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THE FEMALE TEACHER:

THE BEGINNINGS OF TEACHING

AS A "WOMAN'S PROFESSION"

Jane Piirto Navarre

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

December 1977

Approved by Doctoral Committee I ¿V

©1977

Jane Piirto Navarre

AU Eights Reserved PLEASE NOTE:

Pri nt on many pages throughout the dissertation is broken, light and indistinct. Filmed as received.

UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS. /C

ABSTRACT

This study examined the reasons for the feminization of the

teaching profession in the United States in the nineteenth century,

where, by the end of the century, 7 out of 10 teachers were women,

when only 1 out of 10 had been at the beginning of the century. It

focused on the influence of private seminaries and academies in

the growth of the profession, before public normal schools were

established. It also focused on schools in the state of Ohio, which

was settled during the period of the academies, and which had,

during the century, over two hundred of them.

Chapter I. summarized the philosophy for educating women in

the late 18th and early 19th centuries, beginning with Rousseau. The

ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah More, James Fordyce, Ben­ jamin Rush, and Noah Webster were discussed. Chapter II. viewed the contributions of three pioneers in women's education--Emma

Willard, Catharine Beecher, and Mary Lyon. Their "innatist" and

"antifeminist" philosophies, informed by their evangelical Christian views, were very influential in establishing how a "female teacher"

should be. Chapter III. summarized school legislation history in

Ohio, which made it possible for the seminaries and private colleges to flourish in the state. Chapter IV. narrowed the focus to two insti- « tutions in Ohio--Western Female Seminary (later Western College for

Women) in Oxford, and Lake Erie Female Seminary (later Lake

Erie College) in Painesville. These were Mary Lyon/Mount Holyoke

"little sister" schools. Chapter V. discussed other seminaries in Ohio, most notably those in Granville and in Steubenville.

Many primary materials were used in the study, including unpublished letters and diaries. One purpose of the study was to show what life was like in a female seminary in the 19th century.

Another purpose was to show the influence of the clergy and the various evangelical churches on the development of the profes­ sion of the self-sacrificing, low paid, highly moral "female teacher. " The profession was viewed as a natural extension of a woman's innate nurturing nature, an extension of her domestic self. Teaching took women out of the home and into a respectable alternative to marriage and family.

The unmarried woman could become a female teacher; she did not need to depend on the largesse of her male relatives; she could be self-supporting. She could teach school and use her superior moral influence in molding the children of the nation. She was a woman with a special mission. She became a respected member of her community and, though she was often conservative and evan­ gelical, anti-suffragist and pro-temperance, she had a great influence on the society, perhaps a greater influence than the more liberal feminists of the day. This Study is Dedicated, in Grateful Acknowledgement,

to

Lynn Piirto Waara my aunt, and a female teacher

for many years //

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ...... i

Chapter I. THE PHILOSOPHY FOR THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN IN AMERICA IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH AND EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURIES ...... 1

Rousseau ...... 2 Wo11stonecraft ...... 6 More ...... 8 Fordyce ...... , , , . , . , . . . . 16 Constantia ...... 22 Rush ...... , ...... 24 Webster ...... 28 Hitchcock ...... 31

11. THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMINARY MOVEMENT: EMMA WILLARD, CATHARINE BEECHER, AND MARY LYON ...... 34

Emma Willard .36 Catharine Beecher ...... 49 Mary Lyon ...... 73

III. THE ACADEMY/SEMINARY MOVEMENT IN OHIO . .88

Sample Laws of Incorporation. ... . , .93 List of Secondary Schools (Miller). . . 106 List of Secondary Schools (Boyd). . . . 100 Commissioner’s Charts ...... 113

IV. MARY LYON IN OHIO...... 123 Western Female Seminary ...... 123 Lake Erie Female Seminary ...... 145

V. CURRICULA, ORGANIZATION, AND LETTERS FROM OTHER SEMINARIES IN OHIO ...... 173

Granville Female Seminary . . 176 Young Ladies' Institute . , . 181 Granville Female Academy . 186 Steubenville Female Seminary . 197 Methodology and Curricula . . 211 EPILOGUE ...... 216

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 219 Primary Sources ...... » ...... 220

Se con da ry Sources . 229

APPENDI CES «I •. « 2 33 /A

INTRODUCTION

This study proposes to examine the development

of the profession of "female teacher" in the United

States, as it developed in the private seminaries in the mid-1800's, as an outgrowth and a modification of the philosophy for educating.women in the late seventeenth

and early eighteenth centuries. This philosophy has variously been called "domesticity," "sentimental womanhood," "antifeminism," "innatism," "fascinating womanhood," and "total womanhood," and it had a great impact on the teaching profession, which developed as an extension and an expansion of the traditional sphere of women.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century in America, approximately ten out of every 1Q0 teachers was a woman; by 1900, according to the Twelfth Census Report on Women In The Professions, 73 in every 100 teachers was a woman.

This dramatic increase in the number of teachers points to an increase in educational opportunity for women during the nineteenth century. It also points to a change in attitudes about the appropriateness of teaching as a profession for women, for by the turn of the century, teaching had become a full-fledged"women’s profession," a respectable alternative for the unmarried woman. 11

This study examines the beginning of that change

in society's attitudes towards a higher education for

women.

Most studies of teacher education in the nineteenth

century have focused on thé establishment of the public

normal schools. This study focuses on the female semin­

aries and academies, where teachers were educated before

there were co-educational colleges and normal schools.

Since these seminaries were private institutions, they

have often been ignored or dismissed by researchers, but

their impact on the development of the teaching profes­

sion cannot be overlooked. This study may begin, for

researchers, a correction of that oversight.

Most studies of the beginnings of the teaching pro­

fession in America focus on Massachusetts and New York, which are indeed important states in the history of

education. However, the nineteenth century is unique in

American history for the movement westward and for the

tremendous influx of immigrants, as well as for the growth of industrialization. These immigrants often had

to pass through Ohio, which holds the place of a national

crossroads even today. In fact,, Ohio was "The West"

at the beginning of the nineteenth century. From 1803 to 185Q, hundreds of private institutions were chartered in Ohio, and thousands of teachers were Ill

trained. These teachers often journeyed farther west

with the tides of migration, but they often went East, or stayed in Ohio to teach, also. This study focuses

on the seminary movement in Ohio; first, because of Ohio's

geographic and historical position; and second, because

of Ohio’s school legislative history, which encouraged

the development of private institutions.

The "female teacher" was a respected person by the

end of the century, largely because of the influence of

church people and of the clergy. Clergymen were them­

selves among the most respected and well-educated indi­

viduals in the society, and they cast their influence

upon the education of women, encouraging them to become

teachers, as an extension of their basic nurturing natures

The "schoolmarm," the "old maid" schoolteacher had, by

the end of the nineteenth century, become an American

stereotype, an image of moral rectitude and proper conduct

As a result of their close connections to the (most- often) Protestant, evangelical churches, these ladies were viewed as veritable pillars of conservative virtue,

and embodiments of the Christian ideals, while still being pitied for not being married, and sometimes scorned

for their very propriety, Lucy Webb Hayes, the wife of

Rutherford B. Hayes, attended Ohio Wesleyan Seminary in IV

Delaware, Ohio, before she married. In one of her letters she described her "old maid" teacher, showing that the stereotype had already been established:

Miss Jacobs and Mr. Nye » . . have -determined to unite themselves in the holy bonds, or as my old teacher, Miss Baskerville says, are about to leap into the well of matrimony from which there is no escape. Miss B is an old maid-of uncertain age, though considerably past sixty, so we may allow her to speak in no very flattering terms of the act. She is emphatically a Man- 'hater. I have received much good advice from her, though this morning she advised me to catch some nice young Chillicothean, in order to settle her. . , .1

The stereotypical "female teacher," besides giving good advice and being a "man hater," was self denying, often accepting little pay for her teaching. One of the reasons for the acceptance of female teachers into the schools was economic; they worked for less money (and with more dedi­ cation) than men teachers did. This study will show how the economic argument was connected with the Christian philosophy of self-denial in-the encouragement of the growth of the profession of "female teacher." Self-denial was a Christian virtue much touted by clergy­ men and by such pioneers as Mary Lyon, Emma Willard, and

Catharine Beecher, and the female teacher was a very noble and self-denying person. By 1878, such accolades as the following, about the great value of having female teachers, were common. The following is from thé minutes of the

■^Lucy Webb Hayes, "Letter to-R," 5 Sep 1851. In Rutherford B. Hayes Library, Fremont, Ohio. V

Cincinnati Trustees of the Common Schools:

To say nothing of their influence in control­ ling the waywardness and softening the feelings of their pupils, the power that women of intellect and high moral principle exert over the young can hardly be estimated. It is not merely in the formation of a correct taste but in the higher power of giving tone to the moral sentiments, that we regard the female teacher as indispensable to the healthy vigor and permanent success of our school system. It is to the self-denying efforts of the estimable ladies who compose our excellent corps of instructors that we attribute a large share of the prosperity and h£gh standing of our schools.2

In order to show the development of the profession of "female teacher," it was necessary to begin with the general philosophy for educating women, and to proceed to the specific curricula they studied. Many primary materials were used, and the speakers have been permitted to speak for themselves. Part of the purpose of this study has been to allow the reader to get a first-hand taste and feel for the lives of these people, both the pioneers such as Emma Willard, Catharine Beecher, and Mary Lyon, as well as the students in the schools they influenced.

Chapter I deals with the philosophy for educating women at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Chapter II focuses on three educational reformers who were instrumental in estab­ lishing teaching as a "women's profession"—-Emma

o "Minutes," Cincinnati Trustees of Common Schools, 1878 In Cincinnati Historical Society Archives. vx

Willard, Catharine Beecher, and Mary Lyon. Chapter III. narrows the focus to Ohio, with a discussion of Ohio school legislation and its influence on the development of private schools. Chapter IV narrows the range even further, with a discussion of two Mary Lyon institutions in Ohio—Western Female Seminary in Oxford, and Lake

Erie Female Seminary in Painesville, This chapter is organized so not to be repetitive, since the two insti­ tutions had somewhat parallel histories, with the early history of Western Female Seminary being discussed, and the later history of Lake Erie Seminary following. Chap­ ter V. shows other seminaries in Ohio, most notably those in Granville and in Steubenville, with an emphasis on their clientele and curricula. The Appendices contain copies of the types of materials available, to'■the’. :.research-i er poking in archives trying to find out what has been saved for a hundred and more years—catalogs, letters, announcemen ts. During the course of this research, the researcher en­ countered many helpful and friendly people and she thanks them here: the archivists at the Ohio Historical Society, at the Cincinnati Historical Society, at the Miami University

Libraries, at the Lake County Historical Society, at the

Great Lakes Research Center, at the Toledo Public Library, at the Rutherford B. Hayes Museum, at the Lake Erie College library, at the Denison University Library, at the Bowling Vil

Green State University inter-library loan office, which found, from obscure libraries, obscure addresses and books and pamphlets.

A special thanks goes to thé unnamed descendants of these ladies, who donated their letters and papers and scrapbooks and memorabilia to the historical societies in hopes that they would be of value, as they have been.

Bowling Green, Ohio 1977 I

CHAPTER I. THE PHILOSOPHY FOR THE EDUCATION

OF WOMEN IN AMERICA IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH

AND EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURIES

The Philosopher complains of their levity and giddiness. The man of sentiment inveighs against the frivolousness of their-taste and the frothi­ ness of their conversation. He who courts their society from motives of fashion, and makes it a system to say every thing but 'tr'uth, pronounces them greedy of flattery in the extreme, and capable of swallowing that undeserved praise, which is the severest satire in disguise. The scholar is disgusted with their ignorance and insipidity, the lover with their coquetry, cap­ rices and inconstancy in the tender connections, and he, who seeks them with the most honorable views, for the companions of his life, is ter­ rified with the prospect of that fondness for gaiety, which would sacrifice every emotion of the heart to splendour and parade, and instead of making his retirement a Paradise, threatens to convert it into a dreary wilderness of vex­ ation and remorse. From all quarters they have been attacked; and whilst their form is confessed to be enchanting, they are treated, by the bulk of men, as fit for little else but some domes- tick drudgeries, or some indelicate enjoyments.

The Rev. John Bennett in writing this description, in 1795, was defining a group of people regarded with a mix­ ture of contempt and of fondness: they had levity and gid­ diness, frivolousness and frothiness; they were greedy &>r

1 John Bennett, Rev., Strictures on Female' Education (1795; rpt. New York: Source Book Press, 1971), pp. 16-17. 2

flattery; they were ignorant and insipid,' coquettish, cap­

ricious, and inconstant; they were fond of gaiety, yet vex-

acious and remorseful; they had bodies that were pleasant to

look at and their place was in the home. This group of people was, of course, women, and the problem they presented

to men was the problem of their education.

How women should be educated has always been a topic for discussion, in any age. It has always been taken for granted that the males (at least, the males of superior social class) should receive some formal education, but whether or not the females should—and if so, what kind—has not been taken for granted. What a woman should be educated for, and what kind of an education she should receive, has depended upon the prevalent philosophy as to the true nature of the female. This introductory chapter will concentrate on the

American philosophy for educating women, beginning with that philosophy's roots in Rousseau's ideas. The writer makes the assumption that the American philosophy for educating women has its genesis in the Judeo-Christian ethic.

In 1762, Jean Jacques Rousseau published his Emile, in which he delineated the ideal kind of education for a male baby from birth to adulthood. His ideas met with much, discussion in France and England,, for his naturalistic phil­ osophy posited a type of education different from the prevailing type. His ideas are well known and do not need summary here. 3

Of especial interest here, though, are Rousseau's ideas

about how the ideal mate of his ideal male should be educ­

ated, for Sophie's education produced almost as much discussion

as Emile's did. Sophie was, of course, viewed as existing

for Emile. Rousseau postulated the difference between the

sexes thus: "In everything that does not relate to sex the

woman is as the man: they are alike in organs, needs and

capacities."

He then went on to describe these sex-related differences,

which to him made up bis philosophical woman: "It is. the

part of the .one to be active and strong, and of the other to

be passive and weak. Accept this principle and it follows

in the second place that woman is intended to please men."

He suggested that women please men by their resistance (to

their attentions); by their retreat (from thel'r advances);

and then by their submission (to their charms): "By giving woman the capacity to stimulate desires greater than can be satisfied, nature has made man dependent on woman's good will and constrained him to seek to please her as a condition

of her submission." He thought that if women were to be educated

in the same way as men were, they would be mas-culinized: " . . .

the more they resemble men the less will be their power over men, and the greater their own subjection." Therefore, Rous­

seau suggested, "the special functions of women, their inclin­

ations and their duties, combine to suggest the kind of education

they require." 4

With this philosophy about the nature of women, it is not surprising that Rousseau advocated that the kind of education women should have . . must be wholly directed to their relations to men." Women had as their whole life and being,

To give them pleasure, to-be useful to them, to win their love and esteem, to train them in their childhood, to care for them when they grow up, to give them counsel and consolation, to make life sweet and agreeable for them: these are the tasks of women in all times for which they should be trained from childhood.^

He then went on to detail how these should be accomplished.

Rousseau's ideas had a great influence. His concept of the female nature and of the way women should be educated was merely a reflection of the attitudes popularly held in eighteenth century France; few people disputed that women were, indeed, to be educated, if at all, to serve men. It should also be noted that France had a highly stratified society in which men were born to their class and in which the only way women could rise above their class was through marriage. This was rare, however; and men could not rise above their class at all. England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth cen­ turies was a place of rigid social stratification, like France. Even after the French Revolution, things didn't change much. In England, education for women was one way for a family to achieve social mobility, so there were a surfeit

2Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, ed,. William Boyd (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), pp. 130-135. 5

of young ladies' boarding schools in all price ranges, where a crass girl could be educated to be a real lady, and thus, her family hoped, to: capture a husband from a higher class, thereby improving her family's, as well as her own lot.. Petei J. Miller suggested that "unquestionably thé most-important reason for the popularity of the schools was the opportunity they offered for social advancement through marriage."3 Miller said that without a fancy education, with "the knowledge, graces', manners, accomplishments and female artifices" that a boarding school provided, a girl marrying out of her class would have been almost impossible.

Jane Austen's Emma describes such hopes for social mobility.

Social critics of thé day attacked the existence of the schools; Miller quoted a Miss Hatfield writing in 1803, as complaining that thé lower orders of society were "overleap­ ing the bounds by which they ought to be limited, and encroach­ ing upon certain branches of education, belonging exclusively to ladies of rank and fortune.'"*4 So it can be seen that one aspect of the philosophy for educating women was that educ­ ation would prepare them to rise above their stations, and to make something more of themselves than their birth status decreed. This mobility would, of course, come through mar­ riage to someone of a higher class; therefore this idea is a continuation of the belief that a woman's utility was in her relationship .to -a. man, her husband.

Speter John Miller, "Women's Education, 'Self—Improvement' and-Sbcial.Mobility—A'..Late Eighteenth Century Debate," History of Education Quarterly, (Fall, 1971), 306.

4rbid. , 309. 6

Most people, women, included, accepted this philosophy

unquestioningly; few wondered whether woman's nature was

indeed nurturing and domestic. One person who did question this belief, though, was Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote in

A' Vi'ddicatlon of the 'RighTts "of Women a reaction to Rousseau

and his followers, commenting that the women of the time

have had their "strength and usefulness" misrepresented and

"sacrificed to beauty":

One cause of this barren blooming I attribute to a false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, consid­ ering females rather as women than human creatures, have been more anxious to make them alluring mis­ tresses than affectionate wives and rational mothers; and the understanding of the sex has been so bubbled by this specious homage, that the civil­ ized women of the present century, with a few ex­ ceptions, are only anxious1 to inspire love, when they ought to cherish a nobler ambition, and by their abilities and virtues exact respect.

Wollstonecraft noted the physical weakness of women raised to be hothouse flowers, and she advocated for women the same "natural" education that Rousseau advocated for men:

Consequently, the most perfect education . .. . is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. In fact, it is a farce to call any being virtuous when virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason. This was Rousseau'’s opinion respecting men: I extend it to women . . . In fact, Wollstonecraft even advocated co-education, not an acceptable idea until late in thé nineteenth century. 7

She also disputed Rousseau's theory that the basic nature

of woman rendered woman docile and sensual:

Rousseau declares that a woman should never, for a moment, feel herself independent, that she should be governed by fear to exercise her ‘natural cunning, and made a coquettish slave in order to render her a more alluring-object of desire, a sweeter companion to man, whenever he chooses to relax himself.. . . , But Rousseau, and most of the male writers who have followed his steps, have warmly inculcated /si_c7 that the whole ten­ dency of female education ought to be directed to the one point:—to render them pleasing. Let me reason with the supporters of this opinion . . .

Wollstonecraft then went on to argue for equal educational experiences for both sexes, because virtue could only be

achieved through enlightenment:

Liberty is the mother of virtue. . women, considered not only as moral, but rational creatures, ought to endeavour to acquire human virtues (or perfections by the same means as men, instead of being educated like a fanciful kind of half being . . ."5

Radical as Mary Wollstonecraft's views were considered

for the times, she was still a creature of her time in that

she believed that the purpose of educating women should be

to make them better wives and mothers, and also, in the event of their widowhood, to prepare them so they would be better able to manage the affairs of their husbands. It

should also be noted that Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas had

little influence on the society, though she was a respected

editor at the time she wrote Vindication.■

§Mary Wollstonecraft/ A' ■ :Viìjdi:ba;ti'oh.. of 'thé.'RiJgbts of Women, in Alice Rossi,' The Eetóini&'t Pap'ers : Frotri- A'daJms' to De BeauVoir (New York: Columbia University Press, 1973),pp.. 40-55. 8

Of more pertinence to this study are the works of another

Englishwoman, Hannah More. While Mary Wollstonecraft's works

have assumed more popularity among today’s feminists, Hannah

More's works were more widely read in her time. Hannah

More was a dramatist, novelist, poet, essayist, and Christian

tract-writer of great fame. She hobnobbed with the likes of

Pepys and Samuel Johnson in London, before she went back to

the .country, to work among the poor, and to write evangelical works. Her collected works fill eight volumes, which were

published in 1835, two years after her death at the age of

89. Her novel,' Coelebs in Search -Of A Wife, published in

1809, went through twelve editions in a year; 30,000 copies were sold in America.®

Her Strictures- On The' 'Mddebh Syst'emi of- Female Education

(1799), which was an elaboration on her "Thoughts of The

Cultivation of the Heart and Temper In The Education of

Daughters," in her Essays' Oh Various' Subjects (1785) went

through thirteen editions and sold nineteen thousand copies.

Strictures was greeted with great approval by the reading public: Richard Cecil considered it "one of the most perfect works in all its parts that any century or any country has produced,"7 and the Bishop of London recommended it to all

6 Mary Alden Hopkins,' Hannah- -Moire' And Her- Circle (New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1947), p. 223. ^A.M.G. Jones, Hannah :More (Cambridge: The University Press, 1952), p. 119. 9

the clergy in his diocese, as

... a work which presents to the reader such a fund of good sense, of wholesome counsel and sagacious observation, a knowledge of the world and of the female heart, and of high-tone morality and genuine Christian piety, and all this enlivened by such brilliancy of wit, such richness of imagery, such varied felicity of allusion ... as are not , . , easily to be found . . . in any other work in the English language.8 *

The thesis of' Stri-dt-hibs- :Orf The Modern System of Female

Education was that the modern system concentrated too much on

womanly accomplishments of an ephemeral nature, and that an

education should prepare a woman for the time when she must

"lay down beauty," for the time when she no longer excited

admiration, when she must have resources to be able to turn

into her own mind for sustenance and comfort. More said,

"... one of the great objects of education is the forming

of habits," such as humility, sobriety, meekness, attention,

application, and industry. She berated the current system,

which allowed girls to read frivolous novels that didn't

have a Christian moral.9

She firmly believed that women's minds were different from men's minds, and that the purpose of female education

should be to train the inferior female mind so that women could appropriately function within their God-ordained sphere

She said, "We have heard of many female wits, but never of one female , logician—'of many admirable writers of memoirs,

8Jones, p. 20.

... -...... ^Hannah More, ■■'S't-^i-0tynesk Gh .Thé- Mbdérn Systern.of' Female Educatibn, in The- Works' of Hannah: llore, VII (1835) , 20,6 7. 10

but never of one chronologer," Men and women are different, she said, and "it appears that the mind in each sex has some natural kind of bias, which constitutes a distinction of character "; and not preserving this dis­ tinction would lead to unhappiness for both sexes.She, along with other writers, called for a Useful education:

Merely ornamental accomplishments will but indifferently qualify a woman to perform the duties of life, though it is highly proper she should possess them,- in -order to furnish the amusements of it. . . «A lady may speak a little French and Italian, repeat a-few passages in a theatrical tone, play and sing, have her dressing-room hung with her own drawings, and her person covered with her own tambour-work, and may, notwithstanding, have been very badly educated. . . . though well-bred young women should learn to dance, sing, recite, and draw, the end of a good education-is not that they may become dancers, singers, players, or pain­ ters; its real object is to make them good daughters, good wives, good mistresses, good members of society, and good Christians.10 1

Their education should be practical, for "their knowledge is not often, like the learnings of men,, to be reproduced in some literary composition, nor ever in any learned profession; but it is to come out of conduct." A woman’s level of education and quality of education was to be shown in her good manners and womanly ways. She should study in order to act as a woman should, and not in order to conduct debates. The books she read should be read not so she could talk about them, but to bring improvement in her habits and

l0Hannah More, "Thoughts On The Education of Our Daughters," in' The Works' 'of Hah'rtafr More,' I (1835), p. 13. iilbid. . pp. 372-3. 11

truth to her principles: "The great uses of study to a woman are to enable her to regulate her own mind, and to be instrumental to the good of others."12 Besides, said More, even if a womandid exhibit genius ancb mental, accomplishments like a man’s, she would meet with disfavor, and would not get her due recognition, simply because she was' a woman:

But there is one human consideration which could perhaps more effectually tend to damp in an as­ piring woman the ardors of literary vanity. . . which is, in thé judgment of her performances, she will have to encounter the mortifying cir­ cumstance of having her sex always taken into ac­ count; and her highest exertions will probably be received with the qualified approbation that- it is really ektrabidihary for a woman. Men of learning . . . are inclined to consider even the happier performances of the other sex as the spontaneous productions of a fruitful but shallow soil; and to give them the same kind of praise which we bestow on certain salads . . . not in­ deed as being worth much in themselves, but because of the lightness of the earth and à happy knack of the gardener, these indifferent cresses spring up in a night, and therefore we are ready to wonder they are no worse.13

One wonders if Hannah More was speaking from experience. But even if she was, it seems that she accepted the rebukes of the "men of learning," as her Christian due; as a woman she should expect not to have her intellect taken seriously. More vowed never to read Wollstonecraft’s Vindication because of its radical reputation,and she wrote, in Strictures

^2S t rTct:urbs, p. 13B.

13Ibid. , p. 141. 14Jones, p. 115. 12

this: "... the imposing term of rights has been produced to sanctify the claim of our female pretenders . . ." who

didn't comprehend that it was not in the true interests of women to encourage them to assume or to aspire to stations

outside of their own, domestic, sphere,

. . . to fill with fantastic dignity a loftier but less appropriate niche. ... Each sex has its proper excellences ... Is it not desirable to be the lawful possessors of a lesser domestic territory rather than the turbulent usurpers of a wider foreign empire? ... to be the best thing of one's own kind, rather than an inferior thing, even if it were of a higher kind? to be excellent women, rather than indifferent men?15

One of More's friends, Mary Berry, was amused to dis­

cover, however, that Hannah More and Mary Wollstonecraft were in unexpected agreement "on all the great points of the education of women." Mary Berry wrote in a letter, "Hannah

More, will I daresay be very angry when she hears this. . v

In fact, the essential difference between what More said and - what Wollstonecraft said seems to be More's insistence on a

Christian, or religious, consciousness, that would pervade what women studied. Women were innately different from men because St. Paul said they were, and that innate difference implied a subordinate position for women; therefore, they should receive a different type of education so that they could fill their subordinate positions with gracefulness

15Strictures, 145. See also Marabel Morgan, The Total Woman, New York: Pocket Books, 1973; and Helen Andelin, Fascinating Womanhood, New York: Bantam, 1974. Both use the s ame arguments and beliefs as Hannah More. 16Jones, 115. 13

and "to the glory of God" and man. This Christian conscious­

ness had a great influence on the feminization of the teaching profession in America, as this study will show.

As a result of the proliferation of boarding schools, in England and among the privileged classes in America,

there was a high degree of literacy among women by the end

of the eighteenth century. Peter Miller commented that even

though there was a great emphasis in these schools on "ac­

complishments," such as sewing, music, and dancing, "it

seems apparent that, by the time her formal education was

completed, the 'young lady' was fully literate. "I? This in­

crease in literacy led to a proliferation of periodicals for women, among theiri The New Lady 1 s Magazine , The Lady ' s Maga­

zine , and the Enterfaihihg CoMpa/P-ion For The' Fair Sex in

Britain, with similar periodicals in America. What women read reinforced the belief that their nature

was to nourish and nurture, that their duty was to provide

a moral force in society and in child-rearing, and that God

had ordained this to be so. These periodicals contained

material similar to that contained in so-called "women's"

magazines^-serialized novels, fashion news, household hints.

Miller noted that the periodicals seemed to be influenced by "the new 'sentimentalist' image of woman and her world

17 Peter John Miller, "Eighteenth Century Periodicals for Women," History 'of Education Quarterly, 13 (Fall, 1971), 2 79 For an excellent treatment of the influence of women's period­ icals, especially Go dey 1 s Lady's: Book, on female education, see Eleanor Thompson,' EdUdaf-lon- for Lhdies;, 1830-1860 (New York: King's Crown Press, 1947), pp 24ff. 14

which was created in the late eighteenth century and has

remained intact to the present day,"18 Perhaps it would not be too strong a comment on the influence of popular

culture to say that the increase in literacy contributed to keeping women's education stereotypically "womanly," by reinforcing, through the popular magazines, what women had been taught in church and at home about themselves, through­ out the centuries. The new colony on the continent of North America retained this idea of the true nature of women. The Puritans taught their women to read, mainly so they could read the Bible and keep the accounts, but the domain of women remained hearth- bound, subordinate to and complementary with men. However, life in the new colonies dictated that women assume wider roles, and a modification in this traditional philosophy for educating women occurred. The new colony did not also have such a history of class consciousness as in Europe.

Nevertheless, the debate continued on both sides of the Atlantic over whether women did indeed have intellects, and, if it could be proven that they did, whether women could aspire to having intellects equal to those of men, Thomas Woody, in his classic two-volume study, A History of Women1s

48Miller, "Periodicals," 283. 15

Education, in the United St at es, recounted this great debate. On the one hand were those, such as this unnamed author, who argued, "The great argument against the exist­ ence of intellect in women is, that it does not exist," On the other hand were those who took a less patronizing but hardly more liberal view: that it was necessary to educate women (whether or not they had equal intellects was not important; of course they didn't) in order that they be better wives and mothers, more superior moral forces in their families lives.I® There were strong social sanctions against educated women:

. . . the idea prevailed that an educated wife was, after a fashion, an infringement upon the domain of man; that the wife of Gov. Winthrop lost her mind because she left her proper domes­ tic duties and indulged herself in literary pur­ suits; and that, at any rate, to seek culture of the mind was to transgress the law of God. who had given her a home and fixed her in it. ®

The discussion came to be called the "querrelle des femmes, and it went on for at least a hundred years. One

American whose writings had a great folk impact as well as a great literary and political impact, Benjamin Franklin, in Reflections on Courtship and Marriage, published even before Rousseau's Emile (1746), argued

. . . for the creation of a system of female education which would make women rationally convinced that their true happiness lay in marriage and would

19 Thomas Woody, A History of Women's Education In The United States , I (New~YorK:' The Scien ce Press ,1929), 88,"..

20Ibid. , 93. 16

develop in the female mind only those traits and tendencies likely to find satisfaction in domestic life.21

Another innatist2?/ of considerable influence in the

United States was a Bostonian, the Rev. James Fordyce, whose

Sermons To Young Women (1787) and' The Character and Conduct

of The Female Sex:- The Advantages To Be Derived By Young

Men From The1- SoCieiy of Virtuous- Women (1781) were widely

circulated. Fordyce was not a misogynist but an apologist for women, and he did not countenance the comments of some

men who found women vacuous and dumb: "The truth is," he

said, "that neither the most frivolous, nor the most violent,

deciaimers against women can endure the thought of being

neglected even by the meanesi of them." He said that men

and women "of enlightened understanding and polite behavior"

are alike everywhere, as they are unlike "the vulgar of whatever rank."2123 22

21 in Jill K. Conway, "Perspectives on the History of Women's Education in the United States," HEQ,16 (Spring, 1974), 22 ..... The term inhat'ist is used by Marlow and Davis, in a re-- cent study of various American views of the true nature of woman H. Carleton Marlow and Harrison M„ Davis. ’ The American Search &>r Woman, Santa Barbara: Clio Books, 1976. Chapter 2, "The Inferior but Fascinating Woman," pp. 17-1Q5, describesinnatists as those who believe woman are innately subordinate. Others have used the term an 11. f emin 1st s, because innatists were often opponents of feminism, and still are. The term innatist will be used here, because it seems more precisely to describe the philosophy that informed the establishment of female semin­ aries and the growth of the teaching profession in America. 23James Fordyce, The- Character and Conduct of the Female Sex (Philadelphia: Thomas and Andrews, 1781), p,H>. 17

Fordyce also found that the education in the boarding schools was unsatisfactory, especially with regard to what he

called the teaching of Domestic Accomplishments, such as

. . . the learning to write a fair hand and so cast accounts with facility; the looking into the dispositions and practices of servants; the informing yourselves about the prices of everything needed for a family, together with the best methods, and properest seasons, for providing it; the observing whatever.relates to cleanliness and neatness in the furniture and apartments of a house; the understanding how to deal with domestics, tradesmen?,, and others; above all, the obtaining every possible light with relation to the nursing, management, and education of children—These and such like articles will, if I mistake not, furnish ample scope for the exercise of your faculties.24

In addition to domestic accomplishments, he advocated that a girl’s education should provide her with some Elegant

Accomplishments, also. Needlework was' one of these, for it had the approval of the writers of the Scriptures, but

Fordyce suggested that girls work "brighter and freer pat­ terns" than they usually worked, so that their eyesight would not be strained. Drawing "pretty works" was another

Elegant Accomplishment he saw as necessary, as well as some skill in music.Other writers were beginning to doubt the value of these traditional "boarding school" subjects for study, but Fordyce would have kept them. His prescription for the female Intellectual Accomplish ments,. in.Sermon VII, was informed by his assurance that "to

24James Fordyce, Sermons' To Young Women (Philadelphia, 1787), 160-61. ------” ~

25i’ordyce, Sermons, 174. 18

men and women the Almighty has allotted very different pro­ vinces. . # "26 Go(j ordained that women were

. magnificently intended to he the mothers and formers of a rational and immortal offspring, to be a kind of softer companions, who by name­ less delightful sympathies and endearments, might improve our pleasures and soothe our pains; to lighten the load of domestic cares, and by that means leave us more at leisure for rougher labors, or severer studies; and finally, to spread a certain grace and embel­ lishment over human life, , ,27

That did not mean that women should not have some sort of

traditional (masculine) curriculum in their schooling, however, for one of the most important of thé Elegant Accomplishments, to Fordyce, was the art of conversation, and no man would wish to converse with a woman who knows nothing. However, there was such a thing as enough accomplishment :

For my part, I could heartily wish to see the female world more accomplished than it is; but I do not wish to see it abound with metaphysi­ cians, historians, speculative philosophers,or Learned Ladies of any kind, I should be afraid, lest the sex should lose in softness what they gained in force . . . I think at this moment of one lady, in particular, who to an extensive knowledge in philosophy and languages ancient and modern, with some portion of poetical genius, and a considerable degree of literary fame, has the sense and worth to join every domestic quality that can adorn a woman in her situation.2* °*

Tn other words, an educated and accomplished woman should be educated and accomplished enough not to show her

26Fordyce, 'ChaWbhei* ahd Conduct, 14-15.

2 7F or dy ce , Sermons, 144.

28Ibid. , 139. 19

knowledge in public conversation, for Fordyce was certain that "men are frighted at Female pedantry," and that "a woman that affects to dispute, to decide, to dictate on every sub­ ject," who "watches or makes opportunities of throwing out scraps of literature, or shreds of philosophy," showed a "boundless intemperance of tongue,"29

He had recommendations for the types of books she shouldi-study : history in the form of biography and memoirs; geography in the form of travel and voyage accounts; poetry in which "a strict regard is paid to decorum"; a small number of novels and romances, but only those in which there was a moral—where description was tied to precept. She should dabble in astronomy and have some knowledge of natural and moral philosophy.30 These would give her the Intellectual Accomplishments necessary.

Fordyce said similar things in Character and Con duct, to the young men, about the pleasures of keeping company with virtuous and accomplished young women as opposed to more frivolous, or even immoral, young women. Page Smith has pointed out., in Daughters of thé Promised Land, that by the end of the eighteenth century in America, mothers and daughters had been put on such a pedestal, "it was appar­ ently not uncommon for men who could afford to to have mistresses and for those who could not to have recourse to

29Fordyce,' Se-rimo-ns-,' p, 24,

SOibid. pp. 25ff. 20

prostitutes," for, in repressing and even denying that women

had a sexual nature, the society encouraged a polarity in "having diminished the role and often the character of

women to that of fragile, delicate creatures." The world

of women became divided into bad girls and good girls. "The

bad girls represented sexuality, the good girls purity of

mind and spirit, unclouded by the shadow of any gross or vulgar thought."®^

Fordyce, called the good girls the "handmaids of Wisdom,"

and the bad girls, the "handmaids of Folly," and warned the young men that "the company of artful women is always dan­

gerous and often fatal." He blamed "the swarms of foolish

and of worthless novels," for this decline in morality, as well as the fact that "female education is too often directly

calculated to feed and flatter female vanity." These combined to destroy, in young, lively girls, "all sober reflection,

every rational study, with every virtuous principle; and to

introduce in their room" such demons as "impure ideas, extra­

vagant desires, and notions of happiness alike fantastical and

false." Not only should the young men not spend themselves

in wasteful dissipation with prostitutes, but they should

also stay away from those selfish and forward, vulgar and uninstructed, artful and cunning, silly girls. He went on to warn his female audience about the dangers of being

disagreeable:

31 Page Smith, Daughters of the Promised Land (Little, Brown, 1970), pp. 68-73. 21

Ah, my female friends, did you in particular, did you but know, how deeply the male heart is enchanted with those women, whose conversation presents the picture of simplicity and grace, of ease and polite­ ness, in a group; the spirit of whose conversation is a compound of sprightliness, sense, and modesty; who seldom dispute, and never wrangle; who listen with attention to the opinions’ of others, and de­ liver their own with diffidence, more desirous of receiving than of giving conviction, more ambitious to please than to conquer! Such, believe me, are sure of conquering in the noblest sense.

Paint to yourselves, by way of contrast, a woman who talks loud, contradicts bluntly, looks sullen, contests pertinaciously, and instead of yielding challenges submission. How different a figure! How forbidding an object! Feminality is gone: Nature is transformed: Whatever makes the male char­ acter most rough, and turbulent, is taken up by a creature, that was designed to tranquilize and smooth it. In place of a ''cftarmer, charming never so wifely," what do we behold? A clamorous, obstinate contentious being, universally disgusting and odious; fit only to be chased from the haunts of humanity . . . he sought a partner and he..found a plague: he expected a soft, affectionate, sympathizing friend, and met with a bosom foe . . , But 0 my brothers, how delightfully is the heart vanquished and captivated, when an unpretending female appears before it, with Reason, Fancy, and Virtue in her train/ /wi th/ the loveness' /sic/ of smiles and sympathies, of placid address, -and gentle insinuation . , .

. . . why the most accomplished of our sex are fond of conversing with the most agreeable of the other is because with them they are relieved from that rival- ship of genius, and those convictions of opinion, which too often impair, not to lay poison, the enjoy­ ments of male society. Sentiment, imagination, variety, complacence, and all the pretty playfulness of minds that only wish to please and to be pleased . . .33

CO ° This is, to this researcher, one of the most clear and eloquent phrasings of the innatist philosophy. Note the use of the words "please," "nature," "modesty," "nature," "creature," "submission," and "designed". 33 Fordyce, Character and Conduct, pp. 16ff. 22

Such rhetoric from the mouth of a respected preacher

(and, as Smith pointed out, "the clergy were the most sought- after group of males in America,"34) was hound to have an

influence on readers and hearers, both male and female, No woman, within earshot would want to be considered a loud

talker, a blunt contradictor, a pertinacious contestor; nor

accused of losing her femininity because she is educated;

nor of being clamorous and obstinate, contentious, disgustful,

and odious. The modest woman, modestly educated, who demon­

strated sprightliness, diffidence, and decorum, who pleased

and teased and gently insinuated with playfulness of mind

and manner, would seem to have been then, as now, infinitely

more attractive.. No man within earshot would choose the

former over the later either, if preachers like Fordyce had

their words taken heed of. This raised another interesting

question that was to be debated in the late eighteenth and

full nineteenth century: How much education was enough education for a woman?35 Obviously' she should have some edu­

cation, but when should she stop? Is a little learning as dangerous for a woman as for a man?

An American, woman writer and magazine poet, Judith

Sargent Murray, who published under the name Constantia, in.. to feel that enough education for a

34Smith,' Premised Land, p. 177. 9C Researchers in the late 1970s have, found that "enough education,” in terms of marriage continuation, is- the acquisition of a bachelor's degree. Women who have-less than, and those who have more than., a bachelor's degree, have higher divorce rates. 23

woman was what was enough for a man.. She related the

plight of women who wanted more learning than was avail­

able to them:

What can she do? to books she may not apply; or if she doth, to those only of the novel kind, lest she merit the appellation of a Tehrhed lady ; and what ideas have been affixed to this term, the observation of many can testify.

Constantia said that the sexes were equal, and that the

so-called dullness and frivolity of females could be

attributed to the females' inferior educations: Now, was she permitted the same instructors as her brother (with an eye however to their par­ ticular departments) for thé employment of a rational mind an ample field would be opened. In astronomy she might- catch a glimpse of the immensity of the Deity, and thence she would form amazing conceptions of the august and supreme Intelligence. In geography she would admire Jehovah in the midst of his benevolence; thus adapting this glove to the various wants and amusements of its inhabitants. In natural philosophy she would adore the infinite majesty of heaven, clothed in condescension; and as she traversed the reptile world, she would hail the goodness of a creating God. A mind, thus filled, would have little room for the trifles with which our sex are, with too much justice, accused of amusing themselves, and they would thus be rendered fit companions for those, who should one day wear them as their crown. . . .36

Here it can be seen that even someone who dared argue for equal education for equal sexes was herself quite conventional by today's standards, for she too propounded the "sphere” argu­ ment of the innatists. In fact, most educational reformers who accomplished the most change in the education of women

Were themselves good Christians, and they never faltered

‘Wi Constantia, "On The Equality of the Sexes,"' Massachusetts Magazine, II (March 1790), 132ff; in Aileen Kraditor, Up From The- Pedestal (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1968), 32-33. 24

in their belief that woman was innately different from man, and that woman had a special sphere in which to op­ erate, as did man.

Another famous innatist was Dr. Benjamin Rush, the man called the Father of American Medicine. (People in all professions had something to say about how women should be educated.) Rush gave his "Thoughts Upon Female Education" in an address delivered on the 28th of July, 1787, at the

Young Ladies’ Academy in Philadelphia. The address was reprinted and distributed. Rush emphasized that the education of girls in America should differ markedly from the education of girls in Great Britain and France. He said that the education of American girls should emphasize the practical, rather than the elegant, and he gave five reasons why this should be so.

(1) People in the United States married earlier than people in Europe, and therefore there was less time for formal education; it followed that the curriculum should be confined to practical, useful subjects. (2) Because of the shortage of people and because of the great amount of work to be done, the women were needed to work alongside their husbands, and to be the "stewards, and guardians of their husbands' property." (3) In the United States, the education of children was left to the women because the men were engaged in their pro­ fessions; educating children was the most important duty of mothers and the mothers themselves must be educated properly 25

in order to educate their children properly. (Perhaps this was an early evidence of the child-centeredness of American

culture.)

(4) The United States was a noble experiment, never before tried, and mothers must be educated in the principles of liberty and government, so they could in turn educate their sons (Rush didn't mention daughters) to be wise voters and good citizens.

(5) In the United States, the servants were less able than those in Europe to take over great responsibilities in the home, and "hence, the ladies are obliged to attend more to the private affairs of their families than ladies . . of the same rank in Great Britain."30

The curriculum Rush proposed in order to fulfill these educational goals contained nine recommendations. In order to be considered well-educated, a girl must be able to per­ form the following tasks:

(1) In order to read, speak, and spell the English language, a study of English grammar was recommended; (2) In order to write "a fair and legible hand," the study of penmanship was recommended; (3) In order to have "some knowledge of figures and book-keeping," skills which were "absolutely necessary to qualify a young lady for the duties which await her in this country," a study of mathematics was recommended;

30Benjamin Rush,' Essays/ 'Lite-rary., Mor'aT,- and Phi lbs op h- ical (Philadelphia: Bradford's, 180*6), "Thoughts Upon Female E'ducation, Accommodated To The Present State of Society, Manners and Government, in the United States of America," pp. 75-6. 26

(4) In order "to qualify her not only for a general intercourse with the world, but to be an agreeable companion for a sensible man," she should have some acquaintance with geography and some instruction in chronology so she could read history, biography, and travels, and a study of the first principles of astronomy, natural philosophy, and chemistry,

"particularly such parts , . ., as are calculated to prevent superst ition. "37

(5) So she could join in singing psalms in church, and

"to sooth the cares of domestic life," Rush recommended the study of vocal music: "The distress and vexation of a hus­ band—the noise of a nursery, and, even, the sorrows that will sometimes intrude into her own bosom, may all be relieved by a song . . Rush also recommended singing from a phy­ sician's point of view, noting that exercising the organs of the breast by singing seemed to prevent consumption and other diseases common to people in this climate;

(6) In order to promote health, and to render the

"figure and motions of the body easy and agreeable," a girl should learn to dance, "an agreeable substitute for the ignoble pleasures of drinking and gaming . . (7) In order to subdue the female passion for reading novels, the reading of history, travels, poetry, and moral essays was recommended; (8) In order to feed the spiritual nature of women, instruction in the Christian religion and in comparative

37One sees Rush the scientist, and eighteenth-century rationalist speaking here. 27

religions was recommended, even though the Bible had lately

been "improperly banned from our schools," Furthermore,

said Rush, . . . the female breast is the natural soil of Christianity, and while our women are taught-.to believe its doctrines, and obey its precepts, the wit of Voltaire, and the stile of Bolingbroke will never be able to destroy its influence upon our citizens. (9) Finally, in order to promote good habits, Rush

urged that strict discipline should be imposed upon the

girls.

Rush was a pragmatist. He argued against the study

of instrumental music by young ladies, because the prices of the instruments, the fees for lessons, the time taken up in practice was "by no means accommodated to the present state of society and manners in America," where women must prepare to work hard at their duties and in building a new country, not in tinkling on a harpsichord.38

Some people believed that educating women would just make them, less manageable, but Rush disagreed:

If men believe that ignorance is favorable to the government of the female sex, they are cer­ tainly deceived; for a weak and ignorant woman will always be governed with the greatest dif­ ficulty. . . . the cultivation of reason in women is alike friendly to the order of nature and to private as well as public happiness. The effects on the society of having educated females would be entirely beneficial, Rush believed. He said that with

38Rush, 76-85. 28

educated women around, men would refrain from speaking double entendres in public, and would refrain from using language that was less than decorous, for fear of being banished from the society of women. Men would work harder at their jobs and would be more patriotic, for fear of losing their wives' approval; children would gain a respect for womanhood, because they would realize what a boon it was to have an educated mother. He noted that behind every great man there was a teaching mother.39 Here again, as with

Fordyce and More, one can see that Rush had no doubts that the meaning of women’s existence came from their relation­ ship to men and children, and even, though he urged that women's education be practically-oriented, he saw that the purpose of educating them was to educate them for work within their sphere.

Noah Webster, the famous lexicographer, also had ideas about how women should be educated. In his occasional prose,

A Collection of Essays' (Boston, 1790), in the essay "On

The Education of Youth in America," he, like Benjamin Rush, differentiated between a showy education and a good education for American girls, emphasizing that their education should not be the same as the education of girls in Paris or London.

Also, like Fordyce, Rush, et al. , Webster believed that it is important to educate women because "the women of America

39Rush, 92-3. 29

(to their honor it is mentioned) are not generally above the care of educating their own children." Therefore, women should be educated, in order to "implant in the tender mind, such sentiments of virtue, propriety and dig­ nity, as are suited to the freedom of our governments, . , "

Also, like the writers mentioned above, Webster asserted that not only because they had the primary responsibility for the education of children,, but also because they were entrusted with forming the manners and morals of the nation, should women be educated. "A fondness for the company and conversation of ladies of character may be considered as a young man's best security against the attractives /"si_c7 of a dissipated life," Webster said,

A good education, according to Noah Webster, in any country, "is that which renders thé ladies correct in their manners, respectable in their families, and agreeable in society." However, any education which raised a woman's hopes that she might marry into a higher social class was a failed education, he warned:

Nothing can be more fatal to domestic happiness in America, than a taste for copying the luxurious manners and arguments of England and France. Dan­ cing, drawing and music, are principal articles of education in those kingdoms; therefore every girl in America must pass two or three years in a boarding school, though her father cannot give her a farthing when she marries. This ambition to educate females above their fortunes pervades every part of America. Hence the disproportion between the well bred females and the males in our large towns. A mechanic or shopkeeper in town, or a farmer in the country, whose sons get their living by their father's employments, 30

will send their daughters to a-boarding school, where their ideas are elevated, and their views carried above a connexion with, men in those oc­ cupations.. Such an education, without fortune or beauty, may possibly please a girl of fifteen, but must prove her greatest misfortune. This fatal mistake is illustrated in every large town in America, •• In the country, the number of. males and females, is nearly equal; but in towns, the number of genteelly bred women is greater. , . , in some towns . . . /the ratio is7 three to one , . , Fortunes are scarce in America . .. . thus a wrong education, and a taste for pleasures which our fortunes will not enable us to enjoy, often plunge the Americans into distress, or at least prevent early marriages.40

In order that these egalitarian and populist views be upheld, Webster recommended a practical, useful curriculum for young ladies. First, they must learn to speak and write

English ".with purity and elegance." The study of French, common in boarding schools, was merely a luxury, according to Webster, and was not at all necessary. Second, they must have some knowledge of arithmetic. Third, they must study geography. Fourth, "Belles letters /sic7 learning seems to correspond with the dispositions of most females,

A taste for Poetry and fine writing should be cultivated,"

Fifth, a course of reading of those writers who wrote about- human life and manners, and of periodicals such as the Spec­ tator should be undertaken. Webster, like the others, ad­ vised against the reading of novels: "Young people, especially females, should not see the vicious part of mankind." Sixth,

Webster advised that such traditional female studies as

40Noah Webster,' A :Cpl?lédt:i‘on; of Essays' (Boston, 1790), "On The Education of Youth in America," pp. 29-30. 31

music, drawing, and dancing be given a subordinate rank

in the curriculum, for "no man ever marries a woman for

her performance on a harpsichord, or her figure in a

minuet," thus emphasizing that a woman's merit came not

from social accomplishments and the flattery she received,

but from her domestic accomplishments: ". . . real honor

and permanent esteem, are always secured by those who pre- 41 side over their own families with dignity."

Enos Hitchcock, a clergyman, chose a different form

than the essay or the speaker's rostrum to make the point

about the ideal type of female education. He wrote a "memoir

of a family who raised their children properly, especially

their female child, Rozella. This novel-like pxee^, a series of letters, reminiscences, and prescriptions for the proper kind of domestic education, called Memoirs of the

Bloomsgrove Fatal ly, shows the ideal, Mrs. Bloomsgrove, in a letter to her daughter, wrote: "The great object of female education, through the whole course of it, should be to qualify females for the important station they are to hold in domestic society," that station being to be a useful wife. "Domestic concerns are the province of the wife," she said. But women also had another important job—to be the educators of their children: "To the mother, nature has committed a most important trust; the education of girls

^Webster, p. 41. 32

wholly, and of boys, until they become proper subjects for the regular discipline of the father, , ."42

This memoir is interesting because it concludes with a rhapsodic catalogue, several pages long, of the virtues of the ideal woman, educated properly-, Rozella, the daughter, as the book ends, was ready to become a wife herself. Among her virtues were these: a respect for her parents, a love of virtue, kindness to those less fortunate, skill in con­ cealing her superior understanding in front of men and servants, politeness without ceremony, and lack of a gossipy tongue. Rozella also knew how to shop thriftily, how to preside over a table, how to be kind but firm to servants, how to receive the benediction of poor people. She had sweetness of face, which meant that she looked interesting, but not dazzling. She was skilled in the art of sprightly and sentimental conversation, she didn't talk too long when she was playing cards, and she showed a modest reserve with st, rangers. 43

This, then, was the state of the philosophy for educating women at the end of the eighteenth century, twenty-five years after the nation was founded. The subject of women's educa­ tion was debated by popular writers as well as serious essay­ ists, by preachers and doctors, politicians, and scholars? Most reacted against the traditional boarding-school education.

There was a call for an education that was useful and practical

42 ...... Enos Hitchcock,' Memoirs'.-’of the'- Blbomsgro've' Family (Bos­ ton: Thomas and Andrews,' T79 Q ), p, 25. 43ibid. . pp. 293 ff. 33

an education that would prepare girls to be wives and mothers, workers in the home. There was a concern that women had duties to their society and country also, and

that duty was to be good teachers of their children. There was a question as to how much, education was enough education

for a woman. All of these concerns would be echoed in the nineteenth century, as the nation moved westward and as

the population increased, as the sphere of women remained bound by domesticity, still a sphere, but a broader one, extending their responsibilities outside of the home into the schoolroom. CHAPTER II.

THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMINARY MOVEMENT:

EMMA WILLARD, CATHARINE BEECHER, AND MARY LYON

As industrialization and westward expansion increased, one would suppose that the need for educated women would increase, for their labor would be needed in the creation of a nation. This, indeed, is what did happen, as the utopianist Fanny Wright noted in 182Q:

. . . in no particular is the liberal philosophy of the Americans more honorably evinced than in the place which is awarded to women. The pre­ judices still to be found in Europe, though now indeed somewhat antiquated, which would confine the female library to romances, poetry, and belles-lettres, and female conversation to the last new publication, new bonnet, and pas seul, are entirely unknown here /in the U.'S//. The women are assuming their place as thinking beings, not in despite of the men, but chiefly in consequence of their enlarged views and exertions as fathers and legislators,1 She theorized that the frontier nature of the society con­ tributed to this liberality, in that women's labor was necessary in the pioneer setting. She was also optimistic about the future of education for women, if such education would receive public support: . as their education shall become, more and more, the concern of the state, their char­ acter may aspire in each succeeding generation to a higher standard." Yet Fanny Wright, like Mary Wollstonecraft regarded as a radical, was a creature of her time in that

^Frances Wright, .."Education," in Alice C. Rossi, ed., The Feminist Papers: Fr-gm' '-Adams'- ’-to BQ&uvbir (New York: Columbia Univ. Press , ui9’73y,’ "pp. 103-107. 35

while she advocated equal educational experiences for males and females, she did not believe that men and women were equal. This belief in male/female equality did not arise until the mid twentieth century, Fanny Wright could perhaps be classified as an enlightened innatist, rather than a feminist. She said, for example,

Now, though it is by no means requisite that the American women should emulate thé men in the pursuit of the whale, thé felling of the forest, or the shooting of wild turkeys, they might, with advantage, be taught in early youth to excel in the race, to hit a mark, to swim, and in short to use every exercise which could impart vigor to their frames and independence to their minds.2 So educating women for social and professional equality was, at this time, a radical proposal: while people like Mary

Wollstonecraft and Frances Wright advocated co- and equal education, a concept daring and liberal, they still believed that women were innately different, and in this they were similar to théir less liberal and more influential sisters.

In fact, it was not people like Wollstonecraft and

Wright, but women of a more conservative bent who proposed a new societal role for women, a role compatible with their innate natures, the role of female teacher, who changed the education of women. There arose to prominence in the early nineteenth century, several women who made a daring proposal, that there should be institutions founded whose purpose should be not only to train mothers, but to train teachers. Three of these women were Emma Willard, Catharine Beecher, and

"Wright, in Rossi, p. 107. 36

Mary Lyon. Emma Willard was the first to gain fame as an advocate of teacher training, and Catharine Beecher and

Mary Lyon were to be influential in the setting up of seminaries to train teachers in Ohio and farther west.

Fmmia; Willard

Emma Willard (1787-1870) was an early proponent of the need for educated women in America, She was married, with children, when her husband's finances began to fail. She had taught a school in her town before marriage, and so, in order to help, she opened a school in her own home, in

Middlebury, Vermont, and called Middlebury Female Seminary, in 1814. During the next few years she developed her theories for the education of girls, which she summarized in a Plan which she sent to the governor of New York, Dewitt

Clinton, in 1818. In 1819 she presented the plan to the

New York state legislature, in a request for public funding.

She didn't receive the funding, but she did receive a charter for the Waterford Female Academy, which she opened in the spring, in Waterford, New York, where they had moved. This academy was open for two years, until 1821, when Emma

Willard received offers from the city of Troy, New York, of funding if she would come there and open a seminary. The

Common Council of Troy raised $4,QQQ.QQ in a special tax, and the Troy Female Seminary (which, became so famous world- 37

wide even Lafayette, on a visit to the U,S,, visited it,

and then Emma Willard) ,was established. 3

In her 1819 Address to the Public: Particularly to the

Members of the Legislature of New York, Proposing a Plan For Improving Female Education,4 Emma Willard gave her reasons that education should be available for females as well as males, arguing that the present treatment of girls in their educations was not only a distinct disadvantage for the society, but also unjust to the girls:

How often have we seen a student who, returning from his literary pursuits, finds-a sister, who was his equal in acquirements, while their advantages were equal, of whom he is now ash­ amed. While his youth was devoted to study, and he was furnished with the means, she, with­ out any object of improvement, drudged at home, to assist in the support of the father's family, and perhaps to contribute to her brother's sub­ sistence abroad; and now, a being of a lower order, the rustic innocent wanders and weeps at his neglect. However, she did assure her hearers that she was not an agitator wanting to take women out of their sphere:

I would not be understood to insinuate, that we are not, in particular situations, to yield obedience to the other sex. , , . Neither

3 Louise Schutz Boas, Women's Education Begins: The Rise of the Women's Colleges (Wheaton Col1ege (Norton, 1935), p7 lOT“fT7T a Iso - A‘ lma ~ Lu t z, ‘ Emma Willard: Daughter of Demo­ cracy (Cambridge, Mass.: The Riversade Press, T92977 ch r on o- logy, N.p. ^Published in Middlebury, Vt., 1819, This Plan is rarely reprinted in its entirety, though it is sometimes excerpted. The-entire Plan is-in the Harper & Brothers' Distaff Series. Anna C. Bracket’!; ( ed. , Woman And The Higher Edu­ cation (New York: Harper &. Brothers, .1893), pp, 1- 46, 38

would I be understood to mean, that our sex should not seek to make themselves agreeable to the other.

But it did not seem right, she said, that "the taste of men" should be the touchstone for the formation of a woman's personality:

A system of education, which leads one class of human beings to consider the.approbation of another, as their highest object, teaches, that the rule of their conduct should be the will of beings imperfect and erring like them­ selves, rather than the will of God, which is the only standard of perfection,

Willard then reasoned that it was the duty of the legis­

lature to look into the future and to insure the prosperity

of thé nation; and she asserted, as so many others had and would, that it was the mothers of the nation who formed the character of the nation, and that therefore thé mothers

and future mothers should be provided with a good education,

Willard's Pian was presented, she said, because the education of girls had in the past been left to "the mercy

of private adventurers" While male education was flourish­ ing, because of the attention and support given by the

legislators, female education did not receive any attention and support. She also was convinced that females should be

educated by females: "Feminine delicacy requires that girls should be educated chiefly by their own sex, » ," Most tea­

chers at this time were men. In the section of the Plan entitled "Benefits of

Female Seminaries," Willard differentiated between a boarding school education as it was known, and a seminary education as 39

it could be. When, a father in the past had sent his daughter to a boarding school, he imagined that her potential

would be developed and that thé school would return her to

him excellent in both mind and manners. Instead, he often

found out that she returned "improved in fashionable airs

and expert in manufacturing fashionable toys"; and he found

"he sought in vain for that refined and fertile mind which

hé had fondly- expected." He realized then that his daugh­

ter had received an inferior education in the boarding school,

and he was in a quandary- wondering whether he should send his

other daughters to a boarding school, whether he should pro­

vide them with a male instructor (Willard thought not, because

"thé distinguishing charms of the feminine character" would

be destroyed by a male instructor), or whether he should

provide them with a private female tutor (Willard thought not, because that female tutor would herself have been educated

in a boarding school and would perpetuate the faults in that type of an education). Willard then listed the benefits of

female seminaries as she envisioned them.

If the legislators would move to establish publicly supported female seminaries, these benefits ..to the society would ensue: First, such seminaries "would constitute a

grade of public education superior to any yet known in the history- of our sex, and through them thé lower grades of female

instruction might be controlled." She recommended that certain

entrance requirements be established, so that the education 40

would be conducted at a higher than basic level.

Second, such seminaries would, by hiring trained "in­ structresses," free the common schools' present (male) teachers to other, more important work, by placing "the business of teaching children in hands now nearly useless to society , . ."This is one of the first statements by an educational reformer, that teaching would be a good pro­ fession for women who were otherwise unoccupied, Willard elaborated on this point, explaining why women were innately suited to be teachers of children:

That Nature designed for our sex the care of children, she has made manifest by mental as well as physical indications. She has given us a greater degree than men the gentle arts of insinuation, to soften their-minds and fit them to receive impression’s; a greater quickness of invention to -vary modes of teaching to differ­ ent dispositions; and-more patience to make re­ peated efforts. There are many females of abil­ ity to whom the business of instructing children is highly acceptable, and who would devote all their faculties to their occupation.

They would have no higher pecuniary object to engage their attention, and their reputation as instructors they would consider as important; whereas, whenever able and enterprising men engage in this business, they consider it merely as a temporary employment, to further some other object, to the attainment of which their best thoughts and calculations are all directed. If, then, women were properly fitted by instruction, they would be likely to teach children better than the other sex; they could afford to do it cheaper; and those men who would otherwise be engaged in this employment might be at liberty to add to the wealth of the nation by any of those thousand occupations from which women are necessarily debarred, (pp, 35-36)

In this passage one sees the themes which would be repeated and repeated throughout the nineteenth century, 41

as the teaching profession became increasingly feminized.

The theme went like this: Female teachers were preferable to male teachers, because’ Nature had made them physically and mentally suited to dealing with children, especially younger children. Female teachers had more patience and were more virtuous than male teachers. There were many unoccupied women around, who had much ability, and who would gratefully work more cheaply than the men. With female teachers in the classroom, the men who were not engaged in worthier pursuits now, could leave the schools and go on with the business of business. All that was needed was a suitable education, for these female teachers.

A third benefit of establishing female seminaries,

Willard said, would be to insure that the new republic remained a republic; she appealed to the patriotism of the legislators. She reminded them that "other republics have failed," and that some people believed "that our present form of government, though good,, cannot be perma­ nent." One reason other republics had failed, she theorized, was that they took no thought for the education of their women, and women "give society its tone, both of manners and morals." Uneducated women were susceptible to corruption, but if the new republic would take it upon itself to educate them, women would "... be expected to act more from the dictates of reason and less from those of fashion and caprice.

If they were educated, women would he taught "systems of 42

morality, enforced By the sanctions of religion," and they would become more egalitarian in outlook, without having the "contempt of useful labor" that many uneducated women had.

If the republic would educate its women for their domestic duties, Willard reasoned, housewifery would become "a higher and more interesting occupation," less boring,

"a regular art." If thé republic would educate its women, they would compete with each other about matters that were more worthy and intellectual than the frivolities they competed about then, the matters of fashion and furniture.

If the republic would educate its women in moral philosophy, the women would take their duties as the molders and mothers of children more seriously:

. . . to watch the formation of their characters with unceasing vigilance, to become their instruc­ tors, to devise plans for their improvement, to weed out the vices of their minds, and to implant and foster the virtues. And surely there is that in the maternal bosom which,, when its pleadings shall be aided by education, will overcome the seduction of wealth and fashion, and will lead the mother to seek her happiness in communing with her children, and promoting their welfare, rathér than in a heartless intercourse with the votaries of pleasure, especially when with an ex­ panded mind she extends her views to futurity, and sees her care of her offspring rewarded by peace of conscience, the blessings of her family, the prosperity of her country, and, finally, with ever­ lasting pleasure to herself and them. ^-p. 43-4)

She appealed to the sympathies of the legislators, saying:

... barbarians have trodden the weaker sex beneath their feet; tyrants have robbed us , . . Nations calling themselves polite have made us the fancied idols of a ridiculous worship, and we have repaid them with ruin for their folly. 43

Here in Willard's' Plan we see the themes of the eighteenth century philosophy that a woman's-place-is- solely-in-the-home given a nineteenth-century addendum: that a woman's place is in the home and her duty is to teach her children, or to teach children in general, outside the home, in the schoolroom. However, Willard did not only general­ ize about the education of female teachers in her' P Ian ; she spoke of specific ways to achieve her goals through a diversified curriculum. The curriculum she proposed for the public female seminary was divided among four branches—the religious and moral, the literary, the domestic, and the ornamental.

(1) Religious instruction would be the foundation of the studies, and would be regularly given. No teachers who had any qualms about giving' religious instruction would be hired. Besides the daily instruction, Willard proposed that on Sundays, the girls should spend some of their time "in hearing discourses relative to the peculiar duties of their sex." (2) Willard was not specific about what exactly would constitute the literary studies, saying that each girl's age and level of achievement would determine that (an early advocating of individualized instruction). She did emphasize, however, that every female student should have an understand­ ing of how the mind works, and that every girl should study natural philosophy: 44

Natural philosophy has not often been taught to our sex. Yet why should we be kept in ig­ norance of the great machinery: of Nature, and left to the vulgar notion that nothing is cur­ ious but what deviates from her common course? If mothers were acquainted with this science, they could communicate very many of its prin­ ciples to their children in early youth. From the bursting of an egg buried in the fire I have heard an intelligent mother lead her prattling inquirer to understand the cause of an.,earth­ quake. But how often does that mother, from ignorance on this subject, give her child the most erroneous and contracted views of the causes of natural phenomena—views which, though he may afterwards learn to be false, are yet from the laws of association, ever ready to return unless the active powers of the mind are continually upon the alert to keep them out. A knowledge of natural phil­ osophy is calculated to heighten the moral taste, by bringing to view the majesty and beauty of order and design, and to enliven piety, by enabling the mind more clearly to perceive, throughout the manifold works of God, that wisdom in which He hath made them all. (p. 22-3)

Willard was not sure that women could study natural philosophy

in the same way as men did, though.' She supposed that the present textbooks in natural philosophy would need revision because they presupposed knowledge which females would not have, and because, the textbooks had sections which girls would not find very interesting.

(3) Since the primary duty of women was "to regulate the internal concerns of every family," domestic instruction should be a major part of every seminary's curriculum. Since there was no one method of running a household and therefore no methodology written down, she advocated that domestic instruction be given by the laboratory method, and that a skillful housewife from the community be put in charge of 45

instructing the girls in domestic matters, using this

demonstration method. Since most instruction was given by rote and recitation, this represented a pedagogical inven­ tion, one that would be taken note of by educational reformers throughout the' century-.

(4) Contrary to some of the earlier, eighteenth century writers on the education of females, Willard believed that certain ornamental skills should be taught to the girls, among them painting, drawing,, music, "elegant" handwriting, and dancing ("the grace of motion"), She did not, however, believe that ornamental needlework should be taught. The domestic studies would give a girl what skills she needed to keep her family's clothes in repair, and the skills to keep herself clothed: . . the use of the needle for other purposes than these, as it affords little to assist in the formation of character, T should regard as a waste of time." Herself a lover of dancing, who used to set her pupils to dancing as- a recess from their studies,5 Willard thought it helped form character, as well as giving a girl a chance to exercise and socialize. Some people thought that dancing was sinful, but Willard said, "If it was entirely prohibited,

5Alma Luta quoted a letter Willard wrote in 1817: "When it was so cold that we could live no longer, I called all my girls onto the floor, and arranged them two and two in a long row for a country dance; and while those who could sing would strike up a stirring tune, I with one of the girls for a partner, would lead down the dance, and soon have them all in rapid motion. - After which we went to our school exercises again." Lutz, p. 37. 46

they would he driven to seek it by stealth, which would lead

to many improprieties of conduct. . She hastened to assure the legislators she did not advocate balls; but dancing, with people of the same sex, and under supervision, was a form of exercise "to which Nature herself prompts them at the sound of animating music,"

Some other people would have forbade the teaching of painting and of music, because of their alleged frivolity, but Willard dismissed these objections as being "founded on too limited a view of the objects of education.," These ornamental studies do help form a girl's character, she insisted. It was not necessary that a lady play the piano as well as her teacher, nor that she decorate her living room with her own paintings, rather than those of her instructor; the student still gained from having studied these subjects: ”. . . the harmony of sound has a tendency to produce a correspondent harmony of soul," and the study of nature which one gets through painting nature "enkindles the latent spark of taste—of sensibility for her /Nature's/ beauties. . ." Willard thought the seminary education should last about three years on the average, and, with the entrance requirements, pupils would probably not be ready to enter until they were about fourteen years old. So it can be seen that a seminary education was a secondary, or high school, education. Women were not to be admitted to colleges for some years (Oberlin was first in 1833), and seminaries; would not become colleges f or some ye ars. 47

Willard also thought that, of the four branches, the

ornamental studies would be optional, at the discretion of

a girl's parents, but that the other three, the religious, the literary, and the domestic, would be mandatory. She

recommended that a diploma or certificate be issued to

those who completed the course of study, but she wasn't

sure how the examinations would be given. Men's academies

had public, oral examinations, but Willard demurred at this,

saying "public speaking forms no part of female education."

In later female seminaries, however, the public, oral

examinations were very popular.

This Plan was not to be adopted by the legislature,

and public female seminaries were never to be, but Lutz noted that even fifty years later, Willard's plan was re­ printed still, and circulated, and that, in 1893, Thomas

Wentworth Higgins, writing in' Harper' s' Bazaar, commented,

When in 1819,..Mrs. Willard published her address to the public, particularly to the members of the Legislature of New York, introducing a plan for improved female education and establishing her school under State patronage at Waterford, she laid the foundation upon which every woman's college may now be said to rest.

In addition to her influence on higher education for women,

Emma Willard is considered——and indeed, considered herself, to be the founder of the first normal school for teachers.

She said, I continued•to.educate and send forth teachers,

Z* ...... !...»•> ...... °Alma Lutz, Daughter of Deiribcr'Acy,■ p. 75. 48

until two hundred had gone from the Troy Sem­ inary before one was educated in any public normal school in thé United States.‘

Although she was an advocate of education for women, she was no advocate of suffrage; in fact, the story goes that

when she heard of the girls conducting a secret meeting

in order to argue about an upcoming Presidential election,

she was very disturbed that they should betray an interest

in politics. She did not want her girls to be called "hyenas

in petticoats." She told them that the sexes were innately

separate, that the man was the oak. tree and the woman was the

apple tree. Lutz commented:

Thus, a woman with remarkable vision and zeal for the advancement of her sex, closed the door of her mind to thé-consideration of women's political rights. Doubtless, her mind was so filled with the cause of women's education, that no other movement seemed important in comparison.3

She did not change her mind through the years, and she

did not attend the Seneca Falls Convention for women's rights in 1848, nor did she make any note that survives that the convention was being held in her area, though she was certainly

aware of it. She continued to hope that through their charity

and the goodness of their hearts, thé men of politics would

do their duty in providing women théir educational freedom.

She thought that certain public duties should be turned over to women: the running of elementary schools, the secondary

and higher-education of girls (but not of boys), the caring 7 8

7Lutz, p. 98.

8Ibid. , p. 101. 49

for the poor, and the guarding of public morals.

In a poem she wrote in 1830, called "Prophetic Strains," she said:

There shall be a council held Of matrons, having powers to legislate In woman’s province, and to recommend To man's prime rule . . .

Such council yet shall be; but distant far the day And let no woman's rash, ambitious hand Attempt to urge it . . .

Let woman wait, till men shall seek her aid. A day will come, when legislative men . . . Will see how woman's power, .wealth, influence And mind of quick invention, might be turn'd By right machinery of great account.

In this anti-feminism Emma Willard was similar to two

other ladies influential in the establishment of teacher

education and in the establishment of the profession of

"female teacher"—Catharine Beecher and Mary Lyon.

Catharine' Beecher

Catharine Beecher was thé oldest child in the large

family of Lyman Beecher, a famous Calvinist revivalist. She was her father's constant companion during her younger years, attending his sermons, roughhousing with him, eternally dis­

cussing Calvinist theology and hér attempts to become converted

(she never was) with him. Shé was; academically talented and wrote poems and plays for the school's and the town's enter­

tainment. She was not much interested in the domestic tasks hér .mother..had .her . do, pref erring instead to be out in the

9Lutz, 232-233. 50

world, socializing and studying. This is ironic, since she

gained much of her fame (and substantial book royalties)

through her later book,' A ’Treatise On ' DbnfesTid 'Economy

(1856), which she wrote along with, her sister, Harriet

Beecher Stowe, and which became as important in the households

of the late 1800’s as Dr. Spock was in the households of

the mid 1900's.

Her mother died when Catharine was sixteen, and she

took over the running of the household for her father, taking

care of the seven younger children., the youngest less than

a year old, until hef father remarried a year later. She may have gone on to be a wife and mother, leading a conven­

tional life of domesticity, had not her fiance, a professor

at Yale, died in a shipwreck in 1823, when she was 23.

Being unmarried, the older sister, with no husband in sight, she began to occupy herself with being a teacher, and

that same year she founded the Hartford Female Seminary. She was involved with this project until 1831, when she moved with her father to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became a teacher at the Lane Theological Seminary, True to her interest in female education, Catharine Beecher founded the Western Female

Institute in Cincinnati in 1833, As staff, she hired her sister Harriet, Mary Dutton, and two other teachers who came to Cincinnati from the Hartford Seminary.

Catharine Beecher did not spend much time at her new school, but instead became involved in fund-raising and in speaking for the cause of educating women to be teachers. 51

She began to travel back and forth from Cincinnati to the

East, speaking and writing about the need for teachers in

the West, urging that female seminaries be established to

train these teachers. On April 20, 1835, she read an essay she had written on the subject, called Es'say: On ■Thé Education

of Female Teachers' For' Thé Unil'ed S tat es, before a group of

women gathered at the American Lyceum in New York. The note in the front of this essay says, "Such was the interest

excited, that measures were immediately taken to secure the publication of several thousand copies, by subscription."^-9

In Essay' on1 -the' Edhéa/tibn of Female Teachers, Beecher

sounded the same theme as Emma Willard, that "the most

important and peculiar duty of the female sex" was "the physical, intellectual, and moral education of children."H

She said,that female education at the time was, at best, desul

tory: ". . . they are sent .first to one school, and then to another; they attend a short time to one set of studies, and then to another." Shé noted that there was rarely a system nor a plan of governance in female schools; that if the woman who ran the school should quit teaching, or should move on, the school itself would fold. Beecher called for a new way of looking at female education, and she called for stability..in .the .organization of the schools.. She felt that

^Catharine Beecher y'Eseay* On The Education of Female Teachers for the' United States (New York: Van Nostrand and Dwight, 1835), front note.

•^Ibid. , p. 5. 52

if the schools would be established under a corporate board, stability would ensue, and the schools wouldn’t stop functioning if the teacher left.

She urged her audience not to take the task of educating their daughters lightly. She argued that a woman's job is the most important, and said that a mother must have a disciplined mind in order to do her job properly: Is a weak, undisciplined, unregulated mind,, fitted to encounter the responsibility, weariness, and watching of the nursery; to hear the incessant care and perplexity of governing young children; to accommodate with kindness and patience to the peculiarities and frailties of a husband; to con­ trol the indolence, waywardness, and neglect of servants; and to regulate all the variety of domes­ tic cares? She reminded her audience that no longer was the "model of female loveliness," the same as it was in the past, "the fainting, weeping, vapid, pretty play-thing," but she said that a new model for ideal womanhood was emerging, where

"qualities of the head and the heart" would be admired. She said that teachers have a strong influence on the development of their pupils, not only in helping the children to learn from books, but in forming the children's characters and habits. She deplored the fact that teachers were not educated to be moral models: . . . mankind are not aware how much might be ef­ fected by teachers, in the most important part of education, were they properly trained for these duties, and allowed sufficient time and opportun­ ity for the discharge of them.

Beecher felt that the establishment of publicly endowed 53

female seminaries would take care of that need for trained moral leadership, as well as the need for a well-organized

course of study for future teachers:

The establishment of institutions for the education of female teachers would also most successfully re­ medy all the difficulties with regard to female education which have been exhibited. When female teachers are well trained for their profession, a great portion of the higher female schools will be entrusted to their care, and they will be prepared to co-operate in propagating a uniform and thorough system of female education, both intellectual and moral.42

Beecher told the women that she herself, within the past' two years, could have placed teachers in a hundred towns and hamlets in the west, and that these towns would have wel­ comed the teachers, and would have liberally supported them if they had Been available. She admired the Prussian system of education, which had a ratio of one teacher for every ten children, and said that in one of the middle states, there were 30,000 people who had had no education, and who had no schools to attend should they want to go to school.

In another large midwestern state there were 400,000 people, children and adults, "thus destitute,” she said; and even "in one of the best educated western states," at least one-third of the children had to go without schools. She totalled her figures and came up with one-and-a-half million children, and the same number of adults "in the same deplor­ able ignorance, and without any means of instruction." As if this situation weren't bad enough, Beecher reminded her audience,thousands and thousands of degraded foreigners,

42Beecher, Ess ay, pp. 18 ff. 54

and their ignorant families, are pouring into this nation

at every avenue." These foreigners would all become voters :

How long will it take, at this rate, for the major­ ity of votes, and of the physical force of- the. nation, to be in the hands of ignorance and vice? . . . Here, we have no - despotic monarch to endow seminaries for teachers, and to send every child in the nation to school for even seven -successive years, to place a Bible in every school, and enforce a system of moral and religious instruction. Tt is the people who must voluntarily do it, or it will remain undone,

Beecher called for the wealthy* to open their coffers,

for "men of talent and piety" to support this missionary cause

of establishing female seminaries to educate teachers: "sem­

inaries for teachers, with their model schools, must be es­

tablished in every state." She noted that Prussia had forty-

five seminaries, and France had a system of Normal schools, but that in all New1 England, there was only one institution

for the education of teachers (probably this was a reference

to Emma Willard's seminary), and that was in New York, and the movement was just beginning.

Then she sounded the theme that would become her special cause: teaching was a respectable profession for women to enter, because women were peculiarly fitted to the tasks in­ volved, for teaching was a logical extension of the domestic sphere. She also noted a very practical, rather than a philo­ sophical reason for encouraging that women entered the teaching p r o f e s s i on : they wo rke d che ap e r,

When we consider the claims of the learned pro- ...... fessions, . the .excitement and profits of commerce,

^Essay,’ p. 24. 5®

manufactures, agriculture, and the arts; when we consider the-aversion of most men to the seden­ tary, confining, and toilsome duties of teaching and governing young children; when we consider the scanty pittance that is allowed to the majority of teachers; and that few men. will enter a business that will not support a family-, when there are multitudes--of other employments that will afford competence, and lead to wealth;' it is chimerical to hope that the supply of such immense deficien­ cies in-our-national education is to come chiefly - from that sex,■. It is woman, fitted hÿ disposition, habits,'. andci‘rcim3'sWnc’eS'T,..forsUChJdUt'iés,' who, 'to-.', a - very wi‘dé«.«é^të»t-r!' must 'ài'd -in- - edüc'a't'ing the Childhood - an d y outh* ' of ■ this- nation; an d therefore it -is, that f-emalest-muet be trained and. educated for this employment. And, most happily, it is true, that thé education necessary to fit a woman to be a teacher, is exactly thé one that best fits her for that domestic relation that she is primarily designed to fill.

There were many idle women, Beecher said, who would joyfully welcome the chance to be employed usefully: "... extensive acquaintances, correspondence, and travelling, have led to the conviction that there are hundreds of benevolent and self denying females," she said, "who are actually pining" to do something "more worthy" than what they were doing "in their limited spheres."15 Beecher noted that few people realized how much "Christian benevolence which is slumbering in female bosoms," nor how many females would answer thé ancient Bible call, "Who shall we send?" with the ancient answer, "Here am 1, send me, send me!"

Give us the opportunity of aiding to preserve the interests and-institutions of our country,

44Beecher, Essay, p, 21.

15Ibid. , p. 23. 5 6

Send us to the thousands of destitute children whom we should rejoice to train up in virtue, and prepare for Heaven. We. relinquish the pursuit of wealth, the paths of public honor, and the strife .for patronage and power; give us the humble, sacred, delightful pleasures of benevo- len ce.

One can imagine that Beecher's rhetoric kindled enthusias­

tic responses from her audiences, and it did. But enthu­ siasm was one thing, and action was another. The mainly-

female audiences who heard her were dependent upon their husbands for financial support, and the men that Beecher called for to establish these stable, endowed, well-organized teacher-training institutions were not often forthcoming.

The publication of this Esgay- simultaneously in New York and in Cincinnati by thé American Lyceum was geared to help her in a fund-raising campaign she was conducting in Cincin­ nati in 1835. Thé campaign failed/ for complex reasons, as Kathryn Kish Sklar noted in her biography of Beecher, Catharine Bee cher : A S tudy in' Ataeri'can Dém'e'sl'i'ci ty. 17 Lane

Theological Seminary, where her father, Lyman, taught, was embroiled in an abolitionist controversy. Cincinnati's Old Guard favored slavery, as many of thém were southerners, and they regarded the liberal sentiments of many of the seminarians and their teachers as tantamount to treason. As a result, Lyman Beecher and his family were regarded by genteel society as being not quite their kind. Catharine Beecher herself exacerbated.the.controversy with her evangelical and

i « ...... oBeecher, Essay, p, 26.

17 (Yale University Press, New' Haven: 1973), pp. 115 ff. 57

essentially middle-class ways, which many people found offen­

sive. Edward King, one of Cincinnati's aristocrats, was particularly offended, according to Sklar:

In an extremely revealing letter Edward King des- scrihed how awkwardly Catharine's frank vitality fit into the household . . » Catharine visited the Worthington home in Chillicothe in 1835, and Edward King accompanied her on horseback tour of the countryside. With patrician disdain Edward King described Catharine's inexhaustible curiosity. . . . "She expressed great delight at the splendid views and asked more questions than anyone could answer in a day . . . Why the fields were so square! Why there were not better houses! Why the current ran where it did! Whose property was this and that! Whether the land was good! . . .. She devoured all before hei ^at the dinner tabTe7 and licked her fingers! . . ,"18

Lacking local support, Catharine Beecher sought a national forum, and she travelled in the East again, in 1836, advo­ cating the establishment of an agency that would send tea­ chers to Cincinnati to be trained, before they assumed their duties in the farther West. She was met with respect and interest, and she stayed in the homes of prominent ministers and teachers. The Beecher family was well-known and respected among Christian circles, contrary to the attitude towards them in Cincinnati. She returned to Cincinnati in October, and the Western Female Institute failed for lack of students and for lack of funds and for lack of consistent administration, in the spring of 1837. Catharine Beecher did not start another school immediately, but became involved in the abolitionist movement, and engaged in a printed debate with the Grimke sisters., about•• the moral duties of women in the anti-slavery

18'Sklar, Catharine Beecher, pp. 117-118. 58

issue. She also worked on her writing and took care of her health, which was precarious, Sklar said, Nearly forty years old, she could easily have slipped permanently into the role of the spinster aunt whose basic needs were met by various members of her family in return for her assistance in operating the household.

This was a common fate for unmarried women, who stayed home spinning, whereby the term "spinster." But Catharine Beecher gained financial independence of a sort, through the publica­ tion of the first edition of her Treatise on Domes tic

Economy, in 1841, and she began again to sound the theme of the crying need for female teachers. Sklar noted that she was "one of the most widely known women in America."

In 1846, Harper's published Catharine Beecher's address,

The Evils Suffered By American Women and American Children:

The Causes And The Remedy, a speech she had given to ladies in Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York, and other cities. Again she used statistics to impress her audience with the need for reform: there were nearly a million adults who couldn't read nor write, and two million children who were illiterate. Ohio and Kentucky, the two states best supplied with teachers, were themselves asking for five thousand teachers in order to have the same teacher-student ratio as Massachusetts had; ten thousand teachers for more than two hundred thousand pupils were needed in these two

l9Sklar, p. 138.

20ibid., p. 169, 59

States alone.21

Beecher then quoted a report by a county superintendent in New York in 1844, where he described the "self-styled teachers, who lash and dogmatize," and who were low, vul­ gar, obscene, .intemperate, and utterly incompetent to teach anything good." She said that there were organizations to preach temperance, organizations for ministers, organizations for colleges in the west, organizations for sailors and con­ victs, organizations to free the slaves, but no organization to promote the proper education of two million American chil­ dren. She pointed out that American women were victims of a caste system; domestic servants were not as available as they once had been, because those who would have been house­ hold servants were now going to work in the factories.

This situation was causing the institution of the Amer­ ican family to suffer, because the young women who must take over the domestic duties didn't even know how to run their own homes because they had not had the proper type of edu­ cation. As if that were not enough of a problem, there was another one, caused by the westward migration of young men:

The next cause which bears severely on the welfare of our sex, is the excess of 'female population, in the older states, from the disproportionate emig­ ration of the other sex. By the census we find in

2^Catharine Bee çherThe Ev;i'ls: 'Suffered By- American Women (Harper's: 1846), pp. 2-3.

22 Ibid. , p. 4. Beecher never footnoted her sources, and so: it is impossible to check her references. 60

only three of the small older states, twenty thou­ sand more women than men, and a similar dispropor­ tion is found in other states. The consequence is, that all branches of female employment are thronged, while in our new states,, domestics, nurses, seam­ stresses, mantua-makers, and female teachers are in great demand. In consequence of this, women at the East become operatives in shops and mills, and at the West, men become teachers of little chil­ dren, thus exchanging the appropriate labors of the sexes, in a manner injurious to all concerned. 2

The reader will note that Beecher also believed that certain

labors were "appropriate" for women and not appropriate for men.

She then documented the exploitation of women's labor in the East, saying that ten thousand women in New York City alone were seamstresses, earning twelve and a half cents for a twelve- to fourteen-hour day. And these were not just ignorant immi­ grants, she said, but American women who found themselves in need of work: "... some have been rich, many have enjoyed the ease of competence; some are young girls without homes; some are widows; some the wives of drunken husbands,"*24

As a further documentation of "the depression of our sex," she described the working conditions of the "operatives," the women who worked in the shops and factories. She had taken a trip to Lowell, Massachusetts, where she observed the condi­ tions in the textile mills. In describing the working conditions she observed, she said the wake-up bells rang at 5 a.m. and

22EVi Is Suffered, p. 7.

24Ibid. Godey's !Lady:'s; Bobfc,- XLV (1852) , said that there were two million children needing twenty thousand teachers, and since finding men teachers would be impossible, young women should be trained because they made, the best teachers, as well as being cheaper to hire. However, thé editor, Mrs. Hale, urged, this training of girls as teachers was not designed "to make a class of celibates," but to make girls better mothers after they've taught for four or five years, p. 193. 61

the women rushed to work by lamplight. There they stood up,

working, until noon, when they were given a half-hour for

lunch, including the time spent going to and from. They con­

tinued working until seven, when they returned to their rooms

in boarding houses to wash, dress, and eat. With ten hours

remaining for recreation and sleep, and with eight hours of

sleep being certainly necessary, there were only two hours

remaining for shopping and mending, "making, recreation, social intercourse, and breathing the pure air."2® There was no time

for intellectual pursuits, such as reading:

I asked one of the young operatives if they could not take turns in reading aloud while sewing. She replied that they were all either too tired, or they wished a little time to talk, and so they never succeeded when they attempted it.®

There was no solitude for meditation and other religious ac­ tivity, for the women lived six or eight in a single room, "so

that even on Sunday they never have a half hour to be alone,"

and so they had to exist in the perpetual buzz of machinery or

conversation." Beecher also told the middle-class ladies who

made up her audiences, about the dangers to the morals of these

young ladies, whose average age was twenty-three:

Every pleasant night, six thousand women and two thousand men (except when too much fatigued) are turned out to roam over the adjacent fields, or through streets lined with tempting articles of

25Evjis guffered, p, 9. The underlining is Beecher's, and it points up another concern she was to crusade for during her lifetime. She was a leader in writing about the health of women at the time, and she wrote much about how to preserve the health of young girls in the schools with proper clothing, food, and calisthenics. 26Ibid. 62

dress or confectionery, while the customs and the wages tempt the young and thoughtless to ex­ travagance. I found, too, that theaters and dance assemblies attracted many to use up their remaining strength in hours which ought to be given to repose, while I had abundant evidence that extravagant dress and dangerous appliances for increasing personal beauty abound.

I heard one of the lady editors lamenting also the increase of flirtations between young men of that and of adjoining places, and the women, whom they would never think of marrying. I was told that the dining-room of every boarding house was always given up evenings for such purposes, if requested, and to as late an hour as was wished. When I stated to one of the agents the impropriety of this custom, and asked why a. rule was not enforced requiring all company to depart, and all thé operatives to retire at ten o'clock, I could learn no other reason except that it would be very Unp opular.2?

The average age of these unfortunate women was in the early twenties, and the average wage was $1.75 a week, but they were paid by the piece, and many of them earned far less, while the overseers, who were men, got incentive pay for getting more production from them. Fewer than one thousand of the women had bank accounts, and those did not total more than $100.00 for depositors who had worked there for three years. After she finished describing these conditions, in which women were working out in the world, in jobs that were not within their domestic spheres, Beecher asked her hearers,

", . . would it not be better to put the thousands of men who are keeping school for'young children into the mills, and employ the women to train the children?"28 ,she told them that

27 Beecher, Evils, p, 9. 28 Ibid. . p. 10. 63

the states that had the best educational systems employed

female teachers; for example, in Massachusetts, five out of

seven teachers were women. But in depressed Kentucky, she noted, five out of six teachers were men. Again one can see

Beecher's essential female chauvinism, in that she didn't seem to think that the appalling conditions in the mills were

unsuitable for male workers.

She continued her cataloguing of the "evils suffered," and a third cause of the general decline in the status of women was the fact that ."there is no profession for women of education and high position, which, like law, medicine, and

theology, opens the way to competence, influence, and honor, and presents motives for exertion." Women should never marry

"except under the promptings of pure affection," she said; she found it deplorable that women should marry for security or for position. This was necessary, though, and not because

God hadn't provided that there was a true profession for women, but because custom and practice had not permitted women to assume their God-ordained profession:

The educating of children, that is the true and noble profession of a woman—that is what is worthy of the noblest powers and affections of the noblest minds, y

However, there was another problem, and that was also societal, and that was "the contempt, or utter neglect and indifference, which has befallen this only noble profession

29Evils Suffered, p. IQ, 64

open to women." She noted that even the military profession, which essentially celebrated the killing of human beings, was given a noble place in the society, but

. . . the employment of teaching children is re­ garded as the most wearying drudgery, and few resort to it except from necessity: and one very reasonable cause of this aversion is the utter neglect of any arrangements for preparing tea­ chers for this arduous and difficult profession.2®

Because there was no professional training required of those who would be teachers, and because anyone could set up a school and say they were training teachers, there was no respect given to the profession. Beecher did not go into detail about what professional training should entail, except to assert that teachers should have moral training because of their great moral influence on their pupils. She also thought that training in domesticity was important. She might have been selling her "Treaiisb oh 'Domestic Economy , but she was also asserting that teacher-training was not so < very different from training to be a good wife and household manager, and, most importantly, to be a good mother.

Beecher then appealed to the moral women of the country

"to exert the great power and influence put into their hands, to remedy the evils which now oppress their countrywomen. „

The plan is, to begin on a small scale, and to take women already qualified intellectually to teach, and possessed of missionary zeal and bene­ volence, and, after some further training, to send them to the most important portions of our land, to raise up schools, to instruct in morals and piety, -and-to teach the domestic arts and virtues. . . . so great is the number of

3°Evils Suffered, p. 11. 6.5

educated and unemployed women at the East, and so great the necessity for teachers at the West, that as soon as the stream begins to move, it will grow wider and deeper and stronger . . . 1

The word "missionary" was a key one. As these women teachers went out, their influence would be so good and so great Beecher thought, that soon a demand for new workers would be felt, and the teacher could bring her other friends out there—the nurse, the mantua-maker, and the seamstress, who would use their divinely-ordained moral natures, and be the teacher's

"auxiliaries in good moral influences, and in sabbath school training." Then the church would come, and ministers would be sent:

Thus, the surplus of female population will grad­ ually be drawn westward, and in consequence the value of female labor will rise at the East, so that capitalists can no longer use the power of wealth to oppress our sex.*3 2

In her Educatfbhal Reminis cences, written thirty years later, in 1874, when she was in her seventies, Catharine Bee­ cher acknowledged that no such thing happened, and that the young, idealistic women who went out to teach were often met with situations that were as hard and as ugly as those in the factories. They were preserved by their faith in their mission, and by their faith in God, though; and they seem to have borne their trials surprisingly well. Here is an ex­ cerpt from a letter sent to Catharine Beecher by a female

34Evi Is Suffered, p. 12.

32 Ibid. 66

teacher. No date or place is given in' RémihTscéncés:

I arrived here the 17th of January, and opened school in a small log house. I now have forty- five pupils, one-half of whom are boys, and some of them grown up. They all seem anxious to please me, and I find no difficulty in governing them.

The inhabitants.here are chiefly from North Caro­ lina, Tennessee, and Germany. All are farmers, and their chief object is to make money. They seem desirous to have their children educated, but they differed so much about almost everything, that they could not build a school-house, I was told, also, when I came that they would not pay a teacher for more than three months in a year. At first they were very suspicious, and watched me narrowly; but, through the blessing of my Heavenly Father, I have gained their good will and confidence, so that they have built me a good frame school-house, with writing-desks and a black-board, and promise to support me all the year round.

I commence school every day with reading the Bible and prayer; this was new to them, but they made no objections. The people here spend Sunday in hunting, fishing, and visiting. I have commenced a Sabbath-school and invited the parents to come with their children. They seem much pleased, and many come three and four miles. They never heard of a Sunday school before , . . there being no church nearer than seven miles, the people think it too much trouble to go to it. I have persuaded them to invite the nearest clergyman to preach in my school-house next Sunday. My greatest trials here are the want of religious privilences /sic/, the difficulty of sending to the distant post-office, the entire want of social sympathy, and the manner in which I am obliged to live. I board where there are eight children and the parents, and only two rooms in the.house. I must do as the family do about washing, as there is but one basin and no place to go wash but out the door. I have not enjoyed thé luxury of either lamp or candle, their only light being a cup of grease with a rag for a wick. Evening is my only time to write, but this kind of light makes-a disagreeable smoke and smell so I cannot bear it, and do without light except the fire. I occupy a room with three of the children and a niece who boards here. The &7

other room served as a kitchen, parlor, and bed­ room for the rest of the family,

I have read your D bmes-t:i C-ECohbmy, through to the family, one chapter a day. They like it, and have adopted some of your suggestions in regard both to order and to health. They used to drink coffee three times a day, Now they use it only once a day. Their bread used to be heavy and half-baked, but I made yeast by the receipt J_s±cJ in your book, and thus made some good bread.. They were much pleased with it, and I have made such ever since.

The people here are' Vbry ignorant; very few of them can either read or write, but they wish to have their children taught. They spend Sunday in visiting and idleness, and the fact that I kept Sunday-school for them without pay convinced them that my real object was to do good. The people in the? settle­ ments around are anxious to have more of the teachers come out ... • When I came here I intended to stay only one term; but the people urged me so much to remain, and have done so much in building me a school-house, that I concluded to stay longer.32

This same teacher wrote to Catharine Beecher that" she had contracted scarlet fever in a later epidemic while she was watch ing at the bedsides of some sick students, and so she decided to leave for a healthier place, where there were over eighty children without a school. This teacher was educated in a female seminary, perhaps one supported by the ladies Beecher spoke to in her podium-and-pamphleteering forays.

As a result of Catharine Beecher's efforts, many church ladies' groups donated one-hundred dollars each, which was the amount she was requesting of the hearers of Evils Suffered; and 33

33 Catharine Beechbf/, Educational' Eehlihis-cen Ce s (Harpers: 1874), pp. 75ff, 68

such, groups as the Boston Ladies' Society for Promoting Edu­

cation at the West contributed several thousand dollars within a decade.34 35C * atharine Beecher's brother-in-law, Calvin

Stowe, had been acting as an agent, but he found it too wearing, and so in 1846, they began to search for a new agent. After many letters, they requested and got the aid of a former governor of Vermont, William Slade, who took the job after being encouraged and pressured to do so by Horace Mann, Among other supporters of Catharine Beecher's efforts were several other important educators, including Henry Barnard, Thomas

Burrowes, Samuel Lewis (head of the Ohio Dept. of Education), and Gorham Abbot. Governor Slade moved to Cincinnati in 1847 and he took over the newly-formed Central Committee for Promoting National

Education. He found Cincinnati society unreceptive (and perhaps he found Catharine Beecher domineering), and so he moved, within three months, to Cleveland. He then changed the name of Beecher's benevolent society for raising money to train female teachers to "The National Board of Popular

Education." This Board sent out about four hundred and fifty teachers to the West, before it folded in. the middle 1850's.33

Catharine Beecher found that once Slade took over, he wanted to run the-organization, and not merely be her agent; she

34 Sklar, Catharine Bee Cher, 175,

35Ibid. . 177.

36Ibid. , 182-3. Eleanor Thompson,' EdUcait'i'on '-for •Ladies, p. 71. Thompson quotes Godey 's: La:dies: Book for her figures. 69 found she was treated like a secretary, and she didn't like it. Sklar commented, "After her dramatic public role Cath­ arine was not content to play this secondary one."37 After a period of ill health which prompted her later interest in physical education and calisthenics for women,38 Catharine

Beecher founded the American Women's Educational Associa­ tion in New York in 1852. She also founded two more semin­ aries, one in Milwaukee, and one in Dubuque, Iowa. In Educational ReminiscencesCatharine Beecher des­ cribed what had been her model plan for these institutions of teacher education:

The plan as I presented it to the most influential ladies as well as gentlemen in those Western cities, was briefly this: To establish high schools at cen­ tral points on the college plan of a faculty of co- equal teachers, instead of having a principal with subordinates; to have the trustees of.. the'Ins titu­ bions’ represent the chief religious denominations, and also the faculty of instructors so far as it could be done without sacrificing the requisites of superior experience and culture in the teachers sel­ ected, thus avoiding the great obstacles of sectar­ ianism; to have a Normal Department in each, including every advantage obtained in Eastern Normal Schools, and one which would be far more economical than the Eastern method; to have a boarding-house for this Normal department, so endowed as to serve as a home for teachers in all emergencies; to have committees of ladies from the larger denominations, both East and West, to aid in the selecting, training, and

37Sklar, 182.

38Beecher was not alone in her interest, Sara A, Burstall, in The Education of Girls In The United States commented abourthe increase in the Teaching of physical education in the mid to late 1900's, citing the German influence and the Swedish System, as well as the Delsarte System that was used. 70

care of teachers, both from abroad and the State where the institutions were located; to have these institutions in large towns.or cities, where pupils abound and can live at home, thus avoiding large outlays for buildings and expenses for board; and finally to employ women as agents, with proper salaries, as men employ agents of their own sex, to raise up and endow their colleges and profes­ sional schools.3® Catharine Beecher was a vocal advocate of women running their own schools, and she herself was an example of what determin­ ation and tenacity could do for women. However, she did not consider herself a feminist, like the suffragists. An innatist, like Hannah More, antifeminist to the end, she commented in Reminis cen ces that if women would only be taught to assume their God-given duties, all would be well:

At this time the agitation about women's rights and wrongs was exciting public notice, and while I deeply sympathized in the effort to remedy the many disabilities and sufferings of my sex, it seemed to me the most speedy and effective remedy would be to train woman for her true profession as educator and chief minister for the family state, and to secure to her the honor and pecuniary reward which men gain in their professions,40

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leading proponents of woman suffrage, and an editor of The Women's Bible (1895), which was written to combat the paternalism many feminists felt Christianity perpetuated, recalled in her memoirs a discussion with Catharine Beecher: Catharine said she was opposed to woman suffrage, and if she thought there was the least danger of

3®Educational Reminiscences, 138-9.

4Qlbid. , 1Q1. The reader will note the similarity in Beecher's rhetoric with the rhetoric of the antifeminists in the late 1970's. 71

our getting it, she would write and. talk against it, vehemently. But, as the nation was safe gainst such a calamity, she was willing to let the talk go on, because the agitation helped her work. "It is rather paradoxical," I said to her, "that the pressing of a false principle can help a true one; but-when you get the women all thor­ oughly educated, they will step off to the polls and vote in spite of you."44

There is no record of Catharine Beecher's reply.

But Catharine Beecher's importance to the feminization of the teaching profession cannot be denied, and her innatism, or her belief in what Welter called "The Cult of True Woman- 42 hood," and her refusal to reject the Judeo-Christian ethic with regard to woman's place in the world, are important influences in the development of the teaching profession as we know it in America. Even today there is a belief that teachers must be more morally upright, more noble, than people in other professions. They are expected to set moral examples to their students in many communities; it is not enough to know the subject(s) they are teaching and to teach them well; the teacher, and especially the female teacher, is expected to be an example of moral rectitude, according to many people, and school boards. Catharine Beecher's influence in what Phillida Bunkie called "the professionalization of woman's sphere" was great.

Bunkie described this professionalization, thus: "Since the

4lin June Sochen, Herstery'i A Tom ah" s' View of -Ameri can history (New York: Alfred Press, 1974), p. 107. 42Barbara Welter, "The Cult -of True Womanhood," 'Amer­ ican Quarterly, 18 (Summer 1966), 151-175. 72

essence of motherhood was teaching, saving grace could be

more effectively disseminated if women extended their moral influence into the classroom."43 Catharine Beecher's wiiole

life was dedicated to that proposition. Willystine Goddssll was accurate in calling Emma Willard and Catharine Beecher

. . . pathfinders, fired by the vision of a new liberal education for women which should make them not only more intelligent wives and mothers but more skillful teachers.44

What Willard and Beecher began was taken up by influen­

tial men, and in Massachusetts, in 1839, the first two normal schools were founded by Horace Mann, Mr. Carter, and Mr.

Brooks. However, this establishing of public normal schools was not taken up in the rest of the nation, and the growth of the normal school movement was slow; therefore, the edu­

cation of teachers was left to the academies and seminaries and a few colleges. By the outbreak of the Civil War, only fourteen normal schools had been established in the country, °

At this same time, hundreds of seminaries were begun and flourishing or floundering, and thousands of girls were being trained as teachers.

43Phillida Bunkie, "Sentimental Womanhood and Domestic Education, 1830-1870." History of Education Quarterly (Spring 1974), 20. 44Willystine Goodsell, The1 Education of' Woman:' its Social Background and Problems (New York, 1924), p. 17... 43Dexter, 73.

Mary- Lyon -

A third important influence in the female seminary

movement was Mary Lyon (1797—1849). She was a protegee of

Joseph Emerson, who was one of the most respected men in the

field of female education. He ran the Byfield, Massachusetts,

academy, where Mary Lyon taught in 1821. Joseph Emerson was

a minister who set up a short-lived seminary for teachers

after hearing of Emma Willard's efforts.

While teaching at Byfield, Mary Lyon met Zilpah Grant,

who was to set up the famous Ipswich Seminary, where Mary

Lyon later taught. Joseph Emerson was an. evangelical Chris­

tian, and he converted Mary Lyon to a fervent Christianity which was to influence her and her educational philosophy

greatly. Mary Lyon was perhaps the most fundamentalist of

the three women being discussed here, although Emma Willard

and Catharine Beecher were certainly given to speaking much

about the Christian duty of women, Mary Lyon's influence was

great, in that she prompted the idea that education for women should not be confined to the upper classes, and in that she likened the teaching profession to missionary work.

In 1832, Mary Lyon and Zilpah Grant drew up a proposal

for a seminary to be called The New England Seminary for

Teachers, where there would be boarding facilities and a plan

for higher education for girls, Zilpah Grant's health failed,

and she had to withdraw from thé solicitations for funding, so

Mary Lyon carried on alone. In a letter to Professor Hitchcock, 74

of Amherst, Massachusetts, on February- 4, 1832, Mary

Lyon said that she had in mind establishing a "permanent

female seminary," which would be "destined to outlive its

present teachers," She also thought that there should be

one or two such schools in each state, not only for the

education of very young girls, but instead "designed ex­ clusively for older young ladies preparing to teach, . ,"46

The efforts of Miss Grant and Mary Lyon met little

success locally, and in 1834 Mary Lyon left her friend and

the Ipswich Seminary, with hopes of beginning her own school.

On May 12, 1834, she wrote to her mother:

I do not expect to continue my connection with Miss G. after this summer, I have for a great while been thinking about those young ladies who find it necessary to make such an effort for their education as I made, when I was obtaining mine. ... I have not felt quite satisfied with my present field of labor, I have desired to be in a school, the expenses of which would be so small, that many who are now discouraged from endeavoring to enjoy the privileges of this might be favored with those which are similar at less expense.

The course of instruction adopted in this insti­ tution ... I believe is eminently suited to make good mothers as well as teachers. . . . 0 how im­ mensely important is this work of preparing the daughters of the land to be good mothers! If they are prepared for this situation, they will have the most important preparation which they can have for any other; they can soon and easily become good teachers..,... . ,4647

46 Mari on Lansing, ed. Mary: -Lyon' Through Her Letters (Boston: Books, Inc., 1937), pp. 104—105. 47Ibid. X34-5. 75

This letter shows Mary Lyon’s great concern with

cutting the expenses of a seminary education; the plan she

developed, summarized in Mary Lyon Through' Her Letters,was based on this philosophy. First, she proposed that a fund­

raising campaign be undertaken to build the buildings, and that they be placed, mortgage-free, in the hands of a board of trustees. Second, she proposed only to hire teachers who had such a missionary zeal that they would be willing to work for low pay. Third, she advocated a very simple and luxury-free life for the pupils. Fourth, she proposed that no maids be hired, but that the domestic work be performed by the pupils themselves. Fifth, she proposed that tuition and board be set at as low a cost as possible.

Sixth, she felt that, as in other missionary operations, no extra income would go to the teachers if there should be surplus money; nor should any extra to to the superintendent of the domestic tasks. Any extra money should be put into the common treasury so that the expenses of the pupils could be reduced even further.4'8

In a brochure prepared in 1835 for prospective students

Mary Lyon put it this way:

The grand features of this Institution are to be an elevated standard of science, literature, and refinement, and a moderate standard of expense; all to be guided and modified by the spirit of the gospel. Here we trust will be found a delight­ ful spot for those, "whose heart has stirred them

L.; through Hen •Letters', p„ 130, 76

up" to use all their talents in the great work of serving their generation^- and of advancing the Redeemer's kingdom, » , ,

. . . This Seminary is to he for adult young ladies; at an age when they; are called upon by their parents to judge for themselves to a very great de­ gree and when they can select a spot congenial to their taste. The great and ruling principle—an ardent desire to do the greatest possible good, will we hope, be the presiding spirit in many hearts, bringing together congenial souls, . . .

. . . It has been stated, that the literary stan­ dard of this Institution will be high. This is a very indefinite term. There is no acknowledged standard of female education, by which an insti­ tution can be measured. A long list of branches to be taught, can be no standard at all.

Then she quoted from the catalog of the Ipswich Seminary in which the following subjects (or branches) of study were listed. There were three levels, the Primary, the Junior Class, and the Senior Class. The last two levels were called the "regular course." Branches studied in the Primary level were mental arithmetic, written arithmetic, English grammar,

First Book of Euclid's Geometry, modern and ancient geography, government of the United States, modern, and ancient history, botany, and Watts On The Mind.

The studies of the Junior Class were these: written arithmetic completed, English grammar continued, the Second,

Third, and Fourth Books of Euclid's Geometry, natural phil­ osophy, .chemistry, astronomy, intellectual philosophy, and rhetoric.

49 ' ...... ■' ' ...... Mary Lyon,’ Mouht Holyoke : Female S emin ary. Old South Leaflets, No. 145 (Boston, Mass. : The Directors of the Old South Work, n.d.), pp. 426-/, 77

In. the Senior Class, "Some of the preceding studies" were "reviewed and continued," and the young ladies also studied algebra, ecclesiastical history, natural theology, philosophy of natural history, analogy of natural and revealed religion to the constitution and laws of nature, and evidences of Christianity.

In addition, Mary Lyon noted that "Reading, Composition,

Calisthenics, Vocal Music, the Bible and'several of the above branches of study, will receive attention through the course."3® Deficient spellers and writers would receive special help. Linear drawing would also "receive attention.

Before entering the Seminary, the young ladies were expected to be "skilful in both mental and written Arithmetic, and thoroughly acquainted with Geography and the History of the United States."

Like Willard and Beecher no feminist, Mary Lyon was, as Lansing said, "skilled in the art of dealing with the gentlemen,"3-^ and she gave them "a large place in the sun, larger than that conceded by some of the other women leaders of the time." She was certainly skilled in the art of flattery: This institution is to be founded by the combined liberality of an enlarged benevolence, which seeks

5Q01d South Leaflet, pp. 428-29»

SYjiary Lyon Through Her Letters, p, 155. 78

the greatest good on an.extensive scale. Some minds seem to be cast in that peculiar mould, that the heart can be drawn forth only by individual want. Others seem best fitted for promoting public good. None can value too much the angel of mercy, that can fly as on thè wings of the wind to the indi­ vidual cry for help as it comes over in tender and melting strains. But who does not venerate those great souls-—great by nature—great by education— or great by grace—or by all combined, whose plans and works of mercy are like a broad river swallow­ ing up a thousand little rivulets. How do we stand in awe, when we look down, as on a map, upon their broad and noble plans, destined to give untold blessings to the great community in which they dwell— to their nation—to the world. As we see them ur­ ging their way forward, intent on advancing as fast as possible, the renovation of the whole human family—and on hastening the accomplishment of the glorious promises found on the page of inspiration, we are sometimes tempted to draw back their hand, and extend“ itr forth in behalf of some-traveller by the wayside, and those of a thousand other individuals included in their large and warm embrace.

This is the class of benevolent men who will aid in founding this Seminary; these the men who are now contributing of their time and money to carry for­ ward this enterprise.52

In other words, she was a practical politician. She set up a board of trustees that was made up of men who supported her

concept of female education, and she set out to raise money.

She raised twenty seven thousand dollars, and she chose

South Hadley, Massachusetts, as the site for her seminary, which was granted a charter on February 10, 1836. It was to be called Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, and it opened on

November 8, 1837, "the first established by appeal to public philanthropy," according to Woody,53

5201d South Leaflet, pp, 425-6, 53Woody, His tory -of Women's EducatTon, • I (1929) , 359 . 79

Both Zilpah Grant and Catharine Beecher took issue with

Mary Lyon's plan for securing superior teachers and then pay­ ing them low salaries, because Grant and Beecher felt that low salaries would encourage those of less talent. In June, 1836, Catharine Beecher wrote to Mary Lyon:

The profession cannot be sustained by a missionary spirit—that spirit will send men forth as ministers and missionaries, but rarely as teachers. Therefore all plans that tend to sink the price of tuition will probably be discountenanced by the most liberal and expanded minds that are engaged in this enter­ prise. It is on this place that I fear you are starting wrong,

Catharine Beecher then proposed a plan to Mary Lyon, whereby aid would be given to those who could not afford a high tui­ tion, but where tuition would be kept high or medium-priced for those who could afford it, in order to "support competent teachers and enough of them in the female schools . . ."®4

Mary Lyon responded, on July* 1, 1836, saying that the terms "high, low, and moderate" had different meanings to different people, depending upon what part of the country one was talking about, and that she intended to set tuition fees at what New England people would call "moderate." She went on to say that between twenty and forty thousand dollars would have to be raised, and that that accomplishment alone

"would form almost an era in female education." In order to raise such a large sum of money, Mary Lyon said there were two ways:(1) to ask one or several wealthy men to endow

54Mary Ly on Through Her '•Le’tt'e:rs, ■ p. 194-5. 80

the institution; and (2) to ask support from many people.

She said she had opted for the second course, and gave an

indication of her dedication to the project: "We have

enlisted for the work. I have regarded it as a work for life.,"5®

In this extraordinarily- informative letter, Mary Lyon

told Catharine Beecher of how they- had avoided all extravagances

in their planning, and of how good management in the boarding

department would permit them to save money:

. . .we have held up to New England people the ad­ vantages of a teachers' seminary, with ample facil­ ities for boarding and instruction, free of rent, of so superior a character that a supply of scholars could be secured without receiving those who were immature and ill-prepared, and who are always a heavy tax on the teachers. We have shown that the same money will, in this way, do more to provide instruction for young women qualifying themselves to teach, than it would, do in our country academies. After these professions, shall we ask for higher tuition, at the same time that we are asking for benevolent aid . . .?

. . . if any injury should result to the cause of education from our adopting this moderate standard of tuition, it will be as nothing compared with the great good to be accomplished; less far than the injurious results of Paul's example, on the support of the gospel ministry, which results he so carefully- guards against in the ninth chapter of I Corinthians,

Mary Lyon then went on to tell Catharine Beecher that there were two motives for becoming a teacher: first, in order to practice loving one's neighbor as oneself; and second, in order to make money. The first was preferable; besides, women•didn't .need.high salaries, because of their subordinate

®®Letters, p. 197. 81

positions in the divine plan:

I am inclined to the opinion that this' ^pecuniary considerations^ should fall lower on a list of motives to be presented to ladies than to gentle­ men, and that this is more in accordance with the system of the divine government. Let us cheerfully make all due concessions, where God has designed a difference in the situation of the sexes, such as woman's retiring from public stations, being generally dependent on the other sex for pecuniary support, &c. 0 that we may plead constantly for her religious privileges, her equal facilities for the improvement of her talents, and for the privi­ lege of using all her talents in doing good’^6

In other words, women should teach for low salaries because

God had ordained women to be dependent. Mary Lyon practiced what she preached, and though she never married, and though she was not dependent on a husband or a brother for "pecun­ iary support," she never took more than $200.0Q a year for all her expenses, even after the board of trustees tried to raise her salary. On the other hand, though Catharine

Beecher's missionary zeal was great, she never swore a vow of poverty . The argument that women would and should work more cheap­ ly than men in the teaching profession was often given by those who advocated that "female teachers" be hired. Perhaps this fact contributed more than any other to the dramatic rise in the number of female teachers in the nineteenth century,

Horace Mann, writing in 1848, in the Boston Board of

Education's 'Eleventh Annual Report, toted up the savings

3®Letters, 198-99.

i 82

that could be made in. hiring female teachers:

Let this change be regarded, for a moment, in an economical point of view. If, in 1846-7, the relative proportion of male and female teachers had been the same as it was in 1837y then, in­ stead of having 2,437 male teachers, we should have had 3,051; and instead of having 5,238 fe­ male teachers, we should have had but 4,624;— that is, we should have had 614 more male teachers, and the same number of female teachers less. Now, the average wages of male teachers, last year, inclusive of their board, was $32.46 a month, and the average wages of .female teachers, also inclusive of board, was $13.60, and the average length of the summer and winter terms varied but a small fraction from four months each /female teachers taught in the summers when men were needed in agriculture/. The cost of 614 male teachers, at $32.46 à month, would be $19,930.44; and the cost of the same number of female teachers for the same term of time, at $13.60 a month, would be $8,360.40, The difference in expense, there­ fore, for a?single year, is $11,580.04—-or, about double the expense of the three State Nor­ mal schools, for the same length of time. Such is the economy of employing female teachers , . . But I am satisfied that the educational gain,— the gain to the minds and manners of the children,— has been in a far higher ration than the pecuniary.57

Mann, who was known as a vocal and active supporter of female education and of the idea of females as teachers, went on, in this Rep ort, to denounce the low salaries being paid to female teachers, noting that female factory workers often made six or seven times as much. "What inducement," he asked, "has a young woman who has a prospect of obtaining only $33 a year,

—or even twice that sum, if she keeps both summer and winter school,—to spend either much time or money in preparing herself for the employment?" He noted that many women spent more money for a single dress than many female teachers made

57in Theodore Rawson Crane, ed,, The Dimensions of Amer­ ican Education (Reading. Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1974),pp, 69- 72. Crane called this Report "Feminization," 83

in a year.

Mary Lyon may not have supported a higher wage for

female teachers, hut her Mount Holyoke Plan had great impor­ tance in the female teacher/female seminary movement, combining,

as it did, low tuition and high academic standards with an

emphasis on the missionary quality of the teaching profession and an emphasis on self-sacrifice. The Mount Holyoke Plan was exported to The West, and two of the most successful and

long-lived female seminaries in Ohio, Lake Erie Seminary at

Painesville, and Western Female Seminary at Oxford, were "little sisters" of Mount Holyoke.®3

, This "family" terminology was important, for Màry Lyon

regarded her pupils as "daughters," and the school community

as a family. The girls were not "boarders," being waited on by domestics, but they did all the domestic work themselves.

Mary Lyon was always careful to emphasize that the domestic work was not "manual training," but that its purpose was to

save money and to provide the young scholars with needed exercise. She said, "It is no part of our design to teach young ladies domestic work. This branch of education is im­ portant, but a literary institution is not the place to gain

it." She then went on to say that a girl should receive such instruction from her mother, and not at school, ®y "•[s

not a. reflection on- both mother and daughter," she said, 38

38 See Chapter IV for detailed descriptions of these schools 59 Catharine Beecher believed thé opposite, and even wrote a textbook so that "domestic economy" could be taught in schools. 84

"when, the daughter cannot perform with skill and cheerful­

ness any domestic labor which is suitable for her mother?"60 *

Letters from the first pupils attest to their support

of the domestic system. Lucy Fletcher described in her

journal her turn at getting breakfast ready:

This morning ... I was cal,led about 4 o' clock and obliged-to get up, though sorely against my inclination, and went down into Domestic Hall, looking as sleepy as would be and feeling all the time as if I- wished I were back in bed. How­ ever, I moulded, and mixed, and stirred, and I believe went through all the necessary perfor­ mances till the pudding was boiled, and the bis­ cuit baked, and the kettles set in order when I went into breakfast with an appetite in no way impaired by my morning's work,64

Another pupil, Nancy Everett, described the feeling of freedom

the "family" had, in the absence of snooping servants:

There are just seventy-nine scholars, which with three ;ïèach^'iis.iiliïss-''’:£y;bn'-,... and the superintendent of the domestic department make a family of eighty- four. You can hardly imagine what a formidable lipe we make going to church, or taking our daily ’walks. I believe, if ever there was a happy family, it is this. We are so independent; that is if we wish for anything or do anything--we are at per­ fect liberty to door get it, without a parcel of hired girls, scowling Upon us, or wishing us out of the way.62

Another distinguishing feature of the,Mount Holyoke Plan was its emphasis upon evangelical Christianity. Though the schools were nondenominational, there was a great emphasis

®°Seminary circular, quoted in Woody, I, 360.

^Le tters, p. 231.

62Ibid. , p. 233. „-85

upon salvation, and revivals were not uncommon. The diaries and journals of people who attended Mount Holyoke and its little sisters often contain descriptions of revivals. Per­ haps the most famous pupil at Mount Holyoke dropped out, though, after all attempts to save her failed. She was

Emily Dickinson. She was one of the recalcitrants who never got saved, who never became a wife, a missionary, or a teacher.

She called Mary Lyon "The Dragon," and seemed to regard her experience at Mount Holyoke as not very beneficial,®3 Other students regarded Mary Lyon as nothing less than a saint, as shall be seen in Chapter IV, After her death in 1849., and at the first anniversary thereafter, in 1850, Dr. Edward Hitchcock, President of

Amherst College, in an address: titled "The Character of Mary Lyon," described her as having a "largely developed" brain, "in proper proportion to produce a symmetrical char­ acter." (Phrenology was popular at the time.) He said

She possessed, in an eminent degree, that most striking of all the characteristics of a great mind; viz., perseverance under difficulties. When thoroughly convinced that she had truth on her side, she did not fear to stand alone and act alone, patiently waiting for the hour when others would see the subject as she did. This

®3In a letter written from Mt, Holyoke on May 16, 1848, Emily Dickinson said, "Abiah, , » , L regret that last term, when the golden opportunity was mine, that I did not give up and become a Christian, . . it is hard for me to give up the world." in Letters of E m i ly BleKlh^on, I, ed, Thomas H. Johnson (Cambridge: B'elknap Press, 1958')',“ p'. 67. Wm, Luce, in The Belle of Amherst (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976) has Emily Dickinson say , " I’ was sixteen when I graduated -from Amherst Academy and entered..Mount Holyoke Female Seminary-, which was run by a dragon . . . I liked Miss Lyon, even though she laid down strict rules for her girls." p. 26, 86-

was firmness, not obstinacy; for no one was more open to conviction than she; but her con­ version must result from stronger arguments, not from fear or the authority of names. Had she not possessed this feature of character. Mount Holyoke Seminary never would have existed, at least not on its present plan.

Hitchcock also extolled "her great power to control the minds of others":

And it was done, too, without their suspecting it; nay, in opposition often to strong prejudice. Before you were aware, her well-woven net of argument was over you, and so soft were its silken meshes that you did not feel them. One reason was that you soon learnt that the fingers of love and knowledge had unitedly formed the web and woof of that net. You saw that she knew more than you did about the subject; that she had thrown her whole soul into it; that, in urging it upon you, she was actuated by benevolent motives, and was anxious for your good; and that it was hazardous for you to resist so much light and love. And thus it was that many a refractory pupil was subdued, and many an individual brought to aid a cause to which he was before indifferent or opposed.84

He then went on to say that this perseverance and knowledge was informed by religious conviction, that "all her plans and efforts were baptized and devoted to God." She was one- minded about her seminary and its vagaries, and, Hitchcock said, "Very few females have done so much for the world while they lived, or have left so rich a legacy when they died."85

Perhaps the rhetoric of this tribute is a bit overblown,

84Edward Hitchcock, "The Character of Mary Lyon," Old South Leaflets No. 145, pp. 11-13.

85Ibid. , p? 14. 87

true to the oratorical mode of the time, but it may not be out of place to say that all three of these pioneer female educators left a rich legacy, not only for the teaching pro­ fession in America, but for female education. Although the schools they started were not public schools, due to legis­ latures’ prejudices, the schools were influential.

All three of these educators were innatists and fervent

Christians. All three were determined to make a respectable professional place for women. All three believed that teaching was a "natural" profession for women to pursue.

All three believed that a teacher, especially a female teacher, had a moral responsibility to uplift the goals and aspirations and behaviors of the world and the children they taught. CHAPTER III. ’

THE ACADEMY / SEMINARY MOVEMENT IN OHIO

By 1850, Ohio had 206 academies, with 474 teachers,

and 15,052 pupils. That same year, there were 26 colleges in Ohio, with 180 teachers, and 3,621 pupils. There were also

11,661 public schools, with 13,886 teachers and 484,153 pupils

The population of Ohio had risen from 45,365 in 1800, to almost two million people (1,980,329) in 1850.4 The Westward movement and the great immigration of foreigners had changed the state from a wilderness to a thriving crossroads for the nation. The need for a well-developed system of edu­ cation was making itself felt.

The term "academy" was used to include the seminaries as well. Academies were private schools, and their existence was* a preliminary stage in the establishing of free public education. However, very little has been written about them. Theodore Sizer, in The Age of Academies, attributed this dearth of scholarly writing in the- history of Ameri­ can education to the fact that these schools were not public schools. He said that most studies of the academy movement were made early in this century, and that since then the movement has been neglected, and its influence upon the development of public education has been overlooked.2

’'"Henry Barnard, "Educational Statistics in the U.S. in 1850," The Arnerican JournaI of Education, I (1855), 363, 2(New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1964), p. 46; 89

Sizer also pointed out another difficulty in charting the his­ tory of the academy movement, that those academies that were most well-known were often not truly representative of the whole movement. He said that educational historians have hurried over the nineteenth century academies, using such elite New England models as Andover and Exeter to represent the entire academy movement. These college-preparatory, high-tuition, all-male schools modeled on the Latin Grammar Schools were indeed important types of academies, but there were other types as well. Some academies, as in the South, were primary schools, directly competing with the public elementary1 schools. Some offered a college course; some were secondary schools; some were co­ educational; most were single-sex. They were called seminaries and literary institutions, or just so-and-so's school, as well as academy ; they were nondenominational, and they were denominational, founded by religious groups in order to pre­ serve sectarian beliefs; they were aided by the state and were charted to serve special groups such:as,the halt and idiotic, as well as- the intellectually acute.

Many were short-lived, failing as soon as the head teacher quit teaching and went on to something else, or failing as soon as the funds ran out. Others institutionalized their adminis­ trative processes, and continued admitting and educating pupils for upwards of fifty years. Academies were established in every state, and in 1850, throughout the nation, there were 90

6,185 of them, serving a quarter of a million pupils (263,096)

In 1850 there were 239 colleges nation-wide, serving 27,821

students.3

Most academies were begun by interested men who organ­

ized boards of trustees. They often used their own money to

get the schools going, or they asked the state for a charter

and for grant money to initiate the schools. Some formed

stock companies, though there was little hope for stockholders

to reap dividends. Then they sought buildings, students,

and teachers. Tuition was a most important means of support,

and though the tuition was seldom high, few students' parents were even able to pay that, and many of the academies took their tuition in the form of barter goods, lumber, labor, and crops.4

Many of the academies were not private, but semi-public, for they received state aid in many states and, as Kandel noted, they provided a substitute for the public secondary schools that were not in existence yet. Many states had laws that students had a right to free public secondary education, but few states had public secondary schools in any great number. Therefore, academies provided the needed secondary education , and facilities , and their number increased

3 Barnard, "Educational Statistics.''

4Sizer, pp. 22-23, 91

as the demand for more than an elementary school education

increased.® Indiana, Iowa, Vermont, and Michigan had what were called "county seminaries," and "county grammar schools," which were essentially privately run academies supported by public sanctions.® The quality- of education in the acad­ emies varied, as did the level of education, and this prompt­ ed Thomas Burrowes, editor of thé PehnsyTVahia School Journal, to write, in 1855, his concerns about the mixing of ages in these schools: Upon the reputation and ultimate success of these institutions the consequence of this degradation of rank cannot but be injurious; and especially will this be the result in female Seminaries. In these, it has, unfortunately, been too much the case that the reputation of having "finished" at the "Seminary" is often more thought of than the amount of knowledge acquired.

Now, even in this narrow view of the subject, nothing could be more destructive of "fashionable reputation," 'than the fact that little girls, in addition and subtraction—Tn primary geography and third-class reader—are admitted in company with Misses in the 'ologies the 'alogies, the ' onomies and the 'atics.7*

Burrowes predicted that the time would come when "Academies

. . . will be dispensed with entirely and the common school of the higher grade will take their place." This did not happen until later in the century, though the academy movement

®I.L. Kandel, History of Secondary Education (Riverside Press: Cambridge, Mass., 1930), p. 397.

®Sizer, p. 23. 7Thomas B. Burrowes, "Ungraded Academies and Seminaries," Pennsy1vani a School J óurha 1, IV (Dec. , 1855), 161-2. 92

in Ohio was beginning to decline by the mid 1850's.

Ohio has always had a majority of people who opposed a strong, centralized state government, being from its in­

ception a Republican stronghold, with a preference for local control and private capitalistic entrepreneurship, not only in business and in agriculture, but in education. As early as 1838, State Superintendent Samuel Lewis pushed for laws that would make it possible for townships to provide free secondary education. But no such legislation was enacted, and, as a result, the academy (seminary, institute, etc.) privately chartered by stock companies or by churches, was the prevailing type of secondary school in Ohio until mid- century. One hundred and seventy-two academies and semin­ aries were incorporated in Ohio between 1803 and 1850.

E.A. Miller, in his Hfsfbry; 'of Bduca'tDdnal Legislation in Ohio From 1803 to 1850, attributed the phenomenal growth in the number of academies and seminaries in Ohio to a state educational policy that was too focused, too trusting in private enterprise. Ohio had no plan for developing a system of elementary, secondary, and higher education, but state law emphasized only public elementary education, per­ haps because there were so many private secondary schools and private colleges. Another reason for this lack of a cogent educational policy was perhaps that the three town­ ships given for public higher education were in the Ohio

Company's purchase and in the Symmes Purchase. The insti- 93

tutions were local and did not receive students from through­

out the state. Because there were no clearly recognized

state colleges, there was no pressure to have a system

of secondary schools supported by the state. Besides,

secondary education was regarded as a luxury and not a

right, and it was thought that those who wanted such an

advanced education would be aptly served by the private schools chartered for that purpose. Therefore, the move for publicly supported secondary schools did not come until the general and nation-wide high school movement, which began in the 1850's.8

In fact, no law dealing with secondary education was passed in Ohio before 1850, except for laws incorporating individual private institutions. The principle seemed to be that the state would encourage local attempts to establish secondary institutions., by acting to incorporate them, and by setting guidelines on their activities and on their property holdings, but would not initiate their establishment, nor control the schools once they were established. Following are some sample articles of incorporation of these schools:^

C. L. , I, 117 April 16, 1803. The Erie Literary Society; David Hudson and twelve others; board of trustees of ten to fifteen members; to support a seminary of learning, either a college or an academy. ¿This was the first academy in 0hio7

£ ■ ■■ ...... ' ...... E. A. Miller , History.-of' Educ'a-ti'bn'a-1 -L^i's’la'tioh in Ohio from 1803 to 1850 (Chicago, 1920; rpt. New York: Arno Press, 1969), p. 117. ®Ibid. Selected from Miller's Appendix A, pp, 128-143, 94

C,L, IX, 39, January 26, 1811. An academy at Steubenville; Lyman Potter and .fifteen others, twelve trustees; stockcompany, sharesfive dollars; annual income not to exceed five thousand dollars.10

C. L, , XX io ca 1, 2 7 Jan uary 30, 1822. The Ur­ bana Academy;‘ John Reynolds and sixothers; seven trustees; stock company; annual income not to exceed-two ■thousand dollars; no religious tenets peculiar to any Christian sect to be taught.

C.L,, XXXII, Loca 1, 85, February 17, 1824. Norwalk À'cadémÿ "change d to Norwa lk Seminary ; trus tees to be appointed by the Ohio Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church; no teacher shall be allowed to teach any student the peculiar tenets of any sect or religious denomination without the consent of parents or guardian,

C.L., XXX, local, 141, February 7, 1832. Huron Insti­ tute; Eb"enezer "Andrëws "an d nineteen others ; twenty trustees; to afford instruction to the youth of both sexes in the higher branches of an English education, the learned languages, and the liberal arts and sciences, and the trustees . , . may erect a separate or additional departments for the pursuit of these and any other branches of a polite and liberal education, and may provide the requisite manual labor such-portion-of- théir time as their health and other circumstances may require,"

C.L., XXXI, 188, local, February 21, 1833. The Chilli­ cothe -EemhTe "Eemihafy; Jôhh" Wobdb?ridge and five others to Ross County; five trustee's; annual income not to exceed two thousand dollars; property.and funds shall be converted to no other use than the promotion of female education.

C.L. , XXXIII, local 87, February 19, 1835, The Gran- viïle Fema/Le1 'Geminary Henry’ "Carr andT eleven others ; annual income not to exceed two thousand dollars; for aiding and promoting literary and scientific pur­ poses, and for the construction and purchase of said buildings for said seminary,11

10Lyman Potter's Steubenville Female Seminary is discussed in Chapter V. of this study,

^Hen-ry Carr's Granville Eemale Seminary is discussed in Chapter V. of this study. 95

C.L. , 'XXXVI’,' Tbcial,'' 98, Tefofr'u&ry T9,' 1838. M as - s'i'l' Ion Fema le S emin ary. Stark County; 0. N. Sage and ten others; stock company, shares fifty dollars each; "moral, physical and intellectual improvement and education of young females."

C. L. , XXXVII, local, 80, February' 27, 1839. Oxford Female Academy; John W. Scott and six others; seven trustees; property not to exceed ten thousand dollars; education of females in the town of Oxford. I-2

C.L., XXXVII local, 172, March 12, 1839. The Barnesv'i'ïïe Male Academy, Be lriiont County ; Isaac Hoover and twelve others; thirteen trustees; stock company, shares ten dollars; capital stock not to exceed twenty thousand dollars; property to be used only for education; to cultivate and train the intellectual faculties -of the youth who may resort to it for instruction, and rigourously to discountenance the inculcation of the peculiar tenets of any Christian sect or denomination. C. L. , XLVi, lodal, 135,: February 14, 1848. The Felicity Semin ary, Clermon t Coun ty ; R ob e r t Chalfert and fourteen others; three trustees; stock company, shares twenty-five dollars each; stock not to exceed ten thousand dollars; that instruction in said seminary shall not be confined or restricted to pupils ©f any separate sect or denomination of religion.

C. L, , XLVIT, local, 637, March 22, 1850. Xenia Female Academy ; Thomas C. Wright and eleven others; nine trustees; stock company, shares fifty dollars each; the arts and sciences and all necessary and useful branches of a thorough and useful education such as may be taught in the best female seminaries and colleges. From this sampling of summarized laws incorporating these institutions in Ohio, one can gather that they were called "academy," "institute," "seminary," and even "high school"; that they had to aver their nondenominational character in

l2This seminary catered to daughters of professors at Miami University. Another seminary in Oxford, incorporated in 1853, Western Female Seminary, is discussed at length in Chapter IV of this study. 96

order to receive state support, although they could be established by denominational groups; that some were co­

educational (especially as co-education became more and

more acceptable); that some were for boys, and some were

for girls; that some were established to train teachers;

that all had small budgets.

In fact, although these schools were mostly nondenomin-

ational,-1-0 their religious sponsors were empowered to teach a

morality that was traditional and Biblical (but not sectarian).

One assumes that the philosophy of innatism, as a Christian

belief that was well-accepted, was also taught.

Another interesting observation is to note that even

today there exists, legislatively, in Ohio, a close link between

parochial schools and public schools, a link that is not as close in other states, and in Ohio the philosophy prevails that

parochial schools have a right to state aid because they educate children the state would otherwise have to educate.44

One can see the roots of this legislative practice in the

13 Miller said, "The denominational influence does not seem to have been great in founding these secondary schools, , . . In 1836 a general law was passed which gave any religious soc­ iety incorporating after that date the right to apply property not exceeding an annual value of one thousand dollars to the support of public worship and such institutions of learning and charity as might be connected with such society. How far the rights extended here were used by the churches to found schools of secondary grade the laws themselves give no hint. Only a careful search of church records could do this. . . . The comparatively small denominational influence exerted on secondary schools was not due to any lack of religious or sectarian interest. Numerous sects and varied religious beliefs were common, but this very multiplicity was a source of religious toleration." p.84, 44In contrast to the neighboring state of Michigan, which established public secondary schools early, with the Kalamazoo decision,and where parochiaid is at a minimum, even today. 97

legislative attitudes of the first fifty years in the state's

history, where private academies and seminaries took up

the burden of providing secondary education for the students.

W.W. Boyd pointed out another close link between

church and state in the West, and particularly in Ohio. He noted that the secondary schools fused several ideals in

establishing themselves and in establishing their curricula:

From New England came the classical and literary ideal;

from the Pennsylvanians and New Jersey settlers came the

ideal of a practical education such as Rush and Webster

advocated; from the Southern settlers came the ideal of the

finishing school to furbish the student with manners and

cultured ways; from the churches came the need to conserve

their memberships by keeping the children within the fold, in a church-established academy. Boyd noted that the itinerant preachers common in the early nineteenth cen­ tury were often the best educated people in the towns they travelled to serve, and the preacher taught what no one else could teach, and the young people became interested in him and his church, because "through him they came to know­ ledge."43

Therefore, the proliferation of church-supported academies and colleges in Ohio, a proliferation that is unique in the nation, and. where such private colleges as Kenyon .... !

46W.W. Boyd., ..'^Secondary..Education..in Ohio Previous to the Year 1840 ,Ohio» Aicha'ebTbg'idaT' and HTs t'oiicaT Society Publications, XXVTr9 i6 ), Y18-l2lo ; ” 98

and Antioch and Wittenberg and Heidelberg and Otterbein

and Urbana and Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio Northern still flourish,

can be attributed to the time in American history when

Ohio was being settled. Ohio was being settled during the

period of the academy, and so many academies were founded.

And though the academies floundered, the colleges didn't,

as the denominations threw their support to higher education

when public high schools were established, believing they

could conserve their memberships through, a denominational emphasis on the college level.

Another reason for this proliferation of academies

and colleges in Ohio can perhaps be found in the Consti­

tution of the State of Ohio, framed in Chillicothe from

November 1 to 29, in 18Q3, the year after Ohio was admitted

to the Union. Again, the constitution-writers were cognizant of the issues of the time, and performed their framing in

logical sequence in the history of the United States, as

the Westward movement was beginning. Small settlements

were springing up all over the state, but mostly along the Ohio River, and these settlements were usually ethnically and

religiously singular, not diverse, Elwood P, Cubberly pointed

out that the Ohio Constitution contains two sections that reflect the time when it was written,4® These sections, quoted below, were to have a strong influence—on the one

46Elwood P. CubberleyRe-adihgs- 'in? 't'h-ë History' 'of Education (Houghton Mifflin: New York, 1920), p, 423. 99

hand, for the rise of the academies in Ohio, and on the other hand, for the fall of the academies in Ohio. One article took a strong stand for religious freedom, and the other took a strong stand against discrimination against poor children in the schools:

ARTICLE VIII-

That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized, and forever unalterably established, we declare— Sec. 3. That all men have a natural and indefea­ sible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no man shall be compelled to attend, erect, or sup­ port any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against his consent; and that no pre­ ference shall ever be given by law to any reli­ gious society or mode of worship; and no religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office of trust or profit. But religion, morality, and knowledge being essentially necessary to the good government and happiness of mankind, schools and the means of instruction shall forever be encouraged by legislative provision, not incon­ sistent with the rights of conscience.

Sec. 25. That no law shall be passed to prevent the poor in the several counties and townships within this State, from an equal participation in the schools, academies, colleges, and univer­ sities within this State, which are endowed, in whole or in part, from the revenues arising from the donations made by the United States for the support of schools and colleges; and the doors of said schools, academies, and universities shall be open for the reception of scholars, students, and teachers of every grade, without any distinction or preference whatever, contrary to the intent for which the said donations were made.

The academies and seminaries and private colleges that abounded in Ohio were established under Section 3’s. strong statement 100

for religious freedom. The academies and seminaries failed,

at least partially, because they were unable to provide low­

cost education to all people. Nevertheless, during their heyday, while the histori­

cal and economic and political situations in the U.S, were

right, they certainly abounded, Exactly how many there were

in Ohio, and where they were located, and who established

them is not clear. Various scholars mentioned various in­ stitutions and gave different lists of seminaries and aca­

demies,' For example, W, W. Boyd gave a list of secondary

schools, dividing them by county. He cautioned that his

research had not been, very thorough, and hoped his list 17 would be enlarged and completed, Boyd's list follows.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OHIO PRIOR TO 1840 18

Ashtabula County: Grand River Institute (Austinburg) ...... 1831 Athens County: Academy of Ohio Univ. (Athens) ...... 1808 (1st legislative act, 1802; 1st building, 1807) Auglaize County: Mission School taught by Quakers ...... 1809 (Taught manual arts and agriculture until 1832)

pp. 121-125. The starred schools (*) are schools that are obviously for girls. They total twenty-six. ISßoyd often adds notes about the schools, 101

SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OHIO PRIOR TO 1840 (contd. )

Belmont County: *St. Clairsville Female Seminary...... 1836 St. Clairsville Institute & Teachers' Seminary...... 1837 (Boys' school) Brown County: Ripley College Academy...... 1828 * Ripley Female Seminary...... 1832 Butler County: Dorsey Select School (Oxford)...... 1812 Miami University Grammar School (Oxford)...... 1818 Wallace School (Hamilton)...... 1814 Hamilton Literary Society...... 1818 (A Classical Academy) * Oxford High School for Girls...... 1830 Hamilton and Rossville Academy...... 1835 Furman's Private School (Middletown)...... 1833 Champaign County: Urbana Academy...... 1820 *Urbana Female Seminary...... 1824 Clark County Smith's Academy (Springfield)...... 1814 Torbert's Grammar School (Springfield)...... 1824 Clinton County: Taylor's Latin School (W ilmington)...... 1820 (Taylor was a Presbyterian minister) Columbiana County: Salem Academy...... 1809 New Lisbon Academy...... 1814 Friends' School (Salem) ...... 1822 Sandy Spring School...... 1839 Cuyahoga County: Cleveland Academy...... 1821 *Young Ladies' Academy (Cleveland)...... 1825 Darke County: Swallow Grammar Schools...... 1815 (Swallow was an itinerant preacher) Delaware County: Morgan A cademy (Delaware)...... 1815 * The Female Seminary (Delaware)...... 1820 102

SECONDARY SCHOOLS PRIOR TO 1840 (contd. )

Delaware County (contd. ): Quitman's Academic Grove (Delaware)...... 1823 (Quitman became Governor of Mississippi) Fairfield County: Booth's Brick Academy (Lancaster...... 1820 Howe's Academy (Lancaster)...... 1835 Lancaster Institute...... 1838 Greenfield Academy (near Hooker1 s Station)...... 1830 Franklin County: Dr. P. Sisson's Classical School (Columbus)...... 1817 Lusk Academy (Columbus)...... 1818 New Academy (Columbus)...... 1820 The Columbus Academy...... 1820 * A Female Academy (Columbus)...... 1826 * The Columbus Female Academy...... 1829 The Trinity Church Schools (Columbus)...... 1820 A High School by Horace Wilcox (Columbus)...... 1832 * High School For Young Ladies (Columbus)...... 1838 Worthington Academy...... 1820 Gallia County: Gallipolis Academy...... 1811 Geauga County: Burton Academy...... 1804 Chardon Academy...... 1825 Parkman Academy...... 1830 Hamilton County: Reily's Academy...... 1792 The Lancaster Seminary...... 1815 (Became Cincinnati College)...... * Locke's Female Academy (Cincinnati)...... 1823 * Picket's Female Institution (Cincinnati)...... 1826 Kinmont's Boys' Academy (Cincinnati)...... 1827 Woodward Free Grammar School (Cincinnati)...... 1826 (Afterward Woodward High School) Hughes High School (Cincinnati) Ohio Mechanics' Institute (Cincinnati)...... 1828 * Western Female Institute (Cincinnati)...... 1833 The Hentz Seminary (Cincinnati)...... 1834 Institute of Science and Languages ( Cincinnati)...... 1836 Institute of Cincinnati Adelphi Seminary...... before 1830 Cincinnati Academy...... before 1830 St. Xavier Academy (Cincinnati)...... 1831 103

( SECONDARY SCHOOLS PRIOR TO 1840 , contdr )

Harrisen County: Alma Mater Academy (New Athens)...... 1824 (Afterwards Alma College, then Franklin) Cadiz Academy...... 1823 Highland County: Hillsboro Academy...... 1827 ❖ Oakland Female Academy...... Huron County: Norwalk Academy...... 1826 ❖ Norwalk Female Seminary...... 1833 (Eliza Ware) ❖ A Female Seminary...... 1837 (Harriet Bedford) Jefferson County: Buchanan Academy (Steubenville)...... 1814 (Edwin M. Stanton a pupil) Well's Academy (Steubenville)...... 1818 Ackerly Academy (Steubenville)...... 1.820 Scott Academy (Steubenville) ...... 1830 ❖ Beatty's Seminary for Young Ladies...... 1829 (Afterwards Steubenville Seminary) Richmond Academy (Afterwards Richmond Classical Institute, and then Richmond College) Knox County: Sloan's Academy (Mt. Vernon)...... 1815 Kenyon College Academy (Crambier)...... 1825 Martinsburgh Academy...... 1837 Lake County: Huntington's Private School (Painesville) ...... 1816 Painesville Academy...... 1820 Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary (Kirtland). . . 1838 Licking County: Granville Academy (Congregational)...... 1827 ❖ Granville Female Institute (Baptist)...... 1832 Denison University Academy (Baptist) (Granville). . 1831 ❖ Newark Seminary for Young Ladies ...... 1837 Newark High School (Pay School)...... 1838 Creek School (Etna)...... 1830 Lorain County: Elyria High School...... 1831 (Maintained by a board of trustees) Oberlin College Academy 1833 104

(SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OHIO PRIOR TO 1840, contd. )

Mahoning County: Sharon Academy ...... 1836 Wadsworth Academy ...... 1837 Abbeyville Academy...... 1837 Miami County: Piqua Seminary ...... 1818 Grammar School (Troy) ...... 1826 ’¡‘Select School for Young Ladies (Troy) ...... 1838 Montgomery County: Dayton Academy ...... 1807 *Miss Dionecia Sullivan's Private School for Girls. . 1815 Glass' School (Dayton) ...... 1823 Inductive Academy (Dayton)...... 1820 *Ma.ria Harrison's School for Young Ladies...... 1832 Muskingum County: Stone Academy (Zanesville) ...... 1808 ’¡‘Seminary for Young Ladies (Zanesville)...... 1810 ’¡'Moravian School for Young Ladies (Zanesville) . . . 1819 Zanesville Academy ...... 1824 Howe's Seminary (Zanesville) ...... 1830 ' xMelntire Academy (ZanesVilLe)...... 1836 *Putnam Classical Institute ...... 1836 (Afterwards Putnam Female Seminary) Muskingum College Academy (New Concord) ..... 1837 Perry County: Somerset Academy...... Weddell Select School ...... St. Mary's Academy ...... 1830 (Now St. Mary's of the Springs -- Dominican) Pickaway County: Circleville Academy ...... Before 1837 Ross County: Chillicothe Academy ...... 1808 (A Lancasterian School) . * Chillicothe Female Seminary ...... 1820 Scioto County: Wheeler Academy (Portsmouth) ...... 1818 Seneca County: Seneca County Academy (Republic) ...... 1836 Stark County: * Canton Female Seminary ...... 1838 Summit County: Western Reserve University Academy (Hudson) . , . 1827 Joyce's Private School (Akron) ...... 1836 105

SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OHIO PRIOR TO 1840 (contd. )

Summit County, c ontd. Mrs. Dodge's Private School( Akron)...... 1836 Akron High SchoolConducted by Miss Hawkins...... 1837 (Private) Cuyahoga Falls Institute...... 1837 Richfield Institute...... 1836 Warren County: Robinson Grammar School (Lebanon)...... 1810 Washington County: Muskingum Academy (Marietta)...... 1797 Institute of Education (Marietta)...... 1830 Marietta Collegiate Institute...... 1833 (Afterwards Marietta College) Wyandot County: Mission School at Upper Sandusky...... 1823 (Manual training, agriculture, domestic science)

Boyd also noted that the federal census of 1840 gave the relative standings of the states in the Ohio Valley, with Kentucky having 116 academies and grammar schools, with

490.6 pupils; Ohio having 73 academies and 4310 pupils;

Indiana having 54 academies and 2946 pupils; and Illinois having 42 academies and grammar schools, with 1967 pupils,

Michigan in 1840 had 12 academies with 485 pupils, and Wisconsin had only two, with 65 pupils. These figures are official, hut are probably not accurate,, as these various lists giving Ohio institutions show. 106

Miller, working at Oberlin at about the same time as

Boyd (Boyd's article came out in 1916, Miller's book in 1920), made a chronological, rather than a by-county list

of those seminaries and academies established in Ohio

from 1803 to 1850. Miller also gave a disclaimer, saying

that his list was incomplete, and included only those

schools that were incorporated by the state legislature.

Miller's list follows.

SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS IN ORDER OF CHARTERING, ‘ 1803-5019

1. ERIE LITERARY SOCIETY, BURTON ...... 1803 2. DAYTON ACADEMY...... 1808 3. WORTHINGTON ACADEMY ...... 1808 4. CHILLICOTHE ACADEMY ...... 1808 5 NEW LISBON ACADEMY ...... 1810 6. STEUBENVILLE ACADEMY ...... 1811 7. GALLIA ACADEMY, GALLIPOLIS ...... 1811 8. CINCINNATI LANCASTER SEMINARY ...... 1815 9. MONTGOMERY ACADEMY ...... 1816 10. TALLMADGE ACADEMY...... 1816 11. FLORENCE ACADEMY...... 1818 12. CADIZ ACADEMY ...... 1819 13. UNION ACADEMY, MUSKINGUM COUNTY...... 1819 14. LANCASTER ACADEMY ...... 1820 15. THE ACADEMY OF ALMA, NEW ATHENS...... 1822 16. URBANA ACADEMY...... 1822 17. RUTLAND ACADEMY ...... 1822 18. FRANKLIN ACADEMY, MANSFIELD ...... 1824 19. NORWALK ACADEMY...... 1824 20. BELMONT ACADEMY, ST. CLAIRSVILLE...... 1824 21. CIRCLEVILLE ACADEMY...... 1824 22. NELSON ACADEMY...... 1828 23. HILLSBOROUGH ACADEMY ...... 1829 24. THE HIGH SCHOOL OF ELYRIA ...... '. . 1830 25. WOODWARD HIGH SCHOOL, CINCINNATI ...... 1831 * 26. COLUMBUS FEMALE ACADEMY ...... 1831 27. ASHTABULA INSTITUTION OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY . . .1831 28. DELAWARE ACADEMY ...... 1831 •107

29. KINSMAN ACADEMY...... 1832 30. CANTON ACADEMY...... 1832 31. FARMINGTON ACADEMY ...... 1832 32. ASHTABULA ACADEMY ...... *1832 33. HURON INSTITUTE ...... 1832 ”34. CHILLICOTHE FEMALE SEMINARY...... 1833 35. RAVENNA ACADEMY...... 1834 36. UNION ACADEMY, WAYNE COUNTY...... 1834 37. VINTON ACADEMY ...... 1834 38. SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL ...... 1834 5539. FEMALE ACADEMY OF MT. VERNON . . 1834 40. STEPHEN STRONG’S MANUAL LABOR SEMINARY...... 1834 41. THE RICHMOND CLASSICAL INSTITUTE ...... 1835 42. KINGSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL...... 1835 43. CONNEAUT ACADEMY...... 18 3 5 44. WINDHAM ACADEMY ...... 1835 };45. GRANVILLE FEMALE SEMINARY...... 1835 46. FELLENBURGH INSTITUTE, BRUNSWICK, MEDINA CTY. . . 1835 "47. WESTERN FEMALE SEMINARY, MANSFIELD ...... 1835 48. WADSWORTH ACADEMY ...... 1835 49. ACADEMIC INSTITUTION OF RICHFIELD ...... 1835 :;50. HAMILTON AND ROSSVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY...... 1835 "51. CIRCLEVILLE FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1835 52. BISHOP’S FRATERNAL CALVINISTIC BAPTIST SEMINARY . 1835 53. UNIVERSAL SCHOOL OF MASSILLON ...... 1835 54. PUTNAM CLASSICAL INSTITUTE...... 1836 55. SENECA COUNTY ACADEMY ...... 1836 56. MADISON LIBERAL INSTITUTE...... 1836 57. WOOSTER ACADEMY ...... 1836 58. SHAW ACADEMY...... 1836 59. ACADEMY OF SYLVANIA ...... 1836 60. GRANVILLE ACADEMY ...... 1836 61. SHARON ACADEMY ...... 1836 62. MEDINA ACADEMY...... 1836 63. CLEVES INDEPENDENT SCHOOL...... 1836 64. MIDDLEBURG HIGH SCHOOL...... 1836 65. WARREN ACADEMY ...... 183 7 66. SHEFFIELD MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTE ...... 1837 67. NEVILLE INSTITUTE, COLUMBIANA COUNTY ...... 1837 68. NEW HAGERSTOWN ACADEMY ...... 1837 69. BEREA SEMINARY ...... 1837 70. PHILOMATHEAN LITERARY INSTITUTE, ANTRIM . . . .. 1837 71. MONROE SEMINARY, MONROE COUNTY ...... 1837 72. TROY ACADEMY ...... 1837 73. NEW PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY ...... 1837 74. MASSILLON ACADEMY ...... 1837 ”75. CLEVELAND FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1837 76. AKRON HIGH SCHOOL ...... 1838 77. CAMBRIDGE ACADEMY, GUERNSEY COUNTY ...... 1838 "78. MASSILLON FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1838 79. WESTERN RESERVE WESLEYAN SEMINARY, STREETSBOROUGH.1838 108

80. EDINBURGH ACADEMY ...... 1838 81. WAYNE ACADEMY...... 1838 "82. NORWALK FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1838 83. CHESTER ACADEMY, GEAUGA COUNTY ...... 1838 84. EATON ACADEMY...... 183 8 85,. SANDUSKY ACADEMY...... 1838 86. UNION ACADEMY, UNION COUNTY...... 1838 87. DOVER ACADEMY, TUSCARAWAS COUNTY ...... 1838 8 8. MARION ACADEMY, MARION COUNTY ...... 1838 89. BIGELOW HIGH SCHOOL, XENIA...... 1839 90. MARTINSBURG ACADEMY, KNOX COUNTY ...... 1839 91. BLENDON YOUNG MEN'S SEMINARY ...... 1839 92. ASHLAND ACADEMY, RICHLAND COUNTY ...... 1839 93. WESTERN RESERVE TEACHERS' SEMINARY, KIRTLAND . . 1839 "94. OXFORD FEMALE ACADEMY ...... 1839 95. ASBURY SEMINARY, CHAGRIN FALLS ...... 1839 ’"9S. WORTHINGTON FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1839 97. UNI VERSALIST INSTITUTE, OHIO CITY...... 1839 198. PARKMAN ACADEMY, GEAUGA COUNTY ...... 1839 99. BARNESVILLE MALE ACADEMY ...... 1839 IQO. BROOKLYN CENTRE ACADEMY ...... 1839 101. AUGLAIZE SEMINARY, WAPAKONETA .... i ... . 1839 102. LITHOPOLIS ACADEMY ...... 1839 103. MEIGS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL 5 TEACHERS' INSTITUTE . 1839 104. MT. PLEASANT BOARDING SCHOOL ...... 1839 105. CUYAHOGA FALLS INSTITUTE . '...... 1839 5: 106. RAVENNA FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1839 " 107. NEW HAGERSTOWN FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1839 108. BASCOM SEMINARY OF WAYNESBURG ...... 1840 109. GREENFIELD INSTITUTE ...... 1840 110. STREETSBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL . . . , ...... 1840 -111. WILLOUGHBY FEMALE ACADEMY ...... 1840 112. PROTESTANT METHODIST ACADEMY OF BRIGHTON . . . . 1840 113. EDINBURGH ACADEMY ...... 1841 114. BURLINGTON ACADEMY ...... 1841. -115, ATHENS FEMALE ACADEMY ...... 1841 116. CANTON MALE SEMINARY ...... 1841 117. MIDDLETOWN ACADEMY AND LITERARY ASSOCIATION . . 1841 118. GUSTAVUS ACADEMY...... 1841 119. PINE GROVE ACADEMY, PORTER . r...... 1842 12 0. CANAAN UNION ACADEMY ...... 1842 121. TALLMADGE ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE ...... 1842 122. BATH HIGH SCHOOL...... 1842 123. NEW LISBON ACADEMY ...... 1843 -124. ST. MARY'S FEMALE EDUC. INSTITUTE, CINN. . .. . , 1843 125. MAUMEE CITY ACADEMY ...... 1843 126. LEBANON ACADEMY...... 1843 - 127. OAKLAND FEMALE SEMINARY OF HILLSBOROUGH , ... .„ . 1843 128. WEST LODI ACADEMY . . 7 ...... • ..< 1844 129. FRANKLIN ACADEMY, PORTAGE COUNTY ...... 1844 130. SALEM ACADEMY ...... 1844 131. LORAIN INSTITUTE, OLMSTEAD ...... 1844 109

132. WAYNESVILLE ACADEMY ...... 1844 133. KEENE ACADEMY, COSHOCTON COUNTY ...... 1844 134. TALLMADGE ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE, 2D INCORP .... 1845 135. BEDFORD SEMINARY ...... 1845 136. CINCINNATI CLASSICAL ACADEMY ...... 1845 137. COLUMBUS ACADEMICAL 8 COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE . . , 1845 138. AURORA ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE, PORTAGE CITY .... 1845 " 139. COOPER FEMALE ACADEMY, DAYTON...... 1845 140. AKRON INSTITUTE ...... 1845 141. ROCKY RIVER SEMINARY...... 1845 142. FINDLAY ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE ...... 1845 143. VERMILLION INSTITUTE, HAYSVILLE ...... 1845 144. COTTAGE HILL ACADEMY, ELLSWORTH...... 18 45 145. NORMAL HIGH SCHOOL, CARROLL COUNTY ...... 1845 146. LONDON ACADEMY, MADISON COUNTY ...... 1845 147/ WEST JEFFERSON ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE ...... 1845 148. BALDWIN INSTITUTE, MIDDLEBURG . . . 1845 149; LOUDONVILLE ACADEMY ...... 1846 150. NORWALK INSTITUTE ...... 1846 151. LIVERPOOL SEMINARY...... 1846 152. MANSFIELD ACADEMICAL INSTITUTE ...... 1847 153. XENIA ACADEMY ...... 1848 154. RICHLAND ACADEMIC INSTITUTE ...... 1848 55 155 . FELICITY FEMALE SEMINARY, CLERMONT COUNTY .... 1848 155% MEDINA ACADEMY ...... 1848 * 156. OXFORD FEMALE INSTITUTE ...... 1849 157. MILLER ACADEMY, WASHINGTON ...... 1849 158. POMEROY ACADEMY ...... 1849 55 159 . SPRINGFIELD FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1849 160. CADIZ HIGH SCHOOL ...... 1849 " 161. MANSFIELD FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1849 162. MT. PLEASANT ACADEMY ...... 1849 5: 163. ELLIOTT FEMALE SEMINARY, IBERIA ...... 1850 164. VINTON HIGH SCHOOL...... 1850 " 165. DEFIANCE FEMALE SEMINARY ...... 1850 166. WESTERN RESERVE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE, HIRAM ... . 1850 167. TIFFIN ACADEMY, SENECA COUNTY . 1850 5: 168. XENIA FEMALE ACADEMY...... 1850 169. HARTFORD HIGH SCHOOL...... 1850 " 170. SOEURS DE NOTRE DAME FEMALE INST., CHILLICOTHE. . 1850

-^Miller, pp. 78-83. Those institutions starred (*) are obviously schools for females. 11Q

Summarizing, Boyd listed these schools that were obviously schools for young ladies:

St. Clairsvilie Female Seminary Ripley Female Seminary Oxford High School for Girls Urbana Female Seminary Young Ladies' Academy (Cleveland) The Female Seminary (Delaware) *A Female Academy (Columbus) High School for Young Ladies (Columbus) Locke's Female Academy Picet's Female Institution Western Female Institute Oakland Female Academy ♦Norwalk Female Seminary A Female Seminary (Huron County) Beatty's Seminary for Young Ladies Granville Female Institute Newark Seminary for Young Ladies Select School for Young Ladies Miss Dionecia Sullivan's School for Girls Maria Harrison's School for Young Ladies Seminary for Young Ladies (Zanesville) Moravian School for Young Ladies (Zanesville) Putnam Classical Institute/Female Seminary St. Mary's Academy for Young Ladies ♦Chillicothe Female Seminary Canton Female Seminary Mrs, Dodge's Private School

Miller listed these schools that were schools for females:

♦Columbus Female Academy ♦Chillicothe Female Seminary Female Academy of Mt, Vernon Granville Female Seminary Western Female Seminary, Mansfield Hamilton and Rossville Female Academy Circleville Female Seminary Cleveland Female Seminary Massillon Female Seminary ♦Norwalk Female Seminary Oxford Female Academy Worthington Female Seminary Ravenna Female Seminary New Hagerstown Female Seminary Willoughby Female Academy Athens Female Academy St. Mary's Female Educ, Institute—Cinn, -Ill

Oakland Female Seminary' of Hillsborough. Cooper Female Academy—Day ton Felicity Female Seminary—‘Clermont County Oxford Female Institute. Springfield Female Seminary Mansfield Female Seminary Elliott Female Seminary—Iberia Defiance Female Seminary Xenia Female Academy Soeurs de Notre Dame Female Educ. Inst.-Chillicothe

The starred seminaries appear on both Miller's and Boyd's lists. As one can see, there is not much duplication in the lists, though both men were listing academies and seminaries from essentially the same time period, though Miller includes

1840 to 1850, also. This shows that there were many insti­ tutions for young ladies, but that no one knows exactly how many there were, not even the Ohio Commissioner of Statistics in 1860.

The flourishing of academies and seminaries can be said to have reached its peak in Ohio by the end of the

1840's, and to be on the decline beginning in the middle of the 1850's. The public high school was arriving. The Ohio

Commissioner of Statistics, in his annual report in 1857, said, in the section entitled "Of Academies and Seminaries" :

Sixty countiesreturn (153) one hundred and fifty three of these, and there are doubtless more than two hundred in the State, This class of institu>T tion is, however, becoming rapidly superseded, by the establishment of the High Schools. The Public High Schools now number about (60) sixty, and they are really "the Colleges of the People," The High Schools of Cincinnati and other large towns, where the money raised for school purposes is sufficient­ ly large, are already-prepared to give the pupils of the Common Schools, as they are advanced up, an education fully equal to that obtained in the 112

colleges of the country. The fact is apparent from the subject of study pursued, the discipline enforced, and the methods of instruction.20 * * *

Indeed, if the Commissioner of Statistics' statistics are to be believed, there was a large decline in the number of academies and seminaries and institutes by the time he made his Third Annual Report, in 1859, where he tabulated the "Number of Academies, Seminaries, and Female Colleges,

With the Number of Pupils and Teachers," by county, and he came up with ninety institutions, with 404 teachers, and 8,221 pupils, a large decline from the number reported by Barnard and by Miller,24 Again., the reader will note that many counties had no seminaries at all, while such old and rich counties as Hamilton County had a large number.

The table also shows what the teacher/student ratio was, and how many schools had only one teacher. Most of the institutions appear to have been nondenominational:

20Inaugural Address .knd Rep:orts: Made' To The General As- semb ly and Governor oi 'the' S tat e of 'Ohio for 'the' Year1 1857, Part II (Columbus, 1&>8), p, 538. This was only the second annual report-in the state's history, so earlier listings are not available. 24Third Aunua'I Repbrt 'of the 'Cofnmiss'ioner' of Statistics to the Governor of the State ••'of Ohio, 1859 (Columbus.; Richard Nevins, State Printer, 1860), pp, 131—32, See report, following. IX 3-

STATE OF OHIO NUMBER OF ACADEMIES, SEMINARIES, AND FEMALE COLLEGES, WITH THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS AND PUP: LS, 1859

Counties CD m Sh M-l o X3 O O O w Remarks . o X! _• O ,2 «ö Zi y Z o 4 W H

Adams . . . . Allen...... Ashland . . . Ashtabula . . 4 17 573 Athens ...... 1 2 50 Auglaize ...... 1 1 &0 Roman Catholic Belmont...... 1 1 66 Brown...... 1 80 Roman Catholic Butler...... 3 20 400 Carroll...... 2 5 130 Champaign. . . 1 Clark...... 2 13 281 Clermont. . . . 1 Clinton...... Columbiana. . . 2 Coshocton. . . 2 Crawford. . . . 1 2 50 Cuyahoga.... 3 40 359 2 Protestant & 1 Roman Catholic Dark...... Defiance...... Delaware. . . . 2 200 Erie...... Fairfield...... 1 80 Reform School. Fayette...... F ranklin...... 1 4 80 Episcopal Methodist. Fulton...... Gallia...... 1 1 50 Geauga...... 1 2 60 Greene...... 2 18 141 Guernsey. . . . 1 3 30 United Presbyterian Hamilton. . . . 11 116 1, 636 2 Catholic & 2 Presbyterian; others no denomination Hancock...... Hardin...... Harrison...... 1 3 80 Henry...... Highland...... 2 17 212 1 Episcopal Methodist Hocking...... Holmes...... 114

o

c Remarks . . . p a h o o o u c e

N P N N S T

FFn r on...... Jackson...... Jefferson...... 2 16 204 Knox...... 2 8 142 Lake...... 2 250 Lawrence...... Licking...... 3 11 147 1 Baptist, 1 Episcopal, 1 Congregational Logan...... 3 few Lorain...... Lucas...... 1 2 very few Madi son...... Mahoning...... 1: 2 80 Marion...... Medina...... Meigs...... 2. 3 Mercer...... 1 5 80 Roman Catholic Miami...... Monroe...... Montgomery. .... 3 16 201 2 Roman Catholic Mo rgan...... Morrow...... Muskingum...... 2 1J 200 Noble...... Ottawa...... -. . Pan Id infr...... Perry...... 1 10 60 Roman Catholic Pickaway...... Pike...... Portage...... 2 9 576 Preble...... Pntna m...... Richland...... 2 2 90 1 United Presbyterian Ross...... 4 1 148 1 Presbyterian Sandnsky...... Scioto...... Seneca...... 1 Shelby...... 115

(Continued. . . . : State of Ohio Number of Academies, Seminaries, and Female Colleges, With the Number of Teachers and Pupils; 1859 s s r f f

l Remarks f

Counties e o o o s o h l

o i . . c

h . o o p a c o u e N N

S N P T

Stark...... Summit...... 2 6 250 Trumbull...... 1 2 60 Tuscarawas. . . . Union...... Van Wert...... Vinton...... Warren...... 2 10 510 W ashington...... 2 9 6 5 Wayne...... 3 4 550 W illiams...... Wood...... Wyandot......

90 404 8, 221

In another table of this Thir d Annual Report„ the Commis­ sioner listed 161 institutions which had received articles of incorporation in Ohio up until 1860. Miller listed 170, up until 1850, and many were incorporated after 1850. This dis­ crepancy points up the variability of statistics available for this period, and also points up the ephemeral nature of the schools themselves. Nevertheless, following is the 1859

"official" Ohio list, "Of Academies and Seminaries, Incorpor­ ated from 1803.to•1860."22

22Third Annual Report, pp. 139-142. 1-16

STATE OF OHIO: ACADEMIES AND SEMINARIES, INCOR- PORATED FRONi 1803 to 1860 (1859)

Counties Titles of Incorporation

1. Franklin...... Worthington Academy 2. Montgomery...... Dayton Academy 3. Ross...... Chillicothe Academy 4. Columbiana...... New Lisbon Academy 5. Jefferson...... Steubenville " 6. Gallia...... Gallipolis " 7. Hamilton...... Montgomery " 8. Huron...... Florence " 9. Harrison...... Cadiz " 10. Portage...... Tallmadge 11 11. Muskingum...... Union " 12. Fairfield...... Lancaster " 13. Harrison...... New Athens " 14. Champaign...... Urbana " 15. Meigs...... Rutland " 16. Richland...... Franklin " 17. Huron...... Norwalk " 18. Belmont...... St. Clairsville " 19. Pickaway...... Circleville " 20. Hamilton...... Academy of Fine Arts. 21. Portage...... Nelson Academy 22. Highland...... Hillsborough " 23. Cuyahoga...... Bricksville " 24. Delaware...... Delaware " 25. Trumbull...... Kinsman " 26. Ashtabula...... Ashtabula " 27. Portage...... Ravenna " 28. Wayne...... Union " 29. Gallia...... Viiiton " 30. Ashtabula...... Conneaut " 31. Jefferson...... Richmond Classical Institute 32. Portage...... Windham Academy 33. Medina...... Wadsworth " 34. Stark...... Canton " 35. Seneca...... Seneca County " 36. Muskingum...... Putnam County Institute. 37. Hamilton...... Madison Institute 38. Wayne...... Wooster Academy 39. Cuyahoga...... Shaw " 40. Lucas...... S’yl vania " 41. Licking...... Granville " 42. Medina...... Sharon " 1.17

Continued. ... : State of Ohio, Academies and Seminaries Incorporated from 1803 to I860 (1859)

Counties Titles of Incorporation

43. Medina...... Medina Academy 44. Turnbull...... Warren " 45. Carroll...... New Hagerstown Academy 46. Miami...... Troy Academy 47. Tuscarawas. . New Philadelphia Academy 48. Stark...... Massillon Academy 49. Guernsey. . . . Cambridge Academy 50. Wayne...... Wayne County " 51. Geauga...... Chester " 52. Preble...... Eaton " 53. Huron...... Sandusky " 54. Huron...... Marysville " 55. Tuscarawas. . Dover " 56. Marion...... Marion ” 57. Knox...... Martinsburg " 58. Ashland...... Ashland " 59. Butler...... Monroe Academic Association 60. Belmont. . . . Barnesville Academy 61. Cuyahoga. . . . Brooklyn Center Academy 62. Fairfield...... Lithopolis 63. Cuyahoga Methodist Academy of Brighton 64. Wayne...... Edinburg Academy of Wayne 65. Lawrence. . . . Burlington Academy 66. Butler...... Middletown Acad. & Lit. Ass'n 67. Trumbull. . . . Gustavus Academy 68. Gallia...... Pine Grove of Porter 69. Wayne...... Canaan Academy 70:. Lucas...... Maumee City Academy 71. Warren...... Lebanon Academy 72. Warren...... Lebanon " 73. Seneca,...... West Lodi " 74. Portage. *...... Franklin " 75. Ross...... Salem Academy of Buckskin Twp. 76. Warren...... Waynesville Academy 77. Coshocton.... Keane " 78. Hamilton...... Cincinnati Classical Academy 79...... Columbus Acad. & Col. Institute 80. Portage.,...... Aurora Academical Institute 81. Jackson...... Jackson Academy 82. Hancock...... Findlay Academical Institute 83. Trumbull...... College Hill Academy of Ellsworth 84. Madison...... West Jefferson Academical Inst. 118

Continued. . . : State of Ohio, Academies and Seminaries Incc rporated from 1803 to I860 (1859)

Counties Titles of Incorporation

85. Madison...... West Jefferson Academical Inst. 86. Hamilton...... Cincinnati Lancaster Seminary 87. Franklin...... Young Men's Seminary of Blendon 88...... Asbury Seminary at Chagrin Falls 89. Cuyahoga..... Western Reserve Teachers Sem. 90. Stark...... Bascom Seminary 91. Ashtabula...... Grand River Institute 92. Huron...... Huron Institute in Milan 93. Meigs...... Strong's Manual Labor Seminary 94. Medina...... Tullenburg Institute in Brunswick 95. Columbiana. . . Neville Institute 96. Cuyahoga..... Berea Seminary 97. Monroe...... Monroe Seminary 98. Huron...... Baptist Lit. & Coll. Inst. 99. Cuyahoga...... Wesleyan Collegiate Institute 100...... High Falls Primary Seminary 101. Lorain...... Sheffield Manual Labor Institute 102...... Cuyahoga Falls Institute 103 ...... Madison College 104 ...... Marys ville Institute 105. Huron...... Greenfield Institute 106...... Franklin Institute of Portsmout h 107. Stark...... Canton Male Seminary 108. Summit...... * Tallmadge Academical Institute ; 109...... Akron Institute 110...... Vermillion Institute 111. Cuyahoga...... Rock River Seminary 112...... Middletown Academy 113. Richland...... Loudonville Academy 114...... Norwalk Institute 115. Lake...... Madison Educational Society 116. Columbiana. . . . Liverpool Seminary 117. Cuyahoga...... Baldwin Institute of Middlebury 118...... Mansfield Academical Institute 119. Logan...... Richland Academical Institute 120. Greene...... Xenia Academy 121. Clermont...... Felicity Female Seminary 122. Medina...... Medina Academy 123...... Richmond Classical Institute 124. Trumbull...... Farmington Normal School 125. Clarke...... Springfield Female Seminary 1-19

Continued. . . State of Ohio, Academies and Seminaries Incorporated from 1803 to I860 (1859)

Counties Titles of Incorporation

126...... Cadiz High School 127. Butle r...... Oxford Female Institute 128. Guernsey...... Miller Academy 129. Meigs...... Pomeroy Academy 130. Richland...... Mansfield Female Seminary Î31. Ross...... Mt. Pleasant Academy 132. Hillsboro Academy 133. Western Liberal Institute 134. Gallia...... Vinton High School 135. Geneva Hall 136. Morrow...... Elliott Female Seminary 137. Seneca...... Tiffin Academy 138. Defiance...... Def iance Female Seminary 139. Ross...... Soeurs de Notre Dame Fern. Ed. In. 140. Hartford High School 141. Greene...... Xenia Female Academy 142. Cleveland Female Seminary 143. Western Lit. and Theological Sem'y of the Reformed Pres. Church 144. Warren...... Beech Grove Academy 145. Frankfort Union Seminary 146. North Royalton Academy 147...... Sigourney Seminary 148. Huron...... Olena Academy 149...... Monroe Presbyterial Academy 150. Warren...... New Jersey Academy 151. Medina...... Seville Academy 152. Stark...... Freedom Seminary 153 ...... Cadiz Female Seminary 154 ...... Ravenna Literary Institute 155 ...... Bedford Christian Institute 156 ...... Poland Presbyterial Academy 157 ...... Union Female Seminary 158. Athens...... Coolville Seminary 159. Wayne...... Grove Female Institute 160. Summit...... Greensburg Seminary 161...... Fredericksburg Academy 120

The reader will note that again, many different insti­ tutions are mentioned, and that tile three lists (Boyd's,

Miller's, and the State of Ohio's) have as much new material as they do duplication. Whatever the true statistics as to the number and longevity of the seminaries and academies are

(and this study is intended to give a general, not a specific idea of their proliferation in the "West,” in Ohio), it is evident that there were many of them, and that their number began to decline in the 185Q's. Some academies became colleges, some failed for lack of support, and some continued as prep schools.

The reasons for the demise of the academy are several.

Most reasons, however, stem from thé fact that academies were not, despite the wishes of their founders (i.e. Mary Lyon) accessible to all people, and an outcry was made that they were not true to the democratic ideal, as Kandel noted.

The academy was, ..however, destined to be a temporary institution only, since it did not fulfill the demo­ cratic ideal of a public system of education, free from the lowest to the highest stage. In most states, it was public only in the sense that it was an insti­ tution incorporated under the law; in essence, however, it was private because it charged fees, which in some places were remitted for a few students in re­ turn for public assistance. By- the middle of the nineteenth century opposition to the academy began to develop on the ground that it .was a select, ex­ clusive, and aristocratic school, catering chiefly to those who could pay fees and providing only for the more able children of the poor, , „ » From this opposition it was an easy step to the argument that the many ought not to be taxed for the benefit of the few (an argument that was soon to be used against the public high school, too), and a movement now T21

for the establishment of a system of-f ree public high schools, equally open to all . . ,23

Ohio was particularly susceptible to these protests, given

the large number of private academies extant, and given the

provisions in the State Constitution, that no one would be

denied an education because of poverty.

Another reason for the fall of the academies and semin­

aries was that they were rural institutions., The country

was becoming urbanized, and this urbanization corresponded

with the growth of the public high schools. Sizer noted

that the academy was appropriate for a rural population,

spread thinly about the countryside, Day schools were not

appropriate in rural areas, because of the distances invol­

ved, but academies, where board was provided, were eminently practical, for those who could afford them. Not many people were wealthy enough to tax themselves' for such support,

though, and as urban centers arose, high schools were founded, which could serve a large population on a day, rather than on a boarding basis.24

Therefore, it was inevitable: the seminaries and acad­ emies diminished in numbers as the century wore on. They had served their purpose quite well considering, though. They had provided education above the elementary level, and even an education comparable to college level, in some schools. They had served a populace which often did not have an op­ portunity for .education beyond elementary school—women.

23Kandel, 405.

24Sizer, 97. -122

They had been the necessary transitional school while the nation was building itself up. They provided teachers, both male and female, for the developing nation. Especially in Ohio, the academies and seminaries played a very important part in the history of education in the state, and indeed, in the history of the nation, for Ohio's geographical posi­ tion in the Westward movement, and Ohio's unique educational funding laws provided fertile situations for the establishment of these private institutions. Although the number of academies and seminaries being established was diminishing by mid-century, because of growing urbanization and the resulting development of public high schools, two of the most important seminaries in the state had yet to be established. These two seminaries were built on the Mary Lyon system, and were to play an important part in the education of young women in Ohio. They were Western

Female Seminary, founded in 1853, and Lake Erie Female

Seminary, founded in 1856. 1^3

CHAPTER IV.

MARY LYON IN OHIO; WESTERN FEMALE

SEMINARY AND LAKE ERIE FEMALE SEMINARY

Western Female Seminary

If any man wishes his daughter to be a fashionable doll, let him not send her here; we cultivate no such plants. If any man wishes his daughter to shine only in the light of artistic accomplishments, let him not send her here; for these we cultivate in strict subordination to another—a higher ideal. If any man seeks simply to make his daughter a mere scholar, there are other institutions where this can be effected as well as here.

But if a man wishes to see his daughter develop her powers in the -line of a true woman's life--if he covets for her the crown of an earnest-minded wo­ man, inspired with lofty aims, conscious of power for good, and determined to use it aright—a woman whose disciplined head, and heart, and hand, are all prepared for a life of ennobled Christian action, in any and every field that she mayproperly call her own, then let him send her here.i

This quotation from an address delivered on July 17,

1856, at the first anniversary of the Western Female Seminary, in Oxford, Ohio, summed up the philosophy of the female seminaries of the day; the girl who attended one would not only become a scholar, but a true woman, a Christian woman, with discipline and a self-sacrificing missionary spirit.

4Samuel W. Fisher, "John Calvin and John Wesley: An Address," Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Co., 1856, p. 50. 124

The Rev. Daniel Tenney was the person who conceived the idea of establishing Western Female Seminary, In his letter

to the people at the seminary on its: twenty-fifth anniversary in June, 1880, Tenney quoted from his journal about when he had the idea for thé seminary:

June 5, 1853—For some length of time I have been hoping and praying that God would make me instru­ mental in the establishment of a school of a superior order, modeled somewhat after the South Hadley /Mount Holyoke/ plan. He had been thinking about it for eight years, and in this journal entry he wrote about his purpose in wanting to establish a seminary: If I can through this undertaking accomplish any-:;? thing to check the frivolity and wrecklessness of our young ladies, then I will bless God and take courage—then I shall not have lived in vain.

In his June 26, 1853 entry, Tenney told the people he wrote:

Thé School matter occupies almos-t every thought. 0 for strength and wisdom to accomplish all I have undertaken.

By the end of the month/ he was obsessed with the idea of establishing a school for girls in Oxford. He prayed and he thought and he said he finally decided "to present the matter to a few of my dearest earthly friends . , . "2

He had obviously been talking about his dream to es­ tablish such a school earlier, though, for a letter from

Rev. Lyman Beecher, Catharine's father, dated May 28 1853, from Boston, encouraged Tenney in his plan. Lyman Beecher had returned East after being associated with Lane in Cin-

2Daniel Tenney," Letter to Western Female Seminary, ’’ June 1880. Westemiana Collection, Miami University Libraries Oxford, Ohio. 125

cinnati, and the two men were colleagues. Beécher, of course, was an advocate of female education and a supporter of his daughter's efforts to train female teachers for the West. He wrote: "I have just learned somehow that you think of set­ ting up a Female Academy after the model of Miss- Lyon's. A better thing you can not do." He warned Tenney not to name the seminary after Mount Holyoke, as that would be confusing, and not to "attempt at once the entire model," but to be sure to modify the Mount Holyoke Plan to suit Western needs, perhaps using some of the ideas that Mrs. Washburn had tried in her school. Beecher admired Mrs, Washburn's school in

Cincinnati, saying of it, "I never knew so good a school com­ bining intellectual culture and the conversion of souls." He also mentioned to Tenney the interest of Mr. and Mrs. Tichenor in female education.3

On July 14, 1853, forty-six menl met at Oxford, Ohio to incorporate a female seminary, Edward Lane, one of the founding brothers of the Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, was elected to be chairman, and three men, among them Rev. Tenney, drafted a preliminary constitution and articles of association. The preamble set forth the philosophy they held with regard to female education: Believing that a system of education more thorough and at the same time more economical than that now prevailing is needed in The West, believing that it is possible to reduce the expenses of an academical course that the highest mental-culture and training may be more generally diffused, and also believing

3Lyman Beecher, "Letter to Daniel Tenney ,"28 May 1853, Westerniana Collection, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio. 126

that evangelical religion must be the cornerstone of every institution that is to be of public and permanent benefit, we, the undersigned, having in our possession-a subscription for the estab­ lishment of a Female Seminary- in or in the vic­ inity of Oxford, Butler Co., 0., above the value required by the Statute of the State of Ohio in such cases made and provided, do form ourselves into an association . „ .4 *

Their belief that female education should be (1) thorough, (2) inexpensive and thereby available to young ladies who were not wealthy, and Ç3) imbued with evangelical Christian principles was reflective of the philosophy of the time, and descriptive of the female teacher who was to be trained in their institution. The first name they tried out for the new seminary was "Beecher Female Seminary," presumably after Lyman, and not after Catharine (Catharine is mentioned nowhere in the papers).6 This was later that same day amended to "This institution shall be called the 'Western Female Seminary',"

The second Article repeated the purpose: "The object of this institution shall be to combine thorough mental culture with evangelical Christian instruction ..." The third

Article stated that the physical structures of the school would be built from funds solicited by donations. The fourth Article stated that the Board of Trustees would be made up of fifteen members, "all Protestants and the majority of them members of some evangelical church." The

^"Articles of Incorporation," Westerniana Collection, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio.

5lbid. 127

fifth Article listed the qualifications they wanted in their

teachers. No academic degree was necessary, but the tea­

chers did have to be Christians:

The Teachers of this Seminary shall possess distinguished qualifications for the duties of the various departments assigned them and shall be professing Christians of some evan­ gelical denomination. After thé election of the Principal Teacher by the Trustees the appoint­ ment of the others shall be with the full con­ currence of the Principal.

The sixth Article stated that "daughters of indigent

Western ministers" would receive a fifty percent reduction in tuition and expenses. The seventh stated that real estate security of double the value of any loan proffered by the school would be required, while the eighth stated that if funds were "diverted from their appropriate objects, the property would be transferred to the American Home Mis­ sionary Society. Among the signers of these articles was

Mr. Tichenor, who had been mentioned by Lyman Beecher, and who became one of the principal donors. In a letter to

Mrs. Sarah Howe, who wrote a manuscript history of Western

Female Seminary, Mrs. Cornelia Little Griggs, of the class of 1862, wrote this: My revered father, Rev. Henry Little, D.D., was greatly interested in the founding of the insti­ tution, and for years one of thé Board of Trus­ tees; was for a time President of the Board. I distinctly recall his -first mention at home, with great enthusiasm, the probability of the establishment of a Mary Lyon-school where girls should receive at small cost, the opportunity to avail 'themselves of a thoroughly practical edu­ cation, according to the principles of Christianity 128

and common sense. My father turned aside for a time from his work as Superintendent of the work of Home Missions in In­ diana to solicit money for thé needs of the incipient undertaking. One of the early gifts was $50,0006 from Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel.Tichenor of Walnut Hills, a most devoted couple who, having lived in the South, in advance of their time freed their slaves and removed to the North to clear théir consciences of responsibility for thé evils of slavery and to be free from association with it. The "early graduates" remember the Tichenor Guest Room, furnished by them with quaint but imposing old-s*ty le mahogany. 7

Besides this large donation from the Tichenors, there seemed little money available, and thé Executive Committee's

Second Annual' Report, in 1855, recited the troubles. Al­ though they had set out to raise $75,000 at first, they then decided to up thé amount needed to $100,000, and then to $125,000. Tenney wrote:

Many difficulties met us at thé very commencement. But one institution of the kind had ever been estab­ lished in the United States, and this in a remote section of the country. And although that Seminary had been for eighteen years the glory of New England, still it was but little known in thé field in which we were called to operate, there was much unbelief as to the success of thé enterprise. The churches upon whose sympathies we chiefly relied we found to be very poor, often struggling for existence, un­ able to sustain their own ministry in almost every 'instance, and in very many, cases embarrassed and exhausted with heavy debts. At the time of making the contract for building, about $40,QQQ had been subscribed, mostly towards the permanent fund. It was supposed that one-hun­ dred- dollar subscriptions from those who might wish

6This is a possible typing error by the transcriber of the manuscript, since the amount is listed differently in the Rep or t. 7 " ...... Sarah Isabella Howe,' Life 'of- Helen Peabody. Unpublished ms.in Westerniana collection of Miami University Libraries, n.d. (c. 1900). 129

to avail themselves of the privileges of such an institution might be secured in an amount sufficient to put up the building. . . » Very soon after the work commenced those terrible reverses in the com­ mercial world were experienced, the entire land was drained of its currency, and it became impos­ sible for our agents to obtain cash subscriptions requiring immediate payments.8

The Board of Trustees then permitted subscribers to take six or twelve months to pay, and in some cases, two or three years. This forced the Board to borrow money. The "paper" as it was called, was not, however, held by banks, but by

"warm personal friends of the Institution, who are willing to hold it until it can be taken up by the notes of our sub­ scribers." Daniel Tenney, during this time had secured

$31,650.00 in cash subscriptions and $24,000.00 in real estate, as well as $3,000.00 in railroad stock. J. J. Slocum- had secured $20,182.60 in notes; L.R. Booth had $8,700,00 in notes and $300.00 in real estate; Thomas Tenney had

$6,745.00 in notes; I.Beach had $1,050.00; and W, W.

Wright had gained $500.00 in pledges. Along with the residuary legacy of Gabriel Tichenor, in the amount of $20,000.00® the institution had promises of $113,127.00 of which $12,063.17 had been collected.

In this same Second Annual Report, Daniel Tenney, who was the executive director, warned them of their holy cause:

8Second Annual Report. 1855» Westerniana Collection, Miami "OniversT^Tibraries, Oxford, Ohio. ^Discrepancy with Mrs, Griggs’ figure. 130

In. the prosecution of this work great caution is needed lest we shall mingle with it too much of a worldly element and think to carry it forward as the merely selfish enterprise of thé day are prosecuted.

He urged the Trustees to continue their work "with a self- denying missionary spirit and entirely for the glory of

God." Again the Trustees emphasized that Western Female

Seminary was different, in that it was established for

the express purpose of training teachers:

The West is indeed crowded with "seminaries" and "colleges" and "institutes" for thé education of young ladies, but among them all we know of none that can be regarded as established expressly to educate the educators of our youth.

They are filled with all classes and ages, who are drawn together by every variety of motive; Some because their parents-wishit; others because the school is fashionable, and others to perfect them­ selves in some one art or accomplishment, leaving all other branches of education out of view. The result has been that it is exceedingly difficult to find thoroughly educated, practical young ladies for the more prominent and public stations to which in the providences of God many of them come to be called.

The Report also emphasized that the students would not be frivolous, "daughters of fashion,"who loved "mere pleasure and adornment," but would he those who "thirst" for an education which would be a Christian education. These would be girls "whose means are . . . very limited," but who were

"determined to fit themselves to do good in the world."

The first catalog for Western Female Seminary had been approved by the Board of Trustees at its "seven and a-half o'clock, A.M," meeting on July 28, 1853, although the Seminary did not open its doors until July 17 of 1855. The circular 131

assured its readers that adequate transportation would soon be available to Oxford, Ohio: "Before the opening of the Seminary this town will be connected by railroad with all parts of

the North, South, East, and Test . , ," The circular also noted that the grounds would encompas-s thirty acres of a "charming variety of hill, dale, and woodland."Id Elsewhere in this circular, the philosophical views of the founders were stated, regarding the purpose of female education: ". . . the intellectual privileges of young ladies should be much greater than are commonly afforded them," in order that they may have "complete preparation" to assume "the highest station of woman in society," Of greatest importance in this complete preparation would be "moral and religious culture," which would be especially important

"if we should see our daughters in the great social temple, as ’cornerstones polished after the similitude of a palace'."

