The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, April 07, 1905, Image 1
City of Union and SuburbTHaa flTft T ~\1 /ST* T ~ fTn "1" "M W" /">4 City of Union and Suburbs Has
Five Large Cotton Mills, One Kn5"1-- ' B flj I I fl B ' ' I I l^k /I IJ Five Graded Schools, Water Works,
and Spinning Mill with Dyi I Fratk Peake 1 { o jflI B~1 I I I B "mH*. I B I l| . Sewerage System, Electric Lights, Throe
Mill, Furniture Manufactui sug anu fl I fl ? 1 H B fl fl W < fl fl I V fl fl *i k 1 Hanks with aggregate capital of $250,000,
Lumtnyg^ards, Female Seminary. .fl.. JIL-fl- _B?fl ' X w _fl_ W ' cSSfl -B- ~B_ W Jfl. -fl?fl V Electric Railway. Population 7,000.
VOlTlV. NO 14. UNION. SOUTH CAROLINA. FKllflg APRIL 7. 1905. #1.00 A YEA It.
| We Have Moi
I On Cotton or ot
Collateral, and w<
to have an interv
& j
| Wm. A. NICHOLSON
SOME ANTE-BELLUM
AND TEACHERS <
A Highly Interesting Arti
Value?Amusing and
How Schools Wer<
Taught and (
Peatu res of
' Since the destruction and desoJ
lation visited upoh our fair south-1
land, by the dark warxcloud?v.df |
the sixties, marked changes have'
taken place in all lines of thought
and work. Ante-Bellum ideas
and realities were widely differ-,
ent irom tnose 01 toaay, ana we,
in comparisons, make frequent
expressions of, '"before the war,"
and "since the war." However,
we are not like the old negro,
who always gave favor to antebellum
conditions, and on hearing
a gentleman admiring a
southern moonlight scene, replied,
"Boss, dat moon aint shine
nut'in lack it shine befo' de wah!"
Teachers and schools have
[ taken their ride upon the wheels
of time and fortune. The eduI
cational system of today presents
I a wide contrast-aUoa?a
I- for the rich. "Poor buckra
I had a small chance of scaling lnI
tellectual heights. Public schools j
i# were few and of no account, i
running about six weeks during
^ the year,' and usually being
? taught by some very illiterate,
lazy scamps, who, m common
\ phraseology, was ^ oSi
\ anything else. Women teacJj"
> ers were rare. Hundreds of
U dames, whose granauau^ HtCl Q
I. are now wielding the teacher's
Ft scepter, would have been "perajA
fectly horrified" could they have
f \ seen thus far into the future.
1 A type of the "old field" peda
Vml, gogue was Mr. Hezekiah Blank
B , who, when questioned by i
| B 4>patron concerning his method o
\ I * teaching grammar, replied
jf" * "Why, er, Mr. Jeems, I teach i
? . f entirely by sound. If a sentenc
\\Jr sounds all right, I allows it's co
JflT rect."
w Mr. Napoleon Bonaparte Digg
<1 another educator, always sougl
I his field of labor in or near tl
JP mountains, as his constitute
required not only mountain {
B but "mountain dew." This coi
M bination must have proven bei
H ficial, as his avoirdupois rang
B, between two hundred and fil
and three hundred pounds, a
fl| in disposition he "felt kindl
M toward everybody. That he v
H the love of his pupils is ms
fested by the following incide
It was that grand occasion,
H MP ibition day. The exercises v
|B ? ^about to be concluded when I
fl stalwart mountaineers marc
HBh I upon the stage, each at the coj
of a mammoth ginger cake,
Hu to have been five feet square
eight inches thick. How
^B| , cake was baked is not relate
5 the story, but we will take
HQ author's word about its
BBB Prof. Price, president of
M ville Female College, ma
graceful speech of present
Hi " to Mr. Diggs, who arose, b
himself against a post, and
tears streaming down his
HB. cheeks, replied: "Grg-ge
men, I'm t-too f-full for
ffiHw ance."
I P y It seems that in those
% physical culture had no pi
Bntt J the school, except as a p
Kg ment, either by the birch n
BBS or the promenade. The
BoHg form was given upon su<
B casions as this: An old h
H B J stolen a nest under the
Htf it house and a little boy co
fl i refrain from pulling h<
ney to Lend
ther Acceptable
e shall be glad
iew with YOU!
