Collection inventory

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Chenango County (N.Y.) School Trustees Journal

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 18 Dec 2020

Revision history:

Biographical History

The small town of Plymouth, located in Chenango County in central New York State, was settled around 1794 by French families. The town proper was formed from the town of Norwich in 1806. The first school board was elected in 1813.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Chenango County (N.Y.) School Trustees Journal is a single volume, containing notes on the activities of the Board of Trustees of School District #5, Town of Plymouth, Chenango County, New York. The first trustees include early settlers Judah Bements, Silas Holmes, John Miller and Asa Curtis (or Curtice), Townsend Gardner, and Captain Joseph Prentis.

Entries detail the outcome of annual and special meetings, as well as the costs for building and repairs, teacher salaries, furnishings and so on. The first entry is dated 24 April 1813, and notes that the meeting was held at Judah Bements' house, with Bements, Asa Curtis and Gurdon Thompson elected as trustees. The book also documents the specific locations of successive schoolhouses over the years, the first being built through a levied tax of $60.

In most years, there is an entry noting that each person was required to deliver between one-half and one-quarter cord of wood for each child sent to the school, most likely to keep the schoolhouse warm. Many citizens are named in the journal over the years as trustees, teachers, or suppliers of goods or services. Names appearing include David, Edmond and Erastus Demmick; John McKibbin; John Barns; Elisha Nobles; Jonathan Weaver; Joseph Prentis; Emos (Amos?) Mead; John Avery; Robert Ames; Marvin and John Vroman; Orville Benedict and many others.

Arrangement of the Collection

Single volume.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has extensive holdings related to the early history of Central New York in both our manuscript and cataloged holdings. Please search our collections and/or the Classic Catalog for additional material.

Subject Headings

Subjects

School boards.
School management and organization.

Places

Chenango County (N.Y.)

Genres and Forms

Journals (accounts)
Minute books.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Chenango County (N.Y.) School Trustees Journal,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 2020.

Table of Contents

Administrative records

Inventory