Thomas-Screven-Early County GaArchives History - Schools .....Fletcher Institute, Thomasville, GA August 17, 2007 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sharon Lee sdlee1@cox.net and Sharon Lee sdlee1@cox.net August 17, 2007, 11:32 pm • MacIntyre, W. Irwin. “History of Thomas County.” The Hopkins Collection of Thomas County, GA. on microfilm. Georgia Archives, Morrow, GA. Copy on file Sharon Dean Lee. History of Thomas County by W. Irwin McIntyre (Continued from Monday’s Issue of The Times Enterprise). Fletcher Institute. In May 1848, Fletcher Institute was incorporated by Messrs. Peyton Smith, R. H. Lucky, William W. Griffin, Gideon A Mallette, Ira L. Potter, Hamilton W. Sharpe, Daniel Bird, James Kirksey, and William G. Ponder. Two large brick buildings were erected on the site of the present campus and it became the official institution of the Florida Conference, to which southern Georgia at that time belonged. The catalogue for the year 1851 was printed by Joseph Clisby in the office of the Florida Sentinel and shows the following: Board of Trustees. Conference Trustees: Rev. Peyton P. Smith, President Rev. Anderson Peeler. Rev. Reuben H. Luckey Rev. William Choice. Rev. William W. Griffin. Lay Trustees Daniel Bird, Esq., Monticello, FL. Thomas Jones, Esq., Thomas, County, GA. William G. Ponder, Esq., Thomas County, GA, Treasurer. Rev. H. W. Sharpe, Thomasville, GA, Secretary. Board of Instruction Mr. William C. Hunt, Principal of Male Department. Mr. Belfield W. Cave, A. B., Assistant in Male Department. Rev. Reuben H. Luckey, Principal of Female Department. Miss Isaella M. Galbraith, Assistant Female Department. Mrs. Adeline R. Simmons, Music Department. Male Students. James H. Archer, Grooversville, GA. Montholon Atkinson, Thomasville, GA. William Bailey, Aucilla, FL. Abram Z. Bailey, Aucilla, FL. Walter R. Blake, Miccosukie (sic), FL. William Blewett, Jasper, TX. Pickens B. Bird, Jefferson Co, FL. Thomas C. Bracewell, Key West, FL. Joseph B. Brockett, Leon Co, FL. Thomas J. Brown, Leon Co, FL. Leonidas Byrd, Miccosukie (sic), FL. Arthur B. Byrd, Wakulla Co, FL. James H. Boston, Thomasville, GA. Hardy Bryan, Thomasville, GA. Courtland Bryan, Thomasville, GA. William P. Clower, Gwinnett Co, GA. William S. Davis, Thomasville, GA. Aaron J. Donaldson, Thomasville, GA. Hardy B. Harvard, Thomas Co, GA. Fairfax Everett, Thomas Co, GA. David E. Fondren, Thomasville, GA. John G. Fondren, Thomasville, GA. Clayton Groover, Grooversville, GA. Robert A. Hayes, Thomasville, GA. George T. Hurst, Thomas Co, GA. Aldridge W. Hurst, Thomas Co, GA. Lawrence Hall, Thomasville, GA. Samuel A. Hall, Thomasville, GA. John F. Hall, Thomasville, GA. George W. Hunt, Fletcherville, GA. Washington L Irwin, Thomas Co, GA. George W. Jones, Decatur Co, GA. Henry F. Jones, Thomas Co, GA. (Continued from Tuesday’s Issue of Thomas W. Jones, Thomas Co, GA. Shadrack James, Thomas Co, GA. John Lester, Decatur Co, GA. Amos J. Love, Thomasville, GA. Thomas Mitchell, Thomas Co, GA. Wesley B. Mills, Leon Co, FL. Littleberry Manning, Thomas Co, GA. Thomas S. Mills, Leon Co, FL. Albert P. Manville, Thomasville, GA. Henry Miller, Thomasville, GA. Lewis H. Mattair, Columbia Co, FL. George T. McMillan, Thomas Co, GA. Duncan McIntosh, Thomas Co, GA. Henry McKinnon, Thomas Co, GA. Robert A. McKinnon, Thomas Co, GA. James T. McBain, Sumter Co, GA. John McLean, Thomasville, GA. Richard J. McLean, Thomasville, GA. Joseph S. Neely, Thomas Co, GA. James B. Ponder, Thomas Co, GA. Thomas J. Ponder, Thomas Co, GA. William A. Ponder, Thomas Co, GA. Jeremiah N. Phillips, Troup Co, GA. William O. Pike, Thomas Co, GA. Duncan S. Ray, Thomas Co, GA. Edward S. Reminton, Thomasville, GA. Walker Revile, Thomas Co, GA. William J. F. Ross, Randolph Co, GA. Pleasant J. Ray, Thomasville, GA. Simeon A. Smith, Thomasville, GA. Achilles Smith, Thomasville, GA. Reddin