ACHIEVING ONE'S IDEAL.
The six years following Mrs. Carr's connection with the University of
the State of Missouri, might be characterized as the time of
preparation, struggle and victory; preparation in the definite
formulation of plans for her last educational experience; struggle to
find the suitable place and the requisite means for the establishment of
her college, and the victory of final achievement. This period extends
from 1888 to 1894.
As we have seen, it was Mr. Carr's earnest desire for his wife to take a
long rest, on his acceptance of the church at Springfield; and no
attentive reader of Mrs. Carr's life can doubt the need of rest at this
time--a rest which, in her case, meant keeping house--the every-day work
of many women.
While she rests, this biography may also rest, in the respect of dealing
with events, since the occurrences in the simple life are most enjoyed
in proportion as they make dull reading, and the days at Springfield
were happy days.
To illustrate Mrs. Carr's force of character it may be related that one
day when her finger was cut off, she found the dismembered part in the
folding door, quickly fastened the end back in place, and held it there
till help could be summoned.
A brief note from the Ladies Aid Society of Sheldon, Missouri, asking if
Mrs. Carr can come to deliver a lecture in their interests, must be
taken as an example of countless others of a similar nature. The
following statement from the President of the Missouri University, fitly
serves as a transition from former experiences, to the new phase of Mrs.
Carr's career. It is addressed to her:
"During my administration of the Missouri University for thirteen years,
you occupied faithfully and efficiently and acceptably the position of
Lady Principal, for eight or ten years. This position you resigned of
your own choice. It was not done at the advice, or the instance, of
either the Board or the President of the institution. You had always
done considerable teaching, as well as serving as Principal, and it was
always my understanding that it was not your pleasure to hold the
position apart from teaching; and as the care had so grown as to make
that overburdensome, when you withdrew, a successor was appointed who
has never done any teaching. As a matter of fact, when you resigned, I
did not fully understand your reason for doing so. Allow me to express
my appreciation for your great worth as an educator, and to assure you
of my earnest hope that your enterprise at Sherman will more than
realize your purposes and expectations."
This letter from Dr. S. S. Laws was written in 1891, which brings us
rather prematurely to the subject of "Sherman." The reader will find
that in the course of events, all interests will presently center in
that Texas city; but, as we have said, Mrs. Carr is now resting (1888-9)
and the biography, as a chronicle of events, rests with her.
But while household cares engage her time, her mind is ever active with
that great idea of her life which has attended her since childhood days,
and which we are, in the course of time, to find bringing her to the
highest fulfillment of her powers. We have seen how that tireless nature
has fought its way from battlefield to battlefield, ever progressing in
its educational career. It is not clearly defined to her judgment how,
or where, she is to take the final stand in her work of improving the
greatest number of girls in the most effective way, yet, by following
the clews given in the following letters, we may trace out her course to
its final destination.
But if Mrs. Carr has temporarily entered into what we may call--as
distinguished from other years--her period of rest, the following
clipping from a newspaper dated, May, 1889, will indicate that Mr. Carr
has been far otherwise engaged:
"Sunday night, O. A. Carr stated to his congregation that he had a
secret of several months' standing which he was agonizing to disclose.
The long cherished hope of his congregation, and indeed of the North
Town disciples was about to be realized--the erection of a church
building in North Springfield. He said the money is already raised and
the building will begin as soon as specifications are determined upon.
He stated that the disciples of Christ with whom he had been meeting in
the Good Templars' Hall, for nearly two years, would begin, next Sunday,
regular church work preparatory to entering their new church home in the
near future. With the dawning light of the permanent prosperity of the
church of North Springfield filling their hearts, the congregation was
dismissed, and the scene of rejoicing that followed cannot be
described."
Mrs. Carr in commenting upon this news, adds, "North Springfield has a
population of about 10,000, and a struggling little band of Christians
have been praying and working for the above happy consummation, for
years."
This brief news-item reveals, to those who have built churches, years of
labor, anxiety, and suffering. In the meantime, the quest for a suitable
college opening is never relinquished. Now that the church is built, one
is freer to look about. Mr. Carr, having served three years at
Springfield, Mo., is invited to come to Arkansas and examine the field.
"The brethren will help support and establish a college here," writes G.
