Education, but not Economic Opportunity in Exeter’s Schools
by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 28, 2020.
In April of 1777, the men of Captain Elijah Clayes’ company, NH Regiment, Continental Army, received their enlistment bonus. As each man received his due, a signature was required. Only seven of the 15 men were able to sign the page with anything other than “his X mark.” One of the clear signatures was that of Jude Hall, a formerly enslaved man from Exeter. Many people were unable to read and write in the early republic even though most New Hampshire towns had free public education available. Jude Hall stands out because we generally assume that enslaved African Americans were restricted from education by law. But this was not the case in New Hampshire, no such law existed. There is scant information about Jude Hall before he served in the Continental Army and gained his freedom. He was enslaved to Philemon Blake Jr. of Kensington, but it is not known how long he had been tied to this one man. When Blake proposed selling him to Nathaniel Healey of Exeter, Hall ran away and joined the army serving well over the three years required to earn his freedom. At some point during his enslavement, he was taught to read and write. Perhaps Blake was a merchant in Kensington and needed the expertise of a clerk. In any event, Jude Hall was a literate man, able to both read and write – two things that didn’t necessarily go together, with writing the more complicated skill.
Exeter’s public schools date back to the early days of English settlement. Exeter, along with Portsmouth, Dover and Hampton, were part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony after it passed the first education law in the American colonies in 1647. “It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures… it is therefore ordered, by this court and authority thereof, that every township within this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one, within their town, to teach all such, as shall resort to him, to write and read; whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children or by the inhabitants in general.” When, in 1680, New Hampshire was again free from Massachusetts, it simply transferred this statute into its laws. Not mentioned was whether children should be separated by race. Granted, there were few children of African descent living in the province, and of these most were enslaved, but there didn’t seem to be any legal reason to exclude them from public schools if their owners wished them to learn.
Jude Hall returned to Exeter after his military service and married Rhoda Paul. Rhoda was the daughter of Caesar Paul and Lovey Rollins. Her father had been enslaved to John Gilman; her mother was the daughter of a prominent white lawyer of Stratham. Three of her brothers became noted Baptist ministers. It is odd, then, that in the two instances when Rhoda’s signature was required (once on her request for a widow’s pension and again on a legal affidavit) she signed with an “X” instead of a signature. One of her sons was entrapped into slavery when he mistakenly signed a promissory note for $200 because, it was said, he could not read. It’s odd that the children of Jude Hall were illiterate. There was a free public school close enough to have provided them with the basics and certainly Jude would have been able to help.
After Hall died in 1827, his son George was left with no estate. Rhoda went to live with a daughter in Maine. George tried to keep his family afloat through his skill as a mason. At times he was forced to move his family to the poor farm to make ends meet. Eventually the town found him a house and paid the rent. One of George’s sons, Moses, proved to be a good scholar. With support, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, becoming the first person of color to graduate from the school. He, and his brother Aaron, both served in the Civil War.
It was possible, then, for students of any race to attend Exeter’s public schools. The population of people of color was small enough that it was impractical to have separate schools. But since school attendance wasn’t compulsory in New Hampshire until 1871, it was still common to find wide variations in levels of education even among students in the same town.
When the Robinson Female Seminary opened in 1867, no restrictions regarding race or origin were included in the student catalog. Sisters, Florence and Ethel Walker attended the Seminary, although neither graduated. Their younger sister, Isabel, was blind and attended the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston from 1904 – 1913. The fees for Isabel’s specialized education were paid through the Kate Holland Fund – a special fund set up to support Exeter’s Black residents. Florence and Ethel found it difficult to find work in town. Both would move out of state – Ethel to Sanford, Maine and Florence moved with her mother and Isabel to Massachusetts. Their brother, Phillip, served in World War I and lived in Exeter for the remainder of his life. He had also attended Exeter schools, but the only work he could find was custodial.
Access to education was open to Exeter’s Black population, but it didn’t necessarily lead to improved job opportunities. This lack of economic stability led many to leave the community, depriving Exeter of the skills and support that enhance a town. Ethel was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Sanford, Maine. Isabel was a skilled knitter despite her blindness. She was still remembered in town in 1976, when Annie Conner was interviewed as part of a Bicentennial project. “Isabel was blind, and she went to the Perkins School and while she was here, she taught them knitting and things of that sort. She was really an expert and Mrs. Mildred Leavitt told me a short time before she died that every Christmas Isabel used to send her a brand-new sweater with a new stitch in it,” recalled Annie. The entire Walker family chose Exeter as their final resting place. Exeter offered education, but sadly not opportunity.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Ethel Walker and her classmates at the Robinson Female Seminary in 1900. Ethel left school and did not graduate with her classmates. She tried to find employment in Exeter’s factories, working only briefly at the box factory. She moved to Sanford, Maine where she worked as a maid before joining the workforce at the Goodall-Sanford Mill.
