USA > Connecticut > New London County > Old Lyme > The educational history of Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1635-1935 > Part 11
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By 1800 Lyme had regained much of its former trade and was well on the way to its heyday of maritime prosperity. Many carriers went weekly to New York and Boston while others turned their courses toward Nova Scotia or the Carib- bean. Many families of Lyme look with pride upon their kinsfolk of postwar days who were either builders, navigators or owners of vessels. This came at the high point in the mari- time interests of Lyme and brought with it wealth, culture and a general deepening of the roots of the town. Lyme was taking advantage of its combination of land and sea transpor- tation and through it her commercial barons built the fortunes upon which the later life of Lyme was so securely founded.
The national period also brought with it a renewed but somewhat changed interest in education. The people lived for the most part in rural areas where material recuperation was their most pressing need. New types of internal disputes and conflicts developed a critical period in which education made
83. Roberts, Historic Towns of the Connecticut River Valley, p. 59.
84. Burt, Old Silltown. A short monograph. See especially the story of Lieutenant David Fithian Sill and his oldest son, Captain Thomas Sill.
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Ecclesiastical Control.
little real progress. The religion also, which had monopolized colonial thought, now gave way to a new type of political discussion. There seemed little time, opportunity or means for schooling and all education was forced into a temporary decline. 85 The conditions of the war which brought the people temporarily closer together were soon separating them into definitely crystallized groups with specific religious, political and social characteristics. The educational needs of these people lacked the common religious motive of earlier years and the newer ideas of citizenship, developed through an in- creased manhood suffrage and the reduction of the property qualification for voting, had not as yet established themselves. District schools for the common people declined while private academies, with religious training and a practical-arts curricu- lum, became increasingly available for the children of the privileged classes. Academies at New Haven, Fairfield, Leba- non, Plainfield, New London and Cheshire offered these facilities before 1800. To what extent Lyme boys benefited by them we cannot now know. Education through local private group instruction was a more probable practice.
With the end of the war, however, Lyme turned her at- tention almost immediately to the administration of her com- mon schools and elected a committee of eight men represent- ing the eight areas of the first society, with instructions to divide the society into seven or eight districts, as they deemed best. On January 14, 1784, this report was accepted; and the districts which they laid out became the permanent district divisions of Lyme until their final dissolution in the latter part of the nineteenth century when consolidation gradually absorbed them. 86
During that same year a special tax of two pence was voted to pay the arrears on the schools and from then on for ten successive years the only action taken by the ecclesiastical so- ciety was its annual vote of two or three pence on the pound for a school rate and the election of eight committeemen
85. Knight, Education in the United States, Chap. VI.
86. Lyme Records, Meetings of the Ecclesiastical Society, 1721-1876, Janu- ary 14, 1784.
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chosen from the eight school districts, each of them a school committeeman and collector in and for the districts in which he resided. The last reference to school matters in the records of the First Ecclesiastical Society of Lyme, which appears un- der the date of December 7, 1795, was an unconfirmed mo- tion by Colonel Parsons that the balance of the school money in the treasury, being about £3, 8s., od., be applied toward purchasing a horse for the society.8
With this the manuscript records of nearly a century of ec- clesiastical control of schools in Lyme come to a colorless close, leaving the schools in a condition of general disintegra- tion. Ecclesiastical control was then supplanted by a new type of state legislation supported by a more heterogeneous elec- torate. This legislation, known as the school law of 1795, made provision for a secular and less centralized system of public education.
This new school legislation reflected a condition that had been gaining both momentum and bitterness as the eighteenth century moved forward. It came to a head at this time as the result of a combination of political and financial circum- stances. Connecticut was still operating under the charter of 1662, and in the absence of a new constitution the union of the civil government and the Congregational church was preserved in spite of protests. The increasing numbers of dis- senters in the state, who demanded a right to vote on school affairs, were automatically excluded from the ecclesiastical societies which had the schools in charge. In Lyme these dis- senters were early released from paying school taxes; and in 1792 the general town tax for the support of the minister (the Congregational minister) was discontinued and the sale of pews to church members was substituted as a source of funds. These negative provisions were considered, however, as palliatives and the law creating school societies, separate and distinct from the old ecclesiastical societies for the man- agement of common schools, clearly indicated the changing influence of the Congregational church within the state.88
87. Lyme Records, Meetings of the Ecclesiastical Society, 1721-1876, De- cember 7, 1795.
88. Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, VII, 562.
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Ecclesiastical Control.
The school societies were a peculiar feature of the Con- necticut school system. In area they conformed to the pre- vious ecclesiastical societies. Here all dissenters, all electors and persons qualified by law to vote in town meetings had an equal voice in all school affairs. In 1798 these school societies were given power to appoint not more than nine school visi- tors, with power to examine teachers, remove those found in- competent and superintend and direct instruction. They were to visit the schools at least twice each year and partly to direct the reading of the Bible by the pupils. In the lean years of waiting for the larger grants from the permanent school fund a tax of two dollars on each thousand dollars of assessment was voted for school support. This was in effect a continuance of the country money provided by the law of 1 700.
Financial aid for the support of this new state program was provided through the creation of the permanent school fund already referred to. During the year 1786 Connecticut re- linquished to the United States the major portion of her rights in the "Western Reserve." In 1792, 500,000 acres out of the total 3,300,000 acres reserved by the state were set aside to pay citizens of Danbury, Fairfield, Norwalk, New London and Groton for loss of property caused by the burn- ing of these towns by the British during the Revolution. A later act of 1795 authorized a committee of eight men, with Governor Treadwell as chairman, to sell all the remaining lands. A vigorous attempt was made to set aside the proceeds for the use of churches in order to replace the former town tax for the support of ministers. The final act, however, set up a permanent school fund of $ 1,200,000, the interest of which should be used forever for the support and encourage- ment of the public or common schools. This was first divided among towns according to their lists of taxable property; but after 1820 it was divided according to the number of children in the several towns between four and sixteen years of age.
The town of Lyme opposed both the sale of these "West- ern Lands" and the method of appropriating the funds so obtained. Other funds accruing from excise money were also voted for the use of schools as early as 1754 and continued to the end of the century.
116 Educational History of Old Lyme.
By an act of 1794 the state permitted these newly formed school societies to organize, to choose a clerk, to hold meet- ings and by a two-thirds vote of all qualified voters to lay a tax for the purpose of building or repairing a schoolhouse. This tendency toward further segregation of districts, as units of school administration, clearly presents the general practice followed in Lyme between 1784 and 1794. The isolated dis- trict school was thereby more firmly entrenched as a result of this legislation.
Under the almost immediate inspiration of this new school legislation the residents in one of the districts in Lyme (prob- ably one of the districts now in East Lyme) gathered during the week preceding Christmas in the year 1798 to dedicate their first schoolhouse. One of these residents was Judge Moses Warren Jr., who had been invited to give the address of dedication. In the back pages of a notebook used by him to record the official memorandum of lists in the thirty-seventh assessment district in 1798, a penciled copy of this address remains as a memorial to this district school and to the erudi- tion and philosophy of its chosen son. Here he pays tribute to the state legislature for its large appropriations for the use of schools and stresses the primary value of well informed and well behaved masters. He also favors a curriculum in- cluding reading, writing, arithmetic, composition, debating and public speaking and opposes in common schools the in- troduction of higher mathematics and languages. He then touches gently on the delicate subject of religious education and closes with the statement that "the Decalogue should never be omitted and that every scholar that can read should have it ready by heart."89
With these new legislative provisions for education and with a new sense of political equality and power, we move forward into the era of steamboats, railroads and manufacture. Leaving behind a century of rather simple, rugged and homo-
89. Warren, "Memoranda of Tax Lists of Lyme," 1789. Pencilled copy of this address is to be found in the back of this old notebook. This is reproduced in part in James, "Education and Schooling in Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1635- 1935," Appendix X.
