South Moore, Order of the Bell Tower student assistant

The Wild West: How the Namesake of Avery Residence Hall Got Away with Murder

In the autumn of 1851, William Waightstill Avery had it all. The grandson of Waightstill Avery, a member of the committee that chose the site of the University, W.W. Avery had been elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, was a member of Carolina’s Board of Trustees, and was married to the governor’s daughter. The year before, W.W. Avery had been the keynote speaker at UNC’s graduation, where, only 13 years prior, he had graduated as valedictorian. However, in October of 1851, Avery’s life took a very violent and bizarre turn.

A black and white portrait of a middle-aged white man with dark hair — William Waightstill Avery (From the Portrait Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, P0002)

Avery’s nemesis in the General Assembly, Samuel Flemming of Burnesville, North Carolina, in Yancey County, was in a court battle with the family of his deceased wife, for her possessions. Avery, one of the most talented lawyers in western North Carolina, was representing Flemming’s opponents in court. On October 21, Avery viciously attacked Flemming’s character, calling his entire life’s work a “fraud.” Enraged, Flemming left the courthouse to buy a cowhide whip. When Avery left the courthouse, Flemming and the whip met him. Flemming brutally beat Avery, who was too small to fight back. The beating left Avery bloodied and weak but, more importantly, hungry for revenge.

Just a few weeks later, on November 11, Avery and Flemming crossed paths in a courtroom again, this time in Morganton, North Carolina. Flemming had business with the clerk and Avery had a number of clients appearing in court that afternoon. As they entered the court, Flemming shouted insults at Avery, who pretended not to hear them. However, just a few minutes later, as Flemming was finishing his business in the courtroom, Avery stood up and shot and killed Flemming, right in front of the judge.

Avery immediately surrendered himself to the sheriff and his trial began that Saturday. His attorney, John Bynum, claimed that Avery had been so provoked that the only just action was for him to kill Samuel Flemming. In a rhetorical flourish, Bynum said “no doubt, God forgives Mr. Avery. And whom God pardons, men dare not punish.” Exactly a week after Avery shot Flemming, Judge Battle, who had witnessed Avery shoot Flemming from his bench, read the jury’s verdict: “not guilty by reason of emotional insanity.”

After this bizarre encounter, Avery returned to the General Assembly and lived peacefully until 1864, when union sympathizers killed him. In 1958, the recently completed residence hall on Ridge Road was named in honor of William Waightstill Avery to commemorate his contributions to the university as an outstanding student and member of the Board of Trustees.

The “Pilot” of Student Government: The Student Body President

Porter Elected Student Body President — The Daily Tar Heel, May 17, 1921.

We currently find ourselves in the middle of campaign season. For the next two (or possibly three) weeks, the Pit will be abuzz with excited, albeit cold, campaign workers, the pages of the Daily Tar Heel will be filled with news of the latest endorsements, and evenings will be dominated by candidate forums. Some wonder if all the “fuss” involved in Student Body President Elections is worth it. That question is a matter of opinion. However, it is possible to objectively examine how the Office of the Student Body President became important enough to warrant the attention afforded to those who campaign for it.

Although student self-governance is a long held tradition at Carolina, the Office of the Student Body President was not created until 1921. Prior to that, the Senior Class President was head of the Student Council. The switch from Senior Class President to Student Body President was not without controversy. Early in 1921, students voted in favor of a referendum that would create the Office of Student Body President. However, when nominations for that office were due in May, those who were opposed to the switch broke up the nomination proceedings with allegations that students had been misled by the wording of the referendum. A week later the Student Council decided to again put the measure to a referendum, this time with a different wording. Once again, the referendum passed and later that month Garland Burns Porter was elected UNC’s first Student Body President.

: “Student Government Records, 1919-2011” Box 26, University Archives.

In 1946, Student Government drew up its first constitution. The constitution gave the Student Body President the power to veto bills from Student Congress, an ex-officio seat on all boards and committees, including the Board of Trustees, and the authority to issue executive orders. The 1946 constitution required that the Speaker of Student Congress also serve as Vice President and that the Secretary-Treasurer (which was later split into two roles) be elected by the Student Body. Changes to the constitution in 1971 gave the Student Body President the power to appoint his Secretary and Treasurer, pending approval of congress. In 1995, the Student Body President was allowed to do the same with his/her VicePresident.

Past Student Body Presidents also played a role in increasing the power of their office. Paul Dickson III, Student Body President from 1965-1966, expanded the role of “representing the students of the University” when he became the face of the University in the very public conflict over the Speaker Ban Law. Eve Carson’s work as Student Body President from 2007-2008 inspired students both within student government and outside of it to seek change on campus. In between, various Student Body Presidents created cabinet positions for emerging campus issues, giving the Executive Branch greater influence on campus policy.

Perhaps it is the relative stability of the Office of the Student Body President that has most enabled it to flourish. Since 1946, little has changed in the Executive Branch. Conversely, the Legislative Branch has changed names, composition, and, to a certain extent, purpose numerous times.

The Hogg Poplar? The Myth of the Davie Poplar

Untitled-1 — Illustration of commissioners searching for a site for the university. (Yackety Yack, 1935)

On this day, 220 years ago, the Board of Trustees chose the location for the University of North Carolina. You have probably heard the legend of how it was chosen. If you haven’t, it goes like this: The committee that had been charged with the task of finding a location for the new university were wearily wandering through the woods west of the newly selected capital. Tired, hungry, and thirsty, the committee stopped beneath a great tree for a picnic. After they ate, they fell asleep beneath the tree, overcome by fatigue, a food coma, too much alcohol, or some combination of the three. When they awoke, William R. Davie announced that there could be no better spot for the new university than where this tree stood. He and his committee unanimously recommended the location to the Board of Trustees, who adopted the committee’s proposal. The tree that Davie and his committee slept under was named the “Davie Poplar” to honor William R. Davie’s discovery.

It is a great story. Unfortunately, not a bit of it is true. In fact, William R. Davie wasn’t even on the committee that chose the site of the university. So how was the location of the university decided?

John Daniel's Survey of University Lands with annotations, November 7-8, 1792 (University of North Carolina Papers, #40005, University Archives)

In Hillsborough on August 1st, 1792, the Board of Trustees decided that they would vote on a location from which the university could be no more than 15 miles. Given the choice of Pittsboro, Williamsborough (near present day Henderson), Charlotte, Hillsborough, Goshen (near present day Wilkesboro), Smithfield, or Cyprus Bridge and New Hope, the Board of Trustees chose Cyprus Bridge and New Hope because of its central location.

The Board of Trustees then dispatched a committee to New Hope to determine the precise location of the university. The eight committee members, none of whom were named William Davie, represented the eight districts the Board of Trustees had divided the state into. During the first week of November, the committee surveyed the land surrounding New Hope and received various offers of land and money from land owners who wished to have the university built on their land. However, the offer James Hogg put together on behalf of Chapel Hill dwarfed all others. It included over 1100 acres (nearly double the next highest offer) $780, and 150,000 bricks for the first building. On December 3rd, the search committee proposed that Chapel Hill be the site of the new university and the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the proposal.

List of land donors and amount of acreage donated for the new university in Chapel Hill (from the Board of Trustees Minutes, Vol. 1, 1789-1798, p. 82)

The story of James Hogg aggressively encouraging his neighbors to donate land is not as glamorous as the “love at first sight” legend of William Davie and the old poplar. And “Hogg Poplar” definitely does not roll off the tongue as easily as “Davie Poplar”. But next time you are enjoying the beautiful scenery of Chapel Hill, you might want to take a moment to thank James Hogg.