WILBERFORCE
UNIVERSITY
WILBERFORCE OHIO
W. S. SCARBOROUGH, A. M. LL. D.,
PRESIDENT.
HORACE TALBERT, A. M.,
SECRETARY.
A School for Colored Youth
Smith Adv. Co., Xenia, O.
GALLOWAY HALL
WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY
The first organized effort for the education of the colored race
in this country was perfected in September, 1847, in a school for
Negro youth opened near Columbus, Ohio, and called '' Union Sem¬
inary. " It was the first systematic plan of the race for its own
education. It was the first special effort of any race for the mental
uplift of the negro and it anticipated for nearly fifty y°irs, ttie
present idea of industrial training, being conducted on the mani^l
labor plan. Here was the starting point of the Wilberforce Uni¬
versity of today.
Its teachers were negroes. Rev. John M. Brown was its first
principal. He was assisted by Mrs. Frances Harper, a Philadelphia
woman, well known in Temperance circles and distinguished for her
poetical talent.
Nine years later the white people, realizing the necessity of
looking after the welfare of the 30,000 of the colored population df
Ohio, took action through the M. E. Church in a similar direction.
"Tawawa (Sweet Water) Springs," a beautiful summer resort in
the south-western part of Ohio, rich in mineral springs and histor¬
ical interest, was purchased and a University for the colored race
was organized and named "Wilberforce University" in honor of
England's great abolitionist, William Wilberforce.
It was incorporated in August, 1856, and its first board of
twenty-four trustees included Gov. Salmon P. Chase, I)r. Richard
S. Rust of the Methodist Church and four colored men—Ashland
Keith of the Baptist Church, with Bishop Daniel A. Payne, Rev.
Lewis Woodson and Mr. Alfred Anderson of the African M. E.
Church. At the beginning, the broad principle was adopted, "That
there never should be any distinction among the trustees, faculty or
students on account of race, color or creed."
The school opened in October, 1856, under white teachers. Dr.
Richard S. Rust left a prominent pastoral charge to become its first
President. In later years, he become Secretary of the Freedmen's
Aid Society and continued a friend of the school till his death.
During the first epoch of its history, this school was patronized
very largely by the children of Southern planters. Often entire
families were brought thither, lands were purchased and homes
established. This, with the fact that there was also attracted to the
place, the best element of the colored people from many points, led
to the growth of a community of negroes exceptional in material
possession, in heredity and standing. In truth, the story of the
colored settlements in southern Ohio is one teeming with historical
interest and most romantic associations. Thus, Wilberforce Uni¬
versity was most strategetically situated to serve the race, and com¬
mendable progress.was made until the Civil War broke out, when
Southern patronage ceased, the school was temporarily closed and
the trustees finally decided to sell the property.
Since 1856, Bishop D. A. Payne had been its patron, educating
his step-children therein, and was ever an active helper in the actual
management of the school. Exiled from his native city, Charleston,
S. C .,in 1836, because he was educating the colored youth, a zealous
advocate of education for his people all through the following years,
and a special pleader for an educated ministry, he could not see the
usefulness of Wilberforce University at an end.
But the State of Ohio desired the property and Dnaiel A. Payne
had not a dollar with which to purchase it. Still the trustees
decided to give the race the offer of the property for $10,000.00.
Not twenty-four hours could be given for decision. "Without a ten
dollar bill at command, not knowing where he could obtain any
help," Bishop Payne "threw himself on the strong arm of the
Lord," and with sublime faith in the possibilities of earnest en¬
deavor for such a cause, solemnly pledged the A. M. E. Church to
raise the required sum. Within forty-eight hours the first hundred
dollars toward the purchase of the property was given by a colored
woman, Mrs. James A. Shorter. At once Bishop Payne associated
with himself, Rev. James A. Shorter, later Bishop Shorter, and
Prof. John G. Mitchell, an early negro graduate of Obelin College,
in the re-organization and re-opening of the University. Bishop
Payne became its President and its leading spirit for the years to
come, though Prof. Mitchell was its acting Principal, while the
Bishop sought aid for its maintenance.
During all these years, "Union Seminary" had kept in existence.
Now it was at once sold and merged into Wilberforce University.
Thus, the internal force and the external force, each working for
the same end, finally reached the crystalization point of a great
school for the higher education of the race, by the race.
So, to the Negro himself, really belongs the credit of beginning
the education of his people; to Ohio belongs the honor of being
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the mother of its first school, and to Oberlin College, much is owed
for the upbuilding of the University through a splendid galaxy of
instructors, men and women, white and colored, from that noble
college which first opened the doors of higher education to the race,
from its opening in 1856 to the present moment.
The crisis was passed and the victory seemed secure when, within
two years, $7,500.00 of the debt had been paid. On the day on
which the immortal Lincoln was assassinated, April 14, 1865, in¬
cendiary hands laid the main building in ashes. However, faith and
works again triumphed, and at last a finer brick building at a cost
of $40,000.00 became a reality—' Shorter Hall, the first of the series
of splendid edifices that grace the grounds today.''
Then aid came from various quarters as the struggle of the
school was seen and appreciated. Congress and the Freedmen's
Bureau made appropriations for its relief. Chief Justice Chase be¬
queathed $10,000.00, as did the Avery estate. The American Uni¬
tarian Association provided funds annually for some years for
courses of lectures given by the Professors of Antioch College.
