Inventory of
the John C. Kilgo Records and Papers,
1888 - 1970 (bulk
1894-1920)
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Descriptive Summary
Title
John C.
Kilgo Records and Papers,
1888 - 1970
(bulk 1894-1920)
Creator
Kilgo, John C. (John
Carlisle), 1861-1922.
Extent
12.5 Linear Feet,
10,000
Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Abstract
John
C. Kilgo served as President of Trinity College (Durham,
N.C.) from 1894 to 1910. The John C. Kilgo Records and
Papers contain correspondence, sermons, lectures, articles,
newspaper clippings, memorabilia, printed matter, and
scrapbooks pertaining to Kilgo's career as an educator, as
President of Trinity College, and as a Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Subjects include Kilgo's
educational philosophy, family affairs, Duke family
philanthropy and the financial state of Trinity College,
union of Methodist churches, Kilgo's election as bishop,
and controversies in which he and the College were
involved, including the Gattis vs.
Kilgo controversy and the John Spencer Bassett
Affair concerning academic freedom.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
The collection is open for research.
The clippings files (Folders 137-144) contain
brittle newsprint and may require reformatting before use.
Please contact University Archives staff before visiting to
use this portion of the collection.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is
held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by
the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John C. Kilgo Records
and Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The John C. Kilgo Records and Papers were
acquired by the University Archives, date unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by University Archives staff and Jill
Katte
Completed January 2004
Encoded by Jill Katte, January 2004
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
College president, Methodist clergyman and bishop,
born Laurens, South Carolina, July 22, 1861. A.M., Wofford
College, 1892; D.D., Randolph-Macon, Wofford, 1895; L.L.D.,
Tulane, 1910, Trinity, 1916. President, Trinity College,
Durham, NC, 1894-1910; Bishop, Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, 1910-1922. As an educator, Kilgo was an advocate of
a strong public school system, but thought that higher
education belonged in co-ed colleges conducted under
Christian auspices.
Kilgo's father, James Tillman Kilgo, was a
circuit riding Methodist preacher, and his mother Catherine
Mason, of Fairfield County, S.C., was related to the
prominent Mason family of Virginia. There were five
children, three boys and two girls. John's early education
took place in those communities where his father preached.
He attended McArthur Academy in Limestone, and Gaffney
Seminary, and in 1880 enrolled at Wofford College. Eye
problems caused his withdrawal at the end of his sophomore
year. While at McArthur, a school organized along the lines
of a strict English academy, he absorbed the code of strict
rules and discipline that characterized his own career as
an educator. After withdrawing from Wofford, Kilgo taught
school in Clio, S.C., and was licensed to preach in May of
1882. From then until 1888, he rode a circuit in South
Carolina, becoming known as an outstanding preacher. In
December of 1882, he married Fannie Natt Turner, of
Gaffney, S.C.; they had five children.
In 1888 he was made financial agent of Wofford
College, and was able to continue his education. He
received the M.A. from Wofford in 1892, and was appointed
Professor of Philosophy and Political Economy. It was
during his time at Wofford that he developed the
educational philosophy he was later to put into practice at
Trinity. Kilgo thought that true higher education could be
secured only in institutions conducted under Christian
auspices; such schools should be coeducational, as separate
women's colleges at that time tended to be inferior to
men's.
In 1894, at the age of thirty-three, Kilgo was
elected a delegate to the General Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, becoming one of the
youngest men ever sent. His reputation led an editor to to
call him "one of the most useful and popular members of the
South Carolina Conference." In July of that year, Kilgo was
elected President of Trinity College in Durham. He took up
his post the next month, establishing a reputation as a
gifted preacher and educator. Methodists around North
Carolina were ready to support their college and see it
grow, and it was during Kilgo's tenure that Washington Duke
took a great interest in the college's affairs. As
President, Kilgo spoke out on many controversial topics,
including the role of the state in education, academic
freedom, and the education of women.
In 1910, he was elected a Bishop of the Methodist
Episcopal church, South, and resigned as President of
Trinity. He continued, however, to take an active role in
the affairs of the school, becoming first a member, then
the chairman, of the Board of Trustees. He lived in Durham
until 1915, when he moved to Charlotte in order to more
easily carry out his responsibilities as a bishop. In 1917,
following a controversy over student behavior, Kilgo
severed his connection with the College. Kilgo was a member
of the Education Commission of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, which founded and incorporated Emory
University.
His health began to fail late in the decade, and
in 1920 he was relieved of his episcopal duties. On August
22, 1922, he died in Charlotte, and was buried there.