W. Hudspeth. "I would like to have it at Little Rock, but do not know
that she would offer as much encouragement as a smaller town with no
college. I have about 400 lots in a railroad town of which I will give
sufficient grounds for a college building; and allow the other lots
sold, and donate one-third of the proceeds to the support of the
college."
In December of the same year--1890--Mr. Carr writes from Bates City to
Mrs. Carr: "It seems to me that the Sherman proposition is the best
that has been made you, and I want you to see your way clear, and at the
same time I want you to act on your own judgment. You say you will
accept the terms, if they suit. I hope you will have some word of cheer
to send before long. Do not be gloomy and downcast."
A few days after, the following from J. W. McGarvey is written to Mr.
Carr, showing that the terms of Sherman were far from persuasive: "Your
letter surprises me, for I thought that you and Sister Carr had already
moved to Sherman, Texas, and were at work there. The Broadway Church has
engaged Brother Bartholomew to preach one year, and superintend the
erection of a new house of worship, after which he returns to St. Louis
to build a new house there. I hope the school at Sherman has not gone
amiss, and that it will not be affected by the college boom at Dallas."
Mrs. Carr, in explaining why Sherman was chosen as the site for her
important venture, wrote: "After a long and arduous term of labor as
Adjunct Professor and Principal of the Ladies Department in Missouri
State University my nervous system broke down, and I am compelled to
suspend my work. Mr. Carr accepted a call to preach at Springfield, Mo.,
believing the altitude would conduce to the restoration of my health.
Breathing the ozone of the Ozarks, I was soon a new creature, and I
determined to resume my professional labors. The thought, like an
inspiration, came to me, 'Build a college for girls, consecrate your
life to it, and _leave it as a bequest to the Church_.' I told Mr. Carr
of my heart's desire, and after prayerful consideration, we resolved to
devote our united lives to the work. I visited a number of towns and
cities in Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, seeking a suitable location.
After I had spent a year thus, Mr. Carr went to Sherman, Texas, to
conduct a series of meetings, and some of the prominent citizens, having
learned what we purposed, expressed a desire to have the college located
at Sherman. A proposition was submitted, which Mr. Carr forwarded me at
Springfield, advising me to come and look into the matter. I came,
amused at the idea of locating our life-work in Texas; but I was then
ignorant of her marvelous developments, and of her still more marvelous
undeveloped resources. I visited a number of her splendid towns, and
ascertained that in the wide territory of the State, the Church of
Christ owned no college exclusively for girls."
It would be a brief story to say that Sherman was finally selected and
the college built there; but how, in that case, could the reader gain a
knowledge of the almost insuperable difficulties overcome? It is by such
a knowledge that we gain the clearest view of Mrs. Carr's character. She
was, no doubt, often despondent, but she never relinquished her
determination; nor did her zeal cause her to act too hastily. Although
Sherman now appeared desirable, no stone must be left unturned to
discover if there were towns more promising.
January 18, 1891, we find President J. W. Ellis writing from Plattsburg
College, Missouri, to Mr. Carr: "I wrote you a hasty note on receipt of
your last. If you had carried the letter a little longer in your pocket,
you might have weakened it so it might not have got here! In regard to
Sister Carr's quest--Plattsburg College is now prosperous and has been
for eleven years. I would be willing to sell it at a nominal price, to
get rest from the long-continued service of a teacher and his wife. I
see no reason why Sister Carr could not continue the flourishing
condition of the school. Campus, four acres, unencumbered, non-taxable."
February 12, 1891, Wm. Frazier wrote Mr. Carr from Calusa, California:
"At the suggestion of Brethren J. C. Keith and W. P. Dorsey, I address
you this note to say: For some 14 years, Brother Keith has been
President of Pierce Christian College; lately he sent in his
resignation; we will have to supply his place. I feel at liberty to ask
if you will be open for engagement next session, beginning September
1st. I am President of the Board of Trustees, and the Board looks to me
to attend to these matters. The church at College City will be without a
preacher in June; so the President of the college will most likely be
called to preach for the church. I ought to have said that Brother
Keith's health has been poor for three years, and his physicians advise
a change and rest."
