USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. I > Part 73
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Mr. Bacon had arranged, on his departure from Detroit, in the fall of 1800, to open a school there on his return, and he found the school awaiting him. School began May 25th and a few weeks later Mrs. Bacon opened a school for girls. The spare time of Mr. Bacon was occupied in studying the Indian language and in preparing a sermon for the ensuing Sunday, for he preached every Sabbath except the first one. In one of his letters he says that for Sun- day service "we made use of the court house, which is very convenient for the purpose. Four or five of my hearers are men of liberal education." We can guess that John Askin, Solomon Sibley, Elijah Brush, Jonathan Schieffelin, James May, Alexander Grant, George Meldrum, James Henry, Benjamin Huntington, Thomas Hunt, and Mathew Ernest were considered among the better class of citizens and some of them were probably among Bacon's hearers.
An extract from one of the letters of Beaumont Parks shows the condition of Detroit at this time. He writes that Detroit was the largest and most impor- tant city west of Albany. The Indian traders were men of great wealth and highly cultivated minds. "The inhabitants were English, Scotch, Irish and French, all of whom hate the Yankees most cordially." There was not an American in the place, except the officers and soldiers of the garrison, which was composed of a regiment of infantry and one company of artillery. The city was enclosed by cedar pickets about twelve feet high and six inches in diameter and so close together that one could not see through. At each side
DAVID BACON
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CITY OF DETROIT
were strong gates, which were closed at night and a sentinel placed at each. No Indians were permitted to come in after sundown or to remain over night.
Mr. Bacon's school was well attended at first. The children were from the principal families, but the fact that he was a Yankee militated against him. There were four or five priests of the Roman Catholic Church, all classical men, and Mr. Parks thought that the influence of these priests controlled the feelings and actions of even those who were not Catholics and prejudieed them against Mr. Bacon.
A few bills, accounts and letters which have been preserved will show the method of carrying on a public school at that early day. The school rooms occupied by the Bacons were on St. James (Jacques) Street. This street was the next one north of Ste. Anne Street and occupied the land halfway between Jefferson and Larned Streets. Both Ste. Anne and St. Jacques streets were very narrow, not over twelve or fifteen feet wide. The building was located about the middle of the block between Shelby and Wayne streets on the present city map. The "school house" was the designation of the association by which Mr. Bacon was employed. The following is a copy of one of the accounts:
"Detroit August 25, 1801.
"School House
To James May, Dr.
"1801.
May 16. 2 lbs. nails 2/3
4
6
66
21. 12 lb. ditto. 2/6
1 3
66 112 yds green baise 8/3
1 16
0
66 13 yds green binding
3
3
Cash paid for small tacks
3
6
=
66
3 skeins thread
6
66 3 lbs nails 2/'-
6
0
66
10 planks for benches and feet of desks etc 2/6 1
5
0
66
66
10 days' work of carpenter fitting up school room @ 10/ 0 0 10
"New York currency
£9, 16. 0."
This account is dated at the time Mr. Bacon returned to Detroit to begin bis school and was for the work done in fitting up the room before the school opened. The bill was not paid, at the time, and another was made out in the fall with some additions and explanations as follows:
"Detroit November 9th-1801.
"The proprietors of Mr. David Bacon's school To the following persons, viz.
Dr.
€ s. d. To James May for fitting up the school as per € 6 9 S. d. 12 amount herewith 9 16 0
3 17
9 To John Askin, Esq. for a bell 5
14 S
To Rev. Mr. Bacon for sundries furnished as per
1 9 amount herewith 2 6
3 1
£12, 0. 0.
New York currency £17, 13. 9.
.
£
S.
d.
66 10 boards for desks, ete. 1/8
16
0
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CITY OF DETROIT
"Detroit Nov 9. 1801.
"John Askin Esq.
"Dear Sir:
"I send per bearer the accounts for fitting up the school house, and as I have a payment to make up for Mr. Brush, this day, I will thank you if con- venient to let me have my proportion of the twelve pounds allowed by Mr. Robertson, in doing which you will oblige
"Dr. Sir, Your very
humble servant James May." £
"John Askin Esq
To David Bacon, Dr. s. d.
"To instructing Alexr. Askin in arithmetic from the 25th of August to the 25th of November at 14/- per month 2 2 0
"Chd. Alexr. Grant in writing the above mentioned time at 12/ per month 1 16 0
"Chd. John Richardson in reading the above mentioned time at 10/ 1 10
"One month of Elinor at 12/
12
0
"10 days of Charles and James at 16/
5
6
"Ink and quills at 6/3 per quarter 0 14 6
£7 0. 0.
"Detroit Nov. 28, 1800 "Rec'd payment in full for the above
"David Bacon".
The John Richardson mentioned in the account was a grandson of John Askin. He became a writer of some repute and among the books of which he was the author are "Wacousta, or the Prophecy", "Richardson's History of the War of 1812", "Matilda Montgomery, or the Prophecy Fulfilled", "The Two Brothers," "Hardscrabble, or Fall of Chicago", "Eight Years in Canada" and "Movements of the British Legion".
The children in the school did not all progress as rapidly as Mr. Bacon wished and he wrote the following note on the subject :
"Detroit Novr. 28, 1801.
"Dear Sir:
"I am afraid if your sons do not pay further attention to English grammar, they will lose what they have got. In the course of their winter evenings they might obtain a perfect knowledge of it, besides doing something more in geography. Beaumont would be able to assist them in grammar. They shall be welcome to my school room 4 evenings in a week, and to what assistance he can afford them; and I would try to help them occasionally myself, if you will please to send them and let them find their own firewood and candles. Perhaps several others would join them and pay their part in the firewood.
"Yours with great respeet,
"David Bacon.
"John Askin Esq. Present."
Although Mr. Bacon continued to preach and teach during the following summer and fall, his school gradually became smaller and his sermons drew
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CITY OF DETROIT
diminishing audiences. His wife fell ill and was obliged to give up her teach- ing. He was discouraged and made preparations to leave Detroit for his work among the Indians as early as possible in the year 1802. His son, Leonard, who, as president of Yale University, was destined to fill so exalted a place among the educators of America, was born at Detroit February 19, 1802. A short time afterwards David Bacon went, first to the Indians on the Maumee and, a year later, February 11, 1803, we find him with his wife and son at Mack- inac. The first daughter, Sarah Dunham Bacon, was born at Mackinac, July 4, 1804, and within less than a month from that time the family returned to De- troit and in a few days started for Cleveland, which place they reached about the middle of October. He continued to act as missionary for some years in the Western Reserve and was reappointed for that service in 1806, but de- clined. It is said that Mr. Bacon, as a missionary, was a failure. He was opinionated, deeply religious and austere. He founded the village of Tall- madge, Ohio, as a settlement to which only Congregationalists or Presbyterians were admitted. He died at Hartford, Connecticut, August 7, 1817.
EARLY PROGRESS AFTER 1800
There were several teachers employed in the village in the years 1800, 1801 and 1802 and several schools opened. Among the teachers were those above mentioned, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Joseph Dillon, Matthew Donovan, Mr. and Mrs. David Bacon and Beaumont Parks. These were the teachers of the non- Catholic portion of the citizens, for the Catholics tried to maintain separate schools for their own people. The French or Canadians were nearly all mem- gers of the Catholic Church, while other Europeans or Americans were either Protestants or members of no church denomination. The Catholics largely outnumbered other denominations until long after the dawn of the Nineteenth Century.
Almost as soon as Detroit was taken in charge by the English in 1760, the French people began to leave the village enclosure and moved out to their farms in the neighborhood. This exodus had progressed to such an extent that in 1770 Father Simplicius Bocquet, the priest in charge of the church of Ste. Anne, wrote to the bishop: "I am in the greatest proverty in the world; all the towns- folks, since the change of government, have retired to the cotes (meaning the farms outside the village); there are not more than six Catholic houses in the town. "
The French families, scattered along the shore line of the settlement for a distance of from ten to twenty miles from the post, were in no condition to give much schooling to their offspring. That children so situated should grow up in ignorance is not greatly to be wondered. The people were poor and generally ignorant. The priest was poor and unable to maintain a school even if he could have collected enough children in one neighborhood to warrant keeping one.
