Students at William & Mary

This wiki page about Students at William & Mary is a work in progress with information added as staff finds and/or compiles information in response to inquiries. The Alumni page also provides frequently requested information and the list of SCRC Wiki entries categorized as about Students may also be of interest.

Number of Students

This list is incomplete. Further documentation can be found in the records in Swem Library's Special Collections.

1790

1790: 16

1791: 22

1792: 8

1793: 42

1794: 23

1795: 19

1796: 32

1797: 25

1798: 35

1799: 43

1800: 44

1831: 100 undergraduates, 9 law school

1832: 60 undergraduates

1833: 60 undergraduates

1834: 41 undergraduates

1835: 15 undergraduates

1836: 15 undergraduates, 6 law school

1837: 60 undergraduates, 6 law school

1838: 95 undergraduates, 6 law school

1839: 111 undergraduates, 44 law school

1840: 113 undergraduates, 44 law school

1841: 140 undergraduates, 36 law school

1842: 110 undergraduates, 36 law school

1843-1848: 98 undergraduates, 32 law school

1849: 68 undergraduate, 32 law school

1850

1850: 32 law school

1851: 32 law school

1852: 36 undergraduates, 32 law school

1853-1855: 55 undergraduates, 32 law school

1856-1857: 82 undergraduates, 32 law school

1858: 58 undergraduates, 12 law school

1859-1860: 64 undergraduates

1861: 60 undergraduates

1906: 244 (Godson, p. 491)

1907-1916: averaged 208 (Godson, p. 491)

1917: 149 (Godson, p. 491)

1976: 4,381 undergraduates; 1,223 graduate; and 449 law school

2006: 7,544 undergraduate; 1,243 graduate; and 616 law school

Multicultural Students

1976: 103 African American students attended the College (2.2%)

1982: 162 African American students attended the College (3.4%)

1983: 153 African American students attended the College

1985: 195 African American students attended the College (4%)

1988: 303 African American students attended the College (5.8%); 145 Asian American students attended the College (2.8%); 50 Hispanic students attended the College (.9%); 5 American Indian students attended the College(.1%)

Student Life at the College of William and Mary

A few highlights from the long history of student life and activities at William & Mary:

• 1750: FHC Society founded
• 1776: Phi Beta Kappa founded; search for material in the SCRC Collections Database
• 18th-21st century: correspondence of students, faculty, staff, and public referencing the College and its students. Search for material in the SCRC Collections Database.
• 19th century: literary societies; search for material in the SCRC Collections Database
• 1890: William and Mary college monthly published (1890-1903). It was continued by The William and Mary literary magazine.
• 1899: Colonial Echo first published
• 1908-1909: College Topics published (v. 1 Oct. 8-May 18, 1909)
• 1911: The Flat Hat first published
• 20th Century: Scrapbooks created by students flourish; administrative records from the Office of the President to various deans as well as personal papers of faculty, staff, students, and alumni are available and document student life. Records from student groups are more widely available. Search for material in the SCRC Collections Database.
• 1918: Women students are admitted to the College of William and Mary.
• First Asian American Students: Art Matsu (1923-1928) and Beatrice Fujiwara (1949-1953)
• First African American Students: Hulon Willis (1951, graduate student), Oscar Blayton (1963, undergraduate student), first residential students were Karen Ely, Lynn Briley, Janet Brown (1967)

• Today: So what should we do now? How are we currently documenting student life and what should we be doing? One answer is that documenting student life now includes all of the things we did before as well as collecting fliers, websites, and… What do you think?

Material in the Special Collections Research Center

• A guide specifically for those researching topics related to William & Mary is available; researchers will find the "People & Groups" tab of particular use.

• There are two listings of William & Mary alumni frequently used to determine if and the dates individuals attended William & Mary:
  • A provisional list of alumni, grammar school students, members of the faculty, and members of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary in Virginia, from 1693 to 1888 : issued as an appeal for additional information.
  • Catalogue of the Alumni and Alumnae For the Years 1866-1932.

• Colonial Echo yearbook (1899- ).
• The Flat Hat student newspaper (1911- ).
• Catalogs
• Special Collections guide to genealogy and local history material in the SCRC. It includes suggestions for not only collections in the SCRC, but also databases and other websites.
• "Hark the students' voices swelling" : nineteenth century student life at the College of William and Mary, Taylor, Peter Jeffrey. Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2005. Archives Book collection call number: LD6051 .W5m Hist., 2005, T39.
• Advisory Working Group on Undergraduate Enrollment Files, 1989-1990, Offfice of the Provost Records, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.
• Contemporary enrollment data is available from the University Databooks, which have been digitized and are available online.

References

• 1790-1800 student numbers from the "Students" folder and attributed to Lyon G. Tyler, University Archives Subject File Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.

• 1831-1861 student numbers from The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1831, Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830. AY 54 A5 (1831-1861).

Need help?

To search for further material, visit the Special Collections Research Center's Search Tool List for an overview of the Special Collections Database, W&M Digital Archive, Flat Hat-William & Mary News-Alumni Gazette index, card catalogs, and other tools available to help you find material of interest in William & Mary Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Questions? Contact the Special Collections Research Center at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090, or visit the Special Collections Research Center in the Earl Gregg Swem Library at William & Mary.

A Note About The Contents Of This Wiki

The information available in this wiki is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. Information in this wiki is not complete as new information continues to be uncovered in Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center and elsewhere. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use the Special Collections search tools for their research as the information contained in this wiki is by no means comprehensive.