Topic: Marshall Board of Governors Votes to Change Name of Jenkins Hall

[pembrook burrows III]

Reversing a 2019 decision to take no action other than to contextualize the name of Jenkins Hall, the Marshall University Board of Governors voted today to remove the name of Albert Gallatin Jenkins from the campus building that houses the College of Education. The Board said it made the decision "to no longer honor a man whose accomplishments do not provide the university with  enduring value." This action was taken at the suggestion of new Board Chair Patrick Farrell and President Jerome Gilbert.

Jenkins was trained as a lawyer, and was elected twice to the U.S.Congress. But in 1861, after Virginia seceded from the Union, Jenkins resigned from Congress and took a seat in the First Confederate Congress in 1862. Later that same year he was appointed Brigadier General by the Confederacy, and took up arms and employed violence against American soldiers and communities in Western Virginia through a number of raiding excursions. Many of his efforts were aimed at influencing and defeating the popular vote taken in 1863 which ultimately created the State of West Virginia. His raids were also known to kidnap free African American people with the intent to sell them back into slavery in Virginia. Jenkins eventually fell out of favor with even the Confederate leadership, including General Robert E. Lee, and he was re-assigned to the Gettysburg area. He was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg but recovered. Jenkins returned to action and was wounded again, this time severely, in the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain in 1864, where he was also captured by federal troops. Jenkins ultimately died after having his arm amputated by a Union surgeon during his captivity.

The campus building was named in Jenkins' honor in 1932 during the height of racial segregation, and before African American students were admitted to Marshall.

[2xBison]

Any way we can dig up his bones and burn them?


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[Flat Tire 2]

Reversing a 2019 decision to take no action other than to contextualize the name of Jenkins Hall, the Marshall University Board of Governors voted today to remove the name of Albert Gallatin Jenkins from the campus building that houses the College of Education. The Board said it made the decision "to no longer honor a man whose accomplishments do not provide the university with  enduring value." This action was taken at the suggestion of new Board Chair Patrick Farrell and President Jerome Gilbert.

Jenkins was trained as a lawyer, and was elected twice to the U.S.Congress. But in 1861, after Virginia seceded from the Union, Jenkins resigned from Congress and took a seat in the First Confederate Congress in 1862. Later that same year he was appointed Brigadier General by the Confederacy, and took up arms and employed violence against American soldiers and communities in Western Virginia through a number of raiding excursions. Many of his efforts were aimed at influencing and defeating the popular vote taken in 1863 which ultimately created the State of West Virginia. His raids were also known to kidnap free African American people with the intent to sell them back into slavery in Virginia. Jenkins eventually fell out of favor with even the Confederate leadership, including General Robert E. Lee, and he was re-assigned to the Gettysburg area. He was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg but recovered. Jenkins returned to action and was wounded again, this time severely, in the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain in 1864, where he was also captured by federal troops. Jenkins ultimately died after having his arm amputated by a Union surgeon during his captivity.

The campus building was named in Jenkins' honor in 1932 during the height of racial segregation, and before African American students were admitted to Marshall.

You might want to read the below link. Do you have a link regarding that Jenkins kidnap free slaves?

 The Civil War Record of Albert Gallatin Jenkins, C. S. A.
By Flora Smith Johnson

http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh8-1.html

[herdorbust]

Any way we can dig up his bones and burn them?


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😂😂😂he must pay after all these years.

[goherd73]

The crux of the problem:

His raids were also known to kidnap free African American people with the intent to sell them back into slavery in Virginia.

.

[elginherd]

Confederate=traitor...period.

[Flat Tire 2]

Albert Gallatin Jenkins was born November 10, 1830, on the plantation at Greenbottom1 which his father, William Jenkins, had owned and occupied since 1825. Between the ages of fourteen and eighteen he attended Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. After his graduation there in 1848 he entered upon the study of law at Harvard University, and in 1850 was admitted to the bar. In 1856, he went as a delegate to the National Democratic Convention held in Cincinnati, and from 1857 to 1861 he represented his district in the 36th and 37th Congresses. In April 1861, he resigned his seat in Congress, feeling impelled to ally himself at once with the Confederate cause.2

http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh8-1.html

I took a history class at MU and the professor told the class about the naming of the building after Jenkins. Jenkins Hall was a WPA project during the FDR administration to put people to work to build public work projects. WV was basically voted Republican until FDR's election. The local Democrats wanted to stick to the local Republicans and had the building named after Jenkins who was an early leader of the Democrat party. There were large KKK meetings near Lesage which was near the Jenkins plantation. That was back in days when most local Democrats were attendees to Klan meetings in the 1920's prior to electing FDR.

