AND r? } "Hf Class. I K 3 51 Book lLjI^s. Copyright }l^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. WILLIAM RIDDLE. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF SCHOOL HISTORY IN LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA BY WILLIAM RIDDLE MIIHDK OF 'Nicholas Comenius, or ye Pennsylvania Schoolmaster of ye Olden Time' mUb 78 iplates LANCASTER, PA. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 1905 LIBRARY of CONGRESS fwu Oopies rteceiveu jun 8 »yo5 UutSS CL XAc. Not //^ ^ ^ '^ COPY B. Copyright, 1905 Pa' WILLIAM RIDDLE Press of The New Era Printing Company Lanosier. Pa. DEDICATED TO THE DIRECTORS AND TEACHERS OF LANCASTER CITY PREFACE. Nearly a tliird of a century ago, in searching through a mass of discarded councilmanic proceedings on the second floor of the " Station House," the author accidentally came into pos- session of a half dozen time-worn record hooks, containing the deliberations of the Lancaster City School Hoard from 1838 down to 1878. Culled from the contents of these resurrected volumes, a hastily-Avritten article was contributed to the Sun- day edition of the n.vaiiiiiicr and Express of January 25, 1880 — possibly the first authentic sketch to appear in the public prints bearing on our local system of schools. Considered of some importance, it was later inserted in Peck and Everts' " History of Lancaster County." A year ago, a second article was pre- pared and read before the " Lancaster County Historical So- ciety," from which the present volume had its beginning. Along in the eighties, a series of sketches on the various school officers were w^ritten by the late J. M. Johnston for the Intel- ligencer. To these the author is largely indebted for nuKdi valuable information. In the prospectus issued during the year 1904, the author took occasion to say, " I have undertaken to publish a compre- hensive history of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with incidental ref- erence to the schools of our county and state. Attention will be given to the early church schools of the citv and their influence ; to the period of the so-called charity schools, forerunners of the common school system and to the development of the latter from the time of its adoption by the Legislature in 1834. In vii Vlll PREFACE. addition, there will be included sketches and half-tone plates of the eighteen presidents, fourteen secretaries and six treas- urers, covering a period of sixty-seven years. The expansion and development of the course of study, the diverse personal- ities of the teachers, the political and personal changes in the school board, the financial administration of the system, the relation of directors to teachers and schools, of teachers to pupils and parents ; and of this branch of popular government to other departments of civic life and municipal development will be reviewed. The conscientious aim of the author will be to relate all the important events and to tell faithfully the story of education in Lancaster. The work, it is hoped, will be of permanent value, being written not as a financial venture, but rather as a gratuitous contribution to local history." In how far the author has fulfilled his mission, after a year of search and research among more than five thousand pages of time-worn records of other days, is for the intelligent, sym- pathetic reader to determine. As the free school system is the common heritage of all, so this work has been written to meet every phase of public opinion, with the hope, that sufficient of value may be gleaned from its pages to cause the reader to appreciate more fully the manifold blessings which the free schools have so bountifully provided for the youth of our city, county and state. To the Lancaster City School Board who gave the author substantial aid, as well as to all our friends who have given encouragement in the preparation of this work, we extend our hearty thanks. William Riddle. May is, 1905. INTRODUCTION. The patrons of this work, who encouraged and stimulated the author of it to prepare and publish a history of education in the Cit>- of Lancaster, have no occasion to apologize for or to regret the undertaking. The education of a people is at all times a very large share of their history ; and to trace the men who, and the intluences which, developed, organized and operated the educational forces of a community is in a large measure to set forth the history of that section of our county, our Commonwealth and our country. James Russel Lowell says : " It was in making education not only common to all, but in some sense compulsory on all, that the destiny of the free repul)lics of America was practically settled." During the past decade a great impulse has been given to the study and publication of our local history. It has come to be recognized that the investigation of it in detail must precede the fashioning by some master hand of this material into a compact and well-proportioned story of a great county, and of its most interesting and historic shire-town. The many monographs which have enriched the proceedings of the Lancaster County Historical Society have, each and all, no less immeasurable permanent value than passing popular interest. Originally projected as such a casual paper, the story of the schools of Lancaster grew into a volume. To have razeed it into a mere sketch would have been to discard and possibly forever lost annals that years (and even centuries) hence posterity would have vainly sought with labor and ex- pense to recall and restore. X INTRODUCTION. Fortunately this task fell into fit hands. For more than half a century the author of this work, as hoy and man, as pupil, teacher, school director and dispenser of educational needs, has been identified with the common school system of Lancaster County. He can fairly say, as yEneas of old, retelling- the story of Troy : " Much of which I saw, and part of which I was." He has rescued from the danger of oblivion records telling with accuracy the complete story of the Pennsylvania common school system in a city which has grown, since the adoption of that system, from a population of less than 8,000 in 1838, to nearly 50,000 in 1904; from an investment of $7,000 in school property during the same period, to more than $700,000 sixty- seven years later ; from 700 pupils at the opening of the schools of 1838, to 6,000 in 1904; and from 16 teachers to 120 on the present roll of the Lancaster School Board. He has traced the development of the curriculum and the broadening of the courses of study, until " the poor man's free school " has become " the people's college." The progress that has been made in hygiene and the laws of sanitation, as applied to the buildings and equipment of the common schools, is here depicted. Contrasts and improvements in school architecture and apparatus are set forth from the view-point of one with practical and mechanical ideas. The clash and contiict of par- tisan and political interests in school control are sketched with discriminating and impartial analysis of men and motives. I kit he has done nnich more. He has linked the earlier his- tory of education in Lancaster city and county wdth the story of the system founded by the State; he has given fair credit INTRODUCTION. xi to the church schools and the incalciilahlc work of reHj:^ions bodies in nicjulchni;- the cnUure and character of our youth; he has emphasized the fact that no town in all the State by the personality of its educators — Bnrrowes, Crumbauoh, Wick- ersham, Higbee, McCaskey and Schaeffer — has been so con- spicuous in the cause of popular education as Lancaster; that no county has been better represented in the work of those twin forces of po]nilar education, the Normal School and the " small college," than our own, by Millersville State Normal School and Franklin and Marshall College; and, finally, he relates how for three generations the leading citizens of Lan- caster, men representative of its best business and profes- sional life, have, unselfishly and without reward, given their time, their genius and their labor to the education of the boys and girls of the people among whom they dwelt. Pen and pencil, author and artist, have been artistically and intelligently employed to tell the story of the lives of the members of the Lancaster City School Board ; to depict their features and to perpetuate their words and works. The long roll of teachers ; the faithful record of their labors, and the fit appreciation of their infiuence enhance the value of this work. Mewed, there- fore, from whatever standpoint, I connnend it as a faithful historical record, a graphic narrative and a sympathetic appre- ciation of interests second only to the religious life of a great conmninity. No school library in the county or Commonwealth • is complete without it. It is a good work well done ; and more than that need not be said of anything this side of the river. \V. U. Hensel. May 20, 1905. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page. Early Chukch and Private Schools • i CHAPTER H. The Lancasterian System I9 CHAPTER HI. Lafayette's Vlsit 34 CHAPTER IV. James Buchan.vn's Prophecy 4.3 CHAPTER V. Lancaster Accepts "^ CHAPTER VI. Monitorial S ysteisi Abandoned So CHAPTER VH. Rules and Regulations 93 CHAPTER VHI. Ways and Means lO/ CHAPTER IX. Ownership of Lancasterian Building I2i CHAPTER X. Passing of the Old Academies ^33 CHAPTER XI. New School Charter 151 xiii xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIL The Rev. John S. Ckumb.\ugh 167 CHAPTER XHI. The Schoolmaster on the Hnx 185 CHAPTER XIV. Thomas H. Burrowes, the Sixth President 203 CHAPTER XV. Dawning of the War Period 219 CHAPTER XVI. Newton Lightner, the Eighth President 234 CHAPTER XVII. Combined German-English Schools 257 CHAPTER XVIII. A Glance at Rural Districts 274 CHAPTER XIX. John W. Jackson, the Eleventh President 288 CHAPTER XX. Erection of a High School 303 CHAPTER XXI. New School Houses for Lancaster City 321 CHAPTER XXII. Daniel G. Baker, the Fourteenth President ^^y CHAPTER XXIII. A Question of Local Jurisdiction 347 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XXIV. Adjustment of Teachers' Salaries 362 CHAPTER XXV. Tribute to the Memory of Dr. E. E. Higbee 378 CHAPTER XXVI Indications of a Greater Lancaster 391 CHAPTER XXVII. The Stevens High School 406 APPENDIX. List of Directors 423 List of Teachers. 427 List of Members of the Alumni Association 432 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Author Frontispiece. William Penn i Adam Reigart 4 John F. Steinman 7 Rev. Samuel Bowman 9 Benjamin Franklin 11 Franklin College 12 Dr. John L. Atlee 14 Dr. Samuel Humes 17 Christopher Hager 19 Lancasterian School Build- ing 22 John Baer 22 J. Barrett Kerfoot's Address TO Lafayette 34 William Augustus Muhlen- berg, D.D 36 Dr. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg 37 General Lafayette 38 Amos Slaymaker 39 James Buchanan 42 Thaddeus Stevens (1835).... 48 George Wolf, Governor from 1829 to 183s 52 Joseph Ritner, Governor from 1835 to 1839 54 Samuel F. Dale 61 The Old Court House — 1787- 1853 63 John King Findlay 64 George Musser 73 Louis C. Jungerich 75 Old School Buildings, South Duke Street 90 John Mathiot no Robert Moderwell 112 John W. Forney 1x5 John Zimmerman 117 Peter M'Conomy 118 George M. Steinman 119 Rev. John S. Crumbaugh 167 Common School Celebration Program 172 Evening Program, Common Schools Diploma 173 John Piersol McCaskey 177 Rev. John C. Baker 194 Samuel O. Nourse 196 Hon. Thomas H. Burrowes. . . 202 William B. Wiley 204 Rev. Bernhard Keenan 206 Hon. a. L. Hayes 208 Newton Lightner 234 H. S. Gara 236 Hon. J. B. Livingston 242 William P. Brinton 257 Frederick S. Pyfer 258 Miss Christie Musser 268 The Children's Home 286 William A. Morton 288 John W. Jackson 289 Charles F. Eberman 291 John L Hartman 308 Boys' and Girls' High School, 1876 311 John B. Warfel 315 \'Villiam O. Marshall 318 City Superintendent R. K. BUEHRLE 330 East Lemon Street School, 1881 335 Daniel G. Baker 337 Dr. John Levergood 347 George W. Zecher 350 J. M. Johnston 353 Thomas F. McElligott 362 Miss Maria E. Gill 368 Hon. J. P. Wickersham 378 Dr. D. R. McCormick 383 Dr. E. E. Higbee 389 South Duke Street School Building, 1892 394 South Mulberry St. School, 1892 395 Hon. David McMullen 396 George Forrest 400 Interior Strawberry Street School 402 H. A. Schroyer 409 Miss Matilda Zug 412 The Stevens High School... 414 Thaddeus Stevens 41 5 Nathan C. Schaeffer 418 Lancaster High School Or- chestra 420 XVI r^trfctors of Lancadtci* Citj? ^cbool ^onrU, 1904 5. GEORGE N. ALLEBACH, J. C. BROCK, DR. R. M. BOLENIUS. JOHN BUCHER, JOHN C. CARTER, HENRY CARPENTER, F. M. DORWART, C. E. DOWNEY, B. F. DAVIS, F. S. EVERTS, GEORGE FORREST, R. T. FARVER, W. W. GRIEST, JOHN J. JEFFRES, D. E. LONG, W. O. MARSHALL, W. H. McCOMSEY, DR. D. R. McCORMICK, THOMAS McELLIGOTT, REV. EMIL MEISTER, DAVID McMULLEN, CHARLES NICKEL, W. D. E. POISAL, JACOB PONTZ, FRED. S. PYFER, E. D. REILLY, DR. OLIVER ROLAND, W. H. ROLAND, SIMON SHISSLER, A. H. SCHROYER, P. E. SLAYMAKER, B. F. TROUT, JOHN B. WARFEL, PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR. CHARLES WINGENDER, A. C. WELCHANS. XVll ©rpni^atian of tl)c ^oarti, 1S3S. ADAM REIGART, President. JOHN YOST, Tax Collector. JOHN K. FINDLAY, Secretary. MATHIAS ZAHM. Messenger. GEORGE MUSSER, Treasurer. Superintendence Committee. REV. SAMUEL BOWMAN, Cluiinitan. REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, DR. SAMUEL HUMES. Committee on Rules and Regulations. REV. J. T. MARSHALL DAVIE, Chairman. CHRISTOPHER HAGER, JOHN R. MONTGOMERY, JOHN BAER, WILLIAM COOPER. Committee on Ways and Means. DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, Chairman. REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, JOHN F. STEINMAN, DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, SAMUEL F. DALE. Personal Property-Tax Committee. PETER M'CONOMY, Chairman, JOHN ZIMMERMAN, DAVID COCKLEY, PETER G. EBERMAN, JOHN MATHIOT. Members of the Lancaster City School Board in 1838. GEORGE MUSSER, GEORGE H. KRUG, WILLIAM COOPER, REV. SAMUEL BOWMAN, DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, ADAM REIGART, REV. J T. MARSHALL DAVIE, REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, DR. SAMUEL HUMES, DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, JOHN MATHIOT, JOHN R. MONTGOMERY, JOHN ZIMMERMAN, SAMUEL F. DALE, JOHN F. STEINMAN, CHRISTOPHER HAGER, LOUIS C. JUNGERICH, JOHN BAER, HENRY KEFFER, JOHN EBERMAN, PETER M'CONOMY, DAVID COCKLEY, JOHN K. FINDLAY, JOHN ROHRER, PETER G. EBERMAN. XVlll ©rpnt^ation of tl)c ^oarU, JliJotjcinfacr, 1904. DAVID M'MULLEN, President. GEORGE FORREST, Secretary. H. A. SCHROYER, Treasurer. .f'tanbing Committees: Superintending Committee. JOHN B. WARFEL, Chairman, DR. D. R. M'CORMICK, DR. OLIVER ROLAND, WM. O. MARSHALL, THOS. F. M'ELLIGOTT. Finance Committee. JOHN C. CARTER, Chairman, P. E. SLAYMAKER, E. D. REILLY. Building and Grounds Committee. F. S. EVERTS, Chairman, JOHN J. JEFFRIES, W. H. M'COMSEY, DAVID D. LONG, CHARLES WINGENDER. School Law and Compulsary Education Committee. B. F. DAVIS, Chairman, HENRY CARPENTER, F. B. TROUT. Committee on Text Books and Course of Instruction. DR. R. M. BOLENIUS, Chairman, J. C. BROCK, CHARLES E. DOWNEY, REV. EMIL MEISTER, SIMON SHISSLER. Committee on Furniture and Apparatus. JACOB PONTZ, Chairman, G. N. ALLABACH, PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR. Committee on Soldiers' Orphans and Home for Friendless Children. JOHN BUCHER, Chairman, CHARLES NICKEL, FRED. S. PYFER. Committee on Night Schools. D. W. E. POISAL, Chairman, R. T. FARVER. REV. EMIL MEISTER, F. M. DORWART, A. C. WELCHANS. Committee on Hygiene. DR. D. R. M'CORMICK, Chairman, DR. OLIVER ROLAND, FRED. S. PYFER. Committee on Printing. PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR., Chairman. HENRY CARPENTER, JOHN BUCHER. xix CHAPTER I. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Penn's Plan of Education— Act of Assembly— Lancaster in 1729— Church and School-house — Germans — Subscriptions to Support of Ad- vanced Teacher, Samuel Magraw — Jacob Loeser — Franklin College — Marshall College — Curriculum in the Twenties — Various Private Schools Opened — German and English Education. To revive historic memories, to perpettiate tlie deeds of noble men and women who in times past devoted their best years to the cause of popular education, and to bring about a fuller appreciation of the causes which have contributed so largely to our prosperity as a people — our solid and triumphant suc- cess in religion, in morality, in education, as well as in all things conducive to happiness — this volume has been written. More than a half century ago, the first reliable historian of Lancaster county gave expression to the following prophetic words : " The permanency of all republics depends upon the enlightenment of the masses ; and to the extent that their edu- cation is encouraged or neglected, so will their foundation be sure and stable or loose and unsettled." This idea, so forcibly expressed, was not even at that time entirely new ; it had been promulgated centuries before — to be accepted l)y the few. But the multitude, moved by the blind leaders of the blind, stood ever ready to yield to the mistaken notion that the education of the people at large was an impracticable dream. With the development of this idea, extending back to re- mote times, it is not the purpose of the writer to deal. It is safe to assume, however, that with the landing of William Penn on the shores of the Delaware the good seed was sown. This seed, well watered and nourished, took deep root in the hearts of the settlers, and by slow degrees developed into the 1 1 2 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. grandest system of free schools that has ever blessed the descendants of a liberty-loving- people. The two treaties of love and friendship made with the red men of the forest — the one nnder the open sky by the Delaware, the other on the banks of our own Susquehanna — though not confirmed by oath, nor ratified by seals and signatures, were kept inviolate. These two treaties were the very foundation upon which rests that enlightened public sentiment, that fervid, religious conviction, which has guided and directed the good people of Lancaster for nearly two centuries. In his work entitled "Reflections and Maxims," William Penn presents some very admirable thoughts on education ; thoughts as potent to-day as they were two hundred years ago. Indeed, as we review the history of his life, we are surprised at the author's far-seeing grasp of educational needs. " The world," he wrote at that early day, " is certainly a great and stately volume of natural things and may not be improperly styled the hieroglyphic of a letter ; but alas ! how few leaves of it do we seriously turn over ! This ought to be the subject of education of our youth who, at twenty, when they should fit themselves for business, know little or nothing of it. We are in pain to make them scholars but not men ; to talk rather than to know, which is true canting. The first thing obvious to children is what is sensible ; and that we make no part of their rudiments. We press their memory too soon, and puzzle and load them with words and rules to know gram- mar and rhetoric, and a strange tongue or two, that it is ten to one may never be useful to them." " To be sure," he continues, " languages are not to be de- spised or neglected ; but things are still to be preferred. Children had rather be making tools and instruments of play, shaping, drawing, framing, building, etc., than getting some rules of propriety of speech by heart ; and these would also follow with more judgment, and less trouble in time. It were WILLIAM PENN. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 3 hajipv if we studied nature more in natural things; and acted according to nature, whose rules are few, plain and reason- able." Of the numerous laws passed by the General Assembly which met at Chester a short time after Penn's arrival, none evince a broader educational spirit than the following provi- sion : "That, to the end that the poor as well as the rich may be instructed in good and commendable learning, which is to be preferred before wealth, '^Bc if cnacfcd. That all persons in this province and terri- tories thereof, having children, and all guardians and trustees of orphans, shall cause them to be instructed in reading and writ- ing, so that they may l)e al^le to read the Scriptures, and to write by the time they attain the age of twelve ; and then they be taught some useful trade or skill — that the poor may work to live, and the rich if they become poor may not want ; of which every county court shall take care. .And in case such parents, guardians or overseers shall be found deficient in this respect, every such parent or guardian shall pay for every such child five pounds, except there should appear an incapacity in body or in understanding to hinder it." It is evident then, that the law-makers who passed this enactment contemplated the establishment of schools under public authority throughout the province and territories. They recogifizecl the prime need of the young becoming good citizens, and required them to become acquainted in the schools, " with the laws b_\' which they were governed." Strange as it may seem, it took the Pennsylvania Legislature more than two hundred years to reenact this old law of the first Assembly. But only recently has it done so, in the " Com- pulsory Attendance Act," which requires all children in the commonwealth to attend school for a certain period during the year. 4 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Too much stress cannot be laid upon this old-time enact- ment, which was allowed to slumber on the shelves for so many years. All children, it will be noticed, were required to be instructed in reading" and writing by the time they were twelve years of age ; they were also to be taught some useful trade — all this under a penalty of five pounds, a real hardship at that time. That this law, after remaining in force ten years, was abrogated by William and Mary of England, in no way afifects the principle upon which it was based. However, it was reenacted by Governor Fletcher in 1693, by and with the advice of the representatives of the Province ; and although it became a " dead letter/' there is no evidence that it was ever repealed. If the facts above set forth appear irrelevant to a history of the schools of Lancaster, it should ever be remembered that before the common school system can be thoroughl}- understood, it is necessary first to ascertain the underlying conditions which preceded or were coincident with the enact- ment of the law of the General Assembly. And furthermore, let it be understood at the very beginning of the story, that the free school system is by no means the invention or dis- covery of the master minds of the past seventy years. We admit, that the law creating the free schools was passed in the year 1834, and all its numerous supplements during later years. But the seed from which it sprang into existence was scattered broadcast throughout the province nearly two cen- turies before, awaiting a favorable epoch to burst forth and blossom. To a much earlier date than this closing year 1904, I now ask the reader to journey with me. We shall find the Lan- caster of today a mere hamlet in the year 1729 when the old town was first laid out by James Hamilton. This is the same Hamilton whose name has become so familiar to our citizens and with whose estate many have been compelled to settle their annual "Tound-rcnt tax. JOHN F. STEINMAN. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 5 Near the Square, where now looms our Soldier's Monument, stood, long years ago, according to tradition, a hickory tree. Historian Harbaugh mentions a creditalile tradition that the bell of the Reformed Church, when it was first procured, hung for some time upon a hickory tree in the neighborhood of Centre Square (no doubt the famous hickory-tree wdiere the Indians held their council) and was rung there until the steeple was ready to receive it. This is no doubt the same bell men- tioned in 1746. Tradition has also preserved the fact that on the emergency occasioned by a sudden incursion of hostile In- dians into " Hickorytown," as Lancaster was first called, a heroic woman rushed into the church and gave the alarm to the neighborhood by ringing the bell. This bell, burst in 1774, on the occasion of a hasty ringing in very cold weather. In 1784 another bell burst; they were both sold afterwards at eleven pence per pound. While the sound of these bells has long since died, as have those who heard them, others have come to take their place — pleasing reminders of days gone by. Possibly the old hickory tree was more than a tradition, for here the Conestogas often met to deliberate or to barter away the furs of wild animals for which the surrounding country was noted. The present city is two miles square, and was named by John Wright, after that English county from which he emigrated in the year 17 14. Prompt as Lancaster has been since the year 1818, when it became a city, to part with many of its old-time customs, habits and traditions, some of its streets, we rejoice to say, still bear the old names — King, Queen, Duke, Orange, Prince — a legacy handed down from the provincial government of the mother country. We believe councils in years gone by did right in preserving these familiar titles. It is well to be able to point to these staunch and faithful reminders of the atmos- phere in which our town was born. For in these names, so 6 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. familiar in their homes across the sea, the men of that early day sought to enshrine their loyalty and devotion to the mother country. We may dwell upon this circumstance for a moment, in order to get a true perspective of the long line of historic events which occurred in the years before the city ever showed signs of becoming a " Greater Lancaster." To fully appreciate the manifold blessings on every hand so generously displayed ; to anticipate what the future may have in store, and to more fully realize the innumerable blessings of the past, now so little appreciated, requires an acquaintance with the times and the deeds of those who have passed away in the fullness of their years, and left on " the sands of time " a heritage for their de- scendants which should ever be held in grateful remembrance. It is somewhat difificult to determine how or when educa- tion in Lancaster had its beginning. That it was contempor- aneous with the founding of the earliest church schools, his- tory makes perfectly clear. To attempt to trace these in chronological order, however, so as to do entire justice to each in turn, has caused more than one local historian to dififer with those who had gone before. It is a well recognized fact that, from the time of the first settlement made on the banks of the Conestoga by the Eng- lish and Quakers as far back as the year 1729, when the city of Lancaster was not yet a borough, the terms religion and education were synonymous. If the former was the main pillar upon which the Spiritual w'as to rest, the latter was just as indispensable to the worship of Almighty God ; for, to fully comprehend the Scriptures required at least a knowledge of the elements of an education. As time ran on, with the incoming of the sturdy Germans, each congregation was re- garded as a sort of " spiritual municipal corporation " having a three-fold purpose — first, the erection of places of worship ; second, to supply these with those who should minister to their EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 7 wants in holy things ; and third, to secure the services of a competent schoohnaster to instruct their children in the ele- ments of a good German or English education. So deeply grounded was this In'oad principle of Christian culture, that we may well wonder how a system of free schools eliminating all religious instruction was ever to gain a foot- hold among these all-powerful sects. For their inherent faith rested upon the hroad proposition that all instruction of a secular nature was Init secondary to that higher and holier purpose for the preservation of which they had abandoned the Fatherland for the banks of the Conestoga, where thev might worship God and educate their children in accordance with the dictates of their own conscience. The force of the foregoing will appear all the more clear a? my story continues. Nor has this religious fervor eulirclv ceased to be a disturbing factor in educational development. Far from it. The battle was fought as strenuously during the first years of the common school system as it had been a hundred years before, and may be a century hence — unless, perchance, our lawmakers meanwhile stem the tide of our modern-day course of study, from which the Bible has been almost, if not entirely, eliminated. As has been said, there was from the time of the first settle- ment of this old town the nucleus of an English population in Lancaster. It was small in number at first, but all-powerful in scholastic training and religious conviction, elements that have ever dominated the social, political and intellectual life of this city from then to the present day. This, however, is in no way intended to convey the impression that the Luth- eran, the Moravian and German Reformed congregations, the oldest with the possible exception of the Friends, were any the less intelligent or aggressive. But they dififered from the English settlers in adhering more strictly to their own de- nominational schools and places of worship ; and they mani- 8 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. fested little interest, at least for many years, in the political and secular affairs of the community. Another condition must be met and considered. It must not be inferred that Lancaster was or is an oasis in a desert, draw- ing its power and inspiration wholly from within itself. On the contrary, the county of which the city is but a part, may be considered the territory from which the city, like a river, has ever drawn a store of wealth, wisdom and intelligence. A more diversified nationality is scarcely to be found elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Here, not only may be found the Germans, the Moravians, the Scotch-Irish, the Huguenots, the Welsh, but the English and Quakers as well ; all embraced within an area of nine hundred and seventy-three miles. What other county in the state can point to such a multiplicity of races, whose opinions when crystallized into one harmonious whole is all-powerful in state and nation ? It may be taken for granted as my story continues, that what has enured to the city from an educational standpoint, has had its counterpart in the schools of the county. r)Oth have kept pace, one with the other, in the sphere of religious and educational develop- ment But to get back to the thread of my story : It has always been the custom among the Germans to plant churches and schools together. The Lutherans had their first church as early as 1733 ; the Reformed congregation, in 1736. The history of the German schools, is, therefore, bound up in the history of the early churches of Lancaster. Although church records of the early times are meagre, and have little to say concerning schools, there is no doubt that both the Lutheran and Reformed churches, from 1734 on, maintained schools in their respective congregations. Far be it from the writer to impugn the motives of the loyal and patriotic citizens, differing widely in nationality, tradition and creed from the English. They stood united for two great needs of the Province — edu- cation and religion. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 9 As early as the year 1754, the Calvinist and Lutheran min- isters and fourteen of the leading citizens of Lancaster petitioned for a teacher capable of instructing not only in English and German, but also in Latin and Greek. To render possible the employment of so scholarly a man as teacher, the following voluntarily pledged the amount set opposite to their names : Edward Shippen, 2 scholars, tliough lie has none to send £6.0.0 Simon Kuhn, 2 scholars 6.0.0 George Gibson, 2 scholars 6.0.0 Michael Utt, i scholar 30.0 Emanuel Carpenter, t scholar 300 George Ross, i scholar 3-0.o George Craig and James Wright, i scholar 3.0.0 Michael Gross, i scholar 3-0.o Jacob Good, i scholar 30.0 William Sloon, i scholar i.i.o • Jacob Eicholtz, i scholar, 30.0 John Jacob Loeser, no scholar i-i-O Bernard Hubley, i scholar 300 Jacob Huber 30.0 Sebastian Graff 3-0.0 George Graff 30.0 With a pledged subscription of fifty-four pounds, the school opened July ist. 1755, with Rev. Mr. Samuel Magaw as schoolmaster. This school was of more than local significance — its purpose being to spread the cause of education among the poor German population of the colony. The Catholic church during those early times may have been an exception ; for close investigation has failed to locate schools in connec- tion with its religious work. The Moravian congregation was organized by Bishop Spangenburg in 1745. and in 1746 a church and school house were erected at the corner of Orange and Market streets, where the old building is yet standing. It is not the purpose of this work to treat of the churches independent of their schools ; nor indeed, have we the space to devote to all of the many schools that sprang into exist- 2 10 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. ence within the Hmits of Lancaster during the last century of its history. The data given above are founded partly on tradition, partly on known fact, having been published from time to time in other historical works. Probably the first authentic reference to a purely non-sec- tarian school in Lancaster is made to one established here in 1748. This school was soon crowded with English, Irish and German pupils, under the charge of the well known Jacob Loeser. In 1761, the children are mentioned as taking part in the laying of the cornerstone of the new building, but whether school house or church does not appear. In 1762, the building had ninety scholars and was crowded to its utmost capacity. The report, made that year to the Synod in session in Philadelphia, says : " During the summer the German school is attended by about fifty or sixty children, and dur- ing the winter by from eighty to ninety. The schoolmaster is an able and gifted man, who would well be able to render more service. It is, however, to be regretted that on account of the want of room and better regulations it cannot be ren- dered more efficient." This school was larger and of more importance than the average school of that early day ; and was a credit to the denomination which established and controlled it. Jacob Loeser was a busy man and not overpaid. Indeed, few teachers ever are, in any age, among any people. In addi- tion to teaching the school in 1781, " he played the organ, led the singing during regular church services, opened and closed the church, and had charge of the graveyard. For all of this he received " a free dwelling in part of the school house, had free use of part of the school lot, ten cords of wood, half being hickory, and the sum of ten pounds a year." The parochial and private schools served a very important purpose in those early days. So rapidly had they multiplied within the limits of our old inland town, and with so much success were they conducted, that, from 1745 to 1780, they BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 11 were almost the only schools of note within the borough. During the latter year, however, a movement was inaugurated, the far-reaching consequences of which could not be foreseen by the wisest of its promoters. At this time, 1780, Jasper Yeates, Esq., Casper Shaffner, Esq., Col. George Ross, Charles Holl and others, finding that the existing parochial schools were inadequate to the growing wants of the people and in- capable of teaching the higher branches, engaged the ser- vices of a schoolmaster of known ability to conduct a select academv. This academy continued in use for several years as the high school of the town, until, because of internal difficulty it was finally discontinued. Unsatisfactory as it had proved to be, it suggested the idea of establishing another, on a surer basis, under the control of trustees. By act of incorporation it eventually became known as Franklin College, taking its name from Benjamin Franklin, who contributed to its en- dowment, and was present at the laying of the corner-stone of its first building in 1787. In 1836, the Reformed Church established Marshall College at Mercersburg, Franklin county, naming it after Chief Justice Marshall. These two most worthy institutions, although for a time distant from each other, were consolidated in Lancaster under a new charter in 1852, and a year later, in 1853, became known as Franklin and Marshall College, whose Golden Jubilee was so appropriately celebrated during Commencement Week of 1903. The writer, unfortunately, can make no claim to having attended Franklin Academy or Franklin and Marshall Col- lege either during these early times or in after years. Not- withstanding, memory often carries him back to the old " Academy " building on Lime near the corner of Orange. For to and from it as a lad, he carried many a little souvenir, whose contents were only known to the young professor and that young miss who never failed to secure both ends of the 12 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. improvised envelope. But what cared the young messenger- boy of those days for what these loving mementoes contained, so long as an old-fashioned silver coin was hidden away deep down in his trousers' pocket? Time, however, has wrought many changes since the young men of Franklin College — for it was a college now — pressed their way to and from this old Lime street building with their store of Latin and Greek. A very few no doubt remain, but the great majority have passed to that bourne from which none return. This old academy, and the later Franklin and Marshall College, may be mentioned with a few others of less note as the forerunners of the common school system, which was the harbinger of a brighter future for the good people of Lan- caster. It may be accepted then, as another historical fact, that, with the incoming of Franklin Academy, came also the era of a higher order of intellectual development. Meanwhile, schools independent of church control, gathering round them years of experience, soon crystallized the various conflicting opinions of the past into one harmonious wdiole. For a decade preceding, and for nearly a score of years following the year 1818, when Lancaster took her place among her sister cities of the commonwealth, private and select schools, each with a special mission to perform, began to open up in all parts of this then intellectual center. It was during this year, that the writer's father, then a lad of ten, came with his kin to the old town which had now assumed the dignity of a city of considerable importance. Here he resided for a period of eighty-one years, until the time of his death in 1899. And a good old town it was, indeed, for any growing lad to live in, watching its development from a population of but a few thou- sand to the census mark of forty thousand. As to the curriculum of those days, one school in particular advertised the following branches of school work, namely, " needle-work, tambore work in shading in gold and silver ; EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 13 also filigree-work ; open work, plain sewing and sample work, with painting and drawing " — all appealing to the esthetic tastes and cultnrc of the times. This training was not with- out results. For the author in search after likenesses of those school directors most active in years gone b}', has discovered more than one artist to whom Lancaster can point with pride. Even now, on the walls of many of our residences may be found these charming mementoes, the work of Eicholtz and others, wdio, in their own handicraft had few superiors. Another of the leading schools of that day about which we have trustworthy information, was established by John Gib- bons, whose name first appeared in the newspapers at the be- ginning of the year 1804. He says he " arrived from Car- lisle, and proposes to open an academy in a few days for young ladies ; that he could be conversed with at Slaymaker's near the Court House." At a later date he advertised that his school would be opened at the stone house at the corner of East King and Church streets. A card in the Lancaster Journal of August 10, 1804, reads as follows: "The liberal subscriptions of the ladies and gentlemen of Lancaster bor- ough, for the laudable purpose of repairing the stone house, so as to render it a comfortable place for the accommodation of the several schools now taught in it, has induced the com- mittee to engage workmen, who have already commenced the work of repair and improvement. Should the citizens to whom the subscription has not been handed be disposed to afford like generous support, the whole of the lower story will be completely finished, the lot fenced, and other necessary buildings erected before the cold season commences." Now this " stone house "' was nothing more than a ramshackle Iniild- ing, as many of our older citizens may recall. And as there is no record of this venture, nor any mention of future gratui- tous subscriptions handed in, we may surmise that John Gib- bons had a hard road to travel, and that his school had a short existence. 14 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. In 1805, a number of new teachers appear on the scene. One of the first to announce himself was Alathias Stevenson, who advertised that he would open a school " at the house of Archibald M'Clenigan." William Armstrong' also opened a school, assisted by his wife, who gave instruction in all kinds of sewing — save that on the sewing machine. Again, John Husband, clerk of the English Court, taught at his house on Prince street. The " Young Ladies' Academy " was at this time in charge of the Rev. Mr. Latta. The academy which James Rose had opened in 1802 was now in charge of Thomas Poole, late from the French academy of Baltimore. In the fall of 1806, Mr. Cezeron, who had taught dancing for some time in the borough, advertised that he would open a French school at his home on South Queen street. It may be taken for granted, then, that the teaching of dancing and French were not considered incompatible. In 1808, J. Turbill opened a morning school for young ladies ; Robert Scott, a day school for boys ; John Hamilton, a night school on West King- street; Mrs. Ash, a childrens' school on South Queen street, nearly opposite the Friends' meeting house ; and Paul Boggs, from Ireland, " who came highly recommended," suc- ceeded to Mr. Stevenson's school, teaching Latin and Greek. In February, 1810, Samuel Bacon opened at Judge Yeates' house what he was pleased to term " The Lancaster Tyrocin- ium," a school in which he taught " everything from the A B C's to the dead languages." This school with its high- sounding title, is the only one which definitely advertised in- struction in the elementary branches. The term " tyrocinium," as applied to the school of " ye olden time," seems to have fallen into " innocuous desuetude " among the teachers of our day. In 181 7, Terrence M'Gingan opened a classical school in Franklin College. In the year following, a French and Eng- lish school was opened by Mr. and Mrs. Quinan, the latter DR. JOHN L. ATLEE. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 15 " educated from infancy in Paris." Two additional schools were opened in the year 1818: the first a French and English school ; the latter upon the Lancasterian ])lan, soon to engross the reader's attention. The teacher advertised that " children learning the rudiments will be taught upon this plan at three dollars and a half per quarter, if desired l)y their parents ; but no attempt will be made to teach those who are advanced by that system ; he " having made a sufficient number of experi- ments in the course of two years' teaching upon that plan, to satisfy himself that it cannot be extended with advantage to any but those learning the rudiments." In 1819, John Webb and Augustus M. Hay opened schools, and James Cox followed in 1820. Sarah H. Armstrong joined the ranks in 1 82 1, to be followed in the same year by Ashbel Steel. It would seem from the multiplicity of schools springing up in all parts of the old shire town that a new era had dawned upon the good people of Lancaster. These, with a large num- ber of others, were yet to con.e into existence before the birth of the common school system, and are hert in referred to not so much for any special interest they may awaken, as to show the educational status of Lancaster at that time. It will be noticed, however, that there was little of the present friendly intercourse between these professional workers. There was no feeling of " each for all and all for each." It would seem that each school was in its verv nature a ]M-ivatc affair, and self-preservation was the first thing to be considered. It is only natural to presume that they dift'ered little from the private and parochial schools of the present dav with each one striving to maiiUain its own position. In this connection, the large number of private schools of that period is suggestive of two additional reflections that must not be overlooked. In the first place, sufficient evidence has been adduced to show that Lancaster was a highlv culti- vated literary center for many years prior to the adoption 16 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. of the free school system. Indeed, there seems to have been no lack of opportunity for the education of the classes, if not the masses ; so that the generally prevailing idea that there was little culture among the people of Lancaster, is evidently a mistaken one. In the second place, however, the reader should bear in mind that, in spite of the number and variety of schools hitherto mentioned, there was not one free to the average boy or girl whose parents could not afford to pay for their educa- tion. They were all intended especially for the well-to-do, who could easily afford the expense of providing their children with the best educational training. The foregoing remarks, however, are in no way intended to reflect unfavorably upon the private and church schools, either those of a century ago or those of today : valuable as they were in the past, equally so are they at present. All institu- tions of learning which have a tendency to diffuse information, even though confined to the favored few, are useful, and worthy of our warmest regard. And yet, as the years roll on, it is only to be hoped that it cannot be said that the private schools have flourished because the common schools have failed to measure up to that high standard of excellence demanded by the community. That system, indeed, whose benevolent arms embrace the best interests of all, rich and poor alike, certainly should deserve the highest encomiums and the deepest esteem which a grateful people can bestow. Let this thought then, not be casually thrust aside as of little con- sequence ; for it is one worthy of the utmost importance to both director and teacher : that the public schools should never be compelled to meet the charge that they are not in all re- spects the equal, as least, of those established through private enterprise. That the author who has undertaken this task voluntarily is duly qualified, is not assumed. But if his limited knowledge and experience on this deeply interesting subject of cduca- DR. SAMUEL HUMES. EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 17 tion can throw any additional light on what has engrossed the attention of other writers, his object will be accomplished. The purpose of the author, it may here be said, shall not be that of a mere compiler of historical events, subordinating' his own individuality to what he may gather from the record l)ooks of the Lancaster School Board covering' a ])eriod of more than half a century. It is to be hoped that, as my story continues, the reader will enter intelligently into the author's feeling, for to pronounce judgment too readily upon the seemingly unimportant, would be to overlook the true intent and purpose of the work as a whole. It will be furthermore observed, before we have journeyed very far together, that the common school system is not to prove a panacea for all the ills common to the human family, although certain of its advocates were led so to regard it at the time of its adoption. As one of the early promoters ex- pressed it, " Establish the system on a sure and permanent foundation, and within half a century there will be no use for prisons and courts of justice." Little could this champion of equal educational facilities foresee that selfishness, pride, vanity, anger, resentment, cruelty and conceit, each with its attendant minor evils so firmly intervoven in our nature, were to be proportionately as great today as they were when our forefathers established the system within the boundaries of the Commonwealth. That our local educational ship of state, starting out under such trying and adverse conditions, had the confidence of the men who stood by its helm, who can doubt? Wise as they were in their generation, they little dreamed that there may be ardor without knowledge, action without deliberation ; and that even zeal after perfection may transcend the bounds of experience and prudence. It will be observed in due time, that the system had hardlv more than started on its onward career, when one enthusiast 3 18 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. proposed to abandon the older mode, to make way for the new, to knock down the landmarks of time and wisdom, and form them on an entirely new basis ; another advanced the con- clusion that high schools are unnecessary, even dangerous, be- cause in them an aristocratic spirit is cherished ; a third held that the Latin and Greek languages are useless, and that the modern tongue ought to take their place ; a fourth believed that every study should be of the utilitarian character, and that no kind of an education is useful, except the specific kind that teaches a boy to accumulate dollars and cents. Finally, as years ran on, there entered the Lancaster school board, men who could see but one half of the operation of the human mind, ready to force upon the schools new educational schemes simplv because they happened to fall in with their precon- ceived hopes and wishes. To what extent these various con- flicting opinions have been eliminated, may be gathered from the proceedings of the Board in due course of time. Whatever the judgment of the reader may be at my con- clusion of its history, the fact remains that nearly one thou- sand workmen, teachers and directors, have been engaged during these many years in adding the mass of their best thinking to the first frail outlines of our common school sys- tem. It may be asked, " What have the people received as the result of all this efifort and money expended on its uplift- ing?" We know that the answer will be, "Well done, good and faithful servants." CHRISTOPHER HAGER. CHAPTER II. THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. Governor AJiftlin Recommends General Education, 1790 — First Move Toward Free Schools, 1802 — Odium of Attendance on State Schools — Joseph Lancaster and his Methods — John Beck's Visit to Baltimore, in 1820 — •" Lancaster County Teachers' Lyceum " — Opening of Lancaster Public School — Dissatisfaction with Monitorial System — Commenda- tion of Grand Jury Appointed to Investigate the Lancasterian System. Reference having been made to the private and select schools of Lancaster that existed before the era of free schools, we are now to enter step by step into the causes which made the common schools a possibility. The condition of educa- tion in the borough of Lancaster about the year 1800 had its counterpart in other sections of the state, where the line of demarcation between the learned and the illiterate was even more pronounced. In the rural districts, especially, a wider difference prevailed than in the towns ; perhaps for the reason that in the cultivation of the soil, the all-important requisites were a strong arm and a willingness to pursue the labors of the farm. There were, of course, even among the tillers of the soil, men who regarded education as highly essential, but they were largely in the minority. In the first message of Governor Mifflin to the Legislature, as early as 1790, we find this thoughtful suggestion: "To multiply, regulate and strengthen the cause of education is, indeed, the duty, and must be the delight of every wise and virtuous government ; for the experience of America has evinced that knowledge, while it makes us sensible of our rights as men, enforces our obligations as members of society." Two years later, he urged the establishment of public schools by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, giving in his message 19 20 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. his views as to how, in liis jiid.q'mcnt, this most desirable pur- pose might be reached. But in 1802 we find the first move in the direction of a law for the education of the poor gratis. Two }'cars later, another act was passed as a substitute ; and in the year 1809, the following appears on the statute books of the state : " It shall be the duty of the Commissioners of the several counties within this Commonwealth, at the time of issuing precepts to assessors, annually to direct and require the assessors of each and every township, ward and district, to receive from the parents the names of all children between the ages of five and twelve years who reside therein, and whose parents are un- able to pay for their schooling ; and the Commissioners when they hold appeals, shall hear all persons who apply for ad- mission or alterations of names in said list, and make all such alterations as to them shall appear just, reasonable and agree- able to the true intent and meaning of this act ; that the assessors shall send a list of the names of the children to the teachers within his township, ward or district, whose duty it shall be to teach all such children as may come to their schools, in the same manner as other children are taught ; and each teacher shall keep a day-book, in which he shall enter the number of days each child entitled to the provisions of this act shall be taught ; and he shall enter in said book the amount of all stationery furnished for the use of such child, from which book he shall make out his account against the county, on oath or affirmation, agreeably to the usual rates of charging for tuition in said school, subject to the examina- tion and revision of the trustees of said school, where there are any ; but where there are no trustees, to three reputable subscribers to the school, which account, after being so ex- amined or revised, he shall present to the County Commis- sioners, who, if they approve thereof, shall draw their order on the county treasurer for the amount, which he is herebv THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 21 authorized and directed to pay out of any moneys in the treasury." This act, as will be observed, while in no way affecting the status of the denominational and select schools, was to be short-lived; for it compelled parents to make public records of their poverty — to pauperize themselves, so to speak, by sending their children to school with this invidious mark upon them. Another disagreeable feature of the law was, that it required teachers to make oath or affidavit of all such chil- dren too poor to pay for their own schooling, whereupon the County Commissioners were required to compensate the schoolmaster in charge. Under this pauper act, so much odium Avas attached to those who attended the schools, that many people preferred to keep their children at home in ignorance rather than suffer the humiliation to which they were subjected by those whose parents could afford the ex- pense of educating them privately. Comparing the conditions as we find them today with those which prevailed when the " pauper act " first went into effect, discriminating as it ap- peared to, in favor of the poor, may it not be accepted as the initial step among the masses fcr a broader and more com- prehensive system in wdiich all classes, rich and poor alike, should enter school upon terms of perfect equality? In so far at least, as the opportunity of securing an education at the public expense, is concerned? Too much importance cannot be attached to this feeling of " class distinction," which prevailed to some extent down to the very beginning of the free school system. The private schools during the early forties were still all-powerful, and those attending them only too frequently looked with disdain ujjon those com])elled, through necessity in many instances, to attend the " state schools." This is no imaginary picture, but one verified by the experience and observation of the boys and girls who actually attended the public schools of that early period. 22 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. In referring once more to the act of 1809, it may be said that not one of the Governors of the state, (hn-ing the time it remained in force, fek convinced that it was a fulfinment of the constitutional provision respecting education. While the act was general and applicable to all the districts of the state, there is no evidence that it ever went into effect in the bor- ough of Lancaster. In 1812, a supplement was passed, modi- fying the act of 1809 so far as it applied to the city and county of Philadelphia. This amendment was the forerunner of the act of 1818, which constituted Philadelphia the " First School District " of Pennsylvania, and provided for the education of the children of the city and county on the Lancasterian ])lan, at the public expense. In many respects it was but a slight improvement over the previous enactment which it sought to supersede. Yet it was a step in advance. Under its pro- visions, the " Lancasterian " system went into effect in Lan- caster in 1822, and which only four years before had assumed the proud distinction of a municipality, where the just and the unjust dwelt together in perfect harmony (with the ad- vantage generally in favor of the latter). As the " Lancasterian " system is to form the basis upon which my story is largely to rest, and in order that the name " Lancasterian " may in no way be associated with that of our own city or county, it may be said that it derived its name from one Joseph Lancaster, born in London in 1778. At the age of twenty, Joseph, who was a member of the Society of Friends, opened a school for poor children in a room in his father's house ; but this becoming too small, a more suitable building was erected afterwards, in which, under his management, as many as a thousand children were at times in attendance. As most of these were too poor to pay for their schooling and Mr. Lancaster himself was unable to employ assistants, he devised the plan of appointing some of his pupils " monitors " to instruct others. Thus it has been JOHN BAER. THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 23 said that tliis humble school tans^ht itself under the general supervision of a single master. This method might be likened unto the blind leading the blind ; but it had the advantage of reaching a large number of children. Behind it there was after all a certain force that carried conviction to thousands who stood ready to proclaim its author one of the greatest benefactors of his day and generation. Through his quick re- sults and showy methods, ]\Ir. Lancaster's success soon reached the ears of George III. This brought about an interview with the king and a liberal royal subscription to aid the benevolent work, which made his monitorial system known throughout the whole knigdom. It is well for us to observe the important fact — that at this time ignorance prevailed to an alarming extent among the people of England, Scotland and Ireland. The educator, then, who could teach the alphabet, if nothing more, to hundreds even more easily than a single child had been previously taught under the " single pupil plan," deserved to be held in high esteem. For his system, however, still greater advantages were claimed — that of educating the masses in all the branches of- the school curriculum. Indeed, in its revolutionizing effect, his invention may be likened unto that of the cotton gin : the one, however was dealing with the human intellect, the other with a common product of the earth. Joseph Lancaster soon left his school, to lecture on education throughout England, Scotland and Ireland, forming " Lancas- terian Societies," model schools and normal colleges. In 1820 he visited the L^nited States, receiving the endorsement of lead- ing educators in all the cities he visited. This may seem all the more remarkable in view of what is to follow, and proves conclusively that the most learned may be carried away on the popular w'ave of educational excitement. It was so in the olden times ; it is so today. Let a measure once receive the endorsement of public opinion, whether right or wrong in prin- 24 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. ciple, it will, at least for a time, maintain supremacy against the assaults of its most determined enemies. It was on the return of one of the members of the " Free School Society," from London where he had gone to observe the working's of this wonderful school, that the patriotic and progressive De Witt Clinton, at the opening of a " Free School " in New York, gave expression to the following : " I confess that I recognize in Lancaster a benefactor of the human race. I consider his system as creating a new era in educa- tion — a blessing sent down from heaven to redeem the poor and distressed of this world from the power and domain of ignorance." In his message as Governor in 1818, his words are equally emphatic : " Having participated," he says, " in the first establishment of the Lancasterian system in this country ; having carefully watched its progress and witnessed its benefits, I can confidently recommend it as an invaluable improvement, which, by its wonderful combination of economy in expense, and rapidity of instruction, has created a new era in education. The system operates with the same efficiency in education as labor-saving machinery does in the useful arts." Singular, indeed, must have been the views held by this champion of the Lancasterian system, to lead him to imagine that the human intellect, though capable of being moulded into almost any shape, could become permanently adjusted to a sys- tem of teaching whose only recommendation was its ability to combine economy of expense with rapidity of instruction. However, as this peculiar system was destined to play such an important part in the history of the schools of our com- munity after the year 1822, an opinion of Joseph Lancaster and his methods, by the late John l)eck, the well-known school- master of Lititz, may be not without interest to those, who, in years gone by, recognized his sterling worth as an educator. In his letter to his pupils at the end of fifty years' service as teacher, he had this to say of the inventor and exponent of THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 25 the " monitorial " system, that for a period of fifteen years thereafter was in operation in the Prince and Chestnut street building", then called the " I^ancasterian school." " After I had been a teacher a short time," he states, " I fre- quently felt a desire to have some communication with other teachers, in order to glean some experience from them ; but in this I was doomed to disappointment, for it actually appeared in those days as if each teacher viewed the other with a jealous eye, and as though no sociability could exist among them. I made frequent attempts to visit educational institutions, but always found myself an unwelcome visitor. Conventions and institutes had not been inaugurated as in the present era of sociability and free interchange. Let me give you an instance ; in the year 1820. the celebrated teacher, Joseph Lancaster came to this country from England, in order to introduce his methods, whereby he professed to instruct seven hundred chil- dren in a body in all the various branches to perfection. My desire to see him and his school was great. Accordingly I un- dertook a journey to Baltimore, where he was teaching at the time, to pay him a visit. I arrived there in the evening and could scarcely wait until morning, so great was my anxiety to see him and his school in operation. Hastening to the school as early as I thought proper, I encountered him at the door ; I grasped his hand most cordially, and introduced myself as a teacher, stating to him the object of my errand. His reply was, ' I am very sorry for thee ; I am not in the habit of ad- mitting teachers into my school.' Whereupon I endeavored to reason with him, telling him that I had heard and read much aljout him, had traveled a hundred miles to see him and his school, and that possibly he might make an exception in my case. Yet all to no purpose, for reiterating once more, ' I am sorry for thee,' he turned his back on me, and left the room." What greater disappointment could have befallen any man, 26 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. than that the enthusiastic John Beck was compelled to meet, after staging the entire distance from Lititz to the city of Baltimore ! But let us follow him as he throws the search- light over those early days of nearly a century ago. " In 1836," he continues his reminiscences, " a happier period com- menced to dawn, for it was then that sociability among the teachers may be said to have taken the place of prejudice and l)igotry, at least in Lancaster county. It was then that Joseph Holbrook called a convention of teachers and friends of educa- tion to meet on the i8th of August, at Westchester. I was the only one present from Lancaster county, and was chosen president thereof. It continued in session three days, and was truly a happy meeting, wherein nothing but kindness and good feeling prevailed. We separated, each pledging himself to establish teachers' associations in our own districts, with the purpose of developing greater fraternity. Lancaster County was my field of operations. On my return I w'as fortunate enough to enlist a Mr. Flood, then a teacher in Lancaster, in the cause ; and we called a meeting in the papers without our signatures, inviting all teachers and friends of education to meet in the city of Lancaster on a certain day. The attend- ance was not large, but all who appeared were of the right mind, and when I laid the subject before them, unanimously approved of it and a society was formed, called the " Lan- caster County Teachers' Lyceum," which thereafter met monthly, and from time to time increased in number. In order to extend its usefulness still further, and to enlist parents more seriously in the cause of education, I made it my duty to visit certain parts of the county and often addressed large audi- ences on the subject, both in English and German ; and some- times also delivered lectures on some interesting scientific sub- ject. I also made it my duty, as often as I could spare time, to visit the schools around Lititz, with a view of imparting my experience to the younger teachers. This work I continued until the Normal School at Millersville was established." THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 27 What a splendid tribute to the cause of education is this rendered by the venerable John Beck, the grandfather of the accomplished ex-assistant District Attorney of the United States. It throws a flood of light upon the conditions which shall be described more fully in the following pages. To describe the Lancasterian Act more fully, it may be said that it provided for the education of the poor children at the ]>ul)lic expense within the city of Lancaster and incorporated boroughs of the county only, which were to constitute " the Second School District," a previous enactment of the Legis- lature, having constituted Philadelphia the b^irst District. The local act further provided that " the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster county, at the regular term in April, and in the April term in each succeeding year, shall appoint twelve citi- zens residing within the city of Lancaster, which shall Ix' called the First Section of the Second School District." Lender the broad and liberal provisions of what was then known as the Lancasterian system, the directors were to have power " to erect school houses, appoint teachers, provide books for indigent children, and all other things necessary for main- taining and supporting the schools." It was further provided that they might " admit into the school all orphan children and children of indigent parents, to be supported at the public ex- pense as they think proper ; also to admit children whose par- ents or guardians are in circumstances to i)ay for their tuition cither in whole or in part; and the directors shall be at libertv to charge in each individual case any sum which might be agreed upon between the parties." It was further specified that the directors " were to draw from the county treasury the money necessary in erecting, establishing, and maintaining the schools within the first section of the second school district." The Court of Common Pleas, in pursuance of this act, ap- pointed as directors for Lancaster city. Christian Endress, AVilliam Augustus Muhlenberg. William Ashmeade, John 4 28 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Risdel, Adam Reigart, Casper Shaffner, Jr., Philip Benedict, George Musser, John Reynolds, Edward Coleman, George B. Porter, and Frederick Augustus Muhlenburg. On May 25, 1822, the directors advertised for " a lot of ground in the central part of the city, and conveniently adapted for the erection of a large and commodious building not less than thirty-two feet in front by seventy feet in depth, and which shall be so calculated as to admit light on both sides and in the front and rear without any possibility of obstruction by the erection of other contiguous buildings." On June 22, the directors advertised, " that having agreed upon a plan for the proposed building, they would receive pro- posals from builders " ; and on November 14, that they " would proceed to the election of teachers for the male and female de- partments." On January 21, 1823, the directors made their first report to the Court, in which they stated that " they had purchased a lot from William Kirkpatrick for $1,000; that proposals were re- ceived and a contract entered into for the erection of a build- ing with Alexander Miller of this city, who has undertaken to complete the same for the sum of four thousand five hundred dollars." The teachers had by this time been engaged, and on April 22, 1823, Christian Endress, president of the board, gave notice that " the public school of Lancaster would be formally opened on the following day at two o'clock with an appropriate address to the public, who are invited to attend." It is to be regretted that no account of this address has been preserved. There appeared, however, in the Lancaster IiifcIIii::;cnccr the following notice to the public : " The directors of the ist section of the 2nd school district of the state hereby give notice, that the duties of the Lan- casterian school under their direction, will begin in the new school l)uil(linG,- at the corner of Prince and Chestnut streets. THE LANCASTRRIAN SYSTEM. 29 on Tuesday the 24 day of April next. The Directors expect to receive scholars, not only from the indij^ent, but from all who wish to obtain for their children, a good, plain, English education, at a very moderate expense. To such the terms will be accommodating ; and the system of instruction to be pursued, it is confidently believed, will give entire satisfaction. " Parents and Guardians desirous of having children ad- mitted into the school must make application on Tuesda\' the 2^1 th inst. between 3 and 5 o'clock P. M., bringing their children with them." " By order of the Coard. WiLLiAJNi Augustus MuiiLENnEuo." In the second report submitted to the people through the Court on March 2, 1824, it was plainly to be seen that the school had not received that hearty support its promoters had anticipated. Aside from the deep prejudice the pauper feature had entailed, the purchase of a lot and the erection of a build- ing out of the funds of the County Treasury, was not looked upon by the taxpayers of the rural districts with favor. They were little disposed to bear the burden of being taxed for the education of the people of the city of Lancaster, compelled as they were to rely wholly upon themselves for the support of such schools as they might see fit to establish. ]\Iany of these schools, at that early day and down until a recent period, as the writer well recalls, were of the crudest kind, and scarcely fitted for school purposes. Among other things contained in the above-named report, the following appears : " In consequence of a late memorial to the Legislature complaining that the members of the Ger- man Lutheran, and Reformed congregations are not ' benefited, with the rest of their fellow citizens, by the Lancasterian school,' the directors feel called upon to state that the majority of their scholars, since the commencement of the institution, has always been the children of German Lutheran and German 30 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Reformed parents. At present the number of sueh is upward of one hundred and sixty. If any portion of the community has been benefited more than another by the operation of the pubhc school it is unquestionably the above-named congrega- tions." But in view of these numerous complaints and the dissatis- faction arising from the taxpayers of the county, a supple- ment to the act was passed March 24, 1824, " to provide more efifectually for the education of the poor gratis ; and for the laying the foundation of a general system of education through- out the Commonwealth." Section 8 of this act excepted the city and county of Philadelphia and the city of Lancaster from its provisions, wnth the proviso " that the directors of the first section of the Second District (Lancaster) were not to draw any orders upon the county for any sum or sums of money for the support of the public school established by the act of 1822 — but it shall be the duty of Select and Common Councils of the city to provide adequate funds for the support and main- tenance of said school, and the directors of the school for the time being shall have power to draw upon the city treasury, as they have now upon the county." Shortly after the passage of this supplement, the following appeared in the Lancaster Infcllii^citccr : " Notice is hereby given to all the teachers of all the schools within the city of Lancaster, to whose care any children may have been committed by the Commissioners of the county of Lancaster, that after the 17 day of March next the further education of all such children will not be paid for by the said County Commissioners. " Henry Carpenter, " Henry M. Reigart, "John Buchanan, " Coinniissioncrs of Lancaster County." THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 31 As there is nothing to show that Councils ever appropriated a dollar for the support of the Lancasterian school, it is difficult to determine how it was supported for the many years follow- ing. The last-named report showed among other items of ex- pense, one quarter salary of $150, paid to Rev. Alexander Varian, and $75.00 to Miss Ann Jameson. To add to the troubles with which this body of good Samaritans had to con- tend, the school later suffered loss in the death of Miss Jameson, assistant in the female department, compelling the directors to depend wholly upon j\Iiss Augusta Musscr. In the course of time the Lancasterian system showed its inadequacy. During the trying years the system was in opera- tion, frequent attempts were made to secure its repeal. It must not therefore be assumed that, while the system had its enemies, it was without staunch supporters — men who, while recognizing its weaknesses, were not willing to cast it aside until something better was offered by the lawmakers. On one occasion John L. Atlee and John Reynolds were authorized by the directors to appear before a Legislative committee at Harrisburg to prevent its overthrow. As the opponents had nothing better to offer than the discarded pauper act of 1809, which had been tried elsewhere and found wanting, it is not surprising that every effort should be resorted to by its de- fenders, consistent with the dignity of their position, to prevent its repeal. For, as they no doubt reasoned, " It is nuich easier to pull down one system than to build up another." On the other hand, it was argued, " that those who could afford to pay for their children's schooling were in no way dis- posed to question the principle upon wdiich the Lancasterian system was based." But the poorer classes, for whose educa- tion the county was compelled to pay, did not at all times agree with Clinton in looking upon this system as a " blessing sent down from Heaven." On December 6, 1825, the Grand Jury after visiting this 32 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. school, presented a report to the Court, in which they stated that " they had been somewhat disappointed in not finding it in that order they expected, and were of the opinion that much improvement might be made in conducting it." This naturally brought to its rescue the principal, Rev. Mr. Alexander Varian who, in a letter to the president of the Board of Directors, ex- pressed the opinion that " there never was a time since the establishment of the institution when he would have been more disposed than at present to invite a rigid and minute scrutiny of the svstem of instruction through all its branches." This led the directors to petition the court of which Hon. Walter I'^anklin was president, and Samuel Dale and John Lightner associate justices — " to appoint five, seven or nine intelligent and respectable men, not residents of the city of Lancaster, to examine the scholars and the improvement made by them since entering the school, and report thereon at the next session of your honorable court." In accordance with the memorial, the court appointed Rev. Joseph Barr, of Strasburg township ; Rev. William Bates, of Elizabethtown ; Rev. Francis A. Latta, of Drumore ; William Gibbon, of Leacock ; Gardner Furness, of Little Britain ; Wil- liam Heister, of New Holland; Colonel R. R. Heister, of Co- calico ; Jacob Rohrer, of Mt. Joy, and Jacob Clyde, of Columbia borough. While there seems to be no record of this com- mittee's finding, the grand jury reported very favorably on the condition of the school at a subsequent sitting. Eighty vears have rolled by since these nine distinguished citizens of the county entered upon the responsible task of a "rigid and minute scrutiny of this system of instruction through all its branches." Deep, indeed, must have been the feeling which moved the principal to ask for a committee of ex- aminers, not residents of the city of Lancaster. The only reasonable conclusion to be reached is, that this school had lost the confidence of the public of the city to a marked degree. THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 33 Af;ain, it is difficult to understand by what standard of com- parison the rating of this school was determined, in view of the fact that possibly not one of these distinguished gentlemen had hitherto been in any way familiar with the Lancasterian system of instruction. However, the fact that they were men of standing and character in their respective localities, was no doubt all-sufficient to render their report highly satisfactory to court and jury. Imagine how a similar committee's appoint- ment to examine the schools of this city at the i)resent time, would be received by the members of the Lancaster School Board ! And yet, may not the day come sooner or later, when a Legislative committee shall be appointed to determine whither the system in all the cities of the commonwealth is drifting? The author, however, is in no way disposed to an- ticipate the future. For nearly seventy years the common school system of Pennsylvania has fulfilled in a marked degree the purpose for which it was ordained. Whether it shall con- tinue to meet the demands of public opinion, in the future as it has in the past, rests largely with the people themselves. CHAPTER III. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. William Augustus Muhlenberg, D.D., and Founding of the Lancas- terian System — Lafayette's Visit to the Lancasterian Building— Amos Slaymaker's Reminiscences of Same — Maxims of the Early Days. During the fifteen-year period, from 1823 to 1838, when the Lancasterian system was merged into that of the free school system, to which the reader's attention will soon be directed, many changes occurred in its board of directors. Few of those appointed by the court in 1822 remained to participate in the great educational revolution of 1838. Three things need to be mentioned, however, in connection with the Lancasterian system, forming, as it must, the very foundation upon which the continuance of our story will rest. As one of the very few old landmarks the " Lancasterian School House " stands at the corner of Prince and Chestnut, rich in traditional lore — a constant reminder of those early days when the men already mentioned and others, gave the best years of their lives in launching our educational ship of State on the surging waters of a capricious public sentiment. The question may naturally arise how the Lancasterian sys- tem came to be established in Lancaster city. The story, aside from its historical significance, is none the less interesting from a local standpoint: In the year 1820, William Augustus Muhlenberg, D.D., who wrote that ever-to-be-remembered hymn, " I would not live alway," entered Lancaster as the Pastor of Saint James' Church. Born in Philadelphia, Sep- tember, 1796, he grew into manhood a Christian philanthropist as well as a fervent patriot and minister of the Gospel. After a time, he was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of 34 '/'^^ o^M- .il^yj/t^^^Ui^^e.^'^^ii^^^'^^''-^-^^ ■^ •'CJl(£jLf /0ta-f2^cj &^^Ct.^y<^^ is»-t /tcJ ,otcJ9 f:2i^^ //ni^**'' ^;<')(;«rZ^<^''»-<^Z^^''»»^<'-'<^*"^^^'^^^^^*^^^ t.JI^^'tJ^^^5tJ7^i:?^/2*--^ e e_e. -t>'-^ t«n^/C ■/' -^«:^ J. BARRETT KERFOOT'S ADDRESS TO LAFAYETTE. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 35 Philadelphia as one of the directors under the Lancasterian system of schools for said city. There he remained active in the discharge of his pastoral and pul)lic duties until called to officiate as Pastor of Saint James' in the year above mentioned. His biographer has only too truly said, " The christianizing of education when he entered Lancaster, was more than ever the one predonu'nant theme of his reveries, and he took pm'e delight in every step toward the fruition of his plans. His lively affection for the young, the talent he felt he possessed for interesting them, and above all, his appreciation of the influence of their training upon coming generations, combined with the public sentiment so strong within him, served to shed a lustre on those days of anticipation which brightened his horizon far and near.'' " With this public sentiment so strong within him," he quietly set himself to work and finally obtained the passage of a bill through the Legislature making Lancaster city and the bor- oughs of the county the Second School District. This nnich having been accomplished he was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas one of the twelve directors, and immediately interested himself in the erection of a building capable of seat- ing 600 children and costing something like $6,000. In addition, it may be said that, being a firm believer in the " monitorial system," he selected from the school a number of the more exemplary boys and girls to ce)mpose a class of monitors, who were to receive instruction by themselves. From this number, he took two of the boys to live with him under his own roof. They later became the first tutors in the Institute at Flushing, Long Island. As the names of William and Frederick Muhlenberg have been so closely associated with the early school system of Lancaster, a short sketch of the founder of the American family may not be out of place, in view of the services rendered the cause of education here and elsewhere. 36 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg had three sons. John Peter Gabriel took orders in both the Lutheran and English churches. It was he who at the outbreak of the Revolution threw off his gown in the pulpit, displaying a military uniform, read his commission as Colonel, and ordered the drums to beat for re- cruits. Frederick Augustus held high offices in the State, was a member of Congress, and first Speaker in the House of Representatives in Washington's administration. Henry Ernst was a Lutheran pastor. Frederick A., the second of the three brothers, had a son William, who was the father of the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, and a cousin of Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, M.D., the youngest child of Rev. Henry Ernst Muhlenberg, the grandfather of Dr. Henry E. Muhlenberg, who served as a school director during the early sixties ; also the great- grandfather of Paymaster J. C, and Henry Muhlenberg, practising physician in this city. Frederick Augustus was not only one of the twelve directors appointed by the court under the Lancasterian system, but continued as a director for many years under the free school system. It has been said that Lancaster city and the boroughs of the county constituted the second school district under the act of 1820: an item in the Intelligencer of this date conveys the in- formation that a petition of thirty signers was presented to the Court of Common Pleas, praying for the establishment of the system in the borough of Marietta. There is evidence that the borough of Columbia adopted the Lancasterian system along about the same time it went into eft'ect in this city. How long the act remained in force in these respective districts is difficult to determine, owing to the fact that the school boards' records of those early years are no longer in evidence. Out of the sixty-odd districts of the county, there is possibly not a single one outside of the school district of Lancaster city, that has preserved, in manuscript form, its monthly minutes. Except DR. FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 37 in a very few instances, the records, dating back a score of years only, have been thrust aside as of no particular value. This is all the more to be regretted when it is considered what a handsome addition each school board's minutes would make to the various school libraries of the county. The writer has searched in vain for the past records of a scIkjoI district here and there, 1)ut all to no purpose — a sad reminder of forget- fulness on the part of those entrusted with the management of the public schools in this as well as in other counties of the commonwealth. The second episode, a memorable one in the history of the Chestnut and Prince street school, and one which should ever be remembered by the rising generation, was General Lafay- ette's visit, on July 28, 1825, when he honored the teachers, directors and pupils of the Lancasterian school with his pres- ence. Of this event the following has been preserved : " About eleven o'clock the General visited the Lancasterian school. On getting out of his carriage he was received by the teachers (Mr. Varian and Miss Musser), and conducted into the female department where the children of both schools to the number of three hundred and thirty were assembled. The boys, arrayed in blue sashes were arranged on the right, each having been furnished with a bunch of laurels. The girls, dressed in white with pink sashes, each holding a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers, were seated on the left. A number of white banners bearing the revered names of Washington, Lafayette, and many of the most distinguished statesmen of Pennsylvania, among which Franklin and Penn are con- spicuous, were displayed by the children on each side of the room. The other seats were occupied by one hundred and thirty ladies. The windows were neatly decorated with festoons of evergreens. The east end of the room presented three splendid full-length transparencies — the Genius of Liberty standing on America, supported by Washington and Lafayette. 5 38 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. When the General reached the door of the apartment, all rising from their seats, greeted him by joining in the chorus — ' Hero, hail ! all hail to thee, Champion of our Liberty ! ' " LTpon the General's reaching the seat prepared for him on the platform, a small boy between nine and ten years of age delivered an address of his own composition (!) in which, after giving the general a cordial welcome in the name of his school- fellows, and recommending the cause of education generally, and the Lancasterian system particularly to his attention, he slightly adverted to the services the illustrious visitor had ren- dered the cause of our country, and concluded by wishing him a safe return to his native land. " When the youth concluded, the music struck up ' Lafay- ette's Welcome,' in the chorus of which the children and audi- ence joined with the utmost enthusiasm, the former waving their bunches of laurels and wild flowers (which imtil then had been concealed) in tune to the words: ' Huzza, huzza, huzza, to hail the nation's guest ! ' " The effect was magical. Many of the audience could not refrain from tears, while the good, philanthropic Lafayette a])- peared almost overcome by the intensity of his feelings. "He was then conducted around the room by the teachers and introduced to the ladies and gentlemen present. On his return to the platform he addressed the company, expressing great satisfaction, that a system of education at once so rational and equitable was gaining ground in this enlightened country. He observed that two of his grandchildren were now being educated in Paris in a school upon the Lancasterian plan where the languages and some of the higher branches of education were taught with the most promising results." And here, it may be said, that the boy mentioned above was none other than John Barrett Kerfoot, who, in after years be- GENERAL LAFAYETTE. AMOS SLAYMAKER. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 39 came President of Trinity College, and the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsljurg. The third i)oint : There is a living witness connecting the present with those memorable, by-gone days — who gives addi- tional interest to General Lafayette's visit to this city. " I recall it as distinctly as though an occurrence of yester- day," remarked the venerable Amos Slaymaker, wdio, as the records of the Lancaster school board show, is the oldest living ex-director, having been elected in 1852, and annually there- after for ten years. " It was during Lafayette's visit to this city in 1825," he continued as we strolled together in one of his periodical walks, " that he was the guest of my father. At the time I was in my seventh year. He grasped my hand ; a moment later I was resting upon his knee, where I sat for quite a time, as he conversed with father and a few friends who had gathered to pay him their respects. Although many years have come and gone, I have never forgotten his features. They are indelibly impressed upon the tablets of my memory." What a historic connecting link, binding together the child- hood of two centuries ! Long may the Major be spared to meet in his strolls the many who call him friend. Respecting moral and religious training, apart from the purely secular, as given from time to time in this school, the author has discovered a variety of " school cards " and " charts," designed as " Aids in Moral Training," the purpose of which was " to render efficient aid to the instructors ; en- couragement to intellectual development of the moral character of the pupil, and to win the cooperation of parents and guardians." In many instances, plain pine boards, twelve by twenty inches, were hung upon the walls, upon which were printed, " Lessons adapted to the Lancasterian system of teach- ing," designated more particularly " scriptural reading lesson." Among the "Characteristics to be Cultivated," were, "Good Scholars Will Be Amiable, Afifectionate, Attentive, Benevolent, 40 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Conscientious, Consistent, Disinterested, Frank, Filial, Forgiv- ing, Grateful, (icncrous. Humane, Honorable, Humble, In- genuous, Industrious, Modest, Mannerly, Obedient, Punctual, Patient, Self-Denying, Sincere, Studious." In a corresponding column directly oposite were, " Characteristics not to be Cul- tivated — Unamiable, Malicious, Heedless, Covetous, Unscrupu- lous, Capricious, Selfish, Intriguing, Disobedient, Revengeful, Unthankful, Parsimonious, Arrogant, Unskilful, Slothful, Im- pudent, Disrespectful, Obstinate, Dilatory, Fretful, Intempe- rate, Thoughtless." Among the efifects of the late John Zimmerman, the writer was rewarded in finding a small leather-l)()und volume, con- taining " sentiments and regulations " adopted by the members of the school, " for nnitual improvement anutler managed to lose his leg. " It happened in this way, if the old schoolmaster's stories are to be relied on," we are told by another who is recalling his own early experi- ences in this school. " ' When a young man fresh from the University of Dublin,' the old man related, between lessons. ' I ran away from home, embarking on a sailing vessel bound for the Indian ocean. We hadn't gone far beyond the temperate waters of the Atlantic, when my left limb was caught in the loop of a hawser, snapping it off' above the knee like a pipe stem. The sailor boys, how- 88 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. (f ever, on my recovery, soon worked out a wooden one from a dismantled jib-pole; and after wrapping it with several layers of raw-hide, to protect it from the rays of a tropical sun, at- tached it to the end of that portion of the upper limb still re- maining. " ' All things went well for a time, until I fell into a fever, which reduced me almost to a skeleton. The only part of me not showing the effects of the fever was my protected wooden leg. But the worst befel us when we were shipwrecked on one of the Fcjee islands, inhabited by a tribe of man-eaters, who soon made short work of the Irish Captain, sailors and the few stranded passengers. " ' One by one, as I recall,' continued Billy, in his inimitable way, as the boys gathered round him with intense curiosity, ' the others were " done up "' in true cannibal style. At last, being the only one left, I began to congratulate myself that, owing to my emaciated condition I was to escape the horrible fate meted out to the others. " ' Having by this time learned a little of their language, I told them as best I could that I was in no condition to be served up ; that in poor me there would be nothing to make merry over ; that having only recently gone through a malig- nant form of fever, as my appearance indicated, a further delay might result in making me more palatable. This seemed to appease their hunger at least for a time, with the under- standing that I should receive the best the island afforded ; and which, I must confess, improved my physical condition, in spite of my efforts to avoid it. " ' Another month passed, when one fine morning I was summoned into their midst with the sword of Damocles hang- ing over my head. Recalling my former condition, I begged for a stay of execution, arguing that I was still in no fit con- dition to be made a sacrifice to their benighted customs. To make my argument all the more convincing, I further reminded MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 89 them of the effects of the fever, and how, in time, if I was partaken of in the usual way, the whole island might become depopulated. As a last extremity, I agreed to hand the head conspirator of the gang a good-size slice of Poor Me, with the understanding that if it proved as palatable as had the young Irish Captain I would bow submissively to the inevitable. To this, after another powwow, they reluctantly consented. Asking to be permitted to seek the seclusion of the island, where I might alone offer up a prayer for my many sins of omission and commission, I sliced oft" a goodlv portion of one of my limbs, and handing it to the head chief, shortly after, asked him to taste it, and then pass it round among his hungry tribe. From one to another it went the rounds, each showing his disgust with a shake of the head. At last, as good luck would have it, the old chief turned to me and said in language which I have since translated into English, " You are the worst speci- men of Caucasian I have ever undertaken to masticate." x-Xnd now, my lads,' he'd add, as he resumed explaining a knotty problem in the double rule of three, ' as long as I re- mained on the island, and until rescued by a passing merchant vessel, I always managed to keep my wooden leg securely hidden within the inner lining of my trousers. Yes, boys,' giving his pedal extremity a peculiar twist, to make sure it was still in the right place, ' it was the thickness of that raw- hide that did the business.' " Aside from this story, wdiich no one is expected to believe, we would recall that in those primitive times wdien the rod was the law, as handed down from the time of Solomon, and a good story w^as a soothing balm, a lad returning home showing the welts of severity upon him, was either given a similar course of treatment, or dismissed with the admonition, that a little more of the same kind of medicine was quite as wholesome for the physical nature as a dose of calomel jalap from the town 90 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. doctor for a sick headache or other infirmity superinduced by over-work on the playground of the school, perhaps. But why dilate longer on the " professional secrets " of these old-time schoolmasters, many of whom, with all their short- comings, were in their day not to be disdained. They had their failings, of course. All men have. But beneath their rugged exterior there was a warmth of heart, and a mellowness at times, which won the love and devotion of their pupils. Possibly a little more of the old schoolmaster's sternness of character and discipline might not be amiss for the lad of today who allows kind words to pass into one ear and out the other, before he has crossed the threshold of the schoolroom. " Kind words kindly spoken," is the touchstone of our modern school- room philosophy. It is all very well in a way ; and yet, too much soothing syrup, even as a home remedy, isn't at all times conducive to health, strength and a vigorous manhood. In favor of the rod for all the pranks of a boy's nature? De- cidedly, no ! Occasionally ? Yes ; but never administered under the impulse of passion, revenge, or as an everyday diet. However, it is time to bring this chapter to a close, as I am drawing dangerously near the rapids. At the same time, too, I am reminded that there are yet hun- dreds of the author's former school boys ready to conjure up all kinds of schoolroom episodes, told and retold by them until they verily l)elieve they have some foundation in fact. But after all, what a fine lot of boys were they who attended the South Duke Street Grammar School from sixty-five to sixty- eight ! Bo}s then ; middle-aged men now. Many have passed over the river of time : those who remain are drifting home- ward, and soon they too will follow in the wake of their com- panions. We meet them occasionally on the streets of the city, but no longer the smooth-faced, curly-haired lads of days gone by. Since the commencement of this volume, a number of letters have reached the author, from the boys who attended MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 91 school on the " Hill," during the middle sixties — sweet re- minders of happier moments. And yet, withal, if time has brought in its train one compensatitMi for the years spent in the South Duke street school room, it is the gratification gleaned from a pleasant smile, or a tip of the hat from one and all, who, while they may still recall a tap on the hand or a whack on the back, manifest only the kindlest feeling for their school- master of forty years ago. There is still one other side of the picture to be drawn, as I sit with the sun low-descending through a cluster of green foliage, on this lovely autumn evening: few, indeed, of the " Hill " boys have I ever seen go wrong. On the contrary, out of the hundreds who have entered upon the busy drama of life, not a few fill exalted positions of trust and responsibility, the great majority having grown in wisdom and character — the result of the school and of good home training. Does it pay to become a teacher? For the moral uplift, yes. But in dollars and cents, no ! There is, however, a compensa- tion ; it may not come early in life, but come it surely will, in the reflection of having added one's mite to the sum of human achievement ; in being able to feel that he or she has accom- plished something, however small, in the education of the rising generation. Let the average teacher, then, not grow weary of his or her years of labor ; for in the quietude of the home circle or far beyond your reach, your name may be mentioned by some school urchin of years before in a way you may never have thought possible. It is characteristic of boys as it is of girls to speak well of their teachers. Indeed, nothing is more gratifying than to sit and listen to the stories of men and women as memory carries them back to their school days. It is said that distance lends enchantment to a view ; it surely adds the gentle note of forgiveness and affection to a boy's life in after years when, forgetful of the wrongs he may have suf- fered, he recalls only the bright moments of his school days. 92 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. So, farewell, my lads of other days, and may your declining years be as peaceful and happy as the days of your youth in the Hill school. The Hill school ! What fond recollections of other days cluster around it, for one, who, fifty years or more ago, as a lad in his teens, sat upon the improvised benches, learning his A B C"s ; then, a score of years later, a teacher in this same school ! Ah, the young teacher had the best of it then ; but the boys, men now, can discount the " old man " ten to one, as he occasionally meets them in the vigor of their middle-aged manhood, clustered together in little groups, the absolute own- ers of the world in which they move and have their being. Then, for the Hill boys, we can only say, go it while you can, but go it slow; yet, forget not to store up for the years to come a few sparks of vitality, that may serve you when you reach your three score years and ten. CHAPTER VII. RULES AND REGULATIONS. First Day's Opening — President Samuel F. Dale's Announcement — Prof. Gad Day and his Corps of Instructors — Rev. J. T. Marshall Davie Reports on Rules and Regulations — Text Books and Course of Study^ Committee in Search of Suitable School Buildings — The Millerite Scare of 1844. In the closing" part of the previous chapter, in which the atithor indtilged himself in a few personal reminiscences, he naturally drifted somewhat from the trend of his story. So that now after looking" at the early struggle through the eyes of the prominent men who figured in its development, it is necessary, in order to complete the historical picture, to look upon these early days through the keyhole of events and records of the people at large. It is Monday, the third of September 1838; a thousand hand bills scattered through the town point the way to the school building at the corner of Prince and Chestnut, where Professor Gad Day and his corps of instructors stand ready to welcome the young and happy hearts as they enter upon their first day's duties. Arm in arm, the distinguished body of directors press forward to witness the opening exercises of this the first day's session of the schools of Lancaster under the free school system. No sound of the motorman's gong is heard to disturb the motley crowd gathered around the old court house, engaged in discussing the ftiture possibilities the newer order of events has brought in its train. " Truly," says one deeply impressed with the importance of the occasion, " the old order changeth, yielding place to the new, and God fulfils himself in many ways." Others, thinking only of " increased taxation," shake their heads in a pessimistic way, wondering what is to become 10 93 94 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. of the old town, anyway, with more education already than can even be utilized to advantage. " But we must be moving," says another of a more optimistic turn, " for the hour of the exercises to begin has already arrived." Passing up North Queen street with its numerous one-story buildings, they reach the rickety " station," into which comes puffing the advance guard of a newer civilization — one of the first locomotives to pass through the town, scarcely larger than a steam road-roller of the present day. In these respective types, the steam engine on the one hand and the new school system on the other, we behold the two most powerful agencies the world has ever known — destined in the years to come to revolutionize the habits, customs and traditions of this staid old town, making it really a " Greater Lancaster." Reaching the sul^stantial brick structure, possibly the largest and handsomest in the city, the crowds gradually wind in. In a circle sit the twenty-five directors, deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion. A moment later all eyes are cen- tered on the speaker, President Dale, as he rises in his place to recount the success which has thus far marked the entry of the system into the old shire town. And as old and young bend their heads forward, intent on catching every word, the glorious news falls upon their ears, that over seven Jumdred children had already applied for admission — more than double the number under the former system during the previous year. It is late in the evening, the low-descending sun has already taken itself to rest over the hill, on which a little more than a decade thereafter was to stand Franklin and Marshall College, when the last of the afternoon exercises draws to a close. As young and old pass on their way homeward bound, no gas nor electric light illumine the path over which the nuiltitude is mov- ing. In imagination we follow the throng. We look in vain for the evening paper containing an account of the proceedings. No messenger-boy is on hand to carry the news on his bicycle ; RULES AND REGULATIONS. 