Mary Villa is a large building situated at the top of Church Street and has spacious grounds attached to it. Handbook of Jamaica, 1883
Father Jaeckel's Mary Villa College, 1877 - 1888
in the 1880s
1880
The announcement in the item below is apparently a confirmation of Fr Jaeckel's earlier wish to welcome non-Roman Catholics into his school. The item in the Gleaner on June 17 baffles me and I still have to find out the significance of Fr Jaeckel's graduation in Quebec, when I would have though he had graduated long before in Germany; there is no indication as to the nature of this new degree.
Daily Gleaner, April 10, 1880
Daily Gleaner, June 17, 1880
Daily Gleaner, June 30, 1880
Daily Gleaner, July 13, 1880
Daily Gleaner, October 8, 1880
Fr Jaeckel defended his readiness to teach boys for the new scholarships against some scepticism from another correspondent. (I apologise for the illegibility of one of the letters; I've done my best, but I cannot read some sections of it either!)
1881
'Lastly, there is the Jamaica Scholarship instituted by the late Sir Anthony Musgrave, one of the most enlightened, and large viewed Governors Jamaica has ever had. This Scholarship has amply demonstrated since its institution the intellectual prowess of Jamaicans of all classes.'
Daily Gleaner, June 26, 1890
'As regards the Jamaica Scholarship the scholars were not all of the higher class two had been sons of carpenters and the other had no means.'
Daily Gleaner, April 18, 1891
In 1881 the Jamaica Scholarship was established, and Father Jaeckel felt he was well prepared to instruct those who wanted to compete for it. The Gilchrist Scholarship was offered by the University of London in the West Indies for a few years in the early 1880s.
I have been checking the early Jamaica Scholarship winners and as far as I can tell none of them were pupils of Mary Villa College. It is interesting that the most successful school in winning Jamaica Scholarships in the 1880s was York Castle in St Ann, which had been established by the Methodists in 1876 under Dr William Clarke Murray as headmaster.
Daily Gleaner, December 30, 1880
Daily Gleaner, Jamuary 6, 1881
1882-3 [The paucity of references during these two years is not entirely explicable; more work needed!]
Daily Gleaner, July 3, 1883
1884
Daily Gleaner, January 3, 1884
Daily Gleaner, July 15, 1884
In the fall of 1884 Fr Jaeckel started to run an advertisement about a 'New Departure', which continued to appear until April of the following year. Lowered fees and more space for boarders are mentioned, but it is not really clear what the 'New Departure' entailed. I shall continue to look out for any elaboration on this move.
1885
Mary Villa College continued on, presumably including the 'New Departure', and certainly including the enetertainments set out on the THEATRE page.
Daily Gleaner, July 8, 1885
1886
Daily Gleaner, January 6, 1886
Daily Gleaner, July 10, 1886
Daily Gleaner, April 1, 1886
1887
Daily Gleaner, January 11, 1887
Daily Gleaner, July 5, 1887
Although I have not been able to identify the original news item which stimulated these two letters, they make clear the conflicting views of the two esteemed headmasters. It seems that there was real competition between the two popular schools.
Daily Gleaner, July 14, 1887
Daily Gleaner, July 16, 1887
1888
Daily Gleaner, January 10, 1888
Daily Gleaner, July 14, 1888
Daily Gleaner, February 16, 1888
Daily Gleaner, April 11, 1888
There are interesting names on these lists, such as H A Josephs, Jamaica's first Black barrister, S A G "Sandy" Cox, founder of the National Club, R H Fletcher, father of Douglas Fletcher and grandfather of Richard Fletcher . . . and you will certainly be able to find others.
Note: the first Cambridge Local Exams in Jamaica were run in 1882; I have found no mention of Mary Villa students in the results for the years 1882 to 1886.
Daily Gleaner, April 18, 1889
