Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-03-03
A ~nniLLlANT RECORD.


Hamill Will lecture at the Presbyterian
church, this evening, will mako the fol-.
loving account OF his career full OF in
~tcrest to our readers. We quote from
tho International Eraugel, of s.. Louis,
Mo:
When a boy Of sixteen. Prof. HamIll
entered The army Of Lee, and served near
~ W years IN tho famous lighting dlvl-
sion OF General VIM. A. Malone. Ho was
Ia the last charge OF uen. John d. Gordon,
at Appomattox, received his parole At tho
surrender, aud went to his home, yet a
boy, 20 begin his life work. He renewed
his college studies at the little college
town OF Auburn, Alabama, completed the
seyerest classical course with high honor
and graduated In 1868, receiving three
years, later, the degree OF Master of Arts.
His career as a teacher at once began AZ
tutor in the home of Capt. Daniel Billiard,
afterward In a log school house In the
mountains Of north Alabama, and later as
a college professor. Coming west, he be-
came principal Of q boys Latin school in
Mexico, Missouri, and afterward the SUI
perintendent for four years Of the public
schools Of. the city Of Louisiana. For q
time, newspaper work divided his interest,
and both in the south and the west hs won
reputation In an editorial way. For sew
eraI years he was the chief of STAFF of Col.
John e. Hutton's Daily In~teligencer, OF
Missouri. In 1881 he was elected city SUI
perintendent of the schools Of Jacksonville,
l linois, the home OF his father, and held
the position for four years. For many
years, he had felt called of God to release
himself wholly from secular business and
devote his life TO exclusively religious
work. Although winning wide fame as q
secular educator, and In line Of rapid pro-
motion to the highest educational honor'
and offices, he yielded to his convictions,
and in 1885 entered the Illinois Methodist
conference, to begin at tho bottom round
of tho ladder. He served a single pastor
ate with great success.
In 1888 he began his exclusive Sunday
school career as superintendent OF normal
work, for the Illinois association. The
department was the first OF the kind In the
| ccuatry, and there were NO precedents or
landmarks for his guidance. But he en-
tered upon the organization and equipment
OF his department with all his heart, and
o had all In working order. Feeling
the need of a simpler and more elementary
course OF Sunday school normal study, he
wrote and published the Legion Of Houor''
course for tho training Of youug teachers,
and followed 1t by the institution Of state
association graduating exercises.
In six years since the Illinois normal
department was instituted, Prof. Hamill
has graduated over 1,40o persons, and one
OF the most notable features Of the great
annual Illinois convention Is the s'Grad-
uating Hour of ths Legion of Honor
which includes the graduates Of all courses
Of study upon equal terms and with equa
honors.
For sevsfsyesrs demands upon Prof
Hamill rave been made by other state
which could only in part be granted, un
til in June last, at the Boston convention
the international executive committed
unanimouslyselected him for the mex three
years, as general field worker, next to Mr.
Wm. Reynolds. With his widening field
his large correspondence, his many contri-
buttons to Sunday school and church
papers, Mr.. Hamill's life is a busy one. Al
a recent evidence of his high standing
among his own Methodist brethren, 1t Ii
worthy of mention that while away from
his conference, and without knowledge or
his part, he was unanimously elected by
the cabinet of elders and the conference to
the responsible post of "Dean Of the Con-
ference School of Theology" having an
der his care the direction and supervision
of the conference studies of more than loo
undergraduate ministers.