Museum and Headquarters Tfulhttn LAM BERT CASTLE Garret Mountain Reservation nf tW Paterson,N. l. lflur x{Ir 6,nunt1-frhxtu rirul Furifig VcI. Vl-No. 2 OCTOBER,1964 Robert P. Brooks, Editor WI LLtAM HOLlvlSDt LtlSI/N Witliam H. Dillistin, a valued vice-president of our Passaic County Historical Society for more than two decades, passed away in June of this year. He was a scion of an old Paterson family. After graduation from the local public schools, he entered Rogers' Military Academy in preparation for New York lJniversity's School of Banking and Commerce. Upon co;npletion of his college lvork, Ite entered the field of banking and finance anC made it his life's work. Throughout his long career in banking, Mr. Diilistin associated with the Peoples Bank ancl Trust Company of Passaic and became its exectl- tive vice-president and later the president of the American National Bank of Passaic. He was a director of the Franklin Trust Company (Frankljn Bank) of Paterson for many )/€&rs and until his death . , Mr. Dillistin was a state banking examiner for five yeers prior to 1918 at which time he accepted an appointment as an examiner in the Federal Reserve System with which he was continuously affiliated until his retirement, serving the Federal Reserve System as manager of the bank examina- tions department and as an auditor for about twen- ty years. After his retirement, the llnited States De- partment of State, and the Federal Reserve Bank sent him to Greece in 1950 to serve that nation as a flnancial advisor to the Central Bank of Greece After spending ten months in Greece in Athens. WILLIAMH. DILLISTIN advising its banking system on problems of cur- r885- r954 rency and bankitrg, he returned to America with a citation from the Greek government. Thereafter Mr. Dillistin served as a banking consultant in While not a "politician," Mr. Dillistin frequent- various capacities in the llnited States. ly accepted service in the fleld of politics. He was William Dillistin was always mindful of his a Presidential Elector for }[ew Jersey in 1960 and duties as a citizen. IIe served on the Paterson draft he served his native city as its Mayor in 1959, board during World War I; he was a member of having succeededto that office from the chairman- the Board of trducation, Paterson for a three-year ship of the Board of Finance upon the death of term; for many years he served on the Passaic Mayor Edward J. O'Byrne. County Mosquito Extermination Control Commis- Throughout his long life, Mr. Dillistin's chief sion as well ,as on the I{. J. Mosquito Control Com- hobby related to banking. For many years, he was mission and" its president for the past fifteen years. a member of the b[ew Jersey as well as the Amer- Page Six TT{N PASSAIC COUNA'Y HISTORICAL SOCIETY ican Numismatic societies and a rralued trustee of tered in New Jersey were in 1804 when a bank the latter. His chief interest in numismatics was was authortzed in Newark and another in Trenton. in bank notes both genuine and spurious. This Another bank was chartered in 1807, and no others interest took him into many sections of the country until 78\2, when one act authortzed the establish- in his search for notes as well as information con- ment of six difrerent banks , at Camder, Trentor, cerning them and of various swindlers. After New Brunswick, trlizabeth, Nervark and },{orris- many ye?rs of inquiry concerning the crooked town. operations of Buffalo's famous forger, Rathbun, Mr. The Journal of the Proceedings of the General D'illistin obtained sufficient documentar5r material Assembly on January 17, 7874 records the first on R athbun to prepare a lengthy manuscript which reference to Th,e Poterson Bank. detailed the interesting story of the colossal swin- In Febru ary of 1815, the Sentinel of lt'reed,ort't, dling operations of Mr. Rathbun. a Newark newspaper, announced that subscriptions In 1942 William Dillistin compiled a valuable would be opened for 4,000 shares of stock at $5C.00 directory of the N. J. banks which was published each. Subscriptions were also received at the house by the N. J" Bankers Association. This compilation of Abraham Godwin, at the foot of Bank Street in is virtually a history of banking in l{ew Jersey as Paterson and also at the Bank Coffee House at Pine York historic it lists atl incorporated banking institutions pres- and Wiliiam Streets, in New City, a New York. ently operating in the state as well as those of the spot in the historr. of past which were authortzed to operate. The first President was Daniel l{olsman, who operated a cotton factorl' and the first Cashier was Mr. Dittistin was affiliated with the Elks, Ma- Andrew Parson. sonic fraternities, the Hamilton CIub and several They probabiy operated in temporarJr quarters historical societies. Throughout a life time of near- for a short time and eventuallv erectecl a brown- ly four score years, he gave freely of his talents. si,one br-rilding in the middle of the block on east His helpful counsel and his great interest in the side of Main Street between Market and trllison welfare of the Passaic Cor-rnty }listorical Society, Streets. are accentuated by his Passing. Some year's later their property r /as described 8** as follows: We value the real estate of the bank at Mr. Dillistin appeared before th.e Paterson Rotary twenty thousand dollars. It consists of a banking CIub on MaU 2, 1963 and gaue a p(tper on b,an"king in house and seven lots of ground, in the center of the tt;iicla u)on ntuclz acclahn. This acldress co?t&*j Paterson town; four lots on Main Street, or which is erected taini.ng os it d.oes, a. sketclt, of _ntuclt, of tltg gQrla eco- nomic- Life of tltis tou:n is tlze only accourLt of tlti,s nature the banking house, a large and commodious brick in eristence. WitlL the ltope that it tuill m,erit your inter- building, covering about sixty feet, front and rear, est tlt e tr dit or is lzappU t o sub mit it . , ' with every convenience for banking, a suitable resi- FIFTY YEAR.S OF BANKING dence for a family and offi.cesin the basement; three I N PATERSON lots on Hamilton Square, in the rear, on which out- Paterson has an intimate relationship with tu'o building are erected, making in all, one hundred names close to the history of banking,-William feet front on \{ain Street; a depth of about 200 feet Paterson, a Scottish merchant conceived a plan for to Hamilton Square; and about 75 feet front on the formation of a public joint-stock banh in Eng- Hamilton Square, unencumbered and in complete land, which resulted in the incorporation of the order and repair. Bank of trngland in 1694. He may irave been relat- This bank can be said to have had two periods ed to William Paterson, a former Governor of Neu' of existence, the first from 1815 to 7829 when it Jersey, for rvhom our city was named. suspended, and the second from 1834 to 1836. In the early days of this country, practically Clayton's lJistory of Passaic and Bergen Coun- reference to and every merchant performed in some fashion, the ties makes brief our early banks the second period of the Paterson function of a banker. He would advance his cus- comments on in 1834 only tomer cash as well as goods on credit and would Bank as having been revived ,-((. even pay out cash to a third partV on his customer's to be swamped b;r the colossal operations of Rath- written order. bun, the famous Buffalo forger." Paterson had its merchant banker in the per- Peoples Bonk of Pqterson son of Garrabrant Van Houten, who carried on a In October, 1825, when Paterson had about general store for some v ears prior to 1818, in a 5,000 inhabitants, the Peoples Bank of Paterson one-story frame building adjoining his residence opened for business. It operated during its nearly on \Mater Street. This was in the area now occu- 26 years of existence at se\-eral locations in what is pied by the new Riverside housing development in known today as the downtown area. the First Ward. Among its several locations was one at Bank IJarly banks in this State were created by pri- Street and ll.yerson Aliey. The building still stands va1.eacts of the legislature. The first banks char- and was occupied in its later years hy the F{ar.mon THE PASSAIC COLINTY HISTORICAL SOCIEI'Y Page Seven

Grocery. It also operated for many years in the "Died on Friday last after a short but severe illness, former quarters of the Paterson Bank. The Mechanics Bank of Paterson One Henry C. Stimson was cashier from 1837 Aged eleven months and five days, leaving a num- until the suspension of the bank in 1851. IIe was erous circle of relatives and friends to mourn its 1oss.,' the grandfather of Henry L. Stimson who served It seldom falls our lot to record a more melan- President Hoover as Secret ary of State and Presi- choly death than the above which occured last dent Franklin D. Roosevelt as Secretary of War. week in our village. This serious event had been Henry Stimson and rris brother George, identi- anticipated by the knowing ones, especially those fied later with the Passaic County Bank, came to physicians who were in the habit of phlebotom rzrng Paterson from Windham, Greene County, New the most freely, and who were best acquainted with York, their grandfather having treked there from the constitution and habits of the patient. It is Framingham, Massachusetts in 1784. said that the treatment of this baniling by its par- About 1843 Stimson acquired a home directly ents, nurses and medical advisors, was such as to opposite the entrance to the Fabian Theatre and bring on a rapid decline. They became alarmed, lived there until 1866. This was a house facing and sent to New York for professional advise. The Market Street and standing back in the park-like medical gentlemen repaired instantly to the patient grounds. and took a large quantity of blood from it, which About 