<hi rend="bold">Letter from William H. Thomson to Thomas Ruffin, April 10, 1824:</hi> Electronic Edition. Thomson, William H. Funding from the University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supported the electronic publication of this title. Text transcribed by Bari Helms Images scanned by Bari Helms Text encoded by Brian Dietz First Edition, 2005 ca. 11K The University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2005

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 Thomas Ruffin Papers (#641), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Letter from William H. Thomson to Thomas Ruffin, April 10, 1824 Wm. H. Thomson 3 pages, 4 page images 1824 Call number 641 (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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 </bibl> </taxonomy> </classDecl> </encodingDesc> <profileDesc> <langUsage> <language id="eng">English</language> </langUsage> <textClass> <keywords scheme="unc_history"> <list> <item> Any special keywords assigned for this project </item> </list> </keywords> </textClass> </profileDesc> <revisionDesc> <change> <date>2005-10-18,</date> <respStmt> <name>Brian Dietz</name> <resp/> </respStmt> <item>finished TEI/XML encoding.</item> </change> </revisionDesc> </teiHeader> <text id="unc06-104"> <body> <div1 type="letter"> <pb id="unc06-104-p01" n="1"/> <head>Letter from <name key="pn0001681" reg="Thomson, William H." type="person">William H. Thomson</name> to <name key="pn0001462" reg="Ruffin, Thomas" type="person">Thomas Ruffin</name>, April 10, 1824</head> <opener> <dateline> <name key="name0000165" reg="Chapel Hill, NC" type="place">Chapel Hill</name> <date>April 10<hi rend="sup">th</hi> 1824</date> </dateline> <salute>DSir</salute> </opener> <p> The earnestness with which you have advised, & the liberal assistance you have rendered to me in acquiring an education, have induced me to call upon you again, at the close of this education, for your advice with respect to my future course. Medicine is the profession I have made choice of for myself. But as I will be unable for want of funds to enter upon this study directly after graduating, I designed taking charge of some school. For this purpose I applied to <name key="pn000" reg="Rogers, Mr." type="person">Mr Rogers</name>, to get the appointment of assistant teacher in the academy at <name key="name0000484" reg="Hillsborough, NC" type="place">Hillsboro</name>. He wrote to me that he had already agreed with <name key="pn000" reg="Norwood, Jonathon" type="person">Mr Jn<hi rend="sup">o</hi> Norwood</name> to assist him, but mentioned that there was a vacancy in <name key="name0000310" reg="Ebenezer Academy, Iredell Coutny, NC" type="place">Ebenezer Academy</name> at <name key="name000" reg="Leesburg, NC" type="place">Leesburg</name>. <name key="x" reg="x" type="person" rend="yes">Caswell</name>, occasioned by the dismission of a <name key="x" reg="x" type="person" rend="yes">Mr Cooper</name>, and that he would name me to the Trustees of this academy if I requested it. He says that a salary of four or five hundred dollars may be calculated upon, at first & that there is every reason<pb id="unc06-104-p02" n="2"/>to believe that this sum will be liberally augmented as the teacher proves his claim to further emuneration. As this is the most favorable opportunity within my knowledge, of engaging in business immediately I had thought it would be my best course to accept of the appointment if offered. However as I regarded you as the best of friends, I considered it proper to consult you on the subject before I had taken any decissive step.</p> <p>I hope you will favor me with your advice in this case as soon as you can.</p> <p>When I commenced writing I intended to have concluded here. But I do not consider it to be improper to subjoin a few remarks. <gap reason="[unrecovered]"/> the report of the Senior class, as it has been a subject of considerable discussion, here, & given rise to much unpleasant feeling & indeed some disturbance among the Dialectic members of college, among whom I include myself. The chief cause of complaint to our members was what we conceived to be an unjust distribution of distinctions by the Faculty. They appointed a member of the <name key="name0000869" reg="Philanthropic Society" type="organization">Philanthropic Society</name> to deliver the latin speech when we were all fully convinced there were four or five members of the <name key="name0000284" reg="Dialectic Society" type="organization">D.S.</name> who ought to have been preferred.</p> <pb id="unc06-104-p03" n="3"/> <p>This dicession of the Faculty was attributed to a partiality, which we have thought, has long existed in that body. So indignant were the students when the report was first received, that a general spirit of insubordination prevailed among the other classes, & I am proud to say that its suppression was owing to the influence of the Senior class, who promised to act in such a manner as would satisfy them. Accordingly the Dialectic members of the Senior class wrote a petition to the Faculty, requesting to be exempted from <gap reason="[unrecovered]"/> any part in the exercises of commencement. This request has not, as yet, been acted <gap reason="[unrecovered]"/> by the faculty, & so it rests here. We have no hope that the Faculty will comply with what we ask. We only wish to show by our proceedings that we disapprove of the report.</p> <closer> <salute rend="right">With much respect<lb/>Your Obt. Sert.</salute> <signed> <name reg="Thomson, William H." key="pn0001681" type="person">Wm. H. Thomson</name> </signed> <salute> <name key="pn0001462" reg="Ruffin, Thomas" type="person">Judge Ruffin</name> </salute> </closer> <pb id="unc06-104-bk" n="Back"/> </div1> </body> </text> </TEI.2>