The students of the Radical University: Seymour E. Smith

Seymore Elijah Smith (b. November 25, 1854, d. October 10, 1919)
South Carolina. Black.
Occupation: deputy collector of port, lawyer, farm laborer, railway postal clerk, teacher.

Father's occupation: Farmer

Seymore (alternatively spelled as Seymour) E. Smith was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina to Henry Smith and Mariah A. Smith.  By 1870, the family was living in Aiken County (a county formed from parts of Edgefield and other counties) and were working as farmers.  

Seymore registered as a student at the University of South Carolina at some point between February 1874 and January 1876.  He was a college student following the modern studies track.  The university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, Seymore returned to Aiken.  By 1880, he was working as a teacher.  However, he began to study law and was admired to the South Carolina bar in 1888.  In Aiken, he was involved in seven criminal cases between 1888 and 1904.

Seymore became involved in a discrimination suit in the 1890s.  On September 13, 1890, Seymore's wife Rebecca was in Graniteville (a small town in Aiken County) and tried to take a train to the town of Aiken.  When she tried to purchase a ticket, the ticket agent refused and ordered her to purchase the ticket in a different room.  After Rebecca refused to leave, the agent forcibly removed her.

The complaint that was filed alleged that Rebecca had been in the room reserved for female passengers and was asked to move to the room for male passengers.  However, at trial, the agent testified that the rooms were for white and black passengers respectively.

In an unusual coincidence, the defendant in the suit was former South Carolina Governor Daniel H. Chamberlain. Chamberlain had been the Governor of South Carolina when Seymore was a student. By 1889, he had left government and become receiver of the railroad company, after the company had experienced a long period of financial difficulty.  

Rebecca's complaint played out in the legal system over the course of three years.   A trial was first held in the Aiken county common pleas circuit court.  The jury found for the railroad company. Seymour and Rebecca filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, but the court upheld the decision.

Seymore was also active in Republication politics. He twice ran, in 1888 and in 1890, for U.S. House Representative for the 2nd district, the district that included Aiken County. Both times he ran against the Democratic incumbent George D. Tillman, the brother of well-known South Carolina politician Ben Tillman. Both times Seymore lost the election by a significant margin, by 1,405 votes to 10,704 in 1888 and by 1,671 votes to 9,956 in 1890.  The next election Tillman ran unopposed.

Seymore also provided legal aid to candidates for congress. The first Republican to run for the 2st district after Seymore's defeat was Benjamin P. Chatfield, a white Republican from Connecticut. Chatfield ran in 1896 and in 1898, both times against the Democratic incumbent W. Jasper Talbert. Chatfield lost the elections by even larger margins than Seymore had (635 votes against 7,999 for Talbert in 1898). 

Chatfield was running for office during an especially difficult time for Republican candidates. The state constitution had been revised in 1895, largely for the purpose of disenfranchising African American voters. After his second electoral loss, Chatfield tried to contest the election results. He argued that voting laws created by the new constitution violated the Fourteenth amendment. In contesting the election, Chatfield was aided helped by a group of lawyers that included Seymore. They were unsuccessful, and Talbert remained in office until 1903.

While working in law, Seymour also held a series of federal appointments. During the 1880s and early 1890s, he worked for the railway mail service.  

Around 1899, he moved to Charleston to work as a deputy collector at the Port of Charleston.  The deputy collectors worked under the Collector of the Port. When Seymour started his position, the position of Collector was held by John R. Tolbert, a white Republican and native South Carolinian.

Tolbert was a controversial figure within the state. The year before Seymour began working at the port (in 1898), Tolbert and several other family members were wounded at an Election Day riot in Phoenix, South Carolina (near Greenwood).  

Tolbert's management of the Charleston custom house came under scrutiny in 1900. That year U.S. treasury agents and state dispensary constables found a large amount of contraband alcohol stored in the custom house. This was a violation of customs regulations and state dispensary law. The discovery put Tolbert's appointment in jeopardy, and Seymour traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate that Tolbert and a deputy collector be allowed to retain their positions. However, Seymour was unsuccessful, and Tolbert was dismissed. Seymour was allowed to keep his position.

Tolbert was replaced by Robert M. Wallace. Like Tolbert, Wallace was a white Republican who had been raised in South Carolina, but he was held in higher regard by state Democrats. Wallace only held the position for a short time as he was replaced by Seymour's former classmate William D. Crum in late 1902. Crum's appointment is described in greater detail in his blogpost.

Seymore died in Charleston on October 10, 1919.  The cause of death was given as arteriosclerosis and cerebral hemorrhage. He is buried in Pine Lawn Cemetery in Edgefield.

Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Gregg, Aiken, South Carolina; Roll: 1218; Page: 47D

2). Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Volume 2.  1895.

2). Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Volume 1.  1905.

3). Charleston, South Carolina, City Directory, 1919

4). Burke, W. L.  All for Civil Rights : African American Lawyers in South Carolina, 1868-1968, University of Georgia Press, Athens. 2017

5). "Political Notes and Gossip."  Yorkville enquirer, February 6, 1889, p. 2.

6). "Our Washington Letter."  Edgefield advertiser, February 9, 1898, p. 2.

7). "Wrangling Office Hunters."  The watchman and southron, March 2, 1898, p. 3

8). "Republican State Convention"  The watchman and southron, March 28, 1900, p. 8

9). "Will try his old pull"  The Manning times, April 18, 1900, p. 4.

9). "Seymour Smith Goes to Try His Old Pull. Negro Republican Will Endeavor to Save Collector." The State, April 12, 1900

10). 1900; Census Place: Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0022

11). 1870; Census Place: Spring Grove, Edgefield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1495; Page: 475A

12). "The news in brief"  The advocate, March 23, 1911, p. 5.

13).  a ghastly assemblage sept 30, 1892

13)  "The final figures"  The Abbeville press and banner, December 2, 1896, p. 11.

14). The Southeaster Reporter. Vol.17.  St Paul, West Publishing Co. (1893).  pp . 371-377.

15). 1900; Census Place: Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1241515

16).  "John R. Tolbert and Contraband Whiskey."  The watchman and southron, April 11, 1900, p. 2.

17).  "John R. Tolbert Dismissed."  Keowee courier, April 26, 1900, p. 1.

The Professors of the Radical University: John Lynch

John Lynch
From findagrave

John Hugh Lynch (b. January 8, 1818; d. October 20, 1881) 

South Carolina.  White. 

Education: Medical College of South Carolina (M.D.)

Occupation: physician, teacher.

John Lynch was born in 1818 aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  His parents Conlaw Peter and Eleanor MacMahon Nelson Lynch were immigrating to America from Ireland.  They lived in Georgetown, South Carolina for a brief time. However, they soon moved to Cheraw and remained there for most of their lives.

John's father Conlaw worked as a carpenter and millwright. Conlaw and his family were Catholic, unusual in largely Protestant South Carolina.  The Lynches saw great success in America.  John and his siblings were among the most prominent Catholics in the state.  John's brother Patrick served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston.  His sister Sister Baptista (née Ellen) was the Mother Superior of the Ursuline Convent and Academy in Columbia.

John became a well-known physician.  He attended Cheraw Academy and then studied under a local physician, Dr. Hopton.  He continued his education at the Medical College of South Carolina (now Medical University) in Charleston.  He graduated from the college in March 1840.

After completing his medical training, he moved to Stanley County, North Carolina and worked as a physician.  He stayed there for two years and then returned to Cheraw. 

John lived in Cheraw for the next 14 years.  In Cheraw, he continued to work as a physician.  Maintaining his medical practice was a struggle.  A major difficulty for John was his religion. Many residents were Protestant and were uncomfortable being treated by a physician who did not share their faith.  

John's professional difficulties were compounded by some unsuccessful attempts to speculate in real estate. Ultimately, he found himself in significant financial debt.  In 1849, John considered moving to Charleston as the city's larger Catholic population would provide greater professional opportunities.  However, he ended up staying in Cheraw until 1856 when he moved to Columbia.

In Columbia, John continued to work as a physician. He remained in the city after the Civil War broke out in 1861.  John had a considerable stake in the outcome of the war as he was slave-owner.  John had owned slaves since at least 1850, and by the time war broke out, he enslaved 28 people. Although he later taught at a racially integrated USC, John evidently felt no qualms with the practice of slavery during the antebellum. He casually discussed the subject with his brother Patrick in correspondence. When he first moved to Columbia, he sold a young enslaved women to make payment on his first home, and he reported this to his brother without expressing any concern for the woman.

John's brother Patrick was active in the Confederate government.  In 1864, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Patrick as the delegate to the Holy See.  In that capacity, Patrick traveled to Rome and tried to get the Pope to recognize the Confederacy although without success.

John himself played only a minor role in the Confederacy.  He did not serve in the military and only joined the government during the last year of the year.  That year South Carolina Governor Andrew Magrath appointed him state surgeon general.

