USA > Illinois > De Witt County > History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 28
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Tunbridge township has ten schools, all in good condition ; that in the village of Kenney a graded school of three depart- ments, under the care of Henry E. Sisson at present. Some of the men who were prominent and who aided and encouraged the school-work in the townships of Barnett and Tunbridge, were: Andrew Wallace, Judge Lowry, John Barnett and Mr. Randolph. Later, were their descendants, and others, among whom many will remember those genial men, Judge J. R. Hall, Robert Barnett and John Kenney, all of whom held a high place in the hearts of those who knew them. Others, still living, who were pupils in these early schools, and could tell the story of those good old times better than I can write it, are the How- ards, Randolphs, Thornleys, Brelefords, Fruits, Butlers, Halls and Humphreys.
Waynesville .- The first settlers of what is now Waynesville township, took special care in educating their children. They early began preparations for schools, the result of which is, her citizens have long been prominent in the county's history. J. J. McGra v is worthy of especial mention from the fact of his long service as a teacher and school officer, having been elected to the office of School Commissioner at the very first election of officers at the county organization in 1839, to which place he was continuously elected for eighteen years. The building of the first school house in that township dates back to 1835. It was constructed after the style of the times and rndely furnished, and located three miles east of Waynesville on the farm of John S. Strange. J. J. Mc- Graw also tanght this school, which was attended by pupils from all parts of the township, and was a kind of High School in its time. We are told that at one time there were but three spelling books in the school from which thirty pupils learned their les- sons ; other books were equally scarce. As the population increas- ed other schools were organized and other houses built for school parposes, all the people of the neighborhood assisting, some furnishing the material, others converting it into a house. When the 16th section of land was sold, which was about 1840, the
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HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
township was divided into districts and the proceeds of the sale distributed among them. In 1848 there were in operation in the township five schools, most of which had good buildings, furnish- ed in the approved style of the times. The schools of the town of Waynesville deserve more than a general mention. In 1836, after various buildings, that happened to be vacant had been occupied, school was opened in the M. E. Church, which was used for two years. In 1840 the number of children was so large that it became necessary to divide the school. So iu 1842 both the M. E. and Presbyterian Churches were pressed into service, until 1858 when they built their present two story frame house.
Besides the public schools just noted. Waynesville at various intervals until recently, has supported a select school. The Misses Leeper in 1852 and 1855, assisted by Miss Linzey, con- Inoted the private school. In 1856, II. J. Harris was principle of the school. Another who will long be remembered for his ability as an instructor and also as a gentleman, was Frank Longbrake. In 1866. J. G. Turner took charge of the school which he conducted till 1870. This gentleman although peculiar in his make up, was possessed of sueb unbounded enthusiasm and indomitahle energy that the school reached a high plane of use- fulness. Since that time there seems to have been little interest on behalf of select schools. The interest in home education in and around the village appears to be less now than it was twenty years ago. Waynesville township now has six school districts with a school property valued at ($77,000.) The number of pupils in the township is 288. The amount of expenses inenrred by these schools during the year ending June 30, 1881, was ($1883 29.) Paid their teachers ($1390.92.) Their present school fond is ($1085.38 ) Their prosent trustee is Wm. Gam- brel, Sr, and their present treasurer, William Cantrell, who has served in that capacity about sixteen years
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Wapella. - The earliest school history of what is now Wapella township has been referred to above. In 1848 the first frame school house was built in the township, and Trustum Hull taught the first school in it. He continued to teach very successfully in the schools of different townships for several years. Since his retirement from the school room, he has almost continuously acted as the township Treasurer. Among the citizens who have been interested in the educational work of the township may be named the Swearingen's, Brown's, Harrold's, Homer Buck, Walter Karr and Peter Crum Wapella Township has four school dis tricts all having good, well furnished houses, and no bonded debt.
Santa Anna -- The first school-house was built of hewed-logs, on the highest bluff in the township overlooking Salt Creek, one mile south-west of where Farmer City now stands, in 1835, by the following pioneers : Dennis Hurley, Richard Webb, John Donner, Nathan Clearwaters and Richard Kirby. The first teacher was John Heath, the second was Celia Lowry ; others followed. These were subscription schools, and many of the older citizens. who were pupils in this rural academy, still retain vivid impressions made upon their hacks by the hickory sprouts and ironwood twigs. The old school-honse has long since been removed and there is not a relic left to mark the spot, save the beatiful hard-maple grove, near which it stood. Other schools were established in the township of a like character, but they have all given way to better ones, and the present schools, six in number, are as good as any elsewhere in the county, each having a comfortable, well-furnished house. There is but one graded school, that at Farmer City. It has a good, two-story brick building, finished iu 1873, at a cost of about $1600, with
bonds all paid off but one, which is due and will be paid in 1882. There are eight rooms in the building, accommodating about 350 pupils. The ground upou which the house stands is a beautiful plat, occupying a block of ten lots, baudsomely laid off with walks, and set with shade trees, and is reached by good walks from every part of the city. This building is a palace when compared with the old school-house, which did, indeed, seem like an old corn-crib infested by rats before its nse was discontinued, as the writer can testify, having spent one unfortunate year of school life within its smoking walls.
The first school taught in the new building, was in charge of Prof. M. Jess, a very efficient teacher, who remained about five years in the school, raising it to a high standard, when he retired from the place to take charge of the Leroy School, where he still remains. Among the pupils of Prof. Jess, are to be found many occupying honored positions as lawyers, physicians, ministers and teachers. Mr. Garrell succeeded Prof. Jess, but could not sustain himself, and Prof. William Smith, of Normal, was called to finish the unexpired term. Mr. Smith was re-elected the next year, but was elected County Superintendent of Schools, of MeLean County and resigned to assume the duties of his office. Prof. W. D. Ilall was then engaged to take charge of the school, but owing to various circumstances was nnsuccessful in its manage- meut, notwithstanding, he is regarded by many competent judges as the best educator ever in the county, and is ranked among the most excellent and thorough in the state. He was eccentric, but needed only to be known to be loved. J C. Seullin, of Logan County, succeeded him, and held his position one year. Mr. Gay next served a year or two, when L P. Brigham, of Arcola, a graduate of Normal, and a good teacher, assumed the charge, which he held for three years. Ile left to go into the practice of medicine, and Allen J. Stults, the present incumbent, was elected to take charge of the school, which opened September 21st, 1881. Mr. Stults is endeavoring to bring about a better system of gradation, and being a very practical teacher, the prospect seems fair that the school will be prosperous and active under his management. A number of the principals and assistants who have taught in this school were graduates of the Normal Univer- sity. Farmer City is alive to her educational interests, and has usually a very efficient Board of Directors. Its present board, J. B. Lewis, Wm. T. Bean and S. C. Copen are careful in the management and hopeful for the future. The standard of the school has alternately advanced and retrograded during the past eight years, which cannot be avoided when there is so fre- quent a change of teachers.
Harp Township .- Some of the earlier teachers were Jefferson Cross, Ab-alom Hamilton, Susan MeCuddy, Elizabeth Thomp- son and Harvey Blount. The latter was looked upon at that time as an expert in his profession, He has taught about forty winters, most of them in De Witt County, and probably the oldest teacher now teaching in it. There are eight districts in this township, all having very good houses, and an enrollment of 264 pupils. The school-property is estimated at $3,650, and no bonded debt.
Texas Township .- The first school-house, one of the log-cabin kind, was built in 1835, on or near the site of the present Texas school-honse. This school has been the leading one in the towuship, having had in the past, as at the present, some very efficient teachers. Many remember the late F. M. Van Cne as among the leading teachers of a late day ; also Stephen Adams and G. C. Kelly, who now has charge of the schools, and others, will be remembered as successful teachers in the years to come
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HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Texas has nine districts, all having neat and well furnished houses, some of them comparatively new. The schoul fund amounts to $1078.58. Edwin Weld, the present treasurer, has served a number of years very efficiently in that capacity.
