Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 52

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 52

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The separate district schools constitute a most important feature of the common-school system. The act of 1870 provided that any incorporated city of five thousand inhabit- ants might constitute itself a separate district for school purposes, with the privilege of rais- ing and extending its school work, and with the power to collect special taxes to that end. Subsequent statutes have admitted smaller cities to this privilege, until now any town of one thousand or more inhabitants may exercise it. Under this plan numerous such schools have been established at intervals, and that work is still going on. Aberdeen, Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Brookhaven, Canton, Coffeeville, Corinth, Crystal Springs, Greenville, Gre- nada, Hazlehurst, Holly Springs, Jackson, Kosciusko, Macon, Meridian, Oxford, Okolona, Port Gibson, Sardis, Starkville, Tupelo, Water Valley, Wesson, West Point, Winona and Yazoo City have established fine schools, in many instances at an outlay for buildings and equipment of from $25,000 to $50,000. So, also, the existing schools, already mentioned, at Brandon, Columbus, Natchez, Summit and Vicksburg have been brought into this system, and form parts of it, although themselves founded loug before that system was inaugu- rated. The general plan of this class of schools is, the division into annual grades (from six to thirteen in number), and the extension of the free term from four months, as in the ordinary school, to terms ranging from seven to ten months. Several of them are pro- vided with large corps of teachers, and are ready to prepare boys for the sophomore classes of college, and to carry young ladies to a very respectable graduation.

The Toccopola academy, in Pontotoc county, was founded in 1870 by W. B. Gilmer; incorporated in 1873 as the Toccopola college. A music department was established, and

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seven teachers were employed. Patronized from five states, about one-fourth of the students being boarders. Highest attendance, two hundred and three. This was a most useful school for many years. Noteworthy as being the only academy that ever sent a youth to the university prepared for the junior class, and it sent two. Now under J. W. Furr, B. S., of the university.

The Cato high school, of Rankin county, was established in 1870. William Buchanan was principal. He was followed in 1873 by P. B. Bridges, and he, in 1876, by H. M. Long. This also was long a useful school.

The Shaw university, at Holly Springs, now called Rust university by the act of 1890, was established in 1870 by the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, for the education of colored youths, and was incorporated in the same year. It has been in operation, more or less successfully, ever since that time. It has a commercial and a medical school; also a preparatory academy located at Meridian. Rev. C. E. Libby is president, and the faculty is composed of nine members. There are fifteen alumni. Females are admitted.

The State Normal school, at Holly Springs, also for colored youths, was established by the state in 1870. For two years the normal department of Shaw university was leased; afterward distinct quarters were provided. Professor Gorman was first principal; in the second year Miss M. E. Hunter. She was followed in 1875 by W. B. Highgate, and he, in 1886, by the present principal, J. H. Henderson. The average attendance has been, of males, eighty-three; of females, forty-three. The appropriations made by the state aggre- gate $96,950. The grounds embrace about five acres, and, with the building of brick, cost $10,000. There is a good chemical and physical laboratory, and a library of about three thousand volumes. Incorporated in 1890.

The Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical college, at Oakland, in Claiborne county, was also established by the state for the education of colored youths, in 1871. The property of old Oakland college was purchased for it at a cost of $42,500. Designed for higher educa- tion, it opened February 7, 1872, under the presidency of ex-Senator Hiram R. Revels, who had two assistants. An agricultural department was added in 1872. In 1873-4 the faculty had increased to nine members, and a superintendent of mechanic arts was added. In 1882 J. H. Burrus, of Tennessee, was made president, and yet holds that office. In 1884 females were admitted, and more or less of them have attended on each subsequent ses- sion. The attendance for the last ten years has averaged one hundred and eighty-four. The graduates number forty-six. The appropriations by the state have been as follows: For the years 1871 to 1874, $175,000: from 1875 to 1891, $95.640; total, $270,640. To this must be added the interest from the agricultural land-scrip fund, being the congres- sional donation, which is $5,678. 75 per annum; total, $116,991.25.

In 1871 the Masonic Male and Female institute was flourishing at Pleasant Hill, in De Soto county, nuder Prof. S. B. Pankey, and in 1872 under D. W. Bristol. In the same year the following academies were incorporated: The Coffeeville Female seminary of Yalo- busha county; the St. Joseph academy, of Hancock county; the Baptist Female seminary, at West Point, Clay county; the Guntown Male and Female institute, of Lee county; the Belmont academy, of Carroll county.

The Kosciusko Male and Female institute, at Kosciusko, in Attala county, was founded in 1871 by the Methodist church at that place. It had no endowment, but at the first a little aid from the Peabody fund; property worth about $2,500; attendance for 1872, one hundred and seventy. In 1874 the institute was taken into the connection of the North Mississippi conference and the Rev. W. P. Barton made principal. In 1879 Mr. Barton was

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succeeded by the Rev. T. A. S. Adams, who had three assistants. Iucorporated in 1878. In 1884 Dr. Adams resigned, and shortly afterward the institute became extinct.

The East Mississippi Female college, located in Meridian, Lauderdale county, was estab- lished in 1871 under the auspices of the Mississippi conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Incorporated in 1872. Prof. S. P. Rice, of Florence, Ala., was first presi- deut. In 1873 he was followed by the Rev. John W. Adkisson, of Shelbyville, Mo., who remained in charge until 1883. Under his administration the college so prospered that the faculty was increased from three assistants to six. Accepting the presidency of Central college, in Texas, he was followed by the Rev. A. D. McVoy, and he, in turn, was succeeded in 1888 by the Rev. R. M. Saunders, former president of Norfolk college, Virginia. The alumni are one hundred and twenty in number; attendance about one hundred and fifty, from five states. The course of study embraces the following schools: English language and literature, including Anglo-Saxon; ancient languages, modern languages, mathematics, history, physical sciences, mental and moral science, music and fine arts, industrial arts. There is a good library; also a fine collection of minerals; also a good scientific apparatus. The buildings are of brick and are commodious. The faculty includes eleven members.

The Slate Springs Male and Female college, located at Slate Springs, in Calhoun county, was established in 1872 by Mr. Fuller Fox, with two assistants. Incorporated in 1873. Buildings with accommodation for three hundred students were erected and a music depart- ment added.

The Paine high school, at Booneville, in Prentiss county, was established in 1872 by the Iuka, Verona, Columbus and Macon district conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Citizens of Booneville subscribed $10,000 toward the necessary funds. The build- ing was completed in 1874 and the school opened in September, with Prof. C. M. Verdell as principal. Meanwhile the financial crash of 1873 caused the loss of much of the subscrip- tion. In 1876 the property was sold for a debt dne the builders and was purchased by the town. Judge J. P. Povall was then chosen principal and the school became a mixed school for two years. In 1878 George W. Turner and W. R. Davenport became joint principals. In 1881 John W. Johnson, A. B., of the university, became principal, and under him the institution was chartered as the Johnson institute. In 1886 Prof. H. L. Atkinson was elected principal, and one year afterward Prof. J. C. Benedict, of Ohio.

In 1872 the Coldwater Male and Female institute was in successful operation in De Soto county, under the supervision of Maj. E. Porter, and the Masonic institute at Senatobia, under Mr. Samuel F. Massey.

In 1873 the Mississippi Military institute was in operation under E. H. Murphy, super- intendent, at West Point, Miss. It was incorporated in 1875, and was removed to Aberdeen. It registered one hundred and nine students in the session of 1875-6. Shortly afterward it seems to have been removed to Pass Christian, Miss., where it was maintained for a few years. From this place Colonel Murfee went to Arkansas to accept a chair in the university, and the school became extinct.

In 1873, also, the Brandon Male high school, under Gen. J. A. Smith, as also was the Jackson high school, under George W. McLaurin, was in successful operation, and the follow- ing academies were incorporated: The Corinth Female college, of Alcorn county; the Lang- ston school, at Holly Springs, the Colfax institute, at Spring Valley, Choctaw county; the Baldwin Female college, of Prentiss county; the Educational society of South Mississippi and East Louisiana, and the Summit commercial college, both of Summit, in Pike county; and the Mississippi Female institute, for colored girls, now located at Clinton, Miss.

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In 1874 the Sardis Female college, of Panola county, and the Abbeville Female college, of Lafayette county, were incorporated; and the Mississippi Female college, under Miss Josephine Freeman, her sister, and a Miss Morgan, was in good condition at Jackson, being taught at St. Andrew's church.

