HISTORY OF

THEjjNlVERSITY^

OF THE gOUTH

.••u- - .; •" ; vi xv*

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Class

HISTORY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,

AT

SEWANEE, TENNESSEE,

FROM

Its founding by the Southern Bishops, Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Church in 1857 to the year 1905.

BY

GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, M. A., Un.'Coll.,Trin. Coll.

One of its founders and long-time Trustee. Still connected with the Board of Trustees and its Executive Committees.

JACKSONVILLE. FLA.

THE H. St. W. B. DREW COMPANY

1905

SENERAI

PREFACE.

Nearly half a century has elapsed since the meeting on Lookout Mountain (on July 4th, 1857), composed of bishops, clerical and lay delegates, considered and adopted plans for building up at the South a university of learning which should meet the requirements for higher education of youth in the Southern States of the Union, and carry out, what was not permitted in State institutions, the association of religion and learning.

The story of the beginnings of the enterprise before the war between the States, and its utter prostration during that dreadful period, the heroic efforts made at the close of the war to resuscitate the great scheme projected by Bishop Polk and his associates, is a story of no ordinary interest, and it seems to the author of the work, being now the only survivor of that body, but fit and proper that a record should be made of the founding, the encouraging beginning, the sad overthrowal, and the successful efforts made to re-establish it upon the old plans and foundations, which have ultimately led to the carrying out, in some degree, of those plans, and the establishment upon a permanent basis of the University of the South.

Those of the present generation can but faintly understand or appreciate the trials and struggles which it cost those engaged in the work, or the self-sacrifices undergone in order to save and sustain the institution in times that tried men's souls, and few, I fear, realize what a debt of gratitude they owe for the present condition of the University, to the men of the past who have been connected with the work.

iv PREFACE.

The transition from the simple log homes in which its re-founder, Bishop Quintard, and the writer, domiciled our families in 1866, almost alone in the unbroken forest, and the one frame building named Otey Hall, to the many beautiful buildings of the University and the homes of the cultivated and refined society of Sewanee as it now is, is a striking con- trast indeed.

To perpetuate, in some degree, the labors and sacrifices made in the upbuilding of the University, and to follow, step by step, its gradual growth, is a labor of love and reverential regard. It is hoped that these pages will increase, in its alumni and friends, the already fervent Sewanee spirit, and create that reverence for the past, and for the men who, under God's merciful Providence, labored for the accomplishment of the great and ennobling thought of Polk, Otey, Elliott and Green, and later on of Quintard, and their associates, to build up for the glory of God and the good of mankind, this Christian seat of learning, for which we may well all pray, in the words of Bishop Elliott at the laying of the cornerstone in 1860:

Esto Pcrpetua.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE,

Early efforts of Bishop Otey, of Tennessee, to establish a church college and seminary for the dioceses of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas 1

CHAPTER II. 1856.

The initial steps taken by Bishop Polk to create a university for the Southern States, and action of the Southern bishops in reference thereto . 11

CHAPTER III.

The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates on Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, on July 4, 1857, and adoption of a plan of organization for a university 22

CHAPTER IV. 1857.

The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama, in November, 1857— Selection of a location — Application for a charter — Selection of a name — Subsequent meetings held at Beersheba Springs, Tenn., and New Orleans, La. — Charter accepted 28

vi CONTENTS

PACK- CHAPTER V.

1860.

First meeting of the board of trustees, at Sewanee, Tenn., in October, 1860 — Adoption of a constitution and statutes — Laying of cornerstone, on October 10, 1860 38

CHAPTER VI. 1861.

Tribute to Bishops Polk, Otey and Elliott — Events subsequent to the laying of the cornerstone — Secession of the Confeder- ate States — Organization of the church in the South — Meet- ing of the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in October, 1861

CHAPTER VII. 1865-66.

The effort for the resuscitation of the University, in 1865 — Action taken by the convention of the diocese of Tennessee toward establishing a training school — Election of the Rev. Chas. T. Quintard as bishop of Tennessee, and his work to effect this purpose — Meeting of the trustees at Sewanee in 1866, and determination to resume the work 70

CHAPTER VIII.

Progress of affairs during the year 1867 — Efforts to raise funds at home for the work... 82

CONTENTS. vii

PAGE.

CHAPTER IX. 1867.

Meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in August, 1867—- Action taken in reference to the approaching meeting of the Pan-Anglican Council in England — Visit of Bishop Quin- tard to England, and material aid received for the Univer- sity 91

CHAPTER X. 1868.

Election and consecration of Bishop Beckwith, as bishop of Georgia — Meeting of the trustees at Savannah, Ga., on April 2, 1868 — Decision of the board to open the junior depart- ment of the University not later than September 1, 1868— Selection of General Josiah Gorgas as head of the school — Formal opening of the junior department on September 18, 1868 96

CHAPTER XI. 1869.

Progress in the year 1869 — Bishop Quintard's report as vice chancellor and recommendations — Report of the commis- sioner of buildings and lands as to erection of buildings and leases of lots — Plans for raising an endowment considered — Appointment of professors and officers 103

Tin CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER XII.

1870.

Increased number of students — Erection of library building — Meeting of board of trustees in July, 1870 — Vice Chancellor Quintard urges expansion of the work — Report of com- mittee in reference to opening the schools of the University 110

CHAPTER XIII. 1871.

Action of the board in reference to leases on the domain — Separation of the grammar school from the other depart- ments, and its organization — Litigation in reference to the lands of the University — Founding of the E. Q. B. Club. . . 123

CHAPTER XIV. 1871.

Views of Bishop Quintard as to the religious character and demands of the University — Increase of students — Leases and residences — Statement of the plans of the founders as to buildings to be erected 132

CHAPTER XV. 1872.

Vice Chancellor Quintard urges immediate action to obtain an endowment fund — Plans of endowment suggested — $500,000 to be sought for— Bishop Quintard requested to undertake this work . . 142

CONTENTS. ix

PACK.

CHAPTER XVI.

1873-1874.

The theological department inaugurated by the election of a professor of systematic divinity — Regulations as to the order of gownsmen adopted — The cornerstone of the Hodgson Library Building laid — Bishop Quintard requested to go to England in the interest of the University 153

CHAPTER XVII. 1875.

Bishop Quintard's second visit to England, in 1876 — Aid for the University received from English churchmen — Dr. Geo. T. Wilmer elected professor in theological department — Passage of the Four-Mile Law by Legislature of Tennessee — Its beneficial effects . , 162

CHAPTER XVIII.

1878.

Depressing condition of the affairs of the University in 1878 — The financial outlook discouraging — The hebdomadal board agrees to undertake the work of sustaining the academic department — Election of Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as dean of the theological department 176

CONTENTS.

PACK.

CHAPTER XIX. 1878-1879.

The academic department under the control of the hebdoma- dal board — Meeting of the board of trustees in 1879 — The views of the hebdomadal board presented to the board of trustees — Financial condition of the University — Measures taken to fund its indebtedness . 193

CHAPTER XX. 1880-1881.

The university commission continued for one year — Financial condition still depressing — A more complete organization of the military department— Plans for university build- ings— Issue of bonds — Support of theological department. . 208

CHAPTER XXI. 1882-1883.

The University commission discontinued — Financial condition and number of students — Proposal to change the name of the University from The University of the South to The University of Sewanee — The trustees undertake the erection of a chemical and philosophical hall — Conference held at Sewanee on the problem of the relation of the church to the colored race 219

CONTENTS. xi

PAGE.

CHAPTER XXII. 1883.

Report of special committee on proposed change of name — Organization of a hotel company — Completion of Thompson Hall — Constitution amended so as to give representation in the board of trustees to the missionary institutions and to the alumni 232

CHAPTER XXIII. 1884-1886.

Proposition made to erect grammar school buildings near Morgan Steep — Renewal of approval of the Bishop Hopkin's plans of location of buildings — Laying of the cornerstone of Convocation Hall 240

CHAPTER XXIV. 1886.

The location and plans for the permanent buildings discussed in the board of trustees — A paper as to the plans of the founders of the University, by Geo. R. Fairbanks, a lay trustee from the diocese of Florida, read in the meeting of the board — Preservation of forest growth — Death of Bishop Young, of Florida, and Col. L. N. Whittle, of Georgia 247

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER XXV.

1886-1889.

Rev. Dr. Barrett's plan for endowment — Death of the Rev. William Mercer Green, bishop of Mississippi, and chancellor of the University — Election of bishop Gregg as chancellor — Attempt of county authorities to subject the 1,000 acres exempted by the charter to taxation — Decree of the Supreme Court in favor of the University . 265

CHAPTER XXVI.

1889-1890.

Several theological scholarships founded — Unsatisfactory financial condition — Gift of D. V. Walsh, of Louisiana, for an academic hall — Plans for same adopted — Remarks upon the plans for University buildings .276

CHAPTER XXVII.

1891-1892.

Resignation of Rev. Dr. Hodgson of office of vice chancellor — Election of Rev. Thos. F. Gailor, D. D., as his successor — The question of water supply considered — Resignation of Prof. Page from chair of modern languages, and election of Prof. B. W. Wells. Ph. D., to that chair — Organization of the medical department, and of school of commerce and trade . 286

CONTENTS. xiii

CHAPTER XXVIII.

1893.

The constitution amended so as to provide for the election of chancellor — Death of Gen. E. Kirby Smith — Tribute to the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. C. L., bishop of Tennessee — The Tustin fund given for the use of the theological depart- ment— Establishment of the law department — Completion of Walsh Memorial Hall — Consecration of Rev. Dr. T. F. Gailor, D. D., as bishop coadjutor of Tennessee — Death of Bishop Gregg, chancellor of the University, and election of the Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley, LL. D., bishop of Kentucky, as chancellor 295

CHAPTER XXIX.

1893-1894.

Reorganization and enlargement of the executive committee — Resignation of Rt. Rev. T. P. Gailor, S. T. D., as vice chan- cellor, and election of Prof. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., to that office — Death of the Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., dean of the theological department 304

CHAPTER XXX. 1895.

Some changes of professors and officers made — The military system re-established in the grammar school — The subject of athletics considered — The Bishop Dudley endowment fund of $50,000 received — Dormitory for junior students suggested — Visit of the Rev. Dr. Chas. F. Hoffman to Sewanee , . 314

xiv CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER XXXI.

1895-1896.

Financial condition of the University — Increase of students — Plan of endowment proposed by Dr. Murdock — Death of Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup — Organization of faculty of arts and sciences — Prize scholarships awarded to students of Univer- sity by Society for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries — Adverse action on proposal to change the winter to a summer vacation — Academic degree for women considered 327

CHAPTER XXXII.

1897-1898.

Conditions in 1897 improving — Larger enrollment of students — Growth of medical department — Regulations of athletics — Laying of the cornerstone of Hoffman Memorial Hall and its completion 334

CHAPTER XXXIII.

1898.

Death of Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, LL. D., D. C. L., on February 15, 1898 — Prizes awarded to students by the Association for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools and Colleges — Oratorical contests and athletic games won by Sewanee students — Increase in number of students — Resignation of Prof. B. W. Wells — Question of cheapening expenses of students — Aid given by scholarships 342

CONTENTS. xv

CHAPTER XXXIV.

1899-1900.

Benefactions of Judge Goodwyn and Rev. E. D. Cooper, D. D. — Establishment of steam laundry and waterworks — Sewanee sandstone — Rebuilding of the supply store — Change of scholastic year from two to three terms — Resignation of Prof. Trent — Death of Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, and Bishop Pierce, of Arkansas — The Quintard Memorial Hall — Gift of Westminister chimes by Rev. W. C. Douglas, D. D . . 354

CHAPTER XXXV. 1901-1902.

The University Library, addition to Thompson Medical Hall — Reorganization of law department — Death of Professor Greenough White — Resignation of Rev. Dr. R. H. Starr... 366

CHAPTER XXXVI. 1902-1903.

Death of Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, of Mississippi, and Bishop R. W. Barnwell, of Alabama — Retirement of Profes- sor W. L. Bevan, and E. H. Babbitt — Other changes in the faculty — Election of Dr. Brantz Mayer Roszel, as head master of the grammar school — Improvement of the domain 376

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Notes upon the founding, growth and present condition of the domain of the University, which may be of interest for future reference . . 390

CHAPTER XXXVIII. Conclusion ... . 396

Rt.Rev. JAMES H OTEY, D. D. Bishop of Tennessee, First Chancellor of the University

OF THE

( UNIVERSITY

OF

History of the University of the South,

CHAPTER I.

The early efforts of Bishop Otey to establish a church college and seminary for the dioceses of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, to be called Madison College.

THE University of the South, by common consent, owes its inception to the great bishop of Louisiana, Leonidas Polk, who took the initial steps for its establishment in 185(>, but it may not be unprofitable to devote some attention to the preceding efforts of Bishop Otey of Tennessee to set on foot a church college and seminary for the benefit of his own and several adjoining dioceses which he aimed to associate jointly in the scheme, efforts in which, as will be seen, Bishop Polk took a prominent part, and which no doubt led to the movement which he inaugurated in 1856 for the founding of a church university for the Southern States, as the result of which the University of the South has been established and now exists.

One can hardly suppose that the subject of educa- tion had been absent from the minds of the churchmen of the Southern States. During the colonial period the South was settled on its eastern seaboard mainly by the better class of Englishmen, to whom social position was of great importance. They had inherited a respect for learning and for churchmanship ; they associated educa-

2 HISTORY OF THE

tion with position, and provided for their sons and daughters the best advantages attainable. Those who had wealth sent their sons to England for education,, and, at a later period, to William and Mary, Princeton, Harvard or Yale. The church clergyman, always an educated man, stood first in social standing, and was often engaged in the work of education in colleges or private schools. The Southwestern States were settled by immigration from the seaboard. Virginia, one hundred years ago, embraced, besides its present territory, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Wis- consin. North Carolina had embraced all of Tennessee, and South Carolina and Georgia claimed the Mississippi Kiver as their western boundary.

The heredity of churchmanship and education was carried in a diminished degree from the seaboard to the West and Southwest. The church, it is true, was very weak indeed among these peoples, and when her sons were scattered over so large a region there was little power of concentration for the accomplishment of any educational work. We, at this day, hardly realize how weak the church was in our Southern associated dioceses in 1856, when Bishop Folk's letter was put forth. The dioceses were most of them under their first bishops. The entire number of clergy in all of the Southern dioceses reached only about 180, a smaller number than some single dioceses at the North contained ; but, although the church was weak, the educational idea was prominent in the thought of these pioneer bishops and clergy. Of those who inaugurated the University, Bishops Otey and Green had been professors in the University of North

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3

Carolina, Bishop Elliott had been a professor in the South Carolina College, Bishop Polk had been educated at West Point and had visited the great educational institu- tions abroad. When Bishop Otey came to Tennessee as a presbyter he engaged in teaching at Franklin, and his mind seemed at once to be occupied with the subject of Christian education.

As early as 1832, in the diocesan journal of Tennessee for that year, we find certain resolutions on that subject, supposed to have been prepared by Bishop Otey while yet a presbyter of that diocese. In 1834, at the early age of 34, he was consecrated as the first bishop of Tennessee. In his address to his convention in June, 1835, he said : "Among other interesting and important matters which will claim the attention of this convention I deem it highly proper to call to your notice the subject of education, both as it respects provision to be made for furnishing to the children of Episcopalians, as well as others who desire it, proper facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the arts and sciences usually taught in colleges, as likewise for affording to those who may become candidates for orders, more ample advantages than Ave can at present offer. I would willingly enter into a full exposition of my views on this subject, but the prevalence of but one opinion among us as to the expediency of such an object, and the great advantages to be derived from the adoption of such measures, renders such an exposition perhaps unnecessary, and would hardly justify my trespassing on your time and attention. It is only necessary to state here that a project' has been set on foot by the friends of the church in the States of

4 HISTORY OF THE

Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, for founding and endowing a Protestant Episcopal college, to be situated at some suitable place near the southwestern boundary of this State, and that so far the scheme has been attended with a very encouraging earnest of success. It belongs to this convention representing the interests of the church in this diocese, to take such order on this subject as in its wisdom it may deem most proper."

It will be noticed that Bishop Otey had formulated quite distinctly in his own mind what he desired to accomplish.

First. — Proper facilities for furnishing to the children of the church, as well as others who desire it, proper facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the arts and sciences usually taught in colleges. His idea was a church school equaling in advantages existing college systems, and open to all who desired to avail themselves of it. A broad Catholic idea.

Secondly. — To provide proper training for candidates for orders in this CHURCH.

Thirdly. — That such institution should be founded and endowed as a "Protestant Episcopal College." Clearly and distinctively a church institution.

Fourthly. — In order to subserve the joint convenience of Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, that it should be located at some suitable place near to the south- western boundary of his diocese; that part of Tennessee being contiguous to Mississippi and nearest to Louisiana. I think in this brief statement of the Bishop we have quite clearly outlined a plan for a church institution of learning in the South, easily expanded to larger propor-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 5

tions, and foreshadowing the larger and grander plan and project of Bishop Polk in 1856, just twenty years later. Bishop Otey was provisionally in charge of the diocese of Mississippi, for which no bishop was con- secrated until 1850, although organized as a diocese in 1825. He was also temporarily in charge of Louisiana, which was organized as a diocese in 1838. The subject of Christian education, thus brought so prominently, by Bishop Otey, to the attention of his convention, was referred to a committee consisting of Rev. Leonidas Polk, then rector of St. Peters Church, Columbia, Rev. R. Chilton of Brownsville, and Mr. H. T. Jones and Mr. H. G. Smith of the laity, who made a report approving of Bishop Otey's views, and recommending that a com- mittee be appointed to carry them into effect, with the Bishop as chairman.

The recommendation was concurred in, and the Rev. Mr. Polk and Messrs. A. O. Harris of Columbia, and B. S. Tappan of Franklin appointed as the other members of the committee. The diocese of Tennessee then con- tained fourteen parishes and missions, and paid to its bishop a salary of only $925.

The earnestness of the Bishop in seeking to carry out the plans he had so fully matured in his mind, is shown in the recurrence to the subject made by him in the following year, 1836. In his address to the Tennessee diocesan convention he says: "Connected with my journey to the Southwest (an Episcopal visitation of Mississippi) was an ardent desire to forward an object which has already been a subject of deliberation and advisement with you. I refer to a projected plan of a

6 HISTORY OF THE

literary and theological seminary to meet the wants of Episcopalians in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. It was my expectation when I left home that I should be able to obtain subscriptions in sufficient amount to justify the adoption of measures at this convention, to determine upon a site, and proceed to the erection of the necessary buildings. I have not permitted myself to doubt that the assurances given me will yet be made good, and that my expectations were not realized last winter I am of the deliberate persuasion was owing to fortuitous circumstances as unforseen as they were utterly beyond the control of the friends of the measure." Among these he mentions the disorganized state of the church in the Southwest, the heavy drafts made upon the liberality of the public to meet pressing calls for help to those destitute and suffering in Texas and Florida, where an Indian war then existed, and the weighty responsibilities incurred in erecting a costly Episcopal church in New Orleans. For these causes, and many others of a like nature, the friends of the undertaking advised a post- ponement of the application for some months, with the confident belief that the project would hereafter be easily carried into effect. He urged that the scheme "be courageously persevered in, even under greater discourage- ments than those already experienced." That the "rapid progress of population and of wealth in the South indi- cated that there was wealth more than enough to meet all demands for the cultivation of literature and religion if its possessors could be induced to direct a portion of it to such objects. The youth in the Southwest," he said, "for the most part seek the advantages of education by a

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 7

resort to the Northern colleges. This they do confessedly at an additional expense, arising from the distance they had to travel, at the hazard of such changes in the con- stitution fromi difference of climate as to render their return dangerous and at the risk of weakening those domestic ties and early associations connected with the parental domicile, which are seldom severed and broken but at the expense of virtue." He earnestly recommended "the appointment of agents in Tennessee to obtain for this object subscriptions payable in one, two and three years, and a special agent to visit the Southwest country under the authority of this body the ensuing fall and winter for the same purpose." A committee was appointed on the subject, consisting of "Rev. Leonidas Polk, the Kev. Mr. Muller and Rev. Mr. Litton and Messrs. Anderson, Allston and Walker of the laity. Rev. Mr. Polk, as chairman of the committee, made a report fully approving of Bishop Otey's views, and recommended that the committee on education be continued and authorized to appoint an agent or agents to carry into effect the objects contemplated by soliciting subscriptions agreeably to the plan set forth by Bishop Otey. It appears that active measures were taken during the years 1836-7 to raise funds for the proposed seminary. The Bishop in his journal of 1837 mentions Bolivar, LaGrange, Somer- ville, Brownsville and Jackson, at which latter place and vicinity $25,000 was subscribed, some of it conditioned on the location which might be selected. Bishop Otey said, in his address to the convention in 1837, "In regard to our proposed literary and theological seminary, it is, I believe, within our reach, if the convention will only devise means

8 HISTORY OF THE

to collect and make them available. That there is no diminution of interest either at home or abroad is evinced by the fact that the convention of Mississippi has recom- mended the object to the friends of the church in the South, and by the fact that the people of a single county in the western district have subscribed one-fourth of the whole amount necessary to found and endow the institu- tion. The Eev. Mr. Polk had made every preparation to proceed to the South in the month of April last to solicit funds for this object.

"The sudden and unprecedented catastrophy that came upon the commercial world (the panic of 1837), in the total derangement of the moneyed operations of the country and the consequent destruction of credit, arrested him on the eve of his journey, and upon advisement the effort for the time was abandoned. The whole subject is now commended again to your consideration, my dear brethren, in the full confidence that your wisdom and providence will direct the measures most proper to be pursued." A committee was appointed on the subject of the seminary. Rev. Mr. Polk was not appointed on this committee ; probably on account of his then feeble health, as mentioned in his report. Upon receiving the report of the committee the convention resolved that the Bishop and standing committee should act as a committee to locate the proposed literary and theological seminary within Madison County, in the State of Tennessee, provided an eligible site could be obtained on reasonable terms, and that the Bishop should appoint an agent or agents for the purpose of collecting funds and obtaining subscrip- tions for building and endowing the said seminary, and

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 9

that reports should be made to the next convention. It was further resolved that the proposed seminary should, in compliment to the county in which it was proposed to be located, be called Madison College. The Bishop reported to the next convention (of 1838) that he had examined several sites near Jackson, Tennessee, but did not indicate the selection of a site. The subject was referred to a committee, which failed to report, and no further action was had. The Rev. Leonidas Polk was appointed chairman of the committee on missions and education. Bishop Otey's efforts to establish a seminary were apparently frustrated by the panic and financial prostration of 1837, and he seems to have become thoroughly discouraged both as to his plans for a classical and theological seminary for the Southwest, as well as in his efforts to establish diocesan schools. In 1838 Rev. Leonidas Polk, at the early age of thirty-three, was consecrated missionary bishop of Arkansas, and in 1841 was elected bishop of Louisiana. From this compilation the scope and ideas of Bishop Otey on the subject of a church seminary can be very fully comprehended. From the limitations of the period, with the church greatly disorganized in the Southwest, himself the only bishop in that region, it could not well be expected that he would contemplate covering any larger area than his own dio- cese with that of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas — - it, indeed, indicates great breadth of view that he con- templated even so large a scheme. His idea of endow- ment was1 limited to $100,000 — a considerable sum to gather for educational purposes in those days of the church's weakness. Having in view the intimate connec-

10 HISTORY OF THE

tion of Bishop Polk with these early plans of Bishop Otey, one cannot avoid the conclusion that the plans of Bishop Otey for a classical and theological church seminary or college, to be founded and endowed by a concert of action and union of several Southwestern dioceses, were at a later day, under more favorable condi- tions, revived and enlarged into broader and more complete plans by Bishop Polk, to create a Southern church university to be established and controlled by a union of all the Southern dioceses, outside of Virginia and Kentucky.

Rt Rev. LEONIDAS POLK, D. D. Fir.t Bishop of Louioia aj Second Chancellor of University

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

V,, /u f; tNN\": -*

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 11

CHAPTER II.

The initial steps taken by Bishop Polk to create a church univer- sity for the Southern States, and the concurrent action of the bishops of the Southern dioceses in furtherance of his plans.

1856.

IN the year 1856 general prosperity prevailed throughout the South. All the Southern dioceses were organized and the church was rapidly growing in the Southern States. Their bishops were in the prime of life and were men of great and commanding influence. Louisiana, Bishop Folk's own diocese, especially was advancing rapidly in wealth. The immense State of Texas had been added to the area of the Southern States. Arkansas' rich cotton fields were being rapidly brought into cultivation, Florida was attracting much attention, and the Southern States were in a far stronger and more prosperous condition than ever before. The population of the Southern States, which in 1840 numbered five million, one hundred and nineteen thousand, had increased so rapidly that they numbered, in 1860, eight million and sixty-two thousand, with an immense capital invested in slaves, productive cotton and sugar plantations, and manufactures. Such was the condition of the South when Bishop Polk put forth, July 1st, 1856, his well known letter addressed by name to the Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey of Tennessee, Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott of Georgia, the Rt. Rev. Nicholas Hamner Cobbs of Alabama, the Rt. Rev. George W.

12 HISTORY OF THE

Freeman of Arkansas, the Rt. Eev. Francis Huger Rutledge of Florida, the Kt. Rev. Thomas F. Davis of South Carolina and the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Atkinson of North Carolina.

Bishop Polk begins his letter by referring to the condi- tion of the church in the South and the duty of its chief ministers to promote its welfare and to overcome the obstacles which stood in the way of its power and usefulness. He then proceeds to call their attention to the duty of strengthening the churclj by the establishment of some system of educational training which shall provide for the instruction of the male portions of their charge, as well in academical as theological learning. He refers to existing State and denominational institu- tions which, however meritorious, he says, do not meet the wants of our people, who many of them send their sons to Northern schools, beyond the reach of supervision and parental influence, exposed to the rigors of an unfriendly climate, to say nothing of other influences not calculated, it is to be feared, to promote their happiness or ours. A more important reason, he says, is that when they pass from under the parental eye in the preparatory school we have no institution fairly within our reach where they will be kept under the influence of those Christian principles and that church instruction to which we pledged them in baptism, which we have accepted and hold as of the essence of Christ's religion, which we would transmit in their vigor to them and through them, unmarred, to our latest posterity. This, he claims, is a felt necessity. He proceeds to urge this duty and, admitting the feebleness of the church in a majority of

UNIVERSITY OF THti SOUTH. 13

the dioceses, says that what they cannot do singly they can, with greatest ease, do collectively. That he believed that the present was the time at which they could found such an institution as they needed, which he described to be "an institution to be our common property, under our joint control, of a clear and distinctly recognized church character, upon a scale of such breadth and comprehensiveness as shall be equal in the liberality of its provisions for intellectual cultivation to those of the highest class at home or abroad, and which shall fully meet the demands of those of our people who require for their children the highest educational advantages, under the supervision of the church."

Nothing certainly could be grander or nobler than this comprehensive ideal of a church university. One perceives at once in these few well chosen words the clear, splendid ideal which Bishop Polk had in mind, and which he aimed to have accomplished. He next proceeds to urge upon his Episcopal colleagues the necessity of such an institution for the training of young men for the ministry. That this was beyond the reach of the dioceses separately, but to graft such a seminary upon such a university as he had indicated "would be an easy solution of the difficulty.'' That a single corps of professors would serve them all, "and the means at the disposal of our dioceses severally, poured into one channel, would swell the aggregate amount to a sum large enough to enable us to make such liberal provision for the several chairs as would make them objects of attraction, and place at our command the highest talent. And what is true in this respect of the theological is equally true of the academical

14 HISTORY OF THE

and collegiate departmients." He appeals then to con- sideration of the importance of providing for that educa- tion that the children of our section are entitled to at home, and which would, while they required the highest standard of intellectual development, breathe that spirit of chasteness and dignified conservatism for which the church is so confessedly distinguished. "The effects on the interests of the church as such in the Southern portion of our Union/' he says, "it would be difficult to estimate." He then proceeds to consider the question of a locality suited to such a concentration of interests of all the Southern dioceses, and refers to the great trunk lines of railway traversing the several Southern States and terminating in the southern end of the Alleghany range in the southeast corner of the State of Tennessee, by which, he says, "all the citizens of those States can be brought together in from 36 to 48 hours." This remarkable fact, the concentration of railways (in the vicinity of Chattanooga) would seenx, he says, "to indicate these high lands as the region for our union and co-operation. They have the merit of centrality and accessibility, and from the rapidity of movement attained by railway contiguity also they offer mountain air and pure water and are beyond the reach of epidemics. The cost of living is cheap, and they are within the pale of the plantation States." The Bishop thus in a few strokes of the pen, outlines his plans as to union of effort and location. With wonderful forecast he puts his finger on the location best adapted, considered from every point of view, as the seat of a great university. The railway advantages then apparent were only the forerunners of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 15

a greatly enlarged system of communication which made all the lines from North and South, East and West, cross each other in the State of Tennessee. After discussing many secondary advantages, to result from the closer relations which would be brought about between the dioceses and the churchmen of the South, he plainly enunciates his main proposition, "that what we cannot do separate^, and to our satisfaction as dioceses, we may very easily accomplish, and in the most satisfactory manner, when united." "The population of our dioceses is homogeneous, the people are substantially the same; their pursuits, their institutions, their sympathies, are one. A single educational establishment situated in a place so central and accessible as that indicated would serve the purposes of each of us as well as if it were situated within the precincts of our respective dioceses." He also refers to the establishment of a press for the defense and maintenance of our distinctive principles and as a medium of communication with the several dioceses, and mentions also the advantages which will be presented to such families as desire it, a high, healthy retreat for themselves, with access to a cultivated and religious society, during the education of their children. He calls attention to the fact that he had included in the arrange- ments no dioceses north of North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, and gives as his reason that Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, etc., have institutions of their own, which they have established and to which they are pledged, and which he supposed would not be interested in an enterprise which they did not need. But that if they should afterwards desire to be connected with us

16 HISTORY OF THE

they would be gladly welcome, as Kentucky and Missouri have already been.

He suggests that if his views find favor with his Episcopal brethren they could meet and discuss the matter at the general convention in October, 1850, and could obtain the views of the clerical and lay delegates from the South. As to plan of organization, he says, "that his idea would be to commit the institution to the <?are of a board of trustees to be composed of the bishops ex o/ficio of the dioceses uniting and of a number to be agreed upon of the clergy and laity of said dioceses, to be elected from time to time by the several diocesan con- ventions. This board to have full power and authority to organize, establish and provide for the administration of the institution to be founded, in such a way and upon such a scale as they might think proper.

"A cardinal principle in the whole movement would of course be that the institution would be declaredly out and out Episcopal, founded by the church for the especial benefit of her own children, for the advancement of learn- ing generally, and for the propagation of the Gospel as she (the church) understood it. But that it would be freely open to all who might desire to avail of its advantages on the terms they were dispensed to the children of the church."

Such is a brief outline of Bishop Folk's plan for the inauguration of a great church university for the South. It will be noted, I think, how fully the project was matured in his own mind, even to the details of location and organization. He was prepared to present a complete plan, practical in its character and distinct in its con-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17

elusions. He knew precisely what was proposed to be undertaken, and how it was to be carried through. He had gone from the abstract idea of the importance of Christian education to the South to the practical means of obtaining it. He took for granted the importance and necessity of the work, and the manner in which he believed it could be carried into effect. He began by laying his plans in a bold and open type before the bishops of the South. He recognized the fact that their indorse- ment, approval and advocacy, was to be a prime factor in the movement. As the whole idea of success was based upon the joint united action of all the dioceses of the South and Southwest, the project must go forth, if at all, with their united, hearty assent and approval. The great wisdom and sagacity of Bishop Polk is shown in his recognition of this fact, and obtaining not only their approval and indorsement of his project, but that they would jointly support and send forth the plan he had suggested, giving it all the weight of their united names and recommendation. He thus wisely planned to make the proposed university the work of the church in the South, represented by all of the Southern bishops. This concurrent action on the part of the bishops was most heartily given, and, in order to give in the most public manner its due effect and influence, the bishops, after consultation and conference among themselves, and with the clerical and lay representatives from the South then in attendance on the general convention in Phila- delphia, issued an address to the members and friends of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Southern and Southwestern States, namely, in the dioceses of North

18 HISTORY OF THE

Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.

They prefaced their address as follows: "The under- signed bishops of the dioceses above named, under a sense of their responsibility to God as your chief pastors, charged with the duty of devising measures for the train- ing of your children in all those graces and virtues which belong to the Christian character, have deemed it proper for the better discharge of their trust to unite in proposing to you a plan of union by which they may be efficiently aided in the accomplishment of this common duty."

They then proceed to inculcate the necessity and importance of religion, supported by an adequate amount of intellectual culture; they refer to what has been done by the Presbyterians at Princeton, the Congregationalists at Yale, the Unitarians at Harvard, and the Methodists and other religious bodies elsewhere.

The value of intelligence and moral sentiment in support of our government is clearly set forth, and our duty as churchmen to make thoughtful provision for the children of the church, in regard to their moral and spiritual as well as intellectual well being. They ask what are we doing for these children, what effort are we making to throw around them, during the most important period of their life, their collegiate career, those sustain- ing supports as well as those wholesome restraints furnished by our holy religion as exhibited and illustrated in the offices of the church of their fathers — what to combat scepticism and infidelity — what to raise up men to fill the ministry? It is manifest, they say, "that there exists within the pales of our dioceses a great educational

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 19

necessity, common to all our dioceses. That in view of this state of things they, the bishops, had considered the matter, and had come to the conclusion that no time should be lost in relieving it, and that no plan of relief presents itself of so promising a character as that which would unite the energies and resources of our dioceses in one common effort. They had therefore resolved, after mature deliberation, and consultation with leading clergy- men and laymen of our several dioceses, to propose to you to unite our strength in founding a university upon such a scale of magnitude as shall answer all our wants. This we propose shall be a university, with all the facul- ties, theological included, upon a plan so extensive as to comprise the whole course usually embraced in the most approved institutions of that grade, whether at home or abroad." They admit the magnitude of such an enter- prise, the large amount of capital necessary for its foundation, and the weighty responsibility of shaping its plans and conducting them to a successful issue. But considering the pervading and far reaching influence such an institution would have upon both the State and the church, and the extent of the field whence we propose to draw not only the means to build it up, but the minds to found and govern it, they dare not hesitate to believe that all the resources necessary, of whatever character, are within our reach and will be forthcoming as soon as they shall be needed. To say nothing of the well known and ample wealth belonging to our community generally, we will not allow ourselves to believe that, upon the presentation of such an occasion for the employ- ment of a part of that treasure committed to our

20 HISTORY OF THE

stewardship, we shall fail to find our Lawrences and Stuyvesants, our Moores and Kohnes and Gores and Dudleys (names for the most part now forgotten under the greater glamour of Peabody, John Hopkins, Vander- bilt, Packer, Kockefeller, Cornell, Stanford, etc) ready to lend their aid in the consummation of so great a work." They then proceed to state what their proposition is :

First. — That the University should be in all its parts under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Second. — That the board of trustees should be composed of the bishops of all the dioceses ex officio so uniting, and of one clergyman and two laymen, to be elected by the conventions of each diocese, and a vote by orders provided for.

Third.— That the sum of $500,000, at least, shall be raised before the work be commenced.

Fourth. — A treasurer in each diocese, who shall receive and invest all money given in that diocese, paying to the university treasurer the interest of the same.

Fifth. — A treasurer of the corporation.

Sixth. — The amount subscribed in any diocese to revert in case of dissolution.

Seventh. — Each bishop shall bring the subject speedily before his diocese and convention, and shall also put in operation any agencies he may think best for promoting the cause, in accordance with the general principles here laid down.

Eighth. — That the senior bishop by consecration shall always be chancellor of the University.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 21

Ninth. — It is deemed expedient to establish the Uni- versity at some spot near Chattanooga, where the various railroads traversing our dioceses converge, thus rendering access to it from every direction easy and speedy.

This address was sent forth bearing the signatures of Bishops Otey of Tennessee, Polk of Louisiana, Elliott of Georgia, Cobbs of Alabama, Freeman of Arkansas, Green of Mississippi, Rutledge of Florida, Davis of South Carolina and Atkinson of North Carolina, and bore date Philadelphia, October 23, 1856. It was undoubtedly mainly written by Bishop Otey, the latter part probably by Bishop Polk.

It was printed and widely distributed, and, in pursuance of the seventh clause, the respective bishops brought the subject before their people and the diocesan conventions. Trustees or delegates were elected by the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee to meet at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, on the fourth day of July, 1857, "to confer touching the establishment of a university under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church. "

22 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER III.

The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates, held at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn., July 4th, 1857 — Adoption of a plan of organization.

1857.

THE respective diocesan conventions, acting upon the suggestion of their bishops at their ensuing annual meet- ing, elected delegates to the proposed convention to be held on Lookout Mountain, and on the 4th day of July, 1857, the delegates assembled at that place. The choice of the 4th of July as the day of meeting was intentional, and significant of the patriotism of those engaged in the enterprise.

The bishops present were Bishop Otey of Tennessee, Bishop Polk of Louisiana, Bishop Elliott of Georgia, Bishop Cobbs of Alabama, Bishop Green of Mississippi, Bishop Eutledge of Florida and Bishop Davis of South Carolina, and clerical and lay delegates from Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas. Preliminary to the business meeting a procession was formed and marched to a stand appointed for the opening exercises. The one-hundreth psalm was sung, the twenty-second chapter of the book of Joshua was read by Bishop Green, appropriate collects were said by Bishop Cobbs, the Declaration of Independence was read by the Hon. G. B. Duncan of Louisiana, and an address made by Bishop Otey. Bishop Otey's address

Rt. Rev. STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia; Third Chancellor of the University,

' OF tHE -rx/

UNIVERSITY

of »FOR^

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 23

was devoted to the subject of the proposed University, prefacing the main topic by an admirable resume of the reasons which should stimulate alike the patriot and the Christian to sustain virtue and intelligence among the people as the chief supports of our civil institutions, and he emphasizes the position that there can be no sound morality which is not founded on religious truths, on the facts and doctrines of Christianity, which he affirms are the articles of Christian faith, as contained in the Apostles Creed, "The prime end aimed at in our projected University," he says, "is to make the Bible the ultimate and sufficient standard for the regulation of man's conduct as a rational and accountable being, to cultivate the moral affections of the young." "It is designed to found an institution on the most enlarged and liberal scale, to engage in its services the best talents, the most erudite learning, and the greatest skill and experience which ample compensation and the hope of usefulness can command; to make its departments commensurate with the wants and improvements of the age in every field of philosophic research, of scientific investigation and of discovery in the arts." "Its advantages are to be offered to all who acknowledge the commonly recognized truths and obligations of Christianity, and to exhibit it under the decent forms and solemn worship of that church of which we are members." Bishop Otey, with great emphasis, disclaims the idea of sectionalism as connected with the name. "The name is one of convenient discrip- tion; it is no party war cry, no sectional pass word; all such interpretations we utterly disclaim."

24 HI 8 TORY OF THE

"During the delivery of the address," says Bishop Gregg, "a beautiful and touching incident occurred. As the speaker, rising to his full height, and his whole form expanded with deep emotion, in tones of bold and fervid eloquence hurled defiance against the evil one himself if he should come to oppose the work of God, the folds of the United States flag, which clung idly to its staff above his head, were caught up by the breeze and seemed for one instant to envelop him. The effect was said to have been thrilling upon those who witnessed the scene."

At 4 o'clock p. m. the convention organized with Bishop Otey as chairman; Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rutledge and Davis answered to the roll, with seven clerical and six lay delegates. The conception of the University, as set forth in Bishop Folk's letter, and in the address of the bishops, was so entirely accepted by this convention of delegates on Lookout Mountain, that they proceeded at once to the question of organization; appointed committees on location; to obtain a charter; of ways and means ; of organization ; program and work- ing of machinery, and of constitution and buildings. The first important step adopted was a declaration of principles embodying, substantially, those contained in the Bishop's address of October 1856. This declaration was headed as viz:

We, the undersigned bishops and delegates of the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkan sas and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a University upon the following principles:

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2&

First. — The University shall in all its parts be under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, represented through a board of trustees.

Second. — The board of trustees shall be composed of the bishops of the dioceses above named, ex officio, and one clergyman and two laymen from each of said dioceses, to be elected by the convention of the same. The joint consent of bishops as an order, and of the clerical and lay trustees as another order, shall be necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The senior bishop by consecration shall always be president of the board.

Third. — This University shall not be put in operation until the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars be actually secured.

Fourth. — The funds subscribed to this University shall all be considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for any purpose connected either with the organization or management of the University, provided that donations and legacies may be received for such objects as the donors may indicate.

Fifth. — There shall be a treasurer appointed in each diocese by the convention of the same, to whom shall be delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to lands obtained as subscription in that diocese, whose duty it shall be, under the advice of the standing committee, to invest the cash and all money which shall be derived from the realization of the above mentioned private securities, in the best public securities or in other safe investment, paying over annually to the treasurer of the University the interest of the amount subscribed.

26 HISTORY OF THE

Sixth. — There shall be a treasurer of the corporation who shall receive the interest annually from the diocesan treasurers, and expend it under the direction of the board of trustees.

Seventh. — The amount subscribed in any diocese as above shall, in the event of the dissolution of the corpora- tion, be returned to the donors or their legal representa- tives, and in case of their being no legal representatives then it shall revert to the diocese.

Eighth. — The location of the University shall be as central to all the contracting dioceses as shall be consis- tent with the necessary conditions of location.

Ninth. — No diocese shall be bound by these principles to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contribu- tions shall be voluntary according to its pleasure and ability.

Tenth. — The signatures to this declaration' shall not bind the diocese further than they have already bound, or may hereafter bind themselves, by their respective conventions.

Signed at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Ten- nessee, this 6th day of July, A. D. 1857.

JAMES H. OTEY, Bishop of Tennessee.

LEONIDAS POLK, Bishop of Louisiana.

STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia.

N. H. COBBS, Bishop of Alabama.

W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi.

FRANCIS H. RUTLEDGE, Bishop of Florida.

THOMAS F. DAVIS, Bishop of South Carolina.

DAVID PISE, Tennessee.

FRANCIS B. FOGG, Tennessee.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 27

JOHN ARMFIELD, Tennessee. W. T. LEACOCK, Louisiana. GEORGE S. GUION, Louisiana. HENRY C. LAY, Alabama. CHAS. T. POLLARD, Alabama. L. H. ANDERSON, Alabama. W. W. LORD, Mississippi. ALEXANDER GREGG, South Carolina. M. A. CURTIS, North Carolina. W. D. WARREN, North Carolina. I. WOOD DUNN, Texas.*

Committees were appointed to report at an adjourned meeting appointed to be held at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 25th day of November, 1857. The secretary, Dr. Lay, afterwards bishop of Arkansas and Easton, was requested to prepare a narrative of the proceedings, inclusive of the address of Bishop Otey, of which ten thousand copies were ordered to be published. This task was gracefully accomplished by Dr. Lay. An excellent report of the proceedings was also furnished by the Rev. Alexander Gregg, subsequently bishop of Texas, and published in the Southern Churchman, and also in pamphlet form.

*Florida would have been represented by a clerical and lay delegate if its convention had met in time.

28 HISTORY OF TEE

CHAPTER IV.

The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Ala., in November,. 1857 — Selection of location— Application for a charter — Selec- tion of a name — Subsequent meetings at Beersheba Springs, Tenn., and New Orleans — Constitution and statutes consid- ered— Charter accepted, etc.

THE press notices of the meeting at Lookout Mountain and the wide distribution of the ten thousand copies of the proceedings attracted public attention to a very marked degree. The magnitude of the enterprise, the combination of the whole Southern Episcopal Church, the three millions of dollars of endowment proposed to be raised, all gave prominence and dignity to the movement, and the question of location gave local interest to all the communities within the specified area of choice.

The committee on location consisted of Bishops Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Rutledge and Atkinson, Rev. Dr. Pise, Rev. Alexander Gregg, Rev. Mr. Dunn and Mr. Geo. S. Yerger, nearly every diocese being represented on the committee. A series of questions, eighteen in number, were prepared, indicating the principal requisites of a location, which were to be answered as to each location proposed. Eleva- tion above the sea and elevation above the surrounding country? Extent of available surface to be had? Nature Qf soil? Character of building stone and accessibility? Water supply? Brick, clay, coal? Range of the tempera- ture? Facilities of access from the respective dioceses, etc.? The sites proposed and examined were R. . .Hill and Monte Sano, near Huntsville, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chatta-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2*

nooga, McMinville and Sewanee. Large donations and substantial aid were promised by each community or parties interested in securing the location. Col. Walter Gwynn, a civil engineer of high reputation was selected as the commissioner of location. He associated Col. C. R. Barney, C. E., of Maryland, with him, who did much of the practical field work. The commissioner and the committee on location were prepared to report at the adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama, November 25th, 1857. During the intervening period from July to November, Bishop Polk visited Beersheba Springs,* where many people from Louisiana spent their summers, and while there met Col. V. K. Stevenson, President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company, who called his attention to Sewanee as a suit- able location for the proposed University. A party was made up consisting of Bishop Polk, Colonel Stevenson, Dr. Estill of Winchester, John Armfield, John M. Bass and Dr. Safford, since State geologist, to ride up from Winchester and examine the claims of Sewanee as a suitable location. It is said that Bishop Polk was at once impressed with its many advantages and exclaimed that it was the ideal location for the University.f

*Beersheba Springs was a favorite summer resort for resi- dents of Louisiana and other Gulf States. It is about thirty miles north of Sewanee.

fNOTE OF DR. SAFFORD.

To this (the abundance of our water supply and its purity) the writer can testify. He is the only surviving member of a party of gentlemen, John Armfield, V. K. Stevenson and John M. Bass, who, with himself, accompanied Bishop Polk in a recon- naisance of the mountain which resulted in fixing the site of

30 HISTORY OF THE

It so happened that none other of the trustees or com- mittee on location had ever been at Sewanee, then only known in connection with the Sewanee coal mines, which were first opened at the lower coal banks, adjoining the eastern boundary of the University domain. There were present at the meeting; at Montgomery, November 25th, 1857, Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rutledge and Atkinson, and clerical and lay trustees from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas and Tennessee. Bishop Otey presided and Rev. H. C. Lay was secretary. The committee on charter presented a draught of same. The committee on location, through Bishop Polk, presented their report as information. The question on location was taken up and discussed at much length. The point at issue, primarily, was whether the vicinity of a town or city should be selected, or an independent location upon the elevated lands, with a large domain, at present isolated. The vote was taken by ballot and by orders. Huntsville, Ala., McMinville, Tenn., the vicinity of Chattanoooga, Tenn., the vicinity of Cleve- land, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., and Sewanee, Tenn., were severally put in nomination and voted upon; seventeen ballots being taken. Two-thirds of each order were necessary to make a choice. On the seventeenth ballot the vote of the bishops stood for Sewanee 5, Atlanta 2;

Sewanee. Well does he remember the earnest enthusiasm with which the Bishop rode over the ground, up one hill and down another, to this spring and to that until, reining up his horse in the midst of a beautiful growth of forest trees, and more than satisfied, exclaimed, "Gentlemen, here is the spot, and here shall be the University."— Note by J. M. Safford, Ph. D., to monograph on the topography and water supply of Sewanee, Tenn. 18, 3.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 31

of clerical and lay trustees, Sewanee 4, Huntsville 2, Atlanta 1. At this period Rev. Dr. Curtis, of North Carolina, offered a resolution that Sewanee be selected as the site of the proposed University, which was adopted unanimously. The committee on charter reported the draft of same. Mr. Fairbanks moved to fill the blank as to name with the words, "The University of the South," being the name proposed by Bishop Green at Lookout Mountain. Rev. Mr. Dunn moved "The Church University." Bishop Atkinson moved "The University of Sewanee."

The amendments were lost and the blank wras filled with the words "The University of the South" and the draught of the charter was then approved. A committee was appointed to procure such charter from the Legis- lature of the State of Tennessee, consisting of Francis B. Fogg and Russel Houston. A resolution was passed requesting Bishops Polk and Elliott to act as general commissioners to canvass the several dioceses for subscrip- tions. During this session Colonel Groom, of Alabama, made an offer of $25,000 to endow a professorship, which was gladly accepted, a harbinger and encouragement of future success. Bishop Otey called a meeting of the trustees to be held at Beersheba, Grundy County, Tenn., on the 3d of July, 1858, for the purpose, as stated by him, of acting on the question of accepting the charter granted by the Legislature of Tennessee at its late session incor- porating "The University of the South," etc. There were present at this meeting Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Green, Cobbs and Rutledge and clerical and lay trustees from.

32 HISTORY OF THE

South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee.

Considerable newspaper discussion and criticism hav- ing been made, relative to the choice of Sewanee as the location for the University, it was deemed advisable to re-open the question, which was effected by a motion for reconsideration, made by Bishop Green and seconded by Bishop Polk. The immediate cause of this proposition was a resolution which had been passed by the convention of the diocese of Alabama, viz: "Whereas the selection of Sewanee as the location of the proposed University of the South, does not appear to have given general satis- faction, therefore resolved that the trustees on the part of this diocese be requested to urge the reconsideration of the question of location at the meeting of the board of trustees, with the view to restore confidence in the minds of those of its friends who deem Sewanee an unsuitable location." The discussion which followed was a very interesting one, and will be found sketched in the journal of that meeting. The trustees from Alabama explained that the question looked at in their convention was "upon economical and other grounds against the mountain and for the plain." Dr. Lay expressed his own concurrence in the selection of Sewanee. Bishop Cobbs, in a most Christian and lovely spirit, so characteristic of his nature, maintained his views in favor of the plain, but "now" said the Bishop, "that we are fairly beaten and thoroughly defeated, I give up and surrender. I have fought the question to the end and if it were right and proper I would fight it yet. We have done our duty and the result is against us. Since you will not come

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17

elusions. He knew precisely what was proposed to be undertaken, and how it was to be carried through. He had gone from the abstract idea of the importance of Christian education to the South to the practical means of obtaining it. He took for granted the importance and necessity of the work, and the manner in which he believed it could be carried into effect. He began by laying his plans in a bold and open type before the bishops of the South. He recognized the fact that their indorse- ment, approval and advocacy, was to be a prime factor in the movement. As the whole idea of success was based upon the joint united action of all the dioceses of the South and Southwest, the project must go forth, if at all, with their united, hearty assent and approval. The great wisdom and sagacity of Bishop Polk is shown in his recognition of this fact, and obtaining not only their approval and indorsement of his project, but that they would jointly support and send forth the plan he had suggested, giving it all the weight of their united names and recommendation. He thus wisely planned to make the proposed university the work of the church in the South, represented by all of the Southern bishops. This concurrent action on the part of the bishops was most heartily given, and, in order to give in the most public manner its due effect and influence, the bishops, after consultation and conference among themselves, and with the clerical and lay representatives from the South then in attendance on the general convention in Phila- delphia, issued an address to the members and friends of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Southern and Southwestern States, namely, in the dioceses of North

18 HISTORY OF THE

Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.

They prefaced their address as follows: "The under- signed bishops of the dioceses above named, under a sense of their responsibility to God as your chief pastors, charged with the duty of devising measures for the train- ing of your children in all those graces and virtues which belong to the Christian character, have deemed it proper for the better discharge of their trust to unite in proposing to you a plan of union by which they may be efficiently aided in the accomplishment of this common duty."

They then proceed to inculcate the necessity and importance of religion, supported by an adequate amount of intellectual culture; they refer to what has been done by the Presbyterians at Princeton, the Congregationalists at Yale, the Unitarians at Harvard, and the Methodists and other religious bodies elsewhere.

The value of intelligence and moral sentiment in support of our government is clearly set forth, and our duty as churchmen to make thoughtful provision for the children of the church, in regard to their moral and spiritual as well as intellectual well being. They ask what are we doing for these children, what effort are we making to throw around them, during the most important period of their life, their collegiate career, those sustain- ing supports as well as those wholesome restraints furnished by our holy religion as exhibited and illustrated in the offices of the church of their fathers — what to combat scepticism and infidelity — what to raise up men to fill the ministry? It is manifest, they say, "that there exists within the pales of our dioceses a great educational

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 19

necessity, common to all our dioceses. That in view of this state of things they, the bishops, had considered the matter, and had come to the conclusion that no time should be lost in relieving it, and that no plan of relief presents itself of so promising a character as that which would unite the energies and resources of our dioceses in one common effort. They had therefore resolved, after mature deliberation, and consultation with leading clergy- men and laymen of our several dioceses, to propose to you to unite our strength in founding a university upon such a scale of magnitude as shall answer all our wants. This we propose shall be a university, with all the facul- ties, theological included, upon a plan so extensive as to comprise the whole course usually embraced in the most approved institutions of that grade, whether at home or abroad." They admit the magnitude of such an enter- prise, the large amount of capital necessary for its foundation, and the weighty responsibility of shaping its plans and conducting them to a successful issue. But considering the pervading and far reaching influence such an institution would have upon both the State and the church, and the extent of the field whence we propose to draw not only the means to build it up, but the minds to found and govern it, they dare not hesitate to believe that all the resources necessary, of whatever character, are within our reach and will be forthcoming as soon as they shall be needed. To say nothing of the well known and ample wealth belonging to our community generally, we will not allow ourselves to believe that, upon the presentation of such an occasion for the employ- ment of a part of that treasure committed to our

20 HISTORY OF THE

stewardship, we shall fail to find our Lawrences and Stuyvesants, our Moores and Kohnes and Gores and Dudleys (names for the most part now forgotten under the greater glamour of Peabody, John Hopkins, Vander- bilt, Packer, Rockefeller, Cornell, Stanford, etc) ready to lend their aid in the consummation of so great a work." They then proceed to state what their proposition is :

First. — That the University should be in all its parts under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Second. — That the board of trustees should be composed of the bishops of all the dioceses ex offlcio so uniting, and of one clergyman and two laymen, to be elected by the conventions of each diocese, and a vote by orders provided for.

Third.— That the sum of $500,000, at least, shall be raised before the work be commenced.

Fourth. — A treasurer in each diocese, who shall receive and invest all money given in that diocese, paying to the university treasurer the interest of the same.

Fifth. — A treasurer of the corporation.

Sixth. — The amount subscribed in any diocese to revert in case of dissolution.

Seventh. — Each bishop shall bring the subject speedily before his diocese and convention, and shall also put in operation any agencies he may think best for promoting the cause, in accordance with the general principles here laid down.

Eighth. — That the senior bishop by consecration shall always be chancellor of the University.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 21

Ninth. — It is deemed expedient to establish the Uni- versity at some spot near Chattanooga, where the various railroads traversing our dioceses converge, thus rendering access to it from every direction easy and speedy.

This address was sent forth bearing the signatures of Bishops Otey of Tennessee, Polk of Louisiana, Elliott of Georgia, Cobbs of Alabama, Freeman of Arkansas, Green of Mississippi, Rutledge of Florida, Davis of South Carolina and Atkinson of North Carolina, and bore date Philadelphia, October 23, 1856. It was undoubtedly mainly written by Bishop Otey, the latter part probably by Bishop Polk.

It was printed and widely distributed, and, in pursuance of the seventh clause, the respective bishops brought the subject before their people and the diocesan conventions. Trustees or delegates were elected by the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee to meet at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, on the fourth day of July, 1857, "to confer touching the establishment of a university under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church."

22 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER III.

The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates, held at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn., July 4th, 1857 — Adoption of a plan of organization.

1857.

THE respective diocesan conventions, acting upon the suggestion of their bishops at their ensuing annual meet- ing, elected delegates to the proposed convention to be held on Lookout Mountain, and on the 4th day of July, 1857, the delegates assembled at that place. The choice of the 4th of July as the day of meeting was intentional, and significant of the patriotism of those engaged in the enterprise.

The bishops present were Bishop Otey of Tennessee, Bishop Polk of Louisiana, Bishop Elliott of Georgia, Bishop Cobbs of Alabama, Bishop Green of Mississippi, Bishop Rutledge of Florida and Bishop Davis of South Carolina, and clerical and lay delegates from Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas. Preliminary to the business meeting a procession was formed and marched to a stand appointed for the opening exercises. The one-hundreth psalm was sung, the twenty-second chapter of the book of Joshua was read by Bishop Green, appropriate collects were said by Bishop Cobbs, the Declaration of Independence was read by the Hon. G. B. Duncan of Louisiana, and an address made by Bishop Otey. Bishop Otey's address

Rt. Rev. STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia; Third Chancellor of the University.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 23

was devoted to the subject of the proposed University, prefacing the main topic by an admirable resume of the reasons which should stimulate alike the patriot and the Christian to sustain virtue and intelligence among the people as the chief supports of our civil institutions, and he emphasizes the position that there can be no sound morality which is not founded on religious truths, on the facts and doctrines of Christianity, which he affirms are the articles of Christian faith, as contained in the Apostles Creed, "The prime end aimed at in our projected University," he says, "is to make the Bible the ultimate and sufficient standard for the regulation of man's conduct as a rational and accountable being, to cultivate the moral affections of the young." "It is designed to found an institution on the most enlarged and liberal scale, to engage in its services the best talents, the most erudite learning, and the greatest skill and experience which ample compensation and the hope of usefulness can command; to make its departments commensurate with the wants and improvements of the age in every field of philosophic research, of scientific investigation and of discovery in the arts." "Its advantages are to be offered to all who acknowledge the commonly recognized truths and obligations of Christianity, and to exhibit it under the decent forms and solemn worship of that church of which we are members." Bishop Otey, with great emphasis, disclaims the idea of sectionalism as connected with the name. "The name is one of convenient discrip- tion; it is no party war cry, no sectional pass word; all such interpretations we utterly disclaim."

24 HISTORY OF THE

"During the delivery of the address," says Bishop Gregg, "a beautiful and touching incident occurred. As the speaker, rising to his full height, and his whole form expanded with deep emotion, in tones of bold and fervid eloquence hurled defiance against the evil one himself if he should come to oppose the work of God, the folds of the United States flag, which clung idly to its staff above his head, were caught up by the breeze and seemed for one instant to envelop him. The effect was said to have been thrilling upon those who witnessed the scene."

At 4 o'clock p. m. the convention organized with Bishop Otey as chairman; Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Butledge and Davis answered to the roll, with seven clerical and six lay delegates. The conception of the University, as set forth in Bishop Folk's letter, and in the address of the bishops, was so entirely accepted by this convention of delegates on Lookout Mountain, that they proceeded at once to the question of organization; appointed committees on location; to obtain a charter; of ways and means ; of organization ; program and work- ing of machinery, and of constitution and buildings. The first important step adopted was a declaration of principles embodying, substantially, those contained in the Bishop's address of October 1856. This declaration was headed as viz:

We, the undersigned bishops and delegates of the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkan sas and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a University upon the following principles:

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2&

First. — The University shall in all its parts be under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, represented through a board of trustees.

Second. — The board of trustees shall be composed of the bishops of the dioceses above named, ex officio, and one clergyman and two laymen from each of said dioceses, to be elected by the convention of the same. The joint consent of bishops as an order, and of the clerical and lay trustees as another order, shall be necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The senior bishop by consecration shall always be president of the board.

Third. — This University shall not be put in operation until the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars be actually secured.

Fourth. — The funds subscribed to this University shall all be considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for any purpose connected either with the organization or management of the University, provided that donations and legacies may be received for such objects as the donors may indicate.

Fifth. — There shall be a treasurer appointed in each diocese by the convention of the same, to whom shall be delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to lands obtained as subscription in that diocese, whose duty it shall be, under the advice of the standing committee, to invest the cash and all money which shall be derived from the realization of the above mentioned private securities, in the best public securities or in other safe investment, paying over annually to the treasurer of the University the interest of the amount subscribed.

26 . HISTORY OF THE

Sixth. — There shall be a treasurer of the corporation who shall receive the interest annually from the diocesan treasurers, and expend it under the direction of the board of trustees.

Seventh. — The amount subscribed in any diocese as above shall, in the event of the dissolution of the corpora- tion, be returned to the donors or their legal representa- tives, and in caste of their being no legal representatives then it shall revert to the diocese.

Eighth. — The location of the University shall be as central to all the contracting dioceses as shall be consis- tent with the necessary conditions of location.

Ninth. — No diocese shall be bound by these principles to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contribu- tions shall be voluntary according to its pleasure and ability.

Tenth. — The signatures to this declaration shall not bind the diocese further than they have already bound, or may hereafter bind themselves, by their respective conventions.

Signed at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Ten- nessee, this 6th day of July, A. D. 1857.

JAMES H. OTEY, Bishop of Tennessee.

LEONID AS POLK, Bishop of Louisiana.

STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia.

N. H. COBBS, Bishop of Alabama.

W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi.

FRANCIS H. RUTLEDGE, Bishop of Florida.

THOMAS F. DAVIS, Bishop of South Carolina.

DAVID PISE, Tennessee.

FRANCIS B. FOGG, Tennessee.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 27

JOHN ARMFIELD, Tennessee. W. T. LEACOCK, Louisiana. GEORGE S. GUION, Louisiana. HENRY C. LAY, Alabama. OHAS. T. POLLARD, Alabama. L. H. ANDERSON, Alabama. W. W. LORD, Mississippi. ALEXANDER GREGG, South Carolina. M. A. CURTIS, North Carolina. W. D. WARREN, North Carolina. I. WOOD DUNN, Texas.*

Committees were appointed to report at an adjourned meeting appointed to be held at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 25th day of November, 1857. The secretary, Dr. Lay, afterwards bishop of Arkansas and Easton, was requested to prepare a narrative of the proceedings', inclusive of the address of Bishop Otey, of which ten thousand copies were ordered to be published. This task was gracefully accomplished by Dr. Lay. An excellent report of the proceedings was also furnished by the Rev. Alexander Gregg, subsequently bishop of Texas, and published in the Southern Churchman, and also in pamphlet form.

*Florida would have been represented by a clerical and lay delegate if its convention had met in time.

28 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER IV.

The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Ala., in November, 1857 — Selection of location — Application for a charter — Selec- tion of a name — Subsequent meetings at Beersheba Springs, Tenn., and New Orleans — Constitution and statutes consid- ered— Charter accepted, etc.

THE press notices of the meeting at Lookout Mountain and the wide distribution of the ten thousand copies of the proceedings attracted public attention to a very marked degree. The magnitude of the enterprise, the combination of the whole Southern Episcopal Church, the three millions of dollars of endowment proposed to be raised, all gave prominence and dignity to the movement and the question of location gave local interest to all the communities within the specified area of choice.

The committee on location consisted of Bishops Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Rutledge and Atkinson, Rev. Dr. Pise, Rev. Alexander Gregg, Rev. Mr. Dunn and Mr. Geo. S. Yerger, nearly every diocese being represented on the committee. A series of questions, eighteen in number, were prepared, indicating the principal requisites of a location, which were to be answered as to each location proposed. Eleva- tion above the sea and elevation above the surrounding country ? Extent of available surface to be had ? Nature of soil? Character of building stone and accessibility? Water supply? Brick, clay, coal? Range of the tempera- ture? Facilities of access from the respective dioceses, etc.? The sites proposed and examined were R. . .Hill and Monte Sano, near Huntsville, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chatta-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2S

nooga, McMinville and Sewanee. Large donations and substantial aid were promised by each community or parties interested in securing the location. Col. Walter Gwynn, a civil engineer of high reputation was selected as the commissioner of location. He associated Col. C. K. Barney, C. E., of Maryland, with him, who did much of the practical field work. The commissioner and the committee on location were prepared to report at the adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama, November 25th, 1857. During the intervening period from July to November, Bishop Polk visited Beersheba Springs,* where many people from Louisiana spent their summers, and while there met Col. V. K. Stevenson, President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company, who called his attention to Sewanee as a suit- able location for the proposed University. A party was made up consisting of Bishop Polk, Colonel Stevenson, Dr. Estill of Winchester, John Armfield, John M. Bass and Dr. Safford, since State geologist, to ride up from Winchester and examine the claims of Sewanee as a suitable location. It is said that Bishop Polk was at once impressed with its many advantages and exclaimed that it was the ideal location for the University.f

*Beersheba Springs was a favorite summer resort for resi- dents of Louisiana and other Gulf States. It is about thirty miles north of Sewanee.

fNOTE OF DR. SAFFORD.

