John B. Minor

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Professor John Barbee Minor (18131895) was a law professor at the University of Virginia for half a century. He taught several notable Americans, including Supreme Court Justice James Clark McReynolds; Edwin M. Stanton, best known as President Lincoln's Secretary of War; and President Woodrow Wilson.[1][2] He is one of three faculty members who announced Charlottesville’s surrender to the Confederacy on Liberation and Freedom Day.[3] Minor Hall on UVA's Grounds is named for him.[4]

Professor Minor, around the time of the Civil War.[5]

Early years

Minor was born in Louisa County on June 2, 1813 to Launcelot Minor and Mary Overton Tompkins.[2] He studied at Kenyon College in Ohio before returning to the University of Virginia for his law degree. He graduated in 1834, and practiced law for several years before becoming UVA’s Professor of Law.[6] Minor married three times: his first wife was Martha Macon Davis, sister of his law professor, A.G. Staige Davis, his second wife was Anne Colston, and his third wife was Ellen T. Hill.[7]

Teaching Career

Minor was hired by the University in 1845, when he was thirty-two years old. After 1851, when increased attendance forced the department to hire more staff, Minor began to specialize in common law and statute law.[8] As a professor, Minor deferred fees for students who could not afford to pay them, and established a summer course for those already practicing the law who needed a "refresher." In 1870, Minor published his Institutes of Common and Statute Law. With Minor's famously rigorous coursework available to the public, he gained a reputation as a legal thinker beyond his institution. He taught at the University for fifty years, retiring several weeks before his death.[9] Minor became an Episcopalian in his later years, and taught Sunday Schools for his students and for people enslaved at the University. He received two honorary doctorates from Washington and Lee University and Columbia University.[8]

Later life, death, and namesakes

Minor Hall between 1911 and 1921. University of Virginia Press.[10]

Professor Minor died on July 29, 1895. Minor Hall, which sits adjacent to Warner Hall and the McIntire Amphiteater, housed the Law School from 1911 until 1932, when it outgrew the space and moved to Clark Hall. The University of Virginia School of Law established a John B. Minor professorship in Law and History.

References

  1. Web. John B. Minor & the Tensions of Mastery, the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
  2. 2.0 2.1 Web. University of Virginia: Its History, Influences and Characteristics. Volume 1., Lewis Publishing Company, 1904, retrieved August 2, 2022.
  3. Web. Remembering 150th anniversary of the surrender of Charlottesville, UVa to troops under Custer and Sheridan, David A. Maurer, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, March 1, 2015, retrieved August 22, 2022.
  4. Web. Board of Visitors minutes: November 14, 1911, University of Virginia Library, retrieved August 2, 2022.
  5. Web. The University of Virginia During the Civil War, John H. Moore, Virginia Cavalcade, Winter 1963-64, retrieved August 8, 2022.
  6. Web. University of Virginia: Its History, Influences and Characteristics. Volume 1., Lewis Publishing Company, 1904, retrieved August 2, 2022.
  7. Web. Genealogies of Virginia Families: from the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982, retrieved August 8, 2022.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Web. University of Virginia: Its History, Influences and Characteristics. Volume 1., Lewis Publishing Company, 1904, retrieved August 2, 2022.
  9. Web. John Barbee Minor: Biographical Information, Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections, retrieved August 8, 2022.
  10. Web. Architecture at U.Va.'s Law School, Huffington Post, July 6, 2017, retrieved August 8, 2022.

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