USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > More chronicles of a pioneer school, from 1792 to 1833, being added history on the Litchfield Female Academy kept by Miss Sarah Pierce and her nephew, John Pierce Brace > Part 5
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Harriet Grant
Cornelia Griswold
Harriet Hunt
New Haven
Jane Jackson
Acquackinock N. J.
William Jones
Litchfield
Elizabeth Leonard
Maria T. Lord
Helen L. Lord
Martha Lyman
Eliza Maddin
Belfast Ireland
Louisa Mann
Bloomfield N. Y.
Louisa McNeil
Litchfield
Newburgh N. Y.
Cornelia Peck
Maria Peck
Eliza Pugsley
Delia Radcliffe
Buffalo N. Y.
Washington City.
Susannah Rapine Susan Robbins
Julia Robbins Lucia N. Schermerhorn
Martha Simpson
Washington City Amenia N. Y. Monroe N. Y. Do Poughkeepsie N. Y. Litchfield
Litchfield Do Clarerack N. Y.
Mt. Pleasant Ky. Do
New York Washington City.
Salisbury Md
Taunton Mass
Do Norwich Mass
Ann R. Nestell
Do Do
Emily Chase
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Maria S. Seymour
Josephine Stansbury
Sarah Thomas
Mary Thomas
Litchfield Washington City Newark N. J. Do Goshen
Mary Town
Mary Caroline Tracy
Jan Van Derhuyden
Helen Van Deusen
Harriet M. Ward
Ann Warner
Hartford Do Litchfield
Catherine M. Webb
Do
Charles M. Wolcott
Do
Fanny Woodruff
Do
Total 68
CATALOGUE OF THE LITCHFIELD ACADEMY - 1830
Trustees.
Hon. Frederick Wolcott, Pres.
Hon Seth P. Beers.
Dr. Daniel Sheldon
Hon. Jabez W. Huntington.
Dr. William Buel
Truman Smith, Esqr.
Phineas Miner Esqr
Mr. Leonard Goodwin
John R. Landon Esqr
Mr. Seth P. Brace.
Miss Sarah Pierce Mr. John P. Brace
Principals.
Miss Amelia Ogden, French Miss Flora Catlin, Drawing Miss Emily Hart, Music
Instructresses.
Names
Residence.
Julia Adam
Litchfield 66
Eliza Adam
Sarah P. Andrews
Cornwall.
Hannah Beach
Goshen.
Emily Benedict
Litchfield
Eliza Benedict
Watertown.
Lois A. Buel
Litchfield.
Mary T. Buel
Rachel Buel
66
Maria Buel
66
Julia M. Beers
Eunice R. Bulkley
66
Troy N. Y. Do Livingston N. Y.
Julia Winship
DR. DANIEL SHELDON, WELL KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE STATE, FATHER OF CHARLOTTE, LUCY, HENRY, AND DANIEL SHELDON, JR. See next illustration
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Harriet M. Beebe Matilda Boyd Mary A. Brewster
Litchfield. Monroe; N. Y. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Litchfield.
Catharine M. Bissell Caroline E. Bissell Amanda E. Brown Charlotte H. Cleaveland
66
Eliza C. Cleaveland
Thompson. New London. Litchfield
Clarissa B. Deming Ann Dewey Susannah J. Dunn Amelia Dunn
New York City.
Washington D. C.
Mercy J. Dean
Bethlehem, N. Y. Blooming Grove, N. Y.
Cornelia Griswold
Litchfield
Harriet Grant
Julia Gilbert
Hinsdale, N. Y.
Elizabeth C. Goodwin
Litchfield.
Amelia C. Hills
Waterloo, N. Y.
Jane Hills
Litchfield.
Augusta M. Hawley Jane Jackson
Patterson, N. J.
Maria T. Lord
Taunton, Mass.
Sarah A. Leonard
Salisbury, Md.
Elizabeth Leonard
Amelia Lewis
Litchfield.
Jane E. Morris
Monroe.
Ann E. Nestell
Blooming Grove, N. Y.
