USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 37
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as originally instituted, with the joyous festivities of the occasion, belonged only to the history of the past.
But to return to the historical sketches. On the 21st day of December, 1795, the trustees held a special meeting to receive a pair of globes and one hundred and three volumes of solid English literature, as the foundation of an academy library, purchased by money received from the regents of the university. They then adopted the following regulations for the management of the library, evincing a laudable desire to extend the benefits of the library to the citizens as well as the students :
"1. Resolved, That agreeably to the intention of the said dona- tion, the students have a preference of using the books of the library as follows, viz :
" A duodecimo, quarto, and octavo volume for a term of six weeks ; and a folio volume for two months : Provided that for any longer time they pay four pence for every week of excess. And in case of any injury, to pay such damages as the Librarian shall assess, or furnish a new set, (as he shall elect.) retaining the old set.
" And whereas, a circulation of the said Library may promote the interests of the Institution and disseminate knowledge, there- fore,
"2d. Resolved, That any citizen of the county of Ulster shall be entitled to the use of the books of said Library upon paying four pence a week for the time aforesaid for each volume, and if retained beyond the time so limited to the students, then to pay four pence for every day of excess. And in case of any injury, to pay such damages as the Librarian shall assess, or furnish a new set and retain the old one, as he shall elect.
"3d. Resolved, That the Principal Tutor be the Librarian, to take charge of, deliver out and receive in the books of the said Library, with the moneys to become due and payable for the use of the same, and to render an accurate account thereof to the Trustees at their general stated meetings.
"4th. Resolved, That the Librarian shall have the use of the said Library gratis, the same being as a full compensation for his services therein."
The books thus purchased to form the nucleus and foundation of a library were all standard works of high character requiring the study and thought of matured minds. Many of them may still be found upon the library shelves, and form a marked con- trast with many of the other books in the present library purchased at later periods.
On the 18th day of March, 1796, the trustees increased the salary of Mr. Smith, then principal, to £200 ; and on the 30th day of September, 1796, the price of tuition was raised to £6 per year.
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On the 12th day of June, 1798, it was resolved that Mr. Senior (John Addison), Rev. George J. I. Doll, Moses Yeomans, Peter Vanderlyn, and Moses Cantine be a committee to examine into the state of the funds of this academy, and make report thereof at the next general meeting. And also once a month to visit the academy and inspect the improvement of the students. The following record of that committee appearing on the minutes conveys a wholesome lesson to trustees of the present day :
On the 28th of September, 1798, " the committee appointed on the 12th day of June last, for visiting the Academy monthly, and to inspect the improvement of the students, and to whom an ap- peal had been made by Mr. Samuel Freer, on a question whether his son, Anthony S. Freer, should be permitted to speak an oration he had made choice of in preference to one corrected and proposed for him by the principal Tutor, reported that having deliberately considered the question, they are unanimously of opinion that upon the present and similar cases the principal Tutor ought to be the sole judge of what is most proper and conducive to the edifica- tion of his pupils ; and unless this confidence is reposed in him, his authority as Tutor would be diminished, and the promotion of knowledge thereby endangered." This report was unanimously sustained by the board.
On the 12th day of February, 1799, a special meeting of the trustees of the academy was held for the special purpose of inquir- ing into the state of the funds of the academy. Upon examination, it appeared that the income of the academy had not diminished since the last fall vacation. Mr. Vanderlyn moved that the salary theretofore allowed to the principal tutor of their academy be con- tinued agreeably to the last contract. Mr. Conrad E. Elmendorf moved as an amendment, that the salary of the principal tutor be such sum as should be received for tuition of the students, be the same more or less. The amendment was negatived, and the original motion carried by a large majority.
The trustees were then not yet prepared, by making the salary of the principal entirely dependent on the number of his pupils, to throw out to their principal an inducement to court popularity rather than the educational interests and advancement of the pupils.
At the meeting of the trustees on the 2d day of May, 1800, the death of John Addison, the then late senior trustee, was announced. The seniority then fell upon the Rev. George J. L. Doll.
Mr. Smith having resigned his position as principal on the 1st day of August, 1801, the Rev. David Warden was appointed prin- cipal tutor, at an annual salary of $450 ; " And in case the income arising from the students should exceed that sum, the Trustees
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will allow such excess to Mr. Warden until his salary shall amount to $500. The excess over $500 to be at the disposal of the Trus- tees." On the 30th day of April, 1802, the salary of Mr. Warden was permanently fixed at $500.
On the 28th day of June, 1802, is recorded an addition to the library of thirty volumes, purchased with the proceeds of a subscrip- tion amounting to $61.75.
At a meeting of the trustees, held on the 1st 'day of October, 1802, pursuant to a law of the State, entitled, " An Act relative to Academies, passed March 8, 1802," the Rev. George J. L. Doll, the then senior, was unanimously elected president of the board. He was thus the first president elected by the board. Previous to that the senior trustee having performed the duties of presiding officer under the title of " Mr. Senior."
At the same meeting the following preamble and resolutions were adopted :
" Whereas the Trustees having received information (after the examination of this day,) of several students absenting themselves, and thereby avoiding an examination, as directed by the orders and regulations of this Academy, thereupon :- Resolved, that in case any student shall hereafter be guilty of absenting himself from any public examination without a reasonable excuse to be made to, and approved of by the principal Tutor and at least two of the Board of Trustees, he shall suffer the punishment of a public reprimand ; and for a second offence be expelled the Academy, and not again admitted as a student within the same."
On the 3d day of January, 1803, at a special meeting of the Board of Trustees, it was ". Resolved, that if at any time hereafter any student belonging to the Academy shall be found guilty of playing cards, or to gamble, or to play at any other game in a tavern, public-house, or any gambling-house whatever, and the same shall be proven to the satisfaction of the Trustees, he or they so offending, shall be liable to be expelled from the Academy. And that the names of the offenders, together with the reasons of their expulsion, be printed in the public papers at the option of the Trustees."
The following additional entries appear upon the minutes of the same meeting : " Mr. President and the said Trustees, taking into consideration the present flourishing state of the Academy, and the propriety of addressing the Honorable the Regents of the University upon the occasion at their next annual meeting, in this present month of January-appointed Mr. Bancker to prepare and report an address accordingly at this present meeting. Where- upon Mr. Bancker agreeably to appointment, reported the draught of an address to the Honorable the Regents of the University, .
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which he read in his place, and the same being again read and con- sidered by paragraphs, was approved of by the Trustees, and ordered to be engrossed, signed by the President, and attested by the Secretary under the seal of the Corporation, to be delivered or transmitted to His Excellency the Chancellor of the University. The same is in the words following, viz. :-
" His Excellency George Clinton, Chancellor, and the Honorable the Regents of the University of the State of New York.
" MOST RESPECTED SIRS :- The Trustees of Kingston Academy, in the County of Ulster, take the liberty of addressing your honor- able body upon the present flourishing situation of the Seminary committed to their particular care, and trust that an anxious solici- tude for its further prosperity will apologize for any impropriety in this communication.
"Since the first establishment of this Academy by the Trustees of the Corporation of Kingston in the year 1774, they have been very fortunate in providing able teachers therein, and without any other fund than the bare tuition money ; have had a number of . pupils committed to their care, from among whom can now be selected characters, who have since been preferred by their fellow- citizens to the important offices of a Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate, a Speaker of the Assembly, a Justice of the Supreme Court, a Mayor of one populous city, and both Mayor and Recorder of another. Several members of the National and State Legislatures, besides a number of characters eminent in their several professions of Divinity, Law, and Physic.
"From this pleasing review of the past, the Trustees hope not to be thought vain or assuming in considering Kingston Academy equal in usefulness to any other of like establishment within this State ; and as such, meriting the fostering care and attention of the Honorable Regency, as its common parent.
