xt7hdr2p6114 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7hdr2p6114/data/mets.xml  1875  books b92-280-32301924 English Elm Street Printing Co., : Cincinnati : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Berea College History. Berea College, Ky.  : an interesting history / approved by the Prudential Committee. 1875. text Berea College, Ky.  : an interesting history / approved by the Prudential Committee. 1875. 1875 2002 true xt7hdr2p6114 section xt7hdr2p6114 
















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Berea College, Ky.









    AN JNTERESTING JISTORY.




A4P1uW Y0  LX)  E  2  Tl"  71LE




               1875.



        CINCINNATI:
Elm Street Printing Company, 176 and 178 Elm Street.
           87,5.

 





























Entered according to Act of Congres3, in the year 1875, by

               E. H. FAIRCHILD,

In the Office of the Librarian of C'ongress, Washington, D. C7.



Stereotyped by OGDEN, C-\MrL3EI L &( CO., Cicinnati

 
      BEREA COLLEGE.


              ITS LOCATION.
  MANY persons have examined the maps for the
location of Berca, but have failed to find it.
Berea is a small village of about five hundred
inhabitants, considerably scattercd, and of some-
what recent growvth; and the inlhabitants are
none of them wealthy, and many of tlhem poor.
There are not more than a dozen good lhouses in
the village. If thlese reasons do not sufficiently
account for the al)sence of Berca from recent
maps of Kentucky, the same reason vliiieli 1has
hitherto excluded the College from the State
School Superintendent's Aunnual Report may bo
added.
  Berca College is near the center of the State,
in the soutlhern part of Miladison County, one of
the most poputlous counties of thlc State. Fromi
Cincinnati it is reached by the Kentucky Central
Railroad to Lexington one hundred miles, tlhence
                     (3)

 BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



by stage to Richmond twenty-six miles, thence
by hack to Berea fourteen miles. From Louis-
ville it is about one hundred and fifty miles by
the Richmond Branch of the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad. Our nearest depot is Paint
Lick, eight miles distant. Wfe leave here at five
o'clock A. M., and reach Cleveland, Chicago or
Pittsburg, via Louisville and Cincinnati, the next
morning. A macadamized road connects Berea
with Richmond, and thence with all the large
towns of the State. Kentucky excels most, if
not all, other States in macadamized roads. Its
common roads are generally very poor. It is
not an uncommon thing for county roads to be
obstructed by farm gates as often as once in a
mile or two. But the gates are so constructed
that a horseback rider can open them without
alighting.
         IS IT WELL LOCATED
  Berea ridge is about two miles long, of ir-
regular shape, sometimes narrow and sometimes
wide, and sometimes branching, and elevated
about fifty feet above the surrounding coun-
try. The College grounds are about the center
of the ridge, and on its widest part. Toward
the south and east we look out upon a moun-
tainous region, broken into more than a dozen
distinct knobs from four hundred to eight hun-



4

 
ITS LOCATION.



dred feet high, and from one mile to six miles
distant. Each has its distinct name, and all are
favorite resorts of companies seeking exercise
and pleasure.  To the north and west lie the
rich, undulating blue grass lands, famous every-
where for their hemp, pastures, cattle, horses
and magnificently formed men.  These lands
come within a mile of Berea, and spread out
from sixty to eighty miles to the north and
west.
  The nutumn scenery viewed from the observa-
tory of the Ladies' Hall is exquisitely beautiful.
It is hardly surpassed by any scenery on the
Hudson River. The air is perfectly pure, every
lot is easily drained, the water is soft and gener-
ally good, and is obtained by digging about fif-
teen feet. The climate is delightful, especially
from April to December. There are, of course,
stormy, windy days, and long, hot days in the
summer; but I have never experienced a day
more oppressively hot here than in Chicago. The
nights are always comfortable when the days are
hottest.
  The Boil is not rich, but with proper culture
is very good for gardens and. fruit. This season,
for the first time in forty years or more, nearly
all fruit is destroyed by freezing blasts in April,
from the ice and snow of the North.

