USA > New Jersey > The history of New Jersey : from its earliest settlement to the present time : including a brief historical account of the first discoveries and settlement of the country, Vol. II > Part 27
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The present officers are : President, Samuel M. Hammill, D.D., Lawrenceville ; Vice-Presidents, Hon. John T. Nixon, Trenton; Peter S. Duryee, Newark, Hon. John Clement, Haddonfield ; Corresponding Secretary, William A. Whitehead, Newark ; Re- cording Secretary, Adolphus P. Young, Newark; Treasurer, Ro- bert S. Swords, Newark; Librarian, Martin R. Dennis, Newark;
* History of New Jersey, 1870, page 212.
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Executive Committee, Samuel H. Pennington, M.D., Newark ; William B. Kinney, Morristown ; John Hall, D.D., Trenton ; Samuel Allinson, Yardville ; N. Norris Halsted, Kearney ; Joel Parker, Freehold ; Marcus L. Ward, Newark ; Joseph N. Tuttle, Newark ; George Sheldon, D.D., Princeton.
There are about four hundred Resident, Corresponding, and Life Members, and upwards of fifty Honorary Members.
The library contains about five thousand bound volumes, and a large number of pamphlets and manuscripts.
In accordance with the request of the Directors of the Cen- tennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia, several of the valuable origi- nal documents of the Society were placed on exhibition in Memorial Hall. Among these were the original grants from the Duke of York for East and West Jersey, and other early instru- ments connected with the first settlement of the Provinces, of dates from 1664 to 1682.
The printed proceedings of the Society have been brought down to the present time.
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CHAPTER XXXI.
1781-1876.
Education continued-Trenton Academy-Lawrenceville Classical and Commercial High School-Edgehill Military School-Free- hold Institute-Burlington College and St. Mary's Hall-Seton Hali College-Brainard Institute-Drew Theological Seminary -Montrose Military and Classical School.
T HE Trenton School Company was established February 10, 1781, by articles of agreement among sundry inhabitants of the town and vicinity, including what was then Bloomsbury and Mill Hill (now the Third and Fourth Wards of Trenton), who associated themselves, "sensible of the great importance of education to the well-being of individuals, and the good order of government, and of its peculiar use in early life, and judging the present means of it in this place inadequate, and being met, agreed to purchase a lot, erect a commodious build- ing thereon, and form a permanent School, under proper regu- lations." Joseph Higbee, David Brearley, Joseph Milnor, Rens- salaer Williams, James Paxton, Stacy Potts, Isaac Smith, Isaac Collins, William Tucker, James Ewing, Conrad Kotts, Stephen Lowrey, Abraham Hunt, Moore Furman, R. Neil, Martin Howe, Jacob Benjamin, William C. Houston, John Neilson, and Fran- cis Witte, some of the most prominent men of the place, were the first associates. Mr. James Burnside was appointed the first teacher.
It was organized as a stock company, and a fund was con- tributed to insure the success of the institution. Its interests were committed to a Board of Trustees, to be elected annually from among the stockholders.
The operations of the Academy have never been suspended, except for one or two short periods, from its organization to the present time.
November 10, 1785, they procured an act of incorporation
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from the Legislature, under the name of " The Proprietors of the Trenton Academy." The capital stock was two hundred and forty pounds, divided into thirty-two shares of the value of seven pounds ten shillings lawful money each.
On the 20th of June, 1787, Rev. James Francis Armstrong, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, was ap- pointed "to superintend the Academy, by attending the several schools occasionally, disposing the scholars into classes, direct- ing the number of classes, the particular studies of each class, attending to the government and order, observing how the seve- ral teachers conduct themselves, advising the manner of teaching, and preside over public examinations." Mr. Armstrong resigned this appointment on the 17th of January, 1791; and as he, during part of the time in which he acted as superintendent, gave his services freely and without any prospect of salary or reward, the trustees granted him the privilege of sending two of his children to any schools of the Academy, free of tuition fees.
In 1847, owing to the necessity of more extended accommo- dations, the edifice was rebuilt, and many important improve- ments made in the internal arrangements, with a view to promote the comfort of the pupils and the convenience of the instructors. In the meantime, the original funds had so far accumulated by careful investment, that the trustees (in order to place the advantages of the institution within the reach of all who might wish to enjoy them), thought proper to reduce the terms of admission to the students, and to supply the deficiency to the Academy from the interest of the fund.
