Duncan,

Good find. I have seen these pictures before, and there is only one thing that bothers me about them. One of the classmates of these gentlemen, William Handy, is listed as being from Birmingham, Alabama. Of course in 1861, the only city of that name I'm aware of was in England!! (There was already a settlement in Michigan called Birmingham, but it did not become a village until 1864). Perhaps this gentleman was from Elyton or some other part of Jefferson County, AL, and later settled in Birmingham, and whoever posted these pictures for the University updated his personal data with something from later years. Still, it seems odd, and raises a niggling little question in my mind as to the accuracy of the information.
Otherwise, this is the kind of stuff I wish more colleges and universities had the resources to do. It can provide such a wealth of informaion.

Rick