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DR. FRANK R. SMITH. The
Smith family has been
prominently connected with the agricultural, business and political life
of Clinton county, Ohio, for two or three generations. Many of the members
of this family have been prominent farmers in Clinton county, but the
later generations seem to have turned their attention to business and to
the professions. Frank R. Smith, D. D. S., a well-known and prosperous
dentist of Wilmington, who has been engaged in the practice of his
profession in this city for about seventeen years, is a representative of
the fourth generation of the family in Clinton county, his grandfather on
his paternal side having been born in this county.
Dr. Frank R. Smith was born on January 1,1874, in Vernon township, Clinton
county, Ohio, the son of George H. and Jerusha Araminta (Bates) Smith, the
former of whom was born near Ogden in
Vernon, in 1840, and who died on
February 28, 1878, when Frank R. was only four years old, and the latter
born near Springboro, Warren county, on October 15, 1846, and is still
living.
The paternal grandparents of Dr. Frank R. Smith were Daniel and Ann
(Hartman) Smith, the former of whom was born in Clinton county, Ohio, and
the latter of whom was born in Virginia, and who was brought to Ohio from
Virginia when a child. Daniel Smith owned a farm in Vernon township, where
he lived and died. He and his wife and family were members of the
Methodist Protestant church. They reared four sons and one daughter. Doctor Smith's maternal grandparents were
William and Phoebe (Jenks)
Bates, the former of whom was born in Utica, New York, in 1820, and who
died in 1890, and the latter of whom was born near
Saboy, Massachusetts,
in 1822, and who died in 1901. William Bates came with his parents,
Thomas and Sarah Bates, to Clinton county, Ohio, when a lad. Thomas Bates had
emigrated from England when he was twelve years old. About 1835 the family
removed from New York with thirteen children and settled in Clarksville,
Clinton county, where they operated a dairy for John Hadley for several
years. Thomas Bates moved from Clarksville to Springboro, Warren county
where William Bates grew up. Later the father came to Washington township,
Clinton county, and purchased the Woodmansee farm of three hundred acres
and died there. Three of his sons divided the farm and lived there for
many years. William Bates inherited a farm in Washington township and
added to it in after life, living there until his death. He was a
carpenter by trade and not only erected all of the buildings on his own
place, but erected a good many barns on other farms. He was a
dyed-in-the-wool Republican and prominent in local politics, especially in
Washington township, where he served as township trustee. He and his wife
were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Phoebe (Jenks) Bates,
who was the wife of William Bates, was the daughter of Patton
and Polly Jenks, who were born in Massachusetts. In 1840 they settled in Washington
township, Clinton county, Ohio, where Patton Jenks purchased a farm of two
hundred and eighty acres. It was upon this farm that he and his wife died.
They had four children, of whom Doctor Smith's mother was the eldest. The
others were Elsina, who died at the age of eleven; David, deceased, who
was a farmer; Sarah Jane, who married Ira Hodson, of Dayton, Ohio, and who
died in 1912.
George H. Smith, who was Doctor Smith's father, grew up in Vernon
township, Clinton county, and after his marriage rented land in Vernon
township. He was a strong Republican and in 1876 was elected sheriff of
Clinton county, passing away in 1878 at the age of thirty-eight years,
while the incumbent of that office. He and his wife were members of the
Methodist Protestant church. He was a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity. In the latter he became a Knight
Templar, a member of Ealey Commandery at Washington C. H. Dr. Frank R.
Smith had only one brother, Edmond J., who was born in October, 1866, and
who lives at Wilmington. He is a traveling salesman for the Champion
Bridge Company, and married Elizabeth Lewis After the death of Dr. Frank
It. Smith's father, his mother made her home with her parents until they
passed away and then lived on the home place until 1913, when she moved to
Wilmington, purchasing a home where she now lives.
Frank R. Smith was only four years old, as heretofore noted, when his
father passed away, and he was taken by his mother to live on his maternal
grandparents' farm in Washington township, and there he grew to manhood.
