USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > A centennial history, 1837-1937, Colby Academy, Colby Junior College > Part 10
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
Even more scandalous was the occasion when another unpopular teacher was treated with a new trick. Because the boys did not like him they occasionally threw large chunks of wood down the stairs so that they would strike against his door. Later at a school gathering some of the boys heard the teacher saying with apparent complacency that he never had to get any wood because the dear boys got it for him. That decided them to take signal venge- ance. They concealed a charge of gunpowder in a large stick of wood and placed it outside the teacher's door. He accepted the contribution and threw the stick on the fire with a report that sounded to the remotest room in the building.
122
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
It was about this time that two of the boys who roomed together obtained permission one night to sit up late to study. They determined to make a night of it. They popped corn on the stove - this was before the days of steam heat - and read poetry aloud in turn. Since they had no dishes the popped corn was dumped on the study table, and it accumulated faster than they could eat it until the entire top of the table was covered with it. In this fashion they kept it up until morning.
One of these boys tried every possible means to escape from the "rhetoricals," or declamations, and recitations in which every student was required to take part. Only once did the teacher succeed in getting him on the plat- form. Finally he hit upon a happy solution of his diffi- culty. He started to publish a small newspaper on a printing press in his room. He got out twelve issues dur- ing the year. He sold it for two cents a copy or twenty- five cents a year. The extra cent needed explanation but the editor was ready for it. He said that it was needed to pay the postage on the Commencement issue after the students had gone to their homes. This New London Advocate was a useful experiment in two respects. Its editing was made to do duty in place of rhetoricals to the satisfaction of the faculty, and it so interested the boy in journalism that he subsequently went into the news- paper business.
The catalogue for the year 1870 reflects a condition of general prosperity. Two hundred and sixty-two dif- ferent students were enrolled. Eighty young men were taking the Classical Course. Fifty young women were in the Collegiate Course, studying the language and litera- ture of people whom they might not hope to know in the flesh and wrestling with the problems of philosophy and religion. Some of these young people were to be heard from in later years. James K. Ewer and Millard F. Johnson were to go on to college and seminary and
123
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
carry religion to the people of their New England par- ishes. Benjamin Ide Wheeler was to visit the lands of which he studied at New London, make the teaching of Greek his profession, and find the crowning work of his life as president of the University of California. New London students formed only a small proportion of the total student body, but among them were Oren D. Crockett, Charles W. Gay and Alvin Messer, all of them substantial citizens of the town a generation later. Mar- shall and John Seamans represented the family of the first minister. Young people were coming in considerable numbers from Massachusetts, and Vermont and Rhode Island were sending representatives.
The funds of the academy were increased by the gift of a scholarship from Mrs. Nancy Smith of Hopkinton amounting to $1149.17. The income was to be paid to a student who was planning to study for the ministry. Horace F. Brown was the first beneficiary, going on to Brown and Newton. He was followed by Millard F. Johnson through the same institutions. Next year came the Symonds scholarship of one thousand dollars. These benefactors could not know whether their donations would be used wisely, but they would have been satis- fied if they could have foreseen the usefulness of the men who profited by them.
The board of instruction during the early 'seventies included eleven teachers. Horace M. Willard was the head of the school, but his tenure of office was brief. Professor Knight continued to scatter chalk and reprove dilatory algebraists until 1873, and Algernon P. Shuttuck was still teaching that a good penman is mightier than a poor swordsman. Laban E. Warren was getting valuable experience on the faculty and getting acquainted with Mary O. Carter, the Lady Principal, whom he was later to marry.
