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From: DC0119s, Hugh McLees, 1831-1910 (1860) Letters, 1855-1859. Finding Aid
12 December 1858 [1]
Dear Br,
Yours of Nov 30th came duly to hand to which you will please receive this as a reply. You spoke of Miller’s having hemerage of the lungs and of his being better. I knew that he had hemerage of the lungs before I left. I was glad to hear that he was better. I hope that life and health will be given him to go on in his course and that he may yet become an active watchman upon the walls of Zion for he is certainly a pious devoted and gifted young man, one calculated to do much for the course of Christ if his life he spared his manner finds such free access to the hearts of men [2] while his seasoning is realy [really] persuasive so that he could do much which others could do little or nothing. You speak of my own course I must say to you that
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has become a study of great interest to me. I have hitherto looked on as something with which I could do little and thinking that I should never master it although Mr. Donnelly told me that the most difficult part was over with before I left him I find it even as he said and since I have been drilled in Arnolds greek prose composition [3] I can get along very well. I wish to know as soon as possible whether presbytery will give me any assistance or not as if so what amount in order that I may let Mr Seawright know what amount I will need from him I thought when I left there that one hundred dollars more would do but in consequence of boord [board] being higher and other expenses more than last yr, [4] I find it will not. I will perhaps need $140.00 in order to get along decently and whatever the presbytery falls short of this [5] I will have to borrow from Mr. S-.. I send you a letter with this handed me by A.W. Burkhead [6] you will see from its contents what to do with it.
J. Mc Lees your Br
H [7]
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Original
[1] McLees wrote this letter sometime during the first semester of his fourth year on campus. From 1858-1859, the Davidson college semesters ran nearly back to back, spanning July to February and February to July. (Davidson College Catalog, 16)
[2] McLees is possibly referring to friend from the Anderson, South Carolina area named Miller who is also studying to become a minister. (Blodgett)
[3] Hugh McLees was listed as an irregular student. He would take classes periodically but did not graduate. McLees was listed in the Class of 1860, the Junior Class at the time. Arnold’s Greek Prose was a requirement for both the Sophomore and Junior classes at Davidson in 1858-1859. (Davidson College Catalog, 11-12) It is likely the Mr. Donnelly referenced is a past instructor of McLees.
[4] There was an increase of $2 in monthly room rent from the school years of 1857-58 to 1858-59. (Davidson College Catalog, 20) McLees may have eaten at Steward’s Hall on campus or ate off campus in a boarding house. Both on-campus and off-campus boarding costs were rising around 1860. (Wheeler) For more information on past Dining costs at Davidson, see https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/dining-at-davidson.
[5] During early Davidson history, Presbyteries would pay for the tuition of their ministerial candidates. This changed in 1846 when Davidson took on the responsibility of covering the candidates’ tuition. However, students were still subject to other costs such as room & board, food, etc. (Beaty, 130).
[6] A.A.W. Burkhead was also member of the Davidson Class of 1860 and was an acquaintance of McLees. Burkhead went on to graduate in 1860. He died of sickness in 1862 while serving with the Confederate Army. (Semi-Centennial Catalog, 75)
[7] Hugh McLees, from Anderson County, S.C, was listed in the Davidson College Class of 1860. He entered Davidson in 1855 and continued until 1859. McLees went on to attend Columbia Theological Seminary in Columbia, S.C from 1859-1862. (Semi-Centennial Catalog, 76) The South Carolina Presbytery ordained him a minister in 1863. (Ministerial Directory, 478)
Works Cited
Beaty, Mary. A History of Davidson College. Davidson, NC: Briarpatch P. 1988
Blodgett, Jan. Personal interview. 25 February 2013.
Davidson College Catalog, 1858-1859. Davidson: Davidson College Office of Communications. [1858]. Available at https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/college-catalogues
Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church. Austin, TX: Press of Van Boeckman-Jones Company, 1942.
Semi-Centennial Catalogue of Davidson College. Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell, 1891.
Wheeler, David and Ivins, Tammy. “Dining at Davidson.” Davidson Encyclopedia July 2007. Available at https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/dining-at-davidson/
Transcription and annotation author: Max Schimanski
Date: March 2013
From: DC0119s, Hugh McLees, 1831-1910 (1860) Letters, 1855-1859. Finding Aid
Cite as: Schimanski, Max, annotator. 12 December 1858 Hugh McLees Letter. DC00119s. <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/hugh-mclees-letter-12-december-1858>.
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