Old Schools

I have blogged earlier about the schools in my hometown of Wolcott, CT (http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/07/wolcott-history-how-schools-were-named.html). But Wolcott is a relatively recent town, having first been settled around 1730 and not having schools until around 1770. This story is about some of the first schools in the US, many of which my ancestors had a significant part in.

Many of the early schools in the US were formed by the Puritans who had a strong emphasis on education at every age level, with a primary reason for this being in order to read the Bible. Puritan leaders were accustomed to the highest educational standards, with most of their ministers having graduated from Oxford or Cambridge University in England. So it was only natural for them to bring this same emphasis to the US.

I’m going to start this blog with my great*7 grandfather, James Pierpont (1659-1714). James was born in Roxbury, MA. His education included being a graduate of The Roxbury Latin School (1), then Harvard University (4). He then moved to New Haven, CT, where he became the minister of the Congregational Church there. In 1698 he married Mary Hooker, the granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Hooker, the chief founder of the Colony of Connecticut (see below). In 1701 James secured the charter for The Collegiate School of Connecticut, which soon thereafter took the surname of its benefactor Elihu Yale and became Yale University (5). One of James’ and Mary’s daughters, Sara Pierpont married noted colonial minister Jonathan Edwards who later became the president of Princeton University (6).

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pierpont_(minister))

When Thomas Hooker, my great*9 grandfather, (1586-1647) arrived in Massachusetts he was the pastor of the Church of Christ at Cambridge. Voting in Massachusetts was limited to freemen. Hooker disagreed with this limitation, putting him at odds with the influential pastor John Cotton. He and the Rev. Samuel Stone led a group of about 100 who, in 1636, founded the settlement of Hartford, named for Stone’s place of birth Hertford, in England. In 1638, Thomas founded a school, Thomas Hooker’s Latin School (3). That same year he and others framed a written constitution in order to establish a government for the commonwealth and in 1639 they ratified the “Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hooker)

Roxbury Latin School (1)

Roxbury Latin School was founded in 1645 by Rev. John Eliot (1604-1690). It bills itself as the “oldest school in continuous existence in North America.” However, that is only because an older school, Boston Latin School (2), shut down for a period during the Revolutionary War. John Eliot was born in Hertfordshire, England. He is the brother of my wife’s great*11 grandfather. After attending college in Cambridge, he became assistant to Thomas Hooker (see above) at a private school in Essex. When Hooker fled to Holland, Eliot emigrated to Boston where he became a minister at the First Church of Roxbury.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxbury_Latin_School and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eliot_(missionary))

Boston Latin School (2)

Boston Latin was established in 1635. It was originally called the South Grammar School. It calls itself the oldest school in the US, but there is some controversy (see below). While my ancestors do not appear to have been involved in its establishment, several of my more famous relatives have gone there – including Henry Ward Beecher, my 5^th cousin, 5 times removed, (http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2016/08/genealogy-story-henry-ward-beecher-and.html), and Samuel Pierpont Langley, my 5^th cousin, 4 times removed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pierpont_Langley).

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Latin_School and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boston_Latin_School_alumni)

Controversy – The Collegiate School of New York was originally believed to have been founded in 1638. However, in 1984 a historian and teacher at the school found that the school’s founder had written of his efforts to teach the catechism to Indian children as early as 1628, so they officially changed its founding to the earlier date.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiate_School_(New_York_City))

Hartford Public High School (3)

Hartford Public High School was founded in 1638, when it was known as Thomas Hooker’s Latin School. It later became known as the Hartford Grammar School and then as the Hartford Public High School in 1847.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Public_High_School)

Harvard University (4)

Harvard was formed in 1636 by a vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was initialed called “New College” or “the college at New Towne”. It was renamed Harvard College in 1639 after deceased clergyman John Harvard who left the school 779 pounds and his library of some 400 books.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Harvard_University)

Yale University (5)

Yale was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School by my ancestor James Pierpont and others. It was renamed as Yale College in 1718 in recognition of a gift from Elihu Yale. It is the 3^rd oldest institution of higher education in the US.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University)

Princeton University (6)

Princeton was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey and was the 4^th chartered institution of higher education in the US. It was renamed Princeton University in 1896. My 7^th great-uncle Jonathan Edwards became the 3^rd president of Princeton – after its founder Jonathan Dickinson and Aaron Burr, Sr. (who was Jonathan Edwards’ son-in-law). Aaron’s son, and Jonathan’s grandson, Aaron Burr, was the 3^rd vice-president of the US, and is my 2^nd cousin 6 times removed.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University)