In February 1865, the war came to John and his family.  On February 17 of that year, the city of Columbia was surrendered to Union forces led by General William T. Sherman.  Around the time Sherman entered the city, Sister Baptista sent the general a letter asking him to protect her convent from the Union troops.  She appealed to him on both religious and personal grounds. Year earlier, she explained, she had taught Sherman's daughter Maria while working in Ohio.  Sherman responded by sending her a letter saying that the convent was safe as he had no plans to destroy private property.

Despite Sherman's assurance, much of the city – including the convent – was destroyed that night.  The circumstances remain contested.  Fire broke out, but sources disagree as how the fires were started.  John's daughter Ellen provided testimony to Congress in 1928 about the events of the 17th.  She recalled that, during the day, one of Sherman's officers told her father that the city of Columbia was doomed.  After nightfall, she observed Union soldiers with torches, setting buildings on fire. She was certain that those soldiers were responsible for the destruction of the convent.

Although near the convent, John's own home was not destroyed.  However, John and his family were concerned the fires would spread to their house and fled.  The family, along with the nuns and students of the convent, spent the night at the nearby St Peter's Catholic church.

The morning after the convent was destroyed, General Sherman rode past St. Peter's Church and was met by Sister Baptista.  Sherman expressed his regret at the destruction of the convent and granted the Sister use of a mansion, the Hampton-Preston House. 

Despite the destruction his soldiers caused, Sister Baptista praised Sherman later in life.  For example, in an 1872 personal letter, she described Sherman as “a splendid General and . . . a magnanimous enemy who cheerfully and promptly raises a fallen foe."  

John remained in Columbia after the war.  He continued to work as a physician.  He also played a minor role in local government. In March 1868, he was part of a delegation that represented his district at the Democratic State Convention.  He was also nominated as a Democratic candidate for city alderman, but he declined to run for the position.

John began working at the University of South Carolina in 1869.  In September of that year, he was offered the position of Demonstrator of Anatomy.  He declined the position, but the next month he was offered the position of Professor of Physiology and Material Medicia.  He accepted the professorship.

John's professorship was in the medical school.  The medical school was relatively new, having been created around 1867.   At the time of John's hire, five professors taught in the school, although three of them, Maximilian LaBorde, John LeConte, and his brother Joseph, also taught in the academic school (similar to a College of Arts and Sciences).  John took over the duties of the two professors who had joint duties: John LeConte and Maximilian LaBorde. He took over the physiology courses from Professor LeConte and the material medicia courses from Professor LaBorde. Around the time John was hired, LeConte left the university for California.  LaBorde remained at the university and taught English until his death in 1873.

In addition to his teaching and medical work, John seems to have been actively engaged with scientific research.  In 1871, the science magazine Scientific American published a letter by him on steam boiler explosions.  In the letter, he argued that boiler explosions were widely believed to be caused by mechanical failure, but they are, in fact, often caused by chemical reactions.  

Shortly after John began teaching, the university underwent a major transition.  During the early 1870s, the Republican-controlled Board of Trustees came into conflict with the largely Democratic faculty.  The outcome of this conflict was that faculty began to be replaced by people more sympathetic to Reconstruction.  

The turning point came on October 7, 1873.  On that day, the first African American, the politician Henry E. Hayne, enrolled at the university's medical school.  This was a major controversy that resulted in the departure of several professors.  The departures left John as the only member of the 1869 faculty who remained employed at the university.

John's employment is anomalous.  He was alone among the faculty in being well-regarded by White Democrats.  For example, in his history of Reconstruction in South Carolina, John S. Reynolds largely regards the Reconstruction professors with contempt.  However, he writes that John was a "gentleman enjoying the respect of the people and a physician in good standing."

The disruption surrounding the admission of African American students had major negative consequences for the medical school.  John was the sole professor employed in the school until the university's closure in 1877.  He struggled to attract and retain students.  An October 1874 report only listed four students attending the medical school, and none of them received their degree.

Around 1877, the year University of South Carolina closed, John began working for the state government. He served as physician for the state penitentiary.  At the time, the superintendent of the penitentiary was T. W. Parmele, the father of UofSC student Charles R. Parmele.  

In December 1877, John was also appointed as state Surgeon General by the newly elected Governor Wade Hampton.  He retained this position until his death in 1881. John died of Bright's disease on October 20. He'd long been sick from the disease, but his symptoms worsened in October, and he was bed-ridden the week before this death.

John Lynch is buried at the cemetery of St. Peter's Church in Columbia.

Grave of John Lynch
Photo courtesy of author

Sources

1).  Atkinson, William B.  The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States. Charles Robson, Philadelphia (1878) p. 578.

