USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > Town annual reports of Acton, Massachusetts 1853-82 > Part 49
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For 70 3-4 days work, 2.00,
141 50
12 3-4 6. Thos. Cote. 7.00, 89 25
19 1-2 6. 6 . E. N. Robbins, 1.50 29 25
13 3-4
66 S. R. Collis, 20 62
3
W. Page, 4 50
1
28 1-4 66 66 J. Priest. 42 37
9 1-4 66 66
A. H. Jones, 13 87
3
66
T., J. & W., 4 50
oxen. 1.75, 7 87
9 1-4 66
.6
Amos Tuttle, 1.50, 13 87
6 1-4 ..
E. O'Neal, 6 37
2
H. Conant, 3 00
2
61
6. horse. 1.00 2 00
3
Charles Beck, 1.50. 4 50
4
66 horse, 4 00
12 3-4 66 .6
H. Turner, 1.50," 19 12
11 1-2
66
A. Turner, 17 25
3
.6 ..
L. McLaughlin, 4 50
51 1-2 66 A. Jones' horse, 1.00 51 50
L. Billings and horse. for work, 3 87
Charles Wheeler, for labor, 8 50
J. P. Brown's bill. 3 48
1 Plow 3 days .50. 1 50
1 Pick axe. 1 12
1 Scraper plate,
7 44
1 Pick handle,
25
1 Rake.
67
1 Sledge,
3 00
Gravel for Stow road,
3 00
$512 67
Support of Poor.
Paid E. H. Cutler, deficiency on Town Farm to April 1880, $347 89
E. H. Cutler, board and doctor's bill of F. J. Aiken, 37 36
1
4 1-2
8
Paid J. E. Cutter, oxen for Town Farm,
125 00
66
16 support Clara Wheeler, 272 82
66 Henry Jones, 66 01
66
66
66 Sarah S. Childs.
13 06
66
.6
6 .
Elizabeth Bur-
gendahl,
293 25
66
66
John Dakin, 12 42
66
Traynor Family, 115 38
66
Redding
39 13
6 :
.6
Mrs. M. Pike, 34 00
66
robe and burial of Lucy
Oliver, 18 06
66
66
burial of Geo. Bullard, 10 00
66
" W. F. B. Whit-
ney's child, 15 00
medical attendance F. E. Chaffin, 20 00
66
aid furnished Ola Nel- son,
3 75
66
66
aid furnished Mrs. John Whitney. 20 50
66
board & medical atten- dance Mrs. B. Chaffin,
53 20
66
66
Dr. Hutchins' medical attendance M. Pike, 1879, 8 25
journey to Taunton, 5 60
" Tewksbury, 3 25
.. express on bundle for H. Jones, 30
. . tax book, 2 00
.6
66
printing dog notices, 1 25
66
advice on "Follard and
Bryan case, 2 00
$1,519 48
9
Town Debt.
Paid Fredrick Rouillard, $500 00
David M. Handley. 500 00
James E. Billings, note and interest, 1,517 70 Mary P. Hosmer, 6. .6 6 .
1.029 82
Geo. H. Harris,
106 23
I. T. Flagg.
105 30
Calvin Harris,
202 53
J. A. Piper,
404 46
Luther Billings,
202 53
$4,568 57
Soldiers' Aid.
John Carroll,
120 00
Geo. Dole.
48 00
Wm. F. Wood.
96 00
Allen G. Smith,
96 00
Benj. Skinner.
96 00
George Knights,
8 00
Wm. F. B. Whitney,
144 00
Miss R. G. Wright,
48 00
Mrs. Hattie W. Wilder.
48 00
$704 00
Interest on Town Debt.
Paid Mrs. J. K. Putney,
39 00
Mary P. Hosmer,
60 00
Fredrick Rouillard,
150 00
D. J. Wetherbee.
34 52
I. T. Flagg,
12 00
Daniel Harris.
48.00
J. A. Piper.
36 00
James E. Billings,
117 00
Calvin Harris.
