USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1657 to 1861; with a brief sketch of the town of Northborough, a genealogy of the families in Marlborough to 1800 > Part 20
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" The one-third, two-thirds, and three-fourths mentioned above, are added to the north-west squadron, to make that up three weeks."
The above arrangement of the schools appears to have been satisfactory to the people ; for the records show no action of the town, except to choose a committee to employ a teacher, for a number of years. At length, on the 25th of October, 1762, when the school-master must have been " abroad," the inhab- itants voted, " That the town will build or repare the school- housen in the several squadrants in the town, Where they Now arc," and chose a committee of six to carry said vote into effect.
It appears by the subsequent action of the town, that the committee caused to be erected six new houses, viz., one near Robert Baker's, at the east end of the town; one near the heirs
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of Joseph Johnson, easterly of the meeting-house ; one near the widow Mary Bruce's ; one near the meeting-house, where the old house formerly stood ; one near Jacob Felton's ; and one at Robin Hill, so called.
During the exciting period which preceded the opening of the Revolution, nothing new appears to have taken place in relation to the schools. And during the Revolution we could hardly expect any particular improvement in the condition of the school system. One event occurred, however, during this · period, which deserves notice, as it has a direct bearing upon the cause of education in Marlborough. Captain Ephraim Brigham, a highly respected citizen, in the year 1771, left a donation of £111 to the town, to remain as a perma- nent fund, the interest of which was to be "annually ex- pended in hiring some suitable person to keep a school in the middle of the town, to teach young people the arts of writing and cyphering." This fund was to be under the control of the Selectmen for the time being, who were made trustees for that purpose, and who were required to see that the interest was annually expended, agreeably to the provisions of the will. This fund, at that time, and for a long period after, was highly important to the young people of the town. Being confined to writing and arithmetic, it furnished the older schol- ars an opportunity, as they were about leaving school, to perfect themselves in those branches which would qualify them for the transaction of the active business of life. Many a young man, of Marlborough birth, has had reason to remember with grati- tude the worthy giver. Such instances of liberality, in fitting the young for usefulness, should be gratefully cherished by every lover of his race.
" The Brigham School," as it was called, was kept in the central district of the town, after the winter schools had closed, which was generally about the first of March, and was open to scholars of a prescribed age, from all parts of the township, and furnished about a month's additional instruction for the older scholars. This fund has since been merged in the gen- eral school appropriation, so that the interest is now employed, like the annual school grants, for the benefit of all the children in the place.
During some portion of the Revolution, the town supported
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a grammar school, in which the languages were taught ; but the heavy burdens of the war induced them to suspend it for a time. In 1779, it was voted " to provide a school-house for the northerly part of the town, and to choose a committee to purchase a house of Mr. Lesure, or build a new one, as they shall think proper." In 1781, they voted " to build a school- house for the 'Farm ' squadron, and move the Cook school- house, so as to accommodate the east squadron, near John Stow's."
The records do not show the amount of money appropriated for the support of the schools; the custom being to grant so much for the " town's use," or " to pay town charges." It is a matter of regret, that the records of most of our towns are so meagre. We sometimes find an important subject before a town, a committee of some of their principal men selected to examine and report upon the whole subject, and when we come to the record of the report, we are informed " that the committee submitted a detailed report, which was accepted." In this way the whole value of the record is lost ; and as the files of most of our towns are not preserved, the public are left in profound ignorance ; the record not being worth the paper on which it is written. How long will our towns suffer such evils to continue ?
For several years after the close of the war, no particular change appears to have been made in relation to the schools. Committees were chosen, from time to time, to employ masters, and apportion the money to the different squadrons. In De- cember, 1789, " William Morse, Silas Jewell, Samuel Howe, Alpheus Woods, Joseph Howe, Daniel Stevens, and Heman Stow, were chosen a committee to consider an Act of the Gen- eral Court respecting keeping schools, passed June 25, 1789, and report to the town some plan to carry the same into execu- tion."
