AndoverMagSpring2015

Using Orthodoxy to Rebelby Sharon Platt ’15About theAuGUSTUS Thorndike Jr. ’37InternshipNear the end of each academicyear, Department of History andSocial Science faculty select anupper to research and write a biographicalsketch about an alumnaof Abbot Academy or alumnus ofPhillips Academy.The intern is given a stipend of$400, and the project is due winterterm of senior year. History departmentfaculty advise on subjectselection and the research andwriting process; the departmentchair provides supervision. PaigeRoberts, director of Archives andSpecial Collections, works closelywith the intern throughout theproject, helping to identify, locate,and interpret a broad range ofhistoric documents.The Augustus Thorndike Jr. ’37Internship was established in2005 to recognize Gus Thorndike’slifelong interest in teaching andreading, especially history andbiography. A primary goal of theinternship is to promote historicalwriting as a literary art, particularlyin the “word portrait” formrequired of the intern. Publicationof the historical biography inAndover magazine helps theAcademy’s more than 21,000alumni develop a renewed appreciationfor the rich and diverseheritage they share.In 1828, Emily AdamsBancroft distributeda petition that challengedthe favoredlocation for the futureAbbot Academy. Bycirculating the petition,Bancroft challenged theall-male founders of thenew women’s school. 1She rebelled againstauthority figures thatheld social power overher through both age and gender. Thispattern of rebellion set a precedent forthe rest of her childhood and career.Sixteen years earlier, Emily Jane Adamswas born to Elizabeth and John Adamson January 2, 1813. 2 She spent herchildhood on Andover Hill under thecare of her mother and nanny. 3 Oneyear after circulating the petition,Bancroft enrolled in Abbot Academy,graduating in 1831. 4 The Adams familyfell into chaos when John Adamsresigned from his position as head ofPhillips Academy in 1832. Bancroftstudied at Ipswich Female Seminarybriefly and then helped her father teachin Elbridge, New York, for three years. 5In 1837, Bancroft moved to her finaldestination, Jacksonville, Illinois, withher father and sister in pursuit of a newjob for Mr. Adams. 6Upon her arrival in Jacksonville,Bancroft became secretary of theLadies’ Education Society, a positionin which she would remain forfifty years. 7 The Society’s goal was toGil Talbotpromote religion andeducate the “manychildren [who] weregrowing up in ignorance.”8 Specifically,it focused on girls’education. 9 DuringBancroft’s involvement,the Ladies’Education Societysucceeded in “[educating]over nine hundredyoung ladies.” 10On May 8, 1845, Bancroft marriedJoseph H. Bancroft, a merchant, andeventually had five children with him. 11Over the next forty years, Bancroftworked for different charitable organizations,including a temperanceunion and a “Free Reading-room,”eventually becoming president of theLadies’ Education Society. 12 She diedon February 28, 1900, and is buriedin Diamond Grove Cemetery inJacksonville, Illinois. 13Emily Adams Bancroft was a “womanwho had it all,” or everything a whitewoman could have in the 1800s. Shewas a mother, a wife, a missionary, and,most importantly, a devout Christian.Her religion drove her toward a careeroutside the home and allowed her tohelp many other young women receivean education. She was a rebel in thatshe diverged from 19th-century genderexpectations and the example set byher early female influences.Every contact Bancroft had with theworld as a child and teenager pushed•2014| The Institute for Recruitment of Teachersexecutive director is charged with a new effortto further diversify PA’s teaching faculty.52 Andover | Spring 2015•2014| Following a Phillipian commentary on campusdiversity, 28 students sign a letter decrying theexclusion of Asian student perspectives and arguingagainst the “model minority” myth.•2015| PA creates a new faculty position,assistant head of school for equity and inclusion,to educate and guide the campus community onthe broader challenges of diversity.