Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight (1816–1889) was an American minister, educator, scholar and author.

Life

Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight was born April 5, 1816, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. His father was physician Benjamin Woolsey Dwight (1780–1850), and paternal grandfather was

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

president Timothy Dwight. His mother was Sophia Woodbridge Strong (1793–1861). In 1831 the family moved to

Clinton, Oneida County, New York Clinton (or ''Ka-dah-wis-dag'', "white field" in Seneca language) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2010 census, declining to 1,683 in the 2020 ...

, where his father served as treasurer 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 ...

after giving up his medical business. His uncle

Sereno Edwards Dwight Sereno Edwards Dwight (May 18, 1786 – November 30, 1850) was an American author, educator, and Congregational church, Congregationalist minister, who served as Chaplain of the Senate. Early years Dwight was the fifth son of Yale College ...

became Hamilton College's president in 1833. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1835 and the

Yale Theological Seminary Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1838. He returned to Hamilton College to work as a tutor until 1842. He founded the Congregational church at

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

, in 1844 and served as its pastor for two years. After moving to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, in 1846, he founded a private high school, which he operated for 12 years. In 1858 he moved back to Clinton and opened Dwight's Rural High School, with Reverend David A. Holbrook and Henry P. Bristol as associates. In 1863 Dwight opened another similar school in New York City on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. The Clinton school burned down in April 1865. In 1867 Dwight returned to Clinton and devoted his time to writing, including works on education,

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

, a short biography of his father and a massive two-volume history of thousands of his cousins and ancestors. He died on September 18, 1889. Dwight married Jane Dewey on July 29, 1846. She was born April 20, 1823, had four children, and died August 23, 1864. He then married Charlotte Sophia Parish on December 22, 1865. She was born April 29, 1827, and had one child. Children were: Eliza Dewey Dwight born February 21, 1850; Sophia Edwards Dwight born April 8, 1853; Francis Edwin Dwight born December 11, 1856; Issabella Jane Dwight born November 11, 1861; and Bertha Woolsey Dwight born May 13, 1867. His younger brother was lawyer

Theodore William Dwight Theodore William Dwight (1822–1892) was an American jurist and educator, cousin of Theodore Dwight Woolsey and of Timothy Dwight V. He founded Columbia Law School in 1858 and New York Law School in 1891. Biography Theodore William Dwight was bo ...

(1822–1892). His publications included: * * * * * * * He prepared two more that were not published: ''Woman's Higher Culture'' and ''The True Doctrine of Divine Providence''.

Life

See also

References

Further reading