History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 99

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 99

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Class of 1861 .- Ilarriet B. Booz, Chicago, Ill. ; Bella L. Freas, Spring Mill ; Martha A. Howell, Yardleyville ; Virginia S. Rogers, A. M., Phila- delphia ; Mrs. Captain H. Preston (M. Vau Horn, Wilmington ; Mrs. C. Spare (E. F. Williams), Philadelphia.

Class of 1862 .- E. R. Chatham, A.M., New Jersey ; Rebecca Eicholtz, A.M., Illinois ; Fannie G. Hagaman, A.M., Carbon County ; Lydia G. Pierson, Mullica Ilill, N. J. ; Sallie Preston, Wilmington, Del. ; Mary K. Schreiner, Chester County ; Mrs. H. Prizer (Lydia A. Tustin), died in Chester.

Class of 1863 .- Helen M. Lewis, Philadelphia ; Emma J. Young, A.M., Milford.

Class of 1864 .- E. Amanda Larzalere, Montgomery County ; Hannal Larzalere, Montgomery County ; Elizabeth Tustin, Chester County.

Class of 1865 .- Calista Aiman, Whitemarsh; Mrs. B. Wright (Emma T. Black ', Tullytown ; Mary P. Crawford, Lower Merion ; Henrietta M. Hahn, Clifton Springs, N. Y .; Clarissa V. Hahn, Washington, D. C .; Rebecca Nash, Whitemarsh ; Anna Townsend, Royal Oak, Md. ; Sarah F. Valliant, St. Michael's, Mid.

Class of 1866 .- Zilphee Aiman, Chestnut Hill ; Emma Gibbons, Oak-

dale ; Mary P. Egbert, Lower Merion ; Kate D. Hughes, Bridgeport ; C. Cecilia Hamer, Freeland ; Emma E. Evans, Limerick ; Anna Hallman, Eagleville ; Kate Stauffer, A. M., Obio.

Class of 1867 .- Sallie K. Antrim, Millville, N. J. ; Emily Y. Crawford, Conshohocken ; Emma J. Hahn, Clifton, N. Y. ; Emma E. Jones, Tidi- oute ; Hannah E. Mosser, Breinigsville; Agnes S. Sbnitz, Colebrookdale ; Clara Detwiler, Doniphan, Kan. ; S. Emma Price, Eagleville.

Class of 1868 .- Mary A. Cox, Philadelphia ; Sadie S. Gabriel, Allen- town ; Fannie lamer, Freeland.

Class of 1869 .- Ida V. Moser, Lehigh County, Pa. ; Madge P. Walker, Philadelphia ; Emily S. Lane, Bucks County ; Ella C. Tolan, New Jersey.

Class of 1870 .- Fannie V. French, Maine ; Nellie M. Marsh, Chester County, Pa. ; Ella V. Gilmore, Maryland ; Jennie M. McCallmont, New Jersey ; Ella T. Wallaston, Montgomery County, Pa. ; Martha Hallman, Lower Providence, Pa.

Class of 1871 .- Minerva Schwenk, Montgomery County ; Addie T. Sherman, Montgomery County.

Class of 1875 .- Lizzie Stanger, New Jersey ; Lizzie Gotwals, Chester County, Pa. ; Anna Walmsly, New Jersey.

The Hill School, preparatory to College, Scien- tific School and Business .-- The Hill School was established in 1851 by the Rev. Matthew Meigs, Ph.D., LL.D., ex-president of Delaware College, and formerly of the University of Michigan.

The school property, comprising about twelve acres, lies on the eastern border, adjoining the cor- porate limit of the beautiful borough of Pottstown, less than two hours' ride from Philadelphia, with which there is communication by eighteen daily trains on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and by the Bound Brook route but three honrs and a half from New York. The school is situ- ated on a commanding eminence known as "The Hill," affording an extensive and beautiful prospect of the valley of the Schuylkill and the surrounding country.

The rooms are severally heated by steam, venti- lated directly and equably with an exhaustive system constantly withdrawing polluted air from the atmosphere.

The incandescent system of electrie lighting, which has been adopted throughout, neither adds noxious fumes to the atmosphere nor exists by its absorption, bnt by its non-combustion of oxygen, and the uni- form volume of light received from an electric lamp makes it more comfortable and less dangerous to the eyes than any other form of illuminant known.

Hot and cold water have been introduced into every room. In connection with the best traps that sanitary science has devised is a separate ventilating shaft for each set of pipes, which issues at a point above the crown of the roof.

On each floor are two bath-rooms, and the sewerage is disposed of according to the specific direction of the best authorities.

Each boy occupies a single bed.

PHYSICAL TRAINING. - The gymnasium, con- structed and equipped under the personal direction of Professor George Goldie, of Princeton College, embraces every appliance requisite for the symmet- rical development of the body and supplementary apparatus for special training.

At the beginning of the year, and at such times

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EDUCATIONAL.

during the year as may seem good, a physical exam- ination of each pupil is made by a skilled physician in order to determine hereditary tendencies, func- tional or organie disorders and individual weaknesses, all of which results serve to guide the instructor, who requires of each pupil the prescribed exercises resultant upon and corrective of personal needs. Daily participation in the simpler forms of gymnastic drill is expected and enforced, except in case of ill- ness.

Experience has shown the quick and intelligent response of boys to this method of physical training, and so far from defeating the aim to increase their reverence for their bodies, it has been found that this practical, reasonable system dignifies the spirit in which they regard their highest functions.

physiology and hygiene, with the use of skeleton and manikin, and by lectures, general and special, with reference to public and personal health.

Its prosperity and efficiency have in- creased from year to year, and its distin- guished position will always be found the best monument of its founder's sagacity and liberality. Rigorously restricting the number of its pupils, and enabled thereby to bestow the most serupulous attention upon each student's personal needs, it has accomplished a great work in impressing upon the individual the habits of exact and scholarly methods, which have been utilized in every department of life.

In 1876 the founder was succeeded by his son, John Meigs, Ph.D., by whom the school was reorganized with special refer- ence to the work of preparation for college and scientific school.

Under the present régime every graduate of the school who has applied for admission has entered one of the best colleges in full standing. An enlarged faculty of instruc- tion and increased appliances have confirmed the ex- pectations of its friends.

On the 4th of March, 1884, the buildings of the school were destroyed by fire. On the Ist of October of the same year the work was resumed in the new structure erected during the spring and summer.

In their reconstruction whatever experience, sani- tary science and generous aspiration could suggest has been serupulously incorporated. The purpose has not been merely to create a home for the boys, ; provided with every element of exceptional comfort and happiness, but to signalize the school-life and school-work by appliances complete and attractive.

TEACHERS, 1884 .- Latin and Greek, John Meigs, guardians so desire.

Latin, Andrew W. Willson, Jr., A.B. (Princeton). History, William E. Roe, A.M. (Williams); Walter C. Roe, A.B.1 (Williams). Natural Sciences, Henry R. Goodnow, A.B. (Amherst, University of Berlin, ex-Fellow Johns Hopkins University). German, Rev. L. K. Evans, A.M. (Franklin and Marshall, University of Berlin). Physiology and Hygiene, Richard W. Saylor, M.D. ( Amherst, New York Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons). Music, Ed.Giles.

North Wales Academy and School of Business, Professor S. U. Brunner, principal. This institu- tion was opened in Kulpsville, Pa., Oct. 14, 1867, its object being to meet the increasing demand for prac- tically educated men and women. It was removed to North Wales, Montgomery Co., April 10, 1871.

The organization and system of instruction are

This culture is supplemented by the study of | adapted to meet the wants not only of the commercial part of the community, but also of the professional, agricultural and artisan classes.

There are two separate departments,-academic

NORTH WALES ACADEMY.

and commercial. We recognize the fact that while a thorough English and classical education is highly conducive to success in life, a practical business edu- cation is scarcely less so. Such an education is nearly as necessary for the professional man, farmer and me- chanie as for the merchant.

The aim steadily held in view in this institution is to give its pupils symmetrical culture, and at the same time to make of them practical, self-reliant men and women, fitted to assume the duties and to discharge the responsibilities of life, and to appreciate any refin- ing pleasure that may come in their way.

Students are fitted for college if their parents or

The commercial department is entirely separate

Ph.D. (Lafayette); William E. Roe, A.M. (Williams); Walter C. Roe, A.B.1 (Williams). Mathematies, | from the graduating course. It is a complete and George Q. Sheppard, A.B. (Lafayette). English and , independent course of itself, yet students can elect

1 1884-5.

2 1884-85.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

certain branches from either it or the graduating course.

With a determination to make this school a success, the principal employs none bnt first-class, capable in- structors.

Special attention is also called to the fact that dull and backward students have extra instructiou given them outside of the regular routine of school- work.

