History of Randolph County, Indiana with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers : to which are appended maps of its several townships, Part 55

Author: Tucker, Ebenezer
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : A.L. Klingman
Number of Pages: 664

USA > Indiana > Randolph County > History of Randolph County, Indiana with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers : to which are appended maps of its several townships > Part 55

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"I taught in an old log building in a clearing. It had once boasted a (clay and puncheon) fire-place and a stick chimney; but the house at that time had neither, for the chimney and fire- place were wholly gone, and the end of the house was all open. The books were anything that the parents happened to have at hand at the time-Bible, Testament, Marion, Washington, Frank- lin, spelling book, Murray's Sequel, or anything else; and each one used whatever he brought, be it what it might. School-book uniformity was not in vogue then in that institution, but glorious liberty was the order of the day. Of course, classification was out of the question, but each urchin was head (and foot, too) of his own class."

In discipline, Mr. Cadwallader was unique. One day, he had four undergoing, all at once, on the puncheons, the solemn pen- alty of violated law. Two were standing face to face, with a stick split at each end, and one end snapped on each boy's nose. One had been thrown astride of a naked joist-pole overhead, while a fourth was stationed, with his hands behind his back and his nose plump up to the wall. Was not all that a sight? The State can never know how great is her loss in not having appoint- ed Mr. C. State School Superintendent, for that original bent of genius would have wrought wonders ere this in the line of methods of instruction, of architecture, of discipline, of amuse- inent. At any rate, such was "school-keeping " thirty-five years ago in our own beloved Randolph, full thirty-one years after its first settlement. Verily, the world moves. Doubtless our schools yet need " reconnoitering," still they are by no means what they "used to was" in the "auld lang since ago." Hence we may

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thank God for the tokens of advancement that we behold, and take courage and hope for the future. Forty, and even thirty years ago, the "'select school" was the glory of the hour. Some active, earnest man would gather around him the aspiring minds of a neighborhood, and he would have a school indeed.

We very much question whether the ones we now have could begin to rival those glorious old-time assemblages called "select schools," where every pupil had paid his tuition, and was bent on getting the worth of his money. They needed no spurring for- ward. Everybody was going at the top of his bent. All that could be done was to "hold to the sled, guide it and let it go." We have often heard men remark, in later years, that their chil- dren did not learn half so much in a given time as they used to do in their boyhood and youth. The statement, when made by one of the ambitious spirits referred to above, is true. The boys conld go to school only a few days, or a month or two, and they would study with all their might. The "individual " method. so much in vogue in former years, has its bright as well as its dark side; for a high-spirited youth, all alone, with none to hinder him, would sometimes go half through the "rethmetic" in six weeks, or even less. We have ourselves known a class of six go through "Ray's Higher" in twelve weeks. Now, that was work! It did not take ten years to get " through the pro- gramme," for the young man would not start till sixteen or eight- een years old, and in ten years from that time he would be mar- ried and have a family, and would have cleared up forty acres of land. Young folks used to study as for a race; and it did not hurt them, either; they did not stay at it long enough to hurt anybody.

But the subscription school, and the select school, and the pay school, have mostly had their day, and have given way to the public free school, and now the poorest can go as freely as the richest. Forty years ago, there existed in the Hoosier State only the two helps to get "out of the chimney corner " -- the select school and the county seminary-chiefly the latter. Ask any prominent man now of from fifty to sixty years of age how he got his education, and he will tell you, "In the chimney cor- ner," topped off by a term in some select school or county semi- nary. And, as a matter of fact, more poor country lads like "Our Cad " or " Our Tom" attended the county seminary than rich ones did. It is the "poor chaps " all over the country that make men and women of themselves by going to school. Rich young people are forced to attend, and come out dunces all the same. A poor orphan lad, who knows he has nothing but his hands and his brains and his grit to go on, studies as though he were mauling rails by the job, and by and by he comes out at the top.

By the original constitution of Indiana, a seminary fund was created. Certain moneys, among which were fines, forfeitures; etc., were devoted to this purpose. A seminary was to be built in each county, and the fund was to be applied in that way.

The first record which has been found of action as to the sem- inary for Randolph County is dated May 7, 1839, and is as follows:

"At a called meeting of the Trustees of the County Seminary of Randolph County, on the 7th day of May, 1839, present. Hiram Mendenhall, John J. Peacock and Edmund B. Goodrich: " Ordered, That Carey S. Goodrich be appointed Clerk of the Board.

"Ordered, That E. B. Goodrich be appointed Treasurer, and that he call on Zachariah Puckett, late Trustee of the County Seminary, for all books, notes, bonds, papers and moneys in hie hands as Trustee aforesaid; and that the said Edmund B. Good- rich report to this board at their next meeting.

" The board hath this day conditionally purchased of David Heaston a lot in the town of Winchester for the purpose of erect- ing a county seminary, the aforesaid purchase subject to the supervision of the County Commissioners."

And then the board adjourned until Monday, the 14th inst. Hiram Mendenhall, Carey S. Goodrich (Clerk), John J. Pea- cock, Edmund B. Goodrich, Seminary Building Trustees.

Board met May 14, 1839.

Considered that the fund at command is not large enough to warrant the erection of a county seminary; therefore,

" Ordered, That the funds be loaned so as to be due May 1, 1840."

Board met February 29, 1840, and voted to commence the erection of a county seminary, and they directed George W. Goodrich to draft a plan for a building, with dimensions as fol- lows:

Size, 35x45 feet; first floor at least three feet from the earth; first story, twelve feet in the clear; second story, ten feet in the clear.

Board met March 13, 1840, and ordered the house to be only one story.

Board met March 18, 1840, and directed advertisements for bids for building the seminary, to be put up at Winchester, Windsor, Spartansburg, Mendenhall's Mill and Deerfield.

House to be finished by May 1, 1841, and to be built of brick. Board met April 10, 1840, and let the erection of the build. ing to George W. Moore for $2,300, that being the lowest bid, and ordered that $20 be paid George W. Goodrich for draft and specifications.

June 1, 1841, board met, and voted to borrow from the sur- plus revenue fund $1,000, under a law then lately passed.

June 10, 1841, board ordered the letting of two jobs: 1. Digging well, erecting pump, building privies and leveling yard. 2. Making and fixing forty-nine desks in the school-room. Both jobs were to be done by October 1, 1841.

June 10, 1841, board met, opened bids, and let the jobs as follows: First, to George W. Goodrich, for $170; second job, to Ernest Strome, for $124.

December 18, 1841, Board met and accepted, with some slight reservations, the seminary, and ordered the contractor to be paid for the same, $2,200.

January 1, 1842, board met and adopted rules for the care of the school building and other property, and for the behavior of the students.

The rules adopted were quite precise and somewhat strict, e. g .:

SECTION 1 .- Be it ordained that any person or persons who shall break any glass or shall break any locks, hinges or latchos, or break or lose any keys, or any of the sash, cords or pulleys, or springs, or shall tear any of the curtains of the windows, shall be fined as follows:

For each glass, 50 cents; for each lock broken or key lost, $4; for each latch or hinge broken, 50 cents: for each light or sash broken, 50 cents; for each pulley cord broken or torn loose, 25 cents; for each pulley spring broken, 37 cents; for each tearing window curtain, 37 cents; for injuring desks, seats, etc., not above 50 cents for the first offense, to be doubled for any subse- quent offense ; for scratching the wall, etc., not over $3; for breaking or injuring the gates or fences, not above 50 cents, to be doubled upon repetition; for injuring trees or shrubbery, nos above $1, doubled for repetition.

The studies allowed were orthography, reading, writing, arith- metic. English grammar, geography, algebra, geometry, survey- ing, philosophy, chemistry and Latin.

March term, 1842, Seminary Trustees' report to the Board of County Commissioners as below:

Receipts, $3,145.02 ; expenditures, $2,857.82; balance on hand, $287.20.

August 30, 1842, board ordered payment to George D. Moore, $200 for building the seminary.

The seminary opened in the spring of 1842, under the charge of Prof. James S Farris.

Mr. Farris was an acceptable teacher, and the school grew and prospered under his instruction. He remained several years, and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Spencer.

Mr. Spencer continued for several years, and his successor was Prof. E. P. Cole, who retained connection for three or four years. During his administration, much was done in procuring library, apparatus, etc., for the use of the school, which, how- ever, was all sold back to him in liquidation of debts due him as Principal of the seminary.

The school, on the whole, was flourishing and prosperous, and did excellent service in furnishing the opportunity of higher education to the youth of the county and the region.

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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.

The county seminary plan would seem, indeed, to have been a wise provision, and might well have been continued. Under the constitution of 1851, however, the county seminaries were closed, the property sold, and the avails applied to the general school fund.

During their existence very many youth were aided in their efforts after knowledge. Most who have been prominent since that time, who were then in their youth, attended the seminary more or less.

Schools were kept for awhile in the building by private enter- prise, but it was finally sold by the Trustees and employed as a woolen factory by the Carter Brothers, and afterward by another as a wagon shop.

The instructions given in that institution were of a kind of which those who gave them had no need to be ashamed. Modern educators appear to imagine that before them was nothing, and after them shall be -- what? And echo answers, What? Yet it is nevertheless true that the methods practiced and the results obtained by the gentlemen who presided over the labors of that seminary in those early years were good enough even for an age so fastidious and boastful as the present.

One instance must be given to show that the teachers in Winchester Seminary knew how to perform thorough work, and to make the pupils do the same.

It was the custom in that school -- and not by any means a bad one, either-to have classes examined separately, and when- ever any class might chance to be ready, and then to call upon a teacher of the region to conduct the examination. An arithmetic class was ready, and a neighboring Professor was summoned to the work of finding out how much that particular group of young- eters knew about " figures." The method of examination was this:

The subject of arithmetic, as found in " Ray's Third Part," was divided into topics. Each topic was presented under sub- heads, adapted to bring out fully and clearly its true nature, and the mutual relation of each to all the rest.

Slips of paper were prepared, each containing the matters belonging to a distinct topic. The class was numbered, and the Professor, knowing no pupil in the class, assigned to them by number the topics, simply by chance. Each pupil took his topic, and, with no opportunity for preparation by text-book or other- wise, going to the board, put the needful work thereupon, and, when his time came, explained, in a clear and connected manner, the whole subject assigned him (or her, since several of the class were females). No questions were asked: none were needed. The examiner merely sat and listened. In fact, the subjects were presented so clearly, so fully, so exhaustively, that, as the Professor sat gazing on their work, and hearing their recitations and explanations, the lines of Goldsmith, adapted, might be ap- plied:

And still he gazed, as still the wonder grew, How that bright class had mastered all they knew.

He had witnessed and conducted many examinations before, as he has done many since, and some that were by no means poor nor unworthy; yet he is, in candor, obliged to declare, that, for completeness, for thoroughness, for clearness and uniformity of knowledge, for absence of failure, for lack even of hesitation on the part of the pupils concerned, for excellence in general and in particular, that performance stands unrivaled within his knowledge. Some dozen pupils were in the class, but not a poor one among them all. Half-grown boys and timid girls alike stood the test, and went through their work calmly, smilingly and tri- umphantly. The author would be glad to record the names of the members of that class as a slight token of admiration for their instructor and themselves, as he feels sure that a group who, in boyhood and youth, could pass se heroically such an ex- amination as that to which they, on that eventful day, submitted themselves, could not fail, in the coming years, to be otherwise than "men and women of mark " in the life struggle into which they were so soon compelled to plunge. But the examiner knew not then whom he was examining, nor does he know to this day. All honor to the faithful, earnest, enthusiastic, laborious, successful instructors of that olden time. By the Great Teacher it was said, thousands of years ago, "By their fruits ye shall know them,"

and well and confidently may the educators of "auld lang syne" appeal to the apparent, unquestionable results of their laborious energy in triumphant vindication of their faithfulness, and of their wisdom and their practical skill as well, in the department of instruction.

UNION LITERARY INSTITUTE.

After some years of pioneer school work, a new aid to educa- tion arose in the county in the shape of the Union Literary In- stitute, near Spartansburg, and literally "in the woods." There was the green stump of a linge oak, four feet through, not ten feet from the school-room door; and the immense tree trunk lay there, prostrate, just as it fell, with its huge body for the chil- dren to run on, and to play over and across. And the boarding house stood above several green stumps, whose trunks had been removed to make room for the house.

Prof. Tucker, its first Principal, and his goods, had been brought from Central Ohio, 160 miles, in big open wagons, by two teamsters from Wayne County, Ind., who went clear through by land to bring the young Professor, his wife and their infant child, and his few household goods, all lonely and solitary, into the Indiana woods; and to that hewed-log schoolhouse in the for- est, and to the boarding house, made of timbers cut and hewed wholly from the green woods, with home-shaved shingles and studding split, like rails, from a tree, with rafters and sleepers and joists all hewed from logs, made ready with the broad-ax, the Hoosier and the Buckeye lads and lasses began to come; and, as years rolled, they came still more and more, and, during eight years and more, nearly five hundred persons from many counties and several States were at some time members of the institute.

And, as those days come up in memory, and the picture of those old-time scenes is renewed, the question presses, Why did those young men and maidens flock into that boarding house, working for their daily food, and living almost literally on bread and water at that? And the more one thinks, the more the won- der grows. Why did they come? But come they did, and for eight long, but happy and fruitful, years, did the work of that school go on, under the shadow of the wilderness, till, from sheer exhaustion, the Professor gave up his task, and pushed still far- ther west upon the untrodden prairie, feeling that not for the best farm in the West would he repeat the labors of those eight years, since he felt literally worn out. And well he might be. For months his days were spent thus: One recitation at home before breakfast; at 7 A. M., algebra and geometry before school; at 8 A. M., school began, and classes recited solid, without in- termission, till 12 or 12:30; school 1 P. M., and recitations solid again till 6 P. M., sometimes two at once; and then at home, through the evening, till 9 P. M., classes in his own room, mak- ing fully twelve hours of solid teaching every day. This labor went on day after day and night after night for months and months. Not seldom would two classes come forward at once, and both would be put through their "paces " at the same time. It was once said of him by a friend that he could hear three classes, explain a problem in algebra and read the newspaper all at the same time. This, of course, was a terrible exaggeration, but the labor undergone during some of those years in that for- est college was " fearful." These lines are written to-day not in the least by way of boasting, but simply to give the present gen- eration some faint idea of the way in which were laid, in days gone by, the foundations of knowledge and wisdom in the Ran- dolph woods. But the years fled apace, and the last day came, and the farewell word was spoken, and that dear old spot was left to the care of other men; and those pioneer days are gone, and cabins and hewed-log buildings are used as schoolhouses no more. And the teacher of to-day may be glad that it is so, yet he may beware not to despise those low acd humble beginnings, for truly, unless those old things had been in those years long ago, when this whole region was a wilderness, the present happy and better times could never have come to pass. The change, indeed, is wondrous; from a rude log cabin, with rough puncheon floor and split-pole seats, with greased-paper cracks for light, puncheon desks against the wall, and huge fire places, with heaps of wood piled on. sled length, and roaring in full blaze on the hearth, und $7 a month, to the comforts and even luxuries of to-day,

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HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.

with the princely wages that now prevail. Forty years ago, it was no uncommon thing for a teacher to go to his school-room by sun-up, and to begin to teach, even at that early hour, those who were already in waiting to take up the labors of the day. Eight hours were the regular and expected time, and that whole time had to be spent, and not seldom, ten. and even twelve hours were put in each day in the work of the school-room.

And all this for the mere pittance that now would hardly suffice to pay a boy to watch a gap in the fence!

But the question remains still unanswered-Why did those students in those old times flock to that hewed-log schoolhonse in the Indiana woods ?

The answer, however, is easy. A fountain of knowledge had been opened in the wilderness, and these young people were thirsting after wisdom, and they came to slake that burning thirst.

They were determined to rise, and they pressed eagerly for- ward to seize the means put into their hands for that purpose.

Ah! to teach in those by-gone times was a pleasure, rather than a burden.

So anxious, so eager, so earnest were they all, that the instructor could wish the day to be forty hours long, that he might have time enough to teach his longing, hungry pupils all the y desired to learn.

No urging heedless dunces, no pushing, no forcing, were needed. The eager students, hungry for knowledge, had to be held back, to be restrained, lest they should study themselves to death.

