Roane County TN Archives History - Books .....Rittenhouse Academy At Kingston 1927
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 6, 2005, 9:14 pm

Book Title: The History Of Roane County Tennessee 1801-1870

RITTENHOUSE ACADEMY AT KINGSTON



     The records of the academy show the first trustees to be Thomas J. Van

Dyke, Samuel Eskridge, Jacob Jones, Zachariah Ayers and Jesse Byrd. These were

appointed by an act of the legislature in 1806. The names of John Purris. M.

Smith, Thomas N. Clark, Thomas Brown, John Brown, Mathew Nelson and Samuel

Martin were added to the board in 1809.



    Like a good many valuable records the story of the academy for several years

was lost, but the minutes of the board meeting of Feb. 1819 show that the

trustees present were John Brown, Thomas Brown, Thomas N. Clark, Robert

Gilliland, Henry Liggitt, Noah Ashley and Samuel Ewing.



    Rules governing the academy, many setting forth duties required of the

students, were adopted, that would seem amusing if used today. Each pupil was

required to contribute one dollar annually for fire-wood. Those in the English

class paid $3.75 for a session of three months, those in the higher classes were

charged $5.00.



    All students were required to attend public worship on the "Lord's Day." Any

student tardy or absent without an excuse from the parent was required to

"perform a portion of the menial offices of the academy." Public examinations

were held at the end of each session for the "animation of the students in

literary pursuits." Students were "not allowed to fight, use profane language,

speak obscenely, get drunk, gamble, frequent taverns or associate with base,

abandoned characters." Nor were they allowed to smoke paper or tobacco within

the walls of the academy or wear their hats while school was in session.



    At a meeting of the board Oct. 29, 1822, those present were Thomas N. Clark,

Solomon Geren, Gen. John Brown, Thomas Brown, Samuel Martin. Merriweather Smith,

Jesse Byrd, Henry Liggett, Noah Ashley, Robert GilHland and Hugh Dunlap.



    William Egleton was made president and the price of tuition was put at $6

per session. One of the duties of the president was to advertise the school for

six weeks in the Knoxville papers.



    At the November meeting of 1823 William S. McEwen was added to the board and

in 1824 James McPherson and Lewis Jordon were elected. The health of the Rev.

William Egleton had failed and Allen G. Gallaher was elected president of the

academy in his stead.



    During the year the trustees met several times, but little business was

recorded in the minutes except that the secretary, Robert Gilliland, was

instructed to call on the East Tennessee bank for funds due the academy from

that state school fund. William B. Clark was added to the board, which again

ordered the president to advertise in the Knoxville paper.



    In December, 1825, Mr. John Hook was elected president.



    The records show that the trustees met often in the next two years with the

names of those present, but little of interest transpired except that William

Clark and William McEwen were appointed to visit the school once a month and see

if the by-laws were carried out. Jacob Spooner was elected president in 1827 and

the following report was sent to the house, of representatives:



    Nov. 15, 1827. "Trustees met and the following report was sent to the house

of representatives:



     "In obedience to a resolution of Sept. 27, we, a committee appointed by the

trustees of Rittenhouse Academy to make a report of this institution to your

honorable body, make leave to report the following:



    "This academy is now in operation, and we are flattered with the prospects

that it will add .much to the interest and welfare of the rising generation. 



    "The branches taught are orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, English,

grammar, geography, with the use of maps and globes, astronomy, mensuration,

trigonometry, geometry, moral intellectual and natural philosophy,

belles-letters, the Latin and Greek languages.



     "As to funds, which are at present available, the trustees are unable to

make a report, as an act of the general assembly of 1821 appropriating the rent

of certain lands to the institute, which has since been repealed, the sum

received by the trustees has been $289.50. Said sum having been appropriated for

repairs.



     "The trustees beg leave to represent to your honorable body that our

buildings are much out of repair, the institution is now in debt, no means

available by which we can be relieved. We beg leave to suggest to your honorable

body the expediency of fostering and cherishing such institutions as are most

likely to secure permanent harmony and welfare of the yeomanry of our country.

