Caleb Atwater was born December 25, 1778 in North Adams, Massachusetts. He was an author and a politician. Atwater was raised by his guardian Mr. Jones as a result of his mother’s death in 1783. When he was 18, he was sent to William’s College where in 1804 he received his B.A. and M.A (Coyle 20). After graduating, he opened a school for ladies in New York City. He very quickly gave it up to study theology and while doing so, he was inspired to become a Presbyterian minister. While a minister, he married Diana Lawrence who bore him one child. Before long Diana passed away and Caleb became ill and had to give up his profession of ministry.
Caleb then decided to study law. He was admitted to the bar. Later in 1811 he married Belinda Butler who was the daughter of a local judge (Coyle 20). Belinda and Caleb had nine children together. During this time Caleb passed the bar, but instead of pursuing his law career he got involved in a business affair that left him bankrupt. In 1815 Caleb’s very poor family moved to Circleville, Ohio. Instead of working on law full time, Caleb discovered his interest in local antiquities and earth works. In 1829 he published “Descriptions of the Antiquities Discovered in the State of Ohio and Other Western States” (Garraty 729).
In 1821, Atwater was elected to represent Pickaway-Hocking District of the Ohio State Legislature. He opposed the temporary abandonment of the road tax as penurious and damaging to the state’s long term interests. He also supported legislation in favor of the Ohio and Erie canal, completed in 1832. Atwater's most important proposal was the promotion of common schools through taxation and efficient use of school lands. In 1821, Atwater and four other legislators proposed a statewide school system be created by the prospective funds. Pamphlets were used for support of school legislature.
In 1822 Atwater campaigned unsuccessfully for the US Congress, allowing him plenty of time to work on the school land proposal which finally passed 1825. In 1824 Atwater began editing his own paper in Chillicothe, named Friend of Freedom. He dedicated this paper to the promotion of internal improvements and education in Ohio. This too failed. In 1829 President Andrew Jackson elected Atwater and two other commissioners to conduct treaty negotiations with the Winnebago Indians at Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin (Coyle 21). This experience inspired Atwater to write and publish “Remarks Made on a Tour to Prairie du Chien” in 1831; to solve the Indian problem Atwater proposed manual training in schools.
In 1838 Caleb Atwater wrote and published “History of the State of Ohio.” Like his other publications, this one received much criticism. He was accused of plagiarism and inaccurate information. In 1841 Caleb pursued his writing career and wrote “An Essay on Education."This essay disputed the further expansion of schooling and better pay for teachers. It also discussed the importance for equal education for men and women. This again did not sell well and Atwater was left with little income. In many ways, Atwater was representative of the spirit of antebellum America: he was antislavery, an avid promoter of education and science, a believer in progress and utilitarianism, and an egalitarian. He was one of the first to predict the success of the railway, the first historian of his state, and the founder of its school system (Scriber). Caleb Atwater was a very insightful man.
Atwater, Caleb, Concise Dictionary of American Biography, 1997 Edition
Coyle, William, Ohio Authors and Their Books, World Publishing Company, New York, 1962
Garraty, John A. & Carnes, Mark C. American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 1999
Written By: Sara Halverson