The students of the Radical University: Fletcher H. Henderson

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (b. February 14, 1857; d. December 1, 1943)
South Carolina.  Born enslaved. Black/mulatto.
Occupation: teacher.
Father's occupation: carpenter, politician.

Fletcher H. Henderson was born in 1857 in South Carolina to James Anderson Henderson and Charlotte Boozer.  His father and mother were both born into slavery.  His mother was born in South Carolina, while his father was born in Virginia but moved South Carolina in the 1850s.

Fletcher's parents had different enslavers, and Fletcher lived with his mother, so he did not know James, his father, until he was a young teenager (after the Civil War).  At that time, he moved in with James and his family (the James had married and had a large number of children).  James was a politician during Reconstruction.  He represented Newberry County at the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868 and served in the state House of Representatives for 1868-70 and 1874-76.  After Reconstruction, he worked as a carpenter.

Fletcher registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on October 5, 1874, entering in the college preparatory (or sub freshman) class.  By 1876, he was enrolled as a college student following the classical studies track, but the university closed before he completed his education.

After the closure of the University of South Carolina, Fletcher moved to Atlanta and enrolled at Atlanta University, completing an A.B. degree in 1879.  At Atlanta University, he studied with other former students from the University of South Carolina (John Lewis Dart, J. J. Durham, Julius James Holland, Edward Johnson Stewart, Thomas Francis Parks Roberts, and Philip G. Drayton).

After graduating, Fletcher taught school for a term at Hollonville in Pike County, Georgia.  In the 1880s, he was recommended by the President of Atlanta University to fill the position of school principal at the Howard Normal School in in Cuthbert, Georgia.  He stayed in Cuthbert and worked at the school until he retired in 1930.

Fletcher was regarded as a highly accomplished educator who built and maintained one of the best African Americans schools during the early 20th century.  His home in Cuthbert is still standing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fletcher's son Fletcher H. Henderson Jr. was a celebrated jazz musician.  The family papers are held at the Amistad Research Center.

Fletcher died on December 1, 1943.  He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Cuthbert, Georgia.

Sources

1). Dews, Margery P. "F. H. Henderson and Howard Normal School." The Georgia Historical Quarterly 63, no. 2 (1979): 252-63.

2). 1870; Census Place: Newberry, Newberry, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1504; Page: 650B

3). 1880; Census Place: District 534, Pike, Georgia; Roll: 161; Page: 42A; Enumeration District: 103

4). 1900; Census Place: Militia District 718, Randolph, Georgia; Page: 12

5). 1910; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: T624_210; Page: 4B

6). 1920; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: T625_275; Page: 15B

7). 1930; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0001

8). 1940; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: m-t0627-00703; Page: 6B

The students of the Radical University: Olin Fisk Cummings

Olin Fisk Cummings (b. October 27, 1856; d. May 29, 1902)
North Carolina.  White.
Occupation: bookkeeper, teacher.  
Father's occupation: merchant, preacher, professor, teacher.

Olin Fisk Cummings was born in North Carolina in 1856 to Isabella and Anson W. Cummings.  His parents were originally from the Northeast but had moved to North Carolina after his father accepted the position of College President at Holston Conference Female College, a woman's college in Asheville that was affiliated with the Methodist Church.  The family's experience in North Carolina was mixed.  In a book on the regional history of Methodism, Anson is said to have been a "notable financier" and a "man of superior intellect, [who] wrote well, and preached with ability."  However, he is also said to have "loved money too well."  In 1866, a church committee found him guilty of financial misconduct.  The family then moved to South Carolina and the father became president of the South Carolina Female College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a position he held from 1866-70.  The next year (from 1870 to 1871) the father worked as a minster. 

The family moved to Columbia in the summer of 1872 when the father took on the position of Professor of Mathematics and Civil and Military Engineering and Construction at the University of South Carolina.  The Board of Trustees appointed him after removing Thomas E. Hart, a professor who had been hired in 1869.

Olin registered as a student at the University of South Carolina shortly after the family moved to Columbia.  He and his brothers Charles and Francis were  among the few students who remained at the university after African American students enrolled in October 1873.  (The other students were Edward and Charles Babbitt.)

