Amos Eaton
Papers, 1797-1846
SC10685

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Related Materials: Index to Amos Eaton Papers

Biographical Sketch:

Amos Eaton, natural scientist, educator, and co-founder of the Rensselaer School, was born on May 17, 1776 in New Concord parish (now Chatham, Columbia County), New York. Eaton graduated from Williams College in 1799, and despite an interest in the natural sciences, undertook the more practical study of law in New York City. He was admitted to the state bar in 1802. From 1802 to 1810 he practiced law and worked as a land agent and surveyor in Catskill, New York.  In 1811 Eaton was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned on charges of forgery in a land dispute.  During his incarceration he began a course of scientific studies. Governor DeWitt Clinton granted him an unconditional pardon in 1816. Thereafter, Eaton spent a year at Yale College studying science. In 1817, he returned to Williams College where he introduced a very successful course of scientific lectures on botany.

In 1818 Eaton moved to the Troy-Albany area which had become a center of industrial and commercial growth. He spent the next six years as an itinerant lecturer, ranging from West Point, New York, to the Castleton Medical Academy in Vermont, and compiled textbooks in chemistry, zoology, and geology.  Under Stephen Van Rensselaer's patronage he undertook geological and agricultural surveys of Albany and Rensselaer counties and across New York State along the route of the Erie Canal.  His published survey reports earned him recognition in American geology. 

Eaton's most significant and lasting contribution was to scientific education. He developed a teaching theory and methods that focused on "the application of science to the common purposes of life." In contrast to the then current method of learning by rote, students were to learn by doing. Students went on field trips to gather specimens, performed experiments in laboratories, and prepared and delivered lectures, with the instructor and fellow students serving as critics.  

To implement his novel ideas, Eaton enlisted the support of Stephen Van Rensselaer in founding the Rensselaer School in 1824. Eaton served as senior professor at Rensselaer for the rest of his life and trained a significant number of influential scientists, including James Hall, J.C. Booth, Asa Fitch, Ebenezer Emmons, G.H. Cook, Abram Sager, E.S. Carr, Douglass Houghton, and Eben Horsford.  In 1835 Eaton further developed his curriculum and gave it even more focus on practicality.  The Rensselaer School eventually was renamed Rensselaer Institute and was divided into separate departments of science and engineering. Eaton remained at the institute until his death on May 10, 1842 at age 66.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of Amos Eaton consist chiefly of correspondence and journals (diaries) related primarily to his career as senior professor at Rensselaer (later Rensselaer Polytechnic) Institute under the patronage of Stephen Van Rensselaer, and to his geological survey tours along the Erie Canal route. His work on the canal survey project is documented in detailed journals he kept that include sketch maps, diagrams and charts. He published several reports using the information in these "geological profiles". In addition, Eaton compiled a journal of geological studies he had conducted primarily in the southern tier region of New York State and various places in New England, and produced a colorful map depicting the economic geology of New York State.

Eaton's academic career at Rensselaer Institute is documented in notebooks, reports, essays, and printed materials related to curriculum development, methods of instruction, and examination along with results of field trips.  In addition, Eaton kept a record book that contained financial accounts of students, rosters of students by class year, and rules and regulations governing Rensselaer Institute. In his correspondence are details regarding the careers of former students, controversies over the school property and over continued support by the Van Rensselaer family.

These papers also include journals and reports compiled by George Johnson (student at Rensselaer Institute; later Eaton's brother-in-law) on the Erie Canal enlargement, 1837-1840. The entire collection covers the years 1798 to 1846.

Supplementing these papers are letters and documents of Amos Eaton found in other manuscript collections held by the New York State Library.  The Daniel Hall Papers (SC10714) include six Eaton letters and a poem about him. Of special interest in the Hall Papers is the letter from Eaton to his wife, Sally, February 7, 1814, written while he was in prison. The Van Rensselaer Manor Papers (SC7079) include letters to Stephen Van Rensselaer (Boxes 76-79) and a proposed contract (Box 79) for the establishment of Rensselaer Institute, October 29, 1824.

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