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Davidson College [1]
April 2nd 1876 [2]
My dear Sister,[3] I thought I had answered your last, but looking over my letters, I find one of yours, which has not got “ans.” on it. Therefore I will attempt to answer your questions, if I can not find time for anything else. You first wanted to know when [Commencement] would come off. It will be the last week in June, or 28th & 29nth of said month [4] . I would like very much to see the Cantata [5] , but you see I will be found wanting on that occasion unless I break the bonds which now keep me here. I wish very much that you would come down to commencement & I would try to give you a good time. [page 2] Your next question was would I not excuse the manner in which you wrote your letter. If you will agree, I will exchange all the imperfections that might have occurred in that, for the errors you find in this. You perceive that I am writing this rapidly, for to tell the truth I have as much, if not more to do on Sunday than any other time. All my time before church is occupied preparing my bible for Monday [6] , my S.S. Session for the afternoon, this, my walk to S. School [7] , attending church three times in addition to my meals gives me enough to do. I wish the time was here for me to rest with you all again, I often find my thought wandering to the pleasures of the past, or the anticipated pleasures of the future vacation. [8] [page 3] One change however, I will make, & that is that I do not intend to dance anymore, I had thought much about it before Xmas, but had not fully made up my mind. I see now that though it appears as innocent amusement there is much harm in it, for it carries one’s mind from solemn considerations, to a love of worldly things & then perhaps through my persuasion or instrumentality Miss Gertie S[illegible]& cousin Rosa commenced to dance. If this is the case I regret it very much & have arrived at the conclusion that the last dance for me has been danced, & though I will say nothing against it, I wish you would let it be understood that I will not take part in the dancing portion of parties [page 4] from this time forth I hope you will not think this conclusion is arrived at, because of the preaching [9] we have been having here, for I have been thinking of it for months, & now I see how these worldly pleasures, though apparently innocent, come between the sinner & his God, and keep him away until as he says he has enjoyed some of the pleasures of youth. But the truth is, after he has resisted the Spirit, he seems to take more pleasure in these things, & is lost to the world, lost to relatives & friends, & lost to his God. I must close. Write soon. Your affec. bro, H.E. Fries [10]
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Annotations
[1] Davidson College in the 1875-1876 academic year had 88 students (Davidson College Catalog 1875-1876: 14) (hereafter DCC) and 7 faculty (8). It was located on the “Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad” approximately halfway between Charlotte and Statesville, North Carolina. The area was praised in the College Catalogue for being healthy and free from temptations to “vicious and extravagant habits” (16). The college offered a “Classical Course” (4-year) a “Scientific Course” (3-year) and an “Eclectic Course” (variable—for students wishing to get instruction in specific areas) (17, 18, 23). The tuition was $105 a year. Overall expenses (excluding clothing, traveling-expenses and pocket money) were estimated to be between $200 and $250 a year. (37). Terms of admission to the college included proof of good moral character, “honorable dismission” from the last school attended, and examination in English, Latin, Greek, and Mathematics (16).
[2] On this date, Fries would have been midway into his second semester at Davidson as a sophomore (Davidson College Catalog 1875-1876:34).
[3] Mary, Caroline, Emma & Louisa (not pictured) Fries, sisters of Henry Fries, were born on August 31, 1844, October 8, 1839, June 25, 1852 & December 8, 1859 respectively. Born in Salem to Lisetta and Francis, they were four of seven children in the Fries household. All went on to marry and carry different surnames; Patterson, Shaffner, Bahnson and Moore. It is unclear to which sister this letter is dedicated however.
[4] Commencement as defined by the Davidson Faculty will fall on the last Thursday of June (Jun. 29th) of the 39th collegiate year. (DCC 34)
[5] It is possible that one of his sisters were performing a secular cantata. There are some references to secular cantatas being performed in NC around the 1870’s. Since the sisters lived in Winston-Salem, it is very possible that the Cantata was being performed in relationship to a Moravian ensemble, the Collegium Musicum Salem being a possibility. (The Collegium, Vest)
[6] The professors and students meet, once a day, in the Chapel, for worship conducted by the President. April 2nd was a Sunday he would have been studying for his recitation for Monday (DCC 35).
