Centre College Special Collections - Board of Trustees Minutes (1851)

Centre College Board of Trustees Minutes (Vol. 2 - 1851)

Danville June 25, 1851

The Board met at the President's study. Present Messrs. Craig, Price, Hopkins, Berryman, Johnstone, Montgomery. Mr. Charles Henderson & Rev. John Coons, having been appointed Trustees at the last meeting of Synod, appeared & took their seats, having presented certificates of their having taken the oath of office.

The degree of A.B. was conferred on the following members of the Senior class on recommendation of the Faculty - J. Clay Armstrong, John C. Berryman, George Cowan, John J. Craig, Willis G. Craig, Bennett H. Davis, Moses S. Fields, W. McKee Fox, John S. Frierson, Abner Gaines, Henry Grider, Samuel Heron, Robert Y. Jarvis, Hugh B. Knox, John Newton Lyle, Joel H. Marvin, Uriah Millsaps, Cyrus N. Pendleton, Charles W. Price, Elias T. Scott, Isaac P. Simpson, Lyman Beecher Todd, Thomas E. Vick, Charles G. Wallace, Samuel M. Weeden, John J. Wheat, J. Henry C. Wiestling, James H. Wilkins, James M. Wright. The honorary degree of A.B. was conferred on Mr. George R. Freeman of Franklin County, Kentucky. The degree of A.M. was conferred in course on Wellington A. Cunningham of the graduating Class of 1846 & on William H. Cunningham of the Class of 1847.

The degree of L.L.D. was conferred on the Honorable John Hemphill, Chief Justice of the State of Texas, & on the Honorable Thomas Monroe, U. S.

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District Judge for the State of Kentucky.

The degree of D.D. was conferred on Rev. James C. Barnes of Perryville [Kentucky] & on Rev. W. W. Hill of Louisville.

After discussion on the subject of the funds, the following resolution was offered & adopted.

That the Financial Agent be & hereby is directed to sell out $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) of bank stocks held by the Board, of such stocks as he may consider to be least safe; & loan this amount to the Trustees of the town of Danville on such personal security as shall be satisfactory to a committee consisting of the Financial Agent, with Messrs. John Montgomery & Robert A. Johnston & on condition that the interest is to be paid semi-annually & the principal to be paid in cash to the Board of Trustees of the College at the end of seven years from the advancement of the last installment of the loan, or to be paid in the stock of the rail-road to be built between Lexington & Danville - said stock to be charged to the College at par if its market value shall, at the time of payment, be above par, & to be charged at the market price if its market value at the time shall be below par - & the option of receiving payment in cash - stock on the above terms to be given to the Board of Trustees of the College.

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A further resolution was offered & adopted that the Secretary & Financial Agent be, & are hereby directed to make examination as to the profitableness & security of investments in Cincinnati or elsewhere in reference to disposing of & reinvesting the remainder of the bank stock - & that, if on examination they shall find any mode of investment of these funds safe & profitable in their opinions, they be required to call a meeting of the Board as soon as practicable through the Chairman or, in case of his absence, the Secretary.

The Treasurer's Report was committed to Messrs. Montgomery & Johnston, who in examination reported its approval, & their report was adopted.

The Financial Agent was requested to fill up, for the satisfaction of Synod, the specifications of the various sums paid for contingent expenses as exhibited in the Treasurer's report.

Messrs. Young & Russell were appointed, at the request of the Financial Agent, a committee to examine his accounts.

The Treasurer was directed to pay to John S. Berryman two scholarship notes, the one given by J. W. Jackson & Mary R. Thrashley, the other by John S. Berryman, the amount of these notes being due to said Berryman in consideration of his having procured ten thousand dollars in scholarship notes to be added to the funds

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of College.

The Financial Agent was empowered to loan, out of any moneys collected by him, fifteen hundred dollars to Professor Scott, securing it by mortgage or otherwise.

The President & Mr. Hopkins were appointed a committee to have the Library Room of College fitted up & furnished for the meetings of the Board & the Faculty.

Messrs. Henderson & Hopkins were appointed a committee to have an ice-house built.

Mr. Henderson was appointed to superintend all repairs needed on the College property & grounds, including the President's house & the Grammar School with their grounds.

