USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > South Boston > History of South Boston (its past and present) and prospects for the future, with sketches of prominent men > Part 31
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SIMONDS PRIMARY SCHOOL. - Owing to the growth of the Hawes School the building be- came inadequate and accordingly it became necessary to secure additional room to relieve its crowded condition. In order to do this it was decided to erect a building in the school yard, and accordingly the Simonds School was built in 1840. It is a brick building and contains three rooms. The area of the site of both schools is 14,972 square feet.
There are twenty-seven HAWES HALL AND SIMONDS PRIMARY SCHOOLS. West Broadway near Dorchester Street regular instructors in the district -three male and fourteen female instructors for the grammar and ten female instructors for the primary schools. Pupils in grammar school 792, primary schools 508, total for district 1, 300.
The master and teachers in this district are as follows :
Bigelow School : - Master J. Gardner Bassett; sub-masters John F. McGrath and Carroll M. Austin ; first assistants Amelia B. Coe and
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Ellen Coe ; assistants, Martha A. Goodrich, Eleanor M. Jordan, Angeline S. Morse, Margaret E. Roche, Sabina G. Sweeney, Caroline L. Regan, Mary Nichols, Alice M. Robinson, Malvena Tenney, Josephine Crockett, Evelyn M. Howe, Katharine P. Kelley and Catharine H. Cook.
Hawes Hall :- First Assistant Annie S. McKissick; assistants, Sarah D. McKissick, Ella F. Fitzgerald, Margarette H. Price, Laura S. Russell, Mary L. Howard and Alice E. Thornton.
Simonds School :- Assistants Julia A. Rourke, Julia G. Leary and Florence L. Spear.
Master J. Gardner Bassett has been connected with the Bigelow School nearly 30 years. He was born in Bridgewater, Mass., and after attending the schools of his native town he decided to fit himself to be a teacher. He therefore took a four years' course in the Bridge- water Normal School, and then taught for a short time in North Woburn and Fall River.
January 26, 1874, he was appointed to the Bigelow School as usher, as the assistant teachers were then called. In 1883 he became first sub-master and in 1896 head master of the school. It was largely through the efforts of Mr. Bassett that the attention of Dr. William J. Gallivan, President of the School Board, was called, in 1898, to the dangerous condition of the old school, and steps were immediately taken for the erection of the magnificent new building now nearing completion. Mr. Bassett also organized the Bigelow School Alumni Association in June, 1900.
GASTON SCHOOL DISTRICT.
The Gaston School, established in September 1873, was named in honor of William Gaston, mayor of the city at that time and afterward governor of Massachusetts. The building is located on East Fifth Street, at the corner of L Street and was built in 1873. In April 1887, it was seriously injured by fire and when repaired the structure was fitted throughout with a modern ventilating system.
The building is three stories high and contains fourteen rooms and a hall, all of which are occupied by grammar classes.
No reference to the Gaston School would be complete without allusion to its first master, Mr. Charles Goodwin Clark. Mr. Clark had been master of the Bigelow and Lincoln Schools previous to the erection of the Gaston. He was a born teacher and was second to no man among the masters of Boston in advancing the interests of education.
This district contains one primary building.
BENJAMIN POPE PRIMARY SCHOOL .- This building is situated at the corner of O and East Fifth Streets, the main entrance being on O Street, and was built in 1883. It is two stories high, and contains eight rooms, all of which are occupied by primary classes.
There are thirty regular instructors in the district, one male and eighteen female instructors for the grammar, and nine female instructors for the primary and two for the kindergarten classes.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Sewing is taught to all the divisions of the grammar school by special teachers.
Pupils in grammar school, 970, primary schools, 500, kindergarten 60, total for district 1,530.
The master and teachers are as follows :
Gaston School :- Master Thomas H. Barnes; first assistants Juliette R. Hayward and Sarah C. Winn ; assistants Carrie M. King- man, Clara A. Sharp, Mary B. Barry, Carrie A. Harlow, Emogene F.
GASTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL (GIRLS). East Fifth, Sixth and L Streets.
Willett, Ellen R. Wyman, Emma M. Sibley, Josephine A. Powers, J. Adelaide Noonan, M. Isabel Harrington, Jennie G. Carmichael, Lila Huckins, Agnes R. Leahy, Louise B. Frothingham, Mary S. Laughton and Florence E. Bryan.
Benjamin Pope School : - First assistant Ella R. Johnson ; assist- tants Katharine J. McMahon, Carrie W. Haydn, Mary E. Dee, Lelia R. Haydn, Isabella J. Murray, Louise E. Means, Katherine E. Goode and Lillias Thomson.
Kindergarten : - Grace L. Sanger and Bertha E. Richardson.
Master Thomas H. Barnes was born in Waltham, Mass. His father was Francis, and his mother was Adeline Lawrence of Lexington.
His boyhood was spent on the farm, attending a school a few months in the winter, when he could be spared from the duties of the
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
farm. Thinking he would like to be a teacher he prepared at the Bridgewater Normal School After short terms of teaching in country schools at Abington and Lexington, he became principal of the Hacker School at Salem, where he remained until 1865, when he became sub- master in the Bigelow School, South Boston. He was promoted to the mastership in 1869, and held that position till 1889, when he was transferred to the Gaston School succeeding Mr. C. Goodwin Clark.
His wife was Miss Louise J. Varney of Salem. They have but one living child, William Thomas Barnes, a civil engineer, graduate of the Institute of Technology in 1893.
Mr. Barnes is a Mason, and belongs to several beneficiary orders. He is a member of the Broadway Universalist Society, and holds offices of trust in the denomination at large.
-
FY
BENJAMIN POPE PRIMARY SCHOOL.
MASTER THOMAS H. BARNES
P and Fifth Streets.
He has declined positions of honor in various organizations, prefer- ring to give his time and energy to his chosen work.
Hundreds of the young men of South Boston, today, look back to their schooling in the old Bigelow School and recall with gratitude the teachings of Mr. Barnes, his patience, kindness and constant advice which was so profitable to them in after years. In the Gaston School, likewise, he has endeared himself to the pupils.
JOHN A. ANDREW SCHOOL DISTRICT.
This school was established in September, 1873, and in its early years occupied a part of the Ticknor building. The present building was erected in 1877-78 and was dedicated June 5, 1878. It was named
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
in honor of Governor John A. Andrew, but was known simply as the " Andrew School," until 1890, when by a vote of the School Committee on February 25th of that year the full name " John A. Andrew" was applied to it. It is the only mixed gram- mar school in South Boston. It is a spacious and well equipped building, three stories high and contains fifteen school rooms, a teachers' room and a hall. Area of site, 24,889 square feet. This district contains but one primary school building.
TICKNOR PRIMARY SCHOOL .- It is situated corner of Dorchester and Middle Streets, and was erected in 1848. This building was at one time known as the Washington School. In April, 1848, the town of Dorchester appropriated $3,600 for the land and $6,000 for the MASTER JOSHUA M. DILL, building. A two story brick structure was erected and completed in the fall of the same year. It contained two primary rooms on the first floor and a large room for grammar pupils capable of accommodating 120 on the second floor. In 1865 the structure was enlarged and repaired, resulting in the present
JOHN A, ANDREW GRAMMAR SCHOOL (BOYS AND GIRLS). Dorchester Street.
building. The present structure is three stories high and contains twelve rooms. Area of site, 11,486 square feet.
There are twenty-nine regular instructors in the district, two male and fourteen female instructors for the grammar, eleven female instruct-
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
ors for the primary and two for the kindergarten classes. Sewing is taught by a special teacher to nine divisions of the grammar school. Pupils in grammar school 835, primary and kindergarten schools 625, total for district 1,460.
The master and teachers are as follows :
John A. Andrew School : - Master Joshua M. Dill ; sub-master Edgar L. Raub; first assistants Emma M. Cleary and Sarah E. Lyons; assistants Mary L. Fitz- gerald, Alice T. Cornish, Bertha E. Miller, Olga A. F. Stegelmann, Anna M. Edmands, Maude S. Rice, Alice E. Dacy, Agnes M. Cochran, Annie M. Zbrosky, Mary E. Bernhard, Ellen M. Collins and 1 Ethel M. Borden. Special instruct- ors :- Julia T. Crowley in cookery, Louise H. Billings in manual training and Elizabeth S. Kenna in sewing.
Ticknor School :- First assist- ant Mary A. Jenkins; assistants TICKNOR PRIMARY SCHOOL. Dorchester Street. Sarah S. Ferry, Alice P. Howard, Sarah E. Welch, Alice L. Littlefield, Grace E. Holbrook, Annie M. Driscoll, Emily F. Hodsdon, Annie C. O'Reilly, Mary C. Gartland, Charlotte C. Hamblin. Kindergarten : - Principal Isabel B. Trainer ; assistant Effie M. Charnock.
Master Joshua M. Dill of the John A. Andrew School was born in the town of Wellfleet, Cape Cod, and received his early education in that town and later taught school there. He then attended the State Normal School at Bridgewater from which he graduated in 1870. For a short time he occupied a position as teacher in West Bridgewater, afterward re-entering she State Normal School where he took the advanced course, graduating in July, 1872, and in September, 1872, he secured a position as teacher in Natick. In January, 1863, he secured a position in the Quincy School, Boston, where he remained until March, 1874, when he was appointed sub-master of the John A. Andrew School. He occupied this position until December, 1881, when he was appointed master of the school. For twenty years Principal Dill was a resident of Dorchester, but at present lives in Newton.
LAWRENCE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
The Lawrence Grammar School was instituted in 1842 and occu- pied the building known at the present time as the Parkman School on Broadway adjoining Station 6. It was not known as the Lawrence School in those days, however, being called the Mather School, in com- memoration of the distinguished divines, father and son, of that name.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Some years ago when the building underwent extensive repairs it was named the Lawrence School as a grateful testimony to Amos Lawrence a prominent Boston merchant who, for several years, had manifested much interest in the school and who, from time to time, had presented "The Lawrence Association," valuable donations of books and similar articles. This association was formed in 1844 to increase intellect- 1 ual and moral culture among the pupils. Through the donations of Mr. Lawrence and the efforts of the people themselves a library of some twelve hundred volumes was secured.
LAWRENCE GRAMMAR SCHOOL (BOYS'). B and West Third Streets.
The present school build- ing, situated on B Street between West Third and Athens Streets, was erected in 1856 and when the pupils were moved from the old building the name Lawrence went with them and the old building received its former name again.
This new structure contains fourteen rooms and a hall and at one time was one of the best school buildings in Boston. It is a four story brick building erected upon a part of the former site of Nook Hill, that historic spot upon which Washington's troops erected a battery on the night of March 16, 1776, which was effective in convincing the British soldiers in Boston that it was time to vacate, and they took their depart- ure the following day. At that time the hill was about fifty feet higher than at present. In commemoration of the historic significance of the site, the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the Revolution placed a bronze tablet upon the school March 17, 1900, at which time there were appropriate exercises by the pupils.
For several years the Lawrence School was the largest in the city, but when the march of progress obliterated a portion of this, a thickly settled section of the district, the attendance was greatly diminished. Quite recently Master Leonard, having a room entirely vacant, had it fitted up as a teachers' room and also had extensive changes made in the hall. Various classes have from time to time presented the school with busts of eminent men, pictures and similar articles, while with the money received through the Gibson fund, Master Leonard has pro- vided a stereopticon, and from year to year adds various valuable books to the already large library that had its origin in the Lawrence Association.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
Lawrence School graduates look back to their school days here with particular pleasure, and there is not a more loyal alumni in the city. The area of the school site is 14,343 square feet. There are three primary schools in this district.
JOS AH A. STEARNS. First Master.
MASTER AMOS M. LEONARD.
LARKIN DUNTON. Second Master.
PARKMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL .- This building was originally known as the Mather School and was later called the Lawrence until the Lawrence School was erected, after which its original name reverted to it again only to be taken away once more in 1898, at which time it
SAMUEL G HOWE PRIMARY SCHOOL. West Fifth Street.
V
PARKMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL. West Broadway.
was named the Parkman School, to prevent confusing it with the newly erected school in Dorchester of the name of Mather.
It is situated on West Broadway, midway between Band C Streets, and was erected in 1842. It is a three story brick building and con-
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
tains eleven school rooms, teachers' room and ante-rooms. Six rooms are used for primary, four for grammar and one for kindergarten classes.
In 1898, it was decided to abandon the Parkman schoolhouse on Silver Street for school purposes and the name " Parkman " was accord- ingly transferred to the Mather and it has been known as the Parkman Primary School ever since.
OLD PARKMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL .- This school is situated on Silver Street and was erected in 1848. It is a three story brick building containing six rooms, four of which are at present occupied by pupils of the Bigelow district. The building is in such poor condition that its discontinuance was expected long before now and will certainly result when the new Bigelow School is completed.
SAMUEL G. HOWE PRIMARY SCHOOL .- Situated on West Fifth Street is the Samuel G. Howe School, erected in 1874. It is a brick building containing nine rooms, including the teachers' room and kindergarten room. It was named in honor of Dr. Samuel G. Howe, a distinguished citizen of South Boston and founder of the Perkins Institution for the Blind.
Area of site 12,494 square feet.
There are thirty-three regular instructors in the district, three male and twelve female instructors in the grammar and fourteen female instructors in the primary and four in the kindergarten classes. Pupils in grammar school 809, primary 829, total for district, 1,638.
The master and teachers in this district are as follows :
Lawrence School :- Master Amos M. Leonard : sub-masters George S. Houghton and Michael E. Fitzgerald ; assistants Charlotte Voight, Isabella F. Crapo, Katherine Haushalter, Mary E. McMann, Mary A. Montague, Maud A. Gleason, Mary A. Conroy, Margaret J. Schenck, Mary F. O'Brien, M. Louise Gillett and Elizabeth J. Andrews; drawing Jennie E. Bailey.
Parkman School :- First assistant Sarah E. Lakeman ; assistants Margaret M. Burns, Maud F. Crosby, Lena J. Crosby, Mary E. Flynn, Eva C. Morris, Amelia Mckenzie. Kindergarten : Principal, Helen L. Holmes ; assistant Ida G. Thurston.
Samuel G. Howe School : - First assistant Martha S. Damon ; assistants Emma Britt, Marie F. Keenan, Martha J. Krey, Mary E. T. Shine, Henrietta Nichols and Sabina F. Kelly ; Kindergarten : Princi- pal Bertha Arnold ; assistant Anna M. Mullins.
Miss Margaret A. Moody, for fifty years a teacher in the Mather and Lawrence Schools, was one who will long be remembered by old Lawrence School boys who were her pupils at some time during that period. She began teaching in the old Mather School in 1842. The rounding out of those fifty years of faithful service was remembered by a large number of her former pupils who, June 26, 1893, presented her with a basket of 150 choice roses, among those participating being men prominent in various walks of life. Mr. John F. Noonan, a member of
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
her first class, and now living, was one of the number. The presentation speech was made by Mr. Thomas A. Mullen. Having completed a half century of teaching, Miss Moody resigned. She died at her home on East Fifth Street in 1895.
