McGuffey Reader
c. 1879
William Holmes McGuffey was born September 23, 1800 near Claysville, Pennsylvania and moved to Youngstown, Oho with his family at the age two. Coming to America from Ireland, the McGuffey family brought with them strong opinions on religion and a belief in education. At age 14 young McGuffey became a “roving” teacher to 48 students in a one-room school in Calcutta, Ohio and then in Kentucky. William received his education at the Old Stone Academy in Darlington, Pennsylvania and graduated from Washington College in 1826. Miami University in Oxford, Ohio became his new home when appointed as Professor of Languages that same year. William married Harriet Spinning and they had five children. While teaching at Oxford, William was recommended by longtime friend Harriet Beecher Stowe to a Cincinnati publishing firm to create a series of four graded readers. William compiled the four 1836-1837 series readers and his brother Alexander created the fifth and sixth editions during the 1840s.