Part 24 (2/2)
On motion of Rev. J. C. Granbery, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
”_Resolved_, That in accepting the resignation of President Johnson it is due to ourselves as well as to him that we express the high esteem which we feel for him as a Christian gentleman and our admiration of the great zeal and fidelity with which he has discharged the duties of his oflice at a most critical and embarra.s.sing juncture in the history of the College, also our warm appreciation of the disinterested and generous motives which have prompted him to tender his resignation.”
On motion of Dr. N. Head--
”_Resolved_, That in the absence of a Legislature having obtained authority from General Stoneman to do so, the College be removed from Mecklenburg county to Ashland, in Hanover county, Va., and that a session of the College be opened at that place on the first day of October next.
”_Resolved_, That in deciding to change the site of Randolph-Macon College this Board has been actuated only by the solemn conviction that it was imperatively demanded by the educational interests of the church and community at large, and that the opposition which has been offered to this action by a minority of the Trustees is deeply deplored by their colleagues of the Board, who here now and hereby respectfully request that those members will withdraw that opposition, as injurious to the interests dear alike to all, this earnest and fraternal appeal being prompted and encouraged by the very high esteem and respect entertained for the gentlemen to whom it is addressed by their a.s.sociates of the Board.”
On motion of Richard Irby--
”_Resolved_, That this Board holds itself in readiness to make such arrangements as will secure to the county of Mecklenburg a High School at the present site of Randolph-Macon College on terms such as may be desired, said school to be a preparatory school to the College.”
Preparatory steps were taken to have the College furniture, libraries, etc., removed at once to Ashland.
The Board then proceeded to fill the place of President, vacated by the resignation of President Johnson.
Dr. Landon C. Garland, of the University of Mississippi, was unanimously elected President.
A committee of nine members was appointed, who were authorized, in conjunction with Dr. Garland, to elect the professors of the College; and in the event that Dr. Garland declines to accept the presidency, then said committee shall be authorized to elect another man to be President.
The following were then, on nomination, elected to const.i.tute said committee, viz.: Bishop John Early, Bishop D. S. Doggett, Drs. N. Head, L. M. Lee, J. E. Edwards, L. Rosser, Rev. H. B. Cowles, Rev. J. C.
Granbery, and Richard Irby.
Professors Corprew, Jones, Blackwell, and La Garde severally submitted their resignations.
The duty of removing the College and preparing the buildings and premises at Ashland, and making other necessary arrangements, was devolved on the ”Executive Committee, which consisted of Richard Irby, Dr. N. Head, D'Arcy Paul, Thomas Branch, and Rev. T. S. Campbell.
THOMAS CARTER JOHNSON.
In Memoriam.
Colonel Thomas C. Johnson was born near Lynchburg, Va., on the 22nd of March, 1820. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church in his seventeenth year. In 1842 he graduated with the highest honors of his cla.s.s at Randolph-Macon College. In the fall of the same year he was married to Martha R. Scott, daughter of H. B. Scott, of Nelson county, Va., and was soon after appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the Female Collegiate Inst.i.tute in Buckingham county. This position he filled ten months, when he removed to Potosi, Was.h.i.+ngton county, Mo., whither the parents of his wife had preceded him. Here he accepted a position in a cla.s.sical school, in the meantime a.s.siduously prosecuting the study of law. He was soon after admitted to the bar, and took a position with the foremost in the ranks of the profession in his district. The year 1849 was an eventful one. He conceived the idea of building the Iron Mountain railroad, and suggested it to the people of the county. He was by them nominated and elected to the General a.s.sembly for the purpose of securing the pa.s.sage of a bill for the establishment of that road.
In June, 1849, the cholera raged in Potosi. He was stricken down, and, while violently ill, his wife and infant daughter died of this disease.
The following winter he served in the Missouri Legislature, and secured the pa.s.sage of the bill for the Iron Mountain road. He was subsequently largely concerned in developing and mapping the entire railroad system in that State.
In 1851 he removed to St. Louis, and was appointed land agent and attorney for the Pacific railroad. In the year 1853 he was married, the second time, to Pattie B. Scott, eldest daughter of Rev. Robert Scott, deceased, of the Virginia Conference. He was elected in 1858 a member of the Missouri State Senate from the city of St. Louis. In this body he at once took a prominent position, and was a member of nearly every important committee of the body. In the session of 1860-'61 he was chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations, at that time the most important committee of the Senate.
He was decidedly conservative in his views, and anxious to secure the preservation of the Union, if it could be done consistently with the rights of the South; but when the Peace Congress proved a failure, the Crittenden Compromise was rejected, and Virginia seceded, he became a secessionist, and was heart and soul with the South throughout the struggle. His position and opinions on the vexed question forced him to leave Missouri. Without hesitation he sacrificed all for his principles, left his family in St. Louis, and joined the forces under General Sterling Price, on whose staff he served for two years as volunteer aid.
Being convinced that the many reverses in that department, at that period, were due in a great measure to lack and inferiority of transportation, he called the attention of the authorities at Richmond to this point. He was soon after authorized to establish the Confederate Transportation Works at Columbus, Ga. To this important interest he directed his whole energies, and succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng one of the best arranged, most extensive and complete machine shops in the Confederacy. This position he retained until the close of the War, when he removed with his family to Montgomery, Ala., and returned to the practice of law. While there he was elected to the Presidency of Randolph-Macon College. On reaching Virginia and entering upon his duties he found great difficulties in his path. But with characteristic energy he at once addressed himself to the task of re-establis.h.i.+ng the College. Nearly two years of unremitted toil, under the most discouraging circ.u.mstances, convinced him that success could never crown his efforts at that location. He felt that to make the College a success it must be removed to a more accessible point. Fortunately, just at this juncture of affairs, the hotel property at Ashland was thrown upon the market. With his quick foresight, Colonel Johnson realized the importance of securing this eligible location.
It was not to be expected that the removal of the College would be accomplished without strong opposition on the part of some of its warmest friends. But in the midst of the contest Colonel Johnson bore himself like a Christian gentleman. He could appreciate the views of others, while he felt that the very existence of the inst.i.tution depended on its removal to a more suitable site. We believe, indeed we have reason to know, that he entertained for those who opposed him in his plans no other feelings than those of friends.h.i.+p and Christian affection. To his particular friends, who were often indignant at the hard speeches uttered against him, he would reply, ”Never mind, I keep my heart right before G.o.d.” Believing that he was acting for the best he went forward like a true and earnest man in what he regarded as the path of duty.
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