Azel Backus (October 13, 1765 – December 28, 1816) was an American educator, born in

New London County, Connecticut New London County is a County (United States), county in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich, Connecticut, Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford, Conne ...

. After having a long

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

career, he was elected as the first President of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He died on December 28, 1816, in Clinton, New York, at the age of 51 and is buried in Hamilton College Cemetery.

Early life

Azel was born to Congregationalistic parents, Jabez Jr. and Deborah Backus on October 13, 1765 in New London County,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He lost his father, Jabez, at the age of five which resulted in devolving of his education entirely on his mother, Deborah, for several years. He went to live with his uncle, Rev. Charles Backus at the age of seventeen. His uncle, Charles Backus, was a Congregational minister at

Somers, Connecticut Somers ( ) is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 10,255 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated plac ...

. Azel was fitted to attend College under his instruction. In 1783, he entered

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. While he was at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, he grew deistic opinions and graduated in 1787 from there. After graduation he was faced with a difficult choice of profession, as his religious opinion inclined him to the ministry, but he preferred to join the Army. When he decided to enter the Army, his uncle, Charles Backus, induced him to work in the ministry. Later he studied theology with his uncle Charles, and was licensed to preach by the Association of

Tolland County Tolland County ( ) is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,788. It is incorporated into 13 towns and was originally formed on October 13, 1785, from portions of east ...

Ministers on June 1, 1790.

Career

Soon after he left college, he joined as a teacher in a Grammar school at

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

. After receiving his license to preach from Association of Tolland County, he preached at

Ellington, Connecticut Ellington is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. Ellington was incorporated in May 1786, from East Windsor. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 16,426. History Ori ...

, on several

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

s and soon received multiple invitations to preach and become their pastor. Backus, in 1798, was appointed by

Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott Sr. ( ; November 20, 1726 December 1, 1797) was an American Founding Father and politician. He was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Connecticut, ...

, the first governor of Connecticut, to preach before the Legislature, The Annual Election Sermon, as well as Wolcott's funeral. He was chosen General Association of Connecticut's Moderator in June 1808. Shortly after that, in 1810, the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) honored him with

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree. After moving to

Bethlehem, Connecticut Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The town center is a historic dist ...

, he founded a select school for preparing students for College admission. Backus was elected as the first president of

in September 1812.

Personal life and death

In February 1791, Backus married Melicent Demming of Wethersfield. Backus was survived by five of eight children, including F. F. Backus, a practicing physician at Rochester for many years after graduating from Yale College in 1813. F. F. Backus was a member of the

New York Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term ...

for four years, from 1844 to 1847. Backus fell ill with

typhus fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure ...

in December 1816. He died on December 28, 1816. His daughter Wealtha Ann married Hamilton's first valedictorian,

Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was an American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidate for P ...

, but died young of encephalitis. His wife Melicent died at the age 88 in October 1853.

Early life

Career

Personal life and death

Writings

References

Further reading