History of Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Part 32

"We have said little of his private life. He was early married to Miss Twitty, of North Carolina, who for many years proved a companion and helpmeet worthy of such a man, and pa.s.sed away in 1870. He married in 1873, Miss Wade, a daughter of a minister of the Baltimore Conference, who ministered to him and comforted him through the last years of his life, years of comparative weakness and pain, and now mourns, yet in resignation and trust, his death. He leaves four children of the first and one of the second marriage. The widow and children have the deepest sympathies and fervent prayers of this Conference.

"A few more words we must say about this loved brother. He was a natural orator. Perhaps this remark should be changed, not to abate its force, but to enlarge its application. He was a born talker, equally gifted in conversation and in public discourse. He had every physical advantage--grace of att.i.tude and gesture, a voice which everybody likened, in sweetness, richness, and compa.s.s, to the organ, and, we must add, to the organ when struck by a master musician, for he had his voice under perfect command, and moderated it to convey the fullest variety of pure and worthy sentiment; a countenance on which one loved to gaze, handsome in repose, lovely when lit up by the n.o.ble thoughts and feelings of his great soul. He had every intellectual and moral advantage; a ready flow of happy diction, which seemed perfectly spontaneous, and yet exactly suited the thought; a playful humor, and, when needed, keenness of wit and satire which added zest to his serious speech, but detracted not from its weight; a quick insight into the heart of a subject, judgment remarkably sound, the logical spirit without slavery to logical forms, and an imagination which could sport like a b.u.t.terfly amid flowers, or soar like an eagle beyond the clouds; sensibility delicate, deep, strong--acute sympathy with his fellow-man; a response in his feelings to everything true, pure, generous, and grand. Above all, he was full of the Holy Ghost, and could say, 'For the love of Christ constraineth me.' His adaptation to all cla.s.ses of hearers, to all cla.s.ses of circ.u.mstances, was marvellous. He could interest and edify the child, the unlettered, the cultivated, the scholar, with equal ease. Every variety of style came naturally to him, from a familiar home talk, through all gradations of argument, instruction and pathos, to the impa.s.sioned, sublime and overwhelming appeal. The earnestness and simplicity of his soul were ever manifest; that he preached not self, not philosophy, not human wisdom, not excellency of speech, but Christ and him crucified, not for fame, but to win souls.

"In his social and pastoral qualities he no less excelled. Others have equalled, none surpa.s.sed him in diligence and fidelity; but who can compare in charm, in breadth and tenderness of sympathy, in aptness to guide and comfort, in power to draw forth trust and love? Place him in any parlor, at any table, among the rich or poor, and he would be the centre of attraction--every eye fixed on him, every ear attend his voice. Let him sit by the bed of any invalid, though a stranger before that hour, and soon he would soothe and cheer, and the heart would open to his words as though he had been a life-long friend. The young and old, men and women, the rude and the cultivated, felt free to confide to him their troubles and ask his sympathy and aid; yet, in the narrower circle of long-tried friendship and of home, never did there beat a truer, more constant, more generous heart; so unselfish, so frank, so forbearing, so trustful, so magnanimous, never giving up a friend, though he may have strayed far, and long, and fallen low; never slow in responding to any call for help.

"But we must close this sketch. He was our favorite and our ornament, we might almost say our idol; but we glorify G.o.d in him. He has been taken away in his prime, at the height of his usefulness, when we were leaning on his counsel and strength, when we were rejoicing in the prospect of many years of his company and service. But we thank G.o.d for his example, his work, and his prayers. He rests from his labors, and his works do follow him."

A meeting of the Board was called, to a.s.semble at Broad-Street Church October 4, 1877, to make provision for the College after the loss of President Duncan. Dr. A. W. Wilson, vice-president, announced his death, and a committee, consisting of Dr. W. W. Bennett, Dr. Samuel Rodgers, and Hon. Wm. Milnes, Jr., was appointed to report suitable resolutions to the Board, and they presented the following, which was unanimously adopted:

"_Resolved_, That, as the Board of Trustees of Randolph-Macon College, we have the deepest sorrow in our hearts in announcing to our church and people the great loss we have sustained in the death of Rev. James A.

Duncan, D. D., our late President. His devoted life as a Christian minister and his constant and arduous labors for the past nine years in behalf of Randolph-Macon College, and the high position to which he and his co-laborers in the Faculty have brought the inst.i.tution, demand that our people should give some expression of their appreciation of this work, which, in its widening influence, we trust shall abide for generations to come. And in the judgment of this Board nothing can more adequately express our conviction of the value of his life and work for the College and the cause of Christian education than that the church should determine to raise a 'memorial fund' of $100,000 for the accomplishment of an earnest and often-expressed wish of our deceased President, the permanent endowment of the College and the enlargement of its sphere of usefulness."

The presidency of the Board having been made vacant by the death of President Duncan, Rev. W. W. Bennett was elected to it.

To fill the presidency of the College, Rev. W. W. Duncan, brother of the late President, was elected.

At an adjourned meeting, held in Lynchburg, Va., November 16, 1877, Secretary Rev. Paul Whitehead presented a letter from the Rev. W. W.

Duncan, Professor in Wofford College, South Carolina, declining the presidency, to which he had been elected in July last. This declination and the financial embarra.s.sment of the College elicited the hearty interest of the Virginia Conference, then in session. A large committee from that body was appointed to confer with the Board to concert measures which would meet the serious condition of the affairs of the College. The joint conference was held for several days.

After the joint conference was concluded, on the 19th of November, the Board proceeded to elect a President of the College. The result of the first ballot was: For R. N. Sledd, 6 votes; for W. W. Bennett, 6 votes.

Necessary to a choice, 7.

The second ballot resulted in the same vote.

The third ballot, other members having come in, resulted as follows: W.

W. Bennett, 9 votes; R. N. Sledd, 5 votes. Necessary to a choice, 8 votes. So Rev. W. W. Bennett, D. D., was declared elected.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BISHOP W. W. DUNCAN. _Elected President 1877.--Declined to accept._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. W. W. BENNETT, D. D., _President of the Board of Trustees, 1877; President of the College. 1877-1886._]

Resolutions respecting the death of William Willis, Jr., late treasurer of the Board, who had died since the last meeting of the Board, were adopted.

At this meeting Rev. Thomas A. Ware resigned his place as Agent.

The new President, when elected, was the editor of the Richmond _Christian Advocate_, of which he had been the proprietor, wholly or in part, for ten years. He was a leading man in the Virginia Conference, and largely acquainted with the ministers and people of the church in Virginia and elsewhere, having been a member of the General Conference for a number of sessions. He was in the full vigor of manhood. His education had been secured at the University of Virginia. Having been an active member of the Board for years, and frequently on important committees of the Board, and having lived in Ashland for a number of years, he was thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the College. He felt and appreciated the great purposes of its establishment and the capabilities which it might be endowed with by the action of the church.

He also knew what a burden he was about to take up and carry--a burden which had taxed the energies and heart of his predecessor; but, hopeful and sanguine, he probably did not appreciate the full weight of the burden which was to test his heart and energies, in turn, to their utmost strain. It was well that he was hopeful and trustful.

Dr. Bennett commenced his duties with the following colleagues in the Faculty December 1, 1877: Robert Emory Blackwell, A. M., Professor of English and Modern Languages; Harry Estill, A. M., Professor of Mathematics; William A. Shepard, A. M., Professor of Chemistry; Charles Morriss, M. A., Professor of Greek and Latin.

At a meeting of the Board, held in Baltimore, March, 1878, the Faculty was increased by the election of William Waugh Smith, A. M., to the chair of Moral and Mental Philosophy. Some time afterward he entered upon his duties as professor, and his connection, in some capacity, has continued to this day. Of his connection with the College more will be recorded further on in this narrative.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GRAY CARROLL, _Sutherlin Medalist, 1878; District Solicitor, Little Rock, Ark._]

At this meeting it was proposed to have published a memorial volume of the late President Duncan. That it was not done promptly, and in a manner worthy of him, is, and always will be, a source of regret to those who knew and loved him. This affords another instance and example of how little has been done to let the lives and labors of Virginia's gifted men speak after they are dead. Surely he was worthy of a fitting biography.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RICHARD B. DAVIS, A. B., 1862., _Member Board of Trustees._]

At the annual meeting, June, 1878, the President, in his annual report, gave the number of students in attendance as 141, from twelve different States. He reported a revival of religion as having occurred, with twenty converts among the students.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRANK NOLAND, _First "Pace" Medalist, 1878; a.s.sistant Editor "Landmark."_]

An effort has been made, with some success, to retire the floating debt of the College, amounting to about $23,000, on some of which ten per cent. interest was being paid, averaging eight per cent. The President was hopeful of good patronage and retiring the debt.

The following, on recommendation of the Faculty, received degrees, viz.: Henry A. Boyd, of North Carolina, A. M.; Mansfield T. Peed, of Virginia, A. M.; William J. Sebrell, of Virginia, A. B.; Wilbur Fisk Tillett, of North Carolina, A. B.; M. P. Rice, B. S.

The "Sutherlin Medal for Oratory" was won by Gray Carroll, of Virginia.

The "Walton Greek Prize" went to Clarence Edwards, of Virginia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PROF. R. BASCOM SMITHEY, A. M.]

The "Pace" medal for the best English essay was awarded to Frank Noland, of Virginia, the first to win it. This medal was offered by Mr. James B.

Pace, of Richmond, Va.

Prof. Harry Estill resigned, July 8, 1878, the chair of Mathematics after ten years' service. He was the last of President Duncan's Faculty to leave. He went to the Washington and Lee University, and took the same chair at that inst.i.tution, his Alma Mater.

To the chair thus vacated Royal Bascom Smithey (A. M. 1876) was elected, and he has filled it with great satisfaction to his pupils and the Board to the present time (1898).

[Ill.u.s.tration: CLARENCE EDWARDS, A.M., _"Pace" Medalist, 1879; Attorney-at-Law._]

The old chapel was consumed by fire March 12, 1879. Fortunately there was nothing in it but the furniture, which was saved. It had a varied history. Before the war it was a ball-room; during the war a hospital; after the war a place for religious service for nearly eleven years. Its walls had resounded with the eloquence of Duncan, Wightman, Guard, Ran.

Tucker, Rosser, Bennett, and others. In it many of Randolph-Macon's brightest sons had received their diplomas; in it many had been "born again" to a new life. Services were held afterwards in the Mathematical lecture-room in the Pace building until the "Duncan Memorial" building, with church and chapel, had been completed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLES W. TILLET, A. B., _Sutherlin Medalist, 1879; Member of North Carolina Senate._]

Immediate steps were taken to erect the new building, and Rev. George W.

Nolley took an active and successful part in raising the funds for its erection. The ladies of the church also did a good part in this work; also the Faculty and the students.

In June, 1879, the Finance Committee reported that about one-half the "floating debt" had been subscribed. Nevertheless, for want of endowment, the current expenses of the year had exceeded the income.

They therefore recommended that the President be requested to devote his time and attention specially to the raising of funds for retiring the debt.

The following degrees were conferred, viz.:

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.