" Since our Deed of Incorporation of the third day of February 1795, there having been but one visitation to the Academy, the Trustees beg leave to mention, that having received two hundred dollars from the Public Treasury, the same, together with a further sum of about sixty dollars, collected by voluntary contribution, has been carefully expended in the purchase of a neat set of Globes and Maps, with some Mathematical Apparatus and about one hun- dred and thirty-two volumes of choice books for the Academy Library. The same are placed under the immediate control of the present Principal Tutor, the Rev. Mr. David B. Warden, a gentle- man originally from the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, but last from Kinderhook, where he stood as a teacher till called to this Academy about seventeen months since. He with only one
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Usher to assist him, has now the charge of fifty-three students-a number exceeding any heretofore known at one and the same time, and for whom the Trustees are desirous of providing another Usher, but find the means inadequate. That students arranged in classes are taught the Latin and Greek languages, Elementary and Practical Geometry, Mathematics, Logic, Moral and Natural Phi- losophy, Ancient History, Geography, the History and Government of the United States, and the French language. Two of the pres- ent students are from two neighboring States, viz. : one from Mary- land, and the other from Pennsylvania. Twenty others are from six neighboring Counties, viz. : One from New York, one from Westchester, seven from Dutchess, five from Columbia, one from Albany, and five from Greene, and the remaining thirty-one belong to this County ; thus this nursery for science will, with the bless- ing of a kind Providence, spread her fruits far and wide.
" In order to render the Academy more extensively useful, the Trustees have for several years past assigned a large convenient room on the first floor for the use of an English School, which gen- erally consists of twenty-five to thirty scholars, who are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
" The Trustees beg leave to add, that none of the English scholars have been enumerated with the Latin students reported to the Honorable Regents, and which they have understood to have been the case from some neighboring Seminaries, in order they presume, thereby to receive a larger share of the bounty of the State. Be that as it may, the Trustees of Kingston Academy have with pleasure observed the means adopted by the Honorable Legis- lature for the encouragement of Literature, and rest satisfied that their own exertions in this laudable undertaking, will not fail to meet with every assistance in the power of a generous Regency to afford them. In testimony whereof, we have caused our common seal to be thereunto affixed. Witness the Rev. George J. L. Doll, our President of our Academy, this 3rd day of January, 1803.
"GEORGE J. L. DOLL, President. " Attested. ABM. B. BANCKER, Secretary."
From an entry in the minutes of a meeting held by the board on the 30th day of September, 1803, it appears that upon the pre- ceding application, the regents donated to the academy the sum of one hundred pounds, which was received into the treasury, and appropriated to the discharge of a balance due Mr. Smith, their former principal, to the purchase of a new bell for the academy, and the residue paid to Mr. Warden, on account of his salary. The bell purchased at that time is probably the same bell which was in the present academy until recently.
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The following preamble and resolutions were passed by the trustees at a meeting held by them on the 31st day of January, 1804 :
" The Trustees taking into consideration the present flourishing . situation of the Academy, and the great encouragement afforded them, as well by private subscriptions as by a generous donation from the Trustees of the Corporation of Kingston, of real property, as a fund towards the establishment of a College within this town, thereupon,
" Resolved, that Mr. President, Mr. Conrad E. Elmendorf, and Mr. Bancker, be a Committee to prepare two memorials to the Honorable the Regents of the University, and the Honorable the Legislature of the State, in their present session, soliciting the sanction of the former in founding a College within the town of Kingston ; and also the aid of the latter towards building and endowing the said College.
" Resolved, That Mr. President, Mr. Conrad E. Elmendorf and Mr. Dezeng be a Committee to proceed to the city of Albany and present the said memorials and use their best endeavors towards obtaining the objects contemplated."
