Early Scipio and Ledyard Schools

I think it is probably time to write some more about our early schools. If you look at some of my blogs since my trip to the Archives in September, you'll see that I made copies of the Official Minutes and records of School Districts # 32 (Scipio) and #5 (Ledyard, formed off from Scipio). These records include names of teachers, and other interesting details.
Let's start at the annual meeting held at the house of Ezekiah Avery on May 3, 1823; Chair was Charles Kendall. This year is significant in that 1823 is the year Ledyard was formed off from Scipio.
The minutes reflect that it was Resolved that school be continued at the same place and be supported by the inhabitants of Ledyard and Venice, who were the old proprietors of the school before Scipio was divided.
It was also Resolved that Consider King be Clerk, and Trustees were Charles Kendall, Benjamin Avery and Samuel Tilley (?).

The next entry is for the annual meeting held May 3, 1824. The Trustees reported having sixteen dollars and ninety-three cents in their hands. The teacher employed that year was Amy Adams, at a salary of one dollar and sixteen cents per month.
The Trustees also reported that the money they received from the Commissioner of Common Schools that year was from Ledyard, $30.60 and from Venice $26.70.

Historian's Conference

I had a great time at the APHNYS (Association of Public Historians of NYS) Conference in Lake Placid, NY last week. There were about 100 members attending, from all different sized towns, cities and historical societies. I attended some informative workshops, and plan to write about them later this week.
For today, I thought I would share a few web addresses.
First is www.ExploreNY400.com, a website about the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial of 2009. That year will mark the 400th anniversary of Hudson and of Champlain's voyages along the river and the lake that bear their names. It is also the 200th anniversary of Fulton's first successful steamboat trip.
Many of the towns and villages along their routes have special events and celebrations planned, so please explore this website for some vacation ideas for next summer that you and the kids can enjoy.
If you are a local historian, you should go to the APHNYS website at www.aphnys.org and explore information about next year's conference, scheduled for April 27 - 30 in Albany. It will be the 10th anniversary of APHNYS so they have planned a whole day at the NYS Archives complete with Archives staff assistance so we can get an idea of what wonderful resources are held there.
Albany will have quadricentennial celebrations going on all year. And while you are in the neighborhood, a stop at the NYS Military Museum and Veteran's Research Center in nearby Saratoga Springs NY would be very interesting. They have more than 10,000 military artifacts of all types, including battle flags from the Civil War. Their website is found at www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/mil-hist.htm.

The Nineteenth Amendment

Today is a very important day for Americans. I knew I was going to be away at a conference, so I mailed in my absentee ballot last week. I was able to vote for the first time in 1970, and I don't think I have missed a Presidential election yet.
The national right for women to vote did not arrive until the 19th amendment was passed only 50 years earlier, in 1920.
n 1873, Susan B. Anthony voted illegally for her President and was arrested and fined.
She made a speech in 1873 about voting that made the point that it was "we the people" not we the white male citizens who formed the union to secure the blessings of liberty, which include the right to vote.
I agree. So be sure to exercise your right and vote today.

Historian's Conference

I am so pleased to be attending the Fall Conference of the APHNYS - Association of Public Historians of New York State.
Their website is at www.aphnys.org. I have held a membership since I became the Scipio Historian.
This organization provides access to information and contact information for other Historians and Historical Societies at their semi-annual conferences, and holds regional meetings throughout the year.
The workshops are wonderful. This Fall, I will be sitting in on a roundtable discussion with our new State Historian, Robert Weible. I will also go to a workshop on the Underground Railroad in Northern NY, a North Country Digital History/Historical Newspaper Project, Adirondack Architectural Heritage, the Tuberculosis History of Saranac Lake and then conclude with a roundtable of City, Town & Village Historians.
It is being held in Lake Placid this year during this first week of November, and I always find it relaxing to visit that area of our state.
Can't wait to return and tell you all about it!

Archives Month

As Archives Month draws to a close, I want to share that a lot of the information I share comes courtesy of the NYS Archives staff and electronic resources. There is a link at the bottom of this page and it is so worth a visit. There are more records available than I have time left to see.
The newest project undertaken by Archives staff is very exciting. They have begun an all-name index of their extensive Revolutionary War records.

An index to the records will allow people to more readily find a record or to know if one is available. This will also allow folks to access records at no cost electronically. If you visit the Archives website, give them a thanks for all they do to keep our history safe. Then enjoy a browse!

Canada Thistles

I continue to read over the Town Meetings of Scipio's formative days. It must be that pigs were still a problem for in 1801, there was another resolution that hoggs be not free commoners - at all. A resolution was also passed that the bounty for wolves scalps would be five dollars. That would be $78.27 today adjusted for inflation.

Nuisances were not always animals. In 1806, a resolution was passed that any man having "Cannady" (Canadian) Thistles knowingly on his land, that he cut them at the full moon in June and in September. A penalty for neglect of that duty was assessed as $10.00 ($163.94). The money was to be collected in the name of the Town Supervisor, with one-half going to the complainant and the other half to the Overseer of the Poor. The thistles must have been a huge problem, for the Town to pit neighbor against neighbor!

More Town Meetings

Town Meetings have always been a vehicle by which the local folks controlled their environment. As we saw in the last post, ordinary people had their gardens and crops uprooted one too many times by a free-range hog or ram, and so made a rule to limit that from happening again.
Scipio in 1799 was much different than Scipio today. The only clearing was one created by brute labor; to chop down the enormous trees from the virgin forest, using them to build barns and homes, uproot the stumps using an axe and maybe a team of horses if you were lucky so you could then clear the rock and stone away and plant the crops that would sustain your family through the year. After doing all that, I imagine looking out the door and seeing neighbor John's pigs feasting on the garden was just not acceptable.