Alumni Project: Charles Thomas Abercrombie, 1846

Charles Thomas Abercrombie, 1823-1876

Apparently, from a fairly well off family as he married a woman who had at least two brothers (likely) who were UGA alums (using definition from the 1901 circular considering any one who had attended an alumnus) as well and a father who was apparently a judge in Putnam Co., Georgia and may well have attended the University himself, though no record indicates how the ‘Hon. Charles P. Gordon’ was educated.

Abercrombie’s monetary value and relative stationary position once he settled in Russell County, AL is evident through the census records. From 1850-1870, each of the three in which Abercrombie is enumerated, he is in Russell Co., and in 1850 and 1860 his personal estate and real estate are valued at $10,000 (real, 1850, not yet adjusted for inflation); $20,000 (real, 1860, not adjusted); and $40,000 (personal, 1860, not adjusted). Additionally, it appears that several brothers or other relatives settled near him in Russell Co, Ala. as in 1850-1870 census records there are several other Abercrombie families enumerated on the same page.

Abercrombie was an MD as well as focusing on his livelihood as a ‘planter’ as he is identified in both the 1901 Catalogue and Hull’s 1906 survey of alumni. Who completed his form is not indicated as he had died in 1876 well before the 1901 forms were sent.

Other items of note for Abercrombie include that the person responding for him lists several relatives (including a Confederate General who had become a governor of Georgia, John Brown Gordon and 3 others, none of whom have their specific connection to Abercrombie listed.

For any answers not given by respondent, I have removed the associated question for the sake of space in blog posts.

Name, in full, (Do not use initials):
Charles Thomas Abercrombie

Address; state, county, city, street and number:
Russell Co. Ala.

Place and time of birth:
Sparta, Ga. April 15^th, 1823

Date of entrance, with class entered:
1844 with [class of] ’45 (i.e. what we would likely call a transfer today)

Date of graduation, and degree received; or date of leaving college:
1846 [based on Hull’s 1906 list and answer below, likely not a graduate]

Other institutions attended later; degrees received; with dates:
Graduated from University of Pa, then attended Medical College at New Orleans, (in a different hand): & was also a graduate of Jefferson Medical College Philadelphia Penn.

Facts relating to marriage:
Was married June 27^th, 1849 to Virginia Gordon, daughter of Hon. Charles P. Gordon, of Eatonton.

Facts as to occupation and business life:
Most of his time was given to his planting interests, some part of it, however, was devoted to his profession as M.D.

Names and addresses of any relatives, immediate or remote who were alumni:
Messrs. Joseph C. Wilkins (18??, relation) & James (different hand) Lovick Grant (18??, relation?).

Gen’l. John B. Gordon (18??, likely brother-in-law. Was also Gov of GA) & Walter S. Gordon (18??, likely brother-in-law)

NOTE: If this circular is sent to the relatives of an alumnus deceased, kindly give accurately the date of death.
Died at his home in Russell Co., Ala. March 28^th, 1876

AFN
DCC
14 April 2010
Vidalia, GA

The Alumni Project

Discipline & Projects (usually not my bag)
Based on the 1901 alumni catalogue that UGA and the Board of Trustees commissioned/required to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of classes, the Hargrett Collection through the UGA Libraries has digitized each of the 1790 four-page response sheets that UGA alumni submitted or had submitted on their behalf (mostly for those who were deceased).

So, why the interest in this list/catalogue? (Well, besides the fact that it's about UGA and I really don't need much reason other than that).

I'm working on a prosopography (collective biography) of UGA alumni and students. Beyond that I won't show my hand too much regarding my interests and where I'm going with the project, but this will essentially be a way for me to make notes regarding each of the entries and other items from Pandora, the Red & Black, the University Reporter, and the Bumble Bee among other student publications.

The plan is to transcribe each of the four-page responses with notes and research followed by tags for Alumni Project, 1901 Catalogue (or other source), Class graduation year, Profession, Degree, and perhaps others. Hopefully, I'll be able to include some information regarding census records as well. I'll discuss other issues as I have time and thought such as the all-male nature of the institution during the time frame discussed as well as discussing student organizations (primarily 1886-1900) and art work/cartoons from student publications.

I'll run through the list alphabetically as it appears in the Hargrett archives. So first up in the next post will be Charles Thomas Abercrombie Class of 1846. And hopefully 1 at a time.

To start, the questions from the catalogue are as follows.

Fraternally Yours . . .

"The word “alumnus” as used in this letter, refers to any man who has matriculated at the University, whether a graduate or not.

University of Georgia

Dear Sir:

As an important part of the celebration of the Centennial of the University, the Board of Trustees has ordered the preparation and publication of a CENTENNIAL ALUMNI CATALOGUE, to contain, as far as possible, a full but concise account of the life and services of all the alumni during the century.

The hearty co-operation of all living alumni, and of the relatives and friends of all deceased, is necessary to the success of the undertaking. Your prompt and careful attention to the inquiries set forth below will be a real service to the University, and will be most cordially appreciated. If you are not able to give the information under any head, please leave the space blank so that it may be filled by others.

The alma mater again extends to all alumni a hearty invitation to join with her celebration of the Centennial, June 12^th-19^th, 1901.

Fraternally yours,

Walter B. Hill,

Chancellor.

1. Name, in full, (Do not use initials):

2. Address; state, county, city, street and number:

3. Place and time of birth:

4. Date of entrance, with class entered:

5. College honors, or distinctions of any kind:

6. Literary Society:

7. Date of graduation, and degree received; or date of leaving college:

8. Other institutions attended later; degrees received; with dates:

9. Honorary Degrees; by whom conferred with dates

10. Member of learned societies:

11. Facts relating to marriage:

12. Facts as to occupation and business life:

13. Public Service:
a) Civil:
b) Military:
c) Religious/Educational Service:

14. Writings:

15. Any additional information of a personal nature:

16. Names and addresses of any relatives, immediate or remote who were alumni:

NOTE: If this circular is sent to the relatives of an alumnus deceased, kindly give accurately the date of death."

AFN

DCC

13 April 2010

Vidalia, GA

Georgia Wildcats, er Bulldogs: Bicenquasquigenary Jubilee pt. IV (much delayed)

Go Goats? Go Wildcats? . . . Go Dawgs!

Well, believe it or not (and most folks know about the goat), Georgia's teams were once represented/called Goats and Wildcats before they were called Bulldogs. The Wildcats have been largely left off (i.e. I've not read a reference to UGA using Wildcats until reading it in the editions of the R&B from 1920).

1920 is significant because not only did UGA field its first undefeated football team that year, but it was the year that a Bulldog was set as the team mascot in favor of Wildcats, largely via the influence of Morgan Blake's writing after the UGA-Auburn game that year. Below is the very first Red & Black to reference Georgia's teams as 'Bulldogs'.


Interestingly, the same edition also references the team as Wildcats at some point too.

Will write more on this later, but wanted to get a quick post up.

GO DAWGS!

AFN
DCC
8 February 2010
Athens, GA