The result of the application appears in the following extract from the minutes of the trustees of that date :
" At a meeting of the Trustees held on the 17th day of March 1804, the President from the Committee appointed to wait on the Regents of the University to solicit their sanction in founding a College within the town of Kingston, produced a report from a Committee of the said Board of Regents, which was read in the words following, viz. :
" The Committee to whom was referred the Petition of the Trustees and inhabitants of Kingston, in the county of Ulster, praying for the establishment of a College in that village, respect fully report,
"That your Committee have maturely reflected on the prayer of the petitioners and are highly pleased with the literary zeal which they manifest by their liberal subscriptions and laudable ex- ertions to procure the establishment of a College in their village. But while the Committee pay the petitioners this tribute of com- mendation it is their duty to estimate and decide impartially upon the merits of their application. That in making such estimate and decision the Committee cannot lose sight of the important trust committed to the Regents of the University, which imposes on them to have a due regard to the general interests of literature throughout this State. That the Committee have seen with con- cern the difficulties which the present collegiate institutions within this State have encountered and continue to struggle with, from
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whence they cannot but anticipate that the multiplication of such institutions would be inexpedient at the present day, inasmuch as it would increase those difficulties by dividing the means necessary for their support. That the Committee also perceive from the sub- scriptions of the petitioners that they involve a condition that the Regents have it not in their power to fulfil, to wit, the assurance of legislative aid to facilitate the accomplishment of the desirable and praiseworthy views of the petitioners. That without such assurance the Committee regard the subscriptions as altogether conditional and therefore not forming a proper and secure basis on which to predicate the important and expensive establishment of a College. That independent of the objection above stated the Committee also beg leave to remark, that a large proportion of the subscriptions on which the said application is founded consists of Ulster and Delaware Turnpike Stock, the value of which is unas- certained and extremely precarious. Your Committee are, there- fore, of opinion that it would be improper to grant the prayer of the petitioners. All which is respectfully submitted. Senate Chamber, Monday 13 February 1804. The above report was re- ceived and read and agreed to by the Regents. Thereupon, Re- solved, that a copy of the Report of the Committee be presented to the applicants. By order of the Board of Regents,
"FR. BLOODGOOD, Secretary."
The establishment of a college being thus denied, upon reasons which commend themselves to the judgment and approval of all, the then Trustees of the Corporation of Kingston, consisting of John Tremper, Abraham Hoffman, Peter Marius Groen, William Swart, Tobias Van Buren, Christopher Tappen, John Van Vliet, Jacobus Terpenning, Henry Schoonmaker, and Abraham Houghtel- ing, conveyed the whole of the real property which had been de- signed for a college fund to the trustees of Kingston Academy as a fund for that institution. This deed is dated March 15th, 1804, and conveyed over eight hundred acres of land, including the triangular lot in the village of Kingston upon which the present academy building is situated.
In October, 1804, the price of tuition was raised to $18 a year. Mr. Warden having resigned as principal, the Rev. Thomas Adams, of Hartford, Conn., was selected to fill the vacancy, at a salary of $200 a year.
In May, 1805, a committee consisting of Peter Marius Groen, Conrad E. Elmendorf, and John Tremper was appointed to report upon the propriety of selling the academy building, a plan and site for the erection of a new building, to solicit subscriptions for the purpose, and with authority to make such alterations and
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repairs as might be indispensably necessary for the existing build- ing and the convenience of the schools.
At the same meeting the trustees fixed the compensation of all their committees at $2 per day, they bearing their own expenses. And the Land Committee were authorized to sell the real property either at private or public sale, in such quantities as they might deem advantageous, with authority to receive one third part of the consideration in the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike Stock, and all former sales were confirmed.
At the semi-annual meeting in October, 1805, some of the negli- gent members of the board were aroused to their duty by the pas- sage of the following resolution : " Resolved, that a letter be writ- ten to each absenting Trustee of this Board, stating to him the necessity of his attendance at our semi-annual meetings as a mem- ber, and such as cannot in future give their attendance more punc- tually than heretofore, be requested to resign the appointment, in order that others may be appointed who will attend to the business of the Institution."
