USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 35
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In September, 1846, a school was opened in the wooden building on Washington street, occu- pied by the A. M. E. Zion Church, for the benefit of the colored children who were numerous, but ex- cluded by prejudice from the other schools, to which they were admitted in 1851.
In 1847, the office of county superintendents was discontinued, and Teachers' Institutes, which had previously existed as voluntary associations, the first having been held at Ithaca in 1843, were legalized. The agitation in favor of free schools culminated in their establishment March 26th, 1849. This action was submitted to popular vote and sustained by a large majority, but its unequal operation excited discontent, and a vote taken in 1850 showed a largely reduced majority in its favor. The act was repealed in 1851, and the rate bill again introduced. April 16th, 1867, a free school act was again passed. April roth, 1850, an act was passed to regulate free schools in the city of Auburn. It provided that the offices of the several trustees, clerks, collectors
and librarians of the districts of the city, should cease on the third Tuesday of April, 1850, and on that day each district should elect one trustee ; that the common council at their last regular meeting next preceding the above date, should appoint a superintendent of common schools to hold for two years, and a school commissioner for each ward in the city ; and that these trustees and commissioners, together with the mayor and the superintendent, should constitute " the Board of Education for the City of Auburn," of which the mayor was constituted the president and the superintendent the clerk. The trustecs were to hold office for one year; the commissioners, for four years, and were to be divided into classes by lot. The first. Board was composed of the fol- lowing members : Hon. Aurelian Conklin, Presi- dent ; Levi Johnson, Superintendent and Clerk; E. N. Kitchell, trustee of District No. 1 ; I. S. Allen, trustec of District No. 2 ; Z. M. Mason, trustee of District No. 3 ; J. S. Bartlett, trustee of District No. 4 ; and Isaac Sisson, Jr., trustee of District No. 5 ; S. W. Arnett, commissioner of the Ist ward; B. Fosgate, commissioner of the 2d ward ; I. T. Marshall, commissioner of the 3d ward ; and C. P. Williams, commissioner of the 4th ward. The classes of commissioners were arranged by lot as follows : I. T. Marshall, to serve one year ; C. P. Williams, two years ; S. W. Arnett, three years ; and B. Fosgate, four years.
The office of " City Superintendent of Com- mon Schools," was abolished in 1866, and the Board empowered to appoint their own secretary, but the office was reestablished in 1871.
In 1869, three new wards and one district were established and the Board consequently increased by three commissioners and one trustee. In 1866, provision was made by an amendment to the act of 1850, for the establishment of The Auburn Academic High School, and the Board of Education were constituted a body corporate un- der that name, with " power to establish, organize and maintain a classical department or school un- der their charge," " and purchase a site and erect a building therefor, in their discretion." It was made subject to the visitation of the Regents of the University, and to all the laws and regulations applicable to incorporated academies, and was . endowed with all the privileges of such acade- mies, including a share in the distribution of the
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
189
moneys of the literature fund. The Board was empowered, " with the consent of two-thirds of the trustees of the Auburn Academy, to use and occupy the said Auburn Academy property for the purposes of said Academic High School," and to take a transfer of said property, "and thereaf- ter the same shall be used and occupied as an Academic High School, pursuant to the provis- ions of this act ; and tuition in the said Aca- demic High School shall be forever without charge to all children residing in the city of Au- burn." Negotiations for the transfer of the prop- erty of the Auburn Academy were at once be- gun and terminated successfully October 8th, 1866, when, at a full meeting of the trustees of that Institution, the following resolution was adopted by the bare two-thirds majority re- quired :
" Resolved, That we hereby consent to the transfer of the Auburn Academy property to the Board of Education of the city of Auburn, to be occupied for the purposes of an Academic High School, as set forth in the act of the Legislature of the State of New York entitled 'an act to amend an act to regulate Free Schools in the city of Auburn,' passed April 10, 1850."
Pending the negotiations for the Academy property, arrangements were progressed for the opening of the school, which convened the first Monday in September, 1866, and was held dur- ing the term in school-house No. 4. Warren Higley was selected as Principal, and also Clerk of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools. His assistants were Miss Sarah E. Sedgwick, who was appointed preceptress, and H. S. Barnum and Henry A. Duboc, the latter of whom taught French only. Charles M. Davis was appointed associate principal, but ill health prevented his acting as such. The school opened very auspiciously with seventy-seven pupils, which number was increased during the term to one hundred and seven. The next term of school, which commenced Jan. 2d, 1867, was held in the Academy building, and opened with 132 pupils.
