USA > Iowa > Lee County > Story of Lee County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 29
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And yet these old-time doctors, crude as were many of their methods, were the forerunners of and paved the way for the special- ists in this beginning of the Twentieth Century. They were not selfish and if one of them discovered a new remedy or a new way of admin- istering an old one he was always ready to impart his information to his professional brethren. If one of these old physicians could come back to earth and step into the office of one of the leading physicians, he would doubtless stand aghast at the many surgical instruments and appliances, such as microscopes, stethoscopes and X-ray machines, and might not realize that he had played his humble part in bringing about this march of progress.
Doubtless the first physician to locate in Lee County was Dr. Samuel Muir, who, in 1820, built a log cabin within the present limits of the City of Keokuk. He was a Scotchman by birth and had been educated in his native land. After coming to America he became an army surgeon and while stationed at Fort Edwards (now Warsaw), Illinois, married an Indian maiden of the Fox tribe. When the United States Government issued an order to the effect that all officers in the army having Indian wives must abandon them, Doctor Muir resigned his office, saying: "May God forbid that a
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son of Caledonia should ever desert his child or disown his clan." It was at this time that he built the cabin at Keokuk. He died at Keokuk of cholera in 1832, leaving a widow and five children. Owing to the unsettled condition of land titles in the half-breed tract, his estate was wasted in litigation and the widow returned to her people.
Dr. Isaac Galland was one of the early physicians of Lee County, but there is no positive evidence that he practiced his profession to any considerable extent after coming into Iowa. He was born near Marietta, Ohio, in 1790. Opportunities to acquire an education at that time were rather limited, but it appears that Doctor Galland managed to educate himself, as it is said that, "when he died at Fort Madison in 1858, he was a tolerably good physician, a tolerably good lawyer, was deeply learned in ancient as well as modern history, and had few superiors in the West either as a speaker or writer." As a young man, he was fond of adventure and with a few kindred spirits went to New Mexico, where he and his associates were arrested by the Spanish officials, on suspicion of their having evil designs against the government, and kept for about a year in prison. That was enough of New Mexico for him, so he returned to the States and practiced medicine for a time in Edgar County, Illinois. In 1829 he removed to what is now Lee County and was one of the earliest settlers at Nashville (now Galland), about three miles below Montrose. After the act of Congress permitting the half-breeds to sell their lands in the half-breed tract, Doctor Galland became the agent for the New York Land Company. In 1839 he became a con- vert to the Mormon faith and for over a year was the private secre- tary of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. While acting in this capacity it was his duty to write down the "revelations" that came to Smith in his trances and he came to the conclusion that the prophet's claim to supernatural powers was a fraud. He therefore gave up the Mormons nad resumed his residence in Iowa.
A few years before his death he went to California, but soon after he left Lee County Daniel F. Miller succeeded in compromising the claim of Doctor Galland against the New York Land Company, re- ceiving $11,000. When notified of the successful termination of his suit, Doctor Galland returned to Fort Madison, where he died in 1858. His daughter Eleanor was the first white child to be born in what is now Lee County, and his son, Washington, veteran of two wars, is still living in the county.
Another pioneer physician was Dr. Campbell Gilmer, who is credited by some writers with being the first man to practice medi-
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cine in the vicinity of Fort Madison. He came to Lee County in 1835 and settled upon a tract of land about three miles northwest of the infant town, which had been surveyed and platted but a few months before. At that time physicians were few and Doctor Gilmer's prac- tice extended for miles in all directions. Open-hearted and generous to a fault, he answered all calls, day or night, no matter what the state of the weather, and never made inquiry as to whether the patient was able to pay a fee. He died on his farm, near Fort Madison, July 9, 1865, and his widow survived until June 15, 1877.
Dr. Joel C. Walker was born in Springfield, Ohio, February 7, 1813. After attending the schools of his native state, in which he received a good academic education, he entered Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1836. In De- cember of that year he came to Iowa and located at Fort Madison, where he practiced his profession for many years. In October, 1838, he married Miss Martha N., daughter of Dr. Abraham Stewart, a surgeon in the United States Army. During the territorial era, Doc- tor Walker was clerk of the United States District Court for five years. In 1853 he was elected mayor of Fort Madison and served one term, and from 1862 to 1867 he was collector of internal revenue for the First District of Iowa. He was otherwise actively identified with county and city affairs; was a public spirited citizen, and a successful physician. His last years were spent in retirement.
About the time Doctor Walker located at Fort Madison, Dr. J. P. Stephenson, with his wife and four sons-Samuel T., George E., John D. and Joseph E .- came from Ohio and settled near the present Village of Denmark. He was one of the first physicians in that part of the county, was a man of generous impulses, a successful practi- tioner and answered calls over a large expanse of territory in Lee and Des Moines counties. His wife died in 1840 and in 1853 his right side became paralyzed, which forced him to give up his prac- tice. His death occurred in 1858. Three of his sons were success- ful farmers in the county and Joseph E. engaged in the clothing busi- ness in Fort Madison.
It is a matter of regret that a number of old-time physicians passed away, leaving no records from which an account of their careers can be obtained. Among those may be mentioned Dr. John Cutler and Doctor Ferris, who platted part of the City of Fort Madison; Drs. L. D. McGugin, Samuel G. Armor, Nicholas Hurd, George W. Richards, A. S. Hudson and S. Mathews, members of the first faculty of the College of Physicians after it was established at Keokuk.
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Dr. John M. Anderson, who was one of the early practicing physicians of Montrose, was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, July 11, 1818. Whe he was ten years of age his parents removed to Quincy, Illinois, where he acquired the greater part of his general education. About 1833 his father sent him with a young man and a stock of goods to open a store at Farmington, Iowa. At Alexandria, Missouri, his companion was taken ill and young Anderson returned to Quincy to await his recovery. Upon going back to Alexandria about two weeks later, he learned that the young man had sold the goods and decamped with the proceeds. Not caring to return home under the circumstances, he went on to Farmington, where he taught school and worked at anything he could find to do between terms. There he studied medicine under Doctor Miles, who went to New Orleans and died there of yellow fever in 1840, when Doctor Ander- son succeeded to the practice. In 1844 he located at Montrose, where he found some Mormon "steam doctors" and some prejudice against a regular physician. He stuck to it, however, and succeeded in build- ing up a satisfactory practice. Doctor Anderson represented Lee County in the lower branch of the State Legislature from 1851 to 1856 and was for years engaged in the mercantile business at Mont- rose in connection with his practice. He was a typical country doctor.
Some time in the late '3os or early '403 Dr. Freeman Knowles located at West Point. He has been described as "a gentleman of high standing and character, with a remarkable memory." He was a witness in the celebrated case that resulted in the conviction of William and Stephen Hodges for the murder of John Miller. After practicing for some time at West Point, Doctor Knowles removed to Keokuk.
In 1845 Dr. D. Lowrey, a native of Berlin, Pennsylvania, settled at West Point. He was at that time about thirty-nine years of age. At the age of eighteen he began his medical studies under Doctor Cooper, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with whom he read for two years and then took a three-years' course in a medical college at Phila- delphia. From that time until he came to West Point, he practiced in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Doctor Lowrey was a very successful physician. It is told of him that, during one sickly season, he did not sleep in a bed for six weeks, catching "forty winks" now and then while in the saddle or his buggy. After practicing for several years he turned his attention to growing grapes and had one of the finest vineyards in southeastern Iowa. He and his family were all members of the Catholic Church. One son, Clement G. Lowrey,
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entered the priesthood and was for some time stationed at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Later he was in charge of St. Francis de Sales parish at Keokuk.
Dr. Herman F. Stempel, who located at Fort Madison in 1847, was born in Germany in July, 1824. He was educated and studied medicine in the Fatherland, and in 1847 decided to try his fortunes in America. Upon landing in this country he came direct to Fort Madison, where he began the practice of his profession. In 1852 he was appointed deputy county treasurer and from that time until January, 1864, he was employed in that office and the office of the county recorder. He then resumed the practice of his profession. In 1869 he was appointed United States revenue gauger, though he con- tinued to practice medicine until advancing age compelled him to retire.
