Mrs. Clarissa Tucker Tracy

Mother of Ripon College

1818-1905

Mrs. Clarissa Tucker Tracy, who is known as the "Mother of Ripon College," came to the College in 1859 at the age of 40 and was an important presence until her death at 87 in 1905. Mrs. Tracy was Superintendent of the Ladies' Department and taught botany, mathematics and English literature and composition in the Preparatory Department. Over the years, she had many roles at the College: Head of both the Food Service (personally cooking meals for over 100 people each day--students especially loved the doughnuts she made for them) and the Housekeeping Department; proctor living in the dormitory; counselor, nurse, and equivalent of a Dean of Women. A very religious woman, Mrs. Tracy seems to have been a role model for the times, with many admirable talents, as well as all the qualities of a good friend.

Dates:

• Born November 12, 1818 in Jackson, Pennsylvania.
• Died November 13, 1905 in Ripon, Wisconsin.
• Married in 1844 to Horace Tracy, who died on June 9, 1848.
• Two children:
  • Clarissa, who died in childhood.
  • (James) Horace; born February 22, 1845; graduated from Classical course at Ripon a doctor in Escanaba, MI; died in 1891.
• Came to Ripon College: October 3, 1859. She continued her active role at the College until 1903, after which she maintained connections with the College as a Professor Emeritus until her death in 1905.

Mrs. Tracy was a member of the Educational Club and President of the W.B.M.I. auxiliary.  Her avid interest in botany is evident in her 1889 publication on the wild plants growing in the Ripon vicinity and her china painting. Her china serves as a reminder of her talents, from the academic to the domestic and social. She used it frequently for entertaining friends. (She was said to have always worn black.)

The small rocking chair elsewhere in the museum belonged to Mrs. Tracy and there is also a chair from the dining hall with a plate inscribed to her. Her "French" desk was in the Ripon Historical Museum until a few years ago, when it and the china collection, which belongs to AAUW of Ripon, were transferred to the College Museum.

(Source: Ashley, Robert and George H. Miller. Ripon College: A History. Ripon College Press, 1990, pp. 20-21 and pp. 54-55; Merrell, Ida and others, Clarissa Tucker Tracy.)