Knox County, Illinois - The whole text, 1912 (part 13 of 56)

During the years of the rebellion, as the records of the association show, the teachers were responsive to the spirit of the times. At the April meeting, 1863, Dr. Standish in the chair, J. H. Knapp, J. B. Roberts, and B. G. Hall, committee on resolutions, reported in part as follows : "Resolved, That it is the duty of all teachers to inculcate patriotic principles and to encourage love of country, and that every attempt on the part of school boards to repress exhibitions of loyal feeling toward our government, especially in this time of its peril, should meet with the disapprobation of all true hearted educators, also. That we request our County Commissioner not to grant certificates to those known to have disloyal sentiments."

S. E. Field, John F. Dickinson, George Churchill, Miss Fmma Dryer, and Miss Mary A. West were the committee on resolutions for the next meeting. Here is part of their report : "4th, That to our country in this hour of strife we swear anew our allegiance, pledging ourselves to assist her, if need be with our lives, praying God to continue to give wisdom to her rulers, courage to her soldiers and victory to her arms. 5th, That, feeling as we do the debt we owe our brothers in the field, we pledge ourselves to sustain them by our sympathies, our labors, and our prayers, assuring them that while our hearts throb at the thought of their sufferings, we rejoice at their victories and glory in their heroism." Similar expressions were given at other times. President Lincoln was commended on different occasions, particularly for the emancipation proclamation; and later Andrew Johnson was condemned as a traitor and Congress was called upon to impeach him. The body was in session in Oneida at the time of Lee's surrender, and the resolutions adopted are beautiful in their expression of the joy of victory, of devotion to country, and of thankfulness to God and the nation's defenders. |

The importance of this teachers' organization to the schools of the county will scarcely be over-estimated. For years it furnished almost the only means of professional advancement to the teachers. In its meetings the new ideas were advanced and tested, and the approval of the body was authority for much of the method in teaching and management that found place in the schools.

The number of school districts in 1840, as previously stated, was eighteen; the number increased to 159 in 1857, to 175 in 1864, and to 189 in 1871. Very many changes in district boundaries were made in the intervening years, but the number reported in 1911 was the same as in 1864, 175. To this number, however, may be added parts of three districts, union with adjoining counties, and the high school district of Haw Creek township.

Schoolhouses to the number of 139 were reported by the school commissioner in 1857. The report of 1865 showed 184 and that of 1868, 198. No official statement of a larger number has been found. In 1911, the number was i86, and it had been for some years. . ''. .

At the beginning of this period all the schools were ungraded, housed in one-room buildings, composed of pupils of all degrees of advancement. In 1857, part of one group of schools, Knoxville, had been combined and graded; in 1 86 1, there were five of these graded schools and eight in 1865. There were sixteen districts in 1912, with two or more rooms each, twenty-nine graded schools in all. During the decade 1866 to 1876, a substantial graded school was erected in each of the towns of the county. Those in Abingdon, Oneida, Knoxville and Wataga were built of brick. Knoxville, in 1902, had come to require more room than was provided in the building of 1876. To supply this need a brick building for the accommodation of the high school and the eighth grade was erected. Having become too small, this was enlarged in 1911. The frame buildings of the late sixties in Maquon and Yates City were replaced in 1904, with well constructed modern buildings of brick. v

A notable event in the history of schools in the county was the union in 1903 of the districts of North and South Abingdon, and the purchase by the new district for a high school of the large building formerly occupied by Abingdon College. No better example of the wisdom of consolidating schools can be found anywhere. Here were two districts, neither one strong enough to maintain such a school as its people desired, that solved most of their problems by combining them,

The varying meaning of the term high school makes it difficult to leam just the order of the formation of such schools in the different towns of the county. Giving the term the meaning that it has now, a school doing three or four years of work beyond the eighth grade, there was no high school outside of Galesburg until 1872, when the school at Knoxville reached that grade. In 1880 the county superintendent's report shows six, though it is quite possible that some of these did not come up to the present grade of high schools. In 1912 there were threeyear high schools at Altona, Gilson, Maquon, Wataga and Williamsfield; and schools with four-year courses at Abingdon, Galesburg, Knoxville, Oneida and

Yates City. The Haw Creek township high school (Gilson) was organized in 1902. As compared with other parts of the state this county has always stood well in high school work. It had more high schools in 1880 than any other county except Cook. In 1911 the proportion of high school students to the total enrollment of the schools and to the population of the county was greater than in any other county of Illinois.

County Superintendent Christianer in 1870 wrote: "Of the 192 school- 1 -v^s'i .-;''. yv/ houses in the county, about one-half are gOod and sufficient for practical pur- ',,::..--,-"- poses, and about one-fourth by suitable repairs can be made comfortable, and ;-:.-.:.:'.-;'-;' about one- fourth ought to be razed to the ground and replaced by new ones." . .'..,,,

Not quite the same thing could be said of our schoolhouses in 1912. But ! .-; Vl-'-- it is true that school architecture in the county generally has not shown the ; !"-.x. advance it should have mdde. More especially is this true of the one-room :-.>-; buildings. Except in a few instances these buildings were erected with little .-'.-.- reference to proper lighting and ventilation and with only such regard to effective -.-',:-:- . heating as would be provided for by reasonably substantial construction. The .^,..' -;:' more recent influences in favor of greater care in the housing of schools have had . % '; -V^^ considerable effect. At the beginning of 1912 there were twelve country schools .^ ' -//'f ,; heated with basement furnaces, all but two of them having been installed after - --,,.,: the erection of the building. Thirty-six heating and ventilating plants, virtually ''';,' furnaces placed on the floor of the room with adequate provision for ventilation, ' . - .- ' were in use. Eighteen other districts had improved on the old plan of a bare '.;''..';: stove in the center of the room by placing it in the corner and surrounding it I. V; .-;.-:--; with a jacket. In the report of Superintendent Christianer previously referred : ; 'yj-'^: to, he condemned very severely the seating of school rooms as it was then. At -./.".' '^.. the time of the last report of the condition of the schools, more than forty ;.'?-:' years later, much still remained to be desired in this important matter, especially ;>.-'. in the arrangement of the desks. However, very general improvement in the -', -.:.'-.;:' furnishing and decoration of the school rooms had been made. A few build- - .,;.:. ings were still ceiled with lumber; but almost all were plastered and either pa- J >,;--.- pered or calcimined. Sufficient blackboard space, maps and globes had come to :'. -"'. ; ;v.V -: be nearly universal. But few were entirely without suitable pictures; prac- -;;.::''.":.' tically all had window shades and nearly as many had sash curtains. At the ^-- ;:?'...-: time of this writing more than half the one-room schools in the county were .'.:-;'' y=' supplied with musical instruments. Two were without books other than a die- ' X' /;' tionary, though all but five had enough books to be called a library. Nineteen ;>.- - schools had met the requirements of the state superintendent of public instruc- ,'::,-;:,-;- tion as to grounds, building, equipment and teaching for standard one-room :-.:J' :.;-;/!-; schools of Illinois. . '.'--v'O

Libraries for schools have for sixty years received attention. The report . -./;--; of 1867 credited the county with 720 books in school libraries, that of 1868, with;: .\ 'i i:'J;' over 1, 800. The great increase for the year was due to the libraries for public schools furnished under certain conditions by the state. The books were illsuited to children's reading and those remaining in the schools forty years later showed generally little wear except that of time. As reported in 1872, the twenty-six school libraries of the county numbered 1,599 volumes. The Cherry Grove and Thirlwell schools are reported to have had the best country-school libraries in those days. In 1878 some books awarded the Yates City schools as prizes for work exhibited at the Knox county fair, formed the nucleus of a very successful library. Its growth attracted much attention and it was discussed in teachers' meetings. The idea thus spread and a few years later began one of -- the periods of greatest activity in establishing school libraries. The number of " books reported in 1890 was 6,938; and the number of libraries, 120; in 1900 there were 12,359 books and 145 libraries; and in 1911 there were 24,236 books in 171 libraries. The Illinois Pupils' Reading Circle furnished considerable stimulus to children's reading and assisted in making the later years of this period fruitful . of good books and of a growing interest on the part of teachers and parents in what the children read.

The people of the county in 1857 paid for the maintenance of schools taxes to the amount of $12,791.94 and for the erection of seventeen schoolhouses $10,685. The state distributed to the county for school purposes that year $12,903.57. Teachers were paid for the school year of 1856-1857, $22,179.89, at average monthly wages of $14 to women and $28 to men. Five years later, 1862, the total tax was $19,542 and the distributive fund, $10,144. Three new buildings were erected and 343 teachers were paid $22,154, at average wages of -; $16 for women and $26 for men - the highest wages paid to a man being $55 and the lowest $17; and to women, $28 and $io. The county's share of the state ; fund was never greater than $15,843.36, and from that decreased to $6,234.75 for ; the year 1910. Owing to the doubling by the general assembly of the school ; tax fund of $1,000,000, the amount received from the levy of 1911 was $13,160.36. ', The amount of money raised by local taxation has varied greatly. At the end of - the second five-year period the amount was $94,539 ; at the end of the next such period it had fallen to just less than $90,000. Another five years, 1877, brought the levy up to $102,209.54 ; but it dropped to $71,019.61 in i88i and to $70,282.95 in 1882. In 1887 it was $89,419; in 1890, $86,353.98 and in 1896, $146,972.19. Any decrease in the levy since that time has been because of the varying amount spent for buildings - the amount expended for maintenance of schools has Steadily increased. The levy for 1900 was $140,500, and the report for 1905 shows $186,140.52 collected for that year; and for 1910, $259.792. The citv of Galesburg collected much of this increase, its tax advancing from $30,000 in 1890 to $144,000 in 1910. The estimated value of school property was $285,255 in 1875; in 1900 it was $442,375; and in 1911, $805,950.

Course Of Study

Just what branches of study should be pursued in the common schools and what ones exclude'd has always been a question receiving much consideration. When the system was organized nearly sixty years ago, the full course provided was reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography and history. Very little emphasis, however, was placed upon the two last named. The textbook in geography recommended in 1862 by the teachers' association was a very elementary presentation and nothing at all was said of a text in history. Music, physiology, civics and the elements of biology and physics were discussed from time to time and claims made for them as suitable and necessary common school subjects. A course of study suggested by Miss West, county superintendent, in 1877 provided for all of them. This course was not generally adopted, however. The probability is that geography became generally and firmly established in the schools during the sixties, and United States history somewhat later. Physiology and hygiene was also added by statute to the common school course; civics and the history of Illinois in 1905.

In 1884, County Superintendent Steele prepared and introduced an outline of study for the ungraded schools of Knox county. This course provided for the study of civil government in addition to those subjects that had come to - be considered a part of the course. Very briefly stated the aim of the outline was to make practical the work of the school room, to advance the pupils step by step and give them credit for the work done, to unify the work of the common schools of the county, to keep before the minds of the pupils facts and principles instead of paragraphs and pages, and to lessen the difficulties arising from lack of uniformity of text books. The plan provided for a system of monthly and, for advanced grades, township examinations, the latter having been continued as central examinations _ to the present time. The outline was immediately successful and served well for some years in the accomplishment of the author's purpose. It was one of the earliest and most valuable of such outlines made anywhere for country schools. The state course of study, an outline prepared by a committee of county superintendents acting with the State Teacher's association, came later to take its place.

The law of the state lias always made it the duty of school directors to adopt text books for the district and there has never been any compulsory uniformity among districts in the matter of school books. In 1895, County Superintendent Matthew Andrews, acting with teachers and principals of the county to foil the plans of a firm of publishers with a list of poor books, secured the very general adoption by the districts of a list proposed by himself. These books were used by the larger number of the schools until 1904. The directors of the county at their annual meeting in March of that year upon request by resolution directed "the county superintendent of schools to confer with teachers and others and recommend a list of text books for uniform use in the schools of the county. The recommendation was made in August of the same year and, without the work of agents or others than the teachers, the books came into immediate and very general use. So responsive to the plan we're the directors and the people and so interested the teachers that 94 per cent of the books used

. Just what brandies of study should be pursued in the common schools and what ones exclude'd has always been a question receiving much consideration. When the system was organized nearly sixty years ago, the full course provided was reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography and history. Very little emphasis, however, was placed upon the two last named. The textbook in geography recommended in 1862 by the teachers' association was a very elementary presentation and nothing at all w'as said of a text in history. Music, physiology, civics and the elements of biology and physics were discussed from time to time and claims made for them as suitable and necessary common school subjects. A course of study suggested by ^liss West, county superintendent, in 1877 provided for all of them. This course was not generally adopted, however. The probability is that geography became generally and firmly established in the schools during the sixties, and United States history somewhat later. Physiology and hygiene was also added by statute to the common school course; civics and the history of Illinois in 1905. 1 ' . '

In 1884, County Superintendent Steele prepared and introduced an outline of study for the ungraded schools of Knox county. This course provided for the study of civil government in addition to those subjects that had come to be considered a part of the course. Very briefly stated the aim of the outline was to make practical the work of the school room, to advance the pupils step by step and give them credit for the work done, to unify the work of the common schools of the county, to keep before the minds of the pupils facts and principles instead of paragraphs and pages, and to lessen the difficulties arising from lack of uniformity of text books. The plan provided for a system of monthly and, for advanced grades, township examinations, the latter having been continued as central examinations to the present time. The outline was immediately successful and served well for some years in the accomplishment of the author's purpose. It was one of the earliest and most valuable of such outlines made anywhere for country schools. The state course of study, an outline prepared by a committee of county superintendents acting with the Slate Teacher's association, came later to take its place.

The law of the state has always made it the duty of school directors to adopt text books for the district and there has never been any compulsory uniformity among districts in the matter of school books. In 1895, County Superintendent Matthew Andrews, acting with teachers and principals of the county to foil the plans of a firm of publishers with a list of poor books, secured the very general adoption by the districts of a list proposed by himself. These books were used by the larger number of the schools until 1904. The directors of the county at their annual meeting in March of that year upon request by resolution directed the county superintendent of schools to confer with teachers and others and recommend a list of text books for uniform use in the schools of the county. The recommendation was made in August of the same year and, without the work of agents or others than the teachers, the books came into immediate and very general use. So responsive to the plan were the directors and the people and so interested the teachers that 94 per cent of the books used

One knowing something of Knox county schools can but regret the lack of space to write fully of the character and work of the teachers. Among them have appeared the failures that must always be found in any large group of persons; some have been unable to rise above the limitations under which all have worked ; very infrequently one has shown himself entirely unworthy.

. But generally, they have understood something of the responsibility resting upon them and have striven to meet it. Very many have not waited for their tasks

\ to be pointed out, but have endeavored to learn what might wisely be added to the work of the schbols and how their efficiency might be increased. A simple record of the faithfulness and devotion of the teachers would make a splendid chapter in our history and the county, during its more than eighty years, has acquired nothing of greater value than the cumulative influence of those who have taught in its schools.

During many years the teachers were employed for but a term at a time, there being at first two and later three terms a year. The service of a teacher in a district was called a school and it sometimes happened that the annual report of a township showed three times as many schools as districts - that is, that each district had changed teachers every term. Gradually it came to be the custom to employ teachers for the year and during the last few years not to exceed a dozen schools annually have suffered from a change of teachers during the year. The colleges and high schools have tended to keep the standard relatively high as to scholarship and the same influence has helped in the maintenance of a professional spirit. Salaries have ranged from an average of $14.00 for women and $28.00 for men as shown in the report for 1857, ^o an average, in

More than six hundred persons other than teachers are required to fill the official school positions of the county. It is unnecessary to say that there never have been so many people at one time intelligently exerting themselves in the interest of public education : the officers have not always been the persons of their communities best fitted for the positions they held. However, it can be said that to the care of school directors may be traced much of the progress made. The position has always been called a thankless one, but it is probable that no teacher has ever accomplished much without the s\Tnpathy and support of his board of directors and few indeed are the successful teachers who do not gladly acknowledge their obligation for such assistance. The school directors of the county have held annual meetings in Galesburg since 1903 and much has thus been accomplished for the schools.

The board of supervisors, though not charged with the exercise of school functions, has always touched the schools through its relation to the county superintendent. During a considerable part of the time after 1855 the board had control of the number of days, at a per diem fixe^ by statute, to be spent annually in the discharge of the duties of the office, and the amount of office

One knowing something of Knox county schools can but regret the lack of space to write fully of the character and work of the teachers. Among them have appeared the failures that must always be found in any large group of persons ; some have been unable to rise above the limitations under which all have worked ; very infrequently one has shown himself entirely unworthy. But generally, they have understood something of the responsibility resting upon them and have striven to meet it. Very many have not waited for their tasks to be pointed out, but have endeavored to learn what might wisely be added to the work of the schbols and how their efficiency might be increased. A simple record of the faithfulness and devotion of the teachers would make a splendid chapter in our history and the county, during its more than eighty years, has acquired nothing of greater value than the cumulative influence of those who have taught in its schools.

During many years the teachers were employed for but a term at a time, there being at first two and later three terms a year. The service of a teacher in a district was called a school and it sometimes happened that the annual report of a tow-nship showed three times as many schools as districts - that is, that each district had changed teachers every term. Gradually it came to be the custom to employ teachers for the year and during the last few years not to exceed a dozen schools annually have suffered from a change of teachers during the year.

The colleges and high schools have tended to keep the standard relatively high as to scholarship and the same influence has helped in the maintenance of a professional spirit. Salaries have ranged from an average of $14.00 for women and $28.00 for men as shown in the report for 1857, to an average, in 1911, of $53.CX3 for women and $89.07 for men. . .

More than six hundred persons other than teachers are required to fill the official school positions of the county. It is unnecessary to say that there never have been so many people at one time intelligently exerting themselves in the interest of public education ; the officers have not always been the persons of their communities best fitted for the positions they held. However, it can be said that to the care of school directors may be traced much of the progress made. The position has always been called a thankless one, but it is probable that no teacher has ever accomplished much without the sympathy and support of his board of directors and few indeed are the successful teachers who do not gladly acknowledge their obligation for such assistance. The school directors of the county have held annual meetings in Galesburg since 1903 and much has thus been accomplished for the schools.

The board of supervisors, though not charged with the exercise of school functions, has always touched the schools through its relation to the county superintendent. During a considerable part of the time after 1855 the board had control of the number of days, at a per diem fixec^ by statute, to be spent annually in the discharge of the duties of the office, and the amount of office expense has always been within its control. There is in the earlier records much evidence that members of the board did not always favor the advancement of popular education through the agency of the county superintendent. But the opposition seems to have relaxed about 1875. In 1883, under a law merely permitting such action, the board voted the superintendent full time for the discharge of official duties. In 1890 by resolution the county superintendent was authorized to purchase examination paper, schedules and other stationery for the schools at the expense of the county. In 1904 it was made a rule of the board to pay the expense of the visiting of schools by the county superintendent and in 1907 an office assistant was provided. . . .;

Since 1855 the chief educational office of the county has been held by eleven different persons. At the beginning of this period the title of the office was county school commissioner and the term of election was two years. In 1865 the duties of the office were increased, the term made four years and the title changed to county superintendent of schools. The direct powers conferred upon the office are not extensive; but the statute creates opportunity for leadership. Accordingly success in its administration consists in large part of securing the co-operation of teachers and all others in the interest of school work. The active and intelligent support- of the schools by the largest possible number of their patrons and supporters would be the ideal on one side ; and the highest degree of effectiveness of the schools themselves through the course of study and the teachers would be the ideal on the other.

MT. P. H. Sanford began the work in 1855 and from the first put the stress of his administration upon the improvement of teachers. His service, ending in 1 86 1, seems to have been characterized by an active teachers' organization which he called into being and with which he worked a number of years after leaving the office. J. H. Knapp succeeded to the position and continued, it seems, the same general plan as Mr. Sanford. The office was a comparatively new one and the superintendent was establishing and defining it during these years. It was the period of the civil war and the duty of the school to the state was emphasized. Superintendent Knapp resigned in March, 1869, and the board of supervisors elected to the place Mr. John S. Foster, who served until the following December, when Frederick Christianer succeeded him. Mr. Christianer served one term. Superintendent and teachers during this time seem to have been striving for some more definite plan of school organization, for a course of study and the grading of one-room schools which was to come in a dozen years later.

Miss Mary Allen West came to the office in 1873 and was re-elected in 1877. Through a change in the school law a year was added to this second term and Miss West served, in all, nine years. She was a very active official and did much to popularize the office she held. She visited schools, attended meetings, and delivered addresses to the end that the people might know what was doing. For the first time, it may be said, the chief work of the county superintendent was in the direction of interesting other people than teachers in the work of the schools. William L. Steele succeeded Miss West in 1882 and resigned the office in 1885. The characteristics of this administration were a much more definite organization of the schools of the county than had existed before and the development of great activity in establishing school libra- ries. Both of these have been mentioned elsewhere. Upon the resignation of Superintendent Steele, the board of supervisors appointed George W. Oldfather to succeed him. At the next election Mr. Oldfather was chosen for a full term extending his service to 1890. His effective work was along the same general lines as that of his predecessor. Shirley C. Ransom was elected in 1890 and resigned at the end of 1892 to be succeeded, through the action of the board, by Matthew Andrews at the beginning of 1903. The work of Superintendent Andrews was characterized by great activity in visiting schools and untiring energy in the effort to improve the work of the individual teacher. Local teachers' meetings were a prominent part of his plan. He was succeeded at the close of his six years of service by Ernest S. Wilkinson who continued the teachers' meetings and added to them an extension course of a year for the improvement of the scholarship of teachers. Walter F. Boyes was elected to the office in 1902. Uniform textbooks, the county course of study, agriculture in the schools, and directors' meetings have been spoken of elsewhere. If the writer might be permitted to characterize this period of service, he would say that it was marked chiefly by the hearty support given the present county superintendent in his work by teachers and school officers.

Tennyson says, "Woman is the lesser of man." We frankly admit this to be true in some respects. We believe, however, that woman is as necessary to the well being of civic, social, commercial and national life, as is man himself. In order to make her influence felt she need not be identified with these different forms of human activity in the same way as is man. Indeed it were better not to be so. But woman has her own tactful methods, her own absorbing interests, her own enthusiasms, her own appropriate sphere of action. By these means, and through these avenues of approach, she may reach out and touch the world's activities at almost every point of contact with which man has to do, and may wield an influence as great and far-reaching as his own.

Woman's forms of activity, and her practical methods are distinctively her own, as befits her womanly nature. They are characterized by greater enthusiasm of interest, more painstaking effort in the working out of details, and greater devotion to her sense of duty to the cause which she has espoused as the work in which she is engaged.

We find these characteristics exemplified as she pursues her chosen work as teacher, philanthropist, temperance worker, church worker, business woman, professional woman, journalist, author, reformer, and club woman, for she brings to these different spheres of activity, devotion, self-sacrifice, loyalty and euthusiasm of a type rarely seen in man. I'. ; v ., In times of peace she finds ample scope for all her varied forms of activity and service. And in the stress and agony of war she has proved herself to be a very angel of mercy in her ministries to her country's heroes and protectors, who have paid in suffering and death the price of the patriotism which she helped to arouse and stimulate in them.

Were we to gather together, tabulate and sum up the aggregate of woman's part and woman's influence as they have been wrought into the very warp and woof of our national life and history, we should find an overwhelming balance to woman's credit.

In order to reach this grand total we should go back to those crucial days of 1620, when, on that stonny, "stern and rock-bound coast," the women of the "Mayflower" gave proof of the stuff of which woman is made. And when the "real" Daughters of the American Revolution, inspired by the example of their mothers, proved themselves to be of no less strong heart and heroic blood than were their sons and brothers.

And later still to 1861-65, the period of the civil war, when through the prolonged agony, five years of unspeakable horror and angfuish, the spirit of *he women of 1620 and 1776 was reincarnated in the women of fifty years ago.

Through this period of two centuries and a half, the recital of woman's work and influence must be written, for the most part, with the pen of history dipped in tears and blood.

But at the close of the civil war, the question of re-construction became the serious problem of the hour, involving not only our national affairs to which they especially pertained, but its effects were also made manifest in many and varied movements touching social and civic life. To woman the problem presented itself in the form of a call to organized effort, to the re-adjustment of her position, to the determining of what her real status should henceforth be.

Up to this time there were no associated movements among women, outside the church, the suffrage and the anti-slavery cause, and these associations were made up of both men and women, and were, for the most part, even if not entirely controlled by men.

And so we come to that period in our country's history when woman began to appear as a factor to be considered in public as well as private movements and events.

The movement for the organization of clubs exclusively for women was started in New York city in March, 1868. At this time a good deal of excitement had been aroused among the literary women of the city, because of their exclusion from equal privileges with men at a "Dickens dinner" to be given by the Press club. As a result of this incident the women determined to organize a club of their own by way of experiment. Twelve women, among whom was Mrs. J. C. Croley, the founder, and who therefore should be recognized as the founder of women's clubs in this country, met and organized a club called the Sorosis. This name is taken from a botanical term of Greek derivation which signifies a heap or collection.

\ The women announced themselves as organized "for the promotion of agreeable and useful relations among women of literary, artistic and scientific tastes, and for the discussions and dissemination of principles and facts which promise to exert a salutary influence on women and on society." This somewhat formidable preamble to their constitution has the merit, at least, of being all-embracing

From this small but significant beginning the movement started. The little craft, the Sorosis, freighted with the future intellectual possibilities and destinies of the women of the United States, was launched upon the highway of an ever broadening and out-stretching sea. It was destined to sail on to ports then undiscovered and unknown, and to discharge its cargo of intellectual treasures among women not only in city and village and countryside all up and down our own broad land, but upon foreign shores as well, withersoever the influence of American womanhood has followed the march of American progress.

This movement was not in the nature of a revolt, prompted by a belligerent or defiant spirit, as the so-called strong-minded and aggressive women would do well to note. It was more like an awakening to new life and activity. There was nothing in the nature of a demand or of unwomanly self-assertion.

The foundation principles of the new movement were, "Unity, fellowship of one woman with another and a platform of confessed ignorance and sincere desire to learn." No wonder that with such a spirit in its founders, and such principles to nourish and sustain it, the influence of the movement spread with amazing rapidity, until now, from that parent society, with its twelve members, there have sprung many hundreds of women's clubs, numbering scores of thousands of members scattered throughout our own land and among American women resident abroad.

.. As another has forcibly expressed it, "The movement has brought together women of all creeds and no creed, women of diverse social position and environment, women of widely differing opportunities and degrees of culture, and has made of them an harmonious body enriched by the contributions of each to the other." --: '-'-..'---;-- ^.vr- '--- ^;;V^ :. . ^-l-^^ X'-r''

This democracy of principle and sentiment is especially manifest in those clubs which are affiliated with the general system of federated clubs and which therefore have adopted as their own the principles of the federation system of organization, and by means of which the rapid growth of this system has been accelerated. The motto of the general federation is, "Unity in diversity," than which none more expressive or appropriate could have been chosen.

The patriotic organizations among the women are also examples of this great diversity of gifts and personalities combining to form a more or less harmonious whole, for in these organizations no resort to black-balling or intrigue can honorably be permitted to exclude any in whose veins flows the blood of the founders and patriots unless they be personally unworthy to be admitted as members.

A noteworthy feature of women's clubs in the fact that although necessarily differing in their make-up and purpose, and in the details of their management, they are alike in basis and essential principle. They possess great flexibility and the ability to lend themselves to the needs of the community or the locality in which they exist, and for whose improvement or moral uplift they have been founded.

./. Through the medium of her club life, woman has found her place and taken her part in one way or another in almost every one of the different phases of the world's activities, and we may point with pride to her success in these undertakings and the high quality of her work.

In the more important centers these clubs have increased and prospered to the extent of being able to erect beautiful buildings as club houses for their own use and for the accommodation of other similar organizations in their locality.

But the best result of the work of woman's clubs has been seen in the new life of the small town, the awakening of dormant neighborhoods, the stimulus to higher thoughts and an uplift to their realm of expression, while at the same time the spirit of democracy has been fostered. The atmosphere and tone of whole communities has been changed, and in particular it has taught women how to think, how to speak, how to act for the best good of the community in which they live. It has broadened their outlook upon life and brought them into acquaintance with the world's best thinkers. It has taught them to estimate values and proportions and the basis of their historic significance and the connection of events, thus relieving their minds of the restrictions of local or personal prejudice and enabling them to take a higher level in their estimate of life and duty.

Most especially have these far-reaching and uplifting influences become an , invaluable asset in the resources of the mother and the teacher, for they have opened a rich mine of information and culture from which they may draw as they face the problem of the training and instruction of children.

The fear that club life for women would have a tendency to divorce men and women in their interests and pursuits has been proven to be but a shadow fleeing before the light of the oncoming day of woman's triumphs over her petty restrictions, placing her upon the level of intellectual comradship and attainment with her brother, and leaving her untrammeled to climb to heights above him if she will.

From this brief review it may be seen that the growth in the United States of clubs for women, is, as one author has said, "one of the marvels of a century prolific in new movements." ''! /;

Such was the origin and development of of the "club idea" among the women of the United States. What has been the effect of the movement among the women of Knox county? We shall see. Let us consider for a moment the ' natural advantages and privileges to which they have fallen heir. 'A.-., .That brilliant Frenchman, Max O'Rell, after extensive travels in this country, during which he made a careful study of American institutions and American home life, said, that if he were to be born again and could have his choice of the conditions into which he was to be born, he would choose to be born an American -woman. : ; ; ..

Our own gifted fellow citizen and author, Clark E. Carr, in the closing sentence of his masterly address on "Illinois," says, "New York is justly called the Empire state and Pennsylvania the Keystone state, while Illinois must be recognized as the stately dome of the American Republic."

One of the foremost of the journalists in our county, whose position first as teacher and scientist, and later as editor and writer, has eminently fitted him to be a judge of relative and comparative values throughout the state, heartily concurs in the suggestion made by another regarding our own county of Knox, viz., that intellectually, morally, socially, religiously, educationally, commercially

They are first American -women, either by birthright or by adoption. Secondly, they are daughters of the great state of Illinois, "Whose splendors and glories," as Colonel Carr eloquently says, "'illumine every part of the mighty edifice which she majestically canopies." And lastly, their immediate environment is one of the fairest and most favored centers of our commonwealth.

The pioneer settlers of Knox county brought with them from the east and the south the spirit and the purpose which have made intellectual development and culture the natural outgrowth of the seed implanted in the breasts of their children. Since the significance of the root from which the word "Club" is derived is that which is collected and clings or cleaves together, it may be said that club life in Knox county began with the women of the Galesburg colony soon after their arrival at their new home in 1837, then the trackless, treeless prairie, now the fair city of homes and schools and churches, of shaded streets and well trimmed lawns, and parks and gardens. That little band of noble women, some of them only recently married, some of them still unmarried, others in the prime of mature womenhood, and all of them earnest, thoughtful, prayerful women, formed themselves into a society called the "Maternal Association." We smile at the name from the standpoint of present day ideas and ideals, but was not theirs the true ideal working itself out through the instincts of motherhood, impelled by the thought of the mother love and the mother influence which must pervade and control the life and the destinies of the homes which had recently been, or were to be established?

The purpose of this organization was to discuss the interests of the community of which its members formed so important a part, and the more intimate and vital questions relating to their home life and the training of the children and the youths so far removed from any other educational or cultivating influences. There was no occasion for jealousy or pique because of a fancied or intentional slight in the omission of an invitation to join that club, for all who would might become members and share in its duties and privileges. And while they had no printed programs as have their daughters of to-day, they kept a record of their meetings and a list of the members.

The membership list of that first woman's club of Galesburg included old colony family names familiar as household words in the homes of our city - Gale, Waters, Blanchard, Kellogg, Losey, Farnham, Ferris, Colton, Conger, Buckingham, Sanderson, Prentice, Swift, West, Wilcox, Avery, Phelps, Holyoke, Mc- Mullen and all the rest sacred to memory in the history of those early days.

This association continued its life and activities for a number of years, at least until at sometime after 1850, and therefore its history ante-dates that of the Sorosis founded in 1868 in New York city.

In their earnest and prayerful efforts for the betterment of community and family life, the women of Galesburg were but laying the foundations for that

They are first American i\.oincn, either by birthright or by adoption. Secondly, they are daughters of the great state of Illinois, "Whose splendors and glories," as Colonel Carr eloquently sa\-s, "illumine every part of the mighty edifice which she majestically canopies." And lastly, their immediate environment is one of the fairest and most favored centers of our commonwealth.

The pioneer settlers of Knox county brought with them from the east and the south the spirit and the purpose which have made intellectual development and culture the natural outgrowth of the seed implanted in the breasts of their children. Since the significance of the root from which the word "Club" is derived is that which is collected and clings or cleaves together, it may be said that club life in Knox county began with the women of the Galesburg colony soon after their arrival at their new home in 1837, then the trackless, treeless prairie, now the fair city of homes and schools and churches, of shaded streets and well trimmed lawns, and parks and gardens. That little band of noble women, some of them only recently married, some of them still unmarried, others in the prime of mature womenhood, and all of them earnest, thoughtful, prayerful women, formed themselves into a society called the "Maternal Association." We smile at the name from the standpoint of present day ideas and ideals, but was not theirs the true ideal working itself out through the instincts of motherhood, impelled by the thought of the mother love and the mother influence which must pervade and control the life and the destinies of the homes which had recently been, or were to be established? ' I

The purpose of this organization was to discuss the interests of the community of which its members formed so important a part, and the more intimate and vital questions relating to their home life and the training of the children and the youths so far removed from any other educational or cultivating influences. There was no occasion for jealousy or pique because of a fancied or intentional slight in the omission of an invitation to join that club, for all who would might become members and share in its duties and privileges. And while they had no printed programs as have their daughters of to-day, they kept a record of their meetings and a list of the members. . ;" - | .

The membership list of that first woman's club of Galesburg included old colony family names familiar as household words in the homes of our city - Gale, Waters, Blanchard, Kellogg, Losey, Farnham, Ferris, Colton, Conger, Buckingham, Sanderson, Prentice, Swift, West, Wilcox, Avery, Phelps, Holyoke, Mc- Mullen and all the rest sacred to memory in the history of those early days.

This association continued its life and activities for a number of years, at least until at sometime after 1850, and therefore its history ante-dates that of the Sorosis founded in 1868 in New York city.

In their earnest and prayerful efforts for the betterment of community and family life, the women of Galesburg were but laying the foundations for that altar of sacrifice upon which were to be offered 'their husbands and sons, and the added gift of their own hearts' best treasures of love and devotion when the fiery days of the civil war burst upon them and kindled the flame upon their altar, a fiame which continued to burn consuming one by one the offerings laid thereon until the sacrifice was complete.

The natural sequence of the moral influences and the home training which preceded these events, followed, when husbands, sons and brothers marched to the front, while wives, mothers and sisters remained at home to work and weep as they strove to give them relief and succor. To be efficient their help must be given through the medium of organized effort, and here again becomes apparent the idea of the club, the "cleaving together" of the women in a common sympathy and interest which found its expression in the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg, one of many found in almost every hamlet and city in the land, and in which the women of the surrounding towns also, as in Knoxville and Abingdon, and doubtless in other neighborhoods, bore a noble and de- ^ voted part.

This work as an organization was supplemented to some extent by the work of the women in their homes, some of them taking home garments to finish, or 'to make entirely, in order to make it more of a personal service to their loved ones and to the cause. At the beginning of the war the material for the uniforms of the volunteer soldiers was furnished by the government, and this material with pattern for cutting and shaping them was sent to the different localities where military companies were organized. These were distributed among the different organizations in the neighborhood of the military camps. The women of Galesburg gathered practically in a body to sew for the soldiers who were in camp in Knoxville, Peoria and Quincy. When the uniform was finished a testament and a handkerchief, and often a keepsake of some kind were slipped into the breast pocket of each coat. One devoted and truly patriotic mother, a widow, Mrs. Adaline Clendenin Ewing, the mother of Mrs. Martha Cobb and Mrs. Miron Rhodes, took home the garments which were to be the out-fit of her first born son, her offering to her country's service, and made them all by hand. Into every stitch was wrought a mother's love and anguish. Then she tucked into the pocket the testament, the handkerchief and a letter, a sacred message from mother to son in that crucial hour, and sent him forth with a mother's love and blessing. Only three short months thereafter, stricken with mortal illness, he was brought home to receive that mother's tender ministries in his few remaining hours of earthly need.

And this was only a forerunner of the many experiences that thrilled the hearts of the community with sympathy and with sorrow. Again and yet again were the homes of Galesburg and Knox county opened to receive their dying and their dead.

But still undaunted, the women toiled on making garments, scraping lint, filling comfort bags, preparing delicacies, packing boxes, forwarding literature and writing letters to the soldiers in hospital and camp.

The following are the names of all the members of the Soldiers? Aid Society that are still living - Mrs. Lucy Chase, widow of Dr. M. J. Chase; Mrs. Betsy Cook, widow of M. D. Cook and Mrs. Ann Sanderson, widow of Hon. H. R.

The reports of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg, which have been preserved, speak eloquently, and with a touching pathos of the work of the mothers and sisters, even of the little children, for the relief and comfort of the brave boys in blue who had gone out from among them. The story of what was accomplished for their aid, both in the hospitals and upon the field, reads like a romance. The climax of one supreme effort is worthy of note. In the spring of 1864 special appeals were made in behalf of the soldiers through the agency of the Christian Commission. In response a "Sanitary Fair" was held in Galesburg which netted over three thousand dollars. This was followed in a few days by a great mass-meeting held in the Old First church, which stood on the site now occupied by the Central Congregational church. On this occasion, the afterward world-famous Chaplain McCabe, then just out of Libby Prison, made an appeal so powerful in its effect that in one short half hour, notwithstanding the effort of a few days previous, one thousand six hundred dollars were pledged to the Christian Commission, thus making five thousand dollars raised within a iJi;eek in response to that special appeal, while at the same time the regular work of the society was not permitted to lapse.

It is in the light of such facts as these that we are made to realize the intensity of the devotion and the patriotic fervor which sustained those women through the unremitting toil and the long agony of that bitter experience.

Mary Allen West, who enjoyed the distinction of having been born in 1837 in "Log City," the first home of the Galesburg colonists, and whose influence as an educator, a writer and a philanthropist afterward encircled the globe, was prominent in the work of the Soldiers' Aid Society. During the greater period of its existence she served as its efficient secretary, and she brought to bear upon the work intrusted to her the unusual qualities of leadership and of executive ability with which she was endowed. She possessed a heart of fire and wielded a pen of flame, and her burning words, whether written or spoken, must have kindled anew the fires of patriotism in sinking, sorrowing hearts, while they made even the dry statistics of her annual reports eloquent with hope and encouragement.

And should we of the present imagine for a moment that impassioned thought, eloquence of sentiment and elegance of diction belong more especially to this period of culture and intellectual attainment, let us but read the address prepared by order of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg and sent to their brothers in the field. It was undoubtedly written by Mary Allen West, a graduate of Knox college of the class of 1855, although her name does not appear. It is a most eloquent, soul-inspiring message which must have thrilled the hearts and strengthened the purpose of the weary and discouraged soldiers to whom it was addressed.

In the arduous work and the consuming anxiety and sorrow of those eventful years, as in all the undertakings which have come to their hands, the heroic spirit of the women of Knox county triumphed. The word failure did not occur in their vocabulary, and to shrink in the presence of hardships, obstacles

/ And so lovingly and reverently do we pay our tribute of remembrance and appreciation to the heroic example and worthy deeds of the women of Knox county of 1861-65.

After the close of the war, indeed for some time preceding its close, when there was no longer necessity for work for the soldiers in camp, field or hospital, it became apparent that work must be done for the aid of the widows and ' orphans left destitute when their natural protectors and supporters had been stricken down by the cruel hand of war. And therefore organized relief work was continued under the name of the Dorcas Society.

This organization was actively supported by many of those ladies who had worked in the Soldiers' Aid Society. Its beneficent work in caring for the needy and suffering of the city was continued through the many intervening years, until a few years ago when it became affiliated with the Free Kindergarten Association, now a county institution, maintained by the efforts not only of the women of Galesburg, but also of auxiliary branches in adjacent towns.

During the decade which immediately succeeded the close of the civil war, and when all the evils which follow the trail of such a tremendous upheaval in civic and national life ran riot in the land, the movement for temperance reform swept over the country like a mighty tidal wave, bearing upon its crest the thoroughly aroused public sentiment of city and village and country-side alike. ' Knox county did not escape the effects of the on-rushing current. She too was ~ aroused and awakened to effort. And again, here as elsewhere, the women - took the initiative and organized f6r battle. This time it was the women who were to do the fighting as well as the praying and the weeping.

The fight which was tlien begun so many years ago is still on. The heroic creed which had been the impulse to action in the past has ever been their inspiration and incentive, for again and again, many times repeated, have they fiung defiance to the foe with the war cry, . ... . ., .

The following account of the work in this county was written by Mrs. B. F. Arnold of Galesburg and we insert it w^ithout change. Mrs. Arnold has been associated with the movement from the beginning, and acted as president of the Galesburg union for fourteen years, and is therefore better fitted than anyone else to write of its history and work.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Galesburg was the outgrowth of a society organized by the women under the name of The Women's Union

Temperance Society. The first meeting was held on the 2Oth of February, 1874, and the organization of the society was completed March i6th. On the first board of officers were the following : President, Mrs. M. Waite ; Vice-president, Mrs. J. H. Sherman; Rec. Secretary, Mrs. H. S. Kurd; Cor. Secretary, Mrs. J. H. Little; Treasurer, Mrs. Job. Swift.

The great temperance crusade in Ohio had recently sprung into being and the success of the active campaign against intemperance and the saloon inspired the women to follow in their footsteps. ;..;'=:x..

The record book shows the names of 112 of the most prominent women of the city as charter members. In 1875 the society voted to become auxiliary to the state W. C. T. U. In this year the use of a store room on South Prairie street was given by Mr. Sheldon Allen for twenty-five years, the society paying all taxes and assessments. For twenty-three years this was headquarters for the society and the rooms were the rallying point for all kinds of reform work.

