Abner Wentworth Clopton, a Virginian, received his BA from the University in 1809 and served as a tutor at the University for one year, complaining on his resignation, "I find it utterly inconvenient to receive no more than $250 a year. I am willing to serve for $500 a year, and am richly worth it" (Battle 1:185). The trustees agreed to pay him $400 but assigned him to head the grammar school, where he taught until 1819. In 1812 he earned an MA. A Baptist minister and physician, he eventually returned to Virginia, near Roanoke. One source states that he lived for a while in China, perhaps as a missionary (Grant 116).