Lincoln County, Missouri - Chapter 14: Educational Interests, 1888

Chapter 14: Educational Interests

In common with the pioneers of all newly settled countries, the early settlers of Lincoln County were deprived of educational advantages for their children. As soon, however, as a sufficient number of pupils was found to exist in any particular locality, the parents, or guardians thereof, assembled and erected one of the old-fashioned log schoolhous9s, with puncheon floor, open fireplace, with its stick and mud chimney, and furnished with hewed plank benches for seats, and rough boards resting on pins driven into the logs, for writing desks. These were the early schoolhouses in which the children of the first settlers received the rudiments of their education. These schools were known as " subscription schools," the teachers being paid by the parents or guardians of the pupils, in proportion to their numbers. No superior education was required of teachers in those days. It was the custom with some men to contract to teach " reading, writing and arithmetic to the rule of three," and nothing more. Occasionally a well-educated man could be employed.

Samuel Groshon (or Groshong) probably taught school in Lincoln County before the War of 1812, as an account is given of his riding out one day near one of the forts (perhaps Clark's) when he was espied by some Indians, one of whom shot him in the shoulder. He then put spurs to his horse and ran for life, and when about 300 yards from the fort his horse fell dead. His comrades in the fort then ran out and carried him safely in. The narrator of this incident spoke of Mr. Groshon as a school teacher; hence the conclusion that he had previously taught school in the vicinity. The first school teacher in the vicinity of Auburn was Philip Orr, and the others were James Wilson and James Reid. Mr. Wilson taught the first school in his neighborhood where he settled, about three miles northeast of Auburn. He still survives, lives at Auburn, and is ninety !our years of age. In 1829 Clayton Alcorn taught school in a log cabin near Mill Creek, and Ariel Knapp taught the first three years at Mill Creek. He taught almost continuously, and m] from |12 to #15 par month. .l<>^«'|th B. Wells was the firs! tsacher In the vioiniti of Millwood. H«* was well eduoated and uas an exoellenl teacher. Richard H. Hill, brother of the Bon. Clem Hill, of Lebanon, Kv.. settled on tin- branch between Millwood and Silex, and pre-empted his claim, and was voi \ poor. He had four children. He taught school with great

Railroad. He sold this land for $2,500, then went to Texas, where he became quite wealthy, raised ten children, find at last account, he and his wife were both living at the age of about eighty years. Another early school teacher in the vicinity of Millwood, was Athanasins Mndd, a graduate of the College of Georgetown), D. C, both in literature and law. The first school near Elsberry was taught about the year 1833, by William Watts. An old settler of that vicinity remembers a fight that took place at the raising of the log schoolhouse in which Watts taught, betwreen one William Vance and one Mellon.

Public School System

Missouri has had a public school system ever since it became a State, but for many years it was considered as an institution of charity for the benefit of the poor, and, consequently, was not patronized nor encouraged by the more wealthy classes. The original incentive to the creation of the school system was the donation, made by the General Government to the State, of the sixteenth section of land in each and every congressional township, for the purpose of raising a fund to maintain free schools. The first step preparatory to the establishment of such schools in Lincoln County was taken in April, 1821, by the county court, by appointing Samuel Howland, Daniel Draper, Andrew Miller, Thomas Blanton and Benjamin Allen as "school land trustees of Lincoln County." The duties of these trustees, however, were merely to oversee and protect the school lands from spoliation. In August, 1823, the court appointed two commissioners of school lands for each township, as follows: Bedford, Cary K. Duncan and John Griff ee; Union, Samuel Smiley and Philip Sitton;

Duncan and Griffee, commissioners for Bedford Township, leased Section 16, in Township 48 north, Range 1 west, to Alambe Williams, for a term of five years, for the consideration of making certain specified improvements on the laud. This was the first lease of school lauds made in the county.

