THOMAS C. JOHNSON, Virginia.
JOSEPH SUTTON, Virginia.
ALEX. B. PIERCE, N. Carolina.
BENJAMIN Z. HERNDON, S. C.
WILLIAM G. CONNOR, S. C.
SAMUEL D. SANDERS, S. C.
IRA I. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
THOMAS R. EPES, Virginia.
JOSEPH T. REESE, Georgia.
LUCIEN H. LOMAX, S. Carolina.
GEO. E. WYCHE, N. Carolina.
A. M.
ISAAC C. CROFT, S. Carolina.
WILLIAM H. BATTE, Virginia.
JOSIAH F. ASKEW, Georgia.
CHARLES F. BURNLEY, Virginia
AMOS W. JONES, N. Carolina.
JAMES W. WIGHTMAN, S. C.
JAMES R. WASHINGTON, Ga.
Rev. DAVID S. DOGGETT, Virginia (honorary).
Rev. David S. Doggett was elected to the chair vacated by the resignation of Professor Sims.
1842-1843.
This year the second decade of the College commenced. The year was marked by great financial pressure, which was partially relieved by the sale of some of the funds of the College. A part of the proceeds of the sale was used to pay off a debt on building account and the rest for current expenses. At the low rates of college fees, the current receipts failed to meet salaries and other expenses.
In the annual report of the Faculty mention is made of a decrease in patronage, caused by the financial condition of the country and the establishment of colleges in other Southern Conferences; so that it was again necessary to ask the Board to do something to increase the income of the College.
This year a French course was introduced for the first time, and E. A.
Blanch was elected tutor of French.
At the annual meeting, June, 1843, a committee was appointed, consisting of Messrs. Chambers, Rogers, Alexander, Leigh, and Early, to recommend a plan for the relief of the College from financial embarrassment. This committee reported as follows:
1. That it is absolutely necessary to raise a permanent fund of $20,000 to sustain the institution, and if we fail in doing so, it must and will go down.
2. That the Agent be instructed to endeavor to obtain one hundred subscribers of $500 in money or in bonds, the interest to be paid annually at the sessions of the Virginia and North Carolina Conferences, and the principal within a period not to exceed ten years, no subscription to be binding until $10,000 shall have been subscribed, the principal to be kept as a permanent fund.
The Faculty of the College showed their spirit of liberality and self-denial by the following communication:
"The Faculty, with a view to contribute all in their power toward the establishment of the College, propose to give to the Board of Trustees the sum of five thousand dollars, the same to be paid in five years by a relinquishment annually of $1,000 on their salaries upon the following conditions, viz.:
"1. That the balance of their salaries be paid promptly.
"2. That the donation shall cease before the expiration of the five years, unless the exigencies of the institution shall require it."
[Illustration: GEORGE W. BENAGH, A. M., Professor, University of
Alabama.]
It being necessary to raise funds to pay the professors, Messrs. H. G. Leigh, D'Arcy Paul, Dr. Archibald A. Campbell, George Rogers, and Edward R. Chambers offered to loan the College $500 each, and Messrs. H. B. Cowles and Landon C. Garland $250 each, on the 25th of December next; and Rev. W. B. Rowzie, Agent of the College, offered, that if the amount of his collections should fall under $500, to make up the deficiency in a loan.
[Illustration: JUDGE EDWARD R. CHAMBERS, Professor of Law 1842-'43.
Trustee of the College. Judge Circuit Court. Member of Virginia
Convention 1851 and 1861.]
The above record is given to show the great financial strait of the College and to bring to mind the liberality of the members of the Board and the Faculty. But for this liberal action the College would have ceased its work, as so many others were forced to do.
Some steps were taken at this meeting to establish a Medical Department in the College.
The following degrees were conferred, June, 1843:
A. B.
GEORGE W. BENAGH, Virginia.
EDWARD S. BROWN, Virginia.
HAMPDEN S. SMITH, N. C.
THOMAS E. MASSIE, Virginia.
WILLIAM H. LAWTON, S. C.
FELIX H. G. TAYLOR, Miss.
RICHARD H. POWELL, Alabama.
THOMAS W. BLAKE, N. C.
HENRY B. ELDRIDGE, Virginia.
WALLER MASSIE, Virginia.
JOHN F. RIVES, Mississippi.
NATHANIEL R. WADDILL, Va.
JOHN C. WALKER, Virginia.
A. M.
JAMES F. SMITH, South Carolina.
D. D.
Rev. ROBT. NEWTON, England.
WILLIAM WINANS, Mississippi.
LOVICK PIERCE, Georgia.
WILLIAM A. SMITH, Virginia.
1843-1844.
The dark cloud resting on the prospects of the College in June, 1843, still hung over it the succeeding year, notwithstanding the efforts made to relieve the embarrassment. Patronage continued to decrease. The session opened with sixty matriculates in the College and thirty in the Preparatory School, the smallest number in the history of the College up to this year.
The President, in the annual report, alludes to the depression of Faculty and patrons, neither of whom "could feel proper interest in an institution which might close its doors at any time." This feeling of despondency seemed to have pervaded also the members of the Board, for a bare quorum were in attendance at the opening session. The president, in his report, said: "We shall regard it as a calamity if you leave this place without making some definite arrangement by which our future may be relieved from all embarrassment."
[Illustration: HOLLAND N. MCTYEIRE, A. M., D. D., Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South; Regent Vanderbilt University.]
That grand layman, D'Arcy Paul, in this dark hour, came to the relief of the College by guaranteeing the salaries of the professors to the amount of $5,000 on certain conditions. Thus, in the good providence of God, the life of the College was prolonged.
[Illustration: COL. WM. TOWNES, TRUSTEE. Elected 1844.]
The following received degrees June, 1844:
A. B.
JOHN LYON, Virginia.
WILLIAM C. DOUB, N. C.
WILLIAM M. CABELL, Virginia.
HOLLAND N. MCTYEIRE, Ala.
ARCHIBALD CLARK, Virginia.
THOMAS H. RODGERS, Virginia.
JAMES G. FANNING, Georgia.
JOHN HOWARD, Virginia.
RICHARD IRBY, Virginia.
RICHARD S. PARHAM, Virginia.
WILLIE M. PERSON, N. C.
BENJAMIN F. SIMMONS, N. C.
J. L. GILLESPIE, Virginia.
A. M.
THOMAS B. GORDON, Georgia.
GEORGE B. JONES, Virginia.
Rev. EDWARD WADSWORTH, Va.
FRANCIS A. CONNOR, S. C.
Rev. THOS. H. JONES, Virginia.
WILLIAM H. BASS, Virginia.
HENRY F. JONES, N. C.
Rev. Henry B. Cowles having declined to accept the office of Agent, to which he had been previously elected, was again elected.
Warren DuPre resigned the tutorship, and Holland N. McTyeire was elected to fill the place.
It would be an omission if, in describing and relating other matters, the description of an old-time Annual Commencement should be left out. These occasions were notable events in the first two decades of the College. In those days preparations were begun four weeks before the Commencement day by releasing the Seniors from regular daily exercises so as to give them time to prepare their orations, which each one had to write and commit to memory and rehearse before the Professor of English, who was authorized to make corrections in matter, style, and also in manner of delivery. The Commencement generally was held the third Wednesday and Thursday of June. The Sunday previous a sermon was preached by some eminent minister appropriate to the occasion. Selecting one occasion that the writer witnessed as a specimen, that of 1842, the following description is faithful: The visitors, in the main, began to fill up the boarding-houses around the College and the hotels of Boydton on Tuesday. The Board of Trustees assembled on Tuesday at an early hour, holding their meeting, strictly private, during the day. Friends of the graduates from Virginia and the Carolinas were largely in attendance on Wednesday in time for the opening of the exercises in the chapel. On this occasion the far-famed evangelist, Rev. John Newland Maffett, had been selected to deliver the annual oration before the literary societies. He arrived on Tuesday by private carriage, having travelled over seventy miles. The Alumni Society orator had also arrived.
The exercises of Wednesday opened at 11 A. M. The band had been discoursing musical selections for hours previous on the campus, and continued in the gallery of the chapel, to which they and the crowd had repaired. The chaplain invoked the blessing of God on the College and the young men. The president introduced the alumni orator, who delivered his address to the Society and the audience. The applause of the auditors would have been prolonged but for their anxiety to hear the silver-tongued orator, whose fame was as wide as the country. He was in the prime of life. His dress was faultless; his black locks were unruffled, as when he left the hair-dresser's shop an hour before, for it was said he held his hat in his hand all the way from Boydton as he rode in the carriage to the chapel. Be that as it may, every lock was in perfect order. He was a native of the Emerald Isle, but was thoroughly naturalized. His manner was well-nigh perfect, possibly a little too dramatic; his voice musical, his enunciation rolling and faultless.
What was the theme memory cannot recall. All that is remembered is his action, voice, and the general effect on the auditors. The house was packed; the crowd outside was as great as that inside. The oration over, all breathed naturally again; the boys applauded, the ladies waved their handkerchiefs and fans, and the band struck up enlivening notes, and all said, as the morning exercises closed, "We have heard an orator to-day."
In the afternoon the representatives of the Washington and Franklin Societies—George Benagh and Felix Taylor of the former, and Marcellus Stanley and Rives Waddill, of the latter—did their societies great honor as their representatives by delivering in the chapel eloquent orations.
At night the Societies held their annual meetings, at which the presidents-elect, distinguished honorary members, presided and made addresses. In the debates following the honorary members were expected to take part. The Society medals and honors were delivered to graduate members. These meetings were held in the halls, and were not open to the public.
At night the parlors of private houses and the hotels were radiant with the wealth of beauty gathered mainly from the Old Dominion and the old North State. If there were ever fairer and more lovely women since the days of Helen this deponent never saw them.
The next day the graduating class made their last bows to a College audience, having, according to custom, appeared three times before in the last year of their course. It would be hard to decide which did best, if the verdict had to be given by the fair auditors who heard them.
The "Latin Salutatory" came first, delivered by the second-honor man. This was followed by the orations of others, without regard to grade. The closing "Valedictory" was delivered by the first-honor man, who in a manner represented the whole class. Then each graduate received his "sheep-skin," delivered by the President, who, in Latin, said, "Accepe hoc diploma," as he handed the diploma.
The graduating class was complimented by a "party" given in their honor by the students at the Steward's Hall, which was largely attended. This closed the Commencement.
So great was the interest in the Annual Commencements that parties came for long distances, even as far as South Carolina. Some of them came in coaches drawn by four horses with out-riders.
COLLEGE YEAR 1844-'45.
The tendency in patronage this year was still downward. The number of students was smaller than ever before.
A movement was made to carry out the project to raise $20,000 for endowment. The salaries of the Faculty were reduced, so that the President only got $1,250; the professors, $1,000; Tutor, $600; Principal of the Preparatory School, $600. This was done in the face of the fact that the dues to the Faculty at this time amounted to $7,000. This unfortunate condition of affairs was brought about and aggravated by several causes. The poorly paid officers worked without hope of remuneration. Students failed to attend because the impression was becoming prevalent that the College would be forced to close its doors. Besides, the farming community were receiving low prices for their crops. In 1845 the severest drought prevailed in Virginia ever known since 1816.
At the Commencement, June, 1845, a case of smallpox was reported on the morning of the first day. This threatened the total suspension of the exercises, and many visitors did return home. The exercises were held at Boydton, and the address of Rev. Dr. William S. Plumer, one of the greatest men of his day, served to put all in good humor and restore quiet. The next day the services were held in the chapel.
[Illustration: TURNER M. JONES, A. M., D. D., President Greensboro
Female College, N.C.]
Degrees were conferred as follows:
A. B.
CHARLES B. STUART, Va.
JOHN G. BOYD, Va.
THOMAS T. BOSWELL, Va.
JAMES T. WRIGHT, Va.
WILLIAM F. BLACKWELL, Va.
JOHN W. SHELTON, N. C.
TURNER M. JONES, N. C.
A. M.
JOSEPH T. REESE, Ga.
GEORGE E. WYCHE, N. C.
THOMAS S. ARTHUR, S. C.
At the close of this year I. I. Crenshaw and H. N. McTyeire resigned
their places as Tutors. The former went to the Buckingham Female
Institute, and the latter took work as an itinerant on a circuit till
Conference.
[Illustration: O. H. P. CORPREW, A. M., LL. D., Professor in
Randolph-Macon College and Central College, Mo.]
Williams T. Davis was elected Principal of the Preparatory School.
COLLEGE YEAR 1845-'46.
The drought referred to continued till late in the summer. Many farmers had to buy corn at one dollar per bushel, and in some cases had to go as far as thirty miles to get meal.
At the close of the year in June, at the meeting of the Board, great financial embarrassment was reported. A bond to be secured by mortgage on the real estate of the College for $5,000 was authorized to raise funds to meet pressing indebtedness.
The following received degrees June, 1846:
A. B.
JOHN DAVIS, Va.
OLIVER H. P. CORPREW, Va.
FRANK X. FOSTER, S. C.
EDWARD T. HARDY, Va.
SAMUEL HARDY, Va.
WM. G. de GRAFFENREIDT, Va.
OLIN M. DANTZLER, S. C.
BENJAMIN F. LOCKETT, Va.
THOMAS J. LOCKETT, Va.
THOMAS P. JERMAN, S. C.
GEORGE HOWARD, Va.
A. M.
JAMES F. DOWDELL, Ga.
WILLIAM F. SAMFORD, Ala.
JOHN F. RIVES, Miss.
THOMAS H. CAMPBELL, Va.
WILLIAM G. CONNER, S. C.
JOHN C. WALKER, Va.
D. D.
Rev. W. M. WIGHTMAN, S. C.
EDMOND W. SEHON, Ky.
The session of the College, 1846-'47, opened very inauspiciously. In addition to (and probably in large measure growing out of) the financial troubles which had been thickening for years past, a want of harmony and co-operation between the President and some of the members of the Faculty began to be shown. This led to disorder and insubordination among the students. To inquire into the matter at issue a meeting of the Trustees was called in September, 1846, at which, after reciting a history of the troubles, President Garland tendered his resignation, and requested the immediate acceptance of the same. This was followed by the resignation of their positions by Professors D. S. Doggett and David Duncan, and Tutor Thomas H. Rogers.
The resignation of the President was not accepted for prudential reasons. That of Professor Doggett, to take effect at the close of the session, was accepted, as was that of Tutor Rogers. Professor Duncan was induced to withdraw his.
The Board then adjourned to meet in the succeeding November, at the session of the Virginia Conference, which was to meet at the College.
At the adjourned meeting held November 13, 1846, the Board accepted the resignation of President Garland. Rev. Wm. A. Smith, D. D., of the Virginia Conference, was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of President Garland. The Faculty, as re-organized, was as follows, viz:
REV. WM. A. SMITH (President), Prof. Moral and Mental Philosophy.
REV. CHARLES F. DEEMS, A. M., Prof. Latin and Belles Lettres.
EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, A. M., Prof. Pure and Applied Mathematics.
DAVID DUNCAN, A. M., Prof. Greek Language and Literature.
JAMES W. HARDY, Prof. Experimental Science, Astronomy and Optics.
The severance of President Garland from the College, after a service of fourteen years in various capacities, was a source of great sorrow to his old pupils and friends. However deficient he may have been in some qualifications for the presidency, which from the first he not only did not seek, but frequently declined, he preserved all along the unqualified respect of all as an able professor and scholar. So devoted was he to the prosecution of his favorite study, Astronomy, that he generally broke himself down every year by attempting to perform the arduous work of the president and also of full professor. Added to this he was for years Treasurer. To a sensitive nature like his, the demands of creditors made on him when he could not meet them was a burden of itself heavy enough for any one to bear. If the College had had an endowment fund large enough to pay the expenses as they were incurred, and had allowed him to retain a professorship at a fair salary, with a president taking on his shoulders the duties which in most colleges devolved on the president, his valuable services could probably have been retained—certainly if the dissension had not arisen in the administration of the College. It is proper here to state that this dissension was only with Professor Hardy, and was not participated in by the other members of the Faculty, and did not lead to the resignation of several of them.
President Garland accepted the Chair of Mathematics in the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa. He never returned to his native State except on visits. The whole of a long life was spent, first, at the University to which he went, then at the University of Mississippi, from which he was called to take the Chancellorship of the Vanderbilt University, at Nashville, Tenn., which he accepted and filled for many years. Here in connection with his old pupil, Bishop McTyeire, he did valuable work, till age and feebleness forbade active work. Then he was made Chancellor emeritus. He died suddenly, but not unprepared, at the Vanderbilt University.
The closing years of President Garland's administration were the darkest in, the history of the College. Many of its friends were hopeless of its ever rallying again. Others gathered new hope, and their faith "staggered not" in this dark hour. All the older Methodist colleges had gone down, or were tottering to their fall. So much the greater faith was needed at Randolph-Macon.
It was a fortunate circumstance that this re-organization took place at the session of the Virginia Conference, which was held at the College, and presided over by Bishop Capers.
[Illustration: REV. WM. B. ROWZIE.]
Rev. W. B. Rowzie, who for many years had been Agent, resigned the position. A better friend the College never had.
At the request of the Board, Rev. B. R. Duval and Rev. Nathaniel Thomas were appointed Agents for the College. They were men of extraordinary energy and zeal, and they at once entered on a thorough canvass of the Conference in raising funds for the College. President Smith entered on his duties with characteristic zeal. He was fortunately possessed of an unconquerable will and a buoyancy of disposition, without which he would have quailed under the discouragements under which he labored.
"Wm. A. Smith was born in Fredericksburg, Va., November 29, 1802. His mother was a consistent member of the Methodist Church, and in death prayed that her son might live to preach the glorious gospel. His father was a man of honorable character and position. Both died when he was of a tender age. For a time the orphan boy had rough usage; but he was afterwards adopted and raised by Mr. Russell Hill, a friend of his father, and a worthy merchant of Petersburg. When seventeen years old, he was converted, and joined the M. E. Church. He had received a good English education, and had commenced the study of the classics; but feeling that he was called of God to the ministry, and not being able to attend college as he desired, he studied privately one year at the home of his uncle, Mr. Porter, in Orange county, and taught school two or three years in Madison. In 1824 he travelled the Gloucester circuit under the Presiding Elder; in February, 1825, he was admitted on trial into the Virginia Conference. In 1833, while Agent for Randolph-Macon College, then in its infancy, he met with a fearful accident: the carriage which he was driving upset and fell on him, breaking his right thigh and dislocating his left hip, and badly laming him for life. He was a delegate to the General Conference of the M. E. Church every session from 1832 to 1844, and occupied a high position in that great council as an adviser and debater. In the memorable appeal case of Harding, and in the yet more important extrajudicial trial of Bishop Andrew, which led to the division of the church, he won a reputation wide as the United States, and inferior to that of no minister of any denomination, for the highest deliberative and forensic eloquence. He was a member of the Louisville Convention which organized the M. E. Church, South, and of all the General Conferences of this church to the date of his death. He commanded universal respect and confidence among his brethren by the sincerity of his zeal, the wisdom of his counsels, and the power of his reasoning. His impress will long remain on the legislation and institutions of Southern Methodism. In 1846 he was called from the regular pastorate, by the urgency of the Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, sanctioned by the Virginia Conference, to the Presidency of this institution. He was selected for that place because his courage, energy and strength of intellect seemed indispensable not only to the prosperity, but even to the saving of this noble institution. Twenty years of his life was consecrated to this cause—years of self-sacrifice, of unremitting toil, of courageous battling with difficulties and victory over them; of hope where others desponded, of faith where others doubted, of resolution where others wavered. He was diligent in his study, diligent in his lecture-room, diligent in his travel through Virginia and North Carolina to collect money and to arouse interest in behalf of the College. The number of students steadily increased, the standard of scholarship was elevated, and through the joint efforts of Dr. Smith and the agents of the College an endowment fund of $100,000 was raised. Then came the terrible war, which emptied those classic halls and swept away the funds which had been gathered with so much toil. Yet not in vain had he labored. Scores of ministers, hundreds of pious young men, educated under his care, moulded by his influence, are this day in their several spheres carrying on the same grand work to which he was devoted, and have learned, from his teachings and example, never to surrender, never to despair of Randolph-Macon.
"We have not spoken of Dr. Smith as a preacher and pastor. He soon rose to eminence in the ministry, and stood with the foremost in the pulpit and pastorate for faithfulness, ability and success. He had a deep, distinct, happy, constant experience of the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. His zeal for the cause of religion was pure, steady, consuming. He was fully consecrated to the work of the ministry. The doctrines and polity of our church had no stronger, nobler expounder and champion than he. His sermons were "logic on fire"—grand and solid discussions of the leading truths of the gospel, animated with deep emotion. Thousands were converted under his ministry; many of them became preachers of the word in our own and other denominations; the churches he served were ever edified and trained, not less by his pastoral fidelity than by his luminous discourses.
"As a man, he was of marked character. Who that ever saw him could forget that bold, frank, noble face and forehead, which revealed at a glance the lofty attributes of his intellect, the loftier attributes of his heart! Cunning and deceit he knew not; to fear he was a stranger; his convictions he was ever ready to avow and maintain. Yet, with all his courage and indomitable energy of will, he had a tender, sympathetic heart, and much of a child-like spirit, simple, unselfish, trustful, easy to be entreated." *
* Copied from Memoir in Virginia Conference Minutes.
Rev. C. F. Deems did not accept the chair of Latin, and O. H. P. Corprew was elected professor pro tempore, and filled the place.
At a meeting of the Board held March 31, 1847, an effort was made to establish a medical department of the College, but it never resulted in any permanent success.
[Illustration: BENNETT PURYEAR, A. M., LL. D., Professor Chemistry
Randolph-Macon College; Chairman Faculty and Professor Chemistry,
Richmond College.]
At the meeting of the Board held June, 1847, President Smith reported that the session had been pleasant and the prospects of the College improving. The success of the Agents in their work gave promise of better financial conditions. A committee was appointed to reorganize the Preparatory School system, and it was proposed to establish one or more at salient points.
[Illustration: WM. A. SMITH, D. D., President of Randolph-Macon
College, 1846-1866. President Central College, Missouri.]
Professor J.W. Hardy tendered his resignation, which was accepted. He had been elected President of La Grange College, Alabama, where he died after a short service.
The following received degrees:
A. B.
BENNETT PURYEAR, Va.
JOHN MOODY, Va.
R. H. BEALE, Tenn.
A. M.
W. C. DOUB, N. C.
JOHN LYON, Va.
T. C. JOHNSON, Mo.
ARCHIBALD CLARK, Va.
THOMAS H. ROGERS, Va.
JOHN HOWARD, Va.
D. D.
REV. D. S. DOGGETT, Va.
REV. EDWARD WADSWORTH, Ala.
At a meeting of the Board held at Charlottesville November 17, during the session of the Virginia Conference, a further issue of life-scholarships was authorized.
The committee on Preparatory Schools reported in favor of retaining the old school at the College under certain rules, and the establishment of one at Ridgway, N. C., under a contract with the Trustees of the Ridgway Academy, with William C. Doub, A. M., as Principal; also of one at Garysburg, N. C., with C. B. Stuart, A. M., as Principal.
At the close of the year, June, 1848, the President in the annual report reported increased patronage, and a session marked by studiousness and good order among the students. The number in the College and the Preparatory School was about one hundred and forty.
The graduates receiving degrees June, 1848, were—
A. B.
JOHN C. GRANBERY, Va.
JOHN H. CLAIBORNE, Va.
JAMES R. BRANCH, Va.
JOHN S. MOORE, Va.
DALLAS SMITH, Ala.
TAZEWELL HARGROVE, N. C.
RICHARD G. MORRIS, Va.
GEORGE W. FRIEND, Va.
CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, Va.
JAMES D. BLACKWELL, Va.
A. M.
CHARLES B. STUART, Va.
TURNER M. JONES, N. C.
WILLIE M. PERSON, N. C.
J. W. SHELTON, N. C.
THOMAS B. RUSSELL, Ga.
JOHN G. BOYD, Va.
WILLIAMS T. DAVIS (Hon'y), Va.
BENJAMIN JENKINS (Honorary), Missionary M. E. Church, South, in China.
[Illustration: JAMES R. BRANCH, A. M., Colonel Artillery, C. S. A.]
D'Arcy Paul, Investing Agent and Chairman of the Finance Committee, reported the probable income for coming year at about $3,500, $2,000 of which amount to come from fees and the balance endowment dividends.
[Illustration: JOHN C. GRANBERY, A. M., D. D.]
We pause again in this narrative to give a reminiscence of College life as written in 1882 by a distinguished member of the class last named, John C. Granbery, who delivered the valedictory as first-honor man. The distinction then achieved was but a presage of his rank in the several positions he has been called to fill—Pastor, Chaplain to the University of Virginia, Chaplain in the Confederate army (in which service he was severely wounded and taken prisoner), Professor in the Vanderbilt University, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (elected 1882), and author of several works. At this writing he lives at Ashland, and is the President of the Board of Trustees.
"As the earliest of the American Methodist Colleges now extant, Randolph-Macon may be called venerable, if not ancient. But I use the prefix old in order to distinguish the College as it was at Boydton from the College as it is at Ashland. The features of contrast are many and important. In the old days slavery was, as we thought, a fixed and lasting institution; civil strife had not swept away lives and fortunes, and the South was proud, independent, fiery and enthusiastic, chivalrous withal, generous, genial; now we are just beginning to adjust ourselves to the new social and political conditions which have been imposed by a disastrous war. Then there was a single degree, Bachelor of Arts, for which the students strove, and the course of four years was prescribed, with its regular gradations of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors; now the studies are eclectic, and the matriculates may select any one of several degrees, or study without reference to graduation. Then the lumbering stage brought up the tri-weekly, or perhaps daily, mail and passengers, and the word of the driver rang forth cheerily, but no shrill whistle of steam-engine or thunder of lightning trains disturbed the silence of the classic groves, and the attractions and distractions of the crowded, hurrying, clamorous city were out of reach and out of thought; now the steam-car and the steam-press are familiar objects, the capital is less than an hour's distance, and the stage-coach is a tradition.
"A change has taken place in the manner and measure of collegiate discipline. This is due not to the change of locality, but to the spirit of the age. It has come to be a maxim that the best government is that which governs least. We seek the minimum of restriction on liberty that is compatible with the ends of government, viz., order, morality and diligence. Formerly the dormitory system prevailed; students were required to be in their rooms during certain hours of the day and night; professors and tutors visited the buildings, seeking to surprise the inmates, in order to ascertain whether the rule was observed; there were many minute regulations which have since been abandoned. This continued exercise of authority and plan of watching provoked insubordination and evasion; the wits of the boys were set to work in order to deceive the teachers, and to break the rules without detection, or, at least, with impunity. The risk gave to mischief and lawlessness a relish they would not otherwise have possessed. Unwholesome suppers were stealthily brought to the rooms by negroes at late hours of the night; calathumps aroused the neighborhood with most hideous music; blackboards were greased; the bell-rope was cut, and old John had to blow his horn at daybreak in every row of the buildings, as a call to prayers and recitations. This provoked him greatly, and he used to say, 'If you won't be rung up as gentlemen, I must blow you up as hogs.' How heartily I have heard Dr. Smith laugh as he repeated the old negro's complaint at such times, 'We have the worstest young men, and the mostest on 'em, I ever seed!' Practical jokes, sometimes of a very disagreeable sort, were played on professors in their nocturnal rounds of inspecting the premises. Calves were hauled up into lecture-rooms, and other silly tricks were perpetrated. I am glad that these follies have passed away, that faculty and students treat each other as gentlemen and friends, and that the public sentiment of the College would not tolerate any rudeness, though disguised under the name of fun. It is well to appeal to the conscience, gentlemanly propriety and honor, and generous and kindly sentiments of young men, rather than resort to espionage and multiplied restraints.
"I appreciate the arguments in favor of locating institutions of learning on the great lines of travel, and in or near large towns. It should be easy to get to them, and get away from them. The frequent mail and the time-destroying telegraph are now indispensable where students are a small minority of the population, and where there is a vigilant and effective police many disorders are prevented, and faculties and boards of trust are saved much trouble. Low vice is cheap, and will go to the most secluded spot in search of victims; but the city presents many refined pleasures which may serve to draw off ingenuous youth from haunts of sin and projects of mischief. But there are advantages on the side of the more quiet and retired situation. It favors concentration of interest on books, lectures, and light collegiate exercises. The whole life at the country college becomes student life. There is no division of mind and heart. There is nothing to tempt the earnest youth from his proper work. The esprit du corps of old Randolph-Macon was very strong. There were hospitable and cultivated homes in the neighborhood, and most charming maidens; those who visited them found entangling alliances for life, if the fair sex consented. But the number of young ladies sufficiently near to be easily visited was small, and many of the students were not, if I must use the modern slang which was unknown in my day, calicoists. The two literary societies were centres of enthusiasm. A new Randolph-Macon student can hardly understand the intensity of devotion "Washs" and "Franks" had for their societies in those times. All students were members of the one or of the other, and were ready to brag for it, quarrel for it, and, if need be, fight for it. They did not all attend regularly the meetings, or take part in discussion and other literary exercises; their lack of presence or performance was amply atoned for by the payment of their fines, for we were always eager to replenish the treasury. But a number studied carefully the questions of debate, reading largely, and thus, forming a fondness for books and habit of reflection; they prepared their speeches, and often waxed very warm. Indeed, bitterness and strife would sometimes arise, but they soon passed away. A frequent and effective debater of rather waspish and contemptuous temper alluded one day to the arguments of his opponents as flimsy cobwebs, as he quoted one after another, and answered it, 'I brush that cobweb away,' said he. A modest, merry-hearted man on the other side—he is now one of Lee's one-armed heroes—responded: 'The gentleman called my arguments cobwebs, and it may be that they are; but to-day is not the first time that I have seen a fly caught in a spider's web, and vainly struggling to get loose.' Colonel R., an intelligent gentleman of the community, said to me more than once, when he had been listening to a spirited debate, 'It is not inferior to the best debates I have heard in the Legislature of Virginia.' Some of the most skilled debaters in church and state would give a large share of the credit for their power in deliberative assemblies to the inspiration and training of those old Randolph-Macon halls. Many foolish things were spoken there, I must admit. 'I don't know I did the thing with which I am charged,' said an excited Frank; 'but if I did, I oughtn't to be fined, for I did it with malice aforethought.' 'With malice aforethought!' responded the censor, who was our honored and beloved Duncan; 'who ever heard before of that being an excuse?' 'I said it, and I repeat it, that I did it with malice aforethought; and if the gentleman doesn't understand, I will explain that it is a law phrase, and means I didn't go to do it!'
"There were many traditions in my day of giants who had been at old Randolph-Macon. They told how Dr. Olin, the first President, a man of great head and heart, would send for an idle or offending student, place his feet on the chair where the delinquent sat so as to hold him, a close prisoner, and talk to him faithfully, yet tenderly, until with burning cheeks and floods of tears the youth promised never again to offend. It was a memorable event when the great man preached; solid thought in vast masses was driven to the mark with resistless power. There was a story of an eloquent and mighty sermon from Dr. Lovick Pierce, of Georgia, from a text which astonished every listener: 'Let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.' There were glowing reports of the wonderful pathos and power of Russell, of Georgia; how he melted the cold, stone hearts of the Faculty, who were bent on sending him home, but they had all their resolves converted into admiration and sympathy for the youth who pleaded eloquently his own cause; how often he electrified his society. It was my good fortune to see and hear him in the pulpit and on the platform, when he visited the College as Commencement orator."
During the session of 1847-'48, a man of more than ordinary distinction and talent became connected as Professor with the College, Rev. Charles Force Deems. He was a native of New Jersey, and a graduate of Dickinson College. In very early manhood he came to North Carolina to represent the American Bible Society in that State. He was there only a short time before he was elected to a chair at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When Dr. Smith was elected President in November, 1846, he was elected Professor of Latin and Belles Lettres. He did not accept the chair at that time. In December, 1847, he did accept another, and the January following entered upon his duties as Professor of Chemistry. He remained that year and then returned to North Carolina, and entered on the regular work of an itinerant minister. It is not known why he so soon severed his connection with the College, for which he always to his latest day expressed an attachment, evidenced by more than one or two acts of interest and generosity. It is probable that there was little kindly feeling from some cause not known, or congeniality between him and the President of the College. This doubtless was the root of the bitter feud between him and Dr. Smith in after time, culminating in the alienation of many friends from each other and the North Carolina Conference from the College.
The portraits of the two now hang near together on the wall of the Trustees' room in the library, and it is hoped that all "bitterness and wrath" having been laid aside they together share the blessedness of heaven.
COLLEGE YEAR 1848-'49.
The report of the President and Faculty gives the following items for the year 1848-'49:
Students in College proper, 61; in Preparatory Schools, viz.: at the
College, 51; Ridgway, N. C., 20; Garysburg, 40; Lowell, N. C., 21;
Richlands, N. C., 20; in all, 213.
"The schools in North Carolina from the last quarterly returns are in a prosperous condition, and promise in reasonable time to operate as valuable auxiliaries."
Professor Deems resigned the chair about December, 1848. The vacancy was filled, or arranged to be filled, by Charles B. Stuart, of the class of 1845, with the privilege extended to him to spend about a year at Yale College, where Agricultural and Analytical Chemistry were made specialties. This arrangement was carried out.
At the meeting of the Board, June, 1849, a department of Agricultural
Chemistry was provided for, to be in charge of Professor Stuart.
[Illustration: RICHARD W. LEIGH, Major C. S. A.; killed at Murfreesboro,
Tenn.]
The following degrees were conferred:
A. B.
JAMES A. DUNCAN, Va.
WILLIAM G. FOOTE, Miss.
JAMES W. JACKSON, Va.
RICHARD W. LEIGH, Va.
LEWIS MILLER, N. C.
R.S.F. PEETE, Va.
B. CRAVEN (Honorary), N. C.
A. M.
LUCIEN H. LOMAX, S. C.
EDWARD T. HARDY, Va.
O.H.P. CORPREW, Va.
FRANCIS X. FOSTER, S. C.
COLLEGE YEAR 1849-'50.
The attendance this year at the Home Schools was 134 (College, 62; Preparatory, 72). Improvement reported in general morals and habits of students.
Great financial embarrassment reported, and urgent appeals for active measures to secure needed relief.
[Illustration: EDWIN E. PARHAM, A. M., President of Warrenton,
Petersburg, and Hampton Female Colleges.]
Early in the session of 1849-'50, Professor E. A. Blanch resigned the Chair of Mathematics on account of continued bad health. Professor John C. Wills, a distinguished graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, was elected to fill the vacancy, and entered on his duties. He was a local minister in the Methodist Church, and a man of fine character and an accomplished teacher. The College was fortunate in securing such a man.
The Faculty now consisted of the following; Dr. Smith, President; Professors Duncan, Stuart, Wills, Corprew (Tutor), and Williams T. Davis at the Preparatory School near the College.
In June, 1850, they reported the Preparatory School as having done well, and the reception from it of twenty students for the next session, and four from the Ridgway Preparatory School. The school at Garysburg, N. C., had been discontinued. The schools at Lowell, N. C., and Richlands, N. C., in successful operation and accomplishing much good.
From the above it will be seen that the establishment of academies as feeders to the College was a fact accomplished before the late effort in 1889. They were all in North Carolina, and the subsequent alienation carried them away from the College with whatever patronage they were bringing to it.
Degrees were conferred as follows, June, 1850:
A. B.
EDWIN A. THOMPSON, N. C.
EDWIN E. PARHAM, Va.
EDWARD A. ADAMS, Va.
JOHN F. DANCE, Va.
WILLIAM A. BRAME, N. C.
ROBERT H. WINFIELD, Va.
BENJAMIN C. DREW, Va.
THOMAS F. FITZGERALD, Va.
A. M.
REV. N. F. REID (Hon'y), N. C.
BENNETT PURYEAR, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR 1850-'51.
Number of students reported this year: In College, 91; in Preparatory
School, 62—total, 153.
The schools in North Carolina, except Ridgeway, prosperous.
The year was not satisfactory in the deportment of students generally, nor in finances.
[Illustration: PROF. WILLIAM T. DAVIS, Principal Preparatory School.]
In June, 1851, the following degrees were conferred:
A. B.
WILLIAM H. CHRISTIAN, Va.
HUGH D. BRACEY, Va.
WILLIAM M. CRENSHAW, Va.
HENRY F. DRAKE, N. C.
ARMSTREAT E. FOWLKES, Va.
JOHN H. GUY, Va.
HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, Jr., Va.
JOHN S. LONG, N. C.
JAMES O'HANLON, N. C.
JACOB M. PALMER, Va.
REUBEN PALMER, Va.
WILLIAM MCK. ROBBINS, N. C.
RICHARD H. WILLIAMS, Va.
HENRY W. WINGFIELD, Va.
[Illustration: WILLIAM MCK. ROBBINS, Member of Congress from North
Carolina.]
A. M.
RICHARD H. POWELL, Ala.
DAVID CLOPTON, Ala.
THOMAS J. KOGER, S. C.
JAMES F. DOWDELL, Ala.
TENNENT LOMAX, Ala.
JAMES L. PIERCE, Ga.
EDWARD WADSWORTH, Ala.
ADDISON LEA, Miss.
Rev. B. CRAVEN (Honorary), N. C. President Trinity College.
The Finance Committee reported to the Board that the sum of $57,000 had been raised in subscriptions, bonds, etc., towards the endowment of the College.
COLLEGE YEAR 1851-'52.
A number of changes took place this year. Williams T. Davis, A. M., who had for many years successfully conducted the Preparatory School, retired to go to Petersburg, where he spent the balance of a useful life in the education of young ladies. He was temporarily succeeded by W. G. Foote, A. B., and later by James S. Kennedy, A. B., of Emory and Henry College.
O. H. P. Corprew, A. M., tutor, was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Dean.
The annual report mentions better financial condition; decrease in patronage, due in part to changes of teachers; the introduction of the "Demerit system," which is noted as having worked satisfactorily; also the establishment of the degree of "Bachelor of English Literature and Science," allowing a degree without taking classical studies.
The Preparatory School at Ridgway, N. C., was discontinued. The other schools were reported as doing well, but no statistics as to numbers in attendance were given. The first volume of the Randolph-Macon Magazine, containing ten numbers and three hundred pages, was published in 1851. The Editors' Table states that "the primary object of our publication is the enlargement of our Society libraries."
The following is another extract from the Editors' Table: "The time is at hand for us to throw off our dependence upon the North, and establish an independent Southern literature."
The old Southern Literary Messenger was then published, and several Reviews, more or less literary. None of permanent standing are published now. Southern independence in government and literature seem to have both surrendered at Appomattox. Some of these young men laid down their lives for one, some have been too busy fighting "the wolf at the door" to do much for the latter. While we lament their defeat, we admire their pluck.
The following is the title-page of Volume I.:
[Transcribers' Note: In the printed book, the editors and agents are
listed in two parallel columns. The left-hand column is headed "From
F.L. Society." and the right-hand column is headed "From W.L.
Society."]
THE RANDOLPH-MACON MAGAZINE.
PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF THE R.-M. COLLEGE.
"Adeo in teneris consuescere, multum est."
EDITORS:
From F. L. Society.
ROBERT M. MALLORY.
WILLIAM Y. PEYTON.
JOHN WILLIAMS.
From W. L. Society.
CHARLES H. HALL.
JOHN S. JACKSON.
THADDEUS L. H. YOUNG.
AGENTS:
From F. L. Society.
JAMES SANGSTER.
THOMAS C. THACKSTON.
From W. L. Society.
LEROY M. WILSON.
EDWARD M. PETERSON.
———————————-
PRINTED BY CHAS. H. WYNNE, 150 Main Street, Richmond Va.
———————————-
The following degrees were conferred June, 1852:
A. B.
ROWLAND DOGGETT, Va.
ROBERT A. JACKSON, Va.
SAMUEL LANDER, N. C.
ROBERT M. MALLORY, Va.
BENJAMIN W. OGBURN, Va.
JOHN F. OGBURN, Va.
HORACE PALMER, Jr., Va.
RUFUS R. PEGUES, S. C.
HENRY H. WILLIAMS, Va.
JOHN WILLIAMS, N. C.
A. M.
JAMES W. JACKSON, Va.
JAMES A. DUNCAN, Va.
R.S.F. PEETE, N. C.
WILLIAM G. FOOTE, Miss.
COLLEGE SESSION 1852-'53.
At the annual meeting, June, 1853, the report of the President and
Faculty was duly made, but, from some cause, it was not recorded.
[Illustration: SAMUEL LANDER, D. D., President Williamston Female
College, South Carolina.]
The following degrees were conferred:
A. B.
CHARLES H. HALL, N. C.
JOHN S. JACKSON, Va.
EMBRY MERRITT, Va.
HENRY D. MILAM, N. C.
JAMES D. PROCTOR, Va.
JAMES E. SEBRELL, Va.
RICHARD W. THURMAN, Va.
JAMES SANGSTER, Va.
A. M.
E. W. ADAMS, Va.
JOHN H. CLAIBORNE, Va.
RICHARD W. LEIGH, Va.
EDWIN E. PARHAM, Va.
GEORGE HOWARD, Va.
LEWIS MILLER, N. C.
ROBERT H. WINFIELD, Va.
Rev. JOHN E. EDWARDS, Va. (Honorary).
D. D.
Rev. HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, North Carolina Conference.
Rev. CHARLES F. DEEMS, North Carolina Conference.
[Illustration: REV. CHAS. H. HALL, Of the Virginia Conference.]
COLLEGE YEAR 1853-'54.
There were in attendance this year 111 students in College and 43 in the Preparatory School. Great gratification was expressed on account of the good order of the session. The financial condition, however, was still very embarrassing. The scholarships sold had added something to the endowment fund, but the number of students paying tuition fees was reduced, and thus the current receipts were not increased. This embarrassed the officers of the College, because, while they preferred to remain, higher salaries elsewhere invited them away. The President stated that he visited the Virginia Legislature and made strenuous efforts to induce the body to pass an act which would give all incorporated Colleges $20,000 in State bonds for every $30,000 invested by them in State bonds. Though the project seemed to meet with great favor, nevertheless it failed, as all efforts to get the State to aid denominational colleges have done.
