Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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A HISTORY DF HAMPDEN-SYDIVEY S FAMILY TREE INTRODUCTION Virginia, the Mother of Statesmen; Hampden-Sydney, the Alma Mater of Educators. In 1929 it was discovered that Hampden-Sydney had a larger percentage of living graduates registered in Who ' s Who in America than any other college or university. Thus was recognized again the bountiful contribution to state and nation which the small but great institution has made. The remarkable record of leaders which the college has given the professions and callings is well known to readers of this volume. But there is one phase of this illustrious record which this book attempts to honor , Hampden- Sydney has been a potent founder of colleges, universities, and high-grade academies. The college is the trunk from which have branched out some of this nation ' s greatest institutions of learning. On the frontispage is presented in simple design form a list ol the schools which Hampden -Sydney ' s sons have founded or revived and starting in this section are twenty short sketches on the Aim; Mater and some of her sons who have become distinguished edu cators. Dr. Joseph DuPuy Eggleston, President. Emeritus, of the college kindly consented to pen these sketches. Nothing could be more fitting than that one whose work has so shaped the college ' s receni history should write these sketches, for Dr. Eggleston and Hampden Sydney are one, and his knowledge of and love for the old college are unsurpassed. A great educator himself, he has presented here in brief form the lives of those who have nurtured the family tree and made Hampden-Sydney the Alma Mater of educators. — Editor ' s Note. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF HAMPDEN- SYDNEY COLLEGE Prior to 1776, William and Mary, a College of the Establishment, vas the on]y college in Virginia. Through the initiative of the Presbjterians, Hamp- den-Sydney and Liberty Hall (afterwards Washington College, now Washington and Lee University) were started in that year. Morrison (Dictionary of Biog- raphy, p. 289) says that Of the three colleges of the State before 1825, Hampden-Sydney, next to William and Mary, was the most important. Fairfax Harrison (The Harrisons of Skimino, pp. 84-85) says: Hampden-Sydney was at this time the chief edu- cational center in Virginia and indeed in the South. . . . The youth of the new nation, bred in principles of ' liberty, ' demanded teaching which recognized the tendencies of contemporary thought. As a re- sult, there were founded two schools in Virginia, both dominated by the Ciceronian novi — the Scotch- Irish dissenters who had poured into Virginia through the Valley and were the sinew of the Revo- lution. These were Hampden-Sidney and Liberty Hall at Lexington, since known as Washington and Lee. Hampden-Sidnej ' , established in 1776 in Prince Edward County, was controlled by the Pres- byterians, drawing largely upon Princeton, whence came its methods and its teaching staff. In 181 5 it had already an honorable roll of alumni, includ- ing William Henry Harrison, afterward President of the United States, and by its educational oppor- tunities attracted many who, like Burton Harrison, were not Presbyterians. . . . In 1830 Randolph-Macon began its notable career in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and a few years Dr. Joseph DuPuy Eggleston, President of the College, 1719-193?, and author of the historical sketches contained in this volume. later Richmond College, through the initiative of Ed- ward Baptist, a Hampden-Sydney graduate. In 1827- 28, with the potent support of Joseph Carrington Ca- bell, an alumnus of Hampden-Sydney, Jefferson ' s great vision took form in the University of Virginia. In 1823 the Theological Department of Hampden-Sydney had grown to such an extent that Union Theological Seminary was established at Hampden-Sydney as a separate entity . The impression prevails that the col- leges of that day had very narrow courses, and laid stress only on Latin, Greek, and mathematics. Hamp- den-Sydney had from its birth the best equipment that could be bought for its science department. Hebrew was, of course, included in the curriculum for the bene- fit of the theological students of the college, and in 1826 Col. Louis Gasperi was the teacher of French, Italian, and Spanish. The University of Virginia, in 1827, had an an- atomical school, but beyond this there was no medical instruction in any of the institutions in the South (ex- cept Kentucky, which was too far away). The young men of the South who wished to enter the medical pro- fession went North for their training, unless they were satisfied with the instruction they could secure under private tuition. In 1837, as has been pointed out. Dr. John Peter Mettauer, an alumnus of Hampden-Sydney, opened a school for medical training, and allied it with Ran- dolph-Macon College. The tradition is that he was, for some reason, at odds with the Hampden-Sydney authorities, and for this reason did not ally the school with his alma mater. THE 1941 K LEIDDSCDPE [9]

