History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 78

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974

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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CONGREGATION at Freehold1 was first organized, in the year 1853, by the Rev. John Schollard, who resided in Princeton, N. J., where he had charge also of the Roman Catholic congregation. In 1854 a frame church, twenty-five by forty feet, capable of seating about one hundred and seventy per- sons, was put up at Freehold, and Mass was celebrated about one Sunday in a month.

In August, A.D. 1857, the Rev. J. Schollard was succeeded by the Rev. Alfred Young, who held the charge until December, A.D. 1860, when the Rev. J. J. J. O'Donnel was appointed in his stead, who had the care of the congregation until July, 1867, at which time he was. succeeded by the Rev. Thomas R. Moran, who officiated till January, 1871.

At this time the congregation, which until then had been considered only as a mission, and as such had been attended by priests of Prince- ton, received a rector of its own in the person of Rev. Frederick Kivelitz, the present incum- bent. In 1873 the church was considerably enlarged, and in 1880 a new church was begun, and in 1882 completed. The new church has a capacity of seating seven hundred persons. Services are held twice every Sunday, three times daily on feast-days, and Mass is celebrated every morning on week-days.

The Freehold Cemetery, which is beautifully situated on elevated ground a short distance southwesterly from the property of the Mon-

mouth County Agricultural Society and about one-half mile from the centre of the village, was laid out in the year 1851 on a tract of three acres (enlarged by a subsequent purchase) procured by the consistory of the Second Re- formed Church at a cost of one hundred dollars per acre. Although designed primarily for the use of the members of that congregation, and still held under the control of their officers, its privi- leges have since been extended to all who desire them without regard to creed; and many citi- zens, not only of the town and county, but even of other parts of the State, have secured for themselves here the right of a last resting-place. Although its future enlargement was not fore- seen in the original purchase and the ground laid out accordingly, there is still land sufficient to be had whose natural features admirably adapt it for purposes of sepulture and admit of the adornment which is so desirable in these "cities of the dead." There are at present six hundred lot-owners, and the total valuation of the plats is about two thousand dollars. The cemetery embraces an area of nine acres, which is nearly all occupied.

Schools were taught as early as the period of the Revolutionary War in the vicinity of what is now the town of Freehold, though it is not certain that there were any taught in the limits of the little settlement then known as Mon- mouth Court-House. An advertisement in Collins' Gazette, dated March 14, 1778, an- nounced that Joseph Rue would " open a Latin School in Freehold [township, probably ], at the house of Henry Perrine, where scholars can be accommodated in the best manner and at the lowest expense." Other classical schools were taught in the vicinity at about the same time and a few years later ; but very little definite information can be gained of Freehold schools taught as early as the year 1800, soon after which time an English and classical school was taught by the Rev. Andrew Fowler, in a build- ing that stood on or near the site of the Free- hold Banking Company's building. Mr. Fow- ler was rector of St. Peter's Church at the time -- from 1799 to 1809.

It has been related by Mrs. Barkalow

1 By the Rev. F. Kivelitz.

---

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

(mother of Alexander L. Barkalow) that in her childhood she went to school to Aunt Massey (Mercy) Lerton in the old log school-house that stood on the by-road leading from the main road to the Baptist Cemetery, south of the man- sion on the " Murphy Farm." This school- house, it is said, was built by General David Forman, of Revolutionary fame, who then owned the farm ; and it was maintained by him as a select school for the education of his own children, and of those of such of his neighbors as chose to avail themselves of its privileges. Subsequently Maria Oldwell boarded with Joseph Phillips and taught a select school in the village. . The school near the Murphy house was kept up for many years. Judge Charles A. Bennett attended it at about the time of his earliest recollection,-1825 to 1830, -when it was the only public school anywhere in the vicinity of Freehold, and scholars came to it from Blue Ball, Mount's Corners and other neighborhoods outside the village. Re- ferring to an earlier time, however (before 1820), Dr. Robert Laird says he first went to school to James McGregor, "a testy old Scotch- man," who taught in a small building next northwest of the Episcopal Church, on what is now Throckmorton Street. The teacher who succeeded McGregor was Thomas C. Throck- morton, afterwards Judge Throckmorton. This school, 'Dr. Laird says, was "the only public school for many years near the village."

A "Select and Classical School " was taught in Freehold by Asa S. Colton (afterwards the Rev. Mr. Colton) from January, 1828, to October in the same year. Among his pupils were the Rev. James English, Judge Combs, the Hon. John C. Ten Eyck, Mr. Barbarie Throckmorton, James Hartshorne, Miss Theo- dosia Scudder (afterwards the wife of the Rev. William J. Pohlman, missionary to China), Miss Julia A. Davis and a number of the other Freehold young ladies of that time.

The "MONMOUTH SCHOOL," as it was named by its proprietors, but otherwise more com- monly known as the Woodhull School, was first opened in the year 1844, by William W. and .Charles F. Woodhull (who had previously

taught in the old Freehold Academy). The circular of the principal stated that "at this institution thorough instruction is given in all branches necessary to prepare boys for college or for business. Terms : Two hundred dollars a year, payable quarterly, in advance." In 1857 the instructors were William W. Wood- hull, principal ; Charles F. Woodhull, vice- principal ; Charles G. Endicott, assistant ; Pro- fessor James Garland, instructor on the piano ; William P. Dale, vocal music. For a number of years the school was located where Mr. D. D. Denise now lives, on the north side of Main Street, adjoining the Reformed Church. In 1859-60 a new building was erected for its ac- commodation, where Mr. John Bawden now resides, at the corner of High Street and Manalapan Avenue. At that place the school was taught for about twelve years. Reference to the ending of the school, and the conversion of the building to other uses, is found in the following item, printed in the Monmouth Demo- crat : "The two parts of the late Woodhull School building will soon form three com- modious residences,"-the date being February 26, 1874.

The YOUNG LADIES' SEMINARY 1 at Free- hold was established forty years ago, as the result of the well-directed efforts of the Rev. D. V. McLean, to whom the county of Monmouth and the world are greatly indebted for the whole- some influences which have gone forth through many families and to many lands from the Young Ladies' Seminary at Freehold. In the year 1844, being then pastor of the Village Presbyterian Church, he enlisted the sympathy aud co-operation of Honorable John Hull and Honorable Thomas P. Haight, and together with them erected the commodious and costly buildings upon Main Street, adjoining the site of the old Presbyterian Church, where they now stand, a lasting monument to his remarkable energy and prudent foresight.

During the same year Mr. Amos Richardson, A. M., who was born at Springfield, N. H., 1812, and in the year 1837 graduated at Dart- mouth College, was engaged to take charge of the

! By Rev. Frank Chandler, D.D.

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THE TOWN OF FREEHOLD.

school. He proved himself to be eminently fitted for the great work of building up and sustain- ing for many years one of the most honored and useful institutions for the higher training of young ladies. He had pleasing and refined manners, a bright and cultured mind, great fondness for music and the fine arts, a warm and generous heart, boundless enthusiasm in his chosen profession, and, above all, a love for truth and righteousness, and a zeal for their maintenance and extension, which made him a safe and trusted guardian of the highest inter- ests of his pupils. The school soon attained great success, and for many years attracted patronage not only near at hand, but from many remote States of the Union.

In the year 1854, encouraged by the financial prosperity of the institution, and desiring to enlarge and perfect his facilities for doing the best work for his pupils, he planned and built the beautiful and spacious hall facing on High Street, a structure the very form and arrangement of which display a breadth of view and liber- ality in the cause of education which few men possess. Just at the completion of this great enterprise, when he had reason to hope his highest ambition and aim were to be realized, he lost his eyesight by a melancholy accident, and to the end of his life patiently but sadly performed his work in total darkness. He died October 16, 1881, at the age of sixty-nine years, beloved and mourned by the entire com- munity which he had unselfishly and labor- iously served thirty-seven years.

During the summer of 1883, when it became necessary to sell the seminary property to settle the estate of Mr. Richardson, the Rev. F. Chandler, D.D., pastor of the Presbyterian Church, labored assiduously to save the institu- tion from the impending danger of extinction. A number of prominent citizens of Freehold and vicinity formed an incorporation under the general laws of the State, purchased, repaired and refurnished the establishment at a very large outlay of money. The Hon. Joel Parker was elected president of the association. Rev. F. Chandler, D.D., was requested to take control of the institution. Under his efficient manage-

selected, liberal and generous provision was made for the comfort and advancement of the incoming pupils, and now, at the end of the second year of the new administration, the good name which the school has borne at home and its growing patronage promise a success larger even than that of past years.

