Today I got around to processing a small collection we received last summer. The materials related to a member of Wofford’s Class of 1870 named Wellborn Davies Kirkland. Rev. Kirkland, who became a Methodist minister, served in a number of significant positions in the Methodist Church in South Carolina, edited the Southern Christian Advocate, and was the editor of the churchwide Sunday School magazine when he died at a fairly young age in 1896.
His papers included a number of speeches he gave as a student – his 1870 graduation speech, his valedictory to his literary society, and a few other ones. They also included some family history materials and, believe it or not, a lock of his hair that appears to have been cut after his death.
His papers included some photos of both him and his wife, and there was also a composite photo of Wofford’s 1870 graduating class.
The W. D. Kirkland Papers are available here.
