EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS
AMONG
COLORED PEOPLE.

BY

G. F. RICHINGS,

Originator of Illustrated Lectures on Race Progress.

EIGHTH EDITION.

PHILADELPHIA:
GEO. S. FERGUSON CO.,

1902.

Copyrighted, 1902, by G. F. Richings.

INTRODUCTION.

It is a pleasant thing to introduce an individual or a friend to another individual or a friend; but to introduce a book is more important than an individual introduction. Books are good and they are bad, just in proportion as their contents tend to producing right or wrong action of life; or convey truth or error. When the mission of a book is to present facts versus theory about an individual or a race, it ought to be encouraged by all who believe in fair play.

The author of this book has for a number of years been collecting facts in relation to the Progress of the Race since Emancipation. He has traveled East and West, North and South, with his eyes and ears open. For several years he has thrown these facts on the canvas to be seen and read in the New and Old World. He now proposes to present them to a larger and greater audience. It was impossible for all to attend his entertainments, but now he proposes to send the entertainments to the audience.

The pages of this book will take the place of the canvas; the dim light of the lantern will be superseded by the clear light of reason, and the race that has been so long misrepresented will appear in a new light as the representative characters of this book pass a thorough examination as to their capability of self-culture, self-improvement, self-support and self-defence.

BISHOP B. W. ARNETT.

The Home, the Store, the School and Church, and the Factory are the infallible signs of civilization; the people who support these exhibit the true signs of enlightenment.

In this volume you will have an opportunity of learning how the leading schools were started by the friends of the race. You will learn how men and women left their homes of ease and comfort and went among the new-born Freedmen, and assisted in reconstructing the individual and home life. You will also learn the names of noble men and women who have founded, supported and endowed institutions for the training of the head, hand and heart of the coming generation.

An account will be given of the schools founded, manned and supported by the race itself; and, for the first time, the world will be enlightened as to what the race is doing for its own education; illustrations of buildings, presidents, professors and students will gladden your eyes.

Short sketches of men and women who have shown skill in the professions, and achieved success in business, will be presented, calculated to give inspiration to the youth of the future.

Having witnessed the instructive exhibitions of the author of this volume, and heard with pleasure his instructive Lectures, I take great pleasure in introducing to the present and future generations "Evidences of Progress Among Colored People." For I know no man better qualified by his knowledge of the history of the race and by his personal examination and careful study of our problem, also his intimate acquaintance with individuals about whom he writes, than Mr. G. F. Richings.

I am yours for God and the Race,

Benjamin W. Arnett.

Tawawa Chimney Corner,

Wilberforce, Ohio, March 20, 1896.

PREFACE.

There seems to be a general impression and a growing sentiment in this country that the colored people, as a class, have not, and are not, making any progress; or, that they have not improved the educational opportunities offered them by the philanthropic white people who have proven themselves friendly to the cause of Negro education. This feeling has developed from two causes: First, we have a large and wealthy class of white people who go South every year during the cold season for either their health or pleasure, and while in the South, they see a great many colored people on the streets of Southern cities who appear to have no employment. In many cases this may be true; sometimes because they do not want to work; but in the majority of cases the true cause of so much idleness among the colored people in the South lies in the fact that they are not able to get work, no matter how much they may seek it. Let this be as it may, the presence of these people on the streets, dressed as the unemployed usually dress in the South, gives these Northern white people an unfavorable impression of the colored brother and an erroneous idea of the real condition of these people. Hence they return to their Northern homes with a very pessimistic story to tell regarding the Southern colored people.

The second reason for this erroneous impression regarding the condition of the colored people of the South, lies in the fact that white people never look in the right direction for evidences of race progress, but are continually drawing their comparisons from the lowest types and judging the whole race by a few who occupy only the lowest levels in common society. For an illustration: A country girl from the South, who has never spent six days of her life in a school-room, is employed in a Northern family to do menial work. The mistress of the household finds her ignorant and sometimes absolutely stupid, and instead of classing this girl where she belongs, as all races are divided into classes, she immediately arrives at the conclusion that because the girl hails from the South, she must be a fair specimen and a true representative of all the colored people in that section. And she further concludes that all this talk about the wonderful progress made by the Negro since the war is mere talk, having no foundation in fact, and that this talk is kept up in order that the people may be misled into subscribing their money for educational work.

I have talked with a great many white people on this subject, and they have, in almost every instance, expressed about the same sentiment I have given above. One lady, in Boston, Mass., said to me: "But colored people are so ignorant." I asked her with whom she was acquainted among colored people. "Why," said she, "we have employed colored help for years, and one colored woman has washed for our family ever since I was a child." It will be seen that her conclusions were drawn from a very low level, and that her contact with colored people had always been limited to the poorer, working classes. Indeed, so general is the impression among white people that no real progress has been made by the ex-slaves, that at least seven out of every ten seem to think of the colored people as a worthless, inflexible element, incapable of mental, moral and other developments essential to a high state of civilization.

I think that I can safely say that the only white people who are willing to admit that there is a better class of colored people, are those who have either taught in their institutions, or have intimate friends engaged in that kind of work. Friends who are anxious to help the race, find that these wrong impressions have been so thoroughly established, that the educational work is very much hampered and interfered with from year to year; and the success of Southern schools, dependent on Northern philanthropy, has been very much hindered on account of the gloomy aspect given by Northern people visiting Southern cities. The contributions from the North to these schools, have been very meagre and, of course, the higher possibilities of negro education have not been reached. Enemies of the race, and those laboring under false impressions, are led to believe that the money invested in Southern Educational Institutions has been simply thrown away. We cannot hope for a change for the better as long as colored people are only known as coachmen, waiters, cooks, and washerwomen.

I have called your attention to a very gloomy aspect of the Southern situation. But while the aspect is a gloomy one, it represents the true attitude of the American people, with a few exceptions. I have put forth this effort to set my friends right on this important question, and I sincerely believe that the time is not far distant when the white people will see to it that these Southern Institutions are guaranteed more liberal support and better encouragement. I see the colored people in a much brighter light and in a more hopeful condition than the men of my race who visit the South for the purpose of making superficial observations. And because I have found so many interesting "Evidences of Progress Among Colored People," I offer this as my apology for writing this book. The facts contained in this work have been gathered during sixteen years of actual labor and contact with the colored people in all parts of the United States. I have had to go deeper into the question, to secure my information, than merely to visit street-corners and hold casual conversation with the unfortunate and the unemployed, North or South.

When those who read this book take into consideration the fact that many of the characters herein mentioned started some thirty years ago without a dollar, without a home, and without education, except here and there a few who had, in some mysterious way, learned to read and write, they will, I am sure, be willing to admit that some progress has been made by the people in whose interest this book is published. I wish to make prominent four phases of the race question, namely: (1) The schools which have been built for colored people and managed by whites; (2) The schools managed by colored people; (3) The church work carried on among them, and (4) The business and professional development as the result of education.

I am well aware that, had it not been for the philanthropists who gave their money so freely at the close of the Civil War for the education of the freedmen, and the Christian and unselfish missionaries who went South to teach the ex-slaves, I would not have been able to present so many interesting and, in many cases, startling "Evidences of Progress Among Colored People." I want to mention most of the schools started by white friends. But I shall deal more at length and in greater detail with the school work carried on by the colored people themselves. There are many who are asking if the colored people are doing anything for themselves in an educational way. This question will be clearly answered in this book. I do not claim that colored people support entirely all of the schools managed by them, nor have the white people a right to expect that they should be able to do so, in so short a time. For my part, I shall feel that they will have accomplished a great deal if, in the next hundred years, they will have reached that point where they can support their own schools and meet all the financial obligations involved. I have no doubt but that many who shall read this book will be, as I was, greatly surprised, yes, astonished; for some of the sketches read like romances more than the ordinary things of life.

