HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE, VIRGINIA: THE OLDEST INCORPORATED METHODIST COLLEGE IN AMERICA by Richard Irby (A. B. 1844)

PREFACE.

The following resolution, adopted at the last annual meeting of the Board of Trustees, will answer as a preface to what will be given as a history of the oldest incorporated Methodist college in America now in existence, and can be pleaded as an excuse, if any be needed, why one so inexperienced in authorship should make this effort to rescue from oblivion what is left of the records and information now obtainable in regard to this, comparatively speaking, venerable college.

"On motion of J. J. Lafferty and W. H. Christian,

"Resolved, That the thanks of the Board be tendered to Richard Irby, Esq., for his labors in the collection of material for a connected and authentic historical account of this college, and that he be requested to continue and perfect this work, and that all friends of the college be requested to give him their cordial aid and co-operation."

HISTORY OF RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE

EARLY EFFORTS OF METHODISTS TO FOUND SCHOOLS.

JOHN WESLEY, the founder of Methodism, was in every sense a highly educated man. His education began at the knee of one of the wisest and most accomplished women that ever lived to bless the world. It was continued at Oxford, but did not stop there; for he believed, and acted on his belief, that a man's education should continue as long as his intellectual energy survives.

The great business of Wesley was to spread scriptural holiness over the world, beginning at his own home. To accomplish this great end he sought and utilized every practicable agency. Early in the course of the great movement he put in motion, he established the Kingswood School, which he aimed to make as thorough, practically, as Oxford and Cambridge, and free from the surroundings which hindered evangelical believers in attendance on those schools, where he and his co-workers had encountered so much opposition and ridicule. At this school were to be allied in holy matrimony religion and learning, which godless hands had sought to put asunder; for he valued education and learning severed from, and unhallowed by, religion as worse than worthless.

Following the example of this great leader, Asbury, the "Pioneer Bishop of America," sought at an early day to carry out the same plans. But the difficulties he encountered were different from those Mr. Wesley met in many respects. At the close of the Revolutionary War, he found a continent over the broad area of which was spread a population of about three million of people. These people had just come out of a war of seven years, impoverished in every species of property except their broad acres of forest land, worthless until subdued by the sturdy husbandman. The currency of the country was well-nigh worthless and irredeemable in gold and silver. The great and controlling idea of the people was the restoration of wealth and material resources. This meant and required hard and constant work, which pushed aside schools and all other enterprises of the kind considered as of secondary importance. At that time only about eight colleges were found in the States, and these were slimly endowed, if endowed at all, and but poorly patronized.

But bold, and trusting in God, Asbury began the work of establishing schools, hardly waiting for the clearing away of the smoke of battle. At the time he was made General Superintendent, or Bishop, (1784), there were in the United States 14,988 members in the Methodist Episcopal Church. These were scattered broadcast over the States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Georgia. The bulk of the membership was found in the Southern States. The Minutes for that year give New York City sixty members and Brunswick Circuit (Virginia) four hundred and eighty-four, and other circuits in Virginia more.

In the year 1784 Dr. Cummings (in Early Schools of Methodism, New York, 1886) thinks Bishop Asbury founded the first Methodist academy ever established in America. It is reasonable, however, to put the date a little later, say 1785, for his services as General Superintendent did not begin till later, inasmuch as Mr. Wesley's letter appointing him to the place bears date September 10, 1784. This school or academy was located in Brunswick county, Virginia, on the road leading from Petersburg to Boydton, at a point about midway between the two places. He named it

[Illustration: EBENEZER ACADEMY]*

*The Ebenezer Academy building is still standing, but it has been changed somewhat since it ceased to be used for school purposes. The cut used here was made from a pencil sketch of it made by Mr. Short, who lives near, and sent by Rev. J. Carson Watson, in whose circuit it is located. The walls are of stone, one of which has become injured; otherwise, the old house would be good for another century.

For a number of years this academy was controlled by trustees appointed by the Bishop or by the Annual Conference, and enjoyed such supervision as the Bishop was able to give, which, with such arduous labors as demanded his energies, was of necessity but slight and occasional. On this account, and other accounts incident to the times, the control of the academy was lost to the Methodists, and went into the hands of the county authorities, which control never was regained by the Church. But it was kept up as an academy for many years, and at it many of the most prominent men of the county and counties adjacent were educated wholly or partly. In this way it did a good work for the people of its day, and was the forerunner and prophecy of another school not far away, which, under better auspices, though not without difficulties, has lived to bless the Church and the world in this nineteenth century.

The first regularly incorporated Methodist college in the United States was Cokesbury College. It was located near Baltimore, Md. It was in operation only a few years. Augusta College, Kentucky, was the next. That has long since ceased to exist. In the period preceding the division of the Methodist Episcopal Church, there were thirty-one literary institutions controlled by this Church, of which three were exclusively for females and several, co-educational. Seventeen of these were located in the Southern States. Of the thirty-one, only seven colleges have survived, viz.: Randolph-Macon College, chartered February 3, 1830; Wesleyan University (Connecticut), chartered May, 1831; Emory College (Georgia), 1837; Emory and Henry (Virginia), 1838; Wesleyan Female College (Georgia), 1839. Dickinson College (Pennsylvania) chartered in 1783, but did not become a Methodist college till 1833, and was opened as a Methodist college September, 1834. Alleghany College (Pennsylvania) was chartered in 1818, and came under the control of the Methodist Church in 1833, and was opened as a Methodist college the same year.

It will thus be seen that all these male colleges which survived, were opened under Methodist patronage, nearly simultaneously, viz.: Wesleyan University, October, 1831; Randolph-Macon, January, 1832; Alleghany College, November, 1833; Dickinson College, September, 1834. This point of time thus became a marked starting-point in the history of Methodist colleges. Since this turning-point was passed, the number of them has increased as rapidly as the membership of the church, and can now be counted by the hundreds, making the Methodist Church foremost in the great work of Christian education.

It may be noted here that all of the above-named colleges succeeded to buildings which had been used for school purposes, more or less complete, while those of Randolph-Macon were built wholly out of new material.

It is probable that the idea and purpose moving Bishop Asbury to found church schools, had never gone entirely out of the minds of the Methodists of Virginia, notwithstanding all the failures and disasters which had befallen the early enterprises. They found no school in the Conference territory of high grade where they felt safe in sending their sons. William and Mary College was under the control of the Episcopalians, and its location was noted for excess in worldliness and free-living, which did not invite Methodists, whose rules forbade such customs. The atmosphere of the college and town was unsuited to Methodists, and they were looked upon as unfit for the society of the so-called best people. Hampden-Sidney College, originally non-sectarian, had come under the control of the Presbyterians, with whom, in those days, Arminian Methodists did not think it safe to let their sons remain too long, lest they should become Calvinists. Washington College was then a feeble school, and remote from the eastern portion of the State, and outside the Virginia Conference. Under these circumstances, and for what were esteemed good reasons, the Methodists of the Virginia Conference, then composed of the eastern and middle portions of Virginia and North Carolina, moved in the matter of establishing a college of high grade.

A resolution, adopted by the General Conference of 1824, recommending "that each Annual Conference establish a Seminary of learning under its own regulations and patronage," had the effect to direct the attention of the church throughout the connection to the subject of education. So almost simultaneously the New York Conference, with the Virginia Conference, moved towards the establishment of a college, as recommended by the General Conference, the result of which was the founding of the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., and of Randolph-Macon College at Boydton, Va., the two oldest Methodist colleges, originally incorporated as such, now existing in America.

The credit of first planning or founding Randolph-Macon College has been awarded to Rev. Hezekiah G. Leigh and Gabriel P. Disosway. The former was a prominent minister in the Virginia Conference, and was justly esteemed by his contemporaries as an orator second to but few, if any, of his time. Dr. Bennett, in Memorials of Methodism in Virginia, says: "Perhaps no man ever left a deeper impression on the hearts of the people among whom he labored. In every city where he was stationed, in every district, in every circuit, there are thrilling recollections of his preaching…. He was not simply an eloquent preacher, he was a wise, skillful, practical workman in the vineyard." Dr. W. A. Smith, third President of Randolph-Macon College, said of him: "Dr. Leigh had few equals in the pulpit. He filled a large space in public attention, and wielded a wide and undisputed influence among his brethren in the ministry." He was a native of Perquimans county, N. C., born November 23, 1795, but for many years prior to his death resided on his farm near Boydton, Va.

Gabriel P. Disosway was a native of the city of New York, of Huguenot ancestry, born December 6, 1799. He took his A.B. degree at Columbia College, New York, in 1821. In early life he became a citizen of Petersburg, Va., and married a Virginia lady. He was a pious and devoted Methodist, and by his superior education and literary abilities exerted a wide and salutary influence on the church circles of his town and day. Having been a college-bred man, he may have suggested to Dr. Leigh the founding of a college, or the latter may have sought the advice and co-operation of Mr. Disosway, and thenceforth the two worked together as co-laborers in this good cause. Dr. W. A. Smith inclined to the latter view of the matter, for he says (Funeral Discourse on Rev. H. G. Leigh), "Regarding all the circumstances, the prominent position held by Dr. Leigh in originating all the preliminary measures, and his personal activity in advancing them, we have always considered him in a good sense the founder of Randolph-Macon College." Mr. Disosway returned to New York in 1828, and thus the college ceased to have his active co-operation with Dr. Leigh, which might, and doubtless would, have been very acceptable and beneficial. He lived to an honorable old age, giving much of his valuable time to the great interests of the Church of his choice, and also to the great religious institutions of his State and the country, with a number of which he was closely identified as manager or director. He also wrote frequently for the press, and was the author of several books, one of which particularly was highly esteemed, viz. The Old Churches of New York."

The college, many years ago, recognized the claims of these co-founders to the gratitude and remembrance of succeeding generations by placing on the walls of the chapel marble tablets, suitably inscribed and dedicated to their memory.