After attending the district schools in Washington township, he became a
student at Wilmington College, and finally entered the Cincinnati Dental
College and was graduated with the class of 1896. Two years later he came
to Wilmington and began the practice of his profession, where he has been
engaged ever since. Doctor Smith has been successful in the practice of
his profession and enjoys a large patronage.
On March 8, 1905, Frank R. Smith was married to Eleanor Madden, who was
born in Clinton county, Ohio, the daughter of Arthur and Mary Madden, the
former of whom is deceased, but the latter of whom is still living. Mrs.
Smith's father was a traveling salesman who lived at Wilmington. At one
time he served his fellow citizens as a member of the Ohio state Senate.
Doctor and Mrs. Smith have no children.
Dr. Frank R. Smith is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. He is a man who has made a special study of all of the modern
devices of dentistry and is thoroughly up-to-date in the practice of his
profession. He takes a worthy interest in public affairs, but has never
aspired to office. |
THOMAS SOUTH. Among
the earnest men of a past generation in Clinton county, whose
enterprise, strength of character and engaging personality won a
prominent place in the hearts of his neighbors and fellow citizens and
the respect and confidence of the people of Clinton county, was the late
Thomas South, who served two terms as sheriff of Clinton county.
He helped to build many of the public buildings now standing in this
county, was a man of positive views and laudable ambitions, and his
influence was always exerted for the advancement of his friends.
He was a very worth citizen and a good man.
Thomas South was born on January8, 1840, in
Goshen, Clermont county, Ohio, and died on Dec. 28, 1912. He was a
son of Benjamin and Mary (Brunson) South, the former of whom was
born in Cincinnati, and who died in 1862 of pneumonia, contracted while
he was visiting his son in the Union army. His wife died on May
29, 1892, at the age of seventy-two years. Benjamin South
was a stone-mason, and lied near Goshen in Clermont county all his life.
All the members of his family were identified with the Presbyterian
church. He and his wife had only two children, Thomas, the
subject of this sketch, and William, who died on Nov. 20, 1878,
as the result of the accidental discharge of a gun while he was hunting.
He also was a bricklayer by trade.
Thomas South attended the district schools of
Clermont county, and later one of the leading business colleges at
Cincinnati, where he obtained a good education. He was a man of
more than ordinary native ability and made good use of his educational
advantages and opportunities.
On June 9m, 1861, Thomas South enlisted in
Company C, Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served
practically to the end of the war, having been discharged on Oct. 10,
1864. Wounded in the left hand in the battle of Perryville,
Kentucky, he afterward was unable to carry a gun and served as orderly
in the adjutant's office. Before this, however, he had
participated in many battles and was a courageous soldier. Before
this, however, he had participated in many battles and was a courageous
soldier, a man of deep and abiding patriotism, who was willing to give
up his life's blood in the cause of human freedom and in behalf of the
perpetuity of the American Union.
Shortly after the close of the Civil War, Thomas
South was married on Sept. 14, 1865, to Martha Anderson, who
was born at Owensville, Clermont county, Ohio, on Sept. 20, 1847, and
who is the daughter of Peter and Mary (Smith) Anderson, the
former of whom was born in New Jersey and at the age of twenty-one
located in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1816, and died in 1851. She
was the daughter of Christopher and Margaret Smith, early
settlers of Owensville, in Clermont county, and farmers by occupation.
They came to Ohio from near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Christopher was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
After his marriage, Thomas South continued
working at his trade which he had learned as a boy. He worked as a
brick-mason while living in Goshen, Ohio, but in 1869 he and the family
removed to Wilmington, where he lived until his death in 1912. In
1905 he built a home at the corner of Walnut and Sugartree streets, and
it is in this house that Mrs. South now lives.
In 1893 Mr. South was elected sheriff of Clinton
county on the Republican ticket and served two terms, or four yeas in
all. After retiring from public office and public service, he
purchased a steam laundry and was associated with his son in the
operation of this enterprise until his death.