The founders stated that God should claim the girls' entire

"affections," and that their style of life should be that of "self-denying benevolence."

Of secondary importance to moral and religious training would be the education of their intellects. This education would be given "not by ornamenting the surface with the mere tinsel of accomplishments," but by the stimulation of the energies of the mind.

Of third importance in the education of young ladies, as the trustees saw it, was physical education, for "A well

10First Circular for the Western Female Gblriiiiary1853. in Westemiana Collection of the Miami Uni vers ity Libraries, Oxford, Ohio. 132

furnished intellect and a glowing heart, if connected with a dormant and enfeebled body, can be of little worth."

This first circular also described the qualifications of the teachers, and it was repeated that their main quali­ fication was that they were "professing Christians," prefer­ ably Presbyterian; "and it shall be an object of daily personal attention with them to promote the religious interests of their pupils," although the instruction was avowed not to be sec­ tarian nor denominational. The other qualification was that the teachers have "distinguished" backgrounds, with "tho­ roughness" being emphasized. In fact, it seems the major qualification was that they themselves be graduates of Mt,

Holyoke, for this was mentioned several times. Among the first teachers at Western Female Seminary were

Miss Nutting, Miss Abbie Goulding, Miss Parsons, and Miss Harrington.H Miss Harrington and Miss Nutting taught there only one year. They were all Mount Holyoke alumnae, and

Miss Nutting kept the Seminary' Jottrn'al, which was exchanged yearly with the JournaI of Mt. Holyoke, so that the people at the parent school could have some idea of what was hap­ pening at the "little sister" school, and vice-versa. Here is an excerpt from that journal for the year 1855-56: We have not yet told you about our pleasant Western home, and we are rather reluctant to attempt a des­ cription, lest it should fail in making it seem as delightful to you as it does to us. However we are vastly comforted by the consideration that if you do not like our word-picture, we can invite you to come

41Howe manuscript, page 3. 133

and see for yourselves. ... At present we must ask you to imagine yourselves on the way from Hamilton to Oxford in an old-fashioned coach-and-four, with abundant leisure to look about you while the horses walk up the long hills. The scenery is so like New England that you fancy you are almost home, and you find yourself watching for the familiar outline of the mountain ranges which the next turn of the road must bring to your view. . . , These trees are taller than you have at home, to be sure, and that corn is head and shoulders- higher than any Yankee corn that ever grew . « ,

Did you notice the large stone-colored edifice on the right, whose top was just now visible above the trees? When the coach stops at yonder white gate you will have a front view of it and we would bespeak your special attention, for it is The Western Female Seminary. As you walk along the winding carriage-drive, and approach the little bridge at the foot of the orchard, you observe that the buil­ ding is of oblong.form, fronting west,-102 feet by 76 on the ground and five stories high. Each story has a balcony running about two thirds of the length of the front, supported by slender iron pillars, and surrounded by an ornamental iron balustrade.

You ascend the broad staircase to the first portico, and turning to the right, you enter one of the side doors. There is a corresponding door to the north end of the porch, and each leads into a hdll passing from the front to the rear of the building. Between these halls are the parlors, the windows of which open upon the verandah, and adjoining the parlors is the Seminary hall. Each end of the building is occupied by a range of private rooms. The above are similarly divided by two halls running from side to side of the building. In each story the front part of the space between these halls is appropriated to public rooms; the rooms for wood and water are in the centre, and beyond these, accessible by a narrow pas­ sage looking across from one hall to another, are several private rooms, looking eastward upon the beautiful forest scarcely a stone's throw distant. At each end of all the halls are sash doors, those in front leading to the balconies, and the others simply guarded by iron railings. In fine weather these doors are usually open, and we can assure you that pure air is by no means a rare luxury in any part of the house. If you enter the young ladies' rooms you will observe that they are very much like 134

those at Holyoke, though the general plan of the two Seminaries is very different.

There are in all about seventy pupils.42

This building burnt down a few years later, in 1859, a common fate for Seminary buildings. One first year student described the heating and lighting conditions, which makes it easy to understand why fire was such a threat:

Of course many of the modern conveniences were un­ known in all boarding schools of that day. We did not have candles for lights, as I saw it stated not long ago, but we had lamps with burning fluid that gave from two wicks considerably-more light than candles with one little wick did. We had, at least in the teachers' rooms,- open stoves with their bright fires of snap-pine wood, so that our carpets were riddled with holes half across the room.4-3

Miss Parsons, another teacher in that first year, was de­ scribed by a correspondent to Miss Howe: "Miss Mary Parsons was- an early graduate of Mount Holyoke and she reigned supreme in the domestic hall that first year, and was also a faithful teacher, besides caring for a Section of her own."^4

The Principal was Miss Helen Peabody, who remained in that post from 1855 to 1887. Besides her, these were the teachers during 1856 and 1857, the second year: Miss Philena McKeen,

Miss Adelia C. Walker, Miss Jane Tolman, Miss Ph ebe McKeen,

Miss Mary E. Foster, Miss Sarah Utley, Miss Eliza M. McCabe,

Miss Maria A. Beardslee, L. Amanda Whiting, Eliza J. Strong. * 14

43Howe manuscript, p. 2

14Ibid. . p. 28.

45Ibid. , p. 25. 135

Miss Foster, Miss Strong, and Miss Whiting were recent graduates (1856) of Mount Holyoke, and thus barely older than their pupils.4®

Miss Peabody was also a graduate of Mount Holyoke, and, as Mrs. Cornelia Little Griggs, class of '62, said in her letter to Miss Howe, Miss Peabody was considered "a fine example of the realization of the ideals of the sainted

Mary Lyon." She continued:

The strongest general impression of Miss Peabody retained in my memory is that she was always in command of the situation and always held the balance of power. Whether in a time of epidemic sickness, of , . , insubordination, or an infec­ tious alarm of burglary, intensified in the minds of the imaginative to an assurance of a visitation of ghosts, Miss Peabody was thoroughly resourceful and calmly possessed of adequate generalship.

Well do I remember a time when, morning after morn­ ing, the breakfast table was gruesome with tales of gliding scapes through the halls, mysterious bell ringings and noises of all descriptions making the small hours of the night frightful. Miss Peabody quietly stationed relays of teachers on guard duty in positions commanding halls where the midnight intruders had been reported, and an effectual quietus upon excited fancies resulted when announcement was made that sentinel duty had been done for several nights, disproving, beyond a poradventure, the possibility of the reality of the imagined disturbance.4®

Mrs. Griggs also described Miss Peabody as having "superior mental ability, well balanced rather than brilliant,” and said that Miss Peabody was so devoted to The Western, as they called the school, that she might have been married to it.

Such dedication from the administrators and teachers at

4®Howe, 23. l6Howe, 27. 136

female seminaries was common. The remuneration was low,

less than $200.00 per year at The Western, and therefore

dedication and loyalty were necessary.

Two others among the first teachers were sisters, Miss

Phebe McKeen and Miss Philena McKeen. They were teachers

all their lives and they often taught in the same institu­

tions. Theynever married. One of the letters in the Howe

manuscript described their careers and their education.

Before they came to Western, they taught in Haverhill, New

Hampshire, and Peacham, Vermont, as well as at Mount Holyoke.

They remained at Western for three years, and then they went

to teach at Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Phebe

McKeen was a writer and taugfrt literature. She wrote under

the name of Jenny Bradford, such works as' The Little Mother and Her Christmas, and Theodora Cameron. They had another sister, Catherine, who sometimes taught with them, before she died in 1858. Their father had taken charge of their educations early.

As was often the case with female teachers in the early 1800’s, their father was a clergyman. Miss Howe quoted a PiEOfessor Park as describing their childhood household thus: "I recall no household excepting that of the Brontes, where so intense an intellectual life permeated the atmosphere."17 He attributed their dedication to education and to teaching

l^Howe, 15. :i'37

to their early childhood.

Reared thus in an atmosphere of good learning . . . every one of its members wrote as natur­ ally as they talked and slept. The father used to wake his daughters in the morning with an original couplet, and the one who would most readily give the corresponding rhymes was looked at with admiration by all the others.

Another unnamed writer thought that the success of the Western Female Seminary was that there were teachers of the quality and calibre of the McKeen sisters teaching there from the very beginning. One correspondent, Eliza Strong

Merritt, spoke of them thus:

Among the teachers of those days the McKeens were especially useful. Not only highly educated, there religion was a healthy cheerful, every day kind such as made one of the wildest girls say to a teacher, "If I could be; such a Christian as you are I would like to be one." Miss Philena McKeen was gifted with great good sense and in any perplexity seemed to know instinctively the wisest thing to do. What a life of privilege was hers! able to care for and help young ladies even to the last. "I am seventy-five years: old and well," she once wrote me., "so life is crowded with opportunities for service."

Teachers in these institutions seem to have been quite mobile, moving from institution to institution, but teaching only in female institutions, probably because they weren't encouraged to teach at coeducational or male schools. Miss Jane Tolman, one of the early teachers, eventually ended up at Mills College in California, another "daughter" school of Mount Holyoke. Other teachers taught both at Western and at Lake Erie Seminary.

48Howe, pp. 15-17. 138,

One important, perhaps the most important, aspect of seminary life was the evangelical fervor. Revivals were com- 19 mon and it seems that even though the school was not specifi cally denominational, it was certainly fundamentalist. The teachers and the founders seemed to take it upon themselves as part of their responsibility, to try to convert each pupil.

Conversion seems to have been a prerequisite for truly belong­ ing, and there are implications that those girls who weren't saved were regarded as less than acceptable, as Emily Dickin­ son noted in her Letters. The pressure to become converted seems to have been enormous. Miss Nutting, in her journal about the first year of The Western, wrote:

There has been constantly more or less evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence among us, in the thought­ fulness of some among the impenitent which in a few instances has seemed to deepen into true convic­ tion and conversion; as well as in the returning to duty of others who had sadly wandered. Yet our faith has been sorely tried by many circumstances which have occurred among us; and we have been compelled again and again to resort to the Mercy Seat as our only hope. A little band for whom we had labored and prayed much and over whose hopeful conversion we had rejoiced, had been led into sin. To conceal their fault, they had resorted to a course of de­ ception, long-continued and of an aggravated

19 Francis Shepards on, in Defr'is oW- •Lftii'v’eWi'ty-, ■ 1831-1931, A Centennial History (Granville, Ohio, 1931), commented on this and quoted a letter from Rev. Henry Carr, pastor of the Granville Baptist Church, published in the' Cross’ and Journal, Jan. 22, 1836, which read: "You have doubtless heard of the revival which we have recently enjoyed. It has been a glo­ rious work. It commenced in our female seminary and in a very short time, every young lady in the boarding house, except two or three little girls, professed to entertain hope in Christ. It then appeared in our college, and since that time about twenty or upwards have expressed hope that they have passed from death into life." p. 179. 139

character. Long after their guilt was known to us, they persisted in an unqualified denial of the whole and it was this which grieved us most. We were at length compelled to write to their friends in regard to the course they were pursuing; but before this fact became known to the young ladies in question, they were led, as we trust, by the Spirit of God to make a full confession. All except one seemed as penitent and humble that they were permitted to remain, on condition of making a public acknowledgement of their misconduct to the school. The other young lady, probably less guilty but more unyielding was sent home. She was a girl of fine mind and strong character and deeply as she grieved us, we love her still and still pray that she may be reclaimed.29

One wonders what it was these girls did in their "course of

deception"; did they pretend to be converted when in fact

they were not? did they fail to keep curfews? It is a

tantalizing question. This comment by Miss Nutting also shows

that it took more than a "fine mind and stro^^character"

to survive the faculty- and peer-pressure at a Mary Lyon school.

Another description of the importance given to personal conversion was written by Eliza Meritt:

. . . not only at Oxford but all over our land God was preparing the people for the time of sorrow and sacrifice which was so soon to come with the terrible war. One instance I have always remembered: One of our most talented and attractive girls had long been thoughtful, and much earnest prayer had been offered for her, but the thought of her friends at home seemed her hindrance. At last she yielded her heart to her Savior and wrote to tell her friends of her new found joy, when the mail the same day brought the same joyful intelligence from home friends.21*

The story of Belle Riggs is another anecdote Eliza Merritt told to Miss Howe, and it not only serves to illustrate the evangelical- atmosphere of the Western Female Seminary, but to

29Howe, 12.

21Howe, 20. 140

describe the vagaries students went through to get there: Among my section the first year was Belle Riggs, who had come from her far-away home among the Indians. In absence of any other mode of convey­ ance, as well as lack of places of refreshments, they journeyed with their own horses across-the prairies, camping where night overtook them, being several days on their way before reaching civili­ zation. I had known of her parents as devoted missionaries and was greatly surprised when Belle classed herself with the "not Christians." All that year she seemed almost persuaded and the next passed under the influence of Miss McKeen. The morning of the day of prayer Miss McKeen came to my room and called me out, saying, ’.'.I want you to come with me to pray for Belle Riggs, you know the promise is to two or three, and it seems impressed upon my mind that this is a day of crisis for her." I can never forget the earnestness and directness of her prayer, and it was answered and the Christian life Belle began that day led her to China, where she and her eldest daughter laid down their lives not long before the Boxer outbreak in that region, which compelled Mr. Williams to escape by way of Siberia.

The graduates who became- missionaries were much respected

and much beloved, and there are accounts of how their letters

to The Western were received with gladness. One graduate went out as the wife of a missionary: "In the fall of 1857

Mrs. Quick, Maria Thatcher of first year’s pupils at the

Seminary went out with her husband to Ceylon." A letter giving an account of their voyage was "read to the school at missionary

concert a year later." Some went out as teaching mission­

aries: "Miss Mary Spooner, class of ’58, very soon after her graduation went out as a teacher to the Cherokees." Other missionaries were Sarah L. Woodin ("Mr. Woodin and myself in the summer of 1859 were appointed by The American Board to join its mission at Foochow China , . ."), and Mrs. Shedd 141

(Jennie Dawes, *59), who went to Persia.24

Girls who finished the entire course of study often remained at the school to teach, and therefore the population at many seminaries was very young. Mrs, Woodin..noted that

"I was the youngest member of the first faculty, only nine­ teen when I went directly from Mount Holyoke Seminary to Oxford."2® Mrs. Griggs, whose father was an early board member, and who was quoted above, was "a member of the class of '62 of the original Western Female Seminary, and a teacher there during the two following years,"26 Miss Foster, one of the first teachers, later remarked upon her lack of experience-when she taught there during her callow youth: How crude I was in those days. It seems as though I could do much better now if I were a teacher. Life, after all, is the best school, and I were dull indeed if I had not learned some lessons,27

Little mention is made in the Howe manuscript of letters of reminiscence about life at The Western, nor in other letters, about the girls' involvement in their studies, nor of the pedagogical methodologies employed at the seminary, perhaps because they were so interested in each girl's sal­ vation, and perhaps because it was taken for granted that they studied and had classes, and such recounting makes dull stuff for letters of recollection. Therefore, information on

24Howe, 25.

25 Ibid,

26Ibid., 26. Pagination in the ms.is repetitive; there are several sections. 27Ibid. ,21. 142

the intellectual content of the seminary experience must

come from the courses of study. Before they were even ad­

mitted to the school, the girls had to have "a good knowledge"

of these basics: English grammar, modern geography, written

and mental arithmetic, the history of the United States,

and Watts On The Mind. They were also urged to have acquired

some skill in orthography, in reading, and in penmanship.

If they wished to pursue instrumental music, it was suggested

that they have "some previous skill," and, in fact, the

Circular discouraged pupils from planning to begin to study

instrumental music at the Seminary:

♦Note: If the pupil at the time of her admission to this institution is wholly- acquainted with the elementary principles of piano music it will be utterly impossible to make her a finished per­ former of the same without greatly impairing her standing and scholarship in the more practical and far more important studies of the course.28

One of the criticisms of female seminaries and academies

at this time was that they attempted to teach too much in too

little depth, and so the curriculum planners of the course of study at Western Female Seminary took care to inform the

students and their parents that the course of study had as

its aim to be "practical and thorough." They announced that "It will not be made so much an object to have the pupils

pursue a great number of studies as to thoroughly master a

few." They assured the readers that the purpose of the course was "not to heap upon them a mass of undigested facts, but to

28Circular of the Western Female. Seminary Published For The Benefit of its Friends and Patrons, 1853. 143

and discipline their minds . . , " They assured them that

"Nothing is put here for the sake of show," and emphasized

the practical nature of the studies.

There were three classes, the Junior Class, the Middle

Class, and the Senior Class, and it was thought that those who were "well prepared" when they entered, could complete

the entire course of study in three years. Not all students wanted to study for three years, however, and they were ad­

mitted for one year, or for two years, although they were

expected to pursue the regular course.

During the first year, or Junior Year, the girls

studied these "branches":

Review of English Grammar Ari thmetic Geography (with outline maps) Analysis of the English Language Ancient Geography Natural Philosophy Philosophy of Natural History Algebra Geometry (commenced) Latin (Grammar and Reader) History Parker's Aids and Exercises in Composition

The Middle Class studied these: Latin (Exercises and Virgil) Ge ome try (comp le ted) Plane and Spherical Trigonometry Mensuration Botany (completed) Bookkeeping Rhetoric Chemistry Astronomy Physiology Evidences of Christianity History Exercises in Composition 144

The young ladies in the Senior Class studied these:

Latin ÇCicero and Tacitus) Geology Mineralogy Natural Theology Mental Philosophy Moral Philosophy Political Economy Butler's Analogy Logi c Critical Readings in English Classics Exercises in Composition

What were called the "accomplishments" were also avail­ able to the pupils, but on a less formal basis:

Attention will also be given to Vocal and Instru­ mental Music (Piano), to Linear and Perspective Drawing, to Painting and to French.

Calisthenics were also a part of the regular curriculum, and a student could study Greek: "To those who may desire it the Greek Language will be taught as far as the Grammar and the New Testament."

All these subjects were taught by the few teachers mentioned on page 136, and so one must wonder if the Seminary did or could live up to its aim to be "thorough," especially since there was a two month summer vacation. The year was divided thus: there were three terms—the first, of fourteen weeks, beginning in the middle of September and lasting until Christmas; the second, of thirteen, weeks lasting from January until April; the third, of thirteen weeks lasting from the middle of April until the middle of July.

In the first years of the Seminary, board and tuition costs totaled $60.00, with fuel and light furnished "at 145

cost," and with no extra charge being levied for music les­ sons, nor for painting and drawing lessons. Clergymen's daughters were given special assistance in meeting finan­ cial obligations.

The Western Female Seminary continued to educate young women throughout the nineteenth century and through most of the twentieth century. It became Western College for Women in 1904. It was closed as a separate college in

1974, when it joined Miami University. Its history closely parallels that of its sister school on the other side of the state, in the Western Reserve.

Lake Erie Female Seminary

Lake Erie Female Seminary in. Painesville, Ohio, was another Mary Lyon institution in Ohio. It was an outgrowth of the Willoughby Female Seminary, which was founded in

1847. The Willoughby Seminary was moved to Painesville in 1856, after its building burned, and its name was changed to Lake Erie Female Seminary, An association with

Mount Holyoke was begun in 1859, ten years after Mary Lyon's death. The booklet printed for the alumnae of the insti­ tution on its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1884 described the Willoughby effort. Clergymen had been exploring the chances of starting a seminary since 1834. They were con­ vinced of the need for female education and conferred with 146

women wild were running successful girls' schools, including

Emma Willard of Troy, New York, but they had no building and no money. Then the Willoughby Medical College was moved to

Cleveland and their building was vacated. One of the founders described their further efforts:

It was to Mt. Holyoke Seminary, which then had been in successful operation for ten years, that the committee how turned; and Miss Lyon, whose sympathies had always been strongly enlisted for the growing West, entered into their plans with great interest. She recommended as Principal of the proposed school, one of her own graduates, Miss Roxena B. Tenney, 20 who had already de­ clined an invitation to become a teacher at Mt. Holyoke Seminary and in other places in New England, under the strong conviction that she could, be more useful as a teacher in the West. Miss Tenney being favorably disposed towards the new enterprise, the College building.was refitted with recitation rooms and music rooms, and one large hall which could accommodate two hundred pupils,30

The Willoughby Seminary flourished, and in its second year it had one hundred pupils and four graduates. Miss Tenney was principal there for seven years, and the number of students increased yearly, "till applicants were refused for want ot room." The students were not housed in. the rebuilt medical college/seminary building, but they rented private rooms from town residents. By 1853, there were 226 pupils: 41 in the preparatory department, 149 in the Junior Class, 21 in the

Middle Class, and 14 in the Senior Class. After the reclaimed medical building burned in 1856, the board of trustees considered

2®Miss Tenney seems to have been from "the West," but in­ vestigation has not come up with what would seem a natural con­ nection, with Daniel Tenney of Western. / •...... 30"Twenty-Fifth Anni vers'arv' of Lake Erie Sfiminary," Cleveland: 0 Savage, 1883), p. 5. .147

what to do, while classes were held in improvised rooms all throughout Willoughby. Nearby towns were making bids for the school, and the Painesville bid was among them.

The agent for Mount Holyoke, whose main responsibility in the Cleveland area was fund-raising, a man by the name of Rev. Roswell Hawks, was consulted and was in favor of moving the seminary to a larger town, and so the Painesville offer was accepted and Lake Erie Seminary was incorporated, in 1856. Mr. Hawks, or "Father Hawks," as he was called, was also in favor of constructing facilities large enough so that the Mount Holyoke Plan could be carried out complete­ ly; in Willoughby the domestic plan could not be followed because the girls boarded out. Hawks pushed for a situ­ ation where the girls could board at the school and be together all the time, and not just for classes, and so

Mary Lyon's plan for the creation of a "family" at all her schools, with the domestic duties to be shared by the pupils for at least one hour every day, in order to cut down on costs and to teach responsibility, was instituted at the new seminary.

The building was located on a plot of fourteen acres, on easily drained, thus healthful sandy soil, and maple trees and evergreens were planted among the oak trees and chest­ nuts. The students could see Lake Erie from the top floor windows, which were four stories high. One hundred eighty by sixty feet, the building was designed to accommodate one 148

hundred and fifty persons in the Lake Erie Seminary "family".

The building was completed, and in September, 1859, seven teachers, most of them Mount Holyoke graduates, opened school.

The principal was Miss Lydia Sessions. Two of the one hundred and twenty-seven pupils graduated that first year.

Miss Sessions was principal until 1866, when she married one of the local Congregational ministers, and the teachers ran the school without a principal until another Mount Holyoke graduate, Miss Anna Edwards, took over as principal. In its first twenty-five years, Lake Erie Seminary enrolled 2800 students, of whom 230, or about eight percent,: completed the full course. One hundred and fifty of these graduates, O 1 or about 65 percent, became teachers. This reason was given for thé low total of students who completed the full seminary course: The Seminary has been ambitious in extending its course of study, and its strict adherence to Latin and Mathematics as essential to graduation, has seemed, to some, to lengthen the time of study overmuch.32

A letter from Mrs. Edna Lyman Wilbur, who graduated from

Lake Erie in 1862, and who taught there after graduation, before moving to the Dakota Territory, gave a picture of life at the Seminary: Jamestown,.Dakota, June 18, 1884

31 ■-Twenty-Fif th Ann iversary," p. 9 .

32Ibid. , p. 10. 149

.... Mr. Avery received thé new comers that morn­ ing at the east door, conducted them to Parlor A, and presented them to Miss Sessions. When I arrived, morning worship had already begun in the chapel. Would I go in? The door were silently opened as I bowed assent. Miss Mary P. Bronson, thé first Associate Principal, was on the platform, with an open Bible before her. T remembér her earnest, plead­ ing voice better than her words, but r also remember the hymn sung. It was the hymn beginning "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord," sung to the air, "Home, Sweet Home," There is nothing in all the past that comes back to me now with so much sweetness and force as the hymns we used to sing. . . . And not hymns only, but thé merry songs when the full wagons came home through the moonlight along the Mentor road after a merry day at Little Mountain; and those we sung while busy fingers were making evergreen wreaths and mottoes just before Thanks­ giving; thé songs we sung at our Flag Raising, and on one moonlight evening in response to the martial music of our soldiers on thé eve of departure for the seat of war.

Mrs. Wilbur also wrote about her memories of the visits, before and after his death, of Abraham Lincoln:

. , . Again, on a bright spring morning, with many a laugh and a jest, we are loaded into picnic wagons . and drive away towards thé depot. Abraham Lincoln, President-elect of thé United Btates, is to pass through Painesville today, on his way from Spring- field to Washington, to enter the duties of his office. We wait to see him. Everybody else does too. What a crowd, and how happy everybody looks! Thé engine gives one quick, jubilant scream. The cars all decked with flags roll up, and stop. The band plays. Our Chief steps upon the platform. Cheers rend the air. He speaks. His face is ra­ diant with goodness. ... Another morning comes,—a rainy morning,—more than four years after; a few of us are still at the Seminary. We put on our hats, shawls and rubbers, take our umbrellas and walk silently through the rain towards the depot. Our Chief is going back today,—back from Washington to Springfield. He will pass through Painesville on the early morning train. We shall not see his face 150

today. . . Bis still form lies wrapped in that flag for the love of which hé lived and died. . . Oh! the wail of that locomotive! ... We can see it through the car window. We can see, too, the place where Tittle Willie lies, covered with white immortelles. The engine has taken in water. It puffs and begins to move. ...

Mrs. Wilbur used her descriptive talents to talk about the

ceremonies at Lake Erie Seminary, also:

It is Anniversary Day. We form in the white-robed procession, pass out thé front door, under the young trees, and then turn towards the grove. Class after class pass before us. . , Thé first, the two Marys, who stood side by side and went through But­ ler's Analogy without a faltering step. Then, the nine of '61 and thé twelve of '62, the latter being the first class whose entire course of study was taken here. The dark days of thé civil war were over us then. There were only seventy pupils in the school. The class of '62, or several members of it, held a long consultation in the Library one day as to whether it were not better to go to some older, more firmly established seminary to finish their course, but concluded to remain true to Lake Erie Seminary ...

Mrs. Wilbur was known among thé alumnae as an accomplished journalist. In the same long letter, she recalled the teachers at Lake Erie Seminary:

Can you not once more, see Miss Prescott looking over the populous Domestic Hall? We did not know then how much we owed to her, but often, since, when we have been at our wits' end, catering for a family of eight or ten, or transiently, for fif­ teen or eighteen; when we have been exasperated by ignorant and unskilled help, then we have added in imagination to our burden ten or fifteen times . . .33

33The "burden" referred to was the student work required by the Mary Lyon domestic system. Many of the girls came from homes with servants, and so domestic work such as cooking and cleaning was new to them. 151

Can you not see Miss Fisher's calm, triumphant face looking down over her Algebra class at a public examination? The calmness- of assured victory look­ ing out upon us from those eyes controlled our nerves and allayed our fears. She expected us to succeed, therefore we did succeed.

Or is it Miss Dorr who-.dawns upon us in the sick room, full of hope and cheer, of balm and blessing, even after a night of watching. Or-is it Miss Harriet Smith after her dark, yearning, mournful eyes?34

The teachers at Lake Erie seem to have been as dedi­ cated as those at Western Female Seminary. In a letter to

the alumnae in 1894, Mary Burton Shurtleff of the class of

1860 recalled their dedication and loyalty:

What and how great an enterprise was undertaken by the first teachers of Lake Erie Seminary we may be able to estimate more fairly, after the lapse of so many years, than while the work was in progress. Probably it did not occur to the trustees, or indeed, to any of the girls who gathered there for study in the fall of '59,.that thé task of the eight ladies, placed in charge-,- was an--especially difficult one. -• • «'"• « • « « • « • « t « ♦ » • « « « « * * * These, then, were the tasks to which the first tea­ chers set themselves. Besides the main requirement of thorough35 instruction in a liberal course of study, they arranged and supervised all the work needed to be done in a family of one hundred and twenty-seven, in a building without modern conven­ iences, and looked carefully after the habits, health, and morals of this large number. It will be seen that these were an immense addition to the ordinary duties of the teacher. Another burden which lay upon the first band of teachers was thé lack of means for the proper equipment of the various departments of study.

34 Twenty Fifth Anniversary, 52-53.

35 Note the use of the word "thorough" again, to describe a seminary education (which must have been anything but thorough, given the number of offerings and the limited preparation of the teachers). 152

There was no apparatus, no cabinet, almost no library,36

Mary Burton Shurtleff went on to note that these teachers’ salaries for the first year were "$16O.QO each, an amount often paid in these days to domestic help." They received

$200.00 the second year, and $250,00 the third year, and this was their top salary. These salaries compared with those received by the teachers at Mt. Holyoke, so they didn't complain. Sacrifice for the greater good to the glory of God was part of the Mary Lyon creed,

Shurtleff then described the first principal at Lake

Erie, Miss Lydia Sessions, who taught full-time in the Senior branch, as well as being administrator of the school. She was always composed and "eminently methodical," making sure to allot enough time for all her duties:

She was never hurried, never idle, and very rarely hindred by illness or fatigue. She was a grand illustration of New England ideas of thrift and management. After taking one-tenth for benevolences, she so used the remainder of her small salary that no lack of what was becom­ ing or appropriate ever appeared in her wardrobe or surroundings. A few flowers or plants, some inexpensive pictures and well chosen books, with a touch here and there from her deft hands, trans­ ferred her plain room into the cheeriest, most delightful place in the whole house.

Miss Sessions had the ability, it seemed, to gauge the capabilities of each pupil, and to demand that each do the best she could. Although Shurtleff said Miss Sessions taught *

36 The Seminary Record, VII no. 2, pp. 241-44, 153

all the branches of study very well, it appears she excelled most at teaching the Bible:

None of us who gathéred in chapel for morning devo­ tions, will ever forget her glowing face, her rever­ ent reading of scripture/- followed occasionally by brief impressive comments, and always by such earnest petitions as carried us into the very presence cham­ ber of the "King invisible."

Miss. Sessions had taught at Mt. Holyoke, and when she came to

Painesville, she brought Mary Burton Shurtleff with her to Ohio, and Mary Shurtleff became one of the first graduates.37

Shurtleff went on to teach at Oberlin for many years. In the letter being discussed here, she recalled the first public examinations at Lake Erie Seminary':

Does anyone here remember how the people of Paines­ ville came out to the public examinations of that year, filling the old chapel and the space about the doors? It was a trying ordeal to the two Seniors, but our teacher was so calm, so entirely her every day self, that we forgot our trepidation and did our very best, because she expected it of us.

Financial concerns were always great at these seminaries, partly because the public did not view female education as being as important as the education of boys, and partly be­ cause a secondary school education was rare for both sexes, and many people thought that people should be made literate on a very basic level, before money was spent on "higher" education. Lake Erie Seminary had its share of financial difficulties. The accounts of thé early years tell of the attempts to raise funds. The Seminary did not begin its life, as Mary Lyon would have wished, "free of encumbrance.," They

37cf. Mrs. Wilbur's reference to "the two Marys", on p.152. 154

started out heavily in debt, and that debt was not paid off until after the Civil War, Current expenses on a year-to- year basis were met, according to thé writer of the Twenty-

Fifth Anniversary pamphlet, "by wonderful self-denial on • the part of the teachers" 38 as well as by. circumspection

on the part of the trustees. Thé primary contributor during

the early years was thé Hon. Judge Reuben Hitchcock who,

through his railroad interests, was growing more and more wealthy. He was a member and sometimes president of the board of trustees, and in 1871, for example, he gave a Christ mas gift to the seminary, of ten thousand dollars. He made

attempts to find natural gas on the seminary property, so that the building could be heated and lighted: "With an inexhaustible supply at his own beautiful home over the river, it did not seem too sanguine an undertaking." It was never mentioned that they did strike natural gas.

Additions were built onto thé building periodically, and furniture and othér comforts were added. The students were properly grateful for these amenities, often provided by donors. One student even wrote a poëm about a new carpet Thrice the daylight dawned and darkened Ere the stitches all were taken, Ere the carpet all was finished. Noise of hammers then succeeded; Quick upon the floor we. laid it, Then, when all was done, surveyed it, And with pleasure gazed upon it, Gazed upon it with a pleasure Ne’er before vouchsafed to mortals, Wêary. mortals who had made it.

3 8"Twenty-F i fth. - p. IQ. 155

Wondrous carpet! Much we wonder-. What will be thy fait ..hereafter.. Ye who, in the future, tread it, Tread it lightly, and remember Those who bought it, those who made it. Time, deal gently with our carpet, Spare its brightness and its beauty, Spare it long to do its duty.39 *

One cannot read this without smiling, either in amusement or

disgust, but such creative writing was apparently taken seriously, for a piece of that very carpet was used to cover a platform in the chapel, and an alumnae of the class of 1863 wrote a further poem about thé carpet: ,

Shade of the mighty, can it be That this is all that's left of thee?49

But carpets were necessary, as well as were the other expenses of running a school for two hundred teen-aged girls and their teachers. Dr. H.C. Haydn, a member of the board of trustees at the time of thé twenty—fifth anniversary, and a former pastor of a large church in. Cleveland, as well as one of thé more successful fundraisers for the

Seminary, spoke (perhaps a bit bitterly) about finances: If anybody thinks that to carry forward so modest an undertaking as this for a quarter of a century is a holiday affair, he needs to have his mind en­ lightened. . . . Success has been a costly thing— most of all in wear and tear of precious life. No munificent friend founded it or has stood by it. No large gifts have come to it at all, as compared with many other schools of Christian, culture. . , . All who have been here, from thé first, have had

39 ' Twenty-Fifth, • ' p . 4 8,

4QIbi d. , p. 49. X5B

their education at less than thé. cost. The terms were made so low that none worthy to enjoy the advantages need he debarred. They so continue. . . . Try to get considerable money for the edu­ cation of girls—for such a Seminary as this—and you will know what I mean, We are not in New England, where the education of young women has made such a- magnificent stride ahead. We are in Ohio, which, in this respect, is twenty-five, or fifty, or maybe a hundred years behind New England, though we are a good way ahead of the Turks.41

Dr. Haydn went on to speak about the importance of edu­

cating girls, saying that it was no trouble to obtain "splen­

did endowments" to educate boys, but even though girls would be the homemakers and the trainers of sons (he didn't mention

daughters), as well as thé teachers "of thé schools of the future," and the receivers of "unparalleled openings for women's work" all over the world, no one wanted to support

their education. Haydn made his remarks in 1884, after twenty-five years of begging for funding. His comments show that little progress in the education of girls had been made during the century.

The board of trusteés, because of the great difficulty

in raising funds, considered making the seminary sectarian, so that it could stay open under thé aegis of one religious

denomination. Dr. Haydn said it would then have been easier to get funds, for "so long has education in Ohio run in sectarian grooves." Be commented that the teachers and principals often had had higher-paying jobs offered to them elsewhere, but that they had refused: "Again we were face to

41 Twén ty-F if th. ’ pp. 77 ff. 157

face with Mary Lyon and the Christ in her, and, praise to God! self-sacrifice triumphed."

Haydn wished that Painesville was within the Cleveland city limits, so that they could get funding:

Cleveland has begun to hear of us; Cleveland was about a thousand miles away for a good part of this quarter of a century. We are beginning to get her girls. We have had a little of her money, but more praises than .cash, thus far. Having her girls and her praises, it will be a new thing under the sun, if we do not get something else, Cleve­ land is generous—to herself.

Another early trustee of the institution was, perhaps, typical of those men who supported female education and who served on the boards of female seminaries. The Rev. Hubbard

Lawrence graduated from Marietta College in 1838, and he went to Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, where he studied under Lyman Beecher and Calvin Stowe.42 He took a pastorate in Toledo, which was a home missions area. While in Toledo,

Rev. Lawrence tried to establish a school to prepare boys for college, and girls for advancing beyond the district A schools’ curricula. While in New England searching for a teacher for his school, he met Mary Lyon, and as had many other men, he became very interested in her principles for the higher education for women. He spent much of his time as a financial agent for Western Reserve College (for men), but he eircourjagexl. ancLlnelped young women who were interested in

42 The writer is struck by the repetition of names and insti­ tutions within the female seminary movement in Ohio. The Beechers, Lane Theological Seminary, the Tenneys, the Hubbards, the Hitchcocks, the Haydns, etc, keep coming upon boards of trustees as well as in personal accounts. 158

furthering their educations, to attend institutions that combined higher learning with Christian principles, and especially encouraging them to attend Lake Erie Seminary.

He contributed, during his life, over $4QQQ.0Q to institutions such as Lake Erie Seminary, Marietta College,

Western Reserve College, and Oberlin College; this sum was amazing for a man who often earned little more than

$400.QQ a year, and who had his own family to support. He also gave private gifts to individual students in need, and.these were never totalled. Rev, Lawrence’s own daugh­ ter attended Lake Erie Seminary, and then she taught there, in the Lajtin and history department,: as well as spending some time as a missionary in Constantinople. He died in 1895.43

These dedicated men, mostly ministers and professional persons, did preserve the ideal of womanhood their predecessors had preached. They went about from seminary to seminary giving addresses on graduation days and founders days about the value of female education., considering the true nature of woman and her place in her God-given sphere, and giving the reasons women should be educated. Each speaker had a different style, a different rhetoric, but the message was the same. Typical of these speeches was the first anniver­ sary address at Lake Erie Seminary, by the Rev. Henry Storrs. Storrs seemed to be echoing Eordyce (Chapter I, p. 18) in that he saw the purpose of female education to be to educate

43The Seminary Record, VIII (1895), p. 325. 159

women so that Intelligent men could talk to them about in­

tellectual matters: It seems to us a grand thought, to go forward in such institutions as this; the thought of bringing up the average intellectual position of the American woman until, as a whole, she shall occupy a plane of intelligence higher than that now occupied by the best. our-educated and thinking men find little in telle ctual,companionship in female society; a gulf is recognized as widening between the sexes; and for intellectual conversation they must resort to men. They fear to venture thé higher themes into conversation with women—the dead blank of an inanimatey unresponsive attention, or some attemp­ ted reply, sadly out of joint, has so often proved their best reward.

And this divorce of intellectual life between them goes on increasing with their years. , . , The man has been outgrowing his sister, in the habits and powers of reflective thought; of mental creation, not less than in the positive acquisition of high knowledge. The evil effects of all this can hardly be over­ stated. Involving, as it does, cessation of equal and appreciative and mutually influential companion­ ship in intellect, this divorce or separation affects both parties disastrously. Deprived of the influence of woman’s readier faith, man becomes arrogant, infidel of intellect; and woman, unaided by man's energizing strength, becomes insipid, fragmentary, effeminate. Mutual understanding and healthful relations cease.44

' 44Henry M. Storrs, Address ’at Lake Erie Seminary, July 19, I860, n.p. 24 pgs. Apparently the subject of female educa­ tion was a favorite topic at female institutions. See the citations for similar addresses by Henry Day, George Emerson, Charles Elliott, Samuel Fisher, Henry Goodwin,- 3.W. Hall, L.P. Hickock, Joseph Matthews, and John Scott, in the biblio­ graphy of this study. The influence of these clergymen in preserving the innatist view, and in encouraging antisuff­ ragist and anti.feminist attitudes can not be underestimated. 160

The things Storrs was saying were not new; that women were

more easily and naturally religious and faithful; that men

were the energizers; that the sexes were essentially and innately different was an old and familiar sermon. Storrs

went on to attribute the fact that women were not trained

to use their intellects to a dearth of professional role

models among women, and hé suggested that the graduates

keep up on their reading of serious matter (but not novels),

that they keep practicing thé arts of good conversation (but

not domineering conversation), that they keep practicing

their writing skills, in order to be "intellectually satis­

fying and . . .spiritually saving" powers to brothers,

husbands, and sons. The theme that women's education would also educate women to take proper positions outside of their homes was

also a common one at Lake Erie. In 1884, Miss Ella Parsons, who taught at Lake Erie Seminary for seven years, and who

then went to Constantinople to become an associate principal

at the American Home School, before returning to the United

States to teach psychology at Mt. Holyoke, wrote an essay

called "The Seminary For Thé World," in honor of the twenty-

fifth anniversary. In this essay she urged that students

at the seminary be fitted for real life, which was a life

in which women functioned within théir spheres, which in­ cluded doing charity work and ministering to the poor and

sickly and aged: 161

The Seminary for the world must mean for the world as it always has -been and always will be—for there is a woman's lot, and a woman’s work, as Sophocles says in his Antigone of the unwritten laws of God: "Know no change: it is not a thing of to-day nor of yesterday." So her purity and loftiness of personal character-will be called for from woman to the end of time. -So the ministry of charity will always need her, as it has been always admitted to be her proper sphere, and the poor we are to have always with us. There are the sick ever to be nursed, the aged to be cared for, the little chil­ dren to be reared and trained in time to come as in the past. The Semin ary--cannot do better than go on developing character, making women of girls, and cultivating the old fashioned virtues of our grandmothers, patience -and faith, hope and love, on the old Bible basis, This demands conservatism.45

For the same occasion, Miss Frances J, Hosford, of the class of 1872, who was the daughter of a professor at Western

Reserve College, and who taught at Lake Erie before accepting posts teaching in high schools in Elyria and Cleveland, wrote in an essay called "Wfrat Does The World Want of Us?":

Wanted: a hundred women to take responsible positions in s ocial life. Qualifications: refined manners, quiet tastes, culture of mind and speech, and active Christian principles.

Wanted: well trained teachers to educate the minds, bodies, and hearts of our youth. Wanted: women for mission work, to enter doors that are closed to men. Wanted: Mothers who are ready to do general home­ work . The requirements include a culture of heart and mind deep enough to stand the test of the intim­ acies of home life. Special duties defined on application.40 * 48

45Twenty-Fifth, p. 57.

48 This is probably a reference to the profession of governess. 162

Furnish these to the world, 0 Alma Mater, and you will he doing what the world wants of you . . .47

This quotation shows what employment opportunities were avail­

able to educated women in thé last quarter of the nineteenth

century. Teaching was near thé top of the list, and was

now thought of as a "woman's profession." Other careers

that were acceptable were those in thé mission field, and

only in situations where 'men missionaries could not. go with

equanimity. Settlement work was also beginning to be an

acceptable career for women. Thé rest of the work was directly

home—related; educated women could bé wives and mothers,

social scions, and, if they were unfortunate enough to be poor and unmarried, they could bé governesses.

It seems that educated women were somewhat lonely in society, probably because there were so few of them, for

Hosford in her essay commented that thére was a lack of good intellectual company "among ladies in general society," a comment that indicated that few women, were educated, or

if they were, that they were hot educated to the standards of the seminaries in 1884. Miss Hosford wished that women knew that there was more than one way to read a book, and

that they knew that books were not merely for entertainment and for the whiling away of precious time. She said: "Let girls be trained to read both slowly and analytically; rapidly and comprehensively." They should learn to read books from

47,JTwenty Fifth, '' p. 59. 48Ibid. 163

the viewpoint of the authors, as well as from the viewpoint

of the readers, and above all, they should, after reading

a book, be able to tell others what thé book was about:

More attention to this point would make better conversationalists among our women and more efficient members in thé many literary „assoc­ iations and other societies of our day.

One wonders whether Miss Hosford had experienced exasperation

while attending literary society meetings. She was writing

to people who had attended a seminary, who were alumnae,

and she took the space to "teach" them how to read and discuss a book. This points up thé type of life many educated

women led in the second half of thé nineteenth century, the club woman's life. Literary societies were formed while the

girls were in the seminaries; they were similar to soror­

ities in the loyalties they engendered in the alumnae.

Miss Hosford also called for thé alumnae to urge that

the seminaries teach women to pay more attention to organiza­

tional principles Çi.e. Robert's Rules of Order) so that they would function bétter in "the literary circle, the musical club,

the missionary, temperance, and othér benevolent societies."

The lives educated women lived are described her and the

picture of the seminary graduate as a clubwoman begins to emerge. Hosford, of course, believed that the education of women should instill in them the principles of Christianity,

since "it is only an active Christianity which can thwart the present tendency of our age toward infidelity." 164

Miss Hosford thought the purpose of education should be

to make women tranquil, rather to agitate them to take action that is disruptive:

A course of study should be so regulated that it will develop power for quiet, steady action in .the world. Thé craving for variety- and change should be restrained. The world wants women with more repose of character, more of "tranquil strength". Then an uneventful life would not seem prosaic; an eventful life would not so soon exhaust vitality,40

Although this particular geographical area of Ohio was

one in which one of the first women's suffrage conventions was held,5049 and one in which considerable suffrage activity took place,51 the question of suffrage seemed not to involve

the minds and activities of the women at Lake Erie Seminary

very much, if the alumnae bulletins and the school newspaper

are any evidence. Miss Hosford, in this same anniversary

address, dt

49 ...... ■ ■ " "Twenty-Fifth; Anniversary., ’ p, 61. 5°in Akron, on May 28 and 29, 1851, This is where the famous Sojourner Truth speech, "Ain’t I A Woman?" was given, as the clergymen ridiculed the women.talking about equality. Keynote speaker on education was Mrs, E. Robinson, who said, "It can be nothing but an educational -prejudice that objects to exercising the elective franchise. . . . The injustice that has been practiced on woman in cramping the powers of her mind, re-acts like a withering scourge on all the race," The Proceedings’ of the Woman'* s' R'fghts' ConVen/fi-on- Held 'At Akron, Ohio. M ay 2 8 an a 29/ 1851 (Cin cinn at1: Ben Franklin Books, 185‘lj, 24-5. 51 -‘-Anthony,. Susan B. ; Matilda Gage; and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, eds. History of WCirian Suffrage (Rochester, N.Y. : Charles Mann, 1887). 465

of women, the co-education of thé sexes', the opening of

trades and professions to our sex, with other causes, are

bearing us on to woman's suffragé." She said that, what

with temperance reform and reform in. education, women

should know how the affairs of thé country were administered,

and that "mothers in the home circle" would particularly

benefit from courses in political science, because they

would soon have the right to vote.