The enterprise of establishing a college in the Virginia Conference took definite direction, and resulted in practical action at the session of the Virginia Conference held at Oxford, N. C., March 2, 1825. In the minutes is this entry: "After some discussion on the recommendation of the General Conference (of 1824), 'That each Annual Conference establish a Seminary of Learning, under its own regulations and patronage,' the whole question was referred to a committee of twelve—six ministers and six laymen—to consider and report the best method of establishing such a Seminary with suitable constitutional principles." The following constituted the committee ordered: John Early, Hezekiah G. Leigh, Caleb Leach, Charles A. Cooley, William Compton and George M. Anderson, of the Conference; and Gabriel P. Disosway, Joseph B. Littlejohn, John Nutall, Lewis Taylor, Joseph Taylor and Jesse H. Cobb, of the laity…. "The College bill, which was laid on the table, was taken up, and, after some amendment, was adopted." It would appear from the constitution of the committee, that John Early made the motion to appoint the committee, and this was probably the case, because he was then, and for many years afterwards, a leader in the business of the Conference, and, therefore, the prime mover in the enterprise, had enlisted his active interest in the matter. We shall see that this prominent position was held by him for many years afterwards.

This was all that was done at this Conference. At the next Conference, held in Portsmouth, Va., February, 1826, the committee was increased by adding George W. Charlton and James Smith, ministers, and Robert A. Armistead, Arthur Cooper, Jesse Nicholson, local preachers, and J. C. Pegram, Cary Jennings, laymen. On the 20th the committee made a report, and the report Was laid on the table. On the 22nd the College bill, which was laid on the table, was taken up, and after some amendments it was adopted. On the 23rd the "Select Committee," recommended in the bill adopted on the days previous, was appointed, viz.: Hezekiah G. Leigh, George W. Charlton, James Smith, John Early, Thomas Crowder, Ethelbert Drake, ministers, and Gabriel P. Disosway, Robert A. Armistead, William Clarke, John C. Pegram, laymen. This committee reported at the succeeding Conference (1827) a "Constitution" for the College, which, after some amendments, was adopted; and it was further "Resolved, that every member take a subscription paper and use his influence and best exertions to obtain subscriptions for the benefit of the College contemplated to be founded within the bounds of this Conference."

At the Conference of 1828 a new committee of seven was appointed "to see that all the preachers pay a due and diligent attention to every regulation and matter appertaining to the establishment of the College contemplated, and to employ an efficient agent to make collections and obtain subscriptions for the same, and to maturely consider the advantages of every place proposed for its site, and to report thereon to the next Conference upon which the location of the College shall be fixed."

LOCATION AND NAMING OF THE COLLEGE.

At the Conference of 1829 the committee appointed the year previous made a report. The Committee had met at Zion Church, in Mecklenburg county. The citizens of Brunswick offered $20,000 in subscriptions on condition that the College be located at Physic Springs, about four miles from Lawrenceville, the county seat, and not very far from the old Ebenezer Academy. The citizens of Mecklenburg offered a parcel of land near Boydton, the county seat, at a very low price, and $10,000 in subscriptions, with some possible advantages from the Boydton Academy. The location was fixed at or near Boydton, probably, mainly through the influence of Rev. Hezekiah G. Leigh, the prime mover in the College enterprise, and Howell Taylor, a very influential Methodist of the county, together with Hon. William O. Goode and Col. William Townes, men of great popularity. The site selected was also very near the line dividing the States of Virginia and North Carolina, and probably more accessible to the people of the two States at that time than any other eligible location, and was considered healthful, as well as the centre of a refined community. The county of Mecklenburg was one of the largest and wealthiest in the State, and its people and the people of the adjoining counties of North Carolina were friendly and homogeneous.

The report of the Committee was confirmed by the Conference, and the Committee was authorized to apply to the General Assembly of Virginia for a charter. This the Committee proceeded to do, and Mr. Goode, of Mecklenburg, presented a bill to incorporate the "Trustees of Henry and Macon College" Friday, January 15, 1830. After going through the several readings required, and having several amendments made, on motion of Mr. Alexander, of Mecklenburg, the title was changed, making it to read, "An act to incorporate the 'Trustees of Randolph-Macon College.'" The bill so amended was passed by both houses, and became a law February 3, 1830. The Act in part is as follows:

"1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That there be, and is hereby erected and established, at or near Boydton, in the county of Mecklenburg, in this Commonwealth, a seminary of learning for the instruction of youth in the various branches of science and literature, the useful arts, agriculture, and the learned and foreign languages.

"2. And be it further enacted, That the said seminary shall be known and called by the name of Randolph-Macon College.

"3. And be it further enacted, That Hezekiah Leigh, John Early, Edward Cannon, W. A. Smith, William I. Waller, Thomas Crowder, Moses Brock, James Boyd, William Hammett, Caleb Leach, Matthew M. Dance, Lewis Skidmore, Augustine Claiborne, Ethelbert Drake, Henry Fitts, John Nutall, James Wyche, John P. Harrison, Grenville Penn, Walker Timberlake, John G. Claiborne, Howell Taylor, James Smith, Joel Blackwell, John Y. Mason, James Garland, Richard G. Morris, John W. Lewis, William O. Goode, and Nathaniel Alexander be, and are hereby, constituted and appointed trustees of said college, who and their successors shall be a body politic and corporate by the name of the 'Trustees of Randolph-Macon College,' who shall have a perpetual succession and a common seal, and by the name aforesaid they and their successors shall be capable in law to possess, purchase, receive and retain to them and their successors forever, any lands, tenements, rents, goods, chattels or interests of any kind whatsoever, which may have been already given, or by them purchased for the use of said College; to dispose of the same in any way whatsoever they shall adjudge most useful to the interests and legal purposes of the institution; and by the same name to sue and implead, be sued and impleaded, answer and be answered, in all courts of law and equity; and under their common seal to make and establish, from time to time, such by-laws, rules and ordinances, not contrary to the laws and constitution of this Commonwealth, as shall by them be thought essential to the good order and government of the professors, masters and students of said College."

It will appear above that thirty were constituted trustees. Of the thirty, twelve were travelling preachers of the Virginia Annual Conference, and eighteen were local preachers and laymen. The name of Rev. Hezekiah G. Leigh heads the list, as, by courtesy, was proper. All were members of the Methodist Church, except the following: Judge John Y. Mason, John W. Lewis, William O. Goode, and Nathaniel Alexander, the three latter prominent citizens of Mecklenburg county. Of these a number lived to take an active part in the affairs of the college for many years. The last to pass away was Judge Garland, of Lynchburg, who died a few years since at a very advanced age.

It is well known for whom Randolph-Macon College was named—John Randolph, of Roanoke, and Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina. How it came about that a Christian and Methodist college should have been named for men who were not professed Christians, and who had never, so far as is known, shown any preference or kindly interest for the Methodist Church, has been a question of interest and speculation. The most probable solution of the question is that the name was determined very much by precedent. The oldest college in the State, William and Mary, founded primarily and specially for educating "the savages" in Christianity, was named for the King and Queen then on the throne. Washington College was named for Washington, the hero of the day (1782); Hampden-Sidney for the champions of liberty and human rights (1783), all of them Christian colleges, but named for public men, representatives of the sentiments of the periods uppermost when they were founded. Following the precedents set by these colleges, the names then most prominent in Virginia and North Carolina were selected, John Randolph, of Roanoke, and Nathaniel Macon, one living on the south side of the Roanoke River and the other on the north side. Neither of these men was in any way connected with the College, nor did either, so far as is recorded, ever manifest any interest in it by making a contribution to it or otherwise, but both were very popular in their native State, in whose service they literally spent their lives. John Randolph has been called an infidel by some Northern writers, but those who knew him best represent him as far from having been such, though he lived at a time when infidelity was far from being uncommon among public men. At one time, at least, he was a professed believer in Christ, and never gave up his belief, however inconsistent in his life, at times, he may have been.

Hon. J. K. Paulding, a distinguished author and public man, in a letter accepting membership in one of the literary societies of the College soon after it was built, wrote of these men:

"Randolph-Macon combines the names of two very distinguished men, with whom I was acquainted; with the former, long and intimately. Mr. Macon was one of the wisest, most virtuous men I ever knew. His integrity as a private man was only equalled by his devotion to his country and to the great principles of liberty, of which he was a most faithful and devoted advocate. Indeed, I may say, with perfect truth, that in the simplicity of his habits and character, as well as in the purity of his principles, he realized more than any man I ever knew the example of a steadfast, stern, inflexible republican.

"With Mr. John Randolph I was on terms of intimacy for more than twenty years. He was a very extraordinary man, whose life and character should be delineated by one who could analyze them thoroughly and explain their strange apparent inconsistency. To me it always appeared that but for the weakness of his physical constitution and the almost perpetual sufferings it entailed upon him, he would have been one of the highest models of a high-minded gentleman, as well as one of the wisest, most consistent statesmen of the age. But his physical infirmities and sufferings impaired the vigor and consistency of his mind, while they often soured his temper, and caused those sudden caprices, which lost him many friends, and made his greatest admirers almost afraid to indulge in the society of one the charm of whose conversation was otherwise irresistible. This, however, I will say of him, that whatever may have been the infirmities of his temper, his principles were of the most high, and, indeed, lofty character. His integrity was exemplary, and his devotion to the great principles of liberty consistent and profound.

"The life and character of Mr. Macon young men may safely make the objects of their imitation throughout, while Mr. Randolph is rather a subject of admiration and wonder. Virginia should be proud of him as an orator without an equal among his contemporaries and as a man who, with all his faults, was possessed of many virtues of the very highest order."

Looking at the matter from our present standpoint, it seems strange that a more suitable name was not selected more in accordance with the special character of the object of the institution, the blending of the highest culture of the mind with the elevation of Christian character.

[Illustration: REV. JOHN EARLY. First President (1832-1868) of the
Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, and Bishop of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South.]

FIRST MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees appointed under the act of incorporation, was held at Boydtown (so it reads), Mecklenburg county, Va., April 9, 1830.

The following members were duly qualified and took their seats, viz.:
Rev. Hezekiah G. Leigh, Rev. John Early, Rev. William A. Smith, Rev.
William I. Waller, Rev. Moses Brock, Rev. James Boyd, Rev. Caleb Leach,
Rev. Matthew M. Dance, Rev. Lewis Skidmore (members of the Virginia
Conference), Rev. John G. Claiborne, Rev. James Smith (local ministers),
Jas. Wyche, Howell Taylor, J. W. Lewis, William O. Goode, and Nathaniel
Alexander, Esqs. Rev. John Early was elected chairman, and Rev. William
A. Smith secretary.

A committee was appointed to draft rules for the government of the
Board, and one to obtain drafts of buildings for the College. H. G.
Leigh, J. W. Lewis, James Boyd, and L. Skidmore constituted the latter
committee.

