USA > Iowa > Hancock County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 19
USA > Iowa > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 19
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
THE BAR
The law is a jealous profession. It demands of the judge on the bench and the attorney at the bar alike a knowledge of the law, a respect for the rights of litigants, and a conscientious effort to inter- pret rightly the laws of the land. Within recent years the courts have come in for some caustic criticisms because of what seems to have been needless delays, and a great deal has been said in the public press about "judicial reform." The lawyer has been made the butt of ridicule by some of the great novelists, but it should be borne in mind that many of the really great men in our national history were lawyers. John Marshall, one of the early chief justices of the United States Supreme Court, was a man whose memory is revered by the American people and his opinions are still quoted with confidence by members of his profession. Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, who negotiated the Louisiana Pur-
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chase and gave to their country an empire in extent, were lawyers. Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Thomas H. Benton, Salmon P. Chase, Thomas M. Cooley, Stephen A. Douglas, and a host of other eminent Americans wrote their names upon the pages of history through their knowledge of the laws. Their loyalty, patriotism and love of justice cannot be questioned. And last, but not least, stands the name of Abraham Lincoln, self-educated and self-reliant, whose consummate tact and statesmanship saved the Union from disruption.
While Winnebago County has never produced a lawyer whose fame has "startled the nation," the members of the local bar have always been equal to the task of handling the litigation that has come before the District Court. In the early history of the county there were not many cases in the courts and the carly lawyers frequently engaged in some other line of business in connection with their pro- fessional practice. A majority of them were politicians and were occasionally called upon to serve the public in some office, the salary of which helped them to "tide over" until such time as there was more business for them to handle as attorneys.
The first lawyer to locate in Winnebago was Jeremiah Murphy, or "Jerry," as he was commonly called, who located at Forest City about the time the county was organized in 1857. He is said to have been a good lawyer for that period, witty and sarcastic when occasion demanded, and never hesitated to use any means to win. He has been described as "considerable of a sport," always wore a white plug hat and carried a cane. To add to his income he gave a great deal of attention to the real estate business. He left the county after a residence of about one year and it is not known what became of him.
J. K. Boyd, the second resident attorney, came to Forest City in 1861. He served for a short time as county judge and also kept a hotel. A good story is told of "Judge" Boyd, which illustrates the resourcefulness of the man, though it reflects but little credit upon his profession. It seems that A. B. Tuttle, later a resident of Mason City, had some orders that had been issued by the Forest school district and had sent them to Boyd for collection. At that time the revenues of Winnebago were somewhat meager and the authorities found it easier to issue orders than to pay them. Boyd collected some of the orders, but failed to remit to Mr. Tuttle. Failing to receive satisfactory replies to his letters, Mr. Tuttle came to Forest City to find out what was the matter. Boyd admitted that he had collected a portion of the money due on the orders, but his bill for fees amounted to more than the total sum collected. When Tuttle protested he was met with the remark: "You know, Mr. Tuttle, we lawyers must live," and the client departed without receiving a cent of his money.
STATE BANK OF THOMPSON
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De Witt C. Hayes opened a law office in Forest City in 1867. He was a native of the state of New York, where he received an academic education and was for a time engaged in the grocery business. He then went to Wisconsin, where he became interested in the law and practiced some in the inferior courts. Returning to Watertown, New York, he studied in the office of Brown & Beach for about a year, when he was admitted to the bar. In the fall of 1866 he came to Iowa, locating at Charles City and forming a partnership with Starr & Patterson, but the next year he came to Forest City. He was a sharp, shrewd lawyer, quick to see a point and take advantage of it, and was generally successful in the conduct of his cases. Soon after locating in Forest City he formed a partnership with Martin Cooper, under the firm name of Hayes & Cooper. This partnership lasted about a year, when Mr. Hayes went to Floyd County and pur- chased a farm. A little later he gave up the law entirely and devoted himself to his agricultural interests.
Martin Cooper, who is mentioned in the above paragraph as a partner of Mr. Hayes, came to Forest City soon after the close of the Civil war. In 1869 he was elected county superintendent of schools. He was a careful, painstaking lawyer and practiced in the county for at least a quarter of a century.
D. T. Gibson, a native of Chautauqua County, New York, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar, began practice in Forest City in the spring of 1870. He had been there but a short time when he was persuaded by W. C. Stanberry to remove to Mason City. Still later he went to Waverly, where he formed a partnership with E. A. Dawson, under the firm name of Gibson & Dawson, which became recognized as one of the prominent law firms of Bremer County.
T. C. Ransom came to Winnebago County about the same time as Mr. Gibson. He was born in Hartford County, Connecticut, Sep- tember 22, 1824. A few years after his birth his parents removed to Litchfield County, where he attended school and learned the shoe- maker's trade. Soon after attaining to his majority he began the study of law with Hiram Goodwin, and finished his legal preparation under O. H. Pratt, afterward United States senator. He was admitted to the bar in 1859 and soon afterward came to Iowa, locating first in Clayton County. Early in 1870 he came to Forest City, where he established himself in a paying practice. In 1877 he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Winnebago County and held the office for three years. For some time he was the senior member of the law firm of Ransom & Olmstead. Mr. Ransom is deceased and his former partner, W. W. Olmstead, is now living on the Pacific coast, retired from active practice.
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C. L. Nelson, the first lawyer to be elected to the office of county attorney under the constitutional amendment of 1884, was born near Christiania, Norway, March 13, 1846. When about six years old his parents came to America and settled in Wisconsin. Four years later they came to Winnebago County, locating a farm in Norway Township. Young Nelson attended the common schools and later studied in the Decorah Normal Institute, where he fitted himself for a teacher and followed that occupation for several years. In 1876 he was appointed deputy sheriff under Peter Lewis and became interested in the law. He studied under Ransom & Olmstead and was admitted in Sep- tember, 1878. In 1886 he was elected county attorney and held the office until 1892. Mr. Nelson is now living at Ballard, Washington, where he holds some minor public office.
W. A. Chapman was born near Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1842. While still in his childhood his parents removed to Canada, where he lived until reaching his majority. He then came to the United States and taught school for several years in New York and Illinois and in 1873 located at Lake Mills. Three years later he was admitted to the bar and built up a satisfactory practice. In 1875 and again in 1889 he was elected county superintendent of schools, a position for which his former experience as teacher gave him special qualifications.
Other attorneys of by-gone days were: J. T. Lattimore, Henry W. Ames, John Dunbar, A. H. Chase, E. F. Thompson, J. T. Kean, J. D. Leland and W. C. Harwood. Mr. Lattimore was a native of Pennsyl- vania; studied law with Judge Wilbur in Mason City, and after prac- ticing for a time in Forest City became connected with the Forest City Bank. Henry W. Ames came to Forest City in 1871 but remained only a short time. John Dunbar was admitted to the bar at Forest City in 1875, practiced there for about two years, and then went to Cedar Falls. After practicing there until 1879 he returned to Winne- bago County and engaged in farming. Mr. Chase was admitted on a certificate from the State of New York, but turned his attention to journalism and was for some time editor of the Winnebago Summit. J. T. Kean practiced at Lake Mills from 1880 to 1882, when he went to Washington City and took a position in the office of the adjutant- general. J. D. Leland was for a time in partnership with W. H. Fisher, when they moved to Leland. W. C. Harwood was a member of the firm of Pickering, Hartley & Harwood, of Northwood, Minnesota, and took charge of the branch office of that firm at Lake Mills when it was established in 1879. All these old lawyers are either dead or have moved away, but most of them left the impress of their characters upon the legal history of the county.
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THE PRESENT BAR
A recent docket of the District Court gives the following list of Winnebago County attorneys at the beginning of the year 1917: Forest City-J. E. Anderson, Homer A. Brown, Oliver Gorden, J. E. Howard, L. A. Jensen, J. M. Jensen, Alan Loth, George Osmundson, Burt J. Thompson and J. F. Thompson; Lake Mills-H. H. Dorland and T. A. Kingland; Buffalo Center-Thomas Boynton and B. L. Sifford. Of these attorneys, J. E. Anderson, J. E. Howard and J. F. Thompson are not engaged in active practice. The law firms of the county are Gorden & Osmundson, Jensen & Jensen, and Thompson, . Loth & Sifford.
