USA > Missouri > Scotland County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 48
USA > Missouri > Lewis County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 48
USA > Missouri > Clark County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 48
USA > Missouri > Knox County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124
Second Lieut. Joseph Everett, Jan. 2, 1865, transferred to Company I, First Cavalry, S. O., 47, Department of Arkansas, Feb. 22, 1865.
First Lieut. Charles R. Combs, of Company C, was promoted Dec. 19, 1862, to the captaincy of Company I of the same regiment.
SECOND REGIMENT CAVALRY, MISSOURI STATE MILITIA.
Of this regiment Companies A, B, C and D, commanded respectively by Capts. William Dawson, Daniel R. Turk, Thad. S. Wescott and Cicero A. Lewis were originally organized in accordance with General Order No. 8, issued from the office of the adjutant-general of the State, at St. Louis, on the 20th of March, 1862, into a battalion, and designated the Seventh Battal- ion of the Missouri State Militia. The Second Regiment Cav- alry, Missouri State Militia, was composed of the Seventh Battal- ion above mentioned, and Companies E, F, G and H, commanded respectively by Capts. Perry D. McClenihan, Samuel Spangler,
530
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
William S. Hathaway and Jacob S. Bennington, in obedience to General Order No. 12, issued from the adjutant-general's office aforesaid, on the 9th of April, 1862. The field and staff officers appointed by this order were as follows: John McNeil, colonel; James H. Crane, lieutenant-colonel, and William A. Cravens and Thomas R. Wilson, first lieutenants and battalion adjutants. Company A was raised in Scotland County, B, D and F in Clark, H and K in Knox, and the other companies in Schuyler and other counties.
These companies all rendezvoused at St. Francisville, in Clark County, and soon after their organization into a regiment, they moved to Canton, Mo., where they were mustered into the service of the United States.
From there the regiment moved to Palmyra, Mo., where it remained until the following September. Meanwhile, its compa- nies were sent to various points on scouting expeditions, and had frequent encounters with the roving bands of the enemy who were scouring the country for the purpose, mainly, of enlisting men to swell their ranks. In September, 1862, the regiment was consolidated with the Eleventh Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, in obedience to General Order No. 151, issued from the adjutant- general's office at St. Louis, on the second day of that month. Under that order the following field and staff; officers were appointed: John McNeil, colonel; John P. Benjamin, lieutenant- colonel, and John B. Rogers and J. B. Dodson, majors. The same order authorized Col. McNeil to muster out of service such non-commissioned officers and privates as were "from physical disability or other causes unable to perform military duty." The original Eleventh was also enlisted in Northeastern Missouri early in 1862, and was formed into a regiment about the middle of June of that year. Immediately after they took the field against the rebel forces in that part of the State in the pursuit of the forces of Porter, Mccullough and others; they marched almost constantly. About July 1, 1862, the Second Battalion of the Eleventh, under command of Maj. Rogers, engaged the forces of Porter at Cherry Grove (Downing), in Schuyler County, killed and wounded a large number, took many prisoners, horses and arms, and completely routed them. The pursuit of Porter
531
STATE OF MISSOURI.
by this battalion was unrelenting, until it assisted Maj. Clopper in the fight near Pierce's Mill, on the 18th of July. [See account of that fight elsewhere in this chapter. ] The Eleventh was engaged in several other minor affairs, in which it was uni- formly successful up to the time of the battle of Kirksville, on the 6th of August, following. After this the Eleventh continued scouting until September, when it was consolidated with the orig= inal Second, as heretofore related.
The Second Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, marched from Palmyra on the 6th of January, 1863, and moved over bad roads in the dead of winter to Southeast Missouri, where it took post at Bloomfield, on the 21st of April, following. The advance of a large force of the enemy under Marmaduke surprised an out- post at Chalk Bluffs consisting of Company H, of this regiment, and captured about one-half of the company, and all their horses, arms, camp and garrison equipage. After this disaster, Marma- duke's advance compelled the abandonment of the post of Bloom- field and the regiment fell back to Cape Girardeau, Mo., which post was attacked by Marmaduke's whole force on the 26th of April, when he was repulsed with severe loss. In this repulse, and in the pursuit of his beaten force, the Second Cavalry bore a conspicuous part. From this time forward until mustered out the regiment remained on duty in Southeast Missouri, with head- quarters at Cape Girardeau. On one occasion, in 1863, it capt- ured the notorious Confederate Gen. Thompson and his staff and force; and during that year it nearly exterminated the guer- rilla bands infesting Southeastern Missouri. On the 1st of December, 1863, a detachment of the Second Cavalry compelled an invading force, 500 strong, under the command of Maj. Crandal, to retreat from the State in disorder. The aggregate strength of the regiment at the close of the year 1863 was 952, and the discipline and condition of the soldiers was excellent.