O. A. Carr, in forwarding this letter to his wife, adds, "The above
received to-day. I answered by saying, 'Send on your proposition, I will
consider it.' Why not get an appointment to lecture at Galveston? You
could easily run down there from Sherman, and see the place."
Mr. Carr to Mrs. Carr, March 2nd: "I have just written to Brother Keith
in full asking all the questions you suggested, and several besides. I
told him we would come, and I could begin preaching for the church right
away. I asked him to send you a catalogue at Sherman. It may be that the
California plan is better than the Texas one. I have but one objection,
which I waive for your sake--I will be so far away from my kin, and the
friends of early days. Besides, you know I prefer preaching to teaching;
but I suppose I could do both at College City, after a fashion. So
Brother Capp is to be at Springfield! Well, I would rather have him
succeed me than any one else, for the good of the church. Address me at
Omaha."
L. B. Wilkes, at Stockton, California, to O. A. Carr: "I wrote to
Brother Frazier. The place at College City is yours, it seems, if you
want it. You had better have them as a _Board_, send an official letter,
saying just what terms they mean to propose. If there's anything I can
do, I am ready."
Wm. Frazier to L. B. Wilkes, March 16th: "I have written to Sister Carr,
making Brother Carr an offer to take our college, and am now anxiously
awaiting an answer. What a grand service you could be to us, Brother
Wilkes, if you could write to Brother Carr and induce him to come and
see our college."
Instead of quoting further, the Pierce College incident may be summed up
as follows: The Executive Board called Mr. and Mrs. Carr to Pierce
Christian College of California. The call was accepted. Mrs. Carr gave
up the Sherman idea; all property at their death was to go to Pierce
Christian College; an accident policy in favor of the college was
arranged. She accordingly wired to College City that she would be there
by the 30th; sold the ponies and carriage and the household goods at a
sacrifice of about $1,000 (Mr. Carr was then in Nebraska), and was in
due time joined by her husband.
The ticket agent secured their tickets. They were on the eve of
departure when a message from the President of the Board called off the
agreement. Opposition had arisen on the grounds that Mr. Carr did not,
in some of his opinions, accord with all of those on the Board.
Mr. Carr, under the blow of this disappointment, wrote to Mr. Frazier as
follows: "Your reasons for withdrawing your offer are as great a
surprise to me as was the telegram announcing the fact. I stand where
Brothers Wilkes, Keith, Graham, McGarvey and Grubbs stand. I
emphatically encourage and practice progression heavenward. I will not
desert the cause of Christ for the fashion of the giddy world. Having no
children, Mrs. Carr has been planning for several years to locate in a
college which, at my death, would receive our money. We had decided upon
Pierce Christian College. I tell you this that you may know how
completely you have upset our plans."
The foregoing is introduced into this biography merely by way of
illustrating the difficulties with which the Carrs were forced to
contend, before the final victory.
Thus is the California incident closed. The Carrs once more find
themselves beset by uncertainties. Mr. Carr writes to their Springfield
friend, Mrs. Weaver, showing how one pauses irresolutely before various
openings:
"I have been preaching at Council Bluffs, of late. I haven't yet decided
where I shall labor. I am waiting to hear from different points, and
then we'll go somewhere. President J. W. Ellis of Plattsburg, Mo.,
offers us his college. I don't know about it. There is no offer so good
as Sherman, I think. Tell Miss Kate to write to me in shorthand if she
likes. I leave the other side of this sheet for Mattie to say her say."
Mrs. Carr adds: "It is good of you to say my room is waiting for me. I
shall never forget your kindness, coming just when it was most needed. I
do try to be cheerful and hopeful. We have the comfort that we have
tried all along to do our duty, to the best of our ability. I believe
the Lord has a bright day in store for us, by and by, if we will only be
patient and stand for the right."
June 23rd, F. W. Smith wrote to Mrs. Carr answering her questions
regarding the Tennessee Female College at Franklin. He hesitates to
advise her to accept it, but believes she could make of it a success,
and assures her of his hearty support should she undertake the work
there.
About the same time, W. J. Loos writes to Mr. Carr from Louisville: "We
have your article from the _Guide_; had just received a note from Mrs.
