Dublin Core
Title
Dr. Robert A. Young
Subject
Dr. Robert A. Young
Description
Born in 1824, Dr. Robert A. Young was the second president of Florence Wesleyan University and served from 1862 to 1865. Dr. Young, along with Professor Septimus Rice managed to keep the college open throughout the Civil War years. Enrollment was low during the Civil War.
Confederate and Union troops occupied Wesleyan Hall multiple times. Dr. Young distributed the University’s library books to Florence citizens for safekeeping until the war’s end. Dr. Young is credited with saving Florence Wesleyan University and Florence from being burned by Union Colonel Florence Cornyn and his troops in 1863. Although Colonel Cornyn refrained from destroying the town, he and his forces torched a block of downtown structures before Young’s entreaty, and torched several old houses as they left Florence. Dr. Young not only helped protect the college, but also helped citizens like General Edward A. O’Neal’s wife Olivia when she and her children were accosted by solders. In 1866, Dr. Young moved to take a position at Vanderbilt University and the college operated on a limited basis until 1868.
Confederate and Union troops occupied Wesleyan Hall multiple times. Dr. Young distributed the University’s library books to Florence citizens for safekeeping until the war’s end. Dr. Young is credited with saving Florence Wesleyan University and Florence from being burned by Union Colonel Florence Cornyn and his troops in 1863. Although Colonel Cornyn refrained from destroying the town, he and his forces torched a block of downtown structures before Young’s entreaty, and torched several old houses as they left Florence. Dr. Young not only helped protect the college, but also helped citizens like General Edward A. O’Neal’s wife Olivia when she and her children were accosted by solders. In 1866, Dr. Young moved to take a position at Vanderbilt University and the college operated on a limited basis until 1868.
Creator
Kayla Scott, University of North Alabama
Source
Robert S. Steen, History of Foster House- Courtview- Rogers Hall and Early City of Florence . Florence: University of North Alabama, No Date, 41.
William Lindsey McDonald, A Walk Through The Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. (Bluewater Publications, 2003), 52, 71.
Jill K. Garret, History of Lauderdale County, Alabama, 1964, 229.
A Brief Look at University of North Alabama History 1830-2005. Booklet published by the University of North Alabama.
Image Courtesy of UNA Collier Library Archives
William Lindsey McDonald, A Walk Through The Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. (Bluewater Publications, 2003), 52, 71.
Jill K. Garret, History of Lauderdale County, Alabama, 1964, 229.
A Brief Look at University of North Alabama History 1830-2005. Booklet published by the University of North Alabama.
Image Courtesy of UNA Collier Library Archives