| Roll Number | 9 |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 May 1870 |
| State | Maryland |
| County | Somerset |
| City/Town/Neighborhood | Westover Station |
| Other Locations Mentioned | – |
| Authors | Henry A. Monroe |
| Position | Teacher of school at Jamestown |
| Recipient | Supt. of Education |
| Other Names Mentioned | Mr. Joseph Colbourn |
| Message Abstract | States that the people of this place bought a lot of ground for school purposes with the understanding that they were to receive aid from the Bureau in building house; that they neglected to secure the right of way, and are forbid to haul lumber to the spot; that [[underlined]] Joseph Colbourn [[/underlined]] represents himself as an agent of the Bureau and says he will procure $200 for them when they give him a copy of the deed. Inquires if Mr. [[underlined]] C. [[/underlined]] is an agent, and if the Bureau will furnish aid through him. Asks the advice of the Supt. &c. &c. |
| Message Body | With all due respect to you, I must request you to excuse me for saying that I must have an early answer to this, as it will be productive of much good to the people of this Community. I wrote to the Bureau in Nov. 69 to find if the colored people could obtain any aid from them, in the erection of a School house. The answer was "The people must buy a piece of land, deed it to colored Trustees, forward a copy of the deed to Bureau Office, and provide the heavy timber &c." I advised the colored people to act according to these instructions. Mr. Joseph Colbourn of Kingston about six miles distant informed the colored people that they must make all applications for aid through him and that if they would give him a copy of the deed, he would procure $200. from the U.S. Gov't. for them. He claimed that Gen. Howard had appointed him as an Agent. I told the Trustees that "if the Bureau had appointed a Democratic Sheriff as their Agent, or would trust $200. of the Bureau funds in their hands to expend as they pleased, it was more than I ever heard of." I also advised them to act according to the [[end page]] [[start page]] instructions I had recieved but they would not, nor would they allow me to know any thing about it until they had involved themselves too deeply for me to extricate them. They bought a piece of land but the [[underlined]] title was not good, [[/underlined]] they secured [[underlined]] no right of way [[/underlined]] (it being two hundred yards from a private road and about eight hundred yards from the County road.) The person who sold it now says he will give no road or right of way unless they buy that also, and has forbid them hauling anything over his land; The deed has never been copied as yet, and the collector appointed has kept nearly half of what he collected. It is not a fit place for a schoolhouse being in the centre of the village and surrounded on all sides by dwellings. In justice to the Trustees I would say that this has been the work of one person James Maddox who collected the money &c. and made all these foolish arrangements, but I blame them for allowing him to do so when they might have prevented it. In consequence of this unfortunate affair, the School has suffered much by the Trustees not attending to their business and unless a change takes place it will have the effect to break up the School. I depend upon your answer to this, being the only means of settling the matter, and I hope you will answer soon Please answer soon. [[end page]] [[start page]] These questions please answer in your reply. Is Mr. Joseph Colbourn an Agent of the Bureau? Will the Freedmen's Bureau pay the School Trustees $200. through Mr. C. on his recieving a copy of the deed or in any other way? Does the Bureau furnish money or lumber? The answer to these questions will settle the matter and the people will recieve and accept an answer from you and be guided by it. Please answer this question for my benefit. (Will the Northern Teachers recieve transportation to their homes at the close of School or will they be obliged to pay their own way home?) |
| Pages | 1157 |
| Transcribers Notes | – |
If you are citing this record, please use the following format:
[Author (if known)], Freedmen's Bureau Correspondence on Schools, 1869-1870, 1870, Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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