Spelling Bee (1871)

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   OED has 1875 for "spelling bee."  I had found 27 November 1874 in THE NEW YORK TIMES, and there was a COMMENTS ON ETYMOLOGY note about it.  A little earlier than that is in the BROOKLYN EAGLE, 1 July 1874, pg. 4.
   The late Allen Walker Read wrote a fine article on the "spelling bee," and I think it's included in the recent PADS volume.
   I just noticed that Merriam-Webster has 1872 for "spelling bee."  Those people are good--they beat my EAGLE antedate!
   From HARPER'S WEEKLY, page 876:

Search the Full-Text of Harper's Weekly, 1857-1912
71-09-16

. . . were tasks to
others were nothing to him. His active and
capable brain, like a vast sponge (we speak re-
spectfully), drew in every thing in its way. One
of his peculiar gifts was good spelling -- a great
feature in the days when "spelling bees" were
known, and the rivalry between schools was as
sharp and as exciting as the present boat-racing
between Oxford and Cambridge. The writer

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