USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
443
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
to Adams county, Ohio, but in 1853 he returned to Xenia, where he remained until 1860, in which year he removed to Belle Center, Ohio, where he made his home with one of his daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Torrence, dying there on August 6, 1875, at the age of eighty-four. Such in brief is the life his- tory of the central figure of the educational history of Xenia for a third of a century, a man who labored for a very small pittance because he loved the profession and the good that he was able to do by devoting his life to it. It would seem that nothing would be more appropriate than to have one of the city's school buildings named in his honor. There is now a window in the Central building appropriately inscribed to his memory.
OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
There is such meager data concerning the many private schools of the period prior to 1851 that it is impossible to give very much definite informa- tion concerning them. The names of Benjamin Grover, Hugh Hamill and Thomas Steele have been mentioned, but there were certainly at least a score of others who taught at different times in the town before 1851, most of these undoubtedly being women.
Few people of the present generation know that the large brick building on the hill south of the Pennsylvania station was occupied as a school building for a number of years. It appears that it was erected by Lewis Wright, who had been a teacher in the town, but it was his estimable wife, Mrs. Hannah Wright, who gave the school in the fine brick building its great- est reputation. Here there was in existence in the '40s a boarding school, some of the pupils coming from outside the town and rooming in the build- ing, and for several years the school maintained an enviable reputation for the excellence of its work. There were other teachers connected with Mrs. Wright, notable among them being Dr. Samuel Wilson, who taught Greek and Latin and other higher branches. It is not known how long Mrs. Wright was in charge of the school, but it was evidently in operation until the opening of the '50s.
Another woman teacher who was teaching at the same time that Mrs. Wright had her school was Mrs. Mulligan, evidently of Irish extraction, who conducted a school for girls, particularly young ladies, in a building on East Church street in what is now the Kelly property. This school later gave way to the Xenia Female Academy.
John Armstrong and Rev. Hugh McMillen had schools for boys. in the '40s and '50s. Armstrong had his school building on the east side of the lot now occupied by the Central school building, while McMillen occupied the building still standing just east of the Central building of today. Arm- strong was a noted mathematician and it is said that at one time he received
444
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
a gold medal from the French government for some independent investiga- tions in the field of astronomy. His two daughters conducted a school for small children in the same building after his death.
YEAR 1838 A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY OF XENIA SCHOOLS.
The school history of Xenia is difficult to trace prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1851. There was a confused mixture of colleges, semi- naries, schools for boys, schools for girls, private schools, public subscrip- tion schools, church schools and, finally, some schools that were maintained partly by subscription and partly by public funds. But there were always schools of some kind, and even the poorest citizen could educate his children in the common school branches with little outlay.
The year 1838 may be taken as a turning point in the history of the city schools. The decade from 1838 to 1848 is covered with what was known as a Union school, thi's comprehensive term being applied to the schools because the town of Xenia and the township of Xenia entered into some sort of an agreement whereby they worked together to maintain a school for the town and part of the township. On September 28, 1838, the town organized a school district within the corporation, the board of education at that time being the following: William Ellsberry, chairman; David Monroe, treas- urer; Alfred Trader, secretary. That the town did not expect to handle much money is shown by the fact that the treasurer was required to give only a two-hundred-dollar bond. This division of the town into school districts took away from some of the township school districts some of the territory which had hitherto been under the jurisdiction of the township. The next official notice affecting the schools of the township or town of Xenia bears the date of October 6. 1838. On that date the board of the town met with the trustees of Xenia township and discussed the school proposition. The only notation of this meeting now extant says that, "All that territory adja- cent to the town of Xenia, which formerly belonged to school districts Nos. II, 12, 13 and 14 was attached to the school district formed by the corpora- tion of Xenia."
1
There seems to be no question that since 1838 the corporation of Xenia has maintained its schools separate and apart from those of the township in which it is located. The first division made in the fall of 1838 is not on rec- ord, but the divisions for the school year, 1839-40, as established by the board on November 16, 1839, were as follow: "The northeast district shall here- after be known as sub-district, No. 1; the southeast district shall hereafter be known as sub-district, No. 2; the southwest district shall hereafter be known as sub-district, No. 3; the northwest district shall hereafter be known as sub-district, No. 4." This division was made for the purpose of complying
445
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
with the law and thereby putting the town in a position to receive its small share of the school funds. The school board in 1839 was composed of John Alexander, chairman; David Monroe, treasurer; James Gowdy, secretary.
Official records for this period. 1838-1848, are very meager. It is noted that the board organized on October 6, 1840, was appointed by the township clerk. The Legislature passed an act, March 7, 1842, which provided for four school directors. Pursuant to this act the following directors were elected on September 16, 1842: William Y. Banks, H. G. Beatty, Samuel Crumbaugh and James C. McMillen. The Legislature amended the act of 1842 with the act of March II, 1843, and in accordance with the amended act a second election was held on September 15, 1843, at which the following directors were chosen: John Alexander, chairman, elected for three years; David Monroe, treasurer, elected for one year; Samuel Hutchinson, elected for two years; Joshua Wright, elected for one year. There were no changes made by the Legislature between 1843 and the time of the adoption of the new constitution in 1851.
CITY SUPERINTENDENTS.
It was in 1848, seventy years ago, that Xenia may be said to have started its present system of having a superintendent in charge of its schools. The contract for a new building for the city of Xenia provided for by the election of September 20, 1847, was let on March II, 1848. This building stood on the site of the present Central building and was completed some time before the close of the year; at least, the record shows that the board of education on January 1, 1849, elected the first superintendent of the public schools of Xenia. This first head of the city schools was Josiah Hurty and he continued in charge of the schools until the close of the school year, July 11, 1851. During the two years and a half that he was in charge he placed the schools on a more or less graded basis, all the work, so it appears, being confined to the common school branches.
The second superintendent was D. W. Gilfillan, appointed August 16, 1851, but he was succeeded at the close of the first year by James P. Smart, who was appointed by the board on July 7, 1852. Smart was a preacher and was the best of the men who had held the position up to this time. His . resignation on July 21, 1855, was very much regretted by the citizens of the city. On the day his resignation was accepted, the board of education appointed P. H. Jaquith to fill the vacancy, and he remained with the schools until the close of the school year in 1857.
J. E. Twitchell took up the burden in September, 1857, and managed the schools with marked success for the following four years. He resigned on June 25, 1861, and left behind him the best record of any of the men
1
446
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
who had thus far filled the superintendency. The first graduates of the high school appeared in the spring of 1859: Matthew Allison, Etta Fahnestock (Mrs. John Black) and Mary Heaton. It appears that the high school course was first definitely organized under Jaquith in 1855, but Twitchell greatly strengthened the course and put it on a firm basis.
George S. Ormsby, who was appointed on August 10, 1861, to succeed Twitchell, filled the office very acceptably for a period of eighteen years. He was followed in 1879 by George W. Welch for a period of three years, being replaced in 1882 by Edwin B. Cox, who served until his death on January 22, 1912, after which the board of education elevated George J. Graham to the superintendency. Mr. Graham had been principal of the high school since September, 1886, his connection with the schools of the city being longer than any other man who has ever been in the schools. Mr. Graham remained at the head of the school until the close of the school year of 1915-16, when he resigned to enter the business field. When he became superintendent in January, 1912, Jessa J. Pearson was elected principal and continued in this capacity until September, 1917, when Marion R. Simpson became principal.
Upon the resignation of George J. Graham in the summer of 1916, the , board of education elected John R. Patterson to the superintendency. His work during the first year was so eminently satisfactory that at the close of his first term he was elected for a five-year period. Mr. Patterson is one of the ablest educators of the state and is rapidly bringing the schools of the city to the front. His comprehensive grasp of modern school problems is already evidencing itself and if he is given the proper support by the board of education and citizens of the city, there is not a doubt that he will soon have the schools of the city where they will command the attention of the entire state.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF CITY.
