Rivers, R. H. (Richard Henderson), 1814-1894
Biography
Richard Henderson Rivers (1814-1894) was an educator and Methodist minister. Born in Montgomery
County, Tennessee, he is the son of Edmund Rivers (1783–1859) and Sallie Henderson Rivers (1787–1876). Rivers joined the
Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1831. He graduated from LaGrange
College (Leighton, Ala.) in 1835 and taught as that college’s professor of ancient languages from 1836
to 1843. He next served as president of the following institutions: Athens Female Institute (Athens,
Ala.) from 1843 to 1848, Centenary College of Louisiana (Jackson, La.) from 1849 to 1853, LaGrange
College (Leighton, Ala.) and its successor Florence Wesleyan University (Florence, Ala.) from 1854 to
1861, Centenary College (Summerfield, Ala.), Somerville Female Institute (Somerville, Tenn.), Logan
Female College (Russellville, Ky.) in 1868, and Martin Female College (Pulaski, Tenn.) from 1874 to
1879. During the 1870s and 1880s, Rivers also served as pastor at churches in Kentucky and Alabama.
Rivers authored the following books: Elements of Moral Philosophy (1859), Elements of Mental
Philosophy (1862), Our Young People (1880), The Life of Robert Paine (1884), Arrows from Two
Quivers (1890). During the 1890s, he also served as corresponding editor of the newspaper Central
Methodist (Catlettsburg, Ky.).
In 1836, Rivers married Martha Bolling Cox Jones (1818–1897); they had nine children.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Centenary College of Louisiana Board of Trustees records
Richard Henderson Rivers biography
Typescript of biographical essay on Richard Henderson Rivers (1814-1894), written by E. Brooks Holifield in 1992, and slated for publication in the "American National Biography." At Centenary College of Louisiana (Jackson, La.), Rivers became a professor in 1848 and served as college president from 1849 until 1854.