22 years ago I had a ver\r pleasant visit threw it into convulsions: this terminated its short with Stimson's daughter, a Mrs. Theoclore Weston but eventful career. who lived at 550 Park Avenue in New York City. Prior to his trial and conviction, The Pater- She was then about 95 years old and died in Decem- son Courier carried the following letter from Dr. ber 1942. Her mind was clear and she related to Sherman: the instrumentality me many interesting accounts of early Paterson. "Through of John Vait and william Dickey (both interestect in As a result of the failure of the bank, Stimson the bank), I have been arrested and brought to this was indicted for misapplication of funds of the state, where I have been detained on account There were, however, ro indications bank. of his of my indebtednessto the Mechanics Bank of having ever been brought to trial. Paterson, and shall be competled to remain The Mechqnics Bqnk of Poterson until I can receive the benefit of the sel'eral insolvent In 7832 the Legislature passed an act creating laws." "I have been haunted for the Mechanics Bank of Paterson which opened for some time by those individuals, in connection with others, business in June 1833, and operated for exactly with the most malicious and bitter persecu- eleven months and five days. tions; and for no other purpose than to gratify This bank was located next tO the present a feeling they could not wreck up themserves. Quackenbush store on Vlain Street. It had an in- Regardlessof means, or consequences,they ap- teresting and eventful career during its short period pear to seek my destruction, and to ,assumea of existence. One of the prime movers in its organ- virtue if they have it not;' and on the ruin, tzattort, was one Dr. Austin Sherman a promotor establish their characters for peace and hon- from New York City. eSty that virtue would disown." lle advertised as being the only medicater-l "So far as my operations with the Bank lozenge manufacturer in America, and further that are concerned,they are free from fraud, decep- 600 cases of consumption,2,700 cases of coughs tion and dishonesty, and I utterly defy all the vile machinations of my and colds, 100 of whooping cough, and 200 cases malignant and vin- dictive persecutors, unless I harre falsehood of asthma had been cured in the past year by his and injustice arrayed against me, instead of lozenges. truth and honesty." Sherman was subsequently indicted for over- "When cruel slander takes her hideous flight, drawing his account with intent to defraud. He What man's secure against her baneful sway? was convicted, sentenced to three years, and par- Virtue herself must sink in shades of night,- doned three months before the expiration of his And spotless innocence must fall a prey." term. Dr. Sherman the prime mover in this organuza- The affairs of this bank were aired in an inter- tion was but 29 years old when this bank was esting series of letters between Abraham Godwin, established. He died in New York Citv at the Jr. and John Vail, both of whom were connected age of 81' with the bank during its short period of existence. Pqterson sovings Bqnk This correspondence appeared in TIle Paterso?L The Legislature in February 1B4B authortzed, Courter, a weekly newspaper. They make verv the establishment of the Paterson Savings Bank, interesting reading. a mutual organization. It was in no waSr connected The P&terson Courier also carried the follow- with the Paterson Savings Institution which was ing interest,ing ohituar\r upon the demise of tlr is established in 1869. bank: The Paterson savings Bank was only open for Page Eight T}IT PASSAIC COUI\ITY HISITORTOAL SOOIETY business from four to six P. M. on Saturdays in March 27, 1863 and died in prison on September the quarters of the Peoples Bank which then con- 19th of the same year ducted business in the former quarters of the One little episode regarding the affairs of this Paterson Bank on the east side of Main Street bank, found among the voluminous documents in between Market and Ellison Streets. the files of the Passaic County Historical Society, relates to an Pqsssic County Bonk affidavit of Phillip R afferty, the cit;,' treasurer, who was concerned regarding certain There was a period of about six months, from funds of the city on deposit with the bank. He September 24, 1851 until about March 15, 1852, tells of going to the home of the president, who when the Passaic County Bank opened for busi- resided about a mile out of town-he actually resid- ness, that Paterson was without commercial bank- ed at 266 Willis Street, now Park Avenue, at East ing facilities. lBth Street. This was the first bank to be organtzed in Merchonts Bonk of Poterson Paterson under the new general banking statutes. Another bank to gen- It was operated by George M. Stimsor, a be organrzed under the eral banking laws, was the Merchants Bank younger brother of Henry Stimson who had oper- of Paterson. Its flrst and only president was one ated the Peoples Bank. One Albert S. James, a William H. Seely, another carpet-bagger. He was banker in New York City held 500 shares out of joined in the organtzatton by fir'e reputable citizens 1,000 shares, while Stimson held 471 shares. of our town. This bank operated at about seven different This bank opened for business about March 15, locations in the center of town and flnall;z landed 1858. Th,e Patersot'L Guardi,an reported that the after operating about 15 years, in the original quar- bank will occupy the front office of a new building ters of the Paterson Bank, which had previously belonging to the First Reformed Dutch Church. been occupied by the Peoples Bank and" the Pater- This was on the east side of l,{ain Street, a few son Savings Bank. south trllison This bank converted into the Passaic Count;r doors of Street. This same news I\ational Bank in January 1865, and subsequently account went on to relate that, "Paterson banks changed its name to The Second National Bank of will henceforth cease to be 'like few Paterson. angels' visits and far betwe€o," for we shall have About one year after converting into a national three within a space of little more than fifty yards. bank, the newspapers report a robbery. The safe (They being the Passaic Bank, had been broken into and rifled of $25,000. County the Cataract City Bank and The Merchants The account reported that about $10,000, most- Bank now Iy in llnited States notes and bonds, had been tak- being discussed.) This bank had a short career, the shortest of eh, including $1,800. in the notes of the old bank. any several The FALLS They had been redeemed and cancelled b;t punch- of our banks. CITY REG- ISTER 28, 1858, ing them through where the president's name had for July only about four months this for been signed, and the account related that they after bank opened business, reported that process would probabty be of little use to any one. had been issued from the Court of Chanc- ery citing the officers of this bank and four others, Cotqrqct City Bqnk to show cause why they should not be restrained The Cataract City Bank the next bank to be from the further business of banking. organtzed in chronological order, opened for busi- Seely, the president, must have been indicted ness about December 1, 1856. Its prime mover was for the records in the Sheriff's office for September a carpet-bagger by the name of Charles Sanford. 1B5B indicated that Seely had forfeited a cash bail To lend color to the organrzatrorr, a number of bond of $250.00. prominent citizens joined in the organrzaLron as The Notionol Bonk nominal stockholders. A gain the carpet-baggers arrive in town. This It was located on Main Street just below the relates to the organtzatton in December 1862 of the corner of Market Street. National Bank, by eight individuals, residents of After operating about four years, the Dai.Ig New York, Jersey City, Bloomfield and Hoboken. Guardzan announced on December 3, 1860 that, This bank was organtzed under State law, The "Our town is again in the dumps. The Cataract National Bank Act not having been passed until City Bank, the favorite banking institution in this the following year. place, failed to open its doors this morning." It opened for business Febru?r;r 9, 1863 in Charles Sanfor,C, the president, William P. quarters on lower lVlain Street almost opposite Fair Summers, the cashier and Joshua VI. Beach a Nernr Street York broker, were indicted for conspiracy and sub- It appears to have conducted its affairs in a sequently convicted. satisfactory manner, and after about two and one, Sanford was taken to the States Prison on (Continuc.don Page12 ) TI{E PASSAIC COUI{TY HIS'TORICAL SOCIE;TY Page lrdine

Some Adventuresin PrivateEducation in Paterson Segregation of negro children in some educa- which was moved to a room in the Baptist Church tional institutions throughout America was an issue on Broadway near Mulberry Street. of great import in the mid-twentieth century. In Here, Mr. Childs taught for an annual salar3,' the mid-nineteenth century, segregation in the of $300 but he had to provide the fuel to heat the common schools was also practiced but with a dif- classroom. During that year there was a registra- ference. In the 1840's and 1850's, the economic iion of 757 scholars with an average daily attend- status of parents was the deciding factor. The ance of 80. During the years following, up to 1836, rich-more precisely those parents who thought when the word "poor" was dropped and all chiidren they could afford to pay for their children's educa- were eligible to a free education in New Jersey, the tion-sent their children to academies, seminaries, school for the poor moved to various locations. select schools; the "poor" children were deprived During this period when "poor" children were re- of most school facilities. There