[7] The professors and students also meet in the Chapel every Sunday morning for a service of song, prayer, and Bible study. The classes are conducted as practical and devotional classes, just as in a well-ordered Sunday-school, and as far as consistent on the voluntary principle. While attendance is required, the work done is no part of the course of weekly study. (DCC 35).
[8] There would have been only two pauses in class; winter break Dec. 22 – Jan. 3 and summer break Jun.29 – Sept. 28. (DCC 34).
[9] The Presbyterian Church had a neat and commodious house of worship, under the care of a regular pastor, with the usual Sabbath and weekly ministrations. The students were required to attend every Sabbath morning, while in fact a very large proportion of them attend in the evening as well. (DCC 35).
[10] Henry Elias Fries was born September 22, 1857 in Salem, North Carolina (“Henry E. Fries”). He was a student of Davidson College from 1874-1876. Unfortunately, he left Davidson one year early because of failing eyesight (“Fries Auditorium”). He instead moved back home to take charge of East Salem Sunday School, which eventually changed its name to Fries Memorial Moravian Church. His future wife, Rosa Mickey, led the worship music and taught Sunday school (“Fries Memorial”). At the same time, he was also manager of Wachovia Mills, a subsidiary of his father’s company. Fries additionally revolutionized the generation of hydroelectricity, founding the Fries Manufacturing and Power Company and operating an electric streetcar system (“Fries Auditorium”). In later years, Fries acted as president of the Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad (Powell). From 1889-1892, he served as the mayor of Winston-Salem and made many improvements to the city during his time as mayor (“Town of Salem Mayors”). He died March 3, 1949 of a heart attack, survived by his daughter Anna Fries (“Henry E. Fries”). For a short biography on Fries, visit http://www.wssu.edu/cg-okelly-library/services/archives/core/buildings/fries-auditorium.aspx.
Works Cited
Caroline Louise Shaffner (Fries) (1839 – 1922) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Caroline-Shaffner/6000000004990910160>.
City of Winston-Salem, NC :: Salem Mayors Biographies. City of Winston-Salem, NC :: Home Page . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.cityofws.org/Home/DiscoverWinston-Salem/History/Articles/SalemMayorsBiographies>. ”
Davidson College Catalog [1875-1876] :: North Carolina College and University Yearbooks.” DigitalNC | North Carolina’s Digital Heritage. Version 1875-1876. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://library.digitalnc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/yearbooks/id/4473>.
Emma Christina Bahnson (Fries) (1852 – 1945) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Emma-Bahnson/6000000004990928961>.
Francis Henry Fries, 1 Feb. 1855-5 June 1931 . Documenting the American South homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/browse/bios/pn0000547_bio.html>.
Francis Henry Fries, Col (1855 – 1931) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Francis-Fries/6000000004990811457>.
Francis Levin Fries (1812 – 1863) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Francis-Fries/6000000004990864144>.
Fries Auditorium. WSSU. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <www.wssu.edu/cg-okelly-library/archives/buildings/fries-auditorium.aspx>.
History. Historic Downtown Statesville. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.downtownstatesvillenc.org/history>.
Lisetta Maria Vogler (1820 – 1903) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Lisetta-Vogler/6000000004990807170>.
Louisa Sarah Moore (Fries) (1859 – 1946) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Louisa-Moore/6000000004990817263>.
Mary Elizabeth Patterson (Fries) (1844 – 1927) – Genealogy. Family Tree & Family History at Geni.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Patterson/6000000004990833333>.
The Collegium musicum Salem: its music, musicians and importance. Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://archive.org/stream/collegiummusicum00mcco#page/n1/mode/2up>.Unknown.
Three Fries Sisters. N.d. Old Salem Museums and Gardens, Salem, NC. http://www.digitalforsyth.org. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
Vest, Matthew. Email to Joscan Matos February 25,2013.
Transcription and annotation author: Joscar Matos.
Date: March 2013
Cite as: Matos, Joscar, annotator. 2 April 1876 Henry Fries Letter. DC0029s. <https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/henry-e-fries-letter-2-april-1876>.
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