Dr. Edwin A. Alderman Collection

Collection

Identifier: SC-MS-112

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains material related to Wilmington native Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, an educator who worked at what is now UNC Greensboro, UNC Chapel Hill, and was the first president of the University of Virginia. A book of photographs from the University of Virginia book store, a photograph of Charles D. McIver--the founder and first president of what is now UNC Greensboro, and a newspaper article announcing the death of Dr. Alderman in 1931.

Dates

Creation: Undated

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Copyright Statement

Copyright retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical Note

Dr. Edwin A. Alderman (1861-1931) was born in Wilmington in 1861 and educated locally until attending Bethel Military Academy in Virginia. He graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC) in 1882 and started teaching in Goldsboro. He married Emma Graves in 1885 and had three children, though they all died very young. He progressed in his education career through time spent working at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNC Greensboro), UNC, and Tulane University, where he served at the latter as president. His wife, Emma, died of tuberculosis in 1896, and he remarried to Bessie Green Hearn in February 1904. They had one child. Also in 1904, he was elected the first president of the University of Virginia, where he grew the university in degrees and student population. His health showed signs of decline starting in 1906 due to tuberculosis and lung complications, though he continued to work until his stroke in April 1931 as he was on the way to give an inauguration speech. He was buried at the University of Virginia's campus cemetery.