The written artifacts of nineteenth-century Virginian Robert Reid Howison (1820--1906) lend themselves to an analysis of Howison as a self-directed, lifelong learner, and non-traditional educator as evidenced through his scholarship stemming from his vocational roles as lawyer and minister as well as his work as a historian. Howison's autobiography provides the chronology to examine his life, situated within a tumultuous cultural milieu, and it offers insights into intellectual participation outside of an academic setting. Despite Howison's prolific career, he is largely unknown in contemporary literature; however, he is a worthy role model of independent scholarship for 21st century educators.