Back to College Letters Collection
Back to Hugh McLees Letters | Jump to original | Jump to annotations
From: DC0119s, Hugh McLees, 1831-1910 (1860) Letters, 1855-1859. Finding Aid
Davidson College, N.C.
Nov. 2 of 1858[1]
I seat myself to give you a line though I have little time to write. I am well as at least well enough to attend to my studies. I have however been sick since I last wrote you. I was sick at the time that Olivia and Mr. B were here consequently did not see them. They are on their way to Scotland perhaps almost there they did not stay here long. They soon started and I have little of interest to write you now. things are progressing greatly here we have little time for doing anything but study. I am spending most of my time studying Greek [2] . I hope to become a Greek scholar although it was not
[Page 2]
at one time my favorite study. I have two deportments in it and have taken so for a higher stand than I ever did before. There is considerable religious excitement among the students at this time. Our President [3] seems to be in the spirit at this time to preach feelingly he comes before his audience every time so burdened with the weight of his important errand that he is almost too full to speak. My windows [4] face those of his studio [5] and I am compelled to shut my eyes and to part of how he passes his time I am under the impression that he spends many of his hours in secret at a throne of grace and hence I am persuaded is the awful earnestness of his sermons pardon me that I write no mor. Write immediately if possible
your Brother H [6]
give my regards to Cassie and compliments to inquiring friends.
Jump to transcript
Original
Annotations
[1] In this year, Hugh McLees would have been a 1st semester sophomore. Some classes he might have been taking include Latin, Greek, and Mathematics (1858-1859 Catalog, 9-11).
[2] Hugh McLees was an “eclectic” or “irregular” student. This means that he was not an official sophomore. “Irregular” or “eclectic” students were students who took courses at the college, but did not follow the general path towards receiving a degree (1858-1859 Catalog, 9-11).
[3] The president at this time was Drury Lacy. He was a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and Union Theological Seminary, and had spent time as a Minister in North Carolina. After leaving Davidson in 1860, Lacy served as the chaplain in the Forty-seventh Regiment. Later, Lacy opened the Peace Institute, an all-female school, in Raleigh, NC with his wife, Mary Ritchie Rice Lacy (“Drury Lacy”).
[4] At this time, students ate in Steward’s hall (1858-1859 Catalog, 18). When it was originally built in 1836-37, it served as a dining hall and on occasion as a guest house for visiting trustees. This building was demolished in 1909 (Wheeler).
[5] President Drury Lacy resided in the “Louisiana” house, (pictured below). The “Louisiana” house was constructed in 1850 during Samuel Williamson’s presidency. Now, the same site is the location of the current Visual Arts Center (Dennis).
[6] Hugh McLees, from Anderson County, S.C, was listed in the Davidson College Class of 1860. He entered Davidson in 1855, but never graduated. McLees went on to attend Columbia Theological Seminary in Columbia, S.C from 1859-1962. (Semi-Centennial Catalog, 76) The South Carolina Presbytery ordained him a minister in 1863. (Ministerial Directory, 478).
Bibliography
Davidson College Catalog, 1858-1859. Davidson: Davidson College Office of Communications. [1858].
Dennis, Natalie. “The President’s House” Davidson Encyclopedia
October 2003 <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/presidents-house/>
Gillespie, Molly P. and Mark Grotjohn. “Drury Lacy” Davidson Encyclopedia, 29 June 2006 https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/drury-lacy/
Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church. Austin, TX: Press of Van Boeckman-Jones Company, 1942.
Photograph of Louisiana. Photograph Collection, number 9-0885. Davidson College Archives, Davidson, NC.
Semi-Centennial Catalogue of Davidson College. Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell, 1891.
Wheeler, David and Tammy Ivins. “Dining at Davidson” Davidson Encyclopedia July 2007 <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/dining-at-davidson/>
Transcription and annotation author: Emily Covert
Date: March 2013
Cite as: Covert, Emily annotator. 2 November 1858 Hugh McLees Letter. DC0119s. <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/hugh-mclees-letter-2-nov-1858>.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.