USA > Indiana > A Medical History of the State of Indiana > Part 6
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CHAPTER IX.
THE CENTRAL MEDICAL COLLEGE .- BOBBS FREE DISPENSARY .- INDIANAPOLIS CITY HOS- PITAL .- MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
Dr. Thad M. Stevens, who was formerly sec- retary of the State Board of Health, has contrib- uted to the Transactions of the State Society, 1874, p. 17, historical matter of sufficient interest to be used in this paper. He says:
"In the fall of 1849 Central Medical College, located at Indianapolis, Ind., held its opening ex- ercises. This school was a branch of the Asbury University, of Greencastle, Ind., the trustees of which acted in the same capacity to the college. The professors who were elected to the various chairs were: John S. Bobbs, Indianapolis, anat- omy; Dr. Baker, Cincinnati, surgery; L. Dun- lap, M.D., Indianapolis, theory and practice; Charles G. Downey, Greencastle, chemistry ; James Harrison, Indianapolis, materia medica and therapeutics.
"In the summer of 1850 the Medical School of Laporte, Ind., having suspended, two who were engaged in teaching there were elected to chairs in the Indiana Central - Dr. Deming to the newly-formed chair of institutes of medicine and general pathology, and Dr. Meeker to fill the chair of anatomy, Professor Baker having re- signed the chair of surgery, and Professor Bobbs having been elected thereto.
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"The last sessions of this school were held in 1851-2, at which time, in the wisdom of the trus- tees of the parent institution, an attempt was made to reorganize according to some pet scheme, but the school was exploded and went to pieces. From that time until the fall of 1869 a hiatus existed, wherein were no medical schools, or, in- deed, any institutions, even in a remote degree, connected with medicine.
"In the spring of 1869 the Academy of Med- icine, through the influence and suggestions of a few, took steps to organize an independent. medical school. A committee was appointed, who formed chairs and selected members to fill the same. The academy adopted the report of this committee.
"The following were the gentlemen selected to fill the various chairs: J. S. Bobbs, M.D., prin- ciples of surgery; J. A. Comingor, M.D., ortho- pedic surgery and surgical pathology; R. N. Todd, practice of medicine; T. B. Harvey, M.D., diseases of women and children; W. B. Fletcher, M.D., physiology; R. T. Brown, chemistry ; Dougan Clark, M.D., materia medica; G. W. Mears, M.D., obstetrics; L. D. Waterman, M.D., anatomy.
"During this term the college met with a great loss in the death of Prof. J. S. Bobbs, M.D., who, without disparagement of any of his associates, . it can be said, was the real originator and main- tainer of the institution.
"The faculty was reorganized during the sum- mer of 1870, J. A. Comingor taking the chair of surgery, a consolidation of his former chair
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and that left vacant by the death of Dr. Bobbs, while a new chair of medical jurisprudence, tox- icology and analytic chemistry was formed, with Thad. M. Stevens, M.D., as occupant.
"In 1871, by mutual agreement, the school be- came a branch of the State University, of Bloom- ington, having, however, the control of its in- ternal affairs vested in its own faculty.
BOBBS' FREE DISPENSARY
"Up to 1870 there was nothing in the shape, or having a purpose similar to, a medical dis- pensary in Indianapolis, with exception of one or two private establishments that took the name for the purpose of deception, and thereby making money, from the circulars of imposters, which were issued lauding their nostrums. A gift to the poor of the city, from Dr. J. S. Bobbs, who died in the spring of 1870, was made the nucleus for the establishment of Bobbs' Free Dispensary, its board of directors to be the faculty of the medical college, having a superintendent, resident physician and druggist.
INDIANAPOLIS CITY HOSPITAL.
"As to hospitals, the city for a long time pos- sessed nothing of the kind. Indeed, no attempts were made to establish one until 1858. At this time an attempt, successful in a small degree, was made by the late L. Dunlap, M.D., then a member of the City Council, to have the city build a City Hospital. A beginning was made, a small building finished, and then all dropped, stillborn. The wind soon whistled through the
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broken panes of glass, and the frost and rain in turn covered the floors. No sick ever knocked at the weather-beaten door for admittance, and, therefore, no provision was made for their recep- tion. This continued until the war commenced. New life surged into the old walks; energy ap- peared where apathy reigned. The building was enclosed, equipped and filled with sick and wounded, and became one of the many hospital centers of the city. After the war had ceased and the military authorities were done with it, decay and silence again claimed it as their own; the roving swine and cattle passed to and fro through is dismantled gates, and it became an eyesore to the city. It was not until the demand of the physicians of the city arose to a clamor that the City Council promised to aid in furnish- ing and equipping it in the interest of the city's poor. This step was finally taken by them in 1867, since which time its wards have been filled by those deserving such attention.
