Chapter XI: Part 11

I request you to remain assured that the most ardent of your young
Friends cannot exceed me in sincere wishes that you may long live
happy, amiable, contented and prosperous.

OLIVER WOLCOTT.

Litchfield, April 5, 1827.

Bantam! dear lake! how calm thy waters lie!
How brightly green, thy sunny banks arise;
Calm as the hours of childhood, sported there:
And bright as life, appear’d to youthful ken;
No storm disturbs thy glassy surface clear;
Reflecting still the plane tree’s broad bright leaf,
Or oak with dark green crown; or gayer green
The corn sends forth in sunny hours; Sometimes
A tall bare pine, its foliage sent
Upon thy wave, like disappointments here,
Amid the brighter green of joy and hope—
And yet clear, placid lake! thou art the same
As when within thy cooling wave I swam,
In childhood’s hour — — — —
— — — Thou art the same
’Tis man alone is chang’d — — —
Altamah.
MR. BRACE.

The following lines were written by Miss C. Beecher upon hearing that measures were taken to remove the remaining Indians in our country across the Mississippi:

THE INDIAN’S LAMENT.

I go from all my heart loves best,
On to the dark Pacific wave,
For the poor Indian ne’er can rest,
But in his grave!
From every well known wood, & wild
Where every dearest hope was born
From all that charm’d me since a child,
I go, forlorn!
My smiling fields, where harvest waves,
My peaceful hut, I love so well;
My fathers bones, and mossgrown graves,
A long farewell!
My outcast babes, that lingering stand
And weep to leave your mothers grave,
From the oppressors greedy hand—
What power can save?—
Thou great good Spirit whom we fear
Are thy red children all forgot?
Dost Thou not mark each bitter tear,
Nor heed our lot?
We go from all our hearts love best
On to the dark Pacific wave
And the poor Indian ne’er can rest
But in his grave!

“Few people comparatively are capable of Friendship; and still fewer
have all the qualifications one would choose in a Friend—The
fundamental point is a virtuous disposition but to that should be
added a good understanding, a solid judgment, sweetness of temper
steadiness of mind, freedom of behaviour, & Sincerity of heart” Seldom
as these are found united I have been so fortunate as to find them
blended in my friend Mary—

ANN ELIZABETH LANDON

Litchfield March 24, 1826.

ON SEEING A PICTURE DRAWN BY A LADY.

How soft the tints, how sweet the face,
How mild expression glows and beams;
Beyond the fairest of our race,
Beyond the most extatic dreams.

No face so fair the painter knew,
That glow’d with feeling so refin’d,
When from abroad her eye withdrew;
And found the picture in her mind.
STEPHEN T HOSMER,

March 7th, 1826—

“When gathering clouds around I view
And days are dark & friends are few;
On him I lean, who not in vain
Experienced every human pain;
He knows my wants, allays my fears
And counts & treasures all my tears.

“When painful thoughts within me rise
And sore dismayed, my spirit dies,
Yet he who once vouchsafed to bear
The sickening anguish of dispair,
Shall sweetly soothe, shall gently dry
The throbbing heart, the streaming eye.

“When sorrowing o’er some stone I bend,
That covers all that was a friend,
And from his love, his voice, his smile
Divides me for a little while;
Thou Saviour mark’st the tears I shed
For thou didst weep o’er Laz’rus dead

“And Oh! when I have safely past
Through every conflict, but the last,
Still, still unchanging watch beside
My painful bed—for thou hast died,
Then point to realms of endless day,
And wipe the _latest_ tear away
Your sincere friend
H. BEECHER

May you my dear Mary, when delighted you stray,
Where the beams of the West, shed a bright genial ray
Remember the friends, you have loved in your youth,
Whose bosoms still glow, with affection and truth.
May the home you shall choose, and the new friends you find,
Be as constant and faithful, as tender and kind,
And may you to them, be a pearl of great price,
The supporter of Truth, the suppressor of vice.
And when Time, shall have sprinkled your tresses with snow,
May the Sun of religion, cast such light on your brow,
So placid and lovely, so pure and benign,
That the beauties of youth, all with pleasure resign,
And when over your grave, is placed the green sod,
May the tears of the poor, the regrets of the good,
Pay a tribute of praise, to your mem’ry more dear,
Than is paid to the hero, or statesman’s proud bier
When the last solemn trumpet, resounds thro’ the skies,
May the friends of your heart, with the Saviour arise,
And join the bless’d throng, assembled above
In the region of holiness, glory, and Love
S PIERCE

O fear not thou to die!
Far rather fear to live, for Life
Has thousand snares thy feet to try
By peril, pain, and strife—
Brief is the work of Death;
But Life! the spirit shrinks to see
How full ere Heaven recalls the breath,
The cup of wo may be.

O fear not thou to die!
No more to suffer or to sin;
No snares without thy faith to try—
No traitor heart within:
But fear, oh! rather fear
The gay, the light, the changeful scene,
The flattering smiles that greet thee here
From Heaven thy heart may wean.

PL. XLV.—PROSPECT HILL IN WATER-COLOR

From Mary Peek’s Album
]

O fear not thou to die!
To die and be that blessed one,
Who in the bright and beauteous sky
May feel her conflict done,—
Who feels that never more
The tear of grief, of shame shall come
For thousand wanderings from the Power
Who loved, and called her home!
SARAH PIERCE

Oh often wilt thy heart be fill’d
With gleeful mirth and rapture wild;
But when thy youth has flown.
There will be heav’nly seasons mild.
When thou wilt weep alone,
And make thy sorrows all thy own.
Then welcome those delicious tears
When the faint blush of evening wears
An aspect pure and meek;
And painful thoughts of brighter years
Alleviation seek,
In joys which only tears can speak—
Oft oer thy cheeks may such “drops roll”;
Oft mayst thou feel this “flow of soul”
And weep in extacy;—
But shouldst thou think who lov’d a stroll;
In solitude; like thee;
Shed half a tear to G. Y. C.—
GEO Y. CUTLER

THE GRAVES OF A HOUSEHOLD.

“They grew in beauty, side by side,
They filled our house with glee—
Their graves are severed far & wide,
By mount, and stream, and sea!

The same fond mother bent at night
O’er each fair sleeping brow;
She had each folded flower in sight—
Where are those dreamers now?

One mid’st the forest of the west
By a dark stream is laid;
The Indian knows his place of rest,
Far in the cedar shade.

The sea, the blue lone sea, hath one,
He lies, where pearls lie deep;
He was the lov’d of all, yet none
O’er his low bed may weep.

One sleeps where southern vines are dress’d
Above the noble slain,
He wrapt his colours round his breast,
On a blood-red field of Spain.

And one, o’er _her_ the myrtle showers
Its leaves, by soft winds fann’d,
She faded ’midst Italian bowers,
The last of that bright band,

And parted thus, _they_ rest, who played
Beneath the same green tree,
Whose voices mingled as they pray’d
Around one parent knee!

They that with smiles lit up the hall,
And cheer’d with song the hearth—
Alas for Love! if _thou_ wert all,
And nought beyond on earth!”

“Peace be around thee, wherever thou rovest,
May life be for thee one summer’s day,
And all that thou wishest, & all that thou lovest
Come smiling around thy sunny way—

If sorrow e’er this calm should break
May ee’n thy tears pass off so lightly,
That like spring show’rs, they’ll only make
The smiles that follow shine more brightly.

As half in shade, and half in sun,
This world along its path advances,
May that side the sun’s upon
Be all that e’er shall meet thy glances.”
E WOLCOTT Litchfield
May 20^{th} 1826:

PL. XLVI.—LOVE GROVE OR LOVE’S ALTAR ON THE BANTAM, IN WATER-COLOR

From Album of Mary Peck
]

“The charms which blooming beauty shews
From faces heavenly fair,
We to the lily & the rose,
With semblance apt, compare.

With semblance apt; for ah! how soon,
How soon they all decay!
The lily droops, the rose is gone,
And beauty fades away.

But when bright Virtue shines confess’d,
With sweet discretion join’d,
When mildness calms the peaceful breast,
And wisdom guides the mind.

Beyond the reach of time or fate
These graces shall endure,
Still, like the passion they create,
Eternal, constant, pure.—”
Litchfield May 27^{th} 1826 _Frederick Wolcott_

“I have nothing of my own Miss Peck, more worthy of a place in your
_album_ than the alternations of winter weather here in Litchfield
which I have thus “done into English verse.””

J^{NO} PIERPONT

How _dark_ are these skies! a deep drapery of cloud
Oer the smiling young face of the morning was flung:—
Noon gave not his light; and the same gloomy shroud
Round the throne of the moon, all the evening has hung.
Yet these dark skies have drest the earth
In a white robe that knows no stain.
So white-robed Virtue has her birth
In days of gloom, and nights of pain.

How _sad_ are these skies! Their bright hues are all dead!
The morning and evening no longer are fair!
They mourn their lost sun;—and the tears, that they shed,
Are frozen, as they fall through the sorrowful air.
Yet these sad skies, whose hosts of light
Have all their glittering banners furled,
These skies are sending down, to-night,
Their treasured jewels to our world.
So, in the hours when most we grieve,—
The hours of sadness and of sighs,
Believe me Mary,—we receive
The choicest blessings of the skies.

How _cold_ are these skies! Hoary Winter, reclined
On his snow-wreaths, the charms of earth’s bosom deforms;
And the fields, and the groves, and the heavens are resigned
To the rule, and the wrath of the Spirit of Storms,
Yet these cold skies the earth have drest
In saint like vesture, white and warm;
And spread a mantle o’er her breast
To shield it from the freezing storm.
So not the coldest blast that flies
O’er hope’s young flowers the heart shall chill,
If in the storm, it lowly lies,
And waits the All-Ruling Spirit’s will.

How _clear_ are these skies!—no heaven-ward mist
Going up from the earth, their bright arch dims.
Not a cloud, all the morning their fair face kissed;
Not a cloud, now at noon, in their blue depth swims.
Yet these clear skies, so pure, so bright,
So smiling,—o’er a cold world bend;—
A world where many a freezing night
And wintry day we’re doomed to spend.
Then, when the world looks cold on you,
And your lone heart with grief is swelling,
Look up!—for all the pure and true,
_There_ is a high and holy dwelling.

14 Jan^y. 1827.—

HYMN FOR A DYING BED.

Composed by C. Beecher, for L. Waite.

And is there one who knows each grief,
And counts the tears his children shed,
Whose soothing hand can bring relief
And smooth, and cheer their painful bed?
Saviour, invisible, yet dear!
Friend of the helpless, art thou near?

Forgive the faltering faith, & fears
Of this weak heart that seeks thine aid,
Forgive these often flowing tears,
Thou! who has fainted, wept, & pray’d—
Ah! who so well our wants can know,
As He who felt each human woe!

Yes, _Thou_ has felt the with’ring power
Of mortal weakness, & distress,
And _Thou_ hast known the mournful hour.
Of desolating loneliness—
Hast mourn’d thy friends, so faithless fled,
And wept in anguish o’er the dead.

Cast out to seek the lowliest shed,
The rich, the great despised thy name,
And thou didst seek thy daily bread,
Mid poverty, reproach, & shame—
Forgive a heart that can repine
To share a lot _more blest than Thine_—

And _Thou_ hast tried the Tempter’s power
And felt his false & palsying breath,
Hast known the gloomy fears that wait
Along the shadowy vale of Death—
And what the dreadful pangs must be
Of life’s last parting agony.

My only Hope! My Stay, My Shield!
Thy fainting creature looks to Thee—
Thy soothing peace, thy guidance yield
In this, my last extremity;—
With Thy dear, guardian hand to save
I venture downward to the grave!

THE WATER LILY.

This flower that so lovelily pleads for a sigh
Unnotic’d was born unnurtur’d to bloom;
Its fate had decreed it to wither and die
Where no heart of affection might weep o’er its tomb.

But chance has bequeath’d it in beauty to thee;
And in beauty it lives on the page of thy heart;
And while memory lingers or life shall endure
That flower from remembrance can never depart.

And thus, when between us Time’s current shall roll,
When mountains and waters our fortunes shall sever,
On thy tablets of _Friendship_ my name I’d enrol
To live in thy cherish’d remembrance forever.
EDWARD S. GOULD

Litchfield 25, Jany, 1826.

Tho’ in distant lands we sigh
Parched beneath a burning sky
Tho’ the deep between us rolls
Friendship shall Unite our Souls,
And in fancy’^s wide domain
There may we both meet again

When the dreams of life are fled
When its wasted lamp^s are dead
When in cold oblivious shade
Beauty, Wealth, and Fame are laid
Where immortal spirits reign
There may we all meet again
E REEVE

PL. XLVII.—LOVE CARRYING THE WORLD

By George Catlin, painter of Indian Pictures in Smithsonian Institute

From Mary Peck’s Album
]

Oh can you forget, when you stood round the bed
When _Helen_ address’d you with ardour & love,
How your Souls hung in rapture on all that she said,
When she urg’d you to place your affections above?
Clarinda[65] has died, on the bed where I lie;
“And what is the profit that you have receiv’d?
“And now must Young Helen be summon’d to die
“And no lasting benefit hence be atchiev’d?
“Must Victim on Victim go down to the Grave,
“To teach their Survoivors the shortness of life;
“And will you not strive, dear Companions, to save
“That precious betrustment[66] which time must survive?
“Believe dying Helen; this world is a snare;
“Its pleasures & Honors can never suffice;
“Of all its fair promises ever beware,
“And place your best treasure secure in the Skies.”
But all is now silent. The Spirit has fled
To Mansions of Glory, or Shades of despair;
The body now sleeps in the Tomb of the dead,
Awaiting the Sound of the Trump to appear.
BENJ^N. TALLMADGE

ON THE DEATH OF MISS HELEN PECK.

Can an earthly mind tell, when the plants of life wither
They will flourish again, in a kindlier soil?
Can an earthly eye trace the bright journey thither,
When the soul has escap’d from the world’s sin & toil?

’Tis the gospel alone, when an earthly plant dies,
Shows it blooming and fresh in a heavenly bower;
’Tis the gospel alone marks the Soul as it flies
To the regions of light, by omnipotent power—

Then; think not that _She_, who once bloom’d on this earth,
As fair as the flower that in Eden first grew,
Has lost the least tinge of her mildness and worth:
Death cannot distroy them, or alter their hue—

The stream, that once flow’d in this storm beaten vale
Tho’ its passage is stop’d, yet, in source, is not dried;
It will burst forth anew, unreach’d by the gale,
While the river of life rolls its waves by its side.

Tho’ she sank, like the leaf, when in spring time, it falls,
Yet she has not endur’d the last death pang in vain:
For her moment of life, Oh! how loudly it calls,
To look, as she look’d, from this region of pain.
J. P. BRACE—

Perhaps we part, no more to meet,
And who, my friend, can show
What scenes of sorrow, or of joy,
Await us here below?
Though life to you is in its morn,
And youthful pleasures court
Its fairest rose conceals a thorn,
Its longest space is short.

But Oh! there is a better state,
Where hopes unfading bloom,
There is a brighter land that gleams
Across the darken’d tomb.
There may we meet, in that blest home,
Where none shall sigh with pain,
Where hours of parting never come,
Now human frailties stain.
M TALLMADGE

Bantam! dear lake! how calm thy waters lie!
How brightly green, thy sunny banks arise;
Calm as the hours of childhood, sported there:
And bright as life appear’d to youthful ken:
No storm disturbs thy glassy surface clear;
Reflecting still the plane trees broad bright leaf,
Or oak with dark green crown; or gayer green
The corn send forth in sunny hours; Sometimes
A tall bare pine, its foliage sent
Upon thy wave, like disappointments hue,
Amid the brighter green of joy & hope—
And yet clear, placid lake! thou art the same
As when within thy cooling wave I swam,
In childhoods hour — — —
— — — Thou art the same
’Tis man alone is chang’d—
Altamah.
MR. BRACE

PL. XLVIII.—LOVE’S FALL

By George Catlin, in Mary Peck’s Album
]

THE RULES OF LITCHFIELD ACADEMY. 1825—

From the copy made by a pupil, Charlotte Phelps, who married George D. Cowles, of Farmington.

1st. You are expected to rise early, be dressed neatly and to exercise
before breakfast. You are to retire to rest when the family in which
you reside request you. You must consider it a breach of politeness to
be requested a second time to rise in the morning or retire of an
evening.

2nd. You are requested not only to exercise in the morning but also in
the evening sufficiently for the preservation of health.

3rd. It is expected that you never detain the family by unnecessary
delay; either at meals or family prayer. To be absent when a blessing
is asked at table, or when the family have assembled to read the word
of God, and to solicit his favor, discovers a want of reverence to his
name, and shows that you have a cold heart destitute of gratitude to
the author of all good.

4th. It is expected as rational and immortal beings that you read a
portion of Scripture, both morning and evening with meditation and
prayer. That you never read the word of God carelessly or make use of
any Scripture phrase in a light or trifling manner

5th. It is expected that you attend public worship every Sabbath,
except some unavoidable circumstance prevent, which you will dare to
present as a sufficient apology at the day of judgment.

