Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 49: Medical Practice and Practitioners, 1912 (part 1 of 2)

Past and Present Facilities - They Simply "Called the Doctor" - Progress of Medi¬ cal Education Medical Societies - First Act for Medical Regulation - Latest Reg¬ ulating Act - The County's First Physician - Edwardsville's First Doctor - First Ph\sician in Eastern Madison - Pioneer Musician - A Southern Politician - Promi¬ nent in the Civil War - A "Thomsonian" Certificate - M. D. and D. D. - Of In¬ ternational Fame - Too Sympathetic for a Doctor - Two "Old Family Doctors" - In Practice Forty-One Years - Dr. Joseph Pogue - High-Grade Swiss Physicians - Dr. Charles Davis Pioneer in Pltblic Education - The Father of New Douglas.

Whoever writes the life-story of any people cannot claim that his work is complete unless it also includes the story of the medical men of that people, because in all history the im¬ pression made upon the community by the representatives of the medical profession has been of great and permanent value. If we take the recorded history of ancient peoples we find that the position taken by the medical man, in private and civil life, has been an exalted one.

In the olden time the care of the wounded and the treatment of the sick was delegated to the servants of the temple, and for many centuries the office of doctor and priest, was held by one and the same man, a man who from his early youth was consecrated and set apart for this work, representing at all times the highest and best type of mankind. Later on the office was separated, the priest con¬ tinuing to serve at the altar, while the task of administering to the sick was delegated to men who devoted all their time to this occu¬ pation.

same type of morality and honor as was the class from which he sprang. This was the origin of the men who represented the prac¬ tice of medicine in the dark ages, and who were our immediate predecessors. They were men of the highest type in each epoch, as civ¬ ilization advanced, and who handed down their traditions from age to age, even to this day.

Emanating from the priesthood, the moral part of their lives became inseparable from their professional life, and to this day the doctor is regarded in his community as the exponent of all that is moral and upright, all that is meant by the higher life. When we analyze the traditions that come to us from barbarous and half civilized nations we find that the "medicine man" occupied a position of honor and veneration, not exceeded even by the chief of the tribe.

not be complete unless it contained an account of the impress that the lives and acts of its early medical men made upon the community in which they lived and the part they took in the development and progress of events.

One hundred years ago the practice of medicine was not what it is now, and it would be very interesting to know just how the doctors managed to succeed with the meager facilities then on hand. All the travel of the earliest physicians was made on horse¬ back for there were no roads in 1800, only Indian trails connecting the various settle¬ ments, and the doctor was compelled to put his stock of medicines and appliances in the old saddle-bag. which only the oldest of our citizens can remember, and make his visits from one patient to another by means of his faithful steed. It must-be remembered too that doctors were not as plentiful as now, and very often the old-time physician visited patients at a distance of from twenty to one hundred miles. This was physical work, to¬ gether with the mental strain of administer¬ ing to the sick, and the doctors of those days necessarily had to be men of strong physique and sound constitution.

We find that the first wagon road in our county was not completed until 1812 and led from Edwardsville to Cahokia, and it was not until 1822 that our citizens first beheld a stagecoach. In our day of well-traveled roads, buggies and carriages, automobiles and street cars, to expedite our work, it seems al¬ most incredible that the men of the frontier and of the saddle-bags could and did do the work credited to them by the early traditions.

When we come to consider their instru¬ ments and appliances we find no well stocked armamentarium either in drugs or instru¬ ments. They had to do without a stethoscope or fever thermometer ; they had no Esmarch's tourniquet or hypodermic needle ; no hospital with well appointed operating room, with lights adjusted to the proper angle, but they had a marvelous knowledge of anatomy even in those long ago days. And yet they did the work and did it well and no citizen of any class was held in higher esteem and honor than the old time medical practitioner. It is a far cry before a doctor can be named who occupies the position in any community today, which was universally accorded the family physician, who was friend, counselor, confi¬ dant and advisor as well as medico.

There is another point of difference that we must note in the general progress of medi¬ cal practice and that is generalization as com¬ pared with specialization. Now-a-days we go to a certain doctor if something affects our nose, ear or throat; to this man, if our eyes trouble us, while we are very certain that for surgery no one can excell that man. For the kidneys it is well known that especial study has been made by this man, but his competi¬ tor is proper authority on heart disease. One man is a pathologist, while the other is a mar¬ velous diagnostician. But in the times of which we write they "called the doctor," and that was all there was to it; and to his credit be it said that he was ready for anything. He may not have been shaved that day, but the chances are that it was because he had rid¬ den all night over a. weary round of country roads. There was no luster on the stout boots he wore, but his fingers were none the less steady when he came to perform some deli¬ cate operation to save some precious life.

When we come to study the educational facilities of the early days, we find the same primitive situation that obtained in other con¬ ditions of that period. In 1765, Dr. John Morgan, a native of Philadelphia, induced the trustees of the College of Philadelphia to establish the first medical college in this coun¬ try and thus became the father of medical education in America. When the nineteenth century was born, there were only four medi¬ cal colleges in existence; the College of Phila¬ delphia which was organized in 1765, inti¬ mately connected with the Pennsylvania Hos¬ pital. In 1791, this school was merged with the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania under which title it is still in existence today. This joining of forces was the first of a long and still continuing series of medical school mergers. The second medical school was the medical department of Kings College, established in New York in 1768, and which was united 46 years later with the College of Physician and Surgeons of New York, under which name it is still in existence. The third was the well kwown medical department of Harvard College, opened in Cambridge in 1783, and later moved to Boston to take advantage of the hospital facilities there. The fourth and last of the quartette was opened in 1798 by Dr. Nathan Smith, a graduate of the Harvard School, as the medical department of Dart¬ mouth College.

Comparing this early condition of medical education with the status of the present day we find that four hundred and fifty-seven medical schools have been born in the United States and Canada since that time. In 1904 we find 166 medical schools flourishing in the United States, being about one half of all the medical colleges in the world. Since that time, there has been a decrease, owing to the work of the Council on Medical Edu¬ cation of the American Medical Association. Some of the weakest were closed up entirely, and others made stronger and better by merg¬ ing two or more. This weeding-out process continued until we find the total number of schools reduced to 120. Of the thirty-nine medical colleges born in Illinois during the past century only eight survive, all located in the city of Chicago.

centers at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it would seem as if they were more than sufficient to fill the demand, for we find that some of them experienced a season of suspended animation owing to lack of stu¬ dents. This was but natural owing to the sys¬ tem then in vogue. The medical student of that day was not expected to go to college, in fact it was only the most energetic, the most determined one, that ever did go. When the young man of that day felt the bud of genius sprouting in his brain, he simply en¬ tered an apprenticeship with some old, well established practitioner in the community, usually the family doctor. He washed bottles, spread plasters, rolled pills, made himself generally useful about the office, and in his leisure time read the books that he found in the library, which were none too numerous, but contained what was thought essential at that time. Later on he assisted his preceptor in surgical operations or in his general work, making an occasional visit to the sick in the old doctor's absence. After a longer or shorter apprenticeship, but usually at the end of two years, the young man felt that he was able to enter the practice, and he in turn secured a horse and a pair of saddle-bags, opened up an office, hung his sign out to notify the world at large that he was a full fledged doc¬ tor. Occasionally the young doctor remained for a while as partner of his preceptor, but in the great majority of instances he started his professional life in some near-by settle¬ ment.

This describes in brief the evolution of the doctor in those days ; such was the system then in force, which was recognized as the proper course by every one, even by the medi¬ cal colleges, for they did not intend, by their instructions, to supplant the system of appren¬ ticeship, but to supplement it, holding that a year of technical education in a college, would prepare the young doctor much better for his life's work.

We must remember too that in this earlier day, medical schools did not have as much to teach, as we have in our day. They did not have to teach the safe use of anaesthetics, for chloroform and ether had not been dis¬ covered; the microscope was not used for clinical research, because the bacterial origin of disease had as yet not been recognized. They did not teach antiseptic or aseptic sur¬ gery but were living in the day when they still talked of laudable pus, and the healing of wounds by first and second intention. In abdominal surgery, that great field in which so much successful work is done today, they taught that a gunshot wound of the abdomen must be severely let alone ; no probing after the bullet was allowed for fear that the doc¬ tor would be held as an accessory to the death of the patient, if he died, by having aggravated conditions with his meddlesome and ill advised surgery. Today the exact op¬ posite is not only taught but demanded, and the surgeon who does not promptly open up the abdominal cavity to repair any injury that the missile may have done, does not give his patient a fair chance for recovery and lays himself liable to the charge of gross negli¬ gence. The early medical instruction was con¬ fined to the elementary branches of the science such as anatomy, physiology, chem¬ istry, therapeutics, with more or less of Latin, all of which however was taught with great thoroughness.

The apprentice system held undisputed sway, with more or less modification, during all of the first three-quarters of the last cen¬ tury, during all of which time it was possible and permissible for any one to undertake the practice of medicine and surgery, without having had a residence in any college, medical or otherwise. Anyone who felt inclined to do so, could practice medicine, without let or hindrance, and the great majority of the prac¬ titioners of that day, began their life work with only such education as they gathered from their preceptors and from the study of such medical works as were available. And they did good work too, how good only the students of the various far-reaching epidem¬ ics of the middle of the past century, know.

They were of a distinct type which is fast passing away and in most regions has already vanished. A change has taken place in the profession and one by one the doctors of the old school are dropping by the wayside. The old type is disappearing and a new one com¬ ing in. Better did you say? Well, let us hope so. Will the new doctors be as patient and sympathetic as were they of the saddle bags? Will they be as conscientious? Has not com¬ mercialism crept in and destroyed every ves¬ tige of the old time intimacy between the family and the doctor ? Does the new genera¬ tion of doctors help to bear the family bur¬ den, share in the family joys and woes, or do they furnish so much service, for so much cash? Brave old heroes, they did the best they could with the appliances they had at that time, and did it well. All honor to their memory.

In 1821, one Dr. Cadwell, then a member of the State Senate, representing Madison county, secured the passage of an act for the establishment of medical societies in the state. Just what was done under this act can not be stated for we find no record of such soci¬ eties until May, 1850, when the Illinois State Medical Society was organized with Dr. Wil¬ liam B. Herrick, of Chicago, who had been professor of anatomy in Rush Medical Col¬ lege since 1844, as its first president. This society has been in uninterrupted existence ever since, numbering among its officers and members, men of not only national but inter¬ national fame, and carrying upon its roster today the names of about 6,000 physicians of Illinois. It is considered one of the best medi¬ cal societies in the United States and has to its credit a great deal of advanced work both in the field of medical research and in clinical medicine.

Only a few years after the establishment of the State Society, the physicians of this county organized the Madison County Medi¬ cal Society, and one of its earliest secretaries, Dr. Joseph Pogue, of Edwardsville, is still alive and in active practice. This society after a stormy career, with intervals of suspension, is still in existence and in a most flourishing condition, with a membership of ninety active, hustling doctors, who meet in regular session once a month.

In the reorganization of medical societies in 1903, the county society was made the unit, and now no physician can become a member of the State Society or the American Medical Association, nor can he retain his membership in the state or national bodies, unless he acquires and retains membership in his county society. This act has given a great impetus to organization and the time is not distant when every practitioner will identify himself with the organized profession, through the medium of his local medical society.

The act of 1821, above referred to, pro¬ vided for the "division of the state into four medical districts, making the physicians in each district a body corporate, and making it their duty to meet at stated intervals to exam¬ ine students and grant diplomas to such as were qualified to practice medicine." The act also provided that no one could practice medi¬ cine except those possessed of a diploma from one of these societies or from some respect¬ able university of the United States. This act also required physicians to keep a record of all births and deaths. This law clearly fore-shadowed the creation and defined the duties of, a State Board of Health, the reali¬ zation of which was not accomplished until fifty-six years later. Although this law was on the statute books, we can find no record of its enforcement, particularly with refer¬ ence to the granting of diplomas. It seems to have been, like a great many of our present laws, a dead letter, not put into execution, however beneficent its results might have been, thus allowing the apprenticeship system full sway. And who can say that this system was not good for these early times? Who can say that it was not adequate for the edu¬ cation of the early doctors and did it not fill the requirements for them, that our higher education does for us now?

Another section of the law of 1821 "pro¬ vided that the board might examine all phy¬ sicians' bills which any patient considered exorbitant and make such deductions as to the board seemed reasonable; that the physician could not collect the excess and he was re¬ quired to refund it if it had been paid." This provision, in the light of modern methods of doing business seems to us a "joker," but undoubtedly was passed in good faith. His¬ tory does not tell us whether this section was enforced or not, but we of this generation would regard the enforcement of such a law, a rather difficult undertaking.

It was not until 1877 that the first attempt was made to regulate the practice of medicine in this state. In that year an act was passed by the general assembly, creating a State Board of Health and it was one of the duties of this board to pass upon the qualifications of every one attempting to practice the heal¬ ing art. If a graduate, the diploma conferring his degree had to be exhibited. If found genuine, and if the person named therein was found to be the person claiming and present- ing the same, the board granted a certificate signed by all its members, and such diploma and certificate gave the lawful holder thereof a right to practice medicine in this state. If not a graduate, the person desiring to practice medicine had to present himself for examina¬ tion, and if such examination was found sat¬ isfactory, the Board issued a certificate and the applicant became a legalized practitioner.

In deference to the older practitioners, the law contained a provision exempting all doc¬ tors who had been in active practice for ten years or more, and the Board issued certifi¬ cates to this class of applicants, upon proof of having practiced the required number of years. The supreme court of Illinois in pass¬ ing upon the constitutionality of the act, said: "The Statute was passed to protect the health and promote the welfare of society, and to protect it from imposition and fraud. The purpose was to prohibit and punish fraud, deception, charlatanry and quackery in the practice of medicine, to prevent empiricism and bring the practice of medicine under such control that, as far as practicable, the ignor¬ ant and unscientific practitioner shall be ex¬ cluded."

At this time it was the custom of all medi¬ cal colleges to require but two years' instruc¬ tion before graduation. This comprised at¬ tendance on a course of lectures extending over a varying period Of from four to six months. The next year the student would listen to the same set of lectures, for the same length of time, after which examination would follow and a diploma be granted. Evi¬ dently this was a very limited amount of in¬ struction, and the newly born doctor could not complain of an over-amount of knowl¬ edge in his chosen profession.

Owing to the demand for higher education, the act of 1877, was subject to various amend¬ ments for the purpose of improving it and raising the standard higher and higher from time, to time. The medical colleges extended their lectures over three years and then over four years, of eight and nine months each and presented a graded course to take the place of the oft repeated lectures. They also demanded an examination in the common school branches, before allowing students to matriculate, which was soon raised to include graduation from a recognized high school or its equivalent. Not satisfied with even this progressive step, twenty-two of the best medi¬ cal colleges of this country now demand not only a high school degree but proof that the matriculant had attended some reputable uni¬ versity for at least two years. Rush and Northwestern in our own state are included in this number and one by one the better colleges of the land are advancing their en¬ trance requirements, in order to stand on the same high level with the best. In truth it may be said that more progress in higher medical education has been made since 1900, than in all of the nineteenth century. This is as it should be, for the demand of the times now calls for men of the highest type, of the most scholarly attainments, and there is now no place in the medical profession for the uneducated and unfit. The trend of progress is ever upward, and it will not be long before every medical student will be required to exhibit proof that he is a graduate of some reputable university or college, and ' has re- ' ceived his degree before he will be permitted to enter upon his studies in any medical col¬ lege.

Although rapid and effective strides, for the elevation of the medical standard, were made by all the medical colleges of the United States, during the last ten years, we find that the law has not only kept pace with the rapid progress, but has exceeded all requirements of the schools in its demands for higher edu¬ cation.

Not content with all the amendments made since 1877, the last general assembly placed upon the statute books a law which was ap¬ proved May 29, and took effect on July 1, 1911, the salient features of which are hereby quoted and made a part of this record:

"The State Board of Health shall require that every applicant for a license to practice medicine and surgery in all the-ir branches, in the State of Illinois (excepting only those physicians who may be entitled to a license under section 3a of the Act to which this act is an amendment) shall present:

'T. Proof satisfactory to said board that he is a graduate of a medjcal college in good standing, as may be determined by the state Board of Health, and

"2. Pass before said board, an examina¬ tion embracing those general subjects and topics, a knowledge of which is commonly and generally required of candidates for a degree of doctor of medicine, by reputable medical colleges in the United States ;

"3. Provided, that the State Board of Health, may, in its discretion, admit to exam¬ ination a student who has completed, in a medical college determined in good standing, the course of instruction required by the rules of said board in medical1 colleges determined in good standing, and who has passed the ex¬ aminations of said college, but has not re¬ ceived a dioloma;

"4. Provided, further, that the said medi¬ cal college shall require as a prerequisite to graduation, a course of study extending over at least five calendar years.

"5. And if said student pass the examina¬ tions of said board it may issue to him a lim¬ ited license authorizing him to practice medi¬ cine and surgery in a hospital approved by said board and in no other place whatsoever in the State of Illinois.

effect for a period not exceeding eighteen months from the date thereof, and the State Board of Health may then issue to the appli¬ cant the regular permanent license of the board without further examination or fee, on the condition that the applicant present a diploma from the medical college in which he had completed a course, as prescribed by the rules of said board, previous to the issu¬ ance of the limited license hereinbefore men¬ tioned, and otherwise complies with the re¬ quirements of the board and with the pro¬ visions of the Act to which this Act is an amendment."

The practice of medicine and surgery may be, and is legally controlled in order to pro¬ mote the public health and welfare of society, and the primary object of the law is not to favor the doctors but to protect the patients.

