History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 188

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

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your acceptance of a service of plate; and permit us at the same time to offer our best wishes for the future health and happiness of yourself and of your family.

" LONDON, December, 1853."

Col. Aspinwall was not only a venerable patriot and learned in military science, but was well versed in the history of the country, and was always ready to communicate his information to others. He was an active and useful member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, having been elected a correspond- ing member during his residence in London, in July, 1833, and soon after his return home, in 1855, he was chosen a resident member. At the time of his death he had been connected with this society longer than any other member. He served the society on the standing committee for four years, and was one of the publishing committee during the publishing of three volumes of their collections. He was vice-president from 1862 to 1870. During his resident member- ship he made valuable contributions to the collections of the society, such as the papers on the Narragan- sett Patent, and on William Vassall, also his tribute to his much cherished friend, Gen. Winfield Scott, on the occasion of his death.

In the ninth and tenth volumes of the fourth series of the society's collections may be found a large col- lection of valuable material gathered during his resi- dence in England, entitled " The Aspinwall Papers," which will ever keep his name in fresh remembrance in the minds of his friends and the public. These were edited and annotated after he had reached his eighty-fifth year.

Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861 he tendered his services to Gen. Scott, at the age of seventy-five, which were not accepted, but during the progress of the war he ever manifested a lively in- terest in, and kept himself informed of, all that was going on, ---- the movement of the armies, etc.

The following resolution was passed by the Massa- chusetts Historical Society in testimony of the respect with which he was regarded by that learned body :

" Resolved, That in the death of the venerable Thomas Aspin- wall this society has lost one of its oldest and most respected members, to whom we are indebted for important and valuable services, and whose memory is worthy of being cherished as that of a gallant soldier in his youth, a faithful public servant abroad in his manhood, and a useful and patriotic citizen at home in his more advanced years."

In January, 1873, Col. Aspinwall's health began to give way to infirmity, although he was seen daily on the streets of Boston for exercise, but recognizing scarcely any one outside of his family, and remember- ing but little or nothing of things of the past.

Llis sickness was but of a short duration, only four

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days and a half was he confined to his bed. His last hours were so calm and peaceful that one could hardly notice when he breathed his last. He died on Friday, the 11th day of August, 1876, at his residence, 33 Hancock Street, Boston, aged ninety years, two months, and nineteen days. His funeral took place at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in Brookline, on Monday following his death, at four o'clock in the afternoon. The church was well filled with relatives and friends from Boston and elsewhere, and by prom. inent citizens of the town generally.

The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. J. G. Littell, of Wilmington, Del., in the absence of the pastor. Immediately upon the conclusion of the service at the church the body, which was placed in an elegant casket, was taken in charge by the follow- ing pall-bearers : Hon. George Tyler Bigelow, ex- chief justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ; Maj .- Gen. H. W. Benham, United States army ; Hon. Josiah Quincy, Hon. Leverett Saltonstall, Amos A. Lawrence, Esq., and Samuel S. Shaw, Esq.

The remains are in the family lot in " Walnut Hills" Cemetery, Brookline.

DR. WILLIAM ASPINWALL.

The subject of this notice was the son of Thomas and Joanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, born in Brookline, May 23, 1743, on the farm where five generations of the name have lived, which building is now standing, and is owned by one of the Aspinwall family, a name- sake of the doctor. The old house is but a short distance from the spot where Peter the ancestor resided for a short time during the building of this house, and is on an avenue named in honor of the | are to-day. family. Dr. Aspinwall fitted for college under the direction of Rev. Amos Adams, pastor of the " First Church in Roxbury," entered college in 1760, and graduated in 1764, receiving his degrees of Master and Bachelor of Arts in their usual order. Among his classmates we may mention Bishop Parker, Governor Strong, of Massachusetts, and Shearjashub Bourne, a member of Congress. Immediately upon leaving college, having decided on the medical profession as one for which he had a decided preference, he entered the office of, and pursued his studies with, the justly and highly-celebrated Dr. Benjamin Gale, of Killing- worth, Conn., completing his education at the hospital in Philadelphia, where he received the degree of doctor of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania about 1768. He attended a course of medical lec- tures in that city in the winter of 1768-69. It will

here be remembered that the first course of anatom- ical lectures ever given in this country were delivered only four years previous to that time, in that city, by Dr. William Shippen. The following certificate from Dr. Shippen shows the estimation of the ability of Dr. Aspinwall :