A restless spirit seems to have pervaded the faculty, for
124
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
presently Mr. Willard was gone, and Professor Warren daringly assumed the responsibilities of the presidency and a wife. Mrs. Warren continued the duties of lady principal and taught rhetoric and English literature. Professor Warren had been teaching the natural sciences, English and Latin. Now he showed his versatility by undertaking to teach both Latin and Greek. After three years more of teaching at Colby Academy, Professor Warren was called to the chair of mathematics at Colby University. The departure of the Warrens left a large gap in the teaching force in the academy. New names appear in the catalogues, few of them to remain long. Hannah P. Dodge, trained at the Oread Institute, Worcester, taught German and mental and moral philos- ophy for two years and then succeeded Mrs. Warren as lady principal. Reverend A. L. Lane followed Professor Warren as head of the school, but remained for only one year. James W. Ford, who was teaching Latin and natural sciences, was made acting president during the fall term of 1875, but he declined to continue. Rev- erend Dura P. Morgan, a Colby graduate and a trustee, was elected president of the school, but he declined. Reverend J. F. Morton was acting principal for two years. J. J. Holbrook, Colby Academy, class of '68, taught the natural sciences for several years. The name of Frank J. Peaslee appears for the first time as assistant in science and mathematics. A third short principalship was that of Elias J. McEwan, who remained a year only.
These rapid changes were not conducive to the maintenance of a continuous policy in education. Changes were taking place too in the Board of Trustees. Anthony Colby, the former governor, died in 1874. His fellow members on the Board recorded their appreciation of his aid to the school in the following words: "It is not too much to say that but for the personal interest and earnest effort of ex-Governor Colby this institution would
125
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
never have been founded in New London; but for his generous sympathy and material aid, together with that of his family, it would not occupy the position it now does, with elegant and commodious buildings and spa- cious grounds and all the appointments of a first class literary institution. Anthony Colby was a man of the people, and whatever conduced to the uplifting, en- lightening and christianizing of individuals and com- munities found place in his heart and a help from his hand. He was therefore the friend of popular education, of good learning in the common school, the academy and the college. He was the friend of young men and young women struggling for the advantages of higher culture, and he never failed to recognize enterprise, integrity, and virtue as holding a claim in his regard. Students found in him a true friend, and teachers a warm sym- pathizer and wise counsellor. During the early years of the Institution he was ever ready to meet emergencies. When it was proposed to raise an endowment fund of one hundred thousand dollars he was among the most generous donors and took special interest in the com- pletion of the new buildings, and with his own hand lay- ing the corner-stone while infirmities crept over him, watching with an earnest eye the progress of the work. This was the last work which engaged his heart and hand."
General Daniel E. Colby, son of Anthony Colby, con- tinued his father's interest in the academy. He had an honorable record of his own, first as local farmer and merchant, then in the service of the state. He went to the Legislature before the Civil War, and during the struggle was adjutant general for a year. About the time his father died he was a delegate to the state constitu- tional convention. He was a faithful trustee, a man of ability and sagacity, but quiet in disposition and simple in his manner of living. He married Martha Greenwood
126
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
and had a son Anthony, a young man of promise who graduated from Colby in the class of '68 but died while a student at Dartmouth.
Still another New London trustee was General Luther McCutchins. He had no such start in life as Anthony or Daniel Colby. After being left an orphan at the age of twelve he worked his way to manhood with little school- ing, but he learned the manners of cultured folk and is remembered as a gentleman of the old school. In New London he kept a general store and was able to help many a boy through the academy. Like Daniel Colby he filled positions of trust in town and state. He was adju- tant general in 1857, draft commissioner during the war, and narrowly missed election as governor of New Hamp- shire by the Legislature in 1874. He was a trustee of the academy and had a part in some of its land deals.
Meantime the finances were giving trouble. It cost more than formerly to pay salaries, keep up the equip- ment, provide fuel to heat all the buildings, and take care of the numerous and unexpected incidentals. The Treasurer reported a deficit in 1871 of more than one thousand dollars, and two years later the trustees voted to borrow up to nine thousand dollars from Joshua George of Warner at seven per cent interest for three years in order to pay outstanding notes and bills. These deficits were not due to carelessness in hiring teachers or administering the institution. The scrupulousness of the trustees appears in the election of Miss Julia E. Keese as teacher of French "with the condition that she take five classes if necessary and improve herself in French pronunciation during the vacation." It was the limited income of the school that made the trouble.
The situation again enlisted the sympathy of Mrs. James B. Colgate. In her New York home she kept in touch with affairs in New London. At this critical junc- ture she made an offer through her husband to present
127
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
the academy with thirty-five thousand dollars towards a permanent endowment, provided an additional sum of thirty thousand dollars should be raised as a Centennial Fund before the first of July, 1877. The occasion of the one hundreth anniversary of American independence enlisted many enterprises in the country in the year 1876. The trustees of the academy fervently expressed their appreciation to the donor, who this second time had come so generously to the aid of the Institution. In their enthusiasm and gratitude they decided to change the name of the school to "Colby Academy" in honor of the family which had done so much to establish higher education in New London. The New Hampshire Legis- lature gave the necessary permission to make the change of name legal.
The financial proposal called for a renewed effort to raise money among the friends of the school. The trus- tees made Deacon T. E. Balch, an active member of the Baptist church in Wakefield, Massachusetts, their finan- cial agent. In spite of the business depression and finan- cial stringency of the decade Mr. Balch, by his tireless and patient industry, was able to win sufficient support to meet the conditions that Mrs. Colgate had proposed, and as a result Colby Academy had a working capital of eighty thousand dollars after its debts were paid. In order that the new benefactions would not be spent in meeting current expense an agreement was made be- tween Mrs. Colgate and the academy that the principal should constitute a permanent fund to be invested, and that the income only should be used to pay salaries and meet current expenses. Thus an endowment as well as a modern academy building seemed assured.
The school, the church, and the town constituted a trinity of interests in which each was closely involved in the others. It was the town that encouraged the organiza- tion of the church and erected the first meeting-house.
128
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
It was the townspeople who made possible the buildings of the academy, and took care of students in their homes when those buildings were overcrowded. It was the ministers of the church who encouraged the organiza- tion of the academy, and co-operated with the school administrators in the building of character among the youth.
It so happened that school and town and church in New London all celebrated anniversaries in the decade of 1878-88. The school was the first to act. The year 1878 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the re- organization of the academy in 1853. The occasion was used at Commencement time to provide an opportunity to renew allegiance and to listen to a quarter-centennial address from Dr. Gardner.
The celebration in 1879 of the one hundredth an- niversary of the incorporation of the town of New London eclipsed the Quarter Centennial of the academy. Parading to the church with a band and the Messer Rifles, the townspeople participated in an elaborate programme. After opening music by the choir and prayer by Reverend Dura P. Morgan of Beverly, a native of New London and graduate of the Academy, the choir sang a hymn written by Mrs. Colgate, with music by Mrs. N. T. Greenwood.
"The rolling years, O God, are thine, Thou holdest them in thy hand divine, Thou dost their gifts thyself unfold, And show us what their secrets hold.
We stand in awe to see unroll A century's gifts as but a scroll, Written with progress yet to be, Grander than human eye can see.
We look behind and mark the way, Thou ledst our fathers in the day When young they sought this wooded soil, To gain their homes by honest toil.
129
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
How soon the lonely hills were glad, The desert glooms no more were sad! Sweet blossoms shed their fragrance round And labor rang a gladsome sound.
Thou, God of love, their burdens bore, On Thee they laid them and no more Their pressure felt - Take ours away And bless this glad Centennial day."
General McCutchins gave an address of welcome, re- minding the audience of the early days of the town and of the changes that had come with the years. Judge J. Everett Sargent of Concord read a comprehensive his- torical address. This was followed by an original poem written by Mrs. Elizabeth McCutchins Blood, daughter of the presiding officer and at one time a teacher in the academy. After the closing musical exercises by the choir of the church the procession was re-formed and marched to a huge tent on the grounds of the academy where dinner was served to two thousand persons. The prominent guests and the military were given a collation in the town hall. In the afternoon more informal ex- ercises were held in the church with addresses by past and present residents of the town.
Students of the academy entered with spirit into the observance of the day, which was on the eve of their own Commencement. It was nearly half a century since the old New London Academy had opened its doors. They could join feelingly in the last stanzas of Mrs. Blood's poem:
"Ring out, O bells, exultant, wild, and free! O banners, wave your bright folds cheerily! Let bugles blow, the organ's swell prolong, Sweet voices raise the glad triumphant song! Let field rejoice, the hills in gladness wake, In waves of song the dancing waters break! Let blue skies smile, and flowers their fragrance lend, Wealth of the woods in fadeless beauty blend!
130
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
And thus in one glad jubilee, Embalm the dear old century, And crown afresh this new centennial year With glories brighter than all others wear."
The celebration closed with a display of fireworks in the evening.
The New London church chose a crisp autumn day for the observance of its one hundredth anniversary in 1888. The invitations to the celebration at the church were sent out on a printed card, reading: "The exercises will occupy the afternoon and evening. The historical address will be delivered in the meeting-house at two o'clock P.M., by Reverend Dr. Gardner, acting pastor. Mrs. N. T. Greenwood will read a historical sketch of the Woman's Missionary Society, which was formed in 1814. Miss Mattie H. Pillsbury will read a poem with special reference to the ancient choir, which has been under one leadership for more than forty years. A colla- tion will be served in the Town Hall at 5.30 o'clock, and the evening will be given to addresses by ex-pastors and others."
The occasion was gladdened by the presence of three former pastors: Dr. Dodge, President of Madison Uni- versity, Reverend Henry F. Lane of Winchester, Massa- chusetts, and Reverend F. D. Blake of Wickford, Rhode Island. After the opening exercises Dr. Gardner read an historical address, recounting the progress of the church from its small beginnings under Elder Seamans to its present prosperity. It so happened that Dr. Gard- ner was himself serving as interim pastor of the New London church at the time of the celebration after the resignation of Reverend S. C. Fletcher. Following the address the choir sang a hymn written for the occasion by Dr. Gardner.
The celebration of the quarter century that had passed since the reorganization of the academy gave a
131
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
new impetus for the years that followed. The alumni organized an Association and held literary exercises in connection with Commencement. The first roster of alumni officers included Reverend N. T. Dutton, class of '66, President, J. Q. A. Brackett, '61, Vice President, Miss A. H. Pulsifer, '66, Corresponding Secretary, O. D. Crockett, '73, Recording Secretary, and James P. Kelley, '71, Treasurer. The literary exercises of the Alumni in 1879 included an oration by Reverend George W. Gile, class of '61, a poem by Miss Mary L. Coombs, class of '64, and chronicles by Miss Annie B. Westgate, '67. Thereafter the annual catalogue of the Academy con- tained the names of the alumni officers, with the execu- tive committee, and at times a record of the literary exercises.
Soon after the quarter centennial celebration came the retirement of the president of the Trustees on ac- count of advancing age. Reverend E. E. Cummings, D.D., had held the position for nearly thirty years, after a similar service for New Hampton. The Board ex- pressed its deep regret that he should think the step necessary, and recorded its appreciation of his long and faithful service. Dr. Cummings was a genuine friend of the school and when he died five years later he made it the heir to his private library of five hundred volumes, which was made the Cummings collection. Soon after- ward the libraries of the literary societies, numbering about fifteen hundred volumes, were turned over to the institution to become part of the academy library. Mrs. Colgate presented to the school an oil painting of her father, Anthony Colby, a work of her own hand.
About this time a bequest became available from Nahum Kingsbury of Alstead, New Hampshire. This included about two hundred and fifty dollars in money and half of a farm valued at about one thousand dollars. Reverend W. H. Eaton was granted a power of attorney
132
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
to sell it and this was done the next year. A considerable addition to the scholarship funds of the institution came in 1879 as the result of a special drive. Instead of only two scholarships as formerly there were now seventeen of one thousand dollars each. These were the
Smith Scholarship
Herrick, J. Scholarship
Balch Scholarship
Keese Scholarship
Symonds Scholarship
Greenwood Scholarship
Woodman Scholarship
Herrick Scholarship
Greeley Scholarship
Colby Scholarship
Kimball Scholarship
Eaton Scholarship
Butterfield Scholarship
Cummings Scholarship
French Scholarship
Sargent Scholarship
Herrick, E. Scholarship
The running expenses of both students and school were a cause of continual anxiety. Many students had to count the pennies and some of them could not afford to pay the charge of three dollars a week for board and washing. It cost girls twelve dollars a term for room rent if they boarded themselves; this included heating and the use of a dining-room kitchen where they could club together and get their own meals. In this way they could cut down the expense of food to a minimum. At Colby Hall the boys paid fifty cents a week for room rent and care, if they boarded at the school table; if they boarded in club their room charge was sixty-six cents a week.
Tuition rates had been raised so that a student had to pay ten dollars for the regular courses, and from four to fourteen additional for musical instruction. Oil painting and water colors cost eight dollars. It was es- timated that the total expense of young men who took their meals in the boarding-house would be one hundred and seventy dollars and twenty-five cents. This would include one hundred and eleven dollars for board, thirty dollars for tuition, nine dollars and twenty-five cents
133
THE FIRST CENTURY OF COLBY
for room rent in Colby Hall, and eight dollars for fuel, with probably about twelve dollars for textbooks, sta- tionery and society fee. Of course the charge for station- ery would be affected by the state of his affections as directed outside the school. By boarding in club the cost might be reduced about forty-five dollars. The ex- penses for young women were approximately the same.
The expense account of the school was usually in ex- cess of income, resulting in an accumulating deficit. With tuition so low and the endowment not large for a school of its size, the institution was handicapped for the maintenance of the buildings, and the salaries that must be paid could not be met without large resources. At times it was necessary to resort to a loan and give a note, or mortgage the school property as security. Even when the academy was raising the Centennial Fund in 1876 it was necessary to place such a mortgage in order to obtain five thousand dollars for current expenses. Before the new fund became available the institution was reduced to serious straits to obtain money, it cut down salaries, and tried to reduce expenses as much as possible. The trustees even went so far as to explain to the faculty the dire condition of the school and to offer them the use of the property for the fall term, "they to pay all expenses and receive the income pro rata." After careful consideration the teachers declined to assume the responsibility, although Principal Lane was in favor of the experiment. On the strength of the report of Mr. Balch, the financial agent, that twenty-one thousand dollars had been raised on the new fund and that the prospect was favorable for getting the full amount, the trustees proceeded to select a small faculty for the en- suing year, but at reduced salaries. The total appropria- tion for salaries was to be limited to three thousand dollars. Principal Lane was to receive eight hundred dollars, J. J. Holbrook, eight hundred dollars, Carrie
134
BENEFACTIONS AND BUILDINGS. 1860-1880
E. Wheeler, Lady Principal, four hundred dollars, Kate Stewart, music teacher, four hundred dollars. The male teachers were to nominate a third lady teacher and to make suggestions in case of vacancies, with election re- served to the executive committee. The selection of teachers was left customarily to the executive committee of ten with power to elect. The trustees voted to give free room rent to the teachers in consideration of the salary reduction. To meet arrearages in payment the Board instructed the treasurer to pay the teachers "as far as the money in the Treasury will allow and to make arrangements by note or otherwise for the remainder." Mr. Lane resigned and went to Coburn Classical In- stitute, Waterville, Maine, where he taught for many years. Miss Wheeler declined to serve as lady principal, but she continued to teach. Hannah P. Dodge was elected Lady Principal at a salary of five hundred dollars, and Reverend J. F. Morton became acting principal with a salary of nine hundred dollars. The trustees voted not to elect a president.
Realizing that all this brought hardship on the instruc- tors, enough to injure seriously their effectiveness as teachers, the trustees voted that they might employ as- sistants if necessary at an expense "not exceeding the sum of tuition of two pupils," and for Mr. Morton and family it was provided that the price of board, room rent, and washing should be placed at eleven dollars a week.
It was quite uncertain what the future of the academy might be, and the trustees seem to have had no well- planned policy. Power was given to a committee to close Colby Hall, if it seemed best. It was voted that the treasurer might rent the boarding-house at six dollars and twenty-five cents per month, and that repairs should be paid for out of the rent of the first two or three months. Then it was decided to keep Colby Hall open.
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.