James Dascomb


James Dascomb was born in New Hampshire in 1808. Attending school for twelve weeks each winter as a child, Dascomb nevertheless managed to attend medical school at Dartmouth College. After coming to Oberlin in the 1830s as one of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute's first faculty members, Dascomb served for a time as physician for the college and town. As a member of the college faculty, Dascomb taught chemistry, biology, and physiology. Dascomb, along with other early Oberlinians, was named as part of a committee on building First Church in Oberlin. Dascomb was elected mayor of Oberlin for the year 1853. James Dascomb died in 1880.

Sources: Wilbur H. Phillips, Oberlin Colony: The Story of a Century (Oberlin, 1933).

Oberlin Weekly News. March 5, 1874, page 2.

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