Everything about Oren B Cheney totally explained
Oren Burbank Cheney (
1816-
1903) was the founder of
Bates College, an abolitionist, and a
Free Will Baptist clergyman.
Early life
He was born in
Holderness, New Hampshire, to prominent
abolitionist parents. Cheney was educated at the
Parsonsfield Seminary (a
Free Will Baptist school),
Brown University, and
Dartmouth College, graduating with the Class of
1839. 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).
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. Cheney's father, Moses Cheney, was the original printer for
The Morning Star newspaper, and Moses Cheney was a friend of
Frederick Douglass. Cheney's brother,
Person C. Cheney was a
U.S. Senator from New Hampshire. 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. 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).
Founding Bates College
In
1855, Cheney founded the Maine State Seminary, the school that would become
Bates College. 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. 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.
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. Cheney was also a founder and the first president of the Free Will Baptist,
Ocean Park, Maine, a seaside retreat on Old Orchard Beach.
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.
Further Information
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