USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 14
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 14
USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
Opposite is a large thick stone, four feet tall and about the same width, of gray slate on which appears the dates of his birth and death and the following epitaph :
My flesh shall slumber in the ground Till the last trumpet's joyful sound Then burst the chains with sweet surprise And in my Saviour's image rise.
120
PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE
Dr. Samuel Seabury was an early physician in Duxbury. Baas' "History of Medicine" refers to him as having died in 1680, leaving an estate as follows :
Nicholas Culpeppier Practice of Physic
1.4 s. o p
Nicholas Culpeppier Anatomy
3 s
Reed's Practice of Surgery
1 s. 6 p
Physician's Practice 1 s
Latin Herbal 1.10 s
Art of Distilation, by Jno. French
2 s
Surgical Instruments
12 s
Antimonial Cup 5 s
There is a record of Dr. James Thatcher, a native of Barnstable, who became a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, and afterwards was author of several books. Among them were: "Revolutionary Jour- nal," "Medical Biography," "History of Plymouth," "American Or- chardist," and "Medical Dispensary." He had studied medicine with Dr. Abner Hersey. After serving seven and a half years as an army surgeon he settled in Plymouth and there is this testimony recorded as coming from his quill: "I have seen public offices courting com- petent men to fill them; and I have seen them filled by men who with a religious conscientiousness acquitted themselves of the duty: but this now seems an antiquated morality."
Dr. Thatcher in his "Military Journal of the Revolutionary War," refers to an occurrence in Barnstable in 1774: "A body of men as- sembled and obstructed the passage of the court-house door. The leader of this assemblage was Dr. Nathaniel Freeman of Sandwich, a bold Son of Liberty. Col. James Otis, the venerable chief justice, preceded by the sheriff, approached and demanded admission. Dr. Freeman replied that it was the intention of the people to prevent the court being opened to exercise those unconstitutional powers with which Parliament had invested them. The chief justice, in his maj- esty's name, commanded them to disperse and permit the court to enter and proceed to business. But his majesty's name had lost its power. It can have no charms with the "Sons of Liberty." The
judge then said he had acquitted himself of duty, and retired. The proceedings had been discussed and concerted prior to the court term, and Col. Otis, himself a staunch whig, was, it is believed, not only apprised of, but actually acquiesced in their bold measure.
Dr. Abner Hersey, to whom Dr. Thatcher had been apprenticed when he was eighteen years of age, was one of three sons of James Hersey of Hingham who became physicians. Ezekiel was graduated from Harvard College in 1728 and practiced in Hingham. Dr. James Hersey practiced in Barnstable and it was from him that Dr. Abner Hersey
121
PIONEERS, PATRIOTS AND PRACTITIONERS
obtained his early knowledge of medicine, studying in his office. While thus engaged Dr. James died and Dr. Abner carried on the practice.
A Vegetarian and Wore Red Flannel-The latter was eccentric, wore large, loose-fitting garments, his overcoat consisting of seven calfskins lined with flannel and, as red flannel was supposed to have peculiarly effective remedial qualities at that time, it is presumed that the lining was of that lurid hue. Dr. Hersey ate principally fruit, milk and vege- tables, was a vegetarian and total abstainer from alcoholic beverages, which was, in itself, sufficient in those days to give him a reputation for being decidedly "queer." He was, however, a studious, skillful and much- liked physician and one of the early members of the Massachustts Medi- cal Society, the parent society in New England. He accumulated an ample estate, the chief part of which he bequeathed to the churches in Barnstable. He left five hundred pounds to establish a professorship of anatomy and surgery at Harvard College. He died January 9, 1787, aged sixty-six.
To return to Dr. James Thatcher, during his long term as a phy- sician and surgeon in the Revolutionary War, he first served as sur- geon's mate under Dr. John Warren. He was later, in a different regiment, in the expedition of Ticonderoga, was at the seige of York- town, witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis and the execution of Major André. He retired from army service in 1783, and settled in Plym- outh. Through his efforts the canopy was erected over Plymouth Rock, a picture of which for generations appeared in most of the geographies studied throughout the United States. The canopy had built into it the bones of some of the Pilgrim Fathers. It was torn down and replaced by another canopy previous to the celebration of the Ter- centenary of the Pilgrims in 1920.