To this (the abundance of our water supply and its purity) the writer can testify. He is the only surviving member of a party of gentlemen, John Armfield, V. K. Stevenson and John M. Bass, who, with himself, accompanied Bishop Polk in a recon- naisance of the mountain which resulted in fixing the site of

30 HISTORY OF THE

It so happened that none other of the trustees or com- mittee on location had ever been at Sewanee, then only known in connection with the Sewanee coal mines, which were first opened at the lower coal banks, adjoining the eastern boundary of the University domain. There were present at the meeting at Montgomery, November 25th, 1857, Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rutledge and Atkinson, and clerical and lay trustees from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas and Tennessee. Bishop Otey presided and Rev. H. C. Lay was secretary. The committee on charter presented a draught of same. The committee on location, through Bishop Polk, presented their report as information. The question on location was taken up and discussed at much length. The point at issue, primarily, was whether the vicinity of a town or city should be selected, or an independent location upon the elevated lands, with a large domain, at present isolated. The vote was taken by ballot and by orders. Huntsviile, Ala., McMinville, Tenn., the vicinity of Chattanoooga, Tenn., the vicinity of Cleve- land, Tenn., Atlanta, G.a., and Sewranee, Tenn., were severally put in nomination and voted upon; seventeen ballots being taken. Two-thirds of each order were necessary -to make a choice. On the seventeenth ballot the vote of the bishops stood for Sewanee 5, Atlanta 2;

Sewanee. Well does he remember the earnest enthusiasm with which the Bishop rode over the ground, up one hill and down another, to this spring and to that until, reining up his horse in the midst of a beautiful growth of forest trees, and more than satisfied, exclaimed, "Gentlemen, here is the spot, and here shall be the University." — Note by J. M. Safford, Ph. D., to monograph on the topography and water supply of Sewanee, Tenn. 18, 3.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 31

of clerical and lay trustees, Sewanee 4, Huntsville 2, Atlanta 1. At this period Rev. Dr. Curtis, of North Carolina, offered a resolution that Sewanee be selected as the site of the proposed University, which was adopted unanimously. The committee on charter reported the draft of same. Mr. Fairbanks moved to fill the blank as to name with the words, "The University of the South," being the name proposed by Bishop Green at Lookout Mountain. Rev. Mr. Dunn moved "The Church University." Bishop Atkinson moved "The University of Sewanee."

The amendments were lost and the blank was filled with the words "The University of the South" and the draught of the charter was then approved. A committee was appointed to procure such charter from the Legis- lature of the State of Tennessee, consisting of Francis B. Fogg and Russel Houston. A resolution was passed requesting Bishops Polk and Elliott to act as general commissioners to canvass the several dioceses for subscrip- tions. During this session Colonel Croom, of Alabama, made an offer of $25,000 to endow a professorship, which was gladly accepted, a harbinger and encouragement of future success. Bishop Otey called a meeting of the trustees to be held at Beersheba, Grundy County, Tenn., on the 3d of July, 1858, for the purpose, as stated by him, of acting on the question of accepting the charter granted by the Legislature of Tennessee at its late session incor- porating "The University of the South," etc. There were present at this meeting Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Green, Cobbs and Rutledge and clerical and lav trustees from.

:32 HISTORY OF THE

South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee.

Considerable newspaper discussion and criticism hav- ing been made, relative to the choice of Sewanee as the location for the University, it was deemed advisable to re-open the question, which was effected by a motion for reconsideration, made by Bishop Green and seconded by Bishop Polk. The immediate cause of this proposition was a resolution which had been passed by the convention of the diocese of Alabama, viz: "Whereas the selection of Sewanee as the location of the proposed University of the South, does not appear to have given general satis- faction, therefore resolved that the trustees on the part of this diocese be requested to urge the reconsideration of the question of location at the meeting of the board of trustees, with the view to restore confidence in the minds of those of its friends who deem Sewanee an unsuitable location." The discussion which followed was a very interesting one, and will be found sketched in the journal of that meeting. The trustees from Alabama explained that the question looked at in their convention was "upon economical and other grounds against the mountain and for the plain." Dr. Lay expressed his own concurrence in the selection of Sewanee. Bishop Cobbs, in a most Christian and lovely spirit, so characteristic of his nature, maintained his views in favor of the plain, but "now" said the Bishop, "that we are fairly beaten and thoroughly defeated, I give up and surrender. I have fought the question to the end and if it were right and proper I would fight it yet. We have done our duty and the result is against us. Since you will not come

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3S

down to us from the mountain I will climb the mountain and join you there. My convictions I cannot yield, I hold them still ; my opposition I freely waive henceforth ; I am fully with you, and my motto is 'Pro Deo, pro ecclesia, pro communi patria, pro hominum salute/

"1 now move to lay the resolution to reconsider on the table," which was passed without a dissenting voice. The result gave very general satisfaction, and allayed some apprehensions which had been felt as to dissension on this subject.

Mr. Fogg presented the charter of the University of the South, passed by the Legislature of Tennessee on the 6th day of January, 1858. A resolution was passed by the unanimous vote of the board, taken by ayes and nays, accepting the charter.

A committee of nine was appointed to prepare a consti- tution, consisting of Bishops Polk, Elliott and Rutledge, Rev. Mr. Gregg, Dr. Lay and Dr. Pise, and Messrs. Fair- banks, Couper and Fogg. Said committee was also authorized to propose a plan of education, a code of by-laws and ordinances, and any other matters relative to the organization and management of the University.

The committee on securing lands made their report and action was taken in relation thereto. Also in reference to having a turnpike road built from some point on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad to the top of the mountain, which the county court of Franklin County agreed to have constructed. An executive committee was appointed, and Bishop Elliott and Bishop Polk, Rev. Alexander Gregg, Messrs. Fairbanks and Calhoun were appointed a committee to issue an address in reference

34 HISTORY OF THE

to the choice of location of the University. This address was written by Bishop Elliott and widely circulated. The board of trustees was then regularly organized under the charter, Bishop Otey being elected chancellor, and Eev. Dr. Lay, secretary.

In 1859 Bishops Polk and Elliott, as general commis- sioners for raising an endowment fund, issued an address- upon the claims of the University upon the Southern church and people, setting forth a brief outline of the history of the movement, and the steps thus far taken for its accomplishment. They state that thirty persons have within a few weeks given over $200,000. They call attention to the principle, upon which we have set out, of never using the capital of our endowment, which makes it easy for contributors to spread their payment over a series of years, paying interest. The idea being that the buildings and equipment should at first be provided for from the interest money, and that then the income should support the chairs and expenses of the institution.

On August 10th, 1859, the board of trustees met again at Beersheba Springs, Tenn. There were present Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green and Atkinson and clerical and lay trustees from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Tennessee. Eeport was made relative to lands secured, the larger body of which was donated by the Sewanee Mining Company with the condition that the institution should be put in operation within ten years. Through the active and zealous agency of Col. Arthur M. Rutledge and A. S. Collyer, Esq., other tracts were unconditionally donated. The commissioners of endow-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 35

ment, Bishops Polk and Elliott, reported that they had secured in cash, bonds and notes, payable in available periods, $363,580, that besides this they had pledges from entirely reliable parties, to be fulfilled within a short period, of $115,000.

An executive committee was appointed, who were instructed, as soon as the commissioners of endowment had notified the chancellor that they had secured the sum of $500,000, to take all necessary steps for beginning operations and laying the cornerstone of the central building. The executive committee was authorized to^ employ a landscape gardener for the purpose of laying1 off and arranging the grounds for the University with due regard to convenience, comfort and taste. Under this resolution the executive committee, through the personal application of Bishop Polk, secured the services of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont, who, among his other extraordinary and multiform accomplishments was distinguished for his architectural skill and refined taste in landscape gardening.

He only accepted the invitation out of his great regard for Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott, and sympathy with them in the great work that they had undertaken, and because it would enable him to devote the compensation he might receive to advance an educational work he had much at heart in his own diocese. He came to Sewanee in the fall of 1859 with Bishop Polk, and spent the winter of 1859-60 in a careful and laborious study of the topog- raphy and general features of the grounds, having the advantage of being on the mountain after the leaves had! fallen, so that the general lay of the ground could more

36 HISTORY OF THE

readily be observed. He planned locations for the build- ings, laid out avenues and drives, and embodied his plans in the Hopkins map. He also made several water-color sketches of the scenery at Sewanee. The board adjourned to meet at New Orleans on the second Wednesday of February, 1860, at which time the committee on constitu- tion and statutes was requested to make its report. The board of trustees met on February 8th, 1860, in the city hall in New Orleans. There were present Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Green, Rutledge and Lay and clerical trustees from North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. Dr. Lay having been elected to the Episcopate of Arkansas, Rev. David Pise was elected secretary. The committee appointed to prepare a constitution and statutes for the University made their report.

The committee say in their report :

"That, impressed with the importance of the duty assigned them, they have proceeded to its discharge with caution and mature deliberation. Their first work was to obtain the modus operandi of the most eminent institutions of learning in Europe and America. A mass of material was obtained from all quarters and a careful investiga- tion and comparison was made, aided by memoirs published by private individuals and a personal examina- tion by members of the committee of the practical working of our best universities and colleges in this country, and from the results they have framed the constitution and statutes reported. Their plan followed no existing system. It is eclectic, embracing features which are found in the most distinguished universities

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 37

of Europe; features which, while they formed parts of systems otherwise widely different, combine harmoniously and form an aggregate of all a university in its largest sense should be expected to supply."* The report is signed by Bishops Polk, Elliott, Kutledge and Lay, Rev. David Pise, Messrs. G. R. Fairbanks, J. H. Couper and F. B. Fogg.

*The original draft of the constitution in the handwriting of G. R. Fairbanks, secretary of the committee, is on file in the archives of the University.

HIBTORY OF THE

CHAPTER V.

The first meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in October, 1860 — The final adoption of a constitution and code of stat- utes— The laying of the cornerstone on the 10th of October, 1860.

THE executive committee had advertised for plans for the central building to contain a great hall or theater for commencement and other great occasions, with wings to accommodate the library, galleries of art, museum and the offices of the University. A large number of plans were sent in of various merit and were considered by the board. There was considerable discussion as to the style to be adopted. Bishop Elliott favored the classical OP Italian or Greek styles, in which style a very handsome design was furnished by Mr. Lee of South Carolina. Bishop Polk and others preferred the early English, in which style Mr. Anderson, of Washington, had furnished a very beautiful and complete design, the estimate of the cost of which was about $300,000. After much discussion all the plans were referred to the executive committee, by whom the plan of Mr. Anderson was selected. Unfor- tunately his fine perspective drawing was lost during the war.

As has been before mentioned, during the winter preced- ing the laying of the cornerstone of the main building Bishop Polk had secured the services of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont to come to Sewanee and plan a scheme of location for the buildings, and to lay out avenues and drives, in order that there should be established at the outset a well-considered, harmonious, convenient and

I

Rt. Rev. W. M. GREEN, D. D. First Bishop of Mississippi? Fourth Chancellor of University.

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 39

-suitable plan, which should be adhered to in building up the University. Bishop Hopkins spent six months in carrying out this purpose with the aid of a civil engineer and a corps of assistants. His general plan was to erect on the highest and most central ground a grand central building, which we have before referred to. Around the center, at varying distances, he selected twelve or more college sites where buildings could be advantageously placed, with ample grounds and forest trees. In the vicinity of these college buildings professors' residences and boarding houses were to be grouped, somewhat on the plan of the English universities, except that greater space was allotted for growth and enlargement.

Chas. R. Barney, Esq., a civil engineer of great accuracy, ran a line of levels over all the domain lying northwest of the railroad, making Polks Spring the base line, and lines of level for every ten feet rise of elevation above Polks Spring, and every twenty feet below. He constructed a large map upon a scale of four hundred feet to the inch, on which all the topography, springs and lines of level were portrayed. This map was, with other university documents, burned at Opelika, Ala., in 1865, at the time of Wilson's raid of United States forces in that part of the country.

The several springs and prominent points and views were named in 1859 by Rt. Rev. W. M. Green and G. R. Fairbanks, in conference with Mr. C. R. Barney, the engineer. The large spring near Tremlett Hall was named Polks Spring. That in the rear of A. T. O. Hall was named Otey Spring. Others were Greens Spring, Cobbs Spring, on the southeast side of the railroad, etc.

40 HISTORY OF THE

Greens View was opened out by Bishop Green; Grooms Bluff named after Mr. Crooin of Alabama, a generous donor; Morgans Steep after Mr. Morgan of Louisiana; Point Rutledge after Col. A. M. Rutledge, a devoted friend of the University.

When it was decided by the executive committee that the preliminary work was sufficiently well advanced to initiate active operations, and the chancellor, Bishop Otey, was so advised, the committee decided to lay the cornerstone of the great central building with as much eclat and ceremony as was in their power.

The University at Sewanee then boasted of a long range of one-story buildings connected together and having a broad piazza entirely around. Another building was a double building of hewn logs, containing an engineer's office and an executive committee room. Bishop Polk had erected a one-story cottage where Mr. Fairbanks' house now stands. Bishop Elliott had built a plain one- story cottage just in front of the present A. T. O. Hall, and Mr. Fairbanks had built a frame cottage on the bluff west of Greens View.

It was decided by the laymen to have an oration by some prominent Southern layman. To provide a banquet, and extend invitations to the principal clergy and laity of the Southern dioceses to be present. But how were they to be entertained? There was no town nearer than AYinchester, twelve miles off, and at Sewanee only the buildings just described. The entertainment for several hundred guests had to be improvised. For their lodging several bales of blankets were purchased, bales of sheet- ing, bed ticks were made to be filled with straw, pillows

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 41

were made up, the piazzas of the long University log building were closed in with cloth and partitioned off with same material, and in this way, with what accom- modation the three private families could afford, some three or four hundred visitors and guests were lodged the one night. A dining hall was built without a floor, and long tables spread. Many hogsheads of crockery procured, and a caterer with an ample supply of provi- sions and a large retinue of servants procured from Nashville, that thus the multitude might be lodged and fed in the wilderness. For the delivery of the oration a large shed was constructed with seats for three thou- sand people. On the 9th of October, 1860, the board of trustees met for the first time at Sewanee. There were present Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rut- ledge and Atkinson. Clerical and lay trustees were present from the dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas. The committee on the charter reported that an amendment of the charter had been obtained which authorized the University to receive donations and grants of land in addition to the number of acres (10,000) specified in the tenth section of the charter, provided that if such lands were in the State of Tennessee they should be sold and disposed of and converted into personal securities or State bonds. It also provided that the University should have a right to establish such police and municipal regulations as might be necessary for the preservation of order and the enforcement of the by-laws of the University. The report of the executive committee estimated that the University held in October, 1860,

42 HISTORY OP THE

bonds and obligations to amount of $393,489, and real estate and franchises to the value of $130,000. The committee on finances reported the total amount of bonds, obligations and subscriptions as amounting to $418,089, and the value of privileges, lands, etc., $130,000, making a total of $505,000, after paying outstanding claims. The tenth day of October had been set apart for the ceremonies attendant upon the laying of the cornerstone of the central building. Bishop Young, then an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, had been delegated to attend upon this occasion and to report the proceed- ings for the Church Journal. He gives to that paper the following account of that memorable day:

"The day appointed for the laying of the cornerstone was the 10th of October, 1860. A very large block of reddish-brown variegated Tennessee marble had been procured from a quarry some miles distant from Win- chester in Franklin County. So ponderous was the unhewn block that it required eight yoke of oxen to haul it up to the mountain top, and six weeks of continuous labor of a skilled workman was spent in shaping and polishing it. A wall of massive sandstone blocks had been laid at the southeast corner of the proposed build- ing to receive this great cornerstone, worthy of the grand project it was to materially inaugurate. All the pre- parations were complete, and the tenth day of October dawned as beautiful an October day as could be desired. Almost like magic the mountain plateau of Sewanee teemed with life, the shriek of arriving railway trains, the rumbling of omnibuses and carriages brought up for the occasion, the throng of people from the surrounding

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 43

country on foot, on * horseback, in wagons, carts, and every conceivable vehicle, all gathering to a common center, evinced the interest which the occasion evoked. A band of music from Nashville poured forth its martial strains, and booths and peddler wagons indicated a gala day for the people. It was estimated that more than 5,000 people were present.

At midday a grand procession was formed under the direction of Maj. A. M. Rutledge, marshal of the day, and proceeded to the selected site of the central building. A large number of laymen, preceded by the band, were fol- lowed by a long array of clergy and the following named bishops: Rt. Rev. Thomas Atkinson, D. D., of North Carolina; Rt. Rev. Francis H. Rutledge, D. D., of Florida; Rt. Rev. W. M. Green of Mississippi ; Rt. Rev. N. H. Cobbs of Alabama; Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., of Georgia; Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk of Louisiana; Rt. Rev. James H. Otey, D.D., L.L.D., of Tennessee and Rt. Rev. Benjamin B. Smith of Kentucky. The ceremonies were commenced by singing the hundreth Psalm to its own and well-known tune, in which the whole multitude joined, and the grand strains echoed far through the surrounding forests. Rt. Rev. F. H. Rutledge, of Florida, then read a portion of scripture; Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina, followed with an exhortation, and Bishop Cobbs, of Alabama, suitable collects and a special prayer appropriate to the occasion.

Bishop Elliott, of Georgia, then deposited in the corner- stone a copy of the Holy Scriptures, the book of Common Prayer, the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, the Constitution

44 HISTORY OF THE

of the United States, a bound volume of all published documents relating to the University, a copy of each of the church papers and magazines, a church almanac for the year 1860, and several silver coins. Upon depositing the Bible, Bishop Elliott said, "This sacred volume, being the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is desposited before and above all memorials in this cor- nerstone to testify to the present generation and to all future ages that the University of the South recognizes the Word of God as the fountain of all the learning and as the only source of that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation." When placing the Prayer Book, he said :

"This copy of the Book of Common Prayer is deposited in this cornerstone next after the Woird df God to testify that the University of the South believes it to be in perfect harmony with that Word, and to exhibit in its ministry, doctrine and sacraments, the Church of God as that Church was founded by Christ and His Apostles." On depositing the Constitution of the United States, he said, "I next deposit in this cornerstone the Constitution of the United States, the time-honored bond which binds together the States of this Confederacy, to testify that the University of the South, while it holds itself superior to the State in all strictly spiritual matters, acknowledges itself subordinate to it in all matters of government and law. Esto perpetua."

The cavity was then closed and sealed and the stone adjusted to its place, and Bishop Polk, of Louisiana, said, "This cornerstone symbolizes strength and stability, the w&ion of the intellectual and spiritual natures of man,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 45

the sure and tried cornerstone, the Wisdom of God and the Power of God." He then struck the stone thrice, saying, "In the name of the Holy and undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three persons in one God, fclessed forever, Amen.

"I, Leonidas Polk, D. D., bishop of Louisiana, on this tenth day of October, in the year of grace one thousand eight hundred and sixty, do lay this cornerstone of an edifice to be here erected as the principal building of the University of the South, an institution established by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the dioceses of Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas for the cultivation of true religion, learning and virtue, that thereby God may be glorified and the happiness of man may be advanced. Other foundations can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, God over all, blessed for evermore, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins, for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."

After which the benedicite was sung by the Rev. Dr. J. Freeman Young, then an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, afterwards bishop of Florida, and the Rev. Dr. Charles Todd Quintard, then rector of the Church of the Advent, Nashville, Tenn., afterwards bishop of Tennessee. After the benediction the assembled multitude proceeded to an immense shelter erected for the purpose some one hundred and fifty yards distant to the west which had been suitably prepared with benches and

46 HISTORY OF THE

platform. Bishop Otey, the chancellor of the University, came forward and said, "I have the honor of announcing to you the orator of the day, a name, Clarum et venera- bili, illustrious in the annals of our country, and in this instance designating a gentleman who has always shown himself zealous and liberal in promoting the interests of all institutions designed for the honor of our country and the welfare of mankind, the Hon. John S. Preston of South Carolina." The orator was worthy of his name and fame; of lofty stature and splendid physique; grand and graceful in person, a clear, sweet- toned and forcible delivery, animated by the occasion, he impressed himself upon the vast audience as one of nature's noblemen to the manner born.

The oration was a thoughtful resume of the progress of civilization as illustrated in the history of the Church of England. The influence of the church in building up those preparatory schools and institutions of learning, the transplanting into America of the religion and love of learning of the English people, the principles of Magna Charta and sound morality. The oration abounded with many passages of surpassing beauty, but I will here only reproduce the peroration. "There is no antiquity here: I have recited to you in general terms all the history which has brought us here. There are no monuments here marking the vestiges of man; no pyramids of forty centuries, no parthenon, no portico from which dropped the honey from Plato's lips, no coliseum from which the world's masters revel, no grand and solemn cathedral where every echo resounds with a majestic history, no purple light of romance and chivalry, no roseate hue of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 47

art and poetry. All is new, fresh from the hand of God; we are the first; we are primevals here, our only calendar is the annulation of the oak, our only history is the bud, the leaf and the autumn wind. We have come to the heights of Sewanee to begin an epoch. But thanks to our blessed church and our liberties we come bring- ing history and gifts and treasures from all times and people; we have come to inscribe upon the rolls of the vast young empire beneath us all that men have fought for, prayed for, hoped for. We come to clear away the brushwood that we may build chambers for our treasure more precious than Syrian rubies, more potent than the Macedonian Sceptre, and we open up the tree tops that the light of Heaven may shine upon them; we come with the richest treasures gathered through all time all over the earth, and laying them here at the feet of our country- men, we bid them take, for every jewel which is taken, like early gathered fruit, leaves more vigor behind, every torch which is lighted, like the crystal, flashes its flame back to its source.

"If, my friends, you have gone with me thus far, I need add nothing as to the specific scheme of culture to be adopted at the University of the South. I need only point to these men to tell you what is to be the cornerstone of that culture.

"In our country, and it is one of its holiest blessingsr the shades of Protestant sectarianism are scarcely dis- cernible in the affairs of life. We all came to this new earth that we might worship God according to our own consciences, and to be free and equal before God and man. That all, of all names, shades and creeds of

48 HISTORY OF THE

Christians might be thus, we mingled our life blood on a hundred battle fields until we drove mankind to acknowl- edge our claim. From that blood thus mingled there sprung a spirit which makes all one in the solemn purposes of life for now and forever. With this origin and with this communion I point again to our history and to these men and say: Can they, dare they, place here another cornerstone than this., the ^ChriBti an Bible? Conscience and duty are our substitutes for prerogatives and power, and we can found no institution save on the basis of conscience and duty. Here is our conscience, here is our duty, and, therefore, here is the cornerstone of the University of the South. This Christian Bible (increased and prolonged applause), were it not only the cornerstone, but the arch, the wall, the roof, the spire, the gilding, the all, it would be enough. Does the proud knowledge of Greece arise near to this eternal wisdom which was thundered from Sinai? Does Homer's verse reach the resounding harmony of David's harp? Does Plato's sweetest reasoning drop upon the human soul with the divine influence of Paul's holy teaching? All statesmanship, philosophy and science might be taught from its sacred pages. Here then can we place the universal truth, the cornerstone of all knowledge.

"Now, fellow citizens in this Republic, all power is with the people, there is no class set apart to be instructed to rule the rest — all are to govern. All therefore must be taught to govern, education must be given to all. Unless we are taught to use them in the right way our civil and religious liberties are worthless and dangerous boons. Liberal knowledge is a dangerous precedent to

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 49

the preservation of those liberties. Admit this, and there cannot be a higher or holier purpose than to furnish instruction to our people, 'to teach the people their duty is better than expelling the Trojans/ Most deeply and profoundly impressed with this sacred impulse, these learned and good and wise men have traversed and searched all recorded modes and matter of instruction, and have garnered up the enlightened experience of all countries. They come here now to plant the seeds which, with the sweat and prayers of earnestness, they have collected. How easy for us to believe whence these seeds will be watered, they will tell you of all the rich harvests which pious hope is promising.

"It is not my vocation to detail to you the great plan of instruction which is to be initiated today. This will be done by those who are the honored representatives of the principles I have announced, and who have this day come here to institutionize these principles. The agencies of genius, learning, and exalted piety, are concentrated for the sole purpose of purifying, strengthening, and pre- serving the people of this land, by giving action and use to these principles. This then is the purpose of the University of the South. Our dealing now is with its destiny.

"What is that? Turn your eyes to the feeble current, listen to the almost inaudible murmur of these little rivulets as they trickle out of the mountain side, and behold the swelling volume bearing on its heaving bosom the wealth of an empire, and fertilizing its coasts with all that genius, the taste, the piety of all times, have earned for the administration and joy of man. Listen to the

50 HISTORY OF THE

roar of human industry — listen to the sweet symphonies of hunmn prayer, and then turn again to this rising temple — behold the light — listen to the voices which will perpetuate and sanctify all this. Prophetic fury cowers before the majestic picture, and anxious hope dares only to ask, whence comes it? It comes of that mysterious, that immortal spirit which has borne us along the deep forest whence the Druid fled before the apostles, even to the mountain plain which overlooks an empire on which the wearied sun reposes his day-worn light. It is the unchangeable, the irresistible, the unwearied, the sacred genius of Christian liberty. The forms, the deep con- victions, the very life of ages, dissolve like fading dreams. The paths of human energy, worn deepest by the proudest civilization, are leveled, overgrown, hidden, lost. Time itself is but the graduated scale to mar the continuous universal change; the earth beneath us, with its forests and mountains and seas, is hourly changing; the firma- ment around us dawns, glows and pales with change; the heavens over us, with all their thronging world of soaring fires, change; all is change; no stars, no mountain, nor wave, nor radiance is the same today and tomorrow. It is the sun of Christian liberty alone which knows no change but onward and upward, even now to its brightest meridian, and we are bathing in its eternal beams, and see how it may be for us when the true knowledge and elevated art shall dwell in these pleasant places, and sweet religion in her Angel robes shall sit upon these rising spires and catching her rays from God's own effluence, shed them over all the four rivers of this new Eden of ours. The design of this University is to form a

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 51

standard of learning so exalted as to develop the highest intellectual faculties of man, and to make this develop- ment subsiduary to his moral and material advancement. It is intended by the highest — the very highest specula- tive evolutions — to make the people of this region of America consistently, firmly and irresistibly progressive in the great purposes for which God, in his economy, has intended man. In a word, it is meant for the thorough culture of the heart and mind of the people, that thereby the mind may be expanded and enriched, and the heart made to comprehend, to regulate and to apply the vast duties which pertain to the citizens of the slave-holding States and the Christian. All that the energies ~of the i most devoted piety, guided by the widest knowledge and most persevering labor can avouch, is brought here to that end; and the most liberal bounty, the most magnificent benevolence that ever illustrated a people's virtue, have added large stores of material treasure. Now, my countrymen, under God we owe this, first to the spirit I have endeavored to elucidate, and then to the earnest enlightened devotion of this noble band of holy men. They have given their gifts to this enterprise of Christian patriotism. I cannot praise them with fulsome eulogy, I cannot discriminate their work, but you and the world will feel that I am not much to blame if I turn to you, Reverend Sir (addressing Bishop Polk), and say, as the Roman historian said of Alexander's conquest of East, 'He took courage to despise vain apprehensions,' and, further, that when it pleases God, your Master, to stay your radiant and strong right arm from his battlefields on earth, and call you

52 HISTORY OF THE

to share His everlasting triumph, the Heavens and our grateful country will read on your gravestone, 'The founder of the University of the South/ And to all of you. Reverend Fathers, in the name of our common country and of our posterity, I may use the language of the wisest statesman and purest patriot of Rome, apostrophiz- ing the greatest, wisest teacher — save one — vouchsafed to man :

" 'Socrates, et socratici viril! 'Nunquam vobis gratiam 'Referam.'

"And again I may hail you, venerable Fathers of our beloved church, in the triumphant cry of one whose successors you are in your holy office, and brave and meek and holy as He was, whose equal you would be if liberty and religion demanded the trial, 'Be of good comforts, we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace as, I trust, never shall be put out.' "

After the closing prayers by the Rt. Rev. W. M. Green, bishop of Mississippi, and the singing of the Gloria in Excelsis, a benediction was pronounced, and the invited guests proceeded to partake of a collation which had been prepared under a large dining shelter built for the purpose. Seven rows of tables were spread the entire length of the building, and another on a raised platform at one end for the bishops (those who were to make

NOTE: — It is somewhat remarkable that Colonel Preston on this occasion, in a time of profound peace, addressing a bishop of the church, should in this expression, "that when it pleases God, your Master, to stay your radiant and strong right arm from His battlefields on earth," unconsciously have forshadowed the death of Bishop Polk on the battlefield of Pine Mountain.

I

§•

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 53

addresses) and the ladies. Over three hundred persons were comfortably seated and a bountiful and abundant repast graced the "groaning boards."

It had been appropriately arranged that some of the distinguished guests should be called on for postprandial speeches. Bishop Otey first called upon a world-known scientist, with the following prefatory introduction :

"I feel peculiar pleasure in introducing to you a dis- tinguished fellow-citizen whose labors in the cause of science have crowned his name with honor throughout the world, and made him in a measure the property of nations. The winds of Heaven and the waves of the sea have, by his researches and discoveries, been made tributary to the increase of the facilities of trade of every land and on every sea where commerce spreads her sail. I announce to you the name of my friend, Commander Matthew F. Maury, of Washington City."

Commander Maury commenced by referring to Bishop Otey as his old preceptor and early friend, he having been in his youth a pupil of the Bishop at Franklin, Tenn. He proceeded in a most interesting vein to speak of the various aspects in which the study of physical geography affects the well-being of mankind and promotes the harmony of the universe.

"Had I time," said the speaker in conclusion, "I might show how mountains, deserts, winds and water, when treated by this beautiful science, all join in one universal harmony — for each one has its part to perform in the great concert of nature."

"The church, ere yet physical geography had attained the dignity of a science in our schools, and even before

54 HISTORY OF THE

man had endowed it with a name, saw and appreciated its dignity, the virtue of its chief agent. What have we heard chanted here in this grove by a thousand voices this morning? A song of praise such as these hills have not heard since the morning stars sang together — the bene- dicite of our mother church, invoking the very agent whose workings and offerings is the business of the physical geographer. In our services she teaches her children in her songs of praise to call upon certain physical agents, principals in this newly established department of human knowledge, upon the waters above the firmament, upon showers and dew, wind, fire and heat, winter and summer, frost and cqld, ice and snow, night and day, light and darkness^ lightning and clouds, mountains and hills, green things, trees and plants, whales and all things that move in the waters, fowls of the air, with beasts and cattle, to bless, praise and magnify the Lord. To reveal to man the offices of these agents, in making the earth his fit dwelling place, is the object of physical geography. Said I not well of all the sciences, physical geography is the most christianizing in its influence."

Bishop Ote3r next introduced Eev. F. P. A. Barnard, then president of the University of Mississippi, q,nd sub- sequently president (until his death) of Columbia College. President Barnard, as one whose life had been devoted to the cause of education in the Southern States, expressed the gratification afforded him in being present to offer his congratulations upon the great event they had met to inaugurate. He said he understood "the design of the projectors of the University was to erect here a school of learning, to which not merely youth, but men,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 55

may resort, and in which not merely the rudiments of knowledge shall be taught, but every branch of letters and science might be pursued throughout all its ramifica- tions, and aids may be furnished for the independent research and original investigation by which the boundaries of t;he field of knowledge may be carried for- ward into the region of the still unknown. This being, as I understand it, the design of this proposed institu- tion— a design from which I trust its projectors and patrons will not swerve or shrink back a single hair's breadth — as an educator, I look upon it with feelings of intensest interest, for the influence which it is destined inevitably to exert upon our whole educational system. It is impossible that a higher order of intellectual culture be introduced among us without improving the thoroughness and elevating the tone of teaching in all our schools of whatever grade." Some criticism upon the plans of the institution as an attempt to improvise a great University had been made, and speaking to this point President Barnard said, "One peculiarity I have further to notice. It is proposed here to create a university, not through the slow growth of years, but immediately and at once. The scheme has been sub- stantially perfected, the means for the most part secured, and it is now proposed that the realization shall be as sudden as the birth of Minerva, full-armed from the head of Jupiter. It is curiously in keeping with the character of your people of the race to which we belong, and the history of the continent we inhabit, that we should impro- vise a university complete in all its appliances and all the instrumentalities for the fulfillment of its comprehensive

56 HISTORY OF THE

functions. And why should we not improvise a univer- sity? We improvise towns, we improvise great cities, we improvise even sovereign states which spring up like magic in the heart of the wilderness, and with a sudden- ness almost startling present themselves in the halls of our federal legislature, demanding admission to the Union. To improvise a university is not much greater, yet the great universities of Europe have been the growth of centuries. Ought not ours to grow up to greatness by a similarly tardy progress? I think not. The slow growth of those venerable institutions of the Old World was a necessity arising out of causes which have for the most part disappeared. When Alfred founded the University of Oxford, when William, of Champeaux, opened his lecture halls in Paris, there was the classical learning of Greece and Rome, there was the philosophy of Aristotle, there were the mathematics of Euclid and Apallonius and a few more; but, besides these things, what did the field of human knowledge embrace? The literature and sciences wThich have sprung up since the revival of letters, and the invention of the art of printing, were without existence. Books were few and, of necessity, so long as they could only be multiplied by the slow labor of the pen, costly and difficult of attain- ment. Collections in natural history, in physical science, in agriculture and other subjects now so beautifully illustrated, in many places were unknown. But in this day all these instrumentalities for aiding the learner and investigator may be secured without waiting for them to form themselves by the slow accretions of cen- turies. Thus then, though it is a great thing to improvise

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 57

an institution as is proposed to make this University, yet it is certainly a very possible thing. I see no reason why this University may not, at no distant day rival the renown of the most distinguished of its class in the Old World. Nay, having gathered here, as it must, all the helps to study and investigation as well as the instrumentalities for the teaching which the world can supply, and attracting to this spot, as it cannot fail to do, the most eminent talent in every walk of letters and science which the country affords, I deem it no ebullition of a visionary enthusiasm to predict? that the time will come when the glories which have clustered in other times around Wittenberg and Gotingen and Heidelberg and Padua and Bologna and Paris and Rotterdam and Oxford and Cambridge will be more than equalled by the lustre which shall surround and radiate from the University of the South."

Gen. John M. Bright, M. C., of Tennessee, was the next speaker, and ably discussed the growing importance of agriculture as a science and commended the wisdom of the projectors of the University in giving so large a place to this important department.

NOTE: — At that time no great educational institution had been improvised, but since then we have had Cornell University, Lehigh University, Johns Hopkins University, Chicago University, Stanford University founded by millionaires and endowments upon the very largest scale of expenditure in buildings and endowments, while Yale and Harvard, Princeton and the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, with the aid of very large gifts and special foundations, have expanded from colleges into universities on a. very large and comprehensive scale.

58 HISTORY OF THE

The last speaker was the very venerable, Rt. Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith of Kentucky who briefly referred to the great educational impulse which had brought about this event and the conservative value of Christian education in preserving the institutions of our country. Other speakers were on the programme, but the shades of night began to steal in and as there were no means of lighting the vast dining hall, the exercises were brought to a conclusion. It had been a most beautiful, bright and cheerful day, and a great wave of enthusiasm had touched all hearts and permeated the great assemblage. It was felt that a great event had been celebrated in a most admirable manner, which presaged a bright and glorious future for the University.

Rt. Rev. C. T. QUINTARD, D. D.

First Vice Chancellor, Second Bishop of Tennes

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 59

CHAPTER VI.

Tribute to Bishops Polk, Otey and Elliott — Events subsequent to the laying of the cornerstone — The secession of the Con- federate States — The call for a convention of the Southern ing of the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in October, 1861.

1861-1865.

WITH the laying of the cornerstone, the securing of nearly half a million of dollars for endowment, the obtaining title to ten thousand acres for its princely domain, with a charter liberal in its provisions, with the support of the bishops of ten dioceses and their clergy and laity, the founders of the University might well feel that their work was well-nigh accomplished.

Alas, even then a dark cloud lay upon the political horizon, menacing the peace, happiness and prosperity of our land, a cloud which was soon to burst, overwhelm our Southern dioceses, overturn our institutions, destroy, burn, ravage and sweep out of existence nearly all our personalty and render, for some time at least, almost valueless our realty.

Bishop Freeman of Arkansas had died in 1858. Within the ensuing four years after the laying of the corner- stone, Bishops Cobbs, Otey and Polk passed away. The cornerstone, laid with such fond hopes, had been broken into fragments and its contents scattered beyond recovery, our humble buildings were in ashes, and the splendid endowment, secured with such toil and effort, had vanished. Otey, the noble, great-minded chancellor,

60 HISTORY OF THE

and Polk, the moving spirit of the enterprise, were in their graves, and the University and its grand ideal seemed to have left behind only a sweet memory of a great name. Thus closed the initial of this great enterprise. Man's work had passed away, but God's work, the eternal hills, grand forests, cool springs, gentle breezes and genial climate, remained as foundations, perchance, for its- resurrection ; for to some there ever remained the faith to believe "that a great thought never dies."

It seems proper here for one who was their con- temporary, and who* knew them well, to say a few words of the grand trio, Polk, Otey and Elliott, who stand out most prominently in the work of founding the University.

Leonidas Polk, first missionary bishop of Arkansas and first bishop of Louisiana, comes naturally to be first spoken of.

The portrait in St. Lukes Oratory, here reproduced, is an excellent representation of his form and features. Erect and soldierly in his bearing, there was a clear-cut, firm expression of the countenance which marked him as a leader among men, a force of character which was at once felt and recognized, a certain power which enabled him! to carry others along with him, not by any use of rhetoric, or art of persuasion, but by a conviction that there was no other course open but assent to his premises and consent to the performance of the duty involved in his conclusions. It was the very breadth and largeness of his plans, the grandeur of the proposed University, the scale upon which it was to be carried out, made men feel that it was not tens or hundreds, but thousands, that were needed to be given. So far as I know, he never

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 61

asked for or took up a collection for the University. How lie regarded the methods of work may be inferred from a report made to the board in 1859, in which he says that the commissioners had devoted two or three months to the work in Louisiana, and did not exhaust that field (f 264.000 was reported from Louisiana in 1860), that the sums required for the commencement of operations could easily have been gotten by skimming the surface of the associated dioceses, yet the large endowment they proposed to raise required a careful 'Canvass of each particular diocese. Such was the mian and such were his views, and he had the inestimable power of impressing his views upon others. The sub- scriptions in Louisiana were mostly from |5,000 to $10,000 each. He aimed to raise not less than an endow- ment of $3,000,000. Bishop Otey had the intellectual power, the mental grasp of the subject, but Bishop Polk had not only the clear conception of the work, but the knowledge of human nature, the will power and patient and well-ordered enthusiasm, allied with prudence, to know how to reach the heart, the understanding and the coffers of the people. Personally tall, erect and leader- like, rapid but clear in thought and expression, chivalric and high-toned, he possessed a magnetic power of influence, he had a combination of great qualities which fitted him for a great work. He perished at Pine Mountain, Ga., June 14th, 1864, at the age of fifty-five. Bishop Otey was a grand man among men, of command- ing stature, large boned, broad chested, a sturdy framfe surmounted by a noble head and manly countenance, with piercing eyes and an impressive and dignified

62 HISTORY OF THE

manner, he was at once recognized as one of the great fathers of the church. Simple and natural, with no mannerism, and with no apparent consciousness of self, he commanded attention and respect from all with whom he came in contact. Intellectually I have always regarded him as the foremost man in the house of bishops. He was a great preacher, the clearness of his exposition, the force of his arguments, the power of his presentation of the truth, were felt by all, and no one could listen to his pulpit utterance without a reverent assent to hi» conclusion. It has often seemed to me that if this great intellectual giant could have been placed in one of the older and stronger dioceses his power and rank would have been universally acknowledged, but his life was worn out in a scattered and comparatively barren field, in a pioneer country, in journey ings and exposure of every kind. I have in the earlier portion of the sketch given a somewhat full statement of the educational projects which he originated, but failed t;o carry out. The ideas he never relinquished, but he had no pride of leadership or jealousy of their being taken up and carried on by another, and, after the publication of Bishop Folk's letter in 1856, he wrote a friend, "I am glad that one has taken hold of the subject with more leisure and ability than I have to prosecute it to a happy result." His death occurred at Memphis, April 23, 1863, at the age of sixty-three.

Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, then bishop of Georgia, was the chosen friend and colleague of Bishop Polk in this work, a noble coadjutor. It is difficult to give an adequate concep- tion of Bishop Elliott. One who knew him well thus de<-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 63

scribes him. "Long of limb and tall of stature, with a full and vigorous frame thoroughly yet easily erect, with a full, high brow, finely chiseled features and lofty chest, with soft beaming blue eyes and a complexion fair and fresh without being ruddy > exquisitely graceful in his carriage and quiet and easy in his movements, with his thin, dark hair floating lightly around his head. His was a figure, as he passed along the crowded thoroughfare, upon which men turned to gaze, and the eyes of women rested with tenderness and veneration."

There was, indeed, a peculiar charm about him which was indescribable. A friend of mine from Georgia who was very proud of his State, used to speak of Bishop Elliott as being "the first gentleman in Georgia," He was a rare man, a scholar, a chivalrous gentleman, a noble bishop of the church, a devoted and faithful friend. He died on the 21st of December, I860, at the age of sixty- six. So that all three of these noble men were called away within three years. A noble trio worthy to be commemorated by fhe painter's pencil and sculptor's chisel in the great central hall of the University to be built.

The cornerstone had been laid in October, 1861, during the calm which preceded the hurricane. The presidential election followed in a few weeks and at once the elements of discord between the states began to appear. Men's minds were excited to a high pitch by the discussion which followed the presidential election, as to the effect of the complete triumph of what was regarded at the South as an anti-slavery and Northern sectional political organization, inimical to the South,

64 HISTORY OF THE

her institutions and rights. The public mind was greatly excited; public meetings were called to consider the situation; the bolder spirits counseled immediate action, defensive measures were recommended; a withdrawal from the Union was now openly discussed, and by many regarded as the only solution of the dangers which menaced the Slave States. State conventions were held, and on December 20th, 1860, South Carolina led off towards withdrawal by the passage of an ordinance of sesession and repudiation of the authority of the federal government. Other states followed in rapid succession. On the eighth of February, 1861, a provisional government for the Confederate States was established at Montgom- ery, and on the eleventh of March, 1861, the constitution of the Confederate States was adopted. All the dioceses connected with the University, except Tennessee, had thus come under the government of the Confederate States, and it became necessary to make some arrange- ment by which the church in these dioceses could preserve an organization.

On the 23d of March, 1861, Bishops Polk and Elliott issued from University Place, as Sewanee was then called, a circular letter addressed to the bishops of the several dioceses' in the Confederate States, in which they suggested that the course of events seemed to require an •early consultation among the dioceses of the Confederate States for the purpose of considering their relation to the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, of which they had been so long the equal and happy members. They said "this necessity does not arise out of .any dissension which has occurred within the church

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 65

itself, nor out of any dissatisfaction with either the doctrine or discipline of the church. We rejoice to- record the fact that we are today, as churchmen, as truly brethren as we have ever been; and that no deed has been done nor word utftered that leaves a single wound rankling in our hearts. We are still one in faith, in purpose and in hope, but political changes forced upon us by a stern necessity, have occurred which have placed our dioceses in a position requiring consultation as to our ecclesiastical relations." They therefore proposed that the several bishops should recommend to their diocesan conventions the appointment of clerical and lay deputies to a convention to be held at Montgomery, Ala., on the 3d day of July, 1861. This convention was held on the 3d of July and subsequent days and, after a full consideration of the manner of organization and the passage of resolutions looking to such complete autonomy, provided for a meeting of deputies, chosen by the diocesan convention, to meet at Columbia, S. C., on the third Wednesday of October, 1861, for the purpose of a complete organization of the Southern dioceses in a general convention.

Bishop Otey, as chancellor of the University, availed himself of the meeting of the convention to call a meeting of the board of trustees of the University of the South to be held at Columbia on October 14th, 1861, to take into consideration such matters as might affect the University in the condition of affairs. Bishop Polk, under the urgent solicitation of the president of the Confederacy, had reluctantly accepted a commission as major-general in the Confederate army and was then in:

66 HISTORY OF THE

the field. Bishop Cobbs of Alabama had died on the llth of January, 1861. On the day appointed a number of the trustees assembled at the rectory of Trinity Church in the city of Columbia, S. C. Of the bishops there were present Bishops Otey, Elliott, Green, Davis and Rutledge, with clerical and lay trustees from several dioceses. A quorum not being present the meeting was adjourned until the next day, when Bishops Atkinson, Gregg and Lay arrived, and others sufficient to make a quorum. What the future had in store for the church and State no man knew, but the board proceeded in its regular order of business, rules of order were discussed and adopted. The committee on finance made a report; a committee reported in reference to the death of Bishop Cobbs of Alabama, who had died since the last meeting of the board. Bishop Elliott of Georgia, one of the commissioners on endowment, made a report as follows: "The commissioners, as soon after the adjournment of the board as practicable, took advice from some of the most experienced lay trustees as to the practicability of continuing their mission. The unanimous opinion of these gentlemen was that nothing could be effected in the way of collection in the uncertain and distracted condition of the country, especially while the position of Tennessee was undecided. Their advice was to place everything in connection with the University in as snug a condition as possible and wait events. In pursuance of the instructions of the board, the commissioners proceeded as rapidly as incoming revenue would permit to liquidate the outstanding claims upon the University and to put a stop to all expenditures. They were engaged

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 67

in this work when they were separated by secession. Fire and war and circumstances have entirely prevented their meeting since the secession of Tennessee, North Carolina and Arkansas have reunited our dioceses. It was useless to prosecute any work so long as Tennessee remained in the old Union, and she did not determine her status until June last (May 3d, 1861), when the country was in the confusion of war and every collegian was defend- ing his home and fireside. Nothing has been done to advance the University. Your commissioner trusts that the time may soon come when the board may resume its active operations and consummate the great work which has been so nobly begun." Bishop Elliott thereupon resigned his position as commissioner of endowment.

A resolution was passed in reference to the plan suggested by Mr. Thomas W. Adams, looking to the erection of a collegiate building by the citizens of Louisiana, and giving the assent of the board thereto. Mr. G. R. Fairbanks was appointed a committee of one to make all necessary arrangements with the Sewanee Mining Company in reference to titles of lands, etc.

The chancellor was requested to make, in the absence of the engineer in charge, Col. C. B. Barney, such arrangements as he might deem best to preserve the grounds, buildings, papers and other property of the University, and to place some proper person in charge of the same. The executive committee was authorized to arrange the reservation required for the University and around the springs and to lay out public grounds, avenues, streets, etc. The size and shape of the lots and the terms and conditions and mode of leasing thereof

<6S HISTORY OF THE

to be determined by the executive committee, who were given full discretionary powers in reference thereto. Bishops Otey and Polk, Rev. Dr. Pise, Messrs. G. B. Fairbanks, L. N. Whittle and Daniel Griffin were appointed an executive committee until the next annual meeting of the board. A resolution was passed that such funds as should be especially contributed for the purpose be applied to the establishment of a preparatory school at Sewanee under the direction of the executive com- mittee.

It will be observed that although neither the declara- tion of principles, constitution or statutes made any provision for a preparatory or grammar school at Sewanee, yet the board of trustees, as early as October, 1861, recognized the establishing of such a school as desirable and gave their approval to the proposal.

Most, if not all of the trustees, were members of the church council of the Confederate States, then in session at Columbia, for the purpose of adopting a constitution and canons for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Southern States.* After the adjournment of the board the chancellor, Bishop Otey, formally placed the charge of the University domain, property, papers, etc., at Sewanee in the hands of Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, a member of the executive committee, who returned to Sewanee and remained there with his family until the fall of Nashville, when he removed to Marietta, Ga., and shortly afterwards entered the Confederate service with the rank

*The convention adopted a constitution and canons for the church in the Confederate States and a council of the church was afterwards held at Augusta, Ga., under this organization.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 69

of major. Colonel Barney, the engineer, had joined General Folk's corps at Columbus, Ky. The shortest route between the middle Tennessee valley country was from Cowan or Decherd across the domain of the University to Jasper in the Sequatchie Valley and thence on to Chattanooga. After the battle of Murfreesboro the Confederate army under General Bragg fell back to Tullahoma and, later, crossed the mountain at Sewanee. Some skirmishing took place on the domain between the rear guard of General Folk's corps and the advance of the Federal army. Subsequently several detachments of the Federal army came to Sewanee and encamped there for a considerable period. The University houses and Mr. Fairbank's residence were burned about this period by a detachment of Federal troops from Decherd. The cornerstone was broken up into fragments and made into little "keepsakes," and its contents carried off. During the remainder of the Civil War Sewanee was alternately occupied by the troops of the opposing armies, was a camping ground in the route of military detach- ments, and was virtually deserted by its former residents. Guerillas and bummers roamed over the mountain at times to the terror of families in the vicinity.

70 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER VII.

The effort for the resuscitation of the» University in 1865— The action taken by the convention of the Diocese of Tennessee and the efforts made by Bishop Quintard for that purpose — First meeting of trustees in 1866 at Sewanee, and determina- tion to resume the work.

1865-1886.

AT the close of the war the writer was paroled at Macon, Ga., and in September, 1865, returned to Ten- nessee. On the cars between Nashville and Columbia, Tennessee, he met Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. D., rector of the Church of the Advent, Nashville, who had been a chaplain during the war, and Rev. David Pise, D. D., rector of St. Peters Church, Columbia, who was secretary of the board of trustees and, with the writer, a member of the executive committee. We discussed with much interest the condition of the affairs of the University, and whether it were possible to revive the project and in what manner.

A special convention of the diocese of Tennessee had been called to meet in Nashville in September, 1865, at which it was expected that a bishop would be elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the Rt. Rev. J. H. Otey, L. L., D. It was finally agreed upon by Rev. Dr. Quintard, Dr. Pise and myself that the best method of initiating measures for the revival of the University would be for the diocese of Tennessee to take measures for establishing on the domain, with the con- currence of the surviving members of the executive com- mittee, a training school for candidates for the ministry.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 71

The diocesan convention of Tennessee met in Christ Church, Nashville, on the day appointed, the 6th of September, 1865. The Rev. David Pise presided over its deliberations. On the second day of the session Rev. David Pise, D. D., Francis B. Fogg and Geo. R. Fairbanks were elected trustees of the University of the South. On the following day Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, M. D., was elected bishop of the diocese. On the 8th of September the following entry appears in the journal of the proceedings of the convention. The committee on the training school made the following report through their chairman, Rev. Dr. Quintard : "The committee to which was referred the subject of providing for the education and maintenance of candidates for orders report the following resolutions and recommend their adoption by the convention:

''Resolved, That a standing committee to consist of five members, of whom the bishop of the diocese shall be the permanent chairman, be appointed by this convention, whose duty it shall be to consult with the executive committee of the University of the South, and, in connec- tion with said committee, take immediate steps if practicable for the establishment of a theological train- ing school on the domain of the University of the South at Sewanee.

"Resolved, That said committee shall have full power to act for the diocese of Tennessee in all matters connected with said enterprise and be authorized to appoint agents to present this subject to other dioceses connected with said University, and to solicit funds for the immediate erection of buildings necessary for the purpose and for the payment of the salaries of at least two professors'."

72 HISTORY OF THE

This action of the diocesan convention at the sugges- tion of Bishop Quintard may be well considered the constructive foundation upon which the plans for the University were revived and reinstated. At this time there was no visible entity to the University. The great founder, Bishop Polk, was dead, as also Bishop Otey. The endowment was gone, the temporary buildings at Sewanee were in ashes, and there seemed in the then condition of the Southern dioceses, ruled as provinces by army officers, no time for work or thought to be given to the resuscitation of this great educational enterprise. This action in Tennessee was the spark which held the life of the University. The next step towards carrying into effect the resolutions of the Tennessee diocesan con- vention was the sending of a communication to each surviving member of the executive committee, of which the following is a copy :

COLUMBIA, TENNV Jan. 13th, 1866.

ST. PETERS PARSONAGE, DEAR SIR:

At a consultation held by the undersigned in reference to the interest of the University of the South, of which they are trustees in the diocese of Tennessee, after a full exchange of views the following conclusions were arrived at and agreed to be submitted to the chancellor, the executive committee and the other members of the board of trustees.

First. — That it is of the utmost importance to retain the large landed endowment which is held by the University at Sewanee and which is partly dependent

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 73

upon the active prosecution of the work. That it is also deemed probable that a considerable portion of the endowment already secured to the University and held in the hands of the diocesan treasurers, may be made available by an early resumption of the plans and purposes provided for in the charter. That with tflie view of securing, as far as possible, the fruits of our past labors and meeting the urgent requirements upon the church for the education of her sons and the filling up of the ranks of her ministers.

Second. — It is proposed to aid the plan initiated by the convention of the diocese of Tennessee, and intrusted to a committee of that body, for the establishment of a training school for candidates for the sacred ministry for the common benefit of all the Southern dioceses, by leasing for this purpose any lands which can be con- veniently set apart for such an object in the University domain for the erection thereupon of requisite buildings upon the payment of a merely nominal rent, such lands to be set apart by the executive committee or their agent.

Third. — That an effort be made to procure sufficient funds to erect a few plain log or timber buildings for the accommodation of a boys' classical school, such buildings to be put up under the direction of the executive committee with funds specially donated for that purpose, and the school, when the buildings are prepared for that purpose, to be carried on under the control of the executive committee as its trustees until it shall be otherwise ordered by the trustees of the University; the expenses of the school to be defrayed from the tuition

74 HISTORY OF THE

fees which may be received, and from any special funds which may be given for the purpose, and no liability to be incurred on account of the University either for the erection of buildings or the compensation of teachers or other persons connected with it, it being intended to be a self-supporting institution and the germ of the future University. The bishop of Tennessee to be ex officio one of the visitors of such school and a trustee of the same.

For the establishment of the training school for candi- dates for orders, funds have already been donated, collected by Bishop Quintard, and a sum sufficient to put up two or three plain buildings has been secured,, and it is proposed to erect such buildings as soon as the assent of the chancellor and a majority of the executive committee is obtained with the view of at once com- mencing operations. For the purpose of putting up the buildings necessary for a classical school one or more agents should be appointed to solicit funds, which should be placed in the hands of the treasurer of the University to be expended under the direction of the executive coinlmittee. The agents for the soliciting of funds to be appointed by the chancellor, the bishop of Tennessee, or executive committee, or concurrently. It is believed that a few buildings of sawed timber or hewed will be all that is requisite to start the school, and, if properly underpinned and put up, they will last a long time and be neat in appearance and every way comfortable. Five or six thousand dollars is our estimate of the cost of

UNIVERSITY OP THE SOUTH. 75*

tbese buildings.* We think there will be no difficulty in finding suitable instructors who will undertake to carry on the school, trusting to tuition fees for their compensation, and we deem the present a very favorable time to inaugurate such an enterprise, t

We should be glad to hear from you immediately and have your views and your concurrence appended to the enclosed paper so that there may be placed upon record the formal action of the executive committee and the chancellor, as it will hardly be possible to have a meeting of the board of trustees for some time.

(Signed) C. T. QUINTARD, bishop,

DAVID PISE, clerical trustee, G. R. FAIRBANKS, lay trustee, And members of the executive committee. Please enclose your reply to Rev. David Pise, D. D.r Columbia, Tenn.

Favorable replies were received from the chancellor, Bishop Elliott of Georgia, L. N. Whittle and Daniel Griffin of Georgia; these, with Rev. Dr. Pise and Mr.

*This idea of buildings constructed of sawed timber, log- house fashion, is illustrated in the timber cottage built by G. R. Fairbanks at Sewanee in 1866 and which now after more than thirty-four years is sound and apparently as good as when con- structed.

t If this expression seems rather strange in view of the condition of things at the close of the war, the explanation is that the boys of the country having been for the most part of the four years of the war deprived of the opportunities of education, their parents would gladly avail themselves of the advantages of the proposed classical school at Sewanee.

76 HISTORY OF THE

G. R. Fairbanks, embraced all the surviving members of the executive committee; the other members, Bishops Polk and Otey, being dead.

The consent of the executive committee and the chancellor. Bishop Elliott, having been obtained for the establishment of a training school for theological students on the domain of the University at Sewanee, arrange- ments were made in February, 1866, for the prosecution of the work by the erection of a simple frame building of one and a half stories, containing seven rooms besides a kitchen. Lumber was procured and workmen employed under the direction of Mr. William P. Ensign. The first building of any kind put up was a single-room log build- ing, about fourteen by eighteen, for the accommodation of the workmen.*

Rev. Dr. Merrick arrived at Winchester, Tenn., on the 20th of March, 1866. Bishop Quintard arranged to proceed to Sewanee and inaugurate the work by a formal act. The following extract from his convention address in 1866 gives a correct account of the planting of the cross at Sewanee on the 22d of March, 1866 :

"Thursday, 22d (March), accompanied by the Kev. Dr. Merrick, Rev. Thos. A. Morris and G. R. Fairbanks, one of the trustees of the University of the South, I visited University Place. All the buildings, with the exception of an old log cabin, were burned by the Federal army while encamped on the ground. The cornerstone of the University was broken and entirely removed. I selected

*This building still exists, having been afterwards removed to the premises of Rt Rev. C. T. Quintard and made into a neat office building.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 77

locations for the buildings of our diocesan training school. In the evening we erected a cross on the site selected for the chapel, gathered the workmen about it and asked the blessing of the great Head of the Church on our under- taking. We recited the Apostle's Creed and made the grand old woods ring with the 'Gloria in Excelsis.' " The place where the cross was erected is now marked by the beautiful oratory of St. Lukes Memorial Hall, in which the daily service of the church fitly preserves the highest possible memorial of that "Gloria in Excelsis" which then ascended to the skies, testifying to the faith and courage of the second bishop of Tennessee. The proposed training school was erected just in front of the west end of Walsh Memorial Hall. It was completed during the summer of 1866. Bishop Quintard selected the location where he now lives, opposite Walsh Memorial Hall, for his own cottage home, which he took possession of with his family on the 4th of June, 1866, although only one or two rooms were then sufficiently completed for occupation. A few days afterwards Mr. G. K. Fair- banks brought his family to the mountain and occupied Otey Hall, then unfinished (the name given to the building erected for the training school), until he, very soon after- wards, erected his timber cottage, nearly opposite Con- vocation Hall, which was sufficiently finished for his occupation on September 7th, 1866, and to which he gave the name of "Rebel's Rest" in allusion to the unsettled life, movings and home burnings of the four previous years; being glad, indeed, to be at rest on this broad mountain top, endeared and sanctified by the

78 HISTORY OF THE

memories of the great events and the great m|Bn who had here assembled in by-gone years.

It was indeed an act of faith for these two families to come into this wilderness of blasted hopes and ruined expectations to raise up the apparently hopeless and blotted out scheme of building up a great University, to begin with hundreds in place of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to arouse interest among an impoverished and stricken people, to plan the erection of log and timber buildings which would seem a mockery of the great plans of the projectors of the University.

It was, however, no effusion of sentimentality or blind enthusiasm, none knew better the condition of the South than they did; none knew or anticipated more clearly the obstacles to be encountered in the work they had undertaken, but, with a chastened spirit and a great faith, they cast their plans for a humfble beginning, strong in the hope of such future growth and enlarge- ment as would eventually reach the full fruition of the plans of the founders.

In consequence of correspondence with the chancellor, Bishop Elliott, a special meeting of the board of trustees was called by him to meet at Sewanee on the llth day of October, 1866. Notices of the proposed meeting were sent to the members of the board as it stood at the last previous meeting held in Columbia, S. C., 1861.

On the day appointed, there met at the house of Mr. G. R. Fairbanks Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., bishop of Georgia, chancellor, Rt. Rev. William M. Green, D. D., bishop of Mississippi, Rev. M. A. Curtis, D. D., of North Carolina, Rev. David Pise, D. D., of Tennessee, Rev.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 79

W. C. Williams of Georgia, L. N. Whittle, Esq., of Georgia and G. R. Fairbanks of Tennessee. Morning prayer was read by Rev. David Pise, after which the chancellor called the board to order. There being no quorum present the board adjourned until the next day at four o'clock. On the 12th the board convened and Rt. Rev. H. C. Lay, I). I)., missionary bishop of Arkansas, and the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. D., bishop of Tennes- see, appeared and answered to the roll call. There still being no quorum the board adjourned to meet at the call of the chancellor.

At the evening session, which was prolonged until mid- night, after a general discussion of the situation of the country and of the affairs of the University, each member of the board was requested by Bishop Elliott to express his views as to the main proposition then before them for decision, as to whether it was practicable to revive the scheme of the University. The discussion was full and earnest, and the conclusion reached by each one in tarn was that it was practicable and should be attempted. This conclusion, finally arrived at about midnight, was a source of devout thankfulness, and the bishop of Georgia pronounced the benediction.

It was known to us that the deeds to the property and other important papers had been taken from the vault of the executive room by the direction of Bishop (then General) Polk, and carried by Mr. VanVleck to Montgomery, Ala., and placed in the possession of Mr. C. T. Pollard, president of the railroad, for security. Mr. Pollard placed a portion of the papers in the office safe of the railroad, but one bundle, which seemed to contain

80 HISTORY OF THE

papers, principally letters, was put upon a shelf. When General Wilson's raid of Federal troops threatened Montgomery, early in 1865, Colonel Pollard took what he supposed to be valuable papers and maps of the University and intrusted them to one of his employees who went out on a special train to Opelika, where the train was intercepted by a detachment of Federal cavalry, and the car in which the papers were, was burned. The maps, deeds and papers were thus supposed to be entirely lost, and it was spoken of at our meeting as a discourag- ing circumstance. During the afternoon of October 12th, while we were in session, a young gentleman came up from the train to Mr. Fairbanks' house and brought a letter from Colonel Pollard, regretting his inability to attend the meeting of the board, and saying that he had found on a shelf in his office a bundle of papers tied up in a newspaper, which he sent along with his messenger, but he presumed they were of little value, although he had not examined them. The bundle was laid upon the floor. After we had retired, the writer, feeling somewhat excited by the interesting character of the discussion we had been engaged in, and revolving in his mind how we could replace the loss of our deeds, recalled the bundle which Colonel Pollard had sent, and which had not been opened, but remained where it was placed on the floor in his parlor. As soon as it was light he dressed, went down and proceeded to open the package, when, to his delight and surprise, he found it contained the very deeds and title papers of which we had mourned the loss. When the others came down to breakfast he announced his discovery, and it was hailed by us all as an auspicious

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 81

omen of success in prosecuting the work we had decided to undertake.

Bishop Quintard was requested to continue his efforts to secure funds, which he cordially undertook to do.

On the following morning several of the gentlemen walked down to Cowan by the Hawkins trail, among whom was the bishop of Georgia. In the month of March, 1866, the trustees of an institution at Winchester, Tenn., which had been known as the Carrick Academy, offered t!o make over to Bishop Quintard the Academy building with four acres of land on a lease of ninety- nine years. The Bishop invited Rev. Franklin L. Knight, D. D., of New Jersey, to take charge of the school. It was regarded as a good opportunity to establish a church school as a feeder to Sewanee. On September 3d the Bishop formally opened the school as the Sewanee Collegiate Institute. It began under very fair auspices, but support soon diminished. The Institute changed its name to Sewanee College and lingered on with varying numbers until 1870, when it was given up by the church altogether.

It was subsequently established by the people of Winchester as a successful normal school for teachers. Bishop Elliott, who had succeeded Bishop Polk as chan- cellor, died very suddenly at his home in Savannah on the 21st of December, 1866, a great loss to the University, the church and the country. He was succeeded in the office of chancellor by Bishop Green of Mississippi. In January, 1867, Rev. F. L. Knight, D. D., came up from Winchester to take charge of Sewanee Divinity School, a few divinity students having been gathered here.

HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER VIII.

Progress of affairs during the year 1867 — Efforts to raise funds at home for the work.

IN January, 1867, Bishop Green of Mississippi, then chancellor, came to Sewanee with his family, and, during the following spring, erected the mansion which has been occupied by himself and daughters since 1867. During the same season Rev. Dr. Knight built a residence, now known as the Harlow place. Mrs. S. E. Cotten came to Sewanee in the spring of 1867, and occupied Otey Hall as a boarding house. South Wing, now forming the central portion of Mrs. Elmore's residence, adjoining Walsh Memorial on the south, was built in the summer of 1867. Dr. Knight, in his report to the diocesan con- vention of Tennessee, reports eight families and sixteen communicants in the mission at Sewanee.

Bishop Green, as chancellor, called a meeting of the board of trustees to be held at Montgomery, Ala., on the 13th of February, 1867. In pursuance of this call there were present at this meeting Bishop Green of Mississippi, Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, Bishop Quintard of Tennessee, Bishop H. C. Lay of Arkansas, Rev. M. A. Curtis, D. D., of North Carolina, Rev. W. C. Williams, D. D., of Georgia, Rev. J. J. Scott, D. D., of Florida, Rev. W. C. Crane, D. D., of Mississippi, Rev. W. T. Leacock, D. D., of Louisiana, Mr. L. N. Whittle of Georgia, Mr. C. T. Pollard of Alabama, Mr. G. R. Fair- banks of Florida and Tennessee. A committee was

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 83

appointed to report the most feasible plan of beginning the work of the University. The committee consisted of Bishop Quintard, Rev. Dr. Curtis and Messrs. Whittle, Pollard and Fairbanks.

A resolution was passed requesting Bishop Wilmer of Alabama to preach a sermon in memory of the late Bishop Elliott, chancellor of the University. In pursu- ance of this resolution Bishop Wilmer delivered a memorial sermon on the life, labors and character of Bishop Elliott in St. Johns Church, Montgomery.

Rev. Dr. Crane and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks presented resolutions of respect to the memory of the four bishops, Otey, Polk, Elliott and Rutledge, members of the board who had died since its last meeting. The committee appointed to take into consideration the present condition and future requirements of the Univer- sity, through their chairman, Bishop Green, reported the following recommendations, as embodying the essential features which they deemed necessary to put the Univer- sity into operation.

First. That there be elected a vice chancellor, who should be charged with the duty of soliciting subscriptions and otherwise advancing the interests of the University. And that there should be chosen from the lay trustees a commissioner of buildings and lands to act as general agent, and associated with the vice chancellor in the work of soliciting funds, who should act as business manager, and, under the direction of the executive committee, have in charge all the business affairs of the University, and should reside at Sewanee.

$4 HISTORY OF THE

Secondly. That the accounts and debts should be adjusted or arranged by the executive committee, either by payment from available assets or issuance of bonds, and that the commissioner of buildings and lands, acting with the advice and consent of the vice chancellor, might adjust or compromise any existing subscriptions, or with consent of donors or their representatives, apply same to clear off existing indebtedness or to buildings; and the diocesan treasurers be requested to turn over to the vice chancellor and commissioner of buildings and lands the notes, bonds or other assets of the University in their hands.

The recommendations of the committee were all adopted, and Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, bishop of Ten- nessee, was elected vice chancellor, and Geo. R. Fair- banks was elected commissioner of buildings and lands.

The executive committee were authorized to erect buildings for University purposes to the extent of any funds which might be available for that purpose. A resolution was passed on motion of Rev. Dr. Crane, of Mississippi, that the executive committee be authorized to establish and put in operation, so soon as the}7 may deem it advisable, a high school on the University grounds. It will be recalled that a similar resolution had been passed by the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in October, 1861, and although the scheme of the University, as exhibited in the constitution and statutes, did not refer to any preparatory classical school or high school in connection with, and as an adjunct to, the University, yet the board of trustees did, by their action in 1861 r distinctly recognize and adopt such an adjunct, reaffirm-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 85

ing it in 1867. Bishop Quintard addressed the following communication to the board :

"To the Board of Trustees of the University of the South :

"Brethren : — I have been extremely anxious to establish a theological school on the domain of the University of the South. I have erected a building, known as Otey Hall, where a goodly number of students may be accom- modated. I beg leave to offer to the said board the said building as part of the property of the University on condition that the board adopt the training school as the theological department of the University of the South."

It was resolved that the proposition of the bishop of Tennessee be and is hereby accepted.

A resolution was passed, requesting the vice chancellor to prepare an address to the members and friends of the church, setting forth the plans proposed by the board, and calling upon the clergy and laity to give their earnest and hearty cooperation.

The diocese of Kentucky, which had not been included in the original association of dioceses to be connected with the University, was now invited to send delegates to the next meeting of the board of trustees to be held at Sewanee in August, 1867.

Bishop Quintard had on his hands the accumulated work of his diocese, and had made appointments which could not be set aside or delayed, and was unremittingly engaged in the visitation of his diocese until the last of April, when, accompanied by Mr. Fairbanks, he visited Louisville, Ky., and remained a week, preaching in Chirst Church and endeavoring to enlist the interest of that

86 HISTORY OF THE

generous people in the University. He received the* offertory, and generous contributions were made towards fitting up the training school building. .It was the intention, also, to have visited Louisiana, but they were urgently requested to postpone the visit until fall. In March, 1867, the bis-hop of Tennessee received an invita- tion from the Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a Pan- Anglican Council which was to be held at Lambeth Palace on September 24th, 1867.

The diocesan convention of Tennessee held in May, 1867, declared that, in their opinion, the interest of the church would be subserved by the attendance of Bishop Quintard on such synod. During the month of June Bishop Quintard made addresses and solicited funds for the University in several larger cities of Georgia, but was disabled from work for some two weeks of the time, and finding himself early in July unable to continue the work he requested the Rev. J. H. Cornish, of Aiken, S. C., to act in its further prosecution. Mr. Cornish entered zealously upon the work, but the time did not seem propitious for large results. A letter addressed by Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, commissioner of buildings and lands, to Rev. Mr. Cornish at that time presents in a forcible manner the purposes in view and then condition of affairs.

UNIVERSITY PLACE, TENNV July 6th, 1867. REVEREND AND DEAR SIR:

I am this evening in receipt of your favor of 2d from Macon. I am glad to learn of your mission on our be half, and hope you may be as successful as so great

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 87

and so worthy a cause deserves. It seems to me that an object which commanded the warmest sympathies and the most earnest support of an Otey, a Polk, a Cobbs and an Elliott should at once enlist the interest and aid of every churchman in the land. Our purposes are simple, plain and practicable, not forgetting for a moment the great ideal of a University which its founders pro- jected, we aim now to lay the foundation by establishing a high school of a truly first-class character. This we desire to do at once, and aim at erecting accommodations for seventy-five to one hundred students this summer, to be increased another year to double that number, and thus bring our work to an immediate and practical usefulness, and at the same time work towards the accomplishment of our great purpose of a church university on the largest and most complete scale.

The class of buildings we are now striving to put up will be neat but inexpensive. I enclose the plans of one to be called Cobbs Hall, which I have the materials now on hand to erect but not the funds to pay for its erection. We have also the ground marked off for a chapel, sixty- four feet nave, sixteen feet chancel (total, eighty by twenty-four feet), to be used also for a school room. T. have the materials for the putting up of the chancel and thirty-two feet of the nave, but no funds for flooring or cost of putting up. We think it advisable to put up the student's rooms in buildings of eight rooms each to avoid too many under one roof and less danger of fire. I wish to put up three of these eight-room buildings and one-

88 HISTORY OF THE

i

boarding house this fall.* The boarding house will cost somewhat more, say, for eight rooms, $1,800.00. Even taking into consideration the impoverished condition of the church, it is very little to ask that, to accomplish such a purpose. The school will be self-supporting when well under way. We wish only the buildings and outfit, and those of the plainest description. We have now the bedding and room furniture and furnishings to accom- modate forty pupils. To such as may desire to know by whom.' and under what agency the work is going on, you can reply that the venerable chancellor, I>ishop Green, is on the spot, and for the time living here and giving his aid and counsel. That the vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, resides here part of the year and gives his heart and labors to the work. That the business manage- ment is confided to one of the lay trustees who has taken an active part for the institution since its commence- ment and who is devoting his time and abilities to the details and management of its affairs.

Every dollar given will be judiciously and wisely expended and, as fast as funds are received, they will be devoted not to building up lofty and costly buildings which may never reach completion, but to those that can be built for a limited sum and be put up and occupied at once. We are now at a critical period of our work when help is most needed. Every day is important. Wre

*The plan was for the building generally known for some years as South Wing, now farming a part of Mrs. Elmore's Hall near Walsh Memorial Hall. It called for a building of eight rooms to cost $1,200.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SuUTH. 99

•ought to open the school this fall, or we mlay be delayed a whole year; a year which may determine the destiny of many a young man, and which may seriously affect the future prospects of our institution.

The moral safeguards, which will surround the students here, can only be appreciated by those who know how much of dissipation is going on, even in the most retired villages where the inevitable grog shop can now be found more frequently than ever before. It is a favorable period to begin. The abundant crops of the country which surrounds us, and of the rich valleys which lie at our feet, ensure for the coming year plenty and cheap- ness of living. We believe we can give such liberal salaries to professors as will insure the best ability in the country, and yet not have the expenses of our institution exceed those of the lowest college in the country. The difference in the cost of travel, expense of living, etc., will make a large margin in our favor.

I enclose some extracts from an address prepared by Bishop Elliott in 1858, which will present many sugges- tions to you. I also enclose the letter of the bishops in 1856, at the outset of the enterprise. We are daily receiving inquiries and applications which we cannot yet answer until we know what response the church will make to our present appeal. We should have too much pride to go North for the few thousand dollars which we now require to begin upon. It will interest the people of Alabama, I presume, to know that one of the halls we are preparing to build will be called Cobbs Hall, in

90 HISTORY OF THE

honor of their saintly bishop. Wishing you Godspeed,. and faith and patience to bear up under disappointments^ I remain, Very truly yours,

G. R. FAIRBANKS.

The chancellor, Bishop Green, had issued an address on behalf of the University, the opening sentence of which was: "It was a favorite saying of our beloved Bishop Polk that 'a great thought never dies,' and it cannot be doubted that this conviction brightened the last trying years of his life with regard to the institution which he so nobly projected, and mainly assisted in commencing at this place."

After a resume of the history of the inception of the University, and a reference to the advantages of its location at Sewanee, he proceeds to explain the proposed action of the trustees in the establishment of a high school, and earnestly commends Bishop Quintard and his lay helper to the confidence and liberal aid of the church- men of the associated dioceses. A brief appeal from Bishop Quintard and Mr. Fairbanks also accompanied Bishop Green's address, but, as generally happens, printed addresses or appeals are soon laid by and, whatever impulse of generosity or duty they at the moment excite in the hearts of most, speedily pass into temporary oblivion. The result of these appeals was for the time at least discouraging. The personal efforts of Bishop Quintard were more fruitful.

GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, Trustee J 857- 1905.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 91

CHAPTER IX.

Meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in August, 1867 — Action taken in reference to the approaching meeting of the Pan-Anglican Council in England — Visit of Bishop Quintard to England and material aid received for the University.

1867.

BISHOP GREEN, who succeeded Bishop Elliott as chan- cellor in December, 1866, called a meeting of the board of trustees to be held at Sewanee on the 1st of August, 1867.

Upon the day appointed, of the bishops only Bishops Green and Quintard were present, the Rt. Rev. Channing Moore Williams, missionary bishop to China and Japanr was also present as a visitor. Of the clerical trustees, Rev. Dr. W. C. Williams of Georgia, and Rev. David Pise, D. DM of Tennessee. Of lay trustees were present L. N. Whittle of Georgia, T. E. B. Pegues of Mississippi,. Smith Siinpkins of Florida, and Messrs. P. C. Pennington and Fairbanks of Tennessee.

Rev. James Craik, D. D., of Louisville, Ky., in accord- ance with a resolution of the diocesan convention of Kentucky, was present as an accredited delegate of the diocese.

The following preamble and resolutions offered by the bishop of Tennessee were adopted:

"Whereas, the Church of England laid the first founda- tion of the Church of Christ in America, and through her nursing care and protection was instrumental m

92 HISTORY OF THE

furthering the work of Christ and the church in the older states of America ; and

"Whereas, the approaching council of bishops in visible communion with the English church has for its object in an especial manner the promotion of the missionary work of the church; Therefore,

"Resolved, That the chancellor of the University of the South be requested to address a statement and appeal to the most reverend the archbishops and the right reverend the bishops of the Church of England, setting forth the lamentable condition of the church in the Southern dioceses, the history and vast importance of our enterprise, and ask their aid and cooperation in carrying forward the work;

"Resolved, That this address shall be sent through the vice chancellor, who shall be authorized and requested to solicit from the presiding bishop of the church in the United States his counsel, advice and cooperation in the presentation of the address, and in presenting the claims of the University to the bishops, clergy and laity of the Church of England."

It was directed that, until further instructions, the contemplated high school should embrace the studies of Greek, Latin, mathematics, English, rhetoric, elocution, composition and theology.

Mr. G. R. Fairbanks reported upon the condition of affairs of the University. He reports Otey Hall com- pleted and improved. A new building in connection with Otey Hall put up and would be soon completed, to wit: South Wing or Cobb's Hall. That the materials for a neat and commodious chapel had been mainly placed

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 93

OD the ground, which was also designed for school rooms. That, upon the strength of the pledges given at Montgomery in reference to the prosecution of the work, several residences had been erected and several leases had been made. That, for the immediate purposes of the institution in order to open a school of seventy-five students, the sum of |2,000 to $2,500 was necessary.

The meetings of the board were held in South Wing, which was then simply enclosed and without partitions. On the 2d of August Holy Communion was celebrated in that building by Bishop Green at five o'clock, after which the bishops, clergy and laity moved in procession jto a spot selected for laying the cornerstone of St. Augustine's chapel.* A processional hymn was sung and the doctors of divinity wore their appropriate hoods.

The chapel was immediately erected, the nave of the dimensions of thirty-two by twenty-four, chancel twelve by sixteen, it was boarded up vertically with an open timber roof, having crossed rafter braces after Will's designs; Gothic doors and windows. The furniture first used was of the plainest and roughest description. A handsome silver communion service, chalice and paten, had been given by two generous friends, Mr. John M. Robinson and Mr. John B. Smith of Louisville, who, in 1870, added a beautiful flagon.

On the 14th of August Bishop Quintard sailed for England to attend the Pan-Anglican Council. He was absent until the 20th of the May following, having

*This original chapel, 32 x 24, with chancel 12 x 16, forms a part of the present chapel.

S4 HISTORY OF THE

remained in England after the closing of the council to promote the interests of the University.

It was rather a delicate matter for the Bishop to take any active steps in behalf of the University until the council, to which he had been invited, should have entirely passed over.

Before leaving England, Bishop Hopkins, presiding bishop of the church in the United States, had addressed a letter to the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, who was honorable secretary for the University movement, giving his cordial and hearty indorsement to the work ; and Bishop Whipple of Minnesota and the bishop of New Hampshire had written most hearty and cordial letters. The work was not directly instituted by Bishop Quintard, but through the instrumentality of English friends, foremost among whom was the Rev. F. W. Tremlett of St. Peters, Belzize Park, London. The archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, gave his help and sanction and addressed the following letter to Rev. Dr. Tremlett :

LAMBETH PALACE, Oct. 15th, 1867. REVEREND AND DEAR SIR:

I heartily sanction the effort which is to be made in behalf of the University of the Southern States, and shall be glad if you will put down my name for a donation of twenty-five pounds towards the creation of such an institution.

I Would especially recommend the object to the favor- able consideration of the members of our church, in remembrances of the sacrifices which so mlany of the American bishops have recently made in order to testify

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 15

their respect and affection for the church of their fore- fathers. Believe me, reverend and dear sir, Yours truly,

C. T. OANTUAR. To the Hon. F. W. Tremlett.

A committee was formed, by whom a circular was issued and subscriptions invited, consisting of the arch- bishop of York, Lord Salisbury, the bishop of Oxford, Kev. Lord Charles Hervey, now bishop of Bath and Wells, Earl Nelson, Mr. Gladstone, Beresford Hope and other distinguished clergymen and laymen, the Kev. F. W. Tremlett, honorable secretary, and J. A. Stewart, treas- urer. Among the subscribers were many of the most honored names in England.

The bishop of Tennessee had a most cordial reception in as many of the cathedrals and parish churches as he was able to visit,, and, as the result of his labors, a sufficient fund was received to enable the executive -committee to enlarge the chapel, erect Tremlett Hall, and put matters into condition for opening the high school. A more full account of Bishop Quintard's work in Eng- land, we hope, will be forthcoming from his own pen.

9« HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER X.

Election and consecration of Bishop Beckwith as Bishop of Georgia — Meeting of the trustees at Savannah, Ga., April 2d, 1868 — Decision of the board to open the junior depart- ment of the University not later than the first of September,. 1868 — Selection of Gen. Josiah Gorgas as head of the school — • Formal opening of the junior department September 18, 1868.

1868-1869.

IN the meantime the vacancy in the diocese of Georgia had been filled by the election of the Eev. Jno. W.. Beckwith, rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, and arrangements for his consecration in St. Johns Church,, Savannah, on April 1st, 1868, had been made.

In view that there would be on that occasion many of the trustees present, the chancellor called a special meeting of the board to meet at Savannah on the 1st of April, 1868. The trustees met on that day and adjourned over until the 2d of April, when there were present Bishops Green of Mississippi, Atkinson of North Carolina, Wilmer of Alabama, Wilmer of Louisiana, Young of Florida and Beckwith of Georgia, Rev. Dr. Curtis of North Carolina, Rev. Dr. Williams of Georgia, and Messrs. DeRossett and Withers of North Carolina, Whittle of Georgia, Simpkins and Williams of Florida, Pollard of Alabama and Fairbanks of Tennessee.

A resolution was passed, that for the purpose of initiat- ing operations under the charter of the University, the board would open the junior department at University Place not later than September 1st, 1868. The resolution?

Gen. JOSIAH GORGAS, Second Vice Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 97

"k that form in order that there should be no questions to the formal beginning of the operations of the

niversity, and the term "high school" was thereafter

'opped, and the term "junior department" adopted. The executive committee was authorized to appoint a head master, or principal, and other teachers for the school. A resolution was passed expressing grateful appreciation of the self-denying labors of the bishop of Tennessee, his great kindness in remaining abroad at the request of the friends of the University for the purpose of obtain- ing funds, and to which we owe the promise of the future success of this great enterprise. It was directed that the first permanent edifice to be erected, be known as "Tremlett Hall," in testimony of our respect for the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, D. D., and of our grateful recognition of his wise, disinterested and successful exertions in behalf of this institution.

An executive committee, consisting of Bishops Green, Quintard and Wilmer of Louisiana, Drs. Bannister and Williams, and Messrs. Whittle, Dunnington and Fair- banks, was elected.

At the meeting of the executive committee, held a daj or two afterwards, it was resolved that the Rev. J. H. Coit of New Hampshire be appointed rector of the junior department and professor of mathematics, that Rev. Hall Harrison be elected professor of classics, and that Mr. G. Berkley Green be appointed tutor in the junior department.

The chancellor was requested to communicate with Commander M. F. Maury, in reference to some official connection with the University. At a meeting of the

98 HISTORY OF THE

executive committee held at Sewanee in May, 1868, they were informed that Rev. Mr. Coit and Rev. Hall Harrison declined the appointments made, and also that Com- mander Maury would be unable to connect himself with the University. It was, therefore, ordered that the secretary correspond with Gen. J. Gorgas and Gen. Samuel Jones in reference to the position of head of the junior department.

At a meeting of the executive committee, held June 15th, 1868, it was ordered that the nomination of Gen. Gorgas having received the approval of all the executive committee present, and the assent of all the others in writing, the chancellor was requested to communicate to him his appointment as head master of the junior depart- ment at a salary of |2,500 per year and the use of a dwelling house to be provided. With the funds provided by the efforts of Bishop Quintard in England the large boarding house known as "Tremlett Hall" was erected during the summer of 1868, and a portion of the house afterwards occupied by Gen. E. Kirby Smith. The chapel was enlarged by adding thirty-two feet to the nave, putting rooms on each side of the center, adding a vestry room and a choir room.

The board of trustees met at Sewanee on August 12th, 1868. There were present Bishops Green, Gregg and Quintard. Four of the clergy, Drs. Curtis, Williams and Bannister and Rev. Mr. Hunt, and Messrs. Whittle, Anderson, Pegues and Fairbanks.

Resolutions were passed directing a committee to prepare a statement setting forth the importance of the work of the University. Also that the executive com-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 99

nrittee annually prepare a statement of the condition and claims of the University, with an appeal providing for a collection on the third Sunday in Advent, to be called the University offering. Also that the bishops and clerical and lay trustees of each diocese be appointed to obtain subscriptions of twenty dollars per annum for five years for support of the theological department.

A resolution was passed that the bishops of Georgia and Florida take such steps as they thought best to raise funds at the North for the University, and they were requested to enter at once upon their work. Also that the bishops of Louisiana and Tennessee be appointed a committee to present the wants of the University at the South.

The executive committee reported that they had elected Gen. Josiah Gorgas as head master of the junior depart- ment and that he had accepted the position.

The board adjourned to meet in New York the 13th of October following, during the meeting of the general convention. It not having been found practicable to open the school on September 1st, notices for the opening of the junior department on the 18th of September were published, and such preparations made as it was supposed would be necessary.

General Gorgas had informed the committee that it would not be in his power to take up the work of head of the junior department until March, 1869. Professor Robert Dabney, of Virginia, was invited by the executive committee as instructor in English and metaphysics.

Rev. P. L. Knight, who had been engaged in the instruc- tion of candidates for the ministry, was appointed in-

100 HISTORY OF THE

structor of Greek and Latin. Mr. G. B. Green, instructor in mathematics.

On the 18th of September the vice chancellor opened the school with appropriate religious services in St. Augustine's chapel. The following named students, nine in number, matriculated:

1. Charles M. Fairbanks, Florida. 2. F. W. Knight, Tennessee. 3. R. W. Sherwood, Alabama. 4. Joseph €. Nash, Tennessee. 5. N. J. Conger, Georgia. 6. C. Barkley Dorr, Florida. 7. C. Hawks Dorr, Florida. 8. J. E. Creary, Florida. 9. J. A. Skipwith, Missis- sippi. In the absence of General Gorgas Professor Dabney was the acting head master of the junior depart- ment, Rev. F. L. Knight acting chaplain. In the course of that term four others matriculated, viz : C. T. Arnett, J. W. Clopton, G. A. Spyker and P. H. Marbury.

In the absence of any other suitable place the rear of the chapel was made use of as a school room, for which purpose it was quite ample. Most of the boys boarded with Mrs. S. E. Gotten, who had taken Otey Hall as a boarding house.

The executive committee, on February 10th, 1869, requested the chancellor to communicate to Rev. Dr. J. A. Bolles, D. I)., of Boston, the satisfaction it would afford the committee if he could be associated with the institution in its theological department.

The vice chancellor was requested to ascertain in what way and to what extent a salary could be provided for Dr. Bolles should he accept the position.

It was directed by the executive committee that only half tuition be charged the first ten students, sons of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 101

clergymen, who should apply for admission to the school.

Thanks were returned to Mrs. Carder for her kindness in carrying out the wishes of Rev. Mr. Carder in reference to the presentation of his very valuable library to the University.

The committee directed that a uniform be adopted for the students as early as practicable to consist of a grey sack coat, grey pants with black stripes. This recommendation was carried into effect during the Lent term.

At a meeting of the executive committee in June, 1869, it was ordered that the school year should consist of forty weeks, to begin in March and close on the second week in December, a vacation of one week to be given at the close of the first twenty weeks, but the students not allowed to leave the mountain except by written request of parents.

Thanks were returned to Daniel Griffin, Esq., for the gift of a very large terrestrial globe; to H. Sharp and Sons, New York, for a handsome wheel window for the chapel; and to Mrs. Cyrus Mason, of New York, for a stone font.

The subject of making provision for the tuition of young men designing to become candidates for the ministry, was referred to the board of trustees for arrange- ment.

In July, the executive committee appointed General Gorgas and Professor Dabney a committee to report to the executive committee a plan for the organization of a grammar school or primary department.

102 HISTORY OF THE

The committee an grammar school organization made a report recommending that the grammar school shall be a distinct department of the University, under the charge of a master and such assistance as from time to time might be found necessary. That the master should control its entire discipline except the extent of dismissal. That the instruction should be strictly preparatory to entrance into the University, and the master in the selec- tion of text books should act in consultation with the different professors for whose classes he is preparing the pupils. That in every other respect he should be independent and responsible only to the vice chancellor, and that he should be a member of the faculty, acting as a board until the hebdomadal board should be appointed. That in the case of irregular students who are in the grammar school in only a part of their studies, they should be considered college students reciting in the grammar school, but not under its discipline. That the assistants in the grammar school should be directly responsible to the master and to the members of the faculty.

The executive committee approved of the recommenda- tion of the committee, and the school was thenceforward organized in two departments, the grammar school or preparatory school and the junior or collegiate depart- ment.

Col. T. F. Sevier was appointed master of the grammar school. The head master was instructed to forbid the use of tobacco by the younger boys, and its use was forbidden to all students on the streets or school grounds.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 103

CHAPTER XI.

Progress of the University in the year, 1869 — Bishop Quintard's report as vice chancellor and recommendations — The report of the commissioner of buildings and lands, of erection of new buildings and leases of lands, and the policy to be pursued in managing the domain — Plans for raising an endowment considered — Appointments of professors and officers.

1869.

THE board of trustees met at Sewanee on the llth day of August, 1869. Bishop Green, chancellor, Bishops Gregg, Quintard, Young and Beckwith, and six clerical and nine lay trustees were in attendance.

Bishop Quintard, as vice chancellor, made a full report. He referred to his visit to England and the generous aid obtained there for the University, and stated that the funds received enabled us to erect the necessary buildings, to open the junior department of the University on the 18th of September, 1868, and that "it stands today a witness before the world of the unbroken unity of the church, and an enduring memorial of the Lambeth con- ference." He recommended that as this was a church university the degree of D. C. L. should be adopted by the University instead of L. L. D., and that this degree be conferred upon the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, D. D., rector of St. Peters Church, Belzize Park, London, England, who had acted as the honorary secretary of the committee in England on behalf of the University.

104 HISTORY OF THE

He referred to the fact that the executive committee had judged it expedient to organize a grammar school, distinct from the junior department. That it had not been possible to make the schools as distinct as was desirable. That new buildings would be required, and more ample provision made in both departments. He expressed it as the opinion of the officers and teachers of the University that other schools should be established, and that the original plan laid down in the statutes of the University should be acted upon at an early day.

He also asked that the school of theology should claim the early attention of the board, and that the bishops of the church should present some plan by which this school may be organized on a scale commensuratle with the demands of the church. He suggested that provision be made for the appointment and support of a chaplain, and that there should be a committee appointed to inquire into and arrange for the religious studies to be pursued; and a committee of bishops should be appointed to decide on the chapel services and the number of such services the students should be required to attend. He called attention to the necessity of providing study halls and class rooms, and the need of funds for that purpose, and that steps be taken to procure from the Southern church- men offerings to meet the needs of the University, sug- gesting that a committee be appointed to prepare an address to the clergy and laity of the church.

A committee of nine was appointed to consider the report of the vice chancellor and other business to be acted upon. The treasurer made his report, showing the amounts received from England to have been $8,711.56.

OF THE SOUTH. 105

Collections at the South by Bishop Quintal, $1,388.50, Church offerings, $272.50; donations, $106.75; from leases, $299; tuition fees, $3,165; and an indebtedness of $3,478 — more than covered by assets.

Mr. Fairbanks made his report as commissioner of build- ings and lands. He reported the completion of Tremlett Hall, with a capacity for forty- two students. The comple- tion of Waverly,* occupied by Professor Dabney; the enlargement of Otey Hall, affording accommodation, with its annex, South Wing, for twenty-six students. That there were accommodations in all for one hundred and ten students, besides those who might be domiciled in private houses. He stated that it was probable that suitable church families could be induced to make their residence here and erect, upon their own account, boarding houses for the accommodation of students, which would save expense to the University. He called attention to the need of a separate study hall for the grammlar school, and gave an estimate of the size and cost of a plain wooden building for that purpose which would answer for temporary use. He recommended the erection of a laundry, with bath rooms attached. He expressed the opinion that measures should be at once taken to commence at least one of the permanent collegiate build- ings of the University, and suggested that a plan could be so arranged that it might be built one wing or section at a time. He referred to the matter of leases, and expressed his views as to the policy which should govern the board, and that "this noble domain will, if we act wisely, become

*The house afterwards occupied by Gen. E. Kirby Smith until it« destruction by fire.

10G HISTORY OF THE

to us an endowment for the future of great value. That while anxious on the one hand to secure; the residence of refined and cultivated church families, it has been equally necessary that we should not place the rent so low as to cause an influx of persons who might locate simply for business or entirely selfish purposes, and who would be a detriment rather than a benefit to us. That, to establish what the rent should be, we must look forward to the yearly increasing value given to the lands by the growth of the population of the country, the development of the resources of the State, the settlement of the adjacent lands, the increased demand for summer resorts, the growth of the University, the value given by a constantly extending and more valuable class of improvements, all of which advance the value of adjacent property. That the usual rate of taxation on the property would, in most cases, exceed the amount paid as ground rent, while the advantages of proximity to springs, etc., are always deemed elements of value. It is to be taken into con- sideration that they will enjoy almost, if not quite, exemption from taxation."

The committee of nine reported a resolution that the bishops present be requested to report the order of services for the chapel and the course of religious instruc- tion to be pursued by the students. Kesolutions were passed fixing the Thursday after the second Monday in July as Commencement day and the day for annual meeting of the board of trustees, second Monday in July; and that the first term of the Academic year commence on the third Monday in July.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 107

The committee on buildings and lands reported in •favor of the erection of a grammar school building and four boarding houses. The board authorized the erection of a grammar school building at a cost not to exceed $1,000, and four buildings for boarding houses at a cost not to exceed $2,500 each. The treasurer, who was also commissioner of buildings and lands, tendered his resignation of both offices. He was then elected com- missioner of buildings and lands, and H. M. Anderson, M. D., was elected general treasurer.

Rev. Owen P. Thackara, of Florida, was appointed an agent to canvass the ten dioceses to solicit cash subscrip- tions for the purpose of paying off existing indebtedness, and the erection of additional buildings. Mr. Jno. Wilkes, of North Carolina, offered a resolution authoriz- ing the treasurer to prepare and issue coupon bonds to the amount of $100,000, with interest at eight per cent per annum, said coupons to be receivable in payment of tuition fees, the proceeds to be used for liquidating the debt, then to erect buildings recommended by commis- sioner of buildings and lands, and the balance to perma- nent improvements. The resolution was referred to the committee on finance, who reported that it was inexpedi- ent to take action at present. The board referred to the bishops, with power to act, a resolution that a chaplain should be elected immediately, as soon as a suitable person could be found, at a salary of $1,000, exclusive of the offertory, and to the executive committee a resolu- tion that a resident physician be appointed, and that he also fill the chair of chemistry, at a salary of $1,000. A resolution was passed authorizing the executive com-

108 HISTORY OP THE

mittee to fill any vacancies of instructors, subject to confirmation by the board at its next annual meeting. The executive committee was authorized to appoint a bursar, to receive moneys for board, tuition, etc. A resolution was passed directing the erection of a dwelling house for the head master.

The resignations of G. Berkely Green, as assistant professor of mathematics, and of Rev. F. L. Knight, D. D.y as professor of Greek language and literature, were accepted.

The executive committee, in August, appointed T. F. Sevier bursar, and tendered the appointment of instruc- tor of mathematics to Rev. F. A. Shoup. Twenty students matriculated in Trinity term, 1869. Rev. F. A. Shoup accepted the appointment of instructor of mathe- »atics. Mr. Caskie Harrison was appointed instructor of ancient languages. The executive committee directed the commissioner of buildings and lands to replace the signboards indicating the sites for colleges as originally placed, and that no lease be executed to any party within the area covered by said college sites other than to officers or professors of the University.

The executive committee directed that the arrangement for music in the chapel services1 be fixed and determined by the Bishop of Florida (Bishop Young), and under no circumstances to be departed from when so established. Also that the chaplain, being a master of arts, should wear the Oxford M. A. hood when officiating in the chapel, and that all officers of the institution should wear the prescribed cap and gown when on duty.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 10»

The executive committee, on September 2, 1869, adopted a resolution tendering to Dr. John B. Elliott the appoint- ment of physician and instructor in chemistry. His salary to be made up of a charge of ten dollars medical fee to each student, and $500 as instructor of chemistry. Dr. Elliott accepted and came to Sewanee during the month of September, 1869. The committee also appointed Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D., instructor of modern languages. A resolution was passed referring the whole matter of the disposition of the domain of the University to a committee of five, viz : Bishop Gregg, Rev. Dr. Bannister and Messrs. Gorgas, Whittle and Fairbanks, to report at the next annual meeting. It was resolved that it is deemed expedient to commence at as early a day as possible at least one of the permanent buildings of the University, to be erected of stone, and the executive com- mittee was authorized, when they deemed expedient, to obtain plans and estimates, and report to the next meeting 4)f the board.

The degree of D. C. L. was conferred on the Rev. F. W. Tremlett of London, England, in grateful recognition of Ms effective work for the University.

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CHAPTER XII.

Increase of students — Large number matriculated — The erection of the first library building — Meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in July, 1870 — Vice Chancellor Quintard's report for expansion of the work — General Gorgas' views as to dormitories — Report of committee recommending opening of the University schools.

1870.

DURING vacation the fine Meneely bell, now in use, was procured for the chapel, the melodious tones of which have resounded through these forests for more than a quarter of a century.

In the Lent term of 1870 ninety-five students matricu- lated, being the largest number of matriculants in any one term during the first twenty-five years. The number of students exceeded the accommodations prepared for them, and the executive committee authorized the erection of four dormitories and eight single-room cottages. This group of eight cottages was called Oxford Court, and was located on University Avenue, on the right hand side, just beyond Bishop Green's. One hundred and forty students were in attendance during the Lent term, 1870.

A considerable library having accumulated by gifts from England, Doctor Carder and others, Bishop Gregg, of Texas, and Bishop Young, of Florida, very generously erected, at their own expense and aid of friends, a neat library building built of wood, and placed on the spot where the A. T. O. Hall now stands. The building has been removed and occupied by the printing office known as the University Press.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. Ill

The board of trustees met at Sewanee on the llth day of July, 1870. There were present the chancellor, Bishop Green, Bishops Gregg, B. H. Wilmer, Quintard, Pierce and J. P. B. Wilmer, eight clerical and ten lay trustees.

Bishop Quintard, vice chancellor, made a report to the board, referring to the rapid development of the school. He regretted that the Advent offering had not been larger. He recommended that the fall term be extended, and the spring term should not begin so early. The main portion of his report was an urgent appeal to the board to adopt plans for the speedy expansion of the work. After reciting what the institution was intended to be and to accom- plish, he asks, "shall we allow this well-planted and vigorous tree to grow in a stunted way? Shall it be dwarfed under our culture? Or shall we rise to the full measure of our obligations and our duty, and resolve with the help of God that this shall be a seat of learning worthy of this great country, the ornament of the church, and the glory of a nation which is 'heir of all the ages and foremost in the files of time' * * * and can we sit idly by and see the grand opportunity which God has given us pass away forever? A thousand times no. Let us have faith, faith in ourselves, faith in the church and faith in the living God.

"He has thrown upon us the responsibility, 'The work to be prepared is ours; The strength is all His own.'

"Let us rise to the discharge of our duties, let us at once decide upon some plan for raising an endowment of half a million dollars. I verily believe we are losing time. I feel quite sure that the people would respond

112 HISTORY OF THE

in a liberal way to an earnest appeal on the part of the bishops of the church. I do not think that this sum could be raised in one year, but if two bishops would consent to act as commissioners, after the plan originally adopted when Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott undertook the work, I feel sure that great results would follow. The patronage that is pressed upon us is sufficient to demonstrate the fact that the hearts of the church and the country are with us yet. We can almost hear the Master's words, 'stretch forth thine hand,' and grasp the opportunity."

General Gorgas, head master, made his report covering the work of the previous year. The income from the Lent term, 1870, was $10,200, exceeding the expenses of the term by $737.

The organization then consisted of a head master, five instructors in the junior department and a master and tutor of the grammar school. General Gorgas strongly recommended that the head master and principal instruc- tors should be supplied with houses with attached dormitories, so that the great majority of students should reside with and be under the charge of the master and instructors.

He believed that the system of boarding houses con- templated in the statutes was not applicable to a boys' school and should not be extended, but rather restricted. That the system did not admit of that constant supervi- sion which is essential to a boy's education.

That the University students might very well be allowed the privileges and liberties contemplated by the statutes. He also suggested that instructors who might

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 113

keep students, could get along with more moderate salaries than otherwise, in consequence of the benefit derived from the boys' board. He recommended an in- crease of board and tuition to $340 for the junior depart- ment, and $320 for grammar school students, it having been previously placed at $300. He calls attention to the need of a grammar school study hall and of other con- veniences, and that the terms of office of the instructors be made more permanent.

Mr. Fairbanks, the commissioner of buildings and lands, made his report. He reported the erection of a school building on the north side of the chapel of one story, fifty-one feet long, twenty-one feet wide, divided by folding doors into three rooms. Also a dormitory for students containing eight rooms, part of the house since occupied by Bishop Galleher, a dormitory on the premises of General Gorgas with four rooms, hall and attic, occupied temporarily by General Gorgas. This: house, afterwards burned, stood on the spot now occupied by Rt. Rev. T. F. Gailor. A dormitory on the premises of Mrs. Elliott, with four rooms, the house once occupied by Rev. F. A. Shoup, D. D., and the foundation of a dormitory of four rooms on the premises of Mrs. Gotten. Also a building in Manigault Park, eighteen by thirty feet, used as a study hall and recitation room. This building was afterwards removed to the rear of the chapel, and is now a part of that group. Also a four-room cottage and a two-room cottage, connected with Tremlett Hall, and eight single-room cottages on University Avenue, twelve by twelve. He reported the capacity of all the halls and dormitories as sufficient for 190 students.

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He referred to the importance of having a good hotel at the University.

The treasurer reported $31,481.08 as received during the year for board, tuition, etc., and a disbursement of 129,391.45; leaving a credit balance of $2,089.63. On general account he reported received from Advent offer ings $1,029.27, of which $352.62 came from Texas; collections, through Kev. Mr. Thackara, $5,965.75; col- lected by Bishop Quintard in Savannah, $2,500; $500 received from Mr. Jacob Walburg, of Savannah, and $1,875 from old subscriptions. Mr. Fairbanks, as commissioner of buildings and lands, reported that he had visited Louisiana to investigate the condition of old subscriptions made through Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott, and that the subscriptions were principally from the wealthy planters of Louisiana, that the results of the war fell most heavily on that class, depriving them of their accumulated capital invested in their planting force, and depreciating their lands and, in most instances, leav- ing them largely involved in debt. An inquiry into their circumstances disclosed the fact that many had died insolvent, some had gone into bankruptcy and the remainder much reduced in circumstances. In no instance were the parties prepared to pay the amount of their obligations. All expressed a warm interest in the institution and a willingness to do what they could if their circumstances would permit.

The growing success of the institution very naturally impressed upon the instructors the desire to place it and themselves in a more desirable condition. They felt that a grammar school and junior department, adopted as a

or T . ,

UNIVER

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 115

necessary step in the beginning, should give way as early as was practicable to the organization of the institution as a University, in which they should hold their positions as University professors instead of instructors in a grammar school and junior department.

The financial condition at the close of the Lent term, 1870, with one hundred and forty students, and a surplus income from the school, seemed to them to warrant such a change at that time. The committee of organization consisted of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, L. N. Whittle of Georgia and P. W. Gray of Texas.

A committee, appointed at the meeting of the board in 1869 to report a plan for conducting the operations of the junior department, consisting of Bishop Green, Rev. Dr. Williams, General Gorgas and Mr. Fairbanks, reported that the junior department should be continued under a head master, assisted by the necessary instructors, who should be selected by the vice chancellor and head master, and nominated to the board of trustees, if in session, and, otherwise, to the executive committee. The course of instruction discipline of the school and general manage- ment of its operations to be intrusted to the vice chancel- lor and the head master. That the statutes, so far as they were not applicable to the junior department, should be considered as not in operation, especially so much of Statute I as relates to the salary of the vice chancellor; Statute III, Sections 5 and 6 ; Statute VII, Section 1, and Statutes VIII and IX. The report was adopted. The com- mittee on organization made a report recommending the immediate establishment of the following schools, viz:

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First. A school of ancient languages, embracing, for the present, the schools of Latin language and literature, and of Greek language and literature, to be under one professor, with such assistance of tutors as might be needed and authorized.

Second. A school of modern languages, embracing the schools of French language and literature, of German language and literature, of Spanish language and litera- ture and of Italian language and literature.

Third. A school of mathematics.

Fourth. A school of metaphysics, embracing, for the present, the schools of English language, of rhetoric and of composition, etc.

Fifth. A school of civil engineering.

Sixth. A school of chemistry.

Seventh. A school of moral science and the evidences of the Christian religion.

The committee further recommended the establishment of a primary school, when, in the judgment of the vice chancellor and the head master of the junior department, the establishment of such a department should be deemed expedient.

The report concluded with the following resolution:

Kesolved, That the committee on organization, estab- lishing schools in the University, in part fulfillment of the plan designed by the constitution and statutes be adopted.

The report was signed by Bishop Wilmer and Mr. Gray; Colonel Whittle, the other member, not coinciding with the majority of the committee.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 117

On Thursday, July 14th, the report and resolution of the committee on organization came up for consideration. The adoption of the report and resolution was warmly advocated by those who thought it important that the University should be now distinctly organized as a University with all that that implied. That it was a necessary progressive step and should no longer be delayed. That we were now quite well prepared for this step and that it would involve no greater expense, while it would give to the University the prestige and position to enable it to expand and secure the sympathy and support of the church.

Some of the trustees regarded this act as premature and believed it more prudent to go on with the school as then arranged, and build it up more firmly, and acquire more solidity and strength before expanding into the broader and, necessarily, more expensive condition of a university. To comply with the greater range of instruction would need the establishing of more schools and departments. After a long discussion the vote was taken by orders and resulted in the passage of the resolu- tion by the affirmative votes of the bishop of Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. Nay, Bishop Wilmer of Louisiana.

Of the clerical and lay trustees, Rev. Dr. Scott, Rev. Dr. Eaton, Rev. Mr. Lawson, Rev. Mr. Bradley, Messrs. Kershaw, Jeffreys, Dawson, Duncan, Pegues, Gray and Phelan voted aye; and Rev. Dr. Porter, Rev. Dr. Williams, Rev. Dr. Bannister, Messrs. Whittle, Fairbanks and Anderson, nay.

Ayes — bishops, 4; clerical and lay trustees, 11.

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Nays — bishops, 1; clerical and lay trustees, 6.

In view of the many financial difficulties enhanced by the expansion into a university the writer is now, as then, of the opinion that the step was somewhat pre- mature and that the situation would have been better had the school been built up to a greater degree of strength and solidity than it then possessed.

The vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, did not partici- pate in the discussion. On the following day the following communication was received from him.

To the Board of Trustees of the University of the South: GENTLEMEN : — I am well pleased to learn that the board of trustees has taken a step in advance and have decided to put the University in operation as soon as practicable. I believe that it is a step in the right direc- tion, and I heartily concur in the action of the board. Wishing to leave the board perfectly free to take such further action as may be required, I beg leave to tender my resignation as vice chancellor, and am, with senti- ments of fraternal regard, faithfully yours,

C. T. QUINTARD.

The board ordered that the bishop of Texas be requested to convey to the bisihop of Tennessee the desire of the board of trustees that he withdraw his resignation as vice chancellor, and to assure him that the board highly appreciates the motives which dictated the tender of his resignation at this time, and considers the con- tinuance of his services at present as necessary to the success of the University. A resolution was passed that the board proceed to the election of the professors of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 119

the several schools established by the board, such pro- fessors to hold office from the time that the organization should have been consummated and put in actual opera- tion, provided that the compensation of said professors, as such, shall be subject to the future decision of the board, by amendment of the statute or otherwise.

The executive committee reported that, under the authority given them, they had appointed the Rev. F. A. Shoup, A. M., instructor of mathematics; Rev. F. A. Juny, instructor of modern languages; John B. Elliott, M. D., resident physician and instructor of chemistry. These appointments were confirmed by the board.

The board then proceeded to the election of the pro- fessors of the various schools in the University as follows :

School of civil engineering, construction, architecture and drawing. Gen. Josiah Gorgas. School of mathe- matics, Rev. F. A. Shoup, A. M. School of metaphysics, Robert Dabney, M. A. School of modern languages, Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D. School of chemistry, John B. Elliott, M. D. School of ancient languages, Caskie Harrison. The election of a professor of moral science was postponed to the next meeting of the board. A com- mittee of seven was appointed who should immediately, upon the adjournment of the board, in conference with the vice chancellor, head master and professors elect, determine upon the arrangements for classes, etc., and make all such provisions as might be necessary to carry on the organization established by the board, and that, when five members should have agreed upon the time and manner of putting into operation the organization, the executive committee (and three of the professors!

120 HISTORY OF THE

elect consenting thereto) should communicate the fact of such agreement and consent to the vice chancellor, who should thereupon make publication of the fact of the organization of the University, and cause to be printed one thousand copies of the calendar for distribution.

The bishops of Alabama and Arkansas, Drs. Eaton and Scott, and Messrs Phelan, Gray and Duncan were appointed on such committee. The board, in anticipa- tion of the receipts from tuition fees for the ensuing year, appropriated $15,900 for salaries of professors and instructors, being about $5,000 in excess of amount paid the previous year; thus illustrating at the outset the increased expenditure consequent upon the organization of the University, as such. It may not be out of place here to make some reference to the gentlemen who composed the faculty of professors elected upon the organization of the University.

Gen. Josiah Gorgas, professor of engineering, was a graduate of West Point, a native of Pennsylvania, and long connected with the ordnance department of the United States army. At the opening of hostilities in the Civil War he cast his lot with the South and attained the rank of chief of ordnance and brigadier-general.

He acquired a very high reputation for his splendid management of his department, creating for the Con- federacy an abundant supply of the munitions of war. He was very highly esteemed by President Davis and General Lee, who both furnished very strong indorse- ments of his fitness for the head mastership of the junior departtaent. He remained at the University until 1878,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 121

when he became connected with the University of Alabama until his death in 1883.

Professor F. A. Shoup, D. D., professor of mathematics, was educated at West Point, a native of the State of Indiana, and resigned from the United States army in 1861, and tendered his services to the Confederate Government at Montgomery, was attached to the staff of General Bragg, afterwards assigned to duty in Arkansas, again connected with the army of Tennessee, was chief of staff to General Johnson in the Atlanta campaign, holding the rank of brigadier-general. After the war he was a professor in the University of Missis- sippi, and was invited to take the chair of mathematics in this University, which he accepted and held until 1875, when he resigned and was occupied in parish work until 1883, when he accepted the chair of engineering and physics, and subsequently added the acting professorship of mathematics, until 1893, when, upon thfe death of Gen. E. Kirby Smith, he was elected to the chair of mathematics and acting professor of metaphysics.

Professor Robert Dabney, L. L. D., professor of meta- physics, was a native of Virginia, a distinguished graduate of the University of Virginia, master of arts and doctor of laws. Professor Dabney was connected with the institution from its opening in September, 1868, until his lamented death on April 1st, 1876. He was held in very high esteem by his colleagues, and much beloved by the students of the University.

Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D., professor of modern languages, a native of France, and a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, very creditably filled the chair of modern Ian-

122 HISTORY OF THE

guages from 1870 until July, 1872, when he went to the University of Mississippi, and died a few years after- wards.

Dr. John B. Elliott, a son of Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, Bishop of Georgia, came to the University in September, 1869, as instructor in chemistry and resident physician, was elected, in 1870, to the chair of chemistry, which he most ably filled until 1885, when he resigned to occupy the chair of theory and practice of medicine in Tulane University, New Orleans, which position he still occupies. His separation from the faculty of the University was very greatly regretted by the trustees, the faculty and the students. No one connected with the University has1 probably ever accomplished more to raise its standard and to enlist the enthusiasm of the student body.

Professor Caskie Harrison, Ph. D., a native of Virginia, was partly educated at Cambridge University, England. He possessed a great aptitude and thorough knowledge of Latin and Greek literature. He was the youngest of the professors, but was greatly respected for his fine scholarship and thorough work in his classes. He resigned in August, 1882, and removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., where he established a very successful classical school.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 12 J

CHAPTER XIII.

The action of the board in reference to leases of the domain — The separation of the grammar school from the other depart- ments and its organization — Litigation in the matter of titles to lands — The E. Q. B. Club.

1871.

THE number of leases granted by the University, reported up to July, 1870, was thirty-nine. The com- mittee appointed in 1870 to report upon the whole matter of the disposition of the domain belonging to the Univer- sity reported a series of rules and regulations, the first of which was that no part of the domain should ever be alienated. This was a most judicious rule, and was intended to retain for all time the domain intact, so as to always keep under the control of the University all the safeguards which the possession of so large a domain would enable them absolutely to maintain, and is one of the most valuable of the many advantages secured by the election of Sewanee as the site of the University. There have been efforts, from time to time, to obtain a relaxation or change of this regulation, and there will be, doubtless, hereafter, some persons who will advocate selling a large part of the domain to raise funds, or to secure some object deemed desirable. So far the unani- mous feeling and action of the board of trustees has been in favor of retaining this as a perpetual and funda- mental rule and principle.

124 HISTORY OF THE

The second rule provided that in all leases of ground within the one-thousand-acre reserve, the size of lots, the character of improvement thereon, and extent of clearing (in no case, to exceed one- third of the leased premises), should be a matter of special arrangement with the com- missioner of buildings and lands, and of the executive committee. The annual rental to be twenty-five dollars, and no leases to encroach on the sites hitherto designated for college buildings. This regulation prohibiting the clearing off the forest trees from over one-third of the leased premises, was intended to prevent the denudation of the soil, the removing of the shade trees, which con- tribute so much to the beauty and appearance of the grounds, and avoiding the injurious effect upon the water supply, by percolation, which undoubtedly forms the source of the supply of our springs. The regulation as to the character of the improvements was a most wise and timely one intended and operating to prevent the putting up of cheap and flimsy cabins or structures, calculated to mar and injure the appearance of the University grounds. The limit which has generally been imposed in the leases granted was that improvements of not less than f 800 or f 1,000 in value should be put on the leased premises. The consequence has been that the residence portion of Sewanee has been built up with attractive homes, improved grounds, an abundance of shade trees and pleasant surroundings, and has escaped the roughness and uncouthness of the pioneer stage of most communities. These restrictions did not apply to the Sewanee station or village to the same extent, as to cost of improvements. Another provision was that all

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 125

storehouses and workshops should be confined to the limits of the depot village. A regulation was adopted that no timber outside the lots leased should, in any case, be cut without permission of the commissioner of build- ings and lands. That all springs within a radius of not less than fifty feet and a right of way should forever be reserved from lease. That no lease should extend beyond the term of thirty-three years, but was accompanied with the privilege of renewal for two equal terms. That! no lessee should be allowed to sell intoxicating liquors, permit gambling, or suffer any business to be conducted on such leased premises injurious to the interest and general welfare of the University, and that no leases should be given or any privileges allowed in connection with the University domain which shall in any way conflict with the objects had in view in the establishment of the University, or hinder the godly designs of its founders.

The recommendations of the committee were adopted, and the disposition of the domain has ever since been conducted on these lines with some additional require- ments and restrictions as to sanitary matters, and with a small increase of the rental to be paid. The committee on ways and means reported that there was a necessity for the erection of certain buildings and improvements, the cost of which would be $8,250, the principal items of which were an additional school building, residence for the head master, another dormitory, a laundry, an infirmary, etc.

They recommended as a means for raising funds that the trustees in every diocese be earnestly requested to

126 HISTORY OF THE

procure at least one hundred subscriptions of $100 each, payable one-tenth cash and balance in installments at ten per cent annually. They recommended that the bishops of Tennessee and Alabama be appointed com- missioners to carry out this plan. Their recommenda- tions were adopted. The vice chancellor called the atten- tion of the board to the desire of a number of the students to be organized into a regular military company, and asked the opinion of the board.

The board authorized the vice chancellor to take such action in the matter as he deemed best, as a consequence of which the authority to form a military company was given.

A committee of five, consisting of the bishops of Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Arkansas and General Gorgas, was appointed to consider the whole matter of the University costume and badges of the different schol- astic degrees, to report to the next meeting of the board. The bishop of Tennessee and General Gorgas were con- tinued as the executive committee for the coming year.

The committee of nine appointed to carry into effect the organization of the University schools met on the 18th July, and requested the attendance of the professors- elect, who were severally requested to answer, in writing, a series of questions embracing the following points : As to the best mode of organizing a grammar school in rela- tion to the several schools of the University. As to the time when the organization of the schools should take place. As to the difference in discipline to be made between the grammar school and the University students. As to the latitude in choice of studies to be allowed

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 127

students in the more advanced classes. As to the character and extent of studies in grammar school, whether English only, or also elementary Latin and Greek, and what proficiency should be required to enter advanced schools. As to whether it might not1 be practi- cable, through the intervention of tutors, to accomplish what is ordinarily accomplished through separate depart- ments, As to the rule to be allowed in the prouncia- tion of Latin and Greek. What additional recitation rooms would be needed. As to the best mode of providing for the difference in discipline necessitated by the different ages and habits of the students. Also to pre- sent a course of study, and list of text books, each for his own school, beginning with the most elementary in the grammar school. The original questions and answers are on file in the archives of the University, and exhibited a marked degree of unanimity upon every material question. The committee, after full discussion and con- sideration, agreed upon the following scheme of organiza- tion:

That there be established a grammar school as the "Primary Department of the University of the South." That the six chairs for which professors have been chosen, viz: civil engineering, mathematics, metaphysics, modern languages, chemistry and ancient languages:, be put in operation, and that there be no department between the grammar school and the established schools of the University. That the minimum course of study to be pursued by students in the grammar school should be catechistical instruction in the Prayer Book and Holy Scriptures, spelling, reading, writing, English composi-

128 HISTORY OF THE

tion, geography, history, mental arithmetic, practical arithmetic and elementary algebra, bookkeeping, elemen- tary instruction in chemistry, physics and natural science, Latin grammar as far as syntax, with the Latin reader, elementary Greek grammar and reader.

That, in accordance with the written opinion of the professors elect, the several schools should be put in immediate operation. That, until the next meeting of the board of trustees. General Gorgas should fcave authority over the whole University. That the first scholastic term should end the 21st of December and the second term begin on the 21st of March.

General Gorgas was requested to telegraph the vice chancellor as follows: "Immediate organization agreed upon by the entire committee and four professors, General Gorgas acquiesces, Elliott absent, your concurrence needed; answer." To which the vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, answered, "I cordially concur."

During the fall and winter the recommendations of the finance committee in reference to obtaining endowment notes, payable by installments, was carried partially into effect. Notes to the amount of |6,215 were given in Texas, $3,475 in Alabama, $3,440 in Louisiana, $1,500 in Tennessee, $1,000 in Georgia and $580 in South Carolina, making an aggregate of $16,210; upon which the cash payments of ten per cent, amounting to $2,623, was received. The Advent offerings for the year 1870 amounted to $2,068.97.

This was far short of the $100,000 anticipated in endowment notes by the finance committee, but was a great help towards meeting the increased expenditures

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 129

of the University. At the June term (1871) of the chancery court at Winchester, Tenn., an amendment to the charter was granted to the chancellor, acting under the provision of an act of the legislature authorizing chancery courts to grant amendments to charters, by which a code of municipal regulations was established, with the power to appoint municipal officers, marshal, recorder, etc. The power to exercise municipal privileges had been granted by the amendment made in 1800 to the original charter.

In the Trinity term, 1870, thirty students, and in the Lent term, 1871, eighty-one students matriculated.

The committee of nine elected Rev. Samuel S. Harris of Columbus, Ga., afterwards rector of Trinity Church, ftew Orleans, and subsequently elected bishop of Michi- gan, as chaplain to the University, which appointment was declined. In November, 1871, the parish of St. Pauls- on-the-Mountain was organized at Sewanee.

The E. Q. B. club, composed of the professors, officers and gentleman resident at Sewanee, was organized in 1870. Hon. John D. Phelan was the first president and G. B. Fairbanks, secretary. It has kept up its organiza- tion ever since, meeting bi-monthly as a literary and social club.*

*The name of E. Q. B. w&s suggested by General Gorgas, being the initial letters of the motto attached by Bishop Lay to then pamphlet containing the proceedings of the board of trustees at lookout Mountain, "Ecce quam bonum" being the title words of the 133d Psalm in the Prayer Book. The E. Q. B. has among its wise regulations one, that University matters shall not be discussed in the club. It has maintained its interesting feature

130 HISTORY OF THE

In the fall of 1871 a grammar school study hall was erected on the south side of the chapel, three-fourths of the cost of which was contributed by P. W. Gray, Esq., of Texas. A building originally erected where the con- vocation house now stands was moved to the rear of the chapel for a recitation room.

During the fall of 1870 a residence had been erected for the head master on the lot opposite the chapel, which was occupied by General Gorgas while he remained at the University, and became his property by purchase. Rev. Dr. Hodgson purchased it from General Gorgas in 1878. A house had been built in 1869 by Dr. Vaughan of Mississippi on a lot on University Avenue, where the Kappa Sigma Fraternity Hall once stood. It was occupied first by General Gorgas and Rev. Dr. Shoup, and subsequently by Professor Dabney up to the time of his decease, and was afterwards destroyed by fire.

During the year 1870 a suit in ejectment was brought against the University by persons claiming, as the heirs of G. W. Thompson, some 1,500 acres of the central portion of the domain, on which our buildings were placed, and by far the most valuable portion of our lands. The claim was based upon prior entry and grants from

of leads by its members in rotation upon topics of general Interest, followed by a free discussion of the subject presented. The club has a pleasant clubhouse, well supplied with reviews, magazines and leading newspapers. Strangers are always hospi- tably received. For some years the meetings of the club were . held in private houses, subsequently a clubhouse was built in the rear of the present medicinal department, and, in 1899, the club secured the permanent use and occupancy of the second story of the new stone supply store on the avenue.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 131

the State of Tennessee. The University was tihus, in addition to other difficulties, involved in litigation as to the title to its lands. There were defects in the title of the Thompson heirs which afforded grounds for a vigorous contest, and the commissioner of buildings and lands entered heartily and vigorously into a defense of the University title. In the following year this suit was compromised by the payment of one dollar per acre for the interests of the Thompson heirs in the land in controversy. Mr. J. W. Hayes, of New York, had leased a tract of land from the University for the purpose of planting out fruit orchards, vegetable grounds, etc. He held very decided views upon the subject of Christian education, and was attracted to visit the University in consequence of its being based upon the ideas which he had long entertained. He used his means very freely in advancing the material interests of the University, furnished the means on credit for erecting boarding halls and private residences, and, during the year 1870, put up a large steam sawmill with working machinery, which greatly facilitated the growth of Sewanee. The mill was put up on the stream leading into Lost Cove, about three-eighths of a mile southeast of the station, and destroyed by fire a year later.

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CHAPTER XIV.

Bishop Quintard's views as to the religious character and demands of the University — Increase in students' leases and residences — Statement of the intentions of the founders as to the buildings.

1871.

AT the meeting of the board of trustees on July 12th, 1871, there were present Bishops Green, Gregg, Wilmer of Alabama, Quintard, Beckwith and Young, with five clerical and eight lay trustees.

Bishop Quintard made his report, the following extract from which is particularly worthy of a permanent record because there has been, at times, a disposition to some- what minimize the religious and churchly character impressed upon it by its founders:

Said the Bishop, "The founders of the University of the South, moved by a holy impulse, determined to build up an institution of learning which, while it should meet the largest demands of the age in all matters of polite learning and scientific research, should at the same time nuture the youth of the South in the principles of our holy religion and in the high culture of God's Holy Catholic Church. I know, right reverend gentlemen of the board of trustees, that it is hardly necessary for me to press these truths upon your consideration. But I do desire to record my own sense of the wisdom and forecast displayed by the holy men who laid the cornerstone of the noble edifice on which we are only day laborers,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 133

and I say if we are to succeed to the full with this glorious undertaking,, if, in any sense, we are to redeem the pledge to which we stand bound by accepting the charge of trustees of the University of the South, we must work for it in the spirit of its founders, and consider the nurture and admonition of the church by the practice of daily, morning and evening prayer; by the celebration of all the church's holy festivals and the recognition of her solemn fasts; by the regular administration of the most comfortable sacrament of the body and blood of Christ as essential to the validity of a Christian educa- tion.

"We know that the seed which is thus planted will produce fruit. We know that the power of daily prayer will make itself felt. Like the dew of the morning on the flowers, it extends the sweetness of its influence over the thoughts, words, and actions of the day, shines out 'in the small sweet courtesies of life' and sanctifies the daily duties of youth and full-grown manhood. And this holy influence must make the supreme controlling power by which the character of our students shall be moulded. From the time that the morning bell first calls us from our beds, to the time when the same bell tolls the curfew of departing day, and consigns us to rest, each with his own account of duties and negligences recorded in the Book of God, and by its1 wholesome restraints upon us guards the watches of the night that no evils may come near us, this influence of God's Holy Church must be all-prevailing, all-controlling and governing power by which discipline shall be maintained, and the whole school life be ordered."

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The committee of nine on organization, appointed in 1870, made the report of their action in reference to tfie organization of the schools of the University and the grammar school, which were adopted by the board.

They recommended the adoption of an amendment to Article 1, of the Constitution as follows :

"Article 1. This University shall be called the 'Univer- sity of the South/ and shall, in all its parts, be under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal Church, represented through a board of trustees; and the Book of Common Prayer, authorized by said Church, shall be the standard of faith and worship therein; and no person shall exercise the functions of instructor and ruler in this University until he subscribe the following declaration : 'I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation, and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrines and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States/ "

The board of trustees amended the proposed amend- ment by inserting after the word "University" in the following sentence: "And no person shall exercise the function of instructor and ruler in this University unless he be a communicant of the Church." Thus amended, it passed apparently without discussion. The following year the proposed amendment of Article 1 of the Constitu- tion was brought to the attention of the board by the committee on unfinished business, but was not called up again and remained unacted upon and, of course, failed of adoption.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 135

The commissioner of buildings and lands made his report, stating that forty -one leases had been executed during tfhe previous year. That the number of families establishing themselves on the domain who were both willing and desirous of receiving students as boarders was increasing to such an extent as to render it unneces- sary for the University to make any further expenditure for boarding houses. He expressed the opinion tfhat it was very desirable that one of the permanent buildings should be put up as an earnest of the great work upon which they had entered, of establishing on the largest and broadest plan the University of the South. That, either by individual beneficence or general effort, it was to be hoped that means would be provided before another year to commence one of the colleges or schools designed by the founders. That the cost of such a building need not exceed $25,000, built of our own beautiful freestone. He states "that there are many reasons which make this plan of separate or detached college buildings advisable. That while one grand and lordly pile might please the eye by its architectural effect, safety from destruction by fire, convenience, economy in cost of construction, separation of special and technical schools, and extending the work of the building over a long period of time, enabling the adoption of more complete modes of con- struction— all evince the wisdom of the original plans agreed upon, of erecting from time to time buildings of moderate size, in different styles of architecture, affording a pleasing variety adapted to the various purposes for which they were required." He reported that! he had been enabled, from the various data in his possession,

136 HISTORY OF THE

to construct a large map of the domain, upon a scale of four hundred feet to the inch, on which all the locations of leased lots up to that period were shown, and also a plan of the location and arrangement of the University buildings as contemplated by the founders. The committee on finance gave a statement of the income and expendi- tures of the treasury, and recommended the continuance of the plan of coupon and endowment notes, and of the Advent offerings.

The committee of ways and means reported, and assumed that at least $25,000 would be realized to pay teachers and officers; and recommended that an addition be made to the corps of teachers and increase of salaries, and that the sons of teachers and officers of the University have free tuition and sons of the clergy half rates. They reported against a proposed plan of insurance endowment and sale of scholarships; and said that they were more than ever persuaded that we should, for the present, carry out existing measures for raising funds in addition to the general work instrusted to the commissioners, instead of resorting to other instrumentalities which, in their opinion, by multiplying agencies would only serve to render the whole less effective, and complicate our efforts at the expense of success. They went on to say, very wisely, I think, "Pastoral letters, appeals to be read to congregations, a general division of responsibility and tsecond-hand effort, may do very well in their place and under other circumstances, but will ever fail here a* they have ever done in the matter of raising funds. Single, persevering effort by personal contact is indis- pensable. There must be work, earnest, untiring indi-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 137

f iduai work, or we will ever fail to meet our responsibility here."

The chairman of the committee was the faithful, earnest and tried friend of the University, Bishop Gregg of Texas. The records of the University show that for very many years the good Bishop made an appeal personally and received a collection annually in every parish and mission in his diocese ; and of the coupon and endowment notes received in 1870 and 1871 the longest list and largest amount came from Texas — the Advent collection amounting to $680.49, and the coupon notes to $6,215.

An equal amount from the other nine dioceses would have raised an Advent offering of $6,800 and endow- ment notes aggregating $62,000, or nearly $70,000 in all, if the same systematic, individual effort and work had been exerted in all the ten dioceses, and, moreover, Texas furnished more than ten per cent of all the students. The committee, appointed in 1870, reported upon the whole subject of costumes and badges, recommending that all undergraduates be required to wear the scholastic cap and gown. This was modified subsequently so as- to apply only to the advanced students designated as gownsmen.

That the instructors were to wear a similar dress, though of different fashion to indicate their rank, with cap and hood of this University pertaining to their degrees.

The dress of the vice chancellor to be a crimson robe, faced with black, corresponding to the use of Cambridge, England, and the chancellor a royal purple robe faced

138 HISTORY OF THE

with gold, similar to that of the vice chancellor, but richer in details of finish.

That professors who were degree men of other colleges could wear the hoods of their respective colleges.

The bishop of Florida was requested to prepare a seal which, if it was approved by the bishops of the board, should be the seal of the University.

The seal was designed by Rev. J. H. Hopkins, D. D., of piscina shape. The initial letters of the dioceses in the links of a catena on the inside of the legend University of the South, a dove with rays of light descending on a Latin cross in the center.

The committee on buildings and lands recommended that all leases should contain a clause prohibiting the erection of any house of Worship, chapel, or church build- ing on the premises without the consent of the board of trustees; which recommendation was adopted.

The bishops present in the board offered a resolution providing that a theological department be inaugurated, to consist, at present, of a chair of systematic divinity, a chair of moral science and evidences of revealed religion, and a chair of Hebrew.

They further reported that they had taken action for the future conduct of divine worship in the chapel of the University. Bishop Quintard, General Gorgas and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks were appointed the executive committee for the ensuing year.

The Rev. S. S. Harris, having declined the chaplaincy in 1870, Rev. F. A. Shoup continued to act as chaplain up to July, 1871.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 13f

The bishops selected Rev. W. P. DuBose, of South Carolina, as chaplain, and the board unanimously con- firmed the nomination. Rev. Dr. DuBose continued as chaplain of the University until July, 1883, when he resigned the office. Dr. DuBose had served in the war between the States, had undergone the hardships of a prisoner of war, and had achieved a high position in his native State when he afterwards entered the ranks of her ministry. In the election for a successor to Bishop Davis he received the majority of votes of one order, and, during the period of his chaplaincy and as a professor of the school of moral science, he earned the admiration, love and respect of the officers and students of the University.

The number of students matriculating in Trinity term,

1870, was thirty, and in Lent term, 1871, was eighty-one. Forty-eight students matriculated in Trinity term, 1871, making the whole number of matriculants for the year,

1871, one hundred and twenty-nine. During the fall term, 1871, and spring term, 1872, a very great advance was made in the material growth of Sewanee. The comimis- sioner of buildings and lands reported forty-three lots having been leased during the year ending July 1, 1872.

That there was no necessity for additional dormitories being erected, as the requirements of the University were fully met by the increase of resident families licensed to board students.

That the chapel had been enlarged by adding transepts to the nave, a chaplain's room and extensions of the- chancel, but that still further enlargements would soon be necessary.

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During this year Rev. W. P. DuBose erected a cottage east of the chapel, and also, on the adjoining lot, Palmetto Hall, a large boarding house with accommodations for thirty students. Mrs. E. M. Polk built a large boarding house on the street east of University Avenue, and Mrs. S. E. Gotten erected the Gotten House. Mr. Hayes built a house for the use of a professor on the east side of the same street as Mrs. Polk's, which was first occupied by Professor Dabney. The commissioner reported the rental of leased lots as amounting to f2,000 per annum, and of leased buildings at $1,200.

Further litigation in reference to our land titles sprung up this year, instituted by Wallace Estell, Jr., et. al., to set aside a decree of partition made by the chancery court in 1860 between the University and the Sewanee Mining Company, Estell heirs, et. al. This suit, after lingering in the court for some years, was decided in favor of the University. The commissioner, in his report made to the board of trustees at the annual meeting in July, 1872, says, "as the plans of the founders of the University in reference to the buildings nowhere appear in our printed journals, and having been one of the committee having this subject in charge, and being the only member of that committee now a member of the board, I deem it not inappropriate to briefly explain their plan.

"They did not propose to erect any buildings for student's rooms, the board of trustees by statute having, after full consideration, settled upon the system of licensed boarding houses to provide for the board and lodging of all students. By this determination they were

Rev. W. P. DuBOSE, S. T. D. Dean ol the Theological Department.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 141

relieved from the cost of constructing extensive halls and dormitories which, in many institutions, occupy the largest portion of their buildings and absorb the larger portion •of their building fund. It was proposed upon the highest and most conspicuous site to erect a grand central build- ing whenever the institution could undertake it. This central building to contain an audience hall or theater to seat three thousand persons for commencement and other high days, one wing of the building to be appro- priated to the library, the other to the gallery of fine arts and the school of design, the connecting sections to •contain the public offices. For the purpose of instruc- tion it was proposed to build from time to time, as they should be required, colleges or halls prepared for recita- tion and lecture rooms; these colleges or halls to be built of stone according to the best models of architecture and to be located on the most desirable sites, and to be arranged so as to bring those studies usually pursued together in sufficiently close connection, placing on the outer line of the grouping the special schools, such as law, theology, medicine, etc.

"In the then prosperous condition of the South it was deemed entirely practicable to secure at once an endow- ment fund of sufficient magnitude to enable the trustees, by the use of the interest alone, to erect the necessary buildings to commence the University, and subsequently to apply the income to its support. They thus hoped to preserve the principal intact, expending the interest alone."

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CHAPTER XV.

The vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, urges immediate action to procure an endowment — Plans of endowment suggested — $500,000 to be obtained — Bishop Quintard requested to under- take the work — Small results but helpful — Loan obtained to tide over difficulties.

1872.

AT the annual meeting of board of trustees, 10th of July, 1872, there were present Bishops Gregg, Quintard, Beckwith, Pierce, Howe, Garrett and Young, with nine clerical and eleven lay trustees. The vice chancellor made his report of the operations of the year. The death of Bishop Davis of South Carolina, Kev. Dr. Curtis of North Carolina and Jno. Duncan, Esq., of Mississippi, of the board of trustees, was mentioned in suitable terms. Bishop Quintard suggested that the Advent offering might be taken to endow the theological chairs, thus giving a specific object for the appeal of the clergy, and that probably no object would appeal more strongly to both clergy and people. He called attention to the necessity of raising a certain amount of money to liquidate certain existing indebtedness — that there was no evidence of the want of success; that it was the result of improvements constantly in progress, and that the amount of debt was represented in the schedule of property belonging to the University; that a University is in its nature not self- creating nor self-sustaining. Bishop Quintard expressed the feeling that the University should now have a resident head, and tendered his resignation as vice chancellor. He

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 143

also expressed the opinion that the executive committee should be discontinued or its functions restricted to the carrying out of a definite and specified work designated by the board of trustees.

This subject came up for discussion in the board. The matter was referred to the committee on constitution and statutes, who made a report through L. N. Whittle, (Esq., its chairman, "That the committee was of the opinion that the executive committee, at this time, had no control whatsoever of the internal government of the University itself, but that their powers and duties related entirely to the external and incidental affairs of the University and corporation; that occasions might arise for the exercise of their powers, and that, therefore, they recommended that the executive committee be con- tinued for the present with the powers and duties now assigned to them." The recommendation of the committee was disagreed to by a vote by orders: of bishops, ayes none; of clergy, ayes one (Dr. Bannister), and of lay trustees, ayes three — Messrs. Hanckel, Whittle and Fair- banks. Nays — bishops, five; clerical trustees, six; lay, seven — and the executive committee was thus abolished.

The action of the board on this matter was one of those curious misconceptions which pervade bodies of men. Looking back now, their action is simply unaccountable. The University is a business as well as an educational body. It has property to manage. It has contracts to make, suits to institute and defend, vacancies to fill, emergencies to provide for, etc., and its board of trustees meets but once a year and consists of a large body of members. One would think that there could be no plainer

144 HISTORY OF THE

case of the need of a committee with delegated powers to look after the affairs and business of the corporation during the three hundred and fifty-seven days out of the three hundred and sixty-five when the board of trustees is not in session. A want of consideration of the real functions of the committee, and an apprehension that it might in some way interfere with the internal adminis- tration of the scholastic part of the University, must have operated to produce this singular action. I will here add that as a sequel to this vote the bishop of Tennessee, as chairman of the committee on organization, in 1876, after four years' experience of doing without an executive committee, with entire frankness made a report to the board, recommending the passage of a resolu- tion that an executive committee, to consist of one bishop, two clergymen and two laymen, be elected annually by the board of trustees, with power to suspend or alter any action of the board regarding the administration of the University whenever any emergency might arise requiring such action on their part. That said committee should report fully their proceedings to the board at their next meeting thereafter.

When the resolution came up for consideration it was amended so as to read "with power to see to the execution of the resolutions of the board and to provide for any emergency which may arise in the administration of the University during the recess of the board." As thus amended it was passed with the concurrence of at least nine of those who had, in 1872, voted to abolish the com- mittee. The executive committee has been annually -elected from 1876 to this time, and its powers and duties

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 145

have been largely increased. During the year, 1872-73, Kev. Mr. Mmnford was appointed a tutor in the grammar school, Mr. Grabau, as organist and assistant in the grammar school, and Mr. C. L. C. Minor, principal assistant in the grammar school; Mr. J. L. Cooper was appointed registrar, and Col. H. Schaller instructor in modern languages to take the place of Rev. F. A. Juny, resigned. The chairs of Latin and Greek were separated and Professor Minor was subsequently made professor of Latin and master of the grammar school. The resigna- tion of Bishop Quintard, as vice chancellor, was received and Gen. Josiah Gorgas was unanimously elected vice chancellor for the term of three years, with a salary of |2,500 per annum. The salary was, for that year, increased $500. The committee on endowment reported by resolution that for the purpose of raising a fund of not less than five hundred thousand dollars, as an endow- ment of the University of the South, the right reverend the bishop of Tennessee is hereby requested, as the com- missioner of the University, to procure one thousand subscriptions of $500 each, or to take such other steps as he might deem best to secure a sufficient amount for the endowment.

General Kershaw, of South Carolina, was requested to render such aid as he might be able to give, and the other bishops connected with the University were requested to cooperate with Bishop Quintard by their personal aid and influence, as well as by obtaining the assistance of such clergymen and laymen as might be able and willing to unite with Bishop Quintard in the work. They also requested the bishop of Louisiana to raise $30,000 to

146 HISTORY OF THE

endow a Polk professorship in the University. A plan which had been brought before the board by the Carolina Life Insurance Co., of Memphis, Tenn., to create an endow- ment for the University was postponed to the next meeting of the board. Hon. Jefferson Davis, who was present and invited to a seat in the board, was connected with this company and introduced the proposition. No further action, however, was subsequently taken in reference to the proposition.

A plan was also considered for the sale of scholarships, the executive committee having reported that they had inaugurated the same by the sale of 1ftvo scholarships for board and tuition at $250 per annum each. The com- mittee of ways and means reported in favor of issuing one hundred certificates of scholarships, with five coupons each. The report was referred to the finance committee to report upon the following year. No report was ever made, and the plan was consequently abandoned. A proposition was made that the bishops of the respective dioceses be requested to use their official and personal influence to obtain endowments of professorships, to be called after the names of the most distinguished citizens of said dioceses who were most intimately associated by sympathy and active work in inaugurating or carrying forward the University. This was laid aside in view of the proposition to raise $500,000 having been adopted.*

*If plans and resolutions could have endowed the University it would, long ago, have reveled in wealth. Feeling the great needs of the University the trustees groped in rather a blind way to find some plan or scheme for raising the necessary funds. It is not surprising, however, that in the then condition of the

Gen. E. KIRBY SMITH, C. 3. A. Professor of Mathematics.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 147

The committee on costumes and badges made a report in reference to hoods, which was adopted, recommending virtually the same as those now used.

The committee on organization made a recommendation that the degree of bachelor of science and bachelor of philosophy be conferred on such students as had passed through a proper course of study, and prescribed the studies which should be pursued for these degrees. They recommended the division of the chairs of Latin and Greek.

General Gorgas, the vice chancellor-elect, addressed a communication to the board, accepting the office, in which he most wisely says: "I am not fully informed of the action taken by the board on the matters of finance, but unless income and expenditures have been so propor- tioned as to insure the success of the former, all the efforts of a vice chancellor cannot avert embarrassment and inefficiency. I can only hope that the board has fully considered resources, and appreciated our expendi- tures; and that they have not left this vital point in doubt. Expenditures estimated for are always certain to occur, resources confidently relied on are seldom fully attained. The experience of the past year warns us

South — having not only undergone the consequences of a long and destructive war, but the further aggravation of an humiliating period of reconstruction — there could not be found any consider- able number of persons of means to furnish any considerable portion of the one thousand subscriptions of $500 each; while neither the inchoate condition of the University, nor the location in the South, created any great amount of sympathy for the institution in the North.

148 HISTORY OF THE

against an overestimate of our receipts." A wise counsel which it is a pity had not been laid to heart.

Upon accepting the resignation of Bishop Quintard as vice chancellor the following preamble and resolution was adopted:

"Whereas, the Rt. Rev. Charles T. Quintard, S. T. D., L. L. D., bishop of Tennessee, has resigned the office of vice chancellor of this University, and the same has been accepted by the board of trustees;

"Resolved, That in accepting his resignation the board desires to put on record its sense of obligations to him for all he has been instrumental in accomplishing in its behalf. When, by the devastation of war, this site was a waste, he was one of the prime movers in resuscitating our enterprise. When but a feeble beginning had been made, and from the then helpless prostration of the entire South but little could be hoped for from our own people, through his instrumentality, mainly in Eng- land, some $16,000 in cash was obtained, by which we were enabled successfully to inaugurate our work, and, besides this, he secured the gift of the four thousand volumes which constituted the beginning of our library. From that tinte until the present, to the abundant labors of his large diocese he has added the active duties of resident vice chancellor for a considerable part of his time, and besides has made frequent visits to neighboring dioceses to secure funds for the furtherance of our work. For such unsparing devotion and untiring efforts on the part of the bishop of Tennessee in behalf of our cherished enterprise, all of which has been gratuitously rendered, we desire to record our highest appreciation and pro-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 149

foundest thanks; and on his retirement from the office which he has so usefully and ably filled, we desire unanimously to tender to him, with this expression of our thanks, the assurance of our best wishes and prayers for his continued usefulness, prosperity and happiness."

A special committee of five was appointed to procure the services of a competent engineer and landscape gardener to regulate existing avenues, lay out new ones, locate building sites, etc., but, like all similar resolutions which from time to time have been adopted, this import- ant work has never been actually undertaken, and this great need still remains, although a beginning has been recently made to preserve our forest. The board made the following declaration bearing upon the relations between the University and the occupants of the reserve of one thousand acres : "Whereas this domain was granted for the sole use and benefit of the University of the South ; and, whereas this board has set apart a reservation of one thousand acres as a college campus, in order to keep from its immediate neighborhood the residences of all persons not immediately connected with the University and its operations. Therefore, Resolved, That the inter- ests of the University are and ought to be considered by all living on this reservation paramount to every other consideration always and in all things.

"Resolved, That the following be adopted as statute: The vice chancellor is authorized to make such regula- tions as to time of recreation, amusements, and general social gatherings as may be necessary to prevent the interruption of study and relaxation of discipline."

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Up to this period there had been no parish church in Franklin County. On the 16th of July, 1872, Bishop Quintard laid the cornerstone of the church at Win- chester. On Whit Sunday, 1872, the bishop confirmed a class of thirteen in St. Augustines chapel, twelve of the number being students of the University, and on Trinity Sunday Rev. Chas. M. Gray, a student of the University, was ordained as deacon in Nashville, he being the first of our students ordained to the ministry. During this- year a church was also erected at Tullahoma, and the work on a parish church at Sewanee, called St. Pauls-oil - the-Mountain, was commenced, and finished the following spring by the zealous and energetic efforts of Rev. F. A. Shoup.

In connection with this work a parish school building adjoining St. Pauls had been built by the generous aid of Mr. J. W. Hayes, of Newark, N. J., in which a day school was carried on by Miss Charlotte Elliott and Miss Flora Fairbanks, for a considerable period, for the instruction of the children of families living around the station. The beneficial effects of this school were long felt, and as one of its results the bishop of the diocese confirmed in the Church of St. Pauls-on-the-Mountain on the fifth Sunday in Lent, 1873, twenty persons, and the rector reported for the convention year sixty-five baptisms, of which number thirteen were adults.

At this period a number of families had erected dwell- ings near Sewanee station, and several business houses had been put up; notably, by Mr. Hayes, the large concrete building on the southeast side of the railroad track, now occupied as a Masonic hall. W. H. Tomlinson,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 151

in 1860, was appointed as the first postmaster at Univer- sity Place. After the war Rev. F. L. Knight was post- master, and about 1870 Mr. J. M. Cotten, who was succeeded by Mr. S. C. Hoge, who held the office until 1888, when Mrs. S. B. Herndon was appointed, who was succeeded, in 1893, by Miss Carrie Kirby Smith.

When Mr. Tomlinson became postmaster, in 1860, there were but three families on the mountain. In 1893 the business had increased to such an extent as to advance the office to a third-class presidential office, with a salary of $1,000 per annum.

In December, 1872, Bishop Quintard, in company with Gen. J. B. Kershaw of South Carolina, made an active canvass in that diocese for the University. He visited the principal towns of the State with encouraging results. From South Carolina he went to Georgia, visiting Savannah, Augusta, Macon and Columbus, Montgomery, and Mobile (Ala.), New Orleans, and Texas. Coupon and endowment notes were obtained from July, 1872, to July, 1873 : in South Carolina for f 10,391 ; in Texas, f 12,797.70 ; in Georgia, $3,994.20; in Alabama, f 1,850; in North Carolina, |500— making a total of $27,683.15. For the same period Advent offerings amounted to $2,128.75, of which Texas gave $767.80. Payments were made on coupon notes to the amount of $2,794. Yet, notwithstanding these liberal gifts, the floating debt of the University amounted to $10,000. To meet this a loan was negotiated in New York with the United States Mortgage Company (with some difficulty) for $10,000 at eight per cent interest. It was supposed at the time that the coupon endowment notes given to the University

162 HISTORY OF THE

would provide for the payment of this loan, but, as usually happens, expected receipts fell off, and before the mortgage debt became due the University needed a still larger loan.

It was one of the disadvantages of the organization of the University board of trustees that there was not always in the board sufficient business experience or time for careful investigation to induce a cautious regard to expenditures, and hence salaries and expenses were authorized to a larger amount than the income of the institution warranted, a course which in time reacted on the University, forcing a subsequent reduction of salaries. The salary list of 1872-73, to professors and students, amounted to $18,570.11, a larger amount than that of 1892-93 when the University had been greatly developed. The large expectations indulged in, or rather hoped for, from the mission of the bishop of Tennessee, to secure an endowment of five hundred thousand dollars, resulted in securing the promise of twenty-five thousand dollars only, and of this amount it is doubtful whether more than one-third was ever paid. The annual Advent offering also fell off in amount, and the current indebtedness increased.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 153

CHAPTER XVI.

The time of the annual meeting of the board of trustees changed from middle of July to the Wednesday before the first Thurs- day in August — Theological department inaugurated by providing for a professor of systematic divinity — Regulations as to gownsmen adopted — Cornerstone of Hodgson Library laid — Bishop Quintard requested to go to England in the interests of the University.

1873-1874.

THE annual meeting of the board of trustees was held 16th July, 1873 ; there were present Bishops Green, Gregg, Quintard, J. P. B. Wilnier and Howe, seven clerical and nine lay trustees. The vice chancellor reported the resignation of Professor Minor, professor of Latin, in October preceding; and that the chair was provisionally filled by Prof. Hugh Craig, with Mr. Thos. Williamson as assistant professor in the schools of Latin. The vice chancellor recommended a change in the time of the annual meeting of the board to about the 1st of August, go as to equalize the school terms. The commissioner of buildings and lands reported the erection of the present wooden grammar school building. He recom- mended the erection of one of the permanent buildings for lecture and recitation rooms, and submitted a plan for such a building, costing not over $25,000. He men- tions having obtained the passage by both houses of the Tennessee Legislature of a law prohibiting the sale of liquor within four miles of any incorporated institution of learning, but that it failed to become a law by the attaching to it of an immaterial amendment which

154 HISTORY OF THE

delayed final action upon it before the adjournment of that body. The board passed resolutions consolidating the schools of Latin and Greek, and providing for the appointment of a professor of systematic divinity as the beginning of a theological department. The board, by resolution, directed that the plans of the lands of the University of the South as delineated in the maps pre- sented to us by the late Bishop Hopkins be hereby adopted, and be closely followed in the location of build- ings by the commissioner of buildings and lands and by all others. Statute XXII was altered, so as to provide that the annual meeting of the board of trustees should be held on the Wednesday before the first Thursday in August. A scheme of the necessary examinations in the schools of the University, entitling students to the various degrees, was submitted and passed as an amendment to Statute IX, Section 3. The trustees remaining after adjournment were authorized to appoint a professor of systematic divinity. The bishop of Louisiana was requested to visit the cities of the North and Northwest, and present the plans, scope and aims of the University to the churchmen of those cities. This commission was not accepted by the bishop of Louisiana. The total number of students for 1872-73 was 256, of whom 138 were in the grammar school. The total number for 1873-74 was 262, of which number 137 were in the gram- mar school. In December, 1873, the dormitory attached to General Gorgas' house was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt at his expense the following spring. The chapel was still farther enlarged by adding aisles on both sides to the nave at the east end. A building was

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 165

erected in the chapel yard for class rooms, and a lecture room was built for the professor of ancient languages. Forensic Hall on the north side of the chapel, 60 by 36 feet, was erected largely through private aid, and was put up within the space of three weeks, much of the lumber used having been cut down, hauled to the mill, sawed and thence to the ground during the progress of the erection. It was designed for the general uses of a public hall, which, in so many capacities, it has filled during many past years. Prof. Caskie Harrison, by amateur theatricals, raised a considerable portion of its cost. The stage end was added in 1890 by the Thespian Club. The charter, as amended on January 9th, 1860, provided that the said University of the South shall have a right to establish such police and municipal regulations as may be necessary for the preservation of order and the enforcement of the by-laws of said Univer- sity. The legislature had passed an act authorizing chancery courts to grant charters, etc. The chancery court of Franklin County, in which county the University is located, had granted an amendment to the charter, giving effect to the amended charter of 1860, by granting power to enforce certain municipal regulations, but the power to assess and enforce the collection of taxes, to carry out these regulations had not been conferred. Upon petition of the authorities of the University the chancery court of Franklin County, in January, 1874, gave the requisite authority to the University, by further amendment of the charter, to levy and collect taxes for municipal purposes. An ordinance was introduced authorizing the assessment

156 HISTORY OF THE

of a tax of three and one-third mills on all leasehold property, including buildings and improvements, for the year 1874-75. The ordinance was referred to the com- mittee on buildings and lands, who made no report there- on, being as supposed doubtful of the constitutionality of the authority conferred by the chancery court. No further action has ever been had to avail itself of the powers conferred or to exercise any municipal authority from that day to this. The amended charter was virtually ignored; a calaboose was erected in which one prisoner was confined, for selling liquor, but which was for a considerable period a useful reminder of the penalties of the law. In order to assist in maintaining order, so far as disorderly elements might invade the mountain, Mr. Fairbanks, the commissioner of build- ings and lands, had the University domain and vicinity made a separate Civil District, which entitled it to two justices of the peace and a constable. The justices were ex officio members of the county court, which has jurisdiction over taxation, roads and other county matters. Mr. Fairbanks held the office of justice for twelve years, during which he never demanded or received a fee. Eight hundred volumes were added tx> the library during the year 1873, the larger portion being the gift of Prof. Maximilian La Borde, of South Carolina College at Columbia, S. C.

The secretary of the board was directed to have published the constitution, statutes and all resolutions pertaining to the government of the University and gram- mar school.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 157

The Rev. N. Collins Hughes, of North Carolina, was elected master of the grammar school in place of Professor Minor, resigned.

The board directed that no lease be granted of any portion of the domain within the limits of a circle embrac- ing the grounds and buildings of the University, accord- ing to the plans of Bishop Hopkins, and that no lease be granted on the reserve northwest of the railroad of greater dimensions than one and one-third acres, without the sanction of the board of trustees.

The board took action in reference to the appointment of a commissioner to be charged with the duty of going to England for the purpose of raising funds, and requested the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard to undertake this duty at such time during the ensuing year as might suit his convenience.

A resolution was adopted requiring that all students under seventeen years of age should be required to enter the grammar school, the previous limit adopted in 1871 having been sixteen years of age. Also that, while all University students are, by law, required to wear the gown and cap prescribed, the vice chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the hebdomadal board, be permitted to distinguish a more advanced class of gowns- men by the use of some appropriate badge. This action soon led to a division of the University students into two classes, junior and gownsmen. In 1875 (the general regulation as to all students of the University wearing the cap and gown being suspended prior to 1875) the admission to the order of gownsmen was left to the votes of the body of existing gownsmen.

158 HISTORY OF THE

In 1875 the board resolved that such admission be placed in the hands of the hebdomadal board. Sixteen students were confirmed in St. Augustines chapel on the 26th of September, 1873, by the bishop of Tennessee. In October, 1873, the yellow fever prevailed as a fearful epidemic in the city of Memphis.

John F. Cochran of Louisiana and Walter B. Cowan of Mississippi died during the academic year of 1874-75, the first deaths in the school since its opening. In the year 1875 Rev. F. A. Slump, D. D., resigned his position as professor of mathematics, and Rev. N. Collins Hughes his position as master of the grammar school. Mr. C. M. Beckwith was appointed acting assistant professor of mathematics. The board of trustees met on the 4th of August, 1875. There were present the bishops of Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas and Western Texas, six clerical and nine lay trustees.

The vice chancellor reported upon the subject of the order taken by the board, in 1874, relative to gownsmen, urging that any change in the existing status of the gownsmen and junior University students would be injurious to the discipline and moral tone of the Univer- sity. That the present order of gownsmen was a natural growth. They were in a great measure exempted from discipline and put upon their honor for their own govern- ment. To attain the gown exemplary moral character was required as well as a certain age and advancement in studies, and no student was allowed to wear the gown who was not capable of self government. To give the gown to all the University students would break down this distinctive mark, and would take away from the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 159-

younger students a strong incentive to proper conduct. That a badge for the gownsmen would not answer the same purpose as the complete distinction of the gown. The board acceded to the recommendation of the hebdomadal board, made through the vice chancellor, relative to the order of gownsmen.

The hebdomadal board advised the sale of forty scholar- ships at $250 each to extinguish the bonded debt of $10,000, covering four years' tuition of one pupil. The committee of ways and means reported in favor of sale of forty scholarships at $275 each. Two agents were appointed, Messrs. E. Shegog and James G. Holmes, to make sale of these scholarships, and to raise funds for the benefit of the University, and receive subscriptions for the general purposes of the University.

It may be said here that this agency of Messrs. Shegog- and Holmes was an entire failure, both as to obtaining funds or subscriptions or sale of scholarships, and at the next meeting of the board the sale of scholarships was suspended. The Advent offerings for year, 1873-74, amounted to $1,559.36, of which over one-fourth came from Texas. In October, 1874, the Rev. Telfair Hodgson offered to defray the entire expense of the erection of a stone library building upon certain conditions specified in his proposal, which included a lease of fifty acres of land and the location of the library building to be directed by him, the expense not to exceed ten thousand dollars. The committee of the board completed the arrangements with him, and the cornerstone of the building was laid during the meeting of the board on August 9, 1875. The plans of the building were furnished gratuitously by Mr.

160 HISTORY OF THE

H. Hudson Holly, a distinguished architect of New York City. The location was in accordance with Dr. Hodg- son's wishes.

The commissioner of buildings and lands reported that three several attempts had been made to establish drinking shops on the outskirts of the domain, that he had defeated the attempts in two instances, and had a suit pending in reference to the third, which resulted favorably to the University, and that the coal beds belonging to the University were being worked upon a royalty, and the entire supply of coal was obtained from the University mines.

Two hundred and twenty-six volumes were added to the library, among which was a complete uniform set of the classics, well bound in 136 volumes, from Frank H. Miller of Augusta, Ga.

The committee on finance reported a diminution of in- come, and debt of $2,713.56 borrowed. No funds had been secured to pay off the $10,000 mortgage debt, bearing ten per cent interest and maturing November, 1875, and the treasurer was authorized to obtain an extension of time on it. Mr. J. B. Seabrook was elected tutor to act as assistant to professor of ancient languages, and Mr. C. M. Beckwith, general tutor and assistant to master of grammar school.

The election of vice chancellor and professors resulted in the choice of General Gorgas as vice chancellor and professor of physics and civil engineering; Robert Dabney, L. L. D., professor of metaphysics, English language, etc.; John B. Elliott, M. D., professor of chemistry, geology and mineralogy and health officer;

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 161

Caskie Harrison, A. M., professor of ancient languages; Gen. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics; Col. T. F. Sevier, proctor and acting master of the grammar School.

The church and Advent offerings, from July, 1874, to August, 1875, amounted to $1,233.45, of which Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina gave $900.

162 HISTORY OP THE

CHAPTER XVII.

Bishop Quintard's second visit to England in 1875 — Aid for the University from English churchmen — Election of Rev. G. T. Wilmer, D. D., as professor in theological department — Pass- age hy the Legislature of Tennessee of the "Four Mile Law" — Its beneficial effects.

THE bishop of Tennessee, in pursuance of the appoint- ment conferred upon him, left New York for England on the 17th of July, 1875. In consequence of the absence of the archbishop of Canterbury, he was unable to present his commendatory letter to him from the bishops con- nected with the University until October 1st, 1875, from whom he received a letter of which the following is a copy :

ADDINGTON PARK, 1st Oct., 1875.

I remember the great interest in the matter which was excited amongst English churchmen in 1868. My prede- cessor, Archbishop Langley, was zealous in his efforts to promote the scheme, and the bishops of England generally assisted him. The account given by the bishop of Tennessee of the success which has attended the efforts hitherto made is most encouraging, and I cannot doubt that the great need of adding a theological school to the arrangements for general education in the Southern States will commend itself to churchmen in England, who will be glad of an opportunity of assisting their trans- atlantic brethren in so good a work. I beg to commend the scheme to the sympathy of the members of our church.

A. C. CANTAUR.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 16S

Armed with this commendatory letter, Bishop Quintard addressed a circular to each of the English bishops, asking their cooperation and sympathy. A copy of a letter from Bishop Quintard to Rev. F. W. Tremlett, commissary of the University, containing a brief account of the progress, prospects, and needs of the University, especially the importance of establishing a theological school, was also transmitted to each of the bishops.

A committee was formed, with the lord bishop of London as chairman, composed of distinguished noble- men and church dignitaries.

Circular letters were freely distributed. The bishop preached one hundred and fifty-five sermons and delivered a great number addresses in furtherance of his mission. He remained in England until June, 1876. The amount of moneys contributed was about ten thousand dollars, but the most important result of his visit to England was the founding by Mrs. Mary M. Manigault, then of Brighton, England, of St. Lukes Theological Hall, for which she donated twenty-five thousand dollars, besides endowing a theological scholarship with the sum of five thousand dollars. This noble woman afterwards gave several thousand dollars for the completion of St. Lukes, and also endowed a second theological scholarship with the sum of five thousand dollars. To these noble benefac- tions she has added from time to time gifts of most valuable books, clerical vestments, pictures, etc. The name given St. Lukes' was by her intended as an associa- tion of the building with Bishop Quintard and his former medical profession. The building was a memorial of her father, Col. Lewis Morris, of Mbrrisania, N. Y.

164 HISTORY OF THE

On the 6th of April, 1876, the University sustained the loss of Robert Dabney, professor of methaphysics, who died of pneumonia at his home on the mountain.

The number of students for the year, 1875-76, was 243. Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer was elected professor of the theological department and acting professor of meta- physics in August, 1876. Dr. H. M. Anderson resigned the office of treasurer, and Col. T. F. Sevier was relieved of the duties of master of the grammar school.

Col. Samuel G. Jones was elected treasurer, and Mr. G. JR. Fairbanks was elected commissioner of buildings and lands.

The bishop of Tennessee offered a resolution that it be referred to the bishops present to consider and report a plan by which the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the University of the South may be placed under the direc- tion of the bishops who may be e$ offi-cio members of the board of trustees.

The bishops to whom this resolution was referred reported as follows : "Resolved, That the bishops concur in the advisability of placing, so far as may be practicable, the University domain under the united jurisdiction of all the bishops who are members of the board of trustees;" and, on motion, it was further "Resolved, That the bishop of Tennessee be requested to bring the matter before the convention of his diocese." No further action was ever taken in this matter. The self-evident impracticability of a joint Episcopate over the University making any such plan impossible. The only practical suggestion made was to erect Franklin County into a separate

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 165

diocese — which was likely to be rejected by the general convention and deemed inexpedient.

The board directed the vice chancellor to procure, if possible, the services of an officer of the United States Army as drillmaster. Mr. C. M. Beckwith was elected master of the grammar school and the Rev. D. G. Haskins professor of ecclesiastical history and commis- sioner. The bishop of Georgia, Rev. Dr. Williams, Rev. Dr. Bannister, Mr. Jacob Thompson and Mr. A. T. McNeal were elected as the executive committee. The treasurer reported that the receipts from the coupon notes had fallen off very much, amounting to but $565 during the year; that a considerable number of the per- sons who gave these notes had become impoverished or bankrupt, and declined to pay; that the interest on the endowment notes was not generally paid and that he had only received from that source $757.63, and had paid out for interest $1,426.28. The receipts from tuition, medical fees and matriculation were $16,610.25, a falling off from the previous year of $1,653.67. From the sale of a scholarship of $275 — that the agents for the sale of scholarships had not reported the sale of a single scholarship.

The salaries amounted to $19,552.78, those of the pre- vious year having amounted to $22,644.17. He reported having received from Bishop Quintard's mission to Eng- land $10,986.03, and had paid expenses connected with the same of $1,884.24, and that the $10,000 mortgage had been extended two years.

The number of students for the year, 1875-76 was 201.

166 HISTORY OF THB

The board of trustees met on the 28th day of July, 1877. There were present the bishops of Texas, Missis- sippi, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky, seven clerical and five lay trustees. Kev. Dr. Williams, who had been secretary since 1867, declined a re-election and Rev. G. C. Harris was elected. The vice chancellor reported a slight increase of students, but said, with regret, that while there were more pupils there was less income. This resulted, he said, from the fact that there was a greater number of non-paying pupils, or pupils who only paid part of the tuition fees. He called attention to the deficiency in the teaching force of the grammar school, and that the salaries assigned to the teachers in the grammar school would not secure experienced teachers. He mentioned the resignation of Tutor Seabrook and the appointment of Mr. E. A. Green as assistant in the grammar school, who was also filling the position of drillmaster. He reported also the appointment of Mr. J. M. Lowry, A. M., as teacher of elocution. He mentioned that a series of twenty lectures in biology was being delivered by Prof. John McCrady. He reported that he had been unable so far to secure an army officer for drillmaster.

The commissioner of buildings and lands reported the Hodgson Library as well advanced towards completion, and expected to have it ready for the transfer of the books in a few months. That the cornerstone of St. Lukes Memorial Hall was laid on the 18th day of October, 1877, by the Rt. Rev. W. M. Green, chancellor, assisted by the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, in the presence of a large number of people assembled from the surrounding

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 167

country, and that the work was progressing satisfactorily and it was hoped that the building would be ready for occupation by the March term, 1878. He reported his gratification in being able to state that by an act of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, approved March 20th, 1877, the sale of intoxicating liquors was prohibited, under heavy penalties, within four miles of any incor- porated institution of learning (except in incorporated towns), and that since its passage a very marked improve- ment had taken place in the community surrounding the University. This act of the Legislature, now widely known as the "Four Mile Law," was procured through the persevering and active efforts of Mr. Fairbanks on behalf of the University. As before stated, he first introduced it in the Legislature of 1875, and procured its passage through the lower houses with the aid of the members for Franklin County. It was then reported to the Senate and was favorably acted upon, but on its third reading a member, who probably desired to defeat indirectly its passage, moved an immaterial amendment, which was adopted and which then required that the bill should go back to the Assembly for concurrence in the amendment, but it was on the last day of the Legislature and was not reached, so failing to become a law. The sessions of the Legislature were biennial, and con- sequently the measure could not be again brought before the Legislature until the session of 1877, when Mr. Fair- banks again went before the Legislature.

He had the bill printed and introduced simultaneously in both houses. It was referred to a committee and late in the session he procured a report recommending its

168 HISTORY OF THE

passage, and secured its being passed upon its second reading. In the meantime he had also secured its passage to a third reading in the Senate. He had the active aid of Mr. Oliver, the member of the Assembly from Franklin County, and, the Senate bill having passed in identically the same form, when the House bill came up for a third reading Mr. Oliver moved to substitute the Senate bill, and had it passed at once and ordered engrossed, and sent to the Senate. He followed it up and there procured its enrollment and signature by both the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House, and carried it to the governor, John C. Brown, obtained his approval and secured a certified copy from the secretary of state, thus placing it beyond the risk of failure. This law has been of wide influence and is said to be the best temperance measure ever put in force, as it secures all neighborhoods having incorporated schools from the presence of a tippling shop within four miles, and is an inducement to build and sustain schools. Within two years of its passage forty towns gave up their charters to obtain the protection of this law. It has been more than twenty times assailed through the courts, but its constitutionality has been always sustained by the supreme court of the State. Entire counties have availed themselves of its safeguards, and it has such a hold upon the popular estimation that it would be fatal to the political prospects of any public man to endeavor to effect its repeal. As it does not affect the cities and incorporated towns, the liquor dealers have no direct interest in having it repealed. It is perhaps more in danger from the over-zealous temperance societies and

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 169

organizations who may, by their efforts to procure more radical legislation, create a reaction. The law has stood now upon the statute books twenty-eight years, and, as it is automatic in its operation, is generally enforced. The presence of an incorporated school in any community places a cordon of eight miles diameter around that com- munity, and prevents the issuing of a license to open a saloon. The sale of intoxicating liquors at all is an infraction of the laws, and is the simple proof required to sustain an indictment. Few persons are willing to incur the heavy penalty, and there are so many interested in sustaining the law that any attempted surreptitious violation is quite sure to be prosecuted. It has certainly been a great blessing to this University, which was seriously menaced by the attempts of vicious and willful parties to establish near to, if not on, the domain these grog shops. An intoxicated person is rarely seen upon the mountain or at Cowan, where large numbers of rail- road men and laborers are employed, and the effect of the law is very noticeable along the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad where, at nearly every station of any importance, incorporated schools have been estab- lished. The State of Tennessee may count the "Four Mile Law" as one of the advantages they have obtained from the establishment of this University within its borders.

The commissioner again regretted that no progress had been made in the matter of securing the erection of a good hotel. During the winter of 1876-77, Kev. W. P. DuBosc and Kev. J. A. Van Hoose made a special effort to secure funds towards the endowment of a chair in the theological

17* HISTORY OF THE

department. Tbe sum of $2,200 was secured. The committee on organization reported that they found the following rule in reference to "drill" to have been adopted and put into operation, and, as far as they knew, to be the rule practically existing at this time, viz: "That the executive committee consent to the enforcement of the military drill among the students of the University, except the gownsmen— said drill to be obligatory upon the University students not more than three f imes a week , provided that the whole police discipline and government shall be proctorial and the military discipline of the institution shall be confined to the drill exclusively." The board approved of this action and affirmed this rule as to military drill.

The committee on organization reported the great neces- sity of additional teaching force in the grammar school. That a master and three tutors were needed for efficient instruction, but admitted that the financial condition did not authorize the creating of additional salaries. They said "What can be done? If we reduce the number of pupils so as to bring the work within the grasp of our present corps of teachers we shall commit a suicidal act — we shall let out our life-blood. If, again, we attempt to carry on the work of instruction without an adequate force of teachers, we cannot honestly present our school to public patronage. We cannot abolish the University classes and reduce our institution to the condition of a high school, for we shall undo the work of years. Any future restoration would be well-nigh impossible. As to any diminution of the salaries nowi paid to our professors, your committee have hardly thought of considering, for

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 171

they are even now at a minimum standard. Such instruc- tion as we should give cannot be had without some degree of adequate remuneration. In view then of all the above considerations and, further, of the fact that the income from the grammar school is more than adequate to supply their needs, your committee cannot but recom- mend that the additional number of teachers asked for be supplied. It is suggested that your committee shall report such an organization of the grammar school as shall adjust the cost of maintenance to the schedule of appro- priation reported by the committee on finance. Your committee regrets that they see no mode by which they can honorably and justly do what is suggested. They have thought it better to propose a proper and sufficient plan of organization and then, if possible, provide for its maintenance. They submit that in their judgment the only feasible plan for raising the necessary means is1 to give up for the present all expectations of creating a permanent endowment. Such an endowment cannot reasonably be looked for in the present1 financial condi- tion of our people. When it comes to us in God's good providence, and in answer to our efforts and our prayers, it will come through the munificence of a very few, and not through any system of small collections, however extended. It remains, therefore, that we bend all our energies to this one end: the collection of funds by agencies and the Advent offering.

We must tell our friends honestly our condition; that we are trying to do a great and good work for God and His church, and that they must help us to stand until

172 HISTORY OF THE

we can gather strength to ivalk. Nor should we yield to discouragement.

"We are only called upon to do what up to this time we have uniformly done. Hitherto God has niarvelously helped us. We started without means. We have lived by daily bread in answer to daily prayer. The work to be done by; us is worthy of much devotion and self-sacri- fice. Let us ourselves set the example ; in our several spheres let us work and wait in hope. The same benefi- cent Providence that called this, our work, into being will, through our faith and devotion, carry it 011 to its full consummation."

I have quoted this report with some fullness because I think it illustrates very clearly our oft repeated and chronic condition of straitness of means and the faith and trust with which we have worked in faith, doing what we could and as best we could, and leaving results in the hands of a never-failing Providence.

A proposition was made to the board by Mr. W. B. Grimes, a lay trustee from the diocese of Texas, that in order to pay off the debt now due by the University' amounting to about $25,000, much of which had accrued in consequence of the general depression in all business affairs, and the reduced income from pupils for the last four years, he would give one-tenth of the same to be applied to the debt, in consideration of which the Univer- sity was to receive one pupil from Texas free from all University dues, provided all the other dioceses connected with the University united in the plan, and thus raised the whole amount required.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 173

The board approved of the plan and directed the secre- tary to furnish each bishop with a copy of the preamble and resolutions in order that the bishops might bring the matter before their respective dioceses and take such. steps as they might think best to raise the amounts which may be contributed by their respective dioceses, and that when the board adjourned it should adjourn to meet at Boston at the session of the general convention.

The resolutions were unanimously passed and it did seern that something might come of it. The plan was pronounced feasible. It required only $2,500 from each diocese, and gave as a consideration for raising that sum a scholarship of the value of $325, which was 13 per cent interest on the amount given. Nothing, however, did come of the plan. No other diocese offered to give the $2,500. The success of the plan depended evidently upon the individual and personal efforts which each bishop might make. The plan was placed in their hands for execution. If a single layman in Texas could give the whole proportion for that diocese it would seem that a personal effort of each bishop could have secured in each other diocese an equal amount. One trouble with the plan was that it was put forth in August, the poorest season of the year to inaugurate any financial work. The wealthy members of the church were off at summer resorts and could not be personally seen by their bishops. The congregations were also somewhat scat- tered as well as their clergy. Before the active season of fall and winter the subject had become overlaid with diocesan and parish interests, and the interest in it, if not grown cold, was a good deal obscured by other

174 HISTORY OF THE

demands. This seems to be one of the disadvantages of inaugurating any work at our mid-summer trustee meet- ings. It would, in that respect, be far better if the meeting was held in October, as most of our active church work is done between October and June. Col. T. F. Sevier had been connected with the University since the year 1869 as proctor, bursar and master of the grammar school. He resigned in August, 1877.

Notwithstanding the financial pressure so evidently felt by the board, they added another professorship at this meeting, that of biology, to which chair they elected Prof. John McCrady.

The executive committee for the year, 1877-78, was the bishop of Tennessee, Rev. Dr. Williams, Rev. Dr. Ban- nister, Jacob Thompson and A. T. McNeal. The com- mittee on organization reported a preamble and resolu- tions relative to the vice chancellorship, which was adopted by the board as follows :

"Whereas, the University of the South was established by its honored and revered founders, not only to be an institution of learning, but also of religion and piety; and, whereas, by its constitution it is* most imtimately bound up with the parishes and dioceses of the South, therefore be it

"Resolved, That, in the opinion of this board, its acting and responsible head and the officer of its discipline, the vice chancellor, should be, if practicable, a clerk in Holy Orders; and be it further

"Resolved, That for the best interests of the University in its preesent stage of development, with its theological department about to be established, such a clerical head

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17i

should be secured as soon as may be; and that to this end the vice chancellor be informed of this preamble and these resolutions in order that he may have full time to make provision for himself, and in such way as shall least affect the University by any sudden change and all, if possible, within the twelve months next ensuing."

The Kev. J. A. VanHoose was elected acting proctor and also commissioner of the University.

During the year 1876-77, the Alumni Association was formed. The chancellor, together with the bishops of Texas and Tennessee, was requested to renew the cor- respondence with the diocese of Kentucky, inviting that diocese to unite with us in conducting the University. The number of students for the year 1877-78 was 262, showing quite a large falling off from previous years and very seriously diminishing the revenue derived from tuition.

176 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XVIII.

Depressing conditions of affairs in 1878 — The financial outlook discouraging — The hebdomadal board agrees to undertake the work of sustaining the academic department — Election of Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as dean of the theological depart- ment.

1877-1878.

THE scholastic year, 1877-78, was entered upon under rery depressing circumstances. The resignation of Gen- eral Gorgas as vice chancellor at the end of that scholastic year, the diminished income, the large floating indebtedness (and the knowledge on the part of all interested of the financial embarrassments of the insti- tution was depressing on all connected with the Univer- sity) but, notwithstanding this condition of affairs, the vice chancellor was enabled to make a very favorable report of the internal administration of the University: that the discipline was excellent, the students had made satisfactory progress in their various schools, the military drill had been well carried out under Mr. VanHoose. In fact, at this period the University con- tained some of the best students it has ever had. Four students had earned a master degree, namely, Davis Sessums, of Texas, now bishop of Louisiana ; W. D. Steele, of South Carolina; E. E. G. Roberts, of North Carolina, and F. A. DeRossett, of North Carolina.

Bishop Dudley, of Kentiicky, founded a medal for Greek, and Mr. Davis Sessums founded a master's medal for Latin.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 177

The diocesan convention of Kentucky held in May, 1878, declined becoming associated in the University, giving as a reason that the financial condition of that diocese rendered it unwise to identify itself wit1h respon- sibilities in the management of the University. At the meeting of the board of trustees, held 27th of July, 1878, the following named bishops were present: The bishops of Mississippi, Tennessee, Western Texas, Florida, Georgia and Arkansas, with five clerical and nine lay trustees present.

General Gorgas having resigned the position of vice chancellor, to which he had been reelected in 1875 for five years, the bishop of Western Texas offered a resolution that the Rev. Tel fair Hodgson be elected dean of the theological department. The bishop of Tennessee moved to amend by electing him vice chancellor. Mr. Farrar proposed as a substitute that, owing to the depressed financial condition of the University, it was inexpedient at this time to fill the position of vice chancellor, where- upon the whole matter was referred to the committee on organization. This committee reported a resolution that the Rev. Telfair Hodgson be elected dean of the theological faculty and professor of ecclesiastical history. The committee on finance had reported an indebtedness of over thirty thousand dollars, and their inability to suggest any measures of relief upon which reliance could be placed, with any reasonable certainty, except the issu- ing of bonds and funding the debt. They reported a resolution that the treasurer, under the direction of the Rev. Telfair Hodgson and Messrs. Jacob Thompson and Albert T. McNeal, should cause to be prepared coupon

178 HISTORY OF THE

bonds to the amount of $30,000, to become due in not less than twenty years, the interest not to exceed 7 per cent, payable semi-annually, and that these bonds be secured by a mortgage upon the domain and all the real estate of the University, including a pledge of all the rents from leases to pay the interest and provide a sink- ing fund to pay the principal when it became due, and that Rev. Telfair Hodgson and Messrs, Thompson and McNeal should be trustees of such mortgage and bonds, with authority to negotiate the sale of same. The resolu- tion was adopted.

In this crisis of affairs, with a greatly decreased in- come, there seemed no way to provide for salaries of professors for the ensuing year upon anything like the scale of preceding years, and on the 29th of July Bishop Elliott, of Western Texas, moved that a committee be appointed to confer with the hebdomadal board (the pro- fessors) to ascertain upon what terms that board would undertake to conduct the institution. Bishop Elliott, Rev. Dr. Porter and Mr. A. J. DeRossett were appointed^ such committee. On August 2d this committee made the following report: "The special committee appointed to confer with the hebdomadal board, and obtain a distinct statement of the terms upon which they will conduct the educational interests of the University for the ensuing year, report the following statement or syllabus as the agreement of the hebdomadal board. The syllabus was preceded by the following preamble :

"Believing that the institution cannot be maintained under its present organization with its present income, without greatly increasing its debt, while deprecating in

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 179

the interests of the University any reduction in the pre- sent number of chairs, it is resolved that the members of the present hebdomadal board give the board of trustees the opportunity of reorganizing the hebdomadal board which is to be entrusted with the powers recited in the syllabus of this date, by simultaneously tendering their resignations to take effect at the close of the Trinity term."

SYLLABUS.

Suwanee, July 30, 1878.

"The hebdomadal board, in accepting the proposed responsibility, shall have full charge and control of the educational interests of the University of the South, under the organization and laws of the same, including the power to raise funds for the support of the University, and to associate with themselves any person or persons whose assistance and cooperation may be desirable for its development, with strict regard to the conservation of its present relation to the church.

"We accept the tuition, matriculation and medical fees, and out of tfiese undertake to provide our own support, subject to such modifications as the stipulations respect- ing the power to raise money may occasion. In the hebdomadal board shall be vested all the powers what- soever hitherto delegated to the vice chancellor. The organization of the grammar school as well as that of the undergraduate department shall be entrusted solely to the hebdomadal board as to the essential condition of economical management. The hebdomadal board shall be relieved of the support of the theological professors, and

180 HISTORY OF THE

also of the treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands. The chairman of the hebdomadal board shall be appointed by the board of trustees from among the members of the hebdomadal board.

"Resolved, by the hebdomadal board, that the board of trustees, in view of the financial necessities of the situa- tion, be requested to reorganize and constitute the hebdomadal board, and then to let that hebdomadal board answer the question as to the time at which the plan as proposed shall go into effect.'7

"In the above arrangement, as agreed upon between the board of trustees and the hebdomadal board, it is not intended by either party thereto that the organic law of the corporation shall be in any respect overturned. It is not intended that the board of trustees shall abdi- cate the authority and supervision committed to them by the church and its charter ; but, it being evident that the board are not able to provide and guarantee the neces- sary expenditures for the ensuing year, the hebdomadal board, upon such state of facts being made known to them, agree to relieve the board of trustees of respon- sibility for salaries, and to look to the academic income of the institution, and to such other resources as are open to them under the terms of the syllabus, for their remuneration for the ensuing year; further agreeing to take no action whatever affecting in any wise the organic law, or affecting the interests of the institution, without the consent of the executive committee of the board of trustees, which they especially request to be continued for the purpose of conference and advice during the ensu- ing year. It is further agreed by the hebdomadal board

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 181

that they will afford instruction, to be approved by the board of trustees or the executive committee, in the schools of physics, modern languages and of commerce and trade, and that they will create no debt or obligation binding on the board of trustees. This to continue for one year from the beginning of the current Trinity term."

The special committee recommended that the syllabus be received, approved and adopted by the board of trustees for the ensuing year.

The committee on organization reported that the scheme submitted by the hebdomadal board commends itself to the board of trustees, and the hebdomadal board in its discretion is requested and authorized to put the same in operation so far as the same can be done with the means now at their command.

A minority report on the subject was presented by Mr. A. J. DeRossett, of North Carolina, which, as it forms a part of a most interesting and critical period of the history of the University, is here inserted :

"The undersigned beg to present the following con- siderations :

"First. — There were but two problems to be solved in connection with the finances of the University, viz : Some provision for the funding of the present debt, which is done by the issuance of bonds with a dedication of the income from rents to meet interest and provide a sinking fund.

"Second. — The bringing of the future expenses of the University within its income, which could easily be done by the agreed transfer of the theological department from the shoulders,1 of the University, thus relieving it to the

182 HISTORY OF THE

extent of $3,600. Then a consolidation of the offices of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands, thus saving another thousand; leaving the office of vice chancellor vacant, saving two thousand more, making, together, a saving of $6,600. This saving would bring the expenses clearly within the income, and the University would go on prospering and to prosper.

"Whereas, if the changes which are proposed be carried into effect it will be regarded by the whole country as an abandonment of the plan of the University, and be con- sidered (as to a large extent it will be) a private institu- tion, severed from the sympathy and support which has so wonderfully sustained it in the past.

"The bringing of the expenses within the income would be as effectually done by the faculty consenting to content themselves with the revenues derived from the school proper, and without the shock sure to follow so great a change as turning over or leasing the institution to the teachers to make what they can out of it.

"Third. — The damage to result from this sudden up- heaval, in a financial point of view, deserves very serious consideration. Our bank indebtedness (some of it due today) is requiring renewal, and will, in our judgment, press much more heavily under the proposed order of things; and if this debt due today and the reduction of one-third promised the Fourth National Bank, to which we are indebted in the sum of $9,000, is not paid on the 15th, as pledged, there is great danger that we shall be sued to the first court for the whole $9,000, and our credit be ruined. Months ago the cashier called upon one of the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 183

undersigned, and wrote to the treasurer a most threaten- ing communication on the subject of our debt.

"If, then, the board still deem it best to make the change the scheme should not be put in force before the close of Trinity term, by which time all the parties to be affected by it will have time to adjust themselves to the new order of things."

(Signed) CHAS. TODD QUINTABD.

J. M. BANNISTER.

J. J. SCOTT.

The majority report was adopted, accepting the prop- osition of the hebdomadal board.

The board of trustees elected, as members of the hebdomadal board, Dr. John B. Elliott, Prof. Caskie Harrison, M. A., Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., Gen. E. Kirby Smith, Rev. George B. Wilmer, D. D., Prof. John McCrady, M. A., Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., and Mr. Chas. M. Beckwith, with Dr. John B. Elliott as chairman of the board.

The problem before the board of trustees in August, 1878, as will be seen from the foregoing reports, was a difficult and perplexing one. On the one hand, with an increase of debt and diminution of income, with a large amount of overdue indebtedness in bank, with no new suggestions of relief or plans of raising funds, and all old measures seeming to be exhausted , it was imperatively necessary that positive and immediate relief be obtained. When the University treasurer first went to New York in 1873 to obtain a loan of $10,000 only, secured upon the property of the University, he found it a difficult task

184 HISTORY OF THE

to obtain that sum, even with a guaranteed interest of 10 per cent; and that for two reasons; first, the reluc- tance of New York capitalists to invest their money in the South, and, secondly, their unwillingness to make a lean to churches or church institutions.

There being no income whatever from the theological department, it was adding to an already overborne weight for the University to pay the salaries of that department from the income of the academic department. The plan of relief thereupon suggested by the minority report and the majority report really differed very little, except in the details of the financial management. Both looked to the issuance of bonds to fund the accrued indebtedness. Both looked to placing the theological department upon its own resources, both provided for a suspension of salary to a vice chancellor, and both pro- posed to reduce the expense by one-half of the offices of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands. The majority report proposed to assume no responsibility for salaries in the academic department1, the minority report proposed to transfer all fees for tuition in full payment of such salaries. The plan of the syllabus was more acceptable, however, to the professors because it placed under their own control the collection of dues for tuition, which they believed they could more fully collect than had heretofore been done by the treasurer of the Univer- sity. The sentiment of the minority was that it was placing the University in commission, and was an evidence to the outside world of a financial failure and breakdown of the University; that the name, prestige, and the verv status of the institution would be affected

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 185

and lead to a withholding of patronage and gifts, and lessen interest in the University as the school of the Southern church.

This would, undoubtedly, have been the case had the course pursued been other than a mere temporary expedi- ent. A permanent arrangement of the kind proposed would have been fatal to the raison d'etre of the University, and the interest of churchmen, of bishops, clergy, laity and dioceses would have been gradually withdrawn, and its existence menaced. It was noble and honorable of the hebdomadal board, in making the proposition contained in their syllabus. They deserve all praise and commenda- tion for the spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice which they exhibited, in being willing to accept the income of the academic department, be it what it might, as their compensation — but it was not, and could not have been other than a temporary measure. It was gladly con- curred in by a majority of the board as a certain relief from the serious embarrassment of providing for the continuance of the academic department for the coming year. There would have remained the quite as serious1 difficulty of providing for the debt already accrued, a portion of it pressing at the time for payment. It was hardly probable that the 6 per cent bonds of the Univer- sity thrown upon the market, having for security wild lands and academic buildings, would be taken by financiers simply seeking for investment, and it was1 doubtful whether they could be negotiated at all unless at a serious discount from their face value. To negotiate these bonds much reliance must be placed upon the aid of churchmen and strong friends of the University. The

186 HISTORY Of THE

Rev. Dr. Telfair Hodgson, a native of Virginia, had served as chaplain in the Confederate service. He was after- wards, for a time, a professor in the Alabama State University. He had always evinced much interest in the welfare of the University, which was fully shared by "Mrs. Hodgson. While rector of Trinity Church, Hobo- ken, N. J., in 1874, he undertook the building for the University of a library building and expended $10,000 upon its construction. It was the first permanent stone ^building commenced at Sewanee, and upon its completion lie added to his benefaction a very beautiful copy of the Sistine Madonna (now in the oratory of St. Lukes). He was at Sewanee during the meeting of the board in order to be present at the benediction of the library build- ing, upon which occasion addresses were made by Rev. Dr. Hodgson, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks and C. R. Miles, Esq. In this crisis of the affairs of the University Dr. and Mrs. Hodgson gave evidence of their warm interest in the institution by coming to its aid.

In consultation with the members of the board Dr. Hodgson had indicated his willingness to become one of the trustees of the mortgage, and to endeavor to negotiate the sale of the bonds, taking a portion of them himself. This assistance was felt to be most timely, and suggested the idea of associating him in the work of conducting the institution.

As a first step he was tendered the position of dean of the theological department, and was made one of the trus- tees ofthe mortgage debt. A resolution was passed author- izing the trustees of said mortgage to purchase in their own right any or all of said bonds at their full par value.

Rev. TELFAIR HODGSON, D. D. First Dean T heo!ogical Department j Third Vice Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 187

The board further proceeded to appoint Dr. Hodgson general financial commissioner of the University, and as such to take general direction of all the property and assets of the University, with power to sell any lands in other states belonging to the University which he and the executive committee might deem advisable.

The board also nominated to the hebdomadal board Rev. Dr. Hodgson, Prof. John B. Elliott and Prof. C. Har- rison as a finance committee of the hebdomadal board. It will thus be seen that for the time being the affairs of the University, in its academic department, were entirely made over to the hebdomadal board, and its corporate department was made over to Rev. Dr. Hodgson. An executive committee, consisting of the bishop of Tennes- see, Rev. Dr. Williams, Dr. Bannister and Messrs. Thomp- son and McNeal, it is true, was appointed, but its func- tions, according to the syllabus, were "to be continued for the purpose of conference and advice." A treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands were elected for one year, at a salary of $500 each, and instructed to render to Dr. Hodgson such assistance as he might call upon them for. In recommending the appointment of Dr. Hodgson as general commissioner the committee says "it being understood at the suggestion of Dr. Hodgson, himself, that his salary is to be the use of a house for a residence."

The board seemed disposed to make use of all the time and talent of Dr. Hodgson on such very generous terms, and virtually devolved upon him the duties of vice chan- cellor, financial officer and dean of the theological depart- ment, relying also upon his very necessary aid in dis-

188 HISTORY OF THE

posing of, and himself purchasing a number of, the bonds.

It remained to consider the disposition of the theo- logical department, the financial support of which had been entirely cut off by the trustees.

Upon learning of the action of the board in reference to the arrangement with the hebdomadal board the theological professors presented to the board the follow- ing communication :

"The board of trustees must take the action necessary to placing the theological department upon tfhe church for support.

"The theological department will need from the church, for the salaries of existing professors and the securing the necessary additional services in teaching, $5,000 annually at the least — an average of $500 from each dio- cese— to be raised by Advent offerings, supplemented by contributions of individuals.

