave girl, furnishes an interesting comment on human consistency. Later in his college course Oren found a small Free-Will Baptist interest at Grantham, ten miles away. Here he rendered services for many months, generally walking the twenty miles; going Saturday and leading a prayer meeting in the evening, on Sunday giving talks to a people 40 LIFE AND WORK OF not able to employ a regular pastor ; conducting a Sunday school and teaching a singing school — all this without any remuneration. His oppor- tunity to render needed service was his ample reward, while to his last hours he was cheered by the loving regard of those whom he then served. Among the pleasant homes where he was welcomed during his college life was that of the Bridgman family and he became deeply interested in the eight-year-old Laura, the blind, deaf and dumb child afterward so noted. Throughout his college course Oren Cheney did good, faithful work in his classes. He always had a kindly remembrance of President Lord's interest in him. His class, which numbered about seventy on entering, graduated with sixty-one members. Oren outlived all but four. Our readers will probably agree that few young men graduate from college with a better all- around equipment for service than Oren B. Cheney possessed, when, at the age of twenty- three, with diploma in hand, he turned his back on college halls and faced life. " MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM " Mr. Cheney's affections had already been en- listed in an evident case of love at first sight. In his reminiscences he tells the story thus : "While in college, Burbank and I made a OREN B. CHENEY 41 visit to Parsonsfield Seminary as alumni, having the honor of being students the first term of the institution. Receiving an invi- tation from Miss Woodman, the lady princi- pal, to visit her classes, we accepted. As we entered the classroom, a young woman, whom I had never seen and of whom I had never heard, was at the blackboard to demonstrate the forty-seventh proposition in " Playfair's Euclid," that in any right-angled triangle the square which is described upon the sides sub- tending the right angle is equal to the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle. " I heard her through, asking her a few questions, as visitors to schools are accus- tomed to do. " ' Quod erat demonstrandum ,' she said, on taking her seat. 'Yes,' to myself I said, 'but something else remains to be demonstrated !' Her name was Caroline Adelia Rundlett, daughter of Capt. James Rundlett of Strat- ham, New Hampshire." Acquaintance showed him that he was right in his first impression that Miss Rundlett was a very interesting and intellectually superior young woman. Mutual and abiding affection resulted. TEACHER MARRIAGE PARSONSFIELD — TEACHER — PREACHER FIRST SERMON WHITESTOWN THEOLOGICAL STUDENT— TEACHER DEATH OF MRS. CHENEY In the fall of 1839, Mr. Cheney became Princi- pal of the Farmington (Maine) Academy, with Miss Rundlett as Preceptress. They were married January first, 1840, at the bride's home in Strat- ham, New Hampshire. There were five terms of successful teaching at Farmington, during which time the couple boarded at the home of Rev. John Chaney, pastor of the church. While here Mrs. Cheney started a school paper, containing so much of general interest that after a while it was printed and sub- sequently became The Farmington Chronicle. Soon after going to Farmington, Mr. Cheney learned that a short time before, in the very room used by his wife and himself, a private meeting had been held to prepare the way for a Free-Will Baptist Education Society. Thenceforward the place was sacred to him, for he clearly foresaw the far-reaching effects of that meeting. The first result was the call for a convention, to be held in Acton, Maine, January 15, 1840. Forty-six influential names were signed to this call. Seventy-six men attended. Dr. Cheney wrote of it in 1896 : " How well I remember the journey to Acton. There was not then a railroad in Maine. Elder Chaney and I went by horse 46 LIFE AND WORK OF and sleigh. We started on a cold Monday morning. The first day's journey was to Gray, the second to Springvale. Wednesday morning we reached Acton in time for the Convention, having stopped for entertain- ment at houses of the brethren by the way, as was the custom of those days. " The convention discussed and adopted seventeen resolutions. The discussion was lively and the opposition to some of them strong, but the support was earnest. They show plainly the struggle in the minds of men in holding to the old, while reaching forward to the new. Laymen as well as clergymen were well represented in the convention, the President being Hon. J. M. Harper, member of Congress." The first result of the organization of the Edu- cation Society was a library and course of theo- logical study in connection with Parsonsfield Seminary. In 1841, Mr. Cheney became Princi- pal of the Academy at Strafford, New Hampshire. Failing to receive promised remuneration, he accepted a position in Greenland, New Hamp- shire. Here for the first time the young couple kept house. Here, too, a little son died soon after birth. HIS FIRST SERMON While in Greenland, Mr. Cheney walked several miles on the Sabbath to Northampton, where Free- will Baptists had started a small interest. On one Sunday, the minister failing to appear, Mr. OREN B. CHENEY 47 Cheney was prevailed upon to preach. He spoke from the text : "All things are now ready." By invitation, he preached again the next Sunday. Then, feeling quite dissatisfied with his efforts, he resolved never to preach again. But one of the brethren prophesied such dire future punishment for him if he did not, that he was led to recon- sider, and soon after, accepting the counsel of ministers in that vicinity, he was licensed to preach. The same year, Mr. Cheney began to contribute to the Morning Star the articles 'which continued to appear with more or less regularity for sixty years.* In 1843, Mr. Cheney was called to be Principal of Parsonsfield Seminary, where eleven years before he had entered as a pupil. The Morning Star of June 7, 1843, speaks of him in the highest terms as instructor and licen- tiate, for he was not only expected to teach, but also to preach at Parsonsfield. He also supplied the pulpit twice a month at Effingham Hill, near by. In this locality his anti-slavery sentiments found many opposers, it being denied that his *At a session of the Free-Will Baptist General Confer- ence, held at Topsham, Maine, in 1841, a union was effected with the Free or Free Communion Baptists in New York, with the understanding that their denominational names might be used interchangeably, and the "Will" having been used less and less since then, we shall drop it in this biography. 48 LIFE AND WORK OF statements of cruelty to the slaves were founded in fact. A branch of the underground railroad ran through Parsonsfield and thence to the Canadian border. One day the station keeper in Effingham brought to Mr. Cheney's home in Par- sonsfield a woman and two children, fugitives from slavery. He sheltered and fed them, then arranged for them to meet parents as well as children at his school. Here the mother showed the branded marks on her children's shoulders and other indi- cations of cruelty. They were sweet singers and as they sang their weird songs with much pathos in word and tone, all were moved to tears and the sentiment of the community was so changed that Mr. Cheney afterward found few objectors to his anti-slavery utterances. Mr. Cheney had now begun to feel that the ministry was to be his life-work. This led to his ordination in 1844, the sermon being preached by Elder John Buzzell, with Benjamin J. Manson and others participating in the exercises. For his preaching at Effingham, he received two dollars a Sunday. After a time one of the members asked him not to mention the subjects of temperance and slavery in the pulpit. With all his manhood flashing from his eyes, Mr. Cheney replied, " A pile of gold as high as a mountain would not tempt me to stop speaking upon those questions." He was at this time much in demand as a lecturer upon these themes. OREN B. CHENEY 49 For some time the conviction had been growing that, if he were to be a minister, he should further fit himself for the sacred office. The theological course and library, previously referred to, had, after various vicissitudes, been removed to Whites- town Seminary, in New York. To this place Mr. Cheney removed in 1845 — with his wife and one- year old son, Horace Rundlett — with the purpose of taking a theological course, and meanwhile supporting his family by teaching Latin in the Seminary. Though his course of study was cut short, the influence for good which he exerted while there remained, as attested by the following reminiscence by a life-long friend, Rev. G. H. Ball, D.D. : " I was not connected with the Seminary department, but recollect that Prof. Cheney was spoken of as an excellent teacher. We were in the same class in the Divinity School with Dr. John Fullonton and Dr. George T. Day. It was a large class, and of course, the fact that Day, Fullonton and Cheney were in it signifies that it was interesting, vigorous and aggressive. Brother Cheney was admired and loved by every member of the class as a scholarly, bright and courteous gentleman. Personally he was handsome, neat in his attire and habits, gentle in his manners and generous, as well as courteous. " He always took a bright and cheerful view of every subject discussed in class, in the literary society and in general intercourse. 50 LIFE AND WORK OF His social influence among the students was refining, and, without the least obtrusiveness, improved the habits of the young men who had grown up with rude surroundings, and, on coming to the school, were really in need of the helpful influence he so quietly exerted. He was popular with all the students and looked up to as a model for imitation. He appeared to me at that period in his life as nearly perfect in gentility of manner, in purity and dignity of thought, in courtesy and kindness in intercourse, in unselfish devotion to his chosen purpose in life, in sincerity and strength of interest in the most advanced undertakings of the denomination, in generous appreciation of his associates and in reverent respect for older men, who were then active among our ministers." But life plans "gang aft agley." After a few months, his wife's health failed so rapidly that he was obliged to carry her back to her father's home in Stratham, New Hampshire. His sister Sarah, who was then preceptress at Whitestown Semi- nary, accompanied him, caring for little Horace. After some anxious weeks, on January 13, 1846, Mrs. Caroline R. Cheney peacefully passed on to the other life. The parting from this capable, talented companion was a severe blow to her devoted husband. Writing in his diary at this time he says : " How bitter has been the cup I have been OREN B. CHENEY 51 called to drink! Thirty years of my life gone ! Where shall I be thirty years to come. I hope to be in heaven." But life's work called loudly and he could but listen and heed. CHRISTIAN POLITICIAN PASTOR— LEBANON LEBANON ACADEMY AUGUSTA LEGISLATURE A NEW HOME LIFE VI The Cheney family may be said to possess political genius. Oren's father and two of his brothers were members of the New Hampshire legislature. His brother Person was Governor of New Hampshire, United States Senator, for a short time Minister to Switzerland, and for many years an influential member of the National Republican Committee. Elias, the youngest brother, has been Consul to Matanzas, then later to Curacao. Many other near relatives have occupied prominent public positions. But no one of them had a more level head or better political foresight than Oren. In 1846 there was an interesting condition in the country, owing to the agitation caused by the Wilmot Proviso, a measure before Congress, to limit the extension of slavery. John P. Hale, a democratic candidate in New Hampshire for the United States House of Representatives, was defeated because he would not consent to have the clause favoring the Wilmot Proviso taken from the New Hampshire Democratic platform. Then came a party split, John P. Hale, Amos Tuck and George G. Fogg being leaders of the Independent Democrats. The two latter were intimate friends of O. B. Cheney. Amos Tuck had been a Parsonsfield man and had given Mr. 56 LIFE AND WORK OF Cheney one hundred dollars towards the first ten thousand raised for the Free Baptist Education Society. Fogg was Cheney's room-mate both at New Hampton and Dartmouth. Both of these men were broad-minded and opposed to slavery. To advance the interests of the new party Fogg started the Independent Democrat. When the legis- lature met there were four parties represented in it, no one strong enough to control the situation. Mr. Cheney saw a great opportunity. He laid a plan and with his usual persistence set about its development. If he could induce the Liberty party men, the Independent Democrats and the Whigs to vote together he saw the possibility of such a victory as anti-slavery men had not known. With the men of his own, the Liberty Party he had powerful influence, also with his friends among the Independent Democrats, and he succeeded in influencing leaders among the Whigs. It was no easy task he undertook. In the reminiscence he says : " It was as hard for those Liberty party men to join hands with those whom they had considered their bitter opponents as it was for the Christians at Jerusalem to give kindly greeting to the persecutor Saul." But tactful personal influence conquered and every one yielded. As the result of this union of forces against the Democrats, John P. Hale was sent to the United States Senate, Amos Tuck to OREN B. CHENEY 57 the House of Representatives, and George G. Fogg was made Secretary of State for New Hamp- shire. Up to this time, the New Hampshire Legislature had refused to incorporate the Free Baptist Printing Establishment, because The Morning Star, its organ, was so outspoken against slavery. At this session of 1846, its charter was readily granted. The country was electrified by the news from New Hampshire. The South could hardly believe it possible that an anti-slavery Senator had been elected. Cool men, like John G. Whittier, almost went wild over it. Whittier wrote some verses, quite out of his usual style, which were published anonymously in the Boston Chronotype. In these he gives free rein to his joy by representing one Northern slavery sym- pathizer as dolefully describing the situation to a friend. His reference to Free Baptists is as follows : " ' Tis over, Moses, all is lost ! I hear the bells a-ringing ; Of Pharaoh and his red-sea host I hear the Free Wills singing. We're routed, Moses, horse and foot If there be truth in figures ; With Federal Whigs in hot pursuit And Hale and all the niggers." Mr. Cheney continued his good offices in the political anti-slavery line until after the Free Soil Party was formed in 1848. There was perhaps 58 LIFE AND WORK OF no one person, beginning with the circumstances just referred to, who did more than O. B. Cheney in bringing about this consummation. But it was all done with the high purpose of securing the overthrow of slavery, and caused no swerving from his life plan ; for we find him seeking no office, but, true to his convictions of duty, accepting a call to a country pastorate at West Lebanon, Maine, at a salary of $175 a year. PASTOR AT LEBANON In entering on his first pastorate, Mr. Cheney's most prominent feeling, as expressed in his notes, seems to have been one of self-depreciation and fear that he was not good enough for the high calling of a Christian minister. As a preacher, his characteristics were dignity of manner and deep earnestness, rather than a magnetic style, or power in arousing the emotions. Prof. J. Y. Stan- ton of Bates College was a boy when Mr. Cheney went to West Lebanon. He describes the con- ditions as follows : " The church and society was composed of the families of Legro's Corner, a small and beautiful village, and those on the farms near by. Nearly all were Free Baptists. It was an intelligent, moral and religious com- munity, with few of the faults of country villages at the present time. The church was largely the fruit of the labor of one man, who had preached there forty years. He had had OREN B. CHENEY 59 few opportunities for culture, but the unsel- fishness and purity of his life were remark- able. He was paid no salary, his family deriving their support mainly from his farm. " It is not strange that a man who put so much heart into his work should not want a successor ; and it is not strange that intelli- gent church members should desire a change. All were reluctant to grieve their dear friend and some would not consent to a change. Mr. Cheney was strongly urged to become pastor and at last consented. At this critical time in church and community, a man less wise, less forbearing and less firm than Mr. Cheney would have ruined everything. He was non-partizan and cordial to all, and was soon much beloved as a pastor and greatly admired as a man." In August, 1847, a new home life was started by Mr. Cheney's marriage with Nancy S. Perkins, daughter of Rev. Thomas Perkins, an able Free Baptist minister. She was a woman of strong characteristics. She had a superior education and had been for years a successful teacher. She was thereby not only fitted to be a pastor's wife, but also a helper and sympathizer in her husband's educational work. Little " Holly," who had been cared for in his grandmother's home, now came to be his father's companion and to develop in the loving atmosphere of home. It will help us as we further study Mr. Cheney's character to note, in passing, his high regard for 60 LIFE AND WORK OF true womanhood. A noble woman seemed to him to embody, in a degree unattainable by any man, the finer qualities in human nature. He told the writer that, early in life, he felt defrauded in not having the opportunity to possess that especial refinement which seemed to him innate to woman. He admired women of large intellectual capacity to be and to do, those who stand firmly and bravely beside their brothers in the battle of life. The ivy type did not so much attract him ; and yet his chivalrous nature was on the alert to help women who were suffering from unequal condi- tions. Many a wbman has sent him thanks for fatherly help in severe trial or timely advice amid legal disabilities. Marriage was to him a companion- ship of equality, a union, in which there was something strong in each to complement the other's need. He never needed conversion to equal suffrage. He believed in it as naturally as he breathed. He thought that woman's sphere included all that she was able to do well and he rejoiced in all new openings for her development. LEBANON ACADEMY With the educational impulse strong within them, Mr. and Mrs. Cheney sympathized with the young people in their parish who were longing for better educational opportunities and they started an Academy course in the village school-house. OREN B. CHENEY 61 Professor J. Y. Stanton, then twelve years old, gives us an interesting reminiscence of it : " It was a great success from the begin- ning. We were an enthusiastic band of scholars. I began the study of Latin under Mr. Cheney, a thorough and lovable teacher. Mrs. Cheney was my teacher in algebra and she was very interesting and competent. She introduced into the school some new features, which greatly increased the interest. Those were happy days for us, young people. The success of this school demonstrated to Mr. Cheney the need of making it permanent and Lebanon Academy was founded. Money was easily raised and a substantial two-s t o r y building was erected, from which there was a fine prospect of mountain, river, and sur- rounding country. " Lebanon Academy has been an inesti- mable blessing, not only to Lebanon, but to all the neighboring towns. A substantial edu- cation has been obtained here by more than a thousand persons, who, without the Acad- emy, would have received only the education of the town school. Several young men re- ceived there their first impulse towards a college education. In the few years, during which Mr. Cheney resided in Lebanon, he did the work of a lifetime." Mr. Cheney's influence as a character builder is shown by the testimony of another of his students, Benjamin F. Corson, editor of the Register, Glencoe, Minnesota : 62 LIFE AND WORK OF " I attended Mr. Cheney's school in the little red school-house in Lebanon, — cut the wood, built the fires and swept the room for my tuition. I was also afterward janitor in the Academy. My personal feeling for my old Professor has always been that he was one of God's angels, sent to show his pupils that the highest aim of their education was to serve God and their fellow-men. His language and habits of life were the purest and best. ***** The ninth of April, 1850, was a memorable time. In the previous February, a serious spirit began to pervade the school. Prayer meetings and Sunday services were better attended. The deep undertone of religious feeling increased, until by the first of April nearly all the students, number- ing seventy-five or eighty, felt its influence. " April sixth, with two others, I made a move for a holier life. The school and the whole community were stirred more and more, until by April 9th, the power of the Holy one so rested upon the pupils, that they began to ask to be excused and went to the long recitation room above. At last, the number left was so small that Professor Cheney said : 'You may all go.' All went except two. Such a scene I never saw, or experienced elsewhere,— some singing, some praying, some agonizing, some shouting, and heaven's great unseen cloud of rejoicing angels hovering over repenting young men and women. All over the school-room and environs was after- ward written, 'Remember April 9, 1850.' That revival was the result, under God, of O. OREN B. CHENEY 63 B. Cheney's life and Christian influence. He was a holy man from the ground up." During Mr. Cheney's residence in Lebanon, two daughters, Caroline and Emeline, came to brighten his home. They were two tricksy little sprites, who brought more and more joy and sunshine as they developed. The father heart in Mr. Cheney was strong and true. A very busy man, he yet had time to know and enjoy his children and to give to their best interests due consideration. His sympathy with them was so hearty that ruling them was an easy matter. He found love and a steady eye an improvement upon Solomon's method. He loved to tell how, when a poor woman called, who said she had no shoes for her children, the younger tot began at once to take off her own. CITIZEN As already seen, Mr. Cheney's influence as citizen and patriot was given to such political movements as advanced needed reforms. His first vote for President was given in 1844 for James G. Birney, candidate of the Liberty Party. Now that the Free Soil Party had taken its place, he was active in its interests and soon after going to Lebanon was made its candidate for the United States House of Representatives ; but finding that the Whig candidate was opposed to slavery, he declined the nomination. Later, by a combination 64 LIFE AND WORK OF of the Free Soil, Independent and Whig parties of the towns of Lebanon and Sandford, he was elected Representative to the Maine Legislature. Rev. Mr. Cheney's real manhood could hardly have been paid a higher compliment, for the nomination was made without his knowledge. He was greatly surprised, when, the morning after election, a neighbor called and informed him of his success. But never was divine guidance more plainly seen in the fitting of any man for his life work. Nothing could have been more opportune than his spending several months during the next two years as legislator at the capital city of Maine. Legislative business was to him like his native air. He was at home in it. He readily learned its tactics. His honesty of purpose commanded respect and he rapidly gained influence. In any- thing he attempted his persistency was balanced by his gentlemanly manner and quietness of spirit. The fact that he secured from the legislature two thousand dollars toward an endowment for Leb- anon Academy shows that he had already learned the art of getting money for good purposes. One other notable thing connected with his service in the Legislature is worthy of notice. It was in 185 1 that Neal Dow first went to Augusta to urge the prohibitory method of dealing with the liquor traffic. Some professed temperance men were uncertain about such a drastic measure, but O. B. Cheney recognized its value at once. OREN B. CHENEY 65 It was a satisfaction to him to vote for it and always a pleasant memory that he had the privi- lege. To the end of his life he never wavered in his belief in and devotion to the principle of prohibition as the true one to be applied to the liquor business, and no sophistry ever blinded him to its great value to the State of Maine. Accord- ing to his best judgment, he always voted con- sistently with his belief. AUGUSTA PASTORATE POLITICAL ACTIVITY OFFICIAL POSITION EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR TO THE MORNING STAR VII In the middle of the nineteenth century the line between denominations was so sharply drawn that bitter discussions of doctrines were common among ministers and laymen of different faiths, and too great charity for differences in creeds was believed to verge on heresy. To one so true to his own convictions as was O. B. Cheney there was no temptation to attend any church because of its popularity, or because of its wealth or influence. It is, therefore, just what would be expected that, during his months in the Legislature in Augusta, he should attend the little Free Baptist church, worshiping in a small hall, and it was a natural result that his helpfulness in speaking and singing should lead to his receiving a call to the pastorate of the church. Of the circumstances attending Mr. Cheney's acceptance of the call Rev. C. F. Penney, D.D., — so long the loved and honored pastor of this same church — wrote, many years later, the following reminiscence : " Walking down State street a few years since, with President Cheney, he suddenly paused on the sidewalk, about half way between the residence of Hon. James G. Blaine and the State House. I looked inquir- ingly and he said, ' On this spot I made what 70 LIFE AND WORK OF was perhaps the most important decision of my life. I decided to come to Augusta to take charge of our church interest here, at the invitation of the church and the Free Baptist Home Mission Society. The session of the legislature was drawing to a close and I was about to go home. I had a call to another place at a fair salary. The call here had little money in it, hardly enough to keep soul and body together, and the hardest of work. Thinking as to what was duty, I sud- denly paused, at this very place, and asked myself in so many words, ' to which place shall I go ? ' And a voice seemed to say, ' to Augusta.' I audibly replied, ' I will choose this field.' " Mr. Cheney had spent six years of hard work at Lebanon, ministering to the church and found- ing the Academy. He left the former united and prosperous and the latter so well established that years of usefulness were before it. In his written articles he always referred with touching tender- ness to the associations and friendships of his first pastorate. His life-purpose at this time is well illustrated by the following incident. While he was planting an orchard of apple trees at his Lebanon home, a passing friend asked : " Why do you do this ? You will never eat apples from those trees." "No," was the reply, "but somebody will." On taking the Augusta pastorate Mr. Cheney saw that in order to establish the church on a firm OREN B. CHENEY 71 basis, the first requisite was a house of worship. With him to see a need was to act, and we find him during the next year busily engaged in raising the money for building the edifice, which for over fifty years was to be the church home. In raising this money Mr. Cheney not only canvassed Maine churches, but also many in other New England States, thus obtaining an experience that proved very valuable in his later life-work. With the purpose of securing aid in his work he wrote numerous articles for The Morning Star. The printed reports of his receipts show not only that most of the money was raised in small amounts, but also how careful he was to acknowledge every cent received. His purpose is expressed in an article, in which he says : " It should be remembered that we will never raise a finger in helping to dedicate the house until it shall be paid for." The result is stated in Rev. C. F. Penney's reminiscence : " The beautiful church in Augusta, dedi- cated without debt in a little more than a year after President Cheney's pastorate com- menced, stands a monument of his indomi- table faith and persistent zeal." Although the church was dedicated and practi- cally completed in November, 1853, many finish- ing touches remained to be given. One of these 72 LIFE AND WORK OF was the furnishing of the pastor's study. In September, 1854, Mr. Cheney writes in his diary: " This morning I enter my study in our new church. It is a neat, pretty minister's home. How kind are my dear brethren and sisters, in fitting up for me this inner court in the Lord's temple ! Well, I have just dedi- cated it to God." Here he gives a complete order of exercises, adding to each, " By the poor pastor." "I know God will accept the consecration, because all has been done with an honest heart. He has helped us in erecting this house. Now, oh, Lord, fill it and me with thy glory. Oh that God would ever dwell in this study to teach me by His spirit and His word and make me useful to His people." Everything seemed now to promise for Mr. Cheney a successful pastorate in a growing, con- genial church. His pulpit ministrations were thoughtful and dignified and attended with spirit- ual power, as shown by frequent baptisms and accessions to the church. Because of his sym- pathetic nature, he was much in demand at funerals. He was held in general respect and had influence with many prominent citizens. During this pastorate his voice was at its best. His singing was of the gospel evangelist style and made deep impressions. Some people said they went to church to hear him sing. That his ideas of a Christian church were broad OREN B. CHENEY 73 and comprehensive is shown by Rev. Dr. C. F. Penney's testimony thirty years later. " A new church interest, such as President Cheney formed at Augusta, is easily molded. A trusted leader shapes it almost at will. Fortunate, indeed, are the people whose early history is under such guidance as that of the Augusta church in the first four years of its existence. Our church became thoroughly imbued with the spirit of its leader and from that day to the present has stood, not only strong and pronounced on all questions of moral and social reform, but equally intelli- gent and liberal in the various departments of Christian benevolence." POLITICAL ACTIVITY In order to understand Mr. Cheney's all-around development, we must take note of his other ac- tivities during the early years of his Augusta pas- torate. His interest in the Free Soil Party had not in the least abated. This party was the polit- ical expression of anti-slavery sentiment, and, as a Christian man, he felt that he must do all in his power to advance its interests. That he was a valued helper is shown by his election, in 1852, by the Maine Free Soil convention as its delegate to the National Free Soil Convention at Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, which nominated John P. Hale for the presidency. Some incidents con- nected with the journey to Pittsburgh are worthy 74 LIFE AND WORK OF of note. One evening on the steamer on Lake Erie many passengers, — including Charles Francis Adams and other delegates of note — were gathered on deck, watching a glorious sunset. Suddenly an inspiration came to Mr. Cheney and he sang verse after verse of an old hymn, the closing of which was: "A trust in God I hold it fast In peril and in pain, Until that glorious Sun shall rise, That ne'er shall set again," closing just as the sun sank in the water. That it created a profound impression is shown by the testimony of Rev. G. H. Ball, D.D., who was one of the delegates present and who says : " The steamer was crowded with passengers of every stripe of politics. Dr. Cheney sang as if inspired. All were charmed by the clear, rich tenor voice and many eyes were wet." At each stopping-place delegates joined the party and among them was Frederick Douglass. Dinner for the delegates was ready at Alliance, Ohio. As they entered the dining hall the two long tables looked very inviting to the hungry men ; but the proprietor blocked the way. The " nigger " must not come in. " I tell you that raised a storm," said Dr. Cheney, in telling of the inci- dent. " The delegates said with one accord, ' If Fred Douglass cannot eat, we will not ;' then the proprietor backed right down." OREN B. CHENEY 75 The convention was a very enthusiastic one. Dr. Cheney always remembered with pride the very able speech made by his friend, Dr. Ball. A few weeks later Mr. Cheney attended a banquet given in Boston in honor of John P. Hale, at which Charles Sumner was one of the speakers. In his report of it for The Morning Star he refers to the absence of wine as a noticeable and very gratifying feature. Mr. Cheney retained through life a very pleasant remembrance of his acquaint- ance with John P. Hale, and he often repeated some of Hale's apt stories. One of these, which he used to illustrate a weak character, is as fol- lows : " A domineering wife one day made her husband crawl under the bed when they saw a visitor coming. After a while the poor fellow began to look slyly out between the valances. The threatening look of his wife intimidated him for a time, but soon his patience gave way and he burst out with, ' As long as I have the spirit of a man, I will peep.' " SECRETARY AND EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR In October, 1853, Mr. Cheney was a delegate to the Free Baptist General Conference, held in Fairport, New York. He had been for four years Corresponding Secretary of the Free Baptist Edu- cation Society and for five years Recording Secre- tary of the Free Baptist Foreign Missionary 76 LIFE AND WORK OF Society. The duties involved in these responsible positions gave him an influence in the denomina- tion and kept him in touch with people in differ- ent parts of the country. This meeting of the General Conference was of much importance, as the immediate future of the Biblical School was settled by the decision to remove it to New Hampton, New Hampshire, and to raise $20,000 towards its endowment. On his return to Augusta, Mr. Cheney entered heartily into the work of helping to raise this money and soon began to report receipts for it. He was a regular attendant at and an influential factor in the Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, of which his church was a constituent member. It is a good example of his foresight and good judg- ment, that at the session of the Kennebec Yearly Meeting, held in 1853, he proposed a union of the three Maine Yearly Meetings into a State Associ- ation, as conducive to better system and greater efficiency in work. This was so earnestly opposed that the matter rested for many years, but the union was effected in 1888, much to the advantage of the denominational work. During one Yearly Meeting session a terrific thunder storm rolled and crashed around the church. Some of the people were terrified and a panic seemed imminent, when Mr. Cheney went to the platform and sang the old hymn, one verse of which is : OREN B. CHENEY 77 " God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform ; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm." The clear voice, rising above the noise of the elements, produced an electrical effect more potent than that without, for before he had finished, the audience sat as if spell-bound, then looking out found the storm was abating. From the time when, in 1843, Mr. Cheney began to write brief articles for The Morning Star, the amount contributed continued to increase with the passing years. It will help us to an insight into his interest in current events to note the different subjects on which he wrote during the time when many people would have been so ab- sorbed in church building and the other activities referred to as to have no thought for anything else. During the three months preceding the dedication of the Augusta church each issue of the paper had two or more articles from his pen, including the following subjects : 1. Several on Temperance, with discussion of conditions in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Minnesota ; and with appeals to the people of Maine to so vote as to retain the Prohibitory Law. 2. Duties of a Faithful Sunday School Teacher. 78 LIFE AND WORK OF 3. A general article on The Free Baptists in New Brunswick. 4. Value of Woman's Work in the Temper- ance and Anti-slavery Reforms. 5. Duty of Ministers to the Sick. 6. Articles on Political Conditions. 7. Several columns on Anti-Slavery, with an extended discussion of criticisms of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. 8. Respect for Law. 9. A thrilling story of a man, robbed in a " grog-shop " while on the way to make purchases for a sick wife. 10. Frequent stories of travel in the interest of the Augusta church, with tables of receipts. 11. Reports as Corresponding and Recording Secretary of the Societies previously referred to. At the annual meeting of the Corporators of the Free Baptist Printing Establishment, held in 1853, Mr. Cheney was elected assistant editor of The Morning- Star. In his Salutatory, in the issue of October, 1853, after referring to his receipt of the news of his appointment, he says : " In the autumn of 1839, just fourteen years ago, we received a similar announce- ment, but fearing that our youthful pen would fail to do what might be expected of it, we did not dare assume such a responsibility and declined it. * * * * We accept the appoint- ment this time, not because we now feel OREN B. CHENEY 79 adequate to the work assigned us — for more and more we see our ignorance — but because we believe that, if a man cannot do every- thing, he can do something. If he cannot be faithful in much, he can be faithful in little. ' And he that does the best he can, does well, Acts nobly, an angel can do no more.' " He follows with burning words expressive of his feeling about the evils of slavery and intemper- ance and his purpose to write and work for their overthrow. During the next ten years with few exceptions he contributed weekly to The Morning Star articles on themes as varied as is the life of humanity. One of these, published in the Star of June 2, 1854, was a description as an eye-witness of the return to slavery of Anthony Burns.* We give a few extracts : " I was in Boston. Awaking early, I took a walk. I wanted the atmosphere of 1776, none of the oxygen taken out. So I stood upon Dorchester Heights, one of the spots consecrated to liberty and the equal rights of That morning the news spread like wild-fire that Anthony Burns had been seized by U.S. * The Fugitive Slave Law, requiring the return of run- away slaves to their owners, although passed in 1851, had aroused so much opposition in the North as to be but partially operative. The South clamored for enforcement and United States officials came to their aid. 80 LIFE AND WORK OF officers. Hearing of this, Mr. Cheney repaired quickly to the city proper and thus reported what ensued : " Through the politeness of a college class- mate I was seated at a window in full view of what was passing, and this is the scene : The door of the court-house is strongly guarded. A six pound cannon faces it. An immense crowd of a thousand soldiers surround it. Men, women and children fill the streets, look out of windows, lean against chimneys and are on roofs of the highest buildings. An approaching guard of United States Marines is greeted with a storm of hisses It is now twenty-five minutes past nine. There is motion and stir in the court-room. The decision is made. Liberty or slavery has triumphed. 'Goes back. Goes back. Goes back,' runs along the tens of thousands as lightning on the wires. Then follow hisses, groans and cries of 'shame.' Women hang out from windows black shawls, mantillas, and strips of cloth " Mr. Cheney follows with the crowd and sees Burns put upon the United States cutter that is to return him to slavery. He hears the master offered twelve hundred dollars for him and hears that the word from Washington is " Must go back." Then the intensity of his feelings expresses itself in the following language : " Go back ! Oh thou great and mighty God ! Thou ruler of the land and sea ! Why dost O. B. Cheney About 1855 OREN B. CHENEY 81 thou not in anger stretch out thine hand and let thy winds blow, thy tempests rise, thy ocean rock in fury, thy thunder-bolts crash and all on board — one only excepted — go to the lowest bottom ! Why ? Because thou art slow to anger and waitest to be gracious. Thou canst bear it. Help me to bear it in the spirit of an unworthy child of thine. My prayer then only shall be ' Father forgive them. They know not what they do.' To my brother in bonds : 'Live and take comfort. Thou hast left behind Powers that will work for thee, air, earth and skies. There's not a breathing of the common mind That will forget thee. Thou hast great allies.' " Such is an illustration of the work which, as assistant editor, found its place in Mr. Cheney's busy life for years to come. THE VISION MAINE STATE SEMINARY DIFFICULTY IN SECURING A CHARTER LOCATION IN LEWISTON CHARLES SUMNER FURNISHES A SCHOOL MOTTO LETTERS FROM CHARLES SUMNER VIII On the evening of September twenty-second, 1854, Mr. Cheney was resting in his Augusta home, planning for the development of his church work, when a letter was handed to him. It proved to be from Rev. J. A. Lowell, Principal of Par- sonsfield Seminary, and contained the startling announcement that the Seminary building had been burned to the ground. As Mr. Cheney pondered over this great dis- aster, a flood of tender recollections rushed over him. He recalled his early experience at Parsons- field, first as scholar, then later as teacher and preacher, and lived over his early married life there. But soon his thought turned from himself to the boys and girls so suddenly deprived of a school, and, as he thought on and on, he became impressed with the need of a more centrally located and higher institution of learning than any previously furnished Free Baptist young people in Maine.* He also remembered that there were many bright boys and girls, without denominational con- nection, scattered throughout the villages and farming districts, who longed for an education, but were without the means of obtaining it. * It must be remembered that at this time nearly all insti- tutions, except common grade schools, were under denomi- national auspices. 86 LIFE AND WORK OF As he weighed the needs and conditions, an ideal school began to take form in his mind, adapted to students who, in order to pay their way, must depend on their own efforts. As he studied the matter, the possibility of founding such a school seemed more and more practicable. Then a voice, as if from heaven, seemed to say to his inmost being, " Do this work for me." Startled by the suddenness of the thought, he urged, in opposition, his consecration to the ministry and his opportunity for usefulness in Augusta — that he had worked hard to secure a house of worship and was now just ready to reap the benefits in building up a strong church. But the divine vision of duty would not be dismissed. Hour after hour passed and as he sat and pon- dered, oblivious of the passing time, the needs and possibilities developed more and more in his thought. The future of numbers of young people seemed suddenly entrusted to him. But he saw also the difficulties to be encount- ered. He knew that few, even of his friends, would understand or sympathize with his ideals, — that, instead of enthusiastic helpers, he should have to contend with faint-heartedness and even opposition. He saw that it meant years of unap- preciated hard work ; he saw days and days of solicitation for money, involving frequent and prolonged absences from home. But, as the night waned, the vision of duty OREN B. CHENEY 87 became more and more insistent, until, finally, with prayer for guidance, he yielded to what he believed to be a divine call, — made the great sacrifice of giving up the ministry (how great it was, few but himself ever knew), and said, " Here am I, Lord, to do thy will." When, in the early morning hours, Mr. Cheney retired to rest, his purpose and plans in life were as completely changed as if he had become another man. His future life proved that " he was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." September twenty-second, 1854, was always to him the birth-night, not only of Maine State Seminary, but of Bates College also, for the latter is but a natural outgrowth of the former. MAINE STATE SEMINARY O. B. Cheney was altogether too shrewd a man to forestall either success or defeat by many con- fidences in regard to his new plans. He under- stood human nature well enough to know that the divine voice which speaks to one man is not heard by the multitude. He made his moves with cau- tion. As Corresponding Secretary of the Free Baptist Education Society it was suitable for him to be a leader in some action to be taken in con- sequence of the burning of Parsonsfield Seminary. The anniversaries of the Free Baptist Benevo- lent Societies were to be held in Saco, Maine, in the following month — October, 1854. There, at 88 LIFE AND WORK OF Mr. Cheney's invitation, " the friends of a higher institution of learning " met in the church gallery, and voted to call a convention to act upon the matter. During the next month Mr. Cheney was busy, enlisting the interest of those who would be likely to be in sympathy with starting a school, prominent among these being Rev. E. Knowlton, member of Congress from Maine. The conven- tion was held in Topsham, Maine, in the follow- ing month — November. In presenting the need for a school Mr. Cheney said in part : "We do not propose an Academy, but a school of high order, between a college and an Academy. We shall petition the Legis- lature of Maine to suitably endow, as well as to incorporate, such an Institution. We know our claim is good and we intend openly and manfully and we trust in a Christian spirit to press it. If we fail next winter, we shall try another legislature. If we fail on a second trial, we hope to try a third and a fourth." Such faith and determination could but be con- tagious. The convention enthusiastically voted to establish a school. Trustees were elected and a committee consisting of O. B. Cheney, E. Knowlton and Francis Lyford was appointed to have the matter in charge. A prominent minister from New Hampshire came to the convention to oppose the movement, on the ground that the Free Baptist school in that state was sufficient ; OREN B. CHENEY 89 thus, at its birth, the school was baptized in the element of opposition. But as well might the effort have been made to stay an incoming tide. At the time appointed for the first committee meeting, Rev. Mr. Knowlton was sick, but Messrs. Cheney and Lyford went in a sleigh through a snow-storm from Augusta to South Montville and the meeting was held in Mr. Knowlton's sick room. Since September twenty-second, plans had been taking form in Mr. Cheney's mind, and these were the ones that, in the main, were adopted as the working method in founding the school. At his suggestion the proposed institution was named Maine State Seminary. The securing of a charter from the legislature was the first thing to be attempted. As a result of the committee's activity, in order to pave the way for legislative action, petitions to the legis- lature for charter and endowment for the proposed school were at once placed in circulation among Free Baptists and other friends of the Seminary, and, on the assembling of the Maine legislature in January in its session of i854-'55, two of these petitions with a large number of signatures were ready for presentation. Others continued to come in, until, by February 28th, twenty-four different petitions were presented. These were referred to the Joint Committee on Education, the Chairman of which was President of a Seminary in the state. 90 LIFE AND WORK OF After some delay, during which time much per- sonal work was done among the members of the legislature, the Committee reported a bill giving to Maine State Seminary a charter and an appro- priation of $15,000; but this was immediately followed by requests for aid from other schools in the state, with the result that the Committee soon after reported an Omnibus bill, giving to different schools $60,000. This was with the apparent purpose of killing the whole thing. After long discussion the Omnibus bill was defeated, for the members well knew that they would not be sus- tained by their constituents in voting for edu- cation so large a sum of money. There seemed now to be little prospect that anything could be done at that session. Mr. Knowlton was obliged to return to his home early in February, but Messrs. Cheney and Lyford lived in Augusta, and, although publicly the matter rested, quietly but steadily the interests of the school were pushed. Mr. Cheney visited member after member of the legislature with this appeal: " Other denominations have their schools and they have been helped by the state. There are many Free Baptists in Maine whose children need education, in order to become valuable citizens. Now that Parsons- field Seminary is burned, they have no school. There is no good reason why they should not have such help as others have had." OREN B. CHENEY 91 As a result of this personal work the bill ap- propriating $15,000 and that giving a charter to Maine State Seminary were again reported to the House and passed that body. (The remainder of the story is mainly in Mr. Cheney's own words:) " The excitement was then so great, that I let the matter rest until about three weeks before the close of the session. In the mean- time the presidents of other schools went home. As the session was nearing its close, I called upon the Chairman of the Joint Com- mittee, and asked him if, at a suitable time, he would call up the bill for action in the Senate. He said it would be of no use. As the bill was in his hands, it was not easy to know what to do next, but I found a friend of the measure who agreed that, if the Chair- man continued to refuse to report the bill, he would call upon him to do so from the floor of the Senate, and, if he then declined, he would himself call it up on the last day of the session. " For various reasons no action had been taken and the last day had arrived. Besides the Chairman of the Committee, there was one other Senator, a friend of his, who had earnestly opposed the bill. At noon I ob- tained an audience with him. I told him that, when I was a member of the Legislature, I voted to help all the schools, including the one in which he was interested. I reminded him that but a few hours remained before the close of the session and begged of him, as a personal favor, that, if the bill was brought 92 LIFE AND WORK OF up, he would not offer an amendment. He finally promised and then I felt pretty sure of success. " When the Senate was called to order in the afternoon, I went right to the Chairman and asked him to call up the bill. He said, ' It will be of no use, Mr. Cheney. It will not pass.' I said 'call it up and let us see.' He said he would, if I would allow him to make an amendment, giving to the school which he represented $7,000 and to Maine State Seminary $8,000. I replied that that would send it back to the House and defeat everything for that session. When he found that, if he did not report the bill, some one else would call for it, he yielded and it was soon before the Senate. The question was on the engrossment. The motion to have the bill engrossed was passed by a good majority and the victory seemed to be won. " Through the courtesy of the President of the Senate, I was myself allowed to take the document to the Secretary of State's office to be engrossed. This work was then done by hand and it was late in the afternoon before it was finished. Imagine my feelings, when, on hearing it read, I discovered a mistake which seriously affected the whole bill. By permission I took it to the clerk of the House of Representatives and he certified as to how the bill passed, but he said it was too late to do anything more about it at that session. I had a different opinion. " The second engrossment took until late in the evening. I then carried it to the Com- mittee on Engrossed Bills and they certified OREN B. CHENEY 93 that it was correct. I hastened with it to the Speaker of the House, Hon. Sidney Per- ham. he immediately put it to vote, and the bill passed. The Speaker then allowed me to take it to the Senate. The presiding officer, Hon. Frankbin Muzzey, at once called for the vote of that body, the bill passed and he signed it. I asked if, instead of sending by a committee, as usual, I might, in person, take it to the Governor. He gave the per- mission. It was then ten o'clock. The ses- sion closed at twelve. As I entered the room of the Governor, Hon. Anson P. Morrill, he looked up from the bills he was signing and smilingly said, " ' Well, Mr. Cheney, have you a bill there you want me to veto ? ' I replied, " ' Yes, Governor, if you want to ! ' He promptly affixed his signature and I went home and went to sleep with the happiest heart I had had in years." Mr. Cheney inaugurated the campaign for raising money for the school by the following announcement in The Morning Star of March 28, 1855: " The little barque, Maine State Seminary, came safely into port, the 16th instant. Probably many of her friends, who have been so anxious as to her fate, were locked in slumber at the hour of her arrival, for it was ten o'clock. The voyage was long, — the weather stormy, — the freight heavy, — but she came safely in." 94 LIFE AND WORK OF To advance the interests of the school Mr. Cheney at once began the publication in Augusta of a monthly paper — The Seminary Advocate. Through its pages many young people became interested in the school and it became a helpful medium for raising money. Messrs. Cheney and Knowlton now used all the time they could spare from other duties in soliciting funds. LOCATION IN LEWISTON The committee on locating the school consisted of Reverends Cheney, Knowlton and N. Brooks. Different sites presented claims and inducements and it was after much careful thought and investi- gation, attended by honest differences in opinion, that the committee finally located the school at Lewiston, on the Androscoggin river, and in the county of that name. Lewiston was then a small, but rapidly growing town. It was not only a business centre for a fine farming district, but its water facilities for mill purposes had attracted Boston capital and the prospects were good for rapid development in manufacturing. The site of the school was donated by the citizens of Lewiston and the Water Power Com- pany. Five acres were at first offered, but Mr. Cheney would not consider locating until twenty acres were promised. In form the land constitutes an oblong square. It is situated on a somewhat elevated ridge, sloping gently in front and rear OREN B. CHENEY 95 and with a grove of five or six acres. It is about a mile from the business centre of the city, the intervening land being then mostly devoted to farming. This location has proved to be, in many respects, one of the finest among New England schools. As soon as this site was secured, it became important that Mr. Cheney should remove to Lewiston. During the two and a half years since his " vision " of duty had changed his life-purpose, he had continued his work as pastor of the Augusta church, reporting for The Morning Star, baptisms, interesting prayer-meetings, "good times " in receiving new members, and other signs of healthy church work. But he now felt that his best energies must be devoted to the school, and accordingly sent in his resignation. The church voted not to accept it, and only, when he repeated and sadly insisted, did they release him. We find him soon after, early in 1856, located in Lewiston near the Seminary grounds. The money thus far donated for the school had been in comparatively small sums. As the success of such an enterprise must be dependent on some large gifts, Mr. Cheney was overjoyed, when in the spring of 1856, he was invited to call on Seth Hathorn of Woolwich, Maine, and was informed by him and his wife, Mary, that they proposed to make a liberal donation to the school. Mrs. Hathorn said, " I have been hoping and 96 LIFE AND WORK OF praying that God would open the way for a portion of our property to be disposed of where it would do good after our death. I believe the Lord sent you here." Encouraged by their promise of at least five thousand dollars, Mr. Cheney soon made arrange- ments for erecting a building, to