SCHOOL HISTORY: 1877 Common School Report, York County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives 11/7/2004 by Judy Banja Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/york/ _______________________________________________ COMMON SCHOOLS OF PENNSYLVANIA REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 1, 1877 Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, State Printer, 1878 YORK COUNTY. - William H. Rain. 612 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [NO. 8, The history of education in this county, the first west of the Susquehanna, begins with the first delegation of settlers on the banks of Kreutz creek, as early as 1720 or 1725. One of the most important personages of that company of immigrants was "Der Dicke Schulmeister," (the fat school-master.) With what success this pioneer knight of the switch practiced his art, we are not reliably informed. Tradition has it, however, that he taught his little school, boarded around, and used his cudgel freely. History has not even preserved his name; all she records of him is the euphonious generic above quoted, which betrays his nationality and that of his patrons. The first settlers of the county were principally Germans and they not of the better class, as is common with new countries. About the time that Penn opened his asylum for the opressed of all nations, in the new world, Prince Eberhard Ludwig was despoiling the people of southern Germany, especially of the Palatinate, of the blood-bought liberties acquired through the Thirty Years' War. These German Protestants, principally Lutherans, hastened hither, bringing with them their peculiar social, civil, and religious customs and prejudices, together with their peculiar dialect of the German tongue. For the same reasons and about the same time, came numerous German Reformed Swiss, likewise bringing with them peculiar customs, prejudices and dialect. The more prominent and better class of these immigrants settled in the eastern counties of the State, sending westward a class of settlers, not very deeply interested in education by inclination, nor socially or financially capacitated to give it much attention, much less disposed to collect and preserve educational statistics. Therefore, we have but little reliable information as to the educational history of that early period. The first marked feature of educational development was the introduction of the German parochial schools by the Lutheran and German Reformed Churches, about the middle of the eighteenth century. Wherever a few families could be conveniently gathered, a congregation was organized and a parochial school established. The school-house almost invariably stood by the side of the church - indeed, in many instances, served for both purposes. The teacher and the preacher went hand in hand to work in the vineyard of the wilderness. Both were hired at a stated salary, by the year. It was the duty of the teacher to perform certain offices in the church and "to teach the rich and the poor without any regard to wealth and standing of the parents in society." The first Lutheran congregation in this county, except a traditional one in the Kreutz Creek colony, was organized in 1733, and the first church built in 1744. Two years later the first German Reformed church was built. About the same time, or shortly afterwards, school-houses were built by Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 613 the side of them, in which parochial schools were taught until a comparatively recent period. These parochial schools were regarded as almost, if not wholly indispensable to the Church, and when it was proposed to supplant them by others, notably the common schools, the bitterest opposition was engendered which has not wholly subsided yet. Nor was this prejudice without plausible foundation. He who regards the Pennsylvania Dutch, as they are erroneously called, as peremptorily opposed to education, wrongs them, and shows his own want of a just historical appreciation of their relation to the system of education and civilization. Civil and religious tyranny brought them upon western soil, where they were solemnly promised immunity against a recurrence of the same evil. With such convictions and under such promises made to them by Penn himself, and his emissaries, they came and organized their little Germanic communities. It was not long, however, before they found themselves subject to the English laws, summoned before English justices, arraigned before English courts, convicted by English juries, and sentenced in a language of which they knew not a syllable; in short, they were coerced into English civilization. In the matter of religion only, they enjoyed untrammeled freedom, and this was doubly dear to them, because it was all that was left to them of what they had brought from the Fatherland. Now when the foundation stone of their religious institutions was struck at by an attempt to establish a common school, which must necessarily supplant their parochial schools, they had reason to apprehend danger to their church. It would have been impossible, with an eye blinded by religion and linguistic bias, to measure the comparative value of the proposed, and their own time honored systems of education. Hence the tenacity with which our German population held on to the old system, and the firm opposition which the new met with in many places when it was first brought forward. In some instances the opposition had risen to such a pitch that threats were made against the persons of the first directors, and, indeed, efforts were made to poison them in a certain township. In a number of the townships, stump speakers were hired to harangue the public at the election polls when the vote was taken upon the adoption or rejection of the common school system. This was the case in York township, as late as about 1848. The Scotch Irish of the lower end of the county, who came about the year 1735, likewise brought with them a system of parochial schools, similar to that which was established in their native country in the latter part of the seventeenth century. When the first school was established in this settlement is not definitely known, but tradition has it that it was established on the banks of Muddy creek, near the mouth of Scott's run, prior to the year 1750. Similar schools were established in various places through the "lower end," as the colonies grew in numbers. The people of these settlements have always shown themselves favorable to education, and their schools, at the time of the adoption of the common school 614 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, system, were proportionately more numerous and in better condition than those of any other part of the county. Of the few teachers of this region whose names appear in history, we can only name Jacob Goering, who was born of German parents in Chanceford township, in 1755. He was educated in the common schools of the neighborhood, and at an early age became a teacher of one of the same. He taught until about the year 1773, when he removed to Lancaster to prosecute his studies for the ministry, after which, he went to Carlisle, thence removed to Dover township, this county, preaching in the Lutheran congregations of the neighborhood till about the year 1786, when he took charge of the Lutheran congregation of York. He died in 1807, and unfortunately for the history of this county, his excessive modesty induced him to command all his valuable manuscripts, papers and letters, to be committed to the flames during his last illness. The English Friends who settled in the "upper end" a little later than 1735, likewise introduced a system of schools, in connection with the several "meeting-houses" which they built in this section of the county. One of these houses was built in the vicinity of Newberry, and another in the vicinity of Rossville. Both these houses were built at the special instance, and under the direction of the Penns. It is evident, therefore, that the population of the county answered the description of Macaulay of the composition of the Irish population. "On the same soil dwelt two populations locally intermixed, morally and politically sundered. They sprang from different stocks. They spoke different languages, they had different national characters as strongly opposed as any two national characters in Europe." We shall also see, by the records of the county which we will incorporate with this report, that the English speaking people of the upper and lower ends of the county, accepted the common school system much more readily and generally, and have, all along, given it a heartier support than the German speaking population of the center. In addition to the parochial schools above mentioned, private schools were established in various parts of the county, especially in places remote from churches and church schools. We are told by Sypher, in his "History of Pennsylvania," that a "company of German philanthropists, sustained by contributions from religious societies in Europe, established free schools in Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century. In 1756, these schools were open and well sustained, in Philadelphia, and in the counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Northampton, Berks, Lancaster, York, and Cumberland;" but we have been unable to find any accounts or any, traditions relative to such schools in this county. A number of buildings are still standing, in various parts of the county, in which schools were taught in the earliest period of the county's history. Some have but lately disappeared. Thus the first school-house in Hanover, built by the German Reformed congregation, is still standing, and is now occupied as a dwelling-house by the present janitor of the public Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 615 schools. In the neighborhood of Hanover were several school-houses, which ante- date this by many years. The first one of which any mention is made, was located about a mile west of Hanover. It had been used as a meeting-house, but, according to the records in 1747, it had become too small for that purpose, and it was determined to build a church. Another school-house stood about a mile north of Hanover, which is known to have stood there about 1750. And whilst we are giving these facts pertaining to the educational history of this ancient borough and vicinity, we may as well narrate a few other incidents, which pertain to a subsequent period. In 1810, John McLaughlin taught in a school- house, which was then considered very old. By him, English was introduced into the school. George W. Stouffer and Doctor Smith taught the first public schools in a building near the site of the railroad depot. When the railroad was built, the community, with good reason, came to the conclusion that that was not a very suitable place for a school-house, but they could not agree upon another site. As usual, now-a-days, almost every individual had his own selection, and was determined to persist in his own choice. In order to select a site unhampered by public contentions, the directors met, viewed, and selected the present site of the handsome public school-building at night. They despatched a messenger to a neighboring town to purchase the same, and again met at night to stake off the house - all this before the public knew anything of the project. In this incident is a good lesson for other directors. Let them discharge their trust without courting public contentions, or catering to local or private preferences, and, generally, they will save themselves and others much annoyance. One of the oldest school-houses in the Quaker settlement in the northern portion of the county, was about one mile south of Lewisberry. When it was erected is not known, but it is said to have been a very old building in 1817. In that year the people of Lewisberry built a new school-house by subscription. The first teacher who taught in this building was Jacob Kirk, who subsequently became the first county superintendent of this county. Another of the teachers who taught prior to the adoption of the public school system, and the only one still living, was Honorable David Fleming, who was speaker of the Senate in 1866. Another of the teachers of this school was Harry Hammond, of window-spring fame. He was somewhat of an original genius, and was the first to introduce the study of English grammar into this region. He used a textbook in form resembling an atlas, and in arrangement, a college boy's interlinear "pony," the parts of speech being marked by their initials. One of the first houses in the vicinity of Dillsburg, and which disappeared not very many years ago, was that connected with the Monaghan church. In 1809, it was quite an old building. The first school-house erected in Jefferson, is still standing and is now occupied as a tenant-house. A few miles south of this village by the side of the Stone church, stands a school-house, which was erected 1788, 616 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, occupying the site of another house which stood there many years previous. This latter served both as church and school-house. A school-house, however, of later date, stood close by Fissel's church, in Codorus township, in which a marvelous genius taught some years ago. In order to supplement his meager salary, he took to filing saws and lettering tombstones, while the boys heard the classes. In this remarkable example of foresight, there is a lesson for all antiquated and obsolete teachers. It is well to have lettered tombstones in readiness, when professional mortification threatens. Of the size, location, and general condition of school-houses, prior to the introduction of the common school system, and for years thereafter, we will let the official records of those times speak. "In one district a school-house stands on the way, with eighty pupils enrolled, the room is nineteen feet and a half square, no out-buildings of any kind." "In another, the room is fourteen feet square, six feet five inches high. Slab seats extend around three sides of the room, which are twenty-one inches high, being four inches higher than ordinary chairs. The walls, desks, &c., are cut and marked with all sorts of images, some of which would make a heathen blush. The walls are very black; the skill of several generations must have been expended in illustrating them with lamp-smoke and charcoal images." Another writer says: "In 1837, not one third part of the public school-houses would have been considered tenantable by any decent family out of the poor-house or in it." "In some districts, an apartment in an old shop or dwelling-house is fitted up as a school-house." We can recall a number of instances of this kind. As to the location of school-houses: "They are frequently placed upon an acute angle of a fork road, having public roads on all sides. Scholars very generally step from the school-house into the highway." "Indeed, school-houses are frequently one half in the highway and one half in an adjacent field, as though they were unfit for either." Condition of furniture: "It is much more common to see cracked and broken stoves, doors without either hinges or latch, and rusty pipe of various sizes. The rooms are frequently filled with smoke." Besides the slab seats and writing desks, the slab benches, with straddling pegs cut from green poles as legs, the rust-covered, smoky stove, of gigantic proportions, with decayed, ill-fitting pipe, the teacher's desk of multiform pattern, there was little or no furniture, or apparatus else, save the cudgel and other instruments of torture. These were practically deemed indispensable. The rod always presented itself in some form or other, sometimes a raw-hide, sometimes a hickory withe, sometimes a club of convenient size, and of whatever wood a wise Providence had bountifully provided in the neighborhood. Some of the other instruments of torture were the dunce- cap, the sharp-edged tressel, the ferule, the knee-block, together with a catalogue of others which were peculiar to certain localities. While every conceivable device for the government of the pupil by means Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 617 of cruelty and intimidation was brought into requisition, the appliances designed for intellectual training were few in number. Many pupils had no books at all, and those that were better supplied had simply a primer or spelling- book, a Bible or Testament, or per chance, an English Reader. A few had slates, and fewer still had a batch of half-sized, hand-made foolscap. Those who were thus supplied were almost always boys, for it was deemed unnecessary for girls to learn to write or cipher. Those who came with copy-books were also armed with a goose-quill. It was not till 1820 that Joseph Gillott invented the triple-slit steel-pen, and by the introduction of machinery into the manufacture thereof; reduced the price to twenty-five cents, after which a few found their way into the schools. Prior to this, about the beginning of the century, a steel-pen had been made, resembling a quill in form, but, as they sold for two dollars and a half apiece, subsequently, however, for less, they never came into general use. Of outline-maps, blackboards, charts, globes, geometrical-blocks, abacus, orrery, &c., little or nothing was known. One of the teachers of that period says: "We did not have such apparatus, and, if we had, it would have been of no use, as we would not have known how to use it." In answer to our inquiries, as to the general condition of the teachers of the early period of our history, some one said that many of them were pedagogical vagabonds, frequently drunken and profane foreigners, who wandered from settlement to settlement, teaching here and there, not unfrequently leaving one place for another, forgetting the important duty of paying their debts before leaving. Many incidents were narrated to us of school-masters who came drunk to the school-room, or got drunk while there, it not being an unusual thing for masters to carry flasks. Very many of them smoked the pipe while in the school- room and while school was in session. A correspondent of the York Gazette of December 26, 1820, says: "I know no school-master that hath charge of laying the foundation of religious principles on the mind of young ones, who is not in general destitute of religion himself." The following appears in a neighboring paper in 1771: "Ran away - A servant man, who had followed the occupation of school-master; much given to drinking and gambling." We feel assured that these are exceptional cases, and that the statements above given are overdrawn, or that there were many happy exceptions to these sweeping charges, yet they carry with them sufficient truth to bring the present condition of teachers, as a class, into favorable contrast. Of the scholastic qualifications of those ancient teachers, we can better judge by following them into the examinations, under the act of 1834 and its supplements. One teacher gives the following account of his first examination: "I read a part of the fifth chapter of Matthew, wrote one sentence, and solved one problem similar to this: 'If three barrels of flour cost fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents, what will eighteen barrels cost?' This was my whole examination. The certificate was as follows: 'R. C. has passed an examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Signed T. 618 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, H.' "At an examination held at Siddonstown, in 1851, the examiner, after giving some problems in the more elementary portion of arithmetic, propounded the following: "What is one half of three levies?" The applicant became indignant, and said: "No, I will not be examined in fractions. It is of no use. I have been teaching school now for thirty years and have never had a scholar go through fractions, and it is of no use." The examiner then struck upon a better customer. He propounded to him a problem in "single rule of three," which the applicant solved very readily, whereupon an elated director raised himself up from his lazy posture and exploded in the following exclamation: " D--n him! Give him another!" It was then moved by one of the members of the board that they take a recess to take a drink. They did take a recess, did go to the hotel close by, and did all take a drink, after which they resumed the examination. These two were, undoubtedly, exceptional cases, but still there were many of the kind. There were teachers of that early period who possessed excellent scholarship, especially in the line of mathematics, but many there were, whose qualifications answered the description above given, very fully. Hence, some of the prejudices against the new system, which required examination. But the opposition to the common school system was not so strong on the part of the teachers as the populace. We could not give a fairer statement of the educational sentiment of the county, at the time of the introduction of the present system, than by copying the minutes of the county commissioners of the several conventions held according to the provisions of acts of Assembly, and by giving an abstract of the census of 1840, the first which made any attempt to include the item of intelligence. Abstract of Minutes of County Commissioners. Agreeably to an act of Assembly, entitled "An act to establish a general system of education by common schools," passed on the first day of April, 1834, the following named delegates, elected in the several wards and townships within the county of York, met at the court-house, in the borough of York, on Tuesday, November 4, 1834. The convention was organized by the appointment of Jacob Deitz, one of the commissioners, to the chair, and Daniel Small, clerk to the commissioners, was appointed secretary. Certificates of appointment were then presented by the respective delegates, after which the question was put, Will this convention accept the provisions of the school law aforesaid, and shall a tax be levied for the expenditure of each district? which resulted as follows: Commissioners. - Jacob Dietz, Samuel Harnish, John Shultz. Delegates' Names, with Townships. - Christian Snyder, Manchester; John Walker, Warrington; Jacob Amig, Dover; Ezekiel Williams, Paradise; William Foster, Newberry; Jacob Weltzhoffer, Hellam; Jacob Feiser, Shrewsbury; Hugh McMullin, Monaghan; James Wallace, Hopewell; Thomas Brooks, Fawn; Abraham Burkholder, Franklin; Charles Diehl, Windsor; Samuel Johnson, Spring Garden; Henry Bowman, Heidelberg; Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 619 Henry Berkheimer, Washington; John Wentz, Manheim; John Fitz, senior, Codorus; John Kreber, Carroll; Henry Stover, Conewago - Nays, 22. Samuel Prowell, Fairview; Luther H. Skinner, Hanover; Jacob Emmitt, South ward; Godlove K. Kane, North ward; James H. Smith, Chanceford; Robert Gebby, Lower Chanceford; John Livingstone, Peach Bottom - Yeas, 7. On motion, it was then resolved by the delegates who voted in the affirmative, that the sum of $1,300 be raised by tax, agreeably to the provision of said act, to be apportioned among their respective districts, as follows: York borough, South ward, $306 99 Do. North ward, 223 74 $528 28 Hanover, Hanover 122 74 Chanceford, 173 63 L. Chanceford, 138 50 Peach Bottom, 81 52 Fairview, 254 33 $1,300 00 Resolved, That Saturday, the 22d, be the day in which the people meet in their respective districts, and decide by a majority of votes whether they will raise for the current year, a sum in addition to that determined on by the delegates as above stated. The convention then adjourned. On Thursday, May 28, 1835, a similar meeting of delegates was held in the commissioners' office, which resulted as follows: Frederick Baugher, North ward; Israel Gardner, South ward; Henry Wirt, Hanover; Andrew Clarkson, Chanceford; John Livingstone, Peach Bottom; Stephen McKinley, L. Chanceford, Benjamin Musser, Fairview; Joseph Willis, Newberry; Jesse Wheeler, Fawn - Yeas, 9. Commissioners - Jacob Deitz, John Shultz, Christian Inners. John McAllister, Hopewell; Henry Stover, Conewago; Henry Peter, York - Nays, 6. Resolved, by those voting on the affirmative, That the sum of $1,800 be assessed by the commissioners, and apportioned among the respective districts agreeably to the number of taxable inhabitants, as provided by the act of Assembly, as follows: York borough, North ward, $259 00 Do. South ward, 344 00 Hanover, 125 00 Chanceford, 181 00 Peach Bottom, 125 00 L. Chanceford, 144 00 620 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, Fairview, $250 00 Newberry, 266 00 Fawn 106 00 $1,800 00 MONDAY, May 2, 1836. - The annual convention of the county commissioners and school delegates assembled this day at the court-house, in the borough of York, and was organized by appointing John Shultz, Esquire, to the chair, and Daniel Small acting as secretary. The following named delegates attended, produced their credentials, and took their seats: Commissioners. - John Shultz, Christian Inners, Joseph Small. Daniel Kraber, North ward; Joseph McPherson, South ward; John Stickel, Warrington; P. Williamson, Peach Bottom; John Thompson, Fairview; Joseph McCreary, Newberry; James E. Mifflin, Hellam; George Klinefelter, Shrewsbury; John Bush, Dover; Joseph Parks, Monaghan; William Allison, Hopewell; Robert Anderson, Fawn; Martin Carl, Franklin; Michael Paules, Windsor; Henry Leib, Heidelberg; John Grist, Washington; Daniel Bailey, Carrol; Luther H. Skinner, Hanover; Samuel Bear, W. Manchester; Andrew Clarkson, Chanceford; Matthew McCall, L. Chanceford. On motion of Daniel Kraber, it was then, Resolved, That a school tax be raised agreeably to the act of Assembly, entitled an act to establish a general system of education by common schools, and the supplement thereto. The question being taken by yeas and nays, the vote was as follows: Joseph Small, Daniel Kraber, Joseph McPherson, John Stickel, John Thompson, Joseph McCreary, James E. Mifflin, George Klinefelter, Joseph Parks, William Allison, Robert Anderson, Daniel Bailey, Luther Skinner, Jacob Feiser, Andrew Clarkson, Matthew McCall - Yeas, 17. John Shultz, Christian Inners, John Bush, Martin Carl, Michael Paules, Henry Leib, John Greist, Samuel Baer - Nays, 8. We have been unable to get the original vote on the school question under the act of 1834, and its supplements, with any degree of completeness, save in a few of the townships, viz: Dover, which cast four votes in favor of the system; Hopewell, three; Codorus, including North Codorus, two; Paradise, including Jackson, three. In the other Germanic townships the vote ran about the same - largely in favor of no school. It will also be seen, by reference to the above abstracts, that the common school system was not very popular in the county generally. Of the nine votes cast by the county commissioners, at the three conventions, there is but one yea, that of Joseph Small. At the first convention all but few of the districts were represented by delegates; the nays out numbered the yeas by more than three to one. The delegates of the following districts voted to accept the system: Fairview, Hanover, Chanceford, Lower Chanceford, Peach Bottom, and York borough. The next year, Newberry Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 621 and Fawn were added to the list. The majority of the other non-accepting districts did not only refuse to accept, but all save three, Hopewell, Conewago, and York, failed to send delegates. At the third, and last, convention, the following were added: Warrington, Hellam, Shrewsbury, Monaghan, Hopewell, Carroll, and Springfield. The other districts, with few exceptions, did not accept, until after the passage of the act of 1848, which enacted that "from and after the passage of this act, the common school system shall be held and taken to be adopted by the several school districts of the Commonwealth." Notwithstanding this legislation, Heidelberg did not accept till 1857, West Manheim until 1858, and Manheim until 1870. Although the records show that the delegate for Hellam voted in 1836 to accept the system, there is a letter on file in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office, dated September 29, 1837, in which Casper Glatfelter complains that the directors of Hellam refused to put the schools into operation. A similar letter, dated March 28, 1838, is on file, complaining of the directors of Paradise for not taking up the system. In the same office may be seen a letter from Daniel Small, dated May 12, 1837, inquiring whether, and how, the system can be voted down after it has been accepted. The last attempt at voting down the system was made in Dover, in 1862. In the township, there was a large majority in favor of rejection, but the proper authorities tabled the motion very unceremoniously. Since then no efforts have been made to slaughter the system outright, but efforts to starve it by means of insufficient taxation are not wanting even now. Many directors are elected for the express purpose of keeping down school taxation, by any means whatsoever. Withal, the county has made rapid progress towards a proper financial support of the system. The average salary of male teachers has been nearly doubled since 1848, and the average salary of female teachers has been trebled. The average sum expended per scholar during the year 1848 was two dollars; the average sum for the year 1876, three dollars and seventy-seven cents. The total number of scholars in the common schools in 1840 was 3,749; in 1876, 20,496, an increase of nearly seven hundred per cent. The number of female teachers, compared with the number of male teachers, has increased from twenty-eight per cent. in 1848 to forty per cent. in 1876. The number of inhabitants since 1840 has increased sixty-two per cent., while the number of illiterates has decreased twenty-four per cent., basing the last calculation on the "number of persons over twenty-one years of age who cannot write," which number is much greater, proportionately, than the "number of persons over twenty-one years of age who cannot read and write," the basis of the former calculation. It will be seen, by reference to the census report of 1840, that York county had over a thousand more illiterates than any other county in the State, including Philadelphia, having eleven hundred and ninety-seven more than the latter. The census of 1870 shows a very fair degree of progress. 622 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, The County Institute. The first session of the county institute assembled in the court-house, in York, on Saturday, December 23, 1854. According to an account of said meeting in the York Gazette, the following teachers and directors were present: Teachers: John Taylor, Daniel Klinefelter, Solomon Meyers, J. N. Taylor, Ephraim Trimmer, Aaron Trimmer, Jonas Deisinger, George M. Ettinger, J. M. Aldinger, W. H. Gordon, L. Haney, S. S. Matthews, John Keller, E. Keller, J. E. Kline, Daniel Beitzel, W. F. Davis, C. A. Ebert, G. Scheffer, W. H. Bond, J. M. G. Wiseman, Zachariah Rudy, Michael Galligher, Charles Alexander, Henry S. Bear, Martin L. Duhling, and John Conoway. Directors: Jacob Dehuff, Windsor; E. Garretson, Spring Garden; William Diehl, Seven Valley; Jacob Falcomer, Pine Hill; David Smyser, West Manchester; Doctor W. S. Roland, Alexander J. Frey, J. U. Jessop, William Sayres, and Doctor A. R. Blair, all of York. In the absence of the county superintendent, Doctor Roland was called to the chair, William Diehl and David Smyser were chosen vice presidents; J. W. Graham and Doctor A. R. Blair, secretaries. The institute passed an elaborate set of resolutions, with an exhaustive preamble, complaining bitterly of the same evils that still beset the system. It was resolved to call another county convention of teachers and directors on Thursday, January 25, 1855, which meeting lasted till Saturday noon, of the same week, and was addressed by Honorable Thomas H. Burrowes and Reverend Charles Martin. From this small beginning the institute gradually developed from year to year, until it now numbers three hundred and fifty members, with an audience of spectators sometimes numbering from five to seven hundred. In 1865, the Legislature authorized the county superintendent to draw annually, the sum of $200 to aid in defraying the expenses of these annual gatherings, which cost from five to six hundred dollars. We trust the popularity of the county institute has in no wise outgrown its utility. We feel assured that these annual gatherings are as important to the teachers, as a profession, as were the periodical feasts of the Jews, or the pilgrimages to the Mahommedans. Nevertheless, there are teachers in the county who have taught for upwards of twenty years, and never attended a county institute. Happily, such cases are few, and their number are getting rapidly less. They are professional corpses, only waiting for decent interment. District Institutes. Not many years after the passage of the common school law, a teachers' association, or what would now be properly called a district institute, was organized in York borough. At subsequent periods similar associations were formed at other places in the county. The first county institute passed a resolution, setting forth the importance of such associations, and urged the teachers of the county to form themselves into district institutes for mutual improvement, and the general good of the cause. In 1858, according to Doctor Blair's report, there were district institutes held in Ex. Doc.] YORK COUNTY. 623 eleven of the districts of the county. He adds: "Too much cannot be said in favor of teachers' institutes, nor can too much be done in their behalf. I should rejoice if Legislative aid could be extended to them." The Legislature heard this and other similar requests, and, in 1862, passed an act fixing the school month at twenty-two days, two Saturdays of every month to be devoted to district institutes. Under this act, district institutes were established in nearly every district in the county. They were proclaimed to be the "right arm" of the system, but this arm was crippled by the act of 1867, which substituted the optional for the compulsory institute law. But few of the institutes survived. That of Jackson has been kept up since its organization. Within the last few years, institutes have become more numerous again, owing to the fact that in a number of districts the directors so arrange their teachers' agreements as to bind the teachers to teach the usual school month of twenty-two days, and attend an institute in addition. The County Superintendency. The first convention for the election of a county superintendent, met in the court-house, June 5, 1854. Daniel Kraber was chosen president, J. H. Watkins and Jacob Greenfield, vice presidents, John Finley and A. H. Glatz, secretaries. There were four nominees for the office, viz: Jacob Kirk, Doctor Andrew Dinsmore, C. B. Wallace, Esquire, and D. M. Ettinger. When, however, the convention fixed the salary at $500 per annum, Messrs. Dinsmore, Wallace, and Ettinger withdrew, leaving Jacob Kirk, of Fairview, to be unanimously elected. Mr. Kirk had little experience as a teacher, having for years given his principal attention to other matters. We are reliably informed that he did not feel himself competent to conduct the examinations personally, and therefore had other persons to travel with him to several places in the county, to conduct the examinations for him. Mr. Denlinger, of White Hall Academy, and Doctor Blair, then director in York borough, assisted in the holding of the examinations. Mr. Kirk held the office but one year, when G. C. Stair was appointed his successor. The latter, as far as we can learn, had no experience as a teacher, being a printer by occupation. At the end of fifteen months he found his health gave way, and resigned. Doctor A. R. Blair was appointed for the remaining nine months of the term, for which he received $375. We are assured by the Doctor that he found the salary insufficient to pay the expenses, and he was literally obliged to work for nothing, and pay for the privilege of doing so. The second tri-ennial convention met May 4, 1857. Honorable R. J. Fisher was chosen president, Doctors G. L. Shearer and H. G. Bussey, secretaries. Fifty-six directors present. The salary was raised to $1,000. Doctors A. R. Blair and Andrew Dinsmore were the nominees. The former, who had been a practical and successful teacher a number of years, was elected, and made a very efficient officer. The third convention met May 7, 1860. V. K. Keesey, Esquire, was called to the chair. The salary was again fixed at $1,000. The number 624 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, of directors present was one hundred and eleven, being the largest convention of the kind ever held in the county. The nominees were D. M. Ettinger and Doctors Blair, Peffer, and Diller. Doctor Blair was reelected on first ballot, receiving seventy-three votes. In 1862, Doctor Blair entered the army as surgeon, and deputized D. M. Ettinger to serve out the remainder of his term as superintendent. The fourth convention met May 3, 1863. Honorable R. J. Fisher was called to the chair. C. B. Wallace and Doctor S. J. Rouse were chosen secretaries. The salary again fixed at $1,000. One hundred and six directors present. The nominees were D. M. Ettinger, S. B. Heiges, and S. G. Boyd. Mr. Heiges, having received fifty-nine votes on first ballot, was elected. He had been a practical and successful teacher from his "youth up," having charge of a flourishing select school at the time of his election. The fifth convention met in May, 1866. The salary was fixed at $1,500, and S. B. Heiges reelected without opposition. In 1868, on account of ill health, he deputized G. W. Heiges, Esquire, to serve out the term. The eighth [sic] convention met in May, 1869. Thirty-four directors present, B. F. Porter in the chair. Doctor S. J. Rouse, secretary. S. G. Boyd, who had been a practical and successful teacher, was elected without opposition, at a salary of $1,500. In August, 1871, Mr. Boyd found it necessary to give his entire attention to the duties of president of the Peach Bottom Railway Company, to which office he had previously been elected, and deputized W. H. Kain. The seventh convention met in May, 1872. Ninety-seven directors present. A. H. Glatz, president, Wilson Grove, W. J. Arnold, and Henry Fortenbaugh, secretaries. Salary fixed at $1,200. The nominees were S. B. Heiges, S. J. Barnett, George R. Prowell, and W. H. Kain. Before ballotting, the name of S. B. Heiges was withdrawn, W. H. Kain, having received seventy-two votes, was elected. On March 28, 1873, the Legislature passed an act requiring the county commissioners of York county to provide and furnish an office for the use and accommodation of the county superintendent, and since April of the same year, the county superintendent has had his office provided and furnished at the expense of the county. The eighth convention met in May, 1875, Reverend T. M. Crawford presiding. W. J. Arnold, B. F. Porter, secretaries. The number of directors, ninety-five. Nominees were A. W. Gray, George R. Powell, and W. H. Kain. The latter, receiving fifty-three votes, was elected. When the county superintendency was first established, it met with violent opposition, so much so that the officer had to bear frequent insults and run the risk of personal violence in certain localities. The opposition has well nigh subsided, and the officer meets with the most cordial support and hospitable attention in all parts of the county. Many of the people are beginning to realize the insufficiency of the present system of school supervision, and are ready to welcome a proper system of local supervision. 826 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, YORK. - W. H. Shelley. The early history of education in this place has never been written, and the data before the adoption of the school law of 1834, are so limited that a brief narration of a few facts, antecedent to this date, must suffice as an introduction to this report. Elementary Schools. The earliest of these were conducted on a tuition basis, and were limited to the common branches of an English education. The acts of the Legislature, passed prior to 1834, tended to prepare the way for the general acceptance of the school law. Regular returns were made by the assessors to the county commissioners of all children, whose parents were unable to pay for their instruction, and teachers were allowed to draw funds from the public treasury, to compensate them for the tuition of such poor children. A large number thus received the benefit of elementary instruction. Some of the English teachers, mentioned in connection with these private schools, are as follows: John Dobbins, W. H. Brown, D. B. Prince, Roger Dougherty, and John A Wilson. First Law. At a public meeting, in the court-house, in November, 1835, notwithstanding the most violent opposition, it was resolved, by a considerable majority, that an experiment should be made of the advantages, offered by the law of the preceding year. As the greater part of business, in those days, was conducted on principles of barter or trade, it was doubted by many whether any tax could be collected for school purposes. Many resisted the payment of tax as long as possible, and the collector's duty was far more burdensome, and much less lucrative, than in these modern times. The only compensation of the treasurer was exoneration from militia duty, whilst the maledictions of rich and poor alike were heaped upon the col- Ex. Doc.] YORK. 827 lector. The following are the names of the first directors, elected under the provisions of the law of 1834: Daniel Kraber, Frederick Baugher, John Voglesong, Doctor T. N. Haller, Jacob Laumaster, James Chalfant, Joseph Garretson, C. A. Morris, Alexander Small, Doctor Luke Rouse, Jacob Emmett, and James Myers. The borough, from the first organization of the school system, was divided into two wards for school purposes, viz: North and South, which division continues to the present time in the purchase, ownership, and sale of school property, or erection of new buildings - a separate and distinct tax being levied in each ward for this purpose. It is due here to state, that the first director in the list above mentioned, viz: Mr. Daniel Kraber, has served as an active member of the school board, and with great acceptance to the public, from the time of his first election to the present, with the exception of a single year of rest from office - a period of forty years. He was recently reelected for another term. Few men live to labor so long and so well in the public service. His vivid recollections of those early years in the educational history of the Commonwealth, together with facts gleaned from the memory of our valuable and highly respected townsman, Mr. William Sayres, - the first tax-collector under the law of 1834, and subsequently for a number of years an earnest, faithful director - have furnished me a basis for these notes. Among those who taught private schools, previous to 1834, may be mentioned: Lewis Miller, J. Hartrick, Michael Bentz, Henry M. Skelton, Abner Thomas, Patrick McDermott, Emanuel Spangler, John Smith, James B. White and daughter, Robert W. Long, Howard Gilbert, Mrs. Beard, Mrs. Davis, and Mrs. Montgomery. Very few schools at this time were taught by female teachers. The teachers who were in service immediately before the adoption of the law of 1834, were at once enlisted under the new system, and the directors elect, above mentioned, in their respective wards, appointed the following teachers: Sarah Jones, Ann Love, Lydia Love, Sarah White, Jane White, Margaret. Hunter, Joseph McPherson, Samuel R. McAlister, G. J. Joint and wife, Patrick McGuigan, Robert W. Long, Benjamin Ziegler, Malona Gowin. Of these teachers, Miss Ann Love, continued in the employ of the board until December 19, 1870, when her resignation was reluctantly accepted, after a service of thirty-four years. She still lives, and, in a graphic manner, narrates many interesting incidents in the educational work of those early years. Patrick McGuigan taught in the public schools during thirty-two years (1836-1868), and died while in service. Directors. A list of directors has been gleaned from the minutes, but no records of South ward, from 1836 to 1847, having been preserved. The list of said ward for the intervening years cannot be given. Beginning with 1837, the following appear in regular succession, as members of the board in North ward, down to the present time: George Lau- 828 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, man, John G. Campbell, Peter McIntyre, Reverend J. G. Capito, John J. Cochran, William Sayres, George A. Heckert, Thomas E. Cochran, Henry L. Fisher, W. Latimer Small, C. B. Wallace, Joseph Smyser, John M. Brown, Doctor A. R. Blair, Henry Lanius, Doctor E. H. Pentz, Reverend W. B. Raber, George Meredith, John Demuth, Samuel M. Barnitz, Reverend A. H. Lochman, Alexander J. Frey, George C. Stair, John Gibson, Israel Loucks, T. K. White, Reverend J. C. Smith, James Kell, W. H. Griffith, David E. Small, Clay E. Lewis, Doctor Jacob Hay, Arthur King, and J. B. Rupp. Frederick Baugher served continuously from the first election, held in 1836, until 1859, a period of thirty-three years. Charles A. Morris, whose name is also found in the first board, served ten years, (1836-1846,) and, on February 1, 1847, he was appointed superintendent of the schools of the North ward. He served in that capacity, without compensation, during five consecutive years, and, on his retirement, received the very hearty acknowledgments of the board, for the efficient and faithful discharge of the duties of his office. Doctor A. R. Blair served as teacher and director in the South ward several years, afterwards was elected to the office of county superintendent, which he filled a number of years, and, during the past eight years, has been a most indefatigable laborer in the cause of popular education, as a member of the board of school controllers from the North ward. Seldom, indeed, can a man be found, who can fill the three positions, of teacher, superintendent, and director, with such general acceptance and popular favor. The following names constitute a list of members of board of directors in the South ward, who served in regular succession from 1847, to the present time: N. P. Buckley, Alexander Hay, Jacob Welsh, Doctor J. W. Kerr, P. Frank, Doctor W. S. Roland, Joseph Root, George Oaks, David Small, V. K. Keesey, Esquire, David Laumaster, George A. Barnitz, W. C. Chapman, Esquire, D. Durkee, William Beitzel, James Adams, William A. Good, Samuel D. Spangler, Abraham D. Forry, Doctor William Johnston, E. G. Smyser, Lewis Carl, Doctor T. N. Haller, Doctor Luke Rouse, William Frysinger, S. Oswald, G. K. Kane, Michael Bentz, David F. Williams, Joseph Garretson, Joseph W. Jessup, Doctor A. R. Blair, Honorable R. J. Fisher, Reverend J. O. Miller, M. B. Spahr, John B. Welsh, Alexander Duncan, William H. Albright, Herman Noss, George W. Reever, Zachariah Dugan, George W. Strubinger, Jacob Erney, James G. Cameron, J. M. Deitch, W. E. Patterson, Alexander Spangler, F. F. Buckingham, Adam S. Pflieger, and Doctor S. J. Rouse. Many of the members of the board, both from the North and South wards, were reelected a number of terms successively. Thus, their policy of the administration of school affairs was endorsed, while the records fully prove that all endeavored to discharge the duties of their office with fidelity. Ex. Doc.] YORK. 829 Prominent among the indications of the steady growth and development of a healthy educational sentiment, was the regular visitation of the schools by the directors. Special committees for that purpose were appointed at the regular meetings of the board, and a leading feature in the business proceedings was a report of the condition of the schools. Annual examinations were held, and records indicate a full attendance of directors at these annual exercises. The schools were graded from year to year by committees appointed by the board, and teachers were also examined in the presence of the board. As early as the year 1849, efforts were made to secure a uniformity of text- books in the borough. On December 13, 1836, certificates of teachers were ordered "not to be received, unless they qualify themselves to teach geography and grammar." Rules and regulations for the schools were also adopted. As early as June 25, 1836, it was directed that the schools should be kept open nine months of the year. Pupils were received from other districts in the county, on the payment of two dollars quarterly, in advance, into the treasury, subject to dismission, if schools were filled by pupils residing in the borough. This price of tuition of non-resident pupils was increased from time to time, until the established rates were as follows: For instruction in primary schools, one dollar, per month; secondary and grammar schools, two dollars, per month; in high school, thirty-five dollars per year. On August 18, 1837, a separate school was established for colored children at the expense of the borough - both wards uniting for this purpose. This school has been continued separate and distinct to the present time. Taxes. The usual tax assessed for school purposes was, during a number of years, treble the amount of State appropriation, and any additional sum, deemed necessary, was submitted to the votes of citizens at ward meetings. The added tax was voted upon favorably by a large majority, during a number of years successively, with the single exception of the year 1838, a time of special trial to all friends of the school system - when a majority voted against a special tax. In order to show, however, the progress of public sentiment, it is recorded that, ten years afterwards, in 1848, a unanimous vote was polled in favor of tax, additional to the regular assessment. Buildings. Prior to 1838, no buildings or school property were owned by the board of either ward. Rooms were rented, wherever they could be obtained at the least expense. A decided advance, however, was made about this time. New buildings gradually supplanted old dilapidated structures, until now our borough has commodious and well furnished rooms for all its school population. 830 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, These modern buildings are all substantial brick structures, and were erected in the following order: Cost. 1. Central building, King street, 1850, $2,200 2. Penn street building, 1860, 1,143 3. Queen street building, 1856, 1,000 4. Duke street building, 1860, 2,500 5. Duke street building, rear of lot, 1868, 5,100 6. High school-building and grounds, 1872, 41,796 7. West King street building, beyond Penn street, 1872, 11,868 8. Cherry street building, 1875, 11,495 Purchase price, property and lots, Philadelphia and Pine streets, 1875, 10,000 Total, $87,102 The value of all school property, in the borough, is now estimated at $125,000. Teachers. The following list of teachers, in addition to those employed at the organization of the schools, under the law of 1834, has been compiled from the minutes of the North and South wards. Those who served less than one year are omitted: Daniel M. Ettinger, Mr. Ritchey, Mrs. Sarah Worly, John Tayler, William Kraber, Edward Joint, Mrs. Lammott, Miss Catharine Hays, Miss Rebecca Kraber, Miss Isabella Doll, Miss Hannah Garretson, Mr. S. Ogden, Doctor Andrew Dinsmore, Miss Mary Tayler, Solomon Myers, Miss Ellen Watkins, Robert McMurdy, Miss Harriet Barnitz, (now Mrs. Kennedy,) Miss Prudence Major, Miss Sue Voglesong, Miss Beckie Welshans, C. B. Wallace, Esquire, Samuel Leitner, Solomon Rupert, Miss Smith, Miss Hilder, Miss C. Gallagher, Miss Emma Schoch, Miss H. W. Townsend, Mr. Daniel Decker, Doctor A. R. Blair, S. Brenizer, G. J. Goodridge, Miss H. Stroman, W. P. Baird, D. C. Kast, Miss Sallie Townsend, Miss Ella Menough, C. H. Austin, Miss Agnes S. Fulton, George T. Cook, Miss Isabella Connellee, Miss Sue Thornbury, Miss Smyser, L. H. Myers, W. H. Bond, Mrs. M. E. Stair, Sue Demuth, Miss Mary E. Kell, Duncan Yocum, James L. Smallwood, W. H. Kain, S. S. Thorn, Miss Jennie Clopper, Miss Ella Fishel, J. V. Blake, W. C. Coover, E. D. Bentzel, James Latimer, Esquire, Daniel Klinefelter, Miss Amanda Fahs, J. M. Eppley, Miss Annie B. Wilson, Miss Lizzie Ziegle, Miss Wiest, Miss Niles, James Kell, A. C. Heffelfinger, Miss Julia Demuth, Miss Jacoby, Miss Maggie D. Fish, Miss Miss [sic] Grimm, Miss A. E. Pflieger, Mr. Moore, Miss Mary Beitzel, Miss Maggie McKinnon, Miss Clara Landis, C. B. Landis, J. 0. Weaver, Miss Kate Eichelberger, Charles H. Frey, H. H. Winter, D. B. Bailey, A. W. Moore, Mrs. Lieben, F. Glover, Miss Clara Bentz, Herman Gitterman, Miss Mary E. Stuck, (now Mrs. Doctor Rouse,) Miss Carrie Devers, Miss Eliza Fahs, J. L. Kraber, Miss Sue Alleman, Miss Mary J. Test, Miss Addie Welsh, Ex. Doc.] YORK. 831 Miss Annie Devers, Miss Kate Barry, Miss Belle Dick, Miss Flora B. Hays, Miss Annie Meisenhelter, Miss Kate Kline, Professor G. R. Prowell, Mrs. Fannie Spangenberg, Miss Annie Holland, Alonzo Stouch, Miss Grace Weiser, Miss Laura Carroll, Miss Ida S. Herman, B. S. Disc, H. S. Williams, C. F. Keech, Miss Kate King, Miss Nettie Boozle, Mrs. L. M. Johnson, Miss Lucy McKinnon, J. F. Strawinski, D. K. Trimmer, Esquire, Miss Lucy McKinnon, Miss Ella V. Hilton, Miss Laura Kirkwood, S. M. Gable, Miss Maggie McDowell, Miss Maggie Henry, Miss Jennie Long, William W. Grove, Miss Lucy Hanson, Professor Kolce Preston, Miss Mary E. Dawson, Miss Maggie Cross, S. V. Redifer, Miss Amanda Manifold, Miss Ella Spangenberg, Miss H. S. McGuigan, W. H. Snyder, F. L. Spangler, Professor Atreus Wanner, Miss Cathie Moore, Miss Sallie Dorris, Miss Carrie McKinnon, Miss Ella Herman, D. G. Williams, Miss Fannie Vogt. On February 11, 1869, resolutions were passed by the board of control, in memory of William Kraber, who served the board continuously during twenty-two years, (1847-1869.) During the greater part of this time, he taught in the advanced grades, and his many pupils, today, gratefully cherish his faithful instruction, and live to honor his memory. Miss Welshans, who died in April, of the present year, whilst still active in service, was in the employ of the board thirty years, (1847-1877 ). The resolutions published at her decease, by the school board and teachers' institute, and recorded upon their minutes, indicate the high appreciation of her labors. Her faithful, untiring work in the school-room will perpetuate her memory. Though dead, she yet lives. Miss Rebecca Kraber, who died while in the service of the board, in the year 1872, was engaged in teaching in the public schools of the borough twenty-four years, (1848-1872). The motto, "Always do right," written by her upon the blackboard of her school-room, shortly before her death, has remained as a constant inspiration to her pupils, and to all who entered the room during the past five years. Professor Kolce Preston, a young man of rare ability and promise, died January 4, 1876, while in the employ of the board. Though connected with our high school, as assistant principal, less than two years, he had won the confidence and esteem of the board of control, of teachers, and pupils. Peace to his ashes. Among those who served more than ten years, and have now retired from service, we glean from the records as follows: D. M. Ettinger, (1839-1853,) Miss Amanda Falls, now Mrs. Crider, (1854-1868,) Miss Harriet Barnitz, now Mrs. Kennedy, (1840-1857,) Miss Catharine Hays, (1847-1863,) Miss Annie Wilson, (1858-1876.) Of those at present in the employ of the board, Miss Ella Menough has served twenty-six years, (1854-1877,) with an absence of several years and Miss Lizzie Riegle has served continuously for the past eighteen years, (1859-1877.) Of those who have retired from active teaching, and are yet engaged in 832 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, active professional work, we mention, with just pride, Professor D. M. Ettinger, surveyor and mathematician, who after a service of fourteen years in the public schools, and a number of years professor of mathematics in the York County Academy, is at present one of the most accurate surveyors in the State. New Law. In accordance with the provisions of the new law, the boards of the North and South wards met May 6, 1854, and organized a board of school controllers. From those examined by County Superintendent Jacob Kirk, (the first county superintendent under the law), twenty teachers were appointed, eight male, eleven female, and one male teacher for colored school. Efforts were made by committees from the school board, during subsequent years, to grade the schools. A high school was established July 8, 1858, but on May 5, 1862, this was reduced to a secondary grade. Institutes. A resolution was passed by the board, January 5, 1863, requiring teachers to organize an institute, and that a monthly report of exercises of the same be made to the school board. By a resolution of October 5, 1863, teachers were subject to removal for non-attendance. Thus it will be observed that the directors recognized then, as they do now, the importance of teachers' associations for the improvement of the schools. These institutes were continued from year to year - an occasional normal class being organized, by the county superintendent, for the benefit of the teachers. During the past seven years, regular institutes were held twice per month. The attendance of teachers has averaged about ninety per cent. No excuses for absence are received, except for sickness, or unavoidable absence from town. In September, 1876, a special normal class was organized. This is composed of all pupils of the senior class in high school, preparing to teach, and of all teachers of the borough who have less than five years' experience. A number of the older teachers have also availed themselves of the advantages thus afforded. This class meets one hour each week for lectures on the "Theory and Methods of Teaching." Whilst the labors of the superintendent are thus considerably increased, the results of the year's work have been encouraging, in the greater efficiency of our younger teachers, and the better preparation of graduates of our high school to take the positions of assistants in lower grades. Our Present System. On July 11, 1870, Doctor S. J. Rouse, a member of the school board for ten years, and at present deputy secretary of the board, first introduced the subject of a "high school" for the borough. After considerable discussion, a committee was appointed, consisting of Doctor S. J. Rouse, David E. Small, and Daniel Kraber, to consider the subject. A majority of the committee reported favorably, which report, having been accepted and unanimously adopted, our present high school for both sexes was Ex. Doc.] YORK. 833 established. The writer was appointed principal of the same, and Miss Mary E. Kell, assistant. A course of study was arranged, examinations were held, and fifty-two pupils were admitted at the organization. On October 3, 1870, according to the provisions of the law, the borough superintendent was created, separating the borough entirely from the official jurisdiction of the county superintendent. The writer was elected superintendent, which office, in connection with principalship of high school, has been held by subsequent reelections, until the present time. Whatever educational progress may have been achieved in the years past, is due, first, to the energetic and progressive men who have constituted our board of control; secondly, to the harmonious workings of the system, as exemplified by earnest, devoted teachers, securing the cheerful obedience and studious application of pupils; thirdly, to an enlightened public sentiment throughout our community, approving and sanctioning all the efforts made for the improvement of the schools. Our schools, as organized at the present time, consist of one high school; two A, grammar; four B, grammar; seven, secondary; twenty-one primary; one colored school, (mixed grade.) The average cost of instruction, as shown by statistics of the year, is $1 15 per month for each pupil. The estimate is based on the average monthly attendance, and does not include contingent expense. Progress. The actual indications of progress may be summed as follows: 1. The advance of ten per cent. in the standard for admission to high school, from year to year, since the organization in 1870, - this requiring a corresponding advance in lower grades; 2. The reference library furnished by school board, consisting of standard encyclopaedias, &c.; 3. The very successful beginning of a library of miscellaneous books, as made by pupils of high school through annual entertainments; 4. The inauguration of a teachers' library; 5. The very satisfactory and gratifying results of our system, as evinced by the recorded standing of our pupils, at the annual examinations, this being supplemented and confirmed by the monthly visitation of superintendent. To the above, may be added that fifteen of our teachers have been regularly graduated at the high schools, and thirteen of these will be in the service of the board during the coming year. Records. The recorded part of our school system presents the annual examination standing of every pupil, with every transfer or promotion, the monthly and annual statistics of each school, together with such summarized notes of superintendent's work, as will enable members of school board, at any time, to form a just estimate of the progress of each school. There are three permanent books - one is used as "term records" for the high school; 834 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, one large annual register for all the schools, and one for general and statistical notes from each school. Blanks are provided for admittance of new pupils, for promotion, &c., &c. A neat diploma, lithographed, is given to all who complete the course of study in the high school. The exhibition of pupils' written examination work, in the office of superintendent, during the month of June, indicated a decided advance in the department of drawing, as well as in the general neatness and accuracy of manuscripts. York County Academy. This ancient institution of learning was incorporated September 20, 1787, as a part of the property of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of this place. On March 1, 1788, Mr. James Armstrong became the first teacher of the English department in the academy. He was required to teach reading, writing, mathematics. The price of tuition to the children of the town and county, was forty shillings; strangers and their children, three pounds per annum. The corporation engaged to make up any deficiency in the gross proceeds below seventy pounds. Mr. Robert Hettrick was engaged at the same time to teach Latin, Greek, and French languages, rhetoric, experimental philosophy, geography, astronomy, and history. Reverend John Campbell was appointed to teach moral philosophy and divinity. He was considered the principal of the school. The income of the first year amounted to £77 6s. 8d. By a second act of the State Legislature, approved March 1, 1799, the academy was tendered as a public school for York county by the rector, church wardens, and vestry-men of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in whom the property by the previous act was vested. By this second act, all right and title to said buildings and grounds were conveyed to and vested in "the trustees of the York County Academy." By specification in the act, it was established as a "school or academy for the education of youth, in the learned and foreign languages, in the useful arts, sciences, and literature." Twenty-one trustees were named as follows: John Campbell, Jacob Goering, Daniel Wagner, John Black, Robert Cathcart, William Paxton, Thomas Hartley, James Smith, John Edic, John Clark, Doctor Jacob Hay, Senior, Jacob Rudisill, Elihu Underwood, William Ross, Jacob Barnitz, Michael Smyser, Conrad Lamb, William McLean, William Scott, Philip Gopher, George Bard. These were "declared to be one body, politic and corporate, with perpetual succession in deed and law, as the trustees of the York County Academy." The constitution can be changed by the Legislature only. A grant of $2,000 was made in the act of incorporation, and the sum was paid over to the trustees, November 10, 1800. A provision was made by the act that beneficiaries, not exceeding seven, should be admitted, on application, not to continue longer than two years. Eight of the charter members were present at the organization of the Ex. Doc.] YORK. 835 board, May 6, 1799, viz Messrs. Cathcart, Hartley, Smith, Edic, Barnitz, Smyser, Lamb, and Gossler, and were duly qualified. The funds granted by the State were invested in United States stocks, and, by judicious management, have afforded sufficient income to keep up the necessary repairs, on building and ground, to the present time. On January 28, 1801, Mr. McMurray was appointed teacher in the academy, at a salary of £130. Tuition per year in common English branches, eight dollars; higher branches, sixteen dollars. An invitation was published to poor people, to send their children gratis. Robert Adrain was appointed teacher, at this time, and girls were admitted as pupils. The following minute occurs, October 21, 1801, at the close of a public examination of the school: "The pupils exhibited evidence of great improvement, and the teachers, as well as the pupils, have obtained the approbation of the board." Examinations were held, first quarterly, then semi-annually, and afterwards were continued annually. The following persons, in addition to several charter members, served as trustees in regular succession to the present time: Henry Miller, David Cassat, Esquire, Ralph Bowie, Doctor John Morris, Andrew Robinson, Josiah Updegraff, Doctor Maxwell McDowell, William Barber, William Nes, Thomas Taylor, George Small, J. Kelly, Reverend George Schmucker, Charles A. Barnitz, Reverend Lewis Mayer, Doctor William McIlvaine, John Schmidt, C. A. Morris, W. Ash, Doctor John Fisher, General Jacob Spangler, Reverend James R. Riley, H. Spangler, Philip Smyser, H. B. Wentz, Samuel Wagner, Daniel Durkee, James B. Webb, George S. Morris, Richard Rush, Philip A. Small, James S. Connellee, Jacob Emmitt, Jacob Barnitz, Charles Weiser, John Voglesong, John Evans, Esquire, Captain Donaldson, Jacob Spangler, Peter McIntyre, Doctor H. McClellan, Solomon Oswald, Eli Lewis, Doctor T. N. Haller, Thomas E. Cochran, J. G. Campbell, Doctor Jacob Hay, A. J. Glossbrenner, Reverend C. W. Thompson, William Wagner, Honorable R. J. Fisher, Reverend C. J. Hutchins, Reverend A. H. Lochman, D. D., Edward Smyser, Reverend J. 0. Miller, D. D., V. K. Keesey, Esquire, Jonathan Oswald, Henry Lanius, William Danner, Gates J. Weiser, Charles S. Weiser, David E. Small, M. B. Spahr, Lewis Carl, Israel Loucks, Doctor W. Baum, George F. Leber, Reverend L. A. Gotwald, D. D., W. Latimer Small. David Cassat, Esquire, died in office, having served for twenty-four years, (1800-1824 ). His life was devoted to the public welfare, and his long usefulness in this community, has perpetuated his memory to the present generation. Among the trustees above mentioned, Doctor Cathcart died while in office, having served from the organization of the institution, (1799-1849,) a period of fifty years. He served as president of the board during forty-five years, and almost completed a century on earth. Most tender and pathetic resolutions were offered by the board to his memory. On May 7, 1874, Doctor C. A. Morris, having completed more than fifty 836 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, years of service as a member of the board, departed from earth. A few months previous to his death, his semi-centennial in the cause of education was duly celebrated at his home, on which occasion the trustees and principal of the academy, were present as invited guests. Truly of him, it may be well said, "he lived to do good and bless others." The oldest member of the present board is Honorable A. J. Glossbrenner, ex- member of Congress, a most highly esteemed citizen and prominent banker of this place. The second of the board, in point of seniority, is Reverend C. W. Thompson. Though his body is enfeebled by increasing years, his mental faculties seem yet unimpaired, whilst his constancy and fidelity to the cause of education, commend his example to those who may become his successors in the trustee board. Among the active members of the board, at the present time, whose interest in behalf of the school deserve this public notice, may be mentioned, Reverend Jonathan Oswald, D.D., Reverend J. O. Miller, D.D., Reverend L. A. Gotwald, D.D. Teachers. January 18, 1811, the name of Mr. Thomas Whittaker appears as the first unsalaried officer in the Academy. He was allowed to collect and appropriate to himself all the tuition fees. November 20,1819, the name of Mr. D. B. Prince first occurs as a teacher. He continued to serve with eminent ability, in the female department, with an absence of several years, until July 18, 1866, a period of forty-five years. On his retirement, the male and female departments, which had been separated during forty-three years, (1823-1866,) were again consolidated, and Professor G. W. Ruby, who had served as principal of male department from 1850, was elected to the principalship of both male and female departments. Prominent among the teachers, who died while in the service of the institution, was Reverend Stephen Boyer, whose faithful labors of twenty-five years, (1823- 1848,) received a worthy tribute from the board of trustees. On April 1, 1870, the female department was discontinued. The following names occur among the teachers: Honorable Thaddeus Stevens, Messrs. Bacon, Carothers, Steen, Smith, James, Livermore, Beardsley, Morrills, Blanchard, Skinner, Kirkwood, Miss Coulson, and Mrs. Young. We record, with just pride to the borough, the fact that Honorable Thaddeus Stevens here began his legal studies, and, as student and teacher, obtained the necessary preparation for those positions of honor and trust, in the State and the nation, to which he was subsequently called. The present principal of the school, Professor G. W. Ruby, has occupied the position for the past twenty-seven years, (1850-1877.) During this time, he has had, under his instruction, about five thousand students; has prepared a large number for college - many of whom graduated with honor, in the leading institutions of the country, and occupy prominent Ex. Doc.] YORK. 837 positions in the State and nation. From the ranks of those who have gone out from his kind and faithful instruction, are found today our leading business men in the community, as well as many of those who fill the learned professions. Beloved by his pupils, and honored by the entire community, for his indefatigable labors in the cause of education, he yet continues, earnestly devoted to the teacher's work. Children's Home. This institution was incorporated by the Legislature in February, 1865. "Its aim and object being to afford a pleasant shelter for destitute and friendless children. It was entirely distinct from the State provisions for soldiers' orphans, though Superintendent Burrowes at once proposed sending to it those of this class belonging to York county." A large brick-building of three and one half stories, was erected on ground donated by Mr. Samuel Small, senior, and was built, under his direction, at a cost of about $40,000, (ground and building included,) of which sum about $3,000 were contributed by other parties - the balance being the gift of Mr. Small. This structure, so admirably adapted to the purpose, was occupied by the school, April 1, 1867. "Since that period, soldiers' orphans have been assigned to this home from York, Adams, Dauphin, and Cumberland counties, and have shared its fostering care." In thorough mental training, general deportment, as well as moral and religious culture, this school has compared most favorably with any of the orphan schools of the State. We glean the following facts from the twelfth annual report, recently issued: "Since May, 1865, one hundred and eighty children have been admitted, of whom eighty-one were soldiers' orphans, placed therein by the State. All but fifteen of these have either graduated at sixteen years of age, or been transferred to other schools. Seventeen of them are still at White Hall school; several are teaching, several are on farms, clerking, at trades, or at service; nearly all are doing well. Of the ninety-one destitute ones, for whom this home was especially designed, thirty-four have been, after a longer or shorter stay here, returned to friends. Good homes have been found for thirty-six. From almost every one good accounts have been received. Of all the children who have been inmates of this 'home,' only two have died." The following have served as teachers in the "home" with great acceptability: Misses S. E. Thornbury, Mary Anderson, Marian Stansbury, M. J. Mifflin, J. Russell, Lizzie Gable. Gratuitous instruction, in various departments, has been given by Mr. D. B. Prince, Doctors Charles and Jane Garver, Professor H. Bentz, Miss Schriver, and Professor D. K. Noel. The following physicians of the borough have given their time and services gratuitously to the "Home," viz: Doctors John Hay, deceased; E. 838 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. [No. 8, H. Pentz, deceased; Doctors A. It. Blair, Jacob Hay, M. W. McKinnon, and W. S. Roland. In addition to the State appropriation, the school is largely sustained by subscriptions and donations from a number of christian ladies and gentlemen in the community, and from the interest arising from the handsome bequest of $5,000, made by the late Charles A. Morris - who, together with his noble wife, also deceased, was untiring in his devotion to all the interests of the "Home." After all the soldiers' orphans shall have been properly cared for and educated, by the State, this institution will continue to fulfil its grand mission, as a refuge for homeless and destitute children, and will stand as an enduring monument to the liberality of those who established and endowed it, and to the generous public, who aid in maintaining it. York Collegiate Institute. This institution of learning, was founded by the munificence of Mr. Samual Small, senior, of this place, and was opened for students, September 15, 1873. Most interesting dedicatory services and the inauguration of faculty occurred on November 3, of the same year. The following constitute the present board of trustees: Samuel Small, senior, president; Reverend Henry E. Niles, D.D., secretary; Samuel Small, junior, treasurer; executive committee, James W. Kerr, M.D., David E. Small, John M. Brown; additional trustees, Reverend J. L. Crawford, Reverend C. W. Stewart, Reverend C. P. Wing, D.D., James Kell, Esquire, H. L. Fisher, Esquire, W. Latimer Small, John H. Small, Colonel Walter S. Franklin. The faculty, as at present constituted, is as follows: Reverend James McDougall, junior, Ph.D,, president and professor of languages; Samuel B. Heiges, professor of natural sciences; Albert B. Carner, A.M., professor of mathematics; Miss Huldah Allen, belles letters; Miss M. E. Prince, music; Reverend Henry Walker, German; William W. Anderson, tutor. The cost of the building and ground is estimated at $50,000, and the present endowment is $70,000. Of these amounts $110,000 are the direct contribution of Mr. Samual Small, senior, the honored founder, the remaining sum of $10,000 having been donated by Robert H. Coleman, of Cornwall, Pennsylvania. An elegant library, known as the Cassat library, was presented to the institute by Mrs. Small, in honor of her father, the late David Cassat, Esquire. The philosophical department and library are well furnished. The entire building, composed of brick, consisting of three stories, with mansard roof, is supplied with all the modern improvements in school architecture. It is warmed by furnaces, is well ventilated, contains a comodious chapel, recitation and library rooms, gymnasium, &c. The total attendance of pupils during the year past numbered one hundred and fourteen. Ex. Doc.] YORK. 839 Four parallel courses of study are pursued, viz: The classical, scientific, ladies', and commercial. These, with the exception of the last, require four years each in their completion. Students may here prepare for advanced standing in our best colleges. The board of trustees was especially fortunate in their selection of a president. Doctor McDougall has proven himself, during the past four years, to be preeminently qualified for the position of responsibility and trust which he occupies. A true christian gentleman, scholarly, earnestly devoted to his work, he commands at once the respect and confidence of students, and the increasing favor and attachment of our entire community. His associates in the faculty are also indefatigable workers. The institution is under the general patronage and control of the Westminster Presbytery, with certain specifications in the charter as made by the donor. The ultimate endowment will be made $100,000. At present, moderate tuition fees are received, except from those deserving young men who are preparing for the ministry, and who receive assistance annually from the scholarship fund. The success which has crowned the work in the very thorough organization and establishment of this school, is the best prophecy of its future growth and prosperity. Long may the revered founder yet live to enjoy the consummation of his highest hopes, in the thorough mental and religious culture of the youth, who shall crowd the halls of this institution. Conclusion. In closing this report, it may be said, that whilst the educational facilities of this borough compare favorably with any other in the State, the past decade has been especially rich in its fruitage. The soil, which was so well tilled has, at length, brought forth an abundant harvest. With all these elements of growth and progress, we look upon the present as part fulfillment and part prophecy. Without gratulations upon the work accomplished, it remains for those, who shall be the future guardians of our educational system, not only to maintain the elements of healthy development, now existing, but so to foster and nourish every educational plant that, in a future, "so bright with promise," there shall ever be the bloom and beauty of cultured minds and noble lives.