James C. Furman Memorial Window
Item
- Legacies Classification
- Memorial Type
- Memorial Context
- Memorialized Subject
- Title
- Background and Context
- Physical Description
- Memorial Inscription
- Funded by
- Location: Institution, City, State
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Memorial Object
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Object
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James C. Furman
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James C. Furman Memorial Window
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Reverend Dr. James C. Furman was born in 1809 and served as Furman University’s first President, beginning in the 1850s. Furman was a pastor, professor, and served on the Board of Trustees at Furman University.
The stained-glass window commemorating him was installed in Judson Alumni Hall during the 1899-1900 academic year and hung there for over 50 years.
With the move to the new campus in the 1950s, panels were removed, crated and sent to Furman Leaded and Stained Glass Co., Birmingham, Ala. [owned by a great-great-grandson of the university's namesake] for refurbishing with plans to use them in the proposed chapel on the new campus. When those plans were put on hold, the crated panels were returned to the university and put in storage, not to be accessed again until 2003 when the James B. Duke Library was undergoing renovation.
In the 2000s, the window (along with dozens of others) was installed around campus. Facilities installed this one at the top of the stairwell leading to the offices of the Dean, Provost, and President. In 2019, the window was relocated to the archives, in response to the findings of the Task Force on Slavery & Justice. Specifically, the Task Force called for captioning that would note the wildly racist speeches and newspaper opinions advocating secession by the former President. A subcommitee of the trustees instead determined that the best course of action for this particular window was to return it to Special Collections & Archives, where it can still be seen on display in the exhibit room.
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Large stained-glass window
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Rev. Jas C Furman, D.D,
Born 1809. Died 1891
First President of the University
"He walked with God and served mankind"
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Furman University
Position: 836 (89 views)