USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Historical review of Chicago and Cook county and selected biography, Volume I > Part 26
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and Trust Company, of which Mr. Shortall was a director for many years. Besides being thus one of the main factors in the establishment of the abstract business on a firm basis, after the fire, he was strongly instrumental in bringing about the adoption of the principles that the values of real property be based on its income-producing power. With Mark Kimball and Enos Ayres, he was the first to apply this principle in Chicago, as a representative of the city in the school property appraisals. In every way he was considered one of the highest judges of real estate values in the city.
Mr. Shortall was one of the founders of the Illinois Humane Society, in 1869, but its work was not conducted with system and effectiveness until he became president of the organization, in 1877. In 1879, at his earnest solicitation, the scope of the so-called "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" was extended so as to include the protection of children, and its present name was adopted. In 1877, also at his suggestion, the American Humane Association was founded at Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Shortall's broad and liberal spirit was manifest in numerous forms. He was always a moving spirit in the Municipal Reform Club and the Citizens' Association; served in several official connections with such musical societies as the Chicago Philharmonic and Beethoven ; was a director for ten years. and three terms president of the Chicago Public Library, and was one of the founders and main supporters of the Central church, of which Professor David Swing was pastor until his death. Mr. Shortall retired from active connection with the abstract and real estate busi- ness in 1872, and for thirty-six years thereafter gave his life to the higher movements of the community. The deceased was married Sep- tember 5, 1861, to Mary D. Staples, daughter of John N. Staples, of Chicago, by whom he had one child-John L. Shortall. who suc- ceeded his father as president of the Illinois Humane Society.
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Medical history
BY JOHN HAMILCAR HOLLISTER, A.M., M.D.
The medical history of Chicago dates from the building of Fort Dearborn, which was completed in 1804. In the detachment detailed for that purpose one surgeon's mate is included, but there is neither record of his name, antecedents or subsequent history. He is only important to our purpose as the first representative of the medical profession in Chicago, from whom date the beginnings of its medical history. At that time only the families of John Kinzie and John Baptiste Beaubien were permanent residents at this place. For the present therefore, our history relates only to the surgeons who were stationed at the fort. For the next six years there is no record of medical and surgical service in the garrison, but when in 1810 a transfer of troops was made and Captain Nathan Helm succeeded in command, the attending surgeon was Dr. John Cooper. After a brief period he resigned his position in the army and in 1811 was succeeded by Dr. Isaac Van Voorhies. The latter was a native of Fishkill, New York, born in 1790 of Dutch antecedents prominently related and fine- ly educated. At the age of twenty-two he fell a victim when Ft. Dear- born was so blotted out that for four years the bones of the slain were unburied and left to bleach upon the sands of Lake Michigan at a point now in the center of a city of 2,000,000 inhabitants, and this only ninety-five years ago. At the conclusion of the war with Eng- land in 1816 a detachment of troops commanded by Capt. Hezekiah Bradley was detailed to rebuild the fort. His attending surgeons were Dr. John Gale and Dr. McMahon. Dr. Gale was a native of New Hampshire. After serving at Ft. Dearborn he was transferred to Ft. Armstrong at Rock Island, where he died in 1830. Of Dr. McMahon's later service we fail to find any record.
At this point special mention should be made of Dr. Alexander Wolcott. He was a man of such prominence and so intimately asso- ciated with our medical history that our records would be incomplete without a somewhat extended reference to his life and eminent ser- vices.
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Dr. Wolcott, a native of Windsor, Connecticut, was born in 1790. He graduated from Yale College in 1809. In 1812 he was commis sioned as surgeon's mate in the United States Army.