March 14th, 1871, the Legislature passed " an act to amend and consolidate the several acts relating to the public schools of the city of Au- burn, by which provision was made for the elec- tion of district clerks, whose duties are therein defined ; and the trustees and commissioners constituted the Board of Education, with power to choose a president from their own number
and to appoint a secretary and superintendent of public schools, both to hold office during their pleasure. The board was constituted a body cor- porate and vested with the title to all property acquired or which should thereafter be acquired for the schools, and with power to sell and dis- pose of such property, under certain restrictions. It was left discretionary with the board to charge tuition for instruction in the Greek, Latin, French and German languages, and they were empowered to pass ordinances for the government and man- agement of schools, school officers and school property, and to impose penalties for their viola- tion ; to determine annually the amount neces- sary to defray the ordinary expenses of the schools, which should in no case exceed six times the amount apportioned by the State for the year next preceding, and to demand not to exceed $8,000 in any one year for the erection of new schools ; and it was made the duty of the Com- mon Council to levy and raise such sum as was demanded. It was made the duty of the board "annually to raise such sums as may be neces- sary for the employment of necessary teachers in the Cayuga Asylum for destitute children, and to employ all such teachers in the same manner and under the same regulations as teachers of other public schools of said city are employed, and said school shall be subject to visitation and regulation by said board, or its officers, the same as any of the public schools of said city." The composition of the first board under the provis- ions of this law was as follows : Miles Perry, trustee of Dist. No. 3, president ; David H. Schoonmaker, trustce of Dist. No. 1 ; Theodore M. Pomeroy, trustee of Dist. No. 2 ; James Kerr, trustee of Dist. No. 4; Wheelock H. Derby, trustee of Dist. No. 5 ; Byron C. Smith, John S. Fowler, Wm. J. Moses, Wm. Hayden, Charles P. Williams, John S. Clark and John Under- wood, commissioners of the Ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Wards respectively ; and Benj. B. Snow, secretary, In June following the Board decided to charge tuition for those studies for which the law made it permissible, but such dis- approbation of this action was made manifest in the various district meetings which followed, that it was rescinded, thus virtually removing the last barrier to complete free education in Auburn.
In 1874, the Legislature passed "an act to secure to children the benefits of elementary
190
CITY OF AUBURN.
education," or what is popularly known as the "compulsory education act," which, as appears from the report of the Secretary for the year 1877, "has been practically a dead letter, so far as its operation in [this] city is concerned. This has been the result of no disposition on the part of the Board to ignore the provisions of the law, but from a well considered conviction of the in- practicability of executing them." Tardiness is not permitted in the public schools in Auburn. Each pupil who is late is excluded from that ses- sion and charged with a half day's absence. It is interesting to note the effect of the enforce- ment of this rule on the general attendance, which is exhibited by the following figures from the report of the Secretary for 1877 : The num- ber of cases of tardiness reported for the respect- ive years from 1874-'77, both inclusive, were 1,554 in 1874, 368 in 1875, 47 in 1876, and none in 1877. The per cent. of attendance on the basis of total attendance and absence was 91.87 in 1874, 93.41 in 1875, 94.09 in 1876, and 94.42 in 1877. The per cent. of the whole number registered, who attended more than twenty weeks, or one-half of the school year, was 64.36 in 1874, 71.13 in 1875, 73.45 in 1876, and 75.49 in 1877. In 1874, thirty-seven pupils only were neither absent nor tardy for the year ; while for the year 1877 the number reached 149. In 1871, of something over 2,500 pupils enrolled in the public schools for the year, four only were neither absent nor tardy, viz .: Ella M. Gridley, Sarah A. Olmsted and C. Eugene Kirkpatrick of the High School, and Kittie Wheaton of School No. 5, now Seymour Street School, the Board having decided in July, 1877, to designate the schools by the names of the streets on which they are located, instead of by numbers. By this ar- rangement No. I is known as Fulton Street School, No. 2, as Genesee Street School, No. 3, as Grover Street School, No. 4, as North Street School, No. 5, as Seymour Street School, No. 1, Primary, as Bradford Street Primary, No. 5 Pri- mary, as Division Street Primary, and the new school since established on Franklin street, as the Franklin Street Primary.