The rooms were also used by the Woman's Christian Association and for several years a morning prayer meeting was held every morning at nine o'clock. The prayers which ascended from these rooms surely were heard and answered in later years when the licensed saloons were voted out of the city. These coffee : .

and dinners could be had at all times, and all regular meetings were held here. ^; - , A lady in charge was always ready to give help and advice to those who sought ].':' -.'.-- her counsel. v -^^ V' - passed on to their reward, but whose good works live after them. In addition >;'; to the first officers already recorded, the name of Mary Allen West stands pre- :-;:-?.. eminent, ably sustained by Mrs. J. V. N. Standish, Mrs. Warren Willard, Mrs. -';'---;:'.:. Clement Leach, Mrs. S. H. Ferris, Mrs. O. T. Johnson, Mrs. Geo. Dieterich, >;--'' V V Mrs. A. Hyde, Mrs. Geo. Holyoke, Mrs. Hamblin and others. ;.'; ; : -;

A band of Hope of several hundred members was organized among the chil- _' jr;--. dren of the city, and many of the men of today give credit by their staunch /i ;''. temperance principles to the instructions received from Mary Allen West, Mrs. >.l'.--. ;-;' Geo. T. Holyoke and Miss Jenney. '-?.:';;;

A Girls' Temperance union ably assisted by young men was the center of '''-'-' many instructive and enjoyable occasions where the leadership of Miss Mary Hazzard stood pre-eminent. In later years Miss Hazzard was president of the County W. C. T. U.

Mothers' meetings have always been a feature of the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and have been carried on with great success in later years by courtesy being held in the Free Kindergarten building. Those '-, who attend are working women who have small time for enjoyment, and many cares. An instructive program is given and suitable refreshments served by committees from different churches. -. : .: v '...-

The department of work among the soldiers and sailors has been exceptionally well conducted by Miss Catherine Long. Clippings and short interesting articles in envelopes are sent to hospitals and army camps and are circulated by nurses and chaplains. Hundreds of envelopes and comfort bags are prepared and sent every year.

In the year 1901 the 28th Annual Meeting of the state was held in Galesburg. At this meeting Mrs. Louise S. Rounds presided and laid down the gavel after nineteen years of service as state president. Miss Marie C. Brehm was her successor. . ; '

In December, 1892, the world was called to mourn the passing on of Miss Mary Allen West and her body was brought from far Japan to be laid by the side of loved ones in Hope cemetery. The union conducted the services which were attended by representatives from Chicago, Peoria, Monmouth and other cities. It was said of her that "The state has produced no other woman who has rendered it such signal service."

By courtesy of the city editors the press department has supplied our daily papers with a part column of notices, communications and short items of interest along temperance lines, which has been appreciated by all interested in the cause.

The temperance rooms were given up in 1901 on account of changed conditions, and many other good reasons, and a room in Central church was occupied for seven years. Since 1907 the union has met in the Baptist church. Sixteen departments of work are being carried on by different committees.

Other unions in the county are Abingdon, Knoxville, Wataga, Rio, Delong and East Galesburg, and the enrolled membership is nearly five hundred.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union has demonstrated its right to live by the work which it has done, and as the handmaid of the church will continue to do "For God and Home and Every Land."

- ' Following close upon the footsteps of the great temperance reform movement there came to the front that still greater organization of women, "the. largest charitable organization in the world'', the I'Voman's Relief Corps. And here again we leave it to the pen of one who, by close personal connection with it, is better fitted than ourselves to tell of its work.

Mrs. R. E. McCullough, who was one of the founders of the Woman's Relief Corps of Galesburg in 1888, and who was its president for the first three years, has kindly given us the following sketch of its history which we quote as a whole.

The first organization of the Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, was formed in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1879, since which time it has grown to be the largest charitable organization in the world. Its special objects are to render to the veterans of the civil war and their dependent ones, aid and comfort in sickness and distress, and perpetuate the memory of their heroic dead in the sacred observance of Memorial day.

The order reaches almost every state in the union. Illinois stands third in membership and influence, and last year she expended $8,872 in relief alone.

.. Knox county has but two corps, G. W. Trafton Corps of Knoxville, organized in 1907, now has seventy-five members with $40 expended for relief last year. Jas. T. Shields Woman's Relief Corps No. 121, Auxiliary to Post 45, G. A. R. of Galesburg, was organized in August, 1888, and ^t present has one hundred and seventy-seven members.

Corps committees visit the poor and sick, carrying them fruit and flowers and in case of need supply them with food and clothing. For 1911 Corps No. 121 expended for relief $43.20, in fruit, and flowers $73.56. Outside of regular relief work the corps has given $50 to the Visiting Nurse Association, $20 to the Galesburg hospital, besides smaller contributions to other charities of the city.

Along patriotic lines the corps has been active. In 1909 with appropriate exercises, we placed two large flags in our public schools, and the following year sent a large flag to float over the old home of Illinois' beloved son, Abraham Lincoln. In 1911 we presented a life size portrait of Lincoln to the Lincoln Debating club of the Galesburg high school. Several years ago the members of Corps No. 121 conceived the idea of erecting a soldiers' monument to the memory of deceased soldiers of this community. Finally after months of persistent hard work, faithfully assisted by the members of Post 45, their efforts were crowned with success. In 1896 the monument standing at the northeast corner of Hope cemetery was dedicated.

Mary A. Bickerdyke, the much loved army nurse, died in Kansas in November, 1901, her remains were brought to Galesburg, her former home for interment in the family burial lot in Linwood cemetery. At once Corps 121 became active and with the generous assistance of posts and corps throughout the state were enable to erect the substantial monument that marks her last resting place. Not content with this, the following spring after Mother Bickerdyke's death, a number of ladies from the Woman's Relief Corps formed and incorporated an association to be known as the "Mother Bickerdyke Memorial Association", its purpose and aim to erect a suitable testimonial to this beloved woman. After much time and thought had been expended, the association with the valuable assistance of Honorables Leon A. Townsend and Wilfred Arnold secured an appropriation of $5,000 from the state, and today the beautiful statue of Mother Bickerdyke, holding the cup of cold water to the dying soldier's lips, graces the Court House park of this city. The dedication took place during Encampment 'week. May 22nd, 1906, and was attended by eight thousand veterans, visitors and citizens. Governor Yates honored the association with his presence and delivered the address of the day.

The motto of the Woman's Relief Corps is Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty, and its religion, "To do unto others as ye would that others do unto you."

Two years after the organization of the Woman's Relief Corps, the movement was inaugurated which resulted in the establishment of "The Galesburg Free Kindergarten Association", which has since developed into "The Knox County Free Kindergarten Association," one of the most notable philanthropic organizations in our county. :

Once more we give space to another to speak of this great institution, the. one best qualified of all the women of the county, because of her intimate re-

We have the more gladly yielded the space to Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. McCullough and Mrs. Grubb because of our desire that the three great philanthropic organizations which they represent should receive the full measure of justice which could only be given them by these noble women whose very existence and most earnest endeavor have been wrought into their history.

In the fall of 1890, Miss M. Evelyn Strong, who founded and was for many years principal of the Galesburg Kindergarten Normal, inaugurated a movement to establish a free kindergarten for the children of the poor of Galesburg.

As an initiative to* this undertaking Miss Strong called upon the pastors of the different churches of the city to preach, each one on the same Sabbath moming, a sermon on "Free Kindergartens and Their Advantages." At the same time she asked each of the pastors to give her the names of three ladies of his congregation whom she might invite to a conference with her in regard to her project. The sermons were preached and in August or September of that year, 1890, a large number of ladies met in the parlors of the Kindergarten Normal for the proposed conference. -. ;-:

Miss Strong was the leading spirit of the meeting and associated with her and ably abetting her efforts was Miss Alice Chapin, Miss Strong's great friend and at one time instructor.

The records of the first two or three years were unfortunately lost and many of the details of that period are largely a matter of memory. We do not forget, however, that this was distinctively a woman's movement and has always remained so. Gentlemen have given generously both of money and helpful advice. In fact, their support has contributed largely to the success of this charity, but while they may become honorary members of the association, they do not have a vote in its proceedings. The leading ladies of Galesburg took an active interest in establishing this, up to that time, new sort of charitable work in this city and it has always commanded the loyal support of all classes.

At the second meeting a constitution and by-laws were adopted and permanent officers were elected as follows: Mrs. Mary Claycomb Grubb, president; Mrs. O. F. Price, vice-president; Mrs. Helena Crummett Lee, secretary; Mrs. Grace Fahnestock, treasurer.

The organization was named "The Galesburg Free Kindergarten Association," the purpose for which it was created being, as stated in the preamble of its constitution, "to maintain one or more free kindergartens in the city of Galesburg."

Three permanent committees were established, one on finances, one on lunches, and one on visiting, each of these committees being composed of one lady from each of the churches represented in the association, this charity being undertaken and directed by the churches.

Other standing committees have been created from time to time, such as the house committee, the children's committee, the employment committee, purchasing committee, and committee on menus. .'

It was on the lower floor of the south side of the building, formerly used for city offices, known as the fire proof building (this building has since given place to a very ornate city hall), on October 6, 1890, that the doors of this new institution were opened with twenty-five children in attendance, and two teachers, Miss Mary Hazzard and Miss Mary Owen in charge, both graduates of Miss Strong's Kindergarten Normal. It was a very modest beginning, and attracted so little public attention at that time that the city papers of that date contain no mention of the event.