The institution is flourishing, and has an invested fund of two hundred shares of the joint companies' stock, besides their lot and building, and is out of debt. A late writer says, in speak- ing of it :
" Private institutions of learning were the predecessors of the public schools. On the 10th of February, 1781, the Trenton Academy was organized, with a capital of seven hundred and twenty dollars. On the 14th of February, 1782, it was opened with forty pupils of both sexes. In 1785 it was chartered by the Legislature, and in 1794 a lottery was granted by the same
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authority for the purpose of raising the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars for its benefit. In 1802 the net profits of the game were $1,263.36. In 1822 the Academy was closed as a private institution, and rented by the trustees to a competent person, who assumed all the responsibility of a private teacher, and has been thus continued up to the present time."
The trustees are Philemon Dickinson, President ; John S. Chambers, Secretary and Treasurer ; Gregory A. Perdicaris, and Barker Gummere : and the Principal is William W. Woodhull ; Assistant, William M. Lanning.
The Lawrenceville Classical and Commercial High School was established in 18ro by Rev. Isaac V. Brown, D.D., and was one of the first high schools established in this country. Up to 1840 it was calculated to accommodate from thirty-five to forty pupils ; since that time its capacity has been doubled, so as to accommodate from seventy-five to eighty.
For many years the ordinary flow of applications for admission has (kept it full and quite a surplus. There is no school of its class in this State, conducted as a private enterprise, which has maintained its position so long, kept pace with the times so well, gathered its patronage from as wide a field, and prepared as many young men for further culture, on the more advanced stages of collegiate and professional training. The academies of New England which have stood in the front rank are heavily endowed institutions.
During the whole period of more than sixty-five years, the school has been under the control of only three proprietors and four principals. It has gathered its patronage from every part of our widely extended country. Pupils have been drawn to it from almost every State in the Union, from South America, the West India Islands, the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations, from Great Britain, from Canada, from India, and Japan.
Among the illustrious names contained in the catalogue of 1873, will be found many Ministers of the Gospel, Governors " of States, Judges of National and State Courts, members of Na- tional and State Legislatures, Journalists, Engineers, Bankers, and Merchants, who have been largely successful, and have risen to distinction. Many, too, have been admitted to West Point,
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the United States Naval Academy, and have distinguished them- selves in the service of the country. A large number have been admitted to more than twenty of the leading colleges of the country, and in many instances have taken the highest honors of their classes.
Rev. Isaac V. Brown, D.D., was Proprietor and Principal from 1810 to October, 1834; A. H. Phillips, A.M., from October, 1834, to September, 1839, and the Rev. Samuel M. Hamill, D.D., the present Proprietor and Principal, since 1840.
The present Board of Instructors are Rev. Samuel M. Ha- mill, D.D., Principal and Proprietor, Latin and Greek Lan- guages and Moral Science ; Hugh H. Hamill, A.M., English Language and Political Science ; Joseph R. Duryee, A.B., Elo- cution, History and Mathematics; P. V. Huyssoon, A.M., Geography, and Assistant in Ancient Languages; J. Henry Frye, A.B., Natural Science and Mathematics; Professor Gus- tavus Wagner, Music, German and Drawing; Professor P. P. Pury, Modern Languages ; Professor Peabody, Elocutionist.
The Edge Hill Military School was first established in Prince- ton, in 1829, by Professor Robert B. Patton, a Vice-President and Professor of Languages in Princeton College in 1825, at which place it obtained, under the care of some of the best educators in the country, a wide and well-deserved celebrity.
In September, 1869, it was removed to its present locality, the borough of Merchantville, in Camden County, where a large, commodious building has been erected expressly for its accom- modation.
This borough is situated on the Camden and Burlington County Railroad, four miles east of Camden city, and is mainly composed of residences of gentlemen doing business in Phila- delphia.
The Principal is Professor S. N. Howell, a graduate of Prince- ton College and Theological Seminary, late Principal of the Granite State Military Institute, in New Hampshire, who brings to his aid the experience of more than twenty years in the active duties of the school-room ; and his endeavor is, by faithful, earn- est and conscientious effort, both in teaching and in discipline, to maintain the reputation of the school.
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The building, erected in 1869, was designed expressly for this school, and furnished with all the appliances requisite for its successful operation.
The course of study is full and comprehensive, embracing a thorough training in the common and higher English branches, natural sciences, mathematics, and languages, ancient and modern.
