ster, is still
alive. Mr. Gilbert began his early school life during the
reconstruction period, at Mechanicsville, and continued it
at Mannville, in an adjoining township, until 1879, when he
entered Benedict College (then Benedict Institute) at
Columbia, South Carolina. He remained in Benedict till the
spring of 1883, when he graduated from a classical course
specially designed to fit him for a Northern college. In the
fall of 1883, after a searching examination, he entered the
freshman class of Colgate University and remained in that
institution four years, until his graduation in 1887 with
the degree of A. B. During his college course Mr. Gilbert
particularly distinguished himself in the languages and
oratory. During his sophomore year he won in an oratorical
contest the First Kingsford Prize. Although the only colored
man in his class, yet he was so highly esteemed by his
classmates that he enjoyed the unique distinction of being
elected every three months for four years as Class Secretary
and Treasurer. In addition to this he was elected Class
Historian in his senior year. His alma mater conferred on
him the degree of A. M. in 1890. Immediately after his
graduation Mr. Gilbert was called to the pastorate of the
First Colored Baptist Church at Nashville, Tenn. He remained
in this position three years and a half and then he accepted
the call of the Bethel Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla.
He was not permitted by his denomination to remain long in
this pastorate; for after one year in it, on the nomination
of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, he
was elected to lead in the educational work among the
colored Baptists of Florida. He presided one year over the
Florida Institute at Live Oak, and he led in 1892 in the
founding of the Florida Baptist Academy (now college) at
Jacksonville, Fla. The cares and anxiety involved in this
work threatened his health and in 1894 he resigned this
position to accept the pastorate of a young church
organization in Savannah, Ga., having in the meantime
declined an election to the presidency of State University
at Louisville, Ky. In 1894 he was elected Vice-President and
Professor of History, Political Science, and Modern
Languages, in the Colored State College at Orangeb