Charles Henry Eaton (1852-1902) was a Universalist preacher at the Church of the Divine Paternity in New York and a Tufts College graduate. Eaton Hall, the school's first library building, was named after him in 1908.

History of Eaton, Charles Henry

Charles Henry Eaton, or C.H. Eaton (1852-1902) was born in 1852 in Beverly, Massachusetts. Eaton was raised in the Universalist church and prepped for a life in the ministry at an early age by attending Dean Academy and Goddard Seminary. He started at Tufts College in 1870, completed a bachelor of arts degree in 1874 and immediately entered the Divinity School. Tufts conferred his a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1887 (Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History).

Eaton was mentored heavily by Eben Draper of Hopedale, Mass. and given support to pursue his life of service (Gunton's Magazine, 462). In 1881, Eaton became the pastor of the Church of the Divine Paternity in New York. He eventually became president of the New York Association of Tufts College and a noted Russell lecturer. Eaton Hall, built with funding from Andrew Carnegie, was named in Eaton's honor and became the first official library at Tufts. Eaton was the Carnegie family's personal pastor (Light on the Hill, 201). In 1965, the library's contents were moved to a new building and renamed as the Nils Y. Wessell Library.

In 1878, Eaton married Jennie M. Thaxter and had two children (names unknown). After that marriage ended, he married Emily M. Stuart in 1895.