USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Plymouth > History of Plymouth, New Hampshire; vol. I. Narrative--vol. II. Genealogies, Volume I > Part 26
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Col. Samuel Holmes was born in Hadlyme, Conn., 1750, and settled in Campton, 1772. By industry and frugality he acquired a fair estate. He was a soldier in the Revolution, a colonel in the militia, a town officer, and a representative. He gave the land for a parsonage in Campton, and contributed liberally for the support
1 The vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers was not filled. There were six trustees at the dissolution of the corporation. Samuel Holmes was the president and treasurer of the board of trustees until his death. His successors as president were Arthur Livermore, William Web- ster, and John Rogers. The treasurer was not always a trustee. There was a vacancy in the office several years. William Green served five years and was succeeded by Greenough McQuesten, who was in office when the corporation was dissolved. The secretaries of the board were Dr. John Rogers, Nathaniel P. Rogers, William Green, Nathaniel P. Rogers a second term, Rev. George Punchard, and William W. Russell.
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of preaching. While the discussion concerning a permanent acad- emy in the Pemigewasset valley was under way, he donated five hundred dollars to promote the enterprise, and consented that the institution should be located in Plymouth. In his honor the academy was named. He was one of the incorporators and was the president of the board of trustees until his death. He died in Campton, Jan. 4, 1823.
Rev. Robert Fowle, son of Jacob and Alice Fowle, was born in Marblehead, Mass., 1766, baptized August 31, 1766, and graduated from Harvard University, 1786. He was the Episcopalian clergy- man of Holderness many years. He was ordained a deacon Dec. 13, 1789, and priest June 29, 1791. He entered upon the duties of the ministry at Holderness, 1789, and was a rector of the church fifty-six years. He died in Holderness, Oct. 12, 1847.
Rev. William Rolfe was born in Plaistow, March 14, 1773, and graduated from Dartmouth College, 1799. He was settled over the Congregational Church in Groton, as a colleague of Rev. Thomas Page, Nov. 9, 1803. Rev. Mr. Page died May 3, 1813, and Mr. Rolfe continued pastor of the church until his death in June, 1828.
Rev. Benjamin P. Stone was also a preceptor, and will be noticed in that connection.
Col. Rufus Graves Lewis, son of Col. Moses and Sally (Martin) Lewis, was born in Bridgewater (now Bristol), Sept. 14, 1800. He lived in New Hampton, and was a popular and influential citizen. His father removed to Gainesville, Ala., in 1815, and Colonel Rufus generally spent the winter season in the South, where he owned large estates. He was a liberal donor to the Holmes Plymouth Academy and to the New Hampton Literary and Biblical Institute. He was a Congregationalist, attending church at Bristol. Dartmouth College conferred the honorary degree A.M. in 1860. He died in New Hampton, Sept. 27, 1865. Hon. Edwin C. Lewis of Laconia is a son of Col. Rufus G. Lewis.
Rev. Increase S. Davis, son of Ebenezer and Sarah (Sumner) Davis, was born in Brookline, Mass., May 6, and was baptized at
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the First Parish Church May 14, 1797. His mother was a sister of Increase Sumner, Governor of Massachusetts, 1797-99. Mr. Davis was a wheelwright in Roxbury, and later became a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. After leaving the academy he was a wheelwright, school teacher, and a farmer in Newton, Mass. In 1827 he entered upon the study of theology with Rev. Jonathan Homer, D.D., of Newton. He was ordained and settled at Dor- chester, Oct. 9, 1828, and dismissed June 19, 1833. He was acting pastor at Orford, December, 1834 to May, 1839; at Pier- mont, April, 1840 to April, 1860. During the Civil War he removed to Nevinsville, Iowa, and was a preacher in the vicinity several years. He was noted for physical vigor, and in his paro- chial labors he walked long distances. In 1863 he walked eighty miles to attend the general conference at Des Moines, Iowa. He died Nov. 24, 1864.
The next meeting of the board of trustees was held Sept. 2, 1822. The president, Samuel Holmes, was not present, and Arthur Liver- more was chosen president pro tempore. In the proceedings of this meeting is found the first reference to the selection of a principal and the inauguration of a school. Stephen Grant, Dr. Samuel Rogers, and Nathaniel Peabody Rogers were delegated to " obtain a preceptor for the year ensuing," and in October, 1823, the same committee were again instructed in the same manner. The report of this committee was accepted and placed on file. The report is lost, and the name of the teacher or teachers, if any were employed, cannot be stated.
