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T.M.
Sinclair was born on May 14, 1842, in Belfast, Ireland. His father,
John, died while Thomas was still in school. He considered a career
with the British Army, but decided instead to become a merchant. He
joined the meat packing company that his father had owned, the J. &
T. Sinclair Co. Thomas and his brother William quickly expanded the
company, and soon found themselves in America. Their New York office
was very successful throughout the Civil War years, but a fire in 1866
destroyed the plant. After some financial recovery in New York,
Sinclair began searching for a new plant location. Cedar Rapids proved
to be the place, and in December of 1871, he moved his family,
including his wife Caroline and first son, John, to the Iowa village.
At that
time, there was no water plant, no sewer system, no telephone service,
and no adequate railroads in Cedar Rapids, so Sinclair had to take care
of all these himself. He frequently worked fourteen-hour days in order
to build up everything needed for his company. Sinclair also became
involved with the Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids, becoming an
elder in 1877 and traveling on a mission trip to the Dakota Territory
in 1879.
It was in 1875, after the failure of Parsons
Seminary, that Coe Collegiate Institute opened its doors. Sinclair was
named as the Vice president of the Board of Trustees, serving with
other prominent members of the Cedar Rapids area. Unfortunately, the
high debt the institute had accumulated over the years, mainly from the
building of Old Main, was keeping the Synod of Iowa from recognizing or
helping the college. Even as the other trustees were losing faith in
the idea, Sinclair refused to give up on the school. In 1880, he
convinced many of those who were owed money by the college to forgive
the debts. Between this and his own financial gift of $10,000, Sinclair
single-handedly released the Institute from its long-standing debt. The
Synod of Iowa agreed to take over the school, and the articles of
incorporation for Coe College were filed on April 16, 1881. Tragically,
Sinclair was not alive to celebrate this event. Just three weeks
earlier, he had fallen down an elevator shaft in his plant and died.
In 1916, Sinclair was the
subject of the main Founders' Day address by Edward Burkhalter. "This
task, of which I speak, is the preparation of the sketch of the life of
him whom I look upon and have long looked upon, as in important
regards, the best man I have ever known, the man in whom I have seen
more of the Glory of God and of Christ than in any other of our race,
the man who combined in his character and conduct and
career more of the excellencies of true manhood and, which is
essentially the same thing, more of the qualities of true Godlikeness
than any other man with whom I have had acquaintance."
It was at this celebration that the family of
T.M. Sinclair donated an oil painting of the businessman to the
college. This portrait hung in the Sinclair Memorial Chapel until it
burned down in 1947. However, a new Sinclair Memorial Chapel was soon
built, and stands today as a testament to the man who did so much for
Cedar Rapids and Coe.
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