USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume I pt 2 > Part 3
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This was the famous first meeting and it is fitting that those that con- vened should be remembered. Among them were differences, no doubt, upon political questions, radical and heartburning, for we find that such men as Whiting and Sergeant were, in relation to the attitude of the peo- ple in the Shays rebellion, in direct hostility. So that at the second meeting, in May, 1787. there were but seven present. They probably had a short meeting, perhaps not felicitous, for the record runs, " Whereas. the tumults of the times are so great as almost to prevent a meeting, etc." Only in February 26th of that year Stockbridge had been pillaged at pleasure and a great number of inhabitants made prisoners.
At the third meeting, June 12th. 1787, at the house of " Mr. Bingham in Stockbridge, 10 o ye clock A. M.," there were convened fourteen phy- sicians. Among them were two who became famous in the medical his- tory of the county. And we give a sketch of them.
Dr. Timothy Childs was one of the leading patriots of Pittsfield in the Revolution. His father was Capt. Timothy Childs, who led a company of minute men from Deerfield, when news of the battle of Lexington was received, at the same time that Dr. Timothy was marching with a similar corps from Pittsfield. Dr. Childs was born at Deerfield in 1748. entered Harvard in 1764, but did not graduate. He studied medicine in his native town, with Dr. Thomas Williams, and established himself in practice in Pittsfield in 1771. This young physician was a valuable accession to the whigs : he soon won popularity and influence, proved himself an effective speaker, and by his rich qualities of mind and heart, as well as by the . contagion of his youthful zeal. gave a new impetus to the cause of inde- pendence which he espoused. In 1774, August 13th. he and John Strong
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drew up the petition of the inhabitants of Pittsfield to the "Hon'l Old Court not to transact any business this term," which, not admitting re- fusal, reacted in the permanent suppression of the courts of law under royal commission in Berkshire. In the spring of 1774 he asked permis- sion to " set up inoculation in Pittsfield." The town meeting of 1775 de- nied him permission, but it was granted in 1776, with hesitancy and embarrassing conditions. This circumstance speaks highly for the bold- ness and push of this young doctor. Since the first inoculating hospitals in the State were opened in 1764 in the vicinity of Boston, and in 1776 William Aspinwall and Samuel Hayward prepared at Brookline-proba- bly on account of the appearance of small-pox in Cambridge in 1775 -- for private inoculation, it required high courage and strong convic- tion thus early in the county to face the danger and unpopularity of this measure. In the winter of 1774-5 he was one of the committee of inspec- tion and correspondence. Dr. Childs first marched, as one of its lieuten- ants, in a company of minute men composed of the flower of Pittsfield and Richmond, April 22d, 1774, but was soon detailed as surgeon. He was afterward appointed regimental surgeon, with Dr. Jonathan Lee of Pittsfield, who was afterward surgeon, as his assistant. In 1792 a com- mittee was appointed to see if Dr. Childs might safely be permitted to build a medicine store on the west side of the meeting house, and their report was that he might " safely be permitted " to do so. In the war of 1812 he was appointed visiting physician to the prisoners in Pittsfield and Cheshire, and the marshal of Massachusetts, writing to him, says, " That your services have been constant, arduous, and successful, was to be ex- pected from your well known character for patriotism, zeal, and profes- sional skill, and it was from these considerations that when I proposed the appointment I felt peculiarly gratified that you signified your ac- ceptance."
Dr. Asahel Wright, of Windsor, was born February 26th, 1757. He first married Mary Worthington, by whom he had ten children. His two eldest sons were educated at Williams College. Five of them. Orrin, Erastus, Uriel, Clark, and Julius, were physicians ; one, Worthington, a D.D., one, Asahel, an LL.D., one, Philo, a farmer. Asa Wright, his father, was an architect, and accompanied Rev. Mr. Wheelock from Leb- anon to Hanover, N. H., where he superintended the erection of Dart- mouth College buildings. Asahel, his son, entered Dartmouth College, remaining through the junior year, but the death of his father necessitated his leaving. He then studied medicine, afterward served as surgeon in the navy of the Revolution. He then settled in Windsor about 1781, and practiced, not only in Windsor, but in Dalton, Peru, Hinsdale, and other towns till Dr. Kittredge settled in Hinsdale. Mrs. Herrick, his daughter, writes : " My father was a man of remarkable energy and fine health. I have heard him speak of riding to these places on horseback, guided by marked trees." Ile freely gave his services to the poor, was a regn- lar attendant upon Sabbath worship, and a supporter of the gospel. le
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was genial, enjoying jokes, dealing them out to his patients when he thought they needed no medicine. Highly respected and beloved, and eminently useful. he spent a long life honorably, and died February 16th, 1834.
Dr. John Wright and Dr. Benjamin Smith were at the third meeting, the first from Dalton. the second from New Marlboro; but I have no his- tory of them.
In estimating the character, work, and worth of these men we must take into consideration the times in which they acted. And just here it is surprising that June. 1787, witnessed the gathering of fourteen earnest men. " for the purpose of promoting medical knowledge, communicating extraordinary cases, and cultivating union of sentiment and a friendly social intercourse between each other." and to this end they " do mutually agree to form ourseves into a county association." They had just passed through a terrible period of war which taxed the patience and energy of the people to the utmost limit. There was great impoverishment on every hand. The medical schools of the country were broken up. There were no medical communications. And add to this Shays rebellion, which ploughed the social fabric of old Berkshire with such terriffic en- ergy that churches and families were divided, and the hands of neighbors raised in fury against each other, it will be seen what an undertaking this was. It would be a very interesting and instructive history if we could know what they communicated to each other. They were not all agreed upon the action of calomel. They did not all agree upon the dis- eases in which bleeding should be practiced. No doubt some were skep- tical in relation to the use of bark and wine. Some followed Cullen, others Rush, and some went back to the teachings of Sydenham. But no doubt they all listened with serious attention to the calm, dispassion- ate, and truthful oration of Dr. Lewis, " And it is my earnest wish and serious advice that we may in all things and in all circumstances conduct with coolness, deliberation, and candor ; that we may remember that we are acting on a conspicuous theater, to the end that we may respect our- selves, conduct agreeable to our rank in life, and avoid everything de- grading or unbecoming our character or the good of society. Thus en- nobling ourselves while employed in the most important services of society, we shall live and act with reputation and honor, and shall finally quit the stage with the highest complacency and self satisfaction. as conscious of the rectitude and dignity of our actions and pursuits." . When we consider also the license and intemperance of the times, that even associations of ministers were always accustomed to deliberate with flip and pipe, that free drink in all deliberative bodies was the rule and not the exception, we shall estimate this body of men, who lived in earnest and came to honored graves, at a higher rate than usual. as " men of coolness and self control." They were so eager for the good of the profession that they desired to force every physician into the compact : hence, and undoubtedly very much through the influence of Dr. Lewis'
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oration, they adopted rule 6: " All persons residing within the limits of this county and pretending to practice physic, and shall refuse after due notification to become a member by attending the meeting and subscrib- ing the rules. he shall be treated with entire neglect by all that are mem- bers, in respect to medical matters." This we are disposed to call harsh and overbearing, still we must bear in mind the zeal which these persons felt for the disenthrallment and elevation of the practice of medicine.
And their tenderness, as well as strength and ruggedness of charac- ter. is manifest in their Rule 8: " All decent familiarity be allowed in said meetings in conversing on physical subjects, and no inadvertence or misapprehension of any matter thro' inattention be made a subject of ridicule, but shall be corrected with that lenity as becometh friends." Human nature is pretty much the same everywhere and always, and it is pretty certain from this rule that there were talkers in that society who sometimes slopped over. Of those present, even then. Dr. Benjamin Smith did not sign. So he was treated with entire neglect, for his name ap- pears no more.
Dr. Jonathan Lee, Pittsfield, and Ephraim Darwin, jr., at the meet- ing in January, 1788, became members, and Elijah Catlin, who after- ward settled in New Marlboro, and died June 5th, 1823, aged sixty-one : and Reuben Buckman, who also settled in New Marlboro and Sandisfield, of whom G. W. Sheppard writes, "He was eccentric, not very popular. and practice limited " : and Jacob Hoit, of whom I find no further men- tion, were granted certificates by the censors as physicians. They voted to meet in June in Stockbridge, but the rebellion proceeding with such rapidity to a crisis, a final period was put to the above-mentioned associ- ation. And the period was seven years, and then came upon the stage some new men whom it will be well to know.
Dr. Joseph Waldo. a physician of skill and respectability, moved into Richmond in 1794, and practiced for a few years, but Dr. Burg hardt, who had four years the start of him in occupying the field. left little ground for Dr. Waldo's success. He accordingly transferred his labors and hopes to one of the new and promising towns in western New York, where, prospered and respected, he filled out the measure of prac- tice until the infirmities of a good old age forbade his further labors.
Dr. Eliphalet Colt was one of the first physicians of Otis. He came from Harwinton, Conn., in 1794, and settled in that part of Otis known as Loudon.
Dr Elnathan Pratt. No history.
Dr Hugo Burghardt, a native of Great Barrington, was born in 1771. He was a graduate of Vale College, studied medicine with Dr. Sergeant. of Stockbridge, commenced practice in Richmond in 1795, and continued the beloved physician till 1820, when declining health obliged him to re- linguish general practice, though called after that in council in obstinate cases. His practice extended to other towns, where he often had the charge of acute cases. Confidence in his skill extended as far as his
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name was known. He educated many students, who went from his office as their Alma Mater, many of whom distinguished themselves in medicine in different sections of the country. In person he was a speci- men of the noblest productions of nature-tall, with a well proportioned physical organization. Erect and graceful in his movements. he won the notice and admiration of all. Affable in his manners, his geniality threw a halo around his path, and made him a most welcome visitor to scenes of suffering and sorrow. In discussion he was strictly logical. clear and convincing. As a citizen he regarded the interests of the com- munity as his own. and gave his influence strongly in their behalf. Those whose memories treasure facts that transpired seventy-three years ago will recollect that the war of 1812 drew political lines so strong that brother was often at implacable war with brother, and it was not un- usual for men's strong and most vindictive foes to be of their own family. Dr. Burghardt took an active part in this war of feeling, and the pecuniary sacrifices he made to sustain and give ascendency to his party were his pecuniary ruin. He died October 18th, 1822, aged fifty- one years.
Dr. Daniel Goodwin has left no history.
Dr. Horatio Jones, of Stockbridge, son of Capt. Josiah Jones of that place, grandson of one of the first persons who were chosen as companions of the first missionary and schoolmaster to the Housatunnuc Indians, was born December 30th, 1769. He entered Yale College in early life, and pursued his studies so zealously that his eyesight failed, and he was obliged to abandon them. Having an active disposition, with several others he went to what was then called the Genesee country for the pur- pose of laying out lands as a surveyor. In this business his health and sight were restored. and he returned to his studentship, entering the office of Dr. Sergeant. Before commencing practice as a physician he engaged for awhile as druggist in Stockbridge. He began practice in Pittsfield where he remained over a year. Invited by Dr. Sergeant, then in the decline of life, to settle in Stockbridge, he accepted the invitation. In the winter of 1805-6, probably a few years after he began practice in Stockbridge, he went to Philadelphia for the purpose of improving him - self more particularly in the department of surgery. He spent the winter there in attendance upon the various courses of lectures, and then returned to Stockbridge, where he remained till his death. He became a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1804, and received the honorary degree of A.M. from Williams College in 1810. His daughter, Mrs. Fair- child, writes : "He was a man of science, eminent in his profession : a good operator in surgery ; active, social, and very popular : indefatigable by night and day to give relief in cases of distress or danger." " There was that in his manner which added efficiency to the medicines which he exhibited, and his visits were often acknowledged to be beneficial to his patients when he made no prescription." Miss Sedgwick said of him : "Our beloved physician who gave us smiles instead of drugs."
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Dr. Erastus Sergeant, jr., was born at Stockbridge, in 1772, graduated at Dartmouth in 1792, and settled in Lee in 1794. He was a genial well informed man, a skillful physician, and had an extensive practice. He died in 1832.
Dr. David Cushing, of Adams. "He was a kind and indulgent hus- band, father, friend. No eulogy could be made so lasting as the monu- ment already erected in the bosoms of his acquaintances." He was considered a remarkable physician, and educated many young physicians in his office. He died in Adams, of typhus, September 30th, 1814, aged 47.
Dr. Liscom Phillips, of Adams, " possessed by nature a strong, in- vestigating mind which was cultivated with more than ordinary care in scientific acquirements. He possessed those noble qualities of soul which eminently fitted him for the various relations of life. His practice was extensive, and he possessed the unbounded confidence of his patients." He was born in Ashfield, in 1777, studied medicine with Dr. Bryant, com- menced practice in Savoy, removed to Adams, and remained till his sud- den death in 1821.
Dr. Samuel Carrington, of Sandisfield, has no history, except a record of his serving on a committee in the society.
Dr. William Buel stood prominent as one of the censors of the soci- ety but I find nothing further of him.
The society, to make the meetings more interesting and profitable, added a rule-" A box shall be opened at each meeting for the reception. incognito, of questions, answers, cases, &c." This means, undoubtedly, that some members were supplying medicines or methods which were not accepted by the bulk of the profession, and this way perhaps was de- vised for protection. And at that time there were some members who were using medicines or compounds which were gaining them repute. which they had not communicated to their brethren, since they enacted Rule II ; "No members shall have any secret medicine or nostrum which he will not disclose to the association if required."
Dr. John Budd, of Great Barrington, became a member in 1795. and in June, 1795, Ralph Willcox and Jonathan Whitney were "ex- amined and approved by the censors," and here the record ends till July, 1819.
Under the favorable circumstances which seemed to be aiding the so- ciety in its good undertaking, and considering also the men who com- posed it, this interim of twenty-four years is very remarkable. It is also something of a matter of interest that no physicians from the north part of the county were in the association. We find none north of Lanesboro. This may be accounted for, in part, perhaps wholly, by the fact that the meetings were held in Stockbridge usually, and at 10 o'clock : and tak ing into account poor roads and horseback riding. it will not seem strange, or be attributed to indifference that there was no attendance from the north. Neither was it from the fact that there were no competent phy-
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sicians and surgeons who did not belong to this society. We will there- fore give the history of some of the most prominent at that time.
Dr. Samuel Porter, of Williamstown, was born in 1756, and came to Williamstown from Northampton. He was distinguished as a surgeon; especially in the line of " bone setter," his fame was wide spread. He had the patroon of Rensselaer county, N. Y., for a patron, and it is re- lated that having performed some service for the patroon, for which the charge was considered exorbitant, he replied that he had doctored so many of his poor tenants for nothing that he thought the charge was about right. Many apocryphal stories are told in the community regard- ing him, but it is known that he went to the city of New York to reduce a hip dislocation which had baffled the efforts of the faculty and was successful. He was reckless, fearless, and, in driving. a Jehu. When asked why he never put breeching on his horses, he replied with a big D- that he didn't want any horses that couldn't keep out of the way of his sulky. He was an active and useful man, not easily discouraged, and when he was burned out in his later years, he showed the energy of manhood. He was esteemed for his benevolent and social qualities. He died in January, 1822, after a long and severe illness, which he bore with great patience and resignation.
Dr. William Towner, of Williamstown, was from New Fairfield, Conn. He was born in 1756. His first settlement in the county was at Stafford's Hill, Cheshire, where he was the first physician, and lived a number of years. He moved to Williamstown about 1790, and it is said at first occupied the place now owned and occupied by Almon Stephens. the old office, a small hip-roofed affair, still standing. He afterward, till the time of his death. occupied the house in Water street, now owned by M. Welch, opposite Green River mills. He was a man of graceful exterior and pleasing manners, a courtly gentleman of the old school, fond of society, and he "readily lent his attention to subjects outside his profession; especially politics, at that time the all-engrossing concern of the day." He was both representative and senator, and jus- tice of the peace. In the time of Shays rebellion he became very obnox- ious to Shays' adherents, and was shot at by them, some of the buckshot lodging in his boot. Being "an old democrat " the federalists procured other physicians and brought them into town to "run him out." but when their own families were sick they employed him. He was consid- ered in hydrophobia infallible, and as certain to eradicate the poison and prevent the disease. but what method or medicine he used is not known .. except that calomel was exhibited at some stage of the treatment. What was considered " heretical " in those days, he never bled in fevers or in typhoid pneumonia. His medical aid was asked extensively in fevers. and in them he was considered the authority. His success in general medicine was wonderful, his fame wide-spread. His practice extended even to Troy, N. Y., and twenty-eight years after his death bis grand- daughter received from people in high life, marked attention while resid-
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ing in Waterford, N. Y., by reason of her relationship to General Towner. He was fond of military display. He was commissioned general of brigade by the State and is described as " large and well proportioned, and not only a grand but a splendid looking man in regimentals." He was surgeon's mate in Colonel Simond's regiment, in October. 1781. He labored hard in the establishment of the "Free School " founded by Colonel Williams, afterward Williams College. And his name heads the subscription for building a house of public worship on the eminence at the head of the street where the meeting house was burned in '66. He was strictly temperate, warned by the untimely fate of others. In those days it was the custom for the physician to heip himself in his calls from the decanter on the sideboard, and warned by his own experience he said that total abstinence was his only safeguard, and he wisely refrained. At the time of his death he was looked upon as one of those to support General Dearborn, and he would have done so had not death frustrated the purpose, his commission arriving after that event. January 12th, 1813, at Pownal, Vt., where the epidemic of pneumonia was raging. he was seized by the disease. His system was exhausted by excessive toil, and when his son-in-law, Dr. Samuel Smith, who had been practicing with him but a short time, reached him, he told Dr. Smith on no ac- count to bleed him. as it would cause his death. But in the absence of Dr. Smith, his contemporary, Dr. Porter, of Williamstown, called upon him, and although his case was assuming a more favorable look insisted upon bleeding and performed the operation. After this he failed very rapidly and died at the age of 58.
Dr. Samuel Smith was born in Hadley, Mass., August 13th, 1780), and died in Williamstown, June 9th, 1852, where he spent the greater part of his life. His father, Joseph Smith, "lost his property in the Revolutionary army," and in consequence the boy, Samuel, was early bound out to a first cousin, and he relates that he worked though the day on the farm, and then trudged at night nearly to Amherst after the cows. He went to school but three months. When he came to Wil- liamstown he worked at the blacksmith trade till 18, when he married a daughter of Dr. Towner, and his health failing, studied medicine in the office of his father-in-law, and in 1809 entered into partnership with him. Upon the death of Dr. Towner in 1813, he succeeded to that gentleman's large practice. His daughter says, "Father was emphatically a self made man ; he had few hours of rest night or day, almost constantly in the saddle ; yet he took medical journals, and put the thoughts in his head to use when and where his good sense suggested." He could con- verse intelligently with Professors Dewey, Eaton, or Kellogg, on chemis- try, botany, or medicine. He used many indigenous plants as lobelia. elecampame, colt's foot, skunk cabbage, ete .; in fact he dealt very largely in the vegetable pharmacopwa, while using other remedies. One of his favorite remedies in atonic dyspepsia was equal parts of steel filings. aromatic powder, and powdered eggshells, and it was excellent. His
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preferred medicine in debility was iron in some form. more usually Hux- ham's tineture. Opium was, however, his sheet anchor, and it may be justly claimed that the priority of the use of opium in ferers and espe- cially peritonitis in this section belongs to him. He was a man of rare powers of observation and judgment ; of excellent memory ; in his gen- eralizations usually accurate. He trusted much to the powers of nature, especially in obstetrics in which department he was successful and highly esteemed. As a practitioner in fevers he was far famed. A long way ahead of his generation his practice in these conformed to that of the present day. Discarding bleeding and cathartics his patients were nour- ished, their nervous system quieted with opium. and they were placed in the best condition for the conservative powers of nature to weather the storm. In adynamic cases he used stimulants freely. On the use of calo- mel and bleeding he often came into conflict with his medical brethren, being a man very firm and decided when he felt himself in the right. Asa Christian he was very active, and his seat was very rarely unoccu- pied on the Sabbath. He was honored by his fellow townsmen, being twice elected to represent them in the Legislature. In his family and society he was genial, in his younger days frolicsome ; loving a dog and gun, and an excellent shot. He was familiar with the mountains of Williamstown, often visiting Greylock : and his daughter accompanying him was the first woman who rode on horseback to the summit. He had a strong expressive face, jet black hair even till his death, and a queue. An early riser and of great activity, he accomplished much while others were asleep. He delighted in the best and earliest garden in town. and as long as he lived in this respect excelled all his neighbors. He took his eldest son into partnership with him, and also Dr. Sabin, and at his death was copartner with his youngest son. His ride was very exten- sive, one day riding over sixty miles and visiting patients in three differ- ent States, his circuit of business being over twenty miles. He died after a short illness, closing a life full of blessing to his family, the poor, the community, and the profession.
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