Fellow student C. C. Scott described Olin as "of quiet demeanor and gentlemanly deportment, a close student and a good scholar." Olin was one of three students to receive a A.B. degree in 1877.  The June 15 graduation ceremony was the last public exercise before the closure of the university.

In 1877, he applied to be a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  Academy records indicate that he was recommended by his former professor Richard T. Greener and South Carolina Governor Daniel Chamberlain, but he ultimately did not attend.

Around the time he applied to West Point, Olin moved with his family to New York state.  His father purchased the Riverside Seminary in Wellsville, and the seminary began enrolling students in September, 1877.  The seminary offered a curriculum aimed at preparing students for college, the professions, and "the duties of practical life."  The faculty consisting of the Cummings family and one Sue V. Fleming.  Olin taught foreign languges (Latin and Greek), mathematics, and music.

Olin received an A.M. degree from Syracuse University in 1880.  His degree is described as "in cursu to graduates of other colleges."  This probably indicates that the degree was awarded for his studies at the University of South Carolina.  (Common practice at many U.S. universities at the time was to award A.M. degrees to all A.B. graduates a few years after graduating, sometimes after giving a presentation or passing an exam.)

In 1880, Olin was working at his father's seminary and living with his parents.  Later he worked at a tannery and at a Wellsville shop.  During part of the late 1880s, he lived in Brockville, Canada.

Olin had returned to Wellsville by 1892 and was working as a bookkeeper for the Empire Gas & Fuel Co.  He was a well-regarded member of the community.  He was considered as an accomplished pianist and served as organist for the Methodist Episcopal church.   He was also a member of several fraternal orders.  Among other orders, he was an Eminent Commander of the Wellsville Encampment of the Sons of St. John & Malta.

Tragedy struck Olin's family in April 1897 when a kerosene lamp started a fire in his home.  While firefighters were called, the upper level of his home was greatly damaged by fire, and the lower level was damaged by smoke and flooding.

Five years later, in 1902, tragedy struck a second time.  On May 29, Olin died suddenly in his sleep after experiencing breathing difficulties.  The cause of death was given as heart disease, although Olin had no history of heart problems.

Of Olin, one obituary read

He was a young man of quiet disposition, faithful to any and all duties required of him, loved and respected by his many friends....  He was a true christian, a devoted son and father, an upright, honorable man which [sic] character is a rich legacy to leave to his wife and three young boys

He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Wellsville.


Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Scio, Allegany, New York; Roll: 809; Page: 349D; Enumeration District: 024.

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

3). U.S. Military Academy Cadet Application Papers, 1805-1866; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M688, 1 roll); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

4). Buffalo Evening News. May 29, 1902.

5). 1892 New York State Census. New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education. New York State Library, Albany, NY.

6). Price, Richard Nye. Holston Methodism.  From its Origin to the Present Time.  Volume IV: From the year 1844 to the year 1870. United States: Publishing House of the M.E. Church, South, 1913.

7). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. United States: James H. Lamb Company, 1900.

8). 1870; Census Place: Court House, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1508; Page: 410A

9). 1860; Census Place: Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina; Page: 245

10). "Olin F. Cummings."  Allegany County Reporter, May 30, 1902.  p. 8.

11). "Dr. Cummings Heard From."  Allegany County Reporter, July 11, 1889.  p. 16.

12). "Olin F. Cummings."  Wellsville Daily Report, May 28, 1902.  p. 5.

13). "Olin Cumming's House". Allegany County Reporter.  April 2, 1897. p. 8.

14) p. 577-578.

15) History of Allegany County

The students of the Radical University: Joseph O'Hear

Joseph Mouton O'Hear (b. abt 1858, d. October 27, 1883)
South Carolina.  Born free. Mulatto.
Occupation: teacher.
Father's occupation: drayman, cotton sampler.
Mother's occupation: seamstress.

Joseph O'Hear was born in South Carolina around 1858 to Julia and Saint (or Samuel) O'Hear.  His parents were free African Americans living in Charleston.  His mother worked as a seamstress, and his father worked as a drayman and cotton sampler.

Joseph registered at the University of South Carolina in February 1874.  He was a college student following the classical studies track.  The university closed before he completed his degree.  He then returned to Charleston and worked as a teacher.  He died in Charleston in 1883.