The institution is believed to be, in point of thorough teaching, refined Christian culture and home comforts, second to none in the State.

THE FREEHOLD INSTITUTE FOR BOYS, is sit- uated on the corner of South and Institute Streets, on land which was purchased by Samuel C. Hicks and Professor Oliver R. Willis1 in 1847, at which time it was an oat-field. In the autumn of the same year the erection of the front building was commenced, and in the following spring Professor Willis, who was then principal of an academy at Hightstown, moved his school to its new quarters, in Freehold. In his first circular of the Freehold Institute he said, --

" With a view to furnish his pupils with more lib- eral accommodations, and to secure to his family the privileges of a church of his own denomination, the principal has made arrangements to remove his school from Hightstown to Freehold, Monmouth County, N. J., at the opening of the next session, which will commence on the second Wednesday in May, 1848. . . . The buildings are entirely new, are neat and commodious, and have been erected under the immediate direction of the princi- pal. Dimensions, eighty feet front by forty-six deep, the central building, three stories high. The apart- ments are arranged in the most modern and improved style; the rooms are spacious and airy, with high ceilings and ventilating flues in the walls and parti- tions. The plan of the building was matured after much deliberation, the principal having visited the best schools in New England and New York before he decided on it. And he congratulates himself now, in being able to say to his patrons and the public, that he is prepared to furnish accommodations that are se- cond to none in the country. No expense will be spared that would tend to make the place attractive, or which can minister to the comfort, convenience, health or advancement of the members of the school. Well-

1 In the Monmouth Democrat of February 17, 1848, is this advertisement :

" Freehold Institute, a Preparatory School for Boys at Freehold, Monmouth County, N. J. Oliver R. Willis, Principal and Joint Proprietor. Proprietors: Samuel C. ment, able and experienced instructors were ! Hicks and Oliver R. Willis."

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

arranged wash-rooms and bathing-rooms are provided for the exclusive use of the pupils. A large building has been erected for a gymnasium. The gymnastic exercises will always be under the direction of the principal or one of his teachers."

air, and lighted with gas made upon the prem- ises. The institute's collection of philosophical apparatus, its cabinets of shells, minerals, paleontological specimens, and its herbarium exceeded anything of the kind to be found in the country, except in the colleges ; and up to the time of the opening of the War of the Re- bellion it was regarded as the most completely equipped and best furnished school in the vicinity of the cities of New York and Phila- delphia.

At the opening of the institute in Freehold the number of its pupils was twenty-four, eleven of whom were boarders and thirteen day-pupils. The number gradually increased, so that at the end of the school-year of 1849 there were fifty-two pupils in attendance, forty- two of whom were boarders. The instructors In April, 1862, Professor Willis left the insti- tute, the property having been sold at that time to Cyrus Baldwin, who reopened the school in the following month as principal. Under the administration of Professor Baldwin the system of military drill and discipline was introduced, and has proved successful; but the institute under him was not pecuniarily prosperous, and on the 27th of May, 1868, it was purchased for fourteen thousand two hundred and eighty-two dollars by William H. Conover, Joel Parker, in that year were O. R. Willis (principal), Paul A. Chadbourne, A.B .; C. Aug. Walters; Theodore L'Huiller, B.L .; Amos Richardson, A.M. From that time the institute enjoyed a constantly increasing patronage, until the num- ber of pupils reached one hundred. The last circular issued while the school was under the direction of Dr. Willis was a graded catalogue issued for the year ending January, 1860. In this catalogue are recorded the names of one hundred and five pupils,-viz. : In the Classical : D. C. Perrine, Andrew Perrine, Hendrick E. Department, thirty-four; in the Middle Depart- ment, sixty-one ; in the Preparatory Department, Conover, William H. Wykoff, R. A. Ellis, G. W. Shinn and James J. Conover. They bar- ten. Of these, forty-one were boarders and the gained it to Rev. A. G. Chambers, of Miami remainder day-pupils. The greatest number of boarders present at any one time was fifty- eight. Among the highest ten in the institute in that year were D. McLean Forman and Charles F. Richardson. The list of instructors for that year was as follows : Oliver R. Willis, A.M .; Charles A. Walters, A.M .; Charles Jamison, A.M .; Clark B. Royce, A.M .; Edward H. Redfield. Lecturers : Rev. Robert Baird, his- tory; Rev. Samuel Lockwood, geology. One of the marked characteristics of the manage- ment of the school under Dr. Willis was the employment of able and competent men as in- structors, and among the early classical teachers in the institute was Dr. Paul A. Chadbourne, president of Williams College. University, Oxford, Ohio, who immediately re- opened the institute, and has continued its prin- cipal and proprietor to the present time. In his catalogue of July, 1883, he says: "This in- stitute, established in 1844, was moved to Free- hold in 1848. The records of the school, being the property of the former proprietors, were withdrawn, so that there is now nothing to show its history prior to 1868. Since that time over five hundred boys and young men have been in attendance. Some of these entered West Point, Rutgers, Lafayette, Columbia or Prince- ton College; others entered immediately upon the study of law or medicine without further intellectual training ; and the remainder, the various departments of business life."

