Henry R. Colman (October 9, 1800 – February 7, 1895) was a Wisconsin pioneer and co-founder of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

, in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

. Rev. Henry Root Colman was born October 9, 1800, in Northampton, New York. He was the father of four children: Charles, born 1826, Henry, born 1834, Elihu, born 1841, and

Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...

. His son Henry served as a trustee of Lawrence University for 60 years.

Church career

He became a minister in 1831. In 1840, he and his family moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

where he was a missionary among the

Oneida tribe The Oneida people ( ; autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding n ...

near Green Bay, and later near Fond du Lac. He was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and one of the first settlers of the area that would become known as Appleton. He was commissioned by Amos Adams Lawrence to establish a frontier school and raise funds to build the school that would be known as

. He also assisted in writing the charter of the university and was one of the first trustees of the university.

Later years

Colman died February 7, 1895, in Fond du Lac, aged 94.

Notes

External links

Colman family papers, La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse, Wisconsin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Henry R. Lawrence University American Methodist missionaries 19th-century American Methodist ministers Religious leaders from Wisconsin People from Brown County, Wisconsin Politicians from Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin 1800 births 1895 deaths Methodist missionaries in the United States People from Fulton County, New York People from Appleton, Wisconsin People from Oneida, Wisconsin