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Pre-Bureau
While schools existed before the War of the Rebellion it is unknown how many or how much
influence they had especially since schooling in the south was so minimal for everyone. However
it is well-documented that there were slaves and freed blacks before the war that had mastered
the ability to read and write.
See Port Royal Experiment for the beginnings of teachers in South Carolina, Georgia and
Florida. Fernandina and then St. Augustine are some sites of the earliest schools created by
the National Freedmen's Association (New York) and the American Missionary Association.
Fortress Monroe in Virginia would be the earliest training center for these teachers. In the Sea
Islands they would have been under the supervision of General Saxton from his role as Military
Governor for the Department of the South.
National
Rev. John W. Alvord
October 1865 Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector for the Freedmen Bureau
Maryland
In Maryland the society that assisted the Bureau with finding local teachers was The Baltimore
Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of the Colored People. This society
gave its first annual report in November, 1865.
The President was William J. Albert with vice presidents of Galloway Cheston, A Stirling, Thomas
Kelso, Francis T. King, Thomas Whitridge with the board of managers of E. Stabler, Rev F.
Israel, W. K Carson, Rev F. W. Brauns, Rev. William Bruce, Hon H. L. Bond, Rev George P
Hays, William Kennedy, Dr. C. C. Cox, Daniel Holliday, William McKim, James Carey, Evans
Rogers, Henry Stockbridge, A. M. Carter, A. Striling, William Daniel, J. A. Needles, Rev. J.. F. W.
Ware, Dr. J. C. Thomas, G. T. Hopkins, Ashur Clarke, R. M. Jammey, James Carley Coale, John
T. Graham, A. T. Johnson, and Edward Reese.
In January 1865 they started with their 1st school under the direction of Leander Waterman in
the Cranes Building corner of Calvert and Saratoga streets in Baltimore. By novemter there
were 16 schools in seven buildings with 16 teachers 13 white and 3 black. Richard M. Janney
became the canvassing agent for the American Freedmean's Aid Commission for Maryland.
Schools were opened in Easton and Talbot County.
Florida
Pre Bureau
While most of the beginnings of education for African-Americans is unknown in Florida. The
census of 1850 documents the presence of freed blacks in St. Augustine that could read and
write. It is probable that they attended the school that the Catholic Church had organized.
Rev. H. H. Moore
In October, 1865, General Foster, commanding the military department of Florida, appointed
Chaplain H. H. Moore (white), of the 34th United States Colored Infantry, state superintendent of
education for Freedmen. Assistant-Commissioner Osborn immediately directed all sub-assistant
commissioners of the Bureau to report to Moore as soon as possible the number of negro
children between five and fifteen in their respective districts; the number and character of the
schools already established; the school-house accommodations; the means for boarding and
lodging teachers; the disposition of the whites toward negro schools; the ability and willingness
of the people, black and white, to pay teachers, etc.
Ansel E. Kinne
Ansel E. Kinne (from Syracuse, New York where he had been a school principal) was
supposedly appointed by Secretary of War Stanton as Superintendent of Schools for Florida.
But from it appears from the June 1866 document to have been limited to National Freedmen's
Relief Association Schools since he did not recognize the American Missionary schools in this
report. He was the brother-in-law of Chloe Merrick the teacher at Fernandina who established
the Asylum. (She would later marry Harrison Reed, Florida's Reconstruction Governor.) He
resigned his post of Superintendent before the end of 1866. He is also listed as an agent of the
Freedmen's Bureau in an earlier (October 1866) report.
Rev. L. M. Hobbs
October, 1866, twenty-five common schools for blacks had been established by the state. L. M.
Hobbs, an ex-chaplain of the 3rd Colored Infantry and Federal provost-marshal at Tallahassee,
was appointed by Governor Walker state superintendent of negro schools."
Freedmen Bureau
Duncan
E. B. Duncan was listed as inspector and superintendent of schools in November 1866. Duncan
served until June 1867, when he was replaced by C. T. Chase.
Chase
Chase, who served from June 1867 to March 1868, was succeeded by Charles Foster,
Foster
Charles Foster was formerly Assistant Commissioner, who served from March through
December 1868.
