History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 47

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 47

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He entered into practice in Lowell at once and re- mained here until his death, with the exception of the eight years when he was at the Marine Hospital at Chelsea.

Dr. Graves was a physician of high repute and much respected by his brother practitioners. He was pres- ident of the Middlesex North District Society in 1858- 59. He was city physician in 1850, '59 and '60. He was also highly honored by his fellow-citizens in being elected to municipal office. He was a member of the School Board in 1833, '34 and '35 ; was an alderman in 1842; was elected to the State Senate in 1850-51; and several times he was a candidate for the office of mayor of Lowell, but without success.

In 1861 Dr. Graves was appointed superintendent of the Marine Hospital at Chelsea, a position which he filled with credit until 1869, when he returned to Lowell and resumed his practice.

He was made superintendent of the Corporation Hospital July 19, 1869, and remained in this position until his death, which occurred November 28, 1873.

DANIEL MOWE, son of Peter and Molly (Bamford) Mowe, was born in Pembroke, N. H., 3d of February, 1790. His preliminary education was received at the Salisbury (N. H.) Academy, and for several years be- fore he commenced the study of medicine he taught school. He was graduated from the Medical Depart- ment of Dartmouth in 1819, and he at once entered upon the practice of his profession at New Durham, N. H. He remained here only a brief time, remov- ing to Sanbornton Bridge (now Tilton), N. H., where he stayed until he came to Lowell, in 1830.

In the winter of 1830-31 he attended lectures at Bowdoin, and in 1832 he visited Philadelphia to study the cholera, which was at that time raging.

He married, January 1, 1825, Elizabeth Hart Whittemore, of Sanbornton Bridge. Dr. Mowe con- tinued in practice in Lowell until within a few weeks of his death, a period of thirty years, and he had the respect and confidence of the entire community. He is widely known as the compounder of "Mowe's Cough Balsam," a medicine of much local reputation. While on a visit to Salisbury, N. H., on a matter of business, he was attacked with an acute lung trouble and after an illness of a week's duration, died Novem- ber 3, 1860.

GILMAN KIMBALL, son of Ebenezer and Polly (Aiken) Kimball, was born in New Chester (now

Hill), N. H., December 8, 1804. He received his de- gree of M.D. from Dartmouth in 1827, and practiccd for a short time in Chicopee, Mass. He then visited Europe, giving special attention to the clinical ad- vantages which Paris at that time offered in surgery. He was personally acquainted with Dupuytren, and walked the hospitals of Paris in company with this great teacher.

Dr. Kimball settled in Lowell in 1830, and has lived here since that time, being in active practice until within the last few years. On the establishment of the Corporation Hospital, in December, 1829, he was appointed resident physician, a position which he filled for twenty-six years. In the report of the sec- retary of the Middlesex District Medical Society, April 11, 1849,1 is embodied a report by Dr. Kimball of cases that occurred in 'the first nine years of the hospital. This report shows the careful and syste- matic manner in which cases were classified and re- corded by the resident physician, as well as the very small mortality (less than five per cent.) of the cases of typhoid fever here treated, more than one-half of the entire number reported being of this disease.

He was appointed Professor of Surgery in the Ver- mont Medical College, in Woodstock, in 1844, and in 1845 he was elected to a similar position in the Berk- shire Medical Institute, in Pittsfield.

In the spring of 1861 he entered the army, and for four months served as brigade surgeon under Gen- eral Butler, and at Annapolis and Fortress Monroe he superintended the organization of the first military hospitals that were established for National troops.

In 1871 and 1872 he was president of the Middlesex North District Medical Society. In 1882 he was presi- dent of the American Gynæcological Society. His practice has been mainly surgical, and to-day he ranks among the most eminent and successful of the surgeons of this country.

Dr. Kimball has contributed to medical literature papers on gastrotomy, ovariotomy, hysterectomy and the treatment of tumors by electricity, and was the first to practically illustrate the value of the latter method. The following is a partial list of his medi- cal contributions :

"Operations for Cancer of the Lip,"2 "Successful Case of Extirpation of the Uterus,"3 " Excision of the Elbow-Joint," + "Cases of Ovariotomy,"5 " Case of Can- cerous Disease of the Ovary,"6 "Cases of Ovariotomy,"" "Cases of Drainage from the Cul-de-sac of Douglass after Ovariotomy," 8 " Cases of Uterine Fibroids treated by Electrolysis." 9

1 In the archives of the Middlesex North District Medical Society.

2 Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. xlii., No. 26.

