USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > South Boston > History of South Boston : formerly Dorchester Neck, now ward XII of the city of Boston > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22
I
110
-
116
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
by the master, but observed by one of the girls on the cross seats, who made some kind of a telegraphic signal to him, and when I emerged from under my desk, I was invited to visit his, which I was rather reluctant to do. However, I was compelled to sub- mit, and, all skated as I was, forced to perambulate the room, to the no small merriment of the boys upon whom I had been attempting to steal a march. The old building is still extant, being, I believe, the one at the old entrance, on Fourth street, to the institu- tions at the Point."
The first master of the school was Zephaniah Wood, of Lunenburg. In May, 1811, when the Com- mittee first took the school under their charge, this gentleman, then but about twenty years of age, was appointed teacher. The religious society, which was afterwards incorporated as the Hawes Place Congregational Society, was then without a minister, and as Mr. Wood was of a serious and studious turn of mind, he engaged to preach to them, without any other compensation than the sum of $300 which he received for teaching school. Mr. Wood was uni- versally loved and respected by all with whom he was associated, and his untimely death, on the 26th of October, 1822, was a source of the greatest lamen- tation both to the church over which he officiated and to his numerous relatives and friends. He left a widow and several young children in the deepest affliction. Immediately after his decease, Rev. Lem- uel Capen, of Dorchester, was appointed to take charge of the school, and entered upon the duties of his office Nov. 21st, 1822. Previous to this, at a meeting of the Committee, held June 14, 1819, it was " Voted,-That two medals be given annually to the Boy who most excels in Reading and Writing in
117
SCHOOLS.
the School at South Boston." The names of the first medal scholars are not known, as they were not recorded.
At a meeting of the School Committee held Feb. 18, 1818, it was voted, that the master of the school in South Boston be put, in point of salary, upon the same footing as the Ushers of the other Public Schools.
At a meeting of the School Committee, held March 15, 1819, it was voted that the Committee of the South School visit the school in South Boston, and hire a carriage for that purpose.
In 1821, there arose some trouble in regard to the ownership of the school-house which had been built in South Boston, and a committee was chosen to inquire into the tenure by which it was held. On Feb. 27th, this committee reported, and as their re- port gives a little of the history of the school in this place, we present parts of it.
" The Sub-committee appointed to inquire by what tenure the school-house at South Boston is held, and what right the Town has therein, respectfully ask leave to report,-That they have taken the subject into consideration; that in consequence of the loss of the records of this Committee embracing the pe- riod of time at which said school-house was built, they have been unable to ascertain from the best authority what votes were passed relative to the subject. Your Committee, however, have since their appoint- ment visited the school in South Boston, and from conversation with some of the citizens of that part of the Town, and particularly with Mr. Woodward, who appears to have had the principal agency in the transaction, they have ascertained the following par- ticulars :-
-
3
زلكم البحار
.
£
118
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
" That about three or four years after the annexa- tion to this town of that part of Dorchester, an ap- plication was made by several of the inhabitants to the School Committee for aid in supporting a school at that part of the town : the inhabitants having pre- viously made some exertions to establish a private school there. The School Committee therefore vot- ed an appropriation of three hundred dollars an- nually for this object, and authorized a person, agreed upon by the inhabitants, to receive the money and apply it, under the direction of a committee of the inhabitants of South Boston. Mr. Woodward contracted with a Mr. Everett, and the house was built at an expense of four hundred dollars. Before the house was paid for, however, it is stated that the inhabitants of South Boston, by voluntary subscrip- tion, raised forty or fifty dollars to help out the com- pensation of the master and keep him contented. The appropriation was afterwards raised to $350, and then to $400, and it is now six hundred dollars, placing the Master upon the same footing with the Ushers of the other public schools."
Upon the ground of aiding in building the school- house, certain persons attempted to get possession of it, to be used as a place of worship. The Com- mittee, however, ruled against these persons, and the right of the Town to the school-house was estab- lished.
About the same time, also, the citizens of South Boston began to feel the need of having a new school- house, and accordingly, on the 24th of April, 1821, a petition to this effect was presented and referred to the Sub-Committee of the Franklin School. As is usual in such cases, the subject was for a long time
SouAL!
.
1
119
SCHOOLS.
under deliberation, and it was not till the 20th of February following that it was
" Voted,-That the School Committee are of the opinion that it is expedient that a new school-house be built in that part of the city called South Boston, and also that the said school-house should consist of at least two rooms, each sufficient to accommodate 150 scholars." A site was selected, and the brick edifice known as the Hawes School-house, and situ- ated on Broadway, between F and Dorchester streets, was built. One room only was fitted up, the school being then so small that the whole building was not needed to accommodate the pupils.
In the fall of 1823, the building was ready for use, and the pupils, under the direction of Mr. Capen, marched in a procession to the new house, and were appropriately addressed by the Rev. Mr. Pierpont.
We find the following in the records of the School Committee :-
"Sept. 7, 1824. Noah Brooks petitioned for the use of the room of the new school-house for a sing- ing-school." This petition was granted, and there are many now resident in South Boston who can well remember the singing-school held in the Hawes School-house.
In 1826, Mr. Capen resigned his office as master, and was succeeded, on the 5th of September, by Bar- num Field, afterwards master of the Franklin School. Mr. Field remained here till 1829, when he was succeeded by Jairus Lincoln. In 1827 we find the school first mentioned as the Hawes School, although that name was not fully established till 1830, as we find it mentioned as the South Boston School several times afterwards in the Records of the School Com- mittee.
٦
一
120
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
On the 4th of September, 1829, it was Voted, that the salary of the Master of the Hawes School be $1,000; and in 1833, the master of this school was made equal to the masters of the other Grammar Schools.
Mr. Lincoln continued master but a few months, as he found it impossible to control the wayward- ness of the scholars, and on the 9th of February, 1830, he was succeeded by Mark Anthony De Wolf Howe, who was quite a young man and of small sta- ture, but he had few equals in efficiency, either as a disciplinarian or instructor. If he had continued in the Boston schools, as he had serious thoughts of doing, he would now probably have been second to none of our most distinguished masters. He left the Hawes School to take a tutorship in Brown Univer- sity, at Providence, R. I., of which he was a most honored graduate. He had become greatly attached to the school, and was then, as ever since, most deeply interested in the elevation of our Common Schools. He is now one of the most respectable and influential ministers of the Episcopal Church, in . the City of Philadelphia.
Mr. Howe resigned February 8th, 1831, when Mr. William P. Page was chosen master. During the time Mr. Page was in office the previous troubles were greatly increased. The master was wanting in efficiency, and had little tact for discipline or govern- ment. Truancy was very common, and the boys and girls were perfectly lawless. At length, on the 14th of August, 1832, Mr. Page was obliged to resign, and was succeeded by Mr. Moses W. Walker, who en- tered on the duties of his office on the 28th of Au- gust. Mr. Walker was well aware of the state of the school, and was determined to quell the rebel-
121
SCHOOLS.
lious spirit of the scholars. Accordingly, he entered school, and commenced his labors with a whipping affair, which caused great excitement.
From the Records of the School Committee, we make several extracts relating to this matter, think- ing it may interest those who would like to know of the discipline of our first school.
It appears that Mr. Leonard Harrington, the fa- ther of the boy who was flogged, presented a com- plaint to the Committee that his son was cruelly beaten and wounded by Mr. Moses W. Walker, mas- ter of the Hawes School, South Boston, "for no such misconduct on the part of the boy as would have justified the infliction of even moderate chastisement, much less the aggravated whipping he received." He asked an investigation of the subject, and an op- portunity to be heard before the Committee, that if the charges against the master were sustained, he might obtain redress.
To this the master made a long reply, from which we give extracts.
He first remarks that, previous to entering the Hawes School, he had learned that it was in a bad condition ; that the boys had in one instance physi- cally opposed the master, and that the girls had. struck the teacher. He then goes on to give an ac -- count of his first half day in school.
" I found the scholars collected, and in great dis- order. I took the chair, stamped loudly upon the floor, and called the school to order. And here for the first time Harrington attracted my attention, by continuing his talk and laughter. I again enjoined silence, directing my remarks particularly to Har- rington, after which the house was still. I then said, ' Hear me. I see many things which I do not like,. 11
122
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
and which must not be continued. I am about to command you to do some few things, and I shall speak but once. Be careful to obey me promptly, as a failure in this respect will expose you to cer- tain punishment.' Seeing a great part of the scholars supporting their heads upon their hands, with elbows upon their desks, I said to them, 'The first thing which you are to do, is to take your elbows from those desks.' This was instantly done by all except Harrington, to whom I again addressed myself, in a manner which left no room for his mistaking my meaning. Upon this he removed his elbows from his desk, but assumed a smile in which I read his character. The children were then told to fold their arms, and to remain in that position until further orders. This was done; but I now observed that Harrington and two or three in his immediate vici- nity were casting looks at each other and laughing. They were ordered to take those smiles from their faces ;- whereupon Harrington removed his arms from the position in which he had just been com- manded to hold them, placed his elbows on the desk, his hands before his face, and continued laughing and looking from behind his hands at the boys about him.
" After this third exhibition of his indifference to my commands, I thought it necessary to make an ex- ample of him. Accordingly I called him to my desk and bade him place his hands upon the floor, which after a little hesitation he did. I then struck him upon his posteriors three blows with a rattan, bade him stand up, and inquired of him if he was disposed to do what I commanded. He made no reply, but stood shaking his head. He was ordered to place himself in the same position again. This he refused to do, but was assisted by my left hand, while with
-----===
123
SCHOOLS.
the right I inflicted about the same number of blows as before. He was again told to stand up, and asked the same question, to which he muttered, 'yes.' I told him to satisfy me of his sincerity by walking to the farther side of the room lightly upon his toes. He moved off in a most impudently swaggering man- ner. He was called back, and allowed another op- portunity, but not thinking it best to improve it, he was again punished in a similar manner. On being allowed to stand, he was asked if he would obey me, to which he very promptly replied that he would. He was called on for the same evidence of his dis- position as before, which he gave to my satisfaction. I then bade him lie down upon his back, and get up, which he did. This last he was called on to repeat. which being done to my acceptance, he was allowed to take his seat."
The whole subject was referred to a Special Com- mittee appointed by the School Committee, and after hearing both parties, and listening to the evidence of several of the pupils present, together with the opinion of a physician who was called to examine the wounds, it was decided that as the master was not in anger at the time, but appeared perfectly cool, and as the wounds were not of a nature to cause the supposition that the boy was inhumanly or cruelly punished, therefore Mr. Harrington had leave to withdraw. Mr. Walker was thus upheld in his first attempt to subdue the insubordinate spirit of the young South Bostonians, and he continued his attempts till it appears he had whipped enough to secure the obedience of the scholars. His course, however, did not ineet the approval of the parents. who thought him too severe in his treatment of their children, and on the 14th of January, 1834, he re-
-
خط الان زاله
124
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
signed his office, and Joseph Harrington, Jr., was chosen to take his place.
On the 27th of March, it was voted to fit up the upper story of the new school house, and also to supply the school with new desks. This measure was rendered necessary by the rapid increase of scholars.
As soon as Mr. Harrington assumed the duties of his office, a great change was observed. His policy was altogether different from that of Mr. Walker, and its good effects were immediately felt. Instead of using the rod for every little offence, he attempted to subdue the scholars by appealing to their sense of right and wrong. Did a boy break a rule of the school, instead of calling him to his desk and giving him a whipping, he allowed him an opportunity to reflect on his conduct, and strove to convince him of the guilt of his behavior. He endeavored to show that he had an interest in the welfare of his pupils, and did not punish them out of revenge. He was in the habit of joining with the boys in their sports, and was always ready to perform anything which would conduce to their happiness. Often he pro- posed excursions to the country, or visits to exhibi- tions, and his mind seemed unceasingly occupied in devising plans to secure not only the love and esteem of his pupils, but also their advancement in a moral point of view. In school he was strict, and yet kind. A perfect lesson was required if a boy would meet his approval, and the pupils were urged to study from a desire to please him. He invented the posi- tions which are now in use in nearly every school in New England, and adopted such rules in regard to truancy that the boys were seldom or never absent from school unless obliged to remain at home,
125
SCHOOLS.
