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Visual Narratives of Early Emory Student Life at Oxford

Anderson, D., 1903, reverse

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Chasing Culbreath: A Mystery in Early Emory History Annalys Hanson

The Culbreath collection presents a rare glimpse into the earliest representation of student life at Emory. The collection consists of photographs that were departing gifts from Emory graduates dating from 1902-1904; on the back of some photographs were letters addressed to Ervin Culbreath. While the collection represents a larger image of Emory community, there is a large void in the center that ties it all together: Culbreath himself did not write any of letters nor is he in any of the photographs and there is no record of his time at Emory in any alumni registries, despite the letters strongly indicating he was a student.[i]

The collection bearing his name reveals very little about Culbreath. Virginia “Dickey” Dixon Culbreath Barron, Culbreath’s niece, gifted the 26 photographs that comprise the collection to Oxford College of Emory University in 1980. The photographs are senior portraits and some group photographs from his fellow Kappa Alpha brothers.[ii] Discovering more about Culbreath, to whom all the photographs were dedicated, involved combing through alumni registries, class catalogues, the earliest editions of the Emory Phoenix available, memoirs of alumni, and yearbooks in the available Emory archives as well as other online resources.

The only evidence of Culbreath as an Emory student lies in catalogues from this period that entail the faculty, departments, degree programs, classes, and incoming students. He entered Emory in 1901 as a freshman and would attend Emory until the end of his junior year in spring 1904; his name was absent from the 1905 catalogue for his senior year. Because he didn’t graduate, he was not in any alumni registry and his presence was almost erased if not for the extensive collection of class catalogues, one of which has Culbreath’s very own signature scrawled across the top. This was most likely the catalogue he received before he arrived at school. One of the back pages contains a preview of a young Culbreath’s personality through doodles and practice signatures before permanently signing the cover.[iii]

The catalogues provided further clues about Culbreath’s background and degree path. Culbreath was from Palmetto, Georgia and was the son of Thomas Ervin Culbreath, a president of a bank.[iv] Culbreath’s mother was Annie Yarbrough Culbreath, a descendant of an American Revolution veteran.[v] Culbreath had at least two siblings: a sister named Annie Jean and a brother named Claude, who would attend Emory as a sophomore from 1906-1907 and be a part of Kappa Alpha before leaving school.[vi]
Culbreath was pursuing a Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph.B.), one of three degree paths available at the time. Students would enter college with their degree path already chosen and the class schedule for that degree was predetermined; they would not have electives until their junior and senior years. The Ph.B. was traditionally the path for students with the intention to attend law school.

Culbreath’s only known community involvement was Kappa Alpha; this was the shared experience between Culbreath and all the Emory students in the photographs. Emory housed the Epsilon chapter of Kappa Alpha Order, which was found in 1865 in honor of their perception of a true gentlemen, Robert E. Lee.[vii] Culbreath joined Kappa Alpha as a freshman in 1901. At this time, Emory provided some dorms, but they were expensive and had limited space. Instead, residents in the area would sponsor their homes as boarding houses and provide rooms and meals at a lower price. This was the origin of fraternity houses: they were boarding homes that exclusively housed members of specific fraternities. According to “Squire” Carlton, who attended Emory from 1910-1913 and would later become a professor, freshmen who arrived on campus would be welcomed by fraternity brothers and brought to their house. There, they asked the freshmen to join their fraternity. It was a way to build a community from the beginning of the school year, and also provided secure housing and fostered lifelong friendships. While Carlton and his roommate declined to join any fraternity, Culbreath most likely joined Kappa Alpha at an early stage during his freshmen year and spent his three years at Emory living in Stewart House, as entailed in Marvin D. Callahan’s letter.[viii] The house was owned by Joseph Spencer Stewart who was a graduate of Emory 1849 and taught at the University of Georgia at this time.[ix]

The only information about Culbreath’s first year in Kappa Alpha and in Emory lies in the letters of those who graduated in 1902. Charles B. Shelton’s letter to Culbreath was short but sincere, and the photograph itself would have been a significant token of remembrance. Many students would never see each other again after graduation, so these photographs and letters commemorated the friendships they made in their time as undergraduate students. As Culbreath’s friends graduated year by year, he would have accumulated photographs and letters such as the ones found in the Culbreath collection.

In addition to senior portraits, there are photographs that give insight into the community at Emory during Culbreath’s time. This photo of football players was given to Culbreath from Morton Murray, who graduated in 1902.[x] Emory had five football teams, one for each class including the sub-freshmen. Culbreath did not play football his junior year; he was not found in the 1903-1904 Emory Phoenix, which would list the members of each team and the results of tournaments in every edition.[xi]

There two graduates of 1904 who gave their photographs to Culbreath, one being Marvin D. Callahan, who would die four years later in 1908, and William Howard McGregor. Callahan wrote in his letter “May your efforts in life-work prove successful” and McGregor wrote “That you may be successful in whatever you undertake is the sincere wish of your loving K.A. Bro. W. Howard McGregor.” While these letters are ambiguous, they imply that his classmates knew Culbreath was leaving school.

Further evidence lies in the picture of Asa Warren Candler, who would graduate in 1905, the year Culbreath was intended to graduate. Instead, he signed his letter with May 25, 1904, the number 4 drawn prominently over what had been the number 5 in "1905". He is the only person in the collection to refer to Culbreath by a nickname, “Puss,” implying they knew each other well. Candler was also pursuing a Ph.B. and would have been in most of Culbreath’s classes. Candler would later go on to become an attorney.[xii] His letter written at the end of the 1903-1904 academic school year heavily supports the idea that Culbreath knew he would not return to finish his senior year with Candler. Additionally, the photograph from James William Roberts contains a farewell letter. Roberts was a freshman in 1903-1904, a member of Kappa Alpha, and the only person in this collection to attend Emory with both Ervin and Claude Culbreath.[xiii] As Roberts would not graduate until 1909; in 1904, the farewell letter must have referred to the departure of Culbreath rather than Roberts.

A couple photographs from 1903 graduates demonstrate longer, more developed friendships between the Kappa Alpha brothers and Culbreath and give insight as to why Culbreath might have left Emory. He had photographs from both Davis and Francis M. Anderson, who were both in the senior class of 1903 and most likely brothers. Francis left Culbreath seven images and one of the longest, most heartfelt letters in the entire collection. He was also the only person identified in one of the group photographs. According to Carlton’s memoir, it was a rite of passage and sign of maturity for seniors to buy derby hats and briefcases: this photograph depicts a group of senior boys posing together in their derby hats by a small waterfall.[xiv] Francis was most likely the student on the left. This photograph was given to Culbreath; the members wanted to be remembered as they were in this photograph. It also reveals the students in a less formal, rigid light, but instead with expression, emotion, and friendship between them.

Davis Anderson gave his photograph to Culbreath during March 1903. He was listed in the 1902-1903 catalogue as a senior with his brother, but Davis wasn’t listed in any registries as graduated.[xv] Culbreath most likely received this photograph as a departure gift when Davis left school a couple months before graduation. According to The Kappa Alpha Journal, a national Kappa Alpha newsletter written in November 1902, Davis Anderson accepted a job in Florida and left school shortly before graduation.[xvi]

This could be indicative of one possibility as to why Culbreath left Emory before graduation. As the students were accepting job offers before graduation, this may indicate that the experience of education was more valuable for a job than the actual degree. Culbreath’s motivation for leaving was most likely not financial; tuition in his freshman year would’ve totaled $60; the average annual income for a working class laborer in 1903 would have been around $680 and Culbreath, the son of a banker, was most likely financially well off.[xvii] Culbreath’s departure could be academically-motivated; for example, Robert W. Woodruff dropped out of Emory after his first term in 1909 due to poor academic achievement.[xviii] Nevertheless, it was not at all uncommon for students to leave school before acquiring their degree; Culbreath’s starting freshman class contained 56 students and by what would have been been his senior year, there were only 32 remaining students listed in the catalogue.[xix]

Culbreath’s death remains as enigmatic as his life after Emory. The final record of Culbreath is found at his grave located in Marietta, Georgia, fifty miles from his hometown of Palmetto. Death records weren’t well documented until after 1919, so his death certificate and obituary are not available. The circumstances of his death are peculiar: he was buried in Saint James Episcopal Cemetery, but his family was Methodist and he was not buried with any other Culbreath family members.[xx]

The most extensive records of Ervin Yarbrough Culbreath’s life are contained in the Culbreath collection; there is scant information regarding Culbreath after he left Oxford College. The Culbreath Collection Photographs often us a fascinating snapshot of a young Oxford College man, through his scribbles in a class catalogue from when he was fifteen years old, photographs of classmates, and the intimate, caring letters written to him by the closest friends he made at Emory.

