USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H. : containing the address by Charles Mason, and the proceedings at the centennial celebration, June 17, 1852, with a register of families > Part 47
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1891
James Allison Rev. George W. Patten
1892
Henry C. Piper George W. Patten Lilian G. Appleton
1893
George W. Patten Lilian G. Appleton Henry D. Learned
1894
Lilian G. Appleton Henry D. Learned James Allison
1895
Henry D. Learned James Allison Dr. Curtis A. Wood
1896
James Allison Curtis A. Wood Henry D. Learned
1897
Curtis A. Wood Henry D. Learned James Allison
1898
Henry D. Learned James Allison Lilian G. Appleton
1899
James Allison Lilian G. Appleton Henry D. Learned
1900
Lilian G. Appleton Henry D. Learned Curtis A. Wood
1901
Curtis A. Wood James Allison
1902
James Allison Thomas S. Lynch
-
1903
James Allison Thomas S. Lynch Mary K. Gowing
1904 Thomas S. Lynch John E. Baldwin James Allison
1905
Milton D. Mason James Allison Archie R. Garfield
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HISTORY OF DUBLIN
1906
James Allison Archie R. Garfield Dr. Alfred H. Childs
1907
Archie R. Garfield Milton D. Mason Fred. C. Gowing
1908
Milton D. Mason Fred. C. Gowing Archie R. Garfield
1909
Fred. C. Gowing Archie R. Garfield Rev. Henry A. Coolidge
1910
Archie R. Garfield Henry A. Coolidge Fred. C. Gowing
1911
Fred. C. Gowing Archie R. Garfield
1912
Archie R. Garfield Clifton E. Richardson
1913
Archie R. Garfield Clifton E. Richardson Wilfred M. Fiske
1914
Clifton E. Richardson Wilfred M. Fiske Robert C. Woodward
1915 Wilfred M. Fiske Robert C. Woodward Clifton E. Richardson
1916 Robert C. Woodward
Harry F. Mason Clesson E. Gowing
NOTE. Where a brace is used, in the preceding list, the first person named in it resigned, and the other was appointed in his place. The title "Rev." is used before the name of a clergyman the first time that his name appears, not afterwards with respect to the same person. The same is true of the title "Dr." before the name of a physician. Rev. Edward Sprague, Rev. Levi W. Leonard, D.D., Rev. Wm. F. Bridge, Rev. George M. Rice, Rev. Hasket D. Catlin, and Rev. George W. Patten were pastors of the First Congregational (now Unitarian) Church. Rev. James Tisdale, Rev. Henry A. Kendall, Rev. Alonzo Hayes, Rev. Andrew J. Fosdick, and Rev. Henry A. Coolidge were pastors of the Trinitarian Congregational Church. Rev. Warren Cooper, Rev. William W. Lovejoy, Rev. John Hunt, and Rev. Gideon S. Smith were pastors of the Baptist Church at Pottersville, which was in Harrisville after 1870. Rev. Daniel H. Babcock, Rev. William G. Tuttle, Rev. Lyman Marshall, and Rev. Charles M. Palmer were pastors of the Congregational Church at Harris- ville, which became a town in 1870.
In 1822, at the suggestion of one of the committee, Moses Adams, Jr., a printed form for returning the names, ages, books, and studies of pupils in the schools was delivered to each teacher. The requisite returns were made; and, with the aid of these returns, a full report of the condition of the schools, with suggestions for their improvement, was prepared and read at the annual town-meeting in March, 1823. Similar forms were furnished in subsequent years, and reports pre- pared and, with one exception, read at the annual meetings in March. The first report printed was that for the year 1842-43. It was printed at the expense of such individuals as chose to purchase it; but, the next year, the town voted that a sufficient number of copies of the report of the superintending school- committee be printed at the expense of the town to supply each family with one. The printing of the school report was
523
SCHOOLS
continued at the expense of the town to the time when town reports began to be printed; each voter, or tax-payer, receiv- ing a copy of the same, and the committee one hundred copies. For about forty years, these reports have been ineluded in the annual volume of town reports, printed by requirement of state law.
It will be perceived that most of the members of the school- committee in Dublin have been laymen; and the chairman of the committee for thirty-three years considered it due to them to say (in the former "History of Dublin") that, serving on said committee for many years, as several of them did, with punc- tuality and fidelity, gratuitously devoting much time to the examining of teachers and the inspection of schools, they were justly entitled to the grateful regards of those for whom they had thus labored. What Dr. Leonard wrote, at that time, would be equally true of those who have served in that capac- ity in the half century since those words were written in the former history. Dublin has always been fortunate in having, each year, a superintending school-committee that has ren- dered efficient service.
With the decrease of the population, there has been a de- crease of the number of pupils in the schools. In 1821, and till 1830, the whole number of pupils attending the several schools was about four hundred fifty each year. During the years following the above-named period, the number of pupils has varied; but, on the average, down to 1852, there had been not far from three hundred fifty in attendance each year, or about one-third of the population. The following is an extract from the conclusion of the school-report for 1850-51: -
"The reading of this report closes the thirtieth year in which the chairman of your committee [Rev. Dr. Leonard] has been engaged in superintending the schools in this town. He has made to them more than a thousand visits. He has spent much time in examining teachers and preparing reports, and, in other ways, endeavored to sustain and improve the schools. He says this in no spirit of boast- ing. It has been a labor which he loved, and it will ever remain a source of gratifying recollection. He has not labored alone and un- aided. His associates on the committee have been faithful and self- sacrificing; and, with no exceptions worth naming, the people of the town have extended a generous confidence to the measures and efforts of their superintending school-committee. Let the same har- monious action, and the same spirit of improvement, continue for another period of thirty years, and your schools will be so perfected that the period just closed will seem like a day of small things."
524
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
Another period of thirty years has passed, and the half of another thirty, since those memorable words of Dr. Leonard were written; but the work of that noble man and the per- manent effects of the methods of education which he intro- duced have suffered nothing by a comparison with any school work that has since been done in the town. The present schools are in excellent condition, the pupils are ably and thoroughly instructed, and the teachers, especially those who have been the longest in the service of the town, are the equals, in the same grades, of any teachers in the state.
The population of the town has continued to decrease. In 1890, the number of pupils of school age, as enumerated by the selectmen, was one hundred five. In 1900, the number was sixty-seven, which was a gain of ten over the previous year. In 1910, the largest school attendance was fifty-eight; in 1914, it had risen to eighty-five. This is a small number in comparison with the four hundred fifty of 1830, or even with the three hundred fifty, which was about the average attend- ance for many years previous to 1850. The causes of this de- cline in the number of children are various. Removals of families from the town, the practical extinction by death of others, the pitiably small number of children in modern fami- lies as compared with families of the olden time, and the fact that many of the old farms have been altogether abandoned. or sold to persons who occupy then only for a few months in the warm weather, are the chief reasons for the diminution in the number of pupils.
Of late years, there has been considerable agitation about the matter of consolidating all the schools in one. While some favor this plan, and employ plausible arguments to support their theories, there are others who determinedly oppose the idea. Those who live in the village, or many of them, would be pleased to see a large school in that section. Those who live on the farms in the outlying districts are quite likely to feel that a school in their own neighborhood is their greatest blessing, and that the loss of it would be the greatest calam- ity. Those who favor consolidation point out the pleasures of a large school, the concentration of the money, and the ability to hire high-priced teachers. Those who favor the retention of the rural schools point out the disadvantages attending the transportation of the children, the lack of that individual at- tention which a pupil can get in a small school, and the break- ing up of those neighborhood ties which have bound together
Samuel l. Derby.
525
SCHOOLS
scholars of the same school-district in the years that are past. The problem is still unsolved. Many modern superintendents, always alert for something new, favor consolidation. More conservative persons, who do not feel so sure that all new things are the best things, are in no hurry for the change.
Schools for instruction in what are termed the higher branches of education have been kept at various times since 1823, the year in which the first school of the kind was opened. In the town report issued, March 1, 1893, Mr. Henry C. Piper furnished an admirable "History of Education in Dublin." The valuable monograph is too lengthy for reproduction, in its entirety, in this history, but the editor has taken the liberty of drawing freely from its facts. He wishes to acknowledge the great work for the town which Mr. Piper rendered in the preparation of that paper. It contains an alphabetical list of all the teachers of Dublin whose names could be recovered, with the number of terms, so far as ascertainable, which each taught in Dublin, with the residence of each teacher. From this paper we shall copy the following list of schools of a higher grade which have been established in Dublin in various years, aided, in later years, by the Appleton fund, of which we shall soon speak. These schools have sometimes been called "select schools" and sometimes "high schools." In the prep- aration of the list, we wish also to acknowledge the loan of a valuable collection of papers by Warren L. Fiske, Esq., a veteran schoolteacher, who has been much interested in the town schools. Until very recently these select schools were in the autumn of the years named.
LIST OF SELECT, OR HIGH, SCHOOLS IN DUBLIN
YEARS NAMES OF TEACHERS
RESIDENCES OF TEACHERS
1823.
Levi W. Leonard
Dublin, N. H.
1828.
Samuel Barrett
Ashby, Mass.
1831.
Thomas Fisk
Dublin, N. H.
1835.
William C. Richards
Residence unknown
1837. Mark True .
Francestown, N. H.
1840. Thaddeus P. Mason
Dublin, N. H.
1842. George F. Clark .
Dublin, N. H.
1843.
Thaddeus P. Mason
Dublin, N. H.
1845.
Mark True
Francestown, N. H.
1847. Ransom N. Porter
Dublin, N. H.
1848. Henry C. Piper
Dublin, N. H.
1849. Ransom N. Porter
Dublin, N. H., with Mr. Piper
1850. John D. Crehore
Walpole, N. H.
526
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
YEARS NAMES OF TEACHERS
RESIDENCES OF TEACHERS
1851. Mark True
Francestown, N. H.
1853. Charles Corey, Jr.
Dublin, N. H.
1855. John Foster
Dublin, N. H.
1856. Henry C. Piper
Dublin, N. H.
1857.
William Hasleton
Boston, Mass.
1859.
Henry A. Blood
New Ipswich, N. H.
1863.
Charles C. Hall
Westmoreland, N. H.
C. H. Smith (Junior Depart- ment)
Dublin, N. H.
1866. Hosea M. Knowlton
Somerville, Mass.
1868. James E. Vose
Antrim, N. H.
1871.
Charles F. Ober
Milford, N. H.
1873.
Charles A. Esterbrooks
Boston, Mass.
1875.
Herbert D. Ryder
South Acworth, N. H.
1876. Charles A. Willard
St. Johnsbury, Vt.
1877.
Lyndon A. Smith
Norwich, Vt.
1879.
John B. Stacy .
Vershire, Vt.
1880. David J. Foster
Burlington, Vt.
1881. Emerson H. Smith
Tunbridge, Vt., Dartmouth student
1882. Fred. W. Doring
Perry, Me., Dartmouth student
1883.
Eliphalet F. Philbrick
Pittsfield, N. H., Dartmouth student
1884. Orson L. Manchester
From Illinois, Dartmouth student
1885. G. Howard Kelton
Hubbardston, Mass.
1889. Carrie A. Whittier
Deerfield Centre, N. H.
1891. George C. Smith (Selden)
Northwood, N. H.
(Last name changed from Smith to Selden)
1902. Gertrude C. Ellis
Keene, N. H.
All of these schools, except the one last recorded in the list, were of one term each, beginning in the autumn, or early winter, of the year named. The school, in 1902-03, taught by Miss Ellis, was in successful operation three terms, beginning in the early autumn of 1902 and continuing until late in the spring of 1903. The town, at the annual March meeting, in 1902, had made an appropriation for a high school, and the school-district, the same day, voted to establish a high school, with three terms each year. After an experiment of one year, however, it was found that there were so few pupils available for the purpose that the scheme was impractical. The plan was, therefore, abandoned after that year. Since then, pupils desiring to study in a high school are accommodated at such institutions in neighboring towns, and, in accordance with a law of the state, the school-district, which is coextensive with the whole town, pays the tuition of such pupils.
In accordance with a recent law of the state, towns can unite for the purpose of procuring supervisors of their schools.
1878.
Lyndon A. Smith
Norwich, Vt.
527
SCHOOLS
The salary which such a combination of towns can afford to pay is sufficient to secure the services of a competent scholar and educator to look after the interests of the schools. In former times, the superintending school-committee (later called a school-board), appointed each year, superintended the character and methods of instruction in the schools, besides examining the teachers with respect to their intellectual quali- fications to fill the positions for which they were engaged. This system worked admirably in Dublin when Dr. Leonard was at the head of the committee, and so long as able clergy- men and laymen who were themselves experienced teachers continued to serve in that capacity. The time came eventually when modern and more technical methods of imparting in- struction were used. It then seemed advisable to unite with other towns and procure the services of expert supervisors. The experiment, begun in 1901, has continued to the present time. The following is a list of those who have served as
SUPERVISORS OF THE DUBLIN SCHOOLS
1. Rev. Sullivan H. McCollester, D.D., of Marlborough, who served the towns of Dublin, Marlborough, Troy, and Fitzwilliam, in 1901-02. He was re-elected in 1902, but, in consequence of advancing years, he declined the honor. He was a graduate of Norwich University, pursued a course of study at the Harvard Divinity School, was an able preacher in the Universalist denomination, and a successful school- teacher for many years, and was, for a time, the president of Büchtel College in Ohio. He has resided, for many years, in his native town of Marlborough.