Eliza Maddin
Belfast, Ireland.
Ann E. Porter
Hartford.
Laura Pardee
Sharon.
Elizabeth S. Prince *
Watertown.
Elizabeth Parks
Litchfield.
Susannah Rapine
Washington, D. C.
Delia M. Radcliffe
Buffalo, N. Y.
Phebe A. Rankin Hannah M. Raymond
Kent
Lucia N. Schermerhorn
New York City. Litchfield
Maria S. Seymour
Josephine Stansbury
Fanny M. Sayre
Washington, D. C. Blooming Grove, N. Y.
* Niece of Lucy Sheldon. Mrs. Rochester Childs.
66
Emeline M. Carrington
Mary G. Deming
Newark. N. J.
Cornelia Decker
Monroe.
Newark, N. J.
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Mary G. Sears
Sharon
Sybil B. Sears
Harriet J. Smith
Torringford Watertown.
Sarah G. Thomas
Newark, N. J.
Mary G. Thomas
Mary Caroline Tracy *
Troy, N. Y.
Ferebe Tracy
New Preston
Catharine Treat
South Farms 66 66
Adelia S. Treat
Helen Van Deusen
Livingston, N. Y.
Jane E. Van Der Heyden
Troy, N. Y.
Catharine M. Webb
Litchfield.
Harriet M. Ward
Hartford.
Henrietta J. Ward Jane Ward
Litchfield.
Catharine R. Williams
New York City
Chloe M. Winship
Litchfield 66
Julia C. Winship
Caroline Wheaton
Pompey, N. Y.
Jane M. Wadhams
Goshen.
Harriet Wadsworth
Litchfield.
Ann S. Whitman Boys.
Charles R. S. Buoyington
Litchfield.
Francis Bacon
66
Henry W. Buel
66
Edward P. Cheney
66
John M: Grant
66
John Gould
66
Robert H. Gould
66
Henry A. Hull
66
William E. Jones
66
John Lewis
66
Henry Rockwell
Canaan.
Thomas Seeley
Danbury.
George Seymour
Litchfield.
Charles C. Tracy
Troy, N. Y.
Charles M. Wolcott
Litchfield.
16
Total 94
* Mrs. Charles Keith.
Farmington. 78
John Catlin
Rochester, N. Y.
Sarah L. Scoville
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Copied Sept. 17. 1840 by Dr. Henry W. Buel.
Winter term commences on Wednesday, 24th November Terms, $5 or $6 per quarter, according to the studies pursued. The following additional names are found in Mr. Brace's Cata- logue of 1830:
Edward Cheney
Litchfield Conn.
Marietta Williams
Danbury 66
Maria A. Clark
Wethersfield “
Mercy Marsh
Vergennes, Vt.
Mary Osborne
Danbury
Maria Peck
Litchfield.
MARRIAGES.
Julia Adam
m. John Cake. Potsdam, Penn.
Eliza Adam
Philo C. Sedgwick. Cornwall, Conn.
Rachel Buel
Mr. Lord
Hannah Beach
66 Edgar S. Van Winkle.
Emily Benedict
Mr. North.
Catharine M. Bissell
66 Mr. Hoyt, Stamford, Conn.
Caroline E. Bissell
John B. Bogart. Brooklyn. N. Y.
Amanda Brown
66 Mr. Patmore
Maria Buel
66 Mr. Jones.
Eunice Buckley
John Ward
Charlotte H. Cleaveland
Mr. Osgood.
Emmeline M. Carrington
Benjamin Morse. Litchfield.
Mary G. Deming
66 Sidney Green, New York.
Emeline Griswold
Dr. Charles Vail.
Elizabeth Goodwin
Mr. Adams. Stockbridge, Mass.
Amelia Lewis
66 Mr. Peck. Flushing L. I.
Maria Lord
Mr. Boardman. S. C.
Elizabeth Parks
Mr. Bostwick. New Milford. Conn.
Elizabeth S. Prince
66 N. R. Child. Rochester. N. Y.
Delia Radcliffe
Mr. Kipp. Buffalo.
Phebe A. Rankin
John W. Goble. Newark.
Josephine Stansbury Sybil Sears
Dr. Nourse.
66 Mr. Roberts. Utica. N. Y.
Sarah Scoville
Mr. Marshall.
66 John W. Granniss. Newark. N. J.
Mr. Lockwood. Troy. N. Y.
Charles Keith, Troy, N. Y.
Ferebe Tracy
John McNeil. Litchfield. Conn.
Jane E. Van Der Heyden "
Isaac Lansing. Albany, N. Y.
Sarah G. Thomas
Mary G. Thomas
Mary Caroline Tracy
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Henrietta Ward
m. Hon. Freeman Clark. Rochester. N. Y.
Jane Ward
Herman Warner.
Jane M. Wadhams
Mr. Stevens.
Harriet Wadsworth
Dr. Kilbourne.
Catharine M. Webb
Roswell Ward. Hartford. Conn.
66 Mr. French.
Julia Winship Ann G. Whitman
66 Mr. Farnum. now of New Haven (Henry Farnam)
Frank Bacon
m. Elizabeth Dutcher.
John Catlin
66 Elizabeth Humiston.
Henry Hull
Sarah Sandson.
William Jones
Miss Ogden. N. Y.
George Seymour
Miss Hunt.
Charles Wolcott
Miss Goodrich. Miss Rankin.
CATALOGUE OF THE WINTER SCHOOL OF 1831.
Eliza Adam
Litchfield
Julia Beers
Do
Catherine Bissell
Do
Henry Bissell
Do
Mary E. Brace
Do
Sydney Bryant
Sheffield
Mary Buel
Litchfield
Henry Buel
Do
Emmeline Carrington
Do
John Catlin
Do
Maria A. Clark
Wethersfield
Charlotte H. Cleaveland
Thompson
First Prize
Eliza Cleaveland
New London
Asenath Cowles
Sheffield
Mary G. Deming
Litchfield
Clarissa B. Deming
Do
Elizabeth Goodwin
Do
Mary E. Goodwin
Do
Harriet P. Grant
Do
John Grant
Do
John Gould
Do
Amelia C. Hills
Waterloo N. Y.
William Jones
Litchfield
Caroline M. Hubbell
Chazy N. Y.
James Kilborn
Litchfield
Elizabeth Leonard
Salisbury Md
MORE CHRONICLES OF A PIONEER SCHOOL
77
John Lewis Levvinia Peck Maria Peck Eliza A. Pulver
Litchfield
North East N. Y.
Sheffield Mass.
Pineplains N. Y.
Ann Peet
Canaan
Elizabeth Prince
New York
Susannah Rapine
Washington City
Ann R. Nestell
Blooming Grove N. Y.
Mary O. Rankin
Newark N. J.
Phoebe Ann Rankin
Do
McCave Seymour
George Seymour
Litchfield Do Newark, N. J.
Sarah G. Thomas
Litchfield
Mary C. Tracy
Troy N. Y. Do
Ferrebe Tracy
Washington
Jane Wadhams
Goshen
Harriet Wadsworth
Litchfield
Harriet M. Ward
Hartford
Chloe M. Winship
Litchfield
Mary Whittlesey
New Preston
Henrietta J. Ward
Rochester N. Y.
Josephine Stansbury
Washington City.
Total 50
CATALOGUE OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL OF 1831
Eliza Adam
Litchfield
Jane Adam
Canaan
Julia M. Beers
Litchfield
Catherine Bissell
Do
Elizabeth Bissell
Do
Susan Brace
Catskill
Mary E. Brace
Litchfield
Mary Buel
Do
Lucretia Buel
Do
Emmeline Carrington
Do
Maria A. Clark
Wethersfield
Charlotte M. Cleaveland
Thompson
Eliza Cleaveland
New London
Rebecca Cochrane
North East
Elizabeth Goodwin
Litchfield
Mary E. Goodwin
Do
Edward Thompson
Charles C. Tracy
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Helen C. Griswold
Watertown
Roxy Hodges
Torringford
Emily Horton
Amenia N. Y.
Jane Jackson
Acquackinock N. J.
Elizabeth Leonard Mather
Lyme
Betsey Moss
Litchfield
Elizabeth Parker
Do
Maria Peck
Do
Ann Peet
Canaan
Elizabeth Prince
New York
Delia Radcliffe
Buffalo N. Y.
Phoebe Ann Rankin
Newark N. J.
Sarah Rankin
Do Graceville Mass
Amoret Root
Do
Sarah G. Thomas
Newark N. J.
Ferrebe Tracy
Washington
Elizabeth Van Winkle
Panama N. Y.
Jane R. Wadhams
Goshen
Harriet Wadsworth
Litchfield
Harriet M. Ward
Hartford
Henrietta J. Ward
Rochester N. Y.
Anna S. Whitman
Farmington
Mary Whittlesy
Washington
Martha Whittlesy
Do
Chloe M. Winship
Litchfield
Emmeline Winship
Do
Margaret Yerkes
Damascus Pa.
Total 46
CATALOGUE OF THE WINTER SCHOOL OF 1832.
Jane Adam
Canaan
Hannah Beach
Litchfield
Julia M. Beers
Do Do
Elizabeth Bissell
Sarah C. Boyd
Monroe N. Y.
Susan Brace
Catskill
Sarah P. Brace
Do
Mary E. Brace
Litchfield Do
Emmeline Carrington
Harriet Dean
Blooming Grove N. J.
Mary E. Goodwin
Litchfield
Sarah Johnson
Do
S. Root
Salisbury Md.
MORE CHRONICLES OF A PIONEER SCHOOL
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Eliza King Helen L. Lord
Corrinna Lord
Litchfield Do Do Litchfield Do Canaan
Elizabeth Parker Mary Parker
Ann Peet
Laura Porter
Waterbury
Julia Radcliffe
Buffalo
Elizabeth Prince
New York
Phoebe Ann Rankin, First Prize
Newark
Julia F. Taylor
Bethlem
Ann M. Seymour
New Hartford
Jane Wadhams
Goshen
Marana Wadhams
Rochester N. Y.
Chloe M. Winship
Lichfield
Emmeline Winship
Do
Harriet Wadsworth
Do
Mary Langdon
Castleton Vt.
Total 30
CATALOGUE OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL OF 1832.
Rebecca Akins
Norfolk
Eliza Beecher
Salem
Julia M. Beers
Litchfield
Elizabeth Bissell
Do
Mary Bissell
Do
Mary Boardman
New Milford
Matilda Boyd
Monroe N. Y. Do Litchfield
Catherine Brown
Brimfield Mass.
Achsa (?) Catlin
Litchfield
Rebecca Cochrane
North East N. Y.
Elizabeth Cone
Norfolk
Julia M. Cushman
Troy N. Y.
Harriet Dean
Blooming Grove N. J.
Clarissa Deming
Litchfield
Louisa Deming
Do
Elizabeth Goodwin
Do
Mary E. Goodwin Jane Grant
Dover
Minerva Harrison
Litchfield
Drusilla Jackson
Do Castleton Vt.
Mary Langdon
Do
Sarah C. Boyd
Mary E. Brace
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Elizabeth Leonard
Corinna Lord
Salisbury Md Litchfield
Clarissa Norton
Do
Elizabeth Parker
Do
Mary Parker
Do
Ann Peet
Canaan
Mary Perkins
Lichfield
Nancy Perry
Brimfield Mass.
Laura Porter
Salem
Elizabeth Prince
New York
Julia Radcliffe
Buffalo
Phoebe Ann Rankin
Newark N. J. First Prize Do
Susan Rankin
Caroline T. Robbins
Mount Sterling Ken.
Sharon
Caroline Shipman
Newark N. J.
Mary Ann Smith Adelyne Stone
Litchfield
Harriet Swan
Sharon
Sarah G. Thomas
Newark N. J.
Jane Wadhams
Goshen
Marana Wadhams
Rochester N. Y.
Harriet Wadsworth
Litchfield
Ellen Ward
Do
Ann S. Whitman
Farmington First Prize
Julia Webster
Brooklyn N. Y.
Elizabeth Winship
Francis Woodruff
Sophia Osbourn
Litchfield Do Salem
Total 52
Northfield
Mary G. Sears
-
LUCY SHELDON'S (MRS. THERON BEACH) HOME, NORTH STREET
Built by Dr. Daniel Sheldon, 1783. Lucy Sheldon's father, Dr. Daniel Sheldon, was known all over the State of Connecticut. His son, Daniel Sheldon, Jr., was Chargé d'affaires to Albert Gallatin when ambassador to France, and acted as ambassador when Mr. Gallatin was absent. The piazza was added later.
EXTRACTS FROM THE "PRIVATE JOURNALS OF MR. JOHN P. BRACE"
PRIVATE JOURNAL 1814 NO. 1
The stream of time rolls swift along,
A mighty river broad and strong,
A tide that never ebbs or fails,
Nor waits for bad or prosperous gales.
But once embark & nothing stays, Then roll on minutes hours & days,
And still the ship ne'er stops her course,
Nor years delay her onward force, Nor seaman's strength can furl one sail
Or wield one oar to breast the gale;
But self impelled in its caress
The ship sails on from year to year
Till Time's broad stream becomes a sea
The ocean of eternity.
J. P. B.
NORTHAMPTON Saturday Jan. 1, 1814
I cannot express the rapid flow of time better than to think how often on the first of January I have complained how year after year "Time roll'd his ceaseless course." One wave after another of this vast sea breaks & is lost upon the sand. We view it swelling towards us; we look again & see it no more, but we see another towering in its place. Thus does one year after another glide along & thus has this year advanced but to give its place to another. The situation I desired on last year, I have obtained, that of supporting myself and as I do it & do it genteely I should rest contented. Teaching the unruly boys of Northampton is not quite as easy or as pleasant as teaching the girls at Aunt's but I shall be there next summer. Next term I shall feel more contented for I intend to establish a credit mark system & then I can govern them better.
SUNDAY 2
In the evening went to W. Fowle's with the younger set, the girls of 16 & 17 Maria Fowle, Harriet & Sally Butler, Mary Townsend & Elizabeth Clark and a number of young fellows. Enjoyed myself considerably well, what a person wants in such a company is a pocket full of small talk & gingerbread conversation. Button, present a lady & every such play that used to occupy the capacious minds of our belles last winter are employed here. But they enjoyed themselves & that was sufficient and tho they might have exposed themselves to
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the ridicule of Dr. Ichabod1 if he had been snarlish, he was full of frolic himself & on that account feels no disposition to satirize the rest. MONDAY 3 Began my usual employments and spent the day as usual. In the evening wrote on history. Have got to the middle of the awakening.
TUESDAY 4 Mercury 15 degrees below cypher.
WEDNESDAY 5 Nothing new, the younger set had a sleigh ride. They wished me much to go but I could not.
THURSDAY 6
Had a letter from mother, nothing new. In the evening the three Miss Centers, Miss Van Ness, Miss Nancy Barrill & Miss Leavitt were at our house. Abbey & Margaret, Miss Van Ness & myself played whist about all the time. I like Miss Van Ness very much. She is an interesting amiable girl. Enjoyed myself very much. They said considerable about Caroline Dewey. I waited upon Miss Leavitt home. FRIDAY 7 Wrote mother. In the afternoon examined my school. In the evening at Mrs. Barril's; Electa, who is a very good scholar, commenced Rhetoric on last Tuesday.
SAURDAY 8 Finished my first quarter. In the afternoon ran around town. SUNDAY 9 In the evening the "Intra Mintra" Society met at our house "I was very much entertained" Their conversation so refined & so literary led me not from but into a hard headache.
MONDAY 10 Had my things from home. My charts etc. but no letters. I spent the day doing nothing. Have finished Second Term Senior Year.