12 00
Sarah C. Noyes,
48 00
Thomas P. Noyes,
24 00
Luther Billings,
24 00
Joseph Barker,
30 00
$634 52
10
Town Officers.
Paid F. P. Wood, Supt. Schools 1879 -- 80, 45 00
66 .6
45 00
66
1880-81, 45 00
L. U. Holt, sealer of weights and measures, to Apr '80. 10 00
Phineas Wetherbee, Assessor, 25 00
A. C. Handley, 21 50
Wm. D. Tuttle, 30 00
66 Town Clerk, 25 00
J. K. W. Wetherbee, Town Treas., 25 00
Phineas Wetherbee, Selectman, 40 00
John White, 66
45 00
D. J. Wetherbee,
70 00
$426 50
Printing.
Paid C. W. Leach, Selectmen's reports, 12 50
Town warrants, 1 50
525 Town reports. 56 00
.6 66 12 Warrants. 1 50
.6 500 Orders, . 1 50
66 200 Cemetery deeds, 5 50
66
66 Posters, 1 50
. .
Stationery & printing, 3 50
$83 50
Cemetery Expenses.
Paid John Fletcher, trees for Woodlawn, 6 00
J. F. Cole, posts for Woodlawn, 6 00
lock
25
J. Fletcher, work in Woodlawn and
Mt. Hope Cemeteries, 7 85
66 labor in Woodlawn, 36 25
J. F. Cole. " Mt. Hope, 40 50
66 66 150 posts, 6 00
Luke Smith, mowing brush in North
Cemetery, 8 00
.6
" setting post, Woodlawn, 2 00
$112 85
11
Miscellaneous.
Paid for rope for monument, $ 83
John Fletcher, work on monument, 75
Town Seal, 5 00
J. K. W. Wetherbee, admr. estate F. Dwight, attending burials, 36 30
J. K. W. Wetherbee, admr. estate F. Dwight, coffin & robe B. Chaffin, 13 00
J. K. W. Wetherbee admr. estate F. Dwight, collecting taxes, 45 00
Phineas Wetherbee, book for valua- tion use of State, 5 00
Wm. D. Tuttle, copying tax-book, 5 00
John Fletcher, block to flag-staff on monument, 1 00
Chas. Wheeler, railing bridge at H. Smith's mill, 15 60
Chas. Wheeler, repairs on bridge at I. W. Flagg's 16 78
Waldo Littlefield, painting hearse, 20 00
A. C. Handley, 3 tax books, 1 50
Henry Haynes. breaking roads, 1879. 11 55
A. H. Jones, breaking roads and re- pairs, 1879, 12 65
D. J. Wetherbee, license blanks, 50
. 6 engraving powder horn, 1 00
J. K. W. Wetherbee. abatement of taxes in 1878 & 1879, 69 58
Julian Tuttle, opening Town Hall 20
times, 19 50
66
opening selectmen's room 11 times, 2 75
66
care clock 15 months. 12 50
66
.6 cleaning clock, 2 00
66
66 cellar, 75
1
12
Paid Julian Tuttle, sawing wood,
50
16
oil
8 49
wicks, 15
66
66
lamp,
90
6.
.6
matches, 25
:6
repairs on cellar door and settees, 4 00
66
66
cleaning small clock, 80
66
66
2 springs Town clock. 2 00
Wm. D. Tuttle, printing notices, 1 00
express public docu- ments, books &c .. 2 20
66
66
laying out lots in Cemeteries, 3 50
66
66
blanks for dog licenses 1 40
66 journey to Concord to make returns, 1 50
66
journey to Boston, respt. State tax, 2 00
recording 18 marriages, 2 70
28 deaths, 4 80
collecting & recording 28 births, 14 00
66 postage & stationery, 1 56
L. E. Reed, attending 14 burials, 42 00
66 66 making 11 death returns, 2 75
J. E. Cutter, discount on taxes. 1880, 717 13 3 40
E. Hall & Son, plank for sluice,
labor and nails, 50
$1,116 07
Receipts from February 26, 1880, to February 26, 1881.
