A Man of Restless Enterprise

The extraordinary tale of the Rev. Simeon Colton, D. D. (1785-1868), unfolds through his 1851-1862 diary, which documents his experiences as a teacher and clergyman in central North Carolina in the years leading up to the Civil War. The Yale-educated Colton dedicated his life to preparing young men for college as principal of a series of private schools, including the Monson and Amherst academies in Massachusetts, and the Donaldson, Cumberland and Asheboro academies in North Carolina. In his diary, Colton reflects on domestic matters, from the constant vigilance required to ensure that a family's cultivation of crops and livestock provided sustenance for the winter months, to the complexity and risks of travel. A pious and outspoken man, he is not shy about voicing his opinions of some of his colleagues and neighbors, and the examples they set in the community. The tribulations of operating schools in communities facing demographic, economic and civic challenges emerge in stark detail. The diary also provides insights into the life of a minister charged not only with a primary congregation in town, but also with developing emerging congregations in the rural areas of a large county - and who also must tend to his own questions of faith. As the country draws inexorably toward civil war, Colton turns his incisive mind to national affairs - and to the sin of slavery as the genesis of war. Annotations and supplementary material bring to life the rich tapestry of Colton's life, especially the amazing reach of his colleagues, acquaintances and former students - the latter of which include Charles Merriam, who co-founded the Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Loring Norcross, who became the uncle of Emily Dickinson; Moses Sperry Beach, editor of the New York Sun, whose father established the Associated Press; and a host of other New England and North Carolina notables. Colton's civic and religious life comes into focus, from his trial by the Presbyterians during a doctrinal controversy, to his expert testimony as a chemist in a celebrated murder trial. Also included are definitive profiles of Colton and his extraordinary children, who made significant contributions of their own (among them Henry Elliott Colton, newspaperman and geologist who penned the first book-length travel guide to the western North Carolina mountains; A. M. F. Colton, a prominent architect in the heyday of Chicago building; Maria Colton Newton, a pioneer of education for girls in Mississippi, and James Hooper Colton, a selfless Presbyterian pastor). What emerges it the story of a family that places a supreme value on education. Ross Holt is director of the Randolph County Public Library in Asheboro, North Carolina, and a member of the Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Commission. He is a past president of both the North Carolina Library Association and the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association. An Asheboro native and former journalist, he holds a bachelors degree in Political Science from Davidson College and a masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.