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Ecclesiastical Control.
geneous social organization, marked by the steady decline of the original aristocratic Puritan control, we enter a period of unprecedented social differentiation. Growing changes in population, in politics, in religion and in economic opportuni- ties introduced corresponding changes in educational needs and educational experiences. The church and the home, hav- ing become inadequate agencies in the cooperative education of the young, now deferred to a more general program of public education. This program became at once one of the major concerns of the nineteenth century. Secular schools administered by school societies and supported in part by the permanent school fund provided for public education in the new commonwealth. So, with the standards of our forefathers to secure us and the impetus of the new state to inspire us, we cross the threshold of the new century-a century in which public education becomes the challenging grist in a mill of drastically conflicting social forces.
IV.
A Half Century of Social Transition. The Period of the School Societies,
1795-1856.
I HE state activities most significant to education dur- ing this particular period were of a political, economic and religious character rather than strictly educa- tional. There was an astonishing growth of dissent and irreli- gion which gradually permeated all ranks of society. This ir- religion gained in strength, took the offensive and finally became aggressive in thought and radical in politics. This change was accompanied by a great economic awakening which brought about a general shift in the industrial life of the com- munity. Agriculture gave way to manufacture, banks replaced the country storekeeper as a loaner and broker, and insurance companies were founded. As wealth and western emigration increased, it became necessary to stimulate domestic industry and to improve agricultural methods in an effort to induce men to remain at home. They knew the freedom of the fron- tier and, in exchange, demanded religious and social equality, practical democracy and popular sovereignty. An understand- ing of these factors is basic to an appreciation of the long struggle for public education which was waged so fiercely during the later part of this transition era.
In 1800 the second census of the United States gave to the state of Connecticut a population of 250,000. Of these, 4,357 lived in the town of Lyme, within approximately the same area as that claimed in 1667 by its thirty original proprietors. Somewhat over one thousand of these were males over six- teen years of age.1
Connecticut was in the flood tide of prosperity, one of the richest states in the Union. Wars abroad favored trade which
I. United States Census, 1800.
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School Societies.
in turn stimulated both industry and agriculture. The country as a whole was also in a state of mental and physical expan- sion. The opening of the Northwest Territory led to a great westward movement, and the same lands that brought wealth to the schools of Connecticut lured throngs of her sons and daughters to permanent homes in the new west. Many towns in Connecticut were more populous in 1800 than in either of the following decades until 1840. In fact, the population of the state was at a veritable standstill. The census figures for Lyme show similar changes: in 1800 the population was 4,357; in 1810, 4,321; in 1820, 4,069; and in 1830, 4,084.2 Town records of Lyme for 1815 registered a total population of 4,321. There were 500 freemen and 567 dwellings. These figures were no doubt reduced somewhat in 1819 by the set- tlement of the town of Salem, which took a portion of the less populated northern area of the town of Lyme. The later set- ting off of East Lyme in 1839 and of Old Lyme in 1855 came well after this period of population change, attributed to the "westward movement."
The same forces, however, that were working to attract people into these new lands were also favoring the parent state. More goods, more transportation facilities, better com- munication and more trained men were needed to meet the demands of this expanding nation. Connecticut was well to the front in seeing her opportunity and the quiet town of Lyme soon found itself on one of the busiest crossroads in New England.
At the turn of the century the mail facilities of the country were greatly improved. Postmasters were assigned to the ma- jor cities and towns in the United States. All letters going less than forty miles carried a charge of eight cents and this scale was graduated very rapidly upward as the mileage in- creased. In Lyme the postmaster's position was held by Marshfield Parsons, keeper of the Parsons Inn.3
By 1850 the mail routes were extended and the rates modi- fied. Postmasters were allowed a commission according to a
2. United States Census, 1810, 1820, 1830.
3. Connecticut State Register, 1800.
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Educational History of Old Lyme.
government regulation. In Lyme Center and the three post offices in outlying areas the amounts of mail for that same year were the following:
Lyme $427 in letters
$187 in commission
North Lyme
54 in letters 22 in commission
Hadlyme 97 in letters 42 in commission
South Lyme
64 in letters 29 in commission4
Then the great development of turnpike companies, previ- ously referred to, was an important link in the simultaneous development of ferries, bridges and stagecoach lines. Inns provided rest and shelter for both horses and men and around their great log fires many unanticipated business ventures were kindled. Men of affairs from the great coast cities met here the industrial leaders and financiers of the small towns who were eager for current news of every sort. In Lyme, all stages stopped at Parsons Inn and frequently travelers re- mained for the night and spent their evenings in the nearby homes of the commercial men of the town.
These turnpike companies also had roads passing through the northern part of the town which must have provided many a thrill for the people of this quiet countryside. One of these was the Essex Turnpike Company which was granted a char- ter in May 1822,5 provided it would maintain a ferry over the Connecticut River at the north cove in Essex. Its road was to run through Essex and Lyme. This turnpike appears to have been the road running from Ely's wharf ferry to the New London and Lyme turnpike at the foot of Rogers' Lake in the northern part of Old Lyme. The town's eastern roads were made free in 1825 but the western roads were not relin- quished until 1860.
The Salem-Hamburg turnpike formed soon after in 1824
4. On receipt of $100 or under of letters, 40 per cent; on receipt of from $100 to $400 of letters, 331/3 per cent; on receipt of from $400 to $2,400, 30 per cent; on receipt of more than $2,400, 121/2 per cent; newspapers and pam- phlets, 50 per cent. Connecticut State Register, 1850.
5. Wood, Turnpikes of New England, p. 391.
6. Ibid., p. 379.
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School Societies.
appears to have started in Salem Center and passed through North Lyme and Hamburg to join the Essex turnpike a short distance east of Ely's ferry. This made a through route be- tween Norwich and Essex and it is reported that Andrew Jackson passed over this turnpike in 1833 when on his presi- dential tour of New England. It is believed that this entire franchise was discontinued in 1860.7
Bridges and ferries increased at a similar rate. The first bridge across the Connecticut River was built at Enfield in 1808 and by 1840 seventeen bridges were listed in the state. Similarly in 1820 the two ferries entered in the state register were those at Middletown and Saybrook, but by 1840 busi- ness had created a need for eighteen ferries. Of these, five had their eastern terminals on Lyme shores: Saybrook, Chap- man's, Warner's, Brockway's and Ely's.
Picturesque as must have been those great sloops which carried on the maritime trade of Connecticut before 1825, still more thrilling must have been the first two steamers, Oliver Ellsworth and McDonough, which appeared in 1824, under the management of the Connecticut River Steamboat Company, to carry on an uninterrupted communication be- tween New York City and Connecticut River ports.9 These steamers were met in Lyme, at Calves Island wharf and Ely's wharf, by stages which took passengers to New London and Norwich.1º This connection provided the fastest means of travel between New York and Boston in the years previous to 1839, at which time the Boston, Norwich and New London railroad began operations. The paddle wheel had appeared in a new role to speed up civilization and to write its chapter in the romance of transportation. It intensified the possibili- ties of internal communication and gave impetus to local in- dustries.
At the same time there was an extensive maritime industry. Hartford had a thriving trade with Barbados, Cuba and Santo Domingo. In high-water seasons goods left Hartford in top-
