Samuel Czar Carrick (July 17, 1760 – August 17, 1809) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister who was the first president of Blount College, the educational institution to which the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

traces its origin. Milton M. Klein
UT's First Presidents
The University Archives, Hoskins Library, University of Tennessee. Accessed September 11, 2010.

Early life

Carrick was born on July 17, 1760, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He received his education in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a minister when he was 22 years old.

Career

In 1790, Carrick helped establish the Lebanon-in-the-Fork Presbyterian Church at the confluence of the Holston and

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

s. On October 3, 1791, Carrick took part in the initial drawing of lots for

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

,Stanley Folmsbee and Lucile Deaderick, "The Founding of Knoxville," East Tennessee Historical Society ''Publications'', No. 13 (1941), p. 3-20. which had been platted as a capital for the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

. He and his family moved to the new city shortly afterward. In December 1792, Carrick began advertising a "seminary" that operated out of his home, where he offered a

classical education Classical education refers to a long-standing tradition of pedagogy that traces its roots back to ancient Greece and Rome, where the foundations of Western intellectual and cultural life were laid. At its core, classical education is centered on t ...

. During the same period, he established the First Presbyterian Church on a State Street lot set aside by Knoxville founder James White, although no building was constructed for the church until after Carrick's death. On January 12, 1796, Carrick delivered the opening prayer and sermon for the Tennessee Constitutional Convention. In 1794, Carrick expanded his educational efforts when the territorial legislature chartered Blount College, named for territorial governor

William Blount William Blount ( ; April 6, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American politician, landowner and Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution ...

.Milton M. Klein
University of Tennessee
, ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' The school initially met in a building on the lot now bounded by Gay Street, State Street, Church Avenue, and Clinch Avenue, which had been donated by James White. Carrick was the college's president and only faculty member. The

tuition Tuition may refer to: *Formal education, education within a structured institutional framework *Tutoring, private academic help *Tuition payments Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth ...

fee was $8.00 per semester. The school was rechartered as East Tennessee College in 1807 or 1808 and closed after Carrick's death in August 1809. Only one student ever graduated from Blount College.

Personal life, death and legacy

Carrick married Elizabeth Moore in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a County (United States), county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its count ...

, in 1779.East Tennessee Historical Society, Mary Rothrock (ed.), ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: The Society, 1972), pp. 33, 392-393. Carrick died on August 17, 1809. He was buried in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Knoxville. East Tennessee College reopened in 1820, 11 years after Carrick's death, under the leadership of David A. Sherman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrick, Samuel American Presbyterian ministers People from Knoxville, Tennessee Leaders of the University of Tennessee Knoxville 1760 births 1809 deaths 18th-century American Christian clergy People from colonial Pennsylvania