History of Oxford, (Butler County) Ohio United States of America

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Biographies:

Henry Mitchell Maccracken, educator, was born at Oxford, Ohio, Sept. 28, 1840; son of the Rev. John Steele and Eliza Hawkins (Dongherty) MacCracken; grandson of John and Martha (Wilson) MacCracken, and great-grandson of Henry MacCracken, who fell at a frontier post on the West Susquehanna in the war of the American Revolution, and of Major Samuel Wilson, also a Revolutionary soldier. His father was a Presbyterian clergyman, and his mother before her marriage was principal of a school for young ladies in Oxford. He was graduated from Miami university in 1857; was a classical teacher at Grove academy, Cedarville, Ohio, 1857-58; and a classical teacher at the high school, Xenia, Ohio, 1860-61. He studied theology in the United Presbyterian Theological seminary at Xenia, 1860-62; and at the Princeton Theological seminary, 1862-63. He was stated supply of the First church, Toledo, Ohio, in 1862; was ordained by the presbytery of Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 7, 1863, and was pastor of Westminster church, Columbus, 1863-67. He studied philosophy and history in the universities of T?bingen and Berlin, Germany, 1867-08; was pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Toledo, 1869-81; a member of the committee that led in rounding Wooster university in 1865 and Green Spring academy in 1877, and was also the first to propose, in his "Historical Memorial to the General Assembly," the Presbyterian Tercentenary of 1872. He was chancellor and professor of philosophy in the Western University of Pennsylvania, 1881-84; became professor of philosophy in the University of the City of New York in 1884; was vice-chancellor of the same, 1885-91, and in 1891 became chancellor. During his administration the university founded its graduate seminary, its school of pedagogy, and obtained new grounds in the upper part of New York city, named upon the map University Heights, upon which were erected buildings costing about $2,000,000, including the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. He was a delegate to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland at Edinburgh in 1867; to the Presbyterian assembly at Dublin, Ireland, in 1867, and historical orator at the Scotch-Irish reunion, Belfast, Ireland, in 1884. He was elected an officer of the American Society of Church History, of the Society for the Prevention of Crime, The American Tract society, and other benevolent associations. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from Wittenberg college, Ohio, in 1878, and that of LL.D. from Miami university in 1887. He was married, July 2, 1872, at Columbus,Ohio, to Catherine, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Hubbard of Stockbridge, Vt. The writings of Chancellor MacCracken include periodical articles upon philosophical, sociological, educational, historical and religious questions. He is the author of: Kant and Lotze (1885); Lives of the Leaders of Our Church Universal, translated in chief part from the German of Dr. Ferdinand Piper (3 vols., 1879); A Metropolitan University (1892); Educational Progress in the United States in the Quarter Century Ending 1893 (1893); The Hall of Fame (1901).

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

Caroline Scott Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third President of the United States, was born in Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1832; daughter of the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon and Mary Potts (Neal) Scott; granddaughter of George McElroy and Anna (Rea) Scott; and great granddaughter of John and Anna (Rea) Scott. Her great grandfather, John Scott, came to America from the North of Ireland and settled in Bucks county, Pa., twenty miles north of Philadelphia. On land purchased by him from the proprietary government, the first Presbyterian church in America was erected as was the celebrated "log college," the primitive foundation of the College of New Jersey and Princeton university. Caroline Scott was graduated at the Oxford, Ohio, female seminary, of which her father was president, in 1852; taught music in Carrollton, Ky., 1853, and on Oct. 20, 1853, was married to Benjamin Harrison, a graduate of Miami university, 1852. Her experience in Washington society for six years as wife of a U.S. senator, 1881-87, gave her an acquaintance and experience that peculiarly fitted her to be mistress of the White House on the election of her husband to the presidency, and she performed the duties with dignity and grace. Her health, however, gradually failed and she sought relief in the pure air of the Adirondack mountains, where she resided during the greater part of the last year of her life. She was a manager of the orphan asylum, Indianapolis, and the first president of the National society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She died in the White House, Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 1892.

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

Henry A. Smith, Dentist, was born, February 28th, 1833, at Oxford, Ohio, the seat of Miami University, and generally noted for its educational institutions. He enjoyed special advantages in study, and is a gentleman of fine literary culture and rare technical skill. After leaving school he spent a few years in his father's manufactory, where he gratified an inclination for the mechanic arts. Desiring to travel before fixing definitely upon his vocation for life, he left his home and visited many points of interest in the United States, Cuba, Central America, remaining for more than a year on the Pacific coast. Upon his return to Oxford he frequented the office of Dr. George W. Keeley, and by accident rather than by design fell into the dentistry as his pursuit for life. He attended two courses of lectures in the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, and meanwhile closely pursued his studies under the mentorship of Dr. Keeley. In 1857 he received his degree of D.D.S., and for one year after this event was associated with Dr. Keeley in Oxford. In 1859 he was appointed Demonstrator of Clinical Dentistry in the college which honored him with its degree, and filled this position for three years. In 1862 he was elected to the chair of Professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy in the same institution, and retained it for three years. In the winter of 1859 he located permanently in Cincinnati, and has since devoted his time and careful labors for the advancement of dental science. He is an active participator in the work of many of the dental societies of the country. He has a membership in the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Dental College; Ohio Dental College Association; Ohio State Dental Society; Mississippi Valley Association of Dentists; American Dental Association; and is a member of the Ohio State Board of Dental Examiners. Of some of these organizations he has been presiding officer. In the confirmed opinion that the true mission of dental science looks rather to the preservation of the natural teeth than to their replacement by artificial substitutes, and that there is quite enough in the surgical, or operative, department to receive the undivided attention of the practitioner who wishes to excel, he has labored industriously to perfect himself in operative dentistry, and takes rank among the best of the day in this special department of practice.

From: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Ohio of the Nineteenth Century. Columbus, OH, USA: Galaxy Publishing Co., 1876.