There is no record of a meeting in the year 1824. In July, 1825, Stephen Grant was requested to visit Dartmouth College and procure a preceptor. He was authorized to offer a salary of three hundred and fifty dollars. He employed Samuel A. Burns, a son of Samuel Burns of Rumney. He was born June 21, 1802, and graduated from Dartmouth, 1826. He was principal of the academy one year. If not the first principal, he is the first one of whom a record is preserved.
At a meeting of the trustees Sept. 8, 1827, a committee was
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chosen to procure a suitable boarding-house for the preceptor; the trustees also directed that a new door to the academy building, with a new lock and key, be provided, and ordered some other repairs. At a meeting two weeks later the records assert "Received and accepted the statement of Col. William Webster, agent to procure repairs to be done on the Academy house, the expense of which was $25.00. This and other expenses in all $39.94, the trustees assumed to pay, assistance from the liberal minded in the neighborhood was voted to be solicited and the trustees voted to share the remainder of the expense equally among themselves."
The next principal was Mr. Abbot, who opened the school Monday, Sept. 17, 1827. Of the terms made with him the trustees made a memorandum. " In a conversation with Mr. Abbot, the preceptor engaged for the coming year, we gave him to understand in case, at the end of the first quarter, the prospect should be that he would receive short of $500, that on notice he might consider the agreement at an end and terminate the school."
Mr. Abbot found that " the prospect that he would receive short of $500" was more than a conjecture. He resigned at the close of the winter term. His successor was Ira Young, who entered upon his labor in Holmes Plymouth Academy, Monday, March 10, 1828, but he remained only a part of a year.
Ira Young was born in Lebanon, May 23, 1801. He graduated at Dartmouth, 1828, and when he began teaching in Plymouth he was an undergraduate in the senior class. After his brief labor in this town he was a tutor three years and a professor twenty-five years in Dartmouth College. He died in Hanover, Sept. 13, 1858.
The next preceptor was Milo P. Jewett, who assumed charge of the academy in September, 1828, and remained one year. He was a son of Dr. Calvin and Sally (Parker) Jewett and was born in St. Johnsbury, Vt., April 27, 1808. He was a graduate of Dartmouth, 1828, and a classmate of Prof. Ira Young. He was subsequently distinguished in educational affairs. (See Vol- ume II.)
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From the close of the administration of Mr. Jewett in the sum- mer of 1829, the academy probably was closed until the early autumn of 1835. If any teachers were employed during an inter- regnum of six years the records are silent upon the subject. In the meantime the trustees were not indifferent and it will appear that they were not idle. The palmy days of Holmes Plymouth Acad- emy were yet in the future. In January, 1834, Rev. George Punchard was elected a trustee. His interest in educational affairs and the enthusiasm of his buoyant nature were contagious. At once the trustees manifested an enlarged ambition and the whole community became deeply interested. The fortunes of Holmes Plymouth Academy were reflected in golden hues.
The old academy building was removed, a new and an enlarged building was erected, additional land was purchased, and two boarding-houses were built for the accommodation of the institu- tion. In the work of rebuilding the academy buildings the citizens of Plymouth, with the approval of the trustees, assumed a leading part and in a great measure bore the burden of a substantial under- taking. They chose two committees to prosecute the work, naming one citizen and two of the trustees on each committee. In this work the trustees were enlisted and rendered efficient service as citizens, and the records of the corporation for a season are silent. In the end, as soon as the enthusiasm of the citizens had become satiated by achievement, the corporation was called upon to accept the subscriptions, which were large, and to assume the cost of the land and the new buildings, which were larger. The citizens re- tired. The academy never recovered from the burden of debt then assumed and never was able to meet the financial obligations which were created under the voluntary administration of the citizens.
The record of the trustees in the completion of the work begun, and in ratifying whatever had been done, is clearly stated in the book of records: -
At a meeting of the board holden at the office of the Pemigewasset Bank, August 29, 1835.
Voted that William W. Russell, Ezra W. Avery [Campton], and John
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Rogers be a committee to complete the Academy House and that their former doings in removing the former building and erecting the one now in progress be ratified and accepted.
Voted that William W. Russell, George W. Ward and John Rogers be a committee to purchase land for a boarding house and to complete the house now being erected on the land purchased of John Bailey, and that the said purchase be ratified and accepted.
Voted that said Russell, Avery and Rogers, committee, be authorized to draw on the treasurer for any sum not exceeding (with the amount subscribed) the sum of fifteen hundred dollars.
Voted that said Russell, Ward, and Rogers, committee, be authorized to draw on the treasurer for any sum not exceeding three thousand dollars.
Connected with and explanatory of these proceedings there is entered on a page of the records, dated August, 1835, the following statement : -
The trustees of Holmes Plymouth Academy, regarding the interests of religion as well as the education of our youth (prospective objects embraced in the charter of this Academy), and viewing the present as a favorable time to enlarge the accommodations of the institution, met for consultation at sundry times. The inhabitants of the village, in the autumn of 1834, subscribed towards the enlargement of the Academy building and chose a committee to superintend the business. Two out of three of the committee were trustees. The materials were procured, and in the spring and summer of 1835 the Academy Building was re- built. The Rev. Mr. Punchard was appointed an agent to collect funds and procure donations and subscriptions. A contract was made and concluded for the purchase of three acres of land and the build- ings thereon and a spacious boarding house projected and a committee appointed to purchase the materials and erect a house.
It is known that a considerable sum was freely given by the citi- zens of Plymouth and the surrounding towns to meet a part of the expense of the new buildings, and it will remain a subject of regret that a list of the offerings of generous men and women is not pre- served. In 1837 Col. Rufus G. Lewis presented the corporation sixteen hundred dollars, and the trustees appointed a committee " to present the thanks of the board for his liberal gift."
During the preparation for rebuilding, the legislature in June, 1835, passed an aet changing the name of the corporation to " The
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Plymouth Literary and Theological Seminary." The trustees held two meetings in consideration of a change of the name of the institution and unanimously voted not to accept the act. From 1SOS to 1844, the limits of its existence, the corporation was " The Holmes Plymouth Academy." The names " Teachers Seminary and Theological Institute," " Teachers Seminary," and " Teachers Seminary and Classical Institution," which appear upon the cata- logues, are misnomers.
The school was opened in the new buildings in the autumn of 1835. George Cook, who remained one year, was the principal. He was a son of Rev. Phineas and Sophia (Grout) Cook, born in Keene, Dec. 26, 1811; graduated from Dartmouth, 1832. He was pastor of the Congregational Church, Amherst, Mass., 1839-52. Subsequently he was president of the University of Tennessee. He died March 9, 1889. The catalogue for the year of Mr. Cook's administration contains the names of 168 students. Of these 62 were residents of Plymouth.
In 1835 and 1836 the theological experiment was essayed and abandoned. The catalogue for 1836 is styled " A Catalogue of the Teachers Seminary and Theological Institute." It contains the following grave announcement : -
THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. This department of the institute is de- signed for the instruction of a class of men found in many of our Churches of sound understanding, and enlightened and active piety and of good report, who are so far advanced in life, or are so embarrassed with families, or by other circumstances, as to render it inexpedient for them to undertake a protracted and thorough course of academical, col- legiate, and theological training, and to afford them the advantages of one, two, or three years study, with direct reference to the duties of the ministry, in such fields as they are designed to occupy. The length of their course must be regulated by reference to their previous attainments. While in this Institution, their time will be occupied, chiefly, in the study of standard English writers ; - such, for example, as have written most ably upon Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Logic, Rhetoric, the Di- vine Existence, the Christian Revelation, Biblical Exposition, and Sys- tematic Theology ; - and the composition, criticism, and delivery of original essays and sermons, and the hearing of lectures, upon pastoral duties, and such other topics as may be judged necessary.
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No charges will be made for the instruction of any who are in indi- gent circumstances.
The Rev. Benjamin P. Stone has been appointed Professor in this department, and has entered upon the duties of his office.
Rev. Benjamin P. Stone was the theological department. His name stands first in the faculty and he is called " Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy and Theology." The catalogue pre- sents no evidence that there were any students in the department, and the catalogue of 1838 announces that " the original design of making theology prominent has, on account of circumstances, been modified."
The principal of the female department was Mary E. Ellison, who remained three or four years. Associated with Mr. Cook the last two terms of the year was George Baker Jewett, " teacher in the languages," who remained the following year. He was a relative of Rev. George Punchard, a son of Paul and Eleanor (Punchard) Jewett, born in Lebanon, Me., Sept. 11, 1818. After teaching in Plymouth he entered Amherst College and graduated 1840; graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, 1842. He was a professor of Latin and modern languages in Amherst College and pastor of the First Congregational Church, Nashua, 1854-56. He is the author of Baptism versus Immersion, and Critique on the Greek Text of the New Testament as edited by the American Bible Union. He edited the fifth and last volume of Punchard's His- tory of Congregationalism. He died June 9, 1886.
Rev. Benjamin Perkins Stone, D.D., son of David Stone, was born in Reading, Vt., Feb. 11, 1801; Middlebury College, 1828, Andover Theological Seminary, 1831; ordained and installed pastor of the Congregational Church of Franklin, May 26, 1831, dismissed May 2, 1832; installed pastor of Congregational Church of Campton, June 12, 1833, dismissed Sept. 11, 1837. It was during his ministry in Campton that he was elected a trustee and was a professor in Holmes Plymouth Academy. He was secretary of the New Hampshire Home Missionary Society, with a residence in Concord, 1837-59, and also general agent, 1837-54. He was VOL. I .- 20
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editor of The Congregational Journal, Concord, 1854-62. As an agent of the Home Missionary Society, he travelled sixty-five thousand miles in New Hampshire. D.D. Middlebury College, 1854. He died in Concord, Nov. 26, 1870.
A catalogue for the year 1837, if printed, has not been found. At this time Timothy Dwight Porter Stone was an associate prin- cipal and efficient instructor a few terms. He was a son of Rev. Timothy and Mary (Merwin) Stone, and was born in Cornwall, Conn., July 27, 1811; Amherst College, 1834. He was principal of The Concord Literary Institution and Teachers Seminary, 1834-36, and came from Concord to Plymouth in April, 1837. He studied theology with Rev. Dr. Bouton of Concord, and gradu- ated at Andover Theological Seminary, 1842. With the exception of brief pastorates at Holliston, Marblehead, and Stow, Mass., through life he was an instructor in many prosperous institutions of learning, and also a professor of elocution. He is author of Memoir of Mr. Webster, Stories to Teach me how to Think, Child's Reader, Stone's Elocution, and other works.
The beginning of a new era in the history of the academy is introduced by a vote of the trustees, Feb. 26, 1836, to elect Samuel Read Hall principal and to offer him a salary of six hundred and fifty dollars per annum.
The coming of Mr. Hall, for unknown reasons, was delayed, and in the meantime Mr. Jewett was retained, and possibly others were secured. In January, 1837, the overtures to Mr. Hall were re- newed and the proffered salary of six hundred and fifty dollars was accepted. During the administration of Mr. Hall the insti- tution was styled in the prospectus and catalogue " The Teachers Seminary." The faculty for the year ending 1838 were: -
Rev. Samuel R. Hall, Principal. Mr. Joel B. Stow, Mathematical Teacher. Mr. John Lawrence, Classical Teacher.
Miss Mary E. Ellison, Principal Female Department.
Miss Emily P. Copeland, Instructor in Instrumental and Vocal Music and Calisthenics.
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Mr. J. P. Rogers Teachers in Chirography. Mr. R. W. Lane
Mr. E. W. Noyes, Assistant Pupil. Mr. F. S. Thompson, Cabinet Keeper and Librarian.
There are 248 names of pupils in the catalogue, arranged as follows: -
Senior Class 0
Middle Class 10
Junior Class 13
Preparatory Class and General Department 115
Ladies 110
The faculty for the year ending 1839 presents a few changes. Messrs. Hall, Stow, Lawrence, Rogers, and Thompson are re- tained in the same positions. The new names are: -
Mr. Phineas A. Bean, Assistant in Mathematical Department.
Mr. John Lane, Instructor in Chirography.
Mr. Henry S. Farwell, Instructor in Sacred Music.
Miss Arethusa Hall, Principal Female Department.
Miss Racillia B. Anderson and Miss Apphia P. Judd, Assistants.
Miss Clarissa Stow, Teacher Primary Department.
The number of students named in the catalogue is 201, classified as follows : -
Senior Class 7
Middle Class 10
Junior Class 11
Classical and General Department 87
Ladies 86
Mr. Hall closed his labors in the academy early in 1840, and was succeeded by Joseph G. Hoyt, who remained one year. The cata- logue of the school is the only recorded history of the year. The records of the trustees are silent. In the catalogue the name of the school is now " The Teachers Seminary and Classical Institution." The instructors for the year were: -
Joseph G. Hoyt, A.B., Principal. Mr. William H. Seagrave, Teacher in English. Mr. William P. Webster, Teacher in English.
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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTHI.
Miss Arethusa Hall, Principal of Female Department.
Miss Racillia B. Anderson, Assistant.
Miss Apphia P. Judd, Teacher Primary Department.
Mr. Jeremiah D. Bullard, Instructor in Sacred Music.
The whole number of pupils is 156; gentlemen, 101; ladies, 55. Of these, thirty were included in the classical department.