Dr. Thatcher and his brother-in-law, Dr. Nathan Hayward, estab- lished the first stage line between Plymouth and Boston, in 1796. He heard of the burning of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania and was the first to use that fuel in Plymouth. He introduced the tomato plant in Plymouth. It was in those days called "love apple," and by most people not considered suitable for food.
Many books on medical subjects were written by Dr. Thatcher. In one of these books on "Observations on Hydrofobia," published in 1812, he expressed the opinion that there might be methods of pre- vention or cure and that study along that line should be encouraged. He had been a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society at that time nearly a decade and his inclination to adopt new ideas and his thoughts in advance of his generation attracted much attention among his fellow-members. Among the students whom he instructed in his
122
PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE
office was Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, of Carver, an ancestor of Dr. W. D. Shurtleff of Kingston. He received the honorary degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Medicine from Harvard College and from Dart- mouth College in 1810 and was made a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died in 1844, one of the most progressive citizens of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Medical Society to which reference has already been made, was the parent organization of the Plymouth District Medical Society, to which most of the eminent physicians of Plymouth County at present belong. The Massachusetts society was incorpor- ated November 1, 1871. The charter was signed by John Hancock, governor of the Commonwealth; and Samuel Adams, president of the Massachusetts Senate. To that organization most Plymouth County physicians belonged until the Plymouth District Medical Society was established October 2, 1850.
Among those early members, in addition to those already mentioned in that connection, was Dr. Jonathan Leonard, who was born in Bridge- water, February 17, 1763. His ancestor, Solomon Leonard, was one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater, moving to that place from Duxbury.
Dr. Leonard attended Harvard College and two years after his graduation from that institution in 1786, settled in Sandwich. Har- vard College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824. It has been said of him "He had the confidence and respect of his associates and was held in esteem as far as his name was known." His death occurred January 25, 1849, aged eighty- six years.
Another of the early physicians, conspicuous in walks of honor and service to their fellow-men, aside from their professional requirements, included Dr. Charles T. Jackson, who was born in Plymouth in 1805, graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1829, studied later in Paris and was made a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in recognition of his scientific labor and research. He served as geologist of Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, explored the southern shores of Lake Superior and opened a copper mine. It is said that he suggested the possibility of communication by means of electricity and made important discoveries before Professor Samuel F. B. Morse secured a patent for the telegraph in 1840.
Discovery and Application of Ether-A memorial was presented to Congress in 1852, signed by 143 physicians of Boston, ascribing the discovery of anasthesia exclusively to Dr. Jackson. A contradictory claim was made in behalf of Dr. W. T. G. Morton and scientific and
123
PIONEERS, PATRIOTS AND PRACTITIONERS
general opinion have been divided whether one or the other should re- ceive credit for this great advance in saving of human life by surgery. The French Academy of Science decreed a prize of 2,500 francs to Dr. Jackson for the discovery of etherization and the same amount to Dr. Morton for the application. Dr. Jackson received decorations from the governments of France, Prussia, Sweden, Turkey and Sardinia, his recognition as a man of broad and scientific learning extending into many countries. He died in 1880.
Dr. Gridley Thaxter, one of the Revolutionary War surgeons, was born in Hingham, April 9, 1756. He engaged as a surgeon on the privateer "Speedwell" and sailed from Boston in 1776, under Captain Jonathan Greeley. He continued on her during the taking of several prizes until 1778. He served with Captain David Ropes of Salem in the brig "Wildcat," which was a schooner of fourteen tons, in the harbor of Halifax, which subsequently was recaptured by a schooner, brig and two sloops. The frigate "Surprise" proved truly named to them and the following day they were upon her deck as prisoners. Dr. Thaxter remained on the prison ship about three months. He was exchanged from Halifax a month later.
He was on the brig "Warrior," fourteen guns, Captain William Patten, Jr., in May, 1780, when that brig was captured by the sloop- of-war "Captain Ingalls." He was kept aboard a prison ship three weeks in New York. After his release he shipped on the State ship "Mars," Captain Simeon Sampson, and remained as surgeon until 1781.
Dr. Thaxter had bought a set of dishes in Paris which, strangely enough, he was able to retain in his possession during several of his Revolutionary adventures. He intended them as a gift to his bride when he should be married at the close of the war. The dishes were still intact when he was discharged from the service and he stored them in his father's barn in Hingham until his approaching wedding. This took place, the bride being the daughter of General Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham, who also served in the Revolutionary War.
