Notable Members
In 1844, Peter K. Thompson was murdered by Samuel Miller during the debate to select a commencement orator. As a result of his demise, the need for both the Euphemian and Philomathean Literary societies to obtain legal charter from the state became clear, although it was only eight years later that the process was completed for the Philomatheans.
Beaufort Ball transferred to South Carolina College in 1849. Later he became a colonel in Hampton’s Legion and became adjutant-general of Gary’s Cavalry Brigade. He was wounded at the surrender with General Lee. After the Civil War he entered public life becoming a member of the 1865 Constitutional Convention, later he joined the South Carolina House of Representatives and became a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, in the Fourth Congressional District.
Rev. Archibald H. Lester graduated in 1849. He became one of the earliest faculty members at Wofford College and taught history and Biblical literature there from 1866 to 1873.
Rev. W. B. Pressly graduated in 1849. He became the first pastor at the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Statesville, NC, in 1869 serving in the post until his death in 1883. In 1876, he was selected as moderator of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South. Pressly Memorial ARP Church is named after him.
R.P. Todd entered into law upon his graduation. When the Civil War broke he joined the 3rd as a Captain where he rose to the rank Lt. General suffering several severe wounds before he surrendered at Greensboro, NC. After the war, he served one term in the Senate of South Carolina. Todd was noted for his eloquence and gallantry. Although Todd did not graduate from Erskine, he attended until 1852.
F.J. Cameron graduated in 1855. During the Civil War, he served as Captain of the 6th Arkansas Infantry until he was promoted to the rank of Lt. General leading the 7th Arkansas Infantry in the Stone’s River Campaign. After the war he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives.
M.M. Duffie graduated in 1856. He organized the 6th Arkansas Infantry near the start of the Civil War and fought alongside his men in nearly all the regiment’s battles, including Murfreesboro, Ringgold’s Gap, and Chickamauga. After the war he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1858 and in 1874 to the State Senate serving as President in 1878 without any of his decisions being appealed.
Hon. Dr. J.C. Maxwell graduated in 1856. During the Civil War he served as a surgeon. In 1890, Maxwell was elected to the Senate of the State of South Carolina where he served until 1885. Tragedy stuck Maxwell’s family in 1883 when his daughter, Connie, died of scarlet fever. When in 1888 the Baptist church of Greenwood, SC issued a call for an orphanage, Maxwell and his wife donated 480 acres of farmland and willed their estate to the cause, establishing the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home. Additionally, Maxwell was instrumental in the formation of Greenwood County, and lived in the historic Vance-Maxwell house.
Dr. James Neel graduated in 1856. He served as a surgeon during the Civil War in the 15th South Carolina Regiment. After the war he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives for two terms.
William Washington East graduated in 1858 as Valedictorian of the Erskine graduating class. He published a book of poetry through Philadelphia’s W. S. Young called “College Poems by Willie” which he dedicated to the Philomathean Literary Society. He was killed during the Civil War by a miniball while praying.
Robert Reid Hemphill graduated in 1859. During the Civil War he served as an orderly to General M. L. Bonham before he was transferred to Orr’s rifles, where he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major. After the war he became an attorney and editor of the Abbeville Medium, a newspaper. From 1870 to 1880, and again from 1884 to 1886 he was a member of the House of Representative. In 1886, he was elected to the Senate of South Carolina where he served as chairman of a number of committees including a committee on education. As part of his Senatorial duties he represented South Carolina at the funeral of Jefferson Davis in New Orleans and introduced a bill that enabled women to vote.
William Moffatt Grier, the son of Erskine President R. C. Grier, graduated in 1860 and became a minister. During the Civil War, he joined the sixth regiment and fought among Chester, Fairfield, and York County troops until he was severely wounded and lost his leg before he was taken prisoner. He became president of Erskine after his father died in 1871, although he had some misgivings about taking the post. The South had been ravaged by the war and the original endowment which supported the College had been exhausted. Grier rose to the occasion eventually becoming so popular that the Synod refused his resignation after 25 years as President and he continued until his death in 1899. His contemporaries remarked, “He stood in the front rank as a pulpit orator. His sermons were clear, logical, scholarly, and instructive, and withal plain and practical. He preached with a pathos, power and eloquence that captivated and moved his audience. He was a man of power in the pulpit.” A statue of Grier stands on Erskine’s campus.