The committee appointed in regard to providing accommodations for the Grammar School reported that they had fitted up the old Blackburn house for that purpose, and that it was now occupied by the school.

The report of the Principal of the Grammar School was referred to a committee, who reported that the proceeds of the Grammar School, after paying $75.00 for rent, $25 for servants' hire, $20 for wood, & $700.00 salary to the Principal, yielded a surplus; whereupon the Board directed that this surplus be paid to the assistant in the Grammar School.

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Messrs. Craig, Montgomery, & Johnstone were appointed a committee to attend the next annual examination. Messrs. Montgomery & Johnstone were appointed a committee to unite with the Committee of Synod in a report on the examination & state of the College for the present year.

Resolved that in consideration of the relinquishment to the College by the heirs of the Rev. S. B. Robertson of all right to a scholarship originally held by Nicholas Ray & assigned by him to S. B. Robertson, the Board do agree to cancel, under advisement of Synod, a note given to the Trustees by said S. B. Robertson in 1827, & on which there is still a balance unpaid.

The President was authorized to direct the Treasurer to refund the tuition fee of Henry Morton.

A letter having been received from Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge resigning his seat in the Board, it was resolved that the Board regarding the services of Dr. Breckinridge as peculiarly valuable to the College, decline receiving his resignation, & request him to withdraw it.

Resolved that the Board meet on the first Wednesday in March each year as well as on the last Wednesday in June.

John C. Young, Secretary

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October 23, 1851

The Board met. Present Messrs. Craig, Johnston, Henderson. Rev. Joseph Bullock appeared, & having been elected by Synod, & having presented proof of being duly qualified took his seat. Robert J. Breckinridge & Peter R. Dunn, having been reappointed by Synod & having presented proof of having duly qualified, took their seats.

The Financial Agent was directed to sell the stock of the Louisville Bank in preference to that of the Bank of Kentucky to meet the loan to the Board of Trustees of the town of Danville.

The Committee appointed to procure information in regard to the profitableness & security of investments in Cincinnati & elsewhere made a report, communicating the proffer of a ground rent in Cincinnati to the amount of $12,000, at a rate of about 8 per cent - after discussion it was moved & carried to make no investments in Cincinnati.

On motion it was resolved that the local Trustees, Messrs. Hopkins, Craig, Barbour, & Henderson, be a committee empowered to make such arrangements as shall seem to them best, with a mind to procure residences for the professors of College, having liberty to use for that

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purpose the proceeds of the late legacy of Mr. David Williams, amounting to about $7,000.

The Secretary presented a letter from Mr. Schaeffer tendering his resignation of his Professorship in consequence of his appointment as Chief Engineer of the Danville & Lexington Railroad Company - whereupon it was resolved that the Board accept the resignation, waiving in view of all the circumstances of the case the ordinary requirement of 5 months notice by a Professor previous to his resignation. Further resolved that the Board, in accepting Mr. Schaeffer's resignation, express their high satisfaction with the faithfulness, industry, & ability exhibited by him in the discharge of his duties as a Professor; & tender to him their best wishes for his success in his future avocation.

Resolved unanimously that Mr. Williams be & he hereby is appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy & Chemistry in Centre College, at a salary of $900.00 per annum.

The Faculty were empowered to make any such arrangements as they deem suitable to provide temporary assistance in teaching the lower classes, not expending on such assistance more than at the rate of $200.00 per session.

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Resolved that the Board met regarding the present provision for enabling the students to enjoy the benefits of preaching as satisfactory, recommend to the Faculty to take the whole subject into early consideration, & make any such change as they may deem advisable & practicable, & report to the Board at its next meeting.

John C. Young, Secretary

Acts of the Synod as reported by their Stated Clerk at its session in 1851.

William L. Breckinridge, Robert J. Breckinridge, Robert A. Johnston, John Montgomery, Joseph J. Bullock, Aaron A. Hogue, & Samuel Cassiday were appointed Trustees for 3 years.

Edward P. Humphreys, James C. Barnes, & Stuart Robinson appointed a committee to devise some plan for the religious instruction of the students, & to report at the next meeting of Synod.

The Trustees of the College were requested to inquire into the expediency of making immediate provision for the public worship of God on the Lord's day by the Faculty & students of College in a separate congregation.

The Board is directed to see that the report of the Treasurer be sent up to Synod in a more businesslike form.