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From: DC0133s, McKeown, Calvin Brice, 1854- (1874). Letters, 1871 (Finding Aid)
Transcript
Davidson College
No.Ca.
Dec the 8th 1871[1]
Dear Friend [2],
I received your letter yesterday which I was glad to receive. I am sorry to hear that your school is out. [3] I used to think that when I sat up until nine I was doing something but eleven is nothing here now. Commence studying at one and study until five then commence studying again at a quarter past six and study until eleven and then do not know our lessons sometimes we rise at five in the morning. The first monitor of our class sometimes sleeps two hours in twenty four.
There will be several of the Jrs. leave here Christmas a Soph. or two and no telling how many Fresh. [4]
The Profs are getting so hard that they will lose some of their students if they don’t mind on account-a their severity.
I think that Dick (Prof Richardson) [5] used some very bad words concerning a Presd. that they did not want a Presd. on account of his having too much power but they will find that they will have fewer to exercise the power over. [6] Very near every boy in Col is dissatisfied just because there is no person to go to when they want anything. If we send up a petition to have our lessons shortened, they only laugh at us. [7]
Sorry to hear that you did not have an exhibition. I would have liked to have been there to hear you boys “bust” [8] and more to have seen her. Hard to hear that she looks so well.
I must come to a close as it is eleven.
Excuse bad writing and mistakes as I have not time to look over it.
Your Friend,
CB McKeown [9]
Write Soon
[1]
On December 8th, 1871 the students of Davidson College would have been in the first semester of the year. Davidson College in the 1871-1872 academic year had 99 students and 7 faculty. It was located on the “Atlantic, Tennessee, and Ohio Railroad” approximately halfway between Charlotte and Statesville, North Carolina. The college offered a “Classical Course” (4-year) and a “Scientific Course” (3-year). Terms of admission to the college were “testimonials of good moral character, “honorable dismission” from the last school attended, and examination in English, Latin, Greek, and Mathematics. (Davidson College Catalogue)
[2] McKeown is writing the letter to his friend John Thomas Bigham, of Chester, South Carolina. Bigham was born on February 8th, 1852 in Blackstock, South Carolina. Later in life, Bigham became a newspaper owner and editor in Chester, where he lived for the majority of his life. Bigham died in Columbia, South Carolina in 1930. (The State)
[3] At the time, it was probable that McKeown was making a reference to a school his friend Bigham had started himself. In that day and age, it was common for young educated men to begin schools of their own, however, due to the trying financial situation of Reconstruction in the post Civil War South, many of these schools failed. Most likely, McKeown is making a reference to one of these schools, probably started by Mr. John Bigham himself.
[4] According to the class records, it was common for many students to leave school for any number of reasons in the middle of their college careers. During Reconstruction, many boys were called back home intermittently either due to money issues, or simply because they were needed at home for work. Either way, it was not uncommon for students to return home for a year or two, only to return to finish their education some time later.
[5] Rev. Wilson Gaines Richardson, M.A., Ph.D. of Maysville, Kentucky, was one of few professors at Davidson College at the time. Graduating as the Valedictorian at the University of Alabama, Richardson spent the first four and a half years of his career teaching in the department of Ancient Languages and English at his alma mater, followed by three years spent traveling Europe before settling back in the United States. In his career, Richardson was a professor at the University of Alabama, the University of Mississippi, Davidson College, the Female Institute of Oxford Miss., Central University Ky., and finally, Austin College in Texas. Richardson died in 1886 after having spent 8 years as a professor at Davidson. He is remembered by his authorship of “Latin Pronunciation in American Colleges”, and as the revising editor of the Encyclopedia of the New West. (Davidson College Catalogue)
[6] In 1871, following the death of President McPhail, the trustees decided to elect a chairman in place of the president until they could decide on another. This is the situation McKeown is referencing here. At the time, Professor John Rennie Blake held the position of chairman. It wasn’t until several years later, in 1877, that the college elected another president, Andrew Hepburn. (Blake) (Hepburn)
[7] The “they” McKeown refers to here are the seven professors Davidson employed at the time: Rev. G. Wilson McPhail, John R. Blake, Rev. J. Monroe Anderson, W. G. Richardson, Rev. Charles Phillips, William J. Martin, and Paul P. Winn. According to McKeown and several other testimonies, the professors were stern and very demanding of their students. In the letter above, McKeown even makes references to the idea that soon, “they will have fewer to exercise the power over” considering “Very near every boy in Col is dissatisfied just because there is no person to go to when they want anything.” (Davidson College Catalogue)
[8] An exhibition, in this case, and “to bust” are both references to the graduation ceremonies held at schools at the time. Back then, during graduation there would be an “exhibition” where the students would stand and speak for hours before the student body, faculty, and families in attendance. “To bust” is simply a phrase that meant to do well or to succeed. As mentioned at the beginning of the letter, it is most likely that Bigham started his own school following graduation and that for some reason or another, he was forced to shut down without being able to have such an exhibition at the end of the year. (Blodgett, Jan)
[9] C.B. McKeown, Calvin Brice McKeown, was a sophomore at Davidson during the 1871-72 school year. After attending Davidson, he attended the medical College of South Carolina later becoming a physician and druggist in Fort Lawn, South Carolina. McKeown married Anne Dorsey Howze, And later died in 1915.
Works cited
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Beaty, Mary D. A History of Davidson College. Davidson, NC: Briarpatch, 1988. 116-22. Print.
“Blake, John Rennie.” Davidson College Archives & Special Collections. Davidson College, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
Blodgett, Jan. Personal Interview. 5 May 2014.
Davidson College Catalogue, 1871. Davidson: Davidson College. 1871.
Faculty Minutes. 1842-1873. RG 2/3.2 President’s Office. Davidson College Archives. Davidson, NC.
“Hepburn, Andrew Dousa.” Davidson College Archives & Special Collections. Davidson College, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
“Obituary.” The State [Columbia, South Carolina] 24 Sept. 1930: n. pag. Print.
Photograph: RG 5/8.1 McKeown-1
Photograph: DC 0235s-7
Transcription and annotation author: Duncan McGaan.
Date: May 2014.
Cite as: McGaan, Duncan, annotator. 8 December 1871 Calvin B. McKeown Letter to friend. DC0133s.
Available: https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/calvin-b-mckeown-letter-8-dec-1871.
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