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Robert Saunders Jr.

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Robert Saunders Jr.
Robert Saunders, Jr.jpg
14th President of the
College of William & Mary
In office
1846–1848
Preceded byThomas Roderick Dew
Succeeded byJohn Johns
Senate of Virginia
In office
1852–1858
Personal details
BornJanuary 25, 1805
DiedSeptember 11, 1868[1] or 1869[2]
Political partyWhig
SpouseLucy Burwell Page Saunders
Alma materCollege of William & Mary
University of Virginia

Robert Saunders Jr. (January 25, 1805 – September 11, 1868 or 1869) was an American politician and school administrator who served as president of the College of William and Mary from 1847 to 1848.[3] Prior to that, Saunders served as professor of mathematics from 1833 to 1847. He also served as mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1859 and 1868[4] as well as the head of Eastern State Hospital (then known as the Eastern Lunatic Asylum).[5] His family papers are held by the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William and Mary.[6]

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List of presidents of the College of William & Mary

List of presidents of the College of William & Mary

This is a list of the presidents of the College of William & Mary in Virginia, a public university located in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bordered by James City County on the west and south and York County on the east.

Virginia

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. Its geography and climate are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay. The state's capital is Richmond. Its most-populous city is Virginia Beach, and Fairfax County is the state's most-populous political subdivision. Virginia's population in 2022 was over 8.68 million, with 35% living within in the Greater Washington metropolitan area.

Eastern State Hospital (Virginia)

Eastern State Hospital (Virginia)

Eastern State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia. Built in 1773, it was the first public facility in the present-day United States constructed solely for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. The original building had burned but was reconstructed in 1985.

Ancestry

The first of the Saunders family is thought to have moved to Virginia in the late Seventeenth century. During this time, Robert Saunders, Jr.'s great-great-great-grandfather John Saunders (died c. February 1700) accumulated large amounts of property–both land and slaves–along the York River in York County.[2]: 145 

Biography

Robert Saunders, Jr. was born January 25, 1805, to Robert Saunders (born 1761) and his second wife Susannah Jones.[2]: 147–148  Like his father, Saunders, Jr. attended the College of William and Mary, receiving an A.B. in 1823. He also attended the University of Virginia in 1825, the university's first year of operation, taking courses in law.[1]

On June 17, 1828, Saunders married Lucy Burwell Page, daughter of John Page, the former Virginia Governor and congressman of the U.S. House of Representatives.[2] Lucy became an author, writing short stories including at least one ghost story.[7]

Robert Saunders, Jr. was elected professor of Mathematics at the College of William and Mary in 1833 and served in this position until 1848.[2]: 148 [1] While the College's president, Thomas Roderick Dew, was away on an extended honeymoon trip to Europe with his new wife Natalia Hay, Saunders was to serve in the role pro tem.[1] However, Dew died in Paris in August 1846, leading to Saunders being narrowly selected to assume the role officially.[8] Saunders is notable as he was the sole president of the College not to reside in the President's House during his presidency, instead electing to remain in his residency along the Palace Green near the former site of the Governor's Palace.[9]

Saunders's time as President of the College was fraught with divisiveness and a general decline in the College's wellbeing. John Millington and other professors urged Saunders to move the College to Richmond, but Saunders's support for such an action and his inability to stabilize the College led to the forced resignation of Saunders and nearly every professor.[1][10] Staunch slavery advocate Nathaniel Beverly Tucker of the Law School was spared this fate as his politics secured favor with the Board of Visitors.[11]

After leaving the college, Saunders was elected to the Virginia state senate in 1852, representing Williamsburg for three two-year terms.[1] Faltering in the political sphere, Saunders travelled alone to seek employment with the Confederate States of America in Richmond, ultimately finding some clerical work.[12] Robert Saunders, Jr. died in either 1868[1] or 1869.[2] Lucy died in 1885.[13]

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Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years, depending on the country and institution.Degree attainment typically takes four years in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, China, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Georgia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States and Zambia. Degree attainment typically takes three years in Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Caribbean, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, the Canadian province of Quebec, the United Kingdom and most of the European Union. In Bangladesh, three-year BA (associates) courses are also available.

Lucy Burwell Page Saunders

Lucy Burwell Page Saunders

Lucy Burwell Page Saunders was an American author.

John Page (Virginia politician)

John Page (Virginia politician)

John Page was an American politician. He served in the U.S. Congress and as the 13th Governor of Virginia.

Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022.

Member of Congress

Member of Congress

A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalent term within a parliamentary system of government.

Ghost story

Ghost story

A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.

Pro tempore

Pro tempore

Pro tempore, abbreviated pro tem or p.t., is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens (placeholder) in the absence of a superior, such as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate, who acts in place of the president of the United States Senate—a position that is held ex officio by the current vice president of the United States. Legislative bodies can have one or more pro tempore for the presiding officer. These positions ostensibly go to legislators experienced in floor debate who are familiar with the content and application of relevant rules and precedents and who have a reputation for fairness among their colleagues. The phrase is also used to describe officers appointed on a temporary basis, prior to the formalisation of their appointments.

Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km², making it the fourth-most populated city in the European Union as well as the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2022. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world.

President's House (College of William & Mary)

President's House (College of William & Mary)

The President's House is the residence of the President of the College of William and Mary in Virginia in Williamsburg, Virginia. Constructed in 1732, the building still serves its original purpose and is among the oldest buildings in Virginia. Since its construction only one of the college's presidents, Robert Saunders, Jr., has not moved into the building, which is let for free to the president. The President's House is the College’s third-oldest building and the oldest official college presidential residence in the United States.

Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)

Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)

The Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, was the official residence of the royal governors of the Colony of Virginia. It was also a home for two of Virginia's post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, until the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780, and with it the governor's residence. The main house burned down in 1781, though the outbuildings survived for some time after.

John Millington (professor)

John Millington (professor)

John Millington was an English engineer who became an academic in the USA.

Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy, was an unrecognized breakaway herrenvolk republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Source: "Robert Saunders Jr.", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 26th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Saunders_Jr..

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References
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Robert Saunders (1805–1868)". Special Collections Research Center Wiki. Williamsburg, VA: Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Saunders Family". The William and Mary Quarterly. Williamsburg, VA: The College of William and Mary in Virginia. 14 (3): 145–150. January 1906. doi:10.2307/1915172. JSTOR 1915172. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ "19th Century Presidents". College of William and Mary. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "Past Mayors and Governors". City of Williamsburg, Va. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  5. ^ "Page-Saunders Papers". Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  6. ^ "Page-Saunders Papers". Williamsburg, VA: Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "Inventory of Page-Saunders Papers 1790–1932". Williamsburg, VA: Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via ead.lib.virginia.edu.
  8. ^ "Thomas Roderick Dew". Special Collections Research Center Wiki. Williamsburg, VA: Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "The President's House". wm.edu. Williamsburg, Virginia: The College of William and Mary in Virginia. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Gladden, Sanford Charles (July 1933). "John Millington (1779–1868)". The William and Mary Quarterly. Williamsburg, VA: The College of William and Mary in Virginia. 13 (3): 159. doi:10.2307/1921591. JSTOR 1921591. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via JSTOR.
  11. ^ "1834–1851: Nathaniel Beverly Tucker". Williamsburg, VA: William & Mary Law School. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. ^ "Robert Saunders at Richmond to his wife Lucy, 1862 November 16". Williamsburg, VA: Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ "Death in the Louise Home". National Republican. Washington, D.C. June 18, 1885. p. 4. Retrieved May 31, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
External links
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia
1859
1868
Succeeded by

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