John Clarence Lee

John Clarence Lee
Born
October 15, 1856

DiedSeptember 16, 1940(1940-09-16) (aged 83)
Occupation(s)University president and minister
Academic background
EducationSt. Lawrence University, A.B. 1876

Harvard University, A.B. 1878
St. Lawrence University, M.A. Divinity 1880

Tufts University, S.T.D. 1896
Academic work
InstitutionsSt. Lawrence University

Lombard University

Dean Academy

John Clarence Lee (October 15, 1856 – September 16, 1940) was an American minister, academic, author, and university president. He was the president of St. Lawrence University and Lombard University. He was the pastor of the Universalist Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for nineteen years

Early life and education

John Clarence Lee was born on October 15, 1856, in South Woodstock, Vermont.[1][2] He was the son of Elmina (née Bennett) and John Stebbins Lee, a minister with the Universalist General Convention and the first president of St. Lawrence University.[3][4][5] His mother was a teacher and artist.[4] He was one of five children.[4]

Lee's primary education was in local schools.[3] He attended St. Lawrence University, where he received an A.B. in 1876.[3][2] While there, he was a member of Alpha Sigma Chi fraternity (later part of Beta Theta Pi) and Phi Beta Kappa.[6][7]: 685  He enrolled as a senior at Harvard University in 1877, graduating with an A.B. degree in 1878.[3][8]

In 1880, he received a Master's of Arts in divinity from the St. Lawrence University's Canton Theological School.[6][9] He received an honorary Ph.D. from St. Lawrence University in 1895.[5][10] In 1896, he received a Doctor of Sacred Theology (STD) from Tufts University.[6][2]

Career

In 1876, Lee taught science at the Dean Academy in Franklin, Massachusetts for one year.[3][1] He was ordained as a Universalist General Convention minister at Perry, New York in 1881.[11][2] He was a pastor at the Universalist Church in Perry from 1880 to 1883, followed by a position with the church in Albans, Vermont from 1883 to 1884.[3][11][2]

In September 1884, Lee became an English literature and homiletics professor at the Ryder Divinity School of Lombard University and was later head of its theology department.[6][12][1][11][2] He was elected Lombard's president in August 1892[12][4] but resigned after a few months to become its vice president for four years.[3][6][10] In June 1896, he became the fifth president of St. Lawrence University.[3][6][13] He was inaugurated on June 23, 1896.[14] During his tenure as president, Lee enlarged the endowment, curriculum, and the number of students.[1] He also oversaw construction of the college's first gymnasium and the formation of its first football team.[13]

Lee left the university in 1899.[6] In September 1, 1900, he became the pastor of the Universalist Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for nineteen years.[3][2][11] He was a secretary of the Liberal Religious Congress in 1909.[1][11] In 1910, he was a delegate to the Congress of Liberal Religion in Berlin, Germany.[5][11] Next, he was the pastor of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church in Gloucester, Massachusetts from 1919 until his retirement as pastor-emeritus in 1929.[3][11][1] This was the founding church of the Universalist General Convention.[11]

From 1932 to 1934, he worked as an interim pastor in Stamford, Connecticut. He was also an author, writing The Beginning of St. Lawrence University, An Estimate of Bryant, The Higher Criticism, The Spirit of God in Man, and The Mission of the College.[6][11][1][1]

Personal life

On November 25, 1889, Lee married Helena Crumett of Hyde Park, Boston, Massachusetts.[15][2] They had five children: Cuthbert Lee, Dorothy Lee, Constance Lee, Janet Lee, and Roland Lee.[3][11] The couple traveled overseas in 1893 and 1912.[3] In 1929, after his retirement, the couple spent two years traveling around the world, including staying eight months in Tasmania with their daughter Constance.[3]

Lee was the president of the Cape Ann Historical Association and president of the Associated Charities in Gloucester, Massachusetts.[11][1] He was a member of the Loyal Order of Moose.[1]

Lee died at his sister's home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 16, 1940, at the age of 83 years.[5][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Rev. Dr. John Lee, Educator, Author; 5th President of St. Lawrence University (1896-1900) Is Dead in Boston at 83" (PDF). The New York Times. September 17, 1940. p. O32. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Johnson, Rossiter (1906). Biographical dictionary of America . Vol. 6. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 384 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Lee Family Papers 1840-1957 MSS. COLL.173" (PDF). St. Lawrence University Library. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Rev. John Clarence Lee". Boston Evening Transcript. 1892-09-01. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d "Dr. John Clarence Lee, Educator, Dies in East". The Indianapolis Star. 1940-09-17. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Baird, Wm. Raimond (1914). Betas of achievement; being brief biographical records of members of the Beta theta pi who have achieved distinction in various fields of endeavor. New York: The Beta Publishing Co. p. 188 – via Hathi Trust.
  7. ^ Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi: In the Sixtieth Year of the Fraternity. Printed and Bound by J.E. Beal. 1899 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Fair Harvard". Boston Evening Transcript. 1878-06-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Kapp, Max A.; Parke, David P. (May 1983). 120 Years: An Account of the Theological School of St. Lawrence University 1856-1976 (PDF) (3rd ed.). Canton: St. Lawrence University. p. 16. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y." The Universalist. Cincinnati, Ohio. 1895-07-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Rev. John C. Lee, 83, Dead in Cambridge". The Boston Globe. 1940-09-17. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b "New President of Lombard". The Niles Daily Star. 1892-08-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Past Presidents". St. Lawrence University. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  14. ^ "New University President". The Zanesville Signal. 1896-06-05. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Came East for His Bride pt. 1". The Boston Globe. 1889-11-26. pp. [1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-came-east-for-his-bride/179030786/ pt2}. Retrieved 2025-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.