(1843-1856)
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Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Glass attended the Burwell School from August 1854 until her death in August 1856. Her time at the school was noted in an 1856 letter written by Margaret Anna Burwell, and is documented by a series of letters between Lizzie and her mother, Margaret Graham Kerr Glass Scott. Her father died when she was four-years-old, and two years later her mother married Henderson Scott. The Scott Family Collection at Alamance Community College contains more information about Margaret and Lizzie’s half-siblings. Lizzie Glass attended four full sessions at the Burwell’s school before passing away at the beginning of her 5th session while living in Hillsborough. She is buried at Hawfields Presbyterian Church in Mebane, NC.
In the summer of 1854, eleven-year-old Lizzie Glass embarked on what may have been the biggest adventure of her young life. She left her home and family in Melville (near Graham in Alamance County, NC), and traveled almost 14 miles away to attend school in Hillsborough. Lizzie would become a student at Reverend and Mrs. Burwell’s school, an institution that had been educating young women for over 17 years. But what was just the typical start of another school session for the Burwells, was the start of a whole new world for Lizzie.
Born January 5, 1843, Mary Elizabeth Glass, known as Lizzie, was the first child of her parents Richard Glass and Margaret Graham Kerr. Richard and Margaret had married in Orange County, North Carolina on June 25, 1841 and proceeded to set-up housekeeping. By 1847, Richard had amassed personal property valued at more than $1100, possessed 223 acres of land, and owned several slaves.
Though financially secure, the Glass family was not immune to emotional hardship. In early 1846, Lizzie’s mother Margaret had her second child, a daughter named Ann Graham. For a time the family led an idyllic life, but the “peaceful and happy household” was soon to face a variety of sorrows.
Around 1843, Richard began to become more heavily involved in the social epicenter of his community, Hawfields Presbyterian Church. Richard was listed as a member of the church as early as 1838, and in 1843, took over as treasurer from his father-in-law, Samuel Kerr. He was described as an “active spirit” in his church, and as an amiable and excellent man. The family suffered their first loss with the death of their daughter, Ann, in November 1846. Then on February 14, 1847, 28-year-old Richard unexpectedly died. Described as “an affectionate husband and father, a kind master,” he left behind his wife, Margaret, and his four-year-old daughter, Lizzie.
At the age of 25, Margaret Kerr Glass found herself widowed, left alone to raise her young child. She had buried her husband and youngest child within four months of each other, and now faced the daunting task of moving forward.
Margaret had grown up near Hawfields Church, professing her faith and becoming a member in 1840, and her family was available to support her during this time. Her father, Samuel Kerr, and brother, David W. Kerr were the executors of Richard’s estate, and ensured that Margaret’s Dower Petition was filed and approved, providing her with a place to live.
In 1849, Margaret married local merchant and farmer, Henderson Scott. Henderson lived in Burnt Shop which was just east of the Glass home, and it was there that he built a home to accommodate boarders for the newly created Melville School run by Dr. Alexander Wilson. Burnt Shop would come to be known as Melville in honor of the school. Henderson had convinced Dr. Wilson to move from Hillsborough and establish the school, and the family would have a close association with him for many years.
It was perhaps this association with the Wilsons that would lead to Lizzie, as well as Margaret’s sister, Annie, attending school in Hillsborough, specifically at Mr. and Mrs. Burwell’s. Dr. Wilson knew the Burwells and their school, and in an 1846 letter published in The Hillsborough Recorder, Wilson praised the school, stating, “I believe that this school affords advantages for the education of young ladies, seldom surpassed.”
In February 1854, Margaret received a letter from her half-sister, Annie H. Kerr. Annie, nearly 18-years-old, was a student at Mr. & Mrs. Burwell’s school in Hillsborough, NC. It is unknown how long she had attended the school, but in her letter she asks her sister when Lizzie will be attending as well; “Do you intend sending Lizzie with me next session if I come back? Mrs. Burwell has been asking me why she didn’t come, but I didn’t know what to tell her so I had to make some excuse. I was afraid she would think I told you something that you thought I was not satisfied.” Margaret obviously did not feel that Annie was unsatisfied, and in August of 1854, she enrolled Lizzie in the Burwells’ school.
The Burwells had been operating a female school in Hillsborough since 1837, when at the urging of one of Reverend Burwell’s parishioners, Mrs. Burwell started educating young women at their home. The Burwells were originally from Dinwiddie County, Virginia, but had made their way to Hillsborough in December 1835 so that Mr. Burwell could take over as minister at Hillsborough Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Burwell was well educated, having been taught at home by her Aunt Bott, and was also an imposing figure, standing at nearly six feet tall. Annie writes to Lizzie in August 1854 asking, “Have you seen Mrs. Burwell yet? Isn’t she larger and handsomer? Do you think would like to have her as your master or mistress?”
Girls who attended the Burwell’s school received an education similar to that of young men at the time. The public school system in North Carolina was still in its infancy, so well-to-do families continued to send their children off to private schools to be educated. The course of study at the school was designed to take around four years, and the school prided itself on the quality of education its students received. In an early advertisement for the school, the Burwell’s described their educational philosophy: “Great care is taken to teach the young ladies to think and to make them thorough scholars and useful members of society. They are first made well acquainted with Spelling, Grammar, Geography, History, Arithmetic and Writing and are then taught Rhetoric, Philosophy and Chemistry. Parents and guardians may be assured that great attention will be paid to the manners and morals of the pupils, both in and out of the school.”
The second 20-week session of 1854 began on July 12, 1854. Parents paid $80 for board and tuition, with extra fees for music, modern languages and art, all taught by Maj. Frederic Terrlant. This was the first session Lizzie would attend at the Burwell School. It does not appear that Lizzie initially boarded with the Burwells. The Burwell family was quite large, and the property could only accommodate so many people, requiring Reverend and Mrs. Burwell to limit the number of boarders they accepted in their own home. The Burwells often included in advertisements that “board can also be had in respectable families.”
For the first few sessions, Lizzie was possibly under the care of Henrietta Heartt, daughter of Dennis Heartt, publisher of the Hillsborough Recorder, the local newspaper. Heartt’s family was associated with Lizzie’s parents through Dr. Alexander Wilson, who ran the school at Melville. Dr. Wilson’s daughter, Alice, had married Dennis Heartt’s son Edwin, and lived in Dennis’s home, Heartsease, in Hillsborough. Also in the household were his daughters Caroline and Henrietta, as well as his granddaughters, and possibly a young boy named Sammy. Even if Lizzie did not board with the Heartts, she was closely associated with the family, and was urged by her mother to consult “Miss Henrietta” about almost everything. In one letter, Margaret told Lizzie to “never go or do anything without her permission, always ask her consent.”
In later sessions, it seems likely that Lizzie boarded with a local woman and member of Reverend Burwell’s church, Miss Julia Minor. In a letter to her daughter Fanny in 1854 Mrs. Burwell writes, “Lizzie Glass has come since I wrote, so Miss Julia has one boarder.” For her final session, Lizzie was apparently boarding with the Burwells. She writes in her last known letter to her mother about going down to see Miss Bettie and Miss Julia, and how no one but Miss Bettie seemed happy to see her. “Miss Bettie said she felt like crying when she heard I was going to board up here,” and that “Miss Julia didn’t have anything to say to me.”
Lizzie goes on to describe the boarding experience with the Burwells in the letter to her mother, “Three of the girls have gone in the dining room to work up the dishes. My time has not come round yet to keep house, but it will be my time Monday.” According to other student accounts, boarders in the Burwell household had small chores as part of their education. The bulk of the work, however, fell to enslaved members of the Burwell household.
Regardless of who Lizzie was boarding with, Margaret felt confident that Lizzie would be well cared for by her boarding family. Writing in September 1854 she stated, “My thoughts are much on you, but knowing that you are so pleasantly situated makes my anxieties about you less than would otherwise be. You are placed in such a pious good family where I know your religious education will not be neglected and which I think of more importance than all things else. Your opportunities for improving in other respects are so much better than they would be with me and you must try to learn fast and be a good girl.” In February 1855, Margaret writes, “the recollection that you are placed under the care of not only and intelligent and admirable lady, but a devoted Christian, affords me a pleasure which nothing else can.”