H. G. Leigh, who had been acting as Agent for the College in securing subscriptions and funds for the College enterprise, under the appointment of the Virginia Conference, was elected Agent to continue the same work. A committee was also appointed to secure land for the location of the College.

This was the work of the first day.

At the second session—the next day—Rev. H. G. Leigh, from the Committee to Draft Rules, etc., reported the rules for the government of the Board, which were adopted.

Rev. W. I. Waller submitted the following resolutions, which were adopted:

1. That a committee be appointed to prepare an address to the public generally, and to the ministers and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church particularly, requesting their aid and co-operation in procuring funds for the establishment of Randolph-Macon College.

2. That a copy of the address be sent to each presiding elder and preacher in charge of circuits and stations within the bounds of the Virginia Annual Conference.

William A. Smith, Moses Brock, H. G. Leigh, and William I. Waller were appointed on this committee.

It was further resolved that an additional Agent be appointed.

John W. Lewis was elected Treasurer of the Board.

H. G. Leigh, from the Committee to obtain drafts for the College Building, reported three—one to cost $30,182, one $20,569, and one $19,238.

The first resolutions adopted in the direction of building was to appropriate $14,000 towards the purchase of land and the erection of a College building.

It was also resolved "that it is expedient to establish a Preparatory School to Randolph-Macon College as soon as the building can be prepared for that purpose," and $1,500 was appropriated to its erection.

A "Committee on Building" was appointed to obtain the best model for the College building, and contract for, and superintend the construction of, the same, and also the building for the Preparatory School.

Rev. H. G. Leigh's salary as agent was fixed at "the usual salary of a
Methodist itinerant preacher."

The first financial report by the agent was made as follows:

Monies subscribed, . . . . . . . . . . . $9,135 90 Monies collected of this, . . . . . . . . . 399 79 of this doubtful, $380. $8,736 11

The offer of the trustees of Boydton Academy to sell the same was not accepted.

The committee authorized to purchase land for the College made report, and the committee was empowered to purchase land from several parties at an average of about $5.50 per acre.

The agent reported that the subscription of Mecklenburg county was $10,000. It was ordered that the subscription paper be deposited with the Treasurer.

The first Building Committee appointed was as follows: Hezekiah G.
Leigh, John W. Lewis, James Smith, Matthew M. Dance, Moses Brock, and
John Early; and here the deliberations of the first meeting of the Board
ended.

With a subscription list of less than $20,000, including the county subscription, a large portion of which, in those days, as in the present, was uncollectable and worthless, this band of workers went forward, "not knowing whither they were going," but, like Abraham, trusting in the Lord, whose spirit had prompted the enterprise, that he would bring about a successful issue. Could they have foreseen the difficulties ahead, the work probably would never have been undertaken, nor would Columbus ever have discovered a new world if he had foreseen the difficulties which were before him.

It is not untimely to pause and dwell on some of the actors in this work.

The chairman, Rev. John Early, who was afterwards Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was at this time in the prime of life. He was not a college-bred man. He probably valued college education as highly as he did because he felt so keenly the need of it. He was, however, in the best sense, an educated man, and a man among men. From his early manhood his brethren and fellow-citizens manifested their appreciation of him by calling him to the highest positions in the church and in the state. The latter, however, were not accepted by him. It may be safely said that no man ever lived in Virginia who was more intimately or more widely known than John Early. No man ever knew more men. Few ever had more seals to their ministry. Not neglecting his own peculiar work in the church, he was always foremost in everything that he esteemed promotive of the good of the church and the state. From the outset he threw into the college enterprise all his great energy, and gave it the benefit of his large practical sense, because he felt that the church, as well as the state, was in need of such an agency. Under the charter, as subsequently amended, he was elected President of the Board of Trustees, and retained that position for about forty years, rarely ever failing to attend the annual meetings, when attendance involved days of tedious and difficult travel over rough roads. When over eighty years of age he was found at his place in the Board. Doubtless his latest prayers were for the success of the cause to which he gave many of the years of his manhood's prime. Randolph-Macon College will never let the name of John Early be forgotten. His portrait adorns the Trustees' room, and his eyes look down every June on his successors in the Board of Trustees, who are laboring to carry forward the work which he and his co-laborers commenced in 1825.

The first secretary, Rev. William Andrew Smith, was another man of power, a self-made man, as such men are commonly called. He accepted the "call from on high" to do great things. He was endowed with a wonderfully fertile and active mind. When fully aroused in any cause his heart espoused, he was a power with the people and with deliberative bodies. Commencing active service for the College as Secretary of the Board, he lived to become the President of the College from 1847 to 1865. When he took charge of it, the College was at the lowest condition financially as well as in patronage, that it ever reached. Full of faith and zeal himself, he infused new life into it and animated its friends with fresh courage and zeal. Realizing that an endowment was absolutely essential, in 1855 he undertook to raise $100,000 for it, and succeeded. Of this endowment more will be said further on.

[Illustration: REV. LEWIS SKIDMORE. Original member of Board of
Trustees.]

Another self-made man among the corporators present was Lewis Skidmore. In native talent of a peculiar order, he was second to none of his associates. He had, however, none of the ambition of some of the others. For power of argumentation on any subject he took in hand, he was equal to the foremost. He said once, when asked at what college he had graduated, "I graduated at the anvil." When the hammer of his logic struck it shaped or shivered the object it struck. As punctual as a clock, the day before the Trustees were to meet, his rotund form would be seen about the same hour rising over the western hill as the sun was going down.

Space will not allow particular reference to the other members of the
Board. All of them were men of mark in their callings. Three of
them—laymen, citizens of Mecklenburg county—were not members of the
Methodist church.

William O. Goode was a representative man. He was a member of the Legislature, and brought forward the College bill. He was a member of the State Convention of 1829 and of the Congress of the United States for several sessions.

Nathaniel Alexander was a wealthy planter and a man of fine education, and represented his county in the Legislature more than once.

John W. Lewis was a lawyer of prominence, and served as Treasurer of the
College as long as he lived.

The fact that these men were on the Board will show that sectarian bigotry was not so strong in olden times as some have been inclined to believe.

Rev. John G. Claiborne served on the Board for many years faithfully and efficiently, and outlived all of the original members.

At the second meeting of the Board of Trustees, held October 30, 1830 (Rev. John Early, chairman, presiding), the Building Committee reported the plan for the main College building, with cost of erection. William A. Howard and Dabney Cosby were the contractors. The plan embraced a centre brick building fifty-two feet front by fifty-four deep, with wings east and west sixty-seven and a half feet each, making a total front of one hundred and eighty-seven feet, all four stories high. The contract price for the same, except painting, tin roof, casement of the library, and seats in the chapel, to be finished in "a plain, workman-like manner, of the best materials," to be $14,137, and it was to be ready for occupancy by the spring of 1832. The committee also reported the purchase of two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land from several parties, including previous purchase, the several tracts forming a solid body.

Rev. H. G. Leigh, Agent, made report as to the finances, as follows:

Monies collected to date, . . . . $ 941 59
Subscriptions deemed good, . . . . 27,762 70
Total,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,703 29

Rev. William Hammett, an eloquent Irish minister, was appointed agent for soliciting additional funds.

Of the subscriptions made by citizens of Mecklenburg county, the name of William Townes heads the list with $1,000, the largest subscription to the College funds in early times. He was not a Methodist, nor a member of any church, but he was one of the earliest and best friends of the College.

On the early subscription lists there were about five hundred names.
Next to the subscription of Col. Townes, there were none above $300.

The third meeting of the Board of Trustees was held April 15, 1831, Rev. John Early, chairman, presiding. The following items of business transacted are noted:

Rev. Thomas Adams, a local minister, of Lunenburg county, was elected in place of Rev. James Smith, who resigned his membership.

A "Stewards' Hall" was authorized, the cost of the building of which was not to exceed $4,000.

The chairman of the Board was authorized to advertise that the Board would proceed to elect at the next meeting (in October, 1831) a President, Professors, and Masters.

The salary of the President to be elected was fixed at $1,000 for the first year; salaries of the Professors for the first year, $800.

The fourth meeting of the Board was held October 13, 1831, Rev. John
Early in the chair.

At this meeting Rev. H. G. Leigh, Agent, reported subscriptions amounting to $9,873, and Rev. William Hammett, $13,047, in all $22,920.

The South Carolina Conference was formally invited to unite and co-operate with the Board in the support of Randolph-Macon College, with the proviso that should the Conference agree so to do, the Board would elect six members Trustees from the bounds of that Conference.

Rev. Martin P. Parks was appointed the Agent to communicate with said
Conference and to solicit subscriptions.

The Building Committee reported the centre building walls up and covered in and the wings well under way; also, the purchase of additional land.

The committee to whom was referred the matter of nominating a President
and Professors reported, and the following elections were made: Rev.
John Emory, D. D., of New York, President and Professor of Moral
Science; Rev. Martin P. Parks, of North Carolina, Professor of
Mathematics; Landon C. Garland, of Virginia, Professor of Natural
Science; Rev. Robert Emory, of New York, Professor of Languages.

Mr. William O. Goode, member of the Legislature, of Mecklenburg county, was appointed to ask of the General Assembly of Virginia aid for the College.

FIFTH MEETING OF THE BOARD.

A called meeting of the Board was held April 4, 1832. At this meeting letters were presented and read announcing the declination of Dr. John Emory to accept the presidency of the College, and of Rev. Robert Emory to accept the chair to which he was elected. The letters were as follows:

New York, February 17, 1832.

"REV. AND DEAR SIR: My conviction of the importance of time to enable you to make suitable arrangements for the opening of Randolph-Macon College at the appointed period, induces me to avail myself of the occasion of your assembling in Conference to communicate to you the conclusion to which I have come, on mature reflection, in regard to the high and honorable post to which you have kindly invited me in that institution.

"I trust I need not repeat here how sincerely my best wishes attend your exertions in the cause of education, nor the pleasure I should take in contributing any small service in my power towards your success.

"Considering, however, the confinement which such a situation would require of me, the studies to which it would oblige me to devote myself in order to discharge its duties as I would wish, and the effect which such a course would be likely to have upon my health, already needing rather relief from the arduous duties of my present post, I am under the necessity of declining the acceptance of your kind invitation, and beg you for me to make this communication to the Board over which you preside.

"Be pleased, at the same time, to accept for yourself personally, and to convey to the members of the Board, the assurance of the deep sense I entertain of the obligations you have laid me under, as well as in behalf of my son as in my own; and that you may at all times command any service which it may be in my power to render as friends of the important institution under your care.

"Very respectfully, Rev. and dear sir, yours,

"J. EMORY."

"To the Rev. John Early,

Chairman, etc.. of the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, Va."

"New York, November 3, 1831.

"REV. AND DEAR SIR: Yours of the 15th ultimo was duly received, and would have elicited an earlier reply but for the absence of my father, whom I wished to consult previously to communicating my own views of the subject.

"I take, however, the earliest opportunity after his return to express through you, to the Board of Trustees, the high sense which I entertain of the flattering honor which they have been pleased to confer upon me, and at the same time my regret for the necessity which I am under of declining its acceptance.

"My anxiety to prosecute thoroughly and with an undivided attention the study of a profession is such that neither my desire to promote the interests of education, nor even the temptation of the honorable post which you have offered me, and the agreeable society which I should enjoy in Virginia, are sufficient to withdraw me from a course in which my father has had the kindness to yield me his acquiescence. With the best wishes for the prosperity of your institution, and a hope that you may secure for it the services of one whose ability (though certainly not his desire) to serve you will be far greater than mine, I remain with great respect,

"Yours, &c., R. EMORY.

"To the Rev. John Early."

Prof. Landon C. Garland and Rev. Martin P. Parks accepted the chairs to which they had been elected at the previous meeting. Their letters of acceptance were as follows:

FROM LANDON C. GARLAND.

"WASHINGTON COLLEGE, December 13, 1831.

"DEAR SIR: Circumstances not altogether under my control have prevented me from replying to your communication of October 15th as early as I wished. Having given to its contents that mature deliberation which their importance surely demanded, I feel myself prepared to give a final decision.

"The only ambition of my life has been to devote all my time and talents to the promotion and welfare and happiness of our common country; and that situation which would enable me to do this most efficiently I have ever esteemed most eligible. Contemplating in this spirit the important and extensive field of useful labor which Randolph-Macon College presents, I have felt it a duty incumbent upon me to obey the call which you so politely communicated in behalf of its Trustees. And through you I beg leave to assure them that this discharge of duty accords with every impulse of the heart; and I do trust that by a vigorous and united exertion with those associated with me, we shall in some humble measure redeem the pledge, which by our acceptance we make both to that body and to the world.

"Yours very sincerely,

"LANDON C. GARLAND.

"To the Rev. John Early."

FROM M. P. PARKS.

PETERSBURG, VA., April 3, 1832.

"REV. AND DEAR SIR: I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your official letter informing me of my election to the professorship of mathematics in Randolph-Macon College. My answer has been delayed until the present that I might have an opportunity of consulting the Virginia Conference, of which I am a member, before replying definitely to your communication. The Conference at its last session having advised me to the acceptance of the professorship tendered, it is hereby accepted. And in accepting it, which I cannot do but with diffidence, in view of the important duties and high responsibilities therewith connected, I beg that you will present to the Board of Trustees my acknowledgements for the favorable light in which they have been pleased to view my qualifications for the department to which I am called.

"For the institution now growing under their auspices I cherish the warmest regard, and so far as devotion to its interests can ensure success, I hope not altogether to disappoint the expectations of the Board. More, it is presumed, need not be promised; less could not be required. Offering through you to the Board my most Christian regards, I have the pleasure to subscribe myself, dear sir,

"Very respectfully yours,

"M. P. PARKS."

Dr. John Emory was subsequently elected Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was one of the most honored and beloved Bishops that church ever had. It was soon called to mourn his sudden and untimely death, which occurred while he was in the prime of life and in the height of a most useful career. His name is made honorable by its association with two colleges of the church—Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, founded in 1837, and Emory and Henry College, Virginia, founded 1838.

His son, Rev. Robert Emory, was subsequently president of Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, and was most highly esteemed by the church. His name is known and repeated to this day as the christian name of children whose fathers were under his care and tutelage at Dickinson College.

At this meeting the Board found the Preparatory School in operation. It had been opened in January, 1832. The first principal, Rev. Lorenzo Lea, A. M., was not able to take charge of it promptly because of a previous engagement at Chapel Hill University, North Carolina. He did commence his work, however, early in the year. His place was temporarily supplied by Mr. Hugh A. Garland, brother of Prof. Landon C. Garland, a graduate of Hampden-Sidney College, who afterwards was clerk of the House of Representatives of the United States, and the author of "The Life of John Randolph, of Roanoke."

The Preparatory School had during the first term a patronage of thirty-eight. The Board ordered for this School an assistant teacher.

In order to extend the influence and patronage of the College, the Board took steps to secure the cooperation of the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, offering a representation on the Board of such as should be nominated to it by the Conference.

SIXTH MEETING OF THE BOARD, JULY 4, 1832.

Rev. Martin P. Parks, professor-elect, requested by the Board at its last meeting, appeared and delivered "a learned, eloquent, and patriotic address" before the Board and the public.

The same gentleman, who had been appointed by the Board to visit the South Carolina Conference to invite their cooperation in the College enterprise, made a report of his mission, and laid before the Board the response of the Conference, which was as follows: "The committee to whom was referred the address and resolutions of the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, report:

"That they have had the same under consideration, and been favored With an interview With the esteemed agent of the Board, Brother Parks, and from all that has been presented to them, and which they have duly weighed and examined respecting the College, have come unanimously to the conclusion that the Conference ought to regard it with favor, and accordingly do recommend the following resolutions:

"Resolved, That the establishment of a well-endowed college, purely literary and scientific, in a desirable place in the Southern Atlantic States, and under the direction and control of a Faculty and Board of Trustees, consisting, and perpetually to consist, of members and friends of our church, is an object of first importance, vitally interesting to our Zion, and deserving of the best wishes and assistance of all our friends.

"Resolved, That Randolph-Macon College, of Virginia, instituted under an ample charter, of the State of Virginia, and now shortly to be opened under the auspices of the Virginia Conference, possesses every reasonable prospect of soon becoming in all respects all that the friends of literature and religion, and those of our own church, especially, could desire, and is entitled to, and ought to receive, the preference and patronage of this Conference.

"Resolved, That we earnestly recommend the Randolph-Macon College aforesaid to all our brethren and friends of the South Carolina Conference, and will cordially receive an agent and second his efforts when such an one shall be sent to solicit aid for the College.

"Resolved, That we accept a share in the supervision of the College approved by the Board of Trustees, and nominate six suitable persons of the ministry and membership of the church indifferently within our Conference limits to be elected into the Board of Trustees on our behalf.

"All of which is respectfully submitted.

"(Signed) W. CAPERS, Chairman.

"On motion, it was resolved unanimously that the above report he adopted.

"The Conference then proceeded to nominate the following Trustees, viz.:
Col. Thomas Williams, Major Alexander Speed, Rev. Dr. William Capers,
Rev. Wm. M. Kennedy, Rev. William M. Wightman, and Rev. William Holmes
Ellison.

"Teste: WILLIAM M. WIGHTMAN,

"Secretary.

"DARLINGTON, S. C., January 30, 1832."

The above nominees of the South Carolina Conference were elected members of the Board.

George W. Jeffries, of North Carolina, was elected a trustee in place of
John Nuttall, deceased.

The Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was invited to unite and co-operate with the Board on the same terms and conditions offered the Georgia Conference. An agent was appointed to visit these Conferences in order to secure their co-operation. John Early was appointed to visit them.

The Holston Conference was likewise invited to cooperate with the Board, and Rev. William Hammett was appointed to visit that Conference.

The Finance Committee reported the receipts and expenditures to date, as follows:

Receipts, . . . . . . $11,350 02
Expenditures,. . . . . 10,516 26
Balance on hand, . . . . $833 76

Appropriations for the first year (including salaries of agents of the
College, $300), $4,500.

A steward for the Boarding Hall was elected. The price of board of students was fixed at six dollars per month at the Steward's Hall.

On motion of Rev. William Hammett, Rev. Stephen Olin, of Franklin
College, Georgia, was unanimously elected President of the College.

It was ordered that the College be opened for students on October 9, 1832.

Prof. Edward Dromgoole Sims, A. M., of LaGrange College, Alabama, was elected Professor of Languages.

Dr. Olin and Prof. Sims subsequently accepted the positions to which they were elected. Their letters of acceptance were as follows:

"Rev. John Early,

"DEAR SIR: I hereby announce to you, and through you to the Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, that I accept the presidency of that institution, as conferred upon me in July, 1832. I design to resign my professorship in Franklin College as early as I can, consistently with duty and propriety, and hope to be at Randolph-Macon at least as early as the next commencement.

"Yours very respectfully,

"S. OLIN.

"ATHENS, GA., January 9, 1833."

"LAGRANGE, ALA., August 7, 1832.

"DEAR SIR: Your letter communicating the result of the late election of officers for Randolph-Macon College was received eight or ten days ago.

"In relation to the Professorship of Languages, to which the Trustees have done me the honor to invite me, I have to say: In a previous letter to you on this subject entire freedom to accept or decline was reserved by me until I could procure more satisfactory information from Brother Paine concerning the prospects of the institution. At this time there exists no objection in my mind, and accordingly I now make known to you, with pleasure, my acceptance of the appointment, and desire you to communicate the same to the Board of Trustees.

"Please accept for yourself and them my sincere regard and best wishes.

"With brotherly love, ED. D. SIMS.

"REV. JOHN EARLY"

The acceptance of Dr. Olin completed the Faculty, when it came, several months after the College was opened. Rev. M. P. Parks, professor-elect, acted as president until Dr. Olin entered on his duties. The first Board of Instruction was as follows:

Rev. Stephen Olin, A. M., D. D. (Middlebury College, Vermont), President and Professor of Moral Science.

Rev. Martin P. Parks, graduate West Point Academy, Professor of
Mathematics.

Landon C. Garland, A. M., Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia, Professor of
Natural Science.

Rev. Edward D. Sims, A. M., Chapel Hill (N. C. University), Professor of Languages.

Rev. Lorenzo Lea, A. B., Chapel Hill (N. C. University), Principal of
Preparatory School.

It will be appropriate and interesting to give sketches at this point of the men composing this first Faculty of the oldest Methodist College now in existence in America by date of incorporation; not simply on that account, but because they were mostly men of great ability, and made their mark on the times in which they lived in a way and to an extent that few others, if any, have ever done in the South.

Dr. Stephen Olin was a native of Vermont, as was Dr. Wilbur Fisk, who, contemporaneously with him, was moving on a parallel line at the Wesleyan University, in Connecticut. These names, Olin and Fisk, the Church, and the alumni of the colleges they presided over will never let die. Wherever the initials "S. O." and "W. F." are seen in any catalogue, it will be readily understood that they respectively stand for these names, and they are common now, over a half-century after the principals ceased to live.

President Olin was a graduate of Middlebury College, Vermont. He took the first honor in his class. From too much confinement and over-study his health gave way. On this account he went to South Carolina, and took charge of an academy at Cokesbury.

He was fortunate in casting his lot in a very religious community, whose leading men, patrons of the academy, were pious Methodists. He had had no acquaintance with Methodists. He was not only not a Christian, but he had been much troubled in his religious belief, and was inclined to he skeptical. His views were changed by reading Butler's Analogy and Paley's Evidences.

It was the rule and custom at the Cokesbury Academy to open the school with the reading of the Scriptures and prayer. This requirement he had to carry out. One day while engaged in prayer he was powerfully convicted, and immediately sought pardon, and found peace in believing. Very soon afterwards he felt called to preach, and entered the ministry, and after a few years he joined the Conference, and was appointed to a church in Charleston, S. C. His health, however, allowed him to remain but a short time in the itinerancy. He accepted a professorship in Franklin College, Athens, Ga., at which institution he remained till he left to become President of Randolph-Macon College.

[Illustration: REV. STEPHEN OLIN, D. D., First President of
Randolph-Macon College.]

Rev. Solomon Lea, who was associated with Dr. Olin during his presidency at Randolph-Macon, gives the following points in regard to him:

"In his physique he had large frame and limbs, but was well proportioned. He had dreamy eyes and sallow complexion, indicating deep affliction. He never saw a well day, and yet he faithfully attended to all his duties. I have heard it said that he thanked God for his affliction. Like Paul he could glory in his affliction. He preached but seldom on account of his health. I shall never forget his sermons. The impression made by them seemed to follow me day and night for weeks and months. His style and manner were peculiar, differing from any other man I ever heard. His language was simple, pure English, free from technicalities and pompous words. His manner rather labored, not from loudness of voice, nor from gesticulation, but his profound thoughts elaborated in his giant mind seemed to struggle for utterance. There was no attempt at what is called eloquence. I have heard most of the great preachers of the day, some of them yery great, but I never heard the equal of Olin."

Rev. Leroy M. Lee, D. D., long a member of the Virginia Conference, and editor of the Conference paper, said of Dr. Olin: "He was the only truly great man I have ever seen of whom I do not feel constrained to say, on analyzing his character,

"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view.'"

Rev. W. M. Lewis, D. D., of Missouri, who spent several years of college life under him, said of him: "He was of large and majestic form, a physical and intellectual giant, a paragon of moral and religious excellence, a perfect model of a Christian gentleman and scholar and pulpit orator. In my opinion the church has never had a better or greater man."

Rev. W. B. Rowzie, long connected with the College as Financial Agent and also as Chaplain, said: "He was a genial companion. No one could he in his society without feeling that he was in the company of one of the first men of the age, and yet he was modest and unassuming, as if unconscious of his greatness."

Dr. John E. Edwards, who visited the College frequently in its early history, wrote: "Dr. Olin's personal appearance impressed me as no other man ever impressed me. The Greeks would have deified him as a god."

W. F. Samford, LL. D., of Alabama, who graduated at Randolph-Macon College in June, 1837, wrote: "Physically, intellectually and morally, Stephen Olin was a giant—as veritable a one as Og, king of Bashan. He might well rank with the 'mighty men who were of old, men of renown' facile princeps among all the great men I have ever known. The etymology of this word, by which I have designated him, gigas, suggests its appropriateness—a man of violence and terror. Without the restraints of divine grace his passions were volcanic, his ambition boundless. He once told me that before his conversion to Christianity he 'would have bartered a crown in heaven for a seat in Congress.' How humble, how patient, how loving he became as a disciple of Christ! 'Great, humble man!' exclaimed Dr. Leroy Lee, of Virginia, when he met him at the Conference in Lynchburg in 1835. Olin had disclosed his whole heart to Lee in a rebuke which he administered to him for a display of untempered zeal in a debate on the Conference floor—'What business have you with any feelings in the matter? A man of God should be gentle and easy to be entreated.'"

It may be thought that the estimates of Dr. Olin above given were partial, and hence not fully reliable. It is proper, therefore, to give the opinion of Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, D. D., one of the most distinguished ministers of the Presbyterian Church, and one of the best writers of the present century. He speaks of him as President of Wesleyan University, Connecticut, about ten years after he left Randolph-Macon:

"In physical, mental, and spiritual stature combined, no Methodist in the last generation towered above Dr. Stephen Olin. He was a great writer, a great educator, and preeminently a great preacher of the glorious gospel. During the summer of 1845, While I was a student for the ministry, I spent some time at Middletown, Conn. Dr. Olin was then the President of the Wesleyan University, and was at the height of his fame and usefulness. Like all great men, he was very simple and unassuming in his manners; with his grand, logical head was coupled a warm, loving heart. When his emotional nature was once kindled it was like a Pennsylvania anthracite coal-mine on fire. These qualities of argumentative power and intense spiritual zeal combined made him a tremendous preacher. No one doubted that Stephen Olin had the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"In physical stature he was a king of men; above six feet in height, he had a broad, gigantic frame and a lofty brow that resembled the brow of Daniel Webster. The congregation of the principal Methodist Church in Middletown always knew when Dr. Olin was going to preach; for the astral lamps were moved off the pulpit to prevent their being smashed by the sweep of his long arms. He was a vehement speaker, and threw his whole man, from head to foot, into the tide of his impassioned oratory. In the blending of logical power with heat of spiritual feeling and vigor of declamation, he was unsurpassed by any American preacher of his time. His printed discourses read well, but they lack the electricity of the moment and the man. Thunder and lightning must be heard and seen: they cannot be transferred to paper. As I recall Olin now (after the lapse of five and forty years); as I see him again in the full flow of his majestic eloquence, or when surrounded by his students in the class-room, I do not wonder that the Middletown boys were ready to pit him against any president or any preacher on the American soil. There are old graduates of the University yet living who delight to think of him and to speak of him, and to assert that

"'Whoso had beheld him then.
Had felt an awe and admiration without dread;
And might have said,
That sure he seemed to be the king of men.
Less than the greatest that he could not be
Who carried in his port such might and majesty.'

"In August, 1851, I paid a visit to Professor Smith, whose wife was my kinswoman, and on my arrival I learned that the President of the University was dangerously ill. The next morning my host startled me with the announcement, 'Dr. Olin is dead!' He had fallen at the age of fifty-four, when he was just in his splendid prime. There was great mourning for him throughout the whole Methodist realm, for he was a prince in their Israel, who held an imperial rank above any of his contemporaries. He took a large life with him when he went home to heaven; and valuable as were his writings, yet his imposing personality was greater than any of his published productions."

Rev. Martin P. Parks, Professor of Mathematics, acted as President of the College from its opening session, in October, 1832, until Dr. Olin took the place, March, 1834. He was a minister in North Carolina when elected professor. He had been educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where mathematics was taught more thoroughly than at other schools of that day. He was a brilliant preacher, and on that account he was put forward frequently, like his contemporaries, Hammett and Maffitt, to advance the enterprises of the church. Of his administration of the College not much can be said. His military education had much to do with making the laws exacting and minute. Rev. Solomon Lea (quoted above) said of Professor Parks:

"Professor Parks was a great and good man, a fine preacher, was of a sad, morose temperament, arising, no doubt, mainly from his physical condition, as he was a great dyspeptic, and the most nervous person I ever met. He could not bear the crowing of a rooster or the bleating of a calf; this, together with other considerations, had the tendency to make him suspicious, cold, and envious, so much so that Dr. Olin remarked to me that he had to go often once a month to Parks' house, read a portion of the Bible, and then pray together, and part with expressions of mutual love and kind feelings. This was often done by Dr. Olin. Poor Brother Parks, great and good man as he was (for I never doubted his piety), finally yielded so much to his temperament and jealous feelings as to resign his position, withdrew from the Methodist Church, and joined the Episcopalians."

Professor Landon Cabell Garland, first professor of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Geology, was a native of Nelson county, Va., of which his father was the clerk. He was born March 24, 1810. At the age of nineteen he took his degree of A. B. at Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia. Immediately afterward he was elected to the chair of Chemistry at Washington College, Lexington, Va., where he continued till October, 1832, when he took charge of the same chair at Randolph-Macon. Bishop Fitzgerald, in Eminent Methodists, says of him: "His change from Washington College to Randolph-Macon was characteristic of Dr. Garland. There was more money in the one place, but more usefulness in the other. He was a Methodist, and he felt that Methodism had a paramount claim to his services." This was indicated clearly in his letter of acceptance of the place. Few men ever filled chairs at two colleges at an age just past twenty-one. This will indicate what estimate was placed on him at so early an age, and what was proven in this case to have been fully correct, by his long service of sixty-five years as an educator. Nothing but a most natural and remarkable modesty prevented him from becoming as conspicuous as he was well entitled to be, unless it was that he spent his long life in the South, the Nazareth of the nation, out of which few "prophets can come," if we judge by The Cyclopedia of Biography, which side-tracks such men as Garland and Duncan, whose names will shine "forever and ever" when thousands of those given in full, with portraits, shall have been forgotten, as if they never had lived.

If a man could be too modest and retiring Dr. Garland was such a man. Notwithstanding this, he lived to become President of Randolph-Macon College from 1836, after Dr. Olin left, till 1847, then Professor and President of the University of Alabama, Professor in the University of Mississippi, and finally Chancellor of the Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tenn. In all these high places he influenced for good hundreds of young men whose praise is in all the churches and homes of the land. When he died, in 1895, these multiplied hundreds rose up and "called him blessed." If Virginia ever gave birth to a man who did more real service to the manhood of the South, his name and place would be hard to find.

Prof. Edward Dromgoole Sims was born in Brunswick county, Va., March 24, 1805. He was the grandson of Rev. Edward Dromgoole, one of the pioneer Methodist preachers in the State of Virginia, and one of the trustees appointed by Bishop Asbury for Ebenezer Academy, before referred to as the first Methodist school of its kind in the State.* He was a man of talents and great influence, and a member of the original Virginia Conference. One of his sons, George C. Dromgoole, was a member of Congress for many years, and was probably the most talented and influential member of the Virginia delegation in his day.

* This school was established in 1796, instead of 1786, as the
Records of Brunswick County, recently found, show.

Prof. Sims took his A. B. degree at the University of North Carolina in 1824, and his A. M. degree in 1827, and was a tutor at that University for three years. He was a Professor at LaGrange College, Alabama, at the time he was elected Professor at Randolph-Macon. Like Dr. Olin his personal appearance was very marked. He was a man of great dignity and gentlemanly manner, and a most devoted Christian. Though not endowed by nature with the mental power of others of his associates, he nevertheless, by industrious application, became a fine scholar and a model professor. He was the originator of the "English Course" in colleges, of which more will be said further on. His department embraced the "Ancient Languages."

The Preparatory Department was under the control of Rev. Lorenzo Lea, an A. M. of the University of North Carolina, and a native of North Carolina. His contemporaries spoke well of him as a man of fine accomplishments and skill as a teacher. He also had been a tutor at his Alma Mater.

Thus equipped, Randolph-Macon College entered on its career—a career full of unforeseen trials and difficulties. It was to a great extent a new experiment, and the great need of the College, without which few, if any, have ever lived beyond a sickly existence, that is, a proper endowment, was a desideratum unprovided for at this time. The funds on hand and subscriptions did not suffice to supply the buildings necessary and other outfit. Other colleges of the Methodist Church in distant States had entered on the same course. They had gone down or were soon to go down. This one now to be launched, under the good providence and blessing of God, was to survive the chill of poverty and the disasters of war—cast down often, but not destroyed. After over a half-century of struggle it was to anchor in a safe haven. Hope kindly blinded the eyes of those who launched the ship and prophesied a prosperous voyage. Faith sowed in tears ofttimes, and after many days gathered in the precious harvest. It was to be indeed Alma Mater to many sons, and daughters, too, and a mother of many other Methodist colleges, blessing every State in the South, some of them surpassing in outfit and endowment the mother. As a loving mother rejoices with and in her daughters, so does Randolph-Macon rejoice in the colleges of the church she has lived to see grow and flourish.

Before proceeding further, let us look at the location and outfit of the
College at the opening day.

The first College building erected stood on gently rising ground, one mile west of the village of Boydton, in the centre of what had been a race-track. On the north was an "old field," once cultivated, but now partially covered with pine and broom-sedge, a part seamed with gulleys. One splendid sweet-gum tree fronted the west wing. On the south there were small oaks of second growth, just large enough to furnish partial shade. Outside of the campus further on were thickets on both sides of the avenue leading to the Clarksville road. The campus contained about four acres, and was enclosed by a heavy wooden fence. The style of the building is shown on the opposite page.

[Illustration: RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE. Main Building, 1832.]

The centre building contained the chapel on the north side—a room about fifty-two feet by thirty-two, with galleries on all sides but one. The other parts of this building were arranged for lecture-rooms, laboratory and halls for the literary societies. The wings of the centre building contained each twenty-four dormitories, each large enough for two occupants. Until the Professors' houses were built there was not a dwelling-house nearer than Boydton. Soon after the College was built, an avenue was opened from it to Boydton, bringing the College building and the village in sight of each other. Clarksville, a town of some importance in the tobacco trade, was twelve miles distant. Here was a bank and mercantile and tobacco houses.

The country around was such as was usual in the uplands of South-side Virginia, fairly productive of tobacco and grain. Petersburg was the nearest town of much size. To this town, about seventy miles away, much of the products of the country was wagoned over a dirt road, indifferently good in some seasons and almost impassible in others. The people around the College were kind and hospitable, representative of old Virginia in those days, not Methodist particularly in their persuasion; the more wealthy inclined to the Episcopal Church. There was an old Methodist Church in Boydton, but after the College was built the chapel became the worshipping place for the Methodists of the community.

The Preparatory School, a building containing two school-rooms, stood about a mile away from the College. The "Steward's Hall," a two-story brick building, fronted the College building on the north, intended to afford board for the students. In "old Virginia" style, this was several hundred yards distant from the College building.

The President's house stood about the same distance away. It was a plain brick building of one story. To the south and southwest other professors' houses were located, all with a sufficiency of land for gardens and lawns.

"The Hotel" was built soon after the College was opened, about a quarter of a mile to the south, on the Clarksville road. This had about a dozen rooms in it, and was intended mainly for the boys at the Preparatory School and to accommodate visitors.

It will be seen that the Building Committee had much to do before suitable accommodations could be provided for the professors and students. That many mistakes were made in this work, and in the location of the buildings and other matters, was not to be wondered at. They were the result of inexperience in the men in charge, not of any want of good intention and effort on their part. When it is considered that all the lumber for the buildings had to be sawed by the old-fashioned "pit-saw," and much of the other material had to be wagoned for seventy miles, we must not wonder that two years were consumed in bringing the buildings to partial completion.

As the buildings stood when completed, they were as good as those of any other college in the State had, and possibly better. The University of Virginia, opened in 1825, had better and more extensive ones.

The regular exercises of the College proper commenced on the day appointed, October 9th, 1832, Prof. M. P. Parks acting as President, in the absence of President Olin.

If any account of the opening-day exercises were published it has not come down to us. The first schedule of expenses was as follows:

Tuition fee for session of ten months, . . . . $30 00
Board (meals only), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 00
Bedding and washing, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 00
Fuel,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 00
Lights,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 00
Deposit fee, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 00
Total, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$120 00

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees after the opening was held
February 5, 1833.

At this meeting the following communication from the Georgia Conference
Was received:

"LAGRANGE, Ga.

"We feel a deep interest in the success of Randolph-Macon College. We have full confidence in its moral and literary character and prospects, and we will recommend it to the patronage of all who may be disposed to send their sons or wards beyond the limits of the State to be educated.

"We will appoint four Trustees agreeable to the proposal made by Brother
Early, the Agent of the College, who visited us. Whereupon the
Conference nominated the Rev. Ignatius Few and Rev. Lovick Pierce,
members of the Conference, and Seaborn Jones and John C. Poythress,
Esquires, for that purpose.

"Resolved, That the Trustees of Randolph-Macon College be invited through their representative, the Rev. John Early, to send an agent, whenever they may judge it most suitable, to obtain donations within the Conference in aid of the institution; and that Brother Early be, and he is hereby, invited to take up contributions.

"(Signed) JNO. HOWARD,

"Sec'y Georgia Conference."

The nominees named above were elected Trustees of the College.

Rev. I. A. Few and Rev. L. Pierce were, by resolution of the Board, requested to act as agents for the College in the Boards of the Georgia Conference for securing funds for the College.

Rev. Robert G. Loving, A. B., was elected assistant teacher in the
Preparatory School.

Rev. John Early was appointed Agent for the College in the place of Rev.
H. G. Leigh, resigned, and Rev. W. A. Smith was appointed Assistant
Agent in place of Rev. William Hammett who had signified his intention
to resign.

The salary of President Olin was fixed at $1,500.

The first report of the Faculty, made through its Secretary, Prof.
Garland, gave the following points of interest:

Though the session opened under many difficulties and embarrassments, with buildings not entirely completed, still great satisfaction was expressed at the success attained, and at the spirit and character of the students who attended the first term. A number of these were from the States of North and South Carolina and Georgia. The progress made in the College course had been marked and satisfactory. The main drawback had been in some cases a want of preparation for the course.

The Faculty made a strong appeal for apparatus for the Natural Science Department and for a library. In response to this appeal, the Board made an appropriation of $2,600 to the former and $1,000 to the latter.

The first session closed July 4, 1833. At the close Rev. William M. Wightman, one of the trustees from South Carolina, delivered the first literary address before the students and the public, at the request of the Washington Literary Society. This Society had been organized February, 1833. As it has been one of the main features of the College, along with its sister society, the Franklin, it will be interesting to give the names of its officers and members from the original records:

President, ROBERT T. MARSHALL, Virginia. Vice-President, THOMAS ADAMS, Virginia. Secretary, JOHN G. PARKS, Virginia. Treasurer, ADDISON LEA, North Carolina. Collector, ISAAC C. CROFT, South Carolina. Censor, J. G. BANKS, Virginia.

Members.

ADAMS, R. E. G., . . . . Va.
BAIRD, CHARLES W., . . . Va.
BLACKWELL, THOMAS, . . . Va.
COLEMAN, J. J., . . . . Va.
GOODE, ROBERT S., . . . Va.
HAMLIN, JOHN F., . . . . Va.
INGRAM, ROBT. M., . . . N. C.
ISBELL, THOMAS M., . . . Va.
JONES, JAMES R., . . . . Va.
JONES, ROBERT T., . . . Va.
PRICE, NATHANIEL S., . . Va.
SOMERVILLE, R. B., . . . N. C.
SMITH, WILLIAM B., . . . Va.
TUCKER, JOHN E., . . . . Va.
WATKINS, J. W.,. . . . . Va.
WILLIAMSON, JAMES J.,. . Va.
WILLIAMS, JAMES M.,. . . Va.
WINFIELD, JOHN O., . . . Va.
WINFIELD, W. S., . . . . Va.

Immediately after the organization the following were introduced and made members:

BLAIN, GEO. W.,. . . . . Va.
BURNEY, JAMES, . . . . . N. C.
CALDWELL, JOHN H., . . . N. C.
CUTLER, ROBERT E., . . . Va.
DORRELL, AUGUSTUS, . . . S. C.
DRINKARD, W. R., . . . . Va.
DU PRE, WARREN,. . . . . S. C.
GAYLE, ALEX. T., . . . . Va.
GUNN, ALLEN M.,. . . . . N. C.
JENNINGS, JONA. B.,. . . S. C.
LYNCH, MONTGOMERY, . . . Va.
OWEN, WASHINGTON A., . . Va.
PERKINS, J. Q. A., . . . N. C.
STEWART, THEO.,. . . . . Ga.
STRATTON, R. B., . . . . Va.

To this Society was assigned the northeast room on the fourth floor of the centre building. One of the first acts of the Society was the formation of a library, which rapidly increased, and in ten years numbered two thousand volumes.

Not only did the society rapidly accumulate a library, but the hall was fitted up with a beautiful rostrum, president's chair, etc. A full length portrait of Washington was purchased, which to this day is the chief ornament of the hall.

Professor Warren Du Pre, class of 1836, one of the original members, who was a member when this portrait was bought, wrote an account of the inauguration of it to the author, which is worthy of preservation.

"MARTHA WASHINGTON COLLEGE,

"ABINGDON, VA., May 30 1877.

"MY DEAR OLD COLLEGE FRIEND: I have forgotten the name of the artist, a rising young man in New York, who copied it from a painting belonging to a wealthy gentleman of that city. Dr. Olin was on a visit to New York, and we put the matter in his hands. The artist was very highly recommended to him by good judges. His price was $600, but when informed by Dr. Olin that it was for a college literary society, he agreed to deduct one half. The frame, I think, cost $60, and freight about $20, making a total of $380.

"Dr. Olin scolded us for our extravagance, but when the portrait was finished, moderated his wrath. The amount was raised by subscription, altogether, among the members of the society—we numbered then over sixty members, as well as I can recollect. I. C. Croft and myself were on the committee, with one other, probably, J. O. Wingfield.

"When the portrait arrived and was placed in the hall, old John Blackwell, with his horse-collar legs (as Croft called them) was appointed to unveil it and make a speech. This he did in his peculiar style; and I think Old George was pleased with the eulogy delivered on him.

"Yours truly,

"WARREN DU PRE."

Rev. John Early, who had been appointed to visit the Baltimore Annual Conference of the M. E. Church, reported to the Board that the Conference had declined to cooperate in the College enterprise, with kind expressions of interest in it. Dickinson College had recently been made a Methodist College, and the Conference preferred to patronize that, it being more accessible to their people.

The charter of the College having been amended, so that a president of the Board could be elected by that body, Rev. John Early was elected President.

The following resolution was unanimously adopted by the Board:

"The Board take great pleasure in giving a cordial expression of their thanks to the Faculty of this institution for the very able and faithful manner in which they have discharged the duties of their several stations. We consider them as having acted on the great principles on which the College was founded, and upon the continuance of which its prosperity in the future depends; and we have full confidence in their ability and disposition to support these principles in their future administration, and they are therefore worthy of the same confidence from the numerous friends and patrons of the College and the warm affection of the young gentlemen who may be placed under their care.

"It is the pleasure of the Board that these resolutions be read to the students of the College."

The second session of the College opened September 4, 1833, under favorable circumstances. A laboratory and library had been purchased, and the latter had been increased by donations. Bishop J. O. Andrew had donated forty-three volumes, and Judge A. B. Longstreet thirty.

A few days after the session opened another literary society was formed. It was first styled the Union Literary Society, but on the 7th of September, at the next meeting, the name was changed to Franklin. At the organization George Stewart, of Georgia, presided, and William C. Knight, of Virginia, acted as secretary. The following constituted its first regular organization:

President, JAMES L. BROWN, Virginia. Vice-President, JOHN A. TALLEY, Virginia. Secretary, GEORGE STEWART, Georgia. Treasurer, THOMAS S. JACOCKS, North Carolina. Collector, JOSEPH B. PANNILL, Virginia. Censor, FRANCIS W. BOYD, Virginia.

Members.

BATTE, W. C.,. . . . . . Va.
BETTS, WILLIAM S., . . . Va.
BLAKE, CHARLES H., . . . Va.
BLAND, WILLIAM R., . . . Va.
BLUNT, WALTER F.,. . . . Va.
BOISSEAU, GEORGE F., . . Va.
CARROLL, JAMES . . . . . Va.
CLAIBORNE, FIELD,. . . . Va.
CLEGG, BAXTER, . . . . . N. C.
CLEMMONS, JUNIUS L., . . N. C.
DAVIS, ARTHUR, . . . . . Va.
DORTCH, ISAAC F.,. . . . N. C.
DRINKARD, WILLIAM R.,. . Va.
EVANS, AUGUSTUS C.,. . . N. C.
HICKS, BENJAMIN L.,. . . Va.
HITE, BENJAMIN W., . . . Va.
JEFFRESS, LUTHER C., . . Va.
JONES, ALBERT C.,. . . . Va.
JONES, AMOS W.,. . . . . N. C.
JONES, JOHN J.,. . . . . N. C.
JONES, JOSEPH S.,. . . . N. C.
KNIGHT, WILLIAM C.,. . . Va.
MULLEN, FRANCES N.,. . . N. C.
OLDS, LEWIS P.,. . . . . N. C.
PERKINS, NATHAN, . . . . N. C.
ROSE, GARLAND, . . . . . Va.
STEDMAN, EDWARD, . . . . N. C.
STOCKWELL, JOHN M.,. . . Va.
TILLETT, JOHN, . . . . . N. C.
WILLIAMS, SOLOMON P.,. . N. C.

[Illustration: [Uncaptioned portrait of William C. Knight, inscribed
"Yours truly, W.C. Knight.">[]

The Franklin Hall was immediately under the Washington, on the third story. The rivalry between these societies was from the first strong, but regulated by conventional rules. The membership took in every student in the College at the beginning and for many years afterwards. There was only one from Georgia for many years a member of the Washington Society, and no one from South Carolina was ever a member of the Franklin. Students from the other States were divided about equally. Robert E. Cutler, of Virginia, gave tone to the oratorical style of the Washington, and William F. Samford, of Georgia, to the Franklin. The difference was thought to be observable for thirty years, until the year the societies were temporarily disbanded.

No catalogue of students was published in the early years of the College. The only publication made was "The Charter and Laws of Randolph-Macon College, with the Names of the Trustees and Faculty, and the Course of Studies. Richmond: Printed by Nesbitt & Walker. 1833." This prescribed four courses in the College, viz., Languages (Latin and Greek), Mathematics, Natural Science, and Ethics. Upon the completion of these four courses the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred by the Trustees, on the recommendation of the Faculty. No A. M. degree course was prescribed, but all A. B. men could claim A. M. degrees who could show that they had continued their studies or pursued courses of professional study for three years.

Dr. Stephen Olin, president-elect, gave up his place at Franklin College, Georgia, December, 1833, and made his preparations to take the presidency at Randolph-Macon. Of this move he wrote Bishop I. O. Andrew:

"Upon the whole, I trust the hand of God is in these indications, and that our church will see and obey it. My vocation may have given a wrong bias to my views, but I must regard the subject of education as the highest after the living ministry; nor do I believe it possible for our church to maintain its ground, to say nothing of its fulfilling its high obligation to Christ and the world, without a great and immediate reformation. I was never so convinced that we must educate our own youth in our own schools, and there is no work to which I so desire to consecrate myself." On his way to Virginia he visited the South Carolina Conference at Charleston. Here he ably advocated the College and secured a pledge from the Conference to endow a professorship, the first we hear of endowment. The whole journey was made in his private carriage, his wife accompanying him. To her he dictated his "Inaugural Address," which she wrote out. Reaching the College after a long and tedious journey, he delivered the address in the College chapel. This address produced a profound impression on those who heard and on those who read it. It was published in the journals of the day, and was highly praised. Governor Tazewell said he had "never heard or read any similar address of equal ability so well suited to such an occasion." It is well worthy of republication in this history, but space will not permit. To show its chief point, the following extracts are given:

"In proportion as virtue is more valuable than knowledge, pure and enlightened morality will be regarded by every considerate father the highest recommendation of a literary institution. The youth is withdrawn from the salutary restraints of parental influence and authority and committed to other guardians at a time of life most decisive of his prospects and destinies. The period devoted to education usually impresses its own character upon all his future history. Vigilant supervision, employment and seclusion from all facilities and temptations to vice are the ordinary and essential securities which every institution of learning is bound to provide for the sacred interests which are committed to its charge. But safeguards and negative provisions are not sufficient. The tendencies of our nature are retrograde, and they call for the interposition of positive remedial influences. The most perfect human society speedily degenerates if the active agencies which were employed in its elevation are once withdrawn or suspended. What, then, can be expected of inexperienced youth sent forth from the atmosphere of domestic piety and left to the single support of its own untested and unsettled principles in the midst of circumstances which often prove fatal to the most practiced virtue! I frankly confess that I see no safety but in the preaching of the cross and in a clear and unfaltering exhibition of the doctrines and sanctions of Christianity…. Christianity is our birthright. It is the richest inheritance bequeathed us by our noble fathers. Are the guardians of public education alone 'halting between two opinions'? Do they think that, in fact and for practical purposes, the truth of Christianity is still a debatable question? Is it still a question whether the generations yet to rise up and occupy the wide domain of this great empire, to be representatives of our name, our freedom, and our glory before the nations of the earth, shall be a Christian or infidel people? Can wise and practical men, who are engaged in rearing up a temple of learning to form the character and destinies of their posterity, for a moment hesitate to make 'Jesus Christ the chief corner-stone'?"

When President Olin took charge of the College he found the system of departments somewhat elective. This was changed on his recommendation, to a curriculum of four classes, by the unanimous vote of the Faculty.

At the annual meeting of the Board, June, 1834, an additional college building was ordered to be built, a four story brick one, to contain thirty-two dormitories, adjacent to the main building. This was to supply rooms for the increased number of students.

The salaries of full professors was fixed at $1,000. The following resolution was adopted:

"That whereas the South Carolina and Georgia Conferences have manifested a deep interest in the permanent establishment of Randolph-Macon College by each agreeing to raise a sum sufficient to endow a professorship, and in consideration of which professorships they ask the privilege of sending, perpetually, the former Conference five and the latter seven students, to be educated free of tuition fees; and whereas we highly appreciate the generous spirit of said Conferences, therefore we hereby agree to receive ten from each of these Conferences free of tuition fees."

As further evidence of the interest felt by these Conferences, it was noted that Rev. W. M. Wightman, of South Carolina, and Dr. Lovick Pierce and Mr. E. Sinclair, of Georgia, attended the meeting of the Board at this session.

At the annual meeting held June, 1835, Professor E. D. Sims was granted leave to visit Europe to prosecute the study of Modern Languages, and particularly Anglo-Saxon and Gothic, preparatory to the more thorough teaching of the English language. This, so far as we know, was the first move made by any college in America, and marks an epoch in that department. Prof. J. B. Henneman, in the Sewanee Review, in a sketch of the teaching of English, in American colleges, gives the credit of inaugurating the English course to Randolph-Macon College.

A distinct and special effort was made at this meeting of the Board to endow a professorship, and the President of the Board made a subscription towards it of two hundred dollars. This was to be called the Virginia Conference Scholarship.

To fill the vacancy caused by Prof. Sims' absence in Europe, Rev. George
F. Pierce, of Georgia, was elected Professor of Languages.

