History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 34

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123

USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 34

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William H. Bainbridge was the son of P. W. and Catherine (Palmer) Bainbridge and was born in the state of Pennsylvania on June 5, 1829. He came to Indiana in 1848, locating at first in Rushville, but, in 1851, removed to Shelbyville, where he studied law with Judge Cyrus Wright. After complet-

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ing his studies, he removed to Brown county, Indiana, where he practiced his profession with success until 1866 when he came to Lawrenceburg. He served for five years as attorney for the city of Lawrenceburg and in 1884 was elected judge of the seventh judicial circuit, comprising Dearborn and Ohio counties. He was, after his term of office, in the active practice for a number of years, retiring to a farm near Morrow, Ohio, several years before his death, which occurred on December 20, 1913.

PRESENT BAR.

The attorneys now practicing before the courts of Dearborn county are, Willard M. Dean, Noah J. Givan, Martin J. Givan, Harry McMullen, Cassius McMullen, John H. Russe, Ira L. Miller, Charles J. Lang, J. H. Russe, Jr., Joseph C. Van Dolah, Estal G. Bielby, Thomas C. Carmichael, Thomas S. Cravens, Llewellyn E. Daviess, Nicholas Cornet, Morris W. McManaman, Charles A. Lowe, Edward L. Hayes, James H. Ewbank, George E. Tebbs, Everett McClure.

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

It is not an easy task to give an accurate history of the medical profes- sion in Dearborn county. In the pioneer days of the profession there was no organized society of medical men to record the doings of the early physicians. The pioneers in the profession were evidently men of high standing and well worthy of a place in history. It took a man'thoroughly imbued with the high calling of his profession to respond to the calls for help which, sometimes, took them on horseback rides for miles through the thick forest and at the risk of life from Indians or wild animals. The streams had to be forded and night did not deter them when duty demanded their presence.

EARLY MEDICAL PRACTICE.

Dr. Daniel Drake, one of the earliest physicians of Cincinnati, in 1852 delivered an address on "Early Medical Times" that tells the story, true to the facts, of the every-day life of the pioneer physician. He had been through that period as a practicing physician and at the time of delivering the address was old, being, not many years afterwards, gathered to his fathers. He said as follows: "Every physician was then a country practitioner, and often rode twelve or fifteen miles on bridle paths to some isolated cabin. Occasional rides of twenty miles, or even thirty miles, were performed on horseback, over roads which no kind of a carriage could travel on. The ordinary charge was twenty- five cents per mile, one-half being deducted and the other half paid in prov- ender for his horse or produce for his family. Those pioneer physicians were. moreover, their own bleeders and cuppers, and practiced dentistry not less, certainly, than physic; they charged a quarter of a dollar for extracting a single tooth, with an understood deduction if two or more were drawn at the same time. In plugging teeth, tin foil was used instead of gold leaf, which had the advantage of not showing so conspicuously. Still further, every phy- sician for the first twelve or fifteen years was his own apothecary, and ordered little importations of cheap and inferior medicines by the dry goods merchants once a year, taking care to move in the matter long before they were needed. From twenty-five to thirty days was the required time of transportation from Philadelphia to Brownsville, and as much more by river to Cincinnati. Thus,

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from four to five months were required for the importation of a medicine which, at this time, being ordered by telegraph and sent by express, may be received in two days, or a sixtieth part of the time. Thus science has length- ened seconds into minutes. The prices at which these medicines were sold dif- fered widely from those of the present day. Thus, an emetic, a Dovers pow- der, a dose of Glauber's salt, or a night draught of paregoric and antimonial wine (haustus anodynus, as it was learnedly called), was put at twenty-five cents; a vermifuge or blister at fifty cents; and an ounce of Peruvian .bark at seventy-five cents for pale, and one dollar for the best red or yellow. On the other hand, personal services were valued low. For a bleeding, twenty- five cents ; for a sitting up all night, one dollar, and for a visit, from twenty- five to fifty cents, according to circumstances or character of the patient.

"Many articles in common use then have, in a half century, been super- seded or fallen more or less into neglect. I can recollect balsam of sulphur, balsam of Peru, Glauber's salt, flowers of benzoin, Huxham's tincture, sper- maceti (for internal use), melapodium, flowers of zinc, ammoniaret of cop- per, dragon's blood, elemi, gamboge, bitter apple, nux vomica, and red, pale and yellow bark. On the other hand, we have gained since that day the va- rious salts of quinine and morphine, strychnine, creosote, iodine and its prep- arations, hydrocyanic acid, ergot, collodion, sulphate of magnesia and chlo- roform.

"Indeed, in a half century our materia medica has undergone a decided change, partly by the discovery of new articles and partly by the extraction of the active principles of the old. The physician often carried medicines in his pocket and dealt them out in the sick room; but the common practice was to return home, compound them and send them out. But few of you have seen the genuine old doctor's shop of the last century, or regaled your olfactory nerves in the mingled odors which, like incense to the god of physic, rose from brown paper bundles, bottles stopped with worm eaten corks, and open jars .of ointment, not a whit behind those of the apothecary in the days of Solo- mon. Yet such a place is very well for a student; however idle, he will be always absorbing a little medicine, especially if he sleeps beneath the greasy counter."

PHYSICIANS' FEES.

Doctor Drake delivered this address sixty-three years ago. It is now much farther behind the times of the physician of today than the early pioneer physician was behind the time in which Doctor Drake was talking. Early leg-

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islators were sometimes confused as to their duties. It is entirely possible that later ones, too, have their troubles. But in pioneer days there were no prec- edents and legislation; all had to be originated. Sometimes mistakes would be made. But the next Legislature would, if the law was bad, rectify it. The first Legislature after Indiana became a state undertook to regulate the compensation of physicians for professional services, and to prevent over- charging. An act, approved December 24, 1816, provides, "It shall not be lawful for any physician or surgeon to charge or to receive more than twelve and one-half cents per mile for every mile he shall travel in going to, and re- turning home from, the place of residence (for the time being) of his patient ; with an addition of one hundred per cent. for traveling in the night." In 1822 there was a State Medical Society and at its meeting held at Corydon, Decem- ber II, the following list of charges was recommended: Visit, 25 cents to $1 ; mileage, 25 cents ; vivisection, 25 cents to 50 cents ; pulverized Febr, 64 to 121/2 cents; emetics, 1272 to 25 cents; attendance through the day, $2.50 to $5; at- tendance at night, $5; obstetrics, $5; extracting tooth, 25 cents; reducing lux- ation, $5 to $10; amputation $20 to $50.

LEGAL REGULATION OF THE PRACTICE.

The early' legislators seemed to have a broad view of the scope and im- portance of the profession, for, in December, 1816, Governor Jennings ap- proved an act, of which section I reads as follows: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, that, for the purpose of regulating the practice of physic and surgery in this state, each circuit as laid off for hold- ing circuit courts shall compose one medical district, to be known as, first, sec- ond, third medical districts in the state of Indiana, according to the name of the circuit." It was further provided in this act that in each district there should be a board of medical censors, who were required to admit to mem- bership every physician or surgeon residing, or wishing to practice, in the dis- trict, who should, "on examination before them, give proof of their qualifica- tions to practice either profession and reasonable evidence of their moral char- acter." An act approved January 18, 1820, organized four medical districts and gave the State Medical Society authority to establish as many additional as it might deem expedient.

The State Medical Society was first organized in 1820. Their meetings were held at Corydon, which was then the capital of the state, but after 1826 the meetings were held in Indianapolis. The act of 1816, referred to, named as censors for the third district, Dr. Jabez Percival, Dr. D. F. Sackett. Dr. D. Oliver, Dr. John Howe, and Dr. Ezra Ferris. These censors were authorized

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to meet on the first Monday in June, 1817, at the house of Walter Armstrong, in the town of Lawrenceburg, where examinations would be held and licenses issued to those deserving. Doctor Sackett, one of the number appointed, lived at Salisbury. No evidence has been found, that we know of, to show that this board ever met to carry out the purpose for which it had been appointed. An attempt was made during the session of the General Assembly in 1820 to amend the defects of the previous law. The medical societies had never been legally organized, it was claimed, and the provisions of the law had not been such as to induce many of the men well qualified to become members to join, nor had it been sufficiently stringent to prevent persons not qualified from becoming members. The new act provided that district medical societies be composed of men of good moral character, residing in the district and who had been regularly licensed to practice medicine in the state, or had been reputable practitioners in the state for a period of two years next preceding the passage of the act, or who had graduated at any regular medical college in the United States.

EARLY EPIDEMICS.

In those early days the epidemics that came around and carried off many of the people were not so well understood as they are now. Many were in- clined to view them as special dispensations of divine providence, brought on a wicked world as a punishment for their sins; and that it was the part of the people to put up with it and be submissive. Those, however, who were willing to combat the epidemics with all the knowledge at their command, found themselves limited to much narrower scope than the physicians of the present day. Quarantines were not thought of at that time, and the causes for the spread of the disease were little known. Cholera was thought by many to be spread by some atmospheric disturbance. Others surmised it was in the food eaten and much caution was urged concerning eating melons and kindred articles. of food. The following is an extract from a paper read be- fore the State Medical Society in 1885 by Dr. George Sutton, of Aurora, one of the foremost medical men of his day and one of the closest students of epi- demic diseases of his time :

"The object of this paper is to put on record a brief review of the epi- demics that have prevailed in southeastern Indiana, or, more particularly, in Dearborn, Ripley and Ohio counties, during the last fifty years, and also to direct your attention to the changes which have taken place in our endemic malarial diseases. Of several of the epidemics we allude to, no notice has yet been published.

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"The first epidemic we direct your attention to was an epidemic of cholera in Dearborn county, which occurred in 1833. This was before I commenced the practice of medicine, but as the facts have never yet been published. and I have obtained them from a reliable source, and they are still remembered by many of our old citizens, I take the liberty of presenting them.

"A steamboat ascending the Ohio river in the month of May, 1833. landed near the mouth of Tanner's creek to bury one of the deck hands, who had died of cholera. Two men, one an old citizen of Dearborn county, by the name of Page Cheek, were fishing near the place where this boat landed. The officers of the boat, seeing these men, employed them to bury the body, which they did. All the next day, Cheek, who lived near the mouth of Wilson's creek, about a mile from Tanner's creek, plowed in the cornfield, apparently well, but during the night he was suddenly attacked with cholera and died after a short illness. His brother-in-law, Eli Green, went with his wife to the funeral. They resided near Hartford, about six miles from Cheek's residence. Within a week, both Green and his wife died with cholera, and in a few days after their deaths three of their children also died, making five deaths out of this family of seven persons. The disease spread through the neighborhood and soon appeared at Aurora, where a large number of deaths occurred. among the number some of the most prominent citizens. It is impossible to ascertain now the number of deaths which occurred, as no account of this epi- demic in Dearborn county was ever published. The disease was regarded at the time as being new, and the epidemic as being the most fatal that had ever visited this part of the country.

"In 1838, the Laughery valley was visited by a malignant form of ma- larial fever, different from anything I have ever seen, with the exception of a few sporadic cases. Intermittents were prevalent that autumn over the whole country, but along this valley we had a modification of remittent, with what we regarded at that time as congestive fever. The patient would be seized with a slight chill, followed almost immediately by profound coma or congestion of some organ, and very frequently died before a physician could be procured. In other cases, the chill was followed by fever, delirium and great irritability of the stomach. There was generally in such cases a re- mission, but no well-marked intermission. The skin and conjunctiva assumed in a few days a yellowish or jaundiced appearance. These cases we regarded at the time as bilious remittent fever, but we probably had every form and type of malarial fever in this locality, such as simple intermittent fever. remittent fever, bilious fever and pernicious or congestive fever in various forms. and

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I think I can safely say that every family residing along this valley for eight miles from the Ohio river was more or less unwell, and in many families all were bedfast.

"We have annually, at the present time, autumnal and intermittent fevers in various forms. but I never see now cases of pernicious congestive fever, or even bilious fever, similar to what we had at that period along the valley of Laughery. The country was then new, the land was exceedingly rich and there were extensive swamps and a dense forest, except around the log cabins of the inhabitants. Since then, the valley has been cleared. the swamps drained and the land cultivated, and the congestive fevers, which were occasionally seen fifty years ago, have disappeared. In the month of July, 1843, following notices in the Eastern newspapers, an epidemic of influenza made its appear- ance and within a few days a very large proportion of the inhabitants were afflicted with it. The disease itself, however, was seldom fatal, but it occa- sionally gave rise to other diseases which were attended with danger, and the origin of a number of cases of phthisis pulmonalis was attributed to this epi- demic.

"In 1848 we had a remarkable epidemic of scarlet fever. During the time I had been practicing medicine I had had considerable experience with scarlatina; the cases were generally mild, with a few exceptions. This year, however, we saw the disease in a new form. We heard of its prevalence in Switzerland county and were informed that a large number of children had died from the disease. It was supposed to have been brought to Aurora by the boy who carried the mail, as he had but recently recovered from an attack of scarlatina. Two children who resided in the same part of the town, but in different houses, were taken unwell on the same day. They both died within a short time of each other, and the disease spread through the city. It pre- sented a variety of symptoms. In some instances, the violence of the disease was concentrated upon the throat; in others, upon the brain, producing con- vulsions or coma; in other cases, the patient seemed to sink as if from a shock, and in still other cases there was violent gastro-enteric irritation-vomit- ing and purging, with but little rash.

"In the spring of 1849 cholera, which was prevailing as an epidemic in the United States, made its appearance in Aurora and assumed its most malig- nant form. For a time it was principally confined to a small section of our town, including the portion in which I resided, which was the most dry and elevated and regarded as the most healthy part of our city. In this section of the town there seemed to be an accumulation of infection, for more than half

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of the inhabitants died. I was suddenly attacked with the disease while at- tending patients in the night, and my whole family, one after another, was taken down. My eldest son died after only a few hours' illness, and my youngest child sank to what appeared to be the lowest stage of collapse from which a patient could recover. In watching the progress of this epidemic it appeared to me that cholera, like other diseases, presented a diversity of symp- toms, and that the diarrhoea that generally accompanies this disease, and at that time was regarded as only a premonitory symptom, was in reality a forın of cholera, which occasionally gave rise to the most malignant cases. Follow- ing the cholera, a malignant form of dysentery prevailed as an epidemic. As it appeared in some cases to be intimately associated with cholera, appearing among our rural population immediately after the introduction of well marked cases of cholera. I regarded it as one of the modifications of this disease. We have never had an epidemic of contagious malignant dysentery similar to what we had at that time, except during or immediately after the prevalence of cholera. It was many years after I commenced the practice of medicine be- fore I saw a case of cerebro-spinal meningitis. Now we occasionally have cases, and the disease is probably on the increase. The same may be said of diphtheria.

"In 1862 we had an epidemic of purpura, generally known by the name of spotted fever, in which there were a number of deaths. Some of the patients died within twenty-four hours from the first symptoms of the attack. Look- ing back then over a period of fifty years, we have seen in southeastern Indi- ana a number of epidemics, and have seen our malarial diseases assume dif- ferent forms and undergo very marked changes."

In the early days of the practice of medicine in Dearborn county calome! was a very popular remedy and the lancet was used unsparingly. A good physic was the first aid, and if the results were not satisfactory, bleeding was resorted to as the next remedy. Blistering and salivation also were in some cases thought to be very efficacious. It is probable that the amount of calomel given for a dose in those days would be thought very injurious in these mod- ern days.

OLD-TIME AILMENTS.

To support Doctor Sutton's claim that there has been a great change in the character of the diseases of the country, as the forest was cleared and the ground drained and cultivated, the advertisements of the druggists of pioneer days would indicate what was most called for and what the druggist expected

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to sell. A copy of the Lawrenceburg Palladium of Saturday, December 9, 1826, has no advertisements but legal ones. The Palladium announces that its editors are J. Spencer and D. V. Culley and that the paper is issued every Saturday morning. A copy of the Political Beacon of Wednesday, December II, 1839, has an advertisement by Lewis & Hobbs, headed "Fever-Ague- Life Medicines-Moffat's Pills and Phenie Bitters." The firm takes up a column of space telling of the virtues of these medicines as a remedy for fever and ague. Dr. Ezra Ferris, druggist, has "Eastman's Elixir," which the pub- lic is told is a great remedy for the same disease. Elsewhere in the same issue both firms have the same remedies advertised in several places. John Ferris also announces that he has Doctor Spohn's "Elixir of Health," that will cure chills and ague. In fact, one-third of the advertising space is de- voted to announcements of firms that have remedies for malarial diseases. The Beacon was published by Milton Gregg. The Indiana Register, pub- lished by George W. Lane and George D. Hebard, a copy of which, dated Friday, June 6, 1851, is at hand, has advertisements of "Blood Purifiers," to ward off chills and fever. Ferris, Mccullough & Company were the principal druggists at that date.

THE MAKING OF A DOCTOR.

Only a few of the practitioners of those days had received a medical edu- cation. Medical instruction was frequently secured from studying in the office of an older physician. At the conclusion of the tutorage the student would receive from his preceptor a certificate, stating just what had been accom- plished. During the course of study in the office of the preceptor, the student would be taught how to concoct a few remedies, and by going with his pre- ceptor to see his patients he would thus get a fair idea of how to treat the common diseases prevalent in that locality.

EARLY PHYSICIANS.

The first physicians to engage in the practice of medicine in Dearborn county was probably Dr. Jabez Percival. He was a soldier of the Revolution- ary War and was born in 1759 at New Amsterdam, New York. His early advantages are unknown, but he had practiced medicine in his native state be- fore coming west. He came to Lawrenceburg in 1801, and his practice ex- tended over a large scope of country. He was fortunate in possessing an iron constitution and a strong will. These sustained him in the great exposure

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and labor incident to the practice of medicine in that day. It is said of him that he never refused to attend a call, regardless of the financial condition of the patient or how far the ride. He possessed many peculiar traits of char- acter and was a man of abundance of courage, as well as endurance. It is said, as an illustration of his powers of endurance, that he was once thrown from a horse, which resulted in the dislocation of one of his hip joints. Persons gathered around with offers of assistance, which he refused, but climbed a fence nearby and mounted his horse and rode home. He was chosen as a magistrate at one time. A man in the vicinity, of great physical power, had broken the peace, and the constable whose duty it was to arrest the man was afraid on account of the reputation the man had. This did not suit the doctor and pseudo squire and he proceeded to make the arrest himself and, al- though, in the melee, he had his right arm broken, yet he succeeded in holding the culprit until the bystanders, encouraged by the doctor's success, came to his rescue and the man was secured. Another incident that illustrates his great courage was when some parties were endeavoring to kidnap some colored people with the intention of selling them into slavery. They had the kid- napped negroes confined on a boat and threatened to shoot anyone who would attempt to interfere. No one was willing to take the risk of attempting to res- cue them, but when Doctor Percival heard of it he entered the boat without resistance and took them from their claimants. While he was "squire," it is said he married couples in a way peculiarly his own. While he was engaged in driving a yoke of oxen, a gentleman and lady came up on horseback and informed the squire that they desired to be married. He asked to see the li- cense. Looking up, he inquired, "Do you promise to live together till death shall part you?" They answered, "Yes." "I pronounce you husband and wife, gee, Buck ; get-up." Dr. Percival died in 1841.

The most prominent physician of his day in Dearborn county was Dr. Ezra Ferris. He was deservedly prominent, for he was eminently a public- spirited citizen and active in all the affairs of the times-a minister of the Gos- pel, a law maker, a school teacher. a physician. In all the duties put upon him, he acquitted himself with honor to himself and credit to the constituents who had asked him to do service for them. Doctor Ferris was born in Stanwich, Connecticut. on April 26, 1783. His father, who was also a native of the vil- lage. determined, six years after the son was born, to emigrate to the West. The enterprise at that time was no small undertaking and it attracted consid- erable attention. Doctor Ferris, although then only six years of age, always retained a distinct remembrance of the event. On September 20, 1789, the

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History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 34

Author: Archibald Shaw Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1123

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123