South Salem, Massachusetts

This school was known sometimes as the Writing school and sometimes as the English school, the former name gradually giving way to the latter, until it was finally dropped. It soon began to act as a feeder to the Latin school, for in July, 1717, the committee voted that four boys be promoted from the Reading and Writing school to the Grammar school. We find no trace of more than one English school in the town proper previous to 1785. As early as 1700 the town granted money for schools at Ryall Side (Beverly), Middle Precinct (Peabody), the village (Danvers) and Will Hill (Middleton), where the instruction was probably substantially that of the English or Writing school. In 1785 three English schools were opened, - one in the centre of the town, Edward Norris, master ; another in the eastern part of the town, with John Watson master and a third in the western end, with Isaac Hacker master. An English school was opened in North Salem in 1807, and one in South Salem in 1819, the latter being first known as the South English school. This school was subsequently located on Ropes Street, and named the Brown school. In 1874 it was transferred to the new house on Hazel Street, and soon after called the Saltonstall Grammar school. Another English or Grammar school was established in the east part of the town, on Williams Street, in 1821. The High school for girls opened on Beckford Street, in 1827, subsequently became the Higginson Grammar school. In 1841 a new school was opened on Aborn Street, for both sexes, under charge of Charles NorLliend. Four years later it was named the Epes school. In 1876 the Higginson and Epes were united with the Hacker, on Dean Street, all under the name of Bowditch Grammar school. The Girls' High school, on East Street, in 1827, was the original of what is now the Bently school for girls, Grammar and Primary. The Centre school was, in 1841, united with the AV^illiams Street and East Street schools as the Union school, and located near Forrester Street. In 1845, when the general renaming of schools took place, this school received the name of Phillips' Grammar. The North English in North Salem became the Pickering.

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

The largest school building in the city is the Bowditch, on Dean Street, built in 1870 at a cost of eightyfive thousand dollars, including land-. The Phillips Grammar school, on Lower Essex Street, occupies an eight-room house, built in 1883 at a cost of thirtythree thousand and five hundred dollars. The Bently Grammar and Primary, on Essex Street, near the Phillips, was built in 1861 and enlarged in 1886. The four-room building in North Salem, occupied by the Pickering Grammar school, was built in 1862, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. The Saltonstall, on Holly Street, South Salem, the only wooden grammar school-building, and built in 1874, cost sixteen thousand dollars. Of the primary school-houses all are small and most of them are old, wooden four-room buildings. The Bertram is the only one of recent date.

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

Was born in Salem on the 4th day of May, 1779. He was the fifth in descent from Benjamin Pickman, who came to Salem from Bristol, England, about the year 1666. His grandfather, also named Benjamin, was a successful and public-spirited merchant, and it was he who built and occupied the fine old house on Essex Street, next to the present East India Marine Hall. William, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a man much respected and esteemed, although, being a younger son, he inherited but little wealth. Washington appointed him naval ofiicer of the port of Salem, which position he held twelve years, until, on the election of Jefferson, he was removed to give place to a Democrat. He married a daughter of the Rev. Dudley Leavitt, minister of the Tabernacle Church, in Salem. Mrs. Leavitt was a sister of that sturdy old Federalist, Colonel Timothy Pickering. William's eldest son, a young man of great promise, bearing his father's name, was lost at sea, and his only daughter, Elizabeth, married Daniel Abbott, a distinguished lawyer of Dunstable, (afterwards Nashua), New Hampshire. The second son, Dudley Leavitt Pickman, after receiving a commonschool education, was for a time clerk in his father's department at the Custom-House ; then, like so many of his fellow-townsmen, he followed the sea for about ten years, acting as supercargo and agent for several well-known commercial houses in Boston and Salem. Soon after the War of 1812 he commenced business in Salem, associated with the brothers Nathaniel, William and Zachariah F. Siisbee and Robert Stone. This partnership continued for more than thirty years. Their business was extensive, and their vessels made voyages to all quarters of the world. They were among the first to engage in the trade with Zanzibar and Madagascar, since so successfully carried on from Salem, but their principal business was with Sumatra, Java and the Philippine Islands. The ship " Endeavour," owned by them, was built by Christopher Turner, near Frye's Mills, in Salem. The brig " Persia," which was afterwards lost on Eastern Point, Cape Ann, with all on board, was launched from near Phillips' Wharf, and the ship " Borneo " from South Salem. The " Friendship," another of their vessels, was attacked by Malay pirates off the coast of Sumatra, and after the first officer and several of the crew had been killed, was captured and plundered. In addition to foreign commerce, Mr. Pickman took a strong interest in manufacturing enterprises. Unlike most of the merchants of that time, who were free traders, Mr. Pickman was an early advocate of a protective tariff, believing that the introduction of manufacturing industries was of vital importance to the prosperity of the country. He was a member of each of the comijanies which purchased the land and water-power where the cities of Lowell, Manchester and Lawrence now stand, and also a large stockholder in many of the early cotton and woolenmills in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Later, he took the same strong interest in railroads, then a novelty and an experiment. Probably, in the records of a majority of the railroads first built in New England his name would be found as an original subscriber.

Passage source: History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1888.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Salem City.