Margaret J. Mitchell.
Margaret J. Mitchell. Sociological work in Chicago, including teaching in Hull House, and research work of a historical nature among the Indian tribes of the West, constitute two of the important lines of endeavor in the educational career of Miss Mitchell, who is now head of the department of history in the Central State Normal School at Edmond, and is recognized as one of the leading teachers of history in the Southwest.
Miss Mitchell was born at Monroe, Iowa, a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Conner) Mitchell. Her father was a native of Scotland, and a graduate of the University of Edinburg. Coming to the United States at the age of thirty, he followed his profession as a civil and mining engineer both in California and Iowa. Miss Mitchell’s maternal grandparents and some other forebears were natives of Virginia, her mother being a cousin of Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the family was also related to the Harcourts of Virginia. Miss Mitchell has two sisters: Mrs. M. A. Ebright, wife of a business man at Redwood Falls, Minnesota; and Miss Lela Mitchell, president of an abstract company in Albany, Oregon.
After her primary education in the public schools of Monroe, Miss Mitchell attended the Iowa Teachers College at Cedar Falls, where she received the Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Education. Her degrees, Ph.B. and M. A., come from the University of Chicago, where she emphasized historical studies. For several years she was a teacher in Iowa high schools, and for three years principal of a high school in the State of Washington. On coming to Oklahoma she was selected head of the history department of the high school at Chickasha, and from there was called to head the department of history at the Central State Normal in Edmond. Three of her summer vacations she spent as an instructor in the University of Chicago.
Miss Mitchell is the author of some history outlines and syllabi now being used in many schools. Into her department at Edmond she has introduced a part of the history course of the University of Chicago curriculum, and is featuring industrial history. Her teaching stresses current history, which much emphasis upon economical and sociological phases. Her department has been made an important aid to debating work among the students, and has given fundamental instruction in civics through the holding of organized trials and legislative assemblies. Miss Mitchell has two assistants regularly in the department, and sometimes more than that number are required.
She is a member of the Congregational Church, belongs to the P. E. O. Chapter in Iowa, and the Cambridge Club of Edmond. She is a member of various professional and learned societies, including the Oklahoma Educational Association, the National Educational Association, the American Historical Association, and the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. In all of these she has read papers. She has done three years of research work among the Indians of the State of Washington and considerable special work in Chicago. Miss Mitchell has supplemented her other opportunities by extensive travel and study in several countries of Europe, in Canada, Alaska and Mexico, and in many parts of the United States.