Creator: Lawrence Washburne Minor
Title of Collection: Principals and Presidents: Lawrence Washburne Minor Collection
Dates: 1845-1978
Extent: 2 folders (.25 linear feet)
Abstract: The Lawrence Washburne Minor Collection includes miscellaneous photocopies of publications relating to the tenure of Lawrence Washburn Minor, first principal of Prairie View A & M University (then Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College for Colored Youth) from 1878-1879.
Biographical Note: : Lawrence Washburne Minor (1830?-1880) was born enslaved in Louisiana. His father, Philip Minor, was the Linwood plantation owner and fathered at least 3 children with Lawrence’s mother, Lucy. At the prompting of lady family members, he provided private tutors for the children. In 1836, he left provisions in his will to free Lucy and her 5 children. They were each given a gift of $2,000. Lawrence was sent to Ohio where attended Oberlin preparatory school with his siblings. After he graduated in 1851 from Oberlin College and married Maria F. Morris (daughter of Shelton Morris). They had four children (Ella Evaline, John Lawrence, Shelton Morris, and Lucretia).
Even though he was educated, he worked for many years as a steamboat porter in Louisville, KY. He was actively involved in the Anti-Slavery movement and the Underground Railroad with his family. Also, he was actively involved in the Freedman’s Bureau Bank with his brother-in-law, Horace Morris. In 1871, he was appointed as professor of the Latin language and English literature at Alcorn University. Years later, Minor was appointed the post of first Principal of Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College for Colored Youth in 1878 by Charles Gathright, the first President of A & M College in College Station (now Texas A&M University). He remained in the post of Principal until early 1879. He is listed as deceased (November 5, 1880), by the Quinquennial Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Oberlin College. His remains were transported to Eastern Cemetery.
Sources:
Lawrence Washburne Minor. (2021). Friends of the Eastern Cemetery. https://friendsofeasterncemetery.com/lawrence-washburn-minor/
Oberlin College. (1916). Quinquennial Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Oberlin College. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/quinquennialcata00ober_1/page/210/mode/2up?q=minor
Woolfolk, George Ruble. (1962). Prairie View: a study in public conscience, 1878-1946. Pageant Press. 33-36.
Arrangement: n/a
Identification: UA 0092
Repository: Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University
Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.
Identification: UA 0092
Use Restrictions: Written permission must be obtained from the Special Collections/ Archives Department and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts, or images from any materials in this collection.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University
Preferred Citation: The Lawrence Washburne Minor Collection, UA0092, Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University.
Related Material: Related material may be found in the Special Collections/Archives Department Vertical Files. Ask a member of the SCAD staff for assistance.
Acquisition Information: Accumulated throughout the years by Special Collections/Archives Department staff.
African American educators.
Educators—United States.
Employees—Administrators.
Lawrence Washburne Minor.
Prairie View Normal and Industrial College (Prairie View, TX)
Prairie View (TX.)
| Box | Folder | Description | Date | Location |
| 1 | 1 | Letter from W.E. Bigglestone to Esther Baker concerning Lawrence Minor, 1978. | 1978 | R2/C2/R5 |
| 1 | [Prairie View History], undated. | undated | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Transcription from Catalogue and Record of Colored Students, 1835-1862, undated. | undated | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from The Oberlin Evangelist, 1845 | 1845 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from Reports on the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas, Alta Vista College, for colored youths, December 1878, | 1878 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from the Texas Senate Journal, January 5th, 1879 | 1879 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selection from the 1880 Waller County Census, 1880 | 1880 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from Quinquennial Catalogue of Oberlin College, 1900 | 1900 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from Quinquennial Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Oberlin College, 1905 | 1905 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | “Principals of Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College,” Houston Informer, April 18th, 1931 | 1911 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 1 | Selected pages from The First Seventy-five Years | 1951 | R2/C2/R5 | |
| 2 | Selected pages from Prairie View: a study in public conscience, 1878-1946 | 1962 | R2/C2/R5 |
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