Edward Duffield Neill was born in 1823, and had a privileged childhood in Philadelphia, eventually attending prep school for two years before enrolling at Amherst College when he was 16.¹ Amherst College, founded in Massachusetts in 1821, would profoundly shape Neill’s worldview, and remained his central inspiration as he worked to establish Macalester later in life.² Amherst emphasized a close relationship between students and faculty, hoping to instill students with critical thinking skills as well as a distinct devotion to God.³ Neill would later endeavor to bring this Amherst style of education westward.

After graduating from Amherst, Neill briefly explored career options in business and the military, before settling on attending Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.⁴ A career in ministry was not an uncommon choice for a college graduate at the time, and after his time at the seminary, Neill was left with a passion for evangelical Presbyterianism and a future that would surely be defined by his interest in religious education.

In 1849, Neill arrived in the capital city of St. Paul less than two weeks after Minnesota was officially established as a U.S. territory.⁵ With rosy visions of Amherst on his mind, Neill hoped to establish a school in what was then the fast-growing Northwest region of the United States. However, it would take many tries for Neill to secure the right combination of mission, supporters, and funding in order to establish a school that would stand the test of time.