Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight

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Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight

Birthdate:
Birthplace: New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
Death: September 18, 1889 (73)
Clinton, Oneida County, New York, United States
Place of Burial: Franklin Avenue, Clinton, Oneida County, New York, 13323, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Dr. Benjamin Woolsey Dwight and Sophia Woodbridge Dwight
Husband of Charlotte Sophia Dwight and Wealthy Jane Dwight
Father of Bertha Woolsey Cole; Elka "Lily" Dewey; Sophia Edwards Dwight; Francis Edwin Dwight and Isabella Jane Dwight
Brother of Sophia Dwight; Theodore William Dwight, LLD; Mary Anthony; Edward Woolsey Dwight and Elizabeth Anthony

Managed by: Private User
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About Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight

Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight

Dwight was an American educator and author.

Life

Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight was born April 5, 1816 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut. His father was physician Benjamin Woolsey Dwight (1780–1850), and paternal grandfather was Yale University president Timothy Dwight. His mother was Sophia Woodbridge Strong (1793–1861).

In 1831 the family moved to Clinton, Oneida County, New York, where his father served as treasurer of Hamilton College after giving up his medical business. His uncle Sereno Edwards Dwight became Hamilton College's president in 1833. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1835 and the Yale Theological Seminary in 1838. He returned to Hamilton College to work as a tutor until 1842. He founded the Congregational church at Joliet, Illinois in 1844 and served as its pastor for two years. After moving to Brooklyn, New York in 1846, he founded a private high school, which he operated for 12 years. In 1858 he moved back to Clinton and opened Dwight's Rural High School, with Reverend David A. Holbrook and Henry P. Bristol as associates. In 1863 Dwight opened another similar school in New York City on Broadway.

The Clinton school burned down in April 1865. In 1867 Dwight returned to Clinton and devoted his time to writing, including works on education, philology, a short biography of his father and a massive two-volume history of thousands of his cousins and ancestors. He died on September 18, 1889.

Dwight married Jane Dewey on July 29, 1846. She was born April 20, 1823, had four children, and died August 23, 1864. He then married Charlotte Sophia Parish on December 22, 1865. She was born April 29, 1827 and had one child. Children were: Eliza Dewey Dwight born February 21, 1850; Sophia Edwards Dwight born April 8, 1853; Francis Edwin Dwight born December 11, 1856; Issabella Jane Dwight born November 11, 1861; and Bertha Woolsey Dwight born May 13, 1867. His younger brother was lawyer Theodore William Dwight (1822–1892).


Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight, PhD, was the author of The history of the descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass., Volume 1 (Google eBook), published by J. F. Trow & son, printers and bookbinders, 1874.

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Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight's Timeline

1816
April 5, 1816
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
1850
February 21, 1850
1853
April 8, 1853
Brooklyn, NY, United States
1856
December 11, 1856
Clinton, NY, United States
1861
November 11, 1861
Clinton, NY, United States
1867
May 13, 1867
Kirkland, Oneida County, New York, United States
1889
September 18, 1889
Age 73
Clinton, Oneida County, New York, United States
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Hamilton College & Yale Univ