R.S. Phifer taught music at Roanoke Female College from 1878 to 1895, leaving likely due to economic hardships during the Panic of 1893. He then taught at the Danville College for Young Ladies from 1895 to 1897 before offering private music lessons and pursuing other interests like botany and genealogy in the Danville community until his death in 1910. The document examines various sources to determine the accurate dates of Phifer's tenure at Roanoke Female College.