Sayville High School - Senior Yearbook (Sayville, NY)

Page 16 text:

JOHN IVOOD First Teacher in Saywille 10 JOHN WOOD JOHN WOOD, the first teacher of our first organized school district, was born in B1'ook- haven on February 5, 1819. He lived in Eng- land with his uncle for nine years after the death of his father, but at the age of thirteen returned to Patchogue where he worked in the woolen factory of his stepfather for several years. In 1838 he came to Sayville to teach. This year marked for Sayville the beginning of a regular school with a session of ten months. John Wood gave up teaching after a year, spent several months Working in Vir- ginia, then returned to teaching for several years in Sayville, Riverhead, and Patchogue. After leaving the teaching profession, John Wood became a partner in the firm of Howell and Wood, which was later changed to Terry and Wood. During his later life he filled such offices a postmaster, Justice of the Peace, Cleric 0? Suffolk County, and Supervisor of the Town of Islip. He died December 20, 1886, survived by his wife, Matilda Vail Wood, and four chil- dren, Ruth, lVIary, James, and Joseph. He was buried in the Union Cemetery in Sayville. The local paper carried the following tribute in his obituary, H-he has been the general counselor and friend to any and all his townsmen, ever ready to assist and advise them. No one had the interest of the town of his adoption more at heart, nor could have looked closer after its interestsg and no one in the town, and few, if any, in the county were better known, or will be more frequently missed. J

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The story from here on is a familiar one. It is hardly necessary to do more than enumerate the more recent additions to the Sayville school sys- tem-an extension on the Grammar School in 1906, two annexes to the rear of the Grammar School a few years later, a four-room primary school on Tyler Avenue in West Sayville in 1925, and the present high-school building in 1926. To these there has been added the new Greene Ave- nue Elementary School which exemplifies the lat- est trends in modern education. To the boys and girls of over a century ago the contemporary scene would-be a far cry from the rough log slabs and open fireplace they knew so well. But since the boys and girls of yesteryear had no more idea of what the future would bring than the students of today, they probably felt as much pride and satisfaction in their schoolhouse as a 1940 Senior in Sayville High. ln closing this history we, the staff, wish to express our thanks to many people of this village for responding so sympathetically to our invasions on their memories and their store of keepsakes. We have literally tracked down all clues and persons suggested to us. If we have overlooked some of you and annoyed others, we hope that this will be put down to the inadequacy and enthusi- asm of youth and to the limited time at our disposal. We wish, in particular, to thank the following people for their help: Mrs. Georgianna Brown lldr. Jeremiah Brown Mr. Joseph Brutschy Mr. Arthur Cambern, Sr. Mrs. John Cambern Mr. Harvey Case Mrs. George Clock lVIiss Minneatta Crosby lVliss Dinah DeGraff Miss Belinda Edwards lVIiss Clarissa Edwards lVIrs. Sarah Edwards Hallock lVIrs. Grace Aldrich Henderson lVIr. Francis Hoag lVIiss Hannah Holmes lVIrs. Lucretia Hubbard lVIrs. Harold Kelly Mrs. Ernest LeCluse Mrs. Williain LeCluse Miss Eugenia Raynor lVIr. Lloyd Rohm, Sr. lVIrs. Marvin Strong Mrs. Elizabeth Suydam lVIr. Coles Terry lVIiss Louise Terry All notes and source material have been typed and put on file in the high-school ofhce. The Greene Afuenua Elementary School i BP'

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Board of .EdllL'Ilfi07l ADMINISTRATION JOHN C. VAN WYEN, Przrsidrnl MARK CROSIER DR. GEORGE VANDERBORGH AUGUST E. I-IUBAL MRS. GROVER SILLIMAN HARRY MUNKELYVITZ fl' GARRIT VANDER BORGH JOSEPH MARTIN, TI'FH5Ill'U7' ALBERT VAN ESSENDELFT, Clerk X HERBERT A. FALK S1lPI'l'i7lfl'71dL'7ll Of Srhool: E111