J.J. Darlington is likely the greatest Alumni the society in terms of patronage to both Erskine and the Philos. Darlington offered $1000 for every $10, 000 raised elsewhere by the college between 1914 and 1915. Again in 1919, he donated $12, 500 to the college. As well, he added an additional $5000 for faculty training and established a $10, 000 equipment fund to purchase apparatus for the teaching of mathematics and science. He went on to establish the B.H. Warner Fund, the interest from which was used by impoverished students, interest free, for five years. Darlington also secured the service of landscapers and gardeners who would lay out the campus as it now stands. His total donations amount to over 40 times the average annual income of 1919. Darlington’s career reached its height when he served as Judge of the District Court of Washington D.C.. He started out practising law in Rome, Georgia, where Darlington School was named after him. Then he taught law at Georgetown University before he moved to Washington where he worked as a lawyer, notably on the historic Gomper v. Buck’s Stove Co.. A fountain was erected to honor him in Washington. Additionally, Darlington served on the Erskine board of trustees. Darlington graduated in 1867.
Joseph Neely Miller was a prominent lawyer and active member of the Democratic organization which selected him for the presidential ticket. He was a member from 1867-1869.
Rev. D.B. Pressly graduated in 1869 and later became a Moderator of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South.
D. G. Caldwell graduated in 1870 and became a minister. Rev. D. G. Caldwell served as pastor of the first ARP Church in Statesville, NC from 1885 to 1891. He became moderator of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South in 1889. As well, Caldwell returned to Erskine as a professor.
Rev. W.W. Orr graduated in 1876 later becoming a Moderator of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South.
Rev. C.E. McDonald graduated in 1877 later becoming a Moderator of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South.
Amelia Kennedy and Zelma Kirkpatrick both graduated in 1898 as the first female students to receive a degree from Erskine College. Their admittance to the school coincided with the move of Erskine to a coeducational institution.
P.L. Grier, graduated in 1883, was the brother of W. M. Grier. He became a professor at the Erskine College and was offered the presidency of Clemson when it opened but refused the position in spite of the large salary he was offered.
Ebenezer Leonidas Reid graduated in 1888. He became a professor of chemistry and science at Erskine and taught for nearly 50 years. During his tenure at Erskine College he instructed many students who would later go on to medical school or graduate studies, and became one of the most respected professors in his field in the state. The old science building, Reid Hall, was named for him.
R. L. Robinson graduated in 1892. He became the last President of the Due West Women’s College, where he served from 1910-1927. When the Women’s College merged with Erskine College he became Vice President of the joint institution until 1933 when he became the Vice President of Erskine Seminary where he served for five years. As a result, he holds the distinction of being the only man to hold key administrative positions at all three schools.
Edgar Long graduated in 1906 and returned as a professor of English at Erskine. He was nicknamed “Tommy” and was one of the most beloved professors by students. The Edgar Long English Award, which is given to reward excellence in the field at Erskine, is named after him.
Erskine Caldwell was one of the most popular and prolific American writers of his day, and much like other former members of the Society and those selected for honorary membership, Caldwell was something of a controversial figure. Caldwell’s portrayals of racism and poverty in the South, specifically in his two most popular works ‘Tobacco Road’ and ‘God’s Little Acre,’ were critically acclaimed, although many Southerners viewed his descriptions as betrayals. Although Caldwell did not graduate from Erskine, he attended until 1923.
Judge Paul McChesney was a family court judge. He founded the Glenn Springs Academy, originally the Spartanburg Boys’ Home, in 1971 to assists boys with a background of physical, sexual and mental abuse. McChesney graduated in 1942.
Stanyarne Bell became president of Erskine College in 1973 and served until his death in 1981. The M. Stanyarne Bell Sports Center is named for him. Bell graduated in 1943.
Rex Carter graduated in 1950. Following his time at Erskine he enrolled at the University of South Carolina School of Law where he obtained a Juris Doctorate in 1952, and became a member of Carter, Smith, Merriam, Rogers & Traxler. Within a year of beginning his legal career, Carter was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1953, where he remained until he retired as the Speaker of the House in 1980. Prior to his education, Carter served in the United States Coast Guard from 1943 until 1946. Carter has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of South Carolina, The Citadel, and Erskine College.
Dr. Jack Heinsohn graduated in 1950. Heinsohn came from a family of Vaudeville performers and travelled to every state by the time he was nine months old. His parents trained him as an acrobat, clown, and trampolinist and as an adolescent he performed in a number of circuses before he attended Erskine where he was called to ministry. His penchant for travel did not abate and he worked as a pastor in a number of churches in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, and Georgia. During his time as a pastor, Heinsohn was dedicated to improving the communities around him becoming the first President of I.O.U., a program which helped convicts re-enter the workforce, in New Castle, P.A. and founding the Wilshire Center Community Involvement Association in L.A., for which he received a special citation from the city. Heinsohn returned to Erskine to become the official Chaplain of the college and seminary in 1990 and Professor of Preaching at the seminary in 1993, where he delivered his famous Clown Sermon.
Red Myers graduated in 1950. Myers went on to become the Erskine men’s basketball coach and athletic director where he famously led the team 413-192 over his career. He advocated for collegiate sports as the President of the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics and for his lifetime efforts he was awarded South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto in 2009. The W.C. “Red” Myers Court of Belk Arena is named after him.