[pembrook burrows III]

Feel free to correct any factual inaccuracies, Flat. I am certainly no Civil War historian, and was just trying to summarize information contained in today's newpaper report plus some general online sources like Wikipedia.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/mu-board-votes-to-remove-jenkins-name-from-education-hall/article_d4a5e9b1-c736-548c-9bb6-05166a1caf05.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_G._Jenkins

[elginherd]

Albert Gallatin Jenkins was born November 10, 1830, on the plantation at Greenbottom1 which his father, William Jenkins, had owned and occupied since 1825. Between the ages of fourteen and eighteen he attended Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. After his graduation there in 1848 he entered upon the study of law at Harvard University, and in 1850 was admitted to the bar. In 1856, he went as a delegate to the National Democratic Convention held in Cincinnati, and from 1857 to 1861 he represented his district in the 36th and 37th Congresses. In April 1861, he resigned his seat in Congress, feeling impelled to ally himself at once with the Confederate cause.2

http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh8-1.html

I took a history class at MU and the professor told the class about the naming of the building after Jenkins. Jenkins Hall was a WPA project during the FDR administration to put people to work to build public work projects. WV was basically voted Republican until FDR's election. The local Democrats wanted to stick to the local Republicans and had the building named after Jenkins who was an early leader of the Democrat party. There were large KKK meetings near Lesage which was near the Jenkins plantation. That was back in days when most local Democrats were attendees to Klan meetings in the 1920's prior to electing FDR.

Nothing changes this: Confederate = traitor.

[Flat Tire 2]

I don't read the HD. Does the HD article mention any sources? Wiki doesn't have any mention rounding up slaves, not saying that he didn't do it. Jenkins spent most of his time harassing Union supply lines. He was the first Confederate general to invade the North
'; well it was southern Ohio LOL

 I have read extensively about the Civil War since I lived nearly 40 years in the Richmond, VA area. I was always a history fan, but living in that area really sparked my interest.

[Flat Tire 2]

Nothing changes this: Confederate = traitor.

Don't disagree. I just think it is interesting the local politicians wanted to name the building after a "traitor".

[Taft#1]

Confederate=traitor...period.

Robert C Byrd = KKK racist ... period .

[goherd73]

If anyone cares to read more, here's the clio account about Jenkins Hall with references. Current research.

Note the above WV archives record on Jenkins was written in 1947. It is referenced in the clio account below plus about 16 additional sources.



https://www.theclio.com/entry/39741

[Flat Tire 2]

I am a graduate of The Marshall Lab School. I also spent most of my summers attending the Lab School while my Mother was working on her undergraduate and graduate degrees plus 15. A lot of fond memories of the building which we referred to at The Lab School.

Being a student of history, I am always suspicious of revisionist history.

[herd2win]

If we are going to these lengths how in the world is anything in WV named after Robert Byrd as he was a confirmed KKK member.  Because he was the pork king of government and sent cash WV way does not change who he was...

To me it is always a challenge to apply today’s standards to 200 years ago...probably need to rename all buildings in Washington and on many colleges across the nation if applying today’s views verses then.

Things advance...do we want to go back to horse and buggy or do we like the advancement that has happened over the last 200 years...you can’t apply what is acceptable today to that time in history..

[herdfan429]

John Marshall owned slaves too. Better start thinking of a new name for the university itself.

[HaveUherd]

Confederate=traitor...period.

Yes. Glad to hear this news. This state should be proud of siding with the Union.

[gochneaur645]

John Marshall owned slaves too. Better start thinking of a new name for the university itself.

We are the sons of Marshall. Sons of the great Thurgood Marshall.

In all seriousness, I think there's a big difference in being a slaveowner in a southern state who died in the 1830's and holds a huge place in the country's history for positive reasons (Marshall) and somebody who isn't known for much other than actually fighting for the Confederacy (Jenkins).

[herdorbust]

John Marshall owned slaves too. Better start thinking of a new name for the university itself.

Wonder what they will change the name to? I want consistency and John Marshall bought slave land and bought and owned slaves. Maybe we should start a thread on what the new name should be since we know it’s coming. River university? Southern WV?  Huntington University?

[Taft#1]

Wonder what they will change the name to? I want consistency and John Marshall bought slave land and bought and owned slaves. Maybe we should start a thread on what the new name should be since we know it’s coming. River university? Southern WV?  Huntington University?