2). 1850; Census Place: Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: 851; Page: 101b

3). 1860; Census Place: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina; Page: 19

4). 1870; Census Place: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1507; Page: 128B;

5). 1880; Census Place: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina; Roll: 1238; Page: 287D

6). Curran, Robert Emmett. The Church and Confederacy: The Lynches of South Carolina.  University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC (2019).

7). Reynolds, John S. Reconstruction in South Carolina, 1865-1877.  State Company, Columbia SC (1905).

8).  Heisser, David C. R. and White, Stephen J., Sr.  Patrick N. Lynch, 1817-1882: Third Catholic Bishop of Charleston.  The University of South Carolina Press (2015).

9). "Delegates  to the State Convention." The Daily Phoenix, March 31, 1868, p. 2.

10). "Mr. Editor."  The Daily Phoenix, May 23, 1868, p. 3.

10) "Military Notes." The news and herald [Winnsboro, SC]., December 11, 1877, p. 1.

10) The watchman and southron. [Sumter, SC], October 25, 1881, p. 3.

11). Lynch, John. "Boiler Explosions." Scientific American 25, no. 13 (1871): 196. 

12). Senate Documents, 71st Congress, 2d Session: Miscellaneous, Vol.2.  Government Printing Office. Washington 1930).  p. 8994.

13). Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina at the Regular Session of 1878.  Calvo & Patton, State Printers.  Columbia, SC (1878).  pp. 521-522.

The students of the Radical University: Michael J. O'Dowd

Michael J. O'Dowd (b. August 22, 1850; d. January 9, 1882) 

South Carolina. White. 

Occupation: Farmer, farm laborer, M.D. 

Father's Occupation: farmer.

Michael J. O'Dowd was born in South Carolina to William Henry and Claudia Elizabeth Salley O'Dowd.  His mother Claudia was a South Carolina native, but his William father had immigrated from Ireland.  William was a Catholic.  This was a source of controversy within Claudia's family, although she joined the Catholic Church and raised her children in the faith.

The father William was a farmer.  According to family history, he ran a planation in Tabernacle Township (in what is now Aiken County) until he lost it in a poker game.  The family then moved to land around Salley (a town in what is now Aiken County, near Blackville) given to them by Claudia's father.  

Michael was only 11 years old when the Civil War broke out, so he did not serve in the military. However, his oldest brother Howell Jones did. Howell enlisted on September 25, 1864, a few weeks after the Fall of Atlanta.  He was a private in Company F of the 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Artillery.  On March 1, 1865, while stationed in Greensboro, North Carolina, Howell died of pneumonia.

Michael himself was directly impacted by the war too.  In early 1865, Union troops burned his family's home during their invasion of South Carolina.  The family was forced to live in a building previously used for storage.

Michael worked on the family farm until around 1874, when he pursued a college education. He enrolled as a medicine student at the University of South Carolina on November 2, 1874.  He did not complete a degree and had left by January 1876.

Michael continued his education at the Medical College of Georgia (now Georgia State Medical College) in Augusta.  He graduated in 1878.

After completing his education, Michael returned to South Carolina, returning to the area his parents' home.  There he farmed and worked as a physician.    In 1880, he was appointed Manager of Election for Brown's precinct (a voting precinct in Orangeburg County).

Michel died on January 9, 1882.  He is buried in a family cemetery in Aiken County.

Sources
1). Year: 1860; Census Place: Orangeburg, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Page: 394

2). 1870; Census Place: Rocky Grove, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1506; Page: 342A

3). 1880; Census Place: Goodland, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: 1237; Page: 160D

4). "Notice," The Orangeburg democrat. October 29, 1880, p. 2.

5).  Salley, Olin Jones.  "A History of the Salley Family 1690-1965."  Print on Demand by Orangeburg County Historical Society.   p. 225

The students of the Radical University: Henry Pinckney

H. H. Pinckney
From Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Henry Hammond Pinckney (b. January 11, 1860?/1861?, d. April 2 1920)
South Carolina.  Black.
Occupation: carpenter, minister.
Father's occupation: carpenter

Henry Hammond Pinckney was born in Charleston, South Carolina.  Historical sources are inconsistent about his birth year with one source listing 1860 and another 1861.  Sources are also inconsistent about his mother.  One source says she was Matilda Pinckney, while another says she was Priscilla Owens (Hammond) Pinckney.  Henry's father was Joseph Pinckney, a free person of color who worked as a carpenter.

