Title:Letter from R. A. Clement and Charles P.
Hartwell to Edmund T. Wilkins, February 20, 1839: Electronic
Edition.
Author: Clement, Ralph A.
Author: Hartwell, Charles P.
Editor: Erika Lindemann
Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the
electronic publication of this title.
Text transcribed by
Erika Lindemann and Lieselotte Pollvogt
Images scanned by
Mara E. Dabrishus
Text encoded by
Sarah Ficke
First Edition,
2005
Size of electronic edition: ca. 14K
Publisher: The University Library, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2005
The electronic edition is a part of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American
South.
Languages used in the text:
English
Revision history:
2005-03-15, Sarah Ficke finished TEI/XML encoding.
Part of a series:
This transcribed document is part of a digital collection, titled True and Candid
Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students in North
Carolina
written by
Lindemann, Erika
Source(s):
Title of collection: Edmonia Cabell Wilkins Papers (#2364),
Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
Title of document: Letter from R. A. Clement and Charles P.
Hartwell to Edmund T. Wilkins, February 20, 1839
Author: R. A. Clement
Author: Charles P. Hartwell
Description: 1 pages, 2 page images
Note:
Call number 2364 (Southern Historical
Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Topics covered: Education/UNC Buildings and
Grounds Education/UNC Student
Associations Examples of Student
Writing/Letters and Letter Writing
Editorial practices The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of
the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Transcript of the personal correspondence. Originals are in the
Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved. DocSouth staff created a 600 dpi uncompressed TIFF file for each image. The TIFF images were then saved as JPEG images at 100 dpi for web access. Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the
text. Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the
trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line. Letters, words and passages marked as deleted or added in originals
have been encoded accordingly. All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed
as entity references. All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ". All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '. All em dashes are encoded as —. Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions,
see Dr. Erika Lindemann's explanation under the section Editorial Practices.
Document Summary
Clement and Hartwell request of alumnus Wilkins a contribution
toward the construction of a new dormitory housing halls for the Dialectic and
Philanthropic Societies.
University of N. Carolina Philanthropic HallFeb 20th 1839
Dear Sir,
The increasing prosperity of the
Philanthropic Society has obliged the members to
take speedy measures toward the erection of a new and more commodious Hall.2 The
trustees have bound themselves to furnish 2/3s of the sum requisite for that
purpose; And the anxiety of the members, in regard to it, has induced them to
pass a resolution, appealing to the generosity of their absent fellow-members
to aid them in the undertaking.
We—the undersigned—have been appointed a committee to
address you to this effect; And beleiving that your youthful partiality &
devotion to
Society have not all been lost by absense from us,
we feel confident that our appeal will not be in vain. Pride, indeed—would have induced us to forgo the
pleasure advantages of a new
Hall—had we none to whom to apply but strangers; But when we recollect,
that you were once members of the same
Society—that you once guided her councils, and
felt the same fond devotion we now do, we can not divest ourselves of the
beleif, that you still remember us, and are ready,
even now, to rally under our common motto
["Virtue, Liberty, and Science"]. Such being our sentiments, is all
the apology we can give for the trouble we reluctantly inflict upon our
absent distant members. But let it be
recollected, that it is from the principles of Philanthropy, and in behalf of the cause of Science, we
apply; For when the Hall shall be completed, few, if any, who now constitute
the
P. Society, will be members of the
University. By a liberal contribution upon our
own parts, and with what we can gather from our
friends, we hope soon to be able to discharge our last duty to those who are to
succeed us, in our
Society affairs, in a manner worthy of those who
fight under the banner of "Virtue—Liberty and Science".
Whatever you contribute, will be thankfully
received; and as the question must soon be decided we respectfully request an early answer.
1. Edmonia Cabell Wilkins Papers, SHC. The letter is addressed
"Mr Edmund
T. Wilkins
/
Greenville. C. House/
Virginia." A circular stamped postmark appears
in the upper left corner; "CHAPELHILL
N.C" appears inside the circumference of the
circle and "FEB 21" in the center. The amount of postage, "18
3/4" cents, has been written in the upper right corner. The person
addressing the envelope wrote "Mail" in the lower left corner. Below
the fold forming the face of the envelope, written so that it would appear on
the "back" of the sealed letter, is the following sentence: "If
mr
Wilkins
is not a resident of the place-the p. master will ablige much by
forwarding this where he can get it." On the right margin of the letter, a
second hand has written "Philanthropic/Society, 1839./
Chapel
Hill,/NCarolina."
2. In 1837 and 1838 the
Philanthropic and
Dialectic Societies offered to help underwrite the
construction of "a new building estimated to cost $5,000"
(
Henderson 134). The structure would house both societies and would provide
better fire protection for their libraries, totalling some 7,000 books. The old
debating halls in
South
Building, once vacated, would be converted into needed sleeping rooms
for students. The
Trustees agreed to the students' plans and promised
to pay at least two-thirds of the cost "as soon as the funds of the
University would permit" (Henderson 134). By
1844 the plan for a separate new building was abandoned in favor of a proposal
to extend
Old East
and
Old West
to the north by one-half their former length at the cost of $9,360
(
Henderson 136). The enlarged buildings were completed by 1848. In allocating
the space by lottery,
Matt W. Ransom
, president of the
Philanthropic Society, chose
Old East
and the eastern half of the
South
Building for the
Phis; the
Dis occupied
Old West
and the western half of
South
Building. This apportioning of architectural geography mirrored the
geographical origins of society members, as most
Phis came from eastern
North
Carolina, and most
Dis grew up in the western part of the
state.