USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
The first law relating to common schools in Connecticut was enacted by the town of New Haven in 1641, and provided for a free school to be sup- ported out of "the Common Stock." The next law was passed in Hartford in 1643, providing a free school for the poor children, with tuition charge for those able to pay. In 1646 a compilation of laws of the colony shows that every township of fifty families should maintain a school, and any town of one hundred families a grammar school. After the union of New Haven and Connecticut under the charter of 1662, many acts were passed relating to common schools. In 1700, every town of seventy families was required to maintain constantly a schoolmaster able to teach reading and writing. Towns of smaller size had to keep a school half the year. A grammar school was required in every shire town. The rate for school expenses was fixed at a minimum of forty shillings for every 1,000 in the county lists, and, if insufficient, was to be further secured by joint levy on inhabitants and parents of children. School committees, as distinct from other town officers, are first mentioned in 1708.
Parishes were recognized as school districts, though under general control of the towns. The close connection between churches and schools was pos- sible because the population was homogeneous. But gradually came about
N.L .- 1-3
34
NEW LONDON COUNTY
a system of the separation of the church and school. By 1798, schools were managed by themselves as school societies or districts. The gradual return to town management by the consolidation of school districts followed the change of school laws in 1856. The types of schools of course changed as school laws became better adjusted to the needs of growing communities. In the various communities grew up private schools alongside the common elementary school. As types of such schools may be mentioned those de- scribed by Miss Caulkins in her "History of Norwich":
The schools in Norwich were neither intermitted or neglected during the Revolutionary War. An institution of higher grade than elementary was sustained in the town-plot through all the distractions of the country. It called in many boarders from abroad, and at one period, with Mr. Goodrich for its principal, acquired considerable popularity. This school is endorsed by its committee, Andrew Huntington and Dudley Woodbridge, in 1783, as furnishing instruction to "young gentlemen and ladies, lads and misses, in every branch of literature, viz., reading, writing, arithmetic, the learned lan- guages, logic, geography, mathematics," &c. Charles White, teacher.
The exhibitions of the school were commonly enlivened with scenic representations and interludes of music. A taste for such entertainments was prevalent. The young people, even after their emancipation from schools, would sometimes take part in theatrical representations. We learn from the town newspaper that in February, 1792, a select company of young ladies and gentlemen performed the tragedy of "Gustavus" and "The Mistakes of a Night" at the court-house.
The school-ma'am of former times, with her swarming hive of pupils, was an institution of which no sample remains at the present day. She was a life-long incumbent, never going out of one round of performance: always teaching little girls and boys to sit up straight and treat their elders with respect ; to conquer the spelling-book, repeat the catechism, never throw stones, never tell a lie; the boys to write copies, and the girls to work samplers. If they sought higher education than this, they passed out of her domain into finishing schools. Almost every neighborhood had its school- ma'am, and the memory is still fresh of Miss Sally Smith at the Landing, and Miss Molly Grover of the Town-plot.
Dancing-schools were peculiarly nomadic in their character; the instruc- tor (generally a Frenchman) circulating through a wide district and giving lessons for a few weeks at particular points. Reels, jigs and contra-dances were most in vogue: the hornpipe and rigadoon were attempted by only a select few; cotillions were growing in favor; the minuet much admired. In October, 1787, Griffith's dancing-school was opened at the house of Mrs. Billings in the town-plot. He taught five different minuets, one of them a duo, and another a cotillion-minuet. His lessons were given in the morning, with a scholars' ball once a fortnight. Ten years later, J. C. Devereux was a popular teacher of the dance. He had large classes for several seasons at the court-house, and at Kinney's hotel in Chelsea.
In 1799, a school for young ladies was opened in the house of Major Whiting upon the Little Plain, by Mrs. Brooks, who devoted herself espe- cially to feminine accomplishments, such as tambour, embroidery, painting in water-colors, instrumental music, and the French language. She had at first a large number of pupils from this and the neighboring towns, but the attendance soon declined, and the school was relinquished. In general the young ladies at such schools only remained long enough to practice a few
35
BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION
tunes on the guitar, to tambour a muslin shawl and apron, or embroider a scripture scene, and this gave the finishing stroke to their education.
It was common then, as it is now, for parents with liberal means to send both their sons and daughters from home to obtain greater educational ad- vantages. Young ladies from Norwich often went to Boston to finish their education, and now and then one was placed under the guardian care and instruction of the Moravian sisterhood in their seminary at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
In 1782 an academical association was formed in the western part of the town-plot, consisting of forty-one subscribers and one hundred shares of rights. The old meeting-house of the Separatists was purchased and re- paired for the use of this institution. The first principal was Samuel Austin, and the range of studies included Latin and Greek, navigation and the mathe- matics. Two popular school-books then just issued were introduced by Mr. Austin into this school-Webster's "Grammatical Institutes," and "Geog- raphy Made Easy," by Jedidiah Morse. Mr. Morse was himself subsequently a teacher in this institution, which was continued with varying degrees of prosperity for thirty years or more. Alexander Macdonald, author of a school- book called "The Youth's Assistant," was one of its teachers. He died May 4, 1792, aged forty. Newcomb Kinney was at one time the principal, and had for his usher John Russ of Hartford, afterward member of Congress from 1819 to 1823. In 1800, Sebastian C. Cabot was the chief instructor. This school was kept in operation about thirty years. After it ceased, the lower. part of the building was occupied by the public school, and the upper part, being suitably prepared, was in use for nearly twenty years as a Methodist chapel.
Dr. Daniel Lathrop, who died in 1782, left a legacy of £500 to the town for the support of a free grammar school, upon certain conditions, one of which was that the school should be kept during eleven months of each year. A school upon this foundation was opened in 1787, and continued for about fifty years. The brick school-house upon the green was built for its accom- modation. Its first teacher was Ebenezer Punderson. But the most noted of its preceptors and the one who longest held his place was Mr. William Baldwin, an excellent instructor, faithful and apt to teach, but a rigid dis- ciplinarian, and consequently more respected than beloved by his pupils, until after-life led them to reverse the decisions of earlier davs. The young have seldom judgment and generosity sufficient to make them love those who control them for their good.
In 1843 the Lathrop donation was relinquished, with the consent of the legislature, to the heirs-at-law of Thomas Coit, a nephew of Dr. Lathrop, to whom by the provision of the testator's will it was in such case to revert. The investment had depreciated in value, and the restrictions with which the legacy was incumbered made it, in the advanced state of educational institutions, more of a hindrance than a help. The school had been for many years a great advantage to the town, but having accomplished its mission, it quietly ceased to be.
Evening schools of short duration, devoted to some special study, were not uncommon. The object was usually of a practical nature, and the stu- dents above childhood. The evening school of Consider Sterry, in 1798, covered, according to his program, the following range of instruction : "Book- keeping in the Italian, American and English methods, mathematics, sur- veying and plotting of lands; price Is. 6d. per week. Navigation and the method of finding longitude by lunar observations and latitude by the sun's altitude, one dollar for the complete knowledge."
1128326
36
NEW LONDON COUNTY
Few men are gifted by nature with such an aptitude for scientific research as Consider Sterry. His attainments were all self-acquired under great dis- advantages. Besides a work on lunar observations, he and his brother pre- pared an arithmetic for schools, and in company with Nathan Daboll, an- other self-taught scientific genius, he arranged and edited a system of prac- tical navigation, entitled "The Seaman's Universal Daily Assistant," a work of nearly three hundred pages. He also published several small treatises, wrote political articles for the papers, and took a profound interest in free- masonry.
In June, 1800, a school was inaugurated at the brick house on the Little Plain, with Mr. William Woodbridge for the principal. The assembly room was fitted up with desks and benches for an academical hall; both sexes were admitted, and the whole was under the supervision of a board of four citi- zens-Joseph Howland, Samuel Woodbridge, Thomas Fanning, Thomas Lathrop. But the situation was too remote from the centers of population, and after a trial of two or three years this school was relinquished for want of patronage
A select school for young persons of both sexes was long sustained in the town-plot, but with varying tides of prosperity and decline. After a void of two or three years, it was revived in 1803 by Pelatiah Perit, who had just then graduated from Yale College, and was only eighteen years of age. Lydia Huntley, afterwards Mrs. Sigourney, was one of his pupils.
Among other teachers of the town-plot, who were subesquently hon- orable and noted in their several callings, the following are well remembered : Daniel Haskell, president of the Vermont University; Henry Strong, LL.D., eminent in the law; John Hyde, judge of county court, judge of probate, etc .; Dr. Peter Allen, a physician in Ohio; Rev. Joshua L. Williams, of Middle- town ; J. Bates Murdock, afterwards an officer of the Second War with Great Britain ; Phineas L. Tracy, who from 1827 to 1833 was Member of Congress from Genesee county, New York.
A proprietary school was established at the Landing in 1797, by twenty- seven heads of families. The school-house was built on the slope of the hill above Church street, and the school was assembled and organized by the Rev. Walter King. David L. Dodge was the first regular teacher. In 1802, the Rev. Thomas Williams was the preceptor. He was noted for his assiduous attention to the health and morals as well as the studies of his pupils. He drilled them thoroughly in the "Assembly's Catechism," anl used with his younger classes a favorite manual called "The Catechism of Nature." Other teachers of this school were Mr. Scarborough, Ebenezer Witter, John Lord (president of Dartmouth College), George Hill, and others. But no one retained the office for so long a term as Dyar T. Hinckley, of Windham, a man of earnest zeal in his profession, who was master of desk and bench in Norwich for twenty years or more, yet never removed his family or obtained a regular home in the place. He was a schoolmaster of the old New Eng- land type, devoted to his profession as an ulterior pursuit, and expending his best energies in the performance of its duties.
Schools at that period consisted uniformly of two sessions a dav, of three hours each, with a half-holiday on Saturday. Mr. Hinckley, in addition to this, had sometimes an evening or morning school, or both, of two hours each, for pupils not belonging to the day-school. The morning hours were devoted to young ladies, and from an advertisement of May, 1816, giving notice of a new term, we ascertain the precise time when the class assembled : "Hours from 5 o'clock to 7 A. M." Let no one hastily assume that this early summons would be neglected. Living witnesses remain to testify that it
37
BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION
drew a goodly number of young aspirants who came out, fresh and vigorous, at sunrise or a little later, to pursue their studies.
Another institution that made its mark upon society was the Chelsea Grammar School, organized in 1806, but not incorporated till 1821, when it was impowered to hold real estate to the value of $20,000. The school-house was on the side-hill opposite the Little Park, in Union street. This institution continued in operation, with some vacant intervals, about forty years, secur- ing for its patrons the benefits of an academical education for their children without sending them home. Many prominent citizens of Norwich here received their first introduction to the classics, the sons in numerous instances taking possession of seats once occupied by their fathers.
No complete list of the preceptors has been obtained; but among the remembered names are several that have since been distinguished in literary and professional pursuits-Dr. Jonathan Knight, of New Haven; Charles Griswold, of Lyme; Jonathan Barnes, Wyllis Warner, Roswell C. Smith, Rev. Horace Bushnell, D.D., and Rev. William Adams, D.D. These men were all young at the time. The preceptors of most schools, here and elsewhere, at that period, were college graduates, accepting the office for a year, or at most for two or three years, between taking their degree and entering upon some other profession. But teachers to whom the vocation is but a stepping- stone to something beyond on which the mind is fixed, however faithful and earnest in their present duties, can never raise an institution to any per- manent standard of excellence. It is well therefore that these temporary undertakings should give way to public schools more thoroughly system- atized and conducted by persons who make teaching a profession.
In Chelsea, beginning about 1825, a series of expedients for enlarging the bounds of knowledge afford pleasing evidence of the gradual expansion of intellect and enterprise. A lyceum, a circulating library, a reading club, a society for mutual improvement, and a mechanics' association, were suc- cessively started, and though most of them were of brief duration, they were cheering tokens of an advance in the right path.