Sources
1). 1860; Census Place: Charleston Ward 8, Charleston, South Carolina; Page: 510

2). 1880; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1222; Page: 503A; Enumeration District: 076.

3). Index to Register of Black Deaths film # 2AG. Charleston, SC, USA: 1871-1889. Microfilm, Charleston South Carolina Library

4). 1870; Census Place: Charleston Ward 6, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1487; Page: 541B

The students of the Radical University: C. C. Scott

Cornelius Chapman Scott
From FindAGrave.

Cornelius Chapman Scott (b. September 1855; d. November 17, 1922)
South Carolina. Born free. Mulatto.
Occupation: teacher, preacher
Father's occupation: fan-maker

Cornelius C. Scott was born in 1855 at Fort Johnson, James Island, SC to Christiana and Tobias, free people of color.  His father Tobias worked as a feather fan-maker.  Two fans that Tobias made are in The Charleston Museum's collections.  Both parents had been born into slavery but been freed. Christiana's mother had purchased her freedom, while Tobias bought his own freedom using personal earning from selling fans.

Scott grew up in Charleston.  At age 13, he converted to Methodism and joined the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church (an African American church founded shortly after the Civil War).

Scott was a student at the Avery Normal Institute and graduated in 1870 .  He spent a year at Claflin University and then entered Howard University, attending from 1871-73 and graduating from the College Preparatory Department on June 16, 1873.  When the University of South Carolina began enrolling African Americans students, Scott was visited by South Carolina State Treasurer Francis Cardozo who encouraged him to return to South Carolina, enroll at the university, and bring other students with him.  Cardozo lent him $100 to cover travel expenses, and Scott returned with William M. Dart, John M. Morris, and Paul J. Mishow.

Scott registered as a student at the University of South Carolina in January 1874.  He received a A.B. degree in 1877 and was one of the last students to graduate before the university's closure.  His diploma was signed by the then newly elected Democratic Governor Wade Hampton III.

After graduating, he stayed in South Carolina and worked as a teacher, holding the position of "head teacher" at the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston and as principal at a graded school in Greenville.      He was active in Greenville city politics.   He served as head of the state lodge of the black Independent Order of Good Templars (a fraternal organization) for two years and was active in advocating for laws prohibiting alcohol sales. In 1889, he traveled to London, England as a delegate to the World's Sunday School Convention.  While there, he met with British political leaders involved in the Temperance movement such as John Bright and Helen Bright Clark.

After 10 years of teaching, he entered the Methodist ministry.  He worked throughout the state as a pastor, teacher, and newspaper editor.  He edited and published one newspaper in Sumter, SC and one in Columbia, SC (The Southern Indicator)

Scott received several college degrees, although they appear to have been honorary. In 1891, he received an A.M. degree Ad Eundem from Syracuse University, and he later received a D.D. degree from Wilberforce University.

In 1911, The State newspaper published an article titled "The University of South Carolina: Abandoned by Whites – Negroes in Possession" that was highly critical of the admission of African American students during Reconstruction.  In response, Scott wrote a lengthy Letter to the Editor of The State newspaper defending the conduct of the students and describing their later accomplishments.  Summarizing the experience, Scott wrote:

One of the instructors has written me recently: "It seems now to have been an experiment, which like the whole early business of reconstruction, was founded upon a mistake.  A pyramid set upon its apex will not stand....  We did what we thought to be our duty, and if we had our duty of '74 to do over again, we may not be able to any better."  Any yet I feel that most of the students have by God's help made good, and that the State's money was not spent in vain.

Scott died in Darlington, SC on November 18, 1922, and he is buried in Darlington Memorial Cemetery.

Sources:

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

2). "Alumni Record and General Catalogue of Syracuse University"

3). Biographical sketch published (1919) in History of the American Negro : South Carolina Edition : pp. 729 - 734.



1886=>joined South Carolina Conference at Anderson
1886=>Piedmont Circuit (conference appointment)
1887,1888=>Greenville Circuit
1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893=>Spartanburg+principal of City Graded School
1894, 1895=>Sumter
1896, 1897, 1898=>Yorkville Station, Yorkville Colored Graded School
1899,1900,1901, 1902:Camden Station
1903, 1904, 1905, 1906: Camden Circuit=>Camden Graded School.  First graduating school
1907, 1908, 1909, 1910=>Anderson
Cheraw
Columbia (2 years)
Darlington
Distrinct Superintendent of Bennettsvill>1919

The students of the Radical University: Thaddeus Saltus

Thaddeus Saltus (b. September 2, 1851; d. June 13, 1884)
South Carolina.  Born free.  Mulatto.
Occupation: preacher.
Father's occupation: policeman, door sentinel, fruiter.

Thaddeus Saltus was born in 1851 in South Carolina to Elizabeth and Philip Saltus. The parents were free persons of color living in Charleston. The 1860 U.S. Census lists Philip as owning 4 slaves (a man, a woman, and two girls).

Thaddeus studied at the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston and attended the (College) Preparatory Department at Atlanta University for one year (the 1872-73 academic year).  In Atlanta, he studied alongside fellow future University of South Carolina student Thomas J. Reynolds.

Thaddeus registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on October 18, 1873.  He was a college student following the classical studies track.  The university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, Thaddeus returned to Charleston and worked an Episcopal minister at St. Mark's Church, a church organized in 1865 by free persons of color.  He was ordained as a deacon in 1881 and then as a priest in 1882.  He was the first African American in the state to be ordained in the Episcopal church, and his ordination was reported in newspapers.  At the ceremony, the ordination sermon was given by Thaddeus's former professor Benjamin B. Babbitt (who was also an Episcopal minister).  Babbitt spoke on 2nd Corinthians, iv, 5: "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake."

Thaddeus's time as a minister was cut short because of health problems. He died of tuberculosis on  June 13, 1884.  The African American Charlestonian poetess Mary Weston Fordham's poetry collection Magnolia Leaves includes the following poem written in Thaddeus's memory:

To Rev. Thaddeus Saltus
Sleep, Christian warrior, sleep,
Life's fitful dream is o'er,
Thy pain-tossed bark is anchored
Safe on the golden shore.
'Neath the green sward we lay thee
Thus early to thy rest,
And press the sod thus lightly,
Upon thy gentle breast.

Though but in manhood's prime,
When the dread summons came,
To hush the voice so well attuned
To preaching "In His Name."
Thous did'st not murmur, but with joy
Obeyed the Master's word,
And rapture crowned did'st enter
The palace of thy Lord.

Then sweetly sleep, dear Rector,
Thy grave we'll deck with flowers,
An earnest of that Better Land
Of ever blooming bowers.
Around this spot a halo twines,
While angels vigils keep,
And we rejoice that thus "He give
To His beloved sleep."

Sources:
1). 1860; Census Place: Charleston Ward 8, Charleston, South Carolina; Page: 510

2). 1880; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1222; Page: 503A; Enumeration District: 076.

3). Charleston City Directory, 1890. Charleston, SC: Southern Directory and Publishing Co., 1890

4). Powers, Bernard E. Black Charlestonians: A Social History, 1822-1885.  University of Arkansas Press, 1999.

5). "Ordination of a colored Episcopal deacon".  The Weekly Union Times.  February 11, 1881.  p. 2.

The students of the Radical University: Edward M. Babbitt

Edward Miles Babbitt (b. 1858; d. February 13, 1897)
Rhode Island.  White. 
Occupation: Real estate broker.  
Father's occupation: clergyman, professor.

Edward M. Babbitt was born in 1858 in  Providence, RI to Mary Elizabeth Babbitt and Benjamin Bosworth Babbitt.  His family is described in the blogpost on his brother Charles.  When Edward was two years old (in 1860), the family moved to Andover, MA as his father was appointed to Christ's Church.  The family left New England in 1871 to move to South Carolina.  His father reportedly moved to found a church, but by March, he had been appointed Professor of Natural and Mechanical Philosophy and Astronomy at the University of South Carolina.

In Columbia, Edward and his brother Charles attended the Columbia Male Academy. In Fall, 1872, Edward matriculated at the University of South Carolina. The first African-American student matriculated at USC the next year. Edward was one of the few students to remain at the university after this happened. The other students were Edward's brother Charles and Charles, Francis, and Olin, all children of Professor Cummings. 

Edward did not complete the degree and had returned to Providence, RI by 1880.  There he worked as a real estate  broker.  In Rhode Island, he was active in city and state government.  In January 1884, he was elected to the Providence common council (the city legislative body), but he resigned the position in September 1885.  For the 1884-1885 political year, he also served as a state House Representative from Providence.

Edward died on February 13, 1897 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Sources
1). Browne, William Bradford, The Babbitt family history, 1643-1900.  Taunton, Mass. : C. A. Hack, 1912.

2). Rhode Island Reading Room; accessed March 18, 2020.

3). Providence, Rhode Island, City Directory, 1885, 1886, 1887.

4). Rhode Island State Census, 1885. Microfilm. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts

5). 1860; Census Place: Andover, Essex, Massachusetts; Page: 165; Family History Library Film: 803496

6). Bayles, Richard M.  History of Providence County, Rhode Island.  Vol. 1.  W. W. Preston & Co., New York. (1891). p. 318.

7).  Addeman, Joshua M.  Manual with Rules and Orders for the Use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, 1884-85.  E. L. Freeman & Co., Providence, R.I.  (1884)

8). Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772–1934.  FHL Film Number: 3359.

9) "Columbia Male Academy Reunion Now Proposed." The State, May 2, 1926. p. 15.

The students of the Radical University: I. N. Cardozo

I. N. Cardozo's gravestone
Photo courtesy of author

Isaac Nunez Cardozo (b. August 8, 1856; d. April 3, 1898)
South Carolina.  Born free.  Mulatto.
Occupation: teacher.
Father's occupation: tailor, county auditor, pastor.

I. N. Cardozo (also spelled Cardoza in some sources) was born in 1856 in South Carolina to Henry and Catherine F. Cardozo.  Henry was the son of a member of a wealthy Jewish family and a free women of color.  Henry's brother was Francis L. Cardozo, the Secretary of State of South Carolina and a member of the state university Board of Trustees during Reconstruction.

The father Henry moved the family to Cleveland, Ohio in 1858 to "escape the oppressive laws of South Carolina."  In 1860, he was working as a tailor.  He brought the family back to South Carolina after the end of the Civil War, in 1868.  Henry worked for the state Republican Reconstruction government, serving as an agent of the state land commission, as country auditor (for Kershaw Country from 1868-70), and as state senator (also for Kershaw Country from 1870-74).

The record of Isaac's education is confused.  Oberlin College records state that he attended their college preparatory program alongside Christopher C. McKinney from 1871-73.  However, the records of Wesleyan Academy (in Wilbraham, Massachusetts) list him as attending their academy during the 1872-73 academic year.  That year Cardozo's future UofSC classmate William Shrewsbury was also attending the academy.

On October 5, 1874, Isaac registered as a student at the University of South Carolina.  He did not complete a degree at the university, although it is unclear when he left.  He is listed in the January 1876 university catalogue, but Wesleyan University records indicate that he attended Wesleyan from 1875-77.  Wesleyan records also state that Isaac attended Amherst College at some point, but the present author has been unable to confirm this in Amherst's records.

After Reconstruction, Isaac moved out west. By fall 1879, he was living in Topeka, Kansas and teaching at a public school. Newspapers reported positively on Isaac's employment, describing him as "a young man of good abilities."

Isaac moved further west in 1880. He joined his father in California. Henry had moved to Los Angeles to work at a Methodist mission. The two returned to Ohio the next year (in 1881). They settled in Cincinnati, and Isaac found work as a school teacher.

Isaac and his father returned to South Carolina in 1882. For a period of time, he served as president of the Haven Normal School. By the mid-1880s, Isaac had settled in the town of Orangeburg and become involved with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He began serving as a church pastor in spring 1885. He also continued his college education at Claflin University. In 1886, he was awarded an A.B. degree from the university.

Isaac was hired by Claflin after he completed his degree from the university. He was hired as a professor of historical theology. He later served as Instructor of English Bible Studies and University Chaplin. In summer 1887, Isaac participated in the state Colored Teachers' Institute. That year the institute was held in Orangeburg. Isaac helped organize the institute alongside his former classmates J. E. Wallace and Alonzo G. Townsend. Townsend was also faculty at Claflin at the time. 

Isaac was active in local politics around Orangeburg. In April 1887, he was one of five African Americans that signed a petition presented to city counsel. The petition concerned the need for burial grounds for African Americans, and it was signed by representatives of the major churches (the M.E. Church, the 1st Congressional Church, the AME Church, and the Baptist Church). The petitioners explained that no space was available on the grounds that had traditionally been used for burials. The petitioners had been searching for a suitable new location but were hindered by a lack of funds. They asked city counsel for assistance (presumably by providing financial support). City counsel responded by notifying the petitioners that they would render assistance once the petitioners had designated a suitable location. Two years later (in April 1889), and presumably as an outgrowth of the petition, a "colored cemetery," the Orangeburg Cemetery, was founded. 

Isaac's employment at Claflin came to a controversial end in 1890. On March 2, Isaac got into an argument with another professor, William J. DeTreville, at a faculty meeting. The next day, upon coming across Isaac on campus, DeTreville assaulted him with his cane, leaving Isaac seriously injured. Isaac's account of the incident, which was published in the newspaper, was as follows:

At the faculty meeting on Monday morning Prof. Detreville saw fit to remark that he was opposed to all revivals of religion in the institution. I at once remarked that his statement confirmed that which came to my ears by numberless Christian students and candidates for the ministry. I said that these charges had been coming to me as pastor of the college church for the past three or four years. I might here state that one of the greatest revivals the institute has ever enjoyed had just closed with the happy result of 63 conversations and 109 accessions to the college church. All this spiritual prosperity seemed to gave nettled the Professor very much, and he made efforts from time to time to nullify its effects as much as possible.

On Tuesday morning, as I began to descend the lower steps of the main college building, Prof. Detreville hastened down to me (having, as I afterward learned, been on a fruitless search for me the night before) and without the slightest warning, while still standing on the steps above me, dealt about three very severe blows upon my head with a large, knotted hickory stick. This stick at its large end was fully the size of a policeman's club, and catching hold of the smaller end with both hands he struck with all his force, shattering the bark from the stick in all directions. We fell to the ground together, and then he arose, got hold of the stick and in rapid succession he first felled me half way to the ground, then completely and finally while prostrate, he health about three more murderous blows upon my are skull and quickly hastened off the grounds. 

No account directly from DeTreville is available, but a contemporary account in the The Times and Democrat newspaper provides a sympathetic perspective. The newspaper's account is broadly consistent with Isaac's, but it adds that DeTreville denied that he was opposed to revivals and said that he only objected because they were interfering with scheduled classes. Isaac responded by saying he didn't believe that statement. DeTreville understood this to mean that Isaac was questioning his truthfulness, and he took great offense.

This incident held more than personal significance because it occurred at a time of campus tension. Race relations had been worsening over the course of the 1880s. In particular, White politicians enacted voter suppression measures such as the Eight Box Law which greatly reduced the power of African American voters. These changes had a direct impact on Claflin as the state legislature reduced, and threatened to eliminate, financial support for the university, for example.

While the dispute between Isaac and DeTreville concerned religious activities on campus and not racial matters, it had a major racial undercurrent as DeTreville was a White South Carolinian who had worked for the Confederate government. Newspapers presented the incident as indicative of problems with race relations. For example, Pittsburgh Dispatch opined that the incident showed that "[t]he races do not seem to mix well." The Watchman and Southron, a newspaper in South Carolina, went further and presented the incident as the expected outcome of maintaining a racially mixed faculty:

It is not to be expected that a fusion faculty composed of heterogeneous elements, naturally antagonistic, could get along peaceably. When native white men, calling themselves gentlemen, accept positions where they are brought into daily contact with colored people, on a footing of perfect equality, they must make up their minds to put up with insolence and other unpleasant announces. We have always been opposed to the mixed faculty of Claflin

The White-run Orangeburg newspaper The Times and Democrat described the incident as "simply and purely a personal matter" but also described it in racialized terms. For example, the newspaper dismissed the behavior of Isaac and a supportive colleague, Alonzo G. Townsend, reporting that "[they] are mulattoes and are very bitter and aggressive towards the whites." The newspaper approved of DeTreville's actions, stating that Isaac "got what he deserved."

