William Eve Holmes Sr. (January 22, 1856 – February 14, 1931) was an American Baptist minister and educator and president of Central City College (later known as Georgia Baptist College) in Macon, Georgia, for 25 years. Before his term at Central City, he was a professor at the Atlanta Baptist Institute (now Morehouse College). He was also secretary of the board at

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman rece ...

Early life

William Eve Holmes was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

, on January 22, 1856. His parents were slaves and belonged to different masters. His mother, by whom he was raised, was hired out from her planter master and worked for a carpenter. The carpenter and his wife had no children and came to like and care for William. William's mother could read and began William's lessons. Near the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

(1861-1865), Williams attended a school in secret. In 1871, William took work as for a cabinet-maker and undertaker where he worked for two years.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p567-571

Atlanta Baptist Institute

On December 10, 1874, he converted to the Baptist religion and joined the Thankful Baptist church in Augusta and on February 7, 1875, he was baptized. In 1875, he resumed his studies, then at the Augusta Institute, where he stayed for seven years (four in Augusta, and three in Atlanta when the school moved to that city under then new name, the "Atlanta Seminary"), studying under its president, New Englander Joseph T. Roberts. Along with theology and literature, he studied Hebrew under

William R. Harper William Rainey Harper (July 24, 1856 – January 10, 1906) was an American academic leader, an accomplished semiticist, and Baptist clergyman. Harper helped to establish both the University of Chicago and Bradley University and served as the fi ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and German and French. He was licensed to preach on June 21, 1878, and was ordained on September 2, 1881. When he graduated from what was then called the Atlanta Baptist Seminary in 1882, he was made full professor in the school. In May 1883, he was elected corresponding secretary of the Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, and he attended the convention many times. He received a Master of Arts from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

on June 11, 1884. He married Elizabeth Beasley, a public school teacher and graduate of

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

on July 15, 1885. In 1888 he was a member of the first board of Spelman Seminary, later

,Range, Willard. The rise and progress of Negro colleges in Georgia, 1865-1949. University of Georgia Press, 2009. p108 and he served as secretary of the board for 18 years. He later received a doctor of divinity from Lincoln University in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Baptist leader in Georgia

He became very active in African American religious and educational leadership in Georgia. He was a member of the board of trustees for the Carrie Steele Orphan's home and in 1890 was secretary. In 1895, he was president of the Georgia State Teachers' Association. In November 1895, he spoke at the

National Negro Congress The National Negro Congress (NNC) (1936–ca. 1946) was an American organization formed in 1936 at Howard University as a broadly based organization with the goal of fighting for Black liberation; it was the successor to the League of Struggle for N ...

and was an organizer of the African American exhibition at the 1895 Worlds' Fair in New Orleans.

Central City College

Holmes played an important role at the Atlanta Baptist Institute. He was popular with the students, a professor of history and English, secretary of the faculty, and librarian. In 1898, Holmes led a group of black Baptists in an attempt to remove Institute president George Sale from his position in favor of a black candidate. The attempt failed and Holmes moved to Macon, Georgia where he opened Central City College. Holmes had expected to be appointed president of the Institute in 1890, and when he was passed over in favor of Sale, a white minister from Canada, he questioned his chance for promotion. He was further disappointed when his friend John Hope, whom he had recruited to the Institute in 1897, did not support his goal.Oltman, Adele. Sacred Mission, Worldly Ambition: Black Christian Nationalism in the Age of Jim Crow. University of Georgia Press, 2010. p126-128 Prominent in support of this effort was Emanuel K. Love, a preacher from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, who organized the purchase of the college land. The school grew quickly and by the third year, 365 students were enrolled. Holmes modeled Central City after the liberal arts education he received in England, as opposed to

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

's industrial education model. Holmes expected a number of faculty and students to follow him, but that did not come to pass. James M. Nabrit (father of

James Nabrit, Jr. James Madison Nabrit Jr. (September 7, 1900 – December 27, 1997) was a prominent American civil rights attorney who won several important arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, served as president of Howard University for much of the 1960s, ...

was the only other early faculty member with a degree, and the school included a grammar school, a high school, and a three-year theology program for men.

Later career

Later in his career, Holmes continued to play a leadership role outside of the school. He was editor of the ''Baptist Truth'' and a prominent member of the Missionary Baptist Conventions of Georgia. In Jun 1921, the college administration building and Holmes personal residence were burned by an arsonist who was described as insane.

Retirement and death

Holmes retired in about 1923 or 1924 and moved to Philadelphia. He died February 14, 1931, in PhiladelphiaFormer Educator in Macon Expires, Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia) Sunday, February 15, 1931, Page: 4 and was buried on February 18.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, William E. 1856 births 1931 deaths People from Augusta, Georgia People from Macon, Georgia African-American educators American educators Morehouse College alumni 20th-century African-American people Morehouse College faculty University of Chicago alumni Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni