History of Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Part 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Professor L. C. Garland was made President _pro tempore_. Rev. Mr.

Tomlinson having declined to accept the chair of English Literature, Rev. William M. Wightman was elected to it, and accepted it. Professor David Duncan was elected Professor of Languages in place of Rev. Geo. F.

Pierce who had declined to accept it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. W.M. WIGHTMAN, D. D.]

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: PROFESSOR DAVID DUNCAN, A. M.]

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

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

Their report also for the first time indicated the distinctions in the graduating cla.s.s, which were as follows:

1. JAMES W. HARDY, ... ... ... . Georgia.

2. FRANCIS N. MULLEN,... ... ... North Carolina.

3. JUNIUS L. CLEMONS,... ... ... North Carolina.

4. LEWIS W. CABELL,... ... ... . Virginia.

5. ROBERT M. INGRAM, ... ... ... Virginia.

6. WARREN DU PRE,... ... ... . . South Carolina.

ADAMS, RICHARD E. G., ... ... . Virginia.

BEARD, CLOUGH S., ... ... ... South Carolina.

BLAIN, GEORGE W., ... ... ... Virginia.

CROFT, ISAAC C.,... ... ... . South Carolina GEE, JESSE, ... ... ... ... Virginia.

HORSELEY, WILLIAM A., ... ... . Virginia.

MONTGOMERY, HENRY T., ... ... . Virginia.

SAMFORD, WILLIAM F.,... ... . . Georgia.

STEWART, THEOPHILUS,... ... . . Georgia.

WILLIAMSON, JAMES J., ... ... . Virginia.

In all sixteen.

The first-honor man p.r.o.nounced the Valedictory Address; the second-honor man, the Latin Salutatory; the third, the Philosophical.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PROFESSOR WARREN DU PRE, A. M. _Tutor at Randolph-Macon College; Professor at Wofford College, South Carolina; President Martha Washington Female College, Virginia._]

COLLEGE YEAR 1837-'38.

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

On the recommendation of the Faculty the following degrees were conferred, viz.:

_Bachelor of Arts_.

1. JOHN T. BRAME, ... ... ... . . North Carolina.

2. EDWARD H. MYERS, ... ... ... . Florida.

3. JAMES R. THOMAS, ... ... ... . Georgia.

4. EZEKIEL A. BLANCH, ... ... ... Virginia.

5. JOHN W. LEAK,... ... ... ... North Carolina.

6. FRANCIS A. CONNOR, ... ... ... South Carolina.

BAXTER CLEGG,... ... ... ... North Carolina.

GEORGE F. EPPES, ... ... ... . South Carolina.

JAMES M. FITTS,... ... ... . . North Carolina, CHRIS. D. HILL,... ... ... . . North Carolina.

THOS. J. KOGER,... ... ... . . South Carolina.

HENRY E. LOCKETT,... ... ... . Virginia.

JOHN A. ORGAIN,... ... ... . . Virginia.

THOS. B. RUSSELL,... ... ... . South Carolina.

JAMES R. WASHINGTON, ... ... . . North Carolina.

JAMES. W. WIGHTMAN,... ... ... South Carolina.

_Master of Arts: (Honorary)_.

REV. GEORGE F. PIERCE, ... ... . Georgia.

PROF. DAVID DUNCAN,... ... ... Virginia.

GABRIEL P. DISOSWAY, ... ... . . New York.

_Doctor of Divinity_.

REV. THOMAS JACKSON, ... ... . . England.

Steps were taken by the Board to endow the fourth professorship in the College.

[Ill.u.s.tration: REV. JAMES R. THOMAS, LL. D., _President Emory College, Georgia._]

Rev. John Early, agent, reported that further efforts to endow a professorship by the Georgia Conference would be suspended, that Conference having resolved to establish a College in its bounds. The amount reported as raised on said endowment was $16,000. He also reported the amount of endowment raised in Virginia as $20,000.

At this meeting we have reported the first intimation of financial embarra.s.sment in the affairs of the College. Notwithstanding this the salaries of the full professors were raised to $1200 per year. The acting president, Landon C. Garland, was appointed to prepare an address on the pecuniary condition of the College, the same to be published in the papers.

Professor E. D. Sims having returned from Europe, Rev. William M.

Wightman, Professor of English Literature, tendered his resignation, which was received with complimentary resolutions to him for his efficient services. Prof. Wightman returned to his native State, South Carolina, and to the itinerant ministry. The Faculty as reorganized for the session of 1838-'39 was as follows, viz.: