George Elder (b. 11 August 1793, in Kentucky, U.S.A.; d. 28 September 1838, at Bardstown) was a pioneer Roman Catholic educator.
His parents, James Elder and Ann Richards, natives of Maryland, moved shortly after their marriage to Hardin's Creek, in the present Marion County, Kentucky, where George, the second of their seven children was born. The Elders were Catholics, and George's early education devolved mainly upon his father.
George Elder in his sixteenth year entered Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, to pursue classical studies. Here he became the friend of William Byrne, afterwards founder of St. Mary's College, Kentucky. Both studied theology in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and were ordained priests at Bardstown by Bishop David, 18 September, 1819. In addition to the duties of an assistant at the cathedral there, Father Elder was entrusted by Bishop Flaget with the founding of a high-grade school or college for lay students. This was, at first, a day school and was taught in the basement of the theological seminary (erected in 1818). A separate building was erected in 1820-23.
The college was then one of the largest and best appointed educational structures in the entire West. The arrival, in 1825, of fifty southern students was the beginning of the extensive patronage the college received from the Southern States, notably Louisiana and Mississippi, and which continued down to the American Civil War. In 1827 the Rev. Ignatius A. Reynolds, later Bishop of Charleston, was appointed president and Father Elder was given charge of the congregation of St. Pius, in Scott County, Kentucky.
Dr. Reynolds was transferred in 1830 to pastoral work, and Father Elder again became president, a position which he held until his death. He frequently did duty in the cathedral and was one of the editors of the Louisville "Catholic Advocate" newspaper (founded in 1836), to which he contributed articles on the education of children. "Letters to Brother Jonathan", half satirical, half controversial, were also the product of his pen.
He prosecuted a Presbyterian preacher, Nathan L. Rice, for libelling a Kentucky priest who was then absent in Europe. His last illness followed the burning down (25 January 1838) of the main college building.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.