In 1885, a year after thé Jubilee celebration at Lake

Erie Seminary, Susan B. Anthony did speak there, and the

college archives contain a letter by her written on May 21:

My dear Miss Evans:

I have ordered our publisher to send you a set of our History of Woman-Suffrage-to-be placed in your Seminary Library—History- Hep'a-TtMelrt—or wherever they will cat ch thé eyes of 'y'éur* gi'r-ls— for I want every one to see them and read them and learn to know of the early struggles of the_ little handful of furious women to gain there' JsiçJ chances now so full and freely and open to all—

Give my kindest regards to the teachers and the students alike—I enjoyed that morning's look into the faces and talk into the heads and hearts of those dear young girls that morning very much—

’With great respect 85 love Susan B. Anthony

However, the evidence shows that suffrage and women's rights were not common topics at the seminary. The ministers who spoke at the graduations and reunions did not speak of such things; instead, they sounded the same themes of women's place and women's sphere and women as companions for men. 166

In 1884, the Rev. Sylvester Scovel, D.D., the president of

Wooster University, repeated the clergy's call for a familiar type of girl graduate, the Christian ideal woman:

Oh, for the woman who will he simple for the sake of husband and children, and for the sweet adjust­ ments, by Christian charityr of the inevitable inequalities among men. Oh, for the women who will be simple that they may make théir sisters, who, like themselves, stoop— thé vine with the fruit they bear—happy, and that they may lighten the homes of heathenism with the smile of Christ.®2

In this same address, Rev. Scovel stated that "'Pretty woman' is much like petty woman," and hé warned that women were not perfected yet, "being still capable of offering apples to

Adam." The temptations offered upright men by pretty women were often spoken of in these addresses, and they illustrate the two types of women Smith mentioned. The plain, sober, housebound woman was less of a temptation and more of a help­ mate to the religious man. Scovel stated that there is intel­ lectual merit in the home, even though women's professions were reaching outside the home, as well.: He thought it fine that women worked outside the home in professions suited to them, but he didn't think that women were or ever would be suited for the ministry, though in the church "everything is possible to her through pen and teaching, hut the actual office itself

. . ." Scovel said women should,be grateful that the "bur­ dens of public life" were not put upon them, and he thought that women were "unwisely, I think," claiming the right to vote. Scovel was echoing the eighteenth century preachers

52 Twe n ty-Fi f t h Ann i've rs ary, ■■ pp. 8Q-8T. 167

showing that little had changed in the philosophy about woman's proper place in the last hundred years, although educational opportunities for women had improved.

An editorial in The Seminary Record in 1895 noted that women's voices were beginning to sound too strident, and the student writer called for a device that would lower the voices of women, noting that a pleasant voice showed

"good breeding and gracious manner," and that "every woman of real culture and refinement possessed a gentle voice»"34

This editorializing about being cultured and refined and feminine was very common in the student newspaper, reflecting the concerns of the girls that they render themselves pleasing above all. However, more scholarly concerns did occupy the students, and debating societies were as popular as literary societies at the seminary. The list of topics to be debated during the school year of 1895 may show what the girls and their teachers considered to be important issues: Feb. 16: RESOLVED, "That & girl should attend a coeducational institution."

Feb. 23: RESOLVED, "That it is more of an edu­ cation to read the papers and magazines .than the works of standard authors,"

Mar. 2: RESOLVED: "That an educational institution should be situated in the country."

Mar. 16: RESOLVED: "That anticipation is greater than participation,"

54The Seminary Record, Vol, VII, No, 3 (1895), 260-1, 168

Mar. 23: RESOLVED: "That trains should not be run on Sunday."

Mar. 30: RESOLVED: "That caps and gowns should be adopted at Lake Erie Seminary."

Feb. 21: RESOLVED: "That the Sunday newspaper is a moral evil.'î

Feb. 28: RESOLVED: "That the textbook method is preferable to the lecture system."

Mar. 7: RESOLVED: "That thé reading of magazine stories is intellectually detrimental."

Mar. 14: RESOLVED:-- "That Lake Erie Seminary become a college." ®®

Lake Erie Seminary did become a college in 1898. Few curricular or other changes were necessary, because the course was already of college quality, as Miss Evans, the long-time principal, noted in ah essay in 1898.®6 (Miss

Evans was principal of Lake Erie Seminary/College from

1868 to 1922.) By 1895, Lake Erie Seminary had depart­ ments of instruction in these areas:

Philosophy Anatomy, Physiology, Hygiene Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy Languages (Latin, Greek, French, German., English) Drawing Chemistry and Natural Sciences Music Physical Training Domestic Training Christian Culture and the Bible

®®The Seminary Re co rd, VII, 275ff.

56"The College Ideal and The Home Ideal,” Alumnae Bulletin (1898), p. 50-52. 169.

Another writer, in the Alumnae Bulletin of 1898, noted that the status of Lake Erie could only he helped by its becoming a college:

It is not necessary that we be like Vassar or Wellesley or Smith. Members of the same family do not necessarily dress nor look alike, have the same taste, nor choose the same work in life. So Lake Erie has the right to be individual, to follow thé bent of her own genius, and to develop her own ideas, after conforming to the1 e'ss'ent-laT require­ ments of the College world. She has been as a seminary, "sui- generis," why not as a college? 57

She went on to speak of the strengths of Lake Erie Seminary/

College, saying that in English,' physiology, literature, and art, they had always excelled. She said that the real strength' of the school came from its emphasis on the Bible, not only as literature, "but as an unerring guide and supreme authority in morals," and she also thought that the Mary Lyon domestic system gave thé new- college an edge, since one of the most important new pedagogical subjects of the day was

"Household Science." Thé writer then went on to call for a chair of Household Science and a chair of Pedagogy to be endowed when the seminary became a college, so that Lake Erie could continue to be in thé forefront: Many of our graduates become teachers, and there is no more crying need to-day, outside that of wise mothers, than that of training teachers. One reason why there is such a demand everywhere for college graduates as teachers, is because people suspect they make the best, but they are beginning to suspect that something besides a degree is neces- sary--t'hat_ there is such, a thing as thé art of

57, -, - - Alumnae Bulletin-, • (1898), p» 32./ 170

teaching, and that a special training for it is necessary just as much as for any- other art. The institution that catches this idea and seizes the opportunity could be an enormous success.58

This is the first mention that special course work in how

to teach was necessary in training teachers at the seminary.

The unique feature of the Mary Lyon/Mount Holyoke Plan,

the sharing of domestic work among the students, continued

at Lake Erie until the middle 1920's. Tuition was, of neces­

sity, raised after this feature was dropped, and Lake Erie

College, like Western College for Women, became an insti­

tution that catered not to the poor daughters of middle-class

families and clergymen, but to those who could afford it.

Miss Ainsworth, the registrar at Lake Erie College until 1977, herself attended the college in the 1920s, and she recalled

that the domestic system had been discontinued the year before and that the domestic work of thé college was done by hired maids, Finnish immigrants from nearby- settlements on Lake Erie.59 Today Lake Erie College is co-educational, and is making efforts to connect with nearby- two-year vocational schools to offer four-year degrees to their students. The college also offers one of the only degrees in equitation, and students may bring their own horses to the college stables while they get their college degrees.

.... The study of horsemanship seems a long way from Mary

38AÎurnhaé Btrllét-in <1898)7 p " 33?

5®Personal interview with Miss Ainsworth, April 28, 1976. 171

Mary Lyon's hopes for providing a quality education for girls

of less than ample means, hopes echoed by Miss Hosford in her 1884 Jubilee celebration letter:

Every intelligent and earnest woman ought to revere the name of Mary Lyon, But why? Because she founded Mt. Holyoke seminary, planned a course of study and invented the system of domestic work? These are the dry bones only. Was it not rather that she opened the door for the higher education of women; that her wise tact contrived a plan by which economy might be made dignified and useful; above all . . . she drew to herself the best and noblest women of her time and made them better and nobler by the power of her personality, . . .

I hope never to see Lake Erie Seminary a fashionable school or a school for fashionable girls. It is said that the ideal college is one where the college is rich, but the students are poor. I believe it. May the Seminary become very rich . . . but may the girls, at least the majority of them, not make their fortunes until they have graduated!61

In summary, it can be said that the Mount Holyoke Plan

conceived by Mary Lyon created two seminaries in Ohio which

survived the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth.

The relations between the two seminaries were always close,

and the Mt. Holyoke influence was always felt. Faculty moved from seminary to seminary, and they often "colonized"

new seminaries, such as those in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in

Utah, in Illinois, in California. Their world was a narrow '

one, in that they moved within similar social circles where-

ever they were. The ladles who taught at these-seminaries were dedicated

Christians, mostly unmarried, pillars of their communities and

6lTwenty-Fifth Anniversary, p. 63. 172 active in church work in Protestant churches. Many were

active in temperance work, members of the W.G.T.U.; many were avid abolitionists; a few were suffragists; all were evangelicals. Their students, if they likewise did not marry, taught school and lived lives as female teachers, similar to the lives led by- ¡their female teachers. If they did marrythey taught school until they got married, when they retired to do the work they had been taught that they were innately suited for—motherhood.

It was said that to marry a minister was to be a success, and many of the graduates or alumnae of seminaries did marry clergymen. A few became missionaries, and those who did were greatly admired. Many became settlement workers after

Jane Addams (who attended the Rockford, Illinois, Mary Lyon seminary) popularized that field. They worked for charities, attended literary society meetings' where they discussed ac­ ceptable books, and were staunchly- conservative. They were proud of their bloodlines- and were suspicious of the immigrants, even as they were taught to help them. They were suspicious of Roman Catholics, especially southern Europeans. They held in common a belief, engendered by countless admonitions by their teachers and by the ministers who ran and influenced their schools, that women were bound to a certain sphere; they did not overstep that sphere's bounds. These were their guide­ lines for being women, and they did not question them.

Other.seminaries were also established in Ohio. CHAPTER-V.

CURRICULA, ORGANIZATION, AND LETTERS FROM

OTHER FEMALE SEMINARIES IN OHIO

The Ohio Historical Society contains the manuscript of an interesting handwritten autobiography, by a "female tea­ cher" of the nineteenth century:

Maria Pierson was born in the village of Martins­ burg Knox County Ohio January 1828. Her first home was a little log cabin on the South east corner of the Barnes Block which was afterward torn down and a building erected adjoining the Barnes dwelling. In early childhood she attended the public school in a small brick school house located in what is now the public park of the village. There are vivid memories of that prison like place with its filthy gray walls having never been whitewashed and dirty windows festooned with cobwebs, a foul smelling place where no effort was ever made to render it sanitary or pleasant. Her first years were spent amid such 'scenes where the teacher's rod and ferule struck terror into the hearts- of the pupils assem­ bled there. In this school opportunities were very limited of course, but there we obtained therudimentsof an English education. The Rev, Henry Hervey pastor of the Presbyterian church many years in Martins­ burg became much interested in educational work and started a school of higher grade for young ladies which was called a Female Seminary. From this be­ ginning another school originated called the Mar­ tinsburg Academy for young men which became a prominent factor in building up the village and greatly benefitted aspirants for something better than the district schools afforded,4/

lThe Martinsburg Female Seminary is not listed on any of the lists—Boy d's,Miller's, and the State of Ohio's— in Chapter II, which shows that some institutions were not counted. The Martinsburg Academy ‘appears on Boyd's and The State of Ohio's lists (pp. 103 and 117), 17.4

To my meager education, was given me one term in the Seminary . . .2

Maria Pierson Berry lived a life perhaps typical of

that of the "female teacher" of thé mid 1800’s. She

attended a seminary, receiving a rudimentary secondary edu­

cation, and failing to graduate, teaching summers and

attending school winters. When she was seventeen, in 1846,

she obtained a teaching certificate, "authorizing me to

teach in the public schools of Kiiox County two years , . .

in a little log school house in. thé woods," Before she got

married, she had taught for twenty^eight years:

The school was small and ungraded with many text books. The wages given for that term were one dollar per week and board among the scholars teaching six days per week and seven hours a day. That fall ta^ught a short term in the brick schoolhouse in town and attended school in the Seminary during the winter. , , » The next summer returned to the McWilliams School and received a slight increase of wages with some more advanced pupils added—Thé following winter taught a term in Harrison Township in a small room over the spring house on Mr. Elliorfc's farm. In the spring went to West Carlisle Coshocton County teaching one summer in that village. The next year taught near West Bedford in a log school house—boarding among the scholars—I then returned to Knox County and taught many terms in the Cook district and the Peagh School north of Martinsburg, also in the Rice district south east of town. A number of terms were taught in the Clutter district west of town in Morgan Township. One whole year in the public school of Martinsburg. Two more winters in Harrison Township, one in an old log dwelling house and the other in the Mt, Tabor log meeting house. There were other terms in Cochocton County as Guilford, Goshen, and Mohawk Valley. Several terms were taught in Licking County, one in the old . ...Gardner.log-.meeting house below Failsburg, besides

2Maria Pierson Berry, 'Short Sketch of a Lohg Life," handwritten manuscript at Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio. n.d. 175

several others—One or two terms were taught in the neighborhood of Owl Creek Church in Knox County. In the winter of 1859 and 1860 made a visit to Ogle County-, Illinois, and remained there the following summer teaching one term. The field was most inviting in that State, with better wages than in Ohio , « .

She returned home to take care of her ailing mother. Her brothers migrated to rilinois, but Maria Pierson stayed in Martinsburg, until, "compelled by failing health and inability to teach school and keep house," she joined her brothers-in Illinois. Because her "nerves were all unstrung and necessity was laid upon me to find some other means of obtaining a living than confinement in a schoolroom," she felt it was necessary to move, though she was reluctant, because "I had been self supporting for so many years how could T bear now to become dependent? It seemed almost more than I could endure." She said that her way "seemed to be completely hedged up," and there seemed nothing to do but put herself on the beneficence of her brothers. Then she received an offer of marriage from a man she had known years before, whose wife had died. She thought over his proposal and decided to accept it, travelling from Bloomington, Illinois, to San Jose, California, in six days, where she married Mr.

Berry in the hotel, two days after her arrival. The rest of her autobiography recounts their years lived in California.

What stands out in this understated account is the mobility of the woman in her teaching posts (she seemed to 176

teach in. a different school every few years), and her pride

in her ability to support herself and not to be dependent

on others. Lacking a seminary diploma, she still had a full

and responsible career. Her family loyalty also stands out,

in her fidelity to her ailing mother. Her bravery and

willingness to take risks is also notable, in that she

would just pick up and travel across country to marry a

virtual stranger in a hotel in California, and to begin,

in her middle age, a whole new life there. Maria Pierson

Berry seems to have been wbat Catharine Beecher would have

wished the "female teacher" to be,

Little else is available on the Martinsburg, Ohio, female

seminary, though it seems typical in that it was started by

a clergyman who was probably the' most educated person in the

community, and who believed in female education. It also

seems typical in that it suffered the deprivations common

to schools for girls, as compared to schools for boys,

Other seminaries in Ohio left more complete records.

Among them were three schools in Granville, Licking County,

where Denison University is now located, and where Shephard-

son College for Women used to be located. These were all

denominational institutions, by far the most prevalent type of female seminary; that is, they were chartered as being

nondenominational, but they were run by clergy from a specific

church and they catered to girls of that samé denomination.

The first female school to be established in Granville was the Granville Female Seminary, which opened in December, 177

1832. One of the founders was Charles Sawyer,, who began as a sadler in Granville after arriving there in 1817, but who accumulated much property and who was active in the

Baptist church. He helped to found what is now Denison

University (then thé Granville Literary and Theological

Institution), in 1830, Sawyer then acquired property to put up a girls' school nearby. He maintained the girls' school, which ‘received its charter from the State of Ohio in

1835, with its fifty-or-so pupils, until the financial burden became too heavy. The Granville Female Seminary, a Baptist institution, was then sold to the Episcopalians, in 1838, and its name changed to the Granville Episcopal Seminary.

There was great resistance, in the early 1800's, to the idea of co-education, and that is why both Protestant and

Catholic often established separate schools for each sex, often in the same town, for thé education of their young people. An advertisement in the Baptist Weekly Journal announcing the fall term of 1833, made special note that the female seminary was indeed separate from the Literary and Theological

Institute:

It may be worthwhile to remark, that the Female Sem­ inary is in’ the town of Granville, while the Insti­ tution is more than a mile distant. This statement may obviate the objections which might arise in the minds of some.3

It was also convenient to have a denominational girls' school in the same town as that denomination's theological seminary

3 Baptist Weekly Journal, 23 Aug 1833. Denison University. 178

for the training of ministers, for ministers were vocal in théir call for the need for educated wives, and what better

place to find an educated wife than at a female seminary?

Though these seminaries were run by ministers of cer­ tain denominations, they took special care to assert that

they were nondenominational, in order to keep théir state

charters. Thé catalog for the Granville Female Seminary for

thé year 1837 takes care to note that the school did not seek

to convert its pupils to the Baptist principles:

While attentive to thé morals, and all that per­ tains to the good name of the pupils—-the teachers have no interference whatsoever, with their denom­ inational tenets and prepossessions. They entirely disavow every design to proselyte to any of the parties of the day.4

The statement of purpose in this same catalog said the Seminary aimed to prepare the young ladies "to move with ease, respectability and influence, in any circle of society, or sphere of action." A list of the pupils showed that most were from Ohio, though there was one from Richmond, Iowa; one from Tchula, Mississippi; and one from Toledo, Michigan.

Students could enter the seminary at any time, but they were encouraged to enter at the beginning of a term, and preferably in the fall. The terms were twenty-two weeks long, and there were two terms per year. Each term was divided into quarters of eleven weeks.

5'Cataiégue:. of 'thé-.. Of f i de:rs: gild..Pupils-. 'éf . 'thé Gr'an-vllle Female Seminary, ( Cha r' t e r e d by :thé 'Légiélé-'t'üré 'of' Ohio)' f or thé Acadériîi'éal1 Year' 1837 (Columbus: Cutler and Filsbury, 1837), p. 5. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio. 179

Tuition was $4.00 per quarter in the English Branches,

with $2.00 additional fee being charged for French, Latin,

or Greek, and $2.00 extra for drawing and painting. If a

girl wanted to take piano lessons, it cost her $4.00 extra.

In addition, the students paid $1.50 per week for the "use

of room and furniture" at a boarding house, with $.37i per

dozen being paid for washing. Fuel, lights, etc. were charged at cost.

The course of studies at the Granville Female Seminary

was comprised of reading and spelling, grammar and rhetoric,

geography, history, mathematics, natural philosophy, "chimistry,"

botany, astronomy, anatomy and physiology, intellectual and

moral philosophy, French, Latin, Greek, and instruction in

drawing, painting, music, and needlework. Students were

told they could pursue these studies "to a greater, or less

extent, and with a selection to suit the tastes, wishes,

age or circumstances" of the individual. "A Choice Library" was available to be used, for a small additional fee. Most of the teachers were Baptist, and even after the

Rev. Alvah Sanford came to take over the. school for the Epis­

copalians, many of these teachers stayed, and the school received "liberal Baptist patronage," according to the anon­ ymous3 historian whose manuscript this information was taken from.

5Perhaps Frances-ShepardsonIs manuscript for his history of Denison University, since the language matches that in the centennial volume: Frances W, Shepardson, Denison University 1831-1931 (Granville, 1931), Box 20, Denison Archives. -180

The Granvi lle Episcopal Seminary "was in exist ence in GranviTTe

from 1838'to T8G0, when the Episcopalians moved it to Mans­

field. One of the reasons for thé move was that the Baptists

had decided to establish their own school in Granville in

1858, and many- of the young ladies'- were attending that school,

called the Young Ladies’ Institute, This left the Episco­

palians with fewer students and the local Episcopal church

made a resolution. The board of St«, Luke’s Parish felt

that the selling of the seminary property to the Baptists

(this happened in I860, two years after the Baptist seminary was established) was "a breach of fai.th": Whereas, the Granville Female Seminary was originallv purchased by the members jTn 18387 of this church and afterwards sold to Rev, A. Sanford for the nom­ inal sum of about $1,500, with thé understanding that at the end of twenty years, the property should revert to the church, also with the express under­ standing and agreement recorded upon the records of the board of trustees of said seminary, that the institution, was to remain an Episcopal institution so far under the direction of a board of trustees that no teacher should be employed in said seminary without the approval of said board and their suc­ cessors. And whereas the seminary has without the consent or any notice given to this vestry been sold; it is therefore

Resolved, That the sale and transfer of the Granville Female Seminary to the Baptist denomination is a breach of faith unjustifiable and uncalled-for on the part of those interested in. its sale,b

Nevertheless, the Episcopalian hierarchy did sell the property despite the local church's protests, and they moved their female seminary to Mansfield, where it thrived, Thé preliminary announcement for the (baptist) Young

6Shepardson, p, 180. 181

Ladies' Institute, on August 16, 1859», noted that "The

Baptists of Ohio have long felt the want of an Institution

of their own, where young ladies could obtain a thorough practical education, at a moderate cost." They noted that

Denison University was growing in popularity, and that it would be convenient for parents to send their daughters to the same town as the one they sent their sons to: "Parents who have sons in the University, and who have also daughters to educate, would much prefer to send them both to the same place. " And so, interdenominational squabbling notwithstanding, the Young Ladies' Institute was established.

Yobng La'dies '- 'Ins-thhhte

The first principals were the Rev. and Mrs. N.S. Bur- ton, "well and favorably known throughout the denomination in the State, and of known and tried ability as teachers." Facul­ ty members from Denison University were to give instruction to the girls, in their spare time (although the boys and girls were hot to attend classes together). Tuition was set at

$5.00, per quarter, and board (including fuel, room, and lights) was $2,50 per week; a "Prudential Board" made up of "judi­ cious and experienced ladies" provided board with "unexcep- tionable families." Mrs. Burton, the wife of the Rev, Burton, and co-principal with him, took over most of the organizational chores.. She was we II-respected throughout the denomination. Herself the 182

daughter of a. clergyman, Micaiah Fairchild, she was born in Troy, Ohio, in 1825. Both. Tier parents were teachers, and she entered Oberlin College in 1841, being "unable to attend the expensive 'Female Seminaries" of thé East."

Shepardson said she was attracted to Oberlin by its "broad and liberal policy," and by its two educational innova­ tions, "viz: thé admission of women and a welcome to colored students, both of which strongly appealed to her and her parents." Though she intended to pursue the full college classical course, she was struck with a severe eye infec­ tion, and she graduated in 1848 from wiiat was called "The

Ladies' Course" at Oberlin, a course which omitted Greek and Latin from the studies.

She then went to Michigan to teach school for a year, and then she returned to Elyria, Ohio, to marry the pastor of thé baptist church there, in 1850. He was the Reverend

Burton. They served parishes in Ohio, Michigan, and Massa­ chusetts, before Rev. Burton answered thé call of Granville to be the pastor of the Baptist church there, in 1854. Shep­ ardson described Mrs. Burton as a "noble wife," with "enthu­ siastic zeal for the higher education of women," and with "rare executive ability":

Mrs. Burton was queen in her own home, and yet she strikingly exemplified the Savior's teaching, "I am among you as one that serveth." Pastor's dedi­ cated wife, faithful mother, a loving daughter minis­ tering to her aged-mother, she was home-maker and hospitable hostess. 183

Loving and strong in her domestic relations; intel­ lectual and gifted in social life; she was pre­ eminently the practical and efficient leader in every department of church and benevolent activities.7

She was credited with maintaining the enthusiasm needed for

beginning the Young Ladies' Institute,

The Burtons ran the Institute for a few years, and then

Dr. Marsena Stone took over, until 1868, when ill health

forced him to retire. For years, thé board of trustees had

been trying to persuade the Rev, Daniel Shepardson, who was

the principal of the Woodward High School in Cincinnati,

to take over the school, and finally, in 1868, he bought

it from Dr. Stone. Mrs. Shepardson in her reminiscences

described their arrival: "A close inspection of the premises

disclosed a very discouraging state of affairs. Dr. Stone had been ill for two years, and everything was in a run-down

condition." The rugs were worn out, plaster was falling,

furniture was collapsing, paint was chipping. They organized a work force of male seminarians, and when school opened in the fall,

. . . every room had been repainted, walls covered with neat, tasteful paper, every nook and corner was scrupulously clean, and every little detail carefully attended to.3

The Young Ladies' Institute gained the nickname of "Old

Brown Sem," from the brick-colored exterior. In 1911, one of the first graduates (class of 1869) of the institution * 8

^Shepardson, 180-81.

8Ibid. , 187. 184

after it came under the Shepardsons' aegis, reminisced about life there in the Denison Alumni Bulletin :

The equipment in general would seem meager enough in these days of scientific study and laboratory methods, but even Denison had not at this time an over supply of apparatus for study nor had she introduced the new methods. As the school was a private enterprise, no better facilities could be hoped for. Life in the old school was simple, cor­ responding perhaps to the environment. Social fun­ ctions were infrequent and not distracting. Perhaps their infrequency made them more enjoyable,, The girls in their innocence believed that they were sent to school to study and fit themselves for a life of service to the world.

Good times, however, were not lacking. « . , Many pranks were played, especially on Saturday nights which was the calling hour for the college boys. . . . The literary societies afforded on Friday nights an opportunity for meeting the stu­ dents from thé hill, . » . The examination, the bugbear of school life, had this peculiarity. As if not satisfied with the, written test we were sub­ jected to an oral examination as well, to which the general public was invited and politely requested to ply us with any questions the subject might sug­ gest. These examinations were held in the chapel at the close of each term.

A regular program was made out and the last few days of the term were devoted to this work. Each class filed into the chapel as its turn came, and ranged itself on the platform and was for an hour at,the mercy of the teacher, college professor, towns­ people or college student. Nor were the music . pupils exempt. It was their term recital and they helped vary the program.®

The/most popular examinations, according to Mrs. Davies, were the rhetoric examinations, where the girls brought their compo sition notebooks and read what they had written, answering

®Mrs. Davies, "Old Brown Sem," Denison Alumni Bulletin (October, 1911), pp. 4-5. 185'

questions on théir topics. Thé audience, she said, was not

"slow to select the one of thé class they wished to test.

The subjects were sometimes wise and sometimes otherwise,"

In a similar reminiscence about the Young Ladies' Insti­ tute, Mrs. E.S. Shepardson noted that in'.its three decades, the Old Brown Sem graduated 273 women, of which 18 became foreign missionaries,(which gave them high status among their peers); 27 were involved in Home Mission Societies as pastors' wives or as "teachers in schools for negroes in the South,

Indians in the West, and Chinese on the Pacific Coast," Thir­ ty-five of these graduates, and more than fifty who never graduated, married ministers. Many became wives of college professors, "with wide fields of usefulness." Some had received doctorates in colleges in the East, but "the majority of graduates and undergraduates have been and are teachers, a noble body of women doing incalculable good."10

By 1876, the trustees of the two institutions, Denison

University and the Young Ladies' Institute, were trying to raise money in a joint effort, but the demands of the University took whatever funds came to the girls' school. Therefore, in 1887, the Young Ladies' Institute became Shepardson College for Women, separate from but friendly with Denison University. Dr. Shepardson thought this would help the girls' school in fund-raising, and he offered the land and the buildings and

...... l°Mrs. E.S . Shepardson., ..-"Old Brown Sem, " Den'i's'on' Aluirini Bulletin,- (October, 1912), p. 5. 186

the asset's of the Young Ladies' Institute to the Baptists of

Ohio if they would raise $100,000, of which $70,000 would be set aside in a permanent fund which would use its inter­

est for current expenses, and of which $30,000 would be

for buildings.

Both the Preparatory Department (the former seminary

courses) and a new Collegiate Department were instituted

at the new Shepardson College by 1891. The annual reports, however, noted that the Collegiate Department studies were not very popular, and that the young women enrolled in college courses kept dropping out. Shepardson said,

There was a period, evidently, during which the thought of women graduating from the college, with the same sort of curriculum behind them as that of their brothers, had to win favor.I1

Nevertheless, by 1892, the option of studying for a Master's

degree was available for the women at the Baptist-owned

Shepardson College.

' GranviTle Fetaalg' Ac a: demy

The little town of Granville certainly did its part in the history of female education in Ohio, for there was still another seminary located there. This was the Granville

Female Academy, later to be known as the Granville Female College. The Granville Female Academy was a Presbyterian seminary for.girls, ■ The 1839 catalog shows 74 pupils in

-^Shepardson, p. 207. 187

the Preparatory Department. These were mostly girls from

Granville and nearby towns, since they were under thirteen years old. The course of study in the preparatory depart- 12 ment included the following branches:

Reading Mrs. Sigourney's Reading Book for Girls Spelling Writing Ray's Eclectic Arithmetic Colburn's First Lessons Elements of Geometry Adams' Arithmetic (commenced) Galaudett's Natural Theology American and Malte Brun's Geography Smith's Grammar Book of Commerce Goodrich's History of the U.S. Book of Nature Miss Beecher's Moral Instructor Composition Calisthenics Vocal Music

The same catalog showed 170 pupils in the Academical

Department, with students from as faraway as New York City;

Braintree, Vermont; Woodland, Louisiana; and Andover, Massa­ chusetts, as well' as from all over Ohio, The Academical

Department was made up of the typical three classes to be found in female seminaries—the Junior, Middle, and Senior

Classes. The Junior Class studied ancient geography, ancient and modern history, and other subjects, using these textbooks:

Worcester's Elements Goldsmith's Greece, Rome, and England Grimshaw's France" Day's Algebra Haywar d rs Phy s i ology

42Catalogue of the Officers and Members of Granville Female Academy f Gran vil lé”/ Ôhio, 1839-40 (Columbus: Cutler 8s Vr igtrt')“,’ "17 188

Outline of Botany ,.z . , Corns tock~rs Natural Philosophy Murray's Grammar and Exercises Pope's Essay on Man

These were the books used by the Middle Class:

Playfair’s Euclid (all four books) Smellie's Philosophy of Natural History Beck's B ot any™ and "’Chemist ry Newman' s TiKet or i c Marsh's Ec'clesi'as t ical History Abe r c romb i e's On The ~Tnte1le cfua1 Powers Mansfield's PoTitical Economy Geology ’ ’ Pollok's Course of Time

The Senior Class studied from these texts:

Wilkin's Astronomy Olmsted' s'TfaturaTTPhi losophy Wayland's Moral Philosophy Whately's Logic Paley's Natural Theology Beck's Botany ' A1e xan de rf s' E v i den ce s of Christianity Butler's Analogy Milton's Paradise Lost

All students received training in the Bible, and in composition, reading, spelling, vocal music, and calisthenics, and they had the option of taking Latin and French, as well as instrumental music, linear, and perspective drawing, and common, mezzo- tinto, and Chinese painting.^3

In 1839 at the Granville Female Academy, admission re­ quirements were flexible, and although no one could enter the

Junior Class without having passed an examination on the prep­ aratory studies, girls could take particular courses without being classed, especially if they intended to remain at the

839-40 Catalogue, p. 18—19. i89

academy "only a short time." . There were two public examin­ ations per year, one at the end of the first term, and one at the end of the year. Tt appears as though few girls classed themselves and went through, the entire course, but rather they did as Maria Pierson did, came to school for a term, went out to teach, came back for more studies, went back to teach, etc. In 1839 there were only two girls grad­ uating, only three girls in the Senior Class, only eight in the Middle Class, and only fourteen in the Junior Class. That totals only aboQt 15 per cent of the total enrollment in the

Academical Department. The Granville Female Academy- is not listed on the lists in Chapter III., but it seems to have been an innovative and flourishing school. In. 1839“, only a few years after Mary

Lyon had begun Mt. Holyoke, with its domestic system, the

Granville Female Academy was using a similar system: The domestic work of the family is performed by the young ladies under the direction, of a Matron. The labor is divided equally among the young ladies; and no one can be a member of the family without performing her share. The time thus oc­ cupied is one hour daily. This-, so far from re­ tarding their progress in. study, is found rather to facilitate it by the health, and vigor it imparts.14

However, by 1852, the domestic system described in the 1839 catalog appeared to have been abandoned, for the catalog of that year said "No domestic labor is required of pupils, except the daily care of their respective sleeping rooms."15

141839 Catalogue, p. 20. 15Catalogue of the Granville Female Academy, 1852, p. 10.

e 190

The catalogs stressed that the students would be under a certain moral and religious influence; though church, at­ tendance was not specifically denominational, it was required.

The 1839 catalog stated that "Every lady will be required to attend, statedly, that place of worship which her parents or guardians may choose," and if no choice was made, she was required to attend with the instructors, presumably the

Presbyterian church. The 1852 catalog said, "All the pupils are required to attend church, twice on the Sabbath, at such place as their parents or guardians may designate; also, a Bible exercise on Sabbath afternoons and Monday mornings." In 1852 there were 155 students at the Granville Female

Academy, with 7 students in the Senior Class. In 1855 there were 184 pupils; in 1856 there were 147 pupils; in 1857 there were 183 pupils. Most were from Ohio, though there were students from Davenport and Washington, Iowa; from New Hope,

Missouri; from Brandon, Mississippi; and from Adrian, Michigan as well. u

One feature found in all the female seminary catalogs was that of the solicited testimonial telling about the high quality of the school and the instructors and administrators, For example, the 1852 catalog of the Granville Female Academy recommended the principal, Mr. Kerr, thus: by Benj . J. 'Lower Mr. Kerr is an experienced teacher, and has the reputation of-a ripe scholar, and an accurate, skillful, and

l^CataTogues, 1839, 1852, 1855, 1857. 191

thorough-going instructor. . .

by 'John Pratt: (Rev.. & Professor at Denison) Mr. Kerr, the Principal, graduated with the honors of his class,- and has had not a little experience as a teacher, first in Granville College-, and afterward in Granville Male Academy. . , . I should trust a daughter of mine to his care, ■ and that of his accomplished and amiable lady, with great confidence and satisfaction.17

The public examinations wbre also, evidently, an impor­

tant way to judge the quality of a school, and the 1858 catalog

printed this testimonial from one Dr, Bartholomew, "for several

years one of the most thorough and successful Teachers in

Ohio," about the quality of the public examinations at the

Granville Female Academy:

By the especial invitation of Professor Kerr, the Principal, I attended the semi-annual Examination of the Female Academy in Granville, Ohio . . . The examination was conducted mainly by the Teachers . . . but with such fairness as to warrant the con­ clusion that there had been, no selection and allot­ ment of (parts to the pupils. At the same time all visitors were permitted, and'even urgently solicited, to propose to the classes any questions touching the matter then under discussion. No one, who has attended many examinations of similar. Institutions, can have failed to notice 1 ... » the’ fault which might s , .. be called common, of putting leading questions—-putting questions in such shape as to suggest the answer, so that a pupil naturally apt, would be able to pass a creditable examination on a subject to which she had given no attention whatever. Against this fault the teachers have seemed to guard themselves with particular care—thus compelling each student to stand or fail upon herown merits. Somefailed.18

^ÏCaib-ldg-ue'- 'of. .-the- 'Of Ji-ceiis !and Meiribers; bP ’the' 'Grab.vi lle Female Academy-, 1852, p, 25.

18Ibid. ,p. 15. 1-92*

Testimonials were also solicited from parents. One parent,

T.W.B. Hibbard, from New York City, whose daughter had been

a pupil there for three years, thought that thé teachers were well qualified and that thé instruction was thorough. However, he had one complaint, and that was that "kindness and forbear­ ance have been exercised too much toward thé wayward." Never­ theless,. he said, a girl could receive "a polished, finished education in all the ornamental branchés, such as Music, Oil

Painting, Drawing, Modern Languages, &c., &c,, &c., equal to those in any of our first class schools, and at a lower price."40

A woman whose initials were J.E.W. wrote in 1879 about the class of 1851. There were eight members of the class, and "The greater number of thé class spent the following year in teaching." Tt was customary to teach for awhile before getting married: "Miss Sarah Lang was, I think, the first to break the ranks of single life." J.E.W. continued her history:

Miss Louisa Philbrook moved with her father’s family to Illinois, where she engaged in teaching for a time, then married a Mr. Crocker , . . Miss Lucy Goodrich spent six or seven years in teaching and then married Rev, S.G. Dunlop, a gentleman favorably known amongst the Presbyterians of our own and other states. . . . Miss Martha Lynn taught in this institution several years. During these years. her sister Susan taught in Cincinnati and Troy. Eventually they united in taking charge of a flourishing school in Newton, N.J. - From thence-they were both married. Martha, to Rev, R.A. Sawyer,-who is well known both in this state and in New York.' . , .Miss-Dorothy Baker, after spending some years *

49Catalogue, 1858 p. 16. .193

in teaching, both in this state, Illinois, Minn­ esota, and Missouri, was married to Mr., ..Cadwallader. . . . All have, though “in quiet spheres, fulfilled the promise of their school life,' being active, energetic workers, in the fields to which Providence has called them.29

This again reaffirms now common it was- for seminary alumnae to

become female teachers.

Life for students at the Granville Female Academy seemed

similar to life at any of the seminaries. Friendships were

established, girls got homesick, there was interest in. young

men, and in what they were learning in classes, Martha Creeger

from Tiffin wrote Tetters home about her arrival at the Gran­

ville Female Academy on Sept, 19/ 1842:

Dear dear Sisters and brother,

Hear I am at last in the Academy after a some­ what. long and tedious journey- for so it appeared to me. ... I am beginning to feel quite at home here, at first I thought“ that I never could feel right whilst I staid here as there was no room prepared for our reception and I was a stranger among strangers, but now we are very comfortably situated we have a very pleasant room it is a front room in the building it is in the third story ... We have three very pleasant teachers one is the principle of the school she is an old maid, one of the others is a beautiful girl her name is Arms, the other is also very good looking. How much will you give me for mv description? A jug of hard cider I presume when I return home.

I think Granvill is a right pleasant little vil­ lage it is surrounded with, beautiful hills every way we turn our gaze we see naught but hills they are covered with beautiful trees, the bell has just rung for school and I must stop. Good evening 20

20 Denison ATutanT Bulletin „■ (June, 1914), p. 81. One wonders why alumnae from the Granville Female “Academy should be writing for the Denison alumni publication, unless it was that J.E.W. was the wife of an alumnus; for dating girls from the seminaries was common. -194

Sisters I have just returned from the school room and from supper as we eat our supper here directly after school . . . we have hut 24 schollars at present hut they have hut 1.8 at the other. . . .

I must tell you about a girl we have here she is one of the funiest creatures I ever saw she said I should' not get home sick while she was about she set me to laughing until I almost died and I have not been home sick since .. . .

Mr. Jordan is married 1 called to see them last Friday and took Tea with them he has a very plea­ sant wife she is tolerably good looking her sister comes to school , . .

We were Serenaded one night they played most beautifully I do wish you could have heard them, I had an introduction to one of the gentlemen, . ,

I was misinformed about not paying in advance the rule is to advance 20 -dollars but Mr. Tell fixed it some way with Mr. Bankruff, if you can send it by Scott when he come down or some other safe person I will be very much obliged, just 20 dollars rember is wanted at present. . . ,24 This letter shows that the concerns of girls in the mid-nineteenth century were not remarkably different from those in the mid­ twentieth. century, with thoughts of appearance, boys, enter­ tainment, and money overshadowing a concern for studies.

Martha Creeger's December, 1842, letter mentioned an astronomy phenomenon, which shows she did have some interest in science: There has been a quite.-a sensation created here about the planet Venus, there has been a notice in the papers that astronomers have observed flames of fire to pass over its surfise, and that for . some time- its colour has changed som thing like 21

21 Martha Creeger, "Letter to Sisters," 19 Sep 1842. These letters were in -Box 28 in the arch/tve^ at Denison University, Granville, Ohio. They were donated by her grandson and repre­ sent a remarkable first person account of life in a female semin- arty. 195

that of Mars which is very red, it was observed by the people here some 2 or 3 weeks since in the after noon about three oclock, and they at first thought it a comet there has been 16 planets, disappeared during thé few las-t centurys and others have appeared, Dear Sisters we ought always be prepared to meet the Lord we know the day nor thé hour when thé sun of man cometh, then we should watch and pray lest we be led into temptation , . .

In the same Tetter she was distracted from such cosmic thoughts by the ;.g.rrivai of some boys to serenade the girls : Hark! what sweet music bursts upon my ear, it is a serenade, there is some-of- thé-’Gr-ahÿiTTé Gents before our charming our 'Ibve~ly! study hours, with the sweetest music imaginable, it seems to call up the scenes of other days, they give some splendid serenades.here. that seems something like thé thing don ' t you think so, I still hear them afar, they are going round giving all the girls a serenade, when they-come back I will send them a door farther . . .

In a January 20 letter, she described a debate she

attended, as well as the contents of a sermon the minister gave. She also, like most students away from home, asked for money: . . . they had a debate on thé "international copyright law, thé judge decided in favour of the affirmative. The gentleman that escorted me opened the meeting with an address-,- thé College gentry call to see us occasionally, -there is some first rate fellows among them ...

The minister preached a great sermon ... giving an account of the number deaths during the past year, also the number members, drunkards, number that attend church, etc, etc. The number of Methodists is 171 in the township. They do not keep Christmas here much because they say we have no evidence in the bible that that is the day and we are not commanded to keep it.

Dear sisters the time is drawing near when we will bé permitted to exchange the meeting embrace ... 196,

My bill as near-as I can reckon will be about 45 dollars . . , There is a young lady here that intends to rent a room and boasd herself, and she wants me to go in with her/, it would be very cheap, the rent would not-cost me more than 3 dollars,-for the 6 months, tuitions 9 dollars per term, which would be 12 do-——and then the boarding would not amount to much, thé greatest difficulty would be to get home, but I presume I could go in the stage for 5 dollars, making $17 dr. I do not think..it would cost more than 21 dollars in the whole, The reason I wish to remain longer is, I have just got in the way of making any progress & I would-learn a great deal more the next six months, and would be more capable of teaching if I should do so, you say Lydia intends teaching and I would not be able to earn any money if I do come home if Uriah could lend me that much, T return it as soon as I would earn that much again, I would not then return until some time July, if you can let me stay I will want another dark callico dress as the one you purchased for me is all going in holes ...

In a letter written in April, 1843, Martha described her pleasure in rising early in the morning, and she waxed poetic in describing when "thé little songsters of the wood were tuning their harps to warble their notes of praise. . . in this same letter she talked about her studies:

. . . and how is Uriah's health this winter? I have got through thé history of the U.S. and am now studying Ancient History of the Heavens, Arithmetic, and Pollok, I am going to take up Physiology and Botany, perhaps Geology, although I have not went through, many studies, yet I think I have improved my time to the best advantage, not having the best of memories, I have not studied because last winter I had too many others to take it, & they do not study it in the summer, I- must consequently defer it to some other time, Does Ann Pittenger teach school yet? In an undated letter, Martha Creeger talked about what types of books she liked to read: 197

Lucy I have just been reading a treatise on the choice of books for young persons- to read during their leisure moments, I..would like to hear your opinion upon the subject, for my part I do not coincide with the authors opinion,

I should think you might know my taste for read­ ing matter by this time Lucy, you know I despise all such dry stuff as history and you might have know it was history & such like he was preaching up, what care I for the history- of other countries and nations, particularly that of our own country, but it is so uninteresting I cannot read it I have tried to read it-several times but always went to sleep over it. I do not-care how our forefathers gained their liberty, so that I can enjoy the benefits of it and have plenty of Novels to read.22

It seems that a seminary education did not. as the critics

and philosophers and commentators on women's education had

hoped, cure the young women of their passion for reading novels.

Steubenville Female Seminary

One of the longest-lived seminaries in Ohio was the

Steubenville Female Seminary, which was founded by the Rev.

Charles C. Beatty in 1829, Emma Willard, when she founded her Troy Seminary, corresponded with Rev. Beatty. The Steu­ benville Female Seminary was still in existence in 1873, and the 1873 General Catalogue of the Steubenville Female Seminary

22Martha Creeger, "Ldtter to Sisters," Dec 1842; 20 Jan 1843; April 1843; N.d. These letters were donated to the Denison Univers'rfy Archives ..by .her great grandson. The envelopes con­ tain "Paid" notices, for they were sent in pre-stamp days. 198 listed a total of 626 graduates in forty-four years (1829 to 1872). The list of those who had become teachers was also printed, along with the number of students who had enrolled, but who had not graduated. Most of the alumnae seem to have taught for less than three years, and one surmises that they left teaching to get married. One hundred eighty- seven of the students (not necessarily the graduates) m the first forty years of.the seminary had been teachers, and seventeen were still teachers in 1872. Following is a copy of the way they were listed.

TEACHERS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMINARY

April 13, 1829

(With the year of commencing, previous residence and time of remaining. A few others were connected with the Seminary for a shorter time. Those left blank are teachers now)

Name Yr. Residence Time

Charles C. Beatty 1829 S t.pnbpn vi 1 1 e> D Hetty E. Beatty 1829 ft Caroline Craig ft Princeton, -N.J. li Rachel Lambdin tt Pittsburth, Pa. 2 Eliza Edwards 1831 Phi1adelph i a, 2 Elizabeth Janvier tt Princeton., N.J. 2 tt 91 Elizabeth Sheppard Baltimore, Md. " 2 Jane Tappan 1832 Hunter, N.Y. .. . 2 Phebe Huntington tt New Brunswick, N.J. 1 Frances Pratt 1833 Trumbull Co. , 0. 1 Mary Wood tt S t e uberi vi 1 le0... 1 tt Mary A. Marvin Trumbull Col, 0. li Jaén Sordét -tt Geneva, Switz. 1 Jane C. Kennedy 1834 Lawr en ce, N.J. de c ' d, 185Q. Mary A. Inskeep ft St. Clairsville, 0, 1 Elizabeth Hyde tt New York 1 Eliza Webb Tt t! 2i Martha Smith tt Br is t o-1, Eng 1 and 2 Mary Proctor 1835 Rowley,-Mass, 20 Ann Donaldson 1836 Belfast,• Ireland 18 Louisa. Lyman tt ...... Rome, _N.,:Y...... li

Etc. The list goes on for pages, giving similar information.

The 1839 catalog is the earliest this researcher found. As in all the other catalogs for female seminaries, the description of the facilities, and the philosophy of the seminary are remarkably similar to those of other seminaries.

The catalog noted that educating girls had been hitherto considered unnecessary and even undesirable, except for the

"fashionable distinction of the daughters of the wealthy."23

The writers of the catalog noted that they founded the Seminary

"with a special reference to the wants of our Western country, and to be conducted upon Christian principles." They said that the Steubenville Female Seminary had been immediately popular: Though no direct efforts to add to the number of its pupils have ever been made,' abroad, they have gradually, but constantly, increased faster than accommodations could be provided for them.

No.enlargement of the facilities was anticipated, though, and the Beattys thought that parents would be pleased with the present facilities. The Seminary was overlooking the Ohio River, in "a peculiarly eligible" place. Steubenville is one of the oldest cities along the river, and settlement patterns for The West made the Ohio River Valley, because of its accessibility and because of its ease of transport, one of the first settled regions in the state. Steubenville is not presently noted for its pure air, but at one time it was:

230h-frllfre and Chthlbgué of- The1 BteubéhvlTTé FeniaTe Seminary For4 The- Year’ Ending1 Tn S'éptéhfber/ T8BB (Steubenvilie: 1839), pp. 1-7. ' 200

The undisputed healthfulneser of the surrounding region of country , and the' character of the place for morality and intelligence, particularly commend it to parents. . . . The contiguous buildings are 165 feet in length . . . Most of the lodging rooms (of which there are fifty) are designed to be occupied by only two pupils each. . . In many of the rooms, there is provision made for having a fire, if desired;—but as thé young ladies study in the general hall and recitation rooms, it is thought neither necessary, nor conducive to health, to have fire in sleeping chambers, ft is finally left, however, to thé choice of those who are willing to pay the extra expenses for fuel, and for servants' attendance.

It is apparent that the Mary Lyon domestic system was not in force at the Steubenville Female Seminary.

In equipment, the institution owned "Maps, globes, and various Astronomical Philosophical and Chemical Apparatus . . . for illustration of their studies." The library consisted of

40Q volumes, divided into two departments—one for leisure reading and one for studies: "scientific and class books for the use of the scholars and teachers." There was also another library which had been started by the Society of Inquiry on

Missions, which contained religious works; Dr. Beatty also opened his own private library to the students. In organization, the Steubenville Seminary had two depart­ ments, as was common: the Preparatory- Department, which was open to girls under twelve; and the Principal School, or Young Ladies'

Department, for girls older. Admission to the Principal School was precipitated upon age or upon having completed the Prepar­ atory studies, so it is possible that a girl could have entered the school at thé age of thirteen or older, without having 201

the basic skills taught in tbe Preparatory Department. Also,

as was common, the Principal Department was divided into

three classes, the Middle, Junior, and Senior Classes.

These were the branches of study- in the Middle Class: Reading Writing Orthography Arithmetic Geography, modern and ancient, with drawing maps History, ancient and modern, but especially of our own country- English Grammar Composition Natural Philosophy Natural History Biblical, Roman, and Grecian Antiquities Watts On The Mind Human Physiology Political Class Book &c Once a girl had passed these studies, she was eligible to move to the Junior Class, which occupied one year of time, and thence to the Senior Class, which also took a year. Both junior and senior classes appear to have taken classes together, probably because of the small number of pupils who attained these ranks. Their branches of study were these:

Botany Chemistry Astronomy Geometry Algebra Rhetoric ~ Criticism Intellectual and Moral Philosophy Logic Evidences of Christianity Analogy of Natural and Revealed Religion &.C

The girls could, by special arrangement, study music, drawing, 202

etc., but these were not required. Ancient and modern languages

could also be studied or not. A special teacher for vocal music was employed, and singing was- generally taught to all students.

Administratively, the Steubenville Female Seminary was under the direction of a principal and an assistant. These people's duties included "arranging the various studies, forming the different classes, and attaching to them the re­ spective teachers, in their appropriate departments," not unlike the duties of principals today . The principal and the assistant also taught some of the classes, and did some supervision, visiting classrooms "to see that the same methods of instruction, and the same degree of accuracy, are maintained by all."

In addition to the Superintendent, who was Dr. Beatty, and the Principal and the Assistant Principal, the Steubenville

Female Seminary employed a Governess, who presided in the general hall, assembling and dismissing the school, attending to the sending out and returning of classes, maintaining order and quiet during recitation hours, teaching penmanship, giving permissions and excuses, and countersigning the regular reports to the parents.

The teachers were said to be "selected with the greatest care," in order that the Steubenville Seminary obtained "the most competent and faithful." The readers of the catalogue were assured that the teachers did not have to teach so many 203

subjects that they would be spread too thin, and that the

education and instruction would be "as thorough, as possible."

Recitations were held in. separate rooms from the study rooms,

’’in order that the undivided attention of the class be most effectually secured," These assurances spoke to the concern

that too few teachers were often made to teach too many sub­

jects, with a resulting lessening in the quality of the edu­

cation received.

Another school official at the Steubenville Female Seminary was the Matron, who supervised the girls' domestic

servants and other household arrangements: "domestics

are only accessible to the girls’ directions through her express permission."

When one considers the year this catalog described, 1839, and the details with, which the Steubenville Seminary was arranged, one can note that the. Steubenville Seminary was more luxurious in. style, as well as in. tone, than the

Mary Lyon seminaries. Tuition was relatively high, being

$37.50 per quarter, including board, if a girl shared a

room. The year was divided into two sessions, with month­

long vacations in April and October, and with each session being divided into two quarters, This would total $150,00 for one year of study. Besides this, instrumental or piano

lessons cost an additional $10.00 per quarter, and drawing, painting, or French lessons cost-an extra $5,00 per quarter; washing, per dozen, was $.36, and the cost of fire in the 204 sleeping room during tbe winter session was $8,QQ. Tbis cost is more than it was years later, in 1850, at the Willough by Female. Seminary, the forerunner of Lake Erie.

At the Steubenville Female Seminary in 18® , the Bible was "more or less studiedevery day," in contrast to the ob­ ligatory Bible studies required at other seminaries. Tbe writers of this catalog mentioned that "the religious prin­ ciples inculcated, are those common to all evangelical

Protestants," and the pupils were expected to attend church every Sunday, but the tone of this catalog seemed to this rea­ der not as evangelical as other seminaries' catalogs'.

In tbis 1839 catalog, as in subsequent editions

(1840, 1855), tbe language describing tbe facilities and courses of study was identical, indicating that Dr, Beatty was pleased with bis school, and also that there was little change in tbe facilities and in tbe courses taught. In all the catalogs the writers seemed to place a great deal of emphasis on physical health. The health of women was a topic of much debate during the nineteenth century, and the owners of the seminary seemed to want to assure parents that their daughters' health would be assiduously guarded, with all the latest knowledge and techniques being applied. By 1855 the institution contained a room called a Calisthenic Gallery, and the bulletins thereafter stated:

Parents may rest assured that tbe health of those placed under our care will be watched with every attention. It is regarded as a thing of first 205

importance, as- paramount to every other consider­ ation,—and it is- constant ly<-kept in view in all the arrangements and regulations both of the school and family. The pupils--are required -to take exer­ cise of various -kinds-in the open air, whenever the weather will permit, and not be afraid of common exposures tothg atmosphere, while guarded most carefully -against that liability' to injury- which results from light’ and imperfect- clothing, and enervating habits , - -Bathing rooms are in eluded-in - thé-building, and accessible-To all pupils. ' UaTis- thehTcs , which-is a-system of bodi ly exercises adapted to promote health and graceful motion, is taught as part of thé course.

Human Physiology is a particular subject of study; and thus young-ladies are-taught to understand their own systems,- and guard against thé many evils to which they are exposed. . 1 .24

The 1839 catalog had assured the parents that the class sessions were short, "that they may frequently change their posture, from sitting, to standing or walking," and it noted that there was a recess each morning and afternoon, so that the girls could have "a free use of their limbs and tongues, as well as the free flow of animal spirits . . .” The catalog summarized the effects of the philosophy for educating women a century ago: The girls were taught never to consider themselves "under any constraint except such as propriety, gracefulness, and convenience of others should dictate." By 1855 the Steubenville Female Seminary had 225 stu­ dents, from Dubuque, Iowa, as well as from Virginia and

Pennsylvania. Ohio, of course, sent the most students. What had been called thé "Junior Class" was in 1855 called the "Middle Class." The "Junior Class" was in 1855 the first

24 Twenty-Sixth Annual- Catalog of •the Steubenville Female Seminary for T8b5 -(Pittsburgh, T8557, pp. "13’ 'f'f'.’ 206

year of what was now called "The Regular Course," that used

to be called "The Principal Course," The quality and

quantity of educational equipment was improved. Besides the maps and globes and astronomy equipment of 1839, the

Beattys had made "considerable progress . . . in collecting

a Cabinet of specimens in Geology, Mineralogy, Conchology, Natural History, &c." The library now. contained over 4,000

volumes. In 1855, the Junior Class took these courses:

FI RST- SESSI ON > ’ SECOND SESSI ON

Watts on the Mind Natural Philosophy Physiology; History; ■ . Geography, Ancient; Biblical Antiquities, 1st pt; Biblical Antiquities, 2d pt English Grammar, with Parsing; Parsing, with Grammar, rev'd Arithmetic, Finished; /Algebra, commenced,

These were the Middle Class' ctudies:

SUMMER SESSION ' SESSION

Ge ome t ry, commen ce d; Geometry and Trigonometry; B o t any; History; Chemistry;’ Geology; Algebra, or Book Keeping; Algebra, completed; Mason on Self-Knowledge; Ecclesiastical History.

The Senior Class studied the e subjects:

SUMMER WINTER Rhetoric; Astronomy; Intellectual Philosophy; Moral Philosophy; S cien ce of Governmen t; fames'• Criticism; General History; General Review;~ Natural Theology; Alexander's Evidences. The underlined subjects were optional. In addition,

the scholars studied composition, reading, vocal music,

scripture lessons, writing, and grammar, writh parsing in Milton "once a week, in the higher classes." Latin was 2Ô7;

also available as a branch of study, and the textbooks, as

in 1839, were "carefully- selected, and but rarely changed."

As a result, it seems the girls studied classic texts, rather

than the edited versions of textbook writers.

This 1855 catalog announced that a Supplemental Course

would be available in 1856; for those who had finished the

Regular Course, a Collegiate Course would be offered:

This class will be entitled to special privileges; and the works used will be such as Karnes' Criticism, Young's Science of Government, and Mansfield's Rights of Women; Shaw's and Cleveland's English Literature, Butler's Analogy, Latin, and such others as may from-time to time be determined on. In this course also, young ladies may pay -much attention to Music, and other optional studies, It is designed that this course whall fill up at least a year, and those who pass over it will be furnished with an Honorary Diploma for the Collegiate Department. None admitted to this department under sixteen years of age. Neither the 1839 nor the 1855 nor any of the other

catalogs mentioned that they had as a special task at the

seminary to train teachers, and none of the courses offered were pedagogical in nature (at least by title), although the

statistics showed that most of the girls who attended did end

up teaching, for at least a while (see page 2Q0). The Steubenville Female Seminary was still going strong

in 1883. However they endowed it (and that information was not discovered), the Beattys were successful. The course of

study at the school was six years long, including the two years in thé preparatory department, and thé only requirement

for admittance was that a girl be thé proper age and be of

good character. By this time thére was an Advanced English 208-

Course, as well as the Academic Course, and there were many electives available. The main differences' between the Advanced

English Course and the Academic Course seem to have been that the Advanced English Course offered courses in bookkeeping and psychology, and may have, in fact, been a forerunner of the

"general" or "non-coliege-prep" course. The Advanced English

Course also emphasized natural sciences and de-emphasized literature and languages. Following is a side-by-side comparison of the two courses of study. The Advanced English Course would seem to be more vocational and practical; the Academic Course seemed more traditional and classical. Again, neither had any pre-teaching, pedagogical courses.

ADVANCED ENG. COURSE ' academi c -course

En t r an ce Ye ar Ehtraihde Year

Arithmetic, White's Complete Arithmetic, White's Complete English Grammar, Whitney's Latin Grammar Essentials Latin Reader r Geography, Harpers' Physiology Physiology English Composition English Composition English Bible, Creation to Flood English Bible, Creation to Natural History 1 Flood Natural History Electives • History of England Elocution Form, in English words & sent. Art Music 209.

ADVANCED ENG.’'COURSE- ■ ACADEMIC COURSE ’Middle- Year Middle Year

Algebra, Wentworth’s Algebra, Wentworth's Etymology and Orthoepy Latin, Caesar, Chase & Stuart's Physical Geography Physical Geography General History, Swinton’s General History, Swinton's Elocution Latin, Prose Composition English Composition ...... English Composition English Bible, Flood to Joshua English Bible, Flood to Joshua Political Economy Political Economy Phys i cs Physics

Elective Electives Bookkeeping Elocution, Lectures & Exercises Greek Grammar, Goodwin's English Language, Its Growth Eng. Lit. Earliest to Wm. Langland Chaucer, Canterbury Tales Spencer's Faerie Queene Physics, Heat Lectures General History Art ■Music

Junior Year Junior Year

Geometry Geometry Chemistry Chemistry Science of Govt., Young Virgil Rhetoric, J.D. Hill's Rhetoric, J.D. Hill's English Comp. English Comp. English Bible, David to English Bible, David to Division Division of Kingdom of Kingdom Trigonometry, Wentworth's Trigonometry Botany Botany Rhetorical Analysis Sallust. Minearalogy Lledtives Science of Govt., Young Shakespeare, CritIcal -Studies in Midsummer's N.D. & Julius Caesar (Hudson's) Physics, Light Greek,-Xenophon's Anabasis French-,. La Fontaine German, Whitney's Grammar Rhetorical Analysis 210

ADVANCED ENGLISH COURSE ' ACADEMIC 'COURSE

" 'Jtürlbr YéaJV,' contd.

Mineralogy Physics, Electricity, Lectures, Experiments Shakespeare, Hamlet and As You Like It Chemistry, Non-metals Greek, Plato's Apology and Crito, Borse's Exercises French, La Fontaine, trans 1. Art -Music-. -

Senior Year Senior Year

Geology Geology Astronomy Astronomy Psychology, Porter's Physiology General Review Latin Selections, original exer. English Composition General Review English Bible, Restoration English Bible, Restoration to to Advent Advent Logic, Jevon's Logic, Jevon's English Literature, Shaw's English Literature, general Ethics, Calderwood Ethics, Calderwood General Review English Bible, New Test. History English Composition English Bible, New Test. Hist. ElbOUives - Analytical Geometry, Church's English Lit. Elizabeth. & August. Chemistry, Metals w. Laboratory Pylodet, Classic French Plays German, Schiller's William Tell Anglo-Saxon, Green's Grammar Chemistry, Qualitative & Quant. English Lit., Lake School of Poets Latin, Juvenal Greek, Modes &-Tenses, Demosthenes French,- Le Cid, Moliere, Athalie German, Goethe's Faust Anglo-Saxon, Parables, Cadmon Theism and Evidences of Christianity Art Music 21-1

From this course list it can he seen that the courses

offered in the later nineteenth century in thé female seminary-

differed from thé courses offered earlier in the century in

that there were more courses, of a more specific subject

matter. (One wonders how deeply- thé scholars went into the

subjects; recalling that these were sixteen- and seventeen-

year-olds, one recalls that very- few students of that age today study Anglo-Saxon.) The catalogs of the other seminaries indicate

that this increasing specificity was common.

The Steubenville Seminary continued in existence "at least as a day school," according to the Rev. William A. Grier, "until about the close of the century."25

Methodology and CuirfcUla

As has been shown, the curricula in the female seminaries, though they were geographically and temporally separated, were similar. The courses were more practical than esoteric or

"fancy," in keeping with the philosophy that women should be prepared for life and not for college, This philosophy was what

Martha MacLear called central-liberal, and it was the philosophy of Rush and Beecher.2® Many of the textbooks in the seminaries

25WilH am A. Grier, "Letter to Ohio Historical.Society," 19-Oct-1944« . Grier donated the 1838 Catalogue of the Steuben­ ville Female Seminary to thé State of Ohio... The cat alog be longe d to his grandmothér, Hannah Jane Saxton CMrs, Thomas Goodman), who studied-at the seminary, leaving before graduation, to be married in 1838. Grier said she was the only daughter of John Saxton of Canton, who was the founder of thé Canton Repository, and that she was. the cousin of Mrs. William McKinley. 2gMartha MacLear. Thé History of thé Education of Girls > in New York and in/Néw England I80G--IH70 (Washington, D.C. : Howard tin j versitv Press, 1926), pp. 12—2 V?c The "conservatives were the English and the "liberals5’ were the feminists. 212 were similar. Thomas Woody, in his. 1929 History, did a compilation of courses offered in female seminaries from

1749 to 1851. The Table is reproduced from Volume I, and

Woody explained it thus*:

Taking into consideration the seminaries between 1749 and 1871, 162 in number, one may gain an im­ pression as to (1) relative stress' laid on several fields of knowledge throughout the whole period; and (2) the--fluctuation of emphasis on particular key studies. The number of cases is small, but it is believed that the trends and stresses suggested are fairly reliable. Table I shows the per cent of institutions Which Offered,,the thirty-six main studies, 1749-1829, 1749—1871, and between 1830 and 1871. ... Reading across the cable, the rise or decline of a subject’s importance may be estimated; reading down, one may see how each subject compared with another. The figures prob­ ably have less reliability in some-subjects than others. Calisthenics, for example, may have had some place in an institution but may not have been considered and listed . . . in the catalog,26

PER CENT OE INSTITUTIONS OFFERING CERTAIN SUBJECTS

Subjects 1749-1829 1749-1871 1830-1871 i i ,j Li _ -• v z—'•_• • __ n___ \ An /•* ry •_ _ (35 schools) (T62 schools) (107 schools)

Spelling . . . • • 43 *1 49 «I » 51 • Reading . . . 89 «» 73 •> 65 Writing . . . • « 75 • - 52 ». «■ 41 » Composition . • • 50 « ... 59 * * « 64 %■ « * Eng. Grammar . * « 89 86 * * « 84 r •j. • Logic .... 25 « » •> 50 * * 62 « Mental Phil. . 22 * « «1 * 62 « ». 82 « » % Rhetoric . . . • « 49 * • 75 •t a 88 » « Latin Grammar • • 24 • • « * 47 • » 59 • ♦ Greek Grammar • » ' 11 • * 23 » • 29 « » German . . . 9 -•* V 14 16 •> «. French . . ... 46 ‘C 55 60 Arithmetic ... ,• 86 v v 81 'V 79 Algebra . . . 15 '-'♦k 60 ■v 83 »' * Plane Geometry 27 'V 62 '»* 79 .. Plane Trigon. » « 2 27 40 »■ - Evidences of Christ>■ 11 ♦ a • 36 » » * « 50 » «

26Woody, pp. 417-18. 213

PER CENT OF INSTITUTIONS OFFERING CERTAIN SUBJECTS, contd

S-'ubjects- • 1749-1829 1749-1871 1830—1871 (35 schools) (162 schools) (107 schoolsO Moral Philosophy .- 36 65 ... 80 . • Geography ...... ”•* 82 ■ 70 ... 63 . » Natural Philosophy ... 50 76 ... 90 . Chemistry - ...... 30 V 70 ... *•? 90 . Geology .. .- .- , ... 2 r,. 40 ... •*r ‘t' 60 . * Botany ...... 24 62 .. 82 . « Astronomy ...... 46 V' », 72 85 * «h Physiology ...... ^2 •v *»/ 37 ... r' •fr- 55 . • Calisthenics . .- ... '•* 3 14 ., •> 19 . « History ...... 58 47 ... 41 . »5 «• Ancient History . • 14 ••• 35 ... 44 . •- Modern Historv- 14 32 ... 41 . ♦ U.S. History ...... 16 35 ... 45 . Political Science.. ... 2 *** 23 ... V 34 .. Plain Needlework . . '%■ 42 « 12 .- 5 , « 0 rn amen tai Ndlwo-rk-~. 43 « " 23 ... 12 . ,, Painting ...... 25 37 ... •• 43 . Drawing . , .• ...... 49 49 « 50 . * Music...... 21 * 27 . « •> 30 .

This large number of courses taught to girls of ages approximately ten to seventeen years naturally brought charges, by critics, that the knowledge they gained must of necessity be superficial. These charges were often answered with a reminder that these students would probably become primary teachers or at most, secondary teachers, and depth of field was not as important as breadth of exposure. In addition to the large number of courses, there were a large number of textbooks. Woody also compiled a list of the textbooks used in women's- colleges since 185Q. This list

is in Appendix IX. The reader will notice that many of the books mentioned in the text of this study are on Woody's list, that the books used in "colleges" were also used in "seminaries. 214

As far as the teaching methodologies employed in these

seminaries, what little evidence we have shows that the

Pestalozzian Method was in vogue. Rousseau's ideas about

demonstration teaching rather than lecture teaching had

been taken up by Pestalozzi, and the methodology spread

throughout the European countries and to America. At the

Cincinnati Eemale Academy, founded in 1823, as Jane Sherzer

noted, the demonstration method was used, "by which a

knowledge of things instead of words alone was imparted."

The owners carefully informed the students that the idea

that some people had that the Pestalozzian "tends to in­ fidelity" had no foundation.27 Pickett's Boarding School,

also in Cincinnati, also used "the analytic, or inductive" method of teaching.28 29 O30ther female seminaries used a com­

bination of the Pestalozzian and the Lancasterian 2® method-

oloties. Mrs. ’’Thayer, in 1856, in her annual report for

the Elizabeth Female Academy in Washington, Missippi, said:

Pestalozzi has developed the philosophy of mind, and shown us what we ought to teach. Lancaster has taught how to impart instruction with facility, to a much greater number than could possibly be instructed in the same time, on the old system.30

o y Jane Sherzer, "The Higher Education of Women in the Ohio Valley Previous to 1840," Ohio ArchaecilogicaT and Histor­ ical Quart erly, XXV (1916), 9.

2’8-Irbi/■ i• a-• . , -i1 z0i . 29 After Joseph Lancaster, who devised a system whereby more advanced scholars taught less advanced scholars, thus saving on the number of personnel needed. They used large classrooms. 30 American Journal of Education, 11(1856), 633-7. 215

She also commented that in the old days, both the teachers and the students got bored, using the recitation method, but that now, with the new methodologies, the students

could move at.their own paces, and that "sensible objects are employed for the purposes of illustration."

This adaptation of methodology must have served the

circumstances of the seminaries rather well, for they were private, with small endowments, and even had there been a surplus of teachers, these institutions could ill afford to hire them. Besides, the Lancasterian system was itself a kind of "student teaching" experience, simulating a laboratory experience, for the potential teachers attending the seminaries. As Woody said, many small schools were probably opened because of this Lancasterian system, which allowed many students to be taught, inexpensively.31

Whatever the methodologies or curricula, the seminaries in Granville and in Steubenville contributed teachers to the state of Ohio and to the West, and they were flourish­ ing institutions that contributed greatly to the secondary and higher education of women in the United States.

31Woody, I., 427. Boyd also mentioned the use of the Lancasterian system in academies. He said that at the Day- ton Academy for Boys, the trustees adopted the Lancasterian method and built a special building, opening the school in 1820, as the Dayton Lancasterian Academy. "It was claimed for this system that by promoting scholars in each class to the position of monitor on the ground of good scholarship and conduct, one teacher, who needed only to act as a general supervisor, might control, and instruct five hundred scholars, thus saving great expense," However, the plan failed. p. 127. 216

EPILOGUE

This study has shown how the American philosophy for educating women influenced the development of teacher education in this country. The need to establish a respectable alternative for the woman who did not marry

and fulfill her destiny within thé sphere of domesticity, as well as the need for educated teachers in the West combined to promote the development of the teaching pro­ fession as an extension of the home.

Americans had a naive faith in the power of education to uplift them, socially as well as morally. Part of the American Dream has always been to educate one's sons and daughters so they could have a life better than that of their parents. This faith in the power of education was evident in the great debates over the proper education for women.

The society was expanding, and teachers were needed, and the private academies and seminaries provided the teachers, before the advent of public Normal schools, which began to gain popularity after the Civil War, The expanding society had a need for educated women, so there was a very practical reason for educating them. They were needed as teachers in order to free the men teachers to more remunerative and more important work in the building of the country. 217

The call for seminaries to educate teachers was met

in all states, but especially in Ohio, which was settled

during the period of expansion, and which lay as a cross­

roads on the way West. Hundreds of seminaries and academies were established in Ohio, because of its educational legis­

lative situation, and because of its geographical and historical availability. The seminaries were sometimes modelled on boarding schools in the European tradition, but they were American institutions in that they had a mission to create and develop young ladies who could take teaching positions, as well as be elegant members of society,

Few of those who attended the seminaries emerged as suffragists (or feminists). They emerged as schoolmar'ms, evangelical in religious fervor, conservative and conven­ tional In beliefs and demeanor, active in their churches and in their communities, patriotic, dedicated to the causes of temperance and abolition, dedicated to what they thought was the proper way to educate children. They emerged from the private seminaries and taught in public schools, carrying their beliefs with them. Their beliefs formed the way the public school system was formed, for they were the people who were in a position to influence, not only the children they taught, but the people who hired them.

It could be said that the female teacher, who was 218

by belief and predisposition an innatist, an antifeminist, had a more insidious influence on the society than her more political sisters. The separation of church and state is still an issue, as well as is how morality can be taught to the students. The teacher's beliefs have a great influence on these issues. Society expects the teacher to be more than a subject-matter expert. The advent of the female teacher in the mid 1800's and the philosophy by which she lived are still influential.

It could also be said of the female teacher that she did much for women's rights, even with her conservative and religious, antifeminist and innatist beliefs. She made it respectable for a woman to work outside the home in a professional activity. She made it respectable to be unmarried, without children, and to be considered both womanly and successful. She was a model of inde­ pendence and self-reliance for both boys and girls, as she taught her school and led her clubwomen and took her safaris on summer vacations. The innatist, religious, conservative female teacher was the person who took women out of the home sphere into financial independence and lasting influence. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

PRIMARY SOURCES

SECONDARY SOURCES 220

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

BOOKS

Anthony, Susan B,; Matilda Gage; and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, eds. History of Woman Suffrage. 3 vols, Rochester, N.Y. : “Charles”®ahh, 18 8T, ‘

Beecher, Catharine, Educational Reminiscences and Sugges­ tions . New York: J,B, Ford & Co.,~ 1874.

The Evils Suffered By American Women, Harper's, 1846.

______Essay on the Education of Female Teachers For Thé“Unite d States. New Y ork (Van N os t r an d an d WigKF/ 18337“ —~

. The Moral Instructor: For Schools and Families/“Cihcinnhl'i : Truman' Smith', 18 88.

' P°P?estj-c Economy. New York, 1856, Bennett, ?John, Rev, Strictures on Female Education, 1795 rpt.'.••• New York: Sburce“"B6dk’FFress,‘ "I9‘7l/ Bittle, D.F. A Plea For Female Education, Boston: McKee and RobérTson,'“' lBSST,"------

Comfort, Anna and George Comfort, Woman’s Education and Woman’sr Hea1th/ Syracuse, N,Y, 'T“lhbmaB'‘'W7 Hurston, 1874,

Dickinson, Emily. Letters, Vol, I, ed. Thomas H, Johnson. Cambridge, Mass.: B e lknap Press, 1958.

Duffey, Elizabeth. No Sex in Education: Or An Equal Chance For Both Boys ancl Girls, FhTlahe lphia: JTST. "s toddarf , 1874,

Fordyce, James, Rev, The Character and Conduct of the Female Sex. Boston, 1781. ' - . Sermons to Young Women, Philadelphia, . '17877 ”“ — -——• — — —

Garnett, James M. Lectures on Female Education, Comprising Thé First and''Second' Series of a Course Delivërëd To Mrs. Garnett's Pup1 js AtjElmwood, Essex County, Va. R i chmon d: Thomas W, "White( 182 5. ■ . i 221

Hitchcock, Enos. Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family.

Livermore, Mary A. , What Shall We Do With Our Daughters? Boston: Houghton 'Miff lin To,, 1893/ ' ' '

Mathews, Joseph, Rev. Letters To School Girls. Cincinnati: Swormstedt & Poe, 1853'.'

More, Hannah. Essays on Various Subjects, P rin clpa1ly Designed F or Yd up g Ladi es. 4tff ~e~d.London / 1785 , . Strictures on the Modern System of Female ~"7 Education.' ' ' xhtyb'l'l/TTT, The Work's of Hannah Mo'r e, 1799.

Recollections of Mary Lyon: With Selections From Her Instruc- '"t i onst'o “the Pupil's 'in Mt'7 ttolybke'Eemale~§eminary. ed. Fidelia Fisk. Cambridge, Mass.: American Tract Society, 1866.

Rockwell,"-Julius. Education of American Women. Pittsfield, Mass.: A, Hanford, 1847, ” „

Rousseau, Jean Jacques, Emile, ed, Wm, Boyd, New York: / Columbia University Press, 197Q.

Rowson, Susanna. Mentoria, Or The Young Ladies’ Friend, Phi lade Iphi a: E. Campbell1794.

Rush,, .Benjamin. Essays : Literary, Moral, and Philosoph­ ical. Phi la deTphTa:. Bradford’s/' '1806. •

Spaulding, James R. The True Idea of Female Education, New York: John Trow PubUshers, 185'5“.' -

Webster, Noah. A Collection of Essays and Fugitive Writings. Boston, 1790. . '' : ■ ' ' ' , * ■ ■ ■ -

Willard, Emma. Address To The Public: Particularly To The Members' of 'the-"LegisTat u r e’~o"f' New Yo'fk, 'Proposing A "Plan For1; improving:1I'emaTe EducatTon,' llSlO/' Ariha Bracket t, ed.' '‘Tota^h^ . New York: Harper ' & Bros./. "18937 — ' -j - -...

Wollstonecraf t,. Mary, A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Columbia Univ, Press/ 1973, " ” 222

Primary (contd.)

PERIODICALS

Alumnae Bul le t in of Lake E rie S emin ary, 1898

Baptist Weekly Journal . 23 Aug 1833, Advertisement

Barnard, Henry. "Educational.Statistics.in the U.S, in 1850," The American Journal of Education, I (1855), 362-65.— -

Beecher, Catharine. "Woman's Profession," Godey's Lady's Book, XLV (Sep, 1852), 484.

Burrowes, Thomas B. "Ungraded Academies and Seminaries," Pennsy 1 vania Schoo 1 Joumal, IV (Dec, 1855), 164-66.

Coggeshall, Wm. T. "System of Common Schools in Ohio," American Journal of Education, VI (Mar 1859), 81ff„

Davisf Caroline. "Female Education," Pennsylvania School Journal. I (May, 1853), 431-42,

"Editor ' s Table," Godey's Lady ' s Book, XLV (1852), p.193. "Editor ' s Table," Godey's Lady ' s Book, XLV (1852), p. 388.

"Editor's Table," Godey's Lady ' s Book, XLV (1852), p. 483. "Editor's Table," Godey's Lady's Book, XLVI (1853), p. 173,

"Editor's Table," Godey's Lady ' s Book, XLVII (1853) , 84-85. "Editor's Table," Godey's Lady ’ s Book, XLVIII (1854), 464.

"Editor ' s Table," Godey's Lady ' s Book, LIX (1859), 274.

"The Education of Young Women in America," Godey's Lady's Book, LXI (I860), 368. ~~~

Hitchcock, Edward. "The Character of Mary Lyon," Old South Leaflets, No. 145, N.d.

Kingsbury, John. "Reunion of the Young Ladies' High School, Providence, R.I.," The American Journal of Education, V (1858), 22—26. ~ "

"The Ladies' Mentor," The Lady's Book XIV (1837), 186. 223

Primary (contd.)

"The Ladies’ Mentor," The Lady 's Book, XIV (1837) j 226.

"The Ladies’ Ment or, " The La. dy ' s Book, XIV (1837), 281.

Lyon, Mary. "Mount Holyoke Female Seminary," Old South Le aflets, No. 145, N.d.

McKeen, Catharine.^— '¿Mental Education of Women," American Journal of Education I (1855), 567-68.

Newcomb, Mary E. Dr. "Lend A Hand," The Seminary Record. V, (1894), 197, ‘

"On the Death of Miss Mary Evans," Thé Lake Erie Record, XXXVI (1922), ’

"Places of Education for Young Ladies," Godey's Lady's Book, LXI (1860), 557. ”

The Seminary Record, VII (1894).

The Seminary Record, VIII (1895). Shepardson, Mrs. "Old Brown Sem,," Denison Alumni Bulletin (Oct 1911), 4-5. ~

Sigourney, Lydia. "On the Policy of Elevating the Standard of Female Education," Southern Literary Messenger (1834), 160-170. ~ — .....

"Troy Female Seminary," Godey1s Lady's Book, LXI (1860), 368.

"Uneducated Women," Common School Journal, IX (1 Oct 1847), 297-98. ”

Vogel, Dr, "German Views on Female Teaching in America," American Journal of Education, IV (185 8), 795-6, W., J.E. • "Old Brown Sem," Denison Alumni Bulletin, (June 1914), 4-6. ' - " '

"Where Our - Daughters Go To School," Harper's New Monthly, XV (Oct. , 1857) , 674—78. ‘ ~ '

Willard, Emma "Female College at Bogota," Lady's World, XIV (1837) 279.

Willard, Emma. "What To Teach," Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book, XLV (1852), 294.

Y. , B. "Thoughts On The Happiness of Woman As Connected With The Cultivation of Her Mind," Lady's Book, XV (1835) 204-5. 224

Primary (contd.)

DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS

Articles of Incorporation- of Western Female Seminary. ' ”‘i"4’"Jui 185'37 Oxf orcl, Ohio (In Westerniana Collec­ tion, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio.)

Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils of the.Granville ' Female Senii'nary For Th”e ‘AcademiCaT Year 1837. dolumbus:' Cu€1er and"FiIskury, IS37. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Catalogue of the Granville Female Academy, Granville, Ohio. ” HS3&/3Üt -c"/f'n Ohio His torleal Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Catalogue of the Granville Eeïriaié Academy, 1852. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Catalogue of the Granville' Female' Academy.,- 1855. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Catalogue of' the Granville Female’ A'c'adémyy: 1857. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

"Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation of The Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio," 8 Jan 1955. In Westerniana Collection, Circular of the Western■ ■ Eemaib.• HeriJl'ha’ry’.-Puto’iiShed For The Benefit ’of Its Friends -and Patrons, 28 Jul 1853. In Westerniana Collection, Miami. University.

"Constitution and Articles of Agreement of the Western Female Seminary," Oxford, Ohio." 14 Jul 1853. In Westerniana Collection, Miami University. First Circular For The Western Female' Seminary,185 3. Oxford, Ohio: 185 37 In Westerniana Collection.

Forty-Fourth Annual Catalog For The Year Ending June 18, 1873, With A General' Catalogue of the Teachers and Graduates of the S t e ub en v'l 11 e Female Seminary, From Its Commencement, April 13, 1829. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio Female College At Co 11 eg e-Hi' 11, ■ Hamilton Co. , Oh’io, With The Plans, Reasons,' and En cbur agement For Its Permanent En bowme nt:.As’ A Firs t-Ciass1' Female' Seminary With A Special Object of Educating Competent' Teachers For 22®

Primary (contd.)

The I Here as i ng Millions ■ of. the West' So Soon To Govern This■ Nation,.Including' Numerous Coftto'endations, of Clergymen, Teachers, -and Others. New York: Edward 0. Jenkins,1862, in Cincinnati Historical Society

Outline and Catalogue of the S t eub en'vllie' Female Seminary For The' Ye'-ar1 'Ending- In- September,' 1839. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio

Out line and Ca talogue''of -the.'S't'ehbé'n'ville'-. Fetoalé Seminary For The Year Ending' In Sep tember, 1855. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio., ,.

Outline and Catalogue of the Steubenville Female Seminary For" The Year Ending in September, 185(T In Ohio Ristori cal’ Go eie iy X"ibr ary, Columbus, Ohio.

Outline and Catalogue' for' thé Steubenvi lie Female' Seminary For’ The1 Year- Ending' in' September,'1885. 'In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

The Proceedings' of the' American- TnëtTthté of Instruction, 1831. George B. Emerson, "On The Education of Females," Lecture !, pp. 15-41...

The Proceedings of the Women’s' Rights 'Convention Held At Akron, Ohio, May ¿8 and *S'9/”18^Ï7 Cincinnati : Ben Franklin Books, 1851. "Report To The College of Teachers," Cincinnati: October 1840. In Cincinnati Historical Society. "Second Annual Report To The Trustees of Western Female Seminary, 1855." In Westemiana Collection. Student's Guide: Rules and Regulations' of thé Ohio Female College. N.d. Third Annual Report of thé Commissioner of' Statistics To The Governor of Thé State' of Ohio, 1859. Columbus: Richard Nevins’, State Printer, 1860. . Trans action s of the College of Pro fess iona 1’ Teachers : Cincihhali. 1 Oct 1838. Mrs. Phelps, "Education of Women." Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Lake Erie' Female' S'etai-riary, Painesville, Ohio,' 1884. Cleveland: J.B. Savage, 1885. ' 85' "pgs . 226

Primary (contd.)

Twenty-Sixth Annual C atalo gu e of t he S t euben vi 11e Female Seminary. 'Pittsburgh, ’ 1835. .

"Western Reserve Teacher's Seminary and Kirtland Institute," Announcement. In Lake County Historical Society.

Willoughby Female' S eminary , S e cond Annual Catalogue, 1848-9. in Lake County Historical Society and Lake Erie College Library.

Willoughby Female Seminary ,- Thi-rd Annua. 1; Catalogue,' 1849-50 22 7

Primary (contd.)

ADDRESSES

Beecher, Catharine. "An Address To The J/rotestant Clergy of the United States," Harper & Bros*, 1846.

Day,.Henry N., Rev. "An Address on Education, Delivered At The Annual Commencement of the Ohio Female College, June 30, 1859," College Hill, O.: Ongley & Shain, 1859. 25 pgs.

Elliott, Charles, Rev. "Thè Fireside, An Address Delivered Before the Calliopean Society of the Oxford Female Institute," June 28, 1851. Hamilton, 0.: Halsey & McBeth, 1851. 24 pgs.

Fisher, Samuel W. "Female Education: An Address Delivered At The Dedication of-Ohio Female College," Sep 4 1849. Cinn.: Ben Franklin, 1849. 50 pgs.

' . "John Calvin and John Wesley : An Address Delivered At The First Anniversary of the Western Female Seminary,. Oxford, Ohio, 1856." Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys, & Co., 1856.

Goodwin, Henry M., Rev. "Funeral Discourse in Memoriam of Anna P. Sill, Principal of the Rockford Female Seminary, 1889,” Rockford: 1889.

Hall, Rev. "Address on Female Education, Delivered July 10, 1846, On Occasion of the First Anniversary of the Cooper Female Academy, Dayton, Ohio," Dayton: 1846. 16 pages. Hickock, L.P., Rev. "Female Education: An Address Before The Canton Female Seminary At Their Annual Examination, June 8, 1843," Canton: Daniel Getshall, 1843.

Mathews, Joseph, Rev. ."Female Education: An Address Before the Convention of Female Teachers, Assembled in Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1852," Cincinnati: 1853. 9 pg. Scott, John W., Rev. "An Address on Female Education: Deli­ vered At The Close of thè Summer Session of 1840, of the Steubenville Female Seminary." Steubenville: 1840.

Storrs, Henry M., Rev. "Address on First Anniversary of Lake Erie Female Seminary, July 19, 1860," Cleveland: 1860. 24 pgs. 228

Primary (contd.)

UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

Anthony, Susan B. "Letter to Mary Evans." 21 May 1865. at Lake Erie College Library, Painesville, Ohio.

Beecher, Lyman. "Letter to Rev. Daniel Tenney," 28 May 1853. At Miami University Libraries, Westerniana Collection.

Berry, Maria Pierson. Short Sketch' of a. Long Life. Handwritten autobiography, N.d.- In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio. N.d.

Creeger, Martha. Letters home from the Granville Female Academy, 1842-43. In Box 28, Archives, Denison University, Granville, Ohio.

Grier, William A. "Letter to Ohio Historical Society," 18 Oct 1944. In Ohio Historical Society Library, Columbus, Ohio.

Hayes, Lucy Webb. "Letter to ’R’." Chillicothe, 5 Sep 1851. In Rutherford B. Hayes Library, Fremont, Ohio.

Howe, Sarah Isabella. Life of Helen Peabody. Typed ms., approx. 200 pages. N.d. In Westerniana Collection of Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio. !

Tenney, Daniel. "Letter On 10th Anniversary of Western Female Seminary," 1865. In Westerniana Collection of Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio. \ . "Letter on 25th Anniversary of Western "~Fe‘rriaie" ’Seminary, " 4 Jun 1880. In Westerniana Collection of Miami University Libaries, Oxford, Ohio.

INTERVIEWS '

With Miss Ainsworth, Registrar, Lake Erie College, April 28, 1976. •

With Dr. Esther Crane, former teacher at Lake Erie College, May 5, 1977. ,229

Secondary Sources

BOOKS

Akers, Wm. J. '..'Clev-eTahd 'ScRóo'IsTTn; -The' Nln-e-teehth ’Century. Cleveland, W.M. Bayne, 1901.

Andelin, Helen B.„ ’ Fascinating Womanhood. Bantam, 1974

Boas, Louise Schutz. Woman's' Education'- Begins: ' The Rise of the Women's Colleges/ Norton, Mass.: Wheaton. College Press, 1935.

Borrowman, Merle L. ed. Teacher Education in America: A Documentary History. N.Y,: Teachers College Press, T o 1 umbia Univ. ' 1965.

Bullough, Vera. L. The Subordinate Sex : A History of Attitudes T owar d W omeri’. N.Y^Penguin Bo ok s, 1974.

Buras, James J. Educational History of Ohio. Columbus: Historical Publishing Co1905. Burstall, Sara A. The Education of Girls In The United Sfates. New York: Macmillan Co,7 1894. Butts, R. Freeman. A Cultural History of Education. New York: McGraw-Hi 117 T94'7^

Crane, Theodore Rawson, .ed. ' The Dimensions of 'American Education. Reading, Mass.: Addison—Wesley, 1974. Cubberley, Ellwood P. Readings In The History of Educ­ ation . New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1920. Cross, Barbara, ed. The Educated Woman In America. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia Univ., 1965.

Elson, Ruth Miller. Guardians' 'of Tradi ti on '• Airier i can Schoolbooks of -thé Nineteenth : Century. Lincoln, Neb.: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 19ë’4.

Flexner, Eleanor. ' Century- 'of- St'-ruggle:' The Woman's' Rights Movement in the United States. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap, 1966. Goodsell, Willystine. ' The Education of Women: Its Social Background and- Its Problems. New York: MacMillan, 1924. 230 Secondary Çcontd»)

Hartman, Mary and Lois i¥. Banner. ' Clio's’ CoHs’di’buSHeSs Raised:■ : New PelspectlyeS- On The-Histery of Women. New York: Harper ColophonTTooks, ' 19"74.

Hopkins, Mary Alden. HahHah -Mere' And Her* Circle. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 19 47'.

Jones, A.M.G. Hannah More. Cambridge,. England: The Univer­ sity Press',' 1952.

Kandel, I.L. History of- Secondary -Edii-c'a-tTon.- Cambridge, Mass.: Riverside Press, 1930.

Kraditor, Aileen. The .Ideas of the Woman Suffrage Movement. New York: Anchor, 1965.

' ' ■’'J ’ j UP From Thé Pé-deST’al.- Chicago: Quad­ rangle Books, 1968.

Lansing, Marion, ed. ' Mary Lyon- Through Her* Letters. Boston, Mass.: Books, Inc. ,1937,

Luce, William. ' Thè Belle’ ’of ’A'nihérS-I,■ Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 19W?

Lutz, Alma. Emma WIHaZrd:- ' Daugh’tè-r’ of Democracy. Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, 1929. MacLear, Martha. The History..of the Education of Girls in New York and Hëw En gland, "T SP’O-18 70. ‘ ' Was hin g t on : H ow ar d Un i ve rs 11: y7 TP r es s' j 1926,

Marlow, H. Carleton, and Harrison M, Davis. The’ American Search for Woman. Santa Barbara: Clio Books” 1976.

Meyer, Annie N. , ed. Woman 's Work in America. New York: Henry Holt and Co. , 1891,

Miller, E. A. History of Educational ’Législation In’ Ohio from 1803 to 1850. Chicago, 1920. rpt. New York: Arno Press, 1969. Miller, George, The ’Academy’ System of ’the S'fa’te’ ’of New York. Albany: J.B. Lyon & Co,» 1922". Mock, Albert. Thé ’Mld-WeS'-tSrn’ ’Académy’Mov’émént. Indianapolis, Ind. : 1949".

Morgan, Marabel. ' Thé ’Tétai Woman.- N.Y'. : Pocket Books, 1973.

Oltóny,JamesW ed/ .’ TK’é} •■Lib’ér’al’ Fd’uga’t’i’on; of- Women. New York: A/S. Barnes, Öo., 1873. 231 Secondary (contd.)

Rossi , Alice.ed. ' Thé FëiriihisrT Papbrsr:■ ' From AdaSms: To Beauvoir.■ New York: Columbia Univi Press, 1973.

Schneir, Miriam, ed. ' Feminism; The Essential Historical Writings. New York: Vintage, 19’72. Scott, Ann Firor, ed. The American Woman: Who Was She? Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall, 1973’. Sexton, Patricia. Women in Education. Bloomington, Ind.: Phi Delta Kappa, 19"7^.

Shepardson, Francis W. Denison University: 1831-1931. Granville, Ohio, 1031.

Shotwéll, John B. A History of the Schools of Cin cinn ati. Cincinnati: School Life Co., 1902.“

Sizer, Theodore R. The Age' of Thé Academies. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1964.

Sklar, Kathryn Kish. Catharine Beecher : A Study in American Domesticity. New Haven : Yale Uni vers ì ty P ress, 19 73.

Smith, Page. Daughters of the Promised Land: Women in Ame r i c an H i s t'ory ( Little, Brown and Co., 1970. Sochen, June. Herstory : A Woman’s View of American History. New York: Alfred Press, 19'74.

Thompson, Eleanor. Education for -Ladles:» ' 1830-1860. New York: King's C rown Press, 19477’

Welter, Barbara. Dimity Convi ctions : The American Woman In The N ine teen th Century. Athens, 0.: Ohio University Press, 1976. ______. The Woman Question in American History. Dryden Press, 1973.’

Woody, Thomas. A. History of Worileh’s* EdtfdaTToh in the United States. 2 vols. New York: The Science Press, 1929. 2 32

Secondary (contd.)

PERIODICALS

"The Beginnings of Mount Holyoke," Seminary Record, TfI (1894) . ———

Boyd, W.W. "Secondary Education in Ohio Previous to the Year 1840," Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Publications', ' XXV (1916)/~Tl8-134 . '

Bunkie, Phillida. "Sentimental Womanhood, and Domestic Education, 1830-1870,.) History of Education Quarter­ ly, 16 (Spring 1974), 13-30. J —

Conway, Jill K. "Perspectives on the History of Women’s Education in the United States,"' History of Education Quarterly, 16 (Spring 1974), 1-12. ’ ”' '

Miller, P.J. "Eighteenth Century Periodicals for Women," History of Education Quarterly, 13 (Fall 1971) 979-2B3.’“ —------——

' j ; /• ■ .■ "Women’s Education, ’Self-Improvement’ and Social-Mobility—A..Late. Eighteenth Century Debate," . His:tory; Of Education' Quarterly,- 16 (Spring 197«®)/

Sherzer, Jane. "The Higher Education of Women in the Ohio Valley Previous to 1840," Ohio Archaeological and His tori cal Quarterly, XXV (‘ 19T 6j"“,' T-“2-3'. ~

"Three Hundred Years of Education for Girls in America," School and Society, XLII (1935), 105-11.

Wein, Roberta, "Women’s Colleges and Domesticity, 1875- 1918,"' H'is'-Udrv' 'of 'EdubatTon' Quarterly, 16 (Spring 1974), 31-47.

Welter, Barbara. "The Cult of True Womanhood, 1820-1860," American Quarterly, 18 (Summer 1966), 151-74. 233 4

Secondary (contd.)

DOCUMENTS' AND- REPORTS

Women's Education' in the W'éS't-érn'^Ré'sér've.■ Western Reserve University, 1926. 35 pages.

UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

Keller, Arnold J a ck. An • Historical •• Analysis- ■ • of. • the Arguments For Tknd-Ag’ai'nSl.Co’bdScailbhal1 Pub-lid High Schools in The1 United Stales . - Columbia University, 1971. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. APPENDICES 234-

I. TITLE PAGE FROM ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE THE

vniiì'lTlivV- - :>T iN?>il,i,zVLTJ?jJTiR - Fvi vTJTL TJjPiJ .fbTrWlj /

COLLEGE HILL,: HAMILTON CO., OHIO,

..WITH THE p L A », K E À S 0 B 8, A B 1) E fiC 0 U K A 6 E M E B T

FOB ITS

TW IL EMANENT ENDOWMENT

T i RS T- C L AS S TE M A LB S E MI NT A RX»

a SPECIE 1. OBJECT

/EDUCATING 'COMPETENT TE.ACHE1ÎS POR THE INCREASING MILUOXS OP THE

, WEST SO .SOON TO,'GOVERN THIS NATION.

;L- ; T INCLUÙ1SÔ . ./.'•' *

L . A ■ NUMEROUS COMMENDATIONSOF^ CLERGYMEN, TEACHERS. AND OTHERS. ' ; ' '

NEW YOLK: W/ ' 1 . EDWARD, O. JENKINS, PRINTER, • " 20 NORTH WILLIAM STREET. .

lob-

J’S’CWAi. & PWdiSPPMCA 236

II. ' PAGES FROM Student’s Guide For

Ohio Female College

238

5 - 3

fcjfaqeij’s Guile, ©l

During study hours every young lad)- should use the iiih,,..: ; tton not to disturb her companions by conversation or in anv < f way. . j

Visiting from room to room, except ing nt the hours sp.-.-ut. VJ strictly prohibited.

When the.bell strikes at 9 o'clock i>. m., every stud.-nt '? from her room must return to it without delay, and all are t.> p-v • bed and the gas turned off when the. hell strikes at 91 o’chu-k. Aiv» ' retiring, no talking above a whisper is allowable.

Students are not to light the gas in their rooms or >4s,•«•!».•:.• o, f the College, at anytime between 9.} o’clock at night and f. ..-J. £ in the morning, except for sickness or other unavoidable ne.-.-.-iv

No student is allowed to visit, any store or go to the «-tty ..ft, i.< 5 than once per month, and even then she must have ¡ter parent'» « j * guardian’s consent. b

Borrowing money from school or class mates, or wearing ,«rti.-l«-» ■ of clothing or jewelry belonging-to another is strictly disapproved t

No student is allowed to answer the door bell n.ii- y-> s<> the ; parlor, laundry, dining-room or kitchen without permission. i

The conveying of letters, notes, or cards, to or from board. r > >.» day scholars or other persons without the knowledge of the pi,- is forbidden.

Visits of students in private families in town, will not mu-r*t.» ; he allowed. 1

Deceiving company, except it be at the special ami written r.-n'i.-.l of the parent or guardian, and with, the consent of the Lady 1’.- > . , pa'., will not be permitted.

Friday evening from tea tilt 9 o'clock, and on SatHi'i.r. si dinner until 0 o’clock r. m., the students are allowed i>> vi-u ;n t;—. ; College as they may choose, subject to the-rules and autlmri! -u - College, and within the. limits required by order ami dee.num \

No entertainments of any kind are to lie given in lie rooms, and no student is allowed to change her bed loom • ' ’ single night, without permission from the Lady 1‘rinrip.il.

.-'4 239

..■ ^tueleij.’s

Ji«> nails are to bo driven in any part of the College premises, , ,.v4i'under tbo direction of the Superintendent.

" ' ' Apple cores and parings, also dry -waste matter, such as refuse i'ap*r, tiatr, nut shells, etc., are to be thrown into the box provided she purpose, and nowhere else. Nothing, under any circumstances, it.iiiht bo thrown out of the windows.

■ Whenever a room is left temporarily vacant, the gas should be toft-M down to prevent waste.

' No visiting or delaying at the doors of rooms, nor lingering in the ■

Students are earnestly requested to report promptly to the Lady : pyirwij^l ami also to the Matron, the illness of a room mate.

V / ' IVconun and quiet should prevail throughout the halls and other • pdtfc places, and running, loud laughing, talking, or singing therein, £■» v«>idi ary to rule.

Vf -'^Indents must not he called away from a recitation or other Col- Jky# vxercise to meet visitors, except for urgent reasons, and a pupil iV{?>0 jmrlor must leave her friends to meet her College appoiut- itjaiidA unless excused by the President or Lady Principal. 1; .Young ladies wishing to invite a friend to a meal in the College, :■ ■ -r 'Vi ■■ tassai t»r«t consult the Lady Principal. There, are no accommodations .?. £<•„.<;ded in the College for lodging the friends of students.

A» meals, free and cheerful conversation is encouraged, but where tiiAity are conversing at once, each one should .speak in subdued tones.

The students are expected to be considerate and polite toward : sLdf companions, to maintain a lady-like deportment toward the »Vtfi-Ants, and to observe the rules of propriety and social etiquette bF . »»wh prevail in well-bred circles. 7-4- 'fc, , • So ¿Indent is allowed to practice on an instrument at an hour k/: | .,Ul liU not been assigned to her by the proper authority, and a persun is not allowed in the music room during a practice w V'-vr, rveept for the purpose of practicing duets.

(7 > ■■ $ bwcelineats, cakes, confectionery, and food of all kinds, excepting A4,A /nsiti, will not be received at the College for students, as they t(i •fi* ‘ urevs of sickness and much evil. ivw« V 5s'.:

i 240

III. RATIONALE FOR TRAINING

CHRISTIAN GIRLS AS TEACHERS:

OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE z t ■J ..z

OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE. 17

cst possible'culture and development, the happiness and usefulness of our Western (laughters—a sound body, a vigorous and well- disciplined mind, a pure and benevolent heart. Such an education, consisting in substantial and personal excellence of character, is a fortune worth more than all the treasures of earth; one that can never be. lost; one that will raise them to positions of independence and usefulness in society, and one that is beginning to be highly ap­ The Importance of the Ohio Female College, and the rea­ preciated bv many parents, who think that they have icabzed, in a sons and encouragements for ii-s public endowment. weat, measure, such a fortune in the training of their daughters in the Ohio Female College. -instead o( a full discussion on the points presented, our space v ill allon but the briefest outline of the am-iimcnt. 3. The Influence of Woman as an Educator. As public attention lias been turned to this subject, for the last , 1. Increasing Interest in proper Female Education. few years, and the nature and worth of .such, an education has been The nation is fast waking up to the vital importance of such edu­ fully demonstrated, the conviction of the community has been cation to the best interests of the family, the church, the state, and deepened, that female influence, in no small degree, governs the the world. world ; that, woman is the natural educator of the rising generation, The fact that millions of money and millions of acres of public especially of lier own sex; and that the great work of education is land have been given by the States and by private munificence for her appropriate employment. Who has not observed v\ith adtnii.t- the endowment of Male Colleges, while, until recently, almost tion and gratitude what an all-controlling power a kind Providence nothing |las pcen jonc j„ t|lis wtly p(n. education, is now be­ has givcn°to the Christian Itlotlier and Teacher to form the charac­ ginning to call forth a generous liberality, in the public establish- ter, and in a great measure to decide the destiny, of the rising gen­ nient and endowment of a few Female seminaries of the highest eration ? Washington’s mother only could have made a Washington- character lor our daughters, giving to them the same advantages, Wc may predict, with comparative certainty, the future of families so far as adapted to female wants, which have hitherto been enjoyed’ or states, from the character of their mothers, and especially intour exclush lay, by our sons in our best American colleges. own country, where the lightning speed of the other sex alter wealth, Ihe pi opt ii'tors ci the Ohio i’emaie College having bv private allows them very little opportunity to exert a moulding influence in enterprise and large expense creeled and furnished "the"rerjuisito the family or the school. -If Providence has so ordained, and histo­ buildings, and demonstrated the value of such an education for all ry has so recorded the fact, that woman must, to such a vast extent, classes of the community, and brought it within the reach of many educate and control the world for good or evil, is it not a matter ot of our needy and promising Western daughters, are desirous by patriotism, as well as justice and good-will to her, that we give her tins endowment to extend these high advantages to multitudes of those educational advantages in this and other kindred Institutions, those especially who wish to teach, and will, when educated, occupy indispensable to the success ol her high mission and tnc w Gilds some of the most important positions for influence and usefulnessVn progress ? 2

Our Western states, in our frontier settlements, and in other lields 4 of labor at homo and abroad, 4 Our Daughters fairly entitled to a large Share in the 1 ‘Work of our National Education, and our College aims 2. The Character and Value of the Education given by to fit them for it. the Ohio Female College, The fact that woman has hitherto been shut out trom most of the it aims, by suitable anti well-selected means, to secure the hi,Th* remunerative and professional employments, fairly entitles het to a 18 OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE. OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE. 19 large portion of this public service, for which she is so eminently" for, and to be realized ; and tliat when thus early converted and adapted, and in the performance of which she is evincing such high free from those wrong habits which most have formed before they qualifications. The obvious and universal adaptation of woman for became Christians, they will come up into Christian life, with an tins great work, and her success in it, have never been more happily ardor of love, a child-like simplicity of faith, a benevolence and exemplified than in New England, and in some other old States, Christian activity in doing good, and with a consistency of piety where most of the primary and much of the higher grade of instruc­ which will give a new and divine impulse to the cause of Christ. tion has been given by their daughters, And while we have, thus The marked success which has crowned maternal fidelity in the cheerfully accorded to woman her right as an educator, and ex­ early conversion of children, has of late greatly encouraged the pressed our obligations for the benefits of her labor, it cannot be instructors of our higher schools and colleges, to expect, to attempt, doubted that in the future education of the increasing millions of our and to realize the early conversion of their pupils as the most vital youth, our main reliance, under Providence, must be our Female part of their education—laying the broadest foundation for their Teachers. And it is to he remembered, that while our new states future enjoyment and usefulness, arid furnishing the highest motives-: are beginning to make honorable provision for common schools, that to thorough intellectual discipline and development. provision can he made efficacious onZy by the raising up of Female Seminaries of high character, to train up thoroughly educated teach­ 7. The Moral and Christian Element in our General Edu­ ers to give moral as well as literary character to the primary schools, cation Essential to the Perpetuity of our National Liberties. 5. Increasing Demand and Reward for Female Instructors. The prospective greatness, and the high mission of our country, While the few hundred well-educated Female Teachers sent to the are now waking up a lively national interest in the education of our ' West and South, within a few years past, from the East, and by this entire population, and especially in training up Female Instructors. and other kindred Institutions, have been highly appreciated, and With a country large enough, to make four hundred and fifty States have given a new impulse to Christian education, they have created of the size of Massachusetts, and room for five hundred millions an urgent demand for a much larger supply, so that any reasonable of inhabitants, and the prospect of one hundred millions by the. number of wcll-qan'itied Instructors would find important and use­ close of this century, and with a territory embracing all the delight­ ful openings, and, in most cases, a comfortable support. But, the ful varieties of climate; abounding in the richest mineral productions; supply front the old States being only as a drop in the bucket, our furnishing on our vast lakes and rivers, and on our extended canals main reliance is to raise up teachers on the ground—our Western and railroads, the most important facilities for intercommunication daughters—who, being already westernized ami acclimated, and free —for internal intercourse and trade—spreading out on our broad from the prejudices which are sometimes encountered by teachers sea-board erf nearly ton thousand miles the most important advan­ from abroad, will be most successful in this great work, tages for commerce with all the nations ef the earth—and opening upon ouv boundless western prairies a home of liberty, happiness, 6. Early Conversion and Youthful Piety and Usefulness and plenty for the coming millions of our foreign emigrants: -who Intimately Connected with Christian Female Educa­ does not see that this country, when it shall have successfully fought tot tion. its great battle of liberty for all -nations and all time, is probably g*, The divine assurance that, as the millennium approaches, all shall destined to be the greatest and most powerful nation that the sun know the Lord, from the least to the greatest, and the rapid in­ ever shone upon? Who can fully appreciate the importance of crease of the bright examples of youthful piety, tire inspiring a joyful training thU rising republic, by evevy educational and Christian confidence in the church that [lie early conversion of thg great body influence, for its great future destiny, working out the grand of her children, instead of growing up to maturity without religion, problem of liberty and self-government for all nations, and thus as in times past, is an event confidently to be expected, to be prayed becoming the moral lighthouse of the world ? To the success I

20 OHIO FEMALE 'COLLEGE. OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE.

of tbis great experiment, the education of tbe masses—the cultiva­ true laws and right judgments; but if we iet them grow uj tion of tbe heart as veil as the intellect—is now admitted to be ignorance and vice, or with a cultivated intellect and a con indispensable. heart, they will still rule the nation; but it will be with a roi Our great system of State and national education, without a iron, and they will dash us to pieces as a potter’s vessel. strong moral and Christian element, will onlv augment our national power for evil—will give us demagogues instead of patriotic states­ men to rule over us—and will hasten the downfall of our republic. It is well known that woman infuses more of this moral and religi­ ous element into education than the other sex; and one of the most cheering indications of our being able fo secure such an edu­ cation amongst our whole youthful population, is found in tbe fact that this great and vital work'is now being committed mainly and most advantageously to ou.r daughters. The empire State taking the lead in this vital work, it has been publicly stated, has out of thirty thousand teachers nearly twenty thousand females, while in the city of New York, out of nineteen hundred instructors seven­ teen hundred are ladies. Other States are following this worthy example. It is a leading object of the Ohio Female.College, while we shall continue to furnish the highest advantages to those not expecting to teach, thoroughly to train our western daughters for instruc­ tors; and while we see many of them now occupying most im­ portant and responsible posts of usefulness, and bear the frequent demand for more such laborers, most earnestly do we desire to increase their number. Many such teachers have been aided (as lar as was in our power) to tit themselves for their great work; and multitudes of others, with the best talents, longing for education and usefulness, could now be raised up to give the. right education of heart as well ns.intellect. If the thousands of competent Female Christian Teachers, so soon to he needed for the West, could bo raised up in this and other kindred seminaries, the very best foundation would be laid for the permanent establishment of the gospel, and for the perpetuity of our national liberties. How vital and important is this work of educating quickly both the intellect and heart of the youth of the West, will be clearly seen when it is remembered how soon they are to make our national laws and decide our national destiny. If the old States will now help to educate and Christianize these youthful millions of the West, so soon *t<5 be our national rulers, they will rule us with 244

IV. ONE OF MARTHA CREEGER'S LETTERS 19 Sep 1842

Granville Seminary Ohio Sep ipth/72

Dear dear Sisters and brother, 246

Hear I am at last in the Academy after a somewat long and tedious journey for so it appeare^to me. I commence? my letter this morning but I do not know how soon I shall finished or send it off tho I presume you would like to hear from me. I presume 'Jr. Toll called v/fren he returned and told you how he left us, at that time I was not very well my neck was very soar and stiff of an evening during our journey however that has all got along with and I feel as well as ever. I am begining to feell quite at home here, at first I thought that I never could feel right whilst I staid here as there was no room prepared for our reception and I was a stranger among strangers, but now we are very comfortat situated' we have a very pleasant room it is a front room in the building it is in the third story, if you will look at that engraving which you have you will see our windows, they are the first two windows on the right of the middle windows. That engraving is a correct representation of it excepting those trees which are in front. I p resume you will sometimes look at that picture and fancy you can see us looking out of those windows for it was of frequent occurrer during a day or two past when we had not much studying to do.

tie have three very pleasant teachers one is the principle of the school she is an old maid, one of the others is a beautiful girl -her name is Arms, the other is also very good looking.- How much will you give me for my description? A jug of hard cider I presume when I return home.

I think Granvill right pleasant.little village It is surrounded with beautiful hills every way we turn'our gase we see naught but hills they are covered with beautiful trees, the bell has just rung for school and I must stop. Good evening Sis ters I have just returned from the school room and from supper as we eat our supper hsrc directly after school, The days appeal’ very short here I presume the cause origonates from there being so many hills surrounding the place when the sun gets behind one of those hill is seems as though it was set they are much larger- than I had any idea of., We have a fine view of the-College from our window. I cannot tell you much about the school yet as it has hardly got organized however I think I shall like it very much of that 1 will tell you more in my next communication. I. saw W. Hedges the day we arrived he called and invited Cararinda to call to see his Sister- bu t not me don’t you think he is Polite, however I do not care for that as Eveline is very pleasant to me. She has been very homesick. She was sorry her brother took her there but I presume she will become more contented after awhile. What do you think she is studying 'Latin instead of English grammar, we have but 2h schollars at present but they have but 18 at the other. I presume I shall tell you about my homesick spell I had since I’ve been here the first day after school I came up to my room and had a good long cry during which time the bell rang for Supper (for I will not call it Tea as we get nothing but water)" and I could not make my appearance at table however I got my Supper. I must tell you about a girl we have here she is one of the fuiest creatures I ever saw she said I shouJ not get home sick while she was about she set me to laughing until I almost, died and I have not been home sick since and don’t think I shall, (do not tell this to any person) Mr. Jordon is married T called to see them last Friday and took Tea with them he has a very pleasant wife she is tolerably good looking her sister comest to school she is a pleasant girl I think. I shall like to visit them very much. Mr. J. say 1 must make his house my second home he told me ther was no engagement before he visited Tiffin, when he returned he was taken sick and she waited upon him. 3ut I must stop about him or I will have no more room to put Sept. 1$>, /h2 247 any more stuf. We were Serenaded one night they played most beautifuly I do wis you could have heard them, I had an Introduction to one of the gentlemen of the place, we arrived at Marion 8 O’clock Sunday evening- Staid at Sands Mr, Sands helped me out the bugy but did recognize. They are all well Mrs. S. said youx* love would have been more acceptable had it been accompanied with a letter but Mr, Toll said he had to pay 25 cts for me there. I saw G. Smith he said should remember him to you, by the way we were introduced to Mr. Sprung he is a real nic little fellow the next morning we walked around the City C. had Sprung I as a matter of company. I want to know how Justin is geting along if you please, tell me everything all I want to know if you hav heard from: Alanson yet I expect you feel lost since he left, give my love to all I did not see before I left particu­ larly to I.yia, Mrs. Shawhan The doctor Mr, Crum if you choose also? to Sisters and the whole familys of 'them also to Mr. Sombaugh, and all enquirers,. Tell brother to get my benches and take care of them until I return if be will be so kind, do; not be neglectful about collecting that mony of mine as they will pay more readil; now than hereafter, I was missinforraed about not paying in advance the rule is to: advance 20 dollars but Mr. Toll fixed it'some way with Mr. Bankruff, if you can send it by-Scott when he come down or some other safe

Left-hand margin, first page. .

safe person I will be very much obliged, just 20 dollars rember is wanted at present. I presume you will have a very lively time of it this present week let me know all about it, I think it is time for me to stop now as 1 have a pretty- hard lesson to learn tonight - I am running short of paper don’t you This letter is something like what the scriptures say that, the first shall be last and the last first. I do not know if you can read this as It was written in a great hurry and partly after dusk. I have not writen half I. wanted.

Top of first page.

P.S. Thinking you would life to hear from me was the' cause of my writing so soon, and I also wish to hear from home. I hope you will excuse all imperfections etc» etc. Crara sends her love to you and anyone else that, wants it. four affeetiona Sister Martha

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We have recess now for ten minutes during which Clara and Basssey are dancing Ramsey is that funny girl. (by request of Clara.) 2.48

V. A GROUP OF FEMALE TEACHERS

AT A REUNION, 1905

250

VI. DRAWINGS OF STEUBENVILLE FEMALE

SEMINARY, 1839 and 1883 ‘CCSï

'HMKai.das NI 0NIGN3

uvüâ situ. «OA

O¥M

PS'lr21jl MŒŒUZ && &

3IT.t JO

r'/Urr i .

er.yv

am T x n o 9^9 DRAWING OF STEUBENVILLE FEMALE SEMINARY ( 1 Q Q Q \ 253

VII. DRAWING OF THE "OLD BROWN SEM,"

GRANVILLE, OHIO 254

4 DENISON ALUMNI BULLETIN j^(f

THE OLD BROWN SEM. /¿-X I.'lary Anderson Davles» *69.

The Old Brown Sem. 255

VIII. ' COPY OF'THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR

THE SIGOURNEY SEMINARY IN

CLEVELAND, OHIO. (1850.) 1

■V— «T*' setwîwqw.qfwniiw»1 ■^ipr’jTiwnruM'f i TO AMERICAN WOMEN.

Wb live fit ft period when it is difficult for a woman to address even her own sex upon any subject, with­ out being looked upon as deficient in modesty anil womanly propriety; but, when an important end is to be pi rsued, wo must sometimes run the hazard of unjust imputations. Although, as we believe, the pulpit, the bar. •and the legislative halls are not tier appropriate •spheres, yet she has duties and rcspondbiliti"s f r which she requires an education, the most thorough and substantial, as welt as the most accomplished. Who can read a poem by Mrs. Hemans or Sigourue,, •or an article from the pen of one of our gifted female iprose writers, written in their simple, yet pure a,.d elevated style, and not think that they touch ce.vdsl in the human heart that none but a woman could. Women have exerted an influence that has sustained the patriot in the hour of trial; given fervor to ¡.lie eloquence, and strength to the arguments of states­ men, and gained the Vote of freemen for truth and fight. Can any one follow Miss Dix qp her mission of love and mercy to the degraded and suffering of our rr.ee, and not bo convinced that we have .an important, part 1 •i 5

iii carrying out God’s plans of benevolence. Some, , 3 A i them pcrmancy and stability. Th.e price of tuition is too, whose names are unknown to fame, have, by- 7 i I, t1n,s reduced for young men to about thirty dollars patient toil, and endurance of privation in the school­ ~ J per year, which, otherwise,would cost some hundreds,* houses of our western wilds, planted seeds of virtue wliile young ladies are compelled to pay the full value and happiness where otherwise the rank seeds of sin for all they receive. The writer appreciates the merits and misery had grown, and thus caused the wilder­ • i'î those female institutions which once shone so ness to blossom as the rose. Such have won for I; brightly in the literary firmament. Sim appreciates, themselves, in a better world than this, laurels after i also, the. merits of tiiosc whose light is yielding a which, angels might well aspire. j happy illumination to so many, preparing them .fvr Others, by devoting to the “ domestic circle ” the Î eminent usefulness ; and, it is only to he regretted energies of well cultivated minds, have scut forth into ji that their bright rays cannot reach all, and are ever the world those who have been its greatest blessings. ; liable to be extinguished. And V'-'j, it cannot be denied that the number of our sex who are thus well educated, is, when com­ i It is proposed that institutions similar to those in pared with tlm highly educated of the other sex, ; literary merits, should he. established with a permanent vastly disproportionate, and this too after making the, i basis, after the manner of our best Colleges, and that largest allowance for the difference in our situation ! they be so endowed that their advantage» shall be ex- and duties. And the question naturally arises, Why g tended to the greatest possible number, this disproportion ? If we examine our primary ■ Lev. Tbcron Baldwin, Secretary of the Society for schools, where boys and girls have the same advan­ ■ ' the promotion of Collegiate Edueaiion at the west, in tages, we. in variably find them making equal advances a letter to the Rev. E. X. Sawiell, sav-«: ''From no in knowledge. We also observe that the difference in small experience in this department of eiiiwt at the mental cultivation commences after the age at which ! west, I have been brought to feel that female cdv.ca- youth of both sexes have acquired the rudiments of i ! tion in this country can never take its proper position, knowledge. To secure facilities for the completion of ji till we have a suitable number of institutions^ so the education of the other sex, no effort has been I. endowed as to give them something of that stability spared that the combined learning and wisdom of our i; which cliaracterizes our Colleges, anti which gives country could devise, to place cur institutions of learn» i such advantages to Catholic Female Seminaries, and ing for young men on a broad and liberal basis. also to secure to them the presence of a corps of ex­ Legislative enactments have been called into requi­ perienced and competent teachers, that an extended sition, and the rich have given of their abundance, * According to nu e?ii:uato in L'r, Wa\land’s •• ryptiri,” every grad- up{'‘ from Harvard Vtuvcr?:?y In* received tuition that hascovt the pci li­ and “ the poor widow cast in her two mites ” to give nt addition to all lie has hi,n«vlf paid, nearly one thousand dollars, which would be two hundred and lil'ty dollars per year. G and elevated course of study can be thoroughly setf-saerifice, of devotion, of ministration, of much en­ taught, and its advantages, too, afforded on a scale of durance which lies before her. expense so reduced as to bring them within the reach Thank Heaven, woman herself is awakening to a of the great, mass of the community. perception cf the causes which have hitherto impeded, In order to secure this, in addition to buildings, her force and perfect dcvciopement—which have .-hut library and apparatus, permanent provisions for the her out from the large experiences, the wealth anl support of teachers, like Professorships in Colleges, hopes of the life to which she was called.” should he made. The writer proposes to establish, at Cleveland, Old?, What a noble benefaction it would be, were ladies a Ladles’ Seminary, for the purpose of carrying • mt of wealth to place at the disposal of trustees a few these views, to commence on the first of September, thousand dollars, the interest of which would sustain a 1851, and by the co-operation of the public and teacher to all time. Such foundation ought to be laid, the united wisdom of an approved Board of Ladies, and 1 believe will he, and, perhaps, become common, hopes to give it a high literary character, yet bring its when our Female Seminaries are placed on n perma­ ad vantages within the reach of many. nent foundation, after the fashion of our Colleges.” T. S. PELTON. llow desirable, also, that Seminaries for the educa­ tion of female mind, should be under the direction and control of Ladies. If woman would he elevated, she must make the effort herself. One of our beautiful writers, Grace Greenwood, says: r “ Man is not best qualified to mark out woman’s life-path. lie knows, indeed, all that he derircs her to be, but he docs not yet understand all that God and t nature require of her. Woman can best judge of r woman—her wants, capacities, aspirations and powers. She can best speak to her on the life of the affections, on the loves of her heart, on the peculiar joys and sorrows of her lot. She can best teach her to be true to herself—to her high nature, to her brave spirit,— and then, indeed, shall she be constant in her love, and faithful to her duties, all, even to the most hum­ ble. Woman can strengthen woman for the life ol 'W 2rs>*'( ,7^ \_ •C’— s? ‘2) tac 9 I W 1 • V in" on the right side oi the Seminary, with the Prin­ cipal, a Matron and Teachers; the ether, of young 17 7 giris between the ages of live and fourtmn, wlm will PLAN OP THE SEMINARY. I occupy the building on the left, with the Associate I ¡1 Principal, also a Matron and Teachers. Each ib partment will constitute a separate family, with suitable persons in each to provide tin-m v.¡th It is proposed to erect for tire Seminary, a building three stories high, the first floor to be used for recita­ Board. It will he the duty of each Matron to vi.-it daily tion rooms for the young ladies, and school rooms i!. every room in her department. The one who has where those in the Primary Department will study, Ij charge of the young ladies, will insist upon neatness, under the eye of their teachers. good taste and order, be their friend in sickness, and On the second floor there will be a spacious room their svmpathizing adviser in all their difficulties; and, for a chapel, where all will assemble, with their Prin­ with the advice of the Principal, slv will so regulate cipal, morning and evening, for devotion, and where their seasons of social improvement mat an m..\ the public exercises will be held. ! 1 properly cultivate them social natme. a id The thud floor will be divided into rooms for Vocal l! abuse it. . and Instrumental Music, Drawing, Painting, and Pen­ h It. will be her duty to sec that. earl, pit] d is em­ manship, so constructed as to secure the advantages ployed one hour each day in domestic ktnors, <>t -me h of light and sound. a lrind and in such a manner as will be be>t t fed There will be on each side of the Seminary a build­ to make all independent house-keepers. ing of sufficient size to accommodate one hundred Exposed as we are, especially in our cm- ry, to ladies with single rooms, well ventilated and warmed sudden reverses of fortune, we ought to pre rc i-ur with heated air, and connected to the Seminary by daughters as well as our sons, to meet then’, E.xpe- Piazzas, the whole so constructed and proportioned as rienee. too, lias taught most of us that we c niiot to form one symmetrical edifice. alwavs obtain faithful and competent domestic.--; and An eligible site has been selected west of the Cuy­ a family circle with an inexperienced house-keeper ahoga river, on an eminence commanding a view of an,d incompetent domestics, presents any scene but one the city and harbor, one mile from the Courthouse, It contains about five acres of land, and is surrounded of comfort. ¡Î'P And if our Seminaries.should become such as wo i'7) by scenery admired for its beauty and variety. The hope soon to see them, so endowed tliat ladies can ¡'■ iL /■"! CO’ Seminary will be divided into two departments, one remain a sufficient number of years to hceoms tho- composed of young ladies who will occupy the build-

'X — ■“\ >. jj V/YC VC llA’ bgvix: e>, X' 11 ®5i it-,ist/. wI’ 10 jy if • i roughly educated, when will they get this knowledge, >,-3 . ! It is proposed to solicit donations sufiick.r.t to create jp-JP unless it is incorporated into their system of educa­ a permanent fund for the support of the t-wcaers. i’i'Gc B ice tion. Five acres of land for Seminary grounds, and fifteen Great care will be taken in the selection of the thousand dollars to erect buildings have uh-.urdy l"-'!i Matrons, especially for the Primary Department, pledged by the subscriber and a few fri./i.d'- in Ck-re­ to obtain one possessed of good judgment, kindness, bind. firmness and order Her entire attention will be given A contribution of two hundred dollars v,-j;l ■•-.usd- to the social, domestic, and physical training of those tute a permanent scholarship, which will give the con­ under her care, mid she will avail herself of all acces­ tributor the privilege, of sending one pupil to tko sible information, with respect to the. best, manner of Seminary, free of tuition, during all time. governing, as well as with regard to all the other duties of her department; in fine, she will be a mother to those under her charge. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The School is not to he sectarian. The great truths The following ladies have consented to act as of Christianity, however, which, all evangelical Chris­ Directors: tians believe, will he taught, and the. pupils will be MBS. BENJAMIN BOUSE,...... Cleveland. . permitted to attend any of the evangelical churches “ ELISIIA TAYLOR...... which their parents may prefer. » WILLIAM DAY...... The price of Tuition, in all the branches taught in " ABC1IABALD MILES...... our best Seminaries, including Latin, French, and “ SAM’L. STARKWEATHER, “ German, Music one hour a day, Drawing, Painting, “ BREWSTER PELTON...... &c., will be twenty-five dollars per annum. Board To these others will he added from different sections and incidental expenses seventy-five dollars per annum. of the country. Pupils remaining in the Seminary during vacations, will be charged at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents per week. There will be a Board of Directors consisting of twelve ladies, from various parts of our country, and application lias been made to the Legislature for (&' co v. an Act of Incorporation. All funds collected and >y properly aetjuird, will be controlled by the Directors. §:■ They will appoint all the officers, arrange the course of study, terms, vacations,

piwmswu'.n'iwwq»'« _ zw-, a who have beau for a longtime aonuainicd willi her. voked, beareth all things, hopeth all things, enduivth ail things.” Airs. Pelton ¡ms demonstrated hv a prettv ample, From Prof Sanborn, Prof. Jladdod-, and Prof. experience, (hat site poisesses in mo .•rdinary d- gree 1 Crod>:j, of Darhno'tlk CuUeye. the talent of' happily controlling the mind youth. ..f securing their confidence and affection, ami of win­ IIanovi--.'!, N. il., Oct, -I, J350. ning them into the. paths of virtue ami knot» ¡edge. This may certify, that we whose «¡nnt.it are under­ ISAAC JENNINGS. ! written, have, for several years, been personally ac­ quainted with Mrs. T. S. Pelion; she is reputed to be a lady of high moral worth. Understanding that she lies devoted herself to the establishment, of a “ Ladies j Prom Prnfsgor „Ifaryan, of Qbrrlhi Collette. Seminary” in Cleveland, Ohio, we. cheerfully com­ mend her to the. patronage, of the friends of education j Omuu.iN, Nov. j 1, 1350. ns u comp'dent end faithtill teacher, end a trustworthy jl This may certify. that. Mrs. T. S. IMten, in the.' depository of their jiceuniary conlrihuiions. o writer's opmion, is a la-I v of imc- mur -a h,"l-'m c. L. L. SANBORN, ji b-.th by nature ami grace—of great .•:>i-rgv , f- hare,' CHARLES B. HALLOCK, il ter, w-d uutinug p-. rs- vererce in th,> A-m '.-oieri ,-.-.-r DIXI CROSBY. ¡i pipes in v.ldeh she engages. >’!ie »>,..<«•:, a. i.e. ra". p over ready to sympitPrir.e vi'h ih.os.-. wU . appear I > h ¡teed aid, whether the need pertain to th? ivdv . a the Fxlracl from a Letter by Professor Crosby. p soul; ami her intrih'i v a.”...! her h:'»ds are ever rotslv i > Mr Dear Alas. Pelton:—It gives me great idea- d render assistance to» the full extent of lar nb;lk\. sure to serve you in any way, so that I mav aid you She is hereby atlcelif'nn’ely commended t» vim in an enterprise which I know must be good, or you ji Christian confidence and fellowship of ail who iove would not engage in it. i our Lord Jesus Christ I JOHN MORGAN.

Prom. ])r. deintinys, S'i'AMFOliO, Ct., Oct 1, 1350. From per. F. Tenney. Having been requested to give my views of Mrs. Lv.me, N. IT., Orb J 1, 1S50. Poitou’s qualificai ions for establishing and conducting Z -X ' a Female Seminary, I take, pleasure, in saying that I These certify that Mrs. T. ?. Pelton was formerly k ! i regard Mrs. Pelton as eminently qualified for suoli of Lyme, N. M., and lived there until some years work. Along with n sound, well informed, discreet, 757 after her marriage. She was much esteemed by CO e

C Ct r ■ O' I r

C )-» i

f >■ • 262'

IX. TEXTBOOKS USED IN WOMEN'S COLLEGES

(from Woody, II, pp. 474ff.) iA O...... ’ !• V,

—from Thomas Woody. Bere are the textbooks used ”rarely changed.” APPENDIX—I 475

Composition English Literature (cant’d) Boyd: Composition Schlegel: General Literature Parker: Aids to Composition Schlegel: History of Literature Quackenbos: Composition and Shakespeare 1 Rhetoric Shaw: English Literature Spalding: English Literature Conic Sections Spalding: History of English Lit­ TEXTBOOKS MENTIONED BY WOMEN’S COLLEGE Bridge: Conic Sections erature CATALOGS SINCE ISSO Loomis: Conic Sections French Constitutional History Aesthetics /tlbert: Littérature Française Astronomy (Coat’d) Stubbs, Hallam and May: Consti­ Alison on Taste Andrews and Batchelor: French Olmstead: Astronomy tutional History of England Baseomb: Aesthetics Olmstead: Astronomy (University Instructor edition) Criticism Andrews and Batchelor: French Algebra Olmstead and Mattison: Astron­ Boyd’s Karnes: Criticism Pronounccr and Key Bailey: Algebra omy Karnes: Criticism Arnold: French Composition Davis: Algebra Robinson: Astronomy Bocher: Modern French Plays Elocution Davies’ Bourdon: Algebra» Smith: Astronomy Bolmar: Colloquial Phrases Davies: Elementary Algebra Russell: Elocution Snell’s Olmstead: Astronomy Bolmar: Grammar Davis: Algebra Young: Astronomy English Grammar Boyer: Dictionary Day: Algebra Buffet: Littérature Loomis: Algebra Jioolcke eping Bullion: Grammatical Analysis Fowler: English Grammar Chapsal: Littérature Françaiso Olney: University Algebra Mayhew: Bookkeeping Chardciial: Translation from Eng­ Korl: English Grammar Key: Algebra Hot any lish into French Robinson: Algebra Smith: English Grammar Darby: Botany Charles XII Robinson: University Algebra Callot: Dramatic French Reader Eaton: Botany English Literature Botta: English Litcraturo Corneille Analysis Gray: Botany Boyd; English Litcraturo Do Fiva: French Reader Bullion; Parsing Lincoln: Botany Boyd: Notes on Cowper Fusqucllo: Colloquial French Green: Analysis Wood: Botany ■ Boyd: Notes on Paradise Lost Reader Cctcuius Anglo-Saxon Boyd: Notes on Thomson’s Sea­ Fasquollo: Corinne Olney: Calculus sons Fasquello’s Dumas: Napoleon Anglo-Saxon Bible Robinson: Calculus I Beowulf and Judith Boyd: Notes on Young’s Night Fasquclle: Grammar 2 Thoughts Fasquclle : Racine 6

Sweet: Reader Chemistry 3 Beck: Chemistry Burke on the Sublime Fasquclle: Télémaque French Testament Arithmetic Draper: Chemistry Chambers: English Literature George Sand Davies: Arithmetie Eliot and Storor: Manual . Chaucer Emerson: Arithmetic Gray: Chemistry Cleveland: English Literature Hcnriado Howard: French Prose Composi­ Bay: Higher Arithmetic Johnston: Chemistry Fowler: English Literature Siilirnan; Chemistry Goldsmith: Analysis of Prose and tion istVMpmy Stockhardt: Chemistry Poetry Knapp: French Grammar and Reading Book Burrit-t: Geography of the Ileay. Tumor: Chemistry Hallam: English Literature ! La Fontaine: Fablc3 ons Wells: Chemistry Harrison: English Language L'Allemagne Khldlo: Astronomy Youmans: Chemistry Mil’s: English Literaturo Mattison: Descriptive A.kM’-w? Youmans; InorganL ’ Milton: Paradise Lost Lamartine -'.-•tiro: Astronomy Montgomery; Lectures 0!1 Poetry La Sainte Bible /•"A LA. ■ V i i .7

470 WOMEN’S EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES APPENDIX—I 477

I’rsnfi/t (cont'd) Geometry (co-nt’d) Greek (coni ’d) Greek (cont'cT) Madame de SevigaS Davies: Geometry Aristotle: Polities .Xenophon: Hellenics Xenophon: Isocrates Merimde Davies! Legendre: Geometry Arnold: Greek Prose Composition Moliere Boise: Xenophon’s Anabasis Davies’ Legendre: Spherical Ge­ History Moliere: Lea Femmes Savantes ometry Brooks : • Greek Lessons Eadie: Oriental History Noel and Chapsal: Preach Gram­ Loomis: Geometry Brooks: Collectanea Evangolica mar Bullion:-Grammar • Goldsmith; England Robinson: Geometry Goldsmith:. Francs Ollendorff: Preach Grammar Smyth: Analytical Geometry Bullion: Greek Reader Otto: French Grammar Crosby: Greek Grammar and Les­ Goldsmith: Greece Perrin: Pablos German sons ' Goldsmith: Rome Picciola Adler: Dictionary Demosthenes: De Corona Goodrich: Ecclesiastical History Picot: French Header Adier: Handbook of German Lit- Demosthenes: Oedipus Tyrannus Grimshaw: Prance Finney and Arnoult erature .Euripodes: Alcestis Liddell: Rome Rowan: French Header Adler’s Ollendorff: Grammar Euripedes: Medea Smith: Greece Victor Hugo Adler: Progressive German Reader ■Graces. Ma j ora Student’s Hume (Hist.,-of Eng­ Vic de Washington Eoker: Introduction Graces. Minora land) Williams: English into French Egmont ■Greenfield: Greek Testament Weber: General History Foilen: Grammar Harkness and. Goodwin: Greek Whelpley: General History and General Science German Testament Grammar Chronology Bigelow: Application of Science’ Goethe: Faust Herodotus Willard: Universal History to Useful Arts Goethe: Iphigenio Jones: Greek Prose Wilson: Ancient History Herder Hendrick: Grammar Wilson: Modern History Geography Lessing: Minna von Barnhelm Liddell and Scott: Greek Lexicon Wilson: Philosophy of History Harrington: Physical Geography Lessing; Prose Longinus Worcester: Elements Colton: Physical Geography Otto: German Grammar Lucian International Law Hew: Ancient and Modem. Geog­ Schiller: Jungfrau Merry’s Homer: Odyssey Woolsey: International Law raphy Schiller: Maria Stuart . Ollendorff: Grammar Pitch and Colton: Physical Geog­ Schiller: Thirty Years’ War Owes:, Homer raphy Italian Schiller: William Tell •Owen’s Xenophon; Anabasis Forest!: Reader Guyot; Physical Geography Storm; Immonseo Pindar Ollendorff: Grammar Long: Atlas of Aucient Geog­ . Uhland Plato: Apology Tasso: Jerusalem Delivered raphy Webber; Dictionary Plato; Crito Mitchell: Ancient Geography Wenckebach; Grammar Plato: Gorgias Latin Mitchell: Geography Whitney: .Grammar and Reader Plato: Phaedo Adam: Roman Antiquities Hitter: Physical Geography .Woodbridge: Eclectic -German Plato: Protagoras Allen and Grconougli: Ovid 2

Somerville: Physical Geography Reader plato: Republic Andrews: Latin Reader 6 Woodbury; Elementary Reader . Potter: Grecian Antiquities ' Andrews and Stoddard: Grammar 4 Geology Woodbury: Grammar and Reader Robbins’ Xenophon; Memorabilia Anthon: Aeneid 'V> Hana: Geology Woodbury; Method Septuagint Anthon: Cicero Gray and Adams; Geology Woodbury; Shorter Course ■ ^Sophocles; Antigone Anthon: Horace Hitchcock: Geology Sophocles: Electra Anthon: Nepes -j St. John: Geology Greek • ■ , , Strong’s Harmony: Greek Testa­ Anthon: Sallust Ter.ncy: Geology Adams’ Lemprier; Antiquities. ment Anthon: Tacitus Wells: Geology Aeschines: Do Corona ■ Taylor’s Huhncr; Elements of Arnold: First and Second Books Aeschylus; Ppmcthous Bound Geometry Greek Grammar Arnold: Latin Prose Compositiqc Arian M»rv. ___ - tr------* ,—33 ------:------Chauvenet: Solid and Snherieal 478 WOMEN’S EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES APPENDIX—I

Latin (co-nt’d) Mensuration natural Philosophy (cont'd) Political Economy (cont’d) Brooks’ Ross: Latin Grammar Day: Mensuration Gray: Natural Philosophy Story: Constitution Bullion: Caesar Johnston: Natural Philosophy Townsend: Analysis of Civil Gov­ Mental Philosophy Bullion: Cicero > Lardner: Natural Philosophy ernment Bullion: Latin Grammar Abercrombie: Intellectual Powers Olmstead: Natural Philosophy (2 Wayland: Political Economy Abercrombie: Mental Philosophy Bullion: Latin Reader vols.) Young: Civil Government Butler: Sallust Bigelow on Reason Olmstead: Natural Philosophy Young: Civil Jurisprudence and Church: Mental Philosophy Catullus (University Edition) Political Economy Chaso and Stowart: Cicero Hamilton: Metaphysics Parker: Natural Philosophy Young: Principles of Government Cooper: Virgil Harris: Introduction to the Study Renwick: Natural Philosophy Crowell: Selections from the Latin of Philosophy Siilirnan: Natural Philosophy Psychology Haven: Intellectual Philosophy Beets Wells: Natural Philosophy Browno: Psychology Dillnivay: do Scaectute and de Haven: Mental Philosophy Dewey: Psychology Amicitia Iliekok: Mental Philosophy natural Theology Hickok: Psychology Excorpta Latina Porter: Intellectual Science Chadbourne: Natural Theology Hopkins: Psychology Frieze: Virgil Schmucker: Mental Philosophy Paley: Natural Theology Ladd: Psychology Grotius Upham: Mental Philosophy Potter’s Paley: Natural Thoology Porter: Psychology Juvenal Watts on tho Mind Selig ion Lincoln: Horaco Wayland: Mental Philosophy Philology Graham: Synonyms Alexander: Evidences of Chris­ Lincoln: Livy Meteorology March: Philological Study tianity Lucan Brocklcsby: Meteorology Lucretius March: Study of Anglo-Saxon Bascom: Ethics Moore: Virgil Mineralogy Oswald: Etymological Dictionary Butlor: Analogy Emory and Crook’s Bailor: Anal­ l’orsius Brush: Minoralogy Philosophy ogy Pliny Comstock: Minoralogy Harris: History of Philosophy Plutarch Dann: Mineralogy Flint: Theism Parkor: Philosophy Gregory: Evidences of Christian­ Propertius Emmon; Mineralogy Olmstoad: Mathematical Philoso­ ity Proudfit: Captives of Plautus Moral Philosophy phy Quintilian: Dialogues Harris: Solf-Rovolation of God Abcrerombio: Moral Feelings Schweglcr.: History of Philosophy Hopkins: Evidences of Christian­ Schmitz and Zumpt: Livy Abercrombie: Moral Philosophy Spencer: First Principles of Phi­ Terence ity Boyd: Moral Philosophy losophy Horne: Introduction to the Study Thatcher: Cicero’s do Officiis Haven: Moral Philosophy ■ Ueberwcg: History of Philosophy Tibullus of the Bible Hickolc: Moral Philosophy Tyler: Tacitus Physiology McCosh on Divino .Government Hopkins: Moral Philosophy Comstock: Physiology Nevins: Biblical Antiquities Paley: Moral Philosophy . Logic , . Cummings: Physiology Nichols: Biblical Analysis Valpy’s Paley: Moral Philosophy Everett: Science of Thought (Cutter: Physiology Nicholl: Introduction to the Study Wayland: Moral Science Harris; Theory of tho Syllogism Dalton: Physiology of tho Bible

Hedge: Logic natural History Draper: Physiology Paley: Evidences of Christianity Pearson: Essay on Infidelity^ Jevon: Logic Ruschonburg: Natural History ■ Hitchcock: Physiology Pierce: Biblical History cn Kant: prolegomena SaelHoi Natural History , Lambert: Physiology PoTtcus: Evidences of Christianity Mansel: Prolegomena Logica Smeliia: Philosophy of Natural Luce: Physiology ’ Thompson: Theism Tappan: Logic History Political Economy Wardlaw: Christian Ethics Whatcloy: Logic Ware’s Smellio: Natural History Wilson: Logic • Hart: Constitution of tho United White: Christian Centuries natural Philosophy and Physics States Mechanics, Atkinson’s Ganot: Physics Mansfield» Constitution of the Rhetoric 266^’

480 WOMEN’S EDUCATION IN THE. UNITED STATES

Tthetorio (cant'd) Spanish (cont’d) Day: Rhetoric. . Traductor Espafiol Kill: Principles of .Rhetoric Velasquez: Reader Jamieson: Rhetoric Trigonometry Newman: Rhetoric Davies’ Legendre: Plane Trigo­ Quackenbos: Rhetoric nometry Whateley: Rhetoric Davies: Trigonometry Day: Plane Trigonometry Spanish Loomis: Trigonometry Cubi: Grammar Olney: Plane and Spherical Trigo­ Don Quijote nometry Newman: Dictionary Zoology Novelas Españolas Agassiz: Zoology Ollendorff: Grammar Chambers: Zoology Spanish Testament Tenney: Manual of Zoology