SCHOOLS IN THE TOWN OF ALEXANDRIA

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The following is after Mina King's articles in The Thousand Islands Sun, courtesy of Jeanne Snow, editor. Quotation marks indicate Mrs. King's own observations.

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DISTRICT NUMBER 7

was at Barnes Settlement. The district was laid out on April 25, 1838, even before Alexandria Bay, which was 1840 by a school record. Later on, at one time each had the same number of pupils. Barnes Settlement had seventy-one and Alexandria Bay had seventy-seven. The schoolhouse was first located at the junction of Alexandria Center and the road to Alexandria Bay [present Route 26?] on the right side of the road opposite the Babcock farm house. It burned and a stone building now stands on the opposite side of the corner on the road leading to District 6.

This school did have large families of children: Rhodes Babcock and his wife Melissa, had eight: Nancy, John, William, James, Betsy, Joseph, Daniel, and Lillie (my mother). The James Cosgrove family was equally large: James, John, Daniel, William, Tobe, Mary, Nancy, Isabelle, and Moon. There was a William Evans family across from the schoolhouse, but I didn't have the names of their children -- only Lucretia, a daughter who married James Babcock. There also were the Overackers: William and Margaret and their daughter, Helen, wife of John Northrup.

Early pioneers who settled here were: Nash, Hibbard, Northrup, Holmes, Lee, Freeman, Stewarts, and later Farrell, Bauter, and the Merrills. But I didn't have records of the children. In my day I know there was a John Farrell who married Kate Fortune. They had Laurence, Maurice, Albert, Mae, Bessie and Vincent. James Fortune and his sister, Margaret Duggan, lived together. Later on in life Margaret had two girls: Veronica and Anna. I must say that Veronica was interested in good education and was fortunate to be one of the first class of ladies who ever entered Harvard University. As before this, only men were to be educated there.

Of the Northrup family who did attend school were: William, Ross, Frank and Jennie Fitzsimmons. Charles and Elizabeth Overacker also lived here. He had the Cold Spring Cheese FActory and their only daughter, Geneva, was born here. Then I find Thomas Hodge, a wheelwright by trade. They had a few children: Napoleon, Webster, and Cornelia. Napoleon married Sarah Gilmore and they had George, Harrison, Bert, Grace, Katherine, and Mildred.

Near the Hodge home lived Lewis Ortlieb and Deliah. They had three children, Luce, Theresa, and Joseph. The Corneal Shoulette family was composed of five sons: Floyd, Oswald, Roscoe, Leo and Karl. There may be more early settlers, but I can't recall who they were.

My mother taught in the school a long time before she was married in 1885. The Herrick family had moved and she had Cheeseman and Mina as pupils and later she married Edward, the oldest son. Other pupils were Ida Overacker Avery, Lydia Overacker Makley, John Farrell, Frank Farrell, Julia Fortune, Margaret Fortune, and Charles Overacker.

She had night school for penmanship for those who did want to write better and they did accomplish that I am sure. The school was also in use for church services and was well attended. I didn't have many early names of teachers, but my mother did have William Cosgrove as one of hers. I can say that I taught my first time in Barnes Settlement School and walked part of the time there and back which was three miles each way from Goose Bay to the school.

I remember three young men who got their work certificates in the Spring. They were Floyd Shoulette, Laurence Farrell, and Harold Babcock. I was sorry that they had to do this for I knew their education in school was completed and they were only fourteen years old.

On January 7, 1857, the teachers in the Red Schoolhouse in this district were: May Fisher, Mary Ann Gaily, Dennis Mahanna, Agnes and George Howe, Henrietta Zoller, Emogene Marshall Cosgrove, Emogene Crabb, and Sarah Newman. Teachers in the stone schoolhouse in this district were: Mary Ann Mahanna, Mary Cole, Laura Jewett, Clint Howe, Jennie and Emma Burdick, Taylor Bogart, Edith Cadwell, William Cosgrove (seven years), Lillie Babcock (six years), and James Mahanna.

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By Lillie (Babcock) Herrick, this is part of a series which appeared in The Thousand Islands Sun, used with permission of its editor, Jeanne Snow.

The trustees of Barnes Settlement school asked me to teach for a term in my home district. I hesitated about doing this as some of the students were former classmates, and some I knew were difficult to manage. One of the families definitely objected to my teaching there, but the majority seemed to want me, and I finally consented to take the school.

This was in a summer term of four months, starting in May of 1876. The pupils varied in age as was usual in those country schools. One of our first tasks, after our daily routine was established, was to clean the school house,--a task which teacher and children were expected to perform. One of the trustees, John Overacker, brought us a large round kettle, placing it in the front yard. We then filled it with water, built a fire under it, and soon had hot water. That, together with some sand, soap, and plenty of "elbow grease" from one and all furnished us with the means to scrub. The floors, walls and desks had no paint; they required "arm power." This took one full day. A couple of outsiders with kind hearts stopped by to help. We were proud of our cleanliness. I asked the children to bring unbleached cotton, and we made curtains for the windows. Later, we went to the woods and gathered cedars from which we made a large motto, "Knowledge is Power," and placed it over the blackboard. The children loved doing all this, and it gave them an interest in, and sense of responsibility for the building. Our next project was the school yard. Soon we had that clear of rubbish. We raked and swept the ground. Nice green grass came up as a reward.

The family which objected to my teaching in Barnes Settlement had taken this attitude, I was told, because they felt I was too young for the position and probably could not manage the children. The mother said emphatically that if I punished one of her children, there would be trouble.

After I had been teaching a while, I received a note from this mother, stating that, if her childen did not "mind" in school, I had her "permission to punish them." The note puzzled me, as her children were among the best behaved of my pupils. However, when I found that this was the family which protested my teaching there, I understood. I answered in a courteous manner, and thanked her for her interest in the school. I explained that her children had been orderly and obedient, but that if they had not been they certainly would have been punished according to my judgment, and without her permission. A few weeks later, this mother visited the school for an afternoon, listened to all that went on, and later became one of my supporters and best friends. I heard of no complaints, and we progressed on our schedule, aided by the old National Readers and Spellers, the Wells and Quackenbox Grammar, and McNally's Geography. We used three arithmetics: the Davies Highest, the University Arithmetic and the University Practical.

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The District Superintendent, Mr. D.D. Marshall, reported of it in January 22, 1913:
Ida Northrup, Redwood, teacher, $10.00
Registered students, 11. Average attendance, 11.
January 23, 1913: Ada Finley, teacher. $10.50. 9 terms.
Cornelius Shoulette, Redwood, trustee
Valuation $38,550; rate: .55
April 8: Teacher not returned from what was supposed to be a week's vacation. I called them to order and endeavored to find out what they could do.
April 18, he visited the school again, and found the teacher back.

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From a tiny notebook, copied from Notes from Reports of School districts in Town of Alexandria to Supervisor, 1856-1877 in possession of Clifford Schryver [of Omar?] Supervisor was Gurnee [Greene?] part of time. In front note from Geo. H. Strough School Com 3rd district Jefferson County to Andrew Cornwell, Esq. June 27th 1864.

1871, School No. 7, Mary Cole, teacher

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Nan Dixon Can you remember names of families, students or teachers for any of these schools?

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