USA > North Carolina > Sketches of North Carolina, historical and biographical : illustrative of the principles of a portion of her early settlers > Part 52
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" The University is situated about twenty-eight miles from the city of Raleigh, and twelve from the town of Hillsborough. The great road from Chatham, and the country in the neighborhood of that county, to Petersburg, passes at present directly through the village, and it is a fortunate and important circumstance, both to the Institution and the town, that the road from all the Western country to the seat of Government will also pass through this place, being the nearest and best direction."
On the 12th of October, 1793, the first lots in the village were sold, and the corner-stone of the first building was laid, with ma- sonic procession and ceremonies, by William Richardson Davie. The Rev. Dr. McCorkle, of the Presbyterian church, the only clergyman then in the corporation, addressed the assembly at length. From his speech the following are extracts :- " It is our duty to acknowledge that sacred scriptural truth, Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it ; except the Lord keepeth the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. For my own part, I feel myself penetrated with a sense of these truths ; and this I feel not only as a minister of religion, but also as a citizen of the State, as a member of civil as well as religious society. These unaffected feelings of my heart give me leave to express, with that plainness and honesty which becomes a preacher of the Gospel and a minister of Jesus Christ."
" To diffuse the greatest possible degree of happiness in a given territory is the aim of good government and religion. Now the happiness of a nation depends upon national wealth and national glory, and cannot be gained without them. They in like manner depend upon liberty and laws. Liberty and laws call for general knowledge in the people, and extensive knowledge in matters of
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State ; and these, in fine, demand public places of education. * * * * How can any nation be happy without national wealth ? How can that nation, or man, be happy that is not pro- curing the necessary conveniences and accommodations of life ? How can glory or wealth be procured or preserved without lib- erty and laws, as they must check luxury, encourage industry and protect wealth. They must secure me the glory of my actions, and save from a bowstring or a bastile ; and how are these objects to be gained without general knowledge ? Knowledge is wealth,- it is glory-whether among philosophers, ministers of state or of religion, or among the great mass of the people. Britons glory in the name of a Newton, and honor him with a place among the sepulchres of her kings. Americans glory in the name of a Frank- lin ; and every nation which has them boasts her great men. Savages cannot have, rather cannot educate them, though many a Newton has been born and buried among them. Knowledge is liberty and law. When the clouds of ignorance are dispelled by the radiance of knowledge, power trembles, but the authority of the laws remains inviolable ; and how this knowledge, productive of so many advantages to mankind, can be acquired without public places of instruction, I know not. * * " May this hill be for religion as the ancient hill of Zion ; and for literature and the Muses, may it surpass the ancient Parnassus ! We this day enjoy the pleasure of seeing the corner-stone of the University, its foundations, its materials, and the architects of the buildings, and we hope ere long to see its stately walls and spire ascending to their summit." The discourse was followed by a short but animat- ed prayer, closed with the united Amen of an immense concourse of people.
The buildings being in a state of sufficient forwardness to ac- commodate students, notice was given for the opening of the insti- tution. Rev. David Kerr, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, a member of the Presbyterian church, who had emigrated to America in the year 1791, and had resided in Fayetteville as the preacher, and also as teacher of a classical school for about three years, having a reputation for talents and scholarship, was the first Professor selected by the trustees ; and with him was asso- ciated Mr. Samuel A. Holmes, as tutor in the preparatory depart- ment. The first student on the ground was Mr. Hinton James, from Wilmington, who arrived on the 12th of February, 1795, and on the 13th the public institution commenced. Mr. Kerr remained but a short time in the employ of the trustees ; went to Lumber-
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ton in Robeson county, commenced mercantile business and the , study of law ; and when prepared for legal business, removed to the Mississippi territory, was made United States Marshal, and soon after appointed Judge ; and closed his career in the year 1810, having acquired both property and reputation.
In the course of the year 1795, Mr. Charles W. Harris, of Ca- barrus county, a graduate of Nassau Hall, New Jersey, who was pursuing the study of the law, was appointed professor of mathe- matics, and Mr. Holmes professor of languages. Mr. Harris ac- cepted the office only for one year, and declined renewing his term of engagement, wishing to follow. his profession, in which he became eminent, being considered one of the best lawyers in the State, when death suddenly closed his career. He directed the attention of the trustees to Mr. Joseph Caldwell, a tutor in Nassau Hall, with whose deportment and scholarship he had been acquainted while a member of college, though there had never been any intimacy with him. This recommendation led to a cor- respondence, of which Mr. Harris was the organ ; and finally the removal of Mr. Caldwell to Chapel Hill, in the fall of 1796, as the Professor of mathematics in the University. The course of instruction in the University had been carried on about eighteen months, and the regular course of studies not yet settled, or the regular classes formed. Everything was new, and in an unform- ed state ; the funds small, and the students few ; the library and apparatus yet to be procured, and the faculty not more in number than is required for a high school. But the work was commenced, and an effort must be made for an University. The history of the institution as a place of education, properly commences with the labors of Joseph Caldwell. He was the presiding Professor, and then the President ; and for some forty years directed the studies of the classes, performing the duty of a laborious professor and of the president, of a faithful teacher and the responsible governor, till the institution, which began so small, grew up to a standard of excellence, at his death, unsurpassed by any institution of a similar kind in the southern country, and second to few in the United States. As for forty years the history of the man is the history of the University, and the history of the University is the history of the man, a few notices of his early life, which may introduce us to the Rev. Joseph Caldwell as he appeared at the Hill in 1796, will facilitate our acquaintance with the rise and progress of the Uni- versity itself. His matured years gave a finishing touch to the work of his youth.
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Dr. Joseph Caldwell, a respectable physician in New Jersey, the descendant of an emigrant from the province of Ulster, Ireland, a country fertile in enterprising men, as Carolina can witness, came to an untimely end, from the rupture of a blood-vessel, on the 19th of April, 1773, at Lamington, a village on the little stream called Black River, that empties into the Raritan. On the 20th his body was committed to the dust; and on the 21st his widow gave birth to a son, which, in her desolation of widowhood, she called Joseph, in memory of the husband and the father. As the child grew he received religious instructions from his pious mother, Rachel Harker, the daughter of a Presbyterian clergyman, and granddaughter of a Huguenot. Mr. Lovel, the maternal grand- father of Joseph Caldwell, fied from France after that memorable epoch, 1684, when, by the revocation of the Edict of Nantz, the French Protestants became the prey of persecution without mercy. He took his residence first in England ; and after a few years emigrated to America, and settled on the west end of Long Island, near Oyster Bay, and not far from Hempstead Plains. Here he lived an exemplary Christian life, and trained up his family in habits of religion, infusing much of his own decision, promptness, and determination, in matters of religion, and in the ordinary busi- ness of life. Of his maternal grandmother, Rachel Lovel, Mr. Caldwell used to speak in the highest terms, having lived with her when young, and gathered from her the traditions of the family ; but of his mother, his admiration knew no bounds, as a kind parent and Christian woman. Of the discretion of his mother, he used to give a pleasing instance, exemplifying unintentionally his own natural tenderness of feeling, and his sense of propriety. While quite a young lad, during a short residence at Bristol, he ventured to transgress the rules of his mother, by going on a Sabbath to in- dulge in bathing : narrowly escaping being drowned, he was taken home sick and exhausted, requiring careful attention to recover his lost strength. His mother kindly attended upon her son, and, to his surprise, said nothing to him about his disobedience, or exposure to loss of life. Whatever was her motive, the effect was great ; her silence distressed him more than any reproof she could have given: his conscience chastised him for his sin in grieving a mother he so much loved. The boy's heart was tender, and the mother knew her child. The religious impression soon passed away, but the moral remained. Through life he retained the impression of this dealing of his mother, and, as far as practicable, governed his students in the same principle, throwing them upon their sense
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of honor, with unabated kindness, always forbearing exposure, and public and even private reproof, as far as reclaiming the offender, and the interest of the institution, would permit. A lad was far gone in moral insensibility that could know Dr. Caldwell and rebel against him for any length of time.
