USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 15
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The islands let us now repeat,
South Georgian isles come first, Arising from the Portland seas, Where Arctic storms are nursed.
Bank's Land and Saline Isles Are to this group assigned, Then Byrum and Martin isles, Cornwallis, too, we find.
"When a scholar once got that song pounded into his head he'd never have to gness ; when you'd ask him where the Atlantic Ocean was he's just begin singing till he ran across it, and then jump in. Of
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course, the songs were extended so as to cover every important country and physical division. By the time they had learned them all he was quite a good singer as well as a geographical expert.
"The results of Professor Rollins' instruction can be found today among many of his Macon county students, now grown gray. Nearly all of them remember these old geography lessons, and can recite them readily to the tune with which they were memorized. And though the system has long gone out of fashion, they are enthusiastic in its praise.
Pioneer schools by Dr. Gross: Going to school in the pioneer days of Macon county was not what it is today. The first schoolhouse in Northwest Macon county was put up in Rock Creek distriet about sixty years ago. It was built of logs, sixteen feet square. There was but one door, and no windows nor fireplace. It was intended strictly as a summer school, and it was figured that fires would not be needed.
Schools were kept up by subscription. I was seven years of age at that time and enjoyed the distinction of being a student of Rock Creek. A man of fifty was our teacher. He was a crusty old fellow, who seemed to have acquired his education in Hoop-pole county, Indi- ana. However, what little he knew he taught us. We advanced rap- idly in backwoods English, sneh as reading, spelling, writing and arith- metic. One good rule of the old master's school was that which required every boy to remove his hat immediately upon entering the school room, and to salute the teacher with becoming deference. On Friday afternoons the teacher would divide us up, the boys on one side and the girls on the other, the largest boy at the head of the line and the largest girl at the head on her side of the building. Then, at a signal, the head boy would take the head girl and introduce her to all the other scholars, one at a time, and also to the visitors, if any happened to be there. Then the next boy would take the next girl and proceed in the same way until everybody had been formally and correctly introduced. I was kind of weak-kneed when I went through that performance the first time, but now I can see the importance of it. It enabled the seliol- ars to act correctly when in the presence of strangers, and I am cer- tain that there was a characteristic attaching to the pupils of that old backwoods teacher not found in many of the more modern seliools. He would promptly suppress any rude or boisterous conduct on the school grounds.
Our seats were made of split logs, with the flat side up. There were pins underneath, legs, you might call them, to hold up the seats. In the course of three or four years, however, a new schoolhouse was
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erected, which had a window, a brick chimney and a fireplace. This was quite an innovation, we thought, because this building was adapted to school work in the winter time. Our teacher here was Nick Langs- ton. The third teacher of this school was William A. Mathis, who yet lives at Callao, now being about eighty years of age.
We were now studying some courses which forced us to put our thinking caps on-algebra, philosophy and astronomy. I have not heard of the last-mentioned studies being taught in a district school since then.
My next school was in District No. 4, which was taught by Dr. Andrew T. Still, the discoverer, or the man who was the first to recog- nize the great importance of osteopathy as a means of treating physical ailments .* Dr. Still was given a salary of $15 per month. The schol- ars seemed to make rapid progress under him, as they also did under the other teachers whom I have mentioned. The average boy or girl could only take time for from ten to fifteen months school then; that was thought to be sufficient for them to begin the battle of life.
At the time of which I write the young people seemed eager to secure an education, and they put up with all sorts of inconveniences without thought of complaint. They laughed at snow-storms, rains and muddy roads. They were strong and healthy and glad to be out in the open. Books were scarce; there was no coal oil, and night study was pursued by using grease lamps. Occasionally we were fortunate in obtaining some tallow candles, but I daresay that the majority of the students were driven to the extremity of learning their lessons after nightfall by the use of a torchlight, or by holding their book so that the fires from the big backlogs would illuminate the pages. When the fire burned low, some small sticks or pieces of bark would be thrown on to brighten it. These things were not obstacles; they were makeshifts which served the purpose. The winter winds howled and the storms beat against the tiny window panes, but the children of the household, secure in the stout old log cabin, nestled about the warm fireplace and thanked the good God for sending them the advantages of a district school, and they showed their appreciation by earnest efforts with their books.
W. A. Mathis, who has the distinguished record of being the oldest school teacher in Macon county, was born in Tennessee in 1829; came to Randolph county, Missouri, in 1831. There he attended his first school. Noah Gross, who later moved to Macon county, was his first teacher. Mr. Mathis' first school was, of course, of the log-cabin vari-
* A sketch of Dr. Still will be found in the biographical department.
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ety, a good deal like those described by Dr. Gross. There was one long window at the back end of the building which rejoiced in a pane of glass. A wide plank was fastened to the wall beneath this window and was used by all the students as a desk. The books were Webster's Blue Back Speller and Pike's Arithmetic. For reading lessons, the sehol- ars brought anything they could get, story books, histories or almanacs. Each student read his lesson by himself. Very few of the teachers were educated men, applying the present-day rule. They had scant knowl- edge of English grammar, geography and history. Hardly any of them could master common fractions. Prior to 1850 there were no free schools; all were run by subscription payments made by the patrons. No examinations or certificates were required of the teachers.
Mr. Mathis' next teacher. was the Rev. Nick Langston, who hap- pened to be a thorough student, and the pupils progressed rapidly under him. Shortly after he was grown Mr. Mathis began teaching himself, at the same time attending the high school at Bloomington. The high school was then taught by the Rev. I. B. Allen. Later, Mr. Mathis attended McGee College at College Mound, one term. He taught his first regular school at Rock Spring schoolhouse, in Walnut township, in 1850. The building there was very similar to the one described above, except that it had a blackboard four feet square. Mr. Mathis received as a wage $16 a month.
The public school system, which was adopted in 1850, was the beginning of a new era in the cause of education in Missouri. Better schoolhouses were built and more competent teachers employed. Higher salaries were paid. After having taught school in Macon county for five terms, Mr. Mathis was paid $30 a month for his services. In 1857 he went to Howard county, because wages were higher there. He taught five terms at one place, receiving $50 per month; board cost $6 a month. He taught all the branches now being taught in publie schools and sev- eral of the higher ones, such as algebra, geography, astronomy, chem- istry and physics. A school day then was eight hours in the summer and seven hours in the winter, beginning at 8 o'clock in the morning and ending at 5 o'clock in the evening in summer, and at 4 o'clock in the winter. Mr. Mathis said there were not as many tardy children then as we have now at 9 o'clock.
After the Civil war had been in progress for some time, Mr. Mathis concluded that it was too warm for him in Missouri, so he abandoned his profession for several years, but in 1872 was elected superintendent of schools in Macon county, and in 1875 resumed his professional career as an instructor of youth. He taught ten terms in Macon county and
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about the same length of time in Howard county, making in all about thirty terms up to 1893, when he was chosen school commissioner of Macon county. Since going out of that office he has resumed his occupation as a teacher.
In making the comparison between the early day and the modern schools, Mr. Mathis said :
"Great improvement has been made in school buildings, in the methods of teaching within in the last half century, but they have been so gradual that I can hardly note the difference, unless I compare the present with the past.
"Now we have good school buildings in almost every district. The seats are well made and comfortable. The schools are well equipped with globes, maps and apparatus of various kinds. Then the school- houses were mere rude huts and had no supplies whatever. Now wc have model schools and a state university, where young men and women are educated and drilled to become teachers and to engage in the vari- ous professions and enterprises of life. In my early days we had none of these training schools. Teachers had to work out their own edu- cational systems as best they could. In consequence the supply did not always meet the demands. A great many teachers were imported from the east. Then we didn't have enough books, now we have too many. The minds of children should not be overly-crowded while too young. To over-exert the mind has the same effect upon it as over- exertion of the body. We have laws prohibiting the employment of children in mines, factories, etc. We should likewise have laws against the over-crowding of young minds. Many an ambitious child has been ruined for life by his teacher overtaxing him with studies. A fair amount of labor is beneficial, but too much, especially on the young, is disastrous."
F. Theo. Mayhew was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, October 20, 1841; he died February 27, 1907, at Bevier.
At the age of five Mr. Mayhew moved with his parents to West Tennessee, and to Macon county, Missouri, when he was seventeen. He arrived at Callao, April 23, 1859, since which time his labors as a teacher, a preacher and all-round man of industry were about Callao and Bevier. A portion of his time Mr. Mayhew was a weighman at the Bevier mines and he also worked as a general storekeeper.
Mr. Mayhew began teaching school in January, 1863. He con- cluded his labors as a teacher in March, 1889. Part of the time, while teaching school, he also preached, his first sermon being delivered at Antioch church, near Bevier, May 1, 1867. He taught
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school at Callao fifty-five months; at Bevier, fifty-four months; Smoot schoolhouse, near Bloomington, seventeen months; Oak Grove, near Callao, five months; Brammer schoolhouse, near Bevier, three months; Forrest schoolhouse, near Callao, four months; White Oak schoolhouse, north of New Cambria, eleven months, in all making 149 months or twelve years and five months.
As a minister, Mr. Mayhew officiated at 250 weddings, and from 400 to 500 funerals. He preached all over Macon county and in many adjoining counties. The greater part of his discourses were made in schoolhouses, arbors, dwellings, chapels, on highways and in groves. His opportunities for an education were comprised in ten months' schooling.
A few years before his death Mr. Mayhew described his experience as a school teacher of the sixties:
"The pugilistic style of controlling the youth was then the custom, not because of the teacher's choice, but in deference to public opinion. The good old scriptural rule, 'spare the rod and spoil the child,' was the law of school teachers. District boards sized up applicants by their appearance and their evident nerve. On one occasion a board requested my services to teach in its district. I told the members that it was too far from home; that they could get some one living closer. To this they replied: 'We want you; we like your red face, your red hair and your Irish looks. They tell us that you handle the big boys about right and that scares the little ones into good behavior.' I took the job and did my best to give satisfaction.
"When I took charge of the little old log schoolhouse on my first attempt to teach, I was armed with a certificate which Uncle Thomas White procured for me through his influence with the powers who issned such things. It was a day of great anxiety to me, but I managed to pull through, and, as I studied hard all the time, my scholars made real progress. It was during the early days of the war and it was pretty hard to keep the boys from fighting. There was a constant hurrah for Lincoln or Davis, General Mcclellan or General Lee. I finally had to lay down the rule that politics were not to be discussed at school. My salary was $18 a month and board. I stayed with one of the directors and paid him 75 cents a week for feeding me and giving me a bed. The balance of my teaching career was pretty much that of others, whose stories you doubtless have.
"The first teachers' institute in Macon county was held in the Meth- odist Episcopal church at Macon, in the winter of 1866-67. There were from twenty to twenty-five men present and from five to six women.
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That is somewhat different from the present ratio, which is about ten women to one man.
"The next institute met at Atlanta; attendance very much larger and greater interest manifested. Here I made my first attempt to speak in public, and it made them all laugh heartily. I don't recall just what I said, but they seemed to appreciate it. The third edu- cational institute was held at Macon in the summer of 1868. Lon Haynor, now of the Citizens Bank, Fletcher Burch, Dr. Bristow and myself roomed together. This was a splendid meeting. One of our instructors was Professor Watson, author of the National Readers and Spellers. By him we were taught orthography and how to articulate the alphabet with all the variety of sounds.
"Professor Kerl, author of Kerl's Grammar; Professor Spencer, originator of Spencerian penmanship, and also author of works on mathematics and history, and Professor Parker, state superintendent of schools, were among the distinguished visitors. It was one of the most important gatherings ever held in the county. We understood our lack resulting from a want of systematic effort and saw that by organi- zation and getting together there was a great future ahead for the publie schools.
"Prof. W. A. Mathis and I organized a Saturday institute in northi- west Macon county about the fall of 1872. Captain Ben Eli Guthrie and a minister from Macon each gave us good lectures. The Rev. William Sears (we called him 'Uncle Billie' then) also addressed the teachers. This was the birth of the association idea in Macon county, a plan which has been followed in after years to the immense betterment of our educational system."
MeGec College, at College Mound, was incorporated under act of the 17th General Assembly of Missouri, approved February 23, 1853. The original board of directors was composed as follows : James Dysart, Thomas McCormack, Stephen Gibson, Isaac Teter, Stewart Christel, Macon county ; William A. Hall, Giles Crook, Joseph Turner, Matthew C. Patton, Samuel C. Davis, Nicholas Dysart, Randolph county ; James B. Mitchell, William Holliday, Monroe county.