From its beginning and for many years the Lawrence School was in charge of Josiah A. Stearns, who is well remembered by many of our residents. He guarded the interests of the school until March 1868, at which time it became a school for boys, Master Stearns and the girls being transferred to the new Norcross School.
His service to the city of Boston was a long and honorable one, covering a period of over forty years, beginning as usher in the old Adams School, on Mason Street, and continuing as principal in the Mather, Lawrence and Norcross Schools, from August 1843 until shortly before his death, October ISS2.
Master Larkin Dunton, who succeeded Master Stearns at the Lawrence School, was also well known. He had served as principal of the high school at Bath, Me., and came to the Lawrence School in 1867 as sub-master, becoming master a year later. He was appointed headmaster of the Boston Normal School, Sept. 1, 1872, where he rendered most efficient service for 27 years.
Master Amos Morse Leonard, of the Lawrence School, and who succeeded Master Dunton, is a descendant in the seventh generation of James Leonard, who, with his brother Henry, set up a forge, or bloomery, on Two Mile River in Taunton, now Raynham in 1652. These were the first permanent iron works in this country. The Leonards were previously engaged in the iron industry in Pontypool, Wales, and Bilston, Eng., their lineage going back to William the Conqueror, through Lord Dacre of England.
Mr. Leonard was born in Stoughton, being the third of nine chil- dren, of Hiram and Rebecca G. Leonard. His father owned a small farm and was also engaged in the manufacture of edge tools and shoe makers' kit. When not attending school the sons worked on the farm and sometimes assisted their father in the shop.
When 14 years old, a new interest in study was awakened in young Leonard by J. Murray Drake, a teacher of great ability, who boarded in the family, and his aim in life then was to become a teacher like his ideal. As there was no high school in Stoughton, Mr. Leonard began the study of Latin, algebra and geometry under Mr. Drake and in 1859, entered Pierce Academy, Middleboro. He remained here until 1862 when he entered Tufts College and a year later he was admitted to the sophomore class in Harvard University from which he gradu- ated in 1866. During one year of his course here he studied Italian under James Russell Lowell. He was a member of the Theta Delta Chi and Pi Eta Societies. In 1862 he received the degree of A. M. from Harvard.
Between 1860 and 1866 he taught school in Stoughton for several
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IIISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
terms and in September 1866 he was engaged to teach Latin and mathematics in Mr. David B. Tower's Latin School on Park Street. On October 22, of that year he resigned to take charge of a branch of the Quincy School, in the old Franklin Building on Washington Street, Boston.
He remained until May 1, 1868, when he was appointed sub- master of the Lawrence School after a competitive examination in which sixty participated. September 1, 1872, he was appointed master, gaining the distinction of being the youngest principal and having charge of the largest school in the city at that time.
In June 1897, at the close of his 25th year as master, he was the recipient of a handsome gold watch, a token of friendship and esteem from all the teachers, pupils and janitors of the district.
Master Leonard is a member of the Boston Masters' Association, Massachusetts Schoolmasters' Club, vice president of the Roxbury Co-operative Bank, of which he has been a director since 1899, and a member of the security committee for ten years, and a life member of the Bostonian Society. He is much interested in historical studies and is fond of good literature and classical music, having been for many years a member of the Handel and Haydn Society and the Boylston Club.
Mr. Leonard was married in King's Chapel, December 28, 1898, to Miss Helen Augusta, daughter of the late Sylvanus and Caroline Wesson Adams. He resides at 47 Bellevue Street, Back Bay District.
LINCOLN SCHOOL DISTRICT.
The Lincoln School on East Broadway was established in 1859 as a school for both sexes. It was named in honor of Frederick W. Lincoln, mayor of Boston 1858-60 and 1863-66. In 1873 the school was divided and the girls were sent to the Gaston School which had just been completed. Again in 1889 the district was divided and a portion of the pupils were sent to the Thomas N. Hart School which was finished in that year. The building contains 13 school rooms, a teachers' room and a hall. The building is four stories high. Area of site, 24,000 square feet. Included in this district are two primary schools.
Mr. Samuel Barrett was the first master of the Lincoln School. From 1852 to 1859 he had been master of the Hawes School and on the establishment of the Lincoln School he was transferred, taking charge June 7, 1859. June 13, 1865 he presented his resignation which took effect at the end of the school year. Mr. Barrett had been in the service of the city as a school teacher since 1828.
July 11, 1865 Mr. C. Goodwin Clark was transferred from the Bigelow School and was annually elected master of the Lincoln School until June 25, 1872 when he was transferred to the new Gaston School, taking charge the following year.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
July 8, 1873 Mr. Alonzo G. Ham was elected master, remaining until March 26, 1889 when he was transferred to the Thomas N. Hart School, his mastership there dating from Dec. 2, 1889.
March 25, 1890 Mr. Maurice P. White was elected master of the Lincoln School and has since been in charge.
TUCKERMAN PRI- MARY SCHOOL .- This building on East Fourth Street be- tween L and M Streets, was con - structed in 1850, is three stories high and contains six rooms. It was named in honor of Rev. Joseph Tuck- erman, a member of the Primary School Committee in 1827- 28. It was much smaller originally, but was enlarged to its present size in I 865. It was in- cluded in the Gaston District until 1890 LINCOLN GRAMMAR SCHOOL (BOYS'). East Broadway. and in February of that year was transferred to the Lincoln" District. Area of site, 1 1,655 square feet.
CHOATE BURNHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL. - This is one of the newest buildings in South Boston having been erected in 1894. It is situated on East Third Street, be- rween H and I Streets, and contains eight tooms. It is three stories high, constructed of yellow brick, heated by steam and fitted with all modern appliances. It was named in honor of Choate Burnham, a prominent resident of South Boston, who was a mem- ber ot the School Committee during 1891 and part of 1892. Area of site, 17,136 square feet.
There are thirty-one regular instructors in the district : - Three male and twelve MASTER MAURICE P WHITE. female instructors for the grammar and fourteen female instructors for the primary and two for the kindergarten
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
schools. Pupils in grammar school 713, primary 715, kindergarten 56, total for district 1484.
TUCKERMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL. East Fourth Street.
CHOATE BURNHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL East Third Street
The master and teachers are as follows :
Lincoln School :- Master Maurice P. White ; sub-masters William E. Perry and Charles N. Bentley ; first assistant Martha F. Wright ; assistants Josephine A. Simonton, Hattie E. Sargeant, Louise A. Pieper, Florence O. Bean, Vodisa J. Comey, Ellen A. McMahon, Hannah L. Manson, Jennie M. Pray, Agnes G. Nash, Gertrude L. Wright and Frances G. Keyes.
Tuckerman School : - First assistant Elizabeth M. Easton ; assist- ants Ellen V. Courtney, Mary A. Crosby, Ella M. Kenniff, Mary F. Lindsay, Anna E. Somes and Elizabeth G. Burke.
Choate Burnham School : - First assistant Laura L. Newhall ; assistants Kate A. Coolidge, Eleanor F. Elton, Helen M. Canning, Daisy E. Welch, Helen A. Emery and Rachael W. Washburn. Kinder- garten : - Principal Annie E. Pousland, assistant Eliza L. Osgood.
Master Maurice P. White was born in South Hadley, Mass. His father was Stephen White, a descendant of William White of the May- flower, and his mother was Lydia Bradstreet, a descendant of Gov. Bradstreet. Until fourteen years of age he worked on a farm and at- tended the district school. Then, on the death of his father, he came to Boston. Fitting for college at Salem he graduated from Amherst College and began teaching in an academy in New Hampshire, then taught in Washington, D. C. for six years and came to Boston as sub- master of the Lowell School in 1883. He became master of the Lincoln School in 1889.
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