Boston Latin School - Liber Actorum Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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The Latin School opened under Samuel Hunt following the departure of the Lovells. He ruled with difficulty until 1805. He was suc- ceeded by William Bigelow, who after nine years of still rougher going, also resigned. This period of scholastic rebellion ended abruptly with the advent of Benjamin Apthorp Gould and his introduction of the misdemeanor mark. He also founded the School Library, began the practice of declamation, and caused regular reports of scholarship and conduct to be sent to the parents. Gould's successor in 1828 was another author --this time Frederic Leverett, whose Latin Lexicon soon was adopted as a standard volume. He remained in office three years, re- signing to become head of a private school. One of the most important among the earlier masters assumed his duties in 1856. He was Epes Sargent Dixwell, a former instructor at the English High School. During his term of hfteen years the Library took shape and be- came an actuality. In passing, it is interesting to note that Dixwell had with him as usher the famous Edward Everett Hale, while the suc- ceeding master, Francis Gardner, had Phillips Brooks. Both of these ushers later distinguished themselves as great religious leaders in Boston. Gardner, himself, was one of the most re- nowned men of New England in the middle of the nineteenth century. He edited a series of Latin textbooks, vigorously opposed any altera- tion of the School's time-honored curriculum, made both many friends and many enemies, and was eminent as a just and practical Yankee. I-Ie died in 1876, the first master to die in office since Ezekiel Cheever. With increasin enrollment the School found . 3 r it necessary to move first to quarters on Bedford Street and a generation later to a double build- ing on Warren Avenue which it shared with the English High School. The master at this time was Dr. Moses Merrill, who reorganized the method of instruction and the subject-matter on a sane and more modern basis. A man of high character and strong moral influence, his work with but few changes from his original plans lives after him as an active memorial. The noble men who have followed him in our times are more vividly remembered by the present Masters and Alumni. To endeavor to estimate the scholarship, integrity, and love of duty of these men is but to repeat the traditions of their calling. To speak of Arthur Fiske, the great Greek scholar, Henry Pennypacker, the nationally famous Chairman of the Committee of Admission at Harvard College, and the well- loved Patrick Campbell, Superintendent of Bos- ton Schools from 1931 to 1937 serves not to open new facts to the historian, but to recall pleasant memories of student days to the reader. The growth of the School and its consequent establishment in its imposing edifice on Avenue Louis Pasteur is remarkable. Despite its rapid growth, its graduates continued to make them- selves a more distinguished group than any other American school preparing young men for college. The members of this year's class must per- force feel the great tradition which has been handed down to them. All of us must under- stand what we have inherited. Over three hun- dred years of solid achievement may be inter- preted as the dream of a colonial minister come true. We owe our success to the patient devotion of masters who have given their lives to the teaching service, to the deeds and ideals to noble graduates, and to the industry and perseverance of the thousands of students who have been Latin School boys. ,J .--XX C UUU UIIIEIU IIN UU U S S limlI'lily,4-R, :r.. twir1 it 8'4 if sl-t as-arelle-.aallliiafefit Boston Latin School - 1942 Page Thirteen

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QQ lil? ' - wifi' ' ', ,lllmfiybx 1' , x I wwf fi? .fiefi We is I lr, ':f.?'. f 615'--. ' A l -QQ' will I -215:01 4 J- - ir- Xe. 1 Il - . 'L E :PII 7 4 ln,..a e?'ifi.l M T .- ' ff 1 :jg L:, n1i,1Za,.1'I' J K Q' -. ' if-2 fl- .1 V 4 bf 1' .- V -. 2-S wvfil- ' V ,f fQ1,3'f?if ',' lxXl!f!j' I lr sl. T I '. ' Qf1'.f1flTgifx-3,1 - is JL - L il l iaise W' -'N J - -14. .21 j 1- l -1. L Q I - A-erm i --- 1 : f 3 511 I :. lil' :E .1 L . - .. .... -Q cw' 11412 -. 't ,ings - .1 ,N ,r , .. , ..- .. , -i I 1 K Y Q ' - I. I IN A-' ' fi . lf ' i Wfllll r . W X 'mlii'fi1-- ' I :ul-:sk - 1 -1 ,Q-111: 1 I ,A 9, U! u 51:55 1:12 U-I' .Y 15-ig' ' yr. , -, 1- 'vl - L-'ffl' 1-eg? , -'I -:Hu M . .,f--, . A .A ,. W M 3 - - -,-f - . - -44:-.-: ' .fy-f .4 f1 ' .. ,I I - - 1'1'1fi'a-L ga '-10' gram-541121 'rel' ,.-J -- ,.-' South Side School Street 1812-1844 books. The Town allowed fifty pounds and a house to the Master, and thirty pounds to his assistant, known as an Usher. In addition, the rents of Deer, Long, and Spectacle Islands were assigned to the support of the School. The celebrated Ezekiel Cheever, who was generally regarded as the best teacher in the colonies and who had authored the famous 'lAc- cidence, the accepted Latin Grammar, became head master some time later and served in that capacity until his death in oliice in 1708. His successor, Nathaniel Williams, was the first pupil to become headmaster. During Williams' years the Master's salary was raised to one hundred pounds, and the usher was still supplied at the Town's expense. In 1734 Williams resigned, and John Lovell, his assistant, was appointed to the vacancy-to become the the pride of Boston's parents and the terror of its youth. The years of Lovell's oflice were the beginnings of discontent and the seed-time of revolution among the colonists. Lovell's son james, an ardent patriot, was ap- pointed usher in 1670. The father had always been a strong Loyalist. For a time they taught from desks at opposite ends of the schoolroom and voiced opposite political convictions, thus typifying many a Boston family in those trying times. Page Twelve Boys in the winter of 1774-75 brought sleds to school and in the afternoon coasted down Beacon Street across Tremont Street and down School Street. A servant of General Haldiman, subordinate commander of the British troops in Boston and resident on School Street, cut up the coast and put ashes on it. The lads made a muster and presented their complaint to the General himself. Hearing their case, he ordered his servant to repair the coast, saying that he had enough trouble with Boston men and wanted none with Boston boys. The School closed on the morning of April 19, 1775 as Headmaster john Lovell, hearing of the rout of English soldiers at the battles of Lexington and Concord, angrily cried, Wars begun, and School's done. Deponite libros. At the evacuation of Boston in March of the following year, both the Lovells sailed with Lord Howe to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the father as Howe's guest, the son below decks as a prisoner of war. For admission to the school in this period, it was necessary for the candidate to read a few verses from the Bible. Each of the six or seven classes of the school sat at different benches as they studied Latin, Greek, and the elementary subjects. Classes started at seven o'clock in gif, is - - --U-'IGCILQZAL-Q- 7 f l ? T i. . Q Lf il E 5' -L1 if fi . .,, mlb., 3' -at F: -I L .'uIll 'mll N1' rt: L su 'I 1 fl - IIIIWL V N lv-. Ltr -A - , T MTU l mgllllllll ill Iam : vi ig ll .- -I if i-:Ez I- pn Miiylnlriuil 'll I , Q , ,F , -. Jw L-1 - l 1 ' 'i '14. lr 'LN lJ?,. , l1 -1 - r ,,,- LI 1 - 4 ii ' ll -' ee- .. 1.111 .Jw-'I ' nf 11-- f ul .... f 1 . - 7 ifiaiu ll' ll IW -1. T llll ll 3 e 'v...,....T-?'f:L- - -4' ' In 1844 the school moved to Bedford Street summer and eight in the winter, and closed at eleven. The afternoon session lasted from one o'clock until Eve. After the regular lessons pupils attended a nearby writing school. Thurs- day mornings at ten the School was dismissed in order that the pupils might attend the Thurs- day Lecture, a custom borrowed from Boston, England.

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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Mr. Edwin F. Benson, Head Front Row Cleft to rightl: Messrs. Sands, Taylor, Hobbs, Benson, Marson, Russo, Mahan. Rear Row: Messrs. Collins, F. Cleary, Brickley, Finn, Callanan, O'Keefe, Ne- ville,, Sheehan. lMr. Dunn, on leave.l FRENCH DEPARTMENT Mr. Max Levine, Head Front Row fleft to right! : Messrs. Arnold, Levine, Pike. Rear Row: Messrs. McGuffin, Scully, C. Fitzgerald, Van Steenberger, Bourgeois. lMr. Pennypacker, on leaveJ GERMAN DEPARTMENT Mr. Frederick G. Getchell, Head Front Row Cleft to rightl: Messrs. Gal- line, Getchell, Weinert. Rear Row: Messrs. Pennypacker Con leavel, Van Steenbergen. HISTORY DEPARTMENT Mr. William H. Peirce, Head Front Row Cleft to rightlz Messrs. French, Peirce, R. Quinn. Rear Row: Messrs. Gordon, Nemzoff, Godfrey, Murphy. CMr. O'Leary, on leave.J