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[ED. FORM, No. 4.]

SUB-ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER'S (OR AGENT'S) MONTHLY REPORT on Education of Freedmen and Refugees in Sub-District, State of Texas in charge of Nesbit B. Jenkins for the Month of May 1868, [in accordance with order contained in Circular No. 5, Bureau R., F., & A.L.]

1. Name of your Sub-District? Wharton and Matagorda west of the Colorado River
 
2. Whole number of Refugee or Freedmen's Schools in this District? 1 Day? 1 Night? -- Sabbath?

3. Location of Schools? One School is located on the One School is located on the Franks Plantation near Wharton And one in Egypt district. Wharton County 

4. Whole number of Teachers? 1 White? 1 Colored?

5. Names and post-office address of Day-School Teachers? Mrs Harriet Smith Wharton Texas

6. Whole number of School-houses for Freedmen in your District? one. Their condition, capacity, value, and by whom owned? In what is called the Egypt district there is one school house nearly completed with room enough for about sixty five scholars. The land was bought last year by the Freedmen by whom it is owned

7. Number of your visits to Schools? one Day? _ Night? _ Sabbath? _

8. Number of educational meetings held by you during the month? _ Where? _

9. Number and names of places, now destitute, in which Day-Schools might be organized? In the above mentioned District the Freedpeople are destitute of a school. For the one they have (Night School) Wm Roach Teacher teacher is scarcely deserving of notice

10. Number of pupils (estimated) who would attend such Schools? The number of Freedpeople who have children of an age to be educated are pretty numerous in that district but the number who are able to pay the expenses of tuition are far too sustain a school unless a teacher could be found with some means of support over

11. Amount which would probably be raised by the Freedmen, for school purposes, in each destitute neighborhood? and above the pittance they could draw from the Freedpeople whose pecuniary means are at the present time at so low an ebb that I do not think any amount could be raised by them without increasing their difficulties and pressing heavily upon their limited resources. 

12. What efforts are you making to secure the support of schools by pupils, parents, boards of education, or the State government? On every occasion when I speak to the Freedpeople on this subject I receive the same response viz. that they are too poor to sustain their schools and they are [[?]] unable to do anything in this direction on account of their impoverished condition. 

13. Whole number of additional School-houses, for Freedmen, now wanted in your Sub-District?

14. Could you organize your Sub-District into School Districts, each with a School Committee pledged to carry on schools therein? For this reason I apprehend little can be successfully done in the way of organizing schools in my sub district at least at the present time.

15. To what extent would help from without be needed in such cases?

16. What is the public sentiment as to the education of the Freedmen and Poor Whites? On the subject of education generally there is great indifference manifested by the white people even in regard to the ignorant of their own race and color but against colored schools and against the advocates and teachers of such schools their indifference changes into a blind and stupid prejudice from which very few if any are exempt.

17. Are Night-Schools for Adults needed in your District? No In what way could they be carried on? At this season of the year where all are busy tending the crops night schools would not be successful or well attended by the weary laborer. For I cannot believe as a general thing that men who labor all day are fit for much mental effort at night I am of the opinion that education will not be generally practicable to the freedpeople until it is brought home to them by free schools. 

18. What more can this Bureau do for educating children of Refugees (or Poor Whites)?

19. How long will Northern charitable aid be needed for Freemen and Refugee Schools of your District? And that if that cannot be done that they will long be dependent on Northern charitable aid which tho' never so adundant will not be sufficient to meet all it will be called upon to do

I hereby certify, on honor, that I have given personal attention to the matters herein named, and that the answers given are, according to my best knowledge and belief, correct. 

Nesbit B. Jenkins
Sub-Asst. Com., Bureau R.,F.,& A.L.
 

Transcription Notes:
"Egypt district" verified Question 11's response continues in the line under Question 12. I completed the response with Question 11 and placed 12 following. Question 12's response then continues through the lines for 13 and 14. This continues throughout the 2nd half of the document-- I kept each response with its respective question rather than placing the questions between. Unsure if this is the appropriate way to transcribe.