During the balance of the war period the Second Cavalry, served by detachments, being stationed at different outposts in the second and third sub-districts of the St. Louis District, and were constantly on the march, scouting in the southeastern counties of Missouri and Northeast Arkansas, and frequently made scouts to Pocahontas and other points in Arkansas, but was
-
532
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
in no general engagements. It kept up a warfare against guerrillas and roving bands of the enemy, sometimes serving on foot for greater secrecy and more certainty of success, and killed a large number, and took many prisoners. On one scout to Arkansas, in August, 1864, a detachment of the regiment killed forty rebels, took fifty prisoners, and captured fifty-two horses and mules. In September a detachment of the regiment, about 200 strong, made a scout into Dunklin County, and attacked a force 310 strong, under command of Col. Clarke, Confederate States Army, and killed twenty-three, captured ten prisoners and twenty horses, and in October, following, a detachment of Com- panies B and F pursued and attacked a party under command of Lieut. Col. Birthright, Confederate States Army, numbering six- ty, killed eighteen and scattered the remainder, without suffering any loss. Company I was stationed at Charleston, Mo., until Sep- tember, 1864, from which station it did good service in that part of the State. Companies A and M were stationed at Bloomfield, Mo., until September, where they did good service, until forced to evacu- ate the post before the advance of Price's army. On their retreat from this place they were attacked by Col. Jeffries' command, Con- federate States Army, and were forced to destroy and abandon their transportation and baggage. This retreat was com- manded by Capt. Lewis Sells, of Company K, who had been sent to re-enforce the post of Bloomfield. Company L participated in the defense of Pilot Knob in September, 1864, when half of it, with two lieutenants, while skirmishing on the outside was cut off from the fort, and compelled to fall back. They joined Gen. A. J. Smith's command at Franklin, Mo., and continued with the cavalry under Gen. Pleasanton, during Price's raid. Capt. Wright, with the remainder of the company, bore a gallant part in the defense of Fort Davidson, of which honorable mention was made by the commanding general. After the enemy left the State, the company came together at St. Louis. At the close of the year 1864 the regiment was much reduced by re-en- listments into the veteran service, 213 having been transferred to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Missouri Cavalry Veteran Volunteers, and the Nineteenth United States Infantry. At the close of the year 1864 the aggregate of the regiment was 660.
533
STATE OF MISSOURI.
It was mustered out in the spring of 1865. Companies A and B were consolidated with recruits and not mustered out until July 12, 1865.
The following roster of the staff and field, and company offi- cers of the companies of this regiment, organized in the counties of which this work is the history, show date of enlistment, rank, promotion, and date of muster-out, death or resignation of each individual:
Col. John McNeil, April 9, 1863, resigned May 13, 1863.
Col. J. B. Rogers, May 26, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, Mar. 1, 1865.
Lieut .- Col. Jas. H. Crane, April. 9, 1862, mustered out of service.
Lieut .- Col. John F. Benjamin, May 3, 1863, resigned June 3, 1863.
Lieut .- Col. Hiram M. Hiller, June 20, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, April 3, 1865.
Maj. Geo. F. Pledge, April 24, 1862, resigned Sept. 16, 1862.
Maj. Michael A. Stearns, June 23, 1862, resigned Aug. 25, 1862.
Maj. J. B. Rogers, May 8, 1862, promoted colonel May 26, 1863.
Maj. Josephus Robbins, June 20, 1863, resigned Dec. 22, 1864.
Maj. J. B. Dodson, May 8, 1862, resigned Oct. 7, 1863.
Maj. Dennis C. McKay, Oct. 26, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, April, 1865. Maj. Hiram M. Hiller, Dec. 8, 1862, promoted lieutenant-colonel, June 4, 1863. Maj. Fred. R. Poole, July 20, 1863, resigned Oct. 24, 1863.
Adjt. Fred. R. Poole, Dec. 24, 1862, promoted major June 21, 1863.
Adjt. J. C. Thompson, July 20, 1863, mustered out expiration of term.
COMPANY A.
Capt. William Dawson, Dec. 31, 1861, resigned June 9, 1862.
Capt. James S. Best, July 15, 1862, mustered out Oct. 1, 1862.
Capt. William Dawson, Dec. 31, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, Feb. 28, 1865.
First Lieut. Elon G. Rathbone, Dec. 31, 1861, mustered out expiration of term, Jan. 27, 1865.
