USA > Washington DC > The chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 > Part 17
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" Music was very cautiously introduced into the schools. On the 7th of October, 1857, it was ordered by the board that ' the children, or such of them as would agree, may be taught music at their own ex- pense.' In the following December, Mr. Magee stated that ' a large number of the scholars had placed them- selves under Mr. Hunter, who was teaching them music scientifically, and that their progress was a
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source of congratulation." In August, 1860, ' permis- sion was given for the introduction of singing into the schools, provided such arrangements be made without expense to the board.' In April, 1863, Mr. Magec was instructed 'to converse with Mr. Daniel, music teacher, on the subject of giving instruction to the town schools.' In 1864, a music master was included in the academic staff, at a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars.
" From 1865 to 1870, the administration of the board received many tokens of public approbation. The ladies held a fair for the benefit of the schools, in April, 1866; and Mr. Magee handed to the guardians the net proceeds thereof (four hundred dollars), with a recommendation that it be devoted to the establish- ment of a library for the schools. The board approved the recommendation; but when they took under con- sideration the room to be provided for the books, the librarian to be appointed and paid to distribute and to take care of them, and the binder's bill for occasional repairs, the project was given up, and, with the con- sent of the ladies, the money was spent for a piano for use in the higher schools. Major George Hill, Jr., also presented to the six schools as many beautiful silk flags, and Captain Thomas Brown gave nine neatly bound volumes suitable for premiums. All these donors were tendered the thanks of the board.
" New schools were the chief topic at the meetings of the guardians, and the aid of the corporation was again invoked; and a lot, on Prospect Street, about to be sold at that time, was withdrawn from market
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and transferred to the board. Meanwhile, room was made for thirty scholars more in each of the schools in the High Street building, and the necessary assis- tant teachers were added to the preceptoral force. In 1868, the corporation appropriated fourteen hundred dollars for the schools, and ordered that city stock be issued to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, the proceeds of which were to be placed to the credit of the school fund. Proposals for a building were at once invited, and of seven, the lowest was for nine thou- sand seven hundred and thirty-seven dollars, and a contract was accordingly executed.
" In 1868, 1869, and 1870, Congress was memorial- ized for help, but neither money nor land was availa- ble for the District schools, although millions of acres were allotted for maintaining schools in the States and Territories of the Union. In 1869, the teachers' sala- ries were advanced twenty-five per cent., and the schools were graded as grammar, intermediate, sec- ondary, and primary. About forty children having been reported as awaiting admission on granted per- mits, two half schools, of thirty scholars each, were or- ganized in the High Street building, and the requisite assistant teachers elected.
" During this period a law had been passed, levying a tax of twenty-five cents on each one hundred dollars of assessed property for the public schools, which yielded about twelve thousand dollars a year. Out of the proceeds the corporation was to be reimbursed for the stock issued in 1868.
" In 1871, the board began their administration full
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of energy and hope. Four hundred dollars were ap- propriated for medals and premiums at the June ex- amination. But their proceedings were interrupted by Congress, which, by an act passed February 21, 1871, put the District under a territorial form of gov- ernment.
" On the 16th of the ensuing June, the following gentlemen were appointed by Henry D. Cooke, Gov- ernor of the District, a board of trustees of the public schools of Georgetown, viz : Anthony Hyde, G. W. Beall, C. D. Welch, W. L. Dunlop, W. W. Curtis, C. S. Ramsburg, and F. W. Moffat. The first regular meeting of the board was held October 3, and organ- ized by the election of Anthony Hyde, president, and W. W. Curtis, secretary.
" At the meeting, January 5, 1872, the salaries were thus graded: teachers of the male and female gram- mar schools each, one thousand dollars; teachers of intermediate, eight hundred dollars; of secondaries, seven hundred dollars: of primaries, six hundred and fifty dollars; music teacher, two hundred dollars. Thus were the ' ornaments of creation,' at last, ranked according to the uses they performed; for which just act the names of these gentlemen ought ever to be held in grateful remembrance.
" Under the new form of government, all public ex- penditures had to be estimated and submitted to the legislature through the comptroller. In response to a communication from that officer calling attention to this law, the board reported, as necessary for the current ex- penses of the year, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars.
