The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 5, July 1901 - April, 1902 Page: 53
370 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Dr. Rufus C Burleson.
had been issued by the Republic of Texas February 1st, 1845, and
the institution had been named in honor of Judge R. E. B. Baylor.
On the 15th of May, 1845, the board of trustees had met and
received and considered the bids of the several places that were
candidates for the location,' and Independence had been selected.
January 12th, 1846, Dr. Henry L. Graves had been elected presi-
dent, and the institution had been fairly launched in the young
Republic May 18th, 1846. Dr. Graves continued in office for five
years, when he severed his connection with the school and moved
to Fairfield. At a session of the board, commenced on the 13th and
concluded on the 18th of June, 1851, Dr. R. C. Burleson was nom-
inated for the presidency by Judge A. S. Lipscomb, of that first
famous Supreme Court, and elected without a dissenting vote.
As stated, Dr. Burleson's first impulse after graduation was to
do something for Texas and her struggling people, so while living
in Covington, Ky., February 4th, 1847, he had accepted an agency
for Baylor University, canvassed the States of Ohio, Kentucky,
Mississippi, and Alabama, and received some appreciated collec-
tions, not only of money, but books and scientific, chemical, and
philosophical apparatus for the school. Having decided to accept
the position to which he had been so heartily elected, he tendered
his resignation as pastor of the church at Houston, which was
accepted amidst sighs and sorrowing by the congregation, and
June, 1851, he moved to Independence and threw his soul and
splendid abilities into the work of raising that school to a high
standard.
This institution was born in a storm, and lived in a storm up to
the time Dr. Burleson was placed at the helm. The determination
to establish it was reached in 1841, before the excitement of the
Revolution of 1836 had subsided, and during the period when the
most serious conflicts between the early settlers and Indians occur-
red. It was formally established in 1845, while the exciting cam-
paign which resulted in the annexation of Texas to the United
States was distracting the attention of the people. It had scarcely
emerged from the feverish conditions engendered by this contro-
versy when war was declared between the United States and Mex-
ico, March 11th, 1846, and the school struggled for existence dur-
ing that sanguinary conflict. Every interest of the new country,
political, commercial, educational, and religious was in an embry-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 5, July 1901 - April, 1902, periodical, 1902; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101021/m1/59/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.