- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Series 12: Francis Landey Patton Records, 1877-1994
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Francis Landey Patton served as president from 1888 to 1902 during an era of change and growth, reflected in the adoption of the name Princeton University in 1896. Born January 22, 1843 in Warwick, Bermuda in a house called Carberry, Patton was the eldest of three sons. His father died when he was six years old. Patton attended the Warwick Academy in Bermuda and graduated from Knox College at the University of Toronto in 1862 and from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1865, the year in which he was ordained a Presbyterian minister. His first three pastorates were in the state of New York. In 1865 he married Rosa Antoinette Stevenson, with whom he had seven children.
Patton moved to Chicago, where he served as pastor of the Jefferson Park Presbyterian church from 1873 to 1876 and occupied the chair of didactic and polemical theology at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the Northwest from 1872 to 1881. He was also editor of the Chicago Presbyterian paper, The Interior. In 1874 Patton joined in the prosecution of the Rev. David Swing, an influential preacher at four Chicago churches whose sermons were often published. Patton, a conservative who preached the classic doctrines of Calvinism, wrote editorials against Swing's liberal teaching and brought charges of heresy against him. The Presbytery acquitted Swing, but Patton was ready to appeal to the Synod when Swing forestalled him by forming an independent church. In the aftermath of this controversy, Patton became a prominent leader of Presbyterian orthodoxy, serving as moderator of the General Assembly in 1878. In 1881 he accepted the chair of the relations of philosophy and science to the Christian religion at the Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition, in 1884, he began teaching ethics and philosophy of religion courses at the College of New Jersey, and after James McCosh's retirement in 1888, became its president.
During Patton's presidency the endowment increased, the number of faculty and students more than doubled, the Graduate School was created, 17 buildings were erected, the undergraduate eating clubs grew in popularity, and interest in sports increased. Of all his improvements, Patton was proudest of inaugurating the honor system. However, most of the other changes during his tenure were largely due to a robust economy, his predecessor, McCosh, and the work of faculty and trustees. Economic growth made college more affordable, and enrollments increased at colleges in the United States in general. Faculties also increased to accommodate this growth, and Patton was responsible for appointing Woodrow Wilson, Bliss Perry, John Grier Hibben, and several other accomplished scholars to the faculty. However, it was McCosh, not Patton, who initiated the vast expansion of the campus, though much of the building took place during Patton's time in office. Known as a great intellectual and preacher, Patton was characterized as a contemplative yet witty man. He was popular with the students, and his sermons drew them to chapel. While Patton allowed modern languages to be taught, he loved the classics and insisted that Latin be kept in the curriculum.
The role of Princeton University's president was in flux, with an ever-greater emphasis on administrative and business skills. However, administratively speaking, Patton was viewed as somewhat inept, and in an era of change, some of the faculty and trustees regarded him as a hindrance rather than an impetus to progress. When the faculty and trustees established the Graduate School, the trustees bypassed Patton and directly appointed Andrew Fleming West as its dean, allowing West to manage the School without Patton's approval. The Board of Trustees, like the presidency, was also changing as professional and businessmen replaced the clergy who had once been dominant. In 1902 trustees and faculty suggested that Patton create an executive committee from among the two groups to perform some presidential functions. Patton protested at first, but then resigned instead, after negotiating and receiving compensation for leaving six years earlier than he had anticipated. He retained his position as professor of ethics and continued to teach at the Princeton Theological Seminary, whose presidency he assumed in the fall of 1902. In 1913 Patton retired and returned to Carberry in Bermuda, but he continued to write and preach. He died on November 25, 1932.
The Patton records contain correspondence, publications, and speeches documenting his life as a clergyman and as a college and, beginning in 1896, university president, as well as 16 letterpress books containing copies of his outgoing correspondence. This series is arranged in two subseries, the first topically and the second in chronological order: General Materials and Letterpress Books.
- Arrangement
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Collection History
- Appraisal
No information on appraisal is available.
- Sponsorship:
These papers were processed with the generous support of former Princeton University President Harold T. Shapiro, Charles Brothman '51, and the John Foster Dulles and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Carol V. Burke and Stacey C. Peeples in 2002. Finding aid written by Carol V. Burke and Stacey C. Peeples in 2002.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Materials generated by the office of the president are closed for 30 years from the date of their creation. Some records relating to personnel or students are closed for longer periods of time.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Series 12: Francis Landey Patton Records; Office of the President Records : Jonathan Dickinson to Harold W. Dodds Subgroup, AC117, Princeton University Archives, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript LibrarySeeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (mudd): Boxes 40-57; 262; 40A
Find More
- Other Finding Aids
The Office of the President Records: Jonathan Dickinson to Harold W. Dodds Subgroup forms part of the Princeton University Office of the President Records. Finding Aids for other subgroups and portions of the collection are also available online:
Office of the President Records: Robert F. Goheen Subgroup, 1924-1988 (bulk 1957-1972): Finding Aid.
Office of the President Records: William G. Bowen Subgroup, 1940-1998 (bulk 1972-1987): Finding Aid.
Office of the President Records: Harold Shapiro Subgroup, 1961-2001 (bulk 1987-2001): Finding Aid.
- Names:
- Presbyterian church in the U.S.A.
Princeton University
Princeton University Administration.
Bowen, William G.
Burr, Aaron (1716-1757)
Carnahan, James (1775-1859)
Davies, Samuel (1723-1761)
Dickinson, Jonathan (1688-1747)
Dodds, Harold W. (Harold Willis) (1889-1980)
Duffield, Edward D. (Edward Dickinson) (1871-1938)
Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758)
Finley, Samuel (1715-1766)
Fox, Arthur E. (Arthur Eugene) (1891-1957)
Gemmell, Edgar M. (Edgar Mills) (1911-1990)
Goheen, Robert F. (Robert Francis) (1919-2008)
Green, Ashbel (1762-1848)
Hibben, John Grier (1861-1933)
Maclean, John (1800-1886)
McCosh, James (1811-1894)
Patton, Francis L. (Francis Landey) (1843-1932)
Shapiro, Harold T. (1935)
Smith, Samuel Stanhope (1750-1819)
Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924)
Witherspoon, John (1723-1794)