USA > New Jersey > Burlington County > Burlington > History of Burlington and Mercer counties, New Jersey : with biographical sketches of many of their pioneers and prominent men > Part 63
USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > History of Burlington and Mercer counties, New Jersey : with biographical sketches of many of their pioneers and prominent men > Part 63
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Other private schools flourished as the State capi- tal increased in population, and as early as 1816 the first step towards the establishment of a system of public schools in New Jersey was taken. The Legis- lature directed the State treasurer to invest the sum of fifteen thousand dollars in United States bonds bearing six per cent. interest as a permanent school fund. In the year following this sum was increased, and in 1818, the Governor, the vice-president of Coun- cils, the Speaker of the Assembly, the attorney-gen- eral, and the secretary of the commonwealth were appointed trustees for the control and management of the fund for the support of free schools. The entire amount of the fund was then made $113,238.78. A law was passed in 1820 authorizing the inhabitants of any township to raise by taxation money for the education of the children of the poor. In 1821 it was provided that one-tenth of all the State taxes should be added yearly to the school fund. In 1828 the inhabitants were authorized to raise funds in town-meetings to erect or repair school-houses. A careful canvass made during that year brought out the astounding truth that more than one-third of the children in the State attended no school whatever. In 1829 the Legislature began the practice of making annual appropriations for the support of public schools, twenty thousand dollars being the sum ap- propriated for that year. In 1838 a general move- inent was made towards remodeling the school sys- tem of the State. The annual appropriation was increased to thirty thousand dollars, each township was authorized to raise by taxation an amount double that received by the State, the district system of dis- tributing the money was re-established, the use of the public money for the erection of school buildings, the purchase of fuel, furniture, and books was author- ized, and schools already organized by any religious society were granted an equitable proportion of the public funds.
The State Normal School was established in 1855, the State Board of Education in 1866, and in 1867 the school law was remodeled and most important improvements made.
1 By Edward S. Ellis.
705
CITY OF TRENTON.
To Trenton belongs the honor of having estab- lished the first free school in New Jersey. The State appropriations already mentioned were too meagre to afford gratuitous instruction except to the most indi- gent pupils, and the institutions were long regarded as " pauper schools," only a very few of the attend- ants being willing to bear the stigma of receiving their education frec. A school was organized in 1833 in the old Masonie Hall, in Front Street, where no tuition was charged. It was removed in 1838 to a building in Academy Street, the lower portion of which was used as a county jail, in the yard of which : stood the public whipping-post. This was stealthily taken down one night in 1839, and was never set up agaiu.
The Legislature in 1844 granted to the township of Nottingham, now a part of Trenton, the privilege of raising six hundred dollars for the support of a public school, and five hundred dollars to erect a suitable building. At the annual town-meeting in 1844 the school committee recommended to raise by tax the full sum allowed by the special township act, and to appropriate the interest on the surplus fund of the general government and the tax on dogs to the sup- port of public schools. These recommendations were carried by a large vote. In addition the committee had husbanded the State appropriation for two years, amounting to three hundred dollars.
The committee purchased a lot one hundred feet - square in Centre Street, near the First Baptist Church, ing of brick thirty by fifty feet, two stories in height, containing four rooms, each capable of seating sev- enty-five children.
for one hundred and sixty dollars, and erected a build- . Skelton was superintendent in Trenton, and Samuel
On the 1st of September, 1844, the following teachers were employed to take charge of the school : Joseph Roney, principal, and Misses Susan J. Albertson; Han- nah Carlin, and Sarah Joycelin, assistants. The first received an annual salary of four hundred dollars, and the others one hundred and fifty dollars cach. When the doors were opened over four hundred chil- dren clamored for admission. The principal rose to the occasion by rejecting all who were under sevcu years of age.
The High School, as it was called, which was estab- lished in the old county jail building in Academy Street, in May, 1844, was free to indigent pupils only
In April, 1850, there were three hundred and thirty- five white and twenty colored children attending the public schools of Trenton, under the charge of G. R. Roney, Misses P. S. Vancleve, Mary Johnson, M. W. Thompson, and L. H. Tucker, with George Shreve teacher of the colored school.
It is an unfortunate fact that, so far as can be learned, there are no minutes of the proceedings of the board of school trustees of the public schools pre- vious to 1850. Since that date the minutes are occa- sionally defective, and during a number of years no account at all of the doings of the trustees was pub- lished in any of the papers of the city. Thus it is that some periods in the history of our public schools are without any record whatever. The minute-book of the Trenton Academy affords an unbroken his- tory from the organization in 1781 to the present time.
Among the school committeemen or trustees from 1844 to 1850 were X. J. Maynard, Dr. Francis A. Ewing, Jonathan S. Fish, Samuel Stokes, James T. Sherman, Frederick Kingman, Charles Skelton, S. Wooley, D. Lodor, Lewis Parker, D. Lloyd, S. R. Hamilton, P. H. Boswell, D. Clark, A. R. Harris. W. Johnson, W. P. Mulford, M. C. Holmes, J. B. James, S. G. Pott, C. Wilson. J. W. Leslie.
In 1847, J. T. Sherman was superintendent in Trenton, and Charles Skelton in Nottingham. In 1848, Charles Skelton was superintendent in Trenton, and Charles Hewitt in Nottingham. In 1849, Charles Wooley in Nottingham.
The Academy Street building, two stories high and numbering eiglit rooms, was opened Oct. 7, 1850, and in 1856 there were seventeen teachers employed in the public schools of Trentou, with nine hundred and twelve pupils .enrolled, and thirty-oue awaiting ad- mission.
The Market Street building was dedicated Satur- day evening, Feb. 5, 1859, and the school was opened on the Monday succeeding, under charge of Charles Britton. The demand for sehool accommodations has never been fully supplied, and the monthly re- ports submitted to the trustees show that hundreds of applicants are unable to obtain seats.
The year 1874 was a memorable one in the edu- cational history of Trenton, inasmuch as it saw the ment of the High School. This building was dedi- cated Friday evening, Oet. 2, 1874. Its curriculum is a liberal one, embracing all the requirements of a thorough academic education, and extending over a period of six years. The institution employs ten teachers, with three hundred and fifteen pupils en- rolled, and an average attendance of three hundred and five.
until 1848, when all were admitted without charge. ; rounding up of the school system by the establish- In the spring of 1849 the trustees and superintendent recommended to the citizens to raise the sum of six thousand dollars to pay for the erection of a new : school-house. Legal difficulties, however, were in- terposed by the opponents of public schools, and Com- mon Council refused to appropriate the money. The Legislature was applied to and authority was given to make a loan of six thousand dollars for building a school-house, and to raise by tax any sum, not to ex- - ceed two thousand dollars, for the support of the schools.
The following are the other public schools in the city, with the number of teachers engaged, pupils en- rolled, and the average attendance:
706
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Teachers.
Pupils
Average
enrolled. attendance.
Academy Street.
14
576
503
Grant Avenue.
4
214
186
Bellevue Avenue.
4
186
140
Rose Street.
4
213
167
Jefferson Street
4
199
140
.
Ringgold Street (colored).
67
55
Centre Street.
14
465
360
Market Street
5
218
163
Union Street.
4
172
121
Sixth Ward.
3
115
-
. Total
69
2787
2249
In addition the board of trustees has contracted for the erection of a new building in the Second Ward, to be completed during the autumn of 1882. It will contain four rooms, and seat two hundred pupils.
The board of school trustees of the city of Trenton for 1882 are : Superintendent, Cornelius Shepherd, M.D .; President, William II. Mickel; Secretary, Charles L. Ashmore ; First Ward, Edward S. Ellis, William A. MacCrellish ; Second Ward, George N. Nutt, E. V. R. Richards; Third Ward, M. C. Weik- heiser, Joseph G. Brearley ; Fourth Ward, J. Fletcher Dickson, Charles Megill; Fifth Ward, James C. Thomas, Samuel Walker, Jr .; Sixth Ward, Charles L. Ashmore, John A. Wilson ; Seventh Ward, Henry R. Mayer, William H. Mickel.
To attain success in imparting instruction, the teacher must be thoroughly trained in the science and art of teaching, and his calling must be elevated to that of a profession. This self-evident truth, as it may be called, emphasized and iterated by prominent educators, led to the legislative appropriation of ten thousand dollars in 1855 for the establishment of a . Normal School in the State capital. The following gentlemen constituted the first board of trustees : James G. Hampton, Joseph N. Thompson, Richard S. Field, David Cole, Franklin S. Kinney, Charles Sitgreaves, Thomas Lawrence, Lyman A. Chandler, William M. Babbitt, Dudley S. Gregory.
The corner-stone of the building was laid by Gov- ernor Price, Oct. 9, 1855, and the school was dedi- cated July 17, 1856. The school opened in tempo- rary quarters Oct. 1, 1855, with fifteen students, which increased to forty-four by the close of the year.
The first principal was William F. Phelps, A.M., a man of marked executive ability, personal magnet- ism, and great enthusiasm in the cause to which he devoted his energies. During the nine years of his administration he did more for the advancement of education in New Jersey than has ever been achieved by any other person. In 1864 he resigned to take charge of the first Normal School established in Min- nesota, and was succeeded by that eminent scholar, John S. Hart, LL.D. He resigned in 1871, and was followed by Lewis M. Johnson, who retired in 1876. His successor was Washington Hasbrouck, Ph.D., known for many years as an eminently practical and successful educator. Dr. Hasbrouck's administration has been very prosperous, thorough, and popular, and his lectures and address before the teachers' institutes have been received with marked favor.
The Model School, in which the teachings of the Normal School are practically exemplified, was estab- lished in 1858. In 1865 the State purchased the two buildings of the trustees, and the ample grounds which inclose them. In 1879 the State became the owner of the entire property, including the boarding-houses, for which the sum of sixty-eight thousand dollars was paid.
For the year ending June 30, 1881, there were 236 pupils, of whom 41 were males and 195 females. During the same period the attendance in the Model School was 305, with an average of 283. Both of these institutions have been highly successful from the beginning, and their beneficent influence upon the cause of education throughout the State has been beyond computation.
The following are .the officers and instructors of the Normal School: Washington Hasbrouck, Ph. D., Principal, Philosophy of Education and Pedagogics ; Austin C. Apgar, Natural Sciences and Geography ; Elias F. Carr, A.M., Mathematics and Methods ; Dickerson H. Farley, Penmanship and Book-keep- ing ; Clara L. Hall, Rhetoric, English Literature, and History; Mary Ryan, Reading and Orthography ; Harriette Matthews, English Grammar, Mental Sci- ence, and Synonyms; Isadora Williams, Elementary Methods and Object Teaching; Adelai 'e Cornogg, Drawing; Laura C. Johnson, Vocal Music ; Alfred S. Brace, Instrumental Music.
Public Libraries .- As early as 1750 a library was established in Trenton, but none of its records are known to exist. The library is mentioned by the historian Smith.
In 1821 the. Apprentices' Library Company was established, with Charles Ewing, president ; Samuel L. Southard, vice-president; and Zachariah Rossell, secretary. The association had a successful and use- ful existence during a number of years. After it ceased to exist the books were for many years in the possession of the librarian, Samuel Evans. They afterwards came into the possession of the Young Men's Christian Association.
The Trenton Library Association was formed, and its library was opened, in 1852. Its first officers were Hon. Samuel D. Ingham, president ; Alfred S. Liv- ingston, secretary ; and Jonathan F. Cheeseman, treasurer and librarian. For a year the library was kept in the corner store of Temperance Hall, but in 1853 it was removed to the second story of a building in Greene Street near State. After many years of great usefulness the association ceased to be active, and its books came into the possession of the Young Men's Christian Association. In March, 1879, this association became extinct, and by permission of the members of the old Trenton Library Association the Women's Christian Temperance Union assumed cou- trol of this library. The Union has added about one thousand books to the library, which now numbers about three thousand seven hundred volumes. The
707
CITY OF TRENTON.
library and reading-rooms are at Nos. 20 and 22 East State Street.
The Constitutional Library Association, composed of young men, most of whom were minors, was cs- tablished in 1853. Its meetings were held in the third story of the City Hall.
City Business College .- This institution was es- tablished at Temperance Hall in 1865 by Messrs. Bryant, Stratton, & Whitney. It was one of the Bryant & Stratton international chain of commercial colleges.
It was first in charge of J. S. Chamberlin as prin- cipal, with two assistants. In April, 1866, G. A. Gas- kell became principal, succeeded two months later by A. J. Rider. In August. 1866, J. A. Beecher pur- chased Mr. Whitney's interest and took charge. In October of the same year the institution was removed to its present location, 20 and 22 East State Street, and a ladies' and a preparatory department were added. In 1869, Mr. Beecher withdrew and Mr. Rider became principal.
In 1870 this college became a member of the International Business College Association, and Mr. William B. Allen became joint proprietor. In April, 1881, Mr. Allen retired from the firm, and the col- lege has since been condneted by Mr. Rider alone, with Thomas J. Stewart as associate principal. This institution- has had a large patronage, not only here but from a majority of the States in the Union.
Trenton in the Rebellion .- The excellent record of the State of New Jersey in the civil war of 1861-65 is a matter of history. The promptness with which she filled all requisitions for troops, and the fact that her quota was exceeded by the number of her volun- teers in the service, were, and they will always be, a source of pride to all her citizens. In supplying men to fill the quota of the State and prevent the neces- sity of a draft, Trenton did her full share. Her patriots went forth to encounter the dangers and face the stern realities of grim-visaged war, and her citi- zens faithfully cared for the families that were thus left without protection and support. Here, as else- where, the bombardment of Fort Sumter aronsed a thrill of patriotism that was not allayed during the contest. It is not too much to say that the ardent patriotism of the Trentonians prevented the necessity for as large expenditures in bounties as were made in some localities, though the people ever stood ready to contribute as liberally as those of any part of the Union.
:
A Union meeting was held at Temperance Hall on the evening of April 18, 1861, at which a resolution was adopted requesting the Common Council to make such appropriations as might be necessary to provide liberally for the families of those who might volun- teer. Within a few days subscriptions aggregating a large snm had been made. This was disbursed by a committee, of which the mayor was chairman.
The ladies here as elsewhere gave substantial 46
proofs of their loyalty by their contributions for the comfort of the soldiers in the field and in hospitals. These contributions were made directly and through societies that were organized for the purpose of dis- pensing these charities.
The city was, by an act of the Legislature, May 3, 1861, authorized to borrow ten thousand dollars for the relief of the families of volunteers, and the Com- mon Council passed an ordinance to carry this law into effect. At different times subsequently during the war the city made large expenditures for the pro- motion of volunteering.
In July, 1862, the patriotic spirit of the people in Trenton prompted them, on the occasion of the re- verses which the Union arms then encountered, to put forth efforts for the promotion of recruiting, and large amounts were then subscribed for that purpose. At subsequent times during the war, when calls for more men were made, they were met by the same prompt response, and money to any necessary amount was furnished by the city authorities and the contri- butions of patriotic citizens.
That there were a few here whose patriotic sym- pathies were not as strong and active as those of a majority is without doubt true, and that there were others of undoubted loyalty whose views with regard to what they termed extreme measures did not accord with those of their more ardent fellow-citizens, is equally true. Twenty years have passed since that terrible war was inaugurated, and the bitter and pos- sibly uncharitable feelings which it engendered have in a measure subsided. There are probably few who can look back and review their action during that period without a twinge of regret because of words or acts to which the feelings that were then excited led them. Even among the participants in that war a kind feeling has taken the place of the rancor that then existed. An evidence of this has been seen in an interchange of friendly visits between military or- ganizations in Trenton and Richmond that were en- gaged in actual hostilities on opposite sides during that contest. The lavish hospitalities that were be- stowed and received on these occasions will not soon be forgotten by either.
Hotels of Trenton, Early and Later .- In com- pliance with the act of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey of 1668, requiring every town in the State to provide an ordinary for the relief and enter- tainment of strangers, the keeper of which was re- quired to procure a license for that purpose from the proper authorities, and " oblige himself to make suffi- eient provision of meat, drink, and lodging for stran- gers," and for neglect of which, in any of the towns, they were to forfeit forty shillings fine to the country for every month's default after publication of the law, Trenton, not being willing to incur the penalty, had always bountifully provided for the relief and enter- tainment of strangers in an ample supply of hotels.
The oldest hotel now standing, and still kept as
708
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
such, is the " Eagle Hotel," on the corner of Broad and Ferry Streets, in the Third Ward.
This was used and occupied for the same purpose during the Revolutionary war. After the eapture of the Hessians. Dee. 26, 1776, Gen. Washington returned with his prisoners to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, in the same manner as he had crossed it on the 25th. When he recrossed on the 30th of
then being President, removed his residence here. His quarters were at the Phocuis Hotel, in Warren Street. This hotel has been kept by Enoch Cook, Elizabeth Cook, Norbury Bashford, John Miller, and after his death by Charles Harley. The building was of stone, and was torn down at the opening of West Hanover Street through to Warren.
