Career
Twilight studied for the ministry with the Congregational Church and served several Congregational churches. His career was in ministry and education, fields which were considered closely allied at the time. His first job was teaching in Peru, New York.
While continuing to teach, Twilight studied theology, the church and the ministry. He occasionally led worship services and preached. The Champlain Presbytery of Plattsburgh licensed him to preach.
Twilight taught for four years in Peru, then moved to Vergennes, Vermont in 1828 to teach during the week and hold services on weekends in Waltham and Ferrisburg.
In 1829 Twilight was hired as principal of the Orleans County, Vermont Grammar School in Brownington, the only secondary school in a two-county area. He also served as minister of the Congregational Church, building a house for his family shortly after arrival, which still stands.
Wanting to ensure a place for students from out of town, from 1834-1836 Twilight designed, raised funds for, and had built a massive four-story granite building which he called Athenian Hall. The first granite public building in Vermont, it served as a dormitory for the co-educational school, also known as the Brownington Academy. Both buildings are today part of a recognized historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1836, Twilight was elected to the Vermont General Assembly, becoming the first African American to be elected to a state legislature.
He left his job as headmaster in 1847.
After his death on June 19, 1857, Twilight was buried in the churchyard in Brownington.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Twilight
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“The 19-year-old Diana ... decided to make her career that of wife. Today that can be a very, very iffy line of work.... And what sometimes happens to the women who pursue it is the best argument imaginable for teaching girls that they should always be able to take care of themselves.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“I began my editorial career with the presidency of Mr. Adams, and my principal object was to render his administration all the assistance in my power. I flattered myself with the hope of accompanying him through [his] voyage, and of partaking in a trifling degree, of the glory of the enterprise; but he suddenly tacked about, and I could follow him no longer. I therefore waited for the first opportunity to haul down my sails.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)