USA > Indiana > Pike County > History of Pike and Dubois counties, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, notes, etc. : together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 32
USA > Indiana > Dubois County > History of Pike and Dubois counties, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, notes, etc. : together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 32
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This teacher would give the children fifteen minutes each day to prepare their spelling lessons, during which time he permitted them to "study out" and not unfrequently in such cases, they would get off the subject. The first free schools were only thirty days long, and the teachers were paid $1 a day. They still "boarded around." When. however. they did board, it was obtained at 30 cents a week. W. J. Grimes is thought to have been the first teacher who ever taught a free school in Patoka Township. He was licensed for four months to teach reading, writing, spell- ing and arithmetic to the "rule of three." Among the more recent teachers may be mentioned William Ivy, Lottie Green, Mattie Edmunson, Byron Brenton, R. W. Hurt, Cicero Agee and John D. Grimes.
Lockhart Schools .- Almost twenty years before Lockhart was separated from Monroe Township her first schoolhouse was built. This was about the year 1833, and it was built on the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 25, Town 2 south, Range 7 west, on a point of land rising a little above the Beaden's Creek bottom and on the south side of the creek about one-quarter of a mile west of the road leading from the Cup Creek Church north to to Beaden's Creek, in a field now owned by Mrs. Mary Martin. This site seems now to have been the very poorest that could have been selected for a schoolhouse, but taking into consideration that at that time the roads or traces, as they were called, followed water courses to a great extent: this was a very convenient location as a road np this branch bottom connected to settlements, the one on the east and the other on the west, with the schoolhouse on half-way ground. The site of the old schoolhouse is known to But few and there are very few of the old men now who can call to mind the fact of its ever having been there. It was 16x18 feet, built of round logs, high enough that a man could stand straight under the eaves, a dirt floor, the roof kept on by means of weight poles, no fire-place, and as the schools were taught in the fall season they did not chink and daub the cracks, in consequence of which the necessity of windows was avoided. The door was made of
HISTORY OF PIRE COUNTY
clap-boards and swung on wooden hinges which caused Fond wer creaking noises when the door was opened and shut. The wt't ing desk was a plank. twelve or fourteen feet loug. that some of the patrons had arrested in its course down the Patoka River. It was placed along one side of the house. just before a large crack. upon pegs that were driven in holes made in the wall beneath. The house was built, of course. by the patrons of the school, at a cost of about three or four days' work each. The following were pritrons of the first school: Daniel Hendricks. the first settler of the tow.1- ship; Peter Kinder. Jackson Davis, Jesse Coker, Comfort Brew - ster, Beaden Davis and John Miller. There were altogether In'- tween twenty and thirty pupils. They came from a scope of country over six miles square. The first school teacher was Beaden Davis. after whom Beaden's Brauch took its name. He was one of the patrons of the school and had a large family of children, all of whom were girls. He was good humored in the main, but knew well how to use the rod or ferule when necessity demanded. In relating an anecdote he was quite successful, gen- erally acting out all the parts while narrating the story. He afterward became a Methodist preacher. He was quite a singer in his day and very sympathetic in song and discourse, the tears flowing readily down his cheeks. when narrating the emotional part of either song or sermon, frequently rising on tiptoe on those parts and then noiselessly relaxing on his heels again. He was a good, quiet, inoffensive man, received from $50 to $60 per term in the pioneer schools. He died at the ripe old age of about eighty. The history of one school of Lockhart is in a measure a history of all her schools. The urchin's mind thirty years ago "might not stretch away into stately halls" yet the same avenues were open to his mind then as now. If he had not so many op- portunities to store his mind, he had fewer things to detract from his work. Lockhart has now fourteen schoolhouses, one a graded school, all in good condition, with an average of seventy days term and wages 82.08 per day. Lockhart enumerates over 700 children.
Logan, Clay and Madison Schools .-- Logan Township formed a part of Madison until 1846. The first schoolhouse within the boundary of Logan was erected by the citizens in 1830. This building was situated on what is now known as the Lewis Wilson
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
farm near the center of Logan Township. It is described as being "about the size of a smoke-house." It was built of split poles, and had no floor, chimney, or door-poles being used to bar the entrance at night. Not a crack was chinked or daubed. The seats (split poles with legs) were arranged around the wall. On one side was a writing desk (a puncheon ) for those who wrote. It is thought that four men could have built such a house in one day. Only one term was taught in this building and that by James Atkinson in July, August and September, 1830. Only a few remain to recount the incidents of that term. One day the teacher's hogs followed him to school, a distance of three miles. Being quite gentle they persisted in going into the house, and had to be soundly thrashed several times during the day to the intense delight of the "scholars".
On one occasion a number of young ladies visited the school, among them a sweetheart of a young man who was in attendance. In his efforts to hide his big bare feet, from her whose ankles "were bare and brown," he thrust them ont through a crack near the ground. This youth seems to have been fertile in expedient and swift of understanding. On another occasion when the teacher was hearing some one recite, a little girl looking out, saw three deer browsing near the house. She told her brother (it was the custom then for teacher and boys to carry guns to school), who put his gun out through a crack to shoot. By this time the teacher had also discovered the game and was vainly endeavoring to persuade his old flint lock to fire. Suddenly the young man's gun was discharged and one deer fell dead. The young man's sister exclaimed, "Ma said this morning we'd have fresh meat because the pot burned." In 1832 the house described was re- placed by a much better one. It was located near the site of the old on the land now belonging to William Carr. It was erected by citizens, prominent among whom were Revs. C. Johnson, Joseph Woodry and Michael Kime and was called the Kime Schoolhouse. This building was much better than the first one. True, it had no floor, but it had a door, shutter and a chimney. This chimney was built of mud and sticks, and rested on a log which extended across the room about five feet from the ground. The fire was made on the dirt floor at the end of the building and as the smoke arose it was intended to pass through the chim-
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ney. Here was taught a school by William Campbell, and another in 1834 by Henry Borders. His patrons were to pay him $1.50 per scholar and pay his board. On Saturday before school opened the patrons had a meeting and sold him out to the lowest bidder. He was duly struck off to Adam Snyder, and Daniel Frederic at 50 cents per week. During this term the teacher taught eight hours per day and killed on an average thirty squirrels per day. Those schools were of course supported by private patronage, the teacher agreeing to teach reading, writing, spelling and arith- metic, to the "rule of three." In the books used at that time this subject began on about the seventy-fifth page. Each pupil recited separately and in the order in which they arrived in the morning. Evidently there was a new program each day. It is remembered that in 1840 one teacher was severely criticized for introducing a scheme whereby a large part of the school was taught at once, i. e. in a class. It was argued that classification could not be too severely condemned since it held back the bright ones with the dull ones. How fiercely the lovers of darkness fight against the first dawning of light. In early times a great variety of text books were used. thus making classification very difficult. One aged teacher remembers that his pupils used as readers the following books: Introduction to the English Reader, The English Reader, New Testament, Old Testament, American Preceptor, Peter Parley's Readers, Cousin Alice's Stories, Swiss Family Robinson, Baron Munchausen, etc. There seems to have been no uniformity of text books.
The act of 1837, providing for free public schools, marks the beginning of a new era in the history of education in this coun- ty. The next year a schoolhouse was built on the farm of Gar- bison & Masters. Here Henry Borders taught a term of sixty- five days for $50. His was the first under the free school sys- tem which has so justly become the pride of our people. James Crow taught at the Kime Schoolhouse in 1836; John Alexander at Olive Branch in 1840; Lewis Wilson at Olive Branch in 1853, later at the Bailey, the first frame schoolhouse in the township. In 1859 Lewis Wilson was elected trustee; this office he held for twelve years. Under his administration neat frame buildings took the place of the old log ones. and maps, globes, charts and blackboards were brought into use. The trustee, in early years
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a teacher and all his life a student, visited the schools, gave lectures, and in various ways promoted the growth and develop- ment that characterized that period. C. J. Agee, Joshua Wilson, S. W. Stewart and Joseph Borders were among the leading teach- ers of the more modern ones. In Clay were Samuel Deadman, about 1828, and a finely educated Irishman named Scannel, about the year 1838. Others were Andrew Frederick, Reuben White, Cork Davidson, E. Denning and Daniel Aman, of the older teach- ers. Clay Township now supports eight schools for six months in the year, one a fine graded school. In Madison the same prog- ress has been made. Instead of old, abandoned residences, or log-houses with greased paper windows, they all have nice frame ·houses, and all are furnished with bells, dictionaries, globes, maps, charts, etc. Pupils now pursue, under competent teachers, a course including the eight common branches and civil govern- ment, and on completing the same they receive a diploma signed by the trustees and county superintendent, Logan now has six frame schoolhouses, and a school term of eighty school days, and each taught by a competent teacher. The average wages per day for 1884-85 were about $2. This fact, with an enrollment of 327 pupils in Logan Township, affords a very pleasing contrast with the condition of the schools in 1848. On a vote taken at the general election of that year, the question of a constitutional amendment establishing the free school system, the vote stood fifty-two "for" and seventy-two "against." Clay stood at the same time thirty-seven "for" and sixty-five "against," yet Clay now has eight schools, one a fine graded school, and employs nine teachers, three of whom are females. The vote in Madison at the same election and on the same question stood ten for the amendment and 100 against it. Madison now has six good school- houses, and employs six teachers who receive an average of $2 per day. The average length of schools of Madison Township is only sixty-two days, the shortest of any in the county.
Schools of Jefferson Township .- The professional teacher of to- day, particularly those of little experience, is disposed to sneer at the methods of instruction, at the text books used, at the methods of goverment, at the hours of study, at the crude furniture of the schoolroom, at the dress and habits of those in attendance, and wonder that the old folks knew anything, and be astonished at
.
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
his own wisdom. Such individuals are not unlike the old Ger- man mentioned by Coleridge, who had such profound respect for himself that whenever he had occasion to mention his own name he would reverently take off his hat. Young America has an excellent opinion of himself. Wendell Phillips' "Lost Arts" is an excellent thing for study by such individuals.
While the early settlers of Jefferson were combating the dif- ficulties peculiar to a new country, clearing the forests, driving away wild beasts, fighting opposition to religious conviction, they were not unmindful of the intellectual needs of their children. The first schools were taught in some old, abandoned cabin, or other place of shelter. It is said the first schoolhouse in Jefferson Township was built ten rods north of the residence of William Kelso in 1828, called the Taylor Schoolhouse. This was on the farm now owned by Alva Price, and was built by the people of the community. It was a small, log structure, and has long since decayed. John Graham, a Scotchman, was the first teacher. School hours lasted from about sunup till sundown, or from the time the pupils arrived in the morning, till about dark. The pu- pils recited singly, and generally in the order of their arrival in school. The wages varied from $1.50 to $2 per term for each scholar, the teacher "boarding around." His pay was either in money or articles of food and clothing. A Baptist Church used as a schoolhouse stood near the Long Branch and Highbanks road, the old site of which is now marked by two neglected graves. Samuel Hargrave taught school at this house for a time.
A schoolhouse was built near the store of White Chappell in about 1832. At this house John Sawyer was the first teacher. . The man Hargrave is said to have been a very excellent man.
Other teachers were John Adridge in 1840, and Aaron McCarty in 1842. The latter taught several years and is said to have been somewhat addicted to drink. This need not seem strange when William Hargrave, a minister of the gospel and a man of great worth was proprietor of a copper distillery. A schoolhouse was built at Otwell, on the farm owned by Daniel DeMott, but has been removed by Henry Coleman and used now as a lumber-house. The first teacher in this house was Eliza- beth Preston. Jefferson Township now enrolls over 600 pupils and employs 15 teachers-11 males and 4 females-yet Jefferson
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
has no graded school from the fact that the schools are almost entirely in the country.
The length of term of Jefferson is 100 days, with average wages of $2.08 per day. The vote of 1848 for the constitution- al amendment favoring free schools stood: twelve for Anthony, the representative favoring the system, and 170 for Alexander who was opposed to the system. It is but justice to the people to say that the free schools were to them an experiment then and it was difficult to overcome prejudice and to bring about innova- tions.
