Memories of the Coes 34 - Chautaqua Movement

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 Paper for the Le Roy Historical Soceity, 1945


In the 1870's and 80's The Chautauqua movement swept the nation. 

The C.L.S.C. was correspondence course of reading, 40 minutes a day for its required reading. Those reading and more chiefly of literature, history, biography and popular science. 

It has been said "There was never a more purely American Institution than the G.L.G.C." Doubtless there were many thousands of "Circles" or local societies scatted thruout the Nation. 

Very many people were interested who could not spend 40 minutes a day in addition to their other reading. So its influence partly at least my be attributed the community's literary societies which sprang up in every community. 

At the church socials there were literary programs. 

About 1880 the young folks east of Le Roy organized their "Clionian" Society. Some of the members were the Van Deusens, the Harris'  the Laurences, we Coes, Lettie Pratt, Will Stowell, the Martins, Warren Smith.

Our programs were very similar to those of the "Local Circle" which was organized a little later. The "old people" we called them, were not members of the Clionian as they were of the Local Circle. 

The two societies held occasional join meetings. I was not a member of the Local Circle until my marriage 1884. 


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Patty's notes on this entry. 

Chautaqua movement - The Chautaqua movement was started in 1874 as an out-of-school adult education program. To this day, the Chautauqua Institute offers a season of programming every summer in Chautauqua, New York. 


The Plaza at the Chautauqua Institute
Photo in the Public Domain
Downloaded from the New York Public Library
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-b73f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

C.L.S.C. - The Chautauqua Literary and Circles started in 1878 as a way for people who couldn't attend a college an opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge that came with attending college. The Chautauqua Institute describes the C.L.S.C. as 
 

"The four-year, correspondence course was one of the first attempts at distance learning. Besides broadening access to education, the CLSC program was intended to show people how best to use their leisure time and avoid the growing availability of idle pastimes, such as drinking, gambling, dancing and theater-going, that posed a threat both to good morals and to good health. To share the cost of purchasing the publications and to take encouragement from others in the course, students were encouraged to form local CLSC reading circles. Soon these were established throughout the country and, in time, around the world. Among those who benefited most from the CLSC program were women, teachers, and those living in remote rural areas. At the end of their four years of study, students were invited to come to Chautauqua to receive their certificates in a ceremony, which is still held today during the first week in August." https://chq.org/about-us/history

Purely American Institutions - President Theodore Roosevelt is reputed to have called the Chautauqua movement "the most American thing in America." He was a repeated visitor to Chautauqua. 

Clionian Society - There were several chapters of a Clionian Literary Society at liberal arts colleges in New York at this time. The first, Clio, was founded at the Geneseo Normal School, in 1872. This appears to have been a local society based on societies at local colleges. As early as 1884, there were mentions of the Clionian Society meeting at the home of Albert Coe in Le Roy. 

Van Deusens - The family of Albert Van Deusen (1821-1886) and Dorothy Harris (1821 - 1883) including Emily (1852-1922), William (1856-1922), Jennie (1861-1935) who shared boarding rooms with Elizabeth Ann Coe in the 1870s and 1880s, and Frank (1863-1935). 

Harris - Probably the family of William Harris (1825-1919) and Emmeline Chase (1834-1874), including William (1857-1947) and Carrie (1867-1940). William Sr had 3 children with his second wife Mary born in the 1870s, so probably too young to have been original members of the Clionian Society. 

Laurences - There were two Lawrence families in Le Roy who Elizabeth Ann Coe has mentioned attended parties at the family home. So this could refer to one of the families, or both. The first is the family of James Frank Lawrence (1824-1881) and Alida Jane Chase (1829-1903), including Addison (1858-1927), Frank (1862-1937) and Spencer (1864-1899). The second is the family of James' brother Charles Rosman Lawrence (1811-1890) and Philena Baldwin (1815-1895), including Hiram (1850-1942), Elmira (1852-1928) and Charles (1861-1952), 

Coes - The family of Albert Coe (1827-1907) and Deborah Prentice (1833-1910) including Mary Isadore (1851-1924), Ezra Frank (1853-1942), Elizabeth Ann (1862-1956), Clara Addie (1864-1950) and Carrie Evelyn (1864-1948). 


Deborah Prentice (1833-1910) and Albert Coe (1827-1907)
Photo courtesy of Marion Sperry Howe
Marion's blog with Coe photos is at https://mlsperry.blogspot.com/2020/07/coe-family-this-post-presents-pictures.html

Lettie Pratt - Probably Luretta Cornelia Pratt (1855-1915) daughter of Melvin Pratt (1830-1902 ) and Cornelia Adams (1830-1855) She married Franklin J Nash (1859-1949) son of Joseph Nash (1831-1917) and Olive Hamlin (1827-1910) in 1888

Will Stowell - William Huych Stowell (1855-1949), son of Luther Kinney Stowell (1825-1908) and Jennette McGregor (1836-1862). He married Caroline Dewey Robertson (1860-1926) daughter of John M. Robertson (1834-1915) and Adeline Park (1836 -1925 ) in 1883

Martins - There were several Martin families in Le Roy in 1880, but none have children of a comparable age to the Coes and other families mentioned. William Martin (1850-1907) was mentioned as attending parties at the Coe home but I have not found a record of him in the Le Roy area prior to his marriage to Carrie Mills in 1878 and in 1880 William and Carrie Martin were living in York, Livingston County, New York. They were back in Le Roy by 1892. 

Warren Smith - Warren C. Smith (1862-1926) son of Charles Ladd Smith (1821-1896) and Harriet Walkley (1821-1884). He married Ella Louise Merritt (1862-1957) daughter of Mial Augustus Merritt (1830-1909) and Mary Louise Pierson (1835-1906) in 1887.

Local Circle - The Local Circle of Le Roy and Stafford first met at the home of Russell Bissel on November 11, 1881. Robert Call (1831-1913), Charlotte Joslin Call (1834-1908), Charles Joslin Call (1859-1939) who married Elizabeth Ann Coe and Elizabeth Alberta Call (1862-1929) were all founding members of the Local Circle. You can read more about the Local Circle in post 20 of the Memories of the Calls at https://pattyhankins.blogspot.com/2020/05/memories-of-calls-20-local-circle.html


Previous Post in the Memories of the Coes: Parties 



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