History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 72

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875

USA > Illinois > Cook County > History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time > Part 72

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

* For fuller particulars concerning Dr. Smith see the account of Homeop- athy in Chicago in this chapter.

Lake Strect, opposite Rice's coffee-house. This co- partnership was dissolved April 3, 1837. Dr. John Brinkerhoff, subsequently of the firm of Brinkerhoff & Penton, druggists, cautioned persons against purchas- ing a note given by him in favor of Samuel Ressigne, in the American of December 3, 1836. Dr. J. H. Bar- nard advertised in the American of June 8, 1835, under date of June 3. Dr. J. C. Bradley, surgeon dentist, proffered his odontological ability in the same paper. under date of June 13, 1835, and was subsequently in business with Mr. Kennicott. In the Democrat of August 24, 1836, is an advertisement of Dr. Daniel Brainard, who proffered his services to citizens of Chi- cago and vicinity at his office, with John Dean Caton, on Dearborn Street, opposite the Tremont House. In the language of the Hon. John Dean Caton, is the fol- lowing reminiscence of Dr. Brainard given: " About the first of September, 1835, Dr. Brainard rode up to my office, wearing pretty seedy clothes and mounted on a little Indian pony. He reported that he was nearly out of funds, and asked my advice as to the propriety of commencing practice here. We had been profes- sional students together in Rome, N. Y., when he was there in the office of Dr. Pope. I knew him to have been an ambitious and studious young man, of great firmness and ability, and did not doubt that the three years since I had seen him had been profitably spent in acquiring a knowledge of his profession. I advised him to go to the Indian camp, where the Pottawatomies were gathered, preparatory to starting for their new lo- cation west of the Mississippi River, sell his pony, take a desk or rather a little table in my office, and put his shingle by the side of the door, promising to aid him, as best I could, in building up a business. During the . first year the Doctor's practice did not enter those cir- cles of which he was most ambitious. Indeed it was mostly confined to the poorest of the population. and he anxiously looked for a door which should give him admission to a better class of patients. While he answered every call, whether there was a prospect of remuneration or not, he felt that he was qualified to attend those who were able to pay him liberally for his services, At length the door was opened. A schooner was wrecked south of the town, on which were a man and his wife, who escaped with barely their clothes on their backs. They were rather simple people, and belonged to the lowest walks in life. They started for the country on foot, begging their way, and, when distant some twelve miles, encountered a party of men with a drove of horses, one of whom pretended that he was a Sheriff, and arrested them for improper purposes. When they were set at liberty, they returned. to the town, and came to me for legal advice, the woman being about five months advanced in pregnancy. I commenced a suit for the redress of their grievances, and the Doctor took an active interest in their welfare. He procured for them a small house on the North Side, and made per- sonal appeals to all the ladies in the neighborhood, for pro- vision for their needs. Mrs. John H. Kinzie became par- . ticnlarly interested in their case, and paid frequent visits to the cabin with other ladies. The nervous system of the woman had been greatly shattered, and a miscar- riage was constantly apprehended. The Doctor was unremitting in his attentions, and finally carried her through her confinement with marked success, exhibit- ing to the ladies who had taken so much interest in the patient a fine living child. This was the long desired opportunity, and it did not fail to produce its results. Dr. Brainard immediately became famous. His disin- terested sympathy, his goodness of heart, his skillful

Dig zed by Google

290

HISTORY OF COOK COUNTY.

treatment and his marked success, were now the subject of comment in all cireles. At my request Dr. Good- hue also visited the woman-as I desired to secure his additional testimony in the case-and he too became very favorably impressed with the talents and acquire- ments of the young practitioner, and extended to him a helping and efficient hand. During the winter of 1837-38, Dr. Brainard first communicated to me his project looking to the foundation of Rush College. In 1838, a laborer on the canal near Lockport, fractured his thigh, and before union had been completely effected, he came to Chicago on foot, where he found himself unable to walk further and quite destitute. He was taken to the poor-house, where he rapidly grew worse, the limb becoming excessive œdematous. A council of physicians was summoned, consisting of Drs. Brainard, Maxwell, Goodhue, Egan, and perhaps one or two others. All were agreed as to the necessity of amputa- tion, but, while Brainard insisted that the operation should be performed at the hip-joint. the others urged that removal below the trochanters would answer equally well. The patient was about twenty-three years of age, had an excellent physique, and was, so far as known, of good habits. The operation was assigned to Brain- ard, and Goodhue was entrusted with the control of the femoral artery, as it emerges from the pelvis. This he was to accomplish with his thumbs ; and he had as good thumbs as any man I ever knew. The moment the amputation was effected, Brainard passed one finger into the medullary cavity, and brought out upon it a portion of the medulla which, in the process of disor- ganization, had become black. As he exhibited it he looked at Goodhue, who simply nodded his head. Not

. a word was spoken by any one but the patient, and what he said no one knew. Brainard instantly took up the knife and again amputated, this time at the joint, after which the wound was dressed. The double oper- ation occupied but a very short time. In about one month the wound had very nearly healed, only a gran- ulating surface of about three-fourths of an inch in length at the upper corner discharged a healthy pus. was present the last time the wound was dressed, and expected to see the patient speedily discharged as cured. But that night secondary hæmorrhage occurred, a large portion of the wound was opened afresh, and the patient died almost immediately. At the post-mortem section, an enormous mass of osscous tubercles was removed from the lungs, liver, and heart, and a large, bony neo- plasm was found attached to the pelvic bones, and sur- rounding the femoral artery, so that the mouth of the latter remained patulous. A similar deposit, three inches in diameter, had been found about the fractured femur, and when this was sawn through, the line of de- markation between the neoplasm and the truc bone was distinctly discernable .* The operation was regarded as a success, and it completely established Dr. Brain- ard's reputation as a surgeon."

Daniel Brainard was born May 15, 1812, in Western- ville, Oneida Co., N. Y. and graduated at Jefferson Col- lege Philadelphia in the year 1834; commencing the prac. . tice of medicine at Whitesboro, N. Y. Subsequent to his arrival at Chicago he visited Paris in 1839, and pursued his medical studies there; revisiting that city in 1852, when he was made an honorary member of the Société de Chirurgie de Paris, and of the Medical Society of the Canton of Geneva. At this time Dr. Brainard secured the valuable osteological collection which he placed in the museum of Rush Medical College, of which institution

he was the founder and indefatigable promoter. In 1854 he received the prize offered by the Medical Asso- ciation of St. Louis for an exeursus upon the treatment of ununited fractures-the mode elaborated in his treatise having since been adopted by the entire profession. Dr. Brainard's surgical reputation is not alone civic but continental; his scientific attainments were catholic, his literary ability eminent. His best monument is Rush Medical College, in whose interest he labored so inde. fatigably; his noblest eulogy the precedents he estab- lished by his skill. Dr. Brainard died of cholera, on October .10, 1866, at the Sherman House, aged fifty- five.

