SHOUP, W. J.

SHOUP, W. J. (Armstrong Co., PA, Mar. 15. 1846--Dubuque, IA, Nov. 11, 1893). Shoup came to Dubuque on January 1, 1874 to serve as principal of the Fourth Ward School. (1) In January 1876 he was elected one of five vice presidents of the State Teachers' Association. (2) The following year, Shoup and his wife founded and then served as editors of the Iowa Normal Monthly, the official school publication of Iowa. (3) He was elected president of the State Teachers' Association in 1880. (4)

Plagued by poor health, Shoup was expected to die in 1884 and sold the publication to Professor George W. Jones who was principal of the Epworth seminary. (5) Shoup regained his health and went on to write Shoup's Graded Speller, Easy Words for Little Learners and Shoup's Graded Didactics in two volumes. In 1879 he published the Normal Register in which teachers could record the daily attendance, punctuality, conduct, and scholarship of each student. (6) He was the first superintendent and one of the founders of the Summit Sunday School. This school was at first organized as a union school, and Mr. Shoup was its superintendent until it was decided to transfer its management to the Congregational church. (7)

In addition to writing and education, Shoup was a student of Oriental religious and Egyptology. He was a member of the GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC (G. A. R.). (8)

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Source:

1. "The Late Prof. Shoup," Dubuque Daily Herald, November 12, 1893, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=_OG5zn83XeQC&dat=18931112&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, January 5, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18760105&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "The Late Prof. Shoup"

4. Ibid.

5. "Sold His Interest in the Normal Monthly," Dubuque Daily Herald, April April 23, 1890, p. 4

6. "The Late Prof. Shoup"

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.