Henry Martin Tupper
Encyclopedia
Henry Martin Tupper D.D.
(April 11, 1831 – November 12, 1893) was a Baptist
minister who founded Shaw University
in Raleigh
, North Carolina
, the first university established for African American
s following the end of the civil war, and the oldest historically black college and university
(HBCU) in the Southern United States
, as well as one of the oldest co-educational universities in the country. He would serve as the University's first president from its founding until his death in 1893.
, Massachusetts
. He was the eldest of nine children. His grandfather, Ezra Tupper, and great-grandfather, William Tupper had both fought for the colonies in the American Revolutionary War
. His ancestry has been connected to a family of prominent Lutheran dissenters who left Germany and settled in England
during the reign of Henry VIII
. He was a distant relative of Martin Farquhar Tupper
, an English poet who also lived during the 19th century. A clergyman named Thomas Tupper, who was an ancestor of Henry Martin Tupper, emigrated from England to Barbados
in the early 17th century, and would later go on to help found the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts
.
Neither of his parents were practicing Christians
nor did Martin attend church as a child. He received little formal education until he turned eighteen, when he enrolled in Monson Academy
. He converted
to Christianity while at the Academy. In order to fund his continuing education, he took a job as a school teacher in New Jersey
, where he was baptised
in a nearby Baptist church and later became a member of a congregation in Wales, Massachusetts
, near his hometown of Monson.
He attended Amherst College
and graduated in 1859. He received his divinity degree from Newton Theological Institute
in 1862. While at school, he organized bible studies for African-American youth. He also worked as a missionary among recent immigrants in Boston as part of his theological training. He had planned to serve as a missionary
to Africa
, however the Civil War
intervened. Shortly after being ordained as a minister he enlisted in the Union Army
. Though his education would have qualified him for a military commission
there were no openings in the officer corps, so he enlisted as a soldier.
Tupper was assigned to the Army of the Potomac
, Ninth Corps, under the command of Ambrose Burnside
. He arrived with his unit in time to participate in the Battle of Fredericksburg
. He was transferred to General Sherman
's Fifteenth Corps in time for the Vicksburg Campaign
. He was injured at the Battle of Jackson
.
Though he was not an officer, he frequently performed the duties of a chaplain
, ministering to sick and injured soldiers and organizing prayer meetings and bible studies among his fellow soldiers. While in the army he became acquainted with the plight of African-American slaves. It was his involvement with African Americans during the war that would inspire his later work.
On January 25, 1864 he married Sarah Baker Leonard of Stafford
, Connecticut
. She would later join him in his work, helping teach freed women slaves as he taught the men. They would have two children, Elizabeth Caroline Tupper and Edward Leonard Tupper. Sarah's older brother Judson Wade Leonard, a successful businessman in woolen textiles, would be a major source of financial support for Shaw University, and would later have the medical school there named after him.
to act as a missionary to freed slaves
in the American South
. Discharged from the Union Army on July 14, 1865, he and his wife Sarah departed for Raleigh
, North Carolina
on October 1 to begin his work. Traveling via train through Portsmouth
, Virginia
, the trip was delayed due to extensive damage to the rail network caused by the Civil War; they arrived in Raleigh on October 10. The Tuppers immediately began working among the freed slaves. He worked throughout the fall procuring food and clothing from the Freedman's Bureau
for the support of the many homeless black men throughout the Raleigh.
On December 1, 1865 Tupper began teaching bible study classes to freed slaves in the Guion Hotel (located where the North Carolina Museum of History
is now located). This first bible class marks the traditional foundation date of Shaw University. He used the class as an opportunity not just for religious education, but also to teach the freed slaves to read and write, in the hopes that the slaves would themselves become Baptist ministers, to start their own congregations of freed slaves. In March of the next year, his wife Sarah began teaching similar classes for black women.
Having outgrown his temporary location at the Guion Hotel, Tupper purchased a plot of land using $500 saved from his time in the Army. On the plot, located at the corner of Blount and Cabarrus Streets in Raleigh, he constructed a two-story timber building that would serve as both a school and church. He would name his operation the Raleigh Institute, and the building would be the first permanent home what would later become Shaw University. Ongoing expenses of the Institute were funded jointly by the Home Mission Society and the Freedman's Bureau.
