A. M.
T. E. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
CLARENCE EDWARDS, Virginia.
WM. J. SEBRELL, Virginia.
A. B.
WILLIAM H. EDWARDS, Virginia.
Clarence Edwards won the "Pace" medal.
Charles W. Tillett won the "Sutherlin" medal. The number of students for
the session of 1878-'79 was 123.
The session of 1879-1880 was not marked by much that is worthy of
record.
The President of the College devoted his time largely in raising funds
to discharge the debt of the College. In his annual report, June, 1880,
he announced the completion of the new College chapel, built in place of
the old chapel.
Although there was an increase of students, still the expenses exceeded
the income by over $3,300.
At the commencement, June, 1880, degrees were conferred as follows,
viz.:
A. M.
JESSE TALBOTT LITTLETON, of Virginia.
A. B.
W. W. SAWYER, Virginia.
CHAS. W. TILLETT, N. Carolina.
D. D.
Rev. ADOLPHUS W. MANGUM, A. M., Prof. University of North Carolina
(Class 1854).
At a called meeting of the Board, held at Danville, Va., November, 1880,
the announcement was made that the sum required to cancel the debt of
the College had been subscribed. This gratifying result was achieved by
the long and arduous labors of Dr. Bennett, President of the College.
[Illustration: DOCTOR M. JAMES, _Of West Virginia. Sutherlin
Medalist._]
1880-1881.
The following received degrees at the annual commencement, June, 1881:
A. M.
JOSEPH C. JONES, Virginia.
JOHN B. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
BASIL W. WATERS, Maryland.
JAMES C. SHELTON, Virginia.
ROBERT W. TOMLIN, Virginia.
JAMES W. MORRIS, Virginia.
A. B.
JOHN F. BLACKWELL, Virginia.
JOSEPH C. TERRELL, Virginia.
D. M. JAMES, West Virginia.
WM. B. CRENSHAW, Kentucky.
E. E. HARRELL, N. Carolina.
The following resolution was adopted by the Board, on motion of Dr. Paul
Whitehead:
"_Resolved_, That the Rev. W. W. Bennett, D. D., President of this
College, deserves, and we hereby tender to him, the thanks of the
Trustees for the patient and indefatigable manner in which he has
performed the duty committed to him of raising, by subscription, the
amount necessary to pay the debt of the College, amid discouragements
and difficulties which have rendered the work at once thankless and
toilsome."
[Illustration: JESSE TALBOTT LITTLETON, _Prof. Emory and Henry College;
Pace Medalist, 1880._]
In the annual report of the President the following items are noted: The
number of students matriculated was 128. The debt of the College had
been considerably reduced by collection of subscriptions. The Finance
Committee reported that if the subscriptions were paid up the financial
condition of the College would be better than it had been at any period
of its recent history.
[Illustration: REV. BASIL W. WATERS, A.M., _Missionary to Japan._]
At the close of this session, after spending four years in College,
diplomas in Greek and Mathematics, and the Mathematical prize were
awarded to a young man whose subsequent career has marked him as one of
the first mathematical scholars of the age. This was David W. Taylor, of
Louisa county, Va. In September, 1881, he was second among one hundred
and fifty candidates for entrance as cadet engineer at the United States
Naval Academy. He graduated from the Naval Academy June, 1885, standing
first in his class each year; was ordered to the flagship of the
European station, under the command of (then) Captain Dewey; then sent
to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, near London, England, taking at
that place a three-years' course in naval architecture and marine
engineering; graduated there in 1888 at the head of his class,
_receiving the highest marks ever obtained for the course by either an
English or foreign student_. He is now (1898) an assistant to Chief of
the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Washington, D. C.
[Illustration: REV. SAMUEL RODGERS, D. D., _Vice-President of the Board
of Trustees._]
[Illustration: JAMES W. MORRIS, A. M. _Sutherlin Medalist; Pace
Medalist, 1881; Missionary to Brazil._]
1881-1882.
At the close of the year 1881-'82 the following received degrees:
A. M.
R. E. L. HOLMES, Virginia.
EDGAR A. POTTS, Virginia.
EDMUND S. RUFFIN, Virginia.
JOSEPH T. REESE, Georgia.
A. B.
HUGH C. DAVIS, Virginia.
J. P. MAUZY, Virginia.
THOMAS N. POTTS, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. CHARLES B. STUART (Class 1845), Texas.
_Sutherlin Medalist_.--SAMUEL M. GARLAND, of Virginia.
