L. M. Thompson Bio - Vermilion Co., IL

PIONEER, TEACHER WAS
L. THOMPSON

VERNERABLE AND BELOVED
RESIDENT OF ROSSVILLE TELLS OF
THE OLDER DAYS

HIS FATHER WAS THE FIRST
Teacher every employed in Vermilion County, Son Took his place,
Taught at Gilbert School

(Commercial News Special)
Rossville, Ill. Nov. 25 – Ross Township probably maintains as good schools as any township in the country, and yet one does not have to go back beyond the recollection of the oldest inhabitant to find the most primitive methods in vogue and with but few school houses in the township.
   In this community the first school house to be erected and maintained was at the old Gilbert settlement near what is now called Mann’s Chapel. In fact the settlements were very few and far between.
   Prior to is four score years, and is quietly spending the afternoon of his life enjoying the fruits of a life well spent has many interesting stories to tell of the early settlement of this part of the country and of his early school facilities afforded the youth to acquire an education. Mr. Thompson inherited his teaching qualities from his father, John Thompson, who was one of the first teachers in the county. He taught at Butler’s Point and it has been said he was the first teacher of that place.    When Louis, his son, was but eighteen years old his father became ill and it fell to the lot of the son to take his place temporarily. He taught at the Butler Point School, the earliest settlement in Vermilion County, and when he moved to Ross Township in 1848 his fame as a teacher had preceded him. Mr. Thompson says he knew but little about school teaching at the time but he was asked to teach the Gilbert School but the people of the neighborhood did not know that and knowing only that he had taught at Butler’s Point and that his father had been a noted educator he received an offer of $25.00 a month to teach the three months’ school. This was an advance of $5 on the month of the former teacher, Lyman Kingsbury who was the very first teacher in the township, as far as can be ascertained. Mr. Thompson did not have a great deal of confidence in himself when he started out on horseback for the little log school house but he got along very well and, as a matter of fact, three of his students the following year received certificates to teach school. Their teacher himself had just passed the examination the previous year by a narrow margin. Mr. Thompson taught school at a time when

“n, the days of long ago,
In the days of high-pewed churches
We had just the jolliest times
Swing on the birches”

   As a matter of fact the jolly times swinging on the birches did not always turn out as anticipated, for hardly a day passed, but that the birch swung on some luckless urchin who was caught playing pranks in school. It was not such a crime to play pranks but to get caught at it called for swift punishment.

   “I remember one incident of my teaching at the old Gilbert School” said Mr. Thompson one day this week, when seen by the Commercial News. “I had one student, a boy, whose face was very much deformed and seems twisted to one side. Another lad sitting across the isle from him leaned over his stool and bit the unsuspecting boy. The boy latter cried out, and of course I asked him what was the matter. Upon this was told what had happened I asked the boy who had bitten him, why?   He said, I did not; the boy that was bitten, got straight and said his face did it itself. Of course this created a great laugh that I could not curb and the answer had been so much to the point ant the boy had really made such a hit, although it was very unfair to the other lad, that I could not whip him”.
   The fame of the Gilbert school spread for many miles and five boys came to school on horses, from across the East ork. The first school house erected was quite a pretentious affair for those days and was weather boarded with lumber from the saw mill.
   There were no desks in the school room but a long desk or shelf adorned the south side of the building. Here the students stood when at their classes. Mr. Thompson told the reporter that he had to work very hard himself to keep ahead of his older students, but he kept ahead of them, made good as a teacher, and afterwards saw many of them on the road to success from the lessons they had learned while students at the old school house.
   L. M. Thompson was born in Indiana but his parents came to Illinois and settled near the present town of Catlin in the year 1830, when he was but a small child. Here young Lewis attended the school taught by his father as soon as he was old enough and upon coming to man’s estate he concluded to move to the less thickly settled country north of his home. He accordingly purchased the farm now owned by Dave Potts east of Rossville Junction and settled down to help subdue the new country. For the past 25 years he as been living a retired life in Rossville.

Submitted by: prudy511@msn.com

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