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 28, 2020.
In April of 1777, the men of Captain Elijah Clayes’ company, NH Regiment, Continental Army, received their enlistment bonus. As each man received his due, a signature was required. Only seven of the 15 men were able to sign the page with anything other than “his X mark.” One of the clear signatures was that of Jude Hall, a formerly enslaved man from Exeter. Many people were unable to read and write in the early republic even though most New Hampshire towns had free public education available. Jude Hall stands out because we generally assume that enslaved African Americans were restricted from education by law. But this was not the case in New Hampshire, no such law existed. There is scant information about Jude Hall before he served in the Continental Army and gained his freedom. He was enslaved to Philemon Blake Jr. of Kensington, but it is not known how long he had been tied to this one man. When Blake proposed selling him to Nathaniel Healey of Exeter, Hall ran away and joined the army serving well over the three years required to earn his freedom. At some point during his enslavement, he was taught to read and write. Perhaps Blake was a merchant in Kensington and needed the expertise of a clerk. In any event, Jude Hall was a literate man, able to both read and write – two things that didn’t necessarily go together, with writing the more complicated skill.
Exeter’s public schools date back to the early days of English settlement. Exeter, along with Portsmouth, Dover and Hampton, were part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony after it passed the first education law in the American colonies in 1647. “It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures… it is therefore ordered, by this court and authority thereof, that every township within this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one, within their town, to teach all such, as shall resort to him, to write and read; whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children or by the inhabitants in general.” When, in 1680, New Hampshire was again free from Massachusetts, it simply transferred this statute into its laws. Not mentioned was whether children should be separated by race. Granted, there were few children of African descent living in the province, and of these most were enslaved, but there didn’t seem to be any legal reason to exclude them from public schools if their owners wished them to learn.
Jude Hall returned to Exeter after his military service and married Rhoda Paul. Rhoda was the daughter of Caesar Paul and Lovey Rollins. Her father had been enslaved to John Gilman; her mother was the daughter of a prominent white lawyer of Stratham. Three of her brothers became noted Baptist ministers. It is odd, then, that in the two instances when Rhoda’s signature was required (once on her request for a widow’s pension and again on a legal affidavit) she signed with an “X” instead of a signature. One of her sons was entrapped into slavery when he mistakenly signed a promissory note for $200 because, it was said, he could not read. It’s odd that the children of Jude Hall were illiterate. There was a free public school close enough to have provided them with the basics and certainly Jude would have been able to help.
After Hall died in 1827, his son George was left with no estate. Rhoda went to live with a daughter in Maine. George tried to keep his family afloat through his skill as a mason. At times he was forced to move his family to the poor farm to make ends meet. Eventually the town found him a house and paid the rent. One of George’s sons, Moses, proved to be a good scholar. With support, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, becoming the first person of color to graduate from the school. He, and his brother Aaron, both served in the Civil War.
It was possible, then, for students of any race to attend Exeter’s public schools. The population of people of color was small enough that it was impractical to have separate schools. But since school attendance wasn’t compulsory in New Hampshire until 1871, it was still common to find wide variations in levels of education even among students in the same town.
Access to education was open to Exeter’s Black population, but it didn’t necessarily lead to improved job opportunities. This lack of economic stability led many to leave the community, depriving Exeter of the skills and support that enhance a town. Ethel was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Sanford, Maine. Isabel was a skilled knitter despite her blindness. She was still remembered in town in 1976, when Annie Conner was interviewed as part of a Bicentennial project. “Isabel was blind, and she went to the Perkins School and while she was here, she taught them knitting and things of that sort. She was really an expert and Mrs. Mildred Leavitt told me a short time before she died that every Christmas Isabel used to send her a brand-new sweater with a new stitch in it,” recalled Annie. The entire Walker family chose Exeter as their final resting place. Exeter offered education, but sadly not opportunity.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Ethel Walker and her classmates at the Robinson Female Seminary in 1900. Ethel left school and did not graduate with her classmates. She tried to find employment in Exeter’s factories, working only briefly at the box factory. She moved to Sanford, Maine where she worked as a maid before joining the workforce at the Goodall-Sanford Mill.
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