8 Ibid., vol. 52, No. 13, May 3, 1855.

4 Ibid., vol. 53, No. 27.

5 I bid., from vol. 68, No. 20, to vol. 71, No. 8.

6 I bid., vol. 70, No. 4.

7 Ibid., vol. 79, No. 7.

§ Ibid., from vol. 90, No. 22, to vol. 91, No. 12.

9 Ibid., vol. 90, No. 5, January 29, 1874.

GYmball 2

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LOWELL.

He married twice,-first, Harriet De War, in 1832 and second, Isabel De Friez, in April, 1872.

JOHN CALL DALTON' was the son of Peter Roe and Anne (Call) Dalton, of Boston, where he was born 31st May, 1795. He fitted for college under Dr. Lnther Stearns, principal of Medford Academy, en- tering Harvard College in 1810. While in college he displayed high scholarship, winning the Bowdoin Prize in his senior year. He was graduated at Har- vard, in the class of 1814, and the following year he tanght school in Medford. In 1815 he entered the office of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, of Charlestown, subse- quently attending two regular cour es at Harvard Medical School and a third one (during the winter of 1817-18) at the University of Pennsylvania. He re- ceived bis degree of M.D. from Harvard in 1818, and at orce settled in Chelmsford. In the fall of 1831 he removed to Lowell, where he remained for twenty- eight years.

During his life here he stood at the very head of his profession, and won a place in the hearts of the peo- ple and a name in their memory second to none. He was president of the Middlesex North District Medical Society in 1850, '51 and '52; a councilor of the State Society for many years and a member of the American Medical Association. He was averse to holding public office, although he served as alder- man in 1845 and 1846.

Dr. Dalton married twice -- first, Julia Ann, daughter of Deacon Noah Spaulding, of Chelmsford, 21st Feb- ruary, 1822, and second, Lydia, daughter of the late Hon. John Phillips, of Andover, in 1851.

He removed to Boston in 1859 to spend his last days in rest, but he was recognized and sought out for honors there. He was appointed a member of the State Medical Commission for the examination of surgeons, in the place of the late Dr. Haywood, and was elected senior physician of the new City Hospi- tal a few weeks only before his death.

He died in Boston after a short illness, the result of an accident, 9th January, 1864.

CHARLES GORDON Was the son of Dr. William and Helen (Gilchrest) Gordon, of Hingham, Mass., where he was born 17th November, 1809. He fitted for college at Derby Academy, Hingham, under the tuition of the Rev. Daniel Kimball. He was gradu- ated at Brown University in the class of 1829, and at his graduation he delivered an oration on "The Dignity of the Medical Profession." He studied med- icine with his father at Hingham, and at the Har- vard Medical School, where he received his degree of M.D. in 1832.

Dr. Gordon entered upon the practice of his pro- fession in Lowell, and remained here several years a highly respected physician. In 1836 he settled in Boston, where he gave especial attention to surgery. He made four professional visits to Europe, one of

which extended to three years. On the 29th of Dece! ,ber he married Mary, daughter of Phineas Upham. of Boston, who, with three daughters surviv- ed nim. He died in Boston 2d March, 1872.

JOHN DALE PILLSBURY, son of Dr. John and Dorothy (Ordway) Pillsbury, was born at Pembroke, N. H., April 16, 1805. After completing his pre- liminary education he taught school for several years in Pembroke.

He studied medicine in the office of Dr. Peter Renton, of Concord, N. H., and with Dr. William Graves, of Lowell, receiving his degree of M.D. from Bowdoin, in 1830. He entered upon the practice of medicine at Pembroke, remaining there a year or two and coming to Lowell in 1832.

Dr. Pillsbury was in active practice here for over twenty years, a highly honored and respected physi- cian. He was the secretary of the Lowell Medical Association and the first secretary of the Middlesex District Society, serving from 1844 to 1847, inclusive. He was chosen by this society as their orator to de- liver the annual public address before the citizens of Lowell in May, 1845. He was interested in edu- cational matters, serving as a member of the Lowell School Board in 1835 and '37.

He removed from Lowell in 1854, going to Roches- ter, N. Y., where, after a short illness, he died Dec. 21, 1855. He married, January 18, 1835, at Lowell, Lucy Cooley Moore, of Brimfield, Mass.

PATRICK PAGET CAMPBELL was born at Killin, Perthshire, Scotland, March 30, 1804. His father, Dr. Donald Campbell, and his mother, Margaret Campbell, were second cousins and members of the Breadalbane clan Campbell. He received his academical edu- cation at Collander, Scotland, and received his degree of M.D. from King's College, Edinburgh, in 1826.

