Class of 1893

Chester Ames was born in 1871 to William C. and Margaret Demory Ames. He first attended Western Maryland College before transferring to Dickinson in 1888. At the College, Ames was a member of the Belles Lettres Literary Society, and Phi Beta Kappa, and a founding member of the College’s chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Ames eventually graduated with the class of 1893. After a brief career as a journalist, Ames received his master's degree from Dickinson in 1896. That same year, Ames accepted the position of registrar of the College.

The appointment of Ames as the first registrar marked a modernization of in the conducting of official college business. Prior to this, college business was conducted by various faculty members who divided their time between these duties and teaching. Ames’ position marked a separation between administration and education at Dickinson that allowed the faculty to concentrate on their students rather than on paperwork. Ames served the college from 1896 to 1901, at which time the College abolished the office of the registrar.

In 1901, he was admitted to the Cumberland County Bar, and became editor of the Newville Times. Chester Nichols Ames died on February 21, 1921.

Mervin Grant Filler was born in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania on October 9, 1873 to Peter and Elizabeth Filler. He attended grade school in Boiling Springs before entering the Dickinson Preparatory School. In 1889, he enrolled in Dickinson College and graduated as valedictorian in 1893. During that time he became a member of Phi Kappa Sigma and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to his A.B. degree, Filler received his M.A. in 1895.

Following graduation, Filler took a position as an instructor in Greek and Latin at the Preparatory School. He also continued his own studies, taking classes at the University of Chicago in the summers of 1900 and 1901 and later at the University of Pennsylvania in 1906. In 1899, he became the professor of Latin at the College and would retain this position for the following 29 years except for his short graduate study leaves. In 1904 he was elected as dean of the freshman class and in 1914 President Morgan promoted him to dean of the College. On June 30, 1928, Filler was elected as the 18th president of Dickinson College following Morgan’s retirement.

J. Banks Kurtz was born in Delaware Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania on October 31, 1867 as the son of Abraham Hertzler and Molly Bergey Kurtz. He attended local schools and prepared for college at the Airy View Academy in Port Royal and entered Dickinson College with the class of 1893 in the fall of 1889. After two years as an undergraduate, he transferred to the Law School program and graduated with a B.LL degree in 1893. While at the college he was an enthusiastic member of the Union Philosophical Society and joined the Phi Delta Theta and Delta Chi fraternities. He also represented the Law Program on the board of the Dickinsonian.

He was called to the bar in Blair County, Pennsylvania and began practice in Altoona. By 1905 he was district attorney of the county and served as chairman of the committee of public safety and the national defense for Blair County during the First World War. A Republican, he was elected to the United States Congress in November 1922 and served for six consecutive terms until he, like many of his fellow Republicans, was defeated in the 1934 election. He returned to Altoona to practice law and later took up the post of city solicitor. He remained active in party politics and was a delegate to the national conventions of 1936, 1938, and 1948.

Edward Ernest Palmer was born in Washington DC on November 3, 1868, the son of William G. and Mary Virginia (Webster) Palmer. The boy was named after his uncle Edward Palmer, plant collector and explorer. Young Edward was a diarist whose writing shows his early interest in all things scientific. He was often employed by his uncle to work up specimens, which were sent back from the Western United States, Central and South America. These specimens are found today in the collections at Kew Gardens and the Smithsonian, as well as other herbaria in the United States and Europe.

He entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1889, with the class of 1893. As a freshman he won the Muchmore Prize and joined the Union Philosophical Society, serving as its head librarian the following year. Perhaps more significantly for his own future, Colonel Richard Pratt of the Carlisle Indian School lectured that year at the College on the "Past, Present, and Future of the Indian." He served as the president of the junior class, and anchored the champion tug-of-war team of his senior year. Significantly, under the tutelage of pioneer photographer Professor Charles Francis Himes of the Physics Department, Palmer developed his life-long interest in photography. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in June, 1893.

Montgomery Porter Sellers was born on August 26, 1873 to Francis Benjamin and Martha Porter Sellers. He grew up in Carlisle and graduated from Carlisle High School. Sellers entered the local Dickinson College in 1889. While a student at Dickinson, Sellers took courses in the modern language curriculum. He was a member of the Belles Lettres Literary Society and won that organization's Sophomore Prize, a gold medal awarded to a member outstanding in composition and declamation. In addition, Sellers was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He graduated with his class in 1893.

Upon graduation, Sellers began teaching in the Preparatory School. Following this, he served as an adjunct professor of history and German at the College until 1904, and then from 1904 to 1942 he was a professor of rhetoric and English. Also during this time, Sellers served as dean of the freshman class and finally as dean of the College from 1928 to 1933. Outside of the classroom, Sellers traveled extensively in Europe, studying in both England and Germany. He also pursued graduate work at the University of Chicago.