Dr. Smith adds: "But if the hope of succeeding with this scheme be not sufficient to justify you in making better provision for your officers, and another should not present itself to your minds affording better grounds of hope for success, it is respectfully submitted whether it be not better to close your doors until such of the officers as you shall deem proper to employ shall succeed in raising from the public an endowment fund sufficient to meet the wants of the institution."
The venerable Professor David Duncan resigned the Chair of Ancient Languages, September, 1853, to take effect June, 1854. So in June, after a continuous faithful service of twenty-one years, he bade farewell to Randolph-Macon, and went to Wofford, the scene of his labors to the end of a long life.
Professor O. H. P. Corprew, A. M., was transferred from the Chair of Natural Philosophy to fill the vacancy occasioned by Professor Duncan's resignation. Professor Corprew had been elected to the Professorship of Natural Philosophy in the previous December. H. G. Leigh, Jr., resigned as Tutor of Languages, and was succeeded by T. H. L. Young, A. B. Wm. H. Bass resigned the place of Principal of the Preparatory School, and was succeeded by John W. Stuart.
[Illustration: THOMAS C. ELDER, A. M., Of the Staunton, Va. Bar.]
John S. Moore, A. M., was elected to the Chair of Natural Philosophy, vacated by the transfer of Professor Corprew.
At the annual meeting in June, 1854, the following received degrees:
A. B.
JESSE P. BAGBY, Va.
JOHN G. S. BOYD, Va.
RICHARD BOYD, Va.
WILLIAM H. CHEEK, N. C.
THOMAS C. ELDER, Va.
GEORGE W. HAMLIN, Va.
GARLAND B. HANES, Va.
GEORGE W. MAGRUDER, N. C.
ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, Va.
A. C. MASSENBURG, N. C.
SAMUEL MOORE, Va.
THOMAS C. THACKSTON, Va.
L. O. RIVES, Tenn.
LEROY M. WILSON, Va.
THADDEUS L. H. YOUNG, Va.
A. M.
WILLIAM M. CRENSHAW, Va.
BENJAMIN F. SIMMONS, N. C.
WILLIAM MCK. ROBBINS, N. C.
HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, JR., Va.
EDWARD S. BROWN, Va.
ARMSTREAT E. FOWLKES, Va.
B., Eng. Lit. and Science.
ALEX. HOGG, Va.
J. KIRKPATRICK.
W. H. SHAY.
D. D.
REV. T. B. SARGENT, Balt. Conf.
REV. ALFRED T. MANN, Ga. Conf.
At a called meeting held July 26, 1854, which was well attended, a further effort was made to secure aid from the Legislature of Virginia.
At this session of the Board the following important action was taken:
Rev. Robert O. Burton offered the following resolutions:
1. That in view of still further elevating the institution and securing its permanency we will endeavor to increase the endowment to $100,000.
2. That whenever the amount of $100,000 shall have been secured, or the interest on the endowment fund shall amount to $6,000, this Board will grant to the ministers of the Virginia and North Carolina Conferences the right to educate their sons free of tuition fees for thirty years.
3. That one or more agents be appointed to raise the money, and that we earnestly ask the co-operation of all the ministers of the Virginia and North Carolina Conferences.
4. That subscriptions of $500 may be paid by the subscribers either during their natural life or twelve months after death, with interest from date, to be paid annually.
5. That Rev. H. B. Cowles be appointed agent, and that Dr. William A. Smith be associated with him.
[Illustration: REV. L. M. LEE, D. D., Editor: Richmond Christian
Advocate.]
These resolutions were adopted, and the agents appointed were requested to make arrangements for the prosecution of the work as soon as practicable. It could not be done at once, as the Agent elected had to be assigned to the work by the Conference, which did not meet till November. So it was arranged that the work should be commenced next spring.
In the interval Dr. Leroy M. Lee, then editor of the Richmond Christian Advocate, proceeded to write and publish from time to time a series of articles on "Christian Education"—articles probably not surpassed in force and pertinence by any ever written on the subject. He kept the matter of the canvass which was to be inaugurated the coming year before the Methodist public, and thus effectually paved the way for better success.
In May, 1855, the agent and president of the College began the active field work to raise the amount to one hundred thousand dollars at Crenshaw's Church, on the Nottoway circuit, near Blacks and Whites station, on the the (then) Southside Railroad. At this church a mass-meeting was held, lasting several days. There were present, in addition to the leaders above named, Dr. Leroy M. Lee, editor, who was much interested in the effort.
Dr. Smith was the chief speaker, and he never appeared to better advantage, having the sympathy and interest of the audience with him from the start. Dr. Lee followed him. Agent Cowles struck while the iron was hot and took the subscription, which, in addition to what was secured in the circuit in the next few days, amounted to five thousand dollars. This gave the enterprise a good send-off, and was received and accepted by the church at large as an augury of final success, which proved to be true. The agents did not relax their efforts till the limit was reached.
There were several circumstances which made this effort a success. The men in charge were the right men. Dr. Smith was a great man before the people. Few men who lived in the State ever equalled, fewer still ever surpassed him. His colleague, while not deficient in public speaking (he was a most excellent preacher), was gifted with good business address and tact, well versed in reading and managing mankind in general, and thorough in his business transactions, securing all the benefits which were possible. Both were largely acquainted throughout the Conference.
The times were propitious. The decade beginning 1851 was the golden era in the material prosperity of Virginia. The spirit of improvement in lands, building railroads, and plank roads, and other roads was at its height. Most of the great lines throughout the State were built during this decade—the Richmond and Danville, the Southside (Petersburg and Lynchburg), the Virginia and Tennessee (Lynchburg to Bristol), the Orange and Alexandria (Lynchburg and Alexandria), and the Roanoke Valley (Clarksville and Ridgway, N. C.), and others were built or projected. The last named brought railway communication within twelve miles of the College, and Keysville, on the Richmond and Danville, was within thirty-five miles of the College. Besides these improvements, a plank road was built from Petersburg to Clarksville, which was, as long as it lasted, a great improvement. Another plank road from Blacks and Whites, on the Southside Railroad, was built through Lunenburg in the direction of Boydton, but its terminus was twenty miles short of reaching it.
The Crimean war, involving the great Powers of Europe, raised the price of wheat to a price seldom, if ever, reached previously. It sold in 1853-'54 for $2.35 per bushel, and good prices were maintained for the balance of the decade. Lands in the State, which had been low in price, were increased in value one hundred per cent. and other property in something like the same ratio. All this made people more ready to contribute as well as more able.
COLLEGE YEAR 1854-'55.
This College year was marked by no special change or event. The President's report notes: matriculates in College during the session, 134, 72 of whom were on scholarships.
[Illustration: DAVID R. DUNCAN, Major C. S. A.; Senator S. C.
Legislature.]
Professor Samuel Lander, A. M., entered upon his duties as Adjunct
Professor of Languages, and W. A. Shepard was Assistant in the
Laboratory.
