New Collection Preserves Legacy of MSU's First President

Books, a walking stick, and other artifacts once belonging to Edward Searing have been donated to Minnesota State University, Mankato by his family.

By Joe Tougas '86

With help from the great-grandson of MSU’s first president, the University now has several personal items that belonged to Edward Searing, who led Mankato Normal School from 1880 to 1898.

Rick Searing, a 1970 alum and resident of Lodi, Wisconsin, said his great-grandfather looms large in the family history as scholar whose writings were published nationally, who was versed in Greek and Latin, translated books and was beloved by the Mankato community.

Before arriving in Mankato, Searing received both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Michigan, later becoming a professor at Milton College in Milton, Wisconsin, in 1863.

And though he never met Edward Searing (or, for that matter, his son Frederick, Rick’s grandfather), Rick recalled perusing his great-grandfather’s books, ranging from a history of New York City to the works of William Shakespeare, which the family had maintained.

Searing was at Milton when President Abraham Lincoln was shot, and within two weeks he wrote an essay—“scholarly, but it’s actually a simple read,” Rick Searing said—about the assassination’s effect on the country. The essay became a lecture he gave throughout the country. Among the items donated to MSU is a program of the lecture.

“He got on the train, and he actually went around the country and gave talks,” Searing said. “When he came back to Wisconsin, he was probably the best-known educator in the Upper 
Midwest.”

Four years ago, a bust of Searing was donated to the University from a collector who found it at an antique shop. That bust will now be joined by a bookcase, walking stick and seven boxes of books, with at least one book published in the late 1700s.

The bust was originally displayed at Searing Center, which was a residence hall on lower campus where Rick Searing lived while a student at MSU.

Rick’s father, Frederick, had been born in Mankato but his family moved to Illinois during the Great Depression. Frederick always considered Mankato home, Rick said, and having Edward’s belongings at MSU is “actually fulfilling my dad's dream.”

Rick Searing initially contacted MSU’s alumni office last year about donating the materials, and in October, Adam Smith of University Archives visited Searing in Lodi, Wisconsin, to bring the items back to MSU. Smith says they’ll likely be used along with the bust for an exhibit about Searing.

“We're hoping it's a way to help preserve Edward's legacy here at Mankato as the fourth leader of the Normal School, and the first individual who is named president of the Normal School and University,” Smith said.

The three previous leaders of the school were called principals, and “normal school” was the term given schools that prepared students for careers as teachers. And while “normal” remained part of the school’s name for another 40 years, the title of “president” offered more prestige to the school at the time, Smith said. The title has since remained for all subsequent MSU leaders.

Searing died while still in office, during a normal school board meeting on Oct. 22, 1898, in St. Paul. He is buried in Mankato’s Glenwood Cemetery, not far from the university.  

Although there were other options, Rick said, the entire extended family supported the decision to donate the collection to MSU. 

“This is a family donation, and everybody responded, ‘Oh, this is awesome—they have Edward back in Mankato.'”