[Illustration: JOHN C. BLACKWELL, D. D., (A. B. 1835).]

At this commencement the first degree of A. B. was conferred. The recipient was John C. Blackwell, of Lunenburg county. He was a typical alumnus, the leader of a great host that followed him, who lived to bless the world by their example and teaching. Beginning his active life after graduation as a tutor in Randolph-Macon College, he continued to teach until he became enfeebled by age. He founded the "Hinton Hill Academy" in his native county, and taught there for nine years. He was then, in 1848, elected President of the "Buckingham Female Institute," a school for girls, founded by the Virginia Annual Conference, one of the best, as it was the first, built by the church, in the State. He was, after this school was broken up by the war, made President of the Petersburg Female College. This, too, was broken up by the war. After the war he was elected Professor of Chemistry in Randolph-Macon College, just prior to the removal of the College to Ashland. He closed a long and useful life as President of the "Danville School for Young Ladies." During all his active life he was a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and preached as he had opportunity. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from his Alma Mater. The number of young people brought into the church through his instruinentality have been counted by the hundred. The first to receive a degree, he was the first alumnus to have a son and a grandson to receive the same. He died February 1, 1885. He was elected tutor in the College June, 1835.

Changes had occurred during the year. Fisher A. Foster had been elected Principal of the Preparatory School in place of Lorenzo Lea. Rev. Jno. A. Miller and Rev. John Kerr had been elected assistant agents in place of Rev. W. A. Smith and Rev. Thos. Crowder. The Treasurer, John W. Lewis, had died during the year: Beverly Sydnor was elected in his place. Bishop J. O. Andrew was elected a Trustee in place of Major Speer, of South Carolina: Hugh A. Harland in place of J. W. Lewis, deceased, and M. M. Dance in place of Green Penn, resigned.

COLLEGE YEAR 1835-1836

This year was successful under the guidance of President Olin, who was still in feeble health.

[Illustration: REV. ALFRED T. MANN, A. B., D. D. An Effective Minister in the Georgia Conference Sixty Years Ago.]

Prof. M. P. Parks resigned at the close of the session; Prof. Garland was transferred from the chair of Natural Science to fill the vacancy thus made. Robert Tolfree, of New York, took Prof. Garland's chair. Rev. Mr. Tomlinson was elected to the chair of English Literature.

The degree of A. B. was conferred June, 1836, on the following
graduates: John O. Winfield, Virginia; Addison Lea, North Carolina;
Robert S. Goode, Virginia; Charles W. Baird, Virginia; Alfred T. Mann,
Georgia; Thomas M. Isbell, Virginia.

So feeble had the health of Dr. Olin become that he asked, in June, 1836, leave of absence to visit Europe, which was granted with great reluctance by the Board.

The following quotation from the Life and Letters of President Olin is given as a closing reference to his presidency. He saw the College for the last time March, 1837:

"The last Commencement at which Dr. Olin presided during his connection with Randolph-Macon College was in June, 1836….

"The conviction grew upon him, from many unmistakable indications, that his health must rapidly break up, unless a year or two of retirement from intellectual labor and all kinds of mental excitement, and devoted to foreign travel, should, under the blessing of God, restore him. The return of cool weather in the autumn and approaching winter failed to recruit his shattered nerves or restore his health. His course was then at once decided on. After making several ineffectual efforts to have his place supplied, he consented, at the earnest wish of the Board of Trustees, to retain at least a formal connection with the College while in Europe, leaving the future, then so uncertain, open to the indications of Providence. To supply the vacancy in the Faculty, an additional officer was elected, and Professor Garland was appointed chairman of the Faculty and president pro tempore….

"The day of his departure came. His last interview with the Faculty was very touching. He was too feeble to sit up, but, reclining on a couch, he spent some half-hour in conversation respecting the affairs of the College. He felt satisfied, from the lengthened experiment he had made, that there was little or no hope of his being able to do efficient labor in a Southern climate, even though his health might be improved somewhat by his contemplated voyage. Although the Board of Trustees had declined to accept his resignation, and had given him as long a furlough as the exigencies of his health might require, yet he was persuaded that the time of his final departure from Randolph-Macon had come. It was very doubtful whether he should ever again see the face of any of his colleagues. His parting words had all the tenderness and dignity of a Christian who bowed with uncomplaining submission to the will of God—of a philosopher who looked calmly at the future, whatever its developments might be, whether bright or dark—of a friend who was about to carry with him the warm attachments of a heart alive to every generous sentiment and affectionate impulse. At the close of the interview his brother officers, with moistened eyes, knelt around his couch, and Professor Wightman, at his request, offered up a fervent prayer to the throne of the heavenly mercy, that God would graciously preserve in his holy keeping the life of their brother and friend, restore his health, and bring him back to his native land, prepared for greater usefulness than ever to the church and cause of Christ.

"At the close of this affecting interview the doctor was supported to his carriage, and left the College, never to see it again. His presidency had been a brief but brilliant period in its fortunes. He had manifested the highest adaptation to the responsible office which he held there. His unrivaled judgment, his shining talents, his far-seeing sagacity, his prudence in administration and firmness in government, his masterly grasp of influence, wielded for the highest good of the young men who came from far and near, attracted by the prestige of his name, his genuine love of learning, and enthusiasm in communicating knowledge, formed a combination of great qualities very rarely met with in men of even the highest reputation. No student or graduate of the College who enjoyed the benefits of a personal acquaintance with Dr. Olin will think the foregoing estimate of his worth as a presiding officer strained or overstated in the least particular."

Professor Hardy, of La Grange College, Alabama, who was a student at Randolph-Macon College during Dr. Olin's administration, has retained the following distinct remembrances of him:

"Dr. Olin left the College of Randolph-Macon in the spring of 1837, a few months before the class of which I was a member took their first degree. We waited on him in a body, and asked him to put his signature to our diplomas, for we cherished for him a filial affection, and felt that his name was indispensable. Many youthful hearts were sad the day he left the College for his European tour. The students met in chapel, adopted appropriate resolutions, and appointed two of their number to attend him to the railroad, a distance of sixty miles. He was worn down by disease, and we had no expectation of seeing his face again. He rode in his carriage on a bed, and preferred to go with no one attending him save his faithful, devoted wife. We bade him farewell, as children shake the hand of their dying father, and we saw him no more."

This was the marked event in the history of the College for the fifth year, 1836-'37.

Professor L. C. Garland was made President pro tempore. Rev. Mr.
Tomlinson having declined to accept the chair of English Literature,
Rev. William M. Wightman was elected to it, and accepted it. Professor
David Duncan was elected Professor of Languages in place of Rev. Geo. F.
Pierce who had declined to accept it.

[Illustration: REV. W.M. WIGHTMAN, D. D.]

Professor William M. Wightman was an alumnus of Charleston College, South Carolina, and a member of the South Carolina Conference. He took the chair of English Literature and Rhetoric which Professor E. D. Sims was expected to fill after his return from Europe. He was a man of decided talent and culture, and was in the prime of life, and well fitted for the work assigned him. He remained until Professor Sims returned from Europe, and then returned to South Carolina. He filled other very important and prominent positions in after years, viz.: The editor's chair of the South Carolina Christian Advocate, the Presidency of Wofford College, Spartanburg, S. C., and the Southern University, Greensboro, Ala. While at the latter he was elected, in 1866, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which office he served till his death, February 15, 1882. He received the degree of D. D. from Randolph-Macon College.

[Illustration: PROFESSOR DAVID DUNCAN, A. M.]

Professor David Duncan was a native of Ireland, and a graduate of Glasgow University, Scotland. At the time of his election to the chair of Ancient Languages he was conducting a flourishing classical school in the city of Norfolk, Va. The whole of an extended manhood was spent in teaching, the prime of it from 1837 to 1857. To his high scholarship was added a singularly genuine character and gentlemanly and genial deportment, which made him acceptable to his associates and popular with his classes. He was brimming full always with wit and humor. He was the father of Rev. J. A. Duncan, D. D., President of Randolph-Macon College, 1868-1877 and Bishop W. W. Duncan of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He died at Wofford College, where he was Professor of Ancient Languages, in 1881.

The year 1836-'37 was marked by the first report of the raising of a considerable instalment of the proposed Virginia Conference endowment of a Professorship. Rev. Jno. Early reported eighty-seven subscribers of two hundred dollars each, making $17,400. It was also a prosperous and satisfactory year in College work. The report of the Faculty made to the Trustees referred with emphasis to the good deportment and studiousness which had characterized the student body during the closing session. Their report also for the first time indicated the distinctions in the graduating class, which were as follows:

1. JAMES W. HARDY, . . . . . . . . . . Georgia.
2. FRANCIS N. MULLEN,. . . . . . . . . North Carolina.
3. JUNIUS L. CLEMONS,. . . . . . . . . North Carolina.
4. LEWIS W. CABELL,. . . . . . . . . . Virginia.
5. ROBERT M. INGRAM, . . . . . . . . . Virginia.
6. WARREN DU PRE,. . . . . . . . . . . South Carolina.
ADAMS, RICHARD E. G., . . . . . . . Virginia.
BEARD, CLOUGH S., . . . . . . . . . South Carolina.
BLAIN, GEORGE W., . . . . . . . . . Virginia.
CROFT, ISAAC C.,. . . . . . . . . . South Carolina
GEE, JESSE, . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia.
HORSELEY, WILLIAM A., . . . . . . . Virginia.
MONTGOMERY, HENRY T., . . . . . . . Virginia.
SAMFORD, WILLIAM F.,. . . . . . . . Georgia.
STEWART, THEOPHILUS,. . . . . . . . Georgia.
WILLIAMSON, JAMES J., . . . . . . . Virginia.

In all sixteen.

The first-honor man pronounced the Valedictory Address; the second-honor man, the Latin Salutatory; the third, the Philosophical.

[Illustration: PROFESSOR WARREN DU PRE, A. M. Tutor at Randolph-Macon
College; Professor at Wofford College, South Carolina; President Martha
Washington Female College, Virginia.]

COLLEGE YEAR 1837-'38.

This year, under the presidency of Professor Landon C. Garland, acting president, the college made good progress. In the annual report of the Faculty made to the Trustees June, 1838, they say: "The past year has been one of peculiar interest and pleasure on account of the highly respectable conduct and praiseworthy diligence of the students generally, the number of whom has amounted to one hundred and ten in the College, and over fifty in the Preparatory School."