I & SON, Bankers.
________
SCHOOLS
DP SOUTH CAROLINA
icle of Unusual Historic
Instructive Details of
* PctAhlishpd and
Ihorocteristic
'Teachers.
feathers, which pooped up
through a crack in the floor. The
teacher took him by the hand
and together they walked up and
down the room until "Buddy"
was glad to leave old "speckle"
unmolested.
These "old-field" schools with
others known as Academies or
High Schools, and a few colleges,
South Carolina College, the Citadel,
and its preparatory 3chool in
Columbia, known as the Arsenal,
Limestone Female College, and
perhaps several others formed
our educational system a half
century ago.
Concerning some of the Academies
and High Schools, I shall
attempt to give such items of
interest as I have been able to
gg^her ?*In
1815, my grandfather, Nathan
Whitmire attended an
Academy at Mollohan a few
^niles from Newberry, taught by
[a scholarly Irishman named
i James Flannagan. He came
I from New England, as did most
! of the teachers of that time.
southern gentlemen not navmK
stooped to the profession of
"teaching the young idea how tc
shoot." This teacher was a fine
mathematician, but his favorit*
" studies were Latin and Greek
! His pupils became reputed trans
lators of the dead language. Mr
" Flannagan frequently invoke*
? the poetic muse, the results bein
J delivered on special days by hi
favorite pupils. Had it not bee
f: destroyed in a fire, a few yeai
lt ago, I would give you one of h
:e productions, written for and d
r" livered by one of his pupils lor
since.
Between the years of 1825-'2
Mr. Nathan Whitmire taught i
Academy at Maybinton, Uni
County,. One of his pupils sa
that the toughest neighborhc
~ bully* a rustic giant, would qu
j beneath his steady gaze, wh
p. the little shaver of six years
J trustingly upon his knee, be:
initiated into the educatio
; puzzles of b-a, ba; b-e, be; j
so on. The Chicks and Lj
t" families with many other t
' ' and girls were schooled here.
~ At Fishdam, the present
"our Carlisle, Professor Haskel
hed Vermont yankee, had charge
rner a we^ Patronized school. He
said came n?ted as a fine instru<
j and a great many young
this ^rom ?ther counties were
here. Mr. Haskell was succe
ful by Mr. George W. Hill, wi
_Ain of P.arliale. and
size "?i,,8 "* ,
Ash- caP' no doubt, tell us i
j things of interest about
ation scho?1'
raced Probably the best of
with schools in the low country
puffy the Winyah Indigo Aca<
;n-tle- which was endowed by the
utter- yah Indigo Society. This s
was organized about the y
days, and met in Georg
ace in once a month, to talk o\i
unish- latest news from London,
method discuss the growth of the
milder plant. From initiation fe
ch oc- annual contributions,
en had were Paid in indigo, a con
school- hie fund was accumulated
uld not question arose: "To wha
ir tail- purpose should this fund
voted?" After much discussbn,
the president called upon the
members to fill their glasses, as
he wished to close the debate
with a definite proposition, which,
if it met their approval, each
member would signify it by
emptying his glass. He said:
| "There may bd intellectual food
which the present state of society
is not fit to partake of, to lay
such before it would be as
surd as to give a ^^quadf^^&^gfe
treasury^? devotedto^e^^S^
lishment of an 'independent,
charity .school for the poor."
The glasses were each turned
down without staining the tablecloth.
This school, for more than a
hundred years, was the school
for all the country around, and
many came from distant terri(tory.
In its infancy, it supplied
the place of primary school, nigh
school, grammar school and college.
"The rich and poor, alike,
drank of this
gt^rnors OT states have each
looked back to the Winyah Society
School as the source of their
1 ll ?>
success ctuu uisunctiun.
Some years after the school
had been in operation, the trustees
allowed the principal to receive
fifteen pay scholars for
whose teaching he was to receive
six hundred dollars in addition to
his regular salary of one thousand
dollars, and if as many more applied
for admission, an assistant
was employed. This institution
thus became an important grammar
and classical school, and was
patronized by the people of a
large area of country.
Mr. Allen McPherson Hamby,
a Wofford ^aduafo^fc^^w*
years*'of service. He was succeeded
by his son, Prof- T. B.
Hamby. At present, the school
is under the supervision of Mr.
