Last week I showed the names the Van Wert and Mercer County students who successfully passed the 1911 Patterson Exam. The Patterson Exam was given to eighth grade students to make sure they were ready to enter high school. If a student passed the exam he or she could enter the high school of their choice.
The names of those who passed the Patterson Exam were reported The Celina Democrat and the Van Wert Daily Bulletin and I was interested to see if I recognized any of those names. I noticed Edna Schumm of Willshire Township passed the exam in 1911.
I also wondered if my grandpa Cornelius Schumm had taken and passed the test. He was born in Van Wert County in September 1896 and he likely would have completed the eighth grade in 1913 or 1914. I saw that one of grandpa’s friends, Herbert Gunsett, passed the exam in 1913. They were about the same age but Cornelius Schumm was not listed among the 1913 or 1914 Patterson graduates.
Either Grandpa did not pass the Patterson Exam or he did not take it.
Just to double check I looked at the 1940 census and that indicates that the highest level of education Grandpa Cornelius completed was the eighth grade.
Below are the names of those who successfully completed the 1912, 1913, and 1914 Patterson Exams in Willshire Township and some from Mercer County. The Van Wert Times Bulletin did a better job reporting the names than The Celina Democrat. Perhaps you will recognize some of the names.
1912 Patterson graduates from Willshire Township:
Patterson grads, Willshire Township, Van Wert Times Bulletin, 9 May 1912
1912 Patterson graduates from Mercer County. This group mentions Willshire and I wonder if those students attended a Mercer County school that was considered part of Willshire, likely south of Willshire in Blackcreek Township:
Patterson Commencement, Mercer County, Celina Democrat, 3 May 1912
Patterson Commencement, Mercer County, Celina Democrat, 3 May 1912
1912 Patterson Commencement in Liberty Township, Mercer County:
Patterson Commencement, Liberty Twp, Mercer County, Celina Democrat, 31 May 1912
1913 Patterson commencement, Van Wert County and Willshire Township’s graduates:
Patterson Commencement, Van Wert County, Van Wert Times Bulletin, 27 May 1913
Patterson Grads, Willshire Twp, Van Wert Times Bulletin, 27 May 1913
1913 Patterson commencement in Liberty Township, Mercer County:
Patterson Commencement, Liberty Twp, Mercer County, Celina Democrat, 6 Jun 1913
1914 Patterson commencement, Van Wert County and Willshire Township graduates:
Patterson Commencement, Willshire Township, Van Wert Times Bulletin, 29 May 1914
Patterson Grads, Willshire Township, Van Wert Times Bulletin, 29 May 1914
2 comments
Karen: Thanks for this posting. I looked in last week’s listing and found my father, Russell Byer, in Blackcreek Township, 1911. He went to high school in Van Wert and graduated in 1915. I was surprised at the absence of any other Blackcreek names that I thought would be present, particularly Riley, Ross, Dudgeon and Winkler.
The test sample didn’t show up very clearly, but it looked formidable.
Author
Interesting. Not many from this area went on to high school and your father was one of the very few. I agree. That test looked rather challenging. Thanks for writing!