C. Carli announced himself as an M. D., in the Dem- ocrat of August 16, 1837; Lucius G. Dole is specified as an "eye-doctor," in the 1839 directory, and ten years subsequently appears as a botanical physician. Dr. Charles V. Dyer cante to Chicago on the 23d of August, 1835, and was a candidate for State Representative the subsequent year, but was ineligible on account of the period of his residence not having embraced one year; he was elected Judge of Proba.e in 1837, and was com- missioned surgeon, City Guards, Sixtieth Regiment, on May 15, 1840. Dr. Dyer died in this city, April 24. 1878. Dr. Charles H. Duck is registered in Fergus's directory for 1829, and was for sometime afterward a practitioner here. Dr. James Anson Dunn opened an office in Sherman's brick block, nearly opposite the Tremont House on November 25, 1835; after his arriv- al here from Buffalo, N. Y. Dr. John Herbert Foster is specified in the 1839 directory; having come to this city after participation in the Black Hawk War; remain- ing here until his death on May 18, 1874, at the age of seventy-nine. Dr. N. Gunn received mention in the newspapers of March, 1836. Dr. S. 7. Haven was one of the disputants before the Chicago Lyceum, February 27, 1836, and was in partnership with Dr. J. C. Good- hue, February, 15, 1836. Under date of August 24. 1836, Dr. R. J. Harvey advertised the inauguration of his practice in Chicago. Reuben B. Heacock is desig- nated as a medical student with Dr. C. V. Dyer and Benjamin F. Hale, as a botanic physician in Fergus's directory for 1839. Dr. James R. Irvine, from l'hila- delphia, specifies that he has opened an office, first door south of the corner of Lake and Wells, in the American of December 3, 1836. The primary hydropathic prac- titioner, as a proprietor of vapor baths, is given in 1839 directory, being John J. Keenan. Dr. Richard Murphy appears in the 1839 directory and pursued literary lalors in this city for some time, but nothing is obtainable that identifies him with the medical profession here. The same work cites Dr. (Leonard) Proctor. This latter gentleman was married to Miss Frances Burbank, daughter of Henry Wolcott, and sister of Alexander Wolcott, county surveyor, by Rev. J. Harrington, January 7, 1841. Dr. John Mark Smith, brother of Hon. S. Lisle Smith, came to Chicago in the spring of 1837 and remained here until 1842. J. Oldham Sweetser, dentist, is ac- credited with a residence here in 1839; he advertised in the daily American during the year following. Prof. George C. Tew is designated as a phrenologist in the Fergus's directory; and appears to have been successful in his presentations of this science, as he was also here in 1844-45. Place is only given this follower of Gall and Spurzheim on account of his precedence in that branch of physiological science. Dr. Simeon Willard appears in the 1839 directory and advertised, July 13, 1840, in the Daily American. December 17, 1836, Dr. Joseph Walker, late physician of Philadelphia Hospital, advertised in the American; and on May 20, 1837,

. In Early Medical Chicago, Dr. Hyde states that he was informed by Dr. Joseph W. Freer that this case was one of enchondroma of the femur.

Dig zed by Google

291

MEDICAL HISTORY.

Walker and Brainard advertised that they would always keep fresh vaccine matter. The following are desig- nated as physicians in Fergus's directory for 1839; Dr J. T. Betts, Dr. S. B. Gay, Dr. Merrick, Dr. Moore, Dr. L. Post, Dr. William Russell and Dr. Wood.

How much, or how little, many of these pioneer practitioners were identified with the material progress of Chicago, or in what manner their individual talent accel- crated the growth of sciences is impossible to state. In cases where they became identified with any of the in- stitutions that were evidences of scientific advancement, their names as such integers appear. Dr. Lucius Ab- bott is stated to have married Mrs. Margaret Helm, at Chicago, in 1836. No account appears of his having practiced in this city until 1845, and in that year he is stated to have returned to Connecticut, and have died there.

A question arose in the course of the compilation of this history, whether it was just to those who were bond fide, qualified practitioners, to have mentioned with them those who may have been the veriest quacks ; but how is the citizen of Chicago of 1883 to decide ?

In the pioneer days of medical practice, when the possible patients were few, the duties devolvent upon physicians were onerous and detractive from proficiency in their profession. Unless possessed of a competency, it was requisite for them to win bread for the sustenance of themselves and families, to eke out the slender hon- oraria obtainable from the sparsely settled country by agriculture, speculation, or trade ; therefore, in some instances, it is not surprising that a physician's repute is greater because of achievement without the pale of medical science, than for his scientific diagnosis and practice consequent thereupon. It is certainly a moot question whether the enterprise of an individual in com- merce, or the display of scientific attainment in a pro- fession, most accelerates material progress in a city ; in the early medical inhabitants of Chicago, however, they were usually, perforce, united.

