History of Cape Elizabeth, (Cumberland County) Maine United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for Cape Elizabeth, (Cumberland County) Maine, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

William Clark Larrabee, educator, was born at Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Dec. 23, 1802; grandson of Jonathan and Alice (Davis) Larrabee; and a descendant of Stephen Larrabee, of Malden, Mass., and North Yarmouth, Maine. He was graduated at Bowdoin college, A.B., 1828, A.M., 1831. He was married, in 1828, to Harriet, daughter of Col. William and Nancy (Furrington) Dunn, of East Poland, Maine. He taught school at Alfred, Maine, 1828-30; taught in the Wesleyan academy, afterward Wesleyan university, Middletown, Conn., 1830-31; was principal of Oneida Conference seminary at Cazenovia, N.Y., 1831-35; and in 1832 joined the Oneida conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was principal of the Maine Wesleyan seminary, Kent's Hill, 1835-37, and assistant to Dr. Charles T. Jackson on the first geological survey of Maine, in 1837. He was professor of mathematics and natural science at Indiana Asbury university, Greencastle, Ind., 1840-43; professor of mathematics, 1843-52; emeritus professor of Oriental languages and literature, 1852-57; and also served as acting president of the university for one year. He was elected the first state superintendent of public instruction of Indiana in 1852, and effected the first organization of the public-school system of the state, 1853-54; and after an intermission of one term of two years, was re-elected to the same office in 1856. He received the degree of LL.D. from McKendree college about 1850, and from the Indiana State university about 1853. He was a regular contributor to the Ladies' Repository, Cincinnati, Ohio, from its start, and was acting editor of that magazine for six months in 1851-52. He is the author of: Scientific Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion (1850); Wesley and his Coadjutors (2 vols., 1851); Asbury and his Colaborers (2 vols., 1853); Rosabower (1854). He died in Greencastle, Ind., May 4, 1859.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Cape Elizabeth, (Cumberland County) Maine

Biographies: