Newsletter of the Mecklenburg Historical Association Docents Promoting Local History through Education and Research http://www.meckdec.org/ May, June, July, August, 2017 Volume 23, Number 3 Look Inside This Issue − Robert Hall Morrison and the Founding of Davidson College. − Voices From The Past Cemetery Tour. − May is Mecklenburg History Month. − Captain Jack's Historic Bike Ride. − The Ron Hankins History Talks Lecture. − The Uptown Celebration. − Liberty or Death - the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, a Major Reenactment at Brattonsville. − James K Polk: The Dead President Who Never Rests in Peace, in Tennessee. − Let the Land Say... Amen - Elias Hill, a former slave who led his people to Liberia. Robert Hall Morrison and the Founding of Davidson College Many colleges have someone who is referred to as “The Founder.” In the case of Davidson College and Robert Hall Morrison this is literally true. In 1835 Dr. Morrison conceived of the college and chaired the committee that brought it into existence. He purchased the land in north Mecklenburg County where the college is today and, with another man, raised the necessary funds. He organized the design and construction of the buildings, wrote the curriculum, solicited students for the first class and went to the Assembly to get a charter. When attempts to staff the college failed he served as the first president and half of the first faculty If ever a man could be said to have “founded” a college, it was the Reverend Doctor Morrison. Shortly, however, a family tragedy and poor health forced him to resign the presidency and he moved his family to Lincoln County, recovered his health, became a successful farmer and continued his ministry. Either his religious career or the founding of the college would make him an outstanding figure in antebellum North Carolina, but what fame he has today rests on the fact that his daughters married well, to prominent Confederate officers including Stonewall Jackson and D. H. Hill. Robert Morrison was born in 1798 and raised in the Rocky River section of Cabarrus County. At the age of 19 he graduated from the University of North Carolina with honors, third in his class. Future US President James K. Polk was first. Trained by local preachers he felt called to the Presbyterian Church and attended The College of New Jersey (later Princeton University). He was licensed as a Presbyterian minister in 1820 and called by Providence Presbyterian Church. After a year and a half he was called to a much large church in Fayetteville where he prospered greatly. After five years he returned to Mecklenburg County, called by Sugar Creek Church and the newly formed First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte where he was the founding pastor. In 1835, the most popular and respected minister in this part of the state, he saw the need for a local college to train Presbyterian ministers. He conceived of the college and convinced the Concord Presbytery to support it. Appointed chairman of the committee to establish the college, he purchased a large tract of land from William Lee Davidson, the son of the General who died at the Battle of Cowan’s Ford in the Revolution. With his good friend Rev. Patrick Sparrow they raised the $30,000 required to build the college in three months. 1 While his committee designed and built the college buildings, Morrison wrote the curriculum and recruited the founding class of 64 students. When attempts to hire a president and faculty failed, Morrison agreed to resign from the church and serve as the first president of the college. Morrison and Sparrow were the first faculty with Sparrow teaching Latin and Greek and Morrison teaching everything else. The college was very successful in the first year but then tragedy struck. Dr. Morrison had married Mary Graham, a daughter of General Joseph Graham of Lincoln County in 1824. They lived in Fayetteville and then in Charlotte as their family grew. By the time classes started at Davidson in March 1837 they had six children. A year later a typhoid epidemic passed through the area and their two youngest daughters, ages one and four, died within a week of each other. Morrison was destroyed by grief: he contracted bronchitis and began to lose his voice. He took some leave to try to recover, but had to carry on with his classes, including giving the college inaugural address and going to Raleigh to gain a charter. His illness continued to get worse and finally in July 1840 he resigned the presidency and professorship and moved to Lincoln County to farm the land Mary had inherited from her father. After two more years, Morrison began to recover his health. In 1842 he was called to Unity Church, the oldest Presbyterian Church in the county. He had great success as a farmer and preacher, speaking widely and founding Machpelah Church in 1848. Until his death in 1889 he continued to be respected and revered in the area as a leading minister in the Presbyterian faith. In the first 24 years of their marriage he and Mary had 12 children, all but two of whom lived to adulthood. Two of his sons served in the Civil War as officers. Six of his daughters married men who later became Confederate Officers including General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, General Daniel Harvey Hill and General Rufus Barringer. The foundation he laid for Davidson College allowed it to survive and prosper when the vast majority of private colleges founded at that time did not. Today it continues as one of the leading small colleges in America, producing outstanding leaders for North Carolina and the country. Jim Williams From the Chairman Our Day in the Sun Yes, the Mecklenburg Historical Association Docents had their day in the Sun! All through the efforts of Lynn Mintzer! It was a bright and sunny day on Saturday April 1, 2017. The Docents presented a Cemetery Walk in Settlers’ and Elmwood/Pinewood Cemeteries. Everyone involved in “Voices From The Past” did a wonderful job in making this event a reality in less than 1 year. It was a tremendous job. WELL DONE! To Lynn, and Ann her co-chair, the advisory board, our sponsors, portrayers, Bill Bibby and his staff, and supporters. It boggles my mind how Lynn did this—almost single handedly at times. She got others involved, donations given, support for publicity, horse and carriage rides available. Lynn believed in “Voices From The Past”. Then she made us believe in it, too. Docent Board knew that we could do it and do it well but did we have enough time? Lynn and Bill Bibby, director of Charlotte’s city owned cemeteries, reassured us that we did. So we carried on for April 1. We can improve, of course, for the next time. But it does not take away from a tremendous success this was. The rave response and enthusiasm for this Cemetery Walk overwhelmed me. As Linda Dalton said that day, “I truly believe we taught more history to more people today than I have ever seen accomplished in one day.” Every portrayer knew their character, all in proper dress. Charlotte did have its day in the Sun. Coming up for Docents: − Meck Dec Day. Please support this event on the Square, Friday, May 19th. − June picnic at Historic Rosedale with a visit of the new blacksmith shop. − Summer adventures. Come back in the fall and share with other docents the history you learned and saw. Just as Lynn Mintzer did with a cemetery walk in Gadsden, Alabama. With gratitude, Audrey Mellichamp 2 Newsletter Deadline The deadline for the September/October Dandelion is August 15th. MHA Docent Programs Tuesday May 2 To the Tune of Yankee Doodle This meeting will be held in the Fellowship Hall of Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church. Refreshments at 9:30, business meeting at 10, and program at 11. Visitors are always welcome. Janet Dyer will present this program about one of our oldest and most beloved tunes. Most Americans know the song “Yankee Doodle”. From the 1760’s when British soldiers sang it to mock their American allies in the French and Indian War to the Americans’ claiming it as their own during the American Revolution to the present, it has been our unofficial number one patriotic song. For over two hundred years, Americans have sung it, whistled it, played it on various instruments, danced to it, and written other songs to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”. Find out more about the history of this popular tune. Listen to different 18th century versions of the tune. Dust off your dancing shoes and learn an 18th century dance to “Yankee Doodle” – no experience required. Janet is a MHA Docent with an interest and expertise in a variety of historic areas. One of them is music. You may have seen her when appeared before our group with her fellow musicians, The Limbertwigs. Don’t be surprised if she appears again with fiddle in hand to illustrate her program. Tuesday, June 6 Annual Docent Picnic This year we will picnic at Historic Rosedale. We will meet at the site at 10 am for a tour of their recently built reproduction blacksmith shop. Although Dr. Caldwell was a physician, most of his income came from his farm. Five of his slaves were trained as smiths, highly skilled and elite positions for slaves. Smithing that was done on the property and that done by men who were hired out contributed significantly to the family’s wealth. After the tour we will have a business meeting followed by the picnic.