were rare excep- ceiving some education in the Township in the free tions, however, in old Acquackanonk township and school, private schools for other children continued after 1831 in the newly formed Paterson township. to multiply. The best exarnple is the S.U.M. FactorA School Private classes and schools for boys and girls -one of the old est schools for children of poor were popular in the states since colonial days. In parents to be established in the colonies. This many schools of this type, the boys and girls were school was set up in the basement of Mr. Peter segregated. Since these schools were "pay schools," Colt's homel on Market Street, Paterson in April only those children whose parents could contribute 7794 for children of the workers in the cotton mills to the salary of the teacher and the operating ex- of the village. And since many of the boys and penses in rnaintenance of the school could attend. girls worked in the mills during week days, the As early as 7799, the Rev. John Phillips and school operated only on Sundays. Ilere they re- Mrs. Phillips opened a boarding school for "young ceived their first instruction in the l'Three R's" laCies and gentlemen"" The school for the "ladies" from the l2-year-old Sarah, daughter of Peter Colt. was in the Old Hotel on Market Street ( between As a result of young lVliss Colt's success in this I{amilton and union Streets of later day ) while venture, the S.II.M., of which Peter Colt was the the "gentlemen" attended school in the basement Superintendent, soon built a small, one-stori€d, classroom of the CoIt residence. This was a noble frame school house on the southeast corner of adventure but there were too few children to make Broadway and Prospect Street. John Wright the school profitable. It lasted one year only. opened this factory school; its lagt teacher was The basement classroom, once sarah colt's Thomas Wiltis who taught here as fate as 1820. school room for the children of the S.II.M. workers, Another effort to provide some ed.ucation for was used for many years afterward as private children of the poor was made by a few benevolent schools. Joseph ltrenderson had a school there in ladies, who during the winter of 7826 - 27, had 1805 to be followed the next year b)' David Steven- opened their Inf ant Sclt,ool for children between son. Joseph Sherburne kept a school in the same the ages of three and eight years. This school on location during the years 1810 through 7812. Elm Paterson, Street, operated only the one season. A popular private school stood on Broadway It was not however, until July 2, IB27 that opposite the Washington Market. Another occu- the first publically supported school for the poor pied a large tenement house on Marshall Street children of the Township of Paterson was opened. south of Oliver. Throughout the village of Pater- It the name: "The Free for bore School the Poor." son which had a growing population in 1840 of first "public" school is regarded many This by his- 7 ,540 persons, there were 1,006 scholars attending torians as the first free school in New Jersey. It private schools. did not supplant the private schools for parents The Poterson Acqdemy could afford to send their children to them who Among the many early pnivate schools in the continued; but it did provide schooling for I70 to Village of Paterson, The Paterson AcademA was the 180 youngsters who could not attend private classes most outstanding. This was an institution incor- and schools. porated on May 6, 1811 by flve leading citizens of This new type of school was housed in the the village. These were: Abraham Van Houten, Paterson Academ)a Building, the lower room hav- John Parke, Charles Kinsey, Samuel Coit, and Dr. ing been rented at $7.50 per quarter. The Rev. William trllison; these gentlemen served as trustees. William J. Gibsor, Pastor of the Covenanter Church, In was engaged to teach. In 1828, the Township Com- order to further the cause of education in the community, the S.II.M. deeded mittee voted to provide $500, of which $340 was to a lot on Market to Acquackanonk be Paterson's share, for the support of the school Street township. This lot, with a frontage of 40 feet on Market Street and a depth 1*S"" lte Butleti'rt,35th Anniversary lrTumber VoI V, No. 5 October 1861.," pp.7L,72. of.25 feet, was to be the site on which the tru.stees Page Ten TI{E PASSAIC COUIYTY HISTORICAL SOCIE:TY

were to erect a frame building of two stories. On I\oah Webster and only the multiplication table this lot, now the site of the Franklin Bank, the stumped her. At the age of six, tittle Margaret Paterson Academy building was erected about 1814. stood on a platform, she says, and recited, withotrt It stood until 1846 when it was burned in the great a break, the great speech made by the Earl of Chat- fire of that year.2 ham in Parliament concerning the Stamp Act. in the Academy varied Tuition for courses Margaret E Munson was about eleven years per quarter. For from two dollars to four dollars old when she began her studies at the Passaic two dollars a child would receive instruction in Seminary. arithmetic, the rudiments of grammar and geog- Many years later in her autobiography, which raphy; for an additional half-dollar per quarter, she called "From My Youth Up" she spoke of this history was added and more advanced geograph)' school as "the one I think of with love that has "upon a new and interesting plan with drawing never grown cold." and the use of maps" would be included in the instruction. SELECT SOIIOOL For a more complete education a fee of three dollars per quarter was asked. This entitled the FOR child to receive instruction in rhetoric, composi- tion, drawitrg, painting and botany; and for an bd\DRBS? additional dollar, the translation of French was kotErse included. Will be o'penecl by th,e .JWissesRoe nRS, on By the middle of the nineteenth century, there were two private schools for girls in Paterson. one Jlfon day the l9th, of Septemher instant, at theh' located in the aristocratic neighborhood, also known Rottwt,s,corner of Broaduoay u,nd, Church-st, as "Quality Row," the section of Market Street from th,c o.f th,e Teu,clters to make Main to Clark, with its distinctive residence on ft will be ui,rn Colt's Hitl. This school was on Market Street and the u,sefu,l bru,'ncltes of edu,ccttion of ea,sV and by a very charmitg, well-traveled, was operated cc?'trt'i,nuttrt,innt ent ttt suclt Tlttyli,lsos are 'wil,ling cultured lady. of ltnoutl- "Pcssolc Seminory" to apply tlte'i,?'t,a,lentsto tlr,eacquisition In an equally retired and "agreeable neighbor- edge. T'he elplunAtortl rneth,od,will, be pursued hood" stood a frame schoot building, near the edge itt cy?Lnerio n u:ith 're ci tat'io??,s. of the Passaic River , dL the rear of lots 51 and 53 River Street. Nearby, across the, old bridge ap- proach, stood the Passaic lIotel, Paterson's most Course of Stuelies, and Ternes. famous hostelry for over one hundred years. Orthography, Reading and Writrng, $2 50 This was the Select School for Young Ladies, Arir,hrnetic, Geography, English Grammar, - 3 50 also known as the "Passaic Seminary." Among the History, Co rposition, Natural and I\IoraIPhilosophy, with the above, 5 00 Oriticism, Rhetoric, Ilotany, Chemistry, Painting, Needle Work, and Fancy early "ladies" was a scholar whose name was known Work, Extra. in households throughout the country for lrl&n;r Fuel for the season,and Stationely, Extra. years. She was Margaret E. Munsor, flrst daugh- HAND ooL ter of trnglish-born John Vlunson and his Scottish Bt"'fl't ff !'|+:iff['$: 1"0i" wife. ' John Munson brought his family to Paterson This young lady at such an impressionable age when Margaret was a child. The town made a received a type of education in this rather unusual great impression upon her for it was then a "lovely school which kindled within her the sparks of a place, situated in a valley, rimmed with green hills. most unusual career. At the age of twenty, she It was then full of the hum of life. Mills for cotton, married a native of Aberdeen, Scotlaod, one George silk and paper and foundries gave the town a stir Sangster. (The writings and poetry of l\Iargaret E. of activity."u Sangster are too well known to be dwelt upon here Margaret tells us that her mother taught all of but a rare word picture of the Passaic River and the children to read and she and two other children its imprint made upon Vlargaret Sangster in her knew the alphabet when they were three years old. girlhood, is appended on page eleven. ) After her third birthd dy Margaret could read easy , Vlargaret E. Sangster, gives us much insight lessons and by four, she was able to read any print- into the life and customs of the select girls' schools ed page placed before her. The reading material in Paterson during the late forties and fifties of the used for Mrs. Munson's children were the Psalms past century. She also pictures for us in her "From and the Proverbs. Her spelling book was that of My Youth IJp," the characters of the Rogers sisters Z. a pfu.fue on the Franklin Bank crites the history of the Acr;rclem1.. -Anna, the eldest and principal , Eltzabeth eight :]. Qtrotations from MU Yottl.lt U7t, Margarct }1. Sangstcr', I,'lerning H" Revell Comp&try, N. Y. f909. years younger and Jane, the youngest daughter of THE PASSAIC COU1TTY HISITORICAL SOCIE.TY Page Eleven the Rev. John and Jane Rogers who lived at the TH E RIVER5 time in a "pleasant" home at 51 River Street. (written bg Margaret Munson in lter gi,rrhood,.) In the middle of the school room was a row of green desks with two other desks near windows F'ar gp on lhe mountain the river begins,- out of which "'we could glance and see the boats I saw it, a thread in the sun, sailing up and down; and we loved to think of the Then it grew to a brook and, through