Religion of students

From Special Collections Research Center Wiki

1865-1866 session: one Catholic and two Disciples of Christ students while all others were Episcopalians, Baptists, or Methodists.

It is unclear who was the first Jewish student at William and Mary.

Throughout the 1870s, students were overwhelmingly Episcopalians, Baptists, or Methodists with a few scattered Presbyterians and Disciples of Christ "enrolled from time to time." There were also two Catholics, one "Christian," and the sole Jewish student, Zach Hofheimer of Norfolk attended the College for two sessions from 1869 to 1871.(Godson, et al., p. 394)

Samuel Myers (1790-1829) attended William and Mary in 1808-1809. He was a lawyer in Norfolk and Pensacola, Florida, and the son of Moses Myers. There are two collections of papers from the Myers family in the Special Collections Research Center and one includes correspondence with Jewish merchants in Richmond and other cities (see Meyers Papers and Samuel Meyers Papers).

A 1932 list of students and their faiths indicates that there were 95 "Hebrew" students. ("Religious Preferences," University Archives Subject File Collection) See also The College of William and Mary: A History, notes p. 725.

A Note About The Contents Of This Wiki

Unfortunately, many of the early original records of the College of William and Mary were destroyed by fire, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information available here is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Information in this wiki is not complete as new information continues to be uncovered in the SCRC's collections and elsewhere. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use the SCRC's access tools for their research as the information contained in this wiki is by no means comprehensive.

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