At the annual meeting, June, 1855, degrees were conferred:
A. B.
GEORGE E. BOOKER, Va.
JAMES B. DUGGER, Va.
WILLIAM N. CARTER, Va.
JOHN E. CHRISTIAN, Va.
THOMAS A. GATCH, Va.
JAMES C. HANES, Va.
PETER A. MOSES, Va.
ROBERT N. SLEDD, Va.
DAVID R. DUNCAN, S. C.
OLIVER G. SMITH, N. C.
A. M.
THOMAS E. MASSIE, Va.
SAMUEL LANDER, N. C.
ROWLAND DOGGETT, Va.
JOHN F. DANCE, Va.
JOHN F. OGBURN, Va.
ROBERT M. MALLORY, Va.
HENRY W. WINGFIELD, Va.
BENJAMIN W. OGBURN, Va.
SAM'L B. PAUL (Honorary) Va.
COLLEGE YEAR 1855-'56.
The celebrated trial of Deems vs. Smith took place at the Virginia
Conference held in Petersburg, November, 1855. The charges were
presented by Dr. C. F. Deems in person, and defence made by Dr. Smith.
The verdict was almost unanimous, finding Dr. Smith not guilty.
The result of this unfortunate affair was the resignation of quite a number of the Trustees from the North Conference, that Conference having espoused the cause of Dr. Deems by a very large majority.
At the meeting of the Trustees in June, 1856, Dr. Smith tendered his resignation as President of the College. The Board refused to accept the resignation, only two voting to receive it.
This year the first catalogue, as printed, comes to us. Others had been printed, but no copies preserved.
Of the original charter members of the Board all had died or retired but John Early, William A. Smith, Mathew M. Dance and John G. Claiborne. All the original members of the Faculty had resigned. Students in College, 93; in Preparatory School, 36—total, 129.
We have no mention of the several Preparatory schools in North Carolina.
Thos. A. Gatch, A. B., was Principal of the Home School.
[Illustration: W. T. BAILEY, Killed at Gettysburg; buried on the field.]
A resolution was adopted by the Board asking the Legislature to establish a school of "military tactics" in connection with the College, but nothing ever came of it.
In January, 1856, a most remarkable fall of snow occurred, with a temperature of ten degrees below zero. The snow was fifteen inches deep.
In June, 1856, the following received degrees:
A. B.
W. T. BAILEY, Va.
GREEN A. JACKSON, Va.
THOMAS L. JACKSON, Va.
WILLIAM T. MERRITT, Va.
JOHN P. FULLER, N. C.
A. M.
JAMES E. SEBRELL, Va.
WILLIAM A. BRAME, Va.
JAMES D. PROCTOR, Va.
COLLEGE YEAR 1856-'57.
The changes in the Faculty this year were the resignation of Assistant Professor Samuel Lander, whose place was not filled, and the substitution of Charles W. Crawley, Principal of the Preparatory School for Thomas A. Gatch, resigned.
In June, 1857, Professor Charles B. Stuart resigned the Chair of
Chemistry and Geology, and Professor N. T. Lupton succeeded him.
Professor O. H. P. Corprew at same time resigned the Chair of Ancient
Languages, and Professor William B. Carr succeeded him.
The degrees conferred June, 1857, were—
A. B.
GEORGE W. ARMISTEAD, Va.
WILLIAM I. COWLES, Va.
RICHARD W. JONES, Va.
JOSEPH E. LEIGH, Va.
EDWIN G. MOORE, N. C.
WILBUR F. DAVIS, N. C.
JOHN B. WILLIAMS, N. C.
WILLIAM W. PENNY, Mo.
WILLIAM A. SHEPARD, Mass.
A. M.
WILLIAM G. CONNOR, Tenn.
L. O. RIVES, Tenn.
GARLAND B. HANES, Va.
THAD. L. H. YOUNG, Va.
JESSE P. BAGBY, N. C.
ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, N. C.
SAMUEL MOORE, Va.
THOMAS C. ELDER, Va.
THOMAS C. THACKSTON, Va.
WILLIAM H. CHEEK, N. C.
Number of students during the session, 144, including those at the
Preparatory School (34).
The worst blizzard ever known in Virginia occurred in January, 1857; thermometer ten degrees below zero. Some suffering in the College for want of fuel.
COLLEGE YEAR 1857-'58.
This year was reasonably prosperous. Some dissatisfaction was expressed in the president's annual report on account of salaries.
[Illustration: RICHARD W. JONES, A. M., LL. D., Major C. S. A.;
President Mississippi Industrial Institute; Professor Mississippi
University and Randolph-Macon College.]
In June, 1858, Prof. Lupton resigned the chair of Chemistry and Geology, which was subsequently supplied by the election of Prof. Bennett Puryear, of Richmond College.
Dr. W. A. Smith again tendered his resignation, for reasons personal to himself. At the urgent solicitation of the students, the Alumni Society, and the Board, he withdrew his resignation.
[Illustration: REV. RICHARD FERGUSON, Virginia; Adjutant Eighteenth
Va. Regiment.]
Degrees were conferred as follows:
A. B.
BENJAMIN H. THACKSTON, Va.
RICHARD FERGUSON, Va.
VICTOR M. BRANDON, Va.
RICHARD B. HOLSTEAD, Va.
ROBERT S. ISBELL, Va.
ALEX. MALLORY, Va.
ROBERT MOORE, Va.
CLAUDIUS G. PHILLIPS, Va.
PITTMAN R. VENABLE, Va.
RICHARD O. WYATT, Va.
B. L. AND S.
WALTER M. IRBY, Virginia.
A. M.
GEORGE E. BOOKER, Va.
PETER A. MOSES, Ark.
THOMAS A. GATCH, Va.
ROBERT N. SLEDD, Va.
JAMES C. HANES, Va.
Prof. JOHN C. WILLS (Honorary), Randolph-Macon College.
Students in College this session, 109; in Preparatory School, 16-total, 125.
THE ENDOWMENT RAISED TO $100,000.
At a called meeting of the Board December 27, 1858, the following action was taken:
"The Board, being satisfied, from an examination of the bonds and subscriptions obtained by the agent, that the endowment fund of the College, in bonds, cash, and valid subscriptions, has been raised to and above one hundred thousand dollars; therefore be it
"Resolved, That the following notice be given through the newspapers of the State, viz.: 'By order of the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, at a meeting held this day, notice is hereby given to those persons who have contributed by bonds and subscriptions to increase the endowment of the College that the said fund has been raised to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars in bonds, cash, and valid subscriptions, that their obligations have become absolute, and it is hoped that they will discharge them, in order that the money may be invested in permanent form as soon as practicable.'"
The herculean task of raising the largest endowment fund ever contributed to any college in Virginia or in the South up to this date by public subscription was thus confirmed. When it is considered that the larger part of this amount was contributed by individuals in sums ranging from five to one thousand dollars (the latter sum the largest contributed by one subscriber), the immense labor and difficulties of the undertaking may be, to some extent, estimated. But the large number of subscribers evidenced one gratifying fact, that after the subject of education had been ventilated in mass-meetings, the people had become interested in Christian education, and had given practical proof of that interest.