USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 58
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
practitioner he exhibited the same tenacity of purpose and the same devotion to duty that he showed upon the field of battle, taking his long rides on horse-back, over the country to visit his patients, carrying his drugs in his saddle-bags. On May 19, 1862, he enlisted in the Civil war as assistant surgeon of the Fifth Missouri Cavalry, but was promoted to the position of Surgeon of his regiment, with the rank of Major, in 1864. He was mustered out of service at Rolla, Missouri, on April 14, 1865, the same night that President Lincoln was assassinated. After the war, Dr. Fekete located in East St. Louis, Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life, practicing his profession and taking his share also of the civic burdens and honors. He served as As- sistant County Physician and Health Officer for many years, and in 1890 was appointed postmaster of his city. Crowned with hon- ors, enjoying the esteem of the entire commu- nity, he died in East St. Louis, March 27, 19II, aged eighty-three years.
Dr. John Gustavus Smith was born in Eng- land and came to America about 1855 and located at Champaign, Illinois, where he was married to Mrs. Lydia Blason. In 1859 he came to Edwardsville and engaged in the practice of medicine for several years. He then located in Girard where he remained for two years, moving from there to Litchfield. After a residence there of three years he retired from practice here, and returned to his native England. Dr. Smith's widow died here only a few years ago and several mem- bers of his family still reside in this vicinity.
Dr. John B. Knoebel was born in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1832. He acquired his scientific and medical education in the University of Basel, and graduated from that institution March 19, 1857. He came to Highland in 1859, but remained only a short time, practicing in Pocahontas, and then in Breese, Illinois. He located perma- nently in Highland in 1863, where he built up
a large practice which continued for twenty- seven years. Dr. Knoebel was always inter- ested and helpful in anything that benefited his town and was one of the charter members that established the Masonic Order in High- land by organizing Highland Lodge No. 583, on October 6, 1868. Failing health caused his retirement and in 1890 he moved to Mani- tou, Colorado, where he died, December 31, 1909, and where his widow still lives.
Dr. Abraham Felder, a fair type of the sturdy, scientific and polished men of our profession, that came to us from the little Swiss Republic, was born on March 14, 1820, in Ebnet, Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland, and obtained his early culture in the schools of his native country. He took his classical degree at Stuttgart, Wirtemberg, Germany, and his medical degree in the University of Zurich, Switzerland. On March 14, 1845, he began the practice of medicine in his native town, and there on May 28, 1850, was married to Miss Catharine Mettler. In the spring of . 1853 he emigrated to this country and prac- ticed in Warren county, Missouri, and Nau- voo, Illinois, until he came to Highland in 1860. He at once gained a foothold and laid the foundation of a large practice which con- tinued during his life. He was a man of fine physique, commanding appearance and mag- netic personality ; rather austere in his man- ner, but with the kindest and most sympa- thetic soul. During his twenty-four years' residence in Highland, he was ever foremost in anything that was to the best interests of his city and its inhabitants. Thoroughly grounded in his business and devoted to its arduous demands, he was the kind old family doctor to a great number of families in that vicinity. At the age of sixty-four years, long before the sun-set bell should have rung, he died in Highland, June 16, 1884.
Dr. James Kell was born in East Tennes- see on February 18, 1822. With his father, Wm. Kell, he came to Madison county, Illi-
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nois, in May, 1829. In 1845 Dr. Kell entered a quarter section of land east of Worden, where he continued to reside during his life. He was one of the old settlers of the county and was always interested in the improvement of his neighborhood; was also very active in getting the Wabash Railroad to run through Worden. Although not a graduate of any medical college, he commenced the study and practice of medicine in connection with Dr. William Hobson, about the year 1860. He had quite an extensive practice up to the time of his death which occurred December 22, 1876. His social nature gathered round him many friends, and his public spiritedness and many virtues gained for him the respect and esteem of all who knew him.