_Pace Medalist_.--JOHN NEWTON MCCORMICK, of Maryland.
The number of students, by the President's report, was 100, a decrease
of 28.
[Illustration: DAVID W. TAYLOR, _Mathematical Prize, 1881; Naval
Constructor, U. S. Navy._]
[Illustration: BISHOP A. W. WILSON, _President Board of Trustees._]
The completion of the Duncan Memorial Church was announced. The credit
of this work was given to ladies of the congregation, who had worked
with great zeal and efficiency to raise the needed funds.
At the annual meeting President W. W. Bennett tendered his resignation
of the presidency of the Board of Trustees and of the College.
Bishop Alpheus W. Wilson was elected president of the Board, and Rev.
John D. Blackwell vice-president.
[Illustration: HUGH C. DAVIS, A. B., 1882, _Attorney-at-Law._]
The vacancy of the presidency of the College was not filled, but the
Board adjourned to meet in Centenary Church, Richmond, July 19, 1882, to
fill the office. Petitions were laid before the Board, sent by a number
of ministers and friends of the College, and also by a large number of
the students, asking the Board to re-elect Dr. Bennett to the presidency
of the College.
At the adjourned meeting, held July 19, 1882, Dr. Bennett was re-elected
President, almost unanimously, and he accepted the oflice. He stated
that he had labored under a wrong impression in regard to the sentiments
of the Board when he resigned the presidency.
[Illustration: DUNCAN MEMORIAL CHURCH.]
At a called meeting, held in November, 1882, the resignation of Charles
Morris, Professor of Latin and French, was made known to the Board. This
resignation was accepted with expressions of the high appreciation by
the Board of the personal character and fidelity of Prof. Morris. He
accepted a professorship in the University of Georgia.
Prof. William W. Smith was elected to have charge of Latin and Greek.
At the Annual Conference, held in November, 1882, the annual assessment
made by the Conference for the College was increased by $500, making it
$3,500, which amount has been the assessment to this date, June, 1898.
[Illustration: CLAUDE A. SWANSON, _Sutherlin Medalist; Member of
Congress from Virginia._]
1882-1883.
The degree men for the year ending June, 1883, were
A. M.
JOHN F. BLACKWELL, Virginia.
W. A. CRENSHAW, Virginia.
JOHN MORRIS, Georgia.
E. E. HARRELL, N. C.
LEWIS MILLER, Massachusetts.
A. B.
GEORGE B. DAVIS. Virginia.
JOHN D. EPES, Virginia.
THOMAS D. NEWSON, Virginia.
SYDNEY B. WRIGHT, Virginia.
JOHN NEWTON MCCORMICK, Maryland.
D. D.
Rev. W. S. BLACK, of the North Carolina Conference.
Rev. W. E. EDWARDS, of the Virginia Conference.
Rev. P. H. WHISNER, of the Baltimore Conference.
_Sutherlin Medalist_.--CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Virginia.
_Pace Medalist_.--CHARLES EMORY KREGLOE, Virginia.
[Illustration: JOHN MORRIS, A. M., _Professor of English, University of
Georgia._]
Thomas Branch, Esq., who had served on the Board for forty years,
tendered his resignation as a trustee. This was received, with a
resolution of the high appreciation of his services as president of the
Board and trustee, and his liberality and devotion to the College. He
was succeeded by his son, John P. Branch.
The President's report showed the attendance to be 114. In this report
the President recommended the system of co-education of males and
females for the first time. The recommendation of the President was not
adopted.
The Board took steps to have erected new dormitories on the campus.
[Illustration: CHARLES EMORY KREGLOE, _Pace Medalist; Professor
Alleghany Institute._]
1883-1884.
This year, the anniversary year of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the
United States, was to prove the turning point in the financial history
of the College. The movement towards the increase of the endowment was
not general, but it was in the right direction. The first subscription
was for $1,000, as in 1855; it was made by Mr. E. M. Tilley, of Berkley,
Va., a Northern man living in that town, not then a member of the
Methodist Church. The larger part of the funds raised was from the
Norfolk district, apart from the subscription made by members of the
Board at the annual meeting, June, 1884, which amounted to $9,000. From
this time forward the increase of the capital of the College has been
steady, and, at times, very material and gratifying.
[Illustration: JAMES A. DUNCAN, D. D., _Sutherlin Medalist; Holston
Conference._]
The Virginia and Baltimore Conferences had, at their last session,
directed that all funds raised this Centennial year should, unless
otherwise specially noted, go towards the endowment fund of the College.
