towards the freedmen,
Reverend Benjamin F. Morris, a son of former Senator Thomas A. Morris,
of Ohio, arose to speak. He referred to his surprise and gratification
at the remarkable showing made in theological studies, by half a dozen
young colored men in an examination which he had recently witnessed.
These were students in what was then known as Wayland Institute, which
had at that time only one teacher. In this enthusiasm he expressed the
wish that the Congregational Church might some day establish a
theological school at the capital of the nation.[213]

The seed thus sown found such fruitful soil in the minds of the pastor
and Reverend Danforth B. Nichols that they, with Mr. Morris, resolved
to see the plan carried out at a subsequent meeting to be held at the
residence of Mr. Henry H. Brewster for the purpose of establishing a
New Missionary Society. At this meeting there prevailed the idea that
such a society was not needed for the reason that the American
Missionary Association was already occupying this field. Mr. Morris
thereupon took the floor and advocated the establishment of a
theological school for the preparation of colored men for the ministry
to work in the South and to go as missionaries to Africa. Dr. Boynton
supported the plan and urged immediate action; Dr. Nichols, in
answering objections raised concerning the financing of the project,
suggested the possibility of aid from the Freedmen's Bureau, an idea
which marked the beginning of the relationship of the University with
the Federal Government.

At the next meeting, a committee appointed to bring in a plan of
organization, recommended that a night school be opened at first; that
application be made to the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for
quarters, fuel and light for the school; and that three chairs of
instruction be established. These recommendations were adopted and the
first faculty appointed comprised the following: Evidences and
Biblical Interpretation, Reverend E. W. Robinson; Biblical History
and Geography, Reverend D. B. Nichols; Anatomy and Physiology, Dr.
Silas Loomis. Thus was the University born with neither a local
habitation nor a name. It was styled a Theological Institute and its
aim was "the education of the colored youth for the ministry."[214]

The development of plans for this new educational center was rapid.
Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, who had become greatly interested in the
movement, suggested at first an exten