Gile
George W. Gile, who was the Assistant Commissioner at the time, became the superintendent of
education and the first Florida Superintendent of Education and served in that capacity until
August 1870 until death.
Gibbs
Jonathan Gibbs was appointed the second Florida Superintendent of Education by Governor
Ossian Hart.
Documents:
National
Annual Report of the Education Department, June 30, 1869
Assorted Teachers in Various Schools after April 1865
Florida State
Col Thomas Osborn - Circular No. 7 School Information October 26, 1865
A. E. Kinne to Major S. L. McHenry - Report of Florida Schools June 30, 1866
Letter to Bvt Maj General Foster from E. B. Duncan - December 1, 1866
Supplemental Report of C. Thurston Chase to Rev. J. W. Alvord July 12, 1867
Report of Charles Foster, Florida Superintendent of Education for Freedmen's Bureau - 1868
Florida Constitution of 1868 Enabling 1869 School Law
Jacksonville
Strawberry Mills Mission - January 1, 1866
Monthly Report of Adult School - January/February 1866
Monthly Report of Adult School - March 1866
Jacksonville School Monthly Report - July 1866
Ketchum to Sprague on Appropriation for Construction of Stanton Normal - Aug 29, 1867
Staton Normal School
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report (Freedmen's Bureau Form) - April, 1870
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report - December, 1870
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report - May, 1871
St. Augustine
St. Augustine Letters from Teachers and Administrators on Freedmen Bureau Schools
Why St. Augustine Got It's First African-American School
1st School Report of Dr. Oliver Bronson to the Florida Superintendent of Schools for St. Johns
County Public Schools
Beginnings of Public Schools in St. John's County
Dr. Bronson's 1872 Florida School Report St. Johns County, Florida
Dr. Oliver Bronson's 1873 State Report to the State of Florida for St. Johns County Public
Schools
Georgia
Circular Letter from Superintendent E. A. Ware September 1868
Maryland
Prince George's County
Woodville
Land Purchase Agreement for Freedmens Bureau schoolhouse circa 1868
Deed for Property, June 11, 1867
Bladensburg
Letters from Teachers 1866 - 1868
Muirkirk
Charlotte A. Crafts to Mrs. Edna D. Cheney, May 31, 1866
Phineas P. Whitehouse to Mrs. Edna D. Cheney March 11, 1867
Phineas P. Whitehouse to Miss Stevenson, Milton Society Nov 8, 1867
South Carolina
Cardozo to Whipple on Saxton School, May 18, 1866
Robert Small and Board to American Missionary Association, December 31, 1867
Jonathan Jasper Wright on Beaufort, November 14, 1868
USCT
21 USCT
Letter Requesting Teacher, August 28, 1865
128th USCT
Report on the 128th USCT by Jonathan Wright, March 2, 1866
While schools existed before the War of the Rebellion it is unknown how many or how much
influence they had especially since schooling in the south was so minimal for everyone. However
it is well-documented that there were slaves and freed blacks before the war that had mastered
the ability to read and write.
See Port Royal Experiment for the beginnings of teachers in South Carolina, Georgia and
Florida. Fernandina and then St. Augustine are some sites of the earliest schools created by
the National Freedmen's Association (New York) and the American Missionary Association.
Fortress Monroe in Virginia would be the earliest training center for these teachers. In the Sea
Islands they would have been under the supervision of General Saxton from his role as Military
Governor for the Department of the South.
National
Rev. John W. Alvord
October 1865 Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector for the Freedmen Bureau
Maryland
In Maryland the society that assisted the Bureau with finding local teachers was The Baltimore
Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of the Colored People. This society
gave its first annual report in November, 1865.
The President was William J. Albert with vice presidents of Galloway Cheston, A Stirling, Thomas
Kelso, Francis T. King, Thomas Whitridge with the board of managers of E. Stabler, Rev F.
Israel, W. K Carson, Rev F. W. Brauns, Rev. William Bruce, Hon H. L. Bond, Rev George P
Hays, William Kennedy, Dr. C. C. Cox, Daniel Holliday, William McKim, James Carey, Evans
Rogers, Henry Stockbridge, A. M. Carter, A. Striling, William Daniel, J. A. Needles, Rev. J.. F. W.
Ware, Dr. J. C. Thomas, G. T. Hopkins, Ashur Clarke, R. M. Jammey, James Carley Coale, John
T. Graham, A. T. Johnson, and Edward Reese.
In January 1865 they started with their 1st school under the direction of Leander Waterman in
the Cranes Building corner of Calvert and Saratoga streets in Baltimore. By novemter there
were 16 schools in seven buildings with 16 teachers 13 white and 3 black. Richard M. Janney
became the canvassing agent for the American Freedmean's Aid Commission for Maryland.
Schools were opened in Easton and Talbot County.
Florida
Pre Bureau
While most of the beginnings of education for African-Americans is unknown in Florida. The
census of 1850 documents the presence of freed blacks in St. Augustine that could read and
write. It is probable that they attended the school that the Catholic Church had organized.
Rev. H. H. Moore
In October, 1865, General Foster, commanding the military department of Florida, appointed
Chaplain H. H. Moore (white), of the 34th United States Colored Infantry, state superintendent of
education for Freedmen. Assistant-Commissioner Osborn immediately directed all sub-assistant
commissioners of the Bureau to report to Moore as soon as possible the number of negro
children between five and fifteen in their respective districts; the number and character of the
schools already established; the school-house accommodations; the means for boarding and
lodging teachers; the disposition of the whites toward negro schools; the ability and willingness
of the people, black and white, to pay teachers, etc.
Ansel E. Kinne
Ansel E. Kinne (from Syracuse, New York where he had been a school principal) was
supposedly appointed by Secretary of War Stanton as Superintendent of Schools for Florida.
But from it appears from the June 1866 document to have been limited to National Freedmen's
Relief Association Schools since he did not recognize the American Missionary schools in this
report. He was the brother-in-law of Chloe Merrick the teacher at Fernandina who established
the Asylum. (She would later marry Harrison Reed, Florida's Reconstruction Governor.) He
resigned his post of Superintendent before the end of 1866. He is also listed as an agent of the
Freedmen's Bureau in an earlier (October 1866) report.
Rev. L. M. Hobbs
October, 1866, twenty-five common schools for blacks had been established by the state. L. M.
Hobbs, an ex-chaplain of the 3rd Colored Infantry and Federal provost-marshal at Tallahassee,
was appointed by Governor Walker state superintendent of negro schools."
Freedmen Bureau
Duncan
E. B. Duncan was listed as inspector and superintendent of schools in November 1866. Duncan
served until June 1867, when he was replaced by C. T. Chase.
Chase
Chase, who served from June 1867 to March 1868, was succeeded by Charles Foster,
Foster
Charles Foster was formerly Assistant Commissioner, who served from March through
December 1868.
Gile
George W. Gile, who was the Assistant Commissioner at the time, became the superintendent of
education and the first Florida Superintendent of Education and served in that capacity until
August 1870 until death.
Gibbs
Jonathan Gibbs was appointed the second Florida Superintendent of Education by Governor
Ossian Hart.
Documents:
National
Annual Report of the Education Department, June 30, 1869
Assorted Teachers in Various Schools after April 1865
Florida State
Col Thomas Osborn - Circular No. 7 School Information October 26, 1865
A. E. Kinne to Major S. L. McHenry - Report of Florida Schools June 30, 1866
Letter to Bvt Maj General Foster from E. B. Duncan - December 1, 1866
Supplemental Report of C. Thurston Chase to Rev. J. W. Alvord July 12, 1867
Report of Charles Foster, Florida Superintendent of Education for Freedmen's Bureau - 1868
Florida Constitution of 1868 Enabling 1869 School Law
Jacksonville
Strawberry Mills Mission - January 1, 1866
Monthly Report of Adult School - January/February 1866
Monthly Report of Adult School - March 1866
Jacksonville School Monthly Report - July 1866
Ketchum to Sprague on Appropriation for Construction of Stanton Normal - Aug 29, 1867
Staton Normal School
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report (Freedmen's Bureau Form) - April, 1870
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report - December, 1870
Stanton Normal School Monthly Report - May, 1871
St. Augustine
St. Augustine Letters from Teachers and Administrators on Freedmen Bureau Schools
