Robert Lodowick Stanton D.D. (March 28, 1810 – May 23, 1885) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and college administrator. He served as president of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

of Ohio from 1868 to 1871. He also served as president of Oakland College in Mississippi.

Early life

Robert Lodowick Stanton was born on March 28, 1810, in

Preston, Connecticut Preston is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut planning region. Its population was 4,788 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston City, and ...

, the son of Joseph Stanton (1780–1828) and Susan M. (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Brewster) Stanton (1781–1853). His father manufactured woolen goods and traded with the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. Robert's older brother was

Henry Brewster Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the ''New York Tribune,'' the ''New York Sun,'' and William Lloyd Gar ...

, who became a journalist and abolitionist, publishing widely in New York and abolitionist newspapers, and lecturing on the abolitionist circuit. Henry married Elizabeth Cady, who became a leader on issues of temperance, women's rights and suffrage, as well as abolition. Robert Stanton studied at the

Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute ( ) was a short-lived Presbyterianism, Presbyterian school in Whitesboro, New York, United States, that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. Existing from 1827 to 18 ...

Whitesboro, New York Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,772 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler. The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Whitestown ...

, which he left with the so-called

Lane Rebels Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...

for the

Lane Theological Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, from which he graduated. He earned his D.D. degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

He was ordained in 1839 by the Mississippi Presbytery, and became the pastor of churches in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served as the second president of Oakland College, near

Rodney, Mississippi Rodney is a ghost town in Jefferson County, Mississippi, United States. Most of the buildings are gone and the remaining structures are in various states of disrepair. The town regularly floods and buildings have extensive flood damage. The Rod ...

, from 1851 to 1854; it was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. He was Professor of Theology at Danville Theological Seminary in Kentucky from 1862 to 1866. From 1866 until 1871, he served as president of

of Ohio. He was moderator of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church from 1866 to 1867.

Death

Stanton, who was a widower with one son, died aboard the steamship ''Nevada'' en route to London and was buried at sea on May 28, 1885, at the age of seventy-five. At the time of his death, his residence was 2727 N Street

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Legacy

Stanton Hall on the Miami University campus is named in his honor.

References

Notes Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Robert L. 1810 births 1885 deaths Presidents of Miami University Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary faculty People who died at sea Burials at sea Lane Theological Seminary alumni Oneida Institute alumni Lane Rebels American abolitionists Presbyterian abolitionists 19th-century American clergy People from Preston, Connecticut Princeton University alumni Religious leaders from Washington, D.C. Stanton family Presidents of Oakland College (Mississippi) Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America