Unexpended balance as per report of Feb. 26, 1880, $3,402 32
Appropriations and receipts, 15,689 90
$19.092 22
66
. (
66
66
13
Expenditures.
Support of Schools,
$2.863 76
Repairs of Town buildings,
369 52
Regular Highway work,
1.302 90
Support of Poor,
1,519 48
Town Debts.
4,568 57
Soldiers' Aid,
704 00
Interest on Notes.
634 52
Town Officers,
426 50
Printing,
83 50
Cemetery Expenses,
112 85
Miscellaneous,
1,116 07
State Tax,
1,080 00
County Tax,
542 70
State Treas., liquor licenses,
87 75
$15,412 12
Bal. in Col & Treas. hands, Feb. 26, '81.
$3.680 10
Town Debt. Notes.
Daniel Harris,
$819 33
D J. Wetherbee.
595 41
David M. Handley.
2.042 50
Fredrick Rouillard,
2.101 16
James E. Billings,
1,994 75
Luther Billings.
203 00
Mrs. J. K. Putney.
686 94
Joseph Barker,
501 08
J. A. Piper,
205 00
Sarah C. Noyes,
800 00
Thomas P. Noyes,
400 00
$10,349 17
Amount due from Soldiers' Aid,
$352 00
66 Treas. & Collector,
3,680 10
$4,032 10
Balance against the Town,
$6,317 07
D. J. WETHERBEE, JOHN WHITE, P. WETHERBEE,
Selectmen of Acton.
ACTON, Feb. 26, 1881.
14
TOWN CLERK'S REPORT
FOR 1880.
Births in Acton in 1880.
No. Date of birth. Name of child. Names of parents.
1. Jan. 1, Hannah Louise Beck, daughter of Chas. L. and Lulu A. Beck.
2. Jan. 15, Dora Etta Owens, daughter of Thomas P. and Eliza J. Owens.
3. Jan. 18, Alice Mabel Teele, daughter of Charles H. and Estelle I. Teele.
4. Jan. 22, Mary O. Conners, daughter of Maurice and Honora Conners.
. 5. Jan. 17, George Albert Dockendorff, son of Jacob and Martha A. Dockendorff.
6. Jan. 7. Frank Harrison, son of Henry and Eliza Harrison.
7. Feb. 28, Minnie Mabel Haynes, daughter of Sylvester and Eliza W. Haynes.
8. Mar. 1. Albert Edward Willis, son of William W. and Elizabeth Willis.
9. Mar. 16, Edward Dion, son of Agistes and Emma Diou.
10. April 17, James Quinlan, son of John and Julia Quinlan.
11. April 24, Alice Crane Haskins, daughter of John R. and Helen A. Haskins.
12. May 22, Roscoe Hosmer Knowlton, son of Frank R. and Emma S. Knowlton.
13. May 26, Francis Victor D. Nelson, son of Oscar P. and Mary Ann Nelson.
14. May 27, Fanny Louise Rich, daughter of Edward S. and Mary Alice Rich.
15
15. June 7, Eva Sawyer, daughter of Thomas J. and Kate Sawyer.
16. June 8, Guy Ernest Tuttle, son of Amos S. and Amy M. Tuttle.
17. June 27, George Morton Guilford, son of Samuel A. and Nellie M. Guilford.
18. July 17, Millicent Mamie Edwards, daughter of Alfred J. and Rhoda Edwards.
19. Aug. 3, Grace Alice Hayward, daughter of Walter E. and Nettie F. Hayward.
20. Aug. 22, Howard Knowlton Tuttle, son of H. Waldo and Lizzie S Tuttle.
21. Aug. 24, Ernest Hooper, son of Edmund B. and Ella L. Hooper.
22. Sept. 5, Walter S. Jones, son of Wm. S. and Laura A. Jones.
23. Sept. 17. John Edward Cain, son of Edward and Ann Cain.
24. Oct. 4, Albert Ashley Palmer, son of Nathan R. and Abbie M. Palmer.
25. Oct. 12, Clarence Everett Blodgett, son of J. Herbert and Minnie A. Blodgett.
26. Oct. 17, Nellie Maria Scanlan, daughter of Thomas and Maria C. Scanlan.
27. Nov. 2, Luther Warren Piper, son of Anson C. and Ellen L. Piper.
BIRTHS NOT PREVIOUSLY REPORTED.
28. Mar. 15, 1879, Eva Lina Nelson, daughter of Oscar P. and Mary Ann Nelson.
Marriages Recorded in Acton in 1880.
No. Date of Marriage. Names and residences of parties.
1. Jan. 20, Mr. Joseph Barker and Miss Harriet Redmile. both of Acton.
2. Jan. 28, Mr. Anson C. Piper and Miss Ellen L. Jones, both of Acton.
3. April 14, Mr. Francis Conant and Mrs. Ellen J. Marshall, both of Acton.
4. April 17, Mr. Benjamin Skinner and Mrs. Georgie Anna Du Bois, both of Acton.
16
5. May 16. Mr. William Wheeler and Mrs. Louisa M. Smith. both of Acton.
6. June 1. Mr. William C. Closeman and Miss Catherine Dawson, both of Maynard.
7. June 26, Mr. John F. Nickless of Acton and Miss Anna C. Currier of Lowell.
8. July 7. Mr. Chas. Griffin of Greenwich. N Y .. and Miss Kate C. Houghton of Acton
9. July 17. Mr. Robert P. Burroughs and Miss Ella S. Teele, both of Acton.
10. Sept. 7, Mr. Joseph Noves of Acton. and Mrs Maria T. Jones of Hyde Park.
11. Sept. 22, Mr. Octavus A. Knowlton and Miss Etta L. Houghton, both of Acton.
12. Sept. 22. Mr. Moses A. Reed of Acton. and Miss Ellen A. McDaniels of East Dorset. Vt.
13. Oct. 3, Mr. George H. Harris of Acton, and Miss Sarah Addie Heald of Carlisle.
14. Sept. 23, Mr. Edwin W. Taylor of Acton. and Miss Flora A. Hussey of Littleton.
15. Oct. 14. Mr. Cyrus L. Angier of Acton, and Miss Maggie A. Rickerbey of St Johnsbury. Vt.
16. Nov. 4. Mr. George W. Worster of Acton, and Miss Marr E. Sherman of Maynard.
17. Nov. 14, Mr. Eri S. Brooks and Miss Susie A. Batchelder, both of Acton.
18. Nov. 25. Mr Arthur A. Jones and Miss Mary F. Clark, both of Acton.
Deaths Registered in Acton in 1850.
No. Date of Death. Names and Ages of Deceased.
1. Jan. 6. Mr. William Davis, aged 89 years, 3 months, 27 davs.
2. Jan. 18, a daughter of Loren C. and Ella S. Baldwin, aged 1 dav.
3. Feb. 6. Mr Eben Macauley, aged 28 years, 4 days.
4. Feb. 7. Mr. John DuBois, aged 51 years, 11 months. 7 days.
5. Feb. 14, Mr. Ebenezer Wood, aged 87 years, 8 months, 14 days.
17
6. Feb. 17, Mr. James F. Greenwood, aged 28 years. 2 months. 14 days.
7. Feb. 23, Ella A., daughter of Jacob and Adaline A. Priest, aged 5 years, 1 month, 9 days.
8. Feb. 27, Mr. Geo. W. Knights, aged 46 years, 6 months.
9. Mar. 19, Mr. Peter Tenney, aged 81 years, 2 months. 15 days.
10. Mar. 25, Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner, aged 74 years, 11 months, 9 days.
11. Mar. 31, Mrs. Louisa wife of Benjamin C. Baldwin, aged 59 years. 9 months.
12. April 3, Mr. Jonathan Wheeler, aged 89 years, 4 months. 5 days.
13. April 7, Mr. Willard C. Lane, aged 81 years.
14. April 13, Mrs. Betsey Chaffin. aged 87 years, 9 months. 17 days.
15. April 24, Mrs. Marietta C., wife of Charles B. Stone, aged 30 years, 3 months. 24 days.
16. May 9, Mrs. Ruth Hager. aged 91 years, 5 months, 1 day. 17. May 27, Mr. Francis Dwight, aged 64 years, 10 months, 7 days.
18. June 10, Bernard A., son of Herbert E. and Sophia E. Preston. aged 5 years. 8 months. 3 days.
19. June 18. Mr. John Erwin Fletcher, aged 38 years, 1 month, 25 days.
20. July 6. Miss Florence K. Jones, aged 23 years, 9 months, 20 days.
21. Aug. 10, Mrs. Lucy Noyes, aged 66 years.
22. Aug. 14, Mrs. Sarah Girard, aged 50 years, 26 days.
23. Aug. 18, Mr. Richard Kinsley, aged 56 years, 7 months, 19 days.
24. Sept. 12, Ernest, son of Robert and Maria Hart, aged 10 months. 21 days.
25. Oct. 2. Frank H., son of James E. and Tamson Billings, aged 13 years.
26. Nov. 14, Mr. John H. Quirk, aged 25 years, 11 months, 21 days.
27. Nov. 29, Mrs. Eliza Poultney, aged 34 years, 6 months, '6 days.
28. Dec. 1, Mr. Henry W. Richardson, aged 30 years, 2 months. 1 day.
18
Names of Persons in Acton having Dogs Licensed in 1880.
Chas. H. Conant,
Otis H. Forbush, Jeremy Austin, Joseph Wheeler, Elbridge J. Robbins,
M. Augusta Hosmer,
Moses A Reed,
Solon A. Robbins,
Chas. D. Griggs,
Winsor Pratt.
Chas. H. Handley,
E. F. Fuller,
J. C. Wheeler,
George C. Conant,
Willis L. Mead,
Theron F. Newton,
Chas. A. Harrington,
Augustus Fletcher,
Lucius S. Hosmer,
Levi Houghton,
Daniel Tuttle,
Eri S. Brooks,
Francis Conant,
A. Lucian Noyes,
James D. Coburn,
Chas. Wheeler,
Moses E. Taylor,
George W. Knowlton, 2,
Moses Taylor,
Walter A. Gilmore,
Myron F. Going,
A. B. Brown,
Gustavus H. Waugh,
George Pratt, 2,
Taylor Bros. & Co., 2,
George Conant,
Henry Hanson,
George C. Wright,
Hanson A. Littlefield,
George R. Keyes,
John R. Houghton, Chas. J. Williams, Cyrus Hayward,
James Hannon, Nathan K. Johnson,
John D. Moulton,
Frank Wetherbee,
A. J. Willis,
Edward O'Neil,
Henry W. Richardson,
Chas. Holton,
J. E. Reed,
Frank Pratt,
Geo. H. Shapley,
J. A. Houston,
Patrick Gallagher.
89 Males at $2.00, $178.00
5 Females, at $5.00, 25.00
Total, 94 $203.00
Charles H. Snow,
Joseph W. Wherren, Francis Dwight, Sylvester Haynes, Jerry H. McCarty,
Anson C. Piper, George V. Mead,
Danie F. Hayward, John W. Charter,
Henry Bohannon, John Fletcher, Isaiah S. Leach, Edwin Tarbell,
Daniel Harris,
John Temple,
Lester Fletcher,
Alonzo L. Tuttle, Elnathan Jones. Tuttles, Jones & Wether- bee, 3, H. Waldo Tuttle,
John Kelly,
Albert Moulton,
John Welch, Isaac Barker, Warren Mansfield,
Louis E. Allen,
Chas. Morris,
Henry Haynes,
N. R. Palmer, Forbush & Hartwell,
George W. Livermore, Chas. L. Beck,
WM. D. TUTTLE, Town Clerk.
ACTON, March 1, 1881.
