Person:Daniel Read (16)

DANIEL READ, LL.D.
Daniel Read was born near Marietta, O., June 24, 1805, in the then almost wilderness of Ohio. He was emphatically a Western man, thoroughly identified with Western interests and Western progress, especially as regards education. He was educated at the University of Ohio, where he graduated with the honors of his class. He then studied law and was admitted to practice in the courts of the State, but being elected to a professorship in his Alma Mater he accepted it, and this incident perhaps changed the whole current of his life work. He received his first commission as a teacher when nineteen years of age, on April 5, 1825, and continued either as a Professor or President in State Universities from that time till July 4, 1876, when his political career terminated as President of the University of Missouri, having served the cause of education continuously for more than fifty years. In the year 1843 he was elected Professor of Ancient Languages in Indiana University. In this situation he continued till the year 1856, when he was called to the same position in Wisconsin University, where he remained till 1866, when, on the death of President Lathrop he was called to the Presidency of Missouri University, which position he held till his sudden death, October 3, 1878, put an end to his earthly career. During his connection with the University of Indiana he was chosen a member of the Constitutional Convention, held in Indianapolis in 1851, in which he took an active part in making the Constitution of the State of Indiana what it now is.

President Read was the oldest child of Ezra Read, of Urbana, O. There were in the family eight sons and one daughter. Dr. Read paid great attention to the education of his younger brothers and sister, all of whom were graduates of respectable colleges, and several of them distinguished in professional life. Two of his brothers were officers in the regular army of the United States. One of them was killed at the head of his regiment during the rebellion. Another brother was Captain in the navy, and was killed on the deck of the vessel commanded by him on the Mississippi River, near Baton Rouge. His sister, Mrs. E. J. McFerson, for a number of years during her widowhood, was principal of a ladies' seminary in Bloomington, Ind., which she conducted with great credit to herself and advantage to the community. General Theodore Read, Dr. Read's only son, the hope and pride of his family, was killed at Appomattox Bridge, in Virginia, in the spring of 1865, and in one of the battles immediately preceding the surrender of General Lee.

Dr. Read stood prominently before the country as a distinguished educator. During his administration the University of Missouri made immense strides in legislative recognition, increased endowment, assured stability and enlarged means of useful instruction, and largely augmented numbers of students. In private life, no family circle could have been more truthful and affectionate, no children could have shown more deference to a father's wishes, no father wiser or more constant and tender solicitude for his children's welfare. Dr. Read accepted reverently and devoutly the Christian religion. He drew inspiration from its sublime truths and precepts for his daily walk. He enjoyed the comforts and blessings promised to the believer, and endeavored to regulate his life in conformity to its laws. Prof. Read married Miss Alice Brice, of Athens, Ohio. He died in Keokuk, Iowa, October 8, 1878.

In making this brief sketch, the writer has made very free use of the memorial addresses made at the University of Missouri, on the occasion of Dr. Read's death, by Major James 8. Rollins and R. L. Todd, Esq.

Daniel Read (June 24, 1805 – October 3, 1878) was an American educator and the sixth president of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. ...

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHJT-4MS : 9 November 2014), Daniel Read, Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana, United States; citing family 156, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
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Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Daniel Read M 44 Ohio
Alice Read F 42 Pennsylvania
Theodore Read M 15 Ohio
Edward Read M 13 Ohio
Alice Read F 11 Ohio
Ada Read F 9 Ohio
Agnes Read F 7 Ohio
Mary Read F 2 Indiana


"United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4XW-Y6J : 17 October 2014), Daniel Reid, Missouri, United States; citing p. 55, family 402, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,259.
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Household Role Gender Age Birthplace Occupation
Daniel Reid M 61 Ohio Prof University
Alice Reid F 58 Pennsylvania Keeping House
Ida Reid F 23 Ohio
Mary Reid F 20 Indiana Teacher school Normal
Bertha Reid F 16 Indiana