To us of this generation it would be a matter of much interest if we could know the names of the old "medicine men" of the tribes of Kickapoo and Cahokia Indians who used to roam the prairies of what is now Madison county. It would also be a matter of much interest if we knew the methods and materials used by our Indian predecessors. But names and methods alike are lost to us, for no record of the "medicine man" was ever made, and we can but conjecture that they in common with all Indian tribes exorcised the evil spirit, which had entered the patient, with their charms and weird incantations; with tom-toms, drums or other like instru¬ ments ; with the monotonous swaying of their bodies or with their gesticulations and danc¬ ing. Or shall we imagine that they used such remedies as ground spiders, scorpion eggs, charred bones and the like, much in use among barbaric nations? This can only be a matter of speculation, as nothing preserving their identity or methods has been handed down.

tory of the medical men of one hundred and more years ago, the men who came in with the first white settlers of Madison county. No record of their names or acts has been transmitted to us, no chapter on the early practice of medicine has ever been included in the many histories of this region, that have been written. Nothing has been preserved of record, except as it is laboriously culled out of the archives of civil government, as it related to local, county or state administra¬ tion. Naturally a great deal of valuable in¬ formation has been irretrievably lost as it was only in the isolated instances that a physician acquired sufficient prominence to be men¬ tioned in connection with government affairs. This is today our only source of information, except that in a few instances, the recollec¬ tions of our oldest citizens have materially aided in throwing additional light upon the subject, which at best, though extremely val¬ uable, is naturally indistinct and very incom¬ plete. It must also be remembered that there are but very few persons now living who knew these early pioneers in medicine, and whose acquaintance with them extended be¬ yond the mere personal contact. The desire to avoid the limelight of publicity, which we find in the medical profession today, seems to have been a tradition handed down to us from the fathers, and is a precious legacy to us, which is still carefully preserved for future generations. However, through all the haze and mist of the past, some facts have survived, some names have been rescued from oblivion, and in this, the latest attempt, to tell the story of the people of Madison county, these facts and names are here recorded, as a grateful tribute to the old pioneers in our profession, who blazed the way for us, whose lines have fallen in more pleasant places and who are now enjoying the fruit of the labors of the men of the nineteenth cen¬ tury.

Dr. George Cadwell was the first physician who practiced in Madison county. He was born February 21, 1773, at Wethersfield, Con¬ necticut, and acquired his medical education in Rutland, Vermont. While still a student, he married, on February 19, I797> Parnelia Lyon, whose mother was a niece of Ethan Allen, of Ticonderoga fame, and whose father was Matthew Lyon, then a member of con¬ gress from Vermont and who was afterwards four times elected to congress from Kentucky and once elected delegate to congress from the territory of Arkansas.

Dr. Cadwell practiced his profession at Fair Haven, Vermont, and Eddyville, Ken¬ tucky, until he located in Madison county in 1802, on the banks of the Mississippi river, opposite Gabaret island, where he purchased two hundred acres of land which, by the de¬ scription in the deed, is located just north of the Merchant's bridge and immediately west of Granite City. He practiced his profession and identified himself with public affairs of this county, which was established, on Sep¬ tember 14, 1812, by Governor Ninian Ed¬ wards and which at that time had the follow¬ ing boundaries: ''Beginning on the Missis¬ sippi, to run with the second township above Cahokia east until it strikes the dividing line between the Illinois and Indiana territories, thence with said dividing line to the line of Upper Canada, thence with said line to the Mississippi, thence down the Mississippi to the beginning." On the 27th day of Septem¬ ber, 18 12,- Dr. Cadwell was appointed justiqe of the peace for this newly established county which embraced all of Illinois north of East St. Louis, all of Wisconsin, and that part of Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi river. In August, 1813, he was appointed commis¬ sioner to list the property in this county for taxation and the tax so extended on this list amounted to $426.84.

On December 24, 1814, as a Christmas gift from the governor, he was appointed county judge of this county and shortly after re¬ moved to Edwardsville, purchasing from Thomas Kirkpatrick on July 1, 1815, "lots 27 and 28 in the town of Edwardsville, lying on the west side of Main Street and on the north side of Cross street No. 5," containing the dwelling which was by the proclamation of Governor Edwards, above referred to, made the seat of justice of Madison county.

On the third Thursday of September, 1818, Dr. Cadwell was chosen as a member from this county to the first state senate, which office he held until 1824. occupying a very prominent position, being a member of most of the important committees and chairman of some. In 1821 he removed to Morgan county, where, after 1824, the remainder of his life was spent in the practice of his pro¬ fession. His field was so vast and his prac¬ tice so extensive that he was frequently ab¬ sent for several days at a time, sometimes visiting patients forty miles away. He was a man of medium height and of rather slender build and his family consisted of two sons and eight daughters. He died August 1, 1826, aged fifty-two years and was buried on his farm in Morgan county, Illinois.

Dr. Joseph Bowers was the first physician to practice his profession in Edwardsville. He came here in 1810 and built a log cabin on the Judge Joseph Gillespie home site in lowertown, to which Dr. John Todd after¬ ward added a frame addition. Dr. Bowers was active in his profession here for about ten years. Tradition does not record his medical career but rather speaks of him as a man prominent in the affairs of the growing community. He, with Ninian Edwards, John Todd and others, owned a large tract of land in Edwardsville, of which he was one of the trustees in 1819. He seems to have been a speculator in lots and lands for we find that he was not only the owner of a large number of lots in Upper Edwardsville, but also owned a great deal of real estate in Waterloo and Yandalia. He must have met with finan¬ cial reverses, for after removing to Carlyle, he made an assignment of all of his holdings to Dr. John Todd of Edwardsville, for the benefit of his creditors, of which a large number with large claims are mentioned in the deed.

Dr. John Todd, the second physician to come to Edwardsville was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and was a brother of Robert Todd whose two daughters became the wives of President Abraham Lincoln and Governor Ninian Edwards. Dr. Todd came to Ed¬ wardsville in 1817 and at once entered upon the active practice of medicine and tradition hands him down as a man of fine skill and ability. Together with Governor Ninian Ed¬ wards and Benjamin Stephenson, he, in 1825, platted an addition which is known as "Upper Edwardsville" and "Todd and Others' Addi¬ tion." In 1823 and 1824 he was also wor¬ shipful master of Libanus Lodge No. 29, A. F. & A. M., at Edwardsville, one of the earli¬ est masonic lodges in the state, and which was under the jurisdiction of the original Grand Lodge, which disappeared before 1830, possibly before 1827 or 1828. In May 1827 he was appointed registrar of the United States Land Office, by John Quincy Adams, and moved to Springfield, Illinois. At this time he was the only regular physician in Ed¬ wardsville and he sold his property to Dr. B. F. Edwards who succeeded him in the practice. In 1846 he built what was consid¬ ered the most elegant brick house in Springfield which was but recently torn down, still in a most perfect state of preservation. As Dr. Todd was an uncle of the wife of Presi¬ dent Lincoln both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were frequent visitors at this home.

first physicians of our county and came from Vermont to Upper Alton about 1817. On the 21st of September, 1818, he was married to Adah Meacham, daughter of Joseph Meacham, one of the men who laid out the town of Upper Alton, and in the same year was appointed postmaster. This office, al¬ though named Alton, was in Upper Alton and was on a mail route running from Carlyle, Il¬ linois, to St. Charles, Missouri, carrying the mail once a week on horseback. He retained this office until 1832 and was succeeded by Rev. B. Maxey, a circuit preacher from Vir¬ ginia. Dr. Langworthy was an active, ener¬ getic citizen besides being a practitioner of medicine, for we find his name connected with every important movement for the uplift of that pioneer community.

Dr. Erastus Brown, grandfather of Ansel L. Brown, editor of the Edivardsville Demo¬ crat, and greatgrandfather of Mary Ground Corbett, wife of Clarence C. Corbett, D. D. S., was one of the early pioneers in medicine who made an impression upon the community that time has been unable to efface. He grad¬ uated from Yale in 1799, and began the prac¬ tice of medicine in Bridgewater, New York, where he married a widow, Brittania Easton Starr. In 1815 he came west and located in St. Louis until he came to this county in the autumn of 1818 and settled in Upper Alton following his profession and also owning and operating the first drug store in that part of the county. Although Joseph Meacham laid out the town of Upper Alton in 1817, on a section of government land, he never com¬ pleted the entry, but sold his certificate to a syndicate composed of Dr. Brown, Janies W. Whitney, John Allen and Ebenezer Hodges, who completed the transfer, became propri¬ etors of the town, registered the plat, and sold the lots. In 1819 he, with Bennett Maxey, Isaac Waters, and Zachariah Allen, laid out the town of Salu, adjoining and to the north of Upper Alton, claiming for it greater natural advantages than could be found in Upper Alton or Alton. Dr. Brown was a brother-in-law of Col. Rufus Easton who, in 1817, laid out the original town of Alton and who, in 1808, was the first post¬ master of St. Louis, Missouri, and also was a delegate to Congress from 1814 to 1818, from the Missouri Territory. The pioneer mis¬ sionary, Rev. J. M. Peck, gives a very good description of Dr. Brown's home in 1819 when he says: "The snug, neat, newly-built log-house - no, we will call it a 'cottage' - where I found the doctor, his lady and two or three little ones, in as comfortable quar¬ ters as any decent folks deserved to have in those frontier times." He speaks of the hos¬ pitality accorded him by Dr. Brown and his wife, and of the comfort and happiness that were his lot while their guest.

The 44th anniversary of the nation's birth, July 4, 1820, was celebrated at Dr. Brown's house, above described, which stood on the Milton road just where that road joins the main street of the town. On that occasion, with music, feast and merriment, speeches were made and toasts given, and it is worthy of notice that even at this early day, the slav¬ ery question was the subject of the most of these oratorical efforts.

Dr. Brown was a handsome man, of slim build, over six feet tall, and as straight as an arrow; his complexion was clear and his hair and eyes were jet black. He was a man of positive character and always identified him¬ self with all the civic movements looking to¬ ward the upbuilding of the community. He was a fine physician and was highly respected by all who knew him. He continued in prac¬ tice in Upper Alton up to the time of his death in 1833.

Probably the first physician that located in or near Collinsville sometime in the twenties of the last century was a young man by the name of Dr. Reuben Mack. We find very little history of him. He never married and made his home about a mile northwest of the city under the bluff, near the old homestead of Guy Morrison of early days. He rode horse¬ back long distances to his patients. He was a sportsman and delighted in hunting game which was then plentiful. He possessed a dog that is remembered as a constant com¬ panion of the Doctor. Dr. Mack died young and was buried on the very top of the bluff, overlooking the great valley below. It is said that the Doctor and the faithful dog were buried in the same grave.

There was a brick wall surrounding the grave which is still to be seen. The grave stone has long since been broken off and washed down into a new ravine. I am greatly indebted to Master William Combs (son of Joseph Combs who lives near) who has searched this ravine and found this head stone. It is marked as follows : "In memory of Doctor Reuben Mack who was born in Shelburn, Vermont, in 1809, departed this life here in September, 1832, aged 24."

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edwards was born on a plantation near Bardstown, Montgom¬ ery county, Maryland, on July 2, 1797, being the twelfth child of the late Benjamin and Margaret Beal Edwards. He graduated in medicine at Jefferson Medical College, Phil¬ adelphia, and settled in Elkton, Todd Co., Kentucky. In September, 1819, he married Betsy Green of Danville, Kentucky, a sister of the late Rev. Lewis Green, the president of Center College of that place. A few months after this he moved overland to Old Franklin, Missouri, but after a year's resi¬ dence he was driven by the floods back to Kentucky. In 1827, at the call of his brother, Governor Ninian Edwards, he came to Edwardsville, Illinois, to take charge of the land office, living in the old Judge Joseph Gillespie house on North Main street. He was con¬ sidered a very fine physician, and during his ten years' residence in Edwardsville, his serv¬ ices were in great demand within a radius of one hundred miles. On the 19th of April, 1828, the first Baptist church was organized in his home, being the first church established in this section of Illinois.

In 1837 Dr. Edwards removed to Alton, Illinois, where his brother, Cyrus Edwards, then lived. In 1844 he moved to St. Louis, where he soon gained an extensive practice. In 1849 he was seized with the gold fever, and went to California, the family returning to Alton until he came back home in May, 1851. In St. Louis he remained until 1866, when he built and moved to a home in Kirk¬ wood, Missouri.

Dr. Edwards maintained a successful and lucrative practice of medicine during his long life. He was ever a zealous member of the Baptist church, instrumental in its establish¬ ment in Alton, St. Louis and Kirkwood. He was also interested in educational and polit¬ ical affairs, in fact was a public spirited cit¬ izen. He was a trustee of Monticello Semin¬ ary and of Shurtleff College, Alton, where his portrait now hangs among the founders of that institution. He was most active in trying to avert the Love joy tragedy, admonishing Lovejoy to withhold his violent weekly edi¬ torials, but to no effect. He was an earnest, enthusiastic, Christian man, honored and be¬ loved by all who knew him. His personal appearance was striking, being six feet one inch tall, handsome, erect and majestic, with a most pleasing address. Only two of his ten children still survive, Mrs. M. E. Todd, of Columbia, Missouri, and Cyrus L. Edwards, of Grandbury, Texas, (twins) born in Alton, in 1837.

Dr. Edwards died in Kirkwood, Missouri, Daniel Boone and a man who both as physi¬ cian and citizen left his impress upon the people not only of this county but of the state at large, was born near Lexington, Kentucky, medical education and degree from the Tran¬ sylvania University, he began his professional life in Edwardsville, Illinois, in 1829, when 21 years old, and located later in Hillsboro, in the same state. After serving during the Black Hawk war as captain of cavalry he per¬ manently settled in Chicago in 1836, where he served as city physician during the severe cholera epidemic of 1849 to 1851 rendering most valuable service to the public. He also served as alderman three terms and in 1855 was elected mayor of Chicago. After a most turbulent term in the mayoralty he again re¬ sumed his practice and was considered one of the best physicians of the city. He was an ardent supporter of the Baptist church and was also one of the founders of the Chicago University. Early in life he married a daugh¬ ter of Judge Smith of the Illinois supreme court, and raised a large family. He died in Chicago in 1882 aged 74 years.

Dr. Edmund Moore, a pioneer physician and surgeon of Morgan county, did not live in this county but certainly deserves mention in these pages, as he was frequently called to Edwardsville and vicinity in a professional capacity, from his home many miles to the north. Dr. Moore was born of Scotch-Irish parentage in Elphin, Roscommon county, Ire¬ land, May 26, 1798. When but an infant he came to the United States with his parents, who located in Kentucky. Here Edmund Moore was reared and educated, here he read medicine under Dr. Bemis of Bardstown, Ken¬ tucky. In 1827 he was examined and licensed by the state of Illinois, and began the practice of medicine in Morgan county, which was the scene of his activities for half a century. He was a typical "doctor of the old school" attended to the wants of the people over a very wide extent of territory, always on horse¬ back, carrying his supplies in his saddle-bags. His extensive rides and many trips were made at great personal risks, both from exposure and from the dangers surrounding travel in a wild and sparsely settled country. Dr. Moore, after 50 years of active practice died in Morgan county May 29, 1877, aged 79 years.

Dr. Joseph Gates, a descendant of the old Goetz family in Germany, a man of unique and decided character and one of the old pioneers in medicine, was born in Salem, Washington county, New York, July 16, 1783. He studied the Thomsonian system of medicine under his preceptor, Dr. J. Vanvelsor in New York, and there on Aug. 30, 1807, married Miss Polly Vanvelsor, a daugh¬ ter of his preceptor. In 1818 he came west and entered a lot of land in the military tract in northern Illinois. In 1830 he sold out and came to Marine in this county where he re¬ mained one year when he entered a farm be¬ tween Troy and Collinsville where he lived during the rest of his life. His wife died on this home farm and in 1833 he married Mrs. Cynthia Moore, nee Ballard. Dr. Gates be¬ lieved in the thorough use of the "old roots and herbs," especially of Lobelia. He is well remembered to this day, and many are the stories related of his practice. He built up a great reputation for his treatment of milk sickness, which at that time prevailed all through central Illinois, and was called all over the country to treat these cases and he was very successful. Dr. Gates practiced up to the time of the Civil war, and died October 11, 1865, aged eighty-two years. His young¬ est child, Mr. George W. C. Gates, at the age of seventy-four years, is still living in Troy, Illinois.

Dr. William S. Emerson was born in Kennebunk, Maine, in 1801. He received his medical education in Bowdoin College, from which institution he graduated. In 1831 he came to Alton, being the first physician to locate there, and practiced his profession with rare ability and great success. So deeply did his professional attainments impress them- selves upon the community that his work is highly spoken of to this day. He also in¬ terested himself in the civic affairs of the community and was a member of the Board of Trustees in 1834 to 1836. In his personal conduct he exhibited such kind and gentle¬ manly qualities that he gained the good will and respect of everyone and became exceedingly popular. Besides being a splendid physician he was a born naturalist, a great student and lover of conchology. He had a full and complete collection of shells, all duly classified and catalogued, which was con¬ stantly increased by exchange with foreign and more or less remote American collectors. This collection was somewhat injured by fre¬ quent removals after his death, but was fin¬ ally deposited at Monticello Seminary and forms an interesting exhibit in the cabinet of that institution. Dr. Emerson died in Alton, in September, 1837, aged thirty-five years.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Long was one of those early pioneers in medicine who devoted his whole life to the service of his profes¬ sion and to the amelioration of the conditions of his fellow-man. He was what the word implies, a physician, worthy in morals and ison county. He was born August 1, 1805, in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and received his early education in the village academy. He began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Henry Lyman of Warner, New Hamp¬ shire, and after a season of teaching school to provide means for his medical education, he attended lectures in the Medical College of Berkshire, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Dartmouth Medical College, from which he graduated in December, 1830. After assist¬ ing his brother, Dr. Moses Long, in his ex¬ tensive practice in Warner, New Hampshire, he took a post-graduate course in Philadel¬ phia. In 1831, Dr. Long came to Upper Alton to visit his brothers who had located there, in¬ tending to continue his journey and settle in St. Martin's Parish, Louisiana. But he be¬ came interested in a very sick child, in the Huntington family on Wood river, whose life had been despaired of by local physicians, and who was restored to health by his ministra¬ tions. This changed his plans and he located in Alton where he conducted an extensive practice for many years. In 1839 he with others organized the Illinois Mutual Fire In¬ surance Company, of which he was president for twenty-five years. In 1849, ^ie year that cholera was at its worst in Illinois, his prac¬ tice was so extensive and he was so con¬ stantly in the saddle that his health was se¬ riously broken and his eyesight so affected that he eventually gave up professional work, but never his interest in medicine and sur¬ gery.

Dr. Long was married in 1835 to Miss Lucy Martin, daughter of Dr. Wm. Martin, of Bradford, New Hampshire, and she died in 1846, leaving three sons and two daughters of whom only the youngest, George Franklin Long of Springfield, Illinois, is still living. In 1850 he removed from Upper Alton to a farm on the Grafton road and devoted the greater part of his time to fruit growing, until his death in 1888.

Dr. Caspar Koepfli, born in Sursee, Can¬ ton Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1775, was a graduate of the best schools of Europe, prac¬ ticed in Switzerland and was a military sur¬ geon before emigrating to this country. His father and grandfather were also doctors. On the 15th of October, 1831, at the head of a Swiss colony, the doctor arrived in Mad¬ ison county, settling in Looking Glass Prairie not far from the present site of the city of Highland, and thus became the first doctor in the eastern part of the county. He, with several others, in September 1836, laid out the town of Highland, consisting of fortyfive squares of twelve lots each. Dr. Koepfli was the first to recommend Swiss emigrants to come to this country by way of New Or¬ leans. He had himself come all the way from New York to Highland overland, and found the journey both very difficult and ex¬ pensive. The ocean rate to New Orleans was about the same as to New York and the trip up the Mississippi was much cheaper and more comfortable. After that all emigrants to Highland came by way of New Orleans. Dr. Koepfli was connected with every move¬ ment for civic betterment in the village and this interest remained unabated until his death. Although he was fifty-seven years old when he came to this country, he lived long enough to see all his plans realized and could look with extreme satisfaction over a long and busy life. At the advanced age of eighty years, on the first day of January, 1855, Dr. Koepfli found a resting place in this settle¬ ment of his creation and was followed to his grave by a large concourse of sincere friends.

Dr. Joseph L. Darrow was born April 4, 1809, and came to Collinsville in 1833, where he immediately gained a foothold and became very popular. He was also an ordained rec¬ tor of the Episcopal church and in 1835 founded Christ Episcopal church in Collins¬ ville and was its rector as long as he lived. He owned and laid out Darrow addition, and not only donated a large lot to the above church but built the church building and do¬ nated it to the parish. This building was torn down in May, 1912, to be replaced by a handsome church edifice. His pluck and en¬ ergy in pushing the claims of his church was rewarded by seeing erected in this county two other churches, one in Edwardsville and one in Marine, which were built almost solely by the Doctor's personal means, added to contributions from his friends in the east. When the awful epidemic of cholera raged in 1849, he fought it to the finish, but when the disease returned some years later, it claimed him as one of its first victims. His name, both in a professional and clerical ca¬ pacity, is a pleasant memory to the elderly people, to this day. At the early age of forty-six years, he died in Collinsville, on July 28, 1855.

Dr. Peter- Wilkins Randle, son of Josias and Nancy Randle, was born November 9, 1806 and came to Edwardsville with his father and his family, in 1818. The family settled on the premises that later became the homestead of the late Judge David Gillespie, where the father built an ox-mill for grind¬ ing corn, the grinding stones of which re¬ mained on the premises, which is now oc¬ cupied by Henry C. Barnsback, until a few years ago when they were removed by a rel¬ ative. Josias Randle was also clerk of the first county court of this county.

Dr. Randle began the study of medicine in 1830 under the tutorship of Dr. B. F. Ed¬ wards, but in 1832 at the age of twenty-six years, he enlisted in Capt. Erastus Wheeler's company of mounted volunteers and became one of the soldiers of the Black Hawk war. He began his medical career in Edwardsville in 1833, and on May 14, 1834, he was married to Miss Lucia M. Long of Edwardsville. When Dr. Edwards moved to Alton in 1837, Dr. Randle took over his practice and contin¬ ued it with great success for many years. He was an able and popular physician whose practice extended for fifty miles around. He also served as surgeon in the Army of the Po¬ tomac during the war of the rebellion. Shortly after his return from the army he moved to Alton a'nd after a few years in that location went to San Francisco, and founded the Eclectic Medical College, of which he be¬ came president. He continued his medical activities for many years and died in San Francisco in 1886, aged eighty years.

Dr. Frederick Humbert, a typical specimen of the sturdy manhood composing the med¬ ical profession of that early day, was born in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Prussia, on De¬ cember 16, 1808. After his early education in the schools of his native city, he pursued his medical studies in the University of Vi¬ enna, Austria, from which he graduated on July 19, 1832. The next year he emigrated to this country and began the practice of medicine in Upper Alton. He gained a wide reputation as an able physician throughout all the surrounding country, was an enthusiast in his profession to which he devoted his long life and made an indelible impression by his work and life, that has had its effect even down to this day. He also took great interest in horticulture and took great delight in planting fruit and shade trees. He was the first one who introduced the dwarf tree into this county, which he did in 1837. Tired, worn out and weary, he laid down his bur¬ den and went to sleep in Alton on May 18, 1891, aged eighty-three years.

Dr. Samuel Hall was born in Vermont and after a common school education gained at home, graduated from Dartmouth College, and located in Collinsville in 1833. He mar¬ ried his second wife there, a Miss Mary Berkey, February 11, 1844. After a success¬ ful practice of thirteen years, he died in 1846, at the early age of thirty-six years.

Dr. Solon Stark was an eastern man, born in Boston, Massachusetts, April 12, 1805, educated in the New England states and came to Edwardsville in 1834. He located on the corner of the old public square, where in con¬ nection with his practice he opened and con¬ ducted the first drug store of Edwardsville. He was a man of medium height, with dark complexion, Yankee habits, a polished urbane gentleman. In May, 1842, he married Miss Rachel McCracken, a step-daughter of Dr. Brackett, who was a fine musician and singer. Her musical education was completed under the direction of Mrs. F. A. Wolf, mother of A. P. Wolf, cashier of the Bank of Edwards¬

Dr. Stark was a great lover of music and shared with his wife a great musical talent. He imported the first piano that ever came to Edwardsville and his home became the musical center for the young people of the town and many are the stories told even now of the festivities enjoyed in this hospitable home. He was also a charter member of St. Andrew's Episcopal church, organized in Edwardsville in 1841, and we find his name connected with the board of trustees during his entire residence in the city. Dr. Stark also was largely concerned with civic and judicial affairs and in 1841, the county court appointed him administrator of the estate of one William P. Hall, and under this appoint¬ ment he sold large holdings of land in Mad¬ ison, Macoupin, Green and Morgan counties in this state. He moved to St. Louis in 1843 and three years later to Nauvoo, where he remained four years, returning to St. Louis in 1850. Besides being a master of his pro¬ fession he was a man of more than ordinary executive ability, and during his residence in St. Louis he served as member of the city council, member of the school board and later as health officer of the city. In 1865 he be¬ came resident physician of the quarantine hospital and was also a member of the fac¬ ulty of the oldest medical college in St. Louis. Dr. Stark died in St. Louis April 24, 1878, aged seventy-three years. His widow sur¬ vived and at the age of ninety years, died in April, 1906. They were both taken back to the old home in Cahokia, Illinois, and their bodies deposited in the family cemetery.

Dr. James Lord Brackett, a native of Vasselboro, Maine, was born January 10, 1792. After beginning his medical education in the east, he graduated in St. Louis and came to Illinois, settling in Cahokia in 1827. In 1828 he met and married Mrs. Hortense Mc-

Cracken, who was a member of the old French Jarrot family of Paris, France. In 1835 he moved to Monk's Mound where he remained one year. After practicing in Belle¬ ville four years, he came to Edwardsville in 1840 and lived on the little hill just south of the city limits, the present site of the county farm. On these premises he also conducted a grist-mill, which was operated by water power furnished by the little stream that ran and still runs through this farm. He was an able physician, ranking high in his profes¬ sion and was considered a reader and thinker away ahead of his time, and is still very well remembered by our older settlers. In 1841, he assisted in the organization of St. An¬ drew's Episcopal church and remained on its board of trustees and was a stanch supporter of the church as long as he lived here. In

1843 he uioved back to the old family home in Cahokia, where he died in 1844, aged 52 years. Two daughters of Dr. Brackett are still living, Mrs. Maria F. Sibley, of Quincy and Mrs. Julia Butler of St. Louis.

Dr. August Friederich Beck, of Murten, Canton Freiburg, Switzerland, came to Ma¬ rine with his family of wife, two sons and one daughter, in 1834. He had a thorough scientific education for his calling and readily acquired an extensive practice, but died in

1844 after a brief illness. Dr. Beck, in a short term of ten years, so impressed him¬ self upon that pioneer community that his in¬ fluence is felt and commented upon even to this day. The widow and children moved to Highland. The sons were Alexander and Alfred, the latter still living highly aged, while Alexander died May 7, 1909, aged 78 years.

Dr. John H. Weir was one of the old pioneers whose life was marked by strong determination and will power. He was born October 5, 1809, of Scotch-Irish descent, in South Carolina, coming from a family of Covenanters, on both sides. In 1825, he, with his father's family, removed to Ten¬ nessee, where he began working for Rev. Samuel A. Worcester, through whose influ¬ ence and assistance the young man determined to obtain an education. Accordingly in 1829 he walked all the way to Boston and entered Phillips' Academy at Andover, and by teach¬ ing during winters and working at odd times, managed to defray his expenses and com¬ pleted a classical course. W hat young man of this generation would walk from Tennes¬ see to Boston, to get an education?