"Bobbs' Medical Library was the result of a gift of $5,000, bequeathed by the late Prof. J. S. Bobbs, M.D., to the Indiana Medical College, whose trustees relinguished their right to the same, and by mutual agreement with Mrs. J. S. Bobbs, the executrix of the doctor's estate, it was given to a board of directors who were to estab- lish a library bearing the above title. Said board was composed as follows: G. W. Mears, M.D., T. B. Harvey, M.D., J. A. Comingor, M.D., Wm. B. Fletcher, M.D., Thad. M. Stevens, M.D., R. N. Todd, M.D., Simon Yandes, Esq.
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"This board held its first meeting for the pur- pose of organization March, 1873, when the fol- lowing officers were elected : G. W. Mears, M.D., president; T. B. Harvey, M.D., vice-president; J. A. Comingor, secretary; Thad. M. Stevens, M.D. librarian and treasurer.
MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
"In 1845 or 1846 the physicians of Indianap- olis organized what was called the Marion Coun- ty Medical Society, the first local medical or- ganization had in this city. We do not know all the membership. Drs. Sanders, Mears, Bobbs, Jameson, Dunlap, Gall, Bullard, Parry, Gaston and Andrew Hunt were among the first; after- ward Woodburn, Thompson, Funkhouser and others were added. Various physicians through- out the county of Marion also belonged. This society had for its officers Dr. Sanders, presi- dent; Dr. Bobbs and Dr. Hunt, secretary and assistant, Dr. Mears was the second president."*
* Dr. Stevens commits several errors in the above para- graph. The Society was not organized "in 1845 of 1846," but in 1848. It was not called the "Marion County Medical Society," but was named "The Indianapolis Medical Society." Since the above appeared in the Journal, my friend, Dr. Allen Pierson, of Spencer, has sent me a copy of the By-laws and Constitution of the Society. The title page reads as follows : "Constitution and By-laws of the Indianapolis Medical Society, adopted Feb. 26, 1848." The officers for that year were : President, John H. Sanders ; Vice-Pres., Livingston Dunlap ; Sec'y., John S. Bobbs ; Cor. Sec'y., Talbott Bullard ; Treas., John L. Mothershead ; Censors, George W. Mears. Charles Parry and Livingston Dunlap. Members : David Funkhouser, John Nutt, H. V. V. Johnson, John Pleasants, James S. Harrison, John Evans, A. D. Gall, William R. Smith, R. G. Graydon, John M. Gaston, A. G. Ruddell, Isaac Meranda and William Clinton Thompson. This is the society that issued the call for a State Medical Convention in 1849 .- G. W. H. K.
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NOTE .- In the Transactions for 1874, Dr. Alfred Patton, of Vincennes, states that the first medical society organized in Vincennes was under a charter granted by the State Legislature in the year 1835, page 10. Dr. Ezra Read, of Terre Haute, says this society was organized in 1817, page 59. Dr. Patton later acknowledged that he was mistaken and admitted that Dr. Read was correct. See Transactions for 1875, page 82 .- G. W. II. K.
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CHAPTER X.
EARLY MEDICAL HISTORY OF RUSH COUNTY .- DR. H. G. SEXTON .- DR. J. M. HOWLAND. DR. WILLIAM B. FRAME .- FIFTH MEDICAL DISTRICT SOCIETY .- DR. W. H. MARTIN.
In the Transactions for 1874, beginning at page 63, Drs. W. A. Pugh, Marshall Sexton and John Moffett have furnished biographies of sev- eral of the early physicians of Rush County and adjoining localities. They are of sufficient his- torical interest for a reproduction at this place. Dr. Pugh writes :
"The first pioneer physician in southeastern Indiana of whom we have any direct knowledge is Dr. Wm. B. Laughlin, who was born in Wash- ington County, Pennsylvania. He finished his classical education and graduated at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa., after his third son was large enough to accompany him to the college on horseback. After his collegiate course he en- tered upon the study of medicine, on completion of which he removed to Kentucky and entered the active duties of his profession. In 1815, three years after his location in Kentucky, he again emigrated to the Northwest Territory, settling in Brookville, Franklin County, Indi- ana. During his sojourn at this place, besides attending to the medical wants of the then sparsely settled wilderness, he entered the em-
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ploy of the government as surveyor for four or five years. He assisted in the survey of nine congressional townships around Indianapolis, eight around Noblesville, eight around Muncie, and eight around Anderson. While a citizen of Brookville he was elected circuit judge, and served in that capacity for a number of years. After the formation of Franklin County, he was elected to the state legislature and was on the committee which laid off the counties of the 'new purchase,' the body at that time holding its sessions in Corydon, Ind. He started the first classical school in eastern Indiana, at Brook- ville, on his own responsibility, and had the honor of turning out of its walls three governors of the state, viz. : Noble, Wallace, and Ray. Many of the prominent lawyers of that day also were his pupils-O. H. Smith, James Rariden, etc. In the year 1820 he came into Rush County and laid off and located the town of Rushville, nam- ing the county and town after old Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, with whom he was on intimate terms of friendship. He and Dr. Sexton formed a partnership in medicine about the year 1822 for a term of years. I think he was without doubt the first physician worthy of the name who pitched his tent in this part of Indiana. He erected at his own expense a seminary in the young town and taught in it a select school, giv- ing instruction in the ancient languages and higher mathematics.
"Dr. Laughlin was a man of versatile talent, and was endowed by Nature with indomitable energy and perseverance. He was a man of true
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metal. In addition to his scholastic attainments, he was faithful to obey the injunction, 'Be ye fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth.' He was the honored father of eighteen children by one wife. He was a man of piety, and was one of six to establish the Presbyterian Church at Rushville, Ind., in 1825. It may be said of Dr. Laughlin that it was to his standing and influ- ence that the science of medicine was put upon a broad and a high basis in the new state in which he settled and with whose early history he was so closely identified. Died in 1836, aged 66 years."
H. G. SEXTON.
"Prominent among the physicians of that early day was my old friend and preceptor, Dr. H. G. Sexton. He was present at the birth of the wri- ter of these sketches, and through childhood, youth and manhood was his adviser and instruc- tor; for many years a member of his Sunday school class; afterward a correspondent through college life and an instructor in my profession, it was my privilege, as it was my pleasure, to know much of his character.
"Dr. Sexton was the pupil of the late Dr. Cruikshank, of Harrison, Ohio; was a New Eng- lander by birth, and came west when he was quite a young man, in the capacity of a teacher, to hew out his own fortunes. About the year 1820 he went to the little village of Springboro, in Warren County, Ohio, to commence the prac- tice of medicine, his stock in trade being an old and sparsely filled pair of pill bags, an Indian .
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pony, and 50 cents in money. On arriving at the place, he put up at an inn kept by Job Pugh. He honestly told the landlord who he was, what was his business, and the financial situation; he had to eat and he had to sleep, and if he could stay with him on these statements he would like to do so. The old Quaker, with his kindly wife, Sarah, admitted him to their household. That same old Quaker had a comely and benign-look- ing sister, Hannah, and it was not long before she had won the heart and affections of the young doctor, and not many months before they were united in wedlock. This was the most im- portant, as it was the happiest, event in his life, for in her he secured one of the most amiable, even-tempered and lovable women that ever a man led to Hymen's altar, and much of the Doctor's success, in after life, must be attributed to the self-sacrificing, self-denying and patient qualities of his wife.
"About the year 1822 Dr. Sexton, with two of the brothers Pugh and their families, re- moved to Rushville, Ind. The town was just laid out. The county was one vast slush of mud and swamps. The land was densely covered with heavy timber, with an undergrowth of spice-wood, hickory and hazel bushes. There were no roads but those which had been rudely cut out of the underbrush, and no guide-boards but the blazes upon the trees. Here he pitched his ent, and there he labored and worked until the day of his death, in June, 1865. No man was more devoted to his profession, in all its interests, than Dr. Sexton; to it all other things
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must bend and all other circumstances must yield. He was possessed of a vast fund of ex- perience, having been in active practice for more than forty years, and it being his delight to talk about his professional experience, made him one of the most companionable of men to his pro- fessional confrères. In the department of ob- stetrics he was particularly rich in experience of facts and practical results. It was his fortune to enjoy a larger experience in this field of his profession than any man of his day in southeast- ern Indiana, and as a consequence he excelled in the midwifery art.
