USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 2 > Part 36
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The primary school and lower recitation rooms were not carpeted. The children here sat in little arm-chairs, and there were a few desks besides for the beginners in writing. Blackboards were fastened to the walls in the primary and all the recitation rooms.
GREENE STREET SCHOOL.
18.17
GREENE STREET SCHOOL, PROVIDENCE. From an old print in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
It must not be supposed that while entertainments were occasionally given in the school during recess time (even a musical pair, Monsieur and Madame Canderbeck, accompanied by trained poodle dogs, gave a performance lasting perhaps an hour, the affair closing by selections performed upon the piano by Misses Sarah Hoppin, Sophia Bosworth and Mary Fiske), that the discipline of the school was at all lax. On the contrary, punctuality in attendance, close application to study, perfect recitations, quietness, politeness and good order during the sessions were strictly required.
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The text books used by the older scholars were Emerson's Readers and Arithmetics, Virgil, Dana's Liber Primus, Dillaway's Colloquies from Erasmus, French Grammar, La Bagatelle, Fenelon's Telemaque, Malte Brun's, Olney's and Woodbridge & Willard's Geographies, Good's Book of Nature, Bakewell's Philosophy, Smellie's Philosophy, Sigourney's Life of Marcus Aurelius, and several others not now re- membered. The spelling exercises were conducted by Hiram Fuller, the principal, who often selected the words from a dictionary and pronounced them to the scholars, who wrote them on their slates. A pupil then spelled them aloud, and others marking those they had misspelled, and reporting these afterwards. Sometimes both the words and definitions were recorded in the journals. Recitations were divided among the different days, the order not being precisely the same for each day. Alternate Friday afternoons were devoted to drawing and dancing, but the scholars who preferred to study at those times were allowed to do so.
The primary schoolroom was used by the dancing classes. The principal teacher was Daniel D. Capron, who was assisted by Mrs. Georgianna Nias.
Margaret Fuller taught geography, French and Latin, and perhaps German, to the advanced scholars. She came to Providence in 1837, when the new house was opened, and remained a year and a half, em- ployed evidently not to her liking, for she was not in her sphere while teaching young people. Previous to this period of her life, she had formed an acquaintance with Emerson, Hawthorne, Ripley, Channing, James Freeman Clarke, and F. H. Hedge, and in the society of these transcendentalists she stood as their equal, having already studied the writings of Schelling, Novalis, the brothers von Schlegel, Tieck, and others of that school of German philosophy who were called Roman- ticists. With a mind imbued with abstrusely speculative, and even fantastic ideas, she was unable to comprehend the unformed mental condition of the youths who came before her for instruction. A friend says: "Miss Fuller speaks of a vast gulf between herself and her pupils, of their deplorable ignorance, absolute burial of the best powers, and the like. Is it not St. Paul who tells of some that 'measur- ing themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among them- selves are not wise?' Our Margaret was not wise in this matter of measurements and comparisons. At the end of a fortnight she sees that a new world has already been opened to them. I used to think that she overrated not the kind but the extent of the influence she exerted on these fifty or sixty young people. No doubt she did stimu-
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late the minds of many of them, especially of the older and better informed among the girls, but I was guilty of being a little amused while watching her among a swarm of boys. She would awe them all into a stillness by a certain imperious look and gesture impossible to describe or to resist, then as she addressed them would grow more and more eloquent, and presently to most of them incomprehensible. The dear fellows would say 'yes m'm and no m'm', mostly at random, and oftenest in the wrong places, and take a long breath when dis- missed to common people once more. Toward the principal of the school she seemed to exercise dignified tolerance. The two ladies, her associates from the beginning, she treated in a queenly, condescending way, and to them, alternately attracted and repelled by her, she was always a marvel and a mystery.
"To the pupils she meant to be kind and was sometimes gracious, but teaching was not congenial to her, the teaching of children, that is. She craved foeman worthy of her steel, and did not always rightly approach the mind of a boy, and yet she had brothers of her own.
"For instance, after her departure from the school, though her successor had taken no special pains with him, one rather dull lad said to his mother, 'she (the successor) treats me like a human being'. The remark told its story of wounded feeling, or mortified self-love."
After leaving Providence, Margaret Fuller taught for some time in A. Bronson Alcott's school in Boston, then became the editor of The Dial, the organ of the Transcendentalists, which was under her charge from 1840 to the close of the second volume in 1841. In 1844 she became a contributor to the New York Tribune, and in 1846 she visited Europe, becoming finally a resident of Italy. She was married De- cember, 1847, to the Marquis Giovanni Angelo d'Ossoli, a friend of the Italian patriot, Mazzini. In 1848-49 she took charge of one of the hospitals in Rome, during the conflict with the French, and gave her whole heart and thoughts to the care of the sick and wounded, her husband being on duty with the defenders of the city. When the city capitulated in June, 1849, she with her husband fled to Rieti, in the province of Abruzzi, where their little child was with his nurse. The Ossolis embarked May 17, 1850, in a merchant vessel, The Elizabeth, at Leghorn and sailed for New York. They had nearly reached the port when a hurricane wrecked the vessel on Fire Island Beach in the early hours of the morning of July 16th. The boy was drowned in the arms of the steward who was trying to reach the land, and the little one's lifeless body was dashed upon the shore by a great wave. The father and mother were never heard of more.
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Margaret Fullerd'Ossoli's books were published in the order named : "Summer on the Lakes", "Woman in the 19th Century", and "Papers on Literature and Art". Her manuscript work on "The Roman Republic" was lost with her.
Miss Sarah S. Jacobs succeeded Margaret Fuller in 1839, and in 1842 or thereabouts (after the retirement of Mr. Fuller), in company with her brother, Bela F. Jacobs, carried on the school for a short time, but the brother had a better offer in Savannah, and Miss Jacobs went to Nova Scotia, and there was no longer a Greene street school. In 1856 she succeeded Mrs. Nias-Tyrrel and kept the Congdon street school until the breaking out of the Civil War.
The school building remained closed after the retirement of Mr. and Miss Jacobs until 1847. In that year Daniel Paine purchased the estate, sold the building to Henry Marchant, who presented it to a Baptist society, and it was moved to a lot on Point street. It has since been converted into a dwelling house and is the house numbered 164.
Mr. Paine crected a handsome brick residence on the lot, which is now standing. History has repeated itself in this case, for a portion of the house is now occupied by Mrs. Fielden and Miss Chace for a girls' school.
Warren Ladies' Seminary .- This institute was founded in 1834 and opened on May 7, with a list of students who were almost wholly from that town; of seventy-five entries only twelve were from other places. The principal and teacher of the classical and philosophical depart- ments was Robert A. Coffin ; his wife took charge of drawing, painting and needlwork classes ; Miss Mary Ann Reed taught the historical and descriptive department ; Miss Julia Ann Arms taught French and mathematics, and Miss Adaline Croode taught music. This school was owned by five proprietors and was directed substantially by a board of visitors of seven members. It was conducted as a boarding school and was for a period the only institution of the kind in Rhode Island. The catalogue of 1836 shows that there were 116 students, of whom forty-four were taking the regular course of three years. Between the date of the opening of the school and 1842 the successors of Mr. Coffin in the position of principal were Rev. Josiah P. Tustin, D. D., and Rev. John C. Stockbridge, of Providence. In 1842 the school property, then owned by Shubael P. Child, Henry H. Luther, John Luther, and Jeremiah Williams, was divided into stock shares of $200 each, and thirty in number. Persons who subscribed for these shares, with the original proprietors, became trustees and directors of the in- stitution, and the school was incorporated in 1845. Shubael P. Child
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was chosen president; Henry H. Luther, vice-president; Charles Ran- dall, treasurer; Thomas G. Turner, secretary. The board of directors consisted of Otis Bullock, G. M. Fessenden, Josiah P. Tustin, Samuel Hunt, John Norris, William H. Church, and A. M. Gammell. The last named man took the position of principal in 1842, and during about fifteen years thereafter the school enjoyed high repute and liberal patronage. From 1845 to 1857 the catalogues show an attendance of from 114 to 185. Girls were not received under fifteen years of age, and many States were represented in the classes. In 1855-6, when the attendance was 185, additional room was necessary, and twenty addi- tional shares were issued at $200 each, most of which were taken by Mr. Gammell. The avails of the issue were used in enlarging the building. There was a subsequent issue of fifteen shares, but all were
WARREN LADIES' SEMINARY. From an old print in the possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
not taken. During the vacation of 1857 the buildings were burned, and although an attempt was made to rebuild and revive the school, the blow was too severe and it was abandoned. This seminary is said to have been "an important factor in the education of women. A great many of the students were preparing themselves to teach, and had their training here. The normal school was not established until 1854, so that in a measure its lack was supplied.''1
Lapham Institute .- This institution was originally called Smithfield Seminary and was opened in a building standing on an eminence over- looking the village of North Scituate. It was founded in 1839 by the
1Hist. of Higher Education in R. I. (Tolman), p. 88.
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Rhode Island Association of Free Baptists, mainly for the purpose of supplying facilities for a liberal education to students of both sexes. The commodious buildings erected cost nearly $30,000, and Rev. Hosea Quimby, a very successful educator, was the first principal. During the succeeding fifteen years the school flourished under his direction. Three courses of study were provided-one for fitting young men for college ; one for young women, covering four years; and a third, an adjustable course to meet the wants of students attending one or more terms. From the first the need of an endowment fund was seriously felt; the association was heavily taxed for the support of the institu-
LAPHAM INSTITUTE, NORTH SCITUATE.
tion, and in 1850 sold the property to Mr. Quimby. After four years of anxious struggle he leased the school to Samuel P. Coburn, who acted as principal three years, maintaining the reputation of the insti- tution. In 1857 Rev. W. Colegrove purchased the property and con- ducted the school two years after which it was closed. In 1863 the Free Baptists again took it, and Benedict Lapham and others became responsible for any deficiency in income that might arise, Mr. Lap- ham's name being given to the institution for his generosity. Rev. B. F. Hayes was chosen principal and successfully conducted the school until 1865, when he was succeeded by his former assistant,
24
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Prof. Thomas L. Angell. He remained two years and was followed by Prof. George H. Ricker, a thorough classical scholar and efficient teacher. He continued seven years and was succceded by A. G. Moul- ton, who died soon after the close of his first year. In the fall of 1875 W. S. Stockbridge took the position. Soon afterward William Winsor, an earnest friend of education, took up the support of the school from his private means, but from the same causes that contributed to the extinction of so many institutions of a private character, the institute rapidly declined and soon closed.
The following advertisement of this academy will convey some idea of its character in the days when it was such an important factor among educational institutions :
"Smithville Seminary, "North Scituate, R. I., May 10, 1841.
"This institution is pleasantly situated on the Hartford Turnpike road, nine miles west of Providence. It contains a male and female department, with ample accommodations for one hundred and fifty permanent boarding scholars. The school is under the management of Rev. H. Quimby, A. M., Principal ; Mr. S. L. Weld, A. M., Associate Principal, and Miss C. L. Johnson, female teacher. Instruction will be given in the common and higher English studies, the ancient and modern languages, and ornamental branches.
"Tuition will be charged from four to seven dollars a quarter. Music and Drawing will be an extra charge, the price varying accord- ing to the number instructed.
"Board is furnished in the Seminary by the trustees, at one table, for $1.12 1-2 a weck; at another table, for $1.50-a deduction being made in both cases of 12 1-2 cents, to those who take care of their own rooms.
"The whole expense of a student will vary from $20 to $27 a quar- ter. The next term will commence on Tuesday, the 25th of May. The fall term, on Tuesday, the 2d of September. Subsequent terms will commence very nearly with the seasons of the year, as December, March, June and September. Examination at the close of the summer term.
"Lectures, and other special instructions, will be given in the au- tumn of cach ycar to those who are preparing to teach. Young per- sons, of good moral character, of both sexes, who can read intelligently, are received into the school, and carried forward in their studies suffi- ciently to enter college on an advanced standing; also prepared for school teaching or any branch of business, for which Literature and Science can fit them.
"The teachers of this institution reside in the Seminary building, under whose constant supervision the students are kept until they
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leave the school. If any scholar continues to misimprove his time, or conduct improperly after suitable admonition and discipline, he is returned to his home without delay.
"J. A. HARRIS, "Secretary."
"Many of the best known citizens of Rhode Island have attended the North Scituate boarding school, which has not changed to any extent externally or internally in the past half a century. A delicious air of quaintness pervades everything about it. The institution includes five buildings joined together, the whole presenting a colonial front. In the centre of the group is the administration building, surmounted by a belfry in which rests, ready for use, a mammoth bell, the tone of which is of noted sweetness. The extreme wings were the dormitories -one for the boys and one for the girls. Each dormitory has 33 sleep- ing rooms. Some of the bedsteads yet remain-old-fashioned wooden affairs, the kind you run across in country house garrets. The walls still are covered with old-style wall paper of large figure and perpen- dicular stripes that look strange and unnatural when compared with modern artistic wall paper designs. In one large room may be seen a bunch of tiny wood stoves. At first, it is said, the students' rooms were not heated during the cold weather; one can imagine how very chill it must have been in the dormitory wings before the stoves were acquired, for the buildings are perched right up on the tip-top of a goodly sized hill, and are exposed to the full blasts of winter."
Mt. Pleasant Academy .- This school was established in 1865 by Jencks Mowry, who had gained a wide reputation as a teacher by his successful work of nearly twenty years in the public grammar school at Mt. Pleasant. It supplied a well-defined want of an institution for the education of pupils, whose ages or diversity of attainments in different branches prevented them from following the routine of the graded public schools. Pupils also from the ungraded schools in the rural districts here found an opportunity to study branches not taught in those schools. There was no fixed course of study, but it was main- ly confined to English branches with the elements of alegbra, geometry and physics.
In the fall of 1867 Joseph E. Mowry, A. M., became associate prin- cipal. A more extended course of instruction was offered, including college preparatory classics, French, and higher mathematics. The school was a pronounced success, and, in 1872, a new school building was erected. Two parallel courses of study, a college preparatory course and a business course, each covering a period of four years, and a preparatory course for those not prepared for the academic courses, were now adopted. Equal advantages were offered to pupils
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of both sexes ; strict discipline was maintained, and the school acquired a high reputation for the thoroughness of the training, especially in mathematics.
In May, 1885, Joseph E. Mowry withdrew from the school to become principal of the Federal Street school, Providence, and Jencks Mowry, with different assistants, continued the academy for about five years longer, when it was finally closed. During the twenty-five years of its existence many who are now successful business and professional men and women were enrolled on its register.
English and Classical School (Providence) .- A school, with this title, for boys, was opened February 22, 1864. It began with about fifty scholars and two teachers, but with passing years the number regularly increased by about twenty-five annually until it reached 250. Three departments were established-Preparatory, English and Classical, with courses of study beginning with the common English branches for boys about eight years old, and continuing through a period of nine years. Besides its regular corps of teachers, special instructors were employed in penmanship, elocution, physiology, vocal music and military drill. The school opened in two leased rooms in the fourth story of the Lyceum building, where it remained one year. During the next five years it was located in the Narragan- sett block, then a new building on Westminster street. Outgrowing its accommodations there, it was removed to the new Fletcher building, on the same street, where it remained six years. Feeling the need of a permanent home and having confidence in the future of the institution, the proprietors erected a large brick building on Snow street, at a cost, including the site, of about $100,000. This building and its equipment were made to conform to the best modern ideas of school architecture and needs. The school opened under the principalship of William A. Mowry, A. M., and Charles B. Goff, A. M., with a corps of assistants. Messrs. Mowry and Goff continued as proprietors of the school until 1884, when the latter retired, and Howard M. Rice and Richard W. Smith each acquired an interest. Mr. Smith retired in 1891, and Mr. Goff died in 1898, since which date Mr. Rice has been sole proprietor. In that year the school was consolidated with the University Grammar School, before described, and the name was subsequently changed to the University School. In the summer of 1900 the school was removed to the old Normal School building, corner of Benefit and Waterman streets. The catalogue for 1900 shows that there were 123 scholars registered, and seventeen instructors.
Rhode Island Institute of Instruction .- This institution was one of
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the results of the efforts of that indefatigable worker for education, Henry Barnard. In the latter part of 1844, after his appointment as commissioner of public schools, he called a meeting of teachers and other friends of education in the city council chamber in Providence, to consider the formation of an association whose chief purpose should be the awakening of a broader and deeper interest in public schools and at the same time aid him in his official duties. Nathan Bishop, of Providence, presided at the meeting, and about thirty teachers and a few others were present. Mr. Barnard could not attend on account of illness, and Amos Perry, who had co-operated in arranging for the meeting, explained the contemplated purposes of the association, and the whole subject was discussed, with the result that a committee was appointed to consider the expediency of forming a State Educational Association; the committee consisted of John Kingsbury, Nathan Bishop, Amos Perry, Henry Day and John J. Stimson. They held several meetings and finally agreed that the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction should be founded. The second meeting was held in the State house in Providence, January 21, 1845, at which the committee to whom the whole subject had been referred, made a report; this report, after discussion, was referred to another committee of which Mr. Barnard was chairman, withi instructions to report a constitution at a subsequent meeting. This meeting was held in Westminster Hall, Providence, on January 25, 1845, and a constitution, which had been prepared by Mr. Barnard, was adopted. At an adjourned meeting, held in the Baptist church on January 28, the organization of the institute was completed by the election of the following officers : President, John Kingsbury, of Providence; vice-presidents, Wilkins Updike, South Kingstown, and Ariel Ballou, Woonsocket ; correspond- ing secretary, Nathan Bishop, Providence ; recording secretary, Joshua D. Giddings, Providence; treasurer, Thomas C. Hartshorn, Provi- dence; directors, William Gammell, Amos Perry, Caleb Farnum, all of Providence; Joseph T. Sisson of North Providence ; J. T. Harkness, of Smithfield ; J. B. Tallman, of Cumberland; L. W. Ballou, of Cum- berland ; J. S. Tourtellott, of Glocester ; and Samuel Greene, of Smith- field. Before the expiration of a year from this time spirited meetings had been held under the auspices of the institute in Providence, New- port, Bristol, Warren, Woonsocket, East Greenwich, Valley Falls, Che- pachet, Olneyville, Scituate, Fruit Hill, Pawtuxet, Foster, and Kings- ton. These were remarkable results for so young an institution, and the educational awakening that followed and was fostered through this association was no less remarkable. These local meetings were
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held more or less in each year until after the inauguration of local teachers' institutes by the commissioner of public schools in 1870, un- der State patronage. In these meetings teachers naturally took a lead- ing part, but all friends of education were invited to co-operate for the general welfare of the cause and to become members and officers of the institute. At the first annual meeting, held January 15, 1846, the president thus spoke of the results of the first year's labors :
"Through this Association, and county societies of a similar nature, a vast amount of voluntary labor, in this cause, has been performed ; and, apparently, a very deep public interest has been created. By these means, united with legislative action, a train of measures has been put in motion which already indicate a great improvement in the public mind-a train, which, if not prematurely interrupted, will ulti- mately, and at no distant period, raise the public schools of this State to the highest rank among the means of popular education. It is not too much to say, that probably no State in the Union has made greater progress in the same space of time."
In 1845 William S. Baker, of South Kingstown, was appointed by the institute as a special agent to promote its interests and carry on its work. In that capacity he traveled from town to town, visited schools, talked with members of families, and in every possible way endeavored to awaken interest in educational advancement. His services were of great benefit to the institution and materially aided the commissioner. Arrangements were made for the publication of the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, a serial con- taining accounts of proceedings of meetings, papers read at such meet- ings, and other educational matter, which was scattered throughout the State as far as the means of the society would admit.
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