Carr covering the same ground. I will keep an eye on the field, and if I
see any favorable opening, will let you know. I think you ought to
appear more frequently in the _Guide_."
In 1891, the Carrs are thinking of going to Kentucky with their
enterprise. In September, Mr. Carr writes to Mrs. Carr from "Brother
McGarvey's study": "Brother Bartholomew says he will prepare you a
prospective so that a cut can be made from it, of the college building,
if you will give him the idea as to size, etc., and that it can be done
in three or four days. For his work, he will charge nothing, but he will
have to pay the man who does the drawing for the cut, and the cut will
cost about $15." Tentative diagrams at this time, show that Mrs. Carr
was making her own designs, arranging the rooms of her college--wherever
it was to be--to suit her own ideas. It is no easy matter to make the
cut of our college before there is any college. Still it must be done,
to bring the scheme tangibly before the public, and one's imagination
must become fixed in steel.
September 9th, Mrs. Carr writes Mrs. Weaver from Omaha: "I hope to be
with you next week. I shall be in Springfield only a few days, I
presume. Then I shall go on to Sherman, to begin the College enterprise.
My love to Tillie." (Tillie was Mrs. Weaver's little daughter.) "Tell
the dear child to have a dozen kisses ready for me."
Affairs seem to be crystalizing in and about Sherman, Texas. A site is
provisionally chosen for the proposed college, "on a beautiful
elevation," says Mrs. Carr, "in her eastern suburb, overlooking an
immense circuit of country, as charming as the bluegrass region of our
native State."
A mass meeting of the citizens of Sherman was called, which Mrs. Carr
addresses in the interests of the enterprise. The arguments she produces
appear to cover all the ground in sight, and all probable contingencies
of the future. She says:
"If another girls college be established in Sherman, it will bring among
you many more girls. They, in boarding-school vocabulary, will 'get
awful hungry,' and must be fed. Our grocers will have to order a large
supply of boarding-school staples, and our meat markets will have to
multiply their sirloin roasts and porterhouse steaks. These girls will
have boxes of roast turkey and French candies smuggled to them by
sympathetic mamas, and nature in her mercy, will send a wave of nausea,
and a cry will go up for our Homeopathic M. D. with his pleasant little
pills, or for our old school dignified Regular with his calomel and
quinine, or for our cautious Eclectic with his 'best' from all schools,
and each will add to his list of patients, and our druggists will
multiply their prescriptions, and their profits. These girls will
delight in pretty dresses and becoming hats--." And so the dry goods
stores will have their innings, and the milliners. Hope is next held out
to the bookstores, the music supply companies, the opera house, the
street car lines, etc.
Perhaps it is not so apparent what advantage the new college may be to
those institutions already established in the city. But Mrs. Carr
promptly takes up this point, and elucidates it with faultless logic:
"For example, Miss Smith, who is a member of the Christian Church, comes
from Galveston, and attends the Christian College of Sherman. She is
pleased with the school and delighted with our town. When she returns
home, at the close of her session she tells her intimate Baptist friend,
Miss Jones, and her intimate Methodist friend, Miss Brown, what a
delightful place Sherman is, and how 'jolly' it would be for all to go
to school in the same town, etc. What is the result? The following
September Sherman Institute opens its doors to Miss Jones, and North
Texas Female College welcomes Miss Brown. But that is not all. Miss
Jones of Galveston has a brother who must be sent to college, and, with
the true impulse of an affectionate sister, she says, 'Oh, brother
Jimmie, get papa to send you to Austin College, or Mahan's Commercial
College; and you can come to see me every Saturday.' Therefore, all the
Baptists and Methodists of Sherman ought to encourage our enterprise to
the extent of their financial ability."
Mrs. Carr proceeds to point out how the building of her college will
give employment to carpenters, brick masons, carters, etc., how it will
help fill the purses of the dealers in hardware and furniture, and
carpets, and coal, etc., until most of the industries known to man are
shown to be directly concerned.
"What I have said has been chiefly from a financial standpoint," she
concludes, "but I know you love Sherman for Sherman's sake, and glory in
her educational and religious progress. I believe you have the gallant
Southern pride, and the intensely earnest desire for the education of
women, to prompt at least one hundred and fifty of you to contribute to
this enterprise at least $200 each, especially when you get in return a
good-sized lot in one of the most beautiful suburbs of one of Texas'
most beautiful cities."
