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Cornell University Library 1993.THE BUFFALO
COMMON SCHOOLS.
READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 23, 1863.
BY O. G. STEELE.*
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Historical Society:
You have done me the honor to request me to prepare a
paper upon the History of the Public Schools of the city of
Buffalo.
I have consented to do so from a sense of the duty which every
member owes to the Society, to contribute to the general fund
of local history such information as he may possess or can obtain.
A residence of thirty-five years in a city, the site of which
was a wilderness fifty years ago, and when the little hamlet of
1813 was reduced to the single cottage of Mrs. St. John, must
afford to any man with his eyes and ears open, many subjects
connected with his own experience and observation, which are
worthy of preservation.
It is the province of this Society, to gather the reminiscences
of the early inhabitants of the city, as well as of those who,
from ability or opportunity, have contributed in any manner to
its growth, or have had any special identity with any of the
works or institutions which constitute its greatness.
* Died, November nth, 1879.406
THE BUFFALO
The early settlers of what is now the city of Buffalo were drawn
here by the same motives which have actuated all mankind,
since the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. It was to
better their condition. The old states of New England, and
the Atlantic border of New York and Pennsylvania, had so far
increased after the Revolution, as to have what then seemed to be
a redundant population. The young men of the first decade
of the present century began to look abroad for some promised
land, where they could find greater opportunities for settling
themselves in life, or, to use a phrase better understood, of mak-
ing their fortune. They had no oppressions to flee from as
their forefathers had, and which forced them to abandon their
native land for the inhospitable shore of New England. The
new country they sought, although wild and uncivilized, was
under their own chosen government; and while they knew they
must create homes for themselves by hard, persistent labor, yet
they had the consciousness that the government they loved
and had assisted to create, would assure them ample protection.
In the settlement of Western New York, therefore, the im-
pelling motive was the inherent passion of our race to improve
its condition. This desire, coupled with moral and physical
courage, capacity fpr labor and love of adventure, constitutes
what is usually called enterprise; and enterprise let it be called,
—the word is significant and comprehensive. The enterprise
then of the young and wise men of the East, became directed to
Western New York; and its rapid settlement from 1800 to 1812
soon developed its capacity to sustain a nation. The war of
1812, which continued until i8i5, checked, for a time, emigra-
tion; but the return of peace again saw the long covered wagons,
from every part of the older Northern states, winding their way
through the miry road, occasionally improved by a primitive
corduroy, to the rich lands of the Genesee, which was then a
sort of generic name for all the western part of the state.
The bulk of the early emigrants were agriculturists, who
sought to find rich land, and create comfortable homes; butCOMMON SCHOOLS.
407
with them was mingled another class, who looked upon the
then wilderness with an eye to business. Village sites, water
privileges and trading points, soon came to be eagerly sought
for and “taken up,” as it was termed; and there shopkeepers,
artisans and traders soon pitched their tents.
The broad waters of Lake Erie early commanded the at-
tention of these pioneers; and the lands at the foot of the lake
could not fail to excite the attention of the sagacious and enter-
prising. It needed no super-human prescience to determine
that the foot of the lake must be an important trading point,
but it did need judgment and foresight to determine where the
particular site should be for the future city, as well as persistent
and indomitable labor to bring into working order the various
antagonistic elements which soon began to congregate in this
vicinity. As is inevitable in the settlement of a new and prom-
ising locality, a considerable portion of these early settlers were
adventurers, without any particular business, who came to seek
their fortunes without any definite plan; but, in the scramble for
position and business which was created, watched and waited
“for something to turn up.”
Most of these adventurers waited in vain; for, in spite of the
opportunities offered, few had the necessary industry, sagacity
and persistency, to assume and maintain a solid position.
Schemes for fortune-making were innumerable, and failures
were the rule, rather than the exception. Steady-minded men
kept the even tenor of their way; and, despite the frequent
wreck of well laid schemes and the crush of antagonism, the
hamlet grew to be a village, and the village expanded into a city.
As the village gradually assumed the form and aspect of civ-
ilization, it became necessary to provide for and lay the foun-
dations of those institutions which are inseparable from orderly
and Christian communities. The first duty of the settler was
to provide a shelter for his family ; and, as soon as any consid-
erable number had accomplished this first necessity, then the
community thus created began to look for and establish theTHE BUFFALO
408
ordinances of religion, and make provision for the education of
their children. The organization of religious societies, and the
establishment of public worship, embraces a wide field of re-
search; and it is a duty which every religious society now exist-
ing in the city owes to the community, to gather up and preserve
in a compact form a full and connected history of itself. This
has been done by the First Presbyterian Church and the First
Unitarian Church, and the example should be generally fol-
lowed. Probably nothing would give a better idea of the char-
acter of the population of the city, than a history of the origin
and progress of the various religious societies, as they now exist.
The next great subject which would naturally engage the
attention of the early settlers, partaking, as they largely did, of
the New England element, was the establishment of schools.
This, if possible, was more difficult than that of religious wor-
ship. Meetings for religious services could and were frequently
extemporized in private homes, with such temporary accommo-
dation as could be easily provided; and the services were con-
ducted by lay members, in the absence of a regular minister.
Schools, however, could not be so easily improvised. Teachers
must be hired for the purpose, and required to be fed, clothed
and cared for like other people. If they taught school regu-
larly, it was difficult for them to do anything else; and teachers
came here for the reasons that brought others here. Conse-
quently, in those early days few professional teachers came
here. It was not uncommon for young men, while prepariiig
themselves for a profession, to help themselves forward by tak-
ing charge of a school.
It will easily be seen that this method, or rather absence of
method, soon became inadequate for our growing village.
Something more definite and tangible became necessary, as our
population increased.
The old state law, for the organization and support of com-
mon schools, was very crude and imperfect, affording little help
and few facilities, apart from local effort. In the absence ofCOMMON SCHOOLS.
409
intelligent and public spirited citizens, to originate and push
forward a district school, but little was done. Such of the
people as had acquired some property and position, preferred
to send their children to private schools, such as were to be
had, or to send to older settlements, where good schools were
established.
For many years, private schools innumerable were started,
frequently with great effort and large promise; all of which
withered and died, after a brief existence. They were either
too expensive for the mass of our population, or failed in other
respects to fulfil their promises. The public mind was by jio
means indifferent to this great subject. It occupied the thoughts
of many of our best citizens; but no general and fixed plan could
be determined upon, which commanded general approval.
As I before remarked, the state school law for the organiza-
tion and support of common schools was too imperfect, and
the school fund too small, to offer much inducement for local
effort.
It was not, however, neglected; and district schools were
established under the law, and supported as well as could be
expected at that period. As these schools, as far as they went,
were public schools, their history comes within the province of
this paper.
It will be remembered that, previous to 1832, when the old
village of Buffalo was created a' city by act of the legislature,
the township of Buffalo embraced all the territory since known
as Black Rock, and, until about 1830, Tonawanda; and, conse-
quently, the district school organization covered all that terri-
tory. The first district was composed of the then village of
Buffalo, having the same boundaries as the city, under the
charter of 1832; and which remained unchanged, until the con-
solidation of Black Rock and Buffalo by the charter of 1852.
The village was one district, and No. 1 of the town. The
earliest information I have been able to obtain, in regard to the
building of a school house, is, that about 1806, permission was4io
THE BUFFALO
obtained from the Holland Land Company, to occupy the lot
on the southwest corner of South Cayuga (now Pearl) and
Swan streets, since known as the “ Fobes Lot,” and opposite the
well known residence of Mr. George Coit. It was supposed
that the lot was given for school purposes, but no conveyance
was ever made. The school house was built, as near as I can
ascertain, by private subscription, or, as it was then termed, a
u Bee,” or contributions of materials and labor by the set-
tlers. Among the names I have heard mentioned as contribu-
tors, are those of Samuel Pratt (father of Mrs. Esther Pratt
Fox, and grandfather of Samuel F. Pratt), Doctor Cyrenius Cha-
pin, Gamaliel St. John, Joseph Landon and Zenas Barker. It
was attended by most of the children of the village, there being
for some time no other school. The first teacher was Samuel
Whiting, a Presbyterian minister. The next, and best known,
was Amos Callender, whose name occurs in nearly every move-
ment connected with morals, education, religion and good
order. Mrs. Esther Pratt Fox, Mrs. P. Sidway, Eliza Cotton
and Mrs. William Ketchum, are the only pupils of Deacon
Callender in that school, known to be residents in the city.
Mrs. Sidway informs me that about 1810 or 1811, some of the
inhabitants thought something more was wanted for their chil-
dren, and Gamaliel St. John induced a Mr. Asaph Hall to open
what was called a grammar school, in the court house. This
was continued for some little time, but could not be sustained
permanently.
The old school house, however, has a history. It was burned
when the village was destroyed by the British, in 1813-14, but
this, although it terminated its existence, did not end its his-
tory After the law for the relief of the Niagara sufferers was
passed by Congress, all who had suffered losses, or could create
a claim, filed the same with the commissioners. General H.
B. Potter was a trustee of the district, and filed a claim in its
behalf. The claim was allowed at five hundred dollars, which
was paid to General Potter. In the meantime, the district hadCOMMON SCHOOLS.
411
been divided, another district having been organized north of
Court street, called No. 2. The trustees of this district claimed
a share of this money, and commenced a suit for its recovery.
Dr. Chapin hearing of it, also claimed that he was entitled to a
share, as he was a large contributor to the original building.
In this dilemma, which reminds one of the celebrated trian-
gular duel of Midshipman Easy, General Potter could only
extricate himself by applying to the Court of Chancery for relief.
This was finally obtained, by an order to pay the money into
court; which was done, less the costs, and General Potter was
relieved. The suits, in the meantime, went on, and were not
finally decided until about 1838.
In that year, Mr. Joseph Clary, as the representative of the
upper district, paid to me, as superintendent of schools, a bill
of costs obtained against his district, in the settlement of the
suit. This was all that old district No. 1 (now No. 8) received
of the five hundred dollar windfall; the whole of the original
amount having been absorbed in costs. District No. 2 had a
heavy bill of costs to pay, as did also the estate of Dr. Chapin.
There is some confusion as to the numbers of the districts,
after the division was made. Mr. Benjamin Hodge has fur-
nished me with a school district record book, dating back to
1815, in which the territory at and adjacent to Cold Spring is
called No. 2. It is so designated till about 1820, after which it
it appears on the records as No. 3. There are some curious
things in this old record book. It is remarkable that any effort
at all was made as early as 1815, the year of the termination
of the war, to establish a school. Yet it was done, and, after a
long struggle, accomplished, and the district was organized
in May, 1816. Frederick Miller, William Hodge and Alvin
Dodge, were the first trustees. A motion was made to appro-
priate two hundred silver dollars, for the purchase of a site, and
erection of a school house. This was probably made by some
rash young man, whose zeal was without knowledge, and the
meeting broke up without agreement. Something was done,412
THE BUFFALO
however, probably without authority; as, at a special meeting of
of the district at the house of William Hodge, a motion was
made, “ that the trustees go forward at their own expense, and
repair the school house, and hire a teacher.,, This meeting
“dissolved without adjournment.” In December following,
an order was made to buy a lot for sixty dollars, and that the
district employ a teacher for another quarter. The teacher’s
name was S. Fuller. Mr. Benjamin Hodge has furnished me
with many interesting facts in regard to this school district,
before the war. Mr. Hodge says, that “ about 1807, a Scotch-
man, by the name of Sturgeon, born in Ireland, taught school
on Main street, near the present residence of Alanson Robin-
son. The house had but one window, and that without glass;
plenty of light, however, was admitted through the openings
between the logs. A small pine table, and three benches made
of slabs, constituted the whole furniture. Mr. Sturgeon at
first taught only reading, but afterwards at the urgent request
of parents, added spelling. Some twenty scholars attended.
George Lyon and Benjamin Hodge, two of the older boys, acted
as sub-teachers for the older scholars, while Mr. Sturgeon
taught the younger children, and did the whipping for the
whole school. At that time there were about twelve houses
between North street and Granger’s creek.”
The old record book is a curiosity. The first records afford
conclusive evidence of the necessity of a school. The spelling
is especially free and easy, without apparent consciousness of
any authority. School house is spelt, “scool hous;” meeting is
spelt sometimes “meating,” and sometimes “meting;” and com-
mittee is spelt as Christian people spell “comity.”
The most atrocious thing, however, is, that the name of Mr.
Seth Steele., occurs several times in the record, is uniformly
spelt “Steal.” I observe, however, that when dollars and cents
occur in the record, they are always spelt correctly.
Mr. George R. Babcock has furnished me with the original
copy of a tax, levied in district No. 1, in 1818, by which itCOMMON SCHOOLS,
413
appears that it then embraced the whole village. It is dated
Sept. 3d, 1818. The trustees were Heman B. Potter, Reuben
B. Heacock and Elias Ransom. There is little doubt that this
was the first school tax ever levied in the village. The amount
ordered to be raised, was five hundred and fifty-four dollars
and twenty-five cents; and the total real and personal property
in the whole village is set down at two hundred and seventy-
five thousand six hundred and seventy-seven dollars.
After the war, a school was started, and kept in such rooms
as could be obtained. Deacon Callender again taught, as did
also a Mr. Pease. There was also a school house, built, prob-
ably, with the proceeds of the tax referred to. This school
house seems to have had no abiding place. Now it was in the
Kremlin Block; then on the vacant land now occupied by the
Blossom House; again on the ground near the house of S. N.
Callender, and still again on Niagara street, near Pearl. While
near Mr. Callender’s, it was taught by Rev. Deodatus Babcock,
an Episcopal minister, who taught some of the higher branches.
A lady of the city relates with how much awe she looked upon
Mr. Babcock, when he was hearing a recitation in Latin, from
Orsamus Marshall. A school was usually kept up, and there
was a great variety of teachers. At one time it was kept on
the Lancasterian plan, with some success. At one time a vote
was obtained for the district, to raise four thousand dollars for
a house and lot, but it was afterwards rescinded. About 1830,
a tax was levied, with the proceeds of which the trustees bought
the lot on Church street, now occupied by school No. 8. Sev-
eral efforts were made to build a house upon it; but nothing
was accomplished until the new system was established. I have
heard of quite a number of private school teachers, who taught
at sundry times, and with varied success. Among the names I
have heard mentioned, as being quite successful, was that of
Mr. Wyatt Camp, a brother of Major John G. Camp, who is
mentioned with much regard by his pupils.
District No. 2 was organized, as near as I can ascertain, about4T4
THE BUFFALO
1821; and a school was established in hired rooms, in various
places. I cannot learn who were the first trustees, or the name
of the first teacher. In 1822, a school was kept in a house on
the west side of Main street, between Mohawk and Genesee
streets. Our fellow citizen, Mr. Fillmore, commenced his ca-
reer as a public man, as teacher of this school. He was, at the
same time, a student with the law firm of Rice & Clary. I will
here take occasion to state, that Mr. Fillmore afterwards taught
the school at Cold Spring for one winter, 1822-3. During that
time he was also a deputy postmaster, and came in after school
in the afternoon, to make up the mails. When the stage left
for Albany in the morning, his practice was to ride out on the
box, with the driver, to open his school at Cold Spring at the
usual hour.
I will also, while I am about it, state that another of our fel-
low citizens, Mr. Henry Lovejoy, also taught the school at
Cold Spring for one winter. Whether he kept the school better
or worse than Mr. Fillmore, I am not able to state. I have no
doubt, however, that it was kept “ well enough for all practical
purposes.”
District No. 2, through its trustee, Mr. Moses Baker, took up
the lpt on the corner of Pearl and Mohawk streets for a school
lot. A building was built on the lot, for the joint use of the dis-
trict and the Society of Universalists. The school was kept in
the lower story, and the Society occupied the upper story. Mr.
Peter E. Miles was the first teacher in this school. He will be
remembered by many of our old citizens, as a man of many
amiable traits of character, and had the reputation, at the time,
of being the best mathematician in the city. He died in 1832.
The school house was occupied until about 1833, when it was
abandoned; and the brick school on the Franklin street alley
was erected, to which I shall refer hereafter.
When the city organization of schools took effect, in 1838,
there were six district school houses in the city, where schools
were kept, as follows:COMMON SCHOOLS.
415
No. 2, Franklin street (alley.)
No. 12, Hydraulics.
No. 15, Perry street.
No. 16, Goodell street.
No. 17, South Division street.
No. 19, Louisiana street.
The numbers were under the old town organization.
District No. 12 was organized in 1830. The first trustees
were John Colman, James Bennett and N. H. Gardner. The
first school was taught by a female teacher, and did not exceed
thirty scholars. In 1832, a Mr. Emory was appointed teacher,
being the first male teacher in the district. A small school
Louse was built on the corner of Pollard (now Jefferson) and
Folsom streets, where the school was kept until the new school
house on Seneca street was built, in 1839. Mr. N. H. Gardner
was a standing trustee of this district, and has favored me with
a valuable statement of the early history and progress of the
school, in the prosperity of which he has always taken a deep
interest.
No. 15 was organized in 1831. A very eligible lot on Perry
street was presented to the district, by the late Dr. B. Burwell
and Dr. J. W. Clarke; on which a quite large, two-story school
house was erected, in 1832. The first trustees were Joel S.
Smith, A. C. Moore and William Harris. The first teacher was
Henry Griswold. The school was kept in this building, as No.
3 of the new system, until the new building on the same street
was erected, in 1851.
I find it difficult to obtain any authentic information in
regard to No. 16. It was probably organized about the same
time as No. 15. The little brick school house on the corner of
Goodell and Washington streets, is supposed to have been built
in 1832. I found it in 1838, crowded with scholars, in charge
of Mr. D. Galusha, but destitute of any of the conveniences be-
longing to a school. The manner in which the business of the
district was conducted, was a fair sample of the management416
THE BUFFALO
of school affairs in the olden time. Deacon Jabez Goodell
was the trustee, and the only one I ever knew. A large portion
of the district was his own estate, and he managed all its affairs.
The school was kept four months in the winter, strictly accord-
ing to law. The teacher was hired in the fall, at the lowest
market price, to teach four months. The deacon had a tene-
ment to rent, and provisions from his farm to sell the teacher
at fair market rates. When the term was up, he was regularly
settled with, and the school house closed till the next season;
when the same formula was gone through. The public money
was drawn in May, and held by the deacon. There is no dispute
that this money was safely kept, and, in the end, properly ac-
counted for; but when the new system came into operation, and
the money was called for, to be disbursed according to the new
law, and through the hands of other parties, it appeared to
grievously interfere with the old gentleman’s methodical habits.
The school was continued in the little old school house until
1845, when it was removed to the present building on Oak street.
District No. 17 was also organized about the same time, and
a very eligible lot was obtained on South Division street, which
now forms part of the lot where school No. 7 now stands. A
select school had been previously kept in the district, in a build-
ing erected by private subscriptions, situated on what was then
called Tan alley, now Carroll street. This school was taught
by John Drew, a teacher well known in those days. The name
of Tan alley, is generally supposed to have originated from
the fact that it was the road leading to the old tannery of
Joseph D. Hoyt; but if any future antiquary should investigate
that question, I think it well for him to inquire whether it
might not possibly originate from a way which John Drew had
of tanning the hides of his unruly scholars.