At a meeting held January following, the committee submit- ted a detailed report, which we will give entire, as it contains the best evidence we have of the number and condition of the schools in the town.
"We, the Committee chosen by the inhabitants of the town of Marlbo- rough, on the 14th of December, 1789, to consider an Act of the General Court respecting keeping schools, passed June 25, 1789, requiring that every town or district containing two hundred families or householders, shall be
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provided with a Grammar School Master of good moral character, well in- structed in the Latin, Greek and English Languages, and that in addition thereto, shall be provided with a school-master of good morals, to teach chil- dren to read, and instruct them in the English language, as well as in arith- metic, orthography, and decent behavior, for such a term of time as shall be equivalent to twelve months for each of said schools in such year, beg leave to report, that whereas upon examination, they find the number of families in Marlborough to exceed two hundred, and whereas the above named act requires that every town or district containing two hundred families or householders, should have two schools, each of which is to be kept for such a term of time as shall be equivalent to twelve months for each school in each year, they also think it advisable, in order that the town may be pro- vided with able school-masters, that the Selectmen for the time being, be a committee to provide a school-master duly qualified to keep said schools, as the said Act directs.
" Your Committee would also report, that it appears the most equitable that each school should be kept an equal term of time, in each school-house ; that is, seven weeks and three days in each school-house in each year. It further appears to your Committee the most equitable, that the school which is now kept in the school-house near Mr. Robert Baker's, be continued there, until it shall have completed seven weeks and three days; that it then remove to the school-house near Mr. Amos Ray's, to be kept there seven weeks and three days; that it then remove to the school-house near Mr. Noah Howe's, there to be kept seven weeks and three days; that it then remove to the school-house near Mr. Stephen Felton's, there to be kept seven weeks and three days; that it then remove to the school-house near the meeting-house, there to be kept seven weeks and three days ; then to remove to the school-house near Mr. Winslow Brigham's, there to be kept seven weeks and three days; that it then remove to the school-house near Mr. Alexander Newton's, there to be kept seven weeks and three days, which completes twelve months for one school.
" Your Committee think it equitable, that when the school that is now kept near Mr. Baker's remove to the school-house near Mr. Ray's, another school should begin at the school-house near Mr. Alexander Newton's, on the Farm, and be regulated, as to the time of keeping and removes, according to the rules prescribed for the above mentioned school.
" Your Committee further judge it advisable, that the Selectmen procure, as soon as may be, school-masters to keep school in the following school- houses, viz. : In that near Mr. Winslow Brigham's, in that near the meeting- house, and in that near Stephen Felton's; to keep in each school-house seven weeks and three days, which will make up that time which shall have expired between the first of October, 1789, and that time in which the last mentioned school is to be opened in the school-house on the Farm. And that the schools may not interfere one with the other, but that they may be conducted in such a manner as to answer the end for which they are in- tended, it is the opinion of your Committee, that they be under the direction of the Selectmen for the time being, who from time to time shall make such
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alterations as they shall judge best, provided they do not infringe those rules which are above prescribed."
It appears by this report that there were in 1790, seven school districts, or squadrons, as they were in the habit of calling them, and that each district had its school-house. It also appears that each district had a school of fifteen weeks in a year.
From 1790 to 1803, nothing in particular appears on the records of the town, in relation to the schools. Several new school-houses were erected, generally about twenty-four feet square ; some of them with a porch about six or seven feet square. The money raised for the support of schools seems to have been included in the general grant of money for the town's use ; so that the sum expended for the schools does not appear upon the records.
In 1803, a large committee, consisting of Benjamin Rice, Aaron Brigham, Lovell Barnes, Silas Felton, Stephen Ames, Daniel Brigham, and Abner Goodale, submitted a report in relation to the schools, which was accepted by the town. The report is as follows :
" We, the Committee chosen by the inhabitants of the town of Marl- borough, on the 8th of March, 1803, ' to see if any and what regulations should be made in the town schools,' having taken the matter into considera- tion, do report that it is advisable to adopt the following regulations, viz : That a suitable person be provided to teach all such scholars in the town as may wish to learn the Latin and Greek Languages.
" That suitable English Grammar school-masters be provided, to keep the following terms of time, at each of the school-houses, viz :
" At the Centre School-house, No. 1, 17 weeks. " At the South-west No. 2, 15 66 " At the North-west 66 No. 3, 14
" At the North No. 4,
" At the North-east 66
No. 5,
13
" At the East, 66 No. 6,
15
" At the South-east No. 7,
13
66
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" That the aforesaid schools shall commence annually at each school- house as near the middle of November as may be.
"That the town shall choose, by ballot, a Committee of seven persons, one for each school-house ; and it shall be the duty of said Committee to carry the following regulations into effect. Also to provide wood for said
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schools, and regulate them ; and with the minister and such other persons as may wish to attend, visit said schools.
" That after the present year, the aforesaid Committee shall be chosen at the annual March Meeting for the choice of Town Officers. And as no legacy we can bequeath to posterity is so valuable as a good education, your Committee do further report, that in addition to the other schooling, the aforesaid Committee shall provide suitable school-mistresses to keep school seven weeks and a half annually, in each town school-house, and regulate said woman schools according to their discretion."
The foregoing report, which was accepted by the town, placed the schools on a more permanent basis, and gave a new impulse to the cause of education. The sum expended for the schools does not appear upon the town records. The portion of the town grant expended for education was left to be decided by the Selectmen, who apportioned the money to the several districts. This new regulation annulled the old system of " moving schools," and introduced the employment of female teachers, which probably had not prevailed up to that time. Before this period, the schools were kept the year round by a male teacher, holding a session first in one district, and then in another. This policy deprived many of the older scholars, who were about finishing their schooling, of the opportunity of attending at the season of the year when they were most at leisure, or else of going three or four miles to school ; and the smaller scholars were deprived of all instruction, except when the school was kept in their own district. But the change gave them a chance to attend in their own neighborhood, when they were most at leisure ; and the employment of female teachers in the summer gave the small children a privilege greater than they had enjoyed before ; and so, in fact, doubled the usefulness of the schools, without increasing materially the expense.
In 1812, after a struggle of several years, a new school-house was erected, and a new district created near Feltonville, then known as the Mills. Subsequently, the district near the centre of the town was divided, and a school-house erected at Spring Hill. This was followed by the creation of another district, in the south-west part of the town, and a school-house was erected south of the pond, to accommodate the people in that quarter, and relieve other schools which were thought to be too large.
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In 1827, the Legislature passed a general law in relation to the schools in the Commonwealth, which gave a new spring to the cause of education. Up to this period, there had been no committee required by law to be chosen by the towns, to take the charge or oversight of the schools. Where the towns were districted, the people in district, or in town meeting, elected a committee, who in many cases, considered their duty performed when they had employed a teacher and furnished fuel for the school. The examination of teachers and of the schools was, by custom, devolved upon the minister, and in some cases upon the Selectmen of the town. But the Act of 1827 created an inspecting committee, and gave them the general supervision of the schools. But the measure which has done more to improve the schools in Massachusetts than any other, was the creation of the Board of Education, in 1837. This Act was preceded by an Act, 1834, establishing a school fund for the improvement of the common schools. These Acts requiring returns from the school committees, which the towns were compelled by law to elect, brought, for the first time in our history, the condition of all the schools in the Com- monwealth before the public ; and through the medium of the Board of Education, the improvements made in one part of the State, were made known to every other part; and hence a spirit of just emulation was excited, which has done much for the cause of education.
We dwell upon this with the more satisfaction, as the pros- perity of the community, and the permanence of our institu- tions, depend in a great degree upon the general diffusion of knowledge. And though colleges are highly important in their place, and should be sustained by every friend of education ; yet the direct advantages of these literary institutions are, and always must be, confined to a very small portion of our popula- tion. It is upon the common schools, that the great mass of the people must ever depend for all the literary advantages which they enjoy. And one great blessing attendant upon the town school is, that it is open to all classes, without distinction. Here the rich and the poor enjoy the same privilege. Here, more than any where else, all caste and distinction is super- seded, and all may partake of the feast of knowledge, "without money and without price." While invidious distinctions are
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practically recognized in all other places-while, in the house of God, the rich generally have more fashionable seats than the poor; and in the resting-places of the dead, the same distinction is often obvious-in the school-room, the child of the poor or the fallen is entitled to as high a seat, and to as great privileges, as the child of the wealthiest or the most honored man in the community. Every lover of his race-every friend of equal rights-every one who wishes to elevate the unfortu- nate, must rejoice in the success of these little seminaries, which admit of no distinctions which merit does not originate.
The permanence of our civil institutions depends more upon our free school system, than upon any thing else, save the great and elevating principles of our holy religion. It is worthy of special remark, that that portion of the country which is labor- ing to destroy our blessed Republic, and build up an arbitrary and aristocratic government in its place, is the very section where free schools have never been established-a fact which speaks volumes for our free school system.
As far baek as we have official returns, viz. in 1834, Marl- borough appropriated but $900 for the support of her schools, which was rather a small sum for a town of her population and wealth. This sum was raised to $1,000 in 1836, and in 1841 to $1,100. The abstract of the schools published by the Com- monwealth, showed that Marlborough was in the rear of other towns of her class, and the school committee, in 1844, urged it upon the town to increase their appropriations ; yet their wise suggestion was lost upon the people. But the grad- uated tables in the Annual Report of the Board of Education, presented her to considerable disadvantage, and the fluctuation in the number of scholars, from year to year, was such as to show that the town committee could have paid but little atten- tion to the subject committed to them.
About 1850, a new interest seems to have been excited. The appropriation, which crept along up to $1,300, was in 1851, increased to $1,500, and in 1853, to $2,250. In 1855, two new and more commodious school-houses were erected, and about the same time the larger schools were graded, and females were employed to instruct the smaller children ; so that, practically, the number of schools was carried from ten to sixteen, and the same amount of money was made more productive, by furnish-
.
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ing better facilities to the children of the place. In 1857, a new feeling was infused into the community, and the sum of $3,465, was devoted to the schools. This sum was increased to $3,910 in 1860. Thus, within a few years, has the town of Marlborough brought her schools up to a high standard.
As a view of the past may serve to stimulate us in the future, I will present a view of the appropriations in Marlborough for the support of public schools, together with the number of scholars.
Year.
No. of Scholars between Four and Sixteen.
Appropriation for Schools
Year.
No. of Scholars between Five and Fifteen.
Appropriation for Schools.
1834 .
634
$ 900
1851
. 580
$ 1,500
1836 .
630
1,000
1853
653
2,250
1838
640
1,100
1855
712
2,150
1840
651
1,000
1856
709
2,220
1842
600
1,125
1857 .
712
2,280
1844
656
1,100
1858 .
8.43
3.465
1846
596
1,100
1859
829
3,746
1848
560
1,300
1860
829
3.882
1850 .
643
1,300
1861
. 875
3,910
for the Year.
This table, while it shows some want of accuracy, proves, at the same time, the increased interest manifested in the cause of education. The figures set down are from the returns of each preceding year ; and hence what stands against 1861 is, in fact, the state of things for 1860 ; and so of other years.
For a time Marlborough hardly came up to the standard of other towns of her class, in her appropriations for the schools. But it is due to her to say, that as the money was divided among the districts, many of the citizens in the districts length- ened out the schools, by furnishing fuel and board, at a reduced rate, and sometimes by private contributions.
But there was another cause which contributed to keep down the appropriations, and to lessen the interest felt in the common schools. Realizing that the district schools did not meet the wants of the people, certain enterprising citizens of Marlborough, in 1826, obtained a charter and established an academy. In the year following, a building was erected for the accommodation of the school. Subsequently, Messrs. Silas Gates and Abraham Gates, father and son, gave successively, each, one thousand
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dollars by will, the interest of which was to be appropriated towards the salary of a preceptor. In consequence of these benefactions, the name of the academy was changed to that of the "Gates Academy." This school was under the care of Messrs. Wheeler, Lincoln, Hoppin, and Langley. At first it was in a flourishing condition ; but it fell into a decline, and had nearly expired, when, in 1833, Mr. O. W. Albee took the charge of the school, and brought it up to a respectable con- dition.
But this institution, like most others of the kind, failed of the great object for which public schools should be supported. It met the wants of the few, at the expense of the many. Academies have almost invariably proved injurious to the cause of the common school system in the towns where they are situated. The wealthy and influential classes which generally patronize the academy, have, from that very fact, their interest and sympathy withdrawn from the town schools; so that these little seminaries, on which alone the masses depend for the education of their children, are suffered to languish. The effect was seen in Marlborough, as in other places similarly situated. The appropriations for the town schools, which were kept down to $900, $1,000, and $1,100, would, in all probability, have been much greater, but for the presence of this institution.
Hon. Mr. Albee, in his address at the dedication of the High school-house, in December, 1860, justly observes :
" The academies seemed, at one time, to endanger the existence of the free school system ; because, as the large tax-payers usually sent their chil- dren to these select schools, it was difficult to persuade them that it was their duty to vote for the highest sum proposed for free schools, in addition to the patronage they gave to private schools. In consequence of this state of things, school-houses were gradually neglected, and in fact the whole system was becoming rickety.
" But as when any evil becomes threatening, reformers usually start up, and arouse the community to a sense of the danger impending ; so in this case, men were not wanting who were ready to throw themselves into the breach, and sound the trumpet of alarm. Horaec Mann, of Dedham, and James G. Carter, of Lancaster, and their coadjutors, saw the danger and sounded the alarm. After years of agitation and discussion, in the Legisla- ture and out of it, the views of the reformers prevailed. School-houses were rebuilt on improved plans, the wages of teachers were raised, and the laws were so changed as to revive the old system of High schools, wherein students could be fitted for the University. Henee, in accordance with the
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ideas of the early fathers, and in conformity with the spirit of the age, and the views awakened throughout the State by the free school reformers, the Gates Academy quietly and calmly breathed its last, and the Frec High School rose, phonix-like, from its ashes."
Much praise is due to the gentlemen who endowed this acad- emy. They showed their devotion to the cause of education. by encouraging what was then believed to be the best way of doing it ; and the young, for years to come, will have reason 'to bless their memory. And when the fullness of time had come, and it became apparent that these bequests could better sub- serve the cause which the donors had at heart, by turning them into the channel of free school education, the residuary heirs, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen R. Phelps, generously consented that they might be transferred to the town, and the interest be appropria- ted to the support of a High school, whose benefits should enure to all the youth of the town.
The liberal course pursued by Deacon Phelps and his lady, shows their high estimate of the importance of education, and an enlarged view of the great object at which the donors aimed. A spirit less liberal, a sentiment less enlightened might, on grounds strictly technical, have confined to the few, benefits really designed for the many, and so have defeated the intent of the givers by a false watchfulness of the gift. The course pursued by the heirs in this case, is cheerfully commended to all others similarly situated, hoping that they may realize that frequently in bequests, as well as in other things, " the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
The same public sentiment which turned this fund into a more useful channel, increased the appropriations in Marlbo- rough, and has given a new impulse to the cause of popular education. The appropriation for schools which, in 1856, was but $2,220, in 1860 increased to $3,910. A High school has also been established, not only in the centre, but also at Felton- ville ; so that the children in all parts of the town can enjoy the blessings of a good education, free of charge.
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