John Ogden (academic) explained

John Ogden
Office1:Principal of Winona State University
Term Start1:1860
Term End1:1861
Office2:Principal and President of Fisk University
Term Start2:1866
Term End2:1870
Office3:3rd North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
Term Start3:1891
Term End3:1892
Predecessor3:William J. Clapp
Successor3:Laura J. Eisenhuth
Birth Place:Ohio
Birth Date:12 February 1824
Death Place:Seattle, Washington
Spouse:Mary Jane Mitchell, Anna Augusta Brewster
Occupation:educator, academic administrator

John Ogden (February 12, 1824 – July 23, 1910) was an American military officer, minister, veteran educator, and abolitionist. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, being captured in 1864 and held prisoner until the conflict ended. He became an education official with the Freedmen's Bureau in Tennessee and co-founded a school for African Americans, Fisk School, that preceded Fisk University.[1] [2] He also served as the third North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction in the early 1890s.[3]

Early life

John Ogden was born on February 12, 1824[4] in Mount Vernon, Ohio.[1] His family farmed. He was baptized as a Baptist.[5]

Early teaching career

Ogden began teaching at a common school in Crestline, Ohio in 1842. Throughout the 1840s he continued to teach in small schools until he was named principal of a grammar school in Columbus. From 1853 to 1855, he attended Ohio Wesleyan University and also served as an instructor there. In the early 1860s, he moved to Minnesota from Ohio and served as the founding principal of the Winona State Normal School (later known as Winona State University).[6]

Military career

Not long after arriving at Winona State Normal School, Ogden enlisted to fight in the American Civil War. He served in the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment.[7] He received commissions as a second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain, but was captured by the Confederacy in 1864 and was held prisoner until the war ended. He was held as a prisoner of war in South Carolina and Georgia. At one point, he did escape but was recaptured.

Fisk University

In 1865, Ogden joined with Erastus Milo Cravath and Edward Parmelee Smith of the American Missionary Association to create a school in Nashville for the education of men and women "irrespective of color".[8] On January 9, 1866, they opened the Fisk School, named for Freedmen's Bureau official Clinton B. Fisk. Ogden served as the school's first principal, and on August 12, 1867, a charter was signed, transforming the institution into Fisk University.[9] [10]

Later career

After serving as principal of Fisk School, and later president of Fisk University, Ogden moved back to Ohio. During the 1870s and early 1880s, he worked as principal for colleges and normal schools. Before moving to Dakota Territory, he lived in Washington, D.C. for a few years in the 1880s.[11]

North Dakota

In 1887, Ogden moved to Dakota Territory (modern-day North Dakota) and lived on a homestead in McIntosh County. He briefly served as the superintendent of schools in McIntosh County.[12] He later moved to Sargent County and served as the principal of the Milnor State Normal School in Milnor, North Dakota.[13]

In 1890, Ogden received the Republican nomination for Superintendent of Public Instruction over William J. Clapp. In 1891, he was elected North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction. He served a two-year term, ending in 1892, and did not seek reelection.[14] [15] Frederick W. Cathro stayed on with Ogden and served again as Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Later life

Following his retirement in 1892, Ogden lived in Minneapolis. He moved to Seattle in 1907. He died there on July 23, 1910. He is buried at the Lake View Cemetery in Seattle.[16]

Personal life

In 1849, John Ogden married Mary Jane Mitchell in Ohio. They later divorced after the Civil War in the 1860s.[17] In 1866, he married Anna Augusta Brewster, a former pupil at Winona State Normal School, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[18]

He wrote in 1869 to a publisher (Merriam) inquiring whether the gift of a dictionary was for him or Fisk University.[19]

See also

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ogden, John . https://web.archive.org/web/20220317201750/https://wisvetsmuseum.catalogaccess.com/people/991 . 2022-03-17 . Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
  2. Web site: Tennessee Historical Society . Fisk University . Tennessee Encyclopedia.
  3. North Dakota . 1932 . Biennial report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. . Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction . 1888/90-1918/20: Public document . 43 v.
  4. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . vii . en.
  5. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . 6 . en.
  6. Web site: University History . https://web.archive.org/web/20220317204222/https://www.alumni.winona.edu/page.aspx?pid=338 . 2022-03-17 . 2022-03-17 . Winona State University Alumni and Friends.
  7. Web site: 1st Wisconsin Cavalry History . Wisconsin Historical Society.
  8. Web site: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University . Fisk University: tribute to the Jubilee Singers . Southern Places.
  9. Web site: Fisk University History . 2022-03-21 . Fisk University . en-US.
  10. Web site: Tennessee Historical Society . Fisk University . 2022-03-21 . Tennessee Encyclopedia . en-US.
  11. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . 90 . en.
  12. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . 91 . en.
  13. Web site: Anniversary Book Committee (Milnor, N.D.) . Milnor's 75th Anniversary Community Book: 1883-1958 . 2022-03-21 . Digital Horizons . en.
  14. Web site: North Dakota Department of State . North Dakota Blue Book, 2017-2019 . 2022-03-21 . Digital Horizons . en.
  15. Web site: ERIKSMOEN . CURT . From lieutenant governor to governor to lieutenant governor . 2022-03-21 . Bismarck Tribune . en.
  16. Web site: 1LT John Ogden (1824-1910) - Find a Grave Memorial . 2022-03-17 . www.findagrave.com . en.
  17. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . 3 . en.
  18. Book: McDaniel, Dennis K. . John Ogden, Abolitionist and Leader in Southern Education . 1997 . American Philosophical Society . 978-0-87169-876-6 . 24 . en.
  19. Web site: Fisk University Co-Founder John Ogden Asks Merriam Publishers if the Gift of a Pictorial Dictionary Was Meant for Him or the University . https://web.archive.org/web/20220201224901/https://www.sethkaller.com/item/1524-Fisk-University-Co-Founder-John-Ogden-Asks-Merriam-Publishers--if-the-Gift-of-a-Pictorial-Dictionary-Was-Meant-for-Him-or-the-University&from=6 . 2022-02-01 . Seth Kaller, Inc..