Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-01-31
SCHOOL BOARD.

| ing upon the character of Mr.. w. II
| Greenwell, teacher of Washington
I school No 2, All the trustees and the
superintendent were present. Messrs
R. P. Aitcheson, ]. R. Chapman, ]. T
Harrison and F. L. Smith, recently re
elected trustees by the City Council
qualified by taking the prescribed
oaths.
Mr.. Greenwell was invited to be
present during the session ana
it was decided to hear witness
es with but one present at time
Written statements were then present.
ed and read from Miss Ruth Harrison
who stated she had seen MIR. Greenwich
and Miss Finch come home together;
from Miss Jessie Butts, who stated that
she had been introduced to Mr.. Green
we'll by Miss Finch in the latter's
house and had seen an ink tray which
Mr.. G. had given as Christmas present
to Miss F.; also one from Chas. Dean,
pupil in Miss Finch's room, who
stated that when kept in school he
would be dismissed by Miss F. if Mr..
G. came in the room; also that he had
seen Mr.. G. take seat by her side and
fan her and take liberties with her.
Mr.. ]. r. N. Curtain stated that on
the return of his daughter from the
Normal School at Charlottesville, last
summer, she had told him that while
walking there with another lady and
Mr.. G. she had made misstep and that
Mr.. G.. had thrown his arm around her
to catch her; he had heard that Mr.. G..
visited Miss F.; he recalled other little
incidents that he said amounted to
nothing.
Mr.. Calvin Butts stated that he had
seen Mr.. G. in his neighborhood
but this would not have i'm
pressed itself upon him but for
hearing members of his family say Mr..
G. was quite visitor across the street;
had heard that his sons had carried
notes between Mr.. q. and Miss F. re-
Gently.
Chas. Klaus related q dying state.
ment that Mr.. Chauncey Davis had
made to him in which Davis had said
he was innocent of the charge against
him and that he had had nothing
wrong to do with Miss F.
Ernest Warder, pupil in Miss
Finch's room, said one evening about
three weeks before Miss F. stopped
teaching when be had been kept in and
the door locked Mr.. G.. came, when
Miss F. unlocked the door and he sat
down by her and put his arm around
her; he never told tn istill recently.
Erwin Bruce stated that he had seen
Mr.. G. and Miss F. walking together
several times.
Charles Dean, a pupil of Miss
Finch, said that two months ago
when he had been kept in, Mr..
G. came to the room, put his arm
around Miss F. and famed her. He
denied that part of his written state
ment which told of other liberties taken
by Mr.. g., which he said were written
by Mr.. Ed. Burns in Mr.. Vincent's
shop.
Frank Butts, pupil in MIR. Green,
wells school, said he had carried notes
between Mr.. G. and Miss Zone seal
ed and the other unsealed; bad seen
Mr.. G. visit Miss F. at her home in the
evening; had heard his mother talk
about a bouquet of flowers. Questioned
by Mr.. Greenwell he said one of the
notes was sent by Miss Finch 10 Mr..
Greenwich to be sent to the superin-
tendent of schools and another about
school matters.
Lorenzo Butts, also a pupil of Miss
Finch, said he had carried notes from
Miss Finch to Mr.. Greenwell two or
three weeks before she stopped teach.
ing; the notes were not in envelopes aud
q metimes Mr.. G. would send an an
swer and sometimes he would not; had
seen Mr.. G lin Mis- F.'s school room
once, but had noticed nothing out OF
the way.
Mr.. Greenwell then made state
ment. He said he was astounded at
the exaggerated statements made to-
night and then took up separately the
charges. He narrated all the instances
which occurred while he, with other
teachers from the city, was in Char
lottesville and said his action in throw
ing his arm around the young lady with
whom he was walking to keep her from
falling when she slipped on the side.
walk was what any other man in the
room would have done; he was walk
ing with two ladies at the time and it
was on the street in the broad daylight.
He then explained the sending of notes
by pupils and said every one was con-
corning school matters and that he had
also sent them to other teacher; He de-
MED being guilty of any familiarity
with Miss Finch and pointed out how
foolish it would have been for him to
have acted 80 in the presence of the
boys; said he had frequently walked
with the other teachers and that the
number of visits to Miss F. had been
exaggerated; he had gone there once
on The invitation of her father and de-
MED having made hera present; he said
he was fond of flowers which he raised in
his own garden and that he had
given them to Miss Finch and
to several other teachers, with the
full knowledge of his own family
and little thought what he had
innocently done would be magnified
since the unfortunate occurrence. He
closed by declaring his innocence of
any wrong doing with Miss Finch.
On being question he said he had writ
ten letter to Miss Finch while she
was in Charlottesville in reply to a re-
quest to come there and help some
of the teachers with their work; his
wife knew all about the letter, which
he had written under her eye. He