As the school grew, larger grounds were sought. South of its location at the corner of Blount and Cabarrus Streets was the estate of the Paul Barringer
, the patriarch of a prominent North Carolina political dynasty. When the land came up for sale, Martin Tupper raised $13,000 for its purchase, mostly of money gathered from private donors solicited in person by Tupper himself. The largest single donor was Elijah Shaw, a resident of Wales, Massachusetts, who donated $5,000. In his honor, the first building on the new campus was named Shaw Hall, and the school was renamed the Shaw Collegiate Institute. Tupper and his students and faculty moved into their new location in 1871. Expansion proceeded quickly, as the first men's dormitory opened in 1872, and the first women's dormitory, Estey Hall
(named for another Northern benefactor, Jacob Estey
of Brattleboro
, Vermont
), opened in 1874. Under Tupper's leadership, the school became chartered as a university in 1875, added a medical and pharmacy program (Leonard Medical School
) in 1881, and a law program in 1888. Each of these programs were the first of their kind for African-American students.
Tupper's role as the founder of the first university dedicated to educating freed slaves was not without its controversy. His home was burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan
, forcing he and his wife to go into hiding in a nearby cornfield. The trustees of a local church, the Second Baptist Church of Raleigh, sued Tupper in 1870 for defrauding its members in connection with his fundraising efforts related to the founding of Shaw University; the suit was settled in his favor in 1875.
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
(April 11, 1831 – November 12, 1893) was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister who founded Shaw University
Shaw University
Shaw University, founded as Raleigh Institute, is a private liberal arts institution and historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest HBCU in the Southern United States....
in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, the first university established for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s following the end of the civil war, and the oldest historically black college and university
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
(HBCU) in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, as well as one of the oldest co-educational universities in the country. He would serve as the University's first president from its founding until his death in 1893.
Early life and military career
Henry Martin Tupper was born on April 11, 1831 to Earl and Permellia Norris Tupper and raised on a farm in MonsonMonson, Massachusetts
Monson is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,560 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.The village of Monson Center lies at the center of the town....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He was the eldest of nine children. His grandfather, Ezra Tupper, and great-grandfather, William Tupper had both fought for the colonies in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. His ancestry has been connected to a family of prominent Lutheran dissenters who left Germany and settled in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. He was a distant relative of Martin Farquhar Tupper
Martin Farquhar Tupper
Martin Farquhar Tupper was an English writer, and poet, and the author of Proverbial Philosophy.-Early life:...
, an English poet who also lived during the 19th century. A clergyman named Thomas Tupper, who was an ancestor of Henry Martin Tupper, emigrated from England to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in the early 17th century, and would later go on to help found the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,675 at the 2010 census. The Town Hall is located right next to the Dexter Grist Mill, in the historic district of town....
.
Neither of his parents were practicing Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
nor did Martin attend church as a child. He received little formal education until he turned eighteen, when he enrolled in Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy is a prep school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is one of the fifteen oldest schools on the eastern coast of the United States. It is a four year boarding and day high school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduate. The academy is located in...
. He converted
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Christianity while at the Academy. In order to fund his continuing education, he took a job as a school teacher in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where he was baptised
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in a nearby Baptist church and later became a member of a congregation in Wales, Massachusetts
Wales, Massachusetts
Wales is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,838 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, near his hometown of Monson.
He attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and graduated in 1859. He received his divinity degree from Newton Theological Institute
Andover Newton Theological School
Andover Newton Theological School is a graduate school and seminary located in Newton, Massachusetts. It is America's oldest graduate seminary and the nation's first graduate institution of any kind...
in 1862. While at school, he organized bible studies for African-American youth. He also worked as a missionary among recent immigrants in Boston as part of his theological training. He had planned to serve as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, however the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
intervened. Shortly after being ordained as a minister he enlisted in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Though his education would have qualified him for a military commission
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
there were no openings in the officer corps, so he enlisted as a soldier.
Tupper was assigned to the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, Ninth Corps, under the command of Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
. He arrived with his unit in time to participate in the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
. He was transferred to General Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
's Fifteenth Corps in time for the Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
. He was injured at the Battle of Jackson
Battle of Jackson (MS)
The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee defeated Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, seizing the city, cutting supply lines, and...
.
Though he was not an officer, he frequently performed the duties of a chaplain
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
, ministering to sick and injured soldiers and organizing prayer meetings and bible studies among his fellow soldiers. While in the army he became acquainted with the plight of African-American slaves. It was his involvement with African Americans during the war that would inspire his later work.
