Stephen Olin (March 2, 1797 – August 15, 1851) was an American educator and minister.

Early life

Oline was born in Leicester, Vermont, on March 2, 1797. He was one of ten children born to Henry Olin (1768–1837), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont, and Lois Richardson (d. 1814). His father was the nephew of Gideon Olin (1743–1823) and the cousin of Abram B. Olin (1808–1879), both of whom also served as members of the House of Representatives from Vermont. In 1820, Olin graduated from Middlebury College in 1820.

Career

Seeking a better climate for his poor health, Olin traveled to the southern United States, where he found employment as a teacher at Tabernacle Academy in Mount Ariel, in the Abbeville area of South Carolina. After having a religious awakening at the age of 25, he gave up consideration of the practice of law and became ordained into the Methodist Episcopal Church; Olin was recognized as a deacon by the Milledgeville, Georgia, conference in January 1826. He then served a pastorate in Charleston, but his health prevented him from continuing in that capacity. He became professor of belle-lettres at the University of Georgia in 1827. He was the first President of Randolph-Macon College (1834–1836) but resigned for health reasons and was succeeded by Dr. Landon C. Garland. He later served as president of Wesleyan University (1842–1851). In 1844, at the general conference of the Methodists, Olin called on his friend, Bishop James Andrew, to resign his office, on the grounds the latter owned slaves. Olin himself was criticized because his first wife (Mary E. Bostwick, whom he married in 1827) had owned slaves.

Personal life

Stephen Olin married Mary Ann Bostwick, who died in Naples, Italy, during the couple's time in Europe after Olin resigned the presidency of Randolph-Macon College. He was later married to Julia Matilda Lynch (1814–1879), the daughter of James Lynch. Together, they were the parents of: Olin died on August 15, 1851, in Middletown, Connecticut.

Legacy

The Williamsbridge neighborhood of Olinville in the Bronx, New York, began as two towns named for him (founded in 1852).

Publications