W. R. L. Smith. Hollins College stands today as a fitting and permanent memorial of its
founder's indomitable will and noble aims. It made him a great teacher. In the quality of his intellect he was distinctly Roman. To him the call of
duty was imperative and final. The materialistic science of the
latter half of the nineteenth century left him untouched. He recognized
the Divine agency in the lives of men no less than in the destiny of
nations. He had the force to break the
trammels of tradition. Before the present movement for social betterment had been inaugurated,
he labored unselfishly for the material and moral improvement of his
community and State. Yet he was not narrowly sectarian. F. V. N. PAINTER. SALEM, VA.,
September 2, 1920. PHILLIPS BROOKS. In its presence, you instantly feel the spell of a commanding
personality. The figure is tall, graceful, well proportioned, and in the
right hand is a diploma, the proper symbol of the vocation of a College
President. This man was marked for high performance, and would have won distinction
in any sphere of honorable endeavor. He was born February 21, 1820, at Edgehill, the home of his
father, James Cocke, in King William County, Virginia. I will supply the means." "You have been whipping this horse," exclaimed the surprised father. "No," was the reply, "I have never whipped him, but he knows what I want
him to do." Fortunately, two written to his friends do survive. One, sent to his college chum, Mr. A. In
this decision, my promised wife concurs." He did not originate the ideal. Before the Finals of that
session, there was some important correspondence between himself and
Doctor Ryland. The young man was too genuinely modest to fancy himself
equipped for so responsible a position. This tribe is always with us. No misgivings
troubled the Doctor himself. He
was on his mettle, conscious of the questioning curiosity centered upon
himself. To their astonishment he gave them oysters, finding
them as cheap as other meats. At
the helm was an officer who knew college boys, and the college spirit
was noticeably improved. He could teach mathematics and he did. Before the
Commencement in 1841, Charles L. Cocke was recognized as a distinct
contribution to the life of the Institution. The young comrade was to him an object of
ever-deepening interest and their relations steadily ripened into
sincere and loving friendship. This
genial intrusion into sacred privacy was not resented, but Charles found
it inconvenient to confide. His honest reply was: "I know
neither the day, nor the month, nor the year." There the matter ended,
and the mystified Doctor relapsed into silence. On closer inspection he
found it, not single but binary. There were fine brains in the Southwest, but the
means of culture were deficient. Slowly the providential workings were preparing a place for a young
professor in Richmond College, who as yet had no dream of it. Touring south, he came out of his way to
pay respect to his old friend, Mr. Johnston. They mended pots, plates and pans, and so were
called "tinkers." The administrator, Col. George P.
Tayloe, offered it to the highest bidder. Just at this time a Baptist
minister, the Rev. Then, there were seven smaller buildings
with two to four rooms each. He was a worthy,
irreproachable man, and intellectually competent, but it seemed
impossible for him to make tactful adjustments with the young
Virginians. The young Seminary in its third year
was in the breakers, and looked disaster in the face. It was now in the
spring of 1845. He knows how to bring things to pass, and if your school can be pulled
out of a hole, he is the man you want." The Society was pleased with him, and he was
impressed with the possibilities of the Seminary. He would
ponder it devoutly. It would grow. This was the positive and unselfish view, and he knew it. "Yes, I will
go," was the final settlement of the painful controversy. No, this young man was not the football of impulse. This was the most
vital step of his life. It was his habit
to project his thought thirty years forward, deploying before him the
reasonable developments of a growing civilization. In these forecasts,
imagination did him a fine service. The Principal is a born leader. The Richmond
College boys were right. The first nine years will carry us through
seasons of struggle and painful progress. With the outstanding facts of
this period, it is the purpose of this chapter to deal. In the long after years the Principal had no more faithful and devoted
friend than Colonel Lewis. Other young men made angry threats,
and their expulsion followed. The Principal fronted the boys and said: "I am the head of this
school and I am going to run it. I have sent some disorderly students
away, and if necessary I will send more. After that the
incident was closed. He knew they were
not thieves, far from it, but they should not take people's property
that had cost labor and care. Just as the
feast was ready to begin, there was a tap at the door. Hospitality
invited entrance, when in stepped Mr. Cocke! When a boy was guilty of some offense, not mean, but mischievous, his
case was stated in the presence of the school, and the roaring laughter
that followed was sufficient correction. There the young Principal was, the sport of harsh
conditions. First, he quite
properly wanted to convince all of his capacity for educational work. Second, by the overcrowded conditions, he wanted to force an issue on
the Trustees respecting the future policy of the school. The Principal knew
what to do. To his
immense delight, the proposition was accepted. That of the fall
of 1853, with one hundred and fifty. Not
for one minute. Mr.
