PRUDDEN FAMILY (1816-1910)

PAPERS, 1836-1839

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BIOGRAPHY

Prudden family members were among the first students to attend the newly found Oberlin College ("Collegiate" Institute before 1850). Part of the family of nine children of Peter, a farmer, and Charity Prudden, George Peter, J. (James) Davis and Nancy Prudden came to Oberlin between 1835 and 1838 seeking a higher education. Though they were not successful, their letters home provide a significant and important glimpse into daily life in a struggling Oberlin.

George Peter Prudden (1816-1872) attended the Oberlin Theological Department from 1835 to 1836. George, after leaving Oberlin in the fall of 1836, returned to his parent's home in Lockport, New York. Sometime in 1837, George, who was then a student-teacher, moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he continued his studies at the Yale Theological Seminary. He graduated in 1839 and moved to Medina, New York, to become a Congregational clergyman at the town's Methodist church. That same year on November 4, George married Eliza Ann Johnson. Their son, Henry J. Prudden, attended the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College from 1859 to 1861. George died at the age of 56 on August 2, 1872, in Hartford, Connecticut.

Nancy M. Prudden (1818-1910), born in Orange, Connecticut, came to Oberlin at the urging of her brothers George and Davis. She arrived sometime in 1837, first attending the Preparatory Department, and soon after, the College. Returning to Lockport in late 1838 or early 1839, Nancy, a Presbyterian, married Seth Chapin Hart on June 20, 1839. Nancy and Seth produced seven children, and over the next seventy years, lived in Lockport, Naples, and finally Medina, New York. Though Nancy did not finish her coursework at the College, she stated in 1908 that she was extremely proud to study at Oberlin. Nancy died May 1, 1910, at the age of 82.

J. Davis Prudden (1820-1843), who came to Oberlin at the same time as his brother George, attended Oberlin College between 1835 to 1836 and 1837 to 1838. In 1838, Davis left Oberlin before completing his coursework and return to New York. On December 14, 1843, in Wilson, New York, Davis married Elizabeth A. Bristol. Nearly five years later, he died on June 5, 1848, at the age of 23, in Wilson, New York.

Further Information

• Title Page
• Scope and Content
• Inventory

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Last updated: 5 November 1997