Mr. Lovel, the grandfather of Dr. Caldwell, was a firm believer in those doctrines of religion, and that consistent Christian prac- tice, which, in England, was called Puritanism, and in France ob- tained for its followers the name of Huguenots. Fond of music, he brought with him from France a parlor organ, on which he played himself, accompanying with his voice, and taught his chil- dren to play upon it as they grew up, using it as an assistant to their music in the daily family worship. This instrument is pro- bably in existence still, as it was carefully preserved, and in use by the descendants of Mr. Lovel in the days of Mr. Caldwell's; youth.
Mr. Lovel was peculiar for his conscientious abstinence from meat diet. Living on a most productive farm, which he managed well, he reared his family in total abstinence of all diet that re- quired the slaughter of animals, believing that such a course was more consistent with the constitution of men and the state of in- nocency, than the indulgence of appetite at the expense of animal life. In his domestic economy, he accustomed his children to exercise their ingenuity and skill in overcoming difficulties ; and mingling strict discipline with parental kindness, he possessed their veneration and love, and his family was esteemed the abode of cheerfulness and domestic happiness.
Mr. Harker, a Presbyterian clergyman, married Mr. Lovel's: daughter Rachel, and settled in a place in Morris county, New Jersey, called Black River. Remarkable for his size, strength and vigor of body, and also for his intellectual powers, his prepa- rations for the ministry commenced after he had passed the days of his youth in manual labor. The habits of activity he had formed, were continued through life. A practical man and faith- ful pastor, he was a leading man in the community. A daughter of his, named Rachel after her mother, was Mrs. Caldwell. Another daughter married a man by the name of Symmes, and became the mother of a son noted for his theory of the earth's concavity at the poles.
The war of the Revolution coming on when Dr. Caldwell was a child, and New Jersey being the track of the hostile armies, he was removed from place to place, as the ravages of war pressed
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upon his retreat. During all his early life, his mother's residence was unsettled, and his education conducted irregularly, as oppor- tunities were presented. His mother having a temporary resi- dence in Bristol, he commenced the study of the mathematics, in which he delighted through life. Her residence being for a time in Princeton, he was presented with a Latin grammar by a stu- dent from Charleston, South Carolina, and commenced his classi- cal studies in the preparatory school under the direction of Dr. Witherspoon, President of the college. This school was famous for the thorough instruction and the consequent close application and correct method of the pupils. Young Caldwell was a close student, and laid the foundation for his future scholarship and ex- cellence while in this school, and received impressions and imbibed principles which characterized him in his labors at Chapel Hill, and in his efforts to establish and sustain grammar schools of a high order. When his mother removed to Newark, his progress in his education was delayed by the change of system, and the different course of studies, and his being put in a class less ad- vanced than himself. It is not improbable that his own experience of the inefficiency of some popular modes of instruction, and more general courses of study, fixed his judgment so firmly in favor of thorough drilling in the rudiments of science, and of a liberal course in the languages.
From Newark his mother removed to Elizabethtown, and while there, on account of her narrow circumstances, abandoned the project of giving him a liberal education, and fixed upon the printing business as his future occupation. With some difficulty she obtained a place she thought eligible for her son, but when the time came for his being apprenticed, she expressed a strong dis- inclination to act, first delaying, then opposing, then abandoning an engagement she had sought, and for which her son had at length contracted a strong predilection. Some time after this, Dr. Witherspoon, as he passed through Elizabethtown in the stage, called to see her, and after consultation respecting her son, re- moved all her difficulties, and promised, on his being sent to col- lege, to be his patron, if he stood in need at any time of more assistance than was convenient for her to give. With unbounded satisfaction young Caldwell became a member of the Freshman class at Nassau Hall, August, 1787, in his fifteenth year, with a passionate desire for improvement, without any definite ultimate result in view.
His progress in study and his standing as a scholar while in
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college, is understood by his honorable appointment to the Latin Salutatory for the exercises of commencement day, August, 1791, when he received his Bachelor's degree, being then in his nine- teenth year. His deportment and success during his college course attracted the attention of Mr. Harris, and led to his appoint- ment as professor in the University of North Carolina.
Being a young man of tender feelings, and that amiable dis- position that desires to please others at a sacrifice of personal comfort, he was sometimes induced while in college to engage in sports which involved some breach of strict propriety in college discipline, yielding to the solicitations and persuasions of his fellow students, who had less of that tenderness of conscience, self-respect, and sense of propriety, that never failed to inflict on him, as with a whip of scorpions, a full measure of distress for his impropriety. Speaking of his course as a student, he says : " If there was any pleasure in the moments of clandestine acts of mischief, it was so mixed, in my bosom, with the agitation of ap- prehended discovery and dread of consequences, that I should be far from recommending it on the score of enjoyment. In all such cases, and I thank God they were not numerous, as soon as they were over, the gloomy cloud which they brought upon my feel- ings, and which kept hovering around me for days, was enough to decide most unequivocally, that much was to be set down on the page, not of profit but of loss. The miseries, more or less, which, in compliance with solicitation, I sometimes consented to inflict upon myself were only a portion of the consequent suffer- ing." With this tenderness of feeling and of conscience, there was connected a degree of resolution when called imperiously to act, which all combined and governed by Christian principle forms a Christian hero ; a man not rash, nor timidly afraid; sensible of danger, but more sensible of propriety ; tender of others' feelings, but more tender of truth and right ; for convenience and accom- modation of others yielding all that can be yielded, but purchasing nothing by giving up or concealing principle ; that would not hurt the hair of the head of ingenuous, helpless innocence, and yet would die for the truth and righteousness. This character went with Caldwell through life, and was often displayed while per- forming the duties of professor and president at Chapel Hill. For at times you might have found him all kindness while dealing with inexperienced youth, in whom he thought he saw an ingenu- ous noble spirit to confess and forsake an error, and then with those in whom he discovered a spirit of insubordination, you might
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see him rigorous, uncompromising, till the dignity of the law was vindicated. And in his intercourse and necessary connection with the board of trustees on circumstantial things, giving up his better judgment and greater experience with cheerfulness, in obedience to the expressed will of the majority, as if he had no fixed pur- pose or resolution of soul ; and then on subjects on which he saw his own or the dignity of the institution depending, resolutely setting himself, with a calm firmness, against propositions and measures, as if he had never known what it was to yield his opinion to any body of men.
After receiving his degree of A.B., he returned to the residence of his brother Samuel, who then occupied the farm given him by his grandfather Harker, at Black River, which was also the resi- dence of his mother. Not being prepared to enter upon a course of professional studies, nor inclined to labor on the farm, he opened a small school in the neighborhood, and exercised himself in teaching little children, commencing, unintentionally, where the best teachers begin to learn the rare science of teaching well, with the unformed, or infant mind. There is a philosophy in the alpha- bet and in teaching it ; and more skill may be required to teach a column of words of two letters to a lively or a dull boy, than to lead a class through an equation.
From this place, after some months, he was removed to Eliza- bethtown, to occupy the post of an usher or assistant, in a classi- cal school, and was made more intimately conversant with the rudiments of a classic course, by recalling his boyish exercises in study, and adding to his acquirements, while leading others to Parnassus hill ; finding out his own deficiencies, and gathering new rays of light on abstruse subjects, in the preparation to unfold the mystery to the curious minds of studious boys, who catch, as by intuition, from the preceptor, the knowledge of his unfitness, or his capability to teach. Here he came under the preaching of that gifted, zealous, and erratic man, David Austin. A fervent and successful preacher, of tall stature and commanding appear- ance, fine voice and impressive delivery, he manifested the un- hinging of his mind, and tendency to mono-madness, on the return of the Jews, which he first rejoiced in, then preached, then be- lieved was just at hand ; and then becoming too absorbed in the bewildering subject to be able to perform the duties of pastor, he left his people. His enthusiasm and eloquence carried many of his people with him to the verge of folly, if not insanity. But before, and after this temporary alienation of mind, lie was a fasci-
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nating, impressive, and useful preacher of the gospel. With this gentleman, then in his zenith of usefulness, Mr. Caldwell began a course of study for the ministry, his mind having become settled both on the truth of the gospel of Christ, as a Revelation from God ; and on his personal interest in that salvation revealed in the gospel. These being settled, the work of the ministry appeared to his mind and heart, in some manner, as it had to the pious mind of his affectionate mother, as the most desirable work for his strength and days. The kindness of his pastor, of whom he always spoke with feelings of the most affectionate reverence, his fervent exhortations in the pulpit and his private communications, together with the affectionate attentions of Mrs. Austin, who won his heart as a matron in the gospel, confirmed his faith, and stimulated his desires for spiritual excellence, and for accomplishing the greatest good for his fellow men. The cause of Christ appeared the cause of all the world. His companion in study was a Mr. Sherman, a nephew of Mr. Austin.
