James G. Ryals Jr.

James Gazaway Ryals, Jr. (1855–1885) was an American educator and university president. He served as the first president of the Jacksonville State Normal School (now Jacksonville State University) in Jacksonville, Alabama, from 1883 to 1885.[1][2]

James Gazaway Ryals, Jr.
1st President of Jacksonville State University
In office
1883 – April 18, 1885
Succeeded byJ. Harris Chappell
Personal details
Born1855
Bartow County, Georgia, U.S.
DiedApril 18, 1885
Jacksonville, Alabama, U.S.
Alma materMercer University,
University of Virginia
ProfessionUniversity president

Biography

James Gazaway Ryals, Jr. was born in 1855 in Bartow County, Georgia. His parents were Mary Elizabeth Janes and Rev. James G. Ryals, a Baptist preacher who also ran a school for young men.[3] His brother Thomas Edward Ryals was a lawyer and a member of the Georgia General Assembly.[4]

He attended Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and graduated with a two-year course (1877), where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order;[5] followed by study at the University of Virginia where he received a M.A. degree (1883).[6]

The first session of the Jacksonville State Normal School was held in the brick building that was formerly used for the Calhoun Grange College (or Calhoun College) and it had an enrollment of 246 pupils.[7] He died on April 18, 1855, in Jacksonville, Alabama, from pneumonia, while he was serving as the school president and was succeeded by J. Harris Chappell.[8][9]

References
  1. Owen, Thomas McAdory (1921). History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. pp. 805–806.
  2. Ohles, John F.; Ohles, Shirley M. (1986). Public Colleges and Universities. Greenwood Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-313-23257-2.
  3. Todd, Obbie Tyler (2022-01-17). Southern Edwardseans: The Southern Baptist Legacy of Jonathan Edwards. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 155. ISBN 978-3-525-56051-8.
  4. Schwarz, J. C. (1937). Who's Who in Law. J.C. Schwarz. p. 814.
  5. The Kappa Alpha Journal. 1884. p. 29.
  6. "Breakfast Table Chat". The Macon Telegraph and Messenger, Macon, Georgia. June 15, 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  7. Ohles, John F.; Ohles, Shirley M. (1986). Public Colleges and Universities. Greenwood Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-313-23257-2.
  8. "School began in 1884". The Teacola. July 31, 1936. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. "The News of the Week Alabama". The Gadsden Times-News, Gadsden, Alabama. May 1, 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  • Profile at Jacksonville State University


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