HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS, E. Polk Johnson, three volumes, Lewis Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, 1912. Common version, Vol. III, p. 1320-21. Kenton County. WALTER S. HATFIELD, M.D. Compared with every other profession that of medicine ranks foremost in the way of human helpfulness. It requires great ability and innate talent, and in addition to these a spirit of sacrifice and genial kindliness must ever be in evidence ready to inspire faith and hope in each and every patient. Possessed of these qualities, Dr. Hatfield has gained prestige as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in Kenton county. He was born near South Bend, Indiana, on the 23d of June, 1854, and is a son of Abel Janny and Martha (Zigler) Hatfield, the former of whom was a native of Wayne county, Indiana, and the later of Virginia. The Hatfield family traces its ancestry back to Welch origin, the great-grandfather, Jonas Hatfield, having emigrated from Wales to the United States in the year 1772, when but nine years of age. He first settled in Pennsylvania and later removed to Kentucky, where he was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Janny. They became the parents of several children and after a time established their home in Dayton, Ohio. In 1810, they removed to Green's Fork, on White River, Wayne county, Indiana. There Jonas Hatfield passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1813. During the major portion of his active business career he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Of his children, Nathan E. Hatfield was the grandfather of the Doctor; he was born at Dayton, Ohio in 1804, and he established his home in St. Joseph county, Indiana, in 1830, being a pioneer farmer in that county. He married Emily Roe and they had eleven children, nine of whom attained to years of maturity. Nathan was summoned to the life eternal in March, 1875, at the age of seventy-one years, and his cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1882, at the age of seventy-one years. Abel Janny Hatfield was the eldest of their eleven children and he was born on the 10th of June, 1828. He married Martha Zigler, a native of Virginia, where her birth occurred in February, 1830, and whence she accompanied her parents to St. Joseph county, Indiana, in 1838. Her father was Samuel Zigler and he followed farming until 1866, at which time he became interested in the sawmill and lumber business, continuing to be identified with that line of enterprise until his death, which occurred in 1874, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife was Margaret Garwood and she died in 1883, at the age of seventy-three years. Abel Hatfield passed most of his life in St. Joseph county, Indiana, being a mere infant at the time of his parents' removal to that county. He was a farmer, horticulturist and apiarist and he died in 1897, in his sixty-ninth year, his wife having passed to her reward September 26, 1861. Of their six children all but one are living, Dr. Walter S. Hatfield being the third in order of birth. Dr. Hatfield was reared and educated in his native county, his rudimentary training being supplemented by a course in the high school at Niles, Michigan, where his parents resided from 1864 to 1874. In 1880 he began the study of medicine, under the able preceptorship of Dr. John Maurer, of South Bend, Indiana. In 1880 he was matriculated in the Hahnemann Medical College, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in this excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the practice of his profession at Benton Harbor, Michigan, and later he engaged in practice at South Bend, Indiana. In the fall of 1883 he removed to Covington, Kenton county, Kentucky, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice and where he has since maintained his home with the exception of two years, which he spent in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the Kentucky State Society of Homeopathy, the Southern Homeopathic Society and the American Institute Homeopathy. In politics he accords a staunch allegiance to the principles and policies of the Republican party but he has never been a candidate for political honors, preferring to give his entire time and attention to the exacting demands of his profession. He has ever shown a deep interest in all movements projected for the general welfare of the community and he is held in high confidence and esteem by his professional confreres, as well as by his fellow citizens. Both he and his wife are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of their home city. On the 29th of August, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Hatfield to Miss Elizabeth Heron, who was born in Toronto, Canada, and who is a daughter of John and Sarah (Dunkin) Heron, both of whom were natives of England, where their marriage took place and whence they emigrated to Canada. In 1863 they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where John Heron died about one year later. Mrs. Heron died in 1889, in Covington, Kentucky. James Heron, a well known furniture dealer in Cincinnati, is a brother of Mrs. Hatfield. Dr. and Mrs. Hatfield became the parents of three children, one of whom died in infancy. Walter H., who was born on the 26th of August, 1888, is now a student in Hahnemann Medical College, in the city of Philadelphia, being a member of the class of 1911. James E., the other son, is attending school in Covington. He was born on the 12th of July, 1891. Hatfield Zigler Janny Roe Garwood Maurer Dunkin Heron Garwood = Cincinnati-Hamilton-OH Wayne-IN St._Joseph-IN VA PA MI Wales England Canada http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/kenton/hatfield.ws2.txt