The views and impressions of religious truth which he obtained at this time were of an abiding nature, and confirmed by his resi- dence as tutor at Nassau Hall, where he pursued his theological studies under the direction of great and good men, particularly Dr. Witherspoon ; they were the articles of his belief and principles of his preaching, till the end of his life, and the joy and crown of his last days. While Professor at Chapel Hill he received a letter from Mr. Sherman, his fellow student at Elizabethtown, for whom he felt a strong regard, who had been settled in the ministry of the orthodox faith, and had imbibed the spirit of rationalism that for a time pervaded a part of the church, and flattered by its show of wisdom and science, had been decoyed by its novelty from the orthodox faith of the Puritans, informing him of his change of views respecting the character and person of Christ, and conse- quently of his work for the salvation of men. To this Mr. Cald- well replied, that having examined and settled those matters, he did not expect ever to change his views, and did not feel a desire to think differently on that subject from what he then did, and had done for a long time. His practical mind and sound sense were for " going on to perfection, from the principles of the doctrine of Christ, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God."
In April, 1795, he received the appointment of tutor in his Alma Mater ; and being released from his partial engagements to the trustees of the academy at Springfield, with the cordial approbation
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of his friends, he entered upon his new office with cheering pros- pects of usefulness and improvement. His duties as tutor called into almost constant exercise a quality of mind and heart of which he was capable, but to which he was not very strongly inclined ; a quality indispensable to extensive and paramount usefulness,- firmness of purpose that could produce vigor of action. He was in no danger of exercising harshness or severity to the youth com- mitted to his care ; he knew as well as others that his failings leaned the other way. The innocent never dreaded his power of command ; and the culprit sometimes hoped to escape by his ten- derness. The confidence of the one was never disappointed ; and the hopes and expectations of the other seldom realized. His sense of duty could nerve his heart to overcome all false compas- sion, and make him do firmly what he did tenderly.
While tutor he was associated with Mr. Hobart, afterwards Bishop of the Episcopal church in New York.
In the summer of 1795 the correspondence commenced between him and Professor Harris that led to his giving consent to be run as candidate for the Professorship of Mathematics in the Uni- versity of North Carolina. On being informed of his election he immediately made preparations to repair to Chapel Hill. Being licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, he set out in a private conveyance for the new field of his labors in North Carolina, in September, 1796. Stopping in Philadelphia to pass the Sabbath, he preached for Dr. Green in Arch Street Church. On Monday morning he was visited by two gentlemen to procure his stay in the city, to visit and preach for a vacant con- gregation, in view of settlement. Happily, in this case of difficulty, -the choice between a congregation in the most pleasant circum- stances in a flourishing city, and the laborious occupation of a teacher in a new institution, of doubtful issue, and small present promise, either in profit or fame,-he had an adviser in Dr. Ashbel Green, since so long and so extensively known in the church. The opinion of this judicious man, that, if he should be blessed of God to raise up an institution for the instruction of youth, that should be worthy of the name of The University of North Carolina, the amount of usefulness to society at large, and to the Church of Christ in particular, would far outweigh his usefulness as pastor in any charge, and amply compensate him for any labor or trial he might be called to endure for its accomplishment ; that, though his success was doubtful, and there were many trials in his path, the object was worthy of his best effort, turned the scale suddenly.
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