Noble Leslie DeVotie (January 24, 1838 – February 12, 1861) was a Baptist minister, Confederate chaplain, and the lead founder of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a national fraternity.
Noble Leslie DeVotie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 24, 1838 |
| Died | February 12, 1861 (aged 23) |
| Resting place | Linwood Cemetery |
| Education | Princeton Theological Seminary |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Parent(s) | James H. DeVotie Margaret Noble DeVotie |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America (1861) |
| Service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861 |
| Rank | Chaplain |
Early life
editNoble Leslie DeVotie was born on January 24, 1838, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[1][2] His father, Dr. James H. DeVotie, was the pastor of Siloam Baptist Church in Marion, Alabama and later the First Baptist Church of Columbus, Georgia.[1][2] His mother was Margaret Noble DeVotie.[1] He had a brother, Howard DeVotie.[2] DeVotie was baptized in the Baptist faith by his father at Siloam Baptist Church when he was eleven years old.[1]
DeVotie first attended Howard College, later known as Samford University, before transferring to the University of Alabama.[1] He graduated in 1856.[1] While there, he co-founded Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the age of eighteen.[2] He then studied Christian Theology at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey for three years.[1]
Career
editHe was ordained as a Baptist pastor in Selma, Alabama in November 1859.[1] He served as pastor at the (now demolished) First Baptist Church of Selma, built in 1850 and located on the corner of Church Street and Alabama Avenue.[3]
In the lead up to the American Civil War as Abraham Lincoln became the President-Elect and the secession crisis occurred, he joined the Confederate States Army as a chaplain.[1] Many of his young male congregants had joined the CSA.[1] He was stationed at Fort Morgan near Mobile, where he pastored many of his former congregants.[1] He also pastored the Independent Blues and Governor's Guards, two Confederate companies from Selma.[1]
Death
editHe drowned on February 12, 1861.[1] As he was about to board a steamer at Fort Morgan, he made a misstep and drowned.[1] He was buried at Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia.[2][4] His funeral was conducted by Isaac T. Tichenor,[5] with a sermon by Basil Manly, Sr.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Boykin, Samuel (1881). History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Vol. 2. Atlanta, Georgia: Jas P. Harrison & Co. pp. 191–193. ISBN 9781579789145. OCLC 244107338.
- ^ a b c d e Linda J. Kennedy, Mary Jane Galer, Historic Linwood Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004, p. 93 [1]
- ^ Selma, Alabama: Historic Churches of Selma Prior to 1925 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, p. 21
- ^ Linwood Cemetery: Notable residents
- ^ Daniel J. McDonough, Kenneth W. Noe, Politics and Culture of the Civil War Era: Essays in Honor of Robert W. Johannsen, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University Press, 2006, p. 244 [2]