An act of the General Assembly of the State, approved January 17, 1825, required the tribunal holding court, at its first session, in 1825, and every two \ears thereafter, to appoint three respectable householders in each municipal township as commissioners of school lands, their duties being to care for and manage the school lands, etc. The act provided that each congressional township, or fractional township, having not less than 100 acres of school land, should compose a school district, to be numbered and recorded; and that the rents and profits of the school lands should be appropriated to the support of the common school in such district. The school trustees were given the power to determine what number of children and what children should be educated, and for what length of time each year. The act further provided that there should be taught in all common schools, reading, writing, arithmetic and English grammar ; and that the school trustees might levy a per capita tax on the children attending the schools, to make up any deficiency in the funds for paying teachers. This was the first provision for helping to support the schools by a tax. It was not, however, a direct tax on property, but simply a per capita tax on those belonging to the schools, as designated by the trustees. In May, 1826, Henry Watts, Nicholas Wells and Thomas Wells were appointed commissioners of school lands in the newly formed municipal township of Waverly. In November following these commissioners reported their first lease, the northwest quarter of Section 16, Township 51 north, Range 2 west, to Henry Watts, and another lease to Nicholas Wells for the northeast quarter of the same section. In August, 1827, Cary K. Duncan, Alexander Hill and Walter Wright were appointed the first commissioners of school lands for the newly organized municipal township of Clark.

other townships partially covered with Spanish Grants, contained do Beotion numbered sixteen, and consequently bad no school lands. To provide for this deficiency, Congress passed an act which was approved May 20, L826, providing for the selection of other public lands to be donated to the inhabitants of such townships in 1 i*Mi of Section 16. To fractional townships a proportionate share of school land only was donated. hi February,

At the following August term of the court, Commissioner Watts reported that he had selected lands at the Palmyra land office, as follows: Town 51 north, Range 2 east - The southeast quarter of Section 30, containing 160 acres; the southeast quarter of Section 31, containing 160 acres; the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 31, containing 80 acres; Lot No. 1, of the southwest quarter of Section 31, containing 80 acres; and the southwest quarter of Section 32, containing 160 acres. Town 49 north, Range 3 east - The southwest quarter of Section 19, containing 160 acres. Town 51 north, Range 1 west - The west half of Section 11, containing 320 acres; the northwest quarter of Section 14, containing 160 acres; the southeast quarter of Section 14, containing 160 acres, making a total of 1,410 acres selected at the Palmyra office. He also reported that he had selected from the St. Louis land office (as shown by the record) Section 16, in Town 48 north, Ranges 1 and 2 west; and Section 16, in Town 48 north, Ranges 1 and 2 east; and the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter, and the southwest quarter of Section 29, Fractional Township 48 north, Range 3 east. The query arises here, why he should report the selection of lands already donated by Congress. This needs an explanation which the records do not show. In 1831 the court appointed Gabriel Reeds commissioner or agent for the school lands of the county. In November following the first petition for the school lands was presented to the court, coming from Township 51 north, Range 2 west (Waverly).

free white householders should have the right to sell the school lands thereof, upon petition to the county court, the sheriff to be ordered to sell them ; and that whenever school lands in a township were sold to the amount of $800, the county court could incorporate the inhabitants thereof into as many school districts, not exceeding four, as they might require. The act also provided that the trustees should, employ a teacher and keep up a school in each incorporated school district at least six months in every year, in which school all white children between the ages of six and eighteen years, permanently residing in the district, should be free to enter as scholars; and that in all schools established under the act " reading, writing, geography, English grammar, and such other branches of education (theology excepted) as the funds might justify," should be taught; and if the annual income from the school lands was not sufficient to sustain the school six months, the trustees should apportion the deficiency among those who sent to school, in proportion to the number sent by each patron. The act also contained other provisions not necessary here to mention.

Organization Of School Districts

In February, 1837, the county court incorporated the inhabitants of Township 50 north, Range 1 east, into two school districts, the eastern half being designated as No. 1, and the western half as No. 2. Elijah Myers, Alexander Martin and James Stoddard were appointed trustees of District No. 1, and Thomas S. Reid, James Finley and Harrison D. Allen, of No. 2. At the same time the inhabitants of Township 48 north, Range 1 west, were incorporated into four school districts, the northeast quarter of the township constituting No. 1, the northwest quarter No. 2, the southwest quarter No. 3, and the southeast quarter No. 4. The trustees appointed for the four districts were as follows : No.

