Who Was Thomas W

Who Was Thomas W. Harvey?

Thomas Wadleigh Harvey was a prominent nineteenth century American educator. He was an advocate of advanced teacher training, compulsory school attendance, and the development of a uniform system of graded public schools. He was also the most prolific nineteenth century author of school textbooks. His textbooks had a profound influence on teaching and learning methodologies utilized in American public schools.

Harvey was born on December 18, 1821, in Sutton, New Hampshire, and at age eleven, moved with his family to a farm in Concord Township in what was then Geauga County, Ohio. At age fifteen, he moved to Painesville and became an apprentice printer for The Painesville Republican newspaper while studying with a tutor with the goal of becoming a lawyer. In 1842, for unknown reasons, Harvey obtained a teaching license and finished the school year teaching at a rural school in Leroy, Ohio. From 1842 – 45, he alternatively worked in the newspaper printing office, taught in rural schools, and finished his studies at the Western Reserve Teachers Seminary in Kirtland.

In 1845, Harvey was named the principal of the Chardon Academy, then in 1848 he became the principal of the Seneca County Academy. In 1851, Harvey became the Superintendent of Massillon Schools, a position he held until 1865 when he was named the Superintendent of Painesville Schools. In 1871, Governor Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Harvey the Commissioner of Common Schools (equivalent to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction) and two years later Harvey was elected to a three-year term. In 1877, Harvey returned to Painesville as Superintendent of Schools, a position he held until his retirement in 1882.

Throughout his career, Harvey was a major proponent of teacher associations. During the nineteenth century, teacher associations sponsored county and regional teacher training institutes and lobbied the legislature to improve the public schools. The training institutes provided almost all formal teacher training for the vast majority of teachers until the development of normal schools where the primary function was teacher training.

On December 31, 1847, Harvey was one of 18 elected delegates from eleven counties who organized the Ohio State Teachers Association, now the Ohio Education Association. Harvey was the first recording secretary of the Association, a position he held for more than a decade. In 1864, he was elected President of the Ohio State Teachers Association.

On November 13, 1869, Harvey called a small group of educators to a meeting where the North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association was organized. Harvey was elected the first president and held the position for five years. The North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association became the North Eastern Ohio Education Association.

Harvey also was involved in the early years of the National Education Association, serving as the chairperson of several committees and as a featured speaker at their annual meeting. In 1873, while serving as the State Commissioner of Common Schools and the president of the North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association, Harvey was elected president of the Central Ohio Teachers Association which later became Central OEA/NEA.

Harvey was a prolific author of school textbooks in a variety of areas. Because of his dissatisfaction with the school textbooks available at the time, he began writing textbooks he believed would improve the quality of instruction and standardize curriculum. Either alone or with others, he wrote eighteen textbooks in a variety of subject areas and completed revisions of seven others.

Harvey’s first textbook, A Practical Grammar of the English Language, for the Use of Schools of Every Grade was published in 1868. This was followed by An Elementary Grammar of the English Language, for the Use of Schools (1869), First Lessons in the English Language (1875), A Practical Grammar of the English Language, Revised Edition (1878), and Elementary Grammar and Composition, Revised Edition (1880). For almost fifty years, the Harvey grammar series was the predominate grammar series used in American public schools. Interestingly, because of copyright expirations, the Harvey grammars are still published and are frequently used by home schoolers. They are also available for free on the Nook.

Harvey’s other major success as a textbook author involved the McGuffey reading series. Harvey wrote the revised editions of McGuffey’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Eclectic Reader (1879). He also developed and wrote McGuffey’s Alternative First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Readers (1887). Collectively these books are often credited with revitalizing the McGuffey reading series and again making it the predominate reading series used in American public schools for another 30 years.

Harvey also authored five geography textbooks, two grade school spellers, and a series of five graded school readers. The geographies were successful but the others were not widely utilized.

Harvey spent a decade in retirement. Because of his work as a textbook author, Harvey enjoyed a level of financial security unknown to other retired educators. During this period he continued to lecture at teacher institutes and participate in the activities of the district state and national teacher associations. He also traveled extensively and worked on developing his private library which was considered one of the largest and finest in the U.S. After several years of declining health, Harvey died on January 20, 1892.

At the time of his death, Harvey’s funeral was the largest in Painesville history. All businesses and offices were closed. Flags were flown at half mast. All of the ministers in the city participated in his funeral service. Prominent Ohio educators served as pall bearers. Lengthy memorial services to honor Harvey were held by the North Eastern Ohio Teachers Association and the Ohio State Teachers Association. Part of Harvey’s popularity in Painesville was because of his commitment to the community. There are numerous newspaper accounts of Harvey being offered more prestigious positions including Superintendent of Cleveland and Columbus Schools. Harvey turned them down to remain in Painesville.

In 1926, Painesville Schools opened a new high school named in honor of Thomas W. Harvey. Five additions tripled the size of the original building which was in continuous use until 2009 when the new Thomas W. Harvey High School was opened and the original building was subsequently demolished.

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The Life and Educational Labors of Thomas W. Harvey, a 385 page Ohio State University doctoral dissertation written in 1933 by Charles Smalley Foster was the primary source used for this brief Harvey biography.

Bill Dorsey, November 6, 2011