So the success of the enterprise is to depend, it seems, upon the sale
of college-lots--an old story, and usually, a sad one! We shall see how
it succeeds in this instance.
In the meantime, Mrs. A. M. Laws, wife of the President of Missouri
University, writes to Mrs. Carr, January 16, 1892: "I am glad you feel
so much encouragement in your new enterprise. If there is such a thing
as a fire-proof building, you ought to build fire-proof. I suppose you
have heard of the calamity that has befallen our University. It is all
in ruins. Last Saturday night a fire destroyed the entire building with
its contents. Only the museum specimens, and law library, were saved,
and not all of that. But already steps have been taken to rebuild and on
a grander scale than before. In the meantime the classes are meeting in
various places, all over town. All the portraits and statuary are gone
to ashes. Mr. Laws' large oil portrait, and two other crayon portraits
of him in the society halls, and one of myself, are destroyed. We will
be glad to hear of your success in the new enterprise. Mr. Laws joins me
in love and best wishes for a new year."
At last, O. A. Carr comes back from holding meetings in Kentucky, and
joins his wife at Sherman. Mrs. Carr, on February 2nd, writes to her
Springfield friend, Mrs. Weaver: "I need not attempt to tell you how
happy I am to be with my husband once more. He says it is almost like
being married over. Nothing but the good work we are trying to
accomplish could have persuaded me to stay away from him so long. I have
been hard at work all winter, and have got the College enterprise into
good shape, and it bids fair to be a splendid success. If we can only
stem the tide of our financial troubles a year longer, I think we shall
be safe. We think we can get the college in operation by September,
1893. If Brother Porterfield will keep our house until then, or sell it
for us, or if we can get the Omaha property off at half-cost price, we
will be safe. I believe the Lord will put it into the hearts of our
friends to stand by us. When the college is up, we shall be able to
return their kindness tenfold. How happy we shall be, when the college
is built, and we have you and our dear little Tillie with us every
winter! Pray without ceasing, dear Sister Weaver, that the college may
be built, for we are so anxious to do a good work, and we want to _work
together_, the remainder of our lives. The Reid case at Omaha will
retard the college enterprise, for I will have to go there in April; but
we trust in the Lord, since the work we are doing is for His Cause, and
we believe He will give us success in His own good time.
"We shall be hard pressed, for we are borrowing money, and indeed will
be borrowing until the college is up, but after that, we hope to have
plenty to live on and give to the Lord. Mr. Carr and I have keenly felt
our financial embarrassment, but remember we have told no one but you
just how great is that embarrassment; keep it locked up in your own
heart. Keep your health and strength for Tillie. She is the special
charge God has given you. Keep your energy for her. Is she taking music
lessons--or do you think she is still too young? Bless her heart! how I
wish I could kiss her this minute! Tell Brother Capp to bring you each
_Homiletic Review_, after he has read it."
About this time, J. W. McGarvey, President of the Bible College of
Kentucky University, wrote: "It gives me great pleasure to learn that
Brother and Sister Carr have undertaken, in connection with the brethren
of Sherman, to establish a female college of high grade in that city.
Their removal to Texas will not only promote the educational interests
of that State,--for which work, Sister Carr has eminent qualifications
and experience,--but it will add very materially to its evangelizing
force. Brother Carr has had a great deal of successful experience as an
evangelist, and his skill in organizing churches for effective work is
not inferior to his presentation of the Gospel. I wish them abundant
success in their undertakings, not for their own sakes merely, but for
the sake of the cause of truth."
Mrs. Carr's reference to money stringency may be explained by the fact
that the payment of college lots did not fall due until the college
building was actually begun. As our story advances, the reader must
imagine the hundreds of attempts to find buyers for the lots, the
hundreds of rebuffs, excuses, refusals, which cannot find place in this
work, lest it sink under melancholy monotony.
