The Gazette – Thursday, February 12, 1981 – Ville Platte, La.
Editor's note: This Is the second in a series of articles by Miss Thompson concerning the history of schooling in the local area. Miss Thompson is a retired teacher who has accumulated a storehouse of information which we are pleased to print for our readers
At these old schools in autumn the children had a "ball" getting grapes, parsley haws, chinquapins, huckleberries, and hickory nuts out of the woods. There was pleasure in finding, and gathering them and certainly pleasure in the eating.
It is evident from old records, and stories handed down by many of the older settlers, and from a diary kept by one of the early teachers. that schools were a very important part of life in the Bayou Chicot community from its very beginning in the early 1700's We know for a fact that there was a private school here in 1914, so we believe Chicot had the first school in what is now Evangeline Parish. Several writers have said this in their articles.
My great grandfather Isaac GRIFFITH was the teacher who started teaching school here in 1814. In his old diary he writes and this can still be read, "Isaac Griffith of Dover, Delaware, was born August 9, 1787, of poor but honest parents (John and Nancy Carry/Carey GRIFFITH) or at least I always thought so. I was mostly kept at school in my youthful days, but always having a propensity to see different parts of the U.S. of America.
In my 21st years of age, I taught school for the conveniency of my younger brothers, from 21 to 24 I was clerk of a store for John WALLACE. From 24 to 26 I was Deputy Sheriff of County Kent and State of Delaware.
At this time all our seaport towns being In a state of blockade, times became very dull. I started from home and came into new Virginia to Uncle Joseph MORGAN's and William Willey's they became so account of their marrying my aunts by father's side. I stayed there two or three weeks.
My mind was still on the wing, I started from there and came' to Louisville, Ohio to see another aunt married to the Rev. John WILLEY preacher of the gospel. There stayed about three weeks.
From thence I came on to Kentucky to see my cousins Robert, Isaac, Joseph, and Josiah GRIFFITH near Lexington. All are in very handsome situations In this state. I could have stayed and lived at my ease, but my curiosity was up to see further.
I took water at Louisville on the Ohio River, and came down to Orleans, there I stayed about ten days being very much disgusted at the town, I started from there, came up the river and through Tucapaw and thence to Opelousas to Bayou Schico where I am now teaching school.”
This is copied just as he wrote in back in 1814. A little farther on in the diary we find this notation: "I commenced teaching school in Bayou Chicot May 16 1814.”
And some pages over we find this: "Nov. 28, 1814 I began teaching my second six months in the schoolhouse at the head of Granny's springs."
No one knows where this spring was located.
In his diary we also find names of the patrons of the school: Daniel FERGUSON (who later became his father-in-law) James FERGUSON, John CALLIHAN, Joseph WILLIS (Could this be the preacher who started the Calvary Baptist Church here?) Joseph HOUSE, Zebulon ROBNEL, and for teaching Robnel's daughter five months $7.50--an account we find partly paid by four pounds of tallow at fifty cents a pound.
Also we find the names of James MCLAUGHLIN, William BEASLEY, Ephrim SWETT, Gideon JOHNSON, John THOMPSON, Rebecca THOMAS, Adam TATE, Mary HAYS, William DALTON, Dennis MCDANIEL, William SMITH and John W. LITTLE, and probably there were others he kept in another book.
Some may wonder why the teacher would accept tallow as part pay for his teaching duties, but you must remember in those days tallow was a very important commodity to every one in that all of their candles were made from it, and if you had no tallow you had no means of lighting your home. Leather was also very important in those days and tallow was used to keep it soft and pliable. Teachers take note: "for teaching your daughter 5 months $7.50"
We have no record of who taught before, if there was any one, or after Isaac GRIFFITH, but we know several prominent teachers of the old schools. One was Willard CUSHMAN a Presbyterian minister, and who had come here from Green River, Vermont.
CUSHMAN was also Justice of the Peace. No one knows where his first school was but later some say he taught at Oakland (this school I will tell about later). His first school was most likely near where he lived on a hill just behind where the late Henry GTIFFITH lived.
The old settlers of this community said that George SOULE' the founder of Soule' Business College in New Orleans taught with Cushman. We do know he named. one of his sons Milton Soule' CUSHMAN.
We have heard several tales that are supposed to be true about the Rev. CUSHMAN. It seems he had a loud voice and co could holler so it could be heard a long ways. One time the story goes there was a band of about one hundred fifty Jayhawkers seen making their way to Chicot. To warn his son who lived a mile or more away, he began to beat on a tub, and yell to the top of his voice, "Willy get your gun and ammunition for the whole of Chicot is in arms.”
The Jayhawkers heard this, and this frightened them for they could not be sure if there might be soldiers in the area, so they turned and went another way and did not come on to where there were a few old men, women, children and young boys banded together for whatever protection they could muster. It is said the Jayhawkers were carrying a list of people they were to kill in Chicot and included on the list was the name of my grandmother Scott who was serving as postmaster while Grandfather T.L. SCOTT was off in the army of the South.
One time Rev. CUSHMAN presided at the burial of one all suspected as being a Jayhawker, and an old timer went to him and asked why he would waste ceremony on one of the lowdown, thieving rascals, and he said, “Why, my good brother, I'd like to bury ten thousand of them."
At another time when his home and all his worldly possessions burned in the middle of the night, and he saw all his family safe, he reverently said "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Praise the Lord."
There has been one tale handed down about CUSHMAN when he taught school that happened there. It seems Rev. CUSHMAN always carried along a small jar or jug of milk for his lunch. He had a special place for it in a hole in a tree where it would keep cool when he got ready to eat his lunch.
Two big boys saw him put it there, and decided to drink it. They got the milk several times so the old fellow had none for his lunch. He called all the pupils together and told them he would bring the ones who caught the boys getting his milk "a hat full of peaches". Of course, all promised to try to catch the culprits.
It turned out to be Will SCOTT and Jim TUBRE who had been drinking the milk. Rev. CUSHMAN took the boys into the schoolhouse, and whipped Will first, then when he started in on Jim he jumped around so much he got a loose board in the floor out of place, his leg got down in the bole, and Jim began to yell his leg was being broken but of course this was not true.
Anyway this broke up the boys prank, and the teacher's milk was safe after this.
One of We favorite games of the big boys of these old schools was to play "hounds and wild cats," some being the hounds and the one that was the fastest runner was the wild cat. The object of the game being for the cat to elude the hounds in any way he possibly could. Some climbed a tree having lots of Spanish moss and hid among the branches.
My Uncle Will SCOTT used to tell how the "hounds" would just about bite plugs out of you or scratch you up so you had better not be caught. You had better be a "sharp cat" if you were playing one.
My grandfather Thomas Houison THOMPSON, was educated in Kentucky where many of the young men of this section received their education. When Houison’s father, John THOMPSON, fought in the War of 1812, he was in command of the Sixteenth Regiment of Louisiana Militia. Isaac GRIFFITH of Chicot fought under Colonel Thompson, and it may be possible their friendship was the way their children learned about each other later and narried.
T. Houison THOMPSON taught school here in Chicot but as to the date I do not know. From some happenings we believe he was teaching about 1871and later.
Solomon HAAS, a half brother of Sam HAAS, came to America along with Leon WOLF, and on to Bayou Chicot. (I believe it was Leon WOLF who established a business in Washington, La ) Those young men attended school where THOMPSON was the teacher and he taught them English and Arithmetic. They had come from Alsace Lorraine.
My mother, Emma SCOTT, told us many times how she, as a little girl, along with other girls at this school, would sit on the steps of the Baptist church where they were having school and teach these young fellows how to say things in English.
My mother's brother Will and Alice also attended here. Later my grandfather sent my mother and Alice to Washington, Louisiana to a boarding school I have an old receipt, for their tuition and board dated October 20, 1871.
Grandfather THOMPSON could teach French and Latin and this was a big help to those young men who planned on going into medicine as Latin was needed in this field. After Grandfather quit teaching school he still continued to teach his grandchildren for my two oldest brothers went to him, and his son, Dr. Edwin THOMPSON of Ville Platte sent his children out here to stay with their grandparents so he could teach them.