Second Lieut. Hiram Washburn, Dec. 31, 1861, mustered out Oct. 1, 1862.
Second Lieut. William Buskirk, Feb. 10, 1862, resigned Oct. 7, 1863.
Second Lieut. Harrison H. Byrne, Dec. 4, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, Feb. 10, 1865.
COMPANY B.
Capt. Daniel R. Turk, Feb. 10, 1862, mustered out Oct. 1, 1862.
Capt. James W. Edwards, Dec. 31, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, April, 1865.
First Lieut. Daniel Roberts, Feb. 10, 1862, mustered out Oct. 1, 1862.
First Lieut. William P. Owens, Dec. 31, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, March 8, 1865.
Second Lieut. William Buskirk, Feb. 10, 1862, assigned to Company A.
Second Lieut. John M. Hiller, Nov. 1, 1862, transferred to Company A.
534
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
COMPANY D.
Capt. C. A. Lewis, March 20, 1862, mustered out Oct. 1, 1862.
Capt. Samuel Spangler, Dec. 31, 1862, resigned March 28, 1863.
Capt. Griffith Byron, April 7, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, April 3, 1865. First Lieut. William Hiller, March 20, 1862, mustered out Sept. 27, 1862.
First Lieut. Griffith Byron, April 8, 1862, promoted captain, April 4, 1863. First Lieut. Thomas Moore, April 7, 1863, commissiond first lieutenant Company L, Thirteenth Missouri Cavalry.
Second Lieut. George R. Hurn, March 20, 1862, promoted first lieutenant Com- pany C, Nov. 1, 1862.
Second Lieut. Thomas Moore, April 8, 1862, promoted first lieutenant April 4, 1863.
Second Lieut. Alfred Miller, April 9, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, April 3, 1865.
COMPANY F.
Capt. Samuel Spangler, April 8, 1862, resigned July 14, 1862.
Capt. Dennis C. Mckay, Sept. 8, 1863, promoted major Oct. 26, 1863.
Capt. Fred. R. Vincent, Dec. 4, 1863, mustered out expiration of term, March 23, 1865.
First Lieut. Byron Griffith, April 8, 1862, transferred to Company D.
First Lieut. Isaac S. Ralston, June 27, 1862, resigned April 23, 1863.
First Lieut. David M. Kinter, May 14, 1863, resigned July 28, 1863.
First Lieut. Fred. R. Vincent, Sept. 4, 1863, promoted captain Company F, Nov. 24, 1863.
First Lieut. Robert Davis, March 17, 1864, mustered out expiration of term, March 23, 1865.
Second Lieut. Thomas Moore, April 8, 1862, transferred to Company D.
Second Lieut. David M. Kinter, Dec. 31, 1862, promoted first lieutenant Com- pany F, May 8, 1863.
Second Lieut. James W. Craig, May 14, 1863, resigned Sept. 18, 1863.
COMPANY H.
Capt. J. S. Bennington, April 8, 1862, mustered out, Oct. 1, 1862.
Capt. R. M. Hulse, Dec. 31, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, March 10, 1865.
First Lieut. Lloyd Reese, April 8, 1862, mustered out, Oct. 1, 1862.
First Lieut. S. M. Wilson, March 11, 1862, transferred to consolidated Com- pany A.
1 Second Lieut. William B. Moody, April 8, 1862, mustered out, Oct. 1, 1862. Second Lieut. P. W. Wood, Aug. 4, 1862, resigned Feb. 19, 1863.
COMPANY K.
Capt. Lewis Sells, April 25, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, April 17, 1865.
First Lieut. J. A. Reed, April 25, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, March 5, 1865.
Second Lieut. Jos. C. Cell, Dec. 31, 1862, mustered out expiration of term, April 17, 1865.
535
STATE OF MISSOURI.
The Fifty-first Regiment of Infantry, Missouri Volunteers was formed by the consolidation of the six regiments authorized to be raised by the provost-marshal general, January 30, 1865. About one-half of Company I consisted of recruits from Scotland County. During the time this regiment was in the service it was stationed at St. Louis doing guard and escort duty. It was mustered out August 31, 1865.
At the beginning of the late war, and before Col. David Moore completed the organization of his militia regiment, and acquired military occupation of Clark and Scotland Counties, several companies of soldiers were raised openly for the Confed- erate Army. Among those in Scotland County were the com- panies of Capts. John Boyle, John Duell and William Dunn. Boyle's company was raised mostly in the southeastern, and the other two in the northwestern part of the county. Perhaps the first company organized in these two counties was that of the "Missouri Border Guards," organized in Alexandria in Febru- ary, 1861. On the 20th of said month J. W. Johnson was elected captain, and J. A. Hackley, H. J. Dull and M. S. Mitchell were elected first, second and third lieutenants, respectively. All of these companies, except that of Dunn, went away and entered the regular Confederate Army, but Dunn remained and operated independently. After Col. Moore's occupancy of these counties the recruiting for the Confederate Army was carried on quietly and secretly, until a great many of the citizens thereof had en- tered it in various commands, thus making it impossible to trace their history, or to even make an intelligent estimate of their number. Unwanton depredations were undoubtedly committed, and several persons unnecessarily killed by both Union and Con- federate soldiers. On one occasion, in 1861, Jesse Alexander, a Union man, was killed in a big hollow, about eight miles west of Memphis, by unknown parties, and on another occasion Benja- min Dye, living near Etna, was shot and killed at his house by a party of Federal soldiers, who went there to arrest his son, who, it is said, was a Confederate soldier. It is also claimed that the shot which killed Dye was aimed at the son.
The killing of Judge Richardson at Memphis, on the night of the 18th of November, 1861, of which mention is made else-
536
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
where in this work, was a deliberate murder of the most fiendish nature. In the month of December, 1861, Gen. Halleck ap- pointed Lieut .- Col. Gantt, Capt. Call and Lieut. Biggerstaff, of the Third Missouri Cavalry, a court of inquiry to investigate this matter, and in their report they exonerated Col. Moore, who was then in command of the Union troops at Memphis, from all blame. On the day after Judge Richardson was killed, Col. Moore offered a reward of $1,000 to any person or per- sons who would give any information leading to the apprehen- sion and conviction of the murderer or murderers of the Judge. It is said that some years afterward one Frank Bias, while un- der the influence of liquor at a horse race, near Monmouth, Ill., boasted that he committed the deed. No one, however, has ever been apprehended for the crime.
In the summer of 1862 William Moore, who lived in Sand Hill Township, and who sympathized with the Southern cause, was arrested by a troop of Union soldiers, while passing through the county, and during their encampment over night near Sand Hill, he was killed by some unknown person. Some persons un- doubtedly entered the armies of the contending parties in the late war solely for the purpose of getting an opportunity to kill some one whom they hated. This is believed to have been the case with the murderer of Judge Richardson.
At the November term, 1864, of the county court of Scot- land, it was "ordered that a bounty of $200 be issued to each single man, and $300 to each married man, under the call for 300,000 men," to fill the quota of the county. In accordance with this order, bounty warrants were afterward issued, and paid to recruits to the amount of $33,450, as shown by the register of warrants paid. No draft was enforced during the war in Scot- land County.
EDUCATIONAL.
In an early day, and before schools began to be taught in the county, it was the custom in the more thickly settled parts for a number of the settlers to assemble with their children, on Satur- days, at the house of some individual, to instruct the little ones in the rudiments of an education. This method of instruction, however, was of short duration, for, as a rule, the early settlers
537
STATE OF MISSOURI.
provided a school for their children to attend as soon as a neigh- borhood contained families with a sufficient number of children to compose one. Judge John C. Collins claims to have taught the first school in the county, and this he taught in the year 1838, at the place now called Fort Donaldson, in Mount Pleasant Township. His pupils were Robert Donaldson, Washington, Amanda and Sally Forrester, Mary Jane and Frances Donaldson, Andrew Myres; George Hume's children, and others, to the number of about sixteen in all. The schoolhouse was a log cabin with slab seats, and slabs supported on wooden pins against the walls for writing desks. Mr. Collins taught three months, and received in compensation $2 per pupil. Soon after this a school was taught in Sand Hill, by a Mrs. Clemons, who was a sister of Logan Jones. She taught her next school at the house of Stephen Cooper, in what is now Knox County. Another early school teacher was Jesse Whitten, who taught the first school in the Stice neighborhood, in a cabin erected for a dwelling house about one-fourth of a mile north of Bible Grove. The teachers who succeeded him in that vicinity were James Herreford, Joel Bradley and a Mr. Wilson, in the order here named. The first Christian Church building at Bible Grove, which was erected about the year 1842, was also used for a schoolhouse. Horatio N. Teacle was among the very early teachers, and probably the first who taught in the vicinity of Sand Hill.
A young man by the name of Hamilton taught the first school in the W. P. Childress neighborhood. About the year 1841 W. G. Downing (the present railroad commissioner of the State) taught school at Pull Tight, and for the first term he received in compensation for his services the magnificent sum of $8 per month, and accepted most of that in trade. A Mr. Tandy, who came from Tennessee, taught a school in 1839 about one mile northwest of Edinburg. He had about fifteen pupils, and received about the same compensation for his services as Judge Collins did.
