HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY	83

about the year 1844, and the duties of this office made to devolve upon
county treasurers. The commissioners for Clay county during this period
were Eli Anderson, Thomas Harvey, Thomas West and Hale C. Con-
away. The statute of 1843, which was in some respects an advance, pro-
vided for the more thorough and efficient organization of school districts,
and conferred upon them the power to determine whether the tuition
revenue apportioned should be used exclusively in payment of teachers,
or partially applied in providing grounds and houses. Under this statute
the teachers’ qualifications were certified by a board of county examiners
chosen by the circuit court, the names of those serving in this capacity
during the nine years intervening between this date and the taking effect
of the statutes under the new constitution can not be given.
	By the provisions of a law enacted at some time in the ‘30s, the
county seminary became an important feature of our system of popular
education. The sources of the fund for the building of the county semi-
nary, as provided by law, were fines imposed by justices of the peace,
and by the circuit and other courts, with certain penalties forfeited, delin-
quencies, etc., the county board to proceed to build such institution at any
time the accumulation of such funds should amount to $400. The semi-
nary in this county was built in 1839, at Bowling Green, near the border
of the town plat, east of the court house, which was utilized in the teach-
ing of both public and private schools for the period of practically twenty
years—until the building of the first frame schoolhouse on the site of the
town, by Township Trustee D. A. Conover, on the southwest side, in the
year 1859. On the 27th day of April, 1860, the seminary ground and
building was sold at public sale by County Auditor Wheeler, to T. J.
Polsg.rove, who purchased it for a family residence for $300. Prior to
the building of this institution, Bowling Green schools were taught in the
original log court house on the north side of the public square.
	The first school in the county seminary was taught in 1840 by John
Williams. There is no record to which appeal may be made for the names
of the teachers employed from time to time during the twenty years of
the life of this primitive educational institution; but among them were
Dr. John Williams, Hiram Wyatt, Nancy E. Waugh, Lizzie Waterhouse,
William K. Houston, James M. Oliver, Josiah Hambleton, A. H. L.
Baker, James M. Townsend, Dr. Dodge, George N. Beamer, James G.
Miles, Professor Summers, Miss Frankie Hall, Fred Hall, Of these, Dr.
John Williams and George N. Beamer are the only known survivors,
both of whom have all along continued to reside in Clay county.
	The law of 1853, under the new constitution, provided for the ap-
pointment of three school examiners, who held for the term of three
years, and were chosen, usually, from the three respective commissioner
districts. They did not constitute a board of examiners, but acted inde-
pendently of each other. Practically, the examination of teachers and the
issuing of license constituted the “sum and substance” of their official
service. During the first year of administration under this law but
twenty-five licenses were granted in the county. The examiners appoint-
ed in 1853 were James M. Lucas, of Cloverland; Enos Miles, of Bowling
Green, and Ebenezer C. Smith, of Perry township. Among their suc-
cessors were James G. Miles, Mrs. Carrie P. Doyle, 0. H. P. Ash, Aaron
S. Simonson and Jesse Purcell, the last three named having been legis-
lated out of office by the law of 1861. We quote the following from
Examiner Smith’s report of 1853 to the State Department: