Reply #3: It actually IS named after the Colgate family...

[RedSpartan]

In 1817, the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York was founded by thirteen men (six clergymen and seven laymen). Two years later, in 1819, the state granted the school's charter, and the school opened a year later, in 1820. The first classes were held in a building in the town of Hamilton. Three years later, in 1823, the Baptist Theological Seminary at New York City incorporated with the Baptist Education Society and subsequently changed its name to the Hamilton Literary & Theological Institution. Among the trustees was William Colgate, founder of a soap company.

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In 1890, Madison University changed its name to Colgate University in recognition of the family and its gifts to the school.<13> James B. Colgate, one of William Colgate's sons, established a $1,000,000 endowment...

https://portal.colgate.edu:8443/ITSPortlets/images/Colgate.jpg