Ray S. Tomlin
Encyclopedia
Ray Silver Tomlin was born in Phoenix, then part of the Arizona Territory
, in 1889. He moved with his family to a farm in Missouri and received a Bachelor of Divinity from Garrett Bible Institute and a master's degree from Northwestern University
.
In 1923 he was appointed President of Paine College
in Augusta, Georgia
. The school was started at the end of the Civil War
by the white and black Methodist churches to educate former slaves to become teachers and ministers. The original endowment included $16 raised in pennies from former slaves. Originally started as a high school, by 1903 sufficient college-level work was provided to justify changing the school’s name from Paine Institute to The Paine College. Tomlin, the white college president, believed that the school would be best served by hiring a black faculty. It was not a popular position in Augusta, Georgia in the 1920s. In 1929 he was fired for his controversial stand. Punishing him for his position, the white Methodist church banished him to a poor circuit of churches in rural Missouri where he became a circuit preacher, traveling to a different church each Sunday. According to his family he was never bitter and spent the rest of his life ministering to the small farm communities in central Missouri.
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
, in 1889. He moved with his family to a farm in Missouri and received a Bachelor of Divinity from Garrett Bible Institute and a master's degree from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
In 1923 he was appointed President of Paine College
Paine College
Paine College is a private Historically Black college located in Augusta, Georgia.-Mission:The Mission of Paine College, a church-related private institution, is to provide a liberal arts education of the highest quality that emphasizes academic excellence, ethical and spiritual values, social...
in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
. The school was started at the end of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by the white and black Methodist churches to educate former slaves to become teachers and ministers. The original endowment included $16 raised in pennies from former slaves. Originally started as a high school, by 1903 sufficient college-level work was provided to justify changing the school’s name from Paine Institute to The Paine College. Tomlin, the white college president, believed that the school would be best served by hiring a black faculty. It was not a popular position in Augusta, Georgia in the 1920s. In 1929 he was fired for his controversial stand. Punishing him for his position, the white Methodist church banished him to a poor circuit of churches in rural Missouri where he became a circuit preacher, traveling to a different church each Sunday. According to his family he was never bitter and spent the rest of his life ministering to the small farm communities in central Missouri.