[i] Alumni Association. Occupation and Address Register of the Graduates of Emory College. Atlanta, 1910; Dombrowsky, James A., ed., Alumni History and Directory of Emory University (Atlanta: The Alumni Council, 1926), 119-130.
[ii] “Ervin Yarbrough and Claude Culbreath Photograph collection, 1902-1904, undated,” EmoryFindingAid, Emory Universities, last modified 2017, http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/s0q0z; “Virginia Dixon Culbreath Barron,” Virginia Barron Obituary, Groce Funeral Home and Cremation Service, accessed April 24, 2018, http://www.grocefuneralhome.com/obituary/Virginia-Dixon-Culbreath-Barron/Asheville-NC/1053464.
[iii] Catalogue of Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, 1901-1902. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Company, 1902; Catalogue of Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, 1902-1903. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Company, 1903; Catalogue of Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, 1903-1904. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Company, 1904; Catalogue of Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, 1904-1905. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Company, 1905; Catalogue of Emory College 1900-1901; Catalogue of Emory College 1901-1902.
[iv] Catalogue of Emory College 1901-1902; R.G. Dun & Company, Dun’s Review (New York: Orvis Brothers & Co., 1911), 15.
[v] Dolliver, Louise Pearsons. Lineage Book Volume 24 (Harrisburg: Telegraph Printing Company, 1907), 42.
[vi] “Palmetto News,” The Herald & Advertiser, November, 1908, http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/coweta/newspapers/newspape2540nw.txt; Catalogue of Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, 1906-1907. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Company, 1907; Pan-Hellenic Council of Emory College 1907.
[vii] Allen, Wm. Fletcher, ed. The Emory Phoenix, vol. 18. Oxford: November 1903; “The History of the Order,” Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Alpha Order, last modified 2018, https://www.kappaalphaorder.org/ka/history.
[viii] Carlton, Wilbur Allen. In Memory of Old Emory. Atlanta: Emory University, 1962.
[ix] Roberts, Charles Stewart. Selected Roberts Papers: Seven Generations of a Southern Lineage. Charleston: iUniverse, 2013; Emory University. Occupation and Address Register of the Graduates of Emory College. 1910.
[x] Alumni Association 1910; Dombrowsky 1926.
[xi] H. H. Alderman, “Athletic Department,” The Emory Phoenix, November, 1903, 71-73; Pan-Hellenic Council of Emory College 1907.
[xii] Catalogue of Emory College 1904-1905; Alumni Association 1910; Dombrowsky 1926.
[xiii] Pan-Hellenic Council of Emory College 1907.
[xiv] Carlton 1962.
[xv] Catalogue of Emory College 1902-1903; Alumni Association 1910; Dombrowsky 1926.
[xvi] Kappa Alpha Order. The Kappa Alpha Journal. Chattanooga: “Times” Editorial Rooms, 1902.
[xvii] Catalogue of Emory College 1900-1901; Catalogue of Emory College 1901-1902; Hanger, Glossbrenner Wallace William, “Cost-Of-Living and Retail Prices in the United States, 1890 to 1903,” in Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor: September 1904 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 54, Volume IX, Nos. 1 – 100, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), 198-248.
[xviii] Dickey, James E., letter to Ernest Woodruff, February 2, 1909.
[xix] Catalogue of Emory College 1901-1902; Catalogue of Emory College 1904-1905.
[xx] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 April 2018), memorial page for Ervin Yarbrough Culbreath (2 Feb 1885–24 Jun 1915), Find A Grave Memorial no. 107987951, citing Saint James Episcopal Cemetery, Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia, USA ; Maintained by MHARDY (contributor 47263263); “Palmetto News” 1908.