Alphaeus Dupler (July 1883 – June 1928)
Alphaeus William Dupler served as a professor of biology, a registrar, and a Brethren minister at Juniata College during the start of the twentieth century. Dupler was born in the small town of Thornville, Ohio, directly outside of Columbus, Ohio, on July 17, 1883. Dupler’s parents, Melanchton and Mary, devout members of the Brethren church, instilled in a young Dupler a profound appreciation for the church that would stay with him for the rest of his life.
During Dupler’s youth, he was raised on his father’s farm and grew accustomed to the grueling work cycle that accompanied the proper management of a farm. The knowledge obtained through both observation and practice seemed to have been vital at the time, especially because he was the eldest living son and probable inheritor of his father’s farm and duties. Yet, life presented young Dupler with an alternative path, as he had a burning passion for both academics, specifically biology, and theological studies.
This devotion led Dupler away from Ohio and brought him to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where he sought out a higher education at Juniata College. During his time studying at Juniata, two major events occurred that had a profound impact on his life, the death of his father and the meeting of his future wife. While in his final year of education, in 1904, Dupler's father committed suicide in Ohio. Then in 1906, Dulper married Olive Replogle, a Huntingdon Native.
After completing his education at Juniata, Dupler began a career in the church, working as a minister first back in Thornville, Ohio, then later in Royersford, Pennsylvania, and then in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Dupler’s initial time away from Juniata was short, as in 1910, he was offered his first official post at Juniata College as a professor of biology and geology. During his first years back at Juniata, he and Olive began growing their family; they would have four children together. Yet, once again, other opportunities caused Dupler to be pulled away from Juniata, as he now pursued a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. After a brief time at Juniata, Dupler and his family were uprooted from rural Huntingdon and placed into the urban metropolis of Chicago. This period also saw Dupler briefly move away from the church to work with the YMCA of central Chicago. He earned his degree in 1914 and then proceeded to get his doctorate in 1916 from Ursinus College. After the completion of his education, Dupler would assume his first teaching post since Juniata at Lawrence College, now Lawrence University, in Wisconsin as their professor of botany. Yet, Dupler would only be in Wisconsin for one academic year before taking up a new position at Bridgewater College in Virginia. While in Virginia, Dupler served both as a professor of biology and a registrar.
Dupler also released his first and only book during this period, “The Gametophytes of Taxus Canadensis Marsh” in which he looked specifically at the Canadian yew tree and its reproductive cycle. This work had been accompanying Dupler through the many stages of his education but originates from his time at Juniata as he first interacted with and studied the Canadian yew while in Huntingdon. Dupler was especially focused on the concept of the gametophyte portion of the Canadian yew’s reproduction cycle as opposed to the sporophyte phase. These phases alternate, the difference between each one being that the gametophyte phase requires male and female gametes to reproduce, while the sporophyte phase is done asexually. He also published a paper during this period on Reboulia hemispharica or the hemisphaeric liverwort, once again looking at the plant’s gametophyte reproductive cycle.
In 1918, whilst WWI raged in Europe, the then thirty-three-year-old Dupler would have to register for service in the conflict, as the law required all American men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five to do. However, Dupler never served in any capacity, as it is against the teachings of the Brethren Church. Dupler’s final year at Bridgewater College was in 1919, as he would be elected to the position of dean for the school, only to resign before assuming his new post.
Dupler returned to Juniata for a final time in 1920, once again assuming the post of professor of biology for the school. He also took on other duties, such as serving as Juniata’s registrar and as a minister at the local Brethren church. In his capacity as school registrar, Dupler would have overseen tasks such as the scheduling of classes, registration, and the keeping of transcripts. In the succeeding years, Juniata and the local Huntingdon community became Dupler’s true home as he permanently settled down in the community for the rest of his life. He even began traveling around to other local communities, such as Hollidaysburg, to give sermons. In 1927, Dupler took a leave of absence, from which he would never return to Juniata.
In 1928, Alphaeus Dupler was found dead in his home, 1722 Mifflin Street, from suicide. It is suspected that he committed suicide due to a prolonged fight with an unspecified illness.
Bibliography
Altoona Mirror. “Brethren Church Has Celebration: Hollidaysburg Congregation Observes Sixteenth Anniversary of Dedication with Befitting Services,” November 29, 1926. https://access.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1926/11-29/page-14/.
Altoona Mirror. “Illness Given as Cause of Suicide,” June 11, 1928. https://access.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1928/06-11/page-22/.
Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars : The American Military Experience in World War I. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. http://archive.org/details/wartoendallwarsa0000coff.
Dupler, Alphaeus William. The Gametophytes of Taxus Canadensis Marsh. University of Chicago, 1917.
Durnbaugh, Donald F. The Brethren Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. 1 online resource (4 volumes (xliii, 2918 pages) : illustrations vols. Philadelphia, PA: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1983. http://books.google.com/books?id=vJjZAAAAMAAJ.
Juniata College. Juniata Echo Vol 19 1910. Juniata College, 1910. http://archive.org/details/juniata-echo-vol-19.1910.
———. The Alfarata. Juniata College, 1921. http://archive.org/details/alfarata1921juni.
———. The Alfarata. Juniata College, 1926.
———. The Alfarata. Juniata College, 1929.
Sanger, Samuel F., and Daniel Hays. The Olive Branch of Peace and Good Will to Men: Anti-War History of the Brethren and Mennonites, the Peace People of the South, During the Civil War, 1861-1865. Brethren Publishing House, 1907.
Steffens, Walt. “Profile of Alphaeus William Dupler.” MyHeritage, February 10, 2023. https://www.myheritage.com/person-6002498_57642051_57642051/alphaeus-william-dupler.
———. “Profile of Melanchton (Malanthen) Dupler.” MyHeritage, February 10, 2023. https://www.myheritage.com/person-6002030_57642051_57642051/melanchton-malanthen-dupler.
University of Chicago. Register of Doctors of Philosophy of the University of Chicago. Nabu Press, 2010.
Wayland, Francis F. Bridgewater College: The First Hundred Years, 1880-1980. 1st ed. Lawrenceville, Va: Brunswick Pub, 1993.