Clarence Johnson, it having been
merged into the Georgetown
Graded School. ,
One of our most famous early
schools was the Mount Zior
: School, in Wmnsboro, S. C. 11
: was established by Mr. J- W
> Hudson, a native of Dar]1"^
i county, and a graduate of boutl
5 Carolina College, in the class o
1823. He went to Winnsboro a
v?nt. soon entered th
ct l(tVY JV1| w<..
; field of pedagogy, where he wo
a distinction. In 1833, he taugl
g in a small wooden house, back <
13 the old brick "college", whei
Mr. R. L. Edmonds taught tl
"s more advanced pupils.
e_ Mr. Edmonds was an Irishma
" who had taught at many plac
along the Atlantic coast, frc
Q Norfolk, Va., to Winnsbo]
,y? Soon after this time he went
an Florida, where he was accide:
on ally killed many years lat
When Mr. Edmonds left, I
Hudson took charge of the sch(
a, where his reputation drew pu]
11from several states, sometir
. the number reaching two h
nal ^re(* or more*
an(j His wife, who was a 5
^jeg Goodwyn, assisted him with
?ovs l?wer classes. During his <
he had many assistants, qui
site number whom made t
j a mark in the world. A fev
?' of tl1686 wrote books of mor<
5' ke_ less merit.
:tor, Mr. Hudson was a tall ma
men fine appearance. He had a s
sent deformity in one foot, v
eded rendered the use of a cane n
io is sary. He always dressed n
who in black, and his striking f
nany was a conspicuous object o
this streets of Winnsboro, ir
afternoons or on Saturdays
such was a fearless, determined
, was and succeeded in breaking
iemy *he k?ys 8ent him, *
\yinL commanding and holding t
?spect of all his pupils.
* <
ucietsjr
ear of Mr. Hudson died 01 ai
etown pletic stroke in 1857, and is
er the on the Mount Zion school gr
and to where his friends have er<
indigo monument to his memory,
es and campus was the camping
which of Lord Cornwalhs a
sidera- troops. Upon it stood the
i. The wallis oak," where it re
t good until four years ago.
be de-1 Cokesbury was a not
paratorfflHfool for boys in upper
South ^Hlina. It was under j
the contnPof the Methodist Conference.
^Kokesbury was a small
country $?illage in Abbeville
county, dBessible only by private
convevaiflL usually by stage,?
though flB'railroad was surveyed
by Dr. Spn. Pv Jones, in 1848.
About this di^r,. George W. Stone
of Georgia, wiis -principal, while
hiaaasoOiate teachers were Major
of West Point, Frank
<^nn3Knd Professor McCants.
l^tmsjyBtol usually had about one
j&ttitfpHboys from this and other
^R6Pf,,Smong whom were O. A.
lJklWga. G. Herbert, Randolph
PegUfifST. Wannamaker, Judge
Wallajjfrnd S. M. Rice, Sr., of 1
I The^Kscipline here was, said,
by itajfiyils, to have been very
strict.flSPrequent inspection of
rooms,'find close surveillance of 1
ii _ k%WL. _i i
me miwtes was always in oraer. i
CoagBH^ment exercises inclmiljfiBelamations
by the stu{
a speech by some ora<
tor,-v^HR>f the most memorable
iJs3s2Sx?red in by 1)1
MSfcffitedfln Anderson county,
prear Slabtown, was a school of
| wide-spread fame, known as
ThaUan Academy, and taught by
that 'celebrated pedagogue, J.
Leland Kennedy, of whom a
short sketch may prove interest- i
in?, especially to Union people, 1
this county having the honor of
being his native heath. <
He was born in Union county, i
in 1800, and was the nephew of <
Anne Kennedy, the revolutionary i
heroine. He was a graduate of
South Carolina College, and a <
classmate of Ex-Governor Hammond.
His first wife was Miss
Jane Chaifcblain of Spartanburg
county, near Woodruff. She was i
the motherctfliistwelve children, '
all of whom Iiypd to ba grown.
Tha Second lime be
Spartanburg county, afterwards
moving to Pickens Court House.
&Weheoi
^ere, in 1836, he established
. the famous Thalia" three
Here, he remained twe5Vy" w1l
1 vears when he moved to Wil-1
1 fiamston, where he
vears, again moving to Slabtown
1 and teaching there, until 1870.
1 From 1870-1873 he lived in Pendleton,
from which place he again
s went to Williamston, where he
e j- j 1?77 During all these
_ (lieu in xu .. _
t years he was pastor of Mt. Car^
mel Presbyterian church, in Pickre
ens county, where he is buried,
and here his many pupils have
erected a handsome monument
in memory of him who had wield
n? ed a strong influence in thei
es lives and characters.
Thalian Academy was situate
t' in a rich and well-tilled farmin
nt_ section; and surrounded by
" number of luxurious Ante-Bellui
r ' homes. In order to assist M
i* Kennedy to build up and mail
j' tain a good school, the followir
?_a families took boarders; Col. I
K. Hamilton, Maj. T. H. M
Cann, Dr. Joseph Earle, E
.. Roberson, Maj. Russell and M
'J133 Kennedy himself.* The neig
the borhood sent a large number
Jay' pupils, and there were from fii
te .a to seventy-five boarders. Ma
heiJ i of these became prominent
1 ot various walks of life. The 1
e or Dr. James L. M. Curry, G
McGowan, Pat Calhoun, H
h> of John S. Verner, Capt. J. C. C
light j and George Johnson were sc
jhich j of Mr. Kennedy's pupils, i
eces- j were many of the bright wor
.eatly of that section, one of whoi
igure Mrs. T. W. Davis of Greenv
n the a daughter of Mai. McCann.
i the her I am indebted for much
. He teresting information conceri
an? this school.
m, a'j Thalian Academy was ur
ma or jn many respects. The s<
,ne re- was jn seggi0n during the e
I year, except the month of
1 nTVV ' omiipp ana two weeks in
buried Mr. Kennedy was rather ir
ounds, ing jn appearance, six feet
scted a with an intellectual face, a
This quiline nose, and jiiercing
ground eves which he said coul<
nd his through a ten inch plank.
"Corn- of his pupils has said that b
mained such an impressive manr
speech that she still has \
ed pre* in mind many of his m<
... v f: '
-
F.,M. FARR, President.
T
Merchants and Pla
Successfully Doing Bus
lap is the OLDEST Rank 1
1 has a capital and aurnl
8 3 is the only NATION A
| I has paid dividends ?i
U B pays FOIJU per cent
fij W is the only liank in Ur
K B lias Tlurfirlar-Proof vai
H B pays more taxes than .
WE EARNESTLY SOI
lectures. The school numbered
from ninety to one hundred
pupils. The smaller girls anc
boys studied in the large recitation
room, where the teacher sat
The older students occupied
several small rooms built about
thirty yards from the main build
ing. These were named "studios"
but were often called "playos"
by the pupils. When the weathei
was suitable, Mr. Kennedy would
allow his* pupils to sit quietly
under the shade of a tree anc
study, while he often conducted
recitations in the open air. How
much better if we teachers ol
today, would oftener go with oui
pupils, under the broad canopy,
near to nature's heart, and learn
of her.
One feature this school possessed
in common with every
school, either of ancient or modern
times,?its bad boy! Thalian's
most obstreperous one was
little "Ham" Kennedy. On one
occasion, the good big boys of
fpred "Ham" n Himp if Vt P Wftll 1
pull the chair away, when "hie
8hould take his seat afti
morning prayer. The old gentle
man barely missed getting a rare
a got a fall, didn't yoSF h,m ?
The day of days, here as a
most schools, was Exhibitioi
Day. A great arbor and stag
were erected in front of tn
schoolhouse, and from that plat
form the pupils gave vent t
their oratorical talent, to the d<
light and admiration of, perhaps
a thousand who had assemble
for this joyous occasion.
Probably the most origin
teacher of his time was Joshi
Whitmire Jones, who taught
Male High School at Calho\
Falls, in Abbeville county. I
was a graduate of South Carolii
College and a man of fine int
. lect and scholarship. His ecce
i tricities prejudiced many agair
t His instruction, and perhaps i
~ ? 1
- paired his usefulness as a teaci
r and a man. He was a Univ
salist in religion, having b<
d imbued with the ideas of ]
g Cooper, while at South Carol
a College. He was known as
m "Bare-footed Teacher," go
r. unshod most of his time,
a- Jones kept a pack of f<
ig hounds, and with all his pu]
). indulged in fort-nightly
c- chases. He would say:
)r. boys, the best man will tail
lr. fox!" The usual result was
;h- Mr. Jones returned wearing
of precious trophy himself,
fty withstanding the indepen
,ny ideas promulgated at this sc
in it sent a great many bri
ate brawny fellows to college
en. made their mark there an
on. after life.
