USA > New York > Onondaga County > Pompey > Re-union of the sons and daughters of the old town of Pompey > Part 12
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A singular taet should be noted as to the title of the Academy to its lot of land. On his accession to the office of treasurer in the fall of 1853, Mr. Levi Wells, while ex- amining the papers that had come to his hands, found the deed for this lot of land. It was given by Jesse Butler and Louisa his wife, to Pompey Academy, It was dated " the -day of-A. D. 1811," was in the usual form of a deed, with a covenant of warranty. Consideration, $100. It con- veyed in fee to the Academy, "All that certain piece or par- cel ofland lying on lot number sixty-five, in the township of Pompey, bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a stake ninety-six links, south, fifty-six degrees west from the south- west corner of Daniel Wood's house : running from thence west, sixteen rods to a stake : thence north nineteen rods: thence east nineteen rods to the east line of the highway: thence along the highway southerly to the place of begin-
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ning, containing two acres of land, be the same more or less. " .
Though imperfect in the date, it was otherwise in due form, and duly signed and sealed by both grantors. And it was witnessed as to Mr. Butler by H. Clark. But it was neither acknowledged, proved or recorded. Of course it was liable to loss or destruction. It could only be read in evi- dence, if that should ever be necessary, by giving proof of signatures nearly half a century old at that time, and likely soon to be wholly incapable of proof. Mr. Wells lost no time in endeavoring to cure this defect. On presenting the deed to Mrs. Butler, she at once freely acknowledged it be- fore him as a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Butler, however, refused to do the same, and it became necessary to resort to a provision of the recording act, very rarely used of late years. The genuineness of Mr. Butler's signature to the deed was proved by Mr. Samuel Baker. The gen- nineness of the signature, and the death of Henry Clark, the witness to Mr. Butler's execution of the deed, were proved by Mr. John H. Clark, (brother of Henry Clark.) Then, by filing the deed with the County Clerk, to remain forever on file in his office, it was admitted to record on the 5th of January, 1854, and recorded in Liber 115 of Deeds, p. 138. Thus, after a lapse of more than forty years, the title of the Academy to the site of its school building was first secured against loss and danger.
By a law passed April 13. 1813, the Commissioners of the Land Office were " authorized and required to grant by Letters Patent to the trustees of Pompey Academy, and their successors, in fee simple, Lot Number Fifteen in the town of Camillus, in the County of Onondaga, any law to the contrary notwithstanding." It was then, in the law, made the duty of the trustees, when they should _" sell the said lot or any part thereof, to loan the money arising from such sale on landed security, to double the value of the sum so loaned, and on the payment of any such loan, then to re- loan the same forever, and to appropriate the interest arising
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from such loans forever to the support and maintenance of instruction in said Academy."
The passage of this law is believed to have been secured by the late V. Birdseye, at a time when he was in Albany, to attend the Supreme Court.
This lot of land, (15 in Camillus,) now in the town of Van Buren, lies on the south bank of Sencea River, about two miles below, or east of, Baldwinsville. It contained 638.88 acres, and was originally covered with a large and valuable growth of pine and oak timber, which was easily rafted to the mills on the River. The Commissioners of the Land Office had been tor years vexed by the stealing of the tim- ber from the lot, which they had been unable to prevent or to punish. This fact no doubt made the obtaining of the grant much easier than it would otherwise have been.
On securing the passage of the Act, and its signature by the Governor, Mr. B. returned with a certified copy; no one in Pompey knowing anything of it. He went imme- diately to the land, with the late Warren Scranton, and with his assistance, and that of Spencer Smith as surveyor, surveyed and subdivided the lot. Very soon, such portions were sold, that owners were settled on parts of the lot to watch the remainder, and prevent trespassing. The whole of the land was soon sold, producing a fund of about $4,000; the income of which tended very materially to promote the welfare and success of the school .- (See Clark's Onondaga, I : 245.)
All the olderinhabitants of the town and the early scholars will well recollect the old Academy. It was a large building for that time and place, of wood, painted yellow, nearly square, being 50 feet by 40; its gable fronting the south ; of two stories, and with a hall ten feet wide running through the middle of the first floor. On each side of this hall, at the front, was a study room, ten feet by fifteen. Behind each of these, and on each side of the hall was a long room extending to the rear of the building, forty feet by fifteen.
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In the long room on the west side of the hall, the com- mon school of the village was taught for many years : it being in fact a department of the Academy, long after the charter was granted. It had been so occupied even before the whole building was completed, and the charter obtained. In the room on the east of the hall, the Academy was taught. All the old pupils will recollect the long room : with its broad fire-place at the south end ; the entrance from the hall, by the door about a third of the distance from the south end; the P'receptor's chair and table at the north end: the sloping desks, fastened to the wall, on either side : the long benches before the desks : both benches and desks of the finest white pine, and well whittled and marked. On the west side of the room, behind the door leading into the hall, and at the Master's right hand, sat the girls. On the other side, and below the hall door on the west side. sat the boys : the smallest of each sex being nearest the teacher. and ris- ing by age, till the oldest scholars were trusted farthest from his eye. The favorite seats were those on each side of the massive walls of the projecting fire-place, with but a step between the seat and the boards that covered the bricks of the chimney. The seats could be seen and approached only from the side next the master. Here, many a game and trick were played ; much fruit and many nuts eaten. From one of these secluded corners it was that about December. 1819, the live coal from the fire was dropped into the open hand of the new scholar who, on his first day at the school, stood before the fire, with closed eyes, and hands spread behind his back, during Mr. Leonard's morning prayer. That scholar recently died at a good old age : and he told the writer that he never knew or suspected whose sleight-of- hand had played the neat trick. If the perpetrator of it shall see these lines, he may now safely make due confes- sion. Let him do so. "Better late than never."
In after years, when the District School-house had been built, the common school was removed thither. Then the west room became the chemical and philosophical laborato-
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ry and lecture room, which was so attractive on the Wed- nesday afternoons, when the routine of studying and reciting gave place to more enticing lectures and experiments. How pungent was the chlorine ? How pronounced the odor of the sulphuretted hydrogen ? How proud was the pupil chosen to stand with the teacher behind the table, to lend an occasional hand in helping an experiment through to suc- cess ? Ot what matter was even an extra breath of chlorine to one who was enjoying such a distinction ?
The second story was the chapel. It occupied nearly the whole of the upper part of the building, and was forty feet square. The stairs leading to it were at the north, at the ex- treme rear end of the hall. At the south, or front of the chapel was " The stage," a broad platform raised just three feet from the floor. On each side of the stage, at the front corner of the building, was a small room for study, ten feet by fifteen. The roof was supported by four columns of carved or turned pine, at equal distance from the corners and centre of the room.
Church service was conducted here for years, and until the Congregational Church of the village was erected and dedicated, in 1817. Here also were held THE EXHIBITIONS which were the gala days of the town, when the pupils of Leonard and Littlejohn declaimed, and the laughing gas was administered, and the audience scattered before the steps of the happy but unconscious victim, whose brief de- lusion soon left him, to wonder what folly he had commit- ted while under the influence of " the gas."
In 1833, the old Academy had become so dilapidated, and so unsuited to the wants of the school, as to require re- building. It was found necessary to have also a dwelling house for the Preceptor. A new subsciption was made, and money raised: the effort therefor commencing about the year 1831.
In 1834, the old building was vacated, and the new one commenced, which was finished and opened in the fall of
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1835; the school being in the meantime taught in the Dis- trict school house. The Preceptor's house was completed in May, 1836. The cost of the Academy was $3,000, with extras to the amount of $110. The cost of the Preceptor's house and extras, was $1,285.56. Timothy Butterfield was the builder.
Many curious entries appear in the minutes and among the files of the Academy.
On the 6th of October, 1815, the Prudential Committee order the Treasurer to pay " the bearer, the Captain of the band of musick, thirty-four dollars for the services of said band at the Exhibition of said Institution." This order is receipted by John Hoare who was therefore the "Captain of the band of musick."
There are, during several years, charges by, and payments to John Handy and Hezekiah Hopkins, (the two tavern keep- ers of the village,) for liquors, board and " horse bate," for the musicians.
During 1817, the scholars numbered 152; During 1818. 135 ; During 1822, 77 ; During 1824, 85.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a perfect list of the teachers who kept the common school, while it was held in the west room of the Academy. But the following list is believed to be nearly complete
James Robinson, kept a school in which he taught the classies and higher English branches, in 1805-6-7.
Abraham Plaunt, taught for some three or four winters.
Smith Dunham, taught, A. D. 1813-14.
Harvey Canfield in 1814.
