June 24th, 1730.150 This was probably Dr. Bray's last act in behalf of his fellowmen for the venerable old gentleman died February 15, 1729, at the ripe age of seventy-three years. 99152 The income from the bequest of Mr. D'Allone made it possible for Dr. Bray's Associates to send "Books to Missionaries in the manner which the Doctor himself did, thereby to enable and encourage them to undertake the Conversion of the Negroes, within their respective Parishes.' '151 However until 1758 except for some assistance given Georgia, nothing was done for the schools elsewhere. In that year the fund at the Associates disposal "was sufficient to warrant establishing a few schools, and the city of Philadelphia was chosen as the best location of the first one." Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who became associated with the work of the society in Philadelphia recommended "N. York, Williamburgh in Virginia, & Newport in Rhode Is." as the most proper places for Negro schools. 15 Dr. Franklin further recommended that Dr. S. Johnson, Reverend Mr. Barclay and the Reverend Mr. Auchmuty should be associated in charge of the school at New York. The nature of the support given the movement by these men assured its success from the beginning. After some difficulty a schoolmistress of "fair Character and Qualifications" was secured. In 1765 Mr. Auchmuty wrote: "There are now no less than thirty-seven Scholars" and that "those that are to leave the School are well instructed in reading & sewing and say their Catechism & prayers perfectly well; & what is very commendable, & pleasing are very sober & orderly Children. 154 He continued in his report to state that "The school succeeds beyond my Expectations, and is a great blessing to the poor slaves." Later he reported: "The Scholars improve every day in Reading, Spelling, & Working;" and later he wrote "Many of them are very notable at their work, and read extremely well." In 1767 he said of them: "Those that have left the School after proper Instruction, attend every Sunday Evening with the Adult Blacks, & are Catechised and I have the pleasure to inform you that I have not heard of one among them, that has turned out bad. The records are somewhat incomplete after this time, 155 150 Ibid. p. 15. 151 Ibid. p. 254. 152 Ibid. p. 255. 153 Ibid. p. 259, the recorded minutes as quoted by W. W. Kemp. 154 Ibid. p. 259, Auchmuty to the Secretary of the Associates, May 31, 1765. 155 Ibid. p. 259. and in 1774 Mr. Auchmuty made the last report which is available. It is in part as follows: "Dr. Auchmuty in a list, Sept. 28, 1774, says the negro school continues full, several of the children read very well & know the whole of their catechism. They attend Church constantly on Sundays & often on week days. The mistress continues her usual diligence, but is in a very declining state of health, he fears they shall soon lose her. Upon enquiry he finds that those who have been brought up in the school behave remarkably well. In a 2nd Letter Oct. 20, 1774, he says the Schoolmistress died on the 19th & adds she was faithful in the discharge of her duty & a good Christian." After 1775 the school was probably abandoned as no further records are to be found of such." 156 The marked success of those who had given instruction to the slaves prior to the Revolutionary war must have served as an encouragement to others to continue their labors. However, it was not until the establishment in 1787, of the "New York African Free School" that another organized attempt was made to instruct the Negroes. 77158 "The New York African Free School" was the outgrowth of the Manumission Society which was organized on the 25th of January, 1785, for the purpose of "mitigating the evils of slavery, to defend the rights of the blacks, and especially to give them the elements of education. ' 157 At the second meeting of this society, held on the fourth of February following, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton were present. And the latter, together with two fellow members, Robert Troup and White Matloch, were formed into a committee "to recommend a course of proceedings to be pursued in the case of persons to be aided by the Society. Six days later the third meeting of the Society was held at which time John Jay was elected president and Alexander Hamilton secretary. This organization was destined to prove a great help to all persons of color who were so fortunate as to come within the scope of its jurisdiction. From its very beginning "the objects of the Society were pursued with great diligence,' and soon it became evident to the friends of the colored race that, in addition to their other means of advancing their interests and elevating the mind, their social and moral conditions, a school for the education of children was essential." With this lofty purpose in view the Standing Committee "recommended the appointment of a committee on May 11th, for establishing a free school for Negro children.' 150 156 Ibid. p. 260. 157 P. 13, The New York Public School by A. E. Palmer. 158 Note pp. 665, 666, "History of the Public School Society,'' W. O. Bourne. 180 Ibid. p. 667. 99160 The report of the committee "provided for the raising of money by subscription or donation, the appointment of a teacher at a seasonable time, and the selection and appointment of trustees by the Society.' The report, with amendments, was adopted on the 9th of November of the same year. By May 17, 1787, about $5000 had been subscribed. This amount was increased by the time the new committee made its first report three months later by £801 12s. The new committee in submitting its report "urged the adoption of immediate measures for the organization of a school.""" A committee, composed of seven members, was appointed at the instance of this report, and immediately set to the task of securing a place to hold the school and of obtaining a teacher. On November 15th the committee reported: "that they had prepared an application to Trinity Church for a donation of a piece of ground for the purpose of a school for colored children," and that "they had engaged a schoolmaster to take charge of the school. The teacher, Cornelius Davis, secured by the committee had dismissed a school for white children in order to take charge of the proposed school, and under such terms as convinced the committee that "gain was not his object, for he would furnish a school room and fuel and teach the children for six months for sixty pounds.' 99163 '18 The first school of the Manumission Society threw open its doors on the first of November, 1787, and shortly after its opening reported some twelve pupils in attendance. The school grew gradually, "and appears from the book of minutes to have been satisfactorily conducted, and the pupils, considering the many disadvantages under which they must be viewed (a large proportion of their parents being slaves) gave early proofs of good intellect, and their improvement evidently corresponded with their literary and moral instruction.'"10 In 1791 a female teacher was secured to instruct the girls in sewing, and it is stated that "the expected advantages of the measure were soon realized. This department was enlarged one year later when the Society took under its supervision a school for colored girls which was then being taught by Mrs. Davis. The entire female branch of the school was then placed in the charge of Miss Abigail 100 Note Ibid. 161 Ibid. 162 Note Ibid. 108 Ibid. p. 668. 164 Pp. 12, 13, 14, 15, "History of African Free School" by Charles C. Andrews, N. Y., 1850. 105 Ibid. 100 Mrs. Davis was in all probability the wife of Reverend Cornelius Davis, and had established the schools for girls independent of her husband's school. Nicolls, an efficient and energetic young woman, who was paid two hundred dollars a year for her services. The progress of the school was the source of great delight for those who labored in its behalf, yet from the beginning the trustees had realized the necessity of a better location and a larger building. However, it was not until the summer of 1796 that they were so fortunate as to come into the possession of "the Cliff Street Property." This property had been secured by the trustees with the proceeds from the sale of a lot of ground on Great George Street, 25 by 100 feet, which had been given them by Frederick Jay. Despite the fact that the work was "far from being a popular one" the continued success of the school is marked by its continuous growth. By 1797 the school "numbered 122 pupils-63 males and 59 females, with an average attendance of about 80 in the day school." In order that the benefits of the school's training might be extended to the large number of slaves who were desirous to attend, but unable to do so because of their work, an evening class was opened. This measure proved as successful as the first, for by 1797 forty-four pupils, 36 males and 8 females, were enrolled, with an average attendance of about thirtyfive.107 When the Society had taken over the Cliff Street School in 1796, William Pirsson and John Teasman were employed as teachers by the trustees. Mr. Pirsson, who was appointed principal, received $500.00, and Mr. Teasman, his assistant, $120.00. Miss Nicolls, who had been secured in 1792, was retained in 1796. The success which resulted from the combined labor of these three during the next year, won for them a merited increase in their salaries. Mr. Pirsson's salary was raised to $625.00 per annum; Miss Nicolls's to $250.00; and Mr. Teasman's to $200.00. The donations made from time to time to the Society by the Corporation of the City of New York enabled the trustees to increase the teachers' salaries, and make many other necessary provisions. The first grant of the city amounted to $250.00 and was made in 1797. This was followed by a like donation in the same year; and two years later by a third of $517.00. These gifts were supplemented in 1801 by the State Legislature when $1,565.78 was apportioned for the schools. This gift was made upon the condition that the Society should make an annual report to the Legislature or its creditors. 29168 For twenty years the school continued its laudable work, the total "number of scholars varying from forty to sixty, carrying on “a constant struggle with difficulties of a pecuniary nature, as well as with 107 Bourne, p. 668. the opposition of many who were unfriendly to the noble undertaking." Because of the public sentiment which existed against the school, it was frequently the case that the "purses of several individuals in the Society" were "made to feel the sincerity of their hearts. 99169 In 1809 the Lancastrian or Monitorial system of instruction was introduced into "The New York African Free School" (being the second school in the United States conducted on that plan) and a teacher was employed who not only understood the system, but also appeared to feel an interest in the work.170 Mr. Andrews stated that "the value of the Monitorial System consists in facilitating in an eminent degree the business of instruction in the elementary branches of knowledge. It was founded upon a principle of Order and Discipline, by which the pupils under the direction of the master pursue a course of mutual instruction: Those who made the greatest progress in reading. writing, arithmetic, etc., 'instructed' others less advanced than themselves.'" From the date of the introduction of the Lancastrian system a marked change for better was noted in the school. The number of pupils rapidly increased and "their order, general decorum became objects of favorable remark, even among those who had previously been in the habit of but little to their credit. 99172 With the continued growth of the school, the necessity of providing a more suitable building confronted the trustees. The efforts of that group of men were immediately directed toward suppyling this pressing need when in January 1814 the school house, which was then situated on Cliff Street, was destroyed by fire. Mr. Andrews states that "this calamitous circumstances checked, for a short time, the progress of the school, as no opportunity offered itself of obtaining a room so large as even the one which had already been found insufficient for its accommodation, and of which the trustees were so suddenly deprived." However, a small school room was obtained in Doyer Street to keep the children together until further arrangements could be made. Now that the loss of the Cliff Street property had been occasioned by fire, the trustees were forced to appeal to the citizens and to the Corporation of the city. The appeal of the Society was nobly answered by the Corporation of the City in the form of a "lot of ground in Williams Street, on which to build a new schoolhouse." Some of the citizens also came to the aid of the trustees by enabling them to "erect on this ground a commodious brick building" 169 Ibid. 170 Ibid. pp. 17-18. 171 Ibid. p. 73. 172 Ibid. p. 18. |