ary Professor Rosa, a man c
>me ished education, a gradua
also one of the New England Ui
nen sities, taught a male acade
n is Limestone. Here a great
ille, young men were prepare
Jo college, quite a number of
in-1 finishing at Wofford. P
1 Afl P
ning these may oe meuuuncu
Petty, of Spartanburg,
iique daughter is a fine newspa]
:hool porter, now working i
ntire north. Professor Rosa 1
De- small man, but of a v<
July, termined character. He w
npos- sidered a fine disciplinaria
high, married a teacher at Lir
m ac- College. After giving
black school work, he movec
i see Georgetown, where he sp
One remainder of his years,
le had Furman University w
ier of established as an industrii
ividly in Fairfield county. The i
>mmg worked a crop during th
i i f i i.'jii i) milnt
J. D. ARTHUR, Cashirr.
ZEi E
inters National Bank,
tiness at the "Old Stand."
In Unton,
lusofMO'.OOO,
i> llank In Union,
mounting to $300,400,
. interest on deposits.
lion inspected by nn olllcor,
lit, and Safe with Time-Look.
AI,I, the Hanks In Union combined.
JCIT YOUR BUSINESS.
t! session. The buildings were del;
stroyed by fire, said to have been
I set by a dissatisfied student.
One boy perished in the flames.
. After this, in 1852, the school
I was moved to Greenville, where
; it was made the state Baptist
- University. The buildings first
used here were rented houses.
Dr. James C. Furman was for
many years president, being sucl
ceeded by Dr. Charles Manly.
r Dr. Furman lived only a few
I years after his resignation, durl
ing which time he occupied a
[ chair in the faculty.
- The Wadsworth school in Lau
rens county was established and
, endowed by a wealthy gentleman
i named Wadsworth. This was a
co-educational free institution.
. Mr. Wadsworth leased a great
r deal of property, much of which
. was in the towns of Anderson
. and Spartanburg. This lease
i was for a term of ninety-nine
? years, and the proceeds were to
- be a part of the school funds.
I Much of this property was lost
\ under the lease, and has given
material for long litigation. If
- this school had received what
s was intended by its patron, it
, would be one of the richest
j,| schools in the south,
t moulding of future
i let us sometime pause and enjoy
e looking backward, at these pione
eers who paved the way for us
who walk in the brighter light,
0 and broader pathway of the
?_ present.
Frances H. Whitmire,
Principal West End Graded
School, Union, S. C.
al DRESS SUTTTOPSY
a TURVEYDOM.
in
le A recent appeal by a college
na president for the gift of dress
e^" suits to students unable to buy
^ them for themselves called forth
m_ wide comment, both editorially
ler and in communications from the
er- outside. As a feature marking
pj1 the social tendencies of the times
the dress suit offers a subject to
the think over and one to be treated
ing gingerly or radically accoming
Mr. to the stress of fashion's edicts
)r|y in particular circles. Some colfox
k?ys ?* today P^ad that
low, they will miss something worth
the getting at college unless they disthat
p0rt in clawhammers, and some
XT/*le old timers declare that they had
none in their day and had no
hool, use for them anyway,
ainy, If it takes "three generations
who from shirt sleeves to shirt
m sleeves" the dress suit ought to
>f fin- figure m the second of the three,
te of At present blue jeans and broadliver
cloth contend for a place on the
my at same peg. The stronghold of
many dress suit fad when, as often
them aPPears> ^ is a mere fad instead
imong a dignified and sensible reguharles
lation is that social borderland
? ** J- Da.
whose known as Bohemia, men m xw
perre- hernia affect dress suits as the
was a kfictee of a clique and inaugurate
jry de- functions purposely to wear them
as con- and shut out their less fortunate
n. He fellows. It matters not that the
nestone ci0thes are hired or borrowed or
linear 8a(*ly dilapidated. Having them
>ent the on *8 the thing that tells. The
man they cover is nothing.?
as first Spartanburg Journal.
students1 The Times and Metropolitan
ie school Magazine one year for $1.80.
N \
Ti.juwr^-1 HI ^ ' I''' ***