Supt. Van Derlip instructs teacher M. E. Pauline Lyons that the proper way to obtain books is to place an order with Cushings and Bailey of Baltimore. They will send her books according to her instructions and at her own risk. The booksellers will hold Supt. Van Derlip responsible for the bill, the amount of which will be deducted from Lyons' salary. Lyons is further instructed to send this letter to the booksellers along with her order.
Supt. Van Derlip forwards Hendon Hill teacher M. E. Pauline Lyons her salary for February, 1870, in the amount of $10.29, having deducted $9.71 for books. A postscript informs Lyons that her supporting society has decided not to pay teachers for return transportation at the end of school terms.
Supt. Van Derlip informs Port Deposit teacher Mary Watson that her monthly report for May, 1870, has not been received. He asks her to send to him it at once.
Supt. Van Derlip informs Port Deposit teacher Mary Watson that he is in possession of her paycheck for April, 1870, but cannot send it to her unless he receives her past due monthly report. He reminds Watson that reports are to be sent promptly on the first of each month. He informs her than she will have to close her school on the last day of April, her supporting society having decided to close all of their schools on that date. Van Derlip asks her to send him an address to which he can send her salary for May.
Supt. Van Derlip informs Port Deposit teacher Mary Watson that he has recommended her application (to keep her school open after the end of April) to Col. Robert R. Corson of the Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association, and he as received word back from Corson that her school may stay open through the month of June, 1870.
Supt. Van Derlip writes to teacher Phenia C. Crisfield that she must close her school for lack of students. He wants her to take over the school at New Market in Frederick County, Maryland.
Supt. Van Derlip sends Darlington teacher Phenia C. Crisfield a check for $10.42. Crisfield had received $40 from Col. Corson of the Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association. Her schoolbook bill amounts to $9.58.
Supt. Van Derlip informs teacher Phenia C. Crisfield that her supporting aid society has decided not to cover the cost of transportation for teachers returning to their homes in the North.
Supt. Van Derlip asks teacher Phenia C. Crisfield if she has opened school at New Market, Frederick County. He adds that she will have to close her school on the last day of May, because her supporting society has decided to close all of its schools on that date.
Supt. Van Derlip informs teacher Rachel L. Alexander, currently at Philadelphia, that a check has been sent paying her for her services at Bel Air up to Dec. 1, 1869. [The office copy of the letter is probably misdated and should read Dec. 28, as it has been entered in the book among letters of that date.]
Supt. Van Derlip sends teacher Rachel L. Alexander a check for $13.16, balancing her account up to Dec. 1, 1869. Instructs Alexander to sign and return receipt with her next monthly report, which she is reminded to forward promptly on the first of each month.
Supt. Van Derlip informs Rachel L. Alexander that he has written to Col. Robert R. Corson about her salary for December, 1869. If she has not yet received her pay, Corson will send it to her. Alexander's November pay was sent to Bel Air in late December, 1869. Van Derlip apologizes for not being able to give Alexander a new school, and encourages her to find a society to support her. If she does so, Van Derlip can get her a school "at once."
Mary E. Jackson of the Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association responds to a letter from Supt. Kimball stating that Anderson does not send reports as she ought to. Jackson tells him that Anderson's letters are not being delivered to Kimball or herself, and that letters meant for Anderson are also not being delivered to her. "From what I have seen of her I think her the best colored teacher we have in our employ with the exception of Miss Gordon." Jackson states that the colored people at Port Deposit cannot obtain supplies for the school there.
Mary Gertrude Smallsbeck was a teacher at the Fairview School according to a March 9, 1894 article in the Aegis an Intellinger newspaper.[1] The article also mentions that Smallsbeck was the secretary of the “Fairview Tuesday Night Club.” While there were no definitive vital or census records for Smallsbeck, of the two that appeared, one was from the 1860 census and one from the Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995 suggest that Mary Smallsbeck or her parents were born in Guyana.[2] Both records also mention that Mary Smallsbeck’s race was white. This would have made her one or perhaps the only white teacher of a Freedmen’s Bureau school in Harford County during the 19th century.
Havre de Grace teacher Mary J. C. Anderson informs Bureau quartermaster Samuel J. Wright that she began renting a school room on January 8, 1867 at a rate of $4 per month. She also states that she has 75 pupils on register, with no teaching assistance except from her most advanced pupils.
Havre de Grace teacher Mary J. C. Anderson writes to Bureau agent Capt. Samuel J. Wright that she received the $4 he sent her for rent and has paid that amount to Jesse White for the rent of the schoolroom.
Mary J. C. Anderson states that the lumber merchant has not received Capt. Wright's communication and Isaiah DeCoursey has not yet purchased lumber for shutters. Anderson requests various materials such as holdbacks, hinges, inner fastenings, and a chain padlock. She also requests springs for the windows in the lower room for ventilation.
Mary J. C. Anderson writes to the Baltimore Association that the school community at Havre de Grace has abandoned the idea of building a schoolhouse, at least for the present. She mentions that the people in Darlington desire a school under the Baltimore Association. She provides details of a confrontation she had with several young white men, who stole her portfolio. Anderson states that some of her pupils need books but can't afford them, but she allows them books anyway in the hope that the cost will be deducted from her salary.
This letter was printed as part of the Baltimore Association's first annual report.
Anderson writes about the "unsettled condition" of her school at Pisgah and asks for lumber to complete the schoolhouse. "If I am to remain here I will need to get things in order."
Teacher Mary J. C. Anderson writes to Supt. Kimball from Port Deposit, Cecil County. She regrets that none of her monthly reports have reached the Bureau. Anderson stresses that they were sent and that she would not have neglected such an important task. She is forwarding new reports based on duplicates in her possession. The school is doing well but is in need of many items. "I am hopeful for the future," she writes.
Port Deposit teacher Mary J. C. Anderson informs Supt. Kimball that she was recently in Philadelphia where she spoke with Col. Robert R. Corson of the Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association, who advised her to write to Kimball about her salary. She has closed her school and awaits salary due and transportation, which she requests immediately so she can travel home. She states that the school trustees, in their general report, will inform Kimball what they can do in the next year. They wish her to return to teach for the next school year. Kimball will see from her reports that her school did well after the first few months, and she is willing to return if directed to do so.
Anderson informs Supt. Kimball that she has arrived at Port Deposit, her assigned school, and finds the people their surprised at her arrival and divided into factions arguing over control of the school building. One faction is said to be managing construction and keeping secrets from the others. She has not opened the school and does not know when she will be able to. She needs supplies, including maps. Anderson asks Kimball to come to Port Deposit and speak to the people, as she has no hope of success without his advice and assistance.
Teacher Mary J. C. Anderson writes to Supt. Van Derlip about the status of her school, expressing her desire to remain at Pisgah (in Charles Co.) and keep the school open.