However, the settlement increased in population; new houses were erected and settlements consolidated and school matters were then discussed. The Rev. John Dilhet, who was stationed in Detroit some time after the year 1800, says that Father Simplicius kept a school for the instruction of children, but it is probable that this instruction was only in preparation for their first communion, and the priest took the children to his house and made a home for them while this instruction was proceeding. Father Simplicius himself writes that the
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CITY OF DETROIT
people were so very ignorant that they could not write their own names and many of them could not make the form of the cross.
In 1797 there came to Detroit a priest who was destined to make a great change in the educational possibilities-the Rev. Gabriel Richard.
It is stated that the Rev. John Dilhet, who was, for a time, stationed at the River Raisin, came to Detroit in 1804 as an assistant to Father Richard and established a classical school. Father Dilhet remained in Detroit but a few years. He subsequently wrote a history of the Etat de l'Eglise which remains to this day in manuscript, unpublished, in Baltimore. A copy of this work, in the original French, is in the Burton Historical Collection at Detroit.
If Dilhet established a classical school, it was for the purpose of instructing the young priests and those who were studying for the priesthood, in the Detroit district.
REV. GABRIEL RICHARD
Rev. Gabriel Richard was born at Saintes, France, October 15, 1767; left that country April 9, 1792 and located and landed at Baltimore, June 24th, of the same year. He was sent to Kaskaskia, Illinois, as a missionary to the Indians, where he remained for about six years. He came to Detroit in 1797 and took charge of the Church of Ste. Anne. His first official aet in Detroit was the baptism of Archange Meni, daughter of Pierre Meni, October 22, 1797.
While at Kaskaskia he deplored his inability to speak the English language with facility, but he was a diligent student and after coming to Detroit he con- versed freely in the tongue. He was never, however, able to master the idioms, or feel at ease in conversation in English.
During the remainder of his life he was ever foremost in church affairs and n secular matters relating to his church. He was energetic and forceful. He was not loved by all of his parishioners, but by most of them. His enemies were many, both within and without the church, but those who were displeased with him were offended either by his attempt to enforce strict rules of the church or were opposed to him on political grounds. The educational activities of Richard appear in the following pages and were continuous during his life, but the other side of his life's work is quite as interesting. He was active in all of his church work; watched and encouraged the growth of his parish and reprimanded and punished recalcitrant members. He was also active in political affairs, solely for the benefit of his church. He was twice candidate or delegate to Congress and was onee elected to that position, being the third delegate from Michigan Territory and the only priest who ever sat in Congress at Washington. He was sometimes termed the "pope of Congress" at that time.
It is said that in 1804 Father Richard established a ladies' seminary and a school for young men. This school was the one mentioned above as estab- lished by Father Dilhet, who was working in conjunction with him. In 1805 occurred the fire which utterly destroyed the village of Detroit and which is described in detail elsewhere. The church was burned, as was every buikling which could be used for school purposes. During the ensuing period, when the people were reestablishing themselves and the village was being recreated, very little was done along educational lines. For several years preceding the fire the Catholies had been planning the erection of a new church. After the fire, and on April 15, 1807, they formed the corporation known since as the Eglise Catholique, Apostolique et Romain de Sainte Anne du Detroit, and there
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CITY OF DETROIT
was given to the organization the block of ground bounded by Larned, Bates and Randolph Streets. Originally Congress Street ran in a southeasterly direction through this block. The new church building was erected within this enclosure, but many years elapsed before the edifice was completed. In the articles of incorporation of the church is a provision for the appointment of school teachers by the bishop of the diocese.
The number of confirmations in the church of Ste. Anne will indicate the probable number of children in the district of that church. This distriet ex- tended from a distance of twenty or more miles down the river to a like distance in a northeasterly direction. All the farmers lived along the border of the river and lakes, and there were no habitations inland. Confirmation was admin- istered only to persons above twelve years of age. The church records include the names of persons confirmed as follows:
In 1797 there were 51 persons. In 1798 there were 41 persons. In 1799 there were 39 persons. In 1800 there were 42 persons. In 1802 there were 41 persons. In 1803 there were 35 persons. In 1804 there were 43 persons. In 1805 there were 46 persons. In 1807 there were 58 persons, In 1808 there were 40 persons.