The trustees of the district when I first knew it, were, Wil-
liam Ketchum, Manning Case and Orlando Allen. Old Mr.
Case, of the Farmers’ Hotel, went to Batavia in person, and ob-
tained a deed of the school lot. The building was erected inCOMMON SCHOOLS.
417
1834 or 1835, and was the best built house then in the city, for
•school purposes. It was used until 1845, when the present
school house was built.
District No. 19 was organized about 1834, and in 1835 the
well known red school house was built on Louisiana street, on
a lot given the district by Dr. J. W. Clark. The first trustees
were, John R. Prince, Charles S. Pierce and William J. Mack.
The first teacher was Stephen Carner. . The school house was
carried away by a flood, I think in the year it was built; but was
replaced firmly by Charles S. Pierce, upon a timber frame work
bedded four or five feet in the ground. This served the inhab-
itants for a school, a church, public meetings and meetings
of a general social character. The school was continued in it
until the erection of the present large, well arranged building,
for school No. 4; but the old school house still stands upon the
old lot.
I am under obligations to Benjamin Hodge, N. H. Gardner,
A. C. Moore and Dr. J. W. Clark, for valuable letters, which I
shall file among the papers of this Society. Such of our citi-
zens now living, who resided here previous to the year 1837, a
year memorable in the financial history of the city, will easily
call to mind the numerous institutions on a large scale, which
started into being, and, after a short and sometimes brilliant
career, sunk into oblivion. The high-school association, started
in 1827, was one of the most promising; liberal subscriptions
were made, and a fine building erected (now forming part of
the Hospital of the Sisters of Charity); and for some years it
was apparently successful. But it had no solid foundation or
inherent strength, and soon faded away. It was revived as a
military school on the system of Captain Partridge; and for
some years was successful, and was the great pet of the city.
It was, however, too expensive for the time, failing to reach the
great body of our people; and changes of teachers and policy
;soon brought its career to a close.
All will remember the great University projected in 1835,4i8
THE BUFFALO
which was to rival Harvard and Yale when it was built, but
which never arose. The Medical Department, however, did
acquire a foothold, and is now the Medical College of this city.
Repeated efforts were made to establish Female Seminaries,
several of which were well organized and conducted; but all
failed to meet the wants of a city, which, although becoming
populous and prosperous, yet embraced a large proportion of
those who could not avail themselves of these expensive insti-
tutions.
Such was the condition of education in 1837. The great
financial revolution which then swept over the country, fell
heavily upon the city. The great prosperity which prevailed
for several years, had excited a wild spirit of speculation, which,
culminating in 1836, brought upon us the disasters of 1837,
under which so many of our best and most substantial citizens
were overwhelmed. The recent similar revulsion of 1857, will
give some idea of that of 1837, when the population was less
than twenty thousand. In the state of things thus produced,,
the private schools of the city were so paralyzed as to be of
little service; and thoughtful men began to cast around for
some general and effective system, which would bring the means
of education within the reach of all. The subject was much
discussed in the winter of 1836-7, both in the public prints and
in private circles. In that winter a law was passed, authorizing
the appointment of a city superintendent of common schools.
Under that law, Mr. R. W. Haskins received the appointment.
The law was, however, so imperfect, that no good effects fol-
lowed its enactment. Mr. Haskins found himself an official
without power; and, after vainly endeavoring to accomplish
something under the law, resigned his office within the year.
With his resignation, Mr. Haskins sent a communication to
the council, stating his inability to accomplish anything without
important amendments to the law, and suggested some general
ideas for such amendments, which were afterwards incorporated
in the law.COMMON SCHOOLS.
419
The state law was not adapted to a large city. Few people
took any interest in the district schools, and few children, ex-
cept those of the poorer classes, attended them. The trustees
under the law, were men of business, who had no time to spare,
and no means to improve their several schools. They therefore
got along as easily as possible, and as well, perhaps, as could
be expected. It soon become the custom of the trustees, to
find some person who would take the school for the smallest
rate of tuition, during the time required by law, to enable them
to draw public money; giving them the public money and taking
their own risk of collection from the pupils. This easy and
slipshod way of doing business produced such results as might
be expected. In some populous districts the teacher could do
very well, and would sustain a very fair school. In others,
it would be kept a few months to fulfill the requirements of
the law, and then closed for the remainder of the year. The
whole system was without supervision or accountability, except
such as was barely sufficient to comply with the state law.
Such was the condition of the common schools in 1837. The
general failure of the private schools, and the financial con-
dition of the city, conspired to draw attention to the skeleton
of common schools then existing, and to induce an effort to
revive and improve it, so as to command general confidence.
Upon the resignation of Mr. Haskins, Mr. N. P. Sprague
was appointed; who declined for the same reasons given by Mr.
Haskins. At the next meeting of the council, I was appointed
superintendent without previous consultation. I was induced
to accept the office at the earnest solicitation of Judge Hall,
then chairman of the committee on schools, who, with other
members of the council, expressed a strong desire that the
common school law should be amended, or a new one framed,
so that it would meet the public wants.
I must ask the indulgence of the Society, if, in the course of
this paper, I may be guilty of egotism. But the position in
which I found myself unexpectedly placed, and the immediate420
THE BUFFALO
responsibility I was obliged to assume, together with the exec-
utive duties I was called upon to perform, caused me to be-,
•come so identified with the system then established, that I trust
I may be excused if I make too frequent use of the first person.
My first duty was to ascertain where the schools were situated,
the boundaries of the districts, and the condition of the schools.
The first object was accomplished, after a few day’s exploration
with a horse and buggy, and after innumerable inquiries. The
next point, to wit, the boundaries, was one of more difficulty.
The city was nominally divided into school districts, and had
a board of trustees and a clerk. I did not find a single trustee
who could give me the boundaries of his own district, and but
•one clerk who had a record book showing the same. This clerk
was Mr. Aaron Bean, who taught in the school district No. 2,
in the alley in the rear of Franklin street, between Huron and
Mohawk. Our old citizens will remember this excellent and
methodical man, who taught the school so long, and gave all the
talent with which nature had endowed him, so faithfully and
conscientiously. I shall never forget the surprise and almost
bewilderment of the old gentleman, when I first called upon him,
in my official capacity. If I remember right, he said it was the
first call he had received from an official, since the school house
was built, sqme four or five years before. He had kept the
school, kept the record, made his returns to the trustees, re-
ceived the public money, collected the tuition allowed, two dol-
lars per quarter, took the whole care of the house, and was, con-
sequently, the man of the district. The record of the boundaries
of the district was the first I obtained correctly, which was
marked upon a map of the city; and as fast as I found another
line, it was marked upon this map. In this way I obtained a
tolerable map of the districts. A curious document it was, now,
unfortunately, lost. A portion of the city was in no district at
all, and several lines overlapped each other, making inextri-
cable confusion in boundary lines and questions of jurisdiction.
With much difficulty, I obtained the necessary data to make aCOMMON SCHOOLS.
421
report to the council, which, with the map, was referred to the
committee on schools and superintendent, with power to prepare
a plan of organization. The duty of preparing the law for the or-
ganization of the system, devolved upon Judge Hall and myself;
and I well remember going to his house by appointment amidst
a furious snow storm, which continued the whole day, and dur-
ing which the original school law of our city was prepared. It
was in the midst of the Patriot war, and the public mind was
highly excited with the stirring events then occurring in this
vicinity. It was to this that we were undoubtedly indebted
for the absence of opposition before the legislature, to a law
which changed so completely our whole system of public in-
struction. Yet we did not venture to propose an entire free
school system, and, for the purpose of avoiding all issues with
districts, the form of local organization was retained, and a low
rate of tuition established. A slight amendment to the law, in
1839, made the schools free, with the control of the whole in the
hands of the council and superintendent. The reorganization
of school districts was made in 1838, and has not been essen-
tially changed.
The summer of 1838 was a memorable one in the history of
our public schools. The subject was the most prominent one
then before the public, and was agitated with , much spirit.
Public meetings were held, which were largely attended, and
the subject fully discussed. The most important series of
meetings were commenced on the thirty-first of August, at the
old court house. The late Hon. Albert H. Tracy presided,
and Mr. Horatio H. Shumway acted as secretary. A commit-
tee of four from each ward was appointed, “ To inquire into the
condition of the schools in Buffalo, both public and private;
ascertain the number of children who attend school, the ex-
pense of their education, and report the same, together with
some plan for the improvement of our school, at a future meet-
ing to be called for that purpose.”
This committee consisted of the following persons, all well422
THE BUFFALO
known to our older citizens, many of whom are now living
among us:
First Ward.—D. J. Trowbridge, Charles S. Pierce, F. W. At-
kins, A. C. Moore, J\ R. Prince.
Second Ward.—J. W. Beals, S. S. Case, Lucius Storrs, James
I. Brown and N. H. Gardner.
Third Ward.—Henry Root, Moses Bristol, S. N. Callender,,
H. Shumway and L. G. Marvin.
Fourth Ward.—O. G. Steele, Nathan Lyman, N. Wilgus,
Moses Baker and D. Galusha.
Fifth Ward.—N. K. Hall, N. Vosburgh, S. Chamberlain,
Joseph Miller and S. Caldwell.
The committee set to work immediately; and, on the nine-
teenth of September following, at a meeting held at the com-
mon council chamber, made a full and very interesting report;
showing the condition of education, public and private, with
the cost of the same. The report represented the schools as
in a low state, and utterly unequal to the public wants. Among
other details, it was shown that more than half of the children
of the city did not attend any school at all.
The committee also reported a plan for a full and complete
organization of the city, under an entire free school system,
under the authority and control of the common council; the
expense over and above the money obtained from the state
school fund, to be defrayed by the general tax upon the real
and personal property of the city. The plan of organization
proposed by the committee, embraced “ a Primary school in each
district, a Ward school in each ward for more advanced scholars,
and a Central High school where all the higher branches neces-
sary for a complete English education shall be taught.”
The report was accepted, and a resolution offered that it
should be adopted. A long and animated discussion took
place, pending which the meeting adjourned two weeks, to
meet again at the old court house. The report of the com-
mittee was taken up at the adjourned meeting, and after a longCOMMON SCHOOLS.
423
debate, adopted and transmitted to. the common council. It
was well received, and the following winter the schools were
made free by act of the legislature. The plan recommended
by the committee, although varied in its details, was substan-
tially adopted, and now forms the basis of our system. The
modifications consisted in making the district schools larger
than was contemplated by the report, and dividing them into
departments, thus obviating the necessity of ward schools.
The higher Central school was also, after many years delay,
finally adopted, and now forms part of our general free school
system.
It is due to the memory of the Hon. Albert H. Tracy, to
state, that he presided at all these meetings and gave the weight
of his great influence in favor of the system proposed by the
report. Horatio Shumway acted at every meeting as secre-
tary, and was also very earnest and decided in his approval of
the adoption of an entire free school system. I would state,
also, that in making up the report and plan of organization,
the committee had no precedents, but struck out the plan from
their own judgment of the wants of the city, and the most
direct and effective method of accomplishing that object.
The labor of organizing and bringing into working order a
new system of public schools, like that of our own, can scarcely
be conceived by one without experience in matters of that kind.
While the public mind was well- prepared for a reformation of
the whole system, ti.ere were not a few excellent men and true
friends of education, who doubted the expediency of the pro-
posed radical change, and feared that too much was being
attempted for the times.
There was also another class of men, who had acquired prop-
erty by hard labor, and had already reared their own families
and educated their children at their own expense, who believed
themselves unjustly oppressed by the new system. We were
apt, at that time, when in the early flush of the new system, to
apply to this latter class the term “Old Fogies,'* and similar424
THE BUFFALO
disrespectful epithets. I will not assume to say that they were
not well deserved in some instances, but that some of these
gentlemen had what seemed to them good ground for their
objection, I can now easily see. It was a new and unprece-
dented burden put upon them, after they had passed the merid-
ian of life, and had educated their own families; yet I still
think they were mistaken in their general views, and that every
property-holder and citizen receives abundant remuneration
for all taxes he may pay for free schools. I can well under-
stand that the objections they made were entitled to more weight
than we were then willing to concede.
The carrying out of the new system also aroused frequent
issues with the inhabitants of the several districts. The teacher
was apt to be deemed an employee of the district; and in the
occasional emeutes which occur in all districts, the people
thought they had a right to discharge or appoint a teacher at
pleasure.
Every mother whose child had been punished at school for
“ doing nothing/’ according to the victim’s account, called
upon the superintendent, in high wrath, to have the teacher
dismissed.
The taxation for the erection of school houses was sometimes
burdensome and unequal; and all issues of that kind were re-
ferred to the superintendent, who could only fall back upon the
law, and defend against all comers, as best he might.
