USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Troy > An historical sketch of Troy [N.H.] and her inhabitants, from the first settlement of the town in 1764 to 1855 > Part 16
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age beast should feel the weight of his uplifted club, so straining every muscle, he brought it with herculean power upon the head of his unflinching foe. His weapon dropped from his hand, and he stood a pale, trembling, helpless victim, completely in the power of his mighty antagonist! Be not alarmed, it was only a stump.
The catamount was the most ferocious of all the wild beasts of New-Hampshire. His great size, strength, and agility of movement, together with his formidable weapons, rendered him the terror both of man and beast; and when provoked, no animal could stand before him. But fortunately, but a few such monsters have ever ex- isted in this vicinity, and it is not now known that more than three or four have ever been seen within the limits of Troy.
One of the most remarkable of this class of animals was once killed by Dea. Fife, near the pond a little east of his house. Soon after Dea. Fife settled here, his father came to make him a visit, and as the custom was in those days, he brought his axe to assist his son in clearing the forest. One day as they were chopping a little west of the pond, they discovered a deer that had just been killed by some unknown monster of the wilder- ness. Being somewhat alarmed, they immediately de- cided to take measures to rid the forest of so dangerous a visitor. Without delay, young Fife took his father's horse and went to Rindge and procured of Dea. Love- joy of that town, a large steel trap. As the sun was setting, with trap, gun, and axe, in hand, the father and son sought the carcass of the deer. But, to their sur- prise, it had been drawn several rods, and finally taken up and carried away, so that they could track it no far- ther. But finding the heart and liver, they felled a tree, from which they cut a log and hitched the same to the trap, which they placed in a position to take the fatal grip whenever the animal should return to obtain the
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fragments of his slaughtered victim. The next morning the deacon took his musket and in company with his father, was soon on the ground, and to their astonish- ment, the trap, log, and all, were gone. With much caution they followed the track of the log in the direc- tion towards the pond, near which they perceived the animal with his appendages permanently entangled among the rocks. When they had arrived within a few rods, the monster reared on his hind legs, and as he took a survey of his enemy, gnashed his teeth and seemed to bid defiance to them. But as young Fife raised his gun to his eye, his father pleaded with him not to fire, fear- ing that the catamount would kill them both. But crack went the musket, and at first it seemed to make no im- pression upon him, but it was soon reloaded and brought to his eye a second time, but seeing his fury abating and that he was trembling, he waited a moment and the ani- mal fell. On approaching him it was found that he was dead, the ball having pierced his heart. His measure- ment was thirteen feet and four inches, from his nose to the end of his tail. His skin was afterwards stuffed and sold to the proprietors of the Boston Museum for forty- five dollars.
CHAPTER XIII.
DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF EDUCATION; INTEREST OF SCHOOL LOTS EX- J'ENDED FOR SCHOOLS; THE FIRST SCHOOL; FIRST TEACHER; TOWN DIVIDED INTO SQUADRONS; SCIIOOL-HOUSES; NEW DIVISION OF THE TOWN INTO DISTRICTS; AMOUNT OF SCHOOL MONEY.
INTELLIGENCE lies at the foundation of truc greatness. It places man at the head of the animal kingdom, and properly exercised, imparts a grandeur to his whole be- ing. This makes the man, and we judge of him, not so much from his external form, as from the lustre of that "spark ethereal" that shines through its clayey walls. This spark is an emanation from the Eternal Source of life, but receives its lustre from contact with the things of earth. It is itself indistructible and must continue to cxist co-eternal with God, and it will forever bear upon its disk the various tints it has received in its gradual development from an embryotic state. With its original structure man has nothing to do, much less has he the ability to make in it the. slightest change, but its devel- opment is the great work of life, and for this he alone is responsible. This is a work that reaches to the very depths of man's nature, and its effects stretch on, even beyond the bounds of his mortal existence. That a work of such magnitude should be treated with indifference, or receive so small a share of public attention is enough to fill every reflecting mind with the deepest sorrow. That the mind will be developed is as certain as that mind
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exists, but whether for good or evil must depend upon the influences brought to bear upon it.
