Letter from Parke Bogle

Mr. Dodson, here is a letter which talks about the early schools in the

County. This man was an uncle of Dr. Jacob Adam Wagner, the beloved

physician of Bland County. Parke Bogle

McCloud, Oklahoma

February 14th 1933

Mr. J. A. Wagner, M. D.

Bland, Virginia

Dear Nephew,

Answering your letter of December 21st last year, I will relate to you to

the best of my recollection the information you requested of me.

I do not know the exact date I left Bland County as many of my personal

papers have become lost, however, I do have a document showing commission

tendered me as First Lieutenant of the Newcastle Volunteers of the State of

Nebraska dated April 16th 1874 and this approximately one year after my

arrival in that state. I left Bland County during blackberry time and did

not arrive in Nebraska until frost, losing only about one week on the road

account unable to travel. I do not know just how many days or weeks exactly.

My first recollection of any teacher and school was one Joseph Lambert,

and school was taught in an old camp ground known as Hoge's Camp Ground, a

place of worship for the Methodist Church holding camp meeting under an

arbor. Several of the next schools I can recollect were taught under the

shed of that institution and in the tents also. A party would agree to teach

a school under written agreement at so much per pupil to be paid by the

parents of children attending or commonly known as subscription schools. For

a building the simply used these camp grounds or got permission to use some

unoccupied house in the neighborhood. School usually lasted three months

each year, or during camp meeting, for the smaller children as the older

ones were usually busy at something else. I was about five or six years of

age when Joseph Lambert was teacher, making that date about 85 years ago.

Other teachers were, Mrs. Juliet Hoge, who taught at Hoge's Camp Ground. I

was then seven or eight. Another was a Miss Thorne from Mechanicsburg who

taught at a private house. Teo others from the North somewhere, were a Mr.

Dudley and Mr. Uttley who taught at Hoge Camp Ground, also Jake Wagner

taught at this same place. I was then 8 or 9 years of age. There was a

young man from some of the New England states, I think Massachusettes, who

called himself a Yankee, also one named Wayman Harman, one from old

Virginia- Armstead Ashworth. There was one native of that neighborhood, a

college man, Hiram Muncy. My last teacher was Jacob Smith just prior to

the breaking out of the Civil War.

My school experience was cut short in 1861 when the Civil War came up. As

to any further history of teachers I cannot recollect.

About the school buildings. As already stated, school was held under the

church arbor or in the tents of the visitors or in some unoccupied house.

The only regular school building in that neighborhood before the Civil War

was known as the Cubine School House. It was located about 7 miles from the

present location of county seat of Bland County. This district could be

identified as the Harman-Hoge or Waggoner neighborhood. This building was

about 24' or 25' by about 14' by 15'. There was one door in the end of the

building and for lighting purposes a log in the west side of the building of

about 8 feet in length and about 4 feet from the ground, was cut out. There

was no glass in the window but was open except in inclement weather, at

which time a paper was pasted over the opening and greased to admit light

and keep out the weather. For heating purposes, in the east side of the

building was a fire place that would hold considerable wood, with a wood

chimney, plastered with clay to make it fire proof. This building had a dirt

floor. For school furniture, a split log was placed under window at a sloping

angle to facilitate writing and for a bench, a log 6' to 8' in diameter was

split and placed flat side up with pegs for legs. When not at the writing

desk, the pupils were accommodated with the same kind of benches without

desks.

As for studies, I learned to spell in the Blue Back elementary speller and

got a little instruction in mathematics from an arithmetic. The first

arithmetic I recollect was "Pikes Arithmetic". One reading book I remember was "The New York Reader", a combination reading and spelling book. For writing practice, the teacher would set copy she thought appropriate according to the age of the pupil, beginning with the alphabet and extending through the spelling book, with instructions to the pupil to as nearly as possible duplicate her writing. Of course each teacher

had her own system of penmanship.

When I arrived back after discharge fro the US Army, I found a school

house built on Baltzer Helvey's property known as "Point Pleasant Academy".

It was conducted by one George Penley, a Methodist minister.

You speak of the two Harmans in your letter, I will state who they were.

Randall was a son of Frank Harman, deputy sheriff under me when I was

sheriff of Bland County.

ACW/HFW

{ Adam Clark Waggoner, was born January 7, 1843, a son of Adam and

Elizabeth Hutzell Waggoner. He was a brother of George Elias Waggoner who

married Elizabeth Hearn; James E.Waggoner who married Aisley (Elsie) Munsey;

Franklin P. who married Catherine Young Munsey and Julia A; Waggoner, who

married Rev. John A. Smith. Adam was the only son to survive the Civil War

and after his return he married Melissa Holbrook in December of 1866 in

Tazewell County. .

This letter was presented to me by the late Alice Duncan Mustard, whose

husband, John Crockett Mustard, Jr. was a grandson of Dr. J.A. Wagner of

Bland, to whom this letter was written. Mrs. Mustard stated that all dates

for her research came from the family Bible sheets. } Parke C. Bogle