be named Hathorn Hall, in honor of these generous donors ; and on June 26th, 1856, the corner-stone of Maine State Seminary was laid with appropriate cere- monies. This was a gala day for Lewiston. We quote from an address by President Cheney : " The people assembled by thousands, and a very large procession composed of the trustees, clergymen, in and out of town, directors of the Franklin Company, fire com- panies of the village, teachers and children of the public schools and many citizens, marched to the seminary grounds under the marshalship of Capt. A. H. Kelsey of Lewis- ton, and led by the music of two brass bands of the village. Rev. Benjamin Thorne, a venerable father of the Free Baptist ministry, offered the prayer of invocation, and Rev. George Knox, standing upon the stone, offered the consecrating prayer. Rev. Mar- tin J. Steere delivered the oration, and Hon. C. W. Goddard and Rev. John Stevens made addresses. It was made my duty to lay the stone. A beautiful metallic box, presented by Mr. John Goss, and containing the charter and various other papers, was deposited in OREN B. CHENEY 97 the stone. The following ode, composed by Mrs. V. G. Ramsey, was sung : We come with joy, we come with prayer, And lay this consecrated stone ; O thou, who with a Father's care Hast watched the work our hands have done, Bless us, and let thy richest grace Descend henceforth upon this place. We come not here to rear a pile With columns fair and turrets high, To win the world's approving smile, With Eastern art and wealth to vie ; Far other thoughts our hearts control, Far other wishes fill our soul. The massive walls of brick and stone, Which here may rise are not our care; When busy hands their work have done, And there shall stand a structure fair, Then shall our care and toil begin, A greater triumph yet to win. Here will we mold, refine and carve Those living stones, which, borne on high, The mighty Architect shall use To build a temple in the sky, Whose matchless glory fitteth well The place where Jesus deigns to dwell. Those living stones — not diamonds bright Compare with them, nor pearls, nor gold. If we but do the work aright, These precious stones to carve and mold, Angels will watch o'er us with joy And almost envy our employ. President Cheney's political relations with Hon. Charles Sumner, member of Congress, from Massachusetts, made him feel free to request a motto for the new Institute. The following is the reply received : 98 LIFE AND WORK OF Washington, Dec. n, 180. My Dear Sir: Amove ac Studio* I cannot send anything better than these words for the seal of your Institution. I once thought to have them cut on a seal of my own, but did not. But I doubt not you will be able to devise something better than anything I can suggest. Accept my thanks for the kindness of your com- munication, and believe me, dear sir, Faithfully yours, Charles Sumner. He evidently kept the motto in mind as evi- denced by the reference to it in the following letter, written four years later : Boston, 17th Nov., '61. My Dear Sir : I have indulged the hope of mak- ing a visit to Bangor this season, with a stop at Lewiston, but it is now too late. All my time until I leave for Washington is now mortgaged. Accept my best wishes for your good and use- ful Institute. If it should continue to be inspired by its motto — as I doubt not — it will be a fountain to the state. Faithfully yours, Charles Sumner. O. B. Cheney. * Amore ac Studio maybe translated "with ardent zeal for study." 4^2ce C^J^ fr~fa. tr^ fr^-cfc*, GENERAL CONFERENCE IN MAINE- VILLE, OHIO POLITICAL EXCITEMENT STIRRING INCIDENTS PLANS FOR RAISING MONEY FOR THE SEMINARY CHILDREN'S OFFERING IX In October, 1856, Mr. Cheney was a member of the Free Baptist General Conference, held in Maineville, Ohio. He had resigned his position as Recording Secretary of the Foreign Missionary Society, but retained that of Corresponding Secre- tary of the Education Society. In connection with the duties of this position some perplexities arose in connection with the dual work of raising money for the Biblical School and Maine State Seminary, the adjustment of which was helped by his attendance at this General Conference. In the fall of 1856 the country was in a fever heat of excitement because of the approaching presidential election in November, and especially on account of the nomination for the presidency of John C. Fremont, as candidate of the newly formed Republican party. To this party Mr. Cheney had transferred the warm allegiance that he had previously given to the Free Soil party. This was also true of a majority of the members of the General Conference, and the session thrilled with the spirit of the time. At its close an open- air meeting was held in the interest of Fremont and Dayton, ably addressed by Rev. E. Knowlton and others. Mr. Cheney had a notable liking for visiting spots associated with the birth, death, or noted 104 LIFE AND WORK OF action of prominent individuals ; and at the close of the meetings, with four other delegates, he made a trip to some places of note in Kentucky. While they were in Lexington, a brother of a Maine Con- gressman, then residing there, came to their hotel and uttered words of warning. He said : " Do you know that you are objects of sus- picion ? Your presence is making much talk. If it becomes known that you are abolition- ists, your lives will be in danger. You must move with great caution." It is hardly necessary to say that the warning was heeded. Rev. Silas Curtis — one of the com- pany — was noted for the fervor of his prayers for the slaves ; but it was noticeable that, when they gathered for an evening service before separating for the night, he failed to mention his " brothers in black." This was for years after a source of merriment among these friends. After they had boarded the cars to return, a Kentuckian came through the train, canvassing for votes for President. When he came to the five delegates, Mr. Cheney said, speaking for them, " We are clergymen, who have just attended a religious meeting in Ohio and have taken this opportunity to visit the grave of Henry Clay, to call on his widow and have also been to the home of Breckenridge.* We are strangers and do not * John C. Breckenridge was the democratic candidate for Vice-President. OREN B. CHENEY 105 care to vote." "Oh, yes, vote ! " was the man's earnest rejoinder. Then Mr. Cheney looked him steadily in the eye, and asked, " Do you want us to tell you honestly how we are going to vote ?" " Certainly," was the reply. " Well, then, my vote will be cast for Fremont and Dayton." The others said the same. Al- though their five votes were the only ones cast for the Republican candidates, their quiet, gentle- manly manner was respected and the man passed on without comment. But it is easy to under- stand that our travelers felt more comfortable after they had safely crossed the Ohio river. At any rate they tossed up their hats and otherwise showed that the most dignified men have a good deal of the spirit of a boy left in them. PLANS FOR RAISING MONEY These episodes in Mr. Cheney's life formed a valuable safety-valve to an intense nature. He returned home to enter upon the work of a very busy year and now turned his energies towards advancing the interests of the Seminary with the hope of opening the school the next fall. This included raising money by personal solicitation and correspondence, keeping the Seminary in- terests before the public through articles in the papers and presentation at Quarterly and Yearly Meetings, arranging for securing suitable teachers 106 LIFE AND WORK OF and planning the necessary equipment for the branches to be taught, and finally in having a general oversight of the erection of Hathorn Hall and another building then called the Boarding Hall, but which was eventually named Parker Hall in honor of Judge Thomas Parker of Farm- ington, Maine, who gave five thousand dollars towards its erection. One of his shrewdest moves for raising money for the Seminary, during this year, was through a call for an offering of one dollar each from the children in Sunday schools and elsewhere. Fol- lowing Mr. Cheney's appeal, through the Seminary Advocate and Morning Star, a wide-spread interest was created, which proved to be of three-fold value : — boys and girls became interested in the Seminary through giving money for it, parents had their attention called to it through their children, and the financial aid was considerable. The following letters illustrate the far-reaching influence of the movement : Mr. Cheney Dear Sir please except my donation for the Semenary. M. E. C. 7 years old Mr. Cheney Dear Sir, I am five years old today ; and I am going to send you one dollar to help build the OREN B. CHENEY 107 Maine State Seminary, and I hope I shall some- time come there to school. Yours, O. W. D. Written with father's hand. Mr. Cheney I have just been reading your piece in the Star and thought I would send you my dollar It seems very small but my sister says that the great Ocean is made of little drops I intend to go to Lewiston to school I am eleven years old My little cousin D B C wishes me to enclose a dollar for him. S. A. C. Mr. Cheney Dear Sir I am a little girl of eight years old, and sister Em Six — We send you one dollar each which we have earned drying apples as the Child offaring for Maine State Seminary — and hope that when we are older we may go there to school father sends one dollar each for little Sister M E and H P A. M. H. E. S. H. Mr. Cheney, Dear Sir, Enclosed, please find two dollars for the benefit of the Maine State Semi- nary, one of which I earned myself, and the other is from my sister, A. M. T., who is four years old. I an eleven years old and hope to be a student in your school at some future time I am your young And humble servant, H. M. T. 108 LIFE AND WORK OF Many of the children, who thus early became interested in the school, were afterward among its best scholars and later its staunch supporters. When we remember that in giving up his Augusta pastorate Mr. Cheney cut himself off from any means of support, we can appreciate something of his circumstances during his first year in Lewiston, as referred to in a letter from Rev. E. Knowlton, who says in objecting to Mr. Cheney's taking boarders : " Remember you can- not do everything and your wife cannot bear everything. "As to your expenses while you have been build- ing, you shall be made whole, if my feeble influence can effect it. You have had a good deal to do, a good deal to bear and a good deal to sacrifice, and I appreciate, my dear brother, what you have done. Men generally will not thank you, but your reward is sure. When you are in heaven, your labors will live, live, live and work for God and humanity. Yes, they will. And I almost think that, after all, your labors and sacri- fices taken in connection with your gifts and your smiling face are enviable." We obtain a view of conditions attending the embryo school in the summer of 1857 through extracts from an article published by Mr. Cheney in the Star of June 22 nd : " The Trustees desire, as best they can, to meet the public demand for the opening of OREN B. CHENEY 109 the school in the fall. They are aware that the circumstances are not all that could be desired ; but think proper to commence the school and to push forward the work of finish- ing the buildings as fast as the necessary means can be secured. The outside of the centre building — Hathorn Hall — was com- pleted last year. The inside, or such portion of it as it is proposed to occupy for the present, is being plastered and will be painted and dried in season for the opening term. The outside of the Boarding Hall is nearly completed and it is hoped that at least the ladies' section will be in readiness for the winter term. Students who come may or may not be disappointed. " No special promises or pledges are made. Our first students must make up their minds beforehand to find things in an unfinished state. But, generally, it is with institutions of all kinds as with children — first creep, then walk. All we can say to our young friends is that we promise to do what is in our power to make easy, what is hard — smooth, what is rough Though God has most signally owned and favored the enterprise, yet it has been attended by trials and sacri- fices all the way. If then, young men and women shall be ready to come and share in sacrificing with the scores and hundreds who have the institution dearly at heart, in behalf of these friends, we bid them a most hearty welcome. They can certainly have one thing to remember, and that is that they were with the institution in its early struggles and sacrifices." 110 LIFE AND WORK OF And there have seldom gathered anywhere a better, truer, braver company of young people than responded to these conditional appeals dur- ing the opening year. OPENING OF MAINE STATE SEMINARY FIRST YEAR'S SUCCESS FINANCIAL PANIC BRIGHTER DAYS X On September ist, 1857, the school opened with one hundred and thirty-seven students and a corps of six teachers, O. B. Cheney, Principal. In addition to being a good instructor Mr. Cheney possessed other elements of a successful teacher, dignity of manner, a commanding presence and a kindly, sympathetic expression of countenance. He was a natural leader and his years of experi- ence in teaching had fitted him so to manage young people, as to win their confidence and inspire them to do their best. His own ideals were high and they made their impress. The other teachers were Prof. G. H. Ricker, Rev. J. A. Lowell, Miss R. J. Symonds, Precep- tress, and Misses J. W. Hoyt and M. R. Cushman, assistants, with Dr. Alonzo Garcelon as lect- urer upon physiology and hygiene. They had been wisely selected and their ministrations gave the school character and influence from the beginning. Three hundred and fifty-one students were in attendance during the first school year, a large majority of whom were there with the sincere purpose of fitting themselves for the best possible manhood and womanhood. Of the work done it was said at the close of the year : 114 LIFE AND WORK OF " Thus has passed the first anniversary of Maine State Seminary, much to the satis- faction of the Board of Instruction, the Trustees, the donors to the Institution and the public at large." Another writer says : " The Principal, O. B. Cheney, presided "with admirable grace and dignity." The Trustees' report was very commendatory of the work of the teachers. Among the speakers at the anniversary dinner were Nelson Dingley, editor of the Lewiston Journal — later so well known for his work in the United States House of Representatives, and Prof. Cilley of Bowdoin College. The latter complimented the anniversary exercises by saying : " Maine State Seminary, although in its infancy, has this day shown the strength and manhood of maturity." Thus, during its first year, the school took a position of honor among institutions of its kind in the country and this position it has ever since retained, for the elements of success which then attended and placed their stamp upon it have continued to characterize its life as a college. FINANCIAL PANIC While there was so much sunshine on one side of Mr. Cheney's life during this school year, over OREN B. CHENEY 115 another side the clouds hung heavily. During the years 1857 and 1858 our country suffered from a serious and wide-spread financial panic. Well established businesses were severely strained. Well founded institutions suffered. How much more severe then was the trial to a corporation like that of Maine State Seminary, that had not had time to establish itself on secure foundations ! At the time of extreme tension, Mr. Cheney wrote of the perplexing conditions resulting : " A nation, like a Christian, lives by faith ; and by faith I mean, in this instance, con- fidence of man in man. If fire had attacked us, we could have stood it, but the smiting of a panic who can bear ? . . . . Money worth from two to five per cent a month ; little for less than twelve per cent per year. I have some four thousand dollars of bank paper coming due very soon. I have not a dollar with which to meet this. I have just returned home from a two weeks' tour and could neither beg nor borrow a dollar to meet this. "Last Tuesday evening I came to the deliberate conclusion to advertise my house for sale and if I could find a purchaser, to pay first my own debts, and all notes I have signed, and then pay the remainder to those friends from whom I have borrowed money for the Seminary, but who have not my sig- nature, to the last dollar I am worth I have said that I would go down with Maine State Seminary, and I will make good that pledge, if the institution fails. My own 116 LIFE AND WORK OF brothers and other relatives and friends pro- test, but I am resolved — no earthly power can change my purpose. I can be poor, but no man shall have occasion to reproach the cause of Christ on my account, if I can help it. I can have a conscience void of offence towards God and man and that is wealth enough for this poor, short life." A suggestive side-light is thrown upon Mr. Cheney's life at this time by the following child's letter : Mr. Cheney We are little children now and have but little money, but when you was at our house and we saw how sick you was and how hard you had to work to get money to build the Seminary, we were afraid it would kill you, and we have taken a dollar each out of our banks to send to you. We want to go to the school when we are old enough. Yours with much love A. L. B. O. V. B. M. F. B. The financial prospect was indeed dark, but kind words of encouragement and promises of help cheered the workers. Confidence in Mr. Cheney was shown in many ways, one of which was his appointment as Treasurer of the Seminary Corporation. "Nothing succeeds like success," and through the students and their parents and friends the Seminary was continually adding to OREN B. CHENEY 117 its staunch supporters. Burning appeals were printed from influential ministers and other persons of prominence, stating the situation and pleading for help. At the session of each of the three Maine Yearly Meetings it was voted to render aid by assessing members certain amounts. When the question was asked on one occasion, " Shall the Seminary fail ?" the replies were : " No, no, no. Never, never, never." " Is it worth saving ?" "Yes, yes, yes," was the response. The help received through these and other influences proved sufficient to tide over the crisis ; and during the years 1858 and 1859 the debt of $24,000 was paid. BRIGHTER DAYS The school year, 1859-1860, was the third from the opening of the Seminary. Let us try to obtain a bird's-eye view of it at that stage of develop- ment. Hathorn and Parker Halls were completed and furnished with needful apparatus and appli- ances. The courses of study were well defined and suited to scholars of different grades and purposes in life. Classical, scientific, and nor- mal diplomas were given for the respective courses. Three literary societies were in active operation, — the Literary Fraternity, Philomathean and Ladies' Athenaeum. In September, 1858, a Christian Union had been organized, with the 118 LIFE AND WORK OF double purpose of developing Christian lives and turning attention of students to the Christian ministry. In March of the same year a Temperance Association had been formed. This introduced no new principle into the school, for, from its opening, all entering students had been obliged to promise that, during their school course, they would abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors ; and the use of tobacco was not allowed on the school premises. In March, i860, the Phillips Missionary Associ- ation was organized and named in honor of the Phillips family, so many members of which have been highly-valued Free Baptist missionaries in India, and the most brilliant of whom was the well known and much lamented James L. Phillips, D.D., Sunday School Missionary for India. The religious influence in the school was strong and constant. Among the entries in Mr. Cheney's diary in i860 are these : "We had an excellent prayer-meeting this morn- ing. One young man prayed for the first time." " Good prayer-meeting. Ten rose for prayers." " Visited several students and conversed with them on religion." Of the method of management of the school, Mr. Cheney wrote at this time : " The discipline of the Seminary is on the model of some of the best Institutions in the country, — the school being OREN B. CHENEY 119 regarded as a family and the great law of love recognized as the governing rule. Private as well as public appeals are made to the consciences of the students and severe measures will only be resorted to when such appeals fail." Arrangements had been made by which it was possible for persevering students to teach winter schools and continue with their classes. Those needing to live economically found every pro- vision to aid them in boarding-hall and homes. More than one thousand different students had already availed themselves of these educational opportunities and many are the testimonies as to the bright, happy life in the school. Rev. G. T. Day, D.D., a prominent Free Baptist pastor in Rhode Island, and for several years an influential member of the Providence School Com- mittee, was at this time Chairman of the Examin- ing Committee for the Seminary. After a visit to the school he writes for the Morning Star a glow- ing description of its situation, buildings and activities, speaks enthusiastically of its future prospects and in closing, says : " Of the Principal, who was not at home, it were superfluous to say anything, for his plans and purposes, his patience and perseverance, his zeal and self-devotion, his trials and successes — are they not written on the hearts of ten thousand of his brethren and laid up safely in' the archives of a grateful memory !" 120 LIFE AND WORK OF This epitome of the Institution's life may be understood to cover all the 5'ears of the Seminary's existence and to characterize in no small degree the future Bates College. What reason was there now why Mr. Cheney might not comfortably occupy the position of Principal of the Institution, so largely created by his efforts, go on developing it to its highest efficiency and cease his earnest struggle for some- thing hard to attain ? His position in the ministry still brought to him many opportunities for public service, not only in presenting the interests of the Seminary, but in preaching dedication, installation, and other occasional sermons. During vacations and when traveling to secure funds for the school, he occupied some pulpit nearly every Sunday. He officiated at many weddings. His home was a centre of hospitality ; and individuals and repre- sentatives of churches found welcome as they came to him for consultation in times of perplexity or trouble, or for help in advancing the interests of humanity, for he was generous, not only with his sympathy but with his money. He had been elected presiding officer in both Quarterly and Yearly Meeting sessions. He was also member of a committee for the publication of the Free Baptist Quarterly, a theological magazine. But was he satisfied? The answer is a long one. He aimed higher. CONTEMPORARY EVENTS COLLEGE NEEDED OPPOSITION DEFINED BENJAMIN E. BATES PROMISES FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS TRUSTEES VOTE IN FAVOR OF A COLLEGE CLASS PROFESSOR J. Y. STANTON ELECTED TEACHER XI Conditions of life change so rapidly that, in order rightly to view the succeeding events, we must have our thought in harmony with the ideas of the time of which we are writing. The intense denominational feeling then existing led people of all religious beliefs to seek to keep their children within their own religious fold by sending them to their own schools. Sharing in the sentiment of the time, Mr. Cheney was trying to provide for Free Baptists such a school as other denomi- nations were maintaining, one that would not only develop the highest character in individual students and thus make valuable workers for God and humanity, but also one that through them would broaden and strengthen the denomination in whose faith he had been reared and which he longed to help. When, therefore, in i860 he gave the graduating address to a class of fifteen young men who were to enter college and realized that he was sending them away where the influences would not promote their helpfulness to his own denomination, he felt a deep concern respecting the result and asked himself whether he was not thwarting his own purpose. In founding the school Mr. Cheney probably did not have a fully defined purpose to make it a 124 LIFE AND WORK OF college, but rather the desire to have a school of higher grade than the ordinary Seminaries. In the working out of the plan he found that he had no facilities for giving the advanced work, which would in any sense take the place of a college edu- cation. Students were advised by influential ministers to go directly from the Seminary to the Biblical School, but Mr. Cheney could not con- scientiously give such advice. He knew too well the value of the years of training in a college course. Therefore perplexed, but seeking light and guidance, he pondered over the matter as the months went by. A bill was before the United States Congress, appropriating money to Agricultural Colleges. In 1859, after the debt on Maine State Seminary was paid, Mr. Cheney carefully considered the advisability of so changing the curriculum as to meet the requirements for securing such an ap- propriation and thus to attain his end in raising the grade of the school. Through Mr. Cheney's influence Benjamin E. Bates, a Boston capitalist, with large manufacturing interests in Lewiston, had become deeply interested in the school. At first Mr. Bates warmly seconded the Agricultural College movement ; but after due consideration the idea was abandoned, as being likely to thwart the purpose for which the school was founded. But the need of a college became continually more evident. OREN B. CHENEY 125 In the fall of 1861 a number of students pleaded with Mr. Cheney to arrange for a Freshman class. They could see their way to take a college course only by continuing the economical arrangement under which they were living. Their pleas stirred him deeply. He longed to help them, but how ? Where would he find sympathy in raising money for the additional teaching force required. In the following October he gave an address before the Education Society, at the Free Baptist Anniversaries, held in Sutton, Vermont. While returning, he became so profoundly impressed that he ought to respond favorably to those young men that he was oblivious of time and distance during the whole journey. But great events were absorbing the thought of the nation and Mr. Cheney held his peace and waited for a more opportune time to impart his convictions to others. CONTEMPORARY EVENTS In the meantime the country was quivering with excitement. On April twelfth, 1861, a shot was fired upon Fort Sumter, that echoed through- out the land. Young men from the Seminary began to respond to the call for troops. That Mr. Cheney himself was intensely stirred is shown by these entries in his diary : " The freemen of the north are ready. Slavery must die. I am ready to die for freedom." 126 LIFE AND WORK OF " Young men requested permission to raise the Stars and Stripes at sunrise tomorrow morning from the top of the Seminary. Of course I granted permission. I wish they would cover the build- ings all over with the flag of my country." " Talked with young men and urged them to be true to their country and to give their hearts to Christ." " Lewiston Light Guards called. Made a speech to them from the steps of Parker Hall ; also offered prayer. Brought out lemonade." Several entries refer to the performance of his duties as a member of a Safety Committee.* As the weeks passed, the excitement attending the Civil War became more and more intense and Mr. Cheney could not keep away from " the front." We find him, during a part of the summer vacation of 1861, serving in the vicinity of Washington, as a member of the Christian Commission, distrib- uting tracts and supplies and visiting and com- forting the soldiers. A few extracts from notes of this brief service will suffice : " Visited Camp Jackson. The Maine boys were glad to see me." "Saw Lincoln today. Called with the Chaplains." * The excited state of the country and the unsettled con- ditions attending the absence from home of the enlisted men gave courage to the lawless elements in Society and their depredations led to the organizing of Safety Com- mittees in nearly all cities, for the purpose of aiding the officials in maintaining order by day and especially at night. OREN B. CHENEY 127 " Attended meeting at Dr. P's, where General Scott worships. Shook hands with him." " Heard of our defeat (Bull Run). Rained all day. Thousands of soldiers came into Washing- ton, many straggling in ; — a sad day, but God will overrule it." The letters which Mr. Cheney afterwards received from the soldier-boys were cherished during his lifetime. Before the opening of the fall term the Princi- pal was back at his post. In passing through Boston he called on Mr. Bates and secured his promise of five thousand dollars to aid in build- ing another Hall, as soon as the times would warrant. The following school year was to him one of mingled interests. His country's cause, especially that of the freedom of the slaves, lay so close to his heart that his newspaper articles and diary are full of the passing events. He felt so fully assured that the freedom of the slaves was to be the ultimate result of the war, that he grew im- patient at what seemed to him President Lincoln's tardiness in proclaiming their emancipation, and went to confer with the editor of The Morning Star, as to the desirability of sending to the President a Free Baptist memorial, officially signed, asking for immediate emancipation. But Mr. Burr replied to him, " Be patient, Brother Cheney. President Lincoln knows what 128 LIFE AND WORK OF he is about. He understands all the circumstances better than we do. He will act at the right time. Trust him and wait." President Cheney saw that the editor was probably right and went back to his school duties. He was teaching six classes, attending to the usual detail of school-work, improving the campus by grading and setting out trees, and all the while he was pondering over and seeking to solve the college problem. When the Trustees met in 1862, a committee of students came before them and pleaded, some with tears in their eyes, that a college course be provided, and Mr. Cheney moved that their request be granted, but it was voted down. Of the result Mr. Cheney writes : " At this time I awoke, as from a long sleep ; I felt that I had been asleep, that the Trustees were asleep — that the denomination was asleep and that it was losing many of its ablest young men. I decided that the time had come for me to take a firm position and publicly agitate the matter. Including the class then on my hands, I had fitted seventy-seven young men for college in five years. 'We must have a college,' I said, 'or in fifty years we shall cease to exist as a denomination.' As if a trumpet called me, I started up. I believe it was the call of God. I did not desire to enter upon this work, — God is my witness ; I knew well the prej- udices and the cold looks and the hard thrusts I must receive, but I did enter upon OREN B. CHENEY 129 it for Jesus' sake and for the sake of the denomination I love." OPPOSITION DEFINED In order correctly to apprehend the circum- stances that attended Mr. Cheney's efforts during a few succeeding years, we must understand some denominational conditions at that time. Free Baptists were still prominent actors in the great reforms. Because of their outspoken position against slavery, they were often taunted as " Radi- cals " and "Fanatics." In 1839, they had refused an accession of twenty thousand Free Communion Baptists from the south, because there were slave holders among the latter ; and from that time on through the years they had hesitated at no sacri- fice required by a position consistent with their belief. They preferred to be small in numbers and true to their convictions. They continued to occupy a unique position both in regard to woman's work in the church and in favor of tem- perance. They had also made good progress in educational matters. They now had twelve incor- porated Seminaries or Academies in different states and a college in Hillsdale, Michigan. The latter was in a flourishing condition and was an educational centre for the denomination in the western and middle states. It can now easily be seen that a college in New England was just what was then needed to supply 130 LIFE AND WORK OF the educational advantages for denominational balance and development. One man saw it then ; but at first only a few others. Mr. Cheney's first experiences in advocating the college interests are illustrated by a trip into New Hampshire. "Ten years too soon," said one. " First complete the endowment of the Biblical School," said others. "A college would be well enough, Brother Cheney, but where is the money coming from ?" said a Father in Israel in a tone that showed that the question was settled in the speaker's mind. At the office of The Morning Star only oppo- sition was met. The resident editor and publisher was a shrewd business man and the large expense of founding a College was quite beyond his finan- cial vision. Seeing Mr. Cheney's keen disap- pointment, he said, " I don't want to hurt your feelings, Brother Cheney. If you want to write some articles, I will print them." But when told what was needed was for The Morning Star to favor the movement editorially, he said positively that could not be. (Mr. Cheney's contributions to the paper then ceased and for several years his name appeared only in connection with official announcements.) In the meantime a few leaders in Maine were stirring up active opposition, and for a time Mr. Cheney felt as though he were all alone in the world, his only companion a great purpose. That OREN B. CHENEY 131 the opposition was local did not make it any the less serious, for Maine and New Hampshire were really the key to the situation. The denomi- nation having originated in southern New Hamp- shire, it was stronger in those states than else- where, both numerically and in influence. Again, as these states would be the ones most largely benefited by having the college near home, in- difference or opposition there was a serious obstacle to interest elsewhere. It is a common experience in life that people live in the valley of their special interests and fail to obtain broad, mountain-top views. This was true of those who were so absorbed in the interests of the Biblical School that they failed to see the need of the College link between that and the preparatory schools. It was not opposition to education, so much as lack of foresight and con- sciousness of present need. This would have been steadily and rapidly overcome, however, if it had not been for the course pursued by a very few individuals. Goethe says : " There is nothing more oclious than the majority. It consists of a few powerful men to lead the way ; and of a mass of men who trot after them without in the least knowing their own mind." This is a strong utterance as applied to this case, but it is without doubt true that if a few leaders in thought who opposed had sought to bring to the people the needs of the 132 LIFE AND WORK OF hour and inspire them with the purpose to meet them, the immediate result would have been that much misunderstanding would have been pre- vented, a great deal of help would have been given that was withheld, President Cheney would have been spared keen suffering and the reproach of op- position would have been saved. But Mr. Cheney had his eyes too steadily fixed on the goal to be swerved from his purpose ; and when his friends asked, " What can you do in the face of so much opposition ?" his reply in effect was : " Sail on, sail on, and on and on." And he kept steadily at work, with the result that with better knowledge of the movement, its purpose and the need, friends began to rally to his support. It was especially encouraging that at this time Benjamin E. Bates became the staunch friend of the College movement. With fine foresight and hearty appreciation of Mr. Cheney's plans he promised to give fifty thousand dollars towards a college on condition that fifty thousand more could be raised. Thus encouraged and knowing of the rapidly changing feeling on the part of several of the Trustees, Mr. Cheney promised the students that a Freshman class should be formed in the fall. OREN B. CHENEY 133 PROF. J. Y. STANTON BECOMES TEACHER It now seemed a matter of great importance to him that the right kind of teacher be secured to aid in starting the college work. Down through the years Mr. Cheney had retained a pleasant memory of the bright little boy to whom he taught Latin in his Lebanon school, and, knowing of his later success, his purpose was formed, if possible, to secure " Johnnie " as his assistant. Of the circumstances Prof. J. Y. Stanton says : " In the spring of 1863, President Cheney visited me at Drury, New Hampshire, when I was Principal of Pinkerton Academy. He proposed that I should be the Professor of Latin in the new college. The salary was to be $800. Without any hesitation I told him if I were elected I would accept. I was con- fident that President Cheney could found a college and I wished to have a part in it. I was elected by the Trustees in 1863, but did not enter upon the duties of my professorship until 1864, when General Grant was pressing on towards Richmond and when the country was in the midst of the political campaign that ended in the second election of Presi- dent Lincoln." There were other candidates for the position, whose interests were urged by influential friends, but President Cheney was so sure that Professor Stanton was the right man that he worked 134 LIFE AND WORK OF earnestly to have the Trustees elect him. The life-work of usefulness that has followed has shown the wisdom of the choice. When the Trustees met in 1863, some influence had so wrought upon them that they accepted Mr. Bates's offer, voted to establish a course of collegi- ate study, petitioned the Legislature for an enlarged charter, — changing the name to Bates College, in honor of its generous patron, and elected Jonathan Y. Stanton professor of Latin and Greek. An anonymous letter purporting to come from the wife of a clergyman, attacking Mr. Cheney because he wished to change the Seminary to a College, was voted unworthy of notice. This forward movement of the Trustees laid a solid foundation on which to build. At a meeting of the Free Baptist General Conference, held in Hillsdale in the fall of 1862, the College move- ment had been denominationally endorsed. But opposition to any movement once started is like the rolling snow-ball, that gathers size and momentum in its progress. The increasing num- ber of the friends of the College seemed to make the opposers more determined. Mr. Cheney was accused of dishonesty in diverting money that had been raised for a Seminary to a College. A circular was printed and widely distributed, mak- ing this formal accusation. As a result of this, one Maine Yearly Meeting passed resolutions of OREN B. CHENEY 135 censure.