George F. Mitchell
In further sketching the lives of the earlier physicians and surgeons of the county, possibly not in the order of his appearance in the field of labor, but as prominent in his profession and as pronounced in his prominence as any of his brethren, comes George F. Mitchell, M.D. Born in the year 1808, in the month of May, less than eight years the junior of Dr. Bushnell, a native of the hills of western Pennsylvania, in the county of Washington, a region which has become classic by reason of its numerous colleges and seminaries and the sturdy manhood and beautiful womanhood of its people, the part of the country that stood the shock of the early contentions of English and French for supremacy, and the borderland where savage and civilized life for decades were at variance and doubtful which won the victory, where Braddock fell and where Washington began his great career. It was there Dr. Mitchell was born and after boyhood began his medical studies; his preceptor a leading and distinguished physician of Pittsburg; though he took his degree in the famous Medical College of Cincinnati. In 1831, when only 23 years of age, he removed to Ohio and settled in the village of Olivesburg in Richland County, a village in that day prosperous and in midst of the richer part of Richland County. But his skills was such as to render his service in constant demand both at home and beyond the lines of a village and country practice, and in 1846 he removed to Mansfield and ceased not his laborious life till death ended at the same time his pilgrimage on earth and his professional career. On the morning of March 31, 1869, he visited his patients, the retiring to his home engaged in trimming his vines and trees; suddenly the heart ceased its beating, and George F. Mitchell's life on earth was closed. His years of life were sixty and one. One of his professional brethren, Miller, lived not so long, while another, Bushnell, apparently of more delicate constitution and precarious health, was spared so long that he nearly compassed a century. Dr. Mitchell was of stalwart build physically, and in the thirties was counted a man of prodigious strength. He was a portly man in his bearing, dignified in character, learned in his profession, careful in his practice, courteous, prudent, ever pursuing the safe course, taking nothing for granted without the most searching inquiry and examination, and his success was such as might be looked for in such a conscientious man and so skillful and careful a physician. When the great war came on Dr. Mitchell had passed the half century of life. His ripe experience, great medical learning and masterly skill would have been of great service to the country, had he been able to respond to the invitation of the Surgeon General of Ohio, and enter the military service. His close pressing engagements at home, duties he owed the community in which he had so long lived, controlled his judgment and wisely, and he could only respond when emergencies demanded short terms of service. After the battle of Shiloh he went to the front. After the conflicts and contests of the armed battalions in the valley of Virginia he gave his time and skill to the soldiers of the Union. Of his family, two sons and a daughter preceded him, and the same number survived him. It gratified him that two of his sons followed in the field of work of their father. The elder of the two, Dr. Milton Mitchell, whose young life went out years ago, was a man of brilliancy and great promise. The younger, George Mitchell, the practitioner of today, so nearly resembles the father that in him the father seems to again appear in the activities of a successful professional career -- worthy son of a worthy sire. His youngest son is a skillful dentist, but has not pursued his profession with unwearied assiduity. Many years his wife survived him, and in her old age passed away.
From The Richland Shield & Banner, March 23, 1895, Vol. LXXVII, No. 45