In 1875 the Stonewall-Jackson institute was organized at Harperville, in Scott county. In 1881 it was incorporated under the name of Harperville college. In 1SS4 the Hunt and Huddleston College Faculty association was incorporated, with power to maintain a principal college and establish preparatory and high schools as auxiliaries. Harperville college has about one hundred and twenty-five students annually, drawn from four states; about three- fifths collegiate. It is a mixed school, and offers three degrees, viz .: B. A., B. S., and M. E. L. There is a good apparatus, and a library of about seven hundred and fifty volumes.

In 1875. also, were incorporated the West Point Female institute, of Clay county; the Brookhaven Male Academical association, of Lincoln county; and the Southern Christian institute, near Edwards, in Hinds county. The last is a school for colored people of both sexes, with an industrial and a normal feature, established at a cost of about $10,000 by the Christian church, with a special view to the preparation of young colored men for its ministry It was opened in 1882. Randall Faurot was the first president. He died in October, 1882, and was followed by Jephtha Hobbs. The attendance grew to about three hundred, but the free school was discontinued in 1857, and the attendance was thereby much reduced.

The Lea Female college, at Summit, in Pike county, was established in 1877, by Rev. Charles H. Otken, and was incorporated that same year. The attendance has averaged about sixty-five per annum, of which about one-half were of collegiate grade, and about one- third were boarders from a distance. The faculty has five members. Music and accounts are taught.

The Corinth Female college (now existing), of Alcorn county, was founded in 1877, by Mary C. Conally. with two assistants. It was incorporated in 1878. In 1887 Miss N. Lena Elgin became president. The attendance is a little over one hundred per annum, of which about forty per cent. are of collegiate grade. and about one-eighth boarders. There is a framed two-story building; property worth about 84,000. This school works in conjunction with the free-school system of Corinth, as part of it.

In 1877 the Calhoun institute was established at Macon, and the following schools, all for females, were incorporated: The Elisha Calloway Female institute at Macon, in Noxubee county; the Edgworth Hall Female college at Aberdeen, in Monroe county; the Sardis Female college in Panola county, and the North Mississippi college at Verona, in Lee county.

Zealy's seminary, by Dr. J. T. Zealy, was at work in Jackson in 1578. with a full corps of teachers. It was incorporated that year, and so were the following: The Iuka Presby- terian Male high school of Tishomingo county; the Beth Eden collegiate institute, of Winston county ; the Batesville high school, of Panola county; the Grange Agricultural school, of Coa- homa county; the name of the last being changed to the Clarksdale high school, by the act of 1890.

The Agricultural and Mechanical college, located at Starkville, in Oktibbeha county, was incorporated February 28, 187S. It was the outcome of an act of congress passed July 2, 1862, whereby was donated to each state. which should provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, an amount of public land equal to 30,000 acres for each representative and senator in congress. The half of that fund, amounting to $113,575, was secured to this institution by its charter; on which sum is realized an annual interest income

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of $4,928. 75. In addition to that income the state has made the following appropriations for the support of the college: In 1880, $85,000; in 1882, $120,000; in 1884, $65,000; in 1886, $50,000; in 1888, $35,320, in 1890, $58,760. The college was opened, after the purchase of the necessary farm and the erection of the proper buildings, in the fall of 1880. The average attendance has been three hundred and fifteen students per annum. Only Mis- sissippi boys are received, since they exhaust the capacity of the institution. The military methods are followed. The literary schools are divided into a preparatory department and a college. In the college are taught drawing, bookkeeping, English history, rhetoric, mathematics, natural philosophy, natural history, chemistry, political economy, constitution of the United States, moral science, astronomy, civil engineering, literature, physiology, veterinary science, in addition to the schools of agriculture, horticulture, biology, dairy husbandry and military science, which the undergraduates are required to attend. The academic building is of brick, 127x70 feet, and three stories high; the dormitory, brick also, and three stories high, is 275x140 feet, with capacity for two hundred and fifty students. There are, besides, a chemical laboratory, a mess hall, residences for the professors, and a large outfit of barns, stables, etc. The property is valued at $188,617. From its founda- tion the college has been under the presidency of Gen. Stephen D. Lee, whose able man- agement has extended its reputation far beyond the limits of the state. The faculty is usually composed of about eighteen professors and assistants. There is a readingroom and a library of about three thousand volumes. Connected with the college is an agricultural ex- periment station, established under the act of congress of March 2, 1887, and supported by annual payments from the United States. This station is a department of the college, but has its distinct functions, and its separate working force and equipment. At the same time the farming department of the college proper is much relieved by it, both of work and expense, and it furnishes a continual and valuable object lesson to the students. The station has published one annual report and ten bulletins, which are sent free of charge to all farmers of the state who apply for them. Already the influence of the Agricultural and Mechanical has been sensibly felt in the agriculture of Mississippi, and if no short-sighted policy cripples it, great things may be expected in the near future.