"It was suggested that, after the probable election of a dean, any further organization that may be needed in the theological department, the securing of additional ser- vices, etc., be left to the theological faculty, acting with the executive committee.

"In voluntarily placing not only themselves, but what is of far more consequence, the maintenance and interests of the important department which they represent, upon the current and precarious support of the church, the theological professors deem it unnecessary to urge upon the board of trustees to take, if possible, such action as will awaken the church to its responsibility, so as not only not to imperil the existence, but to insure the effi- ciency of a very necessary work."

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 189

The communication was signed by Geo. T. Wilmer and W. P. DuBose, Committee.

The board passed resolutions saying that, finding it impossible to provide for the conduct and support of the University as at present organized, without danger of largely increasing our debt by exceeding our income, have deemed it best to place the support and maintenance of the theological department upon the church at large; especially as said department has been for many years past supported by the University; and that all Advent offerings and parish and diocesan offerings for the ensu- ing year be used for the support of the said department, provided the same do not exceed the sum of f 5,000. That the respective dioceses interested in the University be requested to pledge annually to the support of said department the sum of f 500 each, or such sum larger or smaller as they may be able to pledge, so as to guarantee, if possible, $5,000 annually to the support of said depart- ment.

The theological department has received a varied sup- port (from f 3,000 to f 4,000 annually) from the dioceses since 1878, and its support has not been included in the salaries provided for by the board of trustees until recently.

Unfortunately the year 1878 was a disastrous year in the Mississippi valley, where so large a portion of the clientele of the University was to be found. Yellow fever, that most dreaded of epidemics, prevailed at Memphis and other cities, paralyzing business and disturbing the business relations of the South. The trustees of the mortgage indebtedness had expected to

190 HISTORY OF THE

dispose of a portion of the bonds in Memphis by the personal influence of Mr. Jacob Thompson and Mr. MeNeal (they remained in New York), and by the efforts of Dr. Hodgson, but the condition of the country made it practically impossible to negotiate bonds at that time. There was pressing need of immediate action. The bank debt amounting to f 12,000 was due and payment insisted upon, other creditors were clamorous, and the existing mortgage in New York of $10,000 fell due October 1st, 1878. The trustees of the mortgage and the executive committee, with the treasurer, met in Nashville in November. Dr. Hodgson, in the meantime, had secured an extension of the mortgage debt, with some propositions for a loan. The executive committee obtained an exten- sion of four months on the bank debt, upon pledging pay- ment within that time. Messrs. Hodgson, MeNeal and Thompson went to New York in November to make further efforts to negotiate the bonds. Mr. Jacob Thomp- son and Mr. MeNeal themselves guaranteed the taking of nearly one-third, but no one could be found to take the remainder, and they found themselves reluctantly obliged to seek other means of meeting the obligations of the University. This they were enabled to do by accept- ing the proposition of the New York Mortgage Company for a loan of $25,000, secured upon bond and mortgage. The bonds and mortgage for $30,000 authorized by the board were canceled, and the mortgage of $10,000 out- standing was paid off, the bank debt paid, and the press- ing demands disposed of.

Prof. Frank Schaller had resigned the chair of modern languages, and Prof. Tallichet had taken the position of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 191

acting professor under an appointment from the- hebdomadal board.

The matter of recognition of fraternities or Greek letter societies came before the board in 1878, upon a petition from a committee of the Tennessee Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega. The petition was referred to the hebdomadal board, with the expression of opinion that the board of trustees sees no objection to allowing the existence of the organization at the University. The previous action of the hebdomadal board had been adverse to the allowance of the formation of such societies.

The board prescribed a military uniform similar to that of West Point for the cadet corps.

A standing resolution was adopted that the Episcopal members of the board of trustees of the University of the South were declared ex officio,, ad eundem, doctors in divinity of the University (which seems rather a whole- sale way of conferring degrees), and has been since repealed.

Rev. Abraham Jaeger was appointed, in 1878, professor of Hebrew in the theological department by the executive committee, on the nomination of the professors of the theological department.

The prevalence of yellow fever in the Mississippi valley had an injurious effect in diminishing the number of students, as so large a portion of the well-to^do citizens were obliged to leave their homes and seek refuge, with their families, in other parts of the country. The number of students at the University, in 1879, was but 163, being the smallest number for many years. The salaries were arranged at f 1,800 per annum for the professors; f 1,000

192 HISTORY OF THE

each to acting professor of modern languages and to the master of the grammar school; $600 to first assistant and $400 to second assistant; and if the amount of tuition received was not enough to pay the full amount estimated the salaries should be scaled. The unfortunate part of the arrangement was that those who received the smaller salaries were scaled in proportion to those who received the largest. The total amount of these salaries, if paid in full, would have been $13,400. The amount of tuition received was $10,694.33, leaving a deficit of $2,700, equaling about 20 per cent on the gross amount, making the professors' actual salaries, $1,440; master of the Grammar School, $800; first assistant, $480; second assistant, $320.

UNIVERSITY &F THE SOUTH. 19S

CHAPTER XIX.

The academic department under the control of the hebdomadal board — Meeting of the board of trustees in 1879 — The heb- domadal board present their views to the board of trustees as to the condition and needs of the University — Financial condition of the University — Measures taken to fund the indebtedness of the University.

1879.

THE board of trustees met on the 2d of August, 1879. There were present the bishops of Western Texas, Tennes- see, South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas, four clerical and nine lay trustees. Although no increase of debt had accrued during the previous year, additional debts had come to light to the amount of $4,000, and the sum of $4,500 was due to Dr. Hodgson for moneys advanced by him in liquidation of claims. The mortgage of $25,000 to the United States Mortgage Company bore interest at the rate of 8 per cent. Dr. Hodgson, in his report to the board, recommended another effort to fund the debt by bonds secured by mortgage at a lower rate of interest. This recommendation was approved by the board, and a resolu- tion passed that the general scheme submitted by Dr. Hodgson to issue a new series of 6 per cent bonds to pay the 8 per cent loan, and also other debts due by the Univer- sity, is approved; and that he, in conjunction with the executive committee, is requested and authorized to carry the same into effect — the amount to be limited to $50,000, and the rate of interest not to exceed 7 per cent. The

194 HISTORY OF THE

arrangement under the syllabus with the hebdomadal board was for one year only, and expired at this meeting of the board. It had been successful so far as that no indebtedness for salaries had occurred and the professors had received nearly $1,500 each, which has been their aver- age salary ever since. It had not worked advantageously for the grammar school, the head master and two assist- ants having received in the aggregate only f 1,600. This probably had something to do with their all resigning their positions. The head master, Mr. C. M. Beckwith, became a candidate for orders, and after his ordination he was minister in charge for some time of St. Lukes Cathe- dral, Atlanta ; then rector of Christ Church, Houston, was elected assistant bishop of Texas in 1891 (which he declined), and was most strenuously sought for the posi- tion of head master of the grammar school in 1893. His administration of that office during the years, 1876-78, was recognized as having been a most successful one. He is at present writing bishop of Alabama. The hebdomadal board made a report to the board of trustees, signed by John B. Elliott, Chairman, Caskie Harrison, W. P. DuBose, E. Kirby Smith, Geo. T. Wilmer, John McCrady, Telfair Hodgson and C. M. Beckwith.

They preface their report by saying that "a clear appre- hension of the obstacles in the way of any great enter- prise is not only necessary to their removal, but even in itself a step in advance, and since the particular obstacles with which we have to deal are several of them such as can be removed only in the course of time and by the united efforts of all interested in the University, the hebdomadal board believes itself called upon to make a

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 195

full and unreserved recital of these obstacles to the board of trustees, and to urge that all possible legitimate means be taken to insure their removal."

The obstacles are as follows :

"First. — Want of endowment, involving want of ade- quate instruction in several branches, chiefly scientific; want of apparatus, laboratories, collections and of a library. A natural consequence of this want is :

"Second. — A very high tuition fee, which debars church- men of moderate means from sending their sons to the University.*

"Third. — The absolute inability of the board of trustees to meet more than once a year or to continue their sessions beyond one week.

"Fourth. — The entire absence of any permanent execu- tive body resident' at Sewanee and having power to act during the remainder of the year.

"Fifth. — The isolated location of the University, keep- ing it out of view, so that the church loses sight of it ; the approaches to the University forbidding.

"Sixth. — The location of the University, within the ter- ritorial limits of the diocese of Tennessee, coupled with the general apathy of the church, producing a widespread

*The tuition fee in both University and grammar school was $100 per annum, certainly not as high as in many technical schools for young men, and much less than in the better class of schools for girls. The hebdomadal board, I think, lays more stress upon this point than it deserves. It is not tuition fees alone, but the general expense incident to schools of high grade, board, clothing, traveling expense, etc., and which, all told, were much lees than in leading Northern colleges, i. e. Yale, Harvard, etc.

196 HISTORY OF THE

impression that the University is and always will be only a diocesan school of the diocese of Tennessee.

"Seventh. — A still more wide-spread impression that the University is a special propaganda of ritualism, by which impression many are deterred from supporting it.

"Eighth. — The existence in several dioceses of theologi- cal seminaries, which are not simply preparatory to the University, but actual rivals, competing with it for church funds and for students.

"Ninth. — The intimate association of the grammar school with the University, which has led to a confusion of the two in the minds of many, among whom the notion prevails that the University of the South is at best only a sort of high school. The want of endowment, and the dependence of even the professors upon tuition fees, con- firming and strengthening the notion.

"Tenth. — Want of the means of keeping the University constantly before the eyes of its natural patrons, the churchmen of the South, by a system of periodical publications, sufficiently endowed and supported to com- mand the respect of men of science and culture every- where."

The report goes on in twenty-nine closely printed pages, to consider these several heads, and their state of mind may be well conjectured from the concluding paragraph of their report, which is pessimistic to the last degree. They say :

"In conclusion, the most determined optimist cannot deny that the University has this year to face vital issues. Forgotten by the church, with a mortgage on all its pro- perty, unable to pay its professors, without apparatus,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 197

living library, or any equipments, save hoods and gowns ; its only source of revenue a prohibitory tuition charge, its only supporters an impoverished people, surrounded by rivals which underbid it in tuition and exceed it in equipment, the University certainly has need of herculean remedies. It is a mockery to say, 'Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled,' and yet withhold the things which are indispensable to a University and to a working faculty. It is impious to fold our arms in the affectation of faith, when we know well that faith without work is dead. It is cowardly desperation to shrink from difficulties which our duties to God, to His church, and to our fellowmen all alike command us to grapple with and overcome. The University must grow or it must die. Which of these two destinies awaits it depends upon the policy this year adopted by those to whom the church has entrusted the sacred charge of finishing the work of Polk and Elliott."

"The hebdomadal board believes that the plan of future work suggested in this report, if maturely considered, care- fully prepared in detail, fully supported by the trustees, and resolutely carried out, will result in the new creation of the University of the South; while without this plan, or without its perfect equivalent, the fate of the Univer- sity is already sealed. In this faith they have written."

This report was probably in the main, if not altogether, written by Prof. John McCrady.

The main body of the report is devoted to the question of endowment, and a plan is proposed, similar in its features to that proposed by Mr. J. H. Fitts, of Alabama, which was based upon a general appeal for subscriptions to the 30,000 communicants of the church in the

19$ HISTORY OF THE

associated dioceses, divided into twelve classes who were to be asked to make a cash subscription from fifty cents to two dollars each, the bulk of the money to come from subscriptions of $100, and $150, and $200; one thousand subscriptions in each of these classes. A canvasser to be appointed and circulars to be issued. It was also proposed by the hebdomadal board to send an agent to England to solicit endowment funds. They also proposed to issue a bulletin, periodically, to call the attention of the church to the needs of the University, and to attract attention to it.

The report laid considerable stress upon the importance of placing in that board again the power given in 1878.

At the time this report of the hebdomadal board was made the affairs of the University looked very unpromis- ing. The number of students had decreased, no doubt in part from the prevalence of yellow fever previously in the Mississippi Valley, and a general financial depression, but of the points set forth as obstacles only one was of any real importance, and that was one which has always been a great obstacle, not only in this University, but in all others: the want of an adequate endowment. The demands of higher education cannot be met by tuition fees alone, and the chief effort which is requisite to the support of any University is to be made in the direction of procuring an endowment for its professorial chairs. This enables a reduction t'o be made in rates of tuition, and secures an independence of patronage.

The committee on organization made a report present- ing a scheme of organization of the University to continue for three years from the beginning of Trinity term, 1879.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 199

That a vice chancellor should be elected for three years, to have control of the finances of the University, and of the domain, including leases, etc., embracing all the func- tions of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands, and to be entrusted also with the discipline of the University under the following restrictions, viz : A con- sulting commission of the members of the hebdomadal board, elected by the board of trustees to act with the vice chancellor in the settlement of all questions of dis- cipline involving suspension or dismissal, "and it may be added," says the committee, "that to the vice chancellor and this commission the board of trustees may confidently look for such modifications of the present system of dis- cipline, especially as to the demerit system that has prevailed (a military importation utterly foreign to the genius and spirit of a church university like ous), as their enlightened judgment and experience may suggest. This arrangement will supersede the filling of the offices of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands, the dispensing therewith resulting from the imperious necessi- ties of the University, and they cannot, they say, make such a recommendation without a feeling of deep regret at the thought of parting from such earnest and faithful servants of the University, and of bearing testimony to their devotion and worth." The committee further recom- mended that the board of trustees should elect annually a University commission to consist of the vice chancellor as chairman ex oflicio and of not more than six professors, and that this commission should have control of the educational interests of the University as provided by the constitution and statutes, and be directly respon-

200 HISTORY OF THE

sible to the board of trustees for their acts, making an annual report of the same, with such suggestions as they may deem expedient. The commission also to be invested with the authority to advance the patronage of the Univerity, to inaugurate or aid in carrying out plans of endowment, to secure the cooperation of preparatory schools, to fill vacancies in professorships (subject to the approval of the board of trustees), and to organize faculties.

The board of trustees adopted all of the recommenda- tions of the committee, and fixed the salaries of academic professors at $1,800; acting professor of modern lan- guages, $1,200; master of grammar school, $1,000; first assistant, $600; second assistant, $400; teacher of elocu- tion, $600. All receipts for tuition and fees to be applied in payment of salaries and current expenses of academic department; and, if not sufficient for the full payment, the said salaries to be scaled pro rata according to the receipts.

The same apparent injustice towards the recipients of the smaller salaries is evident in this arrangement as the previous year and the result was about the same, the grammar school salaries for first and second assistants being reduced below $500.

The hebdomadal board was authorized to collect and disburse tuition money and fees.

The adoption of this scheme of organization virtually placed the University in commission, in regard to every- thing except providing for its indebtedness. It was a virtual abdication of nearly all its functions in connec- tion with the University management. The board

VS17BR8ITY OF THE SOUTH. 201

repealed the resolution, passed in 1877, expressing the opinion that the vice chancellor should be a clerk in Holy orders. Rev. Dr. Patterson offered a resolution that no person should be employed as a professor, teacher or tutor in this University until he subscribe the following declaration: "I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the word of God and tb contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States." The resolution was referred to the committee on organization who reported that it was inexpedient to take any action. Considering that the University is a church institution avowedly, and claims raison d'etre as such, one can but express a degree of feurprise at the non-adoption of Dr. Patterson's resolu- tion. Probably it was deemed unnecessary. The board elected Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as vice chancellor; Caskie Harrison, M. A., professor of ancient languages; Gen. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics; Prof. John McCrady, professor of biology and relation of relig- ion to science; John B. Elliott, M. D., professor of chemistry; Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., professor of ethics ; Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer, D. D., professor of systema- tic divinity — all for three years.

Prof. Elliott and Dr. Wilmer were elected as a commis- sion in matters of discipline tk> act with the vice chan- cellor.

Dr. Elliott, Dr. Wilmer, Prof. McCrady, Prof. Kirby Smith, Prof. Harrison and Rev. Dr. DuBose were elected

202 HISTORY OF THE

as the University commission under the plan of organiza- tion.

•A committee was appointed with power to take pre- paratory steps toward the establishment of a law school, and also to take charge of the proposed medical school ; provided that in neither case shall any expense or liability be incurred on the part of the University. Bishop Lyman, of North Carolina, founded a gold medal to be bestowed annually in the department of elocution, and a plan of conferring the medal was adopted.

The financial report showed that in the theological department the receipts were $3,330.29, of which only $1,521.44 was contributed by the dioceses; $1,103.75 was subscribed by individuals, and $705 was from the North. In the academic department the fees aggregated $10,820. The amount requisite to meet the salaries prescribed was $13,400. A committee was appointed to correspond with Mrs. A. M. Manigault in reference to the expenditures of funds contributed by her for erection of St. Lukes Hall, and the amount requisite to fully complete the same. Mrs. Manigault, during the ensuing year, forwarded funds to complete the building.

A preamble and resolution were adopted that, whereas, Mr. G. B. Fairbanks had been connected with the board from the first foundation in 1857, that the board, recogniz- ing his deep and earnest interest in the welfare of the University and his faithful attention to his duties in con- nection therewith, sincerely deplored the loss of so faith- ful an officer, and appointed a committee to inform him of the action of the board, to convey to him the assurance of the high and very sincere respect entertained for him by

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 205

the members of the board. In his response to this action of the board Mr. Fairbanks said that he desired to return his sincere acknowledgments for the kind manner in which they had expressed their appreciation of his services. That, after so intimate a connection in various capacities with its affairs during a period of twenty-two years, it could but evoke a feeling of sadness in taking leave of thei official relation which he had so long held to the Univer- sity, the duties of which had always been to him a labor of love. That, imbued at the outset with the enthusiastic and hopeful feelings with which the founders of the University were inspired, sharing in a large degree with them in the work of laying its foundations, in interesting the public mind in the project, in the preparation of its constitution and statutes and other preliminary work , he never lost faith in its future, even in the dark hours of civil strife. At the dawn of peace his heart turned to the possibility of a renewal of this great enterprise, and, associated with others, and foremost of these the bishop of Tennessee, to whom this grand scheme seemed too great a thing to be abandoned, he gave his best thoughts to its interests, and made his home on this mountain. That the bright anticipations of success which illumined our path shortly after the inauguration of the schools of the University had become overshadowed, and year by year disappointments have followed disappointments, financial pressure of the severest kind, pestilence of unprecedented extent, and other causes had continued to throw a cloud of depression over our work. That retrenchment had be- come a stern necessity, and a strong effort to preserve its organization had become imperative.

204 HISTORY OF THE

Such clouds, he said, have overtaken at one or more periods of their existence all of the older colleges of our land, some had perished, but many have survived to enter upon a career of greater strength and usefulness. If we are true to ourselves, to our church and our country, this institution will be preserved, and the great plans of its founders be accomplished ; if not in our day, in the day of our descendants. It may be our work to preserve, theirs to enlarge and complete. He could not believe that an institution which has with so little attained to so much, which has already matriculated a thousand students in these years of disaster, which has received so many signal instances of providential aid, is to perish if those to whom it is entrusted shall faithfully execute their trust.

The board ordered Mr. Fairbanks' remarks to be spread on the minutes.

An executive committee, consisting of the bishop of Tennessee, the Rev. Dr. Bannister, Dr. Shoup, Jacob Thompson and Albert T. McNeal, was elected, and the vice chancellor was instructed to confer fully and freely with the executive committee.

The vice chancellor was authorized to employ a clerk to assist him at a salary to be paid by the University not to exceed $1,000, but declined to receive any salary him- self.

Professor Tallichet was elected acting professor of modern languages.

There had been, for some years, reports spread through- out the South relative to the manner of conducting the chapel services of the University. The ordinary morning services in the chapel have been always the same.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 205

The Lord's Prayer, the Venite, a portion of the Psalter, one lesson from the New Testament, an anthem, the Creed, and a few collects, with processional and recessional hyinns ; the whole occupying about fifteen to twenty minutes ; on Wednesday and Friday, the Litany and collects only. The Sunday services conducted by the chaplain were the usual church services. Surpliced choirs and processional and recessional singing were then to many people novelties, although now so common, and, as the clergy wore their academic hoods, strangers fancied that surpliced choirs and clergy wearing hoods must be ritualistic — whatever that might mean in the minds of not very well informed peopla Bishop Elliott, of Western Texas, offered the following declaration of the bishops who were in attendance at this meeting of the board, relative to this matter :

"The undersigned bishops, having had occasion at the last meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee to examine the manner of conducting service at St. Lukes and St. Augustines chapels, desire to give the assurance that the services are in strict accordance with the Book of Common Prayer, and in no way countenance the charge of ritualism made against the University of the South.

'•They could further state that the services at the places above named are under the charge of all our bishops who are members of the board of trustees." (Signed) W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi, Chancellor.

ALEXANDER GREGG, Bishop of Texas.

CHAS. TODD QUINTARD, Bishop of Tennessee.

W. B. W. HOWE, Bishop of South Carolina.

K. W. B. ELLIOTT, Miss. Bishop of W. Texas. Sewanee, August 7th, 1879.

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No action was taken in reference to any plans for endowment beyond requesting the executive committee tk) represent the board as a committee on endowment.

The board resolved that it was in entire accord with the hebdomadal board upon the subject of erecting a suitable memorial to Bishop Polk, and will take the necessary steps to that end as soon as the way seems clear. It is hardly necessary to say that no steps have yet been taken to erect such a memorial, but as the board had laid off a very beautiful park in memory of the great bishop, in which, there is an admirable location for plac- ing a suitable monument, it is to be hoped that before many years such suitable memorial will be erected. No election of master of the grammar school or proctor was made by the board, but the hebdomadal board was fortun- ate enough to secure the services of Mr. Davis Sessums as master of the grammar school, and Mr. Vardry McBee as organist and proctor. Prof. Caskie Harrison acted as bursar for the collection and disbursement of tuition fees, etc.

Rev. William Klein was instructor in school of English literature; John Lowry, M. A., instructor in elocution; W. D. Powers, instructor in school of commerce and trade.

Suitable notice was taken of the death of Rt. Rev. J. P. B. Wilmer, bishop of Louisiana, for twelve years a member of the board. He died on December 2, 1878. A beautiful tribute to his worth and character from the pen of Bishop Green was adopted by the board, in which is said, "In the character of that truly godly bishop there was united the simple and confiding nature of the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 207

child with all the noble qualities of the man. While apparently unconscious of his powers, the most persua- sive eloquence was flowing from his lips; and, though using no arts to draw men after him, the eye as well as the heart of all who knew him delighted to welcome his coming. His countenance beamed with a benevolence that justly expressed the overflowing kindness of his heart. Amid a crafty and selfish world he moved as one who neither saw nor felt its contamination."

Dr. Elliott, the health officer, made an interesting report of the sanitary condition of Sewanee, and the sanitary committee, commenting on his report, says: "This prevalence of good health may be expected to con- tinue in any region in this latitude when the altitude above the sea is 2,000 feet, the yearly average rainfall forty-five inches, and the climate marked by neither extreme heat nor cold, as show^n by the following data: Winter minimum temperature, 5 ; summer maximum, 87 ; average summer temperature, 74. No sudden changes of temperature occur in this locality. Epidemics may be said to be unknown, pneumonia and diphtheria (but few cases of which ever occur) are of light nature and yield easily to treatment; bilious fevers never occur unless contracted in malarial districts: and developed by the mountain climate, and of these the symptoms are of a trivial character. Whooping cough, scarlet fever, etc., rarely or never prove dangerous. Time has fully verified these statements, and twenty-five years' carefully collated statistics would indicate that the claims made for the extreme salubrity of Sewanee were well founded.

208 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XX.

The University commission continued for one year— The financial condition still depressing — More complete organization of a military department — Bishop Green's hopeful views of ta« future of the University — Plans for University buildings — Issue of bonds— Support of theological department.

1880.

DURING the ensuing year, 1879-80, the University was administered under the new scheme of organization. There was, however, no material increase of students, and the plan of organization did not seem calculated to pro- mote any general outside interest1. The professors had neither the time nor the opportunity to make much personal effort to advance its interests. Under the plan adopted there was, of course, no debt created for salaries. The new vice chancellor, Dr. Hodgson, made it his main duty to improve the financial condition by decreasing expenditures, realizing assets, and endeavoring to carry out the scheme of funding the debt. In pursuance of the authority given by the board, a mortgage and coupon bonds were prepared in the spring of 1880.

When the board met in August, 1880, there seemed a diminished interest on the part of the trustees. No -quorum answered on the first day. There were present at this meeting the bishops of Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and the assistant bishop of North Carolina, six clerical and six lay trustees.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 209

The vice chancellor made a report, recommending a modification of the previous action in reference tk> fund- ing the debt, and also a sale of alternate lots of the domain. The committee on buildings and lands reported adversely as to the sale of any portion of the domain and the board adopted their report. The committee on consti- tution and statutes reported resolutions requiring the can- cellation of the bonds secured by mortgage (which had been prepared under the authority of the board, but none of which had been negotiated), and proposed that, to fund all outstanding indebtedness, including the $25,000 mort- gage to the United States Mortgage Company, a mortgage should be executed with the same trustees for the sum of |40,000, with coupon bonds bearing 6 per cent interest. This report was adopted. The financial condition as reported showed receipts by the theological department of $5,117.04, of which sum $420 wias a donation of Mr. Sessums out of his- salary as master of the grammar school, the receipts from other sources amounting to $4,097.04. The receipts from tuition and fees, inclusive of fees uncpllected, was $12,500. The net results were about the same as the previous year, requiring a scaling of sal- aries to the extent of 20 per cent. The experiment of a commission did not produce any very evident favorable results, but the cessation of school deficit gave time to place the University upon a more favorable financial footing. Rev. Mr. Jaeger resigned his position in the theological department. The vice chancellor was enabled to procure a detail of Lieut. R. M. Rogers, Second United States Artillery, as instructor in military science, and the military feature of the University came into more prom*

210 HISTORY OF THE

inence. Drilling and military exercises were made more obligatory. A fine cadet corps was formed and a volunteer band was organized mainly by the exertions of Mr. F. A. DeRossett. Mr. McN. DnBose was appointed proctor. Rev. F. A. DeRossett, instructor of Hebrew in the theological department, and Rev. Sylvester Clark, professor of ecclesiastical history. The executive commit- tee was reelected. Prof. H. Tallichet was elected profes sor of modern languages.

The committee on organization reported, with regard to the University commission, that they were not able to see how any advantageous change could be made in its organization and recommended that it be continued a« it was then organized.

The whole subject of raising a proper endowment for the University was referred to a committee of five to consider and report some general scheme to raise the necessary amount and report as soon as possible. No report or plan was presented by the committee appointed. Rev. Dr. Patterson was empowered to act as agent for the theological department, and the professors in the depart- ment, personally, or through such agency as they might select, were requested to receive funds for its temporary support, and, if possible, for its permanent endowment; and the bishops were requested to commend the matter of support for the theological department to their dioceses in every practicable manner.

Rev. Dr. Patterson, during the ensuing year, devoted some ten months to this work and obtained the sum of |1,825.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 211

With the additional amount of $4,000 given by Mrs. Manigault for the completion of St. Lukes Memorial Hall that building had been fully completed, and the theological department was now in successful operation, thus adding to the University one of its most important and necessary schools. Due notice was given of the readiness to receive theological students and the church, was appealed to for the support of the professors. Neither in the matter of students nor support was there any very hearty response from the dioceses interested in the University.

So far as theological students were concerned, this may be attributed to the fact that comparatively few desired to enter the ministry. The greater opportunities offered at theological schools at the North, in the way of scholar- ships and support, and the influence of clergy not acquainted with Suwanee, who naturally referred postu- lants to their own alma inater. This will gradually dis- appear, and Sewanee will send forth a large majority of the future clergy of the Southern dioceses.

As an indication of the spirit, faith and hope, which animated the survivors of the band of men who inaugu- rated the University, even under the great difficulties and financial pressure of 1878-80, the following extract from the address of Bishop Green before the board at the open- ing of their session in August, 1880, is well worthy of perusal.

"Any undertaking proposing to itself such noble ends as ours puts itself in the pathway of God, whose eye is never away from it and whose hand waits only the right moment to give it the fullness of His blessing. Our

212 HISTORY OF TEE

reliance has ever been on the help of Him who says, 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine.' Sooner, there- fore, would we believe that this mountain could be thrust from its base^ than that ultimate failure can ever be written on the ruins of a work like this ; begun in prayer and faith, and prosecuted in the love and service of both God and man. Clouds and darkness may yet overshadow its path, but a bright morning will not long hide itself behind the gloom so impenetrable to our present sight. It was the privilege of him who addresses you to be present at the birth of this child of our adoption ; to see its young life nearly crushed out by the hand of war ; and, afterwards, to assist in the support of its first tottering footsteps. He sees it now putting on the thews and sinews of a vigorous youth. Its manhood will be reached in no distant future. Your speaker dares not hope to behold that day, but, without arrogating to himself the spirit of prophecy, he sees through the telescope of God's promises this vast domain of ours dotted over with families of wealth and refinement, the cornerstone of a magnificent central edifice relaid on the very spot where those holy men of God, the great Decemviri of our South- ern church first placed it.

"He sees men of wealth vying with each other in the costliness of their gifts, multitudes of youths flocking to our halls, scholars of every name and nation coveting honors at our hands, and our alumni counted by the thousands, like the boughs of the banyan tree, taking root in every soil, filling offices of wealth and influence, and thus adding daily to the strength and influence of the parent stem. All this may seem to many as the mere

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 218

day-dream of a too hopeful and over confident spirit. Be it so. It is a small thing to be judged of man's judg- ment. In the spirit of that greatest apostle, we 'appeal,' but to a greater than Caesar. We look forward from the discouragement of the present hour to the yet unseen blessings which are in store for us. Our work is- of God, a God that cannot lie, and with whom nothing is impos- sible.'5

Mr. John W. Weber was placed in charge of the gram- mar school, with C. McD. Puckette, B. L. Wiggins and J. J. Cornish as assistants. In the theological depart- ment David Sessums, M. A., was instructor in biblical and church history, and J. J. Cornish instructor in elocu- tion. Mr. J. G. Glass was appointed proctor.

Under the action of the board in 1880 a mortgage and coupon bonds to the amount of $40,000 were prepared, and, prior to August, 1881, bonds to the amount of $19,000 were disposed of, and $13,000 of the mortgage debt to the United States Mortgage Company was paid, leaving a balance of $12,000 due. A loan of $4,500 from Dr. Hodgson repaid; and about $800 was expended on St. Lukes Hall, beyond the amount provided by Mrs. Mani- gault. The board met on the 30th of July, 1881. There were present the bishops of Mississippi, Arkansas, North- ern Texas, Western Texas and five clerical and eleven lay trustees. The executive committee reported no positive action, but that it had been only of an advisory character.

The financial report showed that the theological depart- ment received, in the aggregate, the sum of $2,656, of which $86 was applied to expenses, leaving only $2,570

214 HISTORY OF THE

applicable to salaries. In the academic department the receipts amounted to thhe sum of $11,203.34, of which $ 1,133.42 was applied to expenses, leaving applicable to salaries $10,669.42. The salary list amounted to $11,600, leaving a deficit of $1,530 to be scaled pro rata, which left to each professor $1,573. Of the $2,656 received by the theological department $1,230 was collected by Dr. Patterson. With the view of utilizing the resources of the University under the pressure of great financial needs, the vice chancellor, during the years 1880-81, made a contract for the sale of all the chestnut oak bark on the domain, and for converting the timber, after the bark was removed, into lumber and cross- ties. The committee on buildings and lands reported adversely to the sale of the timber on the domain, and in favor of adhering to the policy previously maintained, that only down timber should be cut. The board adopted a resolution that the cutting of timber in our forests should be confined to the dead and fallen trees, and the trimming of dead tops or branches. But a comparatively small amount was realized from the sale of the chestnut oak bark.

The time will come when the timber on the domain will be very valuable, but it will be after the large extent of timber on adjoining lands has been stripped by the greed or the necessities of the owners, in haste to realize a pittance, rather than wait for the day of enhanced valuation.

The vice chancellor and executive committee were authorized to enter into negotiations for the erection of a hotel, a matter which had been for many years a matter of consideration in the board. The theological professors

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 215

presented a memorial in reference to some more certain arrangement for the payment of their salaries, or guarantee of payment, whereon the board expressed itself as unable to provide any other arrangement than the existing one of relying upon the dioceses for the provid- ing for them.

The committee on buildings and lands made a report upon the matter of locating the sites of the different buildings which the several schools would require, and proposed that the designs for each building should be adopted and lithographed, and the cost of each ascer- tained. The minds of the trustees would be thus directed to the definite object for which they were working. Pictures hung upon the walls would attract the attention of persons who might be disposed to erect these buildings. That, while appreciating the permanent necessity for endowments, they believed that they would come faster when proper buildings, well located, were presented to the eye, which would give to those who might con- tribute, the assurance that this institution was founded for all time. Many might give large sums to assure results who were not willing to assist in what they might regard as an experiment. In the primitive condition of all the University buildings, save St. Lukes Hall and the Hodgson Library, there was a look of experiment and an advertisement of impecuniosity, and there was a lack of dignity which must necessarily have impressed the minds of students unfavorably, while they and their surround- ings would not attract the patronage of those whose first and great purpose in sending pupils and students to the University were not the Christian influences, which

216 HISTORY OF THE

are, with many of us, the great reason for the existence of this University. We were fully aware that a Univer- sity does not consist of buildings, and that the most valuable work and the profoundest teaching can be done in a log cabin. So we know that God can be worshipped in an open field, but most Christians recognize the obliga- tion that the church should be of the most imposing character within the means of the congregation which worships in it, and that these externals are helps to worship itself. We maintain that the church is interested in the rapid success of this enterprise, and should so formulate our plans with regard to the ability of this great church and the means in its possession as to com- mensurate with the same.

With the design and probable cost of each building in the possession of each trustee and in the hands of such agents as may be intrusted with the work, and by circula- tion through the mails, we do not know at what moment some person or persons may be found who, like the estimable lady who selected the theological department, and our vice chancellor, to whom we owe the library, may desire to erect some building as a memorial and call it after the name of some loved one whom they may wish to commemorate.

In order that the whole subject may be carefully and thoughtfully considered, we recommend the election of a commission of four persons who shall serve for one year, and to whom instructions shall be given to have prepared by a competent architect the designs for tne grammar school and all its adjuncts, and the prominent buildings for the schools of the University now in opera-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 217

tion, with the estimates of the cost of the same. The result of their labors to be reported to the next meeting of the board.

The recommendations of the committee were adopted, and Bishop Gallaher, Rev. Dr. A. T. Porter and Hon. W. A. Courtenay were appointed as such commissioners.

The Alumni Association presented a memorial, asking that provision be made by the board of trustees for the admission of a trustee elected by the alumni of the University. The matter was referred to the committee on constitution and statutes, who asked that they be permitted to report upon the subject at the next meeting of the board. The recommendation that a commission be appointed to report upon a definite plan for the location of the permanent buildings, was well conceived. Their further recommendation, that plans of the University should be made with estimates of probable cost, was impracticable on the score of expense, unnecessary except in a very general way. It would not have been difficult to have procured the services of a competent architect to assist a competent commission, but, unfortunately, in this matter, as is oft to be the case in such arrange- ments, individual ideas and suggestions predominate. The commission appointed had but a very superficial acquaintance with the ground, and had neither the time nor the inclination, perhaps, to thoroughly study up the whole subject on the ground, aided by the professional taste and skill of one versed in the art of arrangement and proportion, relative position, comparative value of

21« HISTORY OF THE

effects of grouping, engineering ability in the use of natural features, such as elevations and depressions, gradients, etc. The result of their appointment was simply a plan for a grammar school group, by an architect in a distant city.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.

CHAPTER XXI.

The University commission plan discontinued — The condition of the University as to finance and students — Proposal to change the name of the University of the South to the "University of Sewanee" — The trustees undertake the building of a chemical and philosophical hall — The Sewanee conference on the problem of the relations of the church to the colored race.

1882-1883.

THK board of trustees held their annual meeting on 30th of July, 1882. There were present the bishops of Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Western Texas, Florida and Georgia, being the largest number of bishops present in several years, with seven clerical and five lay trustees. The University commission had requested that the several professors should be invited to come before the board, and give expression to their views as to the welfare of the University.

Upon the invitation of the board they severally appeared and gave their views upon the subject. The board was addressed by Prof. John B. Elliott, M. D., Prof. Caskie Harrison, M. A., and Rev. Prof. W. P. DuBose, M. A., S. T. D., Prof. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics, Rev. Prof. G. T. Wilmer, D. D., John Weber, master of the grammar school, and Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., vice chancellor and president of the University commission.

The financial exhibit showed receipts for theological department of $2,950. Academic department, f 10,752.

220 HISTORY OF THE

The salary list in the University academic department and grammar school amounted to $11,600; there was a deficit of $2,062. The professors actually received each $1,480. The whole indebtedness of the University was represented by its outstanding bonds of $33,500, of which $7,500 was held in reserved bonds by the University itself.

The committee on organization, in reference to the subject of the University commission inaugurated in 1879, reported that they considered it a temporary arrangement, which has now expired* and they did not recommend its continuance, and this opinion of the committee was concurred in, and the commission was not resuscitated. The board then proceeded to the election of members of the faculty for a term of five years.

Rev. Telfair Hodgson was unanimously elected vice chancellor, Dr. John B. Elliott to the chair of chemistry, Rev. W. P. DuBose to the chair of ethics, Gen. E. Kirby Smith to the chair of mathematics, Dr. John B. Elliott, acting professor of geology and mineralogy, Rev. G. T. Wilmer to the chair of metaphysics and English literature, R. E. Nelson to the chair of civil engineering and physics, F. M. Page to the chair of modern languages, and Rev. Telfair Hodgson dean of the theological department, and Rev. Dr. Wilmer to the chair of systematic divinity. Prof. Caskie Harrison, who had occupied the chair of

*The University commission, consisting of the vice chancel- lor as chairman ex ojftcio and not more than six professors, by resolution 17 of 1879, was to be elected annually, but was not elected in 1880, although the committee on organization recom- mended "that it be left as at present constituted." In 1881 the University commission was elected for the ensuing year.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 221

ancient languages since 1871, declined reelection, and Mr. C. McD. Puckette was elected to that chair, but declined, and Mr. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., was elected.

Prof. Harrison removed to Brooklyn and established the Brooklyn Classical School, which has acquired a high repute among the educational institutions of that city, and has attained a large degree of prosperity. In 1889 he received the degree of doctor of philosophy from the University of the South. His death occurred recently.

The plan of a University commission, and placing the entire scholastic administration of the University in the hands of its professors, was a temporary expedient to enable the faculty to carry out views which they had entertained as to the promotion of the welfare of the University, increasing its patronage, developing its advantages and making it more widely and favorably known. The list of obstacles enumerated in the report of the hebdomadal board in 1879, hereinbefore referred to,

dicated their view of what should be done, and the

ode of removal of these obstacles.

The number of students registered in 1877-78 had gone

own to 183 ; in 1879-80, under the commission, it further declined to 157. In 1880-81 the number registered was 187, and in 1881-82, the last year of the commission, it only 186. It was quite evident that the management of affairs by a commission was not the remedy needed, but it satisfied the faculty that other causes than those they had fixed upon had occasioned a decline in patronage. One of the causes operating to produce this result was, no doubt, a certain degree of indifference, and, to some extent opposition to the existence of the grammar school

222 HISTORY OF THE

upon the mountain, not recognizing its importance as a feeder and the great value of its preparatory training for transference to the schools of the University. In 1879-80, the first year of the commission, the roll of the grammar school declined to 56, while five years previously it had been 137. Superficial objections were made, such as that grammar school boys were at their homes considered as students of the University, having a tendency to place the University on a par with those merely academic schools scattered through the land, which had assumed for themselves the high-sounding name of University. Also that at Sewanee, mingling on the University grounds with the University students, they were all classed as University students together, from the youngest bare- footed boy in the grammar school to the senior with his cap and gown. There was at that time, and subsequently, some force in the latter objection, but the entire separa- tion of the grammar school and its dormitory have since altogether obviated this objection, and which, it is to be hoped, will be still further removed by the erection of a complete grammar school plant at a distance from the buildings of the University proper.

In accordance with the resolution passed August 5, 1881, appointing a commission to consider the subject of the location and construction of the permanent build- ings of the University and grammar school, and to procure suitable plans, designs and estimates for the said build- ings, etc., the commission not being prepared to report in full was continued to the next meeting of the board. A ground plan and elevation for the grammar school was, .however, submitted by the vice chancellor.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 223

Dr. John B. Elliott, the health officer, reported that the water of Polk Spring, upon analysis, showed in 100,000 parts of water, organic nitrogen 0.113, ammonia 0.001, chlorine 2.49, and that the water was practically pure, as neither chlorine nor ammonia were in themselves dangerous to health, unless in excessive quantities. He also reported valuable analyses of the chalybeate waters of two springs on the domain. In Far Chalybeate ( Fogg's) was found 1.73 grains of ferrum carbonate per gallon of water. In the chalybeate spring below Green's Spring was found 1.49 grains of ferrum chalybeate per gallon of water, and that these small quantities were quite sufficient to render these waters valuable as medical agents.

Bishop Green, the chancellor, offered on the 2d of August a preamble and resolutions, stating that whereas in the changes of time, under the Providence of God, the name of the University had come to represent political feeling, which it is neither the wish of the trustees to cherish nor the province of the church to inculcate, and since it is known that the name was supposed to indicate a desire to cultivate a sectional sentiment, which was not true, but as the mere supposition was militating against the welfare of the University, hindering its growth and development, he proposed the passage of a resolution changing the name to the "University of Sewanee," and that a committee be appointed to secure the necessary legislative enactment.

The preamble and resolutions were referred to the com- mittee on constitution and statutes.

224 HISTORY OF THE

It may be remarked in this connection that Bishop Green had, himself, at Lookout Mountain in July, 1857, proposed the name of "The University of the South/' and that subsequently at Montgomery, Ala., Mr. Fairbanks had renewed this proposition of Bishop Green's. It was quite characteristic of the gentle and self-effacing character of Bishop Green, that he should himself propose this change of name when it was suggested to him that such a change would be beneficial to the University.

The committee on constitution and statutes, to whom the preamble and resolution of Bishop Green were referred, consisted of Bishop Gregg, Bishop Wilmer, Bishop Quintard, Bishop Pierce and Messrs. L. N. Whit- tle, A. T. McNeal, C. K. Miles and Silas McBee.

The committee reported that in view of the gravity of the subject, and of the fact that it has held the present name for twenty-five years, and was so designated in the charter, and had acquired large property interests, that the subject should receive very mature consideration, and that, without expressing any opinion then as a committee, they recommended the committal of the subject to a special committee to report to the next meeting of the board, which recommendation was adopted and such special committee w^as appointed, consisting of Bishop Gregg, Bishop Young, Rev. G. T. Wilmer and Messrs. C. B. Miles and Silas McBee.

Mr. Miles, after the adoption of a warm tribute to the genius, scholarship, zeal and faithfulness of Prof. E. McCrady, requested permission to read some verses found among Professor McCrady 's papers after his death, written by him many years previously. The board re-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 22*

quested that they be allowed to have them entered upon the minutes. The verses were as follows :

"THE FORGE OF THOUGHT."

Work! work! work! Prom the crack of day to the close

And half the night

By a dimmer light; And then thy needs repose.

Toil ! toil ! toil ! When thy veins with life are full,

When tears would start

And the smitten heart Beat languidly and dull.

Toil! toil! toil! With ever the Christ at hand;

And the forms which pass

In the mystic glass Of time, shalt thou understand.

Clang! clang! clang! Let the sparks leap out in showers

And the anvil ring

And the bellows sing From harvest moon to the flowers.

Clang! clang! clang! And a wonder shall be wrought,

Whose head sublime

Shall tower o'er time The masterpiece of Thought

226 HISTORY OF THE

Clang! clang! clang! But this thy curse shall be:

Through sun and snow

The work shall grow, Yet never shall perfect be.

Clang! clang! clang! And when thou art stiff and dead

The world to late

May own thee great, And laurel thy marble head.

But far, far, far, In some grand and silent sphere,

With the wise and blest

Thou shalt take rest Thou wouldst not suffer here.

The students of the University had entered into a friendly rivalry with Vanderbilt University, and for six years prior to 1882 Sewanee had never suffered a defeat at the hands of Vanderbilt.

During the; session of the board of trustees in August, 1882, the Kt. Rev. B. W. B. Elliott, bishop of Western Texas, addressed the board upon the necessity of provid- ing a building and equipment for the school of chemistry, and proposed immediate action. The sum needed was estimated at $10,000. Bishop Elliott pledged him- self to raise $500, Bishop Young $500, and pledges were given by others, in all amounting to about |5,250. With this amount subscribed, contracts wero

Tl.ompson Hall — Medical Department

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 227

entered into for building the chemical and philosophical hall (afterwards called Thompson Hall in honor of Hon. Jacob Thompson, the largest contributor to its erection), and at a later date the medical college. The cornerstone was laid on July 14th, 1883, with appropriate religious and masonic services. Bishop Green, as chancellor, striking the stone three times with a mallet and saying, "Ad honorem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi et ad profectum sacro sancti, Matris Ecclesiae et Studii pie et rever- entissime, nos Gulie Imas Mercer, Grenn Promdentia Divina Episcopus, Mississippienses et Chancellor Univer- satis Australis, hunc primariuni lapidem Chemici et Philo- sophi Aedificii collocamus in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen/3

A memorial from the Alumni Association was received by the board of trustees at the session of 1882, asking representation upon the board. The committee on con- stitution and statutes reported favorably upon the application, temporarily admitting a delegate from the association without a vote and appointing a committee to confer with the association in reference to the consti- tution they should adopt, which should meet the approval of the board.

The board adopted a resolution, reported by the com- mittee on buildings and lands, that no lease should be made for ninety-nine years, being unwilling to change the existing provision for leases of thirty-three years dura- tion, renewable for two terms of thirty-three years each, upon agreement as to terms.

228 HISTORY OF THE

THE SEWANEE CONFERENCE.

In April, 1883, Bishop Green addressed a communica- tion to all the bishops of the Southern States, inviting their attention to the subject of the relations of our church to the late slave population of our States, and the best means that could be adopted for their religious bene- fit; and recommending that, in accordance with the sug- gestion made to him by several of the Southern bishops, a council should be held at Sewanee an 25th of July, 1883, of bishops, clergy and laity interested in the subject to confer together and after due consultation to agree upon some plan to be presented to the general convention for the accomplishment of that purpose.

A council accordingly met at Sewanee on the 25th day of July, 1883, in the chapel of the University. There were present Bishop Green of Mississippi, Bishop Thomp- son, assistant bishop of Mississippi, Bishop Gregg of Texas, Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, Bishop Quintard of Tennessee, Bishop Young of Florida, Bishop Robertson of Missouri, Bishop Howe of South Carolina, Bishop Lyman of North Carolina, Bishop Elliott of Western Texas, Bishop Dudley of Kentucky, Bishop Peterkin of West Virginia and Penick, bishop of Africa, and a very considerable number of prominent clergymen and laymen from the Southern dioceses. Bishop Green acted as chairman, and Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup as secretary. The dioceses w^ere called in order and one member from each diocese asked to present such views or suggestions as he deemed proper and, when all had been heard, all the propositions and suggestions presented were referred to

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 22»

a committee to report for the action of the conference.

This committee consisted of Bishops Gregg, Lyman, Dudley, Thompson, Rev. Drs. Williams, Porter, Powers, Harris and Grey, and Messrs. McNeal, Farrar, Footman, Miles and Whittle.

On the fourth day of the conference the committee reported at some length and proposed a draft of canon to be presented to the general convention appointed to be held in Philadelphia in October, 1883, entitled a canon "of missionary organization within constituted Episcopal jurisdiction," consisting of five sections. Section first authorized, in any diocese containing a large number of persons of color, it should be lawful for the bishop and convention to constitute such population into a special missionary organization under the charge of the bishop. The second, third and fourth sections provided for the manner of carrying out such organization. The fifth section provided that congregations organized under the provisions of this canon might be received into union with the convention of the diocese on such terms and by such process as provided by such diocesan convention, but, until such reception into union with the convention, the clergy in such missionary organizations were to be listed separately from the clergy of the diocese.

Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, dissented from the report \ as to the proposed canon because, in his opinion, "it^ involved the idea of class legislation." Bishops Howe, Dudley, Dr. A. T. Porter, Rev. P. G. Roberts and Messrs. A. T. McNeal and G. R. Fairbanks were appointed a committee to lay the proceedings of the conference before the general convention.

230 BISTORT OF THE

The committee, in October, 1883, presented the report of the conference to the general convention, where the subject brought out considerable discussion and was finally referred to a special committee of which Rev. Dr. A. T. Porter was chairman. The committee reported a canon in accordance with the recommendations of the Sewanee conference. The proposed canon having been referred to the committee on canons of the house of deputies, of which Rev. Dr. Watson was chairman, was reported upon adversely upon the ground of its want of adaptability to the dioceses in general, and because the committee was of the opinion that the respective dioceses have already all the power requisite to provide every suitable agency, so that no legislation was necessary. The committee also expressed the opinion that the church could not too carefully avoid the appearance of drawing lines of classification and distinction between followers of our common Lord, and which might produce dissension in that portion of the church intended to be benefited. The committee reported a resolution that the work of the church among the colored people ought to be regarded as a common work of our whole body, and receive a large share of the care and benefactions of the board of mis- sions, and that the board of missions be requested to take the subject into immediate consideration and appropriate as large a sum as possible to the missions of the church among colored people in all parts of the church.

The report of the committee on canons was approved by the house. Although the plan suggested by the Sewanee conference was not accepted by the general con- vention, yet the work of the conference bore fruit in

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 231

attracting the attention of the church to the religious care of the colored race, and eventually secured the very considerable appropriations made since for the mission work among these people under the direction of the bishops of the several dioceses. The Sewanee conference may be regarded as the first important practical step towards influencing the mind of the church towards, undertaking the performance of the duty so plainly resting on the church to care for the colored race in our midst.

232 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXII.

Report of the special committee of the board of trustees upon th« change of name — The views of the vice chancellor, Rev. Dr. Hodgson, in reference thereto — Organization of hotel com- pany— Completion of Thompson Hall — Constitution amended to give representation to missionary jurisdictions and the alumni.

1883.

AT the meeting of the board of trustees in August, 1883, the first subject which came up for consideration was the report of the special committee, appointed the previous year in reference to the proposed change of name of the University. As this subject, from time to time, came up for discussion, especially in the earlier stages of the history of the University, and as there was supposed to exist very decided antagonisms between the people of the North and South, which by some seemed to be reflected and continued by the continuance of the name of "The University of the South," the report of the special committee appointed to consider this question, signed by a representative committee, Bishop Gregg, a native of South Carolina, and Bishop Young, a native of Maine, Rev. Dr. Wilmer and L. N. Whittle, Esq., natives of Virginia, and A. T. McNeal, Esq., of Tennessee, is of permanent value, as containing a candid and impartial consideration of the reasons for the original adoption of the name, its continuance, and why it would be inexpedient to make any change. Embarrassed by a deficient income and a decrease of students, it was quite

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2SS

natural that expression should be given to the idea that the University failed to receive sympathy and support from Northern churchmen on account of the name appear- ing to them to represent a sectional sentiment and sectional ideas, and that if such was the case it might be the part of wisdom to remove such an obstacle to the reception of aid and sympathy. The endowment of the Methodist University at Nashville by the Vanderbilts of New York, nominally at least church people, and the naming of that University after its principal benefactor, suggested that perhaps similar gifts might come to the institution at Sewanee if the supposed prejudices against what might be regarded as a sectional name were removed.

The vice chancellor. Rev. Dr. Telfair Hodgson, in his report to the board of trustees at its August meeting, in 1883, expressed his views of the proposed change of name as follows:

"In regard to the proposed change of the name of the University, your vice chancellor would say that he has the opinion of - — and many other strong Republicans who have no love for the South, that a change of name would be too transparent a manoeuvre, to secure money from a Northern man who ever heard of its old name. These gentlemen did not like the name, but they could not fail to respect it, and the idea that it represented, its name is simply a dignified and courageous bid for patronage from a large and powerful section of this country, which will one day be just as rich as the North, a section which, when it has become rich, will still bear the name of South, and by its riches will make men proud to be Southerner*,

234 HISTORY OF THE

and which will also command the respect of those all over the land who affect to despise it now.

"In that day, if this University change its name now, our own section will not fail to remember that this University forgot to be patient and long-suffering with its own country, and discarded even her own name for the flesh pots of another section, which even a change of name (ninety-nine chances to one hundred) will not guarantee her.

"Whatever the name of the University might have been in its inception, it is certainly not political now, it is only geographical. It could not be The University of Tennessee/ the State has appropriated that name to its own University. As grand a conception as this could not certainly have a less dignified name, and 'Sewanee,' an Indian name, is less so, it has no significance to those who have never been here, the word 'Sewanee' pronounced to strange ears, produces no impression whatever, but the name 'University of the South' is far different. To those who still hate the South it brings a howl of indignation, and to the lips of those who love the South, the question 1 Where is the place?' Surely such effects prove the idea of this name to have been an inspiration. The change of name would be simply to get money. Your vice chancellor does not believe that a single member of this board desires it. He has known of men changing their names to inherit a fortune, and after all not getting the fortune, and ever after being filled with a feeling of self-reproach for loss of self-respect. So it might be with the University of the South. Let us not forget the words of the wise man (Prov. 22, 1), 'A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.' "

UXIVSRS1TY OF THE SOUTH. 235

it is unlikely that the subject will ever come up again in view of the almost complete disappearance of any prejudice to the name, and that the name "Sewanee" is being now almost as frequently used to designate the University as its corporate name, indicating that the name is regarded as a geographical designation of its location.

At this meeting of the board Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., who had held the office of chaplain since the year 1871, tendered his resignation in consequence of the pressure of other professional work, and the Rev. Thomas F. Gailor was unanimously elected chaplain, in addition to his duties as professor of ecclesiastical history and church polity, to which he had been elected in 1882.

Prof. R. E. Nelson tendered his resignation of the chair of engineering and physics, to which he had been elected the previous year, and Rev. F. A. Shoup was elected to that chair, Dr. Shoup was originally appointed professor of mathematics in 1869, and professor of mathematics upon the organization of the University faculty in 1870. He performed the duties of chaplain until the election of Rev. W. P. DuBose in 1872. He resigned the chair of mathematics in 1875, and severed his connection with the University, subsequently engaging in ministerial work at Waterford, in the diocese of Albany, and also later in Tennessee. He was secretary of the board of trustees in the year 1882, and filled the chair of engineering and physics until his death in 1896.

A proposition came from the committee on board and boarding houses, the Rev. A. T. Porter, Rev. Mr. Lee and Mr. McBee, at the session of the board in 1883, to erect

236 HISTORY OF THE

a students' hall planned after St. Lukes Memorial Hall, at an initial expenditure of $8,000. Rent to be charged each student at the rate of $10 per term, which, it was estimated, would more than cover the interest on the investment. The hall to accommodate seventy-five students, but not to provide for their board. The vice chancellor to use the unissued bonds of $6,500 for the purpose and the balance to be provided for from the sale of Texas lands. The whole matter was referred to the executive committee to report upon the following year.*

The committee on boarding houses could not have contemplated the erection of anything but a very cheap wooden building for an estimated cost of $8,000, as St. Lukes Memorial Hall, a stone building four stories, accommodating only thirty-six students, cost about $33,000.

The executive committee, in their report the following year, made no reference to the matter; doubtless deeming the plan proposed impracticable, and the amount proposed to be expended inadequate for the construction of the proposed hall. The cornerstone of the Philosophical and Chemical Hall having only been laid on July 14th, not much progress on the building could be reported. The committee on buildings and lands expressed their gratifi- cation that the Chemical Hall had been commenced, and hoped the money necessary to complete it would be fur- nished by voluntary subscriptions ; and further expressed

*The board wisely deferred action upon this proposal, which contemplated only quarters, and sixteen years later Dr. C. P. Hoffman, without expense to the University, erected Hoffman Hall as a dormitory and refectory for juniors.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 237

the salutary opinion, that it was not the policy of the University to devote its current means to the erection of buildings. It would be as much as it could do to keep them insured and in repair, and that in regard to addi- tional permanent buildings they were unable to recom- mend any present action.

That, considering the expense of procuring architectural designs and the necessity of a very complete and compre- hensive study of the subject, they were of the opinion that any definite action at that time would not be expedient: moreover, there seemed to be no immediate necessity of any action being taken.

The subject of a hotel was referred to a special com- mittee with full power to organize a joint stock company for such purpose, but no liability was to be incurred on account of the same by the University.

The board was much gratified at the very substantial gift by Mrs. Azenath Sherwood, of Elgin, 111., of 5,000 acres of laud in Texas. Article 17 of the constitution was amended so as to provide for representation in the board of trustees of subdivided dioceses and missionary jurisdictions.

The number of students in all departments for 1883-84 remained the same as the previous year, 182 only.

Gen. Josiah Gorgas, who had filled the position of vice chancellor after the resignation of Bishop Quintard in 1871, up to his resignation in August, 1878, was after- wards connected with the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, at which place he died in May, 1883. General Gorgas was an officer in the ordnance corps in the United States Army prior to the Civil War, and resigned to take

238 HISTORY OF THE

office in the army of the Confederate States. He was appointed a brigadier-general and chief of ordnance, and showed conspicuous ability in the management of the affairs of his department, to which most of the success which attended the Confederate arms was due. Upon the organization of the junior department of the University of the South, in 1868, he was selected as the official head, and subsequently vice chancellor. The minute passed by the board at the session of 1883, justly says : "During all the period of his connection with the University his rule was signalized by the most exact and patient performance of the duties of his position, all with a sweet and gentle courtesy."

The Chemical and Philosophical Hall, known as Thomp- son Hall, and now as the Medical Department, was com- pleted during the year preceding the meeting of the board of trustees in July, 1884; its cost having somewhat exceeded the estimates, as not unusually happens. Subse- quently considerable sums have been expended in repairs of work improprly done, and in finishing off the third story with suitable rooms. It was the first permanent building erected for academical purposes.

During these years the expense account and floating debt gradually increased until, in 1885, a balance of over f8,300 was due Dr. Hodgson as treasurer. And from August, 1884, to August, 1885, $4,400 was paid out for expenses and repairs, making a large deficit in the income available for such purposes.

An amendment to the constitution was adopted in August, 1884, as Article 20, giving to the Associated Alumni representation in the board of trustees, of one

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2J»

clerical and two lay trustees to be elected by the associa- tion and to hold office for a term of three years.

Thereupon Eev. Davis Sessums, M. A., as clerical trustee, and Fielding Vaughan and A. S. Smith as lay trustees, were admitted to seats in the board.

An agreement was authorized to be made with the University Hotel Company for establishing and maintain- ing a hotel, under which agreement the premises at the junction of University and Sew^anee Avenues were enlarged and opened as a hotel, and continued to be occupied and used as such (with very considerable enlargements) until the property went into the hands of a receiver, and it was sold to the University for the sum of $5,500. The property cost the stockholders of the hotel company over $20,000. The University occupied it as a dormitory for the grammar school, for which purpose it had a capacity for about sixty-five students. It was, however, used as such until better arrangementsi could be made, now happily accomplished by the erection of Quintard Memorial Hall.

240 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXIII.

Proposition made to erect a grammar school plant near Morgan Steep — Renewal of approval of Bishop Hopkins' plans — Lay- ing of the cornerstone of Convocation Hall.

1884-1886.

THE vice chancellor, in his report to the board of trustees in August, 1884, renewed the recommendation as to the erection of a grammar school plant and dormitory, which he estimated could be built for |20,000, with a capacity for eighty boys, and that the money could be borrowed for that purpose. The committee on board and boarding houses followed up this recommendation with their own opinion that such a dormitory could be erected for the sum named by the vice chancellor, and reported resolutions authorizing him, with the concurrence of the executive committee, to make a contract with any responsible party for the erection of a grammar school hall and to obligate the trustees to require grammar school boys to stay in such hall. The committee had two plans to suggest: One was to borrow the money upon mortgage to build the hall and devote the net in- come, or part of it, as a sinking fund to extinguish the debt. The other plan was to authorize a contract to be made with some responsible party to erect such a build- ing at his own cost, who should derive all the profits accruing therefrom, the board only agreeing that all grammar school boys should be required, until the capac- ity of the hall was filled up, to stay therein. The board

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 241

reserving the right to purchase the building at any time at cost. The committee were informed that such a con- tract could be made. (The party who made this generous offer, it was understood, was Kev. Dr. Hodgson.) The location suggested was in the vicinity of Morgan Steep.

After discussion the report and resolutions of the com- mittee on board and boarding houses was, upon a vote by orders, referred to the vice chancellor and executive committee, to be reported at the next annual meeting of the board.

A ground plan and elevation for a grammar school plant, including a school room, chapel, refectory and dormitory, was prepared by G. C. Haight, Esq., a promi- nent architect of New York City, but no further action was taken to erect such a plant by the University. Prol> ably one reason why the executive committee took no action in 1884, on the subject proposed of building a gram- mar school, was that the income of the grammar school contributed very essentially to the support of the profes- sors of the academic department, and could not well be diverted from that purpose. The desirability of such a complete separated grammar school was always conceded, but the way did not seem open to accomplish it until the hotel purchase enabled the authorities to carry out a separation, so far as the limited capacity of that building could be made use of. The board, at the session of 1884, reaffirmed the plan for the location of permanent build- ings, as prepared by Bishop Hopkins and on file in the archives, upon a test vote made upon such a resolution presented by the committee on buildings and lands.

242 HISTORY OF THE

The subject of the erection of a permanent chapel was considered, and the efforts of the ladies' association for obtaining funds for this purpose were commended, but no action looking to its immediate erection was taken.

Suitable notice was taken of the death of Hon. Jacob Thompson, formerly secretary of the interior. Mr. Thompson was very much interested in the welfare of the University. He contributed largely to the erection of the Philosophical Hall, and by his will gave ten thou- sand dollars to the University.

Dr. John B. Elliott, professor of chemistry and health officer, tendered his resignation to the board in August, 1885. Dr. Elliott had been connected with the University for sixteen years, dating back almost to its opening term, and had contributed very largely by his ability and labors to the building up and welfare of the University. For several years he had held a position as professor in the medical department of the University of Louisiana, devot- ing to this work his winter vacation and, 1885, being elected professor in the medical department of Tulane University, he felt obliged to resign his chair in the University of the South, very greatly to the regret of its faculty and board of trustees.

His chair was filled by the election of Dr. J. W. 8. Arnold, of New York, a gentleman of very high scientific attainments, who had filled prominent professional posi- tions in New York. His health was delicate in con- sequence of chronic asthma.

The commencement sermon in 1885 was delivered by the Eev. Morgan Dix, D. D., of Trinity Parish, New York City. His subject was "The full assurance of faith," and

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 243

his sermon was worthy of his high reputation. The honorary degree of D. O. L. was conferred on Dr. Dix on commencement day, 1885. Among the interesting events occurring during the meeting of the board, in 1885, was the presentation of a small United States flag, which was the same which floated above Bishop Otey when he made his address on Lookout Mountain on July 4, 1857, at the initial meeting of the delegates of the dioceses. The flag which now hangs in the library has an extended history, as related by Rev. Dr. Duncan of Louisiana, the donor. Its staff is associated with the names of Washington, Fillmore and Scott. It has been unfurled in England, upon the Baltic, upon all the memor- able fields of Greece, upon the pyramids and ruined temples of Egypt, on lonely Sinai and Horeb and Hor, upon the banks of the Jordan and in the city of Jerusalem.