The aet described MeGee College "as an institution purely liter- ary, affording instruction in ancient and modern languages, the sciences and liberal arts, and not instituting any regulations which would render a place in its classes offensive to the reason of liberal-minded persons, whatever may be their religious persuasions."
The 6th rule of the charter provided "that McGee Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian church shall have power to fill any
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vacancy that may occur in the Board of Trustees; may displace any of the trustees who may become disqualified for their duties by age, infirmity of body or mind, or who neglect their duties from a disregard of the interests of the institution."
Seventh. "That the first meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be held in the college on the second Saturday in March, 1853, providing that seven members of the board shall be a quorum to transact any business of the corporation."
College Mound is in the southwest part of Macon county, on a beautiful eminence, giving a broad view of the picturesque landscape in almost every direction. The college building is a large, commodious brick structure, one of the finest and most imposing of its class in its day. Two majestic towers corner the building on the cast. The town was situated on a stage line running from Huntsville to Des Moines, Iowa. Soon after the establishment of the college it grew to be quite an important place. A number of boarding houses were erected and several other structures. The attendance, previous to the Civil war, was about 200 students, coming from the various portions of Mis- souri and surrounding states. The Rev. James B. Mitchell, member of the Board of Trustees, was chosen president and filled the office as long as the institution was operated by McGee Presbytery, with the exception of two years (1865-6) when the Rev. John M. Howard, who came here from Ohio, acted as president.
When the war came on many of the students enlisted, some on the side of the Blue, and some on the side of the Gray. The school was closed until the war ended. In 1867 it was reopened and Mr. Mitchell was recalled to the presidency.
W. J. Patton was professor of mathematics and Ben Eli Guthrie, a former student, was chosen teacher of languages. Miss Kate Davis had charge of the primary department; Mrs. Kate Hendricks, whose hus- band had been Lieutenant S. M. Hendricks of the Confederate Army, was instructor of music. Lieutenant Hendricks was a student of the college previous to the war. He was killed while guarding an embank- ment on the Mobile & Ohio railroad near Corinth, in 1862.
Following the war for several years the school prospered; its attendance increased from 200 to nearly 300. Some men, who after- wards became widely known in the west, were enrolled on its books. The rapid construction of the railroads throughont Missouri was par- tially the cause of the college's abandonment. It was twelve miles back in the country, while other institutions could be found more advanta- geously situated on railroads. For some time the handsome old build-
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ing was in disuse, but finally was purchased by the Holiness people and is today being successfully operated by that denomination as an educa- tional institution.
The Rev. "Jimps Dysart" was among the earnest promoters of McGee College. It was his land on which the town and college were built. During the school's existence, except while the war was going on, he was a member of the Board of Trustees. It seems there is no complete record in existence of the enrollment of McGee College. Not long ago the late Robert G. Mitchell, son of President J. B. Mitchell; Major B. R. Dysart and Captain Ben Eli Guthrie furnished the follow- ing list of the living alumni from memory :
The Rev. B. P. Fullerton, St. Louis; Major A. W. Mullins, lawyer, Linneus; Frank Sheets, lawyer, Chillicothe; L. H. Moss, lawyer, St. Joseph; Dr. John T. Mitchell, Kansas City ; Rev. J. W. Mitchell, Mar- shall; Rev. W. O. Perry, Stewartsville; George Mayhall, lawyer, New London; Rev. D. E. Bushnell, Alton, Illinois ; Captain John M. London, Kaseyville; Bingham Trigg, Marshall; Rev. J. T. Johnson, Chicago; Rev. H. M. Boyd, Weaverville, North Carolina ; Rev. J. D. Hull, Japa- nese missionary ; Rev. W. Benton Farr, Texas ; Hon. F. C. Farr, lawyer, Kansas City; Hon. W. W. Whitsett, lawyer, Pleasant Hill; Captain Ben Eli Guthrie, Major B. R. Dysart, Captain Ben F. Stone, Judge R. S. Matthews and John T. Banning, all of Macon.