* A report was circulated that Mr. Bates had never promised to give fifty thousand dollars. Going to his office one day, Mr. Cheney found him feeling very indignant at the reported accusa- tion and determined to withdraw from the whole enterprise. But Mr. Cheney quietly said to him : " This is not aimed at you, Mr. Bates. It is all opposition to me. There are but few leaders in this movement. Our people as a whole do not realize the need which I see ; neither do they understand enough of the plans to intelligently judge of them. What we need to do is to go right ahead, paying no attention to criticism, and in due time they will see that we are right and your name will be highly honored for your foresight and help." When Mr. Cheney had finished, Mr. Bates grasped his hand and said : " I will stand by you, Mr. Cheney ;" and he most nobly honored his pledge. Now came the task of raising fifty thousand dollars with which to meet Mr. Bates's pledge, and Mr. Cheney went bravely about it. Kind and sympathetic letters came to encourage him of which the following is a specimen extract : " I would do anything I could to encourage you * Twenty years later, when a large majority of New Eng- land Free Baptist pulpits were occupied by graduates of Bates College, these resolutions were expunged from the minutes and President Cheney was informed of the fact. 136 LIFE AND WORK OF and aid the noble enterprise now lying on your hands and heart. Somehow that thing must go. It seems like a providential summons to a higher plane of denominational life. It is not humility but cowardice to abide in the valley when He bids us to go higher. Help will attend our dutiful response to this call. If it seems presumption to risk such an undertaking, I believe it is worse than presumption to refuse it. A failure even amid a noble, energetic struggle is far better than an indolent consent to do nothing. God be with you in the work. Yours truly, Geo. T. Day." Other letters written with the acid of censure burned into his soul. One day, when one was received that was especially unkind, Mrs. Cheney said, with flashing eyes, " Oren Cheney, if you don't answer that I shall." " But," he replied, " of what use would it be ? I am still in a minority. The majority do not see the results to be. If I get into a conflict, the papers will take it up and bitter discussions will follow. No, the only course for me is to keep steadily at work, taking no notice of attacks upon me and in due time I shall be exonerated and Bates College will need no excuse for existing." Not one letter of that stamp was ever answered. Most of them were at once destroyed. In one stray one, that escaped the fire, the writer refuses OREN B. CHENEY 137 in curt language to accede to Mr. Cheney's request that he attend a meeting and use his influence for the college, and adds : " Any scheme or talk about a college, or raising money in these times, is all nonsense and moon- shine. You will hardly expect me to go sixty miles for nothing." Of these writers President Cheney said : " They were good men. They had been among my best friends. I loved them, but we could not see alike." Probably this made the suffering from opposi- tion all the keener. At midnight he walked the Chapel aisles and struggled with his feelings. In a sheltered nook in a grove back of the college buildings he often sought light and strength from above. Then he worked "on and on and on." /y?^\ Yr C^ ^^z^o/ •^^■^t J^l-Z^^J ^^e *{J s^yt^S /£^™^ ^^Z^€^ k^£^ EARLY COLLEGE DAYS CO-EDUCATION INTERWOVEN INCIDENTS XII In 1863 President Cheney was honored by the conferring upon him by Wesleyan University of the degree of Doctor of Divinity. This was a timely expression of appreciation. Whatever of dignity a title can bestow came to his aid in his early work as College President. There are reasons why the times were favorable to founding a college. Beginnings are necessarily small. Under any circumstances there would be few students in the first classes. The continual enlistment of young men and the distraction of thought connected with the Civil War had diminished the numbers in all schools ; therefore the nucleus of a college at Bates attracted less attention than it would have received under other circumstances. The year 1863 was the darkest time of the war. Then came the Emancipation Proclamation, with its prophecy of success. In the same month when this went into effect, — January, 1864, the changed charter was received from the Maine Legislature, conferring college privileges and rechristening the institution as Bates College. This was accom- panied by a conditional gift from the state to the College of fifty-one thousand acres of land. The foundation work for the College was thus laid, when the thought of the people was mainly 144 LIFE AND WORK OF directed elsewhere, and, during the following few years of national disturbance, there was a steady- development in college plans, preparatory to the time when life should again flow in ordinary channels. The action of the Legislature, above referred to, had been the result of a hard struggle on Presi- dent Cheney's part. A few determined opposers were still trying to thwart his plans. Members of the Legislature were told : " Brother Cheney is honest and sincere, but he will fail and do dis- credit to himself and his denomination." When told of this, President Cheney replied, " I am determined not to fail." GENERAL ITEMS Prof. Stanton thus pictures for us the College life in its early days : " On my arrival I found in the College proper a Sophomore class, which consisted of eight members at its graduation, and a Freshman class of five members. In many western Institutions the College and prepara- tory school were combined. President Cheney thought at first that this could be done at Bates. But within a year he saw that, in order for a College in New England to be a success, it must be an Institution by itself. In this view all his associates in the Faculty sympathized with him, but the Trustees were at first divided in opinion. OREN B. CHENEY 145 However, in a short time all was harmoni- ously settled. I do not think that a College President ever had a more difficult task to perform, all requiring great courage, firmness and forbearance, all of which qualities Dr. Cheney possessed in a marked degree." In settling this problem President Cheney went on the principle that for every need there must be a supply. Pittsfield had been one of the places originally considered for the location of the Semi- nary. Mr. Cheney at first thought that the best thing to do was to remove the Seminary depart- ment there, and in order to test the feeling of the people he visited the place and found the senti- ment so favorable to his purpose that he raised in the vicinity twenty thousand dollars for carrying out the plan. But, when he tested further the feelings of friends of the College, he saw that another course would be wiser. The result was that the money raised at Pittsfield was used in founding there the Maine Central Institute, which opened for students in January, 1866, having as Principal, the first graduate of Bates College, Arthur Given, and Dr. Cheney as one of its Trustees. It has continued to be a good feeder to Bates College and is a school whose beneficent life has been a blessing to hundreds of young people. At Lewiston arrangements were soon made to 146 LIFE AND WORK OF change the Seminary department to a preparatory- school for the College, and the plan culminated in the Latin School. On his graduation from Bowdoin College in 1863 Dr. Cheney's son, Horace, began the work of founding the Bates College Library, using, to start with, a gift from his father of one hundred dollars. A year later the work passed into Prof. Stanton's hands. From an " Appeal to the Benevolent," published in November 1864, we obtain a peep at other existing conditions. President Cheney says : " The number of students in attendance during the past year were three hundred and twenty-five, twenty-six in the college depart- ment. The school has sent one hundred and seventy-five of its young men to the war, many of them never to return. Bates College is not standing in the way of any other insti- tution, but is occupying and cultivating ground, which before had lain waste. The College is in a prosperous condition so far as its means will allow and only lacks funds for further development." Among the honored names that composed the first Bates Board of Fellows, we find those of Hon. Nelson Dingley and Hon. James G. Blaine ; on each of whom Bates College subsequently con- ferred the degree of LL.D. OREN B. CHENEY 147 CO-EDUCATION The perplexity of starting a College within a Seminary had one phase not yet referred to. In the class ready for the College Freshman vear there were girls as well as boys — fine scholars, ready and ambitious to go on, and at first the boys made no objection ; but the ridicule which they had to endure from every direction made them feel that, not only for their own comfort would it be best for the girls to leave, but it seemed to their boyish minds an absolute impossi- bility for the College to be successfully founded if the girls remained. The situation was gradually disclosed to the young women, and after some animated discussions and dignified protests all of them withdrew, leav- ing the young men, as was supposed, in undis- turbed possession of the field. However, in 1865, there had entered Bates, one young woman who could not so readily relinquish the hope that had been awakened by the liberal charter under which Bates College had been founded. In spite of the uncongenial atmosphere in which she found herself, in spite of occasional slights and constant ill-concealed dissatisfaction with her presence, she persisted in claiming and maintaining her right to the opportunities which broad-minded men had gained for her. Her unconquerable determination brought to 148 LIFE AND WORK OF the new and struggling Institution a serious prob- lem. Its solution was not without many difficul- ties. The College had a name to make, a reputation to establish. There were in the three classes more than twenty young men. How would they like to have a woman graduate as their equal ? Public sentiment would have to be braved. "Woman's Sphere " had very positive limitations in most minds. " Higher education for woman " was an unfamiliar phrase. Could the college afford to brave the criticisms from other Institutions because of what would be called an erratic course ? There were enough slurring remarks already in circulation among friends of other Colleges about " Bates Academy." Ordinary judgment would decide that, in order for the College to be a success, it must conform to the customs of other long established Institutions. On the other hand Dr. Cheney was entirely ahead of his time in his ideas as to woman's God- given freedom to do anything for which she has the ability, and freely expressed in his written articles his sympathy with her work in reforms of the day. The school was permeated with the spirit of a denomination, which had never refused a worthy woman any service in the church, whether it was a part in the prayer-meeting, or ordination to the Christian ministry. OREN B. CHENEY 149 There was nothing in the charter that inter- fered, for in changing from Maine State Semi- nary to Bates College the clause was retained making the Institution open to young men and young women. But beyond and above all was the fact that, if a woman wanted a college education, there was no good reason for refusing her the opportunity to secure it. There could be no personal objection to Mary W. Mitchell. She was well qualified to enter and, if character were to be considered, a young woman, who by working in the mill had earned money to pay off the mortgage on her father's farm and then to fit herself for college, surely showed energy and ability worthy of any development she desired. After considering all the arguments on both sides of this important question, instead of the negative reply that was given to Mary A. Liver- more by a New England College President, Mary W. Mitchell was assured that she was in Bates College to stay. The crisis thus forced upon the College by the determination of this young woman was squarely met, and the doors thus set wide open for women have never since been closed. Because of State gifts to the College, the Governor could confer scholarships on worthy students. Desiring to help so brave a girl and in order to be sure of success, President Cheney went to Augusta and made a personal request to 150 LIFE AND WORK OF the Governor for a scholarship for his protege. Being successful, he returned highly elated and calling Miss Mitchell to him gave her the roll saying : " Mary, I have something for you." She took it, deliberately untied the ribbon, unrolled it, saw what it was, quietly rolled and tied it, then giving it back, said : "I cannot take that, Mr. Cheney. Give it to the brethren. I can take care of myself." And she did. That this action by the College faculty was promptly taken advantage of by opposers is illus- trated by this little dialogue between friends of another college : " How many College students have they down at Bates Seminary ?" " Five and a nigger and a woman."* INTERWOVEN INCIDENTS It was a strategic movement to have the General Conference meet in Lewiston in October, 1865. The gathering of representative Free Baptists from * The after life of the first woman graduate from a New England college is worthy of note. She taught in the Worcester High School, later in Vassar College, afterwards opened a private school for young ladies, West Chester Park, Boston. In 1877 she was the poet of the Bates Alumni Association. Later she married a man of culture and they lived a very retired life. But her pastor says that she told him of her twelve years old daughter as equally at home in reciting Latin Grammar or in making a loaf of bread. OREN B. CHENEY 151 all parts of the denomination gave an opportunity for an understanding of the school, its status, plans and purposes, which proved very valuable. Dr. Cheney preached the Conference sermon, of which a reporter says : " It was listened to with marked interest and attention." Using for a text, "A little one shall become a thousand," out of a full heart the speaker reviewed the history of the denomination, gave high praise to the noble, self- sacrificing fathers, detailed the needs for which the College was founded, and earnestly pleaded for help and sympathy in its development, with the result that thereafter Bates College had a recognized position of influence in the denomi- nation. The year 1865 is historically interesting as marking the close of the war. In the April vaca- tion of this year, while Dr. Cheney was on a busi- ness tour, he heard that conditions were reaching a crisis at the front and hastened on to Washing- ton. Learning of Lee's surrender, he went the next day to Richmond and there rejoiced with the victorious, but with pity for the vanquished brave he visited and talked hopefully with the Con- federate prisoners. But the future of another class of people especially interested him. He asked himself, " What is to be done with, and for, the Freedmen, hundreds of whom are flocking northward ?" His interest in the race had grown, when at different times in Washington and its 152 LIFE AND WORK OF vicinity he had attended the churches of the colored people, had studied their characteristics and thought about their possibilities ; and his sympathy for them was such that he would gladly at this time have given his energies to their uplifting, but brain and hands were already full. The College interests would not brook delay, so he returned to his work. The country now entered upon a new life with changed conditions, and for schools a more favor- able time was at hand. Business and money would soon move in ordinary channels ; but the financial work to be done for Bates College was a heavy one. Dr. Cheney had now given eleven years of strenuous work to the Institution, and his physi- cal forces were beginning to rebel against the continuous strain. In a " Private Circular " issued to the Trustees and immediate friends of the College in January, 1866, Dr. Cheney expresses thanks for a vote, giving him six months vacation, but says he has failed to find any one to take the agency, and he feels that the exigencies are such that he must forego any rest-time and keep on with his work at any cost to himself. He says : " A fourth class of sixteen students will soon be formed and then full College work will be going on. There is no time to lose. Fifty thousand dollars more can be depended on from Boston parties on condition that OREN B. CHENEY 153 within three years, one hundred thousand can be secured. We shall then have in buildings and site fifty thousand dollars, in cash fund, including state lands, two hundred thousand dollars. Under the circumstances I decide to continue my work without vacation. I am willing to cut off years from my life, if I can see the Institution established on a firm foun- dation." So he took up again the arduous task of raising money ; money to complete the thirty thousand, in order to secure the state appropriation of land ; money to meet the conditions of the fifty thousand dollars, pledged in Boston ; money for new build- ings ; money for additional teachers. Within three years there were three new professors added to the teaching force, Rev. Benjamin F. Hayes, Richard C. Stanley and Thomas L. Angell. Another branch of President Cheney's work, to which no reference has been made, was that of securing students. This had been going on dur- ing all the years of the Seminary's existence, but was renewed with increased zeal in the develop- ment of the College. Many a bright boy, with longing for an education apparently unattainable, was encouraged by the President's genial hope- fulness and inspiring words to undertake a college course ; and many others, who had not aspired to a higher education, had their attention turned