HISTORY OF
THEjjNlVERSITY^
OF THE gOUTH
.••u- - .; •" ; vi xv*
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
Class
HISTORY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,
AT
SEWANEE, TENNESSEE,
FROM
Its founding by the Southern Bishops, Clergy and Laity of the
Episcopal Church in 1857 to the year 1905.
BY
GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS, M. A., Un.'Coll.,Trin. Coll.
One of its founders and long-time Trustee. Still connected with
the Board of Trustees and its Executive Committees.
JACKSONVILLE. FLA.
THE H. St. W. B. DREW COMPANY
1905
SENERAI
PREFACE.
Nearly half a century has elapsed since the meeting on
Lookout Mountain (on July 4th, 1857), composed of bishops,
clerical and lay delegates, considered and adopted plans for
building up at the South a university of learning which should
meet the requirements for higher education of youth in the
Southern States of the Union, and carry out, what was not
permitted in State institutions, the association of religion and
learning.
The story of the beginnings of the enterprise before the
war between the States, and its utter prostration during that
dreadful period, the heroic efforts made at the close of the war
to resuscitate the great scheme projected by Bishop Polk and
his associates, is a story of no ordinary interest, and it seems
to the author of the work, being now the only survivor of that
body, but fit and proper that a record should be made of the
founding, the encouraging beginning, the sad overthrowal, and
the successful efforts made to re-establish it upon the old plans
and foundations, which have ultimately led to the carrying out,
in some degree, of those plans, and the establishment upon a
permanent basis of the University of the South.
Those of the present generation can but faintly understand
or appreciate the trials and struggles which it cost those engaged
in the work, or the self-sacrifices undergone in order to save
and sustain the institution in times that tried men's souls, and
few, I fear, realize what a debt of gratitude they owe for the
present condition of the University, to the men of the past who
have been connected with the work.
iv PREFACE.
The transition from the simple log homes in which its
re-founder, Bishop Quintard, and the writer, domiciled our
families in 1866, almost alone in the unbroken forest, and the
one frame building named Otey Hall, to the many beautiful
buildings of the University and the homes of the cultivated
and refined society of Sewanee as it now is, is a striking con-
trast indeed.
To perpetuate, in some degree, the labors and sacrifices
made in the upbuilding of the University, and to follow, step by
step, its gradual growth, is a labor of love and reverential
regard. It is hoped that these pages will increase, in its alumni
and friends, the already fervent Sewanee spirit, and create
that reverence for the past, and for the men who, under God's
merciful Providence, labored for the accomplishment of the
great and ennobling thought of Polk, Otey, Elliott and Green,
and later on of Quintard, and their associates, to build up for
the glory of God and the good of mankind, this Christian seat
of learning, for which we may well all pray, in the words of
Bishop Elliott at the laying of the cornerstone in 1860:
Esto Pcrpetua.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE,
Early efforts of Bishop Otey, of Tennessee, to establish a
church college and seminary for the dioceses of Tennessee,
Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas 1
CHAPTER II.
1856.
The initial steps taken by Bishop Polk to create a university
for the Southern States, and action of the Southern bishops
in reference thereto . 11
CHAPTER III.
The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates on
Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, on July 4, 1857, and
adoption of a plan of organization for a university 22
CHAPTER IV.
1857.
The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama, in
November, 1857— Selection of a location — Application for
a charter — Selection of a name — Subsequent meetings held
at Beersheba Springs, Tenn., and New Orleans, La. — Charter
accepted 28
vi CONTENTS
PACK-
CHAPTER V.
1860.
First meeting of the board of trustees, at Sewanee, Tenn.,
in October, 1860 — Adoption of a constitution and statutes —
Laying of cornerstone, on October 10, 1860 38
CHAPTER VI.
1861.
Tribute to Bishops Polk, Otey and Elliott — Events subsequent
to the laying of the cornerstone — Secession of the Confeder-
ate States — Organization of the church in the South — Meet-
ing of the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in October,
1861
CHAPTER VII.
1865-66.
The effort for the resuscitation of the University, in 1865 —
Action taken by the convention of the diocese of Tennessee
toward establishing a training school — Election of the Rev.
Chas. T. Quintard as bishop of Tennessee, and his work to
effect this purpose — Meeting of the trustees at Sewanee in
1866, and determination to resume the work 70
CHAPTER VIII.
Progress of affairs during the year 1867 — Efforts to raise
funds at home for the work... 82
CONTENTS. vii
PAGE.
CHAPTER IX.
1867.
Meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in August, 1867—-
Action taken in reference to the approaching meeting of the
Pan-Anglican Council in England — Visit of Bishop Quin-
tard to England, and material aid received for the Univer-
sity 91
CHAPTER X.
1868.
Election and consecration of Bishop Beckwith, as bishop of
Georgia — Meeting of the trustees at Savannah, Ga., on April
2, 1868 — Decision of the board to open the junior depart-
ment of the University not later than September 1, 1868—
Selection of General Josiah Gorgas as head of the school —
Formal opening of the junior department on September 18,
1868 96
CHAPTER XI.
1869.
Progress in the year 1869 — Bishop Quintard's report as vice
chancellor and recommendations — Report of the commis-
sioner of buildings and lands as to erection of buildings and
leases of lots — Plans for raising an endowment considered
— Appointment of professors and officers 103
Tin CONTENTS.
PAGE.
CHAPTER XII.
1870.
Increased number of students — Erection of library building —
Meeting of board of trustees in July, 1870 — Vice Chancellor
Quintard urges expansion of the work — Report of com-
mittee in reference to opening the schools of the University 110
CHAPTER XIII.
1871.
Action of the board in reference to leases on the domain —
Separation of the grammar school from the other depart-
ments, and its organization — Litigation in reference to the
lands of the University — Founding of the E. Q. B. Club. . . 123
CHAPTER XIV.
1871.
Views of Bishop Quintard as to the religious character and
demands of the University — Increase of students — Leases
and residences — Statement of the plans of the founders as
to buildings to be erected 132
CHAPTER XV.
1872.
Vice Chancellor Quintard urges immediate action to obtain
an endowment fund — Plans of endowment suggested —
$500,000 to be sought for— Bishop Quintard requested to
undertake this work . . 142
CONTENTS. ix
PACK.
CHAPTER XVI.
1873-1874.
The theological department inaugurated by the election of
a professor of systematic divinity — Regulations as to the
order of gownsmen adopted — The cornerstone of the
Hodgson Library Building laid — Bishop Quintard requested
to go to England in the interest of the University 153
CHAPTER XVII.
1875.
Bishop Quintard's second visit to England, in 1876 — Aid for
the University received from English churchmen — Dr. Geo.
T. Wilmer elected professor in theological department —
Passage of the Four-Mile Law by Legislature of Tennessee
— Its beneficial effects . , 162
CHAPTER XVIII.
1878.
Depressing condition of the affairs of the University in 1878 —
The financial outlook discouraging — The hebdomadal board
agrees to undertake the work of sustaining the academic
department — Election of Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as
dean of the theological department 176
CONTENTS.
PACK.
CHAPTER XIX.
1878-1879.
The academic department under the control of the hebdoma-
dal board — Meeting of the board of trustees in 1879 — The
views of the hebdomadal board presented to the board of
trustees — Financial condition of the University — Measures
taken to fund its indebtedness . 193
CHAPTER XX.
1880-1881.
The university commission continued for one year — Financial
condition still depressing — A more complete organization
of the military department— Plans for university build-
ings— Issue of bonds — Support of theological department. . 208
CHAPTER XXI.
1882-1883.
The University commission discontinued — Financial condition
and number of students — Proposal to change the name of
the University from The University of the South to The
University of Sewanee — The trustees undertake the erection
of a chemical and philosophical hall — Conference held at
Sewanee on the problem of the relation of the church to
the colored race 219
CONTENTS. xi
PAGE.
CHAPTER XXII.
1883.
Report of special committee on proposed change of name —
Organization of a hotel company — Completion of Thompson
Hall — Constitution amended so as to give representation in
the board of trustees to the missionary institutions and
to the alumni 232
CHAPTER XXIII.
1884-1886.
Proposition made to erect grammar school buildings near
Morgan Steep — Renewal of approval of the Bishop
Hopkin's plans of location of buildings — Laying of the
cornerstone of Convocation Hall 240
CHAPTER XXIV.
1886.
The location and plans for the permanent buildings discussed
in the board of trustees — A paper as to the plans of the
founders of the University, by Geo. R. Fairbanks, a lay
trustee from the diocese of Florida, read in the meeting of
the board — Preservation of forest growth — Death of Bishop
Young, of Florida, and Col. L. N. Whittle, of Georgia 247
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
CHAPTER XXV.
1886-1889.
Rev. Dr. Barrett's plan for endowment — Death of the Rev.
William Mercer Green, bishop of Mississippi, and chancellor
of the University — Election of bishop Gregg as chancellor —
Attempt of county authorities to subject the 1,000 acres
exempted by the charter to taxation — Decree of the Supreme
Court in favor of the University . 265
CHAPTER XXVI.
1889-1890.
Several theological scholarships founded — Unsatisfactory
financial condition — Gift of D. V. Walsh, of Louisiana, for
an academic hall — Plans for same adopted — Remarks upon
the plans for University buildings .276
CHAPTER XXVII.
1891-1892.
Resignation of Rev. Dr. Hodgson of office of vice chancellor —
Election of Rev. Thos. F. Gailor, D. D., as his successor —
The question of water supply considered — Resignation of
Prof. Page from chair of modern languages, and election
of Prof. B. W. Wells. Ph. D., to that chair — Organization
of the medical department, and of school of commerce and
trade . 286
CONTENTS. xiii
CHAPTER XXVIII.
1893.
The constitution amended so as to provide for the election
of chancellor — Death of Gen. E. Kirby Smith — Tribute to
the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. C. L., bishop of Tennessee —
The Tustin fund given for the use of the theological depart-
ment— Establishment of the law department — Completion
of Walsh Memorial Hall — Consecration of Rev. Dr. T. F.
Gailor, D. D., as bishop coadjutor of Tennessee — Death of
Bishop Gregg, chancellor of the University, and election of
the Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley, LL. D., bishop of Kentucky, as
chancellor 295
CHAPTER XXIX.
1893-1894.
Reorganization and enlargement of the executive committee —
Resignation of Rt. Rev. T. P. Gailor, S. T. D., as vice chan-
cellor, and election of Prof. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., to that
office — Death of the Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., dean of
the theological department 304
CHAPTER XXX.
1895.
Some changes of professors and officers made — The military
system re-established in the grammar school — The subject
of athletics considered — The Bishop Dudley endowment
fund of $50,000 received — Dormitory for junior students
suggested — Visit of the Rev. Dr. Chas. F. Hoffman to
Sewanee , . 314
xiv CONTENTS.
PAGE.
CHAPTER XXXI.
1895-1896.
Financial condition of the University — Increase of students —
Plan of endowment proposed by Dr. Murdock — Death of
Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup — Organization of faculty of arts and
sciences — Prize scholarships awarded to students of Univer-
sity by Society for Promoting the Interests of Church
Schools, Colleges and Seminaries — Adverse action on
proposal to change the winter to a summer vacation —
Academic degree for women considered 327
CHAPTER XXXII.
1897-1898.
Conditions in 1897 improving — Larger enrollment of students
— Growth of medical department — Regulations of athletics
— Laying of the cornerstone of Hoffman Memorial Hall and
its completion 334
CHAPTER XXXIII.
1898.
Death of Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, LL. D., D. C. L.,
on February 15, 1898 — Prizes awarded to students by the
Association for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools
and Colleges — Oratorical contests and athletic games won
by Sewanee students — Increase in number of students —
Resignation of Prof. B. W. Wells — Question of cheapening
expenses of students — Aid given by scholarships 342
CONTENTS. xv
CHAPTER XXXIV.
1899-1900.
Benefactions of Judge Goodwyn and Rev. E. D. Cooper, D. D. —
Establishment of steam laundry and waterworks — Sewanee
sandstone — Rebuilding of the supply store — Change of
scholastic year from two to three terms — Resignation of
Prof. Trent — Death of Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, and
Bishop Pierce, of Arkansas — The Quintard Memorial Hall —
Gift of Westminister chimes by Rev. W. C. Douglas, D. D . . 354
CHAPTER XXXV.
1901-1902.
The University Library, addition to Thompson Medical Hall —
Reorganization of law department — Death of Professor
Greenough White — Resignation of Rev. Dr. R. H. Starr... 366
CHAPTER XXXVI.
1902-1903.
Death of Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, of Mississippi, and
Bishop R. W. Barnwell, of Alabama — Retirement of Profes-
sor W. L. Bevan, and E. H. Babbitt — Other changes in the
faculty — Election of Dr. Brantz Mayer Roszel, as head
master of the grammar school — Improvement of the domain 376
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Notes upon the founding, growth and present condition of the
domain of the University, which may be of interest for
future reference . . 390
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Conclusion ... . 396
Rt.Rev. JAMES H OTEY, D. D.
Bishop of Tennessee, First Chancellor of the University
OF THE
( UNIVERSITY
OF
History of the University of the South,
CHAPTER I.
The early efforts of Bishop Otey to establish a church college and
seminary for the dioceses of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Arkansas, to be called Madison College.
THE University of the South, by common consent, owes
its inception to the great bishop of Louisiana, Leonidas
Polk, who took the initial steps for its establishment
in 185(>, but it may not be unprofitable to devote some
attention to the preceding efforts of Bishop Otey of
Tennessee to set on foot a church college and seminary
for the benefit of his own and several adjoining dioceses
which he aimed to associate jointly in the scheme, efforts
in which, as will be seen, Bishop Polk took a prominent
part, and which no doubt led to the movement which
he inaugurated in 1856 for the founding of a church
university for the Southern States, as the result of which
the University of the South has been established and
now exists.
One can hardly suppose that the subject of educa-
tion had been absent from the minds of the churchmen of
the Southern States. During the colonial period the
South was settled on its eastern seaboard mainly by the
better class of Englishmen, to whom social position was
of great importance. They had inherited a respect for
learning and for churchmanship ; they associated educa-
2 HISTORY OF THE
tion with position, and provided for their sons and
daughters the best advantages attainable. Those who
had wealth sent their sons to England for education,,
and, at a later period, to William and Mary, Princeton,
Harvard or Yale. The church clergyman, always an
educated man, stood first in social standing, and was
often engaged in the work of education in colleges or
private schools. The Southwestern States were settled
by immigration from the seaboard. Virginia, one hundred
years ago, embraced, besides its present territory, West
Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Wis-
consin. North Carolina had embraced all of Tennessee,
and South Carolina and Georgia claimed the Mississippi
Kiver as their western boundary.
The heredity of churchmanship and education was
carried in a diminished degree from the seaboard to the
West and Southwest. The church, it is true, was very
weak indeed among these peoples, and when her sons
were scattered over so large a region there was little
power of concentration for the accomplishment of any
educational work. We, at this day, hardly realize how
weak the church was in our Southern associated dioceses
in 1856, when Bishop Folk's letter was put forth. The
dioceses were most of them under their first bishops.
The entire number of clergy in all of the Southern
dioceses reached only about 180, a smaller number than
some single dioceses at the North contained ; but, although
the church was weak, the educational idea was prominent
in the thought of these pioneer bishops and clergy. Of
those who inaugurated the University, Bishops Otey and
Green had been professors in the University of North
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3
Carolina, Bishop Elliott had been a professor in the South
Carolina College, Bishop Polk had been educated at
West Point and had visited the great educational institu-
tions abroad. When Bishop Otey came to Tennessee as
a presbyter he engaged in teaching at Franklin, and his
mind seemed at once to be occupied with the subject of
Christian education.
As early as 1832, in the diocesan journal of Tennessee
for that year, we find certain resolutions on that subject,
supposed to have been prepared by Bishop Otey while
yet a presbyter of that diocese. In 1834, at the early
age of 34, he was consecrated as the first bishop of
Tennessee. In his address to his convention in June,
1835, he said : "Among other interesting and important
matters which will claim the attention of this convention
I deem it highly proper to call to your notice the subject
of education, both as it respects provision to be made
for furnishing to the children of Episcopalians, as well
as others who desire it, proper facilities for acquiring
a knowledge of the arts and sciences usually taught in
colleges, as likewise for affording to those who may
become candidates for orders, more ample advantages
than Ave can at present offer. I would willingly enter
into a full exposition of my views on this subject, but
the prevalence of but one opinion among us as to the
expediency of such an object, and the great advantages
to be derived from the adoption of such measures, renders
such an exposition perhaps unnecessary, and would hardly
justify my trespassing on your time and attention. It is
only necessary to state here that a project' has been set
on foot by the friends of the church in the States of
4 HISTORY OF THE
Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, for founding and
endowing a Protestant Episcopal college, to be situated
at some suitable place near the southwestern boundary
of this State, and that so far the scheme has been
attended with a very encouraging earnest of success. It
belongs to this convention representing the interests of
the church in this diocese, to take such order on this
subject as in its wisdom it may deem most proper."
It will be noticed that Bishop Otey had formulated
quite distinctly in his own mind what he desired to
accomplish.
First. — Proper facilities for furnishing to the children
of the church, as well as others who desire it, proper
facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the arts and
sciences usually taught in colleges. His idea was a
church school equaling in advantages existing college
systems, and open to all who desired to avail themselves
of it. A broad Catholic idea.
Secondly. — To provide proper training for candidates
for orders in this CHURCH.
Thirdly. — That such institution should be founded and
endowed as a "Protestant Episcopal College." Clearly
and distinctively a church institution.
Fourthly. — In order to subserve the joint convenience
of Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, that it should
be located at some suitable place near to the south-
western boundary of his diocese; that part of Tennessee
being contiguous to Mississippi and nearest to Louisiana.
I think in this brief statement of the Bishop we have
quite clearly outlined a plan for a church institution of
learning in the South, easily expanded to larger propor-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 5
tions, and foreshadowing the larger and grander plan
and project of Bishop Polk in 1856, just twenty years
later. Bishop Otey was provisionally in charge of the
diocese of Mississippi, for which no bishop was con-
secrated until 1850, although organized as a diocese in
1825. He was also temporarily in charge of Louisiana,
which was organized as a diocese in 1838. The subject
of Christian education, thus brought so prominently, by
Bishop Otey, to the attention of his convention, was
referred to a committee consisting of Rev. Leonidas Polk,
then rector of St. Peters Church, Columbia, Rev. R.
Chilton of Brownsville, and Mr. H. T. Jones and Mr.
H. G. Smith of the laity, who made a report approving
of Bishop Otey's views, and recommending that a com-
mittee be appointed to carry them into effect, with the
Bishop as chairman.
The recommendation was concurred in, and the Rev.
Mr. Polk and Messrs. A. O. Harris of Columbia, and
B. S. Tappan of Franklin appointed as the other members
of the committee. The diocese of Tennessee then con-
tained fourteen parishes and missions, and paid to its
bishop a salary of only $925.
The earnestness of the Bishop in seeking to carry out
the plans he had so fully matured in his mind, is shown
in the recurrence to the subject made by him in the
following year, 1836. In his address to the Tennessee
diocesan convention he says: "Connected with my
journey to the Southwest (an Episcopal visitation of
Mississippi) was an ardent desire to forward an object
which has already been a subject of deliberation and
advisement with you. I refer to a projected plan of a
6 HISTORY OF THE
literary and theological seminary to meet the wants of
Episcopalians in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.
It was my expectation when I left home that I should
be able to obtain subscriptions in sufficient amount to
justify the adoption of measures at this convention, to
determine upon a site, and proceed to the erection of
the necessary buildings. I have not permitted myself to
doubt that the assurances given me will yet be made good,
and that my expectations were not realized last winter
I am of the deliberate persuasion was owing to fortuitous
circumstances as unforseen as they were utterly beyond
the control of the friends of the measure." Among these
he mentions the disorganized state of the church in the
Southwest, the heavy drafts made upon the liberality of
the public to meet pressing calls for help to those
destitute and suffering in Texas and Florida, where an
Indian war then existed, and the weighty responsibilities
incurred in erecting a costly Episcopal church in New
Orleans. For these causes, and many others of a like
nature, the friends of the undertaking advised a post-
ponement of the application for some months, with the
confident belief that the project would hereafter be easily
carried into effect. He urged that the scheme "be
courageously persevered in, even under greater discourage-
ments than those already experienced." That the "rapid
progress of population and of wealth in the South indi-
cated that there was wealth more than enough to meet all
demands for the cultivation of literature and religion
if its possessors could be induced to direct a portion of
it to such objects. The youth in the Southwest," he said,
"for the most part seek the advantages of education by a
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 7
resort to the Northern colleges. This they do confessedly
at an additional expense, arising from the distance they
had to travel, at the hazard of such changes in the con-
stitution fromi difference of climate as to render their
return dangerous and at the risk of weakening those
domestic ties and early associations connected with the
parental domicile, which are seldom severed and broken
but at the expense of virtue." He earnestly recommended
"the appointment of agents in Tennessee to obtain for
this object subscriptions payable in one, two and three
years, and a special agent to visit the Southwest country
under the authority of this body the ensuing fall and
winter for the same purpose." A committee was
appointed on the subject, consisting of "Rev. Leonidas
Polk, the Kev. Mr. Muller and Rev. Mr. Litton and Messrs.
Anderson, Allston and Walker of the laity. Rev. Mr.
Polk, as chairman of the committee, made a report fully
approving of Bishop Otey's views, and recommended that
the committee on education be continued and authorized
to appoint an agent or agents to carry into effect the
objects contemplated by soliciting subscriptions agreeably
to the plan set forth by Bishop Otey. It appears that
active measures were taken during the years 1836-7 to
raise funds for the proposed seminary. The Bishop in
his journal of 1837 mentions Bolivar, LaGrange, Somer-
ville, Brownsville and Jackson, at which latter place and
vicinity $25,000 was subscribed, some of it conditioned on
the location which might be selected. Bishop Otey said,
in his address to the convention in 1837, "In regard to our
proposed literary and theological seminary, it is, I believe,
within our reach, if the convention will only devise means
8 HISTORY OF THE
to collect and make them available. That there is no
diminution of interest either at home or abroad is evinced
by the fact that the convention of Mississippi has recom-
mended the object to the friends of the church in the
South, and by the fact that the people of a single county
in the western district have subscribed one-fourth of the
whole amount necessary to found and endow the institu-
tion. The Eev. Mr. Polk had made every preparation to
proceed to the South in the month of April last to
solicit funds for this object.
"The sudden and unprecedented catastrophy that came
upon the commercial world (the panic of 1837), in the
total derangement of the moneyed operations of the
country and the consequent destruction of credit, arrested
him on the eve of his journey, and upon advisement the
effort for the time was abandoned. The whole subject
is now commended again to your consideration, my dear
brethren, in the full confidence that your wisdom and
providence will direct the measures most proper to be
pursued." A committee was appointed on the subject of
the seminary. Rev. Mr. Polk was not appointed on this
committee ; probably on account of his then feeble health,
as mentioned in his report. Upon receiving the report of
the committee the convention resolved that the Bishop and
standing committee should act as a committee to locate
the proposed literary and theological seminary within
Madison County, in the State of Tennessee, provided an
eligible site could be obtained on reasonable terms, and
that the Bishop should appoint an agent or agents for
the purpose of collecting funds and obtaining subscrip-
tions for building and endowing the said seminary, and
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 9
that reports should be made to the next convention. It
was further resolved that the proposed seminary should,
in compliment to the county in which it was proposed
to be located, be called Madison College. The Bishop
reported to the next convention (of 1838) that he had
examined several sites near Jackson, Tennessee, but did
not indicate the selection of a site. The subject was
referred to a committee, which failed to report, and no
further action was had. The Rev. Leonidas Polk was
appointed chairman of the committee on missions and
education. Bishop Otey's efforts to establish a seminary
were apparently frustrated by the panic and financial
prostration of 1837, and he seems to have become
thoroughly discouraged both as to his plans for a classical
and theological seminary for the Southwest, as well as
in his efforts to establish diocesan schools. In 1838
Rev. Leonidas Polk, at the early age of thirty-three, was
consecrated missionary bishop of Arkansas, and in 1841
was elected bishop of Louisiana. From this compilation
the scope and ideas of Bishop Otey on the subject of a
church seminary can be very fully comprehended. From
the limitations of the period, with the church greatly
disorganized in the Southwest, himself the only bishop
in that region, it could not well be expected that he would
contemplate covering any larger area than his own dio-
cese with that of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas — -
it, indeed, indicates great breadth of view that he con-
templated even so large a scheme. His idea of endow-
ment was1 limited to $100,000 — a considerable sum to
gather for educational purposes in those days of the
church's weakness. Having in view the intimate connec-
10 HISTORY OF THE
tion of Bishop Polk with these early plans of Bishop
Otey, one cannot avoid the conclusion that the plans of
Bishop Otey for a classical and theological church
seminary or college, to be founded and endowed by a
concert of action and union of several Southwestern
dioceses, were at a later day, under more favorable condi-
tions, revived and enlarged into broader and more
complete plans by Bishop Polk, to create a Southern
church university to be established and controlled by a
union of all the Southern dioceses, outside of Virginia
and Kentucky.
Rt Rev. LEONIDAS POLK, D. D.
Fir.t Bishop of Louioia aj Second Chancellor of University
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
V,, /u f; tNN\": -*
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 11
CHAPTER II.
The initial steps taken by Bishop Polk to create a church univer-
sity for the Southern States, and the concurrent action of
the bishops of the Southern dioceses in furtherance of his
plans.
1856.
IN the year 1856 general prosperity prevailed throughout
the South. All the Southern dioceses were organized and
the church was rapidly growing in the Southern States.
Their bishops were in the prime of life and were men of
great and commanding influence. Louisiana, Bishop
Folk's own diocese, especially was advancing rapidly in
wealth. The immense State of Texas had been added to
the area of the Southern States. Arkansas' rich cotton
fields were being rapidly brought into cultivation, Florida
was attracting much attention, and the Southern States
were in a far stronger and more prosperous condition
than ever before. The population of the Southern States,
which in 1840 numbered five million, one hundred and
nineteen thousand, had increased so rapidly that they
numbered, in 1860, eight million and sixty-two thousand,
with an immense capital invested in slaves, productive
cotton and sugar plantations, and manufactures. Such
was the condition of the South when Bishop Polk put
forth, July 1st, 1856, his well known letter addressed by
name to the Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey of Tennessee,
Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott of Georgia, the Rt. Rev. Nicholas
Hamner Cobbs of Alabama, the Rt. Rev. George W.
12 HISTORY OF THE
Freeman of Arkansas, the Rt. Eev. Francis Huger
Rutledge of Florida, the Kt. Rev. Thomas F. Davis of
South Carolina and the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Atkinson
of North Carolina.
Bishop Polk begins his letter by referring to the condi-
tion of the church in the South and the duty of its chief
ministers to promote its welfare and to overcome the
obstacles which stood in the way of its power and
usefulness. He then proceeds to call their attention to
the duty of strengthening the churclj by the establishment
of some system of educational training which shall
provide for the instruction of the male portions of their
charge, as well in academical as theological learning.
He refers to existing State and denominational institu-
tions which, however meritorious, he says, do not meet
the wants of our people, who many of them send their
sons to Northern schools, beyond the reach of supervision
and parental influence, exposed to the rigors of an
unfriendly climate, to say nothing of other influences not
calculated, it is to be feared, to promote their happiness
or ours. A more important reason, he says, is that when
they pass from under the parental eye in the preparatory
school we have no institution fairly within our reach
where they will be kept under the influence of those
Christian principles and that church instruction to which
we pledged them in baptism, which we have accepted
and hold as of the essence of Christ's religion, which we
would transmit in their vigor to them and through them,
unmarred, to our latest posterity. This, he claims, is
a felt necessity. He proceeds to urge this duty and,
admitting the feebleness of the church in a majority of
UNIVERSITY OF THti SOUTH. 13
the dioceses, says that what they cannot do singly they
can, with greatest ease, do collectively. That he believed
that the present was the time at which they could found
such an institution as they needed, which he described
to be "an institution to be our common property, under
our joint control, of a clear and distinctly recognized
church character, upon a scale of such breadth and
comprehensiveness as shall be equal in the liberality
of its provisions for intellectual cultivation to those of
the highest class at home or abroad, and which shall fully
meet the demands of those of our people who require for
their children the highest educational advantages, under
the supervision of the church."
Nothing certainly could be grander or nobler than this
comprehensive ideal of a church university. One perceives
at once in these few well chosen words the clear, splendid
ideal which Bishop Polk had in mind, and which he
aimed to have accomplished. He next proceeds to urge
upon his Episcopal colleagues the necessity of such an
institution for the training of young men for the ministry.
That this was beyond the reach of the dioceses separately,
but to graft such a seminary upon such a university as
he had indicated "would be an easy solution of the
difficulty.'' That a single corps of professors would serve
them all, "and the means at the disposal of our dioceses
severally, poured into one channel, would swell the
aggregate amount to a sum large enough to enable us
to make such liberal provision for the several chairs as
would make them objects of attraction, and place at our
command the highest talent. And what is true in this
respect of the theological is equally true of the academical
14 HISTORY OF THE
and collegiate departmients." He appeals then to con-
sideration of the importance of providing for that educa-
tion that the children of our section are entitled to at
home, and which would, while they required the highest
standard of intellectual development, breathe that spirit
of chasteness and dignified conservatism for which the
church is so confessedly distinguished. "The effects
on the interests of the church as such in the Southern
portion of our Union/' he says, "it would be difficult to
estimate." He then proceeds to consider the question
of a locality suited to such a concentration of interests
of all the Southern dioceses, and refers to the great
trunk lines of railway traversing the several Southern
States and terminating in the southern end of the
Alleghany range in the southeast corner of the State of
Tennessee, by which, he says, "all the citizens of those
States can be brought together in from 36 to 48 hours."
This remarkable fact, the concentration of railways (in
the vicinity of Chattanooga) would seenx, he says, "to
indicate these high lands as the region for our union
and co-operation. They have the merit of centrality and
accessibility, and from the rapidity of movement attained
by railway contiguity also they offer mountain air and
pure water and are beyond the reach of epidemics. The
cost of living is cheap, and they are within the pale of
the plantation States." The Bishop thus in a few strokes
of the pen, outlines his plans as to union of effort and
location. With wonderful forecast he puts his finger on
the location best adapted, considered from every point
of view, as the seat of a great university. The railway
advantages then apparent were only the forerunners of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 15
a greatly enlarged system of communication which made
all the lines from North and South, East and West, cross
each other in the State of Tennessee. After discussing
many secondary advantages, to result from the closer
relations which would be brought about between the
dioceses and the churchmen of the South, he plainly
enunciates his main proposition, "that what we cannot
do separate^, and to our satisfaction as dioceses, we may
very easily accomplish, and in the most satisfactory
manner, when united." "The population of our dioceses
is homogeneous, the people are substantially the same;
their pursuits, their institutions, their sympathies, are
one. A single educational establishment situated in
a place so central and accessible as that indicated would
serve the purposes of each of us as well as if it were
situated within the precincts of our respective dioceses."
He also refers to the establishment of a press for the
defense and maintenance of our distinctive principles and
as a medium of communication with the several dioceses,
and mentions also the advantages which will be presented
to such families as desire it, a high, healthy retreat for
themselves, with access to a cultivated and religious
society, during the education of their children. He calls
attention to the fact that he had included in the arrange-
ments no dioceses north of North Carolina, Tennessee
and Arkansas, and gives as his reason that Virginia,
Kentucky, Missouri, etc., have institutions of their own,
which they have established and to which they are
pledged, and which he supposed would not be interested
in an enterprise which they did not need. But that if
they should afterwards desire to be connected with us
16 HISTORY OF THE
they would be gladly welcome, as Kentucky and Missouri
have already been.
He suggests that if his views find favor with his
Episcopal brethren they could meet and discuss the
matter at the general convention in October, 1850, and
could obtain the views of the clerical and lay delegates
from the South. As to plan of organization, he says,
"that his idea would be to commit the institution to the
<?are of a board of trustees to be composed of the bishops
ex o/ficio of the dioceses uniting and of a number to be
agreed upon of the clergy and laity of said dioceses, to
be elected from time to time by the several diocesan con-
ventions. This board to have full power and authority
to organize, establish and provide for the administration
of the institution to be founded, in such a way and upon
such a scale as they might think proper.
"A cardinal principle in the whole movement would of
course be that the institution would be declaredly out and
out Episcopal, founded by the church for the especial
benefit of her own children, for the advancement of learn-
ing generally, and for the propagation of the Gospel as
she (the church) understood it. But that it would be
freely open to all who might desire to avail of its
advantages on the terms they were dispensed to the
children of the church."
Such is a brief outline of Bishop Folk's plan for the
inauguration of a great church university for the South.
It will be noted, I think, how fully the project was
matured in his own mind, even to the details of location
and organization. He was prepared to present a complete
plan, practical in its character and distinct in its con-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17
elusions. He knew precisely what was proposed to be
undertaken, and how it was to be carried through. He
had gone from the abstract idea of the importance of
Christian education to the South to the practical means
of obtaining it. He took for granted the importance
and necessity of the work, and the manner in which he
believed it could be carried into effect. He began by
laying his plans in a bold and open type before the bishops
of the South. He recognized the fact that their indorse-
ment, approval and advocacy, was to be a prime factor
in the movement. As the whole idea of success was
based upon the joint united action of all the dioceses of
the South and Southwest, the project must go forth, if
at all, with their united, hearty assent and approval.
The great wisdom and sagacity of Bishop Polk is shown
in his recognition of this fact, and obtaining not only
their approval and indorsement of his project, but that
they would jointly support and send forth the plan he
had suggested, giving it all the weight of their united
names and recommendation. He thus wisely planned to
make the proposed university the work of the church in
the South, represented by all of the Southern bishops.
This concurrent action on the part of the bishops was
most heartily given, and, in order to give in the most
public manner its due effect and influence, the bishops,
after consultation and conference among themselves, and
with the clerical and lay representatives from the South
then in attendance on the general convention in Phila-
delphia, issued an address to the members and friends
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Southern and
Southwestern States, namely, in the dioceses of North
18 HISTORY OF THE
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.
They prefaced their address as follows: "The under-
signed bishops of the dioceses above named, under a
sense of their responsibility to God as your chief pastors,
charged with the duty of devising measures for the train-
ing of your children in all those graces and virtues which
belong to the Christian character, have deemed it proper
for the better discharge of their trust to unite in proposing
to you a plan of union by which they may be efficiently
aided in the accomplishment of this common duty."
They then proceed to inculcate the necessity and
importance of religion, supported by an adequate amount
of intellectual culture; they refer to what has been done
by the Presbyterians at Princeton, the Congregationalists
at Yale, the Unitarians at Harvard, and the Methodists
and other religious bodies elsewhere.
The value of intelligence and moral sentiment in
support of our government is clearly set forth, and our
duty as churchmen to make thoughtful provision for the
children of the church, in regard to their moral and
spiritual as well as intellectual well being. They ask
what are we doing for these children, what effort are we
making to throw around them, during the most important
period of their life, their collegiate career, those sustain-
ing supports as well as those wholesome restraints
furnished by our holy religion as exhibited and illustrated
in the offices of the church of their fathers — what to
combat scepticism and infidelity — what to raise up men
to fill the ministry? It is manifest, they say, "that there
exists within the pales of our dioceses a great educational
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 19
necessity, common to all our dioceses. That in view of
this state of things they, the bishops, had considered
the matter, and had come to the conclusion that no time
should be lost in relieving it, and that no plan of relief
presents itself of so promising a character as that which
would unite the energies and resources of our dioceses in
one common effort. They had therefore resolved, after
mature deliberation, and consultation with leading clergy-
men and laymen of our several dioceses, to propose to
you to unite our strength in founding a university upon
such a scale of magnitude as shall answer all our wants.
This we propose shall be a university, with all the facul-
ties, theological included, upon a plan so extensive as to
comprise the whole course usually embraced in the most
approved institutions of that grade, whether at home or
abroad." They admit the magnitude of such an enter-
prise, the large amount of capital necessary for its
foundation, and the weighty responsibility of shaping its
plans and conducting them to a successful issue. But
considering the pervading and far reaching influence
such an institution would have upon both the State and
the church, and the extent of the field whence we propose
to draw not only the means to build it up, but the minds
to found and govern it, they dare not hesitate to believe
that all the resources necessary, of whatever character,
are within our reach and will be forthcoming as soon
as they shall be needed. To say nothing of the well
known and ample wealth belonging to our community
generally, we will not allow ourselves to believe that,
upon the presentation of such an occasion for the employ-
ment of a part of that treasure committed to our
20 HISTORY OF THE
stewardship, we shall fail to find our Lawrences and
Stuyvesants, our Moores and Kohnes and Gores and
Dudleys (names for the most part now forgotten under
the greater glamour of Peabody, John Hopkins, Vander-
bilt, Packer, Kockefeller, Cornell, Stanford, etc) ready
to lend their aid in the consummation of so great a work."
They then proceed to state what their proposition is :
First. — That the University should be in all its parts
under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant
Episcopal Church.
Second. — That the board of trustees should be composed
of the bishops of all the dioceses ex officio so uniting, and
of one clergyman and two laymen, to be elected by the
conventions of each diocese, and a vote by orders provided
for.
Third.— That the sum of $500,000, at least, shall be
raised before the work be commenced.
Fourth. — A treasurer in each diocese, who shall receive
and invest all money given in that diocese, paying to the
university treasurer the interest of the same.
Fifth. — A treasurer of the corporation.
Sixth. — The amount subscribed in any diocese to revert
in case of dissolution.
Seventh. — Each bishop shall bring the subject speedily
before his diocese and convention, and shall also put in
operation any agencies he may think best for promoting
the cause, in accordance with the general principles here
laid down.
Eighth. — That the senior bishop by consecration shall
always be chancellor of the University.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 21
Ninth. — It is deemed expedient to establish the Uni-
versity at some spot near Chattanooga, where the various
railroads traversing our dioceses converge, thus rendering
access to it from every direction easy and speedy.
This address was sent forth bearing the signatures of
Bishops Otey of Tennessee, Polk of Louisiana, Elliott of
Georgia, Cobbs of Alabama, Freeman of Arkansas, Green
of Mississippi, Rutledge of Florida, Davis of South
Carolina and Atkinson of North Carolina, and bore date
Philadelphia, October 23, 1856. It was undoubtedly
mainly written by Bishop Otey, the latter part probably
by Bishop Polk.
It was printed and widely distributed, and, in pursuance
of the seventh clause, the respective bishops brought the
subject before their people and the diocesan conventions.
Trustees or delegates were elected by the dioceses of
North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee to meet at Lookout
Mountain, near Chattanooga, on the fourth day of July,
1857, "to confer touching the establishment of a university
under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church. "
22 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER III.
The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates, held at
Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn., July 4th, 1857 —
Adoption of a plan of organization.
1857.
THE respective diocesan conventions, acting upon the
suggestion of their bishops at their ensuing annual meet-
ing, elected delegates to the proposed convention to be
held on Lookout Mountain, and on the 4th day of July,
1857, the delegates assembled at that place. The choice
of the 4th of July as the day of meeting was intentional,
and significant of the patriotism of those engaged in the
enterprise.
The bishops present were Bishop Otey of Tennessee,
Bishop Polk of Louisiana, Bishop Elliott of Georgia,
Bishop Cobbs of Alabama, Bishop Green of Mississippi,
Bishop Eutledge of Florida and Bishop Davis of South
Carolina, and clerical and lay delegates from Tennessee,
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North
Carolina and Texas. Preliminary to the business meeting
a procession was formed and marched to a stand appointed
for the opening exercises. The one-hundreth psalm was
sung, the twenty-second chapter of the book of Joshua
was read by Bishop Green, appropriate collects were
said by Bishop Cobbs, the Declaration of Independence
was read by the Hon. G. B. Duncan of Louisiana, and an
address made by Bishop Otey. Bishop Otey's address
Rt. Rev. STEPHEN ELLIOTT,
Bishop of Georgia; Third Chancellor of the University,
' OF tHE -rx/
UNIVERSITY
of
»FOR^
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 23
was devoted to the subject of the proposed University,
prefacing the main topic by an admirable resume of the
reasons which should stimulate alike the patriot and the
Christian to sustain virtue and intelligence among the
people as the chief supports of our civil institutions, and
he emphasizes the position that there can be no sound
morality which is not founded on religious truths, on
the facts and doctrines of Christianity, which he affirms
are the articles of Christian faith, as contained in the
Apostles Creed, "The prime end aimed at in our projected
University," he says, "is to make the Bible the ultimate
and sufficient standard for the regulation of man's
conduct as a rational and accountable being, to cultivate
the moral affections of the young." "It is designed to
found an institution on the most enlarged and liberal
scale, to engage in its services the best talents, the most
erudite learning, and the greatest skill and experience
which ample compensation and the hope of usefulness
can command; to make its departments commensurate
with the wants and improvements of the age in every
field of philosophic research, of scientific investigation
and of discovery in the arts." "Its advantages are to be
offered to all who acknowledge the commonly recognized
truths and obligations of Christianity, and to exhibit it
under the decent forms and solemn worship of that church
of which we are members." Bishop Otey, with great
emphasis, disclaims the idea of sectionalism as connected
with the name. "The name is one of convenient discrip-
tion; it is no party war cry, no sectional pass word; all
such interpretations we utterly disclaim."
24 HI 8 TORY OF THE
"During the delivery of the address," says Bishop
Gregg, "a beautiful and touching incident occurred. As
the speaker, rising to his full height, and his whole form
expanded with deep emotion, in tones of bold and fervid
eloquence hurled defiance against the evil one himself
if he should come to oppose the work of God, the folds
of the United States flag, which clung idly to its staff
above his head, were caught up by the breeze and seemed
for one instant to envelop him. The effect was said to
have been thrilling upon those who witnessed the scene."
At 4 o'clock p. m. the convention organized with Bishop
Otey as chairman; Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs,
Green, Rutledge and Davis answered to the roll, with
seven clerical and six lay delegates. The conception of
the University, as set forth in Bishop Folk's letter, and in
the address of the bishops, was so entirely accepted by
this convention of delegates on Lookout Mountain, that
they proceeded at once to the question of organization;
appointed committees on location; to obtain a charter;
of ways and means ; of organization ; program and work-
ing of machinery, and of constitution and buildings.
The first important step adopted was a declaration of
principles embodying, substantially, those contained in
the Bishop's address of October 1856. This declaration
was headed as viz:
We, the undersigned bishops and delegates of the
dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkan
sas and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a
University upon the following principles:
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2&
First. — The University shall in all its parts be under
the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Epis-
copal Church, represented through a board of trustees.
Second. — The board of trustees shall be composed of
the bishops of the dioceses above named, ex officio, and
one clergyman and two laymen from each of said
dioceses, to be elected by the convention of the same.
The joint consent of bishops as an order, and of the
clerical and lay trustees as another order, shall be
necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The
senior bishop by consecration shall always be president
of the board.
Third. — This University shall not be put in operation
until the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars
be actually secured.
Fourth. — The funds subscribed to this University shall
all be considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for
any purpose connected either with the organization or
management of the University, provided that donations
and legacies may be received for such objects as the
donors may indicate.
Fifth. — There shall be a treasurer appointed in each
diocese by the convention of the same, to whom shall be
delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to lands
obtained as subscription in that diocese, whose duty it
shall be, under the advice of the standing committee, to
invest the cash and all money which shall be derived from
the realization of the above mentioned private securities,
in the best public securities or in other safe investment,
paying over annually to the treasurer of the University
the interest of the amount subscribed.
26 HISTORY OF THE
Sixth. — There shall be a treasurer of the corporation
who shall receive the interest annually from the diocesan
treasurers, and expend it under the direction of the board
of trustees.
Seventh. — The amount subscribed in any diocese as
above shall, in the event of the dissolution of the corpora-
tion, be returned to the donors or their legal representa-
tives, and in case of their being no legal representatives
then it shall revert to the diocese.
Eighth. — The location of the University shall be as
central to all the contracting dioceses as shall be consis-
tent with the necessary conditions of location.
Ninth. — No diocese shall be bound by these principles
to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contribu-
tions shall be voluntary according to its pleasure and
ability.
Tenth. — The signatures to this declaration' shall not
bind the diocese further than they have already bound,
or may hereafter bind themselves, by their respective
conventions.
Signed at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee, this 6th day of July, A. D. 1857.
JAMES H. OTEY, Bishop of Tennessee.
LEONIDAS POLK, Bishop of Louisiana.
STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia.
N. H. COBBS, Bishop of Alabama.
W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi.
FRANCIS H. RUTLEDGE, Bishop of Florida.
THOMAS F. DAVIS, Bishop of South Carolina.
DAVID PISE, Tennessee.
FRANCIS B. FOGG, Tennessee.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 27
JOHN ARMFIELD, Tennessee.
W. T. LEACOCK, Louisiana.
GEORGE S. GUION, Louisiana.
HENRY C. LAY, Alabama.
CHAS. T. POLLARD, Alabama.
L. H. ANDERSON, Alabama.
W. W. LORD, Mississippi.
ALEXANDER GREGG, South Carolina.
M. A. CURTIS, North Carolina.
W. D. WARREN, North Carolina.
I. WOOD DUNN, Texas.*
Committees were appointed to report at an adjourned
meeting appointed to be held at Montgomery, Alabama,
on the 25th day of November, 1857. The secretary, Dr.
Lay, afterwards bishop of Arkansas and Easton, was
requested to prepare a narrative of the proceedings,
inclusive of the address of Bishop Otey, of which ten
thousand copies were ordered to be published. This task
was gracefully accomplished by Dr. Lay. An excellent
report of the proceedings was also furnished by the Rev.
Alexander Gregg, subsequently bishop of Texas, and
published in the Southern Churchman, and also in
pamphlet form.
*Florida would have been represented by a clerical and lay
delegate if its convention had met in time.
28 HISTORY OF TEE
CHAPTER IV.
The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Ala., in November,.
1857 — Selection of location— Application for a charter — Selec-
tion of a name — Subsequent meetings at Beersheba Springs,
Tenn., and New Orleans — Constitution and statutes consid-
ered— Charter accepted, etc.
THE press notices of the meeting at Lookout Mountain
and the wide distribution of the ten thousand copies of
the proceedings attracted public attention to a very
marked degree. The magnitude of the enterprise, the
combination of the whole Southern Episcopal Church,
the three millions of dollars of endowment proposed to be
raised, all gave prominence and dignity to the movement,
and the question of location gave local interest to all
the communities within the specified area of choice.
The committee on location consisted of Bishops Polk,
Elliott, Cobbs, Rutledge and Atkinson, Rev. Dr. Pise, Rev.
Alexander Gregg, Rev. Mr. Dunn and Mr. Geo. S. Yerger,
nearly every diocese being represented on the committee.
A series of questions, eighteen in number, were prepared,
indicating the principal requisites of a location, which
were to be answered as to each location proposed. Eleva-
tion above the sea and elevation above the surrounding
country? Extent of available surface to be had? Nature
Qf soil? Character of building stone and accessibility?
Water supply? Brick, clay, coal? Range of the tempera-
ture? Facilities of access from the respective dioceses,
etc.? The sites proposed and examined were R. . .Hill and
Monte Sano, near Huntsville, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chatta-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2*
nooga, McMinville and Sewanee. Large donations and
substantial aid were promised by each community or
parties interested in securing the location. Col. Walter
Gwynn, a civil engineer of high reputation was selected
as the commissioner of location. He associated Col.
C. R. Barney, C. E., of Maryland, with him, who did
much of the practical field work. The commissioner and
the committee on location were prepared to report at
the adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama,
November 25th, 1857. During the intervening period
from July to November, Bishop Polk visited Beersheba
Springs,* where many people from Louisiana spent their
summers, and while there met Col. V. K. Stevenson,
President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
Company, who called his attention to Sewanee as a suit-
able location for the proposed University. A party was
made up consisting of Bishop Polk, Colonel Stevenson,
Dr. Estill of Winchester, John Armfield, John M. Bass
and Dr. Safford, since State geologist, to ride up from
Winchester and examine the claims of Sewanee as a
suitable location. It is said that Bishop Polk was at
once impressed with its many advantages and exclaimed
that it was the ideal location for the University.f
*Beersheba Springs was a favorite summer resort for resi-
dents of Louisiana and other Gulf States. It is about thirty miles
north of Sewanee.
fNOTE OF DR. SAFFORD.
To this (the abundance of our water supply and its purity)
the writer can testify. He is the only surviving member of a
party of gentlemen, John Armfield, V. K. Stevenson and John M.
Bass, who, with himself, accompanied Bishop Polk in a recon-
naisance of the mountain which resulted in fixing the site of
30 HISTORY OF THE
It so happened that none other of the trustees or com-
mittee on location had ever been at Sewanee, then only
known in connection with the Sewanee coal mines, which
were first opened at the lower coal banks, adjoining the
eastern boundary of the University domain. There were
present at the meeting; at Montgomery, November 25th,
1857, Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rutledge
and Atkinson, and clerical and lay trustees from North
Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas and
Tennessee. Bishop Otey presided and Rev. H. C. Lay
was secretary. The committee on charter presented a
draught of same. The committee on location, through
Bishop Polk, presented their report as information. The
question on location was taken up and discussed at much
length. The point at issue, primarily, was whether the
vicinity of a town or city should be selected, or an
independent location upon the elevated lands, with a large
domain, at present isolated. The vote was taken by
ballot and by orders. Huntsville, Ala., McMinville, Tenn.,
the vicinity of Chattanoooga, Tenn., the vicinity of Cleve-
land, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., and Sewanee, Tenn., were
severally put in nomination and voted upon; seventeen
ballots being taken. Two-thirds of each order were
necessary to make a choice. On the seventeenth ballot
the vote of the bishops stood for Sewanee 5, Atlanta 2;
Sewanee. Well does he remember the earnest enthusiasm with
which the Bishop rode over the ground, up one hill and down
another, to this spring and to that until, reining up his horse in
the midst of a beautiful growth of forest trees, and more than
satisfied, exclaimed, "Gentlemen, here is the spot, and here shall
be the University."— Note by J. M. Safford, Ph. D., to monograph
on the topography and water supply of Sewanee, Tenn. 18, 3.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 31
of clerical and lay trustees, Sewanee 4, Huntsville 2,
Atlanta 1. At this period Rev. Dr. Curtis, of North
Carolina, offered a resolution that Sewanee be selected
as the site of the proposed University, which was adopted
unanimously. The committee on charter reported the
draft of same. Mr. Fairbanks moved to fill the blank
as to name with the words, "The University of the
South," being the name proposed by Bishop Green at
Lookout Mountain. Rev. Mr. Dunn moved "The Church
University." Bishop Atkinson moved "The University of
Sewanee."
The amendments were lost and the blank wras filled
with the words "The University of the South" and the
draught of the charter was then approved. A committee
was appointed to procure such charter from the Legis-
lature of the State of Tennessee, consisting of Francis
B. Fogg and Russel Houston. A resolution was passed
requesting Bishops Polk and Elliott to act as general
commissioners to canvass the several dioceses for subscrip-
tions. During this session Colonel Groom, of Alabama,
made an offer of $25,000 to endow a professorship, which
was gladly accepted, a harbinger and encouragement of
future success. Bishop Otey called a meeting of the
trustees to be held at Beersheba, Grundy County, Tenn.,
on the 3d of July, 1858, for the purpose, as stated by him,
of acting on the question of accepting the charter granted
by the Legislature of Tennessee at its late session incor-
porating "The University of the South," etc. There were
present at this meeting Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Green,
Cobbs and Rutledge and clerical and lay trustees from.
32 HISTORY OF THE
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida,
Louisiana, Tennessee.
Considerable newspaper discussion and criticism hav-
ing been made, relative to the choice of Sewanee as the
location for the University, it was deemed advisable to
re-open the question, which was effected by a motion for
reconsideration, made by Bishop Green and seconded by
Bishop Polk. The immediate cause of this proposition
was a resolution which had been passed by the convention
of the diocese of Alabama, viz: "Whereas the selection
of Sewanee as the location of the proposed University of
the South, does not appear to have given general satis-
faction, therefore resolved that the trustees on the part
of this diocese be requested to urge the reconsideration
of the question of location at the meeting of the board of
trustees, with the view to restore confidence in the minds
of those of its friends who deem Sewanee an unsuitable
location." The discussion which followed was a very
interesting one, and will be found sketched in the journal
of that meeting. The trustees from Alabama explained
that the question looked at in their convention was "upon
economical and other grounds against the mountain and
for the plain." Dr. Lay expressed his own concurrence
in the selection of Sewanee. Bishop Cobbs, in a most
Christian and lovely spirit, so characteristic of his
nature, maintained his views in favor of the plain, but
"now" said the Bishop, "that we are fairly beaten and
thoroughly defeated, I give up and surrender. I have
fought the question to the end and if it were right and
proper I would fight it yet. We have done our duty
and the result is against us. Since you will not come
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17
elusions. He knew precisely what was proposed to be
undertaken, and how it was to be carried through. He
had gone from the abstract idea of the importance of
Christian education to the South to the practical means
of obtaining it. He took for granted the importance
and necessity of the work, and the manner in which he
believed it could be carried into effect. He began by
laying his plans in a bold and open type before the bishops
of the South. He recognized the fact that their indorse-
ment, approval and advocacy, was to be a prime factor
in the movement. As the whole idea of success was
based upon the joint united action of all the dioceses of
the South and Southwest, the project must go forth, if
at all, with their united, hearty assent and approval.
The great wisdom and sagacity of Bishop Polk is shown
in his recognition of this fact, and obtaining not only
their approval and indorsement of his project, but that
they would jointly support and send forth the plan he
had suggested, giving it all the weight of their united
names and recommendation. He thus wisely planned to
make the proposed university the work of the church in
the South, represented by all of the Southern bishops.
This concurrent action on the part of the bishops was
most heartily given, and, in order to give in the most
public manner its due effect and influence, the bishops,
after consultation and conference among themselves, and
with the clerical and lay representatives from the South
then in attendance on the general convention in Phila-
delphia, issued an address to the members and friends
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Southern and
Southwestern States, namely, in the dioceses of North
18 HISTORY OF THE
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.
They prefaced their address as follows: "The under-
signed bishops of the dioceses above named, under a
sense of their responsibility to God as your chief pastors,
charged with the duty of devising measures for the train-
ing of your children in all those graces and virtues which
belong to the Christian character, have deemed it proper
for the better discharge of their trust to unite in proposing
to you a plan of union by which they may be efficiently
aided in the accomplishment of this common duty."
They then proceed to inculcate the necessity and
importance of religion, supported by an adequate amount
of intellectual culture; they refer to what has been done
by the Presbyterians at Princeton, the Congregationalists
at Yale, the Unitarians at Harvard, and the Methodists
and other religious bodies elsewhere.
The value of intelligence and moral sentiment in
support of our government is clearly set forth, and our
duty as churchmen to make thoughtful provision for the
children of the church, in regard to their moral and
spiritual as well as intellectual well being. They ask
what are we doing for these children, what effort are we
making to throw around them, during the most important
period of their life, their collegiate career, those sustain-
ing supports as well as those wholesome restraints
furnished by our holy religion as exhibited and illustrated
in the offices of the church of their fathers — what to
combat scepticism and infidelity — what to raise up men
to fill the ministry? It is manifest, they say, "that there
exists within the pales of our dioceses a great educational
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 19
necessity, common to all our dioceses. That in view of
this state of things they, the bishops, had considered
the matter, and had come to the conclusion that no time
should be lost in relieving it, and that no plan of relief
presents itself of so promising a character as that which
would unite the energies and resources of our dioceses in
one common effort. They had therefore resolved, after
mature deliberation, and consultation with leading clergy-
men and laymen of our several dioceses, to propose to
you to unite our strength in founding a university upon
such a scale of magnitude as shall answer all our wants.
This we propose shall be a university, with all the facul-
ties, theological included, upon a plan so extensive as to
comprise the whole course usually embraced in the most
approved institutions of that grade, whether at home or
abroad." They admit the magnitude of such an enter-
prise, the large amount of capital necessary for its
foundation, and the weighty responsibility of shaping its
plans and conducting them to a successful issue. But
considering the pervading and far reaching influence
such an institution would have upon both the State and
the church, and the extent of the field whence we propose
to draw not only the means to build it up, but the minds
to found and govern it, they dare not hesitate to believe
that all the resources necessary, of whatever character,
are within our reach and will be forthcoming as soon
as they shall be needed. To say nothing of the well
known and ample wealth belonging to our community
generally, we will not allow ourselves to believe that,
upon the presentation of such an occasion for the employ-
ment of a part of that treasure committed to our
20 HISTORY OF THE
stewardship, we shall fail to find our Lawrences and
Stuyvesants, our Moores and Kohnes and Gores and
Dudleys (names for the most part now forgotten under
the greater glamour of Peabody, John Hopkins, Vander-
bilt, Packer, Rockefeller, Cornell, Stanford, etc) ready
to lend their aid in the consummation of so great a work."
They then proceed to state what their proposition is :
First. — That the University should be in all its parts
under the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant
Episcopal Church.
Second. — That the board of trustees should be composed
of the bishops of all the dioceses ex offlcio so uniting, and
of one clergyman and two laymen, to be elected by the
conventions of each diocese, and a vote by orders provided
for.
Third.— That the sum of $500,000, at least, shall be
raised before the work be commenced.
Fourth. — A treasurer in each diocese, who shall receive
and invest all money given in that diocese, paying to the
university treasurer the interest of the same.
Fifth. — A treasurer of the corporation.
Sixth. — The amount subscribed in any diocese to revert
in case of dissolution.
Seventh. — Each bishop shall bring the subject speedily
before his diocese and convention, and shall also put in
operation any agencies he may think best for promoting
the cause, in accordance with the general principles here
laid down.
Eighth. — That the senior bishop by consecration shall
always be chancellor of the University.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 21
Ninth. — It is deemed expedient to establish the Uni-
versity at some spot near Chattanooga, where the various
railroads traversing our dioceses converge, thus rendering
access to it from every direction easy and speedy.
This address was sent forth bearing the signatures of
Bishops Otey of Tennessee, Polk of Louisiana, Elliott of
Georgia, Cobbs of Alabama, Freeman of Arkansas, Green
of Mississippi, Rutledge of Florida, Davis of South
Carolina and Atkinson of North Carolina, and bore date
Philadelphia, October 23, 1856. It was undoubtedly
mainly written by Bishop Otey, the latter part probably
by Bishop Polk.
It was printed and widely distributed, and, in pursuance
of the seventh clause, the respective bishops brought the
subject before their people and the diocesan conventions.
Trustees or delegates were elected by the dioceses of
North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee to meet at Lookout
Mountain, near Chattanooga, on the fourth day of July,
1857, "to confer touching the establishment of a university
under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church."
22 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER III.
The meeting of bishops and clerical and lay delegates, held at
Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn., July 4th, 1857 —
Adoption of a plan of organization.
1857.
THE respective diocesan conventions, acting upon the
suggestion of their bishops at their ensuing annual meet-
ing, elected delegates to the proposed convention to be
held on Lookout Mountain, and on the 4th day of July,
1857, the delegates assembled at that place. The choice
of the 4th of July as the day of meeting was intentional,
and significant of the patriotism of those engaged in the
enterprise.
The bishops present were Bishop Otey of Tennessee,
Bishop Polk of Louisiana, Bishop Elliott of Georgia,
Bishop Cobbs of Alabama, Bishop Green of Mississippi,
Bishop Rutledge of Florida and Bishop Davis of South
Carolina, and clerical and lay delegates from Tennessee,
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North
Carolina and Texas. Preliminary to the business meeting
a procession was formed and marched to a stand appointed
for the opening exercises. The one-hundreth psalm was
sung, the twenty-second chapter of the book of Joshua
was read by Bishop Green, appropriate collects were
said by Bishop Cobbs, the Declaration of Independence
was read by the Hon. G. B. Duncan of Louisiana, and an
address made by Bishop Otey. Bishop Otey's address
Rt. Rev. STEPHEN ELLIOTT,
Bishop of Georgia; Third Chancellor of the University.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 23
was devoted to the subject of the proposed University,
prefacing the main topic by an admirable resume of the
reasons which should stimulate alike the patriot and the
Christian to sustain virtue and intelligence among the
people as the chief supports of our civil institutions, and
he emphasizes the position that there can be no sound
morality which is not founded on religious truths, on
the facts and doctrines of Christianity, which he affirms
are the articles of Christian faith, as contained in the
Apostles Creed, "The prime end aimed at in our projected
University," he says, "is to make the Bible the ultimate
and sufficient standard for the regulation of man's
conduct as a rational and accountable being, to cultivate
the moral affections of the young." "It is designed to
found an institution on the most enlarged and liberal
scale, to engage in its services the best talents, the most
erudite learning, and the greatest skill and experience
which ample compensation and the hope of usefulness
can command; to make its departments commensurate
with the wants and improvements of the age in every
field of philosophic research, of scientific investigation
and of discovery in the arts." "Its advantages are to be
offered to all who acknowledge the commonly recognized
truths and obligations of Christianity, and to exhibit it
under the decent forms and solemn worship of that church
of which we are members." Bishop Otey, with great
emphasis, disclaims the idea of sectionalism as connected
with the name. "The name is one of convenient discrip-
tion; it is no party war cry, no sectional pass word; all
such interpretations we utterly disclaim."
24 HISTORY OF THE
"During the delivery of the address," says Bishop
Gregg, "a beautiful and touching incident occurred. As
the speaker, rising to his full height, and his whole form
expanded with deep emotion, in tones of bold and fervid
eloquence hurled defiance against the evil one himself
if he should come to oppose the work of God, the folds
of the United States flag, which clung idly to its staff
above his head, were caught up by the breeze and seemed
for one instant to envelop him. The effect was said to
have been thrilling upon those who witnessed the scene."
At 4 o'clock p. m. the convention organized with Bishop
Otey as chairman; Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs,
Green, Butledge and Davis answered to the roll, with
seven clerical and six lay delegates. The conception of
the University, as set forth in Bishop Folk's letter, and in
the address of the bishops, was so entirely accepted by
this convention of delegates on Lookout Mountain, that
they proceeded at once to the question of organization;
appointed committees on location; to obtain a charter;
of ways and means ; of organization ; program and work-
ing of machinery, and of constitution and buildings.
The first important step adopted was a declaration of
principles embodying, substantially, those contained in
the Bishop's address of October 1856. This declaration
was headed as viz:
We, the undersigned bishops and delegates of the
dioceses of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkan
sas and Tennessee, do hereby resolve to establish a
University upon the following principles:
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2&
First. — The University shall in all its parts be under
the sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Epis-
copal Church, represented through a board of trustees.
Second. — The board of trustees shall be composed of
the bishops of the dioceses above named, ex officio, and
one clergyman and two laymen from each of said
dioceses, to be elected by the convention of the same.
The joint consent of bishops as an order, and of the
clerical and lay trustees as another order, shall be
necessary to the adoption of any measure proposed. The
senior bishop by consecration shall always be president
of the board.
Third. — This University shall not be put in operation
until the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars
be actually secured.
Fourth. — The funds subscribed to this University shall
all be considered as capital, to be preserved untouched for
any purpose connected either with the organization or
management of the University, provided that donations
and legacies may be received for such objects as the
donors may indicate.
Fifth. — There shall be a treasurer appointed in each
diocese by the convention of the same, to whom shall be
delivered the cash, notes, bonds, stocks, or titles to lands
obtained as subscription in that diocese, whose duty it
shall be, under the advice of the standing committee, to
invest the cash and all money which shall be derived from
the realization of the above mentioned private securities,
in the best public securities or in other safe investment,
paying over annually to the treasurer of the University
the interest of the amount subscribed.
26 . HISTORY OF THE
Sixth. — There shall be a treasurer of the corporation
who shall receive the interest annually from the diocesan
treasurers, and expend it under the direction of the board
of trustees.
Seventh. — The amount subscribed in any diocese as
above shall, in the event of the dissolution of the corpora-
tion, be returned to the donors or their legal representa-
tives, and in caste of their being no legal representatives
then it shall revert to the diocese.
Eighth. — The location of the University shall be as
central to all the contracting dioceses as shall be consis-
tent with the necessary conditions of location.
Ninth. — No diocese shall be bound by these principles
to furnish any particular sum of money, but its contribu-
tions shall be voluntary according to its pleasure and
ability.
Tenth. — The signatures to this declaration shall not
bind the diocese further than they have already bound,
or may hereafter bind themselves, by their respective
conventions.
Signed at Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee, this 6th day of July, A. D. 1857.
JAMES H. OTEY, Bishop of Tennessee.
LEONID AS POLK, Bishop of Louisiana.
STEPHEN ELLIOTT, Bishop of Georgia.
N. H. COBBS, Bishop of Alabama.
W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi.
FRANCIS H. RUTLEDGE, Bishop of Florida.
THOMAS F. DAVIS, Bishop of South Carolina.
DAVID PISE, Tennessee.
FRANCIS B. FOGG, Tennessee.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 27
JOHN ARMFIELD, Tennessee.
W. T. LEACOCK, Louisiana.
GEORGE S. GUION, Louisiana.
HENRY C. LAY, Alabama.
OHAS. T. POLLARD, Alabama.
L. H. ANDERSON, Alabama.
W. W. LORD, Mississippi.
ALEXANDER GREGG, South Carolina.
M. A. CURTIS, North Carolina.
W. D. WARREN, North Carolina.
I. WOOD DUNN, Texas.*
Committees were appointed to report at an adjourned
meeting appointed to be held at Montgomery, Alabama,
on the 25th day of November, 1857. The secretary, Dr.
Lay, afterwards bishop of Arkansas and Easton, was
requested to prepare a narrative of the proceedings',
inclusive of the address of Bishop Otey, of which ten
thousand copies were ordered to be published. This task
was gracefully accomplished by Dr. Lay. An excellent
report of the proceedings was also furnished by the Rev.
Alexander Gregg, subsequently bishop of Texas, and
published in the Southern Churchman, and also in
pamphlet form.
*Florida would have been represented by a clerical and lay
delegate if its convention had met in time.
28 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER IV.
The adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Ala., in November,
1857 — Selection of location — Application for a charter — Selec-
tion of a name — Subsequent meetings at Beersheba Springs,
Tenn., and New Orleans — Constitution and statutes consid-
ered— Charter accepted, etc.
THE press notices of the meeting at Lookout Mountain
and the wide distribution of the ten thousand copies of
the proceedings attracted public attention to a very
marked degree. The magnitude of the enterprise, the
combination of the whole Southern Episcopal Church,
the three millions of dollars of endowment proposed to be
raised, all gave prominence and dignity to the movement
and the question of location gave local interest to all
the communities within the specified area of choice.
The committee on location consisted of Bishops Polk,
Elliott, Cobbs, Rutledge and Atkinson, Rev. Dr. Pise, Rev.
Alexander Gregg, Rev. Mr. Dunn and Mr. Geo. S. Yerger,
nearly every diocese being represented on the committee.
A series of questions, eighteen in number, were prepared,
indicating the principal requisites of a location, which
were to be answered as to each location proposed. Eleva-
tion above the sea and elevation above the surrounding
country ? Extent of available surface to be had ? Nature
of soil? Character of building stone and accessibility?
Water supply? Brick, clay, coal? Range of the tempera-
ture? Facilities of access from the respective dioceses,
etc.? The sites proposed and examined were R. . .Hill and
Monte Sano, near Huntsville, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chatta-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2S
nooga, McMinville and Sewanee. Large donations and
substantial aid were promised by each community or
parties interested in securing the location. Col. Walter
Gwynn, a civil engineer of high reputation was selected
as the commissioner of location. He associated Col.
C. K. Barney, C. E., of Maryland, with him, who did
much of the practical field work. The commissioner and
the committee on location were prepared to report at
the adjourned meeting held at Montgomery, Alabama,
November 25th, 1857. During the intervening period
from July to November, Bishop Polk visited Beersheba
Springs,* where many people from Louisiana spent their
summers, and while there met Col. V. K. Stevenson,
President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
Company, who called his attention to Sewanee as a suit-
able location for the proposed University. A party was
made up consisting of Bishop Polk, Colonel Stevenson,
Dr. Estill of Winchester, John Armfield, John M. Bass
and Dr. Safford, since State geologist, to ride up from
Winchester and examine the claims of Sewanee as a
suitable location. It is said that Bishop Polk was at
once impressed with its many advantages and exclaimed
that it was the ideal location for the University.f
*Beersheba Springs was a favorite summer resort for resi-
dents of Louisiana and other Gulf States. It is about thirty miles
north of Sewanee.
fNOTE OF DR. SAFFORD.
To this (the abundance of our water supply and its purity)
the writer can testify. He is the only surviving member of a
party of gentlemen, John Armfield, V. K. Stevenson and John M.
Bass, who, with himself, accompanied Bishop Polk in a recon-
naisance of the mountain which resulted in fixing the site of
30 HISTORY OF THE
It so happened that none other of the trustees or com-
mittee on location had ever been at Sewanee, then only
known in connection with the Sewanee coal mines, which
were first opened at the lower coal banks, adjoining the
eastern boundary of the University domain. There were
present at the meeting at Montgomery, November 25th,
1857, Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rutledge
and Atkinson, and clerical and lay trustees from North
Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas and
Tennessee. Bishop Otey presided and Rev. H. C. Lay
was secretary. The committee on charter presented a
draught of same. The committee on location, through
Bishop Polk, presented their report as information. The
question on location was taken up and discussed at much
length. The point at issue, primarily, was whether the
vicinity of a town or city should be selected, or an
independent location upon the elevated lands, with a large
domain, at present isolated. The vote was taken by
ballot and by orders. Huntsviile, Ala., McMinville, Tenn.,
the vicinity of Chattanoooga, Tenn., the vicinity of Cleve-
land, Tenn., Atlanta, G.a., and Sewranee, Tenn., were
severally put in nomination and voted upon; seventeen
ballots being taken. Two-thirds of each order were
necessary -to make a choice. On the seventeenth ballot
the vote of the bishops stood for Sewanee 5, Atlanta 2;
Sewanee. Well does he remember the earnest enthusiasm with
which the Bishop rode over the ground, up one hill and down
another, to this spring and to that until, reining up his horse in
the midst of a beautiful growth of forest trees, and more than
satisfied, exclaimed, "Gentlemen, here is the spot, and here shall
be the University." — Note by J. M. Safford, Ph. D., to monograph
on the topography and water supply of Sewanee, Tenn. 18, 3.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 31
of clerical and lay trustees, Sewanee 4, Huntsville 2,
Atlanta 1. At this period Rev. Dr. Curtis, of North
Carolina, offered a resolution that Sewanee be selected
as the site of the proposed University, which was adopted
unanimously. The committee on charter reported the
draft of same. Mr. Fairbanks moved to fill the blank
as to name with the words, "The University of the
South," being the name proposed by Bishop Green at
Lookout Mountain. Rev. Mr. Dunn moved "The Church
University." Bishop Atkinson moved "The University of
Sewanee."
The amendments were lost and the blank was filled
with the words "The University of the South" and the
draught of the charter was then approved. A committee
was appointed to procure such charter from the Legis-
lature of the State of Tennessee, consisting of Francis
B. Fogg and Russel Houston. A resolution was passed
requesting Bishops Polk and Elliott to act as general
commissioners to canvass the several dioceses for subscrip-
tions. During this session Colonel Croom, of Alabama,
made an offer of $25,000 to endow a professorship, which
was gladly accepted, a harbinger and encouragement of
future success. Bishop Otey called a meeting of the
trustees to be held at Beersheba, Grundy County, Tenn.,
on the 3d of July, 1858, for the purpose, as stated by him,
of acting on the question of accepting the charter granted
by the Legislature of Tennessee at its late session incor-
porating "The University of the South," etc. There were
present at this meeting Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Green,
Cobbs and Rutledge and clerical and lav trustees from.
:32 HISTORY OF THE
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida,
Louisiana, Tennessee.
Considerable newspaper discussion and criticism hav-
ing been made, relative to the choice of Sewanee as the
location for the University, it was deemed advisable to
re-open the question, which was effected by a motion for
reconsideration, made by Bishop Green and seconded by
Bishop Polk. The immediate cause of this proposition
was a resolution which had been passed by the convention
of the diocese of Alabama, viz: "Whereas the selection
of Sewanee as the location of the proposed University of
the South, does not appear to have given general satis-
faction, therefore resolved that the trustees on the part
of this diocese be requested to urge the reconsideration
of the question of location at the meeting of the board of
trustees, with the view to restore confidence in the minds
of those of its friends who deem Sewanee an unsuitable
location." The discussion which followed was a very
interesting one, and will be found sketched in the journal
of that meeting. The trustees from Alabama explained
that the question looked at in their convention was "upon
economical and other grounds against the mountain and
for the plain." Dr. Lay expressed his own concurrence
in the selection of Sewanee. Bishop Cobbs, in a most
Christian and lovely spirit, so characteristic of his
nature, maintained his views in favor of the plain, but
"now" said the Bishop, "that we are fairly beaten and
thoroughly defeated, I give up and surrender. I have
fought the question to the end and if it were right and
proper I would fight it yet. We have done our duty
and the result is against us. Since you will not come
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3S
down to us from the mountain I will climb the mountain
and join you there. My convictions I cannot yield, I
hold them still ; my opposition I freely waive henceforth ;
I am fully with you, and my motto is 'Pro Deo, pro
ecclesia, pro communi patria, pro hominum salute/
"1 now move to lay the resolution to reconsider on the
table," which was passed without a dissenting voice.
The result gave very general satisfaction, and allayed
some apprehensions which had been felt as to dissension
on this subject.
Mr. Fogg presented the charter of the University of the
South, passed by the Legislature of Tennessee on the 6th
day of January, 1858. A resolution was passed by the
unanimous vote of the board, taken by ayes and nays,
accepting the charter.
A committee of nine was appointed to prepare a consti-
tution, consisting of Bishops Polk, Elliott and Rutledge,
Rev. Mr. Gregg, Dr. Lay and Dr. Pise, and Messrs. Fair-
banks, Couper and Fogg. Said committee was also
authorized to propose a plan of education, a code of
by-laws and ordinances, and any other matters relative
to the organization and management of the University.
The committee on securing lands made their report and
action was taken in relation thereto. Also in reference
to having a turnpike road built from some point on the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad to the top of the
mountain, which the county court of Franklin County
agreed to have constructed. An executive committee was
appointed, and Bishop Elliott and Bishop Polk, Rev.
Alexander Gregg, Messrs. Fairbanks and Calhoun were
appointed a committee to issue an address in reference
34 HISTORY OF THE
to the choice of location of the University. This address
was written by Bishop Elliott and widely circulated.
The board of trustees was then regularly organized under
the charter, Bishop Otey being elected chancellor, and
Eev. Dr. Lay, secretary.
In 1859 Bishops Polk and Elliott, as general commis-
sioners for raising an endowment fund, issued an address-
upon the claims of the University upon the Southern
church and people, setting forth a brief outline of the
history of the movement, and the steps thus far taken
for its accomplishment. They state that thirty persons
have within a few weeks given over $200,000. They call
attention to the principle, upon which we have set out,
of never using the capital of our endowment, which makes
it easy for contributors to spread their payment over a
series of years, paying interest. The idea being that the
buildings and equipment should at first be provided for
from the interest money, and that then the income should
support the chairs and expenses of the institution.
On August 10th, 1859, the board of trustees met
again at Beersheba Springs, Tenn. There were present
Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green and Atkinson
and clerical and lay trustees from North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Florida and Tennessee. Eeport was made relative to lands
secured, the larger body of which was donated by the
Sewanee Mining Company with the condition that the
institution should be put in operation within ten years.
Through the active and zealous agency of Col. Arthur M.
Rutledge and A. S. Collyer, Esq., other tracts were
unconditionally donated. The commissioners of endow-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 35
ment, Bishops Polk and Elliott, reported that they had
secured in cash, bonds and notes, payable in available
periods, $363,580, that besides this they had pledges from
entirely reliable parties, to be fulfilled within a short
period, of $115,000.
An executive committee was appointed, who were
instructed, as soon as the commissioners of endowment
had notified the chancellor that they had secured the sum
of $500,000, to take all necessary steps for beginning
operations and laying the cornerstone of the central
building. The executive committee was authorized to^
employ a landscape gardener for the purpose of laying1
off and arranging the grounds for the University with
due regard to convenience, comfort and taste. Under this
resolution the executive committee, through the personal
application of Bishop Polk, secured the services of Bishop
Hopkins of Vermont, who, among his other extraordinary
and multiform accomplishments was distinguished for
his architectural skill and refined taste in landscape
gardening.
He only accepted the invitation out of his great regard
for Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott, and sympathy with
them in the great work that they had undertaken, and
because it would enable him to devote the compensation
he might receive to advance an educational work he had
much at heart in his own diocese. He came to Sewanee
in the fall of 1859 with Bishop Polk, and spent the winter
of 1859-60 in a careful and laborious study of the topog-
raphy and general features of the grounds, having the
advantage of being on the mountain after the leaves had!
fallen, so that the general lay of the ground could more
36 HISTORY OF THE
readily be observed. He planned locations for the build-
ings, laid out avenues and drives, and embodied his plans
in the Hopkins map. He also made several water-color
sketches of the scenery at Sewanee. The board adjourned
to meet at New Orleans on the second Wednesday of
February, 1860, at which time the committee on constitu-
tion and statutes was requested to make its report. The
board of trustees met on February 8th, 1860, in the city
hall in New Orleans. There were present Bishops Otey,
Polk, Elliott, Green, Rutledge and Lay and clerical trustees
from North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana and Tennessee. Dr. Lay having been elected
to the Episcopate of Arkansas, Rev. David Pise was
elected secretary. The committee appointed to prepare
a constitution and statutes for the University made their
report.
The committee say in their report :
"That, impressed with the importance of the duty
assigned them, they have proceeded to its discharge with
caution and mature deliberation. Their first work was to
obtain the modus operandi of the most eminent institutions
of learning in Europe and America. A mass of material
was obtained from all quarters and a careful investiga-
tion and comparison was made, aided by memoirs
published by private individuals and a personal examina-
tion by members of the committee of the practical
working of our best universities and colleges in this
country, and from the results they have framed the
constitution and statutes reported. Their plan followed
no existing system. It is eclectic, embracing features
which are found in the most distinguished universities
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 37
of Europe; features which, while they formed parts of
systems otherwise widely different, combine harmoniously
and form an aggregate of all a university in its largest
sense should be expected to supply."* The report is signed
by Bishops Polk, Elliott, Kutledge and Lay, Rev. David
Pise, Messrs. G. R. Fairbanks, J. H. Couper and F. B.
Fogg.
*The original draft of the constitution in the handwriting of
G. R. Fairbanks, secretary of the committee, is on file in the
archives of the University.
HIBTORY OF THE
CHAPTER V.
The first meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in October,
1860 — The final adoption of a constitution and code of stat-
utes— The laying of the cornerstone on the 10th of October,
1860.
THE executive committee had advertised for plans for
the central building to contain a great hall or theater
for commencement and other great occasions, with wings
to accommodate the library, galleries of art, museum and
the offices of the University. A large number of plans
were sent in of various merit and were considered by the
board. There was considerable discussion as to the style
to be adopted. Bishop Elliott favored the classical OP
Italian or Greek styles, in which style a very handsome
design was furnished by Mr. Lee of South Carolina.
Bishop Polk and others preferred the early English, in
which style Mr. Anderson, of Washington, had furnished
a very beautiful and complete design, the estimate of the
cost of which was about $300,000. After much discussion
all the plans were referred to the executive committee, by
whom the plan of Mr. Anderson was selected. Unfor-
tunately his fine perspective drawing was lost during the
war.
As has been before mentioned, during the winter preced-
ing the laying of the cornerstone of the main building
Bishop Polk had secured the services of Bishop Hopkins
of Vermont to come to Sewanee and plan a scheme of
location for the buildings, and to lay out avenues and
drives, in order that there should be established at the
outset a well-considered, harmonious, convenient and
I
Rt. Rev. W. M. GREEN, D. D.
First Bishop of Mississippi? Fourth Chancellor of University.
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 39
-suitable plan, which should be adhered to in building up
the University. Bishop Hopkins spent six months in
carrying out this purpose with the aid of a civil engineer
and a corps of assistants. His general plan was to erect
on the highest and most central ground a grand central
building, which we have before referred to. Around the
center, at varying distances, he selected twelve or more
college sites where buildings could be advantageously
placed, with ample grounds and forest trees. In the
vicinity of these college buildings professors' residences
and boarding houses were to be grouped, somewhat on
the plan of the English universities, except that greater
space was allotted for growth and enlargement.
Chas. R. Barney, Esq., a civil engineer of great
accuracy, ran a line of levels over all the domain lying
northwest of the railroad, making Polks Spring the base
line, and lines of level for every ten feet rise of elevation
above Polks Spring, and every twenty feet below. He
constructed a large map upon a scale of four hundred
feet to the inch, on which all the topography, springs
and lines of level were portrayed. This map was, with
other university documents, burned at Opelika, Ala., in
1865, at the time of Wilson's raid of United States forces
in that part of the country.
The several springs and prominent points and views
were named in 1859 by Rt. Rev. W. M. Green and G. R.
Fairbanks, in conference with Mr. C. R. Barney, the
engineer. The large spring near Tremlett Hall was
named Polks Spring. That in the rear of A. T. O. Hall
was named Otey Spring. Others were Greens Spring,
Cobbs Spring, on the southeast side of the railroad, etc.
40 HISTORY OF THE
Greens View was opened out by Bishop Green; Grooms
Bluff named after Mr. Crooin of Alabama, a generous
donor; Morgans Steep after Mr. Morgan of Louisiana;
Point Rutledge after Col. A. M. Rutledge, a devoted
friend of the University.
When it was decided by the executive committee that
the preliminary work was sufficiently well advanced to
initiate active operations, and the chancellor, Bishop
Otey, was so advised, the committee decided to lay the
cornerstone of the great central building with as much
eclat and ceremony as was in their power.
The University at Sewanee then boasted of a long range
of one-story buildings connected together and having a
broad piazza entirely around. Another building was a
double building of hewn logs, containing an engineer's
office and an executive committee room. Bishop Polk
had erected a one-story cottage where Mr. Fairbanks'
house now stands. Bishop Elliott had built a plain one-
story cottage just in front of the present A. T. O. Hall,
and Mr. Fairbanks had built a frame cottage on the bluff
west of Greens View.
It was decided by the laymen to have an oration by
some prominent Southern layman. To provide a banquet,
and extend invitations to the principal clergy and laity
of the Southern dioceses to be present. But how were
they to be entertained? There was no town nearer than
AYinchester, twelve miles off, and at Sewanee only the
buildings just described. The entertainment for several
hundred guests had to be improvised. For their lodging
several bales of blankets were purchased, bales of sheet-
ing, bed ticks were made to be filled with straw, pillows
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 41
were made up, the piazzas of the long University log
building were closed in with cloth and partitioned off
with same material, and in this way, with what accom-
modation the three private families could afford, some
three or four hundred visitors and guests were lodged
the one night. A dining hall was built without a floor,
and long tables spread. Many hogsheads of crockery
procured, and a caterer with an ample supply of provi-
sions and a large retinue of servants procured from
Nashville, that thus the multitude might be lodged and
fed in the wilderness. For the delivery of the oration
a large shed was constructed with seats for three thou-
sand people. On the 9th of October, 1860, the board of
trustees met for the first time at Sewanee. There were
present Bishops Otey, Polk, Elliott, Cobbs, Green, Rut-
ledge and Atkinson. Clerical and lay trustees were
present from the dioceses of North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and
Texas. The committee on the charter reported that an
amendment of the charter had been obtained which
authorized the University to receive donations and grants
of land in addition to the number of acres (10,000)
specified in the tenth section of the charter, provided that
if such lands were in the State of Tennessee they should
be sold and disposed of and converted into personal
securities or State bonds. It also provided that the
University should have a right to establish such police
and municipal regulations as might be necessary for the
preservation of order and the enforcement of the by-laws
of the University. The report of the executive committee
estimated that the University held in October, 1860,
42 HISTORY OP THE
bonds and obligations to amount of $393,489, and
real estate and franchises to the value of $130,000. The
committee on finances reported the total amount of bonds,
obligations and subscriptions as amounting to $418,089,
and the value of privileges, lands, etc., $130,000, making
a total of $505,000, after paying outstanding claims.
The tenth day of October had been set apart for the
ceremonies attendant upon the laying of the cornerstone
of the central building. Bishop Young, then an assistant
minister of Trinity Church, New York, had been delegated
to attend upon this occasion and to report the proceed-
ings for the Church Journal. He gives to that paper the
following account of that memorable day:
"The day appointed for the laying of the cornerstone
was the 10th of October, 1860. A very large block of
reddish-brown variegated Tennessee marble had been
procured from a quarry some miles distant from Win-
chester in Franklin County. So ponderous was the
unhewn block that it required eight yoke of oxen to haul
it up to the mountain top, and six weeks of continuous
labor of a skilled workman was spent in shaping and
polishing it. A wall of massive sandstone blocks had
been laid at the southeast corner of the proposed build-
ing to receive this great cornerstone, worthy of the grand
project it was to materially inaugurate. All the pre-
parations were complete, and the tenth day of October
dawned as beautiful an October day as could be desired.
Almost like magic the mountain plateau of Sewanee
teemed with life, the shriek of arriving railway trains,
the rumbling of omnibuses and carriages brought up for
the occasion, the throng of people from the surrounding
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 43
country on foot, on * horseback, in wagons, carts, and
every conceivable vehicle, all gathering to a common
center, evinced the interest which the occasion evoked. A
band of music from Nashville poured forth its martial
strains, and booths and peddler wagons indicated a gala
day for the people. It was estimated that more than
5,000 people were present.
At midday a grand procession was formed under the
direction of Maj. A. M. Rutledge, marshal of the day, and
proceeded to the selected site of the central building. A
large number of laymen, preceded by the band, were fol-
lowed by a long array of clergy and the following named
bishops: Rt. Rev. Thomas Atkinson, D. D., of North
Carolina; Rt. Rev. Francis H. Rutledge, D. D., of Florida;
Rt. Rev. W. M. Green of Mississippi ; Rt. Rev. N. H. Cobbs
of Alabama; Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., of Georgia;
Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk of Louisiana; Rt. Rev. James H.
Otey, D.D., L.L.D., of Tennessee and Rt. Rev. Benjamin
B. Smith of Kentucky. The ceremonies were commenced
by singing the hundreth Psalm to its own and well-known
tune, in which the whole multitude joined, and the grand
strains echoed far through the surrounding forests. Rt.
Rev. F. H. Rutledge, of Florida, then read a portion of
scripture; Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina, followed
with an exhortation, and Bishop Cobbs, of Alabama,
suitable collects and a special prayer appropriate to the
occasion.
Bishop Elliott, of Georgia, then deposited in the corner-
stone a copy of the Holy Scriptures, the book of Common
Prayer, the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States, the Constitution
44 HISTORY OF THE
of the United States, a bound volume of all published
documents relating to the University, a copy of each of
the church papers and magazines, a church almanac for
the year 1860, and several silver coins. Upon depositing
the Bible, Bishop Elliott said, "This sacred volume, being
the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,
is desposited before and above all memorials in this cor-
nerstone to testify to the present generation and to all
future ages that the University of the South recognizes
the Word of God as the fountain of all the learning
and as the only source of that knowledge which maketh
wise unto salvation." When placing the Prayer Book,
he said :
"This copy of the Book of Common Prayer is deposited
in this cornerstone next after the Woird df God to
testify that the University of the South believes it to
be in perfect harmony with that Word, and to exhibit in
its ministry, doctrine and sacraments, the Church of God
as that Church was founded by Christ and His Apostles."
On depositing the Constitution of the United States, he
said, "I next deposit in this cornerstone the Constitution
of the United States, the time-honored bond which binds
together the States of this Confederacy, to testify that the
University of the South, while it holds itself superior
to the State in all strictly spiritual matters, acknowledges
itself subordinate to it in all matters of government and
law. Esto perpetua."
The cavity was then closed and sealed and the stone
adjusted to its place, and Bishop Polk, of Louisiana, said,
"This cornerstone symbolizes strength and stability, the
w&ion of the intellectual and spiritual natures of man,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 45
the sure and tried cornerstone, the Wisdom of God and
the Power of God." He then struck the stone thrice,
saying, "In the name of the Holy and undivided Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three persons in one God,
fclessed forever, Amen.
"I, Leonidas Polk, D. D., bishop of Louisiana, on this
tenth day of October, in the year of grace one thousand
eight hundred and sixty, do lay this cornerstone of an
edifice to be here erected as the principal building of the
University of the South, an institution established by
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the dioceses of
Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and
Texas for the cultivation of true religion, learning and
virtue, that thereby God may be glorified and the
happiness of man may be advanced. Other foundations
can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, today and forever, God over all,
blessed for evermore, in whom we have redemption through
His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins, for there is none
other name under Heaven given among men whereby we
must be saved."
After which the benedicite was sung by the Rev. Dr.
J. Freeman Young, then an assistant minister of Trinity
Church, New York, afterwards bishop of Florida, and
the Rev. Dr. Charles Todd Quintard, then rector of the
Church of the Advent, Nashville, Tenn., afterwards
bishop of Tennessee. After the benediction the assembled
multitude proceeded to an immense shelter erected for the
purpose some one hundred and fifty yards distant to the
west which had been suitably prepared with benches and
46 HISTORY OF THE
platform. Bishop Otey, the chancellor of the University,
came forward and said, "I have the honor of announcing
to you the orator of the day, a name, Clarum et venera-
bili, illustrious in the annals of our country, and in
this instance designating a gentleman who has always
shown himself zealous and liberal in promoting the
interests of all institutions designed for the honor of our
country and the welfare of mankind, the Hon. John S.
Preston of South Carolina." The orator was worthy of
his name and fame; of lofty stature and splendid
physique; grand and graceful in person, a clear, sweet-
toned and forcible delivery, animated by the occasion, he
impressed himself upon the vast audience as one of
nature's noblemen to the manner born.
The oration was a thoughtful resume of the progress
of civilization as illustrated in the history of the Church
of England. The influence of the church in building up
those preparatory schools and institutions of learning, the
transplanting into America of the religion and love of
learning of the English people, the principles of Magna
Charta and sound morality. The oration abounded with
many passages of surpassing beauty, but I will here only
reproduce the peroration. "There is no antiquity here:
I have recited to you in general terms all the history
which has brought us here. There are no monuments
here marking the vestiges of man; no pyramids of forty
centuries, no parthenon, no portico from which dropped
the honey from Plato's lips, no coliseum from which the
world's masters revel, no grand and solemn cathedral
where every echo resounds with a majestic history, no
purple light of romance and chivalry, no roseate hue of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 47
art and poetry. All is new, fresh from the hand of
God; we are the first; we are primevals here, our only
calendar is the annulation of the oak, our only history
is the bud, the leaf and the autumn wind. We have come
to the heights of Sewanee to begin an epoch. But thanks
to our blessed church and our liberties we come bring-
ing history and gifts and treasures from all times and
people; we have come to inscribe upon the rolls of the
vast young empire beneath us all that men have fought
for, prayed for, hoped for. We come to clear away the
brushwood that we may build chambers for our treasure
more precious than Syrian rubies, more potent than the
Macedonian Sceptre, and we open up the tree tops that
the light of Heaven may shine upon them; we come with
the richest treasures gathered through all time all over
the earth, and laying them here at the feet of our country-
men, we bid them take, for every jewel which is taken,
like early gathered fruit, leaves more vigor behind, every
torch which is lighted, like the crystal, flashes its flame
back to its source.
"If, my friends, you have gone with me thus far, I
need add nothing as to the specific scheme of culture
to be adopted at the University of the South. I need
only point to these men to tell you what is to be the
cornerstone of that culture.
"In our country, and it is one of its holiest blessingsr
the shades of Protestant sectarianism are scarcely dis-
cernible in the affairs of life. We all came to this new
earth that we might worship God according to our own
consciences, and to be free and equal before God and
man. That all, of all names, shades and creeds of
48 HISTORY OF THE
Christians might be thus, we mingled our life blood on a
hundred battle fields until we drove mankind to acknowl-
edge our claim. From that blood thus mingled there
sprung a spirit which makes all one in the solemn
purposes of life for now and forever. With this origin
and with this communion I point again to our history
and to these men and say: Can they, dare they, place
here another cornerstone than this., the ^ChriBti an Bible?
Conscience and duty are our substitutes for prerogatives
and power, and we can found no institution save on the
basis of conscience and duty. Here is our conscience,
here is our duty, and, therefore, here is the cornerstone
of the University of the South. This Christian Bible
(increased and prolonged applause), were it not only the
cornerstone, but the arch, the wall, the roof, the spire,
the gilding, the all, it would be enough. Does the proud
knowledge of Greece arise near to this eternal wisdom
which was thundered from Sinai? Does Homer's verse
reach the resounding harmony of David's harp? Does
Plato's sweetest reasoning drop upon the human soul
with the divine influence of Paul's holy teaching? All
statesmanship, philosophy and science might be taught
from its sacred pages. Here then can we place the
universal truth, the cornerstone of all knowledge.
"Now, fellow citizens in this Republic, all power is
with the people, there is no class set apart to be instructed
to rule the rest — all are to govern. All therefore must
be taught to govern, education must be given to all.
Unless we are taught to use them in the right way our
civil and religious liberties are worthless and dangerous
boons. Liberal knowledge is a dangerous precedent to
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 49
the preservation of those liberties. Admit this, and there
cannot be a higher or holier purpose than to furnish
instruction to our people, 'to teach the people their duty
is better than expelling the Trojans/ Most deeply and
profoundly impressed with this sacred impulse, these
learned and good and wise men have traversed and
searched all recorded modes and matter of instruction,
and have garnered up the enlightened experience of all
countries. They come here now to plant the seeds which,
with the sweat and prayers of earnestness, they have
collected. How easy for us to believe whence these seeds
will be watered, they will tell you of all the rich harvests
which pious hope is promising.
"It is not my vocation to detail to you the great plan
of instruction which is to be initiated today. This will
be done by those who are the honored representatives of
the principles I have announced, and who have this day
come here to institutionize these principles. The agencies
of genius, learning, and exalted piety, are concentrated
for the sole purpose of purifying, strengthening, and pre-
serving the people of this land, by giving action and use
to these principles. This then is the purpose of the
University of the South. Our dealing now is with its
destiny.
"What is that? Turn your eyes to the feeble current,
listen to the almost inaudible murmur of these little
rivulets as they trickle out of the mountain side, and
behold the swelling volume bearing on its heaving bosom
the wealth of an empire, and fertilizing its coasts with all
that genius, the taste, the piety of all times, have earned
for the administration and joy of man. Listen to the
50 HISTORY OF THE
roar of human industry — listen to the sweet symphonies
of hunmn prayer, and then turn again to this rising
temple — behold the light — listen to the voices which will
perpetuate and sanctify all this. Prophetic fury cowers
before the majestic picture, and anxious hope dares only
to ask, whence comes it? It comes of that mysterious,
that immortal spirit which has borne us along the deep
forest whence the Druid fled before the apostles, even to
the mountain plain which overlooks an empire on which
the wearied sun reposes his day-worn light. It is the
unchangeable, the irresistible, the unwearied, the sacred
genius of Christian liberty. The forms, the deep con-
victions, the very life of ages, dissolve like fading dreams.
The paths of human energy, worn deepest by the proudest
civilization, are leveled, overgrown, hidden, lost. Time
itself is but the graduated scale to mar the continuous
universal change; the earth beneath us, with its forests
and mountains and seas, is hourly changing; the firma-
ment around us dawns, glows and pales with change;
the heavens over us, with all their thronging world of
soaring fires, change; all is change; no stars, no mountain,
nor wave, nor radiance is the same today and tomorrow.
It is the sun of Christian liberty alone which knows no
change but onward and upward, even now to its brightest
meridian, and we are bathing in its eternal beams, and
see how it may be for us when the true knowledge and
elevated art shall dwell in these pleasant places, and
sweet religion in her Angel robes shall sit upon these
rising spires and catching her rays from God's own
effluence, shed them over all the four rivers of this new
Eden of ours. The design of this University is to form a
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 51
standard of learning so exalted as to develop the highest
intellectual faculties of man, and to make this develop-
ment subsiduary to his moral and material advancement.
It is intended by the highest — the very highest specula-
tive evolutions — to make the people of this region of
America consistently, firmly and irresistibly progressive
in the great purposes for which God, in his economy,
has intended man. In a word, it is meant for the
thorough culture of the heart and mind of the people,
that thereby the mind may be expanded and enriched,
and the heart made to comprehend, to regulate and to
apply the vast duties which pertain to the citizens of the
slave-holding States and the Christian. All that the
energies ~of the i most devoted piety, guided by the widest
knowledge and most persevering labor can avouch, is
brought here to that end; and the most liberal bounty,
the most magnificent benevolence that ever illustrated
a people's virtue, have added large stores of material
treasure. Now, my countrymen, under God we owe this,
first to the spirit I have endeavored to elucidate, and
then to the earnest enlightened devotion of this noble
band of holy men. They have given their gifts to this
enterprise of Christian patriotism. I cannot praise
them with fulsome eulogy, I cannot discriminate their
work, but you and the world will feel that I am not
much to blame if I turn to you, Reverend Sir (addressing
Bishop Polk), and say, as the Roman historian said of
Alexander's conquest of East, 'He took courage to despise
vain apprehensions,' and, further, that when it pleases
God, your Master, to stay your radiant and strong
right arm from his battlefields on earth, and call you
52 HISTORY OF THE
to share His everlasting triumph, the Heavens and our
grateful country will read on your gravestone, 'The
founder of the University of the South/ And to all of you.
Reverend Fathers, in the name of our common country
and of our posterity, I may use the language of the
wisest statesman and purest patriot of Rome, apostrophiz-
ing the greatest, wisest teacher — save one — vouchsafed to
man :
" 'Socrates, et socratici viril!
'Nunquam vobis gratiam
'Referam.'
"And again I may hail you, venerable Fathers of our
beloved church, in the triumphant cry of one whose
successors you are in your holy office, and brave and
meek and holy as He was, whose equal you would be if
liberty and religion demanded the trial, 'Be of good
comforts, we shall this day light such a candle by God's
grace as, I trust, never shall be put out.' "
After the closing prayers by the Rt. Rev. W. M. Green,
bishop of Mississippi, and the singing of the Gloria in
Excelsis, a benediction was pronounced, and the invited
guests proceeded to partake of a collation which had
been prepared under a large dining shelter built for the
purpose. Seven rows of tables were spread the entire
length of the building, and another on a raised platform
at one end for the bishops (those who were to make
NOTE: — It is somewhat remarkable that Colonel Preston on
this occasion, in a time of profound peace, addressing a bishop
of the church, should in this expression, "that when it pleases
God, your Master, to stay your radiant and strong right arm from
His battlefields on earth," unconsciously have forshadowed the
death of Bishop Polk on the battlefield of Pine Mountain.
I
§•
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 53
addresses) and the ladies. Over three hundred persons
were comfortably seated and a bountiful and abundant
repast graced the "groaning boards."
It had been appropriately arranged that some of the
distinguished guests should be called on for postprandial
speeches. Bishop Otey first called upon a world-known
scientist, with the following prefatory introduction :
"I feel peculiar pleasure in introducing to you a dis-
tinguished fellow-citizen whose labors in the cause of
science have crowned his name with honor throughout
the world, and made him in a measure the property of
nations. The winds of Heaven and the waves of the
sea have, by his researches and discoveries, been made
tributary to the increase of the facilities of trade of
every land and on every sea where commerce spreads
her sail. I announce to you the name of my friend,
Commander Matthew F. Maury, of Washington City."
Commander Maury commenced by referring to Bishop
Otey as his old preceptor and early friend, he having been
in his youth a pupil of the Bishop at Franklin, Tenn.
He proceeded in a most interesting vein to speak of the
various aspects in which the study of physical geography
affects the well-being of mankind and promotes the
harmony of the universe.
"Had I time," said the speaker in conclusion, "I might
show how mountains, deserts, winds and water, when
treated by this beautiful science, all join in one universal
harmony — for each one has its part to perform in the
great concert of nature."
"The church, ere yet physical geography had attained
the dignity of a science in our schools, and even before
54 HISTORY OF THE
man had endowed it with a name, saw and appreciated
its dignity, the virtue of its chief agent. What have we
heard chanted here in this grove by a thousand voices
this morning? A song of praise such as these hills have
not heard since the morning stars sang together — the bene-
dicite of our mother church, invoking the very agent whose
workings and offerings is the business of the physical
geographer. In our services she teaches her children in
her songs of praise to call upon certain physical agents,
principals in this newly established department of human
knowledge, upon the waters above the firmament, upon
showers and dew, wind, fire and heat, winter and summer,
frost and cqld, ice and snow, night and day, light and
darkness^ lightning and clouds, mountains and hills,
green things, trees and plants, whales and all things that
move in the waters, fowls of the air, with beasts and
cattle, to bless, praise and magnify the Lord. To reveal
to man the offices of these agents, in making the earth
his fit dwelling place, is the object of physical geography.
Said I not well of all the sciences, physical geography is
the most christianizing in its influence."
Bishop Ote3r next introduced Eev. F. P. A. Barnard,
then president of the University of Mississippi, q,nd sub-
sequently president (until his death) of Columbia College.
President Barnard, as one whose life had been devoted
to the cause of education in the Southern States,
expressed the gratification afforded him in being present
to offer his congratulations upon the great event they
had met to inaugurate. He said he understood "the design
of the projectors of the University was to erect here a
school of learning, to which not merely youth, but men,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 55
may resort, and in which not merely the rudiments of
knowledge shall be taught, but every branch of letters
and science might be pursued throughout all its ramifica-
tions, and aids may be furnished for the independent
research and original investigation by which the
boundaries of t;he field of knowledge may be carried for-
ward into the region of the still unknown. This being,
as I understand it, the design of this proposed institu-
tion— a design from which I trust its projectors and
patrons will not swerve or shrink back a single hair's
breadth — as an educator, I look upon it with feelings of
intensest interest, for the influence which it is destined
inevitably to exert upon our whole educational system.
It is impossible that a higher order of intellectual
culture be introduced among us without improving the
thoroughness and elevating the tone of teaching in all
our schools of whatever grade." Some criticism upon
the plans of the institution as an attempt to improvise
a great University had been made, and speaking to this
point President Barnard said, "One peculiarity I have
further to notice. It is proposed here to create a
university, not through the slow growth of years, but
immediately and at once. The scheme has been sub-
stantially perfected, the means for the most part secured,
and it is now proposed that the realization shall be as
sudden as the birth of Minerva, full-armed from the head
of Jupiter. It is curiously in keeping with the character
of your people of the race to which we belong, and the
history of the continent we inhabit, that we should impro-
vise a university complete in all its appliances and all the
instrumentalities for the fulfillment of its comprehensive
56 HISTORY OF THE
functions. And why should we not improvise a univer-
sity? We improvise towns, we improvise great cities, we
improvise even sovereign states which spring up like
magic in the heart of the wilderness, and with a sudden-
ness almost startling present themselves in the halls
of our federal legislature, demanding admission to the
Union. To improvise a university is not much greater,
yet the great universities of Europe have been the growth
of centuries. Ought not ours to grow up to greatness
by a similarly tardy progress? I think not. The slow
growth of those venerable institutions of the Old World
was a necessity arising out of causes which have for
the most part disappeared. When Alfred founded the
University of Oxford, when William, of Champeaux,
opened his lecture halls in Paris, there was the classical
learning of Greece and Rome, there was the philosophy
of Aristotle, there were the mathematics of Euclid and
Apallonius and a few more; but, besides these things,
what did the field of human knowledge embrace? The
literature and sciences wThich have sprung up since the
revival of letters, and the invention of the art of
printing, were without existence. Books were few and,
of necessity, so long as they could only be multiplied
by the slow labor of the pen, costly and difficult of attain-
ment. Collections in natural history, in physical science,
in agriculture and other subjects now so beautifully
illustrated, in many places were unknown. But in this
day all these instrumentalities for aiding the learner
and investigator may be secured without waiting for
them to form themselves by the slow accretions of cen-
turies. Thus then, though it is a great thing to improvise
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 57
an institution as is proposed to make this University,
yet it is certainly a very possible thing. I see no reason
why this University may not, at no distant day rival
the renown of the most distinguished of its class in
the Old World. Nay, having gathered here, as it must,
all the helps to study and investigation as well as the
instrumentalities for the teaching which the world can
supply, and attracting to this spot, as it cannot fail to do,
the most eminent talent in every walk of letters and
science which the country affords, I deem it no ebullition
of a visionary enthusiasm to predict? that the time will
come when the glories which have clustered in other
times around Wittenberg and Gotingen and Heidelberg
and Padua and Bologna and Paris and Rotterdam and
Oxford and Cambridge will be more than equalled by
the lustre which shall surround and radiate from the
University of the South."
Gen. John M. Bright, M. C., of Tennessee, was the
next speaker, and ably discussed the growing importance
of agriculture as a science and commended the wisdom
of the projectors of the University in giving so large a
place to this important department.
NOTE: — At that time no great educational institution had
been improvised, but since then we have had Cornell University,
Lehigh University, Johns Hopkins University, Chicago University,
Stanford University founded by millionaires and endowments
upon the very largest scale of expenditure in buildings and
endowments, while Yale and Harvard, Princeton and the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, with the aid of very large gifts and special
foundations, have expanded from colleges into universities on a.
very large and comprehensive scale.
58 HISTORY OF THE
The last speaker was the very venerable, Rt. Rev.
Benjamin Bosworth Smith of Kentucky who briefly
referred to the great educational impulse which had
brought about this event and the conservative value of
Christian education in preserving the institutions of our
country. Other speakers were on the programme, but
the shades of night began to steal in and as there were
no means of lighting the vast dining hall, the exercises
were brought to a conclusion. It had been a most
beautiful, bright and cheerful day, and a great wave of
enthusiasm had touched all hearts and permeated the
great assemblage. It was felt that a great event had
been celebrated in a most admirable manner, which
presaged a bright and glorious future for the University.
Rt. Rev. C. T. QUINTARD, D. D.
First Vice Chancellor, Second Bishop of Tennes
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 59
CHAPTER VI.
Tribute to Bishops Polk, Otey and Elliott — Events subsequent to
the laying of the cornerstone — The secession of the Con-
federate States — The call for a convention of the Southern
ing of the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in October,
1861.
1861-1865.
WITH the laying of the cornerstone, the securing of
nearly half a million of dollars for endowment, the
obtaining title to ten thousand acres for its princely
domain, with a charter liberal in its provisions, with the
support of the bishops of ten dioceses and their clergy
and laity, the founders of the University might well feel
that their work was well-nigh accomplished.
Alas, even then a dark cloud lay upon the political
horizon, menacing the peace, happiness and prosperity
of our land, a cloud which was soon to burst, overwhelm
our Southern dioceses, overturn our institutions, destroy,
burn, ravage and sweep out of existence nearly all our
personalty and render, for some time at least, almost
valueless our realty.
Bishop Freeman of Arkansas had died in 1858. Within
the ensuing four years after the laying of the corner-
stone, Bishops Cobbs, Otey and Polk passed away. The
cornerstone, laid with such fond hopes, had been
broken into fragments and its contents scattered beyond
recovery, our humble buildings were in ashes, and the
splendid endowment, secured with such toil and effort,
had vanished. Otey, the noble, great-minded chancellor,
60 HISTORY OF THE
and Polk, the moving spirit of the enterprise, were in
their graves, and the University and its grand ideal
seemed to have left behind only a sweet memory of a great
name. Thus closed the initial of this great enterprise.
Man's work had passed away, but God's work, the
eternal hills, grand forests, cool springs, gentle breezes
and genial climate, remained as foundations, perchance,
for its- resurrection ; for to some there ever remained the
faith to believe "that a great thought never dies."
It seems proper here for one who was their con-
temporary, and who* knew them well, to say a few words
of the grand trio, Polk, Otey and Elliott, who stand out
most prominently in the work of founding the University.
Leonidas Polk, first missionary bishop of Arkansas
and first bishop of Louisiana, comes naturally to be first
spoken of.
The portrait in St. Lukes Oratory, here reproduced, is
an excellent representation of his form and features.
Erect and soldierly in his bearing, there was a clear-cut,
firm expression of the countenance which marked him
as a leader among men, a force of character which was
at once felt and recognized, a certain power which enabled
him! to carry others along with him, not by any use of
rhetoric, or art of persuasion, but by a conviction that
there was no other course open but assent to his premises
and consent to the performance of the duty involved in
his conclusions. It was the very breadth and largeness
of his plans, the grandeur of the proposed University, the
scale upon which it was to be carried out, made men feel
that it was not tens or hundreds, but thousands, that
were needed to be given. So far as I know, he never
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 61
asked for or took up a collection for the University.
How lie regarded the methods of work may be inferred
from a report made to the board in 1859, in which he
says that the commissioners had devoted two or three
months to the work in Louisiana, and did not exhaust
that field (f 264.000 was reported from Louisiana in
1860), that the sums required for the commencement of
operations could easily have been gotten by skimming
the surface of the associated dioceses, yet the large
endowment they proposed to raise required a careful
'Canvass of each particular diocese. Such was the mian
and such were his views, and he had the inestimable
power of impressing his views upon others. The sub-
scriptions in Louisiana were mostly from |5,000 to
$10,000 each. He aimed to raise not less than an endow-
ment of $3,000,000. Bishop Otey had the intellectual
power, the mental grasp of the subject, but Bishop Polk
had not only the clear conception of the work, but the
knowledge of human nature, the will power and patient
and well-ordered enthusiasm, allied with prudence, to
know how to reach the heart, the understanding and the
coffers of the people. Personally tall, erect and leader-
like, rapid but clear in thought and expression, chivalric
and high-toned, he possessed a magnetic power of
influence, he had a combination of great qualities which
fitted him for a great work. He perished at Pine
Mountain, Ga., June 14th, 1864, at the age of fifty-five.
Bishop Otey was a grand man among men, of command-
ing stature, large boned, broad chested, a sturdy framfe
surmounted by a noble head and manly countenance,
with piercing eyes and an impressive and dignified
62 HISTORY OF THE
manner, he was at once recognized as one of the great
fathers of the church. Simple and natural, with no
mannerism, and with no apparent consciousness of self,
he commanded attention and respect from all with
whom he came in contact. Intellectually I have always
regarded him as the foremost man in the house of bishops.
He was a great preacher, the clearness of his exposition,
the force of his arguments, the power of his presentation
of the truth, were felt by all, and no one could listen to
his pulpit utterance without a reverent assent to hi»
conclusion. It has often seemed to me that if this great
intellectual giant could have been placed in one of the
older and stronger dioceses his power and rank would
have been universally acknowledged, but his life was
worn out in a scattered and comparatively barren field,
in a pioneer country, in journey ings and exposure of
every kind. I have in the earlier portion of the sketch
given a somewhat full statement of the educational
projects which he originated, but failed t;o carry out.
The ideas he never relinquished, but he had no pride of
leadership or jealousy of their being taken up and carried
on by another, and, after the publication of Bishop Folk's
letter in 1856, he wrote a friend, "I am glad that one has
taken hold of the subject with more leisure and ability
than I have to prosecute it to a happy result." His
death occurred at Memphis, April 23, 1863, at the age
of sixty-three.
Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, then bishop of Georgia, was the
chosen friend and colleague of Bishop Polk in this work, a
noble coadjutor. It is difficult to give an adequate concep-
tion of Bishop Elliott. One who knew him well thus de<-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 63
scribes him. "Long of limb and tall of stature, with a full
and vigorous frame thoroughly yet easily erect, with a full,
high brow, finely chiseled features and lofty chest, with
soft beaming blue eyes and a complexion fair and fresh
without being ruddy > exquisitely graceful in his carriage
and quiet and easy in his movements, with his thin, dark
hair floating lightly around his head. His was a figure,
as he passed along the crowded thoroughfare, upon which
men turned to gaze, and the eyes of women rested with
tenderness and veneration."
There was, indeed, a peculiar charm about him which
was indescribable. A friend of mine from Georgia who
was very proud of his State, used to speak of Bishop
Elliott as being "the first gentleman in Georgia," He was
a rare man, a scholar, a chivalrous gentleman, a noble
bishop of the church, a devoted and faithful friend. He
died on the 21st of December, I860, at the age of sixty-
six. So that all three of these noble men were called
away within three years. A noble trio worthy to be
commemorated by fhe painter's pencil and sculptor's
chisel in the great central hall of the University to be
built.
The cornerstone had been laid in October, 1861,
during the calm which preceded the hurricane. The
presidential election followed in a few weeks and at
once the elements of discord between the states began to
appear. Men's minds were excited to a high pitch by
the discussion which followed the presidential election,
as to the effect of the complete triumph of what was
regarded at the South as an anti-slavery and Northern
sectional political organization, inimical to the South,
64 HISTORY OF THE
her institutions and rights. The public mind was greatly
excited; public meetings were called to consider the
situation; the bolder spirits counseled immediate action,
defensive measures were recommended; a withdrawal
from the Union was now openly discussed, and by many
regarded as the only solution of the dangers which
menaced the Slave States. State conventions were held,
and on December 20th, 1860, South Carolina led off
towards withdrawal by the passage of an ordinance of
sesession and repudiation of the authority of the federal
government. Other states followed in rapid succession.
On the eighth of February, 1861, a provisional government
for the Confederate States was established at Montgom-
ery, and on the eleventh of March, 1861, the constitution
of the Confederate States was adopted. All the dioceses
connected with the University, except Tennessee, had
thus come under the government of the Confederate
States, and it became necessary to make some arrange-
ment by which the church in these dioceses could preserve
an organization.
On the 23d of March, 1861, Bishops Polk and Elliott
issued from University Place, as Sewanee was then called,
a circular letter addressed to the bishops of the several
dioceses' in the Confederate States, in which they
suggested that the course of events seemed to require an
•early consultation among the dioceses of the Confederate
States for the purpose of considering their relation to the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, of
which they had been so long the equal and happy
members. They said "this necessity does not arise out of
.any dissension which has occurred within the church
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 65
itself, nor out of any dissatisfaction with either the
doctrine or discipline of the church. We rejoice to-
record the fact that we are today, as churchmen, as
truly brethren as we have ever been; and that no deed
has been done nor word utftered that leaves a single
wound rankling in our hearts. We are still one in faith,
in purpose and in hope, but political changes forced upon
us by a stern necessity, have occurred which have placed
our dioceses in a position requiring consultation as to
our ecclesiastical relations." They therefore proposed
that the several bishops should recommend to their
diocesan conventions the appointment of clerical and lay
deputies to a convention to be held at Montgomery, Ala.,
on the 3d day of July, 1861. This convention was held
on the 3d of July and subsequent days and, after a
full consideration of the manner of organization and
the passage of resolutions looking to such complete
autonomy, provided for a meeting of deputies, chosen by
the diocesan convention, to meet at Columbia, S. C., on
the third Wednesday of October, 1861, for the purpose
of a complete organization of the Southern dioceses in
a general convention.
Bishop Otey, as chancellor of the University, availed
himself of the meeting of the convention to call a
meeting of the board of trustees of the University of the
South to be held at Columbia on October 14th, 1861, to
take into consideration such matters as might affect the
University in the condition of affairs. Bishop Polk,
under the urgent solicitation of the president of the
Confederacy, had reluctantly accepted a commission as
major-general in the Confederate army and was then in:
66 HISTORY OF THE
the field. Bishop Cobbs of Alabama had died on the
llth of January, 1861. On the day appointed a number
of the trustees assembled at the rectory of Trinity Church
in the city of Columbia, S. C. Of the bishops there were
present Bishops Otey, Elliott, Green, Davis and Rutledge,
with clerical and lay trustees from several dioceses.
A quorum not being present the meeting was adjourned
until the next day, when Bishops Atkinson, Gregg and
Lay arrived, and others sufficient to make a quorum.
What the future had in store for the church and State
no man knew, but the board proceeded in its regular
order of business, rules of order were discussed and
adopted. The committee on finance made a report; a
committee reported in reference to the death of Bishop
Cobbs of Alabama, who had died since the last meeting
of the board. Bishop Elliott of Georgia, one of the
commissioners on endowment, made a report as follows:
"The commissioners, as soon after the adjournment of
the board as practicable, took advice from some of the
most experienced lay trustees as to the practicability
of continuing their mission. The unanimous opinion
of these gentlemen was that nothing could be effected
in the way of collection in the uncertain and distracted
condition of the country, especially while the position of
Tennessee was undecided. Their advice was to place
everything in connection with the University in as snug
a condition as possible and wait events. In pursuance
of the instructions of the board, the commissioners
proceeded as rapidly as incoming revenue would permit
to liquidate the outstanding claims upon the University
and to put a stop to all expenditures. They were engaged
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 67
in this work when they were separated by secession. Fire
and war and circumstances have entirely prevented their
meeting since the secession of Tennessee, North Carolina
and Arkansas have reunited our dioceses. It was useless
to prosecute any work so long as Tennessee remained
in the old Union, and she did not determine her status
until June last (May 3d, 1861), when the country was
in the confusion of war and every collegian was defend-
ing his home and fireside. Nothing has been done to
advance the University. Your commissioner trusts that
the time may soon come when the board may resume its
active operations and consummate the great work which
has been so nobly begun." Bishop Elliott thereupon
resigned his position as commissioner of endowment.
A resolution was passed in reference to the plan
suggested by Mr. Thomas W. Adams, looking to the
erection of a collegiate building by the citizens of
Louisiana, and giving the assent of the board thereto.
Mr. G. R. Fairbanks was appointed a committee of one
to make all necessary arrangements with the Sewanee
Mining Company in reference to titles of lands, etc.
The chancellor was requested to make, in the absence
of the engineer in charge, Col. C. B. Barney, such
arrangements as he might deem best to preserve the
grounds, buildings, papers and other property of the
University, and to place some proper person in charge of
the same. The executive committee was authorized to
arrange the reservation required for the University and
around the springs and to lay out public grounds,
avenues, streets, etc. The size and shape of the lots and
the terms and conditions and mode of leasing thereof
<6S HISTORY OF THE
to be determined by the executive committee, who were
given full discretionary powers in reference thereto.
Bishops Otey and Polk, Rev. Dr. Pise, Messrs. G. B.
Fairbanks, L. N. Whittle and Daniel Griffin were
appointed an executive committee until the next annual
meeting of the board. A resolution was passed that such
funds as should be especially contributed for the purpose
be applied to the establishment of a preparatory school
at Sewanee under the direction of the executive com-
mittee.
It will be observed that although neither the declara-
tion of principles, constitution or statutes made any
provision for a preparatory or grammar school at
Sewanee, yet the board of trustees, as early as October,
1861, recognized the establishing of such a school as
desirable and gave their approval to the proposal.
Most, if not all of the trustees, were members of the
church council of the Confederate States, then in session
at Columbia, for the purpose of adopting a constitution
and canons for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Southern States.* After the adjournment of the board
the chancellor, Bishop Otey, formally placed the charge
of the University domain, property, papers, etc., at
Sewanee in the hands of Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, a member
of the executive committee, who returned to Sewanee
and remained there with his family until the fall of
Nashville, when he removed to Marietta, Ga., and shortly
afterwards entered the Confederate service with the rank
*The convention adopted a constitution and canons for the
church in the Confederate States and a council of the church
was afterwards held at Augusta, Ga., under this organization.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 69
of major. Colonel Barney, the engineer, had joined
General Folk's corps at Columbus, Ky. The shortest
route between the middle Tennessee valley country was
from Cowan or Decherd across the domain of the
University to Jasper in the Sequatchie Valley and thence
on to Chattanooga. After the battle of Murfreesboro
the Confederate army under General Bragg fell back to
Tullahoma and, later, crossed the mountain at Sewanee.
Some skirmishing took place on the domain between
the rear guard of General Folk's corps and the advance
of the Federal army. Subsequently several detachments
of the Federal army came to Sewanee and encamped
there for a considerable period. The University houses
and Mr. Fairbank's residence were burned about this
period by a detachment of Federal troops from Decherd.
The cornerstone was broken up into fragments and
made into little "keepsakes," and its contents carried off.
During the remainder of the Civil War Sewanee was
alternately occupied by the troops of the opposing armies,
was a camping ground in the route of military detach-
ments, and was virtually deserted by its former residents.
Guerillas and bummers roamed over the mountain at
times to the terror of families in the vicinity.
70 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER VII.
The effort for the resuscitation of the» University in 1865— The
action taken by the convention of the Diocese of Tennessee
and the efforts made by Bishop Quintard for that purpose —
First meeting of trustees in 1866 at Sewanee, and determina-
tion to resume the work.
1865-1886.
AT the close of the war the writer was paroled at
Macon, Ga., and in September, 1865, returned to Ten-
nessee. On the cars between Nashville and Columbia,
Tennessee, he met Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. D., rector of the
Church of the Advent, Nashville, who had been a chaplain
during the war, and Rev. David Pise, D. D., rector of
St. Peters Church, Columbia, who was secretary of the
board of trustees and, with the writer, a member of the
executive committee. We discussed with much interest
the condition of the affairs of the University, and whether
it were possible to revive the project and in what manner.
A special convention of the diocese of Tennessee had
been called to meet in Nashville in September, 1865, at
which it was expected that a bishop would be elected to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the Rt. Rev.
J. H. Otey, L. L., D. It was finally agreed upon by
Rev. Dr. Quintard, Dr. Pise and myself that the best
method of initiating measures for the revival of the
University would be for the diocese of Tennessee to take
measures for establishing on the domain, with the con-
currence of the surviving members of the executive com-
mittee, a training school for candidates for the ministry.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 71
The diocesan convention of Tennessee met in Christ
Church, Nashville, on the day appointed, the 6th of
September, 1865. The Rev. David Pise presided over its
deliberations. On the second day of the session Rev.
David Pise, D. D., Francis B. Fogg and Geo. R. Fairbanks
were elected trustees of the University of the South. On
the following day Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, M. D., was
elected bishop of the diocese. On the 8th of September the
following entry appears in the journal of the proceedings
of the convention. The committee on the training school
made the following report through their chairman, Rev.
Dr. Quintard : "The committee to which was referred the
subject of providing for the education and maintenance
of candidates for orders report the following resolutions
and recommend their adoption by the convention:
''Resolved, That a standing committee to consist of five
members, of whom the bishop of the diocese shall be the
permanent chairman, be appointed by this convention,
whose duty it shall be to consult with the executive
committee of the University of the South, and, in connec-
tion with said committee, take immediate steps if
practicable for the establishment of a theological train-
ing school on the domain of the University of the South
at Sewanee.
"Resolved, That said committee shall have full power to
act for the diocese of Tennessee in all matters connected
with said enterprise and be authorized to appoint agents
to present this subject to other dioceses connected with
said University, and to solicit funds for the immediate
erection of buildings necessary for the purpose and for
the payment of the salaries of at least two professors'."
72 HISTORY OF THE
This action of the diocesan convention at the sugges-
tion of Bishop Quintard may be well considered the
constructive foundation upon which the plans for the
University were revived and reinstated. At this time
there was no visible entity to the University. The great
founder, Bishop Polk, was dead, as also Bishop Otey.
The endowment was gone, the temporary buildings at
Sewanee were in ashes, and there seemed in the then
condition of the Southern dioceses, ruled as provinces by
army officers, no time for work or thought to be given to
the resuscitation of this great educational enterprise.
This action in Tennessee was the spark which held the
life of the University. The next step towards carrying
into effect the resolutions of the Tennessee diocesan con-
vention was the sending of a communication to each
surviving member of the executive committee, of which
the following is a copy :
COLUMBIA, TENNV Jan. 13th, 1866.
ST. PETERS PARSONAGE,
DEAR SIR:
At a consultation held by the undersigned in reference
to the interest of the University of the South, of which
they are trustees in the diocese of Tennessee, after a
full exchange of views the following conclusions were
arrived at and agreed to be submitted to the chancellor,
the executive committee and the other members of the
board of trustees.
First. — That it is of the utmost importance to retain
the large landed endowment which is held by the
University at Sewanee and which is partly dependent
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 73
upon the active prosecution of the work. That it is also
deemed probable that a considerable portion of the
endowment already secured to the University and held
in the hands of the diocesan treasurers, may be made
available by an early resumption of the plans and
purposes provided for in the charter. That with tflie
view of securing, as far as possible, the fruits of our past
labors and meeting the urgent requirements upon the
church for the education of her sons and the filling up
of the ranks of her ministers.
Second. — It is proposed to aid the plan initiated by
the convention of the diocese of Tennessee, and intrusted
to a committee of that body, for the establishment of
a training school for candidates for the sacred ministry
for the common benefit of all the Southern dioceses,
by leasing for this purpose any lands which can be con-
veniently set apart for such an object in the University
domain for the erection thereupon of requisite buildings
upon the payment of a merely nominal rent, such lands
to be set apart by the executive committee or their agent.
Third. — That an effort be made to procure sufficient
funds to erect a few plain log or timber buildings for
the accommodation of a boys' classical school, such
buildings to be put up under the direction of the executive
committee with funds specially donated for that purpose,
and the school, when the buildings are prepared for that
purpose, to be carried on under the control of the
executive committee as its trustees until it shall be
otherwise ordered by the trustees of the University; the
expenses of the school to be defrayed from the tuition
74 HISTORY OF THE
fees which may be received, and from any special funds
which may be given for the purpose, and no liability to
be incurred on account of the University either for the
erection of buildings or the compensation of teachers or
other persons connected with it, it being intended to
be a self-supporting institution and the germ of the
future University. The bishop of Tennessee to be ex officio
one of the visitors of such school and a trustee of the
same.
For the establishment of the training school for candi-
dates for orders, funds have already been donated,
collected by Bishop Quintard, and a sum sufficient to
put up two or three plain buildings has been secured,,
and it is proposed to erect such buildings as soon as the
assent of the chancellor and a majority of the executive
committee is obtained with the view of at once com-
mencing operations. For the purpose of putting up the
buildings necessary for a classical school one or more
agents should be appointed to solicit funds, which should
be placed in the hands of the treasurer of the University
to be expended under the direction of the executive
coinlmittee. The agents for the soliciting of funds to be
appointed by the chancellor, the bishop of Tennessee, or
executive committee, or concurrently. It is believed that
a few buildings of sawed timber or hewed will be all
that is requisite to start the school, and, if properly
underpinned and put up, they will last a long time and
be neat in appearance and every way comfortable. Five
or six thousand dollars is our estimate of the cost of
UNIVERSITY OP THE SOUTH. 75*
tbese buildings.* We think there will be no difficulty
in finding suitable instructors who will undertake to
carry on the school, trusting to tuition fees for their
compensation, and we deem the present a very favorable
time to inaugurate such an enterprise, t
We should be glad to hear from you immediately and
have your views and your concurrence appended to the
enclosed paper so that there may be placed upon record
the formal action of the executive committee and the
chancellor, as it will hardly be possible to have a meeting
of the board of trustees for some time.
(Signed) C. T. QUINTARD, bishop,
DAVID PISE, clerical trustee,
G. R. FAIRBANKS, lay trustee,
And members of the executive committee.
Please enclose your reply to Rev. David Pise, D. D.r
Columbia, Tenn.
Favorable replies were received from the chancellor,
Bishop Elliott of Georgia, L. N. Whittle and Daniel
Griffin of Georgia; these, with Rev. Dr. Pise and Mr.
*This idea of buildings constructed of sawed timber, log-
house fashion, is illustrated in the timber cottage built by G. R.
Fairbanks at Sewanee in 1866 and which now after more than
thirty-four years is sound and apparently as good as when con-
structed.
t If this expression seems rather strange in view of the
condition of things at the close of the war, the explanation is
that the boys of the country having been for the most part of the
four years of the war deprived of the opportunities of education,
their parents would gladly avail themselves of the advantages of
the proposed classical school at Sewanee.
76 HISTORY OF THE
G. R. Fairbanks, embraced all the surviving members of
the executive committee; the other members, Bishops
Polk and Otey, being dead.
The consent of the executive committee and the
chancellor. Bishop Elliott, having been obtained for the
establishment of a training school for theological students
on the domain of the University at Sewanee, arrange-
ments were made in February, 1866, for the prosecution
of the work by the erection of a simple frame building
of one and a half stories, containing seven rooms besides
a kitchen. Lumber was procured and workmen employed
under the direction of Mr. William P. Ensign. The first
building of any kind put up was a single-room log build-
ing, about fourteen by eighteen, for the accommodation
of the workmen.*
Rev. Dr. Merrick arrived at Winchester, Tenn., on the
20th of March, 1866. Bishop Quintard arranged to
proceed to Sewanee and inaugurate the work by a formal
act. The following extract from his convention address
in 1866 gives a correct account of the planting of the
cross at Sewanee on the 22d of March, 1866 :
"Thursday, 22d (March), accompanied by the Kev. Dr.
Merrick, Rev. Thos. A. Morris and G. R. Fairbanks,
one of the trustees of the University of the South, I visited
University Place. All the buildings, with the exception
of an old log cabin, were burned by the Federal army
while encamped on the ground. The cornerstone of the
University was broken and entirely removed. I selected
*This building still exists, having been afterwards removed
to the premises of Rt Rev. C. T. Quintard and made into a neat
office building.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 77
locations for the buildings of our diocesan training school.
In the evening we erected a cross on the site selected
for the chapel, gathered the workmen about it and asked
the blessing of the great Head of the Church on our under-
taking. We recited the Apostle's Creed and made the
grand old woods ring with the 'Gloria in Excelsis.' "
The place where the cross was erected is now marked
by the beautiful oratory of St. Lukes Memorial Hall,
in which the daily service of the church fitly preserves
the highest possible memorial of that "Gloria in Excelsis"
which then ascended to the skies, testifying to the faith
and courage of the second bishop of Tennessee. The
proposed training school was erected just in front of the
west end of Walsh Memorial Hall. It was completed
during the summer of 1866. Bishop Quintard selected
the location where he now lives, opposite Walsh Memorial
Hall, for his own cottage home, which he took possession
of with his family on the 4th of June, 1866, although
only one or two rooms were then sufficiently completed
for occupation. A few days afterwards Mr. G. K. Fair-
banks brought his family to the mountain and occupied
Otey Hall, then unfinished (the name given to the building
erected for the training school), until he, very soon after-
wards, erected his timber cottage, nearly opposite Con-
vocation Hall, which was sufficiently finished for his
occupation on September 7th, 1866, and to which he
gave the name of "Rebel's Rest" in allusion to the
unsettled life, movings and home burnings of the four
previous years; being glad, indeed, to be at rest on this
broad mountain top, endeared and sanctified by the
78 HISTORY OF THE
memories of the great events and the great m|Bn who
had here assembled in by-gone years.
It was indeed an act of faith for these two families
to come into this wilderness of blasted hopes and ruined
expectations to raise up the apparently hopeless and
blotted out scheme of building up a great University,
to begin with hundreds in place of hundreds of thousands
of dollars, to arouse interest among an impoverished and
stricken people, to plan the erection of log and timber
buildings which would seem a mockery of the great plans
of the projectors of the University.
It was, however, no effusion of sentimentality or blind
enthusiasm, none knew better the condition of the South
than they did; none knew or anticipated more clearly
the obstacles to be encountered in the work they had
undertaken, but, with a chastened spirit and a great
faith, they cast their plans for a humfble beginning,
strong in the hope of such future growth and enlarge-
ment as would eventually reach the full fruition of the
plans of the founders.
In consequence of correspondence with the chancellor,
Bishop Elliott, a special meeting of the board of trustees
was called by him to meet at Sewanee on the llth day of
October, 1866. Notices of the proposed meeting were
sent to the members of the board as it stood at the last
previous meeting held in Columbia, S. C., 1861.
On the day appointed, there met at the house of Mr.
G. R. Fairbanks Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., bishop
of Georgia, chancellor, Rt. Rev. William M. Green, D. D.,
bishop of Mississippi, Rev. M. A. Curtis, D. D., of North
Carolina, Rev. David Pise, D. D., of Tennessee, Rev.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 79
W. C. Williams of Georgia, L. N. Whittle, Esq., of
Georgia and G. R. Fairbanks of Tennessee. Morning
prayer was read by Rev. David Pise, after which the
chancellor called the board to order. There being no
quorum present the board adjourned until the next day
at four o'clock. On the 12th the board convened and
Rt. Rev. H. C. Lay, I). I)., missionary bishop of Arkansas,
and the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. D., bishop of Tennes-
see, appeared and answered to the roll call. There
still being no quorum the board adjourned to meet at
the call of the chancellor.
At the evening session, which was prolonged until mid-
night, after a general discussion of the situation of the
country and of the affairs of the University, each member
of the board was requested by Bishop Elliott to express
his views as to the main proposition then before them
for decision, as to whether it was practicable to revive
the scheme of the University. The discussion was full
and earnest, and the conclusion reached by each one in
tarn was that it was practicable and should be attempted.
This conclusion, finally arrived at about midnight, was
a source of devout thankfulness, and the bishop of
Georgia pronounced the benediction.
It was known to us that the deeds to the property
and other important papers had been taken from the
vault of the executive room by the direction of Bishop
(then General) Polk, and carried by Mr. VanVleck to
Montgomery, Ala., and placed in the possession of Mr.
C. T. Pollard, president of the railroad, for security. Mr.
Pollard placed a portion of the papers in the office safe
of the railroad, but one bundle, which seemed to contain
80 HISTORY OF THE
papers, principally letters, was put upon a shelf. When
General Wilson's raid of Federal troops threatened
Montgomery, early in 1865, Colonel Pollard took what
he supposed to be valuable papers and maps of the
University and intrusted them to one of his employees who
went out on a special train to Opelika, where the train
was intercepted by a detachment of Federal cavalry, and
the car in which the papers were, was burned. The
maps, deeds and papers were thus supposed to be entirely
lost, and it was spoken of at our meeting as a discourag-
ing circumstance. During the afternoon of October
12th, while we were in session, a young gentleman came
up from the train to Mr. Fairbanks' house and brought
a letter from Colonel Pollard, regretting his inability to
attend the meeting of the board, and saying that he had
found on a shelf in his office a bundle of papers tied up
in a newspaper, which he sent along with his messenger,
but he presumed they were of little value, although he had
not examined them. The bundle was laid upon the floor.
After we had retired, the writer, feeling somewhat excited
by the interesting character of the discussion we had
been engaged in, and revolving in his mind how we could
replace the loss of our deeds, recalled the bundle which
Colonel Pollard had sent, and which had not been opened,
but remained where it was placed on the floor in his
parlor. As soon as it was light he dressed, went down
and proceeded to open the package, when, to his delight
and surprise, he found it contained the very deeds and
title papers of which we had mourned the loss. When
the others came down to breakfast he announced his
discovery, and it was hailed by us all as an auspicious
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 81
omen of success in prosecuting the work we had decided
to undertake.
Bishop Quintard was requested to continue his efforts
to secure funds, which he cordially undertook to do.
On the following morning several of the gentlemen
walked down to Cowan by the Hawkins trail, among
whom was the bishop of Georgia. In the month of
March, 1866, the trustees of an institution at Winchester,
Tenn., which had been known as the Carrick Academy,
offered t!o make over to Bishop Quintard the Academy
building with four acres of land on a lease of ninety-
nine years. The Bishop invited Rev. Franklin L. Knight,
D. D., of New Jersey, to take charge of the school. It
was regarded as a good opportunity to establish a
church school as a feeder to Sewanee. On September 3d
the Bishop formally opened the school as the Sewanee
Collegiate Institute. It began under very fair auspices,
but support soon diminished. The Institute changed its
name to Sewanee College and lingered on with varying
numbers until 1870, when it was given up by the church
altogether.
It was subsequently established by the people of
Winchester as a successful normal school for teachers.
Bishop Elliott, who had succeeded Bishop Polk as chan-
cellor, died very suddenly at his home in Savannah on
the 21st of December, 1866, a great loss to the University,
the church and the country. He was succeeded in the
office of chancellor by Bishop Green of Mississippi. In
January, 1867, Rev. F. L. Knight, D. D., came up from
Winchester to take charge of Sewanee Divinity School,
a few divinity students having been gathered here.
HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER VIII.
Progress of affairs during the year 1867 — Efforts to raise funds
at home for the work.
IN January, 1867, Bishop Green of Mississippi, then
chancellor, came to Sewanee with his family, and, during
the following spring, erected the mansion which has been
occupied by himself and daughters since 1867. During
the same season Rev. Dr. Knight built a residence, now
known as the Harlow place. Mrs. S. E. Cotten came to
Sewanee in the spring of 1867, and occupied Otey Hall
as a boarding house. South Wing, now forming the
central portion of Mrs. Elmore's residence, adjoining
Walsh Memorial on the south, was built in the summer
of 1867. Dr. Knight, in his report to the diocesan con-
vention of Tennessee, reports eight families and sixteen
communicants in the mission at Sewanee.
Bishop Green, as chancellor, called a meeting of the
board of trustees to be held at Montgomery, Ala., on the
13th of February, 1867. In pursuance of this call
there were present at this meeting Bishop Green of
Mississippi, Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, Bishop Quintard
of Tennessee, Bishop H. C. Lay of Arkansas, Rev. M. A.
Curtis, D. D., of North Carolina, Rev. W. C. Williams,
D. D., of Georgia, Rev. J. J. Scott, D. D., of Florida,
Rev. W. C. Crane, D. D., of Mississippi, Rev. W. T.
Leacock, D. D., of Louisiana, Mr. L. N. Whittle of
Georgia, Mr. C. T. Pollard of Alabama, Mr. G. R. Fair-
banks of Florida and Tennessee. A committee was
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 83
appointed to report the most feasible plan of beginning
the work of the University. The committee consisted of
Bishop Quintard, Rev. Dr. Curtis and Messrs. Whittle,
Pollard and Fairbanks.
A resolution was passed requesting Bishop Wilmer of
Alabama to preach a sermon in memory of the late
Bishop Elliott, chancellor of the University. In pursu-
ance of this resolution Bishop Wilmer delivered a
memorial sermon on the life, labors and character of
Bishop Elliott in St. Johns Church, Montgomery.
Rev. Dr. Crane and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks presented
resolutions of respect to the memory of the four
bishops, Otey, Polk, Elliott and Rutledge, members of
the board who had died since its last meeting. The
committee appointed to take into consideration the
present condition and future requirements of the Univer-
sity, through their chairman, Bishop Green, reported the
following recommendations, as embodying the essential
features which they deemed necessary to put the Univer-
sity into operation.
First. That there be elected a vice chancellor, who
should be charged with the duty of soliciting subscriptions
and otherwise advancing the interests of the University.
And that there should be chosen from the lay trustees a
commissioner of buildings and lands to act as general
agent, and associated with the vice chancellor in the work
of soliciting funds, who should act as business manager,
and, under the direction of the executive committee,
have in charge all the business affairs of the University,
and should reside at Sewanee.
$4 HISTORY OF THE
Secondly. That the accounts and debts should be
adjusted or arranged by the executive committee, either
by payment from available assets or issuance of bonds,
and that the commissioner of buildings and lands, acting
with the advice and consent of the vice chancellor, might
adjust or compromise any existing subscriptions, or
with consent of donors or their representatives, apply
same to clear off existing indebtedness or to buildings;
and the diocesan treasurers be requested to turn over to
the vice chancellor and commissioner of buildings and
lands the notes, bonds or other assets of the University
in their hands.
The recommendations of the committee were all
adopted, and Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, bishop of Ten-
nessee, was elected vice chancellor, and Geo. R. Fair-
banks was elected commissioner of buildings and lands.
The executive committee were authorized to erect
buildings for University purposes to the extent of any
funds which might be available for that purpose. A
resolution was passed on motion of Rev. Dr. Crane, of
Mississippi, that the executive committee be authorized
to establish and put in operation, so soon as the}7 may
deem it advisable, a high school on the University grounds.
It will be recalled that a similar resolution had been
passed by the board of trustees at Columbia, S. C., in
October, 1861, and although the scheme of the University,
as exhibited in the constitution and statutes, did not
refer to any preparatory classical school or high school
in connection with, and as an adjunct to, the University,
yet the board of trustees did, by their action in 1861 r
distinctly recognize and adopt such an adjunct, reaffirm-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 85
ing it in 1867. Bishop Quintard addressed the following
communication to the board :
"To the Board of Trustees of the University of the
South :
"Brethren : — I have been extremely anxious to establish
a theological school on the domain of the University of
the South. I have erected a building, known as Otey
Hall, where a goodly number of students may be accom-
modated. I beg leave to offer to the said board the said
building as part of the property of the University on
condition that the board adopt the training school as the
theological department of the University of the South."
It was resolved that the proposition of the bishop of
Tennessee be and is hereby accepted.
A resolution was passed, requesting the vice chancellor
to prepare an address to the members and friends of the
church, setting forth the plans proposed by the board,
and calling upon the clergy and laity to give their earnest
and hearty cooperation.
The diocese of Kentucky, which had not been included
in the original association of dioceses to be connected
with the University, was now invited to send delegates to
the next meeting of the board of trustees to be held at
Sewanee in August, 1867.
Bishop Quintard had on his hands the accumulated
work of his diocese, and had made appointments which
could not be set aside or delayed, and was unremittingly
engaged in the visitation of his diocese until the last of
April, when, accompanied by Mr. Fairbanks, he visited
Louisville, Ky., and remained a week, preaching in Chirst
Church and endeavoring to enlist the interest of that
86 HISTORY OF THE
generous people in the University. He received the*
offertory, and generous contributions were made towards
fitting up the training school building. .It was the
intention, also, to have visited Louisiana, but they were
urgently requested to postpone the visit until fall. In
March, 1867, the bis-hop of Tennessee received an invita-
tion from the Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a
Pan- Anglican Council which was to be held at Lambeth
Palace on September 24th, 1867.
The diocesan convention of Tennessee held in May,
1867, declared that, in their opinion, the interest of the
church would be subserved by the attendance of Bishop
Quintard on such synod. During the month of June
Bishop Quintard made addresses and solicited funds for
the University in several larger cities of Georgia, but
was disabled from work for some two weeks of the time,
and finding himself early in July unable to continue the
work he requested the Rev. J. H. Cornish, of Aiken,
S. C., to act in its further prosecution. Mr. Cornish
entered zealously upon the work, but the time did not
seem propitious for large results. A letter addressed by
Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, commissioner of buildings and
lands, to Rev. Mr. Cornish at that time presents in a
forcible manner the purposes in view and then condition
of affairs.
UNIVERSITY PLACE, TENNV July 6th, 1867.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR:
I am this evening in receipt of your favor of 2d from
Macon. I am glad to learn of your mission on our be
half, and hope you may be as successful as so great
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 87
and so worthy a cause deserves. It seems to me that an
object which commanded the warmest sympathies and
the most earnest support of an Otey, a Polk, a Cobbs
and an Elliott should at once enlist the interest and
aid of every churchman in the land. Our purposes are
simple, plain and practicable, not forgetting for a moment
the great ideal of a University which its founders pro-
jected, we aim now to lay the foundation by establishing
a high school of a truly first-class character. This we
desire to do at once, and aim at erecting accommodations
for seventy-five to one hundred students this summer, to
be increased another year to double that number, and
thus bring our work to an immediate and practical
usefulness, and at the same time work towards the
accomplishment of our great purpose of a church
university on the largest and most complete scale.
The class of buildings we are now striving to put up
will be neat but inexpensive. I enclose the plans of one
to be called Cobbs Hall, which I have the materials now
on hand to erect but not the funds to pay for its erection.
We have also the ground marked off for a chapel, sixty-
four feet nave, sixteen feet chancel (total, eighty by
twenty-four feet), to be used also for a school room. T.
have the materials for the putting up of the chancel and
thirty-two feet of the nave, but no funds for flooring or
cost of putting up. We think it advisable to put up the
student's rooms in buildings of eight rooms each to avoid
too many under one roof and less danger of fire. I wish
to put up three of these eight-room buildings and one-
88 HISTORY OF THE
i
boarding house this fall.* The boarding house will cost
somewhat more, say, for eight rooms, $1,800.00. Even
taking into consideration the impoverished condition of
the church, it is very little to ask that, to accomplish
such a purpose. The school will be self-supporting when
well under way. We wish only the buildings and outfit,
and those of the plainest description. We have now the
bedding and room furniture and furnishings to accom-
modate forty pupils. To such as may desire to know by
whom.' and under what agency the work is going on, you
can reply that the venerable chancellor, I>ishop Green,
is on the spot, and for the time living here and giving
his aid and counsel. That the vice chancellor, Bishop
Quintard, resides here part of the year and gives his
heart and labors to the work. That the business manage-
ment is confided to one of the lay trustees who has taken
an active part for the institution since its commence-
ment and who is devoting his time and abilities to the
details and management of its affairs.
Every dollar given will be judiciously and wisely
expended and, as fast as funds are received, they will
be devoted not to building up lofty and costly buildings
which may never reach completion, but to those that can
be built for a limited sum and be put up and occupied
at once. We are now at a critical period of our work
when help is most needed. Every day is important. Wre
*The plan was for the building generally known for some
years as South Wing, now farming a part of Mrs. Elmore's Hall
near Walsh Memorial Hall. It called for a building of eight
rooms to cost $1,200.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SuUTH. 99
•ought to open the school this fall, or we mlay be delayed
a whole year; a year which may determine the destiny
of many a young man, and which may seriously affect
the future prospects of our institution.
The moral safeguards, which will surround the students
here, can only be appreciated by those who know how
much of dissipation is going on, even in the most retired
villages where the inevitable grog shop can now be
found more frequently than ever before. It is a favorable
period to begin. The abundant crops of the country
which surrounds us, and of the rich valleys which lie
at our feet, ensure for the coming year plenty and cheap-
ness of living. We believe we can give such liberal
salaries to professors as will insure the best ability in the
country, and yet not have the expenses of our institution
exceed those of the lowest college in the country. The
difference in the cost of travel, expense of living, etc., will
make a large margin in our favor.
I enclose some extracts from an address prepared by
Bishop Elliott in 1858, which will present many sugges-
tions to you. I also enclose the letter of the bishops
in 1856, at the outset of the enterprise. We are daily
receiving inquiries and applications which we cannot
yet answer until we know what response the church will
make to our present appeal. We should have too much
pride to go North for the few thousand dollars which
we now require to begin upon. It will interest the people
of Alabama, I presume, to know that one of the halls we
are preparing to build will be called Cobbs Hall, in
90 HISTORY OF THE
honor of their saintly bishop. Wishing you Godspeed,.
and faith and patience to bear up under disappointments^
I remain, Very truly yours,
G. R. FAIRBANKS.
The chancellor, Bishop Green, had issued an address
on behalf of the University, the opening sentence of which
was: "It was a favorite saying of our beloved Bishop
Polk that 'a great thought never dies,' and it cannot be
doubted that this conviction brightened the last trying
years of his life with regard to the institution which
he so nobly projected, and mainly assisted in commencing
at this place."
After a resume of the history of the inception of the
University, and a reference to the advantages of its
location at Sewanee, he proceeds to explain the proposed
action of the trustees in the establishment of a high
school, and earnestly commends Bishop Quintard and his
lay helper to the confidence and liberal aid of the church-
men of the associated dioceses. A brief appeal from
Bishop Quintard and Mr. Fairbanks also accompanied
Bishop Green's address, but, as generally happens, printed
addresses or appeals are soon laid by and, whatever
impulse of generosity or duty they at the moment excite
in the hearts of most, speedily pass into temporary
oblivion. The result of these appeals was for the time
at least discouraging. The personal efforts of Bishop
Quintard were more fruitful.
GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS,
Trustee J 857- 1905.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 91
CHAPTER IX.
Meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee in August, 1867 —
Action taken in reference to the approaching meeting of the
Pan-Anglican Council in England — Visit of Bishop Quintard
to England and material aid received for the University.
1867.
BISHOP GREEN, who succeeded Bishop Elliott as chan-
cellor in December, 1866, called a meeting of the board
of trustees to be held at Sewanee on the 1st of August,
1867.
Upon the day appointed, of the bishops only Bishops
Green and Quintard were present, the Rt. Rev. Channing
Moore Williams, missionary bishop to China and Japanr
was also present as a visitor. Of the clerical trustees,
Rev. Dr. W. C. Williams of Georgia, and Rev. David
Pise, D. DM of Tennessee. Of lay trustees were present
L. N. Whittle of Georgia, T. E. B. Pegues of Mississippi,.
Smith Siinpkins of Florida, and Messrs. P. C. Pennington
and Fairbanks of Tennessee.
Rev. James Craik, D. D., of Louisville, Ky., in accord-
ance with a resolution of the diocesan convention of
Kentucky, was present as an accredited delegate of the
diocese.
The following preamble and resolutions offered by the
bishop of Tennessee were adopted:
"Whereas, the Church of England laid the first founda-
tion of the Church of Christ in America, and through
her nursing care and protection was instrumental m
92 HISTORY OF THE
furthering the work of Christ and the church in the older
states of America ; and
"Whereas, the approaching council of bishops in visible
communion with the English church has for its object
in an especial manner the promotion of the missionary
work of the church; Therefore,
"Resolved, That the chancellor of the University of
the South be requested to address a statement and
appeal to the most reverend the archbishops and the
right reverend the bishops of the Church of England,
setting forth the lamentable condition of the church in
the Southern dioceses, the history and vast importance
of our enterprise, and ask their aid and cooperation in
carrying forward the work;
"Resolved, That this address shall be sent through the
vice chancellor, who shall be authorized and requested to
solicit from the presiding bishop of the church in the
United States his counsel, advice and cooperation in the
presentation of the address, and in presenting the claims
of the University to the bishops, clergy and laity of the
Church of England."
It was directed that, until further instructions, the
contemplated high school should embrace the studies of
Greek, Latin, mathematics, English, rhetoric, elocution,
composition and theology.
Mr. G. R. Fairbanks reported upon the condition of
affairs of the University. He reports Otey Hall com-
pleted and improved. A new building in connection
with Otey Hall put up and would be soon completed,
to wit: South Wing or Cobb's Hall. That the materials
for a neat and commodious chapel had been mainly placed
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 93
OD the ground, which was also designed for school
rooms. That, upon the strength of the pledges given at
Montgomery in reference to the prosecution of the work,
several residences had been erected and several leases
had been made. That, for the immediate purposes of the
institution in order to open a school of seventy-five
students, the sum of |2,000 to $2,500 was necessary.
The meetings of the board were held in South Wing,
which was then simply enclosed and without partitions.
On the 2d of August Holy Communion was celebrated
in that building by Bishop Green at five o'clock, after
which the bishops, clergy and laity moved in procession
jto a spot selected for laying the cornerstone of St.
Augustine's chapel.* A processional hymn was sung and
the doctors of divinity wore their appropriate hoods.
The chapel was immediately erected, the nave of the
dimensions of thirty-two by twenty-four, chancel twelve
by sixteen, it was boarded up vertically with an open
timber roof, having crossed rafter braces after Will's
designs; Gothic doors and windows. The furniture first
used was of the plainest and roughest description. A
handsome silver communion service, chalice and paten,
had been given by two generous friends, Mr. John M.
Robinson and Mr. John B. Smith of Louisville, who, in
1870, added a beautiful flagon.
On the 14th of August Bishop Quintard sailed for
England to attend the Pan-Anglican Council. He was
absent until the 20th of the May following, having
*This original chapel, 32 x 24, with chancel 12 x 16, forms
a part of the present chapel.
S4 HISTORY OF THE
remained in England after the closing of the council to
promote the interests of the University.
It was rather a delicate matter for the Bishop to take
any active steps in behalf of the University until the
council, to which he had been invited, should have
entirely passed over.
Before leaving England, Bishop Hopkins, presiding
bishop of the church in the United States, had addressed
a letter to the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, who was honorable
secretary for the University movement, giving his cordial
and hearty indorsement to the work ; and Bishop Whipple
of Minnesota and the bishop of New Hampshire had
written most hearty and cordial letters. The work was
not directly instituted by Bishop Quintard, but through
the instrumentality of English friends, foremost among
whom was the Rev. F. W. Tremlett of St. Peters, Belzize
Park, London. The archbishop of Canterbury, primate of
all England, gave his help and sanction and addressed the
following letter to Rev. Dr. Tremlett :
LAMBETH PALACE, Oct. 15th, 1867.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR:
I heartily sanction the effort which is to be made in
behalf of the University of the Southern States, and shall
be glad if you will put down my name for a donation of
twenty-five pounds towards the creation of such an
institution.
I Would especially recommend the object to the favor-
able consideration of the members of our church, in
remembrances of the sacrifices which so mlany of the
American bishops have recently made in order to testify
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 15
their respect and affection for the church of their fore-
fathers. Believe me, reverend and dear sir,
Yours truly,
C. T. OANTUAR.
To the Hon. F. W. Tremlett.
A committee was formed, by whom a circular was
issued and subscriptions invited, consisting of the arch-
bishop of York, Lord Salisbury, the bishop of Oxford,
Kev. Lord Charles Hervey, now bishop of Bath and Wells,
Earl Nelson, Mr. Gladstone, Beresford Hope and other
distinguished clergymen and laymen, the Kev. F. W.
Tremlett, honorable secretary, and J. A. Stewart, treas-
urer. Among the subscribers were many of the most
honored names in England.
The bishop of Tennessee had a most cordial reception
in as many of the cathedrals and parish churches as
he was able to visit,, and, as the result of his labors, a
sufficient fund was received to enable the executive
-committee to enlarge the chapel, erect Tremlett Hall, and
put matters into condition for opening the high school.
A more full account of Bishop Quintard's work in Eng-
land, we hope, will be forthcoming from his own pen.
9« HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER X.
Election and consecration of Bishop Beckwith as Bishop of
Georgia — Meeting of the trustees at Savannah, Ga., April
2d, 1868 — Decision of the board to open the junior depart-
ment of the University not later than the first of September,.
1868 — Selection of Gen. Josiah Gorgas as head of the school — •
Formal opening of the junior department September 18, 1868.
1868-1869.
IN the meantime the vacancy in the diocese of Georgia
had been filled by the election of the Eev. Jno. W..
Beckwith, rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, and
arrangements for his consecration in St. Johns Church,,
Savannah, on April 1st, 1868, had been made.
In view that there would be on that occasion many
of the trustees present, the chancellor called a special
meeting of the board to meet at Savannah on the 1st of
April, 1868. The trustees met on that day and adjourned
over until the 2d of April, when there were present
Bishops Green of Mississippi, Atkinson of North Carolina,
Wilmer of Alabama, Wilmer of Louisiana, Young of
Florida and Beckwith of Georgia, Rev. Dr. Curtis of
North Carolina, Rev. Dr. Williams of Georgia, and
Messrs. DeRossett and Withers of North Carolina,
Whittle of Georgia, Simpkins and Williams of Florida,
Pollard of Alabama and Fairbanks of Tennessee.
A resolution was passed, that for the purpose of initiat-
ing operations under the charter of the University, the
board would open the junior department at University
Place not later than September 1st, 1868. The resolution?
Gen. JOSIAH GORGAS,
Second Vice Chancellor
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 97
"k that form in order that there should be no questions
to the formal beginning of the operations of the
niversity, and the term "high school" was thereafter
'opped, and the term "junior department" adopted. The
executive committee was authorized to appoint a head
master, or principal, and other teachers for the school. A
resolution was passed expressing grateful appreciation
of the self-denying labors of the bishop of Tennessee,
his great kindness in remaining abroad at the request
of the friends of the University for the purpose of obtain-
ing funds, and to which we owe the promise of the future
success of this great enterprise. It was directed that the
first permanent edifice to be erected, be known as
"Tremlett Hall," in testimony of our respect for the Rev.
F. W. Tremlett, D. D., and of our grateful recognition
of his wise, disinterested and successful exertions in
behalf of this institution.
An executive committee, consisting of Bishops Green,
Quintard and Wilmer of Louisiana, Drs. Bannister and
Williams, and Messrs. Whittle, Dunnington and Fair-
banks, was elected.
At the meeting of the executive committee, held a daj
or two afterwards, it was resolved that the Rev. J. H.
Coit of New Hampshire be appointed rector of the
junior department and professor of mathematics, that
Rev. Hall Harrison be elected professor of classics, and
that Mr. G. Berkley Green be appointed tutor in the
junior department.
The chancellor was requested to communicate with
Commander M. F. Maury, in reference to some official
connection with the University. At a meeting of the
98 HISTORY OF THE
executive committee held at Sewanee in May, 1868, they
were informed that Rev. Mr. Coit and Rev. Hall Harrison
declined the appointments made, and also that Com-
mander Maury would be unable to connect himself with
the University. It was, therefore, ordered that the
secretary correspond with Gen. J. Gorgas and Gen.
Samuel Jones in reference to the position of head of the
junior department.
At a meeting of the executive committee, held June
15th, 1868, it was ordered that the nomination of Gen.
Gorgas having received the approval of all the executive
committee present, and the assent of all the others in
writing, the chancellor was requested to communicate to
him his appointment as head master of the junior depart-
ment at a salary of |2,500 per year and the use of a
dwelling house to be provided. With the funds provided
by the efforts of Bishop Quintard in England the large
boarding house known as "Tremlett Hall" was erected
during the summer of 1868, and a portion of the house
afterwards occupied by Gen. E. Kirby Smith. The chapel
was enlarged by adding thirty-two feet to the nave,
putting rooms on each side of the center, adding a vestry
room and a choir room.
The board of trustees met at Sewanee on August 12th,
1868. There were present Bishops Green, Gregg and
Quintard. Four of the clergy, Drs. Curtis, Williams
and Bannister and Rev. Mr. Hunt, and Messrs. Whittle,
Anderson, Pegues and Fairbanks.
Resolutions were passed directing a committee to
prepare a statement setting forth the importance of the
work of the University. Also that the executive com-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 99
nrittee annually prepare a statement of the condition
and claims of the University, with an appeal providing
for a collection on the third Sunday in Advent, to be
called the University offering. Also that the bishops
and clerical and lay trustees of each diocese be appointed
to obtain subscriptions of twenty dollars per annum for
five years for support of the theological department.
A resolution was passed that the bishops of Georgia
and Florida take such steps as they thought best to
raise funds at the North for the University, and they
were requested to enter at once upon their work. Also
that the bishops of Louisiana and Tennessee be appointed
a committee to present the wants of the University at the
South.
The executive committee reported that they had elected
Gen. Josiah Gorgas as head master of the junior depart-
ment and that he had accepted the position.
The board adjourned to meet in New York the 13th of
October following, during the meeting of the general
convention. It not having been found practicable to
open the school on September 1st, notices for the opening
of the junior department on the 18th of September were
published, and such preparations made as it was supposed
would be necessary.
General Gorgas had informed the committee that it
would not be in his power to take up the work of head of
the junior department until March, 1869. Professor
Robert Dabney, of Virginia, was invited by the executive
committee as instructor in English and metaphysics.
Rev. P. L. Knight, who had been engaged in the instruc-
tion of candidates for the ministry, was appointed in-
100 HISTORY OF THE
structor of Greek and Latin. Mr. G. B. Green, instructor
in mathematics.
On the 18th of September the vice chancellor opened
the school with appropriate religious services in St.
Augustine's chapel. The following named students, nine
in number, matriculated:
1. Charles M. Fairbanks, Florida. 2. F. W. Knight,
Tennessee. 3. R. W. Sherwood, Alabama. 4. Joseph
€. Nash, Tennessee. 5. N. J. Conger, Georgia. 6. C.
Barkley Dorr, Florida. 7. C. Hawks Dorr, Florida.
8. J. E. Creary, Florida. 9. J. A. Skipwith, Missis-
sippi. In the absence of General Gorgas Professor
Dabney was the acting head master of the junior depart-
ment, Rev. F. L. Knight acting chaplain. In the course
of that term four others matriculated, viz : C. T. Arnett,
J. W. Clopton, G. A. Spyker and P. H. Marbury.
In the absence of any other suitable place the rear
of the chapel was made use of as a school room, for
which purpose it was quite ample. Most of the boys
boarded with Mrs. S. E. Gotten, who had taken Otey Hall
as a boarding house.
The executive committee, on February 10th, 1869,
requested the chancellor to communicate to Rev. Dr.
J. A. Bolles, D. I)., of Boston, the satisfaction it would
afford the committee if he could be associated with the
institution in its theological department.
The vice chancellor was requested to ascertain in what
way and to what extent a salary could be provided for
Dr. Bolles should he accept the position.
It was directed by the executive committee that only
half tuition be charged the first ten students, sons of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 101
clergymen, who should apply for admission to the school.
Thanks were returned to Mrs. Carder for her kindness
in carrying out the wishes of Rev. Mr. Carder in reference
to the presentation of his very valuable library to the
University.
The committee directed that a uniform be adopted
for the students as early as practicable to consist of a
grey sack coat, grey pants with black stripes. This
recommendation was carried into effect during the Lent
term.
At a meeting of the executive committee in June, 1869,
it was ordered that the school year should consist of
forty weeks, to begin in March and close on the second
week in December, a vacation of one week to be given
at the close of the first twenty weeks, but the students
not allowed to leave the mountain except by written
request of parents.
Thanks were returned to Daniel Griffin, Esq., for the
gift of a very large terrestrial globe; to H. Sharp and
Sons, New York, for a handsome wheel window for the
chapel; and to Mrs. Cyrus Mason, of New York, for a
stone font.
The subject of making provision for the tuition of
young men designing to become candidates for the
ministry, was referred to the board of trustees for arrange-
ment.
In July, the executive committee appointed General
Gorgas and Professor Dabney a committee to report to
the executive committee a plan for the organization of
a grammar school or primary department.
102 HISTORY OF THE
The committee an grammar school organization made
a report recommending that the grammar school shall
be a distinct department of the University, under the
charge of a master and such assistance as from time to
time might be found necessary. That the master should
control its entire discipline except the extent of dismissal.
That the instruction should be strictly preparatory to
entrance into the University, and the master in the selec-
tion of text books should act in consultation with the
different professors for whose classes he is preparing
the pupils. That in every other respect he should be
independent and responsible only to the vice chancellor,
and that he should be a member of the faculty, acting as a
board until the hebdomadal board should be appointed.
That in the case of irregular students who are in the
grammar school in only a part of their studies, they
should be considered college students reciting in the
grammar school, but not under its discipline. That the
assistants in the grammar school should be directly
responsible to the master and to the members of the
faculty.
The executive committee approved of the recommenda-
tion of the committee, and the school was thenceforward
organized in two departments, the grammar school or
preparatory school and the junior or collegiate depart-
ment.
Col. T. F. Sevier was appointed master of the grammar
school. The head master was instructed to forbid the
use of tobacco by the younger boys, and its use was
forbidden to all students on the streets or school grounds.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 103
CHAPTER XI.
Progress of the University in the year, 1869 — Bishop Quintard's
report as vice chancellor and recommendations — The report
of the commissioner of buildings and lands, of erection of
new buildings and leases of lands, and the policy to be
pursued in managing the domain — Plans for raising an
endowment considered — Appointments of professors and
officers.
1869.
THE board of trustees met at Sewanee on the llth
day of August, 1869. Bishop Green, chancellor, Bishops
Gregg, Quintard, Young and Beckwith, and six clerical
and nine lay trustees were in attendance.
Bishop Quintard, as vice chancellor, made a full report.
He referred to his visit to England and the generous
aid obtained there for the University, and stated that
the funds received enabled us to erect the necessary
buildings, to open the junior department of the University
on the 18th of September, 1868, and that "it stands today
a witness before the world of the unbroken unity of the
church, and an enduring memorial of the Lambeth con-
ference." He recommended that as this was a church
university the degree of D. C. L. should be adopted by
the University instead of L. L. D., and that this degree
be conferred upon the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, D. D., rector
of St. Peters Church, Belzize Park, London, England,
who had acted as the honorary secretary of the committee
in England on behalf of the University.
104 HISTORY OF THE
He referred to the fact that the executive committee
had judged it expedient to organize a grammar school,
distinct from the junior department. That it had not
been possible to make the schools as distinct as was
desirable. That new buildings would be required, and
more ample provision made in both departments. He
expressed it as the opinion of the officers and teachers of
the University that other schools should be established,
and that the original plan laid down in the statutes of
the University should be acted upon at an early day.
He also asked that the school of theology should claim
the early attention of the board, and that the bishops
of the church should present some plan by which this
school may be organized on a scale commensuratle with
the demands of the church. He suggested that provision
be made for the appointment and support of a chaplain,
and that there should be a committee appointed to inquire
into and arrange for the religious studies to be pursued;
and a committee of bishops should be appointed to decide
on the chapel services and the number of such services
the students should be required to attend. He called
attention to the necessity of providing study halls and
class rooms, and the need of funds for that purpose, and
that steps be taken to procure from the Southern church-
men offerings to meet the needs of the University, sug-
gesting that a committee be appointed to prepare an
address to the clergy and laity of the church.
A committee of nine was appointed to consider the
report of the vice chancellor and other business to be
acted upon. The treasurer made his report, showing the
amounts received from England to have been $8,711.56.
OF THE SOUTH. 105
Collections at the South by Bishop Quintal, $1,388.50,
Church offerings, $272.50; donations, $106.75; from leases,
$299; tuition fees, $3,165; and an indebtedness of $3,478 —
more than covered by assets.
Mr. Fairbanks made his report as commissioner of build-
ings and lands. He reported the completion of Tremlett
Hall, with a capacity for forty- two students. The comple-
tion of Waverly,* occupied by Professor Dabney; the
enlargement of Otey Hall, affording accommodation, with
its annex, South Wing, for twenty-six students. That
there were accommodations in all for one hundred and ten
students, besides those who might be domiciled in private
houses. He stated that it was probable that suitable
church families could be induced to make their residence
here and erect, upon their own account, boarding houses
for the accommodation of students, which would save
expense to the University. He called attention to the
need of a separate study hall for the grammlar school,
and gave an estimate of the size and cost of a plain
wooden building for that purpose which would answer
for temporary use. He recommended the erection of a
laundry, with bath rooms attached. He expressed the
opinion that measures should be at once taken to
commence at least one of the permanent collegiate build-
ings of the University, and suggested that a plan could be
so arranged that it might be built one wing or section at
a time. He referred to the matter of leases, and expressed
his views as to the policy which should govern the board,
and that "this noble domain will, if we act wisely, become
*The house afterwards occupied by Gen. E. Kirby Smith until
it« destruction by fire.
10G HISTORY OF THE
to us an endowment for the future of great value. That
while anxious on the one hand to secure; the residence of
refined and cultivated church families, it has been equally
necessary that we should not place the rent so low as to
cause an influx of persons who might locate simply for
business or entirely selfish purposes, and who would be
a detriment rather than a benefit to us. That, to establish
what the rent should be, we must look forward to the
yearly increasing value given to the lands by the growth
of the population of the country, the development of the
resources of the State, the settlement of the adjacent
lands, the increased demand for summer resorts, the
growth of the University, the value given by a constantly
extending and more valuable class of improvements, all
of which advance the value of adjacent property. That
the usual rate of taxation on the property would, in most
cases, exceed the amount paid as ground rent, while
the advantages of proximity to springs, etc., are always
deemed elements of value. It is to be taken into con-
sideration that they will enjoy almost, if not quite,
exemption from taxation."
The committee of nine reported a resolution that the
bishops present be requested to report the order of
services for the chapel and the course of religious instruc-
tion to be pursued by the students. Kesolutions were
passed fixing the Thursday after the second Monday in
July as Commencement day and the day for annual
meeting of the board of trustees, second Monday in
July; and that the first term of the Academic year
commence on the third Monday in July.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 107
The committee on buildings and lands reported in
•favor of the erection of a grammar school building and
four boarding houses. The board authorized the erection
of a grammar school building at a cost not to exceed
$1,000, and four buildings for boarding houses at a cost
not to exceed $2,500 each. The treasurer, who was also
commissioner of buildings and lands, tendered his
resignation of both offices. He was then elected com-
missioner of buildings and lands, and H. M. Anderson,
M. D., was elected general treasurer.
Rev. Owen P. Thackara, of Florida, was appointed an
agent to canvass the ten dioceses to solicit cash subscrip-
tions for the purpose of paying off existing indebtedness,
and the erection of additional buildings. Mr. Jno.
Wilkes, of North Carolina, offered a resolution authoriz-
ing the treasurer to prepare and issue coupon bonds to
the amount of $100,000, with interest at eight per cent
per annum, said coupons to be receivable in payment of
tuition fees, the proceeds to be used for liquidating the
debt, then to erect buildings recommended by commis-
sioner of buildings and lands, and the balance to perma-
nent improvements. The resolution was referred to the
committee on finance, who reported that it was inexpedi-
ent to take action at present. The board referred to the
bishops, with power to act, a resolution that a chaplain
should be elected immediately, as soon as a suitable
person could be found, at a salary of $1,000, exclusive
of the offertory, and to the executive committee a resolu-
tion that a resident physician be appointed, and that he
also fill the chair of chemistry, at a salary of $1,000.
A resolution was passed authorizing the executive com-
108 HISTORY OP THE
mittee to fill any vacancies of instructors, subject to
confirmation by the board at its next annual meeting.
The executive committee was authorized to appoint a
bursar, to receive moneys for board, tuition, etc. A
resolution was passed directing the erection of a dwelling
house for the head master.
The resignations of G. Berkely Green, as assistant
professor of mathematics, and of Rev. F. L. Knight, D. D.y
as professor of Greek language and literature, were
accepted.
The executive committee, in August, appointed T. F.
Sevier bursar, and tendered the appointment of instruc-
tor of mathematics to Rev. F. A. Shoup. Twenty
students matriculated in Trinity term, 1869. Rev. F. A.
Shoup accepted the appointment of instructor of mathe-
»atics. Mr. Caskie Harrison was appointed instructor
of ancient languages. The executive committee directed
the commissioner of buildings and lands to replace the
signboards indicating the sites for colleges as originally
placed, and that no lease be executed to any party within
the area covered by said college sites other than to officers
or professors of the University.
The executive committee directed that the arrangement
for music in the chapel services1 be fixed and determined
by the Bishop of Florida (Bishop Young), and under
no circumstances to be departed from when so established.
Also that the chaplain, being a master of arts, should
wear the Oxford M. A. hood when officiating in the
chapel, and that all officers of the institution should
wear the prescribed cap and gown when on duty.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 10»
The executive committee, on September 2, 1869, adopted
a resolution tendering to Dr. John B. Elliott the appoint-
ment of physician and instructor in chemistry. His
salary to be made up of a charge of ten dollars medical
fee to each student, and $500 as instructor of chemistry.
Dr. Elliott accepted and came to Sewanee during the
month of September, 1869. The committee also appointed
Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D., instructor of modern languages.
A resolution was passed referring the whole matter of
the disposition of the domain of the University to a
committee of five, viz : Bishop Gregg, Rev. Dr. Bannister
and Messrs. Gorgas, Whittle and Fairbanks, to report
at the next annual meeting. It was resolved that it is
deemed expedient to commence at as early a day as
possible at least one of the permanent buildings of the
University, to be erected of stone, and the executive com-
mittee was authorized, when they deemed expedient, to
obtain plans and estimates, and report to the next meeting
4)f the board.
The degree of D. C. L. was conferred on the Rev. F. W.
Tremlett of London, England, in grateful recognition of
Ms effective work for the University.
110 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XII.
Increase of students — Large number matriculated — The erection
of the first library building — Meeting of the board of trustees
at Sewanee in July, 1870 — Vice Chancellor Quintard's report
for expansion of the work — General Gorgas' views as to
dormitories — Report of committee recommending opening of
the University schools.
1870.
DURING vacation the fine Meneely bell, now in use, was
procured for the chapel, the melodious tones of which
have resounded through these forests for more than a
quarter of a century.
In the Lent term of 1870 ninety-five students matricu-
lated, being the largest number of matriculants in any
one term during the first twenty-five years. The number
of students exceeded the accommodations prepared for
them, and the executive committee authorized the erection
of four dormitories and eight single-room cottages. This
group of eight cottages was called Oxford Court, and was
located on University Avenue, on the right hand side,
just beyond Bishop Green's. One hundred and forty
students were in attendance during the Lent term, 1870.
A considerable library having accumulated by gifts from
England, Doctor Carder and others, Bishop Gregg, of
Texas, and Bishop Young, of Florida, very generously
erected, at their own expense and aid of friends, a neat
library building built of wood, and placed on the spot
where the A. T. O. Hall now stands. The building has
been removed and occupied by the printing office known
as the University Press.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. Ill
The board of trustees met at Sewanee on the llth day
of July, 1870. There were present the chancellor, Bishop
Green, Bishops Gregg, B. H. Wilmer, Quintard, Pierce
and J. P. B. Wilmer, eight clerical and ten lay trustees.
Bishop Quintard, vice chancellor, made a report to the
board, referring to the rapid development of the school.
He regretted that the Advent offering had not been larger.
He recommended that the fall term be extended, and the
spring term should not begin so early. The main portion
of his report was an urgent appeal to the board to adopt
plans for the speedy expansion of the work. After reciting
what the institution was intended to be and to accom-
plish, he asks, "shall we allow this well-planted
and vigorous tree to grow in a stunted way? Shall it
be dwarfed under our culture? Or shall we rise to the
full measure of our obligations and our duty, and resolve
with the help of God that this shall be a seat of learning
worthy of this great country, the ornament of the church,
and the glory of a nation which is 'heir of all the ages
and foremost in the files of time' * * * and can we sit
idly by and see the grand opportunity which God has
given us pass away forever? A thousand times no. Let
us have faith, faith in ourselves, faith in the church and
faith in the living God.
"He has thrown upon us the responsibility,
'The work to be prepared is ours;
The strength is all His own.'
"Let us rise to the discharge of our duties, let us at
once decide upon some plan for raising an endowment of
half a million dollars. I verily believe we are losing
time. I feel quite sure that the people would respond
112 HISTORY OF THE
in a liberal way to an earnest appeal on the part of
the bishops of the church. I do not think that this sum
could be raised in one year, but if two bishops would
consent to act as commissioners, after the plan originally
adopted when Bishop Polk and Bishop Elliott undertook
the work, I feel sure that great results would follow.
The patronage that is pressed upon us is sufficient to
demonstrate the fact that the hearts of the church and
the country are with us yet. We can almost hear the
Master's words, 'stretch forth thine hand,' and grasp
the opportunity."
General Gorgas, head master, made his report covering
the work of the previous year. The income from the
Lent term, 1870, was $10,200, exceeding the expenses of
the term by $737.
The organization then consisted of a head master, five
instructors in the junior department and a master and
tutor of the grammar school. General Gorgas strongly
recommended that the head master and principal instruc-
tors should be supplied with houses with attached
dormitories, so that the great majority of students should
reside with and be under the charge of the master and
instructors.
He believed that the system of boarding houses con-
templated in the statutes was not applicable to a boys'
school and should not be extended, but rather restricted.
That the system did not admit of that constant supervi-
sion which is essential to a boy's education.
That the University students might very well be
allowed the privileges and liberties contemplated by the
statutes. He also suggested that instructors who might
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 113
keep students, could get along with more moderate
salaries than otherwise, in consequence of the benefit
derived from the boys' board. He recommended an in-
crease of board and tuition to $340 for the junior depart-
ment, and $320 for grammar school students, it having
been previously placed at $300. He calls attention to the
need of a grammar school study hall and of other con-
veniences, and that the terms of office of the instructors
be made more permanent.
Mr. Fairbanks, the commissioner of buildings and
lands, made his report. He reported the erection of a
school building on the north side of the chapel of one
story, fifty-one feet long, twenty-one feet wide, divided by
folding doors into three rooms. Also a dormitory for
students containing eight rooms, part of the house
since occupied by Bishop Galleher, a dormitory on the
premises of General Gorgas with four rooms, hall and
attic, occupied temporarily by General Gorgas. This: house,
afterwards burned, stood on the spot now occupied by
Rt. Rev. T. F. Gailor. A dormitory on the premises of
Mrs. Elliott, with four rooms, the house once occupied
by Rev. F. A. Shoup, D. D., and the foundation of a
dormitory of four rooms on the premises of Mrs. Gotten.
Also a building in Manigault Park, eighteen by thirty
feet, used as a study hall and recitation room. This
building was afterwards removed to the rear of the
chapel, and is now a part of that group. Also a four-room
cottage and a two-room cottage, connected with Tremlett
Hall, and eight single-room cottages on University
Avenue, twelve by twelve. He reported the capacity of
all the halls and dormitories as sufficient for 190 students.
114 HISTORY OF THE
He referred to the importance of having a good hotel at
the University.
The treasurer reported $31,481.08 as received during
the year for board, tuition, etc., and a disbursement of
129,391.45; leaving a credit balance of $2,089.63. On
general account he reported received from Advent offer
ings $1,029.27, of which $352.62 came from Texas;
collections, through Kev. Mr. Thackara, $5,965.75; col-
lected by Bishop Quintard in Savannah, $2,500; $500
received from Mr. Jacob Walburg, of Savannah, and
$1,875 from old subscriptions. Mr. Fairbanks, as
commissioner of buildings and lands, reported that he
had visited Louisiana to investigate the condition of old
subscriptions made through Bishop Polk and Bishop
Elliott, and that the subscriptions were principally from
the wealthy planters of Louisiana, that the results of the
war fell most heavily on that class, depriving them of
their accumulated capital invested in their planting force,
and depreciating their lands and, in most instances, leav-
ing them largely involved in debt. An inquiry into their
circumstances disclosed the fact that many had died
insolvent, some had gone into bankruptcy and the
remainder much reduced in circumstances. In no
instance were the parties prepared to pay the amount of
their obligations. All expressed a warm interest in the
institution and a willingness to do what they could if
their circumstances would permit.
The growing success of the institution very naturally
impressed upon the instructors the desire to place it and
themselves in a more desirable condition. They felt that
a grammar school and junior department, adopted as a
or T . ,
UNIVER
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 115
necessary step in the beginning, should give way as early
as was practicable to the organization of the institution
as a University, in which they should hold their positions
as University professors instead of instructors in a
grammar school and junior department.
The financial condition at the close of the Lent term,
1870, with one hundred and forty students, and a surplus
income from the school, seemed to them to warrant such
a change at that time. The committee of organization
consisted of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, L. N. Whittle
of Georgia and P. W. Gray of Texas.
A committee, appointed at the meeting of the board in
1869 to report a plan for conducting the operations of the
junior department, consisting of Bishop Green, Rev. Dr.
Williams, General Gorgas and Mr. Fairbanks, reported
that the junior department should be continued under a
head master, assisted by the necessary instructors, who
should be selected by the vice chancellor and head master,
and nominated to the board of trustees, if in session, and,
otherwise, to the executive committee. The course of
instruction discipline of the school and general manage-
ment of its operations to be intrusted to the vice chancel-
lor and the head master. That the statutes, so far as they
were not applicable to the junior department, should be
considered as not in operation, especially so much of
Statute I as relates to the salary of the vice chancellor;
Statute III, Sections 5 and 6 ; Statute VII, Section 1, and
Statutes VIII and IX. The report was adopted. The com-
mittee on organization made a report recommending the
immediate establishment of the following schools, viz:
116 HISTORY OF THE
First. A school of ancient languages, embracing, for
the present, the schools of Latin language and literature,
and of Greek language and literature, to be under one
professor, with such assistance of tutors as might be
needed and authorized.
Second. A school of modern languages, embracing
the schools of French language and literature, of German
language and literature, of Spanish language and litera-
ture and of Italian language and literature.
Third. A school of mathematics.
Fourth. A school of metaphysics, embracing, for the
present, the schools of English language, of rhetoric and
of composition, etc.
Fifth. A school of civil engineering.
Sixth. A school of chemistry.
Seventh. A school of moral science and the evidences
of the Christian religion.
The committee further recommended the establishment
of a primary school, when, in the judgment of the vice
chancellor and the head master of the junior department,
the establishment of such a department should be deemed
expedient.
The report concluded with the following resolution:
Kesolved, That the committee on organization, estab-
lishing schools in the University, in part fulfillment of
the plan designed by the constitution and statutes be
adopted.
The report was signed by Bishop Wilmer and Mr.
Gray; Colonel Whittle, the other member, not coinciding
with the majority of the committee.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 117
On Thursday, July 14th, the report and resolution of
the committee on organization came up for consideration.
The adoption of the report and resolution was warmly
advocated by those who thought it important that the
University should be now distinctly organized as a
University with all that that implied. That it was a
necessary progressive step and should no longer be
delayed. That we were now quite well prepared for this
step and that it would involve no greater expense, while
it would give to the University the prestige and position
to enable it to expand and secure the sympathy and
support of the church.
Some of the trustees regarded this act as premature
and believed it more prudent to go on with the school
as then arranged, and build it up more firmly, and
acquire more solidity and strength before expanding into
the broader and, necessarily, more expensive condition
of a university. To comply with the greater range of
instruction would need the establishing of more schools
and departments. After a long discussion the vote was
taken by orders and resulted in the passage of the resolu-
tion by the affirmative votes of the bishop of Mississippi,
Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. Nay, Bishop Wilmer of
Louisiana.
Of the clerical and lay trustees, Rev. Dr. Scott, Rev.
Dr. Eaton, Rev. Mr. Lawson, Rev. Mr. Bradley, Messrs.
Kershaw, Jeffreys, Dawson, Duncan, Pegues, Gray and
Phelan voted aye; and Rev. Dr. Porter, Rev. Dr. Williams,
Rev. Dr. Bannister, Messrs. Whittle, Fairbanks and
Anderson, nay.
Ayes — bishops, 4; clerical and lay trustees, 11.
118 HISTORY OF THE
Nays — bishops, 1; clerical and lay trustees, 6.
In view of the many financial difficulties enhanced by
the expansion into a university the writer is now, as
then, of the opinion that the step was somewhat pre-
mature and that the situation would have been better had
the school been built up to a greater degree of strength
and solidity than it then possessed.
The vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, did not partici-
pate in the discussion. On the following day the following
communication was received from him.
To the Board of Trustees of the University of the South:
GENTLEMEN : — I am well pleased to learn that the
board of trustees has taken a step in advance and have
decided to put the University in operation as soon as
practicable. I believe that it is a step in the right direc-
tion, and I heartily concur in the action of the board.
Wishing to leave the board perfectly free to take such
further action as may be required, I beg leave to tender
my resignation as vice chancellor, and am, with senti-
ments of fraternal regard, faithfully yours,
C. T. QUINTARD.
The board ordered that the bishop of Texas be
requested to convey to the bisihop of Tennessee the desire
of the board of trustees that he withdraw his resignation
as vice chancellor, and to assure him that the board
highly appreciates the motives which dictated the tender
of his resignation at this time, and considers the con-
tinuance of his services at present as necessary to the
success of the University. A resolution was passed that
the board proceed to the election of the professors of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 119
the several schools established by the board, such pro-
fessors to hold office from the time that the organization
should have been consummated and put in actual opera-
tion, provided that the compensation of said professors,
as such, shall be subject to the future decision of the
board, by amendment of the statute or otherwise.
The executive committee reported that, under the
authority given them, they had appointed the Rev. F. A.
Shoup, A. M., instructor of mathematics; Rev. F. A.
Juny, instructor of modern languages; John B. Elliott,
M. D., resident physician and instructor of chemistry.
These appointments were confirmed by the board.
The board then proceeded to the election of the pro-
fessors of the various schools in the University as follows :
School of civil engineering, construction, architecture
and drawing. Gen. Josiah Gorgas. School of mathe-
matics, Rev. F. A. Shoup, A. M. School of metaphysics,
Robert Dabney, M. A. School of modern languages,
Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D. School of chemistry, John B.
Elliott, M. D. School of ancient languages, Caskie
Harrison. The election of a professor of moral science
was postponed to the next meeting of the board. A com-
mittee of seven was appointed who should immediately,
upon the adjournment of the board, in conference with
the vice chancellor, head master and professors elect,
determine upon the arrangements for classes, etc., and
make all such provisions as might be necessary to carry
on the organization established by the board, and that,
when five members should have agreed upon the time
and manner of putting into operation the organization,
the executive committee (and three of the professors!
120 HISTORY OF THE
elect consenting thereto) should communicate the fact
of such agreement and consent to the vice chancellor,
who should thereupon make publication of the fact of
the organization of the University, and cause to be printed
one thousand copies of the calendar for distribution.
The bishops of Alabama and Arkansas, Drs. Eaton and
Scott, and Messrs Phelan, Gray and Duncan were
appointed on such committee. The board, in anticipa-
tion of the receipts from tuition fees for the ensuing
year, appropriated $15,900 for salaries of professors and
instructors, being about $5,000 in excess of amount paid
the previous year; thus illustrating at the outset the
increased expenditure consequent upon the organization
of the University, as such. It may not be out of place
here to make some reference to the gentlemen who
composed the faculty of professors elected upon the
organization of the University.
Gen. Josiah Gorgas, professor of engineering, was a
graduate of West Point, a native of Pennsylvania, and
long connected with the ordnance department of the
United States army. At the opening of hostilities in the
Civil War he cast his lot with the South and attained the
rank of chief of ordnance and brigadier-general.
He acquired a very high reputation for his splendid
management of his department, creating for the Con-
federacy an abundant supply of the munitions of war.
He was very highly esteemed by President Davis and
General Lee, who both furnished very strong indorse-
ments of his fitness for the head mastership of the junior
departtaent. He remained at the University until 1878,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 121
when he became connected with the University of
Alabama until his death in 1883.
Professor F. A. Shoup, D. D., professor of mathematics,
was educated at West Point, a native of the State of
Indiana, and resigned from the United States army in
1861, and tendered his services to the Confederate
Government at Montgomery, was attached to the staff
of General Bragg, afterwards assigned to duty in
Arkansas, again connected with the army of Tennessee,
was chief of staff to General Johnson in the Atlanta
campaign, holding the rank of brigadier-general. After
the war he was a professor in the University of Missis-
sippi, and was invited to take the chair of mathematics
in this University, which he accepted and held until 1875,
when he resigned and was occupied in parish work until
1883, when he accepted the chair of engineering and
physics, and subsequently added the acting professorship
of mathematics, until 1893, when, upon thfe death of
Gen. E. Kirby Smith, he was elected to the chair of
mathematics and acting professor of metaphysics.
Professor Robert Dabney, L. L. D., professor of meta-
physics, was a native of Virginia, a distinguished graduate
of the University of Virginia, master of arts and doctor
of laws. Professor Dabney was connected with the
institution from its opening in September, 1868, until
his lamented death on April 1st, 1876. He was held in
very high esteem by his colleagues, and much beloved by
the students of the University.
Rev. F. A. Juny, D. D., professor of modern languages,
a native of France, and a clergyman of the Episcopal
Church, very creditably filled the chair of modern Ian-
122 HISTORY OF THE
guages from 1870 until July, 1872, when he went to
the University of Mississippi, and died a few years after-
wards.
Dr. John B. Elliott, a son of Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott,
Bishop of Georgia, came to the University in September,
1869, as instructor in chemistry and resident physician,
was elected, in 1870, to the chair of chemistry, which he
most ably filled until 1885, when he resigned to occupy
the chair of theory and practice of medicine in Tulane
University, New Orleans, which position he still occupies.
His separation from the faculty of the University was
very greatly regretted by the trustees, the faculty and the
students. No one connected with the University has1
probably ever accomplished more to raise its standard
and to enlist the enthusiasm of the student body.
Professor Caskie Harrison, Ph. D., a native of Virginia,
was partly educated at Cambridge University, England.
He possessed a great aptitude and thorough knowledge
of Latin and Greek literature. He was the youngest of
the professors, but was greatly respected for his fine
scholarship and thorough work in his classes. He
resigned in August, 1882, and removed to Brooklyn, N. Y.,
where he established a very successful classical school.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 12 J
CHAPTER XIII.
The action of the board in reference to leases of the domain —
The separation of the grammar school from the other depart-
ments and its organization — Litigation in the matter of
titles to lands — The E. Q. B. Club.
1871.
THE number of leases granted by the University,
reported up to July, 1870, was thirty-nine. The com-
mittee appointed in 1870 to report upon the whole matter
of the disposition of the domain belonging to the Univer-
sity reported a series of rules and regulations, the
first of which was that no part of the domain should
ever be alienated. This was a most judicious rule, and
was intended to retain for all time the domain intact, so
as to always keep under the control of the University all
the safeguards which the possession of so large a domain
would enable them absolutely to maintain, and is one
of the most valuable of the many advantages secured by
the election of Sewanee as the site of the University.
There have been efforts, from time to time, to obtain
a relaxation or change of this regulation, and there will
be, doubtless, hereafter, some persons who will advocate
selling a large part of the domain to raise funds, or to
secure some object deemed desirable. So far the unani-
mous feeling and action of the board of trustees has
been in favor of retaining this as a perpetual and funda-
mental rule and principle.
124 HISTORY OF THE
The second rule provided that in all leases of ground
within the one-thousand-acre reserve, the size of lots, the
character of improvement thereon, and extent of clearing
(in no case, to exceed one- third of the leased premises),
should be a matter of special arrangement with the com-
missioner of buildings and lands, and of the executive
committee. The annual rental to be twenty-five dollars,
and no leases to encroach on the sites hitherto designated
for college buildings. This regulation prohibiting the
clearing off the forest trees from over one-third of the
leased premises, was intended to prevent the denudation
of the soil, the removing of the shade trees, which con-
tribute so much to the beauty and appearance of the
grounds, and avoiding the injurious effect upon the water
supply, by percolation, which undoubtedly forms the
source of the supply of our springs. The regulation as
to the character of the improvements was a most wise
and timely one intended and operating to prevent the
putting up of cheap and flimsy cabins or structures,
calculated to mar and injure the appearance of the
University grounds. The limit which has generally been
imposed in the leases granted was that improvements of
not less than f 800 or f 1,000 in value should be put on the
leased premises. The consequence has been that the
residence portion of Sewanee has been built up with
attractive homes, improved grounds, an abundance of
shade trees and pleasant surroundings, and has escaped
the roughness and uncouthness of the pioneer stage of
most communities. These restrictions did not apply to
the Sewanee station or village to the same extent, as to
cost of improvements. Another provision was that all
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 125
storehouses and workshops should be confined to the
limits of the depot village. A regulation was adopted
that no timber outside the lots leased should, in any case,
be cut without permission of the commissioner of build-
ings and lands. That all springs within a radius of not
less than fifty feet and a right of way should forever be
reserved from lease. That no lease should extend beyond
the term of thirty-three years, but was accompanied with
the privilege of renewal for two equal terms. That! no
lessee should be allowed to sell intoxicating liquors,
permit gambling, or suffer any business to be conducted
on such leased premises injurious to the interest and
general welfare of the University, and that no leases
should be given or any privileges allowed in connection
with the University domain which shall in any way
conflict with the objects had in view in the establishment
of the University, or hinder the godly designs of its
founders.
The recommendations of the committee were adopted,
and the disposition of the domain has ever since been
conducted on these lines with some additional require-
ments and restrictions as to sanitary matters, and with a
small increase of the rental to be paid. The committee
on ways and means reported that there was a necessity
for the erection of certain buildings and improvements,
the cost of which would be $8,250, the principal items
of which were an additional school building, residence
for the head master, another dormitory, a laundry, an
infirmary, etc.
They recommended as a means for raising funds that
the trustees in every diocese be earnestly requested to
126 HISTORY OF THE
procure at least one hundred subscriptions of $100 each,
payable one-tenth cash and balance in installments
at ten per cent annually. They recommended that the
bishops of Tennessee and Alabama be appointed com-
missioners to carry out this plan. Their recommenda-
tions were adopted. The vice chancellor called the atten-
tion of the board to the desire of a number of the students
to be organized into a regular military company, and
asked the opinion of the board.
The board authorized the vice chancellor to take such
action in the matter as he deemed best, as a consequence
of which the authority to form a military company was
given.
A committee of five, consisting of the bishops of
Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Arkansas and General
Gorgas, was appointed to consider the whole matter of
the University costume and badges of the different schol-
astic degrees, to report to the next meeting of the board.
The bishop of Tennessee and General Gorgas were con-
tinued as the executive committee for the coming year.
The committee of nine appointed to carry into effect
the organization of the University schools met on the
18th July, and requested the attendance of the professors-
elect, who were severally requested to answer, in writing,
a series of questions embracing the following points : As
to the best mode of organizing a grammar school in rela-
tion to the several schools of the University. As to
the time when the organization of the schools should take
place. As to the difference in discipline to be made
between the grammar school and the University students.
As to the latitude in choice of studies to be allowed
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 127
students in the more advanced classes. As to the
character and extent of studies in grammar school,
whether English only, or also elementary Latin and
Greek, and what proficiency should be required to enter
advanced schools. As to whether it might not1 be practi-
cable, through the intervention of tutors, to accomplish
what is ordinarily accomplished through separate depart-
ments, As to the rule to be allowed in the prouncia-
tion of Latin and Greek. What additional recitation
rooms would be needed. As to the best mode of providing
for the difference in discipline necessitated by the
different ages and habits of the students. Also to pre-
sent a course of study, and list of text books, each for
his own school, beginning with the most elementary in
the grammar school. The original questions and answers
are on file in the archives of the University, and exhibited
a marked degree of unanimity upon every material
question. The committee, after full discussion and con-
sideration, agreed upon the following scheme of organiza-
tion:
That there be established a grammar school as the
"Primary Department of the University of the South."
That the six chairs for which professors have been chosen,
viz: civil engineering, mathematics, metaphysics, modern
languages, chemistry and ancient languages:, be put in
operation, and that there be no department between the
grammar school and the established schools of the
University. That the minimum course of study to be
pursued by students in the grammar school should be
catechistical instruction in the Prayer Book and Holy
Scriptures, spelling, reading, writing, English composi-
128 HISTORY OF THE
tion, geography, history, mental arithmetic, practical
arithmetic and elementary algebra, bookkeeping, elemen-
tary instruction in chemistry, physics and natural science,
Latin grammar as far as syntax, with the Latin reader,
elementary Greek grammar and reader.
That, in accordance with the written opinion of the
professors elect, the several schools should be put in
immediate operation. That, until the next meeting of
the board of trustees. General Gorgas should fcave
authority over the whole University. That the first
scholastic term should end the 21st of December and the
second term begin on the 21st of March.
General Gorgas was requested to telegraph the vice
chancellor as follows: "Immediate organization agreed
upon by the entire committee and four professors, General
Gorgas acquiesces, Elliott absent, your concurrence
needed; answer." To which the vice chancellor, Bishop
Quintard, answered, "I cordially concur."
During the fall and winter the recommendations of the
finance committee in reference to obtaining endowment
notes, payable by installments, was carried partially into
effect. Notes to the amount of |6,215 were given in
Texas, $3,475 in Alabama, $3,440 in Louisiana, $1,500
in Tennessee, $1,000 in Georgia and $580 in South
Carolina, making an aggregate of $16,210; upon which
the cash payments of ten per cent, amounting to $2,623,
was received. The Advent offerings for the year 1870
amounted to $2,068.97.
This was far short of the $100,000 anticipated in
endowment notes by the finance committee, but was a
great help towards meeting the increased expenditures
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 129
of the University. At the June term (1871) of the
chancery court at Winchester, Tenn., an amendment to
the charter was granted to the chancellor, acting under
the provision of an act of the legislature authorizing
chancery courts to grant amendments to charters, by
which a code of municipal regulations was established,
with the power to appoint municipal officers, marshal,
recorder, etc. The power to exercise municipal privileges
had been granted by the amendment made in 1800 to the
original charter.
In the Trinity term, 1870, thirty students, and in the
Lent term, 1871, eighty-one students matriculated.
The committee of nine elected Rev. Samuel S. Harris
of Columbus, Ga., afterwards rector of Trinity Church,
ftew Orleans, and subsequently elected bishop of Michi-
gan, as chaplain to the University, which appointment
was declined. In November, 1871, the parish of St. Pauls-
on-the-Mountain was organized at Sewanee.
The E. Q. B. club, composed of the professors, officers
and gentleman resident at Sewanee, was organized in
1870. Hon. John D. Phelan was the first president and
G. B. Fairbanks, secretary. It has kept up its organiza-
tion ever since, meeting bi-monthly as a literary and social
club.*
*The name of E. Q. B. w&s suggested by General Gorgas, being
the initial letters of the motto attached by Bishop Lay to then
pamphlet containing the proceedings of the board of trustees at
lookout Mountain, "Ecce quam bonum" being the title words
of the 133d Psalm in the Prayer Book. The E. Q. B. has among
its wise regulations one, that University matters shall not be
discussed in the club. It has maintained its interesting feature
130 HISTORY OF THE
In the fall of 1871 a grammar school study hall was
erected on the south side of the chapel, three-fourths of
the cost of which was contributed by P. W. Gray, Esq.,
of Texas. A building originally erected where the con-
vocation house now stands was moved to the rear of the
chapel for a recitation room.
During the fall of 1870 a residence had been erected
for the head master on the lot opposite the chapel, which
was occupied by General Gorgas while he remained at
the University, and became his property by purchase.
Rev. Dr. Hodgson purchased it from General Gorgas in
1878. A house had been built in 1869 by Dr. Vaughan
of Mississippi on a lot on University Avenue, where the
Kappa Sigma Fraternity Hall once stood. It was
occupied first by General Gorgas and Rev. Dr. Shoup,
and subsequently by Professor Dabney up to the time of
his decease, and was afterwards destroyed by fire.
During the year 1870 a suit in ejectment was brought
against the University by persons claiming, as the heirs
of G. W. Thompson, some 1,500 acres of the central
portion of the domain, on which our buildings were
placed, and by far the most valuable portion of our lands.
The claim was based upon prior entry and grants from
of leads by its members in rotation upon topics of general
Interest, followed by a free discussion of the subject presented.
The club has a pleasant clubhouse, well supplied with reviews,
magazines and leading newspapers. Strangers are always hospi-
tably received. For some years the meetings of the club were
. held in private houses, subsequently a clubhouse was built in
the rear of the present medicinal department, and, in 1899, the
club secured the permanent use and occupancy of the second
story of the new stone supply store on the avenue.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 131
the State of Tennessee. The University was tihus, in
addition to other difficulties, involved in litigation as
to the title to its lands. There were defects in the title
of the Thompson heirs which afforded grounds for a
vigorous contest, and the commissioner of buildings and
lands entered heartily and vigorously into a defense of
the University title. In the following year this suit
was compromised by the payment of one dollar per acre
for the interests of the Thompson heirs in the land in
controversy. Mr. J. W. Hayes, of New York, had leased
a tract of land from the University for the purpose
of planting out fruit orchards, vegetable grounds,
etc. He held very decided views upon the subject of
Christian education, and was attracted to visit the
University in consequence of its being based upon the
ideas which he had long entertained. He used his means
very freely in advancing the material interests of the
University, furnished the means on credit for erecting
boarding halls and private residences, and, during the
year 1870, put up a large steam sawmill with working
machinery, which greatly facilitated the growth of
Sewanee. The mill was put up on the stream leading
into Lost Cove, about three-eighths of a mile southeast
of the station, and destroyed by fire a year later.
132 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XIV.
Bishop Quintard's views as to the religious character and
demands of the University — Increase in students' leases and
residences — Statement of the intentions of the founders as to
the buildings.
1871.
AT the meeting of the board of trustees on July 12th,
1871, there were present Bishops Green, Gregg, Wilmer
of Alabama, Quintard, Beckwith and Young, with five
clerical and eight lay trustees.
Bishop Quintard made his report, the following extract
from which is particularly worthy of a permanent record
because there has been, at times, a disposition to some-
what minimize the religious and churchly character
impressed upon it by its founders:
Said the Bishop, "The founders of the University of the
South, moved by a holy impulse, determined to build
up an institution of learning which, while it should meet
the largest demands of the age in all matters of polite
learning and scientific research, should at the same time
nuture the youth of the South in the principles of our
holy religion and in the high culture of God's Holy
Catholic Church. I know, right reverend gentlemen of the
board of trustees, that it is hardly necessary for me to
press these truths upon your consideration. But I do
desire to record my own sense of the wisdom and forecast
displayed by the holy men who laid the cornerstone of
the noble edifice on which we are only day laborers,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 133
and I say if we are to succeed to the full with this
glorious undertaking,, if, in any sense, we are to redeem
the pledge to which we stand bound by accepting the
charge of trustees of the University of the South, we
must work for it in the spirit of its founders, and consider
the nurture and admonition of the church by the practice
of daily, morning and evening prayer; by the celebration
of all the church's holy festivals and the recognition of
her solemn fasts; by the regular administration of the
most comfortable sacrament of the body and blood of
Christ as essential to the validity of a Christian educa-
tion.
"We know that the seed which is thus planted will
produce fruit. We know that the power of daily prayer
will make itself felt. Like the dew of the morning on
the flowers, it extends the sweetness of its influence over
the thoughts, words, and actions of the day, shines out
'in the small sweet courtesies of life' and sanctifies the
daily duties of youth and full-grown manhood. And this
holy influence must make the supreme controlling power
by which the character of our students shall be moulded.
From the time that the morning bell first calls us from
our beds, to the time when the same bell tolls the curfew
of departing day, and consigns us to rest, each with
his own account of duties and negligences recorded in
the Book of God, and by its1 wholesome restraints upon
us guards the watches of the night that no evils may
come near us, this influence of God's Holy Church must
be all-prevailing, all-controlling and governing power by
which discipline shall be maintained, and the whole
school life be ordered."
134 HISTORY OF THE
The committee of nine on organization, appointed in
1870, made the report of their action in reference to tfie
organization of the schools of the University and the
grammar school, which were adopted by the board.
They recommended the adoption of an amendment to
Article 1, of the Constitution as follows :
"Article 1. This University shall be called the 'Univer-
sity of the South/ and shall, in all its parts, be under the
sole and perpetual direction of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, represented through a board of trustees; and the
Book of Common Prayer, authorized by said Church,
shall be the standard of faith and worship therein; and
no person shall exercise the functions of instructor and
ruler in this University until he subscribe the following
declaration : 'I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to
contain all things necessary to salvation, and I do
solemnly engage to conform to the doctrines and worship
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United
States/ "
The board of trustees amended the proposed amend-
ment by inserting after the word "University" in the
following sentence: "And no person shall exercise the
function of instructor and ruler in this University unless
he be a communicant of the Church." Thus amended, it
passed apparently without discussion. The following
year the proposed amendment of Article 1 of the Constitu-
tion was brought to the attention of the board by the
committee on unfinished business, but was not called up
again and remained unacted upon and, of course, failed
of adoption.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 135
The commissioner of buildings and lands made his
report, stating that forty -one leases had been executed
during tfhe previous year. That the number of families
establishing themselves on the domain who were both
willing and desirous of receiving students as boarders
was increasing to such an extent as to render it unneces-
sary for the University to make any further expenditure
for boarding houses. He expressed the opinion tfhat it
was very desirable that one of the permanent buildings
should be put up as an earnest of the great work upon
which they had entered, of establishing on the largest
and broadest plan the University of the South. That,
either by individual beneficence or general effort, it was
to be hoped that means would be provided before another
year to commence one of the colleges or schools designed
by the founders. That the cost of such a building need
not exceed $25,000, built of our own beautiful freestone.
He states "that there are many reasons which make this
plan of separate or detached college buildings advisable.
That while one grand and lordly pile might please the
eye by its architectural effect, safety from destruction
by fire, convenience, economy in cost of construction,
separation of special and technical schools, and extending
the work of the building over a long period of time,
enabling the adoption of more complete modes of con-
struction— all evince the wisdom of the original plans
agreed upon, of erecting from time to time buildings of
moderate size, in different styles of architecture, affording
a pleasing variety adapted to the various purposes for
which they were required." He reported that! he had
been enabled, from the various data in his possession,
136 HISTORY OF THE
to construct a large map of the domain, upon a scale of
four hundred feet to the inch, on which all the locations
of leased lots up to that period were shown, and also a
plan of the location and arrangement of the University
buildings as contemplated by the founders. The committee
on finance gave a statement of the income and expendi-
tures of the treasury, and recommended the continuance
of the plan of coupon and endowment notes, and of the
Advent offerings.
The committee of ways and means reported, and
assumed that at least $25,000 would be realized to pay
teachers and officers; and recommended that an addition
be made to the corps of teachers and increase of salaries,
and that the sons of teachers and officers of the University
have free tuition and sons of the clergy half rates. They
reported against a proposed plan of insurance endowment
and sale of scholarships; and said that they were more
than ever persuaded that we should, for the present, carry
out existing measures for raising funds in addition to
the general work instrusted to the commissioners, instead
of resorting to other instrumentalities which, in their
opinion, by multiplying agencies would only serve to
render the whole less effective, and complicate our efforts
at the expense of success. They went on to say, very
wisely, I think, "Pastoral letters, appeals to be read to
congregations, a general division of responsibility and
tsecond-hand effort, may do very well in their place
and under other circumstances, but will ever fail here a*
they have ever done in the matter of raising funds.
Single, persevering effort by personal contact is indis-
pensable. There must be work, earnest, untiring indi-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 137
f iduai work, or we will ever fail to meet our responsibility
here."
The chairman of the committee was the faithful, earnest
and tried friend of the University, Bishop Gregg of
Texas. The records of the University show that for very
many years the good Bishop made an appeal personally
and received a collection annually in every parish and
mission in his diocese ; and of the coupon and endowment
notes received in 1870 and 1871 the longest list and
largest amount came from Texas — the Advent collection
amounting to $680.49, and the coupon notes to $6,215.
An equal amount from the other nine dioceses would
have raised an Advent offering of $6,800 and endow-
ment notes aggregating $62,000, or nearly $70,000 in
all, if the same systematic, individual effort and work
had been exerted in all the ten dioceses, and, moreover,
Texas furnished more than ten per cent of all the students.
The committee, appointed in 1870, reported upon the
whole subject of costumes and badges, recommending
that all undergraduates be required to wear the scholastic
cap and gown. This was modified subsequently so as-
to apply only to the advanced students designated as
gownsmen.
That the instructors were to wear a similar dress,
though of different fashion to indicate their rank, with
cap and hood of this University pertaining to their
degrees.
The dress of the vice chancellor to be a crimson robe,
faced with black, corresponding to the use of Cambridge,
England, and the chancellor a royal purple robe faced
138 HISTORY OF THE
with gold, similar to that of the vice chancellor, but
richer in details of finish.
That professors who were degree men of other colleges
could wear the hoods of their respective colleges.
The bishop of Florida was requested to prepare a seal
which, if it was approved by the bishops of the board,
should be the seal of the University.
The seal was designed by Rev. J. H. Hopkins, D. D., of
piscina shape. The initial letters of the dioceses in the
links of a catena on the inside of the legend University
of the South, a dove with rays of light descending on a
Latin cross in the center.
The committee on buildings and lands recommended
that all leases should contain a clause prohibiting the
erection of any house of Worship, chapel, or church build-
ing on the premises without the consent of the board of
trustees; which recommendation was adopted.
The bishops present in the board offered a resolution
providing that a theological department be inaugurated,
to consist, at present, of a chair of systematic divinity,
a chair of moral science and evidences of revealed
religion, and a chair of Hebrew.
They further reported that they had taken action for
the future conduct of divine worship in the chapel of the
University. Bishop Quintard, General Gorgas and Mr.
G. R. Fairbanks were appointed the executive committee
for the ensuing year.
The Rev. S. S. Harris, having declined the chaplaincy
in 1870, Rev. F. A. Shoup continued to act as chaplain
up to July, 1871.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 13f
The bishops selected Rev. W. P. DuBose, of South
Carolina, as chaplain, and the board unanimously con-
firmed the nomination. Rev. Dr. DuBose continued as
chaplain of the University until July, 1883, when he
resigned the office. Dr. DuBose had served in the war
between the States, had undergone the hardships of a
prisoner of war, and had achieved a high position in his
native State when he afterwards entered the ranks of her
ministry. In the election for a successor to Bishop Davis
he received the majority of votes of one order, and,
during the period of his chaplaincy and as a professor
of the school of moral science, he earned the admiration,
love and respect of the officers and students of the
University.
The number of students matriculating in Trinity term,
1870, was thirty, and in Lent term, 1871, was eighty-one.
Forty-eight students matriculated in Trinity term, 1871,
making the whole number of matriculants for the year,
1871, one hundred and twenty-nine. During the fall term,
1871, and spring term, 1872, a very great advance was
made in the material growth of Sewanee. The comimis-
sioner of buildings and lands reported forty-three lots
having been leased during the year ending July 1, 1872.
That there was no necessity for additional dormitories
being erected, as the requirements of the University were
fully met by the increase of resident families licensed to
board students.
That the chapel had been enlarged by adding transepts
to the nave, a chaplain's room and extensions of the-
chancel, but that still further enlargements would soon
be necessary.
140 HISTORY OF THE
During this year Rev. W. P. DuBose erected a cottage
east of the chapel, and also, on the adjoining lot, Palmetto
Hall, a large boarding house with accommodations for
thirty students. Mrs. E. M. Polk built a large boarding
house on the street east of University Avenue, and
Mrs. S. E. Gotten erected the Gotten House. Mr. Hayes
built a house for the use of a professor on the
east side of the same street as Mrs. Polk's, which was
first occupied by Professor Dabney. The commissioner
reported the rental of leased lots as amounting to
f2,000 per annum, and of leased buildings at $1,200.
Further litigation in reference to our land titles sprung
up this year, instituted by Wallace Estell, Jr., et. al., to
set aside a decree of partition made by the chancery
court in 1860 between the University and the Sewanee
Mining Company, Estell heirs, et. al. This suit, after
lingering in the court for some years, was decided in
favor of the University. The commissioner, in his report
made to the board of trustees at the annual meeting in
July, 1872, says, "as the plans of the founders of the
University in reference to the buildings nowhere appear
in our printed journals, and having been one of the
committee having this subject in charge, and being the
only member of that committee now a member of the
board, I deem it not inappropriate to briefly explain their
plan.
"They did not propose to erect any buildings for
student's rooms, the board of trustees by statute having,
after full consideration, settled upon the system of
licensed boarding houses to provide for the board and
lodging of all students. By this determination they were
Rev. W. P. DuBOSE, S. T. D.
Dean ol the Theological Department.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 141
relieved from the cost of constructing extensive halls and
dormitories which, in many institutions, occupy the largest
portion of their buildings and absorb the larger portion
•of their building fund. It was proposed upon the highest
and most conspicuous site to erect a grand central build-
ing whenever the institution could undertake it. This
central building to contain an audience hall or theater
to seat three thousand persons for commencement and
other high days, one wing of the building to be appro-
priated to the library, the other to the gallery of fine
arts and the school of design, the connecting sections to
•contain the public offices. For the purpose of instruc-
tion it was proposed to build from time to time, as they
should be required, colleges or halls prepared for recita-
tion and lecture rooms; these colleges or halls to be built
of stone according to the best models of architecture and
to be located on the most desirable sites, and to be
arranged so as to bring those studies usually pursued
together in sufficiently close connection, placing on the
outer line of the grouping the special schools, such as
law, theology, medicine, etc.
"In the then prosperous condition of the South it was
deemed entirely practicable to secure at once an endow-
ment fund of sufficient magnitude to enable the trustees,
by the use of the interest alone, to erect the necessary
buildings to commence the University, and subsequently
to apply the income to its support. They thus hoped to
preserve the principal intact, expending the interest
alone."
142 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XV.
The vice chancellor, Bishop Quintard, urges immediate action to
procure an endowment — Plans of endowment suggested —
$500,000 to be obtained — Bishop Quintard requested to under-
take the work — Small results but helpful — Loan obtained to
tide over difficulties.
1872.
AT the annual meeting of board of trustees, 10th of
July, 1872, there were present Bishops Gregg, Quintard,
Beckwith, Pierce, Howe, Garrett and Young, with nine
clerical and eleven lay trustees. The vice chancellor
made his report of the operations of the year. The death
of Bishop Davis of South Carolina, Kev. Dr. Curtis of
North Carolina and Jno. Duncan, Esq., of Mississippi,
of the board of trustees, was mentioned in suitable terms.
Bishop Quintard suggested that the Advent offering might
be taken to endow the theological chairs, thus giving
a specific object for the appeal of the clergy, and that
probably no object would appeal more strongly to both
clergy and people. He called attention to the necessity
of raising a certain amount of money to liquidate certain
existing indebtedness — that there was no evidence of the
want of success; that it was the result of improvements
constantly in progress, and that the amount of debt was
represented in the schedule of property belonging to the
University; that a University is in its nature not self-
creating nor self-sustaining. Bishop Quintard expressed
the feeling that the University should now have a resident
head, and tendered his resignation as vice chancellor. He
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 143
also expressed the opinion that the executive committee
should be discontinued or its functions restricted to the
carrying out of a definite and specified work designated
by the board of trustees.
This subject came up for discussion in the board. The
matter was referred to the committee on constitution
and statutes, who made a report through L. N. Whittle,
(Esq., its chairman, "That the committee was of the
opinion that the executive committee, at this time, had
no control whatsoever of the internal government of the
University itself, but that their powers and duties
related entirely to the external and incidental affairs of
the University and corporation; that occasions might
arise for the exercise of their powers, and that, therefore,
they recommended that the executive committee be con-
tinued for the present with the powers and duties now
assigned to them." The recommendation of the committee
was disagreed to by a vote by orders: of bishops, ayes
none; of clergy, ayes one (Dr. Bannister), and of lay
trustees, ayes three — Messrs. Hanckel, Whittle and Fair-
banks. Nays — bishops, five; clerical trustees, six; lay,
seven — and the executive committee was thus abolished.
The action of the board on this matter was one of those
curious misconceptions which pervade bodies of men.
Looking back now, their action is simply unaccountable.
The University is a business as well as an educational
body. It has property to manage. It has contracts to
make, suits to institute and defend, vacancies to fill,
emergencies to provide for, etc., and its board of trustees
meets but once a year and consists of a large body of
members. One would think that there could be no plainer
144 HISTORY OF THE
case of the need of a committee with delegated powers to
look after the affairs and business of the corporation
during the three hundred and fifty-seven days out of the
three hundred and sixty-five when the board of trustees
is not in session. A want of consideration of the real
functions of the committee, and an apprehension that it
might in some way interfere with the internal adminis-
tration of the scholastic part of the University, must
have operated to produce this singular action. I will
here add that as a sequel to this vote the bishop of
Tennessee, as chairman of the committee on organization,
in 1876, after four years' experience of doing without an
executive committee, with entire frankness made a
report to the board, recommending the passage of a resolu-
tion that an executive committee, to consist of one bishop,
two clergymen and two laymen, be elected annually by
the board of trustees, with power to suspend or alter any
action of the board regarding the administration of the
University whenever any emergency might arise requiring
such action on their part. That said committee should
report fully their proceedings to the board at their next
meeting thereafter.
When the resolution came up for consideration it was
amended so as to read "with power to see to the execution
of the resolutions of the board and to provide for any
emergency which may arise in the administration of the
University during the recess of the board." As thus
amended it was passed with the concurrence of at least
nine of those who had, in 1872, voted to abolish the com-
mittee. The executive committee has been annually
-elected from 1876 to this time, and its powers and duties
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 145
have been largely increased. During the year, 1872-73,
Kev. Mr. Mmnford was appointed a tutor in the grammar
school, Mr. Grabau, as organist and assistant in the
grammar school, and Mr. C. L. C. Minor, principal
assistant in the grammar school; Mr. J. L. Cooper was
appointed registrar, and Col. H. Schaller instructor in
modern languages to take the place of Rev. F. A. Juny,
resigned. The chairs of Latin and Greek were separated
and Professor Minor was subsequently made professor
of Latin and master of the grammar school. The resigna-
tion of Bishop Quintard, as vice chancellor, was received
and Gen. Josiah Gorgas was unanimously elected vice
chancellor for the term of three years, with a salary
of |2,500 per annum. The salary was, for that year,
increased $500. The committee on endowment reported
by resolution that for the purpose of raising a fund of
not less than five hundred thousand dollars, as an endow-
ment of the University of the South, the right reverend
the bishop of Tennessee is hereby requested, as the com-
missioner of the University, to procure one thousand
subscriptions of $500 each, or to take such other steps
as he might deem best to secure a sufficient amount for
the endowment.
General Kershaw, of South Carolina, was requested to
render such aid as he might be able to give, and the other
bishops connected with the University were requested to
cooperate with Bishop Quintard by their personal aid
and influence, as well as by obtaining the assistance of
such clergymen and laymen as might be able and willing
to unite with Bishop Quintard in the work. They also
requested the bishop of Louisiana to raise $30,000 to
146 HISTORY OF THE
endow a Polk professorship in the University. A plan
which had been brought before the board by the Carolina
Life Insurance Co., of Memphis, Tenn., to create an endow-
ment for the University was postponed to the next meeting
of the board. Hon. Jefferson Davis, who was present
and invited to a seat in the board, was connected with
this company and introduced the proposition. No further
action, however, was subsequently taken in reference to
the proposition.
A plan was also considered for the sale of scholarships,
the executive committee having reported that they had
inaugurated the same by the sale of 1ftvo scholarships for
board and tuition at $250 per annum each. The com-
mittee of ways and means reported in favor of issuing one
hundred certificates of scholarships, with five coupons
each. The report was referred to the finance committee
to report upon the following year. No report was ever
made, and the plan was consequently abandoned. A
proposition was made that the bishops of the respective
dioceses be requested to use their official and personal
influence to obtain endowments of professorships, to be
called after the names of the most distinguished citizens
of said dioceses who were most intimately associated by
sympathy and active work in inaugurating or carrying
forward the University. This was laid aside in view of
the proposition to raise $500,000 having been adopted.*
*If plans and resolutions could have endowed the University
it would, long ago, have reveled in wealth. Feeling the great
needs of the University the trustees groped in rather a blind way
to find some plan or scheme for raising the necessary funds. It
is not surprising, however, that in the then condition of the
Gen. E. KIRBY SMITH, C. 3. A.
Professor of Mathematics.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 147
The committee on costumes and badges made a report in
reference to hoods, which was adopted, recommending
virtually the same as those now used.
The committee on organization made a recommendation
that the degree of bachelor of science and bachelor of
philosophy be conferred on such students as had passed
through a proper course of study, and prescribed the
studies which should be pursued for these degrees. They
recommended the division of the chairs of Latin and
Greek.
General Gorgas, the vice chancellor-elect, addressed a
communication to the board, accepting the office, in which
he most wisely says: "I am not fully informed of the
action taken by the board on the matters of finance,
but unless income and expenditures have been so propor-
tioned as to insure the success of the former, all the
efforts of a vice chancellor cannot avert embarrassment
and inefficiency. I can only hope that the board has
fully considered resources, and appreciated our expendi-
tures; and that they have not left this vital point in
doubt. Expenditures estimated for are always certain
to occur, resources confidently relied on are seldom fully
attained. The experience of the past year warns us
South — having not only undergone the consequences of a long and
destructive war, but the further aggravation of an humiliating
period of reconstruction — there could not be found any consider-
able number of persons of means to furnish any considerable
portion of the one thousand subscriptions of $500 each; while
neither the inchoate condition of the University, nor the location
in the South, created any great amount of sympathy for the
institution in the North.
148 HISTORY OF THE
against an overestimate of our receipts." A wise counsel
which it is a pity had not been laid to heart.
Upon accepting the resignation of Bishop Quintard as
vice chancellor the following preamble and resolution
was adopted:
"Whereas, the Rt. Rev. Charles T. Quintard, S. T. D.,
L. L. D., bishop of Tennessee, has resigned the office
of vice chancellor of this University, and the same has
been accepted by the board of trustees;
"Resolved, That in accepting his resignation the board
desires to put on record its sense of obligations to him
for all he has been instrumental in accomplishing in its
behalf. When, by the devastation of war, this site was a
waste, he was one of the prime movers in resuscitating
our enterprise. When but a feeble beginning had been
made, and from the then helpless prostration of the
entire South but little could be hoped for from our
own people, through his instrumentality, mainly in Eng-
land, some $16,000 in cash was obtained, by which we
were enabled successfully to inaugurate our work, and,
besides this, he secured the gift of the four thousand
volumes which constituted the beginning of our library.
From that tinte until the present, to the abundant labors
of his large diocese he has added the active duties of
resident vice chancellor for a considerable part of his
time, and besides has made frequent visits to neighboring
dioceses to secure funds for the furtherance of our work.
For such unsparing devotion and untiring efforts on the
part of the bishop of Tennessee in behalf of our cherished
enterprise, all of which has been gratuitously rendered,
we desire to record our highest appreciation and pro-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 149
foundest thanks; and on his retirement from the office
which he has so usefully and ably filled, we desire
unanimously to tender to him, with this expression of
our thanks, the assurance of our best wishes and prayers
for his continued usefulness, prosperity and happiness."
A special committee of five was appointed to procure
the services of a competent engineer and landscape
gardener to regulate existing avenues, lay out new ones,
locate building sites, etc., but, like all similar resolutions
which from time to time have been adopted, this import-
ant work has never been actually undertaken, and this
great need still remains, although a beginning has been
recently made to preserve our forest. The board made
the following declaration bearing upon the relations
between the University and the occupants of the reserve
of one thousand acres : "Whereas this domain was granted
for the sole use and benefit of the University of the South ;
and, whereas this board has set apart a reservation of
one thousand acres as a college campus, in order to keep
from its immediate neighborhood the residences of all
persons not immediately connected with the University
and its operations. Therefore, Resolved, That the inter-
ests of the University are and ought to be considered by
all living on this reservation paramount to every other
consideration always and in all things.
"Resolved, That the following be adopted as statute:
The vice chancellor is authorized to make such regula-
tions as to time of recreation, amusements, and general
social gatherings as may be necessary to prevent the
interruption of study and relaxation of discipline."
150 HISTORY OF THE
Up to this period there had been no parish church in
Franklin County. On the 16th of July, 1872, Bishop
Quintard laid the cornerstone of the church at Win-
chester. On Whit Sunday, 1872, the bishop confirmed a
class of thirteen in St. Augustines chapel, twelve of the
number being students of the University, and on Trinity
Sunday Rev. Chas. M. Gray, a student of the University,
was ordained as deacon in Nashville, he being the first
of our students ordained to the ministry. During this-
year a church was also erected at Tullahoma, and the
work on a parish church at Sewanee, called St. Pauls-oil -
the-Mountain, was commenced, and finished the following
spring by the zealous and energetic efforts of Rev. F. A.
Shoup.
In connection with this work a parish school building
adjoining St. Pauls had been built by the generous aid
of Mr. J. W. Hayes, of Newark, N. J., in which a day
school was carried on by Miss Charlotte Elliott and Miss
Flora Fairbanks, for a considerable period, for the
instruction of the children of families living around the
station. The beneficial effects of this school were long
felt, and as one of its results the bishop of the diocese
confirmed in the Church of St. Pauls-on-the-Mountain on
the fifth Sunday in Lent, 1873, twenty persons, and the
rector reported for the convention year sixty-five baptisms,
of which number thirteen were adults.
At this period a number of families had erected dwell-
ings near Sewanee station, and several business houses
had been put up; notably, by Mr. Hayes, the large
concrete building on the southeast side of the railroad
track, now occupied as a Masonic hall. W. H. Tomlinson,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 151
in 1860, was appointed as the first postmaster at Univer-
sity Place. After the war Rev. F. L. Knight was post-
master, and about 1870 Mr. J. M. Cotten, who was
succeeded by Mr. S. C. Hoge, who held the office until 1888,
when Mrs. S. B. Herndon was appointed, who was
succeeded, in 1893, by Miss Carrie Kirby Smith.
When Mr. Tomlinson became postmaster, in 1860, there
were but three families on the mountain. In 1893 the
business had increased to such an extent as to advance
the office to a third-class presidential office, with a salary
of $1,000 per annum.
In December, 1872, Bishop Quintard, in company with
Gen. J. B. Kershaw of South Carolina, made an active
canvass in that diocese for the University. He visited
the principal towns of the State with encouraging results.
From South Carolina he went to Georgia, visiting
Savannah, Augusta, Macon and Columbus, Montgomery,
and Mobile (Ala.), New Orleans, and Texas. Coupon and
endowment notes were obtained from July, 1872, to July,
1873 : in South Carolina for f 10,391 ; in Texas, f 12,797.70 ;
in Georgia, $3,994.20; in Alabama, f 1,850; in North
Carolina, |500— making a total of $27,683.15. For the
same period Advent offerings amounted to $2,128.75,
of which Texas gave $767.80. Payments were made
on coupon notes to the amount of $2,794. Yet,
notwithstanding these liberal gifts, the floating debt of
the University amounted to $10,000. To meet this a
loan was negotiated in New York with the United States
Mortgage Company (with some difficulty) for $10,000
at eight per cent interest. It was supposed at the time
that the coupon endowment notes given to the University
162 HISTORY OF THE
would provide for the payment of this loan, but, as
usually happens, expected receipts fell off, and before
the mortgage debt became due the University needed a
still larger loan.
It was one of the disadvantages of the organization of
the University board of trustees that there was not
always in the board sufficient business experience or time
for careful investigation to induce a cautious regard to
expenditures, and hence salaries and expenses were
authorized to a larger amount than the income of the
institution warranted, a course which in time reacted on
the University, forcing a subsequent reduction of salaries.
The salary list of 1872-73, to professors and students,
amounted to $18,570.11, a larger amount than that of
1892-93 when the University had been greatly developed.
The large expectations indulged in, or rather hoped for,
from the mission of the bishop of Tennessee, to secure
an endowment of five hundred thousand dollars, resulted
in securing the promise of twenty-five thousand dollars
only, and of this amount it is doubtful whether more than
one-third was ever paid. The annual Advent offering
also fell off in amount, and the current indebtedness
increased.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 153
CHAPTER XVI.
The time of the annual meeting of the board of trustees changed
from middle of July to the Wednesday before the first Thurs-
day in August — Theological department inaugurated by
providing for a professor of systematic divinity — Regulations
as to gownsmen adopted — Cornerstone of Hodgson Library
laid — Bishop Quintard requested to go to England in the
interests of the University.
1873-1874.
THE annual meeting of the board of trustees was held
16th July, 1873 ; there were present Bishops Green, Gregg,
Quintard, J. P. B. Wilnier and Howe, seven clerical and
nine lay trustees. The vice chancellor reported the
resignation of Professor Minor, professor of Latin, in
October preceding; and that the chair was provisionally
filled by Prof. Hugh Craig, with Mr. Thos. Williamson
as assistant professor in the schools of Latin. The vice
chancellor recommended a change in the time of the
annual meeting of the board to about the 1st of August,
go as to equalize the school terms. The commissioner
of buildings and lands reported the erection of the
present wooden grammar school building. He recom-
mended the erection of one of the permanent buildings
for lecture and recitation rooms, and submitted a plan
for such a building, costing not over $25,000. He men-
tions having obtained the passage by both houses of the
Tennessee Legislature of a law prohibiting the sale of
liquor within four miles of any incorporated institution
of learning, but that it failed to become a law by the
attaching to it of an immaterial amendment which
154 HISTORY OF THE
delayed final action upon it before the adjournment of
that body. The board passed resolutions consolidating
the schools of Latin and Greek, and providing for the
appointment of a professor of systematic divinity as the
beginning of a theological department. The board, by
resolution, directed that the plans of the lands of the
University of the South as delineated in the maps pre-
sented to us by the late Bishop Hopkins be hereby
adopted, and be closely followed in the location of build-
ings by the commissioner of buildings and lands and by
all others. Statute XXII was altered, so as to provide
that the annual meeting of the board of trustees should be
held on the Wednesday before the first Thursday in
August. A scheme of the necessary examinations in the
schools of the University, entitling students to the various
degrees, was submitted and passed as an amendment to
Statute IX, Section 3. The trustees remaining after
adjournment were authorized to appoint a professor
of systematic divinity. The bishop of Louisiana was
requested to visit the cities of the North and Northwest,
and present the plans, scope and aims of the University
to the churchmen of those cities. This commission was
not accepted by the bishop of Louisiana. The total
number of students for 1872-73 was 256, of whom 138
were in the grammar school. The total number for
1873-74 was 262, of which number 137 were in the gram-
mar school. In December, 1873, the dormitory attached
to General Gorgas' house was destroyed by fire, and
rebuilt at his expense the following spring. The chapel
was still farther enlarged by adding aisles on both
sides to the nave at the east end. A building was
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 165
erected in the chapel yard for class rooms, and a lecture
room was built for the professor of ancient languages.
Forensic Hall on the north side of the chapel, 60 by 36
feet, was erected largely through private aid, and was
put up within the space of three weeks, much of the
lumber used having been cut down, hauled to the mill,
sawed and thence to the ground during the progress of
the erection. It was designed for the general uses of a
public hall, which, in so many capacities, it has filled
during many past years. Prof. Caskie Harrison,
by amateur theatricals, raised a considerable portion of
its cost. The stage end was added in 1890 by the
Thespian Club. The charter, as amended on January
9th, 1860, provided that the said University of the South
shall have a right to establish such police and municipal
regulations as may be necessary for the preservation of
order and the enforcement of the by-laws of said Univer-
sity. The legislature had passed an act authorizing
chancery courts to grant charters, etc. The chancery court
of Franklin County, in which county the University is
located, had granted an amendment to the charter, giving
effect to the amended charter of 1860, by granting power
to enforce certain municipal regulations, but the power
to assess and enforce the collection of taxes, to carry out
these regulations had not been conferred. Upon petition
of the authorities of the University the chancery court of
Franklin County, in January, 1874, gave the requisite
authority to the University, by further amendment of the
charter, to levy and collect taxes for municipal purposes.
An ordinance was introduced authorizing the assessment
156 HISTORY OF THE
of a tax of three and one-third mills on all leasehold
property, including buildings and improvements, for the
year 1874-75. The ordinance was referred to the com-
mittee on buildings and lands, who made no report there-
on, being as supposed doubtful of the constitutionality
of the authority conferred by the chancery court. No
further action has ever been had to avail itself of the
powers conferred or to exercise any municipal
authority from that day to this. The amended charter
was virtually ignored; a calaboose was erected in which
one prisoner was confined, for selling liquor, but which
was for a considerable period a useful reminder of the
penalties of the law. In order to assist in maintaining
order, so far as disorderly elements might invade
the mountain, Mr. Fairbanks, the commissioner of build-
ings and lands, had the University domain and vicinity
made a separate Civil District, which entitled it to
two justices of the peace and a constable. The justices
were ex officio members of the county court, which has
jurisdiction over taxation, roads and other county matters.
Mr. Fairbanks held the office of justice for twelve years,
during which he never demanded or received a fee. Eight
hundred volumes were added tx> the library during the
year 1873, the larger portion being the gift of Prof.
Maximilian La Borde, of South Carolina College at
Columbia, S. C.
The secretary of the board was directed to have
published the constitution, statutes and all resolutions
pertaining to the government of the University and gram-
mar school.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 157
The Rev. N. Collins Hughes, of North Carolina, was
elected master of the grammar school in place of
Professor Minor, resigned.
The board directed that no lease be granted of any
portion of the domain within the limits of a circle embrac-
ing the grounds and buildings of the University, accord-
ing to the plans of Bishop Hopkins, and that no lease be
granted on the reserve northwest of the railroad of
greater dimensions than one and one-third acres, without
the sanction of the board of trustees.
The board took action in reference to the appointment
of a commissioner to be charged with the duty of going
to England for the purpose of raising funds, and requested
the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard to undertake this duty
at such time during the ensuing year as might suit his
convenience.
A resolution was adopted requiring that all students
under seventeen years of age should be required to enter
the grammar school, the previous limit adopted in 1871
having been sixteen years of age. Also that, while all
University students are, by law, required to wear the
gown and cap prescribed, the vice chancellor, by and
with the advice and consent of the hebdomadal board, be
permitted to distinguish a more advanced class of gowns-
men by the use of some appropriate badge. This action
soon led to a division of the University students into two
classes, junior and gownsmen. In 1875 (the general
regulation as to all students of the University wearing
the cap and gown being suspended prior to 1875) the
admission to the order of gownsmen was left to the votes
of the body of existing gownsmen.
158 HISTORY OF THE
In 1875 the board resolved that such admission be
placed in the hands of the hebdomadal board. Sixteen
students were confirmed in St. Augustines chapel on the
26th of September, 1873, by the bishop of Tennessee. In
October, 1873, the yellow fever prevailed as a fearful
epidemic in the city of Memphis.
John F. Cochran of Louisiana and Walter B. Cowan
of Mississippi died during the academic year of 1874-75,
the first deaths in the school since its opening. In the
year 1875 Rev. F. A. Slump, D. D., resigned his position
as professor of mathematics, and Rev. N. Collins
Hughes his position as master of the grammar school.
Mr. C. M. Beckwith was appointed acting assistant
professor of mathematics. The board of trustees met on
the 4th of August, 1875. There were present the bishops
of Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas and
Western Texas, six clerical and nine lay trustees.
The vice chancellor reported upon the subject of the
order taken by the board, in 1874, relative to gownsmen,
urging that any change in the existing status of the
gownsmen and junior University students would be
injurious to the discipline and moral tone of the Univer-
sity. That the present order of gownsmen was a natural
growth. They were in a great measure exempted from
discipline and put upon their honor for their own govern-
ment. To attain the gown exemplary moral character was
required as well as a certain age and advancement in
studies, and no student was allowed to wear the gown
who was not capable of self government. To give the
gown to all the University students would break down
this distinctive mark, and would take away from the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 159-
younger students a strong incentive to proper conduct.
That a badge for the gownsmen would not answer the
same purpose as the complete distinction of the gown. The
board acceded to the recommendation of the hebdomadal
board, made through the vice chancellor, relative to the
order of gownsmen.
The hebdomadal board advised the sale of forty scholar-
ships at $250 each to extinguish the bonded debt of
$10,000, covering four years' tuition of one pupil. The
committee of ways and means reported in favor of sale
of forty scholarships at $275 each. Two agents were
appointed, Messrs. E. Shegog and James G. Holmes, to
make sale of these scholarships, and to raise funds for
the benefit of the University, and receive subscriptions
for the general purposes of the University.
It may be said here that this agency of Messrs. Shegog-
and Holmes was an entire failure, both as to obtaining
funds or subscriptions or sale of scholarships, and at the
next meeting of the board the sale of scholarships was
suspended. The Advent offerings for year, 1873-74,
amounted to $1,559.36, of which over one-fourth came
from Texas. In October, 1874, the Rev. Telfair Hodgson
offered to defray the entire expense of the erection of a
stone library building upon certain conditions specified
in his proposal, which included a lease of fifty acres of
land and the location of the library building to be directed
by him, the expense not to exceed ten thousand dollars.
The committee of the board completed the arrangements
with him, and the cornerstone of the building was laid
during the meeting of the board on August 9, 1875. The
plans of the building were furnished gratuitously by Mr.
160 HISTORY OF THE
H. Hudson Holly, a distinguished architect of New York
City. The location was in accordance with Dr. Hodg-
son's wishes.
The commissioner of buildings and lands reported that
three several attempts had been made to establish drinking
shops on the outskirts of the domain, that he had defeated
the attempts in two instances, and had a suit pending in
reference to the third, which resulted favorably to the
University, and that the coal beds belonging to the
University were being worked upon a royalty, and the
entire supply of coal was obtained from the University
mines.
Two hundred and twenty-six volumes were added to the
library, among which was a complete uniform set of the
classics, well bound in 136 volumes, from Frank H. Miller
of Augusta, Ga.
The committee on finance reported a diminution of in-
come, and debt of $2,713.56 borrowed. No funds had been
secured to pay off the $10,000 mortgage debt, bearing ten
per cent interest and maturing November, 1875, and the
treasurer was authorized to obtain an extension of time
on it. Mr. J. B. Seabrook was elected tutor to act as
assistant to professor of ancient languages, and Mr.
C. M. Beckwith, general tutor and assistant to master of
grammar school.
The election of vice chancellor and professors resulted
in the choice of General Gorgas as vice chancellor and
professor of physics and civil engineering; Robert
Dabney, L. L. D., professor of metaphysics, English
language, etc.; John B. Elliott, M. D., professor of
chemistry, geology and mineralogy and health officer;
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 161
Caskie Harrison, A. M., professor of ancient languages;
Gen. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics; Col. T.
F. Sevier, proctor and acting master of the grammar
School.
The church and Advent offerings, from July, 1874, to
August, 1875, amounted to $1,233.45, of which Texas,
Tennessee and South Carolina gave $900.
162 HISTORY OP THE
CHAPTER XVII.
Bishop Quintard's second visit to England in 1875 — Aid for the
University from English churchmen — Election of Rev. G. T.
Wilmer, D. D., as professor in theological department — Pass-
age hy the Legislature of Tennessee of the "Four Mile Law"
— Its beneficial effects.
THE bishop of Tennessee, in pursuance of the appoint-
ment conferred upon him, left New York for England on
the 17th of July, 1875. In consequence of the absence
of the archbishop of Canterbury, he was unable to present
his commendatory letter to him from the bishops con-
nected with the University until October 1st, 1875, from
whom he received a letter of which the following is a copy :
ADDINGTON PARK, 1st Oct., 1875.
I remember the great interest in the matter which was
excited amongst English churchmen in 1868. My prede-
cessor, Archbishop Langley, was zealous in his efforts
to promote the scheme, and the bishops of England
generally assisted him. The account given by the bishop
of Tennessee of the success which has attended the efforts
hitherto made is most encouraging, and I cannot doubt
that the great need of adding a theological school to the
arrangements for general education in the Southern
States will commend itself to churchmen in England, who
will be glad of an opportunity of assisting their trans-
atlantic brethren in so good a work. I beg to commend
the scheme to the sympathy of the members of our church.
A. C. CANTAUR.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 16S
Armed with this commendatory letter, Bishop Quintard
addressed a circular to each of the English bishops,
asking their cooperation and sympathy. A copy of a
letter from Bishop Quintard to Rev. F. W. Tremlett,
commissary of the University, containing a brief account
of the progress, prospects, and needs of the University,
especially the importance of establishing a theological
school, was also transmitted to each of the bishops.
A committee was formed, with the lord bishop of
London as chairman, composed of distinguished noble-
men and church dignitaries.
Circular letters were freely distributed. The bishop
preached one hundred and fifty-five sermons and delivered
a great number addresses in furtherance of his mission.
He remained in England until June, 1876. The amount
of moneys contributed was about ten thousand dollars,
but the most important result of his visit to England was
the founding by Mrs. Mary M. Manigault, then of
Brighton, England, of St. Lukes Theological Hall, for
which she donated twenty-five thousand dollars, besides
endowing a theological scholarship with the sum of five
thousand dollars. This noble woman afterwards gave
several thousand dollars for the completion of St. Lukes,
and also endowed a second theological scholarship with
the sum of five thousand dollars. To these noble benefac-
tions she has added from time to time gifts of most
valuable books, clerical vestments, pictures, etc. The
name given St. Lukes' was by her intended as an associa-
tion of the building with Bishop Quintard and his former
medical profession. The building was a memorial of her
father, Col. Lewis Morris, of Mbrrisania, N. Y.
164 HISTORY OF THE
On the 6th of April, 1876, the University sustained the
loss of Robert Dabney, professor of methaphysics, who
died of pneumonia at his home on the mountain.
The number of students for the year, 1875-76, was 243.
Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer was elected professor of the
theological department and acting professor of meta-
physics in August, 1876. Dr. H. M. Anderson resigned
the office of treasurer, and Col. T. F. Sevier was relieved
of the duties of master of the grammar school.
Col. Samuel G. Jones was elected treasurer, and Mr.
G. JR. Fairbanks was elected commissioner of buildings
and lands.
The bishop of Tennessee offered a resolution that it be
referred to the bishops present to consider and report a
plan by which the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the
University of the South may be placed under the direc-
tion of the bishops who may be e$ offi-cio members of the
board of trustees.
The bishops to whom this resolution was referred
reported as follows : "Resolved, That the bishops concur in
the advisability of placing, so far as may be practicable,
the University domain under the united jurisdiction of all
the bishops who are members of the board of trustees;"
and, on motion, it was further "Resolved, That the bishop
of Tennessee be requested to bring the matter before the
convention of his diocese." No further action was ever
taken in this matter. The self-evident impracticability
of a joint Episcopate over the University making any
such plan impossible. The only practical suggestion
made was to erect Franklin County into a separate
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 165
diocese — which was likely to be rejected by the general
convention and deemed inexpedient.
The board directed the vice chancellor to procure, if
possible, the services of an officer of the United States
Army as drillmaster. Mr. C. M. Beckwith was elected
master of the grammar school and the Rev. D. G.
Haskins professor of ecclesiastical history and commis-
sioner. The bishop of Georgia, Rev. Dr. Williams, Rev.
Dr. Bannister, Mr. Jacob Thompson and Mr. A. T.
McNeal were elected as the executive committee. The
treasurer reported that the receipts from the coupon
notes had fallen off very much, amounting to but $565
during the year; that a considerable number of the per-
sons who gave these notes had become impoverished or
bankrupt, and declined to pay; that the interest on the
endowment notes was not generally paid and that he had
only received from that source $757.63, and had paid
out for interest $1,426.28. The receipts from tuition,
medical fees and matriculation were $16,610.25, a falling
off from the previous year of $1,653.67. From the sale
of a scholarship of $275 — that the agents for the sale of
scholarships had not reported the sale of a single
scholarship.
The salaries amounted to $19,552.78, those of the pre-
vious year having amounted to $22,644.17. He reported
having received from Bishop Quintard's mission to Eng-
land $10,986.03, and had paid expenses connected with
the same of $1,884.24, and that the $10,000 mortgage had
been extended two years.
The number of students for the year, 1875-76 was 201.
166 HISTORY OF THB
The board of trustees met on the 28th day of July,
1877. There were present the bishops of Texas, Missis-
sippi, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky,
seven clerical and five lay trustees. Kev. Dr. Williams,
who had been secretary since 1867, declined a re-election
and Rev. G. C. Harris was elected. The vice chancellor
reported a slight increase of students, but said, with
regret, that while there were more pupils there was less
income. This resulted, he said, from the fact that there
was a greater number of non-paying pupils, or pupils who
only paid part of the tuition fees. He called attention to
the deficiency in the teaching force of the grammar
school, and that the salaries assigned to the teachers in
the grammar school would not secure experienced
teachers. He mentioned the resignation of Tutor
Seabrook and the appointment of Mr. E. A. Green as
assistant in the grammar school, who was also filling
the position of drillmaster. He reported also the
appointment of Mr. J. M. Lowry, A. M., as teacher of
elocution. He mentioned that a series of twenty lectures
in biology was being delivered by Prof. John McCrady.
He reported that he had been unable so far to secure an
army officer for drillmaster.
The commissioner of buildings and lands reported the
Hodgson Library as well advanced towards completion,
and expected to have it ready for the transfer of the
books in a few months. That the cornerstone of St.
Lukes Memorial Hall was laid on the 18th day of October,
1877, by the Rt. Rev. W. M. Green, chancellor, assisted
by the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, in the presence of a large
number of people assembled from the surrounding
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 167
country, and that the work was progressing satisfactorily
and it was hoped that the building would be ready for
occupation by the March term, 1878. He reported his
gratification in being able to state that by an act of the
Legislature of the State of Tennessee, approved March
20th, 1877, the sale of intoxicating liquors was prohibited,
under heavy penalties, within four miles of any incor-
porated institution of learning (except in incorporated
towns), and that since its passage a very marked improve-
ment had taken place in the community surrounding the
University. This act of the Legislature, now widely
known as the "Four Mile Law," was procured through
the persevering and active efforts of Mr. Fairbanks on
behalf of the University. As before stated, he first
introduced it in the Legislature of 1875, and procured its
passage through the lower houses with the aid of the
members for Franklin County. It was then reported
to the Senate and was favorably acted upon, but on its
third reading a member, who probably desired to defeat
indirectly its passage, moved an immaterial amendment,
which was adopted and which then required that the bill
should go back to the Assembly for concurrence in the
amendment, but it was on the last day of the Legislature
and was not reached, so failing to become a law. The
sessions of the Legislature were biennial, and con-
sequently the measure could not be again brought before
the Legislature until the session of 1877, when Mr. Fair-
banks again went before the Legislature.
He had the bill printed and introduced simultaneously
in both houses. It was referred to a committee and
late in the session he procured a report recommending its
168 HISTORY OF THE
passage, and secured its being passed upon its second
reading. In the meantime he had also secured its
passage to a third reading in the Senate. He had the
active aid of Mr. Oliver, the member of the Assembly
from Franklin County, and, the Senate bill having passed
in identically the same form, when the House bill came
up for a third reading Mr. Oliver moved to substitute
the Senate bill, and had it passed at once and ordered
engrossed, and sent to the Senate. He followed it up
and there procured its enrollment and signature by both
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House,
and carried it to the governor, John C. Brown, obtained
his approval and secured a certified copy from the
secretary of state, thus placing it beyond the risk of
failure. This law has been of wide influence and is said
to be the best temperance measure ever put in force, as it
secures all neighborhoods having incorporated schools
from the presence of a tippling shop within four miles,
and is an inducement to build and sustain schools. Within
two years of its passage forty towns gave up their
charters to obtain the protection of this law. It has been
more than twenty times assailed through the courts, but
its constitutionality has been always sustained by the
supreme court of the State. Entire counties have
availed themselves of its safeguards, and it has such a
hold upon the popular estimation that it would be fatal
to the political prospects of any public man to endeavor
to effect its repeal. As it does not affect the cities and
incorporated towns, the liquor dealers have no direct
interest in having it repealed. It is perhaps more in
danger from the over-zealous temperance societies and
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 169
organizations who may, by their efforts to procure more
radical legislation, create a reaction. The law has
stood now upon the statute books twenty-eight years, and,
as it is automatic in its operation, is generally enforced.
The presence of an incorporated school in any community
places a cordon of eight miles diameter around that com-
munity, and prevents the issuing of a license to open a
saloon. The sale of intoxicating liquors at all is an
infraction of the laws, and is the simple proof required to
sustain an indictment. Few persons are willing to incur
the heavy penalty, and there are so many interested in
sustaining the law that any attempted surreptitious
violation is quite sure to be prosecuted. It has certainly
been a great blessing to this University, which was
seriously menaced by the attempts of vicious and willful
parties to establish near to, if not on, the domain these
grog shops. An intoxicated person is rarely seen upon
the mountain or at Cowan, where large numbers of rail-
road men and laborers are employed, and the effect of
the law is very noticeable along the line of the Nashville
and Chattanooga railroad where, at nearly every station
of any importance, incorporated schools have been estab-
lished. The State of Tennessee may count the "Four
Mile Law" as one of the advantages they have obtained
from the establishment of this University within its
borders.
The commissioner again regretted that no progress had
been made in the matter of securing the erection of a good
hotel. During the winter of 1876-77, Kev. W. P. DuBosc
and Kev. J. A. Van Hoose made a special effort to secure
funds towards the endowment of a chair in the theological
17* HISTORY OF THE
department. Tbe sum of $2,200 was secured. The
committee on organization reported that they found the
following rule in reference to "drill" to have been adopted
and put into operation, and, as far as they knew, to be the
rule practically existing at this time, viz: "That the
executive committee consent to the enforcement of the
military drill among the students of the University,
except the gownsmen— said drill to be obligatory upon
the University students not more than three f imes a week ,
provided that the whole police discipline and government
shall be proctorial and the military discipline of the
institution shall be confined to the drill exclusively."
The board approved of this action and affirmed this rule
as to military drill.
The committee on organization reported the great neces-
sity of additional teaching force in the grammar school.
That a master and three tutors were needed for efficient
instruction, but admitted that the financial condition did
not authorize the creating of additional salaries. They
said "What can be done? If we reduce the number of
pupils so as to bring the work within the grasp of our
present corps of teachers we shall commit a suicidal
act — we shall let out our life-blood. If, again, we attempt
to carry on the work of instruction without an adequate
force of teachers, we cannot honestly present our school
to public patronage. We cannot abolish the University
classes and reduce our institution to the condition of a
high school, for we shall undo the work of years. Any
future restoration would be well-nigh impossible. As to
any diminution of the salaries nowi paid to our professors,
your committee have hardly thought of considering, for
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 171
they are even now at a minimum standard. Such instruc-
tion as we should give cannot be had without some degree
of adequate remuneration. In view then of all the above
considerations and, further, of the fact that the income
from the grammar school is more than adequate to
supply their needs, your committee cannot but recom-
mend that the additional number of teachers asked for be
supplied. It is suggested that your committee shall report
such an organization of the grammar school as shall
adjust the cost of maintenance to the schedule of appro-
priation reported by the committee on finance. Your
committee regrets that they see no mode by which they
can honorably and justly do what is suggested. They
have thought it better to propose a proper and sufficient
plan of organization and then, if possible, provide for its
maintenance. They submit that in their judgment the
only feasible plan for raising the necessary means is1 to
give up for the present all expectations of creating a
permanent endowment. Such an endowment cannot
reasonably be looked for in the present1 financial condi-
tion of our people. When it comes to us in God's good
providence, and in answer to our efforts and our prayers,
it will come through the munificence of a very few, and
not through any system of small collections, however
extended. It remains, therefore, that we bend all our
energies to this one end: the collection of funds by
agencies and the Advent offering.
We must tell our friends honestly our condition; that
we are trying to do a great and good work for God and
His church, and that they must help us to stand until
172 HISTORY OF THE
we can gather strength to ivalk. Nor should we yield to
discouragement.
"We are only called upon to do what up to this time
we have uniformly done. Hitherto God has niarvelously
helped us. We started without means. We have lived
by daily bread in answer to daily prayer. The work to
be done by; us is worthy of much devotion and self-sacri-
fice. Let us ourselves set the example ; in our several
spheres let us work and wait in hope. The same benefi-
cent Providence that called this, our work, into being will,
through our faith and devotion, carry it 011 to its full
consummation."
I have quoted this report with some fullness because I
think it illustrates very clearly our oft repeated and
chronic condition of straitness of means and the faith
and trust with which we have worked in faith, doing
what we could and as best we could, and leaving results
in the hands of a never-failing Providence.
A proposition was made to the board by Mr. W. B.
Grimes, a lay trustee from the diocese of Texas, that in
order to pay off the debt now due by the University'
amounting to about $25,000, much of which had accrued
in consequence of the general depression in all business
affairs, and the reduced income from pupils for the last
four years, he would give one-tenth of the same to be
applied to the debt, in consideration of which the Univer-
sity was to receive one pupil from Texas free from all
University dues, provided all the other dioceses connected
with the University united in the plan, and thus raised
the whole amount required.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 173
The board approved of the plan and directed the secre-
tary to furnish each bishop with a copy of the preamble
and resolutions in order that the bishops might bring
the matter before their respective dioceses and take such.
steps as they might think best to raise the amounts which
may be contributed by their respective dioceses, and that
when the board adjourned it should adjourn to meet at
Boston at the session of the general convention.
The resolutions were unanimously passed and it did
seern that something might come of it. The plan was
pronounced feasible. It required only $2,500 from each
diocese, and gave as a consideration for raising that sum
a scholarship of the value of $325, which was 13 per
cent interest on the amount given. Nothing, however,
did come of the plan. No other diocese offered to give
the $2,500. The success of the plan depended evidently
upon the individual and personal efforts which each
bishop might make. The plan was placed in their hands
for execution. If a single layman in Texas could give the
whole proportion for that diocese it would seem that a
personal effort of each bishop could have secured in each
other diocese an equal amount. One trouble with the
plan was that it was put forth in August, the poorest
season of the year to inaugurate any financial work. The
wealthy members of the church were off at summer
resorts and could not be personally seen by their
bishops. The congregations were also somewhat scat-
tered as well as their clergy. Before the active season
of fall and winter the subject had become overlaid with
diocesan and parish interests, and the interest in it, if
not grown cold, was a good deal obscured by other
174 HISTORY OF THE
demands. This seems to be one of the disadvantages of
inaugurating any work at our mid-summer trustee meet-
ings. It would, in that respect, be far better if the
meeting was held in October, as most of our active
church work is done between October and June. Col.
T. F. Sevier had been connected with the University
since the year 1869 as proctor, bursar and master of
the grammar school. He resigned in August, 1877.
Notwithstanding the financial pressure so evidently
felt by the board, they added another professorship at
this meeting, that of biology, to which chair they elected
Prof. John McCrady.
The executive committee for the year, 1877-78, was the
bishop of Tennessee, Rev. Dr. Williams, Rev. Dr. Ban-
nister, Jacob Thompson and A. T. McNeal. The com-
mittee on organization reported a preamble and resolu-
tions relative to the vice chancellorship, which was
adopted by the board as follows :
"Whereas, the University of the South was established
by its honored and revered founders, not only to be an
institution of learning, but also of religion and piety;
and, whereas, by its constitution it is* most imtimately
bound up with the parishes and dioceses of the South,
therefore be it
"Resolved, That, in the opinion of this board, its acting
and responsible head and the officer of its discipline, the
vice chancellor, should be, if practicable, a clerk in Holy
Orders; and be it further
"Resolved, That for the best interests of the University
in its preesent stage of development, with its theological
department about to be established, such a clerical head
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 17i
should be secured as soon as may be; and that to this
end the vice chancellor be informed of this preamble and
these resolutions in order that he may have full time to
make provision for himself, and in such way as shall
least affect the University by any sudden change and all,
if possible, within the twelve months next ensuing."
The Kev. J. A. VanHoose was elected acting proctor
and also commissioner of the University.
During the year 1876-77, the Alumni Association was
formed. The chancellor, together with the bishops of
Texas and Tennessee, was requested to renew the cor-
respondence with the diocese of Kentucky, inviting that
diocese to unite with us in conducting the University.
The number of students for the year 1877-78 was 262,
showing quite a large falling off from previous years and
very seriously diminishing the revenue derived from
tuition.
176 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XVIII.
Depressing conditions of affairs in 1878 — The financial outlook
discouraging — The hebdomadal board agrees to undertake the
work of sustaining the academic department — Election of
Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as dean of the theological depart-
ment.
1877-1878.
THE scholastic year, 1877-78, was entered upon under
rery depressing circumstances. The resignation of Gen-
eral Gorgas as vice chancellor at the end of that
scholastic year, the diminished income, the large floating
indebtedness (and the knowledge on the part of all
interested of the financial embarrassments of the insti-
tution was depressing on all connected with the Univer-
sity) but, notwithstanding this condition of affairs, the
vice chancellor was enabled to make a very favorable
report of the internal administration of the University:
that the discipline was excellent, the students had made
satisfactory progress in their various schools, the
military drill had been well carried out under Mr.
VanHoose. In fact, at this period the University con-
tained some of the best students it has ever had. Four
students had earned a master degree, namely, Davis
Sessums, of Texas, now bishop of Louisiana ; W. D. Steele,
of South Carolina; E. E. G. Roberts, of North Carolina,
and F. A. DeRossett, of North Carolina.
Bishop Dudley, of Kentiicky, founded a medal for
Greek, and Mr. Davis Sessums founded a master's medal
for Latin.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 177
The diocesan convention of Kentucky held in May,
1878, declined becoming associated in the University,
giving as a reason that the financial condition of that
diocese rendered it unwise to identify itself wit1h respon-
sibilities in the management of the University. At the
meeting of the board of trustees, held 27th of July,
1878, the following named bishops were present: The
bishops of Mississippi, Tennessee, Western Texas, Florida,
Georgia and Arkansas, with five clerical and nine lay
trustees present.
General Gorgas having resigned the position of vice
chancellor, to which he had been reelected in 1875 for five
years, the bishop of Western Texas offered a resolution
that the Rev. Tel fair Hodgson be elected dean of the
theological department. The bishop of Tennessee moved
to amend by electing him vice chancellor. Mr. Farrar
proposed as a substitute that, owing to the depressed
financial condition of the University, it was inexpedient
at this time to fill the position of vice chancellor, where-
upon the whole matter was referred to the committee on
organization. This committee reported a resolution that
the Rev. Telfair Hodgson be elected dean of the
theological faculty and professor of ecclesiastical history.
The committee on finance had reported an indebtedness
of over thirty thousand dollars, and their inability to
suggest any measures of relief upon which reliance could
be placed, with any reasonable certainty, except the issu-
ing of bonds and funding the debt. They reported a
resolution that the treasurer, under the direction of the
Rev. Telfair Hodgson and Messrs. Jacob Thompson and
Albert T. McNeal, should cause to be prepared coupon
178 HISTORY OF THE
bonds to the amount of $30,000, to become due in not less
than twenty years, the interest not to exceed 7 per
cent, payable semi-annually, and that these bonds be
secured by a mortgage upon the domain and all the real
estate of the University, including a pledge of all the
rents from leases to pay the interest and provide a sink-
ing fund to pay the principal when it became due, and
that Rev. Telfair Hodgson and Messrs, Thompson and
McNeal should be trustees of such mortgage and bonds,
with authority to negotiate the sale of same. The resolu-
tion was adopted.
In this crisis of affairs, with a greatly decreased in-
come, there seemed no way to provide for salaries of
professors for the ensuing year upon anything like the
scale of preceding years, and on the 29th of July Bishop
Elliott, of Western Texas, moved that a committee be
appointed to confer with the hebdomadal board (the pro-
fessors) to ascertain upon what terms that board would
undertake to conduct the institution. Bishop Elliott,
Rev. Dr. Porter and Mr. A. J. DeRossett were appointed^
such committee. On August 2d this committee made the
following report: "The special committee appointed to
confer with the hebdomadal board, and obtain a distinct
statement of the terms upon which they will conduct the
educational interests of the University for the ensuing
year, report the following statement or syllabus as the
agreement of the hebdomadal board. The syllabus was
preceded by the following preamble :
"Believing that the institution cannot be maintained
under its present organization with its present income,
without greatly increasing its debt, while deprecating in
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 179
the interests of the University any reduction in the pre-
sent number of chairs, it is resolved that the members of
the present hebdomadal board give the board of trustees
the opportunity of reorganizing the hebdomadal board
which is to be entrusted with the powers recited in the
syllabus of this date, by simultaneously tendering their
resignations to take effect at the close of the Trinity
term."
SYLLABUS.
Suwanee, July 30, 1878.
"The hebdomadal board, in accepting the proposed
responsibility, shall have full charge and control of the
educational interests of the University of the South,
under the organization and laws of the same, including
the power to raise funds for the support of the University,
and to associate with themselves any person or persons
whose assistance and cooperation may be desirable for its
development, with strict regard to the conservation of its
present relation to the church.
"We accept the tuition, matriculation and medical fees,
and out of tfiese undertake to provide our own support,
subject to such modifications as the stipulations respect-
ing the power to raise money may occasion. In the
hebdomadal board shall be vested all the powers what-
soever hitherto delegated to the vice chancellor. The
organization of the grammar school as well as that of the
undergraduate department shall be entrusted solely to the
hebdomadal board as to the essential condition of
economical management. The hebdomadal board shall be
relieved of the support of the theological professors, and
180 HISTORY OF THE
also of the treasurer and commissioner of buildings and
lands. The chairman of the hebdomadal board shall be
appointed by the board of trustees from among the
members of the hebdomadal board.
"Resolved, by the hebdomadal board, that the board of
trustees, in view of the financial necessities of the situa-
tion, be requested to reorganize and constitute the
hebdomadal board, and then to let that hebdomadal board
answer the question as to the time at which the plan as
proposed shall go into effect.'7
"In the above arrangement, as agreed upon between the
board of trustees and the hebdomadal board, it is not
intended by either party thereto that the organic law
of the corporation shall be in any respect overturned.
It is not intended that the board of trustees shall abdi-
cate the authority and supervision committed to them by
the church and its charter ; but, it being evident that the
board are not able to provide and guarantee the neces-
sary expenditures for the ensuing year, the hebdomadal
board, upon such state of facts being made known to
them, agree to relieve the board of trustees of respon-
sibility for salaries, and to look to the academic income
of the institution, and to such other resources as are open
to them under the terms of the syllabus, for their
remuneration for the ensuing year; further agreeing to
take no action whatever affecting in any wise the organic
law, or affecting the interests of the institution, without
the consent of the executive committee of the board of
trustees, which they especially request to be continued
for the purpose of conference and advice during the ensu-
ing year. It is further agreed by the hebdomadal board
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 181
that they will afford instruction, to be approved by the
board of trustees or the executive committee, in the
schools of physics, modern languages and of commerce
and trade, and that they will create no debt or obligation
binding on the board of trustees. This to continue for
one year from the beginning of the current Trinity term."
The special committee recommended that the syllabus
be received, approved and adopted by the board of trustees
for the ensuing year.
The committee on organization reported that the scheme
submitted by the hebdomadal board commends itself to
the board of trustees, and the hebdomadal board in its
discretion is requested and authorized to put the same in
operation so far as the same can be done with the means
now at their command.
A minority report on the subject was presented by
Mr. A. J. DeRossett, of North Carolina, which, as it
forms a part of a most interesting and critical period of
the history of the University, is here inserted :
"The undersigned beg to present the following con-
siderations :
"First. — There were but two problems to be solved in
connection with the finances of the University, viz : Some
provision for the funding of the present debt, which is
done by the issuance of bonds with a dedication of the
income from rents to meet interest and provide a sinking
fund.
"Second. — The bringing of the future expenses of the
University within its income, which could easily be done
by the agreed transfer of the theological department from
the shoulders,1 of the University, thus relieving it to the
182 HISTORY OF THE
extent of $3,600. Then a consolidation of the offices
of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands,
thus saving another thousand; leaving the office of vice
chancellor vacant, saving two thousand more, making,
together, a saving of $6,600. This saving would bring the
expenses clearly within the income, and the University
would go on prospering and to prosper.
"Whereas, if the changes which are proposed be carried
into effect it will be regarded by the whole country as an
abandonment of the plan of the University, and be con-
sidered (as to a large extent it will be) a private institu-
tion, severed from the sympathy and support which has so
wonderfully sustained it in the past.
"The bringing of the expenses within the income would
be as effectually done by the faculty consenting to content
themselves with the revenues derived from the school
proper, and without the shock sure to follow so great a
change as turning over or leasing the institution to the
teachers to make what they can out of it.
"Third. — The damage to result from this sudden up-
heaval, in a financial point of view, deserves very serious
consideration. Our bank indebtedness (some of it due
today) is requiring renewal, and will, in our judgment,
press much more heavily under the proposed order of
things; and if this debt due today and the reduction of
one-third promised the Fourth National Bank, to which
we are indebted in the sum of $9,000, is not paid on the
15th, as pledged, there is great danger that we shall be
sued to the first court for the whole $9,000, and our credit
be ruined. Months ago the cashier called upon one of the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 183
undersigned, and wrote to the treasurer a most threaten-
ing communication on the subject of our debt.
"If, then, the board still deem it best to make the
change the scheme should not be put in force before the
close of Trinity term, by which time all the parties to be
affected by it will have time to adjust themselves to the
new order of things."
(Signed) CHAS. TODD QUINTABD.
J. M. BANNISTER.
J. J. SCOTT.
The majority report was adopted, accepting the prop-
osition of the hebdomadal board.
The board of trustees elected, as members of the
hebdomadal board, Dr. John B. Elliott, Prof. Caskie
Harrison, M. A., Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., Gen. E.
Kirby Smith, Rev. George B. Wilmer, D. D., Prof. John
McCrady, M. A., Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., and Mr.
Chas. M. Beckwith, with Dr. John B. Elliott as chairman
of the board.
The problem before the board of trustees in August,
1878, as will be seen from the foregoing reports, was a
difficult and perplexing one. On the one hand, with an
increase of debt and diminution of income, with a large
amount of overdue indebtedness in bank, with no new
suggestions of relief or plans of raising funds, and all
old measures seeming to be exhausted , it was imperatively
necessary that positive and immediate relief be obtained.
When the University treasurer first went to New York
in 1873 to obtain a loan of $10,000 only, secured upon
the property of the University, he found it a difficult task
184 HISTORY OF THE
to obtain that sum, even with a guaranteed interest of
10 per cent; and that for two reasons; first, the reluc-
tance of New York capitalists to invest their money in
the South, and, secondly, their unwillingness to make a
lean to churches or church institutions.
There being no income whatever from the theological
department, it was adding to an already overborne
weight for the University to pay the salaries of that
department from the income of the academic department.
The plan of relief thereupon suggested by the minority
report and the majority report really differed very little,
except in the details of the financial management. Both
looked to the issuance of bonds to fund the accrued
indebtedness. Both looked to placing the theological
department upon its own resources, both provided for a
suspension of salary to a vice chancellor, and both pro-
posed to reduce the expense by one-half of the offices of
treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands. The
majority report proposed to assume no responsibility for
salaries in the academic department1, the minority report
proposed to transfer all fees for tuition in full payment
of such salaries. The plan of the syllabus was more
acceptable, however, to the professors because it placed
under their own control the collection of dues for tuition,
which they believed they could more fully collect than
had heretofore been done by the treasurer of the Univer-
sity. The sentiment of the minority was that it was
placing the University in commission, and was an
evidence to the outside world of a financial failure and
breakdown of the University; that the name, prestige,
and the verv status of the institution would be affected
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 185
and lead to a withholding of patronage and gifts, and
lessen interest in the University as the school of the
Southern church.
This would, undoubtedly, have been the case had the
course pursued been other than a mere temporary expedi-
ent. A permanent arrangement of the kind proposed would
have been fatal to the raison d'etre of the University, and
the interest of churchmen, of bishops, clergy, laity and
dioceses would have been gradually withdrawn, and its
existence menaced. It was noble and honorable of the
hebdomadal board, in making the proposition contained
in their syllabus. They deserve all praise and commenda-
tion for the spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice which
they exhibited, in being willing to accept the income of
the academic department, be it what it might, as their
compensation — but it was not, and could not have been
other than a temporary measure. It was gladly con-
curred in by a majority of the board as a certain relief
from the serious embarrassment of providing for the
continuance of the academic department for the coming
year. There would have remained the quite as serious1
difficulty of providing for the debt already accrued, a
portion of it pressing at the time for payment. It was
hardly probable that the 6 per cent bonds of the Univer-
sity thrown upon the market, having for security wild
lands and academic buildings, would be taken by
financiers simply seeking for investment, and it was1
doubtful whether they could be negotiated at all unless
at a serious discount from their face value. To negotiate
these bonds much reliance must be placed upon the aid
of churchmen and strong friends of the University. The
186 HISTORY Of THE
Rev. Dr. Telfair Hodgson, a native of Virginia, had served
as chaplain in the Confederate service. He was after-
wards, for a time, a professor in the Alabama State
University. He had always evinced much interest in the
welfare of the University, which was fully shared by
"Mrs. Hodgson. While rector of Trinity Church, Hobo-
ken, N. J., in 1874, he undertook the building for the
University of a library building and expended $10,000
upon its construction. It was the first permanent stone
^building commenced at Sewanee, and upon its completion
lie added to his benefaction a very beautiful copy of the
Sistine Madonna (now in the oratory of St. Lukes).
He was at Sewanee during the meeting of the board in
order to be present at the benediction of the library build-
ing, upon which occasion addresses were made by Rev. Dr.
Hodgson, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks and C. R. Miles, Esq. In
this crisis of the affairs of the University Dr. and Mrs.
Hodgson gave evidence of their warm interest in the
institution by coming to its aid.
In consultation with the members of the board Dr.
Hodgson had indicated his willingness to become one of
the trustees of the mortgage, and to endeavor to negotiate
the sale of the bonds, taking a portion of them himself.
This assistance was felt to be most timely, and suggested
the idea of associating him in the work of conducting the
institution.
As a first step he was tendered the position of dean of
the theological department, and was made one of the trus-
tees ofthe mortgage debt. A resolution was passed author-
izing the trustees of said mortgage to purchase in their
own right any or all of said bonds at their full par value.
Rev. TELFAIR HODGSON, D. D.
First Dean T heo!ogical Department j Third Vice Chancellor
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 187
The board further proceeded to appoint Dr. Hodgson
general financial commissioner of the University, and as
such to take general direction of all the property and
assets of the University, with power to sell any lands in
other states belonging to the University which he and
the executive committee might deem advisable.
The board also nominated to the hebdomadal board
Rev. Dr. Hodgson, Prof. John B. Elliott and Prof. C. Har-
rison as a finance committee of the hebdomadal board. It
will thus be seen that for the time being the affairs of
the University, in its academic department, were entirely
made over to the hebdomadal board, and its corporate
department was made over to Rev. Dr. Hodgson. An
executive committee, consisting of the bishop of Tennes-
see, Rev. Dr. Williams, Dr. Bannister and Messrs. Thomp-
son and McNeal, it is true, was appointed, but its func-
tions, according to the syllabus, were "to be continued for
the purpose of conference and advice." A treasurer and
commissioner of buildings and lands were elected for one
year, at a salary of $500 each, and instructed to render
to Dr. Hodgson such assistance as he might call upon
them for. In recommending the appointment of Dr.
Hodgson as general commissioner the committee says
"it being understood at the suggestion of Dr. Hodgson,
himself, that his salary is to be the use of a house for a
residence."
The board seemed disposed to make use of all the time
and talent of Dr. Hodgson on such very generous terms,
and virtually devolved upon him the duties of vice chan-
cellor, financial officer and dean of the theological depart-
ment, relying also upon his very necessary aid in dis-
188 HISTORY OF THE
posing of, and himself purchasing a number of, the bonds.
It remained to consider the disposition of the theo-
logical department, the financial support of which had
been entirely cut off by the trustees.
Upon learning of the action of the board in reference
to the arrangement with the hebdomadal board the
theological professors presented to the board the follow-
ing communication :
"The board of trustees must take the action necessary
to placing the theological department upon tfhe church
for support.
"The theological department will need from the church,
for the salaries of existing professors and the securing
the necessary additional services in teaching, $5,000
annually at the least — an average of $500 from each dio-
cese— to be raised by Advent offerings, supplemented by
contributions of individuals.
"It was suggested that, after the probable election of a
dean, any further organization that may be needed in the
theological department, the securing of additional ser-
vices, etc., be left to the theological faculty, acting with
the executive committee.
"In voluntarily placing not only themselves, but what
is of far more consequence, the maintenance and interests
of the important department which they represent, upon
the current and precarious support of the church, the
theological professors deem it unnecessary to urge upon
the board of trustees to take, if possible, such action as
will awaken the church to its responsibility, so as not
only not to imperil the existence, but to insure the effi-
ciency of a very necessary work."
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 189
The communication was signed by Geo. T. Wilmer and
W. P. DuBose, Committee.
The board passed resolutions saying that, finding it
impossible to provide for the conduct and support of the
University as at present organized, without danger of
largely increasing our debt by exceeding our income,
have deemed it best to place the support and maintenance
of the theological department upon the church at large;
especially as said department has been for many years
past supported by the University; and that all Advent
offerings and parish and diocesan offerings for the ensu-
ing year be used for the support of the said department,
provided the same do not exceed the sum of f 5,000.
That the respective dioceses interested in the University
be requested to pledge annually to the support of said
department the sum of f 500 each, or such sum larger or
smaller as they may be able to pledge, so as to guarantee,
if possible, $5,000 annually to the support of said depart-
ment.
The theological department has received a varied sup-
port (from f 3,000 to f 4,000 annually) from the dioceses
since 1878, and its support has not been included in the
salaries provided for by the board of trustees until
recently.
Unfortunately the year 1878 was a disastrous year in
the Mississippi valley, where so large a portion of the
clientele of the University was to be found. Yellow
fever, that most dreaded of epidemics, prevailed at
Memphis and other cities, paralyzing business and
disturbing the business relations of the South. The
trustees of the mortgage indebtedness had expected to
190 HISTORY OF THE
dispose of a portion of the bonds in Memphis by the
personal influence of Mr. Jacob Thompson and Mr.
MeNeal (they remained in New York), and by the efforts
of Dr. Hodgson, but the condition of the country made
it practically impossible to negotiate bonds at that time.
There was pressing need of immediate action. The bank
debt amounting to f 12,000 was due and payment insisted
upon, other creditors were clamorous, and the existing
mortgage in New York of $10,000 fell due October 1st,
1878. The trustees of the mortgage and the executive
committee, with the treasurer, met in Nashville in
November. Dr. Hodgson, in the meantime, had secured an
extension of the mortgage debt, with some propositions
for a loan. The executive committee obtained an exten-
sion of four months on the bank debt, upon pledging pay-
ment within that time. Messrs. Hodgson, MeNeal and
Thompson went to New York in November to make
further efforts to negotiate the bonds. Mr. Jacob Thomp-
son and Mr. MeNeal themselves guaranteed the taking
of nearly one-third, but no one could be found to take
the remainder, and they found themselves reluctantly
obliged to seek other means of meeting the obligations of
the University. This they were enabled to do by accept-
ing the proposition of the New York Mortgage Company
for a loan of $25,000, secured upon bond and mortgage.
The bonds and mortgage for $30,000 authorized by the
board were canceled, and the mortgage of $10,000 out-
standing was paid off, the bank debt paid, and the press-
ing demands disposed of.
Prof. Frank Schaller had resigned the chair of modern
languages, and Prof. Tallichet had taken the position of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 191
acting professor under an appointment from the-
hebdomadal board.
The matter of recognition of fraternities or Greek
letter societies came before the board in 1878, upon a
petition from a committee of the Tennessee Chapter of
the Alpha Tau Omega. The petition was referred to the
hebdomadal board, with the expression of opinion that
the board of trustees sees no objection to allowing the
existence of the organization at the University. The
previous action of the hebdomadal board had been adverse
to the allowance of the formation of such societies.
The board prescribed a military uniform similar to
that of West Point for the cadet corps.
A standing resolution was adopted that the Episcopal
members of the board of trustees of the University of the
South were declared ex officio,, ad eundem, doctors in
divinity of the University (which seems rather a whole-
sale way of conferring degrees), and has been since
repealed.
Rev. Abraham Jaeger was appointed, in 1878, professor
of Hebrew in the theological department by the executive
committee, on the nomination of the professors of the
theological department.
The prevalence of yellow fever in the Mississippi valley
had an injurious effect in diminishing the number of
students, as so large a portion of the well-to^do citizens
were obliged to leave their homes and seek refuge, with
their families, in other parts of the country. The number
of students at the University, in 1879, was but 163, being
the smallest number for many years. The salaries were
arranged at f 1,800 per annum for the professors; f 1,000
192 HISTORY OF THE
each to acting professor of modern languages and to the
master of the grammar school; $600 to first assistant
and $400 to second assistant; and if the amount of tuition
received was not enough to pay the full amount estimated
the salaries should be scaled. The unfortunate part of
the arrangement was that those who received the smaller
salaries were scaled in proportion to those who received
the largest. The total amount of these salaries, if paid
in full, would have been $13,400. The amount of tuition
received was $10,694.33, leaving a deficit of $2,700,
equaling about 20 per cent on the gross amount, making
the professors' actual salaries, $1,440; master of the
Grammar School, $800; first assistant, $480; second
assistant, $320.
UNIVERSITY &F THE SOUTH. 19S
CHAPTER XIX.
The academic department under the control of the hebdomadal
board — Meeting of the board of trustees in 1879 — The heb-
domadal board present their views to the board of trustees
as to the condition and needs of the University — Financial
condition of the University — Measures taken to fund the
indebtedness of the University.
1879.
THE board of trustees met on the 2d of August, 1879.
There were present the bishops of Western Texas, Tennes-
see, South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas, four clerical
and nine lay trustees. Although no increase of debt had
accrued during the previous year, additional debts had
come to light to the amount of $4,000, and the sum of
$4,500 was due to Dr. Hodgson for moneys advanced by
him in liquidation of claims. The mortgage of $25,000 to
the United States Mortgage Company bore interest at the
rate of 8 per cent. Dr. Hodgson, in his report to the board,
recommended another effort to fund the debt by bonds
secured by mortgage at a lower rate of interest. This
recommendation was approved by the board, and a resolu-
tion passed that the general scheme submitted by Dr.
Hodgson to issue a new series of 6 per cent bonds to pay
the 8 per cent loan, and also other debts due by the Univer-
sity, is approved; and that he, in conjunction with the
executive committee, is requested and authorized to carry
the same into effect — the amount to be limited to $50,000,
and the rate of interest not to exceed 7 per cent. The
194 HISTORY OF THE
arrangement under the syllabus with the hebdomadal
board was for one year only, and expired at this meeting
of the board. It had been successful so far as that no
indebtedness for salaries had occurred and the professors
had received nearly $1,500 each, which has been their aver-
age salary ever since. It had not worked advantageously
for the grammar school, the head master and two assist-
ants having received in the aggregate only f 1,600. This
probably had something to do with their all resigning
their positions. The head master, Mr. C. M. Beckwith,
became a candidate for orders, and after his ordination he
was minister in charge for some time of St. Lukes Cathe-
dral, Atlanta ; then rector of Christ Church, Houston, was
elected assistant bishop of Texas in 1891 (which he
declined), and was most strenuously sought for the posi-
tion of head master of the grammar school in 1893. His
administration of that office during the years, 1876-78, was
recognized as having been a most successful one. He is
at present writing bishop of Alabama. The hebdomadal
board made a report to the board of trustees, signed by
John B. Elliott, Chairman, Caskie Harrison, W. P.
DuBose, E. Kirby Smith, Geo. T. Wilmer, John McCrady,
Telfair Hodgson and C. M. Beckwith.
They preface their report by saying that "a clear appre-
hension of the obstacles in the way of any great enter-
prise is not only necessary to their removal, but even in
itself a step in advance, and since the particular obstacles
with which we have to deal are several of them such
as can be removed only in the course of time and by the
united efforts of all interested in the University, the
hebdomadal board believes itself called upon to make a
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 195
full and unreserved recital of these obstacles to the board
of trustees, and to urge that all possible legitimate means
be taken to insure their removal."
The obstacles are as follows :
"First. — Want of endowment, involving want of ade-
quate instruction in several branches, chiefly scientific;
want of apparatus, laboratories, collections and of a
library. A natural consequence of this want is :
"Second. — A very high tuition fee, which debars church-
men of moderate means from sending their sons to the
University.*
"Third. — The absolute inability of the board of trustees
to meet more than once a year or to continue their
sessions beyond one week.
"Fourth. — The entire absence of any permanent execu-
tive body resident' at Sewanee and having power to act
during the remainder of the year.
"Fifth. — The isolated location of the University, keep-
ing it out of view, so that the church loses sight of it ; the
approaches to the University forbidding.
"Sixth. — The location of the University, within the ter-
ritorial limits of the diocese of Tennessee, coupled with
the general apathy of the church, producing a widespread
*The tuition fee in both University and grammar school
was $100 per annum, certainly not as high as in many technical
schools for young men, and much less than in the better class
of schools for girls. The hebdomadal board, I think, lays more
stress upon this point than it deserves. It is not tuition fees
alone, but the general expense incident to schools of high grade,
board, clothing, traveling expense, etc., and which, all told, were
much lees than in leading Northern colleges, i. e. Yale, Harvard,
etc.
196 HISTORY OF THE
impression that the University is and always will be
only a diocesan school of the diocese of Tennessee.
"Seventh. — A still more wide-spread impression that
the University is a special propaganda of ritualism, by
which impression many are deterred from supporting it.
"Eighth. — The existence in several dioceses of theologi-
cal seminaries, which are not simply preparatory to the
University, but actual rivals, competing with it for church
funds and for students.
"Ninth. — The intimate association of the grammar
school with the University, which has led to a confusion
of the two in the minds of many, among whom the notion
prevails that the University of the South is at best only
a sort of high school. The want of endowment, and the
dependence of even the professors upon tuition fees, con-
firming and strengthening the notion.
"Tenth. — Want of the means of keeping the University
constantly before the eyes of its natural patrons, the
churchmen of the South, by a system of periodical
publications, sufficiently endowed and supported to com-
mand the respect of men of science and culture every-
where."
The report goes on in twenty-nine closely printed pages,
to consider these several heads, and their state of mind
may be well conjectured from the concluding paragraph
of their report, which is pessimistic to the last degree.
They say :
"In conclusion, the most determined optimist cannot
deny that the University has this year to face vital issues.
Forgotten by the church, with a mortgage on all its pro-
perty, unable to pay its professors, without apparatus,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 197
living library, or any equipments, save hoods and gowns ;
its only source of revenue a prohibitory tuition charge,
its only supporters an impoverished people, surrounded
by rivals which underbid it in tuition and exceed it in
equipment, the University certainly has need of herculean
remedies. It is a mockery to say, 'Go in peace, be ye
warmed and filled,' and yet withhold the things which are
indispensable to a University and to a working faculty.
It is impious to fold our arms in the affectation of faith,
when we know well that faith without work is dead. It is
cowardly desperation to shrink from difficulties which
our duties to God, to His church, and to our fellowmen
all alike command us to grapple with and overcome. The
University must grow or it must die. Which of these
two destinies awaits it depends upon the policy this year
adopted by those to whom the church has entrusted the
sacred charge of finishing the work of Polk and Elliott."
"The hebdomadal board believes that the plan of future
work suggested in this report, if maturely considered, care-
fully prepared in detail, fully supported by the trustees,
and resolutely carried out, will result in the new creation
of the University of the South; while without this plan,
or without its perfect equivalent, the fate of the Univer-
sity is already sealed. In this faith they have written."
This report was probably in the main, if not altogether,
written by Prof. John McCrady.
The main body of the report is devoted to the question
of endowment, and a plan is proposed, similar in its
features to that proposed by Mr. J. H. Fitts, of Alabama,
which was based upon a general appeal for subscriptions
to the 30,000 communicants of the church in the
19$ HISTORY OF THE
associated dioceses, divided into twelve classes who were
to be asked to make a cash subscription from fifty cents
to two dollars each, the bulk of the money to come from
subscriptions of $100, and $150, and $200; one thousand
subscriptions in each of these classes. A canvasser to be
appointed and circulars to be issued. It was also proposed
by the hebdomadal board to send an agent to England to
solicit endowment funds. They also proposed to issue a
bulletin, periodically, to call the attention of the church
to the needs of the University, and to attract attention
to it.
The report laid considerable stress upon the importance
of placing in that board again the power given in 1878.
At the time this report of the hebdomadal board was
made the affairs of the University looked very unpromis-
ing. The number of students had decreased, no doubt
in part from the prevalence of yellow fever previously in
the Mississippi Valley, and a general financial depression,
but of the points set forth as obstacles only one was of
any real importance, and that was one which has always
been a great obstacle, not only in this University, but in
all others: the want of an adequate endowment. The
demands of higher education cannot be met by tuition
fees alone, and the chief effort which is requisite to the
support of any University is to be made in the direction
of procuring an endowment for its professorial chairs.
This enables a reduction t'o be made in rates of tuition,
and secures an independence of patronage.
The committee on organization made a report present-
ing a scheme of organization of the University to continue
for three years from the beginning of Trinity term, 1879.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 199
That a vice chancellor should be elected for three years,
to have control of the finances of the University, and of
the domain, including leases, etc., embracing all the func-
tions of treasurer and commissioner of buildings and
lands, and to be entrusted also with the discipline of the
University under the following restrictions, viz : A con-
sulting commission of the members of the hebdomadal
board, elected by the board of trustees to act with the
vice chancellor in the settlement of all questions of dis-
cipline involving suspension or dismissal, "and it may be
added," says the committee, "that to the vice chancellor
and this commission the board of trustees may confidently
look for such modifications of the present system of dis-
cipline, especially as to the demerit system that has
prevailed (a military importation utterly foreign to the
genius and spirit of a church university like ous), as their
enlightened judgment and experience may suggest. This
arrangement will supersede the filling of the offices of
treasurer and commissioner of buildings and lands, the
dispensing therewith resulting from the imperious necessi-
ties of the University, and they cannot, they say, make
such a recommendation without a feeling of deep regret
at the thought of parting from such earnest and faithful
servants of the University, and of bearing testimony to
their devotion and worth." The committee further recom-
mended that the board of trustees should elect annually
a University commission to consist of the vice chancellor
as chairman ex oflicio and of not more than six
professors, and that this commission should have control
of the educational interests of the University as provided
by the constitution and statutes, and be directly respon-
200 HISTORY OF THE
sible to the board of trustees for their acts, making an
annual report of the same, with such suggestions as they
may deem expedient. The commission also to be invested
with the authority to advance the patronage of the
Univerity, to inaugurate or aid in carrying out plans of
endowment, to secure the cooperation of preparatory
schools, to fill vacancies in professorships (subject to the
approval of the board of trustees), and to organize
faculties.
The board of trustees adopted all of the recommenda-
tions of the committee, and fixed the salaries of academic
professors at $1,800; acting professor of modern lan-
guages, $1,200; master of grammar school, $1,000; first
assistant, $600; second assistant, $400; teacher of elocu-
tion, $600. All receipts for tuition and fees to be applied
in payment of salaries and current expenses of academic
department; and, if not sufficient for the full payment,
the said salaries to be scaled pro rata according to the
receipts.
The same apparent injustice towards the recipients of
the smaller salaries is evident in this arrangement as the
previous year and the result was about the same, the
grammar school salaries for first and second assistants
being reduced below $500.
The hebdomadal board was authorized to collect and
disburse tuition money and fees.
The adoption of this scheme of organization virtually
placed the University in commission, in regard to every-
thing except providing for its indebtedness. It was a
virtual abdication of nearly all its functions in connec-
tion with the University management. The board
VS17BR8ITY OF THE SOUTH. 201
repealed the resolution, passed in 1877, expressing the
opinion that the vice chancellor should be a clerk in Holy
orders. Rev. Dr. Patterson offered a resolution that no
person should be employed as a professor, teacher or
tutor in this University until he subscribe the following
declaration: "I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments to be the word of God and tb
contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do
solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline
and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States." The resolution was referred to the
committee on organization who reported that it was
inexpedient to take any action. Considering that the
University is a church institution avowedly, and claims
raison d'etre as such, one can but express a degree of
feurprise at the non-adoption of Dr. Patterson's resolu-
tion. Probably it was deemed unnecessary. The board
elected Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., as vice chancellor;
Caskie Harrison, M. A., professor of ancient languages;
Gen. E. Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics; Prof.
John McCrady, professor of biology and relation of relig-
ion to science; John B. Elliott, M. D., professor of
chemistry; Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., professor of
ethics ; Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer, D. D., professor of systema-
tic divinity — all for three years.
Prof. Elliott and Dr. Wilmer were elected as a commis-
sion in matters of discipline tk> act with the vice chan-
cellor.
Dr. Elliott, Dr. Wilmer, Prof. McCrady, Prof. Kirby
Smith, Prof. Harrison and Rev. Dr. DuBose were elected
202 HISTORY OF THE
as the University commission under the plan of organiza-
tion.
•A committee was appointed with power to take pre-
paratory steps toward the establishment of a law school,
and also to take charge of the proposed medical school ;
provided that in neither case shall any expense or liability
be incurred on the part of the University. Bishop
Lyman, of North Carolina, founded a gold medal to be
bestowed annually in the department of elocution, and
a plan of conferring the medal was adopted.
The financial report showed that in the theological
department the receipts were $3,330.29, of which only
$1,521.44 was contributed by the dioceses; $1,103.75 was
subscribed by individuals, and $705 was from the North.
In the academic department the fees aggregated
$10,820. The amount requisite to meet the
salaries prescribed was $13,400. A committee was
appointed to correspond with Mrs. A. M. Manigault in
reference to the expenditures of funds contributed by her
for erection of St. Lukes Hall, and the amount requisite
to fully complete the same. Mrs. Manigault, during the
ensuing year, forwarded funds to complete the building.
A preamble and resolution were adopted that, whereas,
Mr. G. B. Fairbanks had been connected with the board
from the first foundation in 1857, that the board, recogniz-
ing his deep and earnest interest in the welfare of the
University and his faithful attention to his duties in con-
nection therewith, sincerely deplored the loss of so faith-
ful an officer, and appointed a committee to inform him of
the action of the board, to convey to him the assurance of
the high and very sincere respect entertained for him by
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 205
the members of the board. In his response to this action
of the board Mr. Fairbanks said that he desired to return
his sincere acknowledgments for the kind manner in which
they had expressed their appreciation of his services.
That, after so intimate a connection in various capacities
with its affairs during a period of twenty-two years, it
could but evoke a feeling of sadness in taking leave of thei
official relation which he had so long held to the Univer-
sity, the duties of which had always been to him a labor of
love. That, imbued at the outset with the enthusiastic
and hopeful feelings with which the founders of the
University were inspired, sharing in a large degree with
them in the work of laying its foundations, in interesting
the public mind in the project, in the preparation of its
constitution and statutes and other preliminary work , he
never lost faith in its future, even in the dark hours of
civil strife. At the dawn of peace his heart turned to the
possibility of a renewal of this great enterprise, and,
associated with others, and foremost of these the bishop
of Tennessee, to whom this grand scheme seemed too great
a thing to be abandoned, he gave his best thoughts to its
interests, and made his home on this mountain. That
the bright anticipations of success which illumined our
path shortly after the inauguration of the schools of the
University had become overshadowed, and year by year
disappointments have followed disappointments, financial
pressure of the severest kind, pestilence of unprecedented
extent, and other causes had continued to throw a cloud
of depression over our work. That retrenchment had be-
come a stern necessity, and a strong effort to preserve its
organization had become imperative.
204 HISTORY OF THE
Such clouds, he said, have overtaken at one or more
periods of their existence all of the older colleges of our
land, some had perished, but many have survived to enter
upon a career of greater strength and usefulness. If we
are true to ourselves, to our church and our country, this
institution will be preserved, and the great plans of its
founders be accomplished ; if not in our day, in the day of
our descendants. It may be our work to preserve, theirs
to enlarge and complete. He could not believe that an
institution which has with so little attained to so much,
which has already matriculated a thousand students in
these years of disaster, which has received so many signal
instances of providential aid, is to perish if those to
whom it is entrusted shall faithfully execute their trust.
The board ordered Mr. Fairbanks' remarks to be spread
on the minutes.
An executive committee, consisting of the bishop of
Tennessee, the Rev. Dr. Bannister, Dr. Shoup, Jacob
Thompson and Albert T. McNeal, was elected, and the vice
chancellor was instructed to confer fully and freely with
the executive committee.
The vice chancellor was authorized to employ a clerk
to assist him at a salary to be paid by the University not
to exceed $1,000, but declined to receive any salary him-
self.
Professor Tallichet was elected acting professor of
modern languages.
There had been, for some years, reports spread through-
out the South relative to the manner of conducting the
chapel services of the University. The ordinary morning
services in the chapel have been always the same.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 205
The Lord's Prayer, the Venite, a portion of the
Psalter, one lesson from the New Testament, an
anthem, the Creed, and a few collects, with processional
and recessional hyinns ; the whole occupying about fifteen
to twenty minutes ; on Wednesday and Friday, the Litany
and collects only. The Sunday services conducted by the
chaplain were the usual church services. Surpliced choirs
and processional and recessional singing were then to
many people novelties, although now so common, and, as
the clergy wore their academic hoods, strangers fancied
that surpliced choirs and clergy wearing hoods must be
ritualistic — whatever that might mean in the minds of
not very well informed peopla Bishop Elliott, of
Western Texas, offered the following declaration of the
bishops who were in attendance at this meeting of the
board, relative to this matter :
"The undersigned bishops, having had occasion at the
last meeting of the board of trustees at Sewanee to
examine the manner of conducting service at St. Lukes
and St. Augustines chapels, desire to give the assurance
that the services are in strict accordance with the Book
of Common Prayer, and in no way countenance the charge
of ritualism made against the University of the South.
'•They could further state that the services at the
places above named are under the charge of all our
bishops who are members of the board of trustees."
(Signed) W. M. GREEN, Bishop of Mississippi, Chancellor.
ALEXANDER GREGG, Bishop of Texas.
CHAS. TODD QUINTARD, Bishop of Tennessee.
W. B. W. HOWE, Bishop of South Carolina.
K. W. B. ELLIOTT, Miss. Bishop of W. Texas.
Sewanee, August 7th, 1879.
206 HISTORY OF THE
No action was taken in reference to any plans for
endowment beyond requesting the executive committee tk)
represent the board as a committee on endowment.
The board resolved that it was in entire accord with
the hebdomadal board upon the subject of erecting a
suitable memorial to Bishop Polk, and will take the
necessary steps to that end as soon as the way seems
clear. It is hardly necessary to say that no steps have
yet been taken to erect such a memorial, but as the board
had laid off a very beautiful park in memory of the great
bishop, in which, there is an admirable location for plac-
ing a suitable monument, it is to be hoped that before
many years such suitable memorial will be erected. No
election of master of the grammar school or proctor was
made by the board, but the hebdomadal board was fortun-
ate enough to secure the services of Mr. Davis Sessums as
master of the grammar school, and Mr. Vardry McBee
as organist and proctor. Prof. Caskie Harrison acted
as bursar for the collection and disbursement of tuition
fees, etc.
Rev. William Klein was instructor in school of English
literature; John Lowry, M. A., instructor in elocution;
W. D. Powers, instructor in school of commerce and
trade.
Suitable notice was taken of the death of Rt. Rev.
J. P. B. Wilmer, bishop of Louisiana, for twelve years
a member of the board. He died on December 2, 1878.
A beautiful tribute to his worth and character from the
pen of Bishop Green was adopted by the board, in which
is said, "In the character of that truly godly bishop there
was united the simple and confiding nature of the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 207
child with all the noble qualities of the man. While
apparently unconscious of his powers, the most persua-
sive eloquence was flowing from his lips; and, though
using no arts to draw men after him, the eye as well as
the heart of all who knew him delighted to welcome his
coming. His countenance beamed with a benevolence
that justly expressed the overflowing kindness of his
heart. Amid a crafty and selfish world he moved as one
who neither saw nor felt its contamination."
Dr. Elliott, the health officer, made an interesting
report of the sanitary condition of Sewanee, and the
sanitary committee, commenting on his report, says:
"This prevalence of good health may be expected to con-
tinue in any region in this latitude when the altitude
above the sea is 2,000 feet, the yearly average rainfall
forty-five inches, and the climate marked by neither
extreme heat nor cold, as show^n by the following data:
Winter minimum temperature, 5 ; summer maximum, 87 ;
average summer temperature, 74. No sudden changes of
temperature occur in this locality. Epidemics may be
said to be unknown, pneumonia and diphtheria (but few
cases of which ever occur) are of light nature and yield
easily to treatment; bilious fevers never occur unless
contracted in malarial districts: and developed by the
mountain climate, and of these the symptoms are of a
trivial character. Whooping cough, scarlet fever, etc.,
rarely or never prove dangerous. Time has fully verified
these statements, and twenty-five years' carefully collated
statistics would indicate that the claims made for the
extreme salubrity of Sewanee were well founded.
208 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XX.
The University commission continued for one year— The financial
condition still depressing — More complete organization of a
military department — Bishop Green's hopeful views of ta«
future of the University — Plans for University buildings —
Issue of bonds— Support of theological department.
1880.
DURING the ensuing year, 1879-80, the University was
administered under the new scheme of organization.
There was, however, no material increase of students, and
the plan of organization did not seem calculated to pro-
mote any general outside interest1. The professors had
neither the time nor the opportunity to make much
personal effort to advance its interests. Under the plan
adopted there was, of course, no debt created for salaries.
The new vice chancellor, Dr. Hodgson, made it his main
duty to improve the financial condition by decreasing
expenditures, realizing assets, and endeavoring to carry
out the scheme of funding the debt. In pursuance of the
authority given by the board, a mortgage and coupon
bonds were prepared in the spring of 1880.
When the board met in August, 1880, there seemed a
diminished interest on the part of the trustees. No
-quorum answered on the first day. There were present
at this meeting the bishops of Mississippi, Louisiana,
Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and the assistant
bishop of North Carolina, six clerical and six lay trustees.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 209
The vice chancellor made a report, recommending a
modification of the previous action in reference tk> fund-
ing the debt, and also a sale of alternate lots of the
domain. The committee on buildings and lands reported
adversely as to the sale of any portion of the domain and
the board adopted their report. The committee on consti-
tution and statutes reported resolutions requiring the can-
cellation of the bonds secured by mortgage (which had
been prepared under the authority of the board, but none
of which had been negotiated), and proposed that, to fund
all outstanding indebtedness, including the $25,000 mort-
gage to the United States Mortgage Company, a mortgage
should be executed with the same trustees for the sum of
|40,000, with coupon bonds bearing 6 per cent interest.
This report was adopted. The financial condition as
reported showed receipts by the theological department of
$5,117.04, of which sum $420 wias a donation of Mr.
Sessums out of his- salary as master of the grammar
school, the receipts from other sources amounting to
$4,097.04. The receipts from tuition and fees, inclusive of
fees uncpllected, was $12,500. The net results were about
the same as the previous year, requiring a scaling of sal-
aries to the extent of 20 per cent. The experiment of a
commission did not produce any very evident favorable
results, but the cessation of school deficit gave time to
place the University upon a more favorable financial
footing. Rev. Mr. Jaeger resigned his position in the
theological department. The vice chancellor was enabled
to procure a detail of Lieut. R. M. Rogers, Second United
States Artillery, as instructor in military science, and the
military feature of the University came into more prom*
210 HISTORY OF THE
inence. Drilling and military exercises were made
more obligatory. A fine cadet corps was formed and a
volunteer band was organized mainly by the exertions of
Mr. F. A. DeRossett. Mr. McN. DnBose was appointed
proctor. Rev. F. A. DeRossett, instructor of Hebrew in
the theological department, and Rev. Sylvester Clark,
professor of ecclesiastical history. The executive commit-
tee was reelected. Prof. H. Tallichet was elected profes
sor of modern languages.
The committee on organization reported, with regard to
the University commission, that they were not able to see
how any advantageous change could be made in its
organization and recommended that it be continued a«
it was then organized.
The whole subject of raising a proper endowment for
the University was referred to a committee of five to
consider and report some general scheme to raise the
necessary amount and report as soon as possible. No
report or plan was presented by the committee appointed.
Rev. Dr. Patterson was empowered to act as agent for the
theological department, and the professors in the depart-
ment, personally, or through such agency as they might
select, were requested to receive funds for its temporary
support, and, if possible, for its permanent endowment;
and the bishops were requested to commend the matter
of support for the theological department to their dioceses
in every practicable manner.
Rev. Dr. Patterson, during the ensuing year, devoted
some ten months to this work and obtained the sum of
|1,825.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 211
With the additional amount of $4,000 given by Mrs.
Manigault for the completion of St. Lukes Memorial
Hall that building had been fully completed, and the
theological department was now in successful operation,
thus adding to the University one of its most important
and necessary schools. Due notice was given of the
readiness to receive theological students and the church,
was appealed to for the support of the professors. Neither
in the matter of students nor support was there any very
hearty response from the dioceses interested in the
University.
So far as theological students were concerned, this may
be attributed to the fact that comparatively few desired
to enter the ministry. The greater opportunities offered
at theological schools at the North, in the way of scholar-
ships and support, and the influence of clergy not
acquainted with Suwanee, who naturally referred postu-
lants to their own alma inater. This will gradually dis-
appear, and Sewanee will send forth a large majority of
the future clergy of the Southern dioceses.
As an indication of the spirit, faith and hope, which
animated the survivors of the band of men who inaugu-
rated the University, even under the great difficulties and
financial pressure of 1878-80, the following extract from
the address of Bishop Green before the board at the open-
ing of their session in August, 1880, is well worthy of
perusal.
"Any undertaking proposing to itself such noble ends
as ours puts itself in the pathway of God, whose eye is
never away from it and whose hand waits only the right
moment to give it the fullness of His blessing. Our
212 HISTORY OF TEE
reliance has ever been on the help of Him who says,
'The silver is mine and the gold is mine.' Sooner, there-
fore, would we believe that this mountain could be thrust
from its base^ than that ultimate failure can ever be
written on the ruins of a work like this ; begun in prayer
and faith, and prosecuted in the love and service of both
God and man. Clouds and darkness may yet overshadow
its path, but a bright morning will not long hide itself
behind the gloom so impenetrable to our present sight.
It was the privilege of him who addresses you to be
present at the birth of this child of our adoption ; to see
its young life nearly crushed out by the hand of war ; and,
afterwards, to assist in the support of its first tottering
footsteps. He sees it now putting on the thews and
sinews of a vigorous youth. Its manhood will be reached
in no distant future. Your speaker dares not hope to
behold that day, but, without arrogating to himself the
spirit of prophecy, he sees through the telescope of God's
promises this vast domain of ours dotted over with
families of wealth and refinement, the cornerstone of a
magnificent central edifice relaid on the very spot where
those holy men of God, the great Decemviri of our South-
ern church first placed it.
"He sees men of wealth vying with each other in the
costliness of their gifts, multitudes of youths flocking
to our halls, scholars of every name and nation coveting
honors at our hands, and our alumni counted by the
thousands, like the boughs of the banyan tree, taking root
in every soil, filling offices of wealth and influence, and
thus adding daily to the strength and influence of the
parent stem. All this may seem to many as the mere
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 218
day-dream of a too hopeful and over confident spirit.
Be it so. It is a small thing to be judged of man's judg-
ment. In the spirit of that greatest apostle, we 'appeal,'
but to a greater than Caesar. We look forward from the
discouragement of the present hour to the yet unseen
blessings which are in store for us. Our work is- of God,
a God that cannot lie, and with whom nothing is impos-
sible.'5
Mr. John W. Weber was placed in charge of the gram-
mar school, with C. McD. Puckette, B. L. Wiggins and
J. J. Cornish as assistants. In the theological depart-
ment David Sessums, M. A., was instructor in biblical
and church history, and J. J. Cornish instructor in elocu-
tion. Mr. J. G. Glass was appointed proctor.
Under the action of the board in 1880 a mortgage and
coupon bonds to the amount of $40,000 were prepared,
and, prior to August, 1881, bonds to the amount of $19,000
were disposed of, and $13,000 of the mortgage debt to the
United States Mortgage Company was paid, leaving a
balance of $12,000 due. A loan of $4,500 from Dr.
Hodgson repaid; and about $800 was expended on St.
Lukes Hall, beyond the amount provided by Mrs. Mani-
gault. The board met on the 30th of July, 1881. There
were present the bishops of Mississippi, Arkansas, North-
ern Texas, Western Texas and five clerical and eleven
lay trustees. The executive committee reported no
positive action, but that it had been only of an advisory
character.
The financial report showed that the theological depart-
ment received, in the aggregate, the sum of $2,656, of
which $86 was applied to expenses, leaving only $2,570
214 HISTORY OF THE
applicable to salaries. In the academic department the
receipts amounted to thhe sum of $11,203.34, of which
$ 1,133.42 was applied to expenses, leaving applicable to
salaries $10,669.42. The salary list amounted to $11,600,
leaving a deficit of $1,530 to be scaled pro rata, which left
to each professor $1,573. Of the $2,656 received by the
theological department $1,230 was collected by Dr.
Patterson. With the view of utilizing the resources of
the University under the pressure of great financial
needs, the vice chancellor, during the years 1880-81, made
a contract for the sale of all the chestnut oak bark on
the domain, and for converting the timber, after the bark
was removed, into lumber and cross- ties. The committee
on buildings and lands reported adversely to the sale
of the timber on the domain, and in favor of adhering to
the policy previously maintained, that only down timber
should be cut. The board adopted a resolution that the
cutting of timber in our forests should be confined to
the dead and fallen trees, and the trimming of dead tops
or branches. But a comparatively small amount was
realized from the sale of the chestnut oak bark.
The time will come when the timber on the domain
will be very valuable, but it will be after the large extent
of timber on adjoining lands has been stripped by the
greed or the necessities of the owners, in haste to realize
a pittance, rather than wait for the day of enhanced
valuation.
The vice chancellor and executive committee were
authorized to enter into negotiations for the erection of
a hotel, a matter which had been for many years a matter
of consideration in the board. The theological professors
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 215
presented a memorial in reference to some more certain
arrangement for the payment of their salaries, or
guarantee of payment, whereon the board expressed itself
as unable to provide any other arrangement than the
existing one of relying upon the dioceses for the provid-
ing for them.
The committee on buildings and lands made a report
upon the matter of locating the sites of the different
buildings which the several schools would require, and
proposed that the designs for each building should be
adopted and lithographed, and the cost of each ascer-
tained. The minds of the trustees would be thus directed
to the definite object for which they were working.
Pictures hung upon the walls would attract the attention
of persons who might be disposed to erect these buildings.
That, while appreciating the permanent necessity for
endowments, they believed that they would come faster
when proper buildings, well located, were presented
to the eye, which would give to those who might con-
tribute, the assurance that this institution was founded
for all time. Many might give large sums to assure
results who were not willing to assist in what they might
regard as an experiment. In the primitive condition of
all the University buildings, save St. Lukes Hall and the
Hodgson Library, there was a look of experiment and an
advertisement of impecuniosity, and there was a lack of
dignity which must necessarily have impressed the minds
of students unfavorably, while they and their surround-
ings would not attract the patronage of those whose first
and great purpose in sending pupils and students to
the University were not the Christian influences, which
216 HISTORY OF THE
are, with many of us, the great reason for the existence
of this University. We were fully aware that a Univer-
sity does not consist of buildings, and that the most
valuable work and the profoundest teaching can be done
in a log cabin. So we know that God can be worshipped
in an open field, but most Christians recognize the obliga-
tion that the church should be of the most imposing
character within the means of the congregation which
worships in it, and that these externals are helps to
worship itself. We maintain that the church is interested
in the rapid success of this enterprise, and should so
formulate our plans with regard to the ability of this
great church and the means in its possession as to com-
mensurate with the same.
With the design and probable cost of each building in
the possession of each trustee and in the hands of such
agents as may be intrusted with the work, and by circula-
tion through the mails, we do not know at what moment
some person or persons may be found who, like the
estimable lady who selected the theological department,
and our vice chancellor, to whom we owe the library, may
desire to erect some building as a memorial and call it
after the name of some loved one whom they may wish
to commemorate.
In order that the whole subject may be carefully and
thoughtfully considered, we recommend the election of
a commission of four persons who shall serve for one year,
and to whom instructions shall be given to have
prepared by a competent architect the designs for tne
grammar school and all its adjuncts, and the prominent
buildings for the schools of the University now in opera-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 217
tion, with the estimates of the cost of the same. The
result of their labors to be reported to the next meeting
of the board.
The recommendations of the committee were adopted,
and Bishop Gallaher, Rev. Dr. A. T. Porter and Hon.
W. A. Courtenay were appointed as such commissioners.
The Alumni Association presented a memorial, asking
that provision be made by the board of trustees for the
admission of a trustee elected by the alumni of the
University. The matter was referred to the committee
on constitution and statutes, who asked that they be
permitted to report upon the subject at the next meeting
of the board. The recommendation that a commission be
appointed to report upon a definite plan for the location
of the permanent buildings, was well conceived. Their
further recommendation, that plans of the University
should be made with estimates of probable cost, was
impracticable on the score of expense, unnecessary except
in a very general way. It would not have been difficult
to have procured the services of a competent architect
to assist a competent commission, but, unfortunately, in
this matter, as is oft to be the case in such arrange-
ments, individual ideas and suggestions predominate.
The commission appointed had but a very superficial
acquaintance with the ground, and had neither the time
nor the inclination, perhaps, to thoroughly study up the
whole subject on the ground, aided by the professional
taste and skill of one versed in the art of arrangement
and proportion, relative position, comparative value of
21« HISTORY OF THE
effects of grouping, engineering ability in the use of
natural features, such as elevations and depressions,
gradients, etc. The result of their appointment was
simply a plan for a grammar school group, by an architect
in a distant city.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.
CHAPTER XXI.
The University commission plan discontinued — The condition of
the University as to finance and students — Proposal to change
the name of the University of the South to the "University
of Sewanee" — The trustees undertake the building of a
chemical and philosophical hall — The Sewanee conference on
the problem of the relations of the church to the colored
race.
1882-1883.
THK board of trustees held their annual meeting on
30th of July, 1882. There were present the bishops of
Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Western
Texas, Florida and Georgia, being the largest number of
bishops present in several years, with seven clerical
and five lay trustees. The University commission had
requested that the several professors should be invited to
come before the board, and give expression to their views
as to the welfare of the University.
Upon the invitation of the board they severally
appeared and gave their views upon the subject. The
board was addressed by Prof. John B. Elliott, M. D.,
Prof. Caskie Harrison, M. A., and Rev. Prof. W. P.
DuBose, M. A., S. T. D., Prof. E. Kirby Smith, professor
of mathematics, Rev. Prof. G. T. Wilmer, D. D., John
Weber, master of the grammar school, and Rev. Telfair
Hodgson, D. D., vice chancellor and president of the
University commission.
The financial exhibit showed receipts for theological
department of $2,950. Academic department, f 10,752.
220 HISTORY OF THE
The salary list in the University academic department
and grammar school amounted to $11,600; there was a
deficit of $2,062. The professors actually received each
$1,480. The whole indebtedness of the University was
represented by its outstanding bonds of $33,500, of which
$7,500 was held in reserved bonds by the University itself.
The committee on organization, in reference to the
subject of the University commission inaugurated in
1879, reported that they considered it a temporary
arrangement, which has now expired* and they did not
recommend its continuance, and this opinion of the
committee was concurred in, and the commission was not
resuscitated. The board then proceeded to the election
of members of the faculty for a term of five years.
Rev. Telfair Hodgson was unanimously elected vice
chancellor, Dr. John B. Elliott to the chair of chemistry,
Rev. W. P. DuBose to the chair of ethics, Gen. E. Kirby
Smith to the chair of mathematics, Dr. John B. Elliott,
acting professor of geology and mineralogy, Rev. G. T.
Wilmer to the chair of metaphysics and English literature,
R. E. Nelson to the chair of civil engineering and physics,
F. M. Page to the chair of modern languages, and Rev.
Telfair Hodgson dean of the theological department, and
Rev. Dr. Wilmer to the chair of systematic divinity.
Prof. Caskie Harrison, who had occupied the chair of
*The University commission, consisting of the vice chancel-
lor as chairman ex ojftcio and not more than six professors, by
resolution 17 of 1879, was to be elected annually, but was not
elected in 1880, although the committee on organization recom-
mended "that it be left as at present constituted." In 1881 the
University commission was elected for the ensuing year.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 221
ancient languages since 1871, declined reelection, and
Mr. C. McD. Puckette was elected to that chair, but
declined, and Mr. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., was elected.
Prof. Harrison removed to Brooklyn and established the
Brooklyn Classical School, which has acquired a high
repute among the educational institutions of that city,
and has attained a large degree of prosperity. In 1889 he
received the degree of doctor of philosophy from the
University of the South. His death occurred recently.
The plan of a University commission, and placing the
entire scholastic administration of the University in the
hands of its professors, was a temporary expedient to
enable the faculty to carry out views which they had
entertained as to the promotion of the welfare of the
University, increasing its patronage, developing its
advantages and making it more widely and favorably
known. The list of obstacles enumerated in the report
of the hebdomadal board in 1879, hereinbefore referred to,
dicated their view of what should be done, and the
ode of removal of these obstacles.
The number of students registered in 1877-78 had gone
own to 183 ; in 1879-80, under the commission, it further
declined to 157. In 1880-81 the number registered was
187, and in 1881-82, the last year of the commission, it
only 186. It was quite evident that the management
of affairs by a commission was not the remedy needed, but
it satisfied the faculty that other causes than those they
had fixed upon had occasioned a decline in patronage.
One of the causes operating to produce this result was,
no doubt, a certain degree of indifference, and, to some
extent opposition to the existence of the grammar school
222 HISTORY OF THE
upon the mountain, not recognizing its importance as a
feeder and the great value of its preparatory training for
transference to the schools of the University. In 1879-80,
the first year of the commission, the roll of the grammar
school declined to 56, while five years previously it had
been 137. Superficial objections were made, such as that
grammar school boys were at their homes considered as
students of the University, having a tendency to place
the University on a par with those merely academic
schools scattered through the land, which had assumed
for themselves the high-sounding name of University.
Also that at Sewanee, mingling on the University grounds
with the University students, they were all classed as
University students together, from the youngest bare-
footed boy in the grammar school to the senior with his
cap and gown. There was at that time, and subsequently,
some force in the latter objection, but the entire separa-
tion of the grammar school and its dormitory have since
altogether obviated this objection, and which, it is to be
hoped, will be still further removed by the erection of a
complete grammar school plant at a distance from the
buildings of the University proper.
In accordance with the resolution passed August 5,
1881, appointing a commission to consider the subject
of the location and construction of the permanent build-
ings of the University and grammar school, and to procure
suitable plans, designs and estimates for the said build-
ings, etc., the commission not being prepared to report
in full was continued to the next meeting of the board.
A ground plan and elevation for the grammar school was,
.however, submitted by the vice chancellor.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 223
Dr. John B. Elliott, the health officer, reported that
the water of Polk Spring, upon analysis, showed in
100,000 parts of water, organic nitrogen 0.113, ammonia
0.001, chlorine 2.49, and that the water was practically
pure, as neither chlorine nor ammonia were in themselves
dangerous to health, unless in excessive quantities. He
also reported valuable analyses of the chalybeate waters
of two springs on the domain. In Far Chalybeate ( Fogg's)
was found 1.73 grains of ferrum carbonate per gallon of
water. In the chalybeate spring below Green's Spring
was found 1.49 grains of ferrum chalybeate per gallon
of water, and that these small quantities were quite
sufficient to render these waters valuable as medical
agents.
Bishop Green, the chancellor, offered on the 2d of
August a preamble and resolutions, stating that whereas
in the changes of time, under the Providence of God, the
name of the University had come to represent political
feeling, which it is neither the wish of the trustees to
cherish nor the province of the church to inculcate, and
since it is known that the name was supposed to indicate
a desire to cultivate a sectional sentiment, which was not
true, but as the mere supposition was militating against
the welfare of the University, hindering its growth and
development, he proposed the passage of a resolution
changing the name to the "University of Sewanee," and
that a committee be appointed to secure the necessary
legislative enactment.
The preamble and resolutions were referred to the com-
mittee on constitution and statutes.
224 HISTORY OF THE
It may be remarked in this connection that Bishop
Green had, himself, at Lookout Mountain in July, 1857,
proposed the name of "The University of the South/' and
that subsequently at Montgomery, Ala., Mr. Fairbanks
had renewed this proposition of Bishop Green's. It was
quite characteristic of the gentle and self-effacing
character of Bishop Green, that he should himself propose
this change of name when it was suggested to him that
such a change would be beneficial to the University.
The committee on constitution and statutes, to whom
the preamble and resolution of Bishop Green were
referred, consisted of Bishop Gregg, Bishop Wilmer,
Bishop Quintard, Bishop Pierce and Messrs. L. N. Whit-
tle, A. T. McNeal, C. K. Miles and Silas McBee.
The committee reported that in view of the gravity of
the subject, and of the fact that it has held the present
name for twenty-five years, and was so designated in the
charter, and had acquired large property interests, that
the subject should receive very mature consideration, and
that, without expressing any opinion then as a committee,
they recommended the committal of the subject to a
special committee to report to the next meeting of the
board, which recommendation was adopted and such
special committee w^as appointed, consisting of Bishop
Gregg, Bishop Young, Rev. G. T. Wilmer and Messrs.
C. B. Miles and Silas McBee.
Mr. Miles, after the adoption of a warm tribute to the
genius, scholarship, zeal and faithfulness of Prof. E.
McCrady, requested permission to read some verses found
among Professor McCrady 's papers after his death,
written by him many years previously. The board re-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 22*
quested that they be allowed to have them entered upon
the minutes. The verses were as follows :
"THE FORGE OF THOUGHT."
Work! work! work!
Prom the crack of day to the close
And half the night
By a dimmer light;
And then thy needs repose.
Toil ! toil ! toil !
When thy veins with life are full,
When tears would start
And the smitten heart
Beat languidly and dull.
Toil! toil! toil!
With ever the Christ at hand;
And the forms which pass
In the mystic glass
Of time, shalt thou understand.
Clang! clang! clang!
Let the sparks leap out in showers
And the anvil ring
And the bellows sing
From harvest moon to the flowers.
Clang! clang! clang!
And a wonder shall be wrought,
Whose head sublime
Shall tower o'er time
The masterpiece of Thought
226 HISTORY OF THE
Clang! clang! clang!
But this thy curse shall be:
Through sun and snow
The work shall grow,
Yet never shall perfect be.
Clang! clang! clang!
And when thou art stiff and dead
The world to late
May own thee great,
And laurel thy marble head.
But far, far, far,
In some grand and silent sphere,
With the wise and blest
Thou shalt take rest
Thou wouldst not suffer here.
The students of the University had entered into a
friendly rivalry with Vanderbilt University, and for six
years prior to 1882 Sewanee had never suffered a defeat
at the hands of Vanderbilt.
During the; session of the board of trustees in August,
1882, the Kt. Rev. B. W. B. Elliott, bishop of Western
Texas, addressed the board upon the necessity of provid-
ing a building and equipment for the school of chemistry,
and proposed immediate action. The sum needed was
estimated at $10,000. Bishop Elliott pledged him-
self to raise $500, Bishop Young $500, and
pledges were given by others, in all amounting to about
|5,250. With this amount subscribed, contracts wero
Tl.ompson Hall — Medical Department
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 227
entered into for building the chemical and philosophical
hall (afterwards called Thompson Hall in honor of Hon.
Jacob Thompson, the largest contributor to its erection),
and at a later date the medical college. The cornerstone
was laid on July 14th, 1883, with appropriate religious
and masonic services. Bishop Green, as chancellor,
striking the stone three times with a mallet and saying,
"Ad honorem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi et ad profectum
sacro sancti, Matris Ecclesiae et Studii pie et rever-
entissime, nos Gulie Imas Mercer, Grenn Promdentia
Divina Episcopus, Mississippienses et Chancellor Univer-
satis Australis, hunc primariuni lapidem Chemici et Philo-
sophi Aedificii collocamus in nomine Patris, et Filii et
Spiritus Sancti. Amen/3
A memorial from the Alumni Association was received
by the board of trustees at the session of 1882, asking
representation upon the board. The committee on con-
stitution and statutes reported favorably upon the
application, temporarily admitting a delegate from the
association without a vote and appointing a committee
to confer with the association in reference to the consti-
tution they should adopt, which should meet the approval
of the board.
The board adopted a resolution, reported by the com-
mittee on buildings and lands, that no lease should be
made for ninety-nine years, being unwilling to change the
existing provision for leases of thirty-three years dura-
tion, renewable for two terms of thirty-three years each,
upon agreement as to terms.
228 HISTORY OF THE
THE SEWANEE CONFERENCE.
In April, 1883, Bishop Green addressed a communica-
tion to all the bishops of the Southern States, inviting
their attention to the subject of the relations of our
church to the late slave population of our States, and the
best means that could be adopted for their religious bene-
fit; and recommending that, in accordance with the sug-
gestion made to him by several of the Southern bishops, a
council should be held at Sewanee an 25th of July, 1883,
of bishops, clergy and laity interested in the subject to
confer together and after due consultation to agree upon
some plan to be presented to the general convention for
the accomplishment of that purpose.
A council accordingly met at Sewanee on the 25th day
of July, 1883, in the chapel of the University. There
were present Bishop Green of Mississippi, Bishop Thomp-
son, assistant bishop of Mississippi, Bishop Gregg of
Texas, Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, Bishop Quintard of
Tennessee, Bishop Young of Florida, Bishop Robertson of
Missouri, Bishop Howe of South Carolina, Bishop Lyman
of North Carolina, Bishop Elliott of Western Texas,
Bishop Dudley of Kentucky, Bishop Peterkin of West
Virginia and Penick, bishop of Africa, and a very
considerable number of prominent clergymen and laymen
from the Southern dioceses. Bishop Green acted as
chairman, and Rev. Dr. F. A. Shoup as secretary. The
dioceses w^ere called in order and one member from each
diocese asked to present such views or suggestions as he
deemed proper and, when all had been heard, all the
propositions and suggestions presented were referred to
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 22»
a committee to report for the action of the conference.
This committee consisted of Bishops Gregg, Lyman,
Dudley, Thompson, Rev. Drs. Williams, Porter, Powers,
Harris and Grey, and Messrs. McNeal, Farrar, Footman,
Miles and Whittle.
On the fourth day of the conference the committee
reported at some length and proposed a draft of canon
to be presented to the general convention appointed to be
held in Philadelphia in October, 1883, entitled a canon
"of missionary organization within constituted Episcopal
jurisdiction," consisting of five sections. Section first
authorized, in any diocese containing a large number of
persons of color, it should be lawful for the bishop and
convention to constitute such population into a special
missionary organization under the charge of the bishop.
The second, third and fourth sections provided for the
manner of carrying out such organization. The fifth
section provided that congregations organized under the
provisions of this canon might be received into union
with the convention of the diocese on such terms and by
such process as provided by such diocesan convention,
but, until such reception into union with the convention,
the clergy in such missionary organizations were to be
listed separately from the clergy of the diocese.
Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, dissented from the report \
as to the proposed canon because, in his opinion, "it^
involved the idea of class legislation." Bishops Howe,
Dudley, Dr. A. T. Porter, Rev. P. G. Roberts and Messrs.
A. T. McNeal and G. R. Fairbanks were appointed a
committee to lay the proceedings of the conference before
the general convention.
230 BISTORT OF THE
The committee, in October, 1883, presented the report
of the conference to the general convention, where the
subject brought out considerable discussion and was
finally referred to a special committee of which Rev. Dr.
A. T. Porter was chairman. The committee reported a
canon in accordance with the recommendations of the
Sewanee conference. The proposed canon having been
referred to the committee on canons of the house of
deputies, of which Rev. Dr. Watson was chairman, was
reported upon adversely upon the ground of its want of
adaptability to the dioceses in general, and because the
committee was of the opinion that the respective dioceses
have already all the power requisite to provide every
suitable agency, so that no legislation was necessary.
The committee also expressed the opinion that the church
could not too carefully avoid the appearance of drawing
lines of classification and distinction between followers
of our common Lord, and which might produce dissension
in that portion of the church intended to be benefited.
The committee reported a resolution that the work of the
church among the colored people ought to be regarded
as a common work of our whole body, and receive a large
share of the care and benefactions of the board of mis-
sions, and that the board of missions be requested to take
the subject into immediate consideration and appropriate
as large a sum as possible to the missions of the church
among colored people in all parts of the church.
The report of the committee on canons was approved
by the house. Although the plan suggested by the
Sewanee conference was not accepted by the general con-
vention, yet the work of the conference bore fruit in
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 231
attracting the attention of the church to the religious
care of the colored race, and eventually secured the very
considerable appropriations made since for the mission
work among these people under the direction of the
bishops of the several dioceses. The Sewanee conference
may be regarded as the first important practical step
towards influencing the mind of the church towards,
undertaking the performance of the duty so plainly
resting on the church to care for the colored race in our
midst.
232 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXII.
Report of the special committee of the board of trustees upon th«
change of name — The views of the vice chancellor, Rev. Dr.
Hodgson, in reference thereto — Organization of hotel com-
pany— Completion of Thompson Hall — Constitution amended
to give representation to missionary jurisdictions and the
alumni.
1883.
AT the meeting of the board of trustees in August, 1883,
the first subject which came up for consideration was the
report of the special committee, appointed the previous
year in reference to the proposed change of name of the
University. As this subject, from time to time, came
up for discussion, especially in the earlier stages of the
history of the University, and as there was supposed to
exist very decided antagonisms between the people of
the North and South, which by some seemed to be
reflected and continued by the continuance of the name of
"The University of the South," the report of the special
committee appointed to consider this question, signed by
a representative committee, Bishop Gregg, a native of
South Carolina, and Bishop Young, a native of Maine,
Rev. Dr. Wilmer and L. N. Whittle, Esq., natives of
Virginia, and A. T. McNeal, Esq., of Tennessee, is of
permanent value, as containing a candid and impartial
consideration of the reasons for the original adoption
of the name, its continuance, and why it would be
inexpedient to make any change. Embarrassed by a
deficient income and a decrease of students, it was quite
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2SS
natural that expression should be given to the idea that
the University failed to receive sympathy and support
from Northern churchmen on account of the name appear-
ing to them to represent a sectional sentiment and
sectional ideas, and that if such was the case it might
be the part of wisdom to remove such an obstacle to
the reception of aid and sympathy. The endowment of
the Methodist University at Nashville by the Vanderbilts
of New York, nominally at least church people, and the
naming of that University after its principal benefactor,
suggested that perhaps similar gifts might come to the
institution at Sewanee if the supposed prejudices against
what might be regarded as a sectional name were removed.
The vice chancellor. Rev. Dr. Telfair Hodgson, in his
report to the board of trustees at its August meeting, in
1883, expressed his views of the proposed change of name
as follows:
"In regard to the proposed change of the name of the
University, your vice chancellor would say that he has the
opinion of - — and many other strong Republicans who
have no love for the South, that a change of name would
be too transparent a manoeuvre, to secure money from a
Northern man who ever heard of its old name. These
gentlemen did not like the name, but they could not fail
to respect it, and the idea that it represented, its name is
simply a dignified and courageous bid for patronage from
a large and powerful section of this country, which will
one day be just as rich as the North, a section which,
when it has become rich, will still bear the name of South,
and by its riches will make men proud to be Southerner*,
234 HISTORY OF THE
and which will also command the respect of those all over
the land who affect to despise it now.
"In that day, if this University change its name now,
our own section will not fail to remember that this
University forgot to be patient and long-suffering with
its own country, and discarded even her own name for
the flesh pots of another section, which even a change of
name (ninety-nine chances to one hundred) will not
guarantee her.
"Whatever the name of the University might have been
in its inception, it is certainly not political now, it is
only geographical. It could not be The University of
Tennessee/ the State has appropriated that name to its
own University. As grand a conception as this could not
certainly have a less dignified name, and 'Sewanee,' an
Indian name, is less so, it has no significance to those who
have never been here, the word 'Sewanee' pronounced to
strange ears, produces no impression whatever, but the
name 'University of the South' is far different. To those
who still hate the South it brings a howl of indignation,
and to the lips of those who love the South, the question
1 Where is the place?' Surely such effects prove the idea
of this name to have been an inspiration. The change of
name would be simply to get money. Your vice chancellor
does not believe that a single member of this board desires
it. He has known of men changing their names to inherit
a fortune, and after all not getting the fortune, and ever
after being filled with a feeling of self-reproach for loss
of self-respect. So it might be with the University of the
South. Let us not forget the words of the wise man
(Prov. 22, 1), 'A good name is rather to be chosen than
great riches.' "
UXIVSRS1TY OF THE SOUTH. 235
it is unlikely that the subject will ever come up again
in view of the almost complete disappearance of any
prejudice to the name, and that the name "Sewanee" is
being now almost as frequently used to designate the
University as its corporate name, indicating that the
name is regarded as a geographical designation of its
location.
At this meeting of the board Rev. W. P. DuBose,
S. T. D., who had held the office of chaplain since the
year 1871, tendered his resignation in consequence of the
pressure of other professional work, and the Rev. Thomas
F. Gailor was unanimously elected chaplain, in addition
to his duties as professor of ecclesiastical history and
church polity, to which he had been elected in 1882.
Prof. R. E. Nelson tendered his resignation of the chair
of engineering and physics, to which he had been elected
the previous year, and Rev. F. A. Shoup was elected to
that chair, Dr. Shoup was originally appointed professor
of mathematics in 1869, and professor of mathematics
upon the organization of the University faculty in 1870.
He performed the duties of chaplain until the election of
Rev. W. P. DuBose in 1872. He resigned the chair of
mathematics in 1875, and severed his connection with the
University, subsequently engaging in ministerial work at
Waterford, in the diocese of Albany, and also later in
Tennessee. He was secretary of the board of trustees in
the year 1882, and filled the chair of engineering and
physics until his death in 1896.
A proposition came from the committee on board and
boarding houses, the Rev. A. T. Porter, Rev. Mr. Lee and
Mr. McBee, at the session of the board in 1883, to erect
236 HISTORY OF THE
a students' hall planned after St. Lukes Memorial Hall,
at an initial expenditure of $8,000. Rent to be charged
each student at the rate of $10 per term, which, it
was estimated, would more than cover the interest on
the investment. The hall to accommodate seventy-five
students, but not to provide for their board. The vice
chancellor to use the unissued bonds of $6,500 for the
purpose and the balance to be provided for from the sale
of Texas lands. The whole matter was referred to the
executive committee to report upon the following year.*
The committee on boarding houses could not have
contemplated the erection of anything but a very cheap
wooden building for an estimated cost of $8,000, as
St. Lukes Memorial Hall, a stone building four stories,
accommodating only thirty-six students, cost about
$33,000.
The executive committee, in their report the following
year, made no reference to the matter; doubtless deeming
the plan proposed impracticable, and the amount proposed
to be expended inadequate for the construction of the
proposed hall. The cornerstone of the Philosophical and
Chemical Hall having only been laid on July 14th, not
much progress on the building could be reported. The
committee on buildings and lands expressed their gratifi-
cation that the Chemical Hall had been commenced, and
hoped the money necessary to complete it would be fur-
nished by voluntary subscriptions ; and further expressed
*The board wisely deferred action upon this proposal, which
contemplated only quarters, and sixteen years later Dr. C. P.
Hoffman, without expense to the University, erected Hoffman
Hall as a dormitory and refectory for juniors.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 237
the salutary opinion, that it was not the policy of the
University to devote its current means to the erection of
buildings. It would be as much as it could do to keep
them insured and in repair, and that in regard to addi-
tional permanent buildings they were unable to recom-
mend any present action.
That, considering the expense of procuring architectural
designs and the necessity of a very complete and compre-
hensive study of the subject, they were of the opinion that
any definite action at that time would not be expedient:
moreover, there seemed to be no immediate necessity of
any action being taken.
The subject of a hotel was referred to a special com-
mittee with full power to organize a joint stock company
for such purpose, but no liability was to be incurred on
account of the same by the University.
The board was much gratified at the very substantial
gift by Mrs. Azenath Sherwood, of Elgin, 111., of 5,000
acres of laud in Texas. Article 17 of the constitution
was amended so as to provide for representation in the
board of trustees of subdivided dioceses and missionary
jurisdictions.
The number of students in all departments for 1883-84
remained the same as the previous year, 182 only.
Gen. Josiah Gorgas, who had filled the position of vice
chancellor after the resignation of Bishop Quintard in
1871, up to his resignation in August, 1878, was after-
wards connected with the University of Alabama at
Tuscaloosa, at which place he died in May, 1883. General
Gorgas was an officer in the ordnance corps in the United
States Army prior to the Civil War, and resigned to take
238 HISTORY OF THE
office in the army of the Confederate States. He was
appointed a brigadier-general and chief of ordnance, and
showed conspicuous ability in the management of the
affairs of his department, to which most of the success
which attended the Confederate arms was due. Upon the
organization of the junior department of the University
of the South, in 1868, he was selected as the official head,
and subsequently vice chancellor. The minute passed by
the board at the session of 1883, justly says : "During all
the period of his connection with the University his rule
was signalized by the most exact and patient performance
of the duties of his position, all with a sweet and gentle
courtesy."
The Chemical and Philosophical Hall, known as Thomp-
son Hall, and now as the Medical Department, was com-
pleted during the year preceding the meeting of the board
of trustees in July, 1884; its cost having somewhat
exceeded the estimates, as not unusually happens. Subse-
quently considerable sums have been expended in repairs
of work improprly done, and in finishing off the third
story with suitable rooms. It was the first permanent
building erected for academical purposes.
During these years the expense account and floating
debt gradually increased until, in 1885, a balance of over
f8,300 was due Dr. Hodgson as treasurer. And from
August, 1884, to August, 1885, $4,400 was paid out
for expenses and repairs, making a large deficit in the
income available for such purposes.
An amendment to the constitution was adopted in
August, 1884, as Article 20, giving to the Associated
Alumni representation in the board of trustees, of one
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 2J»
clerical and two lay trustees to be elected by the associa-
tion and to hold office for a term of three years.
Thereupon Eev. Davis Sessums, M. A., as clerical
trustee, and Fielding Vaughan and A. S. Smith as lay
trustees, were admitted to seats in the board.
An agreement was authorized to be made with the
University Hotel Company for establishing and maintain-
ing a hotel, under which agreement the premises at the
junction of University and Sew^anee Avenues were enlarged
and opened as a hotel, and continued to be occupied and
used as such (with very considerable enlargements) until
the property went into the hands of a receiver, and it
was sold to the University for the sum of $5,500. The
property cost the stockholders of the hotel company over
$20,000. The University occupied it as a dormitory for
the grammar school, for which purpose it had a capacity
for about sixty-five students. It was, however, used as
such until better arrangementsi could be made, now
happily accomplished by the erection of Quintard
Memorial Hall.
240 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXIII.
Proposition made to erect a grammar school plant near Morgan
Steep — Renewal of approval of Bishop Hopkins' plans — Lay-
ing of the cornerstone of Convocation Hall.
1884-1886.
THE vice chancellor, in his report to the board of
trustees in August, 1884, renewed the recommendation as
to the erection of a grammar school plant and dormitory,
which he estimated could be built for |20,000, with a
capacity for eighty boys, and that the money could be
borrowed for that purpose. The committee on board and
boarding houses followed up this recommendation with
their own opinion that such a dormitory could be erected
for the sum named by the vice chancellor, and reported
resolutions authorizing him, with the concurrence of the
executive committee, to make a contract with any
responsible party for the erection of a grammar school
hall and to obligate the trustees to require grammar
school boys to stay in such hall. The committee had
two plans to suggest: One was to borrow the money
upon mortgage to build the hall and devote the net in-
come, or part of it, as a sinking fund to extinguish the
debt. The other plan was to authorize a contract to be
made with some responsible party to erect such a build-
ing at his own cost, who should derive all the profits
accruing therefrom, the board only agreeing that all
grammar school boys should be required, until the capac-
ity of the hall was filled up, to stay therein. The board
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 241
reserving the right to purchase the building at any time
at cost. The committee were informed that such a con-
tract could be made. (The party who made this
generous offer, it was understood, was Kev. Dr. Hodgson.)
The location suggested was in the vicinity of Morgan
Steep.
After discussion the report and resolutions of the com-
mittee on board and boarding houses was, upon a vote by
orders, referred to the vice chancellor and executive
committee, to be reported at the next annual meeting of
the board.
A ground plan and elevation for a grammar school
plant, including a school room, chapel, refectory and
dormitory, was prepared by G. C. Haight, Esq., a promi-
nent architect of New York City, but no further action
was taken to erect such a plant by the University. Prol>
ably one reason why the executive committee took no
action in 1884, on the subject proposed of building a gram-
mar school, was that the income of the grammar school
contributed very essentially to the support of the profes-
sors of the academic department, and could not well be
diverted from that purpose. The desirability of such a
complete separated grammar school was always conceded,
but the way did not seem open to accomplish it until the
hotel purchase enabled the authorities to carry out a
separation, so far as the limited capacity of that building
could be made use of. The board, at the session of 1884,
reaffirmed the plan for the location of permanent build-
ings, as prepared by Bishop Hopkins and on file in the
archives, upon a test vote made upon such a resolution
presented by the committee on buildings and lands.
242 HISTORY OF THE
The subject of the erection of a permanent chapel was
considered, and the efforts of the ladies' association for
obtaining funds for this purpose were commended, but
no action looking to its immediate erection was taken.
Suitable notice was taken of the death of Hon. Jacob
Thompson, formerly secretary of the interior. Mr.
Thompson was very much interested in the welfare of
the University. He contributed largely to the erection
of the Philosophical Hall, and by his will gave ten thou-
sand dollars to the University.
Dr. John B. Elliott, professor of chemistry and health
officer, tendered his resignation to the board in August,
1885. Dr. Elliott had been connected with the University
for sixteen years, dating back almost to its opening term,
and had contributed very largely by his ability and labors
to the building up and welfare of the University. For
several years he had held a position as professor in the
medical department of the University of Louisiana, devot-
ing to this work his winter vacation and, 1885, being
elected professor in the medical department of Tulane
University, he felt obliged to resign his chair in the
University of the South, very greatly to the regret of its
faculty and board of trustees.
His chair was filled by the election of Dr. J. W. 8.
Arnold, of New York, a gentleman of very high scientific
attainments, who had filled prominent professional posi-
tions in New York. His health was delicate in con-
sequence of chronic asthma.
The commencement sermon in 1885 was delivered by
the Eev. Morgan Dix, D. D., of Trinity Parish, New York
City. His subject was "The full assurance of faith," and
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 243
his sermon was worthy of his high reputation. The
honorary degree of D. O. L. was conferred on Dr. Dix on
commencement day, 1885. Among the interesting events
occurring during the meeting of the board, in 1885, was
the presentation of a small United States flag, which was
the same which floated above Bishop Otey when he made
his address on Lookout Mountain on July 4, 1857, at
the initial meeting of the delegates of the dioceses.
The flag which now hangs in the library has an
extended history, as related by Rev. Dr. Duncan of
Louisiana, the donor. Its staff is associated with the
names of Washington, Fillmore and Scott. It has been
unfurled in England, upon the Baltic, upon all the memor-
able fields of Greece, upon the pyramids and ruined
temples of Egypt, on lonely Sinai and Horeb and Hor,
upon the banks of the Jordan and in the city of Jerusalem.
Kentucky, in the year 1885, became associated for the
first time with the other Southern dioceses as a corporate
member of the University. It was but natural that it
should be so, and she was, indeed, welcome. Bishop
Dudley, her clergy and her people seemed the natural
associates of the dioceses already connected with the
University. The first members of the board from Ken-
tucky were Bishop T. U. Dudley, Rev. R. S. Barrett and
Messrs. C. F. Johnston and J. R. Proctor. A resolution
offered in the board that the permanent chapel should be
placed on the Otey Hall lot (Walsh Memorial) was laid
on the table.
Gov. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, had been elected to
deliver the commencement oration for 1885, but, being
unable on account of official duties to be present, Bishop
244 HISTORY OF THE
Dudley accepted an invitation to deliver the oration.
The year 1886 opened with more encouraging prospects.
At the opening of trinity term, 1885, fifty-eight students
matriculated and at the opening of lent term, 1886, the
same number, making the matriculations for the year
116. Over 220 registered at each term. The University
was evidently now upon an up grade. About this time
also it received substantial tokens of interest. Mrs,
Gould, of Augusta, Ga., had given $2,560 towards building
a gymnasium, and Mr. Wiley B. Miller, of Memphis,
Tenn., $2,000 for the same purpose. Mr. Miller also gave
$2,000 to apply on the University debt, and Miss Florence
Miller, his daughter, gave the sum of $4,813.12 for a
building to be designated as the Miller Convocation
House.
On the 24th of June the cornerstone of the gymnasium
(being the east end of the library) was laid by the
chancellor, Bishop Green of Mississippi, with appro-
priate religious ceremonies. The chancellor striking the
stone three times and saying, "Ad honor em Domini nostri
Jesu Christi et ad profectum sacrosancti Matris Ecclesiae
et Studei pie et reverentissime, nos Providential Divina
Chancellor Universitatis Australia hunc primarium lapi-
dem Gymnasii collocamus in Nomine Patris et Filio et
Spiritus Sancti, Amen."
The vice chancellor, in his report to the board of
trustees in August, 1886, says that the building was begun
on May 1st, and that "as the gymnasium was a part of
the proposed chapel building, it had to be built in
connection therewith. That the stonework for the
gymnasium, Convocation House and Breslin Tower
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 345
(stonework on the tower to a height of thirty feet) had
been contracted for at the rate of $4.50 for foundation
and $ 7.00 for superstructure per cubic yard. Your vice
chancellor thinks he has money enough on hand and in
sight to complete the gymnasium, Convocation House and
bell tower."
A proposal was made to the board through the vice
chancellor for the appointment of a clergyman living at
the North as a dean of St. Augustines, who would devote
himself to obtaining funds at the North to complete St.
Augustines chapel, and eventually devote his time to the
work at Sewanee. He was to be the dean over all the
chaplains of the different departments of the University
when such officer should be constituted. The board,
probably deeming such an appointment premature, took
no action on the suggestion. The vice chancellor sub-
mitted plans for the proposed gymnasium, Convocation
House and bell tower, and permanent chapel, prepared
by Mr. W. Halsey Wood. The board passed a resolution
saying that they were not then prepared to accept the
plans presented by the vice chancellor, and referred them
to the executive committee. The plans presented to the
board by Dr. Hodgson contemplated a building one
hundred and twenty feet in length by thirty feet in width,
the east half of which was designated as a gymnasium,
and the west half as a chapter or convocation house.
Adjoining and forming a part of the building, at the
southwest corner, was to be a large tower, twenty by
twenty-four feet, and ninety feet high. This comprised
the buildings then under contract. The elevation and
ground plans were furnished for a new chapel, the nave
246 HISTORY OF THE
to be about forty-four feet in width and one hundred feet
in length, with a large tower and vestry room, the
chapel to be connected with the convocation house and
gymnasium by a cloister. The distance between the
buildings was to be about fifty feet. The chapel was to
seat about nine hundred persons. The estimated cost of
gymnasium and convocation house was $14,000, and the
tower, $7,000. The chapel about $57,000. Of which the
gymnasium, convocation house and tower are all that have
been constructed.
The necessary amount for the building of the tower,
about $10,000, was given by Mr. Breslin of New
York, a friend of Eev. Dr. Shoup, and through his
influence, no doubt. Upon motion of the bishop of
Louisiana the board authorized the location of the
proposed new chapel on the site known as the Otey Hall
lot. This action was set aside by the location of Walsh
Memorial Hall in 1890.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 247
CHAPTER XXIV.
The subject for the location and plans for the permanent build-
ings discussed — Paper as to the plans of the founders of the
University by Geo. R. Fairbanks, lay trustee from the diocese
of Florida, read at the meeting of the board of trustees —
Preservation of the forest growth — Some relics of the corner-
stone— Death of Bishop Young of Florida, and Col. L. N.
Whittle of Georgia.
1886.
DURING the discussion as to permanent buildings in the
board in August, 1886, a paper upon the plan of the
founders was read by Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, and ordered
printed in the minutes of the board. As bearing upon
the general subject of the inception of the University and
the intentions of those who originated it, of whom the
author was deemed qualified to speak, having been
associated with them and a number of the board of
trustees during all that formative period.
The paper presented was as follows:
Extract from the proceedings of the loard of trustees of
1886, Resolution No. 67.
Resolved, That the paper read before the board on the second
ofi the present session, by Major Geo. R. Fairbanks, a lay
from the diocese of Florida, referring to the original
for the establishment of the University and the improve-
ment of its domain, be published with the proceedings had at this
session of the board, for the information of members.
248 HISTORY OF THE
THE PLANS OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE
UNIVERSITY.
TO THE BOAED OF TRUSTEES OP THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE SOUTH.
THE MEMORIAL OF G. R. FAIRBANKS, A LAY TRUSTBH
FROM THE DlOCESE OF FLORIDA.
"Brethren, Bishops, Priests and Laymen, need I remind you
that we stand here in the mere gateway of that magnificent
temple planned by those noble spirits, Otey, Polk, Elliott and
others; and that we are pledged, by the very acceptance of our
office, to carry out their grand design." — [Rt. Rev. W. M. Green,
D. D., Chancellor's Address, July, 1870.]
Published as an Appendix to the Digest, by Resolution of the
Board.
It is now thirty years since Leonidas Polk, bishop of
Louisiana, gave form and substance to the idea, which
had previously been thrown out by Bishop Otey, that the
Southern church should establish within her own borders
a grand and comprehensive institution of learning, and
thus; outlined in wise and well considered words the pro-
ject of a university of the South.
The scheme presented by Bishop Polk was in the same
year sanctioned and affirmed in all its parts by the
bishops of the ten Southern dioceses. Delegates from
these dioceses met at Lookout Mountain on the 4th of
July, 1857, and formed an organization for carrying out
the scheme; and in November, 1857, again met to choose
a location, when Sewanee was selected, from its own
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 249
fitness, and in accordance with one of the principles
enunciated by the bishops and delegates, that the location
should be central, and accessable to the citizens of the
Southern States.
In the whole history of educational institutions in
America no other instance is recalled where the concep-
tion of a grand landed domain was made so important
a feature in the planning and planting of a college or
university. Sewanee, as the site of the University of the
South, is the product of this idea, a wide departure from
the existing ideas, which looked to populous centers and
environment to build up and sustain such institutions.
The Sewanee idea was to create its own environment; as
Bishop Polk said when asked, in reference to the isolated
location of the proposed University, "Where will you
get your society?" His answer was, "We will make it;
and not only so, but we will surround our University
with such a society as is nowhere else possible in this
land." It was not an idle boast, but a sagacious fore-
cast of a future then seemingly distant, but now quite
within our sure range of vision.
At the end of thirty years, one generation of man's
existence, after the destructive effect of a terrible civil
conflict, the sweeping away of the substance of our land
and the manhood of one generation ; after a hard struggle
for existence, under circumstances every way discourag-
ing, we have now emerged from the clouds of disaster,
upheaval and poverty ; and the South is today prosperous,
united, and well settled in all its social, business, and
political relations.
250 HISTORY OF TBS
The University has become, to all human appearance,
placed upon a strong and enduring basis, the best basis
on which an institution can rest, a well founded reputa-
tion for imparting scholarship and learning upon the
true principles of Christian education.
Our landed domain, acquired with much effort and
sacrifice, consists of about 9,000 acres of woodland, lying
upon the tableland of the Cumberland Mountain plateau,
and extending in most instances sufficiently far down the
slopes of the mountain to give us control of the bluffs
and approaches from the valleys. A large portion of the
tract, as will be seen by reference to the map, lies on the
northwest of the railroad, embracing a long spur of the
mountain, from bluff to bluff, and on the slopes on either
side, being about five miles in length. On this portion
the ground presents a central ridge running lengthwise,
and from this central ridge lateral ridges extend towards
the bluff on either side, with depressions of valleys form-
ing the channels of spring branches or watersheds. Very
little of the surface has much level area. The largest
area of comparatively level ground extends for a short
distance south, and for a considerable distance north, of
Tremlett Hall. The only straight avenue planned by
Bishop Hopkins extended westerly from the cornerstone
of the grand central building about one mile, forming a
boulevard some two hundred feet in width as a grand
drive, and giving a fine perspective view of the central
building and most of the projected college buildings.
Along these lateral ridges a comparatively level
surface, narrow in extent and sloping to the north and
south, exists, terminating on the bluffs along the rocky
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 251
faced brow of the mountain. The soil is a sandy loam
lying upon a conglomerate rock, and good roads are easily
made by following the sinuosities of the ridges, making
handsome drives, easily kept in order. Gentle elevations,
rising slightly above the general level, are frequently
found, presenting beautiful natural sites for dwellings.
Bishop Elliott, in an address published in 1858, truly
said: "This Cumberland plateau seems to have been
formed by God for the benefit and blessing of the valley
of the Mississippi and the cotton growing regions of the
Southern States. Forming the eastern limit of that
immense valley, stretching with that peculiar formation
of a sandstone tableland for one hundred miles across the
State of Tennessee, easy of access at many points, it has
already become the summer resort of many distinguished
Southern families of planters and merchants, who desire
to recruit their families during the summer months, and
are yet unwilling to be separated from their interests.
The time is not distant when this whole plateau will be
covered over with villas and cottages and watering places,
and will teem with the most refined society of the South
and West. This will be the place of meeting of the South
and West. Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah will
here shake hands with Mobile, New Orleans, Nashville
and Memphis, and cement the strong bonds of mutual
interest with the yet stronger ones of friendship and
love."
From the nature of the ground it was evident at the
outset that, as we had no level plain upon which all the
buildings of the University could be placed in symmetrical
form, the topography must be carefully studied and
252 HISTORY OF THE
mapped out, the levels ascertained, and a system of
location adopted which should conform to the ground
and present a symmetrical plan as a whole.
At the meeting of the board at Beersheba Springs in
1859, on motion of Rt. Rev. Dr. Cobbs, bishop of Alabama,
it was
"Resolved, That the executive committee be authorized
to employ a landscape gardener for the purpose of laying
off and arranging the grounds of the University with
due regard to convenience, comfort and taste."
Under this resolution the executive committee procured
the services of Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, who, among
his extraodinary and multiform accomplishments, was
distinguished for his ability as an architect and land-
scape gardener. He only consented to accept the invita-
tion in order to enable him to give the compensation he
might receive to an important work in his diocese, which
he had much at heart.
Bishop Hopkins came to Sewanee in the fall of 1859,
accompanied by Bishop Polk, and spent the winter of
1859-60 in a careful and laborious study of the topog-
raphy and general features of the grounds, having the
advantage of being at Sewanee after the fall of the
leaves, so that an uninterrupted view of large areas
could be obtained. He had also the very great advantage
of a comprehensive topographical map (made by Col.
C. R. Barney, an accomplished civil engineer) showing a
complete line of levels, the result of nearly two years'
labor in the field, at a cost of five thousand dollars.
Unfortunately the original map, the fruit of so much
labor, was lost by the casualities of our civil war. Very
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 253
fortunately, however, a traced copy upon cloth of the
central and most important portion, embracing the lands
for a distance of two miles north and west of the railroad,
together with a reduced map of the whole domain, was
preserved by me, and they are now in possession of the
University. Bishop Hopkins spent several months here,
planned the location of the buildings, of the principal
avenues, and of a grand drive some thirty miles in extent,
which he named the Corso, embracing all the principal
views and objects of interest. The results of his labors
are embodied in the map we have, known as the Hopkins
map. He was paid a compensation of $900.
At the annual meeting of the board of trustees in I860,
held at University Place, it was.
"Resolved, That the executive committee be authorized
to arrange the reservations required for the use of the
University, and around the springs, and also to lay out
the public grounds, avenues, streets, etc., and shall give
two months' notice of the time of leasing the lots on the
domain. The size and shape of the lots, and the terms,
conditions and mode of leasing thereof shall be deter-
mined by the executive committee, who shall have full
discretionary power in reference to all matters connected
therewith."
This resolution was reenacted at Columbia, S. C., in
1861, at a meeting of the board held not long after the
commencement of hostilities.
The executive committee took action under this resolu-
tion, and adopted several resolutions relative to the
leasing of lots, which form the foundation of our present
regulations upon this subject
254 HISTORY OF THE
No regular meeting of the board was again held until
1867, at Montgomery, Ala.; but in 1866, under the
authority of the surviving members of the executive com-
mittee, Bishop Quintard built Otey Hall as the foundation
of a theological training school, and he and myself erected
cottages where we now reside. At the meeting in Colum-
bia, in 1861, in view of the condition of the country, the
board authorized the chancellor, Bishop Otey, to take
such steps as might be necessary for the preservation of
the property and domain. Bishop Otey placed me in
charge of everything as agent and representative of the
University. I remained in charge until the spring of
1862, when I was forced to leave. Our buildings were
destroyed in 1863.
At the meeting in 1867, at Montgomery, the board
elected Bishop Quintard vice chancellor, and Geo. B.
Fairbanks was elected to act as commissioner of buildings
and lands, and as the business manager of the University,
to reside at the University site, and to have in charge all
the business affairs of the University. At this meeting
Bishop Quintard offered, and the board accepted, Otey
Hall.
In 1869 a committee was appointed, to whom the whole
matter of disposition of the domain was referred, to report
at the next annual meeting. This committee reported to
the board on the 13th of July, 1870, rules and regulations,
which were adopted and have ever since been in force.
In 1872 the following resolution was adopted :
"Resolved, That the plan of the lands of the University
of the South, as delineated on the map presented to us
toy the late Bishop Hopkins, be hereby adopted, and that
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 25i
it be closely followed in the location of buildings by the
commissioner of buildings and lands, and by all others."
The plan of the location of the buildings, as laid down
on Bishop Hopkins' map, will be found to have been
carefully made with reference to the beauty of each loca-
tion and the general effect of the whole. At the site
where the cornerstone of the great central building was
laid in 1860 we find an elevation about 500 feet in
diameter, gently sloping in all directions. Here was to
be erected the great central building. One of the plans
furnished by a leading architect gives as the entire length
of the building 272 feet, its greatest depth 135 feet;
divided into a central portion 70 by 135 feet, containing
the theater or great hall, 70 by 120 feet, to seat 2,500
people; a library wing 41 feet front by 81 feet in
depth on one side, and a gallery of fine arts in the other
wing, of the same dimensions, the wings connected with
the central portion by corridors 60 feet in length by 20
feet in width — not unlike the general plan of the capitol
at Washington.
The other buildings for the several schools were
intended to be of different styles of architecture, of
moderate size, and not to exceed $25,000 each in cost.
Professors' houses and boarding houses were expected
to be built in their vicinity upon some corresponding plan
as to symmetry and general appearance. The schools to
be so grouped as convenience should require. These
buildings to be erected from time to time, as the wants
of the institution required. These colleges or halls to be
built of stone, according to the best models of architec-
ture ; to be located on the most desirable sites, and to be
256 HISTORY OF THE
placed so as to bring those studies usually pursued to-
gether into sufficiently close connection for convenient
access; placing on the outer line of the grouping the
special schools, such as law, medicine, mines, etc.
The founders of the University, those grand, wise and
sagacious men, Bishops Polk, Otey, Elliott, Cobbs, Green
and others, had in their minds a definite plan and system.
The securing of a domain of ten thousand acres was the
foundation of their plans. They wished room enough
upon which to build their University buildings without
restriction as to the area to be occupied. They set apart
a campus of one thousand acres as a reserve for this
purpose. The reserve was destined primarily for the
University buildings, professors' houses, and boarding
houses connected therewith. Outside of the reserve the
domain was expected to be occupied by church families.
Distance was not regarded, because the class of residents
who would be expected to erect residences for summer
homes necessarily belonged to the same class who always,
at their homes, provide themselves with conveyances for
use and pleasure. It was anticipated "that a time not
distant would come," when, in the language of Bishop
Elliott, "this whole plateau would be covered over with
villas and cottages and watering places, and would teem
with the most refined society of the South and West."
They believed that the domain of the University, if man-
aged with a prudent forecast, would create at no distant
day a secure endowment, ever increasing in value; leases
taken of every available locality, and a large and refined
society, brought together here from all parts of the South,
homogeneous in sentiment, centering around these hall»
of learning, interested in and advancing this great work.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 257
It was not the purpose to build up a town, but a large
sylvan population, where every home should be surrounded
with the leafy shades of the primeval forests, mingling
the wildness of nature with the improvements of man,
and placed upon wooded knolls with meandering paths
upon their gentle slopes, or on bold summits presenting
distant scenes of unsurpassed beauty, rich valleys and a
boundless horizon stretching far away into purple-hued
cloudlands, where clouds and sky are undistinguishable.
They realized the advantages which this magnificent
plateau presented for such a development. Its absolute
healthfulness, its pure freestone water supply, its admira-
ble building stone, its accessibility by railway and
common roads, the abundant region surrounding it, "with
milk and honey blessed," as well as everything needful
at moderate cost.
They regarded these forest trees, these towering oaks,
with fond admiration, as giving attraction and beauty
which in themselves would form an element of great
value. They insisted on their preservation with the most
jealous care. As soon as the title to the domain was
acquired their first act was to appoint a forester to
prevent the cutting down of this valuable forest growth.
Mounted and vigilant, he constantly patrolled the domain,
and warned off trespassers and bark and wood cutters.
The constitution and statutes of the University provided
for a special officer, the commissioner of buildings and
lands, who should have the leasing of the grounds, and
whose duty it was specially made to prevent trespasses
and intrusions, to be vigilant in observing them, and to
take prompt measures for correcting abuses or trespasses.
258 HISTORY OF THE
It was anticipated that the performances of these duties
would require the full time and attention of a capable
and efficient officer. A splendid white oak, with its broad
canopy and well developed growth, the finest shade tree
on either mountain or plain, may fall before the wood-
man's axe in a few minutes, but requires half a century
to replace it. Unfortunately its value for fuel is as well
recognized as for shade and beauty, and the woodman
passes by the crooked and deformed chestnut, the
unsightly black oak, the tough bay, and selects for his
victim the white oak, the most prized and valuable of our
forest trees. Thousands of unsightly stumps now meet
our view wherever we may direct our steps. In many
places the ground is growing up in a thicket, and the
large timber has all disappeared; bushes and under-
growth make otherwise beautiful sites unapproachable
and undesirable, and no doubt our water supply is
already to some extent affected by the denudation
of our shallow soil, in clearings. Rough plantations
of cleared land further injure the natural beauty
of our lands. Thus far we have rather impaired
than improved the natural beauty of our mountain top.
A few years more, with the same neglect permitted, and
we shall have made much of it valueless and tenantless;
and we shall have only built up on our domain an insig-
nificant village, with its dusty and close built streets,
just as attractive in itself, and no more, than any ordinary
village elsewhere. The beautiful ideal of the founders,
by our own neglect, our own want of wisdom and want
of faith in the future, will have vanished ; and our domain,
instead of being the home of thousands of refined and
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 259
cultivated families, will be to us a mere woodyard and
waste.
Under the pressure of our apparent necessity for
economy, and the other work absorbing us, we have put
to one side the important work of protecting and enhanc-
ing the value of our domain, and devolved its care upon
an officer already overburdened with other duties, and
who has kindly consented to act temporarily as commis-
sioner of buildings and lands, to save the University the
payment of a salaried officer. It is very far from the
purpose of this paper to cast censure upon any one, but
rather to call attention to the importance of the subject
with the hope that we may now shape our action to for-
ward the plans of the founders, correct the errors of the
past, and secure judicious and systematic future manage-
ment of interests so important to the University. What
may be accomplished at a slight expense in the way of
beautiful drives is shown by the pleasing experiment of
the Hodgson Drive to Morgan Steep, planned and success-
fully executed by Dr. Hodgson; and the Elliott Drive or
Querlique, planned and opened under the direction of Dr.
Elliott ; showing how admirably drives of easy grade and
graceful lines may be executed upon the undulatory
surface of our domain, and also bringing to view many
beautiful villa sites. The fine location selected with
I aesthetic taste by Rev. Dr. Hodgson for the residence
occupied by Rev. Mr. Oertel, near Morgan Steep, also
points in the direction of the plans of the men of 1858.
We have formally adopted Bishop Hopkin's plan, and
yet we have never conformed to it; our buildings have
been located on no plan or system, but in accordance
260 HISTORY OF THE
with the tastes or preferences of individual minds, the
wishes of donors, considerations of convenience to resi-
dents, or to accommodate the boarding houses and
students; and very much in connection with the location
of our present wooden and temporary grammar school
and University buildings.
A period has now arrived when it seems necessary
that some decided and systematic action be taken by the
board for the preservation of valuable timber and build-
ing sites on the domain; for the proper location of
University buildings hereafter to be erected ; for opening
and making available the many suitable sites for
residences, so that we may thereby increase our revenues
and secure an increase in the number of families having
a home and interests here; for laying out judiciously new
avenues, and for the securing of the health of the com-
munity by proper sanitary regulations.
Now, the only surviving lay trustee of the original
board, remaining in the board, and feeling very intensely
the importance of the subject, I have ventured to direct
your attention to this whole matter, with a view of
inducing the adoption of some positive policy and action
for the guidance of those who may be entrusted with the
future control of the University domain. We are at the
beginning of a long history of our enterprise; we are
trustees for future generations. One by one we pass
away from our seats in the board, but our work remains
to act upon the welfare of the University of the future
as well as the present. We should aim to do our work
wisely, not in mere subservience to the narrow and limited
present, but for the grand future for which Otey and
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 261
Polk and Elliott and Cobbs and Green and Rutledge and
other good men planned, but never saw even the dawn of
the fulfillment of.
With an implicit faith in the great future of our Uni-
versity, and the eventual completion upon the lines its
founders marked out and with the eye of faith saw the
accomplishment of in the near future, I place on record
this memorial to testify my own sense of respect to their
memory, and to testify my faith in their plans, and my
earnest hope that they will be adhered to.
GEORGE R. FAIRBANKS,
Member of first Board of Trustees,
a Lay Trustee from Florida.
SEWANEE, AUGUST 2, 1886.
We Americans are always in danger of being dominated by
what Wesley called the "lust of finishing," and I hope we shall
have, in connection with this work, courage to lay out our lines
upon so large a plan as to compel the thoroughness and real worth
and grandeur of proportion and detail which such an undertaking
demands. — [Bishop Potter's Con. Address.]
By resolution of the board the ravine extending from
the Polk Spring to the lands leased by Rev. Dr. Hodgson
were reserved, with the adjoining slopes, for improve-
it as a public park.
During the period preceding the annual meeting of the
trustees in 1886 two of its most valuable members had
been removed by death. The Rt. Rev. J. Freeman Young,
B. T. D., bishop of Florida, and Col. L. N. Whittle of
Georgia. Both of these gentlemen had long been associ-
ated with the board, and had been most earnest in promot-
262 HISTORY OF THE
ing its welfare and advancement. Colonel Whittle was
always in attendance at the meetings of the board, and
was most liberal in devoting his time and means. He was
a Virginian by birth, and a noble type of a gentleman of
the old school, of whom so few now remain.
The board again, in 1886, passed a resolution in
reference to procuring the services of a landscape
gardener, and for laying out the streets and grounds of
the University domain, but no results followed, landscape
gardeners being, it seemed, harder to obtain than
professors. The large domain with its varying elevations
and depressions, cliffs and ravines, springs and streams,
required a very experienced and skillful expert gardener
and forester to properly lay out its streets and roads,
pleasure drives, parks and grounds.
The preservation of the forest growth has always
been deemed a most important and necessary provision.
The constant tendency to disregard this object, and the
ignorant or willful wielders of the axe, disregarding all
instructions or contracts, have marred and destroyed
large portions of the original forest growth, but a judi-
cious thinning out of the young growth, a special care
to preserve trees most valuable for future adornment of
location desirable for residences, a proper system of
drainage, with a view to preserve the forest from denuda-
tion, a skillful advantage of grades for roadways, and
constant oversight will largely restore and greatly
beautify our domain for which nature has done so much.
It is rarely that people can be made to realize and
foresee the importance of providing for the future
growth and development of towns or institutions. Their
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 263
first impulse is to look after their immediate needs, to
follow the course of the pioneers' devious track, to get rid
of and burn up the forest growth, and then in future
years to plant out such trees as may be most easily or
cheaply obtained, and leave them to struggle on, uncared
for, used for hitching posts and stunted into unsightly
trunks, when a judicious selection of the original forest
growth left in their original places would have made
beautiful shaded avenues and public grounds, a pleasure
and pride to the community.
It will be recalled that the cornerstone of the central
building was laid on the 10th of October, 1860, with
great ceremony, and in the presence of a large concourse
of people. At the close of the war it was found that the
great block of Tennessee marble had altogether dis-
appeared. In 1886, twenty-six years afterwards, the
manner of its disappearance was explained by the recep-
tion from Anson Nelson, Esq., secretary of the Tennessee
Historical Society, which met at Sewanee in June, 1886, of
a fragment of the stone and the accompanying letter. The
vice chancellor, in his report to the board of trustees,
August, 1886, refers to exhibit v, containing a piece of
the cornerstone presented by the Tennessee Historical
Society. This piece was taken from its site by some of
the twenty-sixth Illinois cavalry camped at Sewanee,
July, 1863, accompanied by the following extract of a
letter written at that time.
264 HISTORY OF TEE
"CAMP UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,
CUMBERLAND MOUNTAIN, July 26th, 1863.
COMPANY A. 26TH ILLINOIS, SD BRIGADE.
"The cornerstone of the University has been distributed
throughout the upper country by this brigade. It was
clandestinely moved from its foundation at night, and
its documents fell into unknown hands. The boys
immediately commenced breaking it up for trinkets, and
it is now all used up. Enclosed you will find a piece of
it which I have dressed out upon a rock and finished
with a knife."
The piece was fashioned in the shape of a little marble
book, and it is preserved in the University collection.
This cornerstone, a massive block of Tennessee marble,
was laid on a heavy foundation course of blocks of
Sewanee sandstone and overlaid with similar blocks.
The foundation still remains undisturbed, the writer
having caused one of the upper blocks to be placed there
properly marked to designate the spot, "U. S."
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 265
CHAPTER XXV.
Rev. Dr. Barrett's plan for endowment — Death of Rt. Rev.
William Mercer Green, bishop of Mississippi and chancellor
of the University — Election of Bishop Gregg as chancellor —
Regulation proposed as to the conferring of honorary degrees
and statute adopted in reference thereto — Attempt to subject
the 1,000 acres, exempted by the charter of the University,
to taxation — Decree of the Supreme Court in favor of the
University.
1886 - 1887.
AT the annual meeting of the board of trustees in
1886, the Rev. Mr. Barrett, of Kentucky, addressed the
board in reference to the endowment of the University,
and presented a scheme to be called the "Birthday
Society," which proposed circulating very extensively
among the alumni and friends of the University an
obligation printed in books, promising an annual gift of
some specific sum on the recurrence of each birthday of
the obligor.
The subject was referred to a special committee, which
reported resolutions for the appointment of a commis-
sioner of endowments to raise a permanent endowment
fund, and to receive 10 per cent on his collections. Rev.
Dr. Barrett was elected commissioner of endowments.
If Dr. Barrett could have devoted his undivided time to
the matter no doubt a considerable amount could have
been realized, but during the ensuing year he became
rector of St. Lukes Cathedral (Atlanta), and was unable
to give his personal attention to the carrying out of his
266 HISTORY OF THE
scheme, and no scheme of the kind can be successful
without unremitting personal attention. The financial
result of Mr. Barrett's birthday scheme was small in
obtaining a permanent endowment fund.
On the 13th of February, 1887, the Rt. Rev. W. M.
Green, D. D., bishop of Mississippi, and chancellor of the
University from 1866, died at Sewanee in the eighty-
ninth year of his age, having been born May 2, 1798.
He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina,
in which institution he held the chair of English litera-
ture, was consecrated first bishop of Mississippi in 1850.
and was one of the most devoted and earnest founders
of the University. He was the author of the "Life of
Bishop Otey," and was identified with Sewanee from the
first, having built a residence there in 1867, and was the
first to propose at Lookout Mountain the name of "The
University of the South." "Greens View" and "Greens
Spring," will give a local perpetuation of the name of the
good bishop of Mississippi for all future generations.
With Bishop Green passed away the last of the bishops
who, in 1856, signed the address to the members and
friends of the Protestant Church in the Southern and
Southwestern States, proposing the founding of a church
university at the South. The board of trustees, in their
minutes relative to this godly man, paid a just tribute to
his exalted character, concluding with the following most
appropriate delineation of his special characteristics :
"With this spirit of unaffected humility his whole life
was penetrated, as in self sacrifice, unwearied devotion
and unceasing ministrations for the good of others, that
life was preeminently distinguished. And never, we are
Rt. Rev. ALEXANDER GREGG, D. D.
Bishop of Texas; Fifth Chancellor of the University.
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 267
persuaded, has there been in our day a more striking
exhibition of the power of gentleness, of the influence of
true Christian courtesy, and the happy fruits of an
observance, unfailing because instinctive of the
amenities of life, than were seen in his. Well, therefore,
may it be said of him, ' Whatsoever things were true, what-
soever things were just, whatsoever things were pure,
whatsoever things were lovely, whatsoever things were of
good report/ these he cultivated, in these he took delight ;
and in these were found, though unsought, that good
name 'which is rather to be chosen than great riches,' and
the loving favor, 'better than silver or gold.' His works
do follow him. Thank God for his example."
The baccalaureate sermon at commencement, 1887, was
preached by the Rt. Rev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D., of Missouri,
and the commencement oration by the Hon. John T.
Morgan, United States senator from Alabama. The death
of Bishop Green having made a vacancy in the office of
chancellor, Bishop Alexander Gregg, bishop of Texas,
was unanimously elected to that office. On taking his
seat as chancellor, an address of welcome was made by
Bishop Garrett, of Northern Texas, on behalf of the board,
to which Bishop Gregg feelingly replied. After referring
to the noble example of his predecessor in the office,
Bishop Green, he said : "Of the original trustees but four
are left to continue in spirit as when they first met
together to inaugurate this great work, upon which they
can now look in its growth and steady advancement with
devout gratitude to Him whose blessing has not ceased
to cheer and strengthen, and will, we humbly trust, never
be withdrawn. Language fails me fully to express the
268 HISTORY OF THE
enthusiasm inspired in my breast at its inception, the
hopes excited when the foundations of the University
were afterwards laid, or the anxieties subsequently
experienced through days of desponding gloom. Those
times of despondency seem to have passed away and I
congratulate you on what we now behold."
By the generous donation of $500 by Kev. J. A. Van-
Hoose, an alumnus of the University, for which thanks
were tendered by the board, a course of lectures on
Greek literature were secured to be delivered by that
eminent Greek scholar, Dr. B. L. Gildersleeve of the Johns
Hopkins University.
Dr. J. W. Arnold brought to the attention of the board
the subject of the establishment of a school of biology.
This suggestion was referred to the committee on
organization, but no report was made on the subject.
A communication was received from the Alumni
Association, with a resolution passed by that Association,
appointing Mr. Silas McBee commissioner to raise funds
for the University, and guaranteeing him his expenses
while in the field. The board thereupon authorized Mr.
McBee to act as commissioner and agent of the board for
the purpose of raising funds for the University.
The subject of the conferring of honorary degrees was
a subject of discussion in 1887. The committee on
degrees, of which Bishop Dudley was chairman, called
attention to the growing looseness with which such
degrees were being conferred throughout the country, and
proposed a regulation that honorary degrees should only
be conferred by the unanimous consent of the board,
which was adopted. The subject of the degrees of the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 269
University was finally referred to a special committee,
consisting of Bishop Dudley, Rev. Davis Sessums and Mr.
Moncure, to report a statute on the subject the following
year. This committee made a report which was recom-
mitted, and the matter lay dormant until the board, in
1889, adopted an amendment to Statute 9, which provided
that no honorary degree should be conferred without a
reference of the application to the committee on degrees,
nor be conferred save by unanimous consent, unless
application shall have been filed with the vice chancellor
three months in advance of any annual meeting of the
board, and in no case without the affirmative vote of four-
fifths of the trustees voting thereon. This seems to afford
proper security against precipitate action, and to keep
the board in mind of the rule that had been agreed upon
to confer "the honorary degrees of the University upon
such only as are distinguished in letters or divinity, or
preeminent services to the church or in the State." It is
believed that this rule has been for the most part adhered
to, and that the University has been very chary in the
granting of honorary degrees, while the granting of
degrees in course have been only obtained through scholar-
ship and rigorous examination.
The charter granted by the State of Tennessee an
January 6, 1858, contains this clause, Section 10:
"Be it further enacted that said University shall hold
and possess as much land as may be necessary for the
buildings and to such an extent as may be sufficient to
protect said institution and the students thereof from the
intrusion of evil-minded persons who may settle near
said institution, said lands, however, not to exceed ten
270 HISTORY OF THE
thousand acres; one thousand acres of which, including
buildings and other effects and property of said corpora-
tion, shall be exempt from taxation so long as said lands
belong to said University."
This exemption from taxation was recognized by the
State and county authorities until the year 1887, when
a claim was made by an official of the State connected
with the county of Franklin, within which the University
is situated, that the one thousand acres (known as the
reserve) was liable to taxation, and he thereupon assessed
a tax upon the University, a basis valuation of f 100,000
on the reserve, and for three years back taxes, and upon
an aggregate valuation of f 400,000 — the tax amounting to
|2,700.
A bill in chancery was filed for the University by
Messrs. Marks and Gregory, praying an injunction against
the levy of this tax. It was to the University a most
important matter and, if this claim of taxation upon the
reserve was maintained, it would have proved a most
serious embarrassment in the future. The writer made
a deposition in the case, covering some 150 pages of
closely written matter, giving virtually a history of the
management, leasing and use which had been made of
funds so obtained from lands within the reserve. The
brief filed by ex-Governor A. S. Marks, of counsel for the
University, was a most admirable argument in support
of the exemption, and the claim for exemption was fully
sustained by the judgment of the Supreme Court of the
State of Tennessee, and the question thus settled for all
time to the great advantage of the University. It was
decreed by the court that the decree of the chancellor
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 271
(sustaining the tax) be reversed; that all of said assess-
ments were void because said property was exempt from
taxation for State or County purposes so long as said
property belongs to the University, that the injunction
against A. J. Skidmore, trustee for the county of Franklin^
be reinstated and made perpetual.
In the year 1872, Mr. Jas. Hill, a citizen of the State
of Mississippi, then resident in Montreal, Canada,,
appended to his will a codicil bequeathing to the Univeiv
sity, on the death of his wife, two hundred and thirty-
two shares, of flOO each, of the consolidated
fund of the city of Montreal. The interest to
be paid to his wife during her lifetime, and upon her death
the stock to go to the University of the South. It was
not until 1887 that the University had any knowledge
of this bequest. Mrs. Hill was then, in 1887, still living.
She died in 1893, and the counsel of the University took
the necessary steps to obtain the transfer of the stock.
A daughter of Mr. Hill interposed a claim and objections
to the transfer of the stock, claiming that the gift was in
controvention of the constitution of the State of Missis-
sippi. The case went to the Supreme Court of Mississippi
and was decided adversely to the University by a majority
of the judges, two to one.
A rehearing was obtained and the former decision was
reversed, and the claim of the University was sustained.,
The stock having been sold at a large premium, realized
the sum of $40,000.*
*Which, according to the expressed intention of the donor,
was invested and the income allotted as scholarships to needy
and deserving young men.
( UNIVERSITY
272 HISTORY OF THE
The Rev. Geo. T. Wilmer, D. D., who had been connected
with the University from the year 1876, as professor of
metaphysics and English literature, and had filled the
chair of systematic divinity in the theological department,
resigned his professorship in August, 1887, and removed
to South Carolina. He was a native of Virginia, a
brother of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, and had long
been connected with the venerable William and Mary
College in Virginia; a man of fine scholarship, quaint
humor, and presenting many of the characteristics of the
clergy of a former generation.
The income of the University derived from tuition
fees was larger for 1886-87 than for any previous year,
amounting to $19,401.91.
The terms for which the vice chancellor and professors
had been elected having expired, Rev. Dr. Hodgson was
reelected vice chancellor for five years. Gen. E. Kirby
Smith to the chair of mathematics, Prof. B. L. Wiggins
to the chair of ancient languages, Prof. F. M. Page to
the chair of modern languages, Rev. F. A. Shoup to the
chair of engineering and physics, Prof. Cameron Piggot,
M. D., to the chair of chemistry, Mr. Greenough White to
the chair of English, etc., Prof. W. P. DuBose, D. D., to
the chair of exegesis, Rev. Thos. F. Gailor, chaplain and
professor of ecclesiastical history, J. W. Weber, master
- of the grammar school, and Professor Shoup to the chair
of metaphysics, vacated by Rev. Dr. Wilmer.
The committee on the grammar school reported to the
board that it was manifestly better in every respect than
in any former period of its history, and furnished a larger
mumber of students and also the larger part of the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 273
revenue for the support of the University. The salaries
of all the teachers in the grammar school were raised;
the master to receive $1,500 ; first assistant, $1,000 ; second
assistant, $600; third, fourth and fifth, $500 each.
Up to this time Rev. Dr. Hodgson had served without
a salary, being provided with a clerk. At the session of
the board in 1887, he was placed on the salary list at
$1,500 per annum.
The board invited to a seat Col. C. T. Pollard, of Mont-
gomery, Ala., who was present thirty years previous at
the meeting at Lookout Mountain, as a trustee from
Alabama. Colonel Pollard was one of the most earnest
of the laymen connected with the early organization of
the University, and the meeting of the board, in 1867,
was held at his residence in Montgomery, Ala.
The Rt. Rev. Robert W. B. Elliott was present at
Sewanee during the meeting of the board, prostrated with
a long continued and severe illness, and died at Sewanee
August 26, 1887, at the age of forty-seven. He was a
worthy son of the first Bishop of Georgia, and was
elevated to the Episcopate as bishop of the missionary
jurisdiction of. Western Texas on November 15, 1874, at
the early age of thirty-four. A beautiful Celtic cross,
erected by loving friends elsewhere, marks his grave in
the Sewanee cemetery.
The number of students enrolled for the year 1887-88
was 333, the largest number enrolled up to that time.
Mr. Greenough White, having resigned the chair of
English languages and literature, Prof. W. P. Trent was
elected for the unexpired term. First Lieut. E. Webster,
U. S. A., was detailed as instructor in tactics by the war
274 HISTORY OF THE
department, in succession to Lieutenant Dowdy.
Rev. A. A. Benton, D. D., was elected to the chair of
systematic divinity, vacated by the resignation of Dr.
Wilmer.
In the spring of 1889, Mr. J. W. Weber, master of the
grammar school, met with a painful accident on the rail-
road, which incapacitated him for several months for
attention to his duties and caused his resignation in 1888.
Mr. John Gadsden, of South Carolina, was elected by the
board as his successor.
The library having been largely increased, was in part
transferred, in 1888, to the upper portion of Convocation
Hall. The chapel was considerably enlarged during 1888,
being the ninth enlargement since the original structure
was erected in 1867 with a capacity for seating about
seventy persons. With the enlargement it now has a
seating capacity of from 700 to 800.
The convocation house and tower were completed at
an outlay of $29,250. The funds provided and used in
its erection were derived: $2,560 from Mrs. Gould of
Augusta, given for a gymnasium; $2,000 by Mr. W. B.
Miller of Memphis for the same purpose; $4,850 from
Miss Florence Miller for a convocation house; $10,000
from Mr. Breslin of New York, for the Breslin Memorial
Tower, and the remainder from a large number of contri-
butors towards a fund for the erection of a new chapel,
and of which the building was intended to form a part.
The inscription placed within the Breslin Tower is aa
follows :
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 275
This tower is erected in memory of
Lucy,
Daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Breslin,
Waterford, N. Y.
Born March 20th, 1865. Died May 1st, 1876.
Her loving touch upon the world
Finds feeble echo in this stone.
The baccalaureate sermon for commencement 1889 was
delivered by the Et. Rev. J. S. Johnston, D. D., of Western
Texas, and the commencement oration was delivered by
the Hon. Benton McMillan of Tennessee.
276 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXVI.
Several theological scholarships founded — Unsatisfactory finan-
cial condition — Gift of D. V. Walsh of $20,000 for an aca-
demic hall — Plans adopted for same — Questions settled as to
a demand for a vote by orders — Remarks upon the proposed
plans for the University buildings.
1889 - 1890.
AT THE annual meeting of the board in August the
rice chancellor reported that Mrs. C. M. Manigault, now
of Brighton, England, had founded another scholarship
in the theological department by the gift of f 5,000, to be
filled on the nomination of the bishop of South Carolina,
being the second scholarship founded by her.
The ninth statute of the University, relative to degrees
and honors of the University, was very materially amended
in 1889.
Mrs. Isabella Barnwell, of Nashville, Tenn., provided
by will for the founding of a scholarship in the theological
department upon the nomination of the bishop of Ten-
nessee. The fund, on May 1, 1889, amounted to $6,045.
Mr. Lewis J. Fleming, a trustee from the diocese of
Florida, died during the epidemic of yellow fever in
Jacksonville, Fla., in September, 1888, of which due
notice and appropriate memorial resolutions were passed
by the board, as also in reference to the death of Bishop
R. W. B. Elliott, of Western Texas.
Kev. J. A. VanHoose, of Alabama, founded, in 1889, a
medal for German in the University.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 277
Mr. Charles Dudley Warner, editor of Harpers Maga-
zine, delivered an admirable address during commence-
ment week, 1889, before the literary societies of the
University. The board of trustees conferred the degree
of D. C. L. on Mr. Warner.
The committee on buildings and lands stated that they
deemed it of great importance that suitable tenants
should be induced to take leases of lots on the domain,
that but a small portion of the land was then under
lease, and that not the most desirable for occupation.
That there were thousands of fine building sites which
might be occupied for summer residences, and where
attractive homes might be built, which would add
security to the future of the University, and bring refined
and cultivated families annually to Sewanee, and the
income from the lease of which would greatly help the
financial condition of the University. That encourage-
ment should be given to persons desirous of making homes
here, liberality should be exercised in laying out lots,
both as to extent of area and location, and facilities given
for convenient access. That, moreover, it was desirable
that the residents on the mountain should be less con-
nected with the immediate vicinity of our school buildings
and boarding houses. That plats of grounds open for
lease should be provided and be readily had, and some
means provided for enabling persons to examine such
grounds.
The committee expressed the undoubtedly wise warning
that we could not be too careful in preserving our forest
growth, so absolutely essential to such utilization for
residence purposes, that no petty amount received for
278 HISTORY OF THE
timber, bark, or cross-ties could make up for the irrepara-
ble damage to the future use of our domain, besides the
recognized danger of destroying our water supply by the
denudation of our domain of its forest growth.
Should these pages be placed in print, some reader, not
very many years from now, in this next century, will
wonder that considerations of such very obvious import-
ance did not impress themselves more fully upon those in
authority in the earlier history of the University. For
the preservation of this magnificent domain no pains nor
expense should have been or should now be spared, no
officer is more needed than a faithful commissioner of
buildings and lands, devoting his whole time and atten-
tion and skill to the improvement and preservation of
this great natural park, susceptible of being made second
in beauty to any artificial and costly work of the kind
in this country. Think of the magnificent setting and
surroundings the University could have when all this
splendid domain, comprising every feature of natural
beauty, should become a great park miles in extent,
traversed with meandering walks and drives, rustic seats
and shelters, flowing fountains, arboretuins of choice
trees and shrubs, its pebbly streams bordered with ferns
and aquatic plants, and all that embellishes nature with
nature's own gifts.
There was a falling off of the students in 1888-89, and
a still further decline in 1889-90, when the number was
289. There was also an unsatisfactory financial condi-
tion, increased expenditures and diminished income.
The efforts to procure an endowment had been but
partially successful in actual results so far as permanent
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 279
funds were concerned. The commissioner of endowment,
Silas McBee, Esq., reported, in 1890, the amount of notes,
subscriptions and cash as reported in 1889, $35,260.
Amount of subscriptions secured, August, 1889, to
December, 1889, f 2,618.10; January, 1890, to August,
1891 (of which D. V. Walsh, $20,000), $22,264.55, making
$60,142.55. That he had collected $15,813.89, of which
D. V. Walsh had paid, on account of memorial building,
$7,500; leaving about $5,000 to go into permanent fund,
which included $1,573 of University bonds. Mr. McBee
was an active and energetic commissioner, and probably
accomplished as much as any layman could have done.
The principal result of his labors was the securing from
Colonel Walsh a gift of twenty thousand dollars to be
expended in erecting an academic building as a memorial
to his daughter. Plans were made for a building of
Sewanee sandstone to be three stories high, 165 feet
long and 40 feet in width. This building was to form
a part of a group of buildings to be a quadrangle, similar
to Queens College, Oxford. The plans were prepared by
Mr. Nixon, of Atlanta, and Mr. Silas McBee.
At the meeting of the board, August, 1890, only the
bishops of Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida were
present. The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the
Rev. W^m. K. Huntingdon, D. D., of Grace Church, New
York.
The executive committee reported that they had
authorized the application of the $20,000 contributed by
Colonel Walsh to the erection of a college building, and
that the work of construction had begun. The subject
of the approval of the plans of Messrs. Nixon and McBee
280 HISTORY OF THE
was considered by the committee on buildings and lands,
a majority of whom reported a resolution that the plans
and specifications submitted by Messrs. Nixon and McBee
for the academic building be recommended to the board
of trustees for adoption. Rev. Thos. Atkinson and Mr.
G. R. Fairbanks, members of the committee, presented a
minority report objecting to the acceptance of the plans
from Messrs. Nixon and McBee, because their adoption
would be a departure from the plans of the founders
adopted in 1860. That the proposed location of the
building was unsuitable, the space too limited, either for
the proposed one building, or still more for a group of
buildings, besides the fact that the board had already
appropriated the site to a new chapel, the plans for which
had been furnished and paid for. The proposed group
of buildings was also objected to on account of the great
danger of destruction by fire, which, should it happen,
would carry with it our library, papers, chapel, etc., and
the insurance on which would be a heavy charge. That
there was but $20,000 in hand to look to, and that any
action which should pledge the board to a whole scheme
of buildings, including the expenditure of a very large
sum of money, would be unwise and premature. That
inasmuch as we have an unlimited and unembarrassed
area of ground in the vicinity of St. Lukes and Convoca-
tion Hall, ample in extent, suitable for a single building
or, if hereafter required, a group of buildings, it would
be wiser to limit ourselves to the simple question of a
suitable location for a building to cost $20,000, and leave
to our successors the expansion of plans for the future.
That we should leave what is now unnecessarv to be acted
UNIVERSITY Of THE SOUTH. 281
upon to our successors in our trust, and not forestall
their liberty of action in the future. That it was unwise
for trustees to incur obligations for which others are to
provide. They offered a resolution limiting the cost to
$20,000, and that the building should be located on the
drill ground near Tremlett Hall.
The vice chancellor, Dr. Hodgson, was heard on invita-
tion, expressing dissent from the proposed plan of Messrs.
Nixon and McBee, and Mr. McBee in its favor. Judge
Lurton offered three resolutions as a substitute for
those of the majority and minority, adopting the plans
of Messrs. Nixon and McBee, subject to future modifica-
tion, authorizing the executive committee to erect the
proposed academic building adjoining Convocation Hall
when there was sufficient subscription to ensure its
completion, or facts justifying confidence in completing
it without incurring debt. Dr. Cheshire moved to amend
so that the board should adopt the plan including a
change of site. Mr. Fairbanks demanded a vote by orders
on this amendment. The bishop of Florida questioned
the right of a single member to demand a vote by orders.
The chancellor ruled that the demand for the vote by
orders from a single member was in order. The bishop
of Florida appealed from the ruling of the chair. Rev.
Dr. Dalzell, of Louisiana, demanded a vote by orders, and
moved that the appeal from the ruling of the chair be
laid on the table. The ayes and noes were called, and
resulted in sixteen ayes and eleven noes, the decision of
the chair being sustained. Had there not been consider-
able feeling in reference to the subject under considera-
tion (the adoption of the Nixon and McBee plans) it i»
282 HISTORY OF THE
not probable that upon a dispassionate consideration of
the right of a single member to demand a vote by orders
there would have been any question. The constitution
provides (Article 2), that the board of trustees shall be
composed of the bishops and assistant bishops of certain
dioceses therein named, and of one clergyman and two
laymen from each of said dioceses. The charter names
certain persons as trustees, and constitutes) them and
their successors a body corporate. The board of trustees
is therefore a body corporate and not a convention of
delegates. It is a corporation under the control of
trustees duly elected to said office, and by the charter
has perpetual succession and a common seal. Each
trustee has the same power and privileges as any other
trustee, his vote counts the same whether he be a bishop,
clerical or lay trustee. The clerical and lay trustees are
elected from the dioceses, but do not possess the power
to act in conjunction with their co-trustees elected from
the same diocese, but individually and separately ; no trus-
tee is amenable to or under the control of any other trus-
tee. The constitution makes but one provision as to the
manner of voting (unless a vote of orders is demanded) : a
majority of the votes cast determines the question, but
it is provided that a vote by orders may be demanded, and
the joint consent of the bishops as one order, and of
the clerical and lay trustees as another order shall be
necessary for the adoption of the measure proposed.
It follows that as each trustee has at all times and in
every respect the same power and rights as any other
trustee that, if one bishop can demand a vote by orders,
it is equally the right of a clerical or lay trustee to
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 283
demand such a vote. The right of a single member to
demand such a vote had never before been questioned,
although such demand had been, several times previously,
made at former meetings of the board. The question may
be considered as settled, but its being raised and supported
by so large a minority indicates how a plain question,
when tacked on to some other question, may be wrongly
viewed for the moment. It is difficult to conceive what
reasons could be advanced for the view of the minority
if it is admitted that it is a meeting of corporate and
equal members of a legal body.
The amendment proposed by Dr. Cheshire, "including
a change of site" of the proposed building, was laid on
the table, and the board proceeded to vote on the resolu-
tion proposed by Mr. Lurton adopting plans of Messrs.
Nixon and McBee, subject to future modification. A vote
by orders being demanded by Mr. Fairbanks and Rev.
Dr. Dalzell resulted: affirmative — bishops of Georgia,
South Carolina and Florida, 3 ; negative — bishops of Texas
and Tennessee, 2; clerical, ayes, Rev. Messrs. VanHoose,
Kershaw, Knight, Powers, DeRossett, Grey, Benton and
Sessums, 8; Messrs. Noble, Miller, McCracken, Harrison,
Hughes, Simrall, Lurton, Aubrey and Finley, 9. Nos, Rev.
Messrs. Cheshire, Dalzell, Atkinson, Messrs. Fairbanks,
McNeal and Hampton. Total vote clerical and lay, ayes,
17; noes, 6.
The bishop of Georgia said, at the time, that he was
unwilling to cast his vote so as to defeat the wishes of a
majority of the board, although his opinion was not in
accord with theirs. The matter really at issue was the
setting aside of the former plans of the founders, and
284 HISTORY OF THE
also those of Dr. Hodgson, in reference to the chapel
group, to consist of Convocation House and a new chapel
which had been approved and adopted at previous meet-
ings of the board. The architects, Messrs. Nixon and
McBee, presented to the board a very elaborate and
beautiful plan, in perspective, of a quadrangle, Gothic in
style of architecture, comprising an academic building
and a gymnasium on the north, a central tower of similar
design to the founder's tower at Magdalen, Oxford, flanked
by academic buildings on each side ; a chapel on the south
side of the quadrangle, with a reproduction of the tower
and spire of St. Marys, Oxford, and a cloister of Gothic
arches extending along the whole front of the quadrangle.
The plan was attractive to the eye, and although only
$20,000 had then been given towards the construction of
one academic building, the board decided to adopt the
location for the academic building with no definite accept-
ance of anything beyond, and the Walsh Memorial build-
ing was the result, the actual cost of which, so far as
completed, without the cloister to connect it with the
Convocation House, was about $35,000.
The plan of an Oxford quadrangle was, in the opinion
of the writer and of others, not suited to the University
of the South, not suited to the locality or to the climate.
It seemed to be the importation of an exotic idea, utterly
opposed to the ideas, plans and expectations of the
founders of the University, and either too large and
expensive for a single department, or inadequate to meet
the future expansion of the University. The engraved
picture of the quadrangle has been printed and exhibited
in our publications, in newspaper articles and otherwise,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 285
but no further step has yet been taken towards the con-
struction of any other portion of the plan. To carry it
out would require the gift of large sums of money which,
however much hoped for, can hardly be anticipated
will be given by any individual for the entire work, and
which will not likely be furnished by any of those
desirous of erecting memorial buildings if their gift is
to be aggregated with others, and not as an individual
gift for a separate building.
The future will show which views are correct, those
expressed by these remarks, or indicated by the quadrangle
plan of Messrs. Nixon and McBee. Mr. Nixon died in
Atlanta in 1896, and Mr. McBee is now, at this writing,
editor of the New York Churchman. He has done very
much to make the University known throughout the
United States by his unflagging zeal and energy in its
behalf. As a prominent officer of the St. Andrews
Brotherhood, Mr. McBee has rendered most valuable and
efficient services to the cause of religion, anjj few men of
his age are so well known in the walks of art, religion and
literature as Mr. McBee.
286 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXVII.
Resignation of Rev. Dr. Hodgson as vice chancellor — Election of
Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, D. D., as vice chancellor — The ques-
tion of an ample water supply considered — Resignation of
Professor Page from chair of modern languages, and election
of Prof. B. W. Wells, Ph. D., to that chair — Organization of
the medical department — School of commerce and trade.
1890 - 1892.
THE baccalaureate sermon at the commencement of 1890
was preached by the Eev. Dr. W. R. Huntingdon, the
distinguished rector of Grace Church, New York.
At the session of the board of trustees in 1890 Rev.
Telfair Hodgson, D. D., resigned the position of vice
chancellor, to which he had been elected in 1882, and
again in 1887, and by his financial assistance had greatly
aided the University at a critical period of its history.
The board recognized Dr. Hodgson's important and
valuable service in a communication addressed to him,
August 7, 1890, as follows:
"The board of trustees of the University of the South,
in accepting your resignation of the office of vice chan-
cellor, which you have held for many years, desire to say
that they cannot sever a connection which has endured
for so long a time without being deeply affected.
"They recognize the fact that you have ever had the
welfare of the University near your heart, and have
labored faithfully and conscienciously for the best inter-
. ests of this institution. You gave your services for several
Rt. Rev. THOMAS F. GAILOR, S. T. D.
Bishop of Tennessee? Fourth Vice Chancellcr
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 287
years without compensation. You contributed, from time
to time, of your private means, and have repeatedly
advanced sums to meet deficiencies, waiting patiently for
reimbursement by the action of this board.
"We are gratified to learn that you will continue to
reside here, as dean of the theological faculty, and take
an active interest in the work of this institution ; and we
desire to assure you of our best wishes for your prosperity
and our prayers for God's blessing upon yourself and all
those who are dear to you."
Dr. Hodgson expressed his willingness to retain his
position as dean of the theological department.
Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Gailor was elected vice chancellor
for the unexpired term of two years created by the
resignation of Eev. Dr. Hodgson, and was duly inaugu-
rated with appropriate ceremonies in St. Augustines
chapel. The number of students enrolled, 1889-90, wlas
280, fifteen less than the previous year and fifty-three less
than in 1887-88.
The Rev. M. M. B'enton was elected assistant professor
of engineering and physics, and also as proctor and
registrar, and Mr. R. M. DuBose, treasurer and commis-
sioner of buildings and lands.
On January 21, 1891, Rev. H. M. Jackson, D. D., was
consecrated assistant bishop of Alabama, and on June
24, 1891, the Rev. Davis Sessums was consecrated assist-
ant bishop of Louisiana, the first alumnus of the Univer-
sity to be advanced to that office.
The Rev. John W. Beckwith, D. D., bishop of Georgia,
died at Atlanta on the 23d of November, 1890. Bishop
Beckwith was consecrated m 1868, in succession to the
28S HISTORY OF THE
Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, first bishop of Georgia, and was
regarded as one of the most eloquent preachers of the
house of bishops.
The committee in charge of the erection of the Walsh
Memorial building reported that they had made a con-
tract for same to be erected for the sum of $29,089.16,
exclusive of the heating and furnishing of the building,
which it was estimated would cost $4,000 additional;
that they had no assurance beyond the $20,000 given by
Col. V. D. Walsh, that they had expended for traveling
and incidental expenses, $466.31.
The board resolved that the next building in the plan
for a quadrangle shall be a gymnasium, but if there was
no prospect of the completion of such gymnasium at an
early day the vice chancellor and the executive committee
were instructed to proceed to the construction of a
temporary building for athletic exercises so soon as they
could secure the funds to pay for it, and that, as soon as
another building was provided, the apparatus of the
gymnasium should be removed to it, and the room now
occupied by the gymnasium should be fitted up for library
purposes and so used.
Some changes were directed to be made in the form
and conditions of leases, not materially altering the provi-
sions adopted in 1870. A proposition was brought for-
ward to amend the constitution, so as to allow all the
bishops, assistant bishops or coadjutors a vote. The
committee on constitution and statutes reported adversely
on the ground that it would impair the equalization of
clerical and lay trustees intended to exist permanently
in the organization of the board. The report of the com-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 28*
mittee was sustained by a vote by orders, a majority of
each order voting affirmatively.
The subject of a water supply was brought forward
by the committee on sanitary measures. The entire
dependence of the residents of Sewanee is on cisterns,
springs and wells. The springs are generally too distant
for most of the residents, long droughts exhaust the
cisterns of those who have any, and the usual open well,
sunk to the distance of twenty to thirty feet, goes dry
after a long drought. The permanent springs do not
sensibly fall off in their supply, but they are scattered
and their waters cannot easily be stored. It Was
estimated that Polk, Otey, Green and Curtis springs
would, together, furnish about 1,500 gallons per hour
and, if stored in one reservoir, would give 36,000 gallons
per diem. It was proposed to organize a company for
the construction of a system of waterworks, and a com-
mittee for that purpose was appointed and empowered
to act. Rev. J. A. VanHoose, an alumnus, of Alabama,
took great interest in the subject, and made a special
report on the subject. It was not found practicable, at
that time, to organize a company or to obtain the
necessary funds by issue of bonds of the water supply
company. The matter continued to be discussed, but no
progress was made under the plan proposed. Some
interesting experiments were made by private parties in
sinking bored wells: a five-inch bore, from thirty-five to
fifty feet, generally exhibited a supply of very cold water
coming to within twenty to thirty feet of the surface.
A bathing tank was built in the ravine below Otey Spring,
of the capacity of 63,000 gallons, and was easily fillet
290 HISTORY OF THE
in two or three days from the Otey and Polk Springs.
The hydraulic ram was tried at both the Polk and Otey
Springs, but was not reliable enough to be satisfactory,
especially as only 10 per cent of the water was available
to supply a limited amount of water. Finally, in 1896-97,
the stone bathing tank was covered and converted into a
reservoir, and a tank of the capacity of 5,000 gallons
was placed on Breslin tower, and filled by a pumping
engine of the capacity of 6,000 gallons per hour, supplying
from there water to Walsh Hall, the gymnasium baths, St.
Lukes Hall, the supply store and the grammar school
dormitory, besides a supply to eight families. A dam
was thrown across the ravine below Green and Curtis
Springs in 1897, through the efforts of Rev. Mr. Guerry,
for a bathing pool. A very large spring, called Elliott
Spring, not on but very near the University domain,
exists about three miles south of the University buildings,
having a capacity of 1,300 to 1,500 gallons per hour. If
it was expedient to make use of that in connection with
the springs near by a supply of 75,000 gallons per day
could be obtained, which would be ample for many years.
The bored wells and springs are supposed to be supplied
by the gradual permeating through the sandstone rock
of the winter and spring rains. There seems to be no
other reasonable hypothesis, as no higher ranges exist
in the vicinity.
Royal purple was adopted at this time as the official
color of the University, afterwards changed to purple
and gold. The separation of the grammar school from
the University proper was again the subject of considera-
tion, and the executive committee was instructed to
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 291
confer with the hebdomadal board. Among the sugges-
tions made was. one to abolish the grammar school
altogether, and provide one or more popular courses
which might take into the University older and more
advanced pupils of the grammar school.
The baccalaureate sermon, in 1891, was preached by the
Kev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D., dean of The General Theologi-
cal Seminary in New York, and the commencement oration
was delivered by Henry Watterson, Esq., of Kentucky,
the distinguished editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The number of students enrolled during the year, 1890-91,
was 248, a still further falling off from the year preced-
ing.
Prof. F. M. Page resigned the chair of modern lan-
guages at the close of lent term, 1891, and Mr. B. W.
Wells, Ph. D. D., was elected to that chair. Dr. Wells was
a great acquisition to the faculty of the University, both
for his special qualification as an instructor of modern
languages and also for his ability in the domain of letters.
The Kev. C. Kinlock Nelson, D. D., was consecrated
bishop of Georgia, on February 24, 1892. Rev. T. F.
Gailor, S. T. D., vice chancellor, had been elected to that
office, but had declined such election.
During the spring of 1892 the medical department was
organized with Dr. H. W. Blanc, an alumnus of the
University, as dean, assisted by Doctors Cain, Buist,
Miller, Witherspoon, Piggott, Wood, Wilson and Hanley.
But seven medical students were enrolled the first year.
Thompson Hall was assigned to the use of the medical
department. Mr. V. D. Walsh supplemented his donation
for the Walsh memorial building with the further sum of
292 HISTORY OF THE
$8,745, for the completion of the building, and $4,500
for the heating and furnishing of the same, making the
total sum contributed by him for that building, $33,245.
It was completed in 1892, and occupied by the academic
department for class rooms. It contains also the society
halls of the Pi Omega and Sigma Epsilon Literary
Society, a large assembly room (afterwards used for a
library and reading room), and vice chancellor's official
office. Built of Sewanee stone, three stories in height,
165 feet in length, it forms now one of the principal
buildings, of the University. It requires the construction
of the stone cloisters on the west end and south side to
give it an architectural completeness and proper propor-
tion. Moreover, as it now stands, with its comparatively
narrow west end to the avenue, it loses much of the effect
it would have had if built facing the avenue.
Although much care was exercised to secure from the
contractors (the Pittsburg Construction Co.) a good
and reliable bond, it turned out that the contractors,
when the building was finished, had received the entire
amount of their stipulated contract, but were in debt to
material men and others upward of $5,000, for which
suits were brought against the building, and also a
claim by subcontractor, resulting in the obtaining of a
judgment against the University of upwards of $4,000,
which could not be made, at the time, out of the bonds-
men of the contractors, and was paid by a gift from Geo.
W. Quintard, Esq., of New York, in 1896, to the Univer-
sity treasurer for that purpose.
The baccalaureate sermon, in 1892, was delivered by the
Rt. Rev. C. K. Nelson, bishop of Georgia, the commence-
ment oration by the Hon. Chief Justice Logan E. Bleckley,
of Georgia.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 293
In May, 1892, information was given to the executive
committee that Mrs. Mary W. Tustin, late of Grand
Rapids, Mich., had, on the 20th of July, 1891, made a
will bequeathing to the theological department of the
University of the South the remainder of her estate,
real and personal, which it was estimated would amount
to about the sum of |25,000. Mr. McKee, executor of
Mrs. Tustin's will, was present at the meeting of the
board in August, and Mr. Z. D. Harrison was appointed
as agent and attorney of the University to look after
such bequest.
In 1892 Mr. Frederic Hubbard, of New York, made
a gift of |20,000 to the theological department, the
interest on which should be devoted to the maintenance
and care of the theological department under the control
of the dean thereof. The fund was accordingly invested
so as to produce an annual income of $1,200.
During the same year Mrs. J. H. M. Clinch, of
Savannah, Ga., established two additional scholarships of
$5,000 each in the theological department, making three
such scholarships, to be entitled the Walburg Scholarship
Fund, to be administered by the board of trustees. Tha
reception of these substantial tokens of interest in its
welfare and confidence in its future afforded much
matter of congratulation to those interested in the
University. It was felt that no department was so
necessary as the theological department, and that its
strength and growth meant strength and growth for the
University; that when the larger portion of the parishes
of the South were filled with men educated at Sewanee
the church would recognize and feel how important to
294 HISTORY OF THE
its well-being is Sewanee, and what it stands for, and
that the influence of the Sewanee-trained clergy could not
but have a most beneficial effect in sending to the Univer-
sity the sons of their parishoners, and creating an interest
in its behalf.
To meet the views of those who desired a business
education, the school of commerce and trade was
organized. The tendency of the present age to seek
independence on the part of the young, and to become
wage earners at as early an age as possible, has caused
a great development of what are termed "business
colleges,'7 useful, no doubt, for a technical training in the
forms and methods of business, bookkeeping, stenography,
typewriting, etc., but calculated to induce young men to
seek and be contented with a one-sided and narrow train-
ing, looking to material instead of moral and intellectual
ends. Our University should, as far as possible, counter-
act this tendency by combining as well as may be the
intellectual with a business training for those who desire
mainly the latter.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 295
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The constitution amended providing for the election of chancellor
— Reservation of grounds from lease — Purchase of University
Hotel property — Death of Gen. E. Kirby Smith — Tribute to
the Rt. Rev. C. T. Quintard, D. C. L., bishop of Tennessee —
The Tustin Fund for use of the theological department —
Establishment of the law department — Completion of Walsh
Memorial Hall — Consecration of the Rev. T. P. Gailor as
bishop coadjutor of Tennessee — Death of Bishop Gregg —
Election of Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley as chancellor.
1893.
REV. ELLISON CAPERS, D. D., was consecrated assistant
bishop of South Carolina on July 20, 1893. The consti-
tution was, on the recommendation of the committee on
constitution and statutes, amended, providing for the
election of chancellor for the term of six years, which was
confirmed the following year. The board adopted a
resolution making certain reservations for the general
purposes of the University, for buildings, grounds, and
parks, according to a schedule and plat prepared and
presented to the executive committee by Mr. G. R. Fair-
banks, embracing the triangular piece of ground bounded
by University Avenue and Polk Avenue as far as the
Tomlinson Place, and including Atkinson Spring, to be
known as Polk Park. Also the grounds lying between the
Lovell Place on south, the supply store and Jones Place,
to be known as Elliott Park. Also the chapel grounds,
the grounds of Walsh Memorial and convocation house,
and thence north to a point 290 feet beyond the Sewanee
29$ HISTORY OF THE
baseball grounds. Also the circle around the corner-
stone, the Hardee baseball grounds and the cemetery.
Also all views subject to exceptions which may be made
by the board of trustees. All springs, and ground within
a circle of a radius of fifty feet. Also the ravine above
and below Polk Spring to the Hodgson leased grounds.
In the theological department Rev. Dr. Benton was
elected as acting professor, and Mr. John Gadsden acting
master of the grammar school, which he declined and
Mr. R. M. Huse was elected as his successor. Mr.
Gadsden, from causes beyond his control, had been unable
to bring the grammar school up to the desired require-
ments. The existing condition of mingling grammar
school students in boarding houses with University
students had militated against the carrying into effect
proper discipline, and rendered the master helpless in
enforcing it.
In April, 1892, the University purchased the University
Hotel property for the sum of $5,000, including its
furniture and appurtenances. The hotel, as has before
been mentioned, was acquired by the University Hotel
Company in 1883. It then consisted only of the Phelan
residence which had been somewhat enlarged, later the
Dunbar school building was purchased, moved across the
street and built up into a two-story building and named
Virginia Cottage, but Samuel G. Jones, for some time
treasurer of the University, was the prime mover in the
hotel enterprise. Later Gen. E. Kirby Smith and Dr. J.
W. Arnold furnished about $5,000 each, and the hotel was
enlarged to three times its original capacity, the large
two-story house across the street, known as the Gotten
VXIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 297
Souse, was used as an annex. The first year or two the
hotel made a profit for its stockholders. Afterwards it
made no profit and then began to lose money. In 1886,
Colonel Jones died suddenly and the property deteriorated
so that, in 1891, it went into the hands of a receiver who
sold it out for the sum above named. The opportunity was
thus afforded by this purchase of separating the grammar
school boys from the University students and placing
them in a dormitory. The hotel was accordingly fitted
up for this purpose, and the grammar school localized by
itself. It was not such a location as was desired, but it
was the best arrangement which could be made under the
circumstances, and proved to be a wise investment,
solving in great part the most serious obstacle to the well-
being of the grammar school. A committee appointed
to find a proper location in future selected the premises
known as the Tomlinson Place, which seemed to present
the most advantages. Rev. Dr. A. A. Benton, professor
of systematic divinity, having been elected only acting
professor, at this meeting of the board, declined the posi-
tion, which was filled by the election of the Rev. W. T.
Manning, B. D. Mr. W. B. Nauts was elected assistant
professor of ancient languages, and Rev. Dr. Gailor was
reelected chaplain.
Much annoyance was experienced by the authorities of
the University in consequence of extensive encroachments
and trespasses upon the University domain by parties
(W. S. Bennett and others) claiming to have some kind
of title to lands within the exterior lines of the domain,
especially in the western portion. After an official
survey under the direction of Mr. G. R. Fairbanks, former
298 HISTORY OF THE
commissioner of buildings and lands, suits by injunction
were instituted against all the trespassers and, finally,
made perpetual. The trespasses, however, had been
extensive, and compensation was not attainable. The
injury will be long felt in the destruction of thousands
oi trees and the encumbrance of dead tops and unsightly
stumps.
Just after the opening of the Lent term, 1893, Gen. E.
Kirby Smith, professor of mathematics, died at his home
in Sewanee. He had been in impaired health for a year
or two previously, but, suffering as he was, reported for
duty a few days before his death. Vice Chancellor Gailor,
in his report to the board of trustees, in August, 1893,
pays this just tribute to his character : "No name in the
records of the internal administration of the University
shall shine with a purer lustre than his. He had the love
and respect of every student and professor. He was ever
the loyal, unselfish friend of Sewanee, an efficient officer,
a devoted churchman, a noble, high-minded Christian
gentleman." He was born at St. Augustine, Fla., in the
year 1824, and at the time of his death was sixty-nine
years of age, but until shortly before his illness had been
unusually active and energetic.
At the diocesan council of Tennessee in May, 1893,
Rev. Dr. Gailor was elected bishop coadjutor of that
diocese, and had signified his acceptance.
On the 10th of July, 1893, Bishop Alexander Gregg,
fifth chancellor of the University, died at Austin, Texas.
The board of trustees entered upon their minutes the
following just tribute :
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 29 1
"Bishop Gregg became identified with, this University
before its brighter prospects were blighted by the war
between the states, and upon the return of peace he joined
in with enthusiasm to help build it up. Sewanee was
always in his- heart, and no visitation with him was
complete without a word in its favor. His devotion to
this University was a most conspicuous factor in his life,
because of the deep conviction that its work and the
work of the church are one."
Eleven bishops were present at the meeting of the board
in 1893. It was the quarter centenary of the opening of
the University, and was unusually well attended. Bishop
Quintard presided at the opening of the session as acting
chancellor, and made a statement relative thereto declin-
ing to have his own name considered in the election
which, under the provisions of the amendment to Article
4, required an election of the chancellor for a term of
six years. Bishop Quintard nominated Bishop Dudley,
of Kentucky, as chancellor, the ballot being taken by
orders. The bishop of Kentucky was elected. Bishop
Quintard announced his own retirement from active
participation in the deliberations of the board. A minute
was adopted expressing their regret at the announcement.
After speaking of his most unselfish and faithful leader-
ship in the past and of the grateful memory entertained
of his illustrious services to the University, they say
they cannot refrain from here recording the fact that this
institution owes its actual existence to the courageous
faith and invincible zeal of the bishop of Tennessee, when
its resuscitation from the disaster of the war seemed an
impossibility, and the further fact that through subse-
300 HISTORY OF THE
quent years the largest proportion of its material growth
and a most powerful factor in its whole development are
due to the same devotion and ability which virtually
established the institution. "If the projectors of the
University of the South, held as they are, and deservedly,
in consecrated memory, are to be regarded as God's instru-
ments in the development of a mighty educational design
alike precious to church and fatherland, equally are we
to hold and reverence the bishop of Tennessee as a chosen
instrument of God in the achievement of this plan, and
equally also we realize that his name must be perpetuated
through all generations as one of its most blessed bene-
factors."
A settlement of the whole matter of the bequest of
Mrs. Mary W. Tustin having been made through the
judicious efforts of Z. D. Harrison, Esq., and the sum
received amounting to the sum of f28,808.08, the board
adopted a resolution pledging the faith of the University
to the payment of $1,500 per annum, estimated as a
reasonable interest on said sum, to the treasurer of the
theological department to be applied to the payment of
salaries of professors in that department.
This action caused much discussion in the board, some
persons insisting that, it being given for the benefit of the
theological department, it should be invested in outside
securities as an independent trust fund. It was held
on the other hand that the fund had been given to the
University for the use of its theological department,
and was under no special restriction as to its control,
investment and management, and that the action proposed
was in full accordance with the purpose of its donor,
Rt. Rev. ELLISON CAPERS, D. D.
Bishop of South Carolina j Seventh Chancellor of the University.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 301
securing its use for the support of the theological depart-
ment. That the security was ample and that there could
be no charge of any breach of trust so long as there
was a faithful payment of the amount estimated as such
fair interest on the amount of the gift. The board
sustained the latter view and directed that this gift
should be designated and known thereafter as the
"Tustin Memorial Fund," and the treasurer should keep
a separate account of the fund and disburse it as might
be directed by the board of trustees. There has always
been in the board a strong sentiment as to the invest-
ment and use of funds given to the University, and a
feeling that it was safer to invest upon the security
obtainable outside than the security of our own obliga-
tions. This, it seems to the writer, is a question of
expediency and of what is at the time for the best
interests of the University, and the board of trustees or
its executive committee can best decide the practical
question before them where no limitation or direction
accompanies the benefaction. This view has been held
by the members of the board most familiar with business
affairs and legal and equitable considerations. Mr.
Johns Hopkins, of Baltimore, made a very large gift for
the founding of the Johns Hopkins University in that
city. He accompanied this gift with the restriction that
the University should not dispose or alienate the stock
of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which was given for
such endowment. This stock was then in high favor and
commanded a premium and paid good dividends. A few
years later, after the death of its able president, the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became involved in financial
302 HISTORY OF THE
difficulties, suspended the payment of dividends, and left
the Johns Hopkins University in great straits to carry
on its work. A similar trouble has embarrassed the
Lehigh University for a similar cause. It is wiser to
leave the control and investment of such funds unre-
stricted, providing simply for their proper use, taking it
for granted that the trustees and custodians, who have
the responsibility, will exercise it faithfully and judici-
ously. Sentiment, merely, is not a good basis in business
affairs.
The year 1893 witnessed the establishment of the law
school with the appointment of Burr J. Ramage, Esq.,
as dean.
The Walsh Memorial Hall was reported as complete
and ready for occupation, and was occupied in the
Trinity term, 1893. The building committee, consisting
of Prof Wiggins, Bishop Gray and Rev. Mr. VanHoose,
reported that the amount disbursed on original contract
was $28,745.00
For steam heating and water pipes 2,625.00
Extras, including furniture 3,710.12
Making the total cost in cash paid out $35,089.12
It should be here stated, however, that the additional
sum of $4,500 was paid by the University to extinguish a
contractor's lien, thus bringing up the cost to $39,600.
Of this sum Col. V. D. Walsh gave $34,245 and rebate
on freight given by the North Carolina & St. Louis
Railroad, through Colonel Thomas, $1,300. The Univer-
sity has since paid the judgment for contractors' liens
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 303
of |4,280.02, which, added to the |35,080.12 previously
paid, makes the cost of Walsh Memorial Hall and
furniture, etc., $39,360.14, about double the amount orig-
inally proposed to be given by Colonel Walsh for this
purpose. The whole labor and work of the building com-
mittee devolved upon Prof. B. L. Wiggins, who brought
to the laborious work a very high degree of technical skill
and judicious management. Upon the west end of the
building a tablet of Tennessee marble has been placed
with the following inscription :
Walsh Memorial Hall.
Erected by V. D. Walsh of Louisiana.
In loving memory of his daughter,
Susan Jessie.
September 18, 1890.
The bishop coadjutor of Tennessee, vice chancellor of
the University, was consecrated on the 25th of July, 1893,
in St. Augustines chapel. The sermon was preached by
the Et. Kev. Geo. F. Seymour, D.D., LL.D., bishop of
Springfield. The sermon, a notable one, was published
with notes and has taken its place as a standard exposition
of the church's faith and doctrine.
The consecration of Bishop Gailor was the first con-
secration of a bishop which had ever taken place at
Sewanee and was a notable event from the number of
bishops and clergy present, and from its connection with
the University in the consecration to the office of a bishop^
of its chaplain and vice chancellor.
304 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXIX.
Reorganization and enlargement of the executive committee —
Resignation of Rev. T. P. Gailor as vice chancellor — Election
of Prof. B. L. Wiggins as vice chancellor — Death of Rev.
Telfair Hodgson, D. D., dean of the theological department.
1893 - 1894.
THE impaired health of Bishop Gregg, the chancellor,
prevented his being present and presiding at the annual
meeting of the trustees in 1892, and Bishop Quintard,
next in seniority of those present, presided as acting
-chancellor. Bishop Gallaher, of Louisiana, had died on
December 7, 1891, greatly regretted. He had been an
officer in the Confederate service, was consecrated third
bishop of Louisiana on the 5th of February, 1880, and
was at the time of his death about fifty- three years of age.
The board of trustees, in August, 1892, placed on record
the following just tribute to his memory :
"He was a noble man, fearless and tender, loyal and
true. On the field of battle, in the forum, and in the
chancel, always and everywhere, he was the champion
of the truth, the defender of that committed to his trust,
the advocate of that which he believed to be right. Our
council chamber misses the melody of his voice, the resist-
less impulse of his burning words, the compelling power
of his logical reasoning."
Bishop Howe, of South Carolina, was absent from the
annual meeting of the board of trustees in 1892 from ill
health, and was never able afterwards to be present. Rev.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 305
Dr. Ellison Capers was elected as assistant bishop of
South Carolina in 1893. The baccalaureate sermon was
preached, in 1893, by the Rt. Rev. W. Stevens Perry,
D.D., LL.D., bishop of Iowa, and the commencement
oration was delivered by W. M. Polk, M. D., a distin-
guished physician, now of New York City, a son of
Bishop Leonidas Polk, and author of "The Life of Leonidas
Polk, Bishop and General."
A treasurer for the theological department was created
by Statute 30. The executive committee was reorganized
to consist of three members of each order, bishops, clergy
and laity, and the chancellor ex officio, five should consti-
tute a quorum, and that three members of the committee
should be elected each year.
This was the most important step in the organization
of the University. It established a committee of ten, four
of whom should be bishops, three clerical and three lay
members, and three of the elected number to go out every
year, and a new election had for their successors. With
the increase of trustees by subdivision of the dioceses
the board had become changeable in its annual attendance
and somewhat unwieldy, and, as it held only one meeting
annually, important matters would necessarily arise which
could only be settled by the authority of the board. The
whole power of the board being invested ad interim in the
executive committee, a quorum of which could ordinarily
be assembled when required, the necessary business could
be transacted. Indeed, without some such provision the
business matters of the corporation would at times suffer
great detriment. The committee was made sufficiently
large to have the benefit of the opinion of a sufficient
306 HISTORY OF THE
number, and not too large to be efficient. It would
probably be better to simply require a representation of
each order on the committee instead of a definite number
of each order. The Bt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, bishop
coadjutor, resigned the position of vice chancellor, as also
that of chaplain of the University, in August, 1893.
The Rev. W. A. Guerry, B. D., was elected chaplain, and
Prof. B. L. Wiggins, M. A., was elected vice chancellor
to fill out the unexpired term of Bishop Gailor, being
four years. Prof. Wiggins and Rev. Mr. Guerry accepted
the positions to which they were elected. Prof. B. L.
Wiggins, a native of South Carolina and a pupil, for some
time, in the Porter Academy at Charleston, came to
Sewanee in 1877, and entered the University as a junior,
being then seventeen years of age. He was soon advanced
to the order of gownsmen and graduated in 1882, having
earned the degree of master of arts. He became pro-
fessor of ancient languages in 1882, upon the resignation
of Prof. Caskie Harrison, to which position he was
reelected in 1887 and 1892. He retained his professorship
after his election as vice chancellor. He became, in fact
as well as in name, the administrative head of the
University in all its affairs. Prof. Wiggins had been a
most diligent student of Greek, and had supplemented his
course at Sewanee by devoting his entire vacation to
attending the classes of the eminent Greek scholar, Dr.
Basil Gildersleeve of the Johns Hopkins University. He
brought to the vice chancellor's office the energy of youth,
the training of a well disciplined mind, quick perceptions
and prompt action. He is what is well designated as "an
all around man." With great capacity for work, unlimited
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 307
endurance, and an enthusiastic devotion to the welfare
of the University, he has made an admirable vice chan-
cellor, both from the scholastic and business point of view.
The Rev. Greenough White, M. A., B. D., was elected,
in 1893, to the chair of ecclesiastical history and church
polity, the Eev. W. T. Manning to the chair of systematic
divinity, Mr. G. S. Clark was elected adjunct professor of
the school of engineering.
Rev. C. M. Beckwith was elected head master of the
grammar school and declined the appointment. Mr. R. M.
Huse, M. A., was elected to the position.
The committee on degrees, in consideration of the year
1893 being the quarter centenary of the opening of the
scholastic work of the University, reported a recommenda-
tion for the granting of an unusual number of the
honorary degree of doctor of divinity.
On the llth of September, 1893, Rev. Telfair Hodgson,
D. D., dean of the theological department, died very
suddenly of apoplexy at his home at Sewanee, in the
fifty-fourth year of his age. He was a Virginian by birth,
and graduated at Princeton in 1859. He entered
the general theological seminary in 1860, but soon
returned South and served as a Confederate officer on
General Wheeler's staff. In 1863 he was ordained deacon,
and priest in 1864. During subsequent years he was
rector in New Jersey and Maryland, and in 1878 was
elected dean of the theological department of the Univer-
sity, and vice chancellor 1879 to 1890. To the University
he gave the best years of his life, bearing the burden of
the work as vice chancellor, treasurer, commissioner of
buildings and lands, and dean of the theological depart-
308 HISTORY OF THE
ment. He came to the University at a critical period
of its history, and by his personal means and financial
standing he was enabled to rescue it from grave diffi-
culties, and, what was at the time of very great conse-
quence, he reestablished public confidence in its success
and stability.
The board of trustees gave expression to their feeling,
saying they were glad to "make their recorded minute
in honor of the memory of this good man and true priest
of God, and to express gratitude for a life so true and
faithful, so full of help to men, so unselfish in generositv
to the University of the South, so loyal to the faith and
Church of God." The board had also to record its sense
of their loss in the death of Rt. Rev. Theo. Lyman, bishop
of North Carolina, which occurred in December, 1893.
The number of students enrolled for the year, 1892-93,
was 275, of whom 24 were in the medical, 11 in the law
and 19 in the theological departments.
In January, 1894, Rev. P. A. Shoup, having made
arrangements to assume charge of the Columbia Female
Institute, tendered his resignation of the chair of mathe-
matics, and Mr. Geo. S. Clark assumed the duties of such
chair pro temporc, and Rev. Dr. DuBose the chair of
metaphysics. The executive committee, in December,
1893, appointed Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., dean of the
theological department until the next meeting of the
board, when he was duly elected to that position.
The number of students enrolled for the year, 1893-94,
was 300, of whom 46 were medical, 16 law and 16
theological, 84 in grammar school, 138 academic.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 309
A commons hall was established during this year for
St. Lukes Theological Department, the basement being
fitted up for that purpose. It was found that the expense
of board for theological students and postulants could be
largely reduced by this means, and the plan wrorked
satisfactorily — board being furnished at f 12 per month.
The Hill legacy, having been placed under the control
of the board, was divided into scholarships for the
purpose of educating young men of marked ability.
These scholarships to be in the academic department and
the holder thereof entitled to receive the proceeds thereof,
less charges for tuition.
Under the authority of the board the vice chancellor
established a supply store, drugs, stationery, etc., and
moved a building north of the chapel, which had been
used for classrooms, but was no longer needed, down to
a point below, and had the same well fitted up for such
purpose. The investment has proved a good one for the
University financially, and has also had the effect of
lessening the resort of students to the railroad station.
The commencement oration, in 1894, was delivered by
George Zabriskie, Esq., of New York, and the bacca-
laureate sermon was preached by the Bt. Kev. Geo. EL
Kinsolving, bishop of Texas.
The financial situation in 1894 was very unsatisfactory,
the debts had increased and deficits still grew.
The board, in August, 1894, created a faculty of arts
and sciences, and elected Prof. W. P. Trent as dean of
the faculty.
A revision of the system for academic hoods was
reported upon and adopted in 1894.
310 HISTORY OF THE
The income of the medical and law departments had
not been adequate to cover the expenses of their main-
tenance, and it was doubtful whether it was expedient
to continue these departments without a reasonable
certainty that no deficiency should fall upon the Univer-
sity. The subject was finally referred to the executive
committee and vice chancellor, to be dealt with as
circumstances might require.
Rev. A. W. Knight, of Georgia, reestablished the medal
for elocution which had been founded by Bishop Lyman
of North Carolina.
A new schedule of requirements for the conferring of
degrees of B. A., M. A., M. S., and C. E. was adopted
upon the recommendation of the hebdomadal board.
The committee on morals and discipline reported that
they believed that the chapel services of the University
represent the central movement in the social and
moral life of the institution, and it appealed to the
professors and other officers of the University to maintain
by their personal interest and devotion this most
essential feature of the work at Sewanee. That it was
impossible to make the religious tone of the place what
it ought to be unless the officers of the institution show
by their words and actions that they believe in the
importance of it. That no man, student nor officer had
any right or place in any department who habitually
neglects the Sunday services; that students in profes-
sional schools should be expected to attend the Sunday
services and, at least, three daily services each week.
They recommended that the students of all the schools
should have their attention called to the maintenance of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 311
Sewanee, of its reputation for courtesy and good taste in
social life, essential to the welfare of the institution.
The report was adopted as the view of the board on this
subject.
It has been the tradition of Sewanee that courtesy and
respect should be evinced at all times towards strangers,
and that no lady nor elderly person should be passed
without a respectful salutation and a touching of the
cap. New students soon fall into the custom of the place,
and Sewanee is noted for gentlemanly behavior on the
part of the students.
The vice chancellor reported the floating debt, in
August, 1894, as amounting to about $15,000, with a
probable deficit of $4,500 for the ensuing year, available
assets about $6,500. The pressing liabilities were about
$6,000. By the efforts of Bishop Dudley during the
ensuing year an emergency fund of over $4,000 was
raised.
The University was called upon to mourn the death of
another of its staunch friends among the bishops, the
Rt. Eev. W. B. W. Howe, D. D., of South Carolina, who died
on November 27, 1894, at the age of seventy-two. Bishop
Howe had been a member of the board for twenty-three
years, being one of the first of the second generation of
bishops connected with the University. He became a
trustee in succession to Bishop Davis in 1871. Bishop
Davis had never taken an active part in the organization
of the University, and his loss of sight after the civil
war had limited his work in his own diocese. Bishop
Howe took great interest in the work of building the
University, and we owe it to him and others in that
312 HISTORY OF THE
diocese that Sewanee has had so large a number of
students, and so many from that State who have become
valuable acquisitions to the society and home life of
Sewanee. It was largely through Bishop Howe's
influence that the diocese of South Carolina provided an
endowment fund for the payment of its annual contribu-
tion to the support of the theological department. His
wise counsel and faithful service on the board were fully
recognized by his associates and highly appreciated.
The board of trustees expressed its high regard for the
memory of Bishop Howe in an appropriate minute, say-
ing: "that he combined in himself rare scholarship and
eminent piety, his commanding personality impressed all
who knew him as of a truly great man, while in his
innocency of life and modesty of bearing and of speech
he displayed the completing qualities of a well rounded
Christian character, deep in faith, fervent in hope and
broad in charity."
Rev. F. A. Shoup was elected to the chair of meta-
physics and resumed his connection with the University
with which he had been so long associated. His health
unfortunately failed during the fall of 1895 to such a
degree that he was unable to perform his professorial
duties during Lent term, 1896.
Prof. W. T. Manning, who had filled the chair of
systematic divinity for some eighteen months, resigned
at close of Trinity term, 1894, and removed to Cincinnati
to undertake parochial work. The executive committee
elected Rev. R. H. Starr, D. D., to that position, who
entered upon his duties in March, 1895.
Rt. Rev. T. U. DUDLEY, D. D., L. L. D.
Bishop of Kentucky, Sixth Chancellor.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 313
Mr. Ernest H. Rowel 1, M. A., first assistant in the
grammar school, who had been in ill health for some
time, died in South Carolina in December, 1894, in the
thirty-second year of his age. Mr. Rowell was very highly
appreciated, and his death was greatly regretted. The
quite large number of 122 students matriculated in 1895,
the whole number enrolled being 278.
One of the interesting events connected with the com-
mencement week in 1894 was the acting of a Greek play,
in Forensic Hall, w^hich had been most carefully prepared
by Prof. B. L. Wiggins.
Mr. Silas McBee, who had served the University as
commissioner of endowment for several years, resigned
that office, and, declining a reelection, the Rev. W. D.
Powers, D. D., was elected to this position.
314 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXX.
Some changes of professors and officers made — The military
system reestablished in the Grammar School — The subject
of athletics considered — The Bishop Dudley endowment fund
of $50,000 received — Dormitory for junior students — Rev. Dr.
Hoffman's visit to Sewanee.
1895.
THE baccalaureate sermon, in 1895, was preached by
the Rev. John S. Lindsay, D. D., of Boston, and the com-
mencement oration was delivered by the Hon. F. G.
DuBignon of Georgia.
Mr. R. M. Huse, head master of the grammar school,
resigned in June, 1895, and his place was filled for the
remainder of the term by Mr. W. H. McKellar, a former
assistant in the school. The dormitory occupied by the
grammar school was fitted up with steam heating and
other improvements calculated to better equip it for the
purpose of a dormitory and boarding department. Mr.
R. M. Colmore was appointed commissary for that and
other boarding departments carried on by the University.
Prof. Geo. S. Clark resigned his position as adjunct
professor of mathematics, which position had been very
acceptably filled by him for the two previous years.
Mr. Samuel F. Barton was elected to the chair of
mathematics vacated by Professor Clark in August, 1895,
and the board secured the services of Mr. Chas. W. Bain,
M. A., of Virginia, as head master of the grammar school.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. SIS
The military department of the University had been
discontinued upon the resignation of Lieutenant Stone
in 1891.
Officers of the United States army had been previously
detailed by the secretary of war from time to time. The
first officer detailed in 1880 was Lieut. R. M. Rogers,
2d Artillery. He was succeeded by Lieut. R. W. Dowdy,
2d lieutenant 17th Infantry, in 1883, who was relieved
in 1886 by Lieut. Edmund K. Webster, 2d Infantry. He
was followed, in 1889, by Lieut. W. P. Stone, 2d Artillery,
an alumnus of the University. The military department
had attained considerable importance in 1888, when there
were three companies of infantry and one of artillery,
but it gradually became of less interest, compulsory drill
was abolished as to all except juniors and grammar school
students; many of the juniors in turn sought exemption,
and it was found inexpedient to ask for the detail of
another officer of the army. When the grammar school
was separated and domiciled in their own dormitory, the
military feature was reestablished under Mr. Hardee
Chambliss, a grandson of Lieutenant General Hardee of
the Confederate army, and a graduate of the Virginia
Military Institute. This became an established feature in
connection with the grammar school. It was rather an
anomaly when attached to the University, but during the
ten years of its existence here it was very beneficial in
many respects, depending largely, however, upon the
personality of the officer in charge. As athletics became
more popular, the interest in military exercises became
less so, and for the older students a burden. In the
grammar school it is proper and desirable, contributing
316 HISTORY OF THE
in many ways to the physical education, and helping to
form a manly and gentlemanly bearing, besides enforcing
the habit of prompt obedience and personal neatness in
dress.
Mr. Chambliss was succeeded in 1895 by Mr. W. A.
Peterson, also a graduate of the Virginia Military Insti-
tute. The gymnasium was provided in 1894 with a compe-
tent instructor, and became an important feature in the
growing sentiment in favor of combining physical with
mental culture. Mr. J. E. Miles has done excellent work
in this department, which was made self-supporting by
the payment of fees.
The vice chancellor, in his report to the board of
trustees in 1895, has this to say in reference to athletics.
"This feature of University life has attracted so much
attention and has come to hold such important relations
in academic work that it requires much more serious
consideration than in time past. Our students have
manifested much skill and interest in athletics. Their
baseball and football teams have done creditable work
during the past year. I am glad to say that the Athletic
Association has taken a firm stand on the exclusion of
professionalism and unsportsmanlike practices. I am
decidedly of the opinion that the results of inter-
collegiate athletics are enormously on the side of good,
and the evils incident are capable of amelioration by a
proper system of restraint and supervision."
The baseball clubs, the "Sewanee" and "Hardee," date
back to almost the beginning of the University. In their
contests with other colleges or universities the Sewanee
men have had a large measure of success. Football is of
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 317
later establishment. While fairly successful with an
average team, for some time they were unable to cope with
the universities of Virginia and Georgia, and had
hardly an even record with Vanderbilt, owing mainly
to the greater average weight of the opposing teams.
During the session of the general convention of the
church in Minneapolis in October, 1895, a banquet was
held in the West Hotel by the Sewanee men present, to
which were invited many of the most distinguished
members of the convention, clerical and lay.
The speeches were excellent, the viands good, and the
result no doubt very beneficial to Sewanee in making it
better known, and calling attention to its aims and needs.
The 232 bonds, $100 each, of the city of Montreal accru-
ing to the University from the legacy of James Hill, were
sold at $175 each and produced a capital of $ 40,000
invested in securities, giving an annual income of $2,400,
enlarging the benefits of said legacy by allowing an
increase of scholarships.
During the year 1895-96 the University received a
gift of $50,000 through Bishop Dudley as an endow-
ment of academic department, to be designated as the
''Bishop Dudley Endowment Fund." This was a most
timely benefaction, and gave great encouragement of
such endowment being attained as would prevent the
annual deficit in the academic department. This benefac-
tion was generally supposed to come from a liberal layman
of New York City, connected with St. Georges Church,
and well known for his many good deeds and wise
liberality. He modestly withheld his name, but doubtless
it was the gift of J. P. Morgan, Esq.
318 HISTORY OF THE
The Rev. J. J. Scott, D.D., LL.D., of Pensacola, Fla.,
the first clerical trustee of the diocese of Florida, and
one of those named in the charter, died on November 21st,
1895. In the minute adopted by the board of trustees,
it is said "his faith in the future of this institution after
the disasters of the civil war never flagged, and his
interest in its welfare was evinced in the fact that one-
third of the students enrolled at the opening of the
University in September, 1868 came from his parish, sent
by his recommendation and influence."
His widow donated to the University his valuable and
extensive library. He was with one exception the last
survivor of the clerical members of the original board. He
was a native of South Carolina, educated at William and
Mary College, ordained deacon by Bishop Moore of
Virginia, and priest by Bishop Polk. He was rector of
Christ Church, Pensacola, from 1848 until 1888, and
rector emeritus at the time of his death.
The enrollment of students for the year 1895-96
numbered 294, of whom 41 were medical students, 24
theological and 16 law.
The baccalaureate sermon was preached by Rev. Chas.
F. Hoffman, D.D., D.C.L., rector of All Angels Church,
New York, and president of the Association for Promot-
ing the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and
Seminaries. He was accompanied on his trip to Sewanee
by the Rev. A. T. Porter, D.D., of South Carolina. Rev.
President Eliphalet Nott, of Hobart College, Rev. Dr.
6. Delancey Townsend, associate rector of All Angela
Church, New York, his son, Mr. W. N. Hoffman, and
his daughter, Mrs. Olcott.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 310
The commencement oration was delivered by Hon.
A. E. Richards of Louisville, Ky., judge of the Supreme
Court of the State of Kentucky, and sustained the high
reputation of the gifted orator.
The hebdomadal board recommended very strongly the
erection of a dormitory for the students in the junior
department. This was a departure from the original
plan of the board which contemplated, as shown by the
Statute 19, that all students should be required to board
in such houses as should be provided or licensed for that
purpose, and the number in any one house not to exceed
sixteen. The idea was to avoid what was called the
barrack system, and to throw around students the
amenities and safeguards of a home life instead of the
carelessness and individualism and irresponsibility of a
commons, without the refinements and associations of
a family circle. As Bishop Cobbs expressed it "that no
student should sit down at a table unless there was a
lady at the head of it." It was found, however, that
owing to circumstances which could not well be amelio-
rated, the boarding houses attracted visitors, relatives
and friends of the students and created too much social
life between the sexes, which was an unexpected factor
in the problem. Mutual attraction and affinities prevailed
BO as to distract the student from studying in his room
and elsewhere, and that the only apparent remedy was-
a dormitory where students would have each a bedroom
and a common sitting room for two only, in a quiet
detached building, under the supervision of masters and
teachers.
320 HISTORY OF THE
The boarding house idea would, no doubt, be preferable
if it could be carried out according to the intentions and
expectations of those who framed the Statute. But to
do this the University should be able to provide and
own suitably arranged boarding houses, built for the
purpose and with the rooms arranged as proposed in a
dormitory and receiving no other inmates.
The board, in 1896, authorized a committee, if funds
were given for that purpose, to erect dormitories or halls
of residence for students. Among the propositions
brought forward before the board in 1896 was one
authorizing the conferring of honorary degrees upon
women non-residents, who had graduated at reputable
colleges and who were prepared to pass the requisite
examinations of the University. The committee on con-
stitution and statutes reported in favor of such action,
and that the hebdomadal board should suggest such
regulations as might be necessary to carry the proposition
into effect, and report upon the same in the following
year. The board took no other action than to refer the
matter to the executive committee, which, up to this date,
has never reported on the subject.
A proposition was brought before the board for a
change of vacation so as to have the sessions correspond
with other institutions having their long vacation in
the summer. This being a very radical change from the
plans upon which the University was organized (that of
having the long vacation in the winter to suit the require-
ments of the Southern dioceses), it was referred to the
committee on constitution and statutes. The committee,
deeming the matter of great importance, made a some-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 321
what elaborate report upon the subject, intending to set
forth the reasons why this uniform plan of winter instead
of summer vacation was adopted, and which the writer
thinks it well to here preserve to meet the question often
raised as to this peculiar arrangement of sessions in the
University of the South.
The committee on constitution and statutes presented
their report on the question of changing the long vacation
from winter to summer, and the appended was adopted.
REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES.
(Report Number 5.)
The committee on constitution and statutes, to whom
was referred a resolution that the committee inquire into
and report upon the advisability of changing the long
vacation of the University from winter to summer, in
conformity with the custom of all other American
universities and colleges, and arranging our school dates
accordingly, report :
That they have given to the subject of the resolution
the careful consideration which its importance merits,
proposing, as it does, to make a very radical change in
the system upon which the University has been carried
on from its earliest inception. The committee has
examined the early records of the institution with a view
of ascertaining the reasons which induced the founders
of the University to adopt the present divisions of the
school year, differing as they do from those which have
been usual in other institutions. While it is true that
there is no part of the constitution or statutes which
prescribes the division of terms, so arranged as to provide
322 HISTORY OF THE
for a winter vacation instead of the usual long vacation
in the summer, yet they find the purpose of the founders
in this respect most fully and clearly set forth by the
board of trustees as early as 1858, and put in operation
by resolution of the board in 1867, upon the opening of
the University in 1868.
At the first meeting of the board after the acceptance
of the charter in 1858 a committee was appointed by the
board of trustees to prepare an address to the Southern
dioceses, setting forth at large the reasons which have
actuated the board of trustees in selecting Sewanee as
the site of the University of the South, and describing its
superior advantages. There was appointed on this com-
mittee Bishop Polk, Bishop Elliott, the Rev. Alexander
Gregg, Mr. J. A. Calhoun, and Mr. G. R. Fairbanks. This
committee prepared and published the "Address of the
Board of Trustees of the University of the South to the
Southern Dioceses in Reference to the Choice of the Site
for the University." Of this address many thousand
copies were circulated through all the Southern dioceses.
After referring to the requirement that the University
should be centrally situated, and the very careful pre-
liminary steps taken to secure a location, and the final
unanimity in the selection of Sewanee as affording a
central position and offering undoubted healthfulness,
upon a soil furnishing abundant supplies of freestone
water, affording easy communication with all parts of the
confederation, surrounded by a farming country provid-
ing the necessaries of life in any quantity at moderate
expense, they say, "There was yet another point to be
considered, connected with the social life of the South,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 323
which demanded attention in the settlement of this ques-
tion. Our citizens have for the most part made the
summer months their period of traveling, either for
pleasure or business. During these hot months their
plantations, and even their city homes, are deserted, and
they are scattered all the world over, from our own local
springs to Saratoga, Newport, Paris, Rome, and Naples.
At this season it is inconvenient to have their sons
returned upon their hands. They do not wish to introduce
them at that immature period of life to the dissipated
society of watering places, and when they return during
vacations from college they desire to have them at home.
For the South the proper vacation of an university is the
winter; that season when our planters and merchants
and professional men are surrounded by their families
upon their homesteads; when the cheerful Christmas fire
is burning on the hearth, and mothers and sisters, and
servants, can receive the returning student to his home
and revive within him that holy domestic feeling which
may have decayed amid the scholastic isolations of a
college ; when he can engage in the sports which make him
a true Southern man, hunting, shooting, riding. . . .
That a literary institution may give the student these
precious months it must be placed where the climate will
permit him to apply himself during the hot monthsi of
summer, where intellectual labor will not be a burden,
where cool nights and mornings will restore the energies
which have flagged under close application. This condi-
tion of things could only be secured upon some lofty
tableland, which should protrude itself into the center
of the cotton growing region, and be happily surrounded
324 HISTORY OF THE
by all the other requirements of a large institution. All
these things are combined in the location which the board
has chosen at Sewanee. . . . Whatever may be the severity
of the winter climate, it need not be encountered by the
students. It is well known that October and November
are two of the most delicious months upon these plateaus,
and our vacation can be so arranged as to dismiss the
University about the middle of December, and, allowing
the usual period of vacation, work would not be resumed
until the middle of March. This throws out the only three
months which might be too severe, and returns the young
men to their homes, as we said before, during the season
in which their parents will be most glad to see them, and
when they will keep up the habits of life which are to be
theirs in the future."
These extracts indicate in the fullest and most exact man-
ner that this question was well considered by the founders
of the University, and that one of the principal reasons
for the selection of Sewanee was to carry out their idea
of adapting the institution, by means of a winter vacation,
to the needs and requirements of the Southern States,
from which the great majority of the students were ex-
pected to, and do actually, come. A very leading idea
was expressed in all their actions to create on the moun-
tain plateau an institution of higher education, especially
arranged to meet the requirements of the people of the
Southern States.
The committee are quite aware that it may be alleged
that a greater amount of hard study may be accomplished
in cold weather, and therefore winter sessions should be
preferred, but it is to be recollected that under our pres-
B. L. WIGGINS, L. L. D.
Fifth Vice Chancellor
llrt-
Jr THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. J25
ent system we have September, October, November, and
two-thirds of December, half of March, all of April, May
and June, all of which are temperate months, and the ac-
tual time included in the hot season is comparatively
short and frequently cool ; that under our present system
health, which is of so great importance, is manifestly
better secured by the presence of the students on the
mountain during the warm months than if they returned
to their homes in the Gulf States at a season least healthy
there; that exemption from pneumonia and pleurisy, and
diseases of the lungs, is secured, and experience has proved
the general health of the student is in every way bene-
fited.
Sewanee was selected in conformity to the view
expressed, "That for the South the proper vacation for
an university is in the winter." A change of the plan
and purpose of the founders of the University, so clearly
expressed and insisted upon, the committee deem should
not be made without the strongest and most overpowering
reasons.
The conditions which caused the board of trustees
originally to adopt the present system still exist to the
same extent and degree as then, and we believe this
feature secures to us from the Gulf States students who
would not otherwise be sent here.
The committee believe that the present arrangement
should not be changed; that we are not prepared to risk
the consequences of overturning the well-considered plans
of the founders, under which we have operated now nearly
thirty years.
326 HISTORY OF THE
The committee is further of the opinion that it will be
inexpedient to even consider the proposed change until
the University is in a financial condition to incur the
great risk involved in such a change.
The committee, in accordance with the views above
expressed, report the following resolution, and recom-
mend its passage :
Resolved, That it is not advisable to change the long
vacation of the University from winter to summer.
ALFRED A. WATSON,
W. T. DICKINSON DALZELL,
D. D. CHAPIN,
Z. D. HARRISON,
G. E. FAIRBANKS,
Committee.
They therefore reported by resolution "that it is not
advisable to change the long vacation of the University
from winter to summer." The resolution was adopted by
the board, and may be considered as settling the question.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 327
CHAPTER XXXI.
Financial condition 1895-96 — Increase of students — Plan of
endowment proposed by Rev. Dr. Murdock — Death of Rev.
Dr. F. A. Shoup — Organization of faculty of arts and
sciences — Prize scholarship awarded to students of University
by Society for Promoting the Interests of Church Schools,
Colleges and Seminaries — Adverse action on the proposition
to change of winter to summer vacation — Academic degrees
for women considered.
1895-1896.
AT THE meeting of the board in 1896 about the usual
number of trustees were present.
An important change in the rules of order was made
dispensing with the committee on organization, which
had been a kind of omnibus committee for many years,
and replacing it by separate committees' charged with
the consideration of the several subjects and depart-
ments. To these committees was added a rule that all
nominations made by them to office should be first re-
ferred to the executive committee, who were to present
their recommendation to the board. This was an addi-
tional safeguard against hasty action.
The financial condition, as shown by the report of the
finance committee, was a very serious one; especially as a
judgment of about $4,500 had unexpectedly been obtained,
sustaining a subcontractor's lien upon the Walsh
Memorial Hall. This lien was properly payable by the
bondsmen of the contractors, who had been paid the
328 HISTORY OF THE
full amount of their contract. There were also other
pressing liabilities to be provided for. The finance com-
mittee reported in favor of the issue of bonds of the
University, not to exceed the sum of f 75,000 ; the proceeds
to be applied in the first instance to paying off the
f 33,000 of outstanding bonds, and the balance to be used
in liquidating the indebtedness not funded — the consent
of the holders of existing bonds to be obtained. The
proposition elicited much discussion in the board, mainly
turning on the power proposed to be given to the endow-
ment committee to invest moneys under their control
in the bonds of the University. On the one hand it was
contended that it was perfectly legitimate to do so, and
that the solemn pledge of the University, secured by
mortgage lien, was equivalent to any similar security
taken from other parties, and that the necessity of meet-
ing pressing liabilities was clearly shown, and no other
means for providing for them was suggested. The op-
ponents looked upon such an investment in our own
bonds, a wrong disposition of trust funds, but suggested
no alternative. The board, by a considerable majority,
sustained the proposal to issue bonds, and the investing
of funds as void under the control of the endowment com-
mittee.
The enrollment for 1896-97 showed a decided increase in
the number of students. One hundred and thirty-three
new students matriculated in Lent and Trinity terms, of
whom 76 were medical, 26 theological, and 14 law students.
The increase in the medical department gave great
encouragement to the development and growth of
that department in the future. The financial condition
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 329
of the University greatly improved, and the deficit
was diminished. This was owing to several concurrent
causes — the increase of students, the income from
endowment funds, and profits from the boarding depart-
ments carried on by the University in the grammar
school, etc., and profits from the supply department.
The judgment against the Walsh Memorial Hall, for
subcontractor's lien, was paid off by the generous gift
of $5,000 from Mr. George W. Quintard, of New York City.
At the annual oratorical interstate contest, held at
Austin, Texas, in 1897, Mr. John Tanner, a Sewanee
student, was the successful contestant among represen-
tatives of the University of Virginia, Washington and
Lee, Center College, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Caro-
lina, Tulane and University of Texas.
A still more gratifying testimonial to the scholarship
of Sewanee was shown in the contest for three scholar-
ships of the value of f 300 each, of students in the junior
year in church colleges, offered by the Association for
Promoting the Interests of Church Schools and Seminaries,
viz. : Trinity, Hobart, St. Stephens and Kenyon. The con-
test was arranged by a committee of examiners — Prof.
Morgan, of Harvard, in Greek ; Prof. Baldwin, of Yale, in
English; Prof. Peck, of Columbia, in Latin; Prof.
Brooks, of Princeton, in mathematics and physics. They
were instructed to set such examinations as they would
for students in their several colleges, completing the
junior year. All three of the prize scholarships were won
by Sewanee — Geo. C. Edwards, of Dallas, Texas; W. P.
Woolf, of Atlanta, Ga., and J. F. Matthews, of Alabama.
Edwards received a rating of 90 per cent in English, 85
330 HISTORY OF THE
per cent in Latin, and 80 per cent in Greek. Sewanee's
average exceeded any other college by 25.
The obtaining of these prizes was considered a high
testimonial to the scholarship of Sewanee, and a practi-
cal proof of the thoroughness and ability of her pro-
fessors.
The plan before referred to, for issuing bonds to an
increased amount, failed, in consequence of the holders of
the outstanding bonds, declining to receive new bonds of a
larger issue in substitution of those they held. Fortu-
nately, by the generosity of Mr. Quintard, of New York,
the judgment against the Walsh Memorial Hall had been
satisfied, and one of the principal causes of anxiety was
removed. Other indebtedness was provided for in a
different way.
The board had adopted, in 1875, a resolution that no
salaried officer of the University should have a seat in
the board, and in 1892 passed a statute, number 29 : "That
no officer receiving a salary from the University, should
be entitled to a seat in the board of trustees."
This exclusion was so contrary to the practice of all
business corporations that its inconvenience and inju-
diciousness was recognized, and, in 1896, was repealed.
The president and vice-president of corporations are
universally appointed directors, and it is always consid-
ered important that they should be present to keep the
board advised of the operations of the corporation. In
the British Parliament the members of the government
hold seats, and are ready and expected to be called upon
at any time for account of their official business.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 331
At the same session a resolution was passed that the
vice chancellor be ex officio entitled to a seat in the
board, with the privilege of debate as an honorary mem-
ber. This avoided much unnecessary delay in communi-
cating with him, and facilitated very greatly the work of
the board.
A plan of endowment was presented by the Rev. Dr.
Murdock, of North Carolina, which proposed procuring
classes of subscribers, ranging in amount from $100 each
to $100,000, to aggregate in all $1,000,000.
The plan was approved, and was virtually as follows :
1,777 subscribers to be obtained, of whom 1,000 to be
admitted on a subscription of $100 each, 400 on $250 each,
200 on $500 each, 100 on $1,000 each, 40 on $2,500 each,
20 on $5,000 each, 10 on $10,000 each, 4 on $25,000 each,
2 on $50,000 each and one on $100,000.
The plan, or something similar, may at some future
time be carried out in whole or in part ; it emanated from
a very practical business man, and one by no means vis-
ionary. When the church becomes more thoroughly inter-
ested in the great educational work inaugurated at Se-
wanee some earnest enthusiastic worker may carry out
some endowment plan which will place the University
in the position it ought to hold in the church and
country.
The health of Kev. Prof. Shoup rapidly failed, and he
passed away on the 4th of September, 1896. He was born
in Franklin County, Indiana, March 22, 1834, and was
at the time of his death in his sixty-third year. The
funeral services were held at Sewanee, in St. Augustines
Chapel, September 5th, and a special memorial service
332 HISTORY OF THE
was held on Sunday, September 6th, with addresses by
Bishops Quintard and Gailor and Rev. Mr. Guerry. The
vice chancellor, in his annual report in 1897, says of
him: "His body rests at Sewanee, a place to which he
gave so many years of devotion and distinguished ability.
The high and affectionate tributes paid to his memory
by his comrades, colleagues and students at the time of
his death, revealed the greatness of the loss sustained by
the University. When Dr. Shoup died a strong personal-
ity was removed from the life of the University, to be
incorporated with the undying names that make up the
tradition, the inspiration and the devotion that belong to
Sewanee."
Dr. Shoup was the author of several publications:
"Infantry Tactics/' Little Rock, 1862; "Artillery Drill,"
Atlanta, 1864; "Elements of Algebra," New York, 1874;
"Mechanism and Personality," Boston, 1888.
The organization of the faculty of arts and sciences,
during the year 1896-97, was a step in advance in carrying
on the work of the several departments of the University.
Each department having its own dean greatly simplified
the work of the hebdomadal board and the vice chan-
cellor.
For many years the salaries of the professors in the
theological department had not been guaranteed by the
board of trustees, but were expected to be provided for
by a voluntary allotment among the several dioceses.
This provision, being uncertain in its character, had
worked hardships upon the professors in that depart-
ment, and had led to deficiencies accumulating to a con-
siderable extent. In 1896 the board, by resolution,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 333
pledged to the theological department any deficit in
the salary list which may occur, and that the vice chan-
cellor and treasurer be instructed to carry the resolution
into effect in such manner as will secure to the pro-
fessors in the theological department the regular and
prompt payment of their salaries, including any deficien-
cies which may have occurred within three years. At the
same meeting the subject of conferring academic degrees
on women was brought up by a resolution, that the com-
mittee on constitution and statutes report what changes
in the statutes are necessary to be made in order that
the University may grant academic degrees to women
nonresidents who have graduated at reputable institu-
tions, and also shall be prepared to have the requisite ex-
aminations of the University, and that the committee re-
port whether or not in its judgment such changes are
expedient to be made.
The committee reported that in view of the committee
such action is desirable, and reported an amendment to
Statute IX, Sec. 8, by the addition of a clause which
should read as follows: "Diplomas and degrees (other
than in theology) may be conferred upon women non-
residents who shall have passed the statutory examina-
tions and met such other requisitions as may, by the
statutes, be provided for the conferring of diplomas and
degrees."
The report was sustained by the board; 17 ayes to 9
nays, but subsequently reconsidered, sundry amendments
offered, and finally referred to the executive committee,
which has never as yet taken formal action on the subject.
334 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXII.
Conditions in 1897 improving — A larger enrollment of students —
Growth of the medical department— Regulation of athletics —
Laying of the cornerstone of Hoffman Memorial Hall and its
completion.
1897-1898.
t
THE vice chancellor was enabled in his annual report
to the board, in August, 1897, to say that the University
as a whole had, during the past year, made considerable
progress in the literary activity of its professors and
in its reputation for scholarships. That the number of
students had increased and their general tone and dis-
cipline showed improvement. Three hundred and thirty-
three students were enrolled during the year 1896-97, of
whom 133 had matriculated during that year. A very
marked increase had taken place in the number of stu-
dents in the medical department, and also the theological
department. The grammar school, under its existing
administration, was also reported upon very favorably
as to its growth and discipline. The financial exhibit of
the grammar school was also very favorable, showing
surplus earnings to a considerable amount on account of
both board and tuition.
The regulation of athletic sports and other athletic
interests had become a matter of essential importance
to the governing body. The admission of athletic train-
ing as a necessary feature in our colleges and universities
had been here and elsewhere recognized.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 335
A tendency, however, was everywhere shown to an
undue absorption of the interests of students in these
athletic games, to the detriment of scholarship. This
was felt to be a growing evil, and to counteract it as far
as possible the hebdomadal board in August, 1896, passed
the following resolution :
"Resolved, That it be required of all students of the
University who play on teams representing the Univer-
sity, in baseball, football, tennis or track athletics, or
other form of athletic sports, that they shall have main-
tained an average of two in their studies up to the time
of any game in which they may participate; and if they
be students matriculated in former terms, that they shall
have maintained an average of two on their examinations
of the term preceding their membership of said team,
and that, furthermore, such students shall not be eligible
to serve on said team unless their conduct is thoroughly
satisfactory to the deans of their respective depart-
ments."
This judicious regulation has produced its desired
effect, and has helped to establish a correlation between
brain and muscle, and was approved by the students
body. It seems to be an admirable provision for making
scholarship an important precursor of athletic sports,
preventing the absorption and overshadowing of the intel-
lectual training by mere athletic accomplishments, keep-
ing up the mens sana in corpore sano.
Rev. Dr. Charles F. Hoffman, of New York, having been
invited to preach the baccalaureate sermon, came to Se-
wanee at the commencement in 1896, and before leaving
expressed to vice chancellor Wiggins his desire to do
336 HISTORY OF THE
something for the University. Prof. Wiggins, in response
to his request as to what direction such assistance could
be best given, intimated the need of a dormitory for
junior students. Dr. Hoffman said if the presidential
election did not result unfortunately for the country he
would build such a dormitory. After the election he
renewed his proposition, but in order that the Associa-
tion for the Promotion of the Interests of Church Schools,
Colleges and Seminaries, of which he was president, might
be united with the University in a common interest,
he thought it advisable to donate $30,000 through the
Association, and have the Association loan the amount in
perpetuity to the University at the rate of one-half per
cent. Later on he expressed his desire to donate to the
University the Hoffman House at Bridgeport, Ala., for
the purpose of establishing a grammar school there. This
proposition the vice chancellor thought impracticable,
and suggested that the building and furniture might be
sold and made available for the dormitory, or the build-
ing taken down and the materials used for that purpose.
Dr. Hoffman at a later day suggested that, in connection
with a loan in perpetuity of $30,000 and the transfer
of the Hoffman House property at Bridgeport, the Uni-
versity should pay the Association f 500 per annum for
establishment of scholarships, which would be offered to
all the church colleges. While this matter was under
consideration Dr. Hoffman became very ill, and went to
Jekyl Island, Georgia, and died upon reaching there.
He, however, on his death bed, requested his son to carry
out his wishes and continue the negotiations with the
vice chancellor for this purpose. The final result was a
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 337
proposition by the heirs of Dr. Hoffman to donate thirty
thousand dollars and the Hoffman House at Bridgeport
to the Association for Promoting the Interests of Church
Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, on condition that the
Association transfer said property to the University of the
South as the equivalent of a loan of $45,000 for a period
of ninety-nine years, upon the payment of an annual
interest of $500. The Association to require a security
for each loan, a secured mortgage upon the real estate of
the University.
This proposition was reported by the vice chancellor
to the board of trustees at the time of their August meet-
ing, 1897, and was referred by the board to the committee
on constitution and statutes. This committee reported
a resolution that, while the board would be pleased to
accept said benefaction as intended by Dr. Hoffman, in
view of other charitable gifts from other benefactors,
used to construct memorial buildings, etc., it would, in
the judgment of the board, be improper for the University
to put a cloud upon its title to said memorial buildings
(by the execution of a mortgage for 99 years) and its
entire domain in order to now secure the sum of $45,000
to build said Hoffman Hall.
The vice chancellor was requested to continue his
negotiations with the heirs of Dr. Hoffman, and endeavor
to obtain said benefaction on terms which could be
accepted by the board, and to report to the executive
committee, which was invested with full power to act on
behalf of the board.
During the ensuing winter the matter was arranged by
an acceptance on the part of the executive committee
338 HISTORY OF THE
of a proposition made by the heirs of Dr. Hoffman to loan
the University the sum of $45,000 for the term of 99
years, at an annual interest of $500. The sum so loaned
to consist of $30,000 in cash and the building known as
the Hoffman House, at Bridgeport, Alabama, and furni-
ture therein, estimated at $15,000, for which loan the
University should make and deliver its note secured by
a mortgage on the building to be erected with the pro-
ceeds of the loan, and so much appurtenant land as the
University might designate, with a condition in said
mortgage that no transfer should be made of said note
and mortgage, except to the Association for Promoting
the Interests of Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries,
without the express consent of the University.
This was deemed a satisfactory arrangement of the
matter, and the necessary papers were accordingly exe-
cuted.
Plans for said building were prepared by R. H. Hunt,
Esq., of New York, and a contract made with the Edge-
field & Nashville Manufacturing Company for the erec-
tion of the Hoffman Memorial Hall, for the sum of
$22,580, including the use of all the building material of
the Hoffman House, at Bridgeport, Ala., which was taken
down and the material brought to Sewanee.
On the 30th day of July, 1898, the cornerstone of the
Hoffman Memorial Hall was laid by the chancellor,
Right Rev. Thomas Underwood Dudley, bishop of Ken-
tucky, in the presence of the board of trustees and a
large assemblage of people.
Addresses were made by Rt. Rev. W. M. Brown, D. D.,
bishop coadjutor, of Arkansas, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 33*
only representative and survivor of the original board of
trustees, Prof. W. P. Trent, dean of the academic depart-
ment, and Mr. Silas McBee, editor of the New York
Churchman, an alumnus of the University.
The contract required that the building be completed
by the 1st of March, 1899, but owing to inclement
weather it was not ready for occupation until May, 1899.
The dimensions of the building are 102 feet in length, 50
feet in width and four stories, besides the basement.
Built of Sewanee sandstone and lined with brick, the
building is of a most substantial character, and most
conveniently arranged for the occupation of the students
in the junior department of the University.
The building of Hoffman Memorial Hall for the junior
students of the University was a marked departure from
the original plans of the founders of the University, as is
evidenced by Ordinance 17, relative to boarding houses,
which contemplated that all students of the University
should board in small groups, not exceeding twelve, in
licensed boarding houses, expected to be carried on by
private families. The massing of students in dormitories,
which was designated as the barracks system, was
regarded with disfavor, and the family system was much,
preferred as conducing to more domestic and refined as-
sociations, gentlemanly deportment, and with better
opportunities for study. The plan contemplated the
coming to the mountain of families of refinement and
culture in moderate circumstances who would create a
fireside for students, surround them with the amenities
of life, produce an elevated tone of speech and manners,
while the effect moreover would be to create at the Uni-
340 HISTORY OF THE
versity a refined and desirable society large in numbers
and homogeneous in character. Bishop Cobb said em-
phatically, when the matter was under discussion in the
board, that he never desired to see the students assem-
bled around a table which was not presided over by a
lady.
The idea was certainly a most attractive one, and was
practically carried out during the early years of the Uni-
versity's growth with marked advantages over the usual
dormitory aggregation of large numbers gathered at
commons tables, more intent upon satisfying their physi-
cal wants than on the enjoyment of pleasant conversa-
tion, enlivened and ameliorated by the presence of
refined ladies; occupying their rooms something after a
hotel fashion, feeling no requirement to observe the
ettiquette of good society, either in speech or manners, are
evident disadvantages compared with the ideal system of
small groups associated with families, and feeling the
influence of family life.
It was found, however, impracticable to carry out the
original plans. As the number of students increased
larger numbers were brought together in the boarding
houses than was advisable, either on the score of dis-
cipline or convenience, necessitating their crowding
together ; again summer visitors began to share the exist-
ing boarding houses with the students, to the detriment
of their opportunities of study. Grammar school boys
were scattered through the houses, to the detriment of
order and discipline, and it became a necessity to sepa-
rate the grammar school boys from University students,
and a separate dormitory was provided for them. The
Prof. W. P. TRFNT, L. L. D.
First Dean of Academ c Department
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 341
same causes seemed to render it necessary to provide a
dormitory for the juniors. There still remain the board-
ing houses for the seniors, law and medical students, and
this division will likely continue, the grammar school and
juniors being housed in special dormitories and the others
in boarding houses.
In October, 1897, the University was honored by a visit
from Canon Gore, of Westminister Abbey, now bishop of
Worcester, accompanied by Bishop Satterlee, of Washing-
ton, D. C. The learned canon kindly accepted an invita-
tion to preach in St. Augustines Chapel on Sunday
morning, as did also Bishop Satterlee in the evening. The
sermons of both of these distinguished preachers were
highly appreciated, and the thought was present to many
minds of the great privilege of hearing in the chapel of
the youngest of the universities, on the same day, one
who stands prominent in the capital of Great Britain,
and the bishop who represents the church in the capital
of the United States, thus bringing the mother and the
daughter church into close connection.
342 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The death on July 15, 1898, of Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard,
D. D., T. S. DM bishop of Tennessee — Prizes awarded hy the
Association for Promotion of Interests of Church Schools —
Oratorical contests and athletic games won by Sewanee
students — Increase in number of students — Resignation of
Prof. Wells — Question of cheapening expenses of students —
Aid given by scholarships.
A. D. 1898.
THE RIGHT REVEREND CHARLES TODD QUINTARD, S. T. D ,
LL.D., was born at Stamford, Connecticut, December
22, 1824, descended from a Huguenot family which had
sought refuge in America. He had made choice of the
medical profession as the business of his life. He came
South and was for a while in the State of Georgia,
and afterwards went to Memphis, Tenn., where he
engaged in the practice of his profession. Feeling an
imperative call to the priesthood of the church, he was,
after due preparation, ordained deacon by Bishop Otey,
in 1854, and priest in 1855. He was for some time in
charge of Calvary church, Memphis, but in 1858 accepted
the rectorship of the Church of the Advent, Nashville,
Tenn., which position he filled until the breaking out of
the war, when he accepted an election as chaplain of the
First Tennessee Regiment in the Confederate service. No
one could have more faithfully discharged the duties of
this arduous position, in which he endeared himself to the
whole army. He was elected bishop of Tennessee in 1865,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 343
and consecrated to that office in Philadelphia in Octo-
ber, 186?.
He had assisted at the laying of the cornerstone of the
University at Sewanee in October, 1860. He had, no
douK, previously become interested in the project of a
Southern church university, in which his diocesan bishop,
O~ey, had taken a prominent part, and of which he was
toe first chancellor, but his attendance at the laying of
the cornerstone in 1860 was the first time he had come
in touch with the enterprise, and the proceedings on that
occasion must have greatly excited his interest in the
future development of the University. From the day of
hie consecration he devoted his heart and mind to the
resuscitation and rebuilding of the University. To his
unceasing labors we owe the very existence of this Uni-
vffsity. For more than thirty years his life and work
w«re intimately connected with its welfare, and his un-
fatering faith, generous enthusiasm, and earnest advo-
cacy brought to its aid friends far and near, and secured
fcp it a standing and influence which carried it forward
t< its ultimate success.
The board of trustees have well said of him, "More
tuly and with wider view and prospects than it was
Britten of the architect of St. Pauls Cathedral it is
nscribed upon these lasting hills and upon unfading
nemories, as applying to Charles Todd Quintard, bishop,
doctor and educator, 'si manumentum requiris circum-
spice.' He has here upon this mountain one of the
grandest memorials which the South has ever seen."
When it was proposed that St. Lukes Memorial Hall
should bear the name of its benefactor, Mrs. Manigault,
344 HISTORY OF THE
she at once expressed the desire that it should be asso-
ciated with Bishop Quintard in some appropriate man-
ner, and as one portion of his life had been spent in the
practice of the medical profession, the name of St.
Luke, the beloved physician, was given to the buildiLg.
In the previous pages of this history, Bishop Quin\ard
has been a prominent figure through all the years of Us
growth, and it is unnecessary again to recount his woik
and labors on its behalf. Intimately associated witl
him from the planting of the cross at Sewanee in 1865
to the day of his death, I feel unable to abridge or
compress within the limits of this work his irany
labors which ever excited my admiration, my res-
pect and my reverence for his character. I trust that
some competent hand will prepare a memorial volume,
which will give a full and detailed record of his life aid
labors, as a companion and sequel to that so ably dme
in memory of Bishop Polk.
One point in his character I would like to emphasize,
and that was his abiding, unswerving, unquenchable fath
in the University. I may be pardoned for here introd\c-
ing an extract from the memorial address of Bish<p
Gailor, delivered in the chapel on July 27, 1899, at tfe
request of the board of trustees.
"The bishop, with his three friends, Rev. Dr. J. A. Mei
rick, Rev. T. A. Morris and Maj. G. R. Fairbanks, selectee
the location for his training school, and in the after
noon erected a cross on the site chosen for the chapel
(being the spot where St. Lukes Oratory now stands),
gathered the workmen about it and asked the blessing
of the great head of the church on the undertaking. The
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 345
bishop ever afterwards emphasized the fact that on this
occasion they recited the Apostles Creed and sung the
Gloria in Excelsis; that it was a definite act of faith
and worship, consecrating the movement as a work for
Jesus Christ and his church.
"By midsummer the bishop and Major Fairbanks had
built homes for their families, and Otey Hall was almost
finished, from funds provided by the bishop. This hall
he afterwards donated to the University authorities.
"Up to this time it appears that Bishop Quintard and
Major Fairbanks were absolutely the only believers in
the possibility of reviving the University, and that the
visit to Sewanee and the setting up of the cross, and
the building of Otey Hall, built as a training school for
theological students, was one of those daring acts of
faith, unauthorized by any university trustees, but quite
consistent with the enthusiastic determination which so
often carried the bishop triumphantly over difficulties."
And nothing can be more true than the eloquent perora-
tion with which Bishop Gailor closed his memorial
address :
"To-day it is my high privilege, on behalf of the board
of trustees, to put on record with this brief and imperfect
recital of Bishop Quintard's services to the University,
their glad and grateful recognition of his courage and
his faith, without which, humanly speaking, this institu-
tion would never have revived. Wherever Sewanee
shall be known, there shall his name be honored. Wher-
ever the cause of Christian education shall be advocated,
there shall his memory be blessed. And as the years in-
crease, carrying us on, we pray, through happy and help-
346 HISTORY OF THE
ful labor on this mountain for Christ and for this church,
deeper and deeper shall become the sense of that obliga-
tion which we owe to Bishop Quintard; and more real
shall grow our appreciation of him and of his work,
until some day the men and women of this generation,
whose hearts and minds are alive to the blessings of a
Christian culture, will build for him here a fitting memo-
rial, to tell our children in the days to come the heroic
story of how one man believed and loved and labored, and,
by the grace and power of God, proved the victory of
faith."
In the same address, Bishop Gailor touches upon an-
other phrase of the bishop's personality, which I would
not willingly pass over, and of which no one could have
a deeper sense than the writer. "Sewanee." It was not
merely the University, it was the place. He pervaded it.
He loved it, and it responded to him. Its Sewanee spirit
was his spirit. Its atmosphere was in a large measure
his creation. No stranger came here that he did not
welcome. There was no sorrow to which he did not min-
ister. There was no suffering that he did not try to cheer.
The faculty, the students, the people, one and all, felt and
understood the unique charm of his personality.
In accordance with his often expressed wish, his burial
took place at Sewanee, where he was laid in a plot of his
own selection, in the bosom of the mountain he had loved
so well, and under the shadow of the great University he
had done so much to build up and perpetuate, and which
may well be regarded as his greater monument.
Dr. Armani J. DeRossett, who had been for a long
period a lay trustee from the diocese of North Carolina,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 347
died during the early part of the year 1898, at the ad-
vanced age of ninety years. Dr. DeRossett had been
prominent in church work for more than sixty years, in
connection with his own diocese, and at an early date
took an active interest in the welfare of the University.
The Association for the Promotion of the Interests of
Church Schools, Colleges and Seminaries, during the
winter of 1896-97, offered three prizes of $300 each, to the
students of the junior year in the church colleges, viz.,
Trinity, Hobart, St. Stephens, Kenyon and Sewanee. The
prizes were to be for Latin, Greek, English, mathematics
and physics. As the result of this competition Sewanee
won all these prizes of $300 each, which were won res-
pectively by George C. Edwards, of Texas; W. P. Woolf,
of Georgia, and James F. Matthews, of Alabama.
In the annual oratorical contest of the Southern Ora-
torical Association, embracing the University of Virginia,
Washington and Lee, Center College, Vanderbilt Univer-
sity, South Carolina University, Tulane of Louisiana,
and University of the South, Sewanee was for the third
time awarded the victory.
It was also to the credit of the athletic department
that Sewanee won all the games in the Southern College
Association during the season of 1897.
A resolution was passed appointing a committee to
report upon the subject of university extension, and to
propose a plan of action in reference to the same, which
is still in abeyance.
The Reverend W. Lloyd Bevan, A. B., M. A. and Ph.
D., was elected to the chair of metaphysics, vacated by
the death of Rev. Dr. Shoup.
348 HISTORY OF THE
The history of art was added to the course required for
the degree of B. A., and received much attention from
Prof. Greenough White.
By resolution of the board the plan of extending the
curriculum of the medical department to a four years
course was approved, and the addition of a school of
pharmacy.
Mr. Charles W. Bain, M. A., elected in 1895 as head
master of the grammar school, resigned that position in
August, 1898, to take a professorship in South Carolina
College. Mr. Bain had very acceptably filled the position
of head master. His resignation was greatly regretted.
The board not being prepared to elect his successor,
authority was given to the vice chancellor to fill the
place, by whom Mr. W. H. McKellar was appointed and
filled the post for Trinity term, 1898. Mr. Julius E.
Leigh becoming the head master at the beginning of Lent
term, 1899.
Rev. W. T. Dickinson Dalzell, D. D., clerical trustee
from Louisiana, who had been a member of the board for
sixteen years, died on February 4, 1899. Dr. Dalzell was
a valuable member of the board, and his death was
greatly regretted. He had the somewhat remarkable
record of having served one parish, that at Shreveport,
La., for thirty years.
Effort was made in 1897 to establish boarding houses
prepared to furnish a lower rate of board than that
usually paid, and Tremlett Hall was opened for medical
students at the rate of twelve dollars per month, but
owing to the rapid increase of students in this depart-
ment, who were obliged to seek other boarding places,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 349
it was not found advisable to retain Tremlett Hall for
this purpose, and during the following winter it was
put in thorough repair, well furnished and opened as
a small hotel or inn, but only continued as such through
two seasons, when it was required for the accommodation
of students in academic department.
Among other enterprises, Vice Chancellor Wiggins
established a supply store, in 1894, in the building
formerly used for class rooms on the north side of the
chapel, and which was removed to a point south of the
treasurer's office. It proved a profitable venture; the^
profits for the first three years amounting to $3,173.97.