 
BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



  But the location is well chosen for a more im-
portant reason. It is on the line of separation
between two classes of people, as unlike each
other in their physical development, tlheir habits
of life, and their views of society, as if they
belonged to distinct races. And when we see
them, onl the morning of our Annual Com-
metncenent, pouring in by hundreds, the rich in
their carriages from tbe plains, and the poor
from the mountains on horses and mules, and,
meeting on this common ground, we feel that
the place was selected by Him who is " the Maker
of tlhem all."  And when we look upon the
crowd of two thousand people, white and col-
ored, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, min-
gling- without distinction and wvith perfect order,
listeningi to speakers anid singers of all shades of
coruplexioii, the, wordls on the College seal seem
wonderfully appropriate: " God hatli made of
one blood all nations of men." Twenty miles
from this line, onl Cether side. snllch a company
could not be gathered.

ORIGIN OF TIHE COLLEGE-MR. FEE.
  Rev. John G. Fee was born in Bracken County,
Kcntucky, in 1816. His father, a farmer, was a
member of the Presbyterian Church, and the
owner of thirteen slaves. John early embraced



8

 
ITS ORIGIN.



religion, and commenced preparation for the
ministry. Ile entered College at Augusta, Kell-
tucky, studied two years at Oxford, Ohio, and
graduated at Augusta. His theological course
was taken at Lane Seminary, Ohio; where, after
much discussion, with earnest prayer for light,
terrible mental struggles and many tears, he l)e-
came convinced of the great evil and sinfulness
of American slavery. With a full sense of the
obloquy and danger he must meet, he conse-
crated himself to preach the gospel of impartial
love in his native State.
  He first labored several months with his pa-
rents; but failing to persuade them to liberate
their slaves, with great sadness he relinquished
the effort, and carried the gospel to others. His
father, a severe man; disowned and disinherited
him, giving him  one dollar in his will. His
mother wept over her deluded son. He contin-
ned to visit his parents, though twice the (door
was shut against him. Afterward he was in-
vited in. Learniing that his father was about to
sell a female slave, wife of a slave man of the
family, and a member of the same church with
her master, he bought her at the price demanded,
and liberated her. His father was very angry
because he would not sell her back.
  Before he became an abolitionist his father



7

 
BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



had given him a farm, in Indiana, which he sold
for two thousand four hundred dollars, and
spent the whole in buying this slave, in publish-
ing an antislavery manual, and in self-support.
His people, in Lewis County, promised him one
hundred dollars for preaching, but being offended
by an antislavery sermon, very mild and gentle,
paid him but twenty-five dollars. For two years
he received two hundred dollars annually from
the American Home Missionary Society. But
finding that this society was aiding fifty-two
slaveholding churches, he felt that he could not
conscientiously solicit contributions for it, and
hence must decline to receive its support.
  On joining the Presbytery he made a full
statement of his antislavery convictions.  As
these convictions ripened, his antislavery efforts
multiplied. His church, in Lewis County, passed
resolutions denouncing slavery as sinful, and re-
fusing fellowship with slaveholders. The Synod
reviewed this action, and censured Mr. Fee for
disturbing the peace of Zion, and introducing a
test of membership not known to the Constitu-
tion of the Presbyterian Church. Assured by
the Presbytery that "repentance on their part
was hopeless," after fully stating his views, he
withdrew, and received a qualified letter of dis-
mission. The publication of these facts in the



a

 
ITS ORIGIN.



New York Evangelist brought him to the notice
of the American Missionary Association, and its
aid was offered him. From that time to this, a
period of twenty-six years, he has been supported
wholly or chiefly by that society.
  In Lewis and Bracken Counties lie labored
eight years, and organized three antislavery
churches. At the request of Cassius M. Clay he
sent a box of the antislavery manuals, which
were scattered through Madison County. The
result was, the people invited him here, where,
after preaching nine sermons, he organized a
church which refused fellowship with slavehold-
ers, and after one year he became its pastor.
This relation he has now sustained twenty years.
There was little to encourage when he came.
The place was a wilderness. It was inviting
chiefly because it was central.
  The same reasons which led to the organiza-
tion of antislavery churches demanded an anti-
slavery school. This was organized in 1855.
  Its first teacher was Win. E. Lincoln, who
came from England to pursue his studies in
Oberlin College. He was one of the Wellington
rescuers, and has since been a preacher in Ohio,
and is now in the State of New York. Its next
teacher was Otis B. Waters, also a student of



9

 





















THE OLD GLADE MEETING-HOUSE.