[Portions of this text are taken from Elizabeth
H. Copeland's sketch of Kilgo's life, ca. 1984]
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Collection Overview
The John C. Kilgo Records and Papers contain
correspondence, sermons, lectures, and articles, both
manuscript and printed, along with newspaper clippings,
memorabilia, and scrapbooks pertaining to Kilgo's career as
an educator, as President of Trinity College, Durham, N.C.,
and as a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Subjects include Kilgo's educational philosophy, family
affairs, Duke family philanthropy and the financial state
of Trinity College, union of Methodist churches, Kilgo's
election as bishop, and controversies in which he and the
College were involved, including the Gattis vs. Kilgo controversy and the
John Spencer Bassett Affair concerning academic freedom.
The records and papers are organized into ten
series. The first series,
Correspondence, contains
Kilgo's correspondence regarding Trinity College, Wofford
College, the Methodist Church, the Bassett Affair, and the
Duke family. The
Sermons and notes series
features handwritten and typed sermon manuscripts and other
notes, mostly undated. The third series,
Lectures, addresses, and
writings, includes manuscripts and published material
relating to Trinity College, eulogies, citizenship, the
South, education, the Methodist Church, and religion. The
Methodist Episcopal Church,
South series contains Board of Missions Financial
Statements, resolutions, addresses, and related materials.
Personal and biographical
materials include clippings, biographies,
genealogical information, printed matter, and financial
documents. This series also features modern materials, such
as family correspondence of Kilgo's descendants, that were
added to the collection.
The
Trinity College records
series features building specifications, Kilgo's inaugural
address, printed matter, and materials relating to the
Clark vs. Kilgo case (1898).
The next series,
Gattis vs.
Kilgo, Duke, and Odell
contains documents
relating to the 1905 slander suit brought by Thomas J.
Gattis against Kilgo, Benjamin N. Duke, and W. R. Odell.
The seven
Scrapbooks contain clippings
of Kilgo's articles and sermons, pages cut from the Bible
and hymnals, book reviews, and other items. The
Additional materials include
a catalog of Kilgo's library, a card inventory of his
records and papers, and reference notes detailing press
attacks on Kilgo, Trinity College, and the Duke family from
1891 to 1906. The
Oversize materials series
contains documents from the preceding series in the
collection stored in oversize containers.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under
the following subject headings in the Duke University
Libraries online catalog.
-
Academic
freedom.
-
Bassett, John
Spencer, 1867-1928.
-
Coeducation.
-
Duke, Benjamin
Newton, 1855-1929.
-
Duke, Washington,
1820-1905.
-
Duke University--History.
-
Duke University.
President.
-
Duke University--Presidents.
-
Educational fund
raising--North Carolina.
-
Gattis, Thomas
Jefferson.
-
Kilgo, John C.
(John Carlisle), 1861-1922.
-
Methodist
Episcopal Church, South.
-
Methodist
Episcopal Church, South--Clergy.
-
Methodist
Episcopal Church, South--Education.
-
Odell, W.
R.
-
Trinity College
(Durham, N.C.)--History.
-
Women--Education
(Higher)--North Carolina--Durham.
-
Clippings.
-
Scrapbooks.
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[Forms part of:] Duke University
President records.
University Archives, Duke
University.
John Spencer Bassett
Collection.
University Archives, Duke
University.
Bassett Affair Collection.
University Archives, Duke
University.
Benjamin Newton Duke
Papers.
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University.
 | List of Series in Collection |
 |  | Correspondence,
1891-1922
and undated |
| | Sermons and notes,
1882-1918
and undated |
| | Lectures, addresses, and
writings,
1895-1916
and undated |
| | Methodist Episcopal Church,
South records and printed matter,
1915-1919
and undated |
| | Personal and biographical
materials, ca.
1888-1970
and undated |
| | Trinity College records,
1894-1910
and undated |
| |
Gattis vs. Kilgo, Duke,
and Odell,
1905 and
undated |
| | Scrapbooks,
1906-1910
and undated |
| | Additional materials,
1936,
1946,
1950
|
 | | Oversize
materials |
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence,
1891-1922
and undated
Subjects present in the Correspondence series
include affairs at Wofford College, Kilgo's appointment to
the presidency of Trinity, unification of the Methodist
Church, fund-raising, educational reform, and Kilgo's
election as Bishop. The items include Walter Hines Page's
address at the dedication of the Trinity College Library
(February, 1903) and Washington Duke's letters of December
1896, and April 1903 concerning his gifts to the College
and the status of its women students. Correspondents
include Joseph Gill Brown, Wallace Buttrick, William
Preston Few, James H. Southgate, Washington Duke, and
Robert Lee Flowers.
The correspondence is indexed in the
University Archives card catalog.
Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
Folder 1-7
Jan. 1891-Sep.
1898
Box 2
Folder 8-13
Oct. 1898-May
1903
Box 3
Folder 14-19
June 1903-Aug.
1907
President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 speech
at Trinity College included in folder 16.
Box 4
Folder 20-25
Sept. 1907-May 16,
1910
Box 5
Folder 26-31
May 17, 1910-June
1918
Box 6
Folder 32-37
July 1918-April
1920
Box 7
Folder 38-40
May 1920-Aug.
1922
Folder 41-42
Undated correspondence
Sermons and notes,
1882-1918
and undated
Manuscripts and notes for sermons, mostly
undated. Two notebooks list sermons and dates given; three
volumes are titled "Sophomore Bible," "Junior Bible," and
"Senior Bible" from 1895-1896, and may have been intended
for those classes at Trinity College. Sermons and notes are
hand-written or typed on loose papers and in a variety of
bindings. Notebooks contain full sermons on particular
topics with biblical passages, or sermon outlines. Some of
the books contain miscellaneous notes.
Box 8
Folder 43
Sermons,
1885,
1898-1900
Includes
"A Sermon on the Witness
of God's Spirit"
(1885),
"Annual Opening Sermon
preached by Dr. John C. Kilgo Before the Student Body of
Trinity College"
(Sept. 17, 1899),
"Christmas Sermon"
(1899), and other sermons.
Folder 44
"Personality and
Progress,"
preached by Eugene R. Hendrix, ca.
1901
Folder 45-46
Sermons, undated
Includes
"Dr. Kilgo's Sermon
before the Student Body,"
"The Prepared
Man,"
"Beware of the
Pharisees,"
"An Apostate
Church,"
and other sermons.
Folder 47-50
Notes, undated
Box 9
Folder 51
Notes, undated
Folder 52
Record of Sermons,
1882-1889
Folder 53
Sophomore Bible,
1895-1896
Folder 54
Junior Bible,
1895-1896
Folder 55
Senior Bible,
1895-1896
Folder 56
Outlines of sermons,
1898
Folder 57
Sermon notes,
1907,
1911-1913
[2
volumes]
Folder 58
Sermon notes,
[1914?]
Folder 59
Sermon notes,
1918
Folder 60
Sermon notes,
[1918?]
Box 10
Folder 61
Psalms of David, undated
Folder 62
Sermon notes, Wofford College,
Spartanburg, S.C., undated
Folder 63-75
Sermon notes, undated
[15
vols.]
Box 11
Folder 76-80
Sermon notes, undated
[6 vols.]
Lectures, addresses, and
writings,
1895-1916
and undated
Manuscript and typed lectures, articles, speeches, reports, and notebooks. Most of the
materials are undated, some may have been titled by Kilgo,
and some have supplied titles. Articles include
"The North Carolina
Conference and the Twentieth Century Movement,"
"The American
Democracy,"
"Physical Culture at
Trinity College,"
and
"The Meaning of a Larger
Endowment for Trinity College."
Titled notebooks
include: Development of American Methodism; Christology,
1895; Key to map of the Western North Carolina Conference,
M.E. Church, South; and Slavery in America. Copies of
published articles include:
"Christian Education: Its
Aims and Superiority,"
[1896?];
"Our Duty to the
Negro,"
1903;
"American Commercialism;
The Silent South,"
[1907];
"Francis Asbury,"
[1916];
"A Plea for the Union of
Methodism in America,"
1906;
"The Value of Endowed
Colleges."
Other writings treat inter-collegiate
athletics, the history of Vanderbilt University,
educational philosophy, why he severed his connection with
Trinity College, and talks to students and fellow Methodist
clergy. Among the manuscripts are writings on Washington
and B. N. Duke and eulogies for J. H. Southgate, Joseph F.
Bivens and others. The notebooks contain material on a
variety of subjects: notes for a lecture on Robert E. Lee; theology;
genealogical notes on the Burton (or Bruton?) family;
Washington Duke, and other subjects.
Trinity College, 1898-1916 and
undated
Folder 81
Administrative addresses,
1907,
1912,
and undated
Folder 82
Addresses to the student body,
1898-1900 and undated
Folder 83
Baccalaureate addresses,
1896,
1903,
1916,
and undated
Folder 84
Bassett Affair: speech to the
Board of Trustees,
Dec.
1903
Folder 85
Chapel talks,
1898-1900 and undated
Folder 86
In Memory of Mr.
