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Davidson College
Oct. 18th, 1858[1]
Dear Pa,
I receved your last communication on last Wednesday, which relieved me of various anticipations regarding your state of health at home. I received a letter from uncle Allen about two weeks before yours, in which he stated, that you would write the same week, and not hearing from you for more than two weeks, I couldn’t help fearing that you, or some of the family, had taken sick. On the reception of your letter, however, my fears were, at least in a great measure, dispelled, as you were afflicted with only a bad cold. So, if you expect to anticipate my wishes, you must “try again“, as you fell so far short of it that time.
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Your letter, I am happy to say, found me enjoying my usual good health[2] , which continues up to the present time. With the exception of about two or three cases, there is no sickness in this place at present.
Our number of students is, this year, greater than it was last, being about one hundred[3] . Some of the new students are, I suppose, to use a common phrase, “right hard cases“, but I hope non are as hard cases as one who was rejected. His name is McNeil[4] , and claims to be from Miss. After being rejected, he remained here about two weeks[5] , at the expiration of which time he stole $28.00[6] together with some other articles and left this place for Charlotte[7] , where he took lodging for a few weeks at a hotel. When the money was missed, he was at once suspicioned, and upon investigation it was found out that he had discharged
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some demands against him here, with the lost money. Accordingly, as soon as practicable[8] , some of the students went down to Charlotte, and had him arrested by the proper authorities. He at first denied the charge, but when the evidence was presented, acknowledged his guilt, and proposed to pay up all damages. I learn that he is still in Charlotte. With the exception of the occurrence that I have just mentioned, things have gone on well enough[9] thus far.
My new room-mate is, as I anticipated, as pleasant and agreeable as I could desire. He is now Snoring in the arms of Morpheus, and has been for the last hour. He makes it almost an invariable rule to retire at 9 O’clock. In this connection, I will relate a little scrape we had with a fire a few nights ago, in which, I am sorry to say to aunt Polly, and Ma, that my new gown was slightly injured- but not so much as to render it- unfit for Service.
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When replenishing our lamp, my chum poured in too much fluid, causing it to run out on my hand and the table, and from a light I was holding, it ignited, and burnt a few small holes in my gown, and blistered my hand slightly. I guess we will always extinguish the lamp hereafter, when we are filling it up.
I have changed my washerwoman[10] this session. It is now done by Miss Sparrow. I am much better pleased with her than I was with the other. With regard to the bed bugs, I think they have all got frightened at the approach of the comet[11] and fled, at least, I have seen but one since I returned, and it appeared to be making tracks. As it is getting late, I must close. Give my love to Lizzie and [Nannie], and tell them I will write them a letter as soon as I can get time. My love to you all, and howd’ye to the darkies,
Yours Truly,
W.W. Robinson[12]
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Original
[1] William Wallace Robinson wrote this letter to his father in October 1858 as a member of the junior class. The academic year was 1858-1859. The second term lasted until July 14, 1859. (Davidson College Catalog 1858-1859, 8)
[2] When students got sick in the 1850s, there was no readily-available treatment or medicine. Following an 1881 typhoid outbreak on campus, however, Davidson began plans for a full-time infirmary. During the 1886 school year, Elm Row (former dormitory) was turned into a health center and the college hired a campus physician. (Beaty, A History of the Town, 161-162)
[3] 112 students attended Davidson during the 1858-1859 academic year and were taught by six faculty members. Altogether, there were 711 alumni. Tuition was $80. The previous school year (1857-1858), 99 students attended the college, there were a total of 654 alumni, and tuition cost $76. (Davidson College History and Statistics)
[4] On September 30, 1858, faculty decided to reject McNeil and Northrup from becoming Davidson College students. (Davidson College Faculty Minutes 1842-1878, 173)
[5] Davidson Catalog “Rules and Regulations” assert that any suspended student “shall not remain within the chartered limits” for the duration of his punishment. Although there were no written records of rules regarding students rejected from entering Davidson at the time, the rules for suspended students were adapted for those denied admission. Therefore, McNeil had to leave campus premises after his rejection. (Davidson College Catalog 1858-1859, 18)
[6] $28.00 in 1858 is equivalent to $789.00 dollars in 2011. This conversion is based on the historical standard of living value, which measures “purchasing power of income or wealth.” (“Measuring Worth…”)
[7] In the mid-1800’s, faculty remarked that “by great good fortune, [Charlotte was] more than three miles away.” They worried students would succumb to temptations (alcohol could be purchased freely in Charlotte) and break college policy. By the 1850s, Charlotte was establishing itself as a banking city because of a small gold rush in the area during the previous decades when miners, engineers, and metallurgists flooded to the region. By 1854, North Carolina began constructing a railroad and made Charlotte a main southern station. Although the railroad did not run through Davidson, it connected Charlotte with Greensboro, Raleigh, and Salisbury, as well as other trading and industrial towns. (Mary Beaty, A History of Davidson College, 1988, 135) (Cockrell, “Charlotte”)
[8] Students were not allowed to leave Davidson’s campus without permission from a faculty member. There was also no formal honor code with which to charge McNeil (and he was also not a student). However, one of the admissions requirements stated that students must be moral, have good judgment, and be respectful to faculty, church, community, and one another. (Davidson College Catalog 1858-1859, 5, 8, 13)
[9] In the mid-late 1850s, Dr. Lacy claimed that a “spirit of disaffection and even of insubordination” took control of the college and its students. In the 1857-1858 school year, one fourth of the student population left; the next year, one fifth of the students left on temporary suspensions or expulsions. Furthermore, there was an “ill feeling between faculty and students” and a “dissension over discipline” during this time period. (Beaty, A History of Davidson College, 97-98).
