Thomas Lamb Eliot
Encyclopedia
Reverend Thomas Lamb Eliot ( – ) was an Oregon
pioneer, minister of one of the first churches on the west coast of the U.S., president of the Portland Children's Home, president of the Oregon Humane Society, a director of the Art Association, and director of the Library Association.
Thomas Lamb Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri
as the first son of Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot
, D.D., of the Church of the Messiah in St. Louis.
An injury to his eyes interrupted his education at Washington University in St. Louis
, which his father helped start and run.
Hoping to improve his eyes, he sailed around Cape Horn
to California in 1860 where Thomas Starr King
said to him, "The Pacific Coast claims everyone who has ever seen it—there’s Oregon!" His sight was not remedied by the trip, and upon his return, for several months of Divinity school he had to have his books read aloud to him.
Eliot was in the first class to graduate from Washington University in 1862.
After graduation he enlisted in the Home Guard
of Missouri, but served only within the state.
For two years he ran a mission house for the poor of St. Louis connected to his father's church while studying with his father for the ministry.
He graduated from Harvard Divinity School
in 1865, doing two years of study in one, despite eyesight so poor his books were often read to him.
In 1866 he earned a Master of Arts from Washington University.
He ministered in Louisville, Kentucky and, for several weeks at a spell, assisted the Church of the Messiah in New Orleans.
He married Henrietta Robins Mack of St. Louis on November 28, 1865.
Eliot was recruited in 1867 by churches in Portland, Maine; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon. He accepted the offer from Oregon, from a newly-built chapel, having wanted to relocate to the Pacific Northwest since his first trip to the west coast. He moved to Portland with Henrietta and their infant son, traveling through New York and Panama. By 1869 when Dorothea Dix
visited Portland, Eliot began holding one service per month at institutions in town including the Insane Asylum of East Portland, the County Jail, and the County Farm. He also occasionally hosted services at the Oro Fino saloon. E. Kimbark MacColl stated "Within a decade of his arrival in Portland... he became the city's most influential religious figure." Eliot was the only minister to greet women's rights advocate Abigail Scott Duniway
to Portland.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
pioneer, minister of one of the first churches on the west coast of the U.S., president of the Portland Children's Home, president of the Oregon Humane Society, a director of the Art Association, and director of the Library Association.
Thomas Lamb Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
as the first son of Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot
William Greenleaf Eliot
William Greenleaf Eliot was an American educator, Unitarian minister, and civic leader in Missouri. He is most notable for founding Washington University in St. Louis, but also contributed to the founding of numerous other civic institutions, such as the St...
, D.D., of the Church of the Messiah in St. Louis.
An injury to his eyes interrupted his education at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, which his father helped start and run.
Hoping to improve his eyes, he sailed around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
to California in 1860 where Thomas Starr King
Thomas Starr King
Thomas Starr King was an American Unitarian and Universalist minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War. Starr King spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic...
said to him, "The Pacific Coast claims everyone who has ever seen it—there’s Oregon!" His sight was not remedied by the trip, and upon his return, for several months of Divinity school he had to have his books read aloud to him.
Eliot was in the first class to graduate from Washington University in 1862.
After graduation he enlisted in the Home Guard
Home Guard (Union)
In the American Civil War the Home Guard or Home Guards were local militia raised from Union loyalists.-Missouri:In Missouri after the start of the Civil War there were several competing organizations attempting to either take the state out of the Union or keep the state within it...
of Missouri, but served only within the state.
For two years he ran a mission house for the poor of St. Louis connected to his father's church while studying with his father for the ministry.
He graduated from Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1865, doing two years of study in one, despite eyesight so poor his books were often read to him.
In 1866 he earned a Master of Arts from Washington University.
He ministered in Louisville, Kentucky and, for several weeks at a spell, assisted the Church of the Messiah in New Orleans.
He married Henrietta Robins Mack of St. Louis on November 28, 1865.
Eliot was recruited in 1867 by churches in Portland, Maine; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon. He accepted the offer from Oregon, from a newly-built chapel, having wanted to relocate to the Pacific Northwest since his first trip to the west coast. He moved to Portland with Henrietta and their infant son, traveling through New York and Panama. By 1869 when Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
visited Portland, Eliot began holding one service per month at institutions in town including the Insane Asylum of East Portland, the County Jail, and the County Farm. He also occasionally hosted services at the Oro Fino saloon. E. Kimbark MacColl stated "Within a decade of his arrival in Portland... he became the city's most influential religious figure." Eliot was the only minister to greet women's rights advocate Abigail Scott Duniway
Abigail Scott Duniway
Abigail Scott Duniway was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining voting rights for women.-Biography:...
to Portland.
- Eliot chose from three offers the most remote, difficult, and least promising prospect, population 300
- superintendent of county education from 1872 to 1875
- donated salary to church
- resignation from church refused, which he toured Europe for a year
- active with church until 1893
- as park board member, persuaded the Olmsted BrothersOlmsted BrothersThe Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
to design a long-range parks plan http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/olmsteds_portland_park_plan/ - two members of congregation endowed Reed CollegeReed CollegeReed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
- board of directors of American Unitarian AssociationAmerican Unitarian AssociationThe American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
- trustee of Pacific Unitarian School at Berkeley
- namesake of Eliot Glacier and of Eliot Hall, the main academic building of Reed College
- honors: 1889 honorary Doctor of Divinity, 1912: honorary Doctor of Laws; Reed College: Doctor of Letters