Friends from all classes gave some assistance, and men and women
of color laid down their offerings for its use in sums ranging from
$5.00 to $1,000.00. It has been its boast and pride that a large
amount of self-help has gone to build up the University.
Growth and recognition increased till in 1887, the Legislature
of Ohio had such confidence in its worth and importance as a neces¬
sary educational factor with a large field of usefulness, that it made,
and still continues to make an annual appropriation of some
$17,000.00 for the support of a Normal & Industrial Department.
Then the General Government, under President Cleveland's admin¬
istration, organized a Military Department and a Negro West Point
graduate, Lieut. John H. Alexander, was appointed to take charge.
Wilberforce University is the only Negro school recognized and
maintained by the United States Government. Upon the death of
Lient. Alexander, another Negro West Point graduate, Lieut. Chas.
Young, (now Major) was detailed to the school, and when the
Spanish War broke out, he went to the front, taking with him a
large contingent of students who fought with honor for the flag in
Cuba and the Philippines, while the military work in the school was
most creditably carried on by advanced students.
The University began with 52 acres of land, one main building,
a few small cottages, a primary department of instruction, two
teachers and a handful of students. Today, the united schools in
operation, aside from the Military, are the College, the Theological
Seminary and a Normal & Industrial Department, instructing in
ten well-equipped industries. It has 350 acres of the best land in
Ohio. Jt has 10 brick buildings, including four halls, a $60,000.00
Trades Building and a Carnegie Library costing $18,000.00. There
are two farm houses and nine frame cottages for teachers and em¬
ployees. The value of the entire plant with equipment, is quite
$350,000.00 There are thirty-two teachers and an average of four
hundred students. Over nine thousand negro youths have received
training here. Over one thousand have graduated from its literary
and industrial courses, and are now engaged in uplifting the race in
all parts of this country, in Africa, Hayti, Cuba, Porto Rico, the
Philipines and Canada. Among the many who have reached em¬
inence are Bishop B. F. Lee. D. D., of the A. M. E. Church, and who
was at one time President of the University for eight years; Bishop
B. W. Arnett, D. D.; Chaplains Geo. W. Prioleau and W. T. An¬
derson, two of the colored chaplains in the U. S. Army; Dr. John
Hurst, Financial Secretary of the A. M. E. Church and former
Secretary of the Haytian Legation in Washington; Miss Hallie Q.
Brown, widely known in this country and England as an Elocu¬
tionist and Temperance Lecturer; W. T. Vernon, Register of the
U. S. Treasury, and a host of others, graduates and undergraduates,
whom space forbids mention, who are men and women of recognized
character, ability and influence, holding high rank in Church, in
education, business and service of the Government.
Wilberforce University stands for the united education of head,
heart and hand. It is located to do this work to a decided ad¬
vantage. It is contiguous to a territory of three states, each having
a large Negro population. It draws from these and the entire belt
of Southern states, together with the immediate large Negro belt in
Ohio, for the reason that its advantages appeal directly and person¬
ally to those who desire higher training and the social influences it
affords. It presents to its patrons, an exceptional race environment,
where high ideals and practices obtain, where race social life is on
a high plane, where evil surroundings are few, where country air
and influences do their healthful wrork, wrhere race friction is quite
unknown, where is found on every hand for youth the greatest
possible inspiration to right living, right thinking, industry, sobri¬
ety, and success in life.
It has illustrated to the world what the race can do for itself.
For over fifty years, the work has continued, and its present Presi¬
dent, Dr. W. S. Scarborough, a graduate of Oberlin College, is now
reaching out in a broad endeavor to expand its usefulness.
With its continuous growth, its needs have kept pace, so today
the school faces pressing necessities. It must have $100,000.00
added to its small endowment at the earliest possible moment.
It cannot accomodate the numbers applying for admission and
more room must be provided. A $35,000.00 dormitory for girls, im-
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peratively needed, is an assured fact if one-half the amount can be
raised,as Mr. Carnegie has generously pledged one-half the neces¬
sary sum upon this condition. It is desired to begin the building at.
the earliest possible moment.
A Science Hall is absolutely necessary, together with added
equipment in Physical Science and Applied Mathematics. A Gym¬
nasium and an Administration building, as well as a College Chapel,
are also badly needed.
Scholarships are earnestly sought. A number of $50.00 scholar¬
ships would greatly aid deserving students. Current expenses must
be met and the funds are solicited for this purpose.
For all these, the University makes a strong plea, begging
humanitarians and philanthropists to give aid in the prosecution of
its work. It bases its plea upon its long past struggle, experience
and achievement, its present equipment and ability, and its great
future possibilities in the field particularly open to it. It is believed
that no more paying investment can be made, than to afford liberal
support to such a well-established instituition which has so long and
so successfully carried on the work for the education of the Negro.
ENDORSEMENTS.
Wilberforce, Ohio, June 26th, 1908.
To Whom It May Concern :
The bearer of this letter, Prof. W. S. Scarborough, President of
Wilberforce University, is authorized by the Trustees of said Uni¬
versity to collect monies for said work, and we heartily commend
him to the generous public, trusting it may respond to his appeal to
aid our institution, which is doing much to train the head, heart and
hands of the race, developing the better qualities of good citizenship.
Signed on behalf of the Trustee Board.
Bishop W. B. Derrick, Chairman
Bishop W. J. Gaines, Vice-Chairman
Horace Talbert, Secretary.
Oberlin College, President's Office,
Oberlin, Ohio, July 14th, 1908.
I am glad to express my confidence in the value and importance
of the work which Wilberforce University is doing and my convic¬
tion that under the leadership of the new president, Dr. W. S. Scar-
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borough, the University may reasonably expect to go forward to still
greater work. I believe that money invested in the University will
be well invested, and that President Scarborough would make sure
that the money would be wisely and economically applied.
I am glad thus to commend both the University and President
Scarborough, and to express the hope that the resources of the Uni¬
versity may be rapidly increased.
Signed Henry Churchill King.
United States Senate,
AVashington, D. C.,
May 4th, 1909.
To "Whom It May Concern :
It gives me great pleasure to say a most cordial word in behalf
of Wilberforce University. I have known its President, Mr. W. S.
Scarborough, for some years and have had occasion to become well
acquainted with the work and aims of the institution. It stands for
the liberal development and higher education of the colored race,
and the recognition given it by the Ohio Legislature, places it among
the prominent institutions in the State.
I earnestly bespeak the most friendly consideration for and
attention to its claims.
Respectfully,
(Signed) T. E. Burton.
Hampton, Va., July 2, 1908.
My Dear Professor Scarborough : •
Allow me to express my pleasure at your election to the presi¬
dency of Wilberforce University.
Wilberforce has had a long and honorable record and it has been
a power for good in the past, and I have reason to hope and believe
that, under your direction, it will do still greater things in the
future. While I have never had the opportunity to examine its
work, I feel sure that it is deserving of the support of all those who
are interested in the education of the colored race. I intend, as
opportunity offers, to visit the institution and then I can speak from
personal examination, of its worth.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) H. B. Frissell,
Principal.
W. S. Scarborough, A. M., LL. D.,
Wilberborce University,
Wilberforce, Ohio.
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Knox College, Office of the President,
Galesburg, Illinois, March 2, 1909.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am glad to commend President W. S. Scarborough, of Wilber¬
force University, as a scholarly man of high personal qualities, who
is in every way worthy of the confidence and support of the friends
of Christian education everywhere. He was a class-mate of mine
throughout our whole course at Oberlin College. I have known him
quite intimately in all the years since then and I have formed a very
high estimate of the services he has so devotedly and effectively
given to the institution of which he is now the honored head.
Thos. McClelland,
President of Knox College
1009 American Trust Building,
Cleveland, July 8, 1908.
W. S. Scarborough, President,
Wilberforce University,
Wilberforce, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
Permit me to congratulate you on your election to the Presidency
of Wilberforce University. I am sure it means a great deal for the
future of the school, both in an educational and financial way. I
will at all times be pleased to do anything I am able, to assist in the
good work.
With good wishes for the future of yourself and the great insti¬
tution you represent, I beg to remain,
Sincerely yours,
(Signed) H. H. Johnson,
Attorney at Law.
Executive Department, Office of the Governor,
Columbus, Ohio, July 9th, 1908.
To Whom It May Concern :
This will introduce Dr. W. S. Scarborough, President of Wilber¬
force University. Wilberforce has, for many years, occupied a
prominent place in the education of our colored people. Its work is
highly practical and is worthy of every encouragement. The insti¬
tution is in need of increased facilities and more liberal endowment,
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and President Scarborough is now devoting his personal efforts to
that end. He is entitled to confidence, and I take pleasure in offer¬
ing the assurance that any contributions placed with him will be
devoted most carefully to a worthy cause.
Very respectfully,
Andrew L. Harris,
Governor.
Columbus, Ohio, July 8th, 1908..
To Whom It May Concern :
It is a great pleasure for me to commend Prof. W. S. Scar¬
borough, President of Wilberforce University, as a gentleman
worthy in every wTay of the highest confidence.
The institution over which he presides, is a constant and positive
force for the best things in education of both mind and heart.
0. T. Carson,
Ex-State School Commissioner of Ohio, and
Ex-President National Educational Association.
To The Public :
I take great pleasure in commending to the favorable considera¬
tion of philanthropists and the public generally, Wilberforce Uni¬
versity and Dr. Scarborough, who represents its interest and pleads
for aid in its support and endowment. Dr. Scarborough is a grad¬
uate of Oberlin College, and has long been connected with the
Institution as one of its instructors.
Wilberforce University was established for the higher education
of our colored people, and has accomplished a great work in edu¬
cating teachers and preachers and others who are laboring for the
elevation of their people. It has had a wide uplifting influence
which has been felt all over the country. The school is in pressing
needs of funds with which to prosecute its work and meet current
expenses, and is compelled to appeal to the public for a helping
hand. In view of its past and the work in wThich it is now engaged,
it deserves a liberal support from the friends of the race it repre¬
sents, and I commend it most cordially to the liberality of those
having funds to use in behalf of Christian education. I know of no
better investment for good that one can make.
Very truly yours,
Asa S. Bushnel,
Ex-Governor of Ohio.
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To The Public.-
The bearer of this, Dr. W. S. Scarborough, President of Wilber-
force University, Wilberforce, Ohio, comes in the interests of that
institution of learning.
During my trusteeship of "Wilberforce, I had occasion to see the
superior work of this renowned institution is doing for the general
education of the colored youth of our State and Country, and it
gives me unusual pleasure to recommend Wilberforce University
most heartily to all who are interested in the elevation of our colored
people, as worthy of their favor and liberal support.
President Scarborough is an upright and honorable gentleman,
one in whose statements all confidence can be placed. I sincerely
hope that every one into whose hands this may come, will do some¬
thing to advance the wTorthy cause in which he is engaged—the
education and development of our colored youth to the end that
they may grow up to be intelligent and useful members of society.
Sincerely yours,
John B. Peaslee,
Formerly Supt. of Schools, Cincinnati, 0.
This sheet is offered in circular form as information to those who
desire to know and assist Wilberforce University. For other par¬
ticulars, address President W. S. Scarborough, or Secretary H.
Talbert, Wilberforce, Ohio.
CARNEGIE LIBRARY
PRESIDENT TAFT ON WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY.
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT THE METROPOLITAN A. M. E. CHURCH,
WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH 8, 1910.
[WASHINGTON EVENING STAR, MARCH 9, 1910.]
Higher education for the Negro was urged by President Taft last night
at a big meeting of colored men and women at the Metropolitan African
Methodist Episcopal Church, under the auspices of the Wilberforce Uni¬
versity Club of Washington. The President did not stand alone as a cham¬
pion of the education of the Negro. Justice John M. Harlan, of the Unietd
states Supreme Court, eloquently pleaded for aid for the Negro, and Senator
Charles Dick, of Ohio, also delivered an address in his behalf.
The purpose of the meeting was to arouse interest in Wilberforce Uni¬
versity, which is situated in Greene County, Ohio. The great need of the
University, said Prof. W. S. Scarborough of Wilberforce, is a new dormitory
to house the girl students. Andrew Carnegie has promised to donate one-half
of the $35,000 necessary to erect this dormitory, if the friends of the uni¬
versity are willing to give the other half. There also is great need for a
$250,000 endowment fund for the university, and a strong effort will be made
to raise that amount.
President Taft pledged himself for a contribution to the dormitory fund
before he left the meeting. His brother, Charles P. Taft, already has con¬
tributed $1,000 to Wilberforce. The President and the other speakers urged
the friends of the university to show their friendship by giving hard cash.
The President said it was- sad, but true, that the principal work of college
presidents nowadays was begging for the necessary funds to maintain the
institutions over which they preside.
"I have learned, too, since I became President, that the main duty of
the President of the United States, is not to defend the Constitution, but to
increase the box receipts," said the President, laughingly.
Representatives on Stand.
On the speakers' stand last night, beside a number of well known Negro
educators, were Representative Campbell of Ivansas, and Representative
Kiefer of Ohio. .
President Taft was introduced by William T. Vernon, register of the
United States Treasury, who declared that if ever the country had need of
men, the President had merely to call on the Negros, and a million would
rush to answer the call.
The President said, in part: .
"Frist, I want to congratulate Wilberforce University on having the
influence to bring together so large and so intelligent an audience. I am
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sure it augurs well for the cause which President Seraborough is pressing.
Of course, when 1 see him in a week or two, 1 will ask him to put it down in
figures, and perhaps then he will think he will have to call two or three other
meetings for the purpose.
'' But what I am anxious to do, is to testify by my presence to the deep
interest I take in the progress of that institution of learning, which for fifty
years has been in my native State, and has been full of usefulness for the
race and for the country.
'' Confession is good for the soul—and I have to say that I reached my
interest in the education of the Negro through the responsibilities that were
thrust on me with reference to the education of another race. It isn't until
you have responsibilities—until you have to do something affirmative—that
you look into a question with a seriousness that makes you a bit thorough;
and when I went to the Philipines, with a population of 8,000,000, and with
only seven per cent, speaking Spanish, thus indicating the proportion of the
people that had any education at all, I began to meet a problem with refer¬
ence to education that gave me an interest in every other problem of the kind
in the world, and when I returned from there, the Negro problem forced itself
on me with an emphasis that I didn't before understand, and gave me an
interest in it that I never before had.
Kinds of Education.
'' Of course, the first feeling that one has, with reference to the educa¬
tion of the Negro, is that education that it is possible to bring to all colored
men and women, and of course ,the only education that you can bring to all
colored men and women—as, indeed, the only education that you can bring
to all white men and women—is primary education, with industrial education
added. As you study the problem, and the importance of that industrial
education forces itself on you, you forget, for the time, that any significance
is to be given to secondary and higher, or university education; and you fall
frequently into the error of saying that money spent in uniA'ersity education
is wasted; that the Negroes who are educated at the universities, who are
engaged in studying Greek and Latin, and who are preparing themselves
in an academic way, are making an error.
"You yield to such aphorisms as Doctor Wiley has used with respect to
woman's education—that it is better for woman to learn how to cook than to
learn calculus. But there is nothing quite so misleading as an epigram.
Must Have Leaders.
"The Negro race is great and growing race—4,000,000 when the war
closed; 10,000,000 to-day—a race with whose history the United States has
been bound, and with whose progress and improvement this country must
always be bound and united. While the white race and the Negro race live
contentedly together in this country, they must have, among the Negro race,
leaders. They must have a highly educated class from which those leaders
are to be drawn. The Negro race is a race peculiarly susceptible to the
teaching from the pulpit, and nothing can do more to secure their uplift than
the thorough classical and higher education of their preachers. If you are
going to spread industrial and primary and secondary education among the
Negroes generally, you must do it through competent teachers, and those
teachers can be obtained only by receiving the best education that the
country can afford.
'' Another path along which the Negro race must laboriously mount up¬
ward is the path toward hygiene and the guarding against the ravages of
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disease, which has brought about such loss and suffering to the entire race
all over the country. And that can be accomplished only by having among
the Negroes copetent physicians, competent surgeons, competent nurses, and
competent leaders of the people in this regard, to teach them how to live.
And those physicians have got to receive the highest education, both academ¬
ically and medically, if they are to serve their highest purpose.
More Money Needed.
'' Now I am entirely agreed that it is wise to teach those who farm, as
much as possible about the farm, but what I want to call your attention to,
is that the amount of money that is devoted to the higher education of the
Negro, as compared with the 10,000,000 Negroes in this country, is not
enough, if you are to divide it up among the 10,000,000, to make any great
amount per capita. President Scarbarough can tell you I went over the
figures once or twice, and instead of being enough to indicate waste, there
is an indication that there is not near enough money to even educate the
leaders of the race, that the race must have, if it is going on to progress as it
is. Therefore, whenever I hear of a movement toward Negro education,
whether it be primary, secondary, industrial or university, I am in favor of it
from the ground up.
"I have spoken so often on the subject on Negro education, and the fact
that the whole future of the race is involved in it, that I feel, every time
I get up to speak, as if somebody would say: 'Can't you talk about some¬
thing else?' It is a subject in which the interest of this country, ajid
especially the interest of the South, is much taken up.
Importance of Education.
'I verily believe that in the South, where the good proportion of our
Negro population lives, there is coming to those people the feeling that in
education is the future of that country. Now, the education that is lacking
there is not alone among the Negroes—the education lacking is both among
the Negroes and whites, and it is to the credit of the Negro race, and those
who have done so much for the education of the Negro race, that the white
race is learning the lesson with respect to the necessary education for both
races from the advanced teaching of the colored race.
"It is in Tuskegee and Hampton, and like institutions, that the whole
Southern people are learning the secret and the value of industrial education.
I heard President Eliot, the foremost educator of this country, say at Hamp¬
ton, that it was General Armstrong and the men who gathered about him,
looker Washington and others, who had solved the problems of education
that up to that time had never been met.
"I presume that presidents of colleges realize that their chief function
is begging—just as I have come to realize that the chief function of the
President of the United States is not to preserve and defend the Constitution,
but to increase the box receipts. And when I find a president of a university
around on an errand that has brought President Scarborough here, my heart
goes out to him. I can conceive of no work, at times more discouraging,
than that of opening a man's pocket But to get the money that is
necessary to run a university is really a difficult work, a,nd I look upon a
man of that sort as a man who is bearing a burden for his fellow-men that
ought to call out all the sympathies of all of those who sympathize with the
object that he is seeking to attain and who know the discouragements and
the valley of humiliation that he has to go through in securing sufficient
funds to make the university what it ought to be I sincerely hope that
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if he does not succeed this trip, in the near future, at any rate the man will
be forthcoming that shall bring that gift to Wilberforce ($17,500 necessary
to meet Mr. Carnegie's contribution of half the amount for a girls' dor¬
mitory,) and add to its usefulness both in Ohio and for all the colored race
who enjoy the benefit of its education.''
Senator Dick's Address.
Senator Dick said, in part:
"If there were any question as to the justice of the cause of higher
education of the Negro, a glance into the faces of this audience would dispel
it. Ohio has sought in every instance to aid the spread of education, and it
is as proud of Wilberforce University as it is of any of its other educational
institutions, and of the effort that my friend Doctor Scarborough is making
to broaden the field of usefulness by giving better advantages and greater
opportunities for the hundreds who seek admission.
"We are progressed enough on all lines in the last fifty years in this
country to realize the fact that the educated man is the best man at any task.
It makes no difference whether in the professions or any other calling or
pursuit And if education contributes to the efficiency of whites, it
likewise contributes to the efficiency of blacks, and as long as the conduct
and the productiveness of the individual citizen goes to make up the general
average and thus lift higher and higher the efficiency of a great people, it is
just as important that one should be educated as that the other should be.
"It is a splendid testimonial to the black race that in fifty years of
freedom from slavery in this country the illiteracy of the whole race has
been reduced to fifty per cent. To this progress of the race, Wilberforce has
contributed, and is contributing more than any one can realize. It is the
part of all true Americans to aid men like Doctor Scarborough and Booker
T. Washington, in the fight they are making for their race."
The closing remarks were made by Justice Harlan.
"This gathering to-night," he said in.part, "is a great occasion, and it
is remarkable in the eyes of man as old as I. Little did I think at the be¬
ginning of the Civil War, to look on a gathering like this. The white race
is the dominant race in this government and in the world to-day. But the
Negro is making great strides, and I am unable to say how far he will go.
There was a time in the history of the Anglo-Saxson race when its members
were little above savages. But the race has developed wonderfully.''
.Justice Harlan paid high tribute to Frederick Douglass, who, he de¬
clared, was the finest speaker he had ever heard.
The meeting closed with the singing of '' America'' by the church choir,
and an invocation by Bishop Wesley J. Gaines of the A. M. E. Church.
During the evening, selections were played by the Lyric Orchestra.
WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY
THE OLDEST SCHOOL IN AMERICA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
OF THE NEGRO PEOPLE.
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT W. S. SCARBOROUGH,
AT THE
TAFT MEETING, METROPOLITAN CHURCH,
WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH, 1910.
WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY.
The Oldest School in America for Higher Education of the Negro People
Nearly sixty-six years ago a slightly-built man of color stirred his race
by a series of essays relating to its education. This was Daniel Alexander
Payne, who had been seeking the elevation of his people since a young man
of twenty-eight; self-made and self-instructed, he had opened a school in
1829 among the free Negroes of Charleston, S. C. In this manner Daniel A.
Payne instituted a movement whic-h he never forsook and which led a com¬
mittee to meet in the city of Columbus, Ohio, in 1844 to select a tract of land,
as their report reads, for the purpose of erecting a seminary of learning on
the manual labor plan, for the instruction of the youth among the Negro
people, in the various branches of literature, science agriculture, and
mechanic arts; and also for those young men who may desire to prepare their
minds for the work of the ministry.
The result was the opening of "Union Seminary," in Brown Township,
Franklin County, Ohio, a few miles out from Columbus, and here Wilberforce
University in Embryo began its existence. It was the first organized effort
of colored men for a school for the race, and Wilberforce proudly lays a just
claim to being the oldest Negro school in the United States—a school for
Negroes by Negroes.
Rev. John M. Brown, later Bishop Brown, was the first Principal; Mrs.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, of Philadelphia, well known in temeprance
circles, and distinguished for her poetic talent, assisted him.
In 1856 the same agencies, in connection with the white friends of the
race, united in another effort to look after the welfare of the 30,000 colored
people then in the State of Ohio, and a beautiful summer resort, the old
Indian Springs, "Tawawa Springs" (Sweet Water), was purchased and
named Wilberforce University, after the great English statesman, human¬
itarian, and friend of the race, William Wilberforce.
—17 —
Governor Salmon P. Chase and Doctor Richard Bust (late Secretary of
the Freedmen's Aid Society,) with four men of color, including Daniel A.
Payne (then Bishop), were on its first board of twenty-four trustees. Doctor
Rust became its first President and remained its staunch friend till his death
a few years ago.
The first epoch of the history of Wilberforce University determined its
community character and influence, which to-day is of the best. It was
patronized from the first, 1856-1863, very largely by children of Southern
planters. Entire families were brought there, lands purchased and homes
established. The best element of colored people was attracted to the place.
All this led to the growth of a community of color exceptional in material
possessions, in heredity, and in social standing.
The school flourished until the Civil War, when Southern patronage
ceased, and the decision was made to sell the property.
Then Daniel A. Payne again came to the front. He had been its best
patron; he had educated his step-children there, and had taken an active
part in the actual management.
The State of Ohio desired the property. The race, however, was offered
the school for $10,000 (it had cost over $40,000). Bishop Payne, standing
for his people, had tweny-four hours for decision. He had not a ten-dollar
bill at command, but he had faith in God, and he took the property, pledging
the sum should be raised.
Then came the uniting of the forces—Union Seminary was at once sold
and its life merged into the other school. Henceforth the first stream of
educational influence set going by the race for the race in 1847 was to flow
on in re-organization under the name of "Wilberforce University," and the
two, united in one, were to go on and grow into the institution we have
to-day—an institution of which the race is proud, the State of Ohio is proud,
and all its friends are proud.
Pardon me if I repeat my assertion: "To the Negro himself really be¬
longs the credit of beginning the education of his people; to Ohio belongs
the honor of being the mother of its first school; to Wilberforce belongs the
right to call itself the oldest organized school of the race.''
It started with the idea of "self-effort—self-help," and its arm was
nobly sustained by our white friends. It also began with the adoption of
this broad principle in its charter: "There shall never be any distinction
among the trustees, faculty or students on account of race, color or creed."
For eight years Daniel A. Payne labored to raise $10,000 and sustain the
school. Then the cruel blow fell. The day that the immortal Lincoln was
assassinated, April 14,1865, will always be associated by Wilberforce Uni¬
versity with two great griefs, for that day its main building was laid in
ashes by incendiary hands and the sum of $2,500 was yet lacking on the
payment.
But faith and works were again triumphant, and a $40,000 building be¬
came a reality in Shorter Hall, the first and oldest of six (now eight) of the
large buildings on the grounds to-day, and the first $100 was given by a
colored woman.
Friends from this time rallied to Wilberforce and it continued in growth
and influence—working for the race, educating its youth to make the most
of its opportunities.
Wilberforce University stands to-day for the education of head, heart
and hand. This includes the whole man.
— 18 —
Special stress is laid upon the fact that the future of the Negro race de¬
pends almost entirely upon its trained men and women—men and women of
brain, of culture, and of strong, sturdy character, who are to take the lead in
shaping its destiny. Upon its theologians, its doctors, its lawyers, its men of
letters, upon its business men. More than ever the Negro must now depend
upon himself—he must look to his own leadership for guidance, and God
forbid that this should be other than a wise one—the best that the race
can afford.
Books are to be written, great questions are to be discussed and solved,
investigations are to be made, and it takes trained men to do all this. What
is asked is that the Negro boys and girls be encouraged to make of themselves
all that they can be for good; that they be allowed to climb untrammeled
and unhampered as high as possible, with all the aid, all the support that can
come from the outside, with here and there a word of cheer and an occasional
helping hand, that they may grow up to be wise, intelligent, and useful mem¬
bers of society.
In saying this I do not undervalue industrial training one iota. I be¬
lieve in it. But I agree with Buskin when he says that he who works with
his hands only is a mechanic; he who works with hands and head head is an
artisan, and he who works with hands, head and heart is an artist.
It is the true artist that we seek to make.
Let the cultured brain direct the trained hand and let the heart move all
to higher things and the future will take care of itself. So every one should
center his effort upon that for which he feels best fitted—that to which he
is best adapted.
We are here to make an appeal for aid in this work, to make new friends
for it ,to increase new interest in it. That it deserves the confidence and aid
of thephilanthropic public can be readily shown.
I Point in General to:
Its past history of struggle and achievement
Its present of able work and good equipment.
Its future of splendid possibilities for continued service for the race.
I Point in Detail to the Following Facts:
FIRST:
It is most strategetically situated.
It is practically a Southern school for situation and service; only sixty-
five miles from Cincinnati and the Ohio River.
It is contiguous to a territory of three States, each having a large Negro
population.
It is patronized by all these, as well as far Southern and Southwestern
States.
It presents to its patrons an exceptional race enviroment, where there
are homes built up and owned by the best classes, where high ideals and
practices obtain, where there can be offered necessary social life on the
highest plane, removed from the city, with evil influences reduced to a mini¬
mum; where country air and habits do their healthful work where race fric¬
tion is quite unknown, and where is found on every hand for the young
— 19 —
people of the race the highest possible incentive to right living, right
thinking, industry, sibriety and success in life. It has been a strong educa¬
tional center for the race for over a half century.
SECOND:
We point to our growth and equipment.
Though our existence was threatened in the past by poverty, war and
fire, yet we have passed from a school with fifty-two acres of land, one
building, a few small cottages, a primary department of instruction, two
teachers and a handful of students to three large united schools in operation
to-day, aside from the Military Department. These are the College, the
Theological, and the Normal and Industrial School, instructing in the follow¬
ing courses of study: Classical, Scientific, Academic, Theological, Music,
English Preparatory, Military, Art, Business, Sewing, Carpentry, Printing,
Cooking, Shoemaking, Blacksmithing, Wheelwrighting, Brick-making and
Brick-laying, Plumbing, Tailoring, and Applied Mechanics and Millinery.
It has 350 acres of the best land in Ohio. It has now twelve brick buildings,
including four large halls, a sixty - thousand - dollar Trades Building,
and a Library costing eighteen thousand dollars, the gift of Mr. Andrew
Carnegie. There are six farm-houses and nine frame cottages for teachers
and employes. The value of the entire plant, with equipment, is quite
$430,000.00 There are thirty-two teachers and an average of four hundred
students, and we could have over one thousand if we had accomodations
for them.
THIRD:
We point to the endorsement of our friends—their confidence and help
from the beginning.
Gongress and the Freeman's Bureau have made appropriations for
its aid.
Chief Justice Chase gave $10,000.
The American Unitarian Association aided it annually from 1856 to
1875 to the sum of $6,000.
Honorable Gerritt Smith was a life-long friend and helper.
Major-General O. O. Howard, Major-General Saxton, Chief Justice Sal¬
mon P. Chase, Doctor Bellows, Edward Everett Hale, Frederick Douglass,
John M. Langston, and other men of prominence have served on its Board
of Trustees.
The United States Government under President Cleveland's administra¬
tion, organized at Wilberforce University a Military Department, placing a
Negro West Point graduate, Lieutenant .John H. Alexander, at its head, who
was followed at his death by Lieutenant Charles Young, also a West Point
graduate. Wilberforce University is the only Negro school in America in
which a military department is placed and maintained by the United States
Government. Lieutenant B. O. Davis, of the Tenth Cavalry, was detailed
under President Roosevelt as the Commandant, and under President Taft we
have Lieutenant John E. Green of the 25th Infantry, now serving the school.
In the Spanish-American War, Lieutenant Young went to the front,
taking with him a large contingent of students who fought with honor for
the flag in Cuba and the Philippines.
— 20 —
It has received the highest endorsement of its State (Ohio), being
ranked as one of the four educational institutions receiving benefit of State
aid. This aid was increased from $4,000, granted in 1887, to some $17,000
granted at the present time.
FOURTH:
We point to the work of our graduates.
Over 9,000 students have received training at Wilberforce University.
Over 1,000 have graduated from Literary and Industrial courses.
Six hundred and ninety-eight have graduated from Literary courses.
Of the 698, there are 612 now living.
Of the 612 living Literary graduates, 300 are now teaching and 500 have
taught at some time since graduation.
Over one hundred have finished Business courses.
Over 100 are ministers; some of these are also teaching.
Fifty-two are principals of town and city schools, heads of departments,
or superintendents..
Seven are in Africa, teaching and preaching.
One is in Bermuda.
One woman is Juvenile Court Probation Officer in Pittsburgh.
Three are Dramatic Readers; one, Miss Hallie Q. Brown, has won fame
at home and abroad.
One is Financial Secretary of the A. M. E. Church, Dr. John Hurst, of
Washington, D. C., formerly Secretary of the Haytian Legation.
One is Bishop of the A. M. E. Church, the Rt. Rev. B. F. Lee.
Thirty are book-keepers, stenographers and clerks.
Fourteen are private secretaries, two at Wilberforce, one at Hampton,
one in Washington; others elsewhere in the South.
One Assistant City Engineer at Columbus Ohio.
Twenty are in special business for themselves, as grocers, pharmacists,
coal dealers, contractors, etc.
Two are cashiers of banks.
Several are lawyers.
One is a dentist, having pursude a course while in Government service
in Washington, and now has a good practice in Lexington, Ky. Ther,e is also
another, an undergraduate, in Chicago, who is doing excellent work in the
same line.
Six physicians, located and doing well.
Fifteen undergraduates have finished at Meharry Medical College,
Nkshville, Tenn., as physicians and dentists, and some are at present stu¬
dents there.
Three are pharmacists. (Dr. William Board of Washington, D. C., is
one who owns his drug store and stands high in his profession. )
One is Secretary of Allen Christian Endeavor League (Doctor Julian C.
Caldwell,) Nashville, Tenn.
Several have been presidents of colleges.
One is Superintendent of the State Normal School for Blind in Louis¬
ville, Ky., and one Superintendent of the Normal and Industrial Depart¬
ment at Wilberforce.
— 21 —
Several are Presiding Elders in the A. M. E. Church.
Four are Baptist ministers, and others still are ministers in the Pres¬
byterian Church.
Three are Episcopalian ministers or priests.
One is Chaplain in the United States Army, 24th Infantry (George W.
Prioleau, D. D.)
Another, Chaplain W. T. Anderson, D. D., now retired as Major, is an
undergraduate.
One is mail clerk on the railroad. There have been several in this
service.
One is in Revenue Service (Mr. James Anderson, of New York.)
Twenty are pursuing studies elsewhere.
One is the wife of the former Register of the Treasury, W. T. Vernon,
who was formerly a student here.
Seventeen are on the faculties or are connected with Wilberforce Uni¬
versity in an official capacity.
Fully 300 are engaged in some industrial teaching in the South.
Wilberforce graduates have fought and taught in the Philippines, Cuba,
and Porto Rico.
They are teaching in the schools of Washington, and in Howard Uni¬
versity. Professor W. A. Joiner had charge of its Training School for some
years and is one of our best. He is now Superintendent of the C. N. & I.
Department at Wilberforce. Another, Professor J. C. Wright, is a most
excellent representative of the Wilberforce Alumni. He is an instructor in
the Armstrong Manual Training School, Washington, D. C.
They are teaching Dairying, Mathematics, and English at Tuskegee, also
Sewing.
Sewing, English and Cooking at Kowaliga, Ala.
English, Sewing, Cooking and Matron work at Mt. Meigs.
Sewing at Claflin University.
Normal Training teachers at Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Ga.,
Shorter University, Argenta, Ark., Western University, Quindaro, Kan.,
New Orleons University, La., Kittrell in North Carolina, etc., etc.
There are over twenty working in the State of Texas alone. Principals
of schools in Galveston, Waco, San Antonio, Houston, Palestine and Tyler.
This is by no means a complete list of places where Wilberforce grad¬
uates are at work. They ar found working all over the United States, in
Canada, Porto Rico, Philippines, Bermuda, South America, Hayti, San Dom¬
ingo and Africa. You cannot go amiss of Wilberforce graduates and under¬
graduates, doing excellent service.
Washington City is an excellent example of the Wilberforcians—a club
numbering thirty strong and of which the college is proud. Among the most
successful in business is Mr. J. S. Coage, and there are others of this splendid
group of Wilberforcians.
Our FIFTH reason for appealing for aid from the philanthropic
public is:
Our Needs.
They are the needs of every school doing such work.
We need help for added endowment at least $350,000.
— 22 —
We need funds for scholarships. Annual donations of $50.00 would aid
greatly, worthy students.
We need a Science Hall and a College Chapel.
Hence we make our special plea to the public for substantial aid for
Wilberforce University.
Let us remember that education is the saving power of the nation; that
Negro education is an absolute necessity for the good of all; that to have
good schools we must have leaders of thought, and that no one school,
however great, can accomplish all that is to be done. There must be many
strong centers, and Wilberforce University is one. There should be no
vying, but co-operation of all existing forces to one end—the education of
the Negro, the elevation of the race.
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