SOME GREENE COUNTY SCHOOL PUPILS - 1896-1898
by Eileen Smith Cunningham
reprinted in the ISGS Quarterly Vol. XII, No. 2, Summer 1980
Transcribed by K. Torp
SOME GREENE COUNTY SCHOOL PUPILS - 1896-1898
by Eileen Smith Cunningham
reprinted in the ISGS Quarterly Vol. XII, No. 2, Summer 1980
Transcribed by K. Torp
Before the great change in elementary education patterns in Illinois, i.e., the closing of rural schools and the consolidation of districts, Greene County had the same number of rural schools as the state had counties - 102!
One of the earliest schools in Greene County was of the famous construction-- a many-sided school. The first one was near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In Illinois, the first was built near the village of Schuline in Randolph County. Charter Oak brick school was built in Randolph County in 1870. It was first a log school and kept the same name when a teacher came in from the East who was familiar with the Valley Forge octagon. The Charter Oak Octagon School was used 84 years and is popular with tourists in southern Illinois today.
Greene County's octagon was affectionately known as "The Stone Jug." The stone jug school served the pioneer settlement and surrounding community, District #3 (now Eldred). The school was built in 1837 or 1838. It was of a curious construction -- about 20 feet square, made of stone with one door and no windows. Light came through a cupola. The roof was drawn in from the four side walls tapering to a convenient height with a window placed in each of the four converging sides. Cyrus Sargent was the first teacher. He labeled it "The Stone Jug", and the name stuck. It was used until a new Pioneer School was built in the early 1880s. The building was later enlarged, and windows were put in. It was used as a store, a depot, and later an express office -- always keeping the name "stone jug." The building burned in the early 1900s. The late Lucretia Flatt Bushnell, of Eldred, recalled being sent by her mother to the "stone jug" with a half-dozen eggs in exchange for a spool of thread.
Following are lists of pupils from three Greene County schools as they appear in the "Souvenir" booklet.
The schools are Eldred, Pleasant Dale, and Woody Public School.
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Eldred School, Greene County, Ill. 1896-1897 |
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Bennie Ballard |
Jesse Ballard |
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Augustus Bechdoldt |
Charles Bechdoldt |
|
George Bechdoldt |
Hattie Bechdoldt |
|
Jacob Bechdoldt |
Katie Bechdoldt |
|
Minnie Bechdoldt |
Otto Bechdoldt |
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Thomas Bechdoldt |
Clara Book |
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Delana Book |
Dean Bushnell |
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Delta Bushnell |
Elsie Bushnell |
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George Bushnell |
Hattie Bushnell |
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Loraine Bushnell |
Charles Clark |
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Mary Farrow |
Sidney Farrow |
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John Fisher |
Walter Fisher |
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Calton Flatt |
Clara Flatt |
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Henry Flatt |
Nettie Flatt |
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Wesley Flatt |
Dennie Harkins |
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Rola Harkins |
Susa Harkins |
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Ada Hoots |
Harry Hoots |
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Katie King |
Eunice Rathgiber |
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Jesse Rathgiber |
George Rathgiber |
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Horace Richardson |
Willie Richardson |
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Birdie Smith |
Pearl Smith |
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Viola Spaulding |
Major Smith |
|
Minnie Smith |
Stephen Spencer |
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Pupils of Pleasant Dale School, 1897-1898 |
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Ethel Ambrose |
Mabel Ambrose |
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Henry Borlin |
Lucy Borlin |
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Rosa Borlin |
Sophia Borlin |
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Anna Bridgewater |
Charles Bridgewater |
|
Luther Bridgewater |
August Bruns |
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Oscar Clendenen |
Charles Cummings |
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Henry Cummings |
Ida Cummings |
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Jacob Cummings |
Marion Cummings |
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Mary Cummings |
Nelly Cummings |
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Annie Davidson |
Clara Davidson |
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Ethel Davidson |
Henry Davidson |
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Jasper Davidson |
Jesse Davidson |
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Joseph Davidson |
Nettie Davidson |
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Oscar Davidson |
Dollie Gilleland |
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Bertha Hollandsworth |
Laura Johnson |
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Bessie Little |
Harry Little |
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Perry Little |
Cora McCormac |
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Hattie McCormac |
Joseph McCormac |
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Lizzie McCormac |
Lula McCormac |
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Cora Miller |
Willie Phalen |
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Minnie Scott |
Stephen Todd |
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Cora Varble |
Clara Walter |
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Nancy Varble |
Delia Walter |
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Pupils of Woody Public School |
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Gertrude Adcock |
Gilbert Adcock |
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Mary Adcock |
Willie Adcock |
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Elmer Admire |
Harden Admire |
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Loyd Admire |
Frances Angle |
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Ben Borman |
Clyde Borman |
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Leo Borman |
Myrtle Bradley |
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Kent Corrington |
Cora Cummings |
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Gertrude Cummings |
Howard Eilers |
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Lena Eilers |
Lou Evans |
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Roy Evans |
Howard Gibson |
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Vivian Gibson |
Willie Gibson |
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Grace Gill |
Gilbert Hutchens |
|
Norbert Hutchens |
Adelia Jouett |
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Dimple Maberry |
Edith Maberry |
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Lela Maberry |
Harrison March |
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James March |
Rudolph March |
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Minnie Obrien |
Rosalia Pegram |
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Walter Pegram |
Abbie Pointer |
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Lelia Pointer |
Clinton Short |
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Everett Short |
Effie Stone |
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May Trimble |
Blanche Wing |
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Clarence Wood |
Earl Wood |
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Emma Wood |
Hettie Wood |
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Myrtle Wood |
Perry Wood |
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Sophia Wood |
Vernon Wood |