EDWARD NORTH
Edward North, fourth son of Reuben and Huldah (Wilcox) North, was born in Berlin, Conn., March 9, 1820, and belongs to the eighth generation from John North, one of the original proprietors and
settlers of Farmington, Conn., in 1653. He united with the Second Congregational church of Berlin, December 4, 1831. His preparation for college began with Principal Ariel Parish, of the Worthington
Academy in Berlin, and was completed in 1837 with Rev. Salmon Strong, principal of the Clinton Grammar School. He was graduated from Hamilton College in 1841, with the Valedictory Oration. He began
the work of a teacher as principal of the Clinton Grammar School, and was one year a private tutor in the family of Roswell Colt. of Paterson, N. J.
In December, 1843, he was elected Dexter professor of Greek and Latin in Hamilton College, as the successor of Professor J. Finley Smith. In 1862 he was elected professor of the Greek language and literature, and Rev. William N. McHarg was elected professor of the Latin language and literature. In 1869 the resignation of Professor McHarg was followed by the election of Rev. Abel G. Hopkins, who still occupies the Latin chair. In 1844 Professor North received the degree of A.M. from the trustees of Brown University; in 1869 the degree of L. H. D. from the Regents of the University of the State of New York; and in 1887 the degree of LL. D. from the trustees of Madison (now Colgate) University.
Since 1852 Professor North has been one of the five trustees of the Clinton Grammar School; since 1855 a trustee of the Clinton Cemetery Association, and necrologist of the Society of Hamilton Alumni. He has edited a dozen editions of the "Catalogus Collegii Hamiltonensis," and has had charge of the department of "Alumniana " in the Hamilton Literary Monthly, since that periodical was founded in 1866. In 1865 he was president of the New York State Teachers' Association; in 1865 he was elected one of the nine ruling elders in the Presbyterian church in Clinton, and has been twice sent to the General Assembly as a commissioner from the Utica Presbytery, viz.: in 1870 and 1876. He has also been a commissioner of Auburn Theological Seminary for three terms. Since 1870 he has been secretary of the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in Hamilton College. In 1866 he was president of the associated Chapters of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity.
In 1871 Professor North visited Athens as the companion of Hon. John M. Francis, then United States minister to the kingdom of Greece. In 1874-75 he was chairman of the executive committee of the University Convocation. He is a member of the New York Historical Society, the Albany Institute, the Oneida Historical Society, the American Philological Association, the American Philosophical Society, the Hellenic Philological Syllogos of Constantinople, and other similar associations. He has delivered addresses or read papers before the Oneida Historical Society, the National Teachers' Association, the University Convocation of the State of New York, the Albany Institute, the American Institute of Instruction, the New York State Agricultural Society, the New York State Teachers' Association. In 1864 he delivered the Annual Poem before the Society of Hamilton Alumni. Since January, 1881, he has been one of the trustees of Houghton Seminary in Clinton, and since June, 1881, one of the twenty-eight trustees of Hamilton College. After the death of President Darling, April 20, 1891, Professor North was appointed acting president of Hamilton College by its Executive Committee, a most unwelcome office, in which he, however, continued to officiate until his successor, Dr. M. Woolsey Stryker, was elected in the fall of 1892.
Since his election in 1843, Professor North has given instruction in the Greek language and literature to fifty-two successive classes, and upwards of 2,000 students, many of whom in the later classes have been sons of those who were students in the earlier classes. An army of men in every walk of life have profited by his broad learning and culture and remember him with respect and love. He has been aided and encouraged in his work by many substantial tokens of good will, notably by the prize funds received from the relatives of the late Col. Henry H. Curran, '62, of Utica; the late Martin Hawley, '51, of Baltimore, and the Hon. Chauncey S. Truax, '75, of New York city.
Professor North was married July 31, 1844, to Mary Frances Dexter, only daughter of Hon. S. Newton Dexter, of Whitesboro. She was the mother of five children and died May 27, 1869 aged forty-six years and ten months. Her four surviving children are:
1. Mrs. Laura Dexter (North) Reed, who was married July 29, 1874, to Rev. Dr. William Reed, now pastor of the Memorial Presbyterian church in Troy. Their children are Ruth Dexter Reed, Edward North Reed, Laura Lansing Reed, and Sarah Allen Reed. William Vanderheyden Reed, born May 17, 1889, died January 12, 1890.
2. Simon Newton Dexter North, now secretary of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston, Mass, was married July 8, 1875 to Lillian Sill Comstock, daughter of Hon. Calvert Comstock, of Rome. Their children are Edward North, Gladys North, Eloise Comstock North, and Dexter North.
3. Edward Simeon North.
4. Mary Hulda North.
5. James Summerville North, born May 10, 1861; died May 10, 1863.
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