to it by the sympathetic touch of a kind hand, 154 LIFE AND WORK OF the earnest look in smiling eyes, accompanied by, "You are a bright boy. You ought to go to college. Come to Bates." Before starting on his new money-raising tour, in order to be true to all obligations to the Bibli- cal School, President Cheney invited the agent of that school to visit and solicit money in Lewis- ton, personally giving three hundred dollars towards the amount raised there. He then him- self for a short time took the field for that school, visiting and collecting money in five cities to help complete the endowment. He then felt that he could without objection on the part of any consistently go on with the work of soliciting money for the college. It was fortunate for Dr. Cheney at this critical time that he had such faithful coadjutors in the College Faculty. Prof. Stanton helps us to obtain some views from the inside of college life : " In the early years of the College Presi- dent Cheney was compelled to be away from home much of the time. Whatever the Faculty did in his absence had his hearty endorsement. He left each instructor free to do his own work in his own way. If any of us encountered difficulties in dealing with students, he was sure to have the sympathy and support of the President. He made us feel that he and we were co-operating in establishing an Institution ; that we were building as well as he and that he could not OREN B. CHENEY 155 do without us. He was agreeable, honorable, and free from self-assertion in his relation with his associates in the Faculty. It was characteristic of him not to speak approv- ingly of one in his presence, but he bore him- self with us in such a way that we always felt that we had his approval and confidence. As a college President, Dr. Cheney was most lovable. " He was a man of great faith. He believed that nothing could absolutely fail that was good. His faith that God had a work for Bates College to do was magnificent. He trusted in God, as few men can, but ' kept his powder dry.' His confidence was contagious." PRESIDENT CHENEY VISITS JOHN STORER MR. STORER GIVES TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A FREEDMEN'S SCHOOL HARPER'S FERRY SELECTED AS THE LOCATION G. H. BALL, D.D., A VALUABLE HELPER REV. N. C. BRACKETT SECURES A CHARTER FIRST BATES COMMENCEMENT XIII At the beginning of the year 1867 we find the country still in the midst of reconstruction. By an amendment to the constitution slavery had been abolished throughout the South and three and a half millions of Freedmen were now self- dependent. Ignorant, with brain and hand un- trained, with false ideas of the use of freedom, their future was causing serious thought, especially among those who had been anxious for their emancipation. Reference has already been made to Dr. Cheney's interest in them. This was now deepened by the fact that three Maine State Seminary students had been for more than a year in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry trying to plant schools in that historic locality. About this time, unexpectedly to himself, he became a factor in the solution of the problem of negro education. In February, 1867, he went to see John Storer, at his home in Sanford, Maine. Mr. Storer had been an interested donor to Bates College and Dr. Cheney now hoped to secure another thousand dollars from him, but he found him so deeply absorbed in a different plan, that he saw at once that it was an inopportune time to press the interests of the College. Mr. Storer was about to make a gift of ten thousand dollars to some organized body that he 160 LIFE AND WORK OF could trust to add it to and so manage it that it would be a permanent blessing to the colored race. He had the papers spread out before him, pre- paratory to the execution of the plan. Then, with sudden foresight, Dr. Cheney saw a great opportunity, and asked : " Why not give the money to Free Baptists ? They have always been true to the interests of the colored race. Some of their representatives are already at work establishing schools in the south." Mr. Storer pondered ; then said : " I should like to give it to your people, for I honor them for the position they have taken, but I fear they are not financially strong enough to carry on and develop such an enterprise, as it should be managed." Then followed hours of talk and careful consideration of ways and means. The result was reached about midnight and is concisely stated in Dr. Cheney's diary. February 6th. " Come to John Storer's. Write out a plan for a Freedmen's College." February yth. " Mr. Storer signs the papers, giving to Free Baptists $10,000 for a Freedmen's College." Thus, without any previous purpose, Dr. Cheney was instrumental in giving to Free Baptists one of their most important and fruitful fields of labor and he became a helper in inaugurating a move- ment which has proved to be an inestimable OREN B. CHENEY 161 blessing to large numbers of the negro race, and through them to our country. In his April vacation we find President Cheney in West Virginia, consulting with Rev. N. C. Brackett and wife and Annie Dudley, the pioneer representatives of Maine State Seminary, already at work there. After visiting and considering many different localities, all agreed that the vicinity of Harper's Ferry was the most desirable location for the proposed school. Much property in the vicinity was owned by the government. When it was proposed to ask for the gift of the Lockwood House, — a large structure somewhat riddled with shells, — President Cheney said : " Ask Congress for all Camp Hill and take what you can get." Then came one of the results of Dr. Cheney's close touch with political life in Augusta. His friends in Congress, including the Maine Senators, Fessenden and Morrill, knew that his efforts in the past had been crowned with success. His diary for April gives us these items : April 14. " Speak to the colored people." April 16. " Call on Senators Fessenden and Morrill and General Howard with great success." April 20. "Met Secretary Stanton. He is favorable." Rev. N. C. Brackett, Ph.D., states the result thus: 162 LIFE AND WORK OF " A bill had been introduced in the Senate, providing for the sale of the two great water powers and all that was left of the United States Armory and Rifle Works at Harper's Ferry, including many valuable houses and much land. One section of the bill donated to certain churches, schools and benevolent orders lots of land previously leased to them. " The bill had been referred to the Military Committee, of which General Henry Wilson was chairman. He allowed Senator Fessen- den to take the bill to examine and amend, and in his room Dr. Cheney remodeled the section providing for gifts so as to include Storer College, giving to her four lots. Con- servative brethren had told me to ask for one. We violated instructions and asked for four. The section written out by Dr. Cheney became a law without the change of a letter. Strangely enough, Dr. Cheney's name figures in hundreds of deeds in the records of Jeffer- son county, as the first deed was to Oren B. Cheney and others." The gift included four government buildings and seven acres of land on Camp Hill, the latter being then consecrated by the graves of three hundred Union soldiers. The location is a beauti- ful one, between the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It overlooks the scene of John Brown's raid and commands a view of the heights where Union and Confederate soldiers battled so bravely. Upon Rev. N. C. Brackett, who seemed divinely called to, and was eminently fitted for the work, OREN B. CHENEY 163 the responsibility then rested of devising plans for and developing the school. April 26th, President Cheney reached home, having on the way awakened an interest in the project in parties in Harrisburg, New York, Provi- dence and Boston, and having done a month's work of far-reaching value. The New Hampshire Yearly Meeting was at that time one of the most important of Free Baptist gatherings ; owing to its position as a numerical centre, persons having important denominational business attended it, if possible. There President Cheney went early in June to announce the conditional gift of Mr. Storer and the result of his trip to Washington and to plan for raising the money required to secure Mr. Storer's pledge. Dr. G. H. Ball was at once enthused with the project and became an earnest worker in carrying it out. Many others gladly endorsed the movement, but, — it is strange that a " but " must lie across the path of all onward movements — but a few failed to see the possi- bilities promised. One of these doubters asked another : " What does Cheney want now ? " " Oh, he is trying to build another railroad to the moon," was the reply. Through a sleepless night Doctors Ball and Cheney considered plans for raising the $10,000 required to meet Mr. Storer's pledge. But they 164 LIFE AND WORK OF were not allowed to present these plans to the Yearly Meeting. They were not disheartened, however. Dr. Ball soon after presented the matter before a New York Yearly Meeting, where such enthusiasm was aroused that he entered the field as a financial agent for the school. Dr. Cheney's next move was towards securing a charter which must be obtained in West Vir- ginia, and wrote one and sent it to Prof. Brackett. So great was the opposition, however, on the part of the residents of Harper's Ferry and vicinity to having a school located there that should be eli- gible to colored people, that it was uncertain when the charter could be obtained. In order to hold the property in the meantime, Dr. Cheney secured for the purpose the appointment by the New Hampshire Legislature of a Commission, with which he was officially connected. When, in due time, Rev. N. C. Brackett, by the exercise of rare tact succeeded in obtaining favor- able action upon the charter from the West Vir- ginia Legislature, Dr. Cheney signed the deed passing the property over to the new corporation. Although he continued to be a helper in develop- ing Storer and was a member of the Board of Trustees during his lifetime, his main work for it was in its beginning. OREN B. CHENEY 165 FIRST BATES COMMENCEMENT It must have been a happy day for President Cheney, when in July 1867 he presided at the first Bates College Commencement. It is true there were but eight graduates from the College department, but they were men of whom any college might be proud, and, judged from a high standard of value, have paid in Christian service far more than all the college has cost the Free Baptist denomination. The class certainly made up in courageous spirit what it lacked in numbers. The members arranged for a concert on Tuesday evening of Commencement week which attracted wide notice, for they sent to New York for Dodworth's band, at an expense of $1,200. As this was then the most noted band in the country and the event was such an unusual one for Lewiston at that time, the boys were able to place the tickets at two dollars each. As one of the class declared in a speech at a late Commence- ment dinner, " by the interest of the citizens and a special interposition of divine Providence the expenses were nearly covered." The class thus established a memorial to itself, for a high class Tuesday evening concert has been a feature of Commencement week ever since. The report of this Commencement in The 166 LIFE AND WORK OF Morning Star was the first article of importance sent by Dr. Cheney since the college movement began. Success was now too well assured for opposers to make reply. IMPORTANT BEGINNINGS EFFECT OF CIVIL WAR ON STATUS OF WOMEN THE BAPTIST UNION XIV The Free Baptist General Conference, held in Buffalo in 1868, was notable for two movements which have an intimate connection with this narrative. One was the consideration of a plan to remove the Biblical School from New Hampton to a more central locality and one better suited to its needs. President Cheney and some of his friends had felt for some time that it would be far better for that school to be closely related to a College, because of the many additional facilities thereby secured. The result of the discussion at the 1868 General Conference was the decision by the Education Society to divide the endowment money of the Biblical School between Bates and Hillsdale Col- leges, with due regard to the proportion raised in their respective localities. Bates, on its part, was to provide a suitable building and three additional professors. This action culminated in 1870, and thereafter Bates College has had a theological department, from which have graduated at least one hundred and fifty ministers. The other matter before the Buffalo Conference was a plan to organize the denominational work on a more business-like and systematic basis, by having the body incorporated and thus made 170 LIFE AND WORK OF legally able to hold and administer the property then held by the different Benevolent Societies. At the previous General Conference in Lewis- ton, Doctors Ball and Cheney had mutally agreed that such an organization would make all denomi- national plans more effective. Dr. Ball there presented a resolution favoring it. Dr. Cheney spoke in its interest and it was referred to a Com- mittee. At the Buffalo Conference Dr. Ball re- ported for the Committee an act by the New York legislature, incorporating the Free Baptist General Conference. Dr. Cheney led in its sup- port. It failed of adoption by three or four votes, but its friends knew its ultimate victory was only a question of time. Six years later at the General Conference of 1874, sympathy with the movement led to the appointment of a Conference Board of seven mem- bers. This Board was to act " in the interim between sessions in conducting correspondence and promoting fellowship and union with other Christian denominations and also to receive reso lutions and other business to lay before Con- ference, with such suggestions as shall be deemed expedient." Of this Board Dr. Cheney was elected Chairman. It entirely failed, however, to embody the thought of the leaders, and they continued their efforts to secure the incorporation of the body. OREN B. CHENEY 171 EFFECT OF CIVIL WAR ON STATUS OF WOMEN Two other movements, with the initiation of which Dr. Cheney was connected, were interwoven with conditions following the Civil War. One was the organizing of work among women. For some years before the war, conditions had been gradually changing, so as to increase the opportunities of women for development. Among Free Baptists, as early as 1847, there had been organized " The Freewill Baptist Female Missionary Society," which continued a useful life for more than twenty years. Although no objection would have been made, had the officers seen fit to conduct their public meetings, they yielded to the custom of the times and called upon " the brethren " to assist them. Mrs. O. B. (Nancy P.) Cheney was the first Recording Secretary and her husband was repeat- edly called upon to read her reports. After her resignation he continued to " help those women " in various public capacities. At the General Con- ference, in Lewiston, in 1865, he presided over one of the largest public meetings held by them. But the Society lacked the vigor which attends an independent, responsible life and its work was gradually discontinued. The Civil War wrought a wonderful change in the status of women. During its continuance they organized everywhere to minister to the needs of 172 LIFE AND WORK OF the soldiers. Week after week they met to scrape lint, make bandages and garments and talk of something outside of their own lives. Some went to " the front," to serve in various capacities. At home thousands were obliged to step out of the ruts of their lines and on farms, in stores and in business of almost every kind, they learned their power. It was an epoch-making time. Never again could life for women flow in its old channels. Beginning in the late sixties and continuing through the seventies, women organized for Mis- sion work in almost every Christian denomination. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union and a large number of other philanthropic enterprises came into being at the same time. This decade will be full of rich nuggets for future historians. In 1873 the Free Baptist Woman's Missionary Society superseded the former organization, pat- terned on a much broader plan. Dr. Cheney was one of the most interested and sympathetic ob- servers of this new movement. He was often an attentive listener at the exercises, conducted entirely by the women ; he made his wife a life member of the Society, and later obtained for it a charter from the Maine Legislature. Ten years after we shall find an important movement result- ing from his continued study of their work. Another result of the Civil War was the lower- ing of denominational walls. Chaplains for the army had been appointed with small regards to OREN B. CHENEY 173 creeds, and " the boys " in camp or hospital cared little about the sectarian name of the man who comforted and helped them. During the recon- struction period that followed the war, new homes were often established in places where it was impossible to continue the old denominational relations. Added to this, there was a natural growth in breadth of thought; all of which resulted in movements to establish more sym- pathetic relations between Christians of different names. Among Free Baptists one of the outgrowths of this was the publication in New York of the Baptist Union, an eight page weekly, which from 187 1 through six volumes spoke strong, true words as to the duty of all Baptists to unite their forces. Although this was a private enterprise, founded and developed by Rev. G. H. Ball, D.D., aided by a local Board of Publication, hearty sympathy and financial aid were received from many Free Bap- tists, especially in New York and the Central States. Although President Cheney was too deeply absorbed in his own life work to become active in this movement, Dr. Ball says : " While I was publishing the Baptist Union and advocating the union of all Baptists on the basis of church independence and entire freedom for each church to practice restricted, or unlimited communion with Christians at the Lord's table, Dr. Cheney heartily 174 LIFE AND WORK OF approved, and, when the matter came up in General Conference, he always defended the position advocated by the paper." But some devoted friends of The Morning Star became more and more opposed to the Baptist Union, feeling that an effort for denominational union was premature and that Free Baptists were not strong enough to support two papers. Dr. Cheney saw with clear vision both sides of the question ; that the principles being advocated were right and must ultimately prevail, but that under existing conditions, it would be impossible for Free Baptists to see alike about the matter. Because of his attitude he was appealed to by parties on both sides of the question for leader- ship of their respective views. In response, he tried his best to secure some action that would result in harmony. He met in consultation with New York friends and with those representing The