In 1853 a large additional building was erected, eighty feet in length and thirty-six feet THE FREEHOLD ACADEMY, which, in the days of its highest success, was attended by many of those who are now ranked among the most prominent and influential people of the town wide, for school and recitation-rooms, which were most liberally equipped with every de- scription of apparatus and all the requirements for conducting the business of education. It | and vicinity, had its beginning in 1831, in which was heated by a combination of steam and hot year, on the 1st of January, William HI. Ben-

441

THE TOWN OF FREEHOLD.

nett conveyed to William J. Bowne and others, trustees of School District No. 7, a lot of land which is a part of the old academy lot, at the corner of Main Street and the street leading from it northwardly past the gas-works. The land was conveyed by Mr. Bennett to the trus- tees, to be used for educational purposes and none other,-consequently to revert to the grantor or his heirs when it ceased to be used for those purposes. The district, however, afterwards made absolute purchase of some adjoining land, thus enlarging the lot to its present size.1

No account has been found of the erection of the first academy building or the opening of the school in it. The earliest principal of the school concerning whom any information has been gained was a man named James McBurney, who taught it in 1831. The Rev. Samuel Edwin Arnold took charge of it in the latter part of 1833, or early in 1834, he being also at that time rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Reference to him was made by Bishop Doane, who, having visited Freehold July 1, 1833, and again in 1834, said, in his remarks as to the con- dition of the parish : "Since my former visit the opinion which I expressed in my last address . . . has been acted on. The Rev. Samuel Ed- win Arnold, late of the diocese of New York, having been elected principal of the academy, has taken pastoral charge of St. Peter's Church. His services as an instructor, I am informed, give great satisfaction."

Mr. Arnold, however, remained in charge of the academy but a short time. In 1835 he re- moved to Bordentown to take charge of a " boarding and day-school" which had been es- tablished at that place by or through the influ- ence of Bishop Doane. In view of his proposed John Bowne, Daniel B. Ryall, Daniel H. Ellis and Joseph F. Randolph-published (January 29, 1835) this advertisement,-" The subscrib-

ers wish to engage a well-qualified teacher to take charge of the Freehold Academy ; also a competent person to assist him in the English Department." The immediate result of this ac- tion does not appear, but on the 4th of May, 1836, it was announced that " The trustees have secured the services of Mr. Fay, of Massachu- setts, a graduate of Williams College, to take charge of the academy, with Mr. Hallowell as assistant." The gentleman here referred to was Julius A. Fay, who is still well remembered by many citizens of Freehold who were his pupils fifty years ago.

In July, 1836, the trustees announced that the academy building was found to be inade- quate to the requirements of the school, and that a new and larger building was necessary. A public meeting was called to be held August 22d, in the court-house, to take measures "to con- sider the erection of an academy building." At that meeting (of which J. F. T. Forman was secretary) it was resolved to build, and John B. Throckmorton, J. E. Lippincott, Joseph Mur- phy, J. F. T. Forman and Daniel H. Ellis were appointed a committee to select a site. The old site, however, was decided on, the lot being increased in size by the purchase of some addi- tional land, as before mentioned, forming the " Academy Lot " as now known. On the 7th of January, 1837, a meeting was held to choose trustees, adopt a corporate name and take meas- ures to procure an incorporation. In April of that year it was announced that the trustees had secured the services of Mr. A. W. Hobart as principal.

On the 4th of February, 1842, an "exhibi- tion" of the Academy School was held "at the Brick Church," on which occasion the pupils removal, the school trustees-J. K. Lippincott, ! showed a proficiency which was very highly praised .. In April, 1845, the announcement was made that the trustees had engaged William W. Woodhull "to superintend the academy," 1 After more than forty years' occupation by the academy school he property was abandoned for school purposes, upon the opening of the new graded school building, and then the land conveyed by Mr. Bennett in 1831 reverted to his heirs, who sold it to the Gas-Light Company, who now own the entire lot and the building, having pur- chased from the district the land which was bought to enlarge the original lot deeded by Mr. Bennett. though Mr. Woodhull had himself opened the "Monmouth School" in the previous year. James Shields (afterwards a major-general in the United States service) was at one time prin- cipal of the Freehold Academy, but the date and duration of his engagement here have not been ascertained.

442

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Prior to 1848 a Mr. Sears had charge of the Academy School as principal. On the 20th of April in that year he resigned, and was suc- ceeded by Mr. Thomas Souther. In the sum- mer of 1854 the principal was Isaac J. St. John, with Miss Elizabeth P. Hanford as preceptress. In April, 1855, R. V. Lawrence was engaged as principal. In November, 1856, the Mon- mouth Inquirer said: "We understand that in consequence of the liberal provision made for schools at the annual town-meeting of this township, we have for the first time a free school in Freehold. This school is taught at the Academy, under the superintendence of R. V. Lawrence." In 1859, Mr. Enoch L. Cowart, superintendent of schools for Freehold, said, in a communication printed in the Monmouth Democrat, on the 24th of February: "The district of Freehold numbers about three hun- dred children, being much larger than any other in the township, and consequently draw- ing much more of the school fund. The teacher charges two dollars and fifty cents per scholar for all within the district who attend school, for which he draws out of the fund; and those children who come from over the bounds of the district he has extra pay for, from their parents. The income annually to the teacher, therefore, is little short of one thousand dollars." The teacher at that time was Stephen Morris, and the Academy District was No. 2, of Freehold township.

At the time above referred to, the days of the academy's great efficiency and fame were past. It had come to be little more than a common district school, and its later progress was in a direction opposite to that of improvement. For twelve or fifteen years prior to the establish- ment of the graded school in Freehold the academy was anything else than what its name would imply in the matter of educational facili- ties. The structure itself was old and dilapi- dated, and the teachers employed were of that itinerant class who wander about from place to place, evading the vigilance of the boards of examiners and serving their ends in earning enough money, by so-called teaching, to aid them to other and more remunerative callings. The ·three well-known requisites of a well-ordered | in its favor. The editor of the Monmouth

school-a spacious and comfortable building, a co-operative public and good teachers-all were lacking.

This state of affairs continued until the new school law of New Jersey went into effect. This made provision for the appointment of a county superintendent, to exercise a supervisory power over all the schools of the county. The new super- intendent, Professor Samuel Lockwood, was suc- cessful in bringing about a healthful change of sentiment in relation to the importance of pub- lic education throughout Monmouth County. Towns of only the size of Freehold began erect- ing costly graded school buildings. This gen- eral agitation of public education awakened an interest in the question of the condition of school buildings in Freehold and the work performed within them. The county superin- tendent came to live in Freehold in 1871, and.he immediately set about to remedy the evils exist- ing in the schools. Besides the academy, there was, in the suburbs of the town, another school, known as the Orchard Street School. This was under the management of a separate board of trustees, but subsequently was united to the Academy District. The trustees exercised con- siderable care in the selection of teachers and the general conduct of the schools ; and, though the school was more unfavorably located, yet it was in better repute as a school than the old academy.

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History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 78

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 974

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974