Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 13: The Common Schools, 1882

Chapter 13: The Common Schools

I HE Pilgrim Fathers sought the bleak New Eugland shores, leaving suuuy England behind them, in the interests of civil and religious liberty. lu their rude cabins, cheered by brightly burning fagots, they taught their children to read and write whilst they instilled into their minds a love of liberty. It early occurred to these patriots that education was the bulwark of republican institutions, that if they would perpetuate selfgovernment they must educate. Here the free school found birth. Advantages sufficient to learn to read, to write, to reckon were deemed a debt due every child born withiu the boundaries of the State, in order that such child when it should become a sovereign should be able to become familiar with the laws before which it stood responsible. These principles were slowly formulated in laws. Advocates of education took yet broader grounds and passing by local State boundaries looked forward to a universal national recognition of education as a debt, hence it was that champion. Dr. Manasseh Cutler of Massachusetts, went to New York to attend the convention of 1787 in the interest of educational measures, and secured the passage of Article 2, of the compact of 1787, which gave throughout the north-western territory, one thirty-sixth of all public lands for school purposes, and in addition one township of thirty-six .sections in each Territory or State formed out of the northwest for Seminary, also of Article 3, which reads: "A provision prohibiting the adoption of any constitution or the enactment of any law that should nullify pre-existing contracts.

Be it forever remembered that this compact declared that Religion, Jlorality and Knowledge being necessary to good gove'rument and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always be encouraged."

Dr. Cutler planted himself firmly on this platform, and yielded not until success crowned hisefforts. EveryStatecut out of the great northwest territory now enjoys the benefits of his far-sighted policy. Public schools nurtured by public funds, the outgrowth of the wise provisions embodied in Dr. Cutler's resolutions gladden millions of youth, and their blessings are yet in their infancy. Here was the germ of the whole free school system as developed throughout the West. Dr. Cutler was reared in Massachusetts ; had enjoyed the benefits of that free school system inaugurated in Boston in 1635, when the general court authorized au appropriation of four hundred pouuds, for tlie e.stablishment of a " schoole or college." In 1642 the first educational ordinance of the colony was adopted. By it the selectmen of every town were enjoined to have a " vigilant eye over their brethren and neighbors to see, first, that none of them shall sufier so much barbarism in any of their families, as not to endeavor to teach, by themselves or others, their children and apprentices so much learning as may enable them to perfectly read the English tongue, and knowledge of the capital laws, upon twenty shillings therein." The school law of ]\Ias.sachusetts adopted 1647 has furni.shed the foundation for all subsequent legislation in the interests of education.

In 1818 when Illinois was admitted as a State she was in the incipient enjoyment of Rev. Dr. Cutler's foresight, as set forth in the act of admission, which contained the following stipulations imposed by Congress:

" Whereas the Congress of the United States, in an act ! entitled ' An act to enab'e the people of the Illinois terri- ' tory to form a constitution and State government, and for 1 the admission of such state in the union on equal footing i with the original states, passed the 13th of April, 1818' have offered to this convention, for the free acceptance or rejection, the following propositions, which if accepted by the convention, are to be obligatory upon the United States, viz: 1. The section numbered sixteen in every township, and when such section has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, other land equivalent thereto, and as contiguous, as may be, shall be granted to the State for the use of the inhabitants of such township for the use of schools. 2. That all salt springs within such State shall be granted to the said State for the use of said State, and the same to be used under such terms and conditions and regulations as the legislature of said State shall direct : Provided, the legislature shall never sell nor lease the same for a longer period than ten years at any one time. 3. That five per cent, of the net proceeds of the lauds lying within such State, and which shall be sold by Congress from and after the first day of January, 1819, after deducting all expenses incident to the same, shall be reserved for the purposes following, viz. : Twofifths to be disbursed under the direction of congress, in making roads leading to the State ; the residue to be appropriated by the legislature of the State for the encouragement of karning, of which one-sixth part shall be exclusively bestowed on a college or university. 4. That thirty-six sections, or one entire township, which will be designated by the president of the United States, together with the one heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for the use of a seminary, and vested in the legislature of the said State, to be appropriated solely to the use of such seminary by the said legislature."

From the above, it will be seen with what care and jealousy the general government guarded the school-interests of the new-formed states. These grants and conditions were accepted by the convention which assembled at Kaskaskia in July 1818, for the purpose of framing a constitution for the new state. Hon. Shadrach Bond, a man of marked ability, was elected first governor of Illinois. In his inaugural address to the general asembly, he called their special attention to the educational interests of the state in the following forcible language : " The subject of education, the means for which have been so amply provided by the general government, cannot fail to engross your serious attention. It would be well to provide for the appointment or election of trustees in each township sufficiently populated, and empower them to lease, for a limited period, the section of land reserved and granted for the use of schools within the same, requiring them to appropriate the rents arising therefrom to such use and in the manner to be prescribed by law. The townships of land which have been granted to the state for the use of a seminary of learning, cannot, it is believed, be so disposed of at present as to authorize the passage of a law to commence the undertaking ; but at least a part of them may be leased, and the rents arising therefrom may be laid up or vested in some productive fund as a secure deposit to be hereafter appropriated to the subject to which the grants were made ; such a course will render those lands productive, and when the period shall arrive at which it may be advisable to sell them, they will be extensively improved and of great value. These donations, together with the three per cent, upon the net proceeds arising from the sale of the public lands within the state, which have been appicpriated Icr similar jurpoKS, with prcpcr auangcmfnts, will create a ftr.d stfiicicntly large to educate the children of the state to the remotest period of time. It is our imperious duty, for the faithful performance of which we are answerable to God and our county, to watch over this interesting subject. No employment can be more engaging than that of husbanding those resources which will spread through all classesof our fellow-citizens the means of wisdom and of knowledge, which in the freedom of our institutions will make the child of the poorest parent a useful member of society and an ornament to his country."

The first general assembly was too much engrossed with other matters of state to give this portion of the Governor's message the attention it deserved ; but at its second session, it took cognizance of the recommendations contained in his first message, and a bill was passed by both houses, and approved by the Governor, March 2d, 1819. It provided for the appointment by the county commissioners in each and every county, of three trustees in each township, who were within six months after appointment authorized to employ a surveyor, who should lay out section sixteen in each township into lots, not containing less than forty, nor more than one hundred and sixty acres, and to lease the same for a term of ten years, for the purpose of creating a revenue for school, purposes. As this law was general in its tenor, it was sufficient to protect and throw around these school-lands a proper safeguard, and had the recommendations of the Governor and the provisions of the law been adhered to until the lands became valuable, the public fund in nearly every township in the state would be to-day sufficient to maintain our public schools without special taxation. Unwise counsel prevailed somewhere, and the most of this munificent gift of the general government has been largely sacrificed.

