George Addison Baxter (July 22, 1771 – April 24, 1841) was an educator, American university administrator, theologian and author. He served as President of

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

from 1799 to 1829 and

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

from 1835 until his death.

Early and family life

George Addison Baxter was born to George Baxter and Mary Love in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He graduated from Liberty Hall (Forest, Virginia) (renamed Washington College in 1813, now

). In 1798 he married Annie C. Fleming (1777-1846), daughter of frontier patriot and former Virginia governor William Fleming.

Career

Baxter was licensed to preach in the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

on 21 April 1797. He stayed active in ministry to supplement income as he turned to teaching. He left Principalship at

New London Academy (Virginia) New London Academy is a historic school located in Forest, Bedford County, Virginia. The rising of public schools after 1870 and closing down many of Virginia's private schools led New London Academy joining with the new public school districts of ...

in 1798 to become Professor of Mathematics, Natural Philosophy and Astronomy at Liberty Hall. He then served as President of his alma mater, 1799–1829 in transitions as Liberty Hall was restyled Washington Academy and then Washington College. From 1832 he chaired Theology at Union Theological Seminary,

at Prince Edward County, Virginia (now Union Presbyterian Seminary at

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

). From 1835 until his death, Baxter served as acting President of Hampden–Sydney. Baxter graduated from Liberty Hall with an

A.B. degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

. In 1812, he received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. He was a published author. His longest text may have been ''An Essay on the Abolition of Slavery'', published at Richmond (1836). It argued slaves were better off in subjugation than they would be in freedom. It was response to heightened espousal for abolition, especially as promulgated by

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

President

Francis Wayland Francis Wayland (March 11, 1796 – September 30, 1865), was an American Baptist minister, educator and economist. He was president of Brown University and pastor of the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. In Washingto ...

. Essays include ''A sermon, preached at Bethel, on the ordination of the Rev. William M'Pheters'' (1806), ''An address of the committee, appointed by the Bible Society of Lexington Virginia: to the people of Rockbridge County, soliciting their patronage to said society'' (1812), ''Sermon preached before the Presbytery of Lexington, at the installation of the Rev. Thomas Caldwell'' (1825), ''Essay on Baptism'' (1833), and ''Parity: the Scriptural order of the Christian ministry'' (1840). ''Inaugural address of the Rev. G.A. Baxter: on his induction into the Professorship of Christian Theology in Union Theological Seminary'' went into print in 1832.

Death and legacy

Baxter died in 1841. He was interred at Union Presbyterian Seminary Cemetery, Prince Edward County, Virginia. One face of his obelisk is composed in Latin. White devotes most of p. 275 to men of subsequent attainment who were at Washington College during Baxter's tenure. Trustees of Washington and Lee University in 1892 compiled death notices paying tribute to Baxter. The family home, Baxter House near

Edom, Virginia Edom is an unincorporated community located in Rockingham County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located along State Route 42 at the crossroads with State Route 721, north of Harrisonburg and southeast of Singers Glen. Linville Creek fl ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973. George A. Baxter Papers are among James G. Leyburn Library Special Collections at Washington and Lee University.

Early and family life

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading