Henry Haesler Rassweiler  

        Henry Rassweiler was born of German parentage on April 3, 1842, in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.  In the spring of 1857 the Rassweiler family left Pennsylvania for Illinois.

        In their new home near Cedar Brook, Illinois, Henry began teaching at a district school at age 17.   However, he longed for a college education and began making plans to enter the college of the Evangelical Association in Plainfield.

        Rassweiler entered Plainfield College in the fall of 1862 and continued to teach district schools while pursuing his own studies.  He received a diploma in the Normal Course in 1867, and a Bachelor of Science degree in 1868, the first graduate of the Scientific Course.

        In recognition of his ability as a teacher and scholar he was selected professor of Mathematics and Natural Science in 1868, remaining at the college for a period of twenty years, the last five as president.  He was one of the founders of the Alumni Association.  He also assisted in the founding of the college museum.

        On January 1, 1868, Henry Rassweiler was married to Susie Victoria Harlacher, daughter of Joseph Harlacher, a pioneer in the college movement in the Evangelical Association.  The couple had met while both were students at Plainfield College.

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