USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume I > Part 42
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in Moore township, disappeared in 1860; at Siegfried's, same township, dis- appeared in 1862; at Dannersville, same township, disappeared in 1885; at Schall's in Moorestown, disappeared in 1870; another near Young's Creamery, in Moore township, which has also disappeared these many years; in Bushkill township, near Frack's; in Bethlehem township, near Farmersville; and another about two miles southwest of Freemansburg, in Lower Saucon township; in Forks township there was one built as late as the year 1817, of stone, seven years later than the one at Sinking Spring ; it was considered a fine structure in those days, but it also has disappeared these many years. Besides these, there were a number of others erected in early times in differ- ent parts of our country, but they have all disappeared so long ago that. little is now known of their exact location. The only one of which we have any considerable record is that of the octagonal erected in 1828 and known as the Union Schoolhouse, near Bath. An interesting account of this school- house was written by John R. Laubach, of Nazareth, and published in the Pennsylvania-German Magazine in its issue of November, 1907. Mr. Lau- bach attended school there. From his interesting article are made the follow- ing extracts :
It stood alongside of the highway from Easton to Mauch Chunk, in Upper Nazareth township, about a mile west of the village of Smoketown and two miles southeast of Bath, near the east branch of the Monocacy creek. It was built by means of the contributions from the surrounding community, and for more than fifty years it stood as a landmark known far and wide. Its walls were built of limestone quarried in the vicinity; the mason work was done by Daniel Michael, who for many years lived on the same road opposite the schoolhouse. Its walls were eighteen inches thick, solidly built, neatly plastered, and whitewashed on the inside and rough cast on the out- side. They could easily have defied the storms of centuries yet to come, had not a building of more modern construction been desired. The old structure was known as the Union Schoolhouse, and was controlled by six trustees, three from Upper and three from Lower Nazareth township, selected from the patrons in the district. Among the best known of these trustees were Adam Daniel, better known as Squire Daniel, from the fact that he was a justice of the peace for a number of years; George Wellick, Peter Rohn, and others, who departed from the scenes of this life many years
ago. Daniel Fox was the first teacher in this building during the winter of 1828 to 1829. Among others whose names I have heard mentioned, besides those under whose instructions I have been, were a Mr. Kraut, a Mr. Herbst, Joshua Michael, Barnet Laubach, William Deshler, John Oden- welder, Abraham Woodring, Daniel Moser, John Kriedler, Abraham Gruver, Albert B. Fehr and George W. Moser. There were others, but I have not been able to learn their names. At first, all instruction was in German, but after a while English was introduced. This was desired by some of the patrons, owing to the nearness of the "Irish Settlement"-the locality where the Scotch-Irish had settled, on the west branch of the Monocacy creek, in East Allen township-which was only three miles away, and where English was spoken. It is related that when the teaching of English was first pro- posed, it was considered by some of the trustees that Mr. Herbst, who had taught for some time, was too "Dutch," and they ought to look around for someone more able to teach English. But when Mr. Herbst handed in his report at the close of the term, he suggested that English orthography should be taught in the future, and this word, "orthography," quite con- founded the trustees, who had no idea of what he meant by such a big word. Happily there was a "Walker's Dictionary" lying on Squire Daniel's desk,
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in whose office they had met, and by referring to the same they had found out what Mr. Herbst had meant. They came to the conclusion that he knew enough English, and re-engaged him for another term.
The branches taught in the early schools were spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic. Reading consisted in calling words from the Testament and speller. The young pupils occasionally used the "New England Primer." A feature of this little book that aroused most interest was an illustration depicting John Rogers burning at the stake, with his wife and ten children looking on. Another reader used was the "Columbian Orator," which was more advanced, and consisted of a compilation of dialogues and pieces suit- able for declamation. Wilson's and Sander's appeared later and had a wide circulation.
