USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Uniontown > A history of Uniontown : the county seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania > Part 47
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The female department is under the same Board of Trus- tees and the same faculty, but is held in a separate building at a distance of half a mile from the college. The teachers in the female department were Miss Catharine E. Smythe, Miss Margaret Mann. The pupils were Sarah L. Allen, Caroline Austin, Drusilla A. Beeson, Frances M. Beeson, Louisa Bee- son, Mary Campbell, Susan Campbell, Mary E. Crain, Ellen
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Dawson, Emily V. Dawson, Maria Dawson, Ellen Douglass, Mary Douglass, Eliza M. Downer, Rebecca Espy, Margaret Ferrier, Eliza Huston, Cornelia A. Irons, Martha Jack, Pris- cilla Jones, Mary Ann Lewis, Harriet Ludington, Eliza Mc- Ilvaine, Catharine Meason, Frances A. Meason, Jane E. Mea- son, Sarah M. Miller, Mary S. Redick, Martha Skiles, Minerva Speers, Jane A. Stewart, Mary E. Stewart, Ellen Stockton, Margaret M. Stockton, Elizabeth Swearingen, Elizabeth Veech, Ellen L. Wilson, all of Uniontown; Amanda Brown, Eliza Brown, Margaret Graham, Nancy Hill, Margaret C. Johnston, Elizabeth Oliphant, Hannah Paull, Lavina Sides, Louisa Sides, of Fayette county and elsewhere.
Roll of students-Charles Austin, Richard H. Austin, Benjamin F. Baker, Alpheus M. Battelle, A. W. Barclay, Clark Beeson, Henry Beeson, Isaac Beeson, Jonathan Beeson, Mon- roe Beeson, Richard H. Beeson, Everard Bierer, Albert Byers, John Bierer, Benjamin Campbell, William Campbell, Presley Canon, William Canon, Alexander D. Ewing, William Ferrier, James Findley, Walker Flenniken, Corbin A. Gilbert, Joshua A. Gilbert, Thomas Griffith, B. F. Hellen, James Henderson, Amos Howell, John Huskins, Richard Irwin, John Henry Jack, Robert W. Jones, Dodridge Kleim, James Lea, Elisha Ludington, Hagan Ludington, Horace Ludington, Joseph Mathers, Jerome P. Marsh, Lester Norton, Harvey Redick, James Redick, William Whitton Redick, John S. Rutter, John Skiles, John Henry Smith. W. W. Smith, Charles Stewart, D. Shriver Stewart, Lucius W. Stockton, John Stockton, Thomas A. Stone, Eli Sturgeon, Alpheus Evans Willson, Alcinous Young, Joseph Young, all of Uniontown; Ellis Beggs, Alex. Brown, Ellis Baily, Humphrey F. Blythe, Ephraim Brown- field, James Brownfield, Andrew Jackson Bute, Andrew Cham- bers, Jackson Colvin, Richard Covert, David Downer, George Downer, Elijah Gadd, Lewis Hague, James P. Jones, Thomas W. Lyons, William Parshall, Abraham Roderick, Samuel Rogers, James Stumm, John Woods, James A. Woodward, from Fayette county and a distance.
With what success and for what length of time Dr. Fer- rier conducted the school, there is no record to show; but from the list of students and the able faculty and board of directors, the institution must have been in a flourishing condition during that time.
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Rev. Azel Freeman announced that he would open a high school in the old Madison college building, where an English and classical school would be conducted, beginning Monday, No- vember 1, 1844. Rev. Freeman's career must have been short, for in 1846, Dr. John Patrick, as professor of mathematics, Alfred Botsford, as professor of languages and J. N. H. Patrick, as teacher of the primary department, announced that they would commence a winter term of school in the old college building Monday, October 26, 1846, for a session of five months. William P. Wells, A. B., as professor of languages, and Rev. A. S. Lowry were subsequently added to the staff of teachers. During the short régime of the Patricks the school was ably conducted and much good resulted. Dr. Patrick accepted an appointment as chief clerk of the state treasury of Pa., and withdrew from the school. He finally settled in the West.
It is said that William Lyon succeeded the Patricks with a school, which he conducted for a period of two and a half years.
MADISON COLLEGE UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
At the general conference of the Methodist Protestant church, convened at Baltimore, Md., May 7, 1850, a proposition was made by the trustees of Madison college tendering to that conference the control of the college. A select committee made favorable report of the measure. The report was laid on the table, and the following preamble and resolutions, offered by Rev. George Brown, were adopted :
" Whereas, the trustees of Madison college have made an offer of said college to this general conference, and whereas the general conference feels very grateful for the aforesaid offer: Resolved, 1st, That in view of accepting of Madison college, this general conference now proceed to appoint seven com- missioners whose duty it shall be to report to the Pittsburgh conference at its next session: Resolved, 2nd, Should the commissioners report favorably, the conference and commis- sioners shall then proceed to elect trustees to take charge of the college property, and make necessary arrangements for a commencement of operations: Resolved, 3rd, That said trus- tees shall make annual reports to the Pittsburgh conference, and also to each succeeding general conference.
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The commissioners appointed under this action were: George Brown of Pittsburgh district, C. Springer of Muskingum, J. G. Whitefield of Virginia, William Collier of Maryland, J. J. Smith of New York, Dr. John Arrington of North Carolina and John H. Deford, Esq., of Uniontown, who reported favorably to the Pittsburgh conference. The following board of trustees were appointed to represent the church: Rev. George Brown, Rev. Charles Avery, Rev. James Robinson, William Morris, F. H. Pierpont, Samuel Morrison, all of the Pittsburgh dis- trict; Rev. C. Springer, Thomas Hanna, Pinkney Lewis of the Muskingum district; Rev. Eli Henkle, Rev. E. Y. Reese, A. L. Withers, George Vickers, Esq., of the Maryland district; Rev. B. B. Thomas, Captain Harding of the Virginia district; Rev. J. J. Smith of the New York district; Rev. T. F. Norris of the Massachusetts district; P. S. Graves of the Louisiana district ; Rev. John Parris of the North Carolina district; Edward Har- rison of the Alabama district; Joel Rice of the Illinois district ; J. A. Simpson and Joel Darby of the Ohio district. Other trus- tees were Hon. Andrew Stewart, Hon. R. P. Flenniken, J. H. Deford, Esq., Isaac Beeson, Horatio Griffith, John M. Austin, Esq., P. U. Hook, J. L. Phillips, Richard Beeson, Esq., H. H. Beeson, Thomas Brownfield, Thomas J. Nesmith, W. S. Barnes, W. D. Barclay, D. Huston, Rev. H. Palmer, A. Gallentine, Samuel S. Cox, Dr. L. Marchand, Josiah Kurtz, Hugh C. Ford, John Gallagher.
On June 27, 1851, Rev R. H. Ball of Maryland, was called by the board to take charge of the college and as professor of languages and mathematics; and at the Pittsburgh annual con- ference of 1851, Rev. Peter T. Lashley, D. D., was appointed to act as agent for the college. The college went into opera- tion in September under the most flattering auspices.
President Ball entered upon his duties with energy and de- votion, giving every warrant of success. In a few months 50 students were enrolled, and on October 31, the trustees elected the following professors : James Carroll, A. M., of North Caro- lina, professor of languages; Joshua B. Howell, Esq., professor of municipal law; John Dawson, Esq., professor of agricultural chemistry and Rev. George B. McElroy, tutor in the English department.
On March 7, 1852, President Ball, on account of ill health, tendered his resignation, to take effect at the close of the school
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term, and Rev. Francis Waters, D. D., was elected his successor, and Rev. George Brown was elected president pro tem.
In May, 1852, three students were expelled from the college by the faculty, and they applied to the trustees for reinstate- ment, but the board of Trustees sustained the faculty in their action and, further, tendered to them a vote of thanks for the able and satisfactory manner in which the affairs of the institu- tion were managed. It appears that the offense for which these students were expelled was the firing of a small out-house in the rear of the college building.
An annual commencement of Madison college was held Wednesday, June 30, 1852 in the Methodist Episcopal church, beginning at 11 o'clock, a. m. The program was as follows : Opening prayer by Rev. Mr. Romney of the Episcopal church ; Oration : Knowledge, J. W. Dugger, Marengo county, Ala .; Oration : Our Country, J. M. Dillard, Hampton, Va .; Oration : Character and Decline of the North American Indian, J. O. Thomas, Smithfield Va .; Oration : Supremacy of Power, W. W. Dugger, Marengo county, Ala .; Oration: Temperance, T. K. Dashiell, Isle of Wight, Va .; Oration: Success the result of In- dustry and Perseverance, W. Wragg, Sharpsburg, Pa .; Oration : The Living Dead; C. H. Hook, Uniontown, Pa .; Oration: In- fluence of Education on the Social and Moral Condition of Man, F. G. Wright, Uniontown, Md .; Conferring of degrees : closing remarks and benediction by President Ball.
