Authors - Knox County Historical Society

George Franklin Smythe

(1852-1934)

As a writer, George Franklin Smythe is remembered as the historian of the early years of Kenyon College. He was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1852, the son of Anson and Caroline Augusta (Fitch) Smythe. In 1874 Franklin received an A.B. degree and in 1877, an M.A., both from Western Reserve University. He was married to Anna C. Hall of Hudson, Ohio, in 1878.
Smythe taught high school for two years in Cleveland, Ohio, and for two more years at Greylock Institute in Massachusetts. In 1885 he was ordained a deacon and the next year, a priest, in the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Anthony Banning Norton

(1821-1893)

A. Banning Norton was a well-known 19th century lawyer, journalist, and historian in Knox County. He was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1821. He was the son of Daniel S. and Sarah (Banning) Norton. The parents had moved to Mount Vernon in 1817 from Louisiana, where they had been slave holding proprietors of extensive plantations. Banning graduated from Kenyon College in 1840. He studied law in Pennsylvania and returned to Knox County to practice.

Oscar Sherman Adams

(1874- ca 1940)

Oscar Adams was an important scientist-mathematician during the early twentieth century. He was born on a farm in Monroe Township, Knox County, Ohio in 1874, the son of David and Louise (McElroy) Adams. Oscar was educated in the public schools of Knox County and in 1896 he graduated from Kenyon College. He served in the Spanish-American War in 1898-1899, and returned to Knox County to teach mathematics in the public schools and to serve as superintendent of schools in Centerburg. He also continued his education at Kenyon College, receiving an A.M. degree in 1915 and a ScD. in 1928. In 1900 Adams married Mary E. Fuller of Centerburg. They had three children.

Norman Newell Hill

(1803-ca 1877)

N. N. Hill is known in Knox County, Ohio, as one of the major historians of the area. He was born in 1803 in Vermont. In about 1809 the family moved to Ohio and in 1811 they located in Mount Vernon. Norman married Mary Shaw in 1832. They had three children.

Mr. Hill was a teacher, a mercantile clerk, and, for a time, served as manager of the city gas works. He is best known, of course, as the author of the voluminous resource for local history researchers,

The History of Knox County, Ohio: Its Past and Present (1881).

Eli Todd Tappan

(1824–1888)

Eli Todd Tappan was an American educator, mathematician, author, lawyer and newspaper editor who served as president of Kenyon College, among other public distinctions. He was the son of Senator Benjamin Tappan and the father of author Mary Tappan Wright.

After the death of Joseph Ray, writer of numerous mathematics textbooks from primary through college levels, Eli Tappan authored several updated editions of Ray's texts for various publishers.

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