In 1879 and prior thereto St. Margaret's hall, a boarding and day school for girls, was successfully conducted in Jackson by Mrs. S. B. Ware. In 1888 Mrs. Lucy S. Smith was principal.

The Holly Springs normal institute was founded in 1879 by Maj. T. C. Anderson, using the property of the old university of Holly Springs. It was incorporated. There were four assistants. The attendance of pupils ranged from one hundred and fifty to three hundred, and a few of them took collegiate grade.

The Poplar Springs normal college in Union county was founded in 1880 by Jasper N. Davis. Incorporated in 1886, the first class graduated in that year. There are teachers', business, scientific and classical courses. J. M. Langston and D. H. Davis are co-principals, with three assistants. The attendance of pupils is about two hundred. The school property is worth about $3,000. The library is valued at $1,000 additional, and there is a scientific apparatus.

In 1880 were incorporated the Waverly institute, of Byhalia, in Marshall county, the Dido Male and Female academy, the Prewitt Center Ridge academy, the West Point semi- nary, and the Carrollton Female college. The last is now prospering under the presidency of the Rev. Z. T. Leavell, a Baptist minister. '

The Okolona Male academy was flourishing in 1880, with G. W. Turner and W. R. Har-

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per as principals, while the Okolona Female college was prospering under the presidency of Prof. J. G. Deupree, now of Mississippi college. In the same year Anselm H. Jayne estab- lished the Jackson high school, and the Rev. L. M. Stone founded the Shuqualak Female col- lege. Invested in the last institution is about $10,000. There is a music department, also one of art.

The Sallis Male and Female academy was founded iu 1881; P. W. Corr, principal. Incorporated in 1886.

The Riverview seminary, Mr. and Mrs. Snead, principals, was founded in Vicksburg in 1881. It still continues to thrive.

The Iuka normal institute, of Tishomingo county, was organized in 1882 by Profs. H. A. Dean and John Neuhardt. Two well-known schools, the Iuka Male academy and the Iuka Female institute, had been previously conducted in that place. Their buildings were leased for a term of years by the normal institute. This school opened with a faculty of six. It has been very prosperous. The attendance has averaged about two hundred and eighty. There are eight departments: Primary, preparatory, training, commercial, scientific, classic, music and fine arts. In 1885 it was incorporated, and Professor Dean became sole proprie- tor. The property is valued at $7,000, and there is besides a good scientific apparatus and a library of seven hundred volumes.

The Mississippi normal college was founded at Troy, in Pontotoc county, in 1882, by H. B. Abernethy. Incorporated in 1884. In 1888 it was removed to Houston iu Chickasaw county. Average attendance about two hundred and forty. It is of the same type as the preceding school. Telegraphy, typewriting and phonography are taught. The faculty com- prises eleven members. There is some apparatus, and a library of three hundred volumes. The school property, formerly occupied by the Houston Male and Female academies, is owned by the town, and is leased to Professor Abernethy for twenty-five years.

The Ashland academy, of Benton county, was established in 1882 by a joint stock com- pany. Rev. Enoch Wines was the first principal, with two assistants. Incorporated in 1888. Graded into primary, intermediate and collegiate. Music is taught. The attendance has ranged from forty to one hundred. Prof. W. P. Gunn is now principal, with two assist- ants.

The Maury institute, an excellent female school at Holly Springs, was established in 1882, by Miss E. D. Watson, incorporated in 1884, and continues to flourish.

In 1882, also, the following institutions were incorporated: the Palo Alto academy, of Clay county; the Guntown Male and Female academy, of Lee county; the Blue Mountain academy, of Tippah county; the Camp Ground academy, of Jonesboro, in Tippah county; the Louisville Male and Female seminary, of Winston county; the Fannin high school, of Rankin county, and the Rose Hill institute, of Jasper county.