Writing was taught by having the children follow strictly a well-set copy, which, as a rule, consisted of a pithy proverb from A to Z. The quills used were of English manufacture, which sold at two for a cent, and the American, four for a cent-the cutting and mending of which took up the teacher's morning and noon hours. Most of the writing paper used came in foolscap size, unruled, and was manufactured in the paper mills. Its cost and the scarcity of money led the children to use it sparingly. For ink, a certain powder was used and boiled in water. The handwriting of the children in "ye olden time," judging from the copybooks that have been preserved, was admirably legible and uniform, better than that of the young people of the present. It was a requisite of the old schoolmasters that they should be good teachers of penmanship.
Considerable time was spent by old schoolmasters in giving instruc- tion in arithmetic, for to be "great in figures," was to be learned. The major- ity of the pupils, including practically all the girls, ciphered only through the four fundamentals of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, with a short excursion into vulgar fractions. They won distinction among their mates if they penetrated into the mysteries of the "Rule of Three"; and to cipher through "Old Pike" was to be accounted a prodigy. In many districts in the country, Siegfried's "German Arithmetic," published in Bath in 1839, was used. It was a neat book, seven by five, and well bound, con- sisting of over a hundred pages. "The Columbian Calculator," written and published in Easton by Almon Ticknor, also had a county circulation. The first edition was limited to four hundred copies. It superseded "Pike's Arithmetic" in Easton, later Greenleaf's and "Brooks' Arithmetic" were used.
Spelling at first was somewhat neglected, but later it absorbed a large share of the student's interest and enthusiasm, and the pupil who "could spell down the whole school" ranked second only to him who surpassed the rest in arithmetic. The child at the head of the class when the day ended had a credit mark, and perhaps was given a written certificate of good scholar- ship to carry home. Other prizes were often distributed. Once a week the school would choose sides for the spelling-match, which generally took up half the afternoon. The side which spelled "best" was declared to have "beat," and usually manifested much triumph. The spelling matches were also a common recreation of the winter evening, and from time to time neighboring districts sent their champions to contend for spelling honors in
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friendly combat. To these contests came not only the pupils, but the older brothers and sisters and the rest of the community. An educational writer related that Horace Greeley, when a tiny white-headed youngster of five or six years, had already become a famous speller, and had not an equal in his district. He was always the first one chosen at the spelling schools; some- times he fell asleep in his place before the evening was over, and had to be nudged by his companions when his turn came. He would instantly be alert, spell his word, and then drop asleep again.
Other school studies-history, geography and grammar-were added later to the course of instruction. The first geography used in the schools of Northampton county and in the German sections of adjoining counties, was "Siegfried's German Geography." It was a translation from the Eng- lish edition of "Daniel Adam's Geography of the world" (1831). The book contains three hundred and sixty pages, and was printed in 1834 by Samuel and Solomon Siegfried, at Millgrove, in Bushkill township. We are told that it was the first German geography published in the United States. It is divided into three parts-Part I, "Geographical Orthography," consisting of ten pages of names of States, rivers and towns, to be used in spelling lessons. Part II, "A Grammar of Geography," eighty-six pages, being an epitome of main facts to be committed to memory. Part III, "A Descrip- tion of the Earth," making up the body of the book, "to be read in classes." From this work we give the following excerpts:
A mountain is a vast protuberance of the earth. The White Mountains are the highest, not only in New Hampshire, but in the United States.
Water is brought to Philadelphia in a subterranean canal, from the Schuylkill, and is then raised by steam thirty or forty feet to a reservoir on the top of a circular edifice, from which it is distributed by bored logs to the different parts of the city.
Cincinnati is a pleasant, flourishing town. It contains about three thou- sand inhabitants. In this town is Fort Washington, which commences the chain of forts extending to the westward.
Detroit, the capital of Michigan Territory, is a place of considerable trade, which consists chiefly in a barter of coarse European goods with the natives for furs. The town is surrounded by a strong blockade, through which there are four gates. The streets are generally crowded with Indians in the day time; but at night they are all shut out of the town, except such as get admittance into private houses, and the gates are closed.
The people are justly famed for honesty and industry, and retain their strength so long, that a Norwegian is not supposed incapable of labor till he is upwards of one hundred years old. The inhabitants of some of the interior parts, it is said, live till weary of life.
In his inaugural address, Governor George Wolf, the father of the public school system of Pennsylvania, in 1831, favored liberal education, "by means of which the light of knowledge will be diffused throughout the whole community and imparted to every individual susceptible of partak- ing of its blessings, fulfill the duties which each one owes to himself, his God, and his country." He added: "There is no measure of intrinsic importance to the general prosperity and happiness of the people of the commonwealth, to the cause of public virtue and of public morals, to the hopes and expectations of the rising generation to whom the future political
THE HIRST HOMESTEAD Oldest Building at Bath, Pa.
THE WOLF ACADEMY Near Bath, 1785
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destinies of the Republic are to be committed, or which will add so much to the sum of individual and social improvement and comfort, as a general diffusion of the means of moral and intellectual cultivation among all classes of our citizens."
Governor Wolf was re-elected in 1832, and in his message to the Legis- lature he renewed his recommendation for the passage of a general educa- tional law. He wrote: "Whilst we are expending millions for the improve- ment of the physical condition of the State, we have not hitherto appro- priated a single dollar that is available for the intellectual improvement of its youth which, in a moral and political point of view, is of ten-fold more consequence either as respects the moral influence of the State, or political power and safety."
After the passage of the act, April 1, 1834, an attempt was made to repeal it. This brought Thaddeus Stevens, the greatest defender of our school system, into prominence. He was the political opponent of Governor Wolf, but did not allow his politics to keep him silent when the children of the commonwealth were likely to suffer. When the act to repeal the law of 1834 had passed the Senate and was about to pass the House, Mr. Stevens delivered one of the greatest speeches that ever rang through the halls of legislation. He said in part :
I have seen the present Chief Magistrate of this commonwealth (Wolf) violently assailed as the projector and father of this law. I am not the eulogist of that gentleman, but he deserves the undying gratitude of the peope for the stern, untiring zeal which he has manifested in favor of com- mon schools. I trust that the people of this State will never be called upon to choose between a supporter and an opposer of free schools. But, if it should come to that, if that should be made the turning point on which we are to cast our suffrages, if the opponent of education were my most intimate personal and political friend, and the free school candidate my most obnox- ious enemy, I should deem it my duty as a patriot in this moment of our intellectual crisis to forget all other considerations and place myself unhesi- tatingly and cordially in the ranks of him whose banners stream in light.
Cast your vote that the blessing of education shall be conferred on every son of Pennsylvania-shall be carried home to the poorest child of the poorest inhabitant of the meanest hut of your mountains, so that even he may be prepared to act well his part in this land of free men, and lay on earth a broad and solid foundation for that enduring knowledge which goes on increasing through an increasing eternity.
In no other feature of our educational progress has advancement been more marked than in the character of our County Institute. Superintendent Kind in his 1862 annual report to the State Department wrote: "The County Convention at Bath, during the first week in April, held a session of three days, and was the largest educational meeting of the kind ever held in the county. Nearly eighty teachers were present, and but three districts, the most remote, were unrepresented. As far as ascertained, one hundred and forty teachers attended educational meetings for mutual improvement, of whom one hundred attended regularly." Thus the year 1912 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of organized County Institutes.
Valentine Hilburn was the first superintendent of Northampton county. He served two terms, from 1854 to 1860, at a salary of $500 a year. He had
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but four months to visit all the schools, and as he kept no conveyance, he visited the schools mostly on foot, averaging four a day. In the evening he delivered an address in the nearest school or church, English or German, as circumstance seemed to suggest. He compiled a little book to aid the teacher in teaching his pupils to speak English. He was twice elected, with no rival in his way. He declined a third term, resuming the practice of law, having fitted himself for this profession under the tutelage of that master of jurisprudence, James M. Porter. Mr. Hilburn was of German birth, and came to the United States when quite young. He taught school for a time in the southern part of the country. He died in 1890, at a ripe old age.
Abraham Kind was the second superintendent. He carried out the work so ably begun by his predecessor. At the time of his election he was prin- cipal of Bethlehem's public schools. He was a thorough teacher, and one of the keenest critics of English construction. During his first term of office the salary was increased to $1,000. Mr. Kind served from 1860 to 1866, after which he became the principal of the Weaversville Academy, which he conducted ably for several years, when impaired health compelled him to quit teaching, after which he canvassed quite successfully for a prominent life insurance company. He died in 1878, aged fifty-two years. He and his predecessor, Mr. Hilburn, rest in the Easton cemetery.
Superintendent William N. Walker was born in Lower Mount Bethel township, May 26, 1835. He first attended school in his native district, at "Mack's" schoolhouse. By hard work he pushed to the front and became quite popular in educational circles, serving for some time as principal of the Bethlehem borough schools. In 1866 he became a resident of Bethlehem township, was chosen county superintendent that year, and held office until 1872. After his term of office expired, he taught in different parts of the county, and died in 1908, in Upper Nazareth township.
Superintendent B. F. Rasley, born in Upper Mount Bethel township in 1834, spent the greater part of his life as a teacher. He taught with marked success in various school districts in the county, and held the office of county superintendent for three terms, from 1872-1881. He died December 23, 1902, at Mount Bethel.
Superintendent Joseph H. Werner is a native of Bushkill township After his graduation from the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pennsylvania, he taught in Bushkill and Moore townships, and later served as principal of the Chapman Quarries schools for many years. He was county superintendent from 1881 to 1890, after which he was elected principal of the Lehighton schools. He was an able instructor and executive officer, and it is said that to him must be given credit for first putting the county schools on a firm working basis.
Superintendent William F. Hoch was a native of Bushkill township. When he was eleven years old, his parents moved to Bethlehem township, where he attended the public schools. He was graduated from the Keystone State Normal School, and for fifteen successive years taught the Boyer School in Bethlehem township. He also taught in the Lincoln School in Palmer township, was elected county superintendent in 1890, and served nine years with efficiency in that capacity. After his term of office expired he resumed
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teaching in Palmer township. In addition to his qualifications as a teacher, Mr. Hoch was a fine musician and a skilled instructor in music. For twenty-nine years he was organist at St. John's Lutheran Church, Farmers- ville. His career of usefulness extended over a period of thirty-seven years as a teacher and public educator. He died in 1908, aged fifty-seven years.
Superintendent H. K. Bender hails from Monroe county. He was born near Saylorsburg, and in his youth attended the district school and Brod- headsville Academy. He served as principal of the East Bangor schools for fifteen years, and superintendent of Northampton county schools from 1899 to 1905. In 1910 he was elected a member of the State Legislature. He is prominent as an educator, and is a close friend to the teachers.
Superintendent George A. Grim, the present efficient county superin- tendent, is a native of Berks county, where he attended school in his youth, graduating from the Keystone State Normal School in 1894. After teaching for two terms in Williams township, he again attended the Normal during spring terms, and prepared for college; entered Bucknell College in the autumn of 1896, and concluded his studies there in 1899. He was principal of the Huntington Mills Schools from 1899 to 1900, after which he travelled in company with two friends through the western countries of Europe, locating for almost a year in Zurich, Switzerland, where he attended the university and taught in the Institute Concordia, an international school. After his return to America in 1901 he was elected vice-principal of the Nazareth (Pennsylvania) schools, and in 1902 was advanced to supervising principal. The directors of Northampton county selected him for county superintendent in 1905, since which time they have continued him in office. In 1902 he made a trip through the New England States and southern Canada, and in 1904 through the Yellowstone Park and the Rocky Mountain States. During the summer of 1910 he again visited Europe. Superintendent Grim also took one year post-graduate work in the course of pedagogy at the New York University. He is deservedly popular with teachers, directors and people. He lives in Nazareth, a town noted for its many trolley lines, just an ideal home for a county superintendent.
In 1754 and 1755 the population of Easton had slightly increased, of which the German element was largely in the excess, there being but few English residents in the place. It was then that the project of erecting a public school in Easton was recommended, and William Parsons, an English- man and surveyor-general of the province and leading citizen, became its warmest advocate.