CHAPTER X
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
MEDICINE IN ANCIENT TIMES-THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH-EVOLUTION OF MEDICAL SCIENCE-HOME REMEDIES ON THE FRONTIER-THE PIONEER DOCTOR-HIS CHARACTER AND STANDING AS A CITIZEN-HIS METHODS OF TREATMENT-HARDSHIPS OF FRONTIER PRACTICE-EARLY PHYSICIANS OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY-PRESENT DAY PHYSICIANS-MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
In an elementary form at least, the practice of medicine is'almost as old as the human race. When the first man was afflicted by some bodily ailment, he sought among the plants for one that would relieve his suffering. If a remedy was found the information was imparted to a neighbor, and perhaps a supply of the plant was garnered for future use. Other plants were added.as they were discovered and thus, step by step, a pharmacopœia was built up and the practice of medicine developed into a science.
A Chinese tradition says that the practice of medicine was intro- duced in that country by the Emperor Hwang-ti in the year 2887 B. C. In India the practice of medicine is very ancient, the physicians coming from the upper caste, and demonology played a conspicuous part in their diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Among the ancient Egyptians there were specialists as early as 1600 B. C. The Hebrews originally held to the theory that disease was a punishment for sin, but after the two captivities they had their regular practicing physi- cians and surgeons. Æsculapius was the god of health in ancient Greece, and "Galen the Greek" taught medical classes in Rome soon after the beginning of the Christian Era. He was the first physician to lay special stress upon the study of anatomy as an essential part of the physician's professional education. Hippocrates, another Greek, who lived from 460 to 377 B. C., has been called the "Father of Medicine." He required his pupils to take an oath in the name of "Apollo, the physician, Æsculapins, Hygeia, Panacea, and all the gods and goddesses; to reckon him who teaches me this art equally with my parents ; to look upon his offspring as my brothers; to share with him my substance and to relieve his necessities if required; to pass my life and practice my art with purity and holiness; and whatsoever in connection with my professional practice-or not in connection
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with it-I may see or hear, that will I not divulge, holding that all such things should be kept secret."
There was a revival of the Hippocratic oath among the doctors of the Middle Ages, and in more modern times a few medical schools required a similar obligation of their alumni. Some of the principles laid down in the oath of Hippocrates form the basis of the profes- sional code of ethics among the physicians of the present day.
It was not until the year 1315 A. D. that a systematic study of human anatomy by dissection was commenced by an Italian physician named Mondino. When the populace learned that Doctor Mondino was actually cutting up the dead body of a human being he was com- pelled to apply to the authorities for protection against the mob, and Hart says "that protection was granted somewhat reluctantly." Yet what would modern surgery amount to had it not been developed by a careful study of the intricate mechanism of the human body through the medium of dissection? This incident is only one of many the profession has had to encounter when science comes in conflict with the preconceived notions of the conservative multitude. When Doctor Harvey announced his discovery of the circulation of the blood, and declared the passage of the blood through the arteries and veins of the body to be the source of life and health, he was scoffed at by the ignorant. Some priests even went so far as to charge him with blasphemy, asserting that man was kept alive "by the grace of God." Voltaire, the famous French author, defined a physician as "A man who crams drugs of which he knows little into a body of which he knows less." That may possibly have been true of a certain class of French empirics at the time it was written, but since then the medical profession has made almost marvelous progress and through the intel- ligent and concerted action of the physicians themselves the practice has been elevated to a higher plane.