April 4th, Mrs. Carr wrote from Farmington, Texas, "I don't want to
write to you, I want to talk to you, face to face. Tell little Tillie to
help you pray for our success in the college enterprise. Sherman takes
150 lots; and if we can sell 100 additional outside of Sherman; the
thing is a success. May our Heavenly Father be with us, and speed the
work of our hearts. If our Springfield property could be sold, it would
be such a help. Tell Brother Capp if he can sell ten lots for us, we
will thoroughly educate one of his daughters, board and all, free of
charge. Several preachers here, and one in Kentucky, have undertaken
this, and I believe they will succeed. If he will undertake this, let me
know at once, and I will send him map of lots, picture of building, and
all necessary information."
To this letter Mr. Carr adds a postscript: "We are in Grayson County, in
the interests of the college. Mattie has lain down to read, after we had
a talk about you, of the time which we hope will come, when, the college
built, we shall have a home, and you and Tillie with us in the Sunny
South. I had a visit from Brother J. D. McClure and his son-in-law from
Iowa--where I had a vacation on leaving Springfield. I wish you could
know these people. They are the right kind. He wrote before coming, 'I
shall be as proud to see you as if you were my own brother.' You may be
sure I was proud to see these true men and to introduce them to Mattie.
They are booked for five lots in the college enterprise. Remember our
address is Sherman, Texas, and letters will be forwarded us, wherever we
may be."
On October 10th, the following from the Sherman Soliciting Committee to
Mrs. Carr, suggests some of her difficulties: "After a full discussion
of the matter, the Soliciting Committee decides that it would be
inopportune to try to sell the remainder of the College Park lots. It is
thought best to defer this until after the November election; and, in
fact, the opinion prevails among the majority of the Committee that it
would be better, if possible, for you to finish selling your 100 lots,
return to Sherman, report that you have carried out your part of the
agreement, and that if Sherman does not come up to her part of the
agreement, that you will proceed to go elsewhere with the college."
Mr. Carr to Mrs. Carr, January 13, 1893: "What a surprise to receive
your card announcing that you are in Kansas City and will go to
Springfield before returning to Sherman! Still it's all right, if you
can sell the lots. I have had a fearful time, I sold only three at
Clarksville. We will have to take off the names of ---- and ----, who
say they cannot take their lots! All in all, I have sold 90 lots. Dear
me! I have done my best, and have lost a great deal of time--rain and
mud. I think we can close it up in about two weeks when you come. Sell
all the lots you can, but do not delay, do not waste time. I don't
believe any lots could be sold in Paris or Bonham. I tried faithfully.
Joshua Burdette, son of Geo. Burdette of Clarksville, Texas, lives at
Eufaula, Indian Territory. He is a member of the church and is making
money; you might sell him a lot. Tell those Springfield preachers Jimmie
Pinkerton" (son of our old favorite professor and doctor) "and John
Hardin and Tom Capp, I say for them to put their names on your list for
a lot each."
In short, one thinks of little but lots, these days; one dreams of lots;
one writes always, speaks always, of lots. People must learn that these
lots are for sale, they must be persuaded that the purchase of them is
for individual good, for educational enlargement, for the advancement
of spiritual interests. The Carrs believe all this. Will others believe?
Fortunately others are found to enter heartily into the project.[18]
But, as one might naturally expect, there is great opposition, which one
always finds as the shadow to bright deeds. It would seem that no light
can shine in the world without casting the shadow of opposing forces
upon the ground. There are some who treat the Carrs with rude
incivility; will buy no lots, and will, if possible, persuade others
from buying.
On one occasion, Mrs. Carr was obliged to walk to the station from a
distant farm-house--do you know those muddy Texas roads in the "Black
Lands?"--because the farmer is opposed to buying the college lots; he
watches her grimly as she makes her way along the difficult road, with
no intention of offering his horses. We have before us letters written
to Mrs. Carr by members of the church in good fellowship--men of
recognized standing in their communities, and who, without doubt
believe themselves to be excellent Christians. But alas! these letters,
in refusing to buy the college lots, are not, as it would appear, the
letters of gentlemen, so we must pass them by.
These were in truth times of pressing need. Mrs. Carr often found it
best to walk that she might save the expense of a cab. The Carrs had
just suffered a loss of $12,000 in property at Omaha. Often Mr. Carr was
obliged to go hungry in his expeditions of lot-selling, and on his way
to hold meetings. There were taxes to be paid on vacant property,
interest to be found that borrowed money demanded, while traveling
expenses were necessarily large.
