EPISCOPAL SCHOOLS.
While the Episcopal Church has not built up as many schools for the
education of colored people in the South as many other denominations,
the work it has accomplished is of the most thorough and systematic
character.
REV. JAMES S. RUSSELL, ARCHDEACON OF VIRGINIA.
Mr. Russell's early training was under sober, illiterate Christian
parents. In very early life he made a profession of religion, was
baptized and joined a neighboring denominational church. His membership
remained here until he had read the book of Common Prayer, when he
at once changed his faith and offered himself as a candidate for the
ministry in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He at first felt that he
would like to be a missionary to Africa, and his mind was so made up
until it was changed by the earnest persuasions of his aged mother,
whose only child he was. He has long since felt that rich fields, white
and ready to be harvested, awaited him in his own native State, where
his ministry is considered a success.
[Illustration: REV. JAMES S. RUSSELL.]
Mr. Russell had been appointed on different committees in the diocese
of Virginia, and at the council in Norfolk in 1893, diocese of Southern
Virginia, he was made a member of the Committee of the State of the
church. He was also notified by Bishop Randolph at this council that he
had nominated him for his Arch-deacon of the diocese, to have general
charge of the colored work in Southern Virginia. This nomination was
confirmed at the meeting of the Church Commission in Washington,
October 11th, of the same year, and the Venerable Arch-deacon Russell
entered upon his new duties immediately thereafter. This new office
relieves him of none of the work already carried by him as principal
of the school, for he has the entire care of raising funds to operate
his large school at Lawrenceville, situated in the heart of the "Black
Belt" of Virginia. The school is inculcating the self-help principle in
its students. The education of head, hand and heart are combined.
The industries carried on at present are Blacksmithing, Wheelwrighting,
Carpentering, Printing, Shoemaking, Farming, Grist and Saw-Milling
for the boys, and Cutting, Fitting, Dress-Making, Tailoring, Cooking,
Washing and Ironing for the girls. Machinery and material for these
departments are needed and earnestly solicited.
The school has been, and is still, dependent upon voluntary support
from the friends of industrial education.
The cost of educating a student in St. Paul's is only $75.00 a year,
and the student is required to pay $50.00 in money and labor, and
the friends of the school are asked to give the $25.00, styled a
scholarship.
There were over 300 students in attendance for session 1895-96. The
graduating class numbers twenty, and they represent nine distinct
States. The school has students from sixteen States in the Union.
No discrimination is made on account of one's religious belief, but all
are treated alike and all are required to comply with the rules and
regulations as laid down.
The Arch-deacon would find no trouble in admitting 500 or more students
if he only had the necessary accommodations for them. The Arch-deacon
is meeting with great success in the mission work of his church in the
diocese of Southern Virginia.
COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA.
This is one of the most interesting Institutions I know of in the
South. It was chartered by the Legislature of Virginia, in the year
1889, and is established for the benefit of colored orphans of the
whole continent, to rescue them from brutal treatment, ignorance, vice,
and lives of shame and crime, and to endeavor to make of them sensible,
sober, chaste, industrious, religious, and useful members of society.
No higher education is here contemplated, exceptional cases aside, than
to make of them intelligent farmers, mechanics, cooks, etc.
This is a much-needed work. Most abject poverty, ignorance and
improvidence cause the death of many, whose offspring are left to the
mercy of the poor neighbor. The orphan, originally received out of
kindness, is kept as a slave, when it is able to do any kind of work;
and no one suspects that there are innumerable orphans scattered in
cabins, who are practically slaves, groaning under the bitter burden
of work and the lash of taskmasters of their own race. The slavery of
adults has been abolished, and the slavery of children has been made
more bitter and more brutal. Now brutal treatment produces brutes; the
man avenges by crime society's guilt in heartlessly neglecting innocent
childhood in its sufferings and degradation.
Sufficient as is the direct object of redeeming neglected orphans, by
itself, to appeal to the heart and conscience, it is also the most
promising work for the elevation of the whole race.
This race needs examples of new life to free itself from the influences
of the past. It needs examples, not so much of college-bred men who
follow the professions, as of pure men and women who walk in the
common paths of life, and who can lead in the way of sensible, honest,
industrious, cleanly, and thrifty living, that the sense of sin and
virtue, of the morally right and wrong, may be developed. This is
the noblest and most promising of charities, because it is for the
youngest, the weakest and the lowest.
The institution occupies a farm of one hundred and a fraction acres,
in a most healthful spot, affording as fine an opportunity for the
bringing up of children as is to be found in the whole country. When
completed, several hundred children will be comfortably provided
for and trained for their life's work. One wing has been built, and
shelters between fifty and sixty children, who range in age from
infancy to fifteen or sixteen. A second wing is in progress of erection
at this writing. A steam brick yard furnishes the brick and will also
form part of the industrial system.
[Illustration: HOFFMAN WING OF COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM AND INDUSTRIAL
SCHOOL.]
As to results, so far, it is but the literal truth to say that orphans
who would otherwise have been doomed to child slavery and devoted to
destruction of body and soul, not only wonderfully prosper in health,
but are manifestly influenced by the regular occupation, the firm
discipline, the atmosphere of honesty and fidelity in work, and the
mental and religious instruction. The Rev. Paul Sterling, of Melrose,
Mass., writes to the New York _Churchman_: "It goes without saying
that such a work is doing good, but its beneficial effects are very
evident, even in the case of the youngest child, and are the best
possible endorsement of the wisdom and capacity of those who have the
Institution in charge. The scrupulous cleanliness and orderliness that
prevail is also a thing that commends the Institution to the observer."
[Illustration: THREE ORPHAN SISTERS AT LYNCHBURG SCHOOL.]
This Institution is without any endowment and is entirely dependent for
building fund and for daily bread upon voluntary contributions. The
small sum of sixty dollars a year rescues, shelters, trains, feeds and
clothes one child! In consideration of the great need of such work as
this institution is doing, and of the many well-equipped Institutions
all over the South for meeting the other needs of the race, it is to be
hoped that means will be soon forthcoming to complete and endow this
noble work. Contributions may be sent to Rev. A. Jaeger, D. D., general
manager, or to Rev. C. Breckinridge Wilmer, Superintendent, Lynchburg,
Virginia.
ST. AUGUSTINE'S SCHOOL.
While mission work of various kinds must be carried on, it is evident
that, through the work of schools, the Church will accomplish its
greatest work. The ambition of the people for education is very great,
and it must be along these lines that the Church will not only satisfy
the longings of the people, but also give them the greatest training in
Christian discipline.
St. Augustine's School, at Raleigh, N. C., has led the way in this
training. It has already sent out from its walls hundreds of teachers
and over twenty of the colored clergy. A large number of the teachers
and clergy now at work under the Commission for Work among the Colored
People received their training here. It was founded just after the war
by the Rev. J. Brinton Smith, D. D., from the diocese of Pennsylvania,
with the hearty co-operation of Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina. Dr.
Smith secured money with which its land was purchased and buildings
erected.
Its work is carried on along three lines--Industrial, Normal and
Collegiate. With the exception of a cook and farm hand, with occasional
assistance, the whole work of the school is done by the students.
The girls have the care of the household, the young men the care of
the grounds. Besides that, the girls receive thorough and systematic
training in both cooking and sewing, the courses extending over several
years. Instruction has been given to the young men in carpentering
and in brick-laying. It is greatly to be desired that this trade
instruction might be furthered by the establishment of a trade school,
modelled after the New York Trade School, founded by Col. Auchmuty
and so well endowed by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. The skilled mechanics
of the South were largely trained in the days of slavery, and, with
the passing of this generation, it is important that younger men
should be thoroughly trained and enabled to earn an honest living. The
development of the South depends not alone upon its rich and various
resources, nor upon the muscle of the colored laborers, but also upon
the brain and skill of those laborers.
In its normal work, the school is continually sending forth a stream
of teachers for the public schools as well as for the Church schools.
There is little danger of carrying on higher education, as some have
thought. The greatest difficulty is in securing, at this stage of the
race's development, students who have the grit to persevere in their
school work so as to reach the higher classes.
The school has an endowment of about $30,000, of which $25,000 reverts
to the Board of Managers of Missions, in case of impairment or misuse.
There are large buildings for both girls and young men. Two of the
buildings have been erected almost entirely by the students.
CHAPTERS V. AND VI.
METHODIST SCHOOLS.
The Methodist Church has been very active in its educational work at
the South, and its schools rank among the very best. It is noticeable
that this church has paid special attention to industrial education
among the colored people. I have visited some of these schools and I
was pleased to see how highly the young men and young women appreciate
the opportunities afforded them to learn trades and professions.
WALDEN UNIVERSITY.