Henry began his education in Charleston and attended the Avery Normal Institute.  He also became involved with the AME church as a teenager. At age 15 (around 1875), he made a public confession of faith at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

After graduating from Avery, Henry enrolled at the University of South Carolina, entering as a freshman following the modern studies track at some point after February 1875.  The university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, Henry returned to Charleston. There he lived with his father and worked as a carpenter.  He also began to become more involved with the AME Church, joining the church in 1878.   He was licensed to preach in 1883, joined the South Carolina Annual Conference (the regional church body) in 1884, and then was ordained as a deacon in 1885.

Around 1886, Henry left Charleston for the New Jersey.  He was ordained as an elder in 1887 in Trenton, New Jersey and then served as a church pastor at churches in various cities in New Jersey: Rahway (1887-90), Snow Hill (1892-94), Gouldtown (1894-96), Burlington (1896-98), and Bordentown (1898-99).

Around 1899, Henry decided to continue his education.  He attended the Reformed Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia for 15 months and was a student at the Seminary at Princeton for 2 years.  He left before completing a degree.  While in Princeton, he was pastor at the Mt Pisgah AME Church in Princeton.  At some point, he received a D.D. degree from Paul Quinn College.

Around the end of Pinckney's time at Princeton, he began serving as a presiding elder.  He was presiding elder of the Trenton district from 1901-05, the Newark District 1905-1907, and the New York Conference (1907).  During this period, he also worked as assistant editor of the Christian Recorder (the official publication of the AME church) from 1900-06, serving as editor in 1900 and 1908.

Later Henry settled in Camden, New Jersey and worked as a pastor at the Mt. Pisgah AME church in Salem, New Jersey.  He died in Camden on April 2, 1920.  He was buried in the city, in Mount Peace Cemetery.

Sources
1.  Hawkins, John Russell.  Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Book Concern of the A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia, PA.  1916.

2.  "The Princeton Seminary Bulletin."  May, 1920.  Trustees of the Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church.

3.  1860; Census Place: Charleston Ward 5, Charleston, South Carolina; Page: 402

4.  1870; Census Place: Charleston Ward 4, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1486; Page: 256B

5.  1880; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1222; Page: 251A

6.  New Jersey State Archive; Trenton, NJ, USA; State Census of New Jersey, 1905; Reference Number: L-07; Film Number: 5

7.  1910; Census Place: Camden Ward 3, Camden, New Jersey; Roll: T624_872; Page: 6A

The students of the Radical University: John T. Rafra

John Townsend Rafra (b. Abt. 1856)
South Carolina.  Black.
Occupation: carpenter, teacher, janitor.
Father's Occupation: farmer.

John T. Rafra was born in South Carolina to Isaac and Catherine Rafra.  His father worked as a farmer in Timmonsville, South Carolina.

Rafra registered at the University of South Carolina at some time between February 1875 and January 1876.  He was a college student following the modern studies track.  The university closed before he completed his degree.

After the university closure, Rafra returned to Timmonsville and worked as a teacher.  He was also involved in politics.  Around 1883, he testified before the U.S. House Committee on Elections.  The committee had been charged with investigating a contested election in the Congressional District that Rafra lived in (then the 1st District; now roughly the 7th).  In 1880, the Democratic incumbent John S. Richardson had defeated the Republican challenger Samuel L. Lee in the 1880 election, but Lee contested the outcome.  Lee argued that Richardson had only received a majority of the votes because his supporters had committed fraud, violence, and intimidation

Rafra testified in support of Lee's claim.  Rafra had been a federal supervisor of the election in Timmonsville. He explained that, on Election Day, he counted 75 people who cast votes for the Democratic candidate and then boarded a train to travel to a nearby town to (illegally) vote again. Despite the testimony of Rafra and a number of others, the committee upheld the outcome of the election.

In 1889, Rafra was appointed postmaster for Society Hill (a small town about 30 miles from Timmonsville).  The next year (in 1890) he had moved to Darlington (the county seat) and had returned to teaching.

Rafra left Darlington County and returned to Columbia in 1901.  Writing in 1911, fellow former U of SC student C. C. Scott reported that he was "employed at the government building in Columbia, rendering efficient service." Federal records show that he employed as a laborer in the federal courthouse and post-office.

Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Timmonsville, Darlington, South Carolina; Roll: 1227; Page: 372C

2). Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service.  1889.

3). Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service.  1901.