Washington Duke: exercises held in Craven Memorial Hall,
Trinity College, Durham, N.C., June 4, 1905; Memorial
Address: President John C. Kilgo,
1905
Folder 87
The Lines of the
Future Development of Trinity College,
undated
General lectures and addresses,
undated
Folder 88
Eulogies and biographical
addresses, undated
Includes eulogies for
Charles Brantley
Aycock,
Joseph Francis Bivins,
Washington Duke,
Bishop
William Wallace
Duncan, Bishop
James Henry McCoy,
John B. Robins, and
James H. Southgate.
Also includes a biographical address about
Benjamin Duke.
Folder 89-90
Citizenship, the South, and other
topics, undated
Folder 91-92
Education, undated
Folder 93-94
Methodist Church, moral, and
religious, undated
Folder 95
Published addresses and articles,
1897-1916 and undated
Box 12
Notebooks
Folder 96
The Development of American
Methodism, undated
Key to map of the Western North
Carolina Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
undated
Folder 97
Education and business,
undated
Folder 98
Gardening, memoranda, and other
notes, undated
Folder 99
Notes on the Bible,
undated
Folder 100
Notes on "Christology,"
1895
Folder 101
Notes on Methodist conferences,
1906-1910
Folder 102
Notes on Robert E. Lee, [
1907]
Folder 103
Notes on slavery in America,
undated
Folder 104
Sketches of Biblical characters
and of Robert Burns, undated
Folder 105
Travel notes: British Isles,
France, Italy, undated
Folder 106-107
Commonplace books,
undated
[2
vols.]
Folder 108-112
Lecture and miscellaneous notes,
undated
[6
vols.]
Methodist Episcopal Church,
South records and printed matter,
1915-1919
and undated
Board of Missions Financial Statements,
1915-1916 (6 vols.); newspapers; forms for recording
minutes; resolutions, addresses, and related materials.
Additional materials documenting Kilgo's involvement with
the Methodist Church can be found in the
Sermons and notes series
and in the
Lectures, addresses, and
writings series.
Addresses, undated
Folder 114
Certificates and printed matter,
undated
Folder 115
District lists and documents,
1918-1919 and undated
Folder 116
Printed matter
[oversize]
Folder 117
Resolutions and declarations,
1919
and undated
Financial statements
Folder 118
Board of Missions,
1915
Folder 119
Board of Missions,
1916
Personal and biographical
materials, ca.
1888-1970
and undated
Correspondence with Kilgo's descendants;
biographical data on Kilgo; Moravian Church literature;
postcards and memorabilia from a trip to Japan; a
Greek Bible; bills, receipts, check stubs, ca. 1910 - 1920;
newspaper and magazine clippings concerning the controversy
over the Mecklenberg Declaration, Methodist Conference
activities, Kilgo's speeches and articles, conditions at
Trinity College, and other subjects. The series also
consists of some anonymous poetry and miscellaneous printed
matter.
The clippings in this series are not
immediately accessible because they require further
processing before use. Please contact University Archives
staff before visiting to use this portion of the
collection.
Folder 120
Biographical and genealogical
documents, [
1910]
and undated
Folder 121
Cards and circulars,
1895-1907 and undated
Folder 122
Family letters,
1922-1944,
1965,
1970
Folder 123
Japan, travel and preaching,
1917
Folder 124
Moravian Church,
1931-1934
Folder 125
North Carolina Baseball Association,
Articles of Agreement, [
1901]
Folder 126
Personal and genealogical documents,
1913
and undated
Folder 127
Poetry,
1888-1911
Folder 128
Printed matter, advertisements, and
circulars, 1895-1919 and undated
Folder 129
Printed matter,
1901-1908
Folder 130-134
Bills and receipts,
1910-1920
Folder 135
Check stub book,
1921
Folder 136
The New Testament in
the Original Greek.
London:
Macmillan,
1907. Student's edition
with lexicon.
Contains marginal notes made by Kilgo.
Oversize
14
Folder 137-144
Clippings, unprocessed
University Archives staff may need to
reformat brittle newsprint before use. Please contact
University Archives staff prior to visiting to use these
materials.
Trinity College records,
1894-1910
and undated
Report of the Board of Trustees concerning the
charges brought against Kilgo by Trustee Justice Walter
Clark, 1898 (2 copies of a bound pamphlet); Trinity College
Financial Statement, Inter-State Audit Company, Charlotte,
1917; Washington Duke Memorial Fund, subscription and donor
books, 1905-1908 [2 vols.]; C. Hook and other architects'
specifications for Kilgo's residence and for a new
dormitory building at the College; report of the Board of
Visitors, ca. 1900; program and seating chart from
President Few's Inauguration; manuscript and typed copy of
Kilgo's inaugural address, 1894. Miscellaneous printed
matter, including a broadside on fraternity corruptions, debate programs, and ephemera.