"During the early years of his life his prac- tice extended out from his home in a radius of twenty miles, which, of course, made his busi- ness laborious, requiring great industry, endur- ance and perseverance to undergo the work. These industrious habits formed in his youth followed him through life. Unlike many pro- fessional men who have gained reputation and wealth, he grew more studious and up to within a few weeks of his death he might have been seen busily employed at his professional duties. His age did not in the least lessen his industry. I have often heard him say, 'I can not live and do nothing.' No man had more professional friends than he, and no man was more jealous of his professional honor. He had no patience with any other than a manly, dignified and straight-forward course in professional life. He was possessed of a vast fund of anecdotes, inci- dents and amusing circumstances, which had transpired all along the pathway of his profes-
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sional career, and upon proper occasions would relate them with much gleesome humor. Seem- ingly cool and free from impulse or sentiment, he was a man of deep feeling and tender affec- tions; benevolent in a quiet way, which was largely expended in his attention upon the poor whom he considered worthy of help. For a period of 45 years he was an integral part of the community in which he lived. As a citizen, he was on the side of progress. All public enter- prises had his sanction, support and influence. He joined the Presbyterian Church at Rushville, Ind., the next day after it was organized, in 1825, and was, throughout his life, one of its mainstays and supports; was a devoted and faithful Sunday school teacher, rarely absent from his post during a period of 30 years. In June, 1865, he was gathered home as a shock of corn fully ripe. He left the record of a well- spent life; an example of industry and devotion to the place he chose to fill in his worldly pil- grimage."
J. M. HOWLAND. (By M. Sexton, M.D., Rushville, Ind.)
"Dr. Howland was a native of Baltimore, Md. Born Dec. 22, 1792, and died in Brookville, Ind., Jan. 11, 1858. He received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Maryland in 1819, and practiced his profession for two years in the Shenandoah Valley, Vir- ginia, when ample opportunities were afforded for the study of the various forms of malarial disease. From this time until his removal to Indiana in 1833, he was engaged in the active
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pursuit of his profession in the city of Balti- more. During this period the cholera made its first visit to that city. In this epidemic, Dr. Howland acquired quite a reputation for its suc- cessful treatment in private practice, and also as physician in charge of a cholera hospital im- provised for the occasion.
"Dr. Howland was a gentleman of culture, and in his native city acquired distinction as a writer as well as physician. He was a frequent contributor to the religious publications of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as well as an able advocate with his tongue and pen of every great moral enterprise. He became somewhat noted for his advocacy, also, of various public im- provements, and after his removal west made a strong impression, wherever he was heard, by his accurate knowledge and earnestness on the sub- ject of railroads. During the years 1834 and 1835 he sustained himself nobly in favor of rail- roads against canals.
"Dr. Howland was for many years in the habit of occasional preaching. As a public orator he was remarkable for his logical force, and the sys- tematic presentation of facts, relying but little upon the imagination with which to take the fancy of his hearing 'prisoners.'
"From the midst of a host of professional friends, and while occupying an enviable posi- tion as a leading physician in a great maritime city, a leader in its polemics and a molder of its inorals, he looked eagerly to the west for a field in which to attain greater usefulness and, of course, distinction.
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"Removing west in 1833, he first took 'regular work' as a minister of the gospel. It was in the capacity of a physician that we first knew him. He brought to bear in the practice of medicine the same qualities of mind which distinguished him as a writer and speaker. Quick powers of observation, a thorough analysis of his cases, with a careful interpretation of their symptoms, made him precise and thorough as a diagnosti- cian. He never guessed. He reached conclu- sions in medicine by as thorough a process of reasoning as could be brought to bear in deter- mining a proposition in mathematics; hence he seldom made mistakes. His very precision and studied, careful manner, with the full, dignified bearing, which conscious ability inspires, did not serve to make him popular with the people. He was an earnest advocate of the highest code of medical morals, and scorned to resort to tricks by which less able men attained popularity and wealth. 'While the qualities of his mind and manners, as we have stated, did not make him popular, they were the very qualities which made him eminent among his fellow. His counsel was sought for, and his advice followed by the younger members of his profession, as that of an oracle. He died greatly beloved and respected by those who appreciated him, leaving behind him descendants eminent in the field of letters and law."
WM. B. FRAME.
"Among the early medical men of eastern In- diana, Dr. Frame stood deservedly high. En- dowed with great natural ability, he had the ad-
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vantage of many of his confrères in a thorough classical education. A native of Norfolk, Va., he removed in his youth to Lexington, Ky .; studied his profession with Dr. Toliver, of Paris, Ky., afterward of Cincinnati; attended lectures and took his medical degree at Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky. Dr. Frame, in 1827, selected Rushville, Ind., as his future home, finding in our large Kentucky population con- genial associations, which lasted through life. He immediately entered upon a lucrative prac- tice. To his native talents and finished educa- tion he also added great energy. With such ele- ments, success was assured from the first. He married in 1832, thus adding another tie to the bonds which held him to the people of the county. Dr. Frame, unfortunately, was not endowed with a physical constitution proportionate to his men- tal ability. The rigors of the climate often over- powered him and he would be prostrated with diseases, the unavoidable result of exposure in his practice.
"By reason of the early advantages possessed ·by Dr. Frame, as was stated, his success was as- sured from the beginning, and he at once as- sumed a high position as a medical man, which he maintained until his death, in 1849. As he was Virginian born and Kentucky bred, he had a full share of that pride of character which ac- companies good blood and good breeding. He was, as might be expected, a strict, conscientious man in professional morals, living himself up to the highest letter of the code. He demanded and commanded that respect from others which he
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generously extended to all honorable men in the same profession. Though dead now many years, his name is fresh in the memories of his asso- ciates and a large circle of patrons and friends."
FIFTH MEDICAL DISTRICT SOCIETY.
"The first medical society in the eastern part of Indiana was known as the Fifth Medical district Society. This was organized under the law of the state, we believe, which pro- vided for societies throughout the state, in num- bers equal to the congressional districts, perhaps, and with the same territory. To these societies was granted the privileges of issuing licenses, etc., though no law gave their membership any exclusive right to practice medicine. No record of the Fifth Medical District Society is known to be in existence, and but few of the original members survive. In the list of this membership we recollect as familiar names Drs. Moffatt and Brown of Connersville, Dr. Everett of Union County, Dr. Hamon of Burkville, Dr. Helm of Rush County, Drs. William B. Laughlin, H. G. Sexton and Wm. B. Frame of Rushville. These are but a few of the early pioneer physicians.
"This society lived for several years, holding semi-annual sessions of two days each, exerting a vast deal of good influence in the enlighten- ment of its members, and wielding a great power in the community for the prevention of irregular medicine. We do not hesitate to attribute to the early teaching and example of these pioneer physicians much of the respect and confidence
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with which the profession in this part of Indiana meets at the present day. Regular medicine had then to compete with the Thompsonian system, and, under the fostering care of the men named, grew steadily in the esteem of the people, while the high-pressure doctors were compelled to seek unoccupied fields farther west. As might be ex- pected, forty years ago the profession was not filled with learned men, i. e., men familiar with all the teachings of the schools, but earnest, ob- servant men, fruitful in expedient, and, from necessity in many cases, self-restraint, they founded a corps of practitioners entitled, for their wonderful success under adverse circumstances, to our profound respect. This society grew so strong with the people that a connection with it was necessary to the success of a stranger who came asking support as a physician, and to this day it is expected by this community that their physicians shall be members of a 'healthy medi- cal organization.' As before said, we attribute this healthy public opinion to the impressions made by our pioneer society and pioneer physi- cians of 40 and 50 years ago. We regret that we have no fuller data from which to speak of this association and its membership. It ceased to exist, from causes not now known, about 1838. "The second medical society in which we feel any immediate interest was instituted in Rush- ville, Ind., as a county society in 1847 or '48. It included in its organization Drs. Frame, Mar- tin, H. G. Sexton, M. Sexton, Jeff. Helm, J. M. Howland, Wm. Braden, Clifford, E. T. Russell,
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