Francis Kelsey
| Professor Francis Willey Kelsey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 23, 1858 Ogden, New York |
| Died | May 14, 1927 (aged 68) Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Rochester |
| Occupation | Academic and Archaeologist |
| Years active | 1880–1927 |
| Organization | University of Michigan |
Francis Willey Kelsey (May 23, 1858 – May 14, 1927) was a classics scholar, professor, and archaeologist that would go on to lead the first expedition to the Near-East done by the University of Michigan (U of M). His papyrus findings and the collection of antiquities he acquired for the university brought him fame not only among University of Michigan faculty but around the world. Originally hailing from New York, he would teach at Lake Forest University, in Illinois, eventually coming to the University of Michigan. He was the secretary of the Archaeological Institute of America,Vice President, and eventually President, of the American Philological Association while he was at U of M.
Francis Kelsey’s life started in Ogden, New York, a city located in Monroe County, New York on May 23, 1858. Kelsey was the fourth child of Henry Kelsey and Olive Trowbridge Kelsey and was named after his grandmother on his mother's side. Francis' father, Henry, originally wanted to go into the medical field. This goal would consume at least ten years of his life, to pay for his medical training he not only was a school teacher but would travel at night to teach singing lessons. Quite unfortunately, he would learn at age 28, when he had enough funds to join a doctor's office as a student, that, ironically, his lack of knowledge of Greek and Latin would make his studies even longer. Greek and Latin were still very important in the medical field at this time, Henry was discouraged and to his medical career and instead bought a farm near his parents home in Stony Point. He married Olive Cornelia Trowbridge in 1842, sister to antislavery writer and friend of Mark Twain, John Townsend Trowbridge. The Kelseys would stay at the farm in Stony Point until Francis was two years old and then moved to larger farm at Churchville. There was a school in town that Francis attended but to go to secondary school he would have to travel to the Lockport Union School, about sixty miles away. He enrolled when he was 15 and sources think because the school was so far from home he was most likely a boarder. After attending Lockport, he went to the University of Rochester where he followed the Classical Course and won numerous awards including a sophomore prize in Latin and a junior prize in Greek. While there is no doubt that Kelsey was very studious, that did not mean his time at university was constantly spent in the library. From time to time he enjoyed a practical joke, he ended up creating a chemistry lab in his boarding house at one point, making stink bombs to ward off the occasional, unwelcome guest. He graduated in 1880 being elected valedictorian.
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