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��THE GRANITE MONTHLY.
��Wabash College, in Crawfordsville, In- diana. Land to the amount of fif- teen acres had been purchased for the
purpose, and he, with seven other Christian men, in 1832', went into the forest, selected the location for the college, kneeled upon the snow and commended the enterprise to God in prayer.
His family were still in Jacksonville, where, in the summer of 1833, the cholera prevailed. On his return from an absence of some weeks, the first intelligence which he received from his family was that his wife and his two ( children were dead and buried. For a time he was overwhelmed by the crushing blow. But through the strength which he received from above and the intense interest which he felt in his work, he continued in his active services, a fact showing the inexpedi- ency of settling down in despondency under trials. The mind is sustained by the grace of God in connection. with its own active efforts.
He came to New England in the service of the Education Society, and secured large collections. These la- bors he continued for three or four years, but his attachment to the West led him again into that wild region. He was soon engaged in establishing Marshall College. From 1836 to 1840 we find him at Grass Lake. Michigan, where he gathered a church, and be- came its pastor. He preached exten- sively in all that region, in log-houses, school-houses, and private dwellings. In four years the little church rose to the number of one hundred, and two other churches were set off from its borders. The Sabbath-school became prosperous, and several young men were set forward in their course of preparation for the Christian ministry.
Mr. Ellis, and his wife whom he had married in the East, the daughter of Dr. Moore, of Milford, N. H., devot- ed themselves with untiring zeal to the missionary work, living upon the pittance of a salary. At length it be- came evident that the western climate did not favor the health of his wife,
��that she could not long endure it, and he returned East. In 1840 he became pastor of the church in Hanover Cen- ter, N. H. A new house of worship was erected, and his ministry was crowned with a blessing, but in less than two years sickness came upon him, followed by a loss of voice ; but he was soon engaged in an agency for 1 'artmouth College. While as yet he could hardly speak a loud word he se- cured important aid to the college.
In 1S44 the society for the promo- tion of collegiate and theological edu- cation in the West came into existence, into which Mr. Ellis entered with his accustomed zeal. In 185 4-5 the at- tention of the people of the land was called particularly to the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The acquaint- ance of Mr. Ellis with the new coun- tries of the West led him to .feel that an opportunity was presented for him to exert an influence in these new fields. He at once formed the pur- pose of securing ten thousand acres of land, of engaging Christian people to go on, occupy and cultivate it, there to establish Christian institutions, commence schools, and establish a college. To carry out such a purpose, in the summer of 1855, he made a journey into those regions and entered into a contract for the land. He re- turned to Nashua, the place of his residence, to make arrangements for the colony ; but he was seized with a fever which terminated his life in eight clays, at the age of sixty-two. He died, we are informed, in great peace. By his will he gave $3,300, in equal portions, to Illinois, Wabash, and Wit- tinberg Colleges, toward a fund for scholarships. In three instances he had paid premiums of $200 each for essays on important subjects. In the course of his labors he had acquired a small property, and understood how to use it in the service of his Lord, and for the benefit of his fellow-men. They who devise and execute liberal things are not numerous.
Orlando G. Thatcher, from Graf- ton, Vt., entered the school in 181 7 ;
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