Hollins presented the Seminary with a gift of $5,000 cash, and then the
daylight began to break. To all
concerned the proposition seemed wise and just, and it was so ordered. By the first revision in
1852, the Seminary was made a school for girls. No friction arose; all was harmony. The old régime passed, but its personnel remained steadfast. The general conditions were
never so cheering, nor was the outlook ever so bright. He will justify the faith of
his friends. Alas, calamity crashed upon the school. The fact was that
the disease had been brought to the Institute by one of the pupils. Slowly the panic yielded and confidence returned, but the experience was
shocking. This county
was included in the new state of West Virginia, organized in 1861. The storms
beat and the floods came, but Hollins Institute stands. For our pioneer in the Southwest, this is
compensation and a crown of glory. To stand in his own place and make good, is the one guiding and
all-controlling purpose of his life. It was greeted with boundless gratitude, and the Trustees
deputed one of their members, Mr. Wm. A. Miller, to bear to her their
most cordial thanks. Expectant hope
had looked for early occupancy, but it was not to be. In one year the
walls were upreared, the roof was on, and then the work stopped. To some
extent it is denominational, but decidedly anti-sectarian. Sequestered snugly in the mountains, no Institution in
the country suffered less from the demoralization of the war. The family tell a story
which the dear mother never denied. That is the mind of the President. Our great leader did not talk about
his troubles, being always master of himself. How he
ever pulled through this slough of despond, he himself could not
possibly tell. Of one thing he was in no doubt and it was this, that in
the long night of anguish, there was a precious mystery of heavenly aid. But Hollins is
still in the depths. There is no bracing of firm rock under her feet. The tide begins to rise, and
on the horizon there are gleaming hints of a better day. Into the holy enterprise he has grandly flung himself, his property and
his family. All honor to these men who were sensitive to merit, and who had
the grace to crown it with praise. It is an Institution
of the very highest character, certainly second to none of its kind in
this State. The Rev. But on the gladness of
these days, a blight of bereavement was about to fall. Never. "All I aspired to be
And was not, comforts me." He has a vision, and
"forward" is ever his imperious challenge to things as they are. Absolutely sure is he that his beloved College, with its reasonably low
rates, and its high standards, is on the sure road to greatness in human
service. The failure was depressing, but by no means
unnerving. It was not in Mr. Cocke to rebel against the law of
sacrifice, but once, in his annual report to the Trustees in 1879, he
permitted himself to say: "It is a hard case, however, that a man should
have all his means so wound up in an Institution, conducted for the
public, that he cannot command enough money to give his family anything
at all, except hard work and self-denial." Neither
he nor any one of his sons and daughters, who worked so loyally with
him, ever received a salary from the Board. The figures were necessarily
increased, but only with the view of keeping out of debt. Absolutely none. So the long issue of events proved. Improvements
were made, and self-denial paid the bills. Now, while this involved inconveniences, it did not, of course, mean the
making of gifts to the Trustees. In just business fashion, they
recorded each outlay of this kind as a loan to themselves. This included the $1,500 which he lent to them in 1846. With these views
and wishes, the Trustees were in their usual cordial sympathy. The
Institution was their property. They were in debt to Mr. Cocke in a
large and yearly increasing sum. They had no possible way of liquidating
that debt. He did not
want to own the College. Such had never been his aim. He could not see, and so the troublesome question was left unsolved. He was a worker, and he hated
idleness as sin. Unrelentingly he demanded work. For this his girls gave him honor. His students must think, reason, and understand. That is the top
of culture. Not by any means. To this the
Trustees agreed, and the lease was duly written in favor of Charles L.
Cocke and his son, Charles H. Cocke. On the very day when this agreement was written, Mr. Cocke
submitted a plan for a Chapel. The work began, and soon the sacred edifice was an
accomplished fact. His daughter, Rosa Pleasants Cocke, wife of the Rev. Prayer was made by Rev. Dr. G. W.
Beale, pastor of Enon Baptist Church and chaplain of the college. Then,
the Rev. From over all the land, and indeed from far
distant lands, the pupils of Hollins send their love and
congratulations. [1] Mrs. Eliza S. Childs, Associate Principal. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." He gave up his notes and bonds to the Trustees,
and they in turn gave over the Institution. It was not the consummation that he
wished, but there was no other alternative. It was not to be. This arrangement was his own device. "Hollins, Virginia, February 21, 1901. "J. M. MCBRYDE, JR.
