History of Normal, (McLean County) Illinois United States of America

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Biographies:

Walter Alison Edwards, educator, was born in Normal, Ill., Sept. 17, 1862; son of Richard and Betsy J. (Samson) Edwards; grandson of Richard Edwards; and a descendant of Welsh ancestry on the father's side and Scotch on the mother's. He was graduated from Knox college, Ill., in 1883; taught Latin in the Peoria, Ill., high school, 188386; Studied Latin and Greek in Berlin, G?ttingen, and Tubingen, 1886-89; was principal of the Decatur, Ill., high school, 1889-90, and of the Rockford, Ill., high school, 1891-95, and taught Latin in the Pasadena, Cal., high school in 1895-96. In 1897 he became president of the Throop polytechnic institute of Pasadena, Cal. He is the author of a pamphlet, Grecisms in Propertius, and a series of articles in the Public School Journal on the history of normal schools in California.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Richard Hovey, poet, was born in Normal, Ill., May 4, 1864; son of Gen. Charles Edward and Harriette Farnham (Spofford) Hovey; grandson of Alfred and Abigail (Howard) Hovey, and of Fernham and Lydia (Coggeshall) Spofford, and a descendant on his mother's side from John Coggeshall, first governor of Providence Plantations, and from Peter Folger, grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. He was graduated from Dartmouth in 1885 with honors in English language and literature. While an undergraduate he was editor of the Dartmouth, 1881-84, and managing editor of the ?gis in 1885, and took prizes for dramatic speaking in 1884 and 1885. He studied drawing and painting in the Art Students' League in Washington, D.C., 1885-86; studied liebrew at Professor Harper's Summer School of Hebrew at Newton Centre, Mass., 1886; and entered the junior class of the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church, New York city, in 1886, leaving the following year to pursue his studies privately under the bishop's directions. During his attendance at the seminary he was an assistant of Father Brown at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York city. In 1887 he entered jonrnalism, and made his first appearance on the stage as a super in the production of "Julius Ceesar" by Booth and Barrett. He attended lectures at the Columbian university, Washington, D.C., in the winter of 1887-88, and in 1889 lectured at the Farmington, Conn., summer school of philosophy. In the spring of 1890 he went on the stage, primarily to complete his education as a playwright, and played Counsellor Fabricius in "A Drop of Poison." He went to Europe in 1891, and spent a year in England and France. He was married in Boston, Jan. 17, 1894, to Mrs. Henriette Russell, a pupil and assistant of the younger Delsarte in Paris, and the leading representative of the Delsarte philosophy and art teaching in America. Mr. and Mrs. Hovey spent the years 1894-96 in Europe, and on their return Mr. Hovey engaged in literary work in New York city and Washington. In 1898 he was appointed lecturer on English literature at Columbia university, and professor of the same at Barnard college, New York city. He received the degree of Litt. D. from Dartmouth in 1899. His published works are as follows: The Laurel (1889); Launcelot and Guenevere (1891); Seaward, an Elegy (1893); Songs from Vagabondia (with Bliss Carman, 1894); The Marriage of Guenevere (1895);Maeterlinck's Plays (translated, 2 vols., 1895); More Songs from Vagabondia (with Bliss Carman, 1896); The Quest of Merlin (1898); The Birth of Galahad (1898); Along the Trail (1898); Taliesin (1899). He died in New York city, Feb. 24, 1900.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

George Francis James, educator, was born in Normal, Ill., Aug. 18, 1867; son of the Rev. Colin D. and Amanda (Casad) James, and brother of Edmund Janes James: He studied at the Northwestern university, Evanston, Ill., and was graduated at the University of Michigan, A.B., 1886, A.M., 1887. He was instructor in Latin and Greek at the high school, Decatur, Ill., 1887-88; studied at Sorbonne, at the College de France, Paris, and at the University of Halle, giving especial attention to modern languages and pedagogy, 1888-89; and was professor of pedagogy in the Peabody Normal college, University of Nashville, 1889-91. He resigned in 1891 to connect himself with the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching, as the first editor of University Extension, the journal of the society, of which he was made general secretary in 1892. Mr. James continued advanced work in Italy and Germany in 1894 and 1896, receiving the degree of Ph.D. from the University of Halle. In 1900 he became professor of pedagogy and supervisor of the training school at the State Normal school at Los Angeles, Cal. He edited the Report of the Chicago Educational Commission (1899), a noteworthy volume on educational administration, and is also the author of: Handbook of University Extension (1892); Proceedings of the National Conference on University Extension (1892-93); Memorial of John A. Logan (1898), and various published educational addresses.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor