In amongst the various scholarships offered at Wheaton College is one in honor of John Heman Converse. Though not among more recent listings, Converse’s generosity is noted in history. He was born in Burlington, VT on December 2, 1840 to Mr. and Mrs. John Kendrick Converse. Converse was prepared for college in the local high school and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1861, where he distinguished himself for his intellect and moral force. Upon graduation Converse worked for three years as an editor for the Burlington Daily and Weekly Times. In 1864 he moved to Chicago to work for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company. He would remain associated with railroads for the remainder of his life, with the Pennsylvania Railroad and then the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He became a partner in 1873 of Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., later the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In addition to his professional life Converse served as Director of the Board of City Trusts of Philadelphia, Trustee of Girard College (a private boarding primary and secondary school for children of single parents) and his alma mater, Director of several Philadelphia banks and trusts, Trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Secretary of the Board. He also served President of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the nation’s first private, nonprofit organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning. The association was founded in 1872 by concerned citizens who believed that art could play a role in a growing city and adopted the country’s first ordinance that required that a percentage of construction costs be set aside for fine arts. Mr. Converse was a strong supporter of higher education, particularly a liberal education. He supported heavily his alma mater and wrote “Higher Education for business pursuits and manufacturing,” published in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 28 (1906). In addition to his association with Girard College and the Univesity of Vermont, Converse was a trustee of the Mount Hermon School that had been founded by Mr. Moody. He was one of the original signators founding the International Y. M.C. A. Training School at Springfield, Mass.

With all of these accolades and achievements it was known that he was exceedingly generous with his fortune. It was said the he was a master of his money and that it never mastered him. Like the biblical Abraham Mr. Converse determined to be his own executor, distributing his wealth during his lifetime and not by probate. His view of finances were informed by his faith. He was a thorough-going Presbyterian but was ecumenical in his involvements. He was known as a faithful and generous churchman. The Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia was of particular interest to Converse, serving as a trustee and secretary. As with the University of Vermont Converse helped build its physical plant through generous gifts. Converse was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church and very active in several Christian enterprises in the “City of Brotherly Love.” In 1900 he was Vice Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of the United States and also served as Chairman of the Business Committee of the Board of Publication and the Committee on Evangelistic Work. He was a Trustee of the Princeton Theological Seminary and a member of the University Extension Association. He was a strong initiator of evangelistic efforts that were carried on by the Presbyterian Church in the United States. He encouraged noted urban evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman to return to evangelistic work and endowed a fund to be sure that the work continued if he were to die suddenly.

Continuing, further, his support of higher education he helped endow the San Francisco Theological Seminary through gifts to the library and a theology chair. When he was honored by the Presbyterian Church in 1902 those in attendance numbered nearly 2,500 and Supreme Court justices, federal judges, public officials and numerous clergymen of several denominations were among the guests.

Converse was married in Bay Ridge, Long Island, NY, on July 9, 1873 to Elizabeth Perkins Thompson. Together they had two daughters and one son. In 1908 he adopted the daughter of a cousin who had become an orphan in order to provide for her. Converse died suddenly from heart disease at his Rosemont, PA home on May 2, 1910.

Constructed by the California Shipbuilding Corporation yard on Terminal Island, California, the S.S Victory Wheaton set sail on March 22, 1945. Chosen by the U.S. Maritime Commission, it was one of a series of Victory ships named after America’s oldest educational institutions with student enrollment over 500. As with all ships of it class (officially VC2), the S.S. Victory Wheaton was 455 feet long and 62 feet wide. Her cross-compound steam turbine with double reduction gears developed 6,000 (AP2 type) or 8,500 (AP3s type) horsepower, allowing it great advantage in speed over its predecessor, the Liberty ship. Mrs. Kenneth Godwin, wife of the Executive Office of the Bureau of Yards and Docks of San Francisco, christened the vessel. Wheaton was represented at the ceremony by the Reverend John Shearer, ’39, pastor of North Hollywood Presbyterian Church and Chaplain L.J. Soerhide, U.S.N.R., ’39. A new Victory Ship memorial has been developed in Florida. Wheaton will have a plaque recognizing it along with the other schools for which Victory ships were named.

An article from the September 28, 1932, Record testifies to the effective ministry of William Edward Biederwolf (1867-1939), Presbyterian evangelist and author, to Wheaton College students and faculty…and reciprocally, their affection for him:

With all aisles packed with new and renewed Christians, the Fall Evangelistic services were brought to a powerful close. Dr. W. E. Biederwolf’s calvinistic clarity produced a profound effect upon the packed chapel. Some were in tears, some were radiant and some were struggling visibly, manifesting the power of God at work. While Mr. Hammontree and the congregation were singing “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling,” a number took up the banner for Christ and walked down the aisle. Each one who moved to a decision made Dr. Biederwolf’s face to shine, especially those who gave their youth to the Savior as a love token, “a fresh bouquet” instead of a “wilted one.” In results the evangelistic meetings, which have just past, have never been equaled in College history. President Buswell proposed the names of Dr. Biederwolf, Mr. Hammontree and Mr. Paul Beck with full membership in the “Wheaton Family,” and without one dissenting vote they were accepted.

In October of that year Biederwolf donated a collection of his books, mostly sermons transcribed from his itinerant ministry, to the college library. These titles dealt with Christian Science, Mormonism, Spiritualism, prophetic and other doctrinal issues.