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From: DC0129s, Munroe, Colin Alexander, 1844-1919 (1872). Letters, 1869, 1917 (Finding Aid)
Transcript
Cornilia Shaw, [1]
Hickory NC [2]
Nov 2nd 1917 [3]
I fear I’m taxing your patience beyond the point of endurance, about your request.
Although I have been retired from the regular work of an Ordained Minister[4]-law consult-by called upon for information on some Matter Pertaining to the house Mission work of the Concord Presbytery[5]. While I was let down and out on May 16th, 1916[6] yet there is not an important House report concerning the House mission work, that I’m not called upon for information counseling the men,the
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churches, ect. But I’ll try now to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
1st I’m sorry indeed that I am not able to supply the missing copies of the Davidson Monthly[7], and I have no idea where to direct you in hope of finding them. 2nd as to the Danville Court[8], it was organized by certain students that expected to study law and the court would give them good practice +C. It was a court which tried certain fresh students that were “Smart Alexs” and needed to be shown how little they really did know. This court did good work for certain of the students.
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The court had a Judge, a solicitor, and other Lawyers[9]. The prisoners were tried by the Solicitor, Judicated rigorously for the stealing of chickens, cropping the tails of the professors cows and horses, and the defending lawyers would contend earnestly that their clients were not guilty of the charges for which they were tried, but they were (illegible) and guilty of many other acts of meanness worse than the offence for which they were judicated. 3rd I must confess (illegible) ignorances to when January was quiet? I’m Always ready and willing to assist you in matters concerning Davidson College.
Colin Munroe [10]
Original
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Annotations
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Davidson College in 1917 was a time where the college was maturing into the changes made during the 19th century. The College was run by a 53 member board of Trustees, and was experiencing rapid growth in the physical sciences due to increased investment after the discovery of the medical X-Ray at Davidson ten years earlier. At this time, there were 394 students attending Davidson College, and they could study the humanities such as Greek and Latin, the physical Sciences such as Physics and Chemistry, or Christian Doctrine. At this time, new classes in Chemistry and Biology were expanding, and students were finding more choices than ever within the Course Catalog (Davidson Bulletin 1917-18).
[1] Cornelia Shaw was Davidson College’s first full time librarian. She worked as the librarian from 1907 until her retirement in 1936. During this time, the library moved out of the Union library and into the Carnegie bu who had previously attended Davidson College and collected a vast amount of information about the College into a history about the College. (DCC)
[2] During this time, Hickory NC was starting to become known as a major manufacturing town, producing products such as Hardwood Furniture and bed frames. Lenoir-Rhyne College had been established in Hickory about twenty years prior to this letter being written. (Catawba County Historical Society)
[3] 1917 was a booming time for Davidson College. It had expanded in all regards, and was holding firm to its religious roots while also moving into the more complex sciences. More students than ever were being admitted into the college, and both facilities and faculty size were expanding in order to meet those needs. (DCC)
[4] Colin Munroe served as an ordained minister in the Concord Presbytery. He became a minister in 1884 and died in 1919. He received his education in religion from Davidson College and went to seminary school at Union Theological in Virginia. Taught religion and French at Davidson College for two years. (DCC)
[5] The Concord Presbytery was the group which bought the land which Davidson was built on, and helped establish the College as an educational institution where christian men could go and receive an education. The Concord Presbytery controlled and ran the College for several years until releasing control outside entities. They ran almost everything until the college took over as the local government in 1839. (DCC)
[6] His mission work included serving as, “Stated Supply” which meant that he unofficially served as a minister for a congregation which did not have one. This position is temporary and only for a previously stated amount of time. In Colin’s case, it was one year in Old Fort NC. (Presbyterian Historical Society)
[7] The Davidson Monthly was a newspaper published in Davidson NC by six students who were members of the college literary societies (Davidson Digital Catalog). During the time Colin Munroe was attending Davidson, the Davidson Monthly was in incredible amounts of debt, and had to temporarily shut down in 1872. The Davidson monthly produced news from around campus, and also published pieces of literature written by Davidson students.
[8] The Danville Court was an organization put together by students who were planning on studying law. At this time, the Danville Court was merely a form of ‘hazing’ new, or fresh, students. If any student on campus were to develop a ‘Big Head’, then they would be summoned before the Danville Court for trial. When the student showed up, the members of the court would be dressed in Wigs and suits, and would assign a hazing ritual based on the ‘crimes’ committed by the student summoned. This organization gave rise, although at this point merely a hazing ritual, eventually gave rise to what is today Davidson’s student-run Honor Council. (Shaw 1907)
[9] The Junior and Senior students would serve as judges and lawyers for the ‘trials’. They would also carry out the sentences. One junior or senior member of the Danville Court would be chosen to represent the student on trial, and be tasked with providing a defense case. (Shaw 1907)
[10] Colin Alexander Munroe (1844-1919) joined Davidson College’s Class of 1872 the fall of 1869. (Alumni Catalog 1837-1924, 96) Munroe performed so well on his entrance examinations, he was admitted to the sophomore class in full academic standing as a first year at the college. (Faculty Minutes) Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Munroe participated in the college’s Philanthropic Literary Society. Like his friend Dugald, Munroe taught for a year after graduation, then spent three years studying at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. Subsequently, he ministered in a number of locations across several states, namely Crystal Springs, Mississippi, Old Fort, North Carolina, and Huntington, West Virginia. These years were the mission work which he conducted, and what he found himself counseling students on within the Concord Presbytery. Along with his seminal studies, Munroe shared an equal interest in law, becoming a law counsultant for students in the Concord area who wished to go into the profession. Ultimately, Munroe died in Davidson, North Carolina in 1919. (Alumni Catalog 1837-1924, 96)
Works cited
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A history of Davidson College, Cornelia Shaw, 1907-1936.
Davidson College Catalog, 1869-187
Davidson Bulletin, 1917-18.
“Historical Hickory.” Catawba County. Catawba County Historical Society, n.d. Web.
The Internet Archive, US Presbytery of Concord minutes, 1862-1864
Transcription and annotation author: Matthew St. Lawrence.
Date: May 2014.
Cite as: St. Lawrence, Matthew, annotator. 2 November 1917 Colin A. Munroe Letter to Cornelia Shaw. DC0129s.
Available: https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/colin-a-munroe-letter-2-nov-1917.
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