On January 25, 1864 he married Sarah Baker Leonard of Stafford
Stafford, Connecticut
Stafford is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States, settled in 1719. The population was 11,307 at the 2000 census.-History:The Colonial Town of Stafford began as a rural agricultural community...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. She would later join him in his work, helping teach freed women slaves as he taught the men. They would have two children, Elizabeth Caroline Tupper and Edward Leonard Tupper. Sarah's older brother Judson Wade Leonard, a successful businessman in woolen textiles, would be a major source of financial support for Shaw University, and would later have the medical school there named after him.
Founder and president of Shaw University
After the Civil War, he was commissioned by the Home Mission SocietyHome mission society
The American Baptist Home Mission Societies is a Christian missionary society. It was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gospel, establish churches and give support and ministry to the unchurched and destitute." In the...
to act as a missionary to freed slaves
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
in the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Discharged from the Union Army on July 14, 1865, he and his wife Sarah departed for Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
on October 1 to begin his work. Traveling via train through Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, the trip was delayed due to extensive damage to the rail network caused by the Civil War; they arrived in Raleigh on October 10. The Tuppers immediately began working among the freed slaves. He worked throughout the fall procuring food and clothing from the Freedman's Bureau
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
The Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. federal government agency that aided distressed freedmen in 1865–1869, during the Reconstruction era of the United States....
for the support of the many homeless black men throughout the Raleigh.
On December 1, 1865 Tupper began teaching bible study classes to freed slaves in the Guion Hotel (located where the North Carolina Museum of History
North Carolina Museum of History
The North Carolina Museum of History is located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Permanent exhibits focus on the state’s military history, decorative arts, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and more. Visitors will see a variety of short-term and traveling exhibits...
is now located). This first bible class marks the traditional foundation date of Shaw University. He used the class as an opportunity not just for religious education, but also to teach the freed slaves to read and write, in the hopes that the slaves would themselves become Baptist ministers, to start their own congregations of freed slaves. In March of the next year, his wife Sarah began teaching similar classes for black women.
As the school grew, larger grounds were sought. South of its location at the corner of Blount and Cabarrus Streets was the estate of the Paul Barringer
Paul Barringer
Paul Barringer was a North Carolina politician and military veteran of the War of 1812. General Barringer served in the North Carolina House of Commons and in the North Carolina Senate , representing Cabarrus County.He was the brother of Daniel Laurens Barringer, the father of Daniel M...
, the patriarch of a prominent North Carolina political dynasty. When the land came up for sale, Martin Tupper raised $13,000 for its purchase, mostly of money gathered from private donors solicited in person by Tupper himself. The largest single donor was Elijah Shaw, a resident of Wales, Massachusetts, who donated $5,000. In his honor, the first building on the new campus was named Shaw Hall, and the school was renamed the Shaw Collegiate Institute. Tupper and his students and faculty moved into their new location in 1871. Expansion proceeded quickly, as the first men's dormitory opened in 1872, and the first women's dormitory, Estey Hall
Estey Hall
Estey Hall is a historic building on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the first building constructed for the higher education of African-American women in the United States...
(named for another Northern benefactor, Jacob Estey
Jacob Estey
Jacob Estey was the founder of Estey Organ.-Biography:He was born in 1814 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire and ran away from an orphanage to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he learned the plumbing trade. He arrived in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1835 at age 21 to work in a plumbing shop which he soon bought...
of Brattleboro
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
), opened in 1874. Under Tupper's leadership, the school became chartered as a university in 1875, added a medical and pharmacy program (Leonard Medical School
Leonard Hall (Shaw University)
Leonard Hall is a historic educational building located on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Built in 1881 and originally named Leonard Medical Center , Leonard Hall was established when medical schools were professionalizing...
) in 1881, and a law program in 1888. Each of these programs were the first of their kind for African-American students.
Tupper's role as the founder of the first university dedicated to educating freed slaves was not without its controversy. His home was burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, forcing he and his wife to go into hiding in a nearby cornfield. The trustees of a local church, the Second Baptist Church of Raleigh, sued Tupper in 1870 for defrauding its members in connection with his fundraising efforts related to the founding of Shaw University; the suit was settled in his favor in 1875.
Death
Tupper died on November 12, 1893 following a prolonged illness. His funeral was reportedly one of the most attended in the history of Raleigh to that time. Tupper was buried on the campus of the school he founded, in front of Shaw Hall.External links
- Text of funeral sermon delivered at Henry Martin Tupper's funeral in 1893. Published in:
- Audio podcast of a program discussing the life of Henry Martin Tupper and the founding of Shaw University. Archived at: