USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 48
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Located in Donegal Township, and known as Cary's Run School. It is on Laurel Hill Mountain, about five miles west of Stahlstown, and is yet in use.
In 1824 came our first school law. Briefly, it provided for the election of school directors in each borough or township, whose prescribed duties fore- shadowed in a small degree the duties of our present directors. The people were opposed to it because it seemed to take from them and give to the school directors powers which they were determined to hold. We take the following from an old paper as indicative of the public feeling :
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
"A correspondent from Rostraver township writes us as follows: 'It is requested that you publish in your paper that the citizens of Rostraver township at their township elec- tion agreed unanimously by public vote, not to elect school men for said township.'"
In commenting on the vote in Greensburg and in Hempfield townships, the editor delivers himself as follows:
"At an election in this borough fifteen votes were given for school men. No previous notice agreeably to the school law was given by the inhabitants. We know of no law or act of any legislative body so unpopular as this law has proven to be in this county. At the election in Hempfield township a scene of confusion and tumult occurred, which is represented as having been frightful. A person who witnessed part of it states that if any advocate of school law had openly avowed himself as such, he would have been liter- ally torn to pieces. Expressions to this effect were uttered by several persons.
"Disorder on occasions of this kind is generally confined to a few individuals who drink too freely, but in this instance it is not a little surprising to find a great majority of the people present openly opposed to the adoption of any measure having the least relation to the law in question. A greater number of persons were present than ever con- gregated at the same place before."
"In Unity township, and, indeed in every township from which we have heard, a very decided disapprobation of the provisions of this law was manifested by the people. What could have produced such an unanimity of opinion upon the subject, it is difficult for us to conjecture."
The early school houses, as a general rule, were built on land donated by some land owner, who thus secured for his children the advantage of being close to the school. They were, moreover, invariably located near a good spring, for an abundance of water was a necessity which our ancestors never forgot, either in locating their dwelling houses or schoolhouses. Another requisite in building a school house was that it must be centrally located, so that it might receive the largest possible patronage from the community.
So far as can be learned now, prior to 1825 there was no country school- house in the county that was not built of logs. The first frame schoolhouse was built in Derry township in 1825, at what is known as No. 7, and was form- erly called "Center Union Schoolhouse." It is situated about four miles north of Latrobe and is yet one of the leading rural schools of the county. The original article of agreement entered into by the citizens of the community for its construction was as follows :
"April 5th, 1825. A memorandum of agreement entered into by the undernamed subscribers for the purpose of erecting a school house in Derry township, Westmoreland county, on the lands of Coulter, McCune and McClelland. We do agree that five of us shall be appointed to manage said work and to keep a just account of what each individual pays or does towards it, and to settle with and pay any person who may or does more work or furnish more material for said house than is opposite their respective names."
This agreement has appended to it the names of the subscribers, with day work, bushels of rye, corn, oats, wheat and buckwheat furnished by each. James McClelland was the leading spirit in the enterprise and heads the list with "12 days work, 12 bushels of rye and 12 bushels of oats." Then follows
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
sixteen others, each of whom agreed to furnish labor, grain, etc. Their names are as follows: Conrad Rinsel, George Rinsel, Joseph McMaster, Hugh Skelley, Robert Coulter, Felty Flowers, Wm. McClelland, Henry Rinsel, Alex- and McCune, James H. Johnston, Patrick McDermott, John Latimer, Philip Diamond, James Dunlap, Dennis Conner, Isaac Munson, and John Rainey.
It was about twelve feet long and about ten feet wide, and the ceiling was only about seven feet high. It had one window on each side, and a window at one end, and a door at the other end. The windows were glass and some of the pupils who came there saw glass windows for the first time in their lives. The writing desks were fastened around the wall. The seats were. called "peg seats,"-that is they were made of a slab from a log, with pins- for legs. The heating apparatus was what was called a ten-plate stove, and it was adapted to burning wood. About 1835 the house was enlarged by adding a few feet to one end. The windows were increased to six, but the ceiling still remained at its original height of about seven feet, and this prevented the master from swinging his rod as skillfully as he might otherwise have done. With this enlargement of 1835 the house stood and did service till 1853, when it was torn down, and a new one erected in the same place. The second house- was built by Philip McGuire, who died but recently. The third house was erected near the original site in 1904.
The nearest neighboring schools were at New Alexandria, then called Dennesontown, about four miles northwest on the northern turnpike, about five miles north, and New Derry, about three miles to the east.
The method of employing teachers and the general management of the schools at that time can be pretty well gathered from the following agree- ment written by James McClelland, and dated May 5, 1825.
"Articles of agreement made and concluded upon by and between William Lovegood of one part and the undernamed subscribers of the other part. Witnesseth, that the said Wm. Lovegood for the consideration hereinafter mentioned doth agree to teach reading, writing and arithmetic at the rate of five dollars per scholar per annum, agreeable to the best methods he is acquainted with, for the term of three, six or nine months or one . year, the parties reserving a liberty of withdrawing at the end of every three months by giving a month's warning, and during which term or terms the said-Wm. Lovegood doth also agree to keep good rules and regulations in school and observe regular and proper hours of attendance and to pay strict attention to improve the minds, manners and morals of such children as may be entrusted to his care, and to have an eye over them during the hour of recreation and likewise to permit the trustees or any of the subscribers to. visit the school as often as they may think proper.
" For and in consideration of the above obligation being duly performed by the said Wm. Lovegood, we do obligate ourselves one and each of us to pay the said Wm. Love- good the above sum in proportion to the number of scholars next our names in the fol- lowing manner, to-wit: One half in cash, the other in wheat, rye, oats or corn at the. following prices-wheat at 5 shillings per bushel, rye and corn at three shillings and oats at 20 cents. We do also obligate ourselves to furnish a comfortable house to teach in with a sufficiency of fuel. The said payments to be paid at or near the end of every
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three months if required. and to be delivered at any place fixed on by the teacher within three miles of the schoolhouse."
The frame schoolhouse was not finished in time for occupancy in 1825, and the first school taught there was in 1826, by Robert Given, who afterwards became associate judge of Westmoreland county. William Dennison taught there in 1827, James Kelly in 1828 and 1829, John McCaleb in 1830 and 1831. J. C. Lannahill in 1832 and 1833, Craig Mcclellan in 1834, W. A. Nichols in 1835. W. H. Cochran in 1836, beginning March Ist and continuing three months. This ends the history of that district prior to the acceptance of the free school system. Though the first free school law was passed in 1834, it was not until after the amending act of 1836 that Derry township adopted the free school system. William H. Cochran was the first teacher under the new system in 1837. He had as many as eighty pupils present at one time, for now that it was free of tuition, every citizen felt like availing himself of its benefits. He opened the school with prayer, had a Bible class which recited twice a day, and he read to the school from the New Testament four times per day. In his day the "Shorter Cathechism" was the prominent text book in the school.
Prior to the adoption of the free school system there were in this, as in many other schoolhouses in the county, frequently two terms a year of three months each, one in the winter and one in the summer, the number of terms and their length being entirely regulated by the citizens in the community. When times were hard and crops were scanty, they frequently did not have any school at all, though that never happened in this particular house.
Women were rarely ever employed as teachers anywhere in the county prior to 1840. Sometimes they were employed at low rates to teach a few small children during a summer term. When the hard times of 1837 came, this school, like others in the county, began to employ them because their services could be had for less than half the sum they were compelled to pay men. For a number of years afterwards there were two terms of public school in each house, one in the winter and one in the summer, and they were frequently taught by different teachers. Jane Henry was the first woman teacher in the Derry township school above described, and taught there in 1838. After that came Eliza Mitchell, in 1840, Jane Marshall (Mrs. Sterling), in 1842; Martha McCune in 1843, and Elizabeth Woods in 1844.
The leading text book in our country schools in addition to the New Test- ament were the "United States Speller." "English Reader," "Kirkham's Gram- mar" and the "Western Calculator." This last was a splendid work, and with all the many arithmetics published they have not improved much upon it since.
We have in the above given much more space to one school than the limited pages of this work warrant, but we have done so because it is fairly repre- sentative of the sehools of the county, and its rise and progress does not differ widely from that of any other long since established county school.
The school law of 1854, with some amendments, is the school law of our
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
present day. Among other things it provided for a county superintendent of the common schools. One of his duties is to examine the teachers as to their qualifications to teach. So the old style of examination passed away at once. With the law of 1854 came also better educated teachers and better pay per month. Twenty dollars per month was the highest wages ever paid at Center Union school until 1837. The average was less than twenty dollars per month.
An attractive feature of the schools of Westmoreland as managed in the early days was the "spelling bee." This was held at night, in the country schoolhouses, and was attended by the older pupils, the parents and the young. men and maidens who had recently passed the school age but who still took an interest in its public meeting. The teacher, or master, announced the evening of the spelling, and made all necessary arrangements. One necessity was to- provide for the proper light, as there were no lamps in those days, and a number of the older pupils were designated to bring candles. The spelling bee was held on the long winter evenings, and, if it happened while the roads were covered with snow, the house was not infrequently crowded to overflowing. As a general rule, two of the older pupils were chosen as captains, who "tossed up" as to which should have the first choice of spellers for his or her side. They then "picked" time about from all who were present, and each one selected came out and took a position on the side of the captain who selected him or her. When all who could be induced to spell were thus lined up, the master or some one selected by him began the evening's performance by giving out the words, beginning with the captains, then to those who came next, and so . on. When any one on either side misspelled a word, it was given to the next on the other side, and those who missed words left the line, and took their seats. When either side was thus exhausted, the other side were the victors. Sometimes but one on each side was left. The one pronouncing the words then selected the hardest words in the spelling book and gave them time about. When the evening was about half gone, there was an inter- mission, and this to some in attendance was not by any means the least enjoy- able feature of the evening's entertainment. This old fashioned spelling bee produced good spellers, better perhaps than we have now in our common schools.
Another feature was a closing exhibition. This came at the end of the term and belonged to a later period than the spelling bee. It partook of the nature of a private theatrical, with the pupils as performers. The entertain- ment consisted of recitations, essays, dialogues, music, and sometimes a debate between two or four of the older boys of the school. The platform of the schoolhouse, usually extending across the one end of the room, was the stage from which the performances were delivered. In some instances, where tab- leaux were shown or dialogues were included, which required a change of costumes, the one end of the platform was curtained off so as to form a dress- ing room. The performance often lasted an entire afternoon or evening. It
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
was discouraged somewhat because of the time consumed in its preparation, yet there are few who participated in them who do not look back on them with pleasure, and regard the time spent in their preparation as well improved.
It was not infrequent that each alternate Friday afternoon was set apart as a special time for hearing declamations, essays, dialogues, etc., by the pupils. Each member of the school was required to have some performance. On such occasions the school was often visited by the parents or friends of the pupils, and to speak or read before these strangers and the school, was a splendid an- tidote for bashfulness, so common among the children of rural communities.
On the matter of the examination of teachers as to their qualifications to teach, we find an agreement entered into by the delegates of several town- ships, which was published in the Greensburg Argus on May 7, 1835. This agreement indicates a more systematic examination than was customary in former years. It is as follows :
We, the subscribers, delegates from our several school districts, do agree to adopt the following rules for the examination of teachers who may apply to them for certificates of qualification to teach under the school law of the Commonwealth, viz: As to their com- petency to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar and geography.
1. On the Art of Reading :- By their reading in the presence of the Directors or such other person or persons as they shall appoint, such pieces as shall be required of them and answering such questions as shall be asked them.
2. On the Art of Writing :- By exhibiting their own hand writing for the inspec- tion of the Directors.
3. On the branch of Arithmetic :- By working such questions as shall be required by those who examine them to their satisfaction.
4. On Grammar :- By parsing lessons and answering such questions as shall be asked them in a satisfactory manner.
5. On Geography :- By answering from the maps or otherwise such Geographical questions as the examiners may think proper to ask them.
May 7th, 1835."
JOSEPH BARNES, Derry Township. JOHN POWERS, Rostraver Township. AMOS OGDEN, Fairfield Township. GEORGE W. MARTIN, Allegheny Township. SAMUEL KELTZ, Ligonier Township. JOSEPH MOORHEAD, Ligonier Borough. PETER HINE, Loyalhanna Township.
For many years what is now known as Brant's school about two miles south of Ligonier borough, was called the Dutch Meeting school, or Dutch school. It was one of the first schoolhouses in Ligonier Valley, but the exact date of its erection is not known. It had three windows, one at each side and at one end, the other end containing a door. There was a large stone fireplace at one end. but this in after years gave way to a wood stove. The building was a low structure, and near by was a meeting house built by the German Reformed and the Lutheran churches, and from this the school took its name.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Along the walls all around the room, excepting at the door and fireplace, was a wide board which served as a writing desk. Parallel with it were rude benches without backs, upon which the pupils sat. The door swung on wooden hinges, and was closed with a wooden latch. Spelling, reading and writing were the only subjects taught in the country schools in those days.
The school opened at nine o'clock and closed at four o'clock, with an inter- mission of an hour at noon. The recess at 10:30 and 2:30 was not then thought of. The Bible was the leading text book. There were generally two terms each year. They were called the winter term and the summer term. Both were subscription schools, and the rates of tuition were about fifty cents per month for each pupil. The first teacher at this school was a man named Hidey, who began teaching there in 1818. He taught both in the German and English languages. He had no family, and boarded and lodged in the school house, cooking his scanty fare at the fireplace, and sleep- ing on a bunk of some kind on the floor. Often the passer-by saw him sitting there alone, reading by the flickering light of a tallowdip or mayhap by the warm glow of the wood fire.
In 1822 Patrick McGowan taught there and continued its teacher for about four years. In about 1818 he and his family were going west in a one-horse covered wagon. At Laughlintown their horse took sick and died, and the journey could not be prolonged further. McGowan wrote a very neat hand, and found employment as a clerk at Washington Furnace, which was then in blast. Afterwards he purchased the farm now owned by Mr. C. C. Menoher, east of the school. He was a Scotch-Irishman, and was the first man who taught there who was really capable of teaching English. For his day he was well educated, and was a very successful teacher. At his death he was buried in a graveyard near Zion's church. His sons were John, William, Peter, Francis and Enos. John became the well known merchant of Ligonier, and died in 1871. William was a physician, and Peter was a Methodist preacher, and the father of the late Dr. Wm. McGowan, of Ligonier.
The summer term of school was attended almost entirely by the young chil- dren, and the winter term largely by fullgrown young men and women. It was not infrequent in this early day that young men who had several years be- fore reached their majority went to school during the winter term and worked on farms in the summer. This was doubtless due to the fact that there were no schools for them to attend in their younger days. Spelling was taught differently then from now, and engaged about the one-fourth of the pupil's time, the other three-fourths being divided between reading, writing and arith- metic. When the hour for studying spelling arrived, all the pupils studied spell- ing at the same time, and each one "spelled out loud," and the pupil who could spell the loudest and the fastest was decidedly the champion of the school. The noise they made may be imagined.
Those who went to school there before 1830 were the Ambroses, Barrons,
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Bakers, Brants, Campbells, Eclebergers, Hargnetts, Hairs, Markers, Matthews, McGowans, Rileys, Reeds, Roberts, Slaters, and the Selbys. Some of these names are on the report book of the school to this day. The families were much larger then than now. The Barron family consisted of ten, the Baker family of twelve, and the Fry family of sixteen children who attended this school, though they did not attend at the same time.
The progenitor of the Brant family, from which family the school takes its name, was John Brant, who died in 1802 and is buried in the graveyard nearby. He came to America from Amsterdam. It was he who killed an Indian with a rail. The Indian had concealed himself by crawling into the bake-oven, hoping, it was presumed, to remain there until the proper time, when he would pounce upon the defenseless family. When Brant accidentally discovered him he had no weapon at hand, nor could he procure any without affording the Indian an opportunity to come out and either shoot him or escape. Nearby lay a strong fence-rail, and with this the sturdy old pioneer punched the Indian to death. John Brant was a soldier of the Revolution. Near his grave is that of his son John, who died in 1844, and who had fought in the war of 1812.
An old custom in the country schools was that the master should "treat" his pupils at Christmas. The treat consisted of candy, sugar cake, apples or nuts, or whatever might be convenient. One of the teachers of this school refused to comply with the custom, and the older pupils concluded to force him into compliance. Accordingly, the next morning the pupils went early and barred the door against the master, and kept him out till one o'clock, when they allowed him to come in, but, in place of resuming their studies, the pupils ran out and barred the teacher in. At evening the girls had to have their wraps to go home, and one of the strongest of the pupils who was fully grown con- cluded to go in and hold the pedagogue while the girls went in for their wraps. A hand-to-hand encounter ensued, and the pupil tripped on a bench and fell to the floor, whereupon the teacher escaped. The next morning the master came with a good supply of rods, and the barring out ended in the usual way.
In the nearby graveyard rest the remains of Henry Reed, who died in 1835. He lived on the Freeman farm, and sent his children to this school. On the Laughiry farm lived the Ecleberger family, noted for its fine looking girls, all of whom attended school there, and one of whom, Mary, married Benjamin Park, an inn keeper near Ligonier. Near by was the house of Frederick Hargnett, whose sons and daughters went to school there. Sarah was mar- ried to Jacob Briniser, and was the mother of the Briniser family of Ligonier. John was a well known merchant and business man of Ligonier for nearly seventy years, and died in 1896. David Boucher moved from Somerset county to a farm near Ligonier in 1833, with a family of eight sons and one daughter, most of whom attended this school, though they lived fully two miles to the north of it.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
The Roberts family have been patrons of this school almost continuously since it was first started. From it came Robert Richford Roberts, who was brought up and lived a short distance northwest of this. He afterwards be- came a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal church, and preached in every sec- tion of the Union. Bishop Roberts died in 1843.
The Marker family were likewise patrons of this school for more than a half century. They lived on a farm a mile south of the schoolhouse. One of the sons, Noah M., was for many years a merchant in Ligonier, and died in 1896. Jacob Deeds lived northwest of the school, and was the father of a large family who attended school there. Anthony and Philip Kimmel came to America from Manheim, a Rhine city in Germany, in 1755, coming with Gen- eral Braddock's army. At Belle Haven (now Alexandria) near Washington, they left the army and became farmers. Solomon, a grandson of Philip, came to Westmoreland county and was a resident of this school district some time in the thirties. He was the father of a large family, some of whom attended this school.
The teachers, or masters, of an early day, in addition to those mentioned. Heidy and McGowan, were William Louther, Peter McGowan, Abel Fisher, Robert Davison, James Leonard, John Burhl, John Riley, David Everhart, Jacob Beig. The school was very large then. One term Mr. Fisher had ninety-two enrolled, and on several days all were present. Abel Fisher was a son of Abel Fisher, a Quaker, who settled on a farm about two miles north of the school. The family of the teacher, Abel Fisher, went to school to him. He was a man of deep religious convictions, and is yet revered as one of the pioneers in Methodism in Ligonier Valley. He died at his home in 1876.
Robert Davison, a most kindly disposed man, taught there in 1839, +1, 43, '45 and 1847. He lived a short distance south of the school, and died there a few years ago, when nearly ninety years old. His brother Thomas taught a few years ago, and both were deservedly very popular teachers.
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