Miss Owen was a young woman of the negro race and did efficient work as assistant kindergartner until 1896, when she resigned and Miss Emma Chase of Binghampton, New York, was chosen to fill the vacancy.

Miss Hazzard held the position as principal of the school until her death. May 3ist, 1904, and up to that date the success of the undertaking was largely due to her efficiency. ' . ; '

In 1893, increased city business caused a demand for the rooms the school was then occupying and the association bought from G. N. Hamilton the Cottage Hotel situated on Cherry street, which the city council moved to the southeast corner of the land then used as the city market, giving us a lease of the land, and the work was continued at this place.

In the meantime it was discovered that these children needed more than one lunch a week. They needed a home, clothing, mothering and one after another came for this kind of care until the home became one of the important features of this charity. The demands became so great that in 1903, it became evident that it would be necessary to provide a new building to admit of further growth or even to continue the home and kindergarten.

Many friends rallied to this rather daring project. Mr. and Mrs. George A. Lawrence headed the list of the subscription with a gift of one thousand dollars for themselves and four hundred dollars in the names of their three children, Parke, Louise and Rebecca. Mr. Grant Beadle generously offered his services as an architect, and also as supervisor of, the erection of the structure and one morning in June a large number of ladies started out from the old building on Simmons street to canvass for pledges to pay for the new building. At the close of that sweet June day there was enough money in sight to make success assured.

The new building, erected at a cost of $10,000, stands at the corner of Simmons and Cedar streets and bears upon its corner stone the inscription "The M. Evelyn Strong Free Kindergarten, founded 1890." Before breaking ground for the erection of this building, the city council placed in the hands of the members of the association a ninety-nine year lease of the south half of the old market place and later included in this lease the north half also.

Few realized when the free kindergarten was opened, the growth which this charity was destined to make nor could any one foresee the good will and the consequent outpouring of money and supplies which it would win from the people of Galesburg and Knox cpunty. It has been the recipient of favors and gifts from all classes of our people. Rich and poor, church members and nonchurch members send here money, food, clothing, or give other service. In 1903 the city council voted an appropriation of $75 a month, but this has since been reduced to $500 a year. In 1907, the board of supervisors made an appropriation of $50 a month to this work, the same being afterwards increased to $75. Since this recognition by the board of supervisors, the association has been known as "The Knox County Free Kindergarten Association." ,, ..

Our endowment fund was started in 1897, when Mr. and Mrs. George A. Lawrence gave a generous sum for this fund to be known as "The Parke and Louise Lawrence Fund." This has been increased from year to year by other gifts by these friends and by several legacies and now amounts to $4,500.

The expenses incurred in maintaining this charity are two kinds. The one, which consists of the salaries paid our house staflf, is almost a fixed amount. The other item of expense is the cost of maintaining the home and varies from time to time according to the size of the family and other conditions. The average cost, including salaries and every other sort of expense for the year ending May 1st, 1911, was sixty-three cents per day for each child. The money to meet these expenses has come to us from voluntary contributions of friends, personal appeals made to our churches and entertainments of different kinds. In August,

1904, an open air performance of "As You Like It" under the direction of Mrs. E. S. Gunnell and Mr. Lou Maddox put $1,621.25 into our treasury. In October,

1905, "The Baby Carnival" netted $1,587.87, and the entertainments of "Home Coming Week" brought $i,ooo and three tag days were very profitable. The association has been able to pay for the new building and to meet all other indebt-

Since 1903, the county children who have needed a home have been sent to the free kindergarten home instead of the almshouse. In this way has one county

. of our state solved the question of caring for such children, and it certainly is better than the old way of doing that work, if not the best.

Since February, 1894, the building under the management of the W. C. T. U, has been opened one evening of each month for a mother's meeting of the

The Dorcas Society, a charitable organization of long standing, was merged into the association in 1897, and the home became a sort of center for all charities.

It has already been stated that this is now a Knox county as well as in a very special sense a Galesburg charity. It has friends and supporters in all parts of the county. The ladies of Altona and Oneida have organized a branch association which has a strong membership and which is a source of inestimable help to the home.

We cannot give the number of children who have received care and training at the kindergarten home since its opening, now more than twenty-one years ago. For a number of years an average of a hundred children have lived here

, for some part of the year and many of them for the entire twelve months. During the year ending May ist, 1911, 104 children were in the home, the average time for each child being about two and one-half months. Since September, 1911, the average per month has been above thirty and the number of different children who have come under the influence of the home since 1896 is over five hundred. No one can say how strong an element this has been in 'the lives of these otherwise neglected children, to make them useful men and women. No charity and we are ready to announce that the "Knox County Children's Home and Free Kindergarten" is now a permanent institution, here to stay.

And now we have come to the period of intellectual unrest, the aspiration and out-reach for higher ideals and a broader culture, which resulted in the organization one by one of the literary clubs and other culture clubs which are justly and pardonably the pride of the women of this county. By reason of these organizations our county may, without question, be rated as one of the leading literary centers of the state. In Galesburg alone there are eighteen exclusively literary clubs with a membership of upwards of nine hundred, while in Oneida, Maquon and Abingdon the proportion in relation to the population is scarcely less.

In the three philanthropic and patriotic societies of Galesburg the membership is between five hundred and six hundred, making nearly fifteen hundred in all.

: writer sent out letters of inquiry to women whose names she knew, or could secure, in every township in the county, followed in some cases by a second letter, asking for information regarding the organized work of women in that particular locality, whether of a literary, philanthropic, patriotic or beneficent character. Only Oneida, Maquon, Abingdon, Wataga and Ontario replied to the letter, and only Maquon and Wataga replied with information.

. : The Hawthorne Club, organized in the autumn of 1890, membership limited 7 to twenty-five. Object of the club, the study of history and literature, not neglecting, however, social and philanthropic lines of work. The topics studied during the twenty-two years of the club's existence cover a broad range of research in the fields of history, literature, art, miscellany, sociology, civic improvement, the old testament and the drama.

The Galesburg Fortnightly Qub was formally organized about one year later than the Hawthorne Club, and yet there are reasons for considering it the antecedent of all the literary clubs of the city. It was the direct outgrowth and development of a reading circle which had met regularly for a number of years previously with Mrs. J. V. N. Standish, who invited a select circle of ladies to come to her home to read and discuss literature and art, giving especial attention to the latter subject. In the study of art Mrs. Standish was exceptionally well fitted to guide them because of her rich stores of information, and the many pictures illustrative of the study which she had brought home from her frequent visits abroad.

After enjoying these entirely informal gatherings for a number of years, the ladies decided to organize themselves into a club and chose the name, "The Galesburg Fortnightly Club," Mrs. Standish and many of those who had at some time belonged to her reading circle being among the charter members. The membership is limited to twenty and in its list college circles, from both of our colleges, are largely represented, while all of the members are women of high aims, and earnest purpose. ;: .''

Its program is usually a heavy one and its members take pride in the fact that never since its organization has a duty been assigned to any of them that has not been performed, either by herself, or by a substitute whom she has herself secured. Its range of topics for study has almost encircled the globe, and includes the history and the intellectual and moral development, in all their varied forms of expression, of the different countries considered. Two years were spent in the study of Hebrew history and literature as found in the old testament.

A strong bond of sympathy exists among its members and they are thoroughly - loyal to each other and to the interests of the club. In common with other clubs, they contribute to the special objects which appeal to the sympathies of the women of the city, such as the Visiting Nurse Association and the like.

Rotation in office is the principle on which the club's officers are chosen, and ( by virtue of this arrangement, each member at some time holds every office in the / gift of the club. ^

The Mosaic Qub was organized in 1893 ^^^ was in a sense the child of the Hawthorne Qub. It was started for the purpose of giving the daughters and younger sisters of the members of that club the same opportunity for study and culture which they themselves enjoyed. The Mosaic Club was organized with a membership of sixteen. Its course of study is much the same as that of the Hawthorne Club. It now has a membership of twenty- four, with five associate ; members. -:' : ; '

The Oliver Wendell Holmes Qub had its origin in 1893 ^"d was named in honor of the genial "autocrat of the breakfast table," who was at that time - living, the last one of the famous "Cambridge group." ;

-"'-- Beginning as an informal afternoon reading circle, the club has steadily in- : . creased in members and interest, and improved in methods of study until now it ; ;- is a thoroughly organized and up-to-date literary club, its purposes and objects

The charter members of this club enjoy the distinction of having each received a card bearing the autograph signature of the poet whose name they .adopted. They wrote him at the beginning stating that they had organized a "^ club and had named it for him, and in reply he sent them his autographs.

This club has been a member of the Illinois State Federation of Women's .. Clubs for fifteen years and has sent two delegates to every state convention dur- : ing that time. It is one of the two federated clubs which united in inviting the ' State Federation to meet in Galesburg in 1911.

