Hamilton Descendant Shares Memorabilia of D&E’s Third Founder The great-granddaughter of the man whom historians have revealed as the third founder of Davis & Elkins College visited campus to present memorabilia. Dr. Mary Ann Stripling of Staunton, Virginia, shared the story of the Rev. Dr. Augustus Houston Hamilton. According to Dr. Thomas Richard Ross in his book “Davis & Elkins College: The Diamond Jubilee History,” Dr. A.H. Hamilton was one of the three founders of the College, along with H.G. Davis and S.B. Elkins. Born in 1846 in Monroe County, West Virginia, Hamilton was one of five children. He graduated from Washington College in 1870 and went on to Union Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he served for 40 years and preached at Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church in Steeles Tavern, Virginia. His association with the yet-to-be founded Davis & Elkins College began at a meeting in Franklin, West Virginia, on Sept. 12, 1901. Lexington Presbytery adopted a resolution offered by Hamilton asking Senators Davis and Elkins to contribute “at least $30,000” and “to donate suitable grounds” for a college in Elkins. Having turned the senators down 12 years earlier, the Presbytery promised to contribute toward the $30,000 for its share of
the “20th Century Million Dollar Fund” then being raised in the Southern Presbyterian Church for Christian Education and Church Expansion. After a year of soliciting, Hamilton reported that he had cash and pledges totaling $23,607. Upon receiving this report, the Lexington Presbytery elected a nine-man board of trustees for the college. On Dec. 4, 1902, Hamilton, the temporary president, announced that the purposes of the meeting were to adopt a name for the college, select a site for the campus, make plans for erecting the first building, and effect a permanent organization of the board. In 1902, the College’s Board of Trustees met for the first time. The first classes were held on Sept. 21, 1904, on the original campus in south Elkins on a plot donated by Senator Elkins. Davis & Elkins College awarded an honorary D.D. degree to Rev. Hamilton in 1916, the third such degree in its history. When Hamilton died in 1923, James Allen wrote, “the College has lost a man who, in the founding of the institution, rendered service that was wholly commensurate with the service of others at the time and indispensable.” Later, in memory of Hamilton, the faculty established the Hamilton Honor Society to give “special honor to students of marked scholastic ability.” Members of the junior class whose grade average at the end of the year was “not less than A” were eligible. An endowed scholarship has been established to honor Hamilton. Memorial gifts may be sent to Davis and Elkins College with Hamilton Scholarship on the memo line. Mail to Scott Goddard, Davis and Elkins College, 100 Campus Drive, Elkins, WV 26241 or go to www.dewv.edu/giveonline and select “Other” as the designation and type Hamilton Scholarship in the bolx provided. Dr. Mary Ann Stripling, second from right, and the Rev. Sarah Hill present memorabilia of Davis & Elkins College’s third founder, the Rev. Dr. Augustus Houston Hamilton, to D&E President Chris A. Wood, right, and Vice President for Institutional Advancement Scott Goddard.
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