95 no aut()iiu)l)ile to conve\- the worthy president to his unpreten- tious home; no troHey-ear to take the crowd to Rocky Springs, no " Lady Gay " to ply the waters of the historic Conestoga ; no Hoiue for Friendless Chikh'en ; no Young Mens' or Young Womens' Christian Association ; no Lancaster County His- torical Society; no Clio or Iris Cluh ; no Patriotic Daughters of the Revolution ; no Board of Health ; no Soldiers' Monu- ment in Penn Square ; no Woolworth Roof Garden ; no Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ; no Road Drivers' Roadway Association ; no Henry G. Long Asylum or Park ; no x'Xnti-Expectorating ordinance ; no Government Post Office building; no handsome market houses or beautiful church edi- fices, with the exception of " Old Trinity," and no advocates for a Greater Lancaster. Ah, no ; for this is Lancaster of " ye olden time,"' with a population scarcely equalling the number of voters seventy years later. Dear reader, this is but a pen picture of the days of slow industrial development, when the men who held the destiny of the town in the hollow of their hands sat basking in the sun- shine of contentment in front of their stores by day, or, while the watchman called out the hours by night, dreamed perhaps of the awful havoc a bursted water pipe was to create, flooding the town as it surely would when the pumps at the water sta- tion were properly set in motion. But with all our twentieth-century conveniences then un- known, there were other compensating blessings surrounding the peaceful inhabitants of Lancaster, which the forty-odd thousand of our present-day population can little appreciate. Lancaster, of all the cities of the Commonwealth, was a literary center of the first magnitude at the time of which we write, and later. Here, and in the country embraced within the jurisdiction of the county was born, or resided, General Hand, the friend and companion of Washington ; General Henry Miller, of Revolutionary fame; Col. Samuel Atlee ; General 96 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Andrew Porter ; George Ross ; William Barton, who designed the great seal of the LTnited States ; John Beck, the great teacher ; Judge Jasj^er Yeates ; Edwin Shippen ; David Ramsey, the historian; Alexander Lowrey; Thomas Wharton; Lindley Murray, the grammarian ; Robert Fulton, the inventor, and others of no less note. Numerous and historic are the incidents which happened in the old town of Lancaster, during and prior to Revolutionary times. In 1777 Congress sat for a brief time in the old court house, and from December, 1779, till 1812 Lancaster was the capital of the state. During the changeful, exciting days of the Revolution, besides General Washington, many distin- guished American and British officers were in the borough of Lancaster. All of which bears testimony to the greatness of this inland town in days gone by. As may be further said, those were the days when an education was sought for its in- trinsic value, and the pleasure afforded in its pursuit ; while now, for its practical " business success," in assuming position in an " age of commercialism," where the almighty dollar is too constantly the first consideration of old and young. The system had been in operation not quite two weeks, when at a special meeting of the board, the Rev. Mr. Davie, from the committee on books, rules and regulations for the govern- ment of the schools (all in operation within the Lancasterian building) made the following report, which was adopted : "Primary Dc[>avtuiciit — The children in these schools shall be divided into two grades, and instructed as follows : First Grade — Alphabet-cards, Emerson's Primer, Butler's Grada- tions. Emerson's Second-Class Reader and Testament. Second Grade — Writing, Spelling, Reading, Sewing, Arithmetic, par- ticularly the Tables, the Elements of Geography : Books to be used — Emerson's Spelling Book, Emerson's Fourth Class Reader, Emerson's Arithmetic, Parley's Geography and Testa- ment. RULES AND REGULATIONS. 97 "Secondary Dcparfiiiciit. — A knowledge of the branches tanght in the Primary Department is indispensable for admis- sion into the Secondary Department. Scholars in this Depart- ment shall be instructed in Spelling, Reading, Writing, Gram- mar, Geography, connected with Maps; Arithmetic, History and the use of Globes : Books to be used in this grade — Cobb's and Walker's Spellers, Emerson's Higher Class Reader, Smith's Grammar, Emerson's Second Arithmetic, Onley's Geography, Frost's History of the United States, History of Pennsylvania, Testament or Bible. " Upper Room — Higher Departuient — The scholars in this Department shall be instructed in Defining, Reading, Writing, Grammar, with Exegetical exercises; Geography, History, Arith- metic, Algebra, Composition, Rhetoric, Map-drawing and the use of the Globes, Elements of Natural Philosophy, the Bible. In addition to the above, the boys in this Department shall be instructed in Book-keeping, Declamation, Mensuration, Blair's Trigonometry, with application to surveying. Books to be used — Cobb's and Walker's Spellers, Murray's Grammar, Emerson's Third Arithmetic, Worcester's Geography, Col- burn's Algebra, Titler's History, Blair's Rhetoric, Gummer's Surveying, Conversation on Natural Philosophy. A knowl- edge of the branches taught in the lower room of this Depart- ment," concludes the report, " is indespensable for admission into the upper room." The curriculum of studies, with the names of the books to be used at the opening of the schools of September, 1838, is no doubt sufficient to startle those who, during recent years, have labored under the mistaken idea that the men who established our local system of schools were unalterably opposed to higlrer education. Possibly no more radical departure from the old system to the new has since taken place in the history of the Lancaster schools. Out of chaos came a sys'temafic course of instruction. It was a revolution ratTier than an evolution — a 98 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. little " top-heavy," yet, withal, it establishes the fact that the end and aim of our early directorship was to carry the average boy and girl from the lowest primary to the highest grade com- mensurate with their ability to master the various subjects of the school curriculum. The course of study having been agreed upon, with still others of a higher order to follow in due course of time, Mr. Davie presented the following " General Rules and Regula- tions " for the common schools of this city : '' First, The instructors in all the schools under the care of this Board, shall be elected by a majority of members on the First Wednesday in July of each year. The teachers elected shall enter upon their respective duties on the First Monday in September following. The preferment of instructors shall be predicated only on their literary and moral merit and prac- tical skill. "Second, As all the instructors derive their authority from this Board, they shall be equally respected and obeyed by the pupils. The principal teachers being more immediately re- sponsible for the good order and improvement of the schools, shall hold priority of rank ; and their directions, in relation to the general course of instruction and all the other internal regulations of the schools, shall be followed by the assistant teachers. In case of unfaithfulness in- office, representation in writing signed by the complainant, shall be handed to the President of this Board to be laid before it at the next meeting. " Thiyd, The teachers shall not at any time (unless from un- avoidable circumstances) absent themselves during school hours without permission from some one of the visiting com- mittee. "Fourth, The instructors shall be punctual in their attend- ance at the hours appointed for the opening of the schools, and shall require like punctuality from the scholars. Strict regard shall be paid to the hours for dismissing the schools, and no RULES AND REGULATIONS. 99 scholar shall be allowed to depart before the same, except at the request of a parent or guardian expressed in writing or in cases authorized l)y the Uoard. During school hours instruc- tors shall faith full\- devote themselves to the business of in- struction. "Fifth, The time of opening the schools shall be at 9 o'clock and close at 5 'clock in the aftern(3on. " Sixth, The instructors shall keep a book in which they shall note the conduct, application, improvement and general char- acter and habits of each of the scholars, so as to enable the committee of the Board at their visitations to form an adequate idea of the state of the schools. " Seventh, If the conduct of any child be such as to render it necessary that it should be separated from the school, the teacher shall immediately give notice of the same in writing to the parent or guardian of the child and the visiting, com- mittee, and said child shall be excluded from the school. If the parent is dissatisfied, an appeal may be had to the Board. " Eighth, It shall be the duty of the teachers to prevent as far as possible any abuse or waste of the public property (such as cutting of desks, defacing the walls, etc.) respectively com- mitted to their charge. And in case of loss or injury being done, they are required to give immediate information to the visiting committee. " Ninth, It shall be the duty of instructors to maintain a good understanding among themselves. Should any differences arise, it must be immediately submitted to the visiting com- mittee, for their decision (a right of appeal to the Board in all cases being reserved). And as the Board considers harmony of purpose and friendly feeling amongst the teachers as indis- pensable to progress, improvement and moral culture of the pupils, no instructor will be retained in the service of the Board, who shall manifest a disposition averse to such social and friendly intercourse with the other teachers as the duties of the schools may require. L.ofC. 100 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. " Tenth, Three months' notice in writing shall be given by either party (before the expiration of the time for which he has been elected) the Board of directors or teachers, to discon- tinue their relation as instructors of common schools : except when a teacher shall intentionally violate any of the regulations of this Board, whereupon he shall be dismissed from office." In addition to the foregoing general rules and regulations, the following "Rules of the Schools" were ordered to be placed in each school : "First, The schools shall be opened in the morning of each day with reading a portion of the Scriptures and dismissing by singing if found practicable. "Second, No scholar shall be placed on the roll of any school until a ticket of admission is delivered to the teacher by order of the visiting committee; but a teacher may permit a scholar to attend school until t^^e next meeting of the committee, but not after without a ticket. "When the name of the scholar is enrolled, it shall be the understanding that the said pupil is to remain connected with the school for at least three months; and not be unnecessarily detained by parents or guardian. " Third, Whenever it is ascertained that the regular attend- ance of any scholar shall interfere with the plan of instruction or retard the progress of his or her class, although the ab- sences may not bring the pupil within the provisions of the fourth article, the teacher shall inform the parent or guardian of such scholar that unless a change takes place he will be put into a lower class and, if persevered in after such notice, the teacher shall recommend to the visiting committee his or her transfer to a lower grade. "Fourth, If a scholar shall be absent from any of the schools without permission of the Board for two weeks out of four, except in cases of sickness, it shall be the duty of the teacher to notify the parent or guardian of the fact and report the same to the visiting committee, who shall erase the name of such RULES AND REGULATIONS. 101 pupil from the roll of the school and report the case to the l'>oard at the next meeting. Such pupil cannot be admitted into the school except on application being made anew and he or she submitting to an examination. "Fifth, No transfer shall be made of scholars from one school to another except at the clos.- of each session — at which time there shall be an examination of .ill the schools. " Sixth, It shall be the duty of scholars to cultivate kindness and sincerity toward each other, reverence for the institutions of our Country, love of social order and obedience to the laws of our Commonwealth, regard for the name of God, abhorrence of idleness and profaneness, of falsehood, inhumanity and in- temperance. " Scz'Ciith, There shall be a vacation commencing on Christ- mas day and ending on the second day of January ; another commencing on the last Monday in July and ending on the last Monday in August ; also on the 4th of July and on Wash- ington's Birthday. There shall be no exercises in any of the schools on the afternoon of Saturday or on Friday preceding the Easter Sabbath. "Eighth, The schools shall be visited at least once in two weeks, by committees from this Board whose duty it shall be to report in writing at the next meeting of the Board. "Ninth, That when parents of children are represented to be too poor to furnish books, the parents shall satisfy the visiting committee of that fact before they are furnished books l)y this Board." While many of the foregoing rules and regulations are in some respects unique in their phraseology, they covered the ground at least for a time ; and although revised and enlarged many times over during the past three fourths of a century, they remain substantially the same at the present day. With these minor obstacles removed and the system moving in its onward course with some degree of regularity, it need 102 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. not be inferred that no further difficulties were to be en- countered. Scarcely a month had rolled by after the opening of the schools when the board was confronted by obstacles of a most perplexing nature. The number of children had increased so rapidly in the Prince and Chestnut street building as to make the securing of additional rooms a prime necessity. As the treasury was empty, the only alternative to a refusal to accept additional pupils was the resort to another " town meet- ing." The law, however, for the levying and collecting of taxes, even under a favorable vote of the people, was crude and difficult to understand. All the available real estate, if such it may be called, was the Lancasterian building, valued by the board at about five thousand dollars. This soon became the bone of contention. Effort after effort was made to dis- pose of it, the purpose being to utilize the proceeds in the erec- tion of less pretentious buildings. Funds being at the time scarce, and as the city stood in sore need of more school-houses, this plan appealed with force to the thrifty community ; for, as has heretofore been said, the state appropriation did not reach the school board's treasury until two year's later. The records show that before the first school year had ter- minated the property committee was sent out in search of suit- able quarters in the four sections of the city, only to report that their labors had met with little encouragement, property-holders being averse to the location of school-houses in their immediate neighborhood. The price of eligible sites also took an upward tendency — a lesson property-holders have since learned to ap- preciate in the disposal of their own holdings. If, during the first years, the board was economically dis- posed, preferring as necessity required to rent the school-house of the Moravian congregation, the room of the German Re- formed church, the Episcopal school room, the Presbyterian Ses- sion house, the room of the Lutheran congregation, and others, the time at last came when the erection of a series of school RULES AND REGULATIONS. 103 buildings adapted to the growing wants of the city became a prime necessity. In view of this fact, plans and specifications were prepared, no donljt, under the direction of Thomas H. Bur- rowes ; and in 1841 a lot of ground at the corner of Duke and German was purchased from V. B. Palmer for $1,050. Here, the same year, three double houses were erected, by Joshua W. Jack, at a cost of $3,914. To cover the loss in contracting, a bill for extras was sent to the Property Committee, and by them submitted to the board, to be promptly tabled. These were the first public school-houses ever built in the city of Lancaster. Three years later, in 1844, two additional houses of the same style of architecture were built on the same plot. To pay for these and others in contemplation, a petition was presented to the Legislature for an act authorizing the P>oard to borrow $6,000. Following the construction of these five Duke street build- ings, two houses were built on Mulberry near Orange at a total cost of $2,109. Li 1846 the board purchased from Josiah Shufilebottom a lot of ground in the West ward for $450, on which a double house was built, at a cost of $2,571. The year following another house was erected on the same plot, costing $1,605. During 1848 a lot on West Vine street was purchased from Miss Yeates for $300, on which two double houses were built at a cost of $3,027. In 185 1 two building lots, one on Sherman, near East Orange, the other on West Chestnut, were purchased for $550 and $445, respectively, on which four houses were built in 1852, at a total cost of $4,198. Again in the same year two double buildings were erected at the corner of Lime and Lemon for $3,274. Later in the year another house was built on West Chestnut at a cost of $1,136. It will thus be seen, more as a matter of historical reference than from any special interest to the rising generation, who can scarcely recall these " old-timers " even from the engraving herein represented, that from 1841 to 1855 seventeen of these 104 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. one-story structures were erected, costing something over $25,000. Of these temples of learning, with their white co- lonial columns, not a single one remains to tell the story of the trials and difficulties with which the directors had to contend. Though no one has regretted their replacement by others of more commodious and artistic style, can they fairly be desig- nated " cattle sheds? " Well, indeed, did they serve their pur- pose, sending from within their walls the men who have erected in their place the modern buildings which now beautify the streets of our city. " Do you recognize from the photograph the old school buildings that once upon a time stood at the corner of Duke and German ? " I asked an elderly gentleman in one of my strolls in search of anything of interest relating to these former buildings. "Do I recall them? Yes, indeed; but what is more to the point, I was employed in the erection of the two nearest Ger- man ; and was sent to Columbia to purchase the wooden col- umns that are so plainly visible in the picture. But this is the least interesting part of what I have to relate, if you are not too much in a hurry. " It was along in the year 1844, if I remember, and during the time of the Millerite scare that certain things happened that created more commotion in the old town than had ever occurred before or since. You see," he went on, glancing up at the flag perched on the stafif of the Woolworth building, " for months before the last two houses were started, a good many of the believers in William Miller, ' the Prophet,' were opposed to their erection, declaring that the school board was simply throwing away the taxpayers' money ; that as the world was coming to an end, anyway, on a certain day, there wouldn't be any children left to occupy them. Yes, and bless you," he went on, with a twinkle of the eye, " one of the firm believers in the Millerite faith was a prominent member of the Lancaster School Board. RULES AND REGULATIONS. 105 "As the day approached for the ascension," he resumed, leaning- first on one foot, then on the other, " this misguided old gentlemen had the white robes for himself and family al- ready prepared. From an elevated platform in his back yard, free from the overhanging shrubbery he had arranged to take his flight on hearing the first peal of Gabriel's trumpet that was to call the ' faithful ' to take a last farewell of all their earthly possessions. "Yes, you may well smile at the absurdity of the episode; but notwithstanding, the faith manifested by not a few of our older citizens in the coming dissolution of all things terrestrial had taken such a firm hold upon their distorted minds as to preclude all possibility of doubt. Argument, persuasion, ridi- cule — all these were of no avail. Men, and even women, met together in secluded nooks to discuss the style of their gar- ments, the safest place to deposit their " all in all." in case of a mistake in the date set for the upward journey, the relative distance they might have to travel, the actual time required in the ascent, and whether they were to be met by St. Peter with a smile or a frown, in addition to such other matters of a spiritual nature as were to redound to their everlasting hap- piness. " As I further recall," he went on, leaning against one of the electric light poles to maintain his equilibrium, " T was working on the roof of the end house of the Duke street row, late in the afternoon of the day of the contemplated ascension, driving a nail in a shingle here and there, when lo ! the heavens suddenly became over-clouded ; a pall hung over the entire city, shutting- out every vestige of sunlight. Everywhere Egyptian darkness prevailed. Soon the shingles began to fly; then one after an- other the rafters followed, caught up by a gust of wind, almost convincing me that they too had been among the specially ordained for the upward journey, but landing, as we later dis- covered, in the open space where the caramel factory now stands." 106 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. " And you missed the golden opportunity to join the celestial throng, your presence would seem to indicate ? " came my part- ing salute, with a tip of the hat, as he held the pole with a firmer grip to prevent his utter collapse. '* One word more, my old friend," came his exclamation, grasping my arm ; " the main facts as I have given them are substantially correct ; and I have only to add that, as I crawled out of the wreck, I imagined myself a Lancaster city millionaire, resting under the firm belief that I was the only living being left in the old town. I was not long in learning, however, as I reached the court house in Center Square that all the county officials as well as the Court and members of the bar were still doing business at the old stand. What eventually became of the white robes and other paraphernalia has never been defi- nitely ascertained. This much, however, I can say, that the two school-houses were finished according to contract ; and in them in after years the boys and girls were taught the folly of such superstitions." CHAPTER VIII. WAYS AND MEANS. Report of the Committee of Ways and Means — John Mathiot, the Third President — Robert Moderwell, the Fourth President — John Zim- merman, the Third Secretary — An Episode in his Life — Peter M'Conomy, the Third Treasurer — Death of Andrew Jackson — George M. Steinman, the Fifth President — The Know-Notliing Party. The system had been in operation not quite two years when the year 1840 opened ; and as the condition of the board's finances is to be set forth at the beginning' of each incoming decade, it may be well to note the amount of available revenue at their disposal on the first of May of this year. The popula- tion of the city as nearly as can be computed was something less than eight thousand. It was at the May meeting of 1840 that the Committee of Ways and Means of which A. L. Hayes was chairman, made the following report : " The committee appointed by the Board of Directors to in- quire into the ways and means of supporting the common schools of the city of Lancaster for the ensuing year, now report, that the district composed of the city, received from the state, incltiding tindrawn balances of former years, six thoti- sand five hundred and forty-four dollars and eighty-three cents ($6,544.83). And the tax authorized to be levied, being $3,251.25, which it is believed, after all delinquencies and the collector's percentage — amounting probably to $500 — are de- ducted, will leave $2,751.25, making the receipts $9,296.08. Of this item three thousand dollars have been invested in the city loan at an interest of 6 per cent. The expenses of the coming year, commencing on the first of June are estimated according to the present establishment, as follows : Salaries of teachers, 107 108 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. $5,125.00; additional compensation for tuition, $100.00; rent, $345.00; fuel, taking care of school rooms, cleaning them, making fires and other incidental expenses, $630.00, or a total of $6,200.00. Besides compensation for the services of the Secretary and Treasurer, the amount of which, under the act of Assembly has not been fixed — leaves the ordinary means of defraying these expenses as follows : State Appropriation — one dollar for each taxable inhabitant of the city — the number of such being 1767 — will be $1,767.00; the authorized maximum of tax $2,751.25 ; interest on loan invested, one year six months, $270.00; balance in hands of treasurer, $334.88, or a total in- come of, $5,123.13. Deducting this from $6,200.00, exhibits a deficit of $1,076.87. " It will be perceived that the committee have excluded from their calculation the three thousand dollars invested in city loan, introducing only the accruing interest. This they have done, because they think it expedient that the said sum should be reserved and set apart for the purpose of erecting school build- ings for the common schools, as soon as it may be practicable and can be done with advantage. The deficiency of the or- dinary means is more than a thousand dollars, without in- cluding in the amount of expenses the Secretary's and Treas- urer's salaries ; and the committee submit to the Board of Directors the propriety and expediency of calling a meeting of the taxable inhabitants of the city to decide by ballot whether an additional sum shall not be assessed and collected for the purpose of supplying that deficiency. The personal property in Lancaster liable to be taxed according to the act of March 25, 1 83 1, was not touched by the school tax of the present year, from the want of an assessment. It amounts to $837,316.00, and bears a proportion of more than eight to sixteen, or one half of the real estate assessed. To the mass of taxable inhab- itants the additional tax would bring no increase of burden ; on the contrary, as the taxable personal property will be called WAYS AND MEANS. 109 in aid of the real, in the ensuing year, the burden on the latter will be diminished, even if additional tax should be authorized, which, on the former, which ought to have contributed to the present year, the ordinary and additional tax for the next year will be less by 50 per cent., than the amount of the ordinary tax alone would have been for the two years." On motion, it was resolved that "a town meeting- of the taxable inhal)itants of this district be called to decide by ballot whether an additional sum of $1,200 shall be raised for school purposes for the ensuing year." It is stated in the above report that the personal property for the year 1840 was $837,316.00, which bore a relation of more than eight to sixteen, or one half of the real estate assessed, which is presumjilive evidence that the real estate value for school purposes in this year was not less than $1,674,632.00. It will also be noticed as a matter of future reference that the large appropriation of $6,544.83, which fell into the treasury, was but the pro-rata share of accumulations to which Lancaster city was entitled from the Commonwealth as a residt of its acceptance of the provisions of the act of 1834 and 1836. It was a long time in coming, Init when it came in a lumj) sum to replenish a famishing treasury, it was like a ray of sunshine to the school board's drooping spirits. In placing $3,000 of the above amount at interest to be used later in the building of school houses, the committee's recommendation, concurretl in by the board, was in strict compliance with the spirit if not the letter of the law, as set forth in the Governor's suggestions to the Legislature. Few of the directors of that early day could realize that fully forty years were to roll by before another appropriation of equal amount was to fall into the hands of the school board's treasury. If, for many years thereafter the amount received from the commonwealth bore no relation to the first appropria- tion of something over $6,000, there were men in the school 11 110 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. board like Robert Morris of Revolutionary fame, wbo stood ever ready to render such financial assistance as the depleted treasury at time demanded. Among these none were more lib- erally disposed than were George Musser, Louis Jungerich and Peter M'Conomy, whose purse-strings were ever open when the ready cash was wanting to pay the teachers and to provide for any other deficiency at the close of each month. It is well that the reader should not be forgetful of the fact that the con- ditions through which we are now passing are altogether dif- ferent from what wc shall find them a third of a century hence. Instead of the school board of this city receiving less than two thousand from the state for the support of its schools, as it received in this year, 1840, the amount, sixty years hence, or in 1900, will have reached nearly $30,000. And yet, to the credit of the Lancaster School Board be it said, that through evil and good repute, there never has been a time since the system was first adopted in this city that the teachers have failed to receive their regular monthly salary. To gO' a-borrowing for a few hundred dollars can scarcely be appreciated by those who have lately assumed the duty of director. As stated in a previous chapter, Samuel F. Dale was the second President of the Lancaster School Board. Strictly speaking, he was the first presiding officer, for Adam Reigart, the first to be chosen, declined the honor, owing to advancing years. " Judge Dale," as he was familiarly known, served in this capacity until May 10, 1839. We must now turn to his successor, John Mathiot, who became the Third President of the board, holding said office until the time of his death, Jan- uary 28, 1843. This distinguished citizen, whose pleasing countenance may be seen among many others, was born in this city in 1786. In the year 181 8, when Lancaster assumed the dignity of a municipality, he was elected sheriff of Lancaster county. After his term of ofifice expired he opened a " scrivener's office." JOHN MATHIOT. WAYS AND MEANS. Ill Later he was elected alderman, serving- in said position until 183 1, when he was elected mayor by city councils, being elected annually for eleven years. It may be said that of the twenty- two chief magistrates of our city, from 1818 to the present time, ten were members of the school board at different times. A still greater percentage of the presidents of select and com- mon councils served in a similar capacity. The cause for this will appear as my story continues. Having entered the board in 1838, John Mathiot was one of its most energetic workers ; and when he finished his earthly pilgrimage, a special meeting was called January 23, 1843, to make arrangements for his funeral. It was at this meeting that the versatile secretary, John W. Forney, proposed the fol- lowing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : " Rcsoli'cd, That the members of this Board have heard with unfeigned regret of the death of John Mathiot, esq., mayor of the city, and president of this board ; and that we consider the loss of such a man, so esteemed for his virtues and so valuable for his public spirit and official integrity, a public calamity. "Resolved, That we sincerely condole with the afflicted family of the deceased in this dispensation of Divine Provi- dence. " Resok'ed, That we will wear the usual badge of mourning on the left arm for thirty days." (A custom observed by the members of the board up to the breaking out of the war.) It was this same brilliant writer, then editor of the Iiifelli- geneer, who wrote an obituary through the editorial columns, in which, after paying a high tribute to the memory of the deceased, were printed the resolutions of respect adopted by city councils, the school board and by the Lancaster bar. This latter meeting was presided over by Hon. A. L. Hayes and the resolutions of condolence passed were framed by William Jen- 112 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. kins, John R. Montgomery, Reah Frazer, George Ford and S. Humes Porter. Mr. Mathiot's funeral took place January 24, 1843, and was largely attended by the city and county officials, the bench and the bar, the clergy and the beneficiary societies generally. It is well that the memory of such a man as John Mathiot should not be entirel}" forgotten — one of the manv who left their im- press deep and lasting on the tablets of our school and city government. Leaving the life of John Alathiot as an example worthy of imitation by the rising generation, whose eyes may, perchance, fall upon these pages during some quiet moment, their attention is now directed to his successor, Robert Moderwell who fol- lowed as the Fourth President of the schopl board of this city. Mr. Moderwell made his first appearance in the board in 1 84 1, at which time he became ex-officio member by virtue of being president of select council. On October 12, 1842, he was chosen president pro-tcin. of the board (in place of Presi- dent Mathiot, who was still in ill-health), which position he continued to hold until January 22, 1843, when he was made permanent chairman. This office he held for three years, until May 19. 1846. Many improvements were made in the schools during Mr. Moderwell "s incumbency in office. It was the first era of school-house building and much tinic and close attention were required, as the records clearly show. The Female High school, which had been in the IMechanics' Institute on South Queen street, was removed to the middle building near the corner of Duke and German. Not a few of our older citizens will recall the octagonally-shaped " summer house " which for some years stood in the center of the large play-ground in the rear of these old-timers. The lot when first purchased for school purposes was an extensive one, reaching westward from Duke to Christian, and northward from German to Washing- ROBERT MODERWELL. WAYS AND MEANS. 113 ton street. During later years a portion of it was disposed of for $i,ooo, $800 of wliich was used in the purehase of the Presbyterian Session house, at the corner of Cherry and Grant. Around this old stone structure, long since removed, hang many fond memories, which may he awakened before my story draws to a close. Sad as it may seem, it was only the day before his sudden and unexpected ending of a bus\- life, that our old school-boy friend, the late Jacob Halbach, sat with the writer in his office, recalling many a little episode of his earlier school- boy days in this prison-like building. On the second of July, 1843. ^^^e board adopted the first cor- porate seal, of the usual pattern and about one and one-half inches in diameter. In order that there might be no dispute over its authenticity, the following resolution was ofifered by John F. Steinnian, and adopted : " Rcsoh'cd, 'Jdiat the seal procured by the secretary, be adopted by this Hoard; the said seal having the following around its margin, to wit: ' Seal of the Directors of Common Schools of the City of Lancaster ' ; and in the center, the front representation of the middle school house, and part of the two adjoining ones on either side." That this resolution was carried out, an impression of said seal on a page of the first minute book, as well as on numerous legal documents, clearly indicates. It was during f-iobert JModerwell's term of office that the colored school became the cause of much anxietv, the greatest difficulty being experienced in keeping it open. The sudden falling-ofl: in the number of its pupils, while the white schools were overcrowded, is difficult to account for, when it is con- sidered that at the September meeting of 1838 one Henry James sent a petition to the board, setting forth " that there were fifty-eight colored children ready to attend school as soon as suitable quarters were made for their accommodation." Without knowing the exact number of colored children en- 114 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. rolled at the present day, it is evident their number has not materially increased during the past sixty-seven years. At the meeting of January ii, 1844, President Moderwell made his first animal report to the board, which is herein repro- duced, showing as it does, the school board's financial status at the time it was presented : " A warrant for the collection of school tax for the year 1845 amounting to $6,030.50, has been delivered to William Lowry the collector, who has given his bond for $12,000, with David A. Donnelly and David Nauman as securities. " Louis C. Jungerich has given his bond for $15,000, with F. J. Kramph and B. F. Sturgis as securities for the faithful performance of his office as treasurer, both of which bonds are herewith handed over to the board. " A certificate of the assessment of the school tax for 1845 has this day been forwarded by mail to Charles M'Clure Super- intendent of the common schools, Harrisburg, together with the report of the directors, for the school year ending on the first Monday in Jwnc 1844, which is as follows: " Whole number of schools 2t, — one colored. Average num- ber of months taught, eleven ; number of male teachers, six ; number of female teachers, seventeen. Average salaries of males per month, $31.59 ; of females per month, $15.54. Num- ber of male scholars, 731 ; number of female scholars, 698; total of both sexes, 1,429. Average number of scholars in each school, 62. Cost of teaching scholars per month, 42 cents, calculating from the total expenditure of the schools. Receipts. From State Appropriation $2,030.00 " district tax and other sources 5,842.79 Total receipts $7,872.79 JOHN W. FORNEY. WAYS AND MEANS. 115 EXPENDITVRES. Cost of instructiuii $4,791.62 Fuel and contingencies 1,156.4,3 Rent and repairs 1,53^.74 $7,480.79 Leaving an vnicxi)en(led balance of $ 392.00 Signed, Ruuekt Mouerwell. INIr. Moderwell tendered his resignation as president on the eighteenth of April, 1845, bttt the memhers refused to accept it, wherettpon he was tinanimonsly reelected for another year. In Febrttary of the year following his term of ofiice expired as ex-officio member, and president of select cotnicil. Turning to the proceedings of the school board of 1841, we find a vacancy in the secretaryship, occasioned by the resigna- tion of John W. Forney, who, it will be recalled, was elected secretary May 10, 1839, ^^ the sttccessor of John K. Findlay. At this meeting, we find John Zimmerman elected as the Third Secretary. For a term of fifteen years Mr. Zimmerman held the ofiice, discharging his duties in a most creditable manner. As one of the early directors under the Lancasterian system, and later tnider the free school movement of 1838, he was not one of the court's appointees, but became a director by virtue of being president of select council. When he resigned the secretaryship in 1856 to accept the office of mayor, to which he had been elected, he tendered his resignation in the following comnumication : " Gciitlciiicii: called by my fellow citizens to serve them in a different capacity, which vacates the seat I now hold in yottr body — but which yet makes me c.v-oflicio a member — involves the necessity of my ceasing to act as your secretary. In tender- ing my resignation I beg leave to acknowledge your kindness and partiality in continuing me so long in that position. Having had the honor of being a member from the organization of the common schools in 1838, and successively elected ever since, I 116 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. shall have much pleasure in my new position to meet and coop- erate with you as heretofore, and to assist as far as in my power toward the improvement and progress of the cause of education in our midst. " Very respectfully "John Zimmerman." The following- resolution was unanimously adopted : " Rcsoli'cd, That the resignation be accepted and entered on the minutes ; and that this Board congratulate him on his pro- motion ; and that we bear willing testimony to the faithfulness with which he has served them for so many years, and to the zeal and efficiency of his labors to the cause of common schools." To the few men yet living who knew John Zimmerman well and intimately during his connection with the schools of this city, the following sketch may serve to recall old-time remin- iscences. To those who knew hiiu not, the good honest face depicted in the accompanying engraving may serve to remind them that he was one of the men who gave their best energies to preserve and nourish the precarious life of a system born among deep and bitter prejudices. John Zimmerman was born March 22, 1789, in West Hemp- field township. He was a member of city councils when in 1837 the Conestoga water (very muddy water, no doubt) was con- veyed through pipes into the very heart of the city, thus throw- ing out of use many of the " old town pumps," he was chairman of the water committee. In 1846 he was elected city treasurer, and reelected annually thereafter until he succeeded to the mayorality in 1856, serving in said capacity until 1857, when he was succeeded by Thomas H. Burrowes. It was during Governor Johnson's administration that a little episode occurred, in which, but for promptness of action on the part of Mr. Zimmerman, might have resulted in the loss JOHN ZIMMERMAN. WAYS AND MEANS. 117 of a life's reputation. A list of defaulters was issued from the auditor general's office, among which, to the suri)rise of Mr. Zimmerman and his friends, was his name for $2,200 state tax not accounted for. As soon as Mr. Zimmerman's eyes fell upon the notice, he hastened to Harrisburg with his vouchers, and not only convinced the auditor general that he was not a defaulter, but on the other hand, according to the auditor's own books, the state owed him $700. In reality, it owed him nothing — the mistake in both instances being the result of faulty book-keeping in the auditor general's office. From his early youth Mr. Zimmerman was passionately fond of flowers and took great delight in their cultivation. He is said to have been the only florist in Lancaster to successfully cultivate the camellia, a beautiful flowering evergreen shrub, a native of China and Japan. The writer can well recall his floral garden in the rear of his late pleasant home, 147 North Queen street. Plain and unassuming, of considerable culture, John Zimmerman, with cheery word and pleasant smile for all, ended his days among the trailing vines and blooming i^lants he had cared for so tenderly. Turning to the minutes of 1845, "^^'^ ^'i*^ that on May 13, a vacancy occurred in the office of treasurer, Louis C. Jungerich declining a reelection, whereupon Peter M'Conomy was elected by acclamation, as the Third Treasurer of the Lancaster School Board. Mr. M'Conomy was one (^f the twelve directors elected in 1838, remaining a member until his death in January 1877. Thirty-nine years is his record of service, during thirty-four of which he held the office of treasurer, a longer period than can be claimed by any other member, either for membership or official duty. During the first six years he received an annual salary of $50.00; in 1851 it was increased to $75.00, and in 1854 it was further increased to $125.00 — a sum that would hardly have justified him, if he had been there, in contributing 12 118 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. to the annual banquet, given only a few years ago to the board by the secretary and treasurer. Peter M'Conomy was born on East King street, near Ship- pen, on March 30, 1804. He received a fair education in one of the numerous private schools of that day. As a youth he was apprenticed to the shoemaking trade of his father, Neal M'Conomy. Of his long life as a respected merchant, and a man of strict integrity, his record as a school director speaks in clearest tones. One of the most notable events of this decade was the meet- ing of the board in extra session on June 23 of this year 1845, to pay tribute to the memory of General Andrew Jackson, late President of the United States. The resolution passed at this meeting and copied into the minute book, with deep black lines surrounding the margin, reads as follows : " Whereas, An invitation has been extended to the Board of Common Schools to unite with the other public authorities in the funeral services of General Andrew Jackson, and a desire to testify our sense of the loss the Nation has sustained in his death, we cordially accept the invitation to join in the funeral procession on Thursday next." The following account appeared in a newspaper of that day : " It was the most eventful occasion Lancaster has ever seen, all places of business being closed, with young and old joining the ranks of the marching columns. Everywhere were quoted those inspiring words, spoken by ' Old Hickory ' at a Jefifer- sonian dinner, ' Our Federal Union, it must be preserved.' " On February 17, 1846, George M. Steinman was elected to succeed Robert Moderwell, and became the Fifth President of the board. Mr. Moderwell, however, while out of the board for a time, was reelected in 1856, and served until his death in 1859. George M. Steinman was born on the eleventh of July 181 5, and died April 15, 1884. He was the son of the venerable PETER M'CONOMY. GEORGE M. STEINMAN. WAYS AND MEANS. 119 John F. Steinnian, near whose pleasing features his may be seen on the accompanying pages. As the father always deserves mention before the son, a few words of a general character concerning John Frederick Stein- man may not be inappropriate at this point. For two years father and son sat side by side in the board, a coincidence that has had its counterpart in but two other instances — that of John L. Atlee and his son William Augustus, and Frederick Augustus and his son Dr. Henry E. Muhlenberg — elected from different wards, however. In more than one respect the elder Steinman was a man of many remarkable traits of character. On attaining his majority he succeeded to his father's business, which he developed to large proportions. The firm name has had its " standing " for more than a century. As a school director he was never known to shirk a duty. In 1842 Col. George M. Steinman entered the board, and in 1846 was elected president, holding his position continuously for nine years. This length of service has been exceeded by only one other presiding officer during a space of sixty-seven years. In addition to this, he was for eleven years a member of select council, and for eight years was its president. We are again anticipating when we tell of an event which occurred during Mr. Steinman's presidency that may be said to have marked the beginning of what during later }ears turned the Lancaster School Board into anything but a har- monious body of directors. " The American, or Know-Noth- ing party as they were called [we quote from the late J. M. Johnston's sketches written for the Infclligcnccr] organized a lodge in this city in 1854. Up to this time there had never been any party nominations for school directors, and the vote cast for the same seldom reached a hundred, but in the election held in May of this year, the Know-Xothings quietly went to the poles and cast nearly seven hundred votes, electing three 120 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. of their number and defeating three of the regularly nominated candidates. The year following the democrats turned the tables on their enemies, defeating two of the three Know- Nothing nominees. The result of the first election was a sur- prise to the members of the board, into whose councils the political factor had never before entered. On the fifth of October following the election, Mr. Steinman tendered his resignation as president of the board, and as a member, as did also Alexander H. Hood and Thomas H. IJurrowes as members of said body. A committee, however, was appointed to induce them to reconsider their action, which they did at the next meeting. Mr. Steinman, while declining the presidency, served out his unexpired term, was reelected in 1856 and served until 1862, when, after a continuous service of twenty years, he declined a reelection." CHAPTER IX. OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. Ownership of the Laiicasterian Building — Excitement over the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's Creed and the Ten Commandments — Early Infant Schools — The Bihle as a Text Book — Establishment of the Mechanics' Library — Old Mechanics' Hall — Industries of Old Lancaster. As considerable doitl^t has existed among members of the Lancaster School Hoard and others, as to the legal status of the Lancasterian bnilding, many believing its owners are the Ham- ilton heirs, others still adhering to the opinion that it is the property of the School District of this city, a few facts gath- ered from the school board's proceedings may throw some light upon the debated question. The first discussion over the ownership of this building occurred at the meeting of December 9, 1845, when a committee was appointed " to examine the title, confer with the County Commissioners with reference to the same, and to report the result of their investigation to the board at the followmg meet- ing." While there is no record of this committee's report, at the January meeting of 1846 ]\Ir. Burrowes read a petition and a draft of an act to the Legislature for the sale of the Lan- casterian school house and lot of ground. It was therefore, "" Resolved, That the board now proceed to sign a petition to the Legislature, granting the Commissioners of the county power to sell the Lancasterian school house and lot of ground, said petition not to be forwarded to the LegislattU'e, unless a clause be inserted in the proposed law, empowering this board to fix the minimum price at which such property shall be dis- posed of." On motion it was further, " Resolved, That the messenger be requested to procure the signatures of the absent members to the petition." 121 122 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. At the March meeting of this year it was " Resolved, That the Finance committee confer with the com- missioners in relation to the law recently passed by the Legisla- ture authorizing the sale of the public school house in the West ward ; that they ascertain the relative advantages result- ing from said sale and the erection of a new building, and re- port either at the next stated meeting or sooner if they see it expedient." At the April meeting following it was '' Resolved, That Messrs. Steinman, Zahm and Gillespie be a committee to fix the minimum price at which the North West- ern school house shall be sold, and inform the County Com- missioners thereof." On motion it was " Resolved, That the same committee be authorized in case of the sale of the North West school house, to select a suitable site for the erection of a new school house and report the price of the same, with the probable cost of erecting said build- ing, at the next stated meeting of the IJoard." At the meeting of December, 1846, the Rev. Mr. Bowman presented the report of the Superintending Committee in rela- tion to the female schools of the West ward, with the follow- ing resolution to wit : " Resolved, That the building known as the Lancasterian school house be disposed of (the County Commissioners concur- ring) as soon as practicable, and on the best terms that can be procured." On motion it was further '' Resolved, That the President be authorized to receive bids, and receive proposals for the Lancasterian school house and lot — bids to close on the i8th of January, 1847." OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 123 At the monthly meeting ensuing Mr. Zahm presented the petition of the American Engine and Hose Company " for tlie use of a piece of ground, for the purpose of building an Engine and Hose House, on the same, on the school lot corner of Prince and Chestnut," which was read and laid on the table. Whereupon, Mr. Kiefifer stated " that he had been authorized to offer $3,750 for the West Ward school house and lot." This oft'er was refused and $4,000 fixed as the lowest cash price. At the meeting of March following, a motion was moved, seconded and adopted, " that an adjourned meeting be held at the West ward school house on the following Saturday at 2 p. m., to consider what alterations are necessary to better adapt the building for school purposes." At the April meeting it was '■ Rcsoh'cd, That the sale of the West ward school house and lot of ground be indefinitely postponed." The vote on this resolution was, yeas : Messrs. Atlee, Champneys, Carpenter, Gerber, Gillespie, Humes, M'Conomy, Weaver, Zahm, Zimmerman and Steinman. Nays : Messrs. Bowman, Cassidy, Keenan and Stevens. It was thereupon agreed that certain alterations should be made in accordance with plans of the Finance Committee. The contract for the same was awarded to John Sehner, with the proviso, that the alterations were not to exceed one hundred dollars. The writer has searched the records in the court house for some data relating to this building, but without success. From the foregoing extracts from the minutes, it would seem that the ownership of the Lancasterian school house lay jointly be- tween the city and the county of Lancaster. Although the County Commissioners appropriated the money for its con- struction, it may be said to be under the control of the Lan- caster City School Board to be used for school purposes. As has been previously said, it was handed down as a legacy from 124 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. the old system to the new, and not until it is proposed to dis- pose of it for other than school purposes will its ownership ever be questioned. From all the data obtainable, it is evident that the lot about this time extended from Prince eastward to Market. The minutes of the board show that a plot sixteen feet square was leased to Lesher and Schncr at an annual ground-rent of six- teen dollars, whereon to build an office — the same to be removed after one year at the instance of the Board. It is more than likely that this office-building", if ever erected, stood on the corner of Chestnut and Market. But why should any member of the Lancaster School Board ever think of disposing of this old landmark? Since 1823 it has stood as the last link between the present and the past. It may not be as handsome as many of our modern buildings, but around it hang sweet memories of other days. Joined with its early history are inextricably woven the names of the twenty- five first directors, and last, though not least — that of Lafayette. In the name of the old trees which surround it, may it not be said, " These are still the abodes of gladness ; the thick woof of green and waving branches is alive and musical with birds, and the place has always given warm protection to the brave hearts and innocent hands that have gamboled around our parent stems." In leaving the early history of this much-abused school build- ing, over which the Lancaster School Board wrangled for two long weary years, what more pleasing diversion for old and young than to dwell for a moment upon the names, the per- sonalities of the instructors of half a century ago. Of the eighty or more who taught for a time from 1838 to the close of 1849, ^s given in the appendix, all but a very few have passed away. Their familiar names and faces are now to be re- called only by an occasional one- who yet dwells among us in the silvery halo of a ripe old age. Should this strike a tender chord OWNERS! II I' OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 125 in the heart of a Hvin^- relative here or there, amply well re- paid shall the author feel for the lahor involved in leathering- the names from the first minute hook of the hoard's proceedings. Equally pleasing; must it be for still others to glance over the names of the nearly one hundred directors who served on the Lancaster School Board during this same eventful decade of years, some to remain for a year, others for a longer period, and a very few, if any, down to the later seventies. In the list to be found elsewhere, incomplete as it may be, are set forth the names of the twenty-five pioneers, who, with a conscientious regard for a future " Greater Lancaster " laid the foundation of our local system of schools. On May i6, 1848, an event occurred in the Lancaster School Board, carrying with a peculiar sadness. At this meeting, the Rev. Samuel Bowman and Messrs. Keyes, Mooney and L^rie sent in their resignations to take immediate efifect. As no rea- son for their with^. " There are seventeen primary schools including one African ; eight Grammar or Secondary, and two High. Of the 1,837 pupils on the roll of all the schools, 1,514 is the number in the average attendance, showing 18 out of 100, or 9 out of 50, as the proportion of absence. This proportion, however, is greater in the lower than in the higher schools. NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 159 " The whole luimher on the rolls of all the primary schools is 1,079; 'I'l*^! the average is 866; and the proportion of ahsence, 20 out of 100. The whole number in Grammar schools is 414; the average attendance 346, and the proportion of absence, is 16 out of 100. The number of High schools is two; the at- tendance 212; the average 189, and the proportitjn of absence is II out of 100. The number of seats in the night school is 132 ; and the proportion of absence, 15 out of 100. The average age of pupils in this interesting school is 16 years and 10 months. " The branches taught and course of instruction are as fol- lows : Pupils enter the primary schools and remain until they are good readers and spellers: have learned the tables and the four fundamental rules of arithmetic ; and have made good progress in writing on paper. They are then transferred to the grammar schools of the ward, where they study geography, English grammar, the history of the United States ; the whole of common arithmetic ; and are exercised in writing and com- position ; also some commence algebra. " In the high schools they receive geography, grammar and arithmetic ; and are regularly exercised in composition and declamation ; pursue the study of general history, and algebra, with the higher branches of mathematics, book-keeping and surveying; and study Latin and Greek, German or French, as their parents may direct. A regular course of instruction by means of lectures with apparatus will also be commenced in a few days in chemistry, natural philosophy, astronomy, geology and physiology. " This course of instruction, hereafter intended to be as thorough as far as it proceeds, will occupy each pupil about ten years, if he or she passes through the whole seven schools that constitute the series for each sex in each ward. One year in each of the four primary schools, wnll place pupils who com- mence the course at six years of age, in the grammar grade at 160 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. ten ; three years' instruction in the grammar schools will fit them at 13 for the high schools ; and at the end of a three years' course in these, they ought at sixteen to be well pre- pared for any of the ordinary avocations of life, or if males, for entrance into the junior class of the most respectable college in the land. " The contrast between the cost of our common school edu- cation, and that heretofore here and now elsewhere obtained in wJiat are called select or pay schools, presents one of the most cheering features of the system. " The cost per quarter of the lowest A B C pay schools is $2.50, or $10 per annum ; $5 per quarter or $20 per annum in grammar schools ; and $10 per quarter or $40 per annum in what are called classical academies and the higher female semi- naries, without boarding. " The following would be the cost, at the present rates of educating 1,705 pupils (exclusive of 132 in the night schools) who are now in the various city common schools : " 1079 ill Primary schools, at $10 pr. an $10,790 414 in Grammar schools, at $20 pr. an 8,280 212 in High schools, at $40 pr. an 8480 Total cost $27,550 '* Cost of educating the saiue number in the common schools, including $1,080 interest on cost of lots, houses, etc., but ex- clusive of cost of night schools, $10,523.28. Difference in favor of common schools, $17,026.72. " But this vast saving of nearly two thirds of the aggregate cost of education is among the least important fruits of the sys- tem. When it is borne in mind not only that the kind of in- struction imparted is equal to that given in any institution we have ever had, and superior to most, for one third the cost, but that the common or free school system actually brings within the reach of this improved degree of culture at least three of our youth for every one who was thus reached before, the NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 161 magnitude of the advantage becomes fully apparent, and pre- sents a motive which cannot be discarded, for renewed and continued efifort in support of the glorious cause. " A close examination of the progressive imjM-ovement of the schools during the past year, shows that the chief amendment has taken place in the high schools, which are now upon a good foundation as can, with our present knowledge and experience in such matters, be effected. Two or three years of faithful attention will probably make them all that the citizens desire. The only thing yet needed to make them the fitting crown of our system, is such an improvement and elevation of the lower schools, particularly those of the secondary or grammar class, as shall enable the latter to send to the high schools pupils of a higher and more thorough degree of preparation than those heretofore transferred. This will naturally claim the early at- tention of your representatives in the board. " In conclusion, the undersigned will take the liberty of over- stepping the strict line of duty assigned them, for the purpose of calling your attention, as parents, to two subjects, greatly calculated to promote the good of the schools : " One is the large proportion of absence from school still permitted by you. You are, it is admitted, the owners and controllers of your children's time. lUit is it not worthy of your serious inquiry, whether it is possible to make any better use of it than that of causing to be sedulously and regularly devoted to their mental and moral culture? Besides, it is per- fectly vain to expect any satisfactory degree of improvement, even under the most accomplished instructors, without regular attendance and study on the part of the learner. " The other is the small degree of interest which very many parents seem to feel in the welfare and actual operations of the schools. This should not be. Frequent visits to the schools by intelligent parents, made in friendly and right spirit, would not only act as a stimulus both to teachers and pupils, 15 162 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. but would probably obtaiu for the board many valuable sug- gestions, to which it would be their pleasure as well as duty to pay all proper attention. "Attest, George M. Steinman, President. John Zimmerman, Secretary.'" The above statement contains a vast amount of information that may serve as the basis for wdiat may follow during the in- coming half century of school board statistics. Taking the above as an object lesson, it should afiford a wide field for con- trast with conditions as we shall find them in the year 1904." We will observe further, as my story continues, that with an increased tax-rate are sure to come increased expenditures. A small surplus in the treasury is never allowed long to remain ; it was the rule years ago never to allow a fund, however small, to accumulate ; it is the rule to-day ; a lesson learned by the succeeding boards from their forefathers. The small balance of something over $1,000 in the treasury in 1850 would not be considered of much consequence at the present day, and yet, in those 'strenuous times when the Finance Committee figured by the quarter and half cents, a round thousand dollars in hand, no doubt made the board feel its financial importance. In this happy frame of mind, however, they could not long endure; for before the summer of 1850 had rolled by, Alex- ander H. Hood oiTered the following resolution, determined, as he no doubt was, to place the small balance where it might do the most good : " Whereas, The fact is well known that the expense of living has very materially increased during the past two years, the purchaser being compelled to pay higher prices for every article consumed than was paid at the time the present salaries of our teachers were fixed : And — "Whereas, Right and justice require that all persons en- gaged in the education of the youth, shall receive for their NEW SClfOOL CHARTER. 