Kentucky, in the year 1885, became associated for the first time with the other Southern dioceses as a corporate member of the University. It was but natural that it should be so, and she was, indeed, welcome. Bishop Dudley, her clergy and her people seemed the natural associates of the dioceses already connected with the University. The first members of the board from Ken- tucky were Bishop T. U. Dudley, Rev. R. S. Barrett and Messrs. C. F. Johnston and J. R. Proctor. A resolution offered in the board that the permanent chapel should be placed on the Otey Hall lot (Walsh Memorial) was laid on the table.

Gov. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, had been elected to deliver the commencement oration for 1885, but, being unable on account of official duties to be present, Bishop

244 HISTORY OF THE

Dudley accepted an invitation to deliver the oration.

The year 1886 opened with more encouraging prospects. At the opening of trinity term, 1885, fifty-eight students matriculated and at the opening of lent term, 1886, the same number, making the matriculations for the year 116. Over 220 registered at each term. The University was evidently now upon an up grade. About this time also it received substantial tokens of interest. Mrs, Gould, of Augusta, Ga., had given $2,560 towards building a gymnasium, and Mr. Wiley B. Miller, of Memphis, Tenn., $2,000 for the same purpose. Mr. Miller also gave $2,000 to apply on the University debt, and Miss Florence Miller, his daughter, gave the sum of $4,813.12 for a building to be designated as the Miller Convocation House.

On the 24th of June the cornerstone of the gymnasium (being the east end of the library) was laid by the chancellor, Bishop Green of Mississippi, with appro- priate religious ceremonies. The chancellor striking the stone three times and saying, "Ad honor em Domini nostri Jesu Christi et ad profectum sacrosancti Matris Ecclesiae et Studei pie et reverentissime, nos Providential Divina Chancellor Universitatis Australia hunc primarium lapi- dem Gymnasii collocamus in Nomine Patris et Filio et Spiritus Sancti, Amen."

The vice chancellor, in his report to the board of trustees in August, 1886, says that the building was begun on May 1st, and that "as the gymnasium was a part of the proposed chapel building, it had to be built in connection therewith. That the stonework for the gymnasium, Convocation House and Breslin Tower

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 345

(stonework on the tower to a height of thirty feet) had been contracted for at the rate of $4.50 for foundation and $ 7.00 for superstructure per cubic yard. Your vice chancellor thinks he has money enough on hand and in sight to complete the gymnasium, Convocation House and bell tower."

A proposal was made to the board through the vice chancellor for the appointment of a clergyman living at the North as a dean of St. Augustines, who would devote himself to obtaining funds at the North to complete St. Augustines chapel, and eventually devote his time to the work at Sewanee. He was to be the dean over all the chaplains of the different departments of the University when such officer should be constituted. The board, probably deeming such an appointment premature, took no action on the suggestion. The vice chancellor sub- mitted plans for the proposed gymnasium, Convocation House and bell tower, and permanent chapel, prepared by Mr. W. Halsey Wood. The board passed a resolution saying that they were not then prepared to accept the plans presented by the vice chancellor, and referred them to the executive committee. The plans presented to the board by Dr. Hodgson contemplated a building one hundred and twenty feet in length by thirty feet in width, the east half of which was designated as a gymnasium, and the west half as a chapter or convocation house. Adjoining and forming a part of the building, at the southwest corner, was to be a large tower, twenty by twenty-four feet, and ninety feet high. This comprised the buildings then under contract. The elevation and ground plans were furnished for a new chapel, the nave

246 HISTORY OF THE

to be about forty-four feet in width and one hundred feet in length, with a large tower and vestry room, the chapel to be connected with the convocation house and gymnasium by a cloister. The distance between the buildings was to be about fifty feet. The chapel was to seat about nine hundred persons. The estimated cost of gymnasium and convocation house was $14,000, and the tower, $7,000. The chapel about $57,000. Of which the gymnasium, convocation house and tower are all that have been constructed.

The necessary amount for the building of the tower, about $10,000, was given by Mr. Breslin of New York, a friend of Eev. Dr. Shoup, and through his influence, no doubt. Upon motion of the bishop of Louisiana the board authorized the location of the proposed new chapel on the site known as the Otey Hall lot. This action was set aside by the location of Walsh Memorial Hall in 1890.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 247

CHAPTER XXIV.

The subject for the location and plans for the permanent build- ings discussed — Paper as to the plans of the founders of the University by Geo. R. Fairbanks, lay trustee from the diocese of Florida, read at the meeting of the board of trustees — Preservation of the forest growth — Some relics of the corner- stone— Death of Bishop Young of Florida, and Col. L. N. Whittle of Georgia.

1886.

DURING the discussion as to permanent buildings in the board in August, 1886, a paper upon the plan of the founders was read by Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, and ordered printed in the minutes of the board. As bearing upon the general subject of the inception of the University and the intentions of those who originated it, of whom the author was deemed qualified to speak, having been associated with them and a number of the board of trustees during all that formative period.

The paper presented was as follows:

Extract from the proceedings of the loard of trustees of 1886, Resolution No. 67.

Resolved, That the paper read before the board on the second ofi the present session, by Major Geo. R. Fairbanks, a lay from the diocese of Florida, referring to the original for the establishment of the University and the improve- ment of its domain, be published with the proceedings had at this session of the board, for the information of members.

248 HISTORY OF THE

THE PLANS OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE UNIVERSITY.

TO THE BOAED OF TRUSTEES OP THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.

THE MEMORIAL OF G. R. FAIRBANKS, A LAY TRUSTBH

FROM THE DlOCESE OF FLORIDA.

"Brethren, Bishops, Priests and Laymen, need I remind you that we stand here in the mere gateway of that magnificent temple planned by those noble spirits, Otey, Polk, Elliott and others; and that we are pledged, by the very acceptance of our office, to carry out their grand design." — [Rt. Rev. W. M. Green, D. D., Chancellor's Address, July, 1870.]

Published as an Appendix to the Digest, by Resolution of the

Board.

It is now thirty years since Leonidas Polk, bishop of Louisiana, gave form and substance to the idea, which had previously been thrown out by Bishop Otey, that the Southern church should establish within her own borders a grand and comprehensive institution of learning, and thus; outlined in wise and well considered words the pro- ject of a university of the South.

The scheme presented by Bishop Polk was in the same year sanctioned and affirmed in all its parts by the bishops of the ten Southern dioceses. Delegates from these dioceses met at Lookout Mountain on the 4th of July, 1857, and formed an organization for carrying out the scheme; and in November, 1857, again met to choose a location, when Sewanee was selected, from its own

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 249

fitness, and in accordance with one of the principles enunciated by the bishops and delegates, that the location should be central, and accessable to the citizens of the Southern States.

In the whole history of educational institutions in America no other instance is recalled where the concep- tion of a grand landed domain was made so important a feature in the planning and planting of a college or university. Sewanee, as the site of the University of the South, is the product of this idea, a wide departure from the existing ideas, which looked to populous centers and environment to build up and sustain such institutions. The Sewanee idea was to create its own environment; as Bishop Polk said when asked, in reference to the isolated location of the proposed University, "Where will you get your society?" His answer was, "We will make it; and not only so, but we will surround our University with such a society as is nowhere else possible in this land." It was not an idle boast, but a sagacious fore- cast of a future then seemingly distant, but now quite within our sure range of vision.

At the end of thirty years, one generation of man's existence, after the destructive effect of a terrible civil conflict, the sweeping away of the substance of our land and the manhood of one generation ; after a hard struggle for existence, under circumstances every way discourag- ing, we have now emerged from the clouds of disaster, upheaval and poverty ; and the South is today prosperous, united, and well settled in all its social, business, and political relations.

250 HISTORY OF TBS

The University has become, to all human appearance, placed upon a strong and enduring basis, the best basis on which an institution can rest, a well founded reputa- tion for imparting scholarship and learning upon the true principles of Christian education.

Our landed domain, acquired with much effort and sacrifice, consists of about 9,000 acres of woodland, lying upon the tableland of the Cumberland Mountain plateau, and extending in most instances sufficiently far down the slopes of the mountain to give us control of the bluffs and approaches from the valleys. A large portion of the tract, as will be seen by reference to the map, lies on the northwest of the railroad, embracing a long spur of the mountain, from bluff to bluff, and on the slopes on either side, being about five miles in length. On this portion the ground presents a central ridge running lengthwise, and from this central ridge lateral ridges extend towards the bluff on either side, with depressions of valleys form- ing the channels of spring branches or watersheds. Very little of the surface has much level area. The largest area of comparatively level ground extends for a short distance south, and for a considerable distance north, of Tremlett Hall. The only straight avenue planned by Bishop Hopkins extended westerly from the cornerstone of the grand central building about one mile, forming a boulevard some two hundred feet in width as a grand drive, and giving a fine perspective view of the central building and most of the projected college buildings.

Along these lateral ridges a comparatively level surface, narrow in extent and sloping to the north and south, exists, terminating on the bluffs along the rocky

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 251

faced brow of the mountain. The soil is a sandy loam lying upon a conglomerate rock, and good roads are easily made by following the sinuosities of the ridges, making handsome drives, easily kept in order. Gentle elevations, rising slightly above the general level, are frequently found, presenting beautiful natural sites for dwellings.

Bishop Elliott, in an address published in 1858, truly said: "This Cumberland plateau seems to have been formed by God for the benefit and blessing of the valley of the Mississippi and the cotton growing regions of the Southern States. Forming the eastern limit of that immense valley, stretching with that peculiar formation of a sandstone tableland for one hundred miles across the State of Tennessee, easy of access at many points, it has already become the summer resort of many distinguished Southern families of planters and merchants, who desire to recruit their families during the summer months, and are yet unwilling to be separated from their interests. The time is not distant when this whole plateau will be covered over with villas and cottages and watering places, and will teem with the most refined society of the South and West. This will be the place of meeting of the South and West. Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah will here shake hands with Mobile, New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis, and cement the strong bonds of mutual interest with the yet stronger ones of friendship and love."

From the nature of the ground it was evident at the outset that, as we had no level plain upon which all the buildings of the University could be placed in symmetrical form, the topography must be carefully studied and

252 HISTORY OF THE

mapped out, the levels ascertained, and a system of location adopted which should conform to the ground and present a symmetrical plan as a whole.

At the meeting of the board at Beersheba Springs in 1859, on motion of Rt. Rev. Dr. Cobbs, bishop of Alabama, it was

"Resolved, That the executive committee be authorized to employ a landscape gardener for the purpose of laying off and arranging the grounds of the University with due regard to convenience, comfort and taste."

Under this resolution the executive committee procured the services of Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, who, among his extraodinary and multiform accomplishments, was distinguished for his ability as an architect and land- scape gardener. He only consented to accept the invita- tion in order to enable him to give the compensation he might receive to an important work in his diocese, which he had much at heart.

Bishop Hopkins came to Sewanee in the fall of 1859, accompanied by Bishop Polk, and spent the winter of 1859-60 in a careful and laborious study of the topog- raphy and general features of the grounds, having the advantage of being at Sewanee after the fall of the leaves, so that an uninterrupted view of large areas could be obtained. He had also the very great advantage of a comprehensive topographical map (made by Col. C. R. Barney, an accomplished civil engineer) showing a complete line of levels, the result of nearly two years' labor in the field, at a cost of five thousand dollars. Unfortunately the original map, the fruit of so much labor, was lost by the casualities of our civil war. Very

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 253

fortunately, however, a traced copy upon cloth of the central and most important portion, embracing the lands for a distance of two miles north and west of the railroad, together with a reduced map of the whole domain, was preserved by me, and they are now in possession of the University. Bishop Hopkins spent several months here, planned the location of the buildings, of the principal avenues, and of a grand drive some thirty miles in extent, which he named the Corso, embracing all the principal views and objects of interest. The results of his labors are embodied in the map we have, known as the Hopkins map. He was paid a compensation of $900.

At the annual meeting of the board of trustees in I860, held at University Place, it was.

"Resolved, That the executive committee be authorized to arrange the reservations required for the use of the University, and around the springs, and also to lay out the public grounds, avenues, streets, etc., and shall give two months' notice of the time of leasing the lots on the domain. The size and shape of the lots, and the terms, conditions and mode of leasing thereof shall be deter- mined by the executive committee, who shall have full discretionary power in reference to all matters connected therewith."

This resolution was reenacted at Columbia, S. C., in 1861, at a meeting of the board held not long after the commencement of hostilities.

The executive committee took action under this resolu- tion, and adopted several resolutions relative to the leasing of lots, which form the foundation of our present regulations upon this subject

254 HISTORY OF THE

No regular meeting of the board was again held until 1867, at Montgomery, Ala.; but in 1866, under the authority of the surviving members of the executive com- mittee, Bishop Quintard built Otey Hall as the foundation of a theological training school, and he and myself erected cottages where we now reside. At the meeting in Colum- bia, in 1861, in view of the condition of the country, the board authorized the chancellor, Bishop Otey, to take such steps as might be necessary for the preservation of the property and domain. Bishop Otey placed me in charge of everything as agent and representative of the University. I remained in charge until the spring of 1862, when I was forced to leave. Our buildings were destroyed in 1863.

At the meeting in 1867, at Montgomery, the board elected Bishop Quintard vice chancellor, and Geo. B. Fairbanks was elected to act as commissioner of buildings and lands, and as the business manager of the University, to reside at the University site, and to have in charge all the business affairs of the University. At this meeting Bishop Quintard offered, and the board accepted, Otey Hall.

In 1869 a committee was appointed, to whom the whole matter of disposition of the domain was referred, to report at the next annual meeting. This committee reported to the board on the 13th of July, 1870, rules and regulations, which were adopted and have ever since been in force.

In 1872 the following resolution was adopted :

"Resolved, That the plan of the lands of the University of the South, as delineated on the map presented to us toy the late Bishop Hopkins, be hereby adopted, and that

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 25i

it be closely followed in the location of buildings by the commissioner of buildings and lands, and by all others."

The plan of the location of the buildings, as laid down on Bishop Hopkins' map, will be found to have been carefully made with reference to the beauty of each loca- tion and the general effect of the whole. At the site where the cornerstone of the great central building was laid in 1860 we find an elevation about 500 feet in diameter, gently sloping in all directions. Here was to be erected the great central building. One of the plans furnished by a leading architect gives as the entire length of the building 272 feet, its greatest depth 135 feet; divided into a central portion 70 by 135 feet, containing the theater or great hall, 70 by 120 feet, to seat 2,500 people; a library wing 41 feet front by 81 feet in depth on one side, and a gallery of fine arts in the other wing, of the same dimensions, the wings connected with the central portion by corridors 60 feet in length by 20 feet in width — not unlike the general plan of the capitol at Washington.

The other buildings for the several schools were intended to be of different styles of architecture, of moderate size, and not to exceed $25,000 each in cost. Professors' houses and boarding houses were expected to be built in their vicinity upon some corresponding plan as to symmetry and general appearance. The schools to be so grouped as convenience should require. These buildings to be erected from time to time, as the wants of the institution required. These colleges or halls to be built of stone, according to the best models of architec- ture ; to be located on the most desirable sites, and to be

256 HISTORY OF THE

placed so as to bring those studies usually pursued to- gether into sufficiently close connection for convenient access; placing on the outer line of the grouping the special schools, such as law, medicine, mines, etc.

The founders of the University, those grand, wise and sagacious men, Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs, Green and others, had in their minds a definite plan and system. The securing of a domain of ten thousand acres was the foundation of their plans. They wished room enough upon which to build their University buildings without restriction as to the area to be occupied. They set apart a campus of one thousand acres as a reserve for this purpose. The reserve was destined primarily for the University buildings, professors' houses, and boarding houses connected therewith. Outside of the reserve the domain was expected to be occupied by church families. Distance was not regarded, because the class of residents who would be expected to erect residences for summer homes necessarily belonged to the same class who always, at their homes, provide themselves with conveyances for use and pleasure. It was anticipated "that a time not distant would come," when, in the language of Bishop Elliott, "this whole plateau would be covered over with villas and cottages and watering places, and would teem with the most refined society of the South and West."

They believed that the domain of the University, if man- aged with a prudent forecast, would create at no distant day a secure endowment, ever increasing in value; leases taken of every available locality, and a large and refined society, brought together here from all parts of the South, homogeneous in sentiment, centering around these hall» of learning, interested in and advancing this great work.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 257

It was not the purpose to build up a town, but a large sylvan population, where every home should be surrounded with the leafy shades of the primeval forests, mingling the wildness of nature with the improvements of man, and placed upon wooded knolls with meandering paths upon their gentle slopes, or on bold summits presenting distant scenes of unsurpassed beauty, rich valleys and a boundless horizon stretching far away into purple-hued cloudlands, where clouds and sky are undistinguishable.

They realized the advantages which this magnificent plateau presented for such a development. Its absolute healthfulness, its pure freestone water supply, its admira- ble building stone, its accessibility by railway and common roads, the abundant region surrounding it, "with milk and honey blessed," as well as everything needful at moderate cost.

They regarded these forest trees, these towering oaks, with fond admiration, as giving attraction and beauty which in themselves would form an element of great value. They insisted on their preservation with the most jealous care. As soon as the title to the domain was acquired their first act was to appoint a forester to prevent the cutting down of this valuable forest growth. Mounted and vigilant, he constantly patrolled the domain, and warned off trespassers and bark and wood cutters.

The constitution and statutes of the University provided for a special officer, the commissioner of buildings and lands, who should have the leasing of the grounds, and whose duty it was specially made to prevent trespasses and intrusions, to be vigilant in observing them, and to take prompt measures for correcting abuses or trespasses.

258 HISTORY OF THE

It was anticipated that the performances of these duties would require the full time and attention of a capable and efficient officer. A splendid white oak, with its broad canopy and well developed growth, the finest shade tree on either mountain or plain, may fall before the wood- man's axe in a few minutes, but requires half a century to replace it. Unfortunately its value for fuel is as well recognized as for shade and beauty, and the woodman passes by the crooked and deformed chestnut, the unsightly black oak, the tough bay, and selects for his victim the white oak, the most prized and valuable of our forest trees. Thousands of unsightly stumps now meet our view wherever we may direct our steps. In many places the ground is growing up in a thicket, and the large timber has all disappeared; bushes and under- growth make otherwise beautiful sites unapproachable and undesirable, and no doubt our water supply is already to some extent affected by the denudation of our shallow soil, in clearings. Rough plantations of cleared land further injure the natural beauty of our lands. Thus far we have rather impaired than improved the natural beauty of our mountain top. A few years more, with the same neglect permitted, and we shall have made much of it valueless and tenantless; and we shall have only built up on our domain an insig- nificant village, with its dusty and close built streets, just as attractive in itself, and no more, than any ordinary village elsewhere. The beautiful ideal of the founders, by our own neglect, our own want of wisdom and want of faith in the future, will have vanished ; and our domain, instead of being the home of thousands of refined and

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 259

cultivated families, will be to us a mere woodyard and waste.

Under the pressure of our apparent necessity for economy, and the other work absorbing us, we have put to one side the important work of protecting and enhanc- ing the value of our domain, and devolved its care upon an officer already overburdened with other duties, and who has kindly consented to act temporarily as commis- sioner of buildings and lands, to save the University the payment of a salaried officer. It is very far from the purpose of this paper to cast censure upon any one, but rather to call attention to the importance of the subject with the hope that we may now shape our action to for- ward the plans of the founders, correct the errors of the past, and secure judicious and systematic future manage- ment of interests so important to the University. What may be accomplished at a slight expense in the way of beautiful drives is shown by the pleasing experiment of the Hodgson Drive to Morgan Steep, planned and success- fully executed by Dr. Hodgson; and the Elliott Drive or Querlique, planned and opened under the direction of Dr. Elliott ; showing how admirably drives of easy grade and graceful lines may be executed upon the undulatory surface of our domain, and also bringing to view many beautiful villa sites. The fine location selected with

I aesthetic taste by Rev. Dr. Hodgson for the residence occupied by Rev. Mr. Oertel, near Morgan Steep, also points in the direction of the plans of the men of 1858. We have formally adopted Bishop Hopkin's plan, and yet we have never conformed to it; our buildings have been located on no plan or system, but in accordance

260 HISTORY OF THE

with the tastes or preferences of individual minds, the wishes of donors, considerations of convenience to resi- dents, or to accommodate the boarding houses and students; and very much in connection with the location of our present wooden and temporary grammar school and University buildings.

A period has now arrived when it seems necessary that some decided and systematic action be taken by the board for the preservation of valuable timber and build- ing sites on the domain; for the proper location of University buildings hereafter to be erected ; for opening and making available the many suitable sites for residences, so that we may thereby increase our revenues and secure an increase in the number of families having a home and interests here; for laying out judiciously new avenues, and for the securing of the health of the com- munity by proper sanitary regulations.

Now, the only surviving lay trustee of the original board, remaining in the board, and feeling very intensely the importance of the subject, I have ventured to direct your attention to this whole matter, with a view of inducing the adoption of some positive policy and action for the guidance of those who may be entrusted with the future control of the University domain. We are at the beginning of a long history of our enterprise; we are trustees for future generations. One by one we pass away from our seats in the board, but our work remains to act upon the welfare of the University of the future as well as the present. We should aim to do our work wisely, not in mere subservience to the narrow and limited present, but for the grand future for which Otey and

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 261

Polk and Elliott and Cobbs and Green and Rutledge and other good men planned, but never saw even the dawn of the fulfillment of.

With an implicit faith in the great future of our Uni- versity, and the eventual completion upon the lines its founders marked out and with the eye of faith saw the accomplishment of in the near future, I place on record this memorial to testify my own sense of respect to their memory, and to testify my faith in their plans, and my earnest hope that they will be adhered to.

GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, Member of first Board of Trustees, a Lay Trustee from Florida. SEWANEE, AUGUST 2, 1886.

We Americans are always in danger of being dominated by what Wesley called the "lust of finishing," and I hope we shall have, in connection with this work, courage to lay out our lines upon so large a plan as to compel the thoroughness and real worth and grandeur of proportion and detail which such an undertaking demands. — [Bishop Potter's Con. Address.]

By resolution of the board the ravine extending from the Polk Spring to the lands leased by Rev. Dr. Hodgson were reserved, with the adjoining slopes, for improve- it as a public park.

During the period preceding the annual meeting of the trustees in 1886 two of its most valuable members had been removed by death. The Rt. Rev. J. Freeman Young, B. T. D., bishop of Florida, and Col. L. N. Whittle of Georgia. Both of these gentlemen had long been associ- ated with the board, and had been most earnest in promot-

262 HISTORY OF THE

ing its welfare and advancement. Colonel Whittle was always in attendance at the meetings of the board, and was most liberal in devoting his time and means. He was a Virginian by birth, and a noble type of a gentleman of the old school, of whom so few now remain.

The board again, in 1886, passed a resolution in reference to procuring the services of a landscape gardener, and for laying out the streets and grounds of the University domain, but no results followed, landscape gardeners being, it seemed, harder to obtain than professors. The large domain with its varying elevations and depressions, cliffs and ravines, springs and streams, required a very experienced and skillful expert gardener and forester to properly lay out its streets and roads, pleasure drives, parks and grounds.

The preservation of the forest growth has always been deemed a most important and necessary provision. The constant tendency to disregard this object, and the ignorant or willful wielders of the axe, disregarding all instructions or contracts, have marred and destroyed large portions of the original forest growth, but a judi- cious thinning out of the young growth, a special care to preserve trees most valuable for future adornment of location desirable for residences, a proper system of drainage, with a view to preserve the forest from denuda- tion, a skillful advantage of grades for roadways, and constant oversight will largely restore and greatly beautify our domain for which nature has done so much.

It is rarely that people can be made to realize and foresee the importance of providing for the future growth and development of towns or institutions. Their

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 263

first impulse is to look after their immediate needs, to follow the course of the pioneers' devious track, to get rid of and burn up the forest growth, and then in future years to plant out such trees as may be most easily or cheaply obtained, and leave them to struggle on, uncared for, used for hitching posts and stunted into unsightly trunks, when a judicious selection of the original forest growth left in their original places would have made beautiful shaded avenues and public grounds, a pleasure and pride to the community.

It will be recalled that the cornerstone of the central building was laid on the 10th of October, 1860, with great ceremony, and in the presence of a large concourse of people. At the close of the war it was found that the great block of Tennessee marble had altogether dis- appeared. In 1886, twenty-six years afterwards, the manner of its disappearance was explained by the recep- tion from Anson Nelson, Esq., secretary of the Tennessee Historical Society, which met at Sewanee in June, 1886, of a fragment of the stone and the accompanying letter. The vice chancellor, in his report to the board of trustees, August, 1886, refers to exhibit v, containing a piece of the cornerstone presented by the Tennessee Historical Society. This piece was taken from its site by some of the twenty-sixth Illinois cavalry camped at Sewanee, July, 1863, accompanied by the following extract of a letter written at that time.

264 HISTORY OF TEE

"CAMP UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH, CUMBERLAND MOUNTAIN, July 26th, 1863. COMPANY A. 26TH ILLINOIS, SD BRIGADE.

"The cornerstone of the University has been distributed throughout the upper country by this brigade. It was clandestinely moved from its foundation at night, and its documents fell into unknown hands. The boys immediately commenced breaking it up for trinkets, and it is now all used up. Enclosed you will find a piece of it which I have dressed out upon a rock and finished with a knife."

The piece was fashioned in the shape of a little marble book, and it is preserved in the University collection.

This cornerstone, a massive block of Tennessee marble, was laid on a heavy foundation course of blocks of Sewanee sandstone and overlaid with similar blocks. The foundation still remains undisturbed, the writer having caused one of the upper blocks to be placed there properly marked to designate the spot, "U. S."

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 265

CHAPTER XXV.

Rev. Dr. Barrett's plan for endowment — Death of Rt. Rev. William Mercer Green, bishop of Mississippi and chancellor of the University — Election of Bishop Gregg as chancellor — Regulation proposed as to the conferring of honorary degrees and statute adopted in reference thereto — Attempt to subject the 1,000 acres, exempted by the charter of the University, to taxation — Decree of the Supreme Court in favor of the University.

1886 - 1887.

AT the annual meeting of the board of trustees in 1886, the Rev. Mr. Barrett, of Kentucky, addressed the board in reference to the endowment of the University, and presented a scheme to be called the "Birthday Society," which proposed circulating very extensively among the alumni and friends of the University an obligation printed in books, promising an annual gift of some specific sum on the recurrence of each birthday of the obligor.

The subject was referred to a special committee, which reported resolutions for the appointment of a commis- sioner of endowments to raise a permanent endowment fund, and to receive 10 per cent on his collections. Rev. Dr. Barrett was elected commissioner of endowments. If Dr. Barrett could have devoted his undivided time to the matter no doubt a considerable amount could have been realized, but during the ensuing year he became rector of St. Lukes Cathedral (Atlanta), and was unable to give his personal attention to the carrying out of his

266 HISTORY OF THE

scheme, and no scheme of the kind can be successful without unremitting personal attention. The financial result of Mr. Barrett's birthday scheme was small in obtaining a permanent endowment fund.

On the 13th of February, 1887, the Rt. Rev. W. M. Green, D. D., bishop of Mississippi, and chancellor of the University from 1866, died at Sewanee in the eighty- ninth year of his age, having been born May 2, 1798. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, in which institution he held the chair of English litera- ture, was consecrated first bishop of Mississippi in 1850. and was one of the most devoted and earnest founders of the University. He was the author of the "Life of Bishop Otey," and was identified with Sewanee from the first, having built a residence there in 1867, and was the first to propose at Lookout Mountain the name of "The University of the South." "Greens View" and "Greens Spring," will give a local perpetuation of the name of the good bishop of Mississippi for all future generations.

With Bishop Green passed away the last of the bishops who, in 1856, signed the address to the members and friends of the Protestant Church in the Southern and Southwestern States, proposing the founding of a church university at the South. The board of trustees, in their minutes relative to this godly man, paid a just tribute to his exalted character, concluding with the following most appropriate delineation of his special characteristics :

"With this spirit of unaffected humility his whole life was penetrated, as in self sacrifice, unwearied devotion and unceasing ministrations for the good of others, that life was preeminently distinguished. And never, we are

Rt. Rev. ALEXANDER GREGG, D. D. Bishop of Texas; Fifth Chancellor of the University.

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 267

persuaded, has there been in our day a more striking exhibition of the power of gentleness, of the influence of true Christian courtesy, and the happy fruits of an observance, unfailing because instinctive of the amenities of life, than were seen in his. Well, therefore, may it be said of him, ' Whatsoever things were true, what- soever things were just, whatsoever things were pure, whatsoever things were lovely, whatsoever things were of good report/ these he cultivated, in these he took delight ; and in these were found, though unsought, that good name 'which is rather to be chosen than great riches,' and the loving favor, 'better than silver or gold.' His works do follow him. Thank God for his example."

The baccalaureate sermon at commencement, 1887, was preached by the Rt. Rev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D., of Missouri, and the commencement oration by the Hon. John T. Morgan, United States senator from Alabama. The death of Bishop Green having made a vacancy in the office of chancellor, Bishop Alexander Gregg, bishop of Texas, was unanimously elected to that office. On taking his seat as chancellor, an address of welcome was made by Bishop Garrett, of Northern Texas, on behalf of the board, to which Bishop Gregg feelingly replied. After referring to the noble example of his predecessor in the office, Bishop Green, he said : "Of the original trustees but four are left to continue in spirit as when they first met together to inaugurate this great work, upon which they can now look in its growth and steady advancement with devout gratitude to Him whose blessing has not ceased to cheer and strengthen, and will, we humbly trust, never be withdrawn. Language fails me fully to express the

268 HISTORY OF THE

enthusiasm inspired in my breast at its inception, the hopes excited when the foundations of the University were afterwards laid, or the anxieties subsequently experienced through days of desponding gloom. Those times of despondency seem to have passed away and I congratulate you on what we now behold."

By the generous donation of $500 by Kev. J. A. Van- Hoose, an alumnus of the University, for which thanks were tendered by the board, a course of lectures on Greek literature were secured to be delivered by that eminent Greek scholar, Dr. B. L. Gildersleeve of the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. J. W. Arnold brought to the attention of the board the subject of the establishment of a school of biology. This suggestion was referred to the committee on organization, but no report was made on the subject.

A communication was received from the Alumni Association, with a resolution passed by that Association, appointing Mr. Silas McBee commissioner to raise funds for the University, and guaranteeing him his expenses while in the field. The board thereupon authorized Mr. McBee to act as commissioner and agent of the board for the purpose of raising funds for the University.

The subject of the conferring of honorary degrees was a subject of discussion in 1887. The committee on degrees, of which Bishop Dudley was chairman, called attention to the growing looseness with which such degrees were being conferred throughout the country, and proposed a regulation that honorary degrees should only be conferred by the unanimous consent of the board, which was adopted. The subject of the degrees of the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 269

University was finally referred to a special committee, consisting of Bishop Dudley, Rev. Davis Sessums and Mr. Moncure, to report a statute on the subject the following year. This committee made a report which was recom- mitted, and the matter lay dormant until the board, in 1889, adopted an amendment to Statute 9, which provided that no honorary degree should be conferred without a reference of the application to the committee on degrees, nor be conferred save by unanimous consent, unless application shall have been filed with the vice chancellor three months in advance of any annual meeting of the board, and in no case without the affirmative vote of four- fifths of the trustees voting thereon. This seems to afford proper security against precipitate action, and to keep the board in mind of the rule that had been agreed upon to confer "the honorary degrees of the University upon such only as are distinguished in letters or divinity, or preeminent services to the church or in the State." It is believed that this rule has been for the most part adhered to, and that the University has been very chary in the granting of honorary degrees, while the granting of degrees in course have been only obtained through scholar- ship and rigorous examination.

The charter granted by the State of Tennessee an January 6, 1858, contains this clause, Section 10:

"Be it further enacted that said University shall hold and possess as much land as may be necessary for the buildings and to such an extent as may be sufficient to protect said institution and the students thereof from the intrusion of evil-minded persons who may settle near said institution, said lands, however, not to exceed ten

270 HISTORY OF THE

thousand acres; one thousand acres of which, including buildings and other effects and property of said corpora- tion, shall be exempt from taxation so long as said lands belong to said University."

This exemption from taxation was recognized by the State and county authorities until the year 1887, when a claim was made by an official of the State connected with the county of Franklin, within which the University is situated, that the one thousand acres (known as the reserve) was liable to taxation, and he thereupon assessed a tax upon the University, a basis valuation of f 100,000 on the reserve, and for three years back taxes, and upon an aggregate valuation of f 400,000 — the tax amounting to |2,700.

A bill in chancery was filed for the University by Messrs. Marks and Gregory, praying an injunction against the levy of this tax. It was to the University a most important matter and, if this claim of taxation upon the reserve was maintained, it would have proved a most serious embarrassment in the future. The writer made a deposition in the case, covering some 150 pages of closely written matter, giving virtually a history of the management, leasing and use which had been made of funds so obtained from lands within the reserve. The brief filed by ex-Governor A. S. Marks, of counsel for the University, was a most admirable argument in support of the exemption, and the claim for exemption was fully sustained by the judgment of the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee, and the question thus settled for all time to the great advantage of the University. It was decreed by the court that the decree of the chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 271

(sustaining the tax) be reversed; that all of said assess- ments were void because said property was exempt from taxation for State or County purposes so long as said property belongs to the University, that the injunction against A. J. Skidmore, trustee for the county of Franklin^ be reinstated and made perpetual.

In the year 1872, Mr. Jas. Hill, a citizen of the State of Mississippi, then resident in Montreal, Canada,, appended to his will a codicil bequeathing to the Univeiv sity, on the death of his wife, two hundred and thirty- two shares, of flOO each, of the consolidated fund of the city of Montreal. The interest to be paid to his wife during her lifetime, and upon her death the stock to go to the University of the South. It was not until 1887 that the University had any knowledge of this bequest. Mrs. Hill was then, in 1887, still living. She died in 1893, and the counsel of the University took the necessary steps to obtain the transfer of the stock. A daughter of Mr. Hill interposed a claim and objections to the transfer of the stock, claiming that the gift was in controvention of the constitution of the State of Missis- sippi. The case went to the Supreme Court of Mississippi and was decided adversely to the University by a majority of the judges, two to one.

A rehearing was obtained and the former decision was reversed, and the claim of the University was sustained., The stock having been sold at a large premium, realized the sum of $40,000.*

*Which, according to the expressed intention of the donor, was invested and the income allotted as scholarships to needy and deserving young men.

( UNIVERSITY

272 HISTORY OF THE

The Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer, D. D., who had been connected with the University from the year 1876, as professor of metaphysics and English literature, and had filled the chair of systematic divinity in the theological department, resigned his professorship in August, 1887, and removed to South Carolina. He was a native of Virginia, a brother of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, and had long been connected with the venerable William and Mary College in Virginia; a man of fine scholarship, quaint humor, and presenting many of the characteristics of the clergy of a former generation.

The income of the University derived from tuition fees was larger for 1886-87 than for any previous year, amounting to $19,401.91.

The terms for which the vice chancellor and professors had been elected having expired, Rev. Dr. Hodgson was reelected vice chancellor for five years. Gen. E. Kirby Smith to the chair of mathematics, Prof. B. L. Wiggins to the chair of ancient languages, Prof. F. M. Page to the chair of modern languages, Rev. F. A. Shoup to the chair of engineering and physics, Prof. Cameron Piggot, M. D., to the chair of chemistry, Mr. Greenough White to the chair of English, etc., Prof. W. P. DuBose, D. D., to the chair of exegesis, Rev. Thos. F. Gailor, chaplain and professor of ecclesiastical history, J. W. Weber, master - of the grammar school, and Professor Shoup to the chair of metaphysics, vacated by Rev. Dr. Wilmer.

The committee on the grammar school reported to the board that it was manifestly better in every respect than in any former period of its history, and furnished a larger mumber of students and also the larger part of the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 273

revenue for the support of the University. The salaries of all the teachers in the grammar school were raised; the master to receive $1,500 ; first assistant, $1,000 ; second assistant, $600; third, fourth and fifth, $500 each.

Up to this time Rev. Dr. Hodgson had served without a salary, being provided with a clerk. At the session of the board in 1887, he was placed on the salary list at $1,500 per annum.

The board invited to a seat Col. C. T. Pollard, of Mont- gomery, Ala., who was present thirty years previous at the meeting at Lookout Mountain, as a trustee from Alabama. Colonel Pollard was one of the most earnest of the laymen connected with the early organization of the University, and the meeting of the board, in 1867, was held at his residence in Montgomery, Ala.

The Rt. Rev. Robert W. B. Elliott was present at Sewanee during the meeting of the board, prostrated with a long continued and severe illness, and died at Sewanee August 26, 1887, at the age of forty-seven. He was a worthy son of the first Bishop of Georgia, and was elevated to the Episcopate as bishop of the missionary jurisdiction of. Western Texas on November 15, 1874, at the early age of thirty-four. A beautiful Celtic cross, erected by loving friends elsewhere, marks his grave in the Sewanee cemetery.

The number of students enrolled for the year 1887-88 was 333, the largest number enrolled up to that time.

Mr. Greenough White, having resigned the chair of English languages and literature, Prof. W. P. Trent was elected for the unexpired term. First Lieut. E. Webster, U. S. A., was detailed as instructor in tactics by the war

274 HISTORY OF THE

department, in succession to Lieutenant Dowdy.

Rev. A. A. Benton, D. D., was elected to the chair of systematic divinity, vacated by the resignation of Dr. Wilmer.

In the spring of 1889, Mr. J. W. Weber, master of the grammar school, met with a painful accident on the rail- road, which incapacitated him for several months for attention to his duties and caused his resignation in 1888. Mr. John Gadsden, of South Carolina, was elected by the board as his successor.

The library having been largely increased, was in part transferred, in 1888, to the upper portion of Convocation Hall. The chapel was considerably enlarged during 1888, being the ninth enlargement since the original structure was erected in 1867 with a capacity for seating about seventy persons. With the enlargement it now has a seating capacity of from 700 to 800.

The convocation house and tower were completed at an outlay of $29,250. The funds provided and used in its erection were derived: $2,560 from Mrs. Gould of Augusta, given for a gymnasium; $2,000 by Mr. W. B. Miller of Memphis for the same purpose; $4,850 from Miss Florence Miller for a convocation house; $10,000 from Mr. Breslin of New York, for the Breslin Memorial Tower, and the remainder from a large number of contri- butors towards a fund for the erection of a new chapel, and of which the building was intended to form a part. The inscription placed within the Breslin Tower is aa follows :

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 275

This tower is erected in memory of

Lucy, Daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Breslin,

Waterford, N. Y.

Born March 20th, 1865. Died May 1st, 1876. Her loving touch upon the world Finds feeble echo in this stone.

The baccalaureate sermon for commencement 1889 was delivered by the Et. Rev. J. S. Johnston, D. D., of Western Texas, and the commencement oration was delivered by the Hon. Benton McMillan of Tennessee.

276 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXVI.

Several theological scholarships founded — Unsatisfactory finan- cial condition — Gift of D. V. Walsh of $20,000 for an aca- demic hall — Plans adopted for same — Questions settled as to a demand for a vote by orders — Remarks upon the proposed plans for the University buildings.

1889 - 1890.

AT THE annual meeting of the board in August the rice chancellor reported that Mrs. C. M. Manigault, now of Brighton, England, had founded another scholarship in the theological department by the gift of f 5,000, to be filled on the nomination of the bishop of South Carolina, being the second scholarship founded by her.

The ninth statute of the University, relative to degrees and honors of the University, was very materially amended in 1889.

Mrs. Isabella Barnwell, of Nashville, Tenn., provided by will for the founding of a scholarship in the theological department upon the nomination of the bishop of Ten- nessee. The fund, on May 1, 1889, amounted to $6,045.

Mr. Lewis J. Fleming, a trustee from the diocese of Florida, died during the epidemic of yellow fever in Jacksonville, Fla., in September, 1888, of which due notice and appropriate memorial resolutions were passed by the board, as also in reference to the death of Bishop R. W. B. Elliott, of Western Texas.

Kev. J. A. VanHoose, of Alabama, founded, in 1889, a medal for German in the University.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 277

Mr. Charles Dudley Warner, editor of Harpers Maga- zine, delivered an admirable address during commence- ment week, 1889, before the literary societies of the University. The board of trustees conferred the degree of D. C. L. on Mr. Warner.

The committee on buildings and lands stated that they deemed it of great importance that suitable tenants should be induced to take leases of lots on the domain, that but a small portion of the land was then under lease, and that not the most desirable for occupation. That there were thousands of fine building sites which might be occupied for summer residences, and where attractive homes might be built, which would add security to the future of the University, and bring refined and cultivated families annually to Sewanee, and the income from the lease of which would greatly help the financial condition of the University. That encourage- ment should be given to persons desirous of making homes here, liberality should be exercised in laying out lots, both as to extent of area and location, and facilities given for convenient access. That, moreover, it was desirable that the residents on the mountain should be less con- nected with the immediate vicinity of our school buildings and boarding houses. That plats of grounds open for lease should be provided and be readily had, and some means provided for enabling persons to examine such grounds.

The committee expressed the undoubtedly wise warning that we could not be too careful in preserving our forest growth, so absolutely essential to such utilization for residence purposes, that no petty amount received for

278 HISTORY OF THE

timber, bark, or cross-ties could make up for the irrepara- ble damage to the future use of our domain, besides the recognized danger of destroying our water supply by the denudation of our domain of its forest growth.

Should these pages be placed in print, some reader, not very many years from now, in this next century, will wonder that considerations of such very obvious import- ance did not impress themselves more fully upon those in authority in the earlier history of the University. For the preservation of this magnificent domain no pains nor expense should have been or should now be spared, no officer is more needed than a faithful commissioner of buildings and lands, devoting his whole time and atten- tion and skill to the improvement and preservation of this great natural park, susceptible of being made second in beauty to any artificial and costly work of the kind in this country. Think of the magnificent setting and surroundings the University could have when all this splendid domain, comprising every feature of natural beauty, should become a great park miles in extent, traversed with meandering walks and drives, rustic seats and shelters, flowing fountains, arboretuins of choice trees and shrubs, its pebbly streams bordered with ferns and aquatic plants, and all that embellishes nature with nature's own gifts.

There was a falling off of the students in 1888-89, and a still further decline in 1889-90, when the number was 289. There was also an unsatisfactory financial condi- tion, increased expenditures and diminished income. The efforts to procure an endowment had been but partially successful in actual results so far as permanent

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 279

funds were concerned. The commissioner of endowment, Silas McBee, Esq., reported, in 1890, the amount of notes, subscriptions and cash as reported in 1889, $35,260. Amount of subscriptions secured, August, 1889, to December, 1889, f 2,618.10; January, 1890, to August, 1891 (of which D. V. Walsh, $20,000), $22,264.55, making $60,142.55. That he had collected $15,813.89, of which D. V. Walsh had paid, on account of memorial building, $7,500; leaving about $5,000 to go into permanent fund, which included $1,573 of University bonds. Mr. McBee was an active and energetic commissioner, and probably accomplished as much as any layman could have done. The principal result of his labors was the securing from Colonel Walsh a gift of twenty thousand dollars to be expended in erecting an academic building as a memorial to his daughter. Plans were made for a building of Sewanee sandstone to be three stories high, 165 feet long and 40 feet in width. This building was to form a part of a group of buildings to be a quadrangle, similar to Queens College, Oxford. The plans were prepared by Mr. Nixon, of Atlanta, and Mr. Silas McBee.

At the meeting of the board, August, 1890, only the bishops of Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida were present. The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rev. W^m. K. Huntingdon, D. D., of Grace Church, New York.

The executive committee reported that they had authorized the application of the $20,000 contributed by Colonel Walsh to the erection of a college building, and that the work of construction had begun. The subject of the approval of the plans of Messrs. Nixon and McBee

280 HISTORY OF THE

was considered by the committee on buildings and lands, a majority of whom reported a resolution that the plans and specifications submitted by Messrs. Nixon and McBee for the academic building be recommended to the board of trustees for adoption. Rev. Thos. Atkinson and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, members of the committee, presented a minority report objecting to the acceptance of the plans from Messrs. Nixon and McBee, because their adoption would be a departure from the plans of the founders adopted in 1860. That the proposed location of the building was unsuitable, the space too limited, either for the proposed one building, or still more for a group of buildings, besides the fact that the board had already appropriated the site to a new chapel, the plans for which had been furnished and paid for. The proposed group of buildings was also objected to on account of the great danger of destruction by fire, which, should it happen, would carry with it our library, papers, chapel, etc., and the insurance on which would be a heavy charge. That there was but $20,000 in hand to look to, and that any action which should pledge the board to a whole scheme of buildings, including the expenditure of a very large sum of money, would be unwise and premature. That inasmuch as we have an unlimited and unembarrassed area of ground in the vicinity of St. Lukes and Convoca- tion Hall, ample in extent, suitable for a single building or, if hereafter required, a group of buildings, it would be wiser to limit ourselves to the simple question of a suitable location for a building to cost $20,000, and leave to our successors the expansion of plans for the future. That we should leave what is now unnecessarv to be acted

UNIVERSITY Of THE SOUTH. 281

upon to our successors in our trust, and not forestall their liberty of action in the future. That it was unwise for trustees to incur obligations for which others are to provide. They offered a resolution limiting the cost to $20,000, and that the building should be located on the drill ground near Tremlett Hall.

The vice chancellor, Dr. Hodgson, was heard on invita- tion, expressing dissent from the proposed plan of Messrs. Nixon and McBee, and Mr. McBee in its favor. Judge Lurton offered three resolutions as a substitute for those of the majority and minority, adopting the plans of Messrs. Nixon and McBee, subject to future modifica- tion, authorizing the executive committee to erect the proposed academic building adjoining Convocation Hall when there was sufficient subscription to ensure its completion, or facts justifying confidence in completing it without incurring debt. Dr. Cheshire moved to amend so that the board should adopt the plan including a change of site. Mr. Fairbanks demanded a vote by orders on this amendment. The bishop of Florida questioned the right of a single member to demand a vote by orders. The chancellor ruled that the demand for the vote by orders from a single member was in order. The bishop of Florida appealed from the ruling of the chair. Rev. Dr. Dalzell, of Louisiana, demanded a vote by orders, and moved that the appeal from the ruling of the chair be laid on the table. The ayes and noes were called, and resulted in sixteen ayes and eleven noes, the decision of the chair being sustained. Had there not been consider- able feeling in reference to the subject under considera- tion (the adoption of the Nixon and McBee plans) it i»

282 HISTORY OF THE

not probable that upon a dispassionate consideration of the right of a single member to demand a vote by orders there would have been any question. The constitution provides (Article 2), that the board of trustees shall be composed of the bishops and assistant bishops of certain dioceses therein named, and of one clergyman and two laymen from each of said dioceses. The charter names certain persons as trustees, and constitutes) them and their successors a body corporate. The board of trustees is therefore a body corporate and not a convention of delegates. It is a corporation under the control of trustees duly elected to said office, and by the charter has perpetual succession and a common seal. Each trustee has the same power and privileges as any other trustee, his vote counts the same whether he be a bishop, clerical or lay trustee. The clerical and lay trustees are elected from the dioceses, but do not possess the power to act in conjunction with their co-trustees elected from the same diocese, but individually and separately ; no trus- tee is amenable to or under the control of any other trus- tee. The constitution makes but one provision as to the manner of voting (unless a vote of orders is demanded) : a majority of the votes cast determines the question, but it is provided that a vote by orders may be demanded, and the joint consent of the bishops as one order, and of the clerical and lay trustees as another order shall be necessary for the adoption of the measure proposed.

It follows that as each trustee has at all times and in every respect the same power and rights as any other trustee that, if one bishop can demand a vote by orders, it is equally the right of a clerical or lay trustee to

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 283

demand such a vote. The right of a single member to demand such a vote had never before been questioned, although such demand had been, several times previously, made at former meetings of the board. The question may be considered as settled, but its being raised and supported by so large a minority indicates how a plain question, when tacked on to some other question, may be wrongly viewed for the moment. It is difficult to conceive what reasons could be advanced for the view of the minority if it is admitted that it is a meeting of corporate and equal members of a legal body.

The amendment proposed by Dr. Cheshire, "including a change of site" of the proposed building, was laid on the table, and the board proceeded to vote on the resolu- tion proposed by Mr. Lurton adopting plans of Messrs. Nixon and McBee, subject to future modification. A vote by orders being demanded by Mr. Fairbanks and Rev. Dr. Dalzell resulted: affirmative — bishops of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, 3 ; negative — bishops of Texas and Tennessee, 2; clerical, ayes, Rev. Messrs. VanHoose, Kershaw, Knight, Powers, DeRossett, Grey, Benton and Sessums, 8; Messrs. Noble, Miller, McCracken, Harrison, Hughes, Simrall, Lurton, Aubrey and Finley, 9. Nos, Rev. Messrs. Cheshire, Dalzell, Atkinson, Messrs. Fairbanks, McNeal and Hampton. Total vote clerical and lay, ayes, 17; noes, 6.

The bishop of Georgia said, at the time, that he was unwilling to cast his vote so as to defeat the wishes of a majority of the board, although his opinion was not in accord with theirs. The matter really at issue was the setting aside of the former plans of the founders, and

284 HISTORY OF THE

also those of Dr. Hodgson, in reference to the chapel group, to consist of Convocation House and a new chapel which had been approved and adopted at previous meet- ings of the board. The architects, Messrs. Nixon and McBee, presented to the board a very elaborate and beautiful plan, in perspective, of a quadrangle, Gothic in style of architecture, comprising an academic building and a gymnasium on the north, a central tower of similar design to the founder's tower at Magdalen, Oxford, flanked by academic buildings on each side ; a chapel on the south side of the quadrangle, with a reproduction of the tower and spire of St. Marys, Oxford, and a cloister of Gothic arches extending along the whole front of the quadrangle. The plan was attractive to the eye, and although only $20,000 had then been given towards the construction of one academic building, the board decided to adopt the location for the academic building with no definite accept- ance of anything beyond, and the Walsh Memorial build- ing was the result, the actual cost of which, so far as completed, without the cloister to connect it with the Convocation House, was about $35,000.

The plan of an Oxford quadrangle was, in the opinion of the writer and of others, not suited to the University of the South, not suited to the locality or to the climate. It seemed to be the importation of an exotic idea, utterly opposed to the ideas, plans and expectations of the founders of the University, and either too large and expensive for a single department, or inadequate to meet the future expansion of the University. The engraved picture of the quadrangle has been printed and exhibited in our publications, in newspaper articles and otherwise,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 285

but no further step has yet been taken towards the con- struction of any other portion of the plan. To carry it out would require the gift of large sums of money which, however much hoped for, can hardly be anticipated will be given by any individual for the entire work, and which will not likely be furnished by any of those desirous of erecting memorial buildings if their gift is to be aggregated with others, and not as an individual gift for a separate building.

The future will show which views are correct, those expressed by these remarks, or indicated by the quadrangle plan of Messrs. Nixon and McBee. Mr. Nixon died in Atlanta in 1896, and Mr. McBee is now, at this writing, editor of the New York Churchman. He has done very much to make the University known throughout the United States by his unflagging zeal and energy in its behalf. As a prominent officer of the St. Andrews Brotherhood, Mr. McBee has rendered most valuable and efficient services to the cause of religion, anjj few men of his age are so well known in the walks of art, religion and literature as Mr. McBee.

286 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXVII.

Resignation of Rev. Dr. Hodgson as vice chancellor — Election of Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, D. D., as vice chancellor — The ques- tion of an ample water supply considered — Resignation of Professor Page from chair of modern languages, and election of Prof. B. W. Wells, Ph. D., to that chair — Organization of the medical department — School of commerce and trade.

1890 - 1892.

THE baccalaureate sermon at the commencement of 1890 was preached by the Eev. Dr. W. R. Huntingdon, the distinguished rector of Grace Church, New York.

At the session of the board of trustees in 1890 Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., resigned the position of vice chancellor, to which he had been elected in 1882, and again in 1887, and by his financial assistance had greatly aided the University at a critical period of its history. The board recognized Dr. Hodgson's important and valuable service in a communication addressed to him, August 7, 1890, as follows:

"The board of trustees of the University of the South, in accepting your resignation of the office of vice chan- cellor, which you have held for many years, desire to say that they cannot sever a connection which has endured for so long a time without being deeply affected.

"They recognize the fact that you have ever had the

welfare of the University near your heart, and have

labored faithfully and conscienciously for the best inter-

. ests of this institution. You gave your services for several

Rt. Rev. THOMAS F. GAILOR, S. T. D.

Bishop of Tennessee? Fourth Vice Chancellcr

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 287

years without compensation. You contributed, from time to time, of your private means, and have repeatedly advanced sums to meet deficiencies, waiting patiently for reimbursement by the action of this board.

"We are gratified to learn that you will continue to reside here, as dean of the theological faculty, and take an active interest in the work of this institution ; and we desire to assure you of our best wishes for your prosperity and our prayers for God's blessing upon yourself and all those who are dear to you."

Dr. Hodgson expressed his willingness to retain his position as dean of the theological department.

Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Gailor was elected vice chancellor for the unexpired term of two years created by the resignation of Eev. Dr. Hodgson, and was duly inaugu- rated with appropriate ceremonies in St. Augustines chapel. The number of students enrolled, 1889-90, wlas 280, fifteen less than the previous year and fifty-three less than in 1887-88.

The Rev. M. M. B'enton was elected assistant professor of engineering and physics, and also as proctor and registrar, and Mr. R. M. DuBose, treasurer and commis- sioner of buildings and lands.

On January 21, 1891, Rev. H. M. Jackson, D. D., was consecrated assistant bishop of Alabama, and on June 24, 1891, the Rev. Davis Sessums was consecrated assist- ant bishop of Louisiana, the first alumnus of the Univer- sity to be advanced to that office.

The Rev. John W. Beckwith, D. D., bishop of Georgia, died at Atlanta on the 23d of November, 1890. Bishop Beckwith was consecrated m 1868, in succession to the

28S HISTORY OF THE

Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, first bishop of Georgia, and was regarded as one of the most eloquent preachers of the house of bishops.

The committee in charge of the erection of the Walsh Memorial building reported that they had made a con- tract for same to be erected for the sum of $29,089.16, exclusive of the heating and furnishing of the building, which it was estimated would cost $4,000 additional; that they had no assurance beyond the $20,000 given by Col. V. D. Walsh, that they had expended for traveling and incidental expenses, $466.31.

The board resolved that the next building in the plan for a quadrangle shall be a gymnasium, but if there was no prospect of the completion of such gymnasium at an early day the vice chancellor and the executive committee were instructed to proceed to the construction of a temporary building for athletic exercises so soon as they could secure the funds to pay for it, and that, as soon as another building was provided, the apparatus of the gymnasium should be removed to it, and the room now occupied by the gymnasium should be fitted up for library purposes and so used.

Some changes were directed to be made in the form and conditions of leases, not materially altering the provi- sions adopted in 1870. A proposition was brought for- ward to amend the constitution, so as to allow all the bishops, assistant bishops or coadjutors a vote. The committee on constitution and statutes reported adversely on the ground that it would impair the equalization of clerical and lay trustees intended to exist permanently in the organization of the board. The report of the com-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 28*

mittee was sustained by a vote by orders, a majority of each order voting affirmatively.

The subject of a water supply was brought forward by the committee on sanitary measures. The entire dependence of the residents of Sewanee is on cisterns, springs and wells. The springs are generally too distant for most of the residents, long droughts exhaust the cisterns of those who have any, and the usual open well, sunk to the distance of twenty to thirty feet, goes dry after a long drought. The permanent springs do not sensibly fall off in their supply, but they are scattered and their waters cannot easily be stored. It Was estimated that Polk, Otey, Green and Curtis springs would, together, furnish about 1,500 gallons per hour and, if stored in one reservoir, would give 36,000 gallons per diem. It was proposed to organize a company for the construction of a system of waterworks, and a com- mittee for that purpose was appointed and empowered to act. Rev. J. A. VanHoose, an alumnus, of Alabama, took great interest in the subject, and made a special report on the subject. It was not found practicable, at that time, to organize a company or to obtain the necessary funds by issue of bonds of the water supply company. The matter continued to be discussed, but no progress was made under the plan proposed. Some interesting experiments were made by private parties in sinking bored wells: a five-inch bore, from thirty-five to fifty feet, generally exhibited a supply of very cold water coming to within twenty to thirty feet of the surface. A bathing tank was built in the ravine below Otey Spring, of the capacity of 63,000 gallons, and was easily fillet

290 HISTORY OF THE

in two or three days from the Otey and Polk Springs. The hydraulic ram was tried at both the Polk and Otey Springs, but was not reliable enough to be satisfactory, especially as only 10 per cent of the water was available to supply a limited amount of water. Finally, in 1896-97, the stone bathing tank was covered and converted into a reservoir, and a tank of the capacity of 5,000 gallons was placed on Breslin tower, and filled by a pumping engine of the capacity of 6,000 gallons per hour, supplying from there water to Walsh Hall, the gymnasium baths, St. Lukes Hall, the supply store and the grammar school dormitory, besides a supply to eight families. A dam was thrown across the ravine below Green and Curtis Springs in 1897, through the efforts of Rev. Mr. Guerry, for a bathing pool. A very large spring, called Elliott Spring, not on but very near the University domain, exists about three miles south of the University buildings, having a capacity of 1,300 to 1,500 gallons per hour. If it was expedient to make use of that in connection with the springs near by a supply of 75,000 gallons per day could be obtained, which would be ample for many years. The bored wells and springs are supposed to be supplied by the gradual permeating through the sandstone rock of the winter and spring rains. There seems to be no other reasonable hypothesis, as no higher ranges exist in the vicinity.

Royal purple was adopted at this time as the official color of the University, afterwards changed to purple and gold. The separation of the grammar school from the University proper was again the subject of considera- tion, and the executive committee was instructed to

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 291

confer with the hebdomadal board. Among the sugges- tions made was. one to abolish the grammar school altogether, and provide one or more popular courses which might take into the University older and more advanced pupils of the grammar school.

The baccalaureate sermon, in 1891, was preached by the Kev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D., dean of The General Theologi- cal Seminary in New York, and the commencement oration was delivered by Henry Watterson, Esq., of Kentucky, the distinguished editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The number of students enrolled during the year, 1890-91, was 248, a still further falling off from the year preced- ing.

Prof. F. M. Page resigned the chair of modern lan- guages at the close of lent term, 1891, and Mr. B. W. Wells, Ph. D. D., was elected to that chair. Dr. Wells was a great acquisition to the faculty of the University, both for his special qualification as an instructor of modern languages and also for his ability in the domain of letters.

The Kev. C. Kinlock Nelson, D. D., was consecrated bishop of Georgia, on February 24, 1892. Rev. T. F. Gailor, S. T. D., vice chancellor, had been elected to that office, but had declined such election.

During the spring of 1892 the medical department was organized with Dr. H. W. Blanc, an alumnus of the University, as dean, assisted by Doctors Cain, Buist, Miller, Witherspoon, Piggott, Wood, Wilson and Hanley. But seven medical students were enrolled the first year. Thompson Hall was assigned to the use of the medical department. Mr. V. D. Walsh supplemented his donation for the Walsh memorial building with the further sum of

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$8,745, for the completion of the building, and $4,500 for the heating and furnishing of the same, making the total sum contributed by him for that building, $33,245.

It was completed in 1892, and occupied by the academic department for class rooms. It contains also the society halls of the Pi Omega and Sigma Epsilon Literary Society, a large assembly room (afterwards used for a library and reading room), and vice chancellor's official office. Built of Sewanee stone, three stories in height, 165 feet in length, it forms now one of the principal buildings, of the University. It requires the construction of the stone cloisters on the west end and south side to give it an architectural completeness and proper propor- tion. Moreover, as it now stands, with its comparatively narrow west end to the avenue, it loses much of the effect it would have had if built facing the avenue.

Although much care was exercised to secure from the contractors (the Pittsburg Construction Co.) a good and reliable bond, it turned out that the contractors, when the building was finished, had received the entire amount of their stipulated contract, but were in debt to material men and others upward of $5,000, for which suits were brought against the building, and also a claim by subcontractor, resulting in the obtaining of a judgment against the University of upwards of $4,000, which could not be made, at the time, out of the bonds- men of the contractors, and was paid by a gift from Geo. W. Quintard, Esq., of New York, in 1896, to the Univer- sity treasurer for that purpose.

The baccalaureate sermon, in 1892, was delivered by the Rt. Rev. C. K. Nelson, bishop of Georgia, the commence- ment oration by the Hon. Chief Justice Logan E. Bleckley, of Georgia.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 293

In May, 1892, information was given to the executive committee that Mrs. Mary W. Tustin, late of Grand Rapids, Mich., had, on the 20th of July, 1891, made a will bequeathing to the theological department of the University of the South the remainder of her estate, real and personal, which it was estimated would amount to about the sum of |25,000. Mr. McKee, executor of Mrs. Tustin's will, was present at the meeting of the board in August, and Mr. Z. D. Harrison was appointed as agent and attorney of the University to look after such bequest.

In 1892 Mr. Frederic Hubbard, of New York, made a gift of |20,000 to the theological department, the interest on which should be devoted to the maintenance and care of the theological department under the control of the dean thereof. The fund was accordingly invested so as to produce an annual income of $1,200.

During the same year Mrs. J. H. M. Clinch, of Savannah, Ga., established two additional scholarships of $5,000 each in the theological department, making three such scholarships, to be entitled the Walburg Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the board of trustees. Tha reception of these substantial tokens of interest in its welfare and confidence in its future afforded much matter of congratulation to those interested in the University. It was felt that no department was so necessary as the theological department, and that its strength and growth meant strength and growth for the University; that when the larger portion of the parishes of the South were filled with men educated at Sewanee the church would recognize and feel how important to

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its well-being is Sewanee, and what it stands for, and that the influence of the Sewanee-trained clergy could not but have a most beneficial effect in sending to the Univer- sity the sons of their parishoners, and creating an interest in its behalf.

To meet the views of those who desired a business education, the school of commerce and trade was organized. The tendency of the present age to seek independence on the part of the young, and to become wage earners at as early an age as possible, has caused a great development of what are termed "business colleges,'7 useful, no doubt, for a technical training in the forms and methods of business, bookkeeping, stenography, typewriting, etc., but calculated to induce young men to seek and be contented with a one-sided and narrow train- ing, looking to material instead of moral and intellectual ends. Our University should, as far as possible, counter- act this tendency by combining as well as may be the intellectual with a business training for those who desire mainly the latter.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 295

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The constitution amended providing for the election of chancellor — Reservation of grounds from lease — Purchase of University Hotel property — Death of Gen. E. Kirby Smith — Tribute to the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. C. L., bishop of Tennessee — The Tustin Fund for use of the theological department — Establishment of the law department — Completion of Walsh Memorial Hall — Consecration of the Rev. T. P. Gailor as bishop coadjutor of Tennessee — Death of Bishop Gregg — Election of Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley as chancellor.

1893.

REV. ELLISON CAPERS, D. D., was consecrated assistant bishop of South Carolina on July 20, 1893. The consti- tution was, on the recommendation of the committee on constitution and statutes, amended, providing for the election of chancellor for the term of six years, which was confirmed the following year. The board adopted a resolution making certain reservations for the general purposes of the University, for buildings, grounds, and parks, according to a schedule and plat prepared and presented to the executive committee by Mr. G. R. Fair- banks, embracing the triangular piece of ground bounded by University Avenue and Polk Avenue as far as the Tomlinson Place, and including Atkinson Spring, to be known as Polk Park. Also the grounds lying between the Lovell Place on south, the supply store and Jones Place, to be known as Elliott Park. Also the chapel grounds, the grounds of Walsh Memorial and convocation house, and thence north to a point 290 feet beyond the Sewanee

29$ HISTORY OF THE

baseball grounds. Also the circle around the corner- stone, the Hardee baseball grounds and the cemetery. Also all views subject to exceptions which may be made by the board of trustees. All springs, and ground within a circle of a radius of fifty feet. Also the ravine above and below Polk Spring to the Hodgson leased grounds.

In the theological department Rev. Dr. Benton was elected as acting professor, and Mr. John Gadsden acting master of the grammar school, which he declined and Mr. R. M. Huse was elected as his successor. Mr. Gadsden, from causes beyond his control, had been unable to bring the grammar school up to the desired require- ments. The existing condition of mingling grammar school students in boarding houses with University students had militated against the carrying into effect proper discipline, and rendered the master helpless in enforcing it.

In April, 1892, the University purchased the University Hotel property for the sum of $5,000, including its furniture and appurtenances. The hotel, as has before been mentioned, was acquired by the University Hotel Company in 1883. It then consisted only of the Phelan residence which had been somewhat enlarged, later the Dunbar school building was purchased, moved across the street and built up into a two-story building and named Virginia Cottage, but Samuel G. Jones, for some time treasurer of the University, was the prime mover in the hotel enterprise. Later Gen. E. Kirby Smith and Dr. J. W. Arnold furnished about $5,000 each, and the hotel was enlarged to three times its original capacity, the large two-story house across the street, known as the Gotten

VXIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 297

Souse, was used as an annex. The first year or two the hotel made a profit for its stockholders. Afterwards it made no profit and then began to lose money. In 1886, Colonel Jones died suddenly and the property deteriorated so that, in 1891, it went into the hands of a receiver who sold it out for the sum above named. The opportunity was thus afforded by this purchase of separating the grammar school boys from the University students and placing them in a dormitory. The hotel was accordingly fitted up for this purpose, and the grammar school localized by itself. It was not such a location as was desired, but it was the best arrangement which could be made under the circumstances, and proved to be a wise investment, solving in great part the most serious obstacle to the well- being of the grammar school. A committee appointed to find a proper location in future selected the premises known as the Tomlinson Place, which seemed to present the most advantages. Rev. Dr. A. A. Benton, professor of systematic divinity, having been elected only acting professor, at this meeting of the board, declined the posi- tion, which was filled by the election of the Rev. W. T. Manning, B. D. Mr. W. B. Nauts was elected assistant professor of ancient languages, and Rev. Dr. Gailor was reelected chaplain.

Much annoyance was experienced by the authorities of the University in consequence of extensive encroachments and trespasses upon the University domain by parties (W. S. Bennett and others) claiming to have some kind of title to lands within the exterior lines of the domain, especially in the western portion. After an official survey under the direction of Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, former

298 HISTORY OF THE

commissioner of buildings and lands, suits by injunction were instituted against all the trespassers and, finally, made perpetual. The trespasses, however, had been extensive, and compensation was not attainable. The injury will be long felt in the destruction of thousands oi trees and the encumbrance of dead tops and unsightly stumps.

Just after the opening of the Lent term, 1893, Gen. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics, died at his home in Sewanee. He had been in impaired health for a year or two previously, but, suffering as he was, reported for duty a few days before his death. Vice Chancellor Gailor, in his report to the board of trustees, in August, 1893, pays this just tribute to his character : "No name in the records of the internal administration of the University shall shine with a purer lustre than his. He had the love and respect of every student and professor. He was ever the loyal, unselfish friend of Sewanee, an efficient officer, a devoted churchman, a noble, high-minded Christian gentleman." He was born at St. Augustine, Fla., in the year 1824, and at the time of his death was sixty-nine years of age, but until shortly before his illness had been unusually active and energetic.

At the diocesan council of Tennessee in May, 1893, Rev. Dr. Gailor was elected bishop coadjutor of that diocese, and had signified his acceptance.

On the 10th of July, 1893, Bishop Alexander Gregg, fifth chancellor of the University, died at Austin, Texas. The board of trustees entered upon their minutes the following just tribute :

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 29 1

"Bishop Gregg became identified with, this University before its brighter prospects were blighted by the war between the states, and upon the return of peace he joined in with enthusiasm to help build it up. Sewanee was always in his- heart, and no visitation with him was complete without a word in its favor. His devotion to this University was a most conspicuous factor in his life, because of the deep conviction that its work and the work of the church are one."

Eleven bishops were present at the meeting of the board in 1893. It was the quarter centenary of the opening of the University, and was unusually well attended. Bishop Quintard presided at the opening of the session as acting chancellor, and made a statement relative thereto declin- ing to have his own name considered in the election which, under the provisions of the amendment to Article 4, required an election of the chancellor for a term of six years. Bishop Quintard nominated Bishop Dudley, of Kentucky, as chancellor, the ballot being taken by orders. The bishop of Kentucky was elected. Bishop Quintard announced his own retirement from active participation in the deliberations of the board. A minute was adopted expressing their regret at the announcement. After speaking of his most unselfish and faithful leader- ship in the past and of the grateful memory entertained of his illustrious services to the University, they say they cannot refrain from here recording the fact that this institution owes its actual existence to the courageous faith and invincible zeal of the bishop of Tennessee, when its resuscitation from the disaster of the war seemed an impossibility, and the further fact that through subse-

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quent years the largest proportion of its material growth and a most powerful factor in its whole development are due to the same devotion and ability which virtually established the institution. "If the projectors of the University of the South, held as they are, and deservedly, in consecrated memory, are to be regarded as God's instru- ments in the development of a mighty educational design alike precious to church and fatherland, equally are we to hold and reverence the bishop of Tennessee as a chosen instrument of God in the achievement of this plan, and equally also we realize that his name must be perpetuated through all generations as one of its most blessed bene- factors."

A settlement of the whole matter of the bequest of Mrs. Mary W. Tustin having been made through the judicious efforts of Z. D. Harrison, Esq., and the sum received amounting to the sum of f28,808.08, the board adopted a resolution pledging the faith of the University to the payment of $1,500 per annum, estimated as a reasonable interest on said sum, to the treasurer of the theological department to be applied to the payment of salaries of professors in that department.

This action caused much discussion in the board, some persons insisting that, it being given for the benefit of the theological department, it should be invested in outside securities as an independent trust fund. It was held on the other hand that the fund had been given to the University for the use of its theological department, and was under no special restriction as to its control, investment and management, and that the action proposed was in full accordance with the purpose of its donor,

Rt. Rev. ELLISON CAPERS, D. D.

Bishop of South Carolina j Seventh Chancellor of the University.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 301

securing its use for the support of the theological depart- ment. That the security was ample and that there could be no charge of any breach of trust so long as there was a faithful payment of the amount estimated as such fair interest on the amount of the gift. The board sustained the latter view and directed that this gift should be designated and known thereafter as the "Tustin Memorial Fund," and the treasurer should keep a separate account of the fund and disburse it as might be directed by the board of trustees. There has always been in the board a strong sentiment as to the invest- ment and use of funds given to the University, and a feeling that it was safer to invest upon the security obtainable outside than the security of our own obliga- tions. This, it seems to the writer, is a question of expediency and of what is at the time for the best interests of the University, and the board of trustees or its executive committee can best decide the practical question before them where no limitation or direction accompanies the benefaction. This view has been held by the members of the board most familiar with business affairs and legal and equitable considerations. Mr. Johns Hopkins, of Baltimore, made a very large gift for the founding of the Johns Hopkins University in that city. He accompanied this gift with the restriction that the University should not dispose or alienate the stock of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which was given for such endowment. This stock was then in high favor and commanded a premium and paid good dividends. A few years later, after the death of its able president, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became involved in financial

302 HISTORY OF THE

difficulties, suspended the payment of dividends, and left the Johns Hopkins University in great straits to carry on its work. A similar trouble has embarrassed the Lehigh University for a similar cause. It is wiser to leave the control and investment of such funds unre- stricted, providing simply for their proper use, taking it for granted that the trustees and custodians, who have the responsibility, will exercise it faithfully and judici- ously. Sentiment, merely, is not a good basis in business affairs.

The year 1893 witnessed the establishment of the law school with the appointment of Burr J. Ramage, Esq., as dean.

The Walsh Memorial Hall was reported as complete and ready for occupation, and was occupied in the Trinity term, 1893. The building committee, consisting of Prof Wiggins, Bishop Gray and Rev. Mr. VanHoose, reported that the amount disbursed on original contract was $28,745.00

For steam heating and water pipes 2,625.00

Extras, including furniture 3,710.12

Making the total cost in cash paid out $35,089.12

It should be here stated, however, that the additional sum of $4,500 was paid by the University to extinguish a contractor's lien, thus bringing up the cost to $39,600.

Of this sum Col. V. D. Walsh gave $34,245 and rebate on freight given by the North Carolina & St. Louis Railroad, through Colonel Thomas, $1,300. The Univer- sity has since paid the judgment for contractors' liens

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 303

of |4,280.02, which, added to the |35,080.12 previously paid, makes the cost of Walsh Memorial Hall and furniture, etc., $39,360.14, about double the amount orig- inally proposed to be given by Colonel Walsh for this purpose. The whole labor and work of the building com- mittee devolved upon Prof. B. L. Wiggins, who brought to the laborious work a very high degree of technical skill and judicious management. Upon the west end of the building a tablet of Tennessee marble has been placed with the following inscription :

Walsh Memorial Hall.

Erected by V. D. Walsh of Louisiana.

In loving memory of his daughter,

Susan Jessie. September 18, 1890.

The bishop coadjutor of Tennessee, vice chancellor of the University, was consecrated on the 25th of July, 1893, in St. Augustines chapel. The sermon was preached by the Et. Kev. Geo. F. Seymour, D.D., LL.D., bishop of Springfield. The sermon, a notable one, was published with notes and has taken its place as a standard exposition of the church's faith and doctrine.

The consecration of Bishop Gailor was the first con- secration of a bishop which had ever taken place at Sewanee and was a notable event from the number of bishops and clergy present, and from its connection with the University in the consecration to the office of a bishop^ of its chaplain and vice chancellor.

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CHAPTER XXIX.

Reorganization and enlargement of the executive committee — Resignation of Rev. T. P. Gailor as vice chancellor — Election of Prof. B. L. Wiggins as vice chancellor — Death of Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., dean of the theological department.

1893 - 1894.

THE impaired health of Bishop Gregg, the chancellor, prevented his being present and presiding at the annual meeting of the trustees in 1892, and Bishop Quintard, next in seniority of those present, presided as acting -chancellor. Bishop Gallaher, of Louisiana, had died on December 7, 1891, greatly regretted. He had been an officer in the Confederate service, was consecrated third bishop of Louisiana on the 5th of February, 1880, and was at the time of his death about fifty- three years of age.

The board of trustees, in August, 1892, placed on record the following just tribute to his memory :

"He was a noble man, fearless and tender, loyal and true. On the field of battle, in the forum, and in the chancel, always and everywhere, he was the champion of the truth, the defender of that committed to his trust, the advocate of that which he believed to be right. Our council chamber misses the melody of his voice, the resist- less impulse of his burning words, the compelling power of his logical reasoning."

Bishop Howe, of South Carolina, was absent from the annual meeting of the board of trustees in 1892 from ill health, and was never able afterwards to be present. Rev.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 305

Dr. Ellison Capers was elected as assistant bishop of South Carolina in 1893. The baccalaureate sermon was preached, in 1893, by the Rt. Rev. W. Stevens Perry, D.D., LL.D., bishop of Iowa, and the commencement oration was delivered by W. M. Polk, M. D., a distin- guished physician, now of New York City, a son of Bishop Leonidas Polk, and author of "The Life of Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General."

A treasurer for the theological department was created by Statute 30. The executive committee was reorganized to consist of three members of each order, bishops, clergy and laity, and the chancellor ex officio, five should consti- tute a quorum, and that three members of the committee should be elected each year.

This was the most important step in the organization of the University. It established a committee of ten, four of whom should be bishops, three clerical and three lay members, and three of the elected number to go out every year, and a new election had for their successors. With the increase of trustees by subdivision of the dioceses the board had become changeable in its annual attendance and somewhat unwieldy, and, as it held only one meeting annually, important matters would necessarily arise which could only be settled by the authority of the board. The whole power of the board being invested ad interim in the executive committee, a quorum of which could ordinarily be assembled when required, the necessary business could be transacted. Indeed, without some such provision the business matters of the corporation would at times suffer great detriment. The committee was made sufficiently large to have the benefit of the opinion of a sufficient

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number, and not too large to be efficient. It would probably be better to simply require a representation of each order on the committee instead of a definite number of each order. The Bt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, bishop coadjutor, resigned the position of vice chancellor, as also that of chaplain of the University, in August, 1893.

The Rev. W. A. Guerry, B. D., was elected chaplain, and Prof. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., was elected vice chancellor to fill out the unexpired term of Bishop Gailor, being four years. Prof. Wiggins and Rev. Mr. Guerry accepted the positions to which they were elected. Prof. B. L. Wiggins, a native of South Carolina and a pupil, for some time, in the Porter Academy at Charleston, came to Sewanee in 1877, and entered the University as a junior, being then seventeen years of age. He was soon advanced to the order of gownsmen and graduated in 1882, having earned the degree of master of arts. He became pro- fessor of ancient languages in 1882, upon the resignation of Prof. Caskie Harrison, to which position he was reelected in 1887 and 1892. He retained his professorship after his election as vice chancellor. He became, in fact as well as in name, the administrative head of the University in all its affairs. Prof. Wiggins had been a most diligent student of Greek, and had supplemented his course at Sewanee by devoting his entire vacation to attending the classes of the eminent Greek scholar, Dr. Basil Gildersleeve of the Johns Hopkins University. He brought to the vice chancellor's office the energy of youth, the training of a well disciplined mind, quick perceptions and prompt action. He is what is well designated as "an all around man." With great capacity for work, unlimited

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 307

endurance, and an enthusiastic devotion to the welfare of the University, he has made an admirable vice chan- cellor, both from the scholastic and business point of view.

The Rev. Greenough White, M. A., B. D., was elected, in 1893, to the chair of ecclesiastical history and church polity, the Eev. W. T. Manning to the chair of systematic divinity, Mr. G. S. Clark was elected adjunct professor of the school of engineering.

Rev. C. M. Beckwith was elected head master of the grammar school and declined the appointment. Mr. R. M. Huse, M. A., was elected to the position.

The committee on degrees, in consideration of the year 1893 being the quarter centenary of the opening of the scholastic work of the University, reported a recommenda- tion for the granting of an unusual number of the honorary degree of doctor of divinity.

On the llth of September, 1893, Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., dean of the theological department, died very suddenly of apoplexy at his home at Sewanee, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. He was a Virginian by birth, and graduated at Princeton in 1859. He entered the general theological seminary in 1860, but soon returned South and served as a Confederate officer on General Wheeler's staff. In 1863 he was ordained deacon, and priest in 1864. During subsequent years he was rector in New Jersey and Maryland, and in 1878 was elected dean of the theological department of the Univer- sity, and vice chancellor 1879 to 1890. To the University he gave the best years of his life, bearing the burden of the work as vice chancellor, treasurer, commissioner of buildings and lands, and dean of the theological depart-

308 HISTORY OF THE

ment. He came to the University at a critical period of its history, and by his personal means and financial standing he was enabled to rescue it from grave diffi- culties, and, what was at the time of very great conse- quence, he reestablished public confidence in its success and stability.

The board of trustees gave expression to their feeling, saying they were glad to "make their recorded minute in honor of the memory of this good man and true priest of God, and to express gratitude for a life so true and faithful, so full of help to men, so unselfish in generositv to the University of the South, so loyal to the faith and Church of God." The board had also to record its sense of their loss in the death of Rt. Rev. Theo. Lyman, bishop of North Carolina, which occurred in December, 1893.

The number of students enrolled for the year, 1892-93, was 275, of whom 24 were in the medical, 11 in the law and 19 in the theological departments.

In January, 1894, Rev. P. A. Shoup, having made arrangements to assume charge of the Columbia Female Institute, tendered his resignation of the chair of mathe- matics, and Mr. Geo. S. Clark assumed the duties of such chair pro temporc, and Rev. Dr. DuBose the chair of metaphysics. The executive committee, in December, 1893, appointed Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., dean of the theological department until the next meeting of the board, when he was duly elected to that position.

The number of students enrolled for the year, 1893-94, was 300, of whom 46 were medical, 16 law and 16 theological, 84 in grammar school, 138 academic.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 309

A commons hall was established during this year for St. Lukes Theological Department, the basement being fitted up for that purpose. It was found that the expense of board for theological students and postulants could be largely reduced by this means, and the plan wrorked satisfactorily — board being furnished at f 12 per month.

The Hill legacy, having been placed under the control of the board, was divided into scholarships for the purpose of educating young men of marked ability. These scholarships to be in the academic department and the holder thereof entitled to receive the proceeds thereof, less charges for tuition.

Under the authority of the board the vice chancellor established a supply store, drugs, stationery, etc., and moved a building north of the chapel, which had been used for classrooms, but was no longer needed, down to a point below, and had the same well fitted up for such purpose. The investment has proved a good one for the University financially, and has also had the effect of lessening the resort of students to the railroad station.

The commencement oration, in 1894, was delivered by George Zabriskie, Esq., of New York, and the bacca- laureate sermon was preached by the Bt. Kev. Geo. EL Kinsolving, bishop of Texas.

The financial situation in 1894 was very unsatisfactory, the debts had increased and deficits still grew.

The board, in August, 1894, created a faculty of arts and sciences, and elected Prof. W. P. Trent as dean of the faculty.

A revision of the system for academic hoods was reported upon and adopted in 1894.

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The income of the medical and law departments had not been adequate to cover the expenses of their main- tenance, and it was doubtful whether it was expedient to continue these departments without a reasonable certainty that no deficiency should fall upon the Univer- sity. The subject was finally referred to the executive committee and vice chancellor, to be dealt with as circumstances might require.

Rev. A. W. Knight, of Georgia, reestablished the medal for elocution which had been founded by Bishop Lyman of North Carolina.

A new schedule of requirements for the conferring of degrees of B. A., M. A., M. S., and C. E. was adopted upon the recommendation of the hebdomadal board.

The committee on morals and discipline reported that they believed that the chapel services of the University represent the central movement in the social and moral life of the institution, and it appealed to the professors and other officers of the University to maintain by their personal interest and devotion this most essential feature of the work at Sewanee. That it was impossible to make the religious tone of the place what it ought to be unless the officers of the institution show by their words and actions that they believe in the importance of it. That no man, student nor officer had any right or place in any department who habitually neglects the Sunday services; that students in profes- sional schools should be expected to attend the Sunday services and, at least, three daily services each week. They recommended that the students of all the schools should have their attention called to the maintenance of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 311

Sewanee, of its reputation for courtesy and good taste in social life, essential to the welfare of the institution. The report was adopted as the view of the board on this subject.

It has been the tradition of Sewanee that courtesy and respect should be evinced at all times towards strangers, and that no lady nor elderly person should be passed without a respectful salutation and a touching of the cap. New students soon fall into the custom of the place, and Sewanee is noted for gentlemanly behavior on the part of the students.

The vice chancellor reported the floating debt, in August, 1894, as amounting to about $15,000, with a probable deficit of $4,500 for the ensuing year, available assets about $6,500. The pressing liabilities were about $6,000. By the efforts of Bishop Dudley during the ensuing year an emergency fund of over $4,000 was raised.

The University was called upon to mourn the death of another of its staunch friends among the bishops, the Rt. Eev. W. B. W. Howe, D. D., of South Carolina, who died on November 27, 1894, at the age of seventy-two. Bishop Howe had been a member of the board for twenty-three years, being one of the first of the second generation of bishops connected with the University. He became a trustee in succession to Bishop Davis in 1871. Bishop Davis had never taken an active part in the organization of the University, and his loss of sight after the civil war had limited his work in his own diocese. Bishop Howe took great interest in the work of building the University, and we owe it to him and others in that

312 HISTORY OF THE

diocese that Sewanee has had so large a number of students, and so many from that State who have become valuable acquisitions to the society and home life of Sewanee. It was largely through Bishop Howe's influence that the diocese of South Carolina provided an endowment fund for the payment of its annual contribu- tion to the support of the theological department. His wise counsel and faithful service on the board were fully recognized by his associates and highly appreciated. The board of trustees expressed its high regard for the memory of Bishop Howe in an appropriate minute, say- ing: "that he combined in himself rare scholarship and eminent piety, his commanding personality impressed all who knew him as of a truly great man, while in his innocency of life and modesty of bearing and of speech he displayed the completing qualities of a well rounded Christian character, deep in faith, fervent in hope and broad in charity."

Rev. F. A. Shoup was elected to the chair of meta- physics and resumed his connection with the University with which he had been so long associated. His health unfortunately failed during the fall of 1895 to such a degree that he was unable to perform his professorial duties during Lent term, 1896.

Prof. W. T. Manning, who had filled the chair of systematic divinity for some eighteen months, resigned at close of Trinity term, 1894, and removed to Cincinnati to undertake parochial work. The executive committee elected Rev. R. H. Starr, D. D., to that position, who entered upon his duties in March, 1895.

Rt. Rev. T. U. DUDLEY, D. D., L. L. D.

Bishop of Kentucky, Sixth Chancellor.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 313

Mr. Ernest H. Rowel 1, M. A., first assistant in the grammar school, who had been in ill health for some time, died in South Carolina in December, 1894, in the thirty-second year of his age. Mr. Rowell was very highly appreciated, and his death was greatly regretted. The quite large number of 122 students matriculated in 1895, the whole number enrolled being 278.

One of the interesting events connected with the com- mencement week in 1894 was the acting of a Greek play, in Forensic Hall, w^hich had been most carefully prepared by Prof. B. L. Wiggins.

Mr. Silas McBee, who had served the University as commissioner of endowment for several years, resigned that office, and, declining a reelection, the Rev. W. D. Powers, D. D., was elected to this position.

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CHAPTER XXX.

Some changes of professors and officers made — The military system reestablished in the Grammar School — The subject of athletics considered — The Bishop Dudley endowment fund of $50,000 received — Dormitory for junior students — Rev. Dr. Hoffman's visit to Sewanee.

1895.

THE baccalaureate sermon, in 1895, was preached by the Rev. John S. Lindsay, D. D., of Boston, and the com- mencement oration was delivered by the Hon. F. G. DuBignon of Georgia.

Mr. R. M. Huse, head master of the grammar school, resigned in June, 1895, and his place was filled for the remainder of the term by Mr. W. H. McKellar, a former assistant in the school. The dormitory occupied by the grammar school was fitted up with steam heating and other improvements calculated to better equip it for the purpose of a dormitory and boarding department. Mr. R. M. Colmore was appointed commissary for that and other boarding departments carried on by the University. Prof. Geo. S. Clark resigned his position as adjunct professor of mathematics, which position had been very acceptably filled by him for the two previous years.

Mr. Samuel F. Barton was elected to the chair of mathematics vacated by Professor Clark in August, 1895, and the board secured the services of Mr. Chas. W. Bain, M. A., of Virginia, as head master of the grammar school.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. SIS

The military department of the University had been discontinued upon the resignation of Lieutenant Stone in 1891.

Officers of the United States army had been previously detailed by the secretary of war from time to time. The first officer detailed in 1880 was Lieut. R. M. Rogers, 2d Artillery. He was succeeded by Lieut. R. W. Dowdy, 2d lieutenant 17th Infantry, in 1883, who was relieved in 1886 by Lieut. Edmund K. Webster, 2d Infantry. He was followed, in 1889, by Lieut. W. P. Stone, 2d Artillery, an alumnus of the University. The military department had attained considerable importance in 1888, when there were three companies of infantry and one of artillery, but it gradually became of less interest, compulsory drill was abolished as to all except juniors and grammar school students; many of the juniors in turn sought exemption, and it was found inexpedient to ask for the detail of another officer of the army. When the grammar school was separated and domiciled in their own dormitory, the military feature was reestablished under Mr. Hardee Chambliss, a grandson of Lieutenant General Hardee of the Confederate army, and a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. This became an established feature in connection with the grammar school. It was rather an anomaly when attached to the University, but during the ten years of its existence here it was very beneficial in many respects, depending largely, however, upon the personality of the officer in charge. As athletics became more popular, the interest in military exercises became less so, and for the older students a burden. In the grammar school it is proper and desirable, contributing

316 HISTORY OF THE

in many ways to the physical education, and helping to form a manly and gentlemanly bearing, besides enforcing the habit of prompt obedience and personal neatness in dress.

Mr. Chambliss was succeeded in 1895 by Mr. W. A. Peterson, also a graduate of the Virginia Military Insti- tute. The gymnasium was provided in 1894 with a compe- tent instructor, and became an important feature in the growing sentiment in favor of combining physical with mental culture. Mr. J. E. Miles has done excellent work in this department, which was made self-supporting by the payment of fees.

The vice chancellor, in his report to the board of trustees in 1895, has this to say in reference to athletics.

"This feature of University life has attracted so much attention and has come to hold such important relations in academic work that it requires much more serious consideration than in time past. Our students have manifested much skill and interest in athletics. Their baseball and football teams have done creditable work during the past year. I am glad to say that the Athletic Association has taken a firm stand on the exclusion of professionalism and unsportsmanlike practices. I am decidedly of the opinion that the results of inter- collegiate athletics are enormously on the side of good, and the evils incident are capable of amelioration by a proper system of restraint and supervision."

The baseball clubs, the "Sewanee" and "Hardee," date back to almost the beginning of the University. In their contests with other colleges or universities the Sewanee men have had a large measure of success. Football is of

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 317

later establishment. While fairly successful with an average team, for some time they were unable to cope with the universities of Virginia and Georgia, and had hardly an even record with Vanderbilt, owing mainly to the greater average weight of the opposing teams.

During the session of the general convention of the church in Minneapolis in October, 1895, a banquet was held in the West Hotel by the Sewanee men present, to which were invited many of the most distinguished members of the convention, clerical and lay.

The speeches were excellent, the viands good, and the result no doubt very beneficial to Sewanee in making it better known, and calling attention to its aims and needs.

The 232 bonds, $100 each, of the city of Montreal accru- ing to the University from the legacy of James Hill, were sold at $175 each and produced a capital of $ 40,000 invested in securities, giving an annual income of $2,400, enlarging the benefits of said legacy by allowing an increase of scholarships.

During the year 1895-96 the University received a gift of $50,000 through Bishop Dudley as an endow- ment of academic department, to be designated as the ''Bishop Dudley Endowment Fund." This was a most timely benefaction, and gave great encouragement of such endowment being attained as would prevent the annual deficit in the academic department. This benefac- tion was generally supposed to come from a liberal layman of New York City, connected with St. Georges Church, and well known for his many good deeds and wise liberality. He modestly withheld his name, but doubtless it was the gift of J. P. Morgan, Esq.

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The Rev. J. J. Scott, D.D., LL.D., of Pensacola, Fla., the first clerical trustee of the diocese of Florida, and one of those named in the charter, died on November 21st, 1895. In the minute adopted by the board of trustees, it is said "his faith in the future of this institution after the disasters of the civil war never flagged, and his interest in its welfare was evinced in the fact that one- third of the students enrolled at the opening of the University in September, 1868 came from his parish, sent by his recommendation and influence."

His widow donated to the University his valuable and extensive library. He was with one exception the last survivor of the clerical members of the original board. He was a native of South Carolina, educated at William and Mary College, ordained deacon by Bishop Moore of Virginia, and priest by Bishop Polk. He was rector of Christ Church, Pensacola, from 1848 until 1888, and rector emeritus at the time of his death.

The enrollment of students for the year 1895-96 numbered 294, of whom 41 were medical students, 24 theological and 16 law.

The baccalaureate sermon was preached by Rev. Chas. F. Hoffman, D.D., D.C.L., rector of All Angels Church, New York, and president of the Association for Promot- ing the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries. He was accompanied on his trip to Sewanee by the Rev. A. T. Porter, D.D., of South Carolina. Rev. President Eliphalet Nott, of Hobart College, Rev. Dr. 6. Delancey Townsend, associate rector of All Angela Church, New York, his son, Mr. W. N. Hoffman, and his daughter, Mrs. Olcott.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 310

The commencement oration was delivered by Hon. A. E. Richards of Louisville, Ky., judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Kentucky, and sustained the high reputation of the gifted orator.

The hebdomadal board recommended very strongly the erection of a dormitory for the students in the junior department. This was a departure from the original plan of the board which contemplated, as shown by the Statute 19, that all students should be required to board in such houses as should be provided or licensed for that purpose, and the number in any one house not to exceed sixteen. The idea was to avoid what was called the barrack system, and to throw around students the amenities and safeguards of a home life instead of the carelessness and individualism and irresponsibility of a commons, without the refinements and associations of a family circle. As Bishop Cobbs expressed it "that no student should sit down at a table unless there was a lady at the head of it." It was found, however, that owing to circumstances which could not well be amelio- rated, the boarding houses attracted visitors, relatives and friends of the students and created too much social life between the sexes, which was an unexpected factor in the problem. Mutual attraction and affinities prevailed BO as to distract the student from studying in his room and elsewhere, and that the only apparent remedy was- a dormitory where students would have each a bedroom and a common sitting room for two only, in a quiet detached building, under the supervision of masters and teachers.

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The boarding house idea would, no doubt, be preferable if it could be carried out according to the intentions and expectations of those who framed the Statute. But to do this the University should be able to provide and own suitably arranged boarding houses, built for the purpose and with the rooms arranged as proposed in a dormitory and receiving no other inmates.

The board, in 1896, authorized a committee, if funds were given for that purpose, to erect dormitories or halls of residence for students. Among the propositions brought forward before the board in 1896 was one authorizing the conferring of honorary degrees upon women non-residents, who had graduated at reputable colleges and who were prepared to pass the requisite examinations of the University. The committee on con- stitution and statutes reported in favor of such action, and that the hebdomadal board should suggest such regulations as might be necessary to carry the proposition into effect, and report upon the same in the following year. The board took no other action than to refer the matter to the executive committee, which, up to this date, has never reported on the subject.

A proposition was brought before the board for a change of vacation so as to have the sessions correspond with other institutions having their long vacation in the summer. This being a very radical change from the plans upon which the University was organized (that of having the long vacation in the winter to suit the require- ments of the Southern dioceses), it was referred to the committee on constitution and statutes. The committee, deeming the matter of great importance, made a some-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 321

what elaborate report upon the subject, intending to set forth the reasons why this uniform plan of winter instead of summer vacation was adopted, and which the writer thinks it well to here preserve to meet the question often raised as to this peculiar arrangement of sessions in the University of the South.

The committee on constitution and statutes presented their report on the question of changing the long vacation from winter to summer, and the appended was adopted.

REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES.

(Report Number 5.)

The committee on constitution and statutes, to whom was referred a resolution that the committee inquire into and report upon the advisability of changing the long vacation of the University from winter to summer, in conformity with the custom of all other American universities and colleges, and arranging our school dates accordingly, report :

That they have given to the subject of the resolution the careful consideration which its importance merits, proposing, as it does, to make a very radical change in the system upon which the University has been carried on from its earliest inception. The committee has examined the early records of the institution with a view of ascertaining the reasons which induced the founders of the University to adopt the present divisions of the school year, differing as they do from those which have been usual in other institutions. While it is true that there is no part of the constitution or statutes which prescribes the division of terms, so arranged as to provide

322 HISTORY OF THE

for a winter vacation instead of the usual long vacation in the summer, yet they find the purpose of the founders in this respect most fully and clearly set forth by the board of trustees as early as 1858, and put in operation by resolution of the board in 1867, upon the opening of the University in 1868.

At the first meeting of the board after the acceptance of the charter in 1858 a committee was appointed by the board of trustees to prepare an address to the Southern dioceses, setting forth at large the reasons which have actuated the board of trustees in selecting Sewanee as the site of the University of the South, and describing its superior advantages. There was appointed on this com- mittee Bishop Polk, Bishop Elliott, the Rev. Alexander Gregg, Mr. J. A. Calhoun, and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks. This committee prepared and published the "Address of the Board of Trustees of the University of the South to the Southern Dioceses in Reference to the Choice of the Site for the University." Of this address many thousand copies were circulated through all the Southern dioceses.

After referring to the requirement that the University should be centrally situated, and the very careful pre- liminary steps taken to secure a location, and the final unanimity in the selection of Sewanee as affording a central position and offering undoubted healthfulness, upon a soil furnishing abundant supplies of freestone water, affording easy communication with all parts of the confederation, surrounded by a farming country provid- ing the necessaries of life in any quantity at moderate expense, they say, "There was yet another point to be considered, connected with the social life of the South,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 323

which demanded attention in the settlement of this ques- tion. Our citizens have for the most part made the summer months their period of traveling, either for pleasure or business. During these hot months their plantations, and even their city homes, are deserted, and they are scattered all the world over, from our own local springs to Saratoga, Newport, Paris, Rome, and Naples. At this season it is inconvenient to have their sons returned upon their hands. They do not wish to introduce them at that immature period of life to the dissipated society of watering places, and when they return during vacations from college they desire to have them at home. For the South the proper vacation of an university is the winter; that season when our planters and merchants and professional men are surrounded by their families upon their homesteads; when the cheerful Christmas fire is burning on the hearth, and mothers and sisters, and servants, can receive the returning student to his home and revive within him that holy domestic feeling which may have decayed amid the scholastic isolations of a college ; when he can engage in the sports which make him a true Southern man, hunting, shooting, riding. . . . That a literary institution may give the student these precious months it must be placed where the climate will permit him to apply himself during the hot monthsi of summer, where intellectual labor will not be a burden, where cool nights and mornings will restore the energies which have flagged under close application. This condi- tion of things could only be secured upon some lofty tableland, which should protrude itself into the center of the cotton growing region, and be happily surrounded

324 HISTORY OF THE

by all the other requirements of a large institution. All these things are combined in the location which the board has chosen at Sewanee. . . . Whatever may be the severity of the winter climate, it need not be encountered by the students. It is well known that October and November are two of the most delicious months upon these plateaus, and our vacation can be so arranged as to dismiss the University about the middle of December, and, allowing the usual period of vacation, work would not be resumed until the middle of March. This throws out the only three months which might be too severe, and returns the young men to their homes, as we said before, during the season in which their parents will be most glad to see them, and when they will keep up the habits of life which are to be theirs in the future."

These extracts indicate in the fullest and most exact man- ner that this question was well considered by the founders of the University, and that one of the principal reasons for the selection of Sewanee was to carry out their idea of adapting the institution, by means of a winter vacation, to the needs and requirements of the Southern States, from which the great majority of the students were ex- pected to, and do actually, come. A very leading idea was expressed in all their actions to create on the moun- tain plateau an institution of higher education, especially arranged to meet the requirements of the people of the Southern States.

The committee are quite aware that it may be alleged that a greater amount of hard study may be accomplished in cold weather, and therefore winter sessions should be preferred, but it is to be recollected that under our pres-

B. L. WIGGINS, L. L. D.

Fifth Vice Chancellor

llrt-

Jr THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. J25

ent system we have September, October, November, and two-thirds of December, half of March, all of April, May and June, all of which are temperate months, and the ac- tual time included in the hot season is comparatively short and frequently cool ; that under our present system health, which is of so great importance, is manifestly better secured by the presence of the students on the mountain during the warm months than if they returned to their homes in the Gulf States at a season least healthy there; that exemption from pneumonia and pleurisy, and diseases of the lungs, is secured, and experience has proved the general health of the student is in every way bene- fited.

Sewanee was selected in conformity to the view expressed, "That for the South the proper vacation for an university is in the winter." A change of the plan and purpose of the founders of the University, so clearly expressed and insisted upon, the committee deem should not be made without the strongest and most overpowering reasons.

The conditions which caused the board of trustees originally to adopt the present system still exist to the same extent and degree as then, and we believe this feature secures to us from the Gulf States students who would not otherwise be sent here.

The committee believe that the present arrangement should not be changed; that we are not prepared to risk the consequences of overturning the well-considered plans of the founders, under which we have operated now nearly thirty years.

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The committee is further of the opinion that it will be inexpedient to even consider the proposed change until the University is in a financial condition to incur the great risk involved in such a change.

The committee, in accordance with the views above expressed, report the following resolution, and recom- mend its passage :

Resolved, That it is not advisable to change the long vacation of the University from winter to summer.

ALFRED A. WATSON, W. T. DICKINSON DALZELL, D. D. CHAPIN, Z. D. HARRISON, G. E. FAIRBANKS,

Committee.

They therefore reported by resolution "that it is not advisable to change the long vacation of the University from winter to summer." The resolution was adopted by the board, and may be considered as settling the question.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 327

CHAPTER XXXI.

Financial condition 1895-96 — Increase of students — Plan of endowment proposed by Rev. Dr. Murdock — Death of Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup — Organization of faculty of arts and sciences — Prize scholarship awarded to students of University by Society for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries — Adverse action on the proposition to change of winter to summer vacation — Academic degrees for women considered.

1895-1896.

AT THE meeting of the board in 1896 about the usual number of trustees were present.

An important change in the rules of order was made dispensing with the committee on organization, which had been a kind of omnibus committee for many years, and replacing it by separate committees' charged with the consideration of the several subjects and depart- ments. To these committees was added a rule that all nominations made by them to office should be first re- ferred to the executive committee, who were to present their recommendation to the board. This was an addi- tional safeguard against hasty action.

The financial condition, as shown by the report of the finance committee, was a very serious one; especially as a judgment of about $4,500 had unexpectedly been obtained, sustaining a subcontractor's lien upon the Walsh Memorial Hall. This lien was properly payable by the bondsmen of the contractors, who had been paid the

328 HISTORY OF THE

full amount of their contract. There were also other pressing liabilities to be provided for. The finance com- mittee reported in favor of the issue of bonds of the University, not to exceed the sum of f 75,000 ; the proceeds to be applied in the first instance to paying off the f 33,000 of outstanding bonds, and the balance to be used in liquidating the indebtedness not funded — the consent of the holders of existing bonds to be obtained. The proposition elicited much discussion in the board, mainly turning on the power proposed to be given to the endow- ment committee to invest moneys under their control in the bonds of the University. On the one hand it was contended that it was perfectly legitimate to do so, and that the solemn pledge of the University, secured by mortgage lien, was equivalent to any similar security taken from other parties, and that the necessity of meet- ing pressing liabilities was clearly shown, and no other means for providing for them was suggested. The op- ponents looked upon such an investment in our own bonds, a wrong disposition of trust funds, but suggested no alternative. The board, by a considerable majority, sustained the proposal to issue bonds, and the investing of funds as void under the control of the endowment com- mittee.

The enrollment for 1896-97 showed a decided increase in the number of students. One hundred and thirty-three new students matriculated in Lent and Trinity terms, of whom 76 were medical, 26 theological, and 14 law students. The increase in the medical department gave great encouragement to the development and growth of that department in the future. The financial condition

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 329

of the University greatly improved, and the deficit was diminished. This was owing to several concurrent causes — the increase of students, the income from endowment funds, and profits from the boarding depart- ments carried on by the University in the grammar school, etc., and profits from the supply department. The judgment against the Walsh Memorial Hall, for subcontractor's lien, was paid off by the generous gift of $5,000 from Mr. George W. Quintard, of New York City.

At the annual oratorical interstate contest, held at Austin, Texas, in 1897, Mr. John Tanner, a Sewanee student, was the successful contestant among represen- tatives of the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, Center College, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Caro- lina, Tulane and University of Texas.

A still more gratifying testimonial to the scholarship of Sewanee was shown in the contest for three scholar- ships of the value of f 300 each, of students in the junior year in church colleges, offered by the Association for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools and Seminaries, viz. : Trinity, Hobart, St. Stephens and Kenyon. The con- test was arranged by a committee of examiners — Prof. Morgan, of Harvard, in Greek ; Prof. Baldwin, of Yale, in English; Prof. Peck, of Columbia, in Latin; Prof. Brooks, of Princeton, in mathematics and physics. They were instructed to set such examinations as they would for students in their several colleges, completing the junior year. All three of the prize scholarships were won by Sewanee — Geo. C. Edwards, of Dallas, Texas; W. P. Woolf, of Atlanta, Ga., and J. F. Matthews, of Alabama. Edwards received a rating of 90 per cent in English, 85

330 HISTORY OF THE

per cent in Latin, and 80 per cent in Greek. Sewanee's average exceeded any other college by 25.

The obtaining of these prizes was considered a high testimonial to the scholarship of Sewanee, and a practi- cal proof of the thoroughness and ability of her pro- fessors.

The plan before referred to, for issuing bonds to an increased amount, failed, in consequence of the holders of the outstanding bonds, declining to receive new bonds of a larger issue in substitution of those they held. Fortu- nately, by the generosity of Mr. Quintard, of New York, the judgment against the Walsh Memorial Hall had been satisfied, and one of the principal causes of anxiety was removed. Other indebtedness was provided for in a different way.

The board had adopted, in 1875, a resolution that no salaried officer of the University should have a seat in the board, and in 1892 passed a statute, number 29 : "That no officer receiving a salary from the University, should be entitled to a seat in the board of trustees."

This exclusion was so contrary to the practice of all business corporations that its inconvenience and inju- diciousness was recognized, and, in 1896, was repealed. The president and vice-president of corporations are universally appointed directors, and it is always consid- ered important that they should be present to keep the board advised of the operations of the corporation. In the British Parliament the members of the government hold seats, and are ready and expected to be called upon at any time for account of their official business.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 331

At the same session a resolution was passed that the vice chancellor be ex officio entitled to a seat in the board, with the privilege of debate as an honorary mem- ber. This avoided much unnecessary delay in communi- cating with him, and facilitated very greatly the work of the board.

A plan of endowment was presented by the Rev. Dr. Murdock, of North Carolina, which proposed procuring classes of subscribers, ranging in amount from $100 each to $100,000, to aggregate in all $1,000,000.

The plan was approved, and was virtually as follows : 1,777 subscribers to be obtained, of whom 1,000 to be admitted on a subscription of $100 each, 400 on $250 each, 200 on $500 each, 100 on $1,000 each, 40 on $2,500 each, 20 on $5,000 each, 10 on $10,000 each, 4 on $25,000 each, 2 on $50,000 each and one on $100,000.

The plan, or something similar, may at some future time be carried out in whole or in part ; it emanated from a very practical business man, and one by no means vis- ionary. When the church becomes more thoroughly inter- ested in the great educational work inaugurated at Se- wanee some earnest enthusiastic worker may carry out some endowment plan which will place the University in the position it ought to hold in the church and country.

The health of Kev. Prof. Shoup rapidly failed, and he passed away on the 4th of September, 1896. He was born in Franklin County, Indiana, March 22, 1834, and was at the time of his death in his sixty-third year. The funeral services were held at Sewanee, in St. Augustines Chapel, September 5th, and a special memorial service

332 HISTORY OF THE

was held on Sunday, September 6th, with addresses by Bishops Quintard and Gailor and Rev. Mr. Guerry. The vice chancellor, in his annual report in 1897, says of him: "His body rests at Sewanee, a place to which he gave so many years of devotion and distinguished ability. The high and affectionate tributes paid to his memory by his comrades, colleagues and students at the time of his death, revealed the greatness of the loss sustained by the University. When Dr. Shoup died a strong personal- ity was removed from the life of the University, to be incorporated with the undying names that make up the tradition, the inspiration and the devotion that belong to Sewanee."

Dr. Shoup was the author of several publications: "Infantry Tactics/' Little Rock, 1862; "Artillery Drill," Atlanta, 1864; "Elements of Algebra," New York, 1874; "Mechanism and Personality," Boston, 1888.

The organization of the faculty of arts and sciences, during the year 1896-97, was a step in advance in carrying on the work of the several departments of the University. Each department having its own dean greatly simplified the work of the hebdomadal board and the vice chan- cellor.

For many years the salaries of the professors in the theological department had not been guaranteed by the board of trustees, but were expected to be provided for by a voluntary allotment among the several dioceses. This provision, being uncertain in its character, had worked hardships upon the professors in that depart- ment, and had led to deficiencies accumulating to a con- siderable extent. In 1896 the board, by resolution,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 333

pledged to the theological department any deficit in the salary list which may occur, and that the vice chan- cellor and treasurer be instructed to carry the resolution into effect in such manner as will secure to the pro- fessors in the theological department the regular and prompt payment of their salaries, including any deficien- cies which may have occurred within three years. At the same meeting the subject of conferring academic degrees on women was brought up by a resolution, that the com- mittee on constitution and statutes report what changes in the statutes are necessary to be made in order that the University may grant academic degrees to women nonresidents who have graduated at reputable institu- tions, and also shall be prepared to have the requisite ex- aminations of the University, and that the committee re- port whether or not in its judgment such changes are expedient to be made.

The committee reported that in view of the committee such action is desirable, and reported an amendment to Statute IX, Sec. 8, by the addition of a clause which should read as follows: "Diplomas and degrees (other than in theology) may be conferred upon women non- residents who shall have passed the statutory examina- tions and met such other requisitions as may, by the statutes, be provided for the conferring of diplomas and degrees."

The report was sustained by the board; 17 ayes to 9 nays, but subsequently reconsidered, sundry amendments offered, and finally referred to the executive committee, which has never as yet taken formal action on the subject.

334 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXXII.

Conditions in 1897 improving — A larger enrollment of students — Growth of the medical department— Regulation of athletics — Laying of the cornerstone of Hoffman Memorial Hall and its completion.

1897-1898.

t

THE vice chancellor was enabled in his annual report to the board, in August, 1897, to say that the University as a whole had, during the past year, made considerable progress in the literary activity of its professors and in its reputation for scholarships. That the number of students had increased and their general tone and dis- cipline showed improvement. Three hundred and thirty- three students were enrolled during the year 1896-97, of whom 133 had matriculated during that year. A very marked increase had taken place in the number of stu- dents in the medical department, and also the theological department. The grammar school, under its existing administration, was also reported upon very favorably as to its growth and discipline. The financial exhibit of the grammar school was also very favorable, showing surplus earnings to a considerable amount on account of both board and tuition.

The regulation of athletic sports and other athletic interests had become a matter of essential importance to the governing body. The admission of athletic train- ing as a necessary feature in our colleges and universities had been here and elsewhere recognized.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 335

A tendency, however, was everywhere shown to an undue absorption of the interests of students in these athletic games, to the detriment of scholarship. This was felt to be a growing evil, and to counteract it as far as possible the hebdomadal board in August, 1896, passed the following resolution :

"Resolved, That it be required of all students of the University who play on teams representing the Univer- sity, in baseball, football, tennis or track athletics, or other form of athletic sports, that they shall have main- tained an average of two in their studies up to the time of any game in which they may participate; and if they be students matriculated in former terms, that they shall have maintained an average of two on their examinations of the term preceding their membership of said team, and that, furthermore, such students shall not be eligible to serve on said team unless their conduct is thoroughly satisfactory to the deans of their respective depart- ments."

This judicious regulation has produced its desired effect, and has helped to establish a correlation between brain and muscle, and was approved by the students body. It seems to be an admirable provision for making scholarship an important precursor of athletic sports, preventing the absorption and overshadowing of the intel- lectual training by mere athletic accomplishments, keep- ing up the mens sana in corpore sano.

Rev. Dr. Charles F. Hoffman, of New York, having been invited to preach the baccalaureate sermon, came to Se- wanee at the commencement in 1896, and before leaving expressed to vice chancellor Wiggins his desire to do

336 HISTORY OF THE

something for the University. Prof. Wiggins, in response to his request as to what direction such assistance could be best given, intimated the need of a dormitory for junior students. Dr. Hoffman said if the presidential election did not result unfortunately for the country he would build such a dormitory. After the election he renewed his proposition, but in order that the Associa- tion for the Promotion of the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, of which he was president, might be united with the University in a common interest, he thought it advisable to donate $30,000 through the Association, and have the Association loan the amount in perpetuity to the University at the rate of one-half per cent. Later on he expressed his desire to donate to the University the Hoffman House at Bridgeport, Ala., for the purpose of establishing a grammar school there. This proposition the vice chancellor thought impracticable, and suggested that the building and furniture might be sold and made available for the dormitory, or the build- ing taken down and the materials used for that purpose. Dr. Hoffman at a later day suggested that, in connection with a loan in perpetuity of $30,000 and the transfer of the Hoffman House property at Bridgeport, the Uni- versity should pay the Association f 500 per annum for establishment of scholarships, which would be offered to all the church colleges. While this matter was under consideration Dr. Hoffman became very ill, and went to Jekyl Island, Georgia, and died upon reaching there. He, however, on his death bed, requested his son to carry out his wishes and continue the negotiations with the vice chancellor for this purpose. The final result was a

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 337

proposition by the heirs of Dr. Hoffman to donate thirty thousand dollars and the Hoffman House at Bridgeport to the Association for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, on condition that the Association transfer said property to the University of the South as the equivalent of a loan of $45,000 for a period of ninety-nine years, upon the payment of an annual interest of $500. The Association to require a security for each loan, a secured mortgage upon the real estate of the University.

This proposition was reported by the vice chancellor to the board of trustees at the time of their August meet- ing, 1897, and was referred by the board to the committee on constitution and statutes. This committee reported a resolution that, while the board would be pleased to accept said benefaction as intended by Dr. Hoffman, in view of other charitable gifts from other benefactors, used to construct memorial buildings, etc., it would, in the judgment of the board, be improper for the University to put a cloud upon its title to said memorial buildings (by the execution of a mortgage for 99 years) and its entire domain in order to now secure the sum of $45,000 to build said Hoffman Hall.

The vice chancellor was requested to continue his negotiations with the heirs of Dr. Hoffman, and endeavor to obtain said benefaction on terms which could be accepted by the board, and to report to the executive committee, which was invested with full power to act on behalf of the board.

During the ensuing winter the matter was arranged by an acceptance on the part of the executive committee

338 HISTORY OF THE

of a proposition made by the heirs of Dr. Hoffman to loan the University the sum of $45,000 for the term of 99 years, at an annual interest of $500. The sum so loaned to consist of $30,000 in cash and the building known as the Hoffman House, at Bridgeport, Alabama, and furni- ture therein, estimated at $15,000, for which loan the University should make and deliver its note secured by a mortgage on the building to be erected with the pro- ceeds of the loan, and so much appurtenant land as the University might designate, with a condition in said mortgage that no transfer should be made of said note and mortgage, except to the Association for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, without the express consent of the University.

This was deemed a satisfactory arrangement of the matter, and the necessary papers were accordingly exe- cuted.

Plans for said building were prepared by R. H. Hunt, Esq., of New York, and a contract made with the Edge- field & Nashville Manufacturing Company for the erec- tion of the Hoffman Memorial Hall, for the sum of $22,580, including the use of all the building material of the Hoffman House, at Bridgeport, Ala., which was taken down and the material brought to Sewanee.

On the 30th day of July, 1898, the cornerstone of the Hoffman Memorial Hall was laid by the chancellor, Right Rev. Thomas Underwood Dudley, bishop of Ken- tucky, in the presence of the board of trustees and a large assemblage of people.

Addresses were made by Rt. Rev. W. M. Brown, D. D., bishop coadjutor, of Arkansas, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 33*

only representative and survivor of the original board of trustees, Prof. W. P. Trent, dean of the academic depart- ment, and Mr. Silas McBee, editor of the New York Churchman, an alumnus of the University.

The contract required that the building be completed by the 1st of March, 1899, but owing to inclement weather it was not ready for occupation until May, 1899. The dimensions of the building are 102 feet in length, 50 feet in width and four stories, besides the basement. Built of Sewanee sandstone and lined with brick, the building is of a most substantial character, and most conveniently arranged for the occupation of the students in the junior department of the University.

The building of Hoffman Memorial Hall for the junior students of the University was a marked departure from the original plans of the founders of the University, as is evidenced by Ordinance 17, relative to boarding houses, which contemplated that all students of the University should board in small groups, not exceeding twelve, in licensed boarding houses, expected to be carried on by private families. The massing of students in dormitories, which was designated as the barracks system, was regarded with disfavor, and the family system was much, preferred as conducing to more domestic and refined as- sociations, gentlemanly deportment, and with better opportunities for study. The plan contemplated the coming to the mountain of families of refinement and culture in moderate circumstances who would create a fireside for students, surround them with the amenities of life, produce an elevated tone of speech and manners, while the effect moreover would be to create at the Uni-

340 HISTORY OF THE

versity a refined and desirable society large in numbers and homogeneous in character. Bishop Cobb said em- phatically, when the matter was under discussion in the board, that he never desired to see the students assem- bled around a table which was not presided over by a lady.

The idea was certainly a most attractive one, and was practically carried out during the early years of the Uni- versity's growth with marked advantages over the usual dormitory aggregation of large numbers gathered at commons tables, more intent upon satisfying their physi- cal wants than on the enjoyment of pleasant conversa- tion, enlivened and ameliorated by the presence of refined ladies; occupying their rooms something after a hotel fashion, feeling no requirement to observe the ettiquette of good society, either in speech or manners, are evident disadvantages compared with the ideal system of small groups associated with families, and feeling the influence of family life.

It was found, however, impracticable to carry out the original plans. As the number of students increased larger numbers were brought together in the boarding houses than was advisable, either on the score of dis- cipline or convenience, necessitating their crowding together ; again summer visitors began to share the exist- ing boarding houses with the students, to the detriment of their opportunities of study. Grammar school boys were scattered through the houses, to the detriment of order and discipline, and it became a necessity to sepa- rate the grammar school boys from University students, and a separate dormitory was provided for them. The

Prof. W. P. TRFNT, L. L. D. First Dean of Academ c Department

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 341

same causes seemed to render it necessary to provide a dormitory for the juniors. There still remain the board- ing houses for the seniors, law and medical students, and this division will likely continue, the grammar school and juniors being housed in special dormitories and the others in boarding houses.

In October, 1897, the University was honored by a visit from Canon Gore, of Westminister Abbey, now bishop of Worcester, accompanied by Bishop Satterlee, of Washing- ton, D. C. The learned canon kindly accepted an invita- tion to preach in St. Augustines Chapel on Sunday morning, as did also Bishop Satterlee in the evening. The sermons of both of these distinguished preachers were highly appreciated, and the thought was present to many minds of the great privilege of hearing in the chapel of the youngest of the universities, on the same day, one who stands prominent in the capital of Great Britain, and the bishop who represents the church in the capital of the United States, thus bringing the mother and the daughter church into close connection.

342 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The death on July 15, 1898, of Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, D. D., T. S. DM bishop of Tennessee — Prizes awarded hy the Association for Promotion of Interests of Church Schools — Oratorical contests and athletic games won by Sewanee students — Increase in number of students — Resignation of Prof. Wells — Question of cheapening expenses of students — Aid given by scholarships.

A. D. 1898.

THE RIGHT REVEREND CHARLES TODD QUINTARD, S. T. D , LL.D., was born at Stamford, Connecticut, December 22, 1824, descended from a Huguenot family which had sought refuge in America. He had made choice of the medical profession as the business of his life. He came South and was for a while in the State of Georgia, and afterwards went to Memphis, Tenn., where he engaged in the practice of his profession. Feeling an imperative call to the priesthood of the church, he was, after due preparation, ordained deacon by Bishop Otey, in 1854, and priest in 1855. He was for some time in charge of Calvary church, Memphis, but in 1858 accepted the rectorship of the Church of the Advent, Nashville, Tenn., which position he filled until the breaking out of the war, when he accepted an election as chaplain of the First Tennessee Regiment in the Confederate service. No one could have more faithfully discharged the duties of this arduous position, in which he endeared himself to the whole army. He was elected bishop of Tennessee in 1865,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 343

and consecrated to that office in Philadelphia in Octo- ber, 186?.

He had assisted at the laying of the cornerstone of the University at Sewanee in October, 1860. He had, no douK, previously become interested in the project of a Southern church university, in which his diocesan bishop, O~ey, had taken a prominent part, and of which he was toe first chancellor, but his attendance at the laying of the cornerstone in 1860 was the first time he had come in touch with the enterprise, and the proceedings on that occasion must have greatly excited his interest in the future development of the University. From the day of hie consecration he devoted his heart and mind to the resuscitation and rebuilding of the University. To his unceasing labors we owe the very existence of this Uni- vffsity. For more than thirty years his life and work w«re intimately connected with its welfare, and his un- fatering faith, generous enthusiasm, and earnest advo- cacy brought to its aid friends far and near, and secured fcp it a standing and influence which carried it forward t< its ultimate success.

The board of trustees have well said of him, "More

tuly and with wider view and prospects than it was

Britten of the architect of St. Pauls Cathedral it is

nscribed upon these lasting hills and upon unfading

nemories, as applying to Charles Todd Quintard, bishop,

doctor and educator, 'si manumentum requiris circum-

spice.' He has here upon this mountain one of the

grandest memorials which the South has ever seen."

When it was proposed that St. Lukes Memorial Hall should bear the name of its benefactor, Mrs. Manigault,

344 HISTORY OF THE

she at once expressed the desire that it should be asso- ciated with Bishop Quintard in some appropriate man- ner, and as one portion of his life had been spent in the practice of the medical profession, the name of St. Luke, the beloved physician, was given to the buildiLg.

In the previous pages of this history, Bishop Quin\ard has been a prominent figure through all the years of Us growth, and it is unnecessary again to recount his woik and labors on its behalf. Intimately associated witl him from the planting of the cross at Sewanee in 1865 to the day of his death, I feel unable to abridge or compress within the limits of this work his irany labors which ever excited my admiration, my res- pect and my reverence for his character. I trust that some competent hand will prepare a memorial volume, which will give a full and detailed record of his life aid labors, as a companion and sequel to that so ably dme in memory of Bishop Polk.

One point in his character I would like to emphasize, and that was his abiding, unswerving, unquenchable fath in the University. I may be pardoned for here introd\c- ing an extract from the memorial address of Bish<p Gailor, delivered in the chapel on July 27, 1899, at tfe request of the board of trustees.

"The bishop, with his three friends, Rev. Dr. J. A. Mei rick, Rev. T. A. Morris and Maj. G. R. Fairbanks, selectee the location for his training school, and in the after noon erected a cross on the site chosen for the chapel (being the spot where St. Lukes Oratory now stands), gathered the workmen about it and asked the blessing of the great head of the church on the undertaking. The

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 345

bishop ever afterwards emphasized the fact that on this occasion they recited the Apostles Creed and sung the Gloria in Excelsis; that it was a definite act of faith and worship, consecrating the movement as a work for Jesus Christ and his church.

"By midsummer the bishop and Major Fairbanks had built homes for their families, and Otey Hall was almost finished, from funds provided by the bishop. This hall he afterwards donated to the University authorities.

"Up to this time it appears that Bishop Quintard and Major Fairbanks were absolutely the only believers in the possibility of reviving the University, and that the visit to Sewanee and the setting up of the cross, and the building of Otey Hall, built as a training school for theological students, was one of those daring acts of faith, unauthorized by any university trustees, but quite consistent with the enthusiastic determination which so often carried the bishop triumphantly over difficulties." And nothing can be more true than the eloquent perora- tion with which Bishop Gailor closed his memorial address :

"To-day it is my high privilege, on behalf of the board of trustees, to put on record with this brief and imperfect recital of Bishop Quintard's services to the University, their glad and grateful recognition of his courage and his faith, without which, humanly speaking, this institu- tion would never have revived. Wherever Sewanee shall be known, there shall his name be honored. Wher- ever the cause of Christian education shall be advocated, there shall his memory be blessed. And as the years in- crease, carrying us on, we pray, through happy and help-

346 HISTORY OF THE

ful labor on this mountain for Christ and for this church, deeper and deeper shall become the sense of that obliga- tion which we owe to Bishop Quintard; and more real shall grow our appreciation of him and of his work, until some day the men and women of this generation, whose hearts and minds are alive to the blessings of a Christian culture, will build for him here a fitting memo- rial, to tell our children in the days to come the heroic story of how one man believed and loved and labored, and, by the grace and power of God, proved the victory of faith."

In the same address, Bishop Gailor touches upon an- other phrase of the bishop's personality, which I would not willingly pass over, and of which no one could have a deeper sense than the writer. "Sewanee." It was not merely the University, it was the place. He pervaded it. He loved it, and it responded to him. Its Sewanee spirit was his spirit. Its atmosphere was in a large measure his creation. No stranger came here that he did not welcome. There was no sorrow to which he did not min- ister. There was no suffering that he did not try to cheer. The faculty, the students, the people, one and all, felt and understood the unique charm of his personality.

In accordance with his often expressed wish, his burial took place at Sewanee, where he was laid in a plot of his own selection, in the bosom of the mountain he had loved so well, and under the shadow of the great University he had done so much to build up and perpetuate, and which may well be regarded as his greater monument.

Dr. Armani J. DeRossett, who had been for a long period a lay trustee from the diocese of North Carolina,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 347

died during the early part of the year 1898, at the ad- vanced age of ninety years. Dr. DeRossett had been prominent in church work for more than sixty years, in connection with his own diocese, and at an early date took an active interest in the welfare of the University.

The Association for the Promotion of the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, during the winter of 1896-97, offered three prizes of $300 each, to the students of the junior year in the church colleges, viz., Trinity, Hobart, St. Stephens, Kenyon and Sewanee. The prizes were to be for Latin, Greek, English, mathematics and physics. As the result of this competition Sewanee won all these prizes of $300 each, which were won res- pectively by George C. Edwards, of Texas; W. P. Woolf, of Georgia, and James F. Matthews, of Alabama.

In the annual oratorical contest of the Southern Ora- torical Association, embracing the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, Center College, Vanderbilt Univer- sity, South Carolina University, Tulane of Louisiana, and University of the South, Sewanee was for the third time awarded the victory.

It was also to the credit of the athletic department that Sewanee won all the games in the Southern College Association during the season of 1897.

A resolution was passed appointing a committee to report upon the subject of university extension, and to propose a plan of action in reference to the same, which is still in abeyance.

The Reverend W. Lloyd Bevan, A. B., M. A. and Ph. D., was elected to the chair of metaphysics, vacated by the death of Rev. Dr. Shoup.

348 HISTORY OF THE

The history of art was added to the course required for the degree of B. A., and received much attention from Prof. Greenough White.

By resolution of the board the plan of extending the curriculum of the medical department to a four years course was approved, and the addition of a school of pharmacy.

Mr. Charles W. Bain, M. A., elected in 1895 as head master of the grammar school, resigned that position in August, 1898, to take a professorship in South Carolina College. Mr. Bain had very acceptably filled the position of head master. His resignation was greatly regretted. The board not being prepared to elect his successor, authority was given to the vice chancellor to fill the place, by whom Mr. W. H. McKellar was appointed and filled the post for Trinity term, 1898. Mr. Julius E. Leigh becoming the head master at the beginning of Lent term, 1899.

Rev. W. T. Dickinson Dalzell, D. D., clerical trustee from Louisiana, who had been a member of the board for sixteen years, died on February 4, 1899. Dr. Dalzell was a valuable member of the board, and his death was greatly regretted. He had the somewhat remarkable record of having served one parish, that at Shreveport, La., for thirty years.

Effort was made in 1897 to establish boarding houses prepared to furnish a lower rate of board than that usually paid, and Tremlett Hall was opened for medical students at the rate of twelve dollars per month, but owing to the rapid increase of students in this depart- ment, who were obliged to seek other boarding places,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 349

it was not found advisable to retain Tremlett Hall for this purpose, and during the following winter it was put in thorough repair, well furnished and opened as a small hotel or inn, but only continued as such through two seasons, when it was required for the accommodation of students in academic department.

Among other enterprises, Vice Chancellor Wiggins established a supply store, in 1894, in the building formerly used for class rooms on the north side of the chapel, and which was removed to a point south of the treasurer's office. It proved a profitable venture; the^ profits for the first three years amounting to $3,173.97. Through the supply store the University purchases all its supplies for its own dormitories, and furnishes all the books, stationery, medical supplies, etc., required at the University. The profits derived from this source are very considerable and contribute to the general fund.

A new seal for the University was adopted in 1898, varying somewhat from the former seal — of piscina shape. The words "Seal of the University of the South" around

850 HISTORY OF THE

the border. A Latin cross in the center, with the initials of the several associated dioceses placed in a circle; a dove above, and clasped hands below the circle.

During the year 1898 greater attention was given to the athletic department. The gymnasium was equipped more thoroughly, and made compulsory for all junior and grammar school students, and proper exercises prescribed by the director for each student. These athletic exercises contribute not only to the health and physical development of the students, but furnish a source of enjoyable amusement which in some form a student naturally seeks, and if not judiciously furnished will injudiciously be taken. An annual competitive exhibition in the field, and exhibition in Forensic Hall keep up their own interest as well as that of others in athletics. No more healthy looking boys and young men can be seen anywhere than in Sewanee.

For many years the existence of the University was only recognized at the North as a dimly remembered fact of such a scheme having been originated before the Civil War. A series of banquets at each meeting of the general convention, beginning in 1892 at Baltimore, and followed at Minneapolis in 1895, and Washington in 1898, did much to bring leading churchmen in attendance on the general convention in touch with the only distinc- tively church University in this country, and gave a wider knowledge of its importance and success as well as its needs to the church at large.

In the convention of 1898 especial mention was made of the work of this University in the promotion of Christian education by the joint committee on that

Prof. CAMERON PIGGOTT, M. D. Dean of the Academic Department.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 351

subject, and the address of our chancellor, Bishop Dudley, referring especially to the work it was doing, was listened to with marked attention.

he years 1898-99 were important years in the history of the University. A new life seemed to have been awakened in all its departments. The number of stuuents registered for the scholastic year of 1897-98 wa, '16, a very large increase. The medical department, which began in 1892 with only six students, numbered for 1897-98 241 students. The grammar school largely increased in numbers, and the financial condition was greatly improved. Hoffman Hall, costing $50,000, had been added to our permanent buildings.

In April, 1898, Dr. Cameron Piggot, professor of chemistry, etc., fell over the cliff on the brow of the mountain, a distance of about sixty feet in all, and by remarkably good fortune escaped fatal results, although very severely injured. In a few months he entirely recovered.

In the academic faculty a great loss was experienced in the resignation of Prof. B. W. Wells, Ph. D., who had occupied the chair of modern languages since 1891, and who had in every way contributed to the reputation of the University. As an author of great intellectual force, as a contributor to many of the current publications of the day, as a thorough scholar and teacher in his own department, he had rendered very great service to this institution, and his withdrawal to assist in the editorial management of the Churchman was the subject of very general regret.

Mr. S. Gary Beckwith, M. A., who for several years had been an assistant master in the grammar school and

352 HISTORY OF THE

rendered valuable service in that capacity, resigned in August, 1898, in order to take holy orders in the diocese of Virginia.

Eighteen hundred and ninety-eight was a very tri- umphant year in the annals of the University for the successes of its athletic clubs, having won in every contest in baseball and football.

The University also through its representatives won the decision of superiority in the Inter-Collegiate College debate held at the University of Virginia; Messrs. W. Mercer Green and McVeigh Harrison representing the University.

In the report of the vice chancellor in 1899, attention was called to the fact that the number of students in the academic department had not kept up with the progress made in other departments. The hebdomadal board in their report attributed this to two causes, one being the higher price of board and tuition than at the State institutions, and the other the relative want of scientific equipment to meet the growing demand for a scientific education. It was also borne in mind that these State institutions furnished free tuition, rendering it difficult to compete with them in the matter of expense.

To the mind of the writer the want of a more complete equipment in the scientific department has more weight than the mere questions of expense. The most largely frequented universities and colleges in this country are far more expensive than this University, and the matter of reduction of tuition must be met by endowment and scholarships. No first-class institution can be supported by its tuition fees; state appropriations and liberal

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 353

endowments have supported institutions which must have otherwise failed. In the matter of scholarships thia University has already given great help to those needing it. Each bishop has the nomination of two scholarships free of tuition. The vice chancellor has the gift of five, and the Hill and Goodwyn scholarship funds provide for ten or fifteen more to the extent of $200 per annum. Seven scholarships have been already provided in the theological department, besides other aid, while not a single professor's chair has as yet been endowed. Pro- bably no institution in the country, in proportion to its means, has done so much.

By the earnest effort of Rev. Prof. Greenough White a fund was started for the endowment of the "Bishop Quintard Chair of Dogmatic Theology," which it is hoped will be successful. It seems strange that no memorial of the kind has been provided to commemorate Bishop Polk of Louisiana, or Bishop Otey of Tennessee, or Bishop Elliott of Georgia.

354 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Benefactions of Judge Goodwyn and Rev. E. D. Cooper, D. D. — Establishment of steam laundry and waterworks — Sewanee sandstone— Building of the supply store — Change of schol- astic year from two to three terms — Resignation of Professor Trent — Death of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama and Bishop Pierce of Arkansas — The Quintard Memorial Hall — Gift of Westminster chimes by Rev. W. C. Douglas, D. D.

1899-1900.

BY THE will of Judge William A. Goodwin of Nashville, who died in October, 1898, the sum of $10,000 was given to the University, the income from which was to be devoted to the education of young men too poor to pay for themselves, and to no other purpose whatever.

Under the internal revenue law the United States Government exacted 10 per cent of this amount as a legacy tax, and the State of Tennessee 5 per cent addi- tional, thus taking from the fund designed to help educate poor young men the sum of $1,500, the interest upon which would have paid the tuition of at least one poor young man. The 10 per cent exacted by the internal revenue department has since been repaid, but the tax exacted by the State has not.

It is difficult to understand upon what principle or right or justice a fund devoted to so praiseworthy an object should be grasped by the federal and State govern- ments, and especially by the State benefited by s^ich gifts. It is to be hoped a better enlightenment of Con-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 355

gress and of State Legislatures will do away with such an exaction for all future time.

Kev. E. D. Cooper, D. D., of Astoria, L. L, State of New York, by will, gave to the University the sum of $5,000 and all of his theological library. Here, too, $625 was exacted by the State and federal government from a fund devoted to the education of young men in the University. Among the improvements effected during the year 1899, was the establishment of a steam laundry and the enlargement of a small system of waterworks, which had been previously put in operation, the supply for which came from the two springs known as Polk Spring and Otey Spring. As put in operation in 1899 a water supply was maintained for the steam laundry, and water was pumped through a four-inch pipe to a tank erected near St. Lukes Hall, from which it was distributed to the various University halls and dormitories, the sup- ply store and private families along University Avenue. Both of the enterprises were undertaken by private parties, under authority of the trustees, with a reserved right to the University to purchase them whenever de- sired. They added greatly to the convenience of residents, as well as the needs of the University itself. Naturally an electric plant will follow at an early date, to the better enlightenment of the dormitories, residences and streets.

By the liberal management of the Nashville and Chat- tanooga railroad authorities, schedules for summer travel were established, giving four passenger trains a day upon the Tennessee Coal & Transportation Kail- road, leading from Cowan to Tracy City, via Sewanee,

356 HISTORY OF THE

thus giving ample facilities for travel, and four trains i; day, with express facilities, so that few places in the Slate were better accommodated.

In addition to the telegraph service rendered bj the Western Union lines a long distance telegraph connects Sewanee with the principal cities of the United States. And upon one day in the week only, railroad and mail service are suspended and we have the enjoyment of a quiet Sunday, undisturbed by the affairs of the outer world.

A small farm was opened during the years 1898-99, with a dairy annex at Greggs Spring, about a quarter of a mile north of the athletic grounds. This is already a valuable source of supply of vegetables, milk, etc., for the use of the University halls and dormitories. It will, no doubt, be expanded in time in connection with the school of agriculture provided for by the original ordinances. The soil of the domain is a sandy loam which responds to care, enrichment and cultivation, and is particularly well suited for fruit growing, vineyards and root crops.

In this connection it may also be stated that probably five thousand acres of the University domain is underlaid with an excellent quality of semibituminous coal, lying at from 75 to 150 feet below the surface, and easily mined by tunnels pushed in from the bluff. The present popu- lation is well supplied with coal of this character, deliv- ered at the low price of $2.50 per ton. It has been thought best to reserve our own deposits for future use so long as we can be supplied at a low price from mines outside of our domain. The coal deposit will, no doubt, become of great value to us.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 357

I may also here speak of another valuable property held by the University, in its sandstone rock, which is regarded as a building material of the very best quality. Its varying colors, from grey to pink, its excellent clear- age, and its increasing hardness when exposed to the weather, its porous character when first quarried, receiv- ing and holding cement or lime mortar, has attracted the attention of architects elsewhere, and already several churches and fine structures have been erected in Nash- ville and Atlanta of our Sewanee sandstone, which has proved decidedly superior to any of the freestones used in northern cities. In addition we have an excellent quality of limestone in unlimited quantities, suitable for building and the manufacture of lime.

The surface of the mountain in many places is com- posed of pebblestone, which, being crushed, furnishes an admirable material for sidewalks, garden walks and roads. The clay, where it lies in any depth, has proved of good quality for the manufacture of bricks.

The supply of water for Sewanee is furnished by numer- ous springs, with an outflow of from 2,000 to 12,000 gallons a day, and from bored and ordinary wells and cisterns. As the springs are supposed to be supplied from the percolation of water during the winter, spring and fall rains through the sandstone rock, it is of supreme importance that the forest growth should be maintained and no tree cut down without providing for the growth of another in its place. The result of denuding the sur- face is already felt at Sewanee Village, where the trees have been largely cut away, with the apparent effect of causing the wells to become dry during the dry season,

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while in other parts of the domain the flow of the springs does not seem to be greatly affected.

In April, 1899, the Supply store with all its contents was destroyed by fire. This would have been a serious loss to the University but for the foresight of Vice Chan- cellor Wiggins in having previously placed ample insur- ance, which enabled him to at once rebuild, replacing the former wooden building with a substantial stone struc- ture two stories in height, one-half of the expense of which was provided by the E. Q. B. Club, in consideration of their having the upper story, which was handsomely fitted up for their use. This club, founded in 1890, for many years had no local habitation, but met in private houses. Then, about 1880, built for itself a neat one-story clubhouse, of wood, in the rear of the medical hall, and now established itself in permanent quarters in stone walls.

The rapid development of the medical department, and the requirements of the Association of the Medical Colleges, rendered it necessary that a hospital should be provided as a part of its necessary equipment. As the erection of a suitable building for this purpose would involve a considerable expense, by a happy thought it was proposed that a large addition should be made to the building erected by Dr. Tel fair Hodgson as a library building, and, with the generous concurrence of Mrs. Hodgson, the plan was carried into effect and the Hodgson Memorial Infirmary erected during the fall and winter of 1899-1900, and formally opened in June, 1900. Con- forming in its architecture to the library building, it pre-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 359

sents a very attractive appearance, and adds one more to the handsome structures of the University.

From the very opening of the University the need of suitable dormitories for the grammar school had been felt, the importance of an entire separation of the gram- mar school boys from the students of the University had been recognized, and only necessity had permitted this separation to be deferred. The purchase and occupation of the University Hotel had furnished temporary relief, but the building was unsuitable in many respects, its location undersirable, and its structure not as well guarded from accident as prudence required.

At this juncture George W. Quintard, Esq., of New York, a brother of the late bishop, being impressed by the statement of Bishop Gailor and the vice chancellor of the important need of the grammar school at the present time of a suitable dormitory, generously offered to pro- vide the sum of $50,000 for the erection of such a building. Mr. G. C. Haight, of New York, an architect of high reputation, was employed to prepare the plans. A site was selected in Polk Park, and, the site and plans having been approved by the executive committee, a contract was entered into with the Edgefield Manufacturing Com- pany, which had erected Hoffman Memorial Hall, for the erection and completion of the building by the 1st of March, 1901. The cornerstone was laid on the 30th of July, with appropriate ceremonies, addresses being made by Bishop Capers, Bishop Gailor, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks and Mr. Julius E. Leigh. The name given to the building is the Quintard Memorial Hall, in honor and in memory of Charles Todd Quintard, second bishop of Tennessee.

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The building is the largest hitherto erected, being 204 feet in length by 40 feet in width. Like our other build- ings, it is built in a very massive style, of our Sewanee sandstone, is lined with brick and covered with slate. Its style of architecture is very pleasing, its windows divided with stone mullions, its proportions are admirable, and its location, upon a gently rising ground facing University Avenue, is all that could be desired, and carries out one of Bishop Hopkins' ideals of separate buildings crown- ing commanding eminences.

There is, moreover, a fine significance in placing the dor- mitory, which commemorates Bishop Quintard, the sec- ond founder of the University, standing in Polk Park* commemorating its first founder, thus connecting the names of the two most prominent in founding and putting in operation the University.

The Quintard Memorial Hall was expected to be com- pleted in the summer of 1901, but it was found that an additional sum of $15,000 would be necessary to complete and furnish the building, and there were no available funds for that purpose. Bishop Gailor having stated to Mr. J. P. Morgan, of New York, our needs in this respect, he generously at once gave the amount required and enabled the building to be completed in accordance with the plans of the architect.

Between the annual sessions of the board of trustees in 1899 and 1900 four of its trustees departed from this life: Bishops Wilmer and Jackson, of Alabama, Bishop Pierce, of Arkansas, and Mr. E. R. Foster, of Florida; all men of mark, and two of them, Bishops Wilmer and Pierce, long associated with the University. Suitable

Prof. I. S. CAIN, M. D. Dean of the Medical Department.

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commemorative notices of their lives and virtues were made at the annual meeting of the board of trustees at their session in August, 1900.

Bishop Wilmer was succeeded in the board by Eev. Robert Woodward Barnwell, who was consecrated as bishop of Alabama on July 27, 1900, and died July, 1902. Bishop Pierce was succeeded by Rev. William Montgom- ery Brown, D. D., who had been elected bishop coadjutor of Arkansas in 1898. Bishop Wilmer was at the time of his death the senior bishop in the board, having been consecrated in 1862, during the Civil War.

The baccalaureate sermon, in 1898, was preached by the Rt. Rev. Lewis Burton, D. D., of the diocese of Lexing- ton, Ky., and the commencement oration was delivered by the Hon. J. W. Caldwell, of Tennessee.

In 1898, Dr. W. H. Spencer, of St. Louis, Mo., founded the Dwight medal for philosophical and biblical Greek. Mr. Albert D. Marks, of Nashville, founded the Marks' prize for rhetoric. Mr. E. G. Richmond, of Chattanooga, Tenn., provided the Richmond prize for political science and economy.

The vice chancellor reported the number of students in the various departments registering for the year 1898-99 as 516, divided as follows: Academic department, 114; theological department, 21 ; medical department, 241 ; law department, 14, and grammar school department, 126.

In his report to the board, in 1899, the vice chancellor emphasized the importance of encouraging the establish- ment of local schools as feeders to the University. One- such school, established as such a feeder in Texas by Mr. F. E. Shoup, a son of Professor Shoup, has been success-

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fully established. It was contemplated at an early day that such feeders would in time be established. It would probably be a great help to the University if scholarships in the University could be founded in diocesan schools as a reward for high standing, and thus, as in England, bring about a relation of that kind between local schools and the University.

At the meeting of the board in 1899 a resolution was passed requesting the hebdomadal board to present to the executive committee a formulated plan for a change of the scholastic term of the University, the date of the commencement of the fiscal year, and the publication of the report of the vice chancellor in advance of the meet- ing of the board.

The hebdomadal board formulated a plan retaining the beginning and close of the school year, but dividing it into three terms of three months each, to be called the Trinity, Advent and Lent terms. The commencement to take place on the last Thursday in June. That the fiscal year close on the 1st day of January, and that the schedule of studies be arranged accordingly. This plan was approved by the exec- utive committee and reported to the board in August, 1900, for adoption. The board adopted the resolutions, authorizing the change on July 28, 1900, and by ordinance changed the time of the annual meeting of the board of trustees to the Thursday (afterwards changed to Satur- day) before the last Thursday in June. There were various reasons assigned for the change of terms, among others, that it would make our commencement correspond in point of time with that of other colleges and universities. That it would enable us to supply vacancies in the teach-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. S65

ing department to better advantage at that time than at a later period, when engagements will generally have been made. That a three months term instead of a five months term would prove more beneficial to professors and stu- dents in the matter of examinations and schedule studies. Commencement will occur earlier in the season, and be- fore the mass of summer visitors come to the mountain, which at present rather congests the accommodations and distracts the students. It is believed the change will prove advantageous in many respects.

After a continuous service of ten years, Dr. W. P. Trent, professor of English and dean of the academic department, resigned to take a similar position in one of the departments of Columbia University, in the city of New York. Dr. Trent, during his connection with the University, had acquired a very prominent position in the world of letters, both as an author and critic. One of his most important publications was the "Life of W. Gilmore Sims/' of South Carolina. A fine master of the English language, his literary work was always of the highest character, and his literary taste and judgment had given him preeminence in the field of criticism.

His place was filled by the election of Prof. J. B. Hen- neman, M. A., of the University of Tennessee, and Ph. D. of the University of Berlin, a well-known educator, occu- pying the chair of English in that University, where he was highly esteemed as a scholar and a gentleman. It was deemed fortunate that this University was able to secure his services in this department.

Prof. E. T. Babbitt, Ph. D., assumed the duties of the chair of modern languages in August, 1900. Prof. Babbitt

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had spent several years abroad, and had received his degree of batchelor of arts at Harvard University. He brought to the University a high reputation as an in- structor in modern languages.

The baccalaureate sermon at commencement, 1899, was delivered by the Rev. George W. Douglas, S. T. D., of New York, and the oration by Joseph Packard, Jr., LL. D., of Baltimore.

Dr. Douglas most graciously offered to place in the Breslin Tower, connected with the library, a clock with Westminster chimes as a memorial to his mother. Breslin Hall was given by Mr. Breslin as a memorial to a deceased daughter, and the Westminister clock and chimes was placed as a memorial to Dr. Douglas's mother^ by a happy sympathy.

The annual meeting of the board, in 1900, convened on the 26th of July, and was presided over by Bt. Bev. E. G. Weed, D. D., of Florida, the senior bishop and acting chancellor, Bishop Dudley, being absent in attendance on the council of the Church of England.

The number of students in attendance during the scholastic year, 1900-1901, was 537, divided as follows: Theological, 26; medical, 227; law, 17; academic, 122; grammar school, 164. The State of Tennessee, 102; Mis- sissippi, 57; Louisiana, 47; Alabama, 46; Texas, 46; Georgia, 49; Florida, 39; South Carolina, 38; other Southern states, 50, and the remainder from Northern and Western states; seven being from foreign countries.

The endowment committee reported, in 1900, aggregate endowment funds to the amount of $156,925, of which |36,000 had been given for scholarships in the theological

St. Augustines Chapel, erected in J 867, forming part of the enlarged Chapel

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 36*

•department, $48,000 for scholarships in the academic and grammar school, f 20,000 for current expenses of the theo- logical department, known as the Hubbard fund, and $50,000 endowment of academic department.

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CHAPTER XXXV.

The University library — Addition to Thompson Medical Hall — Reorganization of law department — Death of Prof. Greenough Whiter— Resignation of Rev. Dr. H. R. Starr.

1901-1902.

THE first year of the new century, the thirty-second since the opening of the University, and forty-third since the initial organization, showed the institution in a pros- perous condition. Over five hundred students were in attendance. Of these 457 were from the Southern States, 54 from Northern and Western states and 7 from foreign countries. The largest number from any one state was from Tennessee, numbering 102. Financially also there was a better exhibit than in any previous year, and the income more nearly equalized the expenditures.

During the year 1901 a large addition was made to the medical hall, known as Thompson Hall, enlarging the au- ditorium to accommodate 250 students, and doubling the size of the laboratory. The cost of this enlargement was $4,000, provided from the income of the medical depart- ment. The Hodgson Infirmary, formerly the Hodgson Library Building, remodeled and enlarged at a cost of $8,000, with Thompson Hall, represented in all a plant of the value of $40,000 connected with the medical depart- ment.

The grammar school dormitory, as previously men- tioned, had been added to the permanent plant of the University at a cost of $60,000.

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Several changes occurred in the personnel of the Univer- sity. Rev. Dr. Reginald H. Starr, professor of dogmatic theology, had resigned, but it had been necessary to post- pone the filling of the chair. Mr. Julius Leigh resigned the position of head master of the grammar school, and Mr. Henry G. Seibels, an alumnus of the University, had been appointed to fill that position.

The University has long felt the great need of a suitable library building. In 1876 Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., gave the sum of f 10,000 for the erection of a library build- ing, stipulating that he should determine its location, and be granted a lease of a considerable tract of land in its vicinity. Having certain views as to the development of that portion of the domain near Morgan's Steep, he designated a location for the library building in that vicinity. Plans for the building were prepared by Mr. H. Hudson Holly, of New York, a skilled architect, and the building was erected on the crowning elevation where it now stands. The distance from the other buildings of the University proved an insuperable difficulty as to con- venience and accessibility, and after some years it was decided to remove the books to the attic of Convocation Hall ad interim until a better location could be had. lears passed by, and no suitable place could be pro- vided, until 1895, when a portion of the library was placed in a large room in the third story of Walsh Mem- orial Hall, and a reading room arranged in connection with the library. In 1897 a generous alumnus of the University, realizing the great need of a suitable place for the library, gave the sum of $6,000 for the remodeling of the interior, fitting up and furnishing Convocation

368 HISTORY OF THE

Hall for the library. The building was entirely suitable for the purpose. It was central, well lighted, sufficiently spacious for all present needs and easily adapted to the purpose.

Convocation Hall was originally built from funds given for a chapter house and a gymnasium, and for other pur- poses. As the funds for these objects were not sufficient for providing separate buildings, Kev. Dr. Hodgson, the then vice chancellor, merged these funds into the erection of the main building, which, for the want of any suitable name, was called Convocation Hall. While the building was being erected, through the influence of the Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup, a friend of his, Mr. Thomas Breslin, gave the sum of $10,000 for the erection of the noble Breslin Tower, as a memorial to his deceased daughter. This splendid tower rivals in size, although not in height, the well-known Magdalen tower at Oxford, after which it was planned.

The eastern portion of the main building was fitted up as a gymnasium, with a paneled partition separating it from the west half, which was handsomely finished as a hall, and was used, when used at all, as a place of meet- ing for the board of trustees, and sometimes for concerts and lectures. As remodeled, its spacious and well-lighted reading room, with plate glass windows, handsome oak furniture and conveniences for all purposes, leaves noth- ing to be desired, except a sufficient income for supplying additions to the library of new books and current publica- tions. The building will, no doubt, in time be required to be enlarged, but it now contains 25,000 volumes of bound works and an equal number of unbound volumes.

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It possesses very valuable works and in some department? a very complete collection upon special subjects.

Rev. Dr. J. A. Oertel's valuable collection of paintings of religious subjects was removed to the Walsh Memorial Hall, where they form an attraction to many visitors.

Up to 1901 the annual meeting of the trustees had been held in August in connection with the commencement exercises. The change from two terms to three made it necessary to change the time for the meeting of the board of trustees to Saturday before commencement day. The annual meeting of the board was, therefore, held in 1901 on the 20th day of June. About the usual number of bishops, clerical and lay trustees1 were in attendance.

The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rev. David H. Greer, D. D., rector of St. Bartholomews Church, New York, and since consecrated as bishop coad- jutor of the diocese of New York. The commencement oration was delivered by the Rt. Rev. T. IT. Dudley, the chancellor.

The Rev. W. Lloyd Bevan, Ph. D., was elected to the chair of history in the University, including the academic and theological departments. The Rev. Charles H. Brent was elected professor of dogmatic theology, and the Rev. Arthur R. Gray as instructor in the theological de- partment. The Rev. Mr. Brent declined the election and has since been consecrated as bishop to the Philippines.

The law department has hitherto failed to secure any considerable number of students. A reorganization was provided for, and Albert T. McNeal, Esq., a lawyer of high repute in Tennessee, and for many years a trustee from that diocese, was elected dean of that department,

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and B. J. Bamage, Esq., a professor of law. The result of the reorganization will, no doubt, in time build up this important department of the University.

The Bev. W. C. Douglas, D. D., of New York, delivered a course of lectures in the theological department on Christian apologetics, which were highly appreciated by the faculty and students of that department.

The interest in athletics was greatly increased by the record made by Sewanee in football contests in the fall of 1899, and in baseball contests in the spring of 1900. In order to limit the tendencies to abuse in connection with athletic sports the hebdomadal board appointed a com- mittee from its members to supervise the athletics, and the students have for many years elected the vice chancel- lor a member of their athletic executive committee, in order that the authorities should be in touch with the stu- dents and exercise a harmonious control over their games.

The argument in favor of a reasonable allowance of intercollegiate athletics is well stated by President Seth Law, when at the head of Columbia University, New York. "That, despite the disadvantages of intercollegiate athletics, they are undoubtedly beneficial in many ways. Such sports make men of temperate lives, the students heroes ; they help numbers of men to pass safely through the critical years of young manhood; they develop self- restraint, self-discipline, courage, staying power and many of the qualities that tell powerfully in the battle of life; they afford to the educator an instrument whose training value no wise man will neglect."

The board of trustees passed a resolution that the building which had previously been known as Convocation

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 371

Hall be henceforth called and known as The Library.

Mr. J. A. Shaffer, an alumnus of the University resid- ing in Louisiana, gave the sum of five thousand dollars towards the erection of a gymnasium, and sundry other benefactors added to this sum about one thousand dollars. With this sum in hand, plans were obtained for a gymna- sium intended to meet all the wants of the athletic depart- ment in the future. The location was selected and mate- rial for a section of the proposed building placed on the ground.

The term of office of Rev. John Kershaw, a secretary of the board of trustees, having expired, the Rev. J. G. Glass was elected to fill that position.

The occupation of the Hoffman Dormitory for students in the junior department it was thought might operate un- favorably upon the boarding houses, which, it was origin- ally contemplated, should board and lodge the students, but the greater amount of accommodations afforded for summer visitors by the withdrawal of the students imme- diately filled the boarding houses during the summer, not, perhaps, to the advantage of the students, who naturally availed themselves of the social pleasures connected with the presence of agreeable acquaintances of the other sex. This has its advantages in promoting the courtesies of life, but may become in time a very serious drawback, and some measures may be required to place summer visitors at a greater distance from the University buildings. Prob- ably in the future hotels on a large scale may be built neap the brow of the mountain, or regulations like those at West Point be adopted, to lessen the too frequent asso- ciation of the students with visitors.

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Shortly after the meeting of the board of trustees, in 1901, Prof. Greenough White, of the theological depart- ment, was found dead in his room in St. Lukes Hall. He had in November, 1900, shown such signs of mental dis- turbance that it had been necessary that he should sus- pend his duties in the theological department. He ob- tained leave of absence in April, 1901, and made a long journey to the Pacific coast, returning to Sewanee in June following. He appeared before the board and ten- dered his resignation ; a few days afterwards under a tem- porary attack of insanity, he took his own life, to the great sorrow and regret of all who knew him. He was a devoted friend of Sewanee, and by his lectures on art, and his enthusiasm in its culture, he added greatly to the interest of Sewanee's social life. He was a writer of great promise and the author of three works of great in- terest, "The Philosophy of English Literature," "A Saint of the Southern Church," the subject of which was Bishop Cobbs, of Alabama, and "The Life of Bishop Kemper." He was also a frequent contributor to magazines. His death was a great shock to Sewanee, and it was felt that an accomplished scholar in literature, history and art had gone from us.

The most important event of the year 1902 was the completion and occupation of the new grammar school dormitory, the Quintard Memorial. The proximity of the grammar school had always been felt to be a detriment in many respects to both it and the University.

In this progressive age it is found difficult to hold back youth to the period of necessary preparation. The gram- mar school boy finds it hard to realize that he needs so

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long a drilling in the elementary branches of education before advancing to the higher grades) of scholarship, which cannot be successfully pursued without this pre- vious preparation. A great need, therefore, is to create a right sentiment in the boy, and to do this it is essential to instill in him a sense of the value and dignity of the grammar or preparatory school, its individuality and its importance, to recall to his mind that the great states- men, the great luminaries of England, have always con- sidered that to have been an Eton or Rugby boy was a greater honor than to have been at Oxford or Cambridge.

It is desirable, therefore, that as soon as may be the grammar school should enlarge its plant in all directions, that it should have its own chapel for daily prayers, school rooms, play grounds, and be a rival as well as feeder to the University. Could the academic department be fully endowed and the revenues of the grammar school be appropriated entirely to its support and general en- largement and improvement, the Sewanee grammar school would attain to a very high place in the roll of promi- nent preparatory schools, be ranked as superior in mem- bers and accessories to Concord, Shattuck and Groton.

It would accomplish more then in the building up of the University in its higher departments than any other agency.

In the great need of the church for men to meet the growing demand for clergy, to occupy its parishes and carry on its missions, Sewanee ought to have scores of scholarships in the theological department, and then our candidates would not be obliged to accept scholarships in distant seminaries, often losing their fealty and attach-

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ment to their own part of the country, their own people and their own family.

It is gratifying to observe, as the University grows older, that its alumni are bringing to the institution for matriculation their own sons and relatives. This has been a great source of support to all the older colleges of the country, and is still so. The South formerly sent many of its youth to Yale, Harvard and Princeton, and there is still a strong attachment on the part of parents to the institutions where they themselves were educated, which will account in great measure for the number of Southern students in Northern colleges. If it is intended that these students shall reside in the South it is a great mistake to educate them elsewhere. This will gradually grow less the case, and as the number of our alumni in- crease through the South, their attachment to Sewanee will be a potent influence to build it up.

The University has established the custom of making September 18th an annual holiday, commemorating the opening of the school on that day in 1868. While at this writing only thirty-six years have elapsed since the open- ing of the school, when but nine students were enrolled, and upwards of four thousand students have matriculated since, yet the writer was the only person present in the chapel in 1904 who was present at the opening in 1868, so rapidly do generations pass away. Six, however, of these nine first students are still living, but not one of the then faculty.

At the annual session of the board, in June, 1902, Rev. Samuel B. Bishop was elected to the chair of dogmatic theology in the theological department, vacant by the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 375

resignation of Dr. R. H. Starr. All the members of the various faculties were reelected at the session of the board of trustees in June, 1902. H. W. Jervey, M. A., was elected instructor in Greek ; J. M. Selden, instructor in chemistry, and Henry G. Seibels, head master of the grammar school.

In August, 1902, a garrison post flag, the gift of Mrs. Carter, was raised in front of Quintard Memorial Hall, with appropriate military ceremonies. In this connec- tion it will be recalled that at the first meeting of the delegates for the organization of the University on Look- out Mountain, on the 4th of July, 1857, the United States flag was raised over the speaker's stand, and forty- five years subsequently the flag was again ceremonially given prominence as an evidence that the University was conceived in no selfish sectional spirit, and that now, as at its inception, the University recognized and honored the flag as the emblem of our united and common country.

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CHAPTER XXXVI.

The loss by death of Bishops Hugh Miller, of Mississippi, and Robert W. Barnwell, of Alabama — Retirement of Professors W. Lloyd Bevan and Babbitt — Other changes in the faculty — Election of Dr. Brantz Mayer Roszel, as master of the Gram- mar School — Improvements on the domain.

1902-1903.

Two of the bishops connected with the board of trustees died during the year 1902. Bt. Rev. Robert W. Barnwell, of the diocese of Alabama, who had succeeded to the bish- opric of Alabama on the death of Bishop Wilmer, and the Rt. Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, of Mississippi, passed away during the year 1902. The Rev. C. M. Beck- with, D. D., of Texas, was elected bishop of Alabama, to succeed Bishop Barnwell. Bishop C. M. Beckwith was a nephew of Bishop J. W. Beckwith, of Georgia, and had been master of the grammar school at the University at an early day.

The catalogue of students for 1902-03 contained the names of 507 students in the different departments, in- cluding the grammar school; and were registered from 27 states. Twenty-seven students were in the theological, 16 in the law, 121 in the academic and 183 in the gram- mar school. Four hundred and seventy-nine of the students were from the Southern States and 34 from elsewhere. Mr. H. G. Siebels was head master of the grammar school from June, 1902, to June, 1903, when he retired from that position and was succeeded by Mr. Brantz Mayer Roszel, Ph. D.

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The chair of dogmatic theology was filled by the election of Rev. T. A. Tidball, D. D., of Philadelphia, Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., Rev. Wm. S. Bishop, Rev. W. H. Du- Bose, M. A., B. D., Rev. A. R. Gray, and Rev. W. A. Guerry, by election, completed the full theological faculty.

Prof. Babbitt, who had filled the chair of modern lan- guages since 1900, was obliged to obtain leave of absence during the Trinity term, 1902, and Prof. G. S. Swiggert, Ph. D., was employed in spring term of 1903, and elected to that chair at the July meeting of the board in 1903, and Prof. Rauiage was also incapacitated for duty and accepted a leave of absence during the spring term of 1903, and resigned, at the end of Trinity term, 1903, his chair in the law department. Hugher W. Jervey, M. A., instructor in Greek, was advanced to the position of asso- ciate professor of Greek, in July, 1903. In the gram- mar school Dr. W. A. Montgomery was appointed assist- ant instructor in classics, Mr. Herbert Evans, instructor in English, Mr. L. E. Hubbard, assistant master. An arrangement having been made with the Bank of Win- chester, Tenn., to establish a branch of that institution at Sewanee, an addition was built to the supply store, of a stone building large enough to contain the bank office and vault, and the University treasurer's office, and a room for the bookkeeper of the supply store. This proved a great convenience to the officers of the University, as well as to the business men, citizens and especially students and visitors.

The work of the department of forestry was continued during the years 1902 and 1903, with very satisfactory results.

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Hitherto, very little had been undertaken towards im- proving the domain, there being no special funds applica- ble to that purpose. A generous friend, in 1902-03, donated the sum of one thousand dollars to be applied to the improvement of Manigault Park, in front of St. Lukes Theological Hall and the Hoffman Dormitory. These grounds were accordingly greatly beautified by the laying out of graded roads and walks, the planting of evergreens, shrubbery and flowers. What has already been done in Manigault Park encourages the assurance that our Uni- versity domain may be made in time the beautiful and magnificent park which its founders contemplated, and which its natural features, splendid forest growth, easily constructed avenues, its pellucid springs, gentle slopes, varied elevation and ravines present to the landscape gardener the opportunity of more extensive and beautiful elaboration than is possessed even by the Vanderbilt famous park at Biltmore, near Asheville, N. C. This opportunity will, no doubt, be in time gradually carried into effect.

In this connection it should be mentioned that a village improvement society, organized in 1902, has already accomplished much in the laying out of stone- curbed broad walks from the railroad station to the Uni- versity buildings, the placing in the roadway a slag coat- ing from the former furnace at Cowan, gradually estab- lishing a good and permanent roadway on our principal avenues and thoroughfares.

The same generous friend who furnished the funds for the improvement of the grounds of Manigault Park, also .provided the means of enclosing and fencing with patent

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gates, some five hundred acres or more, embracing the University buildings and vicinity, thus keeping out va- grants and undesirable roaming stock.

Among other things to be used in ornamentation, the University obtained 15,000 seedling pines from Germany, which have been placed in a nursery and distributed in the grounds to be hereafter made use of in the further beautifying of the domain.

During the session of the board of trustees in 1903 an appropriate and beautiful ledger monument of polished granite was unveiled in the Sewanee cemetery in mem- ory of General Francis Asbury Shoup, D. D., and for many years a professor in the University. Dr. Shoup held the position of brigadier-general in the Confederate Army. The unveiling of the monument was attended by the camp of Confederate Veterans and by the board of trustees, with the citizens of Sewanee. Addresses were made by the Rt. Kev. Thomas U. Dudley, LL. D., chan- cellor of the University and an officer of the Confederate army, also by Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, D. D., bishop of Tennessee.

The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rt. Rev. Alexander C. Garrett, D. D., LL. D., bishop of Dallas. The commencement oration was delivered by Prof. H. C. White, of the University of Georgia. Six can- didates for orders in the theological department received the degree of bachelor of divinity. Thirty-nine graduates of the medical department received the degree of M. D. Three received the degree of LL. D., and one of civil en- gineer.

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At the meeting of the board in 1903, in view of the in- convenient state of our finances and indebtedness, it was decided to fund all our indebtedness by the execution of a new loan and mortgage which should bear interest of not more than 5 per cent, the whole amount limited to the sum of $150,000, and to run for fifty years. The arrangement and details for carrying into effect said funding was placed with the executive committee, with full power to act, with the proviso that not more than $ 100,000 of such bonds should be now issued.

The executive committee negotiated with certain parties in Atlanta, Ga., by whom the University bonds, to the amount of $75,000 were taken at par, the University pay- ing, however, 5 per cent to the financial agency through whom the negotiation was effected, such agency paying all expenses upon the same.

Through the receipt of the moneys paid upon the f 75,000 of bonds sold, the University paid off the bonds and mortgages outstanding of the former loan, and also the floating debt.

The annual interest of 5 per cent to be paid on this loan, amounting to the sum of $3,750, payable seini-annu- ally, is not a great burden for the University to carry, as the outstanding indebtedness was carrying our inter- est from 6 per cent to 8 per cent. It is to be hoped, however, that no further indebtedness will be required to be incurred.

It had been the desire of the University for some years that the diocese of Missouri should become one of the associated dioceses connected with the University. Hap- pily, in the year 1903, the convention of that diocese took

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 381

action, consenting to become affiliated with the other dioceses connected with the University, and, at the annual meeting of the board of trustees, the venerable bishop of that diocese, the Rt. Rev. Sylvester Tuttle, D. D., now the presiding bishop of the church, and Rev. James R. Win- chester, D. D., and Messrs. Wilkins R. Shields and Fayette O. Ewing took their seats as trustees. The accession of Missouri increased the number of bishops on the board to seventeen, and of clerical members to nineteen, and of lay trustees to thirty-eight — making in all a mem- bership of seventy-four, equally divided between clergy and laity. This number of trustees would be entirely un- wieldy if a full attendance was had, but less than half the number are usually present at the annual meeting of the board, and by a judicious arrangement all the powers of the board, during the recess, are placed in the hands of the executive committee, consisting of the chancellor, three other bishops, three clergymen and three laymen. This arrangement provides for any action that may be necessary during the recess.

The plans for the gymnasium provided for a grand ball court of considerable size at the west end of the building. Having sufficient funds in hand for the con- struction of this portion of the building, work was begun upon it in order to utilize it for temporary use and give greater facilities for athletic training while the main building was awaited. This was successfully accom- plished during the fall of 1903, and the athletic depart- ment removed from its temporary occupation of Forensic Hall. The success of competitive games with other insti- tutions was not so marked during 1903-1904, owing mainly

382 HISTORY OF THE

to the lighter weight of the Sewanee men in comparison with those competing with them.

The University sustained a severe loss in the death of its great chancellor, Bishop Dudley, of Kentucky, LL. D.y D. C. L., who died suddenly in the city of New York, on the 22d day of January, 1904. The executive commit- tee, of which he was ex officio the chairman, made a record upon its own minutes of their sense of the great loss sus- tained by them and the University, and arranged for a memorial service to be held in the University chapel, on June 25, 1904, to consist of a celebration of the holy communion and commemorative addresses. The service was accordingly held on the day appointed, there being present the board of trustees, the faculty and students of the University and a large concourse of the people of Sewanee, and visitors. Addresses were made by the Kt Eev. Dr. Peterkin, bishop of West Virginia, in behalf of the general church; by the Rev. Dr. Tuttle, chancellor ad interim, representing the board of trustees; and the Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., representing the faculty. The board of trustees placed upon their minutes a memorial expressive of the feeling of that body, in which it was truly said, "The loss of the head of an institution must always fall as a blow upon those who are left behind, but our loss, we feel, is beyond expression, heavy and grievous, because of the character of the man, and because of the critical time in which the blow falls, both for the Uni- versity and the South."

Bishop Dudley was preeminently our leader as well as the chancellor of the University. Nurtured in that splendid past which we love to speak of with tender pride

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 383

as the Old South, he embodied the splendid strength, the strong tenderness, the loving gentleness, the uniform gentle and genial courtesy of the Southern gentleman of the old school, together with those Christian qualities of leadership, necessary alike to all great characters and to every age, which are here enumerated in the language of our venerable presiding bishop in "foresight, care, pro- tection, love."

We regarded him as our strongest link to that past deeply venerated by him and most dear to us. We gloried in him as the leader who led best and influenced strongest, because he believed that the enduring in the present is the fruit of the past, and we loved him with the "love that never faileth," because rooted and grounded in the simple reality which is the essence of divine love.

The meeting of the board of trustees, on June 25, 1904, was more largely attended than any other previous meeting, there being present ten bishops, besides the bishop of West Virginia, not a member of the board, four- teen clerical and twelve lay trustees.

Rt. Rev. Ellison Capers, D. D., was elected chancellor for one year to fill the unexpired term of Bishop Dudley. The Rev. James G. Glass was reelected secretary for the term of three years.

At the meeting of the board of trustees in 1903 a reso- lution was passed that a committee be appointed whose duty it should be to call attention to the importance of a new chapel for the University, and to do what it can to collect the requisite funds for the same, etc. Under this resolution the chancellor, vice chancellor and chaplain were appointed such committee, and it was decided by the

384 HISTORY OF THE

committee that the chaplain be sent out during the winter vacation of 1903-04, December to March, to canvass the dioceses connected with the University, to present this and other needs of the University. And in this connec- tion, the vice chancellor advised that funds should be solicited for the raising of a fund to be called the semi- centennial fund to be paid each year until 1907, being the semicentennial anniversary of the first meeting for the establishing of the University, held at Lookout Moun- tain, in 1857. The chaplain entered upon the canvass during January, February and March, 1904, and met with considerable success, securing annual subscriptions to the semicentennial fund, payable until 1907, to the amount of $15,000, and to the chapel fund, $11,285, and a Bishop Dudley scholarship fund of $5,000, provided for in her will by Mrs. Aldrich, of New York. It was suggested to Rev. Mr. Guerry, by Mrs. Aldrich, that the proposed new chapel should be called "All Saints," and be built in memory of all who had been officially connected with the University, and she engaged, if her suggestion was adopted, to give $5,000 in memory of Bishop Gallaher, her former rector. The sum of $4,000 was subscribed to the fund in memory of Bishop Polk, and Mrs. Hoffman, the widow of Dean Hoffman, gave $1,000 in memory of her husband, and less amounts to the sum of $825 were sub- scribed.

The committee made their report to the board of trus- tees at their June meeting, in 1904, and resolutions were passed, adopting the name of "All Saints" for the new chapel, and providing for sundry details and the location of such chapel to the south of Walsh Memorial Hall,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 385

which location was not regarded, by tke writer, as that which should be made, preferring that the plans of loca- tion made in 1860, by Bishop Hopkins, should preferably be followed, for reasons which will be found in statements made by him to the board in 1890 and 1894.

The suggestion of making the chapel a memorial church to those who had been connected with or who had made benefactions, was a judicious one, and which will doubt- less make it possible to raise a sufficient fund to build a chapel worthy of this church University. The commit- tee was continued and will, no doubt, do effective work, with the hope that a sufficient portion of the chapel may be built to be opened on the semicentennial of 1907.

The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Bt. Rev. Edwin Gardner Weed, D. D., bishop of Florida.

An invitation extended to his excellency, Baron Speck von Sternberg, the German ambassador, was accepted by him to deliver the commencement oration, which he did most acceptably, on Thursday, June 30, 1904. A largely attended reception at the home of the vice chancel- lor was given to his excellency, and he was an honored guest at the alumni banquet. The baron made a public expression of his appreciation of Sewanee and its work in a communication published in the New York Church- man, in July, 1904. The degree of I). C. L. was conferred upon the baron by the board of trustees, and the same degree upon Prof. H. C. White, Ph. D. The degree of doctor of science was conferred upon Assistant Surgeon- General Wm. C. Gorgas, United States Army. General Gorgas is a son of Confederate General Joshia Gorgas, vice chancellor of the University in the seventies. The

386 HISTORY OF THE

son has achieved a national reputation in connection with sanitary work in Havana, and is now in charge of the sanitary department connected with the Panama Canal.

The board of trustees adopted and directed that en- grossed copies of an address to be delivered on commence- ment day in the chapel, by the Rt. Rev. Chancellor, ex- pressing the appreciation of the board of the long con- tinued and faithful service of Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., the oldest professor in the University, for his unflag- ging and unselfish devotion and high and faithful work done in the several chairs occupied by him and as dean of the theological department, and to Major George R. Fair- banks for the work done as trustee from ante bellum days and as the efficient coadjutor of the late Bishop Quintard in the successful reestablishing of the University.

The endowment committee made a report of the en- dowment funds of the University, relating to the general endowment and special for scholarship etc., the total amounting to $188,184.56. The finance committee re- ported the total receipts from all sources $153,477.64, and disbursements $150,072.13, with a deficit balance from previous year of $3,405.51. There was, however, included in the receipts, $74,000 from sale of bonds. The total value of all assets of the University, inclusive of lands and buildings, equipment and invested funds, was estimated at $732,442.80, with a bonded indebtedness of $75,000 at 5 per cent, and floating indebtedness of $8,110.22, show- ing a very healthy financial condition.

The University at an early period undertook a printing department, mainly for its own use. For this purpose the small wooden library building near Otey Spring was re-

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 387

moved to Alabama Avenue, and a limited outfit provided. It was never very satisfactory, although quite useful in meeting local demands. At this press the Sewanee Purple was printed, a news sheet managed and edited by stu- dents, but of no pronounced literary character, but chiefly devoted to the record of the achievements of the alhletic department. Another publication called The Mountaineer, was undertaken by the grammar school boys.

In the year 1892, the Sewanee Review, a quarterly pub- lication, was established under the auspices of the faculty of the University. Prof. Wm. P. Trent, M. A., LL. D., acting as editor. In its prospectus it was declared to be devoted to reviews of leading books, and to papers on such topics of general literature as require fuller treatment than they receive in popular magazines and less technical treatment than they receive in specialist publications. In other words, to conform more nearly to the type of the English reviews than is usual with American periodicals.

The Review was printed on heavy paper of octavo size, and each number contained 128 pages.

From the outset, under the able editorship of Dr. Trent and his accomplished successor, Dr. J. B. Henne- man, professor of English, the Review has attained a high literary standing and has given much prominence to the literary standing of the University.

An arrangement was made in 1904 with the Rev. Arthur O. Watkins, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and of Union Theological Seminary, to undertake at his own expense the establishing and conducting of a Uni- versity press, to furnish the necessary capital and to as- sume the natural risk incident thereto. He agreed to

388 HISTORY OF THE

erect a suitable building and equip a suitable plant for such purposes. The University was to have the privilege, on thirty days notice, to purchase the entire property. In pursuance of this arrangement, Mr. Watkins built a hand- some stone building on Alabama Avenue, and equipped the same, and it is expected that the University press will be a substantial and creditable factor in the advancement of the interests of the University.

The catalogue for 1903-04 contained the names of 467 students, a loss of 50 from the previous year in the medi- cal department, and somewhat of an increase on other de- partments, especially the academic and grammar school.

The cornerstone of the Hodgson Memorial Chapel, as a part of the theological department, was laid on Tuesday, June 29, 1904, in the presence of the board of trustees and the faculty and students of the University, and visi tors and residents of the mountains. The cornerstone was laid by the Bt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, bishop of Tennes- see, with the religious services appropriate to the occas- ion, by an address commemorative of the life and service of the Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., former vice chancellor and at his death dean of the theological department. The plans proposed by a leading architect of New York City, provide for the erection of a very chaste and beautiful chapel, built of Sewanee sandstone, and large enough to meet any future needs of the theological department. The funds are provided by Mrs. F. G. Hodgson, widow of the deceased dean.

A summer school of theology was inaugurated by the professors of the theological department, and daily ses- sions were held through the month of August. Among the

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 389

speakers from abroad were the Rev. Dr. Butler, warden of Seabury Divinity School, and the Rev. C. B. Wilmer, rector of St. Lukes Church, Atlanta, Ga. The sessions were well attended and it is expected that the summer school of theology will be a permanent arrangement.

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

Notes upon the founding, growth and present condition of the domain of the University, which may be of interest for future reference.

THE UNIVERSITY DOMAIN.

TENNESSEE was originally a part of North Carolina, and when this vast unsettled portion of that State was set off to form the new State of Tennessee, it had few inhabi- tants, and was still occupied by roving bands of Indians, who were in no wise friendly to the newcomers who had invaded their favorite hunting grounds.

To induce settlement, especially of these mountain ranges, considered of little value agriculturally, the State made grants to individuals of tracts of land ranging from 25 acres to 5,000 acres, the only expense incurred being the survey, and small fees to the entry taker and register. The grants were signed by the governor and attested under the great seal by the secretary of state. As the entries were made in a very loose manner, and the calls very indefinite, when surveys came to be made it was not uncommon that many grants lapped over the boundaries of lands already granted, in which case, as a rule, the oldest took precedence.

The mountain lands which lay on this portion of the Cumberland range were considered of so little value that, although they could be had for the asking, hardly any of the portion now owned by the University had been taken tip prior to 1834.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 391

In that year Madison Porter, Thomas T. Logan and Wallace Estill, Jr., applied for and obtained three grants of land containing 5,000 acres each, covering the present domain of the University. The Sewanee Mining Company having ascertained that there existed a large body of coal lands on the mountain beyond Sewanee, at and in the vicinity of Tracy City, some twelve miles beyond Sewanee, and to some extent on the University domain, purchased the interests of Porter and Logan, owning two-thirds of these grants, and, in 1858, made a gift of 5,000 acres to the University, which afterwards acquired the Estill interest of one-third and, by gift and purchase, other lands, which, with the 5,000 acres given by the Sewanee Mining Com- pany, made up nearly ten thousand acres, now constitut- ing the domain of the University; a larger domain, it is believed, than is owned by any other religious or educa- tional corporation in this country, or perhaps in any other.

The Sewanee Mining Company, about 1855, constructed the railroad from Cowan on the N. C. & St. L. B. B., up the mountain to the lower coal bank near Sewanee, and after- wards to Tracy City.

The University having in the outset decided to maintain this property intact, adopted a lease system of its lands, under which a resident population of about one thousand persons are living upon the domain, which when acquired was a virgin forest which it has always been the policy to retain as far as possible for sanitary, aesthetic and practical reasons, and hence we find, to-day, the University buildings and private residences surrounded and embow- ered amid forest trees. By a rule adopted in 1860, and re-

S92 HISTORY OF THE

affirmed in 1871, it was provided that not more than one- third of the timber should be cut down on any lot, and that all business houses should be confined to the vicinity of the railroad station, by which arrangement the village of Sewanee has grown up around the station. It was also provided that the residences erected above the village should be of a certain value. We have now at Sewanee village, a passenger and freight station, eight business houses, several machanics' shops, a handsome stone church and a very respectable colored church, and forty or fifty dwellings. Also a large steam laundry, a steam saw mill, a lodge of Knights of Honor and a Masonic lodge.

Leaving the village, University Avenue extends north- east over a mile, bordered with handsome dwellings and the University buildings. Other avenues are occupied by private residences. Fine drives through the forest ex- tend to University View, the Natural bridge, Proctor Hall, Morgan's Steep, Green's View, and Point Rutledge. Public roads extend to Cowan, Monteagle, Rowarks and Lost Coves. Hundreds of beautiful sites for residences invite future occupancy of families from the Gulf States, which was one of the anticipations of the founders.

No lots are sold, but a moderate annual rental, less than the interest would be on the value of owned lots, the leases are for a term of thirty-three years, and the privilege of two renewals for the same term.

The salubrity of the climate has given Sewanee a wide reputation as a health resort, bringing many summer visi- tors, with numbers of little children whose improvement i« quickly manifested.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 393

Since the cornerstone of the Hodgson Infirmary was laid, in 1876, nine substantial stone buildings have been erected for the use of the University, besides three frater- nity halls of stone. The Hodgson Memorial Chapel is now in the course of erection, and work will before long be commenced on the new All Saints Chapel, and all this in the space of twenty-eight years of Sewanee life. These buildings are all of our beautiful Sewanee sandstone, and will, no doubt, long remain memorials of the beneficence of the friends of the University. In style of architecture, excellence of designs and suitableness for the various pur- poses for which they were designed, they give to the Uni- versity great dignity and a forecast of the greatness of its future development. Before many years a hall of science, a complete chemical laboratory, the buildings for a de- partment of technology, will be added, and also additional buildings to provide for the extension of the theological and medical departments, as well as a complete plant for the grammar school and additional dormitories for the academic department, an auditorium to replace Forensic Hall, and a Gallery of Fine Arts.

It hardly need be added that a generous endowment of the chairs of instruction should accompany the develop- ment of our material plant.

It is now forty-eight years since the initial movement for the founding of the University was had, and its name and location was decided upon by trustees appointed by the conventions of ten Southern dioceses.

It is thirty-eight years since Bishop Quintard and the writer came with our families to undertake the work of resuscitation of this great scheme. Thirty-six years have

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elapsed since it began its educational work with less than ten students.

Its bright prospects in 1860, when enthusiastic crowds gathered on this mountain at the laying of the cornerstone of what was designed to be its great central building, had all vanished. The project of its revival seemed almost hopeless in 1866. The contrast between the 10th of October, 1860, when half a million dollars had been sub- scribed for the work, and March 21, 1866, when Bishop Quintard in the presence of less than a score of persons, planted the cross at St. Lukes, could hardly have been more striking.

Its great founder, Bishop Polk, who had won the hearts, the confidence and the financial support of friends of the scheme, had passed away. So had Bishops Otey, Cobbs and Freeman. There seemed no one to renew the great work, until, providentially, the young, comparatively un- known and newly consecrated Bishop Quintard, of Ten- nessee, took up the task without means and amidst the poverty and desolation resting upon the South at the close of the great Civil War, a task which seemed to the human eye hopeless and visionary.

Fortunately Bishop Quintard was gifted with enthu- siasm and with a firm belief in the outcome of the great enterprise, in the carrying out of which he brought to bear the courage, the great faith and the power of enlist- ing the sympathies and the aid of others, both in England and this country, he created an interest in the work and with unfailing zeal and faith, labored continually for its advancement. He lived to see the University placed on a sure foundation, its feeble beginning expanded from a

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 395

grammar school to a real University, with its theological, medical, law and academic departments in full operation, and a property accumulated valued at over f 700,000. A wonderful accomplishment in view of all the discourage- ments and disappointments of the period. Of its further growth and development the future historian will speak, but its early life, struggles and successes will always be a matter of interest to those who have watched its progress and to those who come after us.

396 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER XXXVIII. CONCLUSION.

In the earlier part of the 19th Century, comparatively little progress had been made in the matter of higher edu- cation. The University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, held probably the highest rank. State universities in most of the Southern States had been established with local patronage and narrow means, being really colleges and not universities, in that the arts and sciences were their only departments.

Bishop Polk, in 1856, had brought out the idea of estab- lishing a Southern University which would embrace all departments of learning, to be under the auspices of the church. Three years elapsed before its charter, constitu- tion and statutes, its location and support, were obtained.

Four years of war and desolation left behind them only the memory of the university which was to be founded, and the domain upon which it was to be placed, but a great thought, it has been well said, never dies. Polk and Otey, Cobbs and Freeman had passed away and Elliott was soon called to paradise. A young bishop, born and raised in the North, who had cast his fortunes with the South for many years, was raised up by Providence to grasp the great ideal promulgated by Bishop Polk and his own great predecessor, Bishop Otey, and in the confidence of an enduring faith, devote all his energies and enthusi- asm to again beginning anew, in the virgin forest, the work of resuscitation of an enterprise which seemed de*

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3&7

tined otherwise to perish. Bishop Quintard was seem- ingly the only man who would or could undertake the work.

The bishop wisely undertook no more at the outset than was prudent and practicable. He obtained no plans of buildings of an expensive character, but waa content to do what was within his reach, to be used with a prudent discretion.

How the University was built up from the two log and timber houses and the one frame building of 1866, pre- sents an interesting series of reminiscences. The virgin forest, unbroken by the hand of man, emerging from its sleep of centuries into the active life of a University town, within the average life of a man, has more than ordinary interest, in that its growth and development were the results of a high Christian ideal. A growth and expansion not based upon the creation of wealth or tem- poral gain, but upon the development of the highest facul- ties of the human race. Its promoters were not the serv- ants of Mammon, but the servants of the Most High God, looking to the highest and immortal interests1 of their fellowmen, especially the coming race represented by the youth of the South. A rapid review of the dates of construction of the different University buildings may be of interest.

As has been stated, Bishop Quintard and Major Fair- banks built their houses in 1866. The oldest residence now at Sewanee is the timber house erected by the writer in 1866, nearly opposite the University library. The first building owned by the University was Otey Hall, erected by Bishop Quintard for a training school in 1866, and

398 HISTORY OF THE

donated to the University. It stood nearly in front of the Walsh Memorial Hall, and was burned in 1880. The next building put up by the University was a dormitory of eight small rooms, adjacent to Otey Hall, and now forming a part of the Elmore Boarding House. The nucleus of the present chapel was erected in 1867, of the dimensions of 32 feet by 24 feet, and a shallow chancel, repeatedly en- larged since. Four dormitories of four rooms each were erected, which have since been sold to private parties. The building known as Tremlett Hall was erected in 1868 as a dormitory. Forensic Hall, in the chapel yard, was erected in 1874 by the joint efforts of Prof. Caskie Harrison and the writer. The Hodgson Library, now the Hodgson Infirmary, was began in 1876, and was the first stone building erected by the University. This was followed, in 1877, by St. Lukes Theological Hall, given by Mrs. Manigault. Next came Thompson Hall, the present Medi- cal Hall, built in 1883. The Library Building, formerly known as Convocation Hall and Gymnasium, was erected in 1886. Walsh Memorial Hall in 1891, Hoffman Memor- ial Hall in 1898, and Quintard Memorial Hall in 1901. The supply store in 1900, and the bank adjacent in 1903. Additions were made to the Hodgson Library Building in 1900, and to Thompson Hall in 1901.

The possibilities of creating Sewanee a place of beauty are beyond question. What has already been done by individuals indicates what might be done, if it had the means, by the University itself. Whitewashed board fences are not the proper embellishment of beautiful buildings and magnificent forest growth.

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 399

In the matter of endowment Sewanee has received com- paratively little, but still something. All her buildings have been gifts, and for scholarships and other purposes, about |160,000 has so far been given. An endowment fund of half a million would enable the University to reach far beyond its present growth. We have gone from the nine students of the first term up to an enrollment of nearly six hundred. From the great area of the South we should have five times that number. Over 3,000 stu- dents have matriculated up to this time. The sons of many of the students are now in the University registers. The influence of those who have been educated at Se- wanee during the past thirty-six years ought to be an ever widening factor in the future growth of the Univer- sity, both in the number of students and in benefactions.

This institution seemed now to be fairly established, but how has it been established? Not by the easy road of large benefactions from men of very large fortunes, fur- nishing ample means to at once erect all necessary build- ings and equipments, with endowments to support profes- sorships and students, but little by little, small sums laboriously gathered by continuous pleading at home and abroad, single benefactions or legacies from only moder- ately well-off people, and yet about $160,000 of money endowment has been accumulated. Nor should we fail to mention that the institution has come to its present most hopeful condition through the self-sacrifice, care and privation of its able professors, who have labored man- fully and faithfully on small salaries, declining large salaries elsewhere, for the love of the University they believed in and labored for. A large degree of gratitude

400 HISTORY OF THE

is due to all these faithful men of unquestioned ability, who have given a reputation to Sewanee and helped to make it what it is.

But what shall we predict of its future, except that it will be, under Providence, what the church and its alumni and those entrusted with its government shall make it. The cause of higher education has greatly ad- vanced in public estimation of late years. The possessors of large fortunes have come to realize that no use of their means will redound more to their credit than the endow- ment of educational institutions, that they can build no more enduring memorial than those which will connect their names with halls of learning. That while what is merely for personal achievement or distinction will pass away, the work done or helped for the educational ad- vancement of the race will continue to augment for untold years. The names of many of England's warriors and great sea captains have faded from memory, but the name of William of Wykham has been honored for these hundreds of years past, and will be for many hun- dreds of years to come, more than that of any hero of the battlefield.

Without any great stretch of the imagination I can forsee, with the eye of an abounding faith, the University growing year by year in reputation and usefulness, so that the youth of the South will seek to be enrolled here, and no student educated at Sewanee will care to seek hon- ors or degrees elsewhere.

When the people of the South, and especially church- men, will regard the University as Englishmen regard their Oxford or Cambridge, when to have been a Sewanee

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 401

graduate \vill be a source of gratification and a passport wherever good scholarship and Christian culture shall be held in regard, and when the line of collegiate buildings now outlined around Manigault Park shall be filled out with other still nobler structures, and there shall arise a collegiate church of grand and imposing dimensions, with its lofty crown-capped spire the central and crown- ing feature, denoting that Sewanee is first and above all a church University, the idea of its founders will be real- ized.

We have at the beginning of this 20th century much cause for gratification. From the ashes of the Civil War the University has risen to be far more than a memory or a name or an undeveloped dream.

When the grand forest domain shall be improved in every part, its natural beauties aided by the art of the landscape gardener and the skillful forester, by graded roads, rustic bridges, beautiful outlooks over the adjacent country from well-chosen points, long vistas opening through forest glades; fountains, statues and other embellishments commemorating men great in literature and art ; when all this is done, in the course of the coming century, Sewanee will have a world-wide reputation as the most beautiful seat of learning on the globe.

Now in this, these opening years of the century, we have great cause of hopefulness for the years to come. The South seems to be entering upon a period of pros- perity. Its staples of cotton, cane, rice, tobacco, iron, coal, marble, corn, wheat and other grains, its vast tim- ber forests, its phosphate deposits, its gushing oil wells, its cattle, horses and mules, are in great demand, and its

402 HISTORY OF THE

manufacture of cotton, steel, etc., are yearly increasing. With such an area of wealth-producing country the Uni- versity should, and no doubt will, be cherished, aided and perfected.

All our departments are well filled with able professors. We have as the administration head of the University Prof. B. Lawton Wiggins, M. A., LL. D., young in years, but who, during the years he has filled the office of vice chancellor, has shown remarkable business talent, as well as high scholarship — an unusual but extremely fortunate combination in this case, and one rarely found. In the prime of life, blessed with health and wonderful power of endurance, he has succeeded in drawing together and straightening out the tangled skeins of finance, scholastic work, discipline, police and general superintendence over lands and buildings, advisory to the commissioners of buildings and lands, roads, streets and improvements.

Vice Chancellor Wiggins is an alumnus of this Univer- sity. Born on September 11, 1861, at Sand Ridge, S. C., receiving his earlier education at the Porter Academy, Charleston, S. C.? he entered the junior department of the University in 1877, and graduated as master of arts in 1882. Became an assistant in the school of ancient languages and was elected professor of that chair in succession to Prof. Caskie Harrison in 1882, and has continued to fill that position ever since. He was elected vice chancellor in 1893, in succession to Bishop Gailor, for the term of five years, and reelected in 1898 during "good behavior," without limitation, a very high and de- served compliment to his efficiency in that office. The de- gree of doctor of laws was conferred on him in 1902 by

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 403

Trinity College, Connecticut. He married Clara, daughter of Bishop Quintard, and now occupies the handsome resi- dence of the late bishop. In 1903 the board of trustees passed a resolution placing upon record its grateful ap- preciation of his faithful services, which have been charac- terized by earnest devotion to duty and signal ability, re- sulting in the upbuilding and growth of the University to a most gratifying degree.

UNIVER3H

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