The education of children has, at different periods of time, been considered of sufficient importance to be taken under the fostering care of the State. But the true end of education was never attained, for the reason that wrong means were employed, and this arose from a mis- apprehension of the great object of life. The Spartans regarded war as the great business of life, hence their system of education inculcated the heroic virtues merely, such as patriotism, public spirit, courage, fortitude, and contempt of danger, suffering, and death. The Cretans having similar views of life, adopted a like course of in- struction, merely adding thereto a slight smattering of poetry and music. The Persian system was somewhat in advance of this, and being prescribed by law, every thing about it was made subservient to the interests of the State, and in one of its features it has probably not been surpassed by more modern systems. The Persians regarded the education of the youth as the most impor- tant duty, and essential part of their government. They believed that the most of the evils that had disturbed the tranquillity of the surrounding nations, arose from defects in the education of the children. Hence, they arranged their system with a special view to the prevention of crime. Here boys were sent to school to learn justice and virtue, and it is said that the crime most severely punished amongst them was ingratitude. And instead of building prisons and alms houses for the punishment of criminals and the maintenance of the vagrant, they endeavored so to order it as to have no criminals nor vagrants amongst them.
The Grecian system, while it was less calculated to prevent crime, was, nevertheless, better adapted to the development of national resources; for here the arts and the sciences were esteemed and cultivated, and industry
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and economy enforced. This system, too, was well can- culated to produce eminent men, and no city can boast , of so many persons who have excelled in the arts of war and government, in philosophy, eloquence, poesy, paint- ing, sculpture, and architecture, as Athens, unless, per- haps, we except her later rival, the " Eternal City." But there was running through all these systems of educa- tion one vital defect, a defect growing out of a corrupt religion. But when we take into consideration the times when they existed, when we remember that the light of revelation had then scarcely dawned upon the world, the wonder is not they were defective but that they ap- proached so near the most approved modern systems. Those nations have certainly set us a noble example of zeal and energy, temperance and frugality, chastity and self-sacrificing devotion to country, and such as is rarely met with upon the scroll of modern history. And had they possessed a sound religion they might have wrought out for the world the problem, of which the last eighteen hundred years have only disclosed the first principles. But the formation of a system of education that shall give a right direction, and develop in harmonious pro- portions all the faculties of the soul, a system that shall inculcate truth and patriotism, and cultivate the social and domestic affections, love to God and good will to men, has been reserved to modern time.
Such a system we may well conceive to have had its birth in the minds of those illustrious subjects of whom the sovereigns of Europe were not worthy, and who fol- lowing the guidance of the star of hope were directed to this western wilderness, where they laid the foundation of institutions, such as the world before had never seen. These men appear to have been raised up for the express purpose of demonstrating to the world man's capacity for self-government. Their plans were laid after mature deliberation, and every step in their development exhib-
21
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ited almost superhuman wisdom and foresight. And in no one thing is their sagacity more clearly seen than in the establishment of the free schools of New-England. Without these the best constitution and laws that man or even angels could form, would be but a dead letter upon the statute books of the State. Laws, to be effec- tual in a republican form of government, must be under- stood and appreciated by the mass of the people. And this pre-supposes a certain amount of intelligence, of in- tellectual and moral culture, such as the free schools of our land are well calculated to promote. A government like ours could not be sustained a single day were it not for the influence of our schools. This our fathers saw, and while they have given us the best government on the earth, they have at the same time given us the means for perpetuating and perfecting it.
The history of our common school system is interest- ing, from the fact, that by this we have a certain clue to the intelligence of the people, at every period, from the early settlement of the country. But to enter up- on this and give a detailed account of its rise and grad- ual development, would be entirely foreign to our pur- pose. But we shall merely notice the progress of edu- cation and the means employed for its promotion within the limits of Troy.
It will be remembered that in the grant of these town- ships, one lot, or one hundred acres of land, was reserved in each for the benefit of the schools. These lots were disposed of at an early period and the interest expended for schools. At what time Monadnock No. V. sold her lot, we have not learned, but at a meeting of the propri- etors as early as 1770, "It was voted that William Bar- ker, Isaac McAllester, and Richard Robberts, be a com- mittee to expend the interest of the school lot in school ing the children." Fitzwilliam sold her lot in 1778, for eighty-five pounds, the interest of which, five pounds
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two shillings, was laid out for the support of schools. As, at that time, no school-houses had been built in ei- ther of these townships, the schools had to be kept in private rooms. One of the first three schools in Monad- nock No. V. was kept in the house of Phinehas Farrar, in the winter of 1770-71, under the direction of Wil- liam Barker, as committee. Who the teacher was it is not easy to determine, but is is supposed to have been James Brewer. Another school was kept the same win- ter in the neighborhood of Dea. Fife, but it is not now known in whose house. From that time to 1789, the income of the school lot was committed to the care of the selectmen, and although we can find no record of the manner in which it was disposed of, yet it is supposed to have been expended for schools under their direction. in different parts of the township, as fast as it accumu- lated. Of course these schools must have been very short, not more than four or six weeks, and even this small luxury could not have been enjoyed more than once in two or three years.
At a meeting of the proprietors, April 10, 1777, it was "voted to divide the town into four equal squadrons for schooling." Jedediah Taintor, Silas Fife, David Wheeler, and Theodore Mann, were chosen a committee to make the division and to report at a future meeting. On the 23d of June following, this committee made their report, which was accepted and adopted, and was as fol-
lows: "Beginning at the Centre Line at the East Side of the town thence running through the town; then Be- ginning on said Line Between the Sixth and Seventh Lots; thence Running on said Line to Fitzwilliam; for the North End Beginning at the South East Corner of Lot No. Sixty nine, thence Running Westerly to the North East Corner of Lot No. 53; thence turning South to the South East Corner of Lot 53, thence Running West to the town Line." There is nothing upon the
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HISTORY OF TROY.
record to show that any money in addition to the inter- est of the school lot was appropriated for schools until 1778, when one hundred pounds were raised, by tax, for this purpose. But this sum was dealt out very sparing- ly, for it appears by the report of the treasurer, James Brewer, two years after, that only twenty-five pounds of it had, even at that time, been expended. At that early period, the war, the building of a Meeting-House, the support of the ministry, and the making and repairing of highways were subjects which principally engrossed the public mind, consequently, but little provision was made for the support of schools. And it would seem that the town hardly came up to the requirements of the law, for in the warrant for a town meeting in April, 1781, an article was inserted, "To see if the town will provide a school or schools the present year, and raise money for that purpose, in order to keep the town from being presented." This article being called up in the meeting, the town voted not to make any provision for schools that year. But twelve pounds in 1782, twenty pounds in 1785, and fifteen pounds in 1787, were raised for schooling, and probably expended under the direction of the selectmen.
At a meeting in 1788, a vote was passed "to squadron out the town anew for schooling," and Oliver Wright, Reuben Ward, Phinehas Farrar, Ebenezer Temple, and Moses Tucker, were chosen a committee to make the di- vision. It is evident that this committee attended to the duty assigned to them, and that their report was adopted by the town, but as this cannot now be found, we have no means of knowing the limits of the new squadrons. On the 15th of December following, the town "Voted, that Each Squadron should build thereon School-houses as near the Centre as possibly could be convenient; Voted, that the Selectmen shall appoint the Place to build in case of Disagreement in any Squadron in Town;
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Voted, that the Selectmen shall make the Rate for each Squadron; Voted, that every School House shall be built by the first of December next." Whether these votes were complied with does not readily appear, but it is very certain that no school-house was built within the present limits of Troy during this period. At the an- nual meeting in March, 1789, the town voted to raise thirty pounds for schooling, and at a meeting in May following, a vote prevailed that "each squadron should draw their proportion of the school money, and lay it out as they think proper for schooling." About this time an effort was made by a few of the friends of edu- cation to establish a Grammar School. Accordingly, they got an article inserted in the warrant for the meet- ing last mentioned, "To see if the town will have a Grammar School for one year, and raise money for that purpose in addition to what is raised." But the article was not favorably received, and was therefore "passed over."
As the town became more thickly settled, many fami- lies, especially in the outskirts, could receive but little benefit from the schools by the former arrangement, and it was found necessary to re-district the town. There- fore, at a meeting April 21, 1794, it was "voted, to re- squadron the town for schooling," and the following committee were chosen for this purpose, viz .: "Lt. Oli- ver Wright, Lt. Reuben Ward, Dea. Stone, Gideon Newton, Robert Worsley, Hugh Mason, Theophilus Howard, Moses Tucker, and David Wheeler." At a special meeting on the 10th of May following, this com- mittee made their report, which was adopted by the town. And the following is that part of the report which relates to territory, the most of which is now in Troy :
21*
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HISTORY OF TROY.
"SOUTHWEST DISTRICT:
JOSEPHI TOLMAN,
ISAAC ROBINS,
BENJAMIN TOLMAN,
WILLIAM BARKER,
JOSEPH CUTTING,
MR. ALEXANDER,
WARREN WARNER,
JOHN BARKER,
JOIIN GARFIELD,
JAMES DEAN,
BENONI ROBINS,
GIDEON ALEXANDER, AND
TALMON KNIGHTS,
DAVID WHEELER,
FOR THE COMMITTEE.
SOUTHEAST DISTRICT:
LT. REUBEN WARD,
HEZEKIAH COOLIDGE.
DANIEL LAWRENCE,
ABRAHAM COOLIDGE,
JONATIIAN LAWRENCE,
JONATHAN WHIPPLE,
IIUGH THOMPSON,
CAPT. JOSEPH FROST,
DILLINGTON PIIELPS,
JOSEPH FRENCH, AND
SIMON PIPER,
SILAS FIFE,
GEORGE FARRAR,
FOR THE COMMITTEE.
SOUTH DISTRICT:
ICHABOD SHAW,
JOSEPHI GOULD,
EsQ ROOT,
JACOB NEWELL,
EBENEZER BACON,
REUBEN NEWELL,
JONATHAN BALL,
HUGH MASON,
JOIIN ROGERS,
JAMES NEWELL,
LAWSON MORE,
THEODORE MANN,
ISAAC GOULD,
JOHN PARKIIURST,
DANIEL CUTTING,
CALVIN GOODENOUGHI,
DANIEL GOULD,
WILLIAM BRUCE, AND
DANIEL GOULD, JUNR.,
ELI GOULD, FOR THE COMMITTEE."
The Southwest District immediately made prepara- tions for building a school-house. A meeting was called, and an appropriation made, and Warren Warner, who at that time lived in the district, was employed to build the house; and by the first of January, it was so nearly completed that it was occupied for the winter school.
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HISTORY OF TROY.
This was a small building only about eighteen feet square, and the walls of the room were wainscoted with pine boards; and there was no ceiling, consequently, the tim- bers in the upper part were left bare. There were two long benches on one side of the room for the large schol- ars, with low seats in front for the smaller ones. About two years after this, the house was clapboarded, but it was never painted. It stood in the northwest corner of the orchard now owned by Jonas Bemis, and, as will soon be seen, was the second school-house built within the limits of Troy.
In March, 1796, the South District voted to build a school-house, and raised $46.66 for this purpose. Whether this small sum covered the whole expense, does not appear from the records, but it is certain that a house was soon built, and its location was on the west side of the road nearly opposite to the residence of Lem- uel Brown. This was never clapboarded nor painted, but the inside was finished similar to the house last des- cribed, only in addition to the two long benches at the end of the room opposite the fire-place, there was one on either side, and a common table took the place of the teacher's desk. This was used for a school-house till 1806, when the district sold it and united with a contig- uous district in the north part of Fitzwilliam, and sent their children to the school-house which stood several years a few rods west of the Marshall barn. This dis- trict raised $143 towards building the new school-house, and this sum is supposed to have been about one-half of the cost of the building. The house first built, after ex- changing owners several times, was purchased by Jabez Butler, who converted it into a dwelling-house, and it now constitutes a part of that owned and occupied by Winthrop Knights.
A school-house was built in the Southeast District the same year, but we have no means of knowing the cost of
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HISTORY OF TROY.
it. It was located near where there is now a watering trough, between the present school-house in District No. 3. and the late residence of Daniel Cutting, Esq. This house was burnt in the winter of 1806, and the follow- ing spring the district commenced to build a new one, and raised $100 for this purpose; but the cost exceeded the appropriation, and in 1808, $57 more were raised to complete the work which had been commenced. This house was built on the north side of the road only a few rods west of the residence of Henry A. Porter. A short time before this, the school districts in Marlboro' had been numbered, and they were afterwards distinguished by their number instead of their locality. In the order, the Southwest District was No. 4; the South, No. 5, and the Southeast, No. 6, and these numbers were re- tained until the new arrangement under the jurisdiction of the town of Troy.