Kavanaugh college, at Holmesville, in Pike county, was founded, in 1884, by the Rev. Walter Featherstun, and shortly afterward was taken under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It was designed to accomplish a missionary work by carrying education to a large class of youth of the poorer country who were unable to seek it away from home. A mixed school; and music and art were taught. The faculty comprised four members. The attendance ranged from one hundred to one hundred and fifty. The property was valued at about $1,500. In 1889 the institution was sold to the Baptists, Mr. Featherstun taking charge of Edward McGehee college.

The Union Church high school, of Jefferson county, was founded in 1884 by the Rev. C. W. Grafton, a Presbyterian miuister, and an A. B. of the State university. A most pros-

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perous and useful school, now having about one hundred and fifty scholars. There are pri- mary, academic and collegiate departments. Music is taught. Boys and girls admitted. The faculty are five in number.

The Montrose high school, of Jasper county, was founded in 1884 by W. B. Massey, with one assistant. There are now three. The attendance has ranged from seventy-seven to one hundred and sixteen. The three departments of primary, preparatory and collegiate exist. Incorporated in 1887. Patronized by the Brandon district of the Methodist Episco- pal Church South.

The Pittsboro Male and Female college was founded, in 1884, by private subscriptions; W. Wyatt principal, with three assistants. Incorporated in 1886, and presided over then by Prof. George L. Gordon. This gentleman called the school the Calhoun Graded Normal col- lege, and published a catalogue under that name. Rev. William Rivers, B. A., of the Uni- versity of Mississippi, was president in 1889. Attendance about one hundred and seventy- five. Music is taught. Property valued at $2,000.

The Industrial institute and college, for white girls of Mississippi, was chartered in 1884. Miss Sallie E. Reneau, of Grenada, first agitated in this state the question of state aid for the higher education of girls. Her labors began in 1856, and were prosecuted at intervals until 1874, but without any substantial success. In 1879 Mrs. Annie C. Peyton, of Hazlehurst, took up the cause. She had many zealous and influential colaborers, and after several discouraging failures success crowned their efforts in 1884. The legisla- ture appropriated $40,000 for the years 1884-5. To win the location of it the city of Columbus donated $50,000 of city bonds and the property of the old Columbus Female insti- tute. The Industrial institute and college was opened in October, 1885, under the presi- dency of Richard W. Jones, ex-professor of chemistry of the university. Its entire success was at once assured, and its career of prosperity has been unbroken. The Industrial insti- tute and college is designed to fit women for particular spheres and lines of work, and to open up to her new avenues to employment and to wider and more varied modes of useful- ness. Its organization contemplates collegiate education, normal training and industrial preparation. Under the last head are taught music, oil painting, free-hand drawing, design- ing, wood carving, modeling, crayon portraiture, hammering in thin metals, decoration of porcelain ware, needle work (fancy and plain), dressmaking, phonography, typewriting, book- keeping, telegraphy, practical printing and housekeeping. The Normal school and the col- lege are fully developed and of high grade. The attendance of pupils is on scholarships awarded by the county superintendents of education in the several counties. Of these there are four hundred and six, one half with the privilege of board in the dormitories, and one- half without such privilege. The latter class of students get board out in the town. The scholarships are distributed among the counties of the state as follows: Of those with privi- lege of board in dormitory, the counties of Bolivar, Claiborne, Coahoma, Covington, Greene, Grenada, Issaquena, Le Flore, Perry, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tunica, Washington, Wayne and Wilkinson, have one each; Adams, Amite, Benton, Choctaw, Clay, Hancock, Holmes, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Neshoba, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Warren and Winston, two each; Alcorn, Clarke, De Soto, Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Kemper, Leake, Lincoln, Rankin, Scott, Smith, Tate, Union, Webster and Yalobusha, three each; Carroll, Chickasaw, Hinds, Itawamba, Jones, Lafayette, Lowndes, Marshall, Newton, Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Yazoo, four each; Attala, Lauderdale and Lee, five each; Calhoun, Copiah, Monroe and Panola, six each. Of scholarships without privilege of board in the dormitory each county has a similar number.

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 52

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314