Hugh Wallis, Dartmouth 1791: died 1843 ; aged 81, in 1814.
Miles Dunbar, Jr., in 1814-15.
Orange Butler, in 1815.
J. J. Deming, April 25, 1816, to Oct. 1, 1817.
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Daniel Gott, 1817-18.
Daniel Munson Wakeley, 1818. Manoah Pratt, (then Jr.) for three winters. B. Franklin Chappell for one winter.
The list of teachers in the Academy proper, is believed to be more perfect.
The first teacher employed in the Academy was Ely Bur- chard; (Yale 1811, died 1866,) at a salary of $350. He taught from Dec. 5, 1811, to Oct. 5, 1813. Prior to the en- gagement of Mr. Burchard, three separate efforts had been made to engage other teachers : but all had for some reason proved unsuccessful.
On the 4th Sept. 1813, the trustees of the Academy ap- proved of contracts made with Rev. Joshua Leonard* to take charge of the Academy as principal, at a salary of $500. and Smith Dunham to take charge of the common school. under the superintendence of the Academy, at a salary of $300. Mr. Leonard continued in charge of the Academy till 1822; being also most of the time pastor of the Con- gregational Church in the village.
On the 25th April, 1822, Rev. Eleazer S. Barrows, (Mid- dlebury, 1811 ; and Tutor and Professor of Latin, in Ham- ilton College ; died 1847,) and who had become pastor of the same church, took charge of the Academy under a writ- ten agreement, by which he was to take the interests of the Academy under his care and superintendence : to provide for its instruction by the employment of suitable teachers, and to superintend its government and general internal management. He continued in charge of the school till
** Rev. Joshua Leonard, born June 25, 1769. Graduated at Brown University, 1288, A. M. Yale, 1792. First settled in the ministry at Ellington, Conn., whence, about 1297 or 8, he removed to Cazenovia, N. Y. Here, on the 17th May, 1798, he organized a Presby- terian Church, of nine members, the first Church formed there. Continued pastor of that church for about 14 years, when he resigned his charge on account of impaired health ; the church then numbering 127 members. From Cazenovia he removed to Pompey. He was Preceptor of Pompey Academy for about 8 years. He died at Auburn. N. Y. Dec. 18, 1843, aged 75 years.
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April, 1828. But the actual teaching and management of the school were committed to others. Edward Aikin, (Mid- dlebury, 1815 : Died 1831,) came in May, 1822, and re- mained for about three years. Flavius Josephus Littlejohn, (Hamilton, 1827,) taught during part of 1825, infusing very great interest and life into the school. Henry Howe, (Mid- dlebury, 1817,) succeeded : remaining till September, 1828, when he removed to Canandaigua, to take charge of the Academy there, and which he conducted with success for the next 15 years : dying in 1865.
Mr. Barrows, no doubt, made " a good thing" by this ar- rangement : as he received the Regents and tuition moneys, and $300 per annum out of the funds, with an annual al- lowance for repairs ; making in all about $1,000 per an- num, while he secured the services of the gentlemen who actually taught the school, for abont half that sum, or less.
On the 25th October, 1828, Rev. Andrew Huntington, (Yale, 1815,) who still survives, took charge of the Acade- my, and taught it till July 14, 1834.
In October, 1834, Samuel S. Stebbins, (Yale, 1816; Died 1860.) and who like Mr. Huntington, was a fine scholar, became preceptor, continuing in charge until January, 1843.
Hon. Amos Westcott, lately mayor of Syracuse, now deceased, and a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y., was assistant to Mr. Stebbins, from Sept. 1836, to Sept. 1838. Wm. E. Mason, succeeded him as assistant : teaching till August, 1839.
In September, 1843, Ensign Baker became preceptor, l'e- maining so, till April, 1846. Harrison V. Miller, M. D., (Hamilton, 1851,) was assistant teacher in 1845-6. From Sept .. 1846, to July, 1852, Truman K. Wright, (Middlebury, 1839,) was preceptor. Charles HI. Payson, taught from Sept., 1852, to April. 1854. He was then succeeded by E. Delos Wells, ( Williams, 1854,) who taught till August, 1855.
