Part 2

There were other noted schools organized in Upshur County that were maintained for a while, but went down on account of the Civil War and other causes. It was almost impossible to finance a school back in those days. There were founded, in Gilmer, the Gilmer Masonic Female Institute, Gilmer Female Academy, which was supported by the Methodist Church, and Gilmer Male Academy, also supported by the church. Then there was the Looney School at Gilmer.

Located near Simpsonville was the Leroy Institute, founded and taught by Professor Leroy. This was a noted school for a few years, and did some valuable work.

Some Facts About Murry League

A letter from the late Virgil DuBose, who lived at Palestine, to D. T. Loyd, details more on the Murry League story:

“As a whole, the men of Murry League (near Ore City) were active and quite above the ordinary, and their wives were energetic, thrifty, good-looking, and all had a superior education. About all these families had was a house full of children whom they reared to work and at the same time gave them a good education.

“Among the citizens that lived at the League about the year 1857, and years later, as I remember, were: Rev. Joshua Clark; his brother, Uncle Billy Clark; my father, Prof. Virgil M. DuBose; Capt. Coppedge, Rev. J. T. P. Irvine, who fought in the battle of San Jacinto; Harvey Armstrong, the Grans, Mr. Willeford, father of W. L., Billy and C. W. Willeford, of Mings Chapel; and the Nashes, the Crossleys, the Weatherds, the Emmetts, the Coveys, the Hambrights, the Bullocks, and others I fail to remember.

“Rev. Palmer and Rev. Irvine were traveling preachers of the M. E. Church South, called in their parlance, (circuit riders). Rev. J. Clark ran the league school for many years prior to 1857, and that year he offered my father, Prof. Virgil M. DuBose, a job as co-principal and it was accepted. My father was a graduate of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, having attended that school four years—1832-1836.

“When we moved to the League in 1857, I was a very small boy learning my abs, ebs, ibs, obs, but I soon got to the back of Webster’s old Blue Back Speller and could rattle off the four pages of synonyms in the back of the book without any trouble. I have since those days observed many schools and institutions of learning but I have never seen such emulation and desire for learning evinced among pupils as I saw in those days at the old Murry League School. They were all bright talented young men and women, and the school grew and kept growing.

“All the advanced students not only became proficient Greek and Latin scholars, but went on up into higher mathematics as applied to mechanics, astronomy, and civil engineering. These are my memories of those days;—though I was but a kid, I saw how it was. They were great days for a boy.

“But for months prior to 1861, the muttering storm in the distance was heard! I saw it all. The people of the New England states went mad. The people of the South went mad! The war between the states was on, and by May, 1861, all the young men attending the school went to the war. This broke up the school and Murry Institute became a memory—a thing that was, but is not! My father carried on the local school during the four years of the war. Along 1862-3, many planters came in from Arkansas as refugees, fleeing from the Yankee soldiers when they invaded that state, bringing their slaves with them. This made quite an addition to the League, for they were educated, refined people, and their children attended my father’s school.

“Capt. Coppedge, a most noble and brave man, went at once into the war with Lee and Jackson’s armies. He came back on a furlough in 1863, went back, but never returned. Died or was killed in battle!”

The Masonic Female Institute

The first session of the Gilmer Masonic Female Institute, under the supervision of Mrs. L. W. Montgomery, closed on Friday, May 4, 1852, after a thorough and rigid examination of the pupils on the various branches, to-wit: orthography, reading, arithmetic, geography, ancient and modern history, botany, philosophy, astronomy, and rhetoric, in all of which they acquitted themselves with a great deal of honor, to the satisfaction of parents and the spectators present.

The articulation and pronunciation could not be better. The deportment of the young ladies was sufficient evidence of the excellent discipline in the school room. There were forty pupils at the close. The second session of the Institute was to open on the first Monday in July, 1852, as announced by the trustees, P. C. Halenquist, J. M. Glasco, B. N. Hampton, Thomas D. Brooks, and William Ward, but we have no further record of the school after this.

The Gilmer Female College was given a charter by the Texas Legislature, and the first session opened in September, 1854, and closed on the last Thursday in January, 1855. Tuition for spelling, reading, and writing was ten dollars for the term; and for geography, grammar, history, arithmetic, and botany was $12.50 per term. Tuition for arithmetic, botany, history, composition, natural philosophy, physiology, English analysis, chemistry, mythology, astronomy, and Butler’s analogy, was $15.00 per term. Music on the piano was $20.00. The faculty was Rev. W. S. Stovall, Mrs. Martha W. Weatherd, and Miss Margaret Weatherd. A boarding house was built near the school for the convenience of the pupils and teachers. E. C. Williams was secretary of the Board of Trustees. The Rev. Mr. Stovall soon left Gilmer and Mrs. Weatherd taught several years, assisted by her daughter and Miss M. E. Beavers. Miss Harriett M. Patilla taught music. This school closed after its fourth session. Mrs. Weatherd was very popular in Gilmer, but her husband was very unpopular, so she resigned and went to her home in Daingerfield. In 1857, Mr. Burkes began teaching in the Gilmer Female College and continued for several sessions. He was an Irishman, said to have graduated from Dublin University in Ireland. He came from Louisiana to Gilmer. His assistants from 1857 to 1861, were his son-in-law, Mr. Wiley, and his wife. J. B. Norman taught music. He organized in the school one of the best bands in Texas at that time. He led a band through the Civil War.

The Looney School

The old building formerly used by the above mentioned school was rented in 1861 by Morgan H. Looney, and the school from that time till 1871 was know as Looney’s School.

In 1863, the old building burned and Mr. Looney took up temporary quarters in a building located near where the ward school building now stands. This building continued to be used until 1866 when a new building was erected where the old building stood. The new building was an imposing structure, for its day, it being a two-story frame building with two stairways on the outside, six large rooms down stairs, a large auditorium up stairs and four large fireplaces. Blackboards were painted on the walls. There were two doors on the west side, and a partition wall extending from a point between the doors to the platform, which was rather elevated and was located against the outside wall. The girls filed in at one door and occupied the room on one side of the partition, while the boys came in at the other door and occupied the other side of the room. Mr. Looney sat on the platform at a point which enabled him to see what was going on on both sides of the platform. This arrangement was in keeping with the idea of that day, that the success of a school is measured in terms of sex segregation. Measured by this rule, the Looney School was a most successful institution. In the four corners of the large room were smaller rooms for recitation. The building was 60-feet by 90-feet.

One factor which entered largely into the success of the school was the ability of the president to secure and hold competent teachers. Among these were J. L. Covin, who resigned soon after coming to Gilmer and left for the Army as first lieutenant of Company B, Seventy Texas; Miss Achsa Culberson, a cousin to Charles Culberson; W. A. Hart, afterwards county attorney of Wood County, and for years a resident of Gilmer; M. L. Looney, a brother of the principal, who married Miss Culberson, and died some years later in Atlanta, Texas; O. M. Roberts, afterwards governor of Texas, who taught law and bookkeeping for a long time in the institute; J. C. Reagan, who taught French and Spanish for several sessions, and who was a gentleman of high scholarship and attractive personality; and J. B. Norman, teacher of music, the one previously referred to as leading a band through the war.

After the war, he came back to Gilmer and spent many more years directing the musical talent of the school and community.

The second reason for the successful operation of the school was Mr. Looney’s ability as a disciplinarian. Flappers of those days went elsewhere than to Looney’s school to flap. He had a rule governing almost every conceivable human activity, and both students and teachers were required to memorize these rules and review them at frequent intervals. Scanning the rules we find:

That school began at 8 o’clock and closed at 6 o’clock, and that all students were to start to school at a certain time, and on entering the building, should pass immediately to their places in the large auditorium. All pupils were required to attend Sunday School and Church every Sunday, no one being excused except for sickness. Swearing, gambling, dancing, drinking, and horse-racing were forbidden.

When the rules were suspended and the young men were allowed to call on the young ladies, the ringing of a bell warned him when it was time to bid her good evening and return to his room. In fact, supervision of student life extended to the homes and boarding houses of students and included every detail. Students boarded in the homes of the town, and such a thing as shielding pupils when they broke the rules was never known. There was absolute co-operation on this point. Mr. Looney was a splendid orator, and his lectures on obedience and similar topics had a wonderful effect on the student body.

The Pritchett School

Forty-four years ago, Albert, R. W., and J. P. Maberry, with the help of W. W. Sanders and Ben F. Williams as backers, erected the first school house in the little community of Pritchett. Prior to this time the children of the community attended a school at old Pleasant Hill, which had been an important school center for perhaps half a century. This community had long been above an average in school activities and educational endeavor.

In the early fall of 1901, Mr. Sanders opened what was known as the Pritchett Preparatory Institute, a school which, in addition to the regular public school courses of that day, had also a thorough teachers’ training course that prepared students for regular county and state examinations for teacher’s certificates. These classes grew rapidly in interest and in number. Within the course of a few years, new homes were built around the campus and industrious families moved into this prosperous little town to educate their children.

Student boarding houses were built and a number of families made their living and educated their children by keeping boarders. The people took great interest in school affairs and cooperated with the school authorities in a wonderful way. Board and rooms were furnished at the same price to all students. A very reasonable rate was charged which was agreed upon by the school authorities and the operators of the boarding houses. The teachers made the rules for all boarding houses, and their rules were uniform and reasonable, and strictly followed. While there were few boarders for the first year or two the number soon grew to more than a hundred each year. Students were from Upshur and all the surrounding counties, some coming from as far away as the Panhandle of Texas. Mr. Sanders remained with the school as principal and owner for about four years. He sold his interest to F. M. Mathis, who continued the school on the same basis until 1906, when W. A. McIntosh became a partner with Mathis. The school continued under the ownership and joint supervision of Maberry and Mathis and McIntosh until 1915, when the property was sold to the Pritchett school district and became a regular public school. Mr. Sanders bought an interest in 1902.

A number of prominent school men and women, other than the owners were associated with the school during the fifteen years of its activity—first as the Pritchett Preparatory Institute and later as the Pritchett Normal Institute—among whom were

Ben F. Williams, J. V. Dean, A. J. Sanders, J. L. Boyd, B. B. Elder, J. R. Melvin, Mrs. W. P. Ducan, Mrs. Ola Mathis, Mrs. Maude Palmers, and others.

A new and larger building was erected in 1908, when the old building was remodeled for a students’ dormitory in charge of Mr. Mathis and his wife. After the erection of the new building, the name of the school was changed to the Pritchett Normal Institute, to better indicate the nature of the work pursued. Large classes were organized each year in state-required subjects leading up to second grade and first grade teachers’ certificates. The courses were thorough and few Pritchett students failed to receive certificates on state and county examinations.

Social activities formed an important phase of the student life. On certain occasions boys and girls were permitted to keep company with each other, and these occasions were looked forward to by most of the students with great pleasure. Many close friendships, formed in this school, have extended through the years. Now, over a quarter of a century since the Pritchett Normal Institute closed its doors and left to the public schools the education of the youth of this and surrounding communities, the influence of this school is still evident in the lives of those men and women who were inspired there to strive for greater accomplishments. In all walks of life there are men and women who began their careers in this now defunct institution.

Other Schools

In later years there was a number of excellent schools founded in Upshur County that did valuable work and had a great influence upon the character of the young men and young women of their day.

Sometime in the 1880’s, T. J. Allison established an important school at Pleasant Hill. He erected a two-story building and had boarding pupils from various parts of the county. This school was kept up for several years when T. J. Allison sold out to the local community and entered the medical profession. J. M. Perdue conducted a school at West Mountain of considerable note. He was a great teacher and exerted a wonderful influence over his pupils. In the fall of 1889, the citizens of Shady Grove erected a school building, organized a Board of Directors, and established a high school to run eight months in the year. This school also had a number of boarding pupils from this and other counties. This school had a great influence upon the community and was instrumental in bringing in a number of fine citizens.

The Rev. W. H. McClelland Sr. built and maintained a good school at Glenwood in the early 70’s. He kept a few boarding pupils. This school was destroyed by fire on the night of December 14, 1876. It was never rebuilt.

Progress In The Country Schools

Many of the older citizens can remember when Gilmer was not the beautiful little city that it now is. They can remember when the streets and public square were sand beds when it was dry, and mud puddles when it rained.

They can also remember when the public schools were not what they are today. No phase of the county institutions has felt the effect of the magic wand more than the county schools. The school children of today know nothing of the inconveniences of forty or fifty years ago. They now have comfortable school buildings, supplied with desks, maps, libraries, and free text books. They are carried to school in comfortable busses, and many are served with hot lunches at noon. How different was the conditions back in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

At that time, the country school houses, as a rule, were very unattractive and uncomfortable. The pupils were required to sit on long, hard benches and do their sums on a slate. They had no libraries and each child had to furnish his own books. There was no uniformity of the text books, which worked a considerable inconvenience to the teachers. Webster’s Blue Back Speller was almost universally used, however, and a pupil’s grade was estimated by the page he had reached in this book. The schools had no playground equipment, and the boys and girls were required to have separate playgrounds. It was not uncommon to find a bundle of switches lying on the teacher’s desk, and the teacher that did the most whipping was considered the best teacher.

One patron once remarked: “We shore got a good teacher this year. He whips them, comin’ and goin’!” The little one-room school buildings were heated by an old box heater, located in the center of the room, around which the shivering children crowded. The boys had to bring the wood for the heater from the near-by forest. We can understand why the boys were not crazy about school. Back then we had no County School Superintendent nor County Board of Education. The county school affairs were managed by the county judge, who was ex-officio school superintendent. The county was not divided into districts, but you could have a school anywhere you could get a bunch of children together and a shack to teach them in. Schools were not graded or classified and a teacher was allowed to teach anything in the curriculum, regardless of the grade certificate he had.