The selection of a site, and the building of the house; were
also subjects which rarely satisfied everybody, and in which
every resident of the district claimed the right to be heard.
Principles were to be established, and precedents made for a
new and untried system, upon which many estimable men dif-
fered widely in opinion.
Taking all these things into consideration, the office of super-
intendent of schools, during the organization of the system and
the building of the first set of school houses, wras one of the most
difficult and responsible of the offices under the city government.COMMON SCHOOLS.
425
.The first school house built under the new system, was that
in No. 8 on Church street. This was the old original district
which once embraced the whole village. The lot where the
school house now stands was owned by the district; having
been bought with the proceeds of a tax raised several .years
before. The inhabitants, however, had never been able to agree
upon the building of a house upon the lot. It was determined
to build a house in this district, and a tax was levied for that
purpose. It was the wealthiest district in the city, and, although
the tax was heavy for a school tax, yet it was light upon the
district. It was built in the form which it retains, a handsome,
well proportioned building, but on a scale which at that time
was thought too extravagant. It formed a subject of sharp
controversy, and the papers of the day abounded with severe
criticisms upon its magnitude and extravagance. This build-
ing, although it has since been enlarged to the full capacity of
the lot, is now the smallest public school building in the city.
The school was a great success. The first teachers were well
qualified; the accommodations superior to any school building
in the city; and it was soon filled with scholars from every class
in the community. I remember well, that the president of this
Society, after his return from Congress in 1839, placed his
children in this school.
The year 1839 constituted quite an era in the building of
school houses. A plan was adopted, on a more moderate scale
than in No. 8, but of larger dimensions. Houses were built in
No. 11, on Vine street (since taken for the use of the Colored
school); in No. 6 on South Division street, now standing, but
greatly enlarged; No. 13, on Washington street, on ground now
occupied by the Washington Market; No. 5 on Seneca street
(Hydraulics), still standing, but much enlarged; No. 12 on
Spruce street, a one-story building, now^hsed for a Primary
school, a school house of the largest size having since been
built in the district.
The taxation necessary to construct all these buildings and426
THE BUFFALO
pay for the lots, embraced a large portion of the city; and being,
as I before remarked, a new and unusual tax, bore heavily in
many instances, and caused considerable dissatisfaction. It
is, therefore, not surprising that a reaction took place in the
public mind, in regard to public schools. I do not say there
was any general dissatisfation with the system, but the heavy
taxation had its usual effect, and it was feared that even the
best of things might be too expensive, and we were going ahead
a little too fast. The city was suffering under the effects of the
great revulsion of 1837, business was stagnant, real estate greatly
depressed, and the prospect for the future far from flattering.
It is still less surprising, that the individual who was sup-
posed to be the chief agitator of these movements, and who
certainly was the executive officer in all these proceedings,
should have been singled out for sacrifice to these reactionary
influences. The superintendent was then appointed by the
common council, and, in the following spring of 1840, his name
was left off the slate for reappointment. He was, to use the
expression of modern politics, “left out in the cold.” My suc-
cessor was Mr. Daniel Bowen, an estimable citizen, sincerely
friendly to the school system, but having no experience in the
duties of the office. He was appointed contrary to his wishes,
and being unable to give it proper attention, resigned in a few
months. I would say here, that, subsequently, Mr. Bowen, as
a member of the council and again as superintendent of schools,
proved himself an efficient officer, and has at all times given his
efforts and influence in favor of free education.
Mr. Silas Kingsley was appointed to fill the vacancy occa-
sioned by Mr.. Bowen’s resignation, and was also reappointed
by the council of 1841. It is scarcely necessary to say, that
Mr. Kingsley was eminently fitted for the office. He was a
teacher of large experience and marked success, and brought
to the duties of the office a sincere devotion to its interests,
and an excellent faculty for organizing and disciplining the
interior of a school. Under his administration the schools wereCOMMON SCHOOLS.
427
greatly improved, in their classification as well as in the course
of study adopted.
Mr. S. Caldwell held the office in 1842 and 1843, and Mr.
E. S. Hawley in 1844. During these years the schools continued
to increase largely in usefulness and general popularity, and
the system became thoroughly established in the public mind.
All the schools were filled to overflowing, and the necessity of
providing additional accommodations became imperative.
In 1845, I was again appointed superintendent. No new
school house had been erected since 1839, and this onerous
duty again devolved upon me. In that year, a large school
house was built in district No. 3, on Erie street. This building
was destroyed by fire in 1852, the lot sold, and the large and
beautiful building on the Terrace, near Genesee street, was
erected in 1853.
School house in No. 7, on South Division street, now stand-
ing, was the first building in the city calculated to accommo-
date three departments.
School house in No. 15, on Oak street, north of Goodell, now
standing, has since been much enlarged, and a new building
for the Primary department erected, within the same enclosure.
The school house and lot in district No. 1, on Seventh street,
north of Carolina, has been sold, and a building of the largest
■class erected on the same street, north of Virginia street.
The year of 1845 closed my connection with the public
schools, as I supposed, finally, and it is well at this point to
take a short retrospective view of the progress of the school
system. In the winter of 1837-8, when I took charge of the
schools, the number of district schools in the city was seven,
all with small, ill-constructed buildings, without any of the con-
veniences which are now thought to be indispensable.
The total registration in all these schools, the first week of
r839, was one hundred and seventy-nine. In 1838, the school
building in No. 8 was built, but not finished for the opening of
1839. The good effects of the law of 1838 upon the schools,428
THE BUFFALO
was manifested in the increased attendance, although no new
ones were established in that year. The registration in the same
schools the first week of 1839, was four hundred and thirty-one.
In 1839, fiye new school houses were erected, and five new
schools organized. The registration the first week of 1840, was
one thousand two hundred and fifty-two, about seven times the
number entered but two years before. In the school No. 8, two
hundred and forty-six scholars were registered, being nearly fifty
per cent, more than the total registration two years before.
This result, with the new epergy which had been infused into
the department, established firmly in the public mind the policy
of the free school system. The schools had become superior
to all others in the city, and several of the most successful of the
private school teachers abandoned their schools and took posi-
tions in the public schools.
In February, 1846, before my term of office expired, a third
department was established in district No. 7, for the purpose
of providing a higher grade of instruction for the scholars in
the public schools, being in effect a Central High school. It
was continued in this form until 1852, when the present High
school was purchased, and the institution established on its
present basis. The progress of the school system has since
been onward. In all the vicissitudes of business, the whirl of
politics, the occasional unwise attempts of ultra religionists and
politicians to give them a direction favorable to their peculiar
views, they have been kept singularly free from all influences,
which would divert them from the single purpose for which
they were established, which was to provide a good common
school education for all the children of the city, at the public
expense.
In 1846, the large commodious school building in No. 14, on
Franklin street, was erected, and almost immediately filled with
scholars.
In 1847, the school house in district No. 10, on Delaware
street, was built; and in the fall of that year, the school wrasCOMMON SCHOOLS.	.	429
removed from the alley where it had been kept so many years.
Before this was done, districts Nos. 9 and 10 had been united
by order of the council.
In 1848, the council purchased the school house and lot on
Vine street, for the use of the Colored school, and organized it
on the same plan as the other schools. A new school house
was built for district No. 11, on Elm street, north of Eagle,
which is still used.
In 1849, a large and very well arranged building was erected
in district No. 4, on Elk street, upon a spacious lot, where the
school is still kept. Also, the large school house on Spruce
street, in district No. 12, nearly opposite the house built in 1839.
In 1850, a new school house was erected on Perry street, in
district No. 3, of the same class as that in No. 4, and the old
inconvenient school house built under the old law, was finally
abandoned in the summer of 1851.
In 1851, evening schools were established by order of the
council, and were continued for several winters with great suc-
cess. They were abandoned for no other reason that I am
aware of, but to save expense, and I trust the time will soon
come, if it has not already, when they will again be organized.
The school building on Erie street, in district No. 2, was de-
stroyed in the great fire of September, 1851. The next year, the
large, beautiful and well appointed building now standing on
the Terrace near Genesee street was erected. This was the
last school house built by the city under the old charter.
In 1852, a city convention was held, for the purpose of pre-
paring a new charter for the city, which became a law in April,
1853, and took effect January 1st, 1854. By this law, the town
of Black Rock was annexed to the city of Buffalo, and a new
organization of the city government effected. The schools
were reorganized with the other departments, and the office of
superintendent made elective. The free school system was ex-
tended over the new territory, and its duties and responsibilities
greatly enlarged.43°
THE BUFFALO
This paper has grown upon my hands much more than I
expected, and I shall not attempt to proceed farther. I leave it
to others to keep up the record of the free schools. By the pres-
ent system, and indeed for many years past, the several superin-
tendents have published elaborate annual reports, which form
part of our city public documents, and contain in detail every
item of information, lelative to the progress and condition of
our free school system.
I prepose, briefly, to make some comparisons between the
schools in 1838, 1845 and 1852; each embracing a period of
seven years. In 1838, the number of scholars enrolled in the
first week of the year, was one hundred and seventy-nine; in
1845, three thousand nine hundred and seven; and, in 1852,
five thousand eight hundred and forty-eight. In 1838, there
were seven schools, each with one department and one teacher.
In 1845, there were fifteen schools, each organized with two
departments, employing fifteen male and thirty-seven female
teachers, fifty-two in all. In 1852, there were seventeen male,
and nineteen principal female teachers, and fifty-eight female
assistants, making ninety-four in all.
The expense of teachers’ wages, including the state money,
was:
. In 1838,.............................................$ 7,839 83.
In 1845,............................................. n,77i 50.
In 1852,............................................. 27,178 89.
This last seemed a heavy and burdensome tax for free
schools, yet the constantly increasing attendance, and general
popularity of the schools, has caused a constant increase of
expense; and in 1857-8, the amount paid for teachers’ wages,
reached nearly ninety thousand dollars, while the total valu-
ation of school property, paid for by local taxation, amounted
to about three hundred thousand dollars; being greater than
the total valuation of the real and personal property of the
whole village in 1818.	.
I have thus given a rapid and perhaps desultory history ofCOMMON SCHOOLS.
431
the district and public schools of the old village and present
city, up to the year 1852. It is, necessarily, imperfect in the
earlier details. The records are not to be found, and much of
the information obtained is traditional. From many of our
old'residents, I have obtained valuable information, but, in the
lapse of time, memory is not always reliable in regard to dates
or localities. The purpose of this paper is mainly historical,
and it is not necessary to discuss the merits of our school
system, or of education generally. In its organization and
progress to the present time, errors have undoubtedly been com-
mitted; and, at times, the burden of taxation has borne heavily
upon our people, but it has been met with cheerfulness, and
when in has borne the hardest, seemingly too heavy for our
resources, not a voice has been raised to destroy or materially
change the system itself. A moderate reduction of current ex-
penses has always satisfied the. public mind.
No city has attained a higher position as a supporter of free
schools, than our own. In my annual report for 1845, I took
occasion to make the following statement:
I think I am not mistaken in claiming for the city of Buffalo the honor
of being the first city in the state to establish free schools, the support of
which is based upon taxation upon the property of the city, and the control
and direction of which forms part of the municipal government. Free
schools, it is true, have been in existence in the city of New York for a long
period, but they have been supported by private benevolence, rendered
through the medium of the Public School Society, which was established under
the auspices of DeWitt Clinton, when mayor of the city, in 1805. All the
free schools were under the control of this society until the passage of the
new school law of 1842. When the New York state common school system
was established, this society was recognized by law as the disbursing agent
of the state school money for the city of New York. But no city, before our
own, recognized the broad principle of universal education, based upon the
property of the city, and forming part of its organic law, although several
others have since followed our example.”
It remains for us to keep up the reputation of our city. Our
schools are successfully established; the expenditures for public432	THE buffalo common schools.
buildings, &c., are made to an extent which will require little
further expenditure for many years. Our teachers are men
and women who have adopted the calling as a profession, and
who cannot be excelled in any of the requisites for teachers of
the young. The schools should be conducted with a steady
and reliable policy, affording to the children of the city ample
means for obtaining a sufficient English education; but should
not be forced beyond what will fully meet this end. Let the
public sustain the schools in every reasonable requirement, and
they will certainly justify the confidence placed in them. But
should the public fail in its duty in this respect, retrogression
will assuredly follow. It is education that makes us what we
are, and let it be our first duty to make that education such as
will develope to their highest capabilities the faculties which
have been bestowed upon us by the great Author of our being.THE FIRST
SCHOOL HOUSE IN BUFFALO.
BY CHRISFIELD JOHNSON.*
The reminiscences, whether written or verbal, of those who
were residents of Buffalo before the war of 1812, contain fre-
quent mention of the “ little red school house,” which stood on
Jthe northwest corner of Cayuga (now Pearl) and Swan streets,
and which was burned with the rest of the village, in Decem-
ber, 1813. Though schools were taught, temporarily, in other
buildings, this was, as far as can be learned, the only actual
school house, the otily temple dedicated exclusively to educa-
tion in Buffalo, before the war.