Dr. Charles Davis, one of the leading prac- titioners in the county, was born in Spring- field, Illinois, July 29, 1840, and came to Alton with his father's family in 1846. He is the son of Hon. Levi Davis, who was Auditor of the state of Illinois from 1835 to 1841. Dr. Davis obtained his early education in the pri- vate and public schools of Alton and at the St. Louis University. After leaving the uni- versity in 1858, he began the study of medi- cine, entering the medical department of the Michigan State University, and graduating from the St. Louis Medical College in 1861.
At the outbreak of the Civil war Dr. Davis enlisted in the 7th Illinois Regiment and served until the expiration of his term of enlistment. In 1862, he again enlisted, this time in the 97th Illinois, of which he was ap- pointed Assistant Surgeon. Later he was promoted Surgeon with the rank of Major, and served until the close of the war. During this three years' service he passed through many dreadful scenes of blood and carnage, the memory of which lingers with him yet. He rendered splendid service and won such high rank for his skill in the treatment of wounded and suffering soldiers that he was made operating surgeon for his division. At
the close of the war he went to Philadelphia and took a post-graduate course at Jefferson College. Thus by thorough preparation and with his remarkable army experience added, he was splendidly equipped for the practice of his profession in civil life. He first located at Godfrey and later removed to Alton, where he built up a large and success- ful practice. His skill as a physician, and his noble, generous character, his integrity and high sense of honor won for him the respect and confidence of the entire community. At seventy-two years of age he still practices his profession but not as actively as in his younger days.
Dr. Davis was married March 17, 1875, to Miss Minerva Hohmeyer of Upper Alton. They have six children, all of adult years, and seven grandchildren.
The subject of this sketch comes of a patri- otic family: His father was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and the doctor's two broth- ers, Capt. Jas. W. Davis and Lieut. Levi Davis Jr., served with him in the 97th Illinois, and this patriotic strain has been transmitted to his son, Ralph Davis, who is a Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy.
Dr. Francis Marion Pearce, whose grand- father, James Pearce, settled near Edwards- ville in 1815, was a native of this county, being born near Grant Fork in Saline town- ship, in 1830. He acquired his preliminary education in the common schools of his dis- trict. In 1855 he attended medical lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College, and began the practice of medicine in Woodburn, Macoupin county, Illinois, where he remained for five or six years, removing to Alhambra in 1862. Later on he attended the St. Louis Medical College from which he graduated in 1865. He returned to Alhambra and resumed his practice and served that community as long as he lived. Notwithstanding a large and arduous practice, he found time to be inter- ested in the affairs of his village and assisted
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in organizing the village and became its first president. In 1877 he was elected to the legis- lature and served the state one term, being a member of the session which was famous for the defeat of John A. Logan for United States senator. At the age of fifty-nine years he died in Alhambra, on March 23, 1889, and was buried in Olive Cemetery by the Masonic Order, of which he had been a faithful and consistent member.
PIONEER IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
Dr. James Larue Wadsworth, a connecting link between the long distant past and the present, a man who has stood on the firing line in the practice of medicine for half a century, representing all that is meant by the term "old family doctor," was born in North Cornwall, Connecticut, in 1838. He received his education at Oberlin College, Ohio, 1854 to 1857, then removed to Kansas and engaged in teaching until 1860, when he began his studies in medicine with Dr. N. S. Davis of Chicago. He graduated from what is now the Medical Department of the Northwestern University of Chicago, Illinois, in 1863. Dr. Wadsworth was married immediately after, to Miss C. P. Halsey of Wisconsin and at once located at Collinsville, Illinois, to take charge of the practice of Dr. Henry L. Wing, at the latter's request, and has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine up to this time, which is about forty-nine years. He is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, the Illinois State Medical Society and the Madison County Medical Society. He has also been the local surgeon for the Vandalia Railroad ever since its construction, forty- five years ago.