Dr. Weir began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Kendall Davis, of Reading, Massachusetts, and entering Harvard Uni¬ versity, completed his medical course in 1835, coming to Edwardsville the same year, and at once began an active, extensive practice, which continued as long as he lived. During the war he was surgeon of the board of en¬ rollment of the twelfth Illinois district and later became a member of the Board of Pen¬ sion Examiners for the county. He was a liberal contributor to the medical journals of his day, and corresponding editor of the Southern Medical Record, of Atlanta, Georgia. On December 18, 1839, he was married to Miss Mary Hoxsey.

In politics he was a Whig, but the death of Elijah Love joy, in Alton, made him an Ab¬ olitionist. He was a faithful and earnest member of the Methodist church and,^ by precept and example, did much to shape the character of the young people within the radius of his influence. After an active prac¬ tice extending over 43 years, he died in Ed¬ wardsville, on August 3, 1878, aged sixtynine years, and was laid to rest in the Old Lusk Cemetery.

Dr. Frederick Ryhiner was born' in Basel, Switzerland, December 7, 1806. After ob¬ taining his preliminary education in the schools of his native city, he graduated in medicine in the University of Basel, in 1829. He was also a graduate of the University of

Heidelberg, and attended lectures in the uni¬ versities of Vienna, Prague and Paris. He practiced in Switzerland for six years, being military surgeon of his native city, but be¬ coming entangled in political troubles on ac¬ count of his broad and liberal views, he be¬ came disgusted with affairs in general and emigrated to this country and settled in Marine, Illinois, in August, 1835, where he remained two years. In 1837 he moved to St. Louis, where he remained three years and then located in Highland, where he had an extensive practice until 1857. He was married to Miss Josephine Suppiger of High¬ land, December 28, 1843. After an extended visit to his native land he returned to Highland and established the banking house of F. Ryhiner & Co., which for many years was the only bank in Highland, and which de¬ manded his entire time and attention. He died at his home July 14, 1879.

Dr. Charles Skillman came to Alton in 1836 and practiced for many years, occupy¬ ing an office which stood on the present site of the Alton Savings Bank. He was also in¬ terested in civic affairs and we find him as alderman representing the first ward in 1852-53. He was a man who stood high in the estimation of his fellow citizens both in a personal and professional way. Shortly after the war he removed to St. Louis where he died in 1866.

Dr. Thomas M. Hope was born in Hamp¬ ton, Virginia, August 8, 1813, and came to Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1832. Three years later he married Miss Elizabeth Pope, daugh¬ ter of United States District Judge Nathaniel Pope, and soon after removed to Alton, where he followed his profession during his life-time. In 1841 President Tyler appointed him Lffiited States Marshal for this district. He occupied a prominent place in the bus¬ iness affairs of his home city and was mayor of Alton in 1852. He was of a nervous, san¬ guine, southern temperament, outspoken in his views, and always ready to back up his convictions. This characteristic led him into frequent disputes and during the Mexican war he fought a duel with a certain Dr. Price in San Antonio, Texas. He took strong grounds on the slavery question and was an active participant in the Love joy riots and was present at the death of Lovejoy. During the Civil war his sympathies were with the south and because of the persistence with which he expressed his views in public, it was found necessary to detain him for some time in the prison at Alton. During the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Alton on October :5> 1858, he interrupted the "Little Giant" and asked some very pertinent questions. He also extended his activities to state politics and in 1868 was a candidate for the office of Governor on the Breckenridge ticket but was defeated.

Dr. Hope was an elegant gentleman, of very charming address, a leader of men and a fine physician. He died in Alton, October 15, 1885, aged 72 years.

Dr. Benjamin Kirtland Hart, one of the early pioneers in medicine, and whose life stamped itself indelibly upon the community in which he lived, was born July 2, 1807. He studied medicine under a preceptor in Alton and then went east to complete his edu¬ cation, graduating from Harvard in 1836 in the same class with Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. He returned to Alton and at once entered upon an active and successful med¬ ical career, that continued throughout his whole life. He also identified himself in the civic affairs of the community, being pres¬ ident of the town board in 1836 and 1837 and after the adoption of the city charter in 1837, represented his ward as alderman in the city council for many years. In school matters he was equally progressive and it was upon his motion on the third of July,

1843, that the city council appropriated one hundred dollars to purchase Block 19, in Pope and others addition, the first piece of property for school purposes bought in the city of Alton, upon which the first schoolhouse was built for the sum of $58°-7°> two years later. Out of this small beginning, of which Dr. Hart was the mainspring, devel¬ oped the splendid physical properties of the Alton public schools as they exist today. His death occurred while on a visit to his brother in Adrian, Michigan, August 30, 1864, aged fifty-seven years, and his body was brought back to Alton, and consigned to the grave amid the mournings of a large concourse of citizens and friends.

Dr. William W. Jones, born in 1780, was an early doctor in Edwardsville, coming here in about 1837. He was a man of splendid education and was popular in the community. He lived in the old Adams house, west side of the park, where William Kroeger lives now. He was also a poet and afforded entertain¬ ment to the younger element who sometimes made him the unconscious subject of their amusement by inducing him to recite his poetry. Owing to the fact that he had six toes on each foot he was sometimes called "six-toed Jones." He was the first man who introduced "Shanghai" chickens into Ed¬ wardsville and many came to see these chick¬ ens eat corn from the head of a standing bar¬ rel. Dr. Jones was married to Mrs. Rebecca Adams June 19, 1847. He served his patrons well for many years and died aged seventynine years, and was buried in Edwardsville. At the time of his funeral, the first church bell that ever came to Edwardsville, then hanging in Thompson Chapel, was tolled for the first time.

Dr. James Barber, a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, served an apprenticeship in the study of medicine under Dr. J. H. Weir and began the practice of medicine in Edwardsville about 1838. On

April 2, 1839, he was married to Miss Elvira Hall at Edwardsville. He continued his work here for several years and moved to Green¬ ville and Hennepin in this state and finally to Donaldson, Illinois, where he died in 1872.

Dr. George Townsend Allen was a native of New York city, born September 29, 1812, but soon came, with his father and family, to this county, arriving at Edwardsville, De¬ cember 23, 1817. In 1827 he returned to New York for his education and in 1833 be¬ gan the study of medicine under Professor G. S. Bedford, and was assistant physician at Bellevue Hospital for two years. He gradu¬ ated from the College of Physicians and Sur¬ geons, New York, in March, 1838, and, re¬ turning to Illinois, began the practice of med¬ icine in Marine, a settlement established by his father. As a physician and surgeon he was eminently successful and built up a large and remunerative practice but, owing to ex¬ posure, his health was so much impaired that in a measure he gave up his work. In 1854 he was elected to the state legislature and was one of the five independents who voted for Lyman Trumbull, for United States senator, thereby defeating Abraham Lincoln for that office. Had these five legislators voted for Lincoln and elected him to the United States senate, he would in all probability never have become the leader of the newly-born Repub¬ lican party. There never would have been any Lincoln-Douglas debates, which so prom¬ inently brought Lincoln to the attention of the public as the great anti-slavery leader. It may be said that the issues of the Civil war was based upon the action of these independ¬ ents, of which Dr. Allen was a prominent member.

At the opening of the war, Dr. Allen was the first surgeon commissioned by Governor Yates with the rank of major in the Four¬ teenth Illinois Volunteers. In April, 1862, he was appointed brigade surgeon, and in June of the same year he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and medical in¬ spector in the regular army. At the close of the war he resumed the practice of his pro¬ fession at Springfield, Illinois, and in June, 1869, was commissioned United States con¬ sul at Moscow, Russia, by President Grant, which position he held for a little over two years when he resigned. In December, 1872, he was appointed surgeon-in-charge of the United States Marine Hospital, at St. Louis, at which post he died, December 26, 1876. This is a brief sketch of the life of a man, that was certainly crowded with such re¬ sponsibilities and crowned with such honors, as rarely fall to the lot of any one man.

Dr. Caspar Koepfli, Jr., son of Dr. Caspar Koepfli, came to Highland from Switzerland with his wife, two daughters and one son, in 1839. He had a thorough medical education in Europe and practiced his profession in Switzerland before coming to this county. He was a great addition to the professional element in that pioneer community that had been established by his father only eight years before. He participated in all the dangers and hardships that the -various cholera epi¬ demics heaped upon this little settlement, and continued at his work until 1867, when he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where, only a few years after, he died.

Dr. Samuel P. McKee was born February 26, 1816, in Marysville, Kentucky. In 1818 he came with his father's family to Edwardsville, Illinois, where he grew to manhood. His early education was obtained in the com¬ mon schools of the primitive times and at the Illinois State College at Jacksonville. He be¬ gan the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. John H. Weir, of Edwardsville, and later on attended medical lectures in Louis¬ ville, Kentucky. He practiced medicine in and about Edwardsville for about ten years, where he was held in high esteem both as a citizen and as a physician. On April 9, 1840, he was married to Miss Mary M. Thompson, daughter of Rev. Samuel H. Thompson, for whom Thompson's Chapel now St. John's M. E. Church at Edwardsville, was named. He continued his practice in Summerfield, Illinois, were he lived the most of his professional life, and died at Spring Hill, Kansas, Decem¬ ber 21, 1889.

Dr. John James, a man whose name was a household word for many years in the com¬ munity in which he lived, was a true type of the "old family doctor." He was born in Vermont, May 18, 1789, and after a thorough classical education in the east came to this county and located in Upper Alton. Just when he came can not be ascertained but it was about the latter 30s. He maintained a large practice for a number of years and was known not only as a thorough conscientious practitioner but also as a scientist of no small degree. He was greatly beloved by his peo¬ ple and as a physician and citizen was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends. His son Dr. Edward C. James, born in 1845 in Upper Alton, was in later years also a physician in Upper Alton, served as assistant surgeon in the Civil war and died in Upper Alton about 9 years ago. Dr. John James lived to be 70 years old and died in Upper Al¬ ton, October 12, 1859.

Joseph Chapman was the holder of the cer¬ tificate reproduced here, which shows one of the methods employed in the olden times in creating a practitioner of medicine. When the tide of the Thomsonian school was at its flood, a large number of these certificates were sold, giving the holder thereof the right to practice medicine. Without any medical study except such as was furnished with this certificate any man who would pay the price was permitted to prescribe for the sick and administer such remedies as were endorsed by this particular cult which was founded on the use of remedies of vegetable origin only, discarding all remedies which belonged to the mineral kingdom.

"This may certify that we have received of Joseph Chapman, Twenty Dollars, in full for the right of preparing and using, for himself and family, the Medicine and System of Practice secured to Samuel Thomson, by Let¬ ters Patent from the President of the United States ; and that he is thereby constituted a member of the Friendly Botanic Society, and is entitled to an enjoyment of all the privileges attached to membership therein.

"All Purchasers of Rights can have inter¬ course with each other for advice, by show¬ ing their Receipt. All those who partake, or have participated, in stolen rights, or what is virtually the same, have bought them of those who have no right to sell, can show no receipt, either from me or any of my Agents, and are not to be patronized by you or any honest man, as they are liable to sixty dol¬ lars fine for each and every trespass. Hold no counsel or advice with them, or with any who shall pretend to have made any improve¬ ment on my System of Practice, as I can¬ not be responsible for the effect of any such improvement. 'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' - James.

This was the form of the only diploma or license that these practitioners had, but the whole country was full of them. Joseph Chapman was born in North Carolina in 1813 and came to Staunton, Illinois, in 1818. After service in the Black Hawk war he came to Upper Alton in 1836, and engaged in the mercantile business until he was elected to the office of county clerk in 1861. After a four year term, he entered the abstract busi¬ ness of Chapman and Leverett in Edwardsville, of which he continued to be the head until his death. He was also an associate judge of the county court when the present courthouse was built. He occupied the office of justice of the peace during his long resi¬ dence in Edwardsville. He died on Feb. 18, 1883, aged seventy years.

Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, of Boston, Massa¬ chusetts, did not practice in this county but his name is inseparably linked with the cause of educational institutions of an early date. In January, 1836, he gave to the Alton Sem¬ inary a donation of $10,000 as an endowment fund, a very liberal gift for those days. Shortly after, in grateful acknowledgment of this gift, the trustees changed the name of the Seminary to Shurtleff College.

Dr. W. S. Edgar came to Collinsville about 1840. He built himself a home located on the northwest corner of Main and Morrison avenue, which was a land mark for many years. Now the three-story building occu¬ pied by Yates & Ambrosius occupies this ground. In 1850, he removed to St. Louis and later to Jacksonville, Illinois, to educate his children. He became a surgeon in the army when the Civil war commenced, and afterward took up his work in St. Louis. He died at Paris, Illinois, while on a visit to his son.

Dr. Joseph F. Evans was born of Irish parents and received his early training, both academic and medical in the east. He came to Marine, Illinois, in the early 'forties and was a man who for many years wielded a large influence in the eastern half of our county. He was identified with all the civic movements and developments of that early settlement, and enjoyed the respect and es¬ teem of all who knew him. On May 30, 1853, he was married to Miss Anna Maria

Ground, by the Rev. Joseph L. Darrow, an Episcopalian clergyman, who was also a prac¬ ticing physician, living in Collinsville. After a long and successful practice which won for him the esteem of every one, Dr. Evans died in Marine, July 18, 1858, and was buried by the Masonic order of which he had been a consistent member. His widow subsequently married Mr. Emsley Keown of Marine, and died, very aged, in 1911.

Dr. Gideon B. Perry came to Alton in 1840 and was an active, energetic practitioner for some years. He belonged to the celebrated Commodore Perry family, and was very en¬ thusiastic about the traditions of his distin¬ guished ancestors. Besides being a graduate in medicine, he had also received his degree of doctor of divinity in the Baptist denomina¬ tion, of which he was a devout and faithful member. During his residence in Alton, he served the local church as pastor from 1841 to 1843, and also spent a great deal of time and energy in trying to establish a medical department of Shurtleff College, but in this latter effort he was not successful. After leaving Alton he went to Mississippi, and followed his profession in that state, where he also joined the Episcopalian church. At

Perry in Cleveland, Dr. Perry was present and made the invocation. The press notices of the day said that this invocation and the procession was each a mile long.

Dr. Charles Marion Lusk was born in Edwardsville, March 18, 1821 ; he was the son of John T. Lusk, a native of South Carolina, whose ancestors had fought in the Revolu¬ tion, and who was himself a soldier in the war of 1812 and in the Black Hawk war. Dr. Lusk was educated at McKendree Col¬ lege, Lebanon, Illinois, and graduated in med¬ icine at Louisville, Kentucky. In 1841 he began the practice in Marine, where he also owned a small farm but soon came to Edwardsville, where he followed his profession until 1849, when he crossed the plains to California. While there, he was engaged by a Mexican planter to go to Mexico,, to fight some epidemic fever, for which he was paid $100 a day. Returning to California he lo¬ cated in San Francisco for a few years and returned to Edwardsville, via Panama in 1855, where he conducted a successful prac¬ tice and was considered a physician of su¬ perior attainments. He was a handsome, cul¬ tured gentleman, a great reader of English literature and the classics, especially Latin, and spoke both French and Spanish fluently. He died in Edwardsville in June, 1863, at the home of his eldest sister, Mrs. Sarah J. Torrence, and was buried in the old Lusk cemetery.

Dr. Henry Kent Lathy, born in 1802, one of the representatives of the medical pro¬ fession in this county, was of the true type of "old family doctor." He came to Upper Alton some time in the 'forties, and for many years conducted a large practice in his terri¬ tory. He was honored and respected by the whole community and even to this day his name calls up pleasant and grateful mem¬ ories. It is unfortunate indeed that no rec¬ ord of his life and activities can be found but his life, as recorded in the hearts of those who knew him best, is ample testimony of his true worth, and is epitaph enough to the memory of any man. He had during his life-time a special aversion and dread of small-pox and it was the irony of fate that this disease should be the cause of his death. After a long and useful life thoroughly de¬ voted to his profession, he died in Upper Al¬ ton on April 7, 1864.

Dr. Benjamin Irish, whose father was a Baptist minister, was born in Auburn, New York, in 1798, graduated in medicine in New York and settled in Equality, Illinois, in 1840. In 1842 he located near Nameoki, in this county, and practiced with great success over a wide area in the American Bottom, and at¬ tained high rank in his profession through¬ out the state. In 1848, Pope Medical Col¬ lege conferred upon him the ad eundum de¬ gree. He died, near Nameoki, of cholera in July, 1851.

Dr. Henry L. Strong, one of the men who devoted nearly half a century of his life to the service of his fellow-man, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1818. He grad¬ uated in medicine at the Transylvania Med¬ ical College, Louisville, Kentucky, March 10, 1843, ar*d almost immediately located in Col¬ linsville. He soon after married his cousin in Rochester, New York, who shared his arduous life for many years. He was twentyfive years old when he came to Collinsville and at once became the partner of Dr. Sam¬ uel Hall, who died in 1846, and Dr. Strong then succeeded to his practice. His wife died, and in 1863 he married Mrs. Annie Flander, who still survives him. The doctor practiced at a time when country practice (and he had a large share of it), meant a very laborious life and his strong constitu¬ tion enabled him to accomplish what few men could endure. After 47 years of de¬ votion to the profession of his choice he died in Collinsville in 1890, much respected by the entire community.

Dr. James Fisher Spilman was born of Vir¬ ginian parents, August 3, 1793, near what is now known as Carmi, White county, Illinois. At that time Illinois was known as the North¬ western Territory, and extended from the Mississippi to the western line of Pennsyl¬ vania, and from the Ohio to the lakes. When nineteen years of age, he joined a company under the command of General Hopkins, or¬ ganized to protect the frontier during the war of 1812, and served until the close of the campaign. After the war he began the study of medicine with Dr. Throckmorton at Princeton, Kentucky, and devoted seven years to acquiring this science during which time he assisted his teacher in his practice. This was before the day of medical colleges in the west, and his first diploma was awarded him by a body known as the Med¬ ical Society of the Third Medical District of Illinois. He afterward received a diploma from the O'Fallon Medical Society of St. Louis, conferring the degree of doctor of medicine, and electing him to honorary mem¬ bership. After some years in Kentucky he moved to his plantation near Yazoo City, Mississippi, and practiced his profession in that place and the surrounding country. Here his work became so heavy that he associated with him a younger brother, Dr. C. H. Spil¬ man. After the death of his wife in 1840 he returned to Illinois, coming to Edwardsville, after re-marriage, June, 1844, where he at once came into extensive practice, residing here until he retired from business in 1868 and removing to Bunker Hill, Illinois, where he died as the result of an accident, May 1, 1874, in his eighty-first year. In early life he became a member of the Presbyterian church and lived a devoted and conscientious Christian all his days. To him is due much of the credit of the organization of that church in Edwardsville. "His life was a long chapter of good deeds. A devoted Christian, an affectionate parent, a faithful neighbor and friend. He left behind him an example, objectionable in nothing and worthy of emulation in everything."

