Gradually developing the power to help themselves, the free people of color organized a society which in 1804 opened a school with John Trumbull as teacher.[1] About the same time the African Episcopalians founded a colored school at their church.[2] A colored man gave three hundred pounds of the required funds to build the first colored schoolhouse in Philadelphia.[3] In 1830 one fourth of the twelve hundred colored children in the schools of that city paid for their instruction, whereas only two hundred and fifty were attending the public schools in 1825.[4] The fact that some of the Negroes were able and willing to share the responsibility of enlightening their people caused a larger number of philanthropists to come to the rescue of those who had to depend on charity. Furthermore, of the many achievements claimed for the colored schools of Philadelphia none were considered more significant than that they produced teachers qualified to carry on this work. Eleven of the sixteen colored schools in Philadelphia in 1822 were taught by teachers of African descent. In 1830 the system was practically in the hands of Negroes.[5] [Footnote 1: Turner, _The Negro in Pennsylvania_, p. 129.] [Footnote 2: _Ibid._, p. 130.] [Footnote 3: _Special Report of the U.S. Com. of Ed._, 1871, p. 377.] [Footnote 4: _Proceedings of the American Convention_, etc., 1825, p. 13.] [Footnote 5: _Proceedings of the Am. Convention_, etc., 1830, p.8; and Wickersham, _History of Education in Pennsylvania_, p. 253.]