" This may Certify, that Mr. William Aspinwall has attended with uncommon diligence my course of Lectures on Anatomy and Surgery, also my course of midwifery, which, added to his close attention to all the other medical lectures, and to the prac- tice of the Pennsylvania Hospital, has amply fitted him to practice physic, surgery, and midwifery with credit and repu- tation. I can with pleasure add, that he promises fair, by his irreproachable conduct since his arrival in Philadelphia, to be in every other respect a useful and agreeable member of society. " PHILADELPHIA, 27 May, 1769."

Professors Kuhn and Morgan are no less explicit in their commendations. The following certificate of Professor William Bond also confirms the foregoing opinions, after Mr. Aspinwall's attendance upon his course of clinical lectures :

" He has, on these and many other occasions, given me so many proofs of his capacity, assiduity, and improvement in the healing arts, that I with pleasure give him this testimonial of my esteem and affection ; and do hereby recommend him, on my good faith, to the publick, as a judicious young physician and surgeon, who has taken indefatigable pains in acquiring a knowledge of the different branches of his profession."

Having completed his course of medical studies and attendance on lectures in Philadelphia, he re- turned to his native town, and immediately com- menced a course of successful practice at the age of twenty-six, which soon extended far and wide, often requiring a journey of forty miles to visit his patients. These he usually performed on horseback, carrying his medicines iu saddle-bags,-a custom in early days, when apothecary-shops were not as numerous as they

At the breaking out of the war of the Revolution an enthusiastic impulse seized upon the doctor to such a degree that all personal and professional considera- tions were lost or forgotten in that all-absorbing and patriotic sentiment which had led thousands to rally to the country's rescue. Being young, ardent, and patriotic, he went with the Brookline men, " not standing on the order of their going," not by the road, but by the shortest way, as the bee flies, across fields, jumping fences, and over the river, and were soon in Cambridge, and joined those who saw the enemy safe in Charlestown. In the skirmish at Cam- bridge the doctor was actively engaged in the combat. In this skirmish Capt. Isaac Gardner was killed, pierced by twelve bullets and bayonet wounds. On Dr. Aspinwall's return to Cambridge, he sought and found the body of Capt. Gardner, and had it carried

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

from the field to his afflicted family, which consisted of a wife and eight children. Dr. Aspinwall early applied for a commission in the army, but his personal friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, afterwards Maj .- Gen. Warren, dissuaded him from this pursuit, and he finally decided to serve his country in the medical department. He was appointed surgeon in Gen. Heath's brigade, and very soon became deputy di- rector in the hospital at Jamaica Plain.

His appointment as surgeon of the hospital at Roxbury by the Congress of the colony of Massa- chusetts Bay bears the autograph of James Warren, president, and is dated at Watertown, June 28, 1775. On the 19th day of August, 1775, he was surgeon to St. Thomas' Hospital, otherwise known as " Amer- ican Hospital."

The deep personal interest which he took in the war between the two nations acting upon a mind deeply imbued with a sense of his country's wrongs, gave strength and tone to his sentiments that were of immense value to him in the later part of his life.

Dr. Aspinwall's language on political subjects was bold and strong, his creed being that of a Democratic- Republican. In the unhappy scenes of party excite- ment he not only unwaveringly adhered to what he decmed original and fundamental principles, but he aimed to preserve a good conscience, and to do jus- tice to the honest opinions, the pure motives, and un- doubted integrity of his opponents. He was not a political persecutor, and when he was in the councils of the State resolutely declined acting with his coad- jutors, who were disposed to drive from office incum- bents whose only fault was what they deemed politi- cal heresy.

Soon after the death of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, also a native of Brookline, that eminent and distinguished physician and first inoculator of smallpox in America, Dr. Aspinwall established himself in that undertaking, and erected hospitals for that purpose on his own estate, one of which has been standing within the memory of a person now living in this town. One of these pest-hospitals was on the left-hand side of As- pinwall Avenue, between Toxteth Street and the rail- road bridge. Another was near to the corner of Perry Street and the same avenue. He was very success- ful in his treatment of cases of this disorder, and his fame soon spread to a great distance. His practice was the inoculation of the genuine article of small- pox virus, so as to bring about the disease by design, and have it treated scientifically, instead of awaiting in expectation of receiving it, and being in constant dread and fear of the contagion. Probably there was no physician in the United States who had inocu-

lated so many persons as Dr. Aspinwall, and no one who had acquired such a celebrity in the treatment of this malignant disease. In 1788 the doctor was allowed to keep an open hospital by vote of the town, as appears by the following :

" Voted, that Doctr William Aspinwall have Liberty and he is hereby Granted Liberty to continue Inoculating with the Small Pox as Usual."

To this hospital large numbers resorted, and from which they returned with warm expressions of satis- faction.

Dr. Aspinwall continued in the successful treat- ment of this disease till the introduction of vaccine inoculation by Dr. Waterhouse, of Cambridge. He had made ample accommodation for an enlarged prac- tice, and established what might have been justly deemed a sure foundation for prosperity when vac- cine inoculation was first introduced. He well knew that if vaccination possessed the virtues ascribed to it his schemes of fortune and usefulness arising from in- oculation were at an end, he should be involved in a loss, and his anticipations of a fortune be blasted. But as an honest man and faithful physician, he deemed it his duty to inquire into the efficacy of the novel sub- stitute. With the utmost alacrity, therefore, he gave the experiment a fair trial, promptly acknowledged its efficacy, and relinquished his own establishment.

An article published in the Medical Intelligencer from Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse well illustrates the honesty of Dr. Aspinwall, which is as follows:

"The late Dr. Aspinwall, a man of great sagacity, and un- commonly well grounded in the principles of his profession, gave evidence of it on the first sight of a vaccine pustule. I had invited all the elder physicians of Boston and the vicinity of Cambridge to see the first vaccine pustules ever raised in the New World. They gave them the ordinary inspection of an un- usual eruption on the skin ; all but Dr. Aspinwall, whose atten- tion was riveted on the pustule, its areola and efflorescence. He came a second time, and viewed the inoculated part in every light, and reviewed it, and seemed loath to leave the sight of it. He seemed wrapped in serious thought, and said repeat- edly, 'This pustule is so like smallpox, and yet it is not small- pox, that, should it, on scabbing, take out a part of the true skin, so as to leave an indelible mark or pit behind, I shall be ready to conclude that it is a mild species of smallpox, hitherto unknown here.'

" He had been in the habit of examining the smallpox pimple and pustule through glasses, to see if it had taken, and he re- marked that they were peculiar, unique, and unlike any erup- tion he ever saw, but this kine pock came the nearest to them. Some time after I gave him a portion of the virus, to make his own experiments and observe the progress of its inoculation and coincidence of the constitutional symptoms, when he ob- served that its progress, febrile affection, and mode of scabbing were very like smallpox, and so of the indelible mark left on the arm, yet throughout the whole visible affection different. To crown the whole of his honorable conduct, he, some time after, took all those of my family whom I had vaccinated into

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his smallpox hospital, the only licensed one in the State, and there tested them to his satisfaction, and one to the verge of rigid experiment, and then he said to me and to others, 'This new inoculation of yours is no sham. As a man of humanity I rejoice in it, although it will take from me a handsome annual income.' His conduct throughout was so strongly marked with superior intelligence, generosity, and honor as to excite my es- teem and respect, and I accordingly dedicate this effusion of gratitude to the memory of the Hon. William Aspinwall, M.D., a gentleman, respectable in public life as a counselor, and an honor to his profession as a physician."

Of Dr. Aspinwall's religious life it may with truth be said he was always religious, and at an early age made a public profession of religion, and was always present at public worship, unless professional duties prevented. He was ever ready to impart religious as well as medical counsel at the bed of sickness, and for his holy faith he always had the most profound respect. Under bereavement, infirmity, or sickness, his religious principles yielded him firm support and buoyed him above the vicissitudes of life. During a confinement of several of the last years of his life, when deprived of his sight, the religion of Jesus Christ was his sup- port and consolation. It was the theme of his dis- course, and he considered his testimony in its favor the best legacy he could leave to his children.

Dr. Aspinwall was endowed with a strong intellect and a resoluteness that shrunk from no labor or duty. He was an example of perseverance amidst untoward circumstances and of accommodating them to his pe- culiar situation. To young physicians his example holds out encouragement, that economy, integrity, constant industry, and unremitting study of his pro- fession will finally succeed, and bring reputation and competence. Few men in any profession have sacri- ficed so small a portion of their lives to pleasure or to inaction as he. His was a life of incessant toil.

As an instance of his devotion to his professional business is the following anecdote by a friend. One day, on returning home from a round of visits, he found at his table one of his college mates, whom he had not seen since they were at Cambridge together, and whom he could probably never meet again. In the midst of their delightful intercourse a message came for Dr. Aspinwall to visit a sick person ten miles distant. Without the least delay he took leave of his friend, mounted his horse, and hastened away.

Says one who knew him well,-

" I have a clear recollection of my terror when, sixty-four years ago, a very old man, with but one eye,-he seemed to be a very old man, though he was but fifty then,-came towards me, with a little glittering weapon in his hand, as I sat in my nurse's lap. I had the promise of a cake of gingerbread if I behaved well, and so I sat still and suffered him to make a little incision in my arm. I had been carried from Boston to Brookline to be inoculated for the smallpox at the hospital 1

there, and there we were to remain for several weeks, until the affair was well over, when, after having been thoroughly smoked and purified, we were again to go forth into the world.

"These associations were but short-lived, however, for this old man with but one eye really seemed to see farther into the hearts of little people than most of people who have two, and to have a master-key to their very souls. He carried me in his arms about his farm, and showed me his calves and pigs and poultry ; told me some very pleasant stories, and gave me a puppy ; in short, I became so fond of him that I asked my mother to say to him that he might inoculate me as often as he had a mind to; and when at last the time of our departure arrived, and we had been smoked all around, and he kissed me as he put me into the carriage, I bawled out loud ; and I truly believe the good old gentlemen was gratified by this unmistaka- ble evidence of my affection."

He further adds :

" My recollections of Brookline do not quadrate with its pres- ent appearance; my reminiscences of it are of groves, and lawns, and orchards, and some noble elms around the preparatory, as it was called,-more trees and fewer houses.

" Upon the whole, my recollections of Brookline and of my residence at the hospital are very pleasant, and the impression of all I saw and heard must have been forcibly made; for by the assistance of a sort of Swedenborgian memory I can get up a very respectable resurrection of Dr. William Aspinwall at any time, just as he stood bending benignantly over me sixty-four years ago. I must have had rather a severe time of it. for I was blinded by the disease for more than a fortnight ; during which my principal distress arose from my inability to see my new puppy. The good doctor often sat by my side and com- forted me, telling me that I was much better off than he was, for in a very few days I should certainly see again as well as before with both of my eyes, but that one of his was closed forever.

" Dr. Aspinwall was about six feet in height, strongly built, and without any tendency to corpulency, even in his latter days. When a boy he entirely lost the use of his right eye in a manner which it may be well for young people to compre- hend and remember. He had drawn his arrow to the head, when the notch escaping from the bow-string, the weapon was forced backward into his right eye, and utterly destroyed that organ. When I first saw him his left eye was perfect. But in his old age he was even deprived of the sight of the remaining eye by disease. His powers of vision were undoubtedly im- paired by the too excessive use of his only eye, to such an ex- tent that it brought on a disease which terminated in a cataract and deprived him of his sight. A few years previous to his death Dr. Nathan Smith, a professor in the medical schools at Yale, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin Colleges attempted to remove the cataract, but was unsuccessful, and thus the glimmering light that remained was totally extinguished. This calamity he endured with that characteristic resignation for which this excellent Christian had ever been remarkable under all and every trial of his life. He considered it a merciful dispensation in his Maker to suspend his labors and give him leisure and op- portunity, which during a very active life he had too seldom I enjoyed, for religious reflection and preparation for death. By a daily exercise of body and mind he preserved both in full vigor. His curiosity about public events and daily occur- rences continued, and some of his last thoughts were upon his country, its prosperity, its improvement, its distinguished men, its relation with foreign powers. He was anxious that wise and good men should bear sway in our land, and that the intel- lectual, benevolent, and religious institutions received from our forefathers should be perpetuated."

