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University July 24th 1796
Sir,
You will, without doubt, be expecting some accounts from me long before the arrival of this but I delayed giving an answer to your letter until the meeting of the Board of Trustees which was on the 15th in that I might have it in my power to write to you more fully for as a teacher in the University I had no authority to give you any encouragement that could be relied upon without the concurrence of the Trustees.
In answer to the several queries which you proposed - I am to inform you that the offices of the University are President who is professor of Rhetoric Professor of Moral Philosophy &[??] letters - Professor of Natural Philosophy - Professor of Mathematics - of Chemistry, & of languages in [Scientifix?] Professorships - Revd. Ker who has lately left [??] was professor of languages & performed the
the duties of President protempore - Revd McCorkle [illegible] of this state was appointed to the professorship of moral Philosophy_ but as he could not immediately accept of the appointment and the trustees began to be very doubtful respecting his qualifications for that business the appointment has been retracted--
Revd Holmes is now professor of Languages. I am the other professor who besides the duties of my particular office, am obliged for the want of teachers to attend the moral Philosophy class & perform the duties of President_ Besides there are two tutors of the lower classes_. As to the classes _ the Moral Philosophy class is the first and consists of six young men_ They will study Paley, Burlemaqui, Montesquieu & [Mollet?] elements of history_ The mathematical class will consist of 15 who will study Simsons Euclid, Simson's Algebra_ Trigonometry, Surveying, navigation
in duties which were not annexed to my professors & which I think it will not be necessary for any fu= ture professorr to perform= To me they were not oppressive- I received my reward in finding myself useful to an institution which was zealously patronized by the whole state= Our situation is without doubt healthy= that was a circumstance which particularly recommended Chapel hill for the seat of the University. As our state is not favourably situated for commerce, & the University fixed in an interior part of the country you must readily conceive that the capence of clothing will be something dearn at this place than at Princeton. But boarding is much cheaper our diet at Commons is preferable to yours and produced at the low rate of 40 Dollars a year. The trustees will pay for your boarding if you choose to diet at Commons, it has cost me nothing as yet. The buildings already completed [are??] one wing 98 feet.
and if required Conic sections- Projection of the Sphere & e Nicholson's Nat. Philosophy & Ferguson's Astronomy. The Geography & arithmetic will be composed of 10 students the Latin class of nearly as many & there will be five or six in Greek_ The tutors each attend to near 30 scholars, so that the whole number will be about 100- I have not been very parti= cular, or accurate in some of the statements of the classes because it is now vacation & the young gentlemen when they meet, will commence their studies in new classes_ We imitate [Napace=Hale?] in the conduct of our affairs as much as much as the our circumstances will admit_ The Professor^ship of mathe= matics & natural Philosophy will not be more burdensome nor laborious at this place than at Princeton_ I have been at the University since the first commencement of business & determined to devote to myself during my stay, entirely to its in= terests_ For this reason I have always been employed
I have now given you a short but I fear not a satisfac= tory answer to your enquiries_ From what I have said you will easily perceive that the University labours more at present for the want of good teachers than anything else_ Were the buildings completed and more of the professorships filled there would not be less than 200 students_ The professorship of Mathe= matics is at present worth 500 Dollars & will I am certain in a short time be equal to 600. Yet I must inform you that the society in the neighbourhood of the University is very uncultivated & uninviting I have no communication with /strikethrough them/ ^it^_ When there is a little leisure I ride 12 or 14 miles & there find very agreeable company_ & the seminary is occasionally visited by the most respectable gentlemen in the state One who resides here will generally be confined to the company of teachers, students or books_ Chapel= hill is 25 miles from Raleigh the seat of government From the newness of the University everything is rather