Mr. and Mrs. South were the parents of five
children, as follows: Mary, who was born on June 24, 1866, and
died at the age of twenty in Wilmington, on July 26, 1886, was a student
at Wilmington College; Harry, March 25, 1868, is a farmer in Adams
township; Edward, February 27, 1871, died at the age of twenty-seven, on
Oct. 6, 1896; Benjamin, April 2, 1874, is the present sheriff of Clinton
county, having been elected on the Republican ticket; Walter, February
27, 1880, is proprietor of the South Brother's laundry, of
Wilmington.
The late Thomas South was a charter member of
Morris McMillan Post, Grand Army of the Republic. An esteemed and
valuable citizen of this great county, his death was widely mourned and
he is generously remembered for the large part he had in the civic and
political life of this county. Mrs. South is a refined and
cultured woman and highly respected by the people of this city. |
ROBERT TURNER STANFIELD.
The name of Robert Turner Stanfield is one familiar to the
residents of Vernon township, this county, as that of a hard-working,
energetic and neighborly farmer, whose toil in the cultivation of the
soil has brought him a competence, but who has not limited his
activities to one occupation. Mingling with men, he has found
other lines of work equally as absorbing, and for years has served the
public in the capacity of assessor, an office which he has filled most
creditably.
Robert T. Stanfield was born in Greene county,
Ohio, on Mar. 22, 155, the son of James and Mahala (Turner) Stanfield,
both born in the same county, the former in 1824, and the latter four
years later. James Stanfield was the son of Samuel and
Massey (Kennedy) Stanfield, the former, Samuel, was a native
of North Carolina, whose father, William Stanfield, was a pioneer
of Greene county, this state, where he died after a worthy and useful
life. Massey Kennedy was born in Georgia in 1901. She
died in Green county, this state, in 1873, having outlived her husband
nearly twenty years, his death having occurred in 1854. Mahala
Turner was the daughter of Robert and Christena (Hegler) Turner,
the latter a native of Pennsylvania. Robert Turner was
quite a young man when he migrated to Green county, where he afterwards
married. After the death of his wife in 1868, when they still
resided in the above-named county, he moved to Warren county, to make
his home with his daughter, and there he spent the rest of his life,
living to the extraordinary age of ninety-even years, his death
occurring in 1892.
James Stanfield came from Greene county to
Clinton county in 1876 and soon afterwards purchased a farm across the
line in warren county, near the present home of the subject of this
sketch. This piece of land consisted of one hundred and
ninety-five acres. He passed away in Vernon township, in 1905, his
wife's death following five years later. They were the parents of
ten children, as follows: William, John (deceased),
Christina (deceased), Robert T., Frank, Elva, Aaron (deceased),
Samuel, Sarah and Mattie.
Robert T. Stanfield was born and reared on the farm
of his father, receiving the usual common-school education, after which
he was privileged to attend the Spring Valley high school. In 1876
he began a residence in Warren county which lengthened into twenty
years, after which he and his family removed to this county, and the
following year, he bought the farm of fifty acres which he still owns
and on which he has become a successful stock raiser..
In 1881 Robert T. Stanfield was united in
marriage to Florence E. McCray, who was born in Clarksville, this
county, in July, 1855, daughter of Joseph and Amanda (Seaver) McCray,
who had lived in this county since its early days. Joseph
McCray died in 1897, having been a widower since 1877. To
Robert T. and Florence (McCray) Stanfield two children have been
born, Zula M. and Albert H. The former married
Charles Camp and has four children, Leland, Leona (deceased),
Nina and Evelyn. Albert H. Stanfield married
Mary Pagenkopf, of Wisconsin, and has four children, Virgil,
Virgene, Augusta and Neda.
The man who can remain in one public office for fifteen
consecutive years must be a man of sterling worth; otherwise, keen
competition would see to it that he took another line of work.
Robert T. Stanfield has been township assessor of Vernon township
for this length of time and has fulfilled the obligations of the office
in such a way as to win the respect and confidence of the public.
Having lived in the county for so long a time, he is one of the best
known farmers in the vicinity, and has a great many warm friends. |
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