ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



A SKETCH OF ELISHA MITCHELL. 



He whose name this Society bears, the Rev. Elisha Mitchell, 

 D. D., late Professor of C-heniistry, Mineralogy, and Geology in 

 this University, was born in Washington, Litchfield county, Conn., 

 on he 19th day of August, 1703. He was a Naturalist by inheri- 

 tance, by inclination, by education, and by profession. His father 

 was a v^ery respectable farmer. His mother, a descendant of John 

 Eliot, "the Apostle to the Indians," was the grand-daughter of the 

 Rev. Jared Eliot, M. D. and I). D., a man distinguished in his 

 day for a successful pursuit of knowledge in many branches of 

 Natural Science. He was a correspoildent of learned men, such as I)r. 

 Franklin and Bishop Berkely, and in 1762 received, from the Royal 

 Society of London, a gold medal for improving the manufacture of 

 iron. From this ancestor Dr. ^Mitchell inherited, besides delight in 

 the phenomena of Nature, and curiosity for its secrets, personal 

 qualifications t'at fitted him well for the life he chose. Like him 

 he was of a commanding presence, great bodily vigor, quaint humor, 

 solid and sensible piety, and liberal philanthropy. Insatiable de- 

 sire for knowledge was the prominent characteristic of Dr. Mitchell 

 from his boyhood. It was then his delight to spend his play -time in 

 telhng his school-mates wdiat he had seen in his rambles, heard from 

 his elders, or read in his books and newspapers. This tendency to- 

 wards objective Science was wisely and skilfully strengthened by his 

 preceptor in classical studies, the Rev. Dr. Backus, who, as a school- 

 master, and as the President of Hamilton College, N. Y., Was, in 

 the early part of this century, famous lor his excellent common 

 sense, his keen wit, his large acquaintance witli Science and Litera- 

 ture, and iiis devout deference to the teachings of Inspiration. Thus 

 it was that the bending of the twig in Connecticut determined the 

 inclination of the tree in North Carolina. 



Fortunate in his parentage, and in his pupilage, Dr. Mitchell w^as 

 equally fortunate in his associations while a student at Yale College. 

 There he became a marked man by the depth and breadth of his 

 culture. Standing always at the head of his class, he was repeatedly 

 selected by his iellow-students to represent them on public occasions. 

 The dignity of his bearing, his handsome face, the originality of 

 the views he set forth, the humor with which he enlivened his argu- 

 ments, and the evident intimacy of his acquaintance with great 

 English authors, made his orations and debates both instructive and 



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