; quote it as given by the pen of one of the members of the club. . : "Our course of study after leaving Egypt was first to England, the mother country, thence to Spain, the home of the toreador, through Germany and France . ' with their masters in music, art and literature. Then with our forefathers we , ;- came to our own beloved America and tried to 'see ourselves as others see us.' .': Mexico in her long struggle for freedom stirred our sympathies. Norway, / Sweden and plucky little Holland each claimed her turn and each was full of -, :-; interest.

The Tourist Club was organized in 1895. As its name indicates, its primary aim was to study cities and countries which would lure the traveler to visit them, as also their various points of interest. But the course of study has since developed into a general study of history, literature and art. The topic for this year is "A Literary Pilgrimage." -'.;;-

"Mrs. J. V. N. Standish was from the first an honorary member, which position she held until her recent journey to the unknown country. When it was possible for her to attend the meetings her presence was an inspiration as she could from her own rich experience impart much."

The Home Culture Club is a monument to the memory of Mrs. Mary Arnold Williams, the wife of the late Edwin N. Williams. Its membership is confined to those living north of Mary street between Seminary and Cedar streets. Mrs. Williams' own pretty new home was in this "neighborhood of scattered homes and little acquaintance." The motives which prompted her to the establishment of the club were the following, as expressed by another: "She conceived the idea of bringing the women of the neighborhood together by mutual helpfulness in the betterment of their homes, and also to promote acquaintance. Their present needs were thought of while a far insight of the future entered into her plans.

"After having spent much of her time previously for six months working out plans for it, early in the autumn of 1899 Mrs. Williams called upon, or sent a note to, all the women of this north end district telling them of her plan to organize a neighborhood club. The first meeting was held upon the invitation of Mrs. Williams at her own home far out on North Cherry street. It proved to be a most interesting and impressive occasion. Probably each one who attended has never forgotten it. The founder and leader lent to this and to several succeeding meetings her own inimitable inspiration - a spirit which was caught by the charter members and passed on, and then taken up and understood most surprisingly by the new members who came in from time to time."

An incidental remark by one of the ladies referring to the gathering as "this home culture club" fixed the permanent name for the club, for thereupon Mrs. Williams said : "That is the name for the club. We could find no better." And so the club was named.

Very soon, because of rapidly failing health, Mrs. Williams was unable to attend the meetings but it was her great desire that they should go on regularly, and she constantly sent messages to the meetings. Only a few days before her death, which occurred in May, she said to a member, "You will always have the Home Culture Club."

As its name indicates, it has always kept in touch with everything that affects the well-being of the home, and which may be included under the general subject of home economics. It is also interested in domestic science in the public schools and contributed to the establishment of that department in our high school. It keeps in touch with the teachers of the city, especially with those of the Hitchcock school, where the children of the club members attend. It lends a hand in the line of civic improvement, and, in short, it is interested in all lines of work which directly or indirectly affect the home.

..V Of the twenty-six active members, eight are of the original charter members. , - '-: The Sorosis Cub, which was organized in February, 1900, owes its founda-

- -; : tion largely to a desire for more aggressive work than the other clubs were doing - ; along philanthropic lines, and for a more democratic spirit in connection with the .' ; usual literary culture incident to club work.

.- > ing of the Galesburg Sorosis. She felt that the literary clubs in general were ' V too exclusive in their policy, and that greater democracy of spirit should prevail

- '; new club with whose policy she had so much to do. Its aims are philanthropic, .J ;-; : economic, benevolent and public spirited, as well as literary. It contributes to r the various local causes included under these heads for which an appeal to the

- , The Sorosis and the Oliver Wendell Holmes clubs are the two federated , ^_\ > clubs of the city which united in extending an invitation to the State Federation

? .; to meet in Galesburg in the autumn of 1911, thus giving our city the honor and ' ;' the pleasure of being hostess to the women's clubs of the state. ^ , The Sorosis has forty-six active members, five associate and eighteen honorary members.

. . r Later in 1903 the society took on a somewhat broader sphere of action, the .:.- outgrowth of the thought and effort of Rev. Father Joseph Costa. Having founded St. Joseph's academy in the early years of his connections with the work of the Catholics in this city, his great desire was to enlist the interest of the graduates of that institution in the maintenance of it, and in providing a building and equipment suited not only to the present but also to future needs, as its growth and the more exacting demands of modern life might require.

Accordingly, in 1903 he called a meeting of the St. Joseph's alumnae resident in Galesburg and stated to them his plan and his desire for their hearty cooperation. They became greatly interested and at once organized under the above name. Father Doubleday of St. Patrick's church was also present and aided in their plans for work, and they started out in their undertaking with great enthusiasm. At first the word "literary" did not appear in their name, for they had not as yet planned for other work than that for the purpose of raising funds for the erection of the St. Joseph's alumnae hall of the future when Father Costa's plan should be realized. Their enthusiasm for the upbuilding of this fund was stimulated by a feeling of deep loj-alty to the institution which had, as they believed, exerted an ennobling and transforming influence upon their own lives, and by the desire that those who come after them should enjoy the same influences and receive the same uplift as themselves.

They organized with thirty-three members and chose for their president Mrs. Lizzie Slattery Minehan (Mrs. T. C.). They were so fortunate as to remain under her wise and energetic command for three consecutive terms of the presidential office. ' ' \ . - v;

At the close of the first year they held a bazaar which netted the society about $800. With this fund, by the advice of Father Doubleday, they made much needed repairs on their academy building and provided some of the more modern conveniences.

Four years after its organization, the society, under the administration of Mrs. Mary Norton Scott (Mrs. John), decided to become a literary, as well as a business club, and they have found the combination very delightful and helpful. This new feature of their work did not diminish their enthusiasm and energy in the pursuit of their objective, the hoped for alumnae hall. This fact was made very apparent when, not long ago, the Republican Register offered a one thousand dollar cash prize to the person or organization securing the largest number of new subscribers to that paper within a stated time. The president of the society, Mrs. Mary O'Conner Mackin (Mrs. James), ably assisted by Mrs. Louise Slattery Lalor (Mrs. Wm.), took the matter up and by their skillful management and personal efforts the prize was won and the handsome sum of one thousand dollars was added to the alumnae hall fund.

For the past two years their literary work has been the study of Ireland and the Irish people. The coming year Illinois will claim their attention. Their membership is now upwards of one hundred and fifty.

The Author Qub is a society for Swedish ladies exclusively. It was organized in 1902 "for the purpose of making a systematic study of American and

.; . foreign writers and other subjects of common interest." It had for its first president Miss Johannah C. Lind, a graduate of Knox college and a valued teacher in our public schools. She was retained in the office of president until her ' A removal from the city.

, ; The Swedish Ladies' Benevolent Society, or as it is familiarly known, the "S. L. B.," is just what its name indicates, purely a benevolent organization. But in order to enlist and retain the interest of the members, the work is combined with social features which make the. meetings very enjoyable. The ladies spend a social afternoon together with their needle work, music or readings, after : which light refreshments are served and each lady drops into the treasury an ; offering, not less than a dime and on special occasions a larger sum, the amount thus contributed being used as it accumulates, in the relief of some person or object whose need appeals to them, as in case of illness or some special emergency. They have met together in this way for twenty years. There are thirty- ; , five members with two officers, a president and a secretary-treasurer. :v The Galesburg Equal Suffrage Association was organized May 29th, 1907,

- / . at the home of Congressman and Mrs. Geo. W. Prince, under the leadership of - , Dr. Frances Wood of Chicago. The original officers were Mrs. Lewis B. Fisher, president; Mrs. H. V. Neal, vice-president; Mrs. Fred R. Jelliff, secretary; Mrs. Geo. C. Lescher, treasurer.

equality of men and women." It is affiliated with the state association by paying annual dues to that treasury. It has sent delegates to the state conventions, thus keeping in touch with the national and state work.

A number of noted speakers have addressed the citizens of Galesburg under the auspices of this society, perhaps the most illustrious of whom is Miss Jane Addams, of national, or we might truly say, of world-wide fame because . of her wonderful influence and success in the "settlement work" in Chicago. The Tuscarora club dates its beginning to February, 1908, when it came into being with eleven charter members and announced its object to be "to stimulate active interest in the development of individual and home life, to promote mutual helpfulness and to maintain a program of regular and prescribed v^ study."

The greater number of the discussions hayfc been on literary topics although arts and crafts have claimed the attention of We club to some extent. A very important and commendable feature of all their meetings and one which clubs in general would do well to adopt, is a parliamentary law drill at the close of each meeting. This is very helpful to those who have not been so fortunate as to have had that sort of training as one of the factors of their earlier education.