From 1819 to 1825 but few changes were made in the school-law. Although the changes were few and unimportant, there was a decided, growing sentiment favorable to the free-school system; and in 1825 the general assembly passed an act providing for the establishment and maintenance of public schools. In the preamble to this act, the following patriotic sentiment was expressed. To enjoy our rights and liberties we must understand them ; their security and protection ought to be the first object to free people ; and it is a well-established fact that no nation has ever continued long in the enjoyment of civil and political freedom which was not both virtuous and enlightened ; and believing the advancement of literature always has been, and 'ever will be, the means of developing more fully the rights of man, that the mind of every citizen in a republic is the common property of society, and constitutes the basis of its strength and happiness. It is therfore considered the peculiar duty of a free government like ours to encourage and extend the improvement and cultivation of the intellectual energies of the whole.

This act is unquestionably the foundation-stone of the present free-school system in the State of Illinois. The act was mandatory, as will be seen from the language of the statute in the following passage: "There shall be established a common school or schools in each of the counties of this state, which shall be open to every class of white citizens between the ages of five and twenty-one years." It also provided for the election in each district of the following officers : Three trastees, one treasurer, one clerk, one assessor and one collector. The trustees were empowered to perform many of the functions now performed by the county S'jpsrintendents, such as examining of teachers, visiting schools, reporting to the county commissioners, etc. Some of the provisions of the law of 182j were repealed by the act of 1827, creating a general law of the state relating to the common sehools; but no material changes were made until 1841, when the legislature made a complete revision of the school law, approved February 26th, 1841.

Among the changes of this act are the following provisions : Each township could have as many schools as the inhabitants of such town desired; the people of every organized district were required to meet and elect from their number three trustees, and to agree upon their plan and manner of conducting the school- Thsse trustees or directors were vested with power to execute the plan adopted, and were required to visit and superintend the schools. This law was the first that required schedules to be kept by the teachers, and returned to the township treasurers. It also required a teacher to pass an examiuation for a certificate to teach. The board of trustees was required to perform this duty, or appoint a board of examiners for the purpose. The law did not mention the branches to be taught nor did it spscify the branches in which the teacher should be examined, but required that the certificate, when issued, should enumerate the branches in which he was qualified to teach. In 1845 another revision of the school law was made, and many new and important features were incorporated in it. The secretary of state was by virtue of his office created state superintendent of schools. Among his various duties the statute provided that he should counsel with experienced teachers, relating to the latest and most approved methods of conducting the common-schools ; he was required to advise the school commissioner* as to the best manner of managing the schools ; of constructing school-houses, and procuring competent teachers ; to recommend the best textbooks, charts, maps, etc., and to bring about a uniformity of the same. Under this law, whose duties were those of secretary of state, the first state superintendent wiis tlie Hon. Thompson Campbell, who made a very efficient and useful officer. Many of the suggestions given by him in his report to the governor could be used with profit to our school system of to-day.

The duties of the secretary of state confined him almost entirely to his office, hence pstitions were circulated in behalf of the establishment of a separate office, that of State Superintendent of schools. In 1854 the efibrts of these friends of education were crowned with success. It was provided by act of the legislature that the governor appoint such official to serve until the election in 1855, with a salary of 81500 per annum.

Educators were not yet satisfied. The entire free school system of the State, with its myriad ramifications, its vast accumulations of funds and property, had no other guardian than a State Legislature. Its entire control and management were subject to the whims and caprices of the General Assembly. It was the creature of statute law. It had no recognition in the Constitution of the State. One fell swoop of legislative power and the schools were dissolved. Such catastrophe might never overtake them, still the impdirmeut of the system was not only possible, but at times seriously threatened. Other states had swept from their statute books every provision for such schools, even after a trial. It was hazardous to leave their management to the chance current of public opinion, hence all true friends of the cause rejoiced when the strong arms of the Constitution were thrown about this corner-stone of our liberties in 1870. The Constitution adopted in convention May 1.3th, 1870, and ratified by the people July 2d, 1870, to go into effect August Sth, 1870, recognizes a thorough and efficient system of free schools in the fundamental laws of the State. By this act Illinois took her place in the first rank of American Commonwealths and forever wrested from chameleonic public opinion the destiny of her schools.

The permanent school fund of the State comprises: Ist, the school fund proper, being three per cent, upon the net proceeds of the sales of the public lands in the State, onesixth part excepted ; 2il, the college fund, consisting of the above one-sixth part ; .3d, the surplus revenue derived from the distribution in 1830 of the surplus revenue of the United States ; 4th, the summary fund, derived from sales of lands granted to the State by the general government; Sth, county funds created by the legislature in 1835; 6th, township funds arising from the sale of public land granted by Congress for common-school purposes.

Not les< rapid than the development of the country's resources has been the growth of her schools. The first taught in Madison county were " kept " (a word once popular and eminently appropriate) in deserted log cabins, or pole houses relates the following: "A number of the old settlers met together and set to work with hearty good will to erect a school-house. They cut down and trimmed a number of trees that would average six inches in diameter. Of these they made a pen about 12x16 feet in size. Having built it eight feet high they covered it with rough clap boards which they weighted down with heavier timber, next a door was cut through on one side and the " temple of learning" was ready for summer occupancy. To this chinkless, floorless, chimneyless structure flocked such children as could be spared from farm labor for two miles around The same building was chinked, daubed, floored, with rough hewed timbers, provided with a stick chimney, a board extending the entire length of the cabin, attached to the wall to serve the purpose of a writing desk, and an aristocratic window of greased paper in readiness for winter scholars. The old puncheon bench was used for seating pupils. This bench made by splitting logs and putting in wooden legs as supports was generally too high to enable the smaller urchins to rest their feet upon the floor. So there they were compelled to sit six or eight hours a day, legs dangling in air and woe betide him whose weariness caused restlessness With his birchen rod's keen'tingle the master awakened him to a realization of his whereabouts. In those days ' lickin and larnin' were veritable Siamese twins in the cause of education, and no teacher was considered capable who did not make a vigorous use of the rod.

As a general thing teachers of an early day, although severe io discipline, literal interpreters of Solomon's saw, " Spare the rod and spoil the child," were faithful in the discharge of duty, teaching to the extent of their ability. But few of them were well qualified to teach beyond the rudiments of an education, yet possessed of good common sense they accomplished much good. They attempted to teach but little and taught that little well. Teaching was confined to the three " R's," readin, 'ritin and 'rithraetic. In heveral of the earlier schools spelling occupied five-eighths of the day whilst reciting the multiplication table or reading occupied the remainder of the time. A knowledge of figures wan considered the »me qua non in a boy's education, whilst girls were thought to need little book preparation for life's work. When spelling bees, with their social and intellectual pleasures excited whole communities, it was found that girls usually more than held their own, indeed almost every district had within its boundaries a girl or young wo man who could spell the whole school down - the master included. Barring out the master - Christmas treats, ducking, etc., held their sway in those days. Mention of the fact doubtless causes swift memory in old age to recall such experiences in every neighborhood.

Whenever it happened as it often did, that a teacher [of fine attainments, was found at work in one of the rude cabins, his reputation drew to him an attendance from near and far of eager, earnest youth who made the best of their opportunities. The place of profit and tru.st filled by many such, with general acceptance show how well they improved their chances.

In early times the individual plan of recitation was in vogue. The master went around from one to auother helping thrm " do their sums " and pronouncing hard words in the spelling lesson, which confronted him at every turn he made. Simultaneously he would be making or mending pens, for which they used goose quills. A copy was to be set here, and a disturbance to be settled there, requiring the birchen rod or ferule, sometimes a pinching of the ear, - or a well aimed " thud " with the second finger. For all this service the teacher was poorly paid. In some instances he was expected to board around, - a week at the home of each pupil. A little later on an improvement was made in the plan of recitation. Classes were organized and members were required to stand erect in rows " toeing the mark " during recitation which was usually preceded by "making of manners" - i. e. bowing to the teacher. Not unfrequently were these classes, thus arranged,' expected to spell a column of words aloud and altogether, not exactly in concert but at one's own will. A traveller approaching the school-house hearing the din of voices - ranging all along the gamut iu pitch, and from the pijHng of childhood to the voice of a stentorin force - would know that the spelling class was engaged in study. The abecedarian was still alone. He timidly approached the master, stood beside him, and in regular order the letters of the alphabet were pointed out and named to him, he repeating after, mechanically, the monotonous a. b. c J. From just such schools came some of our most practical and thoughtful men. Men too who attained distinction in fighting life's battles. But now the log school-house is a thing of the past, roads and ferules are no longer thought indispens-able in teaching, nor is physical power a necessary requisite in the teacher. The state has provided a better class of accommodations, and prepared the way for teachers to better fit themselves for their work ; and we are now reaping the benefits of wiser legislation and broader and more comprehensive views of education.

The first school of which we have any account within the limits of the county was that at Casterline's School House in what is now Collinsville township, in 1804 or 5, by James Bradsbury. The pioneer teacher remained a year, and pupils flocked to him from a considerable distance in all directions. About the same time some benevolent old ladies weni from house to house among the French settlers on Can tine, or Quentine as sometimes spelled, imparting instruction to the children, whilst the monks of La Trappe looked after that of the elders. A happy exhibition of the true missionary educational spirit but hardly to be classed among pioneer schools. In 1809 a school was taught about two and a half miles south of Edwardsville, and continued at intervals for some years afterward, during which time it was frequently dispersed by rumors of Indian inroads.

Alton. - The city of Alton is justly proud of her public schools. In 1837 the charter adopted by the city provided for the establishment and maiuteuauce of Free Schools. The first action of the city council under the provisions of ' this charter wiis taken in 1842, when Messrs. William ^[artin, Dr. B. F. Edwards and B. B. Barker were appointed a : board of directors. Schools were opened, but funds were not forthcoming, and teachers were not paid in full. On i the 3d of July, lf^43, the City Council, on motion of Dr. B. i K. Hart approj)riated one hundred dollars for the purchase, < of block 19 in Pope and other additions. The entire block | was considered worth S200, but Judge Pope deeded it to the ! city for school purposes at half price. At the same meeting a committee of four, Messrs. B. B. Barker, F. G. Starr, Dr. B. K. Hart and M. G. Atwood, were appointed to consider the expediency of building a school-house for the township, including the city. Nothing seems to have been accomplished towards so laudable an enterprise, and in fact, little was done worthy of mention iu the way of schools until February 18th, 1845, when a committee of three, Messrs. Atwood Hayden and Scarritt, was appointed to receive contracts for building a house for school purposes. March 18th, the contract was let, JNIessrs. Lowe and Parks offering to build it for the sum of8.5S0.70, and Messrs. Marsh, Levis and Woodbridge were designated to superintend its construction. Rev. L. S. Williams was employed as teacher in the building commencing his labors July '21st, 1845. He continued in the position until September 1847, when W. F. Gurnsey superseded him. This school-house was long afterwards numbered as schoo'-house No. 2, and was iu 186(j taken down when the High School Building was erected on its site- In 1851 school-house No. 3 was erected at a cost of $1,983.20, and in February 1S52, school was opened with W. F. Gurnsey as teacher, whilst James Newman took his place in charge of No. 2. From this time the success of public schools was an assured fact, and their real growth began. Public sympathy was enlisted iu their behalf. The third schoolhouse. No. 1, was erected during the year 1853 at a cost of §4,396.84, and iu the fall school under charge of George Crego was opened. School No. 4, was built in 1856 at a cost of $2,300. In September same year school was commenced by Miss Reed, who was succeeded by Miss Lucy A. Foote. School No 5, was built same year at a cost of S2,300. Mrs. A. E. Newman, first teacher. A high school was opened in the basement of the Unitarian Church, February 22d, 1858, by James Newman as principal and Miss M. E. Richmond, assistant.

During the same year the colored school was instituted, with John Robinson sis teacher. In 1>~>59, it was thought best to place the school interests of the city in the care of an organization whose sole object should be to foster and preserve them; hence a Board of Education, composed of nine members, was created by ordinance of the city council, passed August 15lh, 1859. On the 19th of the same month the board had its first meeting, and chose William Hayden as president and George Skellenberger as superintendent of schools and secretary. Under the auspices of the board commendable progress has been made. No. 2 was found inadequate, and in 1866, the new No. 2 was erected at a cost of $35,000. Messrs. Armstrong & Pfeiffenberger, architects. There are now within the city limits five school buildings. The schools were attended during 1881-82, by 3119 pupils, and engaged the services of twenty-four teachers.

Prior to the organization of any concerted action in behalf of the schools, many efforts were put forth in behalf of the education of the youth of Alton. In November, 1831, a "Preparatory School," as it was termed, was opened by ilr. H. Davis, in a room over the store of S. E. Moore & Co., on Second street, between Market and Alby streets. In January, 1832, it took to itself the name" Alton Seminary," and in January, 1833, was removed to new and more commodious quarters on Second near Alton street. Mr. Davis, the pioueer teacher, died in 1834.

The second effort was that of Abel R. Cobbin, who kept a school in a log building that stood on the junction of Second and Third streets, below Henry. About the same time, J- M. Krum, (later Judge Krum, of St. Louis), opened a school in Lyceum Hall at the corner of Second and Alby streets. He was succeeded by Mr. Bosworth. A school was taugh by Mr. Hollister, iu the Methodist church, on Third street between Alby and Court square, in 1836. D. V. AVainright taught corner of Market and Second, in ISB''. Mrs. Mary D. Bruner taught same year in the building on the site now occupied by Dr. Haskell's office. In 1837, Miss Sophia Loomis, afterward the wife of Cyrus Edwards, taught in a frame building northwest corner of Grove and Common streets, in Edwards' addition. Other teachers thus engaged in private undertakings prior to opening of free schools, were a Mr. Warner, Miss Relief V. Everett, Miss Carolina Loomis and Mr. D. A. Richardson, a Yankee from Maine. In 1842, Mr. Haylay taught in the northern part of the city. Mr. Britton, an Episcopal clergyman, taught a school of a dozen scholars, in 1844, advertising superior advantages, for which a charge of ten dollars per quarter per pupil was made. In June, 1846, Mr. Utien Smith began a school in the basement of the Episcopal church, corner of Third and Market streets, which he continued until May, 1855, a period of nine years. Mr. Smith was possessed of the elements of success as a teacher. His experience iu the profession ex.tended over a period of thirtyseven and a half years.

Edwardsville. - The pioneer school of this township has already been mentioned as having been maintained in a cabin about two and a half miles south of Edwardsville, in the year 1809. No record of its teachers is obtainable. The first name receiving recognition as that of a teaidier is Joshua Atwater, a native of Massachusetts, who first came to St. Clair county in 1801; thence to Madison county. He commenced teaching as early as 1807. In this calling he was successful, and many old men gratefully remember his efforts iu imparting to them instruction.

In this township there are now three brick and four frame school-houses. Employment is given to seventeen teachers, nine of whom are engaged in the Union school in the city of Edwardsville. This school has a library of eight hundred volumes and apparatus valued at near three hundred dollars. Under the efficient managemeut of Prof. I. H. Brown the schools are making fine progress.

Collimvllle. - It was iu this township the first school of the county was taught, already briefly referred to. James Bradsbury was the teacher. He was represented by pioneers to have been an able and earnest instructor ; not a scholar, but faithful in teaching what he knew. He carried several pupils through the intricacies of the old " rule of three," by the aid of which almost all arithmetical sums were solved. In the year 1814, a school-house was built in this township between Judy's and Whiteside's. It stood idle more than half the time. Two years prior to this, in 1812, a school was taught by Elisha Alexander, in Mr. Judy's dooryard ; a Mr. Thompson had first taught in the cabin that was put to such use. Whilst school was in session here, the British war was going on. The martial spirit ran high. Accounts of sharp struggles - doubtless exaggerated - reached the ears of youth attending this school. They put their crude ideas into vogue by barricading their teacher. Alexander saw the odds were against him, andcompromiied by treating to cider and apples. He was succeeded by Mr. Yancey, and after him, in 1816, came Mr. Enlow, and next in order was the school of Beniah Robinson. From these humble beginnings, the cause of education has flourished in Colliusville and township, until now, under the supervision of Prof H. H. Keebler, a gentleman who ranks high among the educators of this county, their schools are among the best in the county.

The city of Colliusville boasts an elegant building, eligibly situated, in which a Union school is maintained, employing nine teachers. In this township there are four brick, and three frame school-houses Employment is given to fifteen teachers. Great interest is taken iu the cause of education. Jarvis. - The first school taught in this township was that of Jesse Renfro, in 1824, in the " Old Gilead Church." Mr. Renfro's labors as a ttacher were very acceptable to the pioneers. He was engaged in the work several years. During the last year of his teaching, he had forty pupils under instruction for six mouths, and for his services and the books which he had contracted to provide, he received one hundred dollars, or a little over sixteen dollars per month The books furnished were the old U. S. speller. Pike's arithmetic, and the testament- There are in the township six school districts. Employment is given to nine teachers four of whom are engaged in the graded schools in the village of Troy. Of the school-houses, two are brick and four are frame structures.

St. Jacobs. - The first settlers of what is now St. Jacob's township took special care in educating their children. Whilst gathered together within the walls of an old fort, in 1812 and 13, for safety against incursions of Indians, they maintained a school, taught by David Smeltzer. As soon as pea ;e had settled over the country, their earliest thoughts were for their children s welfare, and in 1817. they erected a cabin, between the residences of Parkinson and Anderson, for school perposes. Upon its abandonment, a new house of hewed logs was put up on the present site of Augusta Church.

A school-house was built near the Uzzle Spring in 1828, and school was first taught here by Alexander Trusedale. In the same neighborhood a school was taught, prior to this, by Mr. Edmonds, in an abandoned cabin that stood near Dugger's ox-mill. John Kile was among the pioneer teachers of the township. There are now six schools, employing ten teachers, three of whom are now in the graded school in the village of St. Jacob's, now under the superintendence of J. W. Wells, a thorough teacher. Of the school-houses, three are brick and three frame.

Marine. - The first school taught in what is now Marine township was that of Arthur Travis in an out building belonging to Major Ferguson in the year 1814.,

In 1819 a young man from New Haven, Countcticut, opened a school in an empty cabin that stood between Capt. Blakeman's and R. P. Allen's. In 1821 a substantial Union Church house was erected which was likewise used for school purposes. It is believed to have been at the time the best building devoted to educational uses in the county, as it was a frame building, with clapboard siding, supplied with split shingle roof, and glass windows. Six school-houses, three of them brick structures, have been erected for the accommodation of the children of this township. Employment is given to ten teachers, four of whom are engaged in the schools in the village of Marine. Under the management of Prof. W. E. Lehr these schools have taken high rank, being held second to none in the county.

Nameokl. - Thij township, and Venice, 3 - 10, are so intimately associated in pioneer affairs as to be properly treated together. In fact old Six Mile, as the original precinct was styled included both. As early as 1805 a school was taught here near the present Six Mile house by Edward Humphrey, and a few years after a house was built by the neighbors entirely of poles, about two miles north, in which school was taught by Joshua Atwater and subsequently by JNIc- Laughlin, an Irishman whose chief merit as a schoolmaster lay iu his strength. A pupil relates of him that he carried his bottle regularly to school with him, always went armed with a well seasoned "shillelah" and never failed to repremand any short-cummiugs iu pupils. He taught during the war of 1812, and more than one father had a "settlement" to make with him on return from the field of battle because of injuries inflicted on their sons.

Five teachers are engaged here and five houses - all frame buildings accommodate the schools of the township. In 3- 10 are two brick and two frame school-houses. Five teachers are given emplojment.

Hdvetin. - This township was originally settled by Americans; subse(]uently Swiss and German people came to America to enjoy her free institutions, they were not slow to avail themselves of the advantages extended through free schools. Even the naming of the streets of their beautiful city. Highland, indicates their love of the cause - preserving as one of them does the name of one of the fathers of free education, Pcstalozzi, and as others do of leaders in the same cause of our own country. Among the earliest schools taught in this township was one by George Ramsay, in 1824 ; he was eucceeded by James A. Ramsay in 1828 ; and John Shinn taught here in 1830; in 1825 or '26 James A. Ramsay, and others caused a house to be erected, which was used for Church and scliool purposes, it stood near Craig's improvement and was constructed of hewn logs. In the township are seven school-houses, six being of brick and one a frame. Employment is given to thirteen teachers, six of whom are engaged in the Union Graded Schools of Highland. In addition to the public schools, private ones maintaining three instructors are well supported.

HameL - The first school-house was built on the land of Bobert Aldrich, and near his residence in 1825. It was a flimsy, temporary structure of poles, without floor, door or window. It was used but a short time. So few scholars lived in the neighborhood that a school worthy the name could not at that early day be maintained. Joseph Thompson and a Mr. Carver, each taught a term here, whereupon it was abandoned about the same time a good log school-house was built at Lamb's Point. It was better than the average school-houses of the day in that it was supplied with a stone chimney.

At present four school-houses, three frame and one brick, meet the demands for school, and employment is given to a like number of teachers.

Pine Oai-. - Soon after the first settlement of Pine Oak township, citizens were blessed with the labors of Joshua Atwateras a teacher. Actuated by the true missionary spirit he wentfrom one community to another, stirring up the people to the importance of education, and laboring constantly in the capacity of a teacher. Near the residence of Jubilee Posey, in a rudely constructed cabin, briefly occupied as the home of a pioneer, he opened a school in 1809.

Another pioneer teacher who labored here was Thomas S. Waddle, who taught also in a deserted cabin on section 35, on a farm belonging to James Keown.

Alhambra. - William Davenport had the honor of having taught the first school within the present limits of Alhambra township. He took posession of an empty cabin, in the Hoxey neighborhood. He taught but a short time. In 183'2 a house was erected for school purposes, on section 19, and George Denney was the first to occupy it as a teacher. A man named Nichols taught simultaneously with the above in a private house. At present, there are eight schoolhouses here, all frame. Tec teachers are given employment.

Saline. - As early as 1825, the Cumberland Presbyterians improved a campground on section 31, and on this ground in a cabin belonging to Captain Abraham Howard, was taught the first school by John Barber, Jr. He continued iu the work for several terms, finding great favor with pioneers. There are now two frame and two brick school-houses in this township. A like number of teachers are employed.

Leef - .Six school-houses, five frame and one brick, accommodate the scholars of this township. Six teachers are given employment. There were no very early schools here. Such as were, however, will be mentioned in township history. The school district with building situated iu the village of Saline, belongs to both Leef and Saline townships. It is a graded school with two departments, and has for the last three years been under the charge of Prof. James Lane, a thoroughly practical and efficient teacher ; he has brought the school up to a high standard, making it compare well with those of other towns in the county.

Xeiv Douglas. - The first settler in this township was Daniel Funderburk, who was a teacher. As soon as the neighborhood justified theeftort by having accessions to their numbers, he opened a school at his home place iu a house built for the purpose on section 6. This was in 1823. There are now five frame buildings devoted to school purposes. Employment is given to seven teachers, three of whom are engaged in the graded schools in the village of New Douglas. This school, for several years under the charge of Mr. Kennedy, compares fiivorably with any in the county.

Wood River. - To this township is accredited the honor of maintaining the first Sunday-school in the State of Illinois. Inasmuch as elementary instruction, such as the letters ot the Alphabet, reading and spelling were taught, as well as Bible History, it may well be recognized as the beginning of the educational work, of which in its full fruition this section is so justly proud. This school was taught in 1819, by the wife of Rev. Thomas Lippincott, at the time a merchant in the town of Milton. The following year a similar effort was engaged in by Enoch Long -and Henry Snow in Upper Alton. The earlier efforts engaged in here are intimately connected with the progress and growth of Shurtlefl College ; hence are given elsewhere in this work. In the township are two brick and five frame buildings, occupied by public schools. The services of ten teachers are required, four of whom are engaged in graded schools.

Olive. - Henry H. Havron was the first teacher. Taught in the year 1833. Four frame buildings accommodate the school of this township. Employment is given to five teachers.

Fort Russell. - First settled by a stirring, enterprising people ; they were not slow to avail themselves of the services of a teacher. The old block-house on section 18 was soon after its abandonment as a fort, used as a school-house, with Rev. William Jones, a Baptist minister, as a teacher. On the same section, the first regular school-house was subsequently built. Four frame buildings, all good and substantial structures, accommodate the schools of this township. Employment is given to a like number of teachers.

Educatioanl Aids. - Institutes have always, since their inception, been regarded as aids to educational work. In pursuance of a public call of teachers, school officers and friends of education in Madison county, a meeting was held I in the MethodLst church, Edwardsville, on Saturday, Janu- ; ary 16th, 1858, for the purpo.se of^ organizing a Teachers' i Association or Institute. Of this association, William Hayden, of Alton, was chosen President; Henry Wing, of Coli linsville, and E. M. West, of Edwardsville, Vice Presidents ; W. J. Ela, of Edwardsville, Recording Secretary ; James Newman, of Alton, Corresponding Secretary ; M. G. Dale, of Edwardsville, Treasurer. An Executive Committee, consisting of M. G. Atwood, Alton, H. K. Eaton, and Joseph H. Sloss, Edwardsville, were given charge of the programme of exercises. In April, 1858, the first Institute was held. In 1875, Institutes failing longer to hold the attention of Teachers, and proving too inadequate to meet the demands of the profession, were exchanged for Normals, as .they are denominated, being simply Institutes for several weeks' duration. The first was held under the direction of A. A. Suppiger, with F. E. Cook, of St. Louis, as Instructor in Collinsville. The second was held in the same place, in 1876, under direction of B. F. Sippy, County Superintendent, with H. H. Keebler, of Collinsville, and W. E. Lehr, of Marine, as Instructors. The third was held in 1877, in Edvvardsville, same supervision, with J. S. Stevenson, of St. L)uis, and W. E. Lshr, a? Instructor. The fourth, same place and same management throughout.

As indicative of the progress of education we present Statement of the di.stribution of the State Funds for the years 18-50, 1860, 1870 and 1880. These certainly make a very favorable showing.

