USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 38
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It is hard to be compelled with the sharp and unrelenting point of truth to punc- ture and take the mind out of a sweet pretty fabrication like the above. I greatly fear that Orlando though a "religious man which Colonel King does not profess to be," vet hath somewhat of the original Adam remaining within his epidermis, and that in the language of the Press, he still needs no family Bible to prove his relationship to the Duke of Hillhurst. -Journal, September 10, 1874.
"Underwood stultifies himself-simply that he may raise an opposition to 'Bill King' whom he hates because he is a brother of ours." -Advocate.
"Orlando, you are getting forgetful. A while ago you said we hated Bill because he refused to set us 'up in business,' and now because he is your brother. No. no, we love the whole King family. and you can't help yourself. You can't shake us off that way. We mean to stick to you." -Journal, October 1. 1874.
WHY THE TELEGRAM.
There have been in all, more than twenty newspapers in Fergus Falls, and their careers have been as checkered as that of any business or profession of the city. They have been decimated and driven to the four corners of the compass like the noble red man before the march of higher civilization, until only four survive to tell their history: and none of the four would tell it in full. All, with one exception, came into the world naked, on a mission of profit or revenge. Some lingered for a time and went out like a candle in the wind. Others scintillated for a briefer period before entering the realms of oblivion.
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The Telegram came, "born with a silver spoon in its mouth," generously inserted by C. F. Kindred, candidate for Congress in 1882. It was conceived sired, dammed and endowed by Kindred to promote his election. It did not lack sustenance till the votes were counted. To change the metaphor, it was a gallant craft, manned with a valiant, if somewhat convivial crew, and grace- fully rode the boisterous billows of the political sea till the wind went down. This calm came with Kindred's defeat for Congress, when the owner, captain and purser, three in one, an unsavory trinity, deserted the ship and paddled ashore in a leaky life boat, a sadder but wiser man.
To return to our first similitude after the desertion of the father, the more human crew attempted to raise the unfortunate child on the bottle. Of such there was a plenty ; but lacking the sustaining fluid, the rickety thing was adopted by the Fergus Falls Journal, where it soon lost its identity
The advent of the Telegram added to the amenities of the Press ( ?) of those times, and while the advocacy of Kindred's candidacy made "hard sledding" on the road to success, it did not hinder its career of abuse of any and all the suppoters of Nelson. As a sample of the elevated tone of journal- ism at that time, a single instance will serve to illustrate it. Bagg Hall was Kindred's editor of the Telegram. Jacob Austin was a strong supporter of Knute Nelson. That was sufficient to incur Bagg's antipathy. The Telegram came out one day with an abusive and scurrilous diatribe on Austin. No one who knew the latter expected him to remain quiet. All looked for the next issue of the Journal to see what Jake would say in reply. When the Journal appeared, sure enough, it contained Austin's answer, as follows :
"To the Editor of Journal :
"I see that Bagg Hall is drunk again.
"J. Austin."
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CHAPTER XX.
THE OTTER TAIL COUNTY BAR.
No one cares much for the lawyer except in time of trouble. The members of no profession or calling are subject to such severe criticism as the lawyers. No subject in any book of maxims is so lengthy in condemna- tory proverbs as the "Lawyer." It is a popular custom to speak of them as a profession of rascals. People forget that "dishonest clients make dis- honest lawyers." It is not hard to find a reason for this general opinion. In a measure, the profession is responsible for this popular estimate. One unscrupulous shyster in a community will characterize, in the minds of the people, the whole bar, and none know his unworthiness better than the bar itself. It is generally believed that there is a sort of "freemasonry" in the profession, obligating its members to hang together, and overlook, if not actually defend, the methods of its delinquents. There is just enough truth in this to justify the public in such an estimate of the profession.
Knowing, as lawyers do, who are the disreputable members of the bar, they seem to be the last ones willing to complain and apply the adequate existing remedies for non-professional conduct; and their lack of action in such cases justifies many of the criticisms directed against the profession.
Within restricted limits, the competition is as sharp and strenuous among lawyers as in any other business. Every shyster has his friends and followers, and naturally they are as unscrupulous as he. A complaint against him by a brother practitioner for dishonest or unprofessional con- duct, subjects the complaining one to the charge of jealousy and a desire to injure a competitor. In ninety cases out of a hundred, the dread of that charge restrains the reputable lawyer from moving in the matter of dis- barment. Hence, the unworthy member is permitted to continue his career in "shysterdom," while the public looks and holds the fraternity in sympathy, if not in league, with him in his methods and practice.
But notwithstanding all these jibes and criticisms, there is no more honorable. high-minded and conscientious body of men than those of the legal profession. Their influence for good is everywhere felt, and the moral tone of a community takes its bent from its lawyers, often to a greater extent than it does from its clergymen. This is so because the lawyer comes in closer touch with the practical affairs of a neighborhood than does the minister.
The Otter Tail county bar has been no exception to the general rule. It has contained its full quota of honest, able and upright members, and
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possessed its share of shysters and "alleged lawyers," as well. In point of moral worth, it has always ranked with that of any other bar in the state, and in point of ability it has always been considered by the courts-the best judges of the bar's merits-as the equal of any in the state and the superior of many.
Officially, it has furnished the nation and the state with one United States senator, three district court judges, one supreme court justice, two attorney-generals of the state. two assistant attorney-generals, one United States district attorney and one railroad and warehouse commissioner.
The following is a list of the attorneys of the county, with the date of their settlement and the time of their departure therefrom, either through death or removal to other localities, in so far as the facts are obtainable :
E. E. Corliss
1870
Bert Melville
1871-1873
Newton H. Chittenden
1871-1876
John W. Mason 1871 1 1
Peter N. Smith
1872-1886 Killed
David P. Hatch 1
1871-1875
C. E. Chapman 1878 1 1
H. E. Rawson 1880-1891 1 1 1 1 1
Moses E. Clapp 1
1881-1891
H. F. Woodard 1882-1891 1 1
James F. Cowie
1884-1915
Died in California
Edwin M. Wright
Died
Charles L. Lewis 1
1872-1893 1879-1889
Clifford L. Hilton
1879-1909
A. C. Brown
1882-1885
1 John O. Barke 1880 1 I 1 1
Riley J. Marden
1880-1904 Died
F. J. Peterson
1884-1886
M. R. Tyler
1880-1906
1 George W. Frankberg Native 1 1 I
Nicholas F. Field
Native
John L. Townley 1902
Luther L. Baxter
1884-1915 Died
J. O. Barke 1880
1 1 Chauncey L. Baxter 1884-1904 1 I
Charles C. Houpt
1883-1906
Henry W. Childs 1884-1887
1 Edward Dampier 1887-1904
Charles H. Tusley
1881-1886 Died
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William L. Parsons
1883
Michael J. Daly
1882
John P. Winter 1898-1903
Anton Thompson
1876
John Thompson
1876
Henry Thompson
Native
John Strachen
H. R. Day
1881-1889
Died
Henry Dressler
1882-1897
Died
Charles L. Alexander
1906
Harry Bruce
1881
William P. Bailey
1886
George C. Olmstead
1889
P. O. Noben
1872-1889
Hans Bugge
1885-1900
George W. Downing
1890-1905
I 1 H. Lord 1880-1885
A. Shannon
1885
James A. Brown
1883
J. P. Shroeder
Native
George F. Shea
Native
Arthur Barke
Native
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
The followers of Aesculapius found their way into Otter Tail county shortly after it was organized in 1868. As far as is known, there were no physicians in the county prior to 1871, although there may have been some called in from adjoining counties. Undoubtedly, physicians had been called to Otter Tail City before 1862, when the Indians frightened all the people out of the county. The trials of the pioneer physicians of the county were probably greater than fell to the lot of any other class of men. With a scat- tered population, few roads, and all these mere trails at first, the physician of forty-five years ago necessarily had to be a man of courage if he expected to locate in the county and attend to all the calls which might come to him.
The first physician in Fergus Falls, and probably the first in the county, was Dr. R. M. Reynolds ( Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1866), who came from Rochester, Minnesota, in 1871. He built a small log cabin at the corner of Union and Junius avenues, where he and his young wife began housekeeping in the fall of 1871. Doctor Reynolds was a finely educated man, devoted to his profession, and was not only looked upon as an able man in his profession, but also as a very desirable citizen for the new county. In his chapter on Reminiscences, Mr. Mason has given an interesting sketch of Doctor Reynolds. It is sufficient to say in this connection that he continued to practice in Fergus Falls until 1895, when he removed to California, dying at Redlands, in that state, three years later, at the age of fifty-five.
It is not the purpose of this chapter to give a complete sketch of all of the physicians who have practiced in the county for the past forty-five years. The personal sketches of several of the physicians of today appear in the bio- graphical section of this work.
Otter Tail county today has representatives of all the various schools for the treatment of disease, and, as a matter of historical knowledge, they should find a place in the medical history of the county. Each system of treatment has its followers, and just as there are different churches wherein a man may prepare himself for the future life, so are there different schools of medicine by which a man may seek to keep himself in this life as long as possible. Some wise man has made the remark that notwithstanding the fact that we have allopaths, homeopaths, osteopaths, neuropaths. samopaths and psycho- paths, yet all paths lead to the grave. The historian of Otter Tail county who reads these pages a century hence will doubtless smile as he reads these pages,
(23)
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and wonder at the various systems of therapeutics and prophylactics herein described.
There is no accurate way of determining the number of physicians in Otter Tail county prior to 1897, although the great majority of them are shown in the appended list. The Legislature of 1897 passed an act which provided that "Before engaging in practice, the holder of a license shall file it for record with the clerk of the district court in the county where he resides. Upon removal to another county, he shall there file his license in a like manner before engaging in practice therein. Such clerk shall keep, in the record books of such licenses an index thereof, showing the date and page of record, and in January of each year shall furnish to the secretary of the board a list of licenses so filed. Upon notice to the clerk of the death or removal of a licensee, or of the revocation of a license, he shall note the same on the record of such license." A subsequent act was passed in 1905, but it made little change in the law, merely defining certain points and making the law fuller so that it would cover certain points which we overlooked in previous acts.
An effort has been made to compile a complete list of all the physicians who have practiced in Otter Tail county. No local records are available prior to 1897, and the names of the physicians who practiced before that time have been ascertained from interviews with residents of the county who have lived here since the seventies. In the list which is here appended an effort has been made to learn the name of the college from which the physician graduated, the date of graduation, the year he registered in the county or state and his present address. In many cases the records do not show the county in which the physician first registered; in other cases it has not been possible to locate physicians who have practiced in the county in the past.
The following list does not include the physicians who have been connec- ted with the Fergus Falls state hospital for the insane since it was estab- lished in 1891. Some of these physicians have been registered in Otter Tail county but have never practiced here, although on a few occasions, they have been called in consultation by local physicians. As far as known, none of the physicians connected with the hospital has ever practiced in the county.
Ausman, Carl F .- University of Minnesota. 1913; registered in Stearns county first and in Otter Tail, October 22. 1913: present address.
Baker, Axel C .- Northwestern, Chicago, 1901; registered in Otter Tail county. Octo- . ber 11. 1901. and has practiced in Fergus Falls since that date.
Bedford. W. C .- Chicago Medical College. 1874; came to Fergus Falls in 1876, the second physician to locate in the county: practiced in Fergus until about 1890, when ' he went west on account of his health. and later died in Tombstone. Arizona.
Beise, C. J .- Rush Medical College, 1894; practiced in Fergus Falls for a number of years. and later moved to Mankato. where he died.
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Bergthold, J. I ..- University of Maryland, 1886; came to Minnesota the year of his graduation and has practiced practically ever since in Pelican Rapids.
Bergquist, K. E .- Hamline, 1897; first registered in Ramsey county and later in Otter Tail, but practiced in this county only a few years.
Black, William .- University of Minnesota, 1909: registered in Hennepin county, June 30, 1909.
Boysen. Peter .- University of Minnesota, 1911; registered in Otter Tail county July 24. 1911, and has since practiced in Pelican Rapids.
Brabec, Frank J .- University of Minnesota, 1803; registered in Otter Tail county the same year. and has practiced at Perham since that time.
Bridgman, Mark S .- University of Minnesota. 1915; deceased.
Brown, John B .- Boston University School of Medicine, 1900; registered in Otter Tail county January 24, 1901.
Burke, E. L .- University of Illinois, 1900; registered in Otter Tail county June 19, 1900.
Burlingame. C. C .- University of Minnesota, 1915; now connected with the Cheney Silk Mills in Connecticut.
Burnap. Willard L .- Rush Medical College, 1901; registered in Otter Tail county in 1905: first practiced in Pelican Rapids and later in Fergus Falls, where he is now located.
Cole. A. B .- Homeopathic Medical College. New York, 1879; located in Fergus Falls In 1882; has practiced in the city since that time.
Cole. Carl Vincent .- University of Minnesota, 1904; registered in Otter Tail county April 22, 1905: now practicing in Mobile, Alabama.
Cutler, C. W .- Rush Medical College, 1880; Bellevue Hospital Medical College. 1885; now located at Park Rapids, Minnesota.
Davis, Luther A .- University of Minnesota. 1901; registered In Otter Tail county April 12. 1901 ; now practicing at Dalton.
Drought. W. W .- University of Minnesota. 1891; registered in Otter Tail county and has practiced for the past several years in Fergus Falls.
Duncan. W. T .- McGill University, Canada, 1882; settled in Fergus Falls where he practiced until he died.
Eichler, William C .- Hamline. 1908: registered in Otter Tail county June 26. 1908, and practiced in Fergus Falls until his death in 1914.
Eisen, W. T .- Bennett Medical College. Chicago. 1880; came to Otter Tail county in October, 1883, and practiced in Fergus Falls for a time.
Engstrom. F. A .- University of Minnesota, 1908: registered in Otter Tail county June 26, 1908: practiced in Clitherall for a few years.
Esser. John .- University of Minnesota, 1908: registered in Otter Tail county April 16. 1909, and has since practiced at Perbam.
Estrem. C. O .- University of Minnesota. 1907: registered in Otter Tail county April 17, 1908, and has since practiced in Fergus Falls.
Fortier. Edward .- University of Minnesota, 1908: registered in Otter Tail county June 26. 1908.
Freeborn, John A .- Rush Medical College. Chicago, 1889; practiced in Fergus Falls since 1889.
Gosslee, Albert .- Exemption certificate: now practicing at Deer Creek.
Greenlee. D. R .- University of Victoria. Canada, 1886: practiced In Fergus Falls during the eighties. later went to Minneapolis where he died.
Haugan, Otto M .- Northwestern University, Chicago, 1902; registered in Otter Tail county on October 24, 1902, and has practiced in Fergus Falls since that time.
Haugen. Gilbert T .- University of Minnesota. 1905: registered in Otter Tail county in June. 1905. since which time he has practiced in Battle Lake.
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Haynes, Fred E .- University of Minnesota, 1809; registered in Otter Tail county October 12, 1899.
Heimark, Charles D .-- University of Nashville, 1896; registered in Minnesota in 1901, and practiced for several years in Battle Lake; later practiced in northern Minne- sota ; deceased.
Hirschfield, M. S .- Hamline, 1902; registered in Otter Tail county June 20, 1902; practiced for a while in this county and then removed to Duluth where he is now located.
Hoffmann, Jacob L .- University of Christiana, Norway, 1894; registered in Minne- sota, 1900; before locating in Henning he practiced at Elbow Lake.
Hutton, Terry J .- Long Island College Hospital, 1871; came to Minnesota in the early eighties and located at Fergus Falls where he practiced until his death.
Jelstrup, M. F. B. C .- Northwestern, Chicago, 1903; registered in Otter Tail county June 19, 1903; practiced for a time at Vining and then went to North Dakota where he is now located.
Kittelson, Theodore M .- University of Minnesota, 1902; registered in Otter Tail county June 20, 1902; has practiced in Fergus Falls since that date.
Knight, John .- Exemption certificate; registered in Minnesota in January, 1894, and has been practicing continuously since that time in this county; for several years he has been located in the village of Otter Tail.
Larsen, Anders D .- University of Minnesota, 1893; located at Parkers Prairie, where he practiced a few years.
Larson, Frank E .- University of Minnesota, 1902; registered in Otter Tail county June 20, 1902.
Leaky, Bartholomew .- Registered in Otter Tail county October 25, 1911.
Lee, J. Kenelm .- John Hopkins, 1904; registered in Minnesota in October, 1904; practiced in Fergus Falls from 1904 to 1907 when he located in Minneapolis.
Lee, William A .- University of Illinois, 1913; registered in Otter Tail county May 16, 1913, practiced here for a short time and then located in Minneapolis.
Leonard, H. C .- Hahnemann, Philadelphia, 187S; came to Fergus Falls shortly . after graduation from medical college, and practiced here until about 1898; now in Duluth.
Lewis, Arthur .-- College of Physicians and Surgeons, Minneapolis, 1895; registered in Minnesota in 1895; practiced at Henning since 1895.
Lyng, John .- University of Minnesota, 1800; registered in Minnesota in June, 1890; has practiced in Fergus Falls since 1913.
McLean, T. N .- McGill University. Canada, 1882; registered in Minnesota in Octo- ber, 1883, and practiced in Fergus Falls until his death.
McNulty, J. F .- Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, 1893; registered in Minnesota, January, 1894; practiced in Fergus Falls until 1896.
McDonald, T. S .- Exemption certificate ; practiced in Henning.
Magelsen, Melsuis .- University of King Frederick, Norway, 1877; registered in Minnesota in October. 1883: practiced in Fergus Falls; deceased.
Magnusson, Gustav A .- University of Minnesota, 1908; registered in Otter Tail county, June 26, 1908; practiced at Battle Lake; now located at Aitkin, Minnesota.
Magnusson, Victor .- University of Minnesota, 1903; registered in Otter Tail county February 6, 1909, and practiced for a short time at Battle Lake, now located at Aitkin, Minnesota.
Martin, Thomas Roy .- University of Minnesota, 1907; registered in Otter Tail county June 13, 1907.
Meidell. Roy A. O .- University of Christiana, Norway, 1895, registered in Otter Tail county January 12. 1897, being the first name to appear on the register of physi- cians in Otter Tail county; practiced in Fergus Falls a few months; now located at Aneta, North Dakota.
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Miller, W. A .- Kansas City Medical College, 1896; registered in Otter Tail county April 12, 1899, and has lived in the county since that time; is now located at the vil- lage of Otter Tail.
Naegeli, Frank .- Northwestern, Chicago, 1911; registered in Otter Tail county April "24, 1912, and has practiced in Fergus Falls.
Nielson, Tord .- University of King Frederick, Norway, 1881; registered in Minne- sota in 1883; came to Fergus Falls and continued to practice here until about 1900; now located in North Dakota.
Ohrbom. Torsten .- Alexanders University. Helsingfors, Fiuland, Europe, 1902; reg- istered in Otter Tail county January 15, 1909, and practiced at New York Mills for a time and then moved to Indiana.
Olson, John W .- University of Minnesota, 1900: registered in Otter Tail county June, 1901; practiced in Fergus Falls a short time; now located in North Dakota.
Otto, Henry Carl .-- Registered in Otter Tail county January 17, 1912, and has since practiced at Vergas.
Pattee, William H .- Certificate; located for practice at Pelican Rapids in 1881.
Paulson, Andrew J .- Jefferson. 1904; registered in Otter Tail county December 7, 1909, practiced for a time in this county and then removed to Flaxton, North Dakota.
Perry, Ralph St. J .- Medical College of Indiana, 1884; registered in Minnesota in January, 1895, and practiced at Parkers Prairie for several years.
Quitmeyer, Otto C .- Hamline. 1902; registered in Otter Tail county June 20, 1902, and practiced at Parkers Prairie; deceased.
Randall, A. Mason .- Hamline, 1903; registered in Otter Tail county June, 1903; practiced at Underwood for several years, now located at Ashby, Minnesota.
Ray, William .- Missouri Medical College, 1868: located in Otter Tail county in the eighties and practiced in Pelican Rapids for several years after first coming to the county : later located at Fergus Falls leaving there about 1904 to locate at Phillipsburg, Montana.
Reeve, E. A. T .- Hamline, 1897: registered in Otter Tail county June 22. 1909; practiced for a time at 'Parkers Prairie and later located at Elbow Lake, Minnesota.
Reynolds. R. M .- Bellevue Hospital Medical College. 1866; the first physician to locate in Otter Tail county; settled in Fergus Falls in 1871 and practiced there con- tinuously until 1895.
Reynolds. Wilbur S .- Certificate. Located at Henning in 1883, where he practiced for many years. He also operated a drug store in Henning.
Rydell, Charles B .--- Registered in Otter Tail county June 20. 1913.
Sanborn. Courtland R .- University of Minnesota, 1907; registered in Otter Tail county June 13, 1907.
Seashore. David E .- University of Minnesota, 1902: registered in Otter Tail county June 20. 1902; practiced in Battle Lake for a time and then moved to Duluth where he is now located.
Setnan, John M .- Registered in Minnesota in June, 1896: practiced in Fergus Falls, 1896-98 ; deceased.
Sherping, Olaf Thomas .- Keokuk Medical College. 1894; registered in Otter Tail county October 11. 1901, and has since practiced at Fergus Falls: superintendent St. Luke hospital.
Tufte. Daniel .- University of Christiana, Norway, 1893; registered in Minnesota in October. 1897; located at Pelican Rapids where he continued in practice until just before the opening of the European War in 1914; being in Europe at that time taking postgraduate work in one of the German universities, he attached himself to one of the Red Cross organizations and died while in the service during the first year of the war.
Verne, Victor E .- University of Minnesota, 1906; registered in Otter Tall county
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August 14, 1906, and practiced in Parkers Prairie for a short time; now located at Moorhead, Minnesota.
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