Rev. W. C. Wilkes Cabinet Card

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone can help me find out a little bit more info about this fellow!

I've done a bit of research on the school, but have not found too much about Rev. W. C. Wilkes, though he died shortly after this photos in 1886.

I purchased it for my own collection. Really liked the prices and advertising on back.

Also enjoy that it's early women's education, and after reading about the school it
had art programs and more. Seemed to be a good place.

Anywho, any help would be appreciated!
Warm Regards,
Scantic

 

Our diplomas are made of gold! Since when does one "wear" a diploma?

 

Possibly the type-setter mis-typed "bearer" to be "wearer" lol. <3

 

Have you found this?
http://www.brenau.edu/about/campus/brenau-history-and-traditions/
http://www.brenau.edu/about/facts/

 

I did not! Thank you!!!!

 

That's certainly possible, Antidiem.

I wonder, though, if perhaps the women (young ladies) may have been given (instead of a "paper" (vellum) or "sheepskin" diploma) a small(ish) "gold" broach/pin or perhaps a lavaliere).

One site says that the Georgia Seminary for Young Ladies had a low (select?) enrollment and one year back in the late 1800s graduated a total of five students in one year.

If a small broach/pin/lavaliere of gold was substituted for a diploma it was (probably?) affordable for the seminary at that point.

With the graduates being "young ladies," it would certainly be more of an "advertisement" and perhaps a more beneficial "introduction" into either society or the business world no matter where a graduate wandered. A distinctive piece of gold jewelery for all the world to see could possibly have paved the way for more opportunities for the young lady than carrying around a diploma would have.

 

It's interesting, I just read that though the school was named Baptist / Georgia Seminary, it never had an religious affiliation. Odd

 

Here's the beginning of an article about Wilkes' earlier foray into female education - in the 1850's in Forsyth, Monroe County, GA. Unfortunately the article continues on another page that did not get included in the link.

http://167.192.44.227/NewsRoom/Publications/pdf/Part_1_how_tift_college_was_conceived.pdf

 

And here's another article about "Tift College" and Wilkes in 1864, during dark days for the Confederacy.

http://www.brownsguides.com/blog/weird-georgia-ghosts-of-tift-college/

 

Wow Thank you!!

 

I have inherited a couple of pins that have the year and school initials, so I think it may have been common in those days to hand out a pin for graduation which could be considered a "diploma."

 

Maybe it's a brooch.

 

That's what I was thinking!

 

More information here ... note that 'Prof' AA Marshall becomes 'Dr' AA Marshall (?), assuming it's the same person of course .

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...A#v=onepage&q=prof aa marshall wilkes&f=false

 

" You wear it well", did not always mean what you were dressed in.
I think that 'gold ' referred to how precious a diploma from this school was.

or, so I think.