May 1661, Charles Debevoice was recommended by Gov. Stuyvesant as a
suitable person for schoolmaster of this town, and also for clerk and
sexton of the church, who was employed and received a good salary.
Immediately previous to the revolutionary war, that part of the town of
Brooklyn which is now comprised in the bounds of the village, and for
some distance without those bounds, supported but one school, of 19
scholars, five of whom were out of the family of Mr. Andrew Patchen. The
school-house was situated on the hill, on property which was then owned
by Israel Horsfield, but now belongs to the heirs of Carey Ludlow,
deceased.--The teacher was Benjamin Brown, a staunch whig from
Connecticut.
_District School, No. 1._ This school was organized at a public meeting,
held Jan. 2, 1816, at which meeting Andrew Mercein, John Seaman, and
Robert Snow were elected trustees, and John Doughty clerk of the school.
The trustees were appointed a committee to ascertain a proper site for
building a school-house, and report the probable expense thereof. At a
meeting held January 12, 1816, the trustees reported that they could
purchase four lots of ground on Concord street, of Mr. Noah Waterbury,
for $550. The meeting thereupon resolved, that “the sum of $2000 should
be raised by tax on the inhabitants of the said district, to purchase
said lots and to build a school-house thereon;” and that in the mean
time the “Loisian school be the common school of the said district;” and
that “the trustees of the district be authorized to exonerate from the
payment of teacher’s wages all such poor and indigent persons as they
shall think proper, pursuant to the act of the legislature;” and that
“it be recommended by this meeting, that the common school to be taught
in this district, be on the Lancastrian plan of instruction.”
In the school of this district, which includes the village of Brooklyn,
upwards of 200 children are taught. The price of tuition does not exceed
four dollars per annum, and from that amount down to nothing, in
proportion to the abilities of the parent. The School District No. 1, at
present contains 1607 children between the ages of 5 and 15 years, of
whom 1157 go to the public or private schools.
In 1821 there were eight private schools in the village of Brooklyn.
In 1823 the town received from the state $418 13 for the support of
common schools.