You never know what turns up during spring cleaning!

April 13, 1:36 AMPittsburgh History ExaminerDev Meyers

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Every spring the people in little old hamlets along the rivers in Western Pennsylvania go into their basements and attics and clear out the old to make room for the new. As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Several years ago I decided to see if that was true.

Now I’m not advocating rummaging around in strangers’ trash cans! But on the annual clean-out people are usually pretty friendly. If you find them putting out a choice box, try politely asking for permission to look. Folks are generally most accommodating. Some are downright amused.

Tucked inside a box of crumbling books were these rolled up old paper scrolls. They date as far back as 1837.

Won’t you share them with me?

“The boundaries of the Fairview school district as they now exist were formed and the first school building was erected within these boundaries in 1857.

“The building was located about a quarter of a mile from the village of the same name on the road leading to Rayl town. It was a frame structure about 24 X 30 feet in size and served its purpose well until 1881 when a more commodious building of two larger rooms was erected a few rods from the original structure.

The first teacher in the district was Martin Wilson 1837-38 followed by:

George D. Clark 1838 - 30.

Samuel Fisher 1839 - 60

Benjamin Franklin 1860 - 61

“Daddy” Dunn & Robert J Cresswell 1861 - 62

Robert J. Cresswell 1862 - 63

Jefferson Fisher 1863 - 64

William Johnston 1862 - * *

George D. Clark 1867 - **

Ben K. Perrsol (sp?) 1868 - **

James B. M. McGlaughlin 1869 - **

Martin L. Knight 1870 - **

William Smith & Joseph A. Sutherland 1871 - **

George A. Slentz 1872 - **

Nancy J. Rayl 1873 - **”

** After Jefferson Fisher the corner is a bit chewed and foxed and the end dates are difficult to read.
 

Crumbling Old Handwritten Scrolls - You have to acquire a taste for this sort of thing!

George A. Slentz 1876 - 76

O. A. Wilkinson 1876 - 77

Margaret Cresswell 1877 - 78

John W. Reed 1878 - 79

Chester A. Moore 1879 - 81

Chester A. Moore & Margaret Elliot 1881 - 82

James Scruggs & Elizabeth McClain 1882 - 83

Joseph L Engle & Elizabeth McClain 1883 - 84

Lucy M. Moore & Anna Johnston 1884 - 85

There is a lot more information contained in these scrolls. Names of the students and where they moved to after graduation.

Scroll after scroll. A genealogists paradise!

I’d like to know if this is the type of thing you would like to know more about. If so I will transcribe more of the names for you.

This school was located somewhere near Darlington in Beaver County in an area that was once called Ohio Township.

For students whose last names began with R and H click here