DR. ALEXANDER In 1820 he was appointed Indian agent to succeed WOLCOTT. Mr. Jowett at Ft. Dearborn. He accompanied the expedition under Governor Cass, of Michigan, which that year, strt- ing from Detroit, wended its way through the upper lakes to the sources of the Mississippi. The facility with which Dr. Wolcott ac quired serviceable knowledge of the Indian dialects was remarkable. and the rapidity with which he gained commanding influence over the Indians has hardly a parallel. In 1821, when Governor Cass con- eluded an important treaty with the Indians at Chicago, Dr. Wolcott's services were so valuable as to secure recognition of them by the gov- ernment. Mr. Schoolcraft, the historian who accompanied Governor Cass, makes special mention of him, "as a gentleman commanding respeet by his manners, judgment and intelligence." At the conclusion of the treaty he served as one of the witnesses to the signatures there- to. Though he was under appointment of the government as Indian agent, he was never officially identified with the fort. Soon after his arrival he completed the agency building which had been com- menced by his predecessor, Mr. Jowett, on the north side of the river, and, occupying it as he did, a bachelor, it was facetiously called "Cob- web Castle." But matters did not thus long remain. In May, 1823. the garrison was withdrawn and, as the property at this point was left in his charge, he occupied the officers' quarters and continued to do so until it was again occupied by troops in 1828. Two months after he was thus installed he was married to Miss Marion Kinzie, and a justice of the peace from Fulton county was summoned to perform the ceremony. Miss Marion was then sixteen years old, and is believed to have been the first white child born in Chicago. He occupied the quarters in the fort for five years, when in 1828 they were again occu pied by soldiers. Though not detailed for service at the fort, still through life he held the rank of army surgeon, and doubtless as a coll- sultant held intimate relation with those at the fort. Though not a matter of record, he must during the period of his residence here have contributed valuable service to such as had need. In 1827 he received the appointment of justice of the peace for Peoria county, and at the election of the justice for the precinct of Chicago was one of
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the judges. During the period of his agency large amounts of property were entrusted to his care, and such was the fidelity with which he executed that trust that he received emphatic approval by the government. He died at the agency in 1830.
Further reference to the surgeons at the fort must necessarily be brief. In 1828, when it was again occupied, Dr. J. B. Finley was made surgeon in charge. We have no knowledge of his history ex- cept that incidentally he was absent from his post in 1830, and the vacancy thus occasioned was filled by Dr. Elijah D. Harmon, who had just reached Chicago with a view to permanent settlement as a practicing physician.
From June 17, 1832, to May 31, 1833, Dr. S. G. F. Decamp was the surgeon at the fort. He received the appointment of assistant surgeon in 1823 and was promoted to the rank of surgeon in 1833. He continued in the United States service in that capacity twenty- nine years. He was retired in 1862 and died at Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1871.
Dr. Philip Maxwell, of whom special mention is elsewhere made, was the successor of Dr. Decamp. He entered upon his duties at Ft.
DR. PHILIP Dearborn May 1, 1833, and held the position of fort
MAXWELL. surgeon until the final withdrawal of the troops in 1836.
The medical military history which commenced with the completion of Ft. Dearborn in 1804 and terminated with its close in 1836, forms an appropriate introductory chapter, prefacing those that relate to medical practice in civic life and to the medical institutions which have since been developed. As a fact illustrative of the rapid growth of a hamlet numbering two hundred inhabitants in 1830 to a city of over two millions of people in 1907, the writer ventures to state that he was permitted the honor of personal acquaintance with the first physician who settled in Chicago as a medical practitioner, and also with nearly all of his immediate associates, a number of whose biographical sketches are here included.
Biographical Sketches.
In writing a medical history of Chicago it seems essential that special reference should be made to as many of the makers of that history as our limits will permit. Our regret is that the names of
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many others of like prominence must necessary be omitted, From these we are led to select a few of those who were not only conspien ous in private practice, but who were also largely instrumental in the formation of our medical institutions. We have not ventured to in corporate sketches of men now living, presuming that that work can be done better to their liking by other hands. From among those worthy of record we venture to select the following :
Dr. Elijah Dewey Harmon has justly been styled " The Father of Medicine in Chicago"; for he was the first to settle here as a medical DR. ELIJAH D. HARMON. practitioner. Ile was one of the Green Mountain boys of whom so many became famous. He was born in Bennington, Vermont, in 1782. His school days were spent at that place. He studied medicine in Manchester in his native state, and for a few years was engaged in practice in Bur- lington. He entered the army as a surgeon at the outbreak of war with England in 1812. At the memorable battle of Plattsburg he was surgeon on board the Saratoga, commanded by Capt. McDon- ough, during the terrific encounter in which the Saratoga bore so conspicuous a part. At the close of the war he resumed medical practice in Burlington. In 1829 he determined to seek his fortune in the west. He came first to Jacksonville, then one of the most attrac- tive locations in northern Illinois, but with a prescience peculiarly his own, soon made Chicago his objective point and located here in 1830. In 1831 Dr. J. B. Finley, to whom reference has been made, being absent from the fort, Dr. Harmon was appointed to fill the vacancy, and he and his family became residents in the fort. In 1832 the Black Hawk war occurred, and the pioneer settlers from the adjacent coun- try thronged to the fort for protection. Here Dr. Harmon proved himself a master spirit, not only in caring for the sick, but also in ministering to the comfort of the homeless.
Gen. Winfield Scott, with a command of one thousand strong, had been ordered to reach this fort in the shortest possible time. He came by way of the lakes and arrived on the 8th of July, 1832. While on the way an epidemic of cholera raged fearfully among his troops. Hundreds were victims of the scourge and were buried at different ports along the lake, or over the rail at sea. When the command reached Chicago the mortality was at its height. \ panic at once prevailed, and nearly every house was deserted. People fled in every
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direction leaving their doors unbolted and their effects unguarded. The soldiers previously stationed at the garrison were hurried to barracks hastily improvised, two miles distant from the fort. Dr. Harmon was detailed as their medical attendant. Not only was he assiduous in his care of the soldiers but gave his services unstinted to such of the citizens as remained. Against this gruff General Scott demurred and ordered him to confine his services to the barracks. This Dr. Harmon declined to do and, rather than obey, surrendered his position. While of the soldiers under General Scott's command every third man was suffering from the disease, so perfect had been their isolation that only three men under Dr. Harmon's care at the barracks died, and these from other causes than cholera. Having thus terminated his relations with the government he settled down in the old Kinzie house to engage in the practice of medicine among the returning settlers, to whom he had become greatly endeared. He is said to have been the first to perform a capital surgical operation in Chicago, having successfully amputated the feet of a man whose feet had been frozen. Dr. Harmon was a man of business affairs, and had such unbounded faith in the future of Chicago that he predicted the time would come when the city would contain a million of inhab- itants, and for this he was esteemed a little "off his base." True to his belief he located one hundred and thirty acres of government land on the lake shore, the north boundary of which was at 16th street, the present value of which, located as it is in the center of the city, in comparison with its value in 1833, seems fabulous. Like many an- other, he sold his land too soon. Harmon court was named for him. At the northwest corner of Harnon court and Michigan avenue stood the old Harmon mansion in which in 1856 Mrs. Harmon died of cholera. The writer was consultant at the time of her death.
In 1834 Dr. Harmon had become largely interested in land grants in Texas, which, as a vast empire, was to become twelve years later one of the United States. For the proper supervision of these grants he became a resident of Texas while still holding relation with Chi- cago, and for many years made annual journeys between the two points. He died in Texas in 1869. He bore an honored name as the first physician of Chicago, and as the first physician of Chicago his name will be memorable.
At the close of 1832 the Black Hawk war had terminated and the
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fear of cholera had largely abated. \ year later Chicago numbered two hundred inhabitants, and in the meantime eight physicians, our to every twenty-five inhabitants, had come to make this their home. Their names and the order of their coming are as follows:
Dr. Elijah D. Harmon, arrived May 10, 1830.
Dr. Valentine A. Boyer, arrived May 12, 1832.
Dr. Edward S. Kimberlee, also in 1832.
Dr. John T. Temple, July, 1833.
Dr. William B. Eagan, in the fall of 1833.
Dr. Henry B. Clark, in 1833.
Dr. George F. Turner, who was assistant surgeon at the fort.
Between the years 1834 and 1836 a land-craze swept over the entire country the like of which was before unknown, has not been known since and will hardly be known in the future. Chicago soon became the great western storm-center. Banks issued money as fast as their bills could be printed, and millions of dollars thus issued changed hands with incredible speed. In like manner the population of Chicago had increased in number from 200 in :832, to 4.179 in 1836, and the physicians from eight to forty.
From this date the medical history of Chicago developed so rapid- ly and in so many ways, that it is impossible to compass them or rightly represent the labors of the many who contributed to its making. In this respect our history, arrange the matter as best we may, must be seriously imperfect.
Dr. Philip Maxwell was one of whom special mention should be made. He was born in Guilford, Vermont, in 1797. He studied
DR. PHILIP medicine in New York, but graduated in his native
state. He was a man of varied attainments and uni-
MAXWELL.
versally popular. He had hardly settled in medical practice in Sackett's Harbor, New York, when he was elected a men- ber of the state legislature. Following this, having received the ap- pointment of assistant surgeon in the United States army, he was as- signed for duty at Chicago in 1833. Later he was promoted to the rank of surgeon and was transferred to the division of the army under the command of Gen. Zachary Taylor, with whom he served during the Florida war. In 1844 he resigned his position in the army and came to reside in Chicago as a private practitioner, entering into a partnership with Dr. Brockhurst Mc Vicker. Although devoted to his profession, he was none the less interested in the welfare of the com
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munity at large. The people of Chicago were quick to appreciate him and he soon became a member of the Illinois state legislature. He made à record in the assembly creditable alike to himself and his constituency. He maintained close relations with his patients at home, who welcomed his return. While thus engaged in medical practice it was the writer's privilege to enjoy his personal acquaintance, and is able to speak of him from personal knowledge. Physically, Dr. Maxwell was a man of commanding presence, symmetrical and comely of form, he stood six feet and two inches in height, and weighed 275 pounds. While not on duty he was the soul of good fellowship, and as to wit and repartee scarcely had his equal. `When he entered the sick room, however, there was a power of healing in his face; no footstep lighter than his; none more gentle than his touch. Dr. Max- well was an ardent lover of nature. He longed for a rural retreat where he might enjoy its pleasures to the full. Leaving many ardent friends to regret his going, he relinquished medical practice in 1855 and betook himself to the beautiful banks of Lake Geneva, in Wiscon- sin, now a famous resort. Here for four years he realized his fondest hopes and here in 1859, at the age of sixty years, he came to the close of an eventful life.
Dr. William Bradshaw Eagan was another of the early eight, con- spicuous in the development of our medical history. He was a native of Ireland and born September 28, 1808. He com- DR. WILLIAM B. EAGAN. menced his medical studies at the early age of fifteen years, first pursuing them in Lancashire, England. He received his diploma from Dublin University. Soon after his graduation he sailed for America and, landing at Quebec, was soon engaged in school teaching. Later he was employed in like manner in Montreal, in New York City, and finally in the University of Vir- ginia. While employed as a teacher in the literary institutions, Dr. Eagan steadily pursued his medical studies. In 1830 the New Jer- sey State Medical Society granted him a license to practice medicine in that state, and he began his work in Newark. Two years later he was married to Miss Emeline Babbett, and the year following, in 1833, they came to reside in Chicago. They were soon numbered among the foremost citizens in the little hamlet. A man of such talent and of such unusual culture could not long remain unnoticed. Only a year after his arrival he was appointed to represent the South Di-
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vision of the city as a member of the health committee. He was often called to preside as master of assembles on public occasions. . As a presiding officer he rarely had an equal, and as a platform speaker was noted for his eloquence. When ground was to be broken for the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the event was celebrated in a manner before unknown in Chicago, and on that occasion Dr. Eagan was the orator of the day.
He not only served as a medical practitioner, but in other capaci- ties as well. In 1844 he was elected to the office of city recorder, and for a series of years was a prominent operator in real estate. In 1853 and 1854 he rendered important services as a member of the state legislature. In 1856 he was one of the prime movers in the or- ganization of the Republican party, and when Anson Burlingame, the author of the celebrated Chinese Treaty, made his two memorable speeches, one at Chicago and the other at Morris, Dr. Eagan was the presiding officer. Dr. and Mrs. Eagan were noted for their hospitality. His home and his grounds were conspicuous for their beauty, and for a long time presented one of the chief attractions in the West Di- vision of the city. Here, surrounded by a devoted family, he passed peacefully to rest in 1860, at the early age of fifty-two years.
Dr. Valentine A. Boyer was also one of the early eight. The rec- ords with reference to him are brief. He came to reside in Chicago May 12, 1832. He was here in the midst of the chol- DR. VALENTINE A. BOYER. era epidemic and was one of the few who stood man- fully at their post, and for a series of years was en- gaged in medical practice. In 1840 he was appointed assistant sur- geon of the City Guards, then connected with the Sixteenth Regiment of the Illinois Volunteers. Of his later history we are not advised.
Dr. Edmund Stoughton Kimberlee was still another of the early eight. He came to reside here in the fall of 1832. When the prelim- DR. EDMUND S. KIMBERLEE. inary meeting was held August 5, 1838, to deter- mine whether Chicago should be incorporated as a village, Dr. Kimberlee was one of the twelve who voted in favor, while there was one in opposition. At the election which occurred on August 10th Dr. Kimberlee was elected one of the town trustees and acted as clerk of the board. In the spring of 1833, associated with Peter Pruyne, he opened the second drug store in Chicago, Philo Carpenter having established the first
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the year previous. Though continuing to practice medicine he was considered the leading druggist in the city, and was best known in connection with the drug business. For many years he was closely identified with educational matters and served in many official capaci- ties in that connection. While continuing in the drug business he was still a practicing physician in the city for thirty years. His health becoming impaired he retired from active life in 1854, and went to reside at his country seat in Lake county. He lived a quiet, happy life for twenty years, and died October 25, 1874, aged seventy-two years.
Dr. Temple was another of the early eight. He was a native of Virginia born in 1804. He graduated from Middlebury College in
DR. JOHN T. Castleton, Vermont, in 1830, and settled in Chicago
TEMPLE. in 1833. He came with a contract from the United States government to carry the mail between Chi- cago and Fort Howard at Green Bay. In the following year he was instrumental in erecting the first building to be used for schools and other public purposes. It was two stories in height and located near the corner of Franklin and South Water streets. The upper room was mainly used for religious assemblies; the lower one was for a long time occupied as the principal school in the village. It was known as the "Temple Building." Later he contracted with the government to carry the mail from this point to Ottawa, Illinois, and he drove the first mail coach between those points with his own hands. His first and only passenger was Judge Caton, and according to the Judge's statement carried not a single piece of mail. In his church connection he was an ardent Baptist and was the prime mover in the organization of the First Baptist church. He was an active member of the school board, also a trustee of Rush Medical College at the time of its organization. He adopted the Homeopathic med- ical treatment and becoming an ardent disciple of Hahnemann, he devoted hinself to that method of practice. He first settled in Galena ; later he removed to St. Louis, where he built up a large and lucrative practice and became one of the founders of the St. Louis Homeopathic College, in which he served as a member of the faculty until his death, which occurred in 1877, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
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Dr. John W. Eldredge was one of the very early physicians. He was born in Washington county, New York, in 1808, graduated at
DR. JOHN W. Fairfield Medical College, New York, in 1834. He
ELDREDGE. first settled in Pittsfield, Pennsylvania, and from thence came to reside in Chicago in 1834. He was a man of decided ability and especially pronounced in his opinions. He came from a family prominent for intellectual ability. R. P. Eldredge, Esq., a brother of his, was for many years one of the leading lawyers in Michigan and noted for his eloquence. When Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, provision was made for the organization of a board of health, consisting of three commission- ers. Of the three thus appointed Dr. Eldredge was chairman, and Dr. Brainard was the first city physician under the new organization. In 1840, Dr. Eldredge was married to Miss Sophia Holton. Their only daughter became the wife of Mr. George C. Clark, a prominent business nian of Chicago. Dr. Eldredge was one of the noted prac- titioners in the city for thirty-four years. He retired from practice in 1868 and died at his home January 1, 1884. Eldredge court, the place of that home, remains to perpetuate his name.
Dr. Joseph C. Goodhue was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His father, a physician, was the first president of the Berkshire Medical Society and one of the founders of Berk-
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