6th. Your deportment must be grave and decent while in the house of
God; all light conduct in a place of worship is not only offensive to
God but an indication of ill breeding; and highly displeasing both to
the good and the polite.

7th. The Sabbath must be kept holy, no part wasted in sloth, frivolous
conversation or light reading. Remember that for all our time, but
particularly for the hours of the Sabbath, you must give an account.

8th. Every hour during the week must be fully occupied either in
useful employments, or necessary recreation. Two hours must be
faithfully devoted to close study each day, while out of school: and
every hour in school must be fully occupied. (For every hour wasted in
school you must give yourselves a whole miss under the rules.) The
ladies where you board must mention if you do not study your two hours
each day.

9th. You must never interrupt your companions by talking, or any other
disturbance during the hours of school, or those set apart for study.

10th. The hours appointed for any particular study or occupation must
not be employed in any other way, but the appointed lesson.

11th. You must suppress all emotions of anger, fretfulness and
discontent. Bear always in your memory the many blessings God is
continually bestowing upon you, for which he requires not only
contentment but a cheerful temper.

12th. The truth must be spoken at all times though it might seem more
advantageous to tell a falsehood.

13th. You are expected to be polite in your manners, neat in your
persons and rooms, careful of your books, clothes and every article of
use.

14th. Tale bearing and scandal are odious vices and must be avoided:
neither must you flatter your companions by any remarks on their
beauty, dress or any accomplishment, in order to increase their
vanity, and let every one thus flattered remember that such
compliments are an insult offered to the understanding.

15th. While you are forbidden to repeat anything to the disadvantage
of your companions, you are also requested to inform one of the
teachers if you observe anything amiss in your school fellows which
your teachers can correct. This not to be done from malice, but from a
sincere desire for their reformation.

16th. Every scholar is bound to conform to the regulations of the
family in which she resides. They are never to go out of an evening
without permission from the lady who has the charge of them; are not
to read any book, or engage in any amusement without her approbation.

17th. No young lady is allowed to attend any public ball, or sleigh
party till they are more than 16 years old.

18th. Speaking or moving once in school hours either with or without
liberty will take off a part of the extra—unless they move to recite
or practice, or write at the tables—Speaking more than once will take
off the whole extra and often give you a quarter of a miss.

19th. You must write a letter to be corrected and sent home to your
friends once in four weeks—except excused. You must not write a
careless note, or any careless writing. You must write a composition
once in a fortnight, of 200 words. You must write at least 30 good
lines in a week.

20th. You must have a lesson ready to recite when you first come into
school.

21st. You must come in or go out of the school in a quiet genteel
manner—you must not talk or laugh loud in the street.

PL. XLIII.—WHITE LACE VEIL WORKED BY MARY PECK AND WORN BY HER AT HER
WEDDING
]

22nd. You must not wear your party dresses, or any handsome lace,
neither your best hats or shawls to school.

23rd. You must not walk for pleasure after 9 o’clock in the evening. A
reward will be given to those who do not waste any money, books,
clothes, paper or quills, during the term. To those who have their
duties performed at the proper time. To those who have not been
peevish, homesick or impolite. To those who always attend meeting or
church. To those who never write carelessly.

CUSTOM OF EXCHANGING CHILDREN.

A custom quite general in New England in the early part of this
century, there being no boarding schools, was that of friends in
different parts of the country exchanging children for a certain
length of time, shorter or longer. The advantages were sometimes for
the sake of change of air, and sometimes for the intellectual training
of the children and are known to have worked well. The following
extract from a letter from one of the pupils on the list of 1825, now
living, makes the custom more clear.

“My connection with the school was only for two or three months and
rather accidental. A friend of my mother wishing to send a young son
to New Haven for the summer of 1825 Proposed an exchange of children
for the time. I was a child of such slender form and far from vigorous
and my parents were glad to send me into the country. Hoping the fine
climate of Litchfield would benefit me, yet not wishing me to study;
but as I wanted something to do I was permitted to attend Miss
Pierce’s school with the daughter of Judge Wollcott in whose family I
was staying.”

Extract from a paper read May 4, 1896, before the Village Library Company of Farmington, on “Farmington Society One Hundred Years Ago,” by Julius Gay.

One of the first results of increasing wealth was a desire for a
better education than the district school afforded. Already in 1792
Miss Sally Pierce had established her famous school in Litchfield
under the patronage of Chief Justice Tapping Reeve, Gov. Wolcott, Col.
Tallmadge, and other distinguished men, probably the first female
seminary in America. Here were sent the young ladies of this village
until the Farmington Academy was established. E. D. Mansfield LL.D.,
once connected with the “Old Red College” of Deacon Hooker, gives us
in his “Personal Memories” an outside view of the school as it
appeared a few years later, on his first visit to Litchfield.

“One of the first objects which struck my eyes was interesting and
picturesque. This was a long procession of school girls, coming down
North Street, walking under the lofty elms, and moving to the music of
a flute and flageolet. The girls were gayly dressed and evidently
enjoyed their evening parade, in this most balmy season of the year.
It was the school of Miss Sally Pierce, one of the earliest and best
of the pioneers in American female education. That scene has never
faded from my memory. The beauty of nature, the loveliness of the
season, the sudden appearance of this school of girls, all united to
strike and charm the mind of a young man, who, however varied his
experience, had never beheld a scene like that.”

He was about to enter the Litchfield Law School, a famous institution
which gathered numerous brilliant young men, especially from the
South. Their proximity might have been a disturbing element in the
quiet of the young ladies school had Miss Pierce lacked the wisdom to
manage discreetly what would have ruined a weaker administration. The
young men were allowed to call on certain evenings, but woe to the man
who transgressed ever so slightly the laws of strict decorum. To be
denied admission to Miss Sally Pierce’s parlor was the deepest
disgrace which could befall a young man. A school girl writes home
that a “Mr. Lyde was very attentive to Miss Norton (of Farmington) and
gazed at her so much that it mortified Miss Norton, and Miss Sally
spoke to him and he has not been in the house since March.” It was
only after much correspondence and penitence that Mr. Lyde was
reinstated. On leaving the school, each girl was expected to bring
home to her admiring parents some evidence of proficiency in her
studies. Those who could, exhibited elaborate water-color drawings
which have hung ever since on the walls of Farmington parlors. Others
less gifted were advised to paint their family coat of arms, and, if
they had never heard of any, they soon learned how all this could be
remedied without any correspondence with the Herald’s College. One
Nathan Ruggles who advertised in the Connecticut Courant “at his
Looking Glass and Picture Store, Main Street, opposite the State
House, city of Hartford,” had somehow come in possession of the huge
volume of Edmonson’s Complete Body of Heraldry, and allowed anyone to
select from its vast assortment of heraldic monsters, “Gorgons, and
Hydras, and Chimeras dire,” such as suited her taste. His sole charge
was the promise of being employed to frame the valuable work when
done. I have seen several of these devices which were brought home
from Litchfield, some done in water-colors and some in embroidery,
with combinations of color which would make a herald stare. They had
however just as good right to them as ninety nine out of a hundred of
the families who flaunt coat-armor and pictures of English castles and
all that in their published genealogies. There is no reason to suppose
Miss Pierce had anything to do in obtaining these designs. Most of the
embroidered arms are of a later date and were executed at a young
ladies school in Hartford. Those in water-colors were most if not all
of Litchfield origin. Nathan Ruggles who was responsible for all this
spurious heraldry, came to an untimely end. In a private display of
fireworks at his house, the whole suddenly exploded and brought his
heraldic career to an all too brilliant conclusion.

PL. XLIX.—OLD COSTUME FROM ROXBURY, ABOUT 1825
]

One of Miss Sally Pierce’s pupils from Farmington writes of the school
life “We have balls at Miss Pierce’s school better than all the balls
at Middletown. We dance once a month. We have a musician and he comes
by 6 o’clock and plays till 9.” On Sunday she writes “Our exhibitions
are on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday we dance and by Friday
night I really think I shall be tired. I have been to meeting all day
although it has rained very hard. Mr. Huntington preached. He is a
fine preacher, I think, and very handsome.”

1826.
LITCHFIELD FEMALE ACADEMY

CONDUCTED BY MISS PIERCE AND MR. BRACE

TERMS OF TUITION

Writing, History, Geography, Grammar, Arithmetic, Rhetoric, and Composition, with plain Needlework, per Quarter $5 The above, with Natural and Moral Philosophy, Logic, Chemistry, Mathematics, the Principals of Taste and Criticism, with the Latin and Greek Languages, per Quarter 6 French Language 5 Drawing 3 Music 12 Board in respectable families near the Academy, from $1.75 to $2 per week, exclusive of washing. The Summer Term, commences May 16. The Winter, November 29. April, 1826.

1827.
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS OF THE LITCHFIELD FEMALE ACADEMY.

Copy of the subscription for the Litchfield Female Academy. April, 1827.

The subscribers, being desirous of extending the benefits of the Female Academy, in this place, (which they believe can be done, by the erection of a new building, and procuring an act of incorporation which shall constitute the subscribers owners of the stock and place the same under the management of a board of trustees, consisting of ten persons who shall hold their offices during life, or until they resign or remove from this state, with power to controul and manage all the affairs of the institution, which shall be exclusively devoted to the purpose of Female education, excepting that one of the rooms in the proposed building may be made use of as a Conference room by the Congregational and episcopal societies in this Village and for other objects of that nature under the direction and at the discretion of the trustees) do hereby agree to unite in a petition for the above purpose to the general assembly at their ensuing session & if the same be granted to subscribe and pay for stock in such corporation to the amount affixed to our names, respectively & to relinquish to the Corporation for the benefit of said institution all the dividends or profits on the stock by us held so long as Miss S. Pierce or Mr. J. P. Brace or either of them shall be employed in the instruction of youth in said academy. This subscription to become binding on the subscribers on the following conditions viz

1^{st} That Miss Sarah Pierce shall convey to the Corporation, after an act of corporation shall be obtained, the building she now occupies as a schoolhouse and as much land in quantity where said buildings now stand as is at present attached to said buildings and included within the fences to be improved for a building lot for the new school house or academy and that said land and buildings shall be considered as stock subscribed by Miss Pierce under this subscription and shall be estimated at the sum of $600.

2^{nd} That in addition to the subscription to be made by Miss Pierce on the principles and to the amount stated above, there shall be subscribed within four weeks from this date the further sum of $900 or 60 shares each share to be $15.

Dated at Litchfield this 26^{th} day of April

1827. (A true copy).

I agree to convey the land and buildings mentioned in the preceding subscription under terms and for the objects therein specified, estimated at $600 or 40 shares. (A true copy)

SARAH PIERCE

NAMES OF SUBSCRIBERS. NUMBER OF SHARES.
Frederick Wolcott Two shares
James Gould Two shares
William Buel Two shares
Jabez W. Huntington Two shares
Charles Seymour Two shares
Grove Catlin One share
Phineas Miner One share
Stephen Deming One share
James H. Wadsworth Two shares
Samuel Buel Two shares
S. & H. Childs Two shares
Silvester Galpin One share
Joshua Gavvitt One share
Josiah Parks One share
Oliver S. & John L. Wolcott Two shares
E. A. Lord One share
Dan^l Sheldon One do
S. S. Smith Two shares
G. Dewey One share
John R. Landon Two shares
Alanson Abbe Three shares
John W. Russell One share
Truman Smith One share
Charles N Webb. One share
Jason Whiting One share
David C. Sanford One share
Elihu Harrison One share
Uriel Holmes One share
B. Kilbourne One share
Samuel P. Bolles One share
Oliver Goodwin One share
Jonathan Carrington One share
Sam^l Buel 2 One share
Leonard Goodwin Two shares
Origen S. Seymour One share
Silvester Spencer One share
Henry Phelps One share
Andrew Benedict One share
John P. Brace One share
Ambrose Norton One share
James Winship One share
Amos Wadsworth One share
Hiram Barnes One share
C. G. Bennett One share
Stone & Bolles One share
Benjamin Tallmadge Two shares
Henry A. Perkins One share
Ozias Seymour One share
S. Trowbridge & G. Treadway One share
William H. Thompson One share
Seth P. Beers Two shares

A true copy of the original subscription enrolled among the papers of the Litchfield Female Academy and marked no 1—

Attest J. P. BRACE. Sec.

Then follows an Act of incorporation given at Hartford, Conn., by the General Assembly in said state, on the first Wednesday of May, 1827. This act provided “that shares be $15 each provided that the number of shares shall not exceed 500 & the capital stock shall not exceed the sum of $7500.”

E. N. V.

At a meeting of the “Litchfield Female Academy” holden pursuant to adjournment at the West School House in Litchfield June 15^{th} 1827, the following persons were elected trustees.

Frederick Wolcott.
James Gould.
William Buel.
Phineas Miner.
Seth P. Beers.
Truman Smith.
John P. Brace.
John R. Landon.
Daniel Sheldon.
Jabez W. Huntington.

Frederick Wolcott was appointed President of the board and Truman Smith Secretary and William Buel Treasurer.

PL. L.—OLD COSTUME FROM ROXBURY, ABOUT 1825
]

The contract for the building was given to Silvester Spencer, minute directions being given that “it shall be 42 ft. long, 30 ft. wide two stories high with parts 21 ft. long from the top of the sill to the bottom of the Plate the stories of equal length. Sleepers and rafters of good oak and chestnut. The whole frame to be of good and substantial materials. The building (except the front) is to be covered with good pine clapboards. The front to be covered like Doc^t Samuel Buel’s House with 1¼ Tuck pine stuff free from sap and nots and put together with white paint and 4 Pilasters to be a cornice like said Buel’s (excepting eave Troughs) on the side and front with Raking cornice to be a window in the front gable like said Buel’s and covered with a good Green Blind, ... the door to be hung with wrought Iron Hooks & Hinges and furnished with suitable trimmings.... The clapboards to be nailed on with wrought Nails. There is to be 21 windows of 24 Lights part of English brown glass 8 by 10 & One window in the west gable end 20 lights 8 by 10 Glass.... There is to be a Cupola on the front & finished with not less than six posts. With a deck so made as to exclude the water & Sustain a bell with a spire of iron.... The whole building to be painted white with three coats of good paint of white lead and oil except the roof.... The Painting to be done by the first day of May next.” The payments to be “four hundred dolls on or before the 10^{th} day of Sept. next 200 dollars on or before the first day of November next and the balance when the building shall have completed.

Voted that Leonard Goodwin be authorized to sell at discretion the building or buildings now occupied by the Litchfield Academy, reserving the use of the same until the first day of May next, and also to remove the same if necessary.

A detailed agreement with Samuel Childs was made regarding the stone underpinning which was to cost $65. January 21^{st} 1828 it was found that $250 more would be necessary to make the building “comfortable and convenient,” which sum was borrowed of Elisha S. Buel.

At a meeting of the Trustees holden Nov. 14^{th}, 1828 _voted_ that Dr. William Buel be appointed agent to collect the balance now due on the Subscription to the Litchfield Female Academy and be authorized to institute suits for the collection of the same.

At a meeting of the Trustees March 28^{th}, 1828 the following address to the public was drawn up and ordered to be printed:—

LITCHFIELD FEMALE ACADEMY.

The Trustees of the Female Academy at Litchfield deem it proper to
acquaint the public with the present situation and prospects of the
institution of which they have the general superintendence. This
School has been established more than thirty-five years. It was
founded by the exertions of an individual lady (Miss Sarah Pierce)
aided by a few friends. It has been under her immediate direction from
its first establishment, and for several years she has been assisted
by John P. Brace, Esq., a gentleman of distinguished literary and
scientific attainments, whose time and talents are assiduously devoted
to the improvement of the pupils under his charge. While many similar
institutions have, during this period, arisen, flourished for a time
and then ceased to exist, this school has continued to receive, as it
is believed it has always richly deserved, a great share of public
patronage. It has obtained public notice and favor by the force of its
own merits. Constant and unremitting exertions on the part of the
instructors, combined with long experience and a thorough acquaintance
with all the branches of education which are taught, have given this
school a character which has drawn forth the commendations of many of
the distinguished men of our country. Young Ladies from every part of
the United States have been members of it, and great numbers have
received its highest honors. The whole number of pupils, since it was
first opened, exceeds two thousand.

During the last year it has been considered an act of duty to that
community by whom it has been so long patronized, to provide more
extensive accommodations, for those who seek to participate in the
advantages it affords. With this view, a large and commodious building
has been erected, with suitable apartments for every branch of study
appropriate to such an institution, and for the apparatus connected
with the different branches of science.

It will be opened for the reception of pupils at the commencement of
the ensuing _summer_ term, which will be on the 14^{th} of May
next:—This term will continue until the 29^{th} of October, when there
will be a vacation of four weeks, at the expiration of which the
_winter_ term will commence, and continue until the 21^{st} of
April;—Another vacation of three weeks will terminate with the
commencement of the _summer_ term.

A regular course of instruction will be given in English Grammar,
Geography, Ancient and Modern History, Arithmetic, Algebra, and the
higher branches of the Mathematics, Rhetoric, Composition and the
principles of Taste, Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, Moral
Philosophy and Logic. In addition to these, the pupils, at their
option, will be instructed in Latin, Greek, and French Languages, the
various branches of Natural History, Music and Drawing, for all which
the most competent instructors are provided.

_No._
182

BE IT KNOWN that
of is the proprietor of share of the
Capital Stock of the LITCHFIELD FEMALE ACADEMY, which share
transferrable only by the said
or attorney, on surrender of this certificate.

_Frederick Wolcott._ _President._

_Secretary._

PL. LI.—FACSIMILE OF FORM OF STOCK CERTIFICATE OF ACADEMY

]

The text-books used at this institution are Walker’s Dictionary,
Murray’s Grammar, Woodbridge’s Geography and Atlas, Miss Pierce’s
Ancient History, Russell’s Modern Europe, Goodrich’s American History,
Arithmetic, Blair’s Rhetoric abridged, Allison on Taste, Conversations
on Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, Paley’s Philosophy, Hedge’s
Logic.

The location of this Academy is in the centre of a pleasant village,
remarkably healthy, free from vice and the temptations to the
commission of it, and possessing every facility of communication with
other places, by stage coaches and mails, which arrive and leave it
daily.

The Trustees confidently believe, that with the additional advantages
which this institution now possesses, it will receive the increased
patronage of the public, and that it will continue to be, as it
heretofore eminently has been, distinguished as a seminary, where the
different branches of female education are faithfully and successfully
taught.

By order of the Board of Trustees,
FREDERICK WOLCOTT, President.

Litchfield, Conn. March 28, 1828.

From the following vote, there must have been another school building on East Street:—

“Voted that Leonard Goodwin be a committee to make a public or private
sale of the building belonging to the L. F. Academy now standing in
East street. Sept. 11, 1829.”

At a meeting on the 19th October, 1832, “the resignation of John P. Brace as Trustee, Secretary of the Board and Assistant Teacher was read and accepted.” Frederick Wolcott and Oliver Goodwin were appointed a committee to wait on Miss Sarah Pierce to learn her views regarding the continuance of the school.

[_Notices of Change of Teachers from the Litchfield Enquirer, October 31^{st} 1833._]

EDITORIAL NOTICE:

“_Litchfield Female Academy._—We feel no disposition to say much more
upon this subject than to call the attention of our readers to the
advertisement of the Trustees in a subsequent column, which is very
full and explicit. The acquisition to the school of Miss Gimbred, we
consider as a very fortunate and important one. This school has always
maintained a very elevated rank among the literary institutions of the
country; and under the management of its present excellent
instructors, we feel no apprehension but what it will fully maintain
its deserved celebrity.”

TRUSTEES’ NOTICE:

“LITCHFIELD FEMALE ACADEMY.”

“The Trustees of the _Litchfield Female Academy_, in consequence of a
recent change in some of the principal instructors, consider it their
duty to state to the public the present condition and prospects of
this Institution.

“This school was founded about forty years since by Miss _Sarah
Pierce_; and under her care and superintendence it early acquired a
distinguished rank among the literary institutions of our country.
This rank it has fully sustained to the present time. There have
generally been young ladies in this school from one half the States in
the Union, and the number has varied from 80 to 130. Miss Pierce has
now retired from the performance of any active duties in this
institution; but she feels a deep interest in its prosperity, and will
visit it daily; and it is to be hoped that, as heretofore, in answer
to her prayers, the blessing of heaven may descend upon it. Mr. _John
P. Brace_, who for eighteen years was a very able and distinguished
instructor in this school, nearly a year since accepted the
appointment of Principal in the Female Seminary at Hartford.
Notwithstanding the removal of these eminent instructors, the Trustees
state, with high gratification, that in their opinion this institution
has never been more worthy of public confidence and patronage, and its
prospects have never been more flattering than at the present time.

“Miss _Henrietta Jones_, the present Principal, appointed by the
Trustees, received her education in this academy. She has had five
years’ experience as an instructress; and the Trustees, from regard to
her feelings, will only add in her commendation, that they consider
her, by her talents and acquirements, as eminently qualified for the
station they have assigned her. There are others associated with her
to instruct in the various branches which have heretofore been taught
in this school, in whose qualifications the Trustees have entire
confidence.

“The _French Language, Music and Drawing_ will be taught by Miss
_Evelina Gimbred_, who, with her mother, Mrs. Gimbred, has removed to
this village. They will receive young ladies as boarders in their
family. The father of this young lady was a Professor, and Teacher of
Drawing, at the Military Academy of West Point; in which institution
it is well known that none but highly respectable and well educated
persons are ever employed as Professors. This gentleman gave his
daughter an education with a view to qualify her to teach the French
language, and to become an instructress in Drawing; and in consequence
of his death, his family are left to provide for themselves. They are
native French people, but they speak our language fluently and
correctly. These ladies propose to remain permanently in this village;
and the Trustees consider the arrangement they have made with them as
an extremely interesting event to the friends of the Female Academy in
this place.

“The Trustees will only state, in addition, the price of Tuition and
Board, viz:

Per Quarter.
Highest Department of English studies, $5.37
Second „ „ „ „ 4.37
Third „ „ „ „ 3.37
Instruction in Drawing, 5.00
„ in the French language 7.00
„ in Music 10.00

Board can be obtained in respectable families at $2 per week. Those
who may board in the family with the Instructress in French, and where
only the French language will be spoken, will pay for board $2 per
week, and for other privileges 50 cents.

“_The next term will commence the 20^{th} day of November next, at
which time it is desired that all who may propose to join the school
shall punctually attend._”

“By order of the Board of Trustees.

“FREDERICK WOLCOTT, President.”
“LEONARD GOODWIN, Secretary.”

“Village of Litchfield, Oct. 30, 1833.”

The above notice was also inserted in the Enquirer for Nov. 7^{th} and
14^{th}:

It was voted at a meeting of Trustees, held April 6^{th} 1844, that
Seth P. Beers apply to the Legislature for a change in the charter, so
that the buildings could be used for both sexes. In 1849 the use of
the Academy was tendered to the Normal School.

NOTICE—A meeting of the Corporation of the L Female Academy will be
held at the Academy of said Corporation in L-field on the 10^{th} day
of July 1854 at two o’clock in the afternoon for the purpose of
electing Trustees for said Academy.

Per order of the Legislature of Connecticut

STEPHEN DEMING

Found in July 13, 20, 27

At a meeting of the Shareholders of the Corporation of the Litchfield
Female Academy, convened by Stephen Deming, Esq. (by order of the
Legislature) on the 10^{th} day of July 1854, the following persons
were appointed Trustees of the year ensuing to wit: Albert Sedgwick,
Jason Whiting, Chas Adams, Oliver Goodwin, Gideon H. Hollister, Henry
Buel, R. H. Coit, William Deming, J. G. Beckwith & S. P. Bolles.

The following Resolution was also adopted at said meeting to wit: That
whereas the by-laws of the Litchfield Female Academy as now on record,
make it necessary that the original certificates of stock should be
returned in order to procure new certificates in all transfers of
stock, and whereas in many, perhaps in most cases of ownership of said
stock, no certificates were given, and if given have been lost, and no
record of certificates made on the Secretary’s book, the stockholders
hereby recommend to the Trustees to pass by-laws requiring all
transfers of stock now held by any person, originating from the
original shares, to be entered on the Secretaries’ book, and that the
owners thereof have liberty to vote on them in all elections, and in
all transactions of business.

J. CARRINGTON, Chairman

Litchfield July 10^{th} 1854

At a meeting of the Trustees September 6, 1856, it was voted that Miss Mary Pierce be allowed to purchase the Academy property, consisting of the land and building, for the sum of $900.

1828.

[_Extract of Letter from Miss B. C. Robertson to Miss Pierce._]

SAVANNAH, Nov 20, 1882

... Jenny is quite well—she relates _four wonders_ (to our colored
folks) which occurred in her _travels at the North_—1^{st} that _water
is sold_ in New York. 2^{nd} the Deaf & Dumb instructed at
Hartford—3^{rd}—how she got up and came down such a high place as Pine
Orchard—& 4^{th} that she saw a gentleman and lady ascend in a
_Balloon_ while she was in New York.

PL. LII.—THE LITCHFIELD ACADEMY

Drawn by Dr. Z. S. Webb
]

[_Letter to Miss Mary Pierce of Litchfield from Fanny Smith Skinner._]

UTICA, June 19^{th} 1806

I cannot think my dear Mary of suffering Col: Tallmadge to return
without a letter for you, though I have little to add to my late
communication by Post, which I trust, will be duly received. In that I
gave you a short account of our journey and situation—from the fatigue
of the former, I am quite recovered, and have never at any time
enjoyed a greater portion of health and animal spirits—In this
respect, I have been favor’d beyond all expectation, for I have always
made abundant calculation for hours of despondence and gloom, either
real or imaginary—But considering circumstances, my mind since I
parted from my dear friends, has been unusually serene—It is true, I
look back occasionally upon past days, and the hours of luxurious
friendship they afforded, with feelings of peculiar tenderness, and
not always free from a portion of pain—but I cannot say my dear
friend, that it ever amounts to _regret_ or a wish to retrace my
steps—no—hitherto my cup of earthly felicity has been as pure as
mortals can expect, or indeed ought to wish—I how ever, have but just
tasted it, a deeper draught may abate the relish—but Mary, I hope I
have done with romance, and can therefore place more reliance upon my
present feelings and judgement—these I have as yet no cause to
distrust, in respect to the friend, and companion which kind Heaven
has alloted me.

... We are not yet in our own house which will surprise you—but
promises are not more binding here than in other countries, or
Mecanicks more punctual—the house which was engaged to be completed
the first of May, is but this week made ready for cleaning, that will
be done in a few days, and then I shall begin to put up my _goods_ &
_chattles_—after they are arranged, I should like to introduce you to
my house—you shall have my best chamber, and my toilet shall present
your eye with a beautiful ornament, that often gives pleasure to my
own, from a delightful association of ideas—

Scarce a day passes in which I do not see Susan—this near neighborhood
is a great comfort to us both—you would be surprised to see how
greatly Susan exerts herself to become a housewife, and that too, an
industrious and economical one—and she has the satisfaction to witness
her own improvement.... Her home is pleasant, and quite prettily
furnished—Her brother and Sister have made her some valuable presents,
and selected all her New York purchases—M^r Gold had purchased a
wench, which they have the use of, and they also keep a little Boy—so
you see they have begun in some stile—I am this afternoon going to
ride with her to Whitesborough; and must finish my scribbling when I
return—I hope to have been settled in my own house before Col.
Tallmadge returned that Maria might have been able to give some
account of its appearance, but I must relinquish the expectation, for
the time they gave to visiting has now nearly, if not quite expired.

Has our dear Sally quite recovered her former health? Do you have
pleasant and frequent accounts from James? By the way Mary don’t
forget to tell him, that I calculate next summer with the exception of
misfortune to see him here with you.... Oh, my dear Mary when I suffer
my thoughts long to dwell on you, and a few others of your circle, my
_bosom swells_ and my _eye fills_, but tender, and even painful, as
such feelings are, I have no wish to be divested of them.... At
present I am _all Fanny Smith_, not a particle of my interest in my
dear Mary abated—Adieu, my dear, rest assured of the love of your

own affectionate
FANNY SMITH SKINNER.

NOTICE OF SEMI-ANNUAL EXHIBITION.
“FEMALE ACADEMY.”

“The Semi-annual exhibition of this School took place on Monday
evening last before a crowded and highly delighted audience. The
weather was extremely unpleasant, and a melancholy interest seemed to
pervade the assembly in sympathy with the leader of the exercises and
instructor of the school, who had on that day been called to close the
eyes in death of an interesting and beloved son.