Box 15
Folder 145
Building specifications,
1898
and undated
Folder 146
Clark vs.
Kilgo,
1898
and undated
Folder 147
Inaugural address,
[1894]
Folder 148
Printed matter,
1898-1910 and undated
Folder 149
Synopses of faculty lectures and
student papers, undated
Gattis vs. Kilgo, Duke,
and Odell,
1905 and
undated
Hearings at the Wake and Granville Superior
Courts, and a North Carolina Supreme Court appellate brief,
concerning the slander suit brought by Thomas J. Gattis
against Kilgo, B. N. Duke, and W. R. Odell.
Folder 150
Record in case of T.
J. Gattis versus J. C. Kilgo, B. N. Duke, and W. R. Odell,
before His Honor Frederick Moore, Judge, and a Jury at the
July (Special) Term, 1905, of the Superior Court of Wake
County, Vols. 1-4.
Folder 151
Accusations and defense,
ca.
1905
Folder 152
Statement,
June
1905
Self-Defense,
Aug.
1905
Scrapbooks,
1906-1910
and undated
Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings of
articles, sermons, and other activities of Kilgo, including
a 5-part article on female education, written in
Spartanburg, pages cut from the Bible and hymnals, book
reviews, and other items.
Oversize
16
Folder 154-155
Scrapbooks, 1906-1910 and
undated
[7 volumes]
NOTE: Scrapbooks contain brittle paper and
fragile materials. Please handle with care.
Two scrapbooks were dismantled for
preservation in Folders 154-155. The remaining five
scrapbooks are unfoldered in Oversize Box 16.
Additional materials,
1936,
1946,
1950
This series consists of materials added to the
collection that describe Kilgo's records and papers, as
well as materials written about Kilgo and Trinity College.
These materials include a card catalog of the library of
President Kilgo, which was presented to Duke University
Library, and an early card inventory of the Kilgo records
and papers created by the Manuscripts Department. Also
included are reference notes compiled by Nannie Tilley in
1936, documenting the newspaper coverage (ca. 1891-ca.
1906) of the Bassett and Gattis cases and the relationships
between Kilgo, Trinity College, and the Duke family.
Card_Box
17-18
Catalogue of Library of President
Kilgo Presented to Duke University, ca.
1946
Kilgo's Library may have been presented to
Duke University sometime after 1924. The volumes in the
library were cataloged around 1946, and seem to have been
incorporated into both the Divinity School Library and the
general collection of the Duke University Libraries. Many
of the titles listed in the Kilgo Library card index can be
found in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
Card inventory,
1950
Box 19
Folder 156
Reference notes from newspapers,
1891-1906
These references to articles about Kilgo
were collected in 1936 by Nannie M. Tilley of the Duke
Manuscripts Department. The notes refer to articles written
between 1891 and 1906 in
Webster's
Weekly, the
Progressive
Farmer, the
News and
Observer, the
Biblical
Recorder, the
Raleigh Christian
Advocate, the
Concord Times,
and the
Raleigh Post.
Subjects of the articles include the Bassett Affair and the
Gattis vs. Kilgo
slander suit. Many of these articles attack Kilgo and
Trinity College for accepting trust money from the Duke
family, while others defend the actions of Kilgo and the
College.
Oversize
materials
Materials from the preceding series are stored
in oversize containers:
Oversize
20
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
records and printed matter
[Folder 116 removed from Box 13.]
Folder 116
Printed matter
[oversize]
Personal and biographical
materials
[Folders 125, 126, 129, 135, and 136
removed from Box 13.]
Folder 125
North Carolina Baseball
Association, Articles of Agreement, [
1901]
Folder 126
Personal and genealogical
documents,
1913
and undated
Folder 129
Printed matter,
1901-1908
Folder 135
Check stub book,
1921
Folder 136
The New Testament
in the Original Greek.
London:
Macmillan,
1907. Student's edition
with lexicon.
Contains marginal notes made by Kilgo.
Trinity College records
[Some materials in folder 148 were removed
from Box 15.]
Folder 148
Printed matter,
1898-1910 and undated
Gattis vs.
Kilgo
[Vols. 3 and 4 moved from Box 15.]
Record in case of T.
J. Gattis versus J. C. Kilgo, B. N. Duke, and W. R. Odell,
before His Honor Frederick Moore, Judge, and a Jury at the
July (Special) Term, 1905, of the Superior Court of Wake
County, Vols. 3-4.
