Education in the Quaker colony was initially provided for in the instrument of government, drawn up before the Proprietary left England; in accord with said provisions the first school (Flower’s) was set up by the Council in 1683. Thereafter, however, the initiative was usually taken by the Quaker meeting, which in 1689 set up a school and in 1697 applied for a charter under the laws of the province. This petition was granted and Penn gave the first charter in 1701. Later charters, in 1708 and 1711, granted extended privileges; by the last one the body of overseers were made self-perpetuating, and thus as independent of the meeting as they wished to be. The letter said to have been written to Thomas Lloyd, which credits Penn with suggesting the school of 1689, has not yet been discovered. [Sidenote: Earliest masters and mistresses] [Sidenote: Growth of system] The earliest masters were Keith, Makin, Pastorius, and Cadwalader. Mistresses were mentioned in connection with the schools from about 1699, Olive Songhurst being the first one named. Salaries were not high and seem in some cases to have hardly sufficed for the family of the master; increases were made upon complaint. Extra duties for the teacher included keeping charge of the boys and girls in meeting. From 1689 to 1779 the system increased from employing one to one which required nine. In 1784 ten were reported. [Sidenote: Means of support] Philadelphia Friends’ schools were first supported by (1) _rates_ and (2) _subscriptions_, while (3) _legacies_ and _special gifts_ soon came to form a considerable item in their support. Bequests were also a factor in the support of the Negro School. Funds were occasionally raised by bond issues, and derived from tenements built on school property. [Sidenote: Place of first schools] [Sidenote: Property by purchase and gift] [Sidenote: Overseers more independent] Schools were first held in rented property and in the meeting house, but in 1698 steps were taken to purchase property of Lionell Brittain for the use of schools. Property was received as a gift from Samuel Carpenter in 1701. The first record of a schoolhouse was the one to be begun in 1701. In accord with their charter rights the power and independence of the overseers increased. In 1725 the monthly meeting conveyed to them all money and the titles for all school property. The Negro School was provided with a building in 1771. The end of the century is marked by the establishment by the yearly meeting of a Boarding School at Westtown in Chester County. [Sidenote: Byberry]