Dr. Garritson R. Austin, one of the leading pioneers of the American Bottom, was born January 26, 1814. He came to this county from Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1843, locating in Marysville, a small town one half mile west of Mitchell, and for twenty years min¬ istered to the wants of his neighborhood by an old style country practice. By the acci¬ dental discharge of a shot-gun he lost a leg, but this did not prove a handicap, and he continued his profession, riding on horseback to visit his patients, as before. On May 25, 1848, he married Miss Mary C. Segar, daugh¬ ter of Balster and Mary Emmert Segar, and sister of John W. Segar, an aged and highly respected land owner in the American Bot¬ tom, who still survives, living at Mitchell.

Dr. Austin died in Marysville, December 26, 1863, and was buried by Six Mile Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 87, of which he had been a faithful and consistent member for many years. His early demise, in the prime of his life, was greatly regretted by the community in which he lived, and whose respect and confidence he ever enjoyed.

Dr. J. M. S. Smith was born in Northum¬ berland county, Virginia, on August 20, 1797, and was a direct descendant from Col. Merriweather Smith who sat in the colonial House of Burgesses, from 1778 to 1783. His mother, Sallie Monroe, was a member of the Monroe family who trace their descent from Sir Robert Monroe who settled in Virginia in 1642.

Dr. Smith received his medical education in the Medical College of Louisiana, and after his marriage began the practice of his profession in Kentucky. Later on he moved to Illinois, practicing in Springfield and Carlinville and coming to Edwardsville, in 1844. He practiced his profession here and also conducted a pharmacy in the old Hainlin building, recently razed, which stood on the site of the modern business building erected by A. Klingel.

Dr. Smith was a very successful physician of fine personality and much loved by his in¬ timate friends. He died in Edwardsville of cholera, in 1849, and was buried in the old cemetery. His daughter, Mary E. Peebles, still survives and is living in Carthage, Mis¬ souri.

Dr. Richard Lee Metcalfe was born in Madisonville, Hopkins county, Kentucky, May 2, 1827. He graduated from the Uni¬ versity of Louisville and took a post-gradu¬ ate course at Jefferson Medical College, Phil¬ adelphia, under Professor Agnew, whom he greatly loved and revered. About the year 1845 he came to Alton and entered upon his medical work which continued without in¬ terruption until the advent of the Civil war. When he began his practice in Alton he was not 21 years old and on account of his youth and fair complexion he was often called "the whiteheaded boy physician." In 1853 he was married to Miss Ellen Tazwell Edwards, a daughter of Hon. Cyrus Edwards, a prom¬ inent citizen of Alton. She died in 1866. In 1868 he married Miss Rachel Gray Fagin, a daughter of A. W. Fagin, an old citizen of St. Louis, who still survives, living in Maple¬ wood, Missouri.

In April, 1861, Governor Richard Yates appointed Dr. Metcalfe surgeon, being one of the first volunteer surgeons appointed from this state. He was retained as examining surgeon at Springfield until all three-months men were mustered into service and was then assigned, by the Governor, as surgeon to the Seventh Regiment Infantry, with the rank of major. He remained in the service until the close of the war, and was greatly beloved by the soldiers, for his tender heart and generous hands. Even now he is not forgotten by the few veterans who are left of his regiment. After the war he removed to St. Louis, where he continued his practice as long as he lived. He died in St. Louis, Feb¬ ruary 8, 1898, aged seventy-one years.

Dr. Bluford Johnson was born near Frank¬ fort, Kentucky, September 18, 1811. He came to Alton, Illinois, about 1832, engaged in the mercantile business for a while when he decided to study medicine. He attended the St. Louis Medical College from which he graduated in 1837. On October 23, of the same year he married Miss Lucinda Reid and began the practice of medicine at Brighton, Illinois, remaining there until 1845 when he removed to Edwardsville, Illinois, where he practiced until the year 1846, when he was appointed receiver of the land office under President Fillmore. In the year 1856, he with his family returned to Brighton, Illi¬ nois, which was his home the remainder of his life. In 1862 he served for two years or more as a surgeon in the Federal Army and was stationed at Overton Hospital at Mem¬ phis, Tennessee. Broken in health he was brought back to his home in Brighton, where he passed away March 9, 1865, a noble, grand man, loved by all who knew him, called the "Soldiers' father" by them, and the beloved physician by all.

Dr. Henry L. Wing was one of those men whose personality impressed itself upon the minds and hearts of the old pioneers. He was born in Troy, Missouri, April 6, 1822, and received his collegiate education in Illi¬ nois College, Jacksonville, which he entered in 1839, and from which he graduated in 1844. He also graduated from the same in¬ stitution, in medicine, in 1846, and imme¬ diately located in Collinsville, in this county, where he resided and practiced his profes¬ sion, except for a short residence in Chicago, during his life. Dr. Wing was one of the founders of the Chicago Medical College and occupied the chair of General Pathology in that institution, and was also a member of the State Board of Education. During the war Governor Yates appointed him on the state board that examined all applicants for medical and surgical positions in the army. He was thoroughly devoted to his work, a true Christian patriot, who enjoyed the re¬ spect and esteem of all intelligent people who knew him; a man endowed with rare natural gifts and one who made a scientific success of his chosen profession. In 1849 he married Miss Catherine Collins, a member of the noted Collins family, that founded the city of Col¬ linsville. After her death in 1864, Dr. Wing's health began to fail and he joined Major Powell's Exploring Expedition to Colorado and was among the first to explore the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. On his return, he married Mrs. Clark, about 1867 and continued in his practice. He was al¬ ways deeply interested in the development of the city and always stood for the best ideals. He died at his residence at Collinsville, on February 18, 1871, mourned by the entire community, and as a mark of respect to his memory, all business was suspended on the day of his funeral.

Dr. Tohn S. Dewey, a native of Massachu¬ setts, became a citizen of Troy in 1846, and for 33 years exerted an influence in this county that makes his name a household word to this day. He stood high in the pro¬ fession and his practice was very extensive through all the southern section of this county. He was married to Miss Angeline McCray, daughter of Calvin McCray, one of the early settlers of Jarvis township. When the Civil war began he was appointed surgeon in the One Hundred and Ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and served throughout the conflict. He was a charter member of Neilson Lodge, No. 25, I. O. O. F., organized in 1847 and also a charter member of Troy Lodge, A. F. & A. M., organized in 1868. After the war he also served two terms in the Illinois legislature, as representative from this district. Angeline McCray Dewey, widow of Dr. Dewey left her estate, thirty thousand dollars, to endow a high school at Troy, the benefits of which are extended gratuitously to any person under the age of twenty-six. This school is still in existence under the name of McCray-Dewey Academy. Dr. Dewey, greatly missed and greatly mourned, died at Troy, July 17, 1879.

Dr. Tyler J. Irish, son of Dr. Benjamin Irish, was born on the 28th of July, 1823, in Livingston county, N. Y., and received his education in the schools of his native state. He came to Illinois and Madison county in 1842 when he began the study of medicine with his father. In 1848 he graduated in the Missouri State University in the same class with the late Dr. John T. Hodgen, St. Louis' celebrated surgeon, and entered the practice of medicine in the same year at Nameoki. By the death of his father, in 1851, he came into possession of a large and lucrative busi¬ ness which, with judicious financial manage¬ ment, soon created a handsome competence. Dr. Irish conducted the first drug store in Nameoki and was also the first postmaster of the village. He was a charter member of Six Mile Lodge, No. 87, I. O. O. F., which was instituted in 1851. He also represented his township as supervisor in 1877-8. While on his professional rounds he was accident¬ ally thrown from his buggy, and received in¬ juries from the effects of which he died on August 21, 1893.

Dr. Theophilus Bruckner came from Swit¬ zerland to Highland, Illinois, in 1848, thor¬ oughly equipped with a classical and medical education obtained in his native land. He at once established a good practice and heroic¬ ally fought the plague of cholera when it appeared in 1849. On June 11, 1852, the cit¬ izens of Highland, fearing another outbreak of cholera, petitioned the county court to ap¬ point Dr. Bruckner overseer of the poor with unlimited power to act in cases of cholera. This was done and the fears of the citizens were well founded as the plague again made its appearance with frightful mortality, and gave the overseer ample opportunity to test his skill and endurance. Dr. Bruckner mar¬ ried Miss Lizzie Durer, who with their only child died of cholera in 1857, after which the doctor left Highland and returned to Swit¬ zerland.