The Norwich Female Academy was incorporated in 1828. This insti- tution was greatly indebted for its origin to the persevering exertion of Mr. Thomas Robinson, who was the principal agent of the corporation. The brick hall erected for its accommodation stood on the hill facing the river, higher than any other building then on the declivity. Neither court-house nor jail had gained a foothold on the height, which was well forested, and toward the north surmounted by a fine prospect station, overtopping the woods, and known as Rockwell's Tower. The academy had the rugged hill for its background, but on other sides the view was varied and extensive; and when at recess the fair young pupils spread in joyous freedom over the height, often returning with wild flowers and oak-leaf garlands from the neighboring groves, neither poetry nor romance could exaggerate the interest of the scene.
The most prosperous year of this academy was 1833, when the number of pupils amounted to nearly ninety, many of them boarders from other places. But the exposed situation of the building, and the rough, steep ascent by which only it could be reached, were adverse to the prosperity of a female academy, and it soon became extinct-disbanded by wintry blasts and icy foot-paths.
In her "History of New London," Miss Caulkins thus covers the early history of public education in New London :
The town school located on this spot was the free grammar-school, which
38
NEW LONDON COUNTY
had for its main support the Bartlet and other public revenues, and had been originally established further up the hill, on Hempstead street, but had descended from thence about 1750. It was now removed a few rods to the north, and placed in the highway fronting the Erving lot (Church street in that part not having been opened), with no wall or inclosure around it, these not being deemed at that time necessary. The dwelling houses in this part of the town were few, and the neighboring hills and fields were the play- ground of the boys. In the rear was the Hallam lot, extending from Broad street to the old meeting-house square, with but one building upon it, and that in its north-east corner. A little more distant, in the rear of the court- house, was the Coit "hollow-lot," shaded by large trees, and enriched with a rivulet of pure water (where Cottage street now runs). Still further back was a vacant upland lot (known as Fosdick's or Melally's lot), containing here and there a choice apple-tree, well known to schoolboys; this is now the second burial ground.
We have heard aged people revert to these scenes, the days when they were pupils of the free grammar-school, under the sway of "Master Owen"; when a house of worship had not given name and beauty to Zion's Hill, and only a cellar and a garden, tokens of former residence of one of the early settlers of the town, were to be seen on the spot where the Trott man- sion now stands. (This is supposed to have been the place where stood the house on Charles Hill, fortified in the time of the Indian war. The present house was built by Samuel Fosdick, at the head of Niantic river, but taken apart, brought into town, and erected in 1786. It has been occupied by J. P. Trott, its present owner, more than half a century.) Later than this (about 1796) General Huntington broke ground upon the hillside and erected his house (now Hurlbutt's), in the style called cottage ornée. Beyond this, on the present Coit property, was a gushing spring, where the eager schoolboy slaked his thirst and cooled his heated brow; and not a quarter of a century has elapsed since the space now occupied by the Williams mansion and grounds was an open, irregular hillside over whose rugged surface troops of children, as they issued from the school-room, were seen to scatter in their various sports, like flocks of sheep spreading over the hills.
In the year 1795, the old school-house, a low, red building of one room, with a garret above, entered by a flight of stairs and a trap door, where refractory pupils were committed for punishment ; and with desks and benches, which, though made of solid oak, were desperately marred by ink and knife; was abandoned, and the school removed to a larger building of brick, erected for its accommodation in the highway, south of the court house, where it fulfilled another period of its history, of nearly forty years. Here the chair of instruction, or more properly the throne (for the government was despotic), was occupied after 1800 by Dr. Dow, the number of whose subjects usually amounted to about 150, though sometimes rising to 200.
In 1833, a new and much superior edifice was erected for the grammar school on a lot south of the Second Congregational Church, chiefly through the exertion and liberality of Joseph Hurlbut, to whom a vote of thanks was rendered by the town, October 9th, 1833. In this building the Bartlet or grammar school is still continued under the care of the town, but the fund is inadequate to its support and the pupils are taxed to supply the deficiency.
The most noted teachers of this school since 1750, those whose office covered the longest term of years, were John Owen (the remains of "Master Owen," were laid in the second burial ground, but no memorial stone marks the spot. If a sufficient number of his old pupils are yet upon the stage of life to undertake the charge, it would be a creditable enterprise for them
39
BEGINNINGS OF EDUCATION
to unite and raise some simple but fitting monument to his memory. He was for many years both town and city clerk)-and Ulysses Dow; both were peculiar characters, and each remained in office nearly forty years. The former died in 1801, aged sixty-five; the latter in 1844, aged seventy-eight.
The Union School was an establishment incorporated by the General Assembly in October, 1774. The petition for the act was signed by twelve proprietors, who state that they had "built a commodious school house, and for several years past hired and supported a school-master." The original proprietors were Richard Law, Jeremiah Miller, Duncan Stewart, Silas Church, Thomas Allen, John Richards, Robinson Mumford, Joseph Cristophers, Mar- vin Wait, Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., Roger Gibson, Thomas Mumford.
This school was intended to furnish facilities for a thorough English education and the classical preparation necessary for entering college. The school-house stood on State street, and by the subsequent opening of Union street was made a corner lot. This was a noted school in its early days, yielding a larger income than ordinary schools, and the station of preceptor was regarded as a post of honor. It has been heretofore stated that Nathan Hale held that office in 1775, and that he left the school to enter the army. He was the first preceptor after the act of incorporation. A few only of his successors can be named. Seth Williston, a graduate of Dartmouth College and since known as a divine of considerable eminence, was in charge for two years. Jacob B. Gurley, from the same seminary, succeeded Williston in May, 1794, and was the principal for three years. (Mr. Gurley is a native of Mansfield, Connecticut, but since 1794 a resident of New London, where he began to practice as an attorney in 1797.) Ebenezer Learned, a native of the town, and a graduate of Yale College, filled the chair of instruction in 1799. Knight, of the Medical College of New Haven, Olmstead of Yale, Mitchell of the University of North Carolina, and many other names of note, are among the teachers after 1800.
The school house was taken down and the land sold after 1830, and in 1833 a reorganization took place, a new charter was obtained, and a brick school house flourished for a few years, but could not be long sustained. The Bartlet and common schools gathered in the great mass of pupils; the number wishing to pursue a more extensive system of education was small, and the Union School, an old and venerated establishment, was discontinued. In 1851 the building was sold to the Bethel Society, by whom it has been converted into a commodious house of worship.
No provision seems to have been made for the education of females in anything but needle-work, reading, writing, and the first principles of arith- metic, until the year 1799. A female academy was then built by a company of proprietors, in Green street, and incorporated by the legislature. It con- tinued in operation, with some intervals of recess, about thirty years. The property was then sold and the company dissolved in 1834. A new female academy was built the same year on Broad street, and the system of instruc- tion commenced by Rev. Daniel Huntington. This institution has hitherto met with fair encouragement. Since 1841 it has been in charge of H. P. Farnsworth, principal. The pupils are arranged in two departments, and for a few years past the average number has been about eighty.
Private schools of similar nature were found in other towns of the county, and will be mentioned in the town histories. Higher education was sought by many leading men. Miss Caulkins gives a list of eighty-six names of men native to New London who had received a college education up to the year 1850. A similar list for Norwich may be found in the "Norwich Jubilee
40
NEW LONDON COUNTY
Volume," and includes over 130 names. Beginning with the middle of the nineteenth century have come steady advances in educational methods and equipment. The legislation of the State has promoted this by State aid and by compulsory school laws. To describe adequately the progress made in education in New London county for the past fifty years would involve a discussion of educational progress in all civilized lands, and especially in the United States. The laws relating to the schools in Connecticut fill over 200 pages of printed matter. New statutes are enacted with each new legis- lature. In general, it must suffice to say that Connecticut aims to keep pace with country-wide educational progress, but is far less centralized in policy than many States. Consequently there have survived in our county an unusual number of schools that are the products of local initiative rather than of State patronage or State control. The word "Progress" covers the history of education in New London county for the past seventy-five years.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.