"Will you please tell me where I can get a meal for twenty-five cents?"
Mr. Carr inquired of a stranger in a town whither he had gone to
lecture.
The man indicated a restaurant. Mr. Carr went away, but soon returned to
the stranger, saying,
"Will you be so kind as to tell me where I could get the quarter?"
"Yes," was the glum response; "at the bank."
"And," said Mr. Carr, when referring to the incident, with a twinkle in
his gray eye, "he wouldn't even promise to come to hear me lecture."
In the meantime Mrs. Carr was also traveling, in the prospects of her
future college. "Wherever she went," one writes, "she carried good cheer
and a blessing to that home. There she would give instruction, impart
advice, there she would help with the sewing, and, with pleasure, would
teach and care for the children."
But the thought that she should be thus financially embarrassed and
placed in a dependent position, was most distressing to Mr. Carr. Yet
there was no help for it, until the lots should have been sold. We do
not dwell upon these days of heartache and suffering, to inspire remorse
in the breast of anyone who offered obstacles to the great enterprise.
We would, instead, pay a tribute to those who gave a welcome; who
cheered up the way; who, instead of doubting the outcome, hoped for the
best; who, instead of waiting for ultimate success, helped in time of
need. It is he who smiles at his open door, who joins his song to that
of the singer along life's highroad, and reaches out his hand to help,
and waves to the departing traveler his confidence of victory,--he it
is, who finds the world growing better. For the world is always growing
better for him who makes it better for others. Those who helped the
Carrs with friendship, and with a participation in their college-plans,
cannot be named in this book; but we should like to think that those
still living might read these lines, and each take them to himself.
January 30, 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Carr issued this typewritten manifesto to
subscribers for lots:
"When you purchased one of the Christian College lots, we promised you
that you would not be called on for the first payment before September,
1892. Because of Mrs. Carr's protracted suspension of the work, on
account of sickness, the sale of lots has been, of course, retarded. We
shall be ready, however, for the distribution of lots by March 1st,
1893, and write to you at this early date, that you may have ample time
to arrange for making at that date the FIRST PAYMENT ($100). Please make
your draft of $100 payable to Hon. T. J. Brown and Judge H. O. Head,
Trustees, Sherman, Texas, who will make you a deed to your lot. If you
desire to pay all cash, and it will be best of course, if you can, send
the draft for $200 (the full amount) payable to the said Trustees. We
shall begin the college building by the middle of next March, and open
the first session in September, 1893."
But if the reader supposes that all now glides smoothly forward, let him
read this of May 20th: "The distribution of the Christian College lots
has been unavoidably postponed until the first of July next, when it
WILL POSITIVELY TAKE PLACE in the court house in Sherman, Texas, at 2
o'clock p. m.
O. A. CARR,
M. F. CARR."
At last the ground is broken for the foundation of the college building,
and Mrs. Carr proudly walks behind the plow, and guides it in the making
of one long furrow. Can you not see her marching thus, grasping the
handles with all her strength, her eyes aglow with the realization that
she is digging deeper than a foundation of stone?
O. A. Bartholomew is called upon to undertake the construction of the
building, July 27th. He shows hesitation and remarks--while our heads
nod mechanically, _Ah, how true!_ "I do not know what to say. The
churches for which I have made the completest plans, have found the
most fault. Especially, if I did not charge them much!" And we who have
never built churches, yet feel like crying, Ah, yes, how true!
Let us pass over the months of sleepless nights, of anxious days. There
was one matter that brought great hindrance to the scheme. It was
currently reported that the college was merely a private enterprise of
the Carrs, like any other private school; and the Carrs would reap all
its advantages and profits: and that the claim that it was deeded to the
church was a specious pretense made in order to induce people to buy
lots. These charges were made, not by the enemies of education and
Christianity, not by unfriendly denominations, but by the members of the
Christian church; in other words, by the very body to whom the college
was deeded, to be theirs forever.
