page_title: John Hough James
section_title: Literary life
hierarchical_section_title: John Hough James / Literary life
caption_attribution_description: English: John Hough James Diary Page used with permission from Elizabeth Brice Assistant Dean for Technical Services &amp; Head, Special Collections and Archives Miami University Libraries
context_page_description: John Hough James was an American lawyer, banker, railroad builder, scientific farmer and stockbreeder, legislator, politician, editor, lecturer and writer. James was a pioneer in the development of western banking and transportation.
context_section_description: James grew to adulthood in the era of railroad expansion and the development of the telegraph. He embraced the sweeping changes that were taking place during his lifetime and he used the accelerating rate of communication and the expanding reach of transportation to strengthen connections between himself and his environment. The primary conduit between James and the world was the process of reading, writing and dialogue. James was already an active letter writer by the time he was a teenager. In school, he was an energetic debater and an admired actor.
  As a young adult, James circle of correspondents came to include men and women among family, friends and acquaintances. He was central to the formation of a literary group, the "Phoenix Club," which included his future wife, Abigail. He read, wrote and taught language classes at Cincinnati College.
  The significance of James' interaction with his classmates, correspondents, club members, family and friends is that he deeply engaged the literature of his age in the development of his relationships, professional life and personal lifestyle. As a reader he absorbed the accumulated knowledge of renowned thinkers. As a discussant he analyzed the information he read, and as an author he expressed his own conclusions and observations, thus contributing to the ongoing literary conversation. Noted historians and educators, David Thelen and Roy Rosenzweig have said their subjects "built narratives that enabled them to shape the courses of their own and others' lives." 
  In a similar way, James and the other contributors deliberately wielded composition as a tool and a resource for personal and interpersonal development. This is illustrated in relation to James, himself, by his first diary entry:
  1 January 1821 - With the beginning of a New Year- I commence a journal of ephemeral events.- a kind of record of my hours of application and of rest - to look at in after days.- trusting that the contemplation of what I have done may serve to remind me of what I can do and the consideration of what I have not may stimulate me to what I should do. 
  As a prominent figure, James was asked to speak publicly on many occasions. These presentations involved political issues, national events, local initiatives and business dealings. He began collecting and composing material for a written history of Ohio in the 1830s, but later abandoned the project after much work when he was advised of another such project that would be published before his was ready. 
  In later years, James bought the Urbana Free Press and renamed it the Urbana Union. He had long been a contributor of articles and editorials for many publications including the National Intelligencer. He participated a wide range of educational projects from the support of Cincinnati College to the development of Urbana University. He accumulated a tremendous personal library that he shared with his family, and which became a treasured heirloom for several generations. "The main feature of the James home was, of course, James' library. Over the years he accumulated a wealth of books and a massive array of historical materials. .. no record exists as to either the full extent or content of Mr. James' remarkable collection, except that it literally consumed the entire house."
  James' support for Urbana University was the culmination of a lifelong commitment to education for men and women. His wife, Abby James, supervised the planting of trees on the campus and did much of it herself. The course of study at the school was divided into three departments: Language, Science and Philosophy (which included the "Science of Correspondence.") James participated in school administration as well as various educational functions and the James family library was an important reference resource for students at the University. In 1854, the University's first graduating class was composed of three boys and one girl.
caption: John Hough James diary page
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