Claflin president L. M. Dunton, a White man from New York state, was presented with the difficult task of handling the matter. He learned of Isaac's assault shortly after it occurred, and he initially reacted by asking DeTreville not to return to campus for a few days. The morning after the assault, a committee consisting of the Orangeburg's (White) mayor and two (White) state congressmen visited the president and informed him that DeTreville was "willing and intended to" return to teaching. Seemingly as a way of obliquely asking the president to suppress any campus protests that might occur, the mayor further told the president that he had "always boasted of the excellent and uniformly gentlemanly conduct of Claflin's students as a body, but that should they make any demonstrations he would have to consider it a breech of the peace and act accordingly."

The mayor's concerns were not unfounded as Claflin students were greatly upset by Isaac's assault. The Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that the university was "in a state of open rebellion." Accounts of exactly how Claflin students expressed their angry differ in significant ways. The Times and Democrat reported that the students in DeTreville's classes threatened to leave the university if forced to attended courses taught by him. Other South Carolina newspapers like the Pickens Sentinel reported that students reacted more violently. According to the Sentinel, upon learning of the assault, hundreds of Claflin students organized for the purpose of lynching DeTreville. The Sentinel reported that White citizens reacted by organizing a group to oppose the students, and it appeared that a race riot would break out, but before this happened, President Denton restored calm by sending students back to campus and suspending university exercises. The Nashville Banner provided a milder version of the account presented by the Sentinel. The Banner also reported that students organized in protest, but rather than planning to lynch DeTreville, the students simply marched to the train station and demanded that DeTreville leave on the morning train. 

Within a week or two of the incident, Isaac and his colleague (and former UofSC classmate) Alonzo G. Townsend submitted letters of resignation from Claflin. Their resignations were reported by the news, and public attention soon focused on how President Dunton dealt with DeTreville. Dunton made few public statements about the matter, but privately, he told Claflin trustees that he felt DeTreville's behavior constituted "grave misconduct." 

Dunton and the trustees decided that both Isaac and DeTreville needed to resign, but securing DeTreville's resignation proved challenging. DeTreville first agreed to resign, but then withdrew his resignation after reading a news report that students had said they would refuse to attend his classes if he was retained as faculty. 

The trustees responded to DeTreville's decision to withdraw his resignation by addressing the student behavior. On April 16, the university trustees passed a resolution requiring students to return to DeTreville's classes upon threat of expulsion. The resolution did not directly address DeTreville's behavior, but it did refer the matter to a three-person committee charged with recommending a course of action. 

In early May, the three-person committee issued their report. The report did not address the incident between DeTreville and Isaac. Instead, it contained a statement by the Claflin math students stating that they were loyal to university authorities and would continue to attend their classes. However, at the same meeting the trustees accepted Isaac and DeTreville's resignations. (No mention was made of Townsend's resignation, but it appears that it was not accepted, and he continued to work at Claflin.) Their decision was affirmed by the Methodist Episcopal Church later that month when the church issued a public report that called DeTreville's actions a "brutal outrage" and recommended that he be relieved of his professorship or tried in court as a criminal.

The Yorkville Enquirer reported that, after resigning, DeTreville made plans to move to Houston, Texas and work in the cotton business. However, later records state that he moved to North Carolina and then returned to South Carolina, living in Columbia, during the late 1890s.

Isaac remained in Orangeburg and worked as a methodist pastor. In 1896, Claflin's neighbor the Colored State College (now South Carolina State University) opened, and Isaac was hired.  At State College, he worked alongside his former classmates J. C. Whittaker and J. E. Wallace.  Isaac taught mental and moral science as well as pedagogics at State College. In 1897, Isaac and another State College faculty member objected to a proposed university resolution to celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday (a state holiday).

During this time, Isaac continued his involvement with the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was ordained as an elder in 1889.  Isaac died in 1898 in Chester, SC, where he was working as a pastor.  He is buried in Randolph Cemetery in Columbia, SC.

Sources:
1). Alumni Record of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn (1883).

2). Methodist Episcopal Church. Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Volumes 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, G. Lane & C.B. Tippett for the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1773-1940.

3). 1860; Census Place: Cleveland Ward 4, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Page: 434

4). 1870; Census Place: De Kalb, Kershaw, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1499; Page: 174B

5). 1880; Census Place: Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio; Roll: 1027; Page: 505B

6).  Seventy-Fifth Anniversary General Catalogue of Oberlin College, 1833-1908.  Oberlin, Ohio.  1909.

7).  Supplement to the Alumni Record of Wesleyan University, Sixth Edition, December, 1903. Middlesex County Printery.  1903.