KEOKUK MEDICAL COLLEGES
The year 1850 witnessed quite a change in the status of the med- ical profession in Lee County, as in that year a medical school was opened in Keokuk, which brought a number of eminent physicians to that city. This institution owes its establishment to Dr. John F. Sanford, more than to any other one man. Doctor Sanford was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, April 23, 1823. After attending the schools of his native town he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. S. Pretty- man. In 1839 he entered the Cincinnati Medical College, where he completed two courses of lectures, and in 1841 began practice at Farmington, Iowa. In 1846, when only twenty-three years of age, he was elected to the state Senate, and while a member of that body he secured the passage of a bill granting a charter to a medical college.
Prior to 1840 the only three medical colleges west of the Alle- gheny Mountains were located at Cincinnati, Louisville and New Orleans. Medical students throughout the growing West were with- out adequate opportunities to complete their professional training. To remedy this condition of affairs, Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell and some other physicians founded the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis in 1840. Four or five years later another western medical school was opened at Charleston, Illinois. This school was soon aft- erward removed to Laporte, Indiana, thence to Rock Island, Illinois, and in 1849 to Davenport, Iowa, where the first class was graduated in the spring of 1850. The school was then removed to Keokuk, under the charter secured by the passage of Doctor Sanford's bill, and
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there opened in the fall of 1850 under the name of the "College of Physicians and Surgeons." Doctor Sanford was made dean of the faculty and professor of surgery-a well-deserved recognition. The other members of the first faculty were: Dr. L. D. McGugin, presi- dent and professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children ; Dr. Samuel G. Armor, professor of physiology and pathology; Dr. Nicholas Hurd, professor of anatomy; Dr. George W. Richards, professor of theory and practice of medicine; Dr. A. S. Hudson, pro- fessor of materia medica and therapeutics; Dr. S. Mathews, profes- sor of chemistry; Dr. Joseph C. Hughes, demonstrator of anatomy.
Doctor Sanford was a man of strong personality, great executive ability, an excellent teacher and a skillfull surgeon. Shortly after locating in Farmington, in 1841, he performed the first amputation at the shoulder joint ever performed in Iowa, and this he did before he was twenty years of age. He was devoted to his profession and was one of the founders of the Western Medico-Chirurgical Journal.
The college was made the medical department of the state uni- versity, by which diplomas were issued until 1870, when the institu- tion adopted its original name-College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr: J. C. Hughes, Sr., died in the summer of 1882, and there were several changes in the faculty-Doctors Carpenter and Cleaver with- drawing. The following year other changes were made, and in 1884 the faculty rented the building where the Masonic Temple now stands from the Hughes estate for a period of five years, and con- tinued the school as the College of Physicians and Surgeons. At the expiration of their lease all except one or two organized the Keokuk Medical College and bought the building on Sixth Street now occu- pied by the Daily Gate City. Dr. J. C. Hughes, Jr., organized a new faculty and continued the College of Physicians and Surgeons, but it was a different school from the old corporation. In 1899 the two schools were consolidated, diplomas after that date being issued by the Keokuk Medical College, College of Physicians and Surgeons. In the spring of 1908 the school was merged with Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa.
In 1853 Dr. Joseph C. Hughes succeeded Doctor Sanford as pro- fessor of surgery. He was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, April 1, 1821 ; received his classical education at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania ; studied medicine under Dr. J. F. Per- kins, of Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated in medicine at the University of Maryland in 1845. Soon after receiving his degree he began practice at Mount Vernon, Iowa, devoting much of his time to the practice of surgery, and when the medical college was
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established at Keokuk he accepted the position of demonstrator of anatomy. At the beginning of the Civil war, in 1861, Governor Kirk- wood appointed him surgeon-general of the state, in which capacity he organized and had charge of the army hospitals at Keokuk, where at one time over two thousand sick and disabled soldiers were under treatment. In 1866 Doctor Hughes was elected one of the vice presi- dents of the American Medical Association and one of the delegates to the British Association for the Promotion of Science. He was also a member of several other medical societies and in 1876 was a dele- gate to the Medical Congress at Philadelphia. In connection with the college at Keokuk he operated a medical and surgical infirmary and eye and ear institute. He died in 1882. His son, Dr. Joseph C., Jr., was elected professor of anatomy in the Keokuk College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons in 1876.
