William Holmes McGuffey

Notable people · Education · Author

William Holmes McGuffey

Miami University professor who compiled the first McGuffey Eclectic Readers in Oxford, the schoolbooks from which four generations of Americans learned to read.

Born September 23, 1800, near Claysville, Washington County
Died May 4, 1873, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born: September 23, 1800, near Claysville, Washington County source
Died: May 4, 1873, University of Virginia, Charlottesville source
Buried: University of Virginia Cemetery, Charlottesville source
Also known as: William H. McGuffey, W. H. McGuffey
Education: Greersburg Academy, Darlington, PA
: Washington College, Washington, PA, graduated 1826
Known as: Education, Author
Organizations: Miami University, Cincinnati College, Ohio University

Life story

William Holmes McGuffey was born in 1800 in Claysville, Pennsylvania, to Scottish immigrant parents who valued school and church. He learned in a country school, then Greersburg Academy, and graduated from Washington College in 1826.

That same year he went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as professor of ancient languages. He married Harriet Spinning of Dayton in 1827 and became a licensed Presbyterian minister in 1829.

In 1836 a Cincinnati publisher began issuing his school readers. They sold more than 120 million copies by 1960. His brother Alexander wrote the fifth and sixth volumes.

He led Cincinnati College (1836-39) and Ohio University (1839-43), taught at Woodward College, and from 1845 held a chair at the University of Virginia, where he died in 1873.

Ohio ties

Coitsville Township, near Youngstown (1802-1817)
boyhood on the family farm (then Trumbull County); first lessons from his mother and Latin from the Youngstown Presbyterian pastor Mahoning County · source
Oxford, Miami University (1826-1836)
professor of ancient languages, then (1832) of moral philosophy; built the Spring Street house in 1833 and compiled the first Readers there Butler County · source
Bethel Church on Indian Creek, near Millville (1829)
ordained to the Presbyterian ministry by the Oxford Presbytery Butler County · source
Cincinnati (1836-1839, 1843-1845)
president of Cincinnati College; later professor at Woodward College; his Readers were published in the city Hamilton County · source
Athens, Ohio University (1839-1843)
president of Ohio University Athens County · source

Timeline

1800 Born on 23 September near Claysville, Washington County, Pennsylvania, to Alexander and Anna Holmes McGuffey. source
1802 His parents moved to a farm near Youngstown when the Connecticut Western Reserve opened, in what was then Trumbull County and is now Mahoning County. source
1814 The family bought the Coitsville farm from its original owner, though county records show they had lived on it since about 1802. source
1814 At 14 he taught his first school, paid $80 for a four-month term. source
1817 Left the homestead for the Old Stone Academy in Darlington, Pennsylvania, where the Rev. Thomas E. Hughs took him into his house. source
1826 Graduated with honors from Washington College, Pennsylvania, and was appointed professor of ancient languages at Miami University in Oxford on the recommendation of its president, Robert Hamilton Bishop. source
1827 Married Harriet Spining of Dayton; they had five children. source
1829 Ordained a Presbyterian minister by the Oxford Presbytery at Bethel Church on Indian Creek, near Millville. source
1832 Moved from the chair of languages to the chair of moral philosophy at Miami. source
1833 Finished the two-storey brick house he designed at 401 East Spring Street, Oxford, where he lived until 1836. source
1836 The McGuffey Primer and the Eclectic First and Second Readers were published by Truman and Smith of Cincinnati. source
1836 Resigned from Miami to become president of Cincinnati College. source
1837 The Eclectic Third and Fourth Readers were copyrighted. source
1839 Elected president of Ohio University on 17 September, after a financial depression left Cincinnati College unable to collect its pledges. source
1843 Resigned at Athens after a quarrel with townspeople and legislators, and became a professor at Woodward College in Cincinnati. source
1844 The Fifth Reader, prepared by his brother Alexander McGuffey, then a professor at Woodward College, was published. source
1845 Became professor of moral philosophy and political economy at the University of Virginia, a post he held until his death. source
1850 Harriet McGuffey died on 3 July at Woodside, her girlhood home, where he had taken her in hope of recovery. source
1873 Died at the University of Virginia on 4 May. source
1941 The William H. McGuffey Memorial, a bronze statue in McGuffey Court at Miami University, was dedicated. source
1965 The Oxford house was designated a National Historic Landmark on 21 December. source
1966 The boyhood home site in Coitsville Township was designated a National Historic Landmark on 23 May; both sites joined the National Register on 15 October. source
1998 The 73-acre boyhood homestead was donated to Mahoning County and became the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve. source

What William is known for

McGuffey Readers (first published 1836), over 120 million copies sold to 1960
President of Cincinnati College 1836-39 and Ohio University 1839-43
McGuffey Eclectic Readers (from 1836)

Stories

The preacher in the 'silk' coat

Miami professors took turns preaching in the college chapel and in country churches. While McGuffey was preaching at Darrtown, near Oxford, a church committee called on him to say they liked his sermons but thought him too stylish: he drove a horse and carriage and wore a silk coat. McGuffey showed them the coat, which was cheap, shiny bombazine, not silk. He told them that without his horse, Charlie, and the carriage, his wife, who was in poor health, could not come to church with him. The committee left embarrassed. McGuffey later told students that country preaching was the best training he ever had, because it taught him to put ideas into words anyone could follow.

Source

'I always thought he was a reader'

McGuffey's name became so attached to his books that people forgot he was a man. A passer-by was heard to say, as he walked past, 'There goes old Second Reader.' Years later Whitelaw Reid, a Miami graduate of 1856, was calling on Dr. Andrew D. Hepburn in Oxford and asked about a portrait on the wall. Told it was William Holmes McGuffey, the father of Hepburn's wife, Reid exclaimed that he had always thought McGuffey was a reader.

Source

The fence at Athens

McGuffey's four years as president of Ohio University ended badly over a fence. He would not let the college grounds serve as a town cow pasture and fenced the campus. Athens residents resented it and persuaded state legislators to cut the appropriations he needed for his plans. He resigned in 1843 and went back to Cincinnati to teach at Woodward College, a classical high school.

Source

A thousand dollars for the bestseller

McGuffey's first contract with Truman and Smith of Cincinnati paid a 10 per cent royalty only until he had received $1,000, with extra pay for revisions. After the Civil War the senior partner of Wilson, Hinkle and Company arranged an annuity for him for the rest of his life. Miami's McGuffey Museum estimates that one per cent a copy would have earned him and his heirs about $1,220,000 by 1920. Family tradition holds that his wife Harriet prepared the McGuffey Primer herself and kept her authorship quiet out of modesty.

Source

Inventions and firsts

All Ohio inventions and firsts

McGuffey Eclectic Readers (1836-1837)

Honors and things named for them

McGuffey House Museum, Oxford, Ohio (National Historic Landmark)
McGuffey Hall, Miami University and Ohio University
McGuffey Wildlife Preserve, Coitsville, Ohio
McGuffey Longevity Awards (1993)
Pennsylvania historical marker (1998)

Named for William Holmes McGuffey

McGuffey Hall (education departments), Miami University (Oxford, Butler County) source
McGuffey Hall, Ohio University (Athens, Athens County) source
McGuffey Montessori School (formerly McGuffey Foundation School) (Oxford, Butler County) source
McGuffey Wildlife Preserve (Coitsville Township, Mahoning County) source

Family

wife: Harriet Spinning
wife: Laura Howard
brother: Alexander Hamilton McGuffey

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

1 William Holmes McGuffey House and Museum (National Historic Landmark; NRHP 66000605)
401 E. Spring Street, Miami University, Oxford Butler County · source
2 William H. McGuffey Boyhood Home Site, now McGuffey Wildlife Preserve (National Historic Landmark; NRHP 66000617)
4505 McGuffey Road, Coitsville Township Mahoning County · source
William H. McGuffey Memorial statue, McGuffey Court, McGuffey Hall, Miami University
Oxford Butler County · source
Bethel Church on Indian Creek, where McGuffey was ordained in 1829 (unknown)
near Millville Butler County · source

Places in Ohio to see

McGuffey House Museum (museum)
401 E Spring St, Oxford, Butler County ZIP 45056 (approximate) · Oxford · Butler County · official page
McGuffey Hall, Ohio University (home)
Athens, Athens County ZIP 45701 (approximate) · Athens · Athens County · official page

Ohio places

Where William Holmes McGuffey was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Worked: Oxford (Miami University), Butler County ZIP 45056 · Oxford · Butler County
Worked: Cincinnati (Cincinnati College), Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
Worked: Athens (Ohio University), Athens County ZIP 45701 · Athens · Athens County

Myths and corrections

Things often said about William Holmes McGuffey, and what the record shows.

Often said In 1802 the McGuffey family moved to Tuscarawas County, Ohio (as Wikipedia states).

The record Both National Historic Landmark nominations and Miami University's McGuffey Museum place the family on a farm near Youngstown in Trumbull County (now Coitsville Township, Mahoning County), the site now preserved as the McGuffey Boyhood Home Site. source

Often said William Holmes McGuffey wrote all of the McGuffey Readers.

The record He compiled the Primer and the First through Fourth Readers (1836-1837). The Fifth Reader (1844) was prepared by his brother Alexander McGuffey, and family tradition credits the Primer to his wife Harriet. source

Sales are often quoted as 120 million; the Wikipedia article gives 'more than 120 million' for 1836-1960 and credits his brother Alexander with volumes 5 and 6.

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

National Register / National Historic Landmark nomination: The William Holmes McGuffey House, Oxford (66000605) 1975, National Park Service, NPGallery
National Register / National Historic Landmark nomination: William Holmes McGuffey Boyhood Home Site, Coitsville Township (66000617) 1975, National Park Service, NPGallery
The Eclectic Second Reader, first edition (Cincinnati, 1836) 1836, Internet Archive
The Eclectic Fourth Reader, sixth edition (1838) 1838, Internet Archive
Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1900), vol. 4: McGuffey, William Holmes 1900, Wikisource

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

Street view of the Greersburg Academy, located along Market Street in Darlington, Pennsylvania, United States....
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