Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/38

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY


ginia; Clara E., married Dr. J. B. Rush, a dentist of Woodstock, Virginia; Nannie H., died in 1872; Joseph S. L., died in 1886; Frank R., died in 1895 ; Henry H., of whom further.

Dr. Henry H. Irwin, son of Dr. Joseph Swift and Sarah Catherine (Gochenour) Irwin, was born in Woodstock. Shenandoah county, Virginia, September 19, 1862. He obtained his preliminary education in the public and high schools of Ashland, Ohio. He later entered Ashland College, at Ash- land, Ohio, an institution which has since been granted a university charter, and there took a civil engineering course, subse- quently, in 1883, matriculating at the Phy- sicians' and Surgeons' College, at Balti- more, Maryland, receiving his M. D. in 1885. He was for a time resident physician of the Maryland (ricneral Hospital controlled by the Baltimore Medical College, and for twenty months was in charge of the public department of the Maternity Hospital. He became secretary of the faculty of the Balti- more Medical College, and for one yt'ar was in charge of the outdoor practice of that institution, also filling the position of assist- ant in anatomical demonstration.

When being examined by Virginia state board of medical examiners at Richmond, \'irginia, for practice in that state, Dr. Irwin took fourth honor, passing the tests of that board with an average of ninety-eight and ninety-eight one-hundredths per cent. In August, 1886, he moved to Mount Jackson, Virginia, and was there engaged in general practice for one year, at the end of that time coming to Woodstock, Virginia, in which ])lace, in the same profession, his father and grandfather had preceded him. His prac- tice has been of a general nature, although he has specialized to some extent in the dis- eases of children, and obstetrics, for which latter specialty his practice in Baltimore, Maryland, was excellent training. Dr. Irwin has on various occasions contributed jjapers and articles to medical journals, on subjects with which he is most familiar and upon which, through exhaustive' study and experience, he is prepared to write convinc- ingly and authoritatively. Dr. Irwin has for about twelve years been city physician of Woodstock. He is a member of the County and State Medical societies, and affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Junior Order of United American Me-


chanics. His political belief is Republican, and he is a member of the German Re- formed church.

Dr. Irwin married, June 16, 1886, Emma Jordan, born in Woodstock, Virginia, Sep- tember 10, 1862, daughter of William Jor- dan Supinger, and has children, all born in Woodstock, Virginia: Clarence Henry, born March 4, 1887, educated in the public schools and Massanuttan Academy ; Wil- liam Emmett. born March 10, 1888, now en- gaged in the breeding of high-grade poul- try ; Joseph Swift, born December 28, 1891, a graduate. Ph. B., of Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now engaged in insurance business in Wood- stock, Virginia.

Maurice Matthew Lynch. Although a member of the \'irginia bar and in practice in Winchester since 1887, Mr. Lynch is best known as an educator, and during the past twenty-eight years his work as superintend- ent of the public school system of Winches- ter has brought the schools to a high plane of efficiency. He is a son of Maurice Lynch, born in Ireland in 1810; came to the United States, landing in 1834 in Boston, Massa- chusetts ; came to Virginia in 1838, and after a long life spent in the building trade as a stone mason, died in 1902, aged ninety-two years. He married Ann, daughter of James Murphy.

Maurice Matthew Lynch was born in Frederick county, Virginia, May 14, 1854. He was educated in private and public schools of the county, Shenandoah Acad- emy and the University of \^irginia, attend- ing the latter during the years 1885 and 1886. Immediately after leaving college he located in Winchester, Virginia, and in the same year began his long connection with the public schools of that city. He at the same time pursued a course of legal study and in 1887 was admitted to the bar of Vir- ginia. He has continued the general prac- tice of law in Winchester until the present time, but as an educator and superintendent of schools has won his highest reputation. He is a member of the National Education Association and of the Virginia State Edu- cation Society, serving the latter as director during the years 191 1 and 1912. He was member of the Virginia State Board of Edu- cation six years, from 1907 to 1913. The advance made in the schools of Winchester