Thomas Jefferson Sawyer S.T.D.

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(January 9, 1804,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

- July 24, 1899) was an American Universalist minister and educator.

Early life and education

Sawyer was born at

, Windsor County, Vermont, on January 9, 1804. He attended the district school and then a private school kept by a Universalist minister. At 19 he went to Chester Academy, and two years later, he enrolled at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

, from which he graduated in 1829. He received both a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and M.A. from Middlebury.

Career

He then prepared for a ministerial career and, in 1830, took charge of what would become the Orchard Street Universalist Church, a small congregation then located on Grand Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He married there Caroline M. Fisher, and they had three children that reached adulthood. In 1831 he became editor of the '' Christian Messenger''. In 1832, he and his parishioners leased a former Dutch Reformed Society building on Orchard Street, and he preached there until 1845, when he resigned to become Principal of the

Clinton Liberal Institute The Clinton Liberal Institute was a preparatory boarding school established by the Universalist Church in the village of Clinton, in the Town of Kirkland, New York, in 1831. Its main building, a massive stone structure, was the largest buildin ...

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 ...

. He remained there until 1852. He was instrumental in organizing the Universalist Historical Society, whose Secretary and Librarian he remained in 1896. In taking charge of the Institute at Clinton, Mr. Sawyer also became minister of Clinton's Universalist church. In 1847 he issued the call for the convention held in New York City, the outcome of which was the founding of

Tufts College Tufts University is a Private university, private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, as well as Talloire ...

, Canton Theological School, and

St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...

. Mr. Sawyer was president of the first board of trustees of each of these. He was offered the Presidency of Tufts College but declined it in a dispute over salary. In 1852 he returned to his pastorate in New York City, where he remained until 1861. After two years in Clinton, he returned to New York as Editor of the '' Christian Ambassador''. He held this position for three years, then spent three years on a farm in

Carteret, New Jersey Carteret is a borough in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population reached 25,326, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,482 (+10.9%) from the ...

. When Tufts Divinity School opened in 1869, he was called to take charge of it as Pacard Professor of Theology, its first professor. In 1882 he was formally made Dean. In 1884 his impaired eyesight made him withdraw from active teaching. In 1892 he was made

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. He died on July 24, 1899.

Honors

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

awarded him the

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, being the ecclesiastical equ ...

in 1850, and Tufts made him

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

in 1895. Twice he has been elected President of Tufts University, once of Canton Theological School, and once of Lombard University, but all of these he declined. According to Rev. Richard Eddy, in dedicating to Sawyer the second volume of his history of Universalism in America, "his influence in shaping the thought of the Universalist Church far exceeds that of any other living man." He was called "one of the most prominent figures in the Universalist Church for over 60 years."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Thomas Jefferson Middlebury College alumni Clergy of the Universalist Church of America People from Clinton, Oneida County, New York People from New York City People from Medford, Massachusetts People from Carteret, New Jersey American magazine editors 19th-century American farmers 1804 births 1899 deaths