The Sinks Family

The Sinks Families of Butler and Randolph Townships
George Sinks, Sr. (1735-1819) was part of that early expedition led by Captain David
Mast that traveled from Randolph County, North Carolina to Randolph Township, Montgomery
County, Ohio in 1801. Sinks bought and settled on lands west of the Stillwater River in Section
12 of Randolph Twp. (now in Butler Twp.). George, Sr. had ten children by two wives, Rachel
Hoover (died 1782 and buried in North Carolina) and Mary Mast Waggoner (born 1747 – died
1829). The fifth child (whose mother was Rachel) was George, Jr. (born January 22, 1779 –
died February 21, 1847).
George Sinks, Jr. and his wife Sarah Plummer (1780 – 1841) had three children: Mary,
Daniel and John. George and Sarah helped establish Polk Grove Church in Butler Twp. and are
buried in Polk Grove Cemetery. Son John had one son by his first wife, Lydia Ratchins (or
Hutchins), George W. Sinks (August 28, 1832 – August 29, 1894). John, his second wife, Julia
Ann Bear, and some of their children are buried in Minnich Cemetery in Union.
George W. Sinks (grandfather of Edwin C. Sinks, the photographer) married Susan
Coate (1835(7) – February 10, 1928) in 1853. George W. Sinks was a blacksmith in Union,
Ohio. He and wife Susan are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Englewood. They had two children,
Theodore Franklin (August 08, 1854 – July 04, 1921) and Florence (November 05, 1857 –
October 16, 1915). Florence never married, but Theodore F. Sinks married Edna Herr
(December 20, 1855 – August 16, 1950), daughter of Samuel L. Herr. They had two boys,
Edwin Clemens (October 26, 1877 – 20 November 20, 1918) and Walter Herr (September 05,
1883 – December 07, 1971). Theodore was a butcher in Union, Ohio.
Walter Sinks married Elizabeth Kearney (December 29, 1882 – July 27, 1973). They had
four children: Harry, Orville, Nura and Ralph. Walter and Elizabeth married in China while doing
missionary work and Harry was born there. Walter and his son Harry were both ministers in the
United Brethren Church and served congregations in various states and in different parts of
Ohio. Members of this branch of the Sinks family still live in the area.
Edwin C. Sinks never married and lived with his parents at 304 North Main Street in
Englewood. His neighbors were the Berry’s, Rasor’s, Fetter’s, Nill’s, and Lowes. Sinks was an
1896 graduate of Randolph High School, attending classes in what today is the Heck Center. In
the 1900 and 1910 Census records, Ed Sinks is listed as a farm laborer and a shader at a car
works. In poor health for much of his life, Sinks may have turned to photography as a less
physically demanding occupation. His earliest identifiable photos date to 1905-1906, with the
bulk of his work dated 1912-1915. Sinks did no studio work but used his camera to make
postcards and matted prints of local sites, streetscapes, and family at school gatherings. Sinks
died at age forty from tuberculosis but left a legacy in photographs.