SCHOOLS IN EARLY WYOMING. Interesting Chapter from ex-State Superintendent Wickersham's kecent Volume on Education in Pennsylvania,

In that interesting volume, issued last sommer, the History of Education in Pennsylvania, by Hon. J. P. Wickersham, we find the following account of the zeal for education displayed by the Connecticut sattlers in the Wyoming region:

"This chapter cannot be closed without some notice of the introduction into a portion of the State of a system of schools that had an important bearing upon subsequent Educational history. We have reference to the system of free public schools brought by the Connecticut settlers into the valley of Wyoming. Pennsylvania as a province, of course had nothing to do in establishing them; in principle they were an advance upon the schools then existing in Connecticut, ard in most essential respects, were similar in design and management to the public schools of the present day.

The first settlements in Wyoming Valley were made under the auspices of 'The Susquehanna Company,' organized in 1753, by some six hundred citizens of Windham county, Connecticut, and approved the following year by an act of Colonial Assembly. The surveyors of the company were sent out in 1755, and at that time and subsequently B-venteen townships were laid out, each five miles square and containing fifty shares, each of three hundred acres. They were located in blocks on the bottom laud along the rivers, and embraced territory now within the limits of Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Bradford and Susquehanna Counties. The names of these townships are Huntington, Salem, Plymonth, Kingston, Newport, Hanover, Wilkes Barre, Pittston, Providence, Exeter, Bedford, Northumberland, Putnam, Braintrim, Springfield, Claverack and Ulster.

"The first attempt to settle on the lands laid out by the company were made in 1762, and continued in 1763, but owing to the hostility of the Indians, no permanent settlement was effected until 1769. Constantly harassed by the savages, compelled to carry on a continuous struggle, amounting at times to open warfare, with rival claimants to the land on which they had built houses and established homes, almost annihilated by the terrible massacre

No. I.

of Wyoming during the Revolutionary war, these brave and hardy men of Connecticut still maintained their ground; and in 1783 the population of the seventeen 'Certified Townships,' is estimated to have reached SIX thousand. It has now swelled to two hundred thousand.

The first action taken in regard to schools was as follows:

"At a meeting of the Susquehanna Company, held at Hartford, Connecticut, 28th December, 1768 it was voted to lay out five townships of land within the purchase of said company, on the Susquehanna, of five miles square each; that the first forty settlers of the first town settled, and fifty settlers of each of the other towns settled, shall divide the towns among themselves; reserving and appropriating three whole shares or rights in each township, for the public use of a gospel ministry and schools in each of said towns; and also reserving for the use of said company, all beds and mines of iron ore and coal that may be within said townships.'

"It was also voted to grant Dr. Eleazer Wheelook, a tract of land in the easterly part of the Susquehanna purchase, ten miles long and six miles wide, for the use of the Indian school under his care; provided, he shall set up and keep said school on the premises.

"The proposed Indian school was never established, although it is stated that Joseph Brant and other Indians attended Dr. Wheelock's school at Lebanon, Connecticut. Instead of coming to Pennsylvania, Dr. Wheelock went to New Hampshire and became the founder of Dartmouth College. The directions of the company in other respects were carried into effect in all the townships as soon after settlement as possible The three shares' in each township amounted to 960 acres; in a general way the whole was set apart for school purposes, but in a number of instances land was voted for the support of ministers of the gospel. The funds arising from the sale of these lands were not husbanded as they might have been, but in some townships they still exist and are used for the benefit of the publio schools. The schools as well as other local affairs were managed, as in New England, by a general town meeting. The mode of proceeding is thus described: 'A school meeting was called, by public notices posted in the district. The inhabitants of the dis

triot met, and elected, in their own way, three of their number to act as school committee, which committee hired teachers and exercised 8 general supervision over the schools. The teacher was paid by the patrons of the school, in proportion to the number of days they had sent to school. A rate bill was made out by the teacher and handed to the committee, who collected the money.' The general township fund was used to build school houses and to pay teachers.

"A few scraps of history have been gathered up that will serve to show the interest taken in education by these pioneer settlers in a Pennsylvania wilderness.

"At a town meeting held at Wilkes-Barre, August 23, 1773, a vote was passed 'to raise three pence on the pound, on the district list, to keep a free school in the several school districts in the said Wilkes-Barre,' 'A subsequent meeting,' says Charles Miner, in his history of Wyoming, 'specially warned, adopted measures for keeping open free schools, one in the upper district, one in the lower, and one in the town plot.'

"A town meeting in Kingston, held Deo. 21, 1773, voted that Nathaniel Landon, Samuel Commins and John Perkins, are appointed committee men to divide ye town into three districts, for keeping of schools.'

"The other townshipe, without question. passed similar votes, thus recognizing at that early day the fundamental principles of all true systems of public instruction: the common education of all classes; schools supported by a general fund or a tax on property; local management and responsibility.

"A general county school_organization seems to have been established, doubtless to give more efficiency to the local management. At a general meeting of the whole settlement, held on the sixth of December, 1774, it was voted: "That Elisha Richards, Capt. Samuel Ransom, Perrin Ross. Nathaniel Landon, Elisha Swift, Nathan Denison, Stephen Harding, John Jenkins, Anderson Dana, Obadiah Gore, Jr., James Stark, Roswell Franklin, Capt. Lazaros Stewart, Capt. Parks and Uriah Chapman, be chosen the school committee for the ensuing year.' These were leading men from every part of the settlement, showing how important they considered the subject of education. Well may Miner say: 'It may justly be regarded equally honorable and extraordinary that a people just commencing a settlement in a wilderness, wrestling steadily with the yet rude and unbroken soil for bread, surrounded by so many extrinsic difficulties and causes of alarm and disquiet, should be found so zealously adopting and so steadily pursuing measures to provide free schools throughout the settlement.'

"This system substantially continued in operation in the Wyoming region up to the time of the adoption of the common school system in 1834, when, with little change and no disturbance, it was merged into it; and, as the nearest approach to our modern public schools of any class of schools then known in Pennsylvania it had considerable influence in shaping the school legislation which culminated ia the Aot of 1834. It was Timothy Pickering, of Luzerne, as will be more fully shown hereafter, who, in the Constitutional Convention of 1790, secured the adoption of the article on education upon which was subsequently based the whole body of laws relating to common schools in Pennsylvania, up to the year 1874; and by so doing saved the convention from the threatened danger of committing itself to a much narrower policy."

He is Now Eighty-five.

In renewing his subscription to the WEEKLY RECORD, Mr. Dilton Yarington writes thus from Carbondale:

From the days of those dear good men, Charles Miner and Steuben Butler, I have had the pleasure of reading the WilkesBarre papers. I commenced in 1813 to read the war news, and felt greatly interested to the end of the war in 1815, and from that day to the present, I have had the pleasure of reading at least two Wilkes-Barre papers every week. I do not expect to read any. thing much longer. I came to this beautiful world the 8th of October, 1803, and I remember well the total eclipse of the sun. June 7,1806. I was then two years and eight months old. That was the first day that I knew that I was in this world, and from that day, duaing the first forty years of my life I remember almost everylbing that came under my observation, but the last forty years appear like looking down a long, shady, dark road.

A Veteran Republican

Dr G Underwood, of Pittston, is entertaining his father-in-law, Elish & Newman. Mr. Newman is 98 years old. He cast his first vote for Madison in 1812, and has been a staunch Whig and Republican ever since. He voted for William Henry Harrison and also for Gen. Harrison.

A Big Wild Cat.

Thomas T. Miller killed a large wild oat of the lynx variety at Bear Swamp last week. He fired at the animal twice, his second shot striking it in the right side. Mr. Miller brought the caroass to the county commissioners and obtained on it the usual bounty of $2.

Pleasant Valley-John Barrett, aged 17; Martin Barrett, 15; James Brehony, 14; Mrs. P. B. Brehony, 52; John M. Coleman, 40 and Michael Coleman, 16, father and son: Patrick Curran, 16; Patrick A. Doran, 10 and Lewis Doran, 14, brothers; William Early, 14; Kate Featherstone, 15; Matthew Flaherty, 17; James Jackson, 13; James Jackson, 16; William Kelly, 33; James Lynott, 14 and John Lynott, 16, brothers; Mrs. Patrick MoAndrew, 45, John McAndrew, 13 and Thomas MoAndrew, 16, mother and two Bons;

Bernard Meehan, 48 and Mary Meehan, 19, father and daughter; Bennie O'Brien, 13; Thomas Ruddy, 32; Joha Walsh, 28; Patrick Walsh, 20; Michael Whalen, 12.

Soranton-Thomas Breen, age unknown; Wm. Dabigg, 18; Andrew Gibson, John J. Gibson, 21; Margaret Hart, 20; James Keating, 16; Owen Kilkullen, Michael Maxwell, Katie MoNiobols, John Moffit, 26; Thomas Moran, 28; William Noon, 20; Patrick Smith, 18; Willie Smith, George Stevens, 20

H.

Green Ridge-Michael Doran, age unknown; James Farry, 16; John Gallagher James Heart, 17; Martin Heart, 15; Edward O'Malley, 16.

Minooka-James Conaboy, aged 18; Wm. Casiok, 21: Jas Mullen, Jr., 22: Patrick Powell, Jr., 18; kichard Powell, 50; Mrs. Richard Powell, 47; Thos. Toole, 19; Festus Malhearn, 26.

Moosio-Austin Gibbons, 12; Charles Goeltz, 17; Thomas Morris, 13.

Olyphant-Thos. Brogan and Peter Mul

ligan.

Bellevue-John A. Hearn. Providence-Peter Kline, 16. Priceville-John Rogan, 22. Total killed, 64.

INJURED.

Minooka-Michael Carrol, aged 22; Jas. Jennings, 18; Michael Kane, 12; Anthony Lydon, 40; Anthony Lydon, Jr.. 15; John MoCue. 16; Thos. McCue, 20; Michael MoCrea, 15; Felix McLaughlin, 14; John McLaughlin, 19; Patrick McLaughlin, Michael Murray, 12; Patrick Murray, 37; Peter Thornton, 18; Michael Walsh. Scranton-Thos. Connelly, aged 23; Cloherty, 17; Peter Herriok, Frank Mangan,

14: Anthony O'Harra, 33; Annie Regan, 15; Mary Duffy, 40.

Pleasant Valley-John McKeon, aged 48; Matthew Calvey, 14; John Carran, 14; Michael MoAndrew, 50; Michael Walsh.

Providence-John Brogan, age not known, Peter Cavanaugh, John Lynch, John Regan. Hyde Park-Susan Curry, age not known, Mary Durkin, Katie Kennedy. Bellevue-Thos. Moore, age not known, Reilly, 16.

Old Forge-Thomas Clark, age not known; James Hannon.

Susan Shea, of Wilkes-Barre, age not known.

Total injured, 39.

Curious Newspaper Subscription. Our Carbondale friend, Mr. Dilton Yarington, is a great admirer of the WilkesBarre papers, and he is one of the original subscribers of the WEEKLY RECORD. Recently he celebrated his 85th birthday and on that day he wrote to Editor Linskill offering to pay him $5 for a life subscription to the Telephone, whether he should prove to live 15 days or 15 years. Mr. Linskill accepted and at the same time indulged in the hope that Mr. Yarington would live out the 15 years. Mr. Yarington then subsoribed for Mr. Linskill's forthcoming volume fon his foreign travels, at the same time remarking:

In my younger days I have read much of the history of Europe, but I must say, that I never had a proper conception of English home matters, and the English people at home, until I read your interesting letters. My ancestors on my father's side were from England, 160 years ago. On my mother's side from Ireland, 180 years ago.

Has Some Old Wilkes-Barre Papers.

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Nov. 26, 1888.-EDITOR BROORD: I have two issues of the Susquehanna Democrat published in your city March 15, 1811, and Feb. 15, 1811, containing a statement of the receipts and expenditures of the county of Luzerne from the first day of January, 1810, to 1811, and many other items of news relating to that period.

Both papers are nearly as large as your present RECORD, perfectly perserved and legible. One of them has the subsoriber's name written on margin, "A. W. Newbery."

I have had these papers many years and am now desirous of disposing of them, thinking they might be of interest to somebody or a valuable relic to one of the Newbery descendants.

I write to ask an offer for one or both of these papers. F. B. FREEMAN.

534 Bush Street.