dell and river, never hurryirg, never through nook, resting, tumbling with It dimpled and danced in its fun. headlong swiftness, over the rocks at the Passaic Falls, where a sheer descent made rainbows in the A ribbon of sil_ver,it sparkled along Over meadows besqrinkled wilh gold; sun, and frothed and foamed like a miniature I\i- With a twist and a twirl, and. a loop a[O a'curl, agara. Where the river flowed past our door, it Through the pastures and rivrjlet rolled. was fast and deep, smooth and calm." Then on to !h" valleys _rtlggped and it laughed, The school was opened by the singing of a Till it stronger and stiller became; hymn, the reading of a passage of on its banks the tall trees rocked their boughs Scripture, and ;r in the breeze. little flve-minute talk by the teacher. Then the And the lilies were tapers aflame. Lord's prayer was recited by all. "We were drilled The children. threw pebbles,_and in spelling, shouted with glee, syntax, etymology historSr and French. At the circles they made in the stream "Two mornings each week the girls had to r,vrite And the white flsher-bbat, sent so nghtty iiioat, compositions. And twice a week, sewing b.lr hand Drifted off like a sail in a dream. was taught as no gentlewoman was then supposed Deeq heqltqd, the mirth of its baby-like past, to be half educated unless she had been made mis- It toiled fo1 lhe grinding of corn; tress of needlecraft. " Hemstitching, embroidering Its shore heard the bbat of the lumberman's feet, His raft on its current was borne. and working in wools were a part of the curricu- lum. Miss Jane Rogers read to us during our At inlet and. cove, where its harbours were fair, Vast cities sewing period, says Mrs. Sangster. Her favorite arose in their pride, And the wealth of their streef cam'e from beautiful fleets, readings were from histor;r and biography but Forth launched on its affIuent tide. sometimes she included poetry. The glorious river sweqt on to the sea, The Rogers sistersa always insisted upon self The sea that encirdles the land: control from their scholars as one of the most es- trut I saw it begin in a thread I could spin,l Like a cobweb of silk, in my sential attributes of womanly character. "It's no hand.^ excuse," Miss Anna would s?y, "that yolt were off And]..thought o! the river that flows from the throne, guard, that you did not think, that you forgot your- Of the love that is deathless and free,_--- of the gface.of IIis peace that shall evefincrease, self. One's business is to be on guar{ and one must Christ-given to lou and to me. think before she speaks or acts." Far gp on the mountain, a.ndnear to the sky, The motive underlying every hour of life in The cup full of water is seen, these early school days was a sense of responsi- That is brimmed till its tide carries bensions wide where the dales and the meadows are green. bility. The teachers were in the habit of answering questions with quotations from the Bible. Also, Is thy soul. tike. a cup? Let its little be given, Not, stinted nor churlish, to One the Bible quotations were used instead of scolding. who will fiIl thee with Jotg,'and His faithfulness prove, For a girl who had been a little heedless or who And bless thee in shadow and sun. had not recited well or done her exercises as well 5' T4n- as she could have done, the young lady would find, Th". PoSm, Ri'uer ,is from Margaret tr. Sangster's splendid $3ffi"fli?K#, puntii-treo'byFl"ffiid ir'"irt"uu upon entering the school the next mornihg, a slip u{l{,tn r*g; of paper upon her desk inscribed with a text per- haps, "\Mhatsoever thy hand flndeth to do, do it A cholera epidemic visited paterson in 1849. with all thy might. " The initials of the teacher From May 30 to Sept. 10, 110 persons succumbec would be appended. to the dread disease. "The education given young women in my day" , says Mrs. Sangster, "differed in certain de- The "swine ordinance" was passed in the tails from that which they now receive; but it was town of Paterson April 25, r94g which provided not less thorough, less practical, nor less available for the taking from the streets atl swine in fitting students for the future. " found running wild by the Pound Keeper. The R. P. B. were to be held at the pound until sold or redeemed. 4. The Rogers' sisters were: Miss Anna, the oldest who was Princi- pal and a teach.er; . Miss Elizabeth, ?^d Miss Jane, the youngest. Jane Rogers remained with the school for about twerity ybars when she married and left it in charge of her other two' sisters John Colt's rolling mill rvho operated it until the Civil War. occupied the site of the 'l'he school was probably first established in 1841 at the c:orner Adams' cotton mill on lvlill Street, opposite V;rn of Broadrn'a.y and Church Streets but removed to River Streer on or before the fall of 1849. Houten Street. Page Twelve T}IE PASSAIC OOUNTY HISTORIOAL SOCIE;TY

