USA > Illinois > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Illinois > Part 27
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sent to school, with a certificate of the time a school was kept up, with the expenses of the same. Persons over the age of twenty- one years were permitted to attend school upon the order of the Trustees; and the his- tory of education in Illinois discloses the fact that it was no uncommon thing for men beyond the meridian of life to be seen at school with their children. The law required teachers, at the close of their schools, to pre- pare schedules giving alphabetically the names of attending pupils, with their ages, the total number of days each pupil attended, the aggregate number of days attended, the average daily attendance, and the standing of each scholar. This schedule was submit- ted to the Trustees for their approval, as no teacher was paid any remuneration except on presentation to the Treasurer of his schedule, signed by a majority of the Trustees. The law further provided, that all common schools should be maintained and supported by a direct public tax. School taxes were payable either in money or in produce, and teachers would take the produce at market price, or if there was no current value, the price was fixed by arbitration. Fancy the schoolma'am of the present day, taking her hard-earned salary as a teacher in potatoes, turnips or coon skins! We have heard it re- lated of a teacher in one of the counties border- ing the Wabash River, that he was paid in coon skins for a ten weeks' school; and after his school was out, he footed it to Vincennes, with his pelts upon his back, a distance of over thirty miles, and there disposed of them.
When this wise and wholesome law was repealed by the Legislature, Gen. Duncan wrote, as if gifted with prophecy, " That coming generations would see the wisdom of his law, and would engraft its principles on their statute-books; that changes in the con- dition of society might render different ap-
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plications of the same necessary, but that the principle was eternal, and the essence of free and enlightened government; and legislators who voted against the measure will yet live to see the day when all the children of the State will be educated through the medium of common schools, supported and main- tained by direct tax upon the people, the burden falling upon the rich and poor in proportion to their worldly possessions." These predictions, yellow with the years of a half-century and over, have been faithfully fulfilled and verified.
The Duncan school law remained in force only a little over two years, when it was re- pealed. The great objection, as we Lave said, to the law, was the tax clause. This was, substantially, that the legal voters of any school district had power, at any of their meetings, to cause either the whole or one- half of the sum necessary to maintain and conduct a school in said district, to be raised by taxation. And if the voters decided that only one-half of such required amount was to be so raised, the remainder was to be paid by the parents, masters and guardians, in proportion to the number of pupils which each of them might send to such school. No person, however, could be taxed for the sup- port of any free school unless by his or her consent first obtained in writing, though all persons refusing to be taxed were precluded from sending pupils to such school. In al- most every district there were those who had no children to educate, and then there was an uncivilized element of frontier life, who believed education was a useless and un- necessary accomplishment, and only needful to divines and lawyers; that bone and muscle and the ability to labor were the only require- ments necessary to fit their daughters and sons for the practical duties of life. A prov- erb then current was (in many localities),
" The more book-learning the more rascals." To quote a localism of the day, "Gals didn't need to know nothin' about books, and all that boys orter know was how to grub, maul rails and hunt." That senseless prejudice, born of the crude civilization of the early period of the country, has descended, in a slight degree, to the present, and yet tinges the complexion of society in many different localities.
After the repeal of the Duncan law, edu- cation, for nearly a generation, was in any- thing but a flourishing condition, either in this county or in the State. Like the stag- nant waters of a Southern lagoon, it was difficult to tell whether the current flowed backward or forward. For many years the schoolhouses, school books, school teachers and the manner of instruction were of the most primitive character throughout the whole of Southern Illinois. The houses were the proverbial log cabin, so often de- scribed in the early annals. A few of these humble schoolhouses, unused and almost rotted down, may still be occasionally seen, eloquent of an age forever past. The early books were as primitive as the cabin school- houses, and the early teacher was, perhaps, the most primitive of all. The old time pedagogue was a marked and distinctive character of the early history-one of the vital forces of the earlier growth. He con- sidered the matter of imparting the limited knowledge he possessed a mere question of effort, in which the physical element predomi- nated. If he couldn't talk or read it into a pupil, he took a stick and mauled it into him.
