Bethany College - Bethanian Yearbook (Bethany, WV)

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irregularities in the conduct of some of the students, and cases of discipline occurred at the outset. The chapel exercises and the regular morning lecture on the Bible by the President, at which all the students were required to be present, took place at half past six o ' clock in the morning. Each student stood his term examination before the entire faculty. The first class graduated in 1844, and since that time Bethany has not failed to furnish its annual qnota of graduates. The high character of these graduates was soon discovered, and the College had been established on a secure basis by the liberality of its founder and friends, when on December 10th, 1S57, the faculty, students and villagers had to view with vain regret the destruction of the entire College building with its precious contents by the flames. President Campbell and Professor Pendleton immediately began to solicit funds with which to rebuild, and their labors were approaching a happy consummation when they were suddenly interrupted by the rude shock of the Civil War. In 1 866, the College lost its great founder and President, Alexander Campbell, and Professor W. K. Pendleton, an accomplished scholar and polished gentlemen of the old school, who had been a Professor in the College from its foundation, was chosen President. In 1871, the present spacious and imposing College building was completed, but in 1879 a portion of it, the Chapel and Society Halls, was burned to the ground. In 1887, after nearly a half century of faithful and efficient service, Dr. Pendleton retired from the active duties of the Presidency, and W. H. Woolery, a man of marked ability, was elected to succeed him. During President Woolery ' s term, by the generosity of Hon. Thomas W. Phillips, Phillips ' Hall, an admirable structure for its purpose, was erected to accommodate the young lady students. About the same time the stately structure known as the Heights was acquired. On July 30, 1889, President Woolery met an untimely death from typhoid fever. A. McLean, who was the next President, resigned in 1S92, and was succeeded by President McDiarmid. 24

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Bethany College IhtetorE. THE religious movement which has for its object the restoration, in their pristine purity, of the simple faith and practices of the early followers of Christ, has been the most important of this century and one of the grandest of all time. Those who accept as their only creed the Bible and its teachings and acknowledge as their only name the one first given at Autioch, now number more than a million souls scattered over the civilized world. The head and front of this movement was Alexander Campbell and the most potent factor in it has been Bethany College, a creation of his imperial intellect. A detailed history of Bethany would be in a large measure a history of the men who have made this epoch-making reformation a success. But our space permits us only a meagre outline. Alexander Campbell considered an immoral person uneducated, and in the College which he proposed to found, especial attention was to be given to the Bible and the moral and religious training to be derived therefrom, as the essential element in a liberal education. But a generous provision was also to be made for other studies and more than usual prominence was to be given to the physical sciences. With these ideas of its founder in view, the charter of the College was obtained from the Legislature of Virginia, in 1S40, by John C. Campbell, of Wheeling. Philip B. Pendleton, of Virginia, made the first donation, $1,000. The first meeting of the Board of Trustees took place, May nth, 1S40, and at the second meeting, September iSth, Mr. Campbell was elected President of the College and requested to prepare a course of studies. He presented to the Board a tract of land for the use of the College and he immediately proceeded to erect thereon a large brick structure for the accommodation of students. The Professors were elected by the Board May 10th, 1841, and the first session opened November 1st and closed July 4th in the following year. The Faculty consisted of six members, all under 30 years of age, except the President. About one-third of the 102 students enrolled were members of the Church. As the College building was not yet completed, the recitations were conducted in the Stewards Inn, where both students and Faculty boarded. The Professors soon discovered 23

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MRS. BESSIE TRIBLE R. H. WYNNE. A. C. MCKEEVER. B. T. BLANPIED. THE FACULTY.