Gordon Battelle (minister)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gordon Battelle (November 14, 1814 – August 7, 1862) was a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
minister, educator, abolitionist, chaplain and one of the founders of the state of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.


Early life and education

Born in
Newport, Washington County, Ohio Newport is a census-designated place in eastern Newport Township, Washington County, Ohio, Newport Township, Washington County, Ohio, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45768. Newport lies along the Oh ...
on November 14, 1814, to Ebenezer Battelle (1778 - 1876) and his wife Mary (Molly) Greene Battelle (1778 - 1871), Gordon Battelle had both older and younger brothers and sisters. He attended the Marietta Collegiate Institute (now
Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a ...
) in his Ohio county's seat, where he met fellow student
Francis Pierpont Francis Harrison Pierpont (January 25, 1814March 24, 1899), called the "Father of West Virginia," was an American lawyer and politician who achieved prominence during the American Civil War. During the conflict's first two years, Pierpont served ...
, who became his lifelong friend. Battelle then continued his education (for Christian ministry) at
Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...
at Meadville, Pennsylvania, graduating with the highest rank in his class and receiving a B.A. degree in 1840. Allegheny College later awarded him a master's degree in 1843, and
Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1861. Battele married Maria Louise Tucker (1818 - 1899) from Vermont some time after his graduation. They had several children, not all of whom reached adulthood: Mary S. (b. 1844), John Gordon Battelle (b. 1845), Ellen V. Battelle Dietrick (1847-1895), Julia E. (b. 1849), Fannie (b.1851), James Waldo Battelle (1853 - 1854), Emma (b. 1855) and Cora Battelle Fenton (b. 1859).


Career and Ministry

The young graduate moved across the Ohio River and taught at the newly established Asbury Academy in Parkersburg in what was then the Commonwealth of Virginia (although sponsored by the East Ohio Conference of the Methodist Church). Battelle received his preaching license in 1842 and was ordained as a Methodist deacon in 1847 and minister in 1849. By that time Battelle had become the principal of the Northwestern Virginia Academy at Clarksburg, a position he held until 1851, when he resigned to concentrate on his ministry (at a church in Charleston). The Clarksburg academy was also technically new, but had the same board of Trustees as the Randolph Academy chartered there in 1787. Battelle led the Charleston congregation for two years before accepting another position in Clarksburg. In 1855, he accepted an appointment as presiding elder of the church's Clarksburg District. He also served as a delegate to the Methodist Episcopal Church general conferences in 1856, 1859 and 1860. In 1859, he accepted a call to serve a congregation in Wheeling and became involved in the growing division between slaveholding Virginians who proposed to secede from the Union. Battelle wrote articles in the ''Wheeling Intelligencer'' against disunion, as well as against slavery.


American Civil War

After the
Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, to govern the state during a state of emergency, and to write a new Constitution for Virginia, which was subsequent ...
approved secession despite the opposition of many delegates from the Commonwealth's northwest corner, the
Wheeling Convention The 1861 Wheeling Convention was an assembly of Virginia Southern Unionist delegates from the northwestern counties of Virginia, aimed at repealing the Ordinance of Secession, which had been approved by referendum, subject to a vote. The first ...
established the
Restored Government of Virginia The Restored (or Reorganized) Government of Virginia was the Unionist government of Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865) in opposition to the government which had approved Virginia's seceding from the United States and join ...
, and Rev. Battelle's old schoolmate Francis Pierpont became its Governor. Battelle continued to write and publish about the difficulties in establishing a new state. In October 1861, Gov. Pierpont appointed Rev. Battelle as an official visitor to Federal military camps to investigate reports of poor conditions, particularly concerning medical supplies and a shortage of doctors and nurses. His reports on conditions at Philippi, Elkwater, and
Cheat Mountain Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its sou ...
helped alleviate those conditions. Beginning November 1, 1861, Rev. Battelle also served as chaplain of the 1st West Virginia Infantry. Battelle was also among the many Methodist ministers elected in October 1861 to serve as delegates to the West Virginia Constitutional Convention. Beginning on November 26, 1861, he represented Ohio County and served on the Committee on Education. He advocated establishing a system of free public schools in the new state (which was adopted), but his two proposals forbidding bringing slaves into the new state and gradually abolishing slavery within it were tabled. Partly as a result, however, of his published"An Address to the Constitutional Convention and the People of West Virginia" Congress refused to admit West Virginia as a new state until its people adopted a resolution against slavery (the
Waitman Willey Waitman Thomas Willey (October 18, 1811May 2, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician from Morgantown, West Virginia. One of the founders of the state of West Virginia during the American Civil War, he served in the United States Senate r ...
amendment) in March 1863.


Death and legacy

However, that occurred after Battelle's unexpected death. During a trip to investigate sanitary conditions in the military camps around
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Rev. Battelle died of
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
on July 5, 1862. His remains were returned to Newport, Ohio for burial. His grandson
Gordon Battelle Gordon Battelle (10 August 1883 – 21 September 1923) was the founder of Battelle Memorial Institute, a non-profit independent research and development organization. Birth, death and family Gordon Battelle was born in Covington, Kentucky, to Oh ...
founded Battelle Memorial Institute. Battelle Township in
Monongalia County, West Virginia Monongalia County, known locally as Mon County, is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,822, making it West Virginia's third-most populous county. Its county seat is at Morgantown. The coun ...
was named in his honor.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battelle, Gordon 1814 births 1862 deaths Allegheny College alumni American abolitionists American Methodist clergy 19th-century Methodist ministers Activists from Ohio People of West Virginia in the American Civil War People from Washington County, Ohio People from Ohio County, West Virginia Union Army chaplains United States Army chaplains Educators from Ohio Methodist abolitionists 19th-century American educators 19th-century American clergy Deaths from typhoid fever Religious leaders from Clarksburg, West Virginia Activists from West Virginia Religious leaders from Wheeling, West Virginia