Henry Lee Graves (February 22, 1813 – November 4, 1881) was the president of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of th ...

from 1846 to 1851.Baylor: About Baylor: Henry Lee Graves
/ref>Handbook of Texas Online
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Biography

Henry Lee Graves, son of Thomas Graves, was born in

Yanceyville, North Carolina Yanceyville is a town in and the county seat of Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state, the town had a population of 1,937 at the 2020 census. The settlement was founded in 1792 and was ...

in 1813. He married Rebecca Williams Graves on February 3, 1836. Rebecca, from Caswell County, North Carolina, was Graves’s first cousin once-removed. Graves and Rebecca had four daughters (Mary Anna, Bettie Williams, Ophelia Florine, and Willie Ruby) as well as two sons (Charles Henry and Henry Lee). Rebecca died in 1865. Seven years later, Graves married Myra Lusk Crumpler, a wealthy widow who survived him by twenty-one years.Henry Lee Graves Papers, #1271, The Texas Collection
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Career

Graves attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

and graduated in 1833. From 1835 to 1837, he served as the chair of mathematics at

Wake Forest College Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, then taught at a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

high school in

Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, its population 14,113. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the United ...

in 1838. In 1841, Graves attended the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institute in New York City. He returned to Georgia for a few years and served as a delegate at the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

of 1845 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. Geor ...

before leaving for Texas in 1846. Graves became the first President of Baylor University, originally located in

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

while simultaneously serving as the pastor of the Independence Baptist Church. The newly founded Baylor University struggled financially, but Graves pressed on and established the departments of mathematics and classics and helped to erect a new building for the school. Baylor University grew to seventy students during his term as president. Graves also served as an officer in the

Union Baptist Association Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** '' ...

, and as President of the Texas Baptist State Convention which he had helped to organize in 1848. He resigned his position as president of Baylor in June 1851 after five years of establishing a firm academic foundation for the school. In addition to pastoring in

Brenham Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas ...

and

Schulenburg Schulenburg is a city in Fayette County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. Known for its German culture, Schulenburg is home of the Texas Polka Music Museum. It is in a rural, agricultural area settled by Germa ...

, Graves was head of the Fairfield Female Academy in

Fairfield, Texas Fairfield is a city in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,850 at the 2020 census, down from 3,094 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Freestone County and was founded as such in 1851. Geography Fairfield ...

, from 1859 to 1868. He moved to Brenham in 1869 and returned to the Baylor community as president of Baylor Female College, still located in Independence, during the 1871–1872 academic year. Graves served as president of the Texas Baptist Education Society in 1872. He died in 1884, due to a carbuncle near his spinal column and is buried in Brenham, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Henry Lee 1813 births 1881 deaths Baptists from Texas People from Yanceyville, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wake Forest University faculty Presidents of Baylor University People from Covington, Georgia People from Brenham, Texas Baptists from North Carolina 19th-century Baptists