A Bank, a Library, and a Hospital

The Legacy of Benjamin F. Harris and Julia F. Burnham

Peggy Christensen

Summer Fellowship 2007

To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.

Lesson 1: Students need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources as well as limitations of each.

Procedures:

• To facilitate this understanding, read the following excerpt from Notes of B.F. Harris, Sr. reproduced from the original manuscript by B.F. Harris, III. Produced and bound in November, 1964 for members of the family and friends. Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois. This account is on pages 4 and 5 and was originally written by B.F. Harris in 1899 when he was 88 years old. The original spellings, punctuation, and terms have been retained. Read this to students without additional background information or explanations:

“I was at six years of age when I commenced going to school. The school house was two miles and a half. I remember the morning I first started to school my mother gave me the little primer and folded up a nice square piece of paper. I asked her what the paper was for. She said it was a thumper and showed me how to use it. So I put out to school, arrive safely, walked in with my primer and thumpaper in hand. The teacher gave me a seat. I looked around and with other things I saw about a half dozen nice hickory switches sittin in one corner near the teacher’s chair. I wondered what they ware for in a short time the teacher drew out one of the hickorys and commenced whipping a boy. I soon found out what the hickory was for. I was scared and kept watch of the Teacher and the switches. Before night the switches was purty well used up. In those days whipping was all the go. The Teachers name was Pilcher. The first few days of my school life I put in my time in watching the Teacher and the switches he would bring in every morning to whip the scholars. In the course of a few weeks I got used to it, and continued going to school some three or four years, to different teachers, at the same school house, until I was about ten years old and then attended school in the winter and worked on the farm in the summer until I was sixteen years of age.”

• Next have students write what they can about the time B.F. Harris spent in school. They should skip every other line to allow room for corrections.
• Once students have finished writing, distribute Worksheet 1.
• Discuss, collect, and assess Worksheet 1.

Attachment:

• Worksheet 1: The Difference Between Primary and Secondary Sources

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: Notes of B.F. Harris, Sr. is a local primary source that is available at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

Ties to a National Primary Source: There is no tie to a national source in the lesson.

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