4). Columbia, South Carolina, City Directory, 1903

5). 1900; Census Place: Darlington, Darlington, South Carolina; Page: 9

6). United States, Congress, House, Digest of Election Cases: Cases of Contested Elections in the House of Representatives, Forty-Seventh Congress, from 1880 to 1882, inclusive.  Mis. Doc. No. 35. Government Printing Office, Washington.  1883.

The students of the Radical University: Thomas R. Evans

Thomas Robeson Evans (b. December 29, 1857, January 17, 1936)
South Carolina.  White.
Occupation: manufactoring, merchant, farmer.
Father's occupation: farmer.

Thomas R. Evans was born in Spencerville, South Carolina (in Chesterfield county) to Rebecca Ford and Robert E. Evans.  His father Robert was a farmer in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.  Robert enlisted in the Confederate army in April 1861, around the time Fort Sumter was bombarded and served for most of the Civil War.  He was wounded in summer 1864.  By the war's end, he was a captain in the 6th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry.  The son Thomas was too young to have served in the military.

Thomas registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on October 5, 1874.  He left the university at some point before January 1876 without having completed his degree.

After leaving the university, Thomas returned to Chesterfield County and worked as a merchant in Cheraw.  By 1900, he was working at a sawmill in Society Hill, South Carolina.  He'd returned to Chesterfield County by 1910 and was running a farm.

Thomas continued to work as a farmer in Chesterfield until his death in 1936.  He is buried in the Evans Family Cemetery in Chesterfield.


Source
1). Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina.  Publication Number M267.  National Archives Identifier: 586957.  Record Group: 109. State: South Carolina.  Roll 0040.

2). 1860; Census Place: Chesterfield, South Carolina; Page: 174; Family History Library Film: 805217

3). 1870; Census Place: Court House, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 298A

4). 1880; Census Place: Cheraw, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: 1225; Page: 272D

5). 1900; Census Place: Society Hill, Darlington, South Carolina; Page: 8

6). 1910; Census Place: Court House, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1455; Page: 21A

7). 1920; Census Place: Court House, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: T625_1690; Page: 31B

8). 1930; Census Place: Court House, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0018

9). Robeson, S. S., Stroud, C. F., Osborn, K. H. (1916). A Historical and Genealogical Account of Andrew Robeson of Scotland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and of His Descendants from 1653 to 1916. J. B. Lippincott Company. p. 452.

The Professors of the Radical University: E. M. von Fingerlin

E. M. von Fingerlin
1902 Chicora College yearbook

E. M.von Fingerlin in 1920
University of Southern California Yearbook El Rodeo, 1920

Edgar Maximilian von Fingerlin (b. February 9, 1846; d. September 29, 1919)
Konstanz, Germany.  White.
Education: University of Rome (A.B.), Collegis Romani (Ph.B., Ph.D)
Occupation: teacher.

E. M. von Fingerlin was born in Konstanz, a university town in the Grand Duchy of Baden (now part of southwest Germany).  His parents were Edgar Frieherr von Fingerlin-Busching and Barbara von Mumb-Mülheim. The parents were members of the Austrian nobility, and von Fingerlin inherited the title of baron (or Frieherr) of Fingerlin and Busching. 

Tragically, von Fingerlin never knew his father as he died in a hunting accident in August 1845. His mother remarried in 1848. She married the Marquis Giovan Battista Zappi, an Italian serving in the Austrian army. Tragedy struck von Fingerlin a second time in March 1857. That month his mother died, probably due to complications with childbirth. von Fingerlin remained close to his stepfather and credited him with being a great influence on his life.

von Fingerlin's stepfather Zappi joined the Papal Army in 1859, following the Austria's defeat in the Second Italian War of Independence. Through his stepfather's connections, von Fingerlin spent considerable time in the Papal Court.

Accounts of von Fingerlin's education are contradictory. One account says that he received his elementary school education in Rome, but a 1906 article in the University Courier student newspaper says that he attended gymnasium in Germany and then studied at an agricultural college ("Wehrie agricultural college") in Switzerland.

By all accounts, von Fingerlin was a student at the Collegio Romano in Rome. The college had been founded by Jesuits in the 1500s. The college awarded him a Ph.B. degree in 1862 and a Ph.L. degree in 1863.  The next year (in 1864), he received his Ph.D. from the University of Rome.

