USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1870-1879 > Part 17
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Josiah Peterson, goods . 37 11
1
N. Ford & Sons, goods 145 15
G. Bradford & Son, meat and shote .. 59 05
Harrison Wadsworth, burial of Polly Coomer. 5 00
Mrs. Porter, cow 50 00
F. P. Sherman, goods
86 09
H. E. Smith, hay 12 55
Hill & Brothers, Boston, flour 76 25
Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad, frieght
3 21
W. E. Weston, meat
14 55
Sias & Brackett, Boston, tea
17 46
James Burgess, services as Superintendent, to March 19, 1875. 325 00
Martin Freeman, coffin and robe for Polly Coomer .. 12 00
H. Callender, Boston, goods. 34 14
Alonzo Frost, fresh fish 1 85
Sylvanus Prior, wood and teaming 19 00
12 25
G. M. Ryder, wood.
Amount carried forward, $1,063 22
27
Amount brought forward, $1,063 22
Paid-
Martha C. Alden, wood
36 25
Proctor Chandler, wood. 15 00
Otis Weston, repairing shoes. 54
I. Josselyn, butchering
1 00
Charles E. Brewster, teaming and herrings
5 25
Samuel Atwell, keeping books and stationery, 1873. 7 50
Thomas Chandler, services as clerk and postage, '73
5 45
Overseers of Poor, settling and making report, 1874, Charles H. Chandler, services to Charlestown and expenses, Susan E. White. 5 12
15 00
Charles H. Chandler, services to Hanson and remov- ing L. Currier to Almshouse, 1873. 4 75
Thomas Chandler, services, cases of Delano, Lynch and Mrs. Southworth 4 50
9 34
Harvey Soule, goods, 1873-74
$1,172 92
EXPENSES FOR SUPPORT OF POOR OUT OF ALMSHOUSE.
Paid-
Violetta Simmons, support $52 63
James Randall and family, support 121 25
Lunatic Hospital, Taunton, W. A. Standish, support, 215 55
Lunatic Hospital, Taunton, Martha O. Jackson, support 206 65
Thomas L. Soule, support. 52 00
A. Sampson, house rent for Mrs. E. G. Hunt
50 00
Mrs. Burgess, making clothing for L. Currier.
2 00
Town of Kingston, support of Jane Witherell and medical attendance. 20 00
Amount carried forward, $720 08
28
Amount brought forward, . . $720 08 Paid-
Support of widow E. Southworth, at Plymouth. 57 00 Samuel P. Soule, services for John Freeman and J. P. Bosworth. 2 00
L. B. Pierce and Micah A Soule, watching P. Lynch, paid by Boston 2 00
Dr. J. Wilde, medical attendance on P. Lynch, paid by Boston 10 00
Daniel P. Glass, removal of P. Lynch to almshouse, paid by Boston. 2 00
Support of Widow Barton .. 54 00
Support of Avery Hodges, Plymouth. 52 00
Josiah Peterson, expenses and services to Rockland, &c., Batson family 6 50
City of Boston, support of Susan E. White 8 56
Support of J. P. Bosworth
24 37
Widow Betsey Peterson, supplies
19 62
Sabra Keene, supplies . 4 75
City of Boston, supplies to Mary Loring
8 62
City of Boston, supplies to Daniel Hanley
12 94
City of Boston, supplies to Walter E. White. 12 00
Harrison Wadsworth, removal and burial of Widow Barton, from Marshfield 8 00
Martin Freeman, coffin and robe for Widow Barton, delivered at Marshfield . 16 00
Town of Rockland, supplies to family of J. Batson, 84 86
Town of Hanson, supplies to Cornelia Gardner and family 20 00
Supplies to Geo. L. Thomas, Hanson, to be refunded, 8 00
Supplies to Charles D. Mann, So. Scituate, to be refunded. .
5 00
$1,138 30
29
Expenses in the Almshouse . $1,172 92
Expenses out of the Almshouse 1,138 30
Balance to new account 722 11
$3,033 33
Available means for Support of Poor, from Feb. 18, 1874, to March 15, 1875.
Balance from 1873 $948 20
Appropriation from the Town, 1874 2,000 00
City of Chelsea, support of LizzieCurrier. 23 88
City of Boston, support of Patrick Lynch 23 00
Town of South Scituate, support of C. D. Mann. 10 00
Cash left by Priscilla Winsor 5 25
James Burgess, produce sold.
23 00
$3,033 33
Whole number of paupers now in Almshouse. . . 10
Largest number at any one time
12
Smallest number at any one time
10
Admitted during the year.
3
Left during the year ..
1
Died during the year . . .
2
Tramps lodged over night.
137
INMATES OF THE ALMSHOUSE.
AGE.
AGE.
William H. Simmons. 71
Lois Brewster. 80
Bradford Holmes. 68
Welthea W. Sampson. 71
Joseph Phillips 77
Alice Bonney. 74
John Delano. 84
Mary Southworth 61
Harriet Winslow 85
Betsey A. Churchill. 50
The average cost of support in the Almshouse for the thir- teen months, ending March 15, 1875, has been $2.10 1-5 for each person per week.
30
ARTICLES REMAINING IN THE HOUSE, AND ON THE FARM, MARCH 15, 1875.
125 lbs. sugar.
2} bush. beans.
75 lbs. beef.
32 bush. potatoes. 3 bush. turnips.
100 lbs. dried apples. 30 lbs. hard soap.
1 bush. meal.
75 lbs. fish.
¿ bush. corn.
20 lbs. tea.
23 cords oak wood.
25 lbs. salt.
1 cord pine wood.
25 lbs. lard.
500 feet lumber.
18 lbs. butter.
1} tons coal.
250 lbs. salt pork.
1 ton hay.
80 lbs. ham.
34 flour bbls.
5 lbs. tobacco.
11 beef bbls.
100 lbs. straw.
1 molasses bbl.
1} bbls. flour.
1 cider bbl.
¿ bbl. vinegar.
4 gross matches.
1 new broom.
1 cow.
1 lb. spice
10 fowl.
Amount, $305.80 ; being $88.03 less than the inventory of Feb. 18th, 1874.
The call for aid the past year, from those that are not in- mates of the Almshouse, have been unusually frequent. Old age, sickness, and dull times having brought them to want and distress, and believing the cost to the Town would be less than if they were removed, we have met these calls by dispensing the charity of the Town with as much economy as was thought justifiable, and the nature of the case demanded.
Believing it better to furnish the tramps, that have been in Town, with food and lodging, than to have them strolling about
31
Town, we have done so. If anything better can be devised by the Town, we presume our successors will be governed accord- ingly.
The Poor, who have been inmates of the Almshouse the past year, have been supplied with sufficient, good, plain, wholesome food, without waste, and we think are well cared for. Much credit is due the Superintendent and wife for their management of the house the past year.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
THOMAS CHANDLER
Overseers JOSIAH PETERSON, of Poor.
SAMUEL P. SOULE, 1
We, the undersigned, an Auditing Committee, chosen by the Town, have examined the foregoing account of the Overseers of the Poor, and find the same to be correct.
H. E. SMITH, 1 Auditing HARVEY SOULE, S Committee.
Duxbury, March 15, 1875.
32
Warrant for Town Meeting.
PLYMOUTH SS.
To either of the Constables of the Town of Duxbury, Greeting :
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are directed to notify the inhabitants of the Town of Duxbury, qualified to vote in elections and town affairs, to meet at the Town Hall, in said Duxbury, on Monday, the fifth day of April next, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, then and there to act on the following articles, viz :
1. To choose a moderator to preside at said meeting.
2. To choose all necessary Town Officers for the year en- suing
3. To hear the Report of the several Town Officers, and act thereon.
4. To see if the Town will accept of the list of Jurors as revised by the Selectmen.
5. To see what action the Town will take on the order of the County Commissioners on Point Road.
6. To see what action the Town will take in regard to repair- ing the School House in District No. 6. By request of School Committee.
-
33
7. To raise such sums of money as may be necessary to de- fray the expenses of the Town for the ensuing year, and make appropriations of same.
8. To see what action the Town will take in regard to that part of the Railroad Loan maturing October next.
9. To see if the Town will order the building of a receiving tomb in the Cemetery at the Unitarian Church. By request of J. S. Loring.
