1879 Conference Minutes
October 1, 1879
Morgantown, West Virginia
This commission had a meeting at the Fourth Street M.E. Church in Wheeling, February 6, 1879. The most of the members were present. Rev. A.C. George, D.D., was elected chairman and Professor W.R. White was chosen secretary.
Two or three places were represented as favorably situated for the location of a Conference Seminary, and as likely to contribute liberally in that direction but no formal, definite proposals were received.
…Subsequently public educational meetings were held in Grafton and in Parkersburg which were addressed by the chairman of our commission and by resident speakers, and a both of which committees were appointed to consider the question of the location of such a Conference Seminary, and to inquire whether the necessary conditions could be met in their respective localities.
The Commission has received no proposal within the stated terms and limitations for the location of a Conference Seminary…The Conference, they claim, should be able to make the citizens of andy place furninghing $25,000 in money, buildings, or other property toward the establishment of a Seminary, this proposition: “We will raise outside of your vicarage an equal amount towards the endowment of the Seminary, thus insuring its permanence and success.” They urge this especially in view of the fact that the appointment of a majority of the Board of Trustees is to be vested absolutely in the West Virginia Conference…Has the denomination the ability to perform such a work as has been suggested? The West Virginia Conference has 150 traveling preachers, 376 churches, over 33,000 members, and a church property which is in the aggregate put down at $622,120. A Christian denomination so situated, and having such resources, and deeply interested in the cause of education, is sufficient for such an undertaking as has been proposed. It can accomplish the great work and it ought to do it…In view of these facts and considerations, we respectfully recommend that the action of the last Conference in respect to a Conference Seminary be reaffirmed, and that the Bishop be requested to appoint a commission to serve during the ensuing year.
A.C. George, Chairman