The school term was from three to six months in the year, and was usually divided into the winter and summer terms. About thirty-five years ago, Upshur County had its first county superintendent, Mr. A. F. Shepperd, and since that time, the schools have come into their own. Today, visitors are proudly permitted to inspect the schools. Upshur County compares very favorably with other counties of the state in its educational facilities. The stranger, driving across the county, is struck with the beauty and size of some of the school plants with modern brick buildings and attractive grounds.

The county has 18 white schools, all of which are accredited; nine high schools, affiliated with the state university; 143 white teachers, most of whom hold bachelor’s degrees, while some hold master’s degrees; 14 colored schools, with 71 teachers. The colored people have three high schools and eight accredited elementary schools.

County Board of Education

Upshur County at present has a fine school system, a live county superintendent, and an interested County Board of Education, which meets regularly in the county superintendent’s office. This board is composed of some of the leading school men of the county. They organize and adopt policies to be followed in the schools in the county under the guidance of the county superintendent; classify all the schools of the county, designate receiving schools for students whose grades are not taught in their home school; arrange a transportation set-up for all students in the county living more than two and one-half miles from the home school, and for students attending various high schools; appoint local trustees where vacancies exist; pass on all sales of school properties; hear all appeals on questions or controversies appealed from the county superintendent’s decision; advise and counsel with the county superintendent on all school problems; and pass on all transfers protested by local trustees.

Indians

One hundred years ago, there were only three white families living in Upshur County. John Cotton was the first settler and he settled somewhere on Lily Creek in 1835. In 1836, Isaac Moody settled somewhere near West Mountain, on the old Cherokee Trace and in 1838, O. T. Boulware settled near John Cotton where he established a trading post where he could trade with the Cherokee Indians.

The Caddo Indians were the original Indians of East Texas, but in 1820, the Cherokee Indians were expelled from Alabama and one tribe of them settled in East Texas. They were perhaps the most enlightened Indians living in the United States, having a highly developed tribal government, an alphabet, a rude literature, and some knowledge of property rights. These Indians never got permission from the Mexican government to settle in Texas, but did get a treaty from the Texas government, during the presidency of Sam Houston, giving them the right to their lands in East Texas. From 1820, to June and July, 1830, you may think of this vast section of East Texas extending from near Clarksville in Red River County to Nacogdoches as almost a complete wilderness, occupied, except for a squatter here and there, only by Indians and wild animals. As long as Houston was president of Texas, he kept the Indians quiet, as he had once been a member of their tribe. But in January, 1839, Lamar became president of Texas, and like most politicians, his policies were opposite to Houston’s. He started a movement to move the Indians out of East Texas. Lamar was partly justified in this, however, as the Indians were being agitated by hired Mexicans to make raids on the whites. Also, the people in the surrounding counties wanted the land occupied by the Cherokees. In June, 1839, a Mr. Lacy and John H. Reagan came to East Texas to notify the Cherokees that on account of their frequent raids upon the whites, and their continued intrigues with the Mexican agents, they must leave East Texas and go back to the United States. John H. Reagan wrote:

“When we reached the residence of Chief Bowls, he invited us to a fine spring near his house where we were seated, and Lamar’s message was read to him.”

Legend tells us that there was an Indian village where Gilmer now stands, and how do we know that they were not at the spring in Roosevelt Park? Chief Bowls told Lacy and Reagan that they would not move without war, so General Rusk, Albert Sydney Johnson, and others were sent against them. They met the Indians on the Neches River in a two-day battle. Chief Bowls, who was then 83 years old, remained on the field of battle, on horseback, wearing a handsome sword and sash which had been given to him by President Houston. He was killed, but the Indians continued fighting and retreating up the Cherokee Trace, until they got to the swamps of Little Cypress bottom where they scattered and made their ways individually or in small groups into Oklahoma.

Negroes of Upshur County

When the first settlers came to Upshur County, over a hundred years ago, they brought their Negro slaves with them, and they have been here ever since.

It would have been almost impossible to develop the country, clear the ground, build the log houses, and perform the other hard, physical labor incident to a new country. After they were set free, most of them remained with their former masters or somewhere nearby. They have made wonderful advancements in their educational and moral status and are generally recognized as law-abiding citizens. There are Negroes in all parts of the county, but the greatest colored population is in the eastern part of the county. They have a number of good schools in the county, with three fully accredited high schools with from ten to fifteen teachers. Ernest Ford, Thomas J. Downs, and F. R. Pierson, principals of these high schools, hold degrees from state institutions, and are recognized as leading educators. They have, in all, fourteen schools in the county with 71 teachers.

The Negroes and whites of Upshur County have always worked together in harmony, and we predict that they always will.

Hidden Treasures