Stark County, Illinois - Chapter 14: The Medical Professiox, 1916

Chapter 14: The Medical Professiox

Efforts to ameliorate pain, relieve suffering, heal the sick and eradicate disease are as old as the human race. When the first man was afflicted by some malady he sought among the vegetables for some remedy that would cure his ailment. If a remedy was found the plant was remembered and perhaps garnered for future use. Among the ancient physicians the names of^Esculapius, Galen and Hippocrates stand out pre-eminent, the last named having been called the "Father of JNIedicine." Yet the growth of medical science and the healing art has had a slow and gradual development, the doctor often having to undergo the sneers and ridicule of the people, who mistrusted his methods and questioned his ability. Even as late as the earlj"^ years of the nineteenth centmy Voltaire defined a physician as "A man who crams drugs of Mhich he knows little into a body of which he knows less." That may have been true of a certain class of French empirics at the time it was written, but since Voltaire's day the profes- .sion has made almost marvelous strides forward, and the physician of the present day is generally a man entitled to honor and respect, both for his professional knowledge and his place in the community as a citizen.

In the early settlement of Illinois almost every family kept on hand a stock of roots and herbs, and common ailments were treated l)y the administration of "home-made" remedies, without the aid of a doctor. Old settlers can no doubt remember the time when boneset tea. the burdock bitters, the decoctions of wild cherry bark, or sarsaparilla root were common: or they may remember how "Grandma" oi-

Jane" would make a poultiee or plaster for some external injury and apply it with more solemnity than is now displayed hy a skillful surgeon when he euts open a man and robs him of his appendix. Still, these "home-made" remedies were not without some merit, and many a time they have been given with good effect, when the nearest physician was perhaps miles away.

Such was the condition when the pioneer doctor made his apjiearance in the frontier settlement, and probably no addition to the population was ever received with warmer welcome. The life of the frontier physician was no sinecure, however, and about the only inducement for him to cast his lot in a new country was "to get in on the ground tioor" and establish himself in practice before a competitor arrived in the field. The old-time doctor was not always a graduate of a medical college. In fact, a majority of them had obtained their ])rofessional education by "reading" for a few months with some older physician and assisting their preceptors in their practice. When the young student thought he knew enough to begin practice on his own responsibility, he began to look about for a location. Then it was that the new settlement seemed to him to present the best opening and he became a citizen of some community where the oldest resident had been established but a few months, and where he could hear the howling of the wolf from his office door or upon his long night rides to visit some patient. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule, for sometimes a ])hysiciau well established in practice would be caught by the "wanderlust" and decide to try his fortunes in some young and

If the professional or technical knowledge of the pioneer doctor was limited, his .stock of drugs and medicines was ecjually limited. Duncan, in his "Early Reminiscences of the ^ledical Profession," says the first thing necessary was a liberal supply of English calomel. Added to this were some jalap, aloes, Dover's powder, ipecac, castor oil and Peruvian bark (sulphate of quinine was too rare and expensive for general use), and j)robably a few other well known drugs. In cases of fever it was considered the ])roper thing to relieve the ])atient of a considerable (juantity of blood, hence every physician carried one or moie lancets. And every one knew the formula for making "Cook's ])ills." If a drastic cathartic, supplemented by letting of blood, and ])er]ia])s a "fly blister" over the scat of the pain did not improve the condition of the patient, the doctor would "look wise and trust to a rugged constitution to ])ull the sick person through."

truthfully said that they were just as conscientious in their work and jilaced as much faith in the remedies they administered as the most celebrated specialist of the present <4eneration. It can be said further that a majority of them, as the popidation of the new settlement grew and tlie demands for their professional services increased, were not content to remain in the mediocre class. They therefore attended some established medical school and received the coveted degree of M. D., even after they had been engaged in practice for years.