8).  Hine, William C. South Carolina State University: A Black Land-Grant College in Jim Crow America. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2018.

9). Catalogue of Claflin College of Agriculture and Mechanics Institue, Orangeburg, S. C: 1889-1890.  Walker, Evans & Cogswell Co., Printers.  Charleston, S. C.  1890.

10). "In Counties Adjoining."  The Yorkville Enquirer, April 9, 1898.  p. 4.

11) "Educational Notes." The Daily Commonwealth [Topeka, Kansas]. November 11, 1879. p. 4. 

12) The Times and Democrat [Orangeburg, SC]. February 2, 1887. p. 8. 

13) "The colored teacher's institute." The Times and Democrat [Orangeburg, SC]. August 31, 1887. p. 8.

14) "An insult and a cane." The Times and Democrat [Orangeburg, SC]. March 5, 1890. p. 8. 

15) The Manning times. [Manning, SC], March 5, 1890, p. 2.

16) "A colored chaplain cowhided." Evening star [Washington DC]. March 5, 1890, p. 7.

17) "A row in a nergo college." The morning news [Savannah, GA], March 5, 1890, P. 1.

17) "A College Row." Nashville Banner [Nashville, TN]. March 5, 1890. p. 4.

18) "Why the professor got mad." Clarksville evening tobacco leaf-chronicle [Clarksville, TN]. March 6, 1890, p. 1.

19) "Why he caned him." The daily state chronicle [Raleigh, NC], March 6, 1890, p. 1.

20) "Cowhided the college chaplain." The news and observe [Raleigh, NC], March 6, 1890, p. 1.

21) "Race war at Claflin University." The Appeal [Saint Paul, MN], March 8, 1890, p. 1.

22) "Two college rows." Pittsburgh Dispatch [Pittsburg, PA]. March 8, 1890. p. 1.

23) "The students are leaving." Pittsburg dispatch [Pittsburg , PA], March 9, 1890, p. 1.

24) "Big college in trouble." Wheeling register [Wheeling, WV], March 10, 1890, p. 1.

25) "The trouble at Claflin." The Times and Democrat [Orangeburg, SC]. March 12, 1890. p. 8. 

26) "A caning at Claflin" The Fairfield news and herald [Fairfield, SC]. March 12, 1890, p. 1.

27) "A row at Claflin." Yorkville enquirer [Yorkville, SC]. March 12, 1890, p. 2.

28) "Trouble at Claflin." The watchman and southron [Sumter, SC], March 12, 1890, p. 2

29) "A caning at Claflin." The Pickens sentinel. [Pickens, SC], March 13, 1890, p. 1.

30) Keowee courier [Pickens, SC], March 13, 1890, p. 3.

31) The watchman and southron. [Sumter, SC], March 19, 1890, p. 2.

32) "The race war." The Butler weekly times [Butler, MO]., March 19, 1890, p. 2.

33) "Multum in parvo." The Appeal [Saint Paul, MN]. March 22, 1890. p. 1. 

34) "A brutal outrage." Pittsburg dispatch [Pittsburg, PA], April 13, 1890, p. 6.

35) "The fight at Claflin." The Newberry herald and news [Newberry, SC]. April 17, 1890, p. 2.

36) Yorkville enquirer [Yorkville, SC], April 23, 1890, p. 2.

37) "The Claflin Rebellion" The Newberry herald and news [Newberry, SC]., April 24, 1890, p. 1.

38) Yorkville enquirer [Yorkville, SC], May 07, 1890, p. 3.

39) Huntsville gazette [Huntsville, AL], May 24, 1890, p. 2.

40) Yorkville enquirer. [Yorkville, SC], June 18, 1890, p. 2.

41) "Professorship in Claflin." The Newberry herald and news [Newberry, SC]., November 20, 1890, p. 2.

42) "Death of Mr. De Treville." The State [Columbia, SC]. September 12, 1897. p. 12.

1885: admitted to triaal

1886: remained on trial . appointed to Oraneburg

1886: admitted to full connection. traveling deacon of the first class. Dad died

1887: Orangeburg

1888: Orangeburg, traveling deacon of the second class

1889: elected and ordained elder, professor at Claflin

1889: Chaplin at Claflin