I shall mention the names of one or more of the many men and women I have found engaged in all the pursuits and walks of life. I present in many cases the portraits of characters whose sketches appear, in order that the white people may make a study of their faces. Some, in fact many, of them are very dark. I mention this because I have been led to believe that it is the general opinion among Americans that quite a percentage of white blood runs through the veins of colored people who have proven their susceptibility to higher education. I believe, and I am confident, that the contents of this book will help me to demonstrate that the color of the skin, the texture of the hair, and the formation of the head, have nothing whatever to do with the development and expansion of the mind. I only hope that the white friends may be made to feel that the colored people are entitled to more consideration and ought to be given a better opportunity to fill the places for which they are being fitted, in the commercial and business life of this country.

Among the colored readers I hope to stimulate a greater interest in these institutions and thereby help to bring the race up to a higher educational and social level. In order that my book might not be too large, I had to omit a great many sketches of worthy persons and institutions; but I tried to mention one or more persons engaged in the different branches of business and professions. So any who are omitted will please attribute it to a want of space and not a neglect or oversight on my part.

I shall feel that I have accomplished a good work if I have set before my readers food for earnest thought on the questions involved.

G. F. Richings.

CONTENTS.

EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS AMONG
COLORED PEOPLE.

CHAPTER I.

BAPTIST SCHOOLS MANAGED BY WHITE PEOPLE.

In 1865 four million colored people suddenly emerged from bondage, poor, ignorant, and in many cases with very crude notions of religion or morality. Not one-third of those who had arrived to years of understanding at that time can be found among the eight millions of colored population to-day. And consequently, the younger element of this race know little or nothing about the great conflict, the culmination of which brought to their fathers and mothers that boon of all human aspiration—liberty. "With the mutations of time in Egypt, a king arose who knew not Joseph. In these changes here, a new generation comes on, to whom occurrences of the past are but dim and sometimes distorted traditions."

To my mind, the last generation has been characterized by greater conflicts and has been freighted with more thrilling events than any generation through which the history of this country has brought us. Through ignorance, and sometimes indifference, we are in serious danger of depreciating the wonderful agencies that have been such potent factors in the growth and development of a people. It is, therefore, important that some close observer of events constantly keep before the people, in whose interest these factors have been set in operation, full accounts of all the developments, that the young may be inspired to noble aims and lofty endeavors.

While such a task is not an easy one, I feel it my duty to attempt its performance. All the data and every observation set forth in these chapters have been the result of personal investigation among the colored people. I shall give in this chapter a brief history of the schools conducted by white people of the Baptist denomination for the education of colored people. In this work the American Baptist Home Mission Society has expended since 1862 $3,000,000. The value of school property acquired by the society amounts to $900,000.

When before this society "came the vision of emancipated millions, desperately needy, in dire distress and full of forebodings, stretching forth their unshackled, but empty, unskilled and helpless hands for friendly aid and guidance," this society at once took them in and offered them shelter and comfort. The society has accomplished wonders for the colored people, and I am sure that the colored people appreciate all that it has done for them.

I shall begin my history of Baptist schools with Spelman Seminary.

SPELMAN SEMINARY.

The history of Spelman Seminary reads like a romance. Beginning in 1881, in the gloomy basement of the Friendship Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga., a church owned by the colored people, without any of the accessories needed for successful school work, with but two teachers, Miss S. B. Packard and Miss Harriet E. Giles, and with less than a dozen pupils, it has grown to be the largest and best equipped school for the training of colored girls in the United States.

The institution has a magnificent location, and all of the buildings are specially suited to its needs. Spelman has a large and able faculty of earnest, devoted teachers, an attendance of pupils numbered by the hundreds, a constituency of friends and patrons rapidly extending in numbers and interest, and has made for itself a large place in the educational forces of the South, and established a reputation of a very high order.

The question of the education of the colored people as a preparation for citizenship, just after the war, demanded careful thought and prompt treatment, and among the noble women who ventured into the South, fully equipped to do the service they felt was needed, were Miss S. B. Packard and Miss H. E. Giles. The Southern white people could not reasonably be expected to throw to the winds all their cherished traditions and preconceptions simply because they had acknowledged defeat at the hands of the Northern people. They could not even be expected to at once admit their former slaves into political fellowship, recognizing them as equals in all the rights of citizenship; nor could they be expected to provide schools for the education of these people. Out of a consideration of these facts, Northern people, moved by noble and unselfish impulses, made their way to the South and established these great institutions for the education of colored people.

Both Miss Packard and Miss Giles had made for themselves a reputation before moving from their homes in New England to Atlanta. They were identified with the Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society and had indicated their zeal for the promotion of the Society's interest in the most practical manner. The work done at Spelman is a practical Christian work, and the young ladies who graduate from that institution are the very best specimens of cultured and refined womanhood. This school is modeled after those of like grade established for white people. This should be the case with all Southern schools. There are required the same qualifications in the teachers, the same text-books, the same course of study, the same kinds of discipline that are found in similar institutions. There seems to be no point in the equipment or general management of these institutions where they can diverge safely from those which the history of education has shown to be most desirable and best adapted to their purpose. The grounds, buildings, furniture, libraries, text-books, apparatus, endowments of a Negro school in Georgia, should not differ in any respect from the equipment of a similar institution for white pupils in Massachusetts.

Spelman Seminary is a power for good, and since the death of Miss S. B. Packard is managed by Miss H. E. Giles, principal, and Miss L. H. Upton, associate principal.

ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY.

Roger Williams University was founded in 1863 by Rev. D. W. Phillips, D. D., who was for many years its president. Its present president is the Rev. P. B. Guernsey, A. M. The total enrolment for 1900 was 222—122 young men and 100 young women. The school is beautifully situated in the suburbs of the city of Nashville, in the State of Tennessee.

Nashville has become the chief centre of education in the South, both for the white and colored people. No other city south of the Ohio offers so many advantages as the seat of an institution for higher learning. The University grounds lie close to the city limits, on the Hillsboro' turnpike, just beyond the Vanderbilt University. The location is high and airy, and commands an unsurpassed prospect of the city and surrounding country.

It is a school for both sexes. It has Collegiate, Biblical and Theological, Academic, Normal, English, Musical and Industrial Departments.

The Collegiate Department aims at a thorough liberal education which gives the student the possession of his faculties developed and trained, a general acquaintance with the broad principles of all human knowledge, and a preparation for a special study of any of the learned professions. This department has two courses: the classical, leading to the degree of B. A., and the scientific, leading to the degree of B. S.

The Biblical and Theological Department has a general and special aim. Its general aim is to make the Bible a living book to each student. Every pupil in the school receives during his entire course a daily lesson in the Bible. Its special aim is to furnish better preachers of the Gospel and better pastors of the churches. Every year a "ministers' class" is conducted for ten weeks, beginning with the first day of January. Members of the class have three recitations daily. They may also attend such other classes as they can with profit to themselves.

The Academic Department prepares for college. It consists of a three years' course in classic and mathematic studies that link the English Department to the college work.

The Normal Department aims to furnish, for the public schools of the land, teachers that will raise the tone of education and make these schools more efficient. It consists of a three years course in subjects best adapted for this purpose.

The English Department aims to give the pupil a thorough drill in the elements of common intelligence. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, Spelling and History are taught by the best of teachers, so that the young people are prepared to take their places as citizens alongside of pupils of the most favored city schools. Parents who live in rural districts and in country towns, where the public schools are of short duration and scant equipments and feeble teaching, will find here facilities for English education that are not surpassed in the South.

Roger Williams University, Nashville, Tenn.

