The professors of the Radical University: Anson W. Cummings, Part 1

A. W. Cummings
Memoirs

Anson Watson Cummings (b. February 23, 1815; December 7, 1894)

NY.  White.
Education: Wesleyan University (honorary M.A.), Indiana Asbury University (honorary D.D.)
Occupation: merchant, preacher, professor, teacher.

Anson W. Cummings was born in 1815 in Trenton, New York to John Dean and Mary Dorothy Cummings. His mother Mary was an immigrant from Ireland. It is unclear where his father John was from. Census records state that he was born in Canada, but Lamb's Biographical Dictionary states that he was born in Connecticut.

After Anson was born, his family moved to Canada, and he grew up in the town of Brockville in Ontario. Anson's teenage years were marked by hardship as his father died when Anson was only fifteen years old (in 1830). At age 18 (in 1833), he left Canada for school. He attended a school in Boonville (a town in upstate New York) and the Cazenovia Seminary (also located in the upstate, in the town of Cazenovia). The seminary was run by the Methodist Episcopal Church, although it was an academic seminary (similar to a high school) rather than a purely theological seminary.

His attendance at the Cazenovia Seminary was part of a life-long engagement with the Methodist church. He had joined the church at age ten, received an exhorter's license at nineteen (in 1834), and was licensed to preach at age twenty-one (around the time he completed his education at the seminary). However, most of his career was spent working as an educator rather than as a preacher. His first job, which he started in spring 1836, was as the principal of the Collinsville Institute in Lewis County, New York. He left the next year to teach at the Gouvernor Wesleyan Seminary, a seminary run by the ME church. Anson served as the seminary's teacher of mathematics and English.  He remained at the seminary for the next seven years, serving as principal during the last two years. In 1842 (the year he was elected principal), Anson was awarded an honorary A.M. degree from Wesleyan University. 

In 1844, Anson left the seminary and served as a pastor. He was stationed in Fairfield, New York. That year was an important one for the Methodist church. The church had become deeply divided over the issue of slavery. While the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, had strongly opposed the practice, the church compromised on the issue during the early 1800s.  Its' official position was that it opposed slavery, but it also regarded the practice as a political and civil issue that was outside the church's purview. However, church officials continued to debate over what the church's position on slavery should be.

The matter came to a head in 1844 when a bishop in Georgia received a slave through his marriage. The national governing body voted to suspend him until he gave up ownership, but this decision was strongly criticized by Methodists in the south. The next year (in May 1845) southern Methodists split off and formed their own church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Anson commented on the regional split in a biography he wrote about his first wife. He expressed  sympathy for southerners and blamed the division on political developments in the north: "A state of things existed in the North that rendered a longer union of Methodists in the South with the North, dangerous to the prosperity of the Church." Methodists in the north, he felt, had further inflamed things by "violently assailing" efforts to split the church in two. In debates over the matter, he wrote, "Much intemperate zeal was displayed, and much bitterness entered into the discussion."

Later, during Reconstruction, Cummings strongly advocated for the rights of African Americans, but in the biographical account, he displays little interest in the issue. He lumps abolitionism in with a nascent millennial movement (Millerism) and regards both as disrupting proper religious activities: 

Admidst the angry strife the spirit of revival could now dwell. Few revivals occurred in the North. In Fairfield there was no revival: Abolitionism, Millerism, and the division of the Church absorbed the attention of the people. The pastor was branded as pro-slavery because he would not allow the use of his pulpit to abolition fanatics, or permit them, rebuked, to slander his Church in other pulpits of the town.

Cummings' expressed views may reflect his efforts to join the southern church. The biography containing his remarks was published in 1856. That year he had moved to Tennessee left the northern church for the M.E. Church, South. He published the biography with a printer associated with the southern church.

Cummings only spent two years in Fairfield. In 1846, he left for the midwest. One biographical account states he resigned from the pulpit because he was experiencing health problems. 

Anson moved to the town of Lebanon in southern Illinois to teach at McKendree College (now University). The college had been founded and, at the time, was run by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Anson arrived at the college as it was emerging from a crisis. During the previous few years, the college had experienced financial difficulties. Many faculty and students departed, and courses were suspended for a few months in early 1846. The board of trustees hired a new faculty to replace the departed professors. Because of financial constraints, the new faculty were not paid a salary and instead were given a "preacher's allowance" funded by contributions of money and provisions by local church members. After this restructuring, the trustees elected a new president, Erastus Wentworth. Wentworth's family was close to Anson's. Wentworth was married to the older sister of Anson's wife, and the two men had taught together at Gouvernor Seminary.

Anson began teaching at McKendree in fall 1846. He served as professor of mathematics and natural sciences. During Anson's time at McKendree, the college managed to overcome its financial problems and maintained stability. By 1852, a few hundred students were enrolled, although most were preparatory students (as opposed to college students). Alumni that graduated during this time included Silas L. Bryan, the father of William Jennings Bryan.

President Wentworth left McKendree in 1850 to become a professor at Dickinson College. Anson was elected to replace him as president. Anson was a natural choice for the trustees as he had served effectively as a professor and as the college's fiscal agent. That same year Anson was awarded an honorary D.D. degree from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University).

Anson served as president until 1853. His time at McKendree saw a few notable developments. The campus newspaper the "Lebanon Journal" (later called the "Illinois Advocate and Lebanon Journal") was established. Anson served as the newspaper's first editor. The college also made its first steps towards admitting women. At the time, the college was male-only, but in 1852, Anson presented a resolution to admit women at a meeting of Joint Board. However, the motion was laid on the table and then forgotten. Women were only admitted to the college long after Cummings had left, in 1869.

After stepping down from the McKendree presidency, Anson withdrew from connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church. According to an account of a minister who later worked with Anson, he resigned from the ministry after having charges (presumably of misconduct) brought against him. He then moved to St Louis, Missouri and worked as a druggist for a time. While there, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Other sources corroborate that Anson lived in Missouri for a time and that he joined the southern church, but otherwise the minister's account is the sole source of this information.

In autobiographical accounts, Anson does not mention his time in Missouri or discuss his reasons for leaving the church. Instead, he writes that he left Illinois for health reasons. He'd long suffered from asthma, and he hoped a milder climate would alleviate it. Anson first moved to Rogersville, Tennessee to serve as president of the Odd Fellows' Female College. Anson soon became a source of local controversy. Many town residents were Presbyterians, and some objected to having a Methodist like Cummings serve as college president. Following a misunderstanding between Anson and the Presbyterian college steward, acrimonious debate broke out within the local Odd Fellows Lodge that controlled the college. The debate was resolved by Anson's resigning from his presidency. Anson then left the state for Asheville, North Carolina. He moved to North Carolina to serve as president of the Holston Conference Female College.

Anson arrived at the Holston Conference Female College around 1854. The college was originally founded as the Asheville Female Seminary, but during the early 1850s, the college became the property of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. When Anson arrived, the college was experiencing financial problems. The problems stemmed from a scholarship program that had been created. The Conference had created the program to increase enrollment, but the funding for the program was not sufficient to put the college on a stable financial footing. 

As college president, Anson was lauded for improving the college's finances. For example, he organized new classes in music and art that brought in additional tuition money. Student enrollment at the college  reached about two hundred students during his time. 

Anson's work at the college was disrupted by the Civil War. In 1863, the college was suspended, and Anson resigned from his presidency. However, he remained in Asheville for the duration of the war. In addition to working at the college, he performed editorial duties for Asheville News and was active in the church.

Anson supported the Confederacy. After the war, he explained his position by saying that he had opposed the war, but once the war broke out, he wished for a Confederate victory and generally was sympathetic to the South. Anson himself had a personal interest in the outcome of the war as he owned slaves. At the outbreak of the war, his household included two enslaved adult women and five children.

Anson was forty-six years old when the war broke out, so he was too old to serve in the military. Most of his sons were too young, but his oldest son Parish was just old enough at the war's end. Parish served in a cavalry unit for about half a year in 1864.

During the war, church members hotly debated the role that the Methodist Episcopal Church, South should play. Some argued that the church should be apolitical, while others felt religious rights were closely tied to the Confederacy. The Holston Conference was largely dominated by church leaders who felt the church should actively support the Confederacy. Anson was among those supporters.

In 1862, Anson introduced a motion to appoint church members to serve as chaplains in the Confederate army. Later, in 1864, he served on a five-man special committee charged with deciding whether church members accused of being disloyal to the Confederacy should be discharged. For example, the committee considered whether to discharge three church members living in Knoxville who were accused of joining the Methodist Episcopal Church (North) and then attempting to transfer property owned by the Holston Conference. The committee also considered the case of five members accused of taking an oath of loyalty to the United States. One committee member, sympathetic to many of the accused, was critical of Anson for being overly enthusiastic in discharging church members. Anson, he said, "out Heroded Herod in his persecution of the disloyal brethren."

Anson also played a role in less controversial church activities. He was appointed to a six-person commission charged with establishing a Conference journal. Before the war, the Holston Conference had published the Christian Advocate. However, that journal was based in Nashville, and publication was suspended once the city became occupied by federal troops. In its place, the committee established the Holston Journal.

Anson left North Carolina about a year after the war's end. According to one account, he had angered several political powerful individuals within the state over financial matters. For example, both state Governor Zebulon Baird Vance and Asheville Mayor Edward J. Aston became upset because they felt Anson had treated them unfairly in business dealings. Things came to a head when Anson was accused of misconduct while college president. The church tried him on the charge of attempting to "defraud the trustees of Holston Conference Female College by erasing from one of their account books entries of money received by him at sundry times to the amount of several hundred dollars." Anson was found guilty and suspended from the ministry for twelve months.

Despite his evidently controversial departure from North Carolina, Anson remained in good standing with the Asheville community. He visited the town in 1890 (decades after he'd left) to visit some relatives (his son Parish and his brother-in-law J. W. Israel). His visit was approvingly reported in the Asheville Weekly Citizen newspaper. The newspaper described him as "the popular and successful president of Asheville Female College." In contrast, after Reconstruction, Anson was largely regarded with scorn and contempt by White South Carolinians. 

Anson left North Carolina for South Carolina. He settled in the town of Spartanburg in April 1866. There he first worked at the Spartanburg Female College. The college had closed during the Civil War, and it reopened under his presidency. In addition to serving as president, Anson acted as "Teacher of Mathematics and Lecturer of Natural Science, &c." His wife Isabella served as the "Teacher of Rhetoric, Mental and Moral Science." The college offered a college preparatory program and a four-year college course. In addition to Anson and his wife, four other women were also on the faculty. Running the college under the difficulty economic conditions of post-war chaos proved difficult. The college ran into financial difficulties two years after it reopened. The trustees went into bankruptcy, classes were suspended, and the college became private property. 

After the college closed, Anson remained in Spartanburg, farming and working as a merchant. He also worked for the state government in 1868 and 1869. In the first year, he assessed personal property for the county Auditor. The next year he was formally appointed to the position by Governor Scott. He also served as a tax collector under the county Treasurer Peter Quinn Camp.

In general, tax collectors were often a magnet for criticism as many White South Carolinians were outraged at the taxes imposed by the Reconstruction government. Anson was no exception. In July 1869, a grand jury criticized him for his performance as tax collector. The grand jury found that Anson had made substantial errors in his assessments, and those errors were "almost invariably in [his] favor." The jury foreman further criticized Anson for keeping his office open only for limited periods of time.

Another source of controversy was a federally funded project that Anson was also involved with. In 1870, he received a federal contract to build a schoolhouse for "Freedman & Refugees." Shortly after it was built, a representative for the Air-Line Railroad company, the prominent local Democrat Gabriel Cannon, informed school officials that the company wanted to replace the schoolhouse with a railway depot. Cummings proposed to the school's (largely Black) trustees that he serve as the school's agent in negotiations with the railroad company. Cummings hoped to negotiate for funding that would allow the trustees to build a larger school in a different location. 

The ultimate outcome of the dispute between the school trustees and the railway company is unclear as the event is only recorded in correspondence between Cummings and state officials. Cummings wrote that, rather than allowing him to negotiate with the railway company, the trustees entrusted the matter to a Black Zion Methodist preacher. Under the preacher's supervision, legal action was taken, resulting in a jury assessment that the railway company owed the school $499.25 in damages. Cummings felt this was a poor outcome and that the property should have been assessed at $1,000 or more. He blamed the trustees for acting irresponsibly, and he wrote that the preacher they had trusted was "a very bad man." The state attorney general (Daniel Chamberlain) investigated the issue, and agreed that trustees had received poor financial compensation, but he attributed this to the "neglect" or "incompetency" of the trustees and their agent.

Anson's service in the state government is anomalous in light of his prior support for the Confederacy. Governor Scott's administration was generally hostile towards former Confederates. Moreover, during his administration, people who had supported the Confederacy were barred from holding state or federal office. Indeed, under the 14th Amendment (passed in 1868), individuals who had taken an oath of office to support the U.S. Constitution and then violated that oath by supporting secession were disqualified from office. Although Anson does not seem to have held political office before the war, it appears that the political disability applied to him as he appeared on a 1870 list of individuals whose disabilities had been removed (via an act of Congress). In appointing Anson, the governor might have simply disregarded the  disability clause as it often was unenforced.

Anson's government work appears to have marked a change in political affiliation. His gubernatorial appointment suggests that he had become a Republican by 1868. However, he later stated in later testimony to Congress that this was not the case. Anson testified that he largely voted the Democratic ticket in the 1868 election. However, he claimed that he did not consider himself a supporter of either political party. Rather, he had voted for the Democrats because he personally knew the presidential candidate Horatio Seymour from his time in New York state. (Seymour had served in the New York state legislature.) 

Anson may have been downplaying his past involvement with the Democrats. At the same Congressional hearing, local Democratic leader Gabriel Cannon gave a different account of Anson's political activity. He said that Anson not only had been a member of the Democratic party, but he in fact was appointed to give speeches on the party's behalf.

Anson seems to have fully embraced the Republican Party by the early 1870s. He joined the local (pro-Republican) Loyal League around October 1870, although he only remained a member for a few months. By 1872, he was publicly identified as a Radical Republican in newspapers such as the Edgefield Advertiser. 

Anson changed his church affiliations around the time that he changed political parties. In December, 1870, he rejoined the Methodist Episcopal Church (that is, the northern church). He would remain in the church for the rest of his life. 

In the summer of 1871, Anson visited the Claflin University, a newly opened HBCU founded by the Methodist church. He was one of several visitors invited to attend "anniversary exercises" (possibly a ceremony similar to gradation). Anson wrote an account of his visit that published in the Vermont newspaper the Christian Messenger. The newspaper's readership had supported the founding of Claflin, and Anson wrote his letter to inform the readership of the fruits of their support.

Anson's account of Claflin is notable as it contains the earliest extent statement of his views on African Americans:

The examinations [at Claflin] . . . showed faithfulness and skill on the part of the teachers, and on the part of the pupils a much higher degree of mental capacity, than many believed them to possess. The recitations would have been highly creditable to white pupils of the same ages in our best public schools. This is remarkable when it is remembered that but a short time since some of them were mere chattels, and had been bought and sold in the market. . . . Some may look with scorn and contempt upon those engaged in this noble work, but it is to go forward. The colored people, as a people, are anxious for improvement. In the education of their children, they manifest a commendable zeal

In the statement, Anson also criticized white elites in South Carolina. Many of them, he wrote, were opposed to Claflin University and, more generally, to efforts to educate African Americans. He said their opposition was "cruel, impolite, and unchristian." 

The year 1871 was a difficult one for Anson. That year Spartanburg county became a center of Ku Klux violence. Ku Kluxers became active in South Carolina in 1868 (when the state constitution enfranchising freedmen was ratified). Activity dramatically increased in 1871. What exactly occurred isn't entirely clear as the Ku Klux was shrouded in secrecy, but the increase appears to have been a response to the election that had occurred the previous year. Republican governor Robert K. Scott had ran for re-election. Scott was hated by Conservatives, and his activities in the lead-up to the election were a particular source of anger. Scott had organized a largely African American state militia. Not only were White Conservatives upset at the sight of former slaves bearing arms, but they were also concerned that Scott was using the militia to help get re-elected. Militia units held public drills during the election campaign, and these drills were interpreted by many Conservatives as an effort to intimidate voters. 

The election saw Scott re-elected. What followed was some of the worst Ku Klux violence seen during the 19th century. Conservatives later justified the violence as an effort at self-defense against the state militia and, more generally, the lawless manner in which the state government operated.

Ku Klux violence focused in the upstate, especially in the counties of Union, York, and Spartanburg. Anson said that he had long heard reports of the Ku Klux in South Carolina, but he regarded them a "hoax" or "phantom" until around the time of the election, in October or November. By then, Ku Klux violence in the upstate was becoming so prevalent that it was impossible to ignore.

Within Spartanburg county, violence largely occurred in rural areas and targeted prominent African Americans who were active in the Republican party. A typical attack involved a group of disguised men visiting someone's home at night, whipping them, and then threatening worse violence if they remained active in politics. In parts of the county, violence was pervasive. Anson said that, in Limestone township,  "nearly every colored man who has remained there has been whipped unless he was an avowed democrat."

Whites were also attacked, and the violence could escalate to murder. One of the most infamous incidents was a March 1871 attack on John Winsmith. Winsmith was a prominent planter-physician. He was a native South Carolinian and had served the Confederacy, but after the war, he became a Republican. White Conservatives viewed Winsmith with particularly suspicion and scorn because they thought he was helping arm Black militia units. In late March 1871, Winsmith was attacked at his home at night by a group of disguised men. The men fled after Winsmith met them outside and fired on them with his pistol. However, before they left, they shot Winsmith seven times. Winsmith was severely injured, although he survived the attack despite being in his 60s.

The town of Spartanburg itself only saw a few Ku Klux attacks. In testimony to Congress, Anson said he only knew of two incidents: an (unsuccessful) attempt to rescue from jail a White prisoner who had murdered a Black man and a visit to the home of a Black man (Charles Moore) to seize firearms he was storing.

Anson himself felt threatened by Ku Kluxers. The most serious incident occurred in late March. On Tuesday March 14, a friend of Anson's, one "Mr. Flemming" (possibly the merchant Don Fleming), sent a letter advising him that he should avoid being at home on Saturday night. Anson believed Flemming was a member of the Ku Klux, and the warning concerned an upcoming raid. 

Anson left town for North Carolina the day after the letter was sent (on Wednesday), so Flemming was only able to warn him when he returned on Saturday. Upon Anson's return, an "agitated" Flemming met him and showed the letter. Anson's family had already seen the letter and were greatly distressed. 

Anson heeded the warning and left his home that night. However, no visit was made. Anson believed this was because of military intervention. Shortly after the warning letter was sent, U.S. troops (probably about one hundred soldiers, mostly cavalry) arrived in town to protect residents. Anson thought the Ku Kluxers had canceled their plans after learning of the presence of the troops.

In general, while there were no major Ku Klux raids on the town of Spartanburg, Republican residents lived in fear during this time. Anson said he thought everyone felt "entirely insecure almost constantly." Before the arrival of U.S. troops, the young men from Republican families spent much of their time away from home. Either they slept outside to avoid Ku Klux raids, or they helped guard people's homes. Anson was convinced that it was only the arrival of U.S. troops that averted a major Ku Klux attack.

Representative of the atmosphere in town after the arrival of troops is an item that was published in the Spartan newspaper. On April 28, the Spartan published the following under the editorial heading:

A Reverend Gentleman's Evening Prayer

("Suppose to have been uttered on the evening of the arrival of the United States cavalry at this place)

"Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray thee, Grant, my body keep.

Just let thy soldiers round me stand,

And drive away the Ku-Klux band;

That I may have one night of rest,

With consciousness of safety blessed.

And though my conscience sting no more,

And keep me wakeful evermore,

I think I can make out to snore,

A grateful song I will then raise,

Thy soldiers and the grace to praise.

Amen.

It was generally understood that the "Reverend Gentleman" was an oblique reference to Anson. The Sparten was regarded as a Democratic paper, so the item was almost certainly published as a way to mock Anson and his fear of Ku Kluxers.

Anson worked to fight against the Ku Klux in Spartanburg. He and Peter Quinn Camp (the county Treasurer) compiled a list of people who had been subject to Ku Klux attacks. The origin of the list is slightly unclear. P. Q. Camp later recalled that he had been discussing Ku Klux attacks with Anson and some other Spartanburg residents (possibly also Enoch Cannon, the local postmaster ). Over the course of their discussion, they realized it would be helpful to maintain a list of Ku Klux victims, and Anson and Camp agreed that they would begin to do this.

Anson recalled events slightly differently. He recalled that the assistant adjutant general, General Anderson, visited Spartanburg a few months after the election (in November or December) to investigate reports of Ku Klux attacks. He interviewed Anson about the matter and asked for a list of all attacks that Anson knew of. Anson provided a list of forty or fifty cases, and he then began maintaining a list, adding cases as he learned of them. Word evidently spread throughout the county that Anson and Camp were collecting this information as many Ku Klux victims made reports to them. By summer 1871, Anson had compiled a list of over two hundred victims. 

As a way to help combat the Ku Klux, Anson provided his list to politicians. During the winter, he wrote a letter to Spartanburg's congressman, Alexander S. Wallace. Wallace, a White scalawag who played a lead role in trying to get Congress to take action against against Ku Kluxers. Congress ended up passing three bills, the Enforcement Acts, designed to help the federal government fight Ku Kluxers. They also created an investigative committee charged with investigating reports of Ku Klux violence in the south.

The Congressional investigating committee was organized in April 1871. In June and July, it sent a subcommittee to South Carolina to collect testimony. The subcommittee traveled to the Columbia as well as the towns of York and Spartanburg (two major Ku Klux centers). Anson testified before the subcommittee. His testimony focused on the list of Ku Klux victims that he had complied.

Ku Klux violence died down by the end of 1871. The reasons for this remain contested. Historian Eric Foner attributes this to the intervention by the federal government. Using powers granted by the Enforcement Acts, President Grant suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (providing protection against unlawful confinement) in nine upstate counties including Spartanburg on October 17. Federal marshals, working with the U.S. army, then proceeded to arrest hundreds of alleged Ku Kluxers. The most arrests, two hundred and thirty, were made in Spartanburg County. Foner credits this federal intervention with ending Ku Klux violence. 

The historian Richard Zuczek disputes Foner's account. He argues that Ku Klux violence had already subsided before Grant suspended habeas corpus. He attributes the end of violence to White conservatives influential among Ku Kluxers. By summer, Ku Kluxers had achieved many of their political goals, and continued activities threatened to create civil disorder and provoke a stronger federal response. Recognizing this, White conservative leaders directed Ku Kluxers to end their activities. 

In the spring of 1872, Anson traveled around New England and lectured on Ku Kluxism in South Carolina. The lecture tour was held to collect funds to build a Methodist meeting house in Spartanburg. Anson's lectures appear to have been somewhat dramatic. He had acquired a Ku Klux disguise, consisting of a mask and black robes, and a young man wearing the disguise appeared during his lectures. Anson had also acquired a copy of the constitution and by-laws for the Ku Klux, and he read from them during his presentation. His lectures appear to have been popular. For example, when he lectured at the Tremont Temple in Boston, the Boston Post reported that the temple was "well filled and the lecture may be called a success financially."

Anson left Spartanburg in 1872. He moved to Columbia to hold a professorship at the University of South Carolina. 

Publications

1. The Hidden Life Exemplified in the Early Conversion, Pious Life, and Peaceful Death of Mrs. Florilla A. Cummings. E. Stevenson & J.E. Evans, for the Methodist Episcopal church, South: Nashville, Tenn (1856).

2. The Early School of Methodism.  New York: Phillips & Hunt. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe (1886).

3. Cummings, A. W. “Free Schools in South Carolina.” New England Journal of Education 3, no. 25 (1876): 289–289.

Sources

1. 1830; Census Place: Boonville, Oneida, New York; Series: M19; Roll: 99; Page: 305

2. 1840; Census Place: Gouverneur, Saint Lawrence, New York; Roll: 334; Page: 102; Family History Library Film: 0017204

3. 1850; Census Place: Lebanon, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: 126; Page: 505b

4. 1860; Census Place: Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina; Page: 245; Family History Library Film: 803889

4. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules

5. 1870; Census Place: Court House, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1508; Page: 410A

7. 1880; Census Place: Scio, Allegany, New York; Roll: 809; Page: 349D; Enumeration District: 024

8. Centennial History of McKendree College. Lebanon, Illinois, McKendree College. (1928)

9). Fox, Henry J. and William B. Hoyt.  Fox and Hoyt's Quadrennial Register of the Methodist Episcopal Church And Universal Church Gazetteer, 1852-6. Hartford: Case, Tiffany & Co. 1852. p. 208.

10) Price, Richard Nye (1903). Holsten Methodism from Its Origin to the Present Time, Vol. IV: From the year 1844 to the year 1870. Nashville, Tenn., Dallas, Tex.: House of the M.E. Church, South. Smith & Lamar Agents (1906).

11) "Letter from Buncombe." The Spirit of the Age (Raleigh, NC). July 28, 1862. p. 3. 

12) "Spartanburg Female College." Charleston Daily News (Charleston,SC). September 18, 1867. p. 4.

13) "Holston Conference." New Era (Greenville,  TN). September 30, 1865. p. 1.

14) "Spartanburg Female College." The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, SC). March 20, 1866. p. 1.

15) "Editorial Summary." Wilmington Daily Dispatch (Wilmington, NC) April 13, 1866. p. 2.

16) "Female College." The Rutherford Star (Rutherfordton, NC). June 27, 1866. p. 3.

16) "Advertisement: Spartanburg Female College." Charleston Daily News [Charleston, SC]. September 18, 1867. p. 4.

17) "Taxes! Taxes!" Spartan (Spartanburg, SC). June 3, 1869. p. 3.

18) "The Removal of Disabilities." The Charleston Daily News (Charleston, SC). July 13, 1870. p. 1.

19) "South Carolina Conference." Edgefield Advertiser (Edgefield, SC). December 25, 1867. pp. 3–4.

20) "Dr. Cummings' Lectures." The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, SC). March 31, 1872. p. 1.

21) "Claflin University." Vermont Christian Messenger [Montpelier, VT]. August 3, 1871. p. 2.

21) "The South Carolina University." Charleston Daily News (Charleston,SC). June 21, 1871. p. 1.

22) "Professor Cummings." Charleston Daily News (Charleston, SC). July 15, 1872. p. 4.

23) "Petty Spite." Edgefield advertiser [Edgefield,  SC], August 8, 1872, p. 2.

24) "The Methodist Conference." The Charleston daily news [SC], January 2, 1872, p. 1.

25) "Professor Cummings." The Charleston daily news. [SC], July 15, 1872, p. 4.

25) The Asheville Weekly Citizen [Asheville, NC]. March 27,  1890.  p. 1.

26) "Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the year 1871." New York: Carlton & Lanahan. Cincinnati: Hitchcock & Walden. (1871). p. 10.

27) Eelman, B. W. , Entrepreneurs in the Southern Upcountry: Commercial Culture in Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1845-1880, University of Georgia Press, Athens. (2008).

28) Congressional testimony on KKK violence

29) "The South Carolina Ku Klux." Harrisburg Telegraph [Harrisburg, PA]. September 4, 1871. p. 1. 

30) "Lectures." Boston Evening Transcript [Boston, MA]. February 13, 1872. p. 3.

31) "Dr Cummings Lectures." The Daily Phoenix [Columbia, SC]. March 31, 1872. p. 1.

Prof. Rideout goes west

John G. Rideout at Idaho State
The 1950 Wickiup yearbook

On April 29, 1949, the Idaho Falls Post-Register announced that John had been hired as one of the two new faculty members at Idaho State College (now University) in the city of Pocatello. In its announcement, the newspaper remarked that John was a Rhodes scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, but it made no mention of the political controversy that had surrounding him in New Hampshire. 

Idaho State College was a relatively new institution. It had been formed a few years earlier out of a two year branch campus of the University of Idaho. John's activities during this time are not well-documented, so it is not entirely clear what brought him to the college. As an experienced professor with an impressive record, he was certainly an attractive hire for the newly formed college. It is less clear why John would have wanted to move there. He may have accepted the position out of necessity. It appears that he was strongly pressured to resigned from New Hampshire in spring 1949, after his failed campaign as a Progressive Party candidate, and the Idaho job may simply have been the job he was able to secure on short notice. However, there might have been a political connection. The Progressive Party's vice presidential nominee was a resident of Pocatello, Senator Glen H. Taylor. Presumably, there was an active Progressive presence in the city, and John's hire might have been facilitated through political connections.

Upon arriving Idaho, John continued his political activities, although he attracted less public attention. He joined the Idaho Progressive Party, which remained active despite its electoral defeat. His political interests remained focused on international political and anti-militarism. Among other activities, in 1952 he participated in the American Peace Crusade, or APC. The APC was a peace advocacy organization that had been founded in 1951 in response to concerns about the Korean War. The organization called for a withdrawal of American troops from Korea and an end to war in the Far East. In March 1952, the APC organized a rally in DC that drew an estimated 2,500 supporters. 

A number of political leaders condemned the APC as being a Communist front. For example, Secretary of State Dean Acheson called the organization a "far-flung propaganda effort of the International Communist Movement." In 1953, the Justice Department added the organization to its list of subversive organizations. 

In addition to his advocacy for world peace, John was involved with the Idaho Pension Union, serving as the union's state educational director in 1953. As its name suggests, the union had been formed to advocate for people receiving pensions. For example, the union advocated repealing an Idaho lien law which was being used by the state government to collect funds from the property of deceased welfare recipients. 

The union became the subject of controversy after politicians began publicly alleging that the union was Communist dominated. It is unclear what attracted the negative attention. The union's core issues don't seem controversial and were mostly of regional interest. The union may have attracted negative attention by expanding its activities beyond the issue of pensions. For example, in 1952, the union passed a resolution declaring its opposition to the Smith Act (an anti-subversion measure that targeted communists and anarchists) and to "Universal Military Training." By the mid-1950s, the union had attracted so much attention that it joined the APC on the Justice Department's list of subversive organizations. 

John's employment at Idaho State ended as it had ended in New Hampshire. He submitted his resignation in 1953. John never made any public statement about his resignation, and it attracted little public attention, so it isn't entirely clear what happened. Later, in his 1958 annual address, the governor of South Carolina claimed that Idaho State administrators had requested John's resignation because of his political views, activities, and teaching. Certainly, this would not have been unexpected in light of John's political activism and the general political climate at American universities.

John left Idaho for South Carolina to teach at Allen University. His hire was a historic event. Allen, then an eighty-four-year-old institution, had long maintained a proud tradition of maintaining an all-Black faculty. However, following the Brown v. Board of Education court decision, the university president had decided to hire White faculty as a way of preparing Allen students for desegregation. John motivation for accepting the job offer appears to have been simple; according to the governor, he told a colleague, "I am going down there until things cool off." 

John's arrival in Columbia, South Carolina was well-received. On August 22, 1954, The State newspaper announced his hire in an article titled "Allen U Adds 5 to Faculty with Ph.D.'s." He began teaching that fall. 

John G. Rideout at Idaho State
The 1951 Wickiup yearbook

John G. Rideout
The 1952 Wickiup yearbook

The students of the Radical University: George E. Hart

George Elliott Hart (b. abt. 1854)
South Carolina.  Black.
Occupation: laborer
Father's occupation: laborer

George E. Hart was born in South Carolina to Jobe and Elizabeth Hart.  In the 1880 Census, his parents are described illiterate laborers working in Lyons, South Carolina (in Orangeburg County).

George registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on April 1, 1874.  He started in the college preparatory (or sub freshman) class, but the next year he was advanced to the freshman college class and was following the classical studies track.  The university closed before he completed a degree.

After the university closed, George returned to Orangeburg County and worked as a laborer. He was living with his parents in 1880.

George played a significant role in the 1878 election. This election was an important one as it was the first held since the end of Reconstruction. George was appointed as an election supervisor for the polling station at Bookhardt's (also spelled "Bookhart's") in Orangeburg County. In South Carolina, each polling station was assigned two election supervisors, one appointed by Republicans and one appointed by Democrats. George's Democratic counterpart was Thomas Livingstone, a middle-aged White farmer. The two supervisors shared the responsibility of running the election with three managers of elections. The managers at Bookhardt's were all Democrats. To help maintain order, three state constables, aligned with Democrat-controlled state government, were also present.

Election Day passed without incident. However, when the election managers began counting ballots, they noticed several irregularities. Several of the ballots were found with a second ballot folded inside. All such ballots were for the Democratic ticket, which suggests that some Democratic voters had tried to fraudulently cast more than one vote. The election managers destroyed all such double votes. After doing so, the ballot count remained suspicious. Two-hundred and eighty-one ballots remained, but both George and the election mangers had only counted two hundred and sixty two-voters. To rectify the situation, one of the managers drew out ballots and then tore them apart until the ballot count matched the count of voters. This provoked some controversy. The ballot counting was done in public. Several African-American spectators noticed that the election manager was mostly tearing up Republican ballots, and they began grumbling. Despite this, George did not object and certified the resulting vote count. The certified outcome was 173 votes for the Democratic ticket and 127 for the Republican one.

Both at Brookhardt's and in South Carolina in general, Democrats swept the election. However, many Republicans alleged that the victory had been obtained through voter fraud. The election of Brookhardt's congressman fell under particular scrutiny. That year the incumbent, an African-American Republican, had not run for re-election, and the election ended up being a contest between the Democrat Michael P. O'Connor and the Republican Edmund William McGregor Mackey. Both O'Connor and Mackey were White South Carolinians with significant political experience.

O'Connor was certified as the elected congressman. The Secretary of State certified that O'Connor had received 20,568 votes while Mackey had received only 13,182 (and 11 votes were cast for other candidates). Mackey contested the result, and. Congress launched an investigation into his claims. Among other activities, Congress took testimony from many individuals involved in the election. George was among those who testified. 

Ultimately, Congress upheld the reported election outcome, so O'Connor remained in office. He ran for re-election two years later (in 1880) and was again opposed by Mackey. The election was much more chaotic than the one that had been held two years ago. 

As in the previous election, George was the Republican-appointed election supervisor for Bookhardt's precinct. On Election Day, he ran into irregularities almost immediately. He showed up that morning to the regular polling place, but found that nobody else was present. After waiting for some time, he was told that the polling station had been moved to a private residence (that of one Mr. Snyder). 

Upon arriving at the polling station, he found that the three election managers were there, and they had already opened the station to voters. As in the previous election, all the managers were Democrats. A Democratic supervisor should also have been present, but he never showed up.