The departmental system of instruction in the Xenia schools was started in September, 1917, by Superintendent Patterson. In the Mckinley build- ing the seventh and eighth grades are now organized as a junior high school, and in the Lincoln building the sixth, seventh and eighth grades are so organ- ized. At first there were many patrons of the schools who were not certain that the method was for the best interest of the children, but the results of the first year have convinced the most skeptical that the new departure is going to make for better instruction. In practically all of the cities of this size in the state this system is already in use, while in many states the system has been in successful operation for years. Educators are unanimous in declaring that the departmental system of teaching in the upper grades of the common school is productive of the best results. For years parents have been saying that the schools are not practical enough, that there was too much theoretical teaching, that children were not given the training which they
447
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
ought to have. The idea in the junior high-school system is to remedy this fault and make the schools prepare pupils for their future work. It is well known that only a small part of the children ever complete the high school course, and for this reason it is the effort of the modern school system to do as much for children in the grades as possible. The old idea in education was to make every one a scholar, a thing which it is manifestly impossible to do. The great majority of the pupils of every school in the country intend to make their living with their hands and for this reason the schools of today are training the hand as well as the brain.
Courses in the industrial arts have been developed for use in schools; manual training in a wide variety of forms is being given to both boys and girls; home economics for girls and shop work and agriculture for boys are now taught in the best schools all over the country. In our best schools the girl leaves the eighth grade with the ability to cook as well as her mother, to cut out and sew garments of all kinds, to trim hats, to hang pictures on the wall and do it with a proper regard for artistic effect. In other words, she is given such training that when she leaves school she has had a practical schooling that means something to her in her future life. The same prac- tical education is being given to the boy, not home economics, but such gen- eral training in the use of the hand that he can go out into the world and actually make use of the schooling which he has had. Just in so far as the school can prepare its boys and girls for stepping out into the world ready to make their own living, just so far has the school been a real benefit to them. And it is for this very reason that the junior high-school idea is the right thing; right because it seeks to fit boys and girls to make useful citizens of themselves. Xenia is to be congratulated because it has installed this method of instruction, and each succeeding year will convince the patrons of the schools of the benefits to be derived from it.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
The city of Xenia now has six school buildings, while the Catholic church also has a large school building. The oldest building in the city is the East Main street building, now used as the colored high school. The Central building, usually referred to as the high school building, was erected in 1881, while all the other buildings have been erected since that year. The finest school building is the Mckinley building on West Church street, which stands on the site of one of the former cemeteries of the city.
TEACHERS.
There are now a total of sixty regular teachers employed in the city schools, divided among the several buildings as follow: Central, 17; East Main, 5; Lincoln, II; Spring Hill, 8; Mckinley, 17; Orient Hill, 2. The
448
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
high school for the white pupils is located in the Central building, and the faculty now consists of twelve teachers: M. R. Simpson, principal and social science ; Jean B. Elwell, English; Fannie K. Haynes, Latin and history; Katherine Schweibold, mathematics; W. H. Wilson, commercial branches; Janet M. McBane, French and Spanish; Alice A. Coffin, Latin and history ; Alfred Rader, industrial arts; Dorothy Armstrong, mathematics; H. Emily Neighbor, home economics; Charles H. Parrett, assistant principal, science and athletics.
The East Main street building is the colored high school of the city, and its five teachers are as follow: B. F. Lee, principal and science ; Lucretia Willis, English; Helen W. Ferguson, social science and modern languages; Ruby A. Martin, Latin and mathematics; Gladys Burton, home economics; Arthur Taylor, principal of the Lincoln school, has charge of the instruction in industrial arts.
-
This McKinley building, the largest in the city, has seventeen teachers. In this building, as in the Lincoln building, there has been installed what is commonly known as departmental instruction, the local schools using the term "junior high school" to describe this method of instruction. This method means that each teacher has charge of only one branch of study; . that is, that one teacher has all the mathematics; another all the geography, and others the other subjects of the common-school curriculum. All the seventh- and eighth-grade pupils of the city come under this method of instruc- tion, while in the Lincoln building the sixth grade also comes under the departmental system of instruction. All the boys of the junior school get five hours each week of mechanical drawing and shop work, the girls hav- ing the same number of hours per week in home economics. The teachers in the junior high school of the Mckinley building are B. C. Donahoo, prin- cipal and science ; May M. Harper, assistant principal and history ; Mrs. Frank H. Dean, mathematics; Mae Stevenson, English; Ruth E. Barnes, literature; Clara Martin, geography and special coaching; Mrs. Leroy Wolfe, home eco- nomics ; Louise Wolfe, home economics; Austin J. Black, industrial arts.