From 1835 to 1841 the faculty was large and expensive. The institution was conducted with more ambition than discretion. The receipts from tuition and from donations failed to meet cur- rent expenses, and the original burden of debt hung like a shadow over the fortunes of the academy. Before the incidents in the dis- solution of Holmes Plymouth Academy are stated, a brief notice of members of the faculty will be given.
Rev. Samuel Read Hall, D.D., was principal of Holmes Ply- mouth Academy three years. He was a son of Rev. Samuel Read and Elizabeth (Hall) Hall and was born in Croydon, Oct. 27, 1795. He pursued a course of study at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, and received the degree A.M. from Dartmouth College, 1839, and LL.D., University of Vermont, 1865. He studied theology with Rev. Walter Chapin of Woodstock, Vt., and with Rev. William Eaton of Fitchburg, Mass., and was licensed to preach by the Worcester North Association of Congregational Ministers at Princeton, Mass., 1822. He was stationed as a missionary at Concord, Vt., and in March, 1823, he established a seminary for the instruction of teachers. To the little school in Concord, Vt., has been given the honor of being the first normal school in America. In June, 1830, he assumed the charge of the English normal department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. He came from Andover to Plymouth, 1837, and was installed over the Congregational Church in Craftsbury, Vt., July 8, 1840, where he labored thirteen years. Subsequently he preached in Brownington, Vt., until 1867, when he resigned on account of age and infirmity. At the organization of Oberlin College he was appointed the first president of that institution, but he did not assume the duties of the appointment. He died at Brownington, Vt., June 24, 1877.
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Rev. John Lawrence, son of Hubbard and Mary (Goss) Law- rence, was born in St. Johnsbury, Vt., May 21, 1814. He was a ยท student in Dartmouth, 1836-37, but did not graduate. He was an instructor of classics in Holmes Plymouth Academy, 1838 and 1839. He was a student at Andover Theological Seminary, 1840 and 1841, but did not graduate. From 1841 to 1845 he was a teacher in Westfield and Springfield, Mass., and in Lyndon, Vt., 1845. He was acting pastor at Alstead, Hooksett, and Salem, and in Carlisle, Mass., 1853-59. He preached a short time in several other places and died at Elyria, Ohio, May 15, 1894. He is author of Family of John Lawrence, 1847, 64 pages, with sup- plements, 1857, 1869, 1876, 1881, History of Stanstead County, Canada, 1874, and Care for the Soul, a sermon, 1886.
Joel Buchanan Stow, son of Deacon Joel Stow, was born in Hillsborough, June 30, 1813. He was a graduate of the nor- mal department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and was a teacher in Holmes Plymouth Academy from early in 1838 to 1840. While a resident of this town he married, in the autumn of 1838, Lucretia Brown of Ipswich, Mass., and took charge of one of the boarding-houses belonging to the academy. He removed to the West and was there a teacher many years.
Miss Clarissa Stow, a teacher in the primary department, 1839, was an elder sister of Joel B. Stow, and was born in Hillsborough, Oct. 25, 1798.
Joseph Gibson Hoyt, LL.D., was a son of Joshua F. Hoyt of ' Dunbarton, where he was born Jan. 19, 1815; Yale, 1840. He was principal of the academy one year, and subsequently was a well-remembered and efficient tutor in Phillips Academy, Exeter, eighteen years. He was chancellor of Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., 1859-62. He died Nov. 26, 1862. He was 'a dele- gate from Exeter in the Constitutional Convention of 1850. LL.D., Dartmouth, 1859.
John Prentice Rogers, teacher of penmanship, 1838 and 1839, was a son of John Rogers, Esq., of Plymouth. (See Volume II.)
Redford Weare Lane, teacher of penmanship, 1838, was a son
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of Joseph and Elizabeth (Lang) Lane of Sanbornton, where he was born Dec. 26, 1808. He taught penmanship in other institu- tions, and after 1850 he was paymaster of the Jackson corporation of Nashua. He was an alderman, and a deacon of the Pearl Street Church. He died at Nashua, March 16, 1872.
Enoch W. Noyes, son of Crisp Bradbury Noyes, was born in Plymouth, July 12, 1812. He was a student and an assistant. (See Volume II.)
William Pingrey Webster, son of Walter Raleigh Webster, was born in Bridgewater, Jan. 20, 1817. He was a student and assistant. (Sce Volume II.)
William Henry Seagrave, son of John and Mary (Scott) Sea- grave, was born in Uxbridge, Mass., Jan 6, 1815. He was a student several terms and in 1840 was a member of the faculty. Subsequently he was many years the cashier of a bank in Slaters- ville, R. I.
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