Joseph H. McDaniels was born in Massachusetts in 1840. He earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard, completing his studies in 1872. McDaniels began working as a teacher in 1862 when he took a post teaching mathematics and classics at Lowell High School, his old alma mater. In 1868, he moved on to the joint position of Professor of Greek Language and Literature at William Smith College and Hobart College in Geneva, New York. He became an internationally known and respected scholar of Greek. McDaniels was a member of the American Philological Association and Phi Beta Kappa, and he receive honorary degrees from Griswold College in 1891 and Hobart College in 1911. His career at Hobart lasted over 65 years, as he remained active on the campus even beyond his retirement in 1911. When he died in 1933, alumni established a Professorship in Classics in his honor, and his family gifted his house to William Smith and Hobart College.
Shortly before his death, McDaniels provided Mildred Bliss with a Greek translation of the Green Garden inscription for Beatrix Farrand. He provided the Blisses with a translated verse, but ultimately the sentiment of their intended words failed to translate into Greek. With McDaniels no longer able to consult, the Bliss's ultimately inscribed the tablet in Latin. Letters from McDaniels' grand-nephew, Walter H. Durfee, delivered the news of his death to Mildred Bliss.
References:
“Joseph H. McDaniels, LL.D. ’11.” Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Accessed August 4, 2014. http://www.hws.edu/alumni/dfa/mcdaniels.aspx
Orson, Carol. “McDaniels House – Geneva.” Last modified July 10, 2011. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29574758@N00/5931724603/