In consequence of many of the early records of the town of Fitzwilliam having been destroyed, especially that part of them which related to the schools, we are left very much in doubt respecting the nature of the first efforts of the people to establish schools in that town. The town was divided into squadrons at an early period, but the precise date, or limits of the divisions, we are unable to fix, but from some allusions to them in exist- ing records, it is evident that there were nine squadrons, and that three of these were wholly or in part upon ter- ritory now in Troy. The North, Northwest, and North- east Squadrons comprised, severally, the most that is now included in School Districts Nos. 2, 5, and 6.
The first school-houses in Fitzwilliam were built by the town, for the use of several squadrons, in 1784. How many were built we are not informed, but probably not more than three or four, and these in the larger squadrons. The amount of money expended for schools at this time we cannot determine, but quite likely con-
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siderable more than the interest of the school lot. In 1789, the Legislature passed an "Act for regulating Schools in this State," and by this, each town was re- quired to raise five pounds on every twenty shillings, in the Proportion Act, to be expended for the support of schools. And two years after, an Act was passed in ad- dition to this, which made it obligatory upon the town to raise seven pounds ten shillings on every twenty eshillings, in the Proportion Act, instead of five pounds, and this was to be appropriated in the same way and manner. Fitzwilliam probably raised fully the amount required by these Acts, for in later years, from 1794, up to the time of the incorporation of Troy, it appears ยท by her records, which are nearly entire through this pe- riod, that she was liberal in her appropriations for the support of schools, and raised annually from four to six hundred dollars for this purpose.
The first school-house on land now in Troy, was built by the town of Fitzwilliam, in the year 1790, in the North Squadron, and it stood on the east side of the road between Daniel Farrar's and Moses Cutting's .* This was a small house with a hipped roof, and was never clapboarded. The chimney and fire-place were built of stone; and there was a large stone hearth which formed nearly half of the flooring. There was a long bench at one end of the room, and one. on each of the two sides, for the use of the large scholars, and there were smaller seats in front for the younger portion of the school. In the year 1800, by a vote of the town, this squadron was divided "at the Brook between Mr. David White's and Mr. Jonathan Capron's House." The house just des- cribed, then remained unoccupied until 1806, when it was sold to David White, who removed and attached it to the west end of his house, and it now forms a part of the old buildings on the White farm. Soon after the
* Now Lovell Rugg's.
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distriet was divided, the house near the Marshall barn was commenced, but not being completed in season for the winter school, this was kept in the house of Walter Capron. The new school-house was built by Elijah and Isaac Fuller, and was finished early in 1803, and cost about $250. Another school-house was built very soon after by the south division, and this was located on a road which at that time led from Joseph Forristall's to Aaron Wright's. The floor of this house was elevated at one end of the room, and upon this inclined plane were placed the benches, of which there were four tiers, separated by isles. The benches, which were only of sufficient length to accommodate two scholars, were quite an improvement upon the long benches of the school- . houses first built.
The first school-house in the Northeast Squadron was built as early as 1790; and it stood in the valley a lit- tle south of the residence of Samuel Griffin, and the site is now within the limits of Fitzwilliam. This house was burnt in the winter of 1806, and at a district meet- ing on the 19th of June following, $175 were voted to be raised for building a new school-house. This was built on the south side of the road between the present residence of Jonathan B. Clark and the Griffin farm. After the first house was burnt and before the new one was built, two terms of school were kept in the dwelling- house now owned by Ivers Emerson. The new house was completed in 1807, and from that time the district was considered well accommodated, until after the divis- ion of the town in 1815.
The schools in the Northwest Squadron, for some years, were taught in a log-house which stood a few rods east of the Bishop house. The house was built by Aga- bus Bishop, and was occupied by him until he built the framed house, in which he afterwards lived and died. At the annual town meeting in 1804, a vote was passed
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