10. To see if the Town will accept of the Betterment Act, of the year 1869. By request of J. S. Loring.
11. To see if the Town will pay for the Monument erected to the memory of Nathaniel and Ansel Bonney. By request of I. L. Sampson.
12. To see if the Town will authorize the sale of a limited number of shares of their stock in the Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad. By request of H. B. Maglathlin and others.
13. To see if the Town will locate the Grammar School in a more central portion of the Town, and adopt such measures as may be expedient in relation to the same. By request of Harvey Soule and others.
14. To see if the Town will authorize the Overseers of the Poor to pay the funeral charges of Widow Joseph Prior.
15. To see if the Town will authorize the Selectmen to pay the balance of School Committee's bills of 1874. By request of School Committee.
16. To see if the Town will authorize their Treasurer to hire money in anticipation of taxes. 5
34
17. To see if the Town will purchase the Tomb near H. T. Whiting's for a Receiving Tomb. By request of James Alden, Jr.
18. To see if the Town will grade and place a Curbstone around the grounds of the Soldiers' Monument. By request of the Monumental Association.
And you are further directed to serve this warrant, by post- ing up attested copies, as prescribed by vote of the Town, four- teen days at least, before the time of holding said meeting, and make due return hereof, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of meeting as aforesaid.
Given under our hands, this 15th day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
THOMAS CHANDLER, Selectmen JOSIAH PETERSON, of®
SAMUEL P. SOULE, Duxbury.
35
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS
OF THE
Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad.
The Directors respectfully submit to the stockholders, this third Annual Report of the Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad Company for the twelve months ending September 30, 1874.
Total amount paid for construction of road to September 30 1874, is a follows :
Graduation and masonry.
$177,200 15
Bridging .
21,435 51
Superstructure, including rails .
159,541 78
Land, land damage and fences.
48,843 80
Passenger and freight stations, wood sheds and water stations
22,084 63
Engine house, car shed and turn-table
8,465 07
Engineering, agencies and other expenses.
13,210 21
Telegraph. . 1,596 79
$452,377 94
36
Of the above amount, there has been expended during the past year in extending the road from South Duxbury to an in- tersection with the Old Colony Railroad, at Kingston, the sum of $63,847.13, as follows :
For graduation and masonry $39,724 51
Bridging 608 68
Superstructure, including rails. 15,832 96
Land, land damages and fences. 4,850 42
Engineering, agencies, &c. .
2,830 56
$63,847 13
It is estimated that the cost of completing the depots, fenc- ing and side tracks on the extension, and settling the outstand- ing land claims, will not exceed $10,000,-making the total cost of the road about $462,377.94. The interest account will be a little over $5,000 per annum.
During the past year, as will be seen by the following state- ment of income and expenses, the earnings have been about equal to the operating expenses and interest on the debt.
It should be borne in mind, however, that the extension has increased the income without materially adding to the expenses, as nothing was charged in the expense account for keeping the track in adjustment, and that but very little interest has accrued on the money borrowed, to complete the extension.
It should also be borne in mind that about five miles of the track, between Cohasset and South Duxbury, was laid with old rails, purchased at about two-thirds the cost of new. Some of these rails will have to be replaced during the coming year, which will add somewhat to the expense account.
Although this account includes the business of only about three months on the extension, still almost as many passengers are carried during those three months, (July, August and Sep- tember), as during the remaining nine of the year.
37
While we cannot expect quite so good a result for the coming year, we believe that the South Shore will eventually become quite a resort for those who seek the sea-shore, and we may at least hope for an increase that will pay the operating expenses and interest on the debt, if not within a few years a small per cent. on the capital.
Statement of Income and Expense Account for twelve months, ending September 30, 1874 :
INCOME.
From passengers . $31,374 77
Freight
6,706 19
Expresses. .
1,288 20
Total income $39,369 16
EXPENDITURES.
Passenger Department.
Station Agents
$2,146 56
Conductors and brakemen
2,519 48
Stationery and blanks
186 30
Train baggage masters
1,447 00
Miscellaneous items. 275 50
Use of passenger cars
6,003 27
12,578 11
Merchandise Department.
Conductors and brakemen ...
$600 00
Merchandise labor
1,144 14
Damage to merchandise
100 00
Use of merchandise cars
1,399 44
Stationery and blanks
3 50
3,247 08
Amounts carried forward .... $15,825 19 $39,369 16
38
Amounts brought forward .... $15,825 19 $39,369 16
Locomotive Department.
Use of Locomotives $5,785 02
Fuel - coal
3,992 65
Wood .
51 25
9,828 92
Maintenance of Way.
Repairs of road
$8,553 94
Iron rails
508 65
Repairs on bridges
28 77
9,091 36
General Expense.
Clerks and office expenses . ..
$400 00
Treasurer and office expenses .
250 00
Miscellaneous items .
39 05
Stationery and blanks.
92 86
Advertising
21 46
Repairs of station buildings. .
431 04
State Commissioners
20 00
Insurance.
225 00
Telegraphing
26 65
1,506 06
Miscellaneous Expenses.
Watchmen
$458 37
Oil for stations
78 85
Cattle killed . . .
22 00
559 22
Total expenditures $36,810 75
Income after deducting expenses $2,558 41
Interest on bonds, debt, &c 3,406 02
Deficit .
$847 61
By order of the Directors. ONSLOW STEARNS, President.
39
Report of the Town Clerk.
BIRTHS REGISTERED IN DUXBURY IN 1874.
DATE.
NAME OF CHILD.
NAMES OF PARENTS.
Jan. 22. Harrie H. Pike, - 22. Lester L. Lyons,
Daniel and Emeline T.
25. Alfred E. Davies,
Frederic and Sarah G.
Feb.
7. Lewis S. Wadsworth,
William E. and Mary H.
10. Charles H. Fisher,-
Thomas and Irene.
13. Jesse L. Delano, Eliott M. Randall, -
Herman H. and Helen.
14. Edgar W. Loring, -
Edgar F. and Lucy W.
24. Harrison W. Glass,
Horace W. and Jerusha A.
March 6 Flora W. Cushing,
8. Eunice Weston,
9. Lillie E. Fairbanks,
George L. and Edna F.
April
1. Warren Garfield,
William and Nellie.
5. Frank Alden,
John W. and Sylvia J.
16. Maud F. Peterson,
Charles A. and Henrietta C.
20. Gilbert S. Shedd,
Sylvanus and Clara R.
May 6. Toohig,
James and
12. Channing H. Winsor,
Joshua T. and Charlotte A.
16. Medora L. Mack,
William and Sarah.
21. Edith M. Strang,
Peter and Susan M.
26. Albert E. Esterbrook,
William and Eliza J.
27. Florence Steel,
Robert T. and Lydia W.
27. Emily S. Peterson,
James H. and Josephine.
Theodore L. and Martha.
William and Cora M.
24. Fannie O. McNaught, -
Thomas and Juliett.
William H. and Georgianna.
William E. and Jerusha W.
40
BIRTHS, continued.
DATE.
NAME OF CHILD.
NAMES OF PARENTS.
Jun: 22. Charles A. Moreland, -
June 29. Arthur L. Parker, -
July 12. Burton H. Prouty,
14. Annie W. Peterson,
17. Henry W. Ryder,
Gilbert M. and Amelia. William A. and Martha D.
20. Annie D. Dunham,
Aug. 14. Roland W. Bedwin, 27. Annie W. Winsor, 29. Rosa W. Standish, -
Albert and Georgianna. William G. and Mary. J. Warren and Jane M. Parker C. and Harriet A. R.
Sept. 7. George P. Richardson,
8. Elisabeth H. Bradford, 8. Mary E. Cuttriss, 17. Varney D. Mann,
Chester H. and Sarah. Charles and Ann M.
23. Emma L. Gulliver,
25. Harry T. Needham,
28. Josephine M. Brehany,
James and Hannah.
28. George J. Green,
George A. and Lizzie.
29. Guy C. Panlding, - Harrie E. Brewster,
Oct.
8. Herbert E. Brewster,
William and Elisabeth. Edward E. and Lizzie.
24. Percy L. Walker, .
Isaiah and Hannah.
26. Willie O. Sprague,
George and Vesta.
William O. and Mary T.
George E. and Hannah.
Dec. 16. Earnest C. Finney,
Joshua T. and Sylvia. Elkanah and Floreana.
Dec. 19. Edith W. Johnson, -
Winslow P. and Lydia F.
Nov. 1. Walter Tucker, 28. Ella T. Paulding,
Charles E. and Mary.
twins, 8. Sullivan,
Charles D. and Lydia A. Peleg and Fidelia. Robert T. and Sarah M.
Julian and Mary A.
19. Edward V. S. Estes,
29. Gertrude M. Peterson, -
Joseph H. and Nancy C. Jolm K. and Mercy.
Andrew H. and Isabella F. Ellis F. and Lizzie.
41
MARRIAGES REGISTERED IN DUXBURY IN 1874.
Date of Marriage.
NAMES.
AGE.
Residence at ti.ue of Marriage.
BY WHOM MARRIED.
Jan'y
1
Eliza J. Davis.
22
So. Canton.
Jos. F. Jennison, Canton.
7
Mary J. Ewell.
45
Duxbury.
Duxbury.
15
Lydia P. Soule.
23
Duxbury.
B. Otheman, Duxbury Josiah Moore,
Feb. 18
Rosa S. Avery.
33
Duxbury.
Duxbury.
April 19
Sylvia Sampson.
22
Duxbury.
Marshfield.
19
Caroline C. Fish.
21 Marshfield.
Josialı Moore, Duxbury.
22
Nancy C. Glass.
17
Duxbury.
Duxbury.
May
16
Isabella F. Freeman.
19 Duxbury.
Duxbury.
Edward E. Estes,
20
Marshfield,
Wm. W. Lyle,
17
Lizzie Cushman.
18 Duxbury.
Duxbury.
June 16
Mary E. Soule.
20 Duxbury.
Marshfield.
21
Ada F. Ford.
22
Duxbury.
July
9
Lizzie F. Cushman.
24 Kingston.
George B. Thomas,
40 Boston,
19
Clara A. Bolen.
25 Duxbury.
Josiah Moore,
Aug. 6.
Alfreda P. Bonney.
18 Plympton.
30
William H. Burgess, Emma W. Frost.
19 Duxbury.
25 Hingham,
Sept. 20
Lucy A. W. Weston. Jolın Holt,
37 Duxbury,
B. Otheman,
27
Cecilia E. Eastman.
31 Duxbury.
Duxbury.
Lorenzo M. Sampson,
22
Duxbury,
Samuel Alden,
65 Duxbury,
Wm. W. Lyle,
Henry Gibben,
23
Duxbury,
Horatio Chandler,
38
Duxbury,
24 Marshfield,
E. Alden, Jr.,
John S. Edwards,
24 Duxbury,
Joseph H. Moreland,
28 Duxbury,
Wm. W. Lyle,
Andrew H. Prouty,
25 Cohasset;
B. Otheman,
Edward Sampson,
26
Duxbury,
E. Alden, Jr.,
Willard W. Davis,
24 Rockland,
W. H. Brooks, Hanover.
Abbot Chandler,
24 Kingston,
Wm. W. Lyle,
Duxbury. Josiah Moore, Duxbury.
James F. Randall,
21 Duxbury,
21 Duxbury,
Duxbury. B. Otheman, Duxbury.
Thomas E. Cain,
20 Duxbury.
W. J. Smith, Duxbury.
6
Joshına T. Paulding, Jr.,
42
MARRIAGES, continued.
Date of Marriage.
NAMES.
AGE.
Residenee at time of Marriage.
BY WHOM MARRIED.
Oct.
15,
Hattie C. Clark.
25
Duxbury.
George H. Stearns,
22 Duxbury,
20
Cora L. Ellis.
22 Duxbury.
Boston.
28
Annie Ellis.
22
Duxbury.
Nov.
1
Melora A. Allen.
28 Duxbury.
Wm. W. Lyle,
26
Laurana C. Osbourn.
18 Duxbury.
Duxbury.