Modern medical progress dates from the closing years of the Six- teenth Century. Soon after the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, was established in 1582 a medical department was added. In 1765 Dr. John Morgan and Dr. William Shippen, of Philadelphia, opened a medical school that afterward became the medical department of the College of Philadelphia. That was the first medical school in what is now the United States. At the present time nearly every state university has its medical department, and there is not a large city in the land in which there are not one or more medical colleges. With this wonderul increase in the facilities for obtaining a medical educa- tion, it is not surprising that the profession has made great strides within the memory of persons yet living, or that the physician of the present day is, with rare exceptions, a man entitled to the honor and
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respect of the community, both for his professional ability and his standing as a citizen.
HOME REMEDIES
In the early settlements of the Middle West the pioneer followed the example of his primitive ancestor and was his own physician. Each family kept on hand a stock of roots, barks and herbs to "make medicine" and all common ailments were treated by the administra- tion of home-made remedies. Old settlers of Winnebago County can doubtless recall the boneset tea, the burdock bitters, the decoctions of wild cherry bark, or the poultices and plasters that "Grandma" or "Aunt Mary" would prepare and apply-internally or externally, as the case seemed to demand-with as much solemnity as that dis- played by the surgeon of the present day when he cuts open a man and robs him of his appendix. When one of the frontier inhabitants was stricken with illness, several of the neighbors would gather at the house, each to advocate his or her favorite remedy, and the result was often a case of "When doctors disagree there is none to decide."
There were two potent reasons for the use of home-made medicines. First, the nearest physician was frequently miles away, and second, very few of the early settlers had much money and therefore could not afford to employ a physician except when it became absolutely necessary. Then one of the neighbors would willingly stop his work to go for the doctor, no matter what the condition of the weather might be or how long it would require to make the trip.
THE PIONEER DOCTOR
No addition to the population of a frontier settlement was more welcome than the physician. Yet the life of the pioneer doctor was no sinecure. Money was a rare article and his fees, if he collected any at all, were many times paid in such produce as the pioncer farmers could spare and the doctor could use. About the only induce- ment for a doctor to locate in a new settlement was the notion that by being the first in the field he might establish a lucrative practice before competitors appeared. In this ambition some succeeded, others failed.
The old-time doctor was not always a graduate of a medical college. In a majority of cases his professional education had been obtained by "reading for a year or two with some older physician and assisting his preceptor in practice. When he felt that he was competent to begin practicing "on his own hook," he would look about for a loca- tion and, in many instances, some new settlement appeared to him
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to offer the best opportunity for the exercise of his talents. Of course, not all the doctors in the frontier settlements were young men. Occa- sionally some physician, already established in practice, would be caught by the wanderlust and seek a new location in a young but growing community. If the professional and technical knowledge of the pioneer physician were limited, his stock of drugs, medicines, surgical instruments and appliances were equally limited. A generous supply of calomel, some jalap, aloes, Dover's powder, castor oil and a few other substances constituted his principal stock in trade. Sul- phate of quinine was rare and was too expensive to be used indis- criminately, so in cases of malaria the doctor relied upon heroic doses of Peruvian bark. In cases of fever the orthodox treatment was to relieve the patient of a quantity of blood, hence every doctor provided himself with one or more lancets. Next to the lancet the most impor- tant surgical instrument was probably the "turnkey" for extracting teeth, for the doctor was dentist as well as physician. A story is told of a customer once complaining to a colored barber that the razor pulled, to which the darkey replied : "Yes, sah; I knows dat, boss, but if de razor handle doesn't break, de beard am bound to come off." So it was when the old-time doctor got that turnkey fastened on a tooth, for if the instrument did not break, the tooth was bound to come out. Compared with the present method of extracting teeth without pain, the old turnkey almost reminds one of the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition.
And yet these early doctors, crude as were many of their methods, were the forerunners of and paved the way for the specialists in these early years of the Twentieth Century. They were neither arrogant nor selfish as a rule, and if one of them discovered a new remedy, or a new application of an old one, he was always ready to impart his knowledge to his professional brethren. Moreover, many of them, as the population increased, refused to remain in the mediocre class and attended some established medical college, receiving the degree of M. D. even after they had been engaged in practice for years. This was especially true after the physicians began to organize themselves into medical societies, to which none was admitted without a diploma from some accredited medical college.