As the population increased and the ills to which man is heir augmented in proportion, there was a larger scope for the exclusive exercise of medical skill and consequent ability to exist upon the fees received for such practice ; thus, the practice which makes perfect was not alone attainable by the physician, but his mind being casier upon the subject of his means of subsistence he was enabled to devote more time to study ; he was not compelled to abandon the scalpel for the spade to fill the epigastric regions of his family.

The names of some of those who achieved distinc- tion are given, who were in Chicago anterior to 1845 ; the establishment of Rush Medical College, in 1844, forming a medical center from which the rays of achieve- ment were diffused. These ante-1844 physicians are James Van Zandt Blaney, H. H. Beardsley, Alfred W. Davisson, M. L. Knapp, John McLean, Matthew McIl- waine, C. A. F. Van Wattenwylle. Some other celebri- ties of the medical profession who have dwelt in Chi- cago during the epoch treated of in this volume are Nathan S. Davis, William B. Herrick, John Evans (sub- sequently Governor of Colorado), Graham N. Fitch, J. C. Dass (son of the celebrated Peter Dass, the Norwegian poet), H. A. Johnson, Brockholst McVickar, Joseph W. Freer, C. A. Helmuth, Erial McArthur, Edwin G. Meek, John E. and Patrick McGirr, Max Meyers, DeLaskie Miller, George Wallingford Wentworth, E. S. Carr, Will- iam H. Byford, John H. Rauch, Edwin Powell, Thomas Spencer, Edmund Andrews and others whose names occur in the recitals of various sub-topics in this chapter.

Joseph Warren Freer was born at Fort Ann, Wash-

ington Co., N. Y., July 10, 1816; removing to Chicago June 14, 1836, but shortly thereafter leaving the city to join his parents at Forked Creck, near Wilmington, Ill. About 1846 he returned to Chicago, and commenced the pursuit of medical knowledge under the anspices of Dr. Brainard; graduating in the class of 1848-49 of Rush Medical College, in which institution he subse- quently held several offices. Perhaps he did not originate much in surgery, but he suggested and prac- tised several things of value. He is entitled to priority in suggestion of the use of collodion in erysipelas, burns, etc. So, also, the first publication of the use of adhesive plaster in fractures of the clavicle, a form of treatment, the advantages of which are not even yet fully appreciated by the profession, is due to him. Dr. Freer died April 12, 1877.

George Wallingford Wentworth was the son of Hon. Paul and Lydia (Cogswell) Wentworth, and was born on the zd of November, 1820, at Sandwich, N. H., being the brother of Hon. John Wentworth, of this city. He was a matriculate of Dartmouth College in the years 1841 and 1842, but was compelled to relinquish his intention, in both instances, of proceeding with a collegiate course, and legal studies, on account of deli- cate health. In 1843 he came to Chicago and remained a year, during which time he performed some literary work for the Democrat; but his health remaining poor, he returned to the East and determined upon pursuing the study of medicine; and took courses of study at Concord, N. H., New York City and Philadelphia, be- coming an aluinnus of the latter city in 1847. Upon taking his degree, he returned to Chicago, and com- menced practice at an office upon the west bank of the river, near the western end of the present Randolph- street bridge. While the cholera prevailed in this city in 1849, the Alderman of the Sixth Ward resigned; and Dr. Wentworth's labors among the poor, and his faith- ful performance of the medical duties among those who required his professional services, so endeared him to the inhabitants of that ward that they unanimously re- quested him to fill the unexpired term of the resigned Alderman; and upon his consenting, he was elected therefor. At the ensuing election he was re-elected for the term of two years. In 1850 the cholera was again a visitant of this city, and during his efforts to amelior- ate the condition of the afflicted and to perform his aldermanic duties, he was himself taken with the dis- ease, and died at his office on Angust 14, 1850, after a sickness of only about ten hours. John Murphy, the landlord of the United States Hotel at which Dr. Went- worth boarded, called to see the Doctor about 7 A. M. and though himself in perfect health, was seized and died before Dr. Wentworth demised. Dr. Wentworth is al- leged to have been the first physician in Chicago who commenced the practice of his profession upon the west side of the river. The Chicago Medical Society held a meeting, whereat they passed a deserved eulogium up- on the character and services of Dr. Wentworth; especially testifying their esteem for his persistent and self-abnegating efforts to alleviate the sick and dis- tressed, particularly during the epidemic to which he had fallen a victim, and that such effort had rendered it a matter of justice that his memory should be gratefully cherished by the citizens of Chicago. The Mayor called a special mecting of the Common Council, which likewise passed resolutions of respect and condolence. The Medical Society, and the Common Council, attend- ed the funeral of Dr. Wentworth in a body, subsequent to which his remains were taken to the family burial place at Concord, N. H., for interment.

Digreed by Google

292

HISTORY OF COOK COUNTY.

Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney, of Hartford, Conn., com- posed the following poem upon his death:

Science duth mourn for thee. Who thus at opening day. Didst shroud thy manly head, and pass From her fair halls away.

Bul poverty and pain Lameni with deeper woe Their benefactor laid in dust, Where turf and wild flowers grow;

Lament his faithful care Their gushing tears that dried. And sought them in these dark abodes That few explored beside.

V'et beller thus beloved, Ere iadeil prime, 10 fall, Affections pearl-drops on thy brow, And o'er thy sable pall.

The medical colleges and hygienic institutions of Chicago bear mute, though substantial, testimony to the medical prowess of her doctors, as her many hos- pitals, infirmaries and charitable institutions do to their benevolence and love for their species. These are as much cvidences of their exerted endeavor, as the indi- vidual honor and fame that attaches to their names.

The early medical history may be accurately divided into three epochs : one, anterior to 1834, when individ- ual, isolated effort characterized the medical fraternity; the second, from 1835 to 1844, when the various indi- viduals commingled, established societies and medical sodalities ; and the third epoch, subsequent to the es- tablishment of Rush Medical College in 1844, when Chicago became a recognized center of medical instruc- tion, and the alumni of this institution dispersed through- out the country, carrying the impress of their alma matter with them.

But two additional items remain to be mentioned in this chapter : one the names of three dentists, two representative Chicago men, Dr. Aaron Gibbs, who came here about 1845; Dr. James Kennicott, who com- menced dental practice about 1848, and John C. Pride, a phenomenal dentist, who not alone extracted the of- fending molar or incisor, but gave instruction in vocal and piano music, thorough-bass, etc., in the year 1852. Also the name of John Webster deserves mention as the first hydropathic physician announcing himself as such in 1852 ; and W. Atkinson, in 1853, is the primal "confidential " physician.

EARLY DRIVERISTS .- The second item concerns those who provided the means, whereby the physicians were enabled to combat disease. The earliest pharma- ceutist of Chicago was Philo Carpenter, who arrived here in July. 1832, shortly thereafter opening a variety amal drug store on what is now known as Lake Street, near the eastern bank of the river; and subsequently removing to South Water Street. Early in 1833, Peter P'ruyne * and Edmund Stoughton Kimberly opened the second of Chicago's drug-stores. William Hull Clarke arrived in Chicago May 23, 1835, and opened a drug store with Abram F. Clarke. Under date of November 11, 1835, this firm advertised that they have opened a new drug store at the store formerly occupied by Kim- ball & Porter, corner of Water and Clark streets. This firm subsequently removed to 102 Lake Street ; dissolv. ing partnership March 1, 1841 ; W. H. entering into copartnership with Samuel C. Clarke, his brother, and remaining with him until about 1850. About 1855, W. II. Clarke became assistant engineer of the Chicago Board of Public Works, which position he retained until