29
Caroline F. Glover.
24 Duxbury.
Marshfield.
29
Henrietta E. Williams.
30 E. Boston.
Dec
10
Mary A. Freeman.
23 Duxbury.
Marshfield.
Stillman B. Chandler,
27
Duxbury,
24
Ida M. Chandler.
20
Duxbury.
Wm. W. Lyle, Duxbury.
Ezra H. Ford,
26 Duxbury,
Wm. W. Lyle, Duxbury.
Herbert P. Foster,
21
Duxbury,
Robert F. Randall,
23 Duxbury,
E. Alden, Jr.,
John Wilde,
60 Duxbury,
L. R. Thayer, Boston.
Charles Winsor,
24 Duxbury,
D. M. Rogers,
Wm. W. Lyle, Duxbury.
25
Warren,
Wm. R. Tisdale, Warren. W. P. Tilden,
Alexander Gillis,
24 Duxbury,
William S. Tisdale,
-
43
DEATHS REGISTERED IN DUXBURY IN 1874.
AGE
DATE.
NAME OF DECEASED.
CAUSE OF DEATH.
Y. M.
D.
Jan'y
1 Solomon Etchell,
37
9 - Typhoid Fever.
16 Oscar Stickney,
17 10 Consumption. 00
30 Mary C. Cowden,
78 11 28 Dropsy.
Feb'y
2. Mary F. Paine,
22 - 7 Consumption.
Mary P. Eastman,
- 6 24 Consumption.
13 Ezekiel Sprague,
81 2 -Old Age.
14 Eden Sampson, -
79
9 - Paralysis.
20 Damon Eastman,
32
- 16 Consumption.
March 17 George Winsor, -
81
4 - Kidney Disease.
18 Rufus Sampson,
76
1 4 Consumption.
27 Saralı E. Holt,
39 7
- Childbirth.
27 Holt,
- Still Born.
April
15 Prudence Chandler,
85
7 29 Old Age.
18 Polly Coomer, -
94 - - Old Age.
24 Jairus Magoun,
70 2 22 Consumption.
May
12 Rufus Sampson, Jr.,
49 7 27 Lung Fever.
14 George P. Crocker, -
47 2 13 Consumption.
June 4 Hasting,
Still Born.
13 Frank Lane, -
210
- Gastric Fever.
27 Jonathan Y. Gross,
81 8
- Stricture.
July
2 Harriet E. Dorr,
20 1
6 Typhoid Fever.
11 Willis A. Keene,
5 - Whooping Cough. I
24 Laura Rutledge,
27 8 Typhoid Fever. -
59
4 21 Gastritis of Stomach.
77
8 - Apoplexy.
- Still Born.
Sept.
3 Harriet C. Dana,
18
6 23 Typhoid Fever.
18 Jesse Delano,
78 1 Cancer on Face.
18 Thomas Hutchins,
7
- Whooping Cough.
19 Annie Eldridge, 80
-Dysentery.
23 David P. Turner,
1
14 Cholera Infantum.
21 Ida J. Thomas, -
1
8 4 Cholera Infantum.
25 Albert E. Esterbrook,
4 - Whooping Cough.
27 Lewis S. Wadsworth,
6 - Whooping Cough.
Oct.
4 Emma L. Gulliver,
-11 Whooping Cough.
-
Aug. 4 Sophia A. Prior, 17 Hannah Winsor, 17 Bradford, 21 Frank O. Peterson,
2 3 10 Diptheria.
-
44
DEATHS, continued.
AGE.
DATE.
NAME OF DECEASED.
CAUSE OF DEATH.
Y. M. D.
Oct.
21
Cephas Cushman,
38
1
- Kidney Complaint.
26 Martin S. Chandler,
78
1 1 Heart Disease.
28 William A. Wheeler,
40 11 15 Typhoid Pneumonia.
Nov. 6 Horace H. Watson,
1
1 - Marasmus.
9 Lucian Winsor,
49
5 24 Consumption.
84
8
-Gastric Fever.
12 Temperance Winsor, 20
Burgess,
-Still Born.
25 Priscilla Winsor,
78
- - Dropsy.
Dec.