Captain Guthrie recalls the following students, now dead, who joined the Confederate army :
D. D. Porter, Rev. A. D. Manning, Lieutenant S. M. Hendricks (killed in action), Thomas J. Moore (killed in action), and R. J. Guthrie.
Within recent years a handsome Memorial Chapel has been erected by the Presbyterians near the old college building. The structure cost about $5,000, and is a beautiful piece of architecture. The chapel was dedicated with imposing ceremonies. The Rev. B. P. Fullerton, of St. Louis, who had attended the McGee College, officiating.
At the beginning of the Civil war Dr. F. W. Allen was conducting an institution known as the Macon College. The doctor was a gentle- man of means and had a wide acquaintance throughout the state. Many who afterwards became prominent were among his students. Former Governor A. M. Dockery was a student and great admirer of Dr. Allen. On the 13th of June, 1861, Mr. Dockery was reciting the Latin lesson to Professor Allen. The incident which terminated the college occurred soon afterward and is thus described in a letter from Mr. Dockery, written when he was a member of Congress to a friend in Macon:
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"Dear Sir :
"The closing of Dr. Allen's school at Macon occurred about the time of the breaking out of the Civil war. I recited the last lesson at a late hour on June 13, 1861. The lesson was Latin and I was the only student of that class present. All the scholars except myself had gone home, and I had just entered upon the recitation when attention was attracted by some hurrahs in the southern part of the city. The windows were raised to ascertain the cause of the commotion. Pro- fessor Allen and I looked out and noticed the passing of a long train on the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. The men on the train were cheer- ing. My first idea was that the people on board were Mormons on their way to the West, as they had been passing over in great numbers of late. I was soon undeceived, however. Shortly after our attention was called to the train we noted that the Confederate flagpole was toppling and about to fall. Then we saw that the people on the train were soldiers, and learned afterwards that they were a part of the 16th Illinois Reg- iment. The troops left the train and headed at once for the Confederate flagpole, which was located immediately north of Bagwell & Johnson's store. It was the work of only a few moments to cut it down. I was told later on that the troops cut the pole up into small fragments and carried it away as souvenirs. Our recitation terminated abruptly.
"At that time passion was high and everybody was laboring under more or less excitement. Professor Allen had some difficulty during the evening growing out of the strange situation, and the school was not opened. I remained in Macon until the fall of 1861, when I moved to Keytesville. Professor Allen went to Monroe county for a time. The next we met, as I now recall, was in the St. Louis Medical College dur- ing the winter of 1862-63. We there attended medical lectures together.
"Very truly yours,
"A. M. Dockery."
A little closer inquiry into the incident concerning the Confederate flagpole disclosed the fact that Dr. Allen ruslied down into the town . and voiced his protests against the destruction of the flagpole. Most of the soldiers treated it good-naturedly, merely laughing, but a citizen, A. T. Turney, took the matter up on behalf of the government, as he supposed, and in the encounter that followed was knocked down by Pro- fessor Allen, who at that time was a small man but very quick and nervy. The Federal forces cheered the professor for his gritty stand for his cause on that day.
St. James Academy was founded in 1875 by the Rev. Ethelbert
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Talbot, now Bishop of Pennsylvania. The Rev. Dr. Talbot had been appointed rector of St. James parish two years previous. He was a man of indomitable energy and before long the sehool aequired a high standing as an institution of learning. It was run in connection with St. Agnes Hall, a school for young women. When the Rev. Dr. Talbot was appointed Bishop of Wyoming and Idaho, the sehool passed into other hands and had a varied experience until it passed into the control of Col. F. W. Blees, in January, 1892. Colonel Blees had recently come to Maeon and was appointed head master of the Academy to suc- ceed the Rev. C. G. Davis, who had resigned. With the appointment of Colonel Blees as head master of the institution, it was made non- sectarian. From that day on down to the present the name of Colonel Blees has always been associated with Maeon's development and prog- ress. The patronage at first was mostly local. The courses of study were as follows: Commercial, English, seientific, elassieal, shorthand and typewriting. The tuition was $42 a year, payable semi-annually in advanee. In his first advertisement Colonel Blees stated that St. James Military Academy would reopen Tuesday, January 5, 1892, at 8:20 a. m.
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