7. Ibid., p. 392.
8. Connecticut State Register, 1840.
9. Harwood, History of Eastern Connecticut, p. 463.
10. Burnham, The Diary of Josiah Burnham, 1824.
122 Educational History of Old Lyme.
sailed schooners, in full-rigged and in sloop-rigged brigs. At other times Hartford's boats loaded at New London where branch offices and warehouses were established soon after the Revolutionary War. Outgoing boats carried corn, cornmeal, oats, hay, hogshead staves, boards, shingles and horses. Im- ports were rum, molasses and sugar. Lyme carriers were in- terested in this same trade and, in some seasons of the year, provided a considerable employment.11
Lyme men were owners and captains of many vessels. The Mathers' trade with the West Indies was brisk until the War of 1812. They shipped out chiefly horses, mules and cattle. Then in 1810, when Nathaniel and George Griswold estab- lished a lucrative trade with China, Captains Israel Champion, William F. Griswold and Lynde Rowland of Lyme com- manded some of their vessels. Again in 1821 John Griswold established his famous packet line between New York and London. Many Lyme neighbors were engaged on these ships, while others were officers and large owners of the ships they sailed.12
Among the early sea captains of Lyme sailing from New York to European ports were the brothers Josiah, Joseph and John Burnham, and Joseph Hughes. To South America went Captain Samuel Waite in command of large trading vessels. In more recent years similar commands were held by Horace Champion and Daniel K. Moore. Many coastwise vessels were active in regular trade between Boston and the Gulf of Mexico. Numbers of these vessels were built in Lyme by men who knew and loved the sea. Among their captains, the names of Nathaniel C. Conkling and Joseph Peck are familiar.13
Shipbuilding was a common industry in the Connecticut River towns. Middletown, Haddam, Essex and Saybrook built many sloops for the ocean trade. John Tinker began to build boats at Essex in 1720. Here Uriah Hayden later built the Oliver Cromwell, one of the first warships owned by the newly formed United States government. Haddam also built
II. Morgan, Connecticut as a Colony and as a State, III, 137-147.
12. Salisbury, Family Histories and Genealogies, II, 42.
13. Burnham, The Diary of Josiah Burnham, December 1821; July 1826.
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a brig as early as 1734 and by 1814 Haddam residents owned eight ships aggregating 1,597 tons. Among the Saybrook owners and builders were "Messrs. Jno. Kirtland & Bros."
To them, on January 14, 1809, came a letter of interest here because it was sent from New York by "Hall and Hull," a firm composed of Deacon William Hall (son of Abel and Hannah Brockway Hall of Lyme) and "- - Hull," a brother of Commodore Isaac Hull. The letter reveals both their plans and the magnitude of their enterprise.14
The conditions which affected shipping generally were the same conditions which changed the type of life in Lyme.
Up to the Revolutionary War and again from 1782 to 1808, the year of the embargo, the West India commerce was sufficient to
14. Harwood, History of Eastern Connecticut, pp. 476-477:
"New York, Jan. 14th, 1809. "Messrs. Jno. Kirtland & Brothers,
"Gents-Provided that you have timber on hand suitable, we propose to you to take one half interest in a Small pilot boat Schooner of about 110 Tons. Should you ac- ceed to this proposition you will commence building her immediately, and forward us an order for such articles as you wish us to supply. We recommend giving her a great length, and let her be sharper than this description of vessels have usually been built with you, pierce her for about 14 Guns, and give her a roomy deck, with a full harpin. You will inform us what quantity of composition it will take to light water mark. We think by increasing the trunnels, we can do with much less composition, and the ex- pense will not much exceed that of Iron, do not inform anyone what descriptioned ves- sel you are about to build, or who you are concerned with, perhaps it will be well to hold up an idea that you are building a Sloop, to prevent others following your exam- ple, let us hear from you on this Subject soon.
"Yours Friends
"Hall & Hull."
The schooner was built and when launched was so sharp that she lay over on her bilge, and they were forced to ballast her before they could get her spars in. When she went up Sound it was said that she made the best time ever known between the river and New York. This craft was designed to run the French ports blockaded by the Eng- lish.
Her commander is not certainly known, but is supposed to have been a Captain Wil- liams, of Potapaug. She was loaded with coffee, and dispatched for one of the French ports, off the mouth of which she arrived in a thick fog. The mate tried to prevail upon the captain to attempt the passage before the fog should lift, but he refused, and the consequence was that when the fog lifted, she lay within range of a British man-of- war. Owing to her superior sailing qualities, she would have escaped as it was, had not an unlucky shot carried away one of her spars, when she was forced to surrender. Had she succeeded in getting in with her cargo, the fortunes of her owners would have been made.
124 Educational History of Old Lyme.
engage the interest of the ship owners, who furnished the transporta- tion, the merchant, who handled the goods, and the farmer who pro- duced the horses, farm products, pipe staves and lumber for export. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, foreign competitors turned to their long neglected shipping. The West India trade of the colony was diminished, shipbuilding and shipping de- clined. New York became the center of commercial activities. New London turned to whaling. Other towns turned to manufacture.15
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