PROFESSOR F.J. NETHERTON
History of Arizona, 1896

Professor F.J. Netherton, superintendent of Public Instruction 
was born in Contra Costa County, California, March 7, 1965.  He 
was reared on a farm and attended the country public school at 
Point of Timber, same county, till he was fifteen years of age.  
At that time his father, having lost his sight, he had to assume 
the management of the farm of 480 acres for four years. At the 
age of nineteen he entered the Oakland High School, from which 
institution he was graduated in December 1887, having made a 
good record in his work there and having taken a leading part 
in all the high school societies. During vacations he worked 
on the ranch and at whatever he could get to do to help pay 
his way.

After graduating he was employed on the "Oakland Enquirer," 
the leading daily of Oakland, for several months, but in the 
fall of 1888 he came to Arizona and accepted the principal 
ship of the Mesa public schools, in which capacity he served 
successfully for five consecutive years. Resigning his position 
in 1893 he became Superintendent of Public Instruction, by 
virtue of which position he became a member of the Board of 
Directors of the Territorial Normal School, a regent of the 
Territorial University, a member of the Territorial Board of 
Education and a member of the territorial Board of Examiners.  
Prof. Netherton took an active part in the organization of the 
Arizona Teachers' Assoc. and was twice in 1893 and 1894 elected 
president of that organization.  

In 1894 he was a delegate from Arizona to the National Editorial 
Assoc. which met at Asbury Park, N.J. and the succeeding year 
assisted in the organization of the Arizona Historical Society, 
the Summer School of Science and Pedagogy and the Arizona 
Antiquarian Societies.  He is now serving his fourth year as 
a member of the City Council of Mesa City and is the principal 
stockholder in the "Mesa Free Press" a weekly paper published 
in Mesa.  As Superintendent of Public Instruction he has 
succeeded, to a great extent, in raising the standard of 
excellence in the teaching force of the Territory.  He was 
the author of the bill providing for the establishment and 
maintenance of high schools passed by the last Legislature, 
also of the bill providing for the apportionment of the school 
moneys of the average attendance instead of upon the census 
population, and is an advocate of a law providing for a 
graduation of teachers' salaries on a basis that will induce 
the best talent to make special preparation for and engage in 
primary work.

USGenWeb Project NOTICE: 
In keeping with our policy of providing free information 
on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as
long as this message remains on all copied material. These 
electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for
profit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. 

Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must 
obtain express written permission from the author, or 
the submitter and from the 
listed USGenWeb Project archivist. 

submitted by burns@asu.edu