His father, John Armstrong McAfee, was[4] the founder of Park College in Parkville, Missouri and its president from 1875 until his death in 1890.
McAfee went on to serve as a professor of philosophy, choir director, pastor and dean of Park College until 1901, when he left to minister at the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.
In 1912, McAfee authored the treatise, "The Greatest English Classic: A Study Of The King James Version Of The Bible.
On August 10, 1892, McAfee married Harriet "Hattie" Lawson Brown; they had three children, Ruth Myrtle, Katharine Agnes, and Mildred Helen.
[6] Mildred Helen McAfee Horton went on to become president of Wellesley College (1936-1949) and the first director of WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the United States Navy (1942–46).