Monroe Township Schools .- The first school ever taught in Monroe Township was in 1820-the same year that Monroe Township was laid off-by John Ferguson, the father of Revs. James and John Ferguson. This school was at Honey Springs, near the town of Pleasantville. It was taught in a little log-cabin. Among the patrons of this school were the Le Masters family, King family, Hegaman and Skidmore families. Several other schools were afterward taught at the same house, one by a man by the name of Clark, in about 1825, but nothing can now be recalled of him other than his name and a faint shadow of recollection. John M. Grant taught a school on what is now the farm of Joe Ferguson, a short distance west of Pleas- antville, about 1839. He was able to lead his pupils into the mysteries of reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic to the single rule of three. He was particularly strong on spelling and required his pupils to study that branch aloud and the one who could make the most noise in the work was considered the best student. He believed in the doctrine of Solomon, "spare the rod and spoil the child." By his pupils he was considered a tyrant.
Conrad Coleman taught in the Blackfoot neighborhood and was considered a good teacher. Wesley Hopkins was considered a fair teacher, but Wesley had one weakness, he would get drunk when opportunity afforded, and unfortunately for him and the school, Cutwright's distillery stood near the schoolhouse, and not unfrequently he would visit that and during the remainder of the day the boys and girls would have things pretty much their own way. This was about 1844.
Charles F. Elwin, a Welsh-Englishman taught a number of
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
schools. Elwin was a well educated man and an excellent teacher in his day. He was a good debater and a very fine penman. He died but a few years ago.
Rev. James Ferguson of Warrick County is still teaching, though quite old. On the vote favoring the constitutional amend- ment for free schools, Monroe Township stood twenty-seven for the amendment and eighty-one against it. There are now 13 school houses and 14 teachers in the township-11 being male and 3 female teachers.
Schools of Washington Township .- The first account we have of schools in this township were those taught by a Mr. Tunstle. He seems to have been a man of sufficient sense and of good in- tention, but who had not reduced the matter of teaching to a science by any means. It cannot be said that his ideas were :ver consistent with those of Horace Mann or any other great educator of the present. He taught the double rule of three, now called compound proportion. Among the teachers of Washing- ton township who taught, before the common schools were in vogue, may be mentioned, Mrs. Sarah Finn, Mrs. Rebecca Finn, William Withers, John McIntire and William Davenport. The last named taught after the common schools were in operation. About the time Indiana became a State, a gentleman named English taught private school in Washington township for some time. His school was known only by name of Thomas English's school. All knew him and liked him for his social qualities, for that was all there was of him. His teaching was neither an art nor a science.
He was skilled to rule, And rule Was all there was Of his little school.
The amount of all his learning, and the extent of all he taught, as was the case with many others, was wrapped up in the "old blue back," "Webster's Elementary Spelling Book." This book contained reading and spelling lessons as well, but the spelling was about all that was taught. The method of recitation was about as follows: each pupil recited alone, one at a time, like going to a mill, was the rule. The first at school in the morning was the first to recite and the second to school was the second to recite, etc. A story is told of a lady who,
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
when quite a small child. attended Mr. Thomas English's school. On going to school one morning she saw a much larger and older girl coming in the distance; both ran with all their might to reach the house first. The small girl got in first, but on open- ing school and calling the first to recite, both the small and the large girl came up with book in hand to recite. The word of the larger girl prevailed and the smaller had to recite last. This little girl had a "big" sister who came to school that day and who was angry at the teacher for his decision. She spent the day in making wry faces at her sister's enemy as opportunity afforded; such was the discipline of Thomas English's school. Notwith- standing the poor methods of the teachers, their limited knowl- edge, the inconveniences of log-cabin schoolhouses, with their hard benches, no boards. greased domestic or paper windows, the long distance to school. the short term, some learned to read, write and spell, and learned business transactions and business forms. Among them may be mentioned David Miley, who was suffi- ciently qualified to fill any county office at the present time, and who did in his later years fill every county office in the county, and was county auditor at the time of his death. Overwork in business caused his death. Among the first teachers who taught after the public schools received popular patronage were William C. Davenport and John McIntire. Mr. Davenport was a good practical surveyor and followed the business after he quit teach- ing. He got his death from pouring cold water on his head while hot when engaged in surveying on a hot day. McIntire, commonly called Maj. McIntire deserves some mention, although he is mentioned in connection with the schools of Petersburg and with the settlements and county officers. He was sent for to come from Shawneetown, Ill., to Petersburg. Besides holding nearly every county office at one time himself, he found time to teach school six hours a day, and then the remuneration was barely sufficient for a very plain living. It is worthy of remark that now nearly every officer has a deputy and yet finds a good living in the office. It is said that the coroner now receives as much for his little office as McIntire did for all. Since the time of these men the in- terest in schools has grown wonderfully. There are now fifteen teachers employed in the township alone, making twenty-one altogether. The great improvement in the schools of this town-
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
ship within the last sixty years may be seen by comparing no schools at all with the following facts as reported to Mr. J. L. Mount, county superintendent, by Mr. John Brenton, township trustee; number of pupils admitted into the school within the year, 922; number of houses, 13; length of term, 90 days; value of school property, $12,000; amount of tuition, $3,602; special school revenue, $1,754.
