SANDYSTON -- Christmas arrived early in Sandyston Township this year when a near 2-century-old journal was presented to the Sandyston Township Historical Society. Society President Patte Frato says that the minutes of the former Union (Fisher) School, ...

SANDYSTON -- Christmas arrived early in Sandyston Township this year when a near 2-century-old journal was presented to the Sandyston Township Historical Society. Society President Patte Frato says that the minutes of the former Union (Fisher) School, which was located on the Old Mine Road between the DePue Homestead and the Fisher-Mettler Cemetery, are in the handwritten journal.

In commenting on the receipt of the journal, Frato said that, to her, "these ancient journals are a major piece of history as they tell the stories of our past as well as providing the names of the people that once resided in the area. The facts that this old journal provides are priceless, and we are grateful to have such a wonderful item donated to our society."

John DePue, a former Sussex County resident and a direct descendant of many of its early Colonial settlers, donated the journal to the society. DePue, a Newton High School graduate, ex-brigadier general, retired, and attorney, now resides in Manassas, Va., with his wife, Patricia. Despite the distance between Virginia and Sussex County, DePue remains interested in county history -- especially that of Sandyston Township, where, as a youth he spent his summers with his Uncle Alonzo DePue and his Aunt Lura DePue in the DePue homestead.

John DePue serves as a trustee of the Sandyston Township Historical Society. He is also a direct descendant of one of the school's original trustees. His third great-grandfather, John DePue, was one of the founding members of the school society and served as its first president.

In donating the journal to the historical society, DePue said he believed that the "Union School Journal" deserves a permanent home in Sandyston Township, and placed it with the society, as it is of significant importance in identifying its early inhabitants and documenting their efforts to educate their youth. "I am pleased that this journal will always remain with Sandyston Township," he said.

A perusal of the journal provides a glimpse of how schools were administered in the 19th century. The Union School Society was officially organized on Dec. 14, 1822, at the home of John Fisher. It was established for the purpose of building a schoolhouse and promoting literature in general.

The minutes recorded in the journal commence with the Constitution of the Union School Society. The beginning paragraph reads, "The Union School Society in the Township of Sandyston, County of Sussex in the State of New Jersey has agreed to have the following Constitution adopted, Article by article, which is as follows:

"Preamble: Whereas a number of the inhabitants of Sandyston and its vicinity of the County of Sussex in the State of New Jersey have by their agreement have formed themselves into a society (according to law) for the purpose of building a school House & promoting literature in general. Whereas by experience it has been found necessary for the well being and better regulating of said society that the members enter into and form a compact, which will give system and energy to its operations. Therefore, we the undersigned met at and on the land of John Nyce, the first day of December 1822 AD to agree to the following Articles as the fundamental principals by which the society shall be conducted and governed. There were 13 Articles by which the board members wrote and agreed upon."

The society's constitution provided for an annual meeting to be held on the second Monday of April and for the election of three trustees who would serve one-year terms. The subscribers were to pay at least $1 and those who paid at least $5 were entitled to vote in the choice of the officials.

The original 15 society members included John Fisher, William H. Nyce, John Depue, Mathias Mettler, Isaac Burrell, John Loder, William Titman, Joseph I. Westbrook, Peter Westbrook, John W. Nyce. Also, Thomas Van Nest, Andrew Carmer, Harvey Rich, John Van Etten and John Ennes.

The 15 original society members subscribed a total of $124.50, with the subscriptions ranging from $1 to $15, with six members each paying $15. The first three board members elected included John DePue as president, John Fisher as clerk and Isaac C. Bunnell as treasurer.

The one-room schoolhouse cost $119.50 to build and was located on John Nyce's land. Handwritten records list the items that were provided for at a special meeting held in 1823.

Presumably, just the bare basics were provided in the newly built school. Recorded in the minutes was that Bunnell was to provide two writing tables, two writing benches, a writing desk and one short bench, and was to build a brick chimney for $19.50 so that a stove could be used in the schoolhouse.

The school society's constitution provided for the imposition of an entrance fee, or a tuition fee, for each "scholar," so presumably it was not a free public school per se.

As an aside, it should be noted that no allocation was made for "the little house out back." Incidentally, in 1831, there were 133 school districts in the state that had no outhouse at all. Of this number, 35 were located in Sussex County, with the Fisher School being one of them. In 1866, the first superintendent of schools, 29-year-old Ellis A. Apgar, was appointed in New Jersey with a $2,000 annual salary. Apgar's goal was to provide a proper outhouse behind every school.

The society's minutes reflect that for many years a discussion was held on whether to provide a privy for the school Finally, in 1867, the 46th year of the school's incorporation, the society agreed to build a privy for the students at a cost of $5.

And, on Oct. 25, 1867, a contract was awarded to Samuel Loder to furnish wood for a school district at $5 per cord.

Notes from a special meeting, held Jan. 6, 1868, indicate that teachers were instructed to pro-rate charges for students who were over the age of 18.

The first record of a state appropriation recorded in the minutes was dated Sept. 1, 1869, for $16.55. Together with the township tax, at $76, surplus at $9.40 and the $2.18 "left over from last year," the school's annual budget for the 1869-70 school year was $104.13.

A $125 district tax was proposed, with $100 set aside to repair the schoolhouse and $25 to pay expenses. On Jan. 26, 1870, school records reflect that J.S. Jagger was paid $70 for three months of teaching.

The records end in September 1871. That year, the district received a state appropriation of $11.52, and on Sept. 2, the trustees paid $1.50 for cleaning the school and 15 cents for two panes of glass.

The ending of the records may be accounted for as in 1871, nine months of free school was to be made available for children between the ages of 5 and 18, who elected to attend. Of the 37 states then in the nation, New Jersey was the last state to provide a free education with a basic education viewed as five years of primary education.

Nearly two centuries have lapsed since 15 Sandyston Township residents joined forces in 1822 to provide an education for their children. But, thanks to DePue, records recorded so many years ago have returned home just in time for Christmas, and were presented as a gift to the Sandyston Township Historical Society so that future generations may ascertain the crude manner in which their ancestors acquired an education.

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Jennie Sweetman is the history columnist for the New Jersey Herald. She may be contacted at jenniee@warwick.net.

Patte Frato, president of the Sandyston Township Historical Society, may be contacted at pattefrato@embarqmail.com.