COMMENCEMENT BIDDLE UNIVERSITY, CHARLOTTE, N. C. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1891, AT 10 O'CLOCK A. M.

[Charlotte, 1891. Printed octavo leaf, folded to [4] pp. Attractive type fonts, Very Good.

"First known as Biddle Memorial Institute, the school was founded in 1870 on Beatties Ford Road by the Catawba Presbytery. Colonel W.R. Myers donated the land. The school was named for Henry Biddle husband of its financial benefactor, Mary D. Biddle of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was here that newly free blacks could obtain an education, learn a trade and even prepare for the ministry. In 1876, the school's charter was amended, and the North Carolina General Assembly approved changing the school's name to Biddle University. On March 1, 1923, the school (truncated) changed its name to Johnson C. Smith University in honor of another donor, Jane Berry Smith. . ." [online article on Biddle University at web site of Charlotte - Mecklenburg Library].
The commencement program included several Addresses from the Theological Department; and Orations from the Collegiate Department. Among the orators was Calvin Monroe Young, born a slave at Due West, S.C., in 1859. He went to Biddle University at age 23, graduating with an A.B. in 1891. Other Orators were also from South Carolina, and most went on to become Presbyterian ministers.
OCLC 1284916714 [1- U NC] as of February 2025. (Inventory #: 40703)