WILLIAM I{OLMS DILLISTIN Poterson in the Mid-n inefeenth Century (Continued from Page B) Paterson in 1940 was the second most half years of operation, the Daily Press for Jull' 29, impor- tant town in the state with a population, inclucling 1865, announced that "We are informed that the Manchester, of about 9,000. In the 1840s, there officers are about winding up the affairs of the were I04 stores, 4 fulling mills, 1 woolen factory, bank. Then went on to say that persons holding 19 cotton factories, 2 dyeing and printing its notes neeC not be alarrneC, ?s there are sufficient estab- lishments, 1 tannery, 2 paper factories, 1 saw mill, funds deposited with the State Cornptroller to re- 2 printing offices and 2 weekly newspapers. deem the circulation. In the town there were 14 churches, vLZ: 2 First Nationql Bonk Reformed Dutch , 2 Methodist, 2 Presbyterian, I The of The First National Bank of opening Free Independent, 1 Episcopalian, 1 True Re- 14, 1864, concluCes the reviern' Paterson on May formed, 1 Roman Catholic, 2 Baptist, 1 Primitive were established during the of those banks which Methodist and one other. For culture, there was first fiftv Years. a philosophical society for young men, a mechanics' PotersonBonks Estoblished society for the advancement of science and the 1855 ro, t9l5 mechanic arts. Paterson Savings Institution 1869 Merchants Loan and Trust Company 1872 Passaic County Savings Bank 7872 An old map of Paterson, made in 1840, shows The Paterson National Bank 1EE9 that a log house stood on the triangular lot formed Paterson Safe Deposit and Trust Co. 1891 by River, Bank and Parke (lower Main) Streets. Silk City Safe Deposit and Trust Co. 1893 Hamilton Trust Company 1900 Citizens Trust Co. 1901 Quqlity Row" German American Trust Co. -i:,--- 1903 W. H. DrlrrsrlN. From the mid nineteenth until the latter part of that century, Paterson's most prominent citizens Mid-Nineteenth Century lived along "Quality Row"-that section of Market School Girls Street between l]nion and Clark Streets. The street On the streets of Paterson in the 1850's, young was beautifull;z shaded with large trees at the curb girls going to school would present a far different line; the plots were commodious and most of thern picture from the girls of the mid-twentieth century. had beautiful gardens. The homes were irnpres- One hundred years ago the girls wore hats to school sively large. These features gave a most distin- at all seasons of the year. Many of the girls, up to guished appearance to the street. about age twelve, wore their hair short, turned back At the l]nion Street, corner, stood the brick from the face and held firmly by a round rubber residence of VIr. Henry Muzz1; at No. 754 the large, comb. Older girls wore long braids which were white residence with many windowS, was the John tied with narrow ribbons. Aprons were a very EdWards family home. Then came the parsonage important part of the well-dressed chitd. Thel of the First Presbyterian Church. In this brick were made in various styles. Some of them had residence the Rev. Dr. Wm. Ifornblower resided. suspenders which were pinned to the shoulders Next door to the parsonage was Dr. Elias J. Marsh's revealing the waist of the dress. Others were of horne. Here also at one time the elderly Miss a three-cornered-bib type with wide strings which Sarah Colt lived. This was at No. 762 Market. were tied in a bow behind. lVlany of the dresses The house of Judge John Hopper stood at No. had a very full skirt gathered into a )'oke. These 178. Here Mr. Robert I. llopper made his home had full sleeves which terminated into the band at also. Then came the residence of William RyIe, the wrist. All of the dresses were very long cov- the silk manufacturer. It was to this home that the ering their heavy woolen stockings and reaching Sisters of St. Aloysius Academy on Church Street the tops of their high, thick-so1ed winter shoes. took shelter when the flames of the 7902 conflagra- During the warmer season, however, the school tion drove them from their modest residence. girls frequently wore long, white cotton stockings Cn the corner of Market and Clark Streets with lighter weight high button or lace shoesI bu t stood the residence of Absolom B. Woodruff, a not- often were seen in slippers. Calico was the favored ed lawyer of the city. This corner lot hacl a very material for school frocks in the 1850's; and a young wonderful garden which regularly supplied a nurs- girl dressed in bright colored calico dress, with a ery company. All of these lovely homes which dainty white ruffied apron with pockets, was for- were standing in 1902 were completely wiped out tunate to be so well dressed. AII school girls car- by the Great Fire, as were the street's wonderful r:ied cloth bags in which theSr carried their hooks. shade trees 'Quality Row" was soon displaced I)zrta terken from an account written in the nineteenth century. by office and rnercantile buildings.