The Historic Village at Allaire

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Joseph Lancaster While most of the world was still illiterate at the begriming of the 19th Century, with the advent of the Industrial revolution new social reforms were taking place in both the United States and England. Among these were reforms in education.

With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century AD, Western Civilization was plunged into the Dark Ages and it would not be for another thousand years, when the world entered into the Renaissance, that education would again be available to the common man. During the Dark Ages, primarily, the only educated persons existing in Western Europe were members of the clergy, which helped the Church maintain control over all aspects of the lives of the general populace. Even the monarchy and aristocracy had little or no education. Oddly though, this only applied to the men. Many of the women of the upper classes during the dark Ages were educated, primarily at convent schools. The women were required to run the large estates while their husbands, fathers and brothers were off to conquer the Holy Lands or, as Mark Twain so aptly put it, "go off grailing."

With the advent of the Renaissance, women's roles changed, men stopped their treks to Jerusalem and people became interested in the sciences. Universities were formed in many of the major cities and by the Elizabethan era, colleges and universities were flourishing all over Europe. However, these places of higher learning were now primarily available to men, and men of the upper classes.

By the begriming of the Industrial revolution, however, the feudal system that had dominated Europe had, in effect, collapsed and a new Middle Class or Bourgeois class had emerged. New improvements in technology gave the Middle Class more free time and education became an issue. Free Schools started popping up all over England and the United States and the Public Education System saw her birth. Among the proponents of education for the masses was Joseph Lancaster, born in 1778 in London's Southwark section. The son of a shopkeeper, Lancaster felt at an early age he was called into religious service and left for Bristol to book passage to the West Indies to become a missionary. He found himself stranded in Bristol however, due to a lack of fund for his passage and found work there. Shortly after this, Lancaster joined the Society of Friends in Bristol and by age 20 had returned to London where he opened a small school. Lancaster posted notices declaring "All who will may send their children and have them educated freely, and those who do not wish to have education for nothing may pay for it if they please." Unfortunately, few paid and Lancaster found it difficult to employ teachers.

Monitor teaching the Class at School Days Event Lancaster eventually read of Andrew Bell's attempts to open a school in Madras and decided to adopt Bell's Monitorial System in his schools. Under this system one school master taught select group of older or more advanced students, the monitors, who in turn taught the rest of the school. Along with the monitorial system, Lancaster developed a very elaborate system of rewards and punishments. As a Quaker, he felt it was not just to use corporal punishment, and instead developed punishments which encouraged a sense of shame and embarrassment among the students and ridicule form their fellow classmates.

Lancaster's school became so popular they attracted the attention of England's aristocracy and even the crown. Although Lancaster received some generous donations, he always found himself in debt by 1808 two Quakers , Joseph Fox and William Allen, and the radical politician, Samuel Whitbread , took over operations of the school. Shortly after this then formed the Royal Lancasterian Society and by 1810, under the Society's guidance, 50 new schools had been formed through out England. One of the main beliefs of both Lancaster and the Society was that children should receive a Christian education, however, it should not be sectarian. At the time, most of the Christian schools in England were controlled by the Church of England. Although the schools flourished, in 1816 Lancaster had differences with the Board of Trustees of the Lancasterian Society and left the organization for good.

Lancaster traveled around opening several new schools, all of which failed financially, and eventually emigrated to the United States. Here he formed schools in Baltimore, and even traveled to Canada and Venezuela to establish schools. Unfortunately Lancaster failed miserably at all attempts and ended up in New York, bankrupt and disheartened. It was in New York, in 1838, that Lancaster met his death, being run over by a horse and wagon hauling trash, and dying several; days later, in abject poverty, from his injuries.

While Lancaster may have failed financially and met an untimely, if not unseemly demise, his principals for education opened the way for free and equal education worldwide. His system of education, commonly called the Quaker Method in the United States, flourished and many new schools appeared throughout the country offering education to not only boys but to girls as well. In the early 19th century a young lady's place was to stay in the home and learn the arts of housewifery. However the Lancasterian or Quaker Schools offered young women the opportunity to learn reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic, something that would help them in running a household, as well as to encourage them to become teachers themselves. Until this time, only very affluent young women received educations, and those were scant at best, teaching them French and Latin, writing, some mathematics and how to run a household staff. Basically, well healed young ladies who were educated had attended a sort of finishing school where they learned to be the Martha Stewarts of their time.

The Chapel Bell Tower James Allaire, probably because of the Calvinistic principles adhered to by the Huguenots and instilled in him as a child, was a firm believer in education. He felt not only should boys be educated but girls as well. It was for this reason he helped to establish as school in Manhattan and established on at the Howell Works for the children of his employees. He made education at the Howell Works mandatory and the classes were held three days a week in the Chapel, taught by the resident minister and an assistant. In 1836, Rev. Tanser and his assistant Mr. Blackwell oversaw the operations of the school. The children attended school from days break to candle lighting, or sun-up to sundown, and went all year long. However, older children who had reached the age of apprenticeship were offered the opportunity to attend classes on a part time basis. Basically the children were required to go to school form age 5 or 6 to about 11 or 12. Older children could continue their education if they or their parents desired and records show many did. Allaire also had an extensive collection of books which he readily loaned out to the workers and their families, forming a sort of Howell Works Public Library.

Allaire paid for the education of the children with his personal resources and there is one instance on record where a worker was approached by Allaire and questioned as to why his children were not attending the school. While it is not confirmed, we believe the worker continued to refuse to send his children to the school and Allaire subsequently fired him for it, and for not showing an appreciation of the gift Allaire was providing. Visitors to the Historic Village at Allaire can join us for our annual School Days Event and experience the education system at the Howell Works first hand.

While James Allaire is best known for his innovations in steam and marine transportation, his contributions to society and humanity are innumerable. It is because of James Peter Allaire and men and women like him, that the United States today has a free and equal public education system in place. It is only fitting, therefore, that the Historic Village at Allaire is dedicated not only to preserving the memory of James Allaire and the Howell Works Company, but to education as well.