James Edward Scobey (January 3, 1834 - July 6, 1923) was an American educator who led several schools in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life and career

Scobey was born in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Wilson County, Tennessee Wilson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is in Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 147,737. Its county seat is Lebanon. The largest city is Mt. Juliet. Wilson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson ...

on January 3, 1834. He studied at Franklin College on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. He began his teaching career in 1855 in his home county. He taught for five years at Union Academy, six miles east of Lebanon. He opened a school on the turnpike between Lebanon and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in February 1867. He dubbed his establishment "Oakland School," and he taught here until 1872. In 1872, Scobey joined Murfreesboro Female Institute, also known as the Scobey School. He remained employed by this educational establishment until 1884. Later in 1884, he became the president at

South Kentucky College South Kentucky College, originally South Kentucky Institute and later renamed McLean College, was a finishing school for girls founded in 1849 that became a co-educational college before closing by 1914, located in Belmont Hill in Hopkinsville, ...

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...

.https://icotb.org/resources/SRYGBIOS.pdf In 1891, Scobey moved to

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

and started working for Williamson County.

Personal life

He married and had several children, some of whom followed him into the teaching profession. After his first wife's death, he married again. Teacher and state legislator Edward Sweatt was his maternal grandfather.

Death

Scobey died of old age on July 6, 1923. He is buried in the

Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) Mount Olivet Cemetery is a cemetery located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located approximately two miles East of downtown Nashville, and adjacent to the Catholic Calvary Cemetery. It is open to the public during daylight hours. History Antebe ...

Publications

*''Franklin College and Its Influences''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scobey, James E. 1834 births 1923 deaths Founders of American schools and colleges People from Lebanon, Tennessee 19th-century American educators Schoolteachers from Tennessee Heads of universities and colleges in the United States