Elisha Yale

File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer October 1, 1936, EAST ELEVATION OF EXTERIOR OF KINGSBORO CHURCH, GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. - Kingsboro Presbyterian HABS NY,18-GLOV,1-1.tif, Fulton County, NY]]

Elisha Yale was born in Lee, Massachusetts, June 15, 1780, to Justus Yale of the Yale family, and Margaret Tracy, a descendant of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy of Norwich, Connecticut.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/yalegenealogyhis00byuyale/page/156/mode/2up?q=elisha|author=Rodney Horace Yale|title=Yale Genealogy and History of Wales. The British Kings and Princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale|date=1908|publisher=Milburn and Scott company|website=Archive.org|page=156|language=en}} His uncle was Captain Josiah Yale, a representative in the city's legislature, a selectman, and a member of the Congregational church. He was recruited in the American War of Independence and was promoted to the rank of captain.[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Soldiers_and_sailors_whose_graves_have_been_designated_by_the_marker_of_the_society_%28IA_soldierssailorsw00sons%29.pdf Soldiers and Sailors whose Graves have been Designated by the Marker of the Society], Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Boston, 1901, p. 28

Yale was the brother of Rev. Calvin Yale of Martinsburg, New York, who married Eliza Robbins, a granddaughter of Mayor Peter Curtis, who was involved with the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/yalegenealogyhis00byuyale/page/212/mode/2up?q=elisha|author=Rodney Horace Yale|title=Yale Genealogy and History of Wales. The British Kings and Princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale|date=1908|publisher=Milburn and Scott company|website=Archive.org|pages=211–212|language=en}} His brother was also a graduate from Union College, pastor of the Congregational and Presbyterian church, and the principal of two academies.[https://books.google.com/books?id=5a87AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22calvin+yale%22+%22principal%22+%22rev.%22&pg=PA157 Journal of Education], September 7, 1882, p. 157[https://books.google.com/books?id=4LJBAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22calvin+yale%22+%22union+college%22&pg=PA19 A General Catalog of the Officers, Graduates and Students of Union College], Princeton University Library, July, 1854, p. 19

Yale relocated as child from Lee, Massachusetts to Lenox in the same state. From 1798 to 1799, he taugh in the schools of Richmond and Lenox, and in 1800, left home to pursue studies until 1803 with Rev. Dr. Perkins of West Hartford, Connecticut, grandson of Deacon Joseph Perkins. He was then licensed to preach the gospel by the North Association of Hartford County, and in the same year, arrived at Kingsboro, New York, then a part of Johnstown.[https://www.berkshireeagle.com/history/eagle-archives-june-11-1932-berkshires-present-and-past-linked-by-statue/article_3cc4baa4-c948-11eb-aab7-c7dacc49fe71.html Eagle Archives, June 11, 1932: Berkshire's present and past linked by statue], Jeannie Maschino, June 11, 2021

In 1829, he received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology from Yale College, cofounded by his family in 1701. The coat of arms of Yale College are those of a branch of his family, the Yales of Plas Grono, family of Chancellor David Yale, father of Thomas Yale.Washburn, Geot. T. (1913) [https://archive.org/details/ebeneezerwashbur00wash/page/128/mode/1up?view=theater&q=yale Ebenezer Washburn: His Ancestors and Descendants], A Family History of 700 Years, American Mission Lenox Press, South India, p. 103-128-131 Rev. Yale was a personal tutor of Hiram Bingham I, who later introduced Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.[https://fr.scribd.com/document/434193223/God-s-Generals-The-Missionaries God's Generals - The Missionaries], Rober'ts Liardon, Whitetaker House, 2014, p. 153[https://uex.dk/archive/bible-study-material/dvd-the-bibles-fight-to-live/003%20Text/005%20Bible%20Reference%20Works/001%20%20McClintock%20and%20Strongs%20Cyclopedia%20of%20the%20Bible/Library/MSE_1105.PDF CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE], Becan - Binney, Joseph Getchell by James Strong & John McClintock, 2000, p. 361 Another student was Rev. Edward Lounsbery of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, one of the oldest in the country.Vinton, John Adams (1864) [https://sail1620.org/images/downloads/Published_Family_Genealogies/the_giles_memorial._genealogical_memoirs_of_the_families_bearing_the_names_of_giles__gould__holmes__jennison__leonard__lindall__curwen__marshall__robinson__sampson__and_webb___j._vinton__1864_.pdf The Giles Memorial], Genealogical Memoirs, Henry W. Dutton & Son, Boston, p. 98

He would preach in Kingsboro for about 56 years and was the first pastor of the Congregetional church there until 1852.Vinton, John Adams (1864) [https://sail1620.org/images/downloads/Published_Family_Genealogies/the_giles_memorial._genealogical_memoirs_of_the_families_bearing_the_names_of_giles__gould__holmes__jennison__leonard__lindall__curwen__marshall__robinson__sampson__and_webb___j._vinton__1864_.pdf The Giles Memorial], Genealogical Memoirs, Henry W. Dutton & Son, Boston, p. 62 Under his ministry, large additions were made to the church. He was a man of much prominence in the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches of New England and New York, and became also a trustee of Union College.

He was a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and a board director of the boards of the American Bible Society and American Tract Society. Yale was the first itinerant minister in the southern Adirondack Trail, and founded Kingsborough Academy, which originally trained pastors and missionaries, but now houses the Fulton County Historical Society and Museum.Williams, Donald R. (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIae3EEmDjEC&dq=%22elisha+yale%22+%22minister%22&pg=PA26 Along the Adirondack Trail], Arcadia Publishing, Chicago, p. 26[https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm73M4_Rev_Elisha_Yale Rev. Elisha Yale], Statues of Historic Figures, Waymarking, 2009 Though he was pastor of a Congreational church, he was a Presbyterian, and member of the Presbytery of Albany.B. Sprague, William (1860). [https://books.google.com/books?id=a8bYAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22elisha+yale%22+%22minister%22&pg=PA348 Annals of the American Pulpit: Presbyterian. 1860 v. 5. Episcopalian. 1861], Volume IV, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York, p. 348-351

File:Senator Elizur Smith residence, built in 1850, higher resolution.jpg's residence, High Lawn Stock Farm, built in 1850 in Lee and Lenox, Massachusetts]]

Rev. Yale's cousins were Rev. Cyrus Yale, a minister and pastor from Williams College, abolitionist Barnabas Yale, Rev. Charles Yale of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lucy Tracy Yale, wife of a wealthy manufacturer of axes in Canada, and Eunice Yale, great-grandmother of Chief economist Edward Dana Durand, teacher in economics at Harvard and Stanford. A more distant cousin was Dr. Leroy Milton Yale Jr., cofounder of the New York Etching Club.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/yalegenealogyhis00byuyale/page/204/mode/2up?q=leroy|author=Rodney Horace Yale|title=Yale Genealogy and History of Wales. The British Kings and Princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale|date=1908|publisher=Milburn and Scott company|website=Archive.org|pages=204–205–211|language=en}}

Yale was the granduncle of Wellington Smith, one of the largest paper manufacturers in the country, nephew of Senator Elizur Smith.[https://books.google.com/books?id=uHVQVJknYnMC&dq=%22wellington+smith%22+%22largest+paper%22&pg=PA192 The Springfield Gas Machine: Illuminating Industry and Leisure, 1860s–1920s], Donald W. Linebaugh, p. 192 Wellington's son, Elizur Yale Smith, would marry the daughter of Col. Clermont Livingston Best, Annie Livingston Tooker Best of Mrs. Astor's Four Hundred, who was a relative of Gabriel Mead Tooker and Charlotte Tooker Warren, of the Goelet and Vanderbilt families.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20195440/papa-bears-second-wife/ Papa Bear’s second wife, Baby Best's Long Quest of a Perfect Man], The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 02 Aug 1925, p. 87Madsen, Christopher (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8sNHEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Clermont+Livingston+Best%22&pg=PT311 Chapter 18: Baby Best: A New Love for Brother Sackett], Mystic Seaport, Rosenfeld Collection, Library of Congress

They sold land and an estate to William Douglas Sloane and Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, on which they built "Elm Court", and to George Westinghouse, rival of Thomas Edison and builder of "Erskine Park" on the estate.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40549342/separation-of-elizur-yale-smith-annie/ Separation of Elizur Yale Smith & Annie Best], The Washington Post Washington, District of Columbia, May 8, 1908, p. 12.[https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/the-monster-barn-at-high-lawn/article_ea4ae69f-ee89-5ca5-8f87-adf0fcb2ca00.html The Monster Barn At High Lawn], The Berkshire Eagle, Bernard A. Drew, March 21, 2008 His grandniece, Mary Yale Pitkin, married to landscape architect Charles Eliot of the Eliot Family, son of Charles William Eliot, President of Harvard. His grandnephew was Yale martyr Horace Tracy Pitkin, family member of New York Senator Mortimer Yale Ferris.

File:Statue of Elisha Yale, Gloversville.jpg, NY]]

Throughout his life, Rev. Yale wrote several religious books and periodicals. In 1853, he published "A Select Verse System" for the use of individuals and the schools of Rochester, "A Review of a Pastorate of Forty Eight Years" and "Helps to Cultivate the Conscience", among others.

Yale married September 7, 1804, to Tirza Northrup.

On March 27, 1849, he adopted Elisha Yale West, son of Charles H. West. They had previously adopted Charles, who was a son of Elizabeth Tracy-West. The couple had no children of their own.

He died on January 9, 1853, at Kingsboro, New York.

The Presbyterian Historical Society, the oldest continuous denominational historical society in the United States, has a collection of about 30 manuscripts and items on Rev. Elisha Yale.[https://www.history.pcusa.org/collections/research-tools/guides-archival-collections/rg-141 Guide to the Elisha Yale Papers], Elisha Yale Papers, 1793-1853, RG 141, Presbyterian Historical Society, The National Archives of the PC (USA).

His name was commemorated on the historical Church on the Hill, at Lenox, Massachusetts along with Thomas Yale of New Haven, and others.[https://lenoxhistory.org/category/lenoxhistorypeopleandplaces/ Church On The Hill Early Members], Early Members Recognized in Dedication Centennial, Lenox History, February 11, 2016

A large statue of him by sculptor Henry Augustus Lukeman was erected in Gloversville, Kingsboro Historic District, New York. The statue's unveiling was done by Dr. Reid, pastor of the Fremont Street Methodist Church, and General Richard Montgomery Chapter, of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Yale's memoirs were published by Rev. Jeremiah Wood in 1854 named The Model Pastor: the Life and Character of the Rev. Elisha Yale, D. D..The model pastor. The life and character of the Rev. Elisha Yale, D. D., Wood, Jeremiah, 1801-1876. Albany: J. Munsell, 1854

{{Reflist}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=OhEiaOswhOoC&q=elisha&pg=PA29 A Select Verse System] by Elisha Yale
• [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/AGV9191.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext;q1=Yale%2C+Elisha%2C+--+1780-1853 The Model Pastor: the Life and Character of the Rev. Elisha Yale, D. D.], a collection of Yale's memoirs

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yale, Elisha}}

Category:1780 births

Category:1853 deaths

Category:Yale College alumni

Category:American Protestant ministers and clergy

Category:People from Gloversville, New York

Category:American Bible Society

Category:Yale family