[4] The school opened in 1790 with Cornelius Davis as
a teacher of forty pupils. In 1791 a lady was employed to instruct the
girls in needle-work.[5] The expected advantage of this industrial
training was soon realized.
[Footnote 1: La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, _Travels_, etc., p. 233.]
[Footnote 2: _Am. Conv._, 1798, p. 7.]
[Footnote 3: Andrews, _History of the New York African Free Schools_,
p. 14.]
[Footnote 4: _Ibid._, pp. 14 and 15.]
[Footnote 5: _Ibid._, p. 16.]
Despite the support of certain distinguished members of the community,
the larger portion of the population was so prejudiced against the
school that often the means available for its maintenance were
inadequate. The struggle was continued for about fifteen years with an
attendance of from forty to sixty pupils.[1] About 1801 the community
began to take more interest in the institution, and the Negroes
"became more generally impressed with a sense of the advantages and
importance of education, and more disposed to avail themselves of
the privileges offered them."[2] At this time one hundred and thirty
pupils of both sexes attended this school, paying their instructor,
a "discreet man of color," according to their ability and
inclination.
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