TITLE: Reverend Stephen Mattoon and Mrs. Mattoon

COVERAGE: 1870 to 1884

DESCRIPTION: Reverend Stephen Mattoon’s materials are included in the collection of the Office of the President, which is housed in the Inez Moore Parker Archives and Research Center at Johnson C. Smith University. The Office of the President Collection contains speeches, manuscripts, photographs, and other documents of individuals who have served as President of Johnson C. Smith University.

TYPE: Photograph

PHOTOGRAPH DATE: 1800's

CREATOR: Inez Moore Parker Archives and Research Center

ACQUISITION DATE: June 2000

PROCESSED BY: Monika Rivera Rhue

HISTORICAL NOTE: From 1870 to 1886, Dr. Stephen Mattoon served as first President of Johnson C. Smith University. He was born May 5, 1816 in Champion, New York. At the age of 17, Dr. Mattoon publicly professed his faith in Christ, and pursued his calling as a minister of the gospel.  In 1842, he graduated from Union College and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1846.  He was ordained as an evangelist on February 11, 1846 by the Presbytery of Troy.

Dr. Mattoon was a missionary in Siam, Bangkok (Thailand) for 20 years.  As a missionary he was as an interpreter to the King of Siam and organized the first Presbyterian Church of Siam. While in Cambodia, he started The Boys’ School in Bangkok and translated the New Testament into Siamese.

Dr. Mattoon married Mary Lourie. The Mattoons adopted two children from Siam, Ester and Mary; and had two biological children, Emma Williams and George Lourie.

Mrs. Mattoon aided her husband with his work as a missionary and president of Johnson C. Smith University by teaching bible classes and by performing other humanitarian duties. 

As President of Johnson C. Smith University, Dr. Mattoon laid the foundation for the school as a prestigious and stable institution.  During his presidency, he restructured and expanded the curriculum, increased the acreage of the campus, and amended the school charter to change the name of the institute to Biddle University.

COPYRIGHT: Any display, publication, or public use, must credit the Inez Moore Parker Archives and Research Center at Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Materials on this web site have been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. For these purposes, you may reproduce (print, make photocopies, or download) materials from this web site without prior permission, with the condition that you provide proper attribution of the source in all copies.

You must contact the Archives and Research Center at archives@jcsu.edu for permission to use materials from this web site for commercial products, publications, broadcasts, mirroring, or any other purpose that is not considered “fair use”.

SITE CREATION DATE: March 26, 2003