Dr. George F. Jenkins, who practiced medicine for many years in the City of Keokuk, was born in Clark County, Missouri, in 1842; graduated at the Missouri Medical College in 1867, after having at- tended the Leland Medical College of San Francisco, California; located at Keokuk a short time after receiving his degree, and at the time of his death, in the summer of 1914, was one of the best known and most universally respected physicians in Southeastern Iowa. In an article written by Doctor Jenkins and published in the Iowa Med- ical Journal for May 15, 1909, he says of the Keokuk Medical Col- lege: "It is my opinion that the great success of this school for its entire career, is due very largely to the fact that Keokuk has always had an able, painstaking, student-loving faculty. The Keokuk Med- ical College has always had a splendid reputation and of its 3,500 or more graduates, many of them have attained high positions in the profession; practitioners from this school have always creditably maintained themselves in competition with graduates of the best col- leges in the country. The Keokuk Medical College has always been proud of her alumni, and in our merging with Drake University, we- have passed over to that school a heritage of which any institution in the land might well be proud."
Another physician who came to Lee County in 1850, but who was not connected with the medical college, was Dr. J. G. Mallett. He was born at Stratford, Connecticut, in 1875, the son of a Revolutionary soldier who was with Gen. Anthony Wayne at the capture of Stony Point. He studied medicine in the East and in 1837 came to Iowa, first locating at Brighton, Washington County. In 1850 he removed" to Van Buren Township, Lee County, and settled on a farm near Hinsdale, where he continued to practice for a number of years. He-
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lived to be nearly one hundred years old, with mental faculties unim- paired to the last.
Dr. James H. Bacon, a native of Washington County, Tennessee, was born on July 19, 1816. He was educated and studied medicine in his native state and began practice in Nashville. In 1840 he located at Macomb, Illinois, where he remained until 1851, when he removed to Fort Madison, lowa. After practicing there for seven or eight years he engaged in the banking business, with Judge John- stone, of Keokuk, as a partner. About 1871 failing health forced him to retire from active business and he then bought a farm in Green Bay Township. His landed interests here, known as "Bay- view," contain 1,200 acres and the improvements cost him about twenty-five thousand dollars, making one of the most attractive places in Southeastern Iowa. Here he passed the closing years of his life.
Dr. Augustus W. Hoffmeister was born on June 14, 1827, at Alt- man, in the Hartz Mountains of Hanover, Germany; at the age of nineteen he graduated from the college at Clausthal as the honor man of that class. He then came to America, locating first in St. Louis, afterward going to California, and in 1854 he located at Fort Madison, having graduated in medicine at St. Louis in the early part of that year. During the Civil war he served as surgeon of the Eighth Iowa Infantry, and in 1866 was appointed surgeon at the Fort Madison penitentiary. Doctor Hoffmeister was an able and success- ful physician. He died about 1900.
Dr. A. M. Carpenter, who has been mentioned above in connec- tion with the medical college, was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, December 12, 1835 ; he was educated at Centre College and graduated in medicine at the University of Louisville in 1854. The next year he located in Keokuk, where he soon became recognized as one of the leading physicians. In 1865 he was elected to the chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, a position he held for nearly twenty years. In 1876 he was one of a committee of physicians to organize the state board of health and was elected the first president of that board. He was a frequent contrib- utor to the medical literature of the country, and a man who is remem- bered by older people of Keokuk as an energetic, public-spirited citizen.
Another Keokuk physician of early days was Dr. Milton F. Col- lins, who came from Indiana at an early day. At the time of the Civil war he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Sixtieth United States Colored Infantry, the greater part of which regiment he recruited himself. He had two sons in the army-W. B. Collins, major of the
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Seventh Missouri, and Joseph A. M., a sergeant in the Second Iowa. The latter was in the signal service at the siege of Fort McAllister, near Savannah, Georgia, and in 1914 was one of the councilmen of the City of Keokuk. Dr. Milton F. Collins was the first president of the Keokuk Medical Society, and is remembered as a popular and successful physician.
Dr. Abel C. Roberts, who was journalist as well as physician, was born in Warren County, New York, January 15, 1830. In his boy- hood days he attended the common schools and after his parents re- moved to Lenawee County, Michigan, he attended the high school at Adrian for one term. In 1850-51 he studied medicine in the Univer- sity of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His financial condition was such that he was unable to complete the course, and in 1852 he went to California, where he spent over a year. Returning to Ann Arbor, he re-entered the university and graduated in 1854. In 1859 he came to Fort Madison and engaged in practice. In 1862 he was appointed surgeon in the government hospital at Keokuk, and in March, 1863, he was commissioned surgeon of the Twenty-first Missouri Infantry, with which regiment he served until mustered out in April, 1866. He then resumed practice at Fort Madison; was elected county treas- urer in 1869, mayor of Fort Madison in 1873, and was appointed a member of the board of pension examiners. In 1874 he became asso- ciated with the ownership and publication of the Fort Madison Dem- ocrat, with which he remained connected practically all the remain- der of his life. As a surgeon, Doctor Roberts was ofen called to con- siderable distances to perform operations. He was a prominent Mason and a member of a number of medical societies and asso- ciations.
Dr. J. J. M. Angear, a native of England, came to this country in 1843, when fourteen years of age. His parents settled in Racine County, Wisconsin, where he was educated, and in 1860 he graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago. At the close of the war he lo- cated in Fort Madison and in 1871 became professor of physiology and pathology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk. Doctor Angear was a member of various medical associations and was a delegate from the American Medical Association to the conven- tion which met at Bath, England, in 1878. After that convention he spent some time in the hospitals of London and Paris. He contrib- uted a number of articles to medical journals and was frequently called upon to testify in courts as a scientific expert.
Dr. Hiram T. Cleaver, at one time a member of the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, was born in Wash-
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ington County, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1822. He began the study of medicine with a Doctor Greene at New Lisbon, Ohio, and in the summer of 1848 removed to Wapello, Iowa. From 1854 to 1858 he represented his district in the State Senate, and in 1862 graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Keokuk. He was then con- nected with the faculty of that institution for about twenty years. Doctor Cleaver was a member of various medical associations and took an active part in municipal affairs. He served as city treasurer of Keokuk, and was otherwise identified with movements for the general uplift of that city.
Among the pioneer doctors of Lee County, whose names are about all that can be remembered, were Haines, Randall and T. H. Sulli- van. They were typical country doctors, respected citizens, and it is a matter of regret that more cannot be told of their careers. The Wymans, Drs. R. H. and F. W., who were for many years connected with the practice of medicine and drug business in Keokuk, were among the leading physicians of that city in their day.
CHAPTER XXI
CHURCH HISTORY
FATHER MARQUETTE-EARLY CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES-ESTABLISH- MENT OF THE FIRST CHURCH-CATHOLIC PARISHES-CHRIS- TIAN CHURCH-CONGREGATIONALISTS-PRESBYTERIANS-METHO- DIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH-THE BAPTISTS-PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH-EVANGELICAL CHURCH-MISCELLANEOUS CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
Long before any attempt was made by white men to found a permanent settlement in the Mississippi Valley, Jesuit missionaries visited the region with a view to converting the Indians to their faith. Lee County claims the first foot-fall of the missionary in Iowa, when Father Marquette landed at the mouth of Sandusky Creek on June 25, 1673, and followed a trail that led him to the Indian villages on the Des Moines River, where he erected a wooden cross and con- ducted the first Christian services. When Marquette was ready to resume his journey one of the Indian chiefs addressed him as follows : "I thank the black-gown chief for taking so much pains to come and see us. Never before has the earth been so beautiful nor the sun so bright. Never has the river been so calm and free from rocks, which your canoe has removed. Never has the tobacco had so fine a flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as we behold it today. Ask the Great Spirit to give us life and health, and be you pleased to remain and dwell with us."
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