Holyoke High School - Annual Yearbook (Holyoke, MA)

Page 20 text:

FRANCIS DANE DOUGLASS, son of Henry and Delia A. Qlbotterj Douglass, was born in Plainfield, Con- necticut, August 2, 1838. His preparatory educa- tion Was obtained in Greenwich, Rhode Island. He entered Brown University in 1860 and Was graduated in 1863, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. After graduation, Mr. Douglass taught in the Connecticut Literary Institute, now the Suf- field School, in Suffield, Connecticut. He was prin- cipal of the Holyoke High School from 1864-1865. It is interesting to note that it was during Mr. Douglass' term as principal that the first class con- sisting of six young ladies was graduated from the high school. Leaving Holyoke, he became connect- ed with the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company as Superintendent of Agencies. Mr. Douglass died in Hartford, March 26, 1883.

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THE HON. THOMAS BLANCHARD STOCKWELL, son of Amos W. and Susan Le Baron QMarchJ Stockwell, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, July 6, 1839. The family removed to Chicopee when Thomas was two years old, and his early education was received in the public schools of that place. He fitted for college in the Chicopee High School, where George D. Robinson, after- wards governor of Massachusetts, was principal, che success of Mr. Stockwell,s career was, to a great extent, attributable to his early associations with Gov. Robinson. Mr. Stockwell entered Brown University in 1858, was graduated in 1862 and re- ceived the degree Master of Arts, three years later. After graduation, he served a short time as sub- master of the Eaton Grammar School in New Haven, Conn., and then was appointed principal of the Holyoke High School. In March, 1864, he became a teacher in the Boys' Department of the Providence High School, and continued to serve in that capacity for eleven years. From 1867 to 1875 he was also associate editor and manager of the Rhode Island Schoolmasterf' In 1875 the monthly teachers' publications of the New England states were merged in the weekly New England Journal of Education, published in Boston. Hon. Thomas W. Bicknell, then Commissioner of Public Schools for Rhode Island, resign- ed his position and became editor of the new periodical. Mr. Stockwell, already famil- iar with the duties of the commissioner's office, was appointed Commissioner of Pub- lic Schools for Rhode Island, and continued to fill that position till August, 1905, a period longer than that of any other official occupying a similar state position in this country. He was also secretary of the State Board of Education and Board of Trustees of the State Normal School. He was author of A History of Public Education in the State of Rhode Island from 1636 to 1876,,' a volume highly valued by educators. He was for many years an active member of the American Institute of Instruction, and from 1891, of the National Educational Association. Mr. Stockwell married Harriet E. Davis, daughter of Reverend Mr. Davis of West- field, an associate teacher with him in the Holyoke High School. They had three sons. After a long illness Mr. Stockwell died February 9, 1906.

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RICHARD MEAD ATWATER was principal for only one term from March to june 186 S. Mr. Atwater was born in Providence, August 10, 1844, the son of Stephen and Mary Cweaverj Atwater, he pre- pared for college at Friends School, now Moses Brown School, was graduated A.B., A.-M., from Brown University in 1865. He became a chemist at Millville, New Jersey, later serving as teacher and superintendent of schools in Millville. After resigning as superintend- ent, he traveled for several years in Europe, prin- cipally in Germany. On his return to the United States, he was chemist, engineer, and an alkali manufacturer at Syracuse, New York. In 1900, he again went to Europe as director of the Paris office of the Johnstone Harvester Company, serving also as director of the American Chamber of Commerce of Paris. In addition to being a trustee of Brown University, he was an honorary vice president of the International Congress of Chemists at Berlin, honorary member of the Ohio Institute of Mining Engineers, a member of the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania, and a mem- ber of the American Chemical Society. He was a member of the University Club of New York City, and an officer of the Yacht and Motor Club. An expert on glass, he was selected to act as judge of glass at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Mr. Atwater was married September 29, 1867, to Abby Sophie Green of Providence. His death occurred on October 30, 1922 in Chadds Ford, Pa.