USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Gorham > History of Gorham, Me. > Part 23
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" It is strictly enjoined on the students to abstain from all quarrel- ing and contention among themselves, from insulting or abusive language, and any thing which may tend to disturb the, peace and harmony, which ought ever to be found among those who are engaged in similar pursuits. On the contrary, it is earnestly recommended to the members of this Institution, to cultivate a spirit of concord and unanimity, and to consider each other as brothers of one common family, remembering 'to do to others as they wish others to do to them.'
"The behavior of the students as they pass the streets to and from the Academy, and at other times, shall be decent and orderly; with- out noise or confusion; especially on the Sabbath, when every appearance of mirth or levity is strictly forbidden.
" It is particularly enjoined on the students of this Academy to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy; by attending public worship on both parts of the Day, with proper reverence and atten- tion, and by spending the remainder of the Day at their lodgings in a manner suitable to the character of Christians. All walking or assembling at each other's lodgings for amusements, or trifling con- versation, is most positively forbidden.
" All gaming and intemperance, and all profaneness and indecency in language or behavior will be considered one gross violation of the laws of this Institution; and will be censured and punished accord- ingly : and no student shall spend his time in any tavern, or other place of public resort of a similar kind.
" Every member of this Institution is most positively forbidden, as a practice highly criminal in itself, and utterly inconsistent with the character of young gentlemen, to take fruit of any kind from the gardens, orchards, or other inclosures of the town, without leave being first obtained of the proprietors.
"It is considered as the indispensable duty of the students of this Academy on all occasions, to treat the inhabitants of the town, and all strangers passing through it, with civility and respect; and care- fully to abstain from any thing which might afford them just cause of complaint.
"Strict attention shall be paid by the students to the order and regulations of the families in which they board, and particularly, care must be taken not to incommode them by staying out late in the evening.
"There shall be a monitor appointed from time to time, whose duty it shall be to note those who are absent, or tardy, at any
234
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
exercise of this Institution, or who are irregular in their attendance on the exercises of public worship.
" If any member of this Institution, after repeated admonitions and discipline, obstinately persists in a course of negligence and inatten- tion to his studies; so that the purposes of this Institution, as it respects him, are likely to be frustrated: or if he be generally irregular in his deportment, or so corrupt in his morals as to endanger others by his example, after all proper methods to reclaim him have failed, he shall be privately removed, or publicly expelled in the presence, and with the consent, of one or more of the trustees, as the nature and circumstances of the case may require, and his name blotted from the Books of the Institution.
STEPHEN LONGFELLOW. ELIJAH KELLOGG."
It was then voted that the Preceptor should be a committee to judge of the qualifications of students to be admitted to the school, and that the number should be limited, for the present, to thirty pupils, for any one term ; but afterwards, if the Instructor thought it expedient, he might admit thirty-six. At this meeting it was also voted, "That Rev. Caleb Bradley, Stephen Longfellow and Lothrop Lewis, Esqrs. be a committee to wait upon Mr. Reuben Nason, and in the name of the trustees of Gorham Academy, to thank him for his address this day delivered before them, and to request a copy thereof for the Press, and that the Rev. Caleb Bradley procure the same to be printed."
Mr. Nason, under whose care the Academy opened, was a thorough teacher and a strict disciplinarian. A man of marked individuality, he left his impress for good on the town and people. Passionately fond of the classics, and excelling in them, it was his ambition that every boy under his care should become proficient in Latin and Greek, and faithfully did he drill those classes to this end. The student under him must have been a stupid one indeed, who, grown a man, could not to the end of his days, construe and repeat from memory page after page of the old Liber Primus. It was a common thing for Mr. Nason to call out the Virgil class and hear their recitation without so much as taking up a book himself; but let no scholar hope on that account to succeed with a poor lesson -not one slip in any point could escape the teacher's notice.
Mr. Nason was genial and pleasant to those scholars who merited his favor by good scholarship and correct behavior ; but the idle and mischievous did not fail of receiving their due reward. Corporal punishment, in vogue generally in schools at that date, flourished under Mr. Nason at the Academy. The ferule and cowhide occu-
235
EDUCATION.
pied a prominent place on his desk. When some trick was detected, or some insult suspected, swift and severe was the punishment that fell on the offender; unsparingly plied was the cowhide, until he thought the offence expiated, and without fear or favor he chastised rich or poor, his own or other's children, impartially. It was his cus- tom to pray in the school with his eyes open and the Amen was usually followed by the sharp command "Come up," and well did the luckless culprit know what was implied in that command. His authority was never resisted in school but once, when on one occasion a party of boys left school without permission to hear Lorenzo Dow speak. When called to account for it the next morning, the leader had the temerity to inform Mr. Nason that he wasn't going to take a thrashing for that, at the same time looking around to his mates for support. Quick as a flash the cowhide played around and about him, and the thunder of Mr. Nason's voice and the lightning of his eyes, cowed all the mutineers into subjection on the instant. Mr. Nason was a man of medium size, slightly round-shouldered, with dark hair and eyes, and dark complexion.
The Academy opened on the 9th of Sept., 1806, with the Rev. Reuben Nason, A.M., as Preceptor ; and thirty-three scholars were enrolled before the close of the first term. These first scholars were (from list made by Rev. Reuben Nason).
NAMES.
RESIDENCES.
AGE.
Stephen Evans Cole,
Saco,
17
Abiel Lawrence Parson,
Biddeford,
II
Mark Langdon Hill,
12
Robert Harding,
Gorham
15
Thomas Mclellan,
I5
Frederick Codman,
13
Randolph Codman,
16
IO
Simon Elder,
14
Ebenezer Davis,
18
Joseph Howe,
Portland,
I5
John Philbrick,
Standish,
15
Thomas Cross Stevens,
Portland,
10
Charles Morris,
Scarborough,
14
Samuel Bucknam Cutter,
No. Yarmouth,
15
William Stark Rawson,
Newton,
I3
Simeon Farnham,
Gorham,
18
Peter Smith Anderson,
Windham,
I6
John Anderson,
Biddeford,
16
Asa Metcalf Adams,
Gorham,
18
Peter Williams,
Biddeford
16
William Freeman,
Gorham,
17
Samuel Longfellow,
Windham,
18
Samuel Hanson,
13
Josiah Little,
I4
George Thatcher,
21
236
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
NAMES.
RESIDENCES.
AGE.
George McMillan,
Fryeburgh,
14
Rufus King Porter,
Biddeford, 12
Nathaniel Hill,
Buxton, 16
John Slemons,
Falmouth,
19
William Putnam Cleaves, .
Saco, 66
17
Daniel Cleaves,
IO
Joseph Hill,
Buxton,
24
Nathaniel Hatch,
Gorham,
23
As the trustees now considered that the Academy was fairly on its feet and things were running smoothly, at the beginning of the new year they authorized the Preceptor to procure an assistant, at a salary not to exceed four hundred dollars; and in order that he might earn his money, they voted that the number of scholars to be admitted into the Academy be enlarged, but not to exceed seventy, and " that that number may be completed by admitting female students, to the number of fifteen, until the eighth day of June next, provided, that at the end of the present vacation, there shall not be the whole num- ber of seventy male students entered."
The admission of females into the Academy appears to have been a subject of much legislation before the Board, but on March 9, 1807, it was voted to leave the expediency of their admission to the judg- ment of the Preceptor, provided that the total number of scholars was kept at seventy. The first girls admitted were
NAMES.
RESIDENCES.
AGE.
Eunice Whitmore,
Gorham,
17
Temperance Harding,
I7
Martha Jewett,
66
20
Betsey Jewett,
I7
Joanna Whitmore,
66
21
Sarah Randall,
Buxton,
17
Betsey Mclellan,
Gorham,
17
Caroline Folsom,
66
II
Sally Rea,
Windham,
20
Sally Bowman,
Gorham,
14
Betsey Farnham,
15
Isabella Holland,
Portland,
21
About this time the bell in the cupola was put up, for Mr. Elder by vote of the trustees was directed to hang the same as soon as it should arrive at the Academy. A stove was placed in the Academy in this year (1807). The treasurer of the trustees provided the wood, and saw that it was cut of the right length and stored in the cellar. A sum for the wood bill, as well as for ink, was always added to the term bill for tuition. On the eighth of March the price of tuition was raised to two dollars and a half per quarter.
By the records it appears that occasionally the exuberant spirits of the youthful lads would break out, even in the night time, for it is
237
EDUCATION.
written " Whereas, the trustees of Gorham Academy, having heard complaints of irregularities committed by some of the students out of the Academy, and at late hours of the night; and being willing to suppose that they arose chiefly from youthful imprudence, rather than from positive bad intentions: Therefore; Voted, That the Pre- ceptor give them an admonition before all the students. Voted, Also, that on any repetition of such outrages, their perpetrators be removed from the Academy, or otherwise punished as the trustees may think proper, according to the aggravation of the offence ; and their parents be notified of the same."
The salary paid to Mr. Nason previous to Sept. 8, 1807, is not a matter of record, but on May 13, of that year there was a vote passed by the trustees to pay him six hundred dollars per annum after that term for his services as preceptor of the Academy, and at the end of two years to pay him eight hundred yearly, the payment to be made semi-annually. As the report of the committee chosen to procure a preceptor was not made until this meeting just men- tioned, it is probable that Mr. Nason was on trial previous to this time. At this same meeting the trustees voted that females should be admitted as heretofore, until otherwise ordered by the trustees. They also voted that from the first day of April to the first day of October, no school should be taught in the Academy on Wednesday afternoons, except at the pleasure of the Preceptor.
The trustees deeded their land, granted them by the Legislature, to Chadbourn and others on Dec. 2, 1805, ( Acknowledged, Dec. 20th, 1805, before Barrett Potter, Justice of the Peace,) but from some reason, which does not appear, they did not receive their deed from Massachusetts until Feb. 12, 1807, when they made a new deed, a quit- claim, to Chadbourn and the other parties to the old deed, which is dated May 23, 1807, and acknowledged before George Lewis, Justice of the Peace.
The first public examination of the scholars was probably held on the first Wednesday of August, 1807. On this day the trustees met, and a quorum being present, " accordingly examined the scholars, and found they had made good progress in their studies." Also "voted to adjourn to Josiah Shaw's tavern, and meet again at this place at five of the clock this afternoon." This adjournment was to get their dinner, which annual dinner was a great affair in those days. After din- ner they voted to pay Mr. Nason six dollars for a map of the United States which he had purchased for the use of the Academy. Also that the treasurer procure two armchairs, such as the Preceptor shall
238
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
direct. (We have sat in those old black armchairs many a time.) Arrangements were then made for a public exhibition, and Capt. Harding was chosen as a committee to procure the meeting house, and erect a stage ; the expense of which was to be paid by the treas- urer out of the tuition money. This affair, which was the first of the kind ever held at the Academy, came off at the end of the term, which finished on the third Wednesday of August, 1807, and report says was attended by a large concourse of people from far and near.
All things appear to have gone along well till the twenty-third day of February, 1808, when the staid heads of the Sages were somewhat turned by sundry doings of the youngsters, for it appears they had in some way become disciples, and commenced the worship of the God- dess Terpsichore, by tripping the light fantastic toe. Now this worship of a heathen deity in a Christian land, and by those too, under the care of the good and great, was not to be thought of or tolerated, and a committee was chosen to procure suitable boarding places for the females and to examine into their conduct out of the Academy and to report to the Preceptor of the Academy. Capt. Harding, Dr. Folsom and John P. Little, Esq. were the committee, and they reported that "Whereas it appears to the trustees of this Academy that the attendance of the scholars on dancing and music and other schools, while they are engaged in studies at the Academy, will be very prejudicial to their improvement in the several branches of literature : -- Therefore
" Voted, - That no student, while a member of the Academy, be allowed to attend on either of the foregoing schools, or any other, without the permission of the Preceptor, and at the express desire of their parents or guardians."
It appears that the trustees had hard work to get a quorum at their meetings, and it was voted that whoever absented himself from the legal meetings of the Board for one year should forfeit his trustee- ship, and that at a legal meeting the trustees should fill the vacancy so made. This was rather a summary way to turn one out when he was appointed by Act of Legislature; the Act did not provide for any such doings. They also voted that there should be an annual examination of the scholars, to be held on the first Wednesday of August at nine o'clock in the forenoon, at which time there should be an annual meeting of the trustees.
The first vote passed to loan money from the old academy fund, to which at one time nearly every individual in town was indebted, was on Dec. 24, 1808 : - " Voted that the treasurer and secretary be a
239
EDUCATION.
committee to loan the money in the treasury of the academy to the best advantage, and take good security by three men appearing to be good and substantial."
Between the last meeting and that of August 2, 1809, it appears that John Park Little, Esq. and Capt. Samuel Whitmore, two of the trustees, died, and on a ballot, the Rev. Asa Rand and the Rev. Tim- othy Hilliard were chosen to fill the vacancies. As Mr. Little was secretary, it became necessary to elect some one in his place, and Lothrop Lewis, Esq. was unanimously chosen to fill that office.
At a meeting held Jan. 15, 1810, Mr. Nason was released from his engagement as preceptor, to take effect on the last Saturday of Jan- uary, inst. And a committee, consisting of Stephen Longfellow, Elijah Kellogg and Lothrop Lewis, was chosen to procure a preceptor to commence instruction on the first Wednesday of June.
At a meeting of the trustees held on the twentieth day of March, 18II, the committee appointed to procure a teacher reported that they had engaged Charles Coffin, Esq. for that purpose, and agreed to give him six hundred dollars per year, commencing in September next. At this same meeting the Preceptor had liberty granted him to introduce the "American Reader," and " Bowditch's Navigator," as text-books.
The fund of the academy as reported by the treasurer on April 23, 18II, was $11, 169.84. At the same time that this report was made, a petition was prepared and sent around to be signed by the presi- dent in behalf of the trustees, and then sent to the General Court, praying for a grant of a half township of land to endow a female academy in Gorham.
By this time it had probably become a settled thing to admit as many females as wished to attend the school, and in March the Rev. Elijah Kellogg was instructed to procure a preceptress. Miss Rhoda Parker was engaged as preceptress for the summer term of this year, at a salary of seventy-five dollars per quarter ; and Mr. Coffin giving notice that he should leave at the end of his year, as he had an offer from Portsmouth of one thousand dollars per annum, Messrs. Long- fellow, Hilliard and Lewis were appointed a committee to procure another preceptor.
Mr. Asa Redington was engaged as preceptor after Mr. Coffin, at six hundred dollars per year, and acted for two years. He, with the assistance of some of the older scholars, set out the poplar trees on the grounds about the building.
At a meeting held August 18, 1812, Rev. Mr. Lancaster and Mr.
240
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
William McLellan having resigned their places on the Board, Stephen Longfellow, Jr., Esq. and Joseph Adams, Esq. were chosen in their places.
At this time the tuition was one dollar and a half per quarter, hav- ing been reduced from two dollars and a half. And it appears that previous to June 30, 1813, for some time a morning school had been kept, but it was then voted to dispense with it, and that the forenoon school commence at eight o'clock A. M. And in future, boys of less than ten years of age were to be admitted to the Academy as scholars.
Between February and May, 1814, " Flint's Surveying," and " Cum- ming's Geography " and maps, were added to the books to be studied in the school ; and a surveyor's compass and chain were ordered to be purchased.
On May 11, 1814, Lothrop Lewis, Esq. was appointed a committee to procure a preceptor, and engaged Mr. William White for one year, at an annual salary of six hundred dollars.
August 19, 1816, the trustees voted that the Preceptor be requested to give to the students under his care Bible lessons every Saturday, to be recited every Sunday afternoon, or Monday morning. Mr. N. Cleveland, Jr. was engaged as assistant, and at the same time the tuition was raised to two dollars.
Mr. Lewis resigned the office of secretary in 1819, and Jacob S. Smith was chosen to fill the position. Mr. Smith had a short time before been empowered to procure a seal for the use of the Academy, which was now accepted. It was engraved by Daniel Newcomb, and cost ten dollars.
In 1822, it was decided to finish the hall in the Academy, and also a small room adjoining. Harmony Lodge of Free Masons wished to hire the hall, and the trustees finally leased it to them for thirty dol- lars per year, reserving the right to use it when wanted.
On the 17th of August, 1824, Rev. Mr. Pomeroy was chosen president in place of Mr. Longfellow, who had died a short time previous. The grounds around the Academy were graded in 1827, forest trees set out, and the wall in front built. The same year Capt. David Harding, who had been treasurer since the organization of the Board in 1803, resigned his office, and Toppan Robie, Esq. was chosen in his room. Some dissatisfaction having arisen with Mr. Nason, who had returned to the care of the school in 1815, succeeding Mr. White, John V. Beane, the preceptor of Limerick Academy, was in 1833 engaged as assistant under Mr. Nason for one year, at the end of which time Mr. Nason left and Mr. Beane took charge of the school.
FEMALE SEMINARY.
241
EDUCATION.
In October, 1831, Toppan Robie, Josiah Pierce and Jacob S. Smith were chosen a committee to take into consideration the plan of connecting the system of manual labor with the Academy; and determine on the expediency of purchasing a suitable tract of land for the purpose, and devise the means thereof. A shop was hired and fitted up in March, 1834, and placed in the hands of Mr. Beane, the assistant ; but the experiment was a failure, and in May of the same year it was voted to let the workshop, and dispose of the tools and stock.
The girls' school was separated from the boys' in 1834, and the " Female Seminary " was kept in the Academy Hall, under the care of the Preceptress, Miss Blanchard. In 1835, the trustees voted to attempt to raise the sum of thirty thousand dollars, by soliciting donations, for the purpose of erecting additional buildings, procuring more instructors, and elevating the character of the institution so as to meet the desires and wants of the community. Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy was chosen as a General Agent to raise the money : the Board engaging to supply his pulpit at their own expense during his absence on their business. Through Mr. Pomeroy's efforts more than twenty thousand dollars was subscribed, of which amount, however, only about seven thousand dollars was ever paid. It was decided to erect a brick three story building, for a Female Seminary, dormitory and boarding-house. Mr. Pomeroy gave the land for the building, a lot six rods on the street and eighteen rods back, situated opposite the Academy.
The ceremony of laying the corner stone took place June 1, 1836. The address was delivered by the Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy, President of the Board of Trustees, in presence of the trustees and numerous spectators. There was deposited in the cavity, under the corner stone, some small coins, a copy of the laws and regulations of the Academy, and an almanac of that year, and newspapers of the day, with a list of the trustees then in office and of the building committee, &c., with the order of the exercises and ceremonies of the occasion.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Invocation & reading of the Scriptures, by Rev. Mr. Jameson of Scarboro.
Singing.
Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Chickering, of High Street Church, Portland.
Singing.
Address, by Rev. Mr. Pomeroy of Gorham.
Subscription, among the Spectators.
Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Vaill of the Second Parish, Portland.
Singing.
Benediction.
242
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
The Seminary building was dedicated on the 13th day of September, 1837. Following is the
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Prayer, by the Rev. T. Pomeroy, and an ode, by C. P. Ilsley, at the Seminary : then was formed a procession to the meeting house, where the exercises were resumed in the following order -
Anthem.
Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Jameson.
Ode, composed by C. P. Ilsley of, Portland.
Address, by Prof. Packard of Brunswick.
Anthem.
Poem, by Mr. William Cutter of Portland.
Anthem.
Benediction, by Rev .. Mr. Pomeroy.
At this time the Principal was Rev. Amos Brown, a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of 1832. His relations with the Academy commenced in 1835, and extended over a period of twelve years. The Preceptress was Miss Jane Ingersol, and the other teachers were Rev. Thomas Tenney, Mr. Benjamin Wyman, and Mr. George Woods. In 1836 Mr. Brown's assistant teachers were Miss Margaret Woods, Miss Hannah Lyman, Rev. Thomas Tenney and Mr. George L. Prentiss.
In 1847 the institution was called Gorham Academy and Teachers' Institute. The male and female schools were separated, the male department made into an independent school and placed under the general supervision of the Principal. Mr. Brown having resigned his office, Edward P. Weston was chosen to succeed him in the Principalship.
By an Act of Legislature, passed in August, 1850, the Maine Female Seminary was established on the basis of Gorham Academy. The trustees surrendered their charter and received a new one, together with a grant of land, on condition that the proceeds should be used for females only. With the acceptance of the new charter Gorham Academy as such ceased to be, and by a condition of that charter the male school was discontinued. Gorham Male Academy was afterwards reestablished, and in 1854, Daniel J. Poor was made Principal. He was succeeded by Josiah B. Webb.
Mr. Weston left the Seminary in 1860, and was succeeded as Principal of that school by Mrs. Laura E. Lord. The following year, by Act of Legislature the Maine Female Seminary and Gorham Academy became one again, and was known as Gorham Seminary. This union affected the recitations and general exercises. The
Lucian Hunt.
.
243
EDUCATION.
Seminary building was used as a boarding hall. Josiah B. Webb was placed at the head of the united schools. He was succeeded by William G. Lord, and he in turn, followed by George M. Bodge, Joel Wilson and A. E. Woodsum.
The introduction of high schools some years ago, and the popularity which they attained, together with various other reasons, was the cause of the suspension of many academies in this State. Among others, Gorham Academy closed its doors. No school was held in the building until a few years since, when the house was leased for the use of the village grammar schools.
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