USA > Connecticut > New London County > Groton > Groton, Conn. 1705-1905 > Part 29
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Captain Burrows had persuaded Matalena to allow him to keep with him his son Brutus, a lad of sixteen years. He had secreted in his stateroom his pistols and those belong- ing to his mates, together with a supply of powder and balls. For several days Captain Burrows cherished the
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
hope of falling in with some man-of-war that might re- capture his vessel, but finding that hope in vain he resolved to act for himself, so arming himself and his son he called the prize-master into the cabin and informed him that he was determined to regain possession of the vessel and he must remain neutral or die. He chose neutrality.
As the captain and his son were armed they went on deck and at pistol's point drove the crew into the fore- castle, from which they called them one by one and securely bound them, placing them in positions where they could not free one another. Captain Burrows now found himself three hundred miles from land with only himself and son and the prize-master, with two of the crew whom he had released to assist in working the ship. The situation re- quired sleepless vigilance and as the strain was becoming unendurable, he decided to rid himself of his prisoners.
Equipping a whale boat with sails, oars, compass, pro- visions and water, he placed the seven men therein, un- loosing the last one as he went over the side. They were given explicit directions as to the course to steer to reach the land, which was about one-hundred and fifty miles distant.
On the third day after the recapture of the brig Captain Burrows dropped anchor in Callao. But a revolution broke out there soon after his arrival so that for several weeks he was subjected to trouble of various kinds. Robbed by insurrectionists and fired upon by rebels and also by friends, he was in danger until the Spaniards recaptured the town.
While Captain Burrows was absent on business at Lima, the boat's crew that he had set adrift put in an appearance and claimed the brig as their property, and he returned to find a guard of soldiers in possession, and but for the timely arrival of Commodore Stewart in the United States frigate "Franklin" he might have been robbed of his whole prop- erty. Commodore Stewart had as prisoners on board the "Franklin" a boat's crew from the "Quintanelia," among them being Augustus Bennett, one of the crew of the "Fred- erick." Mr. Hill, chief officer of the brig, had been put
357
SHIP BUILDING, ETC.
ashore by Matalena, so Captain Burrows had recovered two of his crew.
But the state of affairs was so unsettled that he concluded to sell his vessel and return to the United States. The frigate "Constitution," Commodore Hull, came to relieve the "Franklin" and Captain Burrows took passage for home on the latter ship. The ship called at Valparaiso en route, and as they were leaving that port they had the pleasure of seeing a French frigate enter the harbor with no less a prize than the pirate "Quintanelia." Her commander, Matalena, was sent to France and executed for piracy.
Like all seafaring communities Groton has had its full share of disasters. It is impossible for us to enumerate all the losses, but the following are some of the more con- spicuous ones :
Soon after the War of 1812 Paul and George Burrows were lost in the brig "Jane Coates."
Sloop "Concordia," Captain Ambrose H. Grant, sailed from New York September 11, 1818, and was never heard from. With Captain Grant as mate was his brother, George Grant, and his nephew, Nathan Burrows Grant, all of Groton.
In 1856 the ship "Leah," built by the Greenmans, was hurried to completion in order to take advantage of the high freight rates then prevailing. She sailed from New York and was never heard from. Her commander, Captain Latham, and first officer, John B. Eldredge, were Groton men.
February 11, 1860, smack "Herald" went ashore on Fish- er's Island in a thick snow storm. Her commander, Cap- tain Peter Baker, was badly frozen.
March 20, 1864, brig "A. Hopkins," Captain Leerhoff, sailed from Philadelphia with a load of coal for New Or- leans and was never heard from. She was owned in Mystic.
October 9, 1864, the steamer "Aphrodite," Captain Wil- liam Morgan, went ashore on Cape Lookout, N. C., and became a total wreck. She was a new vessel on her second
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
voyage, bound from New York with a load of sailors and supplies for the blockading squadron on the South Atlantic coast. The loss was a heavy one for Mystic. John E. Williams, Jr., purser of this steamer, was captured on board the schooner "Vapor" while en route from Beaufort to New York and was imprisoned at Florence, S. C., from which place he made his escape but was never heard from.
October 23, 1865, the new smack "Minnie," Captain Wil- liam H. Appelman, was blown on shore at Jupiter Inlet, Florida, in a hurricane and became a total wreck. All hands were saved. In the same hurricane the smack "Connecti- cut," Captain Erastus D. Appelman, (a brother of William H.), is supposed to have foundered, as she sailed from New York October 20 and was never heard from.