2. Henry B. Stearns, a graduate of Brown University, was chosen in 1902 to serve the same towns, as supervisor of their schools. He resided in Marlborough, later in Fitzwilliam. He resigned the office, November 26, 1906.
3. Austin H. Fitz was elected, January 5, 1907, to succeed Mr. Stearns, whose failing health had compelled his resigna- tion. The district whose schools were supervised by Mr. Fitz included Dublin, Troy, Fitzwilliam, and Rindge. Mr. Fitz re- sided in Troy.
4. H. H. Pratt served as the supervisor from 1908 until 1912, and presented four annual reports. The supervisory dis- trict was changed somewhat, and Mr. Pratt resided at Hins- dale.
528
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
5. Andrew P. Averill, who came from Edgartown, Mass., began duty as supervisor, September 1, 1912, and continues in that capacity as these pages go to the press.
In 1907, the custom was introduced of providing a special teacher for music and drawing. Those fine arts have been taught since, sometimes by the same teacher, sometimes by different teachers. Courses in agriculture have been intro- duced, also some attention has been given to manual training.
TEACHERS' INSTITUTES
Institutes for the training and instruction of teachers were the forerunners of normal schools. It is not as well known as it should be that Dr. Leonard's influence was a powerful factor in the origination of these institutes. He took a prominent part in them. The text-books which he published, especially the "Sequel to the Easy Lessons," and the "North American Spelling-Book," were used in the early institutes. They were gradually introduced into all the schools in this part of New England. The spelling-book was used extensively until a comparatively recent date, and was far better than anything of the kind now in use.
A session of the Cheshire County Teachers' Institute was held in Dublin in October, 1846, and continued four weeks. The principal instructor was the Rev. John Goldsbury of War- wick, Mass., the compiler of Goldsbury's "American School Reader," one of the best readers ever used in any school.
THE APPLETON FUND
As the letter of Samuel Appleton, contained on pages 88 and 89, was not so explicit as to the mode of appropriating his gift of a thousand dollars as was thought to be desirable, the chairman of the Committee of Invitation to the Centennial Celebration wrote to Mr. Appleton on the subject, and ob- tained the following reply: -
BOSTON, July 13, 1852.
"GENTLEMEN, - I have received your favor of the 18th ult., acknowledging the receipt of my letter of the 15th, with my check for one thousand dollars. For this attention, and the friendly ex- pressions contained in your letter, I return my sincere thanks. It affords me gratification to learn that the celebration 'passed off very pleasantly'; and I am happy if I have, in any way, contributed to the enjoyment of that interesting occasion.
"Towards the close of the communication, you call my attention
529
SCHOOLS
to the subject of the appropriation of the one thousand dollars pre- sented by me for educational purposes to the town of Dublin. In answer to your inquiries upon that subject, I would say, that, having implicit confidence in the present superintending school-committee, it was my intention to place the thousand dollars entirely under their control, to be laid out, without any restrictions or qualifications on my part, in the manner deemed by them most expedient. I trust this reply is sufficiently explicit. The delay in sending this letter has been occasioned by indisposition and my advanced age, which is now upwards of eighty-six years.
"With the best wishes for the continued prosperity of Dublin, and its great ornament, the common schools, I remain your friend and obedient servant,
SAML. APPLETON."
To JONA. K. SMITH, ASA H. FISK, and RANSOM N. PORTER, Committee of Invitation.
In consequence of the foregoing letter, the superintending school-committee, chosen by the town of Dublin, at the an- nual meeting, March, 1852, namely, Levi W. Leonard, Alonzo Hayes, and Ransom N. Porter, by the authority vested in them, adopted the following rules and regulations for manag- ing and appropriating the thousand dollars and its proceeds, and, in honor of the benevolent donor, funded the gift, and named it the Appleton Fund.
"SAMUEL APPLETON, Esq., of Boston, Mass., having presented to the town of Dublin, in the State of New Hampshire, one thousand dollars for educational purposes, to be applied as the superintending school-committee of the town shall deem expedient, the undersigned do hereby adopt the following rules and regulations for the manage- ment and appropriation thereof: - -
"1. The said thousand dollars shall be kept at interest forever, and be denominated the Appleton Fund.
"2. All proceeds from the fund shall be subject to the draught of the trustees, and shall be applied to the purchase of apparatus for the public schools of Dublin, for courses of free lectures, for the sup- port, or in aid, of high schools, and for such other purposes of educa- tion as the trustees of said fund may deem expedient.