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" But a project was under consideration in the board which involved the expenditure of a much larger amount, and which, if successfully consummated, would secure the permanent prosperity of the public schools of Georgetown. Some desirable lots were for sale, suitable for a commodious and elegant school build- ing worthy of the city and of the cause; but the ground and the house would cost not less than seventy- five thousand dollars. The ways and means of raising this amount were the subject of frequent consultations. To these consultations Governor Cooke and superin- tendent Wilson were invited, and contributed essen- tially to a favorable conclusion. The District govern- ment could not give any aid, as the expenditures by the board of public works had emptied the public treasury; and so utterly were the Territorial finances deranged, that the salaries of the teachers in the pub- lic schools of Washington, Georgetown, and the county had not, for some months, been paid. In this strait, Mr. W. W. Corcoran volunteered the loan of a sum sufficient to pay the salaries for two months. The offer was gratefully accepted. and Mr. Corcoran ad- vanced twenty-five thousand five hundred and ninety dollars, without interest.
" The consultations, meanwhile, were continued. and resulted, finally, in a proposed coalescence of interest between the ' Peabody Library Fund,' the . Linthicum Institute,' and the public schools of Georgetown. George Peabody had donated fifteen thousand dollars to certain trustees, for founding a public library in Georgetown, and Edward Linthicum had bequeathed
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fifty thousand dollars for establishing schools for free instruction to the children of that city. The negotia- tions preliminary to this union were not encouraging, but an arrangement satisfactory to all parties was finally agreed to, and the monument of that satisfac- tory arrangement is the Curtis school-house. In that spacious and elegant building, named in honor of Mr. W. W. Curtis, president of the existing board, are ample accommodations for the Peabody Library, which now consists of about fifteen hundred volumes, with space for five thousand more. There are also, for the use of the Linthicum Institute, rooms for scholastic exercises and for public teachers. The rest of the edi- fice is occupied by eight public schools. Mr. Adolph Cluss was the architect.
"In 1873 a new primary school, the sixth, was es- tablished, and the board estimated the expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1875, at eighteen thou- sand dollars; but their proceedings were again inter- rupted by a remodification of the local government. By act of June 20, 1874, the Territory was transmuted into a province, and the administration thereof was invested in a triumvirate commission. The Commis- sioners consolidated the school boards of Washington, Georgetown, and of the county into one board of nine- teen trustees, eleven of whom were to be residents of Washington, three of Georgetown, and five of the county. This board has jurisdiction over all the pub- lic schools of the District, without discrimination of color. Every change of official management, howso- ever advantageous, is disagreeable to persons accus-
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tomed to the old routine; and this change was, no doubt, inconvenient to some. But experience has rec- onciled all. Instead of many different organizations for a similar purpose, the entire District contributes all its resources, and concentrates all its energies to a single end, and all harmoniously co-operate in meas- ures productive of more general good.
" The following statement exhibits the condition of the schools in Georgetown :
Number of scholars. 1,439
Number of teachers : male, 1; female, 21 22
Salaries of teachers $ 17,200 00
Expenditures, including payment of pre- vious debts 89,107 15
Receipts. 33,037 30
Value of school property. 137,350 00
Average cost, each scholar 22 80
" The history of the schools in Georgetown embraces sixty-six years, during which period we have seen, despite all vicissitudes, annual improvement. The trustees never neglected their duties. Out of nearly four hundred meetings, there were not twenty non- quorums. No one seemed to consider his appointment as a sineeure, but discharged his high duties with fidelity and industry. The places of many of these faithful servants have been vacated by death or other casualty. but as examples of official punctuality and energy we recall the names of Brown, Shoemaker, Jewell, Tenney, Bangs, Osborn, Magee, Addison, 34
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Hyde, Ould, Adler, Marbury, Beall, King, Magruder, Dunlop, Ramsburg, Curtis, and Moffat.
" The guardians never ' despised the day of small things.' They were just as solicitous for the welfare of the humble Lancasterian School as they could have been for that of a renowned university. They took a heart interest in the scholars, and, in their treatment of them, seemed to bear in mind that they were soon to become their fellow-citizens. Allusions to their gratuitous tuition were never obtrusively made, and nowhere on their minutes or on any document can be found the word ' pauper.' 'Charity scholars' was used in an ordinance of 1812, but the epithet was never repeated. It was ordained, indeed by the corporation, that the scholars, after completing their education, were to be ' bound out,' according to the laws of the country, and that parents able to pay for their chil- dren's tuition should be required to do so ; but neither provision was ever insisted on. Indeed, the 'free ' schools of Georgetown were, from the beginning, ani- mated with a patriotic and independent spirit.
"The Corporation of Georgetown was always friendly to the schools, and assured their success by its enlight- ened policy. It was, indeed, cautious at times, as it behooved delegated authority to be, but the solicited aid was never refused.
" Georgetown has now seventeen public schools, containing about fifteen hundred scholars; but a large proportion of her juvenile population is unprovided with schools, and it is impossible for that city to sup- ply them. The necessity of education and the inade-
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quacy of her resources to impart it have been repeat- edly made known to Congress, but no relief has been granted. Lands worth more than a hundred millions of dollars have been given to the States for universi- ties and schools; and even to the Territories more than thirty million acres have been granted for like uses, but not a section nor a rood to the District of Col- umbia !"
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CHAPTER VIII.
OAK HILL CEMETERY, AND GENEROSITY OF W. W. CORCORAN -HOLYROOD CEMETERY-PRESBYTERIAN BURYING-GROUND- METHODIST BURYING-GROUND.
Oak Hill Cemetery, located on the heights of town and bordering on Rock Creek was, previous to it oc- cupancy as a cemetery, known to our old residents as " Parrott's Woods;" and the hills, covered with lofty oaks, extended their shady bowers in every direction. It was the play ground of the school-boy, and the resort of the weary citizen from the cares and turmoils of city life. Many of our citizens who, when boys, have romped and played under the wide spreading oaks, gathering acorns in playful mirth, or hunted over the ground with dog and gun, little thought that it would be their final resting place under that Divine injune- tion-" dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." This grove was dedicated by common consent to the celebration of the 4th of July, where the Sunday school children of our town were wont to assemble and cele- brate the birthday of American liberty in prose and song; but their voice of music is no longer heard, and wafted by the western breeze to the shores of the At- lantic; neither do we hear the bursts of eloquence which flowed from the lips of the impassioned orator when mind infused itself into mind, but in their stead, silence reigns supreme. Some of the towering oaks
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have been leveled with the ground, and the willow and the cypress will supply their place, and the out- spreading branches and sombre foliage of the funeral yew will be planted there.
This cemetery owes its origin to Col. William W. Corcoran, a native and former resident of George- town, who conceived the idea of laying out a burial- place for the public good; and, consequently, he pur- chased fifteen acres of land of Lewis Washington, of Jefferson County, Virginia; and when the charter of the Oak Hill Cemetery Company was passed by Con- gress on the 3d day of March, 1849, he generously conveyed this land to the company for the purpose of a cemetery. More land has since been added, until the number of acres have increased to thirty-six; and the whole is divided into lots of such sizes as to suit the means of every family. The number of lots sold up to the present time exceeds twelve thousand, and the number of interments four thousand.
The generous donor who originated the cemetery, has continued his beneficent donations from time to time, in laying out and embellishing the grounds at his own expense. There has always appeared to be a silent effort made to bury in oblivion what ever was done by Col. Corcoran towards the cemetery, until a committee was appointed by the lot-holders, February, 1869. When they became aware of the fact, that the records of the company afforded no account of the ori- gin of the cemetery, at the time of its institution, now twenty-eight years ago, it was known to all that the originator of the cemetery was Col. Corcoran, and that
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to his taste and munificence, the company are indebted for this beautiful burial place. The general knowl- edge and recognition of the fact was probably the rea- son why it was not made a matter of special record on the journal of the company ; but this omission, has, no doubt, been remedied, and the history of the ori- gin of the cemetery has been engrossed on the books of the company.