At a meeting held on the 4th of November, 1805, Mr. Peter Marius Groen, one of the committee appointed to report in refer- ence to the academy building, reported, " That any repairs to the present Academy Building would be useless, inasmuch as it never can be repaired or altered so as to answer the purposes of the Insti- tution. That your Committee advise an immediate sale thereof with a delay of rendering possession until a temporary building for the Academy, etc. may be erected, which your Committee recommend. And also that they adopt immediate measures to begin and lay the foundation of a new building in the eastern or western extremity of the village. And that the interest of your funds, the amount of the sale money, and such sums as a Com- mittee for that purpose to be appointed can solicit and obtain from the goodness and generosity of our fellow citizens, be applied to this purpose. 24th of June 1805." It was then after a consider- able debate, and by a vote of ten to six, " Resolved, to appropriate $3,000 out of the land sales and such additional sum as might be procured from sale of the old Academy, to build a new Academy, upon such site as might be agreed upon." And by another reso- lution the triangular lot where the present building is situated was fixed upon as the site.
: On the 10th of December, 1805, the building committee reported the plan and probable expense of a new building, which was approved. A motion to rescind the resolution fixing upon the triangle as the site for the new building, was defeated by a vote of twelve to three. A committee was appointed to solicit subscrip- tions, and to apply to the trustees of Kingston " for a further ex-
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tension of their generosity to aid in the new proposed Academy building." And a building committee was also appointed.
At the same meeting it was declared to be " the duty of the Prin- cipal, or in his absence his Assistant, to open the school every morning with the reading of a chapter out of the Bible and prayer. That it was the duty of the Principal to attend during all school hours, and that the Students do punctually attend prayer under the penalty not to exceed three cents for every omission." And resolutions were passed prohibiting the public exhibition of any tragedy, comedy, or farce by the students after the semi-annual examinations ; that no student should be admitted into the acad- emy without a receipt that a half-year's tuition had been paid in advance ; that no meeting of the board should be held before dinner, except on examination days, unless by special order or necessity ; and authorizing the principal to fine every student six cents neglecting to attend divine worship every Sunday twice with- out a sufficient excuse.
The students in the academy had a particular place assigned to them in the gallery of the Dutch Church, the only church then existing in the village, and were required to occupy that place in a body, as well residents as non-residents. The enforcement of the above order thus became easy, and it evinces the close watchful- ness of the board over the habits and morals of the students. In addition to this, no student was permitted to be in the streets after eight o'clock in the evening.
At a meeting of the trustees, held on the 7th day of March. 1806, the resignation of John Tremper, as one of the committee to superintend the building of the new academy, was read and ac- cepted, and a committee appointed to put the old academy in re- pair. With these proceedings the project for a new building was abandoned for many years.
On the 25th of October, 1806, a committee was appointed to en- gage Mr. James Vanderpoel to superintend the academy till Mr. Adams's health should permit him to resume his duties, and in case of his death, until a new principal could be secured. Mr. Adams subsequently died, and Gardiner B. Perry was, on the 9th of December, 1806, appointed as principal at a salary of $700.
On the 7th of July, 1806, the committee for the sale of lands were discharged, and from the proceedings at some of the subse- qnent meetings during that and the succeeding year, it would appear that there was some dissatisfaction in reference to their accounts, and some difficulty in procuring the surrender of the papers and a rendition of their accounts.
On the 16th of May, 1807, another committee for the sale of the vacant lands was appointed, and they were directed to sell the same.
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At the semi-annual meeting in October, 1807, a committee was appointed to regulate the studies to be pursued in the academy, and inquire into the state of the academy and the use made of some of the rooms.
At the semi-annual meeting in May, 1809, it was " Resolved that in future all scholars in the Academy under the care of the Principal Teacher, be charged 815 per year except the young ladies learning reading, writing, etc., that they be charged $10, and those scholars in the English School be also charged $10."
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