Johnson C Smith University - Golden Bull Yearbook (Charlotte, NC)

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Major Henry Jonathan K major nenry jonainan niaaie Major Henry Jonathan Biddle lost his life fighting for the cause of the Union and human freedom in 1862. Colonel William R. Myers Colonel William R. Myers was born in Anson County, December 17, 1813. He studied law under Governor Graham of Hillsboro, North Carolina. When the founders were striv- ing for a permanent location for the infant institution, he donated the first eight acres of the pi-esent site. When Mrs. Mary S. Biddle, the widow of Major Henry J. Biddle who died fighting for the cause of the Union and human freedom, received information through the church papers concerning the prepara- tory steps, she made the first ma.jor donation to the infant institution. The first session of the school was held on May 1, 1867, in the Audience Chamber of the Old Colored Presbyterian Church (Now 7th Street Pres- byterian Church) with eight or ten students in at- tendance. In the fall of 1867 the charter was amend- ed naming the institution, The Henry J. Biddle Memorial Institute, honoring Major Biddle and ex- pressing appreciation for the widow ' s timely gifts. In 1868, Colonel W. R. Myers, Confederate Civil War veteran of Charlotte, North Carolina, donated eight acres of the present site as a permanent location for the school.

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The Reverend Samuel Carruthers Alexander was born in Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania. He received the degree of A.B. from Jefferson CoUeEe in 1858 and was graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary, Columbia South Caro- lina in 1861. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Charleston, South Carolina, in 18fi0, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Concord, North Carolina in 1861. .? J. •s Reverend Willis L. Miller, attended Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, 1853-1854. He was licensed to preach October 27, 1855 and was ordained by the Presby- tery of Orange in 1857. He was pastor in Pittsboro. North Carolina in 1857-1858 and was Stated Supply of St. Lloyd Church, Catawba Presbytery, U.S.A. Rev. Miller later be- came field agent and travelled extensively in the East in an effort to raise money for the Institution. DIGESTED CHRONICLE of One Hundred Years 1867-1891: Founding Period and Early Development In 1867, two years after the Civil War ended in America, the strong demand was for trained leadership among the newly liberated slaves. To meet the demand in this section of the Southland, two Presbyterian Ministers, Reverend Samuel C. Alexander and Reverend Willis L. Miller, devised a plan to educate and evangelize the Freedmen. Authorized by a state charter, which had been procured in the spring of 1866, the two ministers met with the Catawba Presbytery on April 7, 1867, and perfected plans for founding and operating the proposed institution. The Reverend Alexander and the Reverend Miller, were elected by the Catawba Presbytery to be teachers and were to be associated equally in the conduct and management of the school.

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■;teph Mattoon 1870-1884: 1885-188« First President Dr. Mattoon was born in Champion, New Yorl{, May 5, 1815. He graduated from Union College. Schenectady, New York in 1842. He studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained as an evangelist by the Presbytery of Troy February 11, 1846. During the same year he became a mis- sionary to Siam. On his return to the States he served churches in New York and North Carolina before he was elected president of the Institution in 18139, On October 9, 1869, Reverend Stephen Mattoon was elected the first President of the institution and began his executive role in February of 1870. The first graduating class consisted of three per- sons who completed the course of study for semi- narians in 1872. In the beginning the purpose of the institution was to train ministers, teachers, and catechists. Later, however, other branches of a clas- sical nature were added and in 1876 the name of the school was changed to Biddle University. The same year, 1876, Daniel Wallace Culp became the first person to graduate from the College Depart- ment with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Calvin McCurdy Rome, Cenrgia B. F. McDowell Greenville, South Carolina Daniel Wallace Culp First to graduate from the College in 1876 B, F. McDowell, Calvin McCurdy, and Eli Walker were the first students to graduate from the Seminary — 1872.