He commenced practice at Collander in 1827, and seven years later sailed from Glasgow for New York. Soon after reaching this country he came to Lowell (1834), where he remained in active practice for twenty-four years.

He was a well educated and highly respected man, and his practice was very extensive, though princi- pally among the foreign-born. In 1842 he purchased a farm in Chelmsford, and in 1858 he moved there, giving up his practice in Lowell. He was deeply interested in farming and was the first to attempt the cultivation of the cranberry in Middlesex County.

He married in Lowell, December 27, 1840, Jane Hills Sprague, of Billerica. Three children were born to them, two of whom died in infancy. The third, Mrs. Margaret Campbell Hayes, is now living in Clinton, Iowa.

Dr. Campbell died of pneumonia November 18, 1865, at Chelmsford. Nine days later his wife died of the same disease.

ISAAC WHITE SCRIBNER, son of Josiah and Mary Ann (White) Scribner, was born at Andover, N. H., January 24, 1808.

1 Fide Memorial of J. C. Dalton, M.D., by J. O. Green, M.D. (1864).

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

He studied medicine with Dr. Silas Mer rill, of Andover, and Dr. Jesse Merrill, of Franklin, N. H. He was a graduate of Dartmouth Medical College.

Dr. Scribner commenced practice in Hopkinton, b.'t in 1836 removed to Lowell, where he practiced until his deatlı.

He was held in high esteem by his brother prac- titioners and was a ripe scholar.

He published "The Legends of Laconia," a tale of the White Mountain region-a book of much merit. In this book are several original poems of a high order.

Dr. Scribner died, unmarried, Oct. 15, 1864.

DAVID WELLS, son of Rev. Nathaniel Wells, was born in Wells, Me., 13th November, 1804. His pre- liminary education was received at Phillips Exeter Academy, after which for several years he was en- gaged in teaching. He entered upon the practice of his profession in 1828, in Deerfield, N. H., where he remained until 1837, when he came to Lowell. His cotemporaries speak of him as a physician of more than ordinary ability, and as an upright and con- scientious man, but he was modest and retiring and not so widely known as many of less worth. He was unmarried and lived by himself for many years in his office in Welles' Block, in the rooms occupied until recently by Dr. John H. Gilman. He was city physician in 1845 and 1846. His death, which was sudden, occurred in his office 22d February, 1877.

BENJAMIN SKELTON, son of John Skelton, of Bil- lerica, was born in that place 16th March, 1783. He studied medicine under Dr. Thompson, of Charles- town, and after receiving his degree of M.D. com- menced practice in Reading, where he lived two or three years. He then went to Pelham, N. H., and made this place his home for twenty-five years.

In 1837 he came to Lowell, and here he lived until his death, which occurred 23d March, 1867. His health was poor during his residence in Lowell, but he continued in active practice notwithstanding, until the last two or three years of his life.

He married (twice-first, Iza Bacon, 18th October, 1810, and second, Hannah Varnum, 5th January, 1836.

Two of his sons were pioneers in the drug business in this city. Oliver started the store eorner of Merri- mack and John Streets (now Bailey's), selling out to Samuel Kidder, and Christopher started the one on Central Street, now owned by Mr. Crowell, selling out to Staniels.

Of eight children, two are now living-Mrs. Dr. Austin Marsh, of Carlisle, and Mrs. Hiram W. Blais- dell, of Lowell.

HANOVER DICKEY was born in Epsom, N. H., 14th September, 1807. He studied medicine in the office of Dr. William Graves, of Lowell, and at the Harvard Medical School, where he was graduated in 1837. He started to practice in Lowell, but soon re- moved to Epsom, where he practiced uutil 1845, when

he returned to Lowell. He remained here until his deatlı, a highly esteemed physician, although an cx- cecdingly eccentric man. He lived and died a thor- ough old bachelor. His health was poor, a fact which rendered his practice less extensive than it would otherwise have been, but few physicians in this city have been held in fonder regard by their patients. His' talents were recognized in the local medical society, and he was chosen secretary of the Middle- sex North District Society in 1849, and president in 1856 and 1857. He died at his residence in Lowell, 29th May, 1873.

OTIS PERHAN son of Jonathan and Mary (Parker) Perham, was born at Chelmsford, 2d October, 1813. He was graduated at the Medical School at Wood- stock, Vermont, his cousin, Dr. Willard Parker, being a professor there at the time.

Dr. Perham commenced practice in Lowell in 1837, and remained here in active practice through his life. He was an old school gentleman and a well- read physician, and being naturally of a social dispo- sition, he was much respected and beloved by his brother physicians.