The first house built exclusively for school purposes was probably the one on Tobin Creek, known as the Tobin School- house. George Howard and Mrs. John Hicks were also among the first teachers of the county, and taught in the southwestern
34
-
538
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
part. About the year 1847 Miss P. H. Grout taught at Edin- burg, and following her a Mr. Clemens taught east of Edinburg, in the Range Line Schoolhouse. The first school in the north- eastern part of the county was taught by Miss Joycie Sawyer, a daughter of the Mrs. Sawyer who has been named as one of the early settlers. This school was taught in a log cabin, near the North Wyaconda, northeast of Lawn Ridge. This lady married Gus. Dulin, and moved to Des Moines, where she died about the year 1842. The next teacher in that vicinity was Archibald Burkett. The cabin in which he taught had a clapboard roof held down by weight poles, supported by a "foot pole" at the edge of the roof where the water falls from it. The boys' play- ball lodged upon this roof, and one of them climbed upon the building to get it. When resting his weight upon the "foot pole" it gave way, and he fell upon his brother below, breaking his own thigh and the leg of the brother. There was no surgeon within reach to reset the broken limbs, but as usual, in cases of such emergency, men can do almost anything, so the teacher, William Troth and James Billups, undertook the task, and reset the broken limbs with such success that all came out right, and the boys got well and strong.
Schools, townships and public schools began to be organized and established soon after the county organization was completed. As has been stated in a former chapter, Section 16, in every Con- gressional Township had been donated by the general Govern- ment to the State for school purposes, and whenever a number of the inhabitants of a Congressional Township desired to have their school section sold for this purpose they petitioned the county court to that effect, and the court would then order an election to be held in such township for the purpose of ascertain- ing the will of a majority of the voters therein in regard to the sale of the land. And if at such election it was found that a majority were in favor of making the sale, the court would author- ize the sheriff to advertise and sell the land or lands to the highest bidders. The township would be organized into a "school township," and the proceeds from the sale of the school section would then be loaned, and the interest thereon collected an- nually in advance to produce a revenue with which to pay the
539
STATE OF MISSOURI.
salaries of teachers. According to this method the school sec- tions continued to be sold, and school townships organized from time to time until all the school lands within the county were sold. Then a final and permanent subdivision of the territory of' the county was made into nine school townships as follows: No. 1, to consist of Townships 66 and 67 north, Range 10 west; No. 2, of Township 66 north, Range 11 west; No. 3, of Town- ship 66 north, Ranges 12 and 13 west; No. 4, of Township 65 north, Ranges 12 and 13 west; No. 5, of Township 65 north, Range 11, west; No. 6, of Township 65 north, Range 10 west; No. 7, of Township 64 north, Range 10 west; No. 8, of Township 64 north, Range 11 west; No. 9, of Township 64 north, Ranges 12 and 13 west. The close observer will notice that all the territory in the county in Township 67, north and west of Range 10, has been left out of the foregoing subdivision of the county. It was, however, intended to be included as will be seen by refer- ence to the following order of the county court made at its February term 1843, which reads as follows: "Ordered by the court that the Congressional Townships of the county be num- bered as follows for school purposes, and described as by the United States Survey, commencing with No. 1 in the northeast corner, and running west alternately as sections are numbered in townships by said survey. And that the fractional townships on the north be attached to the townships south of them." The latter clause of the order, which the writer has italicized, explains fully the intention of the court, but it seems that in the final organiza- tion of the school townships this order was not fully complied with.
The amount of principal realized from the sale of the school lands in each of the several school townships, organized accord- ing to the foregoing, is as follows: No. 1, $1,378; No. 2, $1,181.60; No. 3, $1,473.32; No. 4, $1,384.40; No. 5, $1,193; No. 6, $1,048.80; No. 7, $834; No. 8, $963.92; No. 9, $1,288.40. Total, $10,745.44. The interest on either of these several amounts was not sufficient to maintain the schools more than a few weeks. Each school township, however, was entitled to a small revenue from the State, as one-fourth of the State tax was distributed annually for the benefit of the schools. These two
.
540
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
sources, together with a further slight distribution of interest collected on the State school funds, constituted for a number of years all the resources for public school moneys, and con- sequently the schools were only partially free, as the public funds would not sustain them for a single term of three months. In those days the public schools were generally maintained for three months in each year, and the deficiency in the funds was made up by a "rate bill " directly taxing the patrons of the schools in proportion to the number of pupils sent by each. In the main this condition of the public educational facilities con- tinued until the inauguration of the present school system after the close of the late war.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.