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February 22, 2005

Washington's Birthday and Civic Piety

I'm working on a non-medieval project this term for which I'm allowing myself 1 morning a week in the Archives of these Colleges (our archivist blogs about being an archivist at a small college, by the way). I'm reading everything there is to read about the chapel (which, since it's a lovely little example of Gothic Revival and by a big-name architect isn't an entirely off-topic project for me; I promise.).

In pursuit of understanding what they were up to in 1860 I've been reading (and guiltily* transcribing) excerpts from the journal of the president of Hobart College in the late 1850s and the 1860s, Abner Jackson. One of the things I've noted is the annual celebration of Washington's Birthday - let me give you an example:

Tuesday, February 21st, 1860.
Holiday in College after Morning Prayer on account of celebrating Washington’s Birthday. To-morrow being Ash Wednesday, the celebration occurs to-day. A wonderfully beautiful day, so bright and glistening, and so warm. The ground was covered with snow in the morning, but it vanished before night.
Even. Preside at the celebration in Linden Hall. T. J. Rundle read the Farewell Address. E. L. Fitzhugh gave rather a brilliant oration—did very well. Hall crowded, all passed off very well.
Some notes: the holiday in College seems to have been annual (from 1858 until 1861, at least, which is how far I've read), though of course it didn't always conflict with the Church Year; there was always a reading of the Farewell Address and an oration. Hobart is an Episcopal college and in those days had daily prayer.** Linden Hall was an opera house in downtown Geneva which the College rented for special events.
*"guiltily" because I really shouldn't be shilly-shallying around with current events like this when fascinating articles about the burial of Charlemagne have already arrived via Interlibrary Loan. I'm even more guiltily thinking about what could be done with this interesting document (transcribe, post as a blog?), but I must resist the allure of primary documents in a language I understand natively!
**William Smith College, by the way, is not church related. William Smith was himself a Spiritualist and in the Charter for William Smith College it is specified that the young women will not be required to attend any religious services. Hobart men were required until 1967 to attend at least a certain number of chapel services each week.

Posted by CrankyProfessor at February 22, 2005 9:46 PM