Oren Burbank Cheney (1816-1903) was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist, and a Free Will Baptist clergyman. Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. Free Will Baptist Church (or Free Will Baptists) is a group of churches that share a common history name and an acceptance of the Arminian theology of free grace
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Early life
He was born in Holderness, New Hampshire, to prominent abolitionist parents. Holderness is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies Cheney was educated at the Parsonsfield Seminary (a Free Will Baptist school), Brown University, and Dartmouth College, graduating with the Class of 1839. Parsonsfield Seminary, founded in 1832 was a well-known Free Will Baptist school in North Parsonsfield, Maine, in the United States. Free Will Baptist Church (or Free Will Baptists) is a group of churches that share a common history name and an acceptance of the Arminian theology of free grace Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League. Dartmouth College ( is a private, Coeducational University located in Hanover, New Hampshire, U Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Cheney had transferred from Brown to Dartmouth because he felt Dartmouth was more tolerant of abolitionism. Cheney later attended the Free Will Baptist Bible School in Whitestown, New York (later called Cobb Divinity School). Whitestown is a Town in Oneida County, New York, USA. The population was 18635 at the 2000 census Cobb Divinity School founded in 1840 was a Free Will Baptist graduate school that was affiliated with several Free Baptist institutions throughout its history
Abolitionism
Influenced particularly by his mother, Cheney developed core beliefs in the causes of abolitionism and temperance, and these were unswerving values throughout his life as an abolitionist, teacher, Freewill Baptist minister, state legislator, editor of The Morning Star abolitionist paper and founder and president of Bates College. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies See also Prohibition, Teetotalism The Temperance Movement attempted to reduce the amount of Alcohol consumed within a community or society in Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies The Morning Star was a weekly newspaper owned and published by Freewill Baptists in 19th century New England, which campaigned vigorously for the Abolition Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. Cheney's father, Moses Cheney, was the original printer for The Morning Star newspaper, and Moses Cheney was a friend of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14 1818 February 20 1895 was an American abolitionist, editor, Orator Cheney's brother, Person C. Cheney was a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. Person Colby Cheney ( February 25, 1828 &ndash June 19, 1901) was a paper manufacturer Abolitionist and Republican politician The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Oren Cheney worked at Parsonsfield Seminary, a stop on the Underground Railroad for several years, and he founded the Lebanon Academy in Lebanon, Maine in 1850. Parsonsfield Seminary, founded in 1832 was a well-known Free Will Baptist school in North Parsonsfield, Maine, in the United States. The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and Safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States In 1851 Cheney was elected to the Maine legislature as a Free Soil Party candidate and was a strong supporter of the Maine law (in favor of prohibition). The Maine law, passed in 1851 in Maine, was one of the first statutory implementations of the developing Temperance movement in the United States
Founding Bates College
In 1855, Cheney founded the Maine State Seminary, the school that would become Bates College and served as president until 1894. Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. The school reflected his personal values: it was open to all students regardless of race, gender, wealth or religion. In 1863, Cheney petitioned the Maine Legislature for a change in the charter to permit a collegiate course of study. Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He changed the school's name to Bates College in honor of Benjamin E. Bates, the industrialist and philanthropist who made substantial early gifts to Cheney's school. Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. Benjamin Edward Bates (1808-1878 was a New England industrialist who was the namesake and a founder of Bates College and the Bates Mill in Lewiston
Founding other institutions
Cheney also played a major role in founding several other Free Baptist institutions such as Storer College, a school for freed slaves in West Virginia founded in 1867, and the Maine Central Institute (MCI), founded in 1866. Storer College was a historically black college located in Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Maine Central Institute ( MCI) is a private high school founded in 1866, located in Pittsfield Maine, in the United States. Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Cheney was also a founder and the first president of the Free Will Baptist, Ocean Park, Maine, a seaside retreat on Old Orchard Beach. Ocean Park (also known as "Ocean Park Historic Buildings" or "Temple Square" (0213750228 or "Chautauqua-By-The-Sea" is historic family style summer
Retirement
Cheney served as Bates' president for 39 years, retiring at age 79 in 1894. Cheney died in 1903 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston. In 1907 his third wife, Emeline, wrote a biography of his life using his diaries. Cheney's house became part of the Bates campus and is currently used as a dormitory.
External links
- Oren Burbank Cheney records at Edmund S. Muskie Archives & Special Collections Library, Bates College
- Cheney's House (1875)
See also
References
- Emeline Cheney, The Story of the Life and Work of Oren B. Here follows a list of notable people associated with Bates College in Lewiston Maine. Cheney (Boston: Morning Star Publishing, 1907)
- Timothy Larson, "Faith by Their Works:The Progressive Tradition at Bates College from 1855 to 1877," Thesis at Muskie Archives, Bates College, 2005.
| Preceded by none |
President of Bates College 1855-1894 |
Succeeded by George Colby Chase |
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