James McBride was a prominent pioneer

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

 in Butler County, Ohio

Butler County, Ohio

Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...

. He was Hamilton

Hamilton, Ohio

Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....

's first Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

, and a prominent State Representative associated with the canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

s, archaeologist

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 who supplied a considerable number of sketches of earthworks

Earthworks (engineering)

Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...

 for early texts on the Mississippi Valley

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, Ohio's leading pioneer author and antiquarian, Miami University

Miami University

Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...

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

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

, a surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

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

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 Lytle, of the Lytle family

Lytle family

The Lytle family of Cincinnati is considered to be Cincinnati's first family and the founders of Cincinnati.-Captain William Lytle:Captain William Lytle , was deeded of land for service as one of General Washington's elite corps of officers in the Revolutionary War . He solicited settlers to...

 of the Ohio River Valley

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

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

Andrew L. Harris

Andrew Lintner Harris was one of the heroes of the Battle of Gettysburg and the last Civil War general to serve as a governor in the U.S., serving as the 44th Governor of Ohio.-Biography:Harris was born in Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio, and was educated in the local schools...

. McBride's son in law was Roger N. Stembel

Roger N. Stembel

Roger Nelson Stembel was an officer of the United States Navy during the Civil War.Stembel, born in Middletown, Maryland, was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy on March 27, 1832...

, a commander of the Pacific Fleet.

McBride became an ardent convert to John C. Symmes'

John Cleves Symmes, Jr.

John Cleves Symmes, Jr. was an American army officer whose 1818 Hollow Earth theory, expounded on the lecture circuit, gained him considerable notoriety.-Biography:...

 Hollow Earth

Hollow Earth

The Hollow Earth hypothesis proposes that the planet Earth is either entirely hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. The hypothesis has been shown to be wrong by observational evidence, as well as by the modern understanding of planet formation; the scientific community has...

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

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