The Washington times., 1912-07-07
COLONIAL VIRGINIA
MOST |LL|TERATE,
DECLARES REPORT
Natives of Old Dominion
Likely Will Challenge Edu-
Gators Figures.

Ntrginians throughout the country are
expected to challenge the charge of
the United States Bureau of Education
tnat during Colonial days there was
more illiterany In the Old Dominion
than in any other state.
The data Of illiteracy in this country
during that time was gathered by an
examination OF signatures tc the ex-
tant legal and other documents of
Colonial iays, for the purpose of as
certaining the number Of signers who
hud to make their marks.
The Bureau OF Education rays that
the data gathered is not altogether con-
elusive, but seems to indicate that
Massachusetts, occupied the most ad-
ranced educational position in the
seventeenth century, while Virginia
brings up the rear.
What Bureau Says.
The bureau has issued a bulletin on
the question as follows:
"At Albany of $50 mems names ex-
amined, covering the years from 1854 to
1875, q per cent made their marks. OF
231 mems signatures at F1stbush, cover
ing a longer period, 10 per cent made
their marks OF the German male i'm
migrants above sixteen years of age
who came to Pennsylvania in the first
hsif of the eighteenth century, 11,S23
names have been counted; 26 per cent of
these made their marks.
"A significant result appeared from
our study of illiteracy; namely. that the
male Dutch inhabitants of Flatbush
made continuous Improvement in this
respect, the percentage OF iIliteracy de-
ine Ap ft,
1876 to about per cent In 173S."
A most painstaking count of the Sew
enteenth century Virginians indicates
that of 2,l66 male adults who signed
jury lists, 46 per cent made their marks;
and of IL, 445 male adults who signed
deeds and dispositions, 40 per cent made
their marks.
''of the l54 signatures of Dutch wom-
en- In New York which were available,
an llliteracy of 60 per cent was indi-
Gated. OF 3.Os6 women signing deeds and
depositions in Virginia, rs per cent made
their marks.
"By way of comparison with these
results study was made of the sig
natures to deeds executed in Suffolk
county (Boston), Mass, for two periods
IN !, ~ the Seventeenth century a genera
volumes of the published deeds were
used, the first covering the period 1853
1855. the other 1sss-I697'
In both the former and the latter
period, the percentage OF men VINO
made their marks remained constant
at il per cent, while the proportion of
illiteracy amcng the women decreased
from IS per cent to 3s per cent.
High Percentage.
'These data are exceedingly inter-
esting and in a measure do indicate the
educational conditions of the colonies"
said James c. Boykin, editor of the
United States Bureau of Education, to-
day. Thus. the figures FROM Virginia
and Massachusetts possess undoubted
significance. AS rule, persons who
| sign deeds are of the more prosperous
class, therefore. II 10 per cent of these
we find in colonial Virginia, we MAJ
be sure that the proportion Of illiteraCy
in the entire population was far greater.
1T must be borne in mind that these
| data by no means offer final or ade-
quate measure of educational conditions
| either as between the colonies or as be-
! tween the past and the present. Never
| tive and will probably stimulate further
| investigation along the same line.
| The bulletin of the Bureau OF Edu-
cation, which deals with colonial illit-
eracy, is an historical monograph en-
| titled, The Dutch Schools of New
lNetherland and New York" The writer
| DR.. William Heard Fitzpatrick. assistant
professor Of the history of education In
teachers college, Columbia University,
parison incidentally to his main theme
for the sake of showing the educational
| status of the American Dutch for the
period covered In his monograph.