He married Elizabeth Cornell Brownell, of Low- ell, 30th October, 1844.

Dr. Perham died in the prime of life, 22d Novem- ber, 1853.

JEREMIAH PEABODY JEWETT, son of Dr. Jere- miah and Temperance (Dodge) Jewett, was born 24th February, 1808, in Barnstead, N. H. He studied medicine in his father's office and at Hanover, where he was graduated in the class of 1835.

Dr. Jewett came to Lowell in 1838, and continued here in practice until his death, which occurred June 23, 1870. He was a successful physician and a re- spected citizen ; was a member of the Lowell Com- mon Council, and in 1855 was elected to the General Court. In 1847 was chosen by the Middlesex Dis- trict Medical Society to deliver the annual public address before the citizens of Lowell. In 1868 was president of the Middlesex North District Society.

He married, 26th May, 1841, Harriet Emily Loom- is, of West Windsor, Connecticut.

PETER MANNING, son of Peter Manning, of Town- send, and Rebecca (Carter) Manning, of Lancaster, was born at Townsend, 11th November, 1791. His father was a celebrated musician, and the first presi- dent of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston.

Dr., Manning began the study of medicine in Lan- caster, in the office of his maternal uncle, Dr. James Carter. From there he went to Schenectady, N. Y., and was graduated at a medical school in that place.

He begau the practice of his profession in Hollis, N. H., remaining there about two years. After this he engaged anew, in the town of Merrimack, N. H., with Dr. Abel Goodrich. Dr. Manning remained here twenty-three years, and in 1840 he removed to Lowell, where he was in active practice for about nine years. He then moved to Luneuburg, where

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he lived until about 1854, then returning to Lowell; where he died August 4, 1854.

He married, first, Elizabeth Kimball, of Lunen- burg, and second, Nancy Stearns, of the same place. He had nine children, one of whom is Jerome F. Manning, Esq., of Lowell.

NATHAN ALLEN, son of Moses and Mehitable (O1- iver) Allen, was born in Princeton, Massachusetts, 25th April, 1813.

His collegiate studies were pursued at Amherst, where he was graduated in the class of 1836. He studied medicine at Philadelphia, receiving his de- gree in the spring of 1841, and in the fall of that year he came to Lowell and entered upon the prac- tice of his profession.

In his professional life of nearly fifty years iu Lowell, Dr. Allen was engaged in general practice, and was highly esteemed and respected as a family physician, but he was most widely known as a writer.

His first work in the field of letters began while he was attending medical lectures, when he edited the first three volumes of the American Phrenological Journal, published in Philadelphia.

Dr. Allen published many papers during his life, and was a frequent contributor to the daily press on subjects of interest to the citizens. The following list, which is by no means complete, includes papers which are of great merit, and which have received favorable criticism both in this country and in Eu- rope, where his name is not unknown :

"The Opium Trade (1853), "The Law of Human Increase," 1 "The Intermarrage of Relatives,"2 " Physical Degeneracy,"3 "The Medical Problems of the Day,"+ "State Medicine in its Relations to In- sanity,"5 "Prevention of Diseases, Insanity, Crime and Pauperism,"6 " Education of Girls," " "Divorces in New England," 8 "Insanity in its Relation to the Medical Profession and the State,"9 "The Amherst Gymnasium," 10 " Changes in the New England Popu- lation." 11

For twenty-nine years he served on the "gymna- sium committee " of Amherst College, and his name is held in grateful remembrance by all friends of that institution. He was a member of the original Board of Pension Examiners, and held this position until within a few years of his death.

1 Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine, April, 1868.

2 Idem, April, 1869.

2 Idem, October, 1870.

4 Annual Discourse before Mass. Med. Society, Jnne, 1874.

Bead before the American Social Science Association, Detroit, May 13, 1875.

Read before the Conference of Charities at Cincinnati, May 22, 1878.

7 Address before the American Institute, July 10, 1879.

& North American Review, June, 1880.

" Read at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Protection of the Insane, New York, January 20, 1882.

19 Essay read before American Academy of Medicine at Pittsburgh, Oc- tober 12, 1888.

11 Bead before American Social Science Association at Saratoga, Sep- tember e, 1857.

In 1864 he was appointed by Governor Andrew a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Chari- ties. During the entire existence of the board, a period of fifteen years, he continued a member, a por- tion of the time serviug as chairman. It devolved upon him to write a number of the annual reports, and these were prepared in such a thorough manner that to-day they are held as authority upon the sub- jects of which they treat.

In the last year of his life Dr. Allen collected and published a book of 350 pages, containing about forty of his most popular articles.

In this city he served for four years (1881, 1882, 1886 and 1887) on the Board of Health, being chair- man the last year of his service. He was city physi- cian in 1864 and 1865, and a member of the School Board in 1851. For over twenty years he was on the staff of St. John's Hospital, and for about the same length of time president of the City Institution for Savings.

He married twice-first, Sarah H. Spaulding, daughter of Dr. Thaddeus Spaulding, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, in 1841, and second, in 1858, Annie W. Waters, of Salem, Massachusetts, who, with four children, survives him.

He died 1st January, 1889.

MOSES KIDDER was the son of Isaac and Sarah (Stickney) Kidder, of Billerica, where he was born 15th January, 1789. He was for two or three years a student at Williams College and graduated as a physician from a medical school then located at Fair- field, prior to 1812. In 1812-13 he was assistant sur- geon at Fort Warren. Later he taught school at Hillsboro', New Hampshire, and among his pupils was Franklin Pierce, late President of the United States. He commenced practice at Littleton, Massachusetts. He remained here about six months and then went to Dublin, New Hampshire. In 1820 he moved from Dublin to Ashby, Massachusetts. In 1827 he moved to Townsend, where he lived until the autumn of 1841, when he moved to Lowell. Here he engaged in the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred from disease of the heart May 5, 1855. He was married, 1st January, 1815, to Rachel Shepard Kendrick, of Amherst, New Hampshire. He had eight children, three of whom were physicians. Of these, Drs. Walter and Moses Warren Kidder are mentioned in this history. Their brother, Franklin Kidder, was born at Ashby, Massachusetts, 26th June, 1826. He was graduated at the Albany Medical Col- lege in 1857. He located in Middle Tennessee, where he remained till after the war. Then he went to Florida, where he married and died in 1872.

JOSIAH CURTIS was born at Wethersfield, Conn., April 30, 1816. His preparatory education was re- ceived at the academy at Monson, Mass. Before en- tering college he taught school for several years, and he resumed this occupation for a short time after his graduation. He received his degrees of A.B. (1840)

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and A.M. from Yalc College, and that of M.D. from the Jefferson Medical College, in 1843.

Dr. Curtis commenced practice in Lowell, remain. ing here until 1849, when he went to Boston. In May, 1846, he delivered the annual public address at the Lowell City Hall.

He made the study of the sanitary management of large cities a prominent branch of his profession, and twice visited Europe in pursuit of this subject. He published numerous articles on ventilation and kindred subjects, and was the author of a report on the " Hygiene of Massachusetts,"1 and earlier reports to the Massachusetts Legislature on the registration of births, marriages and deaths.

While in Lowell he took an active part in the moral and physical improvement of that and neigh- boring cities and towns, and was recognized as one of the most thoroughly-educated physicians that ever practiced here.

He served through the war, rising to the highest medical rank in the volunteer service.

In 1872 he filled the position of surgeon, micro- scopist and naturalist to the United States Geological Survey, and in 1873 he became chief medical officer to the United States Indian service, which he organ- ized and placed on a useful footing.

It is claimed for him that he was the discoverer of collodion, or liquid gun-cotton, but this claim is not thoroughly made out.

Dr. Curtis died at London, England, Aug. 1, 1833, while traveling.

ABNER HARTWELL BROWN, son of Abner and Polly (Ayer) Brown, was born in New Ipswich, N. H., July 6, 1816. His family removed to Lowell when he was fourteen years of age, and he en- tered the High School, being a member of the first class to graduate from that institution (1835). He received his degree of A.B. from Dartmouth in 1839, and for several years devoted himself to teaching, with distinguished success. He attended medical lectures at Dartmouth and at New Haven, receiving his degree from Yale as valedictorian of the class of 1844.

He soon came to Lowell, where he engaged in ac- tive practice, and although his work here was more or less interrupted by his duties in connection with his professorships, he early won the confidence of the community, and acquired a good practice. He was Professor of Chemistry in the Willoughby Medical College, of Lake Erie, and when that school was re- moved to Columbus, Ohio, he continued to occupy his position as professor. In 1847 he received the ap- pointment of Professor of Materia Medica and Medi- cal Jurisprudence in the Berkshire Medical Institute. This office he retained until his death.

Dr. Brown was chosen by the local medical society to deliver the first annual public oration (Feb. 26,

1845) in the Lowell City Hall. He was city physi- cian of Lowell in 1847, '48, '49 and '50, and was cho- sen secretary of the Middlesex North District Medi- cal Society for 1850, but in November of that year he was obliged to resign this position, on account of ill health.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 47

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226