Sparta Cemetery

More Information on

William Jeremiah Sasnett

1820 - Oct 26, 1865

Section A, Lot 33, Grave 1
-- See section's Lot Layout map

Inscription and Notes:

b. Hancock County, Ga. Preacher.
Full name from other sources -- only W. J. appears on gravestone.

William Jeremiah Sasnett

East Alabama Male College was chartered in 1856 and affiliated with the Methodist Church. Its first president, William J. Sasnett, had served as a clergyman in that denomination when he accepted the position in 1859 as head of the new school, which was located in Auburn.  Thus Reverend William Jeremiah Sasnett, D.D., became president of the East Alabama College, which later became Auburn University. At age 39, he was Auburn's first and youngest president. On October 1, 1859, the East Alabama Male College formally opened in tandem with the already established preparatory division. Reverend Sasnett, of LaGrange, Georgia, was chosen as the first president and professor of moral science. The college began with 80 students.

Born in Hancock County, Georgia, in 1820, Sasnett had been educated at Oglethorpe University, served as the first pastor of the Methodist church at Prattville, Alabama, taught English at Emory College, and served as president of LaGrange Female College in LaGrange, Georgia, before coming to Auburn. He served as the president of the East Alabama College (Auburn) until 1861, when the war broke out and the college closed its doors from 1861 to 1866.

Information from the Auburn University Digital Library and the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (see https://oira.auburn.edu/factbook/generalinfo/events.aspx ).


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