Z 2208.000 Chase (Benjamin Dorrance) Papers

Z 2208.000 S
CHASE (BENJAMIN DORRANCE) PAPERS

Benjamin Dorrance Chase was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire, on November 20, 1789. He was the eldest of seven children, including brothers Paine Wingate and Simeon, who were born to Simeon and Mary Bartlett Chase. Benjamin Chase spent his childhood in Litchfield where his father and uncles co-owned a gristmill and sawmill. After completing his early education, Chase enrolled at an academy in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and also taught school in the Litchfield area. After completing his studies at the academy around 1811, he entered Middlebury College in Vermont. Chase married during his senior year at Middlebury College and graduated in August of 1814. He continued teaching in Bridgetown, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On December 17, 1817, Chase and his wife moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Chase engaged in missionary work. After the death of his first wife on May 13, 1818, Chase began studying theology under the guidance of the Reverend Sylvester Larned and the auspices of the Mississippi Presbytery. Chase married his second wife in 1819. He received his ministerial license from the Mississippi Presbytery a year later. Chase left Louisiana to escape yellow fever after 1822. He worked for a time as a minister and teacher in New Jersey and New York. The Presbytery of New York ordained Chase on August 17, 1824. He accepted an offer to become the minister of a church in Oxford, Lafayette County, Mississippi, in September of 1826. While traveling to Mississippi, Chase met the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain, who was on his way to take charge of the College of Louisiana. Chases second wife died around 1827.

Chase married his third wife, Anna W. Henderson Smith, on June 6, 1828. She was the daughter of John Henderson of Mantua Plantation in Adams County, Mississippi. The Chases had at least six children, including Selah (b. ca. 1830), Susan (b. ca. 1832), Benjamin Dorrance, Jr. (b. ca. 1834), Eva (b. ca. 1838), and twins Paine Wingate and Simeon (b. ca. 1841). On July 1, 1828, Chase became the minister of Carmel Presbyterian Church in Adams County, located approximately ten miles from Natchez. Over the next twelve years, Chase was minister of several churches in the Natchez area, including Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church. Chase served on a committee of the Mississippi Presbytery to determine the feasibility of founding a college in Mississippi. The committee presented their findings at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Presbytery in 1829. The presbytery adopted a resolution establishing Oakland College in January of 1830. Chase served on the board of trustees of Oakland College from 1830 until at least 1867.

Although poor health forced Chase to discontinue his ministerial duties in 1839, he remained active in the Presbyterian church. Chase also served as acting president of Oakland College following the murder of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain on September 5, 1851, until the inauguration of the Reverend Robert Livingston Stanton on December 18, 1851. Chase died at his home in Natchez on October 11, 1870.

This collection consists of a detailed two-volume manuscript autobiography and a history of Oakland College; a songbook; a Bible; and a color photograph of a portrait of the Reverend Benjamin Dorrance Chase of Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. Chase wrote volume one of the autobiography in 1863 after he and his family had moved to Mantua Plantation in Adams County following the Union bombardment of Natchez in May of 1862. He begins the narrative with a genealogy of his parents families. Chase also recounts memorable events of his childhood in early nineteenth-century New Hampshire, including the near death of his father in the family sawmill when Chase was thirteen. He describes childhood illnesses and his education in the Northeast during the War of 1812. Chase recalls his ministerial and teaching duties in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The volume ends with the departure of Chase for New Haven, Connecticut, around 1825.

Chase wrote volume two of the autobiography between 1865 and 1867. The narrative continues with his arrival in New Haven, after which he accepts an offer to become the minister of a Presbyterian church in Oxford, Lafayette County, Mississippi. Chase describes the trip south, including his acquaintance with the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain, later president of Oakland College in Jefferson County, Mississippi. Also of interest is Chases account of the Union bombardment of Natchez and the damage done to his home there in May of 1862, as well as the subsequent evacuation of his family to Mantua Plantation. He also describes the treatment of the Chase family by Confederate and Union soldiers who were stationed in the area. Chases recollections in volume two end around 1864.

The last portion of volume two contains a detailed history of Oakland College, which was written by Chase at the request of the faculty in 1867. There is also an appendix in which Chase traces the events leading to the murder of the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Chamberlain by George A. Briscoe on September 5, 1851. Chase also notes the turmoil that the murder caused in the community. The Oakland College history and the appendix include citations and footnotes by Chase. Each volume contains printers instructions written in pencil, and volume two contains a typewritten addition to the text. Loose pages from each volume have been placed in folders.

The songbook is entitled Brainards Select Melodies and was published in 1845. Written inside the front cover is a list of songs. The cover of the songbook is embossed with Chases name and the year 1851. The undated Bible is incomplete, but it includes the Old Testament books of Genesis through First Chronicles and several pages of Second Chronicles. The Bible also contains a glossary of biblical terms. A detached cover accompanies the Bible, but it does not appear to be original. Written inside the cover are death dates for Ruffers and Cora Butler and Alice Lewis, perhaps relatives of Chase. Also included is a color photograph of an original oil-on-canvas portrait of Chase.

1. Autobiography. 1863-1867. 2 bound volumes.

   Box 1

   Box 2, folders 1-3

2. Songbook. 1845. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1

3. Bible. n.d. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1

   Box 2, folder 4

4. Photograph. n.d. 1 folder.

   Box 2, folder 5