Colgate family papers, A1069

Colgate University took its current name in 1890, after previously being known as Madison University and Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. According to former University Archivist Howard Williams, the name was chosen to honor the significant financial contributions from the Colgate family, who had supported the university since 1823.

Howard Williams, A History of Colgate, 1819-1869 (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969), 199, http://cu-cel.org/cuhist/.

William Colgate (1783-1857) inherited a soap and candle manufacturing business from his father. He moved to New York City and developed it in to a highly successful business. He also became a member of the Baptist Church and became involved in a number of Baptist churches and societies. This included Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, which would later become known as Madison University and then Colgate University, due to the significant support his family provided to the school.

James B. Colgate (1818-1904) was one of the most generous nineteenth century donors to Madison University, later known as Colgate University. He made his largest gift in 1889 with an endowment known as the Dodge Memorial Fund in honor of the institution's fourth president. In business, his many activities included founding and leading a large brokerage firm with several offices on the east coast and serving as President of the New York Gold Exchange from 1873-1875.

Susan Farnham Colby Colgate (1817-1919) was principal of New London Academy and later of Colby Academy. She also served as manager of New York's Colored Home and Hospital and Secretary of the Women's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of New York. Susan Colby and James B. Colgate were married in 1851.

Truman Abbe and Hubert Abbe Howson, Robert Colgate the Immigrant: A Genealogy of the New York Colgates and some associated lines (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse, and Taylor, 1941), 49-59, 92-94.