AVhen the tirst physicians commenced practice in Stark County they did not visit their patients in automobiles. Even if the automobile had been invented the condition of the roads - where there were any roads at all - was such that the vehicle would have been practically useless. His rounds of visits were therefore made on horseback. As his practice extended over a large expanse of country he frequently carried a lantern with him at night to enable him to find the "blazed trail" in case he lost his way. If he did not remain with the patient on such occasions imtil daylight, on his way home he would di'o]) the reins upon the horse's neck and trust to the animal's instinct to tind the way home.

There Mere then no drug stores to fill prescriptions, so the doctor carried his medicines with him in a pair of "pill-bags." This was a contrivance composed of two leathern boxes, each divided into compartments for vials of various sizes, and connected by a broad strap that could be thrown across the rear of the saddle. INIoney was a scarce article and his fees - if he collected any at all - were paid in such ])roduce as the pioneer farmer could spare and the doctor coidd use.

Resides the lancet, his principal surgical instrument was the "turnkey" for extracting teeth, for the old-time doctor was dentist as well as physician. A story is told of a man who went into a barber shoj^ for a shave and complained to the negro barl)er that the razor ])idled. to which the colored man replied: "Yes. sah: but if de razor handle doesn't break, de beard am bound to come off." So it was when the frontier doctor was called upon to act as dentist. Once he got that turnkey firndy fastened upon an aching tooth, if the instrument did not lireak the tooth was bound to come out.

^Vnd yet these old-time doctors, crude as many of their methods now seem, were the forerunners of and paved the way for the specialists of this Twentieth Century. They were not selfish and if one of them discovered a new remedy or developed a new way of administering an old one he was always ready and willing to im])art his information to his professional brethren. If one of these old physicians could coiiR- back to earth and casually walk into the othce of some leading physician, he would no doubt stand aghast at the array of scientific apparatus, such as microscopes, stethoscopes, X-ray machines, etc. He would hardly be able to realize that he had played his humble part in bringing about this march of medical progress; yet it is even so.

The doctor, over and above his professional calling and position, Mas generally a man of prominence and influence in other matters. His advice was often sought in affairs entirely foreign to his business. In his travels about the settlement he came in contact with all the latest news and gossip, which made him a welcome visitor in other households, and on the occasion of these visits the best piece of fried chicken or the juiciest piece of pie found its way to the doctor's plate. He Avas the one man in the community who subscribed for and read a weekly newspaper, and this led his neighbors to follow his leadership in matters political. Look back over the history of almost any county in the Mississip])i Yalley and the names of ])hysicians will appear as members of the Legislature, incumbents of important county offices, and in a number of instances some physician has been called from his practice to represent a district in Congress. JNIany a boy has been named for the family jihysician.

Leeson's. History of Stark County (page 191) says: "The first resident physician of Stark County was Dr. Eliphalet EUsw'orth, who l)racticed here before the Black Hawk war, and made a permanent settlement here in 183-4." His name does not appear in the list of settlers for that year, as compiled by the Old Settlers' Association and given in one of the preceding chapters of this work. A DtJctor Pratt located in Elmira Township in 1835, and two years later Dr. Thomas Hall came to the same township.

Dr. Thomas Hall was born in Derl)yshire, England, ^lay 12. 180.). After attending schools at Hulland, West-IJnder-Wood, Rrailsford and Quarndon, he began the study of medicine under Doctor Coleluau. of Woh'erhampton, witli wiiom he spent an ai)prenticeship of five years. In 1828 he was graduated at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Among the names on his diploma are those of Sir Astley Cooper and Dr. John ^Vbei-nethy, two of the best known physicians in England at that time. On ]May 14, 1829, he married INIiss ]\Iatilda INIanifold, of Findern, Derbyshire, and in 1837 came to the United States. He first settled in what is now Elmira Township and ])racticed there until the county seat of Stark County was located at Toulon, when he removed there and resumed his jirofessional labors. He brought with him from his native land a well selected medical library and a number of surgical instruments and appliances of the most approved pattern known to that period. ^Vith this equipment, and his ten years previous experience as a phj^sician in England, he rose rapidly in the profession in this country, becoming so well and so widely known that the Rush Medical College of Chicago, in February, 18.50, conferred on him the lu)norary degree of Doctor of Medicine. The year 1840 was one of great sickness among the settlers of Stark and adjoining counties. Tt is related of Doctor Hall that during the season he rode for nine successive weeks, eighty miles one day and fifty-six the next, alternately, treating patients for typhoid fever and dysentery, both of which were almost epidemic. He used to tell how, after he had won his diploma and was about to leave home to begin his ]:)rofessional career, his mother followed him to the gate, laid her hand affectionately on his shoulder and said: "Tom, do your duty by all, but especially remember the poor." His mother's injunction was never forgotten and he was always ready to respond to a call, whetlier there was a prospective fee in it or not. In his old age he was wont to say: "I am not afraid to meet my mother, for she knows I have done as she told me." His death occiu-red in 1876. His son, Dr. Walter T. Hall, is still practicing in Toulon, and his daughter Eliza, who married jNIartin Shallenberger, was the author of "Stark County and Its Pioneers," which was ])ublished about the time of her father's death.

In 1840 Dr. William Chamberlain came to Stark County and soon after his arrival formed a partnership with Dr. Thomas Hall. In 1846 these two physicians treated fifteen hundred cases of fever and ague, or other forms of malarial trouble, using in their practice enough of the extract of Peruvian bark to have made eighty ounces of the sulphate of quinine. Doctor Chamberlain died at Toulon on November 2, 1882, continuing in practice until a short time before liis death.

Dr. Hiram Nance, who was probably the first ])hysician to locate in Lafayette, was a successful practitioner and accumulated a comfortable competence. Old settlers in the northern part of the county still remember him as an energetic, public spirited man and an influential citizen. After practicing at Lafayette for a number of years lie removed to Kewanee, where he built a fine residence that was the admiration of the people for several miles around. There he continued in practice until a short time before his death. One of his sons was at one time governor of the State of Nebraska. Another son is now (im.'}) an alderman in the City of Chicago, and a third son is living at Galesburg, 111.

Histokv Of Stark Couxtv 241

Dr. J. H. Nichols, another early physician in Lafayette, came to Stark County in 1840. He was born in New Jersey on December 18, 1818, though he did not begin the practice of medicine until after he graduated at the Ohio ^Medical College in 1844. Like all pioneer doctors, he made his visits on horseback and built up a lucrative practice as the population grew in numbers. During the Gariield-xVrthur administration from 1881 to 188.5 he served as an internal revenue officer at Peoria. He was a charter member of the JNIasonic lodge at Lafayette and was active in jjromoting the welfare of that village.

Dr. Alfred Castle, who located at Wyoming in 1843, was l)oi-n at Sullivan, :Madison County, X. Y., September 22, 18UG. His ancestors came from Ireland during the colonial days and his father was a cousin of Col. Ethan Allen, who demanded the surrender of Ticonderoga "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." Doctor Castle received a good literary education and began the practice of medicine in 1832 at Brockport, N. Y. Two years later he received the degree of M. D. from the Berkshire School of Medicine and in 1836 came to Illinois. For four or five j^ears he was located at Peoria, after which he went to Vermont, but in 1842 returned to Illinois and the next year established himself at \\'yoniing. He Avas a successful physician and was active in other business enterprises, laying out two additions to the Town of Wyoming and doing all he could to encourage the building of the Buda & Rushville (now the Chicago. Burlington ^: Quiney) Railroad, of which his son xVlfred was president. He donated the lot for the Catholic Church in Wyoming and is remembered by old residents as a public spirited citizen as well as a good physician.

In 1849 Dr. Edwin R. Boardman received the degree of M. D. from the Indiana ^Medical School, at Laporte, Ind., and soon after- Avard began practice in Elmira Township. He was born in Pennsylvania, March 3, 1829. came with his parents to Illinois when he was about eleven years of age and settled near Pawpaw, in Lee County. His son. Edwin O. Boardman, also studied medicine, graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1878 and began practice with his father, but soon afterward removed to Osceola. James G. Boardman, another member of the family, also practiced medicine some time at Bradford.

Dr. Theodore Bacmeister, for many years a j)racticing ]ihysician of Toulon, was born in the city of Esslingen, Wittenberg, Germany, January 19, 1830. At the age of seventeen years he came to the United States. Here he studied medicine, selecting the homeopathic school, and lie was one of the first doctors to practice according to that system in Stark County. Doctor Bacmeister served as president of the village board of Toulon, before the city government was inaugurated. He was active in organizing the public library and was the first secretary of the library board. His death occurred on JNIarch 8, 1911. His son Otto is now postmaster at Toulon.

Among the first A\()men to practice medicine in the county were Dr. Henrietta K. JNIorris and I3r. Annie L. Green, both of whom were located at Bradford. The former was elected vice president of the Illinois State Eclectic JNIedical Association in 1886. and the latter i-emoved to Princeton about ten years prior to that date. Other early physicians of Bradford were: O. C. Darling, S. A. Davison, S. T. C. \N'^ashburn, and Doctors Young and Lamper.

Dr. Daniel Tyrrell located at Duncan at an early date and ])racticed for several years before he retired. Another early physician in that i^art of the county was Dr. Azra Lee, \\ ho served as an army sui-- geon in the War of 1812. He died at Duncan in August. 1870. Dr. J. S. Farrell and a Doctor Thomas likewise practiced at Duncan in the years gone by.

Augustus A. Dunn, the first sheriff of Stark County, Avas a native of the State of Georgia, where his father died. In 1831 liis widowed mother j-emoved to Ohio and about five years later came to Stark County, entering a jMcce of land in what is now West Jersey Townshi]). After serving as sheriff, JNIr. Dunn studied medicine, graduated, and practiced at Cambridge, Henry County, until 1802. when he enlisted in Com])any D. One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry. He lost his left hand in the engagement at Kelly's Ford, Tennessee, and was again wounded at the battle of Franklin, after which he was honorably discharged and located in Chicago. There his death occurred on March 2. 1869, as a result of the wound received at Franklin, Tenn. Although he never practiced medicine in Stark County, he is here mentioned because of his early connection with the county's political history.

JMention has been made of Dr. Hiram Nance and Dr. J. H. Nichols, who were among the early physicians of Lafayette. Dr. R. O. Phillips also practiced in that town for several years before he removed to California, and Loyal T. Sprague was engaged in ])ractice at Lafayette Avhile Doctor Nichols \Aas located there. Dr. John R. Crawford was another I^afayette i)hysician along in the '80s.

Greene, who died in 1879 after a residence of several years; Dr. ^V. Swen, who removed to Kansas in 1880; J. C. Copestake, a native of England, assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry ; Harvey N. Fox and D. W. Magee. The last named was horn in 3Iifflin County, Pemisylvania, in June, 18"2.), a grandson of Charles Magee, who came from Belfast, Ireland, with his brother Thomas, and both served in the colonial army during the Revolutionary war. Dr. D. W. Magee followed various occupations initil tlie beginning of the Civil war. He was then a partner in the mercantile firm of J. T. Robinson & Comi)any. of Peoria, 111. In the fall of 1802 he raised Company II, Kighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered in as lieutenant-colonel. In 18(5.5 he was commissioned colonel of the Fortj'-seventh Illinois Veteran Infantry and was mustered out with that regiment. At the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier-general "for distinguished services" and assigned to the command of the District of Alabama, with head(iuarters at ]Montgomery. After being nmstered out he took up the study of medicine, attended Rush ^ledieal College, Chicago, and in 1879 began ])ractice in ^Vyoming.