After completing college, von Fingerlin served in the Austrian military and achieved the rank of lieutenant.  In that capacity, he fought against Prussia (possibly in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War). By serving in the military, von Fingerlin was following a strong family tradition.  Not only had his father served in the Papal army, but his uncle was a colonel in the Austrian army who was killed in a cavalry charge in the Battle of Solferino (a 1859 battle against the Franco-Sardinian Alliance during the Second Italian War of Independence).

von Fingerlin moved the United States during the late 1860s. In accounts that he provided to newspapers, he said that he decided to leave Europe for the United States after becoming involved in the Second Franco-Mexican War. That war began in 1861 when France invaded Mexico and overthrew the Mexican Republic. In its place, they founded the Second Mexican Empire and installed Maximilian (the brother of the Austrian Emperor) as Emperor.

von Fingerlin told news reporters that Maximilian personally invited him and his brother Roger to come to Mexico and serve on his military staff. Both agreed. However, his brother ended up departing by himself. Accounts differ as to why von Fingerlin did not join him. One account says that he fell ill, while another says that it was a "turn of fate."

von Fingerlin said that he planned to join his brother in Mexico, but before he could do so, disaster struck. In 1866, shortly after the end of the Civil War, France withdrew its forces from Mexico in response to pressure from the US. Emboldened by the withdrawal, the Mexico Republic proceeded to fight and win a series of military battles against Maximilian's government.  These victories culminated in spring 1867 with Maximilian's capture at the city of Querétaro. Maximilian and officers serving under him were then executed by a firing squad. According to von Fingerlin, Roger was among those executed. 

von Fingerling said that he shaken by the death of his brother. von Fingerling was left as the only living representative of the family line.  After reflecting on his brother's experience in the military, von Fingerlin said that he resolved to leave the profession of arms. While he maintained an active interest in military affairs throughout his life, he never again worked as a military professional.

At least parts of this story were fabricated. Roger was not killed in the war. By the 1870s, he was living in Argentina. He died in Buenos Aires in October 25, 1886 of natural causes (aortic aneurysm). 

von Fingerlin was told the (false) account of his brother's death in Mexico by John Newman Edwards, according to a 1917 article in The State newspaper. Edwards was a Confederate veteran and journalist. He had been in Mexico during the last years of the war. He had moved there as part of a band of about a thousand Confederate soldiers led by J. O. Shelby who left the United States rather than surrender at the end of the Civil War. It is unclear how von Fingerlin would have met Edwards as they lived in different states. Edwards lived in Missouri during the late 1860s and 1870s. von Fingerlin would later move to that state, but by this time, Edwards was dead. Edwards published book on his experience in Mexico, and von Fingerlin might have learned of him from reading the book.

von Fingerlin arrived in the United States on June 8, 1868, one year after the end of the war in Mexico. At the time, he had been living in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. He arrived via a boat from Le Havre, France to New York City. He lived in New York for five years before moving to South Carolina. 

In South Carolina, von Fingerlin first worked as a teacher in the state common schools. He became friends with former Confederate general Wade Hampton. Hampton helped introduce him to individuals working at colleges and universities within the state. Around 1876, after he had been working in the common schools for two years, von Fingerlin given a professorship at the University of South Carolina. This would begin a fifty-year career in higher education.

At the University of South Carolina, von Fingerlin taught modern languages. He replaced E. B. Otheman who had resigned. von Fingerlin was well-regarded by his former student C. C. Scott.  In a newspaper article discussing the university during Reconstruction, Scott wrote that von Fingerlin "spoke English with a foreign accent, was graduated from one of the leading universities in Germany [sic], and spoke German and French as fluently as any educated American or Englishman speaks English.  He is too well known in Columbia and Greenville to need any statement from me as to his scholarship, his ability, and his integrity." 

von Fingerlin taught at the University of South Carolina for about three quarters. His time at the university was cut short by the university's closure in the summer of 1877. He remained in Columbia and served as Professor of Modern Languages at the Columbia Female College (now Columbia College). When the University of South Carolina reopened in 1880 (as the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanics), von Fingerlin returned to teaching there. The reopened university did not maintain a professorship in foreign languages, but von Fingerlin was allowed to serve as a tutor or instructor. He did not receive a salary and instead was allowed to charge students a fee for taking classes with him on campus. During this time, von Fingerlin spent his summers in Round Lake (a village in eastern New York state), teaching Italian and Spanish at a summer school. 

It is unclear when exactly von Fingerlin left Columbia. Some accounts such as an obituary published in the Evening Vanguard newspaper state that he taught at Columbia Female College for seven years, until 1884. However, other accounts say that he left Columbia in 1882 to serve as Professor of Modern Languages at Adger College. Now defunct, Adger was a college in Walhalla, SC that was affiliated with the Presbyterian church. In January 1884, von Fingerlin was appointed college president pro tem following the president's resignation.

von Fingerlin left Adger College and moved to Greenville, SC in 1884. He remained in the city for the next twenty years.  He first served as a principal for the city schools.  He held that position from 1883 to 1885.  He then worked as a private teacher in English and modern languages for a year.  Then, in 1887, he was made Professor of Modern Languages at Chicora Female College. Chicora was a woman's college affiliated with the Presbyterian church.  At the time, the college was based in Greenville, although it has since merged with Queens University of Charlotte.

