By Muriel Bristol | April 27, 2025
Milton town records include a list of its “School Committees & money for 1804.” There was no mention of a single town-wide school committee, but instead nine separate district-level school committees, as well as some figures for each district
There were nine district-level school committees: eight district-level school committees, with three members each, and one other district-level school committee, with but a single member.
The nine district-level committees, and the names of their members, were listed, with some marginal calculations labeled “Rateable money.”
Esqr [Paul] Jewett, John Witham, and James Berry, Jr.} 144 – 46.50.
Richd Walker, Eben Jones, and Theodore Ham} 3973 – 12 – 79.
Joseph Plumer, Benjn Scates, and Lt Ebr Horne} 10692 – 34 – 50.
James C. Hayes, Caleb Wingate, and Benjn Miller} 8333 – 26 – 86.
Captn D. Hayes, Saml Nute, and Enoch Varney} 10920 – 35 – 25.
Dudley Burnham, Robert Mathews, and Wm Tuttle} 10751 – 34 – 68.
Gilman Jewett, Wm Jones, and Timth Roberts} 12078 -39.
Saml Twombly, Jotham Nute, and Stephen Wentworth} 3383 – 7 – 28.
Ebenezer Wentworth} 1101 – 3 – 35.
Total $244 – 5.
This State transcription of an original town record would seem to be imperfect. Lt Elijah Horne has been misread as Lt Ebr or Ebenezer Horne. Some column numbers seem to missing and/or misaligned. If the first number in each district represented its the value of “Rateable” property being assessed, its missing total would have been something like $61,375.
The second number in each column would total to something like 236, rather than the stated “Total” of $244, so something may be missing or misaligned.
The third and final number of something like 421 might possibly represent a number of students, rather than a dollar amount. The Second (1800) Federal Census of four years earlier had enumerated 336 inhabitants aged under-10 years and 124 inhabitants aged 10-15 years, for a total of 460 inhabitants aged under-16 years.
The district schools would have had no Kindergartens. Those would not exist for many years, so something less than the 336 inhabitants aged under-10 of 1800 would have been in the district schools of 1804, probably half of them or less. And district schools ran only up to what would now be about Grade 8 or about 14 years of age, so something less than 124 inhabitants aged 10-15 of 1800 would have been students in the district schools of 1804.
The bottom of the same page lists some categories of animals and their valuation, which may or may not have intended as part of an assessment for support of the district schools.
Poll 130[,] Stud Horses 3 winters[,] 5 yrs old horses 70[¢] – 4 yrs old horses 50[¢] – 3 yrs old colts 30 cents [-] colts 2 winters old 10[¢] [-] oxen 40[¢] [-] oxen 4 winters old 30[¢] [-] cows 4 winters old 20[¢] [-] cattle 3 winters old 10[¢] [-] cattle 2 winters old 5 cents[.] payments on Libby’s Excn viz.
73
33
23
10.23
total 139.23
See also Milton Teacher of 1796-1805 and Milton School Districts – 1806
References:
Find a Grave.
Milton Observer 