June 10th, 1875, the several acts relative to public schools in the city of Auburn were again revised and consolidated. The several districts were consolidated and formed into one district ; the schools were put under control and manage-
ment of nine commissioners, to be known as "The Board of Education of the City of Au- burn," and elected on the third Tuesday of May in each year, in three classes, to serve for one, two and three years respectively. The duties of secretary and superintendent were devolved upon one person to be elected by the Board. Permission was given to raise an amount in ex- cess of $8,000 in any one year for building pur- poses by and with the unanimous consent of the Board. The Board was clothed with general powers similar to those enumerated in the pre- vious act.
The school year consists of a fall term, com- mencing the first Monday of September, con- tinuing sixteen weeks, and followed by a vacation of one week ; a winter term, commencing the first Monday in January, continuing fifteen weeks, and followed by a vacation of two weeks; and a summer term, commencing at the expira- tion of the spring vacation, and continuing nine weeks.
RATES OF TUITION FOR NON-RESIDENT PUPILS.
Fall Term. Winter Term. Summer Term.
High School. $II 50 $10 50 $6 50
Second four years 6 50 6 00 3 75
First four years. ... 4 00 3 50 2 50
The tuition in the High School for common English studies is $9.00, $8.50 and $5.25, for the terms respectively.
The financial report for the year ending July 3Ist, 1877, sufficiently indicates the liberality with which the schools are supported. We pre- sent it below :
Balance on hand per last report __ $14,255 09 Received from State.
Apportionment according to dis- tricts $2,387 60
Apportion'ent accord- ing to population . . 7,681 87
Apportionment for li- brary 195 32
Apportionment for su-
perintendent's sal-
800 00
ary .
Literature Fund . ... 759 02
$11,823 81
Received from Local Sources.
City Tax .
$19,734 96
Tuition, &c. 742 09
Interest on Deposits.
385 98
20,863 03
Total
$46,941 93
191
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Disbursements.
Salaries of teachers and superin- tendent . $26,259 00
Janitors and Janitors' supplies
Repairs 1,554 17
1,078 25
Fences, yards, &c. 168 26
Furniture, stoves, &c.
775 46
Fuel
1,544 69
Stationery
192 II
Insurance
300 00
Books for indigent
children
120 76
Taking census. 73 00
Apparatus for High School
49 63
Printing and advertis- ing
387 52
Encyclopedias
395 75
Gas.
13 39
Rent for secretary's of- fice
ยท 250 00
Election expenses . .
66 40
Franklin St. Primary,
lot and building. . . .
2,651 00
Sheriff's fees in Quick suit .
18 29
High School Com-
mencement expenses
53 00
35,951 28
Balance $10,990 65
These disbursements were apportioned among the different schools as follows :
High School.
Teachers' wages $4,550 00
Other expenses 941 04
$5,491 04
Fulton Street School.
Teachers' wages. $4,636 50
Other expenses.
1,238 72
5,875 22
Genesee Street School.
Teachers' wages $3,591 25
Other expenses.
893 II
4,484 36
Grover Street School.
Teachers' wages $2,691 25
Other expenses . 755 06
3,446 31
North Street School.
Teachers' wages $2,700 00
Other expenses 674 57
3,374 57
Seymour Street School.
Teachers' wages.
$2,840 00
Other expenses.
960 71
3,800 71
Bradford Street Primary.
Teachers' wages.
$800 00
Other expenses.
351 90
1,151 90
Division Street Primary.
Teachers' wages.
$800 00
Other expenses
265 36
1,065 36
Franklin Street Primary.
Lot and building, erected in 1877.
2,651 00
Orphan Asylum.
Teachers' wages.
$450 00
Fuel, $53.73; Books, $8. . 61 73
5[1 73
Contingent and general expendi-
tures .
4,099 08
Total
$35,951 28
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of total registration,
was
$13 74
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of average number at -
tending .
19 44
Or deducting the cost of the Franklin St. Pri- mary, which does not properly belong to the cur- rent expenses of the year, it was $12.72 for the former, and $18.00 for the latter. The total num- ber of pupils registered for the year 1877, was 2,616, an increase of 73 over the previous year, and fifty-one per cent. 'of the school population ; to which if we add the number claimed to have been enrolled in parochial schools, we find that seventy-five per cent. of the school population at- tended school some portion of the year. The average attendance for the year was 1,849, as against 1,696 the preceding year. The number of teachers employed was fifty-two, twenty-two of whom were graduates of the High School.
HIGH SCHOOL .- The main portion of the High School building is 57 by 37 feet, inside. The study room on the third floor is provided with desks for 118 pupils. The other two floors contain halls, cloak rooms, three recitation rooms, a laboratory and the office of the City Superin- tendent of Schools. In the wing, which was added in 1873, and first occupied September 30th
33-2
192
CITY OF AUBURN.
of that year, are two study rooms, with desks for fifty-eight pupils in each. All the rooms are provided with blackboards. The building is con- structed of brick, is in good repair and well furnished.
The present estimated value of the lot is . $ 5,000 00
The present estimated value of the building is .. 15,000 00
The Academy library, containing 300 volumes, is valued at. 300 00
The present value of philosophical ap- paratus is. . 489 50
The present value of pianos is.
300 00
The present value of pictures, busts,
carpets, &c., is
250 00
Total value of property $21,339 50
The revenue of the school for the year ending July 31st, 1878, was,
For tuition collected or considered collectable. . $ 443 66
Apportionment from Literature Fund 766 97
Local taxes
4,516 01
Total $ 5,726 64
The number of teachers employed in the academic department in 1877, was six, two males and four females, viz .: John E. Meyer, A. M., principal, (a position he has held since 1870, hav- ing previously acceptably filled the position of associate principal of this school,) who was edu- cated at Williams College, has taught fifteen years, teaches the Natural Sciences and Latin, and receives a salary of $1,600; Richard S. Holmes, A. M., professor of Greek and Latin, who was educated at Middlebury College, has taught eleven years, and receives a salary of $1,000; Sarah E. Sedgwick, preceptress, who was educated at Poughkeepsie Female Seminary, has taught eighteen years, gives instruction in Higher English, and receives a salary of $750 ; Ursula L. Sittser, teacher of Common English, who was educated at Auburn Academy, has taught nineteen years, and receives a salary of $600; Annis D. Kenney, teacher of Common English, who was educated at Cayuga Lake Academy, has taught ten years, and receives a salary of $600; and S. Belle Sherwood, teacher of Common English, who was educated at Elmira Female College, and receives a salary of $350.
The average number of pupils attending the High School in 1877 was 177, an increase of
fifteen over the previous year. The graduating class for that year comprised seven members, six in the academic and one in the classical course. The first graduates (in 1868) were Arthur Stephen Hoyt and James Hall, both in the class- ical course. The whole number who have gradu- ated to the close of the year 1877 is 106, forty- four in the classical and sixty-two in the academic course.
The appended table shows the thoroughness of the instruction imparted here, when it is remem- bered that the written examinations held at stated times are made the basis for determining the dis- tribution of the Literature Fund :
YEAR.
Whole number of
pupils during year.
Number of pupils
holding Regents'
Per cent. of whole
number who hold
Order on State list as
regards number of
pupils holding Re-
gents' certificates.
Apportionment from
Literature Fund.
1869-'70.
147
53
36
50
$283 95
IS70-'71.
145
54
37
28
356 80
1871-'72.
IQI
64
34
27
442 31
1872-'73.
245
108
44
II
619 85
1873-'74
218
120
55
IO
617 52
1874-175.
192
127
66
9
657 65
1875-'76 ..
200
136
65
7
759 02
Mr. Chas. P. Williams, dealer in books and stationery, taught school from 1844 to 1854, first in the school on School street, and afterwards on North street. He was superintendent of schools and clerk of the Board of Education from 1856 to 1866, and school commissioner twelve years. Mr. L. Paddock, the present superintendent of streets, taught in the public schools some fifteen to eighteen years, first in the School street school, and afterwards in the " bell " school-house.
BOARD OF EDUCATION 1878-'9.
President-John T. M. Davie.
Commissioners-David W. Barnes, Delamer E. Clapp, Orlando S. Clark, J. T. M. Davie, Amasa B. Hamblin, Orlando Lewis, Wm. J. Moses, Miles Perry and Bradley A. Tuttle.
Superintendent and Secretary-B. B. Snow.
Standing Committees .- Finance, Wm. J. Moses, Delamer E. Clapp and Orlando S. Clark ; Schools, Miles Perry, Bradley A. Tuttle and Amasa B. Hamblin ; Teachers, Bradley A. Tuttle, Orlando Lewis and Miles Perry ; High School, Orlando Lewis, Wm. J. Moses and Delamer E. Clapp ; Text Books, Delamer E. Clapp, Amasa B. Hamb- lin and Orlando S. Clark ; Grievances, Orlando S. Clark, Miles Perry and David W. Barnes ;
certificates.
certificates.
193
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Supplies, Amasa B. Hamblin, David W. Barnes and Orlando Lewis ; Buildings and Repairs, Da- vid W. Barnes, Wm. J. Moses and Bradley A. Tuttle.
The regular meetings of the board are held the first Tuesday of each month, at 7 o'clock P. M. from Oct. Ist, to April Ist, and at 7 1-2 o'clock P. M., from April Ist, to Oct. Ist, at the Com- mon Council chamber.
AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
FOUNDING .- The Auburn Theological Semin- ary is a school for the education of candidates for the ministry of the Presbyterian church. It was established by the Synod of Geneva in 1819, and chartered by the State April 14th, 1820. The act of incorporation contains a proviso that no student of any Christian denomination shall be excluded from a participation in the privileges of the insti- tution on the ground of his religious persuasion. The seat of the institution was fixed at Auburn in consequence of a liberal contribution towards its endowment by several of the citizens. The valuable ground for its location was provided by the donation of six acres by the heirs of Col. John L. Hardenbergh and two acres by Glen Cuyler, and the purchase of about as much more. By the growth of the city around it, it has now come to be quite centrally situated, and presents the only considerable piece of open and public ground within the city limits.
BUILDINGS .- Upon this ground there was erected in the years 1820 and 1821, the original Seminary building, afterwards added to and im- proved, at a total cost of about $40,000. It in- cluded a chapel and lecture rooms and accommo- dations for sixty or seventy students. The building was substantial, but plain and unorna- mental, and imperfectly provided with appliances for ventilation. As it faced north and south the northern rooms received but little sunshine at any period of the year and were objectionable from the liability to cold and dampness. The whole building was much below the standard of architectural beauty and convenience now thought necessary in public edifices. These inconven- iences were remedied by the erection in 1874-'5 of Morgan Hall, the beautiful and perfect build- ing now used. It is built of the blue limestone of the County picked out with Medina sandstone ; is five stories in height, and faces east and west, so
that every room has the benefit of the sun's rays during a part of the day. It is 216 feet in length by 45 in breadth, and provides accommodation for seventy-six students, each with a parlor and bed-room. The stairways are broad and easy ; and there is an elevator for raising baggage or other heavy material. The rooms are neatly fur- nished with everything necessary for the students' convenience. The whole building is heated by steam and supplied with gas and water. For the use of all these conveniences the students pay the sum of $25 each per year ; and are subject to no other charge whatever for enjoying the advanta- ges of the institution. Besides this, all students for the Presbyterian ministry whose circum- stances require it are aided from the Seminary or other public funds to the amount of from $16oto $200 per year.
The cost of Morgan Hall was about $ 100,000. three-quarters of which was the donation of Col. Edwin B. Morgan of Aurora. Besides this noble benefaction Col. Morgan furnished one-half the cost of the beautiful Dodge and Morgan Library Building, standing on the opposite or east side of the Seminary quadrangle. The Hon. W. E. Dodge, a liberal benefactor of the Seminary, of- fered to furnish half the amount necessary for the erection of a fire-proof building for the library. The offer was taken up by Col. Morgan. The entire cost of this clegant building, confessedly one of the finest in the country, was about $40,- 000. It is constructed of the same kind of ma- terials as Morgan Hall, and is arranged with shelves on the floor and galleries, to hold 60,000 volumes.
To complete the plan on which these two buildings have been put up there is needed a new building to contain a chapel and lecture rooms in a corresponding style. If this should take the place of the present unsatisfactory chapel, there would only be needed a gymnasium building on the north side to complete the quadrangle, and furnish every necessary material accommodation for the good of the students.
STUDENTS .- The first class of students for the ministry graduated from the Seminary in 1824. Since then there has left the institution each year a class of young men well prepared for the work of preaching the gospel until the aggregate ex- ceeds a thousand. These have furnished pas- tors not only for the Presbyterian churches in
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CITY OF AUBURN.
Central and Western New York, which was the first and immediate demand of the Seminary, but for the new States and Territories of the West, and for missionary service abroad.
It is expected that each class will supply sev- eral laborers both for the home and foreign field. The students while still in the Seminary engage in evangelistic labors as far as possible ; teaching the convicts in the State Prison, conducting Sun- day schools and Bible classes, and supplying feeble and destitute congregations in the neigh- borhood with the preaching of the gospel.
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION .- The Presbyterian Church, as is well known, favors a thorough prep- aration for the work of the Christian ministry. The classes in the Seminary are divided into juniors, middle and seniors, and the course of instruction extends over three years. Most of the candidates are graduates of our best colleges ; and either a college diploma, or a corresponding evidence of acquaintance with the languages, arts and sciences is usually required in order to secure admission. The following is an outline of the course of study :
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