Biography - Hiram Short
DR. H. S. SHORT is a member of that profession which is one of the noblest to which a man can devote his life, and one which operates effectively in time of need in arresting and alleviating the pains and ailments to which the human body is heir, and one also which deserves the most appreciative consideration on the part of the public. As a follower of this noble calling, the gratitude of hundreds is due to the skill and talent of Dr. Short, who has been an active practitioner in this section for many years and has acquired considerable prominence. He was born in Randolph County, N. C., May 4, 1840, a son of Lemuel and Mary (Haskett) Short, who were born, reared and married in the old North State, the former being a successful school teacher. He followed this occupation forty-four years and attained prominence as an educator.
John Short, grandfather of our subject, was born in the North of Ireland, but was brought to America by his parents when about four years of age, and eventually became a school, music and writing teacher in North Carolina. He was well educated, and became more than ordinarily successful in his chosen calling. He followed this occupation for fifty years and lived to be eighty-seven years of age. Isaac Haskett, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in North Carolina, was a farmer by occupation, and died in Virginia, at the patriarchal age of ninety-eight years. His parents were born in France.
Lemuel Short and Mary Haskett were married in Randolph County, N. C., April 5, 1838, and the mother is still living, being now (1892) in her seventy-sixth year. After the death of Mr. Short, she became the wife of J. H. Buckmaster on the 4th of July, 1866, but this union did not result in the birth of any children. Eleven children were born to her first marriage, seven sons and four daughters, namely: F. E., of Tennessee; Dr. H. S., the subject of this sketch; Adella J., deceased, who became the wife of Bennett Poland and the mother of twelve children; Jonathan S.; Mary R., the wife of George Stokes, of Fayette County, Ill.; William A., who was killed in Montana; Nerius, who died at the age of two years; Oliver S., of Fillmore, Ill.; A. J., who died in 1880; Hannah L., who is deceased, and Frances D., also deceased.
Dr. H. S. Short was the second member of this family, and until he attained his fourteenth year he was a resident of the State in which he was born, and there commenced attending school at the age of four years. He also attended the district schools of Fayette County, Ill., and the Westfield (Ind.) High School, but upon the bursting of the war cloud that had so long hovered over the country, he, on the 3d of July, 1861, enlisted in the service of his country and became a member of Company C, Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, as a private, and took part in the following engagements: Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, and Chattanooga, and was with Gen. Sherman on his famous march to the sea. He received his discharge at Springfield, Ill., September 27, 1864, and was mustered out there by S. S. Sumner. Three of his brothers also saw service in the army. After the close of the war, he returned to Illinois and began teaching school at Ramsey, and also read medicine with Dr. J. C. Jones. He then took a course of lectures in the Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he practiced four years. He came to Fillmore July 27, 1869, and May 19, 1873, graduated at Cincinnati from the Eclectic Medical Institute. He has been a member of the Illinois State Eclectic Medical Society since its organization, as well as of the Montgomery County Medical Society.
October 31, 1871, our subject married, at Ramsey, Ill., Miss Sarah M. Stokes, a native of Fayette County, this State, who was born on the 25th of October, 1851, a daughter of Byrd and Margaret Stokes, and their union has resulted in the birth of four sons and two daughters: William T., Mary L., Emma E., Ulysses S., Walter C. and Lemuel B. Mary L. is an experienced and successful school teacher, as is also William T., who has followed that occupation with good results since he was nineteen years of age. The Doctor has been a member of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons since 1866, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is now Examining Surgeon. He is a strong Republican and ran as a popular candidate for County Coroner in the fall of 1892. His professional career from the first has been one of gratifying results, for he is thoroughly fitted by study and experience for a superior physician, and has built up a reputation for professional skill and ability that is not merely local but extends over a wide range of territory.
Extracted 04 Dec 2016 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 229-230.