When the first doctors began practice in Winnebago County they did not visit their patients in automobiles. Even if the motor car had been invented at that time, the condition of the roads-where there were any roads at all -- was such that the vehicle would have been practically useless. The doctor relied upon his trusty horse to carry him on his round of visits. His practice extended over a large district and frequently he had no road to follow except the "blazed trail"
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through the timber or a faint path over the prairie. In making calls at night he adopted the custom of the sailor and guided his course by the stars. On starless nights he sometimes carried a lantern to aid him in finding the trail in case he wandered away from it in the darkness. After visiting his patient, if he did not remain with the family until morning, he would drop the reins upon the horse's neck and trust to the animal's instinct to find the way home. Written prescriptions would have been as useless as the automobile in frontier practice, as there were no drug stores convenient at which they could have been filled. To overcome this difficulty the doctor carried his medicines with him in a pair of "pill-bags"-a contrivance composed of two leathern boxes divided into compartments for vials of different sizes and connected by a broad strap that could be thrown over the rear of the saddle.
EARLY PHYSICIANS
The first resident physician of Winnebago County was Dr. W. H. Jones, who located at Forest City about Christmas in 1869. Before that the nearest doctors were at Clear Lake or Mason City, in Cerro Gordo County. Dr. W. H. Jones was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, October 7, 1843. When nine years of age he came to America with his parents, who settled in Kane County, Illinois. A year later they removed to De Kalb County of the same state. His father, John H. P. Jones, was a graduate of the London Medical College and prac- ticed for many years in Illinois. When about sixteen years of age, William H. Jones began the study of medicine with his father and was thus engaged when the Civil war broke out in 1861. He enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Illinois Infantry, as a private of Company D, and served until the close of the war. In 1865-66 he was a student in the Rush Medical College, of Chicago, but did not complete the course. In 1869 he located at Forest City, where he built up a good practice, and in 1873 he was graduated at the Keokuk Medical College. He was one of the organizers of the Medical Society of Northern Iowa, of which he was at one time vice president. He was a Mason and an Odd Fellow and is still remembered as a successful physician. Dr. William VanDuzen, the second physician to locate at Forest City, was a native of Wisconsin, his father having been a practicing physi- cian of Mineral Point, in that state, for years. He read medicine with his father and graduated at the Miami Medical College in 1870. The following spring he came to Forest City, where he formed a partner- ship with Dr. W. H. Jones. After about six months he went back to Wisconsin, but later returned to Iowa and located in Iowa County, where he built up a good practice.
FLAX PALACE, FOREST CITY, 1892
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In 1872 Dr. P. C. Jones located in Forest City. He was born in Wales on June 28, 1834, and was the son of a physician. In 1852 the family came to America and settled in DeKalb County, Illinois. Soon after coming to this country young Jones began the study of medicine under his father. He then attended the Rush Medical College of Chicago, and in 1872 graduated in the University of Medicine and Surgery of Philadelphia. He then practiced in Brown County, Wis- consin, for a few months and in the fall came to Forest City. He practiced in Winnebago County for about two years, when he went to Dysart, Tama County.
Shortly after Dr. P. C. Jones came to the county, Dr. Justin M. Hull established himself at Lake Mills. He was born near Madison, Wisconsin, in June, 1845, and received his education in the schools of his native county. In 1862 he enlisted as a private in Company L, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, and served about fourteen' months, when he was honorably discharged on account of a wound received in the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Soon after being discharged from the army he took up the study of medicine and graduated at the Bennett Medical College. After practicing in Wisconsin for a while he decided to try his fortunes in Iowa and located at Lake Mills, where he soon built up a lucrative practice for that day. In 1877 he was elected coroner of Winnebago County and held the office for one term, and in 1879 he was elected to the Legislature. In 1881 he was appointed a member of the State Board of Health by Governor Gear and three years later was reappointed by Governor Sherman. He was one of the founders of the Medical Society of Northern Iowa. Doctor Hull was an Odd Fellow and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was recognized generally as a capable physician and a progressive citizen.
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