USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1875-1881 > Part 31
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1
7
Married .... Single. .. ..
13 14
Parks, Bessie. French. ..
0 8 6
17 22
Laborer. .
·
June 2 3
Prentiss. Lillian A . Evans, Cliloe, P. (Pettee)
5 3 3
McLarty, William.
74
Madden, Margaret.
4
0 Single ..
2
16 27
Married ... Single .. ..
Merchant.
12
Parker, Samuel Trask .. . 64 0 86
...
15 Single ...
22
Widow .
Wakefield .. North Reading .. Lynnfield .. Wakefield . ..... Thornton, N. H. = Foxboro .. Ireland . Wakefield .. Pembroke, N.H. Wakefield . Clarence A. and Helen S. Charles H. and K. Addie. Clarence A. and Helen S. Daniel and Mary .... . . Thomas and Hannah ..... John and - Joshua A. and Annie M .. Hezekiah and Chloe. Jolin and Mary. . John and Mary. Ireland. Wakefield .... Harrison, Me ... Deer lsle, Me ... Wakefield :..... Stoneham .. .. ... Alexander and Catherine John and Margaret .. David and Apphia .. William R. and Anna B .. Lawrence and Honora ... Henry M. and Addie. ... Peter and Mary ...
Wakefield ...
·
Single ...
England ... Framingham ... Quincy. ·
Mar. 2
60 76
8
21 0 26 24
Married.
Carpenter
No. YarmouthMe Brighton.
13
Chase, George.
0
7 25 75
Frye, Lucy ..
26
Widow ...
·
71 1 0
Pike Clarence M. . ·
Hoyt, Henry D .. ... 47
Barnet, Vt. .. Wakefield ... ·
3
7
31
Walton, Eliza.
.
. Age.
Condition.
3 30.
1
Almon and Mary B. .... John F. and Isabel A ... . James and Hannah. ... . Samuel and Catherine ... Daniel and Rhoda. Augustine P.and Lucretia Andrew and Sally .. Thomas and Susan. Gilbert A. and Alice B ... Thomas and Catherine ... Munroe M. and Grace .... Philip and Saralı ..... Michael and Mary D ..... Jolin B. and Nancy J. .... Joseph and Betsey ...
Deaths registered in the town of Wakefield in 1879.
Date of Death.
Name of Deceased.
Age.
Condition.
Occupation.
Birthplace.
Names of Parents,
Disease or Cause of Death.
Yrs
Mos
Dys
.July 29
Spaulding, Lucinda (Hart) ...
89
6
8
Widow
Wakefield
John and Mary . . . John J. and Emma C. ..
Aug. 10
Brookman, Harry.
0
11
10
Single ..
Wakefield
13
White, Edward C.
0
4
0
21
Winn, Lydia (Whittemore) ..
91
8
Widow
Charlestown. ·
23
Dineen, John J ..
2
0
Single .
Wakefield
25
Cuff, Catherine ...
19
2
6
Sept. 2 5
Kallaher Dennis ..
68 .
0
0
Married .. ..
Laborer
13
Pond, Charles W ..
58
2
7
Shoe Manufact'r
Boxford ....
Charles and Sarah. .. ·
13
Carey, Gilman ...
68
8
17
Shoemaker
Reading.
Joel and Kezia ...
·
13
Corbett, Alfred.
62
5
0
Laborer.
Brunswick, Me ..
19
Maloney, John ...
0 38
11
0
Married
Amherst, N. H ..
Josiah and Sarah.
Cirrhosis of Liver.
Oct.
2
Moses, Elizabeth, (Convers). Lyons, Mary (Casey). Ricker, Edmund B.
58
8
0
Married.
Ireland ....
9
Martin. Thomas ..
85
4
5
Married.
Mariner ..
Halifax, N.S.
11
Pennell, Ida E.
11
0
Single :
Wakefield ...
13
. Austin, Henry D.
0
0
Lawyer ...
24
Whiting, Wallace.
20
3
21
Nov. 1
Gorham, Mariana W.
23
2
12
.
9
Bransfield, John J ...
23
8
9
Shoemaker
James and Margaret . .
Peter and Eliza.
22
Nye, Louie Allen ... · 0
0
4
0
Dec.
13 15
Sykes, Sarah E .... O'Leary Daniel R ... .
34
2
11
. .
Shoe-Laster. .. Wakefield
26
Reardon, Daniel
66
0
0
Married ... .
Laborer ..
Ireland ..
North Reading .. Wakefield . ... Edward B. and Mary B .. Osceola H. and Flora H .. Richard and Mary W .... Richard and Margaret .... Daniel an | Catherine ... Leicester, ...
Marasmus. Debility. Consumption. Apoplexy.
96
Dropsy. Railroad Accident. Heart Disease. Consumption.
6
26
1
6
Single . ·
Hostler
Boston.
James and Johana ..... Ednund B. and Ann E .. Henry and Rebecca .... Sumner and Eunice C .. .. William and Charlotte ... George and Hannah ... Charles and Lois E ... ·
Phthisis. Sarcoma. Consumption. Railroad Accident.
14
McCabe, Stephen W. . 18
10
19
·
6
14
. .
66
22
21
0
15
.
·
69
0
0
Laborer ...
Ireland .. 66
Wakefield ...
John and Maria ... ·
Strong and Mary. · Consumption.
30
Packard, Marietta F. (Swain)
75
0
2
Widow
·
·
·
Old Age. Enteritis. Cephalitis. Ossification of Heart. Meningitis. Consumption.
Softening of Brain. Dropsy and Coma. Dysentery. [building. Accident cause falling Congestion of Brain.
Isaac M. and Hannah. ·
0 Single.
2
21 61
Charlestown ... Lynnfield ..... Somerville. . . . England.
Consumption. Gastro Enter tis.
Abbott, Gracie May. .
Boston. .
Ira E. and Sarah I. · Phillip and Lydia ..
21 0
Boston.
Edward F. and Emma ... John and Bridget .... Edward and Esther ... John and Mary.
Kelly, Michael ...
0
97
RECAPITULATION.
Births registered in 1879,
90
Males, . 56
Females,
34
Nativity of Parents. · Fathers.
Mothers.
Born in Wakefield,
5
9
other towns in United States,
42
41
Ireland,
23
22
England,
4
3
Scotland,
4
3
British Provinces,
6
8
France,
1
0
East Indies,
0
1
Germany, .
.
0
1
Wales,
0
1
Marriages Registered in 1879,
44
-
Nativity.
Grooms.
Brides.
Born in Wakefield,
10
6
other towns in United States,
26
30
Ireland,
5
4
England,
1
1
British Provinces,
1
3
Germany, .
1
0
First Marriage
35
40
Second
8
4
Third
60
1
0
No. under 20 years of age,
0
6
between 20 and 30,
33
35
30 and 40,
6
0
40 and 50,
1
2
50 and 60,
2
0
60 and 70,
.
2
1
.
.
.
98
Oldest Groom,
67 years.
Bride, ·
·
67
Youngest Groom,
21
Bride, .
16 66
Deaths Registered in 1879,
72
Males, 40
Females, 32
Average age, 36 yrs., 6 mos., 18 days. Number under 5 years of age,
between 5 and 10, .
10 and 20, .
4
20 and 30, .
.
9
30 and 40, .
.
4
40 and 50, .
.
2
.66 50 and 60, .
3
60 and 70, .
10
70 and 80, .
8
80 and 90, .
7
90 and 100, .
.
1
Still Born,
Number of Dogs licensed in 1879, .
· 129
Males, 124. Females, 5.
Cash paid County Treasurer,
$247 20
(Signed)
CHARLES F. HARTSHORNE,
Toun Clerk.
.
19
1
.
.
3
REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
TO THE CITIZENS OF WAKEFIELD :
In our last annual report we submitted a statement of our expenditures for the year then just past, and also an esti- mate of the necessary expenses of the incoming year, show- ing the various amounts needed for teachers' salaries, fuel, Janitors' services and incidental expenses, and asked the town to appropriate a sum which would nearly cover said estimate, to wit : eleven thousand dollars for general school purposes, and one thousand dollars for incidental expenses. The Appropriation Committee recommended the town to raise ten thousand five hundred dollars for general school purposes, and one thousand dollars for incidental expenses, which were the sums raised and placed at our disposal. We have endeavored faithfully and conscientiously to do the best we could with the means under our control.
The law which provides that School Committees shall make annual reports of the condition of their schools, contemplates that that report shall be a truthful one ; and, unpleasant as it may prove, we cannot shrink from a discharge of our duty.
Some of your schools are not in the condition they were one year ago, and not in the condition they ought to be. Some have improved. At the opening of the financial year we were confronted by the fact that we had not sufficient funds to carry on the schools as they were then organized,
100
and we approached the consideration of the question " what shall be done " with no little trepidation. With the admis- sion of a new class in the High School, in September, all the courses of study would come into full operation, and the services of a second assistant would become imperative.
After careful examination of the subject in the best light obtainable, the salary of the Principal of the High School was reduced from fourteen hundred to one thousand dollars per year. The salaries of nearly all the other teachers were reduced, and at the close of the school year in June, the Second Intermediate School in the Centre District was abol- ished. We found it absolutely necessary to abolish one school or exceed the appropriation, and we selected the one which could be united with another with the least injury. It ought never to have been done, and it has wrought an injury to our school system which it will take at least the period of one school generation to recover. The scholars in this school were placed in the Third Grammar as a second class, under the charge of Miss Warren. The result has been that her room has been literally packed since the consol- idation-two schools in one. A crowded room, impure air, constant hurry, overworked teacher, under-drilled scholars, have been the order of the day. It ought to be said in this connection that no part of this state of things is the fault of the teacher.
In the Second Intermediate there has been an unusually large attendance with no means of relief. The average attendance in the Second Grammar during this year has been sixty-five, and in the First Grammar since September, it has been sixty, too large a number in either for any one teacher. The retention of the school abolished would have relieved these difficulties somewhat, but would not have entirely over- come them, and the indications are that its re-organization in September will be imperative. With the return of more prosperous times and the increased expenses of living, teach- ers naturally inquire if their salaries are to be increased. While we have given no one any encouragement, we have
101
teachers whose salaries should be increased at once. Their merit demands it. We have frequently enough complained of the policy which just keeps body and soul together, and which not only deprives teachers of the means of improving themselves in necessary lines of study, but which positively forbids the cultivation in the slightest degree of the æsthetic side of their natures. The teacher who does not have the privilege of making progress in all matters relating to her vocation, and who does not avail herself of such privileges when possessed, will inevitably retrograde. There is no standing still. It contravenes natural laws. The town ought to adopt the policy of paying all teachers in its employ sala- ries sufficient to enable them to keep abreast of the best edu- cational thought of the period.
As your teachers are, so your children will be. What you desire your children to be, provide means for your teachers to become. We desire the children of this town to become cultured men and women, with minds enlightened and broad- ened by study, and with tastes ennobled by all that is beau- tiful and grand in nature and art. Those teachers only who are the embodiment of these desires can lead to such heights. Whatever may be the technical definition of civilization, the highest type of what we commonly understand by that term should be our aim. Hume says, " It is unreasonable to expect that a piece of woolen cloth should be wrought to perfection in a country where ethics are neglected and astron- omy unknown." As little should we expect the children of the town to realize the capacities of their nature without some living, moving, breathing example; without the constant association of some one "higher than they." The teachers whom we set over our scholars should be pure, cultured ladies and gentlemen, possessed of all the graces which come from an intimate knowledge of the best thought of the time, and an equally intimate association with the masters of thought. Pay them generously, require them to come up to this ideal, and a return both speedy and profitable will be observed in the conduct, character and growth of those under their care.
102
NEW DEPARTURES.
Much has been said and published of late concerning new departures in schools and methods of education, and we have not been disinterested listeners to these discussions, nor idle observers of events transpiring within our notice. We wel- come all additions to the current discussion, believing that much good will result, but we are not of those who believe that any one town has suddenly leaped from a confessed wo- fully low condition of its public schools to the dazzling heights of perfection in a period of a few short years, no more than we accept with faith the advertised offer of the retired clergy- man "whose sands of life are nearly run out" to furnish a panacea for all the ills human flesh is heir to, upon the receipt of a specified amount of fractional currency. Nor do we believe that any one person has just discovered a "method" of conducting schools and directing education to which he can rightfully claim exclusive ownership by right of discov- ery. Nor do we believe in that vaunted "method" which educates a child without work, and treats his mind as a recep- tacle into which knowledge is constantly poured as water into a bottomless tank. The fact is that in the past there have been some very good schools, some very good teachers, some very good educators, and some men and women of consider- able learning who were trained under the old system of ped- agogy. Unquestionably, improvements, keeping pace with the material and intellectual growth of the State and nation, have been made, and they have been developed naturally and gradually without hot-house nursing, but no "royal road to learning" has yet been discovered. The way may be made smooth and attractive, lined with shade trees and flowers, but he who travels it must do so by his own power of loco- motion. Knowledge, however valuable, is not the grand desideratum. Discipline takes a higher rank. Knowledge without the power to use it is a comparatively valueless incumbrance. A mind trained to make profitable use of knowledge is a possession beyond price.
103
As well might one expect to become a gymnast by looking at an athlete, or a skilled mechanic by watching the work of others. The mind, like the muscles, is quickened, strength- ened, broadened and enlarged by its own exercise, and the teacher who succeeds in training the child's faculties so that he can use them as occasion demands, accomplishes a much higher service than one who simply loads the mind with knowledge. Nor is it true education that makes a child a sort of an apprentice to some specialty, but it is true educa- tion that feeds the mind with appropriate food, and developes it with appropriate exercise, so that it will grow in activity, symmetry, strength and efficiency.
READING.
To learn to read is one thing, to read with the understand- ing is another, and to acquire a taste for good reading is quite another. Startling as the proposition may at first seem, it has become a mooted question among acute observers, whether simply the ability to read is not a positive injury. In view of the immeasurable mass of vile stuff-under the name of literature-which is sown broadcast over the coun- try, and finds its way into the hands of the comparatively uneducated, the young and unguided, and into the hearts of millions of families ; in view of the rank poison which a great portion of the daily newspapers disseminates, with all its terrible tendencies and results, thinking people are awakened to the question whether it is not a doubtful blessing to teach a child to read and send him out into the world to pick up such knowledge as he may glean from trashy literature and the sensational press,-whether positive ignorance is not preferable.
Powerful and valuable an agent for the dissemination of legitimate news and information as the Press is, the unbridled use of its privileges has made it one of the most blighting curses of the times. In our judgment, the surest escape is in the education of the coming generations so that there will be no demand for that class of reading to which we have
104
referred. Then the sentimental story paper and the nausea- ting daily will give place to a press acute in intellectual pro- ductions, and moral in tone. To effect this, children not only should be taught to read, not only to understand the meaning, force and beauty of what they read, not only to master such collateral information as the topic read may sug- gest, but a taste for good reading should be inculcated at an early age, and ever afterward constantly fostered. With such thoughts in mind, a practice has prevailed in our schools to some extent of requiring the scholars to read from other than the ordinary text books, for instance, from some attrac- tive history, book of travels, choice biography or standard poetry, and with good results so far as observed. This has given variety and attractiveness to the school exercises, as well as developed a desire for a good class of reading and study, and it is hoped such a love for it as will increase with years.
The school authorities of Boston have recently provided for a supplementary course of reading in their schools, a text book of standard poetry with selections adapted to almost any age, and a series of story books for the younger classes containing such tales as Jack the Giant Killer, Puss in Boots, Blue Beard, and others, always the delight of children. While the selections may not be entirely free from criticism, we believe it is a step in the right direction which if contin- ued will ultimately result in great good. To what extent such a plan can be carried out in a town like ours, may be scen when the experiment shall have been more systemati- cally tried.
METRIC SYSTEM.
A short time ago a radical change in weights and measures was pressed upon the business and educational world with much vigor, and the metric system bade fair to come into common use. It was argued that an adoption of that system would save much time in school, as well as be an untold con- venience to the business world. . We think the argument
105
correct. During the transition period, however, no time is gained, as scholars are required to learn both systems. It would be gratifying to have the matter pursued with more vigor or dropped entirely.
SPELLING.
Another departure of great moment is the so-called spell- ing reform or phonetic spelling, which at first sight seems ludicrous, but upon careful examination shows more substan- tial claims to support than most of the so-called reforms. It is well known that in all our schools much time is expended in learning to spell, and all kinds of devices are resorted to by the teacher to bring the scholars to a medium standard in this branch. The irregularities of the English language are so great that they constitute the main difficulty in mastering it, and no where are they more apparent than in spelling. When the child begins to spell, there always arises in his mind a confusion as to the sounds of the letters, and espe- cially their different sounds when differently associated, and this confusion is overcome, if ever, after a long series of trials and a multitude of retentive efforts. It becomes almost absolutely necessary for him to have a personal acquaintance with each word, or. master all the languages from which the English is derived. It is said that out of 1,976 failures in the Civil Service examinations, 1,866 failed on account of spelling. Max Muller says : "The question, then, that will hav to be answered sooner or later, is this : Can this unsystematic system of spelling English be allowed to go on forever? Is every English child, as compared with other children, to be mulcted in two or three years of his life in order to lern it. Ar the lower classes to go thru school without lerning to read and write their own language intelligently. And is the country to pay millions every year for this utter failure of national education? I do not believ or think that such a state of things will be allowd to go on forever, particularly as a remedy is at hand. I consider that
106
the sooner it is taken in hand the better. There is a motiv power behind these fonetic reformers which Archbishop Trench has hardly taken into account,-I mean the misery endured by millions of scholars at school, who might lern in one year and with real advantage to themselves, what they now require four or five years to lern, and seldom succed in lerning at all."
Phonetic spelling has received the sanction of some of the best scholars in this country and England and is rapidly coming into use in some of the best magazine publications, yet we do not feel inclined at present to make it part of our course of study in the schools, but we would most earnestly commend an examination in detail of the whole matter to the teachers, to the end that they may be thoroughly fitted to teach it when called upon.
Our schools during the past year have pursued both the oral and written methods of spelling, but the written is the bet- ter, and is growing in daily use. Sentence-writing and com- position afford a fair test of a scholar's capacity in spelling, which is in a certain sense a talent or natural gift. Occasional- ly those are found who cannot learn to spell with any degree of accuracy, while most succeed very well after more or less hard work.
A very interesting and instructive paper upon the exami- nation of all the schools in Norfolk County during the last year, is published in the Report of the Board of Education for the present year, a portion of which is devoted to the ex- aminations in spelling. This examination was conducted orally, by writing the words, and by sentence and composition writing. The results as detailed in the report afford subjects for very careful reflection. Curiosities without number abound. Upon inspection we find that the children in Nor- folk county have invented fifty-two ways of spelling the word "depot," fifty-eight ways of spelling the word "which," one hundred and eight ways of spelling the word "whose," and two hundred and fifty-five ways of spelling the word "scholar."
107
Since reading that report we have made an examination in spelling of the one hundred and seven scholars which we found in our schools in one day, between the ages of eight and one- half years and ten and one-half years, corresponding in age with the scholars in Norfolk county who took the same ex- amination, and the results, though not as ludicrous as those referred to yet they are unpleasantly suggestive. Our ex- amination was conducted substantially as those in that coun- ty, and in part precisely the same, as we understand it. This we did for the purpose of comparing our own standing with theirs.
In their examinations sentences were required to be writ- ten by each scholar, containing the words "which," "whose" and "scholar," and the spelling of these three words was mark- ed. The average per cent. obtained of all the scholars in Norfolk county between the ages above named upon those three words, was 55.9. We have required our scholars to take the same examination and they obtain 61.9 per cent.
They were also required to write the following words in sentences :
1. Deluge. 2. Decency. 3. Denies.
4. Colonel.
5. Deterring. 6. Sugar.
7. Chinese.
8. Complete. 9. Supersede. :
10. Changeable.
And they obtained an average of 58.1 per cent. Our schol- ars upon the same words, obtained an average of 42.7. In the examinations upon the last named ten words we cannot say that the method was precisely the same as used in Nor- folk county, and this may in part account for the difference of per cent. obtained. It is also fair to say that our scholars who took the examination average less than nine and a half years of age. Without making any invidious comparisons because the apparent difference in schools is largely due to difference in age we submit the following table of the schools which passed the examination upon the words "whose," "which" and "scholar" with the number of scholars examin- ed and the per cent. obtained by each school.
108
Name of School.
No of Scholars
Per cent.
Examined.
Greenwood,
11.
30.3.
Woodville,
5. 36.5.
West Int. '
15. 48.
East Ward,
5.
50.
Ctr. Int. No. 2,
47.
63.8.
North Ward,
9.
72.7.
Franklin Int., .
7.
82.4.
Third Grammar,
5.
86.6.
Second Grammar,
3.
100.
If these facts and suggestions shall provoke thought and discussion and awaken a more lively interest in this subject our purpose will have been attained. .
DRAWING.
Considerable attention has been paid to this subject for several years, but our schools are very far behind those of many neighboring towns. We hope the coming year, if means are provided, to give the subject the attention which its importance demands. Drawing is expressing with the hand what the eye sees. It cultivates both observation and reason, trains the eye and gives dexterity to the hand. The unsupplied demand for skilled draughtsmen, accomplished designers and competent workmen in all branches of industry has awakened a lively interest in, and given a strong impetus to this study. It has been called the alphabet of industrial art, and as great numbers of those who are educated in our com- mon schools become artisans, it is wise policy to train them in early life to some extent in the rudiments of those subjects which in maturer years they are to carry into practical life, and to a higher state of perfection.
ATTENDANCE.
We cannot urge to strongly upon parents, teachers and scholars the transcendent importance of constant and regular attendance. Without it the continuity of study is interrupt- ed, and the embarrassment which ensues is not easily over-
109
come. The progress of a whole school is frequently retarded by the unnecessary absence of a single pupil. A little reflec- tion ought to lead to a strenuous effort on the part of all con- cerned for a reduction in the number of absences. Tardi- nesses and dismissals work serious injury. If parents and others were more cautious about issuing excuses for tardiness and requests for dismissal, they would add much to the efficiency of the schools. As illustrations of the evil com- plained of, one of your committee found in one school twenty- four requests for dismissal in a single afternoon. In another school a few days after there were nine absences and eleven notes for dismissal, and in the last case the teacher remarked that it was about the usual number.
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