While teaching at Chicora, von Fingerlin took on additional work by accepting the position of Professor of Modern Languages at Furman University and Female College (now Furman University). Records are inconsistent as to when he began teaching there. A short biography published in a 1909 yearbook states that he began teaching in 1888, but he first appears in the Furman catalogue in the 1890-91 academic year.  He taught at Furman and Chicora until 1902.

In fall 1902, von Fingerlin left South Carolina for Missouri. There he worked as the Professor of Modern Languages at the State Normal School in Warrensburg (now University of Central Missouri). He was hired to replace a faculty member (Professor William F. Bahlman) who had taken a leave of absence to travel in Europe. However, he was then hired on a long-term basis and remained at the school, teaching foreign languages, for the next four years. 

In 1906, von Fingerlin announced that he was the State Normal School to escape the Missouri climate. He planned to move to Simmons College at Abilene, Texas. However, before his teaching started, he changed his mind and moved instead to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, von Fingerlin headed the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Southern California.  He played a significant role in strengthening the university's research culture.  In 1909, he was appointed by the university president to the Committee on Graduate Studies, a committee created to develop plans for graduate programs.  The committee was successful.  Later that year, von Fingerlin supervised a M.A. student, Adèle Stookey who wrote the thesis "L'origine du romantisme avec ses influences."

von Fingerlin seems to have been a well-regarded member of the University of Southern California faculty.  In an obituary published in the student newspaper, he is described as

a 'gentleman of the old school'; the wonderful personality he possessed, in addition to a thorough culture and an intense interest in all of the finer things of life, will ever be an inspiration to those with whom he has come in contact, and will spur them on to nobler, better things in the realms of culture and education.

von Fingerlin died in Los Angles on September 29, 1919.  He was buried Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery in Greenville, SC.

E. M. Fingerlin in 1917
From University of Southern California Yearbook, El Rodeo, 1917

E. M. Fingerlin in 1918
From University of Southern California Year book, El Rodeo 1918

E. M. von Fingerlin in 1906
Warrensburg State Normal School Yearbook

Sources
1) "Of Soldier Race, Turns to Books."  The State, July 29, 1917. p. 5.

2) "Professor von Fingerlin." The alumni magazine, vol. 1, no. 2 (1919 Dec.).

3) "Noted linguist and teacher passes away."  The Southern California Trojan, Vol. 11, No. 2, October 7, 1919.

4) 1880; Census Place: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina; Roll: 1238; Page: 245D; Enumeration District: 162

5) 1900; Census Place: Greenville Ward 5, Greenville, South Carolina; Page: 14; Enumeration District: 0036; FHL microfilm: 1241529

6). 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 71, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_82; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0180; FHL microfilm: 1374095

7). Germany, Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.  FHL Film Number: 865624.

8). Naturalization Records for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1890-1957. NARA Microfilm Publication M1542, 153 rolls. Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21. National Archives, Washington, D.C.  Certificate Date: 20 Feb 1919

9). South Carolina Naturalization Records, 1868-1991. Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; The National Archives at Atlanta, Georgia.

10) "Faculty Members Professor von Fingerlin." The University Courier, October 1906. 

11) "Edgar Maximillian von Fingerlin." The University Courier, April 1909.

12) "The University Professors." The Intelligencer [Anderson, SC]. April 20, 1882. p. 2. 

13) The Abbeville Press and Banner. January 2, 1884. p. 3.

14) Johnson County Star [Warrensburg, Missouri]. September 12, 1902. p. 2.

15) Johnson County Star [Warrensburg, Missouri]. September 19, 1902. p. 5.

16) Johnson County Star [Warrensburg, Missouri]. June 15, 1906. p. 4

17) "Gets German Professor." Austin American-Statesman [Austin, TX]. August 25, 1906. p. 5.

18) Johnson County Star [Warrensburg, Missouri]. September 14, 1906. p. 8.

19) "Death ends life full of adventure." Evening Vanguard [Venice, CA]. September 30, 1919. p. 1.

20) "Prof. Fingerlin's Funeral to be held Friday." Los Angeles Evening Express [Los Angeles, CA]. September 30, 1919. p. 11.