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H A 1 P 11 F fM n L V i: D L L E G E AsTirg-inia was first settled hv iTiembers of the ChurclTof Eng i land, and the emigration of dissenters not encouraged, it was more than a hundred years ere they were found in any consider- able numbers. Some years previous to the revolutionary war, the Hampden Sydney College. Cushing Foundation Rev. Samuel Davies, of Hanover count) , in conjunction with others, formed the presbytery of Hanover. The principal mass of Presbyterians then in lower ' irginia was in Prince Edward and the neighboring counties, among whom were some French Huguenots. In a few years, as they increased in numbers, they determined to establish a seminary, to be conducted on Presbyte- rian principles ; Willianl and Mar} ' , the only college in the state, being fostered particularly by tlu Episcopalians. The academy was accordingly establish( d in Prince Edward, at a point conve- nient for the Presbyterians of Virginia and North Carolina. This institution was founded in 1771, and was called the Academy of Hampden Sydney. It was chartered in 1783, and received its present name from those two martyrs of liberty, J. Hampden and A. Sydney. It was established, and has ever been supported, by the private munificence of public-spirited individuals. It has an elevated, healthy, and pleasant situation, one mile from the court- house, and 80 from Riclimoad. Although the institution has had to encounter many diliiculties for want of funds, yet it has gen- erally been in successful operation, and has educated upwards of 2,000 young men; many of whom have been of eminent useful- ness, and some of great at)ilities More instructors have emana

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H IMPDEIV-SYDIVEY COLLEGE The statement has been made that Virginia at this time furnished as many students to the I ' niversity of Pennsylvania as did Pennsylvania itself. It was at this juncture that Dr. Socrates Maupin, a brilliant graduate of the I ' niversity of Virginia in the academic and medical departments, joined with five other physi- cians in the attempt to obtain a charter from the legis- lature, in order to start a medical school in Richmond, rhis attempt failed, but the trustees of Hampden- S dney College promptly joined vith these gentlemen in establishing, under the charter of the college, the Medical Department of Hampden-S dney. A lot was given by the City of Richmond, an infirmary was built, and classes began with a fidl school. This arrangement continued until 1853, when the Medical College of Virginia became a separate entity. In 1 861 the Virginia Assembly gave $30,000 to the college to build a hospital, on condition that the insti- tution be deeded to the State. Hampden-Sydney has reason to look with pride upon this beginning of a great medical center. SAMUEL DOAK Samuel Doak, Sr., in his youth came from North Ireland into Chester County, Pennsylvania. So did Jane Mitchell. They married and removed to Augusta County, Virginia, where Samuel Doak, Jr., was born in 17+9; in that part of the county which afterwards became Rockbridge, and within the limits of the New Providence congregation. Young Doak received his early school training in an academy which had been organized in 1749 by Robert Alexander, a graduate of Dublin University. The Dr. Smith ' s two sons, Samuel Stanhope Smith and John Blair Smith attended school. In the spring of 1776, Samuel Stanhope Smith per- suaded Doak to join the teaching stafi of the new col- lege; and here he taught and studied. In October, 1777, Hanover Presbytery licensed him to preach. He preached for a time near Abingdon, Virginia, and then went to the Holston Settlement in Tennessee, where he founded New Bethel Church. Those were troubleous days. Cornwallis was giving trouble, and Major Fer- guson, under his direction, was laying waste the coun- try, as he moved north through the region near the headwaters of the Broad and Catawba Rivers. When a messenger crossed the mountains and re- ported the condition of affairs to the settlers on the Watauga and Holston Rivers, hundreds of Virginians enlisted under William Campbell ; 480 men enlisted from the congregation of Samuel Doak and nearby communities. Doak was no pacifist. When these men ivere ready to march, he appeared and asked the Lord that victory be given them. His prayer was answered at King ' s Mountain. He was a member of the Convention of 1784, which framed a constitution of the new State of Franklin; and he had a clause inserted providing for a State University. Settling in Washington County, Tennes- see, he organized Salem congregation, built a church, and established an academy. This grew into Wash- ington College. Here he remained until 181 8, when his son took charge, and the father removed to Cireene County, where he opened a classical academy, which became Tusculum College. Morrison rightly calls him The pioneer Headmaster of Tennessee. Belhaven College, Jackson. Mississippi, revived and thoroughly reorganized by Dr. R. V. Lancaster, Class of 1884, who also served as first President of the new institution. school had come under the control of Rev.- John Brown, pastor of New Providence, In 1773, young Doak entered Princeton College, where he remained two years. He then taught in Dr. Rob- ert Smith ' s school at Pe iuea, Pennsylvania, vhere JOHN BLAIR SMITH In the Hislorical Summary in our col- lege catalogue, names of colleges and universities are given which were founded, revived or reorganized by men identified with Hampden-Sydney. John Blair Smith was the first President of Union College at Schenectady, New York, 1795-99- His life was one of great usefulness. His brother, Samuel Stanhope Smith of Pennsylvania, a graduate of Princeton, Austin College, Sherman, Texas. Dr. Daniel Baiter, Class of 1915, was the prime mover in establishing in 1849 this college which awarded the first degree in Texas. tlO]