Stephen Olin (March 2, 1797 – August 15, 1851) was an American educator and minister.
Early life
Oline was born in
Leicester, Vermont
Leicester ( ) is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 990 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Leicester is located along the southern border of Addison County at the western edge of the Green Mountains. It is bordered b ...
, on March 2, 1797. He was one of ten children born to
Henry Olin (1768–1837), a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from Vermont,
and Lois Richardson (d. 1814). His father was the nephew of
Gideon Olin (1743–1823) and the cousin of
Abram B. Olin (1808–1879), both of whom also served as members of the House of Representatives from Vermont.
In 1820, Olin graduated from
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...
in 1820.
Career
Seeking a better climate for his poor health, Olin traveled to the southern United States, where he found employment as a teacher at Tabernacle Academy in Mount Ariel, in the
Abbeville area of
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
.
After having a religious awakening at the age of 25, he gave up consideration of the practice of law and became ordained into the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...
;
Olin was recognized as a deacon by the Milledgeville, Georgia, conference in January 1826.
He then served a pastorate in Charleston, but his health prevented him from continuing in that capacity.
He became professor of belle-lettres at the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
in 1827. He was the first President of
Randolph-Macon College (1834–1836) but resigned for health reasons and was succeeded by
Dr. Landon C. Garland.
He later served as president of
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
(1842–1851).
In 1844, at the general conference of the Methodists, Olin called on his friend, Bishop
James Andrew, to resign his office, on the grounds the latter owned slaves. Olin himself was criticized because his first wife (Mary E. Bostwick, whom he married in 1827) had owned slaves.
Personal life
Stephen Olin married Mary Ann Bostwick, who died in Naples, Italy, during the couple's time in Europe after Olin resigned the presidency of Randolph-Macon College.
He was later married to Julia Matilda Lynch (1814–1879), the daughter of James Lynch. Together, they were the parents of:
*
Stephen Henry Olin (1847–1925), who married Alice Wadsworth Barlow (1853–1882), daughter of
Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow and Alice Cornell Townsend.
Olin died on August 15, 1851, in
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...
.
Legacy
The
Williamsbridge neighborhood of
Olinville in the
Bronx, New York
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, began as two towns named for him (founded in 1852).
Publications
* ''Inaugural Address Delivered by the Rev. Stephen Olin, President of Randolph-Macon College, on the Occasion of His Induction into Office, 5th March, 1834'' (1834) Richmond: Nesbitt & Walker.
* ''Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy Land'' (1843) New York: Harper & Brothers.
* ''Resources and Duties of Christian Young Men: A Discourse to the Graduating Class of Wesleyan University, August 1845'' (1846) New York: Lane & Tippett.
* ''The Relations of Christian Principle to Mental Culture: A Discourse to the Graduating Class of Wesleyan University, July 1848'' (1848) New York: Lane & Scott.
* ''Early Piety, the Basis of Elevated Character: A Discourse to the Graduating Class of Wesleyan University, August 1850'' (1851) New York: Lane & Scott.
* ''The Works of Stephen Olin'' (1852) and
Greece and the Golden Horn' (1854) were edited by his second wife, Julia Matilda Olin, and published posthumously.
* ''College Life: Its Theory and Practice'' (1867) New York: Harper & Brothers.
References
* ''Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' James Grant Wilson & John Fisk, eds. (1888) New York, Appleton.
* ''The History of Methodism in Georgia and Florida: From 1785 to 1865'' George Gilman Smith (1877) J. W. Burke & Co.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olin, Stephen
Presidents of Wesleyan University
1797 births
1851 deaths
Middlebury College alumni
University of Georgia faculty
Randolph–Macon College
Wesleyan University people
19th-century American Methodist ministers