Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1693-1696/7

In July, 1694, Francis Nicholson arrived in the Province. In September he summoned an Assembly to meet at St. Maries, and at once began to impress upon the members the importance of public education. He desired the doors of knowledge to be thrown open to the poor: the rich could open them for themselves; and what he wanted was a free school in every county…He argued and pleaded with the Councillors and Burgesses…He would himself give more than anybody…In fine, he pushed and dragged and shamed them into liberality…Indeed they thought they saw their way clear to two free schools, one at Severn for the Western, and one at Oxford for the Eastern Shore. Nicholson also turned his attention toward the insufficient provision for the clergy, whose condition in Maryland was, for the most part, deplorable, and urged the erection of a decent parsonage house with suitable glebe, in every parish…His zeal and generosity so impressed the Lower House, that they passed an address of thanks to him, which may be read in the Assembly proceedings. Another important act of his, in 1694, was to remove the seat of government from St. Maries to the new town on the Severn, called Anne Arundel, and afterwards Annapolis…In 1696 the desire of Nicholson’s heart was fulfilled. An Act was passed providing for a free school at Annapolis to be called King William’s School. An index to full-names, places and subjects completes this work.