James McBride (1788–1859) was a prominent

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair' ...

. He was

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

's first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, and a prominent State Representative associated with the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

who supplied a considerable number of sketches of

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

for early texts on the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

, Ohio's leading pioneer author and antiquarian,

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Secretary and President of the Board of Trustees, Butler County's fifth

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, and an officer of other various entities. James McBride married the daughter of

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Lytle, of the

Lytle family Captain William Lytle Captain William Lytle (1728–97), son of Christopher Lytle, 1693-1783, from Cumberland County. Pa. served in the British army in the French and Indian War and was deeded of land for service in the Revolutionary War. He sol ...

of the

Ohio River Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

, and was through her kinsman with Sen. Homer T. Bone, and Governor of Ohio

Andrew L. Harris Andrew Lintner Harris (also known as The Farmer–Statesman) (November 17, 1835 – September 13, 1915) was one of the heroes of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War and served as the 44th governor of Ohio. Biography Har ...

. McBride's son in law was

Roger N. Stembel Roger Nelson Stembel (December 27, 1810 – November 20, 1900) was an officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War, Civil War. Early life Stembel, born in Middletown, Maryland, was appointed midshipman in the United States ...

, a commander of the Pacific Fleet. McBride became an ardent convert to John C. Symmes'

Hollow Earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...

theory, and wrote a book in support of it in 1826.

Archaeological work

As an archaeologist, he lived and worked near the

Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...

, examining evidence of ancient life in the region. A canal

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, J.W. Erwin, served as his assistant, making surveys of

in the Great Miami River valley. McBride retained his own collection of artifacts. Artifacts and research by McBride was used by

Ephraim George Squier Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor. Biography Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel ...

and

Edwin Hamilton Davis Edwin Hamilton Davis (January 22, 1811 – May 15, 1888) was an American physician and self taught archaeologist who completed pioneering investigations of the mound builders in the Mississippi Valley. Davis gathered what, at that time, was the ...

in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

publication, ''

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley ''Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley'' (full title ''Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations'') (1848) by the Americans Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton ...

''.

Legacy

McBride Hall is a dormitory on the Miami University campus named in McBride's memory.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* James McBride
Symmes's theory of concentric spheres : demonstrating that the earth is hollow, habitable within, and widely open about the poles
Cincinnati 1826.

Stembel family History; see Henry Stembel
1788 births 1859 deaths American archaeologists Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio Hollow Earth proponents Miami University trustees Members of the Ohio House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians {{US-archaeologist-stub