Oren B. Cheney
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The Honorable Oren Burbank Cheney |
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Cheney in 1855
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| 1st President of Bates College | |
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In office 1854–1894 |
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| Succeeded by | George Colby Chase |
| Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 86th district | |
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In office 1851–1852 |
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| Constituency | Augusta, Maine |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 10, 1816 Holderness, New Hampshire |
| Died | December 22, 1903 (aged 87) Lewiston, Maine |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Nancy S. Perkins |
| Parents |
Moses Cheney Abigail Cheney |
| Residence | Lewiston, Maine |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
Oren Burbank "O. B." Cheney (December 10, 1816 – December 22, 1903) was an American politician, Free Will Baptist clergyman, and academic. He initially gained fame and influence in the 1850s through his religious leadership and academic endeavors. Cheney was a leader in the New England antislavery movement and played an active role in the empowerment of African Americans and women in the American Civil War and decades beyond. He served as a representative in the Maine House of Representatives in 1851, through the Free Soil, Whig and Independent voter party in Augusta, Maine. He was also vocal about the antislavery movement in the Maine State Legislature and the United States Congress. He was an editor for the Morning Star, a Free Will Baptist magazine that was prominent in the abolitionist movement in New England. His contributions to the political and religious landscape of Maine and Massachusetts proved to be influential and changed the notions of equality in the United States.
Born in Holderness, New Hampshire, Cheney was raised in a deeply religious household and was educated at the Parsonsfield Seminary, a Free Will Baptist preparatory school. He enrolled in Brown University, but due to high levels of racial intolerance, he transferred to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire to avoid mob violence. He went on to found the Maine State Seminary. Due to the rapid economic growth of Lewiston, Maine, Cheney's school attracted Boston capitalist Benjamin Bates, who helped finance the new college. On March 16, 1864, Cheney, along with the Maine State Legislature chartered Bates College. He is known as one of the earliest proponents of civil rights for women and African Americans in the United States and was a significant figure in the debates regarding emancipation.
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