At the fall term of 1852, Adolphus Mott was engaged as professor of languages, and announced that at the same time he would also have a class in French separate from that of the college, in the " Temple of Honor hall." This Temple of Honor hall was in the third floor of the new Bryan building on West Main street where the Citizens' Title and Trust building now stands.
In January, 1853, a resolution passed the board authorizing an addition to be made to the building, 53 by 44 feet, three stories high, so as to accommodate 300 students, and to cost $3,200, to be paid in four installments. One-half of which amount was to be paid by the citizens of Uniontown, and the other half by the Methodist Protestant church. The old part of the building was to be torn away and replaced by the new addition. Craft and Johnson were awarded the contract for the new addition, which was to comprise a chapel, two society halls,
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with library rooms attached, a large room for the preparatory department, a steward's dwelling with six comfortable apart- ments. This new addition was to make the whole building 80 by 44 feet, and was to be completed during the term of 1853. Rev. George Brown was appointed to collect $800 which was due in March and the balance as it became due. He, with Daniel Huston as security, borrowed $800 from " Aunt " Rachel Skiles, and, by solicitations, obtained the balance as it became due. The note held by Mrs. Skiles and other notes were paid in 1856, by soliciting funds from other conferences, but the town never complied with its obligations.
One hundred and seventeen limited scholarships were sold at $100 each, and eight perpetual scholarships sold at $500 each, in addition to which $1,200 were received as donations. There were at this time $1,000 in the Brownsville bank, yielding an annuity to the college, and in June, 1853, Mrs. Tamsey A. Reese of Maryland, placed in the hands of Rev. E. Y. Reese, D. D., as trustee, $2,000, the revenue of which was to be applied to the use of the college.
The form of scholarships that were sold for the college was as follows: "Know all men by these presents, that I, Joseph Burns, agent for Madison college at Uniontown, Pa., for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred dollars to me in hand paid, or secured to be paid, by his heirs or assigns, a limited scholarship for a term of five years in the said college. Witness my hand and seal, this 18th day of April, 1853. Signed, Joseph Burns, agent. (L. S.)
The final examinations were begun on June 23, and Col. S. D. Oliphant delivered an eloquent and able address to the literary society of the college in the Presbyterian church, at 10 o'clock, a. m., Tuesday, June 28, and on the same evening the closing exercises of the college were held, the program of which was as follows : Prayer by Rev. Mr. Callen ; Declamation : Classical Learning, James E. Maloy, Queen Ann County, Md. ; Oration : Individual Influence, George J. Brown, Uniontown, Pa .; Essay : Dignity of Labor, H. C. Dawson, Uniontown, Pa .; Essay : Genius of Burns, Richard S. Thomas, Smithfield, Pa .; Oration : Vindication of Napoleon's Character, Thomas K. Dashiell, Isle of Wight, Va .; Oration: Unity of Labor and Knowledge, W. Waverly Dugger, Maringo county, Ala .; Ora-
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tion : Formation of Character, Arnold B. Johnson, Rochester, Mass .; Oration : Cuba's Emancipation, R. H. Austin, Union- town, Pa .; Oration : Spirit of Liberty, Charles H. Hook, Union- town, Pa .; Oration: Earnest Love, Earnest Labor, James M. Stoner, Pittsburgh, Pa .; Benediction by President-elect Waters.
The following evening, Wednesday, June 29, 1853, Presi- dent-elect, Rev. Francis Waters, D. D., was installed and de- livered his inaugural address as president of Madison college. The school term opened on September 5th with good prospects and a large number of new students. The new president and new professors were highly spoken of. The new addition of the college building was under roof by November 24, and the work was being pushed to completion. The addition was very large and added much to the appearance of the building.
A meeting was held at the court house on Monday evening, March 6, 1854, for the purpose of raising funds and organizing for the purpose of endowing Madison college under the manage- ment of the Methodist Protestant church. The object of this meeting, evidently, was never realized.
An additional literary society, known as the Calliopean literary society, was organized at Madison college March 23, 1854, thus forming two societies in the college.
The report of the trustees of Madison college made at the general conference held at Steubenville, Ohio, in 1854, claimed encouraging success, and urged an endowment fund, and also reported a gracious revival of religion among the students.