A list of Toulon doctors of former years would include Dr. S. S. Kaysbier, Mho was at one time editor and ])ul)lisher of the Stark County News, afterward removing to Kansas; Dr. Clark Demuth, who came from Plymouth, Mich., and ])raeticed in Toulon along in the '70s and early '80s; Doctor Swazey, who organized the first baseball club in Stark County; Doctor Curtiss, who removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and died there in June, 1888; Dr. A. W. Peterson, who came from Germany; Doctor Kinkade and a Doctor (xarfield, who |)racticed in the county scat from 1844 to 1848, when he removed to La Salle, 111. Dr. Henry .AI. Hall, a son of Dr. Thomas Hall, also practiced for some time in Toulon. He later located in Kansas.

In a county like Stark, where agriculture is the principal occupation of the jjeople and there are no large cities or towns, it could hardly he exjjected that a medical society of any considerable number of members would be found. But from the earliest history of the profession in this part of the state the physicians have known the advantages to l)e derived from organization. ]More than half a century ago, when there were but few resident physicians here, the doctors of Stark County united with those of adjacent counties in the fonnation of the "^lilitary Tract ^Medical Society," and took a commendable interest in its proceedings. As population increased several of the counties in the military grant organized county societies and the old society gradually w^ent down until, as one old physician expressed it, "It died a natural death for want of adequate support."

The Stark County ^Medical Society Avas organized on April 8, 1902, in the office of Dr. J. S. Wead, in Wyoming. Those present were: A. M. Pierce and J. S. Wead, of AVyoming; ]M. T. Ward and W. T. Hall, of Toulon: J. G. Boardman and L. S. Hopkins, of Bradford, and A. L. Johnson, of Castleton.

Dr. A. JNI. Pierce was made temporary chairman, and Dr. j\I. T. AVard, temj^orary secretary. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, after which the following officers were elected: Dr. A. ]M. Pierce, president; Dr. L. S. Hopkins, vice president; Dr. 31. T. Ward, secretary and treasurer; Drs. J. S. Wead, J. G. Boardman and A. L. Johnson, censors. Article 2 of the constitution adopted at that time declares the objects of the society to be "the promotion of friendly intercourse among tlie members; the advancement of medical knowledge, and the promotion of the material interests of the profession."

In the original constitution it was provided that the regvdar meetings shoidd be held on the second Tuesday in January, April, July and October of each year. This was afterward amended so that the regular meetings are held only in April and October. The .April meeting is regarded as the annual meeting, at which time officers shall be elected. At a special meeting held on Jime 1.5. 1903, Drs. J. R. Holgate. L. F. Brown. William Garrison and H. A. Wyllys were admitted to membership. The constitution further provides that the society shall be affiliated with the Illinois State jNIedical Society and the American INIedical Association.

president; Dr. Clyde Berfield, of Toulon, secretary and treasurer; Drs. E. E. Church, Clyde Rerfield and J. S. W^ead, censors; Dr. E. li. Packer, delegate to the meeting of the State JNledical Association, and Dr. J. S. \Vead, alternate. A majority of the physicians of the county are members of the county medical society.

The following list of registered and regularly licensed physicians in Stark County is taken from the report of the Illinois State Board of Health for the year 191,3: Toulon - Clyde Rertield, Elmer E. Ciiurch, \V. T. Hall, L. L. Long and Elmer B. Packer; ^Vyoming - John Ct. Hanson, James R. Holgate, Robert JNI. King, Curtis C. jNIcMackin, Newton B. Morse (homeopath), James S. Wead and Alma T. ^Vead: Bradford - H. D. Boswell, W. D. Chrisman. ^Villiam C. 31itchell, Ciilman C. Shaw and Viola E. Shaw; Lafayette - George J. Brand; Castleton - Charles W. Neill; Elmira - L. M. Linker; Osceola - Philij) F. Roberts; Speer - Clauson M. Wilmot; West Jersey - William L. Garrison.

\Vhile Stark County has never tuiTied out a physician of "national reputation," as a rule her doctors have been capable and conscientious ])ractitioners. jNIost of them have been graduates of recognized medical colleges and have kept up with the times by reading medical journals and modern works on various ])hases of their chosen profession.