2, Silas M. Davis, Robert Hammond and Allen Jameson; No. 3, John Thurman, B. F. Blanton and David Boyd; No. 4, John M. Faulkner, Marvin Ross and A. Cohall.

district, and Rawleigh M ayes, Samuel M Davis and Samuel Oan Don i^ere appointed truai thereof. At the same time the inhabits of Township 51 north, Range 2 west, were incorporated into three Bohool districts, the ftrsi being composed <>f Sections l to 9 inclusive, and L6 t<> 21 inclusive; the second, of Sections 1 to 9 inclusive, 10 to L5 inclusive and 22 t<> 24 inclusive, and the third of Sections 25 to 36 inclusive. Gabriel Reeds, Nicholas w ells and ( ). N. Coffey were appointed trustees of tin* Kirst District; David Stewart. William Jameson and Jacob Oopenhaver of the Second, and Abraham Estis, William l>. Sitton and William Qptegrove, of the Third. Also at the, same time, the inhabitants of Township 50 north. Range 2 west, were incorporated into four school districts, the first being composed of Sections 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, V2. and the north half of Sections 13, 14 and 15; the second, of Sections 4, 5, f>, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17 and 18 ; the third, of Sections 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and the west half of 22, 27 and 34, and the fourth of Sections 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36 and the south half of 13, 14, 15 and the east half of 22, 27 and 34. William Hammock, Guion G. Wilson and Perry Park were appointed trustees of the First District; Lot Terence, Edward Chasen and John Yale of the Second; Bethuel Sharr, Robert Mudd and Robert Salmond of the Third, and George Sand, George Jameson and Lewis Mudd, of the Fourth.

In February, 1841, the inhabitants of Township 51 north, Range 1 west, were incorporated into two school districts, the First being composed of the south two-thirds of the township, and the "Second of the north one-third. James Wilson, Alexander Williams and James Reid were appointed trustees of the First District, and Fountain Merriwether, James Clark and Daniel Lyles of the Second. At the same time the inhabitants of Township 49 north, Range 2 east, were incorporated into one school district, and A. B. Birkhead, William Overall and John Argent were appointed trustees thereof. In May, 1841, the county court, on application under the new school law then recently passed, appointed June 21 as the time for the inhabitants of Township 51 north, Range 1 west, to meet at the house of Samuel Smiley, to take preliminary steps for organizing the township for school purposes.

James Wilson was appointed commissioner of common schools, and James Clark and James Reid school directors of the township. In August following, the inhabitants of Township 50 north, Range 2 east, were incorporated into two school districts, the First being composed of the west half of the township, and the Second of the east half thereof. Joseph Mcintosh, Hiram Wommack and Jacob Coffey were appointed trustees of the First District, and E. Allen, Francis Riffle and John Galloway of the Second. In February, 1842, Township 51 north, Range 2 west, was organized under the new law for school purposes, and the inhabitants were ordered to meet at Louisville on the first Monday of April following, to take such steps as the law required, pertaining to the schools. David Stewart was appointed commissioner, and Solomon R. Moxley and O. N. Coffey as inspectors and directors of the schools of the townships. Afterward, from time to time, the organization of school districts was continued until all parts of the county were embraced*

In August, 1841, the county court ordered that school funds consisting of the interest collected on the principal derived from the sale of school lands, and the income leased lands, should be paid to certain school districts, as follows:

From the foregoing it will be seen that while the first district received an ample fund, and others a fund sufficient to sustain a school three or four months, some of them did not receive an amount sufficient to support a free school for more than one or two months. This proves that the income from the school lands was very unequal and insufficient, as a whole, to support the common schools. Rate bills of course had to be made out and collected in order to make up deficiencies. At this term of the county court Charles Wheeler, treasurer of the

. feral townships, ivherebj it appeared thai the funds derived from the sale ol tin* school hinds in tin- following town Bhipe, including interest, and excluding expenses, were as 101-

The foregoing docs not include all the townships of the county, which is evidence that the school lands in several of the townships had not at that date been sold.

