| Birth date | August 20, 1819 |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Waynesville, Ohio, US |
| Death date | September 16, 1849 (aged 30) |
| Death place | Warren, Ohio, US |
| Burial place | Miami Cemetery. Corwin, Ohio, US |
| Alma mater | Miami University |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Known for | Founders of Beta Theta Pi |
James George Smith (August 20, 1819 – September 16, 1849) was one of eight founders of Beta Theta Pi, a prominent college fraternity founded at Miami University in 1839.
Early life
Smith was born in Waynesville, Ohio on August 20, 1819.[1] His parents were Mary (née Whitehill) and Thomas Edward Smith.[2]
He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduating with an A.B. degree in 1840.[3][4] While there, he was a member of the Union Literary Society.[1] He was also one of eight founders of Beta Theta Pi in 1839 and served as the fraternity's first secretary.[5][6][1] He was roommates with Samuel Taylor Marshall, another Beta Theta Pi founder, in the west wing Old Main.[7][8]
Career
After college, Smith was a farmer, living six miles east of Lebanon, Ohio.[4][1]
Personal life
Marshall described Smith as a "pale, studious, quiet fellow in delicate health".[1] In 1841 and 1842, Smith went to Florida to treat his tuberculosis.[3] He recovered and returned to Ohio.[3]
Smith died on September 16, 1849, in Warren, Ohio, from dysentary, resulting from cholera.[3][1] He was buried in the Smith family cemetery and reinterred in the Miami Cemetery at Corwin, Ohio in November 1867.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Floriani, Peter J. & Church, Stanley R. (1989). Faithful Home of the Three Stars: The First 150 Years of Beta Theta Pi. Morris II, B. Hume (ed.). Cincinnati: The Beta Theta Pi Fraternity / The C. J. Krehbiel Co. p. 526. – via issuu.
- ^ "Miami Cemetery Corwin, Warren County, Ohio". Warren County, Ohio Virtual Cemetery Project. Warren County Genealogical Society (Ohio Genealogical Society)/Warren County OHGenWeb Project. Retrieved 2024-04-06. – via sites.rootsweb.com.
- ^ "Typescripts of 1841-1842 letters from James George Smith, 1841-1842 | Special Collections Research Center". William & Mary. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi, 9th ed. James T. Brown, ed., New York: James T. Brown, 1917. via HathiTrust.
- ^ "The Origins of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity". Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^
- ^ "Beta Founders". The Beta Theta Pi Magazine. 2014-06-18. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-04-06. – via issuu.
- ^ Floriani, Peter J.; Church, Stanley R. (1989). Morris II, B. Hume (ed.). Faithful Home of the Three Stars: The First 150 Years of Beta Theta Pi. Cincinnati: The Beta Theta Pi Fraternity / The C. J. Krehbiel Co. p. 525 – via issuu.