WS Chronicle

Emory & Henry College names Squire Henry Miller residence hall in his honor

By David Winship

When 18-year-old R. J. Reynolds stepped off the train at Emory, Virginia, he was likely greeted by a former slave not much older than he was, who served as a porter, bringing the arriving students’ trunks and suitcases from depot to dormitory. Reynolds came to Emory & Henry College (EHC) to continue his education as a young, white man preparing to go into the family business of the tobacco industry. Squire Miller Henry had come to Emory & Henry College from Rockbridge County, Virginia, seeking a better life after slavery.

Reynolds stayed at Emory & Henry College for two years; Squire Henry stayed for 52 years, becoming an integral and cherished member of the community, both Black and white. 

At the college, Henry performed every duty necessary for the operation of a small, young college recovering from the impacts of the Civil War. Henry performed farming, room and board, building, coal furnace coal stoking, and other necessary duties. endeavoring, in his own words, “to make a home worth living.”

During his working time at EHC, Squire Henry became an integral member of the community. When he retired after his lengthy service, he gave a speech on his birthday, Feb. 3, 1920. With recollections of his years, he addressed the student body and shared the advice he had given the young men who were gathered there, before they graduated to enter the world of adulthood and work.

“I’ve tried while I was here to interest my mind in the work, that’s a fact,” said Squire Henry. He continued, “I’ve learned in my experience [and] seen a heap, and learned a heap as well as the student bodies.”

Henry spoke of his determination to study right from wrong; then he studied “how to do better.” These self-made lessons of doing better became one of the pieces of advice that he shared with the multitude of students who came through the classes at EHC. He summed up his advice: “If you want your children to grow up in the world and be something, you take care of those other people’s children. If I want my children to come up and be protected, I am to protect the children of other people.

“My conscience don’t condemn me for what I’ve given the student bodies. I’ve always told them to be a Christian, to be a gentleman, to be honest; and after I’d seen them going wrong, if I could, I would tell them to go right. … If you come in the world and don’t do the world some good, you had better never been in it.”

Squire Miller Henry and his wife, Mary Ann, raised 14 children in the Blacksburg community, established a few years prior by emancipated slaves, located near campus. His Christian commitment in his community led toward his being instrumental in establishing the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, which is still meeting today. 

In his later life, Henry was honored with multiple citations and recognitions from the Emory & Henry community. Henry died in his Blacksburg home in December 1923.

Henry Receives Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree

On May 6, 2023, Emory & Henry College celebrated its 175th commencement ceremony. Squire Miller Henry was among those celebrated, but with an honorary posthumous doctorate of divinity degree.

 “Awarding Squire Henry an honorary degree posthumously at commencement was a true honor. His dedication and loyalty to Emory & Henry, coupled with his decades of service to this institution, are part of the very foundation of the College,” EHC President John Wells commented. “His impact was profound on the everyday life of students, faculty and staff members. In celebration of his life and legacy, we are grateful to work with his family to honor Henry in this way. Squire Henry’s legacy will not be forgotten, and we are indeed grateful for all he did as an extraordinary employee of Emory & Henry College.”

“Squire Miller Henry worked at Emory & Henry most of his adult life and was dedicated to the people there,” said Mary Lampkins, Henry’s great-great-granddaughter and Emory & Henry graduate, class of 1988 and 2009. “It means the world to me to have my great-great-grandfather receive his degree from Emory & Henry College in 2023.” 

More than 70 descendants of Henry attended the 2023 commencement ceremony, and the eldest living descendant, Marie Lampkins, 90, accepted the degree on his behalf.

Continuing Impact of Squire Henry’s Legacy

Along with recognizing the life and legacy of Squire Henry, Emory & Henry College has established The Watershed Project to bring to light and recognize African Americans who, during the period of slavery, built and served at the college. One of its missions “is to restore to civic memory the stories of people who otherwise could be lost and to telling honest stories of Southwest Virginia,” according the EHC website. Students combed through early school records to determine names and occupations of those who had been a part of Emory life in its early years as slaves. The initial memorial to these people is contained in an audio-visual presentation, “A Remembrance.”  

Emory & Henry College recognition of Squire Miller Henry’s legacy is evident in a project emerging on campus. In the newly named Squire Miller Henry House, a residence hall, the students are engaging in a program entitled Intergroup Dialogues Project or IDP, which is “a social justice education program … that helps students develop intergroup relations skills, to aid them in preparing to live and work in an increasingly diverse world. The program places a strong emphasis on the sharing of personal stories,” according to the school website.

During the 2023 celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, John Holloway, EHC vice-president of student life and student success and dean of inclusion, said, “The goal of these efforts is for individuals to seek to understand and learn from one another, versus arguing a point,” said Holloway. “This is tough work that won’t necessarily result in differing sides finding agreement, but at the least, understanding.” 

For further information on Emory & Henry College, visit www.ehc.edu.

David Winship is a retired educator, the host of Vinyl Reflections on the Emory & Henry College station, WEHC90.7 FM, and a member of Winston-Salem Writers.