"On behalf of your fellow laborers, the Faculty of
Hollins Institute." It was on May 4th, 1901, that the end came. The first was held in
the Chapel, for the family, faculty and students, who crowded the room. It was conducted by the Rev. At 4 p.m., the second service was held at Enon Church, which was
thronged by neighbors and friends. Dr. W. E. Hatcher, and
Mr. William Ellyson of Richmond, and the Rev. Dr. P. T. Hale of Roanoke. He was too honorable to take the daughters of
patrons, and allow waste of time and opportunity. Daily he
met them at the evening worship. But the old-time diversions do not pass. At no institution was
there more contempt for snobbery or for the spirit of favoritism. He counted on their private and public values in
society. It meant much to look, once a day,
on a colossal faith like his. Scholarship with him was no musty work,
smelling of the midnight oil. He never laughed at it as odd or pedantic. 'How mistaken Mr. Cocke
is about this,' I would say to myself. But these girls are just ordinary people. But those girls _have_ been real leaders, just as Mr. Cocke said. They were nothing but girls, just like other girls, but they did, many
of them, go forth to lead and to lead straight. There really is nobody else, you
know. Yes. I recall once, certainly. No response, of course. He spoke again. The same dead silence. That is right, often. E. P. C.
Such was the inner life of Hollins. Cocke." R. B. I feel that I
loved him particularly well, more than others did; but perhaps many
others feel the same way. He did what he could to better it, and there are many
left to honor him who have not the strength to do likewise." C. M. J. The
diploma in his hand is the one which he handed to his daughter, Miss
Matty L. Cocke, on the day of her graduation. There were happy greetings
of fathers and mothers. The old girls came, eager for the raptures of
re-union. Sectarian
narrowness never guided his choice, and that spirit never thrived in his
school. Sad to say, it was his last. He counted on his girls as the finest
advertisement, and as the most eloquent testimonial of the merits of
Hollins. It was no vain reckoning. Had this been furnished, the history of the school would
have been far more satisfactory. Some of course proved failures, and others exist to this
day. It has been almost exclusively a boarding
school, and as such has led in numbers all the schools of Virginia. The great boarding schools for girls in the
North, in which millions are invested, are in the country. And this, too, on the very basis I found
it standing when I took charge." And this is, in
my judgment, the true ideal of a Christian school. And most abundantly
has it been rewarded in this effort. "Again, the Good Book says, 'Where there is no vision the people
perish.' They are now one, and may the high
council of Heaven ordain that they shall never be other than one. They dwarf your souls, they
contract your minds. The
apostle, making tents, was serving God as truly as when preaching to the
philosophers of Athens. He knew that cultivated faculties without corresponding
nurture of the spiritual nature may prove a curse rather than a
blessing. Teaching was his vocation, but the honor of God was his
comprehensive guiding principle. To him the Bible was the word of Life,
and the worship of the Holy One of Israel the supreme privilege and
duty. He recognized an obligation to his neighbors, and was
soon meeting them here and there, instructing them in the Scriptures,
and leading them in their worship. He wanted harmony and growth, and sought it by preferring his
brethren in honor. He was a model church member in attendance and
gifts; hence all the people gave him honor and love. That is what he did. "Inasmuch
as ye have done it to the least of these, ye have done it unto me." He was full of the milk of human kindness. Such men are the salt of the earth, and the negro
believes in such salt. Sweet be his
rest." ZACHARIAH HUNT. While broadly charitable, he was firmly Baptist. He spoke in advocacy of each and all. He
did not quote much. In the State assemblies of his brethren, where he was regularly found,
he was equally a man of recognized distinction. He knew that fact
himself, but no man could have been more innocent of self-important
airs. It might have been
well if he had done so, but such was not his bent. "This one thing I do, ever pressing on to the mark of the
prize of the high calling of God." The intellect was clear, the will robust, and the feeling intense. He was not in the
smallest degree visionary or quixotic. In his youth he saw a vision. It was sometimes said that he was autocratic, and he himself admitted
that there was some ground for the charge. All Hollins knew it. Tyrant he could not be, but master he
was. He had the bearing
of a lord, but the child in his heart never died. This man was no autocrat. He was conspicuous for his liberality. "All right,"
said the acquiescent father; "he has a pony." In dismay the youth saw
the meaning, and the pony went to education. This incident he told on himself. At one of the Valley meetings of ministers and laymen, he made a
stirring speech. Later, in the church yard, a good
mother was talking to a minister about the speech. The degree, in his
view, stood for a measure of learning which he regarded himself as
lacking. His modesty wronged him. In
the former virtues, Mr. Cocke stood pre-eminent. The material prosperity of men gratified
him. He knew that most men ought to make money, but he had no time for
it. "This one thing I do." He loathed the feeling of jealousy. Eulogize his brethren, and you
smote on no chord of envy. He was a large man. Frequent were the times when a minister not being accessible,
he conducted funerals and buried the dead. He was great both in theory and
practice. "Dr. Cocke always impressed me as a large man. "Dr. Cocke was a man of sterling integrity of character. He was not
perfect, but he pressed far up the heights of resplendent manhood. The
signature of a divine call was upon him, and he honored it to the end. His long labor fell far short of his dreams, but it was crowned with the
blessings of Heaven. "All I could never be,
All, men ignored in me,
That was I worth to God." Hollins College is his monument. There it stands, a thing of beauty, by
the little Sulphur Spring. It
was the outcome of associated work. It was a
compliment to be invited into his Faculty, and its members always found
Hollins one big family. He was no dictator; he issued no commands. He asked for good team work. _Mrs. His optimism she could not share, but the
path of duty she trod as willingly as he. The fact would not have helped
him, hence it was shut up in her heart. In
truth, without such a wife he could not have won. In the strong cord
that held him to his work, she was the golden strand. In the long, dark struggles that were
to follow, there was no breaking down of her faith and courage. It was truly said, that if Mr. Cocke was the head of Hollins, Mrs. Cocke
was its heart. That splendid patriarchal Trustee, Mr. Wm. A. Miller,
says: "It is common to speak of the wife as the better half. In my view,
Mrs. Cocke was the better two-thirds." If ever
compelled to express disapproval, it was in fashion so gentle that no
sting was left. Often in quiet seclusion, she was found reading her
Bible. He was born at the
"Picquenocque" homestead, five miles north of Richmond, January 29th,
1831, the youngest in a family of nine children. The family was reared
under the quiet influence of the Quaker faith. Turning from this inviting prospect, he went to
the University of Virginia, and by diligence in study, bore off its
honors. Soon thereafter, he married Miss Minta Smoot,
of Washington City. It was his joy to see the daughter, Mary, achieve
distinction as a teacher of Music at Hollins. He was a lover of Latin and Greek; and literature, ancient and modern,
was his passion. He was a magnetic teacher, accurate, clear and
inspiring. in 1907. of Richmond College in 1858, and an M.A. of the
University of Virginia, in 1860. His teaching was largely by lecture, punctuated with
pointed questions. When a boy, he was a mark
among boys; when he became a man, he was a man among men. _Mrs. On the 29th of July,
1900, the lovable life faded away, at Hollins. _Mr. Everybody leaned on him
and everybody loved him. All honor to his name. On May 3rd, 1900, his labors closed in death. All
Hollins wept and mourned his loss. One is glad to see his son, M. Estes Cocke, a
prominent member of the Faculty. _Mrs. She was born in Washington City, July 26th, 1829. Her father, William Speiden, was a U. S. Naval officer, and rose to the
rank of Commodore. Her mother was an English lady. After resignation, she was made "Emeritus." It was social culture to be in her company. Her daughter,
Miss Marian Bayne, is Librarian at Hollins today. Her body was laid to rest at Alexandria, Virginia,
near the scenes of her childhood. His
history is dramatic and his experience of the world is rich. He was born
in France and educated in Germany. He was a man of remarkable memory, never
forgetting a fact or a face. He
was always high in the esteem of Mr. Cocke. Before the next annual meeting he was no
more. The Hon. _Mr. Mr. Hollins was a man of superior worth and
always responsive to the generous impulses of his intelligent wife. Mr. Hollins' gift of $5,000 in 1855 was by her
inspiration. But for the Civil War, which destroyed most of her
wealth, she would have given much more. They had no children. Mr.
Hollins was born February 11th, 1786, and died April 7th, 1859. Mrs.
Hollins was born in 1792 and died July 3rd, 1864. Both were buried in
Spring Hill cemetery, at Lynchburg. In his
wise view, an Institution completed was an Institution already on the
downward grade. He, being dead, yet speaketh. A beautiful Library building, made possible by the Alumnæ,
was erected in 1908, as a memorial to Mr. Cocke. In 1914, the Science
Hall was built. In the very atmosphere of the
place, the sensitive soul feels a brooding presence. His Ideal lives, and his Spirit interfuses all.