The Musical Department aims to give a musical education, both vocal and instrumental, that will make the young people efficient workers in church and Sabbath school and elevating and refining members of the home and social circles.

The Industrial Department does not aim to fit students for the various mechanical trades, but it does aim to give them instruction and experience, that will train their eyes and hands and make them handy in the use of tools.

The school has a total teaching force of sixteen persons. Six of these are graduates of the best Northern Universities. Others are teachers of excellent education and wide experience.

The young ladies are under the close and affectionate watchcare of a New England lady, whose treatment of them is noted for its conscientiousness, its piety and its motherliness.

A number of the male teachers live in the building with the young men and thus become to them constant advisers, counsellors and friends.

The religious influences of the school are pure, constant and strong.

The University is grandly located for accessibility, healthfulness, and beauty. It is near enough to the city of Nashville to give it all the advantages of city life. Yet it is so far removed from the crowded city with its slums, saloons and other evils, that it is virtually in the country.

The property of the school is valued at $80,000. It has a small endowment fund of less than $1,000. Several Indian youths from the Indian Territory have been students in this institution. The graduates are widely scattered throughout the South, occupying positions of influence and usefulness.

VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY.

Virginia Union University has been formed out of two very excellent schools, where a great work has been done for the education and advancement of the colored people, namely, Wayland College, which was located at Washington, D. C., and Richmond Theological Seminary, at Richmond, Va. Both of these schools have a very interesting history. Wayland Seminary, as it was called, was founded at Washington, D. C., in 1865. Rev. G. M. P. King was president of it for twenty-seven years. The work began in 1865, was vigorously followed up by the purchase of property on "I" street at a cost of $1,500 from monies contributed by women of the North. The school was named in honor of President Francis Wayland, of Brown University. In 1871 a new site, 150 feet square, on Meridian Hill, in the northern part of the city, was purchased at a cost of $3,375. The erection of a new building was begun in 1873. It was a fine four-story building, with basement and accommodations for seventy-five students, with recitation rooms and rooms for the faculty. It cost about $20,000. The walls, from the foundation to the crowning, were constructed by colored bricklayers under the supervision of a master workman, an ex-slave from Virginia, who purchased his freedom before the war. Wayland Seminary has turned out some very able men, among them Rev. Harvey Johnson, D. D., of Baltimore, Md., who is one of the most noted colored preachers in the country. He has held charge of one of the largest Colored Baptist churches in the United States for nearly thirty years.

The Richmond Theological Seminary, at Richmond, Va., has a very remarkable history. It was first commenced in 1868, and started its work in Lumpkin's Slave Jail, and was first known as Colver Institute. In 1876 it was incorporated as the Richmond Institute. Subsequently the trustees and officers of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society decided to make it a school for ministers only, and in 1886 the name was changed to the Richmond Theological Seminary. Rev. Charles Corey, A. M., D. D., was elected president in 1868, and remained in charge until 1899, when the school went into the Union University. In speaking of the work, Rev. Corey said: "Of students there have been in attendance nearly 1,100; total preparing for the ministry, 540; graduates with diplomas from Richmond Institute, 73; total graduates with degree of B. D. from Richmond Theological Seminary, 27. Some of these graduates are now in charge of institutions of learning, others are professors in seminaries and universities. Six entered the foreign mission field. The former students of the Richmond Theological Seminary are to be found from Canada to Texas, and in the lands far beyond the sea." The school has had among its teachers such men as Prof. J. E. Jones, D. D., and Prof. D. N. Vassar, D. D. Both of these men are well educated and represent a high type of true manhood, and they have done much to advance the race they are identified with. Now Wayland College and Seminary and Richmond Theological Seminary are united under one board of trustees. They have at present the Theological Department, the College Department, the Academic Department and the Preparatory Department. An industrial plant will, it is hoped, be built. They already teach the students in a practical way the art of printing and of managing the steam and electrical plant. This last gives them quite a knowledge of engineering. The new buildings number eight—a fine library building, including a chapel and library, a lecture hall, a dining hall, a dormitory, a power plant, two residences and a stable. They are constructed of the finest granite, and could not be duplicated for $300,000. They are situated on a hill about fifty feet above the valley—a beautiful location in the centre of thirty acres. The buildings contain every modern improvement—steam heat in all the rooms and halls, electric lighting and a complete telephone system for the different buildings and floors, and most approved toilet and bath arrangements. It is said to be the finest group of buildings in the whole South.

Rev. M. MacVicar, Ph. D., LL. D., is the president of the University, George Rice Hovey the dean of Wayland Seminary and College, Rev. George F. Genung, D. D., the dean of the Theological School. The faculty consists of fifteen teachers of unusual ability, graduates of the best colleges, some of whom have made a name for themselves already. About one-half are white. The courses of study are equal to those of the ordinary Northern schools of similar grade. Virginia Union University will doubtless be the largest Baptist school operated for colored people, and it is located in a part of the country where the colored population is very large, and especially among the Baptists.

ATLANTA BAPTIST SEMINARY.

On the corner of Hunter and Elliott streets, in the city of Atlanta, Ga., there stands a smoke-begrimed and somewhat dilapidated brick building bearing the inscription, "American Baptist Home Mission Society, 1879." Directly in front of the building lies the shunting-yard of the Southern Railroad. The locality is one of the nosiest, dustiest and smokiest in the city. It was in this building, among these unfavorable surroundings, that the work of the Atlanta Baptist Seminary was carried on from 1879 till 1890.

In the old building no provision was made for dormitories. The students, most of whom were from the country, were left to find boarding-houses where they could, and besides living in close and crowded homes, where the atmosphere was not specially intellectual and where the opportunities for quiet study were not great, they were, except for the few hours of school each day, beyond the control and watchcare of the teachers and exposed to the distractions and temptations of the city.

For twelve years prior to the year 1879 the Seminary had been located at Augusta, Ga., and was known as "The Augusta Institute."

Upon the death of Rev. Joseph T. Robert, LL. D., president for fourteen years, which occurred in 1884, Rev. Samuel Graves, D. D., was appointed. Dr. Graves was quick to see that the first requisite to the vigorous growth of the school was a transplanting. Accordingly, he set to work to secure ground and building. As the result of his efforts the present campus was secured and the present building erected, and in the spring of 1890 the Seminary bade farewell to the old building and its noisy neighbors and took up its abode in its new home.

The main building of the institution was erected in 1889 at a cost of $27,000. In this beautiful building the visitor will find chapel, library, eight class-rooms, president's apartments and rooms for six teachers, dormitory accommodation for about one hundred students, besides kitchen, dining-room and storerooms, laundry, printing office, workshop and boiler-room. Rev. George Sales is president.

SHAW UNIVERSITY.

Shaw University is beautifully located in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, within ten minutes' walk of the post-office and capital. The grounds, upon which have been erected five large brick buildings and several of wood, are among the finest in the city, and include several acres. This institution furnishes by far the largest accommodations of any colored school in North Carolina, and, in the large number of advanced pupils, it is not surpassed by any colored school in the country.

Shaw University was founded in 1865 by Dr. H. M. Tupper, D. D., who conceived the desire for school work among the colored people while serving as a soldier in our late war. He started his first school, which has grown into the present university, in a cabin scarcely ten by twenty feet. The large brick structures, which now form a part of the institution, are looked upon with great interest because of the fact that the bricks in them were made by student labor under the direction of Dr. Tupper.

There are normal, collegiate, scientific, music and industrial departments, as well as schools of pharmacy, law and medicine, and a missionary training school, and all doing good work. Every graduate of the pharmacy school, class of 1900, recently appeared before the State Board of Examiners and obtained certificates as required by law. Prof. Chas. F. Meserve is its present president, since the death of Dr. Tupper.

