Rufus T. Babcock (September 18, 1798 – May 4, 1875) was an American clergyman and the second president of

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

in Waterville,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Life

Babcock was born at North

Colebrook, Connecticut Colebrook is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,361 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Colebrook was named after Colebrooke in the English county of Devon; th ...

. His father was Rufus Babcock, who had been a soldier in the revolutionary war, and was pastor of the Baptist church at Colebrook from 1794 to 1842. He graduated

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1821, and was a tutor for two years at

Columbian College The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first un ...

in Washington, D. C. In 1823 he was ordained pastor of the Baptist church at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; in 1826 he became pastor in Salem, Mass.; and in 1833 he was elected as the second president Waterville College (now

) in Waterville, Maine. At the time, the college was in debt $18,000 and could not meet more than three-fifths of its current expenses. Champlin Hall was erected in 1836. The value of the College property was $50,000. He resigned in 1836, and accepted the pastorate of the Spruce street Baptist church in Philadelphia, whence he returned after three years to his first charge at Poughkeepsie. He was subsequently pastor of a church in Paterson, N. J., and has held successively the offices of secretary of the American and foreign Bible society, of the American Sunday school union, and of the Pennsylvania colonization society. He edited for five years the "Baptist Memorial." He received a DD from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

in 1834. He was the President of the

American Baptist Publication Society The American Baptist Publication Society was a Christian non-profit organization established by the Baptist Church in the United States that was independent from both the American Baptist Home Mission Society and the Triennial Convention. Estab ...

for many years. He died in Salem, MA. The twentieth century biographical dictionary of notable Americans, edited by Rossiter Johnson, John Howard Brown, published by the Biographical Society, 1904.
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Publications

*''Claims of Education Societies'' (1829) *''Review of Beckwith on Baptism'' (1829) *''Making Light of Christ'' (1830) *''Memoir of Andrew Fuller'' (1830) *''Sketches of George Leonard, Abraham Booth and Isaac Backus'' (1832) *''History of Waterville College'' (1836) *''Tales of Truth for the Young'' (1837) *''Personal Recollections of J. M. Peck'' (1858) *''The Emigrant's Mother'' (1859) *''Memoirs of John M. Peck'' (1862)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babcock, Rufus T. 1798 births 1895 deaths Baptist ministers from the United States Presidents of Colby College Brown University alumni George Washington University faculty People from Colebrook, Connecticut 19th-century American clergy