BUILDING, GROUNDS, ETC .- The school building was erected in 1872, and consists of a large stucco

and Lydia (Umstead) Brunner, was born at the old homestead, Worcester township, Montgomery Co., on April 6, 1842. His rudimentary education was ac- quired at the Bethel Public School, which he attended six months during the year, beginning at the age of six and continuing until that of seventeen. While he was yet a student here, in 1858, lie was chosen by the school board of his district, against his own per- sonal wishes, to teach an unexpired term in Johnson's School, in the extreme western end of the district. He reluctantly entered upon his new duties about

stone structure, with mansard roof, forty-three feet square, four stories high, including basement, which latter is used for cooking and dining purposes, etc. The first story is divided into school, recitation, office and class-rooms, and the second and third into dor- mitories and studios. The observatory on top of the building affords a magnificent view of the surrounding country. The grounds are ample, and a variety of shrubbery, flowers, shade and ornamental trees have been set out.

SAMUEL U. BRUNNER, youngest son of Frederick

January 1, 1859, and successfully completed the uu- expired term of one of the hardest schools to manage in the district.

He entered Washington Hall Collegiate Institute, at Trappe, in the spring of that year ; and continued to teach public school, and during vacation to attend school, until 1864. During this time he taught suc- cessfully two consecutive terms at Cassel's School, Worcester, and three in Whitpain, closing his career as public-school teacher, in 1867, as principal of the Jenkintown Public School.

423

FLORA OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Always of a practical turn of mind, he entered East- man's National Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in the summer of 1864, graduating with distinguished honor in a class of twenty-seven in thirteen weeks. Wishing to apply his newly-acquired knowledge so as to gain actual experience in business, he became chief book-keeper for the Grover & Baker Sewing- Machine Company, No. 730 Chestnut Street, Phila- delphia, which position he held until July, 1866. His chosen profession was resumed in August of that year at Jenkintown.

Having a desire to establish a business for himself, he ventured to open a private school in Kulpsville Hall, October 14, 1867. This school, known as Kulps- ville Academy and School of Business, he, opening with two pupils, successfully conducted until it was removed to North Wales, in April, 1871.

Parochial Schools .- There are two large parochial schools maintained in the county. The largest of these, located in Norristown, is St. Patrick's Paro- chial school, which was begun in January, 1875, in the basement of St. Patrick's church. The studies Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, professor of botany and materia medica in the University of Pennsylvania, was a nephew of David Rittenhouse, the famous as- tronomer of this county; and he undoubtedly botanized and collected specimens from this county while visit- ing his illustrious uncle at his country home, in Norriton township, a few miles north of Norristown. are the same as in the public school, and the same text forms are used, with the exception of the Readers, which are selections from the classics and Catholic writers. The school is under the charge of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mercy. The other school is located in Conshohocken, and is con- ducted under the auspices of the Roman Catholic It was Dr. Barton who induced Thomas Nuttall, a young English botanist of great merit and promise, to come to America to study the plants of her varied soil and climate. It was likewise through his en- couragement that Nuttall completed the great work Church of that borough. There are upwards of one thousand pupils in attendance upon them, and they are supported exclusively by contributions or payments made by those who adhere to the faith and doctrines of that ancient church. Females are em- of Michaux on the "Forest Trees of America ; " and ployed as teachers, and the branches of study pre- scribed, together with the general management of these schools, are under the control of the ecclesias- tical authorities of the denomination referred to. They receive no aid from the public school tax levied in the county or appropriated by the State.

CHAPTER XXVII.

FLORA OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.I

IF there has been any attempt to describe and catalogue the plants of this county, there is no record of the fact, at least as far as the knowledge of the author extends. Botanical ineursions within what is now known as the limits of Montgomery County were undoubtedly made by those pioneers in botany who contributed by their labors and their attainments to make Philadelphia illustrious as the centre of the American School of Natural Science and History. The names of Bartram, Barton, Nuttall, Schweinitz,

Muhlenberg, Collins and Darlington form a galaxy of botanical stars equalled by few and excelled by none in this or any other country in the brilliancy of their attainments, and of whom every Pennsylvanian should feel especially proud, because they honored this State with their residence and gathered the major part of their scientific knowledge from the plants of her soil.