Through the supply store the University purchases all
its supplies for its own dormitories, and furnishes all
the books, stationery, medical supplies, etc., required at
the University. The profits derived from this source
are very considerable and contribute to the general fund.
A new seal for the University was adopted in 1898,
varying somewhat from the former seal — of piscina shape.
The words "Seal of the University of the South" around
850 HISTORY OF THE
the border. A Latin cross in the center, with the
initials of the several associated dioceses placed in a
circle; a dove above, and clasped hands below the circle.
During the year 1898 greater attention was given to
the athletic department. The gymnasium was equipped
more thoroughly, and made compulsory for all junior
and grammar school students, and proper exercises
prescribed by the director for each student. These
athletic exercises contribute not only to the health and
physical development of the students, but furnish a
source of enjoyable amusement which in some form a
student naturally seeks, and if not judiciously furnished
will injudiciously be taken. An annual competitive
exhibition in the field, and exhibition in Forensic Hall
keep up their own interest as well as that of others in
athletics. No more healthy looking boys and young men
can be seen anywhere than in Sewanee.
For many years the existence of the University was
only recognized at the North as a dimly remembered
fact of such a scheme having been originated before the
Civil War. A series of banquets at each meeting of
the general convention, beginning in 1892 at Baltimore,
and followed at Minneapolis in 1895, and Washington in
1898, did much to bring leading churchmen in attendance
on the general convention in touch with the only distinc-
tively church University in this country, and gave a
wider knowledge of its importance and success as well
as its needs to the church at large.
In the convention of 1898 especial mention was made
of the work of this University in the promotion of
Christian education by the joint committee on that
Prof. CAMERON PIGGOTT, M. D.
Dean of the Academic Department.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 351
subject, and the address of our chancellor, Bishop Dudley,
referring especially to the work it was doing, was listened
to with marked attention.
he years 1898-99 were important years in the history
of the University. A new life seemed to have been
awakened in all its departments. The number of
stuuents registered for the scholastic year of 1897-98
wa, '16, a very large increase. The medical department,
which began in 1892 with only six students, numbered
for 1897-98 241 students. The grammar school largely
increased in numbers, and the financial condition was
greatly improved. Hoffman Hall, costing $50,000, had
been added to our permanent buildings.
In April, 1898, Dr. Cameron Piggot, professor of
chemistry, etc., fell over the cliff on the brow of the
mountain, a distance of about sixty feet in all, and
by remarkably good fortune escaped fatal results,
although very severely injured. In a few months he
entirely recovered.
In the academic faculty a great loss was experienced
in the resignation of Prof. B. W. Wells, Ph. D., who had
occupied the chair of modern languages since 1891, and
who had in every way contributed to the reputation of
the University. As an author of great intellectual force,
as a contributor to many of the current publications of
the day, as a thorough scholar and teacher in his own
department, he had rendered very great service to this
institution, and his withdrawal to assist in the editorial
management of the Churchman was the subject of very
general regret.
Mr. S. Gary Beckwith, M. A., who for several years had
been an assistant master in the grammar school and
352 HISTORY OF THE
rendered valuable service in that capacity, resigned in
August, 1898, in order to take holy orders in the diocese
of Virginia.
Eighteen hundred and ninety-eight was a very tri-
umphant year in the annals of the University for the
successes of its athletic clubs, having won in every contest
in baseball and football.
The University also through its representatives won
the decision of superiority in the Inter-Collegiate College
debate held at the University of Virginia; Messrs. W.
Mercer Green and McVeigh Harrison representing the
University.
In the report of the vice chancellor in 1899, attention
was called to the fact that the number of students in
the academic department had not kept up with the
progress made in other departments. The hebdomadal
board in their report attributed this to two causes, one
being the higher price of board and tuition than at the
State institutions, and the other the relative want of
scientific equipment to meet the growing demand for a
scientific education. It was also borne in mind that
these State institutions furnished free tuition, rendering
it difficult to compete with them in the matter of expense.
To the mind of the writer the want of a more complete
equipment in the scientific department has more weight
than the mere questions of expense. The most largely
frequented universities and colleges in this country are
far more expensive than this University, and the matter
of reduction of tuition must be met by endowment and
scholarships. No first-class institution can be supported
by its tuition fees; state appropriations and liberal
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 353
endowments have supported institutions which must have
otherwise failed. In the matter of scholarships thia
University has already given great help to those needing
it. Each bishop has the nomination of two scholarships
free of tuition. The vice chancellor has the gift of five,
and the Hill and Goodwyn scholarship funds provide
for ten or fifteen more to the extent of $200 per annum.
Seven scholarships have been already provided in the
theological department, besides other aid, while not a
single professor's chair has as yet been endowed. Pro-
bably no institution in the country, in proportion to its
means, has done so much.
By the earnest effort of Rev. Prof. Greenough White a
fund was started for the endowment of the "Bishop
Quintard Chair of Dogmatic Theology," which it is hoped
will be successful. It seems strange that no memorial
of the kind has been provided to commemorate Bishop
Polk of Louisiana, or Bishop Otey of Tennessee, or Bishop
Elliott of Georgia.
354 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Benefactions of Judge Goodwyn and Rev. E. D. Cooper, D. D. —
Establishment of steam laundry and waterworks — Sewanee
sandstone— Building of the supply store — Change of schol-
astic year from two to three terms — Resignation of Professor
Trent — Death of Bishop Wilmer of Alabama and Bishop
Pierce of Arkansas — The Quintard Memorial Hall — Gift of
Westminster chimes by Rev. W. C. Douglas, D. D.
1899-1900.
BY THE will of Judge William A. Goodwin of Nashville,
who died in October, 1898, the sum of $10,000 was given
to the University, the income from which was to be
devoted to the education of young men too poor to pay
for themselves, and to no other purpose whatever.
Under the internal revenue law the United States
Government exacted 10 per cent of this amount as a
legacy tax, and the State of Tennessee 5 per cent addi-
tional, thus taking from the fund designed to help educate
poor young men the sum of $1,500, the interest upon
which would have paid the tuition of at least one poor
young man. The 10 per cent exacted by the internal
revenue department has since been repaid, but the tax
exacted by the State has not.
It is difficult to understand upon what principle or
right or justice a fund devoted to so praiseworthy an
object should be grasped by the federal and State govern-
ments, and especially by the State benefited by s^ich
gifts. It is to be hoped a better enlightenment of Con-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 355
gress and of State Legislatures will do away with such
an exaction for all future time.
Kev. E. D. Cooper, D. D., of Astoria, L. L, State of
New York, by will, gave to the University the sum of
$5,000 and all of his theological library. Here, too, $625
was exacted by the State and federal government from
a fund devoted to the education of young men in the
University. Among the improvements effected during
the year 1899, was the establishment of a steam laundry
and the enlargement of a small system of waterworks,
which had been previously put in operation, the supply
for which came from the two springs known as Polk
Spring and Otey Spring. As put in operation in 1899 a
water supply was maintained for the steam laundry, and
water was pumped through a four-inch pipe to a tank
erected near St. Lukes Hall, from which it was distributed
to the various University halls and dormitories, the sup-
ply store and private families along University Avenue.
Both of the enterprises were undertaken by private
parties, under authority of the trustees, with a reserved
right to the University to purchase them whenever de-
sired. They added greatly to the convenience of residents,
as well as the needs of the University itself. Naturally
an electric plant will follow at an early date, to the
better enlightenment of the dormitories, residences and
streets.
By the liberal management of the Nashville and Chat-
tanooga railroad authorities, schedules for summer
travel were established, giving four passenger trains a
day upon the Tennessee Coal & Transportation Kail-
road, leading from Cowan to Tracy City, via Sewanee,
356 HISTORY OF THE
thus giving ample facilities for travel, and four trains
i; day, with express facilities, so that few places in the
Slate were better accommodated.
In addition to the telegraph service rendered bj the
Western Union lines a long distance telegraph connects
Sewanee with the principal cities of the United States.
And upon one day in the week only, railroad and mail
service are suspended and we have the enjoyment of a
quiet Sunday, undisturbed by the affairs of the outer
world.
A small farm was opened during the years 1898-99, with
a dairy annex at Greggs Spring, about a quarter of a
mile north of the athletic grounds. This is already a
valuable source of supply of vegetables, milk, etc., for the
use of the University halls and dormitories. It will, no
doubt, be expanded in time in connection with the school
of agriculture provided for by the original ordinances.
The soil of the domain is a sandy loam which responds to
care, enrichment and cultivation, and is particularly well
suited for fruit growing, vineyards and root crops.
In this connection it may also be stated that probably
five thousand acres of the University domain is underlaid
with an excellent quality of semibituminous coal, lying
at from 75 to 150 feet below the surface, and easily mined
by tunnels pushed in from the bluff. The present popu-
lation is well supplied with coal of this character, deliv-
ered at the low price of $2.50 per ton. It has been thought
best to reserve our own deposits for future use so long as
we can be supplied at a low price from mines outside of
our domain. The coal deposit will, no doubt, become of
great value to us.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 357
I may also here speak of another valuable property
held by the University, in its sandstone rock, which is
regarded as a building material of the very best quality.
Its varying colors, from grey to pink, its excellent clear-
age, and its increasing hardness when exposed to the
weather, its porous character when first quarried, receiv-
ing and holding cement or lime mortar, has attracted the
attention of architects elsewhere, and already several
churches and fine structures have been erected in Nash-
ville and Atlanta of our Sewanee sandstone, which has
proved decidedly superior to any of the freestones used
in northern cities. In addition we have an excellent
quality of limestone in unlimited quantities, suitable for
building and the manufacture of lime.
The surface of the mountain in many places is com-
posed of pebblestone, which, being crushed, furnishes an
admirable material for sidewalks, garden walks and
roads. The clay, where it lies in any depth, has proved
of good quality for the manufacture of bricks.
The supply of water for Sewanee is furnished by numer-
ous springs, with an outflow of from 2,000 to 12,000
gallons a day, and from bored and ordinary wells and
cisterns. As the springs are supposed to be supplied from
the percolation of water during the winter, spring and
fall rains through the sandstone rock, it is of supreme
importance that the forest growth should be maintained
and no tree cut down without providing for the growth
of another in its place. The result of denuding the sur-
face is already felt at Sewanee Village, where the trees
have been largely cut away, with the apparent effect of
causing the wells to become dry during the dry season,
358 HISTORY OF THE
while in other parts of the domain the flow of the springs
does not seem to be greatly affected.
In April, 1899, the Supply store with all its contents
was destroyed by fire. This would have been a serious
loss to the University but for the foresight of Vice Chan-
cellor Wiggins in having previously placed ample insur-
ance, which enabled him to at once rebuild, replacing the
former wooden building with a substantial stone struc-
ture two stories in height, one-half of the expense of
which was provided by the E. Q. B. Club, in consideration
of their having the upper story, which was handsomely
fitted up for their use. This club, founded in 1890, for
many years had no local habitation, but met in private
houses. Then, about 1880, built for itself a neat one-story
clubhouse, of wood, in the rear of the medical hall, and
now established itself in permanent quarters in stone
walls.
The rapid development of the medical department, and
the requirements of the Association of the Medical
Colleges, rendered it necessary that a hospital should be
provided as a part of its necessary equipment. As the
erection of a suitable building for this purpose would
involve a considerable expense, by a happy thought it was
proposed that a large addition should be made to the
building erected by Dr. Tel fair Hodgson as a library
building, and, with the generous concurrence of Mrs.
Hodgson, the plan was carried into effect and the Hodgson
Memorial Infirmary erected during the fall and winter
of 1899-1900, and formally opened in June, 1900. Con-
forming in its architecture to the library building, it pre-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 359
sents a very attractive appearance, and adds one more to
the handsome structures of the University.
From the very opening of the University the need of
suitable dormitories for the grammar school had been
felt, the importance of an entire separation of the gram-
mar school boys from the students of the University had
been recognized, and only necessity had permitted this
separation to be deferred. The purchase and occupation
of the University Hotel had furnished temporary relief,
but the building was unsuitable in many respects, its
location undersirable, and its structure not as well
guarded from accident as prudence required.
At this juncture George W. Quintard, Esq., of New
York, a brother of the late bishop, being impressed by the
statement of Bishop Gailor and the vice chancellor of
the important need of the grammar school at the present
time of a suitable dormitory, generously offered to pro-
vide the sum of $50,000 for the erection of such a building.
Mr. G. C. Haight, of New York, an architect of high
reputation, was employed to prepare the plans. A site
was selected in Polk Park, and, the site and plans having
been approved by the executive committee, a contract
was entered into with the Edgefield Manufacturing Com-
pany, which had erected Hoffman Memorial Hall, for the
erection and completion of the building by the 1st of
March, 1901. The cornerstone was laid on the 30th of
July, with appropriate ceremonies, addresses being made
by Bishop Capers, Bishop Gailor, Mr. G. R. Fairbanks
and Mr. Julius E. Leigh. The name given to the building
is the Quintard Memorial Hall, in honor and in memory
of Charles Todd Quintard, second bishop of Tennessee.
360 HISTORY OF THE
The building is the largest hitherto erected, being 204
feet in length by 40 feet in width. Like our other build-
ings, it is built in a very massive style, of our Sewanee
sandstone, is lined with brick and covered with slate. Its
style of architecture is very pleasing, its windows divided
with stone mullions, its proportions are admirable, and
its location, upon a gently rising ground facing University
Avenue, is all that could be desired, and carries out one
of Bishop Hopkins' ideals of separate buildings crown-
ing commanding eminences.
There is, moreover, a fine significance in placing the dor-
mitory, which commemorates Bishop Quintard, the sec-
ond founder of the University, standing in Polk Park*
commemorating its first founder, thus connecting the
names of the two most prominent in founding and putting
in operation the University.
The Quintard Memorial Hall was expected to be com-
pleted in the summer of 1901, but it was found that an
additional sum of $15,000 would be necessary to complete
and furnish the building, and there were no available
funds for that purpose. Bishop Gailor having stated to
Mr. J. P. Morgan, of New York, our needs in this respect,
he generously at once gave the amount required and
enabled the building to be completed in accordance with
the plans of the architect.
Between the annual sessions of the board of trustees
in 1899 and 1900 four of its trustees departed from this
life: Bishops Wilmer and Jackson, of Alabama, Bishop
Pierce, of Arkansas, and Mr. E. R. Foster, of Florida; all
men of mark, and two of them, Bishops Wilmer and
Pierce, long associated with the University. Suitable
Prof. I. S. CAIN, M. D.
Dean of the Medical Department.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 361
commemorative notices of their lives and virtues were
made at the annual meeting of the board of trustees at
their session in August, 1900.
Bishop Wilmer was succeeded in the board by Eev.
Robert Woodward Barnwell, who was consecrated as
bishop of Alabama on July 27, 1900, and died July, 1902.
Bishop Pierce was succeeded by Rev. William Montgom-
ery Brown, D. D., who had been elected bishop coadjutor
of Arkansas in 1898. Bishop Wilmer was at the time of
his death the senior bishop in the board, having been
consecrated in 1862, during the Civil War.
The baccalaureate sermon, in 1898, was preached by
the Rt. Rev. Lewis Burton, D. D., of the diocese of Lexing-
ton, Ky., and the commencement oration was delivered by
the Hon. J. W. Caldwell, of Tennessee.
In 1898, Dr. W. H. Spencer, of St. Louis, Mo., founded
the Dwight medal for philosophical and biblical Greek.
Mr. Albert D. Marks, of Nashville, founded the Marks'
prize for rhetoric. Mr. E. G. Richmond, of Chattanooga,
Tenn., provided the Richmond prize for political science
and economy.
The vice chancellor reported the number of students
in the various departments registering for the year 1898-99
as 516, divided as follows: Academic department, 114;
theological department, 21 ; medical department, 241 ; law
department, 14, and grammar school department, 126.
In his report to the board, in 1899, the vice chancellor
emphasized the importance of encouraging the establish-
ment of local schools as feeders to the University. One-
such school, established as such a feeder in Texas by Mr.
F. E. Shoup, a son of Professor Shoup, has been success-
362 HISTORY OF THE
fully established. It was contemplated at an early day
that such feeders would in time be established. It would
probably be a great help to the University if scholarships
in the University could be founded in diocesan schools
as a reward for high standing, and thus, as in England,
bring about a relation of that kind between local schools
and the University.
At the meeting of the board in 1899 a resolution was
passed requesting the hebdomadal board to present to
the executive committee a formulated plan for a change
of the scholastic term of the University, the date of the
commencement of the fiscal year, and the publication of
the report of the vice chancellor in advance of the meet-
ing of the board.
The hebdomadal board formulated a plan retaining the
beginning and close of the school year, but dividing it into
three terms of three months each, to be called the Trinity,
Advent and Lent terms. The commencement to take place
on the last Thursday in June. That the fiscal year close on
the 1st day of January, and that the schedule of studies be
arranged accordingly. This plan was approved by the exec-
utive committee and reported to the board in August,
1900, for adoption. The board adopted the resolutions,
authorizing the change on July 28, 1900, and by ordinance
changed the time of the annual meeting of the board of
trustees to the Thursday (afterwards changed to Satur-
day) before the last Thursday in June. There were various
reasons assigned for the change of terms, among others,
that it would make our commencement correspond in
point of time with that of other colleges and universities.
That it would enable us to supply vacancies in the teach-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. S65
ing department to better advantage at that time than at a
later period, when engagements will generally have been
made. That a three months term instead of a five months
term would prove more beneficial to professors and stu-
dents in the matter of examinations and schedule studies.
Commencement will occur earlier in the season, and be-
fore the mass of summer visitors come to the mountain,
which at present rather congests the accommodations and
distracts the students. It is believed the change will
prove advantageous in many respects.
After a continuous service of ten years, Dr. W. P.
Trent, professor of English and dean of the academic
department, resigned to take a similar position in one of
the departments of Columbia University, in the city of
New York. Dr. Trent, during his connection with the
University, had acquired a very prominent position in
the world of letters, both as an author and critic. One of
his most important publications was the "Life of W.
Gilmore Sims/' of South Carolina. A fine master of the
English language, his literary work was always of the
highest character, and his literary taste and judgment had
given him preeminence in the field of criticism.
His place was filled by the election of Prof. J. B. Hen-
neman, M. A., of the University of Tennessee, and Ph. D.
of the University of Berlin, a well-known educator, occu-
pying the chair of English in that University, where he
was highly esteemed as a scholar and a gentleman. It
was deemed fortunate that this University was able to
secure his services in this department.
Prof. E. T. Babbitt, Ph. D., assumed the duties of the
chair of modern languages in August, 1900. Prof. Babbitt
364 HISTORY OF THE
had spent several years abroad, and had received his
degree of batchelor of arts at Harvard University. He
brought to the University a high reputation as an in-
structor in modern languages.
The baccalaureate sermon at commencement, 1899, was
delivered by the Rev. George W. Douglas, S. T. D., of
New York, and the oration by Joseph Packard, Jr., LL. D.,
of Baltimore.
Dr. Douglas most graciously offered to place in the
Breslin Tower, connected with the library, a clock
with Westminster chimes as a memorial to his mother.
Breslin Hall was given by Mr. Breslin as a memorial to
a deceased daughter, and the Westminister clock and
chimes was placed as a memorial to Dr. Douglas's mother^
by a happy sympathy.
The annual meeting of the board, in 1900, convened on
the 26th of July, and was presided over by Bt. Bev. E.
G. Weed, D. D., of Florida, the senior bishop and acting
chancellor, Bishop Dudley, being absent in attendance
on the council of the Church of England.
The number of students in attendance during the
scholastic year, 1900-1901, was 537, divided as follows:
Theological, 26; medical, 227; law, 17; academic, 122;
grammar school, 164. The State of Tennessee, 102; Mis-
sissippi, 57; Louisiana, 47; Alabama, 46; Texas, 46;
Georgia, 49; Florida, 39; South Carolina, 38; other
Southern states, 50, and the remainder from Northern
and Western states; seven being from foreign countries.
The endowment committee reported, in 1900, aggregate
endowment funds to the amount of $156,925, of which
|36,000 had been given for scholarships in the theological
St. Augustines Chapel, erected in J 867, forming part of the enlarged Chapel
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 36*
•department, $48,000 for scholarships in the academic and
grammar school, f 20,000 for current expenses of the theo-
logical department, known as the Hubbard fund, and
$50,000 endowment of academic department.
366 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXV.
The University library — Addition to Thompson Medical Hall —
Reorganization of law department — Death of Prof. Greenough
Whiter— Resignation of Rev. Dr. H. R. Starr.
1901-1902.
THE first year of the new century, the thirty-second
since the opening of the University, and forty-third since
the initial organization, showed the institution in a pros-
perous condition. Over five hundred students were in
attendance. Of these 457 were from the Southern States,
54 from Northern and Western states and 7 from foreign
countries. The largest number from any one state was
from Tennessee, numbering 102. Financially also there
was a better exhibit than in any previous year, and the
income more nearly equalized the expenditures.
During the year 1901 a large addition was made to the
medical hall, known as Thompson Hall, enlarging the au-
ditorium to accommodate 250 students, and doubling the
size of the laboratory. The cost of this enlargement was
$4,000, provided from the income of the medical depart-
ment. The Hodgson Infirmary, formerly the Hodgson
Library Building, remodeled and enlarged at a cost of
$8,000, with Thompson Hall, represented in all a plant of
the value of $40,000 connected with the medical depart-
ment.
The grammar school dormitory, as previously men-
tioned, had been added to the permanent plant of the
University at a cost of $60,000.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 367
Several changes occurred in the personnel of the Univer-
sity. Rev. Dr. Reginald H. Starr, professor of dogmatic
theology, had resigned, but it had been necessary to post-
pone the filling of the chair. Mr. Julius Leigh resigned
the position of head master of the grammar school, and
Mr. Henry G. Seibels, an alumnus of the University, had
been appointed to fill that position.
The University has long felt the great need of a suitable
library building. In 1876 Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D.,
gave the sum of f 10,000 for the erection of a library build-
ing, stipulating that he should determine its location,
and be granted a lease of a considerable tract of land in
its vicinity. Having certain views as to the development
of that portion of the domain near Morgan's Steep, he
designated a location for the library building in that
vicinity. Plans for the building were prepared by Mr.
H. Hudson Holly, of New York, a skilled architect, and
the building was erected on the crowning elevation where
it now stands. The distance from the other buildings of
the University proved an insuperable difficulty as to con-
venience and accessibility, and after some years it was
decided to remove the books to the attic of Convocation
Hall ad interim until a better location could be had.
lears passed by, and no suitable place could be pro-
vided, until 1895, when a portion of the library was
placed in a large room in the third story of Walsh Mem-
orial Hall, and a reading room arranged in connection
with the library. In 1897 a generous alumnus of the
University, realizing the great need of a suitable place
for the library, gave the sum of $6,000 for the remodeling
of the interior, fitting up and furnishing Convocation
368 HISTORY OF THE
Hall for the library. The building was entirely suitable
for the purpose. It was central, well lighted, sufficiently
spacious for all present needs and easily adapted to the
purpose.
Convocation Hall was originally built from funds given
for a chapter house and a gymnasium, and for other pur-
poses. As the funds for these objects were not sufficient
for providing separate buildings, Kev. Dr. Hodgson, the
then vice chancellor, merged these funds into the erection
of the main building, which, for the want of any suitable
name, was called Convocation Hall. While the building
was being erected, through the influence of the Rev. Dr.
F. A. Shoup, a friend of his, Mr. Thomas Breslin, gave
the sum of $10,000 for the erection of the noble Breslin
Tower, as a memorial to his deceased daughter. This
splendid tower rivals in size, although not in height, the
well-known Magdalen tower at Oxford, after which it
was planned.
The eastern portion of the main building was fitted up
as a gymnasium, with a paneled partition separating it
from the west half, which was handsomely finished as a
hall, and was used, when used at all, as a place of meet-
ing for the board of trustees, and sometimes for concerts
and lectures. As remodeled, its spacious and well-lighted
reading room, with plate glass windows, handsome oak
furniture and conveniences for all purposes, leaves noth-
ing to be desired, except a sufficient income for supplying
additions to the library of new books and current publica-
tions. The building will, no doubt, in time be required
to be enlarged, but it now contains 25,000 volumes of
bound works and an equal number of unbound volumes.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 369
It possesses very valuable works and in some department?
a very complete collection upon special subjects.
Rev. Dr. J. A. Oertel's valuable collection of paintings
of religious subjects was removed to the Walsh Memorial
Hall, where they form an attraction to many visitors.
Up to 1901 the annual meeting of the trustees had been
held in August in connection with the commencement
exercises. The change from two terms to three made it
necessary to change the time for the meeting of the
board of trustees to Saturday before commencement day.
The annual meeting of the board was, therefore, held in
1901 on the 20th day of June. About the usual number
of bishops, clerical and lay trustees1 were in attendance.
The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rev.
David H. Greer, D. D., rector of St. Bartholomews
Church, New York, and since consecrated as bishop coad-
jutor of the diocese of New York. The commencement
oration was delivered by the Rt. Rev. T. IT. Dudley, the
chancellor.
The Rev. W. Lloyd Bevan, Ph. D., was elected to the
chair of history in the University, including the academic
and theological departments. The Rev. Charles H.
Brent was elected professor of dogmatic theology, and the
Rev. Arthur R. Gray as instructor in the theological de-
partment. The Rev. Mr. Brent declined the election and
has since been consecrated as bishop to the Philippines.
The law department has hitherto failed to secure any
considerable number of students. A reorganization was
provided for, and Albert T. McNeal, Esq., a lawyer of
high repute in Tennessee, and for many years a trustee
from that diocese, was elected dean of that department,
370 HISTORY OF THE
and B. J. Bamage, Esq., a professor of law. The result of
the reorganization will, no doubt, in time build up this
important department of the University.
The Bev. W. C. Douglas, D. D., of New York, delivered
a course of lectures in the theological department on
Christian apologetics, which were highly appreciated by
the faculty and students of that department.
The interest in athletics was greatly increased by the
record made by Sewanee in football contests in the fall
of 1899, and in baseball contests in the spring of 1900. In
order to limit the tendencies to abuse in connection with
athletic sports the hebdomadal board appointed a com-
mittee from its members to supervise the athletics, and
the students have for many years elected the vice chancel-
lor a member of their athletic executive committee, in
order that the authorities should be in touch with the stu-
dents and exercise a harmonious control over their games.
The argument in favor of a reasonable allowance of
intercollegiate athletics is well stated by President Seth
Law, when at the head of Columbia University, New
York. "That, despite the disadvantages of intercollegiate
athletics, they are undoubtedly beneficial in many ways.
Such sports make men of temperate lives, the students
heroes ; they help numbers of men to pass safely through
the critical years of young manhood; they develop self-
restraint, self-discipline, courage, staying power and
many of the qualities that tell powerfully in the battle of
life; they afford to the educator an instrument whose
training value no wise man will neglect."
The board of trustees passed a resolution that the
building which had previously been known as Convocation
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 371
Hall be henceforth called and known as The Library.
Mr. J. A. Shaffer, an alumnus of the University resid-
ing in Louisiana, gave the sum of five thousand dollars
towards the erection of a gymnasium, and sundry other
benefactors added to this sum about one thousand dollars.
With this sum in hand, plans were obtained for a gymna-
sium intended to meet all the wants of the athletic depart-
ment in the future. The location was selected and mate-
rial for a section of the proposed building placed on the
ground.
The term of office of Rev. John Kershaw, a secretary of
the board of trustees, having expired, the Rev. J. G. Glass
was elected to fill that position.
The occupation of the Hoffman Dormitory for students
in the junior department it was thought might operate un-
favorably upon the boarding houses, which, it was origin-
ally contemplated, should board and lodge the students,
but the greater amount of accommodations afforded for
summer visitors by the withdrawal of the students imme-
diately filled the boarding houses during the summer, not,
perhaps, to the advantage of the students, who naturally
availed themselves of the social pleasures connected with
the presence of agreeable acquaintances of the other sex.
This has its advantages in promoting the courtesies of
life, but may become in time a very serious drawback, and
some measures may be required to place summer visitors
at a greater distance from the University buildings. Prob-
ably in the future hotels on a large scale may be built neap
the brow of the mountain, or regulations like those at
West Point be adopted, to lessen the too frequent asso-
ciation of the students with visitors.
372 HISTORY OF THE
Shortly after the meeting of the board of trustees, in
1901, Prof. Greenough White, of the theological depart-
ment, was found dead in his room in St. Lukes Hall. He
had in November, 1900, shown such signs of mental dis-
turbance that it had been necessary that he should sus-
pend his duties in the theological department. He ob-
tained leave of absence in April, 1901, and made a long
journey to the Pacific coast, returning to Sewanee in
June following. He appeared before the board and ten-
dered his resignation ; a few days afterwards under a tem-
porary attack of insanity, he took his own life, to the
great sorrow and regret of all who knew him. He was
a devoted friend of Sewanee, and by his lectures on art,
and his enthusiasm in its culture, he added greatly to the
interest of Sewanee's social life. He was a writer of
great promise and the author of three works of great in-
terest, "The Philosophy of English Literature," "A Saint
of the Southern Church," the subject of which was Bishop
Cobbs, of Alabama, and "The Life of Bishop Kemper."
He was also a frequent contributor to magazines. His
death was a great shock to Sewanee, and it was felt that
an accomplished scholar in literature, history and art had
gone from us.
The most important event of the year 1902 was the
completion and occupation of the new grammar school
dormitory, the Quintard Memorial. The proximity of
the grammar school had always been felt to be a detriment
in many respects to both it and the University.
In this progressive age it is found difficult to hold back
youth to the period of necessary preparation. The gram-
mar school boy finds it hard to realize that he needs so
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 373
long a drilling in the elementary branches of education
before advancing to the higher grades) of scholarship,
which cannot be successfully pursued without this pre-
vious preparation. A great need, therefore, is to create
a right sentiment in the boy, and to do this it is essential
to instill in him a sense of the value and dignity of
the grammar or preparatory school, its individuality and
its importance, to recall to his mind that the great states-
men, the great luminaries of England, have always con-
sidered that to have been an Eton or Rugby boy was a
greater honor than to have been at Oxford or Cambridge.
It is desirable, therefore, that as soon as may be the
grammar school should enlarge its plant in all directions,
that it should have its own chapel for daily prayers,
school rooms, play grounds, and be a rival as well as
feeder to the University. Could the academic department
be fully endowed and the revenues of the grammar school
be appropriated entirely to its support and general en-
largement and improvement, the Sewanee grammar school
would attain to a very high place in the roll of promi-
nent preparatory schools, be ranked as superior in mem-
bers and accessories to Concord, Shattuck and Groton.
It would accomplish more then in the building up of
the University in its higher departments than any other
agency.
In the great need of the church for men to meet the
growing demand for clergy, to occupy its parishes and
carry on its missions, Sewanee ought to have scores of
scholarships in the theological department, and then our
candidates would not be obliged to accept scholarships
in distant seminaries, often losing their fealty and attach-
374 HISTORY OF THE
ment to their own part of the country, their own people
and their own family.
It is gratifying to observe, as the University grows
older, that its alumni are bringing to the institution for
matriculation their own sons and relatives. This has
been a great source of support to all the older colleges of
the country, and is still so. The South formerly sent
many of its youth to Yale, Harvard and Princeton, and
there is still a strong attachment on the part of parents
to the institutions where they themselves were educated,
which will account in great measure for the number of
Southern students in Northern colleges. If it is intended
that these students shall reside in the South it is a great
mistake to educate them elsewhere. This will gradually
grow less the case, and as the number of our alumni in-
crease through the South, their attachment to Sewanee
will be a potent influence to build it up.
The University has established the custom of making
September 18th an annual holiday, commemorating the
opening of the school on that day in 1868. While at this
writing only thirty-six years have elapsed since the open-
ing of the school, when but nine students were enrolled,
and upwards of four thousand students have matriculated
since, yet the writer was the only person present in the
chapel in 1904 who was present at the opening in 1868,
so rapidly do generations pass away. Six, however, of
these nine first students are still living, but not one of the
then faculty.
At the annual session of the board, in June, 1902, Rev.
Samuel B. Bishop was elected to the chair of dogmatic
theology in the theological department, vacant by the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 375
resignation of Dr. R. H. Starr. All the members of the
various faculties were reelected at the session of the
board of trustees in June, 1902. H. W. Jervey, M. A.,
was elected instructor in Greek ; J. M. Selden, instructor
in chemistry, and Henry G. Seibels, head master of the
grammar school.
In August, 1902, a garrison post flag, the gift of Mrs.
Carter, was raised in front of Quintard Memorial Hall,
with appropriate military ceremonies. In this connec-
tion it will be recalled that at the first meeting of the
delegates for the organization of the University on Look-
out Mountain, on the 4th of July, 1857, the United States
flag was raised over the speaker's stand, and forty-
five years subsequently the flag was again ceremonially
given prominence as an evidence that the University was
conceived in no selfish sectional spirit, and that now, as at
its inception, the University recognized and honored the
flag as the emblem of our united and common country.
376 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The loss by death of Bishops Hugh Miller, of Mississippi, and
Robert W. Barnwell, of Alabama — Retirement of Professors
W. Lloyd Bevan and Babbitt — Other changes in the faculty —
Election of Dr. Brantz Mayer Roszel, as master of the Gram-
mar School — Improvements on the domain.
1902-1903.
Two of the bishops connected with the board of trustees
died during the year 1902. Bt. Rev. Robert W. Barnwell,
of the diocese of Alabama, who had succeeded to the bish-
opric of Alabama on the death of Bishop Wilmer,
and the Rt. Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, of Mississippi,
passed away during the year 1902. The Rev. C. M. Beck-
with, D. D., of Texas, was elected bishop of Alabama, to
succeed Bishop Barnwell. Bishop C. M. Beckwith was a
nephew of Bishop J. W. Beckwith, of Georgia, and had
been master of the grammar school at the University
at an early day.
The catalogue of students for 1902-03 contained the
names of 507 students in the different departments, in-
cluding the grammar school; and were registered from
27 states. Twenty-seven students were in the theological,
16 in the law, 121 in the academic and 183 in the gram-
mar school. Four hundred and seventy-nine of the
students were from the Southern States and 34 from
elsewhere. Mr. H. G. Siebels was head master of the
grammar school from June, 1902, to June, 1903, when he
retired from that position and was succeeded by Mr.
Brantz Mayer Roszel, Ph. D.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 377
The chair of dogmatic theology was filled by the election
of Rev. T. A. Tidball, D. D., of Philadelphia, Rev. W. P.
DuBose, S. T. D., Rev. Wm. S. Bishop, Rev. W. H. Du-
Bose, M. A., B. D., Rev. A. R. Gray, and Rev. W. A.
Guerry, by election, completed the full theological faculty.
Prof. Babbitt, who had filled the chair of modern lan-
guages since 1900, was obliged to obtain leave of absence
during the Trinity term, 1902, and Prof. G. S. Swiggert,
Ph. D., was employed in spring term of 1903, and elected
to that chair at the July meeting of the board in 1903,
and Prof. Rauiage was also incapacitated for duty and
accepted a leave of absence during the spring term of
1903, and resigned, at the end of Trinity term, 1903, his
chair in the law department. Hugher W. Jervey, M. A.,
instructor in Greek, was advanced to the position of asso-
ciate professor of Greek, in July, 1903. In the gram-
mar school Dr. W. A. Montgomery was appointed assist-
ant instructor in classics, Mr. Herbert Evans, instructor
in English, Mr. L. E. Hubbard, assistant master. An
arrangement having been made with the Bank of Win-
chester, Tenn., to establish a branch of that institution
at Sewanee, an addition was built to the supply store, of
a stone building large enough to contain the bank office
and vault, and the University treasurer's office, and a
room for the bookkeeper of the supply store. This proved
a great convenience to the officers of the University, as
well as to the business men, citizens and especially
students and visitors.
The work of the department of forestry was continued
during the years 1902 and 1903, with very satisfactory
results.
378 HISTORY OF THE
Hitherto, very little had been undertaken towards im-
proving the domain, there being no special funds applica-
ble to that purpose. A generous friend, in 1902-03,
donated the sum of one thousand dollars to be applied to
the improvement of Manigault Park, in front of St. Lukes
Theological Hall and the Hoffman Dormitory. These
grounds were accordingly greatly beautified by the laying
out of graded roads and walks, the planting of evergreens,
shrubbery and flowers. What has already been done in
Manigault Park encourages the assurance that our Uni-
versity domain may be made in time the beautiful and
magnificent park which its founders contemplated, and
which its natural features, splendid forest growth, easily
constructed avenues, its pellucid springs, gentle slopes,
varied elevation and ravines present to the landscape
gardener the opportunity of more extensive and beautiful
elaboration than is possessed even by the Vanderbilt
famous park at Biltmore, near Asheville, N. C. This
opportunity will, no doubt, be in time gradually carried
into effect.
In this connection it should be mentioned that a
village improvement society, organized in 1902, has
already accomplished much in the laying out of stone-
curbed broad walks from the railroad station to the Uni-
versity buildings, the placing in the roadway a slag coat-
ing from the former furnace at Cowan, gradually estab-
lishing a good and permanent roadway on our principal
avenues and thoroughfares.
The same generous friend who furnished the funds for
the improvement of the grounds of Manigault Park, also
.provided the means of enclosing and fencing with patent
OF THE
f UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 379
gates, some five hundred acres or more, embracing the
University buildings and vicinity, thus keeping out va-
grants and undesirable roaming stock.
Among other things to be used in ornamentation, the
University obtained 15,000 seedling pines from Germany,
which have been placed in a nursery and distributed in
the grounds to be hereafter made use of in the further
beautifying of the domain.
During the session of the board of trustees in 1903 an
appropriate and beautiful ledger monument of polished
granite was unveiled in the Sewanee cemetery in mem-
ory of General Francis Asbury Shoup, D. D., and for
many years a professor in the University. Dr. Shoup
held the position of brigadier-general in the Confederate
Army. The unveiling of the monument was attended by
the camp of Confederate Veterans and by the board of
trustees, with the citizens of Sewanee. Addresses were
made by the Rt. Kev. Thomas U. Dudley, LL. D., chan-
cellor of the University and an officer of the Confederate
army, also by Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, D. D., bishop
of Tennessee.
The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rt.
Rev. Alexander C. Garrett, D. D., LL. D., bishop of
Dallas. The commencement oration was delivered by
Prof. H. C. White, of the University of Georgia. Six can-
didates for orders in the theological department received
the degree of bachelor of divinity. Thirty-nine graduates
of the medical department received the degree of M. D.
Three received the degree of LL. D., and one of civil en-
gineer.
880 HISTORY OF THE
At the meeting of the board in 1903, in view of the in-
convenient state of our finances and indebtedness, it was
decided to fund all our indebtedness by the execution of
a new loan and mortgage which should bear interest of
not more than 5 per cent, the whole amount limited to
the sum of $150,000, and to run for fifty years. The
arrangement and details for carrying into effect said
funding was placed with the executive committee, with
full power to act, with the proviso that not more than
$ 100,000 of such bonds should be now issued.
The executive committee negotiated with certain parties
in Atlanta, Ga., by whom the University bonds, to the
amount of $75,000 were taken at par, the University pay-
ing, however, 5 per cent to the financial agency through
whom the negotiation was effected, such agency paying
all expenses upon the same.
Through the receipt of the moneys paid upon the
f 75,000 of bonds sold, the University paid off the bonds
and mortgages outstanding of the former loan, and also
the floating debt.
The annual interest of 5 per cent to be paid on this
loan, amounting to the sum of $3,750, payable seini-annu-
ally, is not a great burden for the University to carry,
as the outstanding indebtedness was carrying our inter-
est from 6 per cent to 8 per cent. It is to be hoped,
however, that no further indebtedness will be required to
be incurred.
It had been the desire of the University for some years
that the diocese of Missouri should become one of the
associated dioceses connected with the University. Hap-
pily, in the year 1903, the convention of that diocese took
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 381
action, consenting to become affiliated with the other
dioceses connected with the University, and, at the annual
meeting of the board of trustees, the venerable bishop of
that diocese, the Rt. Rev. Sylvester Tuttle, D. D., now the
presiding bishop of the church, and Rev. James R. Win-
chester, D. D., and Messrs. Wilkins R. Shields and Fayette
O. Ewing took their seats as trustees. The accession of
Missouri increased the number of bishops on the
board to seventeen, and of clerical members to nineteen,
and of lay trustees to thirty-eight — making in all a mem-
bership of seventy-four, equally divided between clergy
and laity. This number of trustees would be entirely un-
wieldy if a full attendance was had, but less than half
the number are usually present at the annual meeting of
the board, and by a judicious arrangement all the powers
of the board, during the recess, are placed in the hands of
the executive committee, consisting of the chancellor,
three other bishops, three clergymen and three laymen.
This arrangement provides for any action that may be
necessary during the recess.
The plans for the gymnasium provided for a grand
ball court of considerable size at the west end of the
building. Having sufficient funds in hand for the con-
struction of this portion of the building, work was begun
upon it in order to utilize it for temporary use and give
greater facilities for athletic training while the main
building was awaited. This was successfully accom-
plished during the fall of 1903, and the athletic depart-
ment removed from its temporary occupation of Forensic
Hall. The success of competitive games with other insti-
tutions was not so marked during 1903-1904, owing mainly
382 HISTORY OF THE
to the lighter weight of the Sewanee men in comparison
with those competing with them.
The University sustained a severe loss in the death of
its great chancellor, Bishop Dudley, of Kentucky, LL. D.y
D. C. L., who died suddenly in the city of New York,
on the 22d day of January, 1904. The executive commit-
tee, of which he was ex officio the chairman, made a record
upon its own minutes of their sense of the great loss sus-
tained by them and the University, and arranged for a
memorial service to be held in the University chapel, on
June 25, 1904, to consist of a celebration of the holy
communion and commemorative addresses. The service
was accordingly held on the day appointed, there being
present the board of trustees, the faculty and students of
the University and a large concourse of the people of
Sewanee, and visitors. Addresses were made by the Kt
Eev. Dr. Peterkin, bishop of West Virginia, in behalf of
the general church; by the Rev. Dr. Tuttle, chancellor
ad interim, representing the board of trustees; and the
Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T. D., representing the faculty. The
board of trustees placed upon their minutes a memorial
expressive of the feeling of that body, in which it was
truly said, "The loss of the head of an institution must
always fall as a blow upon those who are left behind, but
our loss, we feel, is beyond expression, heavy and grievous,
because of the character of the man, and because of the
critical time in which the blow falls, both for the Uni-
versity and the South."
Bishop Dudley was preeminently our leader as well
as the chancellor of the University. Nurtured in that
splendid past which we love to speak of with tender pride
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 383
as the Old South, he embodied the splendid strength, the
strong tenderness, the loving gentleness, the uniform
gentle and genial courtesy of the Southern gentleman of
the old school, together with those Christian qualities of
leadership, necessary alike to all great characters and to
every age, which are here enumerated in the language of
our venerable presiding bishop in "foresight, care, pro-
tection, love."
We regarded him as our strongest link to that past
deeply venerated by him and most dear to us. We gloried
in him as the leader who led best and influenced strongest,
because he believed that the enduring in the present is
the fruit of the past, and we loved him with the "love that
never faileth," because rooted and grounded in the simple
reality which is the essence of divine love.
The meeting of the board of trustees, on June 25, 1904,
was more largely attended than any other previous
meeting, there being present ten bishops, besides the
bishop of West Virginia, not a member of the board, four-
teen clerical and twelve lay trustees.
Rt. Rev. Ellison Capers, D. D., was elected chancellor
for one year to fill the unexpired term of Bishop Dudley.
The Rev. James G. Glass was reelected secretary for
the term of three years.
At the meeting of the board of trustees in 1903 a reso-
lution was passed that a committee be appointed whose
duty it should be to call attention to the importance of
a new chapel for the University, and to do what it can to
collect the requisite funds for the same, etc. Under this
resolution the chancellor, vice chancellor and chaplain
were appointed such committee, and it was decided by the
384 HISTORY OF THE
committee that the chaplain be sent out during the winter
vacation of 1903-04, December to March, to canvass the
dioceses connected with the University, to present this
and other needs of the University. And in this connec-
tion, the vice chancellor advised that funds should be
solicited for the raising of a fund to be called the semi-
centennial fund to be paid each year until 1907, being the
semicentennial anniversary of the first meeting for the
establishing of the University, held at Lookout Moun-
tain, in 1857. The chaplain entered upon the canvass
during January, February and March, 1904, and met with
considerable success, securing annual subscriptions to
the semicentennial fund, payable until 1907, to the
amount of $15,000, and to the chapel fund, $11,285, and
a Bishop Dudley scholarship fund of $5,000, provided
for in her will by Mrs. Aldrich, of New York. It was
suggested to Rev. Mr. Guerry, by Mrs. Aldrich, that the
proposed new chapel should be called "All Saints," and
be built in memory of all who had been officially connected
with the University, and she engaged, if her suggestion
was adopted, to give $5,000 in memory of Bishop Gallaher,
her former rector. The sum of $4,000 was subscribed to
the fund in memory of Bishop Polk, and Mrs. Hoffman,
the widow of Dean Hoffman, gave $1,000 in memory of her
husband, and less amounts to the sum of $825 were sub-
scribed.
The committee made their report to the board of trus-
tees at their June meeting, in 1904, and resolutions were
passed, adopting the name of "All Saints" for the new
chapel, and providing for sundry details and the location
of such chapel to the south of Walsh Memorial Hall,
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 385
which location was not regarded, by tke writer, as that
which should be made, preferring that the plans of loca-
tion made in 1860, by Bishop Hopkins, should preferably
be followed, for reasons which will be found in statements
made by him to the board in 1890 and 1894.
The suggestion of making the chapel a memorial church
to those who had been connected with or who had made
benefactions, was a judicious one, and which will doubt-
less make it possible to raise a sufficient fund to build a
chapel worthy of this church University. The commit-
tee was continued and will, no doubt, do effective work,
with the hope that a sufficient portion of the chapel may
be built to be opened on the semicentennial of 1907.
The baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Bt. Rev.
Edwin Gardner Weed, D. D., bishop of Florida.
An invitation extended to his excellency, Baron Speck
von Sternberg, the German ambassador, was accepted
by him to deliver the commencement oration, which he
did most acceptably, on Thursday, June 30, 1904. A
largely attended reception at the home of the vice chancel-
lor was given to his excellency, and he was an honored
guest at the alumni banquet. The baron made a public
expression of his appreciation of Sewanee and its work
in a communication published in the New York Church-
man, in July, 1904. The degree of I). C. L. was conferred
upon the baron by the board of trustees, and the same
degree upon Prof. H. C. White, Ph. D. The degree of
doctor of science was conferred upon Assistant Surgeon-
General Wm. C. Gorgas, United States Army. General
Gorgas is a son of Confederate General Joshia Gorgas,
vice chancellor of the University in the seventies. The
386 HISTORY OF THE
son has achieved a national reputation in connection
with sanitary work in Havana, and is now in charge of the
sanitary department connected with the Panama Canal.
The board of trustees adopted and directed that en-
grossed copies of an address to be delivered on commence-
ment day in the chapel, by the Rt. Rev. Chancellor, ex-
pressing the appreciation of the board of the long con-
tinued and faithful service of Rev. W. P. DuBose, S. T.
D., the oldest professor in the University, for his unflag-
ging and unselfish devotion and high and faithful work
done in the several chairs occupied by him and as dean of
the theological department, and to Major George R. Fair-
banks for the work done as trustee from ante bellum days
and as the efficient coadjutor of the late Bishop Quintard
in the successful reestablishing of the University.
The endowment committee made a report of the en-
dowment funds of the University, relating to the general
endowment and special for scholarship etc., the total
amounting to $188,184.56. The finance committee re-
ported the total receipts from all sources $153,477.64, and
disbursements $150,072.13, with a deficit balance from
previous year of $3,405.51. There was, however, included
in the receipts, $74,000 from sale of bonds. The total
value of all assets of the University, inclusive of lands and
buildings, equipment and invested funds, was estimated
at $732,442.80, with a bonded indebtedness of $75,000 at
5 per cent, and floating indebtedness of $8,110.22, show-
ing a very healthy financial condition.
The University at an early period undertook a printing
department, mainly for its own use. For this purpose the
small wooden library building near Otey Spring was re-
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 387
moved to Alabama Avenue, and a limited outfit provided.
It was never very satisfactory, although quite useful in
meeting local demands. At this press the Sewanee Purple
was printed, a news sheet managed and edited by stu-
dents, but of no pronounced literary character, but
chiefly devoted to the record of the achievements of the
alhletic department. Another publication called The
Mountaineer, was undertaken by the grammar school boys.
In the year 1892, the Sewanee Review, a quarterly pub-
lication, was established under the auspices of the faculty
of the University. Prof. Wm. P. Trent, M. A., LL. D.,
acting as editor. In its prospectus it was declared to be
devoted to reviews of leading books, and to papers on such
topics of general literature as require fuller treatment
than they receive in popular magazines and less technical
treatment than they receive in specialist publications. In
other words, to conform more nearly to the type of the
English reviews than is usual with American periodicals.
The Review was printed on heavy paper of octavo size,
and each number contained 128 pages.
From the outset, under the able editorship of Dr.
Trent and his accomplished successor, Dr. J. B. Henne-
man, professor of English, the Review has attained a
high literary standing and has given much prominence to
the literary standing of the University.
An arrangement was made in 1904 with the Rev. Arthur
O. Watkins, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University
and of Union Theological Seminary, to undertake at his
own expense the establishing and conducting of a Uni-
versity press, to furnish the necessary capital and to as-
sume the natural risk incident thereto. He agreed to
388 HISTORY OF THE
erect a suitable building and equip a suitable plant for
such purposes. The University was to have the privilege,
on thirty days notice, to purchase the entire property. In
pursuance of this arrangement, Mr. Watkins built a hand-
some stone building on Alabama Avenue, and equipped
the same, and it is expected that the University press will
be a substantial and creditable factor in the advancement
of the interests of the University.
The catalogue for 1903-04 contained the names of 467
students, a loss of 50 from the previous year in the medi-
cal department, and somewhat of an increase on other de-
partments, especially the academic and grammar school.
The cornerstone of the Hodgson Memorial Chapel, as
a part of the theological department, was laid on Tuesday,
June 29, 1904, in the presence of the board of trustees
and the faculty and students of the University, and visi
tors and residents of the mountains. The cornerstone was
laid by the Bt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, bishop of Tennes-
see, with the religious services appropriate to the occas-
ion, by an address commemorative of the life and service
of the Rev. Telfair Hodgson, D. D., former vice chancellor
and at his death dean of the theological department. The
plans proposed by a leading architect of New York City,
provide for the erection of a very chaste and beautiful
chapel, built of Sewanee sandstone, and large enough to
meet any future needs of the theological department. The
funds are provided by Mrs. F. G. Hodgson, widow of the
deceased dean.
A summer school of theology was inaugurated by the
professors of the theological department, and daily ses-
sions were held through the month of August. Among the
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 389
speakers from abroad were the Rev. Dr. Butler, warden
of Seabury Divinity School, and the Rev. C. B. Wilmer,
rector of St. Lukes Church, Atlanta, Ga. The sessions
were well attended and it is expected that the summer
school of theology will be a permanent arrangement.
390 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Notes upon the founding, growth and present condition of the
domain of the University, which may be of interest for
future reference.
THE UNIVERSITY DOMAIN.
TENNESSEE was originally a part of North Carolina, and
when this vast unsettled portion of that State was set off
to form the new State of Tennessee, it had few inhabi-
tants, and was still occupied by roving bands of Indians,
who were in no wise friendly to the newcomers who had
invaded their favorite hunting grounds.
To induce settlement, especially of these mountain
ranges, considered of little value agriculturally, the State
made grants to individuals of tracts of land ranging from
25 acres to 5,000 acres, the only expense incurred being the
survey, and small fees to the entry taker and register.
The grants were signed by the governor and attested
under the great seal by the secretary of state. As the
entries were made in a very loose manner, and the calls
very indefinite, when surveys came to be made it was not
uncommon that many grants lapped over the boundaries
of lands already granted, in which case, as a rule, the
oldest took precedence.
The mountain lands which lay on this portion of the
Cumberland range were considered of so little value that,
although they could be had for the asking, hardly any of
the portion now owned by the University had been taken
tip prior to 1834.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 391
In that year Madison Porter, Thomas T. Logan and
Wallace Estill, Jr., applied for and obtained three grants
of land containing 5,000 acres each, covering the present
domain of the University. The Sewanee Mining Company
having ascertained that there existed a large body of coal
lands on the mountain beyond Sewanee, at and in the
vicinity of Tracy City, some twelve miles beyond Sewanee,
and to some extent on the University domain, purchased
the interests of Porter and Logan, owning two-thirds of
these grants, and, in 1858, made a gift of 5,000 acres to the
University, which afterwards acquired the Estill interest
of one-third and, by gift and purchase, other lands, which,
with the 5,000 acres given by the Sewanee Mining Com-
pany, made up nearly ten thousand acres, now constitut-
ing the domain of the University; a larger domain, it is
believed, than is owned by any other religious or educa-
tional corporation in this country, or perhaps in any
other.
The Sewanee Mining Company, about 1855, constructed
the railroad from Cowan on the N. C. & St. L. B. B., up the
mountain to the lower coal bank near Sewanee, and after-
wards to Tracy City.
The University having in the outset decided to maintain
this property intact, adopted a lease system of its lands,
under which a resident population of about one thousand
persons are living upon the domain, which when acquired
was a virgin forest which it has always been the policy
to retain as far as possible for sanitary, aesthetic and
practical reasons, and hence we find, to-day, the University
buildings and private residences surrounded and embow-
ered amid forest trees. By a rule adopted in 1860, and re-
S92 HISTORY OF THE
affirmed in 1871, it was provided that not more than one-
third of the timber should be cut down on any lot, and
that all business houses should be confined to the vicinity
of the railroad station, by which arrangement the village
of Sewanee has grown up around the station. It was
also provided that the residences erected above the
village should be of a certain value. We have now at
Sewanee village, a passenger and freight station, eight
business houses, several machanics' shops, a handsome
stone church and a very respectable colored church, and
forty or fifty dwellings. Also a large steam laundry, a
steam saw mill, a lodge of Knights of Honor and a
Masonic lodge.
Leaving the village, University Avenue extends north-
east over a mile, bordered with handsome dwellings and
the University buildings. Other avenues are occupied
by private residences. Fine drives through the forest ex-
tend to University View, the Natural bridge, Proctor
Hall, Morgan's Steep, Green's View, and Point Rutledge.
Public roads extend to Cowan, Monteagle, Rowarks and
Lost Coves. Hundreds of beautiful sites for residences
invite future occupancy of families from the Gulf States,
which was one of the anticipations of the founders.
No lots are sold, but a moderate annual rental, less than
the interest would be on the value of owned lots, the leases
are for a term of thirty-three years, and the privilege of
two renewals for the same term.
The salubrity of the climate has given Sewanee a wide
reputation as a health resort, bringing many summer visi-
tors, with numbers of little children whose improvement
i« quickly manifested.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 393
Since the cornerstone of the Hodgson Infirmary was
laid, in 1876, nine substantial stone buildings have been
erected for the use of the University, besides three frater-
nity halls of stone. The Hodgson Memorial Chapel is now
in the course of erection, and work will before long be
commenced on the new All Saints Chapel, and all this
in the space of twenty-eight years of Sewanee life. These
buildings are all of our beautiful Sewanee sandstone, and
will, no doubt, long remain memorials of the beneficence
of the friends of the University. In style of architecture,
excellence of designs and suitableness for the various pur-
poses for which they were designed, they give to the Uni-
versity great dignity and a forecast of the greatness of its
future development. Before many years a hall of science,
a complete chemical laboratory, the buildings for a de-
partment of technology, will be added, and also additional
buildings to provide for the extension of the theological
and medical departments, as well as a complete plant for
the grammar school and additional dormitories for the
academic department, an auditorium to replace Forensic
Hall, and a Gallery of Fine Arts.
It hardly need be added that a generous endowment of
the chairs of instruction should accompany the develop-
ment of our material plant.
It is now forty-eight years since the initial movement
for the founding of the University was had, and its name
and location was decided upon by trustees appointed by
the conventions of ten Southern dioceses.
It is thirty-eight years since Bishop Quintard and the
writer came with our families to undertake the work of
resuscitation of this great scheme. Thirty-six years have
394 HISTORY OF THE
elapsed since it began its educational work with less than
ten students.
Its bright prospects in 1860, when enthusiastic crowds
gathered on this mountain at the laying of the cornerstone
of what was designed to be its great central building, had
all vanished. The project of its revival seemed almost
hopeless in 1866. The contrast between the 10th of
October, 1860, when half a million dollars had been sub-
scribed for the work, and March 21, 1866, when Bishop
Quintard in the presence of less than a score of persons,
planted the cross at St. Lukes, could hardly have been
more striking.
Its great founder, Bishop Polk, who had won the hearts,
the confidence and the financial support of friends of the
scheme, had passed away. So had Bishops Otey, Cobbs
and Freeman. There seemed no one to renew the great
work, until, providentially, the young, comparatively un-
known and newly consecrated Bishop Quintard, of Ten-
nessee, took up the task without means and amidst the
poverty and desolation resting upon the South at the
close of the great Civil War, a task which seemed to the
human eye hopeless and visionary.
Fortunately Bishop Quintard was gifted with enthu-
siasm and with a firm belief in the outcome of the great
enterprise, in the carrying out of which he brought to
bear the courage, the great faith and the power of enlist-
ing the sympathies and the aid of others, both in England
and this country, he created an interest in the work and
with unfailing zeal and faith, labored continually for its
advancement. He lived to see the University placed on a
sure foundation, its feeble beginning expanded from a
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 395
grammar school to a real University, with its theological,
medical, law and academic departments in full operation,
and a property accumulated valued at over f 700,000. A
wonderful accomplishment in view of all the discourage-
ments and disappointments of the period. Of its further
growth and development the future historian will speak,
but its early life, struggles and successes will always be a
matter of interest to those who have watched its progress
and to those who come after us.
396 HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CONCLUSION.
In the earlier part of the 19th Century, comparatively
little progress had been made in the matter of higher edu-
cation. The University of Virginia, at Charlottesville,
held probably the highest rank. State universities in
most of the Southern States had been established with
local patronage and narrow means, being really colleges
and not universities, in that the arts and sciences were
their only departments.
Bishop Polk, in 1856, had brought out the idea of estab-
lishing a Southern University which would embrace all
departments of learning, to be under the auspices of the
church. Three years elapsed before its charter, constitu-
tion and statutes, its location and support, were obtained.
Four years of war and desolation left behind them only
the memory of the university which was to be founded,
and the domain upon which it was to be placed, but a
great thought, it has been well said, never dies. Polk and
Otey, Cobbs and Freeman had passed away and Elliott
was soon called to paradise. A young bishop, born and
raised in the North, who had cast his fortunes with the
South for many years, was raised up by Providence to
grasp the great ideal promulgated by Bishop Polk and his
own great predecessor, Bishop Otey, and in the confidence
of an enduring faith, devote all his energies and enthusi-
asm to again beginning anew, in the virgin forest, the
work of resuscitation of an enterprise which seemed de*
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 3&7
tined otherwise to perish. Bishop Quintard was seem-
ingly the only man who would or could undertake the
work.
The bishop wisely undertook no more at the outset
than was prudent and practicable. He obtained no plans
of buildings of an expensive character, but waa content to
do what was within his reach, to be used with a prudent
discretion.
How the University was built up from the two log and
timber houses and the one frame building of 1866, pre-
sents an interesting series of reminiscences. The virgin
forest, unbroken by the hand of man, emerging from its
sleep of centuries into the active life of a University
town, within the average life of a man, has more than
ordinary interest, in that its growth and development
were the results of a high Christian ideal. A growth and
expansion not based upon the creation of wealth or tem-
poral gain, but upon the development of the highest facul-
ties of the human race. Its promoters were not the serv-
ants of Mammon, but the servants of the Most High
God, looking to the highest and immortal interests1 of
their fellowmen, especially the coming race represented
by the youth of the South. A rapid review of the dates
of construction of the different University buildings may
be of interest.
As has been stated, Bishop Quintard and Major Fair-
banks built their houses in 1866. The oldest residence
now at Sewanee is the timber house erected by the writer
in 1866, nearly opposite the University library. The first
building owned by the University was Otey Hall, erected
by Bishop Quintard for a training school in 1866, and
398 HISTORY OF THE
donated to the University. It stood nearly in front of the
Walsh Memorial Hall, and was burned in 1880. The next
building put up by the University was a dormitory of eight
small rooms, adjacent to Otey Hall, and now forming a
part of the Elmore Boarding House. The nucleus of the
present chapel was erected in 1867, of the dimensions of
32 feet by 24 feet, and a shallow chancel, repeatedly en-
larged since. Four dormitories of four rooms each were
erected, which have since been sold to private parties. The
building known as Tremlett Hall was erected in 1868 as
a dormitory. Forensic Hall, in the chapel yard, was erected
in 1874 by the joint efforts of Prof. Caskie Harrison
and the writer. The Hodgson Library, now the Hodgson
Infirmary, was began in 1876, and was the first stone
building erected by the University. This was followed,
in 1877, by St. Lukes Theological Hall, given by Mrs.
Manigault. Next came Thompson Hall, the present Medi-
cal Hall, built in 1883. The Library Building, formerly
known as Convocation Hall and Gymnasium, was erected
in 1886. Walsh Memorial Hall in 1891, Hoffman Memor-
ial Hall in 1898, and Quintard Memorial Hall in 1901.
The supply store in 1900, and the bank adjacent in 1903.
Additions were made to the Hodgson Library Building in
1900, and to Thompson Hall in 1901.
The possibilities of creating Sewanee a place of beauty
are beyond question. What has already been done by
individuals indicates what might be done, if it had the
means, by the University itself. Whitewashed board
fences are not the proper embellishment of beautiful
buildings and magnificent forest growth.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 399
In the matter of endowment Sewanee has received com-
paratively little, but still something. All her buildings
have been gifts, and for scholarships and other purposes,
about |160,000 has so far been given. An endowment
fund of half a million would enable the University to
reach far beyond its present growth. We have gone from
the nine students of the first term up to an enrollment
of nearly six hundred. From the great area of the South
we should have five times that number. Over 3,000 stu-
dents have matriculated up to this time. The sons of
many of the students are now in the University registers.
The influence of those who have been educated at Se-
wanee during the past thirty-six years ought to be an
ever widening factor in the future growth of the Univer-
sity, both in the number of students and in benefactions.
This institution seemed now to be fairly established,
but how has it been established? Not by the easy road of
large benefactions from men of very large fortunes, fur-
nishing ample means to at once erect all necessary build-
ings and equipments, with endowments to support profes-
sorships and students, but little by little, small sums
laboriously gathered by continuous pleading at home and
abroad, single benefactions or legacies from only moder-
ately well-off people, and yet about $160,000 of money
endowment has been accumulated. Nor should we fail
to mention that the institution has come to its present
most hopeful condition through the self-sacrifice, care and
privation of its able professors, who have labored man-
fully and faithfully on small salaries, declining large
salaries elsewhere, for the love of the University they
believed in and labored for. A large degree of gratitude
400 HISTORY OF THE
is due to all these faithful men of unquestioned ability,
who have given a reputation to Sewanee and helped to
make it what it is.
But what shall we predict of its future, except that
it will be, under Providence, what the church and its
alumni and those entrusted with its government shall
make it. The cause of higher education has greatly ad-
vanced in public estimation of late years. The possessors
of large fortunes have come to realize that no use of their
means will redound more to their credit than the endow-
ment of educational institutions, that they can build no
more enduring memorial than those which will connect
their names with halls of learning. That while what is
merely for personal achievement or distinction will pass
away, the work done or helped for the educational ad-
vancement of the race will continue to augment for untold
years. The names of many of England's warriors and
great sea captains have faded from memory, but the
name of William of Wykham has been honored for
these hundreds of years past, and will be for many hun-
dreds of years to come, more than that of any hero of the
battlefield.
Without any great stretch of the imagination I can
forsee, with the eye of an abounding faith, the University
growing year by year in reputation and usefulness, so
that the youth of the South will seek to be enrolled here,
and no student educated at Sewanee will care to seek hon-
ors or degrees elsewhere.
When the people of the South, and especially church-
men, will regard the University as Englishmen regard
their Oxford or Cambridge, when to have been a Sewanee
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 401
graduate \vill be a source of gratification and a passport
wherever good scholarship and Christian culture shall be
held in regard, and when the line of collegiate buildings
now outlined around Manigault Park shall be filled out
with other still nobler structures, and there shall arise a
collegiate church of grand and imposing dimensions,
with its lofty crown-capped spire the central and crown-
ing feature, denoting that Sewanee is first and above all
a church University, the idea of its founders will be real-
ized.
We have at the beginning of this 20th century much
cause for gratification. From the ashes of the Civil War
the University has risen to be far more than a memory or
a name or an undeveloped dream.
When the grand forest domain shall be improved in
every part, its natural beauties aided by the art of the
landscape gardener and the skillful forester, by graded
roads, rustic bridges, beautiful outlooks over the adjacent
country from well-chosen points, long vistas opening
through forest glades; fountains, statues and other
embellishments commemorating men great in literature
and art ; when all this is done, in the course of the coming
century, Sewanee will have a world-wide reputation as the
most beautiful seat of learning on the globe.
Now in this, these opening years of the century, we
have great cause of hopefulness for the years to come.
The South seems to be entering upon a period of pros-
perity. Its staples of cotton, cane, rice, tobacco, iron,
coal, marble, corn, wheat and other grains, its vast tim-
ber forests, its phosphate deposits, its gushing oil wells,
its cattle, horses and mules, are in great demand, and its
402 HISTORY OF THE
manufacture of cotton, steel, etc., are yearly increasing.
With such an area of wealth-producing country the Uni-
versity should, and no doubt will, be cherished, aided and
perfected.
All our departments are well filled with able professors.
We have as the administration head of the University
Prof. B. Lawton Wiggins, M. A., LL. D., young in years,
but who, during the years he has filled the office of vice
chancellor, has shown remarkable business talent, as well
as high scholarship — an unusual but extremely fortunate
combination in this case, and one rarely found. In the
prime of life, blessed with health and wonderful power of
endurance, he has succeeded in drawing together and
straightening out the tangled skeins of finance, scholastic
work, discipline, police and general superintendence over
lands and buildings, advisory to the commissioners of
buildings and lands, roads, streets and improvements.
Vice Chancellor Wiggins is an alumnus of this Univer-
sity. Born on September 11, 1861, at Sand Ridge, S. C.,
receiving his earlier education at the Porter Academy,
Charleston, S. C.? he entered the junior department of
the University in 1877, and graduated as master of arts
in 1882. Became an assistant in the school of ancient
languages and was elected professor of that chair in
succession to Prof. Caskie Harrison in 1882, and has
continued to fill that position ever since. He was elected
vice chancellor in 1893, in succession to Bishop Gailor,
for the term of five years, and reelected in 1898 during
"good behavior," without limitation, a very high and de-
served compliment to his efficiency in that office. The de-
gree of doctor of laws was conferred on him in 1902 by
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH. 403
Trinity College, Connecticut. He married Clara, daughter
of Bishop Quintard, and now occupies the handsome resi-
dence of the late bishop. In 1903 the board of trustees
passed a resolution placing upon record its grateful ap-
preciation of his faithful services, which have been charac-
terized by earnest devotion to duty and signal ability, re-
sulting in the upbuilding and growth of the University
to a most gratifying degree.
UNIVER3H
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