Historians have observed that the period 1860-1890 was educationally progressive. This paper identifies the renaissance with the creation of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in the aftermath of Church Disestablishment. Disestablishment legislation facilitated the inclusion of the laity in Synod. The paper argues that the lay-clerical…

This article documents the historical development of United Methodist Church-affiliated Ohio Wesleyan University during the nineteenth century. It relies significantly upon a synthesis of its 50- and 100-year histories and supporting Methodist educational literature. While the struggles and mortality rates of church colleges founded during the…