Why St. Augustine Got It's First African-American School
1st School Report of Dr. Oliver Bronson to the Florida Superintendent of Schools for St. Johns
County Public Schools
Beginnings of Public Schools in St. John's County
Dr. Bronson's 1872 Florida School Report St. Johns County, Florida
Dr. Oliver Bronson's 1873 State Report to the State of Florida for St. Johns County Public
Schools
Georgia
Circular Letter from Superintendent E. A. Ware September 1868
Maryland
Prince George's County
Woodville
Land Purchase Agreement for Freedmens Bureau schoolhouse circa 1868
Deed for Property, June 11, 1867
Bladensburg
Letters from Teachers 1866 - 1868
Muirkirk
Charlotte A. Crafts to Mrs. Edna D. Cheney, May 31, 1866
Phineas P. Whitehouse to Mrs. Edna D. Cheney March 11, 1867
Phineas P. Whitehouse to Miss Stevenson, Milton Society Nov 8, 1867
South Carolina
Cardozo to Whipple on Saxton School, May 18, 1866
Robert Small and Board to American Missionary Association, December 31, 1867
Jonathan Jasper Wright on Beaufort, November 14, 1868
USCT
21 USCT
Letter Requesting Teacher, August 28, 1865
128th USCT
Report on the 128th USCT by Jonathan Wright, March 2, 1866
Timeline
1846 - formation of the American Missionary Association
November 7, 1861 - Port Royal, South Carolina captured by the
United States Navy and Army.
January 15, 1862 - General T. W. Sherman sents letter requesting
teachers for the ex-slaves.
Feb 4, 1862 - New England Freedmen's Aid Society formed.
Feb 20, 1862 - The National Freedman's Relief Association formed
in New York.
March 4, 1862 - Amelia Island, Fla., occupied by the Union forces.
March 11, 1862 - Surrender of St. Augustine
May 30, 1862 - General Rufus Saxton appointed Military
Governor of the Department of the South (South Carolina, Georgia
and Florida).
November, 1862 - National Freedmen's Relief Association schools
begin in Fernandina (Syracuse) and St. Augustine.(Chloe Merreck
and Cornelia Smith)
January 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation
1863 - Carrie E. Jocelyn first American Missionary teacher in
Florida arrives in St. Augustine
March 3, 1865 - Freedmen's Bureau created
November 1866 - E. B. Duncan appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools - Florida.
June, 1867 - C. T. Chase appointed Superintendent of Freedmen
Bureau Schools - Florida.
March 1868 - Charles Foster appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools - Florida.
January 1869 - George W. Gile - appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools
November 30, 1870 Rev Alvord resigns.
1871 - Charles Beecher - appointed Florida State Superintendent of
Schools (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe)
June, 1872 - Freedmen's Bureau terminated by an Act of Congress
1846 - formation of the American Missionary Association
November 7, 1861 - Port Royal, South Carolina captured by the
United States Navy and Army.
January 15, 1862 - General T. W. Sherman sents letter requesting
teachers for the ex-slaves.
Feb 4, 1862 - New England Freedmen's Aid Society formed.
Feb 20, 1862 - The National Freedman's Relief Association formed
in New York.
March 4, 1862 - Amelia Island, Fla., occupied by the Union forces.
March 11, 1862 - Surrender of St. Augustine
May 30, 1862 - General Rufus Saxton appointed Military
Governor of the Department of the South (South Carolina, Georgia
and Florida).
November, 1862 - National Freedmen's Relief Association schools
begin in Fernandina (Syracuse) and St. Augustine.(Chloe Merreck
and Cornelia Smith)
January 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation
1863 - Carrie E. Jocelyn first American Missionary teacher in
Florida arrives in St. Augustine
March 3, 1865 - Freedmen's Bureau created
November 1866 - E. B. Duncan appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools - Florida.
June, 1867 - C. T. Chase appointed Superintendent of Freedmen
Bureau Schools - Florida.
March 1868 - Charles Foster appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools - Florida.
January 1869 - George W. Gile - appointed Superintendent of
Freedmen Bureau Schools
November 30, 1870 Rev Alvord resigns.
1871 - Charles Beecher - appointed Florida State Superintendent of
Schools (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe)
June, 1872 - Freedmen's Bureau terminated by an Act of Congress
| Jonathan Gibbs Superintendent of Education 1873-1874 |