Petersburg Schools .- It is supposed that the first school ever taught in Petersburg was conducted about 1820, by Judge Sawyer. He taught in a small frame house on Main Street. He is said to have been from New York, and moved first to North Carolina, and then to Indiana, near Petersburg. His first term was for three months. He taught mainly that his own children might attend; at the same time others were in attendance, the Osborns and others of the older families attended. John McIntire was the next teacher. He taught school in the old court house. He was in some respects a remarkable man, having held every county office in the county and continued in office for thirty-seven years. Sam- uel Kelley taught in a small house on the lot now owned by Pren- tis Martin. J. S. English, a Vermonter, was a good teacher who taught for a time. Other teachers of the older class were Harvey, Graham, Davenport, and E. Bell. H. D. Ouyett, a Presbyterian minister, taught about 1855.
Blythe-Wood Academy .- From the pen of Mrs. Anna Blythe Hendricks, we give the following account of Blythe-Wood: "In the spring of 1853, the Rev. A. T. Hendricks became pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Petersburg. At that time the ‘public school system' had found footing only in the larger towns and cities, leaving the villages and rural districts dependent on the three or six months schools which were opened in the summer or winter by transient teachers. Mr. Hendricks feeling the need for a more extended and influential mode of instruction, opened a school in the spring of 1854. As the village furnished no build- ing suitable for the purpose, he erected and furnished rooms con- nected with his residence. This school, styled . Blythe-Wood Academy,' was continued for a period of fifteen years, when the introduction of the public schools into the village rendered its continuance unnecessary. The course of instruction extended from the A, B, C's to the higher branches of a liberal English educa-
HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
tion, off ng to its advanced pupils a knowledge of higher math- ( matics, with Latin and Greek. The study of the Bible as a classic, as well as a system of religion and morality. was made a prominent feature in the entire course. Each pupil was required to furnish his desk with & Bible. The government was entirely paternal. The pupils on entering were informed that corporeal punishment formed no part of the plan. Dismissal was the capi- tal punishment, as a consequence serious offenses were very rare. The efforts of the teachers and pupils were directed less to the acquisition of mere rules and facts than to the cultivation of the powers of investigation and habits of thought."
The Petersburg graded school building was erected and made ready for schools in the fall of 1872. The building is an elegant brick structure, built at a cost of $20,000. The following is a list of the school trustees of this school: Francis V. Scales, Joseph P. Glezen, Simon P. Frank, Dr. A. R. Byres, R. Harrell, J. J. Eisert, J. B. Young, J. H. Miller. J. W. Gladdish, and G. W. Pinney. The present board is composed of Dr. A. R. Byres, president; G. W. Pinney, secretary; and G. W. Gladish, treasurer. The following is a list of the various superintendents: Rev. A. M. Bryant, 1 year; J. W. Wilson, 2 years; W. D. McSwane, 4 years; Dr. W. H. Link, 3 years; and the pres- ent A. C. Crouch, 3 years. The corps of teachers for 1885-86 are A. C. Crouch, superintendent; G. J. Nichols, high school; Frank R. Taylor, grammar; Mrs. H. B. Elliot, intermediate; Miss R. L. Whittinghill, second primary ; and Miss Susan Bartlett, first primary. The school has a course of twelve years, equaling the course of most cities of corresponding size. The high school was commissioned by the State Board of Education, in March, 1884, to prepare students for the freshman class in the State University. As an indication of the progress of the school, we append the high school alumni for the different years:
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