received his education in the school in that section of the town, mentioned Mr. Kilgore as one of his early teachers. He said he remembered that it was always very hard for him to pronounce R or Th and to obviate the difficulty Mr. Kilgore taught him "Theophilus Thistle" and "Round the Ragged rock." Dr. Putnam stated that he knew this teacher before he came to Danvers; was a schoolmate of his. He afterwards became associated with some extreme radical measures of the times. In speaking of some of the old customs of school days Mr. Porter said that he remembered that when he went to school the older children in many families would bring the babies to school in order to care for them. There were cradles in the closet where they were placed and rocked to sleep during school hours. The custom was for each scholar to take turns reading the scriptures, each one reading a verse. The main question in those days when a new teacher came, was what sort of a teacher will he be and can we put him out of school? He said that most of the teachers controlled the pupils, as a general thing. Mrs. J. C. Butler sent to the society a number of receipts of teachers' salaries paid by the town of Danvers for the schools at Putnamville. They are very valuable in tracing the names of the teachers of those days. Mr. Porter referred to Miss Eliza Putnam, daughter of Daniel Putnam, and said that the children used to look up to her as a most wonderful person. She was very bright, always standing at the head of her class. Dr. Putnam asked Mrs. C. A. Hale if she remembered private schools held from year to year. She spoke of the one Mrs. Ahira Putnam taught at the Centre. It was called a select school. Mr. Francis Putnam was her first teacher. Others were Mr. Otis Mudge, Mr. Wm. R. Putnam, Mr. Philbrick, Mr. Chamberlain. She also spoke of Mr. Burnham, who was an excellent disciplinarian. He afterwards became a teacher in Burr Seminary, Manchester, Vermont. Her brother, Charles P. Preston, attended school there. He was a great teacher and had the faculty of making the boys and girls learn their lessons. Mrs. Hale was one of the youngest scholars. He taught summer schools here, and in general had wonderful success and gained a great many friends. Mr. Porter spoke of Joseph Kidder, who taught in Putnamville. They all regretted very much when he left, for he was a valuable man. Dr. Putnam said that Mr. Kidder afterwards went to Manchester, N. H., where he has lived ever since. "Not long ago," said the Doctor, "I was invited to be present at a dedication in Manchester. I met several old friends there. I asked if Joseph Kidder was there. "There he goes, now,' was the answer. I introduced myself to him. Sure enough, there was my old teacher, and he seemed almost as young as ever. He recalled his Danvers days with a great deal of pleasure and interest, and I said to him, 'come and give us a talk for the Danvers Historical Society.' We may have him down to speak for us some day. He gave quite a list of those who went to school to him." Dr. Putnam related the following story:-Word had been received in Danvers that General Jackson, afterwards the President, was expected to pass through the village on a certain day. The children in the school at Putnamville had been impressed with the awfulness of the occasion and on a fixed hour they were arranged in line in front of the schoolhouse ready at a given signal from the teacher, when the great personage should pass by, to make their bows and courtesies. Time passed very slowly to the eager and expectant school children, but finally the jingling of bells heard from a distance indicated that the great equipage was approaching. A span of handsome horses drawing a closed carriage and bedecked with bells dashed by. The children made their bows and courtesies-but it was to Bond, the baker. In speaking of Mr. Kidder the subject of Pembroke academy was brought up. It was at this place that many boys and girls met Mr. Kidder, who was then a pupil there, and from which place he came to Danvers to teach. Discussion gradually resolved into reminiscences of the academy. The old Pembroke academy, so called, was the first in that town to be attended by Danvers pupils. In a few years some difficulty arose between the principal and the rest of the faculty. The institution was endowed, but the townspeople and others took sides with the principal and soon another school building was erected for him, the two schools running in opposition. The establishment of this latter school which was called the "People's Institute and Literary Gymnasium," was the result of the feud, and the old principal was placed at the head. It was this school that the majority of Danvers boys and girls attended. It seemed to be the favorite school of those days. The suggestion was made that at some future meeting of the society the subject be "Schools which have been attended by young ladies and gentlemen from Danvers." DANVERS. A PROPHECY. DANVERS the Theme! Muses your Tribute bring! What Muse, of Danvers, can refuse to sing. Mutatis mutandis .... WINDSOR FOREST. Where smiling Ceres gilds the fruitful Fields, Fann'd by the Whispers of the Western Gale, Sprung from that Soil which gave his Fathers Birth, And in prophetic Numbers thus begun. 'Hail happy Seat! by Heav'n design'd to rise, 'And taste the Favours of th' indulgent Skies. "That blissful Era dawns, and future Seers 'Shall mark its Progress thro' revolving Years; "That Hour approaches, when thy neighbor'ring Woods 'Shall slowly sink beneath the rushing Floods: 'Where now the sportive Lambs are taught to feast, 'Leviathan shall heave the wat❜ry Waste, 'Pleas'd with his new-found Seas; while by his Side, "Thy pompous Navies swell th' expanding Tide; "Thy Thunder thro' th' astonished World shall roar, 'And Afric's Spoils oppress thy crouded Shore. 'A Seat of Empire next shall be thine own, 'And suppliant Monarch prostrate at thy Throne. "The great Alexiowitz, ordain'd by Fate "To bring to Light a rule, unpolish'd State, 'Saw Petersburg erect its envy'd Head, "The Russian's Pride, and conquered Sweden's Dread, 'Her Genius rising on that happy Day, 'Wing'd thro' the blue Expanse his rapid Way, 'And cry'd,...."America_shall own my Pow'rs, 'And dread the Rage of thine affronted Crown. -Essex Gazette, Jan. 10-17, 1769. BUILDINGS ERECTED IN DANVERS IN 1915. Louis Brown, two houses, Alden street; Paul Tutko, greenhouse, Ash street; William Clark, Emma F. Quinn, Bradstreet Ave.; J. H. Cox, Ernest Dragnon, R. A. Dupray, Bates street; George Fanning, Burley street; Catherine L. Dickie, Burley and Fellows streets; James L. Wentworth, remodelled Prentiss store for dwelling, Centre street; Edna R. Bedell, Amos L. Perkins, Jr., Mrs. L. Lillian Mahoney, Mrs. Alice C. Newhall, Chase street; G. L. Mason, paint shop and dwelling, Cherry street; Mrs. Hiram Curril, Congress Ave.; G. H. Wright, Conant street; Abraham Tipert, Collins street; Stafford Hennigar, J. W. Grant, Crane street; Harry E. Flint, David Conway, Central Ave.; James Fossa, business block, Elm and Maple streets; A. N. Parsons, Gould street; Benjamin S. Goss, Garden street; Peter Picello, Hobart street; Charles S. Stanley, John Sullivan, High street; Arthur Guerin, Hunt street; Mrs. Ella LaRoche, Annie E. Gallagher, Hussey Ave., Mrs. J. M. Sullivan, Lawrence street; Mary C. Norton, Liberty street; Catholic Total Abstinance Society, hall, George Curtis, garage, Elizabeth Stebbins, Hugh Healey, Maple street; Dr. J. J. Moriarty, Page street; St. John's College, dormitory, Summer and Spring_streets; George F. McKenna, River street; Frank Wiggin, Riverside street; Joseph Huntley, School street; James Horgan, two, Sylvan street; Joseph Huntley, Edward Gilliland, Trask street; William A. Sillars, V. F. Crane, Washington street; Francis Gorham, house moved from Middleton, Whittier street. |