TUESDAY 11 Commenced my second quarter with 18 scholars among whom is Louisa Henshaw. In the evening I attended a party at E. H. Mills Esq. As usual upon such occasions a great & brilliant collection engaged in different pursuits tho' all aiming at one great end that of pleasure. Nothing peculiar marked this party from others that I have attended. We separated by half past eleven.
WEDNESDAY 12 Another party at Mr. Lane's & a very pleasant one but marked with no uncommon occurence. I enjoyed myself as much perhaps as I have done at any party. Came away at about eleven.
Jan. 31 1814
I have been waiting the whole of the month, on account of Miss Clark's painting a title page for me so that I have not written any journal. Nor have any events occurred that required a particular relation. A general account of the month will answer. My laughing about the "Intra Mintra" Society reached their ears and occasioned their anger. To add to this my scholars found my parody on Vale of Avoca and declared it was written about Eliza Henshaw. It flew 1 John P. Brace.
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around town with the rapidity of lightning. Thirty copies it was said, were taken in a short time. In order to describe its effect it is neces- sary to say a few words upon the general character of the inhabitants of Northampton. A character totally different from that of those towns in which I have yet resided.
Involved as they are in the accumulation of wealth they pay little attention to any other acquirement than those that will enable them to acquire it or assist them in spending it. It is far very far from being a literary place. Its men being engaged in active life and its women in a life of pleasure cannot pay that attention to polite literature and the belles lettres sciences as Litchfield does where leisure and fashion give scope to that kind of entertainment. The people of N-n are not unrefined. I know of but few people who are more so - but it is the refinement of dissipation, the refinement that results from high life & polished society not that which originates from the mind, from acquaintance with literature. No literature mingles with their socie- ties even the polish of novels & poems and novels & poems polish conversation, even that is wanting in a very great degree and tho' found in some individuals yet is carried no farther. They of course possess different ideas of politeness & polish than what I have been accustomed to and would be apt to think my manners rather strange.
The utmost extent of polite life here is to give & receive company and to appear to advantage as the hostess of these parties. The daughter's business is to learn to decorate her person, shine in parties & balls and play a game of whist. They are divided into two sets. The youngest are girls of fourteen to sixteen and behave exactly like all girls of that age, as Levi's party did last winter. To this I might have made a popular beau had I chose to have mixed much with them. But, they are too young for my situation tho' not for my age and to have been a declared beau to the Intra Mintra society would have injured the respect some of my scholars bear me, for almost all my girls are members of that ever to be admired club. Still I might have continued popular among them even if I should not mix with them were it not for my laughing about their meetings. The other collection have so many of the blood royal among them and are characters of such immense magnitude and of such great importance that they think every gentleman except some of their brothers or cousins must be struck with awe in seeing them and never approach them without a palpitating heart and a humble submissive look, and this they receive from almost all their beaux. I who have been accustomed from my youth up to females in every situation and of every appearance feel that they are beings of a dif- ferent stamp and on that account treat them with a confidence that is allowed of in other places but which here is called assurance and impudence. It mightily affects their blood royal to see a little puny
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school master "come between the wind and their nobility", but this is confined to few. But all these are so accustomed to the old beaten track of their forefathers and in feeling are such plain matter of fact people that any sensibility or enthusiasm which is so common in Litch- field and so pleasing from its novelty in Catskill will be here entirely out of date. A lover in the Litchfield sense of the term is a fool and if he writes love sick poetry, worse, of course I and my piece, under the idea it was designed for Eliza Henshaw was entirely damned - but when the truth was ascertained the tide of popular opinion changed and it was thought well enough. A poet is a character here sui generis and is talked of & praised unless he is in love.
These rules however change under different circumstances. If I had property and royal blood I believe I could make enthusiasm & sensibility by the ton, but the great characters John Henshaw, Lewis Hunt, George Hinchely have never tried it, of course its effect is not known. John Brace the school master would be hated and despised for doing that for which John Brace the man of property & family would be followed. However, I do not care. I came here to get their money and thrash their children, the reign of enthusiasm friendship & love will return again, then I can indulge in it. If I should live here two years I should lose all enthusiasm and become quite of an every day character, I then should discover their characters, and accomodate myself to their notions.
