December 30, 1933
THE
STATE
Page Twenty -one
YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN
Even if You Remove Both of His Arms During Childhood
ROBIN 0. KING
★
DH. Richard Tillman Vann, one
of the mast prominent Baptist
clergymen in the South, who
has won for himself wide recognition
as n successful preacher, college presi¬
dent, teacher, author, marks.mau with
rifle or shotgun, croquet player and
all-round good sportsman, lost both his
arms when he was 12 years old.
Dr. Vann, who celebrated bis 82ml
birthday on November 24. was born
on a small farm in Hertford County.
North Carolina, in 1851, the son of
Albert Gallatin and Harriet Laura
Vann. His parents were members of
splendid old Virginia and North Caro¬
lina families. While his father was a
most successful farmer, he was by no
means wealthy.
One day while young Vann was
helping his father at a cane mill, he
became entangled in the machinery
and his arms were so horribly mangled
that amputation of both was neces¬
sary. His left limb was taken off
four inches below the elbow and the
right arm was cut off four inches from
the shoulder. At this tender age Vann
was left with this handicap to fight
the battles of life.
Because of the scarcity of public
schools in tho rural districts in those
days, what education Vann had re¬
ceived up to the time of the accident
had been taught to him by his mother.
Later, however, he attended a graded
school which was organized in his
community.
Finishing the public school, Vann
entered Wake Forest College, and
graduated with honors in the class of
theology four years later. He then
attended the Southern Baptist Theo¬
logical Seminary, then located at
Greenville, S. C., but was forced to
give up his studies there when his
health failed two years later. Vann
was a tireless student and tho strain
of bending over his desk while study¬
ing, without the support of his arras,
nearly cost him a serious breakdown.
After leaving the Seminary, Dr.
Vann held pastorates at Scotland
DR. RICHARD TILLMAN VANN
Who refused to be discouraged by
physical handicaps and who has been
on inspiration to all citizens who know
of his life.
- ★ -
Neck, Eden ton, Enfield and Wake
Forest. He was a most forceful and
eloquent speaker and his services were
sought by many churches. Dr. Vann
was the first regular pastor of the
Wake Forest College Baptist Church,
the President of the college having
formerly done the preaching there.
He was also chaplain at the college
from 1883 to 1889. Leaving Wake
Forest, Dr. Vann became Professor of
English and Psychology at Chowan
Woman's College at Murfreesboro,
N. C., and acted as supply minister
at Baptist churches in that town and
at Jackson, N. C. The degree of “Doc¬
tor of Divinity” was conferred on Dr.
Vann by Furman University of
Greenville, S. C.
Dr. Vann was married to Miss Ella
Rogers MeVcy of Loudoun, Virginia,
in 1885. From this union five children
were born, three of whom nre now
living, two sons and one daughter.
Mrs. Vann died several years ago.
In 1900 Dr. Vann was elected Presi¬
dent of the Baptist Female University
(now Meredith College) at Raleigh,
N. C., one of the largest Baptist col¬
leges for young women in the South,
and he remnined in that position un¬
til 1915, when he liecanie tin* first Sec¬
retary of the Baptist Church in this
state, lie retired from the latter post
in 1918 to take Up the work In- is
doing today— that of looking after the
relief of aged Baptist ministers in
North Carolina.
When Vann was attending Wake
Forest College, students wore taught
Greek in groups of four and. on ac¬
count of his quickness in finding the
definitions of words in an immense
dictionary, he was chosen bv his group
for that duty. Vann learned to write
speedily with his left arm and notes
made by him of lectures were eagerly
sought by Students at the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr.
Vann’s writing is perfectly readable
and much bettor than that of the aver¬
age man with a good hand.
"That is my hand,” Dr. Vann told
me, pointing to a little leather strap
which he wears around his withered
left arm. “I do all my writing and
almost everything else with tho aid
of that little strap.”
Dr. Vann goes about the work in
hie office as though ho had two per¬
fectly good hands. He opens a large
safe in his office each morning, work¬
ing the combination with the stub of
bis left arm. He turns the lights on
and off. there being no special attach¬
ment for him. He uses the telephone,
opens his mail and the drawers to his
desk. In fact, he does about every
thing anybody else can do, so far as
1 could see.
For years Dr. Vann hag been noted
for his markmanship, either with a
rifle or a shot gun. Until three years
ago ho spent at least a week each yen'
in hunting for quail and other game.
He told mo he kept a record of his
markmanship over a period of many
years and that his average was two
kills out of every five shots at bird*
on the wing. His average was almost
perfect, he said, when shooting at still
game with a rifle. In using a rifle.
Dr. Vann said he rested the barrel
of the gun on some stationary object
when firing on still game.
“One of your friends told me you
once killed a humming bird with
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