The school master usually, by common con- sent, was a personage of distinction and im- portance. He was of higher authority, even in the law, than the Justice of the Peace, and ranked him in social position. He was
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considered the intellectual center of the neighborhood and was consulted upon all subjects, public and private. Most generally he was a hard-shell Baptist in religion, a Democrat in politics and worshiped Gen. Jackson as his political savior. But the old-time pedagogue -- the pioneer of Ameri- can letters-is a thing of the past, and we shall never see his like again. He is ever in the van of advancing civilization, and fled before the whistle of the locomotive or the click of the telegraph was heard. He can- not live within the pale of progress. His race became extinct here more than a quarter of a century ago, when the common school system began to take firm hold and become a fixed institution among the people. The older citizens remember him, but to the young of to-day he is a myth, and only lives in tradition.
The school laws, after the repeal of the Duncan law, were often changed- they were revised and changed again before they at- tained to the perfection we at present have in them. Even now, they are susceptible of improvement, though they are superior to those of many other States. A peculiarity in the different State constitutions is that per- taining to education. The constitution of 1818, while indorsing education in a general way, is silent upon the subject of educating the masses through the medium of the com- mon schools. The framers of the constitu- tion of 1848 went a little further; they said that the General Assembly might provide a system of free schools. It was not, however, till after half a century of existence as a State, that her delegates, in convention assembled, engrafted upon the pages of her organic law a mandatory section, declaring "that the General Assembly shall provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, whereby all children of this State may receive a good
common school education;" and the last Gen- eral Assembly (1882-83), among the few re- deeming acts of its long, turbulent session, was one compelling all parents, guardians, etc., to educate the children intrustedto them.
The first school ever taught in Jefferson County was in 1820, by Joel Pace, whom we have mentioned elsewhere as the first Coun- ty and Circuit Clerk. It was taught in a floorless cabin, without ceiling or window- perhaps without a shutter to the door. The pupils comprised the children of William Maxey, probably, and John and Henry Wil- kerson's, one or two of Isaac Casey's and a few of James and Lewis Johnson's. The next school was taught by James Donglas, at Old Shiloh. Douglas was a man of educa tion, and, it is said, understood several dif- ferent languages. He boarded at Zadok Casey's much of the time, and from him Mr. Casey received the rudiments of an English education. The Shiloh house in which Douglas taught was burned down the next fall, and hence his was the only school tanght in it. Another was afterward built, near the same site. Emory P. Moore taught, perhaps, the third school in the county at Union, in 1820-21. In 1822, W. L. Howell taught in the same house. About 1821-22, an Irishman named Freeman taught a school on Mulberry Hill, in a cabin that had been built by Clark Casey and afterward aban- doned. Referring to the early schools of the county, Mr. Johnson says: "The schools were not large nor learned. The Testament, spelling-book and arithmetic, with writing, constituted the course of study; and it didn't 'ruu smooth,' for nearly all the schools were loud-just as loud as the children's lungs could make them, every one studying at the top of his voice; yet the teachers were more rigorous in discipline than is common at present."
ELI GILBERT. (DECEASED.)
LIShenY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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The following statistics will show some- thing of the present status of education in the county :
Number of children in the county under twenty-one years .. 11,041
Number of children between six and twen- ty-one years. 7,414
Number of graded schools in county .... 2
Number of schoolhouses, brick, 4 ; frame, 90; log, 15; total 109
Number of males attending school, 2,942: females, 2.787; total. 5,729
Number of male teachers employed, 89; female, 52; total. 141
Fund for school purposes from all sources. $38,139.37 Total expenditures for schools, etc. 32,191.23
Balance on hand June 30, 1883. $ 5,948.14
The Press. - A history of the county which did not give a full and complete history of the press would be incomplete, to say the least. Jefferson County. like many other por- tions of the State-and many portions, even, of the whole country -- has been a great news. paper graveyard. For a history of the many enterprises-living and dead, past and present-in the "art preservative of all arts," we are indebted to Dr. A. Clark Johnson, who knows more of the press history, as well as the entire history of Jefferson County, than any other man. living. His sketch of the press is as follows:
It ought not to be difficult to prepare a full and connected account of our newspaper en- terprises, but it is so; and chiefly, we sup- pose, because our papers .changed owners so often, and so many of our editors and pub- lishers have left us. We trust, however, that the reader will find nearly all the lead- ing actors and events in this line in the fol- lowing sketch:
The Jeffersonian. - Our present Circuit Clerk, John S. Bogan, was the principal one "to be, to do and to suffer" in this, our first attempt. A few words of him are not out of place here. The son of a printer, Mr. Bogan
had learned the art in the Congressional Globe office at Washington City in early boy- hood, and followed types till 1840. He then located a few miles out of town, near the line of Montgomery and Prince George Coun- ties, in Maryland. He was born in Shenan doah County, Va., in 1820. His father, Benjamin Bogan. was also a Virginian, and a fine type of that old Virginia gentleman now fast passing away. For many years he edited and published a newspaper in both Virginia and Ohio, and then located in Washington City. Our old editor, John S., has been with us so long that we all know him. He is a part of us-a very large part, for his heart is large enough and warm enough to take in the whole human race. He came here young, and buoyant with hope and life, and now he is growing old and is fast descending the shady side of life. For forty years he has gone in and out among us, and his long and active life is without spot or blemish. Although he long ago retired from the editorial chair, he has always been in public life, until the county machinery would hardly run withont his aid.
He came to our county in 1846, at the sug- gestion of Gov. Casey, who was ever trying to bring the better class of immigration hither, and bought the old Sam Casey place in Grand Prairie. He was quite a success- ful farmer, and remained here till 1851. T. B. Tanner, having learned from Gov. Casey that Bugan was a printer, rode out to his farm and remained a day or two with him, discussing the project of starting a paper in Mount Vernon. The result was that the paper was determined upon, and a subscrip- tion by the citizens footed up $156. A pause ensued. H. T. Pace inquired how much more was wanted. and finding it was $200 offered to loan that sum, taking notes due in one and two years.
8
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Bogan found a partner in the person of Augustus A. Stickney, then at Centralia. Stickney, we believe, was originally from St. Clair County, and was related to the O'Mal- venys. He was a man of brain and vim, but not much physical strength. An old Ram- mage press was secured at Belleville. It had formerly done service at Alton. It was inked with balls instead of a roller. Its mahogany frame would indicate that it had once been a fine one, but it required four tremendous pulls to print a paper. This was too much for Stickney, who got to spitting blood when he went to strike off the paper; so in a few weeks he retired, went to Fairfield and started a paper there. Let us finish him: From Fairfield he went South, and at length brought up in San Francisco, where he pub- lished, and perhaps still publishes, the Alaska Herald. We have a copy of his paper, Vol. VI., No. 140, a good deal English, some Russian, and in his terms he agrees to take greenbacks at par.
The first number of the Jeffersonian was issued in August, 1851. It was a modest sheet, of six column size, with some adver- tisements, and enjoyed a circulation of about six hundred copies. The Hamilton County printing was done here, but beyond this the job work did not amount to much. Prob. ably, in the way of Eastern exchanges, the Jeffersonian excelled any other paper we ever had. The Alton Telegraph and the State Register, both dailies, were also on the exchange list, besides the few papers then published in Southern Illinois, as the Cairo Argus, Benton Standard, Shawneetown Ad- vocate, Belleville Advocate, Salem Advocate and the rest of the Advocates, whether so- called or not. It was not, however, a finan- cial success, resembling, in this respect, Grossman's Benton Standard, and most of the papers of that day in Southern Illinois.
After Stickney left, Bogan had helps- Wallace; Matchett, the universal tramper, who could scare all the boys by his fearful recitations of Shakespeare; Frank Manly, who married and went to Mount Carmel and died; John A. Wall for a short time, T. T. Wilson, E. V. Satterfield, et al. This office produced the first roller ever used in the county. Bogan was the building committee, and Ed Satterfield the master mechanic. Ed Noble made a tin mold; the materials were mixed and cooked in an old iron pot, and the whole performance took place in the mid- dle of Main street, in front of the office. Thus the modern improvements were intro- duced. Yet the enterprise failed to pay, and in three years was hopelessly in arrears-as papers are apt to be when their subscribers are. Pace sued on his notes, and finally Bogan, his paper and his farm all "went under" to- gether.
Tanner, at this time, was Circuit Clerk, having been elected in 1852, and he re- proached himself as the cause of Mr. Bogan's misfortune. Downing Baugh was now Judge, filling the unexpired term of S. S. Marshall. So Tanner, having first obtained a promise of Judge Baugh, resigned his office and Bo- gan was appointed to succeed him. Thus began Bogan's somewhat protracted term as Clerk of the Circuit Court, dating from Sep- tember. 1854.
In August of that year, however, in wind- ing up his affairs, he had sold his old press to Bowman & Robinson for $325 in gold. These gentlemen were from St. Louis; the former a son of wealthy parents, the latter fresh from California; both nice young men -too nice to be satisfied with so rough a press. Before they had run it long, they offered to sell Mr. Bogan the whole concern for about $200. Robinson soon quit, and Bowman persevered for about six months
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when he sold out to Dodds, Johnson & Co. The origin of this company was peculiar. The county had recently come in possession of about 19,000 acres of swamp lands. One party was in favor of selling these lands im- mediately, and talked of a great system of drainage and numerous new schoolhouses as the result. Dodds favored selling, partly, it may be-and very naturally-because he was County Clerk, and would receive $1.50 for every deed made by the county. A caucus of those opposed to selling and in favor of holding the lands as a means of some day securing a railroad. was held- Casey, Scates, Johnson and Tanner, perhaps, forming the caucus. They resolved to form a company and buy the Jeffersonian, and run it in the interests of their railroad proj- ect, fighting the proposed sale of the lands. Of course this design was not even whispered to Dodds. The company was soon formed, composed of W. Dodds, John N. Johnson, Z. Casey, W. B Scates, T. B. Tanner. An derson & Mills, J. Pace & Son. This was in April, 1855.
Tanner, fresh from the Legislature, be- came the editor. A Mr. Smith-not John, but Lute B., from Evansville-an inferior printer but not easy to get rid of, was fore- man, aided by any boys he could pick up, especially, and for most of the time, by John A. Wall. Tanner went to St. Louis and secured a number of advertisements. The people were talked to, and the subscrip- tion list ran up to eleven or twelve hundred. A new press was bought from Frank Manly, and Daniel Anderson took a wagon to Gray- ville and hauled it home. In short, the en- terprise was quite a success. After Dodds, Johnson & Co. had run the concern one year, and had accomplished their design-the sell- ing of the lands had been voted down by the people-but still wishing to have a county
paper, they fell into the generous course of giving the use of the press to anybody that would take it and publish a paper.
The Sentinel .- This was the next paper that made its appearance. Tanner and Tom Casey were practicing law together and Will- iam Anderson was studying. Casey and Anderson were ambitious, and wished to try their hands at the newspaper awhile, and Tanner consented to the use of his name. So Tanner, Casey & Anderson it was. They took the office for one year. The paper was styled the Sentinel, and Anderson was the os- tensible editor. John A. Wall and Joel V. Baugh were the typos. John had been "devil" a good deal, but we believe Joe just went in with scarcely any initiation. It was before Casey had learned to write-we mean like he does on the Judge's docket -so the boys could read nearly all his articles. Tan- ner wrote the long articles-so long, the boys did not have time to correct the proofs care- fully, and Anderson not being a born writ- ing master, it went hard with the editorials. Tanner said that sometimes when the paper came out, and he looked at the " leader," he could hardly remember whether he had ever written anything like it or not. The Sentinel did not prove very profitable, in fact, ii be- gan at the wrong time-just after the Presi- dential election in 1856, when everybody was cooling off so, when the year was out, Tanner, Casey & Anderson went out. And Baugh went out.
The Egyptian Torchlight .- Dodds, John- son & Co. now sold their press and fixtures to William R. Hollingsworth and John A. Wall. They christened their paper the Egyptian Torchlight, and published under the firm style of Hollingsworth & Wall, Ed Satterfield and Sam Bird assisting. In the fall, 1857. Wall withdrew and went to Mur- freesboro, Tenn., and Hollingsworth went on
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alone, but not long. The Torchlight did not shine so long as the Sentinel did-not much over six months-say from spring till late in 1857. Hollingsworth then surrendered the office, not having yet paid for it, and went to Missouri or Arkansas. He came from Iowa. After Hollingsworth & Wall had both gone, Ed Satterfield issued the paper for a few weeks, making no notable change in it except the adoption of a motto that some were wicked enough to say was ambiguous: " Egyptian darkness and Jackson Democracy -one and inseparable." The paper then again changed hands and name
The Advocate .-- This was the name of the new paper. S. Turner Brown was the new proprietor and Ed Satterfield and Frank Dowler were his forces. This enterprise lasted from "late in 1857," vide supra, until very late in 1857-that is, for about three weeks. Dr. Brown was from Alabama by way of Metropolis, and his tall, slender fig- ure, his very (tall, slender coat, his nervous locomotion, his fray with Mr. Thorn, his real estate speculations, his marriage to Miss Jen- nie Lewellyn and his departure will be well remembered by many. The lady mentioned was a niece to H. D. Hinman, was out on a visit from West Virginia, was quite hand- some and accomplished and was with the Doctor when they were heard from-what was long the last time; they were then at Memphis, he a surgeon in Mccullough's army, which was moving into Arkansas. Re- cently we learn that the Doctor now lives near Little Rock, and is succeeding well. After the Doctor left, Ed Satterfield again came in as the forlorn hope, and kept the paper going till after the publication of the delinquent tax list in the spring of 1858.
The Mount Vernon Star. - Up to January, 1858, the press was still owned by Dodds, Johnson & Co., and occupied the room over
Joel F. Watson's store, east of the present Phoenix Block. J. R. Satterfield now bought the office for about $250, and kept it till after the sale of delinquent tax lands, as above-mentioned, when he sold it to Curtis & Lane for $300, and, we suppose, "was happy." The new men, S B. Curtis and James S. Lane, were both from Ypsilanti, Mich., both were school teachers and Curtis had studied law. Wall was in Centralia. and Curtis & Lane sent for him to take charge of the type and press. work, as they were not printers, and Wall felt "passing rich" on a promise of $450 a year. Todd Wilson was his only " devil." We now find the office over James M. Pace's store, in the Johnson House, and the paper comes forth as the Mount Vernon Star, with a Latin . motto, something like Non nobis solum, sed toto mundo nati. The' proprietors were strongly anti-slavery-perhaps Abolitionists would not be too strong a word; but they tried to make the 'paper neutral and failed, as usual. People found them out, and did not support them well. So, in 1859, at the end of one year, they retired, giving Wall a lease for another year. We believe they both returned to Michigan. Lane went into the army and was killed, and Curtis is practic- ing law.
Wall soon after moved the office into the basement of the old Odd Fellows Hall. Todd Wilson and Ham Watson-now Dr. Watson, of Woodlawn-were his helpers. At the end of nine months, Curtis & Lane, and Wall and all of them failed to finish paying for the press;] Wall's lease succumbed to a prior claim, and Judge Satterfield closed up the business by taking possession. But the Star was not extinguished. The Satterfield boys, Ed and John, moved into a room up-stairs in the court house, where it remained until they sold out to Hayes in the fall of 1865. In
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the meantime it was still changing hands. We had Satterfield Bros., or Satterfield & Bro., till 1861. Ned went to the war, and John ran it till the close of the year, then he went South, and Judge Satterfield and Wm. Davisson ran it till the next spring. Ned came back and ran it till fall, then both ran it till Hayes bought it.
The Mount Vernon Guardian .- In April, 1860, the Guardian appeared. It was pub- lished by Russell & Wall. Alex Russell was from Minnesota, and was son-in-law to Mr. Erwin, who had bought and located on the hill where L. N. Beal lives. Russell & Wall bought their press from Judge O'Malveny, of Centralia; it was the same that had been used by the somewhat noted J. G. D. Petty- john, when he was publishing his Modern Pharos. It was located up-stairs in the build- ing now occupied by W. E. Jackson, south side of the public square. This was our first Republican paper; indeed, it rather ;claimed to be a War Democrat. Thus it went on for one year, when Wall joined the army, and was succeeded by William Durlinger, an- other son-in-law of Mr. Erwin. In a few months, Russell sold his interest to Durlin- ger, and went to Belleville, and started the Bellville Democral. Durlinger held up man- fully for some time, but at last gave way, and retired to a farm near Tamaroa. Not liking that, he changed again, went to Belle- ville, and is still there with Russell, publish ing the Democrat. We believe it was in March, 1863, that the Guardian went down.
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