Name/Title
Ira Landrith 1914 Report to the Board of Directors of the Ward-Belmont SchoolEntry/Object ID
2023.082Tags
Ward-BelmontScope and Content
A report from school president Ira Landrith to the Ward-Belmont board of directors, dated June 29, 1914. Per the school charter, it was the president's duty to present a review of "the history of the scholastic year just ended [and] suggestions for [the school's] future development and betterment" to the board at its annual meeting. Landrith expressed gratitude for the success of the merging of Ward Seminary and Belmont College, discussed total boarding and day student enrollment (particularly that of northern students, and the desire to "greatly increase [Ward-Belmont's] Northern and Western patronage"), and the increased material value of the school property. He also made a number of suggestions to the board.Context
Rev. Dr. Ira Landrith (1865-1941) was a well-known Tennessee educator, a Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, and the first president of Ward-Belmont. Born near Milford, Ellis County, Texas on March 23, 1865, he attended Trinity University of Texas and Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. After graduating from the latter in 1888, he continued his studies in the law department. His degrees included a B.S. in 1888, LL. B. in 1889, LL. D. in 1903, and D.D. in 1904. In June 1912, after eight years as president of Belmont College, he resigned and became president of Ward Seminary. He continued in this role at Ward-Belmont and was succeeded by Dr. J. D. Blanton.
Landrith served as an ordained Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Minister from 1906 to 1941 and held many leadership roles in the church community, including the Moderatorship of the last General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian church before its union with the Presbyterian church. He served as Chairman of the Tennessee State Committee of the Y.M.C.A., one of the founders of the Tennessee Anti-Saloon League, and Chairman of the Nashville Committee of One Hundred that at one time cleansed municipal politics in the city of Nashville.
Dr. Landrith was marred in 1890 to Miss Harriet G. Grannis. He passed away in Altadena, California on October 11, 1941, at the age of 76.Collection
Harpeth Hall School ArchivesLexicon
Search Terms
Ward-Belmont, Ira Landrith, 1914