The Baptists have cause to be proud of the good work done at Shaw University. Preachers and teachers by the hundreds have been educated at this excellent institution for home and foreign mission work.

BISHOP COLLEGE.

Bishop College is located in the city of Marshall, the county-seat of Harrison county, Texas. For beauty of situation, commodiousness of buildings, and completeness of outfit for the work, this institution is unsurpassed by any school for the colored people west of the Mississippi.

The Rev. N. Wolverton has been succeeded as president by the Rev. Albert Loughridge, who will push the work with the same degree of vigor. The dormitories are spacious and pleasant, the grounds are ample for recreation, and those who go there to live find all the advantages of a Christian home.

Every student must understand that, in entering the school, he stands pledged to willing and cheerful conformity to the regulations prescribed by the faculty for its government.

This institution was founded in 1881. It now employs nine white teachers and seven colored. Total number of students in attendance daily about two hundred. Amount of money expended yearly for the support of the school, $7,434.

BENEDICT COLLEGE.

In 1870 a desirable site for an institution for the education of colored people was found available at Columbia, S. C. As this was the capital of the State, and central, it was decided to locate it here. A noble woman in New England, Mrs. B. A. Benedict, of Providence, R. I., gave $10,000 towards its purchase, the cost being $16,000. The property consisted of nearly eighty acres of land. In honor of the deceased husband of the donor, Dea. Stephen Benedict, brother of David Benedict, the historian, the Board called the school "Benedict Institute."

It was opened December 1, 1870, under the charge of Rev. Timothy S. Dodge, as principal. The first pupil was a colored preacher, sixty years old. In October, 1887, Rev. Lewis Colby succeeded Mr. Dodge under appointment of the Board.

Upon his resignation in 1879, Rev. E. J. Goodspeed, D. D., was appointed. He entered upon his work in October, continuing until his death, in the summer of 1881. Rev. C. E. Becker was selected as his successor and went to Columbia in October, 1882, but at this writing the president is Rev. A. C. Osborn, D. D.

During 1879-80, Rev. Lewis Colby, deeply impressed with the need of better accommodations, especially for girls, devoted his time without compensation, and with the approval of the Board, to raising $5,000 for a girls' building. This amount being secured, together with an additional offering from Mrs. Benedict, two frame buildings were erected in 1881. Towards the furnishing of the buildings, the colored people of the State gave over $1,600. The girls' building is known as "Colby Hall." Better quarters for the young men are greatly needed. By special act of the South Carolina Legislature, through the efforts of President Becker and the co-operation of leading Baptists, the institution in 1882 was exempted from taxation.

LELAND UNIVERSITY.

Leland University was founded in 1870 for the higher education of such men and women as desired to fit themselves for Christian citizenship, either as ministers, teachers, or tradesmen. It is open to all persons who are fitted to enjoy its advantages, without distinction of race, color, or religious opinions. The University owes its existence to the late Holbrook Chamberlain, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y., who erected the buildings, assisted in its management, and at his death left to it the bulk of his property, about $100,000, as an endowment fund, the interest of which goes to the payment of teachers.

The University has a library and reading-room, which is supplied with the leading journals and periodicals of the day.

There is a Literary Society, the "Philomathean," composed of young men and young women, which holds weekly meetings for mutual improvement.

The students also constitute a recognized branch of the International Young Men's Christian Association and of the National Society of Christian Endeavor.

Dr. R. W. Perkins was elected president in 1901 to fill the place of Pres. Mitchell, deceased. He will be supported by a corps of earnest, faithful teachers.

The University is situated on St. Charles avenue, New Orleans, La., and its retirement from the crowded part of the city renders it peculiarly adapted to study.

HARTSHORN MEMORIAL COLLEGE.

This institution was chartered by the Legislature of Virginia, March 13, 1884, with full collegiate and university powers.

Hartshorn Memorial College is located at the west end of Leigh street, Richmond, Va. The grounds comprise eight and one-half acres, well elevated, and shaded in part by a belt of native forest trees. The object of the institution is to train colored women for practical work in the broad harvest of the world.

The president, Rev. Lyman B. Tefft, D. D., claims that among the millions of colored women in the United States there is the same need and the same field for trained and cultured Christian service as among the whites. Life for them has the same meaning as for any other race. They have the same social, intellectual and spiritual necessities. They are a people essentially by themselves. There is, therefore, for the educated colored woman, the same wide and ready field of Christian work and influence as for any others.

THE MATHER INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.

This school is located on a bluff in the suburbs of Beaufort, S. C. It was established just after the war, by Mrs. Rachel C. Mather, of Boston, Mass., who is still its principal, assisted by six other white teachers.

Mrs. Mather was a teacher in the public schools of Boston during the Civil War, and just after the conflict was over she went South to do the work of her life. The history of her efforts are interesting in every detail and inspires the reader with an appreciation for the noble work of a noble woman.

Mrs. Mather conducts an orphanage in connection with the school, and during the twenty-seven years of her labors in this section, a great many orphan children have been cared for and trained from childhood to noble manhood and womanhood.

It is the aim of this school to reach the homes of the common people and develop the good qualities in the young men and young women of the race.

I regard this work as being one of the most important schools in the South. This lady has borne all the cares, anxieties and difficulties engendered in this peculiar work for these many years, with remarkable fortitude and courage.

People who have always lived in the North cannot appreciate what it means to go South and take charge of a colored school. I have talked with many of the men and women now at the head of such institutions, and they tell me that it is the rarest thing for the Southern white people to ever come near them, or even speak of them, except in the most disrespectful manner. In fact, in the early days of freedom Northern teachers could hardly stay, because of their treatment on the part of the whites. There has been a great change, and many of the Southern people are willing now to admit that the white teachers have done a most excellent work for the race, but they still let them good and well alone. But in many cases it is a great help to be let alone, and especially when their recognition would not be friendly.

DAWES ACADEMY.

Dawes Academy is located at Berwin, I. T. Rev. Geo. Horne, principal. This school has an average attendance of about 100. It is developing rapidly. Rev. Horne is assisted by three teachers.

JACKSON COLLEGE.

This institution, as Natchez College, was founded by the A. B. H. Miss. Soc. at Natchez, Miss., in 1878. In 1883, as Jackson College, it was established in Jackson, the State capital. Rev. Luther G. Barrett, A. M., is president, a graduate of Harvard College and of Newton Theological Institution, a practical educator, and who was for a time professor in Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C. It is beautifully and healthfully situated in the outskirts of the city, with fine buildings and an able corps of ten teachers. Its field is immense, Mississippi having 800,000 negroes. It had, up to the present yellow fever scourge, 200 students, and will, no doubt, with the passing of the fever, soon eclipse this number, as under its present efficient management it is fast gaining in popularity. It does superior work, its academical and classical departments comparing favorably with those of similar first-class institutions of the North, while it is just beginning regular college work. It has also a fine preparatory department and excellent graded musical course. It is pre-eminently a Christian school, the Bible being taught in grades one hour daily. Revivals are frequent, and generally each session closes with nearly every student a Christian. Its students stand high in the State as teachers, while many go on to professional schools of law, medicine and theology. Its great aim is to supply leaders.

STORER COLLEGE—FREE-WILL BAPTISTS.

At Harper's Ferry, W. Va., within sight of where John Brown made his famous raid, stands Storer College. The beautiful valley of the Shenandoah could not contain anything that would add more to its beauty than this splendid institution of learning.

This school has a most interesting history. Just after the Civil War, when the glare of cannon and the din of gun had faded away, this school was started.

The school is conducted by the Free-will Baptists.

