USA > Missouri > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County Missouri, early and recent history and genealogical records of many of the representative citizens, Volume I > Part 52
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fession in Oklahoma City; M. F. Patterson, J. C. Campbell, W. L. Hastin, H. C. Crow, somewhere under the canopy of heaven. Isaac E. Morrison is now in Springfield; C. T. Redding is practicing at Osceola, Missouri; Louis P. Ernst, farming in Greene county. He was at one time mayor of Spring- field. Claude Jamison is in practice at Steelville, Missouri; A. F. Butts is making butter, selling eggs, turnip greens and other products of his Greene county farm; T. M. Seawell, formerly partner with O. T. Hamlin and city counselor for Springfield, a gentleman of refinement and culture and a lawyer of pre-eminent ability is now practicing law at Little Rock, Arkansas, his native state; Ambrose Haydon is teaching in the University of Utah. Zazhra Taylor and - Goodwin, who were here for a few years some two decades ago went-somewhere.
There have been seven Pattersons at the Springfield bar. Two of these have sons, lawyers, namely, James M. Patterson and John A. Patterson. There are five Hamlins; two of these, O. T. and C. W. have a son each. There are four Gideons; one of these, T. J. Gideon, has two sons. Three Rathbuns, two, sons of Col. G. S. Rathbun; five O'Days, four brothers and one nephew to John O'Day and cousin to the other three. C. B. McAfee, J. A. Moon, A. W. Lincoln, J. T. White, James R. Vaughan, E. P. Mann, T. J. Delaney, Nathan Bray, John S. Waddill, W. D. Hubbard, A. H. Wear. W. C. Price, H. C. Young, E. Y. Mitchell, T. A. Sherwood and F. S. Heffernan have given each one son to the profession.
The following members died since the war above the age of sixty years : John S. Waddill, John S. Phelps, W. C. Price, R. W. Crawford, A. M. Julian, D. C. Dade, B. U. Massey, T. J. Gideon, Felix Porter, T. Henry Jones, J. W. D. L. F. Mack, John Mack, R. A. C. Mack. James Baker, S. H. Boyd, John H. Murphy, W. E. Gilmore, George S. Rathbun, Edward Marcey, C. W. Thrasher, F. S. Heffernan, F. H. Sheppard.
The present active practitioners at the bar are P. T. Allen, E. A. Bar- bour, Addison Brown, A. S. Cowden, J. J. Collins, John T. DeVorss, Thomas J. Delaney, James B. Delaney, J. H. Duncan, J. B. Dodson, Jerry B. Fenton, Aaron A. Fineshriber, Matthew H. Galt, Orville E. Gorman, J. J. Gideon, W. G. Gideon, W. H. Horine, L. M. Haydon, Talma S. Heffer- nan, Kirk Hawkins, J. M. Harrall, H. E. Howell, M. B. Hart. O. T. Ham- lin, C. O. Hamlin, Roy Hamlin, W. W. Hamlin, U. G. Johnson, McLain Jones, A. B. Lovan, G. G. Lydy, A. W. Lincoln, H. T. Lincoln, W. B. Linney, T. J. Murray, J. H. Mason, E. D. Merritt, Edgar P. Mann, Frank C. Mann, J. A. Moon, Fred A. Moon, L. H. Musgrove, E. Y. Mitchell, Val Mason, Isaac E. Morrison, William C. Murphy, Patrick Murphy, Emory Moffett, E. C. McAfee, J. P. McCammon, F. M. McDavid, J. T. Neville, Dan M. Nee, E. T. O'Byrne, Paul M. O'Day, John A. Patterson, Orin Patterson, Roscoe Patterson, J. O. Patterson, George Pepperdine, Alfred Page,
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GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI,
Page. Enoch L. Ragsdale, George D. Ragsdale, W. A. Rathbun, G. M. Sebree, M. C. Smith, W. R. Self, John Schmook, Fenton Stockard, James W. Silsby, Fred O. Small, W. D. Tatlow, O. H. Travers, J. B. Todd, J. T. White, Warren White, C. J. Wright. Edward M. Wright, J. C. West, G. A. Watson, Eher G. Wadlow, John T. Woodruff, Sam M. Wear, S. G. Wood, Leonard Walker, Frank B. Williams, G. D. Clark, Thomas R. Gibson, W. J. Orr. J. C. Hayden, Howard Ragsdale, W. J. Mooneyhan, Roscoe Steward, .A. W. Lyon, H. D. Durst. V. O. Coltrane, Lewis Luster, Argus Cox.
Thus have 1 written the bench and bar of Springfield and Greene county, and in the writing 1 did "nothing extenuate nor set down aught in malice." It has required time and research to obtain information concerning the earlier members of the bar, and much that I would like to know has been effaced by the hand of time. It is to be regretted that the space allotted is not sufficient for a fuller mention of the admirable traits of many of whom I have written and the setting forth of the good qualities of those whose names alone appear and of whom it would give me pleasure to write; but of necessity these must now remain umwritten-"the which if they should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." "But these are written that ye might believe" there is a bench and bar in Springfield.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN GREENE COUNTY.
By Drs. William M. and Wilbur Smith.
In all ages and among all peoples the ailments of the body have been one of the chief concerns of humanity. Until within the last century or two the mechanism and functions of the different parts of the body were so little known that their disorders and the means of relieving them have, in great measure, been matters of uncertainty and experiment. This fact, in connec- tion with the tendency of the human mind to invest all things little understood in a shroud of mystery, and to seek some power beyond its ken in which to blindly trust for the healing of all ills, has given rise to all sorts of medical theories and practices, from the grossness of heathen rites to the so-called refinements of Christian Science.
The history of medicine is full of accounts of wonderful "cures" which deluded their victims with false hopes for a season, only to leave their last state worse than the first. Bitter controversies, born of mistaken zeal, as well as of greed, have raged between the adherents of these different delusions, retarding materially the growth of scientific knowledge among even intelli- gent people. Greene county has not entirely escaped the infection of these fads and superstitions. The fads have flourished somewhat among the vis- ionary, and the superstitious among the very ignorant, but inasmuch as the bulk of our people have sprung from a sturdy, level-headed, self-respecting stock and has frankly and faithfully given to the public its best service, and in consequence has been a potent factor in molding public sentiment. An- other element of strength in the influence of the profession has been the strong fraternity of feeling which has bound its members together. They have worked and counseled together as a band of brothers and comrades. When they can agree it is done heartily, when they must disagree it is without impairment of mutual esteem.
A chapter in the medical history of this region would be sadly deficient without reference to the improvement in the conditions under which the doctor does his work. In the early days many of the highways were trails or bridle paths over the hills and following the beds of dry runs, so that often the only means of travel was on horseback, fording or swimming, or at best. ferrying rivers and creeks. Now graded roads are extending in
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every direction and bridges span the streams, so that the physician in his motor car may make a trip in a few hours that once would require two days. In the matter also of the facilities for caring for the sick and injured a com- plete revolution has taken place. Twenty-five years ago there was not the semblance of a hospital in all this region. Now Springfield has five, all equipped with modern appliances and conveniences, and her skilled physi- cians and surgeons are able to care for any case that may come before them. Springfield has long been the metropolis of a great territory, and among the men of note in the early days in town and country the pioneer doctors de- serve honorable mention. It is impossible to give anything like a complete list of those who have done good work in this region, and even of many, whose names are remembered, the record is so meager that any attempt to do even scant justice to their memory must be a failure. Those who were blessed by their ministrations and loved them most are gone with them, we are glad to believe. into that new life whose activities are not hampered by the weakness and disorders of a mortal body.
AMONG THE FIRST DOCTORS.
In the following list we have tried to give as many of the names of the physicians and surgeons as we could collect, and such items of interest con- cerning them as we have learned and are suitable for a chapter in this history. Among the names of the earlier pioneer physicians and surgeons in Spring- field we find that of Doctor Perum. As in all new settlements, wives were somewhat scarce in those days, and Doctor Perum lived and died a bachelor. He boarded at the Smith Tavern, at the northeast corner of the public square and Boonville street. The annals record that he was a hard rider and a tremendous eater. Doctor Shackleford was another honored healer in the olden days. Some of his descendants still live in this vicinity. Doctors Goodall and Wooten came here from St. Louis at an early day, and just be- fore the Civil war went to Texas with their slaves. The older inhabitants will remember Dr. T. J. Bailey, whose old farm is now one of the most thickly settled portions of Springfield. He came here from Lincoln county, Kentucky; he was an admirer of Henry Clay, and besides being an active practitioner, was a Whig politician and, of course, was on the Union side during the Civil war. Perhaps his most valuable service to this community was his rearing to womanhood his niece, who afterward became the wife of Dr. E. T. Robberson.
KINDNESS OF PIONEER PHYSICIANS.
Contemporary with Doctor Bailey were old Doctors John and Henry Chenoworth, who, the chronicler avers, took Dr. E. T. Robberson into part -.
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nership with them that he might do their hard riding! If that be true, they verily could not have found one more capable of doing it. He graduated in 1854 at Jefferson Medical College, and for many years he traversed the hills and valleys of the Ozarks, riding as far as Granby, Mt. Vernon, Buffalo, Forsyth, --- wherever or whatever the call, his best service was ready. He was not only physician and surgeon, he was advisor and benefactor. The writer attended his funeral, which was at his home, and while waiting for the services to begin he circulated among the multitude that was assembled on the lawn, from far and near. There, listening to the subdued conversation of the different groups, he heard more than one story of how Doctor Robber- son had helped this one and that, not only in their sicknesses, but in their poverty and misfortunes, sometimes sending a receipted bill when nothing had been paid, and even enclosing a donation to tide over the hard times that so often follow a siege of sickness. Dr. B. A. Barrett was another pillar of the profession who practiced in Springfield before and during the war. He was more of a general practitioner than surgeon, but did not turn his back when he could be of help. The writer once heard him say, "I have cut more than a hatful of bullets out of people."
FIRST NOTED SURGEON.
Dr. J. E. Tefft came to Springfield as an army surgeon in the Union army, