HISTORY
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE,
VIRGINIA.
THE OLDEST INCORPORATED METHODIST COLLEGE
IN AMERICA.
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RICHARD IRBY (A. B. 1844).
Hicl^monb, Pa.;
WHITTET & SHEPPERSON, GENERAL PRINTERS.
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA
PREFACE.
The following resolution, adopted at the last annual
meeting of the Board of Trustees, will answer as a
preface to what will be given as a history of the oldest
incorporated Methodist college in America now in exis-
tence, and can be pleaded as an excuse, if any be needed,
why one so inexperienced in authorship should make
this effort to rescue from oblivion what is left of the re-
cords and information now obtainable in regard to this,
comparatively speaking, venerable college.
"On motion of J. J. Lafferty and W. H. Christian,
" Resolved, That the thanks of the Board be tendered
to Richard Irby, Esq., for his labors in the collection of
material for a connected and authentic historical account
of this college, and that he be requested to continue and
perfect this work, and that all friends of the college be
requested to give him their cordial aid and co-operation. ' '
HISTORY
OF
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE
EARLY EFFORTS OF METHODISTS TO FOUND SCHOOLS.
I OHN WESLEY, the founder of Methodism, was in
every sense a highly educated man. His education
began at the knee of one of the wisest and most ac-
complished women that ever lived to bless the world.
It was continued at Oxford, but did not stop there; for
he believed, and acted on his belief, that a man's educa-
tion should continue as long as his intellectual energy
survives.
The great business of Wesley was to spread scriptural
holiness over the world, beginning at his own home.
To accomplish this great end he sought and utilized
every practicable agency. Early in the course of the
great movement he put in motion, he established the
Kings wood School, which he aimed to make as thorough,
practically, as Oxford and Cambridge, and free from the
surroundings which hindered evangelical believers in at-
tendance on those schools, where he and his co-workers
had encountered so much opposition and ridicule. At
this school were to be allied in holy matrimony religion
and learning, which godless hands had sought to put
asunder; for he valued education and learning severed
from, and unhallowed by, religion as worse than worth-
less.
6 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Following the example of this great leader, Asbury,
the ' ' Pioneer Bishop of America, ' ' sought at an early
day to carry out the same plans. But the difficulties he
encountered were different from those Mr. Wesle}r met
in many respects. At the close of the Revolutionary
War, he found a continent over the broad area of which
was spread a population of about three million of people.
These people had just come out of a war of seven years,
impoverished in every species of property except their
broad acres of forest land, worthless until subdued by
the sturdy husbandman. The currency of the country
was well-nigh worthless and irredeemable in gold and
silver. The great and controlling idea of the people was
the restoration of wealth and material resources. This
meant and required hard and constant work, which
pushed aside schools and all other enterprises of the kind
considered as of secondary importance. At that time
only about eight colleges were found in the States, and
these were slimly endowed, if endowed at all, and but
poorly patronized.
But bold, and trusting in God, Asbury began the work
of establishing schools, hardly waiting for the clearing
away of the smoke of battle. At the time he was made
General Superintendent, or Bishop, (1784), there were in
the United States 14,988 members in the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. These were scattered broadcast over the
States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, from New York
to Georgia. The bulk of the membership was found in
the Southern States. The Minutes for that year give
New York City sixty members and Brunswick Circuit
(Virginia) four hundred and eighty-four, and other cir-
cuits in Virginia more.
In the year 1784 Dr. Cummings (in Early Schools of
Methodism, New York, 1886) thinks Bishop Asbury
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 7
founded the first Methodist academy ever established in
America. It is reasonable, however, to put the date a
little later, say 1785, for his services as General Superin-
tendent did not begin till later, inasmuch as Mr. Wesley's
letter appointing him to the place bears date September
10, 1784. This school or academy was located in Bruns-
wick county, Virginia, on the road leading from Peters-
burg to Boydton, at a point about midway between the
two places. He named it
EBENEZER ACADEMY.*
For a number of years this academy was controlled
by trustees appointed by the Bishop or by the Annual
Confeience, and enjoyed such supervision as the Bishop
was able to give, which, with such arduous labors as
demanded his energies, was of necessity but slight and
occasional. On this account, and other accounts inci-
dent to the times, the control of the academy was lost
"The Ebenezer Academy building is still standing, but it has
been changed somewhat since it ceased to be used for school
purposes. The cut used here was made from a pencil sketch of
it made by Mr. Short, who lives near, and sent by Rev. J. Carson
Watson, in whose circuit it is located. The walls are of stone,
one of which has become injured ; otherwise, the old house
would be good for another century.
8 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
to the Methodists, and went into the hands of the county
authorities, which control never was regained by the
Church. But it was kept up as an academy for many
years, and at it many of the most prominent men of the
county and counties adjacent were educated wholly or
partly. In this way it did a good work for the people of
its day, and was the forerunner and prophecy of another
school not far away, which, under better auspices, though
not without difficulties, has lived to bless the Church and
the world in this nineteenth century.
The first regularly incorporated Methodist college in
the United States was Asbury College. It was located
near Baltimore, Md. It was in operation only a few
years. Augusta College, Kentucky, was the next. That
has long since ceased to exist. In the period preceding
the division of the Methodist Episcopal Church, there
were thirty-one literary institutions controlled by this
Church, of which three were exclusively for females and
several, co-educational. Seventeen of these were located
in the Southern States. Of the thirty-one, only six col-
leges have survived, viz. : Randolph- Macon College,
chartered February 3, 1830; Wesleyan University (Con-
necticut), chartered May, 1831 ; Emory and Henry (Vir-
ginia), 1838; Wesleyan Female College (Georgia), 1839.
Dickinson College (Pennsylvania) chartered in 1783,
but did not become a Methodist college till 1833, and was
opened as a Methodist college September, 1834. Alle-
ghany College (Pennsylvania) was chartered in 1818, and
came under the control of the Methodist Church in 1833,
and was opened as a Methodist college the same year.
It will thus be seen that all these male colleges which
survived, were opened under Methodist patronage, nearly
simultaneously, viz.: Wesleyan University, October, 1831;
Randolph- Macon, January, 1832; Alleghany College,
ERRATA.
In the second line of second paragraph of this page, for Asbury.
read Cokesbury.
In the tenth line, for Six Colleges, read Seven Colleges.
In the third line below that line, read Emory College. Georgia,
chartered 1837.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. g
November, 1833; Dickinson College, September, 1834.
This point of time thus became a marked starting-point
in the history of Methodist colleges. Since this turning-
point was passed, the number of them has increased as
rapidly as the membership of the church, and can now be
counted by the hundreds, making the Methodist Church
foremost in the great work of Christian education.
It may be noted here that all of the above-named col-
leges succeeded to buildings which had been used for
school purposes,' more or less complete, while those
of Randolph- Macon were built wholly out of new mate-
rial.
[t ig probable that the idea and purpose moving Bishop
ro found church schools, had never gone entirely
out of the minds of the "Methodists of Virginia, notwith-
standing all the failures and disasters which had befallen
the early enterprises. They found no school in the Con-
ference territory of high grade where they felt safe in
sending their sons. William and Mary College was
under the control of the Episcopalians, and its location
was noted for excess in worldliness and free-living, which
did not invite Methodists, whose rules forbade such cus-
toms. The atmosphere of the college and town was un-
suited to Methodists, and they were looked upon as unfit
for the society of the so-called best people. Hampden-
Sidney College, originally non-sectarian, had come under
the control of the Presbyterians, with whom, in those
days, Arminiaii Methodists did not think it safe to let
their sons remain too long, lest they should become Cal-
vinists. Washington College was then a feeble school,
and remote from the eastern portion of the State, and out-
side the Virginia Conference. Under these circum-
stances, and for what were esteemed good reasons, the
Methodists of the Virginia Conference, then composed of
io HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the eastern and middle portions of Virginia and North
Carolina, moved in the matter of establishing a college
of high grade.
A resolution, adopted by the General Conference of
1824, recommending "that each Annual Conference es-
tablish a Seminary of learning under its own regulations
and patronage, ' ' had the effect to direct the attention of
the church throughout the connection to the subject of
education. So almost simultaneously the New York
Conference, with the Virginia Conference, moved towards
the establishment of a college, as recommended by the
General Conference, the result of which was the found-
ing of the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn.,
and of Randolph- Macon College at Boydton, Va., the two
oldest Methodist colleges, originally incorporated as such,
now existing in America.
The credit of first planning or founding Randolph-
Macon College has been awarded to Rev. Hezekiah G.
Leigh and Gabriel P. Disosway. The former was a
prominent minister in the Virginia Conference, and was
justly esteemed by his contemporaries as an orator second
to but few, if any, of his time. Dr. Bennett, in Memo-
rials of Methodism in Virginia, says : ' ' Perhaps no
man ever left a deeper impression on the hearts of the
people among whom he labored. In every city where he
was stationed, in every district, in every circuit, there are
thrilling recollections of his preaching. . . . He was not
simply an eloquent preacher, he was a wise, skillful,
practical workman in the vineyard." Dr. W. A. Smith,
third President of Randolph- Macon College, said of him :
' ' Dr. Leigh had few equals in the pulpit. He filled a
large space in public attention, and wielded a wide and un-
disputed influence among his brethren in the ministry."
He was a native of Perquimans county, N. C., born
REV. HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, D. D.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 1 1
November 23, 1795, but for many years prior to his death
resided on his farm near Boydton, Va.
Gabriel P. Disosway was a native of the city of New
York, of Huguenot ancestry, born December 6, 1799.
He took his A. B. degree at Columbia College, New York,
in 1821. In early life he became a citizen of Petersburg,
Va., and married a Virginia lady. He was a pious and
devoted Methodist, and by his superior education and
literary abilities exerted a wide and salutary influence on
the church circles of his town and day. Having been a
college-bred man, he may have suggested to Dr. Leigh
the founding of a college, or the latter may have sought
the advice and co-operation of Mr. Disosway, and thence-
forth the two worked together as co-laborers in this good
cause. Dr. W. A. Smith inclined to the latter view of
the matter, for he says (Funeral Discourse on Rev. H.
G. Leigh), " Regarding all the circumstances, the promi-
nent position held by Dr. Leigh in originating all the
preliminary measures, and his personal activity in ad-
vancing them, we have always considered him in a good
sense the founder of Randolph -Macon College." Mr.
Disosway returned to New York in 1828, and thus the
college ceased to have his active co-operation with Dr.
Leigh, which might, and doubtless would, have been
very acceptable and beneficial. He lived to an honorable
old age, giving much of his valuable time to the great
interests of the Church of his choice, and also to the great
religious institutions of his State and the country, with a
number of which he was closely identified as manager or
director. He also wrote frequently for the press, and
was the author of several books, one of which particu-
larly was highly esteemed, viz. : " The Old Churches of
New York. ' '
The college, many years ago, recognized the claims of
12 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
these co-founders to the gratitude and remembrance of
succeeding generations by placing on the walls of the
chapel marble tablets, suitably inscribed and dedicated to
their memory.
The enterprise of establishing a college in the Virginia
Conference took definite direction, and resulted in practi-
cal action at the session of the Virginia Conference held
at Oxford, N. C., March 2, 1825. In the minutes is
this entry : ' ' After some discussion on the recommenda-
tion of the General Conference (of 1824), 'That each
Annual Conference establish a Seminary of Learning,
under its own regulations and patronage,' the whole
question was referred to a committee of twelve — six
ministers and six laymen — to consider and report the
best method of establishing such a Seminary with suit-
able constitutional principles." The following consti-
tuted the committee ordered: John Early, Hezekiah G.
Leigh, Caleb Leach, Charles A. Cooley, William Comp-
ton and George M. Anderson, of the Conference ; and
Gabriel P. Disosway, Joseph B. Littlejohn, John Nutall,
Lewis Taylor, Joseph Taylor and Jesse H. Cobb, of the
laity "The College bill, which was laid on the
table, was taken up, and, after some amendment, was
adopted." It would appear from the constitution of the
committee, that John Early made the motion to appoint
the committee, and this was probably the case, because
he was then, and for many years afterwards, a leader in
the business of the Conference, and, therefore, the prime
mover in the enterprise, had enlisted his active interest
in the matter. We shall see that this prominent position
was held by him for many years afterwards.
This was all that was done at this Conference. At the
next Conference, held in Portsmouth, Va., February,
1826, the committee was increased by adding George
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 13
W. Charlton and James Smith, ministers, and Robert
A. Armistead, Arthur Cooper, Jesse Nicholson, local
preachers, and J. C. Pegram, Gary Jennings, laymen. On
the 2oth the committee made a report, and the report was
laid on the table. On the 22nd the College bill, which
was laid on the table, was taken up, and after some
amendments it was adopted. On the 23rd the "Select
Committee," recommended in the bill adopted on the
days previous, was appointed, viz.: Hezekiah G. Leigh,
George W. Charlton, James Smith, John Early, Thomas
Crpwder, Ethelbert Drake, ministers, and Gabriel P.
Disosway, Robert A. Armistead, William Clarke, John
C. Pegram, laymen. This committee reported at the
succeeding Conference (1827) a "Constitution" for the
College, which, after some amendments, was adopted ;
and it was further ' ' Resolved, that every member take a
subscription paper and use his influence and best exer-
tions to obtain subscriptions for the benefit of the College
contemplated to be founded within the bounds of this
Conference. ' '
At the Conference of 1828 a new committee of seven
was appointed ' ' to see that all the preachers pay a due
and diligent attention to every regulation and matter
appertaining to the establishment of the College contem-
plated, and to employ an efficient agent to make collec-
tions and obtain subscriptions for the same, and to ma-
turely consider the advantages of every place proposed
for its site, and to report thereon to the next Conference
upon which the location of the College shall be fixed. ' '
LOCATION AND NAMING OF THE COLLEGE.
At the Conference of 1829 the committee appointed the
year previous made a report. The Committee had met at
Zion Church, in Mecklenburg county. The citizens of
i4 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Brunswick offered $20,000 in subscriptions on condition
that the College be located at Physic Springs, about four
miles from Lawrenceville, the county seat, and not very
far from the old Ebenezer Academy. The citizens of
Mecklenburg offered a parcel of land near Boydton, the
county seat, at a very low price, and $10,000 in sub-
scriptions, with some possible advantages from the
Boydton Academy. The location was fixed at or near
Boydton, probably, mainly through the influence of Rev.
Hezekiah G. Leigh, the prime mover in the College en-
terprise, and Howell Taylor, a very influential Methodist
of the county, together with Hon. William O. Goode and
Col. William Townes, men of great popularity. The site
selected was also very near the line dividing the States
of Virginia and North Carolina, and probably more acces-
sible to the people of the two States at that time than any
other eligible location, and was considered healthful, as
well as the centre of a refined community. The county
of Mecklenburg was one of the largest and wealthiest in
the State, and its people and the people of the adjoining
counties of North Carolina were friendly and homogeneous .
The report of the Committee was confirmed by the
Conference, and the Committee was authorized to apply
to the General Assembly of Virginia for a charter. This
the Committee proceeded to do, and Mr. Goode, of Meck-
lenburg, presented a bill to incorporate the "Trustees of
Henry and Macon College" Friday, January 15, 1830.
After going through the several readings required, and
having several amendments made, on motion of Mr.
Alexander, of Mecklenburg, the title was changed, mak-
ing it to read, ' ' An act to incorporate the ' Trustees of
Randolph-Macon College. ' ' ' The bill so amended was
passed by both houses, and became a law February 3,
1830. The Act in part is as follows :
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 15
"i. B e it enacted by the General Assembly, That there be,
and is hereby erected and established, at or near Boydton,
in the county of Mecklenburg, in this Commonwealth,
a seminary of learning for the instruction of youth in the
various branches of science and literature, the useful arts,
agriculture, and the learned and foreign languages.
"2. And be it further enacted, That the said seminary
shall be known and called by the name of Randolph-
Macon College.
"3. And be it further enacted, That Hezekiah Leigh,
John Early, Edward Cannon, W. A. Smith, William I.
Waller, Thomas Crowder, Moses Brock, James Boyd,
William Hammett, Caleb Leach, Matthew M. Dance,
Lewis Skidmore, Augustine Claiborne, Ethelbert Drake,
Henry Fitts, John Nutall, James Wyche, John P. Har-
rison, Grenville Penn, Walker Timberlake, John G.
Claiborne, Howell Taylor, James Smith, Joel Blackwell,
John Y. Mason, James Garland, Richard G. Morris,
John W. Lewis, William O. Goode, and Nathaniel Alex-
ander be, and are hereby, constituted and appointed
trustees of said college, who and their successors shall
be a body politic and corporate by the name of the
' Trustees of Randolph- Macon College,' who shall have
a perpetual succession and a common seal, and by the
name aforesaid they and their successors shall be capable
in law to possess, purchase, receive and retain to them
and their successors forever, any lands, tenements, rents,
goods, chattels or interests of any kind whatsoever, which
may have been already given, or by them purchased for
the use of said College ; to dispose of the same in any way
whatsoever they shall adjudge most useful to the in-
terests and legal purposes of the institution ; and by the
same name to sue and implead, be sued and impleaded,
answer and be answered, in all courts of law and equity ;
16 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
and under their common seal to make and establish, from
time to time, such by-laws, rules and ordinances, not
contrary to the laws and constitution of this Common-
wealth, as shall by them be thought essential to the good
order and government of the professors, masters and
students of said College. ' '
It will appear above that thirty were constituted trus-
tees. Of the thirty, twelve were travelling preachers of
the Virginia Annual Conference, and eighteen were local
preachers and laymen. The name of Rev. Hezekiah G.
Leigh heads the list, as, by courtesy, was proper. All
were members of the Methodist Church, except the fol-
lowing : Judge John Y. Mason, John W. Lewis, William
O. Goode, and Nathaniel Alexander, the three latter
prominent citizens of Mecklenburg county. Of these a
number lived to take an active part in the affairs of the
college for many years. The last to pass away was Judge
Garland, of Lynchburg, who died a few years since at a
very advanced age.
It is well known for whom Randolph- Macon College
was named — John Randolph, of Roanoke, and Nathaniel
Macon, of North Carolina. How it came about that a
Christian and Methodist college should bave been named
for men who were not professed Christians, and who had
never, so far as is known, shown any preference or kindly
interest for the Methodist Church, has been a question of
interest and speculation. The most probable solution of
the question is that the name was determined very much
by precedent. The oldest college in the State, William
and Mary, founded primarily and specially for educating
"the savages" in Christianity, was named for the King
and Queen then on the throne. Washington College
was named for Washington, the hero of the day (1782);
Hampden-Sidney for the champions of liberty and human
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 17
rights (1783), all of them Christian colleges, but named
for public men, representatives of the sentiments of the
periods uppermost when they were founded. Following
the precedents set by these colleges, the names then
most prominent in Virginia and North Carolina were
selected, John Randolph, of Roanoke, and Nathaniel
Macon, one living on the south side of the Roanoke
River and the other on the north side. Neither of these
men was in any way connected with the College, nor did
either, so far as is recorded, ever manifest any interest in
it by making a contribution to it or otherwise, but both
were very popular in their native State, in whose service
they literally spent their lives. John Randolph has been
called an infidel by some Northern writers, but those who
knew him best represent him as far from having been
such, though he lived at a time when infidelity was far
from being uncommon among public men. At one time,
at least, he was a professed believer in Christ, and never
gave up his belief, however inconsistent in his life, at
times, he may have been.
Hon. J. K. Paulding, a distinguished author and pub-
lic man, in a letter accepting membership in one of the
literary societies of the College soon after it was built,
wrote of these men :
" Randolph- Macon combines the names of two very
distinguished men, with whom I was acquainted; with
the former, long and intimately. Mr. Macon was one
of the wisest, most virtuous men I ever knew. His in-
tegrity as a private man was only equalled by his devo-
tion to his country and to the great principles of liberty,
of which he was a most faithful and devoted advocate.
Indeed, I may say, with perfect truth, 'that in the sim-
plicity of his habits and character, as well as in the
purity of his principles, he realized more than any man
i8 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
I ever knew the example of a steadfast, stern, inflexible
republican.
"With Mr. John Randolph I was on terms of inti-
macy for more than twenty years. He was a very extra-
ordinary man, whose life and character should be deli-
neated by one who could analyze them thoroughly and
explain their strange apparent inconsistency. To me it
always appeared that but for the weakness of his physi-
cal constitution and the almost perpetual sufferings it
entailed upon him, he would have been one of the
highest models of a high-minded gentleman, as well as
one of the wisest, most consistent statesmen of the age.
But his physical infirmities and sufferings impaired the
vigor and consistency of his mind, while they often
soured his temper, and caused those sudden caprices,
which lost him many friends, and made his greatest
admirers almost afraid to indulge in the society of one
the charm of whose conversation was otherwise irresisti-
ble. This, however, I will say of him, that whatever
may have been the infirmities of his temper, his princi-
ples were of the most high, and, indeed, lofty character.
His integrity was exemplary, and his devotion to the
great principles of liberty consistent and profound.
"The life and character of Mr. Macon young men
may safely make the objects of their imitation through-
out, while Mr. Randolph is rather a subject of admira-
tion and wonder. Virginia should be proud of him as an
orator without an equal among his contemporaries and as
a man who, with all his faults, was possessed of many
virtues of the very highest order. ' '
Looking at the matter from our present standpoint, it
seems strange that a more suitable name was not selected
more in accordance with the special character of the
object of the institution, the blending of the highest cul-
REV. JOHN EARLY,
First President (1832-1868) of the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College,
and Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South .
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. ig
ture of the mind with the elevation of Christian char-
acter.
FIRST MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
The first meeting of the Board of Trustees appointed
under the act of incorporation, was held at Boydtown (so
it reads), Mecklenburg county, Va., April 9, 1830.
The following members were duly qualified and took
their seats, viz. : Rev. Hezekiah G. Leigh, Rev. John
Early, Rev. William A. Smith, Rev. William I. Waller,
Rev. Moses Brock, Rev. James Boyd, Rev. Caleb Leach,
Rev. Matthew M. Dance, Rev. Lewis Skidmore (mem-
bers of the Virginia Conference), Rev. John G. Clai-
borne, Rev. James Smith (local ministers), Jas. Wyche,
Howell Taylor, J. W. Lewis, William O. Goode, and
Nathaniel Alexander, Esqs. Rev. John Early was
elected chairman, and Rev. William A. Smith secretary.
A committee was appointed to draft rules for the gov-
ernment of the Board, and one to obtain drafts of build-
ings for the College. H. G. Leigh, J. W. Lewis, James
Boyd, and L. Skidmore constituted the latter committee.
H. G. Leigh, who had been acting as Agent for the
College in securing subscriptions and funds for the Col-
lege enterprise, under the appointment of the Virginia
Conference, was elected Agent to continue the same
work. A committee was also appointed to secure land
for the location of the College.
This was the work of the first day.
At the second session — the next day — Rev. H. G.
Leigh, from the Committee to Draft Rules, etc., reported
the rules for the government of the Board, which were
adopted.
Rev. W. I. Waller submitted the following resolu-
tions, which were adopted :
20 HISTQR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
1. That a committee be appointed to prepare an ad-
dress to the public generally, and to the ministers and
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church particu-
larly, requesting their aid and co-operation in procuring
funds for the establishment of Randolph- Macon College.
2. That a copy of the address be sent to each presid-
ing elder and preacher in charge of circuits and stations
within the bounds of the Virginia Annual Conference.
William A. Smith, 'Moses Brock, H. G. Leigh, and
William I. Waller were appointed on this committee.
It was further resolved that an additional Agent be ap-
pointed.
John W. Lewis was elected Treasurer of the Board.
H. G. Leigh, from the Committee to obtain drafts
for the College Building, reported three — one to cost
$30,182, one $20,569, and one $19,238.
The first resolutions adopted in the direction of build-
ing was to appropriate $14,000 towards the purchase of
land and the erection of a College building.
It was also resolved ' ' that it is expedient to establish
a Preparatory School to Randolph -Macon College as soon
as the building can be prepared for that purpose," and
$1,500 was appropriated to its erection.
A " Committee on Building " was appointed to obtain
the best model for the College building, and contract for,
and superintend the construction of, the same, and also
the building for the Preparatory School.
Rev. H. G. Leigh's salary as agent was fixed at "the
usual salary of a Methodist itinerant preacher. ' '
The first financial report by the agent was made as
follows :
Monies subscribed, $9, 135 90
Monies collected of this, 399 79
Of this doubtful, $380. $8,736 n
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH- MACON COLLEGE. 21
The offer of the trustees of Boydton Academy to sell
the same was not accepted.
The committee authorized to purchase land for the
College made report, and the committee was empowered
to purchase land from several parties at an average of
about $5.50 per acre.
The agent reported that the subscription of Mecklen-
burg county was $10,000. It was ordered that the sub-
scription paper be deposited with the Treasurer.
The first Building Committee appointed was as fol-
lows : Hezekiah G. Leigh, John W. Lewis, James
Smith, Matthew M. Dance, Moses Brock, and John
Early ; and here the deliberations of the first meeting of
the Board ended.
With a subscription list of less than $20,000, including
the county subscription, a large portion of which, in
those days, as in the present, was uncollectable and
worthless, this band of workers went forward, "not
knowing whither they were going," but, like Abraham,
trusting in the Lord, whose spirit had prompted the en-
terprise, that he would bring about a successful issue.
Could they have foreseen the difficulties ahead, the work
probably would never have been undertaken, nor would
Columbus ever have discovered a new world if he had
foreseen the difficulties which were before him.
It is not untimely to pause and dwell on some of the
actors in this work.
The chairman, Rev. John Early, who was afterwards
Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was
at this time in the prime of life. He was not a college-
bred man. He probably valued college education as
highly as he did because he felt so keenly the need of it.
He was, however, in the best sense, an educated man,
and a man among men. From his early manhood his
22 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
brethren and fellow-citizens manifested their apprecia-
tion of him by calling him to the highest positions in the
church and in the state. The latter, however, were not
accepted by him. It may be safely said that no man
ever lived in Virginia who was more intimately or more
widely known than John Early. No man ever knew
more men. Few ever had more seals to their ministry.
Not neglecting his own peculiar work in the church, he
was always foremost in everything that he esteemed
promotive of the good of the church and the state.
From the outset he threw into the college enterprise all
his great energy, and gave it the benefit of his large
practical sense, because he felt that the church, as well
as the state, was in need of such an agency. Under the
charter, as subsequently amended, he was elected Presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees, and retained that position
for about forty years, rarely ever failing to attend the
annual meetings, when attendance involved days of
tedious and difficult travel over rough roads. When over
eighty years of age he was found at his place in the
Board. Doubtless his latest prayers were for the suc-
cess of the cause to which he gave many of the years of
his manhood's prime. Randolph- Macon College will
never let the name of John Early be forgotten. His
portrait adorns the Trustees' room, and his eyes look
down every June on his successors in the Board of
Trustees, who are laboring to carry forward the work
which he and his co-laborers commenced in 1825.
The first secretary, Rev. William Andrew Smith, was
another man of power, a self-made man, as such men
are commonly called. He accepted the ' ' call from on
high" to do great things. He was endowed with a
wonderfully fertile and active mind. When fully aroused
in any cause his heart espoused, he was a power with
REV. LEWIS SKIDMORE,
Original Member of Board of Trustees.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 23
the people and with deliberative bodies. Commencing
active service for the College as Secretary of the Board,
he lived to become the President of the College from
1847 to 1865. When he took charge of it, the College
was at the lowest condition financially as well as in
patronage, that it ever reached. Full of faith and zeal
himself, he infused new life into it and animated its
friends with fresh courage and zeal. Realizing that an
endowment was absolutely essential, in 1855 he under-
took to raise $100,000 for it, and succeeded. Of this
endowment more will be said further on.
Another self-made man among the corporators present
was Lewis Skidmore. In native talent of a peculiar
order, he was second to none of his associates. He had,
however, none of the ambition of some of the others.
For power of argumentation on any subject he took in
hand, he was equal to the foremost. He said once,
when asked at what college he had graduated, ' ' I grad-
uated at the anvil." When the hammer of his logic
struck it shaped or shivered the object it struck. As
punctual as a clock, the day before the Trustees were to
meet, his rotund form would be seen about the same
hour rising over the western hill as the sun was going
down.
Space will not allow particular reference to the other
members of the Board. All of them were men of mark
in their callings. Three of them — laymen, citizens of
Mecklenburg county — were not members of the Method-
ist church.
William O. Goode was a representative man. He was
a member of the Legislature, and brought forward the
College bill. He was a member of the State Convention
of 1829 and of the Congress of the United States for
several sessions.
24 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Nathaniel Alexander was a wealthy planter and a man
of fine education, and represented his county in the
Legislature more than once.
John W. Lewis was a lawyer of prominence, and
served as Treasurer of the College as long as he lived.
The fact that these men were on the Board will show
that sectarian bigotry was not so strong in olden times
as some have been inclined to believe.
Rev. John G. Claiborne served on the Board for many
years faithfully and efficiently, and outlived all of the
original members.
At the second meeting of the Board of Trustees, held
October 30, 1830 (Rev. John Early, chairman, presid-
ing), the Building Committee reported the plan for the
main College building, with cost of erection. William
A. Howard and Dabney Cosby were the contractors.
The plan embraced a centre brick building fifty-two feet
front by fifty-four deep, with wings east and west sixty-
seven and a half feet each, making a total front of one
hundred and eighty-seven feet, all four stories high.
The contract price for the same, except painting, tin
roof, casement of the library, and seats in the chapel, to
be finished in " a plain, workman-like manner, of the
best materials," to be $14,137, and it was to be ready
for occupancy by the spring of 1832. The committee
also reported the purchase of two hundred and fifty -
seven acres of land from several parties, including pre-
vious purchase, the several tracts forming a solid body.
Rev. H. G. Leigh, Agent, made report as to the
finances, as follows :
Monies collected to date, $ 941 59
Subscriptions deemed good, 27,762 70
Total, $28,703 29
HIS TORY OF RA NDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 2 5
Rev. William Hammett, an eloquent Irish minister,
was appointed agent for soliciting additional funds.
Of the subscriptions made by citizens of Mecklenburg
county, the name of William Townes heads the list with
$ 1,000, the largest subscription to the College funds in
early times. He was not a Methodist, nor a member of
any church, but he was one of the earliest and best
friends of the College.
On the early subscription lists there were about five
hundred names. Next to the subscription of Col.
Townes, there were none above $300.
The third meeting of the Board of Trustees was held
April 15, 1831, Rev. John Early, chairman, presiding.
The following items of business transacted are noted :
Rev. Thomas Adams, a local minister, of Lunenburg
county, was elected in place of Rev. James Smith, who
resigned his membership.
A "Stewards' Hall" was authorized, the cost of the
building of which was not to exceed $4,000.
The chairman of the Board was authorized to adver-
tise that the Board would proceed to elect at the next
meeting (in October, 1831) a President, Professors, and
Masters.
The salary of the President to be elected was fixed at
$1,000 for the first year; salaries of the Professors for
the first year, $800.
The fourth meeting of the Board was held October 13,
1831, Rev. John Early in the chair.
At this meeting Rev. H. G. Leigh, Agent, reported
subscriptions amounting to $9,873, and Rev. William
Hammett, $13,047, in all $22,^20.
The South Carolina Conference was formally invited
26 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
to unite and co-operate with the Board in the support of
Randolph- Macon College, with the proviso that should
the Conference agree so to do, the Board would elect six
members Trustees from the bounds of that Conference.
Rev. Martin P. Parks was appointed the Agent to
communicate with said Conference and to solicit sub-
scriptions.
The Building Committee reported the centre building
walls up and covered in and the wings well under way ;
also, the purchase of additional land.
The committee to whom was referred the matter of
nominating a President and Professors reported, and the
following elections were made : Rev. John Emory, D. D. ,
of New York, President and Professor of Moral Science ;
Rev. Martin P. Parks, of North Carolina, Professor of
Mathematics ; Landon C. Garland, of Virginia, Profes-
sor of Natural Science ; Rev. Robert Emory, of New
York, Professor of Languages.
Mr. William O. Goode, member of the Legislature, of
Mecklenburg county, was appointed to ask of the Gen-
eral Assembly of Virginia aid for the College.
FIFTH MEETING OF THE BOARD.
A called meeting of the Board was held -April 4, 1832.
At this meeting letters were presented and read announc-
ing the declination of Dr. John Emory to accept the
presidency of the College, and of Rev. Robert Emory to
accept the chair to which he was elected. The letters
were as follows :
NEW YORK, February 17, 1832.
"REV. AND DEAR SIR: My conviction of the import-
ance of time to enable you to make suitable arrangements
for the opening of Randolph- Macon College at the ap-
pointed period, induces me to avail myself of the occasion
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 27
of your assembling in Conference to communicate to
you the conclusion to which I have come, on mature reflec-
tion, in regard to the high and honorable post to which
you have kindly invited me in that institution.
' ' I trust I need not repeat here how sincerely my best
wishes attend your exertions in the cause of education,
nor the pleasure I should take in contributing any small
service in my power towards your success.
' ' Considering, however, the confinement which such a
situation would require of me, the studies to which it
would oblige me to devote myself in order to discharge
its duties as I would wish, and the effect which such a
course would be likely to have upon my health, already
needing rather relief from the arduous duties of my
present post, I am under the necessity of declining the
acceptance of your kind invitation, and beg you for me
to make this communication to the Board over which you
preside.
4 ' Be pleased, at the same time, to accept for yourself
personally, and to convey to the members of the Board,
the assurance of the deep sense I entertain of the obliga-
tions you have laid me under, as well as in behalf of my
son as in my own ; and that you may at all times com-
mand any service which it may be in my power to render
as friends of the important institution under your care.
"Very respectfully, Rev. and dear sir, yours,
"J. EMORY."
' ' To the Rev. John Early,
Chairman, etc., of the Board of Trustees of Randolph -
Macon College, Va."
"NEW YORK, November j, 1831.
"REV. AND DEAR SIR: Yours of the i5th ultimo was
duly received, and would have elicited an earlier reply
but for the absence of my father, whom I wished to con-
28 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
suit previously to communicating my own views of the
subject.
' ' I take, however, the earliest opportunity after his
return to express through you, to the Board of Trustees,
the high sense which I entertain of the flattering honor
which they have been pleased to confer upon me, and at
the same time my regret for the necessity which I am
under of declining its acceptance.
' ' My anxiety to prosecute thoroughly and with an
undivided attention the study of a profession is such
that neither my desire to promote the interests of educa-
tion, nor even the temptation of the honorable post which
you have offered me, and the agreeable society which I
should enjoy in Virginia, are sufficient to withdraw me
from a course in which my father has had the kindness
to yield me his acquiescence. With the best wishes for
the prosperity of your institution, and a hope that you
may secure for it the services of one whose ability
(though certainly not his desire) to serve you will be far
greater than mine, I remain with great respect,
"Yours, &c. , R. EMORY.
" To the Rev. John Early."
Prof. Landon C. Garland and Rev. Martin P. Parks
accepted the chairs to which they had been elected at the
previous meeting. Their letters of acceptance were as
follows :
FROM LANDON C. GARLAND.
"WASHINGTON COLLEGE, December /j, 1831.
' ' DEAR SIR : Circumstances not altogether under my
control have prevented me from replying to your com-
munication of October i5th as early as I wished. Hav-
ing given to its contents that mature deliberation which
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 29
their importance surely demanded, I feel myself prepared
to give a final decision.
' ' The only ambition of my life has been to devote all
my time and talents to the promotion and welfare and
happiness of our common country ; and that situation
which would enable me to do this most efficiently I have
ever esteemed most eligible. Contemplating in this
spirit the important and extensive field of useful labor
which Randolph -Macon College presents, I have felt it a
duty incumbent upon me to obey the call which you so
politely communicated in behalf of its Trustees. And
through you I beg leave to assure them that this dis-
charge of duty accords with every impulse of the heart ;
and I do trust that by a vigorous and united exertion with
those associated with me, we shall in some humble mea-
sure redeem the pledge, which by our acceptance we
make both to that body and to the world.
' ' Yours very sincerely,
"LANDON C. GARLAND.
" To the Rev. John Early."
FROM M. P. PARKS.
PETERSBURG, VA., April 3, 1832.
"REV. AND DEAR SIR: I hereby acknowledge the
receipt of your official letter informing me of my election
to the professorship of mathematics in Randolph- Macon
College. My answer has been delayed until the present
that I might have an opportunity of consulting the Vir-
ginia Conference, of which I am a member, before reply-
ing definitely to your communication. The Conference
at its last session having advised me to the acceptance of
the professorship tendered, it is hereby accepted. And
in accepting it, which I cannot do but with diffidence, in
view of the important duties and high responsibilities
3o HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
therewith connected, I beg that you will present to the
Board of Trustees my acknowledgements for the favor-
able light in which they have been pleased to view my
qualifications for the department to which I am called.
' ' For the institution, now growing under their auspices
I cherish the warmest regard, and so far as devotion to
its interests can ensure success, I hope not altogether to
disappoint the expectations of the Board. More, it is
presumed, need not be promised ; less could not be re-
quired. Offering through you to the Board my most
Christian regards, I have the pleasure to subscribe my-
self, dear sir, " Very respectfully yours,
"M. P. PARKS."
Dr. John Emory was subsequently elected Bishop of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was one of the most
honored and beloved Bishops that church ever had. It
was soon called to mourn his sudden and untimely death,
which occurred while he was in the prime of life and in
the height of a most useful career. His name is made
honorable by its association with two colleges of the
church — Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, founded in
1837, and Emory and Henry College, Virginia, founded
1838.
His son, Rev. Robert Emory, was subsequently presi-
ident of Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, and was most
highly esteemed by the church. His name is known and
repeated to this day as the Christian name of children
whose fathers were under his care and tutelage at Dickin-
son College.
At this meeting the Board found the Preparatory
School in operation. It had been opened in January,
1832. The first principal, Rev. Lorenzo Lea, A. M.,
was not able to take charge of it promptly because of a
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 31
previous engagement at Chapel Hill University, North
Carolina. He did commence his work, however, early
in the year. His place was temporarily supplied by Mr.
Hugh A. Garland, brother of Prof. Landon C. Garland,
a graduate of Hampden- Sidney College, who afterwards
was clerk of the House of Representatives of the United
States, and the author of "The Life of John Randolph,
of Roanoke."
The Preparatory School had during the first term a
patronage of thirty-eight. The Board ordered for this
School an assistant teacher.
In order to extend the influence and patronage of the
College, the Board took steps to secure the cooperation
of the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, offering a representation on the Board of such
as should be nominated to it by the Conference.
SIXTH MEETING OF THE BOARD, JULY 4, 1832.
Rev. Martin P. Parks, professor-elect, as requested by
the Board at its last meeting, appeared and delivered "a
learned, eloquent, and patriotic address ' ' before the
Board and the public.
The same gentleman, who had been appointed by the
Board to visit the South Carolina Conference to invite
their cooperation in the College enterprise, made a report
of his mission, and laid before the Board the response of
the Conference, which was as follows: "The commit-
tee to whom was referred the address and resolutions of
the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, re-
port:
"That they have had the same under consideration,
and been favored with an interview with the esteemed
agent of the Board, Brother Parks, and from all that has
been presented to them, and which they have duly
32 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
weighed and examined respecting the College, have come
unanimously to the conclusion that the Conference ought
to regard it with favor, and accordingly do recommend
the following resolutions :
' ' Resolved, That the establishment of a well-endowed
college, purely literary and scientific, in a desirable place
in the Southern Atlantic States, and under the direction
and control of a Faculty and Board of Trustees, consist-
ing, and perpetually to consist, of members and friends
of our church, is an object of first importance, vitally in-
teresting to our Zion, and deserving of the best wishes
and assistance of all our friends.
" Resolved, That Randolph- Macon College, of Virginia,
instituted under an ample charter, of the State of Vir-
ginia, and now shortly to be opened under the auspices
of the Virginia Conference, possesses every reasonable
prospect of soon becoming in all respects all that the
friends of literature and religion, and those of our own
church, especially, could desire, and is entitled to, and
ought to receive, the preference and patronage of this
Conference.
"Resolved, That we earnestly recommend the Ran-
dolph-Macon College aforesaid to all our brethren and
friends of the South Carolina Conference, and will cor-
dially receive an agent and second his efforts when such
an one shall be sent to solicit aid for the College.
' ' Resolved, That we accept a share in the supervision
of the College approved by the Board of Trustees, and
nominate six suitable persons of the ministry and mem-
bership of the church indifferently within our Conference
limits to be elected into the Board of Trustees on our
behalf.
' ' All of which is respectfully submitted.
"(Signed) W. CAPERS, Chairman.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 33
"On motion, it was resolved unanimously that the
above report be adopted.
"The Conference then proceeded to nominate the fol-
lowing Trustees, viz. : Col. Thomas Williams, Major
Alexander Speed, Rev. Dr. William Capers, Rev. Wm.
M. Kenned}*, Rev. William M. Wightman, and Rev.
William Holmes Ellison.
"Teste: WILLIAM M. WIGHTMAN,
' ' Secretary.
"DARLINGTON, S. C., January jo, 1832."
The above nominees of the South Carolina Conference
were elected members of the Board.
George W. Jeffries, of North Carolina, was elected a
trustee in place of John Nuttall, deceased.
The Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church was invited to unite and co-operate with the
Board on the same terms and conditions offered the
Georgia Conference. An agent was appointed to visit
these Conferences in order to secure their co-operation.
John Early was appointed to visit them.
The Holston Conference was likewise invited to co-
operate with the Board, and Rev. William Hammett
was appointed to visit that Conference.
The Finance Committee reported the receipts and ex-
penditures to date, as follows :
Receipts, $11,350 02
Expenditures, 10,516 26
Balance on hand $833 76
Appropriations for the first year (including salaries of
agents of the College, $300), $4,500.
A steward for the Boarding Hall was elected. The
price of board of students was fixed at six dollars per
month at the Steward's Hall.
34 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
On motion of Rev. William Hammett, Rev. Stephen
Olin, of Franklin College, Georgia, was unanimously
elected President of the College.
It was ordered that the College be opened for students
on October 9, 1832.
Prof. Edward Dromgoole Sims, A. M., of LaGrange
College, Alabama, was elected Professor of Languages.
Dr. Olin and Prof. Sims subsequently accepted the
positions to which they were elected. Their letters of
acceptance were as follows :
' ''Rev. John Early,
"DEAR SIR: I hereby announce to you, and through
you to the Trustees of Randolph- Macon College, that I
accept the presidency of that institution, as conferred
upon me in July, 1832. I design to resign my profes-
sorship in Franklin College as early as I can, consistently
with duty and propriety, and hope to be at Randolph-
Macon at least as early as the next commencement.
' ' Yours very respectfully, " S. OLIN .
"ATHENS, Q&., January 9, 1833."
"LAGRANGE, ALA., August 7, '1832.
" DEAR SIR : Your letter communicating the result of
the late election of officers for Randolph- Macon College
was received eight or ten days ago.
"In relation to the Professorship of Languages, to
which the Trustees have done me the honor to invite
me, I have to say : In a previous letter to you on this
subject entire freedom to accept or decline was reserved
by me until I could procure more satisfactory informa-
tion from Brother Paine concerning the prospects of the
institution. At this time there exists no objection in my
mind, and accordingly I now make known to you, with
pleasure, my acceptance of the appointment, and desire
HI^TOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 35
you to communicate the same to the Board of Trus-
tees.
' ' Please accept for yourself and them my sincere re-
gard and best wishes.
"With brotherly love, ED. D. SIMS.
"REV. JOHN EARLY."
The acceptance of Dr. Olin completed the Faculty,
when it came, several months after the College was
opened. Rev. M. P. Parks, professor-elect, acted as
president until Dr. Olin entered on his duties. The
first Board of Instruction was as follows :
Rev. Stephen Olin, A. M., D. D. (Middlebury Col-
lege, Vermont), President and Professor of Moral Science.
Rev. Martin P. Parks, graduate West Point Academy,
Professor of Mathematics.
Landon C. Garland, A. M., Hampden-Sidney College,
Virginia, Professor of Natural Science.
Rev. Edward D. Sims, A. M., Chapel Hill (N. C.
University), Professor of Languages.
Rev. Lorenzo Lea, A. B., Chapel Hill (N. C. Uni-
versity), Principal of Preparatory School.
It will be appropriate and interesting to give sketches
at this point of the men composing this first Faculty of
the oldest Methodist College now in existence in Amer-
ica by date of incorporation ; not simply on that account,
but because they were mostly men of great ability, and
made their mark on the times in which they lived in a
way and to an extent that few others, if any, have ever
done in the South.
Dr. Stephen Olin was a native of Vermont, as was
Dr. Wilbur Fisk, who, contemporaneously with him,
was moving on a parallel line at the Wesleyan Univer-
sity, in Connecticut. These names, Olin and Fisk, the
36 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Church, and the alumni of the colleges they presided over
will never let die. Wherever the initials " S. O." and
"W. F." are seen in any catalogue, it will be readily
understood that they respectively stand for these names,
and they are common now, over a half-century after the
principals ceased to live.
President Olin was a graduate of Middlebury College,
Vermont. He tobk the first honor in his class. From
too much confinement and over-study his health gave
way. On this account he went to South Carolina, and
took charge of an academy at Cokesbury.
He was fortunate in casting his lot in a very religious
community, whose leading men, patrons of the academy,
were pious Methodists. He had had no acquaintance
with Methodists. He was not only not a Christian, but
he had been much troubled in his religious belief, and
was inclined to be skeptical. His views were changed
by reading Butler's Analogy and Paley's Evidences.
It was the rule and custom at the Cokesbury Academy
to open the school with the reading of the Scriptures and
prayer. This requirement he had to carry out. One
day while engaged in prayer he was powerfully con-
victed, and immediately sought pardon, and found peace
in believing. Very soon afterwards he felt called to
preach, and entered the ministry, and after a few years
he joined the Conference, and was appointed to a church
in Charleston, S. C. His health, however, allowed him
to remain but a short time in the itinerancy. He ac-
cepted a professorship in Franklin College, Athens, Ga.,
at which institution he remained till he left to become
President of Randolph-Macon College.
Rev. Solomon Lea, who was associated with Dr. Olin
during his presidency at Randolph-Macon, gives the fol-
lowing points in regard to him :
REV. STEPHEN OLIN, D. D.,
First President of Randolph- Macon College.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 37
' ' In his physique he had large frame and limbs, but
was well proportioned. He had dreamy eyes and sallow
complexion, indicating deep affliction. He never saw a
well day, and yet he faithfully attended to all his duties.
I have heard it said that he thanked God for his afflic-
tion. Like Paul he could glory in his affliction. He
preached but seldom on account of his health. I shall
never forget his sermons. The impression made by them
seemed to follow me day and night for weeks and months.
His style and manner were peculiar, differing from any
other man I ever heard. His language was simple, pure
English, free from technicalities and pompous words.
His manner rather labored, not from loudness of voice,
nor from gesticulation, but his profound thoughts elab-
orated in his giant mind seemed to struggle for utterance.
There was no attempt at what is called eloquence. I
have heard most of the great preachers of the day, some
of them very great, but I never heard the equal of Olin."
Rev. Leroy M. Lee, D. D., long a member of the Vir-
ginia Conference, and editor of the Conference paper,
said of Dr. Olin : ' ' He was the only truly great man I
have ever seen of whom I do not feel constrained to say,
on analyzing his character,
"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view.'"
Rev. W. M. Lewis, D. D., of Missouri, who spent
several years of college life under him, said of him :
" He was of large and majestic form, a physical and in-
tellectual giant, a paragon of moral and religious excel-
lence, a perfect model of a Christian gentleman and
scholar and pulpit orator. In my opinion the church
has never had a better or greater man."
Rev. W. B. Rowzie, long connected with the College
as Financial Agent and also as Chaplain, said: "He was
a genial companion. No one could be in his society
38 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
without feeling that he was in the company of one of the
first men of the age, and yet he was modest and unas-
suming, as if unconscious of his greatness."
Dr. John E. Edwards, who visited the College fre-
quently in its early history, wrote: " Dr. Olin's personal
appearance impressed me as no other man ever impressed
me. The Greeks would have deified him as a god."
W. F. Samford, LL. D., of Alabama, who graduated
at Randolph- Macon College in June, 1837, wrote: " Physi-
cally, intellectually and morally, Stephen Olin was a
giant — as veritable a one as Og, king of Bashan. He
might well rank with the 'mighty men who were of old,
men of renown' — -facile ptinceps among all the great
' men I have ever known. The etymology of this word,
by which I have designated him, yiyas, suggests its ap-
propriateness— a man of violence and terror. Without
the restraints of divine grace his passions were volcanic,
his ambition boundless. He once told me that before
his conversion to Christianity he ' would have bartered
a crown in heaven for a seat in Congress.' How humble,
how patient, how loving he became as a disciple of Christ !
' Great, humble man ! ' exclaimed Dr. Leroy Lee, of Vir-
ginia, when he met him at the Conference in Lynchburg
in 1835. Olin had disclosed his whole heart to Lee in a
rebuke which he administered to him for a display of
untempered zeal in a debate on the Conference floor —
' What business have you with any feelings in the mat-
ter ? A man of God should be gentle and easy to be
entreated.'"
It may be thought that the estimates of Dr. Olin above
given were partial, and hence not fully reliable. It is
proper, therefore, to give the opinion of Rev. Theo. L.
Cuyler, D. D., one of the most distinguished ministers
of the Presbyterian Church, and one of the best writers
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 39
of the present century. He speaks of him as President
of Wesleyan University, Connecticut, about ten years
after he left Randolph- Macon :
"In physical, mental, and spiritual stature combined,
no Methodist in the last generation towered above Dr.
Stephen Olin. He was a great writer, a great educator,
and preeminently a great preacher of the glorious gos-
pel. During the summer of 1845, while I was a student
for the ministry, I spent some time at Middletown,
Conn. Dr. Olin was then the President of the Wes-
leyan University, and was at the height of his fame and
usefulness. Like all great men, he was very simple and
unassuming in his manners ; with his grand, logical
head was coupled a warm, loving heart. When his
emotional nature wTas once kindled it was like a Penn-
sylvania anthracite coal-mine on fire. These qualities of
argumentative power and intense spiritual zeal com-
bined made him a tremendous preacher. Xo one doubted
that Stephen Olin had the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
' ' In physical stature he was a king of men ; above six
feet in height, he had a broad, gigantic frame and a
lofty brow that resembled the brow of Daniel Webster.
The congregation of the principal Methodist Church in
Middletown always knew when Dr. Olin was going to
preach ; for the astral lamps were moved off the pulpit
to prevent their being smashed by the sweep of his long
arms. He was a vehement speaker, and threw his
whole man, from head to foot, into the tide of his impas-
sioned oratory. In the blending of logical power with
heat of spiritual feeling and vigor of declamation, he was
unsurpassed by any American preacher of his time.
His printed discourses read well, but they lack the elec-
tricity of the moment and the man. Thunder and
lightning must be heard and seen ; they cannot be trans-
40 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ferred to paper. As I recall Olin now (after the lapse of
five and forty years) ; as I see him again in the full flow
of his majestic eloquence, or when surrounded by his
students in the class-room, I do not wonder that the
Middletown boys were ready to pit him against any
president or any preacher on the American soil. There
are old graduates of the University yet living who de-
light to think of him and to speak of him, and to assert
that
" ' Whoso had beheld him then,
Had felt an awe and admiration without dread ;
And might have said,
That sure he seemed to be the king of men.
Less than the greatest that he could not be
Who carried in his port such might and majesty.'
" In August, 1851, I paid a visit to Professor Smith,
whose wife was my kinswoman, and on my arrival I
learned that the President of the University was danger-
ously ill. The next morning my host startled me with
the announcement, ' Dr. Olin is dead ! ' He had fallen
at the age of fifty- four, when he was just in his splendid
prime. There was great mourning for him throughout
the whole Methodist realm, for he was a prince in their
Israel, who held an imperial rank above any of his con-
temporaries. He took a large life with him when he
went home to heaven; and valuable as were his writ-
ings, yet his imposing personality was greater than any
of his published productions."
Rev. Martin P. Parks, Professor of Mathematics,
acted as President of the College from its opening ses-
sion, in October, 1832, until Dr. Olin took the place,
March, 1834. He was a minister in North Carolina
when elected professor. He had been educated at the
United States Military Academy at West Point, New
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 41
York, where mathematics was taught more thoroughly
than at other schools of that day. He was a brilliant
preacher, and on that account he was put forward fre-
quently, like his contemporaries, Hammett and Maffitt,
to advance the enterprises of the church. Of his admin-
istration of the College not much can be said. His mili-
tary education had much to do with making the laws
exacting and minute. Rev. Solomon Lea (quoted above)
said of Professor Parks :
"Professor Parks was a great and good man, a fine
preacher, was of a sad, morose temperament, arising, no
doubt, mainly from his physical condition, as he was a
great dyspeptic, and the most nervous person I ever
met. He could not bear the crowing of a rooster or the
bleating of a calf ; this, together with other considera-
tions, had the tendency to make him suspicious, cold,
and envious, so much so that Dr. Olin remarked to me
that he had to go often once a month to Parks' house,
read a portion of the Bible, and then pray together, and
part with expressions of mutual love and kind feelings.
This was often done by Dr. Olin. Poor Brother Parks,
great and good man as he was (for I never doubted his
piety), finally yielded so much to his temperament
and jealous feelings as to resign his position, withdrew
from the Methodist Church, and joined the Episcopa-
lians."
Professor Landon Cabell Garland, first professor of
Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Geology, was a native
of Nelson county, Va., of which his father was the
clerk. He was born March 24, 1810. At the age of
nineteen he took his degree of A. B. at Hampden-
Sidney College, Virginia. Immediately afterward he
was elected to the chair of Chemistry at Washington
College, Lexington, Va., where he continued till Octo-
42 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
her, 1832, when he took charge of the same chair at
Randolph-Macon. Bishop Fitzgerald, in Eminent Meth-
odists, says of him : " His change from Washington
College to Randolph-Macon was characteristic of Dr.
Garland. There was more money in the one place, but
more usefulness in the other. He was a Methodist, and
he felt that Methodism had a paramount claim to his ser-
vices." This was indicated clearly in his letter of ac-
ceptance of the place. Few men ever filled chairs at two
colleges at an age just past twenty-one. This will indi-
cate what estimate was placed on him at so early an age,
and what was proven in this case to have been fully
correct, by his long service of sixty-five years as an edu-
cator. Nothing but a most natural and remarkable
modesty prevented him from becoming as conspicuous
as he was well entitled to be, unless it was that he spent
his long life in the South, the Nazareth of the nation,
out of which few ' ' prophets can come, ' ' if we judge by
The Cyclopaedia of Biography, which side-tracks such
men as Garland and Duncan, whose names will shine
' ' forever and ever ' ' when thousands of those given in
full, with portraits, shall have been forgotten, as if they
never had lived.
If a man could be too modest and retiring, Dr. Garland
was such a man. Notwithstanding this, he lived to be-
come President of Randolph-Macon College from 1836,
after Dr. Olin left, till 1847, then Professor and President
of the University of Alabama, Professor in the Univer-
sity of Mississippi, and finally Chancellor of the Vander-
bilt University at Nashville, Tenn. In all these high
places he influenced for good hundreds of young men
whose praise is in all the churches and homes of the
land. When he died, in 1895, these multiplied hundreds
rose up and "called him blessed." If Virginia ever
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 43
gave birth to a man who did more real service to the
manhood of the South, his name and place would be
hard to find.
Prof. Edward Dromgoole Sims was born in Brunswick
county, Va., March 24, 1805. He was the grandson of
Rev. Edward Dromgoole, one of the pioneer Methodist
preachers in the State of Virginia, and one of the trus-
tees appointed by Bishop Asbury for Ebenezer Academy,
before referred to as the first Methodist school of its kind
in the State.* He was a man of talents and great influ-
ence, and a member of the original Virginia Conference.
One of his sons, George C. Dromgoole, was a member
of Congress for many years, and was probably the most
talented and influential member of the Virginia delega-
tion in his day.
Prof. Sims took his A. B. degree at the University of
North Carolina in 1824, and his A. M. degree in 1827,
and was a tutor at that University for three years. He
was a Professor at LaGrange College, Alabama, at the
time he was elected Professor at Randolph-Macon. Like
Dr. Olin, his personal appearance was very marked. He
was a man of great dignity and gentlemanly manner,
and a most devoted Christian. Though not endowed by
nature with the mental power of others of his associates,
he nevertheless, by industrious application, became a
fine scholar and a model professor. He was the origi-
nator of the "English Course" in colleges, of which
more will be said further on. His department embraced
the "Ancient Languages."
The Preparatory Department was under the control of
Rev. Lorenzo Lea, an A. M. of the University of North
Carolina, and a native of North Carolina. His contem-
*This school was established in 1796, instead of 1786, as the
Records of Brunswick County, recently found, show.
44 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
poraries spoke well of him as a man of fine accomplish-
ments and skill as a teacher. He also had been a tutor
at his Alma Mater.
Thus equipped, Randolph-Macon College entered on
its career — a career full of unforeseen trials and difficulties.
It was to a great extent a new experiment, and the great
need of the College, without which few, if any, have
ever lived beyond a sickly existence, that is, a proper
endowment, was a desideratum unprovided for at this time.
The funds on hand and subscriptions did not suffice to
supply the buildings necessary and other outfit. Other
colleges of the Methodist Church in distant States had
entered on the same course. They had gone down or
were soon to go down. This one now to be launched,
under the good providence and blessing of God, was to
survive the chill of poverty and the disasters of war —
cast down often, but not destroyed. After over a half-
century of struggle it was to anchor in a safe haven.
Hope kindly blinded the eyes of those who launched the
ship and prophesied a prosperous voyage. Faith sowed
in tears ofttimes, and after many days gathered in the
precious harvest. It was to be indeed Alma Mater to
many sons, and daughters, too, and a mother of many
other Methodist colleges, blessing every State in the
South, some of them surpassing in outfit and endowment
the mother. As a loving mother rejoices with and in
her daughters, so does Randolph-Macon rejoice in the
colleges of the church she has lived to see grow and
nourish.
Before proceeding further, let us look at the location
and outfit of the College at the opening day.
The first College building erected stood on gently rising
ground, one mile west of the village of Boydton, in the
centre of what had been a race-track. On the north was
m-
•5. BE K.
— V?
o ^
Q
HIS'TOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 45
an "old field," once cultivated, but now partially covered
with pine and broom -sedge, a part seamed with gulleys.
One splendid sweet-gum tree fronted the west wing. On
the south there were small oaks of second growth, just
large enough to furnish partial shade. Outside of the
campus further on were thickets on both sides of the
avenue leading to the Clarksville road. The campus
contained about four acres, and was enclosed by a heavy
wooden fence. The style of the building is shown on
the opposite page.
The centre building contained the chapel on the north
side — a room about fifty-two feet by thirty-two, with
galleries on all sides but one. The other parts of this
building were arranged for lecture-rooms, laboratory and
halls for the literary societies. The wings of the centre
building contained each twenty-four dormitories, each
large enough for two occupants. Until the Professors'
houses were built there was not a dwelling-house nearer
than Boydton. Soon after the College was built, an
avenue was opened from it to Boydton, bringing the
College building and the village in sight of each other.
Clarksville, a town of some importance in the tobacco
trade, was twelve miles distant. Here was a bank and
mercantile and tobacco houses.
The country around was such as was usual in the up-
lands of South-side Virginia, fairly productive of tobacco
and grain. Petersburg was the nearest town of much
size. To this town, about seventy miles away, much of
the products of the country was wagoned over a dirt road,
indifferently good in some seasons and almost impassi-
ble in others. The people around the College were kind
and hospitable, representative of old Virginia in those
days, not Methodist particularly in their persuasion ; the
more wealthy inclined to the Episcopal Church. There
46 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
was an old Methodist Church in Boydton, but after the
College was built the chapel became the worshipping
place for the Methodists of the community.
The Preparatory School, a building containing two
school-rooms, stood about a mile away from the College.
The "Steward's Hall," a two-story brick building,
fronted the College building on the north, intended to
afford board for the students. In " old Virginia " style,
this was several hundred yards distant from the College
building.
The President's house stood about the same distance
away. It was a plain brick building of one story. To
the south and southwest other professors' houses were
located, all with a sufficiency of land for gardens and
lawns.
' ' The Hotel ' ' was built soon after the College was
opened, about a quarter of a mile to the south, on the
Clarksville road. This had about a dozen rooms in it,
and was intended mainly for the boys at the Preparatory
School and to accommodate visitors.
It will be seen that the Building Committee had much
to do before suitable accommodations could be provided
for the professors and students. That many mistakes
were made in this work, and in the location of the build-
ings and other matters, was not to be wondered at.
They were the result of inexperience in the men in
charge, not of any want of good intention and effort on
their part. When it is considered that all the lumber
for the buildings had to be sawed by the old-fashioned
"pit-saw," and much of the other material had to be
wagoned for seventy miles, we must not wonder that
two years were consumed in bringing the buildings to
partial completion.
As the buildings stood when completed, they were as
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 47
good as those of any other college in the State had, and
possibly better. The University of Virginia, opened
in 1825, had better and more extensive ones.
The regular exercises of the College proper commenced
on the day appointed, October gth, 1832, Prof. M. P.
Parks acting as President, in the absence of President
Olin.
If any account of the opening-day exercises were pub-
lished it has not come down to us. The first schedule
of expenses was as follows :
Tuition fee for session of ten months, .... $30 oo
Board (meals only), 60 oo
Bedding and washing, 20 oo
Fuel, 3 oo
Lights, 3 oo
Deposit fee, 5 oo
Total $120 oo
The first meeting of the Board of Trustees after the
opening was held February 5, 1833.
At this meeting the following communication from the
Georgia Conference was received :
"LAGRANGE, Ga.
"We feel a deep interest in the success of Randolph -
Macon College. We have full confidence in its moral
and literary character and prospects, and we will recom-
mend it to the patronage of all who may be disposed to
send their sons or wards beyond the limits of the State
to be educated.
' ' We will appoint four Trustees agreeable to the pro-
posal made by Brother Early, the Agent of the College,
who visited us. Whereupon the Conference nominated
the Rev. Ignatius Few and Rev. Lovick Pierce, mem-
bers of the Conference, and Seaborn Jones and John C.
Poythress, Esquires, for that purpose.
48 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
"Resolved, That the Trustees of Randolph- Macon Col-
lege be invited through their representative, the Rev.
John Early, to send an agent, whenever they may judge
it most suitable, to obtain donations within the Con-
ference in aid of the institution ; and that Brother Early
be, and he is hereby, invited to take up contributions.
"(Signed) JNO. HOWARD,
' ' Sec'y Georgia Conference. ' '
The nominees named above were elected Trustees of
the College.
Rev. I. A. Few and Rev. L. Pierce were, by resolu-
tion of the Board, requested to act as agents for the Col-
lege in the Boards of the Georgia Conference for securing
funds for the College.
Rev. RobertG. Loving, A. B., was elected assistant
teacher in the Preparatory School.
Rev. John Early was appointed Agent for the College in
the place of Rev. H. G. Leigh, resigned, and Rev. W. A.
Smith was appointed Assistant Agent in place of Rev.
William Hammett who had signified his intention to re-
sign.
The salary of President Olin was fixed at $1,500.
The first report of the Faculty, made through its Sec-
retary, Prof. Garland, gave the following points of in-
terest :
Though the session opened under many difficulties and
embarrassments, with buildings not entirely completed,
still great satisfaction was expressed at the success at-
tained, and at the spirit and character of the students who
attended the first term. A number of these were from
the States of North and South Carolina and Georgia.
The progress made in the College course had been marked
and satisfactory. The main drawback had been in some
cases a want of preparation for the course.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 49
The Faculty made a strong appeal for apparatus for
the Natural Science Department and for a library. In
response to this appeal, the Board made an appropriation
of $2,600 to the former and $1,000 to the latter.
The first session closed July 4, 1833. At the close
Rev. William M. Wightman, one of the trustees from
South Carolina, delivered the first literary address before
the students and the public, at the request of the Wash-
ington Literary Society. This Society had been organ-
ized February, 1833. As it has been one of the main
features of the College, along with its sister society, the
Franklin, it will be interesting to give the names of its
officers and members from the original records :
President, ROBERT T. MARSHALL, Virginia.
Vice-President, THOMAS ADAMS, Virginia.
Secretary, JOHN G. PARKS, Virginia.
Treasurer, ADDISON LEA, North Carolina.
Collector, ISAAC C. CROFT, South Carolina,
Censor, J. G. BANKS, Virginia.
Members.
ADAMS, R. E. G., .... Va. PRICE, NATHANIELS., . . Va.
BAIRD, CHARLES W. , . . . Va. SOMERVILI.E, R. B., . . . N. C.
BLACKWELL, THOMAS, . . Va. SMITH, WILLIAM B., . . . Va.
COLEMAN, J. J., Va. TUCKER, JOHN E., . . . . Va.
GOODE, ROBERT S Va. W ATKINS, J. W., .... Va.
HAMLIN, JOHN F., . . . . Va. WILLIAMSON, JAMES J., . . Va.
INGRAM, ROBT. M., . . . N. C. WILLIAMS, JAMES M., . . Va.
ISBELL, THOMAS M., . . . Va. WINKIELD, JOHN O., . . . Va.
JONES, JAMES R Va. WINFIELD, W. S., . . . . Va
JONES, ROBERT T Va.
Immediately after the organization the following were
introduced and made members :
BI.AIN, GEO. W., .... Va. DORRELL, AUGUSTUS, . . S. C.
BURNEY, JAMES, N. C. DRINKARD, W. R., .... Va.
CALDWELL, JOHN H., . . N. C. Du PRE, WARREN,. . . . S. C.
CUTLER, ROBERT E., . . Va. GAYLE, ALEX. T., . . . . Va.
50 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
GUNN, ALLEN M., . . . . N. C. PERKINS, J. Q. A N. C.
JENNINGS, JONA. B., . . . S. C. STEWART, THEO., .... Ga
LYNCH, MONTGOMERY, . . Va. STRATTON, R. B., . . . . Va.
OWEN, WASHINGTON A., . Va.
To this Society was assigned the northeast room on
the fourth floor of the centre building. One of the first
acts of the Society was the formation of a library, which
rapidly increased, and in ten years numbered two thou-
sand volumes.
Not only did the society rapidly accumulate a library,
but the hall was fitted up with a beautiful rostrum,
president's chair, etc. A full length portrait of Wash-
ington was purchased, which to this day is the chief
ornament of the hall.
Professor Warren Du Pre, class of 1836, one of the
original members, who was a member when this portrait
was bought, wrote an account of the inauguration of it to
the author, which is worthy of preservation.
"MARTHA WASHINGTON COLLEGE,
"ABINGDON, VA., May jo, 187 7.
' ' MY DEAR OLD COLLEGE FRIEND : I have forgotten
the name of the artist, a rising young man in New York,
who copied it from a painting belonging to a wealthy
gentleman of that city. Dr. Olin was on a visit to New
York, and we put the matter in his hands. The artist
was very highly recommended to him by good judges.
His price was $600, but when informed by Dr. Olin that
it was for a college literary society, he agreed to deduct
one half. The frame, I think, cost $60, and freight
about $20, making a total of $380.
"Dr. Olin scolded us for our extravagance, but when
the portrait was finished, moderated his wrath. The
amount was raised by subscription, altogether, among
the members of the society — we numbered then over
sixty members, as well as I can recollect. I. C. Croft
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 51
and myself were on the committee, with one other, pro-
bably, J. O. Wingfield.
' ' When the portrait arrived and was placed in the hall,
old John Blackwell, with his horse-collar legs (as Croft
called them) was appointed to unveil it and make a
speech. This he did in his peculiar style ; and I think
Old George was pleased with the eulogy delivered on
him . ' ' Yours truly,
"WARREN Du PRE."
Rev. John Early, who had been appointed to visit the
Baltimore Annual Conference of the M. E. Church, re-
ported to the Board that the Conference had declined to co-
operate in the College enterprise, with kind expressions
of interest in it. Dickinson College had recently been
made a Methodist College, and the Conference preferred
to patronize that, it being more accessible to their people.
The charter of the College having been amended, so
that a president of the Board could be elected by that
body, Rev. John Early was elected President.
The following resolution was unanimously adopted by
the Board :
' ' The Board take great pleasure in giving a cordial
expression of their thanks to the Faculty of this institu-
tion for the very able and faithful manner in which they
have discharged the duties of their several stations. We
consider them as having acted on the great principles on
which the College was founded, and upon the contin-
uance of which its prosperity in the future depends ; and
we have full confidence in their ability and disposition to
support these principles in their future administration,
and they are therefore worthy of the same confidence
from the numerous friends and patrons of the College
and the warm affection of the young gentlemen who
may be placed under their care.
52 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
' ' It is the pleasure of the Board that these resolutions
be read to the students of the College."
The second session of the College opened September 4,
1833, under favorable circumstances. A laboratory and
library had been purchased, and the latter had been in-
creased by donations. Bishop J. O. Andrew had donated
forty-three volumes, and Judge A. B. Longstreet thirty.
A few days after the session opened another literary
society was formed. It was first styled the Union Lit-
erary Society, but on the yth of September, at the next
meeting, the name was changed to Franklin. At the
organization George Stewart, of Georgia, presided, and
William C. Knight, of Virginia, acted as secretary. The
following constituted its first regular organization :
President, JAMES L. BROWN, Virginia.
Vice-President, JOHN A. TALLEY, Virginia.
Secretary, GEORGE STEWART, Georgia.
Treasurer, THOMAS S. JACOCKS, North Carolina.
Collector, JOSEPH B. PANNILL, Virginia.
Censor, FRANCIS W. BOYD, Virginia.
Members.
BATTE, W. C., Va. KITE, BENJAMIN \V Va.
BETTS, WILLIAM S., . . . Va. JEFFRESS, LUTHER C., . . Va.
BLAKE, CHARLES H., . . . Va. JONES, ALBERT C Va.
BLAND, WILLIAM R., . . Va. JONES, AMOS W., . . . . N. C.
BLUNT, WALTER F., . . . Va. JONES, JOHN J N. C.
BOISSEAU, GEORGE F., . . Va. JONES, JOSEPHS., . . . . N. C.
CARROLL, JAMES, .... Va. KNIGHT, WILLIAM v. ., . . Va.
CLAIBORNE, FIELD, . . . Va. MULLEN, FRANCIS N., . . N. C.
CLEGG, BAXTER, N. C. OLDS, LEWIS P., . . . . N. C.
CLEMMONS, JUNIUS L., . . N. C. PERKINS, NATHAN, . . . N. C.
DAVIS, ARTHUR, Va. ROSE, GARLAND, Va.
DORTCH, ISAAC F , . . . N. C. STEDMAN, EDWARD, . . . N. C.
DRINKARD, WILLIAM R., . Va. STOCKDELL, JOHN M., . . Va.
EVANS, AUGUSTUS C., . . N. C. TILLETT, JOHN, N. C.
HICKS, BENJAMIN I Va. WILLIAMS, SOLOMON P., . N. C
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 53
The Franklin Hall was immediately under the Wash-
ington, on the third story. The rivalry between these
societies was from the first strong, but regulated by con-
ventional rules. The membership took in every student
in the College at the beginning and for many years
afterwards. There was only one from Georgia for many
years a member of the Washington Society, and no one
from South Carolina was ever a member of the Franklin.
Students from the other States were divided about
equally. Robert E. Cutler, of Virginia, gave tone to the
oratorical style of the Washington, and William F. Sam-
ford, of Georgia, to the Franklin. The difference was
thought to be observable for thirty years, until the year
the societies were temporarily disbanded.
No catalogue of students was published in the early
years of the College. The only publication made was
' ' The Charter and Laws of Randolph- Mac on College, with
the Names of the Trustees and Faculty, and the Course of
Studies. Richmond: Printed by Nesbitt & WTalker.
1833." This prescribed four courses in the College,
viz., Languages (Latin and Greek), Mathematics, Natu-
ral Science, and Ethics. Upon the completion of these
four courses the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred
by the Trustees, on the recommendation of the Faculty.
No A. M. degree course was prescribed, but all A. B.
men could claim A. M. degrees who could show that
they had continued their studies or pursued courses of
professional study for three years.
Dr. Stephen Olin, president-elect, gave up his place at
Franklin College, Georgia, December, 1833, and made
his preparations to take the presidency at Randolph-
Macon. Of this move he wrote Bishop J. O. Andrew:
' ' Upon the whole, I trust the hand of God is in these in-
dications, and that our church will see and obey it. My
54 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
vocation may have given a wrong bias to my views, but
I must regard the subject of education as the highest
after the living ministry ; nor do I believe it possible for
our church to maintain its ground, to say nothing of its
fulfilling its high obligation to Christ and the world,
without a great and immediate reformation. I was
never so convinced that we must educate our own youth
in our own schools, and there is no work to which I so
desire to consecrate myself. ' ' On his way to Virginia
he visited the South Carolina Conference at Charleston.
Here he ably advocated the College, and secured a pledge
from the Conference to endow a professorship, the first
we hear of endowment. The whole journey was made
in his private carriage, his wife accompanying him. To
her he dictated his "Inaugural Address," which she
wrote out. Reaching the College after a long and tedious
journey, he delivered the address in the College chapel.
This address produced a profound impression on those
who heard and on those who read it. It was published
in the journals of the day, and was highly praised.
Governor Tazewell said he had "never heard or read
any similar address of equal ability so well suited to
such an occasion." It is well worthy of republication
in this history, but space will not permit. To show its
chief point, the following extracts are given :
. "In proportion as virtue is more valuable than know-
ledge, pure and enlightened morality will be regarded by
every considerate father the highest recommendation of
a literary institution. The youth is withdrawn from the
salutary restraints of parental influence and authority
and committed to other guardians at a time of life most
decisive of his prospects and destinies. The period de-
voted to education usually impresses its own character
upon all his future history. Vigilant supervision, em-
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 55
ployment and seclusion from all facilities and temptations
to vice are the ordinary and essential securities which
every institution of learning is bound to provide for the
sacred interests which are committed to its charge. But
safeguards and negative provisions are not sufficient.
The tendencies of our nature are retrograde, and they
call for the interposition of positive remedial influences.
The most perfect human society speedily degenerates if
the active agencies which were employed in its elevation
are once withdrawn or suspended. What, then, can be
expected of inexperienced youth sent forth from the at-
mosphere of domestic piety and left to the single support
of its own untested and unsettled principles in the midst
of circumstances which often prove fatal to the most
practiced virtue ! I frankly confess that I see no safety
but in the preaching of the cross and in a clear and un-
faltering exhibition of the doctrines and sanctions of
Christianity Christianity is our birthright. It
is the richest inheritance bequeathed us by our noble
fathers. Are the guardians of public education alone
' halting between two opinions ' ? Do they think that,
in fact and for practical purposes, the truth of Chris-
tianity is still a debatable question ? Is it still a ques-
tion whether the generations yet to rise up and occupy
the wide domain of this great empire, to be representa-
tives of our name, our freedom, and our glory before the
nations of the earth, shall be a Christian or infidel peo-
ple? Can wise and practical men, who are engaged in
rearing up a temple of learning to form the character and
destinies of their posterity, for a moment hesitate to make
' Jesus Christ the chief corner-stone ' ? "
When President Olin took charge of the College he
found the system of departments somewhat elective.
This was changed, on his recommendation, to a curricu-
56 HISTOR Y OF KANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
lum of four classes, by the unanimous vote of the Fac-
ulty.
At the annual meeting of the Board, June, 1834, an
additional college building was ordered to be built, a four-
story brick one, to contain thirty-two dormitories, adja-
cent to the main building. This was to supply rooms
for the increased number of students.
The salaries of full professors was fixed at $1,000.
The following resolution was adopted :
4 ' That whereas the South Carolina and Georgia Con-
ferences have manifested a deep interest in the perma-
nent establishment of Randolph-Macon College by each
agreeing to raise a sum sufficient to endow a professor-
ship, and in consideration of which professorships they
ask the privilege of sending, perpetually, the former
Conference five and the latter seven students, to be edu-
cated free of tuition fees ; and whereas we highly appre-
ciate the generous spirit of said Conferences, therefore
we hereby agree to receive ten from each of these Con-
ferences free of tuition fees."
As further evidence of the interest felt by these Con-
ferences, it was noted that Rev. W. M. Wightman, of
South Carolina, and Dr. Lovick Pierce and Mr. E. Sin-
clair, of Georgia, attended the meeting of the Board at
this session.
.At the annual meeting held June, 1835, Professor E.
D. Sims was granted leave to visit Europe to prosecute
the study of Modern Languages, and particularly Anglo-
Saxon and Gothic, preparatory to the more thorough
teaching of the English language. This, so far as we
know, was the first move made by any college in
America, and marks an epoch in that department. Prof.
J. B. Henneman, in the Sewanee Re-view, in a sketch of
the teaching of English, in American colleges, gives the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 57
credit of inaugurating the English course to Randolph-
Macon College.
A distinct and special effort was made at this meeting
of the Board to endow a professorship, and the President
of the Board made a subscription towards it of two hun-
dred dollars. This was to be called the Virginia Con-
ference Scholarship.
JOHN C. BLACKWELL, D. D., (A. V,., 183$).
To fill the vacancy caused by Prof. Sims' absence in
Europe, Rev. George F. Pierce, of Georgia, was elected
Professor of Languages.
At this commencement the first degree of A. B. was
conferred. The recipient was John C. Black well, of
Lunenburg county. He was a typical alumnus, the
leader of a great host that followed him, who lived to
53 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
bless the world by their example and teaching. Begin-
ning his active life after graduation as a tutor in Ran-
dolph-Macon College, he continued to teach until, he
became enfeebled by age. He founded the " Hinton Hill
Academy ' ' in his native county, and taught there for
nine years. He was then, in 1848, elected President of
the "Buckingham Female Institute," a school for'girls,
founded by the Virginia Annual Conference, one of the
best, as it was the first, built by the church, in the State.
He was, after this school was broken up by the war,
made President of the Petersburg Female College. This,
too, was broken up by the war. After the war he was
elected Professor of Chemistry in Randolph- Macon Col-
lege, just prior to the removal of the College to Ashland.
He closed a long and useful life as President of the
"Danville School for Young Ladies." During all his
active life he was a local minister of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and preached as he had opportunity. He
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from his Alma
Mater. The number of young people brought into the
church through his instrumentality have been counted
by the hundred. The first to receive a degree, he was
the first alumnus to have a son and a grandson to receive
the same. He died February i, 1885. He was elected
tutor in the College June, 1835.
. Changes had occurred during the year. Fisher A.
Foster had been elected Principal of the Preparatory
School in place of Lorenzo Lea. Rev. Jno. A. Miller
and Rev. John Kerr had been elected assistant agents in
place of Rev. W. A. Smith and Rev. Thos. Crowder.
The Treasurer, John W. Lewis, had died during the
year; Beverly Sydnor was elected in his place. Bishop
J. O. Andrew was elected a Trustee in place of Major
Speer, of South Carolina ; Hugh A. Garland in place of
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 59
J. W. Lewis, deceased, and M. M. Dance in place of
Green Penn, resigned.
COLLEGE YEAR 1835-1836.
This year was successful under the guidance of Presi-
dent Olin, who was still in feeble health.
• REV. ALFRED T. MANN, A. B., D. I).
An Effective .Minister in the Georgia Conference Sixty Years Ago.
Prof. M. P. Parks resigned at the close of the session;
Prof. Garland was transferred from the chair of Natural
Science to fill the vacancy thus made. Robert Tolfree,
of New York, took Prof. Garland's chair. Rev. Mr.
60 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Tomlinson was elected to the chair of English Litera-
ture.
The degree of A. B. was conferred June, 1836, on the
following graduates: John O. Winfield, Virginia; Ad-
dison Lea, North Carolina; Robert S. Goode, Virginia;
Charles W. Baird, Virginia; Alfred T. Mann, Georgia;
Thomas M. Isbell, Virginia.
So feeble had the health of Dr. Olin become that he
asked, in June, 1836, leave of absence to visit Europe,
which was granted with great reluctance by the Board.
The following quotation from the Life and Letters of
President Olin is given as a closing reference to his presi-
dency. He saw the College for the last time March, 1837 :
"The last Commencement at which Dr. Olin presided
during his connection with Randolph- Macon College
was in June, 1836
"The conviction grew upon him, from many unmis-
takable indications, that his health must rapidly break
up, unless a year or two of retirement from intellectual
labor and all kinds of mental excitement, and devoted
to foreign travel, should, under the blessing of God, re-
store him. The return of cool weather in the autumn
and approaching winter failed to recruit his shattered
nerves or restore his health. His course was then at
once decided on. After making several ineffectual ef-
forts to have his place supplied, he consented, at the
earnest wish of the Board of Trustees, to retain at least
a formal connection with the College while in Europe,
leaving the future, then so uncertain, open to the indi-
cations of Providence. To supply the vacancy in the
Faculty, an additional officer was elected, and Professor
Garland was appointed chairman of the Faculty and
president pro tempore
"The day of his departure came. His last interview
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 61
with the Faculty was very touching. He was too feeble
to sit up, but, reclining on a couch, he spent some half-
hour in conversation respecting the affairs of the College.
He felt satisfied, from the lengthened experiment he had
made, that there was little or no hope of his being able
to do efficient labor in a Southern climate, even though
his health might be improved somewhat by his contem-
plated voyage. Although the Board of Trustees had
declined to accept his resignation, and had given him as
long a furlough as the exigencies of his health might re-
quire, yet he was persuaded that the time of his final
departure from Randolph- Macon had come. It was very
doubtful whether he should ever again see the face of
any of his colleagues. His parting words had all the
tenderness and dignity of a Christian who bowed with
uncomplaining submission to the will of God — of a phil-
osopher who looked calmly at the future, whatever its
developments might be, whether bright or dark — of a
friend who was about to carry with him the warm at-
tachments of a heart alive to every generous sentiment
and affectionate impulse. At the close of the interview
his brother officers, with moistened eyes, knelt around
his couch, and Professor Wightman, at his request, of-
fered up a fervent prayer to the throne of the heavenly
mercy, that God would graciously preserve in his holy
keeping the life of their brother and friend, restore his
health, and bring him. back to his native land, prepared
for greater usefulness than ever to the church and cause
of Christ.
' ' At the close of this affecting interview the doctor
was supported to his carriage, and left the College, never
to see it again. His presidency had been a brief but
brilliant period in its fortunes. He had manifested the
highest adaptation to the responsible office which he
62 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
held there. His unrivaled judgment, his shining tal-
ents, his far-seeing sagacity, his prudence in adminis-
tration and firmness in government, his masterly grasp
of influence, wielded for the highest good of the young
men who came from far and near, attracted by the prestige
of his name, his genuine love of learning, and enthusi-
asm in communicating knowledge, formed a combina-
tion of great qualities very rarely met with in men of
even the highest reputation. No student or graduate
of the College who enjoyed the benefits of a personal
acquaintance with Dr. Olin will think the foregoing
estimate of his worth as a presiding officer strained or
overstated in the least particular. ' '
Professor Hardy, of La Grange College, Alabama, who
was a student at Randolph -Macon College during Dr.
Olin's administration, has retained the following .distinct
remembrances of him :
" Dr. Olin left the College of Randolph- Macon in the
spring of 1837, a few months before the class of which I
was a member took their first degree. We waited on
him in a body, and asked him to put his signature to our
diplomas, for we cherished for him a filial affection, and
felt that his name was indispensable. Many youthful
hearts were sad the day he left the College for his
European tour. The students met in chapel, adopted
appropriate resolutions, and appointed two of their num-
ber to attend him to the railroad, a distance of sixty
miles. He was worn down by disease, and we had no
expectation of seeing his face again. He rode in his
carriage on a bed, and preferred to go with no one at-
tending him save his faithful, devoted wife. We bade
him farewell, as children shake the hand of their dying
father, and we saw him no more."
This was the marked event in the history of the Col-
lege for the fifth year, 1836-' 37.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 63
Professor L. C. Garland was made President pro tent-
pore. Rev. Mr. Tomlinson having declined to accept
the chair of English Literature, Rev. William M. Wight-
man was elected to it, and accepted it. Professor David
Duncan was elected Professor of Languages in place of
Rev. Geo. F. Pierce who had declined to accept it.
REV. W. M. WIGHTMAN. D. I).
Professor William M. Wightman was an alumnus of
Charleston College, South Carolina, and a member of
the South Carolina Conference. He took the chair of
English Literature and Rhetoric which Professor E. D.
Sims was expected to fill after his return from Europe.
He was a man of decided talent and culture, and was in
64 HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the prime of life, and well fitted for the work assigned him.
He remained until Professor Sims returned from Europe,
and then returned to South Carolina. He filled other very
important and prominent positions in after years, viz. :
The editor's chair of the South Carolina Christian Advo-
cate, the Presidency of Wofford College, Spartanburg,
PROFESSOR DAVID DUNCAN, A. M.
S. C., and the Southern University, Greensboro, Ala.
While at the latter he was elected, in 1866, Bishop of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which office
he served till his death, February 15, 1882. He received
the degree of D. D. from Randolph- Macon College.
Professor David Duncan was a native of Ireland, and
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 65
a graduate of Glasgow University, Scotland. At the
time of his election to the chair of Ancient Languages
he was conducting a flourishing classical school in the
city of Norfolk, Va. The whole of an extended man-
hood was spent in teaching, the prime of it from 1837
to 1857. To his high scholarship was added a singularly
genuine character and gentlemanly and genial deport-
ment, which made him acceptable to his associates and
popular with his classes. He was brimming full always
with wit and humor. He was the father of Rev. J. A.
Duncan, D. D., President of Randolph- Macon College,
1868-1877, and Bishop W. W. Duncan of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South. He died at Wofford College,
where he was Professor of Ancient Languages, in 1881.
The year i836-'37 was marked by the first report of
the raising of a considerable instalment of the proposed
Virginia Conference endowment of a Professorship. Rev.
Jno. Early reported eighty- seven subscribers of two hun-
dred dollars each, making $17,400. It was also a pros-
perous and satisfactory year in College work. The report
of the Faculty made to the Trustees referred with em-
phasis to the good deportment and studiousness which
had characterized the student body during the closing
session. Their report also for the first time indicated
the distinctions in the graduating class, which were as
follows :
j. JAMES W. HARDY, Georgia.
2. FRANCIS N. MULLEN, North Carolina.
3. JUNIUS L. CLEMONS, North Carolina.
4. LEWIS W. CABELL, Virginia.
5. ROBERT M. INGRAM, Virginia.
6. WARREN DuPRE, South Carolina.
ADAMS, RICHARD E. G Virginia.
BEARD, CLOUGH S., South Carolina.
BLAIN, GEORGE W., Virginia.
5
66 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
CROFT, ISAAC C., South Carolina.
GEE, JESSE, Virginia.
HORSELEY, WILLIAM A., Virginia.
MONTGOMERY, HENRY T., Virginia.
SAMFORD, WILLIAM F Georgia.
STEWART, THEOPHILUS, Georgia.
WILLIAMSON, JAMES J., Virginia.
In all sixteen.
PROFESSOR WARREN DU PRE, A. M.
Tutor at Randolph-Macon College : Professor at Wofford College, South Carolina ;
President Martha Washington Female College, \rirginia.
HISTOX Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 67
The first-honor man pronounced the Valedictory Ad-
dress ; the second-honor man, the Latin Salutatory ; the
third, the Philosophical.
COLLEGE YEAR i837-'38.
This year, under the presidency of Professor Lan-
don C. Garland, acting president, the college made good
progress. In the annual report of the Faculty made to
the Trustees June, 1838, they say : "The past year has
been one of peculiar interest and pleasure on account of
the highly respectable conduct and praiseworthy dili-
gence of the students generally, the number of whom
has amounted to one hundred and ten in the College,
and over fifty in the Preparatory School. ' '
On the recommendation of the Faculty the following
degrees were conferred, viz. :
Bachelor of Arts.
1. JOHN T. BRAME, North Carolina.
2. EDWARD H. MYERS, Florida.
3. JAMES R. THOMAS, Georgia.
4. EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, Virginia.
5. JOHN W. LEAK, North Carolina.
6. FRANCIS A. CONNOR, South Carolina.
BAXTER CLEGG North Carolina.
GEORGE F. EPPES, South Carolina.
JAMES M. FITTS, North Carolina,
CHRIS. D. HILL North Carolina.
THOS. J. KOGER, South Carolina.
HENRY E. LOCKETT, Virginia.
JOHN A. ORGAIN, Virginia.
THOS. B. RUSSELL, South Carolina.
JAMES R. WASHINGTON, North Carolina.
JAMES W. WIGHTMAN, South Carolina.
Master of Arts {Honorary).
REV. GEORGE F. PIERCE, Georgia.
PROF. DAVID DUNCAN, Virginia.
GABRIEL P. DISOSWAY New York.
Doctor of Divinity.
REV. THOMAS JACKSON England.
68 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Steps were taken by the Board to endow the fourth
professorship in the College.
Rev. John Early, agent, reported that further efforts to
endow a professorship by the Georgia Conference would
be suspended, that Conference having resolved to estab-
REV. JAMES R. THOMAS, LL. D.,
President Emory College, Georgia.
lish a College in its bounds. The amount reported as
raised on said endowment was $16,000. He also re-
ported the amount of endowment raised in Virginia as
$20,000.
At this meeting we have reported the first intimation
of financial embarrassment in the affairs of the College.
HtelOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 69
Notwithstanding this the salaries of the full professors
were raised to $1200 per year. The acting president,
Landon C. Garland, was appointed to prepare an address
on the pecuniary condition of the College, the same to be
published in the papers.
Professor E. D. Sims having returned from Europe,
Rev. William M. Wightman, Professor of English Lite-
rature, tendered his resignation, which was received with
complimentary resolutions to him for his efficient ser-
vices. Prof. Wightman returned to his native State,
South Carolina, and to the itinerant ministry. The Fac-
ulty as reorganized for the session of i838-'39 was as
follows, viz. :
LANDON C. GARLAND, A. M., Professor of Mathematics, and Act-
ing President.
EDWARD D. SIMS, A. M., Professor of English Literature and
Oriental Language.
DAVID DUNCAN, A. M., Professor of Ancient Languages.
JAMES W. HARDY, A. B., Professor of Experimental Sciences.
EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, A. B., Tutor.
SOLOMON LEA, A. M., Principal of Preparatory School.
This college year was marked by the first serious rup-
ture between the Faculty and the students. The occa-
sion was a requirement made on the Senior Class to
attend a recitation on the ' ' Evidences of Christianity ' '
on Monday morning before breakfast. The result was
the leaving of a number of students involved in the con-
test.
At the close of the year, June, 1839, the annual report
of the Faculty made to the Board gave the following
item: "The affairs of the College for the session have
proceeded with tolerable prosperity and quietness." The
following were recommended for the degree of A. B.,
June, 1839, and the same received it :
70 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
AMOS W. JONES, North Carolina.
CHARLES W. BURNLEY Virginia.
JOSIAH F. ASKEW, Georgia.
THOMAS H. GARNETT, Virginia.
JAMES F. SMITH, South Carolina,
WILLIAM H. BATTE Virginia.
REV. A. W. JONES, D. D.,
/''or fifty years President of the Memphis Conf. Fetnale College.
The resignation of President Stephen Olin, tendered in
1836, was accepted at the meeting of the Board, all hope
of his returning to the College having been abandoned.
Prof. Landon C. Garland was then elected by unanimous
vote President, and he accepted the office. Prof. David
Duncan was elected rector of the Preparatory School, and
LAN DON CABELL GARLAND, LL. D.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 71
Amos W. Jones, A. B., principal. William L. Harris
was elected a tutor of the lower classes in languages.
On motion of Rev. John Early, the following resolu-
tion was adopted: "That, as soon as practicable, the
trustees of Randolph-Macon College will establish a
Normal School as a department in the College, in which
a good and liberal education can be obtained, and which,
in its organization, shall be especially fitted to educate
students for common-school teachers, and that the Pro-
fessor of English Literature be the rector of said school."
This action of the Board, showing such, remarkable
foresight and wisdom, ought to be emphasized. So far
as the State of Virginia is concerned, it is believed to
have been the first move in the establishment of a nor- '
mal department for fitting teachers for their special work.
Many years afterward (1884) the State established such
a school. The first established in the United States was
in the year 1839. This important move was never fully
and specifically carried into operation, for the same rea-
son which forbade other projects of the Board — that is,
want of means.
Another important step taken at this meeting was the
action in regard to the issue of scholarships. At the
previous annual meeting a resolution was adopted pro-
viding that any person paying $600 into the treasury of
Randolph-Macon College shall be entitled to send one
student free of tuition fees so long as he shall live or
have a son to educate ; and any minister who shall col-
lect and pay into the treasury a like sum shall be enti-
tled to the like privilege. At the meeting in 1839 this
action was rescinded, and the following was enacted :
On motion of John Early,
'''Resolved, That any person who shall pay into the
hands of the treasurer five hundred dollars, or any min-
72 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ister who shall collect and pay into the hands of the
treasurer five hundred dollars, shall be entitled to a
scholarship in Randolph- Macon College in perpetuity,
and all persons who have agreed to take scholarships at
$600 shall be entitled to the benefit of this resolution.
' ' Resolved, That any person who shall secure by bond
or otherwise five hundred dollars, the principal of which
shall be paid within five years, and who shall pay the
interest semi-annually, shall be entitled to a scholarship
in perpetuity, but the certificate of scholarship shall not
be issued until the principal is paid."
This was an unfortunate move, because it never
brought into the treasury the amount it was expected to
bring — not exceeding eight thousand dollars. The evi-
dent intention that such scholarship should be considered
as an "heir-loom" in the family was in the years after
the war, never before, violated, and parties bought them
on speculation, getting money-rent for them, when such
a course was never contemplated. When they were is-
sued, fees were $33 per session. Since the war fees have
been $75.
My readers will pardon me for here giving some per-
sonal recollections, inasmuch as it was in 1839 I matric-
ulated as a student of the College.
Mounted on my black filly, I, with several from my
native county, Nottoway, made the journey of forty
miles to Boydton, where we were guests of Col. George
Rodgers, who then kept the Boydton Hotel. He was
then, and for years afterwards, a great friend and liberal
benefactor to the College.
The next morning I saw the belfry of the College in the
distance for the first time. The same day I took up my
abode in "Texas," a portion of the western building,
so-called. To a boy not quite fourteen, the experiences
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 73
of matriculation, examination for entrance, and for the
first time coming into contact with young men from dis-
tant States, can never be forgotten. "Hazing" was
then unknown, though it was not uncommon for some of
the "green ones" to have a little fun poked at them.
We had four classes: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior,
and Senior. To the "Fresh," the "Seniors" looked
very dignified, and the latter usually felt their dignity,
but generally bore it gracefully. The Seniors and Ju-
niors generally did most of the debating in the Society
Halls, and generally dealt most in "Calico."
The student body at this time was composed very
largely of men from States south of Virginia, the Senior
class of that year having been wholly from South Caro-
lina and Georgia.
At this session Professor Landon C. Garland was in-
augurated a full President, after having acted as such
since Dr. Olin left for Europe. We looked up to him
with marked reverence, though he was not quite thirty
years old. It was his dignity of character which caused
us to do this. Few men ever possessed more than he.
No man ever trifled in President Garland's lecture-room.
The rules of discipline were felt rather than seen. His
familiar designation was "Old Landon."
President Sims was much like President Garland in
his official character and conduct. He was a high man
in person and every way. Thoroughly imbued with the
love of his native English, he threw his heart and mind
into his teaching. Unable to get text-books in Anglo-
Saxon, he wrote the elementary exercises on the black-
board. Some of these are remembered to this day. We
did not realize nor appreciate the fact that our classes
were the first in a course which is now magnified in all
the colleges and universities in the land.
74 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Professor Duncan was the genial, humor-loving Irish-
man. His shillalah was ever ready for any exposed
head, but he had no murderous intent, and did not mind
when the subject hit back, but rather enjoyed a repartee.
A broad smile always foretold his sally of wit, and some-
times it was so slow coming that the victim would have
time to "cut." Dear, dear "Old Pad," as we called
him, it was hard to say whether he enjoyed most his fun
with the boys or his ancient languages, with the love of
which he seemed to be fully saturated. A kinder heart
never beat in human frame.
" Old Jim " (Hardy) presided in the Laboratory on the
third story. He was a third-story man every way.
Though a young man, and the first alumnus of the Col-
lege made a full professor, his manner was austere, and
hence he had but little popularity with the students.
Some excuse for his so appearing was due to the fact
that he had to study hard to keep up with the expecta-
tions of his classes.
''Old Zeke" (Blanch) our tutor in mathematics, was
a fine instructor and bright every way. H*e, too, was
fond of humor when out of his lecture-room, but very
strict while in it.
Oh! for a Dickens to picture Tutor Harris. Pardon
me for taking up more room with him than is given all
the rest. But such a character is not often found, and
deserves the space he takes.
My first classical instructor was one of the tutors. He
was the first Virginia University man ever elected to fill
a chair at the old College. Deeply imbued with a love
for his subjects, he looked upon the ancient languages
as having, potatoe-like, the best parts at the root. The
' ' particle ' ' was his especial delight. So much absorbed
was he in discoursing on it, that he was not particular
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 75
whether his pupils listened or not. They might go to
sleep or do anything, so they did not break the thread of
his lecture. It was amazing to see how many learned
authorities in the shape of books he would daily lug to
the room. Doubtless this digging at the root was very
deep and thorough — too much so for the average " fresh."
Some of the most scholarly appreciated the exercise, or
pretended to do so. To the latter the tutor mainly di-
rected his attention.
Not only did the tutor pursue this absorbing search in-
doors, but it seemed to monopolize all his thoughts, even
while going to his meals and returning. It made him
oblivious to all else for the time being. He would,
while thus absorbed in thought, kick a chip before him
for a mile, and would not recognize the best friend he
might meet in the way. All he asked then was the full
"right of way."
His abstraction or absent-mindedness was exhibited in
many ways. Some mischief-lover barred up his door
one morning and thus made him tardy at recitation hour,
which gave occasion to the boys to "cut" — that is, leave
and miss recitation. He went to the President and said,
"Sir! is there any way to have a young man up,
when you don't know who he is ? " The President was
a great mathematician, but he could not solve that pro-
blem.
"Sheep-ear" collars were in fashion in those days,
just the reverse of those now or lately fashionable — I
mean those with turned-down points and rising high at
the back of the neck, making one look like he had on
a mustard-plaster. The "sheep-ear" collars had points
with acutest angles, which came up to the corners of a
man's mouth. When starched and stiffened they looked
as if great danger would be incurre'd by a sudden turn
76 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
of the head. Now just picture to yourself a sober-look-
ing man coming into a parlor in the morning with these
' ' sheep-ears ' ' pointing to the back of the neck instead
of to the front, and you will realize how very peculiar the
tutor looked one morning when he came down. This I
was eye-witness of, and if I laughed I hope no one will
accuse me of want of due respect. It could not be
helped, certainly by one who has been known to enjoy a
hearty spell at times.
The tutor was by no means a pharisee in spirit, for he
was one of the " meek of the earth. ' ' But his inveterate
habit made him liable to be pronounced as pharisaic.
When officiating at public prayers in the chapel he would
sometimes forget that after prayer came recitation or lec-
ture and then breakfast, and his prayer would seem to be
interminable. Knowing his absence of mind, one morn-
ing while thus engaged some good-inteiitioned or irreve-
rent fellow prompted him by a hearty amen! This
brought the prayer to a speedy conclusion, but the tutor
was highly displeased — so much so that he sent for the
most mischievous one of the auditors, whom he naturally
charged with the offence, and said to him, "Mr. Blaze,
I have sent for you, sir! to say to you that you shan't
say amen to my prayers."
The tutor was very economical — some would say, pen-
urious. Not so. He was generous and warm-hearted —
as much so as an old bachelor could be. A true Chris-
tian, he felt it to be his duty to save every dime he could,
that he might have the more to meet the demands of
charity. This conviction caused him to discard pins as
extravagant. In his room would be seen what Adam
and Eve used when their first garments were donned, to
furnish which conveniently he kept a thorn bush hung
up behind his door. This he kept up until he was con-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 77
vinced that the damage thus caused to one's collar ex-
ceeded the cost of pins.
Candles being expensive, he thought the twilight suffi-
cient to enable him to make up his morning toilet. This
economy, combined with his other besetting habit, got
him into a most ludicrous scrape. It happened thus :
In writing out his voluminous notes he used many quill
pens, which from time to time accumulated on his table.
He took these — quite a number — one night, just before
retiring, and washed them in his bowl, leaving the water
in the bowl very much the color of the blue ink he was
wont to use. The next morning in the dimness of twi-
light he failed to observe this discolored fluid when he
went to perform his ablutions ; when he finished he was
blue — yes, very blue. Not taking time to look into his
glass, he went to the chapel and took his place on the
rostrum ready to officiate at the appointed hour, wholly
unconscious of the very remarkable visage he wore, and
thus unprepared for the scene which was to follow.
As the boys dropped in each one would stop, and look,
and wonder, and then break out into most uproarious
laughter, as perfectly uncontrollable as a storm in its fury.
There was no use to attempt to be devout that morning.
How the tutor got through with the reading and the
prayer I can't say, but I fear he was not in a very devo-
tional mood himself. How could he be when every one
was laughing, while he could not see what was making
them laugh. He was utterly disgusted with such rude-
ness and irreverence.
But he did get through. When some one informed
him of his cadaverous appearance, he suddenly recol-
lected the blue pens he had washed in his bowl. Then
it was his turn to laugh, and laugh he did with a
vim.
78 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
But lest I weary you, I will here conclude this remin-
iscence of the olden times by saying that with all the
oddities of this old tutor I still cherish the highest re-
spect for his character as a good and deeply pious man.
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
I doubt not that he will be of that number in the great
day when the jewels are counted.
PROF. DAVID S. DOGGETT, A. M.
These made the Faculty of 1839-1842. In the latter
year Rev. David S. Doggett succeeded Professor Sims
in the English course. He was an eloquent preacher, in
the prime of life, a diligent student, and dignified in his
deportment. The pulpit was his place of power, and he
did not remain long away from it. He was afterwards
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 79
a Bishop in the church, after having served the church
as editor of the Methodist Review for a number of years.
So much for the professors and tutors. What of the
students under them? Taking the men who received
degrees during the five years 1840-1844, it is pleasant,
though it may seem invidious, to mention a part where it
is not possible to name all.
The first name in the roll of his class (1840), and the
first in honor, David Clopton, of Georgia, made his mark
at College, and his after life was what his college life
predicted.
He represented the Montgomery (Alabama) District in
the United States Congress prior to the war, and the
same district in the Confederate States Congress. After-
wards he served for many years as Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court of Alabama. He was also very
prominent in the church.
James F. Dowdell, of Georgia, was a member of the
United States Congress from Alabama prior to the war,
and was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South.
Tennent Lomax, of South Carolina, also moved to
Alabama. He was editor, soldier in the Mexican war,
and was prominent in politics. He was killed while
leading his regiment into battle at Seven Pines, Vir-
ginia, May, 1862, just after having received a commis-
sion as brigadier-general.
James L. Pierce was an eloquent speaker, a Doctor of
Divinity, and President of Lagrange (Georgia) Female
College.
In this connection it might be interesting to mention
that Clopton's roommate was Robert Lanier, of Macon,
Ga., a member of the Sophomore Class. He and Bur-
well Harrison, also of Georgia, married Virginia ladies,
So HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
whose acquaintance they formed while they were at
College. Lanier's son, Sidney, has been called the
' ' poet laureate of the South. ' '
Coming to the next class (1841), George B. Jones,
first- honor man, was a fine scholar, but turned from
teaching to business life. He was killed at Petersburg
in 1864, while defending his city in Kautz's attack
on it.
Thomas H. Campbell was a distinguished lawyer,
served in both houses of the General Assembly of Vir-
ginia, and was president of the Southside Railroad Com-
pany.
Edward Wadsworth was a prominent minister in Vir-
ginia and Alabama, a Doctor of Divinity, and President
of the Southern University, Greensboro, Ala.
In the class of 1842, Thomas C. Johnson, of Virginia,
first-honor man, became a prominent lawyer in St. Louis,
Mo., and a member of the Legislature of that State.
After the war he served two years as President of Ran-
dolph-Macon College (i866-'67, i867~'68).
William G. Connor, D. D., of South Carolina, was for
many years a prominent minister of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, South, in Texas.
Ira I. Crenshaw, of Virginia, was tutor in Randolph-
Macon College several years, and professor at the Female
Institute, Buckingham, Va., and a minister of the Vir-
ginia Conference.
Dr. Samuel D. Saunders was professor at the South-
western University, Georgetown, Texas, for a number
of years.
Of the class of 1843, George W. Benagh, of Virginia,
first- honor man, was a professor at the University of
Alabama, succeeding Dr. Landon C. Garland, his old
preceptor. He died young by accidental drowning.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 81
Edward S. Brown, of Virginia, an eminent lawyer and
member of the Virginia Legislature, is still an active,
vigorous man (1897).
William H. Lawton was a faithful itinerant in the
South Carolina Conference for nearly fifty years.
Richard H. Powell was a prominent man in church
and state for many years in his State (Alabama).
A number of the members of this class died in early
manhood.
Coming down to my own class (1844). This class in
the Freshman year numbered thirty-three. Of these
only nine took degrees. Four others came in after the
opening year, making total graduates thirteen.
John Lyon, of Petersburg, was the first-honor man of
this class. He entered the class in the Junior year, when
he was in his sixteenth year. Before his entrance there
were several candidates for the first honor. It was not
long before their hopes began to fail. He was preco-
cious, but his precocity was not short-lived, as it so fre-
quently is. Mathematics, the great rock on which so
many aspiring men were wrecked, was apparently a
pastime with him. President Garland, a natural-born
mathematician, had no mercy on men not like gifted with
himself. His course was beyond the power of nine out
of ten. John Lyon was the one of ten, and was head
and shoulders above all the others in the class in this
course, while not equal to others in other courses, but
high in all. His brilliancy made him in after life a suc-
cessful lawyer. He died in Washington, November,
1897, aged seventy.
The second-honor man was William C. Doub, of North
Carolina. He was an untiring student, gifted especially
in the acquisition of language. He was a teacher all his
life, having spent the most of it as professor in Trinity
6
82 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
College, North Carolina, and Greensboro Female Col-
lege. He was very prominent in the Methodist Church.
He died in the high noon of life.
The third-honor man, William M. Cabell, of Virginia,
was a man of clear-cut intellect, and he had the power of
concentration in a high degree. This power was shown
in his early life, and afterwards made him distinguished
and feared at the bar and in the Virginia Legislature.
He is still living (1897).
The fourth-honor man was Holland Nimmons Mc-
Tyeire. Brought by his old preceptor, James R. Thomas,
to Randolph- Macon, when otherwise he might have
gone to a state school, he entered the Sophomore Class
in 1841. College life was no pastime for him. His am-
bition would make it a stepping-stone to high position —
as at first desired and designed — in the State. Like Dr.
Olin, no place lower than the highest would satisfy his
ambition. To attain to this, all the power of an iron
will moving the enginery of a somewhat slow but giant
mind was bent and made subject. Had not a change
come to divert him from his original intention, he would
doubtless have become as notable in the councils and
courts of the State as he became in the church. When
he first came to College he appeared indifferent in church
matters, though it was known he was a member.
Whether this was the result of a lapsed religious life, or
was the result of a struggle to still the promptings of
conscience, is not known. But the call to a higher life,
heard, doubtless, before, but a while unheeded, was em-
phasized in one of those sweeping revivals which Dr.
Olin valued more than laws of discipline, and which he
pronounced as indispensable in college work. Worldly
ambition ceased to be the mainspring of his action, and
he began to seek to "have the mind which was in
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 83
Christ." But it was no easy work to bend such a will in
a new direction. It was like turning the mighty steam-
ship on a different course. The passion to rule men
around him, the gift of so doing (and it is the greatest
gift with which man is endowed), was constantly assert-
ing itself. It probably was "strong in death," but it
was tempered and sanctified to other than selfish ends by
that good Spirit which subdued a Luther, a St. Paul, and
a John Knox. What Randolph-Macon did for McTyeire
in strengthening his mental powers for what he was to
become as editor and bishop and builder of a great uni-
versity, in sobering and elevating his ambition and
aspirations, and fitting him for the work he was called to
do in and for the church, cannot be computed. He has
made his mark as high as any son of his alma mater,
possibly higher than any other.
Space will not allow me to dwell upon the names of
Thomas H. Rogers, of Virginia, for a while a tutor in
the College, afterwards M. D. ; of Richard S. Parham,
of Virginia, a clever student and lawyer, who died
in the prime of life, in his adopted State, Tennessee ; of
"Judge" Fanning, of Georgia, the frequent butt of
Prof. Duncan's wit, who was said (poor fellow) to have
chewed his brains out along with his teeth ; of B. F. Sim-
mons, a prominent young lawyer, who died prematurely,
and of Willie M. Person, a M. D., who also died young.
John Howard has been since early youth a prominent
lawyer in Richmond, ranking very high in his profes-
sion. He was noted when at College for his love for,
and proficiency in, English literature and composition.
He is still living (1897).
Of my most intimate friend in the class, Archibald
Clark, I quote what Bishop McTyeire wrote of him :
" The most useful local preacher in Southern Georgia, is
what his presiding elder said of him."
84 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Among those who were students with me at the Col-
lege, but left without taking degrees, the following
were the most notable: William T. Howard, of Vir-
ginia, who became a distinguished physician and profes-
sor in the University of Maryland ; Lucius J. Gartrell,
of Georgia, who became one of the foremost lawyers of
his State, and a general in the Confederate army ; Chas.
E. Hooker, of South Carolina, Attorney- General of the
State of Mississippi, colonel in the Confederate army,
and for many years a member of Congress ; Colonel Joel
B. Leftwich, of Virginia, for a number of years a mem-
ber of the General Assembly of Virginia ; Smith W.
Moore, of North Carolina, a Doctor of Divinity in the
Memphis Conference, author of several books, and poet.
He was associated with Bishop McTyeire on the Board
of Trust during the early years of the Vanderbilt Uni-
versity. James N. Ramsey, of Georgia, colonel in the
Confederate army ; Robert Ridgway, of Virginia, the
brilliant editor of the Richmond Whig, and member of
Congress from Virginia ; Walter L. Steele, of North
Carolina, a member of Congress, and prominent in busi-
ness and state matters ; W. L. Blanton, a minister of
the Virginia Conference, eloquent and zealous, who died
in early manhood ; James D. Crawley, a most estimable
man, and a local minister for many years ; W. K. Blake,
of North Carolina, a prominent merchant in Spartanburg,
S. C., and trustee of Wofford College; John Wesley
Williams, a member of the Virginia Conference, whose
useful life was early cut short by consumption .
Nearly all of my college-mates sleep in the dust of the
earth. Many of them were "wise, and shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament, ' ' and some ' ' turned
many to righteousness," and shall " shine as the stars,
forever and ever."
GEN. TENNENT LOMAX, CLASS 1840.
Killed at Seven Pines, Va., /#».
HISTOR Y OF RAXDOLPH-MACOX COLLEGE.
We go back now and take up the record regularly.
At the close of the session of i839~'4O the report of the
Faculty notes the year as successful, and makes men-
tion of the introduction of Anglo-Saxon into the course
as the basis of the proper stud}- of English. The Bible
was also recommended as a part of the course of study.
At this meeting the first legacy to the College, made by
Rev. Robert C. Jones, of $3,000, was reported.
DAVID CLOPTOX, LL. D.
The following degrees were conferred June, 1840 :
A. B.
DAVID CLOPTOX, of Georgia. JAMES L. PIERCE, of Georgia.
JAMES F. DOWDELL, of Georgia. TEXNEXT LOMAX, of S. C.
BIRWELL K. HARRISON, of Ga. WOODSON L. LIGOX, of S. C.
86 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
JOHN C. BLACKWELL, of Va. JOHN TILLET, of North Carolina.
R. E. G. ADAMS, of Virginia. JUNIUS L. CLEMONS, of N. C.
J. W. HARDY, of Georgia. WARREN Du PRE, of S. C.
F. N. MULLEN, of N. C.
The "Centennial of Methodism" occurred in 1839,
and was celebrated by the church. Considerable collec-
tions were taken up during the year to increase the en-
dowment of the College. This year a name, clarum et
nobile, appeared for the first time on the records of the
Board, D'Arcy Paul, of Petersburg. In the good provi-
dence of God, he was permitted to act as trustee for
many years, and to exert a great influence in saving the
College from financial wreck. At the time of his elec-
tion he was a leading Methodist in his city, and probably
the most prominent layman in the State. As a mer-
chant, he had been very successful, and enjoyed the un-
bounded confidence of the business world. His liberality
towards all church and benevolent enterprises was such
as probably had never before been witnessed in Virginia.
He was by birth a native of Ireland, but his whole life,
except his early boyhood, had been spent in Virginia,
and no son ' ' to the manner born ' ' was more enthusias-
tic in pushing forward all interests that enured to its
welfare. When he accepted the place of trustee his
heart and hand and credit were put at the service of the
College. Taking the helm of the ship as Financial and
Investing Agent, he held it for nearly thirty years, and
it is not going too far to say that to him, more than to any
other man, the College owes its continuation to the day
when age and feebleness forced him to turn over to other
hands the trust he had so long and faithfully borne on
his shoulders. If it had the means, it should erect a
monument to perpetuate his memory. Happy am I
D'ARCY PAUL.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 87
here to pay this feeble tribute to his worth, and to give
the portrait, faint representation, though it be, of one
who is worthy of all the honors that could be bestowed
on him. His form was so erect that age could not bend
it. His character, which beamed forth in a face of more
than usual manly beauty, was still more true to the line
of truth and righteousness.
EDWARD WADSWORTH, D. D.,
President of the Southern University, Ala.
The report of the Faculty for the year ending June,
i84o-'4i, makes favorable mention of the work of the
session and of the conduct and scholarship of the stu-
dents. The financial condition of the College was found
to be such as to call for an address asking of the patron-
izing Conferences needed relief.
88 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The degrees conferred at the close of the year were :
A. B.
GEORGE B. JONES, Virginia. THOS. H. CAMPBELL, Virginia.
THOMAS B. GORDON, Georgia. THOMAS H. JONES, Virginia.
ROBERT C. GILLIAM, S. C. WM. W. HEREFORD, Mississippi.
WILLIAM H. DENTON, S. C. SAMUEL B. SCOTT, Virginia.
WILLIAM H. BASS, Virginia. EDWARD WADSWORTH, N. C.
MARCELLUS STANLEY, Georgia. OLIVER P. WILLIAMS, S. C.
THOS. S. ARTHUR, S. Carolina.
A M.
CHARLES W. BAIRD, Virginia. HENRY E. LOCKETT, Virginia.
THEOPHILUS STEWART, Georgia. JAMES R. THOMAS, Georgia.
JOHN T. BRAME, N. Carolina. EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, Virginia.
EDWARD H. MYERS, Florida. GEORGE W. BLAIN, Virginia.
JAMES M. FITTS, N. Carolina.
YEAR i84i-'42.
At a called meeting of the Board held April, 1842,
Prof. E. D. Sims tendered his resignation. The law of
Virginia at that time prohibited a person from marrying
the sister of his deceased wife. The Professor was
about to marry Miss Andrews, the sister of his former
wife, daughter of Prof. Andrews, author of Latin Gram-
mar, and therefore was compelled to leave the State to
marry her.
The loss of a Professor so capable and eminent as
Professor Sims was much regretted by the trustees and
the friends of the College. Under the circumstances, it
could not be remedied, for there was no one to take his
place in the special English course. He had been
elected to take the chair of English in the University of
Alabama, which he accepted.' At this institution he
formulated a course of instruction in English based on
Anglo-Saxon, similar to the one he had taught at Ran-
dolph-Macon. Here he proceeded with the work on the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 89
Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Dictionary. This work he
was not long permitted to prosecute. He died in 1845.
Forty years after his death the manuscripts of his Anglo-
Saxon works came to Randolph- Macon in an unexpected
way. Rev. Mr. Stephan, of Missouri, found them at a
second-hand bookstore in St. Louis, and noticing the
name of Professor Sims on the title-page, he purchased
SAMUEL D. SANDERS, A. M., M. D.,
Professor Southwestern University, Texas.
the lot, embracing other papers, and sent them to the
writer. Prof. Sims labored faithfully, but ' ' others have
entered into his labors."
Rev. Dr. Capers, of South Carolina, was elected to
fill the vacancy, and also president of the College, Presi-
dent Garland having tendered his resignation.
9o HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
In the annual report in June, 1842, the Faculty say:
" Our pecuniary embarrassments are becoming serious,
and unless effectually relieved, it will be impossible to
keep up the operations of the institution much longer.
The trustees cannot give this matter too much patient
reflection ; and if it be practicable to sustain the institu-
tion in this respect, we have no fears for its success in
all others."
The reorganization of the Faculty was recommended,
also some modifications in the course of study ; also, the
establishment of a "School of Law." This school was
established, and Edward R. Chambers, an eminent law-
yer of Boydton, elected Professor.
The degrees conferred June, 1842, were :
A. B
THOMAS C. JOHNSON, Virginia. IRA I. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
JOSEPH SUTTON, Virginia. THOMAS R. EPES, Virginia.
ALEX. B. PIERCE, N. Carolina. JOSEPH T. REESE, Georgia.
BENJAMIN Z. HERNDON, S. C. LUCIEN H.^OMAX, S. Carolina.
WILLIAM G. CONNOR, S. C. GEO. E. WYCHE, N. Carolina.
SAMUEL D. SANDERS, S. C.
A. M.
ISAAC C. CROFT, S. Carolina. AMOS W. JONES, N. Carolina.
WILLIAM H. BATTE, Virginia. JAMES R. WASHINGTON, Ga.
JOSIAH F. ASKEW, Georgia. Rev. DAVID S. DOGGETT, Vir-
JAMES W. WIGHTMAN, S. C. ginia (honorary).
CHARLES F. BURNLEY, Virginia
Rev. David S. Doggett was elected to the chair vacated
by the resignation of Pr6fessor Sims.
1842-1843.
This year the second decade of the College commenced.
The year was marked by great financial pressure, which
was partially relieved by the sale of some of the funds of
the College. A part of the proceeds of the sale was
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 91
used to pay off a debt on building account and the rest
for current expenses. At the low rates of college fees,
the current receipts failed to meet salaries and other ex-
penses.
In the annual report of the Faculty mention is made of
a decrease in patronage, caused by the financial condition
of the country and the establishment of colleges in other
Southern Conferences ; so that it was again necessary to
ask the Board to do something to increase the income of
the College.
This year a French course was introduced for the first
time, and E. A. Blanch was elected tutor of French.
At the annual meeting, June, 1843, a committee was
appointed, consisting of Messrs. Chambers, Rogers,
Alexander, Leigh, and Early, to recommend a plan for
the relief of the College from financial embarrassment.
This committee reported as follows :
1 . That it is absolutely necessary to raise a permanent
fund of $20., ooo to sustain the institution, and if we fail
in doing so, it must and will go down.
2. That the Agent be instructed to endeavor to obtain
one hundred subscribers of $500 in money or in bonds,
the interest to be paid annually at the sessions of the
Virginia and North Carolina Conferences, and the prin-
cipal within a period not to exceed ten years, no sub-
scription to be binding until $10,000 shall have been
subscribed, the principal to be kept as a permanent
fund.
The Faculty of the College showed their spirit of lib-
erality and .self-denial by the following communication :
' ' The Faculty, with a view to contribute all in their
power toward the establishment of the College, propose
to give to the Board of Trustees the sum of five thousand
dollars, the same to be paid in five years by a relinquish-
92 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ment annually of $1,000 on their salaries upon the fol-
lowing conditions, viz. :
" i . That the balance of their salaries be paid promptly.
"2. That the donation shall cease before the expira-
tion of the five years, unless the exigencies of the insti-
tution shall require it. ' '
It being necessary to raise funds to pay the professors,
Messrs. H. G. Leigh, D'Arcy Paul, Dr. Archibald A.
GEORGE W. BENAGH, A. M.,
Professor University of Alabama.
Campbell, George Rogers, and Edward R. Chambers
offered to loan the College $500 each, and Messrs. H. B.
Cowles and Landon C. Garland $250 each, on the 25th
of December next ; and Rev. W. B. Rowzie, Agent of
the College, offered, that if the amount of his collections
JUDGE EDWARD R. CHAMBERS,
Pm/esser of Law J&42- 43. Trustee of tht College. Judge Circuit Court.
Member of I 'irginia, Convention 1851 and l80l.
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 93
should fall under $500, to make up the deficiency in a
loan.
The above record is given to show the great financial
strait of the College and to bring to mind the liberality
of the members of the Board and the Faculty. But for
this liberal action the College would have ceased its
work, as so many others were forced to do.
Some steps were taken at this meeting to establish a
Medical Department in the College.
The following degrees were conferred, June, 1843:
A. B.
GEORGE W. BENAGH, Virginia. THOMAS W. BLAKE, N. C.
EDWARD S. BROWN, Virginia. HENRY B. ELDRIDGE, Virginia.
HAMPDEN S. SMITH, N. C. WALLER MASSIE, Virginia.
THOMAS E. MASSIE, Virginia. JOHN F. RIVES, Mississippi.
WILLIAM H. LAWTON, S. C. NATHANIEL R. WADDILL, Va.
FELIX H. G. TAYLOR, Miss. JOHN C. WALKER, Virginia.
RICHARD H. POWELL, Alabama.
A. M.
JAMES F. SMITH, South Carolina.
D. D.
Rev. ROBT. NEWTON, England. LOVICK PIERCE, Georgia.
WILLIAM WINANS, Mississippi. WILLIAM A. SMITH, Virginia.
1343-1844.
The dark cloud resting on the prospects of the College
in June, 1843, still hung over it the succeeding year,
notwithstanding the efforts made to relieve the embar-
rassment. Patronage continued to decrease. The ses-
sion opened with sixty matriculates in the College and
thirty in the Preparatory School, the smallest number in
the history of the College up to this year.
The President, in the annual report, alludes to the de-
pression of Faculty and patrons, neither of whom ' ' could
feel proper interest in an institution which might close its
94 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
doors at any time. ' ' This feeling of despondency seemed
to have pervaded also the members of the Board, for a
bare quorum were in attendance at the opening session.
The president, in his report, said : ' ' We shall regard it
as a- calamity if you leave this place without making
some definite arrangement by which our future may be
relieved from all embarrassment."
HOLLAND N. MCTYEIRE, A. M., D. D.,
B:shop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South ; Regent Vanderbilt University.
That grand layman, D'Arcy Paul, in this dark hour,
came to the relief of the College by guaranteeing £the
salaries of the professors to the amount of $5,000 on cer-
tain conditions. Thus, in the good providence of God,
the life of the College was prolonged.
COL. WM. TONVNES, TRUSTEE.
Elected 1844.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 95
The following received degrees June, 1 844 :
A. B.
JOHN LYON, Virginia. JOHN HOWARD, Virginia.
WILLIAM C. DOUB, N. C. RICHARD IRBY, Virginia.
WILLIAM M. CABELL, Virginia. RICHARD S. PARHAM, Virginia.
HOLLAND N. McTvEiRE, Ala. WILLIE M. PERSON, N. C.
ARCHIBALD CLARK, Virginia. BENJAMIN F. SIMMONS, N. C.
THOMAS H. RODGERS, Virginia. J. L. GILLESPIE, Virginia.
.JAMES G. FANNING, Georgia.
A. M.
THOMAS B. GORDON, Georgia. Rev. THOS. H. JONES, Virginia.
GEORGE B. JONES, Virginia. WILLIAM H. BASS, Virginia.
Rev. EDWARD WADSWORTH, Va. HENRY F. JONES, N. C.
FRANCIS A. CONNOR. S. C.
Rev. Henry B. Cowles having declined to accept the
office of Agent, to which he had been previously elected,
was again elected.
Warren DuPre resigned the tutorship, and Holland
N. McTyeire was elected to fill the place.
It would be an omission if, in describing and relating
other matters, the description of an old-time Annual
Commencement should be left out. These occasions
were notable events in the first two decades of the Col-
lege. In those days preparations were begun four weeks
before the Commencement day by releasing the Seniors
from regular daily exercises so as to give them time to
prepare their orations, which each one had to write and
commit to memory and rehearse before the Professor of
English, who was authorized to make corrections in
matter, style, and also in manner of delivery. The
Commencement generally was held the third Wed-
nesday and Thursday of June. The Sunday previous a
sermon was preached by some eminent minister appro-
priate to the occasion. Selecting one occasion that the
writer witnessed as a specimen, that of 1842, the follow-
96 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ing description is faithful: The visitors, in the main,
began to fill up the boarding-houses around the College
and the hotels of Boydton on Tuesday. The Board of
Trustees assembled on Tuesday at an early hour, hold-
ing their meeting, strictly private, during the day.
Friends of the graduates from Virginia and the Carolinas
were largely in attendance on Wednesday in time for the
opening of the exercises in the chapel. On this occa-
sion the far-famed evangelist, Rev. John Newland Maf-
fett, had been selected to deliver the annual oration
before the literary societies. He arrived on Tuesday by
private carriage, having travelled over seventy miles.
The Alumni Society orator had also arrived.
The exercises of Wednesday opened at n A. M. The
band had been discoursing musical selections tor hours
previous on the campus, and continued in the gallery of
the chapel, to which they and the crowd had repaired.
The chaplain invoked the blessing of God on the Col-
lege and the young men., The president introduced the
alumni orator, who delivered his address to the Society
and the audience. The applause of the auditors would
have been prolonged but for their anxiety to hear the
silver-tongued orator, whose fame was as wide as the
country. He was in the prime of life. His dress was
faultless ; his black locks were unruffled, as when he
left the hair-dresser's shop an hour before, for it was said
he held his hat in his hand all the way from Boydton as
he rode in the carriage to the chapel. Be that as it may,
every lock was in perfect order. He was a native of the
Emerald Isle, but was thoroughly naturalized. His man-
ner was well-nigh perfect, possibly a little too dramatic;
his voice musical, his enunciation rolling and faultless.
What was the theme memory cannot recall. All that
is remembered is his action, voice, and the general effect
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 97
on the auditors. The house was packed ; the crowd
outside was as great as that inside. The oration over,
all breathed naturally again; the boys applauded, the
ladies waved their handkerchiefs and fans, and the band
struck up enlivening notes, and all said, as the morning
exercises closed, "We have heard an orator to-day."
In the afternoon the representatives of the Washing-
ton and Franklin Societies — George Benagh and Felix
Taylor of the former, and Marcellus Stanley and Rives
Waddill, of the latter — did their societies great honor as
their representatives by delivering in the chapel eloquent
orations.
At night the Societies held their annual meetings, at
which the presidents-elect, distinguished honorary mem-
bers, presided and made addresses. In the debates fol-
lowing the honorary members were expected to take
part. The Society medals and honors were delivered to
graduate members. These meetings were held in the
halls, and were not open to the public.
At night the parlors of private houses and the hotels
were radiant with the wealth of beauty gathered mainly
from the Old Dominion and the old North State. If
there were ever fairer and more lovely women since the
days of Helen this deponent never saw them.
The next day the graduating class made their last
bows to a College audience, having, according to cus-
tom, appeared three times before in the last year of their
course. It would be hard to decide which did best, if
the verdict had to be given by the fair auditors who
heard them.
The ' ' Latin Salutatory ' ' came first, delivered by the
second-honor man. This was followed by the orations
of others, without regard to grade. The closing "Vale-
dictory" was delivered by the first-honor man, who in
7
98 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
a manner represented the whole class. Then each grad-
uate received his ' ' sheep-skin, ' ' delivered by the Presi-
dent, who, in Latin, said, "Accepe hoc diploma" as he
handed the diploma.
The graduating class was complimented by a "party"
given in their honor by the students at the Steward's
Hall, which was largely attended. This closed the
Commencement .
So great was the interest in the Annual Commence-
ments that parties came for long distances, even as far
as South Carolina. Some of them came in coaches drawn
by four horses with out-riders.
COLLEGE YEAR
The tendency in patronage this year was still down-
ward. The number of students was smaller than ever
before.
A movement was made to carry out the project to raise
$20,000 for endowment. The salaries of the Faculty
were reduced, so that the President only got $1,250; the
professors, $1,000; Tutor, $600; Principal of the Pre-
paratory School, $600. This was done in the face of the
fact that the dues to the Faculty at this time amounted
to $7,000. This unfortunate condition of affairs was
brought about and aggravated by several causes. The
poorly paid officers worked without hope of remuneration.
Students failed to attend because the impression was be-
coming prevalent that the College would be forced to
close its doors. Besides, the farming community were
receiving low prices for their crops. In 1845 the severest
drought prevailed in Virginia ever known since 1816.
At the Commencement, June, 1845, a case of small-
pox was reported on the morning of the first day. This
threatened the total suspension of the exercises, and
HISTOR y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 99
many visitors did return home. The exercises were held
at Boydton, and the address of Rev. Dr. William S.
Plumer, one of the greatest men of his day, served to
put all in good humor and restore quiet. The next day
the services were held in the chapel.
TURNER M. JONES, A. M., D. D.,
President Greensboro Female College , N. C.
Degrees were conferred as follows :
CHARLES B. STUART, Va.
JOHN G. BOYD, Va.
THOMAS T. BOSWELL, Va.
JAMES T. WRIGHT, Va.
JOSEPH T. REESE, Ga.
A. B.
• WILLIAM F. BLACKWEI.L, Va.
JOHN W. SHELTON, N. C.
TURNER M. JONES, N. C.
A. M.
GEORGE E. WYCHE, N. C.
THOMAS S. ARTHUR, S. C.
ioo HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
At the close of this year I. I. Crenshaw and H. N.
McTyeire resigned their places as Tutors. The former
went to the Buckingham Female Institute, and the latter
took work ,as an itinerant on a circuit till Conference.
Williams T. Davis was elected Principal of the Pre-
paratory School.
O. H. P. CORPREW, A. M., LL. D.,
Professor in Randolph- M aeon College and Central College, Mo.
COLLEGE YEAR 1845-' 46.
The drought referred to continued till late in the sum-
mer. Many farmers had to buy corn at one dollar per
bushel, and in some cases had to go as far as thirty miles
to get meal.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 101
At the close of the year in June, at the meeting of the
Board, great financial embarrassment was reported.
A bond to be secured by mortgage on the real estate of
the College for $5,000 was authorized to raise funds to
meet pressing indebtedness.
The following received degrees June, 1846 :
A. B.
JOHN DAVIS, Va. OLIN M. DANTZLER, S. C.
OLIVER H. P. CORPREW, Va. BENJAMIN F. LOCKETT, Va.
FRANK X. FOSTER, S. C. THOMAS J. LOCKETT, Va.
EDWARD T. HARDY, Va. THOMAS P. JERMAN, S. C.
SAMUEL HARDY, Va. GEORGE HOWARD, Va.
WM. G. de GRAFFENREIDT, Va.
A. M.
JAMES F. DOWDELL, Ga. THOMAS H. CAMPBELL, Va.
WILLIAM F. SAMFORD, Ala. WILLIAM G. CONNER, S. C.
JOHN F. RIVES, Miss. JOHN C. WALKER, Va.
D. D.
Rev. W. M. WIGHTMAN, S. C. EDMOND W. SEHON, Ky.
The session of the College, i846-'47, opened very in-
auspiciously. In addition to (and probably in large
measure growing out of) the financial troubles which
had been thickening for years past, a want of harmony
and co-operation between the President and some of the
members of the Faculty began to be shown. This led
to disorder and insubordination among the students. To
inquire into the matter at issue a meeting of the Trus-
tees was called in September, 1846, at which, after re-
citing a history of the troubles, President Garland ten-
dered his resignation, and requested the immediate
acceptance of the same. This was followed by the resig-
nation of their positions by Professors D. S. Doggett and
David Duncan, and Tutor Thomas H. Rogers.
102 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The resignation of the President was not accepted for
prudential reasons. That of Professor Doggett, to take
effect at the close of the session, was accepted, as was
that of Tutor Rogers. Professor Duncan was induced
to withdraw his.
The Board then adjourned to meet in the succeeding
November, at the session of the Virginia Conference,
which was to meet at the College.
At the adjourned meeting held November 13, 1846, the
Board accepted the resignation of President Garland.
Rev. Wm. A. Smith, D. D., of the Virginia Conference,
was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation
of President Garland. The Faculty, as re-organized, was
as follows, viz :
REV. WM. A. SMITH (President), Prof. Moral and Mental Phil-
osophy.
REV. CHARLES F. DEEMS. A. M., Prof. Latin and Belles Lettres.
EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, A. M., Prof. Pure and Mixed Mathematics.
DAVID DUNCAN, A. M., Prof. Greek Language and Literature.
JAMES W. HARDY, Prof. Experimental Science, Astronomy and
Optics.
The severance of President Garland from the College,
after a service of fourteen years in various capacities, was
a source of great sorrow to his old pupils and friends.
However deficient he may have been in some qualifica-
tions for the presidency, which from the first he not only
did not seek, but frequently declined, he preserved all
along the unqualified respect of all as an able professor
and scholar. So devoted was he to the prosecution of
his favorite study, Astronomy, that he generally broke
himself down every year by attempting to perform the
arduous work of the president and also of full professor.
Added to this he was for years Treasurer. To a sensi-
tive nature like his, the demands of creditors made on
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 103
him when he could not meet them was a burden of itself
heavy enough for any one to bear. If the College had
had an endowment fund large enough to pay the ex-
penses as they were incurred, and had allowed him to
retain a professorship at a fair salary, with a president
taking on his shoulders the duties which in most colleges
devolved on the president, his valuable services could
probably have been retained — certainly if the dissension
had not arisen in the administration of the College. It
is proper here to state that this dissension was only with
Professor Hardy, and was not participated in by the
other members of the Faculty, and did not lead to the
resignation of several of them.
President Garland accepted the Chair of Mathematics
in the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa. He never
returned to his native State except on visits. The whole
of a long life was spent, first, at the University to which
he went, then at the University of Mississippi, from
which he was called to take the Chancellorship of the
Vanderbilt University, at Nashville, Tenn., which he
accepted and filled for many years. Here in connection
with his old pupil, Bishop McTyeire, he did valuable
work, till age and feebleness forbade active work.
Then he was made Chancellor emeritus. He died sud-
denly, but not unprepared, at the Vanderbilt Univer-
sity.
The closing years of President Garland's administra-
tion were the darkest in the history of the College.
Many of its friends were hopeless of its ever rallying
again. Others gathered new hope, and their faith
"staggered not" in this dark hour. All the older
Methodist colleges had gone down, or were tottering to
their fall. So much the greater faith was needed at
Randolph- Macon .
104 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
It was a fortunate circumstance that this re-organiza-
tion took place at the session of the Virginia Conference,
which was held at the College, and presided over by
Bishop Capers.
REV. WM. B. ROWZIE.
JRev. W. B. Rowzie, who for many years had been
Agent, resigned the position. A better friend the Col-
lege never had.
At the request of the Board, Rev. B. R. Duval and
Rev. Nathaniel Thomas were appointed Agents for the
College. They were men of extraordinary energy and
zeal, and they at once entered on a thorough canvass of
the Conference in raising funds for the College. Presi-
dent Smith entered on his duties with characteristic zeal.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 105
He was fortunately possessed of an unconquerable will
and a buoyancy of disposition, without which he would
have quailed under the discouragements under which he
labored.
" Wm. A. Smith was born in Fredericksburg, Va., No-
vember 29, 1802. His mother was a consistent member
of the Methodist Church, and in death prayed that her
son might live to preach the glorious gospel. His father
was a man of honorable character and position. Both
died when he was of a tender age. For a time the
orphan boy had rough usage; but he was afterwards
adopted and raised by Mr. Russell Hill, a friend of his
father, and a worthy merchant of Petersburg. When
seventeen years old, he was converted, and joined the
M. E. Church. He had received a good English educa-
tion, and had commenced the study of the classics ; but
feeling that he was called of God to the ministry, and
not being able to attend college as he desired, he studied
privately one year at the home of his uncle, Mr. Porter,
in Orange county, and taught school two or three years
in Madison. In 1824 he travelled the Gloucester circuit
under the Presiding Elder; in February, 1825, he was
admitted on trial into the Virginia Conference. In 1833,
while Agent for Randolph- Macon College, then in its
infancy, he met with a fearful accident: the carriage
which he was driving upset and fell on him, breaking
his right thigh and dislocating his left hip, and badly
laming him for life. He was a delegate to the General
Conference of the M. E. Church every session from 1832
to 1844, and occupied a high position in that great coun-
cil as an adviser and debater. In the memorable appeal
case of Harding, and in the yet more important extra-
judicial trial of Bishop Andrew, which led to the division
of the church, he won a reputation wide as the United
io6 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
States, and inferior to that of no minister of any denomi-
nation, for the highest deliberative and forensic eloquence.
He was a member of the Louisville Convention which
organized the M. E. Church, South, and of all the
General Conferences of this church to the date of his
death. He commanded universal respect and confidence
among his brethren by the sincerity of his zeal, the wis-
dom of his counsels, and the power of his reasoning.
His impress will long remain on the legislation and in-
stitutions of Southern Methodism. In 1846 he was
called from the regular pastorate, by the urgency of
the Trustees of Randolph- Macon College, sanctioned
by the Virginia Conference, to the Presidency of this
institution. • He was selected for that place because
his courage, energy and strength of intellect seemed
indispensable not only to the prosperity, but even
to the saving of this noble institution. Twenty years
of his life was consecrated to this cause — years of self-
sacrifice, of unremitting toil, of courageous battling
with difficulties and victory over them ; of hope where
others desponded, of faith where others doubted, of
resolution where others wavered. He was diligent
in his study, diligent in his lecture-room, diligent in his
travel through Virginia and North Carolina to collect
money and to arouse interest in behalf of the College.
The number of students steadily increased, the standard
of scholarship was elevated, and through the joint efforts
of Dr. Smith and the agents of the College an endow-
ment fund of $100,000 was raised. Then came the ter-
rible war, which emptied those classic halls and swept
away the funds which had been gathered with so -much
toil. Yet not in vain had he labored. Scores of minis-
ters, hundreds of pious young men, educated under his
care, moulded by his influence, are this day in their
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 107
several spheres carrying on the same grand work to
which he was devoted, and have learned, from his teach-
ings and example, never to surrender, never to despair
of Randolph- Macon.
" We have not spoken of Dr. Smith as a preacher and
pastor. He soon rose to eminence in the ministry, and
stood with the foremost in the pulpit and pastorate for
faithfulness, ability and success. He had a deep, dis-
tinct, happy, constant experience of the saving grace of
God in Christ Jesus. His zeal for the cause of religion
was pure, steady, consuming. He was fully consecrated
to the work of the ministry. The doctrines and polity
of our church had no stronger, nobler expounder and
champion than he. His sermons were "logic on fire"-
grand and solid discussions of the leading truths of the
gospel, animated with deep emotion. Thousands were
converted under his ministry; many of them became
preachers of the word in our own and other denomina-
tions ; the churches he served were ever edified and
trained, not less by his pastoral fidelity than by his
luminous discourses.
"As a man, he was of marked character. Who that
ever saw him could forget that bold, frank, noble face
and forehead, which revealed at a glance the lofty attri-
butes of his intellect, the loftier attributes of his heart !
Cunning and deceit he knew not; to fear he was a
stranger ; his convictions he was ever ready to avow and
maintain. Yet, with all his courage and indomitable
energy of will, he had a tender, sympathetic heart, and
much of a child-like spirit, simple, unselfish, trustful,
easy to be entreated." *
Rev. C. F. Deems did not accept the chair of Latin,
and O. H. P. Corprew was elected professor pro tempore,
and filled the place.
* Copied from Memoir in Virginia Conference Minutes.
IDS HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
At a meeting of the Board held March 31, 1847, an
effort was made to establish a medical department of the
College, but it never resulted in any permanent success.
At the meeting of the Board held June, 1847, Presi-
dent Smith reported that the session had been pleasant
BENNETT PURYEAR, A. M., LL. D.,
Professor Chemistry Randolph -Macon College : Chairman Faculty and Professor
Chemistry, Richmond College.
and the prospects of the College improving. The suc-
cess of the Agents in their work gave promise of better
financial conditions. A committee was appointed to re-
organize the Preparatory School system, and it was pro-
posed to establish one or more at salient points.
Professor J. W. Hardy tendered his resignation, which
\VM. A. SMITH. D. D.,
President of Randolph-Macon College
President Central College, Mitsouri.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 109
was accepted. He had been elected President of La
Grange College, Alabama, where he died after a short
service.
The following received degrees :
A. B.
BENNETT PURYEAR, Va. JOHN MOODY, Va.
R. H. BEALE, Term.
A. M.
W. C. DOUB, N. C. ARCHIBALD CLARK, Va.
JOHN LYON, Va. THOMAS H. ROGERS, Va.
T. C. JOHNSON, Mo. JOHN HOWARD, Va.
D. D.
REV. D. S. DOGGETT, Va. REV. EDWARD WADSWoRTH.Ala.
At a meeting of the Board held at Charlottesville No-
vember 17, during the session of the Virginia Conference,
a further issue of life-scholarships was authorized.
The committee on Preparatory Schools reported in
favor of retaining the old school at the College under
certain rules, and the establishment of one at Ridgway,
N. C., under a contract with the Trustees of the Ridgway
Academy, with William C. Doub, A. M., as Principal;
also of one at Garysburg, N. C., with C. B. Stuart, A. M.,
as Principal.
At the close of the year, June, 1848, the President in
the annual report reported increased patronage, and a
session marked by studiousness and good order among
the students. The number in the College and the Pre-
paratory School was about one hundred and forty.
The graduates receiving degrees June, 1848, were —
A. B.
JOHN C. GRANBERY, Va. TAZEWELL HARGROVE, N. C.
JOHN H. CLAIBORNE, Va. RICHARD G. MORRIS, Va.
JAMES R. BRANCH, Va. GEORGE W. FRIEND, Va.
JOHN S. MOORE, Va. CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, Va.
DALLAS SMITH, Ala. JAMES D. BLACKWELL, Va.
no HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
CHARLES B. STUART, Va.
TURNER M. JONES, N. C.
WILLIE M. PERSON, N. C.
J. W. SHELTON, N. C.
THOMAS B. RUSSELL, Ga.
A. M.
JOHN G. BOYD, Va.
WILLIAMS T. DAVIS (Hon'y), Va.
BENJAMIN JENKINS (Honorary),
Missionary M. E. Church,
South, in China.
JAMES R. BRANCH, A. M.,
Colonel Artillery, C. S. A.
D'Arcy Paul, Investing Agent and Chairman of the
Finance Committee, reported the probable income for
coming year at about $3,500, $2,000 of which amount to
come from fees and the balance endowment dividends.
We pause again in this narrative to give a reminiscence
of College life as written in 1882 by a distinguished mem-
ber of the class last named, John C. Granbery, who de-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. \ 1 1
li vered the valedictory as first-honor man . The distinction
then achieved was but a presage of his rank in the several
positions he has been called to fill — Pastor, Chaplain to
the University of Virginia, Chaplain in the Confederate
army (in which service he was severely wounded and
JOHN C. GRANBERY, A. M., D. D.
taken prisoner), Professor in the Vanderbilt University,
Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (elected
1882), and author of several works. At this writing he
lives at Ashland, and is the President of the Board of
Trustees.
"As the earliest of the American Methodist Colleges
now extant, Randolph-Macon may be called venerable,
ii2 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
if not ancient. But I use the prefix old in order to dis-
tinguish the College as it was at Boydton from the Col-
lege as it is at Ashland. The features of contrast are
many and important. In the old days slavery was, as
we thought, a fixed and lasting institution ; civil strife
had not swept away lives and fortunes, and the South
was proud, independent, fiery and enthusiastic, chivalrous
withal, generous, genial ; now we are just beginning to
adjust ourselves to the new social and political condi-
tions which have been imposed by a disastrous war.
Then there was a single degree, Bachelor of Arts, for
which the students strove, and the course of four years
was prescribed, with its regular gradations of Freshmen,
Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors; now the studies are
eclectic, and the matriculates may select any one of
several degrees, or study without reference to graduation.
Then the lumbering stage brought up the tri-weekly, or
perhaps daily, mail and passengers, and the word of the
driver rang forth cheerily, but no shrill whistle of steam-
engine or thunder of lightning trains disturbed the silence
of the classic groves, and the attractions and distractions
of the crowded, hurrying, clamorous city were out of
reach and out of thought; now the steam-car and the
steam-press are familiar objects, the capital is less than
an hour's distance, and the stage-coach is a tradition.
" A change has taken place in the manner and measure
of collegiate discipline. This is due not to the change
of locality, but to the spirit of the age. It has come to
be a maxim that the best government is that which
governs least. We seek the minimum of restriction on
liberty that is compatible with the ends of government,
viz., order, morality and diligence. Formerly the dor-
mitory system prevailed ; students were required to be
in their rooms during certain hours of the day and night ;
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 113
professors and tutors visited the buildings, seeking to
surprise the inmates, in order to ascertain whether the
rule was observed ; there were many minute regulations
which have since been abandoned. This continued ex-
ercise of authority and plan of watching provoked in-
subordination and evasion ; the wits of the boys were set
to work in order to deceive the teachers, and to break
the rules without detection, or, at least, with impunity.
The risk gave to mischief and lawlessness a relish they
would not otherwise have possessed. Unwholesome sup-
pers were stealthily brought to the rooms by negroes at
late hours of the night ; calathumps aroused the neigh-
borhood with most hideous music; blackboards were
greased ; the bell-rope was cut, and old John had to blow
his horn at daybreak in every row of the buildings, as a
call to prayers and recitations. This provoked him
greatly, and he used to say, !If you won't be rung up
as gentlemen, I must blow you up as hogs.' How
heartily I have heard Dr. Smith laugh as he repeated
the old negro's complaint at such times, ' We have the
worstest young men, and the mostest on 'em, I ever
seed \ ' Practical jokes, sometimes of a very disagree-
able sort, were played on professors in their nocturnal
rounds of inspecting the premises. Calves were hauled
up into lecture -rooms, and other silly tricks were perpe-
trated. I am glad that these follies have passed away,
that faculty and students treat each other as gentlemen
and friends, and that the public sentiment of the College
would not tolerate any rudeness, though disguised under
the name of fun. It is well to appeal to the conscience,
gentlemanly propriety and honor, and generous and
kindl}r sentiments of young men, rather than resort to
espionage and multiplied restraints.
"I appreciate the arguments in favor of locating insti-
s
ii4 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
tutions of learning on the great lines of travel, and in o
near large towns. It should be easy to get to them, and
get away from them. The frequent mail and the time-
destroying telegraph are now indispensable where stu-
dents are a small minority of the population, and where
there is a vigilant and effective police many disorders
are prevented, and faculties and boards of trust are saved
much trouble. Low vice is cheap, and will go to the
most secluded spot in search of victims ; but the city
presents many refined pleasures which may serve to
draw off ingenuous youth from haunts of sin and projects
of mischief. But there are advantages on the side of the
more quiet and retired situation. It favors concentra-
tion of interest on books, lectures, and light collegiate
exercises. The whole life at the country college be-
comes student life. There is no division of mind and
heart. There is nothing to tempt the earnest youth from
his proper work. The esprit d^l corps Qi Q\& Randolph -
Macon was very strong. There were hospitable and
cultivated homes in the neighborhood, and most charm-
ing maidens ; those who visited them found entangling
alliances for life, if the fair sex consented. But the
number of young ladies sufficiently near to be easily-
visited was small, and many of the students were not, if
I must use the modern slang which was unknown in my
day, calicoists. The two literary societies were centres
of enthusiasm. A new Randolph- Macon student can
hardly understand the intensity of devotion " Washs "
and " Franks " had for their societies in those times. All
students were members of the one or of the other, and
were ready to brag for it, quarrel for it, and, if need be,
fight for it. They did not all attend regularly the meet-
ings, or take part in discussion and other literary exer-
cises ; their lack of presence or performance was amply
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 115
atoned for by the payment of their fines, for we were
always eager to replenish the treasury. But a number
studied carefully the questions of debate, reading largely,
and thus forming a fondness for books and habit of re-
flection ; they prepared their speeches, and often waxed
very warm. Indeed, bitterness and strife would some-
times arise, but they soon passed away. A frequent and
effective debater of rather waspish and contemptuous
temper alluded one day to the arguments of his opponents
as flimsy cobwebs, as he quoted one after another, and
answered it, 'I brush that cobweb away,' said he. A
modest, merry -hearted man on the other side — he is now
one of Lee's one-armed heroes — responded : ' The gen-
tleman called my arguments cobwebs, and it may be that
they are ; but to-day is not the first time that I have seen
a fly caught in a spider's web, and vainly struggling to
get loose.' Colonel R., an intelligent gentleman of the
community, said to me more than once, when he had
been listening to a spirited debate, ' It is not inferior to
the best debates I have heard in the Legislature of Vir-
ginia.' Some of the most skilled debaters in church and
state would give a large share of the credit for their
power in deliberative assemblies to the inspiration and
training of those old Randolph- Macon halls. Many
foolish things were spoken there, I must admit. ' I
don't know I did the thing with which I am charged,'
said an excited Frank; 'but if I did, I oughtn't to be
fined, for I did it with malice aforethought.' 'With
malice aforethought!' responded the censor, who was
our honored and beloved Duncan ; ' who ever heard be-
fore of that being an excuse ? ' 'I said it, and I repeat
it, that I did it with malice aforethought; and if the
gentleman doesn't understand, I will explain that it is a
law phrase, and means I didn't go to do it ! '
116 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE
"There were many traditions in my day of giants who
had been at old Randolph- Macon. They told how Dr.
Olin, the first President, a man of great head and heart,
would send for an idle or offending student, place his
feet on the chair where the delinquent sat so as to hold
him a close prisoner, and talk to him faithfully, yet ten-
derly, until with burning cheeks and floods of tears the
youth promised never again to offend. It was a memor-
able event when the great man preached ; solid thought
in vast masses was driven to the mark with resistless
power. There was a story of an eloquent and mighty ser-
mon from Dr. Lovick Pierce, of Georgia, from a text which
astonished every listener : ' Let him that stole steal no
more ; but rather let him labor, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth.' There were glowing reports of the won-
derful pathos and power of Russell, of Georgia ; how he
melted the cold, stone hearts of the Faculty, who were
bent on sending him home, but they had all their re-
solves converted into admiration and sympathy for the
youth who pleaded eloquently his own cause ; how often
he electrified his society. It was my good fortune to
see and hear him in the pulpit and on the platform, when
he visited the College as Commencement orator."
During the session of 1847-48, a man of more than
ordinary distinction and talent became connected as Pro-
fessor with the College, Rev. Charles Force Deems. He
was a native of New Jersey, and a graduate of Dickinson
College. In very early manhood he came to North Car-
olina to represent the American Bible Society in that
State. He was there only a short time before he was
elected to a chair at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. When Dr. Smith was elected President in
November, 1846, he was elected Professor of Latin and
Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 117
Belles Lettres. He did not accept the chair at that time.
In December, 1847, he did accept another, and the Jan-
uary following entered upon his duties as Professor of
Chemistry. He remained that year and then returned to
North Carolina, and entered on the regular work of an
itinerant minister. It is not known why he so soon
severed his connection with the College, for which he
always to his latest day expressed an attachment, evi-
denced by more than one or two acts of interest and
generosity. It is probable that there was little kindly
feeling from some cause not known, or congeniality be-
tween him and the President of the College. This
doubtless was the root of the bitter feud between him
and Dr. Smith in after time, culminating in the aliena-
tion of many friends from each other and the North
Carolina Conference from the College.
The portraits of the two now hang near together on the
wall of the Trustees' room in the library, and it is hoped
that all "bitterness and wrath" having been laid aside
they together share the blessedness of heaven .
t
COLLEGE YEAR 1848-' 49.
The report of the President and Faculty gives the fol-
lowing items for the year -i848-'49 :
Students in College proper, 61 ; in Preparatory Schools,
viz.: at the College, 51; Ridgway, N. C., 20; Garys-
burg, 40; Lowell, N. C., 21 ; Richlands, N. C., 20; in all,
213. " The schools in North Carolina from the last quar-
terly returns are in a prosperous condition, and promise
in reasonable time to operate as valuable auxiliaries."
Professor Deems resigned the chair about December,
1848. The vacancy was filled, or arranged to be filled,
by Charles B. Stuart, of the class of 1845, with the
privilege extended to him to spend about a year at
1 18 HISTOR J ' OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Yale College, where Agricultural and Analytical Chem-
istry were made specialties. This arrangement was car-
ried out.
At the meeting of the Board, June, 1849, a depart-
ment of Agricultural Chemistry was provided for, to be
in charge of Professor Stuart.
RICHARD W. LEIGH,
Major C. S. A. : killed at Murfrcesboro, Tenn.
The following degrees were conferred :
A. B.
JAMES A. DUNCAN, Va.
WILLIAM G. FOOTE, Miss.
JAMES W. JACKSON, Va.
RICHARD W. LEIGH, Va.
LEWIS MILLER, N. C.
R. S. F. PEETE, Va.
B. CRAVEN (Honorary), N. C.
LUCIEN H. LOMAX, S. C.
EDWARD T. HARDY, Va.
A. M.
O. H. P. CORPREW, Va.
FRANCIS X. FOSTER, S. C.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 119
COLLEGE YEAR 1849-' 50.
The attendance this year at the Home Schools was
134 (College, 62; Preparatory, 72). Improvement re-
ported in general morals and habits of students.
Great financial embarrassment reported, and urgent
appeals for active measures to secure needed relief.
EDWIN E. PARHAM, A. M.,
President of Warrentioi, Petersburg, and Hampton Female Colleges.
Early in the session of i849~'5o, Professor E. A. Blanch
resigned the Chair of Mathematics on account of con-
tinued bad health. Professor John C. Wills, a distin-
guished graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, was
elected to fill the vacancy, and entered on his duties.
He was a local minister in the Methodist Church, and a
120 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
man of fine character and an accomplished teacher. The
College was fortunate in securing such a man.
The Faculty now consisted of the following : Dr. Smith,
President; Professors Duncan, Stuart, Wills, Corprew
(Tutor), and Williams T. Davis at the Preparatory School
near the College.
In June, 1850, they reported the Preparatory School
as having done well, and the reception from it of twenty
students for the next session, and four from the Ridgway
Preparatory School. The school at Garysburg, N. C.,
had been discontinued. The schools at Lowell, N. C.,
and Richlands, N. C., in successful operation and accom-
plishing much good.
From the above it will be seen that the establishment
of academies as feeders to the College was a fact accom-
plished before the late effort in 1889. They were all in
North Carolina, and the subsequent alienation carried
them away from the College with whatever patronage
they were bringing to it.
Degrees were conferred as follows, June, 1850:
A. B.
EDWIN A. THOMPSON, N. C. WILLIAM A. BRAME, N. C.
EDWIN E. PARHAM, Va. ROBERT H. WINFIELD, Va.
EDWARD A. ADAMS, Va. BENJAMIN C. DREW, Va.
JOHN F. DANCE, Va. THOMAS F. FITZGERALD, Va.
A. M.
REV. N. F. REID (Hon'y), N. C. BENNETT PURYEAR, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR :85o-'5i.
Number of students reported this year : In College,
91 ; in Preparatory School, 62 — total, 153.
The schools in North Carolina, except Ridgeway,
prosperous.
The year was not satisfactory in the deportment of
students generally, nor in finances.
PROF. WILLIAM T. DAVIS,
Principal Preparatory School.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 121
In June, 1851, the following degrees were conferred :
A. B.
WILLIAM H. CHRISTIAN, Va.
HUGH D. BRACEV, Va.
WILLIAM M. CRENSHAW, Va.
HENRY F. DRAKE, N. C.
ARMSTREAT E. FOWLKES, Va.
JOHN H. GUY, Va.
HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, Jr., Va.
JOHN S. LONG, N. C.
JAMES O'HANLON, N. C.
JACOB M. PALMER, Va.
REUBEN PALMER, Va.
WILLIAM McK. ROBBINS, N. C.
RICHARD H. WILLIAMS, Va.
HENRY W. WINGFIELD, Va.
WILLIAM MCK. ROBBINS,
Member of Congress from North Carolina.
A. M.
RICHARD H. POWELL, Ala.
DAVID CLOPTON, Ala.
THOMAS J. KOGER, S. C.
JAMES F. DOWDELL, Ala.
TENNENT LOMAX, Ala.
TAMES L. PIERCE, Ga.
EDWARD WADSWORTH, Ala.
ADDISON LEA, Miss.
Rev. B. CRAVEN (Honorary),
N. C. President Trinity Col-
lege).
122 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The Finance Committee reported to the Board that the
sum of $57,000 had been raised in subscriptions, bonds,
etc. , towards the endowment of the College.
COLLEGE YEAR i85i-'52.
A number of changes took place this year. Williams
T. Davis, A. M., who had for many years successfully
conducted the Preparatory School, retired to go to Peters-
burg, where he spent the balance of a useful life in the
education of young ladies. He was temporarily suc-
ceeded by W. G. Foote, A. B., and later by James S.
Kennedy, A. B., of Emory and Henry College.
O. H. P. Corprew, A. M., tutor, was succeeded by
Rev. J. A. Dean.
The annual report mentions better financial condi-
tion; decrease in patronage, due in part to changes of
teachers; the introduction of the "Demerit system,"
which is noted as having worked satisfactorily ; also
the establishment of the degree of ' ' Bachelor of English
Literature and Science," allowing a degree without
taking classical studies.
The Preparatory School at Ridgway, N. C., was dis-
continued. The other schoqjs were reported as doing well ,
but no statistics as to numbers in attendance were given .
The first volume of the Randolph- Mac on Magazine,
containing ten numbers and three hundred pages, was
published in 1851. The Editors' Table states that "the
primary object of our publication is the enlargement of
our Society libraries."
The following is another extract from the Editors'
Table: "The time is at hand for us to throw off' our
dependence upon the North, and establish an independent
Southern literature."
The old Southern Literary Messenger was then pub-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH MACON COLLEGE. 123
lished, and several Reviews, more or less literary. None
of permanent standing are published now. Southern in-
dependence in government and literature seem to have
both surrendered at Appomattox. Some of these young
men laid down their lives for one, some have been too
busy fighting "the wolf at the door" to do much for the
latter. While we lament their defeat, we admire their
pluck.
The following is the title-page of Volume I.:
THE RANDOLPH-MACON MAGAZINE.
PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF THE R.-M. COLLEGE.
" Adeo in teneris consuescere, multum est."
EDITORS :
From F. L. Society. From W. L. Society..
ROBERT M. MALLORY. CHARLES H. HALL.
WILLIAM Y. PEYTON. JOHN S. JACKSON.
JOHN WILLIAMS. THADDEUS L. H. YOUNG.
AGENTS :
JAMES SANGSTER. LEROY M. WILSON.
THOMAS C. THACKSTON. EDWARD M. PETERSON.
PRINTED BY CJLAS. H. WYNNE,
/jo Main Street, Richmond, Va.
The following degrees were conferred June, 1852
A. B
ROWLAND DOGGETT, Va. JOHN F. OGBURX, Va.
ROBERT A. JACKSON, Va. HORACE PALMER, Jr., Va.
SAMUEL LANDER, N. C. RUFUS R. PEGUES, S. C.
ROBERT M. MALLORY, Va. HENRY H. WILLIAMS, Va.
BENJAMIN W. OGBURN, Va. J°HN WILLIAMS, N. C.
A. M.
JAMES W. JACKSON, Va. R. S. F. PEETE, X. C.
JAMES A. DUNCAN, Va. WILLIAM G. FOOTE, Miss.
124 HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
COLLEGE SESSION i852-'53.
At the annual meeting, June, 1853, the report of the
President and Faculty was duly made, but, from some
cause, it was not recorded.
SAMUEL LANDKR, I). I).,
President Williainston Female College, South Carolina.
The following degrees were conferred :
A. B.
CHARLES H. HALL, N. C.
JOHN S. JACKSON, Va.
EMBRY MERRITT, Va.
HENRY D. MILAM. N. C.
JAMES D. PROCTOR, Va.
JAMES E. SEBRELL, Va.
RICHARD W. THURMAN,
' JAMES SANGSTER, Va.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACOX COLLEGE. 125
E. W. ADAMS, Va.
JOHN H. CLAI BORNE, Va.
RICHARD W. LEIGH, Va.
EDWIN E. PARHAM, Va.
GEORGE HOWARD, Va.
A. M.
LEWIS MILLER, N. C.
ROBERT H. WINFIELD, Va.
Rev. JOHN E. EDWARDS, Va.
(Honorary).
D. D.
Rev. HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, North Carolina Conference.
Rev. CHARLES F. DEEMS, North Carolina Conference.
REV. CHAS. H. HALL,
Of the I 'irginia Conference.
COLLEGE YEAR
There were in attendance this year 1 1 1 students in
College and 43 in the Preparatory School. Great grati-
126 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
fication was expressed on account of the good order of
the session. The financial condition, however, was still
very embarrassing. The scholarships sold had added
something to the endowment fund, but the number of
students paying tuition fees was reduced, and thus the
current receipts were not increased. This embarrassed
the officers of the College, because, while they peferred to
remain, higher salaries elsewhere invited them away.
The President stated that he visited the Virginia Legis-
lature and made strenuous efforts to induce the body to
pass an act which would give all incorporated Colleges
$20,000 in State bonds for every $30,000 invested by
them in State bonds. Though the project seemed to
meet with greal favor, nevertheless it failed, as all efforts
to get the State to aid denominational colleges have
done.
Dr. Smith adds : ' ' But if the hope of succeeding with
this scheme be not sufficient to justify you in making
better provision for your officers, and another should not
present itself to your minds affording better grounds of
hope for success, it is respectfully submitted whether it
be not better to close your doors until such of the officers
as you shall deem proper to employ shall succeed in rais-
ing from the public an endowment fund sufficient to meet
the wants of the institution."
The venerable Professor David Duncan resigned the
Chair of Ancient Languages, September, 1853, to take
effect June, 1854. So in June, after a continuous faith-
ful service of twenty-one years, he bade farewell to
Randolph- Macon, and went to Woffbrd, the scene of his
labors to the end of a long life.
Professor O. H. P. Corprew, A. M., was transferred
from the Chair of Natural Philosophy to fill the vacancy
occasioned by Professor Duncan's resignation. Profes-
HISTOR J ' OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 127
sor Corprew had been elected to the Professorship of
Natural Philosophy in the previous December. H. G.
Leigh, Jr., resigned as Tutor of Languages, and was
succeeded by T. H. L. Young, A. B. Wm. H. Bass
resigned the place of Principal of the Preparatory School,
and was succeeded by John W. Stuart.
THOMAS C. ELDER, A. M.,
Of the Staiiiitoii, I 'a , AVi>-.
John S. Moore, A. M., was elected to the Chair of
Natural Philosophy, vacated by the transfer of Professor
Corprew.
At the annual meeting in June, 1854, the following
received degrees :
128 HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. B.
JESSE P. BAGBY, Va. ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, Va.
JOHN G. S. BOYD, Va. A. C. MASSENBURG, N. C.
RICHARD BOYD, Va. SAMUEL MOORE, Va.
WILLIAM H. CHEEK, N. C. THOMAS C. THACKSTON, Va.
THOMAS C. ELDER, Va. L. O. RIVES, Term.
GEORGE W. HAMLIN, Va. LEROY M. WILSON, Va.
GARLAND B. HANES, Va. THADDEUS L. H. YOUNG, Va.
GEORGE W. MAGRUDER, N. C.
A. M.
WILLIAM M. CRENSHAW, Va. HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, JR., Va.
BENJAMIN F. SIMMONS, N. C. EDWARD S. BROWN, Va.
WILLIAM McK. ROBBINS, N. C. ARMSTREAT E. FOWLKES, Va.
B., Eng. Lit. and Science.
ALEX. HOGG, Va. J. KIRKPATRICK.
W. H. SHAY.
D. D.
REV. T. B. SARGENT, Bait. Conf. REV. ALFRED T. MANN,Ga.Conf.
At a called meeting held July 26, 1854, which was
well attended, a further effort was made to secure aid
from the Legislature of Virginia.
At this session of the Board the following important
action was taken :
Rev. Robert O. Burton offered the following resolu-
tions :
- i . That in view of still further elevating the institu-
tion and securing its permanency we will endeavor to
increase the endowment to $100,000.
2. That whenever the amount of $100,000 shall have
been secured, or the interest on the endowment fund
shall amount to $6,000, this Board will grant to the min-
isters of the Virginia and North Carolina Conferences
the right to educate their sons free of tuition fees for
thirty years.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 129
3. That one or more agents be appointed to raise the
money, and that we earnestly ask the co-operation of all
the ministers of the Virginia and North Carolina Con-
ferences.
4. That subscriptions of $500 ma}' be paid by the sub-
REV. L. M. LEE, D. D.,
Editor "Richmond Christian Advocate."
scribers either during their natural life or twelve months
after death, with interest from date, to be paid annually.
5. That Rev. H. B. Cowles be appointed agent, and
that Dr. William A. Smith be associated with him.
These resolutions were adopted, and the agents ap-
pointed were requested to make arrangements for the
prosecution of the work as soon as practicable. It could
9
130 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
not be done at once, as the Agent elected had to be
assigned to the work by the Conference, which did not
meet till November. So it was arranged that the work
should be commenced next spring.
In the interval Dr. Leroy M. Lee, then editor of the
Richmond Christian Advocate, proceeded to write and
publish from time to time a series of articles on ' ' Chris-
tian Education " — articles probably not surpassed in force
and pertinence by any ever written on the subject. He
kept the matter of the canvass which was to be inaugu-
rated the coming year before the Methodist public, and
thus effectually paved the way for better success.
In May, 1855, the agent and president of the College
began the active field work to raise the amount to one
hundred thousand dollars at Crenshaw's Church, on the
Nottoway circuit, near Blacks and Whites station, on the
the (then) Southside Railroad. At this church a mass-
meeting was held, lasting several days. There were pres-
ent, in addition to the leaders above named, Dr. Leroy
M. Lee, editor, who was much interested in the effort.
Dr. Smith was the chief speaker, and he never ap-
peared to better advantage, having the sympathy and
interest of the audience with him from the start. Dr.
Lee followed him. Agent Cowles struck while the iron
was hot and took the subscription, which, in addition to
what was secured in the circuit in the next few days,
amounted to five thousand dollars. This gave the en-
terprise a good send-off, and was received and accepted
by the church at large as an augury of final success,
which proved to be true. The agents did not relax their
efforts till the limit was reached.
There were several circumstances which made this
effort a success. The men in charge were the right
men. Dr. Smith was a great man before the people.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 131
Few men who lived in the State ever equalled, fewer
still ever surpassed him. His colleague, while not de-
ficient in public speaking (he was a most excellent
preacher), was gifted with good business address and
tact, well versed in reading and managing mankind in
general, and thorough in his business transactions, se-
curing all the benefits which were possible. Both were
largely acquainted throughout the Conference.
The times were propitious. The decade beginning
1851 was the golden era in the material prosperity of
Virginia. The spirit of improvement in lands, building
railroads, and plank roads, and other roads was at its
height. Most of the great lines throughout the State
were built during this decade — the Richmond and Dan-
ville, the Southside (Petersburg and Lynchburg), the
Virginia and Tennessee (Lynchburg to Bristol), the
Orange and Alexandria (Lynchburg and Alexandria),
and the Roanoke Valley (C larks ville and Ridgway,
N. C.), and others were built or projected. The last
named brought railway communication within twelve
miles of the College, and Keysville, on the Richmond
and Danville, was within thirty-five miles of the Col-
lege. Besides these improvements, a plank road was
built from Petersburg to Clarksville, which was, as long
as it lasted, a great improvement. Another plank road
from Blacks and Whites, on the Southside Railroad, was
built through Lunenburg in the direction of Boydton,
but its terminus was twenty miles short of reaching it.
The Crimean war, involving the great Powers of
Europe, raised the price of wheat to a price seldom, if
ever, reached previously. It sold in i853~'54 for $2.35
per bushel, and good prices were maintained for the bal-
ance of the decade. Lands in the State, which had been
low in price, were increased in value one hundred per
132' HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE
cent, and other property in something like the same
ratio. All this made people more ready to contribute as
well as more able.
COLLEGE YEAR i854-'55.
This College year was marked by no special change or
event. The President's report notes: matriculates in
DAVID R. DUNCAN,
Major C. .V. .). ,• Senator S. C. Legislature.
College during the session, 134, 72 of whom were on
scholarships.
Professor Samuel Lander, A. M., entered upon his
duties as Adjunct Professor of Languages, and W. A.
She'pard was Assistant in the Laboratory.
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 13-3
At the annual meeting, June, 1855, degrees were con-
ferred :
A. B
GEORGE E. BOOKER, Va. JAMES C. HANES, Va.
JAMES B. BUGGER, Va. PETER A. MOSES, Va.
WILLIAM N. CARTER, Va. ROBERT N. SLEDD, Va.
JOHN E. CHRISTIAN, Va. DAVID R. DUNCAN, S. C.
THOMAS A. GATCH, Va. OLIVER G. SMITH, N. C.
A. M.
THOMAS E. MASSIE, Va. ROBERT M. MALLORY, Va.
SAMUEL LANDER, N. C. HENRY W. WINGFIELD, Va.
ROWLAND DOGGETT, Va. BENJAMIN W. OGBURN, Va.
JOHN F. DANCE, Va. SAM'L B. PAUL (Honorary), Va.
JOHN F. OGBURN, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR
The celebrated trial of Deems vs. Smith took place
at the Virginia Conference held in Petersbuig, Novem-
ber, 1855. The charges were presented by Dr. C. F.
Deems in person, and defence made by Dr. Smith. The
verdict was almost unanimous, finding Dr. Smith not
guilty.
The result of this unfortunate affair was the resigna-
tion of quite a number of the Trustees from the North
Conference, that Conference having espoused the cause
of Dr. Deems by a very large majority.
At the meeting of the Trustees in June, 1856, Dr.
Smith tendered his resignation as President of the Col-
lege. The Board refused to accept the resignation, only
two voting to receive it.
This year the first catalogue, as printed, comes to us.
Others had been printed, but no copies preserved.
Of the original charter members of the Board all had
died or retired but John Early, William A. Smith, Mathew
M. Dance and John G. Claiborne. All the original mem-
134 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH- MACON COLLEGE.
bers of the Faculty had resigned. Students in College,
93; in Preparatory School, 36 — total, 129.
We have no mention of the several Preparatory schools
in North Carolina. Thos. A. Gatch, A. B., was Princi-
pal of the Home School.
w. T. BAII.EY,
Killed at Gctteysburg : buried on the field.
A resolution was adopted by the Board asking the
Legislature to establish a school of ' ' military tactics ' ' in
connection with the College, but nothing ever came of it.
In January, 1856, a most remarkable fall of snow oc-
curred, with a temperature of ten degrees below zero.
The snow was fifteen inches deep.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 135
In June, 1856, the following received degrees:
A. B.
W. T. BAILEY, Va. WILLIAM T. MERRITT, Va.
GREEN A. JACKSON, Va. JOHN P. FULLER, N. C.
THOMAS L. JACKSON, Va.
A. M.
JAMES E. SEBRKLL, Va. WILLIAM A. BRAME, Va.
JAMES D. PROCTOR, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR
The changes in the Faculty this year were the resig-
nation of Assistant Professor Samuel Lander, whose
place was not filled, and the substitution of Charles W.
Crawley, Principal of the Preparatory School for Thomas
A. Gatch, resigned.
In June, 1857, Professor Charles B. Stuart resigned
the Chair of Chemistry and Geology, and Professor N.
T. Lupton succeeded him. Professor O. H. P. Corprew
at same time resigned the Chair of Ancient Languages,
and Professor William B. Carr succeeded him.
The degrees conferred June, 1857, were —
A. B.
GEORGE W. ARMISTEAD, Va. WILBUR F. DAVIS, N. C.
WILLIAM I. COWLES, Va. JOHN B. WILLIAMS, N. C.
RICHARD W. JONES, Va. WILLIAM W. PENNY, Mo.
JOSEPH E. LEIGH, Va. WILLIAM A. SHEPARD, Mass.
EDWIN G. MOORE, N. C.
A. M.
WILLIAM G. CONNOR, Tenn. ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, N. C.
L. O. RIVES, Tenn. AMUEL MOORE, Va.
GARLAND B. HANES, Va. THOMAS C. ELDER, Va.
THAD. L. H. YOUNG, Va. THOMAS C. THACKSTON, Va.
JESSE P. BAGBY, N. C. WILLIAM H. CHEEK, N. C.
Number of students during the session, 144, including
those at the Preparatory School (34).
i36 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The worst blizzard ever known in Virginia occurred
in January, 1857; thermometer ten degrees below zero.
Some suffering in the College for want of fuel.
COLLEGE YEAR 1857-' 58.
This year was reasonably prosperous. Some dissatis-
faction was expressed in the president's annual report on
account of salaries.
RICHARD W. JONES, A. M., LL. D.,
Major C. S. A. ; President Mississippi Industral Institute ; J'ro/cssor Mississifft
University and Randolph-Macon College.
In June, 1858, Prof. Lupton resigned the chair of
Chemistry and Geology, which was subsequently sup-
plied by the election of Prof. Bennett Puryear, of Rich-
mond College.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 137
Dr. W. A. Smith again tendered his resignation, for
reasons personal to himself. At the urgent solicitation
of the students, the Alumni Society, and the Board, he
withdrew his resignation.
REV. RICHARD FERGUSON,
«
yirginia; Adjutant Eighteenth Va. Regiment.
Degrees were conferred as follows :
A. B.
BENJAMIN H. THACKSTON, Va. ALEX. MALLORY, Va.
RICHARD FERGUSON, Va.
VICTOR M. BRANDON, Va.
RICHARD B. HOLSTEAD, Va.
ROBERT S. ISBELL, Va.
ROBERT MOORE, Va.
CLAUDIUS G. PHILLIPS, Va.
PITTMAN R. VENABLE, Va.
RICHARD O. WYATT, Va.
B. L. AND S.
WALTER M. IRBY, Virginia.
133 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
GEORGE E. BOOKER, Va. JAMES C. HANES, Va.
PETER A. MOSES, Ark. Prof. JOHN C. WILLS (Honorary),
THOMAS A. GATCH, Va. Randolph-Macon College).
ROBERT N. SI.EDD, Va.
Students in College this session, 109; in Preparatory
School, 1 6 — total, 125.
THE ENDOWMENT RAISED TO $100,000.
At a called meeting of the Board December 27, 1858,
the following action was taken :
"The Board, being satisfied, from an examination of
the bonds and subscriptions obtained by the agent, that
the endowment fund of the College, in bonds, cash, and
valid subscriptions, has been raised to and above one
hundred thousand dollars ; therefore be it
"Resolved, Tnat the following notice be given through
the newspapers of the State, viz. : ' By order of the Board
of Trustees of Randolph -M aeon College, at a meeting
held this day, notice is hereby given to those persons
who have contributed by bonds and subscriptions to in-
crease the endowment of the College that the said fund
has been raised to the amount of one hundred thousand
dollars in bonds, cash, and valid subscriptions, that their
obligations have become absolute, and it is hoped that
they will discharge them, in order that the money may
be invested in permanent form as soon as practicable.' '
The herculean task of raising the largest endowment
fund ever contributed to any college in Virginia or in
the South up to this date by public subscription was thus
confirmed. When it is considered that the larger part
of this amount* was contributed by individuals in sums
ranging from five to one thousand dollars (the latter
sum the largest contributed by one subscriber), the im-
mense labor and difficulties of the undertaking may be,
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 139
to some extent, estimated. But the large number of
subscribers evidenced one gratifying fact, that after the
subject of education had been ventilated in mass-meet-
ings, the people had become interested in Christian edu-
cation, and had given practical proof of that interest.
HENRY B. COWLES,
Virginia Conference ; Agent Randolph-Macon College.
The friends of the College were jubilant over this great
event, which seemed to insure new life and energy to
the College, the subject of so many hopes and prayers.
The three great moving and active agents in consum-
mating the work — President W. A. Smith, Dr. Leroy
M. Lee, and Agent Rev. Henry B. Cowles — are worthy
140 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
of all honor, and their names should be handed down to
succeeding generations as the benefactors of their State
and church.
At the commencement, June, 1859, there was a large
re-union of the Alumni of Randolph- Macon to rejoice
over the endowment secured and to consult together
about the interests of the College. Prominent among
those present were Rev. President John C. Blackwell,
the oldest alumnus; Rev. Holland N. McTyeire, D. D.,
editor of the Nashville Christian Advocate ; Rev. James
A. Duncan, Hon. Thomas H. Campbell, etc. A ban-
quet of the Society was held, which was attended by
many of its members and invited guests. The Society
of Alumni adopted the following preamble and resolu-
tions :
"Whereas the Bible, as the word of God, contains the
highest wisdom as well as the highest truth ; and whereas
it is the oldest as well as the best of books, and bears a
vital relation to literature and civilization as well as to
religion ; and whereas a knowledge of its teachings and
the history of those religious opinions and institutions
which have exercised a controlling influence upon the
character and destiny of mankind is necessary to a broad,
liberal and complete education ; therefore,
"Resolved, i. That the Bible, as a text-book, ought
to occupy a central place in education, as it does in
morals.
"2. That it is eminently proper for the church, in
conducting education, to give the Bible such a place and
distinct recognition.
"3. That we, the alumni of Randolph -Macon College,
recommend and respectfully urge upon the Board of
Trustees the creation of a Chair of Biblical Literature,
whose instruction shall be accessible to all students of
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 141
the College who shall desire to include them in their
course of study, and shall be extended free of charge to
any young men who are studying with a view to the
Christian ministry.
' ' 4. That we recommend that the Virginia Conference
and the friends and patrons of the College everywhere
REV. WILLIAM S. DAVIS,
Of i he North Carolina Conference; General of Cavalry in the C. S. A.
take measures for speedily endowing a Chair of Biblical
Literature.
(Signed) " HOLLAND N. MCTYEIRE.
"JOHN C. BLACKWELL."
This was the most pleasant and cheering commence-
ment occasion which had occurred for many years. The
U2 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
catalogue showed the attendance to have been : Stu-
dents in College, 119; in Preparatory School, 22 — total,
141. This year the old curriculum of four years was
abandoned, and the course was made elective, with the
following departments, viz. :
THOMAS J. JARVIS, I.I.. I).,
Ex-Governor of North Carolina: Senator in U. S. Congress; Minister to Brazil.
1. Ancient Languages,
2. Mathematics,
3. Chemistry and Natural Philosophy,
4. Moral Philosophy,
5. Modern Languages,
6. Preparatory.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 143
A. B. and A. M. courses for degrees were estab-
lished.
Professor J. C. Wills resigned the Chair of Mathe-
matics. He left much to the regret of the Board and
the Faculty to take a professorship at the Southern Uni-
versity, Greensboro, Ala. Mr. Robert T. Massie was
elected to fill the vacancy. Robert S. Isbell was Princi-
pal of the Preparatory School.
The following degrees were conferred :
A. B.
WILLIAM S. DAVIS, N. C. THOMAS J. OVERBY, N. C.
AURELIUS T. GILL, Va. JOHN L. CHAMBERLAIN, N. C.
ADAM C. BAGBY, Va. EDWIN S. HARDY, Va.
JOHN L. JOHNSON, Va. JOHN W. JONES, Va.
HENRY B. COWLES, JR.; Va. WILLIAM G. STARR, Va.
JOHN DAVIDSON BLACKWELi.,Va. CHRISTOPHER THROWER, Ark.
WILLIAM H. DAVIS, Va. LEROY S. EDWARDS, Va.
JOHN T. HUMPHREYS, Va. LUTHER WRIGHT, Va.
ENGLISH AND SCIENCE.
J. W. HEARTSFIELD, N. C. THOMAS W. BRANCH, Va.
F. X. MILLER, N. C.
A. M.
DR. SAMUEL D. SANDERS, S. C. JOHN E. CHRISTIAN, Va.
WILLIAM T. MERRITT, Va. JOHN WILLIAMS, N. C.
GREEN A. JACKSON, Va. ALEXANDER HOGG, Texas.
ARGYLE HALEY, Va.
D. D.
Prof. A. M. SHIPP, Wofford College, S. C.
COLLEGE YEAR i859~'6o.
This was the first year under the new system of in-
struction. At the annual meeting of the Board of Trus-
tees, the committee on "The course of instruction and
new system of government " reported very favorably on
the results, and advised continuance of the same, with
some modifications.
144 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The Preparatory School was abolished this year, after
an unsuccessful course generally, for about twenty-eight
years. The number of students in attendance this year
was: in College, 149; in Preparatory School, 16 — total,
165.
B. W. ARNOLD, A. M.,
Professor of }',unierbilt University; Member of the I'irginia Legislature.
Degrees conferred June, 1860, under new course :
A. B.
JOSEPH D. ARNOLD, Va. WILLIAM P. HILL, Va.
THOMAS J. JARVIS, N. C.
A. M.
BENJ. W. ARNOLD, Va. WILLIAM M. JONES, Va.
ANTHONY DIBRELL, Va. JAMES H. PEAY, Va.
GEORGE B. FINCH, Va. BENJAMIN I. SCOTT, Va.
P. FLETCHER FORD. Va. JOHN W. TAYLOR, Va.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON* COLLEGE. 145
A. M., under the old course.
WILLIAM I. COWLES, Va. EDWIN G. MOORE, N. C.
RICHARD W. JONES, Va. GEORGE W. ARMISTEAD, Va.
JOHN B. WILLIAMS, N. C. WILLIAM A. SHEPARD, Va.
WILBUR F. DAVIS, Va. JOHN L. GILLESPIE, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR i86o-'6i.
This College year reached into the first year of the
civil war. The matriculation at the opening was fairly
good, but during the second term many of the young
men left to enter the military service. The Commence-
ment exercises were dispensed with, and the Board con-
ferred only a few degrees. Those receiving them were —
A. M.
RICHARD B. HOLSTEAD, Va. RICHARD O. WYATT, Va.
D D
REV. JOHN C. BLACKWELL, A. M., Pres. Buckingham Female Inst.
Under the discouraging circumstances the Board de-
termined to suspend the exercises of the College — a very
wise move, but unfortunately it was countermanded at
a subsequent meeting.
COLLEGE YEAR i86i-'62.
At a called meeting of the Board held August 29, 1861,
the previous action of the Board was rescinded, and it
was resolved, ' ' That the College be opened at the usual
time under a complete system of military government,
and Rev. Major William H. Wheelwright Was elected
Professor of Military Tactics."
At a subsequent meeting of the Board, Professor Lewis
Turner was elected to the Chair of Mathematics, vacated
by the resignation of Professor Massie, who had entered
the military service; Professor W. A. Shepard had also
entered the service, but his place was not filled.
10
i46 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
At a meeting held in Norfolk, Va., November 22,
1 86 1, a committee was appointed to secure a change in
the charter, authorizing the military feature proposed
for the College.
At a meeting of the Board held January 20, 1862, J.
E. Blankenship was elected Professor in place of Major
Wheelwright, who declined to accept the position offered
him. On the 2oth February the military organization
was completed by the action of the Executive Commit-
tee. It was as follows, viz. :
REV. WM. A. SMITH, D. D., Col. Commanding Corps Cadets.
J. E. BLANKENSHIP, Major. Professor Mathematics and Military
Science.
BENNETT PURYEAR, Captain, Professor Chemistry.
WILLIAM B. CARR, Captain, Professor Ancient Languages.
G. STAUBLY, Captain, Professor Modern Languages.
A long schedule of military rules was adopted — too
long for their insertion here, and much longer than their
existence would have justified.
Those who reversed the deliberate action of the Board
at the annual meeting, carried away with the excitement
of the times, thought they were doing the best, but, as
we look at it now, it appears a solemn farce. It was
also an expensive one.
At the close of the year, June, 1862, the following re-
ceived degrees :
A. M.
WILLIAM A. ARCHER, Va. R. A. COMPTON, Va.
J. E. BUTLER, Ark. WILLIAM S. WILLIAMS, Mo.
GRADUATES OF FORMER YEARS.
WILLIAM G. STARR, ROBERT S. ISBELL,
JOHN D. BLACKWELL.
A. B.
WILLIAM E. EDWARDS.
B. L. ARNOLD, Va.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 147
At the annual meeting, June, 1862, of the Trustees,-
the following resolution was adopted :
' ' This Board, having the utmost confidence in the
ability of the Confederate States to maintain their inde-
pendence, and that it is safe to make investment in their
WILLIAM E. EDWARDS, D. D.,
A. B.,lSb2.
stocks (bonds), is of the opinion that it would be judi-
cious to sell out our stocks which do not pay an interest
of more than six per cent., and to invest the same in
Confederate States bonds, bearing an interest of eight
per cent. And that the President of the College be re-
quested to confer with our Investing Agent on the sub-
148 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ject, and that if the investing Agent concur with the
Board in the propriety of the exchance of stocks, that he
proceed to make it."
Under the military regime the session opened as usual
in September, 1862. The number of students in attend-
ance was small, as might have been expected.
The board of students was fixed at $25 per month,
with the following bill of fare at the Mess Hall :
"For breakfast — Sugar, coffee (or substitute) or milk
(those using the one will not be entitled to the other), flour-
bread, viz., loaf bread and biscuit, and either batter-bread,
waffles or muffins, butter, cold or fried bacon, or hash.
"For dinner — Boiled bacon and cabbage, or other
greens, and one of the following kinds of meats, viz.,
beef, mutton, shoat or fowls, with the vegetables of the
season, and corn-bread.
"For supper— Sugar, coffee (or a substitute) or milk,
as at breakfast, flour-bread, viz., loaf-bread and biscuit,
and either batter-bread, waffles, muffins, or toast-bread
and butter."
What soldier could not fight on such fare as this !
In October, 1862, Professor Staubly resigned, and soon
afterwards went to Petersburg, along with Professor W.
B. Carr, to teach in the Petersburg Female College.
They were thus engaged till the gth of June, 1864, when
General Kautz attacked the Home Guards, under the
command of Major F. H. Archer. In this engagement
Professors Carr and Staubly were participants, and the
latter was killed, along with Geo. B. Jones, a Randolph-
Macon alumnus.
At a called meeting of the Trustees held December
1 8, 1862, the President presented to the consideration of
the Board the condition of the College, with an exhibit
of receipts and disbursements.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 149
After much deliberation, it was ordered that the
operations of the College be suspended from and after
the 5th of February, 1863, to the opening of the fall
term in September following.
Dr. W. A. Smith was placed in charge of the property.
At a meeting of the Trustees held July 24, 1863, the
President in his report in regard to the closing term said :
' ' The College opened September, 1862, with about twenty
students, which number gradually increased to forty-four.
The Conscript Act then went into operation, and took
nearly half that number.
Then, on motion, it was ordered that the exercises of
the College be suspended until otherwise ordered.
The Virginia Conference of the M. E. Church, South,
held it annual session at Broad-street Methodist Church
November, 1863. At this Conference the following
resolution was adopted :
' ( Resolved, That we recommend the Trustees of Ran-
dolph-Macon College to remove it from its present site
to some more eligible locality, and we call their attention
specially to the advantages presented by Lynchburg as
the place to which it should be transferred."
A meeting of the Trustees was called to consider the
resolution of the Conference, and the Trustees assembled
at Broad-street Church November 26, 1863.
As there were only nine members in attendance, the
Trustees adjourned to meet in the city of Petersburg on
the 2Oth of January, to consider the recommendation of
the Conference, and an order was made that notice of the
adjourned meeting be given in the newspapers of Rich-
mond and Petersburg.
The Trustees of Randolph-Macon College met, pur-
suant .to adjournment, at the Washington-street M. E.
Church, Petersburg, Va., on Wednesday, January 20,
i5o HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
1864. There were present seventeen members. The
chairman, President Smith, presented the resolution of
the Conference, given above.
After considerable discussion, the following was
agreed upon as the sense of the Board :
"Resolved unanimously, That while the Board of Trus-
tees of Randolph- Macon College are not prepared to take
decisive action on the resolution of the Virginia Con-
ference in relation to the change of location of said Col-
lege, yet this Board so far concurs in the spirit of their
resolution as to appoint five members as a committee of
the Board to take immediate steps to ascertain the com-
parative advantages offered by other localities with a
view to its removal ; and that the committee be requested
to perform their duty with dispatch, and report to an ad-
journed meeting to be held in Petersburg, Va., on Wed-
nesday, March 9, 1864."
The following were appointed said committee: Rev.
W. A. Smith, chairman, Rev. L. M. Lee,' Rev. J. C.
Black well, E. R. Chambers, and R. M. Smith; and, on
motion, Captain Richard Irby was added to the com-
mittee.
The Trustees met, pursuant to adjournment, in Wash-
ington-street M. E. Church, Petersburg, Va., March 9,
1864.
The committee appointed at the meeting January 20
last made report, as follows :
"The committee to whom were referred the compara-
tive claims of the different localities which have been
spoken of as offering the most encouraging prospects of
success beg leave to submit, that such is the unsettled
state of public opinion as to the financial condition of the
country at this time, and for some time to come, that no
enlightened judgment can be reached by your commit-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 1 5 1
tee as to the advantages offered by other localities com-
pared with the present location of the College, we beg,
therefore, to be relieved from the further consideration
of the subject.
"(Signed) WM. A. SMITH, Chairman."
The following order was adopted in regard to the re-
port, viz. :
"Resolved, That the report of the committee be re-
ferred back to the same committee, with instructions to
take into consideration all the subjects committed to them
at the meeting held in Petersburg on the 2Oth January
last, and report to a subsequent meeting to be held in
Petersburg at the call of the President, or when he may
be requested to call a meeting by any five members of
the Board of Trustees. ' '
This meeting was never called. The committee never
formulated any further report. In a few weeks after the
meeting was held, Petersburg was invested by the Federal
army, under General Grant. This investment was con-
tinued until April, 1865, when General Lee's right wing
was turned, Petersburg and Richmond evacuated, and
the final surrender at Appomattox.
The following reminiscences of the last days of the
College before the suspension are given by Rev. Dr. W.
E. Edwards, who was at the College till near the close:
"The years 1860-1862 were among the most memora-
ble in the history of the College. In 1860 the College,
perhaps, had attained the climax of its ante-bellum
prosperity. It had met difficulties and conquered them.
It had grown and developed into commanding impor-
tance. A future of great promise opened up before it.
Dr. William A. Smith was now at the zenith of his great
popularity as a college president and as an instructor in
152 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. .
Moral Philosophy. The changes which from time to
time he had introduced in the management of affairs
bore continually-increasing fruit in the orderly conduct
of students and in their closer application to books ; nay,
more, his adaptation to the professorial duties which he
had assumed shone out conspicuously before the church
and the state. He was endowed with splendid abili-
ties— an intellectual giant. Especially was he a born
metaphysician. He possessed a power of introspection
and an aptness for the logical arrangement of truth that
fall to the lot of but few men in life ; and now, by patient
toil, he elaborated and delivered to his classes a course
of original lectures upon the various subjects in his spe-
cial department, which of itself would justly entitle him
to a high rank among the instructors of the country. It
is to be regretted that these lectures were never written
out in extenso and given to the public. No doubt, at
certain points, they would disclose a lack of thorough-
ness, due to the absence of large and general reading;
still they would manifest a marked degree of original
and profound investigation, and would prove, what can-
not be said of all that to-day is taught in our colleges
under the name of Moral Science, exceedingly helpful in
the proper culture and discipline of character. In other
words, the Doctor, in the plan and order of his talent,
was practical rather than speculative.
" The dark cloud of civil war, so long anticipated and
dreaded, now appeared with threatening aspect upon the
horizon. The presidential nominees were made. In-
tense excitement pervaded every department of society.
Still the attendance of students upon the fall session of
the College for 1860 was not much abated. Of course,
the storm without was felt in the narrower circle of col-
lege life; all the circumstances of a regular political
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 153
campaign was here faithfully enacted. Parties were
formed ; electors were chosen ; speeches were made ;
votes were cast. The majority upon which so impor-
tant a decision was made (to the best of my memory)
was five, yet, in spite of this political strife, studies were
pursued with the zest and regularity of former years.
A few months passed by. The great American people,
despite the students of Randolph- Macon College, decided
who should be the President of the country, and declared
in favor of Abraham Lincoln, ' the rail-splitter of Illinois.'
The College participated more and more in the effects of
the increasing excitement. Many students from the
seceded States returned to their homes. At length the
4th of March, 1861, arrived. Mr. Lincoln was inducted
into office. Immediately he called for seventy-five thou-
sand men to crush the 'rebellion.' Virginia, so long
standing aloof, and hoping against hope, now compelled
to make a decision, unhesitatingly cast her fortune with
that of her Southern sisters. The wildest enthusiasm
prevailed among the students. Bondfires were kindled ;
a great torchlight procession was formed ; the different
professors were visited, and, after the most approved
style, called on for speeches. Then the march was con-
tinued to Boydton, to the manifest delight of the citizens
of that little town ; and then, at a late hour of the night,
the line was broken, and every one was left to find his
way as best he could back to his room. It is a time
long to be remembered.
"Soon students in large numbers left for their homes
to prepare for war. The country was converted into
an immense camp. So great was the depletion in the
number of students, and so great was the excitement
that prevailed throughout the country, that the College
authorities deemed it inexpedient to hold the regular
154 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
commencement exercises for this year. So closed the
term of i86o-'6i.
"A word at this point: In those days it was not
deemed improper or unbecoming for ministers of the gos-
pel to have decided views upon questions of state.
There were clerical Whigs and there were clerical Demo-
crats, and very stoutly did they maintain the cause of
their respective parties. Of course, they never entered
the political arena, but in private and around the fireside
there was often no small war waged by these ' gentle-
men of the cloth' over the great issues of the day. Dr.
William A. Smith was a Democrat of the Calhoun stamp.
He believed implicitly in the right of secession, a sacred
right guaranteed by the constitution, and was not slow
to give the reason for the opinion which he cherished.
Still, in the earlier part of 1861, he did not recognize the
necessity for the exercise of this right on the part of the
South. He thought that some compromise might be
effected and the Union saved; yet when Mr. Lincoln
was inaugurated, and his policy forecast in the call for
seventy thousand men to crush the rebellion, he no
longer hesitated, but claimed rights which before he was
willing to ignore; and the South had no stauncher
friend or more zealous advocate than he during all those
dark days of fratricidal strife, even to the close, when
drums ceased to beat and the battle-flags were furled.
"We start a new era. Vacation begins. The excite-
ment in the land, if possible, becomes more intense.
There is volunteering for service, drilling, hurrying on
to the front. Everything is placed under contribution
to facilitate and render successful the mighty trial of
arms which is impending. The battle of Manassas is
fought. The South is the victor; yet the fruits are not
what were desired and anticipated. The war cloud, in-
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 155
stead of vanishing, grows denser. The evidences of a
protracted and sanguinary conflict become manifest.
The trustees of the College, under existing circum-
stances, were embarrassed. They knew not what to do ;
yet in the early part of July they declared against the
opening of the doors of the institution for the coming
year. Later on, however, they reversed this decision,
and the College began its fall session at the usual time.
Several important changes are here to be noticed. First,
the number of students was perceptibly smaller than
usual ; the whole body, perhaps, did not exceed sixty-
five or seventy. A few of these were manifestly parties
desiring to shirk military service ; yet the great majority
was composed of persons under the age of conscription
and of persons who were already far advanced in their
college course and looked forward to a speedy graduation.
"Again: there was a change in the complexion or
membership of the Faculty. Professor Massie resigned
to accept a call to governmental work in Richmond, and
Professor Turner was elected to fill the Chair of Mathe-
matics. He, however, resigned at the close of the half
session, and Professor Blankenship was chosen as his
successor. Professor Shepard resigned, and entered
upon active military service in the field. No one was
appointed to fill his place, as the exigencies of the case
did not demand it.
' ' Once more : the style of the College was changed
from a purely literary to a semi-military institution. A
regular uniform was prescribed; drills were daily ob-
served, and other things of a similar character were en-
joined, all looking to the preparation of the student for
the duties that awaited him in defence of his country.
' ' The Commencement exercises for this year were ex-
ceedingly interesting and for the times very largely at-
156 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
tended. Dr. James A. Duncan delivered the address
before the two societies. His presence among the scenes
of his boyhood was a joy to his old acquaintances, and
his address was highly appreciated for its worth and for
the sake of the man who delivered it."
The record of the meeting held March 9, 1864, given
above, closes the official history of the College prior to
the surrender.
We give the names of the trustees following those
who were named in the charter of February, 1 830, with
date of their election :
NAME. STATE. YEAR.
NATHANIEL MASON, Virginia, 1833
THOMAS ADAMS, Virginia, 1833
THOMAS WILLIAMS, South Carolina, 1833
ALEXANDER SPEAR, Georgia, 1834
W. H. ELLISON, Georgia, 1834
Rev. WILLIAM CAPERS, .... South Carolina, 1834
Rev. W. M. KENNEDY, .... South Carolina, 1834
Rev. W. M. WIGHTMAN, . . . South Carolina, 1834
GEORGE W. JEFFRIES, North Carolina, 1834
BEV. SYDNOR, Virginia, 1834
Rev. I. A. FEW, Georgia 1834
Rev. LOVICK PIERCE, Georgia, 1835
SEABORN JONES Georgia, 1835
J. C. POYTHRESS, Georgia, 1835
Rev. JAMES McAoEN, Virginia, 1835
Rev. ABRAM PENN, Virginia, 1835
WILLIS LEA, Virginia, 1835
Bishop J. O. ANDREW, .... Georgia, ......... 1835
HUGH A. GARLAND, Virginia, 1835
Rev. STEPHEN OLIN, . . . . . Virginia, 1835
HORACE PALMER, Virginia, 1837
Rev. JAMES JAMEISON, .... North Carolina, 1837
Rev. B. T. BLAKE, North Carolina, 1837
M. M. McPHERsoN, Georgia, 1838
THOMAS W. WILLIAMS, ... . South Carolina, ...... 1838
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 157
NAME. STATE. YEAR.
S. K. HODGES South Carolina, 1838
L. C. GARLAND, Virginia, 1840
D'ARCY PAUL, Virginia, 1840
A. A. CAMPBELL, Virginia, 1840
Rev. D. S. DOGGETT, Virginia, • • . . 1841
Rev. A. M. FORSTER South Carolina, 1841
Rev. HENRY B. COWLES, . . . Virginia, 1842
GEORGE ROGERS, Virginia, 1842
EDWARD R. CHAMBERS, .... Virginia, 1842
WILLIAM TOWNES, Virginia, 1844
WESLEY YOUNG, North Carolina, 1845
Rev. R. O. BURTON, ..... North Carolina, 1845
Rev. WILLIAM B. ROWZIE, . . Virginia, 1845
ELLIS MALONE, North Carolina, 1846
THOMAS BRANCH, Virginia 1846
Rev. L. M. LEE, Virginia, 1846
THOMAS W. HARRIS, North Carolina, 1846
RICHARD B. BAPTIST, Virginia, . 1846
CHARLES R. EATON, North Carolina, 1848
MASON L. WIGGINS, North Carolina, 1848
CHARLES S. HUTCHESON, . . . Virginia, 1848
WILLIAM IRBY, Virginia, 1848
JAMES J. DALY, Virginia, 1848
Rev. R. I. CARSON, North Carolina, 1848
Rev. JAMES REID, North Carolina, 1848
G. W. S. PARHAM, Virginia 1848
GEORGE WILSON, Virginia, 1848
GEORGE D. BASKERVILLE, . . . North Carolina, 1848
Rev. ANTHONY DIBRELL, . . . Virginia 1849
Rev. WILLIAM CLOSS, North Carolina, 1852
Rev. THOMAS S. CAMPBELL, . . North Carolina, 1854
THOMAS H. CAMPBELL, .... Virginia, 1854
RICHARD IRBY, Virginia, 1854
CHARLES SKINNER, North Carolina, 1854
Rev. GEORGE W. NOLLEY, . . . Virginia, 1855
JOHN G. BOYD, Virginia, 1855
Rev. LEO ROSSER, Virginia, 1855
Rev. J. P. MOORE, North Carolina, 1855
Rev. R. E. G. ADAMS, .... Virginia, 1855
Rev. P. W. ARCHER, Virginia, 1855
158 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
NAME. STATE. YEAR.
Rev. N. F. REID, North Carolina, ...... 1855
Rev. WILLIAM CARTER, .... North Carolina, 1855
Rev. J. E. EDWARDS, Virginia, 1857
N. MILAM, North Carolina, 1857
Rev. G. W. CARTER Virginia, 1858
RICHARD M. SMITH, Virginia, 1858
Rev. JOHN C. BLACKWELL, . . Virginia, 1858
THOMAS P. JERMAN, North Carolina, 1858
LEROY M. WILSON, Virginia, ...••.... 1859
O. H. P. CORPREW, ...... Virginia, 1859
WILLIAM A. SMITH, Virginia 1860
W. T. SUTHERLIN, Virginia, 1860
Secretaries of the Board.
Rev. WILLIAM A. SMITH, Rev. HENRY B. COWLES,
Rev. WILLIAM M. WIGHTMAN, RICHARD B. BAPTIST,
Rev. JOHN G. CLAIBORNE, RICHARD IRBY,
Rev. EDWARD WADSWORTH, WILLIAM A. SHEPARD.
Treasurers.
JOHN W. LEWIS, DAVID DUNCAN,
ALEXANDER BOYD, CHARLES B. STUART,
BEVERLY SYDNOR, Rev. WILLIAM A. SMITH.
LANDON C. GARLAND,
Agents.
Rev. H. G. LEIGH, Rev. S. S. BRYANT,
Rev. WILLIAM HAMMETT, Rev. R. O. BURTON,
Rev. M. P. PARKS, Rev. WILLIAM B. ROWZIE,
Rev. JOHN EARLY, Rev. R. I. CARSON,
Rev. WILLIAM A. SMITH, Rev. BENJAMIN R. DUVAL,
Rev. THOMAS CROWDER, Rev. N. THOMAS.
Rev. JOHN A. MILLER, Rev. HENRY B. COWLES.
Rev. JOHN KERR,
Rev. JOHN EARLY,
Chairman Board of Trustees, 1831.
President " " 1833 to 1872.
In the body of the history sufficient prominence has
not been given to a number of the Professors and Agents.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 159
They in many instances richly deserved this promi-
nence, but it seemed to be impossible to get portraits of
them. A search for some of them for years failed to
secure them.
The good work, as agents, of Rev. B. R. Duval and
Rev. N. Thomas, more particularly the former, deserved
a much more extended notice and commendation.
WAR HISTORY.
The war history of the College and its Professors and
sons is and must remain very imperfect. It is impossi-
ble for the writer to gather up the scattered threads of
this history. No approximate estimate can be given of
the number who went into military service, nor of the
casualties which befell them. That many of them were
killed and wounded and many died of sickness is well
known.
Six Randolph-Macon men were enrolled in one com-
pany, and the casualties which befell these are here
given from actual data. Whether this is a fair sample
of the rest is not known with certainty. There is no
reason why it should not be assumed as a fair average.
In Company G, Eighteenth Virginia Regiment, Army
Northern Virginia, the following casualties occurred,
viz. :
Richard Irby, class of 1844, first lieutenant and cap-
tain, wounded twice at Second Manassas, 1862.
Samuel Hardy, class of 1846, first lieutenant, lost an
arm and disabled at Games' Mill, 1862.
Richard Ferguson, class of 1858, first lieutenant (and
adjutant of the regiment, 1863), wounded at Games'
Mill, Frazier's Farm, Second Manassas, and captured in-
side the cemetery wall at Gettysburg ; in prison to the
close of the war.
160 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Edward H. Muse, class of 1861, second lieutenant,
wounded at Frazier's farm, Gettysburg, and Sailor's
Creek.
Anthony Dibrell Crenshaw, class of 1858, third lieu-
tenant, killed at Five Forks, 1865, and buried on the
field.
Benjamin I. Scott, class of 1860, corporal, killed near
Boonsboro, Md., 1862, and left on the field.
The writer can give the history and portraits of these,
because he had the honor to command the company in
which they served, and preserved their records and por-
traits.
The College premises were occupied after the close of
the war for some time by the Federal forces. The main
building was used as headquarters of the Freedman's
Bureau, and the rooms filled with the "wards of the
nation. ' ' The damage done to the property was assessed
at about five thousand dollars, which is unpaid to this
day, and will doubtless so remain to the end of time.
This closes the ante-bellum record.
OFFICERS COMPANY G, EIGHTEENTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT.
No. i. Capt. Richard Irby. No. 2. Lieut. Richard Ferguson. No. 3. Lieut. S. Hardy.
No. 4. Lieut. E. H. Muse. No. 5. Lieut. A. D. Crenshaw. No. 6. Corpl. B. I. Scott.
INTERLUDE.
BEFORE entering upon the subsequent history of
the College, this writer would take this occasion to
refer to one of many omissions, which he has noted
in revising the pages already printed, a point of special
interest and importance. This is the religious element
in Randolph- Macon College.
The College was the child of the Methodist Church,
established, in large measure, to educate young men for
the ministry in accordance with the ideas and usages of
the church of that day. Religion was the first and fore-
most consideration — religion as taught and emphasized
by the Methodist Church — religion allied with education.
At the first opening of the College a chaplain was ap-
pointed for it by the Conference, a man who was as
complete a model of the Methodist minister as could be
found, William B. Rowzie, a walking, living epistle of
Christ, "known and read of all men." One better than
he could not have been found to inaugurate the religious
life of the College.
Never in the history of the church in Virginia has
Methodism, in its spirit and economy, been more thor-
oughly exemplified than it has been at Randolph-Macon.
The morning and evening sacrifice of prayer and praise
noted ever>- day of work. Preaching in the chapel was
had twice on Sabbath and prayer service was held on
Wednesday evenings. Students were required to attend
morning and evening prayer and Sunday morning ser-
vice. Besides this, the members of the church were
1 62 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
organized into classes with leaders, according to Meth-
odist usage, and class-meetings were regularly held once
a week. Thus was exhibited a complete practical exam-
ple of Methodist economy as prescribed in the Discipline.
The result and fruit of this work was a high state of
religious life. Every year, or oftener, this life took the
form of great religious activity, and sweeping revivals
occurred, bringing well-nigh all in the College and many
outside under spiritual influence, and many converts
into the church. There were few years, if any, when
some such revival did not take place. Of many it could
be said, "This and that man was born there" ; many
who not only became Christians themselves, but went
forth from the College to preach the gospel throughout
the Southern land. Many here were drilled in Methodist
usages, and thus prepared to become class-leaders, stew-
ards and Sunday-school teachers and superintendents
after they left College. A large proportion of these
became presidents of colleges and principals of high
schools and academies, in which they inaugurated the
same system of "religion in earnest." These schools
shared the same benign and gracious influences, and in
turn became "fountains in the desert," from whence
' ' streams broke out, ' ' reaching even to the ends of the
earth, "making glad the city of our God," and causing
"the wilderness to bloom and blossom as the rose."
It may be thought strange that fathers belonging to
other churches and others not religious were ever found
sending their sons to a college which was thus permeated
with religious life as taught and practiced by Methodists.
But in many cases they did send them.
This writer, whose acquaintance with the College ex-
tends over a period of nearly sixty years, makes bold to
say that he has never known a student to change his
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 163
church membership during all that time and become a
Methodist. He has known class-leaders who had been
at home Presbyterians and Episcopalians, but after leav-
ing College they resumed their work in their fathers'
churches, none the worse for having for a time worked
in "Methodist traces."
As to calculating the ultimate effects of all these causes
and influences in time and eternity, it were as vain to
try to calculate or measure them as it would be
"To bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion."
COLLEGE HISTORY AFTER THE WAR.
THE period immediately succeeding the surrender of
the Confederate army. at Appomatox was one of
the darkest and most discouraging that any civilized
people was ever called to face. Virginia had been for
four years the battle-ground over which great armies
had marched and counter-marched and fought. Every
home had felt the torture that "tried men's souls."
Widows gathered their fatherless children around them
to share the last crust of bread together, not knowing
whether even that much could be found to-morrow.
For miles along the highways over which the armies
had marched, the bare chimneys only, marked the sites
where comfortable houses had sheltered happy house-
holds. The farmer had his land left — that could not be
carried away ; but few had any teams to break the
ground, and many had not the seed needed to sow the
fields. The last cow was in many cases driven away or
killed. A noted Federal general had boastfully reported
to the general-in-chief that so completely had he devas-
tated the fairest and most fertile section of the State that
a crow could not travel over it without carrying his
rations with him.
Richmond, the capital city, after withstanding two
sieges successfully, had been, in large part, made a bank
of ashes. Petersburg, beleaguered so long, was a scarred
and battered wreck. Fredericksburg, Winchester, Nor-
folk, and many other towns, were little better off. Some
of the railroads were stripped of their rails — all of them
in bad plight and almost without any equipment for
HfSTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 165
business, if any business were to be found. The labor
system, which had for centuries been used to cultivate
the land and gather the crops, had been at one stroke
subverted, and virtually destroyed. None had been
found for months afterward to take its place. With the
people at large it was a struggle for existence and a fight
with famine.
One of the saddest scenes this writer ever witnessed
was at Nottoway courthouse. A few days after the
surrender at Appomattoax, he was summoned with other
citizens of the county to attend a meeting called to con-
fer with the military officers as to the best plans to be
devised to prevent suffering among the people. Just as
he entered the courthouse, where a number of people
were assembled, he saw a venerable man of more than
three-score years and ten standing before the officer, with
tears streaming down his furrowed cheeks, and heard
him say: "Every scrap of meat, every grain of corn,
everything in the way of food I had, has been taken
from me. I know not where I shall get my meat or
bread to-morrow." This man had been for many years
one of the foremost men in the county, a Senator in the
General Assembly of Virginia, and for many years a
Trustee of Randolph-Macon College.
But poverty and penury were not all. The people
were humiliated and despondent. Their State, "the
mother of States and statesmen," had now the tyrant's
heel upon her neck, and was styled "District" (No. i),
a "conquered province" — her governor, first a refugee,
then a prisoner. Military satraps filled the seats of
judges and magistrates. The ignorant slave was often
shown more deference than his former cultured master.
Most of the flower of the manhood of the State had died
by the sword or disease. The boys and girls of the next
1 66 HISTORY OF RANDOLP H-MACON COLLEGE.
generation were growing up without the means of edu-
cation, and helping to eak out a living for their widowed
mothers.
Such, in brief, was the condition of Virginia in the
period succeeding the close of the war.
What could the Trustees of the College do under such
circumstances as now surrounded them? The endow-
ment gathered at such an expenditure of time and labor
was in large part lost. The investments made were in
bonds and stocks of more than uncertain value, some not
worth the paper on which they were printed. The Col-
lege buildings, libraries and laboratories had all been
impaired and damaged by non-use or abuse. There was
no money in hand to repair and refit them. Our own
people were too poor to furnish it. Those who had de-
vastated the property, and added injury to insult, could
not be expected to restore what they had destroyed.
Nevertheless, it had been but a few months after the
surrender before a meeting of the Board was called to
be held in Petersburg, August 23, 1865.
At this meeting a quorum was lacking, and the Board
adjourned to meet on September 13 following, at the resi-
dence of Richard Irby, in Nottoway. This adjourned
meeting was held, and a quorum was present.
One of the first matters attended to was the appoint-
ment of a committee consisting of President W. A. Smith
and four others " to estimate the damage to the College in-
curred by the occupation of it by the United States troops
after the surrender, and in behalf of the Trustees to make'
application to the proper authorities of the government
for payment."
On motion of D'Arcy Paul it was —
Resolved, That all the Professor's chairs be declared
vacant.
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 167
A provisional arrangement was made to open the Col-
lege for school purposes, but this arrangement was not
carried out.
A further plan was provided for taking care of the
College property, and the Board adjourned.
The next meeting of the Board was held at the Col-
lege July 1 1, 1866, with eighteen members in attendance.
The chairman of the committee appointed at the last
meeting to assess and press claim for damages to College,
reported that the committee had not been encouraged in
their efforts by the military authorities in Virginia.
Judge E. R. Chambers was appointed to prosecute the
claim.
It may save time here to say, as has been said before,
that this claim was never recognized by the government.
The Finance Committee made a report of the Endow-
ment fund and liabilities of the College :
Bonds of the city of Petersburg and interest, ...... $19,000
Bonds of the State of Virginia .............. 3,000
(Classed available), ................ $22,000
Bonds Southside Railroad Company, guaranteed
by city of Petersburg, ............ $15,800
Stock Petersburg Railroad Company, ...... 8,000
-- — 23,800
$45, Sco
Private or personal Endowment bonds, ........ $24,900
Legacy of W. B. Jones, ................ 500
$25,400
Confederate bonds, .................. $37,000
Confederate currency, ................. 7,536
$44.536
Leaving out the Confederate bonds, which were worth-
less, the balance of available and possible assets were $71,200
Liabilities as far as known, .............. 8,854
Net assets, ............ ' . . ...... *62,346
i68 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
This, under all the circumstances, might be consid-
ered a favorable showing, and the credit of it is due to
the faithful Investing Agent, who also showed his skill
and faithfulness by bringing through the war the '"' Sav-
ings and Insurance Company," of which he was presi-
dent, free from wreck.
The resolution of the Virginia Conference in regard to
the removal of the College had been allowed to sleep
since the committee's report, in March, 1864. It was
again brought forward by the following resolution,
offered by Richard M. Smith, Esq. :
" Resolved, That a committee of - — be appointed to
ascertain what accommodations and on what terms and
what inducements generally can be obtained for trans-
ferring Randolph -M aeon College to Petersburg, Rich-
mond, Lynchburg, or any other place, and also the
earliest day at which accommodations can be at com-
mand, and report to an adjourned meeting of this Board."
This resolution was defeated by a vote of 12 to 6.
The following, offered by Judge E. R. Chambers, was
then adopted :
"Resolved, That it is inexpedient and injudicious to
change the location of the College."
The ayes and noes on this were recorded, as follows :
Ayes. — William Townes, Sr., C. S. Hutcheson, W. B. Rowzie,
William Townes, Jr., William Carter, T. P. Jerman, R. B. Bap-
tist, N. Head. J. P. Moore, O. H. P. Corprew, N. Alexander,
E. R. Chambers, L. M. Wilson — 13.
Noes.— Richard Irby, D. S. Doggett, R. M. Smith, J. C.
Granbery, T. S. Campbell, J. C. Blackwell— 6.
Dr. W. A. Smith, at his own request, was excused
from voting.
It was resolved to take steps to re-open the College as
soon as practicable.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 169
The degree of A. M. was conferred, under the law, on
the following: Leroy S. Edwards, Thomas J. Overby,
and J. Davidson Blackwell, A. B.'s of former years.
Dr. William A. Smith tendered his resignation as
President of the College, to take effect at once. The
resignation was accepted by the Board, and resolutions
were adopted expressing the high appreciation of him
and his work, which had extended over a period of
nearly twenty years.
The Board resolved to adjourn to meet again on the
1 8th of August following to elect a president and three
professors. The salaries of these were fixed — Guaran-
teed, to the President, $1,000; to the professors, $750
each, and, in addition, the tuition fees of the students in
attendance.
At the adjourned meeting, August 15, 1866, the fol-
lowing elections were made :
RICHARD W. JONES, A. M., Professor of Mathematics.
O. H. P. CORPREW, A. M., Professor of Ancient Languages.
Rev. JOHN C. BLACKWELL, A. M., D. D., Professor of Chem-
istry.
ERNEST LA GARDE, Professor of Modern Languages.
The election of a President was postponed to an ad-
journed meeting, and Dr. John C. Blackwell was ap-
pointed to act as President until a president should be
elected.
At an adjourned meeting held October 16, 1866, on
the nomination of William Townes, Sr., Col. Thomas
Carter Johnson, A. M. (Class 1842), was elected Presi-
dent and Professor of Moral Philosophy.
The Board then adjourned to meet at the session of
the Virginia Annual Conference, November 22, 1866.
Colonel Johnson was then a citizen of Montgomery,
Ala., practicing law. He accepted the office tendered,
iyo HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
but did not take the position until near the close of the
year.
At the adjourned meeting held at Norfolk, November
22, 1866, the Board, on motion of Dr. William A. Smith,
resolved to establish "The School of Commercial Sci-
ence" in the College. This was never done.
At this meeting a representative from Ashland, Han-
over county, Va., presented a communication from owners
of property in that town offering to sell certain property
in case the Board should determine to move the College.
A committee, consisting of D' Arcy Paul, R. M. Smith
and D. S. Doggett, were appointed to investigate and
report in regard to the matter.
At the adjourned meeting in December, held at the
College, President-elect Johnson appeared before the
Board and was formally inducted into office. He was
requested to visit the Baltimore Conference of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South, which had recently ad-
hered to the Southern Church, and endeavor to secure
the patronage and co-operation of that Conference ; also,
to visit Baltimore and other cities with a view to secur-
ing financial help for the College.
An overture was also made to the North Carolina Con-
ference with a view to the restoration of former relations
and the securing of its patronage.
President Johnson subsequently reported the result of
h'is visit to the Baltimore Conference, and submitted the
action of that body, which was as follows :
" BALTIMORE CONFERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
" REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON COLLEGES.
"The Committee on Colleges submit the following re-
port:
"Resolved, i. That the Conference accepts the propo-
PKES. THOS. CARTER JOHNSON, i866-'68.
HISTORY C F RANDOLPH-MACOP OLLEGE. 171
sition of the Bo. rd of Trustees of Randc ph-Macon Col-
lege to give its patronage to said institu )ti and to par-
ticipate equally with the other patronizing Conferences
in its government and privileges, and we hereby nomi-
nate four suitable persons to be elected Trustees from
this Conference to represent our interests on said Board.
"Resolved, 2. That when a Trustee shall locate, it
shall be his duty to resign.
' ' Resolved, 3 . That we will give the full weight of our
influence in extending the patronage of Randolph -Ma-
con College.
"(Signed) S. S. ROSZEL, Chairman."
These resolutions were adopted by the Conference
March, 1867.
On the recommendation of the Baltimore Conference
the following gentlemen were elected Trustees of Ran-
dolph-Macon College, viz. : Rev. S. S. Roszel, Rev. John
Poisal, Rev. S. S. Register, and Rev. John Landstreet.
At the first annual meeting of the Trustees held at the
College, June 25, 1867, after President Johnson had as-
sumed control, eleven Trustees were in attendance.
Ex-President W. A. Smith had gone to Central Col-
lege, Fayette, Missouri, of which he had been elected
President.
The President's report stated that the attendance for
the session of 1866-' 67 had been in all forty-five stu-
dents ; a large proportion of them were on scholarships.
The net receipts from fees were necessarily very small.
The degree of D. D. was conferred on the following:
Rev. Nelson Head, Rev. John E. Edwards, and Rev.
W. W. Bennett, of the Virginia Conference ; Rev. Samuel
S. Register, Rev. S. S. Roszel, Rev. John Poisal, and
Rev. John S. Martin, of the Baltimore Conference;
172 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Bishop Enoch M. Marvin, of the M. E. Church, South,
and Rev. Smith W. Moore, of the Tennessee Conference.
The degree of LL. D. was conferred on Bishop George
F. Pierce, M. E. Church, South, and Hon. James F.
Dowdell and William F. Samford, of Alabama.
The degree of A. M. was conferred on Thomas J.
Jarvis, of North Carolina (class of 1860).
REMOVAL OF THE COLLEGE.
The College year, 1867-68, was not a prosperous one.
The financial condition of the country was anything but
favorable to a successful year. The dissatisfaction with
the location of the College had been increasing since 1863.
At the annual meeting in 1868 it was to culminate. The
President had become convinced that something must be
done or the College would have to close its doors. Some
who had opposed removal heretofore now favored it.
In the notice for the meeting a special request was
made for a full meeting, and the object was generally
understood. The meeting commenced its session June
24, 1868. There were present the following: Revs.
James Jamieson, H. B. Cowles, Robert O. Burton, W. B.
Rowzie, L. M. Lee, T. S. Campbell, Geo. W. Nolley, L.
Rosser, J. P. Moore, Wm. Carter, John E. Edwards, J.
C. Blackwell, Nelson Head, J. C. Granbery, John Land-
street, and Messrs. N. Alexander, D. Paul, E. R. Cham-
bers, Wm. Townes, Sr., Thos. Branch, R. B. Baptist, J.
J. Daly, R. Irby, R. M. Smith, T. P. Jerman, T. M.
Jones, T. C. Johnson, C. S. Hutcheson, W. Townes, Jr.,
and O. H. P. Corprew — thirty in all.
President T. C. Johnson presided, and Professor Cor-
prew was secretary. The feeling prevailed generally
that this meeting would decide the question of removal.
There was early skirmishing by the opposing sides, and
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 173
it was some time before the decisive vote was reached
and taken.
Finally, the motion of Dr. J. E. Edwards, which was
as follows :
' ' Resolved, That in the judgment of the Board of Trus-
tees for the greater prosperity of the institution, Ran-
dolph-Macon College should be removed from its present
to a more accessible and eligible location " — was adopted
by the following vote :
REV. JOHN ELLIS EDWARDS, A. M., D. I).,
I'irginia Conference, M. K. Church, South.
Ayes. — Paul, Cowles, Burton, Rowzie, Branch, Lee, T. S.
Campbell, Irby, Nolley, Rosser, Edwards, R. M. Smith, Jer-
man, Blackwell, Head, Granbery, Jones, Johnson, and Land-
street — 19.
Noes. — Alexander, Chambers, Townes, Sr., Baptist, Daly,
Moore, Carter, Townes, Jr., and Corprew — 9.
174 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
On motion of D' Arcy Paul, the Board took steps to secure
the authority of the constituted authorities for the neces-
sary change of the charter, so as to allow the change of
location.
On motion of Dr. J. E. Edwards it was —
"Resolved, That so soon as the gentlemen (Messrs.
Branch, Irby, Snyder and Watts) who have purchased
the property and premises at Ashland are prepared to
make a tender of the same to the Trustees for the use of
Randolph- Macon College, free from any encumbrance as
to title, and so soon as the legal authority is secured for
the transfer of the institution, the Trustees bind and
pledge themselves to make the transfer and removal to
Ashland; and also pledge themselves further to open
the next session of the College exercises at that place ;
provided the above-named conditions are complied with
in time to enable the Trustees to carry out this pledge."
A committee, consisting of D. Paul, R. M. Smith, Drs.
L. M. Lee, J. E. Edwards and N. Head, were appointed to
secure the legal authority to remove the College to Ash-
land, and to secure proper title to the property to be used
for the location of the College.
The President was authorized to employ an Agent to
have the furniture, libraries, apparatus, etc., removed to
Ashland.
Thus ended the struggle in regard to moving the Col-
lege. The majority, while taking this step, which they
deemed absolutely necessary in order to carry out the
object sought in the establishment of the College, took it
with the greatest reluctance. They could not grieve so
generous a people as those living in the vicinity of the
College without feelings of the utmost regret and pain.
The minority could not see what had been the pride of
the community and section taken away, without feelings
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 175
of sorrow. Many of them had for many years been the
strongest and warmest friends of the College, and had
often manifested their friendship by generous acts and
steadfast devotion to it in adversity and prosperity.
After transacting a few items of business, one of which
was the conferring the degree of D. D. on Rev. Robert
S. Moran, of the North Carolina Conference, the Board
adjourned to meet again in Centenary Church, Rich-
mond, Va., July 29, 1868.
After the adjournment of the Board the opponents to
the removal of the College sued out an injunction re-
straining the Board from taking the step contemplated..
When the adjourned meeting of the Board assembled
in Centenary Church, Richmond, July 29, 1868, this
action was reported, "whereupon a motion was adopted
to appoint a committee to wait on General Stoneman, in
charge of the District."
This committee addressed the following communica-
tion to General Stoneman :
"RICHMOND, VA., July 29, 1868.
"Major-Gen. Stoneman, Commanding General District No. i :
"SiR, — We are instructed by the Trustees of Ran-
dolph-Macon College, now in adjourned session in this
city, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th
instant, addressed to a previous committee of this Board,
touching the interests of the College under their man-
agement.
' ' Since the communication on behalf of the Trustees,
to which your letter of the 8th instant was in reply, a
contingency then contemplated has arrived. A minority
of the Trustees have sued out an injunction restraining
the Board from making the contemplated removal of the
College, the writ being returnable on the first Monday
in August at Charlotte Courthouse for hearing before
Judge Marshall. We are advised that the suit will
176 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
prove very tedious as well as very expensive, and will
thus operate very disadvantageously to the interests of
the College whatever the decision. We therefore add to
the former application made to you in behalf of the Trus-
tees, that you will issue an order protecting us, both
from obstruction and from delay, through these appeals
to the courts, until such time as the legislative authority
of the State, of which you are at present the sole repre-
sentative, shall be regularly organized and open to the
application usual in such cases.
"Very respectfully yours,
(Signed) " J. EARLY, ETC., ETC.,
" Committee.'"
To this communication General Stoneman submitted
the following reply :
"HEADQUARTERS FIRST MILITARY DISTRICT,
"RICHMOND, VA., fuly 29, 1868.
"GENTLEMEN: I am directed by the commanding
General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this
date in relation to the subject of the removal of Ran-
dolph-Macon College, and in reply thereto, to inform you
that authority is hereby given to the Trustees of that
College to remove that institution, with all the appur-
tenances and fixtures thereunto belonging, to such place
and at such time as the majority of the Trustees may
think proper, this removal to be subject to the conditions
set forth in a former letter from these headquarters,
dated the 8th instant.*
"I am, gentlemen, very respectfully,
(Signed) "S. F. CHALFIN,
"Assistant Adjutant- General.
' To Messrs. John Early, D. S. Doggett, Richard Irby, R. M.
Smith, and others, Committee of the Trustees of Randolph-
Mac on College."
*This letter is not found in the record.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 177
The owners of the property at Ashland, who had pur-
chased the same for the Trustees, submitted the con-
ditions on which they proposed to turn it over to the
Trustees, and the same were, on motion, accepted. This
property embraced all the buildings then standing on the
thirteen acres, now constituting the campus of the Col-
lege at Ashland, with some other lots adjacent. Thus
the location was provided for the College with accom-
modations for professors and students, and the way was
cleared for the removal of the College to it.
At this juncture President Johnson submitted the fol-
lowing communication :
"RICHMOND, V A.., July 30, 1868.
' ' Gentlemen of the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon Col-
lege :
' ' The experiment upon which you are about to enter,
with my aid and approbation, seems to me to demand
that you should have the widest field for the choice of a
man to fill the position I now hold. The general trou-
bled condition of the country, excluding many distin-
guished men from the arena of politics, in which the
talent of Virginia and the South has heretofore been
employed, and also the returning to this State of many
unemployed scholars and literary men, affords you a
wide field of selection for this purpose. I feel that in
your straitened condition, having to make a new appeal
for students and for friends to re-endow your College,
you are entitled to every possible advantage in your
arduous undertaking. A son of the College, I love her
too well, and the church which has founded and sup-
ported her in the past, to stand in the way of any possible
effort that may give prestige to your labors to put her
once more on the high road to prosperity.
"With this view and the kindest wishes to every
12
178 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
member of the Board, I hereby resign the presidency of
the College.
"Very truly, your obedient servant,
(Signed) "THOMAS C. JOHNSON."
On motion of Rev. J. C. Granbery, the following reso-
lution was unanimously adopted:
"Resolved, That in accepting the resignation of Presi-
dent Johnson it is due to ourselves as well as to him that
we express the high esteem which we feel for him as a
Christian gentleman and our admiration of the great zeal
and fidelity with which he has discharged the duties of
his office at a most critical and embarrassing juncture
in the history of the College, also our warm appreciation
of the disinterested and generous motives which have
prompted him to tender his resignation."
On motion of Dr. N. Head —
" Resolved, That in the absence of a Legislature having
obtained authority from General Stoneman to do so, the
College be removed from Mecklenburg county to Ash-
land, in Hanover county, Va., and that a session of the
College be opened at that place on the first day of Octo-
ber next.
"Resolved, That in deciding to change the site of
Randolph- Macon College this Board has been actuated
only by the solemn conviction that it was imperatively
demanded by the educational interests of the church and
community at large, and that the opposition which has
been offered to this action by a minority of the Trustees
is deeply deplored by their colleagues of the Board, who
here now and hereby respectfully request that those
members will withdraw that opposition, as injurious to
the interests dear alike to all, this earnest and fraternal
appeal being prompted and encouraged by the very high
HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 179
esteem and respect entertained for the gentlemen to
whom it is addressed by their associates of the Board."
On motion of Richard Irby —
' ' Resolved, That this Board holds itself in readiness to
make such arrangements as will secure to the county of
Mecklenburg a High School at the present site of Ran-
dolph-Macon College on terms such as may be desired,
said school to be a preparatory school to the College."
Preparatory steps were taken to have the College fur-
niture, libraries, etc., removed at once to Ashland.
The Board then proceeded to fill the place of Presi-
dent, vacated by the resignation of President Johnson.
Dr. Landon C. Garland, of the University of Missis-
sippi, was unanimously elected President.
A committee of nine members was appointed, who
were authorized, in conjunction with Dr. Garland, to
elect the professors of the College ; and in the event
that Dr. Garland declines to accept the presidency, then
said committee shall be authorized to elect another man
to be President.
The following were then, on nomination, elected to
constitute said committee, viz. : Bishop John Early,
Bishop D. S. Doggett, Drs. N. Head, L. M. Lee, J. E.
Edwards, L. Rosser, Rev. H. B. Cowles, Rev. J. C.
Granbery, and Richard Irby.
Professors Corprew, Jones, Black well, and La Garde
severally submitted their resignations.
The duty of removing the College and preparing the
buildings and premises at Ashland, and making other
necessary arrangements, was devolved on the " Execu-
tive Committee, which consisted of Richard Irby, Dr. N.
Head, D'Arcy Paul, Thomas Branch, and Rev. T. S.
Campbell.
iSo HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
THOMAS CARTER JOHNSON.
In Memoriam.
Colonel Thomas C. Johnson was born near Lynch-
burg, Va., on the 22nd of March, 1820. He was con-
verted and joined the Methodist Church in his seven-
teenth year. In 1842 he graduated with the highest
honors of his class at Randolph- Macoii College. In the
fall of the same year he was married to Martha R. Scott,
daughter of H. B. Scott, of Nelson county, Va., and was
soon after appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural
Sciences in the Female Collegiate Institute in Bucking-
ham county. This position he filled ten months, when he
removed to Potosi, Washington county, Mo., whither the
parents of his wife had preceded him. Here he accepted a
position in a classical school, in the meantime assiduously
prosecuting the study of law. He was soon after ad-
mitted to the bar, and took a position with the foremost in
the ranks of the profession in his district. The year 1849
was an eventful one. He conceived the idea of building
the Iron Mountain railroad, and suggested it to the peo-
ple of the county. He was by them nominated and elected
to the General Assembly for the purpose of securing the
passage of a bill for the establishment of that road.
In June, 1849, the cholera raged in Potosi. He was
stricken down, and, while violently ill, his wife and in-
fant daughter died of this disease. The following winter
he served in the Missouri Legislature, and secured the
passage of the bill for the Iron Mountain road. He was
subsequently largely concerned in developing and map-
ping the entire railroad system in that State.
In 1851 he removed to St. Louis, and was appointed
land agent and attorney for the Pacific railroad. In the
year 1853 he was married, the second time, to Pattie B.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 181
Scott, eldest daughter of Rev. Robert Scott, deceased, of
the Virginia Conference. He was elected in 1858 a
member of the Missouri State Senate from the city of St.
Louis. In this body he at once took a prominent posi-
tion, and was a member of nearly every important com-
mittee of the body. In the session of i86o-'6i he was
chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations, at that
time the most important committee of the Senate.
He was decidedly conservative in his views, and
anxious to secure the preservation of the Union, if it
could be done consistently with the rights of the South ;
but when the Peace Congress proved a failure, the Crit-
tenden Compromise was rejected, and Virginia seceded,
he became a secessionist, and was heart and soul with
the South throughout the struggle. His position and
opinions on the vexed question forced him to leave Mis-
souri. Without hesitation he sacrificed all for his prin-
ciples, left his family in St. Louis, and joined the forces
under General Sterling Price, on whose staff he served
for two years as volunteer aid. Being convinced that
the many reverses in that department, at that period,
were due in a great measure to lack and inferiority of
transportation, he called the attention of the authorities
at Richmond to this point. He was soon after autho-
rized to establish the Confederate Transportation Works
at Columbus, Ga. To this important interest he directed
his whole energies, and succeeded in establishing one of
the best arranged, most extensive and complete machine
shops in the Confederacy. This position he retained
until the close of the war, when he removed with his
family to Montgomery, Ala., and returned to the prac-
tice of law. While there he was elected to the Presi-
dency of Randolph- Macon College. On reaching Vir-
ginia and entering upon his duties he found great dim-
182 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
culties in his path. But with characteristic energy he at
once addressed himself to the task of re-establishing the
College. Nearly two years of unremitted toil, under the
most discouraging circumstances, convinced him that
success could never crown his efforts at that location.
He felt that to make the College a success it must be
removed to a more accessible point. Fortunately, just
at this juncture of affairs, the hotel property at Ashland
was thrown upon the market. With his quick foresight,
Colonel Johnson realized the importance of securing this
eligible location.
It was not to be expected that the removal of the Col-
lege would be accomplished without strong opposition
on the part of some of its warmest friends. But in the
midst of the contest Colonel Johnson bore himself like a
Christian gentleman. He could appreciate the views of
others, while he felt that the very existence of the insti-
tution depended on its removal to a more suitable site.
We believe, indeed we have reason to know, that he en-
tertained for those who opposed him in his plans no
other feelings than those of friendship and Christian af-
fection. To his particular friends, who were often in-
dignant at the hard speeches uttered against him, he
would reply, "Never mind, I keep my heart right before
God." Believing that he was acting for the best he went
forward like a true and earnest man in what he regarded
as the path of duty.
Having seen the removal of the College determined
upon, to relieve the Trustees of all the embarrassment
in the election of a Faculty, he generously came forward
and tendered his resignation, and soon after started to
the West, the scene of his early labors and successes.
It was while en route to St. Louis (on August 8, 1868,)
that he met with the terrible accident that in a few hours
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 183
closed his noble and useful life. The death of Colonel
Johnson was a calamity to our church and to our coun-
try. He had passed the period of life when men are
seized by ambition and borne off in pursuit of wealth
or fame. He had gained both ; the former he had
lost in standing for his native land and State rights;
the latter he still possessed in a more valuable form, as
purified by the power and faith of his religion. Re-
peatedly has he said to the writer, ' ' I only wish to live
to do good." To the Christian education of the young
men of the South he was ardently devoted, and to this
work we know he wished to devote the energies of a
manly and mature intellect.
The spontaneous tributes to the memory of this good
man will best show how he was appreciated by those
who knew him.
In a letter now before us from Rev. Charles K. Mar-
shall, D. D., of Mississippi, to his bereaved family, that
eminent minister says: "From my first acquaintance to
this hour my affections took to and clung around him as
one of the highest and noblest types of exalted manhood,
as a true, steadfast, appreciating friend ; and as a brother
in Christ with whose inward spirit it was a joy to com-
mune. Few men cherished so high and sacred views of
the dignity and ends of life. Usefulness was the key-
note of his being. Unselfish, wide-minded, spiritual,
transparent, pure, he was a living epistle known and
read of all. His life was hid in Christ, and the highest
ambition of his soul was to live to and for Christ."
Rev. Dr. Deems, of New York, says: "His abilities
and virtues rendered him one of the most useful men I
have ever known. Every interview I have had with
him since our acquaintance began has served to deepen
my respect for the loftiness of his character."
184 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Bishop McTyeire, who was a fellow-student with him
at Randolph- Macon, says: "In church and state it
seemed to me he was just such an one as we need
now. With gratitude I remember his high Christian
influence as a student. Our meeting and reunion at
Montgomery, twenty-five years after, was one of the
most pleasing events of my life. Who of us has not
coveted his gifts ? ' '
Such is the testimony, voluntarily given, by this emi-
nent minister.
We are enabled to give a more detailed account of this
sad event from a letter written by the proprietor of the
hotel at Mattoon :
' ' When Mr. Johnson came out of the saloon of the
sleeping car, the conductor told him to 'hurry up.'
Thinking he would be left if he did not make haste,
Mr. J.' went quickly forward through the car, and was
just in the act of stepping across to the forward car when
the cars separated, and he fell on the track, and before
he could recover himself he was struck by the rear car
and fatally injured. His right leg was crushed in two
places and his back broken. As soon as possible he was
taken from under the car. His first words were, ' My
friends, my name is Thomas C. Johnson, of Boydton,
Va. ; take your pencil and write it down.' A stretcher
was then procured, and he was brought to my house.
We did all we could for him. Doctors were at hand
from the moment he was hurt until he died. The in-
jured leg was amputated ; and on further examination
it was found that his back was broken. He was then
told that he was fatally injured and could live but a
short time, and that any directions he had to give must
be given quickly. He then gave directions as to the
disposal of his body, requesting it to be sent to his friends
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH MACON COLLEGE. 185
in Virginia. He was emphatic in saying that his death
was caused by the mismanagement of the railroad offi-
cials. Before his death, at his request, a notary public
was sent for, and his testimony as to the cause of his
death was legally taken. He was sensible to the last
moment, and spoke with deep feeling of the overwhelm-
ing effect the tidings of his terrible and sudden death
would have upon his family. I sat by his side and
heard every word he uttered. The general opinion of
the public here is that the railroad company is responsi-
ble for Mr. Johnson's death."
Such was the end of a most useful and devoted Chris-
tian. In the midst of strangers, mangled, and bleeding,
he died. By the grace of God he was sustained and com-
forted. Calmly he surrendered his life into the hands
of his Creator. How wonderful are the ways of Provi-
dence! The workmen die, but the work goes on. Is
the doctrine of premonition true? We often incline to
the belief that it is. In many cases there appears to be
a conviction that the work of life is finished, and the
soul feels itself nearing the portals of eternity. Speak-
ing of Colonel Johnson's experience, one who knew him
well sa)*s, "I can but think that the last six months
of his life was a period of preparation for eternity. I
was deeply impressed with his growth in grace, the
fervor and earnestness of his piety, and his forbearance
and patience under severe trials."
The close of life was in happy accord with his previ-
ous religious experience. A letter from Mattoon says :
" He died in perfect peace. I never saw a more peaceful
expression than rested on his face after death." He
leaves to his farrjly the priceless legacy of a pure and
noble Christian life. May they move on to the meeting
and reunion in the house of our Father in heaven. — W.
W. BENNETT, in Richmond Advocate.
186 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The committee of nine appointed to elect professors
and a president (in case of Dr. Garland's declination to
accept) met August 7, 1868. Dr. Garland having de-
clined to accept the presidency, the committee, all being
present, elected Rev. James A. Duncan, of the Virginia
Conference, and an alumnus of the College (class of
1849), president, at a salary of $2,500 per annum, and
use of residence. Subsequently, on the first day of Sep-
tember, the committee, all being present except Bishop
PROF. THOMAS R. PRICE, .M. A., LL.
J'~oinidcr of the School of English,
D.,
Doggett, in conjunction with the President-elect, Dun-
can, who had accepted the presidency, proceeded to fill
the chairs of instruction. Thomas R. Price, M. A., was
elected Professor of Ancient Languages; Harry Estill,
A. M., Professor of Mathematics; Richard M. Smith,
Professor of Natural Sciences. Their salaries were fixed
at $2,000 per annum with houses of residence.
REV. JAMES A. DUNCAN, A. M. D. D., PRESIDENT, 1868-' 77.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 187
Subsequently, at a meeting of the Board October i,
1868, the chair of Modern Languages was filled by the
election of W. W. Valentine, of Richmond.
The sudden and lamented death of the late President
Johnson was announced to the Board, and appropriate
resolutions in regard to him were adopted.
At a meeting of the Board, held November 20, 1868,
Rev. Win. B. Rowzie was appointed Agent of the Col-
lege in the bounds of the Virginia, and Dr. Nelson Head
PROF. HARRY ESTII.I., A. M.
Professor of Mathematics, l8b8-i8j8.
Agent (till the succeeding Baltimore Conference), in the
latter Conference.
The College opened at Ashland, October i, 1868.
With great labor and many embarrassments the Col-
lege furniture, laboratories and libraries had been trans-
ferred from Boydton to Ashland, under the special su-
perintendence of Rev. T. S. Campbell. The buildings
on the campus had been remodeled and repaired, and
1 88 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
were in fair condition for occupancy, and for the work
and use to which they had been converted. They had
in former years been used for a summer resort, to which
many visitors annually repaired for health and dissipa-
tion. The largest building was the hotel, which had
several buildings attached. In the centre of the grounds
was the ball-room, flanked by dressing-rooms. This
PROF. RICHARD M. SMITH.
building was converted into a chapel and society halls,
while the hotel became the main dormitory building.
The bowling-alley and other buildings also became dor-
mitories. Three buildings were fitted up for professor's
houses. The rooms on the lower floors of the hotel were
made lecture-rooms. Though the buildings were ex-
temporised, the whole arrangement was comparatively
convenient and comfortable. What was defective and
HIS'TOR \ ' OF RANDOLPH- MACON COLLEGE. 1 89
might have been complained of was more than compen-
pensated by the superb Faculty of instruction provided
for the students in attendance. First and foremost was
the President, Rev. James A. Duncan, D. D. Of him
we will let others who were associated \vith him speak.
His colleagues were Professor Thomas R. Price, M. A.,
PROF. \V. \\. VALKNTINE.
Professor Harry Estill, A. M., Professor Richard M.
Smith, Professor \V. \V. Valentine.
Rarely has such a combination of teaching ability been
found in any college, or one wrhich met the needs of the
time more fully.
The name of the President had drawn from his far-away
Southern home one of the most original characters the
College ever had among its matriculates, John Hannon,
of Montgomery, Ala.
i go HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
JOHN HANNON'S SKETCH OF DR. DUNCAN.
"In the autumn of 1868 upon the train I first met Dr.
James A. Duncan, as I was going to Ashland. Full-
orbed, approaching his zenith, this pulpit star thus came
into my sky. Though he has years since set behind the
grassy hills of Hollywood, the light of his great charac-
ter still lingers in the valleys and on the high places of
my being.
"It is impossible in a sketch like this to give the full
spectrum of a character so rich as that of Dr. Duncan.
There were X-rays, delicate gleamings of light from his
presence, that could be felt, but do not photograph them-
selves upon the plates of a biography. He was not a
man easy to forget.
"There is a sense in which every man is a word of
God, or a syllable of the word. But in some the divine
articulation is not so distinct. Regarding humanity as
a written word, such characters are what scholars would
call a 'disputed text.' Not so with James A. Duncan.
Looking upon him no man could doubt the authorship.
The divine autograph was there in capital letters. A
look at him shook our faith in man as an evolution.
We felt that that man was a creation.
" 'Would I had a presence,' said one of our brainiest
men to me. A lady of my congregation asked a friend
in a Boston dining parlor who a certain man was, re-
marking that she knew he must be a distinguished per-
son, for she said, ' He has a presence.' The man was
Phillips Brooks.
' ' Dr. Duncan had a presence. Who will ever forget
that Napoleonic build ? That physique, the very motion
of which was silent music.
"Tremendous was to be the draft on this superb
S- I
N
I >
»• p
D HH
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 191
physique during the ten years that followed the day I
first looked on it. The College with its endowment had
gone down amid the ruins of the Confederacy. The out-
look was gloomy; but it was resolved to remove the
tree to Ashland. Here the railway system of the South
would renew its roots and make it bud and bloom again.
Jefferson Davis was thought of for the presidency, but
in a happy hour Dr. Duncan was chosen to lead the
forlorn hope in its rebuilding. Without funds, without
laboratory, without proper buildings, he addressed him-
self to the task. Providence came to his rescue. By
one of those flashes of common sense, which not always
light up church enterprises, a Faculty pre-eminently
adapted to the work had been chosen. Professor Thomas
R. Price, a name synonymous now with scholarship, was
in the chair of Ancient Languages. Harry Estill filled
the chair of Mathematics. Professor Richard M. Smith
brought the ripe wisdom and experience of his dis-
tinguished life to the chair of Natural Sciences. W. W.
Valentine held the keys of the Modern Languages.
' ' It has been said that what a university needs is not
so much an endowment as a man. Randolph- Macon
had men, and Dr. Duncan, a man among men. The
Faculty itself was an endowment. Good material
gathered around them as students. 'Facile princeps'
among these were Wm. W. Smith, now LL. D., and
President of the Randolph- Macon System of Colleges
and Schools ; Charles Carroll, now a brilliant lawyer of
the Crescent city; Rhodes, since a judge in Baltimore;
J. F. Twitty, of blessed memory, and a number of others.
' ' Dr. Duncan, while not technically trained as a teacher,
yet showed himself a great teacher. What an inspira-
tion he imparted to the band that gathered around him !
How he lit up every dreary field of text ! Blessed, yea,
1 92 HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
thrice blessed, was that school of young prophets. While
himself the finest of models, nothing was farther from
his thought than to make little 'Duncans' of every stu-
dent. Bring up a boy in the way he should go, accord-
ing to his bent, this was his idea. He would never have
been guilty of putting the toga of Cicero upon Charles
Spurgeon. With him good ' pork and beans ' was not to
be made into bad 'quail on toast.' 'Sing your own
song,' only let that song be the best possible to you.
Broad, Catholic-hearted Duncan !
" Making a great teacher did not spoil a great preacher
in Duncan's case. On a ' star-map' of the pulpits of that
day, the pulpit in the old ball-room chapel at Ashland
would shine as a star of 'the first magnitude.' His
sermons were not like Robertson's eruptions of internal
volcanic fires lifting up new heights of thought; they
were not Munsey's great, gorgeous cathedrals of polished
words ; neither were they Keener's cyclones filling the
air with boulders of logic, cutting a pathway through
forests of prejudice as old as our being. His eloquence
was not the glacial magnificence of Wilson's great ice-
bergs floating in polar seas with grassy shores ; it was
not Galloway's mountain torrent with 'optimism,' that
music of heaven in its splash and the swiftness of redeem-
ing love in its rush to the low places of earth. Very
different was it from Sam Jones' wild tanglewood of
tropic forest of mingled fruit and flowers and thorns.
His sermons were the expression of what Carlyle would
style a healthy nature. There was nothing wild or ab-
normal. They were like landscapes in a civilized land —
great, like the movement of the seasons, like the coming
of the tides — as the processes of nature are great ; great as
a summer day is great. The introduction was morning !
— sunrise! not striking, not surprising. The thoughts
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 193
not larks soaring heavenward, were rather sparrows on the
sward. But we could see great stretches of thought be-
fore us. Now the morning changes into high noon. It
is the sermon proper. We are now in the midst of vast
grain-fields of ripe thought. Divisions barely visible
above the heads of the choicest of the wheat waving now
in the zephyrs of pathos. Shouts at times among the
listeners, as like reapers they garner ripe sheaves into
their bosoms ; orchards now growing with ripe fruit.
' ' The peroration comes naturally, as evening follows
noon. We hardly know when it comes. A splendid
sunset, often tears like the dewdrops in the flowers of
new resolves, now springing in the soul ; solemn im-
pressions, like shadows, growing larger ; a deep hush
upon everything. The sermon closes. It is night.
But stars of hope are shining in the sky of the soul.
' ' At Haslup's Grove, in the seventies, in a great ser-
mon , the rush to the altar was so great that the enclosure
had to be torn down. It was pentecostal.
"I heard him on two great occasions. In 1876, along
with Dr. Landon C. Garland and Lovick Pierce, he was
fraternal delegate from our church to our sister Method-
ism at the General Conference in Baltimore. After years
of estrangement the two Methodisms were meeting
again. It was an occasion. You could feel it. The
great building was thronged. When the time came for
Duncan to speak he threw his soul into the ' God speed
you! 'of seven hundred thousand Southern Methodists.
The audience for awhile it seemed would go wild. The
day was a great triumph.
' ' During that same Conference the princety ' Jeff.
Magruder ' organized a great mass-meeting of the Sun-
day-schools of the Southern Methodist churches in Balti-
more. Bishop Vincent, Secretary of the Sunday-School
13
i94 HISTORY ^.ANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Board of the v list Episcopal Church, then in the
prime of his p ^?s, General Clinton B. Fiske, and Dr.
Duncan were > Sxseak. The speeches of Vincent and
Fiske had beei ;o ^uperb that a gifted minister remarked
to me, 'I am sorry for Duncan.' I responded, 'lam
sorry for any man who has to follow two such speeches.'
But I found that I did not yet know him. He pulled
out new organ stops in his great soul that afternoon.
His speech was a brilliant improvisation. The audience
was captured. Southern Methodists who gloried in the
flesh were radiant.
"When going to New Orleans, in 1877, I met him
going to Washington City to preach the first sermon to
the President-elect, R. B. Hayes. It was not long before
wires flashed to me the startling news of his death.
Duncan, Marvin, A. T. Bledsoe, Doggett, in a single
year. Heaven was drawing heavily upon our beloved
church. Duncan's old pupil, President Smith, took up
the work he and the sainted Bennett laid down.
"The Randolph-Macoii System of Schools and Col-
leges is a worthy monument to the memory of our dead
Duncan. May the graduates of these schools be living
stones in the living shaft, ever rising higher and higher
to the memory of Olin, Garland, Smith, and their suc-
cessors, who spent their best days for the advancement
of Christian education at our alma mater. ' '
The number of students matriculated the first session
was 67. Under all the embarrassments and difficulties
of the situation, this number was as great as could have
been expected. The income from such a small number
was insufficient to meet the expenses, and here ensued
the old trouble, which had been such a clog in the past,
that is, straitened finances. The condition of the coun-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-V .V COLLEGE. 195
tfryr was anything but favorable >''y effort to raise
funds for the College. Various T a}, < were proposed,
some of which were adopted, but n im&bf them brought
speedy relief, and the embarrassmei .t Itecame very oner-
ous and trying. By the efforts of the Agent, Rev. W. B.
Rowzie, and the securing of a loan by D'Arcy Paul,'
Esq., the College was carried through the first session.
The first annual report of the President was made
June 21, 1869. The following synopsis is given :
Congratulates the Board on the increase of patronage ;
the zeal and efficiency of the Faculty ; the diligence and
good order of the students ; the general healthfulness
and pleasant harmony of all connected with the institu-
tion, and the increased confidence of the public in the
permanency and success of Randolph- Macon College ;
expresses the conviction that the only condition pre-
requisite to complete success, under the providence of
God, is a determined and energetic purpose to succeed ;
affirms that the demand for such an institution to secure
important interests of Methodism is imperative ; . . . .
refers to his visit to the Baltimore and North Carolina
Conferences and the cordial reception given by these
Conferences ; recommends a fiscal secretary or director,
whose duty it shall be to take entire control of the finan-
cial interests of the College, except as to matters in the
hands of the Proctor, and to do all he can by travelling
and speaking for the College.
The following degrees were conferred, on the recom-
mendation of the Faculty, viz.: LL. D., on Professor
Francis H. Smith, of the University of Virginia ; D. D.,
on Rev. James L. Pierce, of the Georgia Conference,
Rev. William G. Connor, of the Texas Conference, and
Rev. John C. Granbery, of the Virginia Conference.
The commencement in June was well attended, espe-
i</> HJSTOR \' OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
cially by visiting Trustees and others from the Baltimore
Conference.
An excellent dwelling for the President had been
erected by the liberal aid of a friend in Richmond.
At an adjourned meeting of the Board, held in Rich-
mond, Va., next November, there were several causes for
encouragement. The Agent reported subscriptions
amounting to over $13,000. Of this Samuel O. Moon,
Ksq., of Albemarle, gave $5,000 in Virginia bonds; the
Society of Alumni, $1,200; Major W. T. Sutherlin, of
Danville, $1,500 ($300 per annum for five years to meet
current expenses). But the most important action taken
was on the suggestion of Rev. W. H. Christian, an
alumnus of the College (class of 1851.) In response
to this suggestion, the following resolutions were
adopted :
' ' Resolved, That we request the Virginia Conference
to order that the deficiency in the yearly revenues of the
College (which shall be reported by the Board to each
annual se.ssion of the Conference) shall be divided among
all the districts of the Conference, and sub-divided among
all the stations and circuits by the district stewards, as
in case of the Conference collection, and shall be raised
by collections in every congregation, and embraced in
the annual report of the recording steward of every
.charge to the Financial Board of the Conference.
"Resolved, That when the Virginia Conference shall
have adopted the plan proposed, all its ministers shall
be entitled to send their sons of proper age and acquire-
ments to College without payment of tuition fees ; that
the Baltimore Conference, by adopting the same plan,
shall be entitled to the same privilege, and that $2,500
be fixed as the amount to be raised by each of these Con-
ferences for the next year."
HISTORY. OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 197
This action has been considered, and rightly so, to
have been for the time and under the embarrassments of
the surroundings the most important and efficient ever
taken by the Board. With a small assessment of about
five cents on each member of the church in the two Con-
ferences, the annual income was in a short time increased
by the sum of $4,000, which was equal to the dividends
RF.V. W. H. CHRISTIAN, U. 1).,
Virginia, Conference.
on an endowment of about $70,000. The Conferences
adopted the plan, and have annually raised a large per-
centage of the assessment, the Virginia Conference hav-
ing in 1882 increased its assessment to $3,500.
In looking back on the period since, nearly thirty
years, it really looks as if, without this action, the Col-
1 98 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
lege could not have continued its work. Certainly this
work would have been greatly narrowed and restricted.
Great honor, therefore, should be bestowed on the name
of William H. Christian as the mover of this plan, and
the friends of Christian education in the State should
render to the Conferences grateful thanks for having,
JOHN HOWARD, A. M.
under the promptings of the good Spirit, acted so
promptly on the suggestion and carried .it out for so
many years.
The year 1869 was otherwise a notable year. In the
latter part of the year the first general election for State
officers and a Legislature was held since the close of the
war. With the inauguration of the Governor elected at
this election and resumption of the legislative functions
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 199
by the General Assembly, the State resumed its normal
condition, and military rule ceased to exist.
At the meeting of this first Legislature, a committee,
which had been charged with that duty, appeared before
the body and asked and obtained the change of the char-
ter, and the sanction to the removal of the College from
its original site to Ashland. The amended charter reads
as follows :
' ' § i . That the removal of the aforesaid College is
hereby ratified and confirmed, and that there be, and is
hereby, established at Ashland, in the county of Han-
over, in this Commonwealth, a seminary of learning for
the instruction of youth in the various branches of sci-
ence and literature, the useful arts, agriculture, and the
learned and foreign languages."
The suit which was instituted to enjoin the removal
of the College never came to an issue. It was ably de-
fended on the part of the majority of the Board by John
Howard, Esq., of Richmond (class of 1844), and the
argument was printed. It is worthy of reprinting here,
but space will not permit.
The second session of the College had a larger attend-
ance than the first by fifty, of which number twenty-five
were ministerial students.
About the close of the first term of the second session
(i869~'7o) one of the professors was taken from the Col-
lege by death — Richard M. Smith, Professor of Natural
Science. He was the oldest man of the Faculty.
The following preamble and resolutions, drafted by
Professor Price and adopted by the Faculty, was endorsed
and adopted by the Trustees at an adjourned meeting
held in Richmond, February 23, 1870:
" Upon us as friends who loved and honored him, upon
the College whose faithful officer he was, upon the classes
200 ^HISTORY OF RANDOLP H-MACON COLLEGE.
he taught with self-sacrificing zeal, upon the community
and the church in which his virtues made him eminent,
an overwhelming sorrow has, under God's will, fallen in
the death of our late colleague, Professor Richard M.
Smith. Even those who had not the pleasure of know-
ing, from intimate association, the beauties of his pri-
vate character, may from the knowledge of his career
form some conception of the vigor of his mind and the
PROF. WM. A. SHEPARD, A. M.,
Class /$J7 ; Major Confederate States A riuy.
unspotted virtue of his life. For us, who had in him the
closer and tenderer interests of a common work and an
undisturbed friendship, his sweet temper, his wise con-
versation and lofty unselfishness, will ever be a source
of blended sorrow and consolation ; be it, therefore,
".Resolved, i. That we tender, as a body, to the widow
and family of our dearly beloved colleague, our respectful
sympathy in their bereavement.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE, 201
"2. That we request our President to publish this
expression of our heart-felt sorrow for the friend whom
we have lost."
Professor Smith had been a prominent man in his
native State, first as an educator, then as editor of the
Alexandria Sentinel, afterwards of the Richmond Enquirer.
He was the first Professor to die at his post.
The Board, after paying tribute to his memory, pro-
ceeded to supply the vacant chair.
On the first ballot Professor William Arthur Shepard,
of the Southern Female College of Petersburg, was elected
to the place. He was no stranger to the College, having
served as Professor prior to the w7ar, and having resigned
his place to go into the service. Though a Northern
man by birth, he threw his heart and energies into the
Southern cause, and was so true and faithful that, after
having been disabled for field service by wounds, he was
promoted to be Major and Assistant Commissary.
It would be safe to say that the College never had a
warmer friend or a truer man in its service than he proved
himself to be for over thirty years. He entered at once
on the duties of his chair.
At a meeting of the Board held in Baltimore, March,
1870, at the session of the Baltimore Conference, that
Conference was requested to make an assessment to aid
the College, on the same plan as that adopted by the
Virginia Conference. This the Conference agreed to
make.
At the annual meeting, June, 1870, the President made
the annual report, which gave the attendance as no;
total earnings from fees for the session, $5,040. A pre-
paratory school was recommended to take charge of stu-
dents unable to take College courses ; recommended em-
ployment of assistants in the departments of Mathematics
202 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
and Ancient Languages, particularly the latter, so that
Prof. Price might initiate the School of English, as de-
scribed in the Catalogue. Reference was made to the
old trouble of financial embarrassment ; also, to his efforts
during the last summer's vacation to arouse interest in
the College, which efforts he proposed to continue the
coming summer as far as practicable.
JAME.S M. BARROW, A. M.,
Superintendent of Public Schools, Columbus, Miss.
The Executive Committee reported that they had ap-
pointed as instructor in the Introductory Department, as
authorized, Col. Henry W. Wingfield (A. M. Randolph-
Macon College), at a salary not to exceed $800.
The Finance Committee reported as follows : Liabili-
ties, $26,475 ; assets (outside of College buildings and
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 203
lots), $31,375. On some of the bills payable a discount
•of 12 per cent, had been charged.
At this meeting Rev. W. E. Munsey, D. D., was
elected Financial Secretary. This position Dr. Munsey
declined to accept.
Dr. William W. Bennett resigned the place of Agent,
and Rev. George W. Nolley was elected in his place.
CHARLES CARROLL, A. M., lSy2.
Washington Hall RuHcicr.
On the recommendation of the Faculty, the following
degrees were conferred: Master of Arts, on James M.
Barrow, of Virginia ; Doctor of Divinity, on Rev. James
W. Wightman, of Kentucky.
Rev. David Thomas was appointed as Agent to attend
to subscriptions and collections within the bounds of the
Baltimore Conference.
204 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Richard Irby resigned the office of Treasurer, which
he had held for two years, and William Willis, Jr., was
elected in his stead.
In the third session (1870-' 71) the effort to build the
Library building for the halls and libraries of the two
literary societies was inaugurated. Up to this time the
H. C. PAULETT,
One of the builders of Library Hall.
two societies had occupied the ante-rooms attached to
the chapel, which were very cramped and inconvenient.
Who was the first to suggest the building of the new
edifice is not known to this writer, but it is well known
who the parties were who did the main work in raising
the funds. They were, on the part of the Washington
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 205
Society, Charles Carroll, of North Carolina, and H. C.
Paulett, of Virginia ; and on the part of the Franklin
Society, William W. Smith and Jordan W. Lambert, of
Virginia.
An old alumnus offered to give to the Society which
should raise the largest amount a copy of Audubon's
Birds of America.
JORDAN \V. LAMBERT,
Franklin Hall Builder.
This enterprise was prosecuted with great zeal and
skill, and the building devised by the young men, let to
contract by them, and paid for by them (in most part),
went on to completion. It was the first brick building
ever erected on the campus, and the first ever built in
the town. More will be said of this in due time.
At a called meeting of the Board, held in Richmond,
206 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
February, 1871, the committee appointed to make saleol
the buildings and property near Boydton reported the
sale of the same to Henry G. McGonegal, of New York
city. The sum of the purchase money was $12,500.
This included the claim on the United States govern-
ment, which was transferred with the property to the
purchaser.
This sale was a great sacrifice, embracing as it did the
two large College buildings, the Steward's Hall, Hotel,
and President's residence, all brick structures, and, in
addition, the old Preparatory School building (also
brick), and three other dwellings, and several hundred
acres of land. But the pecuniary obligations of the Col-
lege were heavy and pressing, and the rate of interest,
even on bonds secured by real estate, ten per cent. Under
these circumstances, the sale was ratified, and the Board
parted with the old premises, built, for the most part, in
i83o-'32, at a cost largely over $50,000.
At the annual meeting in June, 1871, the President,
in his report, spoke in high terms of the studiousness
and good deportment of the .students. The whole num-
ber in attendance was 142. The prospects for further
increase were encouraging.
Prof. W. W. Valentine resigned the chair of Modern
Languages, chiefly on account of delicate health. He
was a faithful officer and a nice gentleman ; he enjoyed
the respect and regard of his colleagues and the Board.
Great embarrassment had been experienced on account
of want of funds to meet promptly the salaries of the
Faculty.
The appointment of a " fiscal executive officer, compe-
tent to execute the plans of the Board, and also to invent
schemes of his own for obtaining funds," was strongly
pressed. This recommendation was promptly adopted,
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. [207
and a committee appointed to define his duties and to
nominate a suitable man for the place.
During the session this committee made report, de-
fining the duties of the Financial Secretary, and placing
all the business matters and financial interests in the
hands of said officer. He was also to travel as much as
practicable through the Conferences to influence patron-
age, secure donations and bequests, and also to encourage
REV. A. G. BROWN, D. D.
the Conference educational collections. The salary of
the officer was fixed at $2,000 per annum.
To fill the office the committee nominated Rev. A. G.
Brown, of the Virginia Conference. He was not a
stranger to the College, having served as chaplain there
in former years. He was duly elected, and a resolution
2oS HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
adopted asking the Virginia Conference to assign him to
this work.
This was a fortunate appointment. The Financial
Secretary, after entering on his duties, proceeded promptly
to adjust the matters of the College, and soon got them
into manageable shape.
Prof. Thomas R. Price appeared before the Board and
explained his views in regard to the ' ' School of Eng-
lish."
On motion, it was —
Resolved, That the Faculty be, and they are hereby,
authorized to establish, if they find it possible, "a School
of English and Literature."
This most important move was on the same general
plan adopted in 1835, and carried out for several years
by Prof. E. D. Sims after his return from Europe, where
he had spent several years studying Anglo-Saxon and
other languages preparatory to this course.
It does not seem, however, that Prof. Price was aware
that such a course had been previously established, and
it was as original with him as it was with the first mover
in it. Fortunately, in this second movement it became
a permanent course, and the influence of the move has
spread far and wide.
LETTER OF PROF. THOMAS R. PRICE, LL. D.
"COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK.
"Capt. Richard Ir by, Randolph-Macon College :
"DEAR SIR, — The President and Trustees of Ran-
dolph-Macon College, in i868-'7o, deserve, I think, the
credit of having made the boldest and wisest move in
education that has taken place in my time. Dr. Dun-
can, above all, so great and wise in many directions,
was, in my judgment, the most deeply devoted and the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 209
most far-sighted friend of collegiate education I have
known. When made a member of his Faculty, in 1868,
as Professor of Greek and Latin, I had, with my large
classes, to struggle against great difficulties and grave
discouragements. Amid all I had his tender sympathy
and wise and loving help. The fundamental difficulty
of all soon revealed itself to me. I was seeking, as all
instructors of Greek and Latin of that period were seek-
ing, to give a knowledge of the ancient languages to
boys and young men that knew not enough of their own
language to receive it or apply it. It was irrational, ab-
surd, almost criminal, for example, to expect a young
man, whose knowledge of English words and construc-
tion was scant and inexact, to put into English a diffi-
cult thought of Plato or an involved period of Cicero.
Dr. Duncan, to whom I imparted my conviction, shared
with me the sense of the grave evil. Braver and more
hopeful than I, he bade me not to despair, but to cut at
the root of the trouble by introducing the study of Eng-
lish. His eloquence and radical good sense won the
majority of the Trustees, and the English school was
founded. I had the honor, which I prize highly, of
having been made professor of English, giving up the
Latin to Dr. James A. Harrison. I had the duty laid
on me, by the Trustees, of drawing up the programme of
the new course and of selecting text-books and supple-
menting text-books by lectures. My plan was, through
the course of five years, to make the literary and histori-
cal study of our great language go forward evenly bal-
anced. I began with the study of grammar and of easy
texts in the preparatory section, and then, year after year,
thus formed in succession the four college classes up to
the Senior and graduation. I cannot give you the exact
dates. The struggle began, I think, in 1869, and it was
210 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
carried on to full success by 1873-' 74. The catalogues
of the College will give the work and programme of
each year.
" To Dr. Duncan, and to the good and wise men of the
Trustees, I am profoundly grateful for having used me to
carry out the bold and noble design. It was their own
work — not suggested from the outside at all, imitating
nothing that existed, springing from their clear percep-
tion of what education meant and from their sense of
duty to their church and their people.
"Yours very truly. THOMAS R. PRICE."
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE AND THE STUDY OF
ENGLISH.
Prof. J. B. Henneman, of the University of Tennes-
see, writes as follows in the Sewanee Review. It is grati-
fying that the good work done by Randolph-Macon is so
freely acknowledged :
"It was Randolph-Macon College, rather than the
State University of Virginia, though it was the work of
one of her graduates, that was to have the distinction of
creating a School of English in the South which should
send forth apostles with all the fervor of converts and
enthusiasts. Randolph-Macon College would have de-
served notice for devoting a separate chair to English
Literature as early as 1836, almost from its inception ;
and Edward Dromgoole Sims, a Master of Arts of the
University of North Carolina, gave a course on Histori-
cal English in the year 1839. He was installed in that
year as Professor of English, after a stay in Europe,
where he heard lectures on Anglo-Saxon. Tradition
tells how, having no text-books, he used the blackboards
for his philological work. At the end of three years he
removed to the University of Alabama in consequence
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 2 LI
of having contracted a marriage not then allowed under
the laws of Virginia. He was preparing a series of
text-books in Old English, tradition again says, when he
died, in 1845. Had he accomplished his purpose, these
works would have preceded Klipstein's in point of time.
(Other occupants' of the chair of English at Randolph-
Macon were William M. Wightman and David S. Dog-
gett, both afterwards bishops in the Methodist Church,
South.) It was again at Randolph-Macon College
(though now removed from Mecklenburg to Hanover
count}7) that, immediately after the war, there was founded
a distinct school of English, based on historic and scien-
tific principles, and productive of far-reaching results. I
believe that I am but paying a worthy tribute to one
whom all his pupils have found a helpful guide and in-
spiring instructor in making the statement that this
movement was mainly due to the inspiration and effort
of one man — Thomas R. Price.
"The suggestion of the course of English at Ran-
dolph-Macon College sprang from the study of the an-
cient languages. The feeling existed that it was impos-
sible to expect appreciation of idioms in a foreign lan-
guage when students knew nothing about those in their
own tongue. To quote from Professor Price's own words
at the time : ' It was irrational, absurd, almost criminal,
for example, to expect a young man, whose knowledge
of English words and constructions was scant and in-
exact, to put into English a difficult thought of Plato or
an involved period of Cicero.' The course pursued in
consequence was entirely original in its premises, and
endeavored to meet these difficulties. Both the disease
and remedy were brought out by the conditions present ;
and to this, I think, may be ascribed, in large measure,
the success of the movement and its value as a stimulus.
2i2 HISTOR Y OF- RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The end set was to place, in the ordinary college course,
the study of English on an equal footing with that of
Latin or Greek, giving it the same time and attention,
aiming at the same thoroughness, and enforcing the
same strictness of method. A knowledge of the early
forms of English was demanded, not as philology pure
and simple, constituting an end in itself, but as a means
for acquiring a true, appreciative knowledge of the
mother tongue, and thereby for understanding its litera-
ture and other literatures all the more. It now seems
almost incredible that it required so great an effort at the
time to take this step or that old traditions could become
so firmly crystallized.
' ' Professor Price's efforts succeeded all the more easily
in that they were seconded by his presiding officer, the
Rev. Dr. James A. Duncan, a man of singular breadth
and sympathy of mind, who had grouped about him,
irrespective of church and denominational ties, a band of
worthy associates. Price, as Professor of Greek and
Latin, gave up the latter to his colleague, James A. Har-
rison, who had charge of the modern languages, and
taking control of the English, developed it side by side
with his Greek, so as to cover a course through four
continuous years. This was the result of the work of
two sessions, 1868-' 70, The movement soon spread far
and wide. Other institutions, impelled by the same
needs, either imitated it outright — some of them actually
going so far as always to unite the English department
with the Greek, as if there were some subtle virtue in
the connection (building possibly even wiser than they
knew) — or developed out of their own necessities similar
arrangements.
"After the men at Randolph- Macon had been drilled
in the rudiments and given their primary inspiration,
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 213
many of them were dispatched to Europe for further
training, and returned Doctors of Leipzig and fired with
a new zeal. In mere appearances, it should seem as if
this Randolph- Macon migration to Leipzig was the begin-
ning of the attraction exerted by that University on
young Southern scholars, an attraction which has been
rivalled in recent years only by that of the neighboring
Johns Hopkins. The land lay open before these young
men, and they proceeded to occupy it. Robert Sharp
returned Doctor from Leipzig, and was soon called to
Tulane ; William M. Baskervill returned Doctor from
Leipzig, and started an impulse at Wofford College,
South Carolina, which he broadened and deepened after
his transfer, in 1881, to Vanderbilt ; Robert Emory
Blackwell returned from Leipzig and succeeded Professor
Price in his work at Randol ph- Macon ; Frank C. Wood-
ward succeeded Baskervill at Wofford in 1881, and re-
moved to the South Carolina College in 1887 ; W. A.
Frantz has built up a following in Central College, Mis-
souri ; John R. Ficklen, having followed Dr. Price to the
State University, has become associated with Sharp at
Tulane. The English fever at Randolph-Macon became
epidemic. Dr. James A. Harrison accepted a call, in
1876, to Washington and Lee as Professor of Modern
Languages, and formed a new Virginian centre for spe-
cialists. Even Price's successor in the Greek chair at
Randolph-Macon, Charles Morris, soon resigned to go to
the University of Georgia as Professor of English. Nor
has the manufacture of Randolph-Macon professors of
English ever entirely ceased. Howard Edwards, for-
merly of the University of Kansas; J. L. Armstrong,
late of Trinity College, North Carolina, and now of the
Randolph-Macon Woman's College ; John D. Epes, of
St. John's College, Maryland ; John Lesslie Hall, Ph. D.
2i4 HISTORY OF RANDOLP H-MACON COLLEGE.
(Johns Hopkins), of William and Mary, are later acces-
sions to a list by no means complete.
" It is very curious to trace these various ramifications
of mutual influences, and to see them acting and inter-
acting, crossing and recrossing. Three main lines may
be detected. Just as the University of Virginia, through
its graduates, became the pattern for many, especially
State institutions, and Hampden-Sidney, Davidson, Cen-
tral, and, particularly, Presbyterian colleges, felt the
influence of the course at Washington and Lee ; so Ran-
dolph-M aeon affected, among others, Wofford, and then
Vanderbilt, which, in turn, has become a new centre of
activity.
"The transmission of this spirit to Wofford College,
and thence to Vanderbilt University at Nashville, is pe-
culiarly instructive. W. M. Baskervill, trained under
Price and Harrison, and in Leipzig, came to Wofford in
1876, where he met with a sympathetic circle. The
president, Dr. James H. Carlisle, had always been inter-
ested in English work, and was a close student of the
history and meaning of words. Charles Foster Smith
was fellow-professor with Baskervill, and James H.
Kirkland, first an appreciative pupil, was afterwards col-
league as Smith's successor. All three of these young
scholars ultimately took their degrees in Leipzig, and
were called to Vanderbilt University, of which Dr. Kirk-
land is the newly-elected Chancellor. The English lan-
guage and letters have been steadily emphasized by the
close sympathies uniting these three men in their com-
mon work in the department of languages. Kirkland's
Leipzig dissertation was on an English subject, though
he is now professor .of Latin ; Smith, the professor of
Greek, has been a constant contributor on English points,
and Baskervill is specifically professor in charge.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 215
Through the standard which their fortunate circum-
stances allowed them to set, a new centre of influence
has been formed in Nashville.
' ' It was this Wofford influence, if I may be personal
for a space, that had much to do with sending me to the
University of Virginia to hear Price in Greek. And I
REV. JOHN HANNON, A. M., I) I).,
Ukiali, California.
but echo the feeling of many in Professor Price's class-
room, that it was hard to know to which of the two
languages his class leaned the more, Greek or English,
so intimately upon one another, especially in the work of
translating, did the two depend. At any rate, it is sin-
gular that his pupils, stirred by the Greek, just as at
Randolph- Macon, have used this classical impulse to
2i6 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
enter upon the keener study of their native language and
literature. I was privileged to be in the last Greek class
which Professor Price taught at the University of Vir-
ginia ; and contemporaneous with me at the University
were other pupils: Charles W. Kent, Ph. D., of Leip-
zig, just returned to his Alma Mater as Linden Kent
Professor of English Literature ; James Douglas Bruce,
of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and the editor of this Re-
view. Eventually Professor Price's strong predilections
for English, and the memory of the work wrought while
at Randolph -Macon, led, in 1882, to his acceptance of a
call to the chair of English in Columbia College, New
York, a change which, in the face of all he had accom-
plished at the South, many of his old pupils were selfish
enough to regard with regret."
On the recommendation of the Faculty, the degree of
A. M. was conferred on John Hannon, of Alabama, and
William Waugh Smith, of Virginia.
The vacant chair of Modern Languages was filled by
the election of Mr. James A. Harrison, of New Orleans.
This officer proved to be a valuable accession to the
Faculty, and his success at Randolph- Macon was the
prophecy of further success at Washington and Lee Uni-
versity, and the University of Virginia, where he is at
this writing.
In regard to the enterprise referred to at the last an-
nual meeting, the Board adopted the following resolu-
tions :
"Whereas suitable halls for the literary societies of this
College are imperatively necessary in the work of this
institution ; and whereas the Washington and Franklin
Literary Societies have taken this enterprise in hand
with commendable zeal and liberality : therefore,
"Resolved, I. That we gratefully recognize the efforts
HISTOK V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 217
of the young gentlemen in projecting and prosecuting
this enterprise.
"II. That we consider the success which has already
attended their efforts as a gratifying evidence of the
speedy completion of the work.
' ' III. That we commend this enterprise and the young
gentlemen engaged in it to the liberality of all the friends
of this College and the cause of liberal education.
PROF. J. A. HARRISON, M. A., LL. D.
"IV. That we pledge our hearty co-operation in this
work in every way in our power."
At the close of the college year ending June, 1872, the
following items of interest were reported to. the Board at
the annual meeting :
The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
218 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Company conveyed to the Board of Trustees a tract of
land lying on the south of the line of said railroad, near
what was called the Club House, containing about twenty
acres, ' ' on condition that the Trustees erect on the said
land permanent college buildings within fifteen years
after the date of conveyance, and that the deed shall con-
tain the prohibition of the sale of ardent spirits without the
written consent af said company."
This was considered to have been a better location for
college buildings than the first occupied, and the project
might have been carried out but for want of means to
erect the buildings.
The Financial Agent further reported the need of addi-
tional college buildings on account of increased attend-
ance of students. The number in attendance the past
session was 167, being 25 more than any previous ses-
sion at Ashland. Amount of fees, $7,652.30; amount
remitted to privileged students, $6,182.50; amount re-
ceived from the Virginia and Baltimore Conferences,
$2,682.33. This was a gratifying result.
Available assets, $58,729 65
Assets not now available, 24,603 67
Total, $83,333 32
Liabilities, 23,216 49
Resolutions commending the Agent for his work were
adopted, and pledging the support of the Board to him in
his work.
The absence of the two oldest members of the Board,
viz., Bishop John Early and D'Arcy Paul, Esq., on ac-
count of age and feebleness, were noted by suitable reso-
lutions.
President Duncan, in his annual report, said: " It is
specially gratifying that I can congratulate the Board on
the plan of fiscal management adopted at your last meet-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 219
ing. The experience of the last twelve months has
demonstrated the wisdom of your action, and the same
illustrating your good fortune in securing an officer
whose efficiency in a most laborious task merits your
high commendation. . . . '. The large number of stu-
dents have been generally studious and well behaved, a
large proportion of them are Christians, and thirty-two
are candidates for the ministry. During the year the
reputation of the College has extended, and its patronage
steadily increased. Both the patronizing Conferences
manifest increasing interest in the College."
The degree of A. M., on recommendation of the Fac-
ulty, was conferred on Charles Carroll, of North Caro-
lina.
Mr. Jordan W. Lambert, on behalf of the Building
Committee of the Literary Societies, reported the Hall
building as completed, at a cost of $12,954.40, on which
the committee had raised $7,093.30, leaving a balance
still due, $5,861.10.
A committee appointed to consider this report sub-
mitted the following :
"Your committee, after a full conference with the
committee of the two Societies, submit a proposition
made by them to secure from the Board of Trustees the
necessary amount to discharge the existing obligations
of the Societies, which proposition is made the basis of
this report, and is most heartily recommended to the
favorable consideration of the Board.
" It may be proper to state, in connection with this re-
port, that the committee submitted in detail the accounts
with the various persons from whom they had secured
material, both by donation and purchase, and also the
correspondence with various friends of education both
North and South, all of which was most gratifying to
220 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
your committee, as they exhibited on their face the evi-
dence of great energy, system, and tact, which not only
reflects credit on themselves, but also on the Societies
represented by the committee as well as the College itself.
" In consideration of the' foregoing facts, we offer for
adoption the following resolution :
' ' Resolved, That the proper officers of the College pro-
ceed at once to raise $5,700, and if it be necessary, they
be authorized to create a lien upon the property referred
to, to secure the payment of principal and interest, and
the Financial Secretary be instructed to pass over the
amount thus raised to the Building Committee, to be
used by them in liquidating the obligations created in
the erection o£ the hall."
Accompanying this report was the following paper :
" ASHLAND, V A., fane 27, 1872.
"In consideration of $5,700 to be advanced by the
Board of Trustees of Randolph- Macon College, the Wash-
ington and Franklin Societies will undertake and pledge
themselves to use their best efforts to pay $1,000 annually
upon the principal until the whole amount is liquidated,
interest to be paid by the Board of Trustees. It is un-
derstood and agreed that if the Board of Trustees should
find it necessary to create a lien upon the property to
raise the amount so advanced, they will not in any way
bind the furniture of the two Societies.
(Signed) "T. W. LAMBERT, ^
,t, „ TTT f Committee
"F. C. WOODWARD, >
,,~ _, ~ V /*..£». «J.
R. E. BLACKWELL, )
"CHARLES CARROLL, -i
"HERBERT M. HOPE,
Committee
"W. B. PAGE, ,,
"H. C. PAULETT,
"JOHN M. BURTON,
TSTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 221
Fo show the appreciation of the work done by the So-
cieties, the Board, on motion of Rev. A. W. Wilson,
adopted the following :
' ' Resolved, That the President be instructed to express
in the chapel, during the public exercises of the day,
the Board's appreciation of the energy and zeal of the
Literary Societies in the erection of the Library building,
and that the Secretary furnish the Societies with a copy
of the action of the Board. ' '
In the chapel the same day Maj. Sutherlin pledged the
Board to a subscription of $500 towards the Library Hall.
The above record in relation to this worthy and re-
markable effort — one that has found few, if any, parallels
in the history of colleges — is given at some length to
show the spirit of the young men of the period succeed-
ing the war, and also to stimulate a like spirit in the
young men who are now filling these halls and others
after them. Such an example seems to be needed at
this time to rekindle the interest in these most worthy
Societies, which is not as great as it formerly was, and
as it should be.
At this meeting Major William T. Sutherlin, of Dan-
ville, who had manifested his interest in the College by
agreeing to pay three hundred dollars annually towards
the current expenses of the College for five years, sub-
mitted the following proposition :
" To the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macou College:
' ' I propose to place in your hands good eight per cent,
securities to the amount of four hundred dollars ($400),
the interest to be collected by you, and invested in a
suitable medal, to be presented at each annual com-
mencement to the best orator • connected with the college
who shall contend for the same, to be decided by three
competent judges who have no official connection with
222 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the College, to be selected by yourselves, whose decision
shall be final. The fund hereby donated shall be held
by you and appropriated to the above purpose in per-
petuity, and to no other. Respectfully,
(Signed) "W. T. SUTHERLIN."
On motion of Rev. A. W. Wilson —
' ' Resolved, That the proposition be accepted, and that
the thanks of the Board be returned to Major Sutherlin
for the generous donation, and that the medal be styled
the Sutherlin Prize Medal for Oratory. ' '
Rev. A. G. Brown, Financial Secretary, made the fol-
lowing review of the financial operations of the year :
" i. That the current expenses of this session have
been promptly and fully paid to June ist.
"2. That means are in hand to meet obligations to
July i st.
"3. That we rely principally upon the assessments
and special donations to the College for the succeeding
three months.
' ' 4 That the assets of the College have been improved
in value and in the amount of interest they yield.
"5. That the liabilities have been materially reduced.
"6. That the financial interests of the College are
freed from legal or legislative embarrassments.
"These are gratifying results. I mention them for
your infor-mation and encouragement. They are the
sign of a better" day. Let us consecrate ourselves to this
noble^ institution, and, with the blessing of God on our
duty faithfully performed, we may expect to see it what
it ought to be in the scope of its usefulness and the de-
velopment of its resources, a strictly first-class College. . .
(Signed) "A. G. BROWN,
" Financial Secretary Randolph- Mac on College."
G. E. M. WALTON,
Founder of the Walton Greek Library.
MAJ. W. T. SUTHERLIN, ELECTFD TRUSTBF, 1860.
Founder of the Suthcrlin Prize for Oratory.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 223
This gratifying report, the best that had been submit-
ted for years, caused the Trustees to adjourn in a cheer-
ful mood.
A called meeting of the Board was held in Richmond
October 13, 1872. A letter was presented from Prof.
Thomas R. Price, which was as follows :
"Rev. James A. Duncan, President:
" DEAR SIR, — As Professor of Greek in our College, I
feel great pleasure in informing you, and through you
the Board, of the noble act of generosity by which Mr.
George E. M. Walton, of Hanover county, Va., has plan-
ned a lasting benefit to the School of Greek.
" Mr. Walton was, as you know, the father of Mr.
Andrew Minor Walton, who, with rare learning and
diligence, discharged until his death, in September, 1871,
the duties of Assistant Greek Professor in Randolph-
Macon College. In order, then, to foster in the College
the studies that his son loved so well, and at the same
time to keep alive in the College history and traditions
the memory of that son, Mr. Walton has offered to give
to Randolph- Macon College the sum of one thousand
dollars to create and endow what shall be called the
Walton Greek Library. This donation Mr. Walton de-
sires to see, without delay, put into the proper legal
form. His own wishes and intentions, as given to me
in conversation, are :
"i. That the money shall, in consultation between
him and the agents of the College, be securely and per-
manently invested.
"2. That ten dollars of the annual income shall be
used to buy, in the shape of a valuable Greek book, or
other appropriate gift, as the Faculty may decide, a prize
that shall be called the Walton Greek Prize, and be-
stowed on the student that, in the judgment of the Fac-
224 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ulty, has made during the session the best progress in
Greek studies.
•'3. That the remainder of the income arising from the
investment of the fund shall be annually expended, under
such regulations as the Board and Faculty may estab-
lish, in the purchase of Greek books, including the texts
of Greek authors, Greek lexicons, Commentaries on
Greek authors, works on Greek history, Geography,
Grammar, antiquities, etc., and all direct auxiliaries to
Greek study, to form a special and distinct collection, to
be called the Walton Greek Library.
"4. That this Library shall be carefully guarded by
the College authorities and secure adequate protection
from theft and fire.
"There is visible in this act of Mr. Walton no less
wisdom than of generosity and tenderness. The helps
to the successful carrying on of Greek study are becom-
ing year by year more numerous and more masterly, but,
unluckily, more costly, too. To use them is indeed ne-
cessary for every earnest student, but to buy them is
oft-times to the student impossible. To meet this neces-
sity is the object of Mr. Walton's gift, while his prize
will serve to stimulate and reward Greek study ; in all
the classes of our school the Library will, year after year,
as it widens, open to students that are more advanced
the treasures of Greek learning.
" Being sure that you will feel the same pleasure that
I feel in this wisely-devised increase to our means of
education, I ask you to make Mr. Walton's purpose
known to the Board, and to have the proper measures
taken for the consummation of the gift.
"With great respect, your obedient servant,
"THOMAS R. PRICE,
"Professorof Greek."
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 225
The donation of Mr. Walton was accepted with thanks,
and an order was made to carry out his intentions as
speedily as possible.
It may be stated here that this fund was safely in-
vested, and the annual proceeds, from the year of its
establishment, have been applied, as directed, in annual
prizes and the purchase of books, until, at this writing,
the collection has become imposing and very valuable.
The first prize was awarded June, 1872, to R. E. Black-
well, of Virginia.
The College year 1872-73 was remarkable in the
patronage and financial outcome. The number of stu-
dents was 234, the largest in the history of the College
up to that year. The receipts for fees amounted to
$11,220: Conference educational collections, $3,411.
The excess of current receipts over current expenses re-
ported, for the first time in the history of the College,
went towards needed improvements of the property and
reduction of debts of other years. Available assets were
reported at $74,610; liabilities, $26,377 — net assets,
$48,233. This exhibit, made by Rev. A. G. Brown,
Financial Secretary, was highly gratifying to the Board,
so long accustomed to discouraging reports.
Of the 234 students, 44 were studying with a view to
the ministry, and 29 sons of ministers.
The honorary degree of D. D., on recommendation of
the Faculty, was conferred on the following : Rev. John
C. Wills, president of Central College, Missouri ; Rev.
Alpheus W. Wilson, of the Baltimore Conference; Rev.
John D. Blackwell, of the Virginia Conference.
The degree of A. M. was conferred on Franklin C.
Woodward, of Virginia.
The " Sutherlin Medal for Oratory" was awarded
Franklin C. Woodward, of Virginia.
15
226 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The "Walton Greek Prize" was awarded to Robert
Sharp, of Virginia.
An educational convention to devise plans to increase
the Endowment and Building funds of the College was
held in Richmond, April, 1874. The following plan was
adopted :
FRANKLIN C. WOODWARD, A. M., D. D.,
Sutherlin Medalist, 1873 ; President South Carolina. College.
"I. That delegates shall be appointed (by the com-
mittee under item III.), consisting of one layman and
one preacher in each district, whose duty it shall be to
present the subject to the several District Conferences at
their meetings during the summer and fall of this year,
and take up collections for this object, and that the pre-
siding elders be requested to arrange the exercises of
their district meetings so as to secure one whole day for
the interests of Randolph-Macon College.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 227
" II. That we earnestly solicit the co-operation of the
presiding elders in this great work, and request the ap-
pointment of meetings in the several pastoral charges, in
which this cause shall be presented and collections taken.
PROF. W. M. BASKERVILLE, PH. D.,
I'anderbiit University,
"III. That a committee be appointed, who shall at-
tend these meetings, take up collections, etc."
(Committee: Rev. J. A. Duncan, D. D., Rev. A. G.
Brown, and Richard Irby, Esq.)
It was resolved that a committee be appointed to ma-
ture a plan for the further prosecution of this work, and
report to an adjourned meeting at Ashland in June, 1874.
It was resolved that any contributor of $20,000 shall
have the privilege of naming a professorship in the Col-
lege.
228 HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
It does not appear on the record that any direct and
decided benefit resulted from this convention, but it kept
the subject before the people, and doubtless bore good
fruit in after times.
At the annual meeting, June, 1874, it was found that,
t&^f "•'
JOHN T. MOORE,
Of the I'irginia Conference : Sutherlin Medalist, 1874.
by inadvertence, the amendment to the charter approved
April 9, 1874, contained a clause which read as follows :
" § 14. That the said Board of Trustees shall never be
less than twenty -four nor more than forty-four, one of
whom shall be elected by the Board president thereof;
provided, also, that no member of the Faculty or Board
of Instruction in the College shall be a member of the
Board of Trustees."
Trustee 18413 President Board of Trustees /S~.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 229
This vacated the office of the president of the Board,
inasmuch as Dr. Duncan was a member of the Faculty.
Steps were taken to have the above clause stricken out
by the Legislature.
. To the office thus vacated Thomas Branch, Esq., of
Richmond, Va., was elected. He was the only layman
ever elected to that office.
GEORGE MERRITT NOLLEY, A. M.
Mr. Branch had been a trustee for thirty years. He
was one of the most zealous and constant friends the
College had. His donations to the College had been fre-
quent and liberal. He had been largely instrumental in
having the College moved to Ashland. Recognizing
the faithful service and devotion of Mr. Branch to the
College, the Board thus unanimously elected him presi-
dent. At the same time Rev. Alpheus W. Wilson, of
23o HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the Baltimore Conference, was unanimously elected vice-
president.
The attendance of students for the closing year had
been 235, one in excess of the previous year's number.
In the record of this year the regular report of the
President and Faculty is not found, though doubtless one
was made.
On the recommendation of the Faculty, the following
degrees were conferred :
A. M. — George Merritt Nolley, of Virginia ; Robert
Emory Blackwell, of Virginia.
D. D. — Rev. C. Green Andrews, of Mississippi ; Rev.
William A. Harris, President of the Wesleyan Female
Institute, Staunton, Va.
On motion of Rev. J. C. Granbery, the following was
adopted :
" Whereas, since the last annual meeting of the Board the
venerated Bishop John Early, for many years the president
of the Board, has been taken from us by death : therefore,
' ' Resolved, That in the death of Bishop John Early
the College has lost one of its most zealous, faithful and
useful friends, and the Board of Trustees one of its most
honored and efficient members. ' '
His term of service (1830-1874) was the longest on
record.
The School of English, under Prof. Price, had shown
"great progress, and had become the most popular of all
in the College, evidenced by the fact that out of 235 stu-
dents, 191 took the English course.
The report of the Financial Secretary gave the follow-
ing items :
Assets, $72,496 47
Liabilities 21,538 12
Net balance .$50,958 35
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 231
This exhibit of the finances was particularly favorable
and gratifying when it is remembered that the country
had in the past year passed through one of the severest
financial panics ever known, a panic whose withering
effects on business did not cease for many years. The
College, in common with all other enterprises requiring
the use of money, felt the effects of it, and it might be
said that it felt it for nearly a score of years.
A called meeting of the Board was held in Richmond
during the session of the Virginia Conference, Novem-
ber, 1874. This meeting was held to bring the College
more particularly to the attention of the Conference with
a view of enlisting its members in a hearty effort to
raise $50,000, to be used in increasing the facilities
of the College, specially in buildings and appara-
tus.
The action of the Trustees was laid before the Confer-
ence, and the following action was taken thereon :
" i . That we will seek to raise within the bounds of
the Virginia Conference $50,000 for the College, to be
expended in the erection of suitable buildings under the
direction of the Board.
"2. That the Joint Board of Finance apportion this
amount among the districts of the Conference.
"3. That all the preachers be solicited to do their
utmost to secure the full amounts apportioned to their
respective districts."
At the annual meeting of the Board, held June, 1875,
the announcement was made of the death of two of its
most useful and venerable members, viz., D'Arcy Paul,
of Petersburg, and Rev. Henry B. Cowles, of the Vir-
ginia Conference.
It would be meet and right to give the tributes paid to
these Trustees, so worthy of them, if space allowed.
232 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The first had served most faithfully for a period of
thirty-five years, and the- other thirty-three.
The annual report of the Financial Secretary was not
so satisfactory as to. current receipts, the number of stu-
dents at the College having fallen down to 215, instead
of 235. There had been deficiencies in other items.
All these deficiences were caused, in the main, by the
financial condition of the country, which was so sadly
affected by the panic of 1873. There were some cheer -
JAMES B. PACE,
Trustee^ and Founder of race Hail.
ing signs, however, to offset these deficiencies. The
largest donation ever made to the College up to this time
had been received the past year. This was made by
Mr. James B. Pace, of Richmond, Va., viz., $10,000 in
Virginia State bonds. This was given to build the Pace
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH MACON COLLEGE. 233
Lecture Hall, a building so much needed, and which is
now, and will be for years to come, a monument to the
liberal donor.
Another donation of $5,000 was made by the old and
fast friend of the College, Thomas Branch, president of
the Board; by others, $808.50— total, $15,808.50.
PACE HALL.
The financial statement for this year is given in the
comparative statement furnished by the Financial'Secre-
tary in his annual report :
• Assets. Liabilities. Balance.
1872, $58,729 65 $23,216 49 $35,513 16
1873 74.6n 13 26,377 14 48,233 99
1874 -. . . . 72,496 47 31,538 12 50,958 35
1875, 91,660 78 20,974 36 70,686 42
Increase, 995 per cent.
The degree of Master of Arts was conferred on John
W. Redd, of Virginia.
Rev. A. G. Brown reported the building by him as a
private enterprise of the hotel near the southwest corner
of the campus. This was a much-needed improvement.
Notwithstanding the increase in assets during the year,
234 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the current receipts were not sufficient to meet current
expenses.
At this meeting Rev. John C. Granbery, who had
served the Board faithfully as secretary since 1868, re-
signed the position, on account of his having accepted a
professorship at the Vanderbilt University. He also
resigned his place as Trustee of the College.
JOHN B. WARDLAW,
Of Georgia ; Sutherlin Medalist, 1874. •
Rev. Paul Whitehead was elected to succeed him as
trustee and secretary, and he has been secretary of the
Board from that meeting to the present time (1898).
At a called meeting of the Board in October, 1875,
President Duncan informed the Board that the condition
of his health was such that he felt unable to do the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 235
heavy work devolved on him. An arrangement was
therefore made to lighten his duties, and he was re-
quested to travel as much as practicable in the interest of
the College.
At an adjourned meeting of the Board, held Novem-
ber, 1875, Rev. A. G. Brown, Financial Secretary, ten-
JOHN W. REU1), A. M, 1875.
Prof. Centre College, Ky.
dered his resignation. A portion of his letter is here
given, partly as history, and in justice to him :
"That my labors have not been more efficient, I deeply
regret, yet in what has been accomplished I am not
without cause for gratitude to God, to whose merciful
kindness I am infinitely indebted.
"The assets of the College have been increased in
value about one hundred per cent. ; nearly fifteen thou-
336 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
sand dollars of its debt has been paid ; valuable additions
and improvements have been made to the grounds and
buildings ; the State stock owned by the College has been
materially increased in value ; the annual deficit on ac-
count of current expenses, ranging from twenty-five
hundred to three thousand dollars a year, has been pro-
vided for ; all claims for interest on College debts, amount-
REV. PAUL WHITEHEAD, D. D.,
Secretary Board of Trustees, iSjj-'gS.
ing to about eighteen hundred dollars per annum, have
been promptly paid ; the salaries of the professors and
employees have been paid in full to October ist, as well
as all bills on current account. In no instance has the
credit of the College been allowed to suffer. Its business
has been systematized so as to be easily understood.
The patronage of the College has been largely increased ;
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH- MACON COLLEGE. 337
its interests have been faithfully represented in the
patronizing Conferences I have never hesitated
to use my personal means and influence in financial cir-
cles whenever exigencies required my so doing. Mean-
while the country has passed through a period of unpre-
cedented financial depression. The wisest schemes have
failed; the ample fortunes of wealthy citizens and corpo-
rations have been swept away ; the active industries of
the country have been fearfully impaired, and the shrink-
age in the marketable value of property of all descrip-
tions has scarcely been less than one-third. This sad
condition of business, without a parallel in the history
of this country, has seriously hindered all our efforts in
behalf of the College. I have done what I could. That
I have not accomplished more has not resulted from any
lack of love or zeal for the College, but is mainly refer-
able to the mysterious adversity which has come upon us.
" In resigning my office as Financial Secretary, I do
not abate one jot or tittle of my interest in the College.
No ! I love the College as I love the church ; and fidelity
to the church enjoins upon me and upon all fidelity to
the interests of this institution. Be assured of my hearty
prayers and co-operation in the future as in the past. As
a member of this Board, I shall stand shoulder to
shoulder with you to make Randolph-Macon a perma-
nent and ever-increasing blessing to church and state."
The following resolution, offered by Rev. Paul White-
head, was then adopted :
"Resolved, That the resignation of Rev. A. G. Brown
as Financial Secretary be accepted, to take effect Decem-
ber i, 1875, and that the Board hereby express their
appreciation of the fidelity, ability, and integrity with
which he has discharged the duties of his office."
This resolution was not any too flattering. It may be
333 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
truly said that it is doubtful whether any man in the
Conference could have brought the College through the
trying period of the panic as well as the late Financial
Secretary .
It was "Resolved, That the presiding bishop be re-
quested to appoint at the ensuing Virginia Conference an
agent for the College."
WALTER H. PAGE,
Of North Carolina ; Sutherlin Medalist ; Editor Atlantic Monthly.
At an adjourned meeting held at Danville, November,
1875, the Board abolished the office of Financial Secre-
tary.
William Willis, Jr., of Richmond, was appointed
Treasurer, and Prof. William A. Shepard, Proctor.
At the request of the Board, the Bishop appointed
Rev. Thomas A. Ware, agent.
HIS'TOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 239
At the annual meeting in June, 1876, the Building
Committee reported the Pace Lecture Hall as being about
half completed, with funds on hand to meet expenses of
completion. This was the second brick building erected
on the campus.
The following received the degree of A. M. : John M.
Burton, of Virginia; Howard Edwards, of Virginia;
Robert Sharp, of Virginia ; R. Bascom Smithey, of Vir-
ginia.
The President, in his annual report, does not give the
statistics as to the number of students in attendance, but
the catalogue for the year gives it as 167. He, evidently
regarding this as the last he would make, takes the occa-
sion to speak in the kindest and most commendatory
terms of his associates of the Faculty. He was on the
most cordial terms with them, and his kindly regard was
fully reciprocated. Referring to his resignation, which
he was about to tender, he said :
' ' And now I approach a matter which it gives me very
great pain to announce. Many reasons combine to make
it best, however, that I take the step now ; but these
reasons I do not propose to open for discussion, because
I have become satisfied and decided in my convictions.
"I have worked earnestly, in all good conscience,
before God for eight years to promote the cause of Chris-
tian education in connection with Randolph-Macon Col-
lege ; nor have I spared myself till my health demanded
it. I have done what I could. Eight years ago, in a
critical moment in the history of the College, your flat-
tering representations of the service you believed I might
render to Christian education induced me to sacrifice my
own inclinations and to accept the presidency of Ran-
dolph-Macon.
"What has been done is too well known to you to
240 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
make it necessary for me to recount the familiar fac.
My rejoicing in it all is the blessing the College has
been to our young men, and the fact that, by abundant
labors, I have also had a personal share in the rebuilding
and re-establishing an institution whose work is its best
witness. In God's providence these labors have, I trust,
been blessed unto permanent good.
" But in the meanwhile I have found that to repeat or
continue them would/ be a tax on my health and strength
too great for me to bear. I am fully satisfied that the
confining duties of College life are entirely incompatible
with my future health and consequent usefulness ; but I
cannot consent to be a nominal president of an institu-
tion whose funds are not sufficient for the support of all
the active officers she needs. When invitations to more
lucrative positions were extended to me I have not en-
tertained them for a'' moment, simply because I could not
allow my duty, as a minister of Christ, in relation to this
work to be governed by monetary considerations. But
now, when unembarrassed by any invitations whatever,
after calm reflection on all the reasons which favor or
oppose it, after careful and prayerful meditation upon it
as a question of duty as under God's guidance, I am
fully persuaded that the moment has come when I may
and ought dutifully to return to the position I formerly
occupied as a preacher in the church of God. This con-
-viction is too firmly and clearly fixed for me to alter it at
present.
' ' I hardly need to say that my devotion to the College
is unchanged. My readiness to do whatever I can to
advance its welfare, I know you will believe and appre-
ciate. Therefore, most respectfully, with the warmest
wishes for your success personally and officially, I feel it
my duty to tender my resignation as President of Ran-
REV. JOHN D. BLACKWELL, D. D.,
Vice-President Board of Trustees, and President El'Ct, 1877.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 241
dolph-Macon College. This I propose shall take effect
at the beginning of the next session, or at the meeting
of the Virginia Conference.
' ' With many prayers for the prosperity of the great
cause, which I must now serve less efficiently, but not
less earnestly, and with immutable love for Randolph -
Macon, I am, most respectfully and sincerely yours,
4 ' JAMES A. DUNCAN."
The resignation of President Duncan was most reluc-
tantly accepted, with resolutions of highest regard for
him personally and commendation of his great services
to the College. It may be stated here that he continued
to act as president in the interval between the annual
meeting and the adjourned meeting, held in Richmond,
July, 1876. At this meeting Rev. John D. Blackwell,
D. D., was elected President. He declined to accept the
office. At the adjourned meeting, in November, Dr.
Duncan was re-elected, and he consented to serve again,
under the most pressing solicitation of the Board and the
evident urgency of the case.
It has been said that "coming events cast their shadows
before." So this resignation of Dr. Duncan, on account
of the consciousness of failing health, was a shadow, and
a very dark one it was, of the event of the coming year,
which was to cause mourning in all Southern" Methodism
and in regions beyond.
The annual meeting adjourned, in sadness and gloom,
to meet again in Richmond, July 25th.
The financial condition was not satisfactory, and the
old embarrassment of former years was again felt.
At the adjourned meeting, held in Richmond, Va.,
July 25, 1876, the resignations of Professors Thomas R.
Price and James A. Harrison were tendered. Professor
16
242 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Price had been elected to the chair of Greek at the Uni-
versity of Virginia, and Prof. Harrison to the chair of
Latin at Washington and Lee University.
Changes were made in the chairs to be filled, viz., one
to be that of English and Modern Languages, and the
other that of Latin and Greek. To fill the first Robert
Emory Black well, A. M., was elected, and to the other
Prof. Charles Morris, M. A., of the University of Georgia.
PROF. R. E. BLACKWELL, A. M.
Prof. Blackwell was in Europe at the time, taking a
course at Leipzig. He took his degree of Master of
Arts in 1874. He had served as assistant in the School
of English under Prof. Price, and was recommended by
him in the highest terms. He was the first of Prof.
Price's graduates, of a long list, to be elected to a chair of
English.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 243
Prof. Morris was, when elected, Professor of Latin and
Greek at the University of Georgia. He, also, was highly
commended to the Board by Prof. Price, who was a fel-
low-student with him at the University of Virginia. A
more whole-souled, ingenuous man never lived than he,
and his character was beaming from his face. Though a
CHARLES MORRIS, M. A.,
Professor of Greek and Latin, i8jt>-l882.
member of the Episcopal church, he threw his whole
soul into the religious work of the College, and no one
would have known that he was not a member of the
Methodist church.
The scale of salaries was changed. The salary of the
President was fixed at $2,000 : of professors, $1,600.
Dr. T. H. Bagwell was elected College physician, in
place of Dr. H. M. Houston, resigned.
244 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
In parting with Prof. Price, the Board expressed for
him the kindest and highest appreciation of his long and
distinguished services. Complimentary resolutions were
also adopted in regard to Prof. Harrison.
As a part of a great educational advance, the following
extract is given from Professor Price's letter of resigna-
tion :
' ' You have used me to do one piece of work that was
so bold, and timely, and wise as to draw the attention of
educated men throughout America to our College, and to
win for your system of education the hearty applause of
all that love the culture of our young men.
' ' In establishing the chair of English you have taken
a bold step and wise innovation. You have pushed the
whole system of Virginia education distinctly forward,
and you have given to your system of collegiate educa-
tion a firm basis in the needs of our people. I have felt
the sweetest joy of my life to have been permitted to
help in this great work. I have seen the School of Eng-
lish, from session to session, bear richer fruits in the de-
velopment of our whole student class and in the grow-
ing power of the College over the educated opinion of
the State. I beseech you now, in parting from you, to
take the chair of English under your fostering care, not
only to uphold it, but to develop and expand it as the
characteristic and special glory of the College, and to
bring it to pass that every alumnus of Randolph-Macon
College shall be, to his own benefit and to your honor, as
soundly and correctly educated as man ought to be in the
knowledge and use of his mother tongue."
At this meeting Dr. W. W. Bennett, chairman of the
Building Committee, announced to the Board the com-
pletion of the Pace Lecture building, at a cost of about
$ 1 1,000.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 245
At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees, held
June, 1877, the reports made by the President and Trea-
surer showed great embarrassment in financial matters,
which, as a matter of course, affected the prompt pay-
ment of salaries to the members of the Faculty.
The patronage for the year was reported to be 132.
FROF. W. A. FRANTZ, A. M.,
Prof. English, Central College, Missouri.
The degree of A. M. was conferred on William Abner
Frantz, of Virginia.
At the June meeting, 1877, Thomas Branch, Esq., re-
signed the office of president of the Board. Resolutions
of regret at his action, and expressive of the kind regard
of the Trustees towards him, were adopted.
Dr. J. A. Duncan was elected to fill the vacancy.
246 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
William Willis, Jr., resigned the office of Treasurer of
the Board on account of ill-health and defective eyesight.
This was accepted with great reluctance by the Board,
and resolutions of sympathy for him in his afflictions
and thanks for his faithful service were adopted.
Prof. W. A. Shepard was elected Treasurer pro tempore,
When the Board adjourned, it closed its last meeting
in connection with the president who had inaugurated
the College at Ashland, and had presided over it for
nine years.
A few days after the opening of the session of 1877-
1878 he passed away, after a brief illness. The record
of the Journal made by the Secretary, and enclosed in
black lines, is as follows :
On Monday, September 24, 1877, at 4 o'clock
A. M., Rev. JAMES A. DUNCAN, D. D., President of
Randolph-Macon College, died at the President's
house, Ashland, Va., after a brief illness. On
Tuesday, the 25th, a brief funeral service was con-
ducted in the College chapel by Rev. Leroy M.
Lee, D. D. ; after which the corpse was conveyed
by a special train to Richmond. Funeral service
conducted at Broad-Street Church by Bishop D. S.
Doggett, D. D.; a procession formed to Holly-
wood, and the body of this faithful and illustrious
servant of God buried there, in the hope of a glo-
rious resurrection.
This writer was a student at Randolph-Macon when
Dr. Duncan was a little boy, not yet in his teens. He
was then as full' of fun and mischief as a boy could be,
which, with his sprightliness, made him an uncommonly
interesting boy. He was a scholar in the first Sunday-
HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 247
school class he ever taught, and along with him were Dick
and Gib Leigh and Dick Manson. He was intimately
associated with him in re-establishing the College at Ash-
land, he beginning his presidency, with this writer as
treasurer and chairman of the Executive Committee.
Then, from 1870 to his last illness, he sat under his min-
istry in the old ball-room chapel, whose walls echoed to
WILBUR F. TILLETT, A. B., D. t).,
Sutherlin Medalist, 1877 ; Dean Theological Faculty, Vanderbilt University.
the tones of his wondrous voice, such as cathedrals
rarely, if ever, have heard. This ought to render him
competent, in part, to write of this most gifted man.
But others have written tributes so much better and
worthier of the subject that he will let them speak. The
first tribute to him was given by Prof. Thos. R. Price,
LL. D., who has more than once expressed to this
248 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
writer the great retnissness of the Methodist Church in
not having had prepared a memoir of one of its greatest
preachers and wisest men.
The following is Prof. Price's sketch of Dr. James A.
Duncan :
"THE GREAT PREACHER."
" The bitterest hour for them that mourn their dead is
not when the breath rattles in the throat nor when the
clod rattles on the coffin. It comes when, after all the
stir and turmoil of death and funeral are over, the family
go back to the ravaged home, and grope their ways,
blinded with tears, through the rooms that the dead man
has left forever empty. Not even the sudden jar of the
final separation strikes so deep a wound as the growing
sense of loss, as the accumulating despair of unsatisfied
longing. So, in all the many regions where Dr. Dun-
can, the great apostle of Virginia, was known and loved,
the deepest grief was not felt when all those thousands
followed the hearse and sobbed around the open grave
under the stars at Hollywood. A deeper sorrow comes
to us now, after taking up again the task of life, when
we feel, amid our pleasures and our business, that the
great advocate of God, who lived Christ among us as
sublimely as he preached him, has been withdrawn for-
ever from among the potencies of our time; when we
remember that, in evil days, when many bad men are
seeking to break down the honesty and to dull the moral
sense of the Virginia people, we are left without the
mighty aid of that one man who knew best of all how
to stir the hearts and to guide the acts of our people to
good. Yet with the calmness of the deeper sorrow
comes, too, the calmness to think out the secret of the
dead man's power over the great masses of the Southern
people, for that power was one that reached far outside of
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 249
his church and of all churches deep down into the moral
life of Virginia. Thus even for us laymen, for us that
have no right to preach and no theology to teach, the
character of this wonderful man has an abiding interest.
It is worth while for us all to know what were the means
by which he worked. As his life did such immense
good to so many thousands of our people, the contem-
plation, and, if possible, the understanding, of that life,
can hardly fail to do good to the great communities that
are now mourning for him.
" On the first meeting with Dr. Duncan, were it only
a hurried talk at a street-corner or a few minutes' con-
versation on a railway train, the first impression that
came to the stranger from his sweet eyes and tender lips
was the sense of a strange and overpowering love and
loveableness in the man. The face and voice stole their
way to the heart and mastered the affections. All the
children were drawn to his caressing hands by a charm
that their little hearts could not withstand. The negro
servants in the houses that he visited could be seen to
hang upon his words and to strive to catch his smile.
The belle of the springs, on her way to the ball-room ;
the roughest mountaineer loafing on the skirts of a
camp-meeting ; boys and old men, the ignorant and the
educated, had to yield themselves to the fascination of
the fresh and guileless love that emanated from his
beaming eyes and tender, penetrating voice. Whether
he was moving with his exquisite grace, smiling and
talking, through a parlor, or standing all aglow in his
passionate eloquence beside his pulpit ; whether he spoke
to one man, soul to soul, in the quiet of his study, or
faced the thousands of eyes that looked up to him from
a great city church, or from the green hillsides of a rus-
tic amphitheatre, the power that went forth from him,
250 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
winning all hearts and softening all hardness, was the
power of an exquisitely loveable nature, giving love
richly and pleading for love in return. But as you lis-
tened to him, as you watched the play of his mobile fea-
tures, and took in the rich, sweet tones of his voice, this
first impression of the man's intense loveableness was
deepened by the impression of his marvellous intellectual
power. The shrewdness of his observation, the pene-
trating keenness of his intelligence, the splendid preci-
sion of his thought and of his utterance, took instanta-
neous possession of the hearer's mind. His knowledge
of human character as men moved before him, his ready
insight into the tangled web of human motives, was
almost infallible. In spite of his boundless charity and
graciousness, he was a man that could not be deceived
or cheated. He took men in at a glance. The smile
that curled around his lips, the light that sparkled in his
eyes, showed to the dullest, as to the wiliest, that the
secrets of their character were seen, that the very depths
of their soul lay unveiled before him. Thus, when you
talked with him, you were sure to feel that, while his
love opened his heart to you, his intellect opened yours
to him. In managing men, above all, in wielding the
discipline of a college, the amazing quickness and pene-
tration of his intellect made him the fittest of all men to
control both character and conduct. The offender who
came to hide his sin beneath a lie, found the lie impossi-
ble, and flung himself with passionate tears upon the
love of the man that both understood and pitied his
weakness. Even in great audiences, when he spoke to
thousands of God and goodness, the veils of self-decep-
tion fell away before the glances that he shot into the
souls of men. In all the history of Christianity no man
ever pleaded for Christ before men with a mightier con-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 251
trol over the secrets of human hearts, with a sharper
penetration into the weakness and badness of each
human soul. It was this union of moral with intellec-
tual force, this union of the attractive power of love with
the penetrative power of understanding, that gave to
Dr. Duncan his unrivalled and irresistible control over
the heart and intellect of the Virginia people. The
world is so bad that we are apt to confuse amiability
with silliness, and to see a sign of intellectual weakness
in a good man's love and care for his fellow-men. But
here, at least, it was one man as strong as he was good,
a man that joined to the charm of a tenderly loving
heart the power of a splendid genius and of an incisive
intelligence. Thus he rose on the hearts of men to be a
living power in our State and time. Thus to each man
that saw much of him, to every human being that was
exposed for long to the influence of his words and ac-
tions, the man, simple and kindly, and great in all his
deeds, shone forth as the revelation of a higher life, as
the proof and example of what Christ's teaching meant.
' ' The mystery both of the moral power and of the
intellectual power of this great man lay in his astound-
ing unselfishness ; for the egoistic habit of mind is a
hindrance not only to the moral- but also to the intellec-
tual progress of the man. A selfish regard for one's
own interests, the bad trait of regarding all things and
all men as subordinate to one's own designs, not only
deadens the moral sensibility, but it even distorts and
discolors all intellectual insight into the world. If we
fail to care for other men's good by being so busy about
our own, we fail equally to penetrate into their charac-
ters and to see the good and evil that is in them by being
unable to remove from bur intellectual vision the beam
of our own desires and designs. From all these obsta-
252 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
cles, to noble acting and to accurate thinking, Dr. Dun-
can was sublimely free. He had resigned himself so
fully into the hands of God that he had ceased abso-
lutely to care for his own advantage or to be perplexed
by the contemplation of his own aims. Thus he moved
through the annual courses of his serene and glorious
activity, preaching and teaching and helping all good
causes, with a mind unperverted from great things by
any care for little ones, with a soul ready for any sacri-
fice, and, what is harder still, ready to throw itself into
full and instantaneous sympathy with any soul that
opened to his approach. In all his dealings with men,
as friend with his friends, as preacher with his congre-
gations, as teacher with his pupils, the loveliness and
warmth of his affections were equalled only by the pli-
ability and penetration of his intellect, by his wisdom in
advising, by his discretion in helping.
' ' All the ordinary temptations to self-seeking fell off
powerless from the supreme unselfishness of his nature.
When the fame of his eloquence spread over many
States ; when he was acknowledged as the greatest orator
of his church, and, perhaps, of his country ; when the
richest churches of the greatest cities offered him vast
salaries to leave the struggling people and the impover-
ished college that he loved, he clung fast to poverty, and
put aside, without a struggle, the temptations of ease
and wealth. Even when temptation assailed him in
craftier forms ; when men told him of the mighty con-
gregations that New York or St. Louis or San Francisco
would pour forth to catch from him the words of life, he
said that ' he loved his own people best, and must stay
to help Virginia along.' Like his Master, he chose pov-
erty rather than riches ; like his Master, he chose to
work in a little village, among a small band of disciples,
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 253
rather than among the splendors and plaudits of cities ;
like his Master, he made of life one long series of
sweetly-borne self-sacrifices. Before the spectacle of
such sublime self -depression all words of common praise
are unseemly. But to them that lived with him, who
saw the great soul take up so bravely and bear so lov-
ingly the burthen of poverty, trouble, and suffering, the
life he led was a miracle of beauty and holiness, making
the world brighter and nobler by even the remembrance
of him.
"In his preaching, as in his life, the same blending
of love with wisdom, of childlike simplicity with manly
power, was revealed. There was no fierceness, no
affectation, no struggling after oratorical effects; but, as
the powers of his mind got into motion, as the thoughts
rolled on, clear and massive, the words and sentences
grew rich and lofty, the sweet voice swelled out into
organ tones, the small and graceful figure swayed to the
pulsations of his thought, and the beautiful face glowed
with all the illumination of love. There was no theology
in his sermons, no polemical divinity in his conception
of divine truth. To love God, and to love men was for
him, as Christ taught him, the sum of all righteousness.
This power of love was the agency through which he
did his work in the world. As the warmth of the sun
controls all the processes of nature and commands all
the movements of the universe, so warmth of love, as
the central fact of God's moral government, was for him
the source of all power, the means of subduing all
wrong, and of bringing the world back into harmony
with God's laws.
' ' No human life ever lived in this world of ours was
attuned more fully to a loftier harmony. As we think
of all the good deeds he did, of all the wise words he
254 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
spoke, of his solemn yet tender warnings against evil, of
the love that charmed so many souls to do right, of the
sublime unselfishness that made his life a sacrifice to
other men's good, we can feel that to us, in our own
State, born of our own stock, in full sight of us all, a
man has been given to live for our good, as nearly as
man may, up to the life-story of the Christ himself.
" University of Virginia. T. R. PRICE."
The following is taken from the Minutes of the Vir-
ginia Conference, and was written by an old college
mate, Dr. J. C. Granbery, now bishop :
"James Armstrong Duncan was born in Norfolk, Va.,
April 14, 1830. He was dedicated to God from his birth
and trained in piety by his father, the venerable David
Duncan, who has been prominent through two genera-
tions in the education of the youth of the Southern
States, and who accepted the chair of Ancient Languages
in Randolph- Macon College while James was a child ;
and by his mother, a woman of saintly character, who
preceded her son by a few years to the heavenly land.
In his boyhood he was a universal favorite, and dis-
played the gifts of mind and genial spirit and grace of
manner which became so conspicuous in his riper years.
We may mention his overflowing humor and gaiety,
tempered with a kind and generous nature ; and a won-
derful power of mimicry, which furnished unbounded
amusement to his comrades, and, indeed, to persons of
mature age, but was never used to wound in feeling or
reputation. In 1847, during one of those gracious revi-
vals with which our church has been signally blessed
year after year, he sought and found Jesus. In one of
his latest and most effective sermons, he has described
his conversion and affirmed that the vow of consecration
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-AfACON COLLEGE. 255
then made had been the controlling principle of his min-
istry and the motive of those labors which his brethren
sometimes thought excessive.
' ' He was licensed to preach probably the next year.
The people of Mecklenburg still speak of his first ser-
mons, in which they saw the prophecy of his future
greatness. Having graduated in June, 1849, he was im-
mediately placed in charge of a society in Alexandria,
which had just organized in connection with the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South. From that hour his
popularity and success as a preacher and pastor began,
and they steadily waxed fuller and more lustrous until
his death quenched a star than which none shone with a
purer and more brilliant radiance in the whole firmament
of Methodism. A great revival attended his labors dur-
ing the few months before the session of our Conference,
and the prosperity of the church was secured. He was
kept on our northern border for nine years, in Fairfax,
Leesburg, Alexandria and Washington — everywhere be-
loved with enthusiasm, every where successful in his
ministry. Then followed nine years of faithful labor in
the city of Richmond. In 1857 he was sent to Trinity,
one of our oldest and most important stations. There
had come a crisis in the history of that church. Its pros-
perity was already impaired and seriously threatened by
the unfortunate location of the house of worship. The
young pastor soon had the building crowded with an
eager congregation. The eloquence of his discourses and
the charm of his social manners were a theme of general
comment throughout the city. Two series of sermons to
young men and women proved peculiarly attractive, and
resulted in extensive and lasting benefit. He took front
rank among the pulpit orators of the land. All denomi-
nations flocked to hear him, and delighted in his com-
256 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
pany and friendship. These honors he bore with modest
dignity and consecrated with godly simplicity to the ser-
vice of the Master. A little band from Trinity deter-
mined, under his leadership, to build a handsome and
commodious church on Broad street near the Capitol
Square. In 1859 he was appointed to this new charge,
and preached in a rented hall until the church was com-
pleted. It was dedicated in March, 1861, and, with the
exception of two years, he continued in pastoral charge
until the Conference of 1866. All this time his influence
widened and deepened. He was a power in that city.
When it became the capital of the Confederate States,
and was crowded with representatives from all parts of
the South, his faithful, spiritual, eloquent preaching en-
tranced, edified, encouraged, and impressed with a saving
efficacy an untold multitude, whose number eternity
must reveal. No man in our day has accomplished
more for Methodism or for the cause of Christ in the
capital of Virginia than James A. Duncan.
" In addition to his pastorate, he edited the Richmond
Christian Advocate from the fall of 1860 to the fall of
1866. With characteristic generosity he did this work
without money and price — a free-will offering to the
church, except the two years he devoted his whole time
to the paper. The readiness and versatility of his tal-
ents were admirably shown in this office, for, with many
other claims upon his time, he wrote not only the edito-
rials, but much of the most popular and enjoyable corre-
spondence with which the Advocate was enriched during
those years. Great curiosity was aroused to find out the
anonymous authors of series of letters published in the
paper; but few, if any, suspected that they came from
the fertile brain of the editor.
' ' Two years he was pastor of the Washington- Street
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 257
Church, in Petersburg. Such men as D' Arcy Paul loved
to speak of the rich spiritual feasts on which he fed them
from the .pulpit, and the no less precious influence of his
pastoral visits. In that city he suffered a severe spell of
nervous fever, his first illness since childhood.
"This brings us to a third era of nine years in his
eventful life. After the war Randolph- Macon College
re-opened and feebly struggled for life. Dr. Duncan
was among the strongest advocates of its removal from
Boydton to Ashland. The Board of Trustees resolved
on this critical movement in the summer of 1868. The
Faculty resigned, and an election was held to fill the
vacant places. Dr. Duncan was unanimously chosen
President. He signified promptly a disposition to accept
the responsible post, but demanded a few days in which
to carry the question in private prayer to the God whose
he was and whom he served. Repeatedly and emphati-
cally he declared the singleness of purpose with which
he entered on this office, and that he would not remain
one day in it if it were not for the conviction that
he was thereby serving most efficiently the church of
Christ.
"No one who knew the man doubted his sincerity
and simplicity of aim. He never sought self. He was
indifferent to wealth in a degree which some even cen-
sured as extreme. He served not ambition. The esteem
and approval of good men he must have prized, but
never, so far as we know, did he exhibit any undue con-
cern about such things. He belonged to Christ, and to
the church for Christ's sake. He went in the courage of
faith and the spirit of consecration to the College, and
devoted himself to the duties in the chair of Moral Phil-
osophy and in the presidency. The halls were filled
with a larger number of students than had ever sought
17
258 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
its advantages in its palmiest days before the war. He
governed by his personal influence, by the love and con-
fidence with which he inspired the young men, and
diligence and good behavior were the rule with rare
exceptions.
' ' The reputation of the institution for a high grade of
scholarship and thoroughness of culture was inferior to
that of no other college in the land. Young preachers,
often numbering more than forty in a single session, sat
under his special lectures in theology, and were moulded
by his example and his teaching. With the authority
of a prophet, with the gentleness of a father, he preached
to the students, week after week, the word of life, and
saw many of them accept with glad heart the yoke and
burden of Christ. In private they revealed to him all
that was in their hearts, and sought his sympathy and
counsel. In public, whatever the occasion on which he
spoke, they hung breathless on his lips, and received
what he said as if from an angel of God. Those who
have attended the Commencements can bear witness to
the outgushing of love, the wise and noble utterances,
the manly frankness and boldness, and the tenderness,
almost motherly, with which he bade those young men
farewell in unstudied words of genuine eloquence, and
the beaming faces, the streaming eyes, the thunders of
applause with which they responded. Nor were these
his only labors. Often during the sessions he hurried
off to preach in city or country at the call of the churches
of the Virginia and Baltimore Conferences, or in order to
raise money for the College. The summer vacation was
no rest to him, but his busiest period. Incessantly he
travelled through the two Conferences, speaking on
Christian education, and speaking at District Confer-
ences, at protracted and camp-meetings. He was in
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 259
labors more abundant, not sparing himself, never reluc-
tant to help in any good work. Everywhere he was
sought, everywhere he was welcome. Thousands ascribe
to him, under God, their first 'impulse to serve Christ,
their revival from a lukewarm and languishing state, or
their fuller consecration and seeking of a higher spiritual
life. We may safely affirm that no man of his own
generation has so powerfully impressed the religious
character of an equal number within the bounds of these
two Conferences as James A. Duncan. He was elected
to the General Conferences of 1866, 1870, and 1874.
That of 1870 he did not attend, his duties at the College
not allowing his absence. He lacked only a few votes
to be chosen bishop at that session, several delegates of
this body, who held him in high admiration, and thought
him in every way worthy of the honor, withholding
their votes because they believed him essential to Ran-
dolph-Macon College. From that time the mind of the
whole church turned to him as the fittest person to be
elected to the episcopacy. In 1876 he attended the Gen-
eral Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as
one of three fraternal messengers from our General Con-
ference, and his address on that occasion was marked by
its catholic spirit, fervent love for Christ, and grand and
thrilling eloquence.
"In the summer of 1874, exhausted by ceaseless toil of
travel and preaching, and exposed to a malarial atmos-
phere at a camp-meeting, he was seized with a fever, which
took a typhoid phase, and he lay for weeks at the point of
death. For one year he was scarcely fit for any work,
and though he afterwards rallied and resumed his course
of untiring labors, the seeds of disease lurked in his sys-
tem, and often developed in severe spells of sickness;
yet he worked on, cheerful, energetic, consumed with
26o HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
zeal. The past summer he spoke and preached with an
ardor, power, and success equal to his happiest efforts in
the years of his vigorous health. Sunday, September
the Qth, he was in Baltimore, to preach at the re-opening
of Trinity, and this he did in the forenoon with great
power, despite intense physical pain. On his return to
Ashland it was found that his jawbone was decayed,
and poison diffused throughout his frame. Erysipelas
attacked his face. His sufferings were great, but borne
with patience and sweetness. He sat up, however, a
part of each day, and seemed not to suspect that his end
drew near. Monday morning, the 24th, he fell asleep
in Jesus.
"Oh! the surprise, the shock, the grief of heart, the
sense of loss, the feeling of desolation, which that news
produced. Crowds attended his funeral at Broad-Street
Church, which, by a marble tablet, acknowledges him its
founder, and Bishop Doggett pronounced his eulogy.
Memorial services were held in Richmond, Petersburg,
and Baltimore. Resolutions of highest praise were
passed by Quarterly Conferences and by the faculties of
colleges and universities. The secular and religious
press honored his memory with heartfelt tributes ; but
all these honors fell far short of expressing the reverence
and love with which he is cherished in thousands of
hearts and thousands of homes. We yield to our sorrow
of personal bereavement, and then chide ourselves for
the selfishness when we ought to be grieving over the
loss to the church. We think with sadness and almost
with despondency of the bereavement of our College,
and Conference, and Church, and tears fill our eyes, and
a sword pierces our heart, at the unbidden suggestion of
the void in our own life which the death of this dear,
this noble friend and brother has made.
H1STOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 261
" We have said little of his private life. He was early
married to Miss T witty, of North Carolina, who for
many years proved a companion and helpmeet worthy of
such a man, and passed away in 1870. He married in
1873 Miss Wade, a daughter of a minister of the Balti-
more Conference, who ministered to him and comforted
him through the last years of his life, years of compara-
tive weakness and pain, and now mourns, yet in resigna-
tion and trust, his death. He leaves four children of
the first and one of the second marriage. The widow
and children have the deepest sympathies and fervent
prayers of this Conference.
"A few more words we must say about this loved
brother. He was a natural orator. Perhaps this remark
should be changed, not to abate its force, but to enlarge
its application. He was a born talker, equally gifted in
conversation and in public discourse. He had every
physical advantage — grace of attitude and gesture, a
voice which everybody likened, in sweetness, richness,
and compass, to the organ, and, we must add, to the
organ when struck by a master musician, for he had his
voice under perfect command, and moderated it to con-
vey the fullest variety of pure and worthy sentiment ; a
countenance on which one loved to gaze, handsome in
repose, lovely when lit up by the noble thoughts and
feelings of his great soul. He had every intellectual and
moral advantage ; a ready flow of happy diction, which
seemed perfectly spontaneous, and yet exactly suited the
thought ; a playful humor, and, when needed, keenness
of wit and satire which added zest to his serious speech,
but detracted not from its weight ; a quick insight into
the heart of a subject, judgment remarkably sound, the
logical spirit without slavery to logical forms, and an
imagination which could sport like a butterfly amid
262 HISTORY OF RANDOLP H-MACON COLLEGE.
flowers, or soar like an eagle beyond the clouds ; sensi-
bility delicate, deep, strong — acute sympathy with his
fellow-man ; a response in his feelings to everything
true, pure, generous, and grand. Above all, he was full
of the Holy Ghost, and could say, ' For the love of
Christ constraineth me.' His adaptation to all classes
of hearers, to all classes of circumstances, was marvel-
lous. He could interest and edify the child, the unlet-
tered, the cultivated, the scholar, with equal ease.
Every variety of style came naturally to him, from a
familiar home talk, through all gradations of argument,
instruction and pathos, to the impassioned, sublime and
overwhelming appeal. The earnestness and simplicity
of his soul were ever manifest ; that he preached not
self, not philosophy, not human wisdom, not excellency
of speech, but Christ and him crucified, not for fame,
but to win souls.
" In his social and pastoral qualities he. no less ex-
celled. Others have equalled, none surpassed him in
diligence and fidelity ; but who can compare in charm,
in breadth and tenderness of sympathy, in aptness to
guide and comfort, in power to draw forth trust and
love? Place him in any parlor, at any table, among the
rich or poor, and he would be the centre of attraction—
every eye fixed on him, every ear attend his voice. Let
him sit by the bed of any invalid, though a stranger be-
fore that hour, and soon he would soothe and cheer, and
the heart would open to his words as though he had
been a life-long friend. The young and old, men and
women, the rude and the cultivated, felt free to confide
to him their troubles and ask his sympathy and aid ;
yet, in the narrower circle of long-tried friendship and of
home, never did there beat a truer, more constant, more
generous heart ; so unselfish, so frank, so forbearing, so
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 263
trustful, so magnanimous, never giving up a friend,
though he may have strayed far, and long, and fallen
low ; never slow in responding to any call for help.
"But we must close this sketch. He was our favorite
and our ornament, we might almost say our idol ; but
we glorify God in him. He has been taken away in his
prime, at the height of his usefulness, when we were
leaning on his counsel and strength, when we were re-
joicing in the prospect of many years of his company and
service. But we thank God for his example, his work,
and his prayers. He rests from his labors, and his
works do follow him."
A meeting of the Board was called, to assemble at
Broad- Street Church October 4, 1877, to make provision
for the College after the loss of President Duncan.
Dr. A. W. Wilson, vice-president, announced his
death, and a committee, consisting of Dr. W. W. Ben-
nett, Dr. Samuel Rodgers, and Hon. Wm. Milnes, Jr.,
was appointed to report suitable resolutions to the Board,
and they presented the following, which was unani-
mously adopted :
' ' Resolved, That, as the Board of Trustees of Ran-
dolph-Macon College, we have the deepest sorrow in our
hearts in announcing to our church and people the great
loss we have sustained in the death of Rev. James A.
Duncan, D. D., our late President. His devoted life as
a Christian minister and his constant and arduous labors
for the past nine }rears in behalf of Randolph- Macon
College, and the high position to which he and his co-
laborers in the Faculty have brought the institution, de-
mand that our people should give some expression of
their appreciation of this work, which, in its widening
influence, we trust shall abide for generations to come.
And in the judgment of this Board nothing can more
264 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
adequately express our conviction of the value of his
life and work for the College and the cause of Christian
education than that the church should determine to raise
a 'memorial fund' of $100,000 for the accomplishment
of an earnest and often-expressed wish of our deceased
President, the permanent endowment of the College and
the enlargement of its sphere of usefulness."
The presidency of the Board having been made vacant
by the death of President Duncan, Rev. W. W. Bennett
was elected to it.
To fill the presidency of the College, Rev. W. W.
Duncan, brother of the late President, was elected.
At an adjourned meeting, held in Lynchburg, Va.,
November 16, 1877, Secretary Rev. Paul Whitehead pre-
sented a letter from the Rev. W. W. Duncan, Professor
in Wofford College, South Carolina, declining the presi-
dency, to which he had been elected in July last. This
declination and the financial embarrassment of the Col-
lege elicited the hearty interest of the Virginia Confer-
ence, then in session. A large committee from that
body was appointed to confer with the Board to concert
measures which would meet the serious condition of the
affairs of the College. The joint conference was held for
several days.
After the joint conference was concluded, on the igth
.of November, the Board proceeded to elect a President
of the College. The result of the first ballot was : For
R. N. Sledd, 6 votes; for W. W. Bennett, 6 votes.
Necessary to a choice, 7.
The second ballot resulted in the same vote.
The third ballot, other members having come in, re-
sulted as follows : W. W. Bennett, 9 votes ; R. N. Sledd,
5 votes. Necessary to a choice, 8 votes. So Rev. W. W.
Bennett, D. D., was declared elected.
BISHOP W. W. DUNCAN.
Elected President iSjj.— Declined to accept.
REV. W. W. BENNETT. D. D.,
President of the Board of Trustees, r§7? : President of the College. 1877- f
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 265
Resolutions respecting the death of William Willis,
Jr. , late treasurer of the Board, who had died since the
last meeting of the Board, were adopted.
At this meeting Rev. Thomas A. Ware resigned his
place as Agent.
The new President, when elected, was the editor of
the Richmond Christian Advocate, of which he had been
the proprietor, wholly or in part, for ten years. He was
a leading man in the Virginia Conference, and largely
acquainted with the ministers and people of the church
in Virginia and elsewhere, having been a member of the
General Conference for a number of sessions. He was
in the full vigor of manhood. His education had been
secured at the University of Virginia. Having been an
active member of the Board for years, and frequently on
important committees of the Board, and having lived in
Ashland for a number of years, he was thoroughly con-
versant with the affairs of the College. He felt and ap-
preciated the great purposes of its establishment and the
capabilities which it might be endowed with by the ac-
tion of the church. He also knew what a burden he
was about to take up and carry — a burden which had
taxed the energies and heart of his predecessor; but,
hopeful and sanguine, he probably did not appreciate the
full weight of the burden which was to test his heart and
energies, in turn, to their utmost strain. It was well
that he was hopeful and trustful.
Dr. Bennett commenced his duties with the following
colleagues in the Faculty December i, 1877: Robert
Emory Black well, A. M., Professor of English and Mod-
ern Languages; Harry Estill, A. M., Professor of
Mathematics ; William A. Shepard, A. M., Professor of
Chemistry: Charles Morriss, M. A., Professor of Greek
and Latin.
266 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
At a meeting of the Board, held in Baltimore, March,
1878, the Faculty was increased by the election of Wil-
liam Waugh Smith, A. M., to the chair of Moral and
Mental Philosophy. Some time afterward he entered
upon his duties as professor, and his connection, in some
capacity, has continued to this day. Of his connection
with the College more will be recorded further on in this
narrative.
GRAY CARROLL,
Sutherlin Medalist, 1878 ; District Solicitor, Little Rock, Ark.
At this meeting it was proposed to have published a
memorial volume of the late President Duncan. That it
was not done promptly, and in a manner worthy of him,
is, and always will be, a source of regret to those who
knew and loved him. This affords another instance and
example of how little has been done to let the lives and
RICHARD B. DAVIS, A. B., 1862.
Member Board of Trustees.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 267
labors of Virginia's gifted men speak after they are dead.
Surely he was worthy of a fitting biography.
At the annual meeting, June, 1878, the President, in
his annual report, gave the number of students in attend-
ance as 141, from twelve different States. He reported
a revival of religion as having occurred, with twenty
converts among the students.
FRANK NOLAND,
First " Pace" Medalist, l8j8 ; Assistant Editor " Landmark."
An effort has been made, with some success, to retire
the floating debt of the College, amounting to about
$23,000, on some of which ten per cent, interest was
being paid, averaging eight per cent. The President
was hopeful of good patronage and retiring the debt.
The following, on recommendation of the Faculty,
received degrees, viz. : Henry A. Boyd, of North Caro-
268 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE,
lina, A. M. ; Mansfield T. Peed, of Virginia, A. M. ;
William J. Sebrell, of Virginia, A. B. ; Wilbur Fisk Til-
lett, of North Carolina, A. B. ; M. P. Rice, B. S.
The ' ' Sutherlin Medal for Oratory ' ' was won by Gray
Carroll, of Virginia.
The "Walton Greek Prize " went to Clarence Edwards,
of Virginia.
PROF. R. BASCOM SMITHEY, A. M.
The "Pace" medal for the best English essay was
awarded to Frank Noland, of Virginia, the first to win it.
This medal was offered by Mr. James B. Pace, of Rich-
mond, Va.
Prof. Harry Estill resigned, July 8, 1878, the chair
of Mathematics after ten years' service. He was the
last of President Duncan's Faculty to leave. He went
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 269
to the Washington and Lee University, and took the
same chair at that institution, his Alma Mater.
To the chair thus vacated Royal Bascom Smithey
(A. M. 1876) was elected, and he has filled it with great
satisfaction to his pupils and the Board to the present
time (1898).
CLARENCE EDWARDS, A. M.,
"Pace" Medalist, l8jq ; Attorney-at-Laiv>
The old chapel was consumed by fire March 12, 1879.
Fortunately there was nothing in it but the furniture,
which was saved. It had a varied histoiy. Before the
war it was a ball-room ; during the war a hospital ; after
the war a place for religious sendee for nearly eleven
years. Its walls had resounded with the eloquence of
Duncan, Wightman, Guard, Ran. Tucker, Rosser, Ben-
nett, atad others. In it many of Randolph- Macon's
270 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. '
brightest sons had received their diplomas ; in it many
had been "born again" to a new life. Services were
held afterwards in the Mathematical lecture- room in the
Pace building until the "Duncan Memorial" building,
with church and chapel, had been completed.
CHARLES W. TILLET, A. B.,
Sutherlin Medalist \ i&jq ; Member of North Carolina Senate,
Immediate steps were taken to erect the new building,
and Rev. George W. Nolley took an active and success-
ful part in raising the funds for its erection. The ladies
of the church also did a good part in this work; also
the Faculty and the students.
In June, 1879, the Finance Committee reported that
about one-half the "floating debt" had been subscribed.
Nevertheless, for want of endowment, the current ex-
penses of the year had exceeded the income. They
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 271
.therefore recommended that the President be requested
to devote his time and attention specially to the raising
of funds for retiring the debt.
The following degrees were conferred, viz. :
A. M.
T. E. CRENSHAW, Virginia. CLARENCE EDWARDS, Vii'ginia.
WM. J. SEBRELL, Virginia.
A. B.
WILLIAM H. EDWARDS, Virginia.
Clarence Edwards won the "Pace" medal.
Charles W. Tillett won the ' ' Sutherlin ' ' medal.
The number of students for the session of i8y8-'79
was 123.
The session of 1879-1880 was not marked by much
that is worthy of record.
The President of the College devoted his time largely
in raising funds to discharge the debt of the College.
In his annual report, June, 1880, he announced the com-
pletion of the new College chapel, built in place of the
old chapel.
Although there was an increase of students, still the
expenses exceeded the income by over $3,300.
At the commencement, June, 1880, degrees were con-
ferred as follows; viz. :
A. M.
JESSE TALBOTT LITTLETON, of Virginia.
A. B.
W. W. SAWYER, Virginia. CHAS. W. TILLETT, N. Carolina.
D. D.
Rev. ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, A. M., Prof. University of North
Carolina (Class 1854).
At a called meeting of the Board, held at Danville,
Va., November, 1880, the announcement was made that
272 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
the sum required to cancel the debt of the College had
been subscribed. This gratifying result was achieved
by the long and arduous labors of Dr. Bennett, Presi-
dent of the College.
DOCTOR M. JAMES,
Of West Virginia ; Sutherlin Medalist.
I880-I88I.
The following received degrees at the annual com-
mencement, June, 1 88 1 :
A. M.
JOSEPH C. JONES, Virginia.
JOHN B. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
BASIL W. WATERS, Maryland.
A
JOHN F. BLACKWELL, Virginia.
JOSEPH C. TERRELL, Virginia.
JAMES C. SHELTON, Virginia.
ROBERT W. TOMLIN, Virginia.
JAMES W. MORRIS, Virginia.
B.
D. M. JAMES, West Virginia.
WM. B. CRENSHAW, Kentucky.
E. E. HARRELL, N. Carolina.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 273
The following resolution was adopted by the Board,
on motion of Dr. Paul Whitehead :
"Resolved, That the Rev. W. W. Bennett, D. D.,
President of this College, deserves, and we hereby ten-
der to him, the thanks of the Trustees for the patient
and indefatigable manner in which he has performed the
JESSE TALBOTT LITTLETON,
Prof. Emory and Henry College ; Pace Medalist, 1880.
duty committed to him of raising, by subscription, the
amount necessary to pay the debt of the College, amid
discouragements and difficulties which have rendered
the work at once thankless and toilsome."
In the annual report of the President the following
items are noted: The number of students matriculated
was 1 28. The debt of the College had been considerably
reduced by collection of subscriptions. The Finance
18
274 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Committee reported that if the subscriptions were paid
up the financial condition of the College would be bet-
ter than it had been at any period of its recent history.
At the close of this session, after spending four years
in College, diplomas in Greek and Mathematics, and the
Mathematical prize were awarded to a young man whose
REV. BASIL W. WATERS, A. M.,
Missionary to Japan.
subsequent career has marked him as one of the first
mathematical scholars of the age. This was David W.
Taylor, of Louisa county, Va. In September, 1881, he
was second among one hundred and fifty candidates for
entrance as cadet engineer at the United States Naval
Academy. He graduated from the Naval Academy
June, 1885, standing first in his class each year; was
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 275
ordered to the flagship of the European station, under
the command of (then) Captain Dewey ; then sent to the
Royal Naval College at Greenwich, near London, Eng-
land, taking at that place a three-years' course in naval
architecture and marine engineering ; graduated there in
1888 at the head of his class, receiving the highest marks
JAMES W. MORRIS, A. M.
Sutherlin Medalist ; face Medalist, 1881 ; Missionary to Brazil.
ever obtained for the course by either an English or foreign
student. He is now (1898) an assistant to Chief of the
Bureau of Construction and Repair, Washington, D. C.
1881-1882.
At the close of the year i88i-'82 the following re-
ceived degrees :
276 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
R. E. L. HOLMES, Virginia. EDMUND S. RUFFIN, Virginia.
EDGAR A. POTTS, Virginia. JOSEPH T. REESE, Georgia.
A. B.
HUGH C. DAVIS, Virginia. J. P. MAUZY, Virginia.
THOMAS N. POTTS, Virginia.
DAVID W. TAYLOR,
Mathematical Prize, 1881 ; Nazml Constructor, U, S. Navy,
D. D.
Rev. CHARLES B. STUART (Class 1845), Texas.
Sutherlin Medalist. — SAMUEL M. GARLAND, of Virginia.
Pace Medalist. — JOHN NEWTON McCoRMicK, of Maryland.
The number of students, by the President's report,
was 100, a decrease of 28.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 277
The completion of the Duncan Memorial Church was
announced. The credit of this work was given to ladies
of the congregation, who had worked with great zeal and
efficiency to raise the needed funds.
At the annual meeting President W. W. Bennett ten-
dered his resignation of the presidency of the Board of
Trustees and of the College.
HUGH C. DAVIS, A. B., l882,
., I ttorney-at-Laiv.
Bishop Alpheus \V. Wilson was elected president of
the Board, and Rev. John D. Black well vice-president.
The vacancy of the presidency of the College was not
filled, but the Board adjourned to meet in Centenary
Church, Richmond, July 19, 1882, to fill the office.
Petitions were laid before the Board, sent by a number
2yS HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
of ministers and friends of the College, and also by a
large number of the students, asking the Board to re-
elect Dr. Bennett to the presidency of the College.
At the adjourned meeting, held July 19, 1882, Dr.
Bennett was re-elected President, almost unanimously,
and he accepted the office. He stated that he had labored
under a wrong impression in regard to the sentiments of
the Board when he resigned the presidency.
DUNCAN MEMORIAL CHURCH.
At a called meeting, held in November, 1882, the re-
signation of Charles Morris, Professor of Latin and
French, was made known to the Board. This resigna-
tion was accepted with expressions of the high appre-
ciation by the Board of the personal character and fidelity
of Prof. Morris. He accepted a professorship in the
University of Georgia.
Prof. William W. Smith was elected to have charge of
Latin and Greek.
At the Annual Conference, held in November, 1882,
the annual assessment made by the Conference for the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 279
College was increased by $500, making it $3,500, which
amount has been the assessment to this date, June, 1898.
CLAUDE A. SWANSON,
Sutherlin Medalist ; Member of Congress from Virginia.
I882-I883.
The degree men for the year ending June, 1883, were
A. M.
JOHN F. BLACKWELL, Virginia. JOHN MORRIS, Georgia.
W. A. CRENSHAW, Virginia. E. E. HARRELL, N. C.
LEWIS MILLER, Massachusetts.
A. B.
GEORGE B. DAVIS. Virginia. THOMAS D. NEWSON, Virginia.
JOHN D. EPES, Virginia. SYDNEY B. WRIGHT, Virginia.
JOHN NEWTON McCoRMicK, Maryland.
aSo HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
D. D.
Rev. W. S. BLACK, of the North Carolina Conference.
Rev. W. E. EDWARDS, of the Virginia Conference.
Rev. P. H. WHISNER, of the Baltimore Conference.
Sutherlin Medalist. — CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Virginia.
Pace Medalist. — CHARLES EMORY KREGLOE, Virginia.
JOHN MORRIS, A. M.,
Professor of English , University of Georgia.
Thomas Branch, Esq., who had served on the Board
for forty years, tendered his resignation as a trustee.
This was received, with a resolution of the high appre-
ciation of his services as president of the Board and trus-
tee, and his liberality and devotion to the College. He
was succeeded by his son, John P. Branch.
The President's report showed the attendance to be
114. In this report the President recommended the
HISTOR y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 281
system of co-education of males and females for the first
time. The recommendation of the President was not
adopted.
The Board took steps to have erected new dormitories
on the campus.
1883-1884.
This year, the anniversary year of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church in the United States, was to prove the
CHARLES EMORY KREGLOE,
Pace Medalist : Professor Alleghany Institute.
turning point in the financial history of the College.
The movement towards the increase of the endowment
was not general, but it was in the right direction. The
first subscription was for $1,000, as in 1855 ; it was made
by Mr. E. M. Tilley, of Berkley, Va., a Northern man
2S2 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
living in that town, not then a member of the Methodist
Church. The larger part of the funds raised was from
the Norfolk district, apart from the subscription made
by members of the Board at the annual meeting, June,
1884, which amounted to $9,000. From this time for-
ward the increase of the capital of the College has been
steady, and, at times, very material and gratifying.
JAMES A. DUNCAN, D. D.,
Sutherlin Medalist ; Holston Conference.
The Virginia and Baltimore Conferences had, at their
last session, directed that all funds raised this Centennial
year should, unless otherwise specially noted, go towards
the endowment fund of the College.
At the annual meeting the following received de-
grees :
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 283
A. M.
THOMAS D. NEWSON, Virginia.
A. B.
R. H. BENNETT, Virginia. N. H. ROBERTSON, Virginia.
JAMES CANNON, Jr., Maryland. THEODORE H. WHITE, Virginia.
JAMES CANNON, JR,,
Of Maryland : Pace Medalist; President Bla.kstone Institute.
James A. Duncan, of Virginia, won the Sutherlin
medal. James Cannon, Jr., of Maryland, won the Pace
medal. The number of matriculates for the session of
i883~'84 was 108.
1884-1885.
The session of i884~'S5 opened with in students.
The President, in his annual report, said it was one of
the most satisfactory that had occurred during his ad-
2S4 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
ministration. Five new dormitories had been built, to
take the place of old ones. Steps were taken to build
new houses for two Professors. He reported the ac-
ceptance of the chair of Greek and the Oriental Lan-
guages by Dr. Richard M. Smith, to which he had been
elected at the last annual meeting.
DR. RICHARD M. SMITH, PH. D., (LEIPZIG),
Professor of Greek and the Oriental Languages (iSSj-iSqd}.
The following received degrees, June, 1885 :
A. M.
R. H. BENNETT, Virginia. JAMES M. PAGE, Virginia.
HARRY LEE STUART, Texas.
A. B.
WM. H. BARLEY, Virginia. F. P. HAMMOND, Maryland.
EUGENE H. RAWLINGS, Virginia. CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Virginia.
Sutherlin Medalist. — THOMAS F. SHERRILI., of North Carolina.
Pace Medalist. — JAMES M. PAGE, of Virginia.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 285
At a called meeting, held in Centenary Church, Rich-
mond, Va., May 19, 1886, the following letter of resigna-
tion was laid before the Board :
" Bishop A. W. Wilson, President of the Trustees of Randolph-
Macon College :
"Mv DEAR BROTHER, — The poor condition of my
health through this entire session thus far admonishes
me that I cannot continue to hold the presidency of the
RICHARD HEBER BENNETT, A. M.,
Of the I 'irginia Conference.
College. I am compelled, therefore, to hand you this,
my resignation of the office, to take effect on the ist of
September next, which will give the Trustees a period
of five months, though I am sure they will not need so
much time, in which to secure a suitable person for my
successor.
286 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
" It is a source of great gratification to me that I shall
leave the College in good condition in every respect.
Yours very truly,
" ASHLAND, VA., March 31, 1886."
;W. W. BENNETT.
THOMAS F. SHERRILL, OF N. C.,
Siithcrlin Medalist, 1885.
The resignation of Dr. Bennett was accepted, and a
committee was appointed to notify him of the action of
the Board, and to express to him the appreciation by the
Board of the value of his services.
On motion, it was —
' ' Resolved, That at the annual meeting in June next
the Board will proceed to fill the vacancy occasioned by
the resignation of Dr. Bennett. ' '
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 287
The President's annual report gave the attendance as
124 for the session ending June, 1886.
On the recommendation of the Faculty, the following
received degrees, viz. :
A. M.
F. P. HAMMOND, Maryland. M. L. SHACKELFORD, Virginia.
LANGHORNE LEITCH, Virginia. SYDNEY B. WRIGHT, Virginia.
JAMES M. PAGE, A. M., PH. D., OF VIRGINIA,
Pace Medalist, 1883 ; Professor University of Virginia.
A. B.
THOMAS J. BARHAM, Virginia. ARTHUR K. DAVIS, Virginia.
JAMES S. CHAPMAN, Virginia. F. V. RUSSELL, Virginia.
FRANK L. CROCKER, Virginia. SAMUEL D. TURNER, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. WILBUR F. TILLETT, Vanderbilt University.
Rev. H. MELVILLE JACKSON, Richmond, Va.
288 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
LL. D.
Prof. JAMES A. HARRISON, Washington and Lee University
Sutherlin Medalist. — J. S. CHAPMAN, of Virginia.
Pace Medalist. — LANGHORNE LEITCH, of Virginia.
JAMES S. CHAPMAN,
Sutherlin Medalist ; A ttorney-at-Laiv.
The Endowment and Investment Committee made the
following gratifying announcement :
"We respectfully report that there has been raised,
through the instrumentality of Prof. W. W. Smith, Dr.
R. N. Sledd, and others, $43,000, $25,000 of which is in
the hands of the local committee at Lynchburg, and the
balance in the hands of Captain Richard Irby for collec-
tion."
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 289
Special credit ought to be given here to the liberal
citizens of Lynchburg, who subscribed this amount of
endowment, ever since kept separate, and designated
Lynchburg Endowment Fund. This has brought into
the current receipts each year about $1,500. It was the
prophecy and forecast of greater liberality in 1891.
LANGHORNE LEITCH, A. M.,
Pace Medalist ; Missionary to China.
From this time the professors and officers have always
been paid their salaries promptly. The direct and mate-
rial aid thus afforded was of great benefit, but the influ-
ence of such action on other communities and on indi-
viduals has been of far greater value. Lynchburg,
therefore, deserves, and should have, the gratitude of
every Randolph-Macon alumnus and friend.
19
29o HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
In the election to fill the office of President the follow-
ing nominations were made :
Rev. John D. Blackwell, D. D., by Paul Whitehead.
Rev. Robert N. Sledd, D. D., by W. E. Judkins.
Rev. Wilbur F. Tillett, by J. E. Edwards.
R. N. SLEDD, D. D.,
Class of 1855 ; First Vice-President of the Board.
Rev. John A. Kern, by W. T. Chandler.
Rev. Paul Whitehead, D. D.. by P. A. Peterson.
Prof. Wm. W. Smith, A. M., by Richard Irby.
