Charles Edward Hovey

Charles Edward Hovey (April 26, 1827 – November 17, 1897) was an educator, college president, pension lobbyist and a brevet major general in the United States Army during the American Civil War. Early life Hovey was born in Thetford, Vermont, on April 26, 1827, to Alfred and Abigail Hovey (nee Howard). At the age of fifteen, he began teaching in Vermont before becoming a lumberjack for a short time. In 1848, he enrolled in Dartmouth to pursue his college degree, teaching during the summer to help pay for his education. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1852. He briefly studied law and taught school in Framingham, Massachusetts, becoming the principal of the Framingham Academy and High School. Hovey moved to Illinois after his time at the Framingham Academy, where he served as principal and then superintendent of schools in Peoria. He became president of the Illinois State Teacher's Association and a member of the first Illinois State Board of Education. He assisted in the organization of Illinois State University, then known as Illinois State Normal University, serving as president of the university from 1857 to 1861. He was married to Harriette Farnham (Spofford) Hovey of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and together had three children: Edward, Alfred, and Richard. Their son Richard Hovey became a well-known poet, artist, and college professor. A distant cousin, Alvin Peterson Hovey, also served as a Civil War general.