Luther Conant,
19
REPORT OF THE RECEIPTS & EXPENDITURES
OF THE
ALMSHOUSE IN ACTON, For the Year Ending April 1, 1881.
ARTICLES ON HAND APRIL 1st, 1881.
12 cows,
$ 480 00
37 hens, $ 18- 50
1 horse,
60 00 12 cds. wood cut for use, 54 00
7 1-2 tons hay,
145 00
12 market boxes, 1 20
1 1-2 “ oat fodder,
22 50
40 barrels, 4 00
800 lbs. meal,
10 00
Lumber,
3 00
1100 " cotton seed,
14 30
Flour.
75
2 tons shorts.
40 00
Crackers, 20
Bags,
3 50
2 lbs sugar, 20
50
2 cider barrels,
2 00
Tea,
87
Potatoes,
5 00
Coffee,
35
325 lbs. pork,
35 00
Molasses,
80
50 " Tard,
5 50
Rye meal,
1 00
100 " ham,
12 00
2 dozen eggs,
40
12 " butter,
3 72
Dried apple,
70
Mackerel,
50
1-2 bushel beans.
1 00
3-4 bbl. of soap,
2 50
Salt,
20
Pickled pigs head & feet, 2 00
Beets,
1 00
Oil,
14
2 gallons boiled cider,
75
2 bbls. of apples,
3 00
$ 937 06
RECEIPTS FROM TOWN FARM 1880-81.
Received for potatoes, $14 31
Received for milk, 814 30
calves, 17 95
eggs, 5 44
COWS. 177 00
berries, 3 77
oxen, 130 00
apples,
349 25
use of oxen, 7 00
" wagon, 1 75
bed.
3 84
$1,524 61
10 lights of glass,
40
Spices,
1-4 gross matches, 58
20
EXPENSES .
Paid for crackers.
$16 67
Paid for grass seed, $ 4 43
cheese.
9 69
filing saw. 40)
butter.
55 24
rep. rigging and cultivator, 2 05
oil.
4 80
sugar.
17 56
plaster, 1 40
molasses.
19 92
garden seeds, 78
coffee.
3 35
liniment, 90
i've meal.
2 41
vinegar,
1 10
tea,
6 90
snuff,
20
flour,
61 50
sulphur,
51
beans,
10 18
saltpetre, beeswax,
17
cream tartar,
2 28
tomatoes,
25
meat.
80 13
cattle cards,
32
fish,
7 59
shovel. 90
saleratus.
2 24
pork barrels, .1 87
salt.
5 50
starch,
49
harness.
30 00
veast cakes.
58
horse rake.
25 00
hops and malt.
71
apple header, 1 00
soap,
13 22
grindstone and
baskets,
1 06
gearing. 4 13
brooms.
2 50
scythe snath,
75
thread
50
scythes,
1 55
pails.
1 72
forks. 2 60
tin ware,
1 18
bog hoe. 1 17
rep. tin ware. 65
ladders. 6 02
shoes. 28
hammer,
1 00
· roof, chim-
saw,
75
ney, &c.,
3 70
clothes pins,
12
pumps.
3 00
fly paper,
25
oyster shells. 12
wash board,
37
paris green.
cloths and
bristol brick.
10
clothing,
10 98
spittoon.
35
mittens,
1 22
wheel grease.
20
socks,
1 44
phosphate.
10 66
varn,
1 29
grain,
391 83
wicks,
05
COWS.
218 00
crockery, 2 28
pig.
15 00
spices,
2 30
32
tobacco.
2 00
horse blanket. 1 25
21
Paid for oxen, $ 125 00
pasturing cows, 10 00
use of bull, 6 00
raisins, 47
butchering, 2 50
lanterns.
1 34
onions.
45
axe helve, 25
Dr. Sanders bill, 7 45
stove polish, 08
lumber, nails,
labor,
141 10
zinc, & labor
blacksmith bill, 29 68
rep. barn. 74 66
barrels, 55 51
services of J.
glass. 75
Austin & wife. 200 00 services of
tacks,
15
J. E. Cutter, 40 00
ropes,
73
John White. 10 00
sick chair, 1 75
Frank Hosmer, 10 00
wash tub,
1 25
Total amount of Expenditures,
$ 1,809 46
Receipts,
1,524 61
Drawn from Treasury to balance accounts, 6.
$284 85
" pay for Oxen, 125 00
Income less than Expenditures,
$409 85
Interest on Farm,
$ 240 00
Drawn from Treasury,
409 85
$ 649 85
Victualing 54 Tramps at 40 cents,
21 60
Cost of supporting Poor on Farm,
$ 628 25
Whole number of persons, exclusive of tramps, supported in Almshouse. 7 ; average number, 6; present number, 7.
JOHN E. CUTTER, JOHN WHITE,
OVERSEERS OF
FRANK HOSMER,
POOR.
Paid for matches, $1 16
rice, 45
herbs, 35
shoes,
3 15
SCHOOL REPORT.
TO THE CITIZENS OF ACTON :-
The School Committee respectfully submit the following report :
In compliance with your instructions we elected at the beginning of the official year, a Superintendent of Schools and herewith present his detailed report of the condition of the schools and of everything pertaining to the educational work of the town.
The following statement indicates the disposal which we have made of the funds, committed to our care. On account of the interruption of schools by sickness there is quite an unexpended balance in two of the accounts which the Com- mittee will apply to increase school privileges next year.
WEST SCHOOL.
Mrs. LUCY M. MEAD, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury,
$682 16
Balance from last year.
29 57
$711 73
Paid to teachers,
$512 00
for fuel and preparing it,
92 28
care of house and furnace,
45 00
incidentals,
2 88
organ,
2 00
Balance on hand,
57 57
$ 711 73
2
NORTH SCHOOL. GEO. H. HARRIS, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury, $ 308 64
Balance from last year,
36 08
$ 344 72
Paid to teachers, for fuel,
$ 246 00
35 40
care of house,
14 00
incidentals,
4 91
Balance on hand,
44 41
$ 344 72
EAST SCHOOL.
I. W. FLAGG, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury,
$ 308 64
Balance from last year, 33 87
$ 842 51
Paid to teacher,
$ 270 00
for fuel,
37 62
care of house,
16 00
incidentals,
6 84
Balance on hand,
12 05
$ 342 51
SOUTH SCHOOL.
GEORGE F. FLAGG, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury,
$ 682 16
Received from town of Stow,
8 00
Paid to teachers,
$ 570 00
for fuel and preparing it,
30 50
care of house, incidentals,
23 20
Deficiency on last year's account,
39
Cash in the treasury,
11 07
$ 690 16
55 00
$ 690 16
3
CENTER SCHOOL. LUTHER CONANT, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury, $682 16
Balance from last year,
8 70
Paid to teachers,
$567 00
for care of house,
31 50
books and other incidentals,
7 48
fuel and preparing it,
67 63
To be paid to music teacher,
15 00
Cash on hand,
2 25
$ 690 86
SOUTH EAST SCHOOL. C. D. GRIGGS, Agent.
Drawn from the treasury, $ 200 00
Deficiency,
12 18
$ 212 18
Paid to teachers,
$ 188 00 .
for fuel,
19 00
care of house,
2.00
incidentals,
3 18
$ 212 18
Amount raised by the town for schools. $ 2,500 00
Income from the State school fund,
179 56
dog fund.
178 67
Total, $ 2,858 23 Number of children between the ages of five and fifteen, 297. Sum raised by the town for each, $ 8.41 -. Respectfully submitted,
LUTHER CONANT,
School
I. W. FLAGG,
G. H. HARRIS,
Committee
G. F. FLAGG,
LUCY M. MEAD,
of Acton.
C. D. GRIGGS,
$ 690 86
4
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
It is one of the requirements of the statutes of the State, that the School Committee, or a Superintendent of Schools, acting for them, shall present annually. for the consideration of the citizens of each town, a report. not only of the disposal of the educational funds, but also an account of the condition of the several schools, and of the general work of school management with which the committee is charged, and it is, in accordance with this wise provision, that the following pages are now laid before the public.
In what we here present, we strive not so much to set forth the details of our school work during the past year, as to give to the people an idea of the aims which we have had before us and the aspirations, by which we are inspired, in what we propose to ourselves in the future, and we wish we might so express ourselves that all our citizens may be led to share in our enthusiasm respecting the importance of this work ; for this in relation to all our citizens is by far the most important work with which the town, in its corporate capacity, is charged.
What is this work? We answer: It is nothing short of this,-to make what all thoughtful men confess to be man's greatest boon. viz .: knowledge, the common bounty of all- it is to make it possible for every man's child. however poor and ignorant the man may be himself, to receive the rudiments of learning with which he may unlock for himself treasuries of unknown wealth and which may be to him a passport to the same avenues of respectability and honor which, in less favored countries, are the exclusive possession of the rich and of the noble by birth.
In this department of municipal work, it is not only our aim to make the acquisition of knowledge a possibility to all,
5
if they are inclined to strive for it, but to impart knowledge in the most effective way; to awaken a desire for it in the minds of young persons who lack stimulating influences at home and to make these schools in every respect, to every family of our town, what expensive institutes of learning have been in the past to the few who could afford to avail themselves of their advantages.
This is the grand aim which we keep constantly before us in our exertions for the advancement of the interests of this work and it is an aim which brings to us at least very much of the highest and purest inspiration. This is a com- munism of the most philanthropic and practical sort, for it is making common to all what, adroitness, and greed on the one hand and the opposite qualities on the other, can not soon make to revert to the favored few. But. how to realize to the fullest extent the high aim, just set forth, is the question, which we are ever striving to solve, and, as we trust, not with- out some encouraging indications, if not of a complete, vet of a quite satisfying result.
Modern science, in these last years, has done very much to simplify processes, in the management of material forces. and in the construction of the implements of art and of in- dustry from the raw materials, but, until quite recently, the methods of mental development in the young and the general work of school management have undergone but little modi- fication. The prevailing idea has seemed to be that there is no royal road to learning, that the old ways are the best and the only ones. But, within the last ten years, a great change has come over everything pertaining to educational affairs, and there is as much difference between the general appear- ance and efficiency of our schools today and what they were only ten years ago, as there is between a plow of the most ap- proved style now and what the plow was in general use even fifty years ago.
By the old methods of instruction, the reliance for suc-
6
cess was upon the impression which the printed page could make upon the pupil's memories, by a bare strain. Anything like the cultivation of originality of thought or expression, in the pupils, was a thing unthought of in our common schools ; and, in the discipline of schools, the principal element of in- fluence was that of fear, and what scenes of violence did the walls of many of the school-rooms, of not a very remote pe- riod, witness ! What ingenious methods of torture and hu- miliation were practiced upon children and youth who were capable of responding to high and noble motives had they been properly treated, but whose dispositions received per- manent injury from injudicious treatment, in the way of dis- cipline, both at their homes and at school ! But to-day there is not a faculty of the child's nature that is not the object of the educator's study ; there is not a sense in the child's possession but the ingenious teacher finds it and makes it an ally in his work, so that, under the present regime, it may be said of wisdom (even with a limited application), "Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace." The force of the last part of this quotation appears from the fact that, now, such a thing as corporal punishment is almost un- known in our schools. In our last report we described so fully the methods of instruction which we were endeavoring to have practiced by our teachers that we will not refer to that topic here
A general survey of the year's work gives us much sat- isfaction, not simply from the impression which it makes upon us of work done, but also from the encouragement which it af- fords us, as to the future. It has been with us, in the past, a serious question, whether, with our necessarily limited funds, we would be able to make our schools compare at all, in effi- ciency, with the schools of the more densely populated and more wealthy portions of the State ; whether with an appro- priation of a little more than eight dollars per scholar and with a scattered population so that anything like a systematic grad-
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