Morning Star. He himself called a meeting of eight or ten men of differing views, but failing to secure desired action he says, at its close, " I stood alone." Then by letters, he sounded notes of warning, in order to avert the clash, which he saw was imminent at the coming General Conference at Providence, R. I. As a result of his position, although he received " some hard thrusts " from extremists, earnest OREN B. CHENEY 175 opposers to each other retained their respect for his judgment, and he was the constant adviser of parties representing both sides, until the final settlement by the union of the papers in 1877. SUCCESS DISASTER DIFFICULTIES SURMOUNTED AFTER TEN YEARS A CHARACTER SKETCH XV President Cheney was now putting forth his best efforts to advance the financial interests of the College. The sympathy felt for him by persons with whom he had been allied in reforma- tion movements is shown by the letter of intro- duction, on the pages following, from Henry Ward Beecher. In connection with a trip to Florida in 1869 to inspect property that had come into possession of the College, there were many interesting experi- ences. In Washington he received gratifying assurances of aid from James G. Blaine and other prominent persons. A woman, prominent in philanthropy, once said to Dr. Cheney : " I never saw any one like you, Oren Cheney ; if anything happens, you are sure to be there." This saying had many confirma- tions ; among them the fact that while on his trip in Washington, he heard the discussion in the U. S. Senate on the fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. On his return trip, he heard Presi- dent Grant's inaugural address. Note — Something of what Bates College was passing through at this time is indicated by the following item published in a Maine paper : " The attention of that one- horse Institution, Bates, is called to the erratic conduct of ' James G. Blaine ' who was here on Tuesday as busy as the devil in a gale of wind. A LL.D. ought to be more dignified." /£<&/ &0> 182 LIFE AND WORK OF He visited friends in prominent cities of the coast states. At Raleigh he says : " Col. said to me : ' We will make up fifteen or twenty thous- and dollars for you if we prosper.' " In Boston much financial encouragement was re- ceived. President Cheney's notes say : " Mr. Bates is ready at any time, if we will get $25,000 more." On the whole the trip was a very gratifying one, and is a type of many others which followed. DIFFICULTIES SURMOUNTED In the early seventies, College matters required much tactfulness for their adjustment. We have already explained the removal to Lewiston of the Biblical School. This was attended with the usual amount of friction caused by change in a school location. Local interests in New Hamp- shire protested. Individuals opposed, as in the instance of the man who demanded if the school go to Lewiston, the $3,000, which he had given be returned to him. Legal questions were also raised, which required time and tact for their settlement. Maine State Seminary had been virtually re- moved to Pittsfield, but it took time and energy to aid in adjusting the affairs of the new school, and we find President Cheney often there in con- sultation with the Trustees. The Nichols Latin School, which was to take OREN B. CHENEY 183 the local place of Maine State Seminary as a pre- paratory school for the College, had now a build- ing of its own on a lot adjoining Bates College campus, and between the lines must be read what it had meant to secure land, building and other accessories. In 1870 we find President Cheney negotiating for more teachers and soon after, Professor G. C. Chase and J. H. Rand were added to the faculty, both having been successful teachers since their graduation from Bates, the former in its second and the latter in its first class. President Cheney soon saw in Prof. Chase the qualifications which made him his choice as his successor. AFTER TEN YEARS The Commencement of 1873 was tne tenth from the forming of the first College Class. President Cheney's text for his Baccalaureate sermon was, "First the blade," with the purpose that ten years later in 1883, he would use the next phrase "then the ear," and in 1893 the concluding one " after that the full corn in the ear." This plan was carried out. During these first ten formative years there had been seventy-seven college gradu- ates. As but two of these were women, it shows that " the sisters " were not yet ready to crowd their brothers in academic halls. The foundations of the College may now be 184 LIFE AND WORK OF said to be well laid and it started on a broader life with constantly improving facilities, a hopeful financial outlook and with an entering class which graduated eighteen young men. President Cheney's diary now had many items of re- joicing. In 1874 enough money had been raised to meet Mr. Bates's conditions and he not only paid in the $75,000 which completed his first $100,000, but he pledged $100,000 more on the same conditions as before. What a pity that Free Baptists and others to whom the College was to be such a blessing could not have seized the opportunity and secured this gift at once, by helping the tired President whose twenty years of service were beginning to wear upon him severely ! To his diary he often confided his feelings : " Oh, I am tired, tired." " Sick all night." " Leave home sick. Go to write the will of Miss who makes a gift to the College." We see him, however, still finding a safety-valve in his interest in other matters. One day's entry in his diary shows us this : " Waiting for Mr. Bates's return. Attended the celebration of the Anniversary of Emancipation and heard Sojourner Truth." " How sad that Gov. A. took the course he did on prohibition ! " OREN B. CHENEY 185 A CHARACTER SKETCH Another side light is thrown on President Cheney's character by the following little incident of travel : " The sleeper was full of weary people, trying in vain to find repose, for the wails of an infant that would not be appeased, rose above the noise of the train. Finally an exasperated man thrust his head between the curtains and blurted out : " ' Keep that young one still, won't you ? ' " ' I am doing the best I can, gentlemen,' came in the subdued tones of a man's voice. ' The baby's mother is in her coffin in the baggage car, and I am taking the little fellow to his grand- mother. I am doing the best I can, gentlemen.' " The pathos of the situation at once appealed to Dr. Cheney's heart and he was soon beside the man's berth. ' Let me try,' he said. Cuddling the baby in his arms, for a long time he walked the car aisle back and forth, back and forth, softly singing ' Bonnie Doon,' and other sooth- ing melodies. The little one's sobs became less and less frequent. Fixing on Dr. Cheney's face wide-open, wondering eyes, he listened and became quiet. Finally the lids slowly closed and peace reigned in the car the remainder of the night." VACATION EXPERIENCES PRESIDING OFFICER LETTER BY L. W. ANTHONY XVI In 1875, Mr. Bates assured President Cheney that he had secured to the College by will his new pledge of $100,000; and the diary comment is : "I could not sleep for joy." It now seemed that conditions were such that the President might take the long-postponed and much needed vaca- tion ; and in 1876 he went to Europe for a season of travel and study. After some weeks spent in visiting places of interest he had just settled down to study in Paris, when news came of the serious illness of his son. That evening he started on his return trip and reached the homeland in time to spend a few precious hours with the loved one, to hear him say : " I am not afraid to leave myself in God's hands, father," then — separation, loneliness. Horace had been Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts ; and at the time of his death was in legal practice for himself. He was a member of the Board of Fellows of Bates College. His father was depending on him for advice in matters of law and looked to him as a prop in his declining years. Father and son had always been closest companions and Dr. Cheney's heart-ache for his boy ceased only with 190 LIFE AND WORK OF his own life. The little granddaughter, Bessie, was ever held in tenderest affection. We draw the veil over the days of sacred retire- ment, which followed, but out of the shadows he came with form slightly bowed, with hair per- ceptibly whitened, but with the old purpose in life strong and true, and the many interests already referred to soon crowded his time full. PRESIDING OFFICES When, at the Maine Yearly Meeting in 1877, Dr. Cheney was again elected as delegate to General Conference, he made this note : " I have never in my life used any influence to go, never said to any one, ' I would like to go,' never solicited a vote." At this General Conference, held in Fairport, N.Y., he was chosen Moderator. Considering the sharp differences of opinion, as to denomi- national policy which had existed since the pre- ceding General Conference, Dr. Cheney's election at this time was highly complimentary. The trust in him was fully honored. His native ability and ease in presiding, his familiarity with parliamen- tary methods and rules, his kindly effort to afford all parties fair play, gave general satisfaction, and the session proved successful and harmonious. The wide-spread feeling of concern which pre- ceded this General Conference and the feeling of relief which followed cannot be better expressed OREN B. CHENEY 191 than by a quotation from a letter sent to Dr. Cheney by a prominent layman : Providence, Oct. 20, '77. Bro. Cheney, Dear Sir : Although not able to be present at General Conference, I felt a deep interest in it, and in conversation with some of the delegates, expressed the desire that you might be chosen Moderator. Was much pleased in reading of the doings of the Conference and particularly with the wisdom shown in the make-up of the com- mittees, but most of all in your remarks at the close of the Conference, I want to thank you for them. They would have been worth to me a trip to Fairport. All I have seen that were in attend- ance, speak of it as being the most harmonious session they ever attended. Let us take courage and press on. Yours L. W. Anthony. O. B. Cheney About 1880 DEATH OF BENJAMIN E. BATES SECOND EUROPEAN TRIP DELEGATE TO ENGLISH BAPTISTS WINE-DRINKING INCIDENTS XVII The following entry in President Cheney's diary for January 15, 1878, tells a thrilling story: "Mr. Bates died last night of heart disease. Oh, what a blow to the College ! My best friend gone ! God save the College ! Called on Mrs. Bates." The diary entries for a time are too sacred to quote. Day after day found President Cheney meditating and praying by Mr. Bates's grave in Mt. Auburn. There was something unique, some- thing beautiful in the friendship between these two men. If under God's guidance O. B. Cheney was a leader in a much needed educational work, Benja- min E. Bates was equally led in his purpose to stand by him financially. For ten years President Cheney had known that when nobody else understood his plans, he had but to lay them before Mr. Bates to find a sympathizer. When shortness of vision led any to criticise, he knew where to find a friend whose foresight matched his own. When money failed from expected sources, Mr. Bates was always resourceful in helping. Dr. Cheney's diaries probably record but in part the many times when he went to Mr. Bates, sorely burdened and came away relieved and hopeful. 196 LIFE AND WORK OF But O. B. Cheney knew that his work was not done. He fully believed that the Helper under whose guidance he had worked thus far, never leaves his own. By provision of Mr. Bates's will $100,000 were assured to the College. The $100,000 required to meet this legacy was soon raised or pledged. Mr. Bates's life-purpose had been so generally understood that it seemed im- possible that there could be any failure in the payment of this legacy. SECOND EUROPEAN TRIP By action of the Fairport General Conference, Dr. Cheney had been elected a delegate to the General Baptist Anniversaries held in Halifax, England; and in October, 1878, he again went to Europe, with the double purpose of filling his position as delegate and of completing the tour, so suddenly cut short two years before. During the President's absence on this and the preceding foreign trip, Professor B. F. Hayes acted as Presi- dent of Bates College. Hon. Nelson Dingley, LL.D., and Mrs. Dingley were Dr. Cheney's travel- ing companions. As Mr. Dingley was a pro- nounced total abstainer, they had many sym- pathetic experiences. The belief, then extant, that it was not safe to travel on the continent without the use of wine, often obliged these friends to assert their principles. One day a lady, who had been especially persistent in urg- OREN B. CHENEY 197 ing President Cheney to drink wine with her, said to him, " Now, Dr. Cheney, do you really think it would hurt you to sip a little wine ?" Sitting back in his chair and looking at her steadily with a kindly but firm expression, he said : " Madam, I have never used wine, or any other intoxicant, and I could not respect myself if I began now. Besides, I am President of a College which requires a pledge of total absti- nence from each entering student. If I were ever to raise a glass of wine to my lips, in some way the word would go back and not only would I have lost my self-respect, but my influence would be destroyed. You must excuse me, madam." She asked his pardon and left him in peace. EXPERIENCES AS DELEGATE In his address as delegate to the General Bap- tists of England, Dr. Cheney awakened enthusiasm by referring to the influence of their representa- tive, Dr. Sutton, in inspiring Free Baptists to enter upon Foreign Missionary work ; but when he stated that his denomination did not ordain to the Christian ministry any man who used intoxi- cating liquors, it created quite a sensation. When a member made a motion of thanks for his address, another member arose and said he could not vote for the motion, lest it be interpreted as approving the course of the United States brethren in regard to licensing candidates, for 198 LIFE AND WORK OF there was but one door to the church and that Christ. A spirited discussion followed, lasting nearly all day, resulting finally in an almost unani- mous vote of thanks, and being generally under- stood as a decided victory for temperance. The temperance reform had then made but little prog- ress in England, and the reports occupying several columns in the daily papers attracted wide- spread attention. The weeks of travel which followed were full of interest and profit to President Cheney. He had no more unique experience than when he stood on Mars Hill on the spot reputed to have been occupied by Saint Paul and preached a sermon to an invisible audience. DARK DAYS On Dr. Cheney's return to the homeland he found that there was cause for much anxiety as to the outcome of the contested will of Mr. Bates. Then followed a time of sleepless nights, efforts to secure money and constant alertness in conferring with legal advisers. It seemed as if the very life of the College were at stake. How severe was the blow when the report of the commissioners was finally received ! It allowed the payment of a sum due on previous pledges, but disallowed the $100,000 pledge. As many people had given money with the provision that it was to help secure Mr. Bates's pledge, serious additional losses OREN B. CHENEY 199 were threatened and it was thought best to carry the matter to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. Some who had been afraid President Cheney was going ahead too fast showed the " I-told-you- so " spirit. But the large majority rallied to his support and sustained him by their sympathy and hopefulness. This was especially true of the noble men who composed the Bates College Faculty. They were hard workers, on small salaries, but not a man flinched. With one accord, they encouraged him with sympathy and offers of help. Dr. Cheney said in a letter : " When members of the Faculty said to me, ' the College shall not fail in any event,' it lifted from me a great burden ; and so I say, 'the God of heaven, he will prosper us.' " The same courageous spirit was voiced by the Alumni. One writes : " My faith in the ultimate triumph does not waver. None of your labor will be lost. In the Providence of God you have been the means of starting a great work, which will surely live. If the younger friends of the College can be half as single and devoted as you have been, I shall be satisfied." During the two following years, the will case was in the courts, with the result that the Judge of the Supreme Court gave a final decision in favor of the contestants. President Cheney's diary note for September 6, 1883, is: " Chosen delegate to General Conference at 200 LIFE AND WORK OF Minneapolis. Hear of the decision of the Massa- chusetts Court, losing the $100,000. Well, God will take care of the College." The blow was so severe as at first to be almost stunning, but with sublime faith the President rallied and worked " on and on and on." With the Supreme Court decision the strain and stress of years were over. Nothing remained but to make more heroic efforts. Like a ray of sunshine thwart the darkness was the following letter of appreciation of Bates Col- lege, written by the scholar and philanthropist, Wendell Phillips : I am familiar with the history of Bates College and acquainted with its officers. In the old times of bitter pro-slavery feeling the College gave earnest and effective support to the anti-slavery movement and was among the very first to open its doors to the colored man. Since then it has shown the same liberal spirit touching the equal education of women, being, I believe, the very first to graduate a woman from its classes. The Institution deserves well of New England and ought to have all the aid it needs to make still more thorough and complete the opportuni- ties it has always offered to those seeking, at a moderate cost, a thorough preparation for private usefulness, public service and the duties of Chris- tian citizenship. Wendell Phillips, Boston. 3 Dec, 1881. A^z^C^€^Sl^£<-~S Spy ^ *-4Lspvuz*&dz~ "^^/ric^^t^^ y A^^jZ^V-^ , /%A 'Syc^^Q y ^^e-^c^t-<_ . 'UL, ^oc^A^. 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, I 9°3> 1904, Assets 318,040.58 320,772.08 338,369.69 340,281.10 35 2 > 6 39-33 35 6 >545-32 366,199.47 368,265.82 4°5>5 2 5- I 5 412,387.97 OREN B. CHENEY 345 May 31, 1905, Assets $421,487.06 " " 1906, " 428,932.77 " " 1907, « 532,352.40 And it will be satisfactory to know that during these fourteen years nothing has been lost by in- vestment, and the losses which have come were from investments made prior to 1894, showing the care and wisdom which your Executive Board have exercised in the management of your funds. Since the report of the Treasurer was published the assets of Bates have been further increased by the payment of $50,000 subscribed by the late Bartlett Doe of San Francisco, thus carrying the total of the income bearing resources of the Col- lege, $582,352.40. L'BRARY OF CONGRESS 1 mm in 029 917 593 5