Stephen West graduated from Yale in 1755, taught school, studied theology under Timothy Woodbridge in Hatfield, Mass., and commenced his ministerial labors as chaplain at Fort Hoosac. He preached in Stockbridge following Jonathan Edwards, and some of the earliest pastors in Berkshire County were his pupils. He held the office of Williams Vice President for nineteen years beginning in 1793. He died in 1819 after serving his church for over 60 years. “His friends acknowledged the power of his mind and the goodness of his heart.” (Source: Durfee, Biographical Annals of Williams)