Daily Baptist Encyclopedia Chowan Female Institute.—

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The oldest school for girls in North Carolina, next to the Moravian school at Salem, is the Chowan Institute, at Mur- freesborough. It was founded in 1848, by the Chowan Baptist Association. The next year a contiguous Association in Virginia, the Portsmouth, united with the Chowan, and up to the late wara joint board of trustees from the two bodies man-aged the affairs of the seminary. The war, whichsuspended collections and destroyed property of allkinds, did not pay debts or even suspend interest,and thus it happened that at its close the institutewas hopelessly involved. In this emergency ajoint-stock company was formed, the institute wasbought for $3000, its debts, to the amount of$24,000, were assumed, and honorably liquidatedand for ten years the company successfully con-ducted the school, and added several thousand dol-lars’ worth of improvements to the establishment.Two years ago the stockholders donated the prop-erty to the denomination at large, and it is now oneof the few female schools of the country belongingexclusively to the Baptists. This act of generositywas so remarkable that the names of the partiesinvolved are regarded as worthy to be preserved,and are as flea. W. W. Mitchell, $4000; Mark Gregory, -$1000; John Mitchell, $1000; J. W. Mitchell, $500; Mary Mitchell, $500; Miss N. 8. Askew, $500; A. McDowell; $500; L. D. Spiers, $250; and J. N. Barnes, $250; which sum of $8500, bearing interest for ten years at eight per cent., makes a donation to the cause of education of over $15,000. A. McDowell, D.D., then just out of college, was its first president. In 1849, Rev. M. R. Ferry, of New York, took charge, and presided, over the in- stitute till 1854, when he was succeeded by Dr. Wm. Hooper. came connected with’ the school as co-principal with Dr, Hooper;.and since Dr. Hooper’s: with- drawal, in 1862, has been the sole principal of the institute,” Thousands of young ladies have at- tended this excellent: school, and it is earnestly to be hoped that as it has been the cherished school of the Baptists in Eastern North Carolina for so many years, they will heartily sustain the movement, recently projected, for its adequate en- dowment. |From the Baptist Encyclopedia by William Cathcart