Rev. John F. Kendall, (Hamilton, 1855,) succeeded teach-
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ing till August, 1856. Wm. W. Waterman taught from Sept., 1856, to April, 1857. S. Marshall Ingalls then taught till April, 1858. Theodore Beard, (Hamilton, 1856: Died 1860.) succeeded, teaching till Aug., 1859, with the excep- tion of the latter part of 1858, when Daniel P. Baldwin, (Madison University,) supplied his place, during a sickness. George W. Kellogg, (Hamilton, 1859.) taught from Oeto ber, 1859, to April, 1860 : being then succeeded by Joseph Dow, (Dartmouth, 1833,) who remained two years. Lozenzo Fish succeeded him, teaching till Angust, 1864. He was sneceeded by Orson G. Dibble, (Yale, 1864,) now the phy- sieian at Pompey, and the Secretary and Treasurer of the Academy. He taught till August, 1867, and was followed by Edwin S. Butterfield, (Yale, 1867,) and who taught till April, 1868, when Dr. Dibble returned for a term. P. V. N. Myers, (Williams, 1867,) taught from Sept., 1868, to July, 1869. Rev. Lemuel S. Pomeroy, (Hamilton, 1835,) for the next year. C. E. Havens, to March, 1871, and W. II. Ave- ry, during the summer term of 1871. The first preceptress in the Academy, was the late Miss Lucretia Upham, who taught for six quarters in 1815-16. Miss A. M. Cufts, con- ducted a Female Department for six months, in 1825, under the administration of Mr. Barrows.
Upon the completion of the new school building, and the re-organization of the school, Miss Anne Hopkins became preceptress for the year 1835-6, assisted a part of the time by Miss Mary S. Hascall. Miss Margaret Sayles taught during 1836-7. Miss Eliza E. Randall being the music teacher. Miss Harriet N. Rand taught from October, 1837, to December, 1840. Miss Charlotte Buttrick, taught du- ring 1841.
Miss Elizabeth II. Stone from January 1, 1842, to April, 1843. Miss Algenia Knox to April, 1844. Miss Gifting, Miss Hoskins and Miss Stella Whipple had charge of the ladies' school during the residue of 1844 and 1845, Miss Julia E. Reynolds during 1846-7. Miss Maria Doolittle in 1848. Mrs. T. K. Wright taught in this department much
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of the residue of the time while her husband was preceptor of the Academy.
Adelia M. Payson taught in 1853-4. Charlotte A. Birds- eye, (Mrs. Harrison V. Miller,) to April, 1855: Ellen Hunt to April, 1856; Mary S. Griffith from Sept., 1856 to - 1857; Pamelia Beard, from 1858 to April, 1860.
Minerva Adams taught from January, 1864, to April, 1864; Mary A. Birdseye, January to April, 1865 : Laura J. Reddy for the same time in 1866; Elizabeth M. Hayden for the same time in 1867, and again in 1869; Annie Carroll from October to December, 1869; Clara Pomeroy from Decem- ber, 1869, to April, 1870.
To make here any extended reference to the pupils of the Academy who have since become distinguished in the world, is impracticable, even if it were proper. It must suffice to say that the Academy left its stamp on almost all those who have gone forth from the town. Those who were here fitted for College, gained high honors in the institutions of the land. Here, Seabred Dodge became the great mathematician and engineer that he was. One of the pupils of this Acade- my laid here the foundations of scholarship which made him the first, and almost the only student at West Point, who was, throughout his entire course there, the first in every study, not excelled by any of his class in anything. Here future Governors learned to govern; and growing lawyers and clergymen, and congressmen and senators acquired that knowledge of books and things and men, that mastery of tongue and pen, and that discipline of mind, which fitted them for their places.
There can be but few among them who will not pay the tribute of grateful affection and respect to the wise and far- sighted men who founded and endowed this institution.
Consider what they did !
Within the first seven years from the settlement of this wilderness, while their own dwellings were but log huts.
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and their farms merely narrow clearings in a dense forest, where church and school were unknown; when the mill that ground their corn was fifty miles away through woods, threaded by a few paths, but without a road, and alive with wild beasts and more savage men ; and, above all, in the midst of that terrible destitution of money, through which the new nation was struggling up from the abyss of bank- ruptey into which it had been cast by the depreciated "Con- tinental currency" of the Revolutionary War. Then it was that they, in a day of small things, put hands that faltered not. to a work so great, that its visible benefits have already outrun all record and all competition.
Lasting honor to their memory. L. B.
APPENDIX NO. 1.
