USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1884-1889 > Part 14
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Edward and Mary Jane.
Richard and Cynthia. Emil and Amelia. David and Susan.
Jonathan A. and Augusta F.
1
24
Feeble from Birth,
Moses and Experience Benson.
William P. and Georgie D.
2,
Emma Dean Spaulding,
William T. and Ruth B.
Prince and Lydia Manter.
6,
Betsey C. D mnham,
67
1
17 9
Cancer,
9,
Charles Newcomb,
6
19
Marasmus,
2, 9, William T. Vangban,
92
9
9
Heart Disease,
49
Hydrocephalus,
27,
John F. Fisher,
General Tuberculosis,
Paralysis from a Fall,
Heart Failure,
4, , Lydia W. Douglass,
CAUSE OF DEATH.
NAMES OF PARENTS, ETC.
David Farrington,
IO
Aug.
7, Joseph Costa, Harold C. Weeks,
1
5
17 20 Cholera Infantum, Cholera Infantum,
10
71
5
6 Heart Disease,
Betsey Otis Burgess,
27
4
10 Childbirth,
13,
Jennie McLennan,
89
2
66
14, 16, 16,
Sally Morton, Mary Manion, Mary Boudrot,
34
7
28 Recorded in Holbrook,
23,
Judith G. Diman,
72
2
24,
Eveline B. Field,
72
11
27 Disease of Brain,
Mary T. Pfass,
78
9
5
Apoplexy,
Comp. Fracture of Skull,
66
Thomas Lahey,
11
13
Disease of Brain,
27,
Nellie Nye Eldridge,
80
22
Apoplexy,
Oliver and Elizabeth.
Sept.
30, 3, 5, 6,
Joanna Doty, Emma Steidle,
22
4
27
Phthisis,
Nancy. Died in Brockton.
73
10,
John F. Burns,
31
10
12
Suffocation,
.
Died in Kingston.
19,
Dennis Haney,
66
3
15
66
21,
John T. Hall,
64
2
8
Chronic Disease,
Michael and Catharine.
Oct.
2,
Margaret Drew Cornish,
77
6
12
Consumption,
Ebenezer P. and Susan H.
8,
Charles H. Richardson,
54
3
20 Apoplexy,
9,
Thomas W. Steamburg,
79
11
27
Acute Phthisis,
Thomas and Mercy.
Samuel and Lydia T. [Riverton, N. Y.
Francis J. and Lettie C. Died in Ebenezer and Mehitable.
€
Mercy Bumpus,
Philip and Mary.
Philip H. Williams,
38
8
23
Laryngeal Phthisis,
John and Abiah Eddy.
66
16,
Fanny Davie,
81
2
Heart disease,
17,
Mary Carr,
75
24
4
18
Consumption,
29,
Lydia Boardman,
87
30,
Jacob Howland,
62
3
27
Heart Disease,
Louis and Mary. John H. and Addie C. Jesse and Betsey Robbins. Richard and Agnes McLean.
Thomas and Margaret A.
John and Leonora. [Holbrook. Lewis and Judith Gray. Died in Bartlett and Elizabeth Bradford. William and Sophia Green.
Jeremiah and Mary.
Willie T. and Flora A.
William and Betsey Allen.
28,
Oliver T. Wood,
81
3
17
Heart Disease,
Harvey Bartlett,
59
10
24
Marasmus,
George and Ruth Bailey.
Thomas and Amelia Nickerson.
10,
John E. Churchill,
70
Disease of Liver,
56
--
Recorded in Kingston,
Eber and Elizabeth.
Richard and Delight Tarr.
22, Abbie J. Holmes, William T. Casey,
11
9
1
Tuberculosis,
29,
Lemuel and Azubah Morton.
63
Ezekiel Cushing Turner,
6
20
Scarlet Fever,
13,
Mary Darling Nelson,
4
1 14 4
Typhoid Cerebellous,
13, 14, 15,
Clara Churchill Bartlett,
11
Sickly from Birth,
5 Old Age,
26, Ellen F. Regan,
Cerebial Hemorrhage,
Died in Boston. Timothy and Ellen. · Benjamin and Betsey Rowe. Jacob and Bethiah.
24, 25,
Caroline A. Dorr,
73
17 General Paralysis, of Old Age,
Ansel and Elizabeth.
James and Mary.
Paralysis,
Internal Injury from a Fall,
12,
46
17
Old Age, Disease of Brain, Phthisis,
10, 11,
DEATHS-Continued.
AGE.
DATE.
NAMES.
Years.
Months.
Days.
1885.
22
9
25
Consumption,
Nov. 4,
Catharine Elizabeth Seyter, Matilda Scattergood Peter-
62
1
16
Consumption, Meningitis.
-
8,
Clara L. Faunce,
[son,
5
10
4
9,
Ellis Sampson,
76
7
14
Peritonitis,
William Atwood,
77
9
12
Heart Failure,
15,
15,
Keziah D. Cameron,
51
9
24
Heart Disease,
66
25,
Phebe Perry Blackmer,
82
1.
27
Disease of Spine,
26,
Mary A. Churchill,
60
3
21
Heart Disease,
66
29,
Celia O'Donnell,
Dec.
1,
Abbie R. Perkins,
46
2
21
Drowning,
-
2,
Nathaniel Lothrop Hedge,
67
11
7 Paralysis,
66
6,
Clara H. Robbins,
41
19
Diarrhea,
9,
Deborah A. Hall,
67
5
5 Chronic Bronchitis,
10,
Lydia Bagnell,
85
4
6
Old Age,
10,
Herbert F. Wood,
Sarah Ethel Chummuck,
6
1 Marasmus,
1/ 2
Arrested Development,
66
17,
Sarah Jane Kierstead,
41
10
21
17,
Emily H. Crandon,
78
4
9
Old Age,
18,
Lydia T. Dunham,
87
1
8 Apoplexy,
Alice Emily Brailey,
12
9
17
Typhoid Fever,
Walter T. Hallett,
4
2
I
Scarlet Fever,
Alice B. Sampson,
40
1
24
Injuries rec'd by Fall of Tree,
36
28,
John R. Davis,
73
10
10 Heart Disease,
30,
Ebenezer Davie,
86
1
5 Inanition.
Ulrich and Charlotte Schæder. Died David and Julia Scattergood. George A. and Mary J. Died in Sylvanus and Mary. [So. Abington. William and Temperance. Nathan and Keziah Haskins. Died Wm. & Sylvinia Bartlett. [in Kingston. William George.
Thomas H. and Annie M.
74
Alonzo & Mary D. Scudder. [Lexington. Barnabas and Tryphena. Died in Heman C.& Mary A.Robbins. Died [in Taunton.
Eben and Susan Sampson. Albert S. and Hannah D. Died in Albert R. and Mary E. [E. Bridgewater. Frederick A. and Ida M.
14,
- Reviere,
Robert and Margaret Scott.
Benjamin and Susan. Died in George R. and Salome. [Duxbury. John R. and Julia A. A. S. and Hittie S. Samuel and Rebecca. Died in Plympton. Joseph and Eliza. Ebenezer and Lydia.
John Morissey,
69
3
Congestion of Lungs,
27,
CAUSE OF DEATH.
NAMES OF PARENTS, ETC.
[in Boston.
4,
2
Trismus Nascentium,
7
Recorded in E. Bridgewater,
10,
Cancer of Stomach,
19, 20, 26,
75
SUMMARY.
The following are the statistics of Births, Marriages and Deaths, registered in Plymouth for the year ending December 31, 1885 :
BIRTHS.
Number of births registered in 1885 160
Males 77
Females 83
The parentage of the children is as follows :
Both parents born in United States
95
66 Germany 13
.. Italy .
6
66 66 British Provinces
4
66
66 Ireland
3
.
66 England
1
60
66
Scotland
1
Mixed, one parent American . 25
7
Unknown 5
MARRIAGES.
Number of marriages registered in 1885 70
Both parties born in United States.
47
British Provinces
3
. Germany
1
66
Ireland 1
Mixed, one American .. 17
Mixed, other nationalities 1 1
Mixed, other nationalities
76
DEATHS.
Number of deaths registered in Plymouth in 1885, 154, twenty-seven of which occurred out of town and were brought to Plymouth for burial.
Males 73
Females . 81
Born in United States 137
66 Ireland 4
66 British Provinces 3
England 1
¥ Africa 1
Unknown 8
I desire to call the attention of the Town to the crowded and uncomfortable condition of the Town Clerk's room, and I would recommend that the Water Department be removed, and the room fitted up and furnished for the sole convenience of the Clerk and Treasurer, and for that branch of the Town's business.
CURTIS DAVIE, Town Clerk.
ANNUAL REPORT
- OF THE -
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
-- AND-
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
-OF THE
TOWN OF PLYMOTUH
FOR-
1885.
PLYMOUTH : AVERY & DOTEN, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1886.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Term Expires.
F. N. KNAPP,
1888
WM. T. DAVIS,
1888
GEORGE F. WESTON,
1887
JAMES D. THURBER, 1886
CHARLES I. LITCHFIELD, 1886
JAMES MILLAR,
1886
CHAIRMAN-F. N. KNAPP.
SECRETARY-JAMES D. THURBER.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS-CHARLES BURTON.
NOTE .- George A. Tewksbury, whose term would have expired in 1887, resigned during the year 1885, and his place was filled, under the provisions of law, until the next annual election, by the choice of James Millar. Consequently at the March Meeting the Town will be called on to choose two members for three years, and one for one year.
Report of the School Committee.
The School Committee respectfully submit their annual report for the year ending December 31st, 1885.
At the last annual meeting the Town made three distinct appropriations subject to the orders of the Committee for the purposes stated. These were as follows :
For the support of schoools $22,000 00 For books and supplies. 2,000 00
For the enlargement of the North Inter- mediate School-house . 700 00
The amount of bills paid during the year, chargeable to the appropriation for the support of schools was 21,806 36
A variation of five dollars will be observed between the expenditures reported by the Committee, and those stated in the report of the Selectmen, owing to a wrong charge of that amount on the Town books, which was afterwards credited to the school account.' Of the bills paid, nineteen, amounting to $601.01, were those of . the year 1884. Of the bills contracted during the year 1885 only four were outstanding at the close of the account on the 31st of December, amounting in all to $29.39 ; and at the date of this report, February 3d,
4
1886, it may be stated, with confidence, that every bill chargeable to the School Department prior to January 1st, 1886, has been rendered and paid.
The amount of bills paid during the year, chargeable to the appropriation for books and supplies was . $2,793 27
The expenditures in this branch of the School Department were made in compliance with the law passed in 1884, requiring towns to furnish text books : and supplies for the use of scholars in the public schools. With no experience to guide the Committee as to the extent of the demand, it was impossible for them, in the first year of the operation of the law, to make a well-founded estimate of the appropriation needed for the supply. These expenditures, enforced by law, though kept within as close limits as the interests of the schools would admit, have exceeded anticipations ; affording, however, a basis for future estimates, and a reason to believe that during the coming year even a smaller appropriation than the last will be sufficient to repair and renew the supply heretofore furnished.
The appropriation for the enlargement of the Inter- mediate School-house, at the North, remains intact. It was made on the recommendation of the Committee for the purpose of providing accommodations for the increasing number of scholars in that section of the Town. It was found, however, on further consideration, that the increase in the number of scholars was chiefly in the vicinity of the Cordage Works, and that the proposed enlargement would not meet the
5
existing want. It was thought best, therefore, to make some temporary arrangement to meet the exigency, in anticipation of a time, in the near future, when the precise wants of that neighborhood could be better determined, and its various schools be massed in one building. The upper room of the engine house, not far from the Kingston line, was fitted up during the Summer vacation, and for the present will suitably accommodate the new school there established. The cost of fitting and furnishing the room was $89.82, and is included in the regular school expenses.
The classified school account will, therefore, stand as follows :
DR.
Teachers' salaries $16,567 49
Superintendent .
1,000 00
Repairs and House supplies 1,055 68
Fuel.
1,195 00
Care of Buildings
1,071 21
Horse hire by Superintendent
189 50
Printing
119 10
Truant Officers
120 00
Equipment .
327 12
Hall for Exhibition of 1884.
40 25
Fitting new School-room
89 82
Sundries
31 19
$21,806 36
CR.
Appropriation .
$22,000 00
Income of Murdock Fund
18 25
$22,018 25
Balance undrawn.
$211 89
II
6
BOOK AND SUPPLY ACCOUNT.
DR.
Expenditures for books and supplies .. .. $2,793 27
CR.
Appropriation 2,000 00
Overdrawn $793 27
SCHOOL HOUSE ACCOUNT.
DR.
Expenditures
$000 00
CR.
Appropriation 700 00
Balance undrawn $700 00
Taking the school and book accounts together, as they are entered in the accounts of the Town Treasurer, the net deficiency is $581.38. Your Committee recom- mend that the following appropriations be made at the annual meeting :
For deficiency . $581 38
For books and supplies 1,800 00
For support of schools 21,300 00
And they further recommend that the unexpended school-house balance of $700 be transferred to the accounts for schools, making the amount available the same as last year.
Your Committee feel that the schools of the Town, as a whole, are in a satisfactory condition ; and that a faithful and thorough work has been done by the Superintendent and by the teachers. For detailed
7
accounts of the several schools, we refer you to the report of the Superintendent.
In arranging the course of study your Committee, in concurrence with the Superintendent, try to keep steadily in mind the fact that the demand of the present age is not to have our schools turn out a few prodigies in some special branches of learning, but to turn out a great many pupils who shall have acquired real mental discipline, a wide range of thought, and that interest in the laws of nature and of government, and in the movements of the day, which lies at the basis of subse- quent growth in a practical education, and in the qualities which lead to good citizenship. And let us all bear this in mind as we consider our school system ; that a primary object of all education, in school and out of it, is to create good citizens,-men and women, who can take hold of the work of life understandingly and .
conscientiously ; who call make society stronger and better, help advance all that is true, and intelligently reform what is wrong. Unless such results come from our schools the system is at fault, our money is wasted, and a wrong is done to the rising generation.
One of the most hopeful signs of the times, when there is such a drift in our great cities towards what is showy and superficial, is this apparently spontaneous awakening of the offices of education to the necessity of introducing into the public schools those studies and exercises which bring the thought of the pupils more directly into contact with real things, and with moral obligations, Take the recent annual reports of most of
8
the towns of our Commonwealth, and there is found evidence of this gratifying tendency. We trust that our own Town will cordially sustain the Committee in any changes they may make to secure this broader form of education in our public schools. One contribution to this end has been the introduction, during the past year, into our High School course, of a series of lectures, or "familiar talks" by different individuals (not teachers) upon various practical topics, connected with the preservation of health; the anatomy of the human frame ; business affairs ; the early history of our own Town; legal rights ; the duties of citizens and kindred themes. We hope to have this series continued during the coming year, with still greater efficiency and frequency. The pupils of the High School have evidently enjoyed these familiar talks, and entered cordially into their spirit. And we feel confident that the school hours thus used, are turned to better account than if employed in carrying the pupils a little further on in some of their more advanced studies. And, at this. point, the Committee desire to thank those gentlemen who have rendered this valuable service.
The question of providing for manual training in our schools, as recently authorized by law, has not yet received the attention of the Committee. Should marked success attend experiments in this direction, now going on in some of the towns of the Commonwealth, this branch of culture will be carefully considered.
9
The by-laws of the School Committee have been carefully revised and reprinted during the year, defining the duties of the Committee, of the Superintendent and of the teachers. The law with respect to truant children is attached. Copies of these by-laws can be had, by any one who desires them, at the office of the Superintendent in the Town House.
We insert again certain votes of the Committee which were printed in the report of last year ; as they are connected with changes which have not yet been fully perfected, and it is important that all the parents of the pupils should be informed upon the subject.
The change which was made in the time for closing the "school year", and the consequent postponement, for six months, of the usual annual promotion of pupils, or their transfer to schools of the next higher grade, have caused some annoyance to individuals, and brought complaints from parents to the Committee ; but such results were unavoidable, and the advantages of the change thus made, we are confident, will be manifest.
The votes referred to are as follows :
Voted-That the result of the several general examinations of the pupils in the schools during the school year be made the basis for admission of pupils to the advanced schools.
Voted-That the standard of admission to the High School be raised to what would correspond to one year's additional study in the Grammar School.
Voted-That any member of the graduating class at the High School shall be excused from taking part in the public exhibi- tions, at the close of the school year, upon presenting a written request to that effect from his or her parent or guardian. Such
10
excuse shall not be considered as any reason for withholding a diploma from such pupil. This vote shall not be considered as in any way excusing the pupil from writing and handing to the Principal the composition required from each member of the graduating class.
Voted-That the "school year" hereafter close with the end of the Summer term, and that the present senior class of the High School graduate at that time in 1886.
F. N. KNAPP, JAMES D. THURBER, GEORGE F. WESTON, CHARLES I. LITCHFIELD, WM. T. DAVIS, JAMES MILLAR,
School
Committee.
PLYMOUTH, Feb. 3d, 1886.
11
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF PLYMOUTH : GENTLEMEN :
I respectfully present herewith the annual report of the Superintendent.
It is a source of great gratification that I feel justified in saying that the condition of the schools of this Town · is more satisfactory than at any other time during my connection with them. In the last two years, we have been very fortunate in employing, as teachers, only the best talent the town has to offer among the graduates of our High School. The ability now employed in our schools is sufficient to raise them to the first rank, if that ability were aided by the appliances which modern improvement in teaching has rendered easily accessible, and which are found in all the most advanced schools, such as are managed by superior intelligence, and sup- ported by superior liberality. Our school-houses, with only two exceptions, are now in so good condition that only the most critical and exacting will make any com- plaint. It is much easier to obtain appropriations for building expensive school-houses and repairing old ones, than for the purchase of those appliances which the
12
skilled teacher always requires for his work. Any one can appreciate the appearance of a beautiful building ; but only the expert fully knows the value, in the school-room, of books, scientific apparatus, and speci- mens for object teaching. It is the latter which our school-rooms are greatly in want of at the present time. .
SCHOOL YEAR.
The vote of the Committee that the school year should close in July instead of December, rendered it necessary to rearrange the work of the schools for the extra six months. This has been accomplished by ordering a review of all studies in all schools below the High School ; and in the latter, with a few unimportant exceptions, the text books, already in the hands of the . scholars, were sufficient for the extra work. In this way, with the least expense, the greatest good of the schools will be effected.
HIGH SCHOOL.
The High School still labors under the many incon- veniences which must result from a building constructed, as ours has been, at various times, a change made here and another there, as the needs of the occasion suggested, until it has become an awkward conglomerate which poorly protects its inmates against the heats of Summer and the colds of Winter, and, by its general crudeness, offends the taste and pride of the community.
After a trial of several years, the course of study of the High School, arranged under the authority of the
13
Committee, still invites and receives some criticism. As it is a compromise of various opinions, it is not surprising that it has vulnerable points, and fails to satisfy all parties concerned in its administration. Examined by any person properly qualified to judge in the matter, our course of study would be pronounced somewhat unreasonable in requiring so much to be done in so short a time. The multiplicity of studies is, doubtless, the result of an effort to satisfy the two great parties which exist in almost every commuuity ; the one which advo- cates ancient language and literature as the best means of humanizing modern society ; the other which impera- tively demands modern knowledge as the best means of advancing modern citizenship. Between these two parties, high schools in towns of few inhabitants are very much crippled. In reference to our own school, the only apparent source of relief may come from increasing the time allotted to the course of study in the Grammar Schools, so that some of the studies, now in the High School, might be finished in the lower grade. This arrangement would prove a great advantage to those, also, who leave school altogether when they graduate from the Grammar School.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
The improvement in all the Grammar Schools of the Town is very noticeable this year, especially in arith- metic and English grammar. In these two studies, the scholars who have heretofore entered the High School, have always appeared to least advantage, and have
12
14
incurred, at times, severe criticism ; but the present classes, when they enter the High School, will certainly acquit themselves well. The importance of these schools in completing the 'education of a large part of the Town, ought to secure an expenditure sufficient to make them all that their position demands. This improve- ment can be accomplished by the addition of one year to the time spent in these schools.
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS.
The Intermediate Schools of the Second and Third Grades are, without exception, in excellent condition. The North Third Grade deserves especial mention for the very great improvement during the past year. Two years ago, owing to the peculiar conditions in which the school was placed, it was considered the most unsatisfac- ' tory school in the Town. The crowded state of the school was its most discouraging feature, but the establishment of a new Second Grade, in the neighborhood of the Cordage Works, removed that difficulty, and the industry and vigor of the present teacher has done the rest ; but as long as a considerable portion of the scholars attend school half the year, and work the other half in the factory, it will be difficult, or, perhaps, impossible, to keep the scholarship up to the grade required.
The new Second Grade, mentioned above, established this year by the Committee in the extreme north part of the Town, which has served an excellent purpose in relieving the North Third Grade, so hopelessly crowded, has been well conducted by its present teacher, and
fa ag tea ado Fro
0
15
will bear comparison with other schools of the same grade.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
The Primary Schools are very fortunate at the present time as to the number of scholars, not one having more than forty. Indeed, they have not been crowded since the Sub-Primaries have been established ; the latter being the schools which receive the children of five years of age, at all times during the year. They are the schools most subject to fluctuation in numbers, being crowded now, and will be unmanageable for the next six months, unless some measures of relief be applied.
DRAWING.
As the demand for skill in ornamental and mechanical drawing, as applied to the arts and trades of practical life, increases, the interest in the subject ought to increase in the public schools. Besides the advan- tages in professional life derived from skill in the graphic art, the training of the sense of sight and the cultivation of exact and thorough observation practiced in the school-room must be of universal benefit in the various occupations of life.
During the past year we have been very much favored by the visits and lectures of Mr. C. M. Carter, an agent of the state, engaged in disseminating among teachers a knowledge of the most recent methods adopted at the Normal Art School of Massachusetts. From his skill as a teacher, Mr. Carter was very
16
successful in developing the primary ideas of his art, and in illustrating on the blackboard precisely what the teachers had to do in their schools. The help derived from these few lectures of Mr. Carter has been so great that it is urgently recommended that a teacher of similar qualifications be employed for continuous instruction of our teachers, until they are able to carry their classes through a prescribed course, according to the most approved methods.
MUSIC.
The art of singing may now be regarded as a well established branch of instruction in the public schools of the Town. The interest of the children in music increases, as was to be expected, as their practice makes them more familiar with the art, and from their present point of departure, it will be comparatively easy to carry them forward so rapidly that the musical taste of the Town will soon, by their influence, be greatly improved. At recent exhibitions in all of the schools receiving musical instruction, the friends of the scholars were invited to be present, to which invitations they responded in considerable numbers ; and all the opinions which have been heard have been expressive of satisfac- tion at what the young people have accomplished. Hereafter there can be no doubt that the people of the Town will gladly acquiesce in any reasonable expen- diture for the advancement of music in the schools.
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