Dr. Walter Bonner graduated in 1951. He served in the US Navy before becoming the first rheumatologist at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Joab Mauldin Lesesne Jr. graduated in 1960. He became the youngest academic dean in the history of Wofford College at the age of 32 when he received an appointment in 1970. Shortly after earning his promotion at Wofford, he was appointed the ninth president of Southern Methodist University in 1972 and served in the position until 2000. Lesesne oversaw the college’s largest building boom as well as the school’s transition into a coeducational institution. He is the son of past Erskine president Dr. Joab Lesesne.
Dr. Robert Brawley graduated in 1962 and graduated from Erskine Theological Seminary in 1965. He taught at McCormick Theological Seminary for the majority of his career and authored several books on theology.
Larry Byrd graduated in 1966. Byrd was president when the Philos inaugurated the Man of the Year award.
James Dixon Lesslie, Jr. graduated in 1966. He was awarded the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1974.
In 1968, Leo Hill was elected as the President of the South Carolina Bar at the age of 41, making him the youngest to obtain the post, where he used his position to modernize South Carolina’s bond laws and created the state’s Public Defender and Legal Services Agencies. Additionally, Hill served as South Carolina Supreme Court appointee to the state Judicial Council and as secretary to the Greenville County Democratic Party as well as City Attorney and Special Counsel. While a Philomathean, Hill served the society in the capacity of President.
Ed Pressly graduated in 1972. Pressly studied law at Wake Forest University and has since become a partner at Pressly, Thomas, and Conley. He also served as President of the Iredell County Bar.
Bob Buchanan graduated in 1973. He has served as a magistrate judge since 1979 and opened his own law firm in 1991.
Steven A. Winburn graduated in 1973. The Steven A. Winburn Scholarship was established by his parents in his memory.
Kent D. Talbert graduated in 1982 and served as president of the Erskine Student Government Association. He was nominated in 2005 by President Bush to serve as General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Education.
Raymond B. King graduated in 1987. After 22 years with SunTrust, where he rose to the position of Vice President of Community Affairs, King was selected by a nationwide assessment of executives as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Zoo in 2010. It was not only King’s business acumen but also his ethic of volunteerism and community service that persuaded the Atlanta Zoo that he was the best choice for the position. At the time of his selection, King had chaired a number of non-for-profits including: Research Atlanta, Theatre in the Square, Committee for a Better Atlanta, Regional Business Coalition, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition, and Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Among over half a dozen honors for his public contributions, King has been recognized as one of the most influential Georgians and received the 2009 Chairman’s Award from the United Way.
Dr. John G. Brawley graduated in 1989. He became a vascular surgeon and currently practices in San Jose. He established the Dr. John G. Brawley, Jr. Scholarship Fund in memory of his father who served in Erskine’s Music Department for 40 years for students who demonstrate proficiency and participation in the college’s instrumental music program.
Dr. Mike Bitzer graduated in 1989. He is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Politics and History at Catawba College. While Bitzer has published a number of works, his most accessible contribution to political thought is a chapter in ‘Homer Simpson Goes to Washington.’
Suzanne Smith graduated in 1990 and went on to a PhD from the University of Georgia in Child and Family Development. Currently she is a director of Human Development at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus. Her work on the Hutterite population has been collected in a number of academic texts that deal with family relationships.
Dr. Christopher Terry graduated in 1990. He obtained a PhD in mathematics from the University of Virginia. Currently, Terry works as assistant department chair of Augusta State University.
Dr. Bryan Allan Burnett graduated in 1990. He obtained his M.D. from the St. Georges University School of Medicine, and specialized in pediatrics through East Carolina University.
Rev. Kevin Burrell graduated in 1991. Rev. Burrell is a pastor with StoneBridge Church Community.
Rev. Stacy Williams graduated in 1991. He is currently a pastor with Edgefield First Baptist Church.
Rev. Gerry Lord graduated in 1992.
Michael Smith Esq. graduated in 1993. After several years of working for different law firms, Smith founded his own firm with his partner Richard Barid. Smith is highly involved in his local community and volunteers with nearly a dozen Savannah area organizations. He was selected as a 40 Under 40 dynamic business leader in 2009 by The Business Report and Journal and named a Georgia Super Rising Star by his peers in 2010.
Dr. Stephana Patton graduated in 1993. She holds not only a PhD from Emory University in Biochemistry but also a Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law. She is currently Associate General Counsel for Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Michael Higdon graduated in 1995 and now works as a professor of law at the University of Tennessee. Prior to his academic career, Higdon served as clerk to Judge Procter Hug, Jr. on the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated top of his class from the University of Nevada. Currently, he is a member of the national Board of Directors for the Legal Writing Institute.