My employments have met with no diversity. There have been no parties and I have visited none. Commenced the third Term Senior Year. Have received a number of letters from home from Aunt Mary. Mother 2 and Abel 1 & Ann have written two letters to Aunt 2 to Abel one to Mother one to Ann two to Mary, one to Sarah Deming. (Scrap 24) Commenced copying my letters to Judd as they were the best I ever wrote. Mary Townsend has gone away & with her the greatest aid that the Intra Mintra's had, for now my words and actions will not be criticised. This ends January. Next month I am of age and a new scene of action will be opened before me.
NO. LVI PRIVATE JOURNAL 1814 NO. II
"When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but now I have become a man I must put away childish things."
1 Cor. XIII. 11
NORTHAMPTON February 19, 1814
The beginning of this month passed away like the last, in the per- formance of the same duties and enjoyment of the same feelings. In 1 Brother to John P. Brace.
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the routine of pedagogical employment but few events will occur that are of sufficient importance or of sufficient entertainment to be re- corded on the pages of a diary like mine devoted to the ebullitions of sensibility & enthusiasm and consecrated to perpetuate the memory of friendship or love. In my present circumstances I can but little expect to meet with any of those occurences that formerly gilded these pages with the feelings of a romantic love or darkened them by the rav- ings of romantic despair. But still altho these fancied joys "have ceased to glimmer on my mind yet the "light of hope lingers still behind." She still sheds her brilliant beams over the future and bids me anticipate the time when enthusiastic sensibility can again hold her sway and I again indulge in those fairy dreams of love that once danced before me.
But I should seek to destroy her factitious light. I should seek to drive away the wish always to wander by the moonlight of romantic hap- piness when I could toil to some purpose in the sunshine of real utility. I should no longer aim to find a seat "in love's Elysian bowers" but should rather wish to take the common road to fame and prosperity.
On this day I arrive at the age in which by the laws of my country I am left to the control of myself. On this day, I am Freed from the dominion of parental austerity I am now an American citizen. I am now a man and "the childish things" of romance & friendshop & love should be flung aside.
On last night I attended a small party at Mr. Ashmun's. It was a very stormy night. The snow fell in sheets, of course but few attended. I came in at eight and was very much diverted by the uncommon velocity of tongue and rapidity of language used by a Miss Mary Dwight of Springfield. Her tongue run on the true style of female loquacity. But her conversation was replete with humour & enter- tainment - good sense is not looked for in N-n parties.
After the company were generally gone I enjoyed myself very much in a game of whist with Mrs. Jonathan Lyman. Mr. Lyman & Miss R. Ashmun playing together. I know of but few women that are superior to Mrs. Lyman. I mark her down as first in this place. A woman possessing elegant manners and a cultivated understanding much superior to the trifling minds of those who surround her.
Feb. 20th.
In such a monotonous life little can be found to record on the pages of a private journal. I can merely relate. I should attempt a daily relation that on Monday I kept school and whipped A- On Tuesday I kept school and whipped B in the evening at Mrs. Barril's and so on thro' the week & thro' the Alphabet. The trouble of keeping school is oc- casionally ameliorated by seeing some of the fair damsels with which this place abounds & much more by the attentions of Mrs. Barril's family.
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MORE CHRONICLES OF A PIONEER SCHOOL
Keeping school is in some respects a pleasant employment. - but this is true only under certain limitations & under certain circum- stances. Situated as I am now among a set of such ungovernable boys that nothing but the rod can influence and noisy girls that are affected by no power that I can bring situated under these circum- stances, it is impossible for me to receive that satisfaction in keeping school as I did last summer. Instruction is pleasant - it is generally "a delightful task: but where one is obliged to beat it in by dint of great exertion it ceases to be delightful. But in my girls this winter I have not to complain that they are obliged to be compelled to study - Ambition actuates them to employ every moment to advantage but ambition cannot influence them to keep still and I have not as yet learnt the art of government sufficient to make them fear me.
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