George C. Chase

Life and career

Chase was born on March 15, 1844, in Unity, Maine. His parents were Freewill Baptists. At age 18 Chase enrolled at the Maine State Seminary and graduated from the Seminary program in 1864. He then enrolled in the college program at Bates College, graduating in 1868. After graduation he taught at the New Hampton Literary Institute, eventually returning to teach at Bates in 1870. In the 1870s, in pursuit his life's work, he returned to Lewiston and enrolled in the theological school, which later became a part of the college's religion department. Meanwhile, the Bates offered him a professorship of Greek and he spent the next year teaching and pursuing his studies in theology. After his spell teaching Greek he moved to teaching English.