The Freehold Institute, located at Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, was established in 1843, and is at present one of the most flourishing schools in the United States. It is situated in one of the healthiest and wealthiest regions in the country, is entirely free from malaria, and is easily accessible by railroad from New York and Philadelphia, on the way to Long Branch.
The design of the institution is to give boys a thorough Eng- lish education, and prepare them for admission to any college or to enter the various business pursuits.
The buildings have been erected with special reference to the wants of the Institute, and are well adapted to the purpose, having high ceilings and thorough ventilation, the school-room and recitation-rooms not being surpassed by those of any private school in the State.
The Institute has a valuable and extensive library, which is open to the students every Friday, in addition to which the students have commenced the formation of libraries, to which they have made valuable selections under the direction of the librarian of the school. There are also extensive collections of minerals and fossils, systematically arranged, and several thou- sand plants in excellent preservation.
The Faculty are : Rev. A. G. Chambers, A.M., Principal, Higher Mathematics, Elocution, and Rhetoric; Henry C. Tal- madge, A.M., Latin Language and Physical Geography ; Wil- liam E. V. Horner, A.M., Greek Language, Anatomy, and Physiology ; William C Chambers, A.M., English Literature and Natural Science; Albert S. Cook, M.S., English Depart- munt and Mathematics; Karl Langlotz, A.M., Music and Modern Languages; Rev. John W. Scott, D.D., Lecturer on Natural Science; William C. Chambers, Gymnastics; Garret Little, Janitor.
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Burlington College is located at the city of Burlington, and was organized in 1846. On the 27th of February they obtained a charter from the Legislature. George Washington Doane, then Bishop of New Jersey, Garret D. Wall, Isaac B. Parker, Reuben J. Germain, Benjamin I. Haight, John D. Ogilby, Ed- mund D. Barry, Richard S. Field, Elias B. D. Ogden, William Wright, Richard W. Howell, George P. McCulloch, James Par- ker, Charles King, James Potter, Garret S. Cannon, Jonathan J. Spencer, John Joseph Chetwood, Thomas P. Carpenter, Jeremiah C. Garthwaite, Abraham Browning, George Y. Moore- house, William Halsted, and Daniel B. Ryall, were the incor- porators.
The character of the institution can be plainly seen by the high position held by the incorporators.
The proximity of the College and St. Mary's Hall allows parents who have sons and daughters to educate, to place their . children near each other.
The College buildings are located in extensive and beautiful grounds, that afford every facility for recreation and exercise.
Mr. E. P. Hancock has recently presented the College with a valuable mineralogical collection.
Attached to, and established the same year as that of the Col- lege, is a Preparatory Department, which has five classes, called Forms, each designed to occupy one year. The fifth, or highest, gives the course of study that is usually prescribed for the Fresh- men Class in College. Boys under fifteen years of age are ad- mitted at any time during the session, and are classed according to their proficiency.
The Officers and Instructors are: Right Rev. John Scarbo- rough, Bishop of New Jersey, President; Charles H. Beitel, Head Master, Mathematics and German ; Rev. Marcus F. Hyde, D.D., Professor of Greek and Latin, Librarian and Chaplain; Dr. Ernst Schmidt, Lecturer on Natural Sciences ; Elwood Han- cock, Instructor in Drawing ; Hobart Hewitt, Teacher of Music; Henry S. Haines, Curator.
St. Mary's Hall is a Female Seminary instituted in 1837, at Burlington, and is under the management of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
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. The Governor is ex officio President of the Board of Trustees, and in his absence, the Bishop of the Diocese presides.
The Faculty are Right Rev. John Scarborough, D.D., Bishop of New Jersey, President and Visitor ; Rev. Elvin K. Smith, A.M., Principal, Chaplain, and Head of the Family, in charge of English Literature and Composition ; Rev. Francis T. Rus- sell, Lecturer on Elocution ; Dr. E. R. Schmidt, Teacher of German and Latin, and Lecturer on Natural Philosophy and Chemistry ; Henry S. Haines, Teacher of Book-keeping; Hobart D. Hewitt, Instructor in Music ; Miss Nancy M. Stanley, Vice- Principal ; Mrs. Frances H. Handley, Art Instructor ; M'lle. Elise S. P. Bolley, Teacher of French ; Mrs. Eliza C. Lewis, Miss Harriet T. McPherson, Miss Evelina J. Hughes, Miss Julia Percival, Miss Margaret H. McElroy, Assistant Teachers ; Miss Ella C. Burch, and Miss Cornelia J. Thompson, Music Teachers ; Miss Mary A. Cornwell, Teacher of Calisthenics, and Assistant in Drawing ; Miss Elizabeth M. Guion, in charge of School- room ; Mrs. Mary E. Loud, Matron ; Henry S. Haines, Curator.
Number of pupils, one hundred and seventy-seven.
Seton Hall College was founded in 1856, at Madison, by the Right Rev. J. Roosvelt Bayley, D.D., at that time Bishop of Newark, late Archbishop of Baltimore .* After four years of successful experiment, it was removed during the summer vaca- tion of 1860, to its present location at South Orange.
. The Legislature of the State during its session of 1861, passed an act of incorporation granting it all the rights and privileges enjoyed by other colleges in the State.
It is situated near the village of South Orange, on the Dela- ware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, fourteen miles distant from New York, and six and a half from Newark.
The College buildings are of great architectural beauty, large and commodious, thoroughly ventilated, well heated by steam, and lighted by gas. In addition to the College buildings, a. large stone house has been erected for the Sisters and servants, the wardrobes and infirmaries.
The location is upon high ground, overlooking a beautiful country. The Orange Mountains have long been recommended
* Since deceased.
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by physicians as a most favorable residence for their patients. For years past the advantages of the surrounding country for health, extensive view, and proximity to New York, have been fully appreciated ; hence the villas and mansions on every eligi- ble site for miles around.
The College is under the immediate supervision of the Right Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D., Bishop of Newark. It is conducted by Secular Priests, who are assisted by experienced Lay Professors.
The domestic arrangements are under the care of the Sisters of Charity. The greatest attention is paid at all times to the neatness and cleanliness of every part of the establishment. In sickness the students receive the most careful nursing.
The object of the institution is to impart a good education, in the highest sense of the word ; to train the moral, intellectual, and physical being. The health, manners, and morals of the pupils are objects of constant attention. The system of govern- ment is mild and paternal, yet firm in enforcing the observance of established discipline.
All the pupils are thoroughly instructed in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and trained in its practices.
'The present number of students is seventy-one.
The Faculty are : Rev. James H. Corrigan, A. M., President, and Professor of Ethics; Rev. William P. Salt, A. M., Professor of Civil Polity ; Rev. John J. Schandel, A.M., Professor of Phi- losophy ; Rev. George W. Corrigan, A.M., Professor of History; Lawrence C. Carroll, A.M., First Prefect and Chief Discipli- narian ; Theodore Blume, A.M., Professor of Latin, Greek, and German ; E. Parker Scammon, A.M., Professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences ; William J. Phillips, A.M., Professor of English Literature; Leopold De Grand-Val, Professor of French; Anthony Wimmer, Professor of Music; T. Joseph Turner, Pro- fessor of Commercial Branches.
The Officers and Professors in the Ecclesiastical Seminary are: Rev. William P. Salt, A. M., Director, and Professor of Ecclesi- astical History ; Right Rev. Monsig. R. Seton, D.D., Lecturer on Pastoral Theology ; Rev. Sebastian Messmer, Professor of Dogmatic Theology and Sacred Scripture ; Rev. John J. Schan- del, A.M., Professor of Moral Theology ; Rev. James H. Corri-
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gan, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics. The number of Ecclesiastical students is thirty-two.
The Board of Trustees is composed of twelve, the Bishop of Newark being President ex officio.
At Madison, besides the Academy for young ladies, there is also a preparatory school for boys between the ages of five and ten. The Academy numbers eighty pupils; St. Joseph's Pre- paratory School, sixty. Both institutions are under the direc- tion of the Sisters of Charity, founded in this country by Mother Seton (aunt of the late Archbishop of Baltimore). Besides these institutions, they have St. Benedict's College, at Newark, conducted by members of the celebrated Order of St. Benedict, which was incorporated by act of the Legislature, approved March 5th, 1868. This Order has at present in this State ten members, who attend the spiritual wants of three churches, and direct the Classical and Commercial College.
It was founded at Newark, in the year 1869, under the aus- pices of the Most Rev. Archbishop Bayley, then Bishop of New- ark, is conducted by the Benedictine Fathers, with the approba- tion of the Right Rev. Dr. Corrigan, the Ordinary of the Dio- cese.
The Faculty are : Rev. P. Mellitus Tritz, O.S.B., President, Prefect of Students, and Professor of Christian Doctrine, His- tory and Penmanship; Rev. Rhabanus Maurus Gutmann, O.S.B., Disciplinarian and Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages ; Rev. Frederick Hoesel, O.S.B., Professor of Book-keeping and Mathematics; Rev. Lambert Kettner, O.S.B., Professor of Drawing and Painting ; John J. MacCarthy, A.M., Professor of Belles-Lettres and Elocution.
The present number of students is fifty.
There is at Elizabeth an academy for young ladies, conducted by Benedictine Nuns. In addition to the above, there are some thirty other academies, select and parochial schools, directed by the Christian Brothers, by the Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, and Sisters of St. Joseph.
There are about one hundred Catholic schools in the State ; seventy-six free schools, numbering twenty thousand pupils ; the academies number one thousand two hundred and forty pupils.
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There are two colleges, and a third one in course of erection at Jersey City.
The Brainard Institute, located at Cranbury, Middlesex County, was named in honor of Rev. David Brainard, the cele- brated missionary among the Indians. It is situated about mid- way between New York and Philadelphia, in one of the most flourishing and intelligent sections of the State. The location is healthy, and offers all the advantages of a highly moral and religious community.
The course of study is intended to prepare pupils for business, or for any class in college. The Principal is assisted by a corps of earnest and experienced teachers.
The buildings were erected in 1865, and the school was con- ducted for four years under the Rev. Elias S. Schenck, who was succeeded by W. S. McNair. The present Principal is L. T. Brown.
The Drew Theological Seminary is located at what is called " The Forest," near Madison, formerly called Bottle Hill, a post village in Chatham Township, Morris County, on the Mor- ris and Essex Railroad, about fourteen miles west of Newark, and twenty-eight from New York.
The situation is one of the most picturesque and healthful in the Northern States.
This Seminary is the chief educational result of the great Cen- tenary movement in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1866.
The library contains about fifteen thousand volumes, and was selected with great care by Dr. McClintock, its first President.
The late Dr. McClintock's personal library has been purchased by a few ladies of New York, and incorporated with the Semi- nary library.
The libraries of the professors are also available to the students under certain restrictions. The total number of volumes thus accessible is over twenty thousand.
The Seminary was opened in 1867, and a charter was granted by the Legislature February 12, 1868.
This Seminary is designed for the literary preparation of young men for the Christian ministry, on a foundation created by the liberality of Daniel Drew, Esq., of New York, who pur-
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chased the land belonging to the Seminary, and erected the building, at a cost of about two hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars, and gave two hundred and fifty thousand dollars more as a permanent endowment fund to sustain it. This sum was after- wards increased by an addition of nearly two hundred thousand dollars.
The Faculty are : Rev. John F. Hurst, D.D., President, and Professor of Historical Theology; James Strong, S.T.D., Pro- fessor of Exegetical Theology; Rev. Daniel P. Kidder, D.D., Professor of Practical Theology, and Librarian; Rev. John Miley, D.D., Professor of Systematic Theology ; Rev. Henry A. Butts, D. D., Professor of New Testament Exegesis ; Charles T. Durborow, A.B., Assistant Librarian ; James O. Wilson, A.B., Special Instructor in Elocution.
The number of students for 1877 is one hundred and four.
The Montrose Military and Classical School was established in the year 1871. It is eligibly located at Montrose, South Orange, within sight of the Orange Mountain, in the midst of a region of much natural beauty, and among a surrounding popu- lation of more than usual intelligence and social refinement. Standing upon elevated ground, about ten minutes' walk from the Montrose station, and within an hour's distance, by train, from New York, it combines, as a locality, in an unusual degree, the advantages of convenience, healthfulness, and beauty, and is well fitted, both by its accessibleness and seclusion, for a place of safe and successful education.
Rev. Dr. Wiley, the Principal, has charge of the Classical Department; Mr. John W. Miley, late of Holbrook's Military School, Sing Sing, the Mathematical and Military Departments, and Modern Languages (French and German).
Hopewell, formerly called Columbia, is a post village of Mer- cer County, about ten miles north of Trenton, and is the seat of the Hopewell Young Ladies' Seminary.
The Principal has had many years' experience in preparing young ladies for the duties and responsibilities of life, and care is exercised in the selection of teachers, that the moral influence be such that the characters of young ladies shall be improved and elevated by their companionship.
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