The combination of pastoral ministry, educational service, and faithfulness as a presbyter combined with the blessings of his covenant household make the case for Robert Harden Reid being one of the leaders of nineteenth-century South Carolina Presbyterianism in areas of service.

Robert Harden Reid was born July 17, 1821 near Moffattsville, Anderson County, South Carolina. His father Andrew was an elder for nearly fifty years in the Good Hope Presbyterian Church. His mother’s name was Mary Hamilton Reid. As Robert matured he received an education locally as he had financial means and the opportunity.

B.M. Palmer influenced the life of young Robert beginning with his visit to the Reid home in 1840. Dr. Palmer conducted the worship service that Sunday at Good Hope Church and Reid commented that “he made a deep impression on me. I remember his theme distinctly—blind Bartimaeus—although more than fifty years have passed since I heard his lecture” (Johnson, B.M. Palmer, p. 69). As Robert pursued college entrance, he wrote to Palmer in April 1843 seeking information concerning the qualifications for South Carolina College in Columbia (University of South Carolina). Palmer wrote a lengthy letter in response commenting that Reid’s weakness in mathematics would preclude his entering the college as a sophomore noting that his preparatory studies were not balanced, that is, some subjects had been addressed more fully than others. Palmer encouraged Reid saying, “I think that by hard study you might catch up with the class, and thereby save a year in college” (p. 140). As further encouragement, Dr. Palmer told Reid that he could live with his family in Columbia and that he would not be charged board.

R.H. Reid matriculated at South Carolina College in 1843. He was honored at graduation for his diligent studies by delivering the valedictory address before South Carolina Governor B. F. Perry, Colonel Wade Hampton, the college trustees, and his graduating colleagues. Gov. Perry described Reid as a tall slim youth who spoke with a trembling voice but with great earnestness and conviction. Undoubtedly, the tutoring provided by Palmer and the love shown to him by his household contributed to Robert’s success in college. Looking back on his days in Columbia at the age of 83, Reid said of him that he had “never found but one Dr. Palmer—the prince of preachers” and “a model Christian gentleman” (p. 141).

Reid prepared for the ministry with the class of 1849 at Columbia Theological Seminary. With his transition to the divinity school, he moved from the Palmer home to seminary housing. During his final year of studies he was chaplain of Barhamville Collegiate Institute having been licensed to preach by South Carolina Presbytery during his second year in seminary. His first work as an ordained minister came by way of a call in 1849 to First Presbyterian Church in Anderson. In November 1851, Robert and Mary Julia, daughter of William Anderson of Orrville, South Carolina, were married. His service in Anderson was brief because he accepted a call to the Nazareth Presbyterian Church in the spring of 1853 beginning what would be a four-decade call.

Reid’s ministry expanded beyond his service as the minister of the Nazareth Church. In the New Year sermon for 1857, he suggested that schools were needed for the education of the church’s children and others in the area. A board of trustees was elected in June 1857 with its primary responsibility to solicit funds for building a campus to educate both girls and boys. In October 1857, the corner stone was set for a building that would provide classrooms. Over the years, the Reidville institutions grew despite the difficult times of the Civil War and Reconstruction. In 1871, the Female Academy became the Reidville Female College. In honor of the man whose sermon prompted organization of the schools, the community was named Reidville.

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