Telfair Hodgson (March 14, 1840September 11, 1893) was an American Episcopal priest and academic administrator. He was the dean of the Theological Department at Sewanee: The University of the South from 1878 to 1893, and vice chancellor from 1879 to 1890. He was a co-founder and the managing editor of ''

The Sewanee Review ''The Sewanee Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1892. It is the oldest continuously published quarterly in the United States. It publishes original fiction and poetry, essays, reviews, and literary criticism. History ''Th ...

''.

Early life

Telfair Hodgson was born on March 14, 1840 in

Columbia, Virginia Columbia, formerly known as Point of Fork, is an unincorporated community and census designated place in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the James and Rivanna rivers. Following a referendum, Columbia was dissolved ...

. He attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, where he joined the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which woul ...

and graduated in 1859. He entered the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Commu ...

in New York City.

Career

At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, Hodgson left seminary and enlisted as a private in the

44th Virginia Infantry The 44th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 44th Virginia was organized in J ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. He transferred to serve in the 1st Regiment Alabama Infantry, which was led by his brother, Colonel Joseph Hodgson. He was eventually promoted to the staff of General

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...

. In 1863 he was ordained as an Episcopal deacon and then as a priest in 1864 in Macon, Georgia, where he served as a chaplain in a hospital. A few years after the war, Hodgson went to Europe, where he lived in 1869–1870. Hogdson worked as a professor of philosophy at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

from 1872 to 1873. He was the assistant rector of Christ's Church in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, in 1874, and the rector of Trinity Church in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58, ...

, in 1874–1878. Some of his sermons were about the Confederate fallen. In 1876 he gave Sewanee: The University of the South $10,000 to build a library; it was the first building in Sewanee to be constructed of stone. Theological education had been a growing concern at Sewanee since it began admitting students in 1868, and shortly thereafter it merged with the Sewanee Training and Divinity School. It had no dean of theology until Hodgson was hired as dean in 1878. He served as dean until 1893, and also served as vice chancellor from 1879 to 1890. He supported the construction of Thompson Union and Convocation Hall. When

William Peterfield Trent William Peterfield Trent, LL.D., D.C.L. (10 November 1862 – 7 December 1939) was an American academic and the author/editor of many books. He was a professor of English literature at Sewanee: The University of the South and Columbia Universi ...

founded ''

'' in 1892, Hodgson became its financial backer and managing editor. He took care of the financial affairs of the journal so that Trent could concentrate on its literary content.

Personal life, death and legacy

Hodgson married Frances Glen Potter, the daughter of a slave-owning planter from Savannah, Georgia. They had two sons,

Telfair Hodgson Jr. Telfair Hodgson Jr., also known as Telfair Hodgson, (September 14, 1876 – September 16, 1952) was an American businessman and academic administrator. He was the treasurer of Sewanee: The University of the South from 1908 to 1949. He was also th ...

and J. H. P. Hodgson, and a daughter. Hodgson died on September 11, 1893, in Sewanee, Tennessee. His son Telfair Hodgson Jr. was the treasurer of the University of the South from 1908 to 1949. ''The Sewanee Review'' is the oldest continuously published literary quarterly in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Telfair 1840 births 1893 deaths People from Fluvanna County, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Princeton University alumni Confederate States Army personnel Confederate States Army chaplains American Episcopal priests University of Alabama faculty Sewanee: The University of the South administrators American magazine editors 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American clergy