How different it must have been for Lizzie, to leave home at the age of eleven and to find herself living in the household of another family. For a young girl, away from home for likely the first time, it would have been a challenge. She received encouragement from her mother, who wrote to her saying, “I am certain of the fact that if you are a good girl you will have much kindness, even among strangers.” Lizzie had been in Hillsborough for about two months when she wrote to her mother, “I want to go home, but I recon there is not chance so I might as well say I don’t then.” While home was only 14 miles away, going home regularly was not really an option. Roads between Hillsborough and Melville were notoriously bad, making travel between the two long and messy. Margaret also bemoaned not being able to see Lizzie regularly. In October 1854 she wrote, “I did think I would get to see you, but reckon I will not now until your session is out.”
Not only was Lizzie way from her mother and step-father, she was also not there to see her half-siblings grow up and help her mother with their care. In February 1855 Margaret wrote to Lizzie, “Sammie and little sis want to see you when winter is over and the weather becomes warm and pleasant. Perhaps Miss H [Henrietta] and you can take a ride out to Hawfields. Lizzie worried about her mother, who not only was raising her own family, but caring for boarders as well. “I wish I could be at home with you,” she writes, and she urges her mother to have her sisters come to stay and help with the family.
While Lizzie was always cared for by the adults charged with boarding her, she still relied on her mother for advice, and like many children away at school was thrilled to receive care packages from home. From the letters between the two, it is clear that Margaret cared for the happiness of her child and did what she could to see to Lizzie’s wants and needs. During Lizzie’s first session at the school, her mother sent a cake, and then later sent along eggs so the cook in Hillsborough could prepare another cake for her. Margaret also was constantly concerned that Lizzie had the material items she needed, including books and clothing.
Lizzie was appreciative of her mother’s care, and wrote regularly with her thanks. She seemed concerned about the time and energy Margaret spent in sending her things. “Mother,” she wrote in September 1854, “you must not pester yourself too much about me.” It is clear that Margaret never ceased in thinking of her child, and in 1856 Lizzie expressed her gratitude, “Mother, I cannot express all my thanks or words for the things you and Pa sent me. I know I have the best parents in the whole world.”
Life in Hillsborough was likely very different from her life at home. Her “Aunt Annie” wrote in 1854, “Don’t you think Hillsboro is much better looking than Graham. I do. It think it is better in all respects, but it is a much older village.” Lizzie had the opportunity to experience things she may have missed in her smaller hometown, like the fair she attended during her first session at school where she enjoyed cake and ice cream, bought her sister a doll, but did not buy a needlebook for her mother like she wanted because it “cost so much.”
Lizzie attended school for two years, and in addition to the academic subjects she also took music lessons. The Burwells depended on the income from the “ornamental” classes to help cover the costs of the teaching staff, as well as upkeep on the school. Obtaining and keeping these teachers was quite a burden for them, and Lizzie was a student during one of the more trying periods for the Burwells in regards to staffing.
When Lizzie first started school, Maj. Frederick Terrlant was the music teacher. By the winter term of 1855 there were 22 scholars at the school, but in mid-February Maj. Terrlant had been unable to teach for some time due to sickness and according to Mrs. Burwell “the girls’ music and French [were] suffering.” Maj. Terrlant rallied, and put on a soiree musical in March 1855 of which Mrs. Burwell wrote to her daughter Fanny that “the girls did pretty well, better than we expected.” It would be Maj. Terrlant’s last session at the school.
When the new session opened in July 1855, a new music teacher was employed by the Burwells. Mr. Vampill was to teach the girls and the Burwells had gone to quite a bit of trouble to prepare for his arrival. But Mr. Vampill proved to be a poor fit for the school. In October 1855, the Burwells learned of Mr. Vampill’s “improper conduct to some of the girls.” Lizzie wrote to her mother of the ordeal, stating that “Mr. Burwell dismissed his music teacher yesterday.” The Burwells had their daughter, Nannie take the music classes until a replacement teacher could be found.
