Albert Baldwin Dod (March 24, 1805 – November 20, 1845) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor of mathematics.

Albert Baldwin Dod
Born(1805-03-24)March 24, 1805
DiedNovember 20, 1845(1845-11-20) (aged 40)
Alma materPrinceton University
University of North Carolina
New York University
Occupation(s)Presbyterian theologian, professor
Spouse
Caroline Smith Bayard
(m. 1830)
Children8, including Martha
Parent(s)Daniel Dod
Nancy Squire©

Early life

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Dod was born on March 24, 1805, in Mendham, New Jersey. He was the son of Daniel Dod (1778–1823) and Nancy (née Squire) Dod (1780–1851).[1] His mother was the sister of Dr. Ezra Squire, of Caldwell, New Jersey.[1]

Career

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After a religious awakening while at college in Princeton, where he graduated with the class of 1822, Dod became affiliated with the influential Princeton Theologians. He published frequently in the group's chief outlet, the Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, edited by Charles Hodge.[2] Among his publications there, an attack on Transcendentalism (perhaps written with James Waddel Alexander; published in the January 1839 issue) attracted wide notice and was later republished by Andrews Norton.[3]

For much of his life he taught mathematics at the college, and participated in theological discussion and preaching at the Seminary, in Princeton.[4] The Doctorate in Divinity, though, was conferred on him by the University of North Carolina and by New York University.[5]

Personal life

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Dod married Caroline Smith Bayard (1807–1891), the daughter of Samuel Bayard (1766-1840) and granddaughter of Continental Congressman John Bubenheim Bayard (1738-1808), all descendants of Peter Stuyvesant.[6] Together, Albert and Caroline had eight children:[7]

The 1840 US census records Dod as owning one female slave aged ten to twenty-four.[14] This is the latest known instance of a Princeton professor owning slaves; Dod was also one of the last slaveholders in the community of Princeton as well as New Jersey overall.[14] The state adopted a system of gradual emancipation in 1804, meaning that the woman in Dod's household was born to an enslaved mother between 1816 and 1830, and that she would be manumitted when she came of age.[14]

Dod died of pleurisy after a brief illness on November 20, 1845.[15]

Legacy

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In 1869, his son Samuel Bayard Dod (Princeton Class of 1857) established an Endowed Professorship at Princeton University in mathematics in memory of him.[16] In 1926, his great-grandson, Richard Stockton III, commissioned a bust of Dod which was placed at Dod Hall, the undergraduate dormitory named in his honor.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nancy Squire Dod". librarycollections.stevens.edu. Stevens Digital Collections. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. ^ Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, Vol. 17 No. 4. The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review. 1845. p. 505. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  3. ^ Dod, Albert B. (Albert Baldwin) (1847). Essays, theological and miscellaneous, reprinted from the Princeton Review : Second series, including the contributions of the late Rev. Albert B. Dod, D.D. New York: Wiley and Putnam. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ^ Smith, A. M, Francis H. (1841). The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review Vol. 13 No. 4. Princeton, New Jersey. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. ^ The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, Index Volume (1825-1868) Part II. Index to Authors. Princeton, New Jersey. p. 112. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  6. ^ Bulloch, Joseph Gaston Baillie (1919). A History and Genealogy of the Families of Bayard, Houstoun of Georgia: And the Descent of the Bolton Family from Assheton, Byron and Hulton of Hulton Park, by Joseph Gaston Baillie Bulloch ... J. H. Dony, Printer. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Dod, Stephen; Dod, Daniel (1839). Family record of Daniel Dod, who settled with the colony of Branford, 1644, where he died in 1665; and also of his descendants in New Jersey. East Haven, Conn., author. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  8. ^ "OBITUARY NOTES". The New York Times. 6 April 1876. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Lee, Francis Bazley (1910). Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey ... Lewis historical Publishing Company. p. 205. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  10. ^ "MISS ROSE STOVER TO BE JUNE BRIDE; Betrothal of Stamford Girl to A, B. Dod Jr. Announced by Her Parents. BOTH ARE OF OLD FAMILIES Descended From Leaders of Colonial Days -- BridegroomElect Princeton Senior". The New York Times. 10 May 1936. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  11. ^ "SAMUEL B. DOD DEAD.; He Was a Financier, a clergyman, and an Educator and Artist". The New York Times. 21 April 1907. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  12. ^ "RECENT WEDDINGS IN ORANGE.; The Dod-Colgate Marriage the Chief Event of the Week". The New York Times. 21 October 1894. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. ^ "DIED. Stockton". The New York Times. 6 August 1912. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Mack, Jessica R. "Albert Dod". Princeton & Slavery. The Trustees of Princeton University. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  15. ^ Sprague, William Buell (1858). Annals of the American Pulpit: Presbyterian. R. Carter. p. 737. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Endowed Professorships". etcweb.princeton.edu. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  17. ^ "DOD BUST FOR PRINCETON.; Gift of Professor's Great-Grandson to Be Placed in Dod Hall". The New York Times. 18 July 1926. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
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