'IN -,   1-4-
         -f ,-
lk
w
- II-

 
ITS ORIGIN.  



Oberlin College. He has for several years boon
a professor in Benzonia College, Michigan.
  In 185G AIr. Fee experienced a series of mobs
in this region. Re had before this been mobbed
in Lewis, Mason and Bracken Counties. The
first of this series was at Dripping Springs, the
next near Mt. Vernon, the third, and most vio-
Ilet, was near Texas, in Madison County. Mr.
Fcc was preaching on the subject of Christian
union, and was accompanied by Robert Jones, a
native of the county, who was acting as a col-
portcur of the American Missionary Association.
Ile was also sustained by the two Messrs. Field
and MIr. Mlarsh. There was apprehension of dan-
ger, and MIr. Fee had been consulted as to the
propriety of carrying guns. He said: "No; if
I am disturbed I will appeal to the courts."  He
believed in the right of self-defense, but opposed
the practice of carrying arms, and believed they
were oftener a source of danger than a means of
safety.
  The sermon had commenced when a mob of
sixty men, with.pistols and guns, surrounded the
house. One came in and said to Mir. Fee: " There
are men here wvho wish you to stop and come
ont." Ile replied: "I am en gaged iii the exer-
cise of a constitutional right and a religious duty;
please do not interrupt," and preached on. The



11

 
BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



man went out and soon two others returned and
demanded that he come out. He preached on.
They seized him and dragged him out, no resist-
ance being made. A man with a rope swore
they would hang him to the first tree, unless he
would promise to leave the county and never
return. Ile replied: "[I am in your hands. I
would not harm you; if you harm me, the re-
sponsibility is with you. I can make no pledge;
duty to God and my country forbid."  They
swore they would duck him in the Kentucky
River as long as life was in him, unless he would
promise to leave the county. He said: "I am
a native of the State. I believe slavery is wrong.
I am acting for the good of my country and all
her people. You will know my motives at the
judgment." He had proceeded but a few mo-
ments when one exclaimed: " We didn't come to
hear a sermon; let us do our work." They
stripped Robert Jones naked, bent him down,
and gave him thirty-three lashes with three syca-
more rods. He was so injured that he could not
walk the next day. But he made no pledges
and did not leave. They said to Mr. Fee: " We
will give you five hundred lashes if you do not
leave the county and promise never to return."
He knelt down and said: " I will take my suffer-
ing; I can make no pledges." The whip was



12

 
ITS ORIGIN.



raised above him, but one cried: " Don't strike."
The man with the whip replied: " I feel that I
ought to, but I don't like to go against my party.
Get up and go home "-with an oath.
  With Jones on his horse behind him, and a
guard in front and rear, he rode three miles when
the mob left them. They went into the wood,
read the fourth chapter of Acts, and prayed.
That night he preached in the house of Mr.
Jones' cousin, and both the man and his wife
covenanted to be the Lord's.
  The Berea Church became terribly alarmed
and advised Mr. Fee to leave the State. For four
weeks no man but Ham. Rawlings entered his
yard; none but women attended church. That
brave man, Cassius M. Clay, though still friendly
to Mr. Fee, notwithstanding their difference on
the higher law question (Mr. Fee holding that a
law confessedly contrary to the law of God ought
not to be enforced), advised him to leave. But
he continued his labors, Mr. Waters continued
his school, and the excitement gradually died
away. In the meantime two lawyers had been
engaged to prosecute in behalf of Jones. The
mob met in Richmond and swore they would
give five hundred lashes to any lawyer who
would prosecute the case. The grand jury never
inquired into it. Thirteen months after the mob



13

 
B.TEREA COLLEGE, KY.



Prof. Rogers closed a session of the sehool with
ninety-six pulils an(l an exlhibiLion, at which
there were five hundred in attcndanoe.
  Four of the principal leaders of the mol) soon
came to violent deaths. 8o it was with all the
mobs. Several of the most active in them soon
(lied by violence. It became a common saying
among them: "Old master is against us."

              PROF. ROGERS
Is a native of Cornwall, Connecticut. He pre-
pared for College at Williams Academy, gradu-
ated at Oberlin, taught two or three years in
New York City, and took his theological course
at Oberlin. Being about to return WCst from a
visit to New York, lie was requested to take a
company of orphans to Roseville, Illinois. lIe
preached on Sunday, and on Monday -was re-
quested to remain. From this pleasant field,
with numerous friends, and nine hundred dollars
a year, bie heard tle call from Kentucky, and in
1858 caime to the work in Berea, under the corn-
mission of the American Missionary Association,
at a salary of four hundred dollars, walking
eighty miles of the distance from Maysville. In
arude school-hoIUSC, With a single unpIlasterCd
room, without desks or the most comnmon coti-
venicuces, ho opened a select school with fifteen



it

 


pupils. Wjith an cnergy, entliusiasm, lbnoyamlcy,
skill and love not wlioll v his own, lie addressed
himself to the work.   Desks were szuppliied,
maps and chlarts graced the walls, miuyic and
lectures vere introduced. The young people
were charmed; visitors from many milcs away
frequented the school, and before the close of
the term a hundred names were enrolled. Mrs.
Rogers, a charming little woman from Philadel-
phia, leaving her babe during school hours with
a nurse, went to the aid of her husband aud
added greatly to the enthusiasm.
  The interest culminated in the exhibiption at
the close of the term. Teachers, pupils, and the
Whole Community gave themselves heartily to
preparation for the anticipated event. The Keo-
pIe, proud of their school, and the wonderful
attainments of their children, .Xland hopeful as to
the future prosperity of their place, volunteered
a public (linner to all wlho slhould attend. Tho
exercises 'yore held under a sylvan bowver, con-
structed(1 ith exquisite taste. The pillars wvero
grand(1 o0l o0als, festooned with flowems. The liglht
was subdued by the thick matting of icaves, and
the joyous faces of a hundred pupils upon the
extensive platform  spread a charmn ov-r tho
lwhole au(lience, the larrest cecr assendiled iii
the settlement; though " the glades " at the foot



15



ITS ORIGIN.

 

BEREA COLLEGE, KY



of the ridge had long been a place of public
gatherings for horse races and political speeches.
The hand of the Lord was manifestly in it. The
closing speaker, a leading pupil, in reviewing
the term and pronouncing his valelictory, was
completely overcome with emotion, and for some
moments the audience were in tears.
  Brief, but enthusiastic speeches by gentlemen
from a distance followed; and an ex-legislator
from an adjoining county privately remarked:
"If this school goes on, Kentucky is bound to
become a free State; but I am going to hold on
to my niggers as long as I can." After dinner
a subscription was raised without difficulty to
build an addition to the school-house, which
still stands and is used for a district school.
  This charming day, at the close of June, 1858,
may perhaps, more than any other, be regarded
as the natal day of Berea College; although not
till the September following was any attempt
made to organize a Board of Trustees, and not
till a long time after was the organization com-
pleted and the school placed under its care.
  The second term of the school was opened in
September, and two additional teachers were em-
ployed, Mr. John G. Hanson and his wife, who
brought to the work hearty enthusiasm, patient
effort and full faith in the enterprise. A hundred



16

 











Al



THE FIRST COLLEGE BUILDING.