In February of 1867, President O. B. Cheney visited Mr. John Storer, of Sanford, Me., in behalf of Bates College. Although not a Free-will Baptist, Mr. Storer was deeply interested in the history and aims of the denomination. During the conversation he said to Dr. Cheney: "I have determined to give $10,000 to some society which will raise an equal amount toward the founding of a school in the South for the benefit of the colored people. I should prefer that your denomination have this money, only that I fear that they will not or can not meet my condition. I am old and I desire to see the school started before I die; so as you came I was about writing to the American Missionary Association, making them this proposal, and I am confident they will accept and rapidly advance the project."

In reply Dr. Cheney pleaded that he be allowed to make an effort. He told him of the Southern enterprise, of its needs, and added: "A school there is just what we must have in order to carry forward the work. We shall feel that God has heard our prayers and is blessing our labor if you will give us your support. You may set your own time—one year, six months, or less—only let us try."

Mr. Storer came to a favorable decision before twelve o'clock that night.

Monday, Oct. 2, 1867, Storer College commenced its noble work—the outcome of which eternity alone can truly unfold. It began with nineteen pupils (from the immediate vicinity) and with one assistant teacher, Mrs. M. W. L. Smith, of Maine, under Mr. Brackett as principal. The school opened in the government building—known as the "Lockwood House"—and this one building served for dwelling-house, school and church.

The efforts to obtain a gift of this property were now redoubled. Dr. James Calder of Harrisburg, Pa., was especially active in furthering this project. Finally, through the earnest support of Mr. Fessenden in the Senate and of Gen. Garfield in the House, a bill to this effect passed Congress Dec. 3, 1868, and the four buildings, with seven acres of land, worth about $30,000, became the property of the institution. Had this failed, the site of the school would have been at the Bolivar Farm. As it was, the farm, through cultivation and sale of lots, largely assisted in supporting the school during its infancy.

In September of 1867 the Freedmen's Bureau donated $500, which was used in making needed repairs, and soon after the school opened, paid over the promised $6,000 to a temporary Stock Company organized under the laws of West Virginia. But the "Bureau" did far more than it promised, and as long as it existed ceased not to render generous and efficient aid. Among its further benefactions were $4,000 to renovate the shattered government buildings, and about $1,500 toward the running expenses. Altogether, including about $4,000 for the erection, in 1868, of Lincoln Hall—a boarding-hall for boys—the Freedmen's Bureau contributed $18,000 toward the upbuilding of Storer College. How the institution could have flourished or even lived without this external aid, it is difficult to realize, for the denomination was heavily freighted with the needs of other important enterprises.

The school is now in a flourishing condition and is doing a noble and elevating work in behalf of civilization.

Crowning, as they do, the heights of Harper's Ferry, the buildings of Storer College are conspicuous objects in every direction. A passing allusion should be made to the wondrous scenery which surrounds Storer College—to witness which, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "It were worth a journey across the Atlantic." And the most unappreciative observer can but feel that the outspread grandeur and beauty must exert an elevating influence.

The institution has three departments—Preparatory, Normal, and Classical. It has had over 1,200 different pupils, has sent out more than 300 teachers and about 30 ministers. In one year its students have numbered 232, and both total and average attendance are constantly increasing. In 1875 a summer term for teachers was inaugurated. Its session holds through June and July, and it is greatly appreciated by those whose only opportunity for further study and progress is at this time.

No one can visit Harper's Ferry without coming away overflowing with wonder and enthusiasm. One stands abashed before the brave spirit, the devotion and never-mentioned sacrifices of our toilers there.

Rev. N. C. Brackett served this institution as its president from its beginning until 1897, when he was succeeded by Rev. Ernest Earle Osgood, a young man of most excellent qualifications for such a position. He comes of that class of New England people who have done so much for the education of colored people. Rev. Osgood will doubtless, because of his youth, add vigor and energy to the school that will be helpful in bringing a larger attendance.

CHAPTER II.

BAPTIST SCHOOLS MANAGED BY COLORED PEOPLE.

In this chapter I shall deal with the Baptist schools managed by colored people. Many of these schools have had a very hard struggle; but by the patriotism and race pride of the colored people, they have been constantly growing and developing, until to-day they are among the very best educational institutions in this country.

I open this chapter with a brief sketch of "The Western College," located at Macon, Mo., because I regard it as one of the best schools of the kind in the West.

THE WESTERN COLLEGE.

One of the best institutions in the West for the education of Negroes is The Western College located at Macon, Mo. Since it was founded, in January, 1890, its growth has been extraordinary, and to-day (1901) its temporary buildings are crowded with earnest young men and women anxious to secure a Christian education. Believing that religious principles should underlie all true education, the Negro Baptists of Missouri, several years prior to 1890, had in mind the establishment of a Christian institution in which ministers might receive biblical training and where hundreds of men and women might be educated and thoroughly trained for teaching and other useful pursuits in life. They realized that the Christian college is one of the greatest forces in the aid of Christianity, inasmuch as its great aim is to build up a character in accord with the principles of God's Word. When first opened, the school was conducted in rented quarters at Independence, Mo., for a part of two sessions. In the Fall of 1891 the Board of Trustees purchased twelve acres of land, conveniently located within the city limits, at a cost of $4,000. The school was opened here in January, 1892. At present two buildings are occupied, but the growth of the school has rendered these wholly inadequate for the demands of the work. The colored Baptists themselves have raised a large amount of money for paying on the property, for current expenses and for building purposes. In this work they have been kindly assisted by The Home Mission Society of New York, which has contributed annually toward the payment of teachers. But for its timely aid, the work, so well begun, must have suffered.

Located as this school is, in the northern part of Missouri, it has a large territory from which to draw. Students have matriculated from Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Mississippi and Alabama. With enlarged facilities in the way of commodious buildings and apparatus, the power of this institution in the development of the Negro race in Missouri and the West will be beyond calculation. In view of these facts the college should receive substantial encouragement from those who are philanthropically inclined.

PROF. E. L. SCRUGGS, B. D.

Realizing that the lives of public men are in some sense the property of the world, and also that true lives are not lived for self, but for humanity, it affords the writer pleasure to speak of one of Missouri's noble sons, President Enos L. Scruggs, B. D., one who has risen by gradual steps to the position he now holds, overcoming many flinty obstacles to progress. He is an example of a self-made man. Having been left both motherless and fatherless early in life, he was left to combat with the world without the loving and tender care and helpful influences of a mother. By great perseverance and earnest efforts he completed with credit the course of study at Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Mo.

PROF. E. L. SCRUGGS, B. D.

Early in life he professed a hope in Christ, and feeling that he was called to the work of the ministry, he prepared himself by a course of study in the Union Baptist Theological Seminary, Morgan Park, Ill., which has recently become "The Divinity School" of the University of Chicago, graduating from there with honor with the degree of B. D. He accepted a call immediately to the Second Baptist Church, of Ann Arbor, Mich. Ever seeking to go higher and higher intellectually, he availed himself of the opportunities afforded him at the University of Michigan. After a very successful pastorate of twenty-eight months, he resigned October 1, 1892, to accept the Presidency of the Western College, where he has most creditably filled the position ever since, doing a noble work in this field. He is building a monument by his earnest efforts and faithfulness to duty that will always be an honor to him, to the race and to the denomination. As he is a young man and constantly striving for richer and better results, we wish for him continued success and that no record will reveal greater riches than his, and that his may present to all a heritage of heroic deeds.

THE BIBLE AND NORMAL INSTITUTE.

The above-named institution was founded and incorporated in Memphis, Tenn., in the year 1887, through the philanthropy of Mr. Peter Howe, of Winona, Ill. Located as it is near the lines of three States—Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas—the school has great possibilities among the host of Baptists in that section, under whose auspices it is conducted.

The Howe building, which the school occupies, is a brick structure two stories above the basement, and is valued at nearly $18,000. The primary department is conducted in the basement. The first floor contains the principal's office, the chapel, and recitation-rooms, while a commodious and well-fitted lecture-room and several "living rooms" comprise the second floor.

As the charter of incorporation indicates, the institution was established for the purposes of giving Bible, literary, scientific, and industrial instruction; training preachers and teachers and other Christian workers. The history of the institution is a proof of the fact that these objects have constantly been before the management of the same. Many of the very best teachers, preachers, and other missionary workers in the section from which the school draws its patronage owe their success directly to its instruction and influence.

The success of the women's missionary and nurse training and the theological departments has been very marked.

PROF. JOSHUA LEVISTER, A. B.

The session of 1896 and 1897 was the first under the control of a colored principal, Prof. Nathaniel H. Pius, a graduate of Leland University, New Orleans, La., who held the position for two years, when he was succeeded by Prof. Joshua Levister, A. B., who is a graduate from Shaw University, at Raleigh, N. C. Prof. Levister is a native of North Carolina. He is a young man of splendid character and very much thought of by all who know him.

The statistics for the session of 1897 and 1898 show the following figures: Enrollment, males, 85; females, 90; number preparing to teach, 35; number preparing to preach, 19; number pursuing missionary and nurse-training course, 30.

At present the faculty consists of seven members, five colored and two white.

The school is located among thousands of Baptists, and will in time take its place as one of the very large Baptist schools. Prof. Levister is a young and energetic man, who will be able to push the work with vigor. They will in time be able to add more of the industrial work, which will be of great help to certain classes of students who do not care to take the higher courses, and will find industrial education very helpful to them.

VIRGINIA BAPTIST SEMINARY.

The Virginia Seminary was founded by the Virginia Baptist State Convention during its annual session of May, 1887, at Alexandria, Va., and was incorporated February 24, 1888, by an act of the General Assembly. The aim of the Seminary is to give a thorough and practical education to the colored youth. Under the provisions of the charter a committee was appointed to purchase suitable grounds, which committee purchased the present site at Lynchburg. The corner-stone was laid in July, 1888. The school was opened January 13, 1890. The property is held in trust by a Board of Managers for the Virginia Baptist State Convention. The school is supported by the colored Baptists of Virginia, who number more than 200,000.

VIRGINIA BAPTIST SEMINARY, LYNCHBURG, VA.

At the time this sketch was written the valuation of the entire property of the institution was estimated at $40,000. The enrolment of students for 1900 numbered 250. The development of this institution has been most creditable to the Baptists of the State of Virginia.

The following compose the faculty of this institution for 1896:

Prof. Gregory W. Hayes, A. M., President, Prof. Bernard Tyrrell, A. M., Prof. J. M. Arter, A. M., Prof. U. S. G. Patterson, George Moore, Mrs. Mittie E. Tyler, Miss Lula E. Johnson, R. Lee Hemmings, Lewis W. Black, Miss Carrie L. Callaway, Walter W. Johnson, Miss Minnie Norvell.

The chairman of the Board of Managers is Rev. R. Spiller; secretary, Rev. P. F. Morris.

Rev. P. F. Morris, D. D., was the first president of the Seminary, but on account of failing health he resigned the position before the institution had been completed.

PROF. GREGORY W. HAYES, A. M.

When President G. W. Hayes was appointed to take charge of the work, he had to start under many disadvantages, a depleted treasury on the part of the Baptist State Convention, and with no available sources from which financial aid could readily be procured. By his zeal and enterprise a large building now crowns one of the most beautiful hills in the vicinity of Lynchburg.

Prof. Gregory W. Hayes was born of slave parents in Amelia county, Va., September 8, 1862. He graduated from Oberlin, one of the first institutions of learning in the State of Ohio, in the class of '88 and was elected to the chair of pure mathematics in the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, which position he held for three years. He was the first president of the National Baptist Educational Convention for the United States and was commissioner-in-chief from Virginia for the Southern Inter-State Exposition. He was elected president of Virginia Seminary in 1891.

PROF. GREGORY W. HAYES, A. M.

In young men like Prof. Hayes rests the future of the race. He is an able orator, and whenever he speaks to a body of people he enlightens them. The future before him is bright. Modest, unassuming, brilliant, he stands tip-toe upon the threshold of success and justice bids him enter.

ARKADELPHIA ACADEMY.

The Arkadelphia Academy was organized Aug. 15, 1890, as Arkadelphia Industrial College. In 1892 the name was changed to the Arkadelphia Academy, and it was made tributary to the Arkansas Baptist College at Little Rock, Ark. The school had few friends and no money when started; but in 1896 the property was valued at $12,000.

F. L. Jones, A. M., is the principal. The object of the school is to train workers for the Sabbath school and other departments of church and Christian work; to this end every person in the school is required to study the Bible, as the Bible is the foundation of all instruction given, and with it go all the cognate studies. The institution is located at Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

THE FLORIDA INSTITUTE.

The history of "The Florida Institute," at Live Oak, Fla., is interwoven with every effort of the colored Baptists of the State. As early as 1868, when the colored Baptist churches in Florida were very few, the fathers of the church in that section took the initiatory steps toward the establishment of this institution.

After much deliberation Live Oak was chosen as the place of location. About three and a half acres of land, with an incomplete building, originally intended for a court house, were purchased at a cost of $2,000. This money was raised by the colored Baptists of Florida. The final payment was made in 1876. The school was incorporated the same year. The school was opened October 1, 1860. Rev. J. L. A. Fish was the first president. He was assisted in the work by his wife and other teachers from the North. Under his wise management the school rose rapidly, against many odds, and took rank among the best of its kind in the State. His administration lasted ten years, during which time the school developed into a power for good, and its influence became far-reaching. Many of the ablest teachers and ministers of the State were trained in this institution. Others, who have made success in business and in professions, received their training in the Florida Institute.

In 1882 a two-story frame building for the accommodation of girls was erected. In 1884 additional grounds and a building for a boys' dormitory were purchased, making in all about ten acres of land, a school building, two dormitories, and the president's residence. Total valuation, about $15,000.

From 1882 to 1887 Dr. Fish edited and published The Florida Baptist, the denominational State organ. The work was done chiefly by the students. Also in the Institute's printing office the work of printing the minutes of the State Convention and the various associations was conducted for several years. The Florida Institute Messenger is now published monthly by the school.

The library of the school contains about 1,000 volumes, many of which are of great value.

The annual enrolment averages about 125. Many of the students are from the best families, and represent every part of the State, and some from other States.

The courses of study embrace the Normal Preparatory, Academic, Theological, and Industrial.

About twenty acres of land near the school are rented at moderate cost, making in all about twenty-five acres cultivated by the students under the direction of a competent professor.

The religious character of the school is a marked feature.

PROF. H. B. LAWRENCE.

Prof. Lawrence, of Massachusetts, served as president during the school year 1890-1891. Rev. M. W. Gilbert was appointed to succeed him in 1891. His administration lasted one year. This year (1896), for the first time, the entire faculty is colored.

October 1, 1892, Rev. G. P. McKinney was appointed president, and now serves his fourth year.

The school is enshrined in the hearts of the colored Baptists of Florida. This is evidenced by the large and liberal contributions they make annually for its support.

REV. GEO. P. MCKINNEY.

In May of 1892, Rev. George P. McKinney was called upon to take the presidency of this institution, the same school in which he began his student life ten years previous.

As president of Florida Institute, pastor of the African Baptist Church, president of Florida Baptist Congress, corresponding secretary State Convention, vice-president State Teachers' Association, and vice-president of the Sunday-school State Convention, he has indicated his fitness and ability.

REV. GEO. P. McKINNEY.

