CORONA COLLEGE
           AS AN EXAMPLE OF ANTEBELLUM SOUTHERN EDUCATION

                             SECTION IV
                    SOUTHERN ANTEBELLUM EDUCATION

        Academies were the primary form of education in the South for
many years. This type of institution was a product of the frontier
period and lasted such a long time because Southern state legislatures
were slow to support a public school system. Private academies also
made it easier to separate pupils by sex -- an important factor since
most Southerners felt that boys and girls should be educated
differently.

        Institutions educated young men from upper class families for
their future roles in society as public figures, and members of upper
class society expected female institutions to educate young ladies for
their dual role of wife and mother. Female education consisted
primarily of training. Girls must be wellread, but not exhibit signs
of abnormal intelligence or a knowledge of men's subjects, such as
science and higher mathematics. Intelligence was distressing to men;
however, reading aided a woman in conversation. Knowledge of the
Bible, classical literature, and history would make a woman an
engaging and sought after companion. [77]

        Southern academies also stressed English composition. As
Steven Stowe has argued, language was socially useful, but drew a
clear line between the sexes. Women's prose was very different than
men's. Men were taught to make points concisely so that they could
communicate in matters of business and politics. Women learned the
flowery prose of correspondence so that they could communicate with
one another and with male family members. [78] Another reason that
women learned a different sort of prose was the commonly accepted
difference in men's and women's natures. Members of society believed
that women felt emotions more deeply than men, especially affection,
and that women were also more sensitive than men. Female academies
sought to cultivate these womanly characteristics even in writing
style.

        Southern female academies also provided concentrated studies
of arithmetic. Addition and subtraction were essential elements of a
girl's future. Women managed the household accounts and enjoyed the
responsibility of ordering needed goods. For this purpose, many
academies also taught courses in comparison shopping. A girl had to be
an expert at this by the time that she took charge of her first
plantation household, or she could ruin her husband financially. [79]

        Academies tried to teach girls the social etiquette and
obligations that would be expected of them. Although secondary to
academica, educators placed some stress on accomplishments such as
needlework, music and dancing. Because education was usually completed
during the middle teen years (ages fifteen to eighteen), a young lady
made her transition from girlish nonsense to dignity and self-control
while at school. [80]  The numerous outings tended to hurry along this
transition. Lucy Irion's social activities at Corona College helped
her learn how to use reserve when dealing with the world.

        The main purposes of female education were almost all social.
Academies taught a Southern girl that all eyes were upon her and that
she must act accordingly. Jacob Mordecai of the female academy in
Warrenton, North Carolina, stated that the purpose of his school was
"to cultivate a Taste for neatness in their Persons and propriety of
manners" in young ladies. [81]  Mrs. Gaston's rules about appearance
and cleanliness seem to suggest that the Gastons also saw this as a
part of their purpose. Academies also taught girls the duties that God
had given them as women. Young girls were constantly reminded to care
for and cherish their families: father, mother, husband, and children.
Finally, academies sought to strengthen already existing family ties
by encouraging students to write home often. [82]

        A woman's duties to her family were the most important reasons
for her education. Marriage was "the cement of society," but could
never be a partnership unless the female was educated. [83]  In 1792,
Mary Wollstonecraft wrote a treatise on female education in which she
stated that "the intercourse of the sexes will never deserve the name
of fellowship... till (women) become enlightened citizens." She might
have been peculiar in her goal, but at least one man in the formative
period of Southern culture seemed to agree that women should have the
opportunity to become educated. [84] Thomas Jefferson had educated
both of his daughters and believed that other fathers should do the
same. His reasoning was that women held the responsibility for the
early education of their children. A woman directed most of her
daughter's education and could even be responsible for some of her
son's If a mother were educated, she would see that her son received
instruction until he was old enough to attend a real school.

        By the 1850s, most upper-class parents considered the
education of their daughters to be of some importance. However,
although they valued the accomplishments of their daughters, they
insisted that girls hold their competitiveness in check. Perhaps this
is one reason that Lucy was not more pleased at being selected as the
valedictorian of her class. Members of society considered competition
of any kind to be unladylike, and she had not only competed, she had
won.

        The first question that one must ask concerning Corona College
is: Was Corona unique among female academies in mid-nineteenth century
Mississippi? The only way to answer this question is to compare Corona
with other institutions in the state. One of the most easily
comparable facets of female education is the coursework offered.
Adequate figures on at least two such institutions: the Elizabeth
Female Academy and the Eastport Female Institute.

        The Elizabeth Female Academy in Washington, chartered in 1818,
was the first female institute opened in the state of Mississippi. The
building and grounds were donated to the Methodist Conference by Mrs.
Elizabeth Roach, and the school was named for her. The initial term
began on November 12, 1818, with G.F. Stiles as president and Jane B.
Sanderson as the first governess. [85]  Each morning began with chapel
at eight o'clock and classes from nine through twelve. Students
returned for classes in the afternoon at two and left at five. The
system of instruction was inductive -- tutors tried to cultivate the
facilities of attention and judgement. [86]

        School officials divided the scholars into three classes:
minor, junior, and senior.  Officials further split the junior and
senior classes into two sections apiece. The courses offered at the
Elizabeth Female Academy were:  orthography, reading, writing, grammar,
rhetoric, composition, geography, history, chronology, evidences of
Christianity, arithmetic, geometry, botany, astronomy, use of globes,
constitution and government of the United States, mythology, French,
and Latin. In Latin, Mr. Stiles required the girls to read AESOP'S
FABLES, SAERA HISTORO, VICI MOMEO, ILLUSTRAES, and BELLA GALLION. [87]

        Upon completion of the required coursework, a girl received
the master of science degree. This institution claimed to be the first
to grant a college degree to a woman; however, conclusive evidence
does not exist. Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, also claims this
honor. Nevertheless, the Elizabeth Female Academy was the first to
grant any degree to a female in Mississippi-- to Sarah Catherine Weeks
in 1830. [88]

        The second academy to be compared to Corona was also in old
Tishomingo county, where Corona was located. This was the Eastport
Female Institute. Officials of this school divided scholars into
four departments. The first department offered orthography, reading,
penmanship, Swift's Natural Philosophy, and mental arithmetic. The
second department taught geography, English grammar, practical
arithmetic, and history. The third department consisted of the
courses offered by the second department plus mythology, geometry,
and Smillie's Philosophy. The fourth department tutored girls in
rhetoric, natural and moral philosophy, chemistry, political economy,
composition, geometry, algebra, geology, mineralogy, analysis
of English poetry, astronomy, and evidences of Christianity.
Students could also add Latin, French or music to their regular
coursework. [89]

        All three academies had basically the same type of coursework.
The three might have differed in several courses, but the difference
was not enough to make Corona unique. The Elizabeth Female Academy and
Corona College also had almost the same daily schedule. Both
institutions required that students attend prayer and provided set
study hall hours. The main difference between Corona and the other two
academies was in the living arrangements made for the students. At
Eastport and Elizabeth, school officials made arrangements for
scholars to board with families in town. Corona College was one of the
few female academies in antebellum Mississippi to provide a dormitory.

        Both Lucy Irion's journal and her autograph book provide
evidence that she formed deep, lasting friendships while at Corona.
Anne Polk's autograph album provides the same evidence for another
student at Corona. Young antebellum girls probably formed similar
connections at other institutions; however, Corona girls had one large
advantage. They lived on campus in dormitory rooms. Girls at most
other institutions lived in the homes of respected local citizens and
formed their closest ties to their surrogate family. The other
boarders and Reverend Gaston's family comprised Lucy's surrogate home,
so she probably did feel a bond of sisterhood with her fellow
students. One must remember that Lucy did not even visit her family in
Columbus for over two years. The surrogate family at Corona appears to
have been especially important to her and to other girls like her.

        The passage in Lucy's journal which describes a reunion
between Lucy and Fannie Reynolds suggests that the feeling of
sisterhood remained strong for quite some time. By the time that Lucy
left Corona, the bonds of friendship and sisterhood that she felt
toward her fellow students, especially those girls with whom she
shared a room, were very strong. The joy that she displayed upon
seeing Fannie usually would be expressed only toward a member of one's
own family.

        The dreams that Lucy Irion shared with her schoolmates at
Corona were not unrealistic or unusual for the time period. She
and her closest friends wanted to become teachers in Texas. Teaching
was the only occupation deemed acceptable for young ladies, and many
young women did dream of teaching. Steven M. Stowe cited the example
of Bessie Lacy in his book, INTIMACY AND POWER IN THE OLD SOUTH:
RITUAL IN THE LIVES OF THE PLANTERS. She believed that she had found
(her) life's work in teaching, and declared (herself)... immune to the
love of men."  [90]  However, because both Bessie Lacy and Lucy Irion
came from moderately wealthy families, their dreams would never be
realized. Girls only became teachers if they were not marriageable and
if their families could not support them. Both fathers could, and did,
support their daughters until they married.


SECTION  V.  SUMMARY