History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

100 HISTORY OF mDDLESEJ roUXTY.
and maintenance of a separate district school for
the Irish. It was kept only part of the time, and
suspended. All the arrangements hitherto were
unsatisfactory. In 1834 Rev. Mr. Connelly carried
on a private school in a room under the Catholic
Church. In June, 1835, this gentleman made
application to the school committee for aid, and
an arrangement was entered into between them."
Under the above arrangement the committee
assumed the supervision of the private school
already existing in a room under the Catholic
Churcli, and elected Patrick Colhns its teacher, as
one of the public instructors. September 10, 1835,
another Catholic school, in the vicinity of Chapel
Hill, was adopted as a town school, taught by
Daniel McIUroy under the auspices of Mr. Connelly.
In the summer of 1837 another room was
prepared under the Catholic Church ; a new Cath-
olic school was opened, and ilary Ann Stanton
elected its teacher. In June, 1838, ilr. Collins'
and Mr. ilcIUroy's schools were united, called the
Fifth Grammar School, moved to Liberty Hall on
Lowell Street, and Mr. Mclllroy chosen principal,
svith Peter !McDermott assistant.
On the 8th of January, 1844, the grammar
school was moved to the new house on Lewis
Street. The building cost .89,650.
Mr. George "W. Shattuck, who had been a suc-
cessful teacher in ^Ir. Graves^ school for two years,
was elected principal of the Lewis Street School.
His management was judicious ; the school in-
creased in numbers and reputation. In 1848 a
large private school, which had been kept in the
basement of the Catholic Church, was disbanded,
and most of the pupils entered the public schools.
From 1838 to 1851 inclusive, 669 pupils of the
Mann School (Lewis Street) received certificates
to enter the mills, while the total number from tlie
other grammar schools was as follows: Edson, 156;
Hancock, 282 ; Washington, 107; Franklin, from
1840, 59 ; Adams, 429 ;" Moody, from 1841, 139 ;
Green, from 1841, 102; Colburn, from 1848, 67;
total, 2,070 from all the schools during this period.
In the foil of 1852 the Sisters of Xotre Dame
opened a school for girls under the supervision of
Father O'Brien, through whose influence nearly
all the girls who had hitherto attended this school
joined that oi the Sisters. Mr. Shattuck resigned
January 1, 1853, and engaged in other business till
tlie spring of 1850, when he was elected superin-
tendent of the public schools.
E(Uon Srhnol. — Tiiis school was ojiencd in a
small white house on the comer of South and Middlesex
streets, Xovember 5, 1827, by Joshua Merrill
of Milford, Xew Hampshire. In 1829 it was
removed to the Free Chapel, where it continued
until February 18, 1833, when it was removed to
the new brick school-house on the South Common.
Mr. Merrill retained his position as principal till
October, 1845, wheu he resigned and entered into
trade as a bookseller. During the first four years
Mr. Merrill conducted his school alone ; but in
1832 the district system was abolished, the school
increased in numbers, and he was provided with an
assistant. When ilr. Merrill's school was removed
to the new school-house, February IS, 1833, an-
other grammar school, hitherto kept in the base-
ment of the First Universalist Church, then located
on Chapel Hill, and taught by Moses F. Eaton,
was united with Mr. Merrill's, and Mr. Eaton was
retained as assistant.
Washington School. — In the spring of 1834
the accommodations in the Xorth and South grammar
schools were not sufficient for the pupils en-
titled to attend schools of that rank. The school
committee, on the 24th of March, opened a new
school in the Xorth School-house, and gave it the
name of the Third Grammar School. Nathan-
iel D. Healey was appointed principal, and Isaac
Whittier and Edith Patch assistants. In June,
1838, the Third Grammar School was moved to
the South Grammar School-house in order to accommodate
the children residing in Belvidere, who
had then acquired a right to attend the Lowell
schools.
FranHin Sc/iool. — During the winter of 1839
Mr. Rufus Adams was employed to open a school
on Middlesex Street, and in 1840 the Fourth Grammar
School was established in a school-house near
the old burying-ground. Mr. George Spalding
was appointed principal, and held the position till
1844. His successor was Xason H. Morse. lu
1845 the new brick school-house was erected, at
the intersection of Middlesex and Branch streets, at
a cost of 88,954.05. The number of pupils was
so large that ilr. ilorse was furnished with two
female assistants, and Mr. James ilcCoy writing-
master, ilr. Frank F. Coburn is the present in-
cumbent.
3foof/j/ School. — January 8, 1811, this school
was opened, with Mr. Seth Pooler as j)rincipal.
lie had been an assistant in the High School since
1838. Benjamin B. Thompson, Elizabeth C. Bart-
Ictt, and Helen R. Eastman were Mr. Pooler's