1870s Overview
In the 1870s the University was organized by Departments. There was the Preparatory Department (the legacy of the Pittsburgh Academy) and the Academical Department (what we might think of as the College of Arts and Sciences), and these were supplemented by a Scientific Department and an Engineering Department, the latter two not requiring preparation in Greek and Latin. In 1872, there were 179 students in the university; 41 were in the collegiate departments (Academic, Scientific and Engineering). They were served by 9 Professors and 8 Instructors.
The home of the university in the 1870s
George Woods continued to serve as President throughout the decade, although in 1872 his title was changed to Chancellor. Edward P. Crane continued to serve as the Professor of Rhetoric, although in 1874 his title was changed to Professor of Rhetoric and Logic. Theodore Moses Barber joined the faculty in 1872 as an Instructor in Latin. In 1874 he was promoted to Professor of Latin Language and Literature. Barber also, however, taught courses in rhetoric and composition, and in the 1880s he will be named a Professor of English.
In 1875, Frank A. Barr was added as an Instructor in the “English branches,” which meant he taught a variety of courses in speaking and writing in the Preparatory Department. Barr left in 1877 and was replaced by Oscar M. Tucker. Tucker was to remain on the faculty through the 1880s.
Courses
In the collegiate curriculum (in the Academical Department), there were no courses in writing, rhetoric or literature in the Freshman and Sophomore years (although there were regular exercises in oratory and prose composition). Until late in the decade, Juniors took one course in rhetoric (using Hepburn’s Rhetoric or Bain’s Rhetoric) and one course in logic (using Bowen’s A Treatise on Logic, or, The Laws of Pure Thought), and Seniors took two courses in English literature, using Shaw’s Manual of English Literature. By 1879, Juniors took the courses (one each) in rhetoric, logic, and English literature, and Seniors did no work that would draw upon the resources in English (unless they were represented by courses in Philosophy and Moral Science, but these were most likely taught by President Woods).
In the "preparatory" curriculum, students studied Reading, Orthography, English Grammar and Composition. There were a number of changes to the curriculum beginning in 1879 and these introduced: Swinton's Composition; Swinton's English Language Lessons; "Critical Study" using Tancock's Grammar and Reader; Whitney’s Essentials of Grammar; Hudson's Classical English Reader; and courses in "Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship" and “Reading with Subject Analysis.”
Faculty
Marco Bozzaris
Edward Payson Crane continued to serve as the Professor of Latin and Rhetoric, although in 1874 his title was changed to Professor of Rhetoric and Logic. He taught throughout the decade and was the central figure in the teaching of rhetoric, oratory and English literature at the Western University. He was a popular teacher and a well-known figure on campus and in the city. According to Agnes Starrett, “His oratorical exhibitions just before Christmas were a great occasion for the boys and their parents. These performances featured ‘Paul Revere’s Ride,’ ‘Marco Bozzaris,’ and ‘Spartacus to the Gladiator’.”
Crane remained at the University until 1882. He was appointed U.S. consul at Stuttgart, Germany in 1887, a position which he held for the following three years, and later at Hanover from 1893 to 1897.
Theodore Moses Barber was appointed as Instructor in Latin in 1870, and then, in 1873, he was promoted to Professor of Latin. In the 1870s, he also regularly offered courses in English language and literature. He was given the title “Professor of English” in the 1880s. At the end of the decade of the 70s, he served as Secretary of the College Faculty.
I.N Forner continued as an Instructor in the Commercial Branches (in the Preparatory Department), where among his duties he taught courses in grammar, orthography, and letter writing. He also served as Secretary of the Preparatory Faculty.
Frank A. Barr was hired in 1875 as an additional Instructor for the Preparatory department. He served as the publisher of the Pittsburgh College Journal, a student edited monthly magazine. He left in 1877.
Oscar M. Tucker joined the faculty as an Instructor in 1877 to replace Frank Barr. Tucker had served as Captain of a Maine regiment in the Civil War. He settled in Wilkinsburg in 1870. Tucker was an avid gardener and outdoorsman. He is said to have introduced the first tree moving machine to Pittsburgh and, moving the trees through the city streets at night to avoid the traffic, planted 32 mature trees on the grounds of Greenlawn, the Homewood mansion of H.J. Heinz.
Students
John Milton Duff
John Milton Duff was president of the Irving Society during his time at the Western University. He later became one of Pittsburgh’s leading obstetricians and was a professor on the University’s medical faculty when it first became affiliated with the Medical College in 1892.
J.J. Buchanan was president of the Irving Society and editor of the College Journal before becoming a leading Pittsburgh surgeon. He was among the first surgeons to use Lister’s antiseptic techniques and published several papers about his work at Mercy Hospital.
C.V. Thompson, a Philomathean, served on the editorial staff of the College Journal. After graduation, he went on to become a noted correspondent for the London Times and traveled to China “in search of world news.”
William Thaw, Jr., published letters in the College Journal describing his European travels. He was the son of trustee William Thaw Sr., who made his fortune in transportation and banking and donated much of it to the arts and to education. Like his father, the younger Thaw became an industrialist and philanthropist; his mansion still stands on the North Side. Thaw’s brother, Harry Kendall Thaw, was at the center of a widely publicized early 20th century scandal. Harry Thaw shot and killed the well-known architect, Stanford White, after learning of White’s affair with his wife, the actress Evelyn Nesbitt.
Student Writing In 1869, students began to publish essays and stories (and the occasional poem) in the new student magazine, College Journal. It is certainly possible that these compositions were prepared as part of course work. If not, they still show the influence of an education in the literary and rhetorical arts at the Western University of Pennyslvania. Below are some examples from the decade of the 1870s:
“Do We Form our own Characters or Are They Formed for Us?” by a Junior
“Our University,” a poem, by a Junior
“Reading,” by D. W. J.
“The Aim of a College Course,” by G. H. R.
“A Visit to a Blast Furnace,” by W.D. H.
“The Works of Dickens,” by B.
“English Classics,” by “Omega”
Footnotes
Most of the college catalogs in the 1870s provide students with a list of suggested reference books. Books on the list for students included Lord Kames’ Elements of Criticism, Louis Bautain’s Art of Extempore Speaking, H.L.D. Potter’s Manual of Reading, Noah Porter’s Human Intellect, With an Introduction Upon Psychology and the Soul, George P. Marsh’s Lectures on the English Language, and Roget’s Thesaurus. The Hillman Library has a student copy of Kames’ Elements of Criticism.
