Alexander Lucius Twilight (September 23, 1795 – June 19, 1857) was an American educator, minister and politician. He was recognized as the first African American to have earned a bachelor's degree from an American college or university, graduating from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

in 1823. He was ordained as a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister and worked in education and ministry all his career. In 1829, Twilight became principal of the Orleans County Grammar School. There he designed and built Athenian Hall, the first granite public building in the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. In 1836, he was the first African American elected as a state legislator, serving in the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

; he was also the only African American ever elected to a state legislature before the Civil War. His house and Athenian Hall are included in the Brownington Village Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP).

African-American roots

Alexander's father, Ichabod, was born in Boston, July 1765. Ichabod's father was black, his mother, white, possibly an indentured servant. Eventually, Ichabod married Mary, described as 'white' or 'light-skinned,' implying she was of partial African descent. Ichabod and Mary were free and mixed race, of African and English descent. It is unknown if they were born free; they were likely descendants of enslaved Africans and English settlers. Ichabod was a Revolutionary War veteran from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

."Alexander Twilight"
Black Past, accessed 15 Dec 2008 His parents were both listed in the Corinth, Vermont town history as "the first negroes to settle in Corinth where they bought property, moving from Bradford on November 28, 1798.

Early life and education

Alexander Lucius Twilight was born September 23, 1795, in Bradford, Vermont. Starting around 1802 when he was eight years old, Twilight worked for a neighboring farmer in

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. Working from an early age was typical of working-class children of his era. For the next 12 years he read, studied, and learned mathematics while working in various farm labor positions. Twilight enrolled in Randolph's Orange County Grammar School in 1815 at the age of 20. From 1815 to 1821, he completed all the institution's secondary school courses as well as the first two years of a college-level curriculum. He enrolled in

in 1821, where he graduated in 1823 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. He was the first known African American to receive a degree from an American institution of higher learning. This did not become widely known until 1826, when

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

awarded a bachelor's degree to Edward Jones and claimed that he was the first African-American college graduate, which prompted Middlebury College to publicize Twilight's earlier graduation.

Career

Twilight's first job was teaching in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, New York. He also studied for the ministry with the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

and served several Congregational churches. He occasionally led worship services and delivered sermons. The Champlain Presbytery of Plattsburgh licensed him to preach. Twilight taught for four years in Peru, then moved to

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Vermont, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Vermont, Panton, and Waltham, Vermont, Waltham. As of the 2 ...

, in 1828 to teach during the week and hold weekend church services in Waltham and Ferrisburg. In 1829, Twilight was hired as principal of the Orleans County, Vermont, Grammar School in Brownington, the only secondary school in a two-county area, where he was also ordained as minister of the Congregational Church. He built a house for his family shortly after arrival, which still stands and is the headquarters of the Orleans County Historical Society. Wanting to create a residence dormitory to accommodate out of town students, from 1834 to 1836, Twilight designed, raised funds for, and had built a massive four-story granite building which he called Athenian Hall. The first granite public building in Vermont, it served as a dormitory for the co-educational school, also known as the Brownington Academy. Both his home and Athenian Hall are today part of a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

listed on the

. In 1836, Twilight was elected to the newly established

(Vermont's legislature was unicameral, consisting only of the House until 1836), becoming the first African American to be elected to a state legislature. As a member of the House, he worked unsuccessfully to persuade the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

not to divide school funding between Brownington and nearby Craftsbury, which had decided to open its own school. He left his job as headmaster in 1847, apparently after a falling out with the Brownington school's trustees. He taught school in Shipton and Hatley,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Without Twilight's leadership, the school in Brownington experienced declining enrollment, and it was closed in 1852. Persuaded to return to Brownington, Twilight resumed his duties as principal and pastor. He resigned as pastor in 1853, and continued as principal until 1855.

Death and burial

In October 1855, Twilight suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed and caused him to retire as principal of the Brownington school. He died on June 19, 1857, and was buried at the Congregational church in Brownington.

Marriage and family

In 1826, Twilight married Mercy Ladd Merrill of Unity, New Hampshire. They remained married until his death, and had no children. Mercy Twilight died in 1878.

Legacy and honors

*Alexander Twilight House (1830), still stands across the street from Athenian Hall. Today it serves as headquarters for the Orleans County Historical Society. It is within the Historic District listed on the

(NRHP). *Athenian Hall (1834–36) is now operated by the Orleans County Historical Society as the Old Stone House Museum, and anchors the Historic District of Brownington. It was the first granite public building in Vermont. *Alexander Twilight Hall at his alma mater

was named in his honor. *The Alexander Twilight Auditorium at

Lyndon State College Lyndon State College was a public liberal arts college in Lyndon, Vermont. In 2018, it merged with Johnson State College to create Northern Vermont University; the former campus of Lyndon State College is now the university's Lyndon campus. ...

is named for Twilight. *The Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, was named for Twilight. It opened in the fall of 2009. *The Twilight Awards, a special awards show to celebrate teachers, schools and education nonprofits were named for Twilight. *

Howard Frank Mosher Howard Frank Mosher (June 2, 1942 – January 29, 2017) was an American author of thirteen books: eleven fiction and two non-fiction. Much of his fiction takes place in the mid-20th century and all of it is set in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermon ...

wrote about the Stone House in ''Vermont Life Magazine'', Autumn 1996:

I like the way the Stone House still looms up on that hilltop, where the wind blows all the time. There it sits, unshaken and monolithic, as I write this sentence and as you read it, every bit as astonishing today as the day it was completed. What a tribute to the faith of its creator, the Reverend Alexander Twilight: scholar, husband, teacher, preacher, legislator, father-away-from-home to nearly 3,000 boys and girls, an African American and a Vermonter of great vision, whose remains today lie buried in the church-yard just up the maple-lined dirt road from his granite school, in what surely was, and still is, one of the last best places anywhere.

*An official portrait of Alexander Twilight hangs in the

Vermont State House The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the ...

Footnotes

External links

Short Profiles of Alexander Twilight and Charles L. Reason
TwilightandReason official website
Alexander Twilight
at the African American Registry

official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Twilight, Alexander 1795 births 1857 deaths People from Corinth, Vermont American Congregationalist ministers African-American Christian clergy American Christian clergy African-American state legislators in Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont culture People from Brownington, Vermont Middlebury College alumni African-American college graduates before 1865 19th-century American clergy Vermont Whigs 19th-century African-American politicians 19th-century African-American clergy 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly