Moses Waddel
Moses Waddel | |
---|---|
5th President of the University of Georgia | |
In office 1819 – August 1829 | |
Preceded by | Robert Finley |
Succeeded by | Alonzo Church |
Personal details | |
Born | Rowan County, North Carolina, British America | June 20, 1770
Died | July 21, 1840 Athens, Georgia, United States | (aged 70)
Relatives | John C. Calhoun (brother-in-law) Elizabeth H. West (granddaughter) |
Alma mater | Hampden–Sydney College |
Profession | Educator |
Signature | |
Moses Waddel (June 20, 1770 – July 21, 1840) [1] was an American
Life and work
Born in 1770 in Rowan County, North Carolina, Waddel attended Clio's Nursery north of Statesville, North Carolina, and then went on to graduate in 1791 from Hampden–Sydney College with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Hanover (of Hanover County, Virginia).[3][4]
Waddel (pronounced Waddle) began his ministry in the
These
In 1819, Waddel further enlarged his fame with Memoirs of the Life of Miss Caroline Elizabeth Smelt.[2] Difficult reading today for its overwrought and pious sentimentality, Memoirs was a smash bestseller reprinted in the U.S. and Great Britain.
The 1820 United States Federal Census lists sixteen enslaved people in the household of Moses Waddel, eight females, and nine males, including nine children under the age of fourteen.[5]
Waddel's Willington Academy was considered to be the high point of his career. It was often called 'Eton in the woods,' as a comparison to Eton College in the UK which produced the leadership of Britain. Students were required to memorize, translate, and recite 250 lines of classic Greek or Latin every night – and they did, often several times that much. Later, the record was held by SC Governor George McDuffie, who once recited 2,212 lines of Horace.
Considered the foremost educator in the South, Waddel "received an urgent and persistent invitation" to revitalize the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens.[6] He became the fifth president and served from 1819 until his resignation in August 1829.[1] Waddel found the school "nearly extinct, consisting of only seven students with three professors." With great industry he scoured the state and soon built enrollment to one hundred students.[1] He acquired money for the library, garnered state funding, and raised three new buildings: Philosophical Hall (1821), New College (1823) and Demosthenian Hall (1824).[1] As said by Longstreet, "The effect of his coming to this Institution was magical. It rose instantly to a rank which it had never held before, and which, I am happy to add, it has maintained ever since."[7]
Waddel was said to possess an ordinary intellect, but he combined it with an iron will. This 'Cromwell of the Classroom' produced a generation of Southern leaders including
According to Dr James McLeod's book The Great Doctor Waddel,
Waddel died on July 21, 1840, in
Waddell Street in Athens was named in his honor. [citation needed]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e "From Ahmedunggar to Lavonia: Presidents at the University of Georgia 1785-1997". Athens, Georgia: GHargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Georgia. March 13, 2001. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
- ^ a b "USC Special Collections: Women in the Quaker Tracts" (books), Melinda K. Hayes, Librarian, Specialized Libraries & Archival Collections, University of Southern California, 2006-11-22, webpage: USC Archived 2006-12-06 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Lacy, Drury". The National Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. II. New York: James T. White & Company. 1921. p. 22.
- ^ Troxler, George W. (2006). "Clio's Nursery". NCPedia. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ 1820 United States Federal Census, Clark County, Georgia
- ^ Waddel, John Newton (1891). Memorials of Academic Life: Being an Historical Sketch of the Waddel Family. Richmond, Virginia: Presbyterian Committee of Publication. p. 69.
- ^ Wadell, p.76
- ^ Parton. Life of Andrew Jackson. Vol. 1. pp. 62–63.
- ^ Wadell, p.68
- ^ MacLeod, James. The Great Doctor Waddel. p. 8.
- ^ Hester, Golida Ann. (1965). Elizabeth Howard West, Texas Librarian (Master's Thesis). Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin.
- ^ Bleisch, Pamela R. (2010). Spoilsmen and daughters of the Republic: Political interference in the TExas State Library during the tenure of Elizabeth Howard West, 1911-1925. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 45(4), 383-413.
References
- Waddel, John Newton (1891). Memorials of Academic Life: Being an Historical Sketch of the Waddel Family. Richmond, Virginia: Presbyterian Committee of Publication.
- MacLeod, James Lewis (1985). The Great Doctor Waddel (pronounced Waddle). Southern Historical Press. ISBN 0-89308-546-4.]
- Boney, F. N. (2000). A Pictorial History of the University of Georgia. University of Georgia Press. pp. 14–16. ISBN 0-8203-2198-2.
External links
- The Debating Society (pp. 133-144) from Longstreet's Georgia Scenes.
- Memoirs of the Life of Miss Caroline Elizabeth Smelt, by Moses Waddel 1818 Retrieved from Google Books
- Dr. Moses Waddel historical marker