John Bartram, born near Philadelphia, founded the first botanical garden of this country upon the banks of the Schuylkill, and there can be no doubt that it contained at least a few of the plants found in the beautiful Schuylkill Valley. Bartram could never have remained ignorant of the richness of the flora of the country lying but a few miles above his garden, and he probably made personal visits into the lower townships of what is now known as Montgomery, but then still embraced in Philadelphia County. His zeal was so great and his labors so extensive in investi- gating new species of plants, that Linnaeus himself pronounced him as the greatest living botanist.

nowhere could he have found more abundant ma- terial for study than on the beautiful hills over- looking the Schuylkill and Wissahickon, just above Philadelphia, in the southern limits of Montgomery, covered as they must have been with luxuriant forests in all their original richness. It is more than prob- able that Montgomery contributed somewhat toward the data of that product of unwearied thought and labor.

Lewis David Schweinitz, a Moravian clergyman of Bethlehem, in this State, who contributed fourteen hundred new species to the flora of Eastern Pennsyl- vania, of which twelve hundred were new species of North American fungi, living as he did so near the northeastern corner of Montgomery, must likewise have explored her forests and ravines in search of material. Fungi in his time had been but little studied, and his labors did much to advance this par- ticular branch of study.

Dr. Henry Ernst Muhlenberg, son of the founder of the Lutheran Church in America, was born at the Trappe, and was the first and only botanist of distinc- tion that Montgomery County produced. He contrib- uted a large share of botanical knowledge to the flora of Pennsylvania. It is probable that his first

1 By P. Y. Eisenberg, M.D.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

taste for botanical research was developed while roam- ing over the hills of the Skippack and Perkiomen in his boyhood. Upon the approach of the British in 1777 he fled from Philadelphia, where he was an as- sistant pastor of one of the Lutheran Churches, to his quiet country home, and there secluded himself be- cause of a reward offered for his capture. During this season of seclusion he studied new varieties and new species of plants, and to a number of these his name has been assigned. His memory will live in the hearts of all lovers of plants and flowers, as long as the American dog-violet blooms, or as long as the Drop- Seed grass grows. Having moved to Lancaster, where he assumed charge of a Lutheran Church, he continued his study of flowers, not as labor, but as a source of re- creation amid his ministerial duties. He published the " Flora Lancastriensis," the first attempt to cata- logue and describe the flowering plants of Lancaster County, a work that is only excelled by the classical volume of the late Dr. Darlington, of West Chester, known as the " Flora C'estrica."

The latter eminent and learned botanist, in his great work, erected a monument to himself as imper- ishable as the science he loved so well. His descrip- tions of the flora of Chester County are so exhaustive and his botanical language so complete that a botanist could scarcely be satisfied in determining newly-found varieties without first consulting his book while study- ing plant-life in Eastern Pennsylvania. Dr. Darling- ton botanized within view of the Schuylkill, and there can be but little doubt that he crossed beyond its banks in the hope of finding something new on Mont- gomery's soil, with its rich floral treasures. And finally a passing notice must be made of Alan W. Corson, of Whitemarsh, a botanist of more than local reputation. Endowed with a strong love of nature, and untaught by others, he mastered the natural sciences of his native county, making extensive col- lections in botany, mineralogy and entomology. His herbarium was one of the finest of his time in this section of the country. He made trees a special ob- jeet of study, and in his nursery had many rich and rare specimens, some of which were imported from Europe.

The fertile Chester Valley extends beyond the borders of our neighboring county into Montgomery, carrying with it similar soils and geological forma- tions, and consequently growing similar plants and flowers. Like climate and underlying strata are the two determining factors in producing like vegetation, and hence the author feels warranted in affirming that almost every plant and fern described so accu- rately and minutely by Dr. Darlington in his " Flora of Chester County " can be found on the soil of Mont- gomery. A description of localities best known to the author and his friends may not be amiss. There is probably no more beautiful and picturesque scenery in Eastern Pennsylvania than that which greets the traveller's eye in passing down the valley from Nor-

ristown to Philadelphia. Here nature has been espe- cially lavish in dispensing her floral treasures.

All along the Schuylkill, from below West Laurel Hill, in Lower Merion, to Balligomingo, above West Conshohocken, in Upper Merion, the western bank of the river is steep and rugged, ofttimes being formed by bold bluffs. Occasionally it is interrupted by deep ravines, as those at Mill Creek and Balligomingo. In fact, the entire river, border, on both sides,-for the eastern is but the counterpart of the western,-form exceedingly interesting localities to the botanical student. Excursions are annually made by the botan- ical classes in the College of Pharmacy and medical colleges of Philadelphia, to Lafayette, Spring Mill and Mill Creek, in pursuit of material for study.