At the close of the Rebellion in 1865, the condition of the emancipated
slaves attracted the attention of patriots, philanthropists, and
Christians North and South. There were millions of them ignorant of
books and of their duty as freedmen. They were poor, having only the
clothes they wore, or if they had other property, it could usually
be carried in a bundle in the hand or on the head. All the leading
religious denominations of the North entered this field of missionary
work--the Methodist Episcopal Church among the first. In 1865 the
missionary society of this church appropriated $10,000 to establish a
school for the freedmen in the South. This sum was placed under the
direction of Rev. Bishop D. W. Clark, D. D., who, having visited
Nashville, authorized Rev. John Seys and Rev. O. O. Knight to open a
school in Clark Chapel, a church building purchased from the M. E.
Church, South, and then known as Andrew Chapel. Rev. O. O. Knight was
principal, assisted by Mrs. Julia North, Mrs. Mary Murphy, and Miss O.
D. Barber. All of the assistants were colored. The school was composed
of scholars of all ages and sizes--grandparents and grandchildren,
parents and children, were in the same classes. They were poorly
clad, and mostly homeless wanderers from the plantations. They found
shelter in the army barracks, in abandoned houses, in cellars or
garrets, stables, or other out-houses--whatever would afford them
a present shelter. Yet in the midst of this destitution they were
hungry for education. Never did teachers have more earnest pupils.
The crowded condition of the church soon led the teachers to seek for
better accommodations, and the next year the school was moved into the
building known as the Gun Factory.
[Illustration: WALDEN UNIVERSITY.
_Dr. J. Benson Hamilton, President._]
The school was chartered in 1866 by the Legislature of Tennessee. A
large portion of the students have been teachers, and are at school
preparing for more advanced work.
Since this school has had its charter, we know of none where a greater
amount of good has been accomplished. The graduates from there are
found in all parts of the country engaged in all useful walks of life.
There is a theological training given to young men wishing to enter the
ministry. Also a splendid law department where young men are prepared
to plead in the highest courts of the land. Dr. J. Braden, D. D., who
has for years stood at the head of this Institution as its president,
is one man among a million, for when he went to Nashville, it was
worth more than mere talk for a white man to declare himself a friend
to negro education. He grew old in the work, and was much beloved by
all who knew him. At his death he was succeeded as president by Dr. J.
Benson Hamilton, a man who is known as a strong leader, and doubtless
one who will take up the work Dr. Braden had for years carried on with
such marked success, and continue to make Walden University one of
the best known schools. It was for years known as Central Tennessee
College.
MEHARRY MEDICAL, DENTAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL DEPARTMENTS OF WALDEN
UNIVERSITY.
G. W. HUBBARD, M. D., DEAN.
The Meharry Medical Department was organized in October, 1876, and was
the first school opened in the Southern States for the education of
Colored Physicians. Since that date, 482 students have been enrolled,
263 of whom have received the degree of M. D., and most of whom are now
engaged in the practice of their profession in the Southern States, and
have been cordially received by the White Physicians; they consult with
them in serious cases and assist in difficult surgical operations.
The success which has attended the professional work of their alumni
has been very encouraging, and the professional reputation they have
acquired is such as any college might well be proud of.
Ever since the organization of Meharry Medical College, the want of
means has been greatly felt. Every year, many students have been
unable to attend on account of the lack of sufficient means. With few
exceptions, they are entirely dependent on their own labor to meet
their college expenses, and many have younger brothers or sisters to
assist or families of their own to support. During the session of
1894-95, one of their students sacrificed his life in his efforts
to supply the needs of his family and carry on his medical studies.
The applications are frequent asking for a little aid, or for an
opportunity to work to help pay their college expenses.
The Dental and Pharmaceutical Hall contains a clinical amphitheatre
capable of seating two hundred students, a Dental Infirmary, Dental
Laboratory, two rooms for pharmaceutical work, a laboratory for
analytical chemistry and a museum.
The twenty-first annual session of the college opened September 14,
1896.
The Meharry Dental Department was opened in 1885, and since that time
twenty-two have completed a course in dentistry and received the degree
of Doctor of Dental Surgery.
A most promising and useful field is now open in this profession, as
there is a large and increasing demand for dental work, and good and
competent Dentists will find plenty of work and fair remuneration.
This school is a member of the "American Association of Dental
Faculties," and diplomas from this college receive due recognition
wherever they are presented.