Statement For The Years 1850 And 1860 Statement For The Years 1870 And 1880

In the county there are in all one hundred and thirty-six school-houses. Ninety-two frame and forty-four brick structures. Employment is given to two hundred and ten teachers. From Superintendent Sippy's report the following items are gleaned. During the year ending June .30, 1881, there were 292 applicants for teachers' certificates, examined. Of these 134 were males and 158 female. Ten first grade certificates were issued to male teachers, and four to female. Seventy second grade to male, and sixty-six to female. Male applicants rejected 42, female 71. During the year twenty-seven certificates were renewed.

Under the efficient management of B. F. Sippy, the schools of Madison county have proven more flourishing than ever before in her history. Examinations have been rigid - the standard of requirements necessary to secure certificates being constantly advanced.

Shurtleff Colleoe had its origin in a " Theological and High School " known as Rock Spring Seminary, established in 1827, under the labors of Rev. John M. Peck, D. D., and through the help of contributions received from a few friends in New York and New England. In The Baptist Memorial for 1842, Vol. 1, page 205, Dr. Peek says: " In 1827 the Rock Spring Theological High School was opened. Rock Spring is a country situation, IS miles East of St. Louis, and on the great stage road to Vincenues and Louisville. The Seminary commenced with :i5 students of both sexes, which number was increased in a few weeks to 100. At that period no school fur boarders, under Protestant direction, existed in Illinois or Missouri. In 1831 the school closed with the view of its removal to Upper Alton, as the commencement of a College. The Institution opened again in 1832, under the name of Alton Seminary.

In pursuance of the plan of removal there was an early tranfer of the movable property of Rock Spring Seminary to Alton Seminary, consisting, as we are told, of "some S.300 or S400 worth of property, " embracing, among other things, the library of the Rock Spring Seminary, most of which is still in the possession of the College. One teacher also, John Russell, LL. D , who was Principal at Rock Spring after the first year, followed the school to its new location, and was appointed to the position of Principal also in Alton Seminary, during a temporary absence in the interests of the school, of Rev. Hubbel Loomis, Principal defacto.

of location was effected at Upper Alton, June 4th, 1832, under the name of "The Board of Trustees of Alton Seminary. " Its object was declared to be " to take into consideration the establishment of a Seminary as the foundation of a College." The school was put in operation, and Rev. Hubbel Loomis was elected Principal, to whose wise plans and efBcient labors, is, undoubtedly, to be attributed much of what ShurtlefT College has since become.

In March, 1833, the State Legislature granted a charter incorporating the seven gentlemen who were named as " The Trustees of Alton College of Illinois. " To prevent any complication of 'Church and State ' - it is supposed - and to exclude all sectarian ascendency, this charter provided that no " particular religious faith should be required of those who become Trustees of the Institution." Nor could any " Professor of Theology ever be employed as a teacher at said College, nor any Theological Department be connected therewith or in any manner attached thereto," without rendering the act granting the charter " null and forever void." The charter was not accepted. Nor were efforts to forward the object of the Association thereby retarded. In January, 1835, measures were adopted to raise $25,000 for " the immediate wants as well as the permanency and prosperity of the Alton Seminary," viz : $10,000 for buildings ; §7,500 a fund for salaries of professors ; and 87,500 a fund to aid beneficiary theological students. The self-constituted Trustees proceeded to lay off streets, town lots and a college campus, and appointed and commissioned itinerant agents to solicit funds and enlist the co-operation of friends of advanced education in several of the Eastern, Middle and Western States.

In February, 1835, a new charter was granted, in its general features sufficiently liberal, but retaining the offensive proviso with reference to a Theological Department. How- this charter was accepted. Without dissolving their mutual covenant the seven subscribers to the original compact, with other elected members, became a distinct Board of " Trustees of Alton College of Illinois." The Association now conditionally surrendered to the new corporation its entire property - " reserving fifty acres of the land for the education of the ministry of the gospel, and also such donations as may have been made for <his special object." In accepting the property surrendered, the College Board placed on their records a resolution, " That it is understood in good faith that the principles of the original compact of the said gentlemen herewith recorded, be preserved by this incorporation inviolate ; so far as said compact is compatible with the charter of this incorporation." The feature of the compact thus specially guarded was, " That it is and shall ever continue to be a prominent object to aid in the education of young men of genuine piety designed for the Gospel mini.-try in this section of the Valley of the Mississippi."

The original Association now assumed for its name, " The Trustees of Alton Theological Seminary." The two Boards, thus composed mostly of identical members, co-operated harmoniously in advancing their cherished enterprise. The Trustees of the Seminary appointed their Professor of Theology, and the Trustees of the College appointed their

Professors, and their teachers of the Preparatory Department, and students in both Institutions pursued their preparatory studies in the same classes and boarded together at the common refectory.

In January, 1836, the charter of the College was amended by changing the name of the Board to ''The Trustees of Shurtleff College of Alton, Illinois." This change was in consideration of the - then« - very liberal donation of $10,000 to the endowment of the College, by Benjamin Shurtleff, M. D., of Boston, Mass.

In February, 1841, the offensive provisos of the college charter were repealed by the Legislature, and the Trustees were authorized to organize " additional departments for the study of any or all of the liberal professions." Soon after this a schedule was made of all the property[belouging to the Seminary and held by its Board in trust for Theological purposes, and in the following July, its Trustees, at their annual meeting, closed the records of its history as follows :

" Whereas, by an amendment of the charter of Shurtleff College granting the right, the Board of Trustees of that Institution has established a Theological Department which supersedes the necessity of a separate organization.

" Therefore resolved unanimouslij, that all the property of this Institution herewith be transferred to the Theological Department of Shurtleff College.

" Resolved - That this Board be dissolved, and all its books and papers be transferred to the Trustees of Shurtleff College for its Theological Department.''

From the foregoing it appears that Theological instruction has been a prominent idea in the plans of its friends from the very inception of the Institution. The original school at Rock Spring was called a Theological School. In consequence of the proviso originally belonging to the charter of the College, first granted in 1833, preventing the existence of a Theological Department, a separate Association was formed, known as " The Trustees of Alton Theological Seminary." Under the auspices of this body. Rev. Lewis Colby was elected Principal of the Theological Seminary, and served acceptably in this capacity during the years 1835-6 and 1836-7. When the College charter was amended by striking out the offensive proviso alluded to above, a Theological Department was at once established, in which Alton Seminary was merged. Special arrangements were made for carrying on Theological instruction, which has been maintained, although with varying success, until the present time.

