The Browne School: A Rural Schoolhouse : Teachers

The final teacher at the Browne school was Urban Conrad Monson following Betty Marie Peterson who taught the previous school year, 1944 - 1945. Urban Monson had the longest tenure of any teacher, at least from what I know since the fall of 1906. He taught for 8 years:

1945 - 1946, 1946 - 1947, 1947 - 1948, 1948 - 1949, 1949 - 1950, 1950 - 1951, 1951 - 1952, 1952 - 1953.

Urban Conrad Monson was born February 12, 1883 in Greenville township, New Bedford, Bureau county, Illinois to Hester Ann (Medley) and Benjamin Monson. He first shows up in the 1900 US Census living (lines 52 - 57) with his parents and brother Arthur. Also living in the home was the Monson's grandson, George Andeway and a servant by the name of Frederick Dagau.

The earliest document I have found that indicates when Urban began his teaching career was on page 11 of the July 11, 1902 issue of the Bureau County Tribune. An article appeared mentioning Urban and several other teachers would be attending school at Valparaiso, Indiana.

On August 13, 1905, Urban Conrad Monson married Esther Josephine Nellich at the First Lutheran Church in Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois. Their entry in the church records is on the left side of the page, the 7th entry for 1905.

In 1910, Urban was still living in Greenville township, Bureau county, Illinois (lines 55 - 57) with his wife, Esther Josephine (Nellich) and their daughter Oreetha. Urban is listed as being employed as country school teacher.

On July 9, 1917, Urban Conrad Monson was appointed the Postmaster for New Bedford, Bureau county, Illinois. His appointment is listed in the lower right hand portion of the document below, designated with an arrow.

In 1917, Urban also registered for World War I. He is listed as both a postmaster and a school teacher.

The 1920 US Census lists Urban living (lines 23 - 28) in Greenville township, Bureau county, Illinois with his wife Esther and their daughters, Oreetha, Mazie, Verla and Virginia. Urban is listed as being employed as a public school teacher.

By the time of the 1930 US Census, Urban had moved to Malta, Malta township, DeKalb county, Illinois. He was living (lines 37 - 42) with wife Esther and their daughters, Mazie, Verla, Virginia and Myrna. Urban is listed as being employed as a principal of a public school.

The 1940 US Census lists Urban living in DeKalb, DeKalb township, DeKalb county, Illinois (lines 41 - 43) with wife Esther and daughter Myrna. Urban is employed as a rural school teacher.

On April 27, 1942, Urban Conrad Monson registered for World War II. He is listed as being employed with District 40 in Mayfield township, DeKalb county, Illinois.

Mayfield township is northeast of Milan township.

Urban Conrad Monson passed away January 26, 1955 in DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois. Urban's memorial can be found here.

Urban and many other obituaries can be found at the Joiner Room in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois. The Joiner Room is an excellent source for family and local history research.

July 27, 1948 - Institute for Teachers & School Calendar

The front page of the July 27, 1948 issue of The True Republican published the school calendar for the 1948 - 1949 school session and notification of an institute being held at the court house for rural and village school teachers. Another article appeared on the same page regarding the dwindling number of one room schoolhouses.

The school calendar doesn't appear much different than present school schedules.

The Browne School Teachers - 1944/1945: Betty Marie Peterson

Following the one year term taught by Eleanor (Spohn) Smith, Betty Marie Peterson taught the following school year at the Browne school, 1944 - 1945.

Betty Marie Peterson was born on June 21, 1921 in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois to Esther (Bergstrom) and Otto Edward Peterson. Betty was baptized at the Salem Lutheran Church in Sycamore on July 3, 1921. Betty's entry is the last one listed below.

The 1930 US Census lists Betty living (lines 65 - 69) with her parents Otto and Esther and siblings Olive and Orville in DeKalb, DeKalb township, DeKalb county, Illinois. Betty's father is employed as a professor at a college.

The 1940 US Census lists Betty living (lines 49 - 51) living in DeKalb with her parents. Her father is listed as a teacher at a teacher's college, which would be the Northern Illinois State Teachers College in DeKalb, Illinois.

Page 3 of the August 24, 1945 edition of The Sycamore Tribune published the marriage of Betty Marie Peterson and Sylvester Solomon Plapp. They were married August 23, 1945 in Sycamore, Illinois at the Federated Church.

The Tribune added that Betty had graduated from the Northern Illinois State Teachers College, taught at local DeKalb rural schools and would be teaching at the Genoa Grade school.

The announcement also states Betty's father was superintendent of schools and at the time currently a professor at the Teachers College.

Sylvester Plapp's maternal uncle, Josephs Samuel Askvig had married another Browne school teacher, Rose Riley who had taught there 30 years before Betty.

Betty Marie (Peterson) Plapp passed away on February 27, 1985 in Pensacola, Escambia county, Florida. Her memorial can be viewed here.

The Browne School Teachers - 1943/1944: Eleanor (Spohn) Smith

The1943 - 1944 Browne school year was taught by Eleanor (Spohn) Smith, following the 5 years taught by Mabel Colton. While I could not find any documentation other than the "Rural Schools Journeys: A Legacy of Learning, Histories of the One-room Schools in Dekalb County, Illinois" there were no other individuals named Eleanor Smith that lived within a reasonable distance near the Browne school other than Eleanor (Spohn) Smith. Unfortunately there were no newspaper accounts or census records that tied Eleanor (Spohn) Smith to employment as a school teacher.

Eleanor L (Spohn) Smith was born July 22, 1912 in DeKalb county, Illinois to Bessie Pearl (Shultz) and Homer Clyde Spohn. I haven't seen a document with Eleanor's middle name, but I believe it to be Lena, named after her maternal grandmother, Lena (Reeds) Shultz.

The 1920 US Census lists Eleanor living (lines 71 - 77) in Wyoming township, Lee county, Illinois with her parents and siblings, Robert, Willard, Ruth and her uncle Ernest Spohn.

The 1930 US Census lists Eleanor living (Page 4A, lines 45 - 50 and Page 4B, lines 51 - 54) with her parents and siblings, Robert, Willard, Ruth, Edith, Grace, Pearl and Harry. The family was living in Shabbona township, DeKalb county, Illinois. Eleanor's neighbor, Paul Craigmile would eventually move to a home 1/4 mile west of the Browne school in Milan township, DeKalb county, Illinois. The Browne school playground swing set eventually ended up at the Craigmile home.

On February 26, 1934, Eleanor L Spohn married Paul Herbert Smith in Waterman, DeKalb county, Illinois.

The 1940 US Census lists Eleanor living (lines 72 - 75) in Shabbona township, DeKalb county, Illinois with her husband, Paul and their children Barbara and Bruce.

The 1940 US Census does not indicate Eleanor is employed. I do not know whether she taught at another school prior to her tenure at the Browne school in 1943 - 1944.

Page 2 of the February 20, 1959 Sycamore Tribune published an announcement of Eleanor and Paul's 25th wedding anniversary.

Eleanor L (Spohn) Smith passed away on May 17, 1996 in Streator, LaSalle county, Illinois. Her memorial can be viewed here.

The Browne School Teachers - 1938/1943: Mabel Louise Colton

Following the five school terms taught by Ethel (Coultas) Pike, the next 5 school terms at the Browne school were taught by Mabel Louise Colton: 1938 - 1939, 1939 - 1940, 1940 - 1941, 1941 - 1942, 1942 - 1943.

Mabel Colton was born September 28, 1913 in Elva, Afton township, DeKalb county, Illinois to Julia Lovett (Kelsey) and Orson Luther Colton. The 1920 US Census lists Mabel living (lines 8 - 12) with her parents and siblings, Helen and Ralph.

Following the death of Mabel's mother on August 28, 1923, Orson married Beulah Marree Fenton the following year.

The 1930 US Census lists Mabel living (lines 86 - 93) with her father and step-mother, siblings Helen, Ralph, Audra and step-mother's daughter Katherine and step-sister Ora. The family had moved to Waterman, Clinton township, DeKalb county, Illinois.

The 1940 US Census lists Mabel living (lines 58 - 63) living in Waterman, Illinois with her father and step-mother, sister Audra and step-mother's daughter Katherine and step-sister Ora.

The census lists Mabel working as a rural school teacher.

The front page of the May 29, 1941 issue of the DeKalb County Express reported that Mabel Colton took the Browne school students on a field trip to the printing office of the DeKalb County Express in Shabbona, DeKalb county, Illinois.

On May 12, 1961 Mabel Louise Colton passed through immigration in New York City after traveling from Paris, France.

Mabel Louise Colton passed away May 31, 2007 in Hot Springs Village, Garland county, Arkansas. Her memorial can be found here.

The Browne School Teachers - 1936/1938: Ethel (Coultas) Pike

Ethel (Coultas) Pike followed the five school terms of Bertha Finnestad at the Browne school. Ethel taught the 1936 - 1937 and 1937 - 1938 school years.

Ethel Mary (Coultas) Pike was born in Artesia township, Iroquois county, Illinois on May 1, 1884 to Florence E Purinton and William Wallace Coultas. The 1900 US Census lists Ethel living (lines 64 - 68) with her parents and siblings Bertha and Avis. The family is living in Cortland, Cortland township, DeKalb county, Illinois.

Ethel's father is listed as a school principal.

Ethel's photo appeared in the yearbook, the Northern in 1904 as a member of the senior class of the Northern Illinois State Normal School.

Ethel Mary Coultas and Oscar Garfield Pike applied for a marriage license and were married on September 15, 1906 in St. Joseph, Berrien county, Michigan.

The marriage was announced on the front page of the November 10, 1906 edition of The True Republican. The article mentions Ethel graduated from the Normal school and had taught at a school in Berwyn, Cook county, Illinois.

The 1910 US Census lists Ethel Mary (Coultas) Pike living (lines 28 - 30) with her husband Oscar and their son Edwin in Chicago, Cook county, Illinois.

Ethel is not listed as being employed.

The 1920 US Census lists Ethel Pike living (lines 78 - 82) with husband Oscar and their children, Edwin, Mary Jane and Helen Jean living in Shabbona, Shabbona township, DeKalb, Illinois.

Again, Ethel is not listed as being employed.

Ethel's husband, Oscar Garfield Pike passed away on May 29, 1929 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. His obituary was published on page 5 of the June 6, 1929 edition of the DeKalb County Express.

Oscar's obituary notes that his wife Ethel (Coultas) was the daughter of former County Superintendent of Schools, William Wallace Coultas.

In 1930 the US Census lists Ethel living (lines 1 - 4) with her children Edwin, Mary and Helen in Chicago, Cook county, Illinois.

Ethel is working for a corset company as a corsetier.

Ethel's father W. W. Coultas passed away May 16, 1932 in DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois. His obituary provides much more detail of his life's journey than most obituaries. It appeared on page 3 in the May 26, 1932 edition of the DeKalb County Express.

The 1940 US census lists Ethel living (lines 60 - 64) with her daughter, Mary Jane (Pike) Harris, Mary's husband Stanley and their children Nancy and John. The family is living in Malta, Malta township, DeKalb county, Illinois.

Ethel is listed as a teacher for a rural school. I do not know which school Ethel taught at following her 2 year stint at the Browne school from 1936 - 1938.

Ethel Mary (Coultas) Pike passed away on August 11, 1969 in DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois. Her memorial can be viewed here.

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