Previous to the year 1851 the southern boundary of December it was at the ferry, from which the above . Trenton was the Assanpink Creek, all below being street takes its name, and thence marched cast to the "Eagle Tavern" (now hotel), where he halted, it being at that time the regular stopping-place for per- ! called " the borough of South Trenton." This bor- ough was formed in 1840 from two villages, then called Mill Hill and Bloomsbury. In the former sons crossing the ferry, and thence proceeded to the residence of Capt. Alexander Douglass, in Broad Street, where Gen. St. Clair had his headquarters, and at which place the council of war was held the night before the battle of Princeton, and which re- sulted in his midnight retreat to the latter place by the Sandtown road (now Hamilton Avenue) on the night of Jan. 2, 1777, where on the following day the battle of Princeton was fought. ! year the borough of South Trenton was by act of the Legislature incorporated with the city proper, thereby uniting the three into one municipality. Before the union, and about the year 1800, there was in the city proper, north of the creek, as well as south of it, the Eagle Tavern, which stood in Warren Street. on the site now occupied by the Third Presbyterian Church: It was a frame building, and before it was opened as a hotel had been occupied by Judge Wil- Gen. St. Clair's headquarters (Douglass house ) was upon the site in Broad Street now owned and oceu- pied by the German Evangelical Lutheran Church. liam Trent, of Philadelphia, as his summer residence. It was in later times kept by Isaac Van Orden ; Nor- bury Bashford being its last proprietor.
The proprietors of this hotel of recent date have The Blazing Star Hotel was located on the corner of Warren and State Streets (at that time called been George Phillips, Benjamin Reed, Orin Bailey, Paynter Atkinson, Runyon Tims, David Tims, Wil- : King and Second Streets), where the Mechanics' Na- liam Doble, Jeremiah Bruton, Andrew Weir, Marga- ret Weir, and its present proprietor is Thomas Leon- ard. tional Bank now stands.1 In 1785 it was kept by James Witts, and at one time by Jacob Bergen, and called the French Arms Hotel. It was at this hotel, after the ceremonies of the reception of Gen. Washington at the arch erected on the Assanpink bridge on his way to New York to be inaugurated the first President of the infant republic, that he received the visits of his friends. At the time of the reception it was kept by Samuel Henry, and called the City Tavern. Its subsequent landlords were Joseph Broadhurst, Ben- jamin Smith, Joseph Van Cleef, Mrs. Francis Green, Thomas Ryan, and Stacy Kirkbride. This house was built by John Dagworthy, about the year 1760, two stories high. It was quite a large building. The front door was reached by eight steps, which extended either way from north to south, similar to those of the bank that stands upon the same spot.
The Bull's Head Hotel was located on the south side of Second Street (now State), about half-way be-
On the Assanpink Creek, on the east side of Broad Street, stood the True American Inn. Washington inade this hotel his headquarters. It was kept at that time by Jonathan Richmond, afterwards by John A. Batt and Daniel MeIntyre. Its last proprietor was Henry Katzenbach. It was kept as a hotel until the 28th of March, 1843, when it was destroyed by fire. It was a frame building, originally but two stories in height. The sidewalk to the house was four steps above the street or roadway, the ascent to which being by stone steps; but when the street was graded in 1839 the sidewalk was cut down, giving an addi- tional story to the house, making it three stories high, , the lower story built of stone. The site once occu- pied by this hotel has now erected upon it handsome stores, and constitutes a part of what is now known as the Assanpink Block. .
During the Revolutionary war the headquarters of Col. Rahl, the Hessian commander, was the City Tavern, on the corner of Warren and Bank Streets, where St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral now stands. It was in this hotel that Col. Rahl breathed his last, on the third day after being wounded, at the time of the capture of his army by Washington. Its proprietors were John Van Fleet, Samuel Crossley, Norbury Bashford, John Mount, Abbott Dansbury.
In 1798 the yellow fever prevailed in Philadelphia to an alarming extent, at which time the public offices of the United States were removed here. John Adams,
1 " On the 1st of November, 1784, the Congress of the United States met at Trenton, and their sessions were held at this hotel, it being the largest building in the city at that time. All the States were rapre- sented except Maryland. New Jersey was represented by Hons. William Churchill Hlousten and John Beatty. Richard Henry Lee, who was said to be the gentleman who originally made the motion in Congress for declaring the States of America independent in the year 1776, was chosen president. The lons. Samuel Dick and Charles Stewart, members of this State, arrived the next day after the assembling.
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