The students of the Radical University: William Boykin

William Ellison Boykin (b. Abt. 1856)
South Carolina.  Born enslaved.  Black/Mulatto.  
Occupation: farmer, storekeeper, teacher
Father's occupation: minister

William Boykin was born in South Carolina to Monroe and Mary Ann Boykin. Before emancipation, the family was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson Withers in Kershaw County, near Camden, South Carolina. Withers was a state court judge and a signer of South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession.

Judge Withers acquired ownership of William's family through his wife Elizabeth T. Boykin. Monroe worked as Judge Withers' man servant and was responsible for driving Withers' horse and buggy when he traveled along his judicial circuit.

The South Carolina politician B. F. Perry said that Withers had a reputation for treating his slaves well. In a biographical account on Withers, he wrote: "his treatment to the slaves...was so kind, indulgent and humane that it displeased some of his neighbors, and demoralized the slaves of other plantations.... His house servants did pretty much as they pleased, and he did not pretend to watch over them." While Perry's statement should be regarded with skepticism, Judge Withers appears to have treated the Boykin family well. Wither died of natural causes near the end of the Civil War (on November 7, 1865). His heirs gave the newly freed Boykin family two tracts of land. Part of the land is now Monroe Boykin Park.

After the Civil War, the father Monroe served as the first pastor of newly formed Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. The church was created by African Americans who wanted their own place of worship. Previously, they had been allowed to be members of the white Baptist church. Monroe would remained at Mt. Moriah's pastor for many years, but he also occasionally preach at other churches in the region.

William grew up in Camden. He was friends with J. C. Whittaker, another student at U of SC who grew up in Camden.William and J. C. may have known each other through family connections. Whittaker was enslaved by James and Mary Boykin Chestnut. Judge Withers and his wife had become Mary's legal guardians after her parents died. 

William first appears in university records in the January 1876 University of South Carolina catalogue.  He described as a freshman from Camden following the modern studies track.  This university closed before he completed his degree.

By 1880, William was living in Marion County and working as a school teacher. However, most of his life was spent in Camden, a city he had moved to by 1900.  There he received government appointments as gauger, postmaster, and storekeeper.  He also worked as a farmer.  Fellow former U of SC student C. C. Scott said that William as a "substantial citizen in Camden."

Sources Cited

1). Caldwell, A. B.  History of the American Negro: South Carolina Edition.  A. B. Caldwell Publishing, Atlanta, GA.  1919.

2). Marszalek, John F.  Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker.  Simon and Schuster, 1994.

3). 1870; Census Place: De Kalb, Kershaw, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1499; Page: 175B.

4). 1880; Census Place: Kirby, Marion, South Carolina; Roll: 1234; Page: 165D.

5). 1910; Census Place: Camden Ward 1, Kershaw, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1463; Page: 7B.

6). "When Negroes Attended the State University", May 8, 1911. State (published as The State).  Page 9.

7. Pegues, A. W. Our Baptist Ministers and Schools.  Willey & Co. Springfield, Mass.  1892. pp. 73–78.

8). Kirkland, Thomas J. and Kennedy, Robert M. Historic Camden, Part Two" Nineteenth Century. The State Company, Columbia, SC. 1926.  pp. 193–194.

9). Perry, B. F. Reminiscences of Public Men. John D. Avil & Co., Philadelphia. 1883. pp. 222–228.