The Newtown bee., 1904-01-29
TOWN TOPICS IN THE YEAR 1908.

IN THE YEAR 1908.
 LINUS SHERMAN WRITES LETTER TC
 THE "EPISPAL" SOCIETY.-PRINT
 ED BY COURTESY OF E. L. JOHNSON
 In the good old days of one hundred years ago, when every neighborhood had it's own material for teaching mu. sic, singing schools were enough in vogue so that it was one of the winter entertainments looked forward to by the young people as source of much pleasure, but the singing master did not always receive his pay promptly, and did not shrink from making his grievances known, as the following copy of a remOnStrance will show. MT Sherman was one of Newtown'S sing CTS and among his descendants are three granddaughters, who for years were the reliable singers at Trinity. Mir Sherman was the grandfather of Mrs Hobart Warner, Mrs Hattie Hus- band and Miss Sarah Beers.-[E. l.. J ! The letter follows:
 Newtown, April IS, 1908. l Gentlemen: l feel myself not justly dealt by, ny the Epispal Society and yet would fain hope it was not done Intentionally. I will state the facts, then judge ye.
 In 1902, I was employ by the society to sing, and taught a school thro' the Winter and made charge against the society of Ten dollars, and reed lings and five pence and not one cent from any other man, and, as I was then about to move to Bethlehem and having a clarionette which belonged to the society in my pofsefsion, I con- cluded I would keep it, but I soon found it to be good for nothing. And upon my return into this town con- cluded would offer it to the Society, and accordingly propelled to MT Salmon Curtis to mention at the society $ meeting that something was due to l me and that l had the clarionette, and instead of making any compensation the old clarionette was voted to me, which was no better than nothing, and I soon after saw the committee and told them, or. one of them, that l would not receive or accept the clari- onette as compensation of what was then due to me and they then told me to take the clarionette and sell it for what could and take the money and they would try to make me some other compensation, but would not sell it. Again in 1905 I was solicited by the committee to keep up singing and they would endeavor to see me satisfied for my trouble. I accordingly went about town and kept up singing for most part of the year. But in return Reed. of Lieut.. Clark fifty cents and of Cyrenus Hard one Dollar. Then I concluded that every one might do his own singing and Carlofs took it up and continued for one year, and in the autumn of 1906 it was propofd to have singing in various parts of the town. then told the committee that if they would become obligated to pay me half Dollar Night would sing, and MT Curtis made the same propofal; accordingly subscriptions were circu- lated and some money raised and we continued thro the winter, but pre- vious to this told the committee of this arrearge which was due to me and some time after, about the time we set up our school, MT Samuel Beers, who was one of the committee, told me "they had concluded to give up the bafsoon to me for what they were in arrears to me and told me to keep it till some other compensation was made, and told him I would be con- tent with that. But in the spring of 1907, when we came to clofe our school, it was found that the subscription in the Street had been very little attend ed to and that singing had been kept up, and MT Curtis brought forward his accompt- the society voted that Batsoon to him which had before been given to me. And there was five Dollars due to me; this was for sing ing in Street in 1806-7.
 Now look at the little neighborhood of Zoar for the same year. 1 was en- ployed to sing here and Reed. of them by subscription Sixteen Dollars. Now 1 do not complain because you pay MT Curtis; but because you take that which has been paid over to me and pay it to him and because you can en- ploy others, as MT Judson and Captain Peck, and pay them and seem to pay me in promises only. There is now due to me Gf you take away the baf- soon) at the least calculation Twenty Dollars, which would hardly pay for the horse shoes l have worn out in l nj ffon cir,