Lizzie continued her musical education with the new Burwell music teacher, Mr. Hunt, in the winter session of 1856. That session, Lizzie was working on a piece called “The Prima Dona Waltz.” Composed by Jullien Louis Antoine in 1853, the short piece was, according to Lizzie, “very pretty when Miss Bettie plays it.”
It is possible that Lizzie anticipated playing this piece at the end of term “Soiree” that was typically organized by the school. However, there is no record of a program for that end of term. The Burwells were dealing with a family tragedy, the death of their daughter, Fanny, who had been staying with family in New York to be “finished.” The students were well aware of Fanny’s sickness, but not perhaps the severity of it. On April 18, 1856 Lizzie wrote to her mother, “Mrs. Burwell will be home next week, Mr. Fred Strudwick is going after her. I wish Mr. Burwell would go himself and let us have a holiday.”
Evidently Mr. Burwell did end up going North to assist his wife and daughter. Nine days later, on April 27, 1856, Fannie Burwell died aboard the steamer Jamestown on her way home with both her parents. She had contracted erysipelas, also known as St. Anthony’s Fire, a bacterial infection of the skin. Her death was a blow to the entire family, and it is likely that the end of the winter 1856 school term was much altered from previous years.
Despite their loss, the Burwells did reopen the school for the fall session of 1856. They still took in student boarders, and among them was Lizzie Glass. In a chatty letter to her mother on July 28, 1856 she discussed life at the Burwells home, mentioning that Nannie Burwell had been quite sick and that a “little black child” died there the day before, possibly of dysentery. Sickness appeared to be rampant at that time, with Mrs. Alice Heartt’s baby dying the week before and illness among the Heartt boarders.
The July 28 letter would serve to be the last known that Lizzie would send to her mother. In the missive she spoke of having her likeness taken and debated the choice of an ambrotype over a degueareaotype. She mentioned that Mr. Hunt, the music teacher, had put her back into the instruction book and had not yet given her a piano piece to work on. Lizzie implores her parents to get her a piano so she can practice between terms, lamenting “I have forgotten nearly all the pieces I played last session, but I can very easily learn them again in vacation if I had a Piano.”
It is unknown if her parents planned to purchase the requested piano. Less than a month after requesting the instrument from her parents, Mary Elizabeth Glass was dead. She passed away on August 18, 1856 at the age of 13. According to her obituary, “in natural disposition she was amiable, gentle and affectionate and was beloved by all the household.” In January 1857, her step-father, Henderson Scott wrote to his nephew of her death. He mentioned that Lizzie had only been at school for a short time before she became sick, and the illness lasted about three weeks. She was about a year away from completing her education.
Lizzie was buried by her father and younger sister in the cemetery at Hawfields Presbyterian Church in Alamance County, North Carolina. She would not have the opportunity to write more letters to her mother or her Aunt Annie; she would not meet the rest of her half-siblings or see the successes they would have in the world. Lizzie’s life was cut tragically short, a not uncommon fact of the times when medical professionals did not have the tools to fight what today would be curable diseases. The brevity of her life, did not however impact her importance to those who loved her. Her mother Margaret kept her letters, and through these handwritten conversations, it is possible to piece together an idea of what the short life of Lizzie Glass may have looked like.
Lizzie’s mother, Margaret Graham Kerr Glass Scott died in 1892 at the age of 70. Her descendans went on to be influential members of the community and state. Her grandson, William Kerr Scott (1896-1958), Lizzie’s nephew, was Governor of North Carolina from 1949-1952. Her great-grandson, Robert Walter Scott (1929-2009) served as Governor of North Carolina from 1968-1973.
The Scott Family Collection at Alamance Community College in Graham, NC manages letters, images and artifacts associated with the family, including the letters between Margaret and Lizzie while she was away at school. It is through these letters that Mary Elizabeth Glass lives on, without these records, it is impossible to imagine who she may have been and what she might have become.
By Carrie V. Currie
February 2020
Mary Elizabeth was called Lizzie.
Mary Elizabeth Glass was born on January 5, 1843, in Graham, Alamance County, NC. She died on August 18, 1856, and was buried in Hawfields, NC.