William H. McGuffey Papers

Biographical / Historical Note

William Holmes McGuffey was an educator, minister, author and college president. He is best known for the series of Eclectic Readers, or McGuffey Readers, textbooks which were widely used throughout much of the nineteenth century.


Scope and Content Note

The William Holmes McGuffey collection is an assembled collection of McGuffey material including correspondence from 1846 to 1872 relating primarily to affairs at the University of Virginia and academic interests. A notebook by McGuffey's associate,...

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The William Holmes McGuffey collection is an assembled collection of McGuffey material including correspondence from 1846 to 1872 relating primarily to affairs at the University of Virginia and academic interests. A notebook by McGuffey's associate, Dr. Thomas G. Addison, contains lectures on morals by Dr. W. H. McGuffey. Also included are lectures and correspondence of Alexander Hamilton McGuffey, William's brother, a collaborator on the Fifth Reader, and photographs relating to William H. McGuffey and family.

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Collection Details

Object ID: 00.1406.0
Creator: Henry Ford (Organization). Benson Ford Research Center 
Inclusive Dates: 1836-1894
Size: 0.2 cubic ft. and 1 oversize box
Language: English

Collection Access & Use

Item Location: Not Currently On Exhibit

Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.

Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Related Objects

William Holmes McGuffey Birthplace

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Textbook, "McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader," Revi...

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Portrait of Alexander H. McGuffey, 1894

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Digitized Artifacts From This Collection

In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.

Portrait of Educator William Holmes McGuffey Reading a Book, circa 1860

  Details

Portrait of Educator William Holmes McGuffey Reading a Book, circa 1860

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Summary

Growing up in the Ohio wilderness, William Holmes McGuffey walked many miles to be tutored. McGuffey taught school to fund his college education, and later became a college professor and president. A well-respected educator, McGuffey was asked to publish a series of graded textbooks. McGuffey's Eclectic Readers were used in schools nationwide during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Object ID

P.O.15754

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Portrait of Educator William Holmes McGuffey Reading a Book, circa 1860

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

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Portrait of William Holmes McGuffey, circa 1855

  Details

Portrait of William Holmes McGuffey, circa 1855

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

Artifact

Photographic print

Object ID

36.881.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Get more details in Digital Collections at:

thehenryford.org

Portrait of William Holmes McGuffey, circa 1855

View in our Collectionson thehenryford.org 

What is The Henry Ford?

The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.

VIEW CALENDAR

  Details