The Portland daily press., 1868-12-15
Death Of an old scnooImaster.

Mr. Benjamin c. Fernald of this city died
on the 18th inst, aged 81 years. He was for
many years a school teacher, in which profess
sion he maifested deep interest and en-
joyed much happiness. His honesty, in
tegrity and conscientious bearing won the
regard and esteem of all who knew him.
In 1928 he, with two other young men, formed
a society for the purpose of improving them
selves in literature, science and virtue Every
young man who was admitted to membership
was required to promise to abstain from the
use OF intoxicating liquor, tobacco, profane
swearing, debauchery and every other act I'M
becoming worthy citizen. The public schools
were at this time in a very bad condition,
there being but two grades in the town schools.
The female teachers were not highly educated
and scholars were transferred to schools
taught by men as soon as they could read in
the Testament and repeat the multiplication
table. This crowded the upper schools sc that
some new arrangement had to be made. The
school committee decided that the best way to
improve the condition of the schools would be
to employ more and better educated teachers
in the female schools and keep the scholars in
them until they were further advanced, and
requested j. d. Hopkins, ESQ.,, to write an ar
ticle for the public papers, recommending the
proposed change in order to ascertain the rub
lie sentiment on the subject. Mr.. Fernald had
become acquainted with the Lancasterian sys-
TEN of education by which one teacher can in
struct three or four hundred pupils. 1t had
in modified form been introduced into some
parts OF this country as the montorial system.
He wrote reply to the article of Mr.. Hopkins
recommending this system. This brought
down shower of wrath from some half doz-
en- teachers of private schools, who saw at once
that the adoption of this plan of education
would lnIure their business The reply of ga
citizen" to these denuncations of the Lancas
terrain system of education silenced them
at once. Mr.. Fernald then proposed send
ing series OF articles to the papers, showing
the advantages of the Lancasterian sys-
tenn of teaching over the course then
pursued in our public schools. After the first
number was published it was ascertaned who
wrote these articles and the editors of the Ar
gus aud Statesman refused to publish them
Arthur Shirley who was editor of the Gazette
said in an editorial notice: However humble
their origin or feeble their tongue of utterance,
the subject is worthy of public investigation
and they shall be heard" He published them
through and the result was that the one story
schoolhouse on Spring street above Oak was
built, and Master Jackson, who had been
teaching monitorial school in Portsmouth,
N. II. was employed to take charge of this, the
first monitorial school in this city This was
the first prominent improvement in our pub
lie schools, and to the energy and perseverance
of Mr.. Fernald are the people of this city in
debted for ha ling brought it about.
The year after Master jackson came here,
Mr.. Fernald conceived the plan of starting an
evening school for the benefit of scholars who
were somewhat advanced in age and had no
opportunity of attending a day school. The
school committee gave the use of the room on
condition that Master Jackson should have
the general supervision of ths school. Mr.. F.
and his associates guaranteed to Master j. the
payment of a hundred and twenty dollars for
six months service and gave their own services
gratuitously, charging pupils one dollar for
three months and each pupil furnished his
own light. This school was attended by near
ly one hundred scholars some of whom still
live in the city. Mr.. Fernald's love of doing
good exceeded his desire to acquire wealth
and consequently he never possessed great
amount of earthly riches, but he is in no way
deficient in those true riches which are laid
up "where neither moth or rust can corrupt nor
thieves break through aud steal," of which he
has now gone to take possession. s.