Kirkland, Wellborn Davies
Papers, 1866-1925
MSS Kirkland
.3 cubic feet, in one box
Biographical note: Wellborn Davies Kirkland was born in the parsonage of the Cypress Circuit near Orangeburg, SC in 1849 and entered Wofford College in 1867, after having attended the preparatory department. His father had been a South Carolina Methodist minister, as had one of his grandfathers. A member of the Preston Literary Society, Kirkland graduated in 1870, presenting a commencement address on South Carolina. He joined the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in December 1870. He served churches in Columbia, Greenville, Mars Bluff, and as the presiding elder of the Cokesbury District before becoming editor of the Southern Christian Advocate in 1886. While serving the Marion Street Church in Columbia he married Mrs. Marion M. Palmer Porcher in 1872. A delegate to General Conference in 1886, he was subsequently elected to the 1890 and 1894 General Conferences. In 1895, he left the Advocate to become the Sunday School Editor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Nashville. He was also awarded a doctor of divinity degree by Emory College. He died suddenly while traveling in Asheville, NC in 1896 and was buried in the family plot in Spartanburg.
Access note: unrestricted
Summary note: The collection consists of a number of speeches and essays prepared by Kirland while a student at Wofford College, some sermon notes, clippings and ephemera from his years as a clergyman in South Carolina Methodist churches, and a few pamphlets about his work. The final items are biographical essays written about him or members of his family.
Citation: Cite as: Papers of W. D. Kirkland, Archives, Sandor Teszler Library, Wofford College
Location: Archives, Sandor Teszler Library, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC 29303
Related material: Wightman-Walker-KirklandPapers
Administrative notes: Donated by Mrs. Ann Lewis, Danville, CA, June 19, 2013. Processed by Phillip Stone, March 27, 2014
Finding Aid: Folder Listing
Photographs
Composite Photo, Wofford Class of 1870 [moved to college photographs series]
Photo, William D. Kirkland (4 images)
Photo, Marion Palmer Porcher Kirkland (Mrs. W. D.) 3 images
Writings, Sermons, Speeches, and etc. by W. D. Kirkland
“Poetry” – 3 copies, manuscript
“The Importance of Literary Societies” – 2 copies
“Success in Life”
“Conflict between Truth and Error”
Untitled, July 9, 1868
Untitled
“Valedictory Address Delivered before the Preston Literary Society,” June 28, 1870
“South Carolina”: Graduating Speech, July 1870, 2 copies
Pulpit Themes, 1873
Clippings and Ephemera (about Rev. W. D. and Mrs. W. D. Kirkland, and a lock of his hair)
Wofford College commencement programs, 1868, 1869, 1870
In Memoriam: Galluchat – Kirkland (the father and grandfather of W. D. Kirkland) (2 copies)
W. D. Kirkland, The Mission of Methodism, May 16, 1884 (2 copies)
The Church Record, August 1885, Cokesbury, SC, W. D. Kirkland, editor
Sunday School Magazine, August 1896, with tribute to Rev. Wellborn Davies Kirkland.
The Missionary Voice: ME Church, South Board of Missions, July 1913 (includes tribute to Mrs. W. D. Kirkland)
A Family Sketch, and Else, or Buford’s Bridge and Its People – with a chapter on the Kirkland Family, by M. M. Brabham, 1925
Books - New Testament
Forget Me Not on the Philopene