| Noble Leslie DeVotie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 24, 1838 Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Died | February 12, 1861(1861-02-12) (aged 23) Fort Morgan, Alabama |
| Resting place | Linwood Cemetery |
| Education | Princeton Theological Seminary |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Parent(s) | James H. DeVotie Margaret Noble DeVotie |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America (1861) |
| Service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861 |
| Rank | Chaplain |
Noble Leslie DeVotie (January 24, 1838 – February 12, 1861) was a Baptist minister, Confederate chaplain, and the lead founder of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a national fraternity.
Early life
Noble Leslie DeVotie was born on January 24, 1838, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His father, Dr. James H. DeVotie, was the pastor of Siloam Baptist Church in Marion, Alabama and later the First Baptist Church of Columbus, Georgia. His mother was Margaret Noble DeVotie. He had a brother, Howard DeVotie. DeVotie was baptized in the Baptist faith by his father at Siloam Baptist Church when he was eleven years old.
DeVotie first attended Howard College, later known as Samford University, before transferring to the University of Alabama. He graduated in 1856. While there, he co-founded Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the age of eighteen. He then studied Christian Theology at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey for three years.
Career
He was ordained as a Baptist pastor in Selma, Alabama in November 1859. He served as pastor at the (now demolished) First Baptist Church of Selma, built in 1850 and located on the corner of Church Street and Alabama Avenue.
In the lead up to the American Civil War as Abraham Lincoln became the President-Elect and the secession crisis occurred, he joined the Confederate States Army as a chaplain. Many of his young male congregants had joined the CSA. He was stationed at Fort Morgan near Mobile, where he pastored many of his former congregants. He also pastored the Independent Blues and Governor's Guards, two Confederate companies from Selma.
Death
He drowned on February 12, 1861. As he was about to board a steamer at Fort Morgan, he made a misstep and drowned. He was buried at Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia. His funeral was conducted by Isaac T. Tichenor, with a sermon by Basil Manly, Sr.
References
- ^ Boykin, Samuel (1881). History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Vol. 2. Atlanta, Georgia: Jas P. Harrison & Co. pp. 191–193. ISBN 9781579789145. OCLC 244107338.
- ^ Linda J. Kennedy, Mary Jane Galer, Historic Linwood Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004, p. 93
- Selma, Alabama: Historic Churches of Selma Prior to 1925 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, p. 21
- Linwood Cemetery: Notable residents
- Daniel J. McDonough, Kenneth W. Noe, Politics and Culture of the Civil War Era: Essays in Honor of Robert W. Johannsen, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University Press, 2006, p. 244
- 1838 births
- 1861 deaths
- People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- People from Selma, Alabama
- University of Alabama alumni
- Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon founders
- People of Alabama in the American Civil War
- Confederate States Army chaplains
- 19th-century American clergy
- Samford University alumni