A loghouse of three rooms was built, one for the purpose of teaching, the others for the residence of the teacher. Half of the money for the build- ing came from a society in England formed for the purpose to educate the poor Germans of Pennsylvania. This donation was secured through the influence of the Rev. Michael Schlatter. The other half was contributed by the settlers, either in money or labor. The proprietors and trustees donated £3, and William Parsons was the largest individual contributor, subscribing £5. There were at this time forty families in Easton, and the schoolhouse was also used for religious services.
A public meeting of the inhabitants of the borough was held in March,
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1794, called to consider the propriety of erecting a schoolhouse. Prominent in this movement were Samuel Sitgreaves, Robert Trail, Charles F. Fred- eritzi, John Arndt, C. L. Becker, John Herster and others. As a result of this public meeting, the Union Academy was erected. It stood on the emi- nence of North Second street on the site whereon now stands the imposing Easton High School building. John Vanderveer in 1828 opened a school for instruction in the classics and higher mathematics in a building on the corner of Fourth and Spring Garden streets. During the first year, his school consisted of but twelve pupils. This school soon acquired a reputa- tion that extended beyond the limits of the town, and students came from abroad. It was discontinued in 1854. Mr. Cottingham writes that Dr. Vanderveer was a conscientious as well as a thoroughly finished teacher, and always had in view the moral as well as the mental profit of his pupils. By his daily short talks to the assembled schools he sowed the good seed of character, which has notably manifested itself in many who had their early training from him. Thus he has perpetuated his influence in all the walks of life, and the power of it will increase rather than diminish as successive generations follow.
Superintendent William White Cottingham was born in Easton, Decem- ber 6, 1824. Ten years later the public school law was passed, and Easton embraced it immediately. Later he attended Vanderveer's school, then was clerk in his father's store for three years, and entered Lafayette College, graduating in 1848. He was a tutor at the college in '48-49, '51-52, study- ing in the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1849 to 1851. In 1852 he became a teacher in the advanced school in South Easton, and in August, 1853, was made principal of the high school in Easton, a few weeks later became superintendent, a position he has held continuously for fifty-nine years. Under his wise and efficient administration the school system of Easton was inaugurated and developed into the enviable system of today.
In 1887 the Cottingham Third-of-a-Century Celebration was held, and the tribute paid him by the citizens, the Board of Control, the teachers and the scholars, was a most fitting one, and the presentation of the memo- rial album containing many hundreds of autographs, among them those of the President of the United States, the governor of Pennsylvania, and scores of high dignitaries and public men in the land, together with thousands of names of alumni and school children, is an invaluable memento of that interesting occasion. In 1904 the Cottingham Half-Century Celebration was held, with special exercises, at which time addresses were delivered by Mayor Lehr, ex-Mayor Chidsey, Mr. Warfield, Mr. Snyder and Mr. Henry Houck. In 1894 Lafayette College conferred upon him the well-earned degree of Doctor of Laws. His death occurred March 2, 1913. Easton did not own one school building when he became superintendent, but under his supervision the city has erected a school building about every five years, one of the largest and handsomest being named in his honor.
The successor of Dr. Cottingham, Robert Edward Laramy, was called to Easton in June, 1913. A biography of this gentleman appears in another part of this work.
Superintendent Owen R. Wilt has been at the head of the South Beth-
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lehem public schools for twenty-five years. To his untiring efforts is due the fact that the schools of that place are the equal to any in the county. He was born near Emaus, Lehigh county, July 13, 1840. At the age of twenty he received a certificate and began teaching in Salisbury township, and was principal of the West Bethlehem schools from 1866 to 1884, when he resigned to become principal of the Coplay High School. At the end of two years he accepted the principalship of the South Bethlehem High School, continuing in this position until 1888, when he was elected the first superintendent. During this time three large school buildings of fine architecture, and one of lesser dimensions, have been erected, and under his management the educational interests of the place are constantly improving.
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