Yale, Elihu

Family and Early Years

Grandfather Elihu Yale Thomas Yale (1590-1619) came from the town of Llandegla ( Denbyshire , Wales ), was married to Ann Lloyd (1591-1659), daughter of George Lloyd, Bishop of Chester ( Cheshire , England ). The couple had three children: Anna, David and Thomas. In 1619, Thomas Yale dies in Chester . After the death of her husband, Anne Yale married a second time in 1625 to the widower Theophilus Eaton (1590-1658). From his first marriage, Theofiol Eaton had a daughter, Mary, and a son, Samuel. In addition to children from their first marriages, Theophilus and Ann Eaton in a joint marriage had three more children: Theophilus, Hannah and Elizabeth.

Theophilus Eaton was a farmer and merchant, one of the notable Puritans. For several years, Eaton was an agent of King Charles I in a Danish court, traded in London. He was interested in Puritan colonial development and was one of the first patent holders and president of Massachusetts Bay.

With his large family, Eaton with a group of Puritans emigrated to New England (America), on the ship "Hector" they arrived in Boston on June 26, 1637. The religious leaders of this group were John Davenport. They wanted to establish their own settlement, and in the spring of next year they left Boston south. On April 14, 1638, they founded a new settlement on the shores of the Long Island Strait and named it New Haven . Theophilus Eaton was elected the first governor of the New Haven colony on June 4, 1639, and was re-elected every year until his death on January 7, 1658. One of his main achievements as governor was the creation of written legal rules for the colony in 1655, later known as the "Blue Laws of Connecticut."

Children of Theophilus and Anne Eaton:

• Maria, married Valentine Hill in Boston in 1647;
• Samuel married Mabel Haynes in 1654 (both died from the smallpox epidemic of 1655);
• Anna married Edward Hopkins Jr. in 1631, subsequently governor of Connecticut;
• David married Ursula Knight in 1641;
• Thomas settled in the New Haven colony;
• Theophilus Jr. settled in Dublin (Ireland) and married Anne King;
• Hannah married in 1659 Lieutenant William Jones (1624-1706);
• Elizabeth died in London in March 1637, before moving to a colony.

Elihu Yale was born on April 5, 1649 in Boston ( Massachusetts ) in the family of David Yale (1613–1690) and Ursula Knight (1624–1698). In 1652, when Elijah was three years old, the family moved to their historic homeland in England.

Governor of Madras

As soon as Eli Yale took control of Fort St. George on July 26, 1687 , he issued an order dated January 14, 1685 , requiring a license for all purchases of the city. To this end, on August 4, 1687, Chinn Venkatadri was sent to negotiations with the local governor. The mission was successful, and Venkatadri gained sovereignty over St. Tome for a period of three years. Despite the fierce protests of the Portuguese inhabitants, the British gained absolute control over all the lands to Mount St. Thomas for three years.

In September 1688, the head of the Mughal Empire Aurangzeb, after a long battle, took the Golconda . The Sultan of Golconda was captured and his state was annexed in favor of the Mughals. The newly appointed provincial subedar immediately sent a letter to the British authorities demanding recognition of the supreme power of the Mughal empire. The British agreed to this voluntarily.

Aurangzeb guaranteed the independence of Madras, but in return demanded that the British troops provide supplies to his troops in case of war against the Marathas . Around the same time, three-year-old son Yale David died and was buried in the Madras cemetery.

At that time, the slave trade was rampant in Madras. When demand began to grow rapidly, British merchants began abducting young children and selling them. The administration of Fort St. George eventually intervened and enacted laws to combat this threat. On February 2, 1688, Yale ruled that from now on, slaves should be examined by the judges of the Caravanserai before being transported. Carriage of young children was prohibited.

During Yale’s governorship, Josiah Child , chairman of the board of directors of the East India Company, conceived a plan to create a corporation in Madras, which he outlined in a letter on September 28, 1687. Three months later, Josiah Child and his deputy received an audience with Jacob II . As a result of an audience with the king on December 30, 1687, a decree was issued on the creation of the Madras Corporation. The decree entered into force on September 29, 1688, and the corporation was created as part of the mayor, 12 elders and about a hundred 100 citizens. Nathaniel Higginson , who was then the second member of the Council of Fort St. George, took office as mayor of Madras.

On June 22, 1688, the Armenian delegation in London met with the directors of the British East Indies company and demanded permission for the Armenian merchants to settle in Madras. Soon, Armenians began to arrive in Madras in large numbers, which served as the basis for a large and strong Armenian community, which played a significant role in Madras’s politics in the 18th century.

In August 1689, the French fleet appeared off the coast of Ceylon , forcing Governor Pulicat Lawrence Pitt to seek protection in the bastions of Fort St. George.

During 1690, French warships from Pondicherry ravaged the coast in order to oust Britain and Holland from the East Indies, but to no avail. In the end, they abandoned their enterprise, faced with heavy losses. In addition, at the same time, the British acquired the city of Tevnapatam from the Marathas.

Allegations of corruption and resignation

As governor of the fort, Yale acquired territories for personal purposes at the expense of the East India Company, including the fort in Tevnapatam (now Kuddalor ).

Yale imposed high taxes on the maintenance of the colonial garrison and the city, resulting in an increase in the regime’s unpopularity and several uprisings by Indians brutally crushed by the army. Yale is also known for arresting and torturing Indians, including hanging a boy who stole a horse.

In recent years, Yale has been charged with corruption. He was subsequently removed in 1692 and replaced by Nathaniel Higginson, mayor of Madras.

Yale returned to London in 1699 and lived in Place Grono, Wrexham , having bought his father's mansion. With considerable wealth, Yale freely spent it in England.

Yale University

In 1718, Cotton Maser asked Yale for help: Mather represented a small educational institution, which was founded as the Connecticut Encyclopedic School in 1701. Money was needed for a new building in New Haven, Connecticut . Yale sent Mather goods that, as a result of the sale, gave the school £ 800, a significant amount at the beginning of the 18th century. In gratitude for this, the whole institute became known as Yale College . The Rexem Tower at Saybrook College at Yale University was built as a replica of St. Giles Church in Rexem.

On April 5, 1999, Yale University celebrated the 350th anniversary of the birth of Elihu Yale.

Death

Yale died on July 8, 1721 in London, but was buried in the cemetery of Wrexham Parish Church ( Wales ).

The following lines are inscribed on his grave:

Born in America, grew up in Europe

In Africa he traveled and married in Asia

And also he lived and prospered for a long time. Died in london

I did a lot of good, something bad, so we hope that everything is balanced

And because of mercy his soul went to heaven

You, those who are alive and reading this story, take care

Get ready for your inevitable departure

There, where, blessed alone, righteous deeds

Blossom and fragrance in silent dust.