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.

James George Smith
BornAugust 20, 1819
DiedSeptember 16, 1849(1849-09-16) (aged 30)
Burial placeMiami Cemetery. Corwin, Ohio, US
Alma materMiami University
OccupationFarmer
Known forFounders of Beta Theta Pi

Early life edit

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 edit

After college, Smith was a farmer, living six miles east of Lebanon, Ohio.[4][1]

Personal life edit

Marshall described Smith as a "pale, studious, quiet fellow in delicate health".[1] In 1941 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 edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. 526 – via issuu.
  2. ^ a b "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.
  3. ^ a b c d "Typescripts of 1841-1842 letters from James George Smith, 1841-1842 | Special Collections Research Center". William & Mary. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  4. ^ a b Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi, 9th ed. James T. Brown, ed., New York: James T. Brown, 1917. via Hathi Trust.
  5. ^ "The Origins of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity". Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  6. ^ Shepard, Francis W., ed. (1927). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (11th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Publishing Company. p. 59 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Beta Founders". The Beta Theta Pi Magazine. 2014-06-18. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-04-06 – via issuu.
  8. ^ 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.

External links edit