Franklin College - Almanack Yearbook (Franklin, IN)

Page 27 text:

Rebecca F. Cbompeon, HJVI.. PROFESSOR IN MATHEMATICS. little village of South Salem, Ohio,'is the if birthplace of Rebeccanl. Thompson. Its acad- f. emy Qa. feeder of Miami Ilniversityj and its aw' A - old-fashioned church made the village. At the side of the church was the burial ground, a shaded, peaceful spot. A fertile, rolling country, with wooded hills and extended views of distant ranges, made this a beautiful home. It is a country rich in Indian legends. The family removed in a few years to Frankfort, in the same county. Frankfort was the site of an old Indian village, and here Daniel Boone had been a prisoner. A quarter of a mile from the school-house were two large Indian mounds. 'These mounds were fre- quently visited by the children after school. No games were so delightful as those played on their summits, no stories so thrilling as those told of Indian warfare and pioneer life, when the children, tired of play, rested, on the grassy slopes. In the Thompson home much was said of freedom, of slavery, of American ideas. Wlien the grandparents visited them there werenfamily stories of ancestors whoihad fought at Brandywine and had suffered at Valley Forge, stories of unwilling entertainment given to Hessian troops in which angels were not entertained unawares. I The fugitive Slave law was in force. There were times when mysterious conversations would take place between the Thompson paren.ts 3 and the father would leave the house carrying a large market basket, into which the mother had packed all of the semi-weekly baking. When the children asked the meaning of this they were told the bread had gone to friends in need? And this was all they' saw of the working of the underground railroad. H l

Page 26 text:

Ind., was tendered him and was accepted. Vllhfls institution was then a center of education. for Southern indiana. His work here was complimented Very highly. Next came an offer from the college board of Lancaster, Ind. This position also was accepted. Shortly after the re-opening of Franklin College he was elected to the chair of 4' Languages. But three languages and six classes a day, in y l , failing health, to stop for recuperation. For nearly twelve years he was engaged in business in Cincinnati, Ohio. Health restored, he took charge of an institution located at Springiield, Ky., and later at Perryville, where he was called to manage Ewing Institute. He was afterward offered the presidency of two different institutions, lout was unable to a few ears made it necessary from accept either. He made many warm friends during his five years, residence in Kentucky. In 1887 he accepted a call to the chair of Latin in Frank- lin College. Since that time he has pursued the work with great pleasure. Here he remains in tranquillity, and his in- lluence will be revealed when the Master comes. To Him be all the glory. fl? ll, il, if ll y if ill?

Page 28 text:

In the home the children were oncouragod to lovc goml bOOkS,,bOOkS were talked over. Tho stories ol' Jacob Abbott and Alice B. Neal gave way, as the chil.dren grew older, to those of Hawthorne and Mrs. Stowe and the lighter work of Washington Irving. Miss Thompsonls school life began early and had many ups and downs. It was ended by three years, work in Shep- ardson College, at Granville, Chio. Dr. Marsena Stone was at that time president and Miss Louise S. Carter flater Mrs. J. R. Downerj principal. Dr. Stone was a suggestive teacher. The girl was very stupid who could pass a year in his classes and not experience an awakening of mind in regard to many phases of life and thought. Miss Carter insisted upon care- ful preparation, a lazy student found no favor with her. Habits of accuracy, order and clearness insisted on by her coniplemented the less rigorous, but more generous, instruc- tion of Dr. Stone. From Shepardson College, Miss Rebecca Thompson was graduated in 1867, at the age of twenty-two. Following this there was a year's teaching in Shepardson, two years in the Greensburg QInd.j High School, and two years in the Indianapolis Institute. In September, 1872, in response to an offer made by the board of directors, she accepted a position in Franklin Col- lege. In connection with her teaching she has been, for some twelve years, college librarian. She has spent one summer doing work with Prof. Stockwell at the Case Observatory, and in '94 spent the summer at Chicago University. In 795 she spent some weeks traveling in Europe. - Prof. Thompson is a thorough instructor, and, like her teacher, Miss Carter, insists on accuracy, order and clear- IIQSS. A I