163 labors a compcnsatiun in some degree suitable to tbc impor- tance of the work in which they are now engaged, and at least sufficient to enable them to make a decent appearance in society without being compelled to resort to other labor at the same time for the purpose of procuring their livelihood, Therefore, " Resolved, That after the expiration of the terms of the teachers in the employ of the board, or now engaged, the sala- ries of the teachers so employed, as well as the salaries of those who may hereafter be elected, shall be as follows : The com- pensation of those eight teachers who now receive $125 per annum shall be paid $160; those nine teachers in the primary schools, receiving $150, shall be paid $175 ; those four teachers in the highest primary schools who now receive $175, shall receive $200 ; the teacher in the African school now receiving $180 shall receive $190; the four secondary assistants in the secondary schools, now receiving $175, shall receive $210; the four second assistants now receiving $200 shall receive $220; those two principals of the two secondary schools, now receiv- ing $250, shall receive $262.50 ; the two assistants in the female high schools now paid $250, shall receive $275 ; one teacher now receiving $300, shall be paid $420 ; the two prin- cipals of the two secondary schools who now receive $450, shall receive $475 ; the two assistant teachers in the male high school, who are now paid $500, shall receive $525 ; the principal of the female high school instead of $600, shall be paid $700 ; the prin- cipal of the male high school, instead of $700, shall be paid $800, making the whole increase of teachers' compensation $1,200 per annum.'' The above resolution which was adopted without amend- ment, throws a flood of light on the meagre salaries paid teach- ers down to the time this measure was adopted. Previous to this slight increase the annual salary for female teaehers was about fifteen dollars per month, counting eleven months as the length of the school term. But even this schedule of compcnsa- 164 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. tion was not long to endure, as the reader shall learn before another decade rolls by. Let the director then, who expects the average teacher to lay aside sufficient to provide against the vicissitudes of old age, out of even a somewhat larger monthly salary at the present day, reflect for a moment and ask himself, " Are the teachers of Lancaster paid proportionately the same compensation paid the other employes of the city ?" The ques- tion has often been asked, " Why the teachers of Lancaster in the early days, failed to establish a ' pension ' fund, the accu- nudation of which, in time, might have proven a blessing in disguise?" More pertinently, indeed, might the cjuery be put, " Why the Legislature, in appropriating millions upon millions for the support of free schools, has failed to set apart a fund annualh', the interest of which, in this year 1904, would be sufficiently large, to make the declining years of the teachers of the commonwealth less strenuous than they are at the pres- ent time ?" We know of but one of Lancaster's former teachers who is to-day in the enjoyment of a $600 annual pension. Leav- ing this city in 1866, she entered the profession of teaching in the city of Washington, retiring a year or two ago, on a yearly bounty, sufficient to provide against all future contingencies. In giving expression to these deep, settled convictions, the author has no apology to offer, believing they are shared by many of the more progressive members of the present Legisla- tive bodies. Time, however, will demonstrate whether the Legislature of this twentieth century, is to come to the rescue of the aged teacher with a pension law worthy of the name. However, to provide for the increase in salaries, under the reso- lution of Alexander H. Hood, it was — " Resolved, That for the school year commencing on the first Monday in June the school tax be apportioned as follows : First, a tax shall be levied on all and any posts of profit, profes- sions, trades and occupations, of thirty-seven cents on the hun- dred dollars of the assessed valuation thereof, as for state and NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 165 county purposes ; and on each single freeman over the age of twenty-one who does not follow any occupation — provided that, in none of the above cases the amount assessed shall be more than that assessed for state and county purposes, nor less than tifty cents. " Second, to make up the balance required for the support of the schools and the liabilities of the board during the year, a tax shall be assessed of thirty-seven cents on the hundred-dol- lars valuation of the property of the district, now taxable for state and county purposes." In the collection of this per capita, fifty cents school tax. varied, indeed, have been the experi- ences of the numerous tax-collectors since entrusted with this important duty. It will be observed later, as the story continues, that in all cities of the " Third Class " the city treasurer " shall be ex- officio school treasurer." This, however, does not apply to the city of Lancaster. According to the fifty-seventh section of the law, governing cities of the third class, it is provided, " That none of the provisions of this act shall be applicable to the election of directors or controllers of the public schools, to the organization of the school boards, to the election ^ school treasurer or of any other officer of said board, to the receiving and collection of school taxes in any city of the third class con- stituting one school district ; but the said school district shall be governed by laws heretofore enacted, applicable to the same, if the acceptance of this act, shall be accompanied by a certifi- cate from the school district, signed by the proper officers thereof, expressing its desire to retain the laws governing it independent of this statute, otherwise this act shall govern the same : And provided further. That it shall be lawful for such board, at its descretion, by a vote of its members as aforesaid, from time to time, to accept any of the provisions of this act regulating school matters, and after such acceptance, duly re- corded on the minutes of said board, said provisions so accepted shall be the law of said district." 166 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. The author would be but anticipating coming events in set- ting forth all the provisions of the laws governing cities of the third class, providing as they do, for a school board of eighteen directors instead of thirty-six for this city, in addition to a controller, and other provisions that might or might not be con- ducive to the best interests of Lancaster city's local system of schools. REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. CHAPTER XII. THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. Resolutions of respect to the Memory of President Taylor — Over- crowded Condition of Primary Schools — Rev. Samuel W. Drysdale Elected Principal of the Girls' High School— The Rev. John S. Crum- baugli in Charge of the P>oys' Department — First Common School Cele- bration — ^Examination of Teachers by James P. Wickersham, First County Superintendent — J. P. AlcCaskey Elected Principal of the Boys' High School — Reminiscence of the Night School on the Hill. It is still the nicniora])le year 1850. The gTcat majority of my readers will find themselves strangers in a strange land as they look upon this town of half a century ago. The handsome buildings which to-day stand facing our " SoUliers' Monu- ment " are nowhere to be seen ; those which stood in their places are of that quaint style to which only " the last leaf " of the older generation can bear witness. Let us then travel together down through this decade of years. Here we shall meet the familiar names if not the faces of those who have passed over the silent tide into rest. And if they are not here to meet us face to face, the evidence of their good deeds remain on every hand never to be efifaced, telling in silent syllables the simple story of passing events. Already preparations are being made for a new court house and a new prison of larger size to deal wnth those whom the schools have failed to reach. It no doubt seemed strange to the people of Lancaster that, with the yearly increasing num- ber of schools and the safeguards they threw around the young, a new prison should be deemed necessary. Yet few have regretted the removal from the corner of West King and Prince of the old " jail " with its chapter of brutal deeds committed by the " Paxton Boys." But the dismantling of the old court house has ever carried with it a feeling of regret. 167 168 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. The old landmark is recalled only by the faint outlines of the picture herein reproduced. Between the prison and the school there is a wide gap in the modern mind. The latter may be likened to a storehouse of supplies for the moral wants of the community. Yet this gran- ary is of little value unless its treasures are daily and hourly appropriated. Its contents are at all times within the reach of all, ready to be dealt out to those who seek them. It is a mis- taken idea to suppose that it is every and any kind of an edu- cation that can make men wise, moral and patriotic. Besides the school, and the church, other elements are necessary — the proper kind of domestic training, in which parents have so ample a share. Errors there are in education, and gross ones which years of laborious efforts have failed to eliminate. This cannot be denied. But they are nothing as compared with those of the world, which fosters political knavery, extrava- gance and a forgetfulness of those higher purposes which the schools of our city were ordained to perpetuate. Let the critic and the over-zealous, then, who are forever complaining that the public schools are not fulfilling their high destiny, not re- main forgetful of their own shortcomings in the discharge of their public duties as citizens. If the reader be generously disposed to overlook what may seem like an attempt on the part of the author to become a critic instead of a compiler, let us journey together through the streets of old Lancaster. Ah, here we are, strolling around in search of the school board's place of meeting. Like the lost tribes of the children of Israel, the directors, we learn, have ever been on the move. From the old court house to the Lancas- terian building, then to INIechanics' Hall, thence to the Female Seminary building; back again to the court house — ever and anon they went their weary way, until eventually they found permanent quarters in the '' State House " — the present city hall, wherein for years they have since held their stated meetings. THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 169 It is the eleventh day of July — the Lancaster School Board is about to convene in a small room on the second floor of the court house. Before entering the court room, wherein so many legal battles have been fought by the giants of the Lancaster Bar in days gone by, we notice with surprise the primitiveness of the surroundings. Here are men moving- in among the sturdy farmers, bargaining for their winter's supi^ly of hickory, oak and chestnut, to be followed by old " Buckram," the one- legged " sawyer " with saw and saw-buck. We crowd our way through the busy, hurrying throng, bent on purchasing their weekly supply of marketable products from their thrifty country cousins — eggs, at six and a quarter cents per dozen — butter, at twelve and one half cents per pound, with other of life's necessaries in proportion. To the right, back of the circular railing, on an elevated plat- form sit the learned judges ; and immediately in front, the members of the Lancaster Bar — Thaddeus Stevens, John R. Montgomery, Reah Frazcr, James Buchanan, Col. George Ford, Thomas E. Franklin, William B. Fordney, and others of less note. Winding our way up the narrow stair, we arc informed by the obliging messenger, Alathias Zahm, " that the board has been summoned in special session to take action on the death of President Taylor who had departed this life on the ninth of the month." " What a change time hath wrought ! " we quietly suggest to the faithful messenger at the entrance. " Yes," comes his reply in his general way, " time has brought about many changes in the board as well as in the teaching force since the adoption of the system. Of those who entered the ranks in the year 1838, few remain. It's the turning of the wheel of life, the old gradually falling by the wayside. But it's the way of the world," he went on with a knowing twinkle of the eye ; " some must drop out, others as well fitted must take their places." 170 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. " Of course the system is well anchored and everything mov- ing with the precision of the hands of the old clock ? " came my question in a whisper, not wishing to disturb the deliberations of this august body. " Bless you, no ; there are still to be found lurking round a respectable opposition to the free school system. One man kicks because his neighbor's assessment is too low and his own too high. Another is forever grumbling over the teachers' salaries being out of all proportion to the wages paid to other employees of the city. But it's the old, old story, my friend, the same to-day it was a decade ago," said he as we enter the narrow enclosure. A moment later, Dr. John L. Atlee rises to his feet, and after a few appropriate remarks, ofifers the following preamble and resolution, which are unanimously adopted : " Whereas, It has pleased Divine Providence to take out of the Nation, General Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States this board is anxious to testify its sense of the national calamity, and its estimation of the personal and public worth of the illustrious deceased : " Rcsok'cd, That we adjourn to meet with our fellow citizens in the court room below, in adopting such measures as may be deemed proper to the occasion." Retracing our steps down the winding stair, we enter the court room in time to hear the reading of the resolutions of respect paid to the memory of the deceased. The deliberations, however, are of short duration ; for as the Trinity bell tolls out the solemn requiem, the procession starts. We fall into line, catching an occasional glimpse of three of Lancaster's most revered citizens — the Rev. Father Keenan, the Rev. Samuel Bowman and the beloved John C. Baker, as arm in arm they move toward the spacious church edifice where the services are to be held. A moment later, the Rev. Baker enters the pulpit, with the THE REV. JOHN S. CRLLMBAUGII. 171 Rev. I5o\vnian on his right and ]'"atlier Kccnan on his left. And what a sermon! How the heart thrills with emotion as we sit and listen to the solemn words fallin"- from the lips of this ever-to-be remembered pastor of Trinity, whose hearty grasp of the hand always made a bo}- feel that life was worth living. Reverting once more to the pages of the old minute books, each bearing the impress of time, imagine if you can, dear reader, the condition of many of the schools in 1850. It was Dr. Burrowes, who, at this May meeting, offered the following : " Whereas, there are now one hundred and five [iupils in the school of Miss Viola Miller, to do justice to whicli number is out of the power of any teacher. And "Whereas, it is the duty incumbent on the board to pro- vide ample means for the instruction of all the children that apply for admission into the schools, especially those of the lower grades, where habits of idleness and carelessness of study are most easily acquired. Therefore, " Rcsok'cd, That this board will proceed forthwith to the election of an additional teacher to be placed in Miss Miller's room, who shall take charge of one half of the children therein, as a separate school.'' The older directors of the present board can readily appre- ciate what " congestion " means when applied to the over- crowded condition of our schools prior to and during the second era of school-house building. Fifty children would seem to be an ample sufficiency for any one teacher. But to crowd into a single room, one hundred and five children, even with two teachers in the same room, was more than enough to exhaust the patience and physical endurance, not only of the instructors in charge, but of the pupils themselves. This con- dition, as the minutes will show, was not long to endure ; for, in the latter part of 1850 several important changes occurred. The boys' high school was removed from the Presbyterian Ses- sion house, at the corner of Cherry and Market — and the girls'. 172 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. from the Seminary building, near the corner of Prince and Orange — to the Lancasterian school house. At the September meeting Rev. John C. Baker presented the report of the " Examining Committee," recommending the Rev. Samuel W. Drysdale, as " suitable person for principal of the female high school, with Miss Christie Alusser first, and Miss Maria E. Gill second assistant." which recommendations were unanimously adopted. During the following year, until August, 1851, much uncer- tainty prevailed among the members over the election of a principal for the boys' high school in place of Mr. Becker. It was at this meeting that the Rev. John S. Crumbaugh was elected principal, Mr. Coates reelected teacher of the English, and Mr. Colburn of the mathematics department. TwO' years later, at the meeting of August, 1853, a young man, by name Elnathan Elisha Higbee, was elected professor of mathematics, in place of Mr. Colburn — a position he held for several years to the entire satisfaction of the board. For two years, or until July, 1853, John S. Crumbaugh continued as principal of the boys' high school, placing it on a plane it had never before attained. It was at this meeting that he handed in his resigna- tion, whereupon Professor W. V. Davis, who had been elected at the February meeting previous as the successor of Mr. Coates, was made principal. Before entering into the life and character of this truly good man, John S. Crumbaugh, it may be said that at the close of his short but magnificent career as principal, the board gave ex- pression of its deep sense of gratitude for services rendered, in the following resolution : " Resolved, That in separating from the Rev. John S. Crum- baugh, who for the past two years has filled the station of Prin- cipal of the Boys' High School — this board feels a due sense of his services, and hereby express their thanks for the able, impartial and dignified manner in which they were at all times performed." COMMON SCHOOL C ELEBRATIO N. FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1854. ..I 111. •[.■•'■ .-.•.. •• :(..r. »(JI START IN PILOnESHiniff JEEQKLTHETR SCHOOL ROOM, Bimm TO FOLTOi B/iLL, :,l th..- -l,,,ll l»' Il.|- Mtrsio NATIONAL HYMN. BY PUPILS. Mhm k ll)f ^.Mifiiia. liii I. T. iMiiirLi. i-'j\\. MUSIC "Onr Cuuntr} tui.I iu Ii ' . . W M \ lilM'NKMAS On EiiurmliiMi, . . .hlll\ ^ •-ll(lH!:il Ho.'vi.; ■!> iiii. I'li'ii.s (<»nni':.^«;i';.ni':'«T rnoRiH. ■fc. -Til.. KuMianIl.nr.' liisiril \MKl: *:■ '■.Jn.k lloKiiiiifji. Dr.aiii i;|)\\i\ M IlllKlMi Ho\ti iiv Till-; i»rrii.- "•«n r m stir ih »»T»;Ai,i^«i. Th. !\ii- ■■( W.i -l' Kliili'i CKKV. ■■ i>,i !(,,. 11,.,:, WILLIAM ('Al;s()N •«o^^. 11% nil i-i i-ii,'. iiu *T»!: si>»\«.i,i,i» hi'V\»:r. ■ V I \ • ,lolt\ r M.<\.--KKY I MU BIC .K'lUia. \l MKIN- so\<. lit Tilt. I'i I'll,* nil, SI IIDOI. KOOTI. IN ^Dl»li^:^^ l!V J. p. HKhLltMllM. ((ilVTS SI PKIUMK^DEXT. ^liTlii SOii B¥ in M.USIO n V. N f: Dici' If) N DlPXDDiXii ^c\)eoU*«^%%J/rf^* !^Di:iii:ijf]ir;y^\iT]j or p^iijidYi V;\/jja. %) uirluf flf null)iiiili) in lljf ^tjuri'i of liirrriorii lu-stci), it is THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 173 Never in the history of the Lancaster schools has a more ilatteriiig- testimonial been given, nor to a teacher more deserv- ing. For a year or two thereafter he served the board in the capacity of director, as well as he had served them as teacher, until Mr. Wickersham's resignation from the office of County Superintendent of Schools in 1856, when he was appointed his successor. This position he held until the winter of 1859 when declining health compelled him to resign. Mr. Crumbaugh lived but a short time after his retirement, passing away in his twenty-seventh year. His life was a short one, and yet it was an inspiration, a life not measured by years. The members of the Lancaster Alumni Association, whose naiues appear in the appendix, and more particularly those who received their diplomas in the year 1854 — the first ever issued by the Lancaster School Board — will note a facsimile pro- gramme of the first " Common School Celebration," or what in later years was to be designated " Commencement Day Exer- cises." Beneath that containing the " Evening Exercises " is a reproduction of a beautiful vignette, executed gratuitously by a Philadelphia artist. Those fortunate enough to hold one of these diplomas issued before 1876, when the boys' and girls' high school was erected on West Orange street, will have no trouble in recognizing it. The author is indebted to Rev. Samuel W. Reigart, a former principal of the boys' high school, for the " Announcement " from which the plates were made. In appearance it was not unlike a bill of sale, being over a yard in length and a foot in width, with the various exercises most attractively set forth. The morning and evening exercises of this " Common School Celebration " were held in Fulton Hall, June 30, 1854, and while the Rev. Crumbaugh was no longer principal of the boys' high school, he addressed the students of both schools as a member of the Lancaster School Board, having taken his seat at the meeting previous. 16 174 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. Although there may have been classes graduated from these respective schools for several years previous, no record has been preserved ; the following" graduates being" the first to receive diplomas, namely. Miss Sallie M. Steinman, Miss Catharine Long, Miss Julia Segan, Miss Clara Reigart, George M. Frank- lin, Thomas H. Burrowes, Thomas Dunlevy, Samuel W. Reigart, now the Rev. Samuel W. Reigart, Salsbury, Md., Samuel C. Walker, J. F. Stoeck, Neilson A. Baldwin, William Montgomery, and John Heitshu. On the above-named thir- teen, seven live to recall the far-off days of fifty years ago. If entire harmony prevailed at the Common School celebra- tion, it was but the forecast of a storm, which came at the July meeting following, when this resolution was passed by the board : "Resolved, That the County Superintendent be requested to examine all the teachers in the employ of the Board, and all new applicants, to enable them to be candidates for election as teachers." This announcement naturally fell upon the ears of the teach- ers like a shock from an exploding cannon. So c[uietly had this resolution been passed, that its conflict with the prior act of 1850, was not discovered until too late to prevent its being carried into eft'ect. If allowed to rest for a time, it was only for a short time. The opposition, while beaten by a small majority, were not disposed to bow in humble submission to what they considered a flagrant violation of the Lancaster city's sacred rights. This will more fully appear when the conflict of authority between the board and two of its most prominent teachers is considered. As the day approached for the examination announced by Mr. Wickersham, the new County Superintendent, the most intense excitement prevailed among the rank and file of the teachers. With the Superintending Committee they plead the statute of limitations, but all to no purpose. Many a sleepless THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 175 night was spent in rnmmag'ing throng-h old text-books in search of answers to such questions as might be propounded by the " Czar of the County." As the newer education was coming into vogue, with all sorts of " trimmings," it is not surprising that pandemonium should reign among the teach- ers, many of whom had been teaching so long that they had forgotten how to be students. To stand before the Superin- tending Committee, perhaps once in a lifetime, and be asked a few common-place questions by such kindly disposed com- mitteemen as Dr. Atlec or the Rev. John C. Baker, could be tolerated. But to face the new county official, with all his sup- posed new methods, covering, as they had been led to suppose, every conceivable subject in the broad domain of education, was quite another matter. At their local institutes many of the new England methods had been discussed, only to be thrust aside as ill-adapted to the schools of Lancaster city. How- ever, as the darkest hour is just before the dawn, so the dark- est moment for the Lancaster teachers was, when they, after a sleepless night, with hearts palpitating, entered the Lancaste- rian school building. For the trying ordeal was soon over and all went merrily homeward carrying with them their first certificates. Thus ended the first public teachers' examination ever held in the city of Lancaster under the County Superintendent. Trying as it was to many, it proved in the end a happy solution to a very troublesome question, relieving as it did the Superin- tending Committee from a duty they were not always qualified to perform. That there was a marked contrast between the former course of examining and that of the County Superin- tendent, will prove all the more apparent when it is stated that frequently some " literary " personage was summoned to assist the Superintending Committee in ascertaining the erudition of the applicant, especially if he represented himself a college graduate. On one occasion mention is made in the commit- 176 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. tee's report of having called to their assistance Daniel Kirk- wood and Dr. William Atlee. The report reads, " That they have examined William Shilland, a graduate of Union Col- lege, but lately a teacher in Carlisle, this state, as applicant for the male secondary school ; that they have also examined Mr. S. C. Crumbaugh of Maryland, but this year a graduate of Mar- shall College, Mercersburg; also a Mr. Kow, a native of Stras- burg township, this county, who has been engaged in teaching nine years, and at present an assistant in White Hall Academy, Cumberland county ; a Mr. Dare, also a native of this county, who has taught five years, one of which was in an academy ; and Mr. Charles Twining, a native of New York, who has taught five years, and now resides in Hempfield township. The committee," continues the report, " on due reflection, are of the opinion that these gentlemen are cjualified for the station in question, and arrange them in the order of their qualifica- tion, as follows : first, Mr. Amos Row ; second, Mr. Charles Twining ; third, Mr. E. O. Dare ; fourth, Mr. S. C. Crumbaugh ; fifth, Mr. Alexander Shilland. All these gentlemen are young and profess their desire to engage in the ' business ' of teach- ing permanently ; they also produced satisfactory references as to good moral character." When Mr. Crumbaugh succeeded Mr. Wickersham in the office of superintendent in 1856, he received the same instruc- tions as had been given his predecessor, " to visit all the schools, in addition to his duties as examiner." The welcome he re- ceived can best be appreciated by the following resolution ofifered by President Steinman, " That a vote of censure be taken on Messrs. Davis and Drysdale, principals of male and female high schools, for refusing to recognize the Rev. John S. Crumbaugh, County Superintendent, in his visit to said schools." It was therefore resolved as a compromise " that the inclu- sion of this city within the jurisdiction of the County Superin- JOHN PIERSOL McCASKEY. THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 177 tendent of Lancaster county in all respects, is not inconsistent with the local school law of this city, passed January second, 1850, but that the same is in full accord with the spirit of that act of the general school law of 1854." This resolution being adopted by a narrow margin, served only to divide the board into two irreconcilable forces, the effect of which division has been felt at intervals down to the present day. The refusal of the two ])rincipals to recognize the Super- intendent's visit had in no way been intended as a personal act of discourtesy ; but as a denial of his official authority of jurisdiction. It was, as all must acknowledge, a step which no teacher is justifiable in taking without the sanction of the board or its superintending committee. Out of this action of the Board came further trouble : A memorial, signed by the teachers, opposing this official as an examining officer, reached the president. This provoked a bitter discussion on the legal points involved, which filled sev- eral pages of the minute book. On the one side was Alexan- der H. Hood, bringing to bear all his powerful argument ; on the other, Thomas H. Burrowes, equally well versed in this enactment, of \yhich he was no doubt the author. As the board upheld the law of 1854, and likewise Mr. Burrowes in the position he assumed, ]\Ir. Hood handed in his resignation. So ended, for the time being, an acrimonious discussion, a repeti- tion of which the reader may not be surprised to witness in even a more intensified form during years later. In the year 1855, a young man who had been a student in the boys' high school the year previous, and whose name ap- pears as one of the speakers at the Commencement Exercises in Fulton Hall in 1854, was recommended by Principal Davis for a position as teacher in this same school. John Piersol IMcCaskey was duly elected second assistant. For nearly half a century this then modest, unassuming young student, now nearing his three score and ten, has served in the capacity of 178 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. teacher and principal of the boys' high school. Of all the instructors who entered the Lancasterian building during the early fifties, he alone remains at his post of duty. And of the hundreds of boys upon whose ears fell words of appreciation or reproof from this noble man, who is there that has not a kindly word for " Jack " McCaskey ? Indeed, the very men- tion of his name is sure to awaken responses of afifectionate regard in the hearts of those who, in years gone by, sat under the magnetic power of his broad, manly nature. During the years of 1865 and 1866, we labored together in that trying field of child development, the " boys' night school on the hill." And rich, indeed, was the prospect among the boys whose only opportunity of seeking an education was under the light of the " gas jets." They were earnest young souls who after a hard day's toil eagerly drank from that larger life. In spite of hard conditions, they cheerfully accepted their lot and entered upon their duties with a signal ability and high purpose that would have reflected honor upon the most tal- ented of our citizens. In these night school boys, of whom so little is ever spoken, we have an abiding faith. Too much credit cannot be given the night school committees and the teachers, who faithfully give encouragement to these patient boys and girls. In conversing with a former night school lad, now one of Lancaster's prominent business men, he casually remarked as we separated, " Do you still remember Zeke, the ' bean-thrower ?' " This slight reminder of the days of forty years ago, vividly recalled to memory, a tall, thin, shaiubling, rawboned figure of a young fellow well up in his teens. His face was long and lean, its most prominent features being its great nose, diverted by nature slightly to one side and flanked by a tremendous pair of cheekbones. A grinning smile, showing a set of pearly- white teeth ; long bony arms, with long bony hands ; a long lank lean body, a loose pair of pedal extremities, with a pair THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMP.AUGH. 179 of rawhide boots, extending" well up in the direction of his " intellectuals "' ; a cheery voice bubbling up from the vast depths below — this is a description given by one of Zeke's bosom companions who, in the midst of many of his escapades, stood loyally by his side in the hour of his greatest need. On one particular occasion, now vividly recalled as Hallow- e'en, all went along in the usual manner until the hour for dis- missal came ; the pens and copy books were being gathered up ; the principal in charge of the study hall stood ready with bell in hand to tap for the first column to move, w hen lo ! a shower of white soup beans went soaring over the heads of teachers and pupils landing against the window panes like a shower of hail in midsummer. A moment later the principal exclaimed in a determine*] tone, " Will the young man who threw the beans please come forward?" No response. Again and again the summon was repeated, but the culprit, whoever he was, sat with the others the very picture of stolid indifference. " Boys," added the master in charge, " Take your own time ; this school will here remain until the bean-thrower steps forward." Another half hour passed, as innocence sat depicted on the countenances of the hundred or more half-sleepy lads. At last, as the hands of the old clock told the hour when all night school boys should have been sleeping the sleep of the " inno- ' cent," came, from a remote corner, a sciueaking voice, " Zeke, threw the beans!" A moment later, a hundred eyes were cen- tered on the now disconsolate informer, as Ezekiel stood before the school with trousers jammed into the upper portion of a pair of long-legged rawhides, the very picture of injured inno- cence. , " Young man, did you throw the beans?" to which came the prompt rejoinder, " No, sir, I did not!" Under ordinary cir- cumstances, this prompt reply might have served its purpose ; but there was a certain something in the young man's ex- pression, if not in his peculiar accent, combined with a knowing 180 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. twinkle of the eye, tliat betrayed a g-nilty conscience. " Take a seat and empty your pockets," came in even a sterner voice, when out came a barlow knife, a few horse-shoe nails, a half- dozen broken slate pencils, an apple core or two, that had found lodgment therein, when the danger of detection became most imminent ; the beans, however, were nowhere in evi- dence among the conglomerated mixture of odds and ends. Up to this trying moment, the young prevaricator had weath- ered the storm, and stood ready to return to his seat to deter- mine upon the proper course of treatment to be administered to the young scapegrace who had violated one of the unwritten laws which was held sacred by the average night school boy, never to "peach " on a school comrade, when, to his chagrin, again came, now, in a half-sleepy, drawling tone, " He's got 'em in-his b-o-o-t-s !"' " Off with your rawhides !" came the order of command, as the guilty offender of the majesty of law, sat wriggling and twisting, now jerking at this then at the other of the rawhides with little hope of success. There being no boot-jack within hailing distance, it became necessary, as the only way out of the dilemma, to summon the informer in relieving the young man of his personal property which, having previously become water-soaked, stuck to the feet of the owner closer than the majority of boys to the now unfortunate Zeke. For five long minutes the peacher jerked and twisted, first at the one, then at the other, while Zeke sat twisting and screwing his toes into an india-rubber ball, imbued with the idea no doubt that self-preservation was the first law of a night-school boy's nature. At last, after many fruitless eft'orts, oft' came the long-legged rawhides, and with them, a full pint of pearly, white soup beans. By this time the school was in an uproar of merriment. Ten minutes later, the boys were dismissed, with the admonition to Zeke, " Gather up the beans, my boy ; take them home and store them away for the early spring planting." As the young man, years after, became a truck-gardener, it is THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 181 only reasonable to assume that this supply of white soup beans furnished him with his first stock in trade. Zeke, it may be said was ever after a favorite in the school, and as he did not in- tend to condone the wrong, his informer was compelled to pay the penalty for his rashness in more than one scrimmage near the school on the hill. It will be recalled that at the meeting of September, 1850, Rev. Walter S. Drysdale was elected principal of the girls' high school, and that on the retirement of John S. Crumbaugh from the principalship of the boys' high school, July, 1853, W. V. Davis was elected his successor. Nothing of unusual im- portance occurred in these respective schools until the meeting of July first, 1858, when Dr. Atlee, of the Superintending Com- mittee, presented the following- report: " Resolved, That it is expedient to dispense with the services of a male principal of the female high school ; and that here- after the male and female department of the high schools, shall be under the superintendence of the principal of the male high school who, with the approbation of the Superintending Com- mittee shall make such arrangements with the assistant teachers of the female high school as will be most conducive to its efficiency." This resolution having been adopted, considerable discussion arose over the reelection of Mr. Davis, as principal of both schools. At the adjourned meeting a week later Mr. Davis was declared elected principal of the boys' high school, Seymour Preston first, and Samuel C. Walker, second assist- ant, for the ensuing year. Leaving the principalship formerly filled by Rev. Drysdale, vacant, Miss Christie Musser was elected first. Miss Maria E. Gill, second, and Miss Mary W. Russel, third assistant, of the girls' department. In this somewhat anomalous condition, the boys' and girls' high schools were allowed to remain until the August meeting of i860, when the resolution of 1858, providing for a prin- cipal of both schools, was recinded. Samuel W. Reigart, a 182 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. former principal of a secondary school, was duly elected prin- cipal of the male high school, Seymour Preston, first, and J. P. McCaskey (who had been out of the profession a year) elected second assistant. For principal of the female department, Miss Christie Musser was promoted from the position of first assist- ant she had previously held in this same school. For first and second assistants, Miss Annie Hartman and Miss Marv W. Russel were respectively elected. For many years these schools managed to drift along in a way little calculated to receive the endorsement of ]ml)lic approval. With the meeting of July, 1865, came the resigna- tion of Samuel W. Reigart as principal of the boys' high school, which was accepted and the president authorized " to tender Mr. Reigart the thanks of the board for services as principal of the boys' high school." It was thereupon " Resok'cd, That a committee of seven, consisting of the President and Secretary, two members of the Superintending Committee, one member of the Book Committee, one member of the Finance Committee, and one member of the Property Committee be appointed whose duty it shall be to report to this board a plan for reorganization of the high schools of the city with the probable cost thereof. The committee comprised the following : John W. Jackson, John L. Atlee, J. Pj. Living- ston, W. R. Wilson, D. W. Patterson, H. S. Gara and Newton Lightner. At the meeting of August following it was " Resok'cd, That the high schools be placed under a male principal at a salary of $1,000, assisted by two assistants of each sex in either school, at the same salaries respectively as have been paid the teachers of these schools for the last year." The following assistant teachers were then elected : For male department, J. P. McCaskey, first, and James P>. Kremer, second assistant. For the female department. Miss Christie Musser, first, and Miss Sarah Bundell, second assistant. At the September meeting ensuing, Dr. Atlee reported " that THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 183 the Superintc'iulint^- C'oiiiniittee had received several a])|)Hcations for the position of principal of the high schools and that the County Superintendent had appointed the nineteenth inst. for the examination of applicants." It was then resolved that the Superintending" Committee be directed to advertise in the " New York Weekly Tribune " and the " Phila(leli)hia Home Weekly " for a principal of the high schools. At the regular meeting of June, 1866, the following resolu- tion was adopted : "Resolved, That the high schools continue in their present state until otherwise ordered, unless the board shall deem it expedient to make some change in the teaching force of the female department." At the meeting of October, 1867, Mr. Wilson of the Superintending Committee reported that he had " caused to be inserted in the two daily papers of Lancaster and the ' Public Ledger ' of Philadelphia, an advertisement, as per instruction of the board for a second assistant of the male high school, in place of Brainard Kremer who had re- signed. The following gentlemen were placed in nomination : B. F. Shaub, R. A. Townsend, Christian Champneys, William R. Bates, John Conroy, and G. W. Guthrie, resulting in the election of Mr. Townsend. On the twenty-second of July, 1869, an adjourned meeting of great importance was held for the election of teachers for the ensuing year. Air. McCaskey was unanimously elected principal, Mr. Townsend, first assistant of the boys' high school. For the girls" department. Miss Sarah H. Bundell was elected principal, and Miss Sarah Powers, first assistant. At the September meeting of this year the declination of Mr. Town- send was received and accepted, and a vote of thanks extended him for the faithful manner he had discharged his duties during the two years while in the employ of the Board." To fill the vacancy thus created, Mr. James C. Gable was elected, a posi- tion he has continuously held with marked ability down to the 184 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. present time. At the meeting; of Angust, 1877, Miss Maria E. Gill was elected second assistant in the girls' high school, a position she had formerly held. A year later, Miss R. F. Jackson was elected first assistant in place of Miss Sarah H. Powers resigned, a position she has held continuously for twenty-six years. In 1884, ]\Iiss Mary Martin was elected second assistant in the boys' high school, where she has re- mained continuously for more than a score of years to the great satisfaction of the community. In addition, to the foregoing Mr. James L. Merrill was for a short time principal of both schools, as was also Mr. Frederick Gast temporarily employed in the boys' high school. In concluding this somewhat lengthy chapter, it may be said that only after the most diligent search and research oftentimes among hastily written minutes of the Lancaster School Board's proceedings, has the compiler succeeded in laying before the reader the evolution of the Lancaster High Schools during the sixty-seven years of their existence. Having anticipated to some extent the trend of my story, the author may now be compelled to go back to the board's earlier proceedings in order to complete the narrative in chronological order. CHAPTER XIII. THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. Dr. Burrowes expounds the New Educational Doctrine — First Teachers Society Organized in tliis City in 1852 — Normal School for Lancaster, Proposed by Rev. John S. Crunihaugh — Resgnation of Rev. John C. Baker — An Incident in his Life — Recollections of Samuel O. Nourse, the Schoolmaster on the "Hill" — Also of Rev. Walter S. Drysdale — The Young High Scliool Graduate. There are times when it would be impossible to follow each year's events as they occurred without encroaching on facts and incidents which lie beyond the reader's immediate interest. So mttch occitrred dtiring the fifties, aside from the election of teachers and the erection of new school houses, as to remind the author that what at the beginning- seemed like a labor of love, has become an endless task. It was in the year 1851 that Dr. lUnTowcs so forcibly ex- pounded the underlying principles of the new educational doc- trine, in the Lancaster School Board, and at educational meet- ings here and elsewhere, on the vital question of the school system, its past defects and future possibilities. A year later he offered a resolution in the Board, creating the first " City Teachers' Association " for this city, with all proper means for professional preparation and improvement. This may be said to have been the initial step, leading to the organization of the " Lancaster County Teachers' Association," which met in Fulton Hall during the winter of 1854 ; and which has been in successful operation continuously for over half a century. Speaking of institutes, the author has had a chance to examine the minute book of the first " Teachers' Society " ever organized in the city of Lancaster under the free school sys- tem. A few extracts from the preamble and resolutions 185 186 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. adopted September 30, 1852, governing- this local society are herein presented as showing the interest manifested in educa- tion from 1852 until 1858, when the society was dissolved. " Fully sensible to the great benefits to be derived from organized efiforts for mutual improvement, and believing that much good will redound to the several schools committed to our care by an interchange of opinion and the views relative to studies and school government : And further, that the business of teaching may be relieved of some of its most unpleasant features by united effort, and convenient and successful means of communication with the Board of School Directors be thus established — we whose names are hereto affixed, do recognize the following Articles of our Constitution." Omitting the seven articles as not material, we give the names of the teachers as signed to the constitution and by- laws, as follows : Mary W. Russel, Christie Musser, M. E. O'Donald, Mary A. Brooke, Catharine Wingert, Mary Boyd, Anna S. Eberman, L. Viola Miller, Catharine Eberman, Susan Smith, H. C. Mayers, Emma Benner, Walter S. Drysdale, E. E. Higbee, E. A. Gillespie, Henrietta Hoffmeier, Mary Diller, A. L. Smith, Delia White, Mrs. Margaret Mailey, Margaret Markee, Henrietta Cromwell, Margaret Samson, Maria E. Gill, W. V. Davis, A. Row, Charles Twining, Seymour Pres- ton, Sarah W. Vogdes, Helen C. Walker, Adelia Hazard, Mar- gie Miller, Margaret White, Lizzie Samson, S. B. Kieffer, S. E. Musser, A. F. Mengel, W. M. Moore, Mary A. Davis, E. R. Keift'er, Annie E. Rakestraw, Rosa Voigt, Parthenia Rath- von, Alice White, Frank E. Andrews, Mary L. Andrews, Har- riet Kennedy, M. Jeffries, M. G. W. Maxwell, I. Newton Pierce, Emanuel J. Erisman, S. (). Nourse. The above names, representing the whole teaching force in Lancaster in the year 1852, will recall to the few yet living the recollections of those far-off days before the annual city teachers' institute of a week's duration was ever thought of. THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 187 Many an interesting episode might be related of this band of good Samaritans, each imbued with the educational spirit of the times of which they were the pioneers, did space permit. We may, however, (juotc from the minutes of the various meetings what may seem most interesting and instructive, without vio- lating any of the rules by which this society was governed. At the first meeting after the organization. President Drys- dale read the following communication from the Board of School Directors, which was ordered to be placed on the minutes : "First, Resolved, That the President of the Board be re- quested to acknowledge a communication from Secretary Row, informing this Board of the formation of a Teachers' Institute among the teachers of the common schools of this city, and to inform him that such a course meets the approbation of this Board, and that they will cheerfully cooperate with them in such matters as may conduce to the welfare and improvement of the schools. "Second, Resolved, That the Board expects every teacher in their employ to become a member of the City Teachers' Institute, and adopt all proper means for professional prepara- tion and improvement. " Third, Resolved, That the Superintending Committee as- signs such of the rooms belonging to the Board, as may be most suitable, to the Teachers' Association for their meetings, and that fuel and light be supplied at the expense of the Board. " Fourth, Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be fur- nished by the Secretary to the presiding officer of the Teachers' Association, and to each teacher not now a member, if any. " Attest, John Zimmerman, " Secretary." On motion. President Drysdale was requested to appoint a 17 188 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. committee of three " to solicit from each director three books for the use of the Teachers' Library, connected with the Teachers' Society." Following came an address by Professor Davis on the school system of Prussia and Glasgow in Scotland, showing wherein their system of instruction differed from that in vogue in this country. Rev. Drysdale followed with a paper on the use of the Bible in the public schools ; after which a committee was appointed to report on the modus operandi of the New Eng- land schools, showing to what extent the schools of Lancaster differed in their educational features from those of the Eastern States. A general discussion then followed : first, on the most effec- tive means of abolishing " tobacco chewing " in the schools, and the deleterious effects resulting from so filthy a habit among the half-grown boys of the schools ; second, the proper use of the rod; third, the best use to be made of the public library ; fourth, whether or not children should be required to pronounce each syllable separately when spelling orally ; fifth, the best methods of teaching geography according to Naylor's system or on Pelton's outline maps ; sixth, practical illustra- tions in teaching grammar and arithmetic with special refer- ence to the single and double rule of three, and other topics of like import. Before adjournment the following resolution was read, dis- cussed and finally unanimously adopted : " Whereas, The common schools of this city would be much improved by a more systematic arrangement of studies, and as the present is a favorable time for the introduction of such arrangement ; therefore, '' Resolved, That a committee of ten be appointed, who shall report a division of the school year into three periods, and recommend the studies for each, for reference to the Superin- tending Committee, and that this shall be done so that certain THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 189 prog^ress shall be ensured during the three years' course in the primary department before the transfer of pupils into the sec- ondarw and in the sccimdar}- during' the three years before the transfer of pupils into the High Schools." Following the adoption of the above resolution came an- other : " Whereas, Irregularity of attendance upon the exercises of the schools seriously interferes with the progress of the pupils, and makes even the best system of instruction of no avail ; that as an evil of magnitude, this claims our special notice, and it becomes our duty to represent to the Board of Directors of Common Schools of Lancaster as needing a speedy remedy ; therefore, " Rcsoh'cd, That a committee of five be appointed who shall prepare the way for properly bringing the matter before the Board, in the following manner : " First, That each teacher in connection with this Society be requested to give access to the roll of his or her school to the committee, or furnish the necessary information, so that full and accurate statistics on this subject may be prepared. " Second, That the remedy for this evil lies in the excellence of instruction, making seats in the school of value, and in the forfeiture of these seats when from any other cause than sick- ness the attendance is irregular." At one of the meetings of the society President Drysdale stated that he had been informed that the Board at their last meeting had passed a resolution " recognizing no holidays ex- cept those specified in ' regulations ' of schools, and that teach- ers were expected to hold all pupils accountable for non-attend- ance on all ' gala days,' as on all other ordinary days." A petition was accordingly signed, requesting the Board to appoint Friday in the middle of May, to be observed hereafter as a May holiday by the public schools. Resolutions were also 190 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. passed, recommending the teachers " not to close their schools without proper authority, because only a few pupils happened to be present on ' circus ' and certain other da}s." The final result attending the most worthy efforts of this society was the report of the committee on " ways and means " of replenishing the association's treasury, in which it was stated by the chairman that they had obtained the consent of the following gentlemen to deliver lectures during the winter season, namely. General George Ford, Judge Hayes, Rev. Mr. Nevin and Rev. ]\Ir. Crumbaugh. Later it was announced that Rev. Crumbaugh had delivered an able lecture on " newspapers." At the close of March, the chairman of the Lecture Committee reported, " that owing to a series of lectures having been delivered in Fulton Hall dur- ing the winter, among whom were the gentlemen who had agreed to lecture before the Teachers' Society, they would therefore recommend the postponement of the lectures for the benefit of the society until some future time." The report concludes with the statement that as " the receipts of the lec- ture already given had failed to meet the expenses incurred it would be necessary for each member to contribute his or her pro-rata share of the deficiency." This being accom- plished, the society adjourned, slightly poorer in this world's goods, though wiser by the experience gained. For a number of years the " Teachers' Society " flourished like a green bay tree in a virgin forest ; but at last its dissolu- tion came, as the result of a communication which appeared in the Evening Express, over the signatures of three of its mem- bers, resulting in their expulsion from the association. After a heated discussion it was resolved " that as the signers to the newspaper article had manifested a want of good feeling toward the members of the society, and hostility against its best interests by misrepresenting the action and motives of the lecturer, the Rev. Mr. Drysdale, president of the society; and THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 191 that since its ordinary business can no longer be conducted with any degree of safety in their presence, the three offenders be summarily dismissed." It was further resolved, " that while the members of the association fully agree with the editor of the Examiner and Herald, in the opinion that ' they shall faithfully labor to in- struct the children committed to their care,' they do not think that in becoming teachers they forfeit the right of expressing their opinion, or of investigating any subject, especially when it happens to be one in which they are personally interested ; and in return for his superfluous advice, they would merely suggest that when presuming in the future to instruct others as to their duty, he should first take into consideration the propriety of not overstepping the limits of his own." The author has carefully gone over the files of the Evening Express and Examiner and Herald with a view of ascertain- ing the cause of the newspaper controversy, which resulted finally in the dissolution of the Lancaster Teachers' Society. It was the same c[uestion of local jurisdiction, clothing the County Superintendent with authority to examine the teachers and to visit the schools, that had previously occupied the atten- tion of the Board. At no time, before or since, during the sixty-seven years of our local school system, has anything oc- curred to equal, in vituperation, the newspaper correspond- ence, growing out of the enforcement of the act of 1854, re- ferred to in a previous chapter. To herein set forth the numerous communications, emanating from men of standing in the profession of teaching during the middle fifties, would in no way reflect credit, upon the cause in which they were engaged. The editors of both papers, while throwing their columns open to a free discussion of the question at issue, upheld the act of 1854, with a spirit of fairness in marked con- trast with that manifested by the professional gentlemen whose better judgment was warped by their professional feelings. 192 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. Dismissing this as one of the unfortunate occurrences con- sequent to the passage of the law of 1854, the Teachers' Society was not without its beneiicial results in coming into closer touch with the individual director, likewise with the board as a whole. In those days greater demand was made on the ingenuity of the teacher than now. They were com- pelled to work out many of the school room problems them- selves, and were not permitted to sit with arms folded, or with note-book in hand, as now-a-days, listening to paid lecturers, engaged in many instances to furnish such literary diet as the superintendent might suggest. Nor could the State Legisla- ture at the time have been prevailed upon to set apart annually a sufficient sum for the support of these teachers' institutes. However, aside from these reflections, which the modern educator is hardly expected to endorse, one of the immediate efifects of this society was the closing of all the schools during the time of holding the Lancaster County Educational Asso- ciation in this city on the third day of January, 1852. Of this gathering of teachers, Thomas H. Burrowes was president, and in accepting the honor of presiding officer, to cjuote his own language, " as a call to duty," he issued the first number of the " Lancaster County School Journal," dated January, 1852, and before one hundred names had been placed on the subscription list. At the instance of friends of education outside of the county, at the end of the sixth number* the " Journal " became a state magazine, was enlarged to double its size and assumed the name Pennsylvania School Journal, which it has ever since borne. It has generally been supposed that- the first move to estab- lish a normal school was made at Millersville in 1855. Two years previous, however, Rev. John S. Crumbaugh offered a resolution in the Lancaster School Board, authorizing the " establishing, of a normal school in this city, with the setting apart of a place for said purpose." There can be no doubt THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 193 that the desire of Rev. Crumliaugh was to estahhsh in our midst a normal school with all the advantages of professional train- ing. That he foresaw the necessity for a school of this kind, who can doubt? And if Lancaster city was to be deprived of its immediate benefits, the little town of Millersville has since had cause for congratulating itself in having located in its midst the First Normal School in the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- vania. The want of space alone prevents the author from tracing more fully the history of the Millersville Normal School from its small beginning in 1855 to the present time; with its tri- umphant success, in sending out into every district in the com- monwealth well-equipped teachers. Who can question its beneficial effects upon the schools of this city and county? What a long list of names of trustees — men who half a cen- tury ago came together, pledging themselves to make this in- stitution what it is to-day — an honor to the city of Lancaster, as well as to the State generally. It is well that the people of this city should remember the Millersville Normal School with the kindliest of feelings ; for when Greater Lancaster becomes an established fact, perhaps this institution may be brought w'ithin its corporate limits. Should this strike the reader as an idle fancy, let him remem- ber that some of us knew the time when the spires of Franklin and Marshall College were far beyond the built-up portions of the city. But like a magnet, this splendid collegiate institu- tion has seen the town encroach upon its old-time exclu- siveness, drawing many of our young men into its classic halls. Beware, then, ye trustees of Millersville Normal School, the inroads of the trolley car; for already the gong is clanging on our streets calling attention to the new town of " Fairview," the connecting link between us. For these reflections the old minute book is responsible ; from within its sallow pages comes the reminder that about the year 194 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 1853 must have been an era of g-ood fellowship between the trustees of Franklin and Marshall College and the Lancaster School Board. For it was at the meeting of June 2 that Presi- dent Steinman read a letter from the Rev. Samuel Bowman, chairman of the Committee of Arrangements of the college, inviting the Board to attend the opening exercises on June 7, in Fulton Hall. In response to this request, it was resolved " that the Board meet at the residence of the president, march in a body to Fulton Hall, there to witness the event of the union of Franklin and Marshall College." A single page from right to left, and our eyes fall upon a motion of Thomas H. Burrowes : "Resolved, That a commit- tee of five directors be appointed, who shall make suitable arrangements, and superintend an exhibition of the common schools of the city, on Saturday of July next, as shall display to the citizens the true condition and importance of the schools." As no account is given in succeeding minutes of the character of this exhibition, its purpose is not so easily determined. This year 1853 was not to pass without one very important event occurring — that of the resignation of one of Lancaster's beloved citizens — whom to have known was to love without knowing why. The very mention of his name will recall to many yet living the memory of a devoted Christian pastor, whose words were a solace, a comfort, an inspiration. His letter of withdrawal at the school board's meeting of January 13 is as follows : " Gentlemen of the School Board of Lancaster City: Intend- ing soon to leave the city of Lancaster, I hereby tender my resignation as a member of your board. I have been con- nected with it for a long time, and have been treated by you with uniform kindness. I return my sincere thanks for your courtesy, and assure you that the recollections of it will be a source of satisfaction and delight to me as long as I live. " In parting with you, with whom I have been so long en- REV. JOHN C. BAKER. THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 195 gaged in promoting the cause of education, permit me to ex- press my best thanks and wishes for your everlasting happiness. May God abundantly bless you, and grant that you may suc- ceed in rendering the schools vmder your control as efficient as I know you desire them to be. " With feelings of sincere regret and affectionate regard, I am, gentlemen, " Your friend, " John C. Baker." The following resolutions were then offered and unanimously adopted : "Resolved, That Doctor Baker's uniform kindness, faith- fulness and ability in the discharge of his duties as director, and more especially as chairman of the Superintending Com- mittee since 1840, found a model for every member of this Board; and that his withdrawal creates a vacancy which will be difficult to supply. " Resolved, That this loss will be even greater to the youth of the city than to the board ; for they will be deprived of their regular visitations, parental encouragement in well-doing, and mild but firm rebuke of ill-conduct, which have been so long and faithfully administered, and probably turned many stray- ing steps into paths of rectitude. "Resolved, That as a prominent testimonial of the feelings of this board, the resolutions shall be entered at length on the minutes, and that a duly certified copy of them shall be pre- pared by the secretary and presented to Doctor Baker by the president in person." On motion it was resolved " that the letter of resignation of Rev. John C. Baker, D.D., and the resolutions passed this evening be published in the papers of this city." Scarcely any- thing more would seem to be necessary than that contained in the resolutions offered by Mr. Burrowes on the life and charac- 196 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. ter of this truly good man. He entered the board in 1840, as one of the twelve directors appointed during" said year by the Court of Common Pleas ; served as chairman of the Superin- tending Committee for many years, and was altogether a de- voted champion of universal education. On January 27, 1828, he preached his trial sermon ; from then on, for a period of twenty-iive years, he continued to be Trinity's beloved pastor. The time came, however, when he felt that the weight of years compelled him to give way to a younger man more in touch with those who care little for age or length of service. An incident is related by an elderly gentleman who was a school boy along in the early fifties when Doctor Baker was a frequent visitor. Said my informant : " Mr. Baker never let an opportunity go by without giving the lads of the school a few words of wholesome advice." The venerable doctor was an inveterate chewer of the " weed," a custom that was sanctioned by public opinion in those days. On one occasion while he was somewhat inconsistently addressing the school on the evil effects of tobacco-chewing, he unconsciously partook of a good-sized "-quid," which seemed to make his ideas flow all the more smoothly. At the close of his talk, however, one of the larger boys, that had been fre- quently reprimanded, exclaimed, " Better take the quid out of your own mouth." Nothing daunted, the doctor removed the tobacco and casting it into the stove, exclaimed, " You are right, my boy ; the habit is a filthy one for either boy or man, and never more shall I use the article in any shape." For several years thereafter, and until he left the city, never was Doctor Baker known to indulge himself again. In the place of the tobacco could usually be found a rose stem or a strand from a broom. At the meeting of March 12 the following was oft'ered and adopted : THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 197 " Rcsoh'cd, That the hoard attend the funeral of Mr. Jacob Price, and that they meet at this place at eight o'clock Monday next for that purpose, and that all the schools be dismissed to enable the teachers to attend his funeral in a body." This was but a fitting- tribute to an old, respected teacher — one of the last of the old masters, who had served under Gad Day's supervis- ion. Of his long- service, his worth as a man, and his ex- emplary character, much might be said. Suffice it to say, he was true to his profession, and true to his friends. There was one other, of the same type of old schoolmasters, who was possibly better known for a score of years, by the boys who attended the free schools fron-i 1840 to i860 than any other teacher in the employ of the board. Although a lad under his schoolmastership during the middle forties, we will leave im- pressions formed of him to another, whose vivid recollections of those by-gone days have not been dulled by the cares which more than fifty years have brought in their train. " Recall Samuel O. Nourse, who for more than twenty years taught the young idea how to shoot ! Well, indeed, do I. It was about the year 1844 that I fell under the tutelage of Mr. Nourse, who kept school in one of the rooms near the corner of Duke and German. I remember him as a man of stern, steady habits and intentions. He was a man of erect build, spare of flesh, stern in voice, and always decided in expression, a native of one of the Berniuda islands, if I remember correctly. His dress of black was always that of a professional gentleman of the times : ' swallow tail,' ' stand-up collar,' his cravat a black silk neckerchief, rolled twice around the neck, forming as of that day the first step away from the older ' stock collar ' custom. "As a teacher, he was an assiduous worker, but this was required to meet the demands of the school. His hours between sessions were used to keep the material ready for the boys, such as ' making pens ' out of goose quills, and ' setting copies ' for scholars learning to write. 198 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. " School sessions were from 9 a. m. sharp to 12 m. and from 2 to 5 o'clock. Closing- at 12, he would run hastily four or five squares to his dinner, on Prince, a half square north of ' the jail' (now the site of the Fulton Opera House), and getting back in due time set to making pens, and if well made they'd write well ; if perchance, they were not artistically shaped, how one point would occasionally catch on the paper, and ' spritz ' the ink like spread-eagles, over the copy book. " Ruling copy books was another ' beautiful pastime ' in which he was compelled to indulge. The paper for writing was sewed into books of four or more sheets of foolscap, unruled, for beginners requiring lines. To execute this work nicely he had a hard-wood ruler, round, about an inch wide and twelve to sixteen inches in length. Then when the ' setting of copies ' was taken up, first with straight lines and pot-hooks, would come ' Honesty is the best policy,' ' Procrastination is the thief of time,' ' Time and tide wait for no man ' and others. " This ruler of Mr. Nourse had still another duty to perform. How often when Tom, Dick or Harry was not acting in accord with discipline, did that ruler fly over the heads of the other boys to Dick's seat, with a demand from the old gentleman : ' Dick, bring that messenger here !' Then according to the enormity of the ofifcnce came the punishment, with ' Dick, hold out your hand !' That was either the open hand on the palm, or it was, as he would indicate, the tips of the fingers and thumb gathered together, and turned upwards ; in either case, there came from the desk a longer, broader, flat ruler, used more than for anything else as the ' Executor of the law.' " In those days referred to the teacher was in no danger of prosecution for punishing a scholar. At one time there was a persistent ' truant ' or ' bag-player,' who would without leave or license remain from school days at a time. To break him of this habit, and at the same to punish him sufficiently was quite a study. But to think out difficult problems in the line of THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 199 ' child culture," in the making; of the future man, was a part of the master's daily avocation. So, to cure ' Andy Blue ' of the hal)it of truancy, he tirst sent out a squad of boys in search of ' Andy.' At the same time he sent out another contingent over into ' Green Lane,' from which they brought a bunch of from six to ten withes. When the last squad arrived with the subject of their research, Andy was compelled to get on the back of another boy — the tallest in the school, and while thus ' riding pickaback ' he received a fine ' scotching.' This wholesome application of moral suasion had the desired effect of bringing Andy Blue to school pretty regularly. " Another recollection of this school is this : After being in line before his desk and platform, and having read the lesson asked for by IMr. Nourse, all books were closed and hands folded behind each back. Then each in turn was given a word from reading to spell ' out-a-book.' With a peculiar rocking motion from right to left, the boys would spell it out. On one occasion he gave ' Andy Blue ' the word ' killdy ' to spell, no doubt as a soothing ointment to his wounded feelings. With the accustomed rocker roll, without giving each letter, he sang out ' kill-kill-fiy-fly-killfly,' and it was left to go as correct, with onl}- a quiet laugh from the boys and a frown from the master. " There was a time, in the history of the schools ' on the hill,' when on Saturday mornings, a short session would be held, but for what purpose scholars never learned. Nevertheless, when done with whatever recitations were assigned, on more than one occasion ' because ' boys had done well, they were asked to exercise their muscles at ' wood-sawing,' in the cellar in his residence. Xor did they ever demur. It was always a pleasure to do some such chore for ]\lr. Xourse when he asked it." Leaving my aged friend for other fields of conquest, other thoughts of Mr. Nourse aroused by the interview, and his 18 200 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. likeness came floating over my vision. The little trials and escapades, the many foolish things of boy-days — all these came back as we glanced at his profile. Let us be charitable — thank- ful that we, with a few others, are yet alive to revere his memory. Many old schoolmasters were worse, some better possibly, but none more sincere, more kindly disposed. In his home life he was an indulgent husband and father, bringing up a large family of children, nearly all yet living to bless his memory. If the father was one of the old school, his daughter, Victoria, who, along in the sixties, was one of Lancaster's most successful teachers, has until recently been a supervising principal in the schools of the city of Washington. Now after thirty years of service, she is resting on a yearly pension of $600. Her two brothers, Clarence and Frederick, are yet living — the one in Pittsburgh, the other in Baltimore — both holding responsible positions, the result of good home train- ing, at the hands of this same old schoolmaster, Samuel O. Nourse, who kept school " on the hill " so many years ago. "Do you recall to mind the Rev. Walter S. Drysdale?" I asked of another aged citizen, not so many weeks ago, as with pencil in hand, he wrote his name in his John Hancock style in the author's autograph album of subscribers. The principal of the girls' high school, away back in the fifties? Knew him? None better. Call round at your leisure and the Mrs. will give you her girlhood experience with him. " No," he continued, absent-mindedly, " he came to Lancas- ter rather to teach than to preach ; and yet he was clerically in- clined—tall, slender, of middle-age — a man who at all times wore a high-topped beaver, a suit of black, moving with a grace and dignity which always counted for much among the numer- ous divines who were prominent in educational affairs. " Ah, yes, my friend," he resumed as we jogged along arm in arm, " dignity of bearing, and a certain suavity of manner counted for more during those days than a certificate from the THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 201 Superintending' Committee. A ruffled shirt-front, a stand-up collar, with half a yard of black satin bound half a dozen times around the neck to keep the seat of knowledge in an upright position ; then a fluency of speech, an ability to measure swords with such disputants as the late General Ditmars, was a pass- port tO' Lancaster's literary coterie of celebrities." " How fared the young' college graduates who applied for positions?" I asked. " As a rule, they had a hard road to travel," came his prompt rejoinder. " Fresh from their Alma Mater, they were imbued with a certain feeling of importance — ' knew it all,' as the say- ing goes. That was before they came under the scrutinizing eyes of the examining" committee, especially prepared to meas- ure up the young collegiates. But bless you, my friend, when these young fellows emerged from their presence with a third- or fourth-rate certificate, they had more practical experience and less confidence in their own abilities. " It seems a singular fact, but one capable of demonstration," he went on, recalling his own early experiences as a teacher, " that where one of these young college boys could be found entirely capable of teaching the common branches of the school curriculum, a dozen were fitted to teach Latin, Greek, or the higher mathematics ; and of the former the committee was ever in search. " And this is suggestive of another line of reasoning," he added, glancing at the snow-flakes, falling at our feet like silvery strands, " when a teacher is found, entirely capable of teaching the ' three R's,' is her salary increased in proportion to services rendered ? Instead of being held in the position for which by nature and training she is so well adapted, promotion follows, with increased compensation, but with the chances against her of success. To supply the vacancy, in all respects so admirably filled, the young high school graduate is given the place. And so, the experimental process goes on from 202 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. year to year in our primary schools. The course of promotion, if anything," he resumed after another moment's hesitation, " should be downward rather than upward ; let the highest salaries be paid the primary teachers, and the results, in the higher schools, will be correspondingly increased. All the specialized knowledge of our higher education fails to compen- sate for imperfect training in the fundamentals.'' " But the young high school graduates, what are to become of them ? They must have a starting place somewhere, and if not in the lower grades, then where?" came my rejoinder, realizing" that to theorize was one thing, while to find a panacea for these growing ills was something entirely different. " Yes, yes ! you are entirely correct ; the young graduates must not be entirely ignored ; otherwise there might be a short- age in the supply. However, to overcome the difificulty," he concluded, " what the Lancaster School Board most needs and what the public will in time demand is. a ' training school,' from which the young graduate may go forth into the school- room fully equipped for the duties of her calling." HON. THOMAS H. BURROWES. CHAPTER XIV. THOMAS n. BURROWES, THE SIXTH PRESIDENT. Thomas H. Burrowes, the Sixth President — William B. Wiley, the Fourth Secretary — Resignation of Father Keenan — Resolutions of Con- dolence on the Death of F. J. Kramph — ^Hon. Alexander L. Hayes, the Seventh President — Resolutions of Regret on the Death of John S. Crumbaugh — Fiv'e County Superintendents of Lancaster County — An Old-fashioned Letter to a Member of the Lancaster School Board, in 1859. To pass from the fifties into the sixties without reference to three important changes in the officers of the board would be doing injtistice to men conspicuotis for their abiHty and high standing as co-workers in the cause of education. On the ninth of November, 1855, George M. Steinman, who had been reelected annually since 1846 as the board's presiding officer, resigned the office. Whereupon Thomas H. Burrowes was elected as the Sixth President. On the third of May fol- lowing he was reelected, serving until the fourth of February, 1858, wdien he resigned the office to become mayor of the city, holding his place, however, as ex-oHficio member of the board. In reliquishing the position of presiding officer, a vote of thanks was tendered him for the able and impartial manner in which he had discharged his duties. Born of Irish parents in the borough of Strasburg-, this county, on the sixteenth day of November, 1805, the subject of this sketch received the rudiments of an education in the private schools, and a more liberal training in Quebec, Canada, and later at Trinity College, Dublin, where his parents resided for a time. After returning to Pennsylvania he studied law with Amos Elliuaker, Esq. He spent a year at the Yale Law School, and in 1829 was admitted to practice law before the Lancaster county courts. In 1831 he was elected to the Legis- 203 204 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. lature by the Whigs; and in 1835 ^^'^s appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth, becoming" cx-officio Superintendent of Common Schools as has already been noted. Inasmuch as it would seem impossible to discuss the school problem in any of its phases from 1844 to 1862 while he was connected with the Lancaster School Board, without frequent mention of the name of Dr. Burrowes, the question may natur- ally arise, " Was Dr. Burrowes a great man in the generally accepted definition of the term?" From an educational stand- point, yes ; as an humble, unpretentious worker in the vineyard of intellectual development, he was without his superior in the broad domain of education. He was more than this ; he was a man of the common people, with whom he lived, with whom he died. Others were his superiors in the law, in states- manship ; but none more earnest, more devoted, more self- sacrificing in laying the foundation of the common school system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On his membership in the Lancaster School Board, during a score of years we let his record rest. Always kindly disposed, never self-assertive, ostentatious nor pretentious in the dis- play of knowledge of school affairs among his colleagues, he died as he lived, a commonplace citizen, poor in this world's goods but with the consciousness of duty well performed. We knew him well and intimately, first as a school boy and later as a teacher, and when he gave requested advice there was little in his demeanor to justify the impression that the experience of his eventful life had elevated him beyond the sphere of his fellow citizens. Of the long list of directors whose names will be found else- where, there was only one to hold both the office of secretary and treasurer, not. however, at the same time. In June, 1855, Mr. William B. Wiley was elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of the late Horace Rathvon. On the seventh day of February, 1856, he became the Fourth Secretary of the WILUIAM B. WILEY. THOMAS II. BITRROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 205 board, to fill the unexpired term of John Zimmerman, who, it will be recalled, resigned the office to accept that of mayor. Three changes strike the eye of the author, as he lays aside Minute Books I. and II., in which are the recordings of Findlay, Forney and Zimmerman, and takes up Volume III. : First, the difference in the style of penmanship ; second, the size of the volume, covering some five hundred pages ; and third, Mr. Wiley's signature to each monthly minutes ; for never before were the three previous officers known to sign their names to the records of the school lx)ard"s proceedings. The presump- tion is that John K. Findlay having set the example as far back as 1838, his successors followed the same course until the elec- tion of " Squire Wiley," whose signature never failed to follow his own recordings. ]\Ir. Wiley was a native of this city, having been born May 6, 1823. Accompanied by three brothers, his father came to Lancaster from the eastern shore of Virginia, settling here about the time Lancaster became a city. Of the various business operations in which Mr. Wiley was engaged down to the time he became a director, space forbids mention. It may be said that, as a magistrate. Alderman Wiley was an emininetly just one. His death occurred May 3, 1883, in his sixtieth year. In reviewing nearly a score of years of the board's proceed- ings the eye has become accustomed to fall upon a familiar name ; to miss it so suddenly carries with it a tinge of sadness. At the roll-call in 1856 one of the board's most useful mem- bers failed to respond — a most lovable companion, modest, truthful and full of the milk of human kindness in all his rela- tions private and public, with his church, his friends and the school board, whose interests he so faithfully served — Father Keenan, who for nearly twenty years had served his consti- tuents, handed in his resignation. He had gone to join his de- voted friends, Bowman and Baker, in retirement from the cares 206 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. which are sure to follow in the wake of the active, conscientious school director. The name of a good man, charitably inclined, ever ready to alleviate suffering, come in what shape it may, is destined to live as long as faith, hope and charity are the cardinal virtues of a Christian community. Father Keenan possessed all of these in a marked degree. For nearly half a century, this de- voted servant of Christ labored in our midst in the discharge of his pastoral duties. Of the close bond of union between him- self, the Rev. Sanniel Bowman and the Rev. John C. Baker, the older generation delight to speak, recalling, as they do, this trio of distinguished divines, as they together visited the schools at least once a month. With the history of Doctor Baker the reader is familiar ; with the early life of the Rev. Samuel Bowman, a few additional words may serve to impress more deeply upon the camera of the mind his many endearing traits of character, worthy of being imitated by the young men of our city, and for whose guidance in later life this volume has been partially written. The Rev. Samuel Bowman was born in the beautiful Wyom- ing \"alley in the year 1800, and became the rector of Saint James' Episcopal church at the age of twenty-seven. We re- call him all the more intimately, having as a lad sat in a little nook at one end of the gallery of the old church. How many times, as a caution of admonition, would his finger be raised as a reminder of a boy's forgetfulness. But with it came sort of a loving smile, leaving its impression deep and lasting in the heart of more than one boy of half a century ago. We quote an extract from the " Parochial History," written a few years ago by the late J. M. W. Geist, as a memorial tribute to the life and services of this Christian pastor and citizen. " Little did we think that the cordial ' good night ' with which he parted from us at the parsonage gate was the last word we would ever hear from his lips. But such was the will REV. BERNHARD KEENAN. THOMAS 11. CURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 207 of the Father. On Tuesday lie left on an Episcopal visit to the Oil Region; and the following Saturday evening (August 3, 1861), the telegraph brought the startling intelligence that this humble and unselfish man of God, this faithful and devoted bishop in the Church of Christ, had been in an instant called from his Master's service to his reward." Keenan — Bowman — Baker. May their names ever be asso- ciated with the growth of education in those early, trying days, when kind words fitly spoken were of greater value than silver or gold ! These three divines, however, were not the only ones whose energies were given to the cause of education ; others have served, and others still are to find their names recorded in the minutes of the school board's proceedings. As it cannot be said of the past, so we hope it may not be said of the future, that the ministers of Lancaster have lost interest in the cause of popular education. Another name of this time Ijrings old recollections : it was along in the year 1855, that Jesse Landis, Esq., entered the board as cx-ofHcio of common councils, in company with Mayor Albright. Of Mr. Landis the writer delights to speak, for he was among the first members of the Lancaster bar to give the young teachers a hearty welcome back to the city of his birth after an absence of nearly a decade. It was in the month of September, 1865, that his young son, now President Judge of the Court of Lancaster county, entered the South Duke street secondary school as a student. Since that early day, both Charles and James, following the example of their father, have served in the capacity of school director — the judge beginning his career as teacher of a district school. Thus does times bring about many changes. We are now called upon to note the proceedings of a special meeting, held April 19, 1858, at which Mr. Amos Slaymaker presented the following memorial tribute, which was unani- mously adopted : 208 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. " Whereas, In the dispensation of an All-Wise Providence, it has pleased God to remove from among us, in the full vigor of his manhood, our late esteemed associate, F. J. Kramph, therefore, " Rcsok'cd, That while we bow with resignation to the de- cree which has removed him, we would ]je unfaithful to our own feelings, did we not attempt to express the loss sustained by this community in his death. Of him it may truly be said, in all things relating to life he was a model citizen, and a good man, fond and affectionate husband and father, a sincere friend, just and considerate employer, a faithful, zealous and indus- trious director, a firm advocate of the cause of education ; and as the friend of the poor and distressed, his equal may rarely, his superior never, be found. " Resoh'cd, That this board sincerely condole with the fam- ily of their late associate in their affliction, and as a testimony of respect for his worth, they will attend his funeral in a body. ''Resolved, That the secretary be requested to furnish the family of the deceased with a copy of these resolutions, and also that they be published in the different papers of the city." At the May meeting of 1858, there being a vacancy in the presidency of the board, owing to the resignation of Thomas H. Burrowes, who then became mayor of the city, the Hon. Alexander L. Hayes was installed as the Lancaster School Board's Sez'enth President. At the meeting of August 10, 1838, A. L. Hayes had been elected a meml^er in place of Adam Reigart, and his first duty was to prepare a contract to be signed by the teachers before entering on their duties. He was chairman of the Finance Committee almost from the organization of the system in this city, submitting in the year 1840 the financial condition of the board for the two years previous. In giving a short sketch of this distinguished citizen, it may be said that he was born in Kent county, Delaware, in 1793. HON. A. L. HAYES. 19 THOMAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 209 He graduated from Dickinson College in 1812, and along in the thirties settled in Lancaster. He was appointed an associate justice in 1827. In 1884 the office of law judge was created, and Mr. Hayes was elected to fill it. Ten years later he was reelected and continued in office until 1894, when he was suc- ceeded by Hon. D. W. Patterson. Forty-two years, then, may be said to have been the limit of his judicial life. But Judge Hayes was never weary of well-doing ; he could ever find time to devote to the cause of education in Lancaster. Lie was one of the trustees of the State Normal School at Millersville, a trustee and vice-president of Franklin and Marshall College, an active member of the Athenaeum and Historical Society. In addition, he was of a genial nature, tall, dignified in manner as well as undemonstrative in his daily walks of life. The first special meeting called by President Hayes was that of January 14, 1859, which met under peculiarly distressing circumstances. Coming so closely upon that most unfortunate condition of affairs in which the board and the principals of the Boys and Girls' High Schools were involved, it was with feel- ings of sadness that President Hayes announced the appoint- ment of a committee of three tO' take action on the death of John S. Crumbaugh. The committee reported as follows : " Divine Providence having removed from the scene of his earthly labors, John S. Crumbaugh, it is the duty as well as the sad privilege of this board to express the feelings occasioned by the event and its estimate of his character and public ser- vices, therefore, "Resolved, That in common with the citizens of Lancaster county, we deplore in the death of John S. Crumbaugh, the loss of a county superintendent whose learning, zeal, urbanity and sound practical sense, in the discharge of the various and difficult duties of the office, were unsurpassed. " Resolved, That while a teacher in the highest station in the gift of the board, the impress made by him on the moral and 210 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. intellectual condition of the youth committed to his care was such as entirely to justify that important trust. " Resolved, That as a member of this board, his deportment was such as to command the confidence and respect of his associates. '' Resolved, That though our city has recently been called on to lament the departure of many of her most useful citizens, the name of John S. Crumbaugh be added to the list of the most worthy, as that of one whose brief life is a record of learning, usefulness and honor. "Resolved, That the officers of this board present to the family of the deceased a copy of these resolutions, as a tribute of our respect for his memory and of condolence with them in their afilictions. " Resolved, That we attend his funeral in a body, and invite the teachers of the city schools and the present and former pupils of the male high school also to attend." On motion of Rev. Air. Krotel, the resolutions were unani- mously adopted. Of the five county superintendents of Lancaster county from the year 1854, down to the present year, two were members of the Lancaster School Board. From the time of Mr. Wick- ersham, down through the past half century, each, in turn, was directly and officially connected with the cause of education in this city. There is one, in particular, for whose memory a good word may be spoken. We refer to the late David Evans, who for thirteen years was the superintendent of the schools of both city and county. Appointed in the winter of 1859 on the death of Mr. Crumbaugh, this indefatigable worker, so little understood and appreciated, continued in office until the early seventies. His early visitations to the schools of the county, in addition to those of the city, were at no time without their trials and difficulties. In addition, his yearly salary, at one period of three years, was as low as $1,250, out of which he THOMAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 211 was compelled to keep a horse and conveyance, hold exam- inations and visit over four hundred schools. David Evans was not without his peculiarities; in his judg- ment of men he was oftentimes wofully in error, turning against a friend on the slightest provocation. But with all his shortcomings, no superintendent did more during the past half century to elevate the system than did David Evans. In addition to supervising the schools of the rural districts and the examination of their teachers, the schools of Lancaster were also under his immediate control. Surely, the salary of twelve hundred and fifty dollars per annum, during war times, was in no way calculated to inspire confidence, either in him- self or in the directors at large. Space allows only mention of ex-Superintendent B. F. Shaub, and ]\I. J. Brecht. both of whom are living, and both of whom generously did their duty by our school system, before the elec- tion of a city superintendent and the organization of a separate Teachers' Institute. Just as we are about to pass from the fifties into the sixties, a cofifee-colored letter, addressed to a prominent school official, by one of Lancaster's then most prominent citizens, falls into the author's hands. Glancing over its contents we find it refers to the school question of nearly half a century ago. As both the writer and the recipient of this unique epistle have long since crossed the river of time, it is herein reproduced, containing as it does opinions altogether different from those held by the majority of people of the present day. That it will be read with inter- est, the author of this work has every reason to believe; that it will create a revolution in school management, here or else- where, is not probable. However, it is well to give the " old timers " a hearing, and this we do without regard to the objec- tions likelv to be raised bv the modern-dav educators. 212 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. "Lancaster, May i, 1859. " My Dear Doctor: It is my desire to say a few words to you concerning the public school question, to ascertain how our views concerning it are at variance. You, as I recall, have been a member of the Lancaster School Board since its adop- tion in 1838, and should be informed on all topics pertaining to the new system. This being so, I may expect you in re- turn, to favor your old friend with such answers to what I may have to say on the school question. " Some writer has said that the best form of government for any nation is that which will confer the greatest good on the greatest number of its people. If this be true of govern- ments, it is equally true when applied to our public schools. I think the best possible system is that which will give the best education to the greatest nvmiber of its children ; and as I know from actual computation that less than three per cent, of all the scholars who enter the primary schools here in Lancaster ever graduate from our high schools, and as I also know that over twenty-five per cent, of all the school tax collected in this city is spent on the high schools, I am very decidedly of the opinion that the public school system of the present day does not give the best education to the greatest number of its chil- dren. It is an established fact that ninety-seven per cent, of all our children drop out of school either before or very soon after entering our high schools ; and as it is an equally well- established fact that the other three per cent., or those who graduate from our high schools, are the children of parents whose financial condition is such that they can well afford to send their children to a seminary, academy or college, how would it do to abolish our high schools altogether, and spend the money which we now spend on them on our primary and secondary schools? By doing this I am very sure a much larger proportion of our pupils would get a much better edu- cation than they are now getting, being as they are only feed- THOMAS Ti. RURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 213 ers for the schools they may never hope to enter. As our schools are now conducted, the children of the very few are being educated at the expense of the children of a great many poor men. This is all wrong, my dear doctor, and should not be so. In my opinion it is far better that fifty or seventy per cent, of any community should be moderately well educated, than that education should be confined exclusively to the three per cent, of that community. Yet this is what our high schools seem to be doing for us — educating the few at the expense of the many. And yet this is a question where ' nuich can be said on both sides.' In considering it, I sometimes think, that perhaps I have outlived my day and generation ; and the best thing for me to do would be to retire to the rear, and take up my place among the baggage wagons and wounded, as I saw down in the Mexican war. That at my time of life new fashions come in hard, it is useless for me to tell you. A recent writer gives a beautiful simile of removing old notions and implanting new ones, and tells how ' after great exertion the stone that so long lay upon the grass-plot was lifted up, when lo and be- hold ! look at the colony of frightened conservatives — lizards running here, spiders and insects on this side, bugs and beetles on that, and all unclean things scattering to their holes — slimy, dark and cold. The stone was taken away : a year later the traveler passed, and lo ! behold the change ; violets and delicate grasses, and lovely flowers had sprung up on all sides, happy in the sunshine.' " Unfortunately, the limited few are not receiving the kind of an education the times demand ; it is only too frequently pointed out by the editor that ' the proof-reader is the school- master ' ; that if half the communications falling under his scrutinizing eye, from high school graduates, were to find their way into the newspapers as penned, the authors behind them would hang their heads in shame. So faultv are manv of these 214 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. articles in spelling, punctuation and grammatical construction, as I have had reason to know, as to raise the question of the usefulness of such higher education as may follow. Again, the business world demands a hearing. Our merchants, could they be heard, would have their own story to tell of the ineffi- ciency of the proper kind of training to qualify the average boy or girl to assume such everyday duties as the business world has the right to expect. All these thoughts are ' in the air.' It will not do to charge the college graduate with an equal deficiency in elementary training; for they in turn may lay the cause to our lower and higher grades of public schools. But may things not be different a half a century hence? " And now, my dear doctor, these modern innovations that are sought to be transplanted among us, and that have come with the New England schoolmaster, remind me of another beautiful legend : It is said that when Thorwaldsen, the Dan- ish sculptor, returned to his native land with those beautiful works of art which have made his name immortal, the ser- vants who unpacked the marble scattered upon the ground the straw which was wrapped around them. The next sum- mer flowers from the gardens of Rome were blooming in the streets of Copenhagen, from the seeds thus planted by acci- dent. This is all very pretty and perhaps true, but we all know that there are some soils so poor that nothing will grow on them. I know it is very old-fogyish for me to say this ; but it is nevertheless true. " To such an extent are the educational fads and crazes car- ried in the different ' Teachers' Institutes,' and examinations, that I honestly believe that if Thomas Jefferson and Daniel Webster were to apply to the County Superintendent of Lan- caster county for a certificate to teach school, and were un- known to him, they would not pass the required examination, and would be rejected. " The advanced theorists tell us that this is an advanced age THO^TAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 215 ■ — that the thought that once moved at a funeral pace, now rushes on in a tremendous charge — that the ' Old Guard ' and ' Marion's Men ' were ' not in it ' — that the average school boy of to-day knows more than his grandparents at three score and ten — and that the school boy of ' ye olden time,' who was brought up on the New England Primer, Webster's Spelling Book, and Pike's Arithmetic, is a back number; that anybody who wishes to rise to fame and distinction in this day and gen- eration must keep abreast of the times. " That the average child of to-day knows more of books, of art and of the world, as it ought to, than did the child of a score of years ago, I do not deny. Yet I do not believe that the children of the present day are correspondingly superior in refinement of manners, in gentleness of sentiment, in moral integrity, and the general qualities of character and good be- havior to those of an earlier day. I would like to have the judgment of yourself as to the relative manners of the youth, trained under the respective influences of the Lancasterian sys- tem and the free school propaganda of the present time. " I very likely am unconsciously swayed by the conserva- tism belonging to my years, but I remember well the lessons taught at home ane revival ,f not the survival of a sintilar kin.I describe.l i„ a prevous chapter. Of the urany " fairs " held in Fulton Hall di.nns those exciting war times the writer has a distinct recol- ec„on. To forget the services rendered the " bovs in blue " by the women of Lancaster would be to forget a n,other's love for her own offspring, who, in the hour of his co„ntr>--s peril went forth, perchance never more to return. Returning once more to the ndnntes of the Noventber meet- ing, we fin