Whereas, the liberal disposed inhabitants of the town of l'ompey, and other towns in the county of Onondaga, have generously contributed, and many others are disposed to contribute, considerable sums of money and other prop- erty towards erecting and instituting an academy in said Pompey, for the instruction of youth in the lan-
guages and other branches of useful learning. Of the necessity and utility of such an institution every individual is concerned. The rapid increase of the population and wealth of the county renders such an establishment highly necessary and important. The situation fixed upon for erecting the academy is nearly central, and for salubrity of air and accommodations for the students preferable to any other spot in the county. We, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed and seals affixed, having contributed more than one half in value of the real and personal prop- erty appropriated for the use and benefit of such academy, do request that an academy may be incorporated in said Pompey, to be called and distinguished by the name of Franklin Academy, subject to the visitation of the trustees in this instrument nominated and recommended, namely :
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Ebenezer Butler, Junior, Timothy Jerome, William Stev- ens, Jeremiah Gould, Phineas Howell, Elihu Lewis, Dan
Bradley, Comfort Tyler, James Knapp, John Lamb, Elijah Rust, Deodatus Clark, Hezekiah Olcott, David Williams, Walter Colton, Joseph Smith, James Beebee, John Kidder.
We, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do for ourselves and our legal representatives, promise to pay for the benefit of said academy, to any person whom the trustees shall appoint to receive the same, the several sums annexed to our respective names.
Pompey, January twenty-fifth, Eighteen hundred.
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Jonathan Eastman Isaiah Olcott,
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Chancey Jerome, Hezekiah Olcott
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Daniel C. Judd, Joseph Strong Josiah Moore.
Gad Loveland,
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THE POMPEY RE-UNION.
To the Regents of the University of the State of New York :
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(Endorsed.) "Petition Pompey Academy. To be laid before the Regents." 1800.
APPENDIY NO. 2.
Extracts from the minutes of the Regents of the University, ri- lating to Pompey Academy:
At a meeting of the Regents of the University, held in the Senate Chamber on the 17th March, 1800. Present His Excellency, John Jay, Chancellor, Judge Benson. Judge Kent, Mr. De Witt, Mr. Sylvester, Mr. Rupell, Mr. Van Vechten, Mr. L'Hommedien.
"A Petition from Ebenezer Butler and others, praying for an incorporation of an Academy in the town of Pompey, in the county of Onondaga, was read and committed to Mr. Benson and Mr. De Witt."
At a meeting held on the 31st day of March, 1800. Pres- ent His Excellency John Jay, Chancellor. ITis Honor, the Lieutenant Governor, Judge Benson, Judge Kent, General Schuyler, Mr. Russell, Mr. L'Hommedien.
" The Board proceeded to the consideration of the report of the committee to whom was referred the petition for the incorporation of an Academy at Pompey in the county of Onondaga. And whereas, it is uncertain whether that place is the most proper place for an Academy in the coun- ty of Onondaga, and there is reason to doubt the expediency of having more than one academy in one county. Resolved. That the Secretary do transmit a copy of said petition and this resolution to the Supervisors of Onondaga county, and request that they will at their next meeting inform the Re- gents whether in their opinion there be any and what oh- jections to granting the prayer of said Petition."
Ata meeting of the Regents, held February 16th, 1801. " The Petition from the inhabitants of the town of Pom- pey, in the county of Onondaga, praying for an incorporation of Academy in said town, received at the last session, to-
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gether with the proceedings of a meeting of the Supervisors of the said county, on the first Tuesday in October last, relative thereto, was read and referred to Mr. L'Homme- dien, Mr. Cochran and General Schuyler."
At a meeting of the Regents of the University, held pur- suant to adjournment in the Senate Chamber, in the city of Albany, on Monday the twenty-third day of March, 1801.
Academies being intended to teach branches of literature superior to those which are taught in common schools, and requiring to that end a more extensive provision for the support of well qualified instructors, therefore,
Resolved, That in future, no Academy ought to be incor- porated, unless it shall be made to appear by satisfactory evidence to this Board, that a proper building for the pur- pose hath been erected and finished and paid for, and that funds have been obtained and well secured, producing an annual net income of at least one hundred dollars. And, further, that there be a condition in the charter of incorpo- ration that the principal or estate producing the said income shall never be diminished, or appropriated; that the said in- come shall be applied only to the maintenance or salaries of the Professors or Tutors of the Academy.
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