 
BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



pupils were gathered, not a few of them young
men of tine abilities, some of whom have since
exercised no small influence as teachers and pro-
fessional men, and some have given their blood
for their country. Though an antislavery spirit
pervaded the school and the place, and the teach-
ers expressed their sentiments with entire free-
dom and boldness, yet such was the reputation
of the school and such the joyous atmosphere
that pervaded it, that many young people from
slaveholding families were attracted to it, and
not a few became insensibly enamored with the
love of liberty.
  During this term, in the Young Men's Literary
Society, the question was long and earnestly
discussed, whether, if a colored person should
apply for admission to the school, he should be
rejected. This was the first public discussion of
this question. It had previously been discussed
and settled, as will appear, at a meeting held for
the organization of a College Board of Trustees.
Happily the question was not embarrassed by
legal considerations, for there was no law of
Kentucky forbidding education to free colored
persons, or even to a slave, with his master's
consent. As this was a question affecting the
whole community, it became a topic of general
interest. Tho opinion of all the teachers, as



18

 
ITS ORIGIN.



well as of him who was the father of the com-
munity, was decided and uniform, and may be
expressed in a single declaration of the Princi-
pal of the school: "If any one made in God's
image comes to get knowledge which will en-
able him to understand the revelation of God in
Jesus Christ, he can not be rejected." This seln-
timent was not acceptable to the slaveholding
families that patronized the school; and though
none of the pupils left before the close of the
term, the opposition became so great during the
vacation, that few returned at the opening of
the third term. But the school went on under
the original teachers. Increased difficulties only
inspired to greater efforts. The work they be-
lieved was of God and could not fail.
  With the opening of the fourth term, in the
fall of 1859, came additional encouragement.
The affection of the' former pupils had not
ceased; the resolute perseverance, the manifest
faith and cheerful hope of those, who, according
to ordinary calculations, should have been dis-
couraged, impressed the people that perhaps a
divine power was sustaining them, and they
might succeed.  But before the close of the
term an event occurred ill Virginia which shook
the verv foundations of the school, though it
did not destroy them.  Before describing the



19

 

BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



effects of the John Brown raid, as felt in Bcrea,
we will return and take up a thread that was
dropped.

THE COLLEGE CHARTER AND CONSTI-
                 TUTION.
  The first effort made to form a constitution
for the College of which Berca school was re-
garded the embryo, was made on the seventh of
September, 1858, when several gentlemen met
for that purpose at Mr. Fee's residence, and ap-
pointed him  Chairman of the mecting, J. G.
Hanson, Secretary, and Mr. Rogers Chairman of
a Committee to draw up the proposed coustitu-
tion. At that meeting a constitution was re-
ported, discussed and agreed upon, and signed
by those present. In order to secure the co-
operation of gentlemen who could not be pres-
ent, the meeting adjourned to meet in December.
The meeting was held, and several subsequent
meetings, but it was not till the fo11owving July
that the present constitution, essentially the same
as the first, was adopted. At this meetiug, after
much prayer, three topics of inquiry were con-
sidered. First: "Is there a demand for a per-
mnancnt College of such a character as we have
inl View here"  Secondly: "Are we the men
called of God to carry it forward "  Thirdly:



20

 
CIIARTER AND CONSTITUTION.



"Is it to be for God, and for him alone" By
the third topic of inquiry it was the desire of
those mrnaking it to exaruiule themselves aud see
if, so far as theirl knowle(dge extended, they could
give up all selfish motives in going fo)rward with
the work. Undoubtedly, however honest they
were, Infinite Wisdom saw in their hearts that
which when developed would call for great hu-
miliation on their part and mercy on his; but
He who accepts the earnest desire to do His will,
did not despise their weakness or ignorance of
themselves, of which they have had occasion
silce then to learn not a little.
  After days of discussion upon various points,
almost all of them pertaining to the Christian
character of the school, a constitution and by-
laws were adopted. Two of the by-laws will
sufficiently indicate the wishes of those who
were planning for the future of the Institution:
  " This College shall be under an influence
strictly Christian, and, as such, opposed to sec-
tarianism, slaveholding, caste, altd. every other
wrong institution or practice."
  it The object of this College shall be to furnish
the facilities for a thorough education to all per-
sons of good moral character, at the least possi-
ble expense to the sanmc, and all the inducements
aud facilities for manual labor which can reason-



21

 

BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



ably be supplied by the Board of Trustees shall
be offered to its students."
  This constitution was signed by Rev. John G-.
Fee, Rev. J. S. Davis, Rev. Geo. Candee, John
Smith, Win. Stapp, T. J. Renfro, John G. Han-
son and Rev. J. A. R. Rogers, and four other
gentlemen were invited to unite with them in
taking steps to obtain a charter under a general
law of the State. Many difficulties arose in ob-
tainitig suitable co-operation and completing the
preliminary steps tor obtaining a charter. Mean-
while a tract of land, which was felt to be the
most desi rable for the College ground, was offered
for sale. Four of the trustees, on their own re-
sponsibility, purchased the tract, containing more
than a hundred acres, for one thousand eight
hundred dollars, and Mr. Fee was asked to go
East to obtain funds for securing the same for
the College. It was while he was absent that
the John Brown raid occurred, which had so
potent an influence upon the future of the Berea
school.
  Before this raid, as has becn already stated,
Berea had become an object of suspicion and
hatred. Any power for liberty was regarded
with great jealousy, and if it was in the form
of a school giving promise of becoming imnport-
ant, it was gecnrally felt that it must be put



22

 
OHARTER AND CONSTITUTION.2



down. Yet in Kentucky there was enough of
the old traditional love of free speech and fair
play to prevent any acts of violence against a
school intrenched in the hearts of many, and
with which -no fault could be found, save that it
was exerting an influence in favor of freedom.
  But when John Brown made his raid, it wvas
felt by some that an opportunity had arisen for
the suppression of the school. All Northern
men were regarded as dangerous, and especially
those who openly and fearlessly opposed slavery.
Who knew but that John Brown's band was
only one of a hundred others scattered through
the South for the purpose of stirring up insur-
rection among the slaves It was urged that
there were many strong, if not decisive, proofs
that the colony at Berea was one whose ultimate
aim was violence. A number of families were
moving into Berea, and some men had left their
families behind. Then what should bring them
to such a place as Berea, where the soil was re-
garded as too poor to enable men to get a com-
fortable living, but some sinister motive Again
it was said that the location of Berea, at the base
of the foot-hills of the Cumberland Mountains,
was perfect in a strategic point of view, and that
it was by no means certain that the Bereatis
could not exercise a controlling influence over



23

 

2BEREA (COLLEDGE. KY.



the mountain men. By reason of such declara-
tions, and abundant talse rumors, and the real
fear produced throughout the South by the John
Brown raid, inany were really alarmed. Women
told their husbanIds that they could not sleep at
night, and that the Berearis inrust be driven out
of the State. It was announced in one of the
papers that a box of Sharpe's rifles had been in-
tercepted on the way to Berea. Il view of this
fact it was thought prudent by somne gentlemen
in Richmond to examine several heavy boxes
containing the household goods of Rev. John
Boughton, who had moved to Berea. Accord-
ingly, at night, they carefully examined some of
the most suspicious-looking boxes in one of the
warehouses. At first all seemed to be right, and
the boxes to contain not ling but the usual family
goods; finally, however, some trepidation may
have been produced by the discovery of what
was declared to be an 4 internal machine," which
turned out to be a large set of Yankee candle-
molds. In consequence of this state of things,
several organized effiorts were made to suppress
the school, and drive those who were directing
it out of the State. The first and second efforts
for uniting the people of Madison County as a
whole for this despicable work proved abortive.
At length a new wave of terror having swept



24

 
CHARTER AND CONSTITUTION.



over the State, and the people having become
more intensely excited by virulent and false
statements in the newspapers of the county and
other parts of the State, a mass meeting was held
at the Court House in Richmond, violent speeches
were made, and a committee of sixty-five, com-
posed of the wealthiest and " most respectable "
citizens of the county, was appointed, to secure
the removal from the State, peacefully if possi-
ble, within ten days, of Rev. John G. Fee and
Rev. J. A. R. Rogers, and such others as the
committee should think necessary for the public
quiet and safety. A long address to the people
of the county and community at large was
adopted by the meeting. In this address it was
set forth that liberty and slavery could not dwell
together, that in a slave State men advocating
liberty were a dangerous element, and that, as
self-preservation was the first law of nations as
well as individuals, and that, as it was a settled
matter that Kentucky was to remain a slave
State, it was essential to the peace of the com-
monwealth that the school at Berea should be
suppressed, and those who were its originators
and supporters should be driven from the State;
and that, although this could not be done by
law, necessity was higher than all law. It was
the old doctrine of Caiaphas, truer than he knew,



25

 

BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



that the few must suffer for the good of the
many. Assurning that it was right and just
that Kentucky should be perlpettually a slave
State, the argument would havre some force. But
at this declaration "He who sitteth in the heav-
ens did laugh."  Always, just as wickedness
secures its ends, suddenly they fail.
  Meanwhile the people of Berea were having
additional experiences in their life of trial. The
air was dark with threats. It did not sound
pleasantly in the ears of a delicate woman to be
told that her husband was to be hung to a limb
before the school-room door. The Principal of
the school wrote to the press denying the asser-
tions in regard to the Bereans, and correcting
the false report of Mr. Fee's speech in Brooklyn,
but could not get a hearing. So abundant were
the threats against Mr. Fee that he was advised
not to return to the State. With characteristic
courage he determined to come, but was provi-
dentially hindered by an accident in Cincinnati.
The people of Berea gathered together every
night to pray for God's protection and guidance,
and most marvelously were the Scriptures opened
to their understanding. They could now easily
see why Luther felt that he could not have lived
but for the Hundred and eighteenth Psalm. The
Thirty-seventh Psalm seemed written especially



26

 


for them, and not ouly calmed their fears, but
cheered their hearts.
  At length, after several days of expectation,
the mnob, then orgranized gentlemen," appeared.
On the twenty-third of December, 1859, while
Mr. Rogers' family wsvere at dinner in the cottage
which he had just erected in the woods adjoin-
ing the grounds selected for the College, and not
yet surrounded by a fence, it was hastily an-
nounced that the men had come. Ile stepped
to the front door, and there sixty horsemen,
more or less, completely armed, were forming
themselves in wedge shape before the house. He
stepped out of the door, and at once the leader
of the band came up and delivered to him a
document, demanding in the name of the com-
mittee that he should leave the county within
ten days. He attempted to reason with the
leader, and told him that if he had violated any
law of the State, he was willing to abide the
consequences, that he was quietly laboring for
the good of the community and the support of
his family, and that in the exercise of his rights
he must not be disturbed. A disturbance arose
in the crowd, and the whole company then
wheeled and went to ten other families, most of
them native Kentuckians, and left a similar doc-
ument. Every-thing was done in as orderly and
unobjectionable a manner as possible.



27



THIE MIOB.

 

BEREA COLLEGE, KY.



  Those warned to leave the State, and others
most interested, met for prayer and deliberation.
Some thought that when persecuted in one city
it was duty to flee to another, and that it was
plainly the part of wisdom  for those who must
cope with the xuass of the people if they re-
mained, to go quietly away. Others counseled
to remain till forcibly removed. No decision was
reached. On the following day it was decided to
appeal to the Governor of the State for protec-
tion, though with scarcely a ray of hope that it
would be of any avail. As the petition sets forth
briefly the facts of the case, it is given entire:-
To -His Excellency, the Governor of the State of Kentucky:
  We, the undersigned, loyal citizens and residents of
the State of Kentucky and County of Madison, do re-
spectfully call your attention to the following facts:
  1. We have come from various parts of this and ad-
joining States to this county, with the intention of mak-
ing it our home, have supported ourselves and families
by honest industry, and endeavored to promote the in-
terests of religion and education.
  2. It is a principle with us to " submit to every ordi-
nance of man for the Lord's sake, unto governors as
unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of
evil-doers and the praise of them that do well," and in
accordance with this principle we have been obedient in
all respects to the laws of this State.



28

 

THE PETITION.



  3. Within a few weeks evil and false reports have been
put into circulation, imputing to us motives, words and
conduct calculated to inflame the public mind, which
imputations are utterly false and groundless. These im-
putations we have publicly denied, and offered