Willbur Fisk
| Willbur Fisk | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 1st President of Wesleyan University | |
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In office 1831–1839 |
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| Succeeded by | Stephen Olin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 31, 1792 Guilford, Vermont |
| Died | February 22, 1839 (aged 46) Middletown, Connecticut |
Willbur Fisk (August 31, 1792 – February 22, 1839), also known as Wilbur Fisk, was a prominent American Methodist minister, educator and theologian. He was the first President of Wesleyan University. (Note that Fisk's first name is properly spelled with two Ls, as can be seen in his signatures, his grave marker, and the large hall on the Wesleyan campus named in his honor. However, numerous printed sources, including in his lifetime, give his name as 'Wilbur'.)
Fisk was born in Guilford, (near Brattleboro), Vermont on August 31, 1792. His father, the Hon. Isaiah Fisk (1763–1859), was from Massachusetts and descended from William Fisk who emigrated to America from England in about 1637. His mother, Hannah (née Bacon, c. 1760–1845) was also from Massachusetts and was descended from John Bacon who came to America in 1640. Isaiah and Hannah Fisk married on May 2, 1786 and moved to Guildford, where Isaiah’s father, Amos Fisk, had purchased land at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Their first child, Isaiah Jr. was born in 1789, and died as a youngster in 1793. Polly, their second child, was born in Brattleboro in 1790. Wilbur, their third child, was born two years later in 1792. Unfortunate business interests caused a financial hardship for Isaiah and Hannah, and they moved with their children from Guilford to Lyndon, Vermont in Caledonia County, about forty miles from the Canada–US border. Isaiah Fisk became a respected citizen in Lyndon, and he was elected by his fellow citizens as Assistant Judge, Caledonia County Court from 1808–1813 and Chief Judge, Caledonia County Court from 1815–1823. He was also a presidential elector in the 1816 presidential election.
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