1
·
Dr. Thaxter got the girl but she never got the dishes, as the Thaxter barn was burned and only two dishes were saved. Those two, how- ever, have come down with the story from Revolutionary times and are still cherished possessions. One of them was exhibited at the observ- ance of the sixtieth anniversary of the organization of the Plymouth District Medical Society at Abington, May 27, 1911, by Dr. Gilman Osgood, at that time historian of the society.
Dr. Thaxter moved from Hingham to Abington in 1783. He died in that town in 1845, aged eighty-nine years.
Dr. Ezekiel Thaxter, son of Dr. Gridley Thaxter, was a physician in
124
PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE
Abington, beginning before the death of his father, and succeeding him until his death October 11, 1856. He was sixty-nine years of age. The last three years of his life he suffered from paralysis. He held the office of town clerk of Abington from 1821 to 1832.
One of the most noted men in the colony was Dr. John Clark. He early took a scientific interest in promoting agriculture and especially in the introduction of improved breeds of horses, cattle and other domestic animals.
One of the founders of the Pilgrim Society, which has done so much to preserve sites and locations of early history, was Dr. Zaccheus Bartlett. He was graduated from Harvard in 1789 and was orator of the day at the observance of the Pilgrim anniversary in 1798.
Among the early physicians of note who served in the Revolutionary War was Dr. Harvey N. Preston.
Governor Winthrop has left us a record of Dr. Robert Child who settled in Hingham in 1644, saying he was "a man of quality, a gentle- man and a scholar."
Dr. David Jones of Abington settled in that town about 1750. He was a scientific man and one of fine distinctions. Cole brook courses through the farm which he occupied and various reasons have been given for the name, many supposing that it was named in honor of some person of that name. Others have said that Cold brook was the correct name and it took the other name from the prevailing habit of Yankees to neglect sounding the final d. Dr. Jones, however, ob- served that along the banks of this stream cole, a kind of kale or cabbage which does not form a head, grew luxuriantly and he named the brook in various references as deserving of this distinction.
He was one of the selectmen of Abington six years, was chosen by the town to purchase a bell of about 600 pounds weight for the First Church. In 1774, he was chosen a delegate from the town to a county congress held in Plympton. At that convention he was chosen one of the committee to report resolves on the oppressive acts of the British Parliament and the rights of the Colonies. He was a dele- gate to the first Provincial Congress at Salem, October 5, 1774, and also at the third at Watertown, July 31, 1775. He was a delegate to the convention at Cambridge in September, 1779, to form a State Con- stitution. His son, Dr. David Jones, Jr., was a surgeon in the Revo- lutionary War. He had a hospital for smallpox patients in Abington for a year or two. He moved to Yarmouth, Maine, where he prac- ticed over thirty years.
Dr. Jeremiah Hall of Hanover settled in that town in 1749, was surgeon in Captain Joseph Thatcher's company in 1757, during the
125
PIONEERS, PATRIOTS AND PRACTITIONERS
French and Indian War, moved to Pembroke in 1764. While a prac- ticing physician in Pembroke he was chosen a delegate to the Provincial Congresses of 1774-75.
Dr. Lemuel Cushing succeeded him as practitioner in Hanover. Dur- ing the Revolution he served as surgeon in the army, by appointment of the Provincial Congress.
Another Hanover physician of distinction in the Revolutionary times was Dr. Peter Hobart. He was an apprentice to Jeremiah Lincoln as an iron smith but was ambitious to receive an education and entered Harvard College with savings which he had earned as an iron worker. He was graduated from Harvard in 1775, settled in Hanover at the age of twenty-five, and was a useful citizen and skillful practitioner. On his tombstone in Center Hanover Cemetery appears the follow- ing epitaph :
Thousands of journeys, night and day, I've travelled weary on the way To heal the sick-but now I am gone A journey never to return.
Dr. Joseph Bossuet came from Paris, France, his native city, and joined forces with the American colonists about the same time as Lafayette. He was a physician and surgeon in the Washington army, was captured by the British and suffered heavy property losses, which is supposed to have determined his decision to remain in this coun- try and continue his practice. He practiced in Hanover and Hingham, in the former town in 1799 and 1800 and possibly longer.