One feature of this institution, unique for those times, was that no distinction was made for race nor color nor sex. Black and red and yellow and white, male and female, have from the very beginning, even to the present hour, been welcomed without distinction to its advantages.

Established by the munificence, chiefly, of some Anti-slavery Friends, and managed by a board chosen from several religious denominations, and of both colors, race prejudice and class favor- itism have been ntterly banished from its walls. Even the dis- tinction of sex, on which is founded, throughout the land, so widely varying systems and methods of training, made no differ- ence here. Whatever a boy had to do, that a girl had to do. And the same practice the same instructor has maintained through more than forty years of his life, spent in the business of teaching. His motto was and is, "Give to each and all the best possible chance, and let each make the most and highest that he can."

And times have changed, also, for the " nigger college." In place of the hewed-log house, built among the green stumps, now stands a comfortable, sightly brick edifice, that, for five and twenty years, has opened its doors, with no warmer nor more kindly welcome, indeed, than did its predecessor in previous years, yet gladly and freely, to receive the youth of all colors and conditions, both from near and from far, inviting them, without prejudice and without distinction, to partake, without money and without price, of all the riches of knowledge that it has to offer.

Prof. Tucker left the institution in 1854, returning, how- ever, in 1873 and remaining till 1879. After being under the management of various instructors -- Messrs. Parker, Housh, Bagby, Smothers and others-the school was for a time mostly intermitted, and the chief part of the landed estate sold, the proceeds being vested in a fund, the income of which has been und is to be expended in maintaining the school. Some of the land sold has come back into possession of the institution, and they own at the present time forty acres, with the schoolhouse, teacher's dwelling and a farm residence.

The Trustees of the institution originally were Daniel Hill, John H. Bond, John Randle, John Clemens and Nathun Thomas, and besides these William Board, William Peacock, Richard Robbins, William H. Mckown, Reuben Goens, Ebenezer Tucker, Jesse Okey.

The school has a charter from the State of Indiana, vesting the property in five Trustees. The constitution of the company provides for a board of thirteen Directors, five of who are thein five Trustees, and eight more are chosen by the donors to the in-

stitution, four annually, to hold for two years, and till their suc- cessors are elected and qualified.

Three of the first board are dead-Nathan Thomas, John Clemens, John Randle-the last of whom died only a month ago. Of the others, William Beard and Richard Robbins are dead. Ebenezer Tucker and William Peacock resigned their positions June, 1881. Daniel Hill, John H. Bond and John Randle, of the first Board of Trustees, resigned after having discharged the duties of their positions nearly or quite thirty years.

Of the Board of Directors, David Willcutts was a prominent member for about thirty years, much of the time being President of the Board, and very active in the care of the concerns of the school.

The present Trustees are William H. Mckown, Reuben Goens and Jesse Okey, there being a vacancy of two Trustees, caused by the resignation of Ebenezer Tucker and William Pea- cock.

The Directors are Reuben Goens, Jesse Okey, Richard Goens, Jackson Okey, Zebedee Bass, William Mckown, Levi Linsey, Andrew J. Clemens, Elijah P. Clemens.

One of the fundamental principles of the school is that there shall be no distinction in its management, or advantages on ac- count of color, rank or wealth; and also, that the principles of the Bible as against slavery and war shall always be maintained therein, and that no person shall hold an official position in con- nection with the institution who does not believe in the Script- ures.

The Treasurers of the institution have been Nathan Thomas. James Moorman, Joel Parker, William Peacock, John Henley, Ebenezer Tucker and William H. Mckown, the last-named being the present incumbent.

Much good has been accomplished by the institution through its slender means during the years that are past, and it is to be hoped that a still brighter future is in store for it in the time to come.

NORMAL SCHOOLS.

A few years ago, Superintendent Lesley, in conjunction with competent assistants, ventured upon the experiment of conduct- ing a normal school for Randolph County at Winchester. The next year, one was held for six weeks at Union City, and the next year, two were in progress in that thriving town at the same time-one on the Indiana side aad one on the Ohio side.

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History of Randolph County, Indiana with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers : to which are appended maps of its several townships, Part 55

Author: Tucker, Ebenezer Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : A.L. Klingman Number of Pages: 664

Author: Tucker, Ebenezer
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : A.L. Klingman
Number of Pages: 664