De Witt Township .- The earliest school in this township was taught in an old kitchen belonging to Benj. Day, and fitted up after the style extant. The school was taught in the winter of 1856 and '57 by F. S. Robbins ; it was entirely a private enter- prise. In June of 1837, this sixteenth section of land was sold for 85.00 per acre. The same year organization of the townships into school districts took place, and five trustees were elected, namely : Hiram Chapin, Benj. Day, R. J Dusenbury, James McCord, and Orin Wakefield. The latter was appointed Treas- urer. The towuship was at first divided into three districts. each district soon provided itself with a log cabin and whatever furniture was needed. The interest and state fund paid a large part of the teachers salaries, which were very low. In a few years District No. one, after using the old log cabin near the grove for some seven years, built a brick building in Marion, (De Witt,) which they still occupy. Mrs Nellie S. Richards, an experienced and thoughtful teacher, presides over the school at present. In a few years after the first organization, District No's I and 2 were divided and District No. 4 was formed. This dis- trict in 1846, built the first frame school house iu the township, which was finished and furnisbed in the most approved style. De Witt has likewise been favored with good teachers, and she has among them some of the most substantial and honored men of the county. We take great pleasure in recording the names of our old and well tried friends Col J. J. Kelly, and the Hon. Wm. H. North, upon the pages of the county's history Botn of these gentlemen served a term of four years each as county Superintendent of schools, under whose supervision we had the honor and pleasure of holding certificates and teaching. Another name that will long be remembered especially by the young men and women, to whom he taught the higher branches and gave a lift in life that enabled them to succeed as practical and definite workers in their chosen calling, is P. V. C. Pool, who taught a private school for a number of years near De Witt. Other teach- ers were Mr. Tavener, Betsy Weaver, Cynthia Vincent, and J. D. Chapin.
Rutledge Township .- The first school ia this township was taught by Robert H. Pool, about 1838. Ile was a mau of more than average ability and an earnest worker in the school room. The school house was located in the timber about a quarter of a mile west of where the Fuller school house now stands. It also was a log house like the others of that day. The teacher and large boys gathered wood at playtime to burn during school hours. Daniel Craig was the second teacher, and John E. Dougherty, a young man of good ability as a teacher, was the third. These were subscription schools, the teacher receiving $2.25 a quarter for each pupil, the schools averaging from 15 to 20 scholars. Thus the teacher received from 12 to 25 dollars per month and board among the scholars. The log school house was used till about 1845, when a frame was built, known as the Rut- ledge school house There are now six school houses, one brick and five frame. The Fuller school house is the finest country school house in the county, and iu contrast with the old log house first built marks well the advancement of thirty years. The prominent men who labored hard to push forward the cause of education in the early settlements were John E. Dougherty, Peter Brickey, John McCord, Wm. Lafferty, and Thos. Vande- venter, the last named being the only one now living. The prom-
ineot early teachers were R. H. Pool, Peter Brickey, J. E. Dougherty aud Mr. Tavener. Of the successful teachers of a later day we have space to name but one, Dr. Wesley Anderson, the finest scholar that ever taught in the township, and a superior mathematican. He claimed to have been the first to figure out and publish the total eclipse of the sun in 1869. Ile introduced the higher branches in his school at Fuller school house and aroused an interest in the cause of education in both old and young, giving bountifully from his storehouse of knowledge by night schools and lectures to all that would attend.
Wilson Township .- Among the names that are prominent in the educational affairs of the present day are the Wilsons, Wald, Hurd, Hubbell, and Cains. There are six school districts with good houses and an enrollment of 230 pupils. The present School Fund is 81333.20. The present Treasurer John T. Hub- bell.
Nixon Township-The sale of the school land of this township was made in 1852, but the first record of a school is 1856. This school, a summer term, was taught by John A. Helmand, at the Twist school house. The old school house is still occupied by the district for school purposes. The present teacher is Miss Alice Branson. The meeting of the first Board of Trustees was in Dec. 1855. In Feb. 1856, the school fund amounting to (84442.00,) was paid by Lawrence Weldon, School Commission- er, to the Treasurer of the township. This town-hip has always been favored with excellent teachers, many of whom have since filled honorable positions. Some of those who merit mention are Joseph Andersou, A. E. Hilton, Henry S. Green, now one of the leading lawyers of the state, Rufus Crocker, Edmund Deverse, W. B. Caldwell.
Creek Township .- The first house built in what is now Creek township, was after the prevailing style of logs with roof of clap- boards held to their place by weight poles. It was situated ju the timber and about one mile from Lane station. It is probable that the first teacher was a crippled man by the name of Jeffer- son Cross. Another of the early teachers whose work has been of great value was Walter Roben, who is still an honorable resi- dent of the township. John P. Mitchell and Mr. Pool were also at one time teachers in this township.
Clintonia Township .- Probably the first sebool opened within its boundaries was in 1834, hy Mr. Lowry in the old court house. At all events we learn that he taught the first school in the town. The schools were taught, either in the court house or in rented rooms, by Mr. Lowry, (who was the first probate judge elected iu this county), Dr. Gardner, now of Farmer City, and others until 1841, when the first school house was erected. It was a rough frame building, constructed we understand, entirely of oak, even the siding and shingles were of black oak, and the effect of a year or two's sunshine and storm, caused such a shrinking and warping of the parts that in a few years it was unfit for use. In winter it was too wet when it rained and too cold when dry. There was no lot purchased on which to erect it, but it was placed near the center of the street running south from the court house, (which was situated on the site of the present temple of justice), and there it stood for many years.
That school houses in general, and this house in particular was not the pet of the people then living in Clinton, as its treatment will fully show. In 1846 the prospect of war with Mexico loomed up in the near future, and Clinton not to be behind her neighbors, sent to Bloomingtou and procured a nicely mounted six pounder, and we venture to say that more hats were passed around for the purpose of raising money to pay for amunition to
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HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
be used in firing that canon, than for any other purpose. If the gun was fired in the evening or nt night, it was considered a loud call for every adult, male and female, and all the small boys within hearing, to appear iu Clinton the next morning to hear the news. As the prospect for war increased, the desire to shoot somebody or something increased, and a contribution was taken up in order to get the necessary amount of lead with which to make balls for the canon. This ball took more lead than was to be obtained in Clinton, and a messenger was soon started for Bloomington or Decatur to get the necessary number of bars of lead, which was soon melted and beaten into a very respectable ball, a little larger than a man's fist. And now the inquiry, " what shall we shoot at?" "what can we hit ?" and it proved a staggering question-no stumps, no trees, big enough for any
dumb with astonishment, and either from a dislike to have him succeed in anything he undertook, or in the belief that he would or could beat the tax unaided by them, most of the opponents of the tax stayed away from the polls or refrained from voting and "for the tax" carried easily, and the house was built the same fall. This we believe was the last organized opposition to school houses in Clinton. The house then built answered well for some years, but proved too small in time, and the present house was built, and while it is almost the only ornament in the town, we think it an expensive luxury unless run with all the economy consistent with good tenching and good management.