A singular disaster was the sinking of the brig "William Edwards" by the steamer "Ariadne." Captain Sidney Ash- bey had assumed command of the "William Edwards" for one voyage, pending the completion of another vessel of which he was to be master. He was returning from France with a valuable cargo of wines, &c. The "Ariadne," one of the Mallory line of steamers, under command of Captain George B. Crary, left New York at 5 o'clock p. m., Deceni- ber 13, 1865, and at 11 o'clock the same night collided with the brig, sinking her so quickly that the crew barely escaped with their lives. The meeting of the two captains who had been next-door neighbors and lifelong friends may be better imagined than described.
In October 1867 the smack "Eliza," Captain O. P. Park, was sunk in collision off Sandy Hook. No lives were lost but the vessel was a total wreck.
In January 1868 the steamer "Nightingale" was lost at Vera Cruz. As she was partly owned in Mystic and was commanded by a Mystic man, Captain Breaker, we give place to her loss here.
The ship "Cremorne" sailed from San Francisco June 1, 1870, and was never heard from. Captain Gates and his son were from Mystic.
Holds record for fastest passage to San Francisco: 89 days, 4 hours CLIPPER SHIP "ANDREW JACKSON"
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--
1
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SHIP BUILDING, ETC.
In November 1883(?) the ship "Dauntless," Captain D. W. Chester, was lost on the coast of Africa.
Among the noted shipmasters of Groton we mention Captain John E. Williams, who in the ship "Andrew Jack- son" arrived in San Francisco March 24, 1860, after a passage of eighty-nine days and four hours, from New York-the fastest passage on record for a sailing vessel.
Captain Joseph Warren Holmes, another resident of the town, enjoys the distinction of having doubled Cape Horn more times than any man living, having accomplished that feat eighty-three times. He commenced his career at the age of thirteen, his first venture being a whaling voyage. He continued at whaling for fourteen years, after which he entered the merchant service and had command of sev- eral fast ships. His best passage was in the "Seminole," a new ship built by Maxson, Fish & Company, which he made in 96 days. In this ship he made twenty-two voyages to San Francisco.
In April 1871 Captain Charles C. Sisson in the ship "Bridgewater" picked up the captain, second officer and four of the crew of the Swedish bark "Belladonna," wrecked in a gale on the 6th of the month. After being three days in the ship's boat with scanty provisions, far out of the course of ordinary ocean travel, they were a grateful crew when rescued by Captain Sisson. In Jan- uary 1865 Captain Sisson rescued the crew of the "Maggie Mitchell," consisting of thirty men.
CHAPTER XVII
SCHOOLS, CENSUS, ETC.
A T THE very beginning schools were made an integral part of the town's organization. At the first election of town officers we find that John Barnard was elected "School Master." "When the schoolmaster was engaged, May 28, 1706, to teach the children in the different houses until the school house was built, he was to teach first in Mr. Samuel Avery's house."-Groton Avery Clan, Vol. I, p. 114. As was the custom in those days the school house was located near the meeting house and the two were closely linked together.
Before the separation from New London :* "Dec. 14, 1698-Voated that the Towne Grants one half penny in money upon the List of Estate to be raised for the use of a free Schoole that shall teach children to Reade Write and Cypher, and the Lattin Tongue, which School shall be kept two thirds of the year on the West Side and one third of the year on the East side of the river. By reading is in- tended such children as are in their psalter." This shows the "three R's" to have been fundamental in those early free schools, and we may infer that the teaching of Latin was continued from the large number of young men of the town who pursued an education through the various colleges then in existence, among them Silas Deane, Yale 1758, Weightstill Avery, Princeton 1767, Samuel Seabury, Har- vard 1724, his son Samuel, Yale 1748, John Ower, Jr., Yale 1756. John Ledyard was a student at Dartmouth though not a graduate.
In the beginning the school district was synonymous with
* History of New London, Caull ins, 1860, p. 397.
360
361
SCHOOLS, CENSUS, ETC.
the church parish but in 1793 the state passed a law by which a committee of eight, with Governor Treadwell as chairman,* "were authorized to sell all the lands owned by the State west of Pennsylvania reserved in the cession to the United States in 1782-1785 and the proceeds of the sale were to go to a perpetual fund, the interest of which was to be divided annually among the several societies constituted or which may be constituted by law within certain limits, and each society could by a two-thirds vote, improve its proportion of the interest, for the support of the Christian ministry or the public worship of God. All inhabitants who have the right to vote in town meeting are to meet in October annually, organize themselves into societies and transact any other business on the subject of schooling in general and touching the monies hereby appropriated to their use."
This law provided for the establishment of "school societies" or districts in place of the old ecclesiastical societies, which marked a new departure in educational matters, and it was also the beginning of the State School Fund. The proposal that the income might be used for support of religious worship did not meet with popular ap- proval and in May 1795 the law which finally was enacted provided ** that the "proceeds of this sale are to be made into a perpetual fund, which shall be, and hereby is, appro- priated to the support of schools in the several societies constituted by law, according to the list of polls and ratable estates."
By this act and its amendment in 1798 ecclesiastical so- cieties were forbidden to have power over schools, andt "each society was given power to appoint a suitable number of persons, not exceeding nine, of competent skill and letters, to be overseers or visitors of schools." The income from the State Fund was augmented in 1837 by the division among the States of an existing surplus in the United States
* History of Education in Connecticut, Bulletin No. 14, U. S. Dept. of Ed., p. 35.
** Ibid, p. 39. + Ibid, p. 39.
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
Treasury. The share of Connecticut was $763,661.83, which sum was placed on deposit with the several towns as a trust fund, any loss to be made good, and repayable to the State on demand. One-half the income was to be devoted to education and one-half to current expenses of the town. This was the origin of the Town Deposit Fund.
In 1854 the State passed an act imposing on each town the raising of a tax of one cent on each dollar of the grand list for the support of schools. In 1859 the whole of the income from the Town Deposit Fund was voted to schools. In 1868 the town tax was raised to an amount sufficient to support the schools. Before that time the difference of cost of maintenance, in excess of the amounts received from the above enumerated sources, was collected from the parents of the pupils attending the schools.
The annual report of the Acting School Visitor to the Town of Groton, September 28, 1868, (the last under the old régime) summarizes the finances as follows: "For the support of our schools we have received the current year, from the State Fund $1301.65, from the town Deposit Fund $385.94, from town tax $600.16, making a total from these three sources of $2287.75. The sum total of teacher's wages in all our public schools for the year is $5562.75. . New laws will very seriously and it is to be hoped advan- tageously affect our public schools. One tendency will be to diminish the attendance on private schools and increase the attendance on public schools" &c. &c.
(Signed) "J. R. AVERY, "Acting School Visitor."
The general condition of schools in the State is well shown by the report of the inspectors in the towr of Thompson in the adjoining county of Windham :* "Schools in Thompson which had hitherto been left to the manage- ment of the several districts were brought under more stringent discipline by the legislative enactment of 1798. A State School Fund had not been created by the sale of
* History of Windham County, Learned, pp. 355-6.
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SCHOOLS, CENSUS, ETC.
the Western Reserve; school societies had been endowed with executive functions, and now each society was obliged to appoint overseers or visitors who should examine their general superintendence and direction. In compliance with this enactment Rev. Daniel Dow, Noadiah Russel and Daniel Wickham were appointed 'inspectors.' Their report throws some light upon the condition of public schools at this date:
"The Inspectors of Schools for the Town of Thompson beg leave to present the School society the following report, viz., Being im- pressed with the importance of having our schools subjected to better regulations, and convinced of the wisdom of the law made and provided by the Legislature of Connecticut for that purpose, we cheerfully entered upon the discharge of our office, and took as we trust a faithful view of the present schools in the town of Thompson. We failed not in our determination to respect the law of the State, and we did whatever at the present time in our judgment seemed serviceable to be done. But, the regulating of the Schools in this place being an object entirely novel and our work of reformation in this respect being somewhat extensive we did not find ourselves in a capacity to make all those alterations for the present year, which in other circumstances we should have thought expedient. For the year ensuing, however, we hope something more will be accom- plished, than what we have been able to effect; and in order that the districts may receive the benefit of the inspection which we have made, and of that plan of conduct upon which we have entered, we beg leave to propose the following recommendations :-
"We earnestly recommend that for the future it will be generally understood that the inspectors will enter upon a faithful examination of school masters before their fall schools commence and that all masters and teachers be requested to make applications for that purpose.
"We recommend that all masters offering themselves for examina- tion consider it as a necessary requisite to be able to read and pro- nounce English with propriety, to be able to explain the spelling book, and to perform common arithmetic: that a moral character be considered indispensable; and a knowledge of English grammar though not absolutely requisite as very desirable.
"We recommend that it be made a serious question with these districts that do not provide for themselves a schoolhouse, nor any suitable and convenient place where the scholars may receive the benefit of instruction, whether they ought to have any certificate that they have had any school as the law requires, merely because they have hired a master to lose his time.' &c. &c.
"Thompson, May 1, 1799."
An article in the Mystic Pioneer of February 11, 1860, has the following to say about "Common Schools in Groton:" "In order to obtain the 'school money'-that is, the interest on the School Fund of this State, which is annually divided amongst the several school districts-the
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
law makes it the duty of the District Committee to ascertain the name of every person, over four and under sixteen years of age, who shall belong to such district on the first Monday of January together with the names of the parents, guardians, or employers, and shall make return of the same to the School Visitors of the town, on or before the 2nd of January, who, after examining the same, send a certified copy to the Comptroller of Public Accounts. Last year, the amount to each scholar was $1.30-for some years pre- vious $1.40. In addition to this the town pays a 'one-cent tax' for the benefit of Common Schools, and the interest of the Town Deposit Fund, making a total in 1858 of $2,072.68 -in 1859 of $2,566.41. This sum is divided to the several districts in proportion to the number of scholars, which amounts to something more than $2.00 each. Well may we say 'other men have labored and we have entered into their labors.' The School Fund is now over $2,000,000: the amount paid to the several districts in the State March, 1859, was about $136,000.
"The following is a list of the districts with the num- ber of scholars in each, as reported by the committees on the 1st of January, 1860:
Dist. No. 1. 140-Benjamin Coe, Committee.
2. 58 --- John R. Starr,
3. 53-Elijah B. Morgan,
4. 69-Jabez Watrous,
Frac. of 4. 46-Annexed to No. 6, Stonington.
5. 285 -- Amos Clift, 6. 63-Henry S. Gilbert,
Committee.
7. 93-John S. Heath, 66
8. 27-Robert Chapman,
9. 28-Daniel Holdredge,
10. 102-Thomas E. Packer,
11. 139 -- John Palmer,
Total
1103
Last year
1148
"Showing a decline of 45 during the past year, of the 'rising generation.' "
The statistics taken for ten-year periods are as follows :
Dist. No. 1. Groton Bank
1870
1880
1890
1900
181
206
271
267
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SCHOOLS, CENSUS, ETC.
2. Lane
83
73
54
40
3. Center
44
40
42
31
4. Burnetts
61
64
32
33
5. Mystic
373
304
256
238
6. Upper Noank
56
53
46
46
7. Pequonnoc
104
90
70
64
8. Eastern Point
35
36
27
39
9. Flanders
21
19
19
14
10. Old Field
154
86
129
126
11. Noank
144
141
180
236
Fraction
Old Mystic
33
not given
19
22
1289
1112
1145
1156
The Fifth School District was for many years the largest in the town. Its first school building was located just west of the Mariners Church and was occupied until a new building was erected a little to the north of the same church, when it passed into the hands of the Third Baptist Church and was moved a short distance north, where for many years it served as a conference house. This building was a one-story structure of the regulation type of the day, but the new building was a two-story house with separate desks and a recitation room apart from the school room, and was a marked advance over the old accommodations. Two celebrated teachers held sway in this school house- Dudley A. Avery and William H. Potter. It was during the administration of the latter in 1849 (January 11) that a notable accident occurred, when the floor of the second story gave way and landed a large audience on the floor below. The incident is worthy of perpetuation as showing the character of school training of the day. The account as follows was given in the Mystic Pioneer, June 5, 1869:
"Pretty extensive arrangements had been made. The speakers had been well drilled. Admission was free. The
upper room in the school house was packed full, extra seats having been improvised. The following was the programme, and the floor went down while Frank Dudley was singing the California Song, No. 12 in the 'Ordo.' He came in dressed as a miner with his spade, sifter and washbowl swung over his shoulder, when the crash came. Here is the order of exercises :
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
"1. Original prologue in poetry. Written by A. G. Stark. Spoken by Ephraim Marston.
2. The Yankee Courtship acted by William Fitch, Goat Point.
3. Select Oration by John A. Wolfe, Jr.
4. Cato's Soliloquy by Charles Henry Packer.
5. Dialogue on Cowardice.
6. & 7. Presentation of the colors of France by Citizen Grinnett and reply by the President. Said by Lodowick L. Sawyer and George W. Packer.
8. Great Western in New York-The Windmill &c. Performed by Fitch.
9. Pierpont's "Old Ironsides" by Elisha Rogers of Montville.
10. Dialogue, "Alderman."
11. Extract from Young Gentlemen's Monitor by William S. Fish.
12 California Song, sung by Frank L. Dudley.
13. Song of the Indian Student, sung by William Fish.
14. An Original Dialogue on Peace and War, written by the Principal.
15. A Specimen from William B. Sprague by George H. Murphy.
16. Specimen of James Otis, 1775, by Giles Wolfe.
17 Extract from Brutus on Caesar's Death by William H. Irons.
18. Drama of William Tell, the part of young Tell acted by Horace Clift.
19. The French Revolution of 1793, spoken by Charles Carroll Packer.
20. Specimen of Patrick Henry by Frederick King.
21. Reflections on Washington's Grave by G. Riley Ashbey.
22. Character of Washington by Charles B. Packer.
23. Scipio to Hannibal, Hezekiah Smith.
24. Hannibal's Reply, Timothy Watrous.
25. Oration by John B. Eldredge.
26. The Promising Youth, a farce written by A. G. Stark.
27. Original Epilogue by Elam Eldredge, Jr.
"Well, that was the order and, as we have said, when Master Dudley began to sing, the south half of the floor began to settle and down, down it went, till half the audience was eight feet below the other half. Not a scream was heard for some moments, and the singer kept on until he saw the situation. A succession of screams, yells and groans followed. Many supposed there must be scores killed and repeatedly the story was raised that men, women and children were crushed beneath the fallen floor.
"The house was at first filled with a cloud of dust, which arose from the tan bark between the floors. And the cause of alarm was the stove, which fell with the floor, and, as it was a very cold night, had live embers in it. The prin- cipal slid off the projecting platform, which inclined about 20 degrees from a horizontal position, and found the stove, and at once had snowballs handed in to put out the fire. Ile
1
£
367
SCHOOLS, CENSUS, ETC.
and others explored under the prostrate floor and found no victim was there. It proved that no bones were broken, nor was anyone seriously injured. Some lost portions of their apparel, others were slightly scratched and one had a little scald from the basin of hot water on the stove. All were thankful, we believe, for the deliverance. A sub- scription was started for repairs which were commenced the day following.
"On the 19th the programme was carried out in the South Conference room, the two churches refusing the use of their houses and the school house not being ready until the 22nd. Price of admission 25 cents. George W. Ashby, Esq., volun- teered to act as doorkeeper. The proceeds were $60.00 without the subscription for school house repairs. The exercises lasted three hours, and the boys were greeted with repeated applause and encore. The California song, with which we broke down the first time, became famous, and was popular with all, especially with those who had made up their minds to go to California.
"The ship "Trescott' of this port then lay in the offing ready to sail the next day for the land of gold, and all her officers and crew came up to hear and applaud all they saw. That crew was composed of no common sailors,* for some of our first citizens pressed themselves into the service be- fore the mast to get a first chance around the Horn, the Isthmus route not being then really open. The news of the discovery of gold had come about a month previously. Al- ready the schooner 'Anthem,' Captain Thomas Eldredge, had sailed."
Alongside this school house and between it and the Mar-
* Passengers on the "Trescott" from Groton: Henry D. Chesebro, H. N. Amesbury, A. Amesbury, Horace Clift, Horace Ingraham, John Barber, D. R. Williams, Hiram Appelman, Noyes N. Appel- man, William H. Denison.
On the "Sea Witch": Benjamin Burrows.
On the "Empire": Captain Joseph Ingraham, Whitman Wilbur, C. C. Sisson, William Eldredge, J. A. Edgcomb, E. R. Burrows, N. T. Sawyer, William Palmer, George Sims, E. Ingham, Oscar F. Redfield, Charles T. H. Palmer.
The following are the names of the individuals comprising the
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GROTON, CONN. 1705-1905
iners Church stood another building, originally a store kept by the late Amos C. Tift, which stood on the Tift land on the east side of the highway, but was removed to the west side in order to add to the school facilities. First it was used as a private school conducted by Miss Lucy Kimball, a graduate of Charlestown Female Seminary. This build- ing was occupied temporarily by the Mystic Academy, pend- ing the erection of a new building for the use of the latter. It afterwards became a primary school house of the Fifth District, and after the purchase of the Academy building by the district, the building was sold and again removed, becoming the house occupied by the late Charles G. Beebe.
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