1 Gilbert S. Shedd,
7 11 Water on Brain.
15 Frank M. Graves,
23
9 8 Consumption.
Whole number of births recorded in 1874, 53; males, 31; females, 22.
Whole number of marriages, 26.
Whole number of deaths, 46; deaths in town, 35.
Average age of those who died in town was thirty-five years and eleven months.
Number of deaths in town, in proportion to the population, census of 1870, was in the ratio of 1 to 67.
One hundred and twenty-six dogs have been licensed, for which I have received, and paid into the County Treasury, $262.80.
J. PETERSON, Town Clerk of Duxbury.
Duxbury, March 15th, 1875.
-
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Duxbury,
For the School Year 1874-5.
REPORT.
To the Citizens of the Town of Duxbury :
The School Committee for the school year of 1874-5, would respectfully present to you their annual report.
At the annual town meting of 1874 a vote was passed instructing the School Committee to prepare their report in time to have it printed in connection with that of the Selectmen, and thus have it presented at the annual town meeting,-the time of holding which was changed from March to April. In accordance with such instructions, your Committee so arranged the opening and closing of the School terms for the year just closed, as to secure compli- ance with such instructions. Owing to the severe criticisms upon matters connected with the School Committee and the interests under their care, which were made at the last town meeting, your Committee have done the work of the year with no little embarrassment and anxiety.
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Their position was rendered all the more difficult from the fact that a vote was also passed limiting the expenses of the Committee, to a sum quite inadequate to the work which the law required to be done, irrespective of con- tingencies liable to occur. If the Committee had adhered to the letter of the resolution, the School laws would have been violated. Believing that the questions involved were not fully understood when the resolution was adopted, your Committee attended to the interests of the Schools as of primary importance, believing that the town would see the propriety of so doing. Should the town adhere to that resolution, heavy expenses will be entailed upon your Committee which they will be com- pelled to meet personally.
THE CONDITION OF THE SCHOOLS.
While the schools of the town have not all attained that degree of prosperity which is so desirable, yet there has been very much during the year creditable alike to teachers and scholars. With very few exceptions it is believed that nothing has occurred during the year to interrupt the harmonious working of teachers and scholars, or to interfere with the general prosperity of the schools. At the commencement of the school year, the Committee came to the conclusion that the suggestions made in former reports required immediate attention. In order that the money expended on the schools of the
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town might tell to the fullest advantage of the scholars, it was seen to be absolutely necessary that some of the school-houses be repaired, globes and outline maps fur- nished, and one or two changes made in text books. Because of the already heavy burdens of taxation, and the generous work done in building new school-houses, the decision to incur additional expense was reached only after careful and deliberate thought. If the Committee had not been forced to the conclusion that the children of the town were not reaping the full benefits of the money expended on their tuition, no changes would have been made during the year. It was not thought prudent to furnish all the schools at once with all that might be needed ; but schools number 1, 3, 4, 7 and the Grammar School were each furnished with a set of outline maps,- the Grammar school was furnished with a 12-inch globe, and the blackboards in all the school-houses were repaired and coated with liquid slating. The school house in District No. 8 was in such a dilapidated and uncomfortable condition that a new floor had to be laid, and the desks and seats cut down so as to make them less prejudicial to the health and comfort of the pupils. It has been a matter of regret to the Committee that they did not feel at liberty to incur the expense of repairing the school-house in District No. 6. The scholars have suffered very much during the winter because of the almost ruinous condition of the house, and the want of comfortable seats and desks. It is earnestly recommend-
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ed that the town make an appropriation to repair the school-house and procure the necessary furniture.
After a very careful consideration of the question of a change of text books, it was decided to introduce Swin- ton's series of Grammars into all the schools. The suc- cess attending this change has more than met the expec- tations of the Committee. Both teachers and pupils take a deeper interest in the study of Grammar; and the progress made in that branch of education has been of a very marked character. Warren's Brief Course in Geog- raphy was also introduced, taking the place of Cornell's Geography. This change has also resulted well, especially in those schools which have been furnished with maps. The study of Physical Geography was introduced into the Grammar School,-the text book being that of Guyot. These were all the changes the Committee felt warranted to make.
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