Friends of Summar Library

Summar Library is hallowed ground upon which to seek the reality of God's truth in all fields of knowledge. It is there that all the seemingly disconnected disciplines find touch-points of common understanding through the best literature of the Christian intellectual tradition. It is there that the learning community finds the support and encouragement of others who are enjoying the adventure of life-long learning. This vision is deeply rooted in the identity, mission, and core values of the institution.

Now you can join with other friends of Summar Library who are committed to sustaining this vision. By making one of the following types of gifts you too can become a friend of Summar Library.

• Honor and Memorial Gifts - A one time monetary gift for book purchases in honor or memory of someone special. An appropriately inscribed bookplate will be affixed to each book.
• Gifts-in-Kind - Contributions of in-kind gifts are welcomed as a valuable part of the development of the library. These may be materials relating to the heritage of the University, rare books, or other significant historical collections. Such gifts will be appropriately acknowledged.
• Book-a-Year Memorials - A contribution of $1500 will provide for the purchase of a book each year in perpetuity as a memorial. A bookplate inscribed according to the donor’s request will be affixed to each book.
• Collection Endowments - A gift of at least $5000 will establish a named endowment to support the purchase of materials for a particular department or the preservation of a special collection.
• Library Building Fund - Contributions to this fund will help provide for the building of a new library. Donors will have their names prominently displayed in the building.

Friends of Summar Library receive a complementary guest check out card and copies of the library’s newsletter.

The Eaton Society

By supporting Summar Library with a gift of $1,500 or more, you will be inducted into the Eaton Society. Named in memory of the library’s greatest early benefactor, Dr. T. T. Eaton, the Society is designed to recognize those who make extraordinary gifts in the manner of its namesake. At his death Dr. Eaton bequeathed his entire library of some six thousand volumes to Union University. The importance of Dr. Eaton’s gift was attested to shortly after its arrival by a faculty member stating, “Nothing in recent years has helped the University more than the establishment of a good library.”

Count me as a Friend!

To become a Friend of Summar Library you may use the University’s secure online gift site. For more information on the Friends and how you can be involved contact the Library Director at 731-661-5410.

Dr. Thomas Treadwell Eaton

Historically, the growth and expansion of Summar library has made significant advances through generosity of some very special friends. From the time Union University was established in Jackson as a work supported by Tennessee Baptists there have been many important benefactors whose gifts have advanced the development of the library in significant ways. One who stands out among this group is Dr. Thomas Treadwell Eaton. Dr. Eaton was a leading figure among Baptists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He held the prestigious pulpit of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky from 1881 until his death in 1907. At the time this church was said to be the largest in the South. For many years he served as editor of the highly influential Kentucky Baptist paper, The Western Recorder.

Dr. Eaton’s association with Union started prior to the school locating in Jackson. He studied for a time at Union University at Murfreesboro, Tenn. where his father, Dr. Joseph H. Eaton, was President. After the death of his father he went to Madison University in Hamilton, N.Y. to continue his studies only to see these interrupted by the Civil War. For two years he served in 7th Tennessee cavalry of the Confederate army. At the conclusion of hostilities he returned to his studies at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia graduating in 1867. Upon graduation he became professor of mathematics and natural science at his father’s old institution. In 1873 he was selected to serve on the committee to relocate Baptist educational work in the state of Tennessee. The efforts of that committee led to the establishment of Southwestern Baptist University in Jackson the following year. Dr. Eaton was elected to serve on the first Board of Trustees for that institution and was serving in that capacity at the time of his death in 1907.

It is no coincidence that the year of Dr. Eaton’s death also marks the year that the institution changed its name to Union University. In fact, his death undoubtedly influenced this choice for a new name as the minutes of the Board indicate.

We think it especially appropriate that we take this name now in view of the sad bereavement our Southern Baptist Denomination has sustained in the loss of Rev. Dr. T. T. Eaton, one of its most loved and honored leaders and advisors, a trustee of this institution when it was organized in Jackson and a trustee at the time of his death; whose early life a training was in that institution, and who after his graduation filled the chair of mathematics in the same. In fact the biography of Dr. Eaton cannot be written without to some extent writing the history of Union University.

Through the years of his service to the institution Dr. Eaton had provided its library with many important volumes and upon his death his substantial library was bequeathed to the institution. The bequest was most significant because his collection was one of the finest personal libraries in the South at that time. The trustees of the institution were so impressed by this gift that they immediately began an endowment campaign to fund the building of an appropriate facility to house this important collection.