# Alexander Twilight > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alexander_Twilight > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alexander_Twilight.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Twilight > Source revision: 1356826749 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician (1795–1857)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Alexander Twilight |image = Alexander Lucius Twilight (daguerrotype).jpg |office = Member of the [Vermont House of Representatives](/source/Vermont_House_of_Representatives) from [Brownington](/source/Brownington%2C_Vermont) |term_start = 1836 |term_end = 1837 |preceded = Gilbert Gross |succeeded = Jeremiah Huntoon |birth_date = {{Birth date|1795|09|23}} |birth_place = [Corinth, Vermont](/source/Corinth%2C_Vermont), U.S. |death_date = {{Death date|1857|06|19}} (aged 61) |death_place = [Brownington, Vermont](/source/Brownington%2C_Vermont), U.S. |spouse = Mercy Ladd Merrill |party = [Whig](/source/Whig_Party_(United_States)) |profession = [Minister (Christianity)](/source/Minister_(Christianity))
[Schoolmaster](/source/Schoolmaster) |alma_mater = [Middlebury College](/source/Middlebury_College) }} '''Alexander Lucius Twilight''' (September 23, 1795 – June 19, 1857) was an American educator, minister and politician. He was recognized as the first African American to have earned a bachelor's degree from an American college or university, graduating from [Middlebury College](/source/Middlebury_College) in 1823. He was ordained as a [Congregational](/source/Congregational) minister and worked in education and ministry all his career. In 1829, Twilight became principal of the [Orleans County](/source/Orleans_County%2C_Vermont) Grammar School. There he designed and built [Athenian Hall](/source/Old_Stone_House_Museum), the first granite public building in the state of [Vermont](/source/Vermont). In 1836, he was the first African American elected as a state legislator, serving in the [Vermont House of Representatives](/source/Vermont_House_of_Representatives); he was also the only African American ever elected to a state legislature before the Civil War. His house and Athenian Hall are included in the [Brownington Village Historic District](/source/Brownington_Village_Historic_District), listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) (NRHP). ==African-American roots== Alexander's father, Ichabod, was born in Boston, July 1765. Ichabod's father was black, his mother, white, possibly an indentured servant. Eventually, Ichabod married Mary, described as 'white' or 'light-skinned,' implying she was of partial African descent.{{Cite journal |first=Robert |last=Hunt |title=Misconceptions about the Twilights |journal=Old Stone House Museum & Village Newsletter |issue=Spring/Summer 2019 |pages=6 |url=http://oldstonehousemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019-Spring-Summer-Newsletter001.pdf |date=April 2, 2019 }} Ichabod and Mary were free and mixed race, of African and English descent. It is unknown if they were born free; they were likely descendants of enslaved Africans and English settlers. Ichabod was a [Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) veteran from [New Hampshire](/source/New_Hampshire).[http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/twilight-alexander-1795-1857 "Alexander Twilight"], Black Past, accessed 15 Dec 2008 His parents were both listed in the [Corinth, Vermont](/source/Corinth%2C_Vermont) town history as "the first negroes to settle in Corinth where they bought property, moving from Bradford on November 28, 1798. ==Early life and education== Alexander Lucius Twilight was born September 23, 1795, in [Bradford, Vermont](/source/Bradford%2C_Vermont).[https://books.google.com/books?id=d1kiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA74 "Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont"], Middlebury College Starting around 1802 when he was eight years old, Twilight worked for a neighboring farmer in [Corinth](/source/Corinth%2C_Vermont). Working from an early age was typical of working-class children of his era. For the next 12 years he read, studied, and learned mathematics while working in various farm labor positions.{{cite web|url=http://oldstonehousemuseum.org/twilight-bio/|title=Twilight Bio - Old Stone House Museum|website=oldstonehousemuseum.org}} Twilight enrolled in [Randolph](/source/Randolph%2C_Vermont)'s [Orange County](/source/Orange_County%2C_Vermont) Grammar School in 1815 at the age of 20. From 1815 to 1821, he completed all the institution's secondary school courses as well as the first two years of a college-level curriculum. He enrolled in [Middlebury College](/source/Middlebury_College) in 1821, where he graduated in 1823 with a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) degree. He was the first known African American to receive a degree from an American institution of higher learning. This did not become widely known until 1826, when [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College) awarded a bachelor's degree to [Edward Jones](/source/Edward_Jones_(missionary)) and claimed that he was the first African-American college graduate, which prompted Middlebury College to publicize Twilight's earlier graduation.[https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/history "A History of Amherst College"], Amherst College website ==Career== Twilight's first job was teaching in [Peru](/source/Peru%2C_New_York), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)). He also studied for the ministry with the [Congregational Church](/source/Congregationalism) and served several Congregational churches. He occasionally led worship services and delivered sermons. The Champlain Presbytery of [Plattsburgh](/source/Plattsburgh%2C_New_York) licensed him to preach. Twilight taught for four years in Peru, then moved to [Vergennes, Vermont](/source/Vergennes%2C_Vermont), in 1828 to teach during the week and hold weekend church services in [Waltham](/source/Waltham%2C_Vermont) and [Ferrisburg](/source/Ferrisburgh%2C_Vermont). In 1829, Twilight was hired as principal of the [Orleans County, Vermont](/source/Orleans_County%2C_Vermont), Grammar School in [Brownington](/source/Brownington%2C_Vermont), the only secondary school in a two-county area, where he was also ordained as minister of the Congregational Church. He built a house for his family shortly after arrival, which still stands and is the headquarters of the Orleans County Historical Society.[http://www.oldstonehousemuseum.org/alexandertwilight.html "Alexander Twilight House"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515074104/http://oldstonehousemuseum.org/alexandertwilight.html |date=2008-05-15}}, ''Old Stone Museum'', accessed 15 Dec 2008 [[File:Old stone house, brownington vermont.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of the Old Stone House, Brownington, Vermont.|Athenian Hall, now better known as [The Old Stone House](/source/Old_Stone_House_Museum)]] Wanting to create a residence dormitory to accommodate out of town students, from 1834 to 1836, Twilight designed, raised funds for, and had built a massive four-story granite building which he called [Athenian Hall](/source/Old_Stone_House_Museum). The first granite public building in Vermont, it served as a dormitory for the co-educational school, also known as the Brownington Academy. Both his home and Athenian Hall are today part of a [historic district](/source/Historic_districts_in_the_United_States) listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places).[http://www.oldstonehousemuseum.org/athenianhall.html "Athenian Hall"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515073815/http://oldstonehousemuseum.org/athenianhall.html |date=2008-05-15 }}, ''Old Stone House Museum'', accessed 15 Dec 2008. In 1836, Twilight was elected to the newly established [Vermont House of Representatives](/source/Vermont_House_of_Representatives) (Vermont's legislature was unicameral, consisting only of the House until 1836), becoming the first African American to be elected to a state legislature. As a member of the House, he worked unsuccessfully to persuade the [Vermont General Assembly](/source/Vermont_General_Assembly) not to divide school funding between Brownington and nearby [Craftsbury](/source/Craftsbury%2C_Vermont), which had decided to open its own school. He left his job as headmaster in 1847, apparently after a falling out with the Brownington school's trustees. He taught school in [Shipton](/source/Danville%2C_Quebec) and [Hatley](/source/Hatley%2C_Quebec_(municipality)), [Quebec](/source/Quebec). Without Twilight's leadership, the school in Brownington experienced declining enrollment, and it was closed in 1852. Persuaded to return to Brownington, Twilight resumed his duties as principal and pastor. He resigned as pastor in 1853, and continued as principal until 1855. ==Death and burial== In October 1855, Twilight suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed and caused him to retire as principal of the Brownington school. He died on June 19, 1857, and was buried at the Congregational church in Brownington. ==Marriage and family== In 1826, Twilight married Mercy Ladd Merrill of [Unity, New Hampshire](/source/Unity%2C_New_Hampshire). They remained married until his death, and had no children. Mercy Twilight died in 1878. ==Legacy and honors== thumb|200px|right|Alexander Twilight Hall at Middlebury College *Alexander Twilight House (1830), still stands across the street from Athenian Hall. Today it serves as headquarters for the Orleans County Historical Society. It is within the Historic District listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) (NRHP). *Athenian Hall (1834–36) is now operated by the Orleans County Historical Society as the [Old Stone House Museum](/source/Old_Stone_House_Museum), and anchors the Historic District of Brownington. It was the first granite public building in Vermont. *Alexander Twilight Hall at his alma mater [Middlebury College](/source/Middlebury_College) was named in his honor. *The Alexander Twilight Auditorium at [Lyndon State College](/source/Lyndon_State_College) is named for Twilight. *The [Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy](/source/Aspire_Alexander_Twilight_College_Preparatory_Academy) in [Sacramento, California](/source/Sacramento%2C_California), was named for Twilight. It opened in the fall of 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.aspirepublicschools.org/?q=atcpa|title=Home - Aspire Public Schools|website=Aspire Public Schools|date=17 May 2023 }} *The Twilight Awards, a special awards show to celebrate teachers, schools and education nonprofits were named for Twilight.{{Cite web|url=https://www.socialworkschi.org/news/box-tops-for-education-partners-with-chance-the-rapper-for-live-teacher-awards/|title=Box Tops for Education Partners with Chance the Rapper for Live Teacher Awards|website=Social Works}} *[Howard Frank Mosher](/source/Howard_Frank_Mosher) wrote about the Stone House in [''Vermont Life Magazine''](/source/Vermont_Life), Autumn 1996:
I like the way the Stone House still looms up on that hilltop, where the wind blows all the time. There it sits, unshaken and monolithic, as I write this sentence and as you read it, every bit as astonishing today as the day it was completed. What a tribute to the faith of its creator, the Reverend Alexander Twilight: scholar, husband, teacher, preacher, legislator, father-away-from-home to nearly 3,000 boys and girls, an African American and a Vermonter of great vision, whose remains today lie buried in the church-yard just up the maple-lined dirt road from his granite school, in what surely was, and still is, one of the last best places anywhere.
*An official portrait of Alexander Twilight hangs in the [Vermont State House](/source/Vermont_State_House).{{cite news |last1=Duffort |first1=Lola |last2=Mearhoff |first2=Sarah |last3= Robinson |first3=Riley |date=May 6, 2022 |title=Final Reading: A First in a Frame |url=https://vtdigger.org/2022/05/05/final-reading-a-first-in-a-frame/ |work=VT Digger |location=Montpelier, VT}} == See also == * [Timeline of African-American firsts](/source/Timeline_of_African-American_firsts) * [List of African-American pioneers in desegregation of higher education](/source/List_of_African-American_pioneers_in_desegregation_of_higher_education) ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * Hahan, Michael T. ''Alexander Twilight, Vermont's African American Pioneer.'' The New England Press, Inc.: 1998. {{ISBN|1-881535-31-2}}. ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060210012221/http://twilightandreason.com/wst_page2.html Short Profiles of Alexander Twilight and Charles L. Reason], TwilightandReason official website *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160315092329/http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/alexander-l-twilight-early-black-college-graduate Alexander Twilight] at the African American Registry * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515073815/http://oldstonehousemuseum.org/athenianhall.html Old Stone House Museum and Athenian Hall], official website {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Twilight, Alexander}} Category:1795 births Category:1857 deaths Category:People from Corinth, Vermont Category:African-American Christian clergy Category:American Christian clergy Category:African-American state legislators in Vermont Category:Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Category:African-American people with free status before 1865 Category:Culture of Vermont Category:People from Brownington, Vermont Category:Middlebury College alumni Category:African-American college graduates before 1865 Category:Vermont Whigs Category:19th-century African-American politicians Category:19th-century African-American clergy Category:19th-century American Congregationalist ministers Category:19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alexander Twilight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Twilight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Twilight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.