Under its present organization the Theological Department is accomplishing efficient work and is in the enjoyment of brighter prospects than for many years previous. Its funds are sufficiently ample for present purposes, and it is not anticipated that any emergencies will arise which will justify its suspension. In fact, as this sketch well demonstrates, there are insuperable obstacles, both legal and moral, to the abandonment of the sacred trust which the Fathers have imposed upon us. On the the contrary, it is hoped and expected that the future will see not only permanency, but growth and advancement in this special Department.

this period Rev. Prof. Washington Leverett, LL. D., being the senior officer, acted as President of the College. In 1840 Rev. Adiel Sherwood, D. D., was elected to the Presidency, which position he filled until 1846. During his Presidency Professors Zenas B. Newman, Washington Leverett and Warren Leverett, were associated with him in instruction. During the years 1847 - 1849 Dr. Washington Leverett was again acting President of the College, and Warren Leverett, Erastus Adkins, Justus Bulkley and William Cunningham were instructors. In 1850 Rev. N. N. Wood, D. D., accepted the Presidency, which he held for five years. Rev. S. Y. McMasters, LL. D., succeeded him in 1855, as President pro tempore, and the next year Rev. Daniel Read, LL. D., became President and served 14 years. After an interval of nearly three years, during which the duties pertaining to the Presidency were performed by Professors Bulkley and Fairman, Rev. A. A. Kendrick, D. D., present incumbent, entered upon his duties.

It is a fact worthy of mention that the instruction furnished by the institution has been of a high order from the very outset. Indeed, so wisely was the curriculum of studies projected, that no radical changes in the various courses pursued, have been called for to meet the demands which modern views upon education have made. The Institution has been brought up to its present position by building carefully upon the foundations originally laid, increased facilities of instruction having been acquired, and better work having been done, but with little modification of the ideas upon which the College was at first projected. The advanced course of study insisted upon as a prerequisite to a degree goes far to account for the comparatively limited number of graduates, particularly when the general and public opinion of the West during this period, concerning liberal education, is taken into account. The good which this College has accomplished, through the educational facilities which it has furnished, must therefore be sought for in great measure outside of its list of graduates in the training, more or less complete, which over Three Thousand Five Hundred young men and not a few young women, have received within its walls. The average number of students in attendance during the last twenty years has been about one hundred and twenty, of whom nearly one-fourth have been ministerial students. Just how many, in all, have entered the ministry, we cannot tell, but the number is known to be several hundred.

During the late war between the States, a very large number of students enlisted in the service of the country - at least 140 of previous students and those connected with the College at the time, were in this service, in the year 1864, so that the school was, for a little while, virtually suspended. Several of these students rose to great distinction as soldiers, becoming Majors, Colonels, Brigadier Generals, and two rising to the rank of Major General.

But the students of this College have distinguished themselves and honored their Alma Mater, not only by patriotism and bravery, but as jurists, and statemen, teachers and editors, as well as by ranking among the first of the Christian ministers of the land. Two, who were formerly students in this college, are now representing a singk city in our

National Congress, and still more honorable than thi?, is the fact that four of the graduates of Shutleff College are now missionaries of the Cross among the heathen in foreign lands.

As the school has maintained its original idea, by establishing and sustaining a Theological Department, so it has again opened its doors to pupils of both sexes, in harmony with the more advanced ideas of the present age. Ladies have been graduated, during the last few years, from the full classical course of this College, by the side of young men, and won first honors in competition with them.

Notwithstanding this Institution had its beginning when the country was yet in its infancy - only a few years after Illinois became a state, and while most of the people of the West were yet poor, and the Baptist denomination especially, on which the College was mainly dependent, was feeble - still, it has grown, if not with equal rapidity, nevertheless, somewhat in proportion with the gowth of the country and of the denomination, and to-day has a valuable property, consisting of its buildings and grounds, worth at least S50,- 000 ; trust funds and invested endowments of several chairs, over $75,000, which last are all free from liabilities and incumbrances; and then additional outside properties and claims for at least $40,000 more, making a total of at least $165,000, besides Libraries, Apparatus and Furniture, in present possession of the College. And, still, valuable as its accumulations for the past half century have been, they are far from sufficient for the proper support of the Institution. The year 1876, the Centennial of the Nation was an important one in the history of this College. As the result of the inadequate endowments, and in spite of all possible economy in administration, on the part of a faithful Board of Trustees, the year came in with a large debt standing against the College, and very small and insufficient provisions for its payment. It was therefore determined to undertake the work of raising $100,000, with which to pay the debts of the College and increase its endowments. Rev. G J. Johnson, D. D., well known for his great ability in the work of gathering benevolent funds, was seemed as Financial Agenf. The College having been established in 1827, as Rock Spring Seminary, reached in the year following the National Centennial the fiftieth year of its existence, and the work of Dr. Johnson, begun in 1876, was continued. Thanks to his untiring zeal and entire devotion to his work, the movement to increase the funds of the College was successful. At the date of this writing the College debts have been fully provided for and the institution is in a more flourishing condition than ever before in its history.

Since the movement above described the College has re. ceived additional funds, among which may be named the sum of $10,000 secured through the exertions of President Kendrick, as a fund for the erection of a New College building. This edifice is now in process of erection, and will add greatly to the facilities of the College.

This Institution has been greatly blessed during the entire period of its existence with warm friends and ardent patrons. Of those now living it may not be becoming to speak, but the names of the dead, many of whom were honored citizens of Mi(ii.-on County, deserve a record in this history. Elijah Gove Esq., of Quincy, Illinois, deserves especial mention in this connection. In the year 1854 he became prominent in the affairs of the College, ministering to its financial needs with a munificent hand. Until his death, in 1874, he continued his support to the College, and the least estimate placed upon the aggregate of his many and unostentatious gifts is $50,000.

H. N. Kendall, Esq., of Upper Alton, is another name that should be forever hallowed in connection with Shurtleff College. He was the cherished confidant and eo worker of Mr. Gove in planning and giving for this Institution.

Dr. Ebenezer Marsh, of Alton, was a teacher in Rock Spring Seminary, in 18:i9, and upon the removal of the Institution to Upper Alton took an active interest in it, and in 1852 became Trustee and served twenty-five years, till his death in 1877.

Hon. Cyrus Edwards, of Upper Alton, was one of the seven original members of the new Board of Trustees, organized at Upper Alton upon the removal of the Institution from Rock Spring in 18.32. Ilermon C. Cole, of Upper Alton, at a later day became an active patron of the College.

D. D. Ryrie, Esq., of Alton, was a devoted friend to the College to the day of his death. His wise liberality and prudent forecast were invaluable to the College in many emergencies. This list might be greatly extended, but enough has been said to sliow that good and true men have wrought faithfully in connection with this College for the cause of Chri tian education.

The men who have spent years in Madison County, as educators of youth in the Faculty of this Institution deserve honorable mention in this historical sketch. They have impressed themselves upon hun<lrfds who are now the substantial citizens of tliis county, or dwellers in the regions beyond. Many, as they read the names of Huhbel Loomis, Warren Leverett, Washington Levcrett, Adiel Sherwood, Daniel Read, Justus Buikley, O. L Castle and Charles Fairman, will recall the honored instructors, at whose feet they have sat and learned practical wisdom and acquired in'ellectual strength.

This Institution has ever been known for the thoroughness of its instruction and its careful attention to the mental and moral culture of its students. As at present constituted there are three distinct schools or departments, viz. : The Preparatory School, The College, and The Theological School. The number of graduates in the College and the Theological School duricg the last ten yeai-s is nearly equal to the whole number graduated in the previous forty-five years, showing a marked advance in the grade of scholarship in the Institution, as well as a corresponding advance in the demands for a Collegiate education in the West. From present indications it is safe to assume that jVIadison County is destined to have within its borders one of the most anl important flourishing in.- titutions of learning in the whole country.

By Miss H. N. Iiask Ell

Godfrey,) was opened for the reception of students on the 11th of April, 1838. It is situated at Godfrey, Madison County, 111., on the route of the Chicago Alton Railroad, twenty-five miles from St. Louis, Mo., and four from Alton. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy touching Brighton, Indianapolis and St. Louis touching Alton, brings the Seminary into railroad communication with all parts of the country. The site was selected with regard to health and freedom from the bustle and terai)tations common to large towns.

The Seminary building is of stone, 110 feet by 44 feet, and five stories high, including the basement. The basement is divided into Recitation Rooms and a Dining Room. The second story is divided into a Library, Recitation and Family Rooms. The next two stories, together, contain forty rooms, each designed to accommodate two young ladies. The fourth story is divided into Music and Painting Rooms. The south wing is 45 feet by 70 feet, contains two large halls and twenty-two rooms for the accommodation of students; the rooms and halls are lighted with gas and warmed with Marriott's hot water apparatus. There is also a Cottage situated near the Seminary building and within the Campus, designated as a b larding house for mothers who wish to be with their daughters, and also for the accommodation of guests visiting the students.

The Seminary Campus consists of about thirty acres. This affords room for garden, orchard, grove, play grounds, a spacious lawn in front, tastefully laid out in walks, and ornamented with flowers, shrubbery and arbors.

Since the opening of the Institution, all its income has been used to perfect its arrangements for educational advantage and domestic comfort. It is confidently believed that no seminary can be found in the West where every department is better suited to the wants of its students. Its patronage proves the wisJom of tha Trustees in psrfecting the arrangements.

Board of Instruction. - Miss Harriet K. Haskell, Principal ; Miss Emily G. Alden, Mental and Moral Philosophy, English Literature and Composition ; Miss Julia C. Kellogg, Physiology, Natural History and Botany; .Miss Evelyn L, Barbour, Natural Science and Higher Mathematics ; Miss Alice Harlow, Latin abd Greek; Mi-s Ella F. Siioclin^ Preparatory Department ; M'lle Rosine Stehle, M'lle H. Chevalley, French and German; Miss Julia Newton, Oil Painting, Water Colors and Drawing ; Miss Alma L. Frost, Elocution.

Wyman Institute By Prof. L. M. Castle

This institution is the practical embodiment of the mature ideas of one of the most prominent educators of the west, Eiiward Wyman, LL. D., from whom it takes its name. Dr. Wyman, the founder and present Principal, is a man of wide reputation as an instructor and disciplinarian, having b^en engaged in the profession of teaching for upwards of fifty years. He is a natural born teacher and his long career as an instructor has been extended over a field remarkable for the breadth as well as variety of its experience. Dr. Wyman was born, raised and educated in the State of Massachusetts, and early brought the culture there obtained westward to be utilized as one of the elements of a success scarcely paralleled in his profession. During his life in the west he has been connected with various educational enterprises, the most important of which was probably the well known St. Louis Unlversitij, of which he had charge for more than six years; and which under his management attained a wide reputation both for its remarkable size and the uniqueness of its discipline Coming under his management at a stage of its existence bordering on dissolution, the University was infused with new life, which in the short space of six years raised its membership from forty to upwards of 600, and invested it with a completeness of organization and discipline to be appn ciated only by being seen. Among his former pupils Dr. Wyman numbers mauy of the most prominent and successful business and profissional men of the west, who unite in paying unqualified tribute to the soundness and thorough practicability of his educational methods. Compelled by ill health induced by overwork and the superabundance of energy exercised in the management of this undertaking temporarily to abandon his profession for a more (active) employment, he never wavered in his interest in the cause of education, but even in the turmoil of an active business life went on maturing plans for a .school which should comply as nearly as possible with his ideas of a - model school, to the direction of which he might bring not only an unabated zeal in the cause, but also the ripe experience of his maturer years. The state of his health having materially improved. Dr. Wyman felt himself justified in selecting for his school a proper location- After extensive search Upper Alton was selected as the most suitable site, and in the judgment of many competent authorities is considered, on account of its convenient approach as well as its peculiar moral and educational advantages, inferior to no other location for such a school. The grounds selected at present comprise 40 acres of what was formerly known as " Rural Park," a tract noticeable at once for its natunl beauty of landscape, and fur the excellent taste with which that beauty has been utilized to the best attainment of those purposes toward which it is now directed. The present buildings consist of a spacious main edifice used for the purposes of dormitory, school-room, diuing-room, and all points appertaining to the Home Depart- ment, all well arranged and finished in tasteful and elegant i style, with a splendid new gymnasium and various other buildings, each arranged and adapted for its special purpose. New buildings are being added as the needs of the school or the ideas of its owner demand. The object of the school is to be a perfect home-school for boj's. It aims to furnish at the same time all the advantages of an orderly and pleasant home and a thoroughly regulated school. The pupils are under constant but pleasant supervision.

To the usual school curriculum it adds special features in the way of gymnastics, (military drill) and horsemanship In its government it seeks both to be firm and to develop that which is most manly in the conduct of the pupil. It is managed on a Christian unsectarian basis, and endeavors to advance its students as uniformly as possible in culture of the body, mind, manners and morals. The i umber of its members is necessarily limited to fifty, one of the primary ideas of the establishment being to have it select and not crowded to the disadvantage and discomfi)rt of the pupil. Boys are received from the ages of 10 to 20, and are fitted either for a business career or for any of our colleges.

The Institute, having completed its third year, can no longer be considered a mere experiment, but an established fact. From the day of its first opening it has steadily and rapidly increased in membership, many most desirable applications for entrance having been necessarily refused. Its location, its management, the completeness of its arrangements, and the substantial results attained in its various departments, have received universal encomiums from those who have had opportunity of observing the same.

Such an institution as the above, aside from meeting a want long felt among the people, cannot fail to be an ornament to the community in which it is found. It is highly deserving of the patronage of those who rind in it the gratification of a special want, and of the moral support of all who are interested in the proper training of youth.