Trenton Academy was a private school in the city of Trenton, New Jersey, from 1781 to 1884 that served children ages 4–16. It was located on Academy Street where the Trenton Public Library is presently located."Louise Hewitt" Historic Trenton The Smith Press Trenton New Jersey 1916: pp. 18-19
History
In 1781 prominent members of the Trenton community created a company promoting the cause of education in the city. It was organized as a stock company and the board of trustees were elected annually from the stockholders. By 1785, the school was formally named Trustees of Trenton Academy. After 1789 the school issued a certificate under the seal of the corporation to scholars which studied the English language grammatically and gained competent knowledge of at least 2 branches of Extraction of the Roots, Algebra, Mathematics, Geography, Chronology, History Logic Rhetoric, Moral and Natural Philosophy, Spirit of Laws and Criticism, the students also read, what is usually read in schools: Caesars Commentaries or Ovid's Metamorphoses, Justin or Sallust in Latin and any two of the four following books, The New Testament, Lucian's Dialogue, Xenophon or Homer in Greek."Francis Bazley Lee" History of Trenton, New Jersey F. T. Smiley & Company Trenton N.J. 1895: pp. 103-104"John O. Raum" History of the City of Trenton, New Jersey Trenton N.J. W.T. Nicholson & Co Printers 1871: p. 223
During the late 1790s, the Academy held a lottery to raise money. In 1800, they leased part of the Presbyterian church ground on State street for a girls' school. The Trustees of the Academy passed a resolution prohibiting the students from shooting guns within the limits of the school in the year 1807. In the winter of 1815-1816, the Academy was used by the Methodist church to hold one of the first Sunday schools in the country. The school flourished for many years as a notable institution in Trenton New Jersey.Francis Bazley Lee, 1895, pp. 104 Many statesmen and notable citizens attended the institution.
In 1847 a new building was erected and the trustees reduced the tuition. By 1870 the principal of the academy was George R Grosvenor. The Trustees were Thomas J Stryker, Gregory Anthony Perdicaris, Barker Gummere, Philemon Dickinson, and John S. Chambers.John O. Raum 1871, p. 224 By the year 1881, the school contained nineteen students and after 103 years around 1884, the school closed, currently the lot where the Trenton Academy once stood is now the Trenton Public Library. There is a plaque on the library describing the Trenton Academy.Francis Bazley Lee, 1895, pp. 104
Trustees
Stacy Potts 1781–1783, 1785-1787 Moore Furman 1781, 1783-1791 James Ewing 1781-1782 Isaac Collins 1781–1784, 1786-1796 William Houston 1781 David Brearley 1782-1784 Isaac Smith, 1782-1785 Conrad Kotts 1783, 1785-1800 Samuel W. Stockton 1784 Benjamin Pitfield 1784 Maskell Ewing 1788–1789, 1792, 1800 Charles Tompkins 1790 Peter Gordon 1791–1796, 1800 Alexander Chambers Jr. 1794 1800 Joseph Brearley 1798 Randall Rickey 1798 James S. Ewing 1804 Gideon H Wells 1804-1817 Charles Ewing 1804-1823 George Sherman 1817, 1822-1830 William Potts 1817-1821 Zachariah Rossell 1821-1835Thomas L. Woodruff 1821-1830 Charles Higbee 1823-1835 John S Chambers 1830 Charles Burroughs 1835-1861 (Former Mayor of Trenton) Henry W Green 1835-1847 James Ewing 1835-1852 Thomas J Stryker (1843-1872) Attended Civil War peace conference Francis A. Ewing 1843-1847 Philemon Dickinson 1847-1881 Rev Samuel Staar 1847-1858 Stacy G. Potts 1847-1865 William C. Howell 1847-1869 Gregory Anthony Perdicaris 1847-1880 Rev. John Hall 1887 William L. Dayton 1847-1859 Barker Gummere 1859-1881 Edward W. Scudder 1859-1880 John S. Chambers 1859-1880 William S Stryker 1880-1881 William Lewis Dayton Jr. 1880-1881Francis Bazley Lee, 1895, pp. 104-105
Notable alumni
Charles Conrad Abbott (1843–1919), archaeologist and naturalist J. Hart Brewer William L. Dayton (1807–1864), politician William Lewis Dayton Jr. Samuel R. Gummere William Stryker Gummere (1852–1933), lawyer who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey"W.S. Gummere Dead; 81 Years Old; Was Chief Justice in N. J.", Courier News, January 26, 1933. Accessed May 8, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Born in Trenton William Stryker Gummere, dean of the New Jersey judiciary, was born in Trenton June 24, 1852, the son of Elizabeth Stryker Gummere and Barker Gummere, an attorney, who for many years was one of the leaders of the state bar. He received his early education Trenton Academy and Lawrencerille School, graduating latter to matriculate at Princeton University." Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883), physician, alienist and hospital superintendent Gershom Mott (1822–1884), United States Army officer and a General in the Union ArmyKiovsky, Doug. "Gershom Mott: The darkness holds nothing back", Community News, March 30, 2022. Accessed May 8, 2025. "Born in Lamberton (present lower Trenton) to Gershom and Phoebe Scudder Mott, Gershom was the youngest of five siblings. He received his education at the Trenton Academy until he was 14 years old." Ion Hanford Perdicaris (1840–1925), author, professor, lawyer, painter and playwrightBlackwell, Jon. "1904: 'Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!'", The Trentonian. Accessed May 8, 2025. "Young Ion Perdicaris grew up with few cares in his luxurious life. He attended prestigious Trenton Academy, took on a dilettantish love of art and literature and wrote a verse play, Tent Life, around one of his paintings." Washington Roebling (1837–1926), civil engineer who supervised the construction of the Brooklyn BridgeWashington Roebling, Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Accessed May 8, 2025. "Roebling continued his studies at The Trenton Academy, which was one of the most well-known schools in the state of New Jersey." Charles Skelton Daniel Bailey Ryall William E Hoy James Hoy Jr."Staff Writers" The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography Volume XIII New York James T White & Company 1906: p. 521
References