George Fisher Linfield

The Rev. George Fisher Linfield (1846-1890) was an American clergyman and educator. Linfield College (now Linfield University) in McMinnville, Oregon, was named in his honor.

George Fisher Linfield (1846-1890)

The Grave of George Fisher Linfield, Oakwood Cemetery, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

George Fisher Linfield was born September 6, 1846 at Randolph, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Porter Linfield and Louisa Fisher, both descended from early New England colonists.

Linfield graduated from the University of Rochester, New York, in 1873 and from the Rochester Theological Seminary in 1876. He was ordained as a Baptist minister January 4, 1877 in Moline, Illinois, where he served as pastor from 1876 to 1881. He was pastor at Muscatine, Iowa in 1881 and 1882. He served as the principal of Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from 1882 to 1890.[1]

The Rev. Linfield died April 30, 1890 in Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin, and was buried there in Oakwood Cemetery.[2]

George Fisher Linfield married Frances Eleanor Ross December 4, 1878 in Moline, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Linfield had had one son, Ross Linfield, who was born May 8, 1883 in Muscatine, Iowa. Ross died in infancy and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.[2]

During their tenure at Wayland Academy, George and Frances agreed that they should dedicate their life savings to promote Christian education. This purpose was realized in 1922, when Mrs. Linfield gifted real estate she owned in Spokane, Washington, valued at $250,000, to McMinnville College in McMinnville, Oregon, a Baptist institution. In honor of the gift, the college changed its name to Linfield College after the Rev. George F. Linfield.[3][4][5]