Well , Randy Moss says he went to Rand University so ...

[coalherd]

Yep, in my days at MU, early to mid 60s, this building held the Marshall Lab School, where MU education students did their classroom training.  Went by it daily on the way to classes from my men's dorm, first dubbed as the "New Men's Dorm", latter tagged, with imagination, as "South Hall", and finally ending up as the now mothballed "Holderby" Hall!  So, guys, changing names on MU buildings is certainly not "new".

Back to the Lab School, the High School even had a varsity basketball team.  Ironically, the best player in those days was an African American, can't remember his name, but seem to recall he actually got recruited by one of the State Conference teams, perhaps WV State.

As for Jenkins, wonder if his family's plantation out near Greenbottom, I believe, had slaves?  WV, or what was to become WV in 1863, had relatively few "plantations", primarily due to topography, I imagine, compared to most of the Southern States who made up the Confederacy.  Not much cotton grown up here, perhaps tobacco was the "cash" crop on the Jenkins spread, which would qualify as a labor intensive crop if grown for commercial use.

Anyway, MU has made its decision and is looking, or hinting at, someone with deep pockets, i.e., $$$$$$ willing to donate, who may want to "buy" the naming rights.  I note that the building underwent some recent renovations, etc., at a cost of a couple of million or so.  But from the 2013 MU Master Plan, it needed a lot more work and upgrades than the recent renovations provided.  As the education/teaching programs and offerings that MU provides will continue to be a major component of the University, hopefully the school can find a donor and a new name and this facility will be an important, and unifying, source for the University community for decades to come.

Unable to find a suitable person to name the facility after, perhaps MU should just consider "Unity Hall" for the building.

[elginherd]

Robert C Byrd = KKK racist ... period .

So what.
Confederate = traitor. Byrd's early affliation has nothing to do with Confererate= traitor.

[herdfan429]

We are the sons of Marshall. Sons of the great Thurgood Marshall.

In all seriousness, I think there's a big difference in being a slaveowner in a southern state who died in the 1830's and holds a huge place in the country's history for positive reasons (Marshall) and somebody who isn't known for much other than actually fighting for the Confederacy (Jenkins).

Tell that to the Washington and Jefferson monuments that have been defaced. Hell I read an article yesterday saying two defendants of Jefferson want the Jefferson memorial to come down

[Flat Tire 2]

Yep, in my days at MU, early to mid 60s, this building held the Marshall Lab School, where MU education students did their classroom training.  Went by it daily on the way to classes from my men's dorm, first dubbed as the "New Men's Dorm", latter tagged, with imagination, as "South Hall", and finally ending up as the now mothballed "Holderby" Hall!  So, guys, changing names on MU buildings is certainly not "new".

Back to the Lab School, the High School even had a varsity basketball team.  Ironically, the best player in those days was an African American, can't remember his name, but seem to recall he actually got recruited by one of the State Conference teams, perhaps WV State.

As for Jenkins, wonder if his family's plantation out near Greenbottom, I believe, had slaves?  WV, or what was to become WV in 1863, had relatively few "plantations", primarily due to topography, I imagine, compared to most of the Southern States who made up the Confederacy.  Not much cotton grown up here, perhaps tobacco was the "cash" crop on the Jenkins spread, which would qualify as a labor intensive crop if grown for commercial use.

Anyway, MU has made its decision and is looking, or hinting at, someone with deep pockets, i.e., $$$$$$ willing to donate, who may want to "buy" the naming rights.  I note that the building underwent some recent renovations, etc., at a cost of a couple of million or so.  But from the 2013 MU Master Plan, it needed a lot more work and upgrades than the recent renovations provided.  As the education/teaching programs and offerings that MU provides will continue to be a major component of the University, hopefully the school can find a donor and a new name and this facility will be an important, and unifying, source for the University community for decades to come.

Unable to find a suitable person to name the facility after, perhaps MU should just consider "Unity Hall" for the building.

The basketball player at Marshall High School was Ellis Long. He ended up playing at West Liberty and became a school teacher. I heard he passed a couple of years ago. There were other Black students at The Lab School and each class or grade had only 30 students. You had to take an entrance exam to be a student at The Lab School before being accepted. Students were also charge a tuition fee to attend.


 

[herdorbust]

So what.
Confederate = traitor. Byrd's early affliation has nothing to do with Confererate= traitor.

Are you for changing the name of Marshall university? Why aren’t you screaming about that?  Let’s be consistant. Where is you outcry over this ?