Wheeler, William

Statistics of the Class of 1855, of Yale College, Published by Order of the Class [Cover Title: Class of Fifty-Five, of Yale College. Secretary's Report]

New Haven: Morehouse & Taylor, Printers, 1859.

Wraps. Very good. 5-3/4 x 9" sewn printed wraps, pp. 72, wraps foxed and lightly soiled, spine with loss to the head and tail with lesser chipping along its length, but the binding sound and text clean A most-thoroughgoing census of all 150 members of the class of 1855, including dropouts, five months in the making (as per the Editor's "Valedictory" statement). The preliminary pages give in copious detail descriptions of various meetings and reunions which have taken place in the years (all four of them) since graduation, and then lists every member of the class along with "Where Are They Now" biographical tidbits that make my mother's Christmas letters look tame. These are followed by various cross-indices (by place of birth, date of birth ("the aggregate age of the Class at graduation was 1978 years"), time of entrance, profession, etc. Then are listed those who "left without graduating," in decreasing order of years of attainment (poor William Ross Degarmo, "Entered from Fort Miller, N.J., Oct. 18, 1851; left Dec. 24, 1851, and has not since been heard from"). A labor of love, truly, by one committed to the cause. Wheeler would not, alas, be much longer with us (as was no doubt true of many of his classmates) -- he was killed fighting for the Union side in 1864. His devotion lived on, however: After the war his mother published a memorial volume entitled "Letters of William Wheeler of the Class of 1855, Y.C." (Houghton, 1875).

Item #20297

Price: $75.00