The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1854-12-16
Gistorifal.
For The Cecil Wing.
A HISTORY
or fIIa
ELKTON ACADEMY.

!
| 30M uHinio., F. A. ELLIS, ESQ, Secretary O
the Board Of Trustees, read he Joliou7, -?
Paper /:
The Trustees Of the Flkton Academy h.r
ing on Friday last oct ermined TO cclcbrst,
the re-oponins Of the Institution, with sppro.
priste public exercises, Pointed a eornmtio;
81 three. 10 make the rropsr srd Necessary
! arrangements. I'm ifond.y .aosnins rnt
sJmmittce ..:ct 10 consider what order Of cS.
ercises would DC Appropriate On such an oc.
e.sion; whom it occurred to them that so,nc.
thing ike history of the Institution itself
If sufficient m,terisl could be collected. would
at least be appropriate, although it might
not eInbody any Incidents or "reminiscences
very interesting to the audience. The Secre-
tary Of the Board being the keeper Of srch
few records and papers as were in possession
Of the Trustees, was therefore requested 10
prepare such statement as he might be able
to make from the data in his possession or
within his reach.
In undertaking the performance of the
task thus imposed upon him, the Secretary
was somewhat at loss to know where to
begin, or towhom to refer lorany information
other than such as he might obtain TrW , tic
dry, embarrassing and rather li.l.tcd records
Of the proceedings Of the Board those records
dating only as far back as March. 1918,
when the school was first erected into an
Academy. Tive iiaTing swept away neniy
all the oil inhabitants OF tie i,'..c, lie found
the sources Of inform ton very much dried
up, 90 th.t me history he has succeeded in
preparing is little better than aynops;s nj
legislative {. actlneIts and the Official action
OF the ,:on.d of Trustees.
The Education OF the youth OF the ?, o. incc
| WIS very carly ro,idcd l'oT in tie lcgisiH ton
of Maryland. Prior to the year 1928 various
arts of Assembly had been passed lcvy.ng
| duties and hnposts upon certain commodities
Province, which with certain fines imposed
by law were designed to raise a fund for the
purpose Of csta blishing good school in each
county in the Province. One of these inn
posts by an act passed in ILL, chap. 10.
was duty of twenty shillings per head on
all Irish Cathcl:} servants, to prevent in The
Language OF the act itstii the growth OF Pope
ry by too great an Importation Of them into
the Froyi.cc. This act also imposed twenty
shiilings per hcauon all negroes, intended it
is supposed, though not so stated, to operate
.bne'- Tho claw ,ln
In the year 1928 these various duties and
impo=itons to Use the language Of the act then
passed, rad succeeded witt. such desired a!lect
it ',-s deemed Necessary and 80 declared
that the said schools should he established.
BY Ii ect of Assembly Tor t!.at year, chHp.
10, it WAS declared "that school should be
erected il each county at the most conSen-
lent place, and as near the centre Of the
county as might be-
A Board of visitors was appointed for each
school. and the funds then in the treasury from
said duties and imposts. and all afterwards
to be received were divided into twelve equal
parts and distributed among the twelve coun-
ties then organized in the Province, to wit:
st. Mary's, Kent, Anne Arundel, Calvert,
Baltimore, Charles, Talbot, Somerset, Dor
chester, CEcI., Prince Georges and Queen
Ann s.-Thc Board of visitors for Cecil coun-
ty were Col. John Ward, Major John Dow
dale, Col. Benjamin Pearcc, and Mcssrs.
Stephen Knight, Edward jackson, Richard
Thompson and Thomas johnson, Jr. What
ever may have been done under this act in
other counties, in Cecil it does not appear to
have been very successfully carried out. In
lit some 81 years after find supplement
authorizing the surviving visitors of the free
School, las it is there called, III Cecil county
to ill vacancies in their Board some having
died, others removed, and others refusing to
act; and in 1887 an act was passed Chap. is.
creating a Board of Trustees of tho Poor for
Cecil county, by the third section of which
the free school property i'll Cecil county is
vested in the scid Trustees Of the Poor. and
the Board of Visitors are directed to deliver
over 10 them all the free school property of
whatever nature and to account with them for
the profits thci eos. Whether the Board Of
visitors for Cecil ever succeeded in establish
ing school,. aDt. if so where located, | have
not been abl. to ascertain. Although can
not connect this matter directly with the
origin of this academy, have been induced
to insert it here because of = kindred charac-
ter and interest, showing the earliest provi-
sion made for education by the Legislation of
the Province; and also, because find that in
the same year the functions Of tho Board of
visitors are thus summarily brought to close,
measures are Immediately taken for the es-
Enlistment or more permanent organization
of the school at this place, which was after
wards erected into an Academy.
In that year, 1887, on the 18th "Gay Of
May, Col. Henry liollingsworth by his deed
of that date conveyed to Joseph Gilpin,
Joseph Couden, Jonathan Booth, Tobias
Rudolph, Zebulon Hollingsworth, Thos. Hug
gins and Daniel Robinson, as Trustees of 'thc
Head of Elk School, by metes and bounds the
lot of ground on which the Academy build
ing now stands, said to contain about an acre
of land."* The lot is described in the deed
as the lot on which the school house then
etood. chowinp that ot that time n building