Note: See a post that features the 1858 Somerset County Teachers' Convention here.
This copy has the name Ada McCrillis written on the title page. I expected to see her name listed with the teachers, but it wasn't. I researched teachers Ada Foster, Adaline Gray and Adelia Watson, but it doesn't appear that Ada was any of them.
I did find an Ada McCrillis, wife of Ivan McCrillis, in Somerset County, Maine, but she was born in the 1860s. Perhaps this Ada came into possession of the booklet at some later date.
Somerset County is the third largest county in Maine and reaches from along the Kennebec River all the way to the headwaters of the St. John River. It's interesting that so few teachers hailed from Skowhegan, Fairfield and Pittsfield, which are sizeable communities today, though perhaps they were small in comparison to Anson and North Anson in the 1850s.
It's also possible that the site of the conference rotated every year, so that people in a particular area of such a large county had a better chance of attending. Perhaps the 1859 conference was geared toward people in the greater North Anson area, reaching up to Bingham and Concord.
It's also interesting to see many surnames repeated, as if two or more siblings went into teaching: i.e. Boothby, Dinsmore, Emery, Felker, Flint, French, Goodrich, Gould, Hutchins, McLaughlin, Moore, Nash, Palmer, Parlin, Spaulding, Watson, Weston, Wood, Bryant, Baker, Bixby, Bunker, Baxter, Collins, Churchill, Campbell, Getchell, Greenleaf, Hamblet, Holmes, Moore, Mantor, Morrison, Norton, Paine, Savage, Smith, Stickney, Witherell, etc.
Catalogue of the
Teachers' Convention, for Somerset County
Held at North Anson, August 22d, 23d, 24th, 25th & 26th
1859
Skowhegan
M. Littlefield - Printer
1859
Instructors and Lecturers.
Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, State Superintendent of Common Schools
Prof. Harry Brickett, of Hillsboro' Bridge, New Hampshire
Stephen Boothby, A B., of Bangor, Maine
Officers
Frank J. French, Nancy A. Collins, Secretaries
Committee on Resolutions
Corydon Felker
S. J. Watson
E. W. Potter
Naomi Bunker
E. B. Flanders
Mary E. Page
Committee on Publication
C. C. Hutchins
Milford A. Goodrich
S. Monson Bixby
Nancy A. Collins
Sae W. Savage
Emily H. Barker
Gentlemen
Names, Addresses
J. M. Adams, Madison
Alden A. Baker, Bingham
B. F. Barton, North Anson
S. Monson Bixby, Norridgewock
Henry M. Bodwell, Solon
Alonzo Boothby, Athens
T.F. Boothby, Embden
Lewis Boynton, North New Portland
John Caswell, North Anson
Josiah Chase, Lexington
T. B. Churchill, North Anson
Edwin Collins, North Anson
Simeon Cragin, West Embden
Daniel C. Dinsmore, North Anson
A. H. Dinsmore, North Anson
Josiah T. Dinsmore, Madison
John W. Dinsmore, Concord
Edson Dunton, Concord
Thomas S. Emery, Harmony
Marshal Emery, New Portland
Corydon Felker, Concord
Webster Felker, Concord
T. M. Ferrand, Starks
George Flint, North Anson
B. P. Flint, North Anson
Carroll M. Foster North Anson
Frank J. French, Athens
Charles E. French, Athens
Fred Getchell, North Anson
Tilson H. Goodrich, Madison
M. A. Goodrich, Bingham
Joseph H. Goodrich, Bingham
John Gould, Embden
Ward S. Gould, West New Portland
Orin T. Gray, North Anson
S. H. Hamilton, Cambridge
Jacob S. Healy, Concord
Joseph I. Hopkins, New Portland
David S. Hunnewell, Solon
Elias Hutchins, Lexington
Christopher Hutchins, New Portland
Corydon C. Hutchins, New Portland
Charles B. Knapp, New Portland
Bradford D. Knowles, North New Portland
William B. Leavitt, Athens
C. L. Luce, Anson
B. F. McLaughlin, Anson
D. N. McLaughlin, New Portland
T. H. Merrill, Pittsfield
George F. Moore, Norridgewock
William H. Moore, North Anson
A. F. Moore, North Anson
L. Morrill, Hartland
E. D. Nash, North Anson
C. E. Nash, Hallowell
C. A. Niles, North Anson
Hiram Norton, Solon
Samuel S. Paine, North Anson
A. D. F. Palmer, North Anson
Gustavus S. Palmer, North Anson
J. Justin Parlin, Freeman Center
C. S. Parlin, Freeman Center
John W. Patten, North Anson
George M. Patterson, North Anson
Frank W. Potter, Athens
L. G. Richardson, Solon
Joseph H. Rines. Athens
William H. Russell, Bingham
D. L. Savage, East Madison
T. H. Spaulding, North Anson
John Spaulding, North Anson
Jerome Spaulding, North Anson
Madison Spaulding, North Anson
Addison Spaulding, North Anson
I. H. Thompson, North Anson
Edwin O. Vittum, Concord
Cephas Walker, Anson
S. J. Walton, Mercer
S. J. Watson, Hartland
Murray B. Watson, Hartland
Arthur H. Weston, Bloomfield
J. Mellen Weston, North Anson
Alexander Willard, North New Portland
Melville C. Weston, Bingham [not sure why this is out of alphabetical order]
William C. Winter, New Portland
Alonzo Witham, West Moscow
Sanborn D. Wood, Madison
John H. Wood, Madison
David G. Wood, Madison
Ladies
Names, Addresses
Ella C. Bryant, North Anson
Sarah A. Bryant, North Anson
Marcia W. Bryant, North Anson
Emily H. Baker, Bingham
Julia B. Baker, Bingham
Flora A. Baker, Bingham
Mary C. Bradbury, East Madison
Helen F. Bosworth, Solon
Margaret P. Bailey, North Anson
Eunice B. Bixby, Norridgewock
Lucy E. Bixby, Anson
Francis A. Bixby, Anson [Frances, perhaps?]
Naomi Bunker, Kendall's Mills
Emma B. Bunker, North Anson
Lavina S. Butts, New Portland
Orissa M. Bootby, Athens [Orissa M. Boothby perhaps? - as there are two male teachers with that name]
Salome H. Baxter, Anson
Fannie A. Baxter, Anson
Nancy A. Collins, North Anson
M. Annette Collins, North Anson
Abbie H. Collins, North Anson
Susan Collins, North Anson
Hannah Cleveland, New Portland
Parthena W. Churchill, North Anson
Lucy E. Churchill, East New Portland
Laura Cayford, Skowhegan
Celestia N. Campbell, North Anson
Ellen R. Campbell, North Anson
Mary O. Clark, New Portland
Augusta Caldwell, East New Portland
Olive M. Dunton, Concord
Henrietta W. Daniels, Embden Center
Viola Dinsmore, Bingham
Anstress B. Dinsmore, North Anson
Sarah J. Dearborn, Athens
Emeline B. Flanders, Cornville
Mary E. Furber, Norridgewock
Faustina C. Felder, Concord
Flora F. Foster, North Anson
Ada Foster, North Anson
Clara M. Flint, North Anson
Sarah A. Gamage, North Anson
Eunice Getchell, North Anson
Ellen M. Getchell, North Anson
Frances Getchell, North Anson
Anna E. Gahan, North Anson
Adaline Gray, North Anson
Esta A. Greenleaf, North New Portland
Mary Greenleaf, North New Portland
Annie Gay, Farmington
Angeline M. Grant, Concord
Georgie O. Hutchins, West Embden
Mary A. Hutchins, West Embden
Betsie M. Hutchins, East New Portland
Eleanor H. Hutchins, Lexington
Sarah Hamblet, Solon
May M. Hamblet, Solon
Sereen L. Hamblet, South Solon
Hannah C. Hilton, Cornville
Lucy C. Howard, Chelsea, Massachusetts
Cyrena F. Healy, Concord
Louise B. Holmes, North Anson
Eva E. Holmes, North Anson
Lizzie M. Jacobs, North New Portland
Caroline M. Johnson, Orono
Sabrina E. Knowles, North New Portland
Ann P. Libbey, North Anson
Hattie A. Lord, North Anson
Susan A. Lawry, North Anson
Caroline R. Mann, North Anson
Abbie M. Moore, North Anson
Lizzie M. Moore, North Anson
Sarah A. Moore, North Anson
Alice P. Moore, North Anson
Emma F. Moore, North Anson
Susan S. Mantor, North Anson
Ella A. Mantor, North Anson
Clara A. Morrison, East Madison
Caroline Morrison, East Madison
Mary E. McLaughlin, East New Portland
Sarah J. Marshall, North Anson
Sarah F. Norton, North New Portland
Elizzie P. Norton, North New Portland
Mary E. Page, Norridgewock
Cordelia Paine, North Anson
Sybil P. Paine, North Anson
Annie D. Pierce, Bingham
Malvina Patterson, North Anson
Lydia E. Russell, Bingham
Martha J. Shepley, South Solon
Sae W. Savage, Parlin Pond
Dolly W. Savage, Solon
Etta W. Savage, North Anson
Mary J. Steward, Bingham
Malora B. Smith, Bingham
Lizzie M. Smith, Bingham
Fidelia Smith, North Anson
Hannah Smith, North Anson
Eva M. Spaulding, Bingham
Susan C. Spaulding, North Anson
Marion Stevens, North New Portland
Lucy F. Stickney, North Anson
Emma F. Stickney, North Anson
Maria A. Stodder, Athens
Sarah M. Tufts, Skowhegan
Fidelia Totman, Pishon's Ferry
Mary E. Vose, New Portland
Adelia S. Watson, Hartland
Sarah F. Watson, North Anson
Mary A. Walker, Anson
Coro A. Walker, Anson
Lydia O. Walker, Anson
Mary Witherell, North Anson
Melissa Witherell, North Anson
Emily M. Ware, Athens
Ellen A. Ward, Anson
Gentlemen..............................89
Ladies...................................116
Total....................................205
If you have information to share on any of the people mentioned above, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.
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Hello, I came across this post while trying to research a bit on a house I'm hopefully going to be purchasing. Thru an old map and a book on Embden/North Anson history I've discovered that the house was in 1860 the property of a William Gamage who's daughter Sarah Gamage was a "schoolmarm" in 1860 at a school house just up the road. Do you know of any more information on the North Anson area that might tell me more about them?
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I checked the online town reports at the University of Maine and didn't find Anson, North Anson or Embden listed, sadly. Here's an email for the Anson Historical society: quint@tdstelme.net You could also try the Maine Historical Society at http://www.mainehistory.org If you find something, I hope that you can find your way back here to report it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSusan C. Spaulding was my great-great-grandmother (1836-1903). I meet my cousins in the 1990s who still own the house that Susan lived her married life at in Corinna, Maine. When they remodeled the house , they found two letters from Susan to her sister dated 1865 as well as her teacher's certificate from the town of Anson, dated 1856. No one had known she was a teacher in the years after school and her marriage in 1868. The letters and certificate were found inside the wals of the house. We assume they may have been considered not important and stuffed in the walls for insulation. This is great to know she was teaching as late as 1859. Peter
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ReplyDeleteFound out some new family information myself when an old house was renovated! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
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