In former years Dr. Wadsworth took great interest in the public schools, and was the leader in the building of the first good school building and the first graded school of the city. He was a member of the city council for a number of terms, was mayor of the city
from 1907 to 1909, and built the first paved streets and the first sewerage system of the city. He has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church for forty-nine years and trustee or secretary and treasurer for the past forty-four years. Dr. Wadsworth was one of the first members of the Masonic Lodge of his city. After planning and con- structing Glenwood Cemetery, thirty-two years ago, he is still the secretary and treas- urer and has the general care of the same. "He has practiced medicine in Collinsville, with rare success, for nearly fifty years, and as 'the beloved physician' is enshrined in the hearts and homes of its people. And not only in his professional labors but in the reli- gious and educational upbuilding of the com- ยท munity he has rendered equally useful and faithful service. Such devoted lives as his are their own great reward, as beautiful in the retrospect as in their present endeavor."
Dr. Alexander Monro Powell, one of that type of old family physicians that is fast pass- ing away, was born in Hendersonville, Ken- tucky, on December 30, 1834. He attended the public schools of his native city, and when nineteen years of age he went to Cambridge, Mo., and taught school, while reading medi- cine with a preceptor. Later on he attended the St. Louis Medical College from which he graduated in March, 1860. He began his practice in Cambridge, Missouri, where on June 21, 1860, he was married to Miss Ann M. Davison, daughter of Dr. A. M. Davison, who died March 5, 1870. On April 18, 1871, he married Miss Louisa Hite Davison, a cousin of his first wife, who with two sons and three daughters still survive. One son, Dr. McDonald M. Powell, a brilliant and ris- ing young physician, who practiced with his father in Collinsville, died in 1897.
Being born and raised in Kentucky, Dr. Powell's sympathies were naturally with the Confederacy, which caused the doctor consid- erable trouble during the hot days of the
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Civil war, and when he found himself in danger of being drafted into the Federal army, he fled to Collinsville, Illinois, arriving early in 1863. Here he remained one year, returned to Cambridge for one year, and came back to Collinsville, where he continued his medical work, thoroughly devoted to his profession. He enjoyed an extensive prac- tice, especially in surgery, as long as he lived, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. Dr. Powell interested himself in all civic affairs, assisted in the formation of municipal government of his city, and was a member of the first city council. He was a member of the Episcopal church, and in 1880 began to publish The Banner of the Cross, the first Episcopal Church paper ever pub- lished in the Diocese of Springfield, and which was issued from Collinsville for a num- ber of years. He also held various offices in the educational system of the community, and at the time of his death was president of the Board of Education. He died at his home in Collinsville, November 2, 1902.
Dr. Titus P. Yerkes, one of the members of our profession who links the past with the present, was born on December 24, 1836, in the city of Philadelphia. At the age of six- teen he came with his family to Illinois, and settled on a farm near Metamora, Woodford county. In 1861 he entered upon a classical course in Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, from which he graduated in June, 1861. The same year he began his medical studies in Rush Medical College, Chicago, and received his degree in 1864. He was immediately appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A., and placed in charge of Post Hospital Camp Butler, at Springfield, Illinois, in which capac- ity he served until the close of the war. He then located in Upper Alton which has been the scene of his activities ever since. At all times he has conducted an extensive practice, serving the people of a wide territory, held
in high esteem both by the laity and by his confreres.
Dr. Yerkes has always been an energetic and enthusiastic supporter of medical organi- zation, being a member not only of the local societies but also of the state and national bodies. He is also a member of the Masonic order, holding the rank of Knight Templar. He also held the position of Examining Sur- geon on the pension board at Alton, during the two administrations of President Cleve- land. He was married to Miss Susetta B. Bostwick of Upper Alton, on June 30, 1863, who died December 26, 1910. To this union there were born three children, Mrs. C. E. Chamblin, Mrs. T. R. Thomas and Dr. L. L. Yerkes, all still living.
Dr. Yerkes, now seventy-five years old, is in good health and in active practice, and his many friends wish for him many more years of usefulness.
Dr. Abraham S. Haskell was born in Ash- by, Massachusetts, in 1817 and came from a long line of successful physicians on his fath- er's side. His mother was Hannah Cotton, a direct descendant from the Rev. Cotton Mather. Dr. Haskell studied medicine with his father and later attended Dartmouth Col- lege from which he graduated in 1839. He began his practice in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and in 1843 came west and located in Hills- boro, Illinois, where he remained until 1864 when he removed to Alton.
Here he formed a partnership with Dr. Hezekiah Williams, which later on also in- cluded his son, Dr. W. A. Haskell. Dr. Haskell was ever the earnest, scientific phy- sician entirely devoted to his large and lucra- tive practice with most gratifying success. As a physician his reputation for medical knowledge and uniform results was second to none in the state, while as a citizen his character was ever above reproach. He con- tinued in active practice and participation in civic affairs until his death in 1876.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
THE FATHER OF NEW DOUGLAS
Dr. Bunyan Hursey Mckinney was born at Roaring Springs, Trigg county, Kentucky, October 1, 1841, and was the oldest son of Dr. G. W. Mckinney. After obtaining a pre- paratory education in the public schools, he began to read medicine with his father and later on assisted him in his practice. He came to New Douglas in this county, March 5, 1865, and laid the foundation of his practice, but in the fall he entered the Physio-Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from that institution in March, 1866. Return- ing to New Douglas he at once began an extensive practice that was to continue for many years. He was married to Miss Sidde C. Nance of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on Jan- uary 2, 1868. He was a member of the first board of trustees of the village and also served as school director at different times. Dr. Mckinney's practice was essentially a country practice, as New Douglas was but a small village in that early day, and the num- ber of miles traveled by the doctor during his practice of forty-seven years would seem incredible to the average city physician. In point of continuous residence he has lived in New Douglas longer than any other person. He well represents medical practice in the northeastern part of the county and is the dean of the profession there. He has passed the three score and ten and has retired, and is considering the advisability of spending his remaining years in Florida.
Dr. Absolom Townsend Dusenbury, the youngest of thirteen children, was born in Albany, New York, in 1819. His parents died when he was a small boy and he was raised in a boarding school. After obtaining a common school education, he read medicine with preceptors and was granted a license to practice medicine November 1, 1838, by the Albany, New York, Medical Society. He began to practice his profession at Brooklyn,
New York, where he met and married Miss Gertrude Van Epps and in 184I removed to St. Louis, Missouri, where several years later his wife died. In 1845 he married Miss Susannah Fitch to which union six children were born, two of whom survive, Mrs. Eliza- beth A. Nichols, of East St. Louis, Illinois, and Dr. Charles T. Dusenbury, of Monett, Missouri. After a ten years' residence in St. Louis, he removed to Chicago and continued his work until he came to this county in 1865. He then bought the Parker farm, three and one-half miles south of Alhambra, where he resided, doing a strictly country practice, with all that that implies, for some years. In 1878 he moved to New Douglas where he resided during the remainder of his life. Dr. Dusen- bury was a member of the Methodist church and the hospitality of his home was always cordially extended to the ministers of the gos- pel. He died in New Douglas in 1895, aged seventy-six years and was buried with Ma- sonic honors.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin Stevens was born near Bangor, Maine, November 7, 1831, but later moved to Montgomery county, Illinois. When the war broke out he enlisted in Com- pany D, 59th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Marine, Illinois, and served until mustered out on December 8, 1865. With his regiment, of which he was lieutenant, he traveled over ten thousand miles and participated in nine- teen battles. After the war he settled down in St. Jacob, Illinois, and spent the remainder of his life in that community practicing medi- cine. Dr. Stevens was from early childhood a devout Christian 'and every interest of the church was dear to him. Social duties and pleasures and all considerations of personal ease were sacrificed that he might attend to his religious duties, and all the work of the church, social, financial, and devotional found in him a firm supporter.
In his professional life Dr. Stevens at- tained that success which is the result of a
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clear brain, deep study, and intense interest in the welfare of those who were under his care, being at once a faithful physician, a wise counsellor and firm friend. "No night was too dark and no storm too severe for him to respond to the call of duty; he lived his life within a space of seventy-five years, but his good influence will extend through hun- dreds of years to come." He was married November 7, 1866, to Miss Nancy Anderson, who with five children constituted his family. After some months of declining health, he died December 9, 1905, at St. Jacob.
Dr. Edward C. Lemen was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, July 20, 1842. He is a member of the well-known Lemen family that can trace direct descent from the first settlers of the United States. Dr. Lemen graduated in 1868 from the St. Louis Medical College and located in Upper Alton where he has continued in practice until recent years when he retired. Dr. Lemen served through the Civil war and held the rank of lieutenant at its close.
During his whole professional life, Dr. Lemen was a worthy type of the old family physician and enjoyed the confidence and re- spect of every one with whom he came in contact. He had a very large practice both in the city and in the surrounding territory and his services were always freely given to every one. This very arduous work, to which he had devoted his life, was the cause of retirement on account of broken health.
Dr. William A. Haskell, son of Dr. A. S. Haskell, was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, in 1845, and received his collegiate education in Harvard University. He took his A. B. degree in 1866, and his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1869. He began his medical practice in Edwardsville in 1869, as a partner of Dr. Joseph Pogue, but moved to Alton in 1870 to join the partnership of Williams and Haskell. This partnership continued up to the death of the two older members, after
which Dr. Haskell continued alone in active practice until 1902 when failing health caused him to retire. During his whole professional life he was one of the prominent surgeons of his county, his practice extending beyond the usual territory and meeting with gratifying success. He has always been a leader in any- thing that affected the welfare of his city and county and occupied an enviable position in the estimation of his friends and neighbors. His skill as a surgeon has never been sur- passed in the county and probably not in the state. He was a member of the Illinois State Board of Health from 1887 to 1892, the last five years of which he was president of the board. He was for many years the most prominent Republican leader in the county and represented his party in various state and national conventions. Since his retire- ment he still keeps in touch with medical progress, but also devotes much time to the study of Archaeology in which he takes a great interest.
Dr. John Maclay Armstrong was born in Ottawa, Illinois, on December 9, 1839. Being . left an orphan at an early age, he was cared for by the late Judge M. G. Dale, who at that time lived at Vandalia, Illinois. At eleven years of age, he ran away with a circus and traveled with it around the world. Returning home he began the study of medicine with the late Dr. John H. Weir, graduating from Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1865. He practiced in Pana, Illinois, for six years, then located in Edwardsville, and conducted a successful practice until 1887 when he re- moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he remained until 1895 when he resumed his practice in Edwardsville. Dr. Armstrong was a natural born physician, paying especial at- tention to internal medicine, which, with a marvelous power of diagnosis, soon gave him a wide reputation and a lucrative practice. He made no distinction between rich and poor, serving all alike, and was always ready
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to accept a call under any and all circum- stances. This devotion to his calling was the cause of his death, for while suffering of la grippe, he made a country call in very in- clement weather, fording a swollen stream, took pneumonia and died in forty-eight hours. His death occurred on March 13, 1897, and he was buried by the Masonic order, of which he had been a conspicuous member for many years.
Dr. Charles Rowley Enos was born at Eaton, Madison county, New York, March 12, 1815, being one of twelve children. In early manhood he came west to St. Louis, traveling most of the way by raft. He was married to Eliza Ann Thorpe on February 13, 1845, to which union ten children were born, eight of whom grew to maturity. After fifty-two years of married life Mrs. Enos died at Jerseyville, Illinois, May 18, 1897. In 1849 Dr. Enos moved his family to an unim- proved prairie farm, four miles north of Marine, which he developed by thrift and in- dustry until it became one of the most valu- able farms in the county. On February 19, 1874, the ambition of his life was realized when, at the age of fifty-nine years, he gradu- ated at the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri. After practicing his profession in his own neighborhood and a short time at Litchfield, Illinois, he, in 1882, moved his family to Jerseyville, Illinois, where he con- tinued his chosen calling until 1900 when, at the age of eighty-five, he retired. Five sons, one daughter and two grandsons followed in his footsteps in choosing a profession and are now all engaged in the active practice, except the daughter, Dr. S. Cordelia Enos, who died at Jerseyville, January 17, 1905. The young- est child, Miss Grace Enos, is a graduate nurse, now residing in Jerseyville. Dr. Enos continued his residence at Jerseyville until his death on May 12, 1910, aged ninety-five years.
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