His field of labor is the State of Florida, and as a bold defendant of truth, virtue and morality, he feels himself specially appointed to attack the wrong wherever it is found. By his bold and unmitigating attacks he does not always receive compliments from the assaulted. He teaches the young men under his care to stand by the right even though you be left alone in doing so. In giving this advice to his students, with a serious look into the future, zealous that they should rise up and bless the world, his profound earnestness discloses the fact that he is a man who knows what he wants and goes straight to his goal.

STATE UNIVERSITY.

The State University of Louisville, Ky., is the oldest, largest and most influential institution in the State owned and operated by the colored people.

This institution is the outcome of a general discussion which followed the close of the war, among the colored people, as to the best means of elevating the race and teaching true citizenship. In these discussions the Baptists were foremost, and took the first steps looking forward to bringing about some of the wise suggestions made by those who had spent their lives as slaves and had just been given the rights of American citizens by the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln.

A call for a convention issued by the leading Baptist ministers to be held in August, 1865, at the Fifth Street Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky., was responded to by a large delegation.

Annual meetings were held at such times and places as agreed upon by each annual gathering. In 1869, the necessity for fostering an institution where colored men and women could obtain a Christian education was brought up and practical steps were taken to perfect the organization.

The session held at Lexington, Ky., made application to the State Legislature for a charter. This petition was granted by a charter to the General Association of Colored Baptists, authorizing them to establish a school in the State.

The purchase of ground and the erection of an edifice was the next thing to receive attention. Subscriptions were taken by the leaders, and collections raised in all the churches. It resulted in Old Fort Hill at Frankfort being purchased, but it was found that it could not be utilized for the purpose for which it was bought, and it was sold.

Contributions were raised, the trustees were kept busy looking out for another site, a few young and active men were members of the Board and rendered good service. Among them was William H. Steward, who was employed in the Louisville post-office as carrier, and a representative of his race.

In February, 1879, the school was opened by Rev. E. P. Marrs, with his brother, H. C. Marrs, as assistant, and the attendance was large. Mr. Steward was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Thus the work progressed and students came in from all parts of the State. At the close of the first year the work looked encouraging.

William H. Steward is termed the pioneer of colored Baptists in Kentucky. This distinction he has won by personal attention to the religious and educational work. In order that the new institution meet with success, he has given hundreds of dollars at a time to assist in prosecuting the work of this University.

Through the efforts of Mr. Steward, the State University is the great institution that it is to-day. It was through his efforts that the services of the late Rev. William J. Simmons, D. D., as president of the institution, and also that the present president, Rev. Charles L. Purce, D. D., were secured.

The faculty of State University is composed of some of the best educated men and women of the country. It consists of Rev. C. L. Purce, D. D., President, Theology and Philosophy; Prof. R. S. Wilkinson, A. M., Languages and Political Science; Prof. W. H. Huffman, A. B., Mathematics and Natural Sciences; Prof. A. G. Gilbert, M. D., English and Hygienic Science; Prof. L. M. Seeley, English and History; Prof. L. V. Jones, English and Cognate Branches; Mrs. M. E. Steward, Music; Mrs. F. R. Givens, Art; Mrs. M. B. Wallace, Matron.

This institution is well supported by the colored people of the State and its work is deserving of high praise.

REV. CHARLES L. PURCE, A. B., D. D.

Dr. Purce is one of the best known educators in this country. He was for ten years president of the Selma University, located at Selma, Ala. He accepted the presidency in 1894, and has done good work for the elevation of the denomination.

He succeeded in paying off the debt of Selma University of $8,000, and by his pluck and perseverance he made many additions to the school and improved the system of education in it. He is a man of good common sense as well as of high mental attainments. He never allows himself to suffer defeat under any circumstances. As a leader among the colored people, he is highly esteemed and acknowledged.

REV. CHARLES L. PURCE, A. B., D. D.,
President of State University, Louisville, Ky.

The following letter from Mrs. M. C. Reynolds, corresponding secretary of the New England Women's Home Mission Society, of Boston, Mass., will show in what light Dr. Purce is regarded by noble white people in the North:

"Dr. Purce is highly esteemed by me. I visited his work, in Selma, Ala., and I liked him very much. He is one of the few colored men who now are fitted to lead. So many are impetuous, sensitive, not well balanced. So many fail to see that it takes time to bring order out of this race chaos. Patience is what is needed. Some have it, some have it not. Some are far-sighted and are willing to bide God's time; these are the leaders."

The corps of competent instructors under Dr. Purce at State University are busily engaged daily in the theological, college, normal, grammar, art, music, sewing and printing departments, preparing young men and young women for future usefulness.

Never before in the history of Kentucky were there so many boys and girls, men and women, striving to get an education. And this desire has been inspired by the noble life and character of Rev. C. L. Purce.

WALKER BAPTIST INSTITUTE.

Walker Institute was founded at Augusta, Ga. Incorporated in 1885. Teachers employed are all colored. The school has an average attendance of over one hundred. This institution takes its name from the Walker Baptist Association under whose auspices it exists. For the last few years the work has made rapid strides forward, winning the patronage of Baptists in both the city and adjoining counties. Two classes have graduated, and the young people are leading useful lives as teachers and preachers. The Walker Baptist Institute aims at Christian education and the perpetuity of the church which gave it birth. It aims at the highest good of man at home and abroad. Its course of study is academic, and, since this is the golden mean between the common school and the higher and professional institutions of learning, it aims at a happy combination of quality and quantity. Its management is in hearty accord with higher training as the shortest and safest route to successful leadership in literary or professional life. The main support of this work is derived from the following organizations for stated purposes: the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Walker Baptist Association, the Home Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; while a small part of the current expense is met by tuition fees and subscriptions by a few friends.

PROF. N. W. CURTWRIGHT, A. B.

PROF. N. W. CURTWRIGHT, A. B.

Prof. N. W. Curtwright, principal of Walker Baptist Institute, is a native of Georgia. He had but very little time in his younger life that he could devote to his education. But being by nature a close student made the most of what time he did have to attend school. In 1888 he received his first certificate to teach in the public schools of his State. In 1889 he entered the junior preparatory class of Atlanta University at Atlanta, Ga. During his seven years' course in this school he was regarded as a very hard and energetic student and made rapid progress in his studies. When he graduated in 1896 he was chosen to represent his class at commencement. Immediately after graduation he was called to the chair of Latin and Greek at Haine's Normal and Industrial Institute at Augusta, Ga. He served in this position one year and part of the second year, when he resigned to accept the principalship of Eddy High School at Milledgeville, Ga. At the close of the year was re-elected. But on the same day was elected as principal of Walker Baptist Institute, which position he had never in any way sought. We feel that the trustees have made no mistake in placing Prof. Curtwright at the head of this institution.

COLEMAN ACADEMY.

Coleman Academy was founded at Gibsland, La., and incorporated in 1887. The teachers employed are all colored, and there are six in number. This institution was founded by Prof. O. L. Coleman, who saw the need of such a school in north Louisiana, as there was a wide scope of country where there had never been a high school for colored people. The school was first opened in a church building in Gibsland, La., in 1887, with only ten pupils. The school has grown rapidly, and during the first five years of its history but little money was received by the principal or teachers, as they allowed their salary to go toward building better and more suitable buildings for their purpose. The institution has six departments, and a full and competent faculty. An industrial and ministerial department were added in 1897. The school has an enrollment of over 200 from some four different States. Ten acres of land, three large two-story buildings, one kitchen laundry building, and a new barn constitute the property of the institution.

PROF. O. L. COLEMAN, A. M.

PROF. O. L. COLEMAN, A. M.

Prof. O. L. Coleman is a native of Livingston, Miss. He first attended the public school of that town. He afterwards went to Alcorn College, then Alcorn University. He also attended school at Washington, D. C. At that time he thought of reading medicine, but gave that up to devote his life as a teacher. He took a course at Chautauqua University, New York, of four years in the study of classics, elocution, and pedagogy.

ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE.

This school is located at Little Rock, Ark. It was originated by the colored Baptists, in their convention in session at Hot Springs, August, 1884. In the following autumn, school was begun and operated as "The Baptist Institute," using the Mt. Zion house of worship in this city as its first schoolroom. In 1885 Mt. Pleasant house of worship was secured. In that same year, with the aid of Rev. Harry Woodsmall, articles of association were drawn up, and the Institute was legally organized and incorporated under the laws of the State, and known henceforth as the Arkansas Baptist College, with capital stock of $50,000, divided up into shares of $50 each, payable in instalments of $10 a year.

While the "Pastors' Course" was the most prominent feature of the school to begin with, this served as a nucleus around which popular interest collected and grew, and as fast as possible Literary Courses of study were developed and taught, and students from different parts of the State increased in attendance every year, until now the institution has grown in numbers, work and workers, to a very favorable comparison with other colleges in the South.

The spirit of the school is decidedly of a missionary nature. It was established, more than for anything else, to aid teachers and preachers in a higher fitness for their work. Indeed, it aims to specially train preachers and teachers on moral questions, religious obligations and spiritual work. But it also aims to give liberal education in those branches of science, arts, literature and language commonly taught in American colleges, and to give practical training in the industrial and business features of lifework. It is quite unpretentious in all its work, aiming to be, rather than to seem.

The school owns one block, in the southwest part of the city. This property was bought by the colored people at a cost of $5,000. The site is high and desirable, overlooking its surroundings in every direction.

PROF. J. A. BOOKER, A. M.

PROF. J. A. BOOKER, A. M.

Rev. Joseph A. Booker is the president of this school, and his services are highly appreciated by the citizens of the State.

WATERS' NORMAL INSTITUTE.

Waters' Normal Institute, located at Winton, N. C., was incorporated in 1887. Rev. C. S. Brown is its principal. Four colored teachers are employed in this school and excellent work is being done. Rev. Brown has, by energy and determination, built up this work, and as some of the evidences of the thoroughness of the instruction given, a large number of teachers, holding first grade certificates have gone out of this school to teach in the public schools of Hertford and adjacent counties. The Baptists in Eastern North Carolina appreciate his executive ability and they render him hearty support in his enterprise.

WATERS' NORMAL INSTITUTE.

REV. CALVIN S. BROWN, A. B.

Rev. C. S. Brown is an interesting character. He was born of slave parents. He became a teacher in one of the public schools of Salisbury, N. C., at the age of fifteen, having stood an examination before the school board of that city and received a first grade certificate. In 1880 he entered Shaw University for the purpose of studying theology. Six years later he graduated and was valedictorian of his class. He is not only an active man as the principal of the Waters' Normal Institute, but is the successful pastor of a large Baptist church at Pleasant Plains, in Hertford county, near Winton, N. C. At one time he held four churches with an aggregate membership of 2,500. For some years he was the editor of The Baptist Pilot, secretary of the State Ministerial Association and secretary of the State Baptist Association.

CALVIN S. BROWN, A. B.

SELMA UNIVERSITY.

This institution is located in the suburbs of Selma, Alabama, on what was known as the agricultural fair grounds. The property was bought in 1878, comprising thirty-six acres of land with one small building, at a cost of $3,000. Not only did the colored people of the State pay for this, but proceeded to make improvements, and at the same time gave money for the support of the school. The property is now valued at $15,000.

Rev. C. S. Dinkins is president of the school. He is assisted by two white and eight colored teachers.

HEARNE ACADEMY.

Hearne Academy, at Hearne, Texas, is one of the best institutions of the kind in the State. The colored people contribute $2,405 toward the support of this school yearly, and while the enrolment of students only numbers 76 for 1896, the influence of the school is felt throughout the entire State. Rev. J. F. Anderson is principal. Five colored teachers are employed. Rev. Anderson will push the work at Hearne in a faithful and vigorous manner which will bring to the institution both friends and success.

NATCHEZ COLLEGE.

Natchez College is located at Natchez, Miss. This school is one of very great interest, and one that the colored people are very proud of, from the fact that the support of this institution comes entirely from the colored Baptists of the State. The school is attended by about two hundred students, mostly from the State of Mississippi. Prof. S. H. C. Owen, president.

PROF. S. H. C. OWEN, A. M.

PROF. S. H. C. OWEN, A. M.

Prof. Samuel Henry Clay Owen, president of Natchez College, was born at Durhamville, Tenn., March 6, 1856. He is a graduate of Roger Williams University. Prof. Owen has been twice elected president of the Natchez College. He is doing a most excellent work there and has made the school one of the leading institutions of the South.

JERUEL ACADEMY.

Jeruel Academy, located at Athens, Ga., is a small school, but it is doing a splendid work. Rev. J. H. Brown is its principal. There are upward of sixty young men and women in regular attendance.

HOWE INSTITUTE.

Howe Institute, at New Iberia, La., was established in 1888; Rev. E. N. Smith, principal. Considering the many disadvantages of the locality, the school has done remarkably well. Rev. Mr. Smith is aided by three colored teachers.

SPILLER ACADEMY.

Spiller Academy, located at Hampton, Va., was founded by Rev. R. Spiller, and in 1897 became affiliated with the Virginia Union University; Rev. G. E. Read, principal, 1898; colored teachers, 4. Rev. Spiller, the founder of this institution, has been for years one of the most prominent Baptist pastors in Virginia.

FLORIDA BAPTIST ACADEMY.

This school is located at Jacksonville, Fla. It was incorporated in 1892. Prof. N. W. Collier is its principal. There are six colored teachers at work in this institution, and the reports from this school are very encouraging. The colored people in the State contributed $1,320 toward its support in 1895.

CHAPTER III.

CONGREGATIONAL SCHOOLS.

In this chapter, I propose to set forth the important educational work carried on in the South by the American Missionary Association. This work has certainly been significant, and I can do nothing better than quote from Mr. L. B. Moore, Professor at Howard University, Washington, D. C., these words on the industrial schools:

"These industrial schools have been sending to the country places and to the small towns a host of young people who have gone forth as skilled mechanics, and they have gathered them in from the hills and valleys and said, 'Go and learn how to farm with improved implements; go and learn the carpenter's trade with the best tools; learn painting and shoemaking and blacksmithing, and carry the knowledge of these things back to the homes whence you came.' They have been teaching the dignity of labor.

"These industrial schools have also been teaching the value of free labor. The South is just waking up to see what it has lost by slavery. If the white man of the South had been as shrewd as the white man of the East was, he would not now be groaning in poverty and saying, 'We would like to help in this work, but we are so poor.'

"The colleges of this Association are sending out leaders for the people, and oh, how my people need leaders! I can take you to places where the blind are leading the blind, and they are both falling into the ditch together. How important it is that there should be leaders among this people to instruct and help them! These colleges have sent forth 1,000 college-bred men who are going to teach that people; and I tell you the time is coming when that thousand will be increased by another thousand, and the ignorant and ofttimes immoral leaders will have to give way before the light which is now rising.

"Now, why ought this work to be sustained? The first reason is, it pays, and that is the business reason. When a man invests money he wants to know whether it is going to yield him a large income. Can you show me a work that has brought a larger income than the work of the American Missionary Association? Can you show me a people in all history that has made the progress which has been made by the black people in the South according to your own testimony and the testimony of white men in the South?

"Then there is another thing: this work is but justice. It is but just to the slave who toiled for 250 years and accumulated the wealth of this nation. The white man and the colored man were in partnership together for 250 years—John Smith & Co.: but when the dividends were declared, John Smith got them all and the poor colored man has yet to get a settlement. So he is just asking for a share in the dividends."