Eben S. Stearns

Eben S. Stearns
Born	December 23, 1819 Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 11, 1887 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Educator

Eben S. Stearns (1819–1887) was an American educator. He served as the President of Framingham State University from 1849 to 1855, and as the Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President Peabody Normal School (which later merged with Vanderbilt University) from 1875 to 1887.

Early life

Eben Sperry Stearns was born on December 23, 1819, in Bedford, Massachusetts.[1] His father was a Congregational minister.[1]

Stearns enrolled at Harvard University in 1841, where he received a master of arts degree in 1845.[1] He received a Doctor of Divinity and a Doctor of Laws from other universities.[1]

Career

Stearns began his career as a teacher in an all girls' seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts.[1] He went on to teach in West Newton, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine.[1]

Stearns served as the President of Framingham State University from 1849 to 1855.[2]

Stearns served as the Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President of the Peabody Normal School from 1875 to 1887.[1] Under his leadership, the school attendance grew from 13 to 179 students.[3] In 1885, he authored Historical Sketch of the Normal College, at Nashville, Tennessee.[4]

Personal life

Stearns was married, and he had children.[1]

Death and legacy

Stearns died on April 11, 1887, in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][5] His funeral was held by an Episcopal pastor in Nashville,[6] and he was buried in Bedford, Massachusetts.[7]

Meanwhile, he was replaced as Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President of the Peabody Normal School by William H. Payne.[8] A year after his death, in 1888, his portrait by Geo Drury was donated to the Peabody Normal College.[8]

References

1. Winthrop, Robert Charles (1887). Tribute to Eben Sperry Stearns, D.D., LL.D., Chancellor of the University, and President of the Normal College at Nashville, Tennessee, At the Annual Meeting of the Trustees of the Peabody Education Fund, New York, 5 October 1887. Cambridge, Massachusetts: John Wilson and Son University Press. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
2. "HISTORICAL IMAGES OF FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY: Eben S. Stearns, 1849-1855". Framingham State University. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
3. Dillingham, George A. Jr. (Fall 1978). "The University of Nashville, A Northern Educator, and A New Mission In the Post-Reconstruction South". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 37 (3): 330. JSTOR 42625882.
4. "Online Books by Eben S. Stearns (Stearns, Eben S. (Eben Sperry), 1819-1887)". Online Books Page. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
5. "The Death List". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. April 12, 1887. p. 1. Retrieved November 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Universal Regret: The Death of Chancellor Stearns a Painful Surprise. Resolutions of Respects Adopted By Numerous Bodies. The Funeral Services To Be Held This Afternoon. In The Chapel of the Tennessee State Normal College. The Expressions of Regret from Alumni, Teachers, Trustees and Other Departments". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. April 13, 1887. p. 5. Retrieved November 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "The Dead Chancellor. After Services in the Chapel the Body is Taken North for Interment". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. April 14, 1887. p. 5. Retrieved November 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "State Normal College. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. May 27, 1888. p. 5. Retrieved November 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.