Ebenezer Fitch (September 26, 1756 – March 21, 1833) was an American

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and educator. He was the first president of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

Biography

Born in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

,George Ripley And Charles A. Dana,
Ebenezer Fitch
, ''The American Cyclopaedia'', Volume 7, 1873. Fitch graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

from

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, ...

in 1777.Elizabeth O'Grady
Ebenezer Fitch (1756-1833)
Williams College Archives and Special Collections The

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

was ongoing at the time, but because Fitch was a student and then resident tutor (1780–1783) at Yale, he was exempted from the

military draft Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

then in effect.Calvin Durfee,
Sketch of the Late Rev. Ebenezer Fitch: First President of Williams College
', Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1865. He later tried his hand at business, but was largely unsuccessful, and was invited in 1790 to move to

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, and serve as

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

of a new free academy for boys. Fitch took the position and made many changes to the institution, converting it into a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

in 1793. As one of only two faculty members at the beginning, Fitch taught many classes himself. Highly religious, he gave the sermons on Sundays at the college and introduced the Westminster Catechism to Williams. But the college foundered, and Fitch resigned in 1815. He then served as a pastor at a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church, and continued to preach until his death in

West Bloomfield, New York West Bloomfield is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 2,760 at the 2020 census. The Town of West Bloomfield is on the county's western border and sits parallel to the Town of East Bloomfield, both of which lie ...

. Mount Fitch in the town of

Adams Adams may refer to: * For persons, see Adams (surname) Places United States *Adams, California *Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California * Adams, Decatur County, Indiana *Adams, Kentucky *Adams, Massachusetts, a New England to ...

, near Williamstown, was named after Fitch. Fitch was a son of Dr. Jabez Fitch and Lydia (Huntington) Fitch. His siblings included Jabez G. Fitch, who served as U.S. Marshal for Vermont.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Ebenezer 1756 births 1833 deaths American Presbyterian ministers Religious leaders from Norwich, Connecticut University and college founders Presidents of Williams College Yale College alumni People from colonial Connecticut American librarians