Law enforcement officers, eight state constables and four U.S. marshals, were also present at the polling station. All marshals were African-American Republicans, and they were more active than the marshals present at the last election, although witnesses disagreed on their exact conduct. One witness, Samuel M. Kemmerlin, said that the marshals were "extremely officious." Kemmerlin, a White farmer and ex-Confederate, had not been an election official, but he had been present at the polling station for most of the day. 

The clerk of the board of election managers, Olin L. Strock, recalled the marshals differently. He said that they were "overbearing" and had "acted in a very ungentlemanly manner." He further said that they had been encouraged in their behavior by a crowd that assembled outside of the polling station.

A crowd of a few hundred (witness estimates vary from two to three hundred to one hundred and fifty) stood around the polling station all day. The crowd consisted almost entirely of African-American Republicans. Many were armed with guns and clubs.

Over the course of the day, the marshals prevented several people from voting. The first person was one Mr. McGrue, a Democrat. When McGrue tried to cast his vote, one of the marshals told him that he could not because he'd been criminally convicted for stealing cotton. McGrue responded by shoving the marshal and was then arrested.

The marshals also tried to prevent a Republican, Arnold Dantzler, from voting. One marshal told him that he could not vote as he'd been convicted of burglary. However, Dantzler produced a pardon signed by the governor and was then allowed to vote.

When it came time to count the votes, several problems arose. George had counted that 262 voters had cast ballots, but the election managers had counted 281. Neither count agreed with the number of ballots. They found 298 ballots in the ballot box, and several of the ballots had additional ballots folded inside. The managers destroyed three folded in Democratic ballots, but they counted two similar Republican ballots they found. The managers then proceeded to destroy additional ballots so that the total number matched the number of voters. They ended up destroying 16 Republican ballots and 1 Democratic ballot. This resulted in an outcome of 212 votes for Mackey and 69 votes for O'Connor.

The managers received a signed letter of protest against counting votes at Bookhardt's. The letter was signed by three White men, almost certainly all Democrats (two had served in the Confederate army). The men submitted their protest because (1) the poll station was moved but no notice of the move given, (2) the polling station hadn't opened on time, and (3) no Democratic supervisor was present. 

While the managers were counting the votes, they were watched by the crowd assembled outside. The crowd was very loud and boisterous with people shouting about how "The [ballot] box is ours" and they were going to win the election.

To complete their work, the managers needed to bring the box containing the ballots to the commissioners of election in the town Orangeburg. The marshals stated that George should bring the ballot box to Orangeburg, but one of the managers stated this should be done an election manager, not a supervisor. The managers deliberated on the matter, and after hearing all the shouting outside, they become concerned that any (Democratic) manager who tried to carry the ballot box outside would be mobbed by the crowd, so they gave it to George. 

George left the polling station accompanied by two of the marshals. Upon seeing George emerge from the station with the ballot box, a number of men triumphantly fired off several volleys from their guns and used "all kind of language which was not becoming in any crowd to use." The crowd then followed George as he carried off the ballot box.

That night George stored the ballot box at his home and went to bed. The next morning he traveled to Orangeburg to present the ballot box to the commissioners of election. However, when he arrived in the town and went to the commissioners' office, they rudely refused to accept the box. George left it with a local White Republican lawyer (Abial Lathrop). The lawyer and other Republicans made additional attempts to submit the ballot box to the commissioners, but the commissioners persisted in their refusal. Ultimately, the commissioners reported that no returns from Bookhardt's and three other precincts.

The Secretary of State certified the statement of votes received from the Orangeburg commissioners. This resulted in O'Connor winning the election with 17,569 votes to Mackey's 12,297 votes. The chief supervisor of election certified a different statement of votes. He included the votes from precincts like Bookhart's. This still resulted in O'Connor's victory, but by a much narrower margin: 18,338 votes against 17,455 for Mackey.

After O'Connor was announced the electoral victor, Mackey contested this outcome through Congress for a second time. George again provided testimony about voting at Brookhart's. O'Connor died before Congress made a decision regarding Mackey's claims, and he was replaced by the Democrat Samuel Dibble in a special election. Near the end of Dibble's term (in May 1882), Congress overturned the reported election and made Mackey the congressman elect. After serving out the term, he was re-elected.

George appears to have remained in Orangeburg County after the 1880 election. In August 1890, he was appointed postmaster for the town of Elloree. Five years later (in April 1895), he ran into problems. He was arrested on charges that he had embezzled money order and postal funds. After a preliminary hearing, he was placed under $1,000 bond, but the ultimate outcome of the legal proceedings is unknown. 

George last appears in the 1910 Census. That year he was living in the town of Eutaw and working as a carpenter. 

Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Lyons, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: 1237; Page: 198A.

2) 1910; Census Place: Eutaw, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1469; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 0129; FHL microfilm: 1375482.

3). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1880. 46th Congress, 2nd session, Mis. Doc. No. 40., Part 1. pp. 343-345.

4). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1880. 46th Congress, 2nd session, Mis. Doc. No. 40., Part 2. pp. 1315-1319. 

5) 3). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1881. 467h Congress, 1st session, Mis. Doc. No. 15. pp. 655-

6) "Still another postmaster." The State [Columbia, SC], April 20, 1895. p. 8.

7) Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Volume #:65. Volume Year Range: 1889-1904.

A New York Jew moves south: Edwin D. Hoffman

Edwin D. Hoffman in 1960
Sunday Gazette-Mail [Charleston,  West Virginia]. October 30, 1960

Edwin D. Hoffman was born in Manhatten on December 3, 1918 to Joseph and Sadie Hoffman. Joseph and Sadie's parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Sadie herself was born in America. At the time of Edwin's birth, the Hoffmans had achieved remarkable financial success. Starting as a clothing cutter, Joseph had worked in the garment industry since he was a teenager. By the 1920s, he was running his own clothing manufacturing business and had moved the family to suburban Long Island. 

Hoffman family residence in the late 1910s
617 West 170 St, Manhatten, New York
From GoogleMaps

Hoffman family residence in 1920
391 Eastwood Road, Hempstead, New York
From GoogleMaps

Edwin spent his childhood on Long Island. While he would later become deeply involved in the struggle to secure civil rights for African Americans, he interacted with few African Americans while growing up. In a later account of his life, he wrote that the only African American he so much as spoke to was the live-in maid employed by his Uncle Harry and Aunt Ethyle. Their maid, Hattie Harrel, was a 20-something year old women who had moved to New York City from Georgia.

Edwin's family life was severely disrupted by the Great Depression. His father lost his business. The family was forced to move out of their home on Long Island and ended up living in an apartment in Washington Heights in Manhattan. Edwin's father found work as a rent collector for a housing project (a job he described as "like trying to get blood out of a turnip"), and his mother took up sewing lace collars to supplement their income. This economic disruption led Edwin to question American capitalism, and by high school, he had become, in his words, a radical youth.

Edwin traces his engagement with political issues involving African Americans to the move out of Long Island. The move put Edwin in closer proximity to African Americans as Washington Heights borders Harlem, then a largely African American neighborhood. He shocked to see how African Americans in the city were largely confined to working menial jobs. He was especially upset when he was riding the trolley one day and saw a large group of African American women standing on the corner of Jerome Avenue (in the Bronx), trying to get work as a domestic day workers. He later described the scene as "a virtual slave market."

Hoffman family residence in 1940
250 Fort Washington Avenue, Manhattan, New York
GoogleMap

Edwin graduated from high school and began attending the City College of New York around 1936. That year he helped organize a campus chapter of the American Students Union or ASU. He remained active in the Union during his time as a student. He served as chapter president, vice president, and secretary from 1938 to 1939. 

The ASU was one of several left-wing organizations organized on campus during this time. In general, City College was a center of student activism. The student population drew heavily from immigrant and working-class families. The students brought to campus the political concerns that impacted their families.

Among the ASU activities Edwin helped organize was a sit-down in front of the college president's office. The sit-down was organized by the Frederick Douglass Society (an African American students' organization) as part of a campaign to compel the administration to make the campus more welcoming to students of color. They achieved success. City College hired its first African American faculty member, Max Yergan. In fall 1937, Yergan taught City College's first course in African American Studies "Negro History and Culture." Edwin was among the students who attended the class.

Because of his family's financial difficulties, Edwin had to work during college to make ends meet. He worked on Wall Street as a "runner" (responsible for carrying securities for a brokerage firm). 

Edwin graduated from City College in 1940. He then continued to work on Wall Street, although he was able to secure employment as a billing clerk. He also continued his education by enrolling in a graduate program at Columbia University's Teachers College. However, before he could complete a graduate degree, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War Two.

Edwin enlisted in the U.S. army on April 1, 1942, about half a year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed on the western front and was in combat service as a Forward Observer in the Field Artillery. He served in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. After the war, he was part of the U.S. occupation and supervised prisoner-of-war camps in Germany and Austria until his discharge on April 6, 1946. By this time, he'd been made an officer and held the rank of first lieutenant. 

After the war, Edwin continued his continued his education at Columbia's Teachers College. He received an M.A. from the college in spring 1947. That year he also began teaching at Long Island University. He would remain at LIU for the next seven years.

While teaching at LIU, Edwin remained in graduate school, working on his Ph.D. He was supervised by Professor Erling Hunt. Although employed in the Teacher College, Professor Hunt was a historian and had received his Ph.D. from Columbia's History Department.

Edwin completed his Ph.D. in 1952. His dissertation, titled "Creators of a democratic heritage: nine dramatic episodes on the building of the American democratic tradition," told stories of Americans who had played a role in "forging a tradition of freedom that can guide and inspire us today." Reflecting Edwin's interest in civil rights, the dissertation included discussions about the experiences of African Americans. Edwin later wrote Professor Hunt encouraged his research on the topic.

Edwin remained engaged in politics while teaching and working on his dissertation. He joined the American Labor Party or ALP in 1945. The ALP was a New York based pro-labor, socialist democratic party. During the late 1930s and the early 1940s, the party's electoral efforts focused on offering support to the mainstream (i.e. Republican or Democratic) candidates that were most supportive of their policies. However, the party also nominated its own candidates when there wasn't a suitable Republicans or Democrats.

Edwin was among those the ALP nominated for political office. In 1948, he ran for Representative of the Fifteenth District in the state General Assembly. He performed poorly on Election Day. He only received 9,160 votes. By comparison, the winner of the election, Republican Samuel Roman, received 34,087 votes. His Democratic challenger, James M. Grundy, received 30,598. In reporting on the election, the New York Times reported that the election generally demonstrated the waning electoral power of the ALP. 

In 1954, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its famous Brown v. Board of Education decision, Edwin became enthusiastic about the prospect of positive political change for African Americans. Wanting to play a greater role, he began making inquiries about teaching at an HBCU in the south. He soon received an invitation to interview for a position at Allen University in Columbia, SC.

Edwin was interviewed by Allen President, Samuel Higgins, and the chairman of the board of trustees, Bishop Frank Madison Reid. They met in Harlem's Teresa Hotel. President Higgins explained Allen University had a proud tradition of maintaining an all-black faculty. However, because of the Brown decision, he wanted to integrate the faculty. Many of Allen's graduates became public school teachers. At the time, those graduates taught at all-black segregated schools. However, in light of the Brown decision, Higgins expected that many would soon be teaching at integrated schools. He thought hiring some white faculty would help them transition to teaching in an integrated environment. 

Bishop Madison added that they only wanted to hire white professors who were supportive of civil rights for African Americans. Most whites in South Carolina were staunch segregationists, and the trustees want to make sure that any white faculty they hired would not give "any aid or comfort to the Dixiecrats." Edwin assured the bishop that he "stood for full equality." 

President Higgins and Bishop Madison were evidently impressed by their interview with Edwin. He and John G. Rideout became Allen's first white faculty that fall.