Rev. Herbert Welch
Rev. Herbert Welch, A. M., D. D., LL. D., president of Ohio Wesleyan University. Some college presidents are great executives, some excel as educators, while others show marked business ability. Seldom, indeed, are these qualifications combined in one man, but Ohio Wesleyan University is unusually fortunate in having such a man for its president. To those who know Dr. Welch, the perfect balance, the all-roundness of the man. is a constant surprise. While an undergraduate he was a man of no specialty. The fourteen prizes which he won during his course—practically all that were open to him—show how he excelled in each department of scholarship. This characteristic has been notable throughout his career. As a preacher of the gospel, he is forcelul and effective: in dealing with business problems, he shows a business ability uncommon in professional men; as an executive, he conceives big plans, and has a grasp of detail that is truly astonishing when one considers the many and varied lines of his work. President Welch is one of the most accessible of men. He is never too busy to talk with any student who seeks his counsel, whether it be in regard to college matters or purely personal affairs.
Dr. Welch was born in New York City, November 7. 1862, son of Peter A. and Mary L. (Loveland ) Welch. His father was a merchant, as was also his maternal grandfather, Oliver Loveland. His elementary education was acquired in the New York Grammar School No. 35, which he attended from 1870 to 1877, being graduated with the Girard medal. He then entered Brooklyn College and Polytechnic Institute, and was graduated therefrom in 1880, with a diploma tor proficiency in the scientific course. From 1880 to 1882 he was engaged in private and school study in the classics, becoming in the year last named a student in the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, and so continued until 1887, being out of college, however, in 1884-'85. He was graduated from the university with the degree of B. A. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Upsilon fraternities.
In 1887 Mr. Welch began his theological studies in the Drew Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1890, with the degree of B. D. He obtained his M. A. degree from Wesleyan University in 1890, also that of D. D. in 1902, and that of LL. D. in 1906. He was a student in Oxford University (England) in 1902-'03.
On his graduation from Drew Seminary, being equipped for the ministry, he joined the New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was appointed to Bedford Station, where he served from 1890 to 1892. His next field of labor was in New York City, in 1892-'93. He was then transferred to New York Fast Conference and appointed to Summerfield Church, Brooklyn, which he served in 1893-'98. His next pastorate was that of the First Church at Middletown, Connecticut, 1898-1902, and was followed by a two years pastorate at Chester Hill Church, Mt. Vernon, New York, 1903-'05. Dr. Welch is intensely interested in the purely evangelistic side of religious work, at the same time being a close student of the relation of the church and of Christianity to public affairs and good citizenship. In 1905 he accepted and entered upon the duties of his present position as president of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, in which capacity he has since continued to serve, with manifest benefit to the University and to the unmixed satisfaction of its friends.
Dr. Welch has made some scholarly contributions to religious literature, which have been published in college and church periodicals, among them may be mentioned, "Selections from the Writings of John Wesley," New York, 1901; and (published in pamphlet form) the articles, "Albert S. Hunt." "The College Student and the Christian Confession." and "The Resurrection the Crowning Fact of Christianity." He also performed useful services as a member of the Board of Managers of the Sunday School Union, 1892-'96; member of the Board of Managers of the Missionary Society, 1896-1905; member of the Board of Managers of the Board of Education, Freeman's Aid and Sunday Schools, 1907 to the present time; and trustee of Wesleyan University, 1901-'06.
Dr. Welch, in his vacation intervals, both during and since his student days, has spent some time in travel, visiting Canada in 1874 and 1882; the far west in 1879, 1884-'85 and 1889; and Europe in 1897, 1899. and 1902-'03. He was married June 3. 1890, to Adelaide F. McGee, of Plainfield, New Jersey, whose father, James McGee. was a merchant of New York City. Mrs. Welch's mother was in maidenhood. Elizabeth A. Merklee. Two children have come to bless the household of Dr. and Mrs. Welch—Dorothy, born June 7, 1891; and Eleanor, born September 3. 1900.
Dr. Welch is one of the most modest and unassuming of men. Generous to a fault, he has often sacrificed personal interests to aid his friends, and his is the charity that "knoweth no evil." The Doctor has a keen sense of honor, and a fund of stories that is apparently inexhaustible, in the telling of which he is inimitable. Both the Doctor and Mrs. Welch are strong in their social instinct, and are capital entertainers, as those who have enjoyed the free and open hospitality of their home will testify.
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens by James R. Lytle