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

While his professional duties consumed so much of Portland, Me. (who was a nephew of Rufus King, his time, he was also not unmindful of what was doing | United States senator from Massachusetts, and after- wards from New York, and minister to Great Britain). Mr. Aspin wall was town clerk of Brookline, 1850 and 1851 ; representative to the General Court, 1851-52; delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1853; senator from Norfolk County in 1854; trial justice, 1857-60; resigned in 1860; trustee of the Public Library, 1858-75, 1878, 1884; assessor, 1870, re- elected 1871, and declined ; selectman, 1871-72; water commissioner, 1873.

in his native town, the birthplace and place of burial of so many of his kindred. He devoted time to its interests, and the records of the town abound in evi- dence of the respect and confidence reposed in him, by electing him to various positions of honor and re- sponsibility in the gift of the town. He represented the town of Brookline in the State Legislature several years, and was thrice elected State senator for Norfolk County, beside having been called to advise in the Council of the State of Massachusetts. He was so- licited to become one of the justices of the Court of Common Pleas, but declined the honor, and retired from public employment. He was a justice of the peace throughout the commonwealth, and member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In each position he was faithful to his constituents and to the public weal, as well as unwavering in his political creed.

In 1788, Dr. Aspinwall purchased forty acres of land of Benjamin White, including the prominent and high hill on the south side of Washington Street, upon which he erected the present mansion-house in 1803, and the same has been occupied by his children and grandchildren since his decease, and is now in possession of his grandson and namesake, IIon. Wil- liam Aspinwall. At the time the doctor purchased this estate there were but few houses in sight where now they may be counted by dozens. At the lower slope of the hill there formerly stood an old house owned and occupied by Francis Blanchard, the first sexton of the " Brookline Meeting-House," when there was but one in the town.

On the 16th day of April, 1823, he peacefully sur- rendered all that was near and dear to him on earth and departed to dwell in a mansion on high.

WILLIAM ASPINWALL.

William Aspinwall, the son of Col. Thomas and Louisa Elizabeth (Poignard) Aspinwall, was born in London, England, Feb. 16, 1819. Educated in a private boarding-school at Hammersmith, near Lon- don, till nearly fourteen years of age; passed a few months at William Well's school in Cambridge, Mass. ; entered Harvard College August, 1834, graduated A.B., 1838; entered the " Dane" Law School the same year ; studied law two years ; took the degree of LL.B .; was one year in the law-office of Hon. Franklin | Dexter and George William Phillips; admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1841; became a resident of Brookline in 1847 ; married, Jan. 11, 1848, Arixene Southgate Porter, third daughter of Richard King Porter, of

EDWIN GROVER.

Edwin Grover, son of Simeon and Abigail (Hagar) Grover, was born in Newton, Mass., March 24, 1835. His early education was in the public schools of the town, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and Kim- ball Academy, Meriden, N. H., from which he entered Harvard College in the class of 1857, from which he graduated with high rank. Soon after graduating he taught school in Jamaica Plain one year, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1859, and to the New York bar in December following. During his leisure hours in that city he occupied his leisure time writing editorially for the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and with private pupils. On his twenty-fifth birthday, March 24, 1860, he mar- ried Anna M., daughter of Thomas and Julia A. (Hathaway) Porter, of Lawrence, Mass., formerly of Taunton, Mass. In August, 1861, returning to Massachusetts, he selected Corey Hill as a place of residence, on which he erected the first house built on that eminence. The place is now owned and occu- pied by George F. Fabyan. This place Mr. Grover began to occupy in February, 1862, and immediately commenced upon the successful practice of his pro- fession in Boston. In the early part of 1863 he was appointed trial justice for the county of Norfolk, and entered upon its duties immediately. He had a large and lucrative practice, and enjoyed the confidence of the citizens of Brookline and vicinity, and was fast gaining in popularity as an able and successful lawyer. Among his clients were the extensive boot and shoe house of T. and E. Bachellor & Co., of Boston, for whom he, on the 14th day of December, 1863, started on a journey to the South and West to collect and adjust settlements amounting to several hundred thousand dollars. When at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., on White River, on his way to Little Rock, he was taken suddenly ill with congestion of the liver, where, after an illness of three or four days, he died, Jan. 29, 1864, on board the steamer " Polar Star."

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 188

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534