Rufus William Bailey (April 13, 1793 – April 25, 1863) was the founder of Augusta Female Seminary (later

Mary Baldwin College Mary Baldwin University (MBU, formerly Mary Baldwin College) is a private university in Staunton, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1842 as "Augusta Female Seminary". Today, Mary Baldwin University is home to the Mary Baldwin College fo ...

), in

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, and also president of

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

. Born in

North Yarmouth, Maine North Yarmouth, officially the Town of North Yarmouth, is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. North Yarmouth is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and tow ...

, to clockmaker Lebbeus Bailey and Sarah Myrick, Bailey graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1813. He was ordained as a Congregational minister but later joined the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. In 1842 he founded Augusta Female Seminary. After serving as principal for seven years, he resigned to become the Virginia agent for the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

. Bailey was a prolific writer whose works include ''English Grammar'' (1853) and ''The Scholar's Companion'' (1856). Bailey became a professor of languages at

, in 1858. He served as president of the college from 1858 until his death.

References

External links

* * John T. Kneebone et al., eds., ''

Dictionary of Virginia Biography The ''Dictionary of Virginia Biography'' (''DVB'') is a multivolume biographical reference work published by the Library of Virginia that covers aspects of Virginia's history and culture since 1607. The work was intended to run for a projected fo ...

'' (Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1998–), 1:287-288. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Rufus 1793 births 1863 deaths American educators Dartmouth College alumni People from North Yarmouth, Maine