George W. Miller

As printed in 1901

GEORGE W. MILLER, M. D.

Engaged in the practice of medicine in Joplin, Dr. Miller has been a resident of the city since 1891. He is a native of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, born in 1845. His great-grandfather removed from Burlington. New Jersey, to Fayette county, his people being of the Quaker sect, and in the latter place occurred the birth of Joseph Miller and Thomas Miller, the grandfather and father of the Doctor. The mother bore the maiden name of Hannah Rammage, and she, too, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Miller pursued his education in the schools of his native county and after completing his literary course took up the study of medicine. He is a graduate of the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York City, of the class of 1880 and has pursued post-graduate courses in the New York Polyclinic, where he spent one year. He has also taken several other special courses, thus being particularly well qualified for the discharge of the important duties that devolve upon physicians, in whose hands are the issues of life and death. At length he determined upon seeking his fortune in the west, believing that he would have better business opportunities in a country where competition is not so great as in the older east. Accordingly he came to Missouri and settled in Joplin, where he has made his home continuously for the past ten years. His patronage has constantly increased and he now lias a large and profitable practice. During the greater part of his residence here he has been a member of the board of pension examiners, and he is a member of the Jasper County Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Strauss, a native of Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where her people located in pioneer times. Dr. and Mrs. Miller now have one daughter, Mildred. The Doctor is a Republican in his political views and gives his support to the men and measures of the party, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, as he prefers to devote his energies to his professional duties, his devotion thereto being proverbial. He now has the patronage of many of the best homes in the city and his merit is widely acknowledged.

>f HIRAM SMITH.

Hiram Smith, a prominent farmer on section 10, Jackson township, has made this locality his home for the past twenty-three years, and during the intervening period he has so conducted all his affairs as to gain the respect and esteem of all with whom he has had business or social intercourse. A native of Warren county, Illinois, he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the loth of February, 1845, a son of Silas and Elizabeth (Morrow) Smith, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. They became early pioneers of Warren count) Illinois, where the father followed agricultural pursuits.

Hiram Smith, the subject of this review, was left an orphan when a small child, and thus from early life he has been obliged to depend upon his own resources for a livelihood. Success is not measured by the heights which one may chance to occupy, but by the distance between the starting point and the altitude he has reached; therefore Mr. Smith has gained a most brilliant success.— a just reward of meritorious, honorable effort, which commands the respect and admiration of all. When nine years ago he began working by the month as a farm hand, ami while thus engaged he attended school during the winter months. He subsequently went to Iowa, and in 1859 made the trip across the plains to Pike's Peak with teams and wagons, where he remained for about three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Pottawattomie county, Iowa, where he remained but a short time, however, and then located in Jackson county, Missouri, where he was engaged in teaming and threshing. In 1877 he took up his residence in Jasper county, where he has since been engaged in farming and threshing in Jackson township. At one time he owned a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres, but he has since sold a part of his land, being now the possessor of a tract of thirty-seven acres, which is located on section 10, Jackson township. In addition to his general farming interests Mr. Smith is also extensively engaged in threshing, having done more work in that line than anv other man in the county, and he

Since severing his connection with mining interests Mr. DeGraff has invested his money in government bonds and real estate, and has also become an important factor in financial circles of Jasper county. On the 4th of February, 1901, he organized the Citizens' State Bank, capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. Connected with the institution are some of the best known and most reliable residents of this portion of the state. The officers are: C. M. DeGraff, president; F. T. Snapp, cashier; and J. W. Freeman, vice-president; while in addition to these the following named are upon the board of directors: C. S. Poole, R. A. Loomis, E. P. Barr and W. H. Warren. All of these gentlemen are stockholders and other prominent persons who own stock in the bank and add to its reliability are: Charles Schifferdecker, W. J. J. Leffen, Galen Spencer, J. H. Dangerfield, Fred Duffelmeyer, Guy R. Davis, J. W. King, John S. Long, John B. Serage, W. E. Hamm, Alfred Reynolds, A. F. Donnan, O. B. Davison, John George, Marion Staples, W. H. Fairbanks, L. A. Fillmore, W. S. Crane, J. T. Owen, Frank D. Jones, E. W. Jones, F. H. Warren, John H. Stephens, Dennis McCarthy, J. C. Warren, G. W. Koehler, Z. H. Lowdermilk, Elizabeth A. Amsden, G. T. Warren, Allen Dixon and G. W. Burgess. Such a list is sufficient evidence of the standing of the bank, which, under the able management of Mr. De- Graff, has already secured a good patronage and is doing a creditable bankingbusiness. He is also one of the stockholders and a director in the First National Bank, of Joplin.

Mr. DeGraff is a member of the Business Men's Club and one of the leading representatives of financial and industrial interests in the county. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and in his political belief is a stalwart Republican. Since the ist of July, 1901, he has served as treasurer of the board of education, and is a public-spirited citizen, deeply interested in the general welfare.

As printed in The biographical record of Jasper County, Missouri (1901). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.