For some reason, which Dr. Waters never revealed, he re- signed the presidency of the college before the expiration of the term, and returned to Maryland. He had no trouble while here. Dr. Brown in writing of Dr. Waters said: "Dr. Waters was a man of venerable age, of a commanding personage, an able minister of the gospel, a thorough scholar, a perfect gentle- man in his social habits and one of the foremost educators in the country." The resignation of Dr. Waters had a most de- pressing effect upon the friends of the college. As they had been greatly elated at his coming, they were proportionately depressed at his departure.
Before Dr. Waters' departure he recommended Rev. Samuel S. Cox, D. D., who was then stationed at Georgetown, D. C., as his successor. Dr. Cox was communicated with and im- mediately accepted the call to the presidency of the college.
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He was competent and assiduous, but visionary ; Professor Newell taking charge in the interim.
It appears that in order to secure the confidence and patronage of the South, a portion of the commissioners and of the trustees was selected from the southern conferences, and the president and all the faculty, save one, Professor George B. McElroy, were chosen from the South. A goodly number of students from that quarter were brought into the college, and matters proceeded harmoniously for some time. But in course of time it fully appeared that the atmosphere did not suit the southern members of the faculty, and that their methods and administration were inimical to the views and feelings of the working trustees, especially of the president of the board. The precipitous expulsion of a student, and their refusal to restore him upon his confession and repentance, gave great offense and caused much injury to the college.
The commencement exercises of the college were held June 28, 1854, as follows: Prayer. Rev. Frank Moore; Latin Salutatory: W. W. Dugger, Marengo county, Ala .; Oration : Ultraism of the Age, Henry C. Dawson, Uniontown, Pa .; Ora- tion : Byzantium, Thomas S. Summerell, Southampton county, Va .; Conferring of Degrees; Valedictory: James M. Stoner, Pittsburgh, Pa .; Conferring of Distinctions; Benediction by President Cox.
It was announced that the next term of Madison college would begin September 4, 1854, and that the new addition to the college building was now complete, and capable of accom- modating 200 to 300 students. Rev. Samuel S. Cox, D. D., president and professor of mental and moral science, belles- lettres and Latin; G. B. McElroy, professor of natural science and mathematics ; W. J. T. Carroll, professor of Greek language and of literature ; John Dawson, Esq., professor of agricultural chemistry; Joshua B. Howell, professor of municipal law ; Adolph Mott, professor of Latin, French, Spanish and Portu- gese ; G. W. Kidwell, principal of preparatory department.
The seminary for young ladies was to be opened on the first Monday of October (2), 1854, at Madison college under the supervision of Dr. Cox.
In the spring of 1855, Professor Mott retired from the faculty after earning for himself an enviable reputation as a scholar and a gentleman. He had received several earnest
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solicitations from colleges of high rank to take charge of a chair.
The diplomas for Madison college for the commencement of 1855, were engraved by W. W. Dougal, Esq., of Georgetown, D. C. The central figure of the vignette represented Minerva, the goddess of Wisdom ; her right hand holding a style and rest- ing upon a tablet, her left hand lifting the veil of knowledge from the world. On her right is the owl, the bird esteemed sacred to her by the ancients, and on her left, a winged boy bearing garlands to crown the successful candidate. In the rear ground may be seen the Temple of Fame, surmounted by Pegasus, the winged horse, together with the head of Sphinx, Cleopatra's needle, ruins of ancient temples and other classical representa- tions. The whole engraving, vignetting and lettering, is ex- ecuted in a style of great elegance and taste, and reflects credit upon the artist. We question if there is a handsomer diploma in the possession of any college in the Union (American Stand- ard, April 12, 1855).
A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO STUDENTS.
A fight took place between Washington Harbaugh, a stu- dent from Cincinnati, who was boarding with Dr. Brown, and William Baily, who with his brother, C. Baily, also boarded with Dr. Brown. Some one for fun, had slipped some scraps of paper under the lid of Baily's desk in his room, and Baily blamed Harbaugh with the offense. The fight occurred on Sunday, March 18, 1855, and was renewed the next morning on the way to school. They both belonged to the preparatory department. The faculty investigated the matter, and after hearing the evi- dence that Baily had called Harbaugh a liar, by a misunder- standing, gave Harbaugh ten demerits for calling Baily a liar. Harbaugh left the building and remained at his room that afternoon. Next morning Professor Carroll called for an ex- cuse, and Harbaugh replied that he had been unjustly treated and that he would remain at home as long as he pleased. At 1 o'clock he was called before the faculty again, under charge of being impertinent to the officers of the college, and five de- merits were given for absence yesterday and twenty for im- pertinence this morning. He remarked, “ Gentlemen, make out your bill, and when I have enough demerits, I'll go home." For this they gave him twenty-five more, which made the whole
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amount to one hundred and two; and as one hundred demerits were sufficient cause for expulsion, he was sentenced to ex- pulsion, but by Dr. Brown's intercession, it was changed to " Sent home." Harbaugh, at Dr. Brown's suggestion, sent a letter of apology to the faculty, but they were unmoved. Presi- dent Cox was absent from town when the trial came up, but acquiesced in the sentence, and Dr. Brown accompanied Har- baugh to his home. This episode made a breach between some of the trustees and faculty that never was healed. Hon. Andrew Stewart, Hon. R. P. Flenniken, J. L. Phillips and Dr. D. Gib- bon were members of the board of trustees at this time. The students wore uniforms and were instructed in military drill.
In June, 1855, President Cox made a proposition to the board of trustees to take this college from its true position as the general institution of the whole church and give it a sec- tional character by making it the institution of the North and West, and that they, Cox and other members of the faculty from the South, would establish a southern college at Lynch- burg, Va.
The board of trustees looked upon this proposition as pre- posterous, as Cox and his adherents had no right to give nor the board a right to receive the college for any such sectional purpose in open violation of the fundamental laws of its organization.
It further appeared to the board that sometime previous to the resignation of the faculty, as proved, among other things, by the letter of the Rev. Mr. Doniphan, published in the " Methodist Protestant " of Baltimore, of August, 1855, that President Cox was concerting measures as early as the spring previous with Mr. Doniphan, an agent of the college, to estab- lish a college at Lynchburg, Va., as a substitute for Madison, and not as its rival, as Mr. Doniphan expressed it in his letter. And accordingly President Cox and his adherents in the faculty openly proclaimed to the students and others before, and at the time of, their resignation their intention to establish a southern college as Lynchburg.
Soon after they left, information reached the board from various quarters in the South that reports had been spread there that Madison college was to be made an " amalgamation "-an abortive concern-and was under the necessity of educating negroes. So thoroughly had this report been circulated in the
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South that a gentleman who had accepted a professorship ir the college, declined coming because of these reports, as he stated in his letter to the board.
Prejudice had proceeded from no act of the board of trus- tees, but had been induced solely by the influence and acts of those in whom the board had placed confidence as officers of the institution, and whose conduct in this particular they deeply deplored. This unvarnished statement of facts, the board felt constrained to make to the church, whose servants they were, in vindication of their own conduct which has been unjustly as- sailed. And in view of all these things they earnestly appeal to their friends everywhere, to come promptly and efficiently to the support of this institution of the church, so important to its standing and best interests, and call upon its friends every- where and especially in the West and North, to wake up to the true interests of the church, vindicate their own action, and stand by the college of their adoption.
The board of trustees then passed the following resolu- tions: Resolved, 1st, That this board will continue to conduct Madison college under its charter and by-laws according to the principals on which it is now, or may hereafter be established by the general conference. Resolved, 2nd, That the secretary of the board be authorized to secure a sufficient number of agents for the East, West, North and South as soon as possible, in addition to those already appointed, to sell scholarships, solicit donations and subscriptions to our endowment society in order to extend and promote the continued success of the college. Resolved, 3rd, That these proceedings be signed by the president and secretary of the board, and published in the " Methodist Protestant " of Baltimore, the " Western Metho- dist Protestant " and " The Olive Branch " of Boston. Signed, Andrew Stewart, president, W. D. Barclay, secretary.
At the annual commencement in 1855, all the faculty re- signed, and Dr. Cox, the retiring president, announced that he had made arrangements to open a Methodist Protestant college at Lynchburg, Va., the following September. The southern instructors accordingly left, and with them eighty-five out of the ninety southern students in attendance.
Fourth annual catalogue of Madison college, June 1, 1855. F n
Faculty-Rev. Samuel S. Cox, president and professor of mental and moral science and belles-lettres; William Carroll,
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DiA. M., professor of Greek language and literature; James T. Murphee, G. V. M. J., professor of mathematics and natural sciences; L. Griffith Mathews, A. M., professor of Latin; Hon. rus- John Dawson, professor of agricultural chemistry; Joshua B. Howell, Esq., professor of municipal law; George W. Kidwell, s Esq., principal of grammar school.
eply The graduates of 1854 were James M. Stoner, Val., Pitts- felt burgh, Waverly W. Duger, L. S., Marengo county, Ala .; Henry ere C. Dawson, Uniontown, Pa .; Thomas S. Summerell, South- as- ampton county, Va.
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