At the annual meeting the following received degrees:
A. M.
THOMAS D. NEWSON, Virginia.
A. B.
R. H. BENNETT, Virginia.
JAMES CANNON, Jr., Maryland.
N. H. ROBERTSON, Virginia.
THEODORE H. WHITE, Virginia.
James A. Duncan, of Virginia, won the Sutherlin medal. James Cannon,
Jr., of Maryland, won the Pace medal. The number of matriculates for the
session of 1883-'84 was 108.
[Illustration: JAMES CANNON, JR., _Of Maryland; Pace Medalist; President
Blackstone Institute._]
1884-1885.
The session of 1884-'85 opened with 111 students. The President, in his
annual report, said it was one of the most satisfactory that had
occurred during his administration. Five new dormitories had been built
to take the place of old ones. Steps were taken to build new houses for
two Professors. He reported the acceptance of the chair of Greek and the
Oriental Languages by Dr. Richard M. Smith, to which he had been elected
at the last annual meeting.
[Illustration: DR. RICHARD M. SMITH, PH. D. (LEIPZIG), _Professor of
Greek and the Oriental Languages (1885-1896)._]
The following received degrees, June, 1885:
A. M.
R. H. BENNETT, Virginia.
JAMES M. PAGE, Virginia.
HARRY LEE STUART, Texas.
A. B.
WM. H. BARLEY, Virginia.
EUGENE H. RAWLINGS, Virginia.
F. P. HAMMOND, Maryland.
CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Virginia.
_Sutherlin Medalist_.--THOMAS F. SHERRILL, of North Carolina.
_Pace Medalist_.--JAMES M. PAGE, of Virginia.
At a called meeting, held in Centenary Church, Richmond, Va., May 19,
1886, the following letter of resignation was laid before the Board:
"Bishop A. W. Wilson, President of the Trustees of Randolph-Macon
College:
"MY DEAR BROTHER,--The poor condition of my health through this entire
session thus far admonishes me that I cannot continue to hold the
presidency of the College. I am compelled, therefore, to hand you this,
my resignation of the office, to take effect on the 1st of September
next, which will give the Trustees a period of five months, though I am
sure they will not need so much time, in which to secure a suitable
person for my successor.
"It is a source of great gratification to me that I shall leave the
College in good condition in every respect.
"Yours very truly,
"W. W. BENNETT.
"ASHLAND, VA., _March_ 31, 1886."
[Illustration: RICHARD HEBER BENNETT, A. M., _Of the Virginia
Conference._]
[Illustration: THOMAS F. SHERRILL, OF N. C., _Sutherlin Medalist,
1885._]
The resignation of Dr. Bennett was accepted, and a committee was
appointed to notify him of the action of the Board, and to express to
him the appreciation by the Board of the value of his services.
On motion, it was--
"Resolved, That at the annual meeting in June next the Board will
proceed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Dr.
Bennett."
The President's annual report gave the attendance as 124 for the session
ending June, 1886.
[Illustration: JAMES M. PAGE, A. M., PH. D., OF VIRGINIA, _Pace
Medalist, 1885; Professor University of Virginia._]
On the recommendation of the Faculty, the following received degrees,
viz.:
A. M.
F. P. HAMMOND, Maryland.
LANGHORNE LEITCH, Virginia.
M. L. SHACKELFORD, Virginia.
SYDNEY B. WRIGHT, Virginia.
A. B.
THOMAS J. BARHAM, Virginia.
JAMES S. CHAPMAN, Virginia.
FRANK L. CROCKER, Virginia.
ARTHUR K. DAVIS, Virginia.
F. V. RUSSELL, Virginia.
SAMUEL D. TURNER, Virginia.
D. D.
Rev. WILBUR F. TILLETT, Vanderbilt University.
Rev. H. MELVILLE JACKSON, Richmond, Va.
LL. D.
Prof. JAMES A. HARRISON, Washington and Lee University.
_Sutherlin Medalist_.--J. S. CHAPMAN, of Virginia.
_Pace Medalist_.--LANGHORNE LEITCH, of Virginia.
[Illustration: JAMES S. CHAPMAN, _Sutherlin Medalist; Attorney-at-Law._]
The Endowment and Investment Committee made the following gratifying
announcement:
"We respectfully report that there has been raised, through the
instrumentality of Prof. W. W. Smith, Dr. R. N. Sledd, and others,
$43,000, $25,000 of which is in the hands of the local committee at
Lynchburg, and the balance in the hands of Captain Richard Irby for
collection."