436 persons.
The bishop of Quebec, Rt. Rev. Peter Denaut, visited Detroit in 1801 and the Catholic populace generally took advantage of the first visit of a bishop to the place to obtain confirmation, and there were 557 confirmations. A great many of these were persons of advanced age, several of them being ninety years old. There were 205 under twenty years of age. This would make a total of 641 children in the district between the ages of twelve and twenty years, or probably nearly 1,000 of school age. There certainly should have been a number of schools for this number of children, especially as their parents were mostly ignorant of book- learning and could give no schooling to their children at home.
The school established by Fathers Richard and Dilhet had been so successful that some of their pupils were put at the work of teaching, at least as early as 1804 and possibly before that date. About this time there were four young ladies, daughters of prominent families, who established a school or schools under the auspiees of Father Richard. These women were: Elizabeth Lyons, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Chene) Lyons, born at Detroit, April 7, 1787; Elizabeth Williams, daughter of Thomas Williams and Cecile (Campau) Williams, sister of Gen. John R. Williams, and born at Detroit, August 2, 1786; Monique Labadie, daughter of Pierre and Therese (Gaillard) Labadie, born at Detroit, June 2, 1787, and later married to Antoine Beaubien; and Angelique Campau, probably the daughter of Simon and Veronique (Bourdeaux) Campau, born Septemer 26, 1780.
Vol. 1-46
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
ORDINANCE OF 1787-PETITION FOR ACADEMY-BOND BETWEEN PRIEST AND JUDGE-PETITION TO GOVERNOR AND JUDGES-ACT OF 1809 FARM CONVEY- ANCES FOR SCHOOLS-ACT OF 1827-SCHOOL LAW OF 1833-FREE SCHOOL SOCIETY-SCHOOL LANDS AND CONSTITUTION OF 1835-DETROIT UNDER THE NEW LAW-BOARD OF EDUCATION-COLORED SCHOOLS-EIGHTY YEARS OF PROGRESS-LIST OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND DATE OF THEIR ERECTION.
In the ordinance of 1787, Congress provided that "religion and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged." This section con- tained the germ that was afterward developed into the present efficient public school system in the states that once comprised the Northwest Territory.
The ordinance of 1787 provided for the encouragement of education by devoting a portion of the public lands of the Northwest Territory for that pur- pose. It was provided that when the public lands were surveyed into sections, the section numbered sixteen in each township should be reserved for the promo- tion of education. This reservation could not, of course, be made until the public lands were surveyed for sale. There were no such lands within the limits of Michigan Territory surveyed until many years after the organization of the territory, and consequently there were no public lands which could be used for school purposes. All of the people who owned farm lands in Michigan derived their titles either from the French or English governments or from Indian deeds. The American government never set up claim to the farm lands along the Detroit River or its tributaries, and the deeds from the government are confirmation of previously acquired ownership. The idea that the public owed it as a duty to the coming generations to give all children an education was imbedded in all of the members of the legislative body. The idea of uni- versal education had not, at this time, reached the height it afterwards attained and now holds, but the seed was there and was slowly beginning to show life.
Of the four legislators, the one most prominent in the educational movement was Augustus B. Woodward. Judge Woodward was a student and a writer of several books which showed much learning and deep study. He loved to display his education and training in research, and his literary works and legal opinions are filled with words and references to other languages than the English.
PETITION FOR ACADEMY
The people of Wayne County, in March, 1802, prepared and sent to Congress a petition asking that one or more townships of land be granted for the purpose of erecting and supporting an academy. At that time Wayne County consisted of the eastern half of the lower peninsula of Michigan, the eastern tip of the upper peninsula, and about four hundred square miles in northwestern Ohio.
722
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CITY OF DETROIT
One academy might have been sufficient for the county, but Congress, with more foresight than the petitioners, took a broader view. On March 26, 1804, Presi- dent Jefferson approved an act setting apart section 16 in each township for educational purposes. In this act it was provided that the proceeds derived from the sale of such lands should be a permanent fund, when established, might be increased, but should never be decreased. The provisions of this act were incorporated in the act of January 11, 1805, creating the Territory of Michigan.