This accusation had its staunch adherents, men who for years were ready
to argue warmly, if not dispassionately, in its support. The fact that
it could have been disproved by simply glancing at the records, seems to
have lessened none of its force. It wrought much delay in selling the
lots, and, after the college was built, it served to lessen the
attendance. Carr-Burdette College was, indeed, a free and loving
gift,--given, one might almost say, in spite of the reluctance of the
beneficiary, and held in his possession while he disclaimed its
ownership.
It is not our wish to lessen the patient helpfulness of many of the
members of the church. Had the Carrs worked themselves to death they
could not have disposed of the lots, had not people been found to buy
them. People there were found, as we have seen, who co-operated with the
Carrs to the extent of their ability, and many of these were among the
most illustrious of the Texan brotherhood. But for years, one might find
at a general convention, the spirit of suspicion and hostility to
Carr-Burdette College--as "Christian College" was finally named, and, at
important committee meetings, it would be plainly declared that the
college was a private enterprise and did not belong to the church.
But we will never get our college up at this rate. Let us pass on to the
winter of 1893, which takes O. A. Carr once more to Kentucky. Who would
ever have thought that the Kentucky boy of May's Lick, chalking his
problems on his father's barn-door, would, at a later day, be going up
and down his native State, selling college lots, and looking out for
prospective pupils of his own? These pupils are for next year. The day
for laying the corner-stone of the college, is to dawn while Mr. Carr is
far away from Sherman.
On December 26th, Mrs. Carr writes to him: "I hope you will have a happy
time with your kindred. I am very lonely without you; but it must be
thus, until those twenty lots are sold. Necessity is a stern tyrant. But
we have borne thus far, and we can bear a little longer. How happy we'll
be, when we can be at home together all the time! The corner-stone will
be laid New Year's Day at 3 p. m. I am dispatching you tonight to have
your message in your own hand writing, to be read on the occasion, and
it will be deposited in the bowl of the corner-stone. It is too bad you
can't be here. This sacrifice should make a heart-appealing chapter in
my book. Have your speech here without fail, in your own hand writing.
Your message in your letter to me is beautiful, and I'll read that if
necessary, but there are other things in that letter I don't want to go
into the corner-stone. Suppose you send a dispatch, for fear your speech
will not come in time. Do this at once. I send this to Maysville, and a
copy to Carmel. A merry Christmas to all! How I wish I were with you!"
As to the "book" referred to, that, of course, is the "History of
Carr-Burdette College;" the book which Mrs. Carr intends to write--after
the college is built, of course; a book which will tell of almost
superhuman struggles, of cruel sacrifices and, thank God! of words of
love and cheer, and of final peace "in our home, where we shall live
together." But the book was never written. Here and there among groups
of old letters we find a document superscribed "Important," or, "For the
Book"--and we know Mrs. Carr wrote that, with her mind upon some future
day, when she would have time--time in her old age, the heat of battle
dying away, and the calm of memory softening the past--a time that never
came, else _this_ book would have had no being.
January 10, 1894, Mr. Carr to Mrs. Carr: "I go to hold a meeting at
Vanceburg, Kentucky. I am sorry I could not be at Sherman when the
corner-stone was laid. Of course, it was laid right side up, with care;
and as my wife is to see to it, I'm sure it will be well done. But it is
too bad that I have to be away, causing you to work yourself down, and
get sick. I am devoutly thankful to Sister Hildebrand for her care of
you. Tell her she shall have her reward, by and by! I suppose the
corner-stone was laid on the 7th--" sickness having made New Year's Day
impossible. "I do hope you will excuse me for not sending a message
worthy of the occasion. I wonder what you did with my poetry? If you
planted it in the rock, I will have to get up something else for your
Book. Look here! What did you think of that poetry? Perhaps there has
been another delay of corner-stone ceremonies,--pshaw! if I could get
into the spirit of it, I could write something, but I am so unsettled
and so put out from not doing anything, that I can scarcely write a
letter, to say nothing of writing what is to be left as a monument!"
The following, from Mr. Carr, January 24th, is a fitting trumpet-note
with which to close the discords and harmonies of the college-overture:
"I received a paper to-day--Picture of college is fine. Hurrah! Your
address is grand--Just the thing! You are doing fine work."
[18] Their names are in those "Envelopes" at the College inscribed "for
my book" and Mrs. Carr intended to honor them thus; memory of them and
incidents she often recalled; and she praised them always.