The students of the Radical University: Howard Agnew

Howard Agnew
From geni.com.

Howard Agnew (b. March 26, 1860; April 24, 1894)

New York. White.

Occupation: editor.

Father's occupation: physician

Mother's occupation: authoress

Howard Agnew was born in 1860 in Yonkers, New York to Samuel James and Mary (Platt) Agnew. Both parents were from prominent families that are described in more detail in the entry for his brother Holmes.

Howard's maternal grandfather was Zephaniah Platt, a prominent lawyer and politician who had served as Attorney General of Michigan during the 1840s. Zephaniah was active in the anti-slave movement and served as vice president for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Howard and his family moved to South Carolian after the Civil War. Their reasons for leaving are not recorded, but they likely moved to follow Howard's grandfather, Zephaniah. In February 1868, Zephaniah was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the 2nd Circuit Court of South Carolina.

Zephaniah replaced judge A. P. Aldrich. Aldrich was a conservative South Carolinian who had supported the Confederacy and strongly opposed Reconstruction. At the time, South Carolina was under military rule and under the command of General Edward Canby. Canby removed Aldrich after he publicly refused to perform the obligations of his office. Aldrich had directed a court clerk not to swear in juror, likely in protest against a recent act that permitted African-Americans to serve on juries

Following the adoption of a new state constitution, civil government was restored to South Carolina. A newly form state legislature elected Zephaniah to his judgeship in August, and he remained in the position until his death in 1871.

In South Carolina, Zephaniah lived in the town of Aiken. Its unclear where Howard and his family lived. Howard's parents got divorced at some point before 1871. Howard's mother Mary remarried Theodore W. Parmele, a Union veteran who was serving on the federal government's war claims commission. Parmele lived in Columbia, and Howard was living with him (at 45 Senate St.) by the mid-1870s.

In Columbia, Howard enrolled at a student at the University of South Carolina some time after 1874. He was a college student following the classical studies track. His brother Holmes was a preparatory student. The university closed before Howard completed his degree.

Howard's father Samuel J. appears to have had little involvement with his sons after he divorced Mary. By 1880, he had moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Although both his sons remained on the east coast, Samuel would remain in Kansas City until his death in 1899. 

In 1877, after the end of Reconstruction, Howard left the south to attend Harvard University. Intriguingly, he appears not to have talked about his time at the University of South Carolina. Indeed, an obituary in an alumni publication makes no mention of this event and instead makes the (incorrect) statement that Howard's "boyhood was spent in the South, where, unaided, he prepared himself for college."

Howard left Harvard University without receiving a degree. He then moved to New York City and worked in journalism. He was at the New York World, served as literary critic of the New York Graphic, was on the editorial staff of the New York Herald. While working at the Herald, Howard began experiencing health problems, so he left the city for the Adirondack mountains. He settled into the town of Saranac Lake and worked as a hotel proprietor. After living in the Adirondacks for three years, Howard's health improved, and he returned to the city. He began working for the Commercial Advertiser, serving as the newspaper's musical critic. 

Sadly, Howard began to experience further health problems in 1894, and he died on April 24.

Sources

1) "Who is Hon. Zephaniah Platt?" The Charleston daily news. [SC], May 7, 1868, p. 3.

2) "The Death of Judge Platt." The Charleston daily news. [SC], April 22, 1871, p. 3

3) "Supreme Court, Tuesday, May 9" The daily phoenix. [SC], May 10, 1871, p. 1

4) "Death of a Carpet-Bagger." Edgefield advertiser. [SC], April 27, 1871, p. 2.

5) "Zephaniah Platt and Social Equality." The daily phoenix. [SC], August 08, 1868, p. 3.

6) "Zephaniah Platt!" Edgefield advertiser. [SC], September 23, 1868, Image 2

7) "Court Day in Blackville." The Charleston daily news. [SC], September 01, 1869, p. 1.

8) Fifth Report of the Secretary of the Class of 1881 of Harvard College, January, 1892 - August 1898. Boston, Geo. H. Ellis, Printers. 1898. p. 94-95.

9) "Obituary Notes." The Sun [New York]. April 25, 1894. p. 5.

10) "Sojourners in Gotham." The Evening World [New York]. October 2, 1888. p. 2.

11) Kansas City, Missouri, City Directory, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1893, 1889, 1890.