P. Smith, Thomasville, GA. James J. Smith, Thomsaville, GA. Peyton Q. R. Smith, Fletcherville, GA. Edward R. Seixas, Thomasville, GA. Nathaniel R. M. Spangler, Thomas Co, GA. John F. Shackelford, Early Co, GA. Williams A. W. Simmons, Thomasville, GA. James P. Sharpe, Thomsville, GA. Enoch J. Vann, Thomas Co, GA. Pleasant Vickers, Thomasville, GA. William H. Wyche, Thomas Co, GA. James N. Winn, Thomas Co, GA. John Wilson, Thomas Co, GA. Thomas Young, Thomas Co, GA. John C. Young, Thomas Co, GA. Michael H. Young, Thomas Co, GA. Female Students Nancy A. Blewett, Jasper, TX.S. Harriet E. Brockett, Leon Co, FL. Mary A. P. Bryan, Thomas Co, GA. Rebecca Blocker, Early Co, GA. Margaret Blocker, Early Co, GA. Sarah Boston, Thomasville, GA. Hannah A. Choice, Fletcherville, GA Frances R. Choice, Fletcherville, GA. Harriet A. Coachman, Decatur Co, GA. Eliza A. Cook, Leon Co, FL. Leonora Carr, Leon Co, FL. Gertrude M. Dasher, Lowndes Co, GA. Mary A. Dixon, Thomasville, GA. Jane Davis, Thomasville, GA. Mary E. Edwards, Thomas Co, GA. Julia E. Edwards, Thomas Co, GA. Mary F. Everett, Dooly Co, GA. Jane E. Felkel, Leon Co, FL. Emily F. George, Baker Co, GA. Martha H. Hayes, Thomasville, GA. Mary A. Hayes, Thomas Co, GA. Sarah T. R. Hayes, Thomas Co, GA. Mary J. Harrison, Thomas Co, GA. Sarah A. Harrison, Thomas Co, GA. Smithy A. Hale, Leon Co, FL. Susan F. Hale, Leon Co, FL. America Hurst, Thomas Co, FL. Savannah Hurst, Thomas Co, FL. Isabelle S. Irwin, Thomas Co, FL. Charlotte Ivy, Thomas Co, GA. Susan E. Jones, Thomas Co, FL. Florence Jones, Thomas Co, GA. Mary E. Luckey, Fletcherville, GA. Catherine E. McLean, Thomasville, GA. Sarah A. McGuire, Thomas Co, GA. Judith McGuire, Thomas Co, GA. Frances McKinnon, Thomas Co, GA. Louisa J. Manning, Thomas Co, GA. Eliza Manning, Thomas Co, GA. Caroline A. Mitchell, Thomas Co, GA. Lucy F. Mills, Fletcherville, GA. Leonora A. Mills, Fletcherville, GA. Catharine (sic) E. Mills, Fletcherville, GA. Ellen E. Ponder, Thomas Co, GA. Martha J. Potter, Fletcherville, GA. Harriet E. Potter, Fletcherville, GA. Mary E. Raines, Thomas Co, GA. Georgia A. Ray, Thomas Co, GA. Henrietta F. Ross, Randolph Co, GA. Mary S. Remington, Thomasville, GA. Ellen P. Sharpe, Thomasville, GA. Ann W. Sexias, Thomasville, GA. Delia A. Smith, Fletcherville, GA. Susan P. Smith, Newport, FL. Louisa Swearengin, Baker Co, GA. Phoebe A. Swearengin, Baker Co, FL. Sophia V. Slade, Decatur Co, GA. Mary E. Stroman, Leon Co, FL. Sarah C. Stroman, Leon Co, FL. Charlotte Spangler, Thomas Co, GA. Elizabeth Spangler, Thomas Co, GA. Julia A. Sheffield, Thomas Co, GA. Mary J. Seward, Thomas Co, GA. Martha Swetman, Thomasville, GA. Susan J. Turley, Baker Co, GA. Eliza Turley, Baker Co, GA. Henrietta Vickers, Thomasville, GA. Rachael Vann, Thomasville, GA. Emily S. Wyche, Thomas Co, GA. Leah M. West, Leon Co, FL. Margaret J. Woody, Jefferson Co, FL. Miranda C. Woody, Jefferson Co, FL. Laura J. Wooten, Decatur Co, GA. Harriet E. Winn, Thomas Co, GA. Sarah L. Young, Thomas Co, GA. S. Lavinia Young, Thomas Co, GA. Course of Study and Rates of Tuition Orthography, Reading, writing, and Arithmetic, per year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $16.00 The above, with the higher branches of an English Education, embracing Natural, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Rhetoric Logic, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Bookkeeping, and Political Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00 The above, with Latin, Greek, French, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.00 Music on Piano, extra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00 Guitar, per session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00 Use of Guitar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00 Drawing and Painting, extra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00 Use of Piano, per year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00 Fuel, per year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 It will be seen that the above course of study is more extensive than is usually given, even in high schools—the object of which is to accommodate young men, who do not wish to go through College, with such a course as will enable them to enter upon any of the learned professions of this country. By an examination of the Text Books used in the Institution, all will perceive that the course of reading in the languages is extensive. (TO BE CONTINUED) Additional Comments: I hope that this record will mean much to families looking for their ancestors. I found the history of Fletcher Institute by accident after finding my great grandmother's brother and sister on the 1850 census in Thomas Co, where they were boarding with Peyton P. Smith, Methodist Episcopal Minister. I went to the DAR library to look for Peyton Smith and read about the history of Flethcher Institute. The Civil War has wiped out collective memories in the South. I hope that by contributing this file, I will bring some of our history back to the forefront. Fletcher Institute was funded and maintained by the Florida ME conference. Rogers,William Warren, Antebellum Thomas County 1825-1861, p. 98, 1963: The Florida State University, Tallahassee. USDAR Library. Copy on file Sharon Dean Lee. p. 98 with footnotes # 37, 39, and 41-42: Fletcher Institute was a secondary boarding school begun in Thomasville, GA, by the Florida Methodist Episcopal Conference in 1848, and it became one of the era’s most prestigious secondary boarding schools. ". . . By early 1850 there were 132 students, seventy-five males and fifty-seven females, ten of whom came from Florida.37 Two large brick buildings were constructed just outside of Thomasville. The school grounds consisted of about six acres, shaded by native oaks interspersed with pines. The school and residences combined to make the community an attractive one. Because the ground was high, 'Fletcherville,' the settlement where the school was located, enjoyed the reputation of being a healthy locale. The school admitted both male and female students, although they met class in separate buildings and had different teachers.40 From the first, Fletcher Institute assumed an important position in the life of Thomasville. L. C. Bryan, thorugh the pages of his 'Southern Enterprise,' became an indefatigable promoter of the school.41 In 1856 Fletcherville was incorporated and seven residents were made town commissioners.42" William G. Ponder of Leon, FL, and Thomas Co, GA, (and a neighbor and brother-in-law of Wesley Forbes) was on the board of trustees (f. #39). Wesley B and Lucy F were also on the 1850 Thomas County, GA, census taken 28 Oct while they were at boarding school at the Fletcher Institute in Thomasville. Along with several other children from Florida and South Carolina, they were under the listing of the Methodist Episcopal minister Peyton P. Smith. In December of 1850 while they were home from school on vacation. Wesley B. and Lucy F. Mills were listed on the Tallahassee, Leon Co, FL, census with their grandfather Wesley Forbes and their mother Eliza Jane Forbes Mills. In 1851 all five Mills children attended Fletcher Institute, the three girls listed as being from Fletcherville, GA (see the Hopkins' Collection for the list of children attending Fletcher Institute in 1851). Enoch Forbes, the Mills children's uncle, advertised property he owned in Fletcherville for sale in 1865 (see source "In the Shadow of the Pines"). Very likely, Enoch owned the property while the children attended school there. Sharon Dean Lee File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/thomas/history/schools/fletcher682gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 12.1 Kb