Chapter 6
EDUCATION —EARLY SCHOOLS- COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM

In 1799, Robert Ferrill, a wheelwright, came over the Wilderness Road into what was shortly to become the new county of Wayne, and settled in Stockton's Valley. He built a mill there and opened a school. He was a well educated man and had some good books. He had few pupils, as settlers were far apart and the work of clearing the land and tilling the soil claimed the time of the youths.
     But young John Smith, later to become a famous preacher, had just come into this section with his father, and Ferrill found him an apt and interested pupil. This was probably John Smith's first school, and, undoubtedly, the first in the environs of Wayne.
     The first school in Monticello of which we have any record was opened in 1807 by Rodes Garth. He taught "Roman History, the Scriptures, orthography, and pronunciation." This young man was referred to by Micah Taul as "a young man of probity and worth."
     He was later admitted to the bar and served several terms in the legislature. His diary of the War of 1812 gives us an idea of his knowledge of English composition. It was indeed a happy beginning of the educational undertaking of the town to have a teacher of such qualification as the first schoolmaster.
     "It was a good school,'' says John Augustus Williams in his Life of John Smith, and John Smith, who had moved to the Little South Fork, walked fourteen miles from his home to attend the school, walking back home at the end of the week. This school continued some years and in 1819 John S. Frisbie, a graduate of Yale, came into Monticello and began to teach a school. Michael Huffaker is the first teacher mentioned in the records of the county, in the thirties.
     The Monticello Academy was established in 1830, under the provision by which the revenue from the Seminary lands could be used for that purpose John Lankford was the headmaster. It languished for a time, but Professor Mullins revived it. He was succeeded by William Burton, a superior teacher and a well educated man, who left an impression upon the life of the town and county to be felt to this day. His knowledge and thoroughness provided an educational foundation unusual in that day. He was precise in speech and manner, a product of the best New England schools. From the county around students came, and the better speech of the hills, in Wayne, is credited largely to him.
     In 1837 an act to establish Common Schools in Kentucky was introduced in the State Legislature, to be wrangled over for ten years before it was finally adopted. But by the time this law became effective, Wayne County was organized and the law was accepted. The Academy then became a necessary adjunct to the system, as a teacher training center for the county.
     When the Education Act was proposed, commissioners were appointed to take charge of the Seminary lands. The court records show that at the November term of the Wayne County Court, 1837, "Micajah Phillips, Micah Chrisman, Joshua Buster, Braxton Carter, Chas. E. Mills, Martin Beaty, Henry R. Saufley, William Simpson, and James H. West were appointed trustees of the Wayne Seminary Lands." Micajah Phillips was Secretary of the board and the minutes kept from November, 1837, to November, 1843, tell the complete story of the organization of the county into common school districts. From these minutes it is easy to visualize the struggle of the citizens of Wayne County, who were eager to see the opportunity to acquire an education extended to all.
     The commissioners, Micajah Phillips, John Rousseau, Martin Beaty, and Francis Goddard rode horseback into the remotest corners of the county. The roads were often almost impassable. The Common School was rejected in some districts, at the first meeting, but the commissioners patiently returned and, on reconsideration, the law was accepted by the majority of the voters. Finally, the Secretary was able to announce to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that Wayne had voted to accept this revolutionary measure in its entirety.   Micajah Phillips wrote "Finis" in his minute book September 26, 1843. It had taken six years to organize the county, yet that was accomplished before the law became effective.
     Jonathan S. Frisbie, John Lankford, and Littleton Beard were the first examiners for the county—one was a physician, one a lawyer, and one a teacher. The examinations were oral. The candidate for a certificate was required to read aloud a selection from some English masterpiece chosen by the Board and to exhibit a specimen of his handwriting. Skill in the solution of mathematical problems guaranteed a high rating. Some questions were asked, but the candidate could "talk himself into a job" if he talked well. The pay was pitifully inadequate and the teachers were expected to "board among the scholars."
     August 31, 1840, B. B. Smith, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, made the following report to the county:

                                                          Department of Education
                                                                                                                             Augt. 31st, 1840
To the County Court of Wayne:
     Agreeably to the provisions of the 9th Section of the Act of 1838 for the establishment of Common Schools in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, you are hereby informed that the proportion of the income of the School fund for 1840 which falls to the share of Wayne County is $709.20 or 40 cents on 1,773 children payable on the 16th day of Jany. 1841.
     The draft must be upon the superintendent of Publick instruction, by the County Commissioners (Sect. 11) in behalf of those districts only which have actually organized (Sect. 40), and upon evidence of their having adopted the System, appointed trustees, provided a School house and agreed to assess themselves toward the supporlt of a teacher (Sect. 18). The balance will remain to the credit of the County, until such time as the provisions of Sect. 40th are complied with.
                                                                                                            B. B. Smith
                                                                                 Superintendent of Publick Instruction for
                                                                                 the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

     By 1842 there were a dozen school houses, a few of the "pole" variety. They were in the following districts:

          No.   1—One mile south of Monticello.
          No.   2—Three miles north of Monticello.
          No.   3—Just west of Monticello, at Mt. Zion where William Calfey had been conducting a school.
          No.   5—Near Lockett's Chapel.
          No.   7—Frazer.
          No. 11—On Cumberland River near the home of Giles Lloyd.
          No. 15—On Otter Creek.
          No. 17—Upper part of county near the home of Solomon Tuttle.
          No. 23—On Big South Fork—Rev. Richard Barrier, Trustee.
          No. 24—Little South Fork near Robert Parmley's.
          No. 25—Little South Fork.
          No. 26—On Van Winkle's Road, leading from Jamestown, Tennessee, Road.
          No. 28—Shearer Valley, Teacher, Daniel Shearer.
          No. 29—Powersburg.
          No. 31—Near Gregory.
          No. 32—On Clinton County Line.

     Among the early teachers, before the Civil War, were Mrs. Amanda McGee, William and Thomas Simpson, Joseph Ballou, later a minister, and Marcellus Baugh who taught at Number One School House in 1860. This was his son's first school. The son was the father of the Rev. A. H. Baugh of Hustonville.
     The dates of these teachers' work have not been exactly determined.
     Of the many splendid public school teachers it is impossible to speak in too high praise. In rude log houses they struggled for a pittance, and it can be assumed that they were actuated by a passionate love for the work. Mr. James Littrell, who had completed fifty-four years of service in 1930, tells of the first school in his district, according to Professor Young:

     "It was known as a 'pole building,' located a mile south of Powersburg. These were rudely constructed of poles in an upright position. The first teacher was Virginia Hurt, the second James Frost and the third, Jacob Hurt. Another near Pleasant Hill Church at Sunnybrook was first taught by Jeremiah Catron." William Littrell, brother of James, was his first teacher.
     It was said of James that he knew "everything in books and everything outside of them."
     Textbooks in the early schools were scarce and, according to Professor Young, the same were used as in other sections at that period. They were Dilworth's Spelling Book, Murray's English Reader, and Murray's English Grammar.
     By 1860, the Goodrich Readers, edited by Noble Butler, and Butler's Grammar had taken their place. Then came the series of McGuffey's Readers.
     In 1849, Micajah Phillips was still Secretary of the Board, as we find this letter directed by him:

                                                                                                                                  Monticello, Ky.
Robert J. Breckinridge,                                                                                         Jany. 31, 1849.
Superintendent Pub. Instruction

Dear Sir:
     In your annual report to the legislature of the state of Ky., you report the teaching districts of Wayne County to contain 1,237 children of the lawful school age and the school com'rs of said county entitled to receive $432.95 cents. By adverting to the report of the school commissioners made to you for the year 1847, and also published in yr. annual report, you will perceive by a correct addition of the number of school children contained in the teaching districts that they will amount to 2,400 children of the school age between 5 & 16 years of age. That number, at 35 cents per scholar, the rate of your former calculation, will give the Com'rs of Wayne County $840.00, distributable among the teaching districts of Wayne, according to the no. of children in each. I thought it my duty to call yr. attention to this error, expecting thereby, in conjunction with the other Com'rs of Wayne, to draft upon the 2nd Auditor, in behalf of the teaching districts of Wayne, for the amount due them in order that it might be corrected.   If the error should not (be) corrected by yourself, in all probability the order of the Com'rs of the County for the correct amt. due them, would be dishonored. You will have the hearty thanks no doubt of every friend of the cause of Common School instruction, for your very able & zealous efforts to promote the objects of the institution—and particularly for your efforts to rouse up the representatives of the people to redeem the sacred pledges of the State, the good people of this state, who when properly informed upon this great subject will surely sustain you. If I am in error in regard to the amt. coming to Wayne, please inform me.
                                                                                                        Micajah Phillips, Sect'y

     Smith's History of Kentucky says, "To the County of Wayne belongs the honor of having been the first county in the state to adopt the entire system." And this was largely due to the efforts of Micajah Phillips, Secretary of the Commissioners, who has been called the "Father of the Common School System of Wayne" by Prof. Harry Young. The first county school superintendent was Robert McBeath, member of a family noted for their intellectual qualities.
     Interest in education was of necessity abated during the Civil War, but in 1866 William Kendrick who had become prosperous and was interested in the education of his large family, erected a good building and Milton Elliott was brought to Monticello and made principal. This was known as Kendrick Academy and until the building burned in 1872, ranked with the best academies.
     Before the establishment of the Common School System, William Calfey conducted a private school at Mt. Zion Meeting House, and was probably the first teacher duly elected by trustees under the new law in Wayne County.
     During this period when there was great disorganization due to war there was an effort to carry on some educational activities. Some families, where it was possible, engaged tutors. Micajah Phillips had built a schoolhouse in his yard and brought a young man from Bethany, Virginia, as a tutor for his children.
     "Subscription" schools were common in the county before the public schools were organized. Mr. B. C. Berry remembers that Robert McBeath had a good school in a bui!ding on the Berry place.   His son, Thomas, followed him.  They were good teachers, "especially in arithmetic" and he was sorry when he had to go to the public school.
     In 1887, Professor Thompson conceived the plan of rebuilding the academy. A company was formed with stock of $10,000.00. W. J. Kendrick agreed to donate the land. The incorporators were: J. W. Tuttle, H. L. Phillips, J. B. Kendrick, W. J. Kendrick, and T. L. Thompson.  The project did not materialize.
     Marion Huffaker taught a school near Monticello at No. 1 Schoolhouse in the early sixties and Marshall Stone one in town.
     The first schools were taught in the homes of the teachers, and when the number of the pupils justified a log house was built. The first schoolhouse in Monticello was just around the corner from the old Fuston Tavern. The Shearers and Huffakers were families of school teachers. Miss Ala Shearer, a veteran, was accounted a power in the schools of her day. In the eighties and nineties, tlhere were Lucy and Amanda Taylor, Sallie and Eula Kendrick, Emma Kelley, Fount Cooper, William Sandusky, Tobias Huffaker, Mrs. Mollie Denny, who became the very efficient county superintendent, and many others who contributed to the intellectual and spiritual uplift of the county.
     In 1879, Mrs. Roxie Buchanan began a private school that was in every essential a Dame School. She taught in the old house referred to above. She was well educated, having attended Loretto Academy. The children of that period owe her a debt of gratitude for her thorough and painstaking efforts. William Bradshaw succeeded her.
     In 1885, a Classical High School was opened by W. T. Chafin in the Masonic Hall. The curriculum was full and the teaching thorough. He brought T. Leigh Thompson and T. C. Job, college graduates, to assist him, and for a few years there flourished here a school with no superior in the state.
     Higher mathematics, ancient and modern languages, the sciences, history, and English were taught. Mr. Thompson succeeded Professor Chafin and Miss Georgia Brock, of Lexington, was added to the faculty. Mr. Chafin returned later, remaining until about 1890. With Miss Oakley and Miss Graves, he had established, for the first time, a trained kindergarten and primary teacher.
     The Monticello Signal of June 6, 1885, carries an advertisement stating that the "object of our literary department is to teach thoroughly everything necessary to fit boys and girls to enter the best universities." Signed: W. T. Chafin, Principal.
     The same paper on January 4, 1887, announces the Spring Session of the Monticello High School, T. Leigh Thompson, Principal. "The motto of the principal is to give a thorough, practical English education."
     In 1889, Prof. H. C. Jones was chosen principal of the Monticello High School. He was a college graduate and a good teacher. His health prevented his continuing longer than one year. Hayden Grubbs of Danville succeeded him. He was a brilliant young man, graduate of Centre College, and a superior teacher. He left to enter West Point. Professor Chafin returned for a short time and he in turn was succeeded by Mr. Ballard, bringing the chapter on education in Wayne up to the end of the century.
     The program of the meeting of the County Teachers' Association in 1886 is interesting. It shows that these teachers of Wayne were ahead of their time in realizing chit education is concerned with things more vital than the three R's.

Teachers' Association at Lockett's Chapel, June 5, 1886.

An Address on Education ...................................................Z. W. Wilborn
Method of Teaching Grammar.............................................J. D. Shearer
History ...................................................................................D. S. Powers
What Makes a Good Teacher........................................Miss Lucy Taylor
Rural Teaching......................................................................Jas. L. Littrell
Select Reading.......................................................................W. T. Chafin
Primary Arithmetic.............................................................W. A. Simpson
As Is the Teacher So Is the School..........................Miss Nannie Ingram
Beautify the Schoolroom................................................Miss Lucy Jones
Geography................................................................................A. Fairchild
Education Library, Discussion.......................Prof. Chafin, Joe Bertram

                                       Noon Recess

A Lecture to Primary School Teachers..............................Z. W. Wilborn
Dull Pupils....................................................................Miss Sallie Hatchet
How Should We Prevent Whispering.....................................J. A, Brown
How to Interest Children in Studies..............................Mrs. Bettie Taylor
Formation of Character................................................Miss Nettie Kelley
How to Secure Attendance in a Country School........Sherman Denney
The Trials of a Teacher.................................................Miss Ala Shearer
Time for Reading........................................................Miss Nannie Bates
Government of Schools..........................................................J. W. Guffey
Is There Any Limit to Girls' Accomplishments.......Miss Sallie Kendrick
Early Impressions.....................................................Miss Mollie Huffaker
Limits to Study..........................................................................J. F. Young
A Practical Talk to Teachers.................................................J. W. Sallee

     We have included a great many teachers and persons interested in education, and we do hope they will accept the part assigned to them.
                                                                                 Josie Duncan,
                                                                                 Emma Kelley,
                                                                                 Eula Kendrick.

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