The grade teachers in the Mckinley building are Clara McCarty, prin- cipal and sixth grade; Fay Cavanaugh, fifth grade; Ella Ambuhl, fourth grade; Mrs. Florence Mckeever, third and fourth grades; Ruth Jackson, third grade; Edith M. Neeld, second grade; Edith Marshall, first and second grades; Anna B. Morrow, first grade.
The grade teachers in the Central building are Edna Bloom, principal and sixth grade; Katherine Harned, fifth grade; Gertrude Heeg, third and fourth grade; Pauline Smith, second grade; Ella R. Hudson, first grade.
The grade teachers in the Spring Hill building are: Eleanor Tresslar, sixth grade: Opal Barnes, fifth and sixth grades; Mary H. Hopkins, fifth
1
449
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
grade; Harriett Sears; fourth grade; Mary Gretsinger, principal and third grade; Henrietta Evers, second grade; Winifred Savage, first grade; Laura A. Loyd, special coaching.
There are only two teachers in the Orient Hill building, Mamie E. Bar- rows, principal and third and fourth grades; Mary Evers, first and second grades.
The Lincoln building is devoted exclusively to the colored children. It has the departmental system of instruction for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, the teachers of the junior high school being Arthur Taylor, principal and industrial arts; Beulah Underwood, mathematics and geography ; Rilda E. Phelps, history and English : Elizabeth Hampton, English ; Margaret Wat- kins, assistant and sewing; Virginia Thomas, spelling. The department of home economics is in charge of Gladys Burton of the East Main high school. The Lincoln grade teachers are May Summers, fifth grade; Nellie Nichola Ellis, fourth grade; Bertha H. Booth, third grade ; Minnie P. Maxwell, second grade ; Lucretia Jones, first grade.
Harriet M. McCarty is supervisor of music for all the schools of the city.
ENUMERATION AND ENROLLMENT IN CITY SCHOOLS.
The enumeration taken May, 1917, shows the children (unmarried) between the ages of six and twenty-one. No record is made of those between these ages who are married. The enumeration follows: Between ages of 6 and 8, 554; between 8 and 14, 1,054; between 14 and 16, 322; between 16 and 21, 575; total, 2,508. Of this total there were 1,279 males and 1,229 females.
The September, 1917, enrollment was 1,729, of which number 1,355 were white and 374 were colored. The Central high school had 298 pupils enrolled in September, 1917, while the East Main high school (colored) had 76 pupils. It should be added that the Catholic parochial school enrolled 130 pupils.
BUSINESS MANAGER OF CITY SCHOOLS.
In the spring of 1918 a new official was created in the public school system of the city, his title being that of business manager. He performs the duties heretofore in the hands of the clerk and treasurer of the board of education, and also those of the truant officer. He is also treasurer of the sinking fund of the school city. He buys all the supplies used by the schools, keeps charge of them and has general charge of their distribution. The first official in the new office was John R. Beacham, who took his office on March 5, 1918.
(29)
450
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
GRADUATES OF XENIA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
The first graduating class of the Central high school was in 1859, when three were graduated: Mathew C. Allison, Etta (Fahnestock) Black and Mary Heaton. Thi's is the smallest number which has been graduated from the high school, although the years, 1860 and 1861, had the same number of graduates. In two years, 1865 and 1869, there were no graduates. The largest class was that of 1918, when there were fifty-three graduates.
In 1869 the course of study was changed from a three-year to a four- year course, this explaining why there were no graduates in that year. In 1877 the course was changed back to three years, and in that year there were two classes graduated, one in December and the other in June. The present four-year course was restored in 1898. The following summary shows the number of graduates by years :
Year
Boys Girls
Year
Boys Girls
Year
Boys Girls
1859
I ....
2
1880
2. . .
14
1902
7 .. 17
1860
I ....
2
1881
3. . . .
6
1903
II .. 17
1861
I ....
2
1882
8. . . .
14.
1904
8. .
17
I862
I .... 4
1883
4. . . . 4
6
1906
8.
20
1863
12
1885
7 ... .
6
1907
15 ....
14
1864
5
1886
2 ....
12 ..
I6
1909
9. .
16
1866
I ....
5
1888
3. . . .
10
1910
7. . . .
I7
1867
5 . . . .
4
1889
I .. . .
I2
19II
IO.
21
1868
5. . . .
9
1890
7 ... .
9
1912
16.
22
I869
10
1913
14.
4
1870
3. . . .
18
1892
6. . . .
12
1914
12 ..
27
1871
5 . . . .
IO
1893
2. . ..
26
1915
IO ..
22
1872
3. . . .
10
1894
8. . ..
12
1916
23 ..
I9
1873
4. . . .
2
1895
7 .. . .
17
1917
14.
27
1874
I ....
7
1896
IO. .
18
1918
20. 33
1875
I ....
7
1897
8.
21
1876
2 ....
4
1898
5
Total
376. 723
1877
I ....
13
1899
7. ...
9
1878
I ..
. .
5
1900
6. . .
14
1879
I ....
4
1901
3. . . . 19
GRADUATES OF XENIA EAST MAIN STREET HIGH SCHOOL.
For more than forty years the city has maintained a separate high school 1 for the colored pupils of the city, the first class graduating in 1879. There are now five regular teachers in the high school. The school has graduated 30I students since the first class of two completed the course in 1879. A summary of the graduates by years is given in the following table :
Year
Boys Girls
Year
Boys Girls
Year
Boys Girls
1879
2.
.
1882
2 ....
3
I885
3. . .. 3
1880
5. .
2
1883
I.
. .
8
1886
4
188I
.
1884
5 . . . .
6 1887
3. . . . 5
.
1887
1891
4 ....
1908
18.
19
1865
I .... 2
1884
6. . . .
1905
II .. 18
1859
ยท
Grand total.
.1,099
45I
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
1888
3. . . .
5 1900
I ...
8
1912
3. . . . 2
1889
I ....
6
1901
3. . . .
4
1913
I ....
6
1890
5. . . .
5 1902
3. . . .
7
1914
3 . . . .
6
1891
6. . . .
7
1903
3. . . .
4
1915
4 . . .. 2
1916 6. . . .
I
1893
3. . . . 7
1905
6. . . .
5
1917
4
1894
4. . . . 7
1906
I ....
7
1918
4 . . . .
6
1895
7 ....
5
1907
I ....
5
1896
6. . . .
4
1908
4. . ..
4
1897
5. . . .
8
1909
6. . . .
4
Grand total
30I
1898
.
1910
2. ...
6
1 899
3 .. . . 7 19II
3 . . ..
4
1892
3. . . . 9
1904
5. . . .
9
Total I26 175
-
1
CHAPTER XXIX.
HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN GREENE COUNTY.
The educational history of Greene county is peculiarly rich in its institu- tions, of higher learning. As far back as 1805 or 1806 there was a so-called seminary in operation in the county near Xenia, and from that day down to the present there have been what are denominated institutions of higher learn- ing. It was more than half a century after the county was organized in 1803 before there was any kind of a public school approaching the present high school, but during this period the children of the county were not entirely without the means of higher education. There were seminaries, academies, colleges and even universities in operation, while of other private schools of high grade there were always a few to be found.
Beginning with the seminary of 1805 there has followed a succession of these so-called higher educational institutions. The following pages tell of the Xenia Female Academy, Xenia Female Seminary and Collegiate Institute, Xenia Female College, Xenia College, Antioch College, Cedarville College, United Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Xenia and Wilberforce Uni- versity. Of these several institutions there are now only four remaining : Antioch College, Cedarville College, Xenia Theological Seminary and Wilber- force University.
FIRST INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN GREENE COUNTY.
The word seminary seemed to appeal to the older generation; it was a high-sounding term, one which seemed to have a scholastic connotation that endeared the word to the citizens of the early part of the last century. The word is seldom used in these latter days, being now confined largely to theological schools or institutions for girls. But a hundred years ago the word seminary was applied to all sorts of schools, male and female, and both; to what we would today call high schools, and to colleges which did about the same work which is today found in our better grade of high schools.
All of which is prefatory to a brief description of the first seminary in Greene county-the first institution which might be called a higher insti- tution of learning. The data concerning this institution is naturally very meager, and only the most casual references to it have been preserved. It opened, as near as can be ascertained, in 1805 or 1806 in the Union church which stood about two miles south of Xenia, a log structure which had been
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.