Hawes Juvenile Association.
Mr. Harrington was the founder of the HAWES JU- VENILE ASSOCIATION, a society whose influence was most beneficial on the youth of South Boston, and whose effects are still felt in our community. This association was the first of the kind known, and al- though hundreds have since been formed, South Bos- ton has the honor of giving birth to the first, and Mr. Harrington has the enviable distinction of being the founder of an institution which has had great in- fluence upon the moral character of our schools.
The following letter from Mr. Harrington gives an excellent account of the Association and its ob- jects, and will be read with interest by those who have participated in its benefits.
" Hartford, Nov. 26th, 1849.
" DEAR SIR,-Trusting that you will excuse what must be a somewhat hurried communication, I will say whatever occurs to me touching the formation of the ' Hawes Juvenile Association.'
" Profane swearing had always seemed to me a most useless, as well as a criminal habit-a habit that was likely to leave an unfavorable moral impress upon character, yet which was not the result of any great depravity of character.
" General moral inculcations, or specific precepts, would have their effect in lessening this evil in a school ; but that which springs from thoughtlessness, and from corrupt example, and which has come to be rather an external habit, than the expression of radi- cal viciousness, needs external agencies, perpetual reminders, the constraint of favorable circumstances, to subdue it-and in most cases such agencies will, in youth, correct the habit. 11*
3
126
HESTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
.
" Such an external constraint I determined to or- ganize in the Hawes School. Yet not external, only, did I anticipate such an organization would be. I trusted that it would quicken the moral sentiment of the school, and that, by bringing an actual rein- forcement to individual virtue, as well as by its con- stant attrition against a superficial habit, it would effect a great dlange in respect to profaneness.
" Having matured my plan, and having prepared the boys for a solemn consideration of the subject, I one day requested all who did not use profane lan- guage, nor any thing that approached to it, to rise. There was a mingled expression of curiosity, inter- est, almost of alarm, in the school, as the request was made. Sone fifteen or twenty boys, out of near two hundred, ifI recollect aright, stood up.
" These constituted the pure nucleus for the pro- posed Association. I opened my plans. They were received with aparent approval and pleasure. We had meetings; a constitution was formed; a name was adopted; officers were chosen, and a Library was set on foot.
" The association had privileges. It was of course honored by the teachers of the school. Its influence was soon manifest to a most gratifying degree. The practice which it was instituted to suppress, fell at once into condennation, and was gradually banished from the school-not that it was ever entirely extir- pated in individuals; but I think it may be said that a spirit hostile to the practice pervaded the school -and under swh circumstances, a vice whose foun- dation is deeper than habit must fall.
" The Association, before many months, numbered, I should think, lalf or two-thirds of the school.
" Parents cordially approved the movement, and
جوردريال
LOL
I
127
. SCHOOLS.
it is my conviction that its good results were extend. ed into homes, acting upon others than the pupils of the school. How could it be otherwise ?
" When children should come home, and speak of the Association and its objects, of their own partici- pation in its privileges, of the necessity of guardian- ship over their tongues, of the forfeiture of member- ship by any indulgence in the habit of swearing, how could it be otherwise, than that parents, or brothers, or even friends, should be led to think, and to for- bear a habit of whose folly and sin they would be thus incessantly yet unobtrusively reminded ?
" It was a special object with members of the As- sociation to dissuade those whom they heard using profane language, from perseverance in the habit ; and if any who were members were found lapsing, they were admonished by a committee, and, if the case demanded, were suspended, or expelled.
" I made it a point to learn the restrictive power of the Association; and for this purpose lent an car to the conversation of the boys, in their sports. Oc- casionally I have stood concealed, of moonlight nights, where I could overhear their language when they were gathered, in large numbers, at play; but it is my impression that, on these occasions, I never heard from one of my own boys a profane word.
" The influence of the Association seems to have been acknowledged by strangers. A distinguished gentleman of Boston, riding for his health to South Boston Point, was obliged of course to pass the school. house, which he often did at times when the boys were out at recess, or at play near the building. It seems that their decorous behavior, and their freedom from objectionable language, attracted his attention. Ilc stopped and made some inquiry as to the cause of
Him ba
128
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
such striking and agreeable results. Having learned it, he, with a very. kind letter, enclosed anonymously FIFTY DOLLARS, for the benefit of the Library of the Association.
" It is of course easy to see that the same influen- ces that would guard a boy from profane swearing, would also shield him from indecencies of expres- sion. That this was the case, I was fully convinced.
" The Association held regular meetings. I myself was a member. The affairs of the society were ad- ministered by proper officers and committees. It was one object to familiarize the members with par- liamentary forms, in their debates and transactions of business.
" You ask me to speak of the exhibitions of the Association. They were occasions of deep and uni- versal interest. I think they occurred semi-annually. Original addresses and poems were spoken at them ; or perhaps some short drama, written to il- lustrate the evils of profaneness, was acted. The exercises were interspersed with music.
" Delegations from similar societies in adjacent towns, with their badges, &c., were often present, and contributed greatly to the interest of the oc- casions.
" It is not to be denied that to sustain a constant interest in the Association, and to preserve it as a living agent of moral influence, required no little sacrifice of time, and no slight exercise of ingenuity. But if there is one act of my life which in the re- membrance gives me satisfaction, it is that of the establishment of the ' Hawes Juvenile Association.'
" I have of late years met but few of the young men (then boys) who were connected with the Asso- ciation, but it would be pleasant to hear their testi-
1
L
129
SCHOOLS.
mony respecting its value. Perhaps I overrate its permanent usefulness.
" As I have, in obedience to your request, run through this general sketch, the old scenes which it describes have arisen vividly to view. My relations to teachers and pupils have been revived, and I can- not but hope that they, in some measure, participate with me in pleasant remembrances of the period when we were all connected in labor and duty.
Truly yours, Jos. HARRINGTON."
To show more fully the design of the " Hawes Ju- venile Association," we here introduce the Preamble.
" We, the undersigned members of the Hawes School, regarding profane swearing as a most per- nicious sin, and earnestly desiring to abstain from it ourselves, and to check its progress in others, have resolved to form ourselves into a society for the suppression of profanity, and to be governed by the following regulations, as a Constitution."
The 6th Article of the Constitution defines what swearing was considered by the Association, and therefore we copy it.
" Profane swearing shall be divided into two class- es. In the First Class shall be comprehended the use of the name of ' God,' or the 'Saviour,' together with that of 'damn,' or its compounds, and 'hell,' or its compounds. In the Second Class shall be in- cluded all other words which may indirectly come under the title of profane, such as 'curse,' 'devil,' and their compounds, of which the society shall judge."
The following is a list of the Original Members of the Association, which is copied from the Records of the Society ;-
1
130
HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
" Joseph Harrington, Jr., John Alex'r Harris, El- kanah C. Crosby, George A. Stevens, Lewis F. Ba- ker, James Moore, Calvin F. How, Samuel M. Bed- lington, William McCarthy, Willis W. Colburn, Ben- jamin Thacher, E. H. Rogers, F. H. . lapp, Theodore Russell Glover, B. Capen, D. Nickerson, Joseph B. Johnson, Ober Spiller, Lyman G. Bruce, William E. Jenkins, James B. Rogers, Albert H. Blanchard, George T. Thacher, Charles W. Dexter, John W. Whiston, M. E. Day, Warren W. W. Glover, Max- well Poole, John Burrill, Joseph S. Binney, Nehe- miah P. Mann, Rowland E. Jenkins, Richard Faxon, William B. Fairchild, Tho's Hoar, John B. Pope, David W. Osborn, Edward W. Haynes, Richard Seward, Edwin A. Sherman."
Soon after the society became prosperous, the sins of lying and stealing were added to that of swearing, and any member who was convicted of either of these crimes was expelled.
The Exhibitions to which allusion is made in Mr. Harrington's letter, were of the most interesting nature, and were productive of much good. We have before us the Orders of Exercises of several of them, but too much space would be occupied by copying them.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.