Special credit ought to be given here to the liberal citizens of
Lynchburg, who subscribed this amount of endowment, ever since kept
separate, and designated Lynchburg Endowment Fund. This has brought into
the current receipts each year about $1,500. It was the prophecy and
forecast of greater liberality in 1891. From this time the professors
and officers have always been paid their salaries promptly. The direct
and material aid thus afforded was of great benefit, but the influence
of such action on other communities and on individuals has been of far
greater value. Lynchburg, therefore, deserves, and should have, the
gratitude of every Randolph-Macon alumnus and friend.
[Illustration: LANGHORNE LEITCH, A. M., _Pace Medalist; Missionary to
China._]
In the election to fill the office of President the following
nominations were made:
Rev. John D. Blackwell, D. D., by Paul Whitehead.
Rev. Robert N. Sledd, D. D., by W. E. Judkins.
Rev. Wilbur F. Tillett, by J. E. Edwards.
Rev. John A. Kern, by W. T. Chandler.
Rev. Paul Whitehead, D. D., by P. A. Peterson.
Prof. Wm. W. Smith, A. M., by Richard Irby.
[Illustration: R. N. SLEDD, D. D., _Class of 1855; First Vice-President
of the Board._]
On the first ballot Prof. W. W. Smith received ten votes out of twenty.
On the second ballot he received twelve, and was declared elected.
Inasmuch as the history of the College has been so intimately linked
with the life of President Smith for so many years, it is not necessary
to say much of him just here. He was born in Fauquier county in 1848.
His father, Richard M. Smith, afterwards moved to Alexandria, where he
was associated with the celebrated Benjamin Hallowell in his school.
Afterwards he became editor of the _Alexandria Sentinel_, which was
removed to Richmond at the breaking out of hostilities, April, 1861. He
afterwards edited the _Enquirer_. At the early age of sixteen William
Waugh Smith volunteered in the Confederate service, in which he
continued to the close of the war. After the war he was associated with
his father in the publication of the _Enquirer_, which had been revived.
He attended the University of Virginia one session. When the College was
moved to Ashland, and his father became a Professor in it, he
matriculated at the College and took the degree of A. M., with John
Hannon, in 1873. After leaving College he became the assistant to his
uncle, Albert Smith, at Bethel Academy, near Warrenton, Va., which
rapidly grew into prominence as a school. Here he remained till 1882,
when he was elected Professor of Moral and Mental Science in
Randolph-Macon College. In 1885 he showed his great talent for raising
funds for the College, by securing the "Lynchburg Endowment," in
connection with Dr. R. N. Sledd and others. His energy and aptitude for
administration, in addition to the successful experience he had gained
at Bethel Academy, pointed him out as the man for the vacant position,
and subsequent events have justified the selection.
[Illustration: PRESIDENT WM. W. SMITH, A. M., LL. D.]
[Illustration: RICHARD IRBY, SECRETARY AND TREASURER. _Elected June,
1886._]
[Illustration: RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, LYNCHBURG, VA. Opened
for Students 1893.]
[Illustration: [Five small pictures, displayed in a quincunx. Pictures
are individually captioned, as follows: "REV. R.M. SAUNDERS, Chaplain",
"PROF. KNIGHT.", "MISS LOUISE J. SMITH.", "PROF. SCHEHLMANN.", "PROF.
ADAMS." At the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "FACULTY
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1898.]]
[Illustration: [Five more small pictures, displayed in a quincunx.
Pictures are individually captioned, as follows: "PRESIDENT SMITH.",
"PROF. SHARP.", "DR. MARTIN.", "PROF. ARMSTRONG.", "MISS PARRISH.". At
the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "FACULTY
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1898.]]
[Illustration: [A third set of five small pictures, displayed in a
quincunx. Pictures are individually captioned, as follows: "PROF
LANDON", "MRS. SAUNDERS.", "PROF. RIDDICK.", "PROF. PAGE.", "DR.
TERRELL." At the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "FACULTY
RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE, 1893-1898.]]
On motion of John P. Branch (substitute for one offered by A. G. Brown),
it was
"_Resolved_, That Richard Irby be appointed Secretary and Treasurer, the
same to give half of his time to the business of the College."
His duties were defined as follows: To have charge of the financial and
business concerns of the College, and also of the library, grounds,
buildings, etc. This office was accepted, and he entered upon his duties
the first day of July following.