On the first ballot Prof. W. W. Smith received ten
votes out of twenty. On the second ballot he received
twelve, and was declared elected.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 291
Inasmuch as the history of the College has been so
intimately linked with the life of President Smith for so
many years, it is not necessary to say much of him just
here. He was born in Fauquier county in 1848. His
father, Richard M. Smith, afterwards moved' to Alex-
PRESIDENT \VM. \V. SMITH, A. M., LL. D.
andria, where he was associated with the celebrated
Benjamin Hallowell in his school. Afterwards he be-
came editor of the Alexandria Sentinel, which was
removed to Richmond at the breaking out of hostilities,
April, 1 86 1. He afterwards edited the Enquirer. At
the early age of sixteen William \Vaugh Smith volun-
teered in the Confederate service, in which he continued
2Q2 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
to the close of the war. After the war he was asso-
ciated with his father in the publication of the Enquirer,
which had been revived. He attended the University
RICHARD IRBY, SECRETARY AND TREASURER.
Elected June, i88t>.
of Virginia one session. When the College was moved
to Ashland, and his father became a Professor in it, he
matriculated at the College and took the degree of A. M.,
with John Hannon, in 1873. After leaving College he
Rev. R. M. SAUNDERS. Chaplain
PROF. KNIGHT.
MISS LOUISE J. SMITH
PROF. SCHEHLMANN. PROF. ADAMS.
FACULTY RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1898.
PRESIDENT SMITH.
PROF. SHARP.
MISS PARRISH.
PROF. ARMSTRONG.
FACULTY RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1
PROF LAN DON.
MRS. SAUNDERS.
PROF. R1DD1CK.
PROF. PAGE. DK- TERRELL.
FACULTY RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1898.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 293
became the assistant to his uncle, Albert Smith, at
Bethel Academy, near Warrenton, Va., which rapidly
grew into prominence as a school. Here he remained
till 1882, when he was elected Professor of Moral and
Mental Science in Randolph-Macon College. In 1885 he
showed his great talent for raising funds for the Col-
lege, by securing the "Lynchburg Endowment," in
connection with Dr. R. N. Sledd and others. His energy
and aptitude for administration, in addition to the suc-
cessful experience he had gained at Bethel Academy,
pointed him out as the man for the vacant position, and
subsequent events have justified the selection.
On motion of John P. Branch (substitute for one
offered by A. G. Brown), it was
' ' Resolved, That Richard Irby be appointed Secretary
and Treasurer, the same to give half of his time to the
business of the College. ' '
His duties were defined as follows : To have charge
of the financial and business concerns of the College,
and also of the library, grounds, buildings, etc. This
office was accepted, and he entered upon his duties the
first day of July following.
At the same session the Board proceeded to fill the
chair of Moral and Mental Science and Biblical Litera-
ture. Rev. John A. Kern, of the Baltimore Conference,
was elected to the chair, and he accepted the same.
Prof. Kern was a graduate of the University of Vir-
ginia. In 1866 he entered the Baltimore Conference of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He had filled
many of the most important appointments of that Con-
ference, and was then, as now, esteemed a man of talent,
and growing year by year in ability and acceptability.
The estimate placed on him by his friends was not too
high, as his subsequent career has proven.
294 HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
The Board accepted the libraries which had been
offered to it by the Literary Societies, consisting of about
four thousand volumes, and the Librarian was directed
to consolidate them with the College Library. This was
a much-needed and timely improvement, and became a
REV. JOHN A. KERN, D. D.
Elected President of Kandolph-Macon College in l8qfj.
nucleus for a library which, in course of time, will be, it
is hoped, a credit to the College.
The new President was requested to continue his
efforts in raising funds for the endowment, which had so
far been attended with laudable success. This he was
not slow in heeding.
On account of failure to record the financial statement
of 1886, the exact amount of net assets of the College
cannot here be given.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 295
The retiring President served nine years, almost iden-
tically the same period served by his predecessor, Dr.
Duncan. His administration was also, like Dr. Duncan's,
marked by great financial embarrassment, which had a
depressing influence on a sensitive temperament like
his was. That his days were shortened by the constant
burden of care, like his predecessor's, can hardly be
doubted. Both of them were, in a sense, martyrs to the
cause of Christian education.
Dr. Bennett never regained his health. He moved to
his farm, in Louisa county, and took work on the con-
tiguous appointment at the Conference of 1886. While
engaged in the work of his charge he gradually declined
in health, and died June 7, 1887.
REV. W. W. BENNETT, D. D.
" WILLIAM WALLACE BENNETT, son of Eli and Mary
C. Bennett, was born in the city of Richmond, February
24, 1821. He was reared under the fostering care and
social surroundings of Methodism, and was the subject
of religious impressions from an early period.
"In 1839, under the ministry of Rev. Gervas M. Kee-
see, he made a profession of religion, and united with
the Methodist Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. Here,
with the help of class-meetings and other social, as well
as the public means of grace, his religious experience
had a healthful beginning, that developed the elevated
character and useful life that our beloved brother has
bequeathed to the church. Soon after his conversion,
he, and several others who were exercised about a call
to the ministry, met and conversed upon the subject,
and prayed for divine guidance, giving evidence that
when he entered the itinerancy it was no rash adventure.
In the fall of 1841, he removed to Mecklenburg county,
296 HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
where his brother, Rev. John R. Bennett, was in charge
of the circuit. There he pursued his studies, obtained
license to preach, and began his ministry, passing
through what he conceived to be the crucial test of his
call to preach. Discouraged, as he informed the writer,
by what he conceived to be a failure in the pulpit before
a large congregation, he was tempted to give up the min-
istry; but falling in the hands of an experienced and
godly class-leader, who encouraged him by his counsel
and his prayers, he returned to his work with renewed con-
secration, and a conviction too strong to be jostled again.
' ' From the best information obtained (the records of
four years of this Conference being lost) he was admitted
on trial into the Virginia Conference in 1842, and
travelled as junior preacher on Louisa and Bedford Cir-
cuits. In 1 845-' 46 he was in charge of Powhatan Cir-
cuit, and in 1847 was stationed in Charlottesville, where
he availed himself of the educational advantages of the
University of Virginia, and graduated in several of the
schools in 1850. At the Conference of this year he was
stationed in Washington city, organizing the first society
of the M. E. Church, South, at our national capital. In
1851 he was elected Chaplain of the University of Vir-
ginia, but on account of sickness resigned the position.
He soon, however, regained his accustomed health, and
in 1 852-*53 travelled Loudoun Circuit with W. W. Berry
and John C. Granbery, respectively, as junior preachers.
In i854-'55-'56-'57 he was Presiding Elder of the Wash-
ington District. While on this appointment he was mar-
ried, December 20, 1855, to Virginia Lee, daughter of
Edward and Mary Kendall Lee Sangster, of Alexandria.
A wise and happy union. In i858-'59 he was appointed
to Union Station, Richmond, and in i86o-'6i was sta-
tioned at Centenary, in the same city.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 297
" In 1862 he was appointed Chaplain in the Confederate
Army, and assigned to the superintendency of the Tract
Association. Seeing the necessity of a more generous
distribution of Bibles and religious literature among the
troops, he arranged to go abroad for a supply, and during
the last winter of the war successfully 'ran the block-
ade. ' He had scarcely, however, entered upon the work
in London when the war ended, and he returned to Vir-
ginia.
' ' In i865-'66 he travelled Nottoway circuit, and in No-
vember, 1866, was appointed editor of the Richmond Chris-
tian Advocate. By judicious management and editorial
ability, this necessary and popular journal was established
on a promising basis. In 1874 Rev. J. J. Lafferty became
his associate, who, in 1877, by satisfactory negotiations,
assumed control, and was appointed editor of the paper.
The motives influencing Dr. Bennett in this change
were characteristic of the man and the result of thought-
ful conversation. His successor well understood him,
and tells us, in his affecting notice of his death, that
' he made known to him his uneasiness in conscience as
to his position — that he was too stout in health to be out
of the regular ranks. With much emphasis, he declared
his wish to be found in the pastorate when God called
him.' Before the Conference met in Lynchburg Dr.
Bennett had arranged to change his position. It was
then made to appear his duty to go to the college, and he
yielded. But there must have been a peculiar joy when
the summons came that he was in his loved employ —
the shepherd of a flock.
"In 1877 he was elected President of Randolph -
Macon College. This position he held for nine years,
during, perhaps, its most critical history ; but by able,
kind, and impartial administration, with the confidence
298 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
of his brethren in the ministry, the active co-operation
of his professorial associates, and the affection of the
students, the College accomplished a noble work. By
his activity in visiting throughout the Baltimore and
Virginia Conferences and elsewhere, and under his stir-
ring appeals, the number of students compared favorably
with other institutions, and a large amount of money
was raised in the interest of the College. The senti-
ments of a writer from the Pacific coast, we are sure,
find echo here, that ' Virginia Methodism owes Dr. Ben-
nett a great debt for the work done by him at Randolph-
Macon at the crucial period of its history.' He left the
College an enduring monument of his heroic devotion,
but, as many think, at the cost of his life. At the close
of the session in 1886 his health was so impaired that he
resigned the presidency of the College, and secured a
retired home near Trevilian's, in Louisa county, hoping
that relief from the burdens and cares of college work
and the quiet of the country might nurse him back to
health again. But, alas! his disease baffled the best
medical skill and the loving attentions of his family and
friends. He was prevailed upon during the summer to
visit the mountains, and, with some slight improvement,
he was in his place at the last Conference, believing that
he could even then attend to the work on some fields
that would be open, but naming none. The change
-disease had wrought in his robust frame was a subject
of mournful remark by all that knew him, and grave
apprehensions were felt that he would never recuperate.
From that Conference he was sent to Gordonsville and
Orange, where he gave for a time pastoral care and pul-
pit work that was surprising to his friends. But as the
summer advanced, he was compelled to yield, and after a
short confinement to his bed, his earthly labors ended.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 299
"Dr. Bennett, in health, will always be remembered
by his acquaintances as an incomparable specimen of
physical manhood, with a face bearing the lines of strong
character. Indeed, he seemed moulded for any work or
position in Methodism. His mental endowments were
of a high order. His early advantages were such as
to secure a good English education, with some know-
ledge of Latin ; and from our knowledge of the man,
we may safely conclude that his opportunities were
well improved. A schoolmate says of him : ' He was
studious, with great grasp of intellect and steadiness
of purpose.' The writer, and others, perhaps, will re-
member his modest reference to his fondness for reading
while a boy, in using 'the first money he could com-
mand to subscribe for the Richmond Advocate,' which
he subsequently edited with so much ability. By judi-
cious reading and study, and by such collegiate helps
as his appointments favored, .he became the peer of
any. Ten years before he was elected President of
Randolph- Macon College he received from that insti-
tution the degree of D. D., was a member of every Gen-
-eral Conference since 1858, and was a representative of
our church at the Ecumenical Conference in London in
1 88 1. The opinion of the editor of the Richmond Chris-
tian Advocate, no doubt, is the judgment of his brethren,
that ' he was the best-rooted man in the Conference in
theology, and saturated with church history, dogma, and
doctrine. '
' ' As a preacher, he occupied the front rank in pulpit
power, and his discourses were such as lived in the
memory and hearts of his hearers. ' His sermons,' says
Bishop Granbery, ' were stately, elaborate, and massive,
mighty discussions of great truths, with wide range of
thought, lucid and forcible argument, earnest, solemn,
300 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
and often impassioned application.' Bishop Doggett
says of him : ' Bennett, at times, is the greatest preacher
I ever heard. His sermon at the late camp-meeting, on
Matthew xxiii. 37, 38, surpassed anything I ever lis-
tened to from the pulpit. His description of the deso-
late house I can never forget. I remember,' says he,
' to have heard him at Charlottes ville, on the flood,
when for more than an hour the congregation seemed
dazed by the power of his eloquence.'
' ' His character was differently analyzed by some of
his friends, though all accorded him unexceptionable in-
tegrity, a high order of piety, and a noble, generous
heart. His occasional serious expression and brusque
manner awakened the suspicion with some that he was
wanting in sympathy, but those who knew him best in-
dulged no such estimate of him. With all his firmness
of conviction and stern independence, where was to be
found greater gentleness and consideration of the feel-
ings of others ? He was emphatically the friend of the
friendless, the persecuted and neglected, and was un-
changing in his friendships. He was slow to find fault,
and indulged in no depreciation of others. At any time
it required a great provocation, and something more than
mere personal affront or injury, to evoke rebuke ; but
when it did come, it was felt, but was more the utterance
of conscientious impulse than the ebullition of personal
resentment.
"He was the head of a Christian household, where
piety was fostered and practised, and where Methodism
was honored. He, with his devoted wife, sought to
make home attractive, and succeeded. While the pro-
prieties of religious training and filial respect were never
relaxed, there was no constraint on the freedom of social
and religious intercourse, and no lack of sympathy for
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 301
such enjoyments as were proper, entertaining and im-
proving in a Christian home. He was looked up to by
his family as a practical and safe counsellor, and beyond
whom there was rarely even the desire to appeal. His
brethren, I am sure, will endorse the sentiments of his
distinguished eulogist : ' His virtues were many, stead-
fast and bright. The whole church will feel his loss.
The Virginia Conference, as one man, will cherish his
memory with deep admiration and love.'
' ' After his confinement to bed the ravages of his rare
disease were very rapid and severe. He early sank into
a comatose condition, yet responding when spoken to.
It will be gratifying to his brethren, nevertheless, to
know that his end was a great spiritual triumph. On
Monday, June 6th, at an early hour, with the family and
a few friends about him, fearful that he might pass away
without again rousing from his lethargy, his wife, under
her stress of grief, urged all to united prayer. They
knelt, and his eldest son led in prayer, expressing assur-
ance, of the blessed result to the dying husband and
father, yet craving a lucid interval and some words of
affectionate counsel. In a few moments he asked to be
turned on his back, and, opening his eyes, he exclaimed,
' I am quickened up into a higher life ! ' When his wife
exulted in such an answer to prayer, he said : ' My dear,
I have known for more than forty years that God answers
prayer.' Then, feeling his pulse, and turning to Dr.
Wills, his physician, he said : ' I suppose this thing is
steadily progressing to the end, is it not?' 'Yes,' said
the doctor, ' but you have the Everlasting Arms around
you.' 'Oh, yes,' he replied, 'and have had for more
than forty years, and they have never failed me. But I
have much to say, and must speak slowly, so I wanted
to know how much time — a half hour?' 'Yes,' the
302 HIST OR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
doctor replied, 'perhaps several hours.' He then called
his family — but we must drop the curtain on a scene in
many respects too sacred and impossible to describe.
With affectionate counsel to each, he commended them
to God. When one of the family spoke of meeting him
in heaven, he replied, ' And what a happy meeting that
will be ! ' He then asked his physician if he had shown
any signs of nervousness. When told he had not, with
a tender consideration for his loved ones, he said : 'I did
not want to excite the family unnecessarily, but I want
you all to know that there is not a cloud, not the sem-
blance of a shadow, dark or small, between my Lord
and me. All is bright and clear. ' He joined in singing
that hymn of Christian triumph commencing, ' How
happy are they,' and when the family, by reason of
their emotions, were unable to sing, he carried the tune.
He then sent messages of love to his friends and breth-
ren. 'Give my love,' said he, 'to the professors and
students of Randolph- Macon College, and may the bless-
ing of God be upon them and their work forever/
Then, with his heart going out to his brethren in the
ministry, with whom he had labored so long and so suc-
cessfully, he said : ' Give my love to the preachers — all
of them. I am so weak my feelings would overcome
me. I can only give them my general blessing. ' At
intervals till he died the expressions caught from his
failing voice were, 'Hallelujah,' ' Glory to God,' 'The
portals on high,' 'Always the blood — saved by it,' and
almost with his expiring breath, and as if descriptive of
his triumphant passage from earth to heaven, he ex-
claimed, 'I am rising higher and higher!' and at 1:15
o'clock P. M., June jih, he passed away from his family,
a wife and six children, all one in Christ, who, though
desolated by[their loss, are comforted in the blessed hope
of meeting in heaven.
f
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 303
' ' His remains were carried to Randolph- Macon Col-
lege, where solemn and touching services were held.
The next day they were conveyed to Centenary Church,
Richmond, one of his old charges, where, by request
of his family, Rev. S. S. Lambeth, assisted by Bishop
Granbery and some of the ministers of the city and vi-
cinity, in the presence of a large number of friends and
acquaintances, held appropriate and affecting services.
His body was then carried to Hollywood cemetery and
laid to rest 'till Christ shall bid it rise.'"
This writer had intended to bring the History down
to June, 1898. For reasons satisfactory to himself, but
not necessary to be given here, he has concluded to dis-
continue the historical narration of events which occurred
during the twelve years from June, 1886, to 1898.
The Appendix will give some of the most important
data, which may be interesting to many, and may be
used by the future historian.
He cannot close this narration of events without again
expressing his regret at the imperfections of this book,
written and printed under many interruptions and diffi-
culties ; but he trusts that the intrinsic interest of the
narrative will cause readers to overlook or forgive its
imperfections and defects.
Hoping that some more competent writer may in due
time take the crude materials given, along with others
of like interest, and do full justice to the oldest of Meth-
odist Colleges in America, he lays down his pen.
APPENDIX.
DEGREES CONFERRED.
SESSION 1886-1887.
DEGREE GRADUATES.
A. M.
Eugene H. Ravvlings, Virginia. Arthur K. Davis, Virginia.
A. B.
George C. Bidgood, Virginia. Thomas E. Hunt, Virginia.
Edwin W. Bowen, Maryland. James Lindsay Patton, Virginia.
John L. Bruce, Virginia. Henry R. Pemberton, Virginia.
George Shipley, Maryland.
RF.V. JOHN L. KRfCK
.If.'.
306 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
D. D.
Rev. Peter Archer Peterson, Virginia Conference.
MEDALISTS.
Sutherlin Medalist. — W. H. H. Joyce, Maryland.
Pace Medalist. — James C. Martin, Virginia.
REV. FRANK W. CROWDER,
East Neiv York Conference.
SESSION 1887-1888.
DEGREE GRADUATES.
George Shipley, Maryland.
A. M.
James C. Martin, Virginia.
A. B.
W. Douglas Macon, Virginia. James W. Howell, Virginia.
Peyton B. Winfree, Virginia. Carlton D. Harris, Virginia.
Paul Pettit, Virginia. James C. Dolley, Virginia.
Sutherlin Medalist. — Frank W. Crowder, Maryland.
Pace Medalist. — George Shipley, Maryland.
s, >
"f S
REV. WM. McGEE, TRUSTEE.
Founder Me Gee Endowment Fund.
JOHN P. PETTYJOHN.
Founder of Science Hall.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 307
SESSION 1888-1889.
DEGREE GRADUATES.
A. M.
Edwin W. Bowen, Maryland. Thomas W. Page, Virginia.
A. B.
Charles D. Ragland, Virginia. J. Gilchrist Herndon, Virginia.
B. S.
W. Alphonzo Murrill, Virginia.
Sutherlin Medalist. — A. M. Hughlett, Virginia.
Pace Medalist.— Jos. H. Riddick, Jr., Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. A. P. Parker, Missionary to Chiiia.
PROF. JOHN L. BUCHANAN, LL. D.,
Elected r>-«/,-s.w <;/" /-,i///;. /S&).
308 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
SESSION OF 1889-1890.
DEGREE GRADUATES.
A. M.
J. Jordan Leake, Virginia.
C. Dabney Ragland, Virginia.
John S. Richardson, Virginia.
W. Carroll Vaden, Virginia.
A. B.
E. C. Armstrong, Maryland.
W. B. Beauchamp, Virginia.
W. Asbury Christian, Virginia.
Wellford H. Cook, Virginia.
C. C. Cunningham, Virginia.
Samuel W. Eason, Virginia.
W. Alphonzo Murrill, Virginia.
W. Levi Old, Virginia.
Marshall R. Peterson, Virginia.
Jos. H. Riddick, Jr., Virginia.
Samuel C. Starke. Virginia.
H. M. Strickler, Virginia.
Walter L. Turner, Virginia.
Geo. W. Warren, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. W. E. Judkins, Virginia Conference.
Rev. B. W. Bond, Baltimore Conference.
Stither -tin Medalist. — Joseph H. Riddick, Jr., Virginia.
Murray Scholarship Medalist. — A. R. Dudderar, Maryland.
Pace Medalist. — Frank G. Newbill, Virginia.
SESSION
A. M.
Chafes Hall Davis, Virginia,
Samuel W. Eason, Virginia.
De La Warr B. Easter, Virginia.
W. Alphonzo Murrill, Virginia.
D'Arcy Paul Parham, Virginia.
Samuel C. Starke, Virginia.
A. B.
Benj. W. Arnold, Jr., Virginia.
George E. Barnett, Maryland.
Benj. W, Beckham, Virginia.
Henry D. Blackwell, Virginia.
MajorS. Colonna, Jr., Virginia.
Charles Hall Davis, Virginia.
Alfred R. Dudderar, Maryland.
Gustavus W. Dyer, Virginia.
Robert L. Fultz, Virginia.
John Calvin Hawk, W. Va.
Aretas M. Hughlett, Virginia.
Walter R. Old, Virginia.
George H. Ray, Jr., Virginia.
Robert T. Webb, Jr., Virginia.
LL. D.
Prof. C. T. Winchester, of Wesleyan University, Connecticut.
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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGP1. 309
D. D.
Rev. Walter R. Lambuth, of Japan.
Rev. James F. Twitty, Virginia Conference.
Rev. Edward M. Peterson, Virginia Conference.
Rev. William E. Evans, Virginia Conference.
Sutherlin Medalist. — Robert W. Patton, of Virginia.
REV. ROBERT W. PATTON,
Chaplain of 2nd I 'irgiuia Regiment (
SESSION 1891-1892.
A. M.
George Pilcher, Virginia.
A.
R. H. T. Adams, Jr., Virginia.
Hall Canter, Virginia.
Wm. Holmes Davis, Virginia.
Thos. R. Freeman, Virginia.
Willie D. Keene, Virginia.
Charles L. Melton, Virginia.
B.
David H. Kern, W. Virginia.
Bolivar Clarke Nettles, Texas.
Scott Ray, Virginia.
W. R. Smithwick, N. Carolina.
J. S. Zimmerman, Maryland.
Harry L. Moore, Maryland.
3io HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Sutherlin Medalist. — I. W. Eason, Virginia.
Pace Medalist. — Jos. N. Latham.
Murray Medals. — Scholarship, Harry Ludwell Moore, Mary-
land ; Proficiency, James Elliott Wamsley, Virginia.
HARRY LUDWELL MOORE, A. B., PH. D.,
Instructor at Johns Hopkins University; Professor Smith College^ Massachusetts.
SESSION 1892-1893.
A. M.
C. C. Cunningham, Virginia. Homer H. Sherman, Virginia.
Geo. W. ^Russell, Virginia. Wm. J. Whitesell, Virginia.
A. B.
R. H. Hood, North Carolina. Alfred C. Ray, Virginia.
James T. Myers, Maryland. Clarence H. Rector, Virginia.
B. S.
Homer H. Sherman, Virginia.
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HISTOR V OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 311
D. D.
Rev. \V. J. Young, Virginia Conference.
Slither lin Medalist. — Joseph Deming Langley, Virginia.
Murray Medalists.— Scholarship, Homer H. Sherman, Vir-
ginia ; Proficiency, Thomas M. Jones, Virginia.
REV. JAMES T. MYERS, A. B.,
Jfissioitary to Japan.
SESSION 1893-1894.
A. M.
E. C. Armstrong, Maryland. * John W. Jones, Idaho.
B. W. Arnold, Jr., Virginia. Frank G. Newbill, Virginia.
*R. Ferguson, Sr., Virginia. Andrew Sledd, Virginia.
R. Ferguson, Jr., Virginia. James E. Wamsley, Virginia.
A. M. Hughlett, Virginia.
* Under the old law existing when his A. B. was taken.
3i2 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
JOS. D. LANGLEY,
Sutherlin Medalist — 1893.
A. B.
W. M. Blanchard, N. Carolina. W. T. A. Haynes, Virginia.
R. W. Buchanan, Virginia. Thos. M. Jones, Virginia.
H. M. Carter, Dist. Columbia. John L. Terrell, Texas.
Evan A. Edwards, Maryland. S. H. Turner, Virginia.
Ernest Linwood Wright, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. William H. Christian, Virginia Conference.
Sutherlin Medalist. — Andrew Sledd, Virginia.
Murray Medalists. — Scholarship, Thomas Madison Jones,
Virginia; Proficiency, George Virgil Rector, Virginia.
"
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HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 313
SESSION 1894-1895.
A. M.
Benj. M. Beckham, Virginia. C. G. Evans, North Carolina.
Henry A. Christian, Virginia. Josiah D. Hank, Jr., Virginia.
THOMAS MADISON JONES,
Murray Scholarship Medalist, 1894.
A. B.
C. E. Armentrout, Virginia.
Carroll M. Baggarly, Virginia.
Irving H. Black well, Virginia.
Henry A. Christian, Virginia.
C. G. Evans, North Carolina.
Howard Fletcher, Virginia.
Josiah D. Hank, Jr., Virginia.
John B. Henry. Maryland.
Robert C. Howison, Virginia.
Richard E. Leigh, Mississippi.
Daniel T. Merritt, Virginia.
Benj. F. Montgomery, Virginia.
James T. Porter, Maryland.
A. H, Whisner, West Virginia.
Ernest Lee Woolf , Virginia.
314 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
D. D.
Rev. John C. Kilgo, President Trinity College, North Carolina.
Sutherlin Medalist. — David Spence Hill, Missouri.
Murray Medalists. — Proficiency, Marvin E. Smithey, Vir-
ginia ; Scholarship, Charles E. Armentrout, Virginia.
HAV1I) SPENCE HILL,
Satlicrlii! Medalist^ rSgj.
SESSION 1895-1896.
JUNE, 1896.
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
W. S. Anderson, West Virginia. N. H. Robertson, Virginia.
Clinton M. Kilby, Virginia. Stephen H. Watts, Virginia.
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HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 315
A. B.
John F. Blackwell, Virginia. John S. Poindexter, Virginia.
Stephen D. Boyd, Jr., Virginia. John H. Robertson, Virginia.
Henry O'B. Cooper, Virginia. Marvin E. Smithey, Virginia.
Patrick H. Drewry, Virginia. John A. G. Shipley. Maryland.
John C. Granbery, Jr., Virginia. George T. Tyler, Jr., Virginia.
F. W. Hilbert, Maryland. ' Charles W. Watts, Virginia.
James Mullen, Virginia. P. H. Williams, North Carolina.
Sutherlin Medalist. — Boyd Valentine Switzer, Virginia.
Pace Medalist. — Walter Sewall Anderson, West Virginia.
Murray Medalists. — Scholarship, Patrick H. Williams, North
Carolina; Proficiency, Frank Allen Simpson, Virginia.
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE.
A. M.
Emma E. Cheatham, Virginia. E. B.Williams, North Carolina.
JUNE, 1897.
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
W. M. Blanchard, N. Carolina. Bradford Kilby, Virginia.
Horace Campbell, Virginia. Albert H. Licklider, Virginia.
Hall Canter, Maryland. G. V. Litchfield, Jr., Virginia.
Henry O'B. Cooper, Virginia. James E. McCartney, Virginia.
Fred. W. Hilbert, Maryland. George T. Tyler, Jr., Virginia.
A. B.
William H. Best, Maryland. David Hough Dolly, Virginia.
William Veitch Boyle, Maryland. John Henry Dulin, Virginia.
Karl S. Blackwell, Virginia. Neil Courtice Scott, Virginia.
William B. Colonna, Virginia. Frank A. Simpson, Virginia.
Boyd Ashby Wise, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. Collins Denney, Baltimore Conference, Prof. Vander-
bilt University.
Sittherlin Me da list.— William Martin Blanchard, North Car-
olina.
21
3i6 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
Murray Medalists.— Scholarship, Frank A. Simpson, Vir-
ginia; Proficiency, George L. Bradford, Virginia.
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE.
A. M.
Sallie Adams, Virginia. Martha A. Franklin, Virginia.
Esten Holmes Jennings, West Virginia.
A. B.
Celeste Alspaugh, N. Carolina. Edith S. Black well, Virginia.
Martha McGavock, Virginia.
SESSION 1897-1898.
Randolph-Macon College, since June, 1886, has grown
into a system of colleges (female as well as male), and
fitting schools for both sexes. At the joint commence-
ment, held at Lynchburg, Va., June 6-9, 1898, all these
schools were represented. The Lynchburg Daily News
gave the report of the commencement, as follows :
"The big Randolph-Macon joint commencement was
formally opened by a reception tendered the visiting stu-
dents, alumni, and friends of the school at the Woman's
College. An address of welcome was made by Chancel-
lor W. W. Smith. The night was beautiful, the skies
being clear and studded with glittering stars. An im-
mense crowd was present, and the profound silence that
prevailed during the speech evidenced the deep interest
with which it was being received.
"The various trains yesterday brought the students
and the visiting alumni to the city. 'The Union station
on their arrival presented an animated scene. The
young men and young ladies seemed determined to
make of the occasion a delightful excursion, and an ex-
perience worth carrying in their memories for many
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 317
years to come. Everybody remarked on the personnel
of the students, and their quiet demeanor. They made
a fine impression, and their sojourn in the city promises
to be profitable to all interested.
" Randolph- Macon College is represented by about
ninety students ; the Front Royal Academy, by seventy ;
Bedford City Academy, by about eighty ; the Blackstone
Female Institute,* by one hundred and thirty-five ; and
the Danville Female Institute, by sixty. As there are
at the Randolph-Macon Woman's College, including the
day scholars, two hundred and twenty young ladies, the
total number of students present is between six and
seven hundred.
' ' To adequately describe the appearance of the College
with its elaborate decorations would be a herculean task.
All that artistic taste and ingenuity of invention could
suggest was abundantly in evidence. As the street-cars
moved rapidly over the hill at the base-ball park in the
direction of the College, the first glimpse of the building
was obtained. To the observer it looked like a light
glimmering and glowing in the night. As the car drew
nearer it was seen that the large structure, from one end
to the other and all over the front, was alive with vari-
colored Chinese and Japanese lanterns, which shed a
soft and pleasant radiance over the scene. On the big
campus, hanging to the branches of the trees and ar-
ranged in symmetrical lines on hundreds of poles, were
lanterns without end. Down to the left of the building,
where the ground slopes gently to a ravine, seats were
placed in comfortable positions. Everybody seemed to
be there for the purpose of spending a pleasant time and
contributing to his neighbor's happiness. Callers were
received in the large and spacious parlor on the first
*Not a school of the system, but present by special invitation.
3i8 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
floor just to the left of the main entrance. To everyone
was extended such a warm, cordial welcome that he felt
at once as if he were perfectly at home and as if he were
just where he ought to be.
TUESDAY.
"While the reception Monday night at the Woman's
College may be said to have opened the exercises of
the Randolph- Macon joint commencement, yet Tuesday
morning the first regular programme was carried out in
the auditorium at Moorman's Warehouse, which, long
before the time announced for the first number, was
crowded with a happy, well-dressed and interested au-
dience.
"In the bright sunlight of the pleasant morning the
scene presented in the auditorium was indeed good to
look upon. The draping of the entire edifice was most
skillfully carried out ; the ceiling covered with blue and
white cloth, while the sides of the building were hidden
by artistic folds of lemon and black.
"A well-built stage, extending the entire width of the
spacious auditorium, and decorated with potted plants
and flowers, afforded plenty of room for the speakers,
visitors, and contestants for honors. Arrangements
were made to comfortably seat some two or three thou-
sand people, fully that many chairs being placed in
regular rows, divided by two aisles extending the length
of the hall.
"The pupils of the different schools and colleges be-
ing among the first to arrive, the spare time was utilized
for a rehearsal of college songs, interspersed with the
different college yells of the system, some of which oc-
casioned hearty laughter.
"Upon the arrival of Chancellor Smith, the represen-
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 319
titives of the various schools of the system took their
places upon the stage, as well as those pupils who were
to contest for the elocution and declaimer's medals.
After music by the band and prayer by Rev. Oscar Lit-
tleton, the first number was announced, it being a con-
test for the declaimer's medal of Randolph-Macon Acad-
emy, of Bedford City. Mr. J. K. Holman opened with
a humorous selection entitled ' Uncle Peter and the Trolly
Car.' He was followed by Mr. W. E. Wood, who de-
claimed an historical poem of the revolutionary period,
'The Black Horse and His Rider.' Between this con-
test and the next the pupils of the Bedford school, accom-
panied by the band, rendered with much spirit an
' Academy ' song, the words of which were composed
by Wirt Hollo way, a pupil.
' ' A contest for the recitation medal of the Randolph-
Macon Institute, of Danville, followed, the first being
Miss Janie Howard, who had chosen a dialect story,
'Rubaiyat of Doc Sifers.' 'The Set of Turquoise' was
delivered by Miss Sue Bethel. The young ladies of the
Danville Institute then closed their part of the programme
with their favorite song, ' The Lemon and Black,' in the
course of which they were assisted by the young men of
the system.
" J. William Kight came forward as a representative
of the Academy at Front Royal, and with a humorous
description of a New England debating society, in which
he gave practical illustrations of the different classes of
village oratory.
"Mr. J. L. Humphrey, also of the Front Royal Acad-
emy, gave a declamation entitled ' Laska.'
"The contest for the Woman's College medal was in-
troduced by Miss Nellie Underwood, whose subject was
'The Courtin' of T'Nowhead's Bell.'
320 HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
" Miss Underwood was followed by Miss Hathryn P.
Acree, whose subject was ' Parhassius and the Captive.'
"The rendition of the Woman's College song, 'Merry
Girls of R. M. W. C.,' was followed by the contest for
the Woman's College Medal for best address. The con-
testants were Miss Addie Taylor and Miss Sadie Jacobs.
Miss Taylor was the first speaker. Her subject was
'The Supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon.' Miss Jacobs'
subject was ' Demands of Our Civilization.'
' ' The closing exercise was the contest for the Suther-
lin orator's medal of the Randolph- Macon College, Ash-
land. The contestants were F. Raymond Hill, B. A.
Wise, E. K. Odell, and S. M. Janney.
" Mr. Hill opened the contest with an oration on 'The
Price of Progress.'
" Mr. Janney's subject was 'What For?'
" 'The Power of a Noble Example ' was the subject of
Mr. Wise's oration.
"Mr. Odell followed in an oration entitled, 'De Ora-
toribus.'
4 ' The exercises were closed with the singing of the
' Commencement Chorus . '
"A feature of the morning's programme, which was
of a decidedly interesting character, was the calisthenic
drill, under the direction of Miss Alice Hargrove, of a
number of young ladies of the Woman's College.
FIELD-DAY EXERCISES.
"Tuesday afternoon was devoted to field day exer-
cises in the Rivermont base-ball park. A sound mind
in a sound body has for a long time been a leading maxim
in the Randolph- Macon system. Each institution has
its well-equipped gymnasium, under the instruction of
•an efficient instructor, and during the unseasonable days
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 321
of winter every student of the system is required to go
through an hour's drill in the gymnasium three after-
noons in the week.
' ' The average man gets his idea of college athletics
from the base-ball and foot-ball teams, which generally
tour the State annually. Randolph-Macon recognizes
the fact that base-ball and foot-ball are but a small part of
college athletics, and consequently every student is en-
couraged to allot a portion of his time to the general
training of his body, and especially to athletic feats re-
quiring more or less skill and grace. In early spring, at
each school in the system, a day known as Field-Day
is set aside for athletic exercises, for which prizes and
medals are offered as a special inducement, to ensure a
large number of contestants.
THE CONCERT.
"Tuesday night a concert was given at the Opera-
House by the young ladies of the Woman's College and
the Danville Female Institute. Of the character of the
music of the programme the highest praise has been
spoken. In the instrumental and the chorus selections
the participants presented music of the highest perfec-
tion— music that possessed a charm and inspiration for
every listener.
WEDNESDAY.
"About half- past nine o'clock Wednesday morning
the students of the several schools and colleges, together
with the alumni, met at old St. Paul's Church, on Church
street, and there, after forming into a procession and led
by the band, marched to the auditorium. Here the
graduating class, in orthodox cap and gown, ascended
the stage, where, with the alumni, they were seated in
322 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
chairs arranged in semi-circular lines, forming altogether
a pleasing and impressive picture.
"A few minutes were spent in rehearsing college
songs. In this connection it may be well to note that
the Randolph- Macon system is rich with songs suitable
for commencement season, and written principally by
those who have studied within its classic halls. After
prayer by Rev. Dr. James A. Duncan, of Knoxville,
Tenn., Mr. W. S. Bell, president of the Class of '98, in-
troduced Miss Blanche E. Cheatham, of Martinsville,
who delivered the salutatory address.
"The history of the Class of '98 and its twenty-nine
members was told by Mr. J. T. Porter, and as each name
was called it was greeted with applause, while the his-
torian made a brief comment upon its owner. The Class
song of '98, composed by Mr. E. T. Adams, Jr., was
next sung, after which Miss Lily G. Egbert, of Atlee,
Va., read the class poem, an original composition entitled
' The Evolution of a Soul.'
"Mr. J. E. McCulloch, of Roanoke, delivered the
class oration.
"The Hall song, evidently a favorite with the male
students, was sung with considerable spirit, especially
the chorus, which eulogizes as ' the very best of all ' the
two halls of the two rival literary societies, those of
Washington and Franklin. The president of the class
next introduced Miss Eloise Richardson, of Richmond,
who read a class prophecy, in which she drew vivid
pictures of the bright futures awaiting many of this
year's class.
" Mr. Sydenstricker, of Loudoun, read a paper entitled
' Recommendations. ' In it he indicated, with a prescient
knowledge of seemingly remarkable accuracy, the future
employments and professions of the members of the
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 323
graduating classes of Randolph- Macon College, Ashland,
and the Woman's College, Lynchburg.
"After singing "Gaudeamus,' the last will and testa-
ment of the graduating classes of the two institutions
was read by Mr. F. C. Campbell, of Ashland. Again
was the audience treated to a series of ' hits ' at the ex-
pense of certain members of the faculties, pupils, etc., of
the two schools.
"The valedictory of Mr. F. R. Hill, of West Virginia,
the next feature of the programme, was an eloquent and
interesting address, and in its delivery made a deep im-
pression on the large audience. Mr. Hill, unlike the
majority of college valedictorians, introduced into his
composition much originality of thought and feeling.
His manner was marked by that simplicity which always
distinguishes the true orator, and which invariably at-
tracts and holds the closest attention of an audience.
MR. TILLETT'S ADDRESS.
"After singing 'The Randolph- Macon Roundelay,'
the alumni address was delivered by Hon. Charles W.
Tillett, of North ^Carolina. This eloquent speaker dwelt
in feeling terms upon the great Randolph- Macon Sys-
tem. The foundation, he declared, had been laid with
enduring material, and to-day all could unite in applaud-
ing the distinguished success of the master hand. The
occasion was one on which a little glorification was par-
donable, and every Randolph- Macon man and woman
might well feel proud of his or her alma mater, and particu-
larly of the joint commencement, which they all recog-
nized as the grandest and most successful commence-
ment of Randolph-Macon's career.
' ' The exercises were brought to a close with the sing-
ing of the song, ' Alma Mater, O.'
324 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
THE BALL GAME.
"An immense crowd gathered at the park in the
afternoon to witness the ball game between the Bedford
and the Front Royal Academies. The boys from Bed-
ford had the best of the contest from start to finish, and
won out by a score of 1 3 to i .
FRANKLIN HALL.
' ' At night the exercises of the ' Frank ' Hall were in-
troduced with prayer by Rev. W. H. Atwill. The de-
clamations were: 'The Fireman's Prayer/ by W. W.
Wood, of Bedford; 'The Innocent Drummer,' by Miss
Bethel, of Danville, and 'The Village Schoolmaster,' by
J. L. Humphrey. W. J. Gills, of the College, delivered
an oration on 'True Patriotism,' and the exercises closed
with an essay by Miss Lula B. Woolridge, of the
Woman's College, on 'Triumphant Life.' The Society
medals were awarded as follows: John Kilby, of Suf-
folk, for declamation ; F. C. Campbell, of Ashland, for
debate, and Marvin E. Smithey, of Brunswick, for im-
provement in debate.
THE ALUMNI BANQUET.
"The annual banquet of the Alumni Association was
held at the ' Carroll ' Wednesday night from 1 1 to 2
o'clock. After half an hour's feasting, the remaining
time was devoted to speeches of prominent members of
the Association. The following toasts were responded
to: ' Randolph- Macon College,' Dr. J. A. Kern; ' Ran-
dolph-Macon Woman's College,' Dr. N. Knight; ' Ran-
dolph-Macon Academy' (Bedford), Principal E. Sumter
Smith ; ' Randolph-Macon Academy ' (Front Royal), Dr.
B. W. Arnold; 'Randolph-Macon Institute' (Danville),
Miss Nellie Black well ; ' Blackstone Female Institute,'
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 325
Rev. James Cannon, Jr. ; 'Board of Trustees,' Dr. E. B.
Prettyman ; ' Randolph- Macon of 1898,' J. E. McCul-
loch; 'The Alumni,' Charles W. Tillett ; 'Glories of
the Past,' Captain Richard Irby; ' Randolph-Macon of
the Future,' Dr. W. W. Smith."
EDWARD S. BROWN, A. B.
The oldest alumnus present was Edward S. Brown
-(Class 1843), a prominent and most estimable citizen of
Lynchburg, who matriculated in 1837-.
Letters were received from the oldest alumnus now
living, and one of the members of the graduating Class
of 1839, who, with Thomas H. Garnett, of Buckingham
county, Va., of same class, still survives.
The oldest living alumnus, Dr. Theophilus S. Stewart,
326 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
of Marietta, Ga., graduated in 1836. He accompanied
Dr. Olin to Europe, and took his degree of M. D. in Paris
in 1839.
The letters of Dr. Stewart and Rev. James F. Smith,
of Spartanburg, S. C., referred in tenderest terms to the
College.
DR. THEOPHILUS S. STEWART, A. B.,
(Class, rSjb.)
" Thursday. — The opening prayer was made by Rev.
Dr. Arnold, of. North Carolina, at the conclusion of
which the Commencement hymn (No. i) was sung by
the students to the air of ' America,' all standing. Bishop
Vincent, of Kansas, the speaker of the occasion, was
then introduced by the chancellor. The Bishop, who is
a man of fine appearance, with a pleasant voice, launched
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 327
forth in these words : ' Notable days to the individual,
to associations, to state and to church, come into all lives.
This is an interesting day to the individual, to families,
and to the institution. It is a day of an ending and a
day of a beginning. I see a picture, as I stand in this
place to-day, of closing doors and of doors ajar — the
end of complete or partial course of study and the begin-
ning of lessons in the great school of life. Here, with
the fragrance and flowers, under the spell of music, be-
neath these glorious skies and amid these mountains of
Virginia, we need not only to look backward, but to look
forward.'
" He closed his address as follows : 'Above all things,
a man wants character ; for if you presented yourself at
the gate of heaven without the quality that would make
you worthy to dwell there, you would find the beauties
and glories of the home of God uncongenial to you.
Live, not that you may have your name in Washington
with a big pension or something of that kind, but in
order that you may contribute to the betterment of the
environment of those about you.'
' ' To the students before him he said he would recom-
mend the whole world and the universe as a university
in which to learn and in which to strive to ascend to the
university of the most high God.
HONORS AWARDED.
"After a song, 'Columbia, the Pride of the Nation,'
the distinguished under-graduates were announced by
printed sheets. Then followed the awarding of prizes
and medals, the Randolph- Macon Institute, of Danville,
being first, followed in regular order by the Randolph-
Macon Academy, Bedford City; Randolph- Macon Acad-
emy, Front Royal ; Randolph-Macon Woman's College,
Lynchburg, and Randolph-Macon College, Ashland.
328 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
"Diplomas in courses were awarded by President
Kern, of the Randolph- Macon College, and Vice- Presi-
dent Knight, of the Randolph- Macon Woman's College.
THE GRADUATES.
' ' Degrees were conferred on the following :
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
A. M.
Karl S. Blackwell, Virginia. James T. Porter, Virginia.
A. Judson Chalkley, Virginia. Raymond R. Ross, Virginia.
David Hough Dolly, Virginia. Frank A. Simpson, Virginia.
James C. Dolly, Kentucky. Marvin E. Smithey, Virginia.
Boyd Ashby Wise, Virginia.
A. B.
William Solon Bell, Virginia. Alfred Allen Kern, Virginia.
William G. Burch, Virginia. LeRoy E. Kern, Virginia.
F. C. Campbell, Virginia. James E. McCulloch, Virginia.
Merrick Clements, Maryland. Geo. L. Neville, Jr., Virginia.
Carl Hall Davis, Virginia. Arthur V. Nunnally, Virginia.
F. B. Fitzpatrick, Virginia. Robert H. Sheppe, Virginia.
Frank R. Hill, West Virginia. Hampden H. Smith, Virginia.
Edward B. Jones, Virginia. H. Sydenstricker, W. Virginia.
James T. Walker, Virginia.
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE.
A. B.
Lily Garland Egbert, Virginia. Blanche E. Cheatham, Virginia.
Eloise Richardson, Virginia. Cornelia Poindexter, Virginia.
MEDALISTS.
Sutherlin Medal. — Samuel McPherson Janney, Virginia.
Murray Medals. — Proficiency Medal, Thomas Moody Camp-
bell, Virginia ; Scholarship Medal, George Lafayette Bradford,
Virginia — of Randolph-Macon College.
Walton Greek Prize. — David H. Dolly, Virginia. •
Medal for Best Essay. — Sadie Jacobs, Virginia — of Randolph-
Macon Woman's College.
HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 329
WASHINGTON SOCIETY.
' ' With the excellent programme of the annual cele-
bration of the Washington Literary Society the exercises
of the joint commencement of the Randolph- Macon sys-
tem of educational institutions were brought to a close.
"Prayer was offered by Bishop Granbery, after which
Edwin B. Jones, president of the society, welcomed
those present, and introduced J. W. Kight, of Front
Royal, who entertained his hearers with a short, humor-
ous sketch. Miss Swanson, of the Danville Institute,
followed with a dialect recitation, entitled 'Writin'
Back to the Home Folks.' 'Flying Jim's Last Leap'
was the declamation given by Mr. Taylor, of the Bed-
ford City Academy, and the next was an oration by F.
Burke Fitzpatrick, of Randolph- Macon College. His
speech was devoted to prophesying as to the future of
Virginia, basing his remarks upon the record of the
past.
"Miss Edith Cheatham's address was 'College Men
and Women.'
" The programme was brought to a close by an oration,
' A Great Work ; Our Share in It,' delivered by Frank A.
Simpson, of Richmond, Va.
' ' On behalf of the Washington Literary Society, Pro-
fessor R. B. Smithey presented three medals — one to the
best declaimer, D. R. Anderson ; to the best debater, F.
R. Hill ; to the best orator, S. R. Tyler.
"Dr. E. E. Hoss, of Nashville, the speaker of the
evening, was then introduced. His subject was "The
Forces that Make Character.' He delivered a strong
and thoughtful address, which would have been more
fully appreciated at an earlier hour."
330 HISTOR Y OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE.
AWARDS OF PRIZES AND MEDALS.
WALTON GREEK PRIZE. MATHEMATICAL PRIZE.
1872. R. E. Blackwell, Va.,
1873. Robert Sharp, Va.,
1874. Wm. A. Frantz, Va., . ... Howard Edwards, Va.
1875. W. H. Page, N. C., W. F. Tillett, N. C.
1876. Cyrus Thompson, N. C. ... M. T. Peed, Va.
1877. M. T. Peed, Va.,
1878. Clarence Edwards, Va. . . . J. T. Littleton, Va.
1879. J. B. Crenshaw, Va.
1880 R. E. L. Holmes, Va.
iSSi D. W. Taylor, Va.
1882. R. E. L. Holmes, Va., . . . James H. Moss, Va.
1883. James M. Page, Va., . ... Richard H. Bennett, Va.
.1884. L. Leitch, Va., James M. Page, Va.
1885. Thos. W. Page, Va., . ... Wm. H. Barley, Va.
1886. E. H. Rawlings, Va., . ... George Shipley. Va.
1887. J. H. Riddick, Jr.,Va., . . . J. Jordan Leake, Va.
1888. J. Jordan Leake, Va., . . . . A. M. Hughlett, Va.
1889. De La WarrB. Easter, Va. ... E. W. Bowen, Md.
1890. C. D. Ragland, Va Andrew Sledd, Va.
1891. E. C. Armstrong, Md., ... H. H. Sherman, Va.
1892. Andrew Sledd, Va., (Discontinued.)
1893. J. E. Wamsley, Va.,
1894. E. P. Dahl, Va.
1895. C. E. Armentrout, Va.,
1896. Bradford Kilby, Va.,
1897. J. W. Lillaston, Va.,
1898. David H. Dolly, Va.,
WASHINGTON LITERARY SOCIETY. FRANKLIN LITERARY SOCIETY.
1874. A. H. C. Russell, La., ... J. B. Powell, Ala.
1875. J. B. McCabe, Va., W. F. Tillett, N. C.
1876. T.McN. Simpson, N.C
1877. Gray Carroll, N. C W. J. Sebrell, Va.
1878. Jno. W. Carroll, Va., . ... Chas. W. Tillett, N. C.
1879. W. W. Sawyer, N. C., ... H. A. Southall, Va.
1880. D. M. James, W. Va., . . . . Frank Thompson, N. C.
1881. . . E. S. Ruffin, Va.
JUDGE.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. 331
1882. S. M. Garland, Va., Harry L. Stuart, Texas.
1883. J. H. Light, Va., John Morris, Ga.
1884. C. A. Swanson, Va., . ... W. M. Lane, Va.
1885. Jas. Cannon, Jr., Md Thos. F. Sherrill, N. C.
1886. T. W. Page, Jr., Va., . ... E. H. Rawlings, Va.
1887. C. L. Bane, W. Va., . ... Sherrard R. Tabb, Va.
1888. C. F. Sherrill, N. C., . ... A. M. Hughlett, Va.
1889. W. H. H. Joyce, Va., . ... W. A. Christian, Va.
1890. M. R. Peterson, Va., . ... W. B. Beauchamp, Va.
1891. I. W. Eason, Va., H. G. Buchanan, Va.
1892. J. N. Latham, Va., W. Stevens, W. Va.
1893. D. H. Kern, W. Va R. H. Hood, N. C.
1894. S. C. Hatcher, Va., Andrew Sledd, Va.
1895. J. H. Hatcher, Va., P. H. Williams, N. C.
1896. B. V. Switzer, Va., F. W. Hilbert, Md.
1897. F. R. Hill, W. Va., W. M. Blanchard, N. C.
1898. S. R. Tyler, Va., F. C. Campbell, Va.
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