20 question (or more) #21

This is a quick round with three clues

I am an honorable vocation...... I will only accept one title in this game though their are variations of titles in this profession

The second clue is I am in world book encyclopedia as being the first to go by this title in Kentucky .

Remember I am not the first anywhere else* but Kentucky *...to avoid confusing you with the above general
clue
*edit
The person noted as a first in Ky clue is also one of Michael"s ancestors

Are you Colonel Sanders?

No clue I am a vocation, not a person lol

What...you're related to a vocation?

I am related to several people who chose this vocation (one the people that chose this vocation got their name in world book and is related to me . I can't think of anyone who is alive today that has not met someone who chose this vocation.

You can just ignore the clues if you find them distracting :)

Are you a religious vocation?

No .. at least it is not necessary to be religious to chose this profession or vocation as secularly defined

Are you a type of military vocation?

No On thinking about it, the term most commonly used is "occupation" in place of a feeling of answering a vocational call

Does it involve alcohol?

No

When you say your ancestor was in a world book for this occupation, was it an unusual profession back then?

You say most living persons would know someone with this occupation so has it become more common over the years?

I don't think it has ever been unusual ,if the article was inaccurate it would be because we don't usually think of native Americans as having occupations in that sense.

I would guess it has become more common over the years though it was never that uncommon in this common era

Teacher?

Yes

Frances Jane Greenleaf Coomes - Maryland to Ky

This was the setting at Fort Harrod where they settled and where Mrs. Coomes became the first school teacher of our infant commonwealth.
Jane Coomes's little school was built of the customary round logs with no chinking between them. It had a dirt floor, a slab door hung on deer thongs, and only one window. According to one authority this window was covered with doe skin; another had it greased paper. A mammoth fireplace, which extended along the entire east wall, had an opening at the south end through, which sections of logs could be hauled in and fitted over andirons. The seats were made of puncheons set on peg legs; there were no backs. A dunce stool stood in the corner; a rod for chastising nearby.
Mrs. Coomes taught the beginners the alphabet which was inscribed on paddle-shaped pine shingles. These paddles were equally useful to impart knowledge or inflict punishment. They were imitations of the hornbooks of Queen Elizabeth's time. Dillworth's speller and the New Testament were the sole textbooks. When the they studied the Bible and hymnbooks. They learned to write and solve number problems from copies set them by the teacher. Charcoal and smooth boards took the place of paper and pencil, and the juice of oak balls were used for ink.
It was a 'blab school' where all studied aloud, their swaying bodies keeping time to the tune of their ABCs. Perhaps the children studied as hard - being grateful for any opportunity to learn - as the boys and girls of today do, who have cultured teachers and attractive textbooks. Certainly their teacher was a woman of more education than was common for women at that time

Very interesting. When was this Michael?

She was most likely one of the first Anglo at fort Harrod 1785 but her gg granddaughter Georgia E Coomes Thompson grave can be seen from a KFC in Bardstown...... Georgia was my mothers' grandmother

Frances Jane Greenleaf2983, 2984 was born Abt. 1747 in Charles County, Maryland2985, and died April 24, 1826 in Nelson Co. Kentucky2985. She married William Coomes on 17602985, 2986, son of Thomas Coomes and Elizabeth Wharton.

Includes NotesNotes for Frances Jane Greenleaf:
Frances Jane Coomes manufactured the first salt in Kentucky.
She did so at Drilling's Lick, the first stop of the pioneer group moving
deeper into Kentucky. The group reached Fort Harrod on September 8, 1775.

Frances Jane was the first schoolteacher in Kentucky. Her little
schoolhouse was built of customary round logs with no chinking between
them. It had a dirt floor; a slab door hung on deer thongs, and only one
window. {The following statement is of particular interest: "with low
pay, often in tobacco - which was legal tender- bear bacon, buffalo steak
or jerked venison, these pioneers eeked outa precarious existence.}
There was a long fireplace on one wall, a dunce stool in the corner, and
a chastizing rod nearby. The alphabet was inscribed on paddle shaped pine
shingles (which also came in handy when a child needed punishment).
Dillard's Speller and the New Testament were the only textbooks. It was a
blab school, where all studied aloud. The Coomes school was kept open,
despite the hardships and irregularities of pioneer life, for three to
four months each year.

Frances Jane and her family remained in the fort for nine years, during
which time, William Coomes took an honorable part in the defense of the
station through the siege of 1776-1777. He leared land and helped with
the provisioning of the fort. One of the Coome's sons was in the famous
battle of Blue Licks.

William Coomes was registered in the records as the owner of one thousand
acres of land. Part of theis acreage is the present site of Wickland,
Kentucky - home to three governors.

In 1784 the family moved to Nelson County, Kentucky, and Francis and
William Coomes are buried in Bardstown, Kentucky.

(On the site of the original schoolhouse sets a replica with a plaque
honoring Mrs. William Coomes, first schoolteacher of Kentucky)