Millsaps College - Bobashela Yearbook (Jackson, MS)

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HISTORY OF MILLSAPS COLLEGE. Millsaps College, located in Jackson, Alississippi, is the property of the Meth- odist Episcopal Cnurch South. It is owned and controlled jointly by tne Missis- sippi and North Mississippi Conferences. It was estabLshed under a charter is- sued by the Mississippi Legislature m the year 1S90. The terms of the charter prescribe that the incorporators mav accept donations of real and personal property for the benefit of the College hereafter to be established by them, and contributions of monev or negotiable securities of every kind in aid of the en- dowment of such College, and may confer degrees and giye certificates of scholar- ship, and do and perform all other acts for the benefit of said institution and the promotion of its welfare that are not repugnant to the Constitution and By-Laws of this State or of the UnUed States, subject, however, to the approval of the said two Conferences. The College has its remote origin in the general policy of the iMethodist Church to maintain institutions under its own control for higher learning in the arts and sciences, as well as for special training of voung m.n iters. At the annual session of the Mississippi Conference of V cksburg, on December 7, 1888, the foll ' )wing reiolutions were adopted bv a large majority of the Confer- ence: I. That a College for males, under the auspices and control of the iNIethodist Episcopal Church South, ought to be established at some central and accessible point in the State of Mississippi ; 2. That a committee of three laymen and three preachers be appointed to confer With a Lke committee to be appointed by the North iMississipp; Conference to formulate jjlans and to receive offers of donations of lands, buildings, or money for that purpo:;e, and to report to the next session of th.s conference. In accordance with this action, the President of the Conference, Bishop R. K. Hargrove, appointed the follow.ng committee: Rev. T. L. i Ielleii, Rev. W. C. Black, Rev. A. F. Watkins, Maj. R. W. Millsaps, Col. ' . L. Nugent, and Dr. Luther vSexton. On December 12, 1888, the North Mississippi Conference met in vStarksville, Mississippi, Bishop C. B. Galloway presiding. The Rev. T. L. Mellen appeared and reported the action taken by the Mississippi Conference. The following tran- script from the North Mississippi Conference Journal gives the response made bv that body : Resolved, 1. That a College for the education of bo ■s and young men should be established in the State of Mississippi under the auspices of the Methodist Epis- 18

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copal Church South; 2. that a committee of three laymen and three ministers be appointed to confer with a like committee already appointed by the Mississippi Conference. The following committee was accordingly appointed: Rev. J.J. Wheat, Rev. S. M. Thames, Rev. T. J. Newell, Hon. G. D. Shands, Capt. D. L. vSweatman, and Mr. J. B. Streater. To the action of these Conferences we may trace the direct origai of the College. The joint commission, constituted by the action summarized above, met in the city of Jackson in January, 1889. The Rev. Dr. J. J. Wheat was called to the chair. In stating the purpose of the meeting, he made a stirring appeal in behalf of the proposition to establish a Methodist college in Mississippi for the education of young men. In response to this earnest appeal, Maj. R. W. Millsaps, a member of the commission, proposed to give $50,000 to endow the institution, provided the Methodists of Mississippi would give a sum equal to this amount for said pur- pose. This proposition was enthusiasticallv approved, and after a plan of pro- cedure was adopted, Bishop Chas. B. Galloway was invited to conduct a campaign in the interest of the proposed endowment fund. Under the direction of this dis- tinguished leader, the most gratifying progress was reported from time to time, The report submitted to the Conferences by the committee in December, 1889. refers to the movement in the following language : The canvass, on account of the numerous necessitated absences of Bishop Galloway from the State, could not be continuously carried on, but even the partial canvass made, embracing not more than one-fifth of our territory, resulted in the most gratifying and encouraging success. The interest awakened in the enterprise has extended beyond the limits of our own Church and is felt b} ' every denomina- tion of Christians and by every section of the State. It is safe to say that no effort of Methodism has ever kindled such enthusiasm in our vState or evoked such liberal offerings to the Lord. The fact has been demonstrated that the Church is pro- foundly convinced that the College is absolutely a necessity. The report con- tinues: vSo high is the appreciation of the value of the proposed institution that numerous towns in the State nave entered into earnest competition to secure the location of the College within the limits of their respective borders, offering from $10,000 to $36,000, and from twenty to eightv acres of land. In December, 1889, Rev. A. F. Watkins, a member of the Mississippi Confer- ence, was appointed a special agent to cooperate with Bishop Galloway in all mat- ters pertaining to the endowment of the proposed College. As the work of raising the sum designated in the original proposition progressed, and $25,000 had been collected, Maj. Millsaps, in the vear 1890, paid $25,000 into the College treasury. In December, 1S92, the Rev. J. W. Chambers was appointed agent for the College, and on December 30, 1893, he reported that the full amount had been col- lected to meet the terms of Maj. Millsap ' s proposition, and thereupon $25,000 was immediatelv paid by Maj. M.llsaps to the Executive Committee, and the following resolution was adopted; 19