Near West Conshohocken the purple-flowered rasp- berry decorates the banks of the Schuylkill, and greets the dusty traveller as he passes down the river road. The beautiful climbing fumitory seeks a more retired shade, and blossoms, with all its delicate and hand- some foliage, in the raviues and thickets leading off from the river, in the same locality. Up the ravine, some two miles from Balligomingo, is the Gulf Rock. In its immediate vicinity grow some four or five varieties of violets,-the bird's-foot violet, the Pale violet, american violet, named after Muhlenberg, the botanist ; and the wild pansy, or heart's-ease, which has yielded so kindly to cultivation and produced the magnificent specimens grown by Vick and other flor- ists.

Upon the bosom of Gulf Creek, in the same vicinity, grows in fragrant beauty the sweet-scented Water-Lily, admired by all lovers of flowers. The ancient Greeks very appropriately dedicated this flower, because of its virgin beauty, to the water-nymphs which they believed to people the streams of their native land.

This section of Montgomery County, too, is rich in ferns, but still farther down the river, opposite Spring Mill, at Soapstone Quarry, on the banks of Mill Creek, at Black Rock and at Flat Rock Tunnel a still greater variety and a more luxuriant growth of these interest- ing botanical specimens can be found. The eastern bank of the Schuylkill presents but little variation in floral specimens from those on the opposite side. The ravine near Lafayette, the vicinity of Spring Mill, and whole rocky river-border from Conshohocken to Norristown, with its intersecting ravines and thickets, are prized by local botanists as especially rich in their offerings for study. Here and there are found a few exceedingly rare plants, among which is the climbing milkweed, kuown as the Gonolobus hirsutus, clinging to the twigs and branches of some friendly tree. On one of the bluffs, overlooking the river, blooms, in modest retirement, the shooting-star, known as the Dodecatheon Meadia. Its home, about two miles below Norristown, is known to but a few, and is the sole place, as far as known, in this county, where it blooms in its pristine beauty. It shrinks from sight upon the approach of man, and hides itself in some

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FLORA OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

nook or corner among the rocks, away from the hoe or plow of the farmer. There, in a sheltered and secluded spot of its own choice, it flowers until the pry- ing eye of the botanist has spied its matchless beauty.

Above Norristown, in the Schuylkill, is Barbadoes Island. Here are found the Papaw, Spatterdock, the Virginia cowslip, and similar plants that seek a rich alluvium as their home. Along the Schuylkill, above Norristown, are to be found the pencil-flower, Vetch, wild-bean and the bracted bindweed. The hills of Valley Forge are rich in botanical interest to the student, as well as in historic memories. Valley Creek, which divides them, marks the extreme western limit of botanical exploration in Montgomery. The eastern bank of the river, from opposite the Forge to Pottstown, presents little or nothing different from what has been already described. A few miles above Valley Forge the Perkiomen joins the Schuylkill, and furnishes new and fertile fields for study. Along its banks, and in the woods near the copper-mines west of Shannonville, one of the rare lady-slippers has been found, the Cypripedium acaule. Other districts, remote from the principal streams coursing through the county, are likewise fruitful localities for the ama- teur in botanical science; as, for instance, the thickets and lowlands of Upper and Lower Merion. It is to be regretted that so small a portion of the county has been scientifically explored, and it is due to personal friends and co-laborers in this delightful pursuit, that the catalogue hereto appended is as full as it is.

To Miss Margaret Harvey, of Ardmore, for her labors in classifying the ferns of the county ; to Messrs. Aaron F. Baker, Jos. Crawford and John Overholtzer, of Norristown, especially to the latter gentleman, the thanks of the author are due for valuable assistance rendered in making and revising this catalogue.

To Miss Anna L. Ralston and Dr. E. M. Corson, of Norristown, acknowledgments are likewise due for rare specimens and information concerning their loca- tions. With these friends the author has spent many a pleasant hour in studying and deciding some un- known species of plant, and in rambling over hills, and through thickets and ravines, in search of new speei- mens.

In nomenclature and classification Gray has been followed, but occasionally, where he has failed to men- tion or describe the plant in question, Wood is recog- nized as authority. The plants analyzed and catalogued have all been thoroughly tested by these two authors, and subsequently their identity unequivocally fixed by a final reference to Darlington's " Flora C'estrica." As far as the catalogue extends, the aim has been to make it reliable. That the grasses and sedges have not received more attention is to be regretted, and it is fervently hoped that the list of flowers and ferns hereto appended may serve as a nucleus around which new additions shall be made, from time to time, by those interested in the botany of the county.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 99

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534