The Pharmaceutical Department has been in successful operation for
five years, during which time thirty-one students have finished the
course and have been fitted for the responsible position of practical
druggists. With scarcely an exception the graduates in pharmacy have
made good records before the different State Boards of Pharmacy, and
most of them are either owners or managers of drug stores in different
parts of the South.
The question is often asked, "What are the young men of the colored
race doing after they have obtained a college or professional
education?"
The following table will show what the graduates of Meharry are doing:
Teaching, 9; Preaching, 4; Employees of U. S. Government, 3; Editor,
1; Sunday School Agent, 1; Occupation unknown, 6; Practising medicine,
218. Total number living, 242.
CLARK UNIVERSITY.
Clark University is a Christian school, founded in the year 1870 by
the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. It is open to students of all classes regardless of
sex or color, the sole conditions of admission being a desire to learn,
good moral character, and obedience to lawfully constituted authority.
The buildings and grounds are located just south of the corporation
line of the city of Atlanta, Ga. The campus is sufficiently elevated
to overlook the city, and has perfect natural drainage on all sides.
It is beautifully shaded with oak and pine, which with its great
elevation--1,200 feet above sea level--makes it a delightful retreat
in midsummer. It would be difficult to find a more healthful location
in the United States--an assertion proven by the fact that, among the
thousands who have been in attendance, but one has died on the grounds
during eight years of operation.
Rev. Charles Manly Melden, Ph D., is at this time president of Clark
University. I am told that he has taken hold of the work with that
sort of energy and earnestness which always brings success. He has
around him a very able body of teachers, among them Prof. Wm. Henry
Crogman, A. M., as teacher of Latin and Greek languages and literature.
Prof. Crogman is the author of a very useful and well-written book on
the subject of race progress, entitled "The Remarkable Advancement of
the Negro Race." His book is full of very instructive and interesting
matter, giving a great many valuable facts touching upon the history
and progress of the race in this country, in such a way that no family
can well afford to be without a copy.
Too much cannot be said in favor of books written by colored authors
upon the subject of race progress. While the race is making such marked
and rapid progress, a new book could appear each year full of useful
information.
The industrial features of Clark University are interesting in the
extreme. I found well equipped shops where wagons and carriages are
made by students, also a splendid harness shop, where several young
men have been taught the trade and have since started harness shops of
their own. Large express and ice wagons, now in use in Atlanta, were
made at Clark University entirely by student labor. Every young man
above the age of sixteen and below the college classes is required
to devote two hours per day to manual training, consisting both of
theoretical and practical work. Pupils are required not only to
construct miniature models, but products for the market as well, and
thus are prepared for the struggle of life, should no professional
position open to them. Not all students can fill professions. Skilled
bread-winners are second only to skilled soul-winners. The great need
of the South and especially of the Colored people, is skilled workmen
who can wield a deft hand and teach others to do the same--men who can
earn $2.50 per day while others are earning 75 cents.
Clark University is endeavoring to supply this want through
her Industrial Department. It teaches Carpentry, Wagon-making,
Carriage-trimming, Harness-making, Painting and Printing.
THAYER HOME.
This home, as its name indicates, is modeled after a real home, and is
furnished with all modern improvements. It can accommodate about twenty
young ladies, who are taught to cook, keep house and do other things
practised in a well ordered home.
Miss Flora Mitchell, who superintends this home, is in my opinion, one
of the finest specimen of noble womanhood I have ever met.
The work of the home is done by the occupants alternately, so as to
give all a practical knowledge of model housekeeping. Lectures are
given on domestic science, food, dress, physical culture and social
ethics. In short, the aim of the Home is to fit young ladies to conduct
and adorn a model Christian home.
Too much cannot be said in praise of the excellent work done at Thayer
Home, and especially when we take into consideration the very crude
homes that many of the girls come from who are students there. I
had the pleasure of eating a meal at the Home on one occasion and I
was very much impressed with the extreme neatness of the place. Miss
Mitchell told me many interesting things about the Home and its work,
also showed me quite a lot of needlework done by the girls. She said,
"I have visited several homes of students from here who have married,
and it was such a pleasure to see our girls located in neat, clean
homes of their own when both husband and wife were happy, and it was
positive proof to me that our labor had brought forth good results."
I met in Philadelphia Mrs. Rev. P. O'Connell who was at one time a
student under Miss Mitchell, and she is very enthusiastic over the good
work done at "Thayer Home" for Colored girls. I will say in conclusion
that if Mrs. O'Connell's home is a specimen of other homes kept by
students from there, then "Thayer Home" is indeed a blessing.
CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY.
The existence of Claflin University is due largely to the generosity of
the Hon. Lee Claflin and family, of Boston, Mass.
In 1869 this property was purchased and set apart to its present
purpose and is now one of the most interesting schools in existence for
the education of the Colored youth; located at Orangeburg, S. C., where
the Colored Methodists are strong in number. Rev. L. M. Dunton, A. M.,
D. D., president of Claflin, went South as a preacher in the early
days of freedom and has remained ever since. Claflin University has now
one hundred acres of ground that are worked by students. The school
has been assisted by the Peabody and John F. Slater funds at different
times. It is the only Methodist school in the State under the auspices
of the M. E. Church or its aid and educational society. There have been
enrolled since 1869, when the school was founded, about 8,000 different
students. It is estimated that one thousand Christian teachers, besides
many ministers, mechanics, and intelligent laborers, have been educated
there. It is impossible to make an estimate as to the great good that
has been done by preparing Christian young men and women to be laborers
among their own race. The number of teachers required to man the school
is about nineteen and the property is estimated at one hundred thousand
dollars in value, and has some twenty buildings connected with the
institution. Besides the Collegiate, College Preparatory, Normal and
English courses, twenty distinct industries are taught.
NEW ORLEANS UNIVERSITY.
The University is situated at 1428 St. Charles avenue, in one of the
most beautiful and healthful sections of the city of New Orleans, La.
The ground includes nearly two squares.
The main building is of brick, five stories high, furnished with the
best of furniture.
Besides large parlors and society rooms, there are rooms for 150
students in the building.
The heating is by steam and every precaution has been taken for comfort
and for safety.
A frame building is used exclusively for recitation rooms. It will
accommodate 350 students, so that ample provision has been made for all
who can attend.
The value of the entire property is $100,000.
It has an industrial school in connection, in the way of
carpenter-shop, printing office, tin-shop, and surgery school.
In about 1889 there was a Medical School established at New Orleans
University, and up to 1892 the first class graduated. The charter of
the institution admits students of this school to practise in its
wards; also admits them to practise in the State of Louisiana.
Rev. L. G. Adkinson, A. M., D. D., the president, is a man of great
ability and has accomplished great good during his professorship.
COOKMAN INSTITUTE.
Cookman Institute is located at Jacksonville, Fla. The beginning of
this Institute was very unpretentious. It was started in 1872, simply
to do good among the colored people in the immediate locality. Prof. H.
R. Bankerd is president.
In an old church, then in an unfinished building, and finally in a
small, two-story wooden building, Cookman Institute took on its more
permanent growth.
Property adjoining the Methodist Episcopal Church was purchased by
the Freedmen's Aid Society, and upon it began the long and laborious
task of erecting buildings suitable for the work, and also the greater
difficulty of raising the money to pay for them. The institution has
buildings worth $25,000, accommodating one hundred boarders and 400
day pupils. These serve for the present size of the school. They are
constructed of brick, and convey the idea of strength and durability.
Of far greater value than building has been the desire to see the
intellectual work carried forward. This has been no easy task. To
organize the various departments, get the classes well defined and
students brought on to fill the several stations in the progress of the
work, has taken years of patient toil and the expenditure of much money.
Those who have been with the school have won for themselves many golden
opinions. The graduates honor themselves in their success in life, and
show what education will do for the people when extended courses of
study are pursued.
LAGRANGE ACADEMY.
This school is located at LaGrange, Ga. The faculty consists of Miss
Carrie King, Principal; Carrie E. Campbell and Julia Gilmore, Tutors.
This school was organized in 1876, and is now under the auspices of
the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society. Its design is to
meet the great demand for a thorough and systematic course through
the English, Normal and Academic studies. The Academy is an auxiliary
to Clark University, and the text-books used are the same as at the
University. The building is situated in the northwestern part of the
town, three-fourths of a mile from the station.
RUST UNIVERSITY.
This Institution is located at Holly Springs, Miss., and was started in
the early days of freedom by the Freedmen's Aid Society and represents
one of the best schools in the South for the education of the colored
youth. Being a Methodist School, it has a large number of families
to draw its scholars from, for Mississippi is largely made up of
Methodists and Baptists. I found a much better state of affairs in
Mississippi from an educational standpoint among the colored Methodists
than I expected, and I am sure the credit is largely due to the very
excellent work done at Rust University. I found that, in addition to
the Academic, Normal and Collegiate courses taught there, they give
industrial training in printing, sewing, plumbing, rustic work, and
domestic industry. They also have a splendid model home for girls. The
president, William W. Foster, Jr., D. D., is a most excellent man.
He comes to this institution from the East, where he has served some
of the leading M. E. Churches as pastor. He is a graduate of Boston
University, and comes well fitted to take charge of such a school as
Rust. Mrs. Foster, who is as well known in the church as her husband,
will be of great help and inspiration to him in this new field.
PRINCESS ANNE ACADEMY.
This school is located at Princess Anne, Md. Princess Anne Academy was
founded as a branch of Morgan College, Baltimore, Md., in September,
1886, and in 1891 was also made the Eastern Branch of the Maryland
Agricultural College.
A good farm containing 121 acres, together with barns, stock, farming
implements, &c., have been added for practical instruction in Farming
and Gardening; also shops, tools and materials for teaching Carpentry,
Blacksmithing, Shoemaking, Tailoring, Masonry, &c., have been
provided for the boys; and facilities for teaching the girls Cooking,
Laundering, Sewing, and the general proprieties of housekeeping, have
been added, and very gratifying results have followed.
Students are allowed to select their own trades, at which they are
required to work one hour daily except on Saturday, when they devote
five hours. They rise at 5.45 A. M., and retire at 9.45 P. M., thus
devoting at least eight hours to rest and sleep; of the remaining
time about ten hours are spent in Literary Work and Manual Training.
The course of study is broad, thorough, and perfectly in keeping with
the spirit and needs of the times. Nearly one thousand persons have
received more or less training since the organization of the Academy,
and few have any difficulty in securing profitable employment as soon
as they leave school.
Since the death of Prof. B. O. Bird, the founder of Princess Anne
Academy, Rev. P. O'Connell, a most excellent man, has been selected as
principal.
WILEY UNIVERSITY.
Wiley University is located at Marshall, Texas, a quiet city of ten
thousand inhabitants. It is now enjoying a period of unparalleled
prosperity along all lines. For the years 1897-98, the enrollment
reached 352. These pupils come from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and
represent some of the best homes in this section.
[Illustration: REV. M. W. DOGAN, A. M.]
It is the aim of the management to keep the courses of study fully
abreast of the best in the South. To this end the departments are
being constantly strengthened. In addition to a well-equipped college
department, the following departments are successfully operated:
preparatory, normal, English, musical, and industrial.
Wiley University is distinctively a Christian institution and no
apology is made for insisting on Christian instruction. The pupils are
taught that the most enduring education has Christianity for its basis.
The faculty of Wiley is composed of 15 professors and instructors,
all colored but two. Rev. M. W. Dogan, A. M., is a young man of
most excellent educational qualifications for the place he holds as
president of Wiley University. He has taught at some of the best
schools in the South.
MORGAN COLLEGE.
Morgan College is located in Baltimore, Md., Rev. F. J. Wagner, A. M.,
D. D., president, and for years has played an important part in the
education of the race. It has its representatives as graduates all over
the State of Maryland. The higher grades are taught there, and the
teachers employed are the best. In addition to its regular work it has
two branches, in the way of the Lynchburg, Va., Annex and Princess Anne
Academy, located at Princess Anna, Md., which is mentioned in another
write-up. Mr. Wagner is very much thought of by colored people, and he
has shown himself an untiring worker for the elevation of the race.
BENNETT COLLEGE.
Located at Greensboro', N. C., in a part of the State where the colored
population is very large. This school when first opened had a white
president in the person of Rev. E. O. Thayer, but of recent years the
board has had colored teachers in charge. Rev. C. N. Grandison at one
time was president. At this time Prof. J. D. Chavis, A. M., B. D., is
president with a good corps of colored teachers under him. I regret
that I am unable to present his picture, for I am of the opinion that
he is a most worthy young man.
BROWNING HOME.
An industrial and high-grade school for girls, is located in the
historic town of Camden, S. C., within the bounds of the district. The
work done there and the discipline are so thorough that it deserves
more than mere mention. The Home was built in 1887 by the Woman's Home
Missionary Society of the M. E. Church, to educate girls and young
women along the line of practical housekeeping. Since the opening of
the school, about one hundred and twenty-five have received training.
Connected with the Home is a day-school of high grade, having a regular
course of study, from which three classes have graduated. The school
this year is well attended, having an enrollment of over two hundred;
and thirty-seven girl boarders in the Home.
The Home will be enlarged so as to accommodate all who may come. Total
expenses for board and tuition, five dollars per month.
Mrs. Gordon, the superintendent, and her _corps_ of teachers, are a
noble band of self-sacrificing women, who came from the North. They
have been the subjects of opposition, and abuse, and ostracism, in
their efforts to elevate a downtrodden people, and they deserve, and
ought to have, the patronage, sympathy, and good-will of all.
GAMMON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Gammon Theological Seminary, at Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest
theological school for the exclusive education of colored men in
the United States. It stands to-day a monument to the philanthropy
of Elijah H. Gammon, of Maine, a noble gentleman, who endowed the
school with nearly half a million dollars. Dr. Gammon was certainly
a philanthropist. This fact is plainly indicated by his splendid
beneficence.
He did not wait till in sight of the grave and then cast off his
wealth as a possession he could no longer use; but _living_, he
poured out his treasures; yea, more, he gave the ripe thought of his
last years--planned and wrought for the equipment of this Seminary.
The measure of his philanthropy is not in that he gave $10,000 to
Garrett, $5,000 to the Maine Wesleyan, thousands to churches and aid
to many struggling students. The mere catalogue of benefactions is no
measure of the real philanthropist. The _man himself_, his motive,
his purpose, his sacrifice, his unselfish enthusiasm, his giving of
thought and time and heart for humanity--these are the tests of genuine
philanthropy.
He did not endow this school merely for the sake of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. He wanted to help all his fellow-men through all the
churches. It was entrusted to the care and direction of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, as best adapted through its spirit, organization and
government in the South, to carry out his plans.
His benefactions took the form of a theological school because he
believed that the ministers held the centre of power, and were to be
the leaders of their race for years to come.
He established an institution opened especially for the Negro race, not
because they were black, but because they were the most needy of all
men. He simply gave practical expression to his faith in the fatherhood
of God and the brotherhood of man. He was no sentimentalist as regards
the Negro. He simply had a heart as broad as humanity--a great heart
backed by _conscience_--and without prejudice, it went out to this race
as a part of God's family, needing the touch of Christ's hand, through
him.
Rev. Wilbur P. Thirkield, D. D., President of Gammon Theological
Seminary, is laboring hard and earnestly to make the institution all
that Dr. Gammon, its founder, had aimed to have it; and the class of
young men who are receiving their training for the ministry in this
school is certainly a compliment to the endeavors of its president.
There has been something over one hundred young ministers who have
graduated from Gammon Theological Seminary.
Dr. J. W. E. Bowen, one of the best educated colored men in this
country, is one of the instructors in this institution; and his work is
regarded as being very fruitful and effectual.
The position Dr. Bowen holds at Gammon Theological Seminary is one that
could only be filled by a man of a splendid education. He is Professor
of Church History.
Dr. Bowen was a representative to the last General Conference of the
M. E. Church, which met in Cleveland, Ohio, in May, 1896. He secured
a large vote for the Bishopric, but I am sorry indeed to say was not
elected. I was in hopes that the M. E. Church had grown magnanimous
enough to at least elect such a worthy colored man to preside over the
thousands of colored members they have, if no others.
In addition to the schools already mentioned in the M. E. work, I wish
to mention Philander Smith College at Little Rock, Ark., Rev. J. M.
Cox, D. D., president; George R. Smith College, Sedalia, Mo., E. A.
Robertson, principal; Central Alabama Academy, Huntsville, Ala., A. W.
McKinney, principal; Gilbert College, Baldwin, La., A. E. P. Albert,
principal; Meridian Academy, Meridian, Miss., J. L. Wilson, principal;
Morristown Academy, Morristown, Tenn., J. L. Hill, principal. I regret
that want of space will not admit of special mention of all the
above schools, for I can assure my readers that they are all worthy
institutions that are playing a great part in the education of the race.
Rev. M. C. B. Mason, D. D., was elected as a general corresponding
secretary of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Educational Society.
Mr. Mason is a graduate of New Orleans University, also of Gammon
Theological Seminary. He is the first colored man to hold this position
in the history of the Society. The Methodist Church will doubtless find
places for a larger number of the educated colored students from her
schools to labor in the different departments of the church than have
been employed in the past.