Dr. Pierre Cartier, a Frenchman of scholarly attainments but ec- centric, came to Plymouth from the Island of Martinique about this time and was a physician in Hanover seven years. He practiced for a time in Hanson and returned to Martinique.
Dr. Richard Briggs practiced in Abington about 1780. He was a surgeon on board a public ship in the Revolutionary War. His prac- tice in Abington covered thirty years and he then moved to Chester- field in Hampshire County. He left numerous children, some of whom moved to the West.
Grandfather of a Poet-Dr. Philip Bryant, a native of Middleborough, early became a resident of North Bridgewater, to which town (now Brockton) his father moved at a time when, as Dr. Bryant has been quoted as saying: "a greater part of it was thought unfit for the pur- pose of settlement."
There was, at the same time, a Dr. Abiel Howard in West Bridge- water, an older physician, to whom Dr. Bryant became an apprentice. Dr. Howard had a daughter who later became the wife of Dr. Philip
126
PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE
Bryant and, in time, the grandmother of William Cullen Bryant, the noted poet. Dr. Bryant practiced medicine in North Bridgewater un- til his death, at the age of eighty-five years, in 1817.
One of his sons, Dr. Peter Bryant, was born in North Bridgewater August 12, 1767. He was a pronounced student, gaining much knowl- edge and inspiration from his visits to his grandfather, Dr. Abiel Howard, in West Bridgewater, who was the possessor of an unusually good library for those times. From both his grandfather and father he obtained a knowledge of medicine, supplemented by study under Dr. Louis Leprilite of Norton, Massachusetts, a French physician and surgeon of eminence.
He moved to Cummington, Massachusetts, married a daughter of Ebenezer Snell, also a native of North Bridgewater. Present at the wedding was the grandmother of the bride, Mrs. Abigail Snell, who lived to see seven generations of descendants and was nearly one hun- dred years of age at her death.
For several years, Dr. Peter Bryant represented the fast-growing town of Cummington in the General Court of Massachusetts, serving in both the House and Senate. He took a prominent part in legis- lation to raise the standard of medical education in the Commonwealth. He was a careful and successful practitioner, using every opportunity to improve himself in his profession and as a citizen. He traveled to ports in the Indian Ocean, spent a time on the Isle of France perfecting himself in the French language, wrote occasional poems and was a man of attainments unusual in his day. In politics he served with zeal as a member of the Federal party and some of his satirical verses, printed in the "Hampshire Gazette," showed alike his scholarship and uncompromising convictions.
The foregoing is by no means a complete list of the eminent phy- sicians in the early days but those mentioned were typical of all who were conscientious practitioners of the healing art, through popular medicine. The list may be taken as mentioning some of those, at least, who were not only faithful in their ministrations to the sick, but in their full duties as citizens and builders of the republic which began on the "Mayflower," and brings us up to the time of the organization of the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1781. Most of the prominent physicians throughout the Commonwealth were mem- bers of that society until district societies were set apart, among them the Plymouth District Medical Society.
Concerning those early practitioners, from Dr. Samuel Fuller who came in the "Mayflower," to the time of the organization of the State society, it is well to echo the words of Dr. Ebenezer Alden: "Let us
127
PIONEERS, PATRIOTS AND PRACTITIONERS
cherish the memory of such men. As we drop a tear of sympathy over their graves, we can scarcely fail to grow wiser and better. A thought of their sufferings will lighten our own; and should any of us perish as they did in the conscientious discharge of our duty, it may console us in the hour of our departure to reflect that after our decease we shall still live not only in the grateful recollections but also in the worthy deeds of some who, emulating our example, may be led by it to practice some of the virtues which they admire."
Among the early members of the Massachusetts Medical Society in Plymouth County, as we know it, was Dr. Isaachar Snell of North Bridgewater, graduated from Harvard College in 1797. He gave special attention to surgery and had performed the operation of lithotomy with great success. He moved from North Bridgewater to Winthrop, Maine, and later to Augusta, Maine, dying in the latter city in 1847, aged seventy-two years.
In 1844, two brothers, Dr. Silas L. Loomis, and Dr. Lafayette Charles Loomis, came from their native town, North Coventry, Con- necticut, to North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and established the Adelphian Academy. Both were graduated Doctors of Medicine from Georgetown College, but neither of them practiced medicine in this county. They were writers of books, teachers in colleges and acade- mies, and men of unusual attainments. Dr. Silas L. Loomis was a soldier in the Civil War. More of their career will be found in the history of Brockton (North Bridgewater), in its proper place in this volume.
Dr. Richards was a practicing physician in Whitman, formerly South Abington, commencing about 1806. In addition to his practice he, in 1812, manufactured cloth, associated with Mr. Tirrell of Boston. He removed to Cummington, Massachusetts.
Dr. John Champney was a physician in Abington, following his serv- ice in the War of 1812.
Dr. Gideon Barstow was an early member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, having been admitted in 1808. He was a member of the convention for revising the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1820, and the two following years a member of Congress from Massachusetts. He was a graduate from Brown University and had practiced medicine in Salem before locating in Hanover. Still later he moved to Brook- line, Massachusetts, and died in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1852, where he had gone for his health.
Dr. Calvin Tilden lived in the Gad Hitchcock house in Hanson and practiced in that town and in Hanover. Gad Hitchcock, the first min- ister in Hanson, was a clergyman of sterling character, patriotic and
128
PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE
fearless, and an ancestor of Dr. Tilden. The latter was admitted to the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1810. He died in 1832, aged fifty-seven years. The historic house in Hanson where he resided is still standing.
In 1810 the Legislature directed towns to appoint committees and defray the expense of vaccinating people against smallpox. Each town had its "Pest House." Eleven years before Edward Jenner, a phy- sician of Berkeley, England, discovered vaccination. The first person in the United States to be vaccinated with matter procured from Eng- land, was a son of Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse of Boston.
There is a record quoted in Thatcher's "History of Plymouth" of 1816: "The town voted to employ Dr. Sylvanus Fancher to inoculate the in- habitants with the kine pox, at the expense of the town, which was done, and 2,800, chiefly of the young inhabitants, were vaccinated."
As has already been stated, the Massachusetts Medical Society was incorporated in 1781. The membership increased so rapidly from all parts of the Commonwealth that, in 1850, by act of the Legislature, district societies were allowed to elect councillors and censors. Each branch society took the name of the location or county in which its membership was located. The first meeting of the Plymouth District Medical Society was held at the King House in Abington, May 27, 1851, the district consisting of Plymouth County, with the ex- ception of Middleborough, Rochester and Wareham, which are not included. The original officers elected were: President, Dr. Paul L. Nichols, of Kingston; secretary, Dr. Winslow Warren, of Plymouth; and treasurer, Dr. Alfred C. Garrett, of Abington; librarian, Dr. J. M. Underwood, of East Abington, now Rockland; councillors, Dr. Ezekiel Thaxter, of Abington, and Dr. Timothy Gordon, of Plymouth; censors, Dr. Timothy Gordon and Dr. Josiah S. Hammond of Plympton. Other physicians who signed the roll that day were Dr. Hector Orr, of East Bridgewater; Dr. Samuel Orr, of East Bridgewater; Dr. Benjamin Hubbard, of Plymouth; Dr. Charles A. King, of Abington, and Dr. Francis Collamore, of Pembroke.
By the organization of Norfolk South District in 1884, Hingham and Hull were lost to the older organization.
The society holds meetings every three months and the annual elec- tions take place in April. At each meeting an essay is read by some member, cases are reported, there are discussions and a dinner. All who are admitted as members, after recommendation by the censors, are also members of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In 1906 for the first time, the so-called Homeopathists were admitted to membership in the parent society.
129
PIONEERS, PATRIOTS AND PRACTITIONERS
Plymouth District Medical Society-The first president of the Plymouth District Medical Society, Dr. Paul Louis Nichols of King- ston-which, by the way, was the home of the first physician in what is now Plymouth County, Dr. Samuel Fuller of the "Mayflower"-was born in Cohasset, September 24, 1788. He remained president of the society until 1867. He practiced in Kingston more than fifty-five years and during that time never left his practice, except to attend the Mas- sachusetts Medical Society's annual meetings and one visit of a week in New York. His death came after he had attained the age of an octogenarian.
Dr. Garrett, the first treasurer, was an author of several works on electricity as a therapeutical agent.
The presidents of the Plymouth District Medical Society, in the order of their election and service, have been as follows.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.