At the same session the Board proceeded to fill the chair of Moral and
Mental Science and Biblical Literature. Rev. John A. Kern, of the
Baltimore Conference, was elected to the chair, and he accepted the
same.
Prof. Kern was a graduate of the University of Virginia. In 1866 he
entered the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. He had filled many of the most important appointments of that
Conference, and was then, as now, esteemed a man of talent, and growing
year by-year in ability and acceptability. The estimate placed on him by
his friends was not too high, as his subsequent career has proven.
The Board accepted the libraries which had been offered to it by the
Literary Societies, consisting of about four thousand volumes, and the
Librarian was directed to consolidate them with the College Library.
This was a much-needed and timely improvement, and became a nucleus for
a library which, in course of time, will be, it is hoped, a credit to
the College.
[Illustration: REV. JOHN A. KERN, D. D. _Elected President of
Randolph-Macon College in 1897._]
The new President was requested to continue his efforts in raising funds
for the endowment, which had so far been attended with laudable success.
This he was not slow in heeding.
On account of failure to record the financial statement of 1886, the
exact amount of net assets of the College cannot here be given.
The retiring President served nine years, almost identically the same
period served by his predecessor, Dr. Duncan. His administration was
also, like Dr. Duncan's, marked by great financial embarrassment, which
had a depressing influence on a sensitive temperament like his was. That
his days were shortened by the constant burden of care, like his
predecessor's, can hardly be doubted. Both of them were, in a sense,
martyrs to the cause of Christian education.
Dr. Bennett never regained his health. He moved to his farm, in Louisa
county, and took work on the contiguous appointment at the Conference of
1886. While engaged in the work of his charge he gradually declined in
health, and died June 7, 1887.
REV. W. W. BENNETT, D. D.
"WILLIAM WALLACE BENNETT, son of Eli and Mary C. Bennett, was born in
the city of Richmond, February 24, 1821. He was reared under the
fostering care and social surroundings of Methodism, and was the subject
of religious impressions from an early period.
"In 1839, under the ministry of Rev. Gervas M. Keesee, he made a
profession of religion, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Portsmouth. Here, with the help of class-meetings and other social,
as well as the public means of grace, his religious experience had a
healthful beginning, that developed the elevated character and useful
life that our beloved brother has bequeathed to the church. Soon after
his conversion, he, and several others who were exercised about a call
to the ministry, met and conversed upon the subject, and prayed for
divine guidance, giving evidence that when he entered the itinerancy it
was no rash adventure. In the fall of 1841, he removed to Mecklenburg
county, where his brother, Rev. John R. Bennett, was in charge of the
circuit. There he pursued his studies, obtained license to preach, and
began his ministry, passing through what he conceived to be the crucial
test of his call to preach. Discouraged, as he informed the writer, by
what he conceived to be a failure in the pulpit before a large
congregation, he was tempted to give up the ministry; but falling in the
hands of an experienced and godly class-leader, who encouraged him by
his counsel and his prayers, he returned to his work with renewed
consecration, and a conviction too strong to be jostled again.
"From the best information obtained (the records of four years of this
Conference being lost) he was admitted on trial into the Virginia
Conference in 1842, and travelled as junior preacher on Louisa and
Bedford Circuits. In 1845-'46 he was in charge of Powhatan Circuit, and
in 1847 was stationed in Charlottesville, where he availed himself of
the educational advantages of the University of Virginia, and graduated
in several of the schools in 1850. At the Conference of this year he was
stationed in Washington city, organizing the first society of the M. E.
Church, South, at our national capital. In 1851 he was elected Chaplain
of the University of Virginia, but on account of sickness resigned the
position. He soon, however, regained his accustomed health, and in
1852-'53 travelled Loudoun Circuit with W. W. Berry and John C.
Granbery, respectively, as junior preachers. In 1854-'55-'56-'57 he was
Presiding Elder of the Washington District. While on this appointment he
was married, December 20, 1855, to Virginia Lee, daughter of Edward and
Mary Kendall Lee Sangster, of Alexandria. A wise and happy union. In
1858-'59 he was appointed to Union Station, Richmond, and in 1860-'61
was stationed at Centenary, in the same city.
"In 1862 he was appointed Chaplain in the Confederate Army, and assigned
to the superintendency of the Tract Association. Seeing the necessity of
a more generous distribution of Bibles and religious literature among
the troops, he arranged to go abroad for a supply, and during the last
winter of the war successfully 'ran the blockade.' He had scarcely,
however, entered upon the work in London when the war ended, and he
returned to Virginia.