"3. The trustees shall appoint an agent, who shall act as treasurer; whose duty it shall be to keep the money safely and profitably in- vested, and pay out the proceeds of the same on the order of the trustees. Said agent, having had his appointment approved by the selectmen, and having subscribed his name to the rules and regula- tions of the trustees, shall be qualified to enter upon the duties of his office. The state of the treasury and security of the investment
530
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
shall be examined annually by a committee chosen by the town, and reported to the same. The trustees may remove said agent from office, when, in their opinion, the safety of the fund and its proceeds requires it. Said agent shall deliver to his successor in office, or to the trustees, all moneys and papers pertaining to said fund in his possession.
"4. The term of office of the trustees shall be fifteen years, except that of the present board, the term of office of R. N. Porter shall expire in five years, and that of Alonzo Hayes in ten years, from this date.
"5. The trustees shall be chosen by the joint ballot of the two remaining trustees and the selectmen, and the person having a majority of their votes shall be declared elected; and the person thus elected, having subscribed his name to the rules and regulations of the trustees, shall be qualified to enter upon the duties of his office. Vacancies occurring by death, resignation, or removal from town, shall be filled in the same manner for the unexpired term.
"6. The trustees shall keep a faithful and impartial record of all their appropriations and proceedings of regular meetings, and make a detailed report of the same to the town, at the annual meeting of each year.
"7. Meetings for the choice of trustees shall be called by the re- maining trustees, or, in their neglect to perform this duty, by the selectmen; a written notice stating the time and place of the meeting having been served upon the selectmen or trustees, as the case may be, one week, at least, previous to the time of holding the meeting. Four members shall constitute a quorum.
LEVI W. LEONARD ALONZO HAYES R. N. PORTER
Superintending School Committee of Dublin, N. H. THOMAS FISK, Agent of the Trustees."
DUBLIN, N. H., July 30, 1852.
One of the earliest uses of the fund was to apply a portion of the interest for the purchase of five sets of Dr. Cutter's physiological charts, a tellurian globe, and ten maps of New Hampshire, for the use of the schools.
Several sets of Holbrook's apparatus for the use of schools were gratuitously furnished, in former years, by Jonathan K. Smith.
THE STARS AND STRIPES
The following is from Mr. HENRY C. PIPER's valuable monograph on the "History of Education in Dublin," printed in the town report issued in 1893: -
Henry 6. Pilver.
531
SCHOOLS
"During the summer of 1890, a United States Flag was raised upon a staff standing in the front yard of schoolhouse No. 6. We are informed that the scholars, then in attendance at school, per- formed all the labor and paid all the expenses of this manifestation of loyalty and patriotism.
"On June 1, 1892, Mrs. B. W. Taggard of Boston presented to No. 1 schoolhouse, at an expense of $6.41, a national flag, six feet by twelve, which, on the following day, was given to the breeze from a staff forty-eight feet high, presented for the purpose by Hon. Liv- ingston Stone. Whole cost, $15.00.
"About Oct. 20, 1892, beautiful flags of artistic dimensions were raised at schoolhouses Nos. 2, 3, and 4. Mrs. Louis Cabot of Boston contributed $5.00 towards the one at No. 3. If correctly informed, the flags and expenses, except in Nos. 1 and 3, were raised by resi- dents of the said districts, with money enough in No. 2, in excess of flag expenses, to purchase a Worcester's Quarto Dictionary for the use of the school."
There is also a flag at schoolhouse No. 5. The school chil- dren have all been taught to salute the flag in the proper form, and these school-flags, and the due respect shown to them, have done much to cultivate the true spirit of loyalty and patriotism among the young people of the town.
FOUR-HUNDREDTII ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
The four-hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Amer- ica by Columbus was delightfully observed in Dublin, by citizens, school children, and former residents, at 1.30 P.M., at the Town Hall, on October 21, 1892. The correct day was used for the celebration. By a stupid blunder, some of the states have adopted October 12 for a holiday, probably because they have read in histories that Columbus discovered the New World on that day. But they forget, or do not know, that Columbus used what we call Old Style in his reckoning. The adoption of the Gregorian calendar, or New Style, puts for- ward the dates of the fifteenth century nine days. Our twenty- first day of October is the same as the ninth of October in the Old Style (or Russian) calendar, for that century.
On the date named, the meeting was called to order by Henry C. Piper, the presiding officer. The order of exercises was as follows: -
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