Tag: Education

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Illinois Education in the 1850s: The School Notebooks of Sarah Leverett and Teresa Dalbey

"The Scholar's Miscellany," Sarah E. A. Brown School Notebook, 1857-1858

When a schoolgirl works through math problems and writes and sketches in her school notebook, little does she imagine it will someday adorn the shelves of a major research library. And yet, such was the fate of the school notebooks of Teresa Dalbey of Morgan County and Sarah E. A. Brown Leverett of Alton, Illinois, both of whom were young adolescents living and learning in Illinois in the 1850s. This month, as we celebrate education in Illinois in honor of the state’s bicentennial, Teresa’s and Sarah’s school notebooks allow us to gain insights into nineteenth-century schooling, as well as the thoughts, activities, and experiences of two young girls growing up in 1850s Illinois.… Read More

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Jonathan Baldwin Turner: Reformer and Visionary

Throughout the month of September, our focus is on education and educators in Illinois history. Follow along here and on our social media to learn more about the people and institutions that have shaped how Illinois learns.

On November 18, 1851, Jonathan Baldwin Turner stood before a convention of farmers in Granville, Illinois and delivered an address that would play a part in changing the direction of American education. A 46-year-old minister, professor, and horticulturalist who had lived for twenty years in Jacksonville, Illinois, Turner believed that every state needed to institute industrial universities – universities dedicated to instruction in agricultural and industrial arts.… Read More