. On August 76, 1833, Mr. Peter Pruyne married Rebecca, only daughter of Silas W. Sherman.

his death in August, 1878, Frederick Thomas, in the American of June 8, 1835, advertised .he proprietorship of the Chicago New Drug, Medical and Paint Store, on Water Street, two doors from the American office, near the drawbridge; and also advertiseil that he performedl "bleeding, leeching and tooth-drawing: " thus estab- lishing himself as Chicago's first barber-surgeon, Ja the American of January 16, 1836, under date of Janu- ary 11, Mr. Thomas announced a copartnership with Thomas Jenkins, at a new store on Lake Street, one door west of Clark ; for the sale of dry goods, grocer. ies, paints, drugs and medicines ; but the advertisement does not specify that the phlebotomical practice was maintained. On April 2, 1836, the partnership was dis- solved, Mr. Thomas retiring. The names of the other early druggists are given in Fergus's directory of 1839: Edward R. Allen and Leroy M. Boyce; Leroy M. Boyce continuing the business alone at 121 Lake Street, July 10, 1840, and subsequently at 113 Lake Street ; being succeeded, in 1851, by J. Sears, Jr., and E. R. Bay. Dr. E. Dewey, who advertised on July 1, 1840, as being at Apothecaries' Hall, Dearborn Street ; Nelson Bn- chanan, and Sidney Sawyer, who were in business for a number of years subsequent to 1839.

RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE.

The act of incorporation for this institution was drawn by Drs. Daniel Brainard and Josiah C. Good- hue ; was passed by the Legislature ; and approved by the Governor on March 2, 1837. The Chicago Amer-

FIRST RUSH MEDICAL. COLLEGE.

ican of March 25, 1837, commenting thereupon, states that "this act may be regarded as not the least of the favors which Chicago has received at the hands of the State. Being the first institution of the kind in Illinois, or indeed west of Cincinnati and Lexington, it must soon possess advantages of location which but few medical schools enjoy. With such a situation, if it re- ceive the fostering care of the public, cannot fail to be- come an ornament and an honor to our infant city. The benefits resulting from the establishment of literary and scientific institutions in a community are very great.

Dig zed by Google

293

MEDICAL HISTORY.

The name selected, "Rush Medical College," seems particularly appropriate. It is intended as an honor to the memory of Benjamin Rush, that eminent physician and illustrious patriot, whose name is so dear to every American.

The following are the names of the trustees: Hon. Theopholus W. Smith, Dr. J. C. Goodhue, Rev. Isaac T. Hinton, Dr. John T. Temple, James H. Collins, Dr. Edmund S. Kimberly, Justin Butterfield, Ebenezer Peck, John H. Kinzie, John Wright, Henry Moore,

D. Brennan,

William B. Ogden, John D. Caton. Grant Goodrich, E. D). Taylor, all of Chicago; Rev. Seth S. Whitman, of Belvidere ; Hon Thomas Ford, of Oregon City ; and the Governor, and the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, ex-officio members. In October, 1843, an organization was effected, and on the 24th of that month an announcement made that the first annual course of lectures would commence Decem- ber 4. 1843. and continue sixteen weeks. The faculty were : Daniel Brainard, M. D., professor of anatomy and surgery ; James V. Z. Blaney, M. D., professor of chemistry and materia medica : John McLean, M. D., professor of theory and practice of medicine; M. I .. Knapp, M. D., professor of obstetrics. The ticket fees are announced as 'sixty dollars; dissecting ticket, five dollars ; graduation fee, twenty dollars. The lectures were delivered in two small rooms situated on Clark Street. William Butterfield was the only graduate that year : an honorary degree being conferred upon Thomas P. Whipple and upon John McLean.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 72

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas Number of Pages: 875

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875