John Noble Beach, M.D.
Hon. John Noble Beach, M.D., a physician of marked talent and ability, has been brought into close and kindly relation with his patients in and about West Jefferson, in which place he resides. He is the son of the late Uri Beach, who was born in Vermont, December 7, 1789. He there spent his early years, and in 1812 came to Ohio, and for a short time worked in Marietta, whence he removed to Worthington, and there, in September 1816, was married to Mrs. Hannah Noble Gorham. The couple then located in what is now known as Canaan Township, Madison County, where they made their home. Here the elder Mr. Beach erected a sawmill, which was the first in that locality, and which proved a great convenience to the early settlers.
The father of our subject was a man of great push and energy, who had a faculty of carrying out his plans, and putting them in operation. Seeing the great need of a woolen mill in his community, he erected a building, and was engaged in the manufacture of woolen articles for several years. In company with his brother, Lorenzo, Mr. Beach purchased a tract of land in Canaan Township, this county, and laid out the village of Amity, where his decease occurred January 11, 1832. His good wife, who survived him a number of years, died November 17, 1854, firm in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which denomination her husband was also a member.
The parental family of our subject included seven children, of whom Dr. John was the youngest but one. He was born in Amity, in Canaan Township, January 27, 1829, where he was reared to manhood, and received his early education in the common schools. After attaining his fifteenth year, he took a course of study in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and three years later began the study of medicine with the late Dr. Charles McCloud. Entering the Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Dr. Beach completed the course of study in that institution, and in due time received his credentials as Doctor of Medicine, being at that time only twenty-one years of age.
Dr. Beach began the practice of medicine in Unionville Center, Union County, where he remained for three years, and then came to Plain City, Madison County, where he made his home for five years, at the end of which time he located in West Jefferson, Madison County, in 1858, where he has since been engaged in active practice, with the exception of the time spent in the army. The following is a copy of the promotions of Dr. John N. Beach, which appear in the History of the Fortieth Ohio Infantry: "Surgeon, April 14, with rank from April 1, 1862. On staff duty as follows: Surgeon of the Third Brigade, Army of the Kanawha, in the fall of 1862, at Gallipolis, Ohio; Medical Director of the Eastern Kentucky in the winter of 1862-63, at Cattletsburg, Ky., Medical Director of the Third Division, army of the Ohio, in the spring of 1863, at Franklin, Tenn.; Surgeon of the First Brigade, First Division, Reserved Corps, Army of the Cumberland, July 24, 1863, until after the battle of Chickamauga; Surgeon of the Second Brigade, First Division Fourth Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, October, 1863, which position he held at the expiration of his term of service; Operating Surgeon in Field Hospital of First Division, Fourth Army Corps, during the Atlanta campaign, and was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., December 6, 1864."
On returning home from the army, Dr. Beach again located in West Jefferson, where he has been active in various phases of political work. He believes in doing right at all times and under all circumstances, regardless of the opinions of the public, and his actions as well as his opinions have been characterized by manly independence. In the fall of 1875, he was elected to the Ohio Legislature on the Republican ticket, and served the full term of two years. In 1878, he was appointed Surgeon to the Fourteenth Regiment Ohio National Guard, which position he held for a period of five years, although, in 1880, he was commissioned Surgeon-General of Ohio, by ex-Governor Foster, being the incumbent of that position for four years.
Dr. Beach stands very high in social affairs, and has been Commander of Wilson Burrows Post No. 389, G. A. R.; is a member of the Loyal Legion of the Ohio Commandery; has been on the Staff of Gen. Hurst as Aide and Department Commander, and has also served on the Staff of Gen. Alger, National Commander, G. A. R. Dr. Beach is a member of the Madison County Medical Society, also of the district Medical Society, State Medical Society, National Medical Association, the International Medical Congress, and the National Association of Railway Surgeons.
The lady to whom our subject was married in Champaign County, this State, June 31, 1858, was Miss Eliza J. Snyder. She is a native of the above county, and the daughter of Daniel and Anna (Kiser) Snyder. By her union with Dr. Beach, a family of two children has been born, the elder of whom, Edith, is the wife of Prof. John R. Rathmell, of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Anna, who married Charles A. Shinn, also makes her home in that city. The Doctor is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and with his wife has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church for a number of years. They are both well and favorably known throughout Madison County, and the tasteful arrangement of their beautiful residence displays the culture and refinement of its inmates.
From
PORTRAIT & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF FAYETTE, PICKAWAY AND MADISON COUNTIES, OHIO - Chapman Bros. [Chicago, 1892]
John Noble Beach, son of Uri and Hannah (Noble) Beach, was born in Amity, Madison County, Ohio, January 20, 1829. His youth was passed in Amity and on a farm, one mile west of where John Taylor now lives. At the age of thirteen, he went into the store of Charles McCloud, of Amity, then the principal store in the northern part of the county. He remained with him two years, attending school during the winters. At the age of fifteen, he taught his first school, the old log schoolhouse standing about one hundred yards south of where Solomon Cary's elegant residence now is. For this service he received the munificent salary of $8 per month and board, though the later item was not of interest to the community, or teacher as he boarded with his mother. For the next three years he taught school winters, spending the summer of 1846 in school at the University, Delaware, Ohio, and the two summers following reading medicine with Dr. Charles McCloud, and the winters of 1848-49 and 1849-50 attending lectures at the Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, whence he graduated an M. D. February 25, 1850. In the spring of 1849, after his first course of lectures, he commenced practice at Unionville Center, Union County, Ohio, and returned there after his graduation a year later. Remained there until the fall of 1851, when he went to New York for the further prosecution of his studies, attending a partial course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, but giving most of his time to study in the hospitals. After an absence of six months, he returned to Unionville again, where he remained another year, removing to Pleasant Valley (now Plain City) in 1853, and to Jefferson, Ohio, in 1858. April 14, 1862, he was commissioned Surgeon of the Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, then in Eastern Kentucky. On the 19th day of the same month, he joined the regiment at Piketon, Ky., and remained on duty with it until the following September, when he was assigned to staff duty. From that time until the close of his service, although giving much personal attention to his regiment, he was on continuous staff duty, as follows: Surgeon of the Third Brigade, army of the Kanawha, in the fall of 1862, at Gallipolis, Ohio; Medical Director of the District of Eastern Kentucky, in the winter of 1862-63, at Catlettsburg. Ky.; Medical Director of the Third Division (Gen. Baird's), Army of the Ohio, in the spring of 1863, at Franklin, Tenn.; Surgeon of First Brigade, First Division, Reserve Corps, from July 24. 1863, until the re-organization of the army, after the battle of Chickamauga. and from that time until his muster-out, December 6, 1864, he was Surgeon of the Second Brigade (Gen. Whittaker's), First Division, Fourth Army Corps. Upon the opening of the Atlanta campaign in the spring of 1864, in addition to his staff duties, he was assigned as one of the three operating surgeons in the hospital of the First Division, Fourth Army Corps, a position he retained until after the fall of Atlanta. After his muster-out of the service, he returned to Jefferson, where he has continued to reside. Upon the organization of the Columbus Medical College, in 1875, he was elected by the Trustees Professor of General Pathology, a position he resigned a year later, the duties of the chair interfering with other engagements. In 1875, was elected a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. In 1848, he was commissioned Surgeon of the Fourteenth Regiment Ohio National Guards, a position he still retains. In January, 1880, he was appointed on the military staff of Gov. Charles Foster, as Surgeon General of Ohio, and in 1882 as honored by a re-appointment to the same position. Is a member of the State Medical Society, and was elected one of its Secretaries in 1868. Is a member of the Central Ohio Medical Society and was its President in 1881-82. Is a member of the Madison County Medical Society, and has been its President. Married, June 1, 1858, Eliza J., daughter of Daniel and Anna (Kiser) Snyder, of Champaign County, Ohio, by whom he had the following children: Edith, born in Jefferson, Ohio, February 16, 1860; Anna, born in Jefferson, Ohio, July 26, 1865.
From HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY - W. H. Beers [Chicago, 1883]