From the record of the investigation by the com- mittee appointed to examine into the affairs of the cemetery company, it has been ascertained that the following donations have been made by Col. Corcoran :
Expenditures in purchase of land June 7th, 1848. $ 3,000 00
Expenditures for dwelling house and chapel, from 1850 to 1853. 9,400 10
Expenditures for iron railing, from 1852 to 1853 3,582 54
Expenditures for improving grounds ... 24,176 28
Ditto for various other purposes ..
79,841 08
Making a total of $120,000 00
The committee expressed their surprise that no rec- ord whatever is to be found of these original donations, either on the journal or account-books, and would beg to recommend that suitable entries be made of all these matters before anything else is done. If this has not been done, the chronicler will record them in his book, to be read as long as his book will last.
If we take a stroll through the cemetery, we find that neatness and order reigns supreme. The lots are
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laid out with mathematical skill, the most of them containing three hundred square feet of ground : others, again, have a larger number of square feet, and are suitable for the erection of a vault or mausoleum. We see here the granite monument erected to E. M. Stanton, the great War Secretary of President Lin- coln, who died on 24 December, 1869; also the monu- ment to General Jesse Lee Reno, who fell at the bat- tle of South Mountain, on the 14 September, 1862; also a spacious tomb to Samuel Hooper, a Representa- tive from Massachusetts, who died February 14, 1875 ; and a monument to Bodisco, the Russian Minister, who died January 28th, 1854 ; also to Charles B. Fisk, the chief engineer of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, who completed it to Cumberland. A lofty monument is erected to Fowler, who died at sea in 1850. Intes- tate and unmarried, his heirs in the District of Col- umbia inherited his fortune, and erected this monu- ment to his memory. There are two mausoleums in the cemetery; one erected by Col. Corcoran; the other is the Van Ness mausoleum, transferred from II Street, Washington City, and said to be a copy of the temple of Vesta. This tomb is constructed of stone, and is an open dome with pillars, and a deep vault beneath ; and is said to have cost thirty-four thousand dollars. Just in the rear of the chapel is a monument erected to the memory of Major George Peter, who died June 22d, 1861. He commanded the Artillery Company from Georgetown at the battle of Bladensburg, on 24 August, 1814. John Kurtz was Ist lieutenant, the late Judge Morsell was 2d lieutenant, James A. Ma-
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gruder was 3d lieutenant. Major Peter, after the war, represented his district in Congress for several years.
HOLYROOD CEMETERY.
This cemetery is situated at the junction of High, Fayette, and Madison Streets, and embraces several acres of ground. It is situated on a high elevation, from which a full view of Washington and George- town, and all parts of the District, can be obtained. It is a lovely place for a city of the dead ; and when laid out into lots and graveled walks, with a planta- tion of trees, will compare with any cemetery in the District in beauty and location. To improve a ceme- tery requires considerable labor and money, which might be raised by the ladies of the congregation do- ing as the ladies of the Presbyterian congregation did when their cemetery was in a state of dilapidation- going to the lot holders and collecting five dollars from one, and ten from another; and those who were not able to pay, to give a few days' labor in the ceme- tery. In this way Holyrood would soon improve in appearance, and become a resort for strangers as well as the citizens of the town. Certainly, those who are lot holders ought to take a pride in beautifying the grounds. One could plant flowers, another trees, others could gravel the walks.
PRESBYTERIAN BURYING-GROUND.
This cemetery lies between Fourth and Fifth and Market and Frederick Streets, in Georgetown, in square number ---. on the new map, and is probably the oldest burying-ground in the town.
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The following communication was published in our town paper some forty years past :
" MR. EDITOR : Once in a year, for many years past, have I made a pilgrimage to the grave-yard (belong- ing, I believe, to the congregation of the Presbyterian Church, in the northwestern part of Georgetown,) to drop a silent tear upon the tombs of departed chil- dren and friends; but language cannot describe my feelings on visiting the mansions of the dead a few days since. It would have been difficult to believe that the grounds belonged to a Christian community
had I not known that they did. The broken fences, open gates, and grazing cattle upon the very grass that flourished over the bosoms of departed worth ; the marks of sacriligious destruction upon the monumental pile by idle, rude, and vulgar hands, sickened my very soul, and almost determined me not to be buried in a place appropriated for the dead, or even to allow a turf to mark the spot where my remains may rest.
A NON-RESIDENT."
When the above communication made its appear- ance, a number of ladies of the Presbyterian congre- gation called a meeting of the lot holders, and determ- ined to have the grounds placed in a suitable condi- tion ; for that purpose they made collections among the lot holders, and had a new fence erected, the briers and bushes cut down, the lots sodded, and the walks graveled ; so that it has from that day to the present a genteel appearance, to attract the eye of a stranger or non-resident. This was the principal burying ground until the laying out of Oak Hill Cemetery in 1850.
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In looking over the tombstones, the chronicler dis- covers that Robert Peter, the first mayor of George- town, died November 15, 1806, aged eighty years ; John Barnes, who was collector of the port of George- town for twenty years, and founder of the poor-house, died February 11, 1826, aged ninety-six years ; James Gillespie, Member of Congress from North Carolina, died January 11, 1805; Mary Bohrer, wife of John P. Bohrer, died August 8, 1844, in the ninety-seventh year of her age; Elizabeth Thompson died March 9, 1847, aged eighty-seven years; William Waters, a sol- dier of the Revolution, died August 19, 1859, in the ninety-third year of his age; Col. George Beall, born in Georgetown, February 26, 1729, died October 15, 1807, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. The town must have been a village at the time of Col. Beall's birth.
METHODIST BURYING-GROUND.
This burying-ground lies upon the banks of Rock Creek and the road leading to Lyons' Mill. This ground was conveyed by Thomas Beall to Ebenezer Eliason and others, by deed dated October 13, 1808, recorded March 6, 1809, in liber V, page 295. It was divided into lots, and many of them have been sold to various citizens of the town and used for the burial of the dead. There is a disposition to sell this ground and apply the proceeds to other purposes, but this can- not be done. The best way is to turn it over to Mount Zion Church, on condition that they keep up the fence and put the grounds in order.
CHAPTER IX.
HISTORY OF POTOMAC LODGE, NO. 5, F. A. A. M .- SKETCH OF THE CHESAPEAKE & OHIO CANAL-THE OUTLET LOCK-ACT OF CONGRESS PROVIDING A FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
" The committee to whom was referred the duty of collecting the books, records, and relics of Potomac Lodge, No. 5, and of making a report on the same, respectfully submit the following report, in which they have briefly sketched the history of the lodge, and of Masonry in Georgetown, as connected with the books, records, and relics collected by them.
" In order of date, the first relic that we find be- longing to the lodge is an old bible, published in Edinburgh in 1754, with this inscription on the fly leaf: ' A present from Mr. Colin Campbell to St. An- drew's Lodge, the 30th January, 1773, Bladensburg.' This bible has been in the possession of our lodge from its first organization, under its present name, in 1806. It may have belonged to a Lodge once in ex- istence at Bladensburg, which was at that time a place of more importance than at present, but, according to our oldest living member, as received by him through tradition, it belonged to the first lodge of Masons that ever was in Georgetown, and was presented to it by a resident of Bladensburg.
" We know that lodges of Masons were formed in this country when colonies of Great Britain, under
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charters granted both from the Grand Lodge of Eng- land and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and, their work being somewhat different, they held no Masonic intercourse with each other until after the revolution- ary war, when they came together and formed Grand Lodges. It is probable, from the name, that this was one of the lodges of Scotch Masons, and we know that the first lodges here, and this lodge when reor- ganized in 1806, were mostly composed of Scotchmen.
" Our oldest member, Bro. James King, who was initiated in 1810, says that at the time, and for some years afterwards, this was the only bible used in the lodge.
" Of this ancient lodge we know nothing except by tradition; but we find that at a meeting of the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland, on the 21st of April, 1789, a petition was presented from a number of respectable brethren from Georgetown on Poto- mac River, praying for a warrant from the Grand Lodge to authorize them to convene as a regular lodge, which petition was granted; and Brothers Fierer and Grier being present, were, agreeably to the request of the petitioners, installed as Master and Sen- ior Warden, and, at the same time, received their war- rant, authorizing them to hold their lodge at George- town, on the river Potomac, in Maryland, distin- guished by the No. 9.
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