[10] There was no official campus laundry service at Davidson College before the 1920s. Instead, students collected their friends’ and their own clothes and brought them to local black women. These ladies washed the clothes in their homes and either re-delivered the clothes or had the students come pick them up. There were also pressing clubs in Davidson, including Tobi Johnson’s. (Beaty, A History of the Town…)
[11] Donati’s Comet (or Comet Donati) was discovered June 2, 1858 in Florence, Italy by Giovanni Battista Donati. Astronomers consider the comet to be one of the greatest in the 1800s. From August to October, the comet became brighter as its path grew closer to the sun. The comet was closest to Earth on October 10, 1858—one week before Robinson wrote this letter. Donati’s Comet, the first comet photographed, inspired many artists and writers. The comet appears in magazines, religious works, poems, sketches, and transparencies. (“The worldwide impact of Donati’s comet…”)
[12] William Wallace Robinson (1835-1901) was originally from Bloomingdale, North Carolina. At Davidson, he was a member of the Eumenean Society, studied medicine, and a graduated with the class of 1861. Robinson became permanently disabled in the Battle of Spotsylvania during the Civil War. (Davidson Catalog 1858-1859, 8) In this 1864 battle, which began spanned May 8-24, resulted in 12,000 casualties for Lee and the Confederate Army and close to 20,000 casualties for Grant and the Union Army with many more injured on both sides, including Robinson. (Davidson Alumni Catalog; 77) Following the war, Robinson returned to North Carolina, where he became the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Mecklenberg and Spapton Counties. (Rickard, “Battle of Spotsylvania…”)
Bibliography
Beaty, Mary. A History of Davidson College. Davidson: Briarpatch Press, 1988.
Beaty, Mary. A History of the Town from 1835 Until 1937. Davidson: Briarpatch Press, 1979.
College History and Statistics for 1858-1859. Available at http://library.davidson.edu/archivesdb/collegehist_wp.asp. Accessed 27 February 2013.
Cockrell, David L. “Charlotte.” NCpedia Home Page. http://ncpedia.org/charlotte (accessed 27 February 2013).
Davidson College Catalog, 1858-1859. Davidson: Davidson College Office of Communications. [1858]
Faculty Minutes 13 February 1854. RG 2/3.2. Faculty Minutes. Davidson College Archives, Davidson College, NC.
Gasperini, Antonella, and Nenzi, Laura and Daneile Galli. “The worldwide impact of Donati’s comet on art and society in the mid-19th century.” International Astronomical Union (2011), http://arxiv.org/pdf/1211.3859.pdf (accessed 27 February 2013).
Measuring Worth-Measures of worth, inflation rates, saving calculator, relative value, worth of a dollar, worth of a pound, purchasing power, gold prices, GDP, histoyr of wages, average wage. http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/relativevalue.php (accessed 27 February 2013).
Rickard, J. “Battle of Spotsylvania, 8-21 May 1864.” http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_spotsylvania.html (accessed 27 February 2013).
Robinson, W.W. Letter to Pa. 18 October 1858. William Robinson Letters. Davidson College Archives, Davidson College, NC.
Semi-Centennial Catalogue of Davidson College. Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell, 1891.
Transcription and annotation author: Hannah Sachs
Date: March 2013
From: DC0123s. Robinson, William Wallace, 1835-1901 (1860) Letters, 1857-1864 (View Finding Aid)
Cite as: Sachs, Hannah, annotator. 18 October 1858 William Robinson Letter to Pa. DC0123s. <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/william-w-robinson-letter-18-oct-1858>
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