To resume the history of the teachers, Mr. Wm. Bates is the first teacher who remained for any considerable length of time, teaching mostly in the old court house and in his own private gunner to risk his reputation by using either as a mark. In the . house. His pupils were from the families Argo, Newcomb, Crum, houses there were families and there were uo barns. In this ex- Gideon, MeElhanie, Woodward, Long, &c. His first school was in 1847. In his later schools were the children of De. J. Warner, Dr. Adams and Eller Barger. Mr. Bates is remembered as having introduced and practiced other modes of rewards and puo- ishment than the use of the rod, so familiar iu all the early schools. The ticket system of governing will be remembered by many who attended and procured prizes with the price of their carefully hoarded treasures, on the last day of school, when an auction sale was held and the articles sold were to be paid for in the little diamond-shaped tickets held by the pupils as a reward for good lessons and good behavior. One of the largest boys acted as auctioneer, in which capacity, if we are correctly in- formed, Lee MeGraw would especially distingnisced himself. After the sale was over and good byes said, home the children went to show their treasures and boast or bewail their bargains as the case might be. In view of the success of these primeval methods of controlling as chool, I doubt whether we moderns have so very much improved on them after all. Mr. Bates' school seems to have been the dawn of a better day for the schools of Clinton. Following him was Mrs. Acres. Then came Mr. and Mrs. John Heldman, who probably made the first attempt at teaching a graded school in this county. Among her teachers and school officers Clinton can boast of many good men and women, some of them have since won for themselves rank among the leading educators of the state and others have distinguished themselves in other walks of life. tremity, some one suggested the school house as the fortress, to be demolished. This idea " took well," and the man in that crowd who would raise his voice or say one word to save that house from such an indignity, would have been looked upon as a public enemy, advised to keep silent if he knew what was for his own good, and ranked with Tom Corwin who had just made the most brilliant speech of his life, npon the Mexican question. The canon was located on the square to the east of its center, the school house being a little west of south and in full view. It was a rich target, and so arranged that if the bullet passed through or over the house and went on to Salt Creek, there was no danger of hitting any building, and every person within carrying dis- tance of the gun was supposed to be at its side or safely standing in the rear. The first shot we are informed missed the house, passed on over it and on into the timber, and the cry of "lost ball " was emphatic and sorrowful. Another subscription stared them in the face, but a contest between their patriotism and their already depleted pockets, was avoided by the cry "let us find the ball." A range was obtained from the muzzle of the gun to the first shrub or limb cut off by the bullet, and by a rude system of flagging it was soon found and brought back in great glee. A shot or two more and one could see the shingles fly, and in a short time the house was ruined, but the patriotism of the people was exhibited in a remarkably expressive manner. The school house stood there unrepaired for several years. Finally it was purchased by a clergyman named Collins, who removed it Among those deserving mention we will name James M. Ewing, now a member of the honorable law firm of Stephenson & Ewing, Bloomington, Ill., also Miss Lizzie Smith and Miss Sophia Granger, both graduates of a seminary in Cincinnati, and excel- lent teachers. Mrs. Granger, who labored long in the schools of the towo, foreseeing the need of preparation for her chosen profession, had taken a regular course of instruction before enter- ing upon her work as a teacher, and having this special training together with her superior qualities of mind and heart and the irreproachable example of her every day life, she was an inspira- tion for good to her pupils and an ornament to society, and the resignation of her position in the schools was a matter of regret to the community. Another was D. W. Russell, who will be remembered as having taught a school of high order in the Christian church, in 1856. He was a model teacher in our opin- ion, and, we understand, has since become an eminent and wealthy physician. Another was Prof. J. M. Powell, who for some time after acted as curator for the State Museum at Normal, and gave to the world glowing accounts of the western wilds in his able articles on the Canyons of the Colorado." and converted it into a dwelling. Whatever schools there were after that, for some years were taught in rented rooms and in the Disciple and M. E. Churches, until about the year 1856, when a new school house was built which Mrs. Savage now occupies as a dwelling, one block south of the present school building. This second house in its day was considered too expensive for the dis- trict, and yet it only had four good school rooms. A vote for the tax to build it was only carried on the third election, and then, we are informed, by a manoeuvre of this kind. John J. McGraw, C. H. Moore and another man were directors. They had put up notices calling the election in the district to vote for or against the tax. At this-the third election C. H. Moore refused to sign the notices, but took great pains to see every known opponent of the tax before the day for voting, telling them it was a great outrage to call a third election-the tax had been beaten twice and that was enough-now he was with them against the tax. He thought if they would all come out and vote once more against it, that would end the matter, otherwise, he was fearful the tax would carry and the house be built. Mr. Moore's chang- ing to their side paralized the opponents of the tax, struck them In the year 1856 the new school house being completed, T. N.
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