Trusting that the confidence which we entertain in the guardians of our liberty,

we beg leave to call your legislative attention to the furtherance and promotion

of education, impressed with the assurance that a subject fraught with so much

good to the rising glory of our republic, will meet with the warmest

co-operation of an enlightened legislative body.



     "Thomas Brown, W. S. McEwen, William B. Clark, Jacob K. Spooner. committee."



    Mathew Sullivan was an assistant teacher at this time, but was succeeded in

1828 by L. J. Likins. Jacob Spooner and his assistant had classes in the

following books:



    Murray's Grammar, S. Pike's Arithmetic, Adam's Geography. Blair's

"Lectures," Paley's "Moral Philosophy," "Conversation on Natural Philosophy,"

"Conversation on Chemistry," Euclid (three books), Gibson's "Surveying," Hedges

"Logic." Locke's "On the Understanding." "Rudduman's Grammar, Crowder's Greek

Testament, John and the Acts (historear sacre). Ovid's "Lucian" (half through;

"Xenophon" (Ceasar's Commentaries) : Homer's "Virgil and Sallust" Cicero's

Oration (Latin prosedy) : Horace's "Oration."



    The same year Jacob Spooner resigned, L. J. Likens was made president with

Albert Allcorn as assistant. Ill health caused Mr. Likens to resign the next

year and William J. Keith succeeded him.



    In 1831 William Wilson brought a recommendation from the Rev. Isaac Anderson

and was employed as president.



    Thomas N. Clark, Sr., had deeded 1 1/2 acres of land to the trustees of

Bethel Presbyterian church in 1823 for the sum of $1. In 1832 the contract was

let to Thomas Crutchfield to erect a new academy in Kingston, Joshiah Smith, who

was teaching a private school in the academy in 1832, was elected president and

a female school was allowed the use of the old building. The president was

ordered to advertise in the Knoxville Register the commencement of the next term.



    The record of 1835 shows William Brown. John Byrd and William B. Clark as

having been made trustees, George Rich as president with Miss Pheobe Rich

assistant. The academy continued under their management until 1837 when Mr. Rich

removed from Kingston and his daughter was allowed the use of the building for a

primary school until another teacher could be found.



    In 1838 Dr. Richard Richards and Phillip Beddo were appointed trustees by

the legislature and Benjamin F. Smith elected president. He was succeeded in

1845 by Benjamin V. Irvine and the minutes say that it was agreed by the

trustees that females would be admitted to the academy, although the list of

students of 1828 included girls.



    Mr. Irvine served four years as president. Henry W. Von Alderhoff, a

Prussian nobleman, who had taught at Forest Academy at Athens when Senator J. T.

Morgan was a student, was given the office with a salary of $300. per session.



     In 1852 Athens made an effort to secure Mr. Von Alderhoff, and as an

inducement to remain in Kingston, his salary was raised to $400, with John

Fleming as assistant at $100 per session. The school had grown until there was

not room in the academy and the board rented a house from George Yost until an

addition could be built.



     When Mr. Von Alderhoff resigned in 1856, his place was filled by William G.

Loyd, of Chattanooga. George McDuffee, John Y. Smith, Samuel DeArmond, W. S.

Center and James McNutt were trustees appointed by the court during the late

40's and during the 50's. In 1861 the court added the names of A. O. Fisher,

James Martin, Newton Patterson, William Gurscot and Freemoten Young and the

board advertised for a suitable teacher.



    In January, 1862, the Rev. Samuel Roberts was employed us principal, and

then the record of the school ends, to be closed until the war is over.



    The academy was re-opened in 1871 with John R. Neal, who had returned a

Colonel from the Confederate Army as Principal.



Additional Comments:
From:



Part Three



The History of Roane County Tennessee 1801-1870

by

Emma Middleton Wells



Printed by

The Lookout Publishing Company

Chattanooga, Tennessee



(1927)

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