The following is a statement of the principal accrued from the sale of the school lands in the several townships up to May 3, 1842, as officially reported to the county court, in June of that year:

In March, 1843, William Young, the county treasurer, reported to the county court that the township funds, including the interest and excluding the expenses up to January 1st of that year, were as follows:

Passing on to 1846, the record shows that William Young, the county treasurer, had in his hands on the first day of January of that year the township's school funds, including the accrued interest thereon, after deducting payments to school commissioners and money lost on loans, as follows:

The following is a statement of the principal of the township school fund belonging to each congressional township, as shown by official records, July 1, 1888:

View In South Vms Missouri

By comparing this table with the one for 1860, it will be seen that additions have been made to the fund in Township 48 north, Ranges 1 and 2 east; Township 49 north, Ranges 1 and 2 east; Township 51 north, Range 1 east; Township 49 north, Ranges 1 and 2 west; Township 50 north, Range 1 west, and Township 51 north, Ranges 1 and 2 west; while the fund has sustained losses in Township 50 north, Ranges 1 and 2 east; Township 51 north, Range 2 east; Township 48 north, Ranges 1 and 2 west; Township 49 north, Range -3 west, and Township 50 north, Ranges 2 and 3 west, and in the other townships the fund remained the same in amount. It will also be observed that the losses exceeded the gains, and that the aggregate of the principal of the township fund is now $989.44 less than it was in the year 1860. It is claimed that the losses occurred principally during the war period, on loans made with insufficient securities. The principal of this fund is loaned to individual borrowers, and the interest thereon is collected annually, and distributed to the school districts for the support of the schools. The school lands of the county are all sold, except about 160 acres in Township 49 north, Range 3 east. The township fund can be increased by whatever may be realized from the sale of this tract of land, after which it will remain a permanent and perpetual fund, which can never be increased, but may be decreased by mismanagement. It is proper, however, here to say that in loaning this fund the law now requires both real and persoual security, instead of personal security only, as was formerly required, and consequently it is not liable to sustain further loss, if proper care is exercised in its management.

This fund was oreated l>\ an act <>f bhe General Assembly of the State of Missouri, approved December 12. L855, bhe first three Ejections of which read as follows: and known as 'The State School Fund,1 which shall consist of: First, All moneys heretofore deposited, or which shall hereafter he deposited with this State according to an act of Congress entitled, ' An act to regulate the deposit of public monies,' passed June 23, 1836. Second, The proceeds of all lands now or hereafter belonging to the State, known as the Saline Lands, and of all lands now or hereafter vested in this State by escheat, or purchase, or forfeiture for taxes.

" Sec. 3. The interest, dividends, proceeds and profits of such school fund shall be denominated, ' State School Money,' and shall be distributed annually for the support of the common schools throughout the State."

Other sections of the act provided for the establishment of the office of " superintendent of common schools," and defined the duties of the incumbent thereof, one of which was that he should, in the month of May each year, apportion the State school money, that is the interest and proceeds of the State school fund, to the several counties in the State, in proportion to the number of white children above the age of five, and under the age of twenty years; and that the same should be apportioned in like manner in the counties to the several townships. The act also provided that twenty-five per centum of the State revenue should be annually set apart, and become State school money.* It further provided that the proceeds of the sale of the school lands should constitute a " township school fund," and it authorized the school districts to elect three trustees, and to levy a direct tax to raise funds for the purchase of or erection of schoolhouses, purchase grounds, etc.

* The law now provides that one-third or thirty-three and one-third per centum of the Stat© revenue shall be set apart and become State school money.

gress, as mentioned in Section 1, of the aforesaid act, was the surplus revenue which had then accumulated in the National Treasury, and bore the same relation to the people of the United States as the surplus in the National Treasury bears at the present time. To relieve an over-loaded treasury, the surplus was then distributed to the several States of the Union, and has become a part of the permanent school fund of each. The famous Blair Bill now proposes to relieve the treasury in a similar manner. The amount of the State school fund created by the act of the General Assembly of Missouri as above mentioned, and augmented by subsequent laws, has reached, according to the last published report of W. E. Coleman, State superintendent of public schools, the enormous amount of $3,135,906.74. There is also another State school fund managed by the State officers, known as the " University or Seminary Fund," which was derived from the sale of certain lands donated by Congress to the State for educational purposes. This fund, as shown by the above mentioned report, amounts to $519,095.08. These funds are a permanent and perpetual principal, loaned by the State officers.

The annual interest thereon is collected and distributed to the several counties composing the State. The reader should bear in mind that the "State school fund" and the "University or seminary fund " are principals or capital, and that the interest and proceeds of these funds are " State school money."

County Public School Fund

This fund consists of the accumulations in the county treasury of "the net proceeds from the sale of estrays; also the clear proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures, and of all fines collected in the several counties for anv breach of the penal or militarv laws of this State; and of moneys which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty." A portion of the proceeds arising from the sale of the " swamp or overflowed lands" also augment this fund. [See Public Lands elsewhere in this work. J But as Lincoln County failed to select her swamp and overflowed lands, and receive them from the General Government, no part of her "county public school fund1

The entire amount of the school funds of Missouri, including that controlled both by State and county officers, as shown by the la>t report of the State superintendent <>! public schools, is as follows:

The following is a statement of the receipts and expenditures of school moneys in Lincoln County for the school year commencing July 1, 1887, and ending June 30, 1888:

Receipts

The State school law was radically changed soon after the close of the Civil War, an almost entirely new system being inaugurated, and it has been changed and improved from time to time until the present efficient educational system has become established. During the existence of slavery there were no schools for the benefit of the children of the colored people, nor were they allowed in any way to become educated. But those times have passed away, and the curse of slavery is no longer a blot on America's free soil. A revolution has taken place, and now the children of all classes, rich or poor, white or black, are provided with free public schools. The law of Missouri makes the following provision for the establishment of schools for colored children:

Sec. 7052, General School Law. " Boards of education and the trustees and directors of schools, or other officers having authority in the premises, in each city, incorporated village or district, shall be and they are hereby authorized and required to establish, within their respective jurisdictions, one or more separate schools for colored children, when the whole number, by enumeration, exceeds fifteen, so as to afford them the advantages and privileges of a common school education, and all such schools so established for colored children shall be under the control and management of the board of education or other school officers, who have in charge the educational interest of the other schools. But in case the average number of colored children in attendance shall be less than ten for any one month, it shall be the duty of said board of education or other school officers to discontinue said school or schools for any period not exceeding six months at any one time; and if the number of colored children shall be less than ten the board of education shall reserve the money raised sh.'ill be appropriated, us they 1 1 1 - i \ deem proper, for the education of buoL colored children. In all other respects the terms and advantages of >:ii»l schools shall !>-- equal to others of the same grade in their respective districts, cities and villages: provided, that when the number of colored children in ani district shall be less than sixteen, they shall have the privilege of attending school in any district in the township where a school is maintained for colored children, and the board of directors of the district in which such children are enumerated shall transfer to tiio credit <>f the teachers' fund of the district in which such children may have attended school, an amount equal to the pro rata expense <>t" such attendance, the same to be pro-rated according to the amount paid for teacher's wages during such school term.'1 The law further provides for the establishment of joint schools for the colored children in two or more adjoining districts when their combined number is sufficient. To show the practical working of the school system in Lincoln County the following statistics are taken from the last published report of the State superintendent of public schools, it being for the school year ending June 30, 1887:

By reference to the scholastic population and the Dumber enrolled in the public schools, it will be seen that between seventy-one and seventy-two per cent of the white children enumerated in the county attend the public schools, and that <>nly a fraction over forty-three per cent of the colored children enumerated attend the public schools. The reason for the small percentage of colored children attending the public schools is because many of them reside too far from the colored schools to attend them.