The Wilmington Boarding School for Girls
Date
1961
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The subject of research for my thesis is the Wilmington Boarding School for Girls. This highly successful institution existed for some fifty years of the nineteenth century and offered an outstanding education for its day. Well over a thousand girls attended it, both boarding and day students, and they included not only local girls, presenting many of Wilmington's leading families, but a sizable number from neighboring states and even states farther away. ☐ My study includes an investigation into the lives of those who conducted the Wilmington Boarding School, especially Samuel and Eli Hilles, who were prominent citizens of the community for many years, as well as Madame Capron, Joshua Maule, John M. Smith, and Martha and Dubré Knight. I have also surveyed American secondary education during the first half of the nineteenth century, and in particular, schools for young ladies. Of particular interest were the private schools for girls which were operated in Wilmington during that period. ☐ In considering the Wilmington Boarding School for Girls, Ihave undertaken and examination of the school's curriculum and compared it with that of other girls' schools of the time, as well as investigating the methods and materials of instruction. I have also attempted to gather as much information as possible about the pupils and their homes, and about the teachers and their background. ☐ My research has centered on local sources of information, namely the Memorial Library of the University of Delaware, the Wilmington Institute Free Library, the Historical Society of Delaware, and the Wilmington Friends Meeting records. I have had correspondence with several descendants of Samuel Hilles, and visited one in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It is possible that additional material might be found at Haverford College or through the records of the Society of Friends in Philadelphia or Swarthmore, but I was unable to consult these sources at the present time. I do believe that I have unearthed and examined about all the material available concerning the Wilmington boarding school for girls in and around this city.