Among the earliest acts passed by the legislative body in 1805 was No. 23, an act "for the encouragement of literature and the improvement of the City of Detroit." It was provided that $20,000 should be raised by four lotteries, $5,000 by each. This method of raising money was quite common at the time. No plan for using the money so raised was provided in the act, and the lotteries were never drawn. There were no other acts passed at this time.
After the fire of 1805 (described elesewhere) the new city plan was created, but, although provision was made for the old lot holders, a court house, jail and the Catholic Church, no lands were set aside at this time for school purposes.
BOND BETWEEN PRIEST AND JUDGE
The establishment of colleges, academies and schools, in fact the general subject of education, formed a bond of union between two of the most interesting characters of early Detroit, Fr. Gabriel Richard and Augustus Brevoort Wood- ward, the one rector of the Church of Ste. Anne, the other chief justice of the supreme court of the territory. The two men were most unlike in all their walks of life, save only in this one matter. The judge was eccentric, educated, pedantic, forceful, somewhat quarrelsome, either entirely without religious convictions or a very liberal Christian. The two were very much attached to each other and very earnest in their joint work for popular education. Their efforts for the formation of a university shows that they were many years ahead of their time, and, although they were ultimately successful in getting the uni- versity established on paper, it was a much more difficult matter to get one into successful operation. The work begun by them was continued by other hands to a successful conclusion, and today the great University of Michigan stands as a noble and enduring monument to the efforts of the priest and judge.
PETITION TO GOVERNOR AND JUDGES
The act of Congress of April 21, 1806 provided that the governor and judges should constitute a land board for the distribution of the village lots among the persons entitled to them. They had general control of these lands and were authorized to dispose of the lots not divided among the sufferers by the fire. In 1806 Fr. Richard presented the following petition to the governor and judges:
"To the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan,
"Gabriel Richard prays that for the purpose of erecting a college in which will be taught the languages, ancient and modern, and several sciences, etc. and enabling him to render the Education partly Gratuitous, the Corner lot on the military square of the section number 3 and the whole same section or a part thereof according to the will and benevolence of the Legislature be given. "Detroit Sber A. D. 1806.
"Gabriel Richard, Rector of Ste. Anne"
The lot mentioned in the above petition is the one now occupied by the store of G. & R. McMillan. This lot would have been too small for the purposes
.
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CITY OF DETROIT
of a college and the priest asks for a larger tract. The section mentioned in- cluded all of the land lying between Woodward Avenue and Griswold Street, extending from the Campus Martius to Jefferson Avenue, as well as many lots west of Griswold Street and south of Larned Street. Richard was willing to leave the size of the donation to the legislative body. What he asked for was a site for a college. His request was not granted and the lot mentioned was sold to Isaac Todd in the year 1809.
Within a few days after the presentation of the above petition by Richard, another memorial was presented to the legislative body as follows:
"To the Honourable, the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan: John Goff begs leave to represent that he has kept a regular school in the town of Detroit for several years past; and that by his perseverance he flatters himself he has obtained the public confidence; that he has now the satisfaction of having such a number of children as to form a sufficient school, if the government should be willing to patronize him in granting him a lot in an eligible situation, and affording him some assistance in erecting a suitable school house. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will pray.
"Detroit 21st October 1806."
Among the documents examined in connection with these records were two papers which throw a little light upon the feelings and the desires of the legis- lature. In the absence of authentic records on the subject, these papers are interesting. The first is a draft of a resolution: "Resolved, That a lot be assigned to John Goff for the purposes of education." The paper bears no date or signature, but it is in Hull's handwriting. The other paper reads as follows: "The committee, to whom was referred the petition of John Goff for the grant of a lot and assistance in building a school house, reports: That however desirable the establishment of public schools may be, the mode in which the patronage of government ought to be exerted is not precisely such as is pointed out by the petitioner. Neither is it promised by your committee that the finances of the territory are at this time in such a state as to justify an expenditure for purposes the permanent utility of which would be very questionable. The education of youth could not be greatly promoted by grants to private persons. It appears to your committee that the city government would, at some future time, manage an institution in which the inhabitants of the city will be so nearly concerned." This report is also unsigned, but was written by Judge Bates. Another petition filed at about this time, made a further request for school lots. This petition follows:
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