My Genealogy Hound

BENJAMIN F. PRINCE, Professor of Greek and History in Wittenberg College, Springfield, exemplifies in his life the truth of the poet’s words, “He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.” He is of German lineage, and is a grandson of Adam and Eve (Buroker) Prince, who removed from Virginia to Kentucky in the year 1805, and thence to Champaign County, Ohio, in 1809. They were devoted members of the Lutheran Church, in the faith of which their children were reared. Their only son, William, was born in the Blue Grass State in 1807, but grew to manhood on the farm in Ohio. Although reared amid the arduous toils and privations of pioneer life, he became well acquainted with the more useful branches of knowledge. His business talents were marked, and he excelled as a mechanic without having served an apprenticeship, he became a farmer, prosecuting the labors of that occupation until he was forty years of age, when he was called hence by the angel of death.

The maternal grandparents of Benjamin Prince were Christian and Mary Magdaline (Zimmerman) Norman, who, like the Prince family, removed from the Shenandoah Valley, Va., taking up their abode in Champaign County, Ohio, in 1805. Their home was the headquarters for Lutheran, Reformed and Methodist preachers, their Christian hospitality and fraternal spirit being manifested toward all believers with whom they came in contact. Their daughter Sarah, who became the wife of William Prince, was taken, with a brother and sister, eight or nine miles to receive the ordinance of baptism at the hands of a Methodist preacher, no Lutheran preacher having yet visited the county. This broad and fraternal Christian spirit was a characteristic of both families of ancestors of our subject, and has been inherited by their descendants. They had come to Ohio not only to buy cheap lands, but to get away from slavery and its evil effects upon society. Mr. Norman became possessor of large tracts of land. Adam Prince, the grandfather of Prof. Prince, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and for a short time was kept in a block house near the present site of Tiffin, by the dangerous proximity of the enemy.

In Champaign County, December 12, 1840, the family of William and Sarah (Norman) Prince, which already comprised two sons and three daughters, was increased by the birth of a son, whose history it is our purpose to record. His early school days were passed in the traditional log schoolhouse, and after the age of twelve years his schooling did not average more than forty days per year. Having a thirst for knowledge, he studied at home, among the branches which he pursued being Natural Philosophy, Physiology and History. At the age of seven years he was left fatherless, his training from that time being in the hands of a pious mother, under whose tutelage the religious dement of his character was developed, and tempered his ardent love of knowledge. At the age of twelve years he became a subscriber to the Evangelical Lutheran , and when that paper went out of existence his name was transferred to the Observer. This fact indicates the hold which religion had upon his youthful mind and was a bright prophecy of Christian manhood.

In the fall of 1860 young Prince was able to enter Wittenberg College, and beginning in the preparatory department, he completed the course of study and was graduated in 1865. During his Freshman year he was elected essayist to represent the Excelsior Society in a public anniversary. In his Sophomore year he represented the same society in a contest between it and the Philosophian, and in his Senior year he was debater in another contest between those societies, which were a recognized power in the educational influences of the college. After his graduation he began the study of Theology, and in 1869 was ordained to the ministry. In the meantime, in April, 1866, he had been appointed tutor in his Alma Mater, serving with commendable success until 1869, when he was promoted to be Principal of the Preparatory Department and Professor of History, three years later becoming Assistant Professor of Greek.

In 1879, Mr. Prince was elected to the Chair of Greek and History, which he is still ably filling. He also lectures considerably upon Political Economy, United States Constitution, and Constitutional Development, while during his professorship he has given instruction in various branches beside those mentioned, among them being the Latin of the regular course and English Literature. Prof. Prince has served for a number of years as Chairman of the Prudential Committee, which is elected by the Board of College Directors, and his splendid business abilities have been used to the advantage of the institution. He has also served the college as Librarian, and as a member of the Building Committee in 1883, the duties of Superintendent of Construction devolved upon him and he rendered valuable service.

The usefulness of Prof. Prince has extended beyond the college, and embraces municipal, literary and religious labors. He has been a frequent contributor to the Lutheran Evangelist and Wittenberger, and has also prepared an article on Dr. H. H. Muhlenberg in “Lives of the Leaders of our Church Universal.” He has been a member of the City Board of School Examiners for nearly fifteen years, and in 1881, after earnest solicitation, permitted his name to be used as a candidate for the City Council, in which he represented the Second Ward for six years. As one of the city fathers he was enabled to secure much-needed improvements of the north side of the city. He has been prominent in the Sunday-school work in the county, and for four years has been President of the Clark County Sunday-school Union. He has also held office in the First Lutheran Church, in this city, of which his wife is also a member.

In 1869, Mr. Prince was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Sanderson, an intelligent and accomplished young lady of this city, who was born in Lebanon, Pa. She is a daughter of Col. J. P. Sanderson, of the regular army, who, on being assigned to the Western department, brought his family to Springfield in order to better educate his children. Mr. and Mrs. Prince are the parents of three daughters and one son, named respectively: Grace, Flora, Walter N. and Mabel. In politics, he is a Republican.