Its history is interesting, not only on account of its being the
first building of its kind in what is now a great city, but because
it became the subject of a somewhat famous controversy in the
courts, which was not terminated till twenty-five years after
the structure itself had ceased to exist. A succinct account of
.that contest is given by Oliver G. Steele, Esq., in a paper read
by him before the Buffalo Historical Society, in the year 1863.f
The time and manner of building the structure in question,
as well as the names of contributors thereto, have heretofore
Been a matter of doubtful tradition. As early as 1801, the few
citizens then residing in Buffalo, began to manifest a desire for
.a school; and, on the eleventh day of August, in that year, Mr.
* From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, November 6th, 1875.
t See The Buffalo Common Schools, p. 410.434
THE FIRST
Joseph R. Palmer, brother of John Palmer, the first tavern-
keeper in Buffalo, wrote to Joseph Ellicott, the Holland Com-
pany’s agent at Batavia, requesting, on the part of the inhabi-
tants, the privilege of raising a school house on some lot in the
village which was not yet surveyed for sale. Mr. Palmer states,,
that the New York Missionary Society will furnish a teacher,,
clear of all expense, except board, and that the people “ have
the timber ready to hew out.”
This request was at once acceded to by Mr. Ellicott, whose
journal shows the following entry, dated August 14th, 1801:
“Went to Buffalo, alias New Amsterdam, to lay off a lot for a school
house, the inhabitants offering to erect one at their own expense.”
From this, Mr. Ketchum, in his History of Buffalo and the
Senecas, infers, that the house was probably built in 1802 or
1803, by subscription. Mr. Steele, in the essay above referred
to, judging from verbal information, fixes the time of erection
at about 1806, and adds:
‘ ‘ The school house, as near as I can ascertain, was built by private sub-
scription, or, as it was then termed, a “Bee,” or contribution of labor and
materials by the settlers. Among the names I have mentioned as contribu-
tors, are those of Samuel Pratt (father of Mrs. Esther Pratt Fox, and grand-
father of Samuel F. Pratt), Doctor Cyrenius Chapin, Gamaliel St. John,
Joseph Landon and Zenas Barker.”
Those who feel an interest in the early history of Buffalo,
will be gratified to learn, that there is now in existence, among,
the miscellaneous papers of the Historical Society, a document
giving an authentic account of the beginning of school house
building in the city of Buffalo. This is nothing less than the
original account-book, containing the subscriptions and pay-
ments toward building the “little red school house,” of historic
fame.
It is only a memorandum-book of coarse paper, with probably
the roughest brown pasteboard cover ever seen on a book; yet
it is extremely interesting, not only as giving an authentic
account of the erection of the first school house in the city, and
as showing the names of a large proportion of the inhabitantsSCHOOL HOUSE IN BUFFALO.
435
of the then infant village, but also because it is one of the very
few documents relating to local history which survived the
burning of the village in 1813. With the solitary exception of
the town-book of the town of Erie from 1805 to 1808, the ac-
count-book is the most valuable article to the student of local
history in the whole collection of the Buffalo Historical Society,
The following is a literal copy of the first page:
“ At a meeting of the Inhabitance of the Vilage of Buffaloe meet on the
twenty-ninth day of March Eighteen hundred & seven at Joseph Landon’s
Inn by a Vote of Sd meeting Zenas Barker in the Chair for the purpos to
arect a School Hous in Sd Village by a Subscription of the Inhabitanse.
“also Voted that Samuel Pratt, Joseph Landon & Joshua Gillett be a
Committee to See that they are appropriated on the School House above
mentiond which Subscriptions are to be paid in by the first day of June next
or .Such part of it as Shall be wanted by that time.”
And the following is a list of the subscribers, and the amount
subscribed by each:
Salvanus Mabee.......
Zenas Barker.........
Thomas Fourth........
Joshua Gillett.....
Joseph Wells....,....
.John Johnson........
Nathaniel W. Sever....
Isaac H. Bennett.....
Levi Strong..........
William Hull.........
Samuel Pratt..... ...
Richard Mann.........
Isabel Adkins........
Samuel Andrews.......
Garret Freeland.......
Billa Sherman........
20.00
10.00
3.00
15.00
7.00
10.00
10.00
3-00.
5.00
10.00
22.00
5-oo
5-oo
.87K
All the subscriptions were dated March 30th, 1807, the day
after the meeting. Each man’s name was placed on a page of
the book and charged with the amount subscribed, and then
credited withthe amount paid, either by cash, labor or material.
The carpenter work appears to have been all done by Levi
Strong and George Kith, whose accounts are also in the book.
Their bills for work amounted to sixty-eight dollars and fifty
cents. The credits for work and material were mostly in April,
1807, showing that the building was started immediately after
the subscription.436 THE FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE IN BUFFALO.
From the fact that Joshua Gillett is credited with two and
a quarter gallons of whisky on the thirteenth of April, I should
presume that “raising” took place on that day. But the funds
or credit must have been low, and Buffalo must have remained
without a school house for a year and a half more; for it was
not until the tenth of November, 1808, eight months after Buf-
falo had become the county seat of Niagara county, that the
shingles were procured for the school house, when two thousand
were furnished by Samuel Pratt.
The building was doubtless finished up for use that winter
(1808-9), for, on the twenty-third day of May, 1809, there was
a general setting up, and the last entries of small cash payments
are made in the book.
Most of the subscribers, including Pratt, Mabee, Landon,
Barker, Gillett, and Wells, paid up in full, but some appear to
have failed in part, and a few entirely.
The book was presented to the Historical Society in 1866,
by Joshua Gillet, of Wyoming county, whom I presume to
have been a son of the Joshua Gillet who was one of the com-
mittee to raise funds and superintend the building. It was
probably lying in a trunk, in 1813, and was carried out of town,
and thus escaped the destruction which involved so many doc-
uments of that era.
The queerest part of the whole matter is, that Doctor Chapin,
who carried on a suit for over fifteen years, on the ground th
he was one of the chief proprietors, does n’t appear as a sub-
scriber at all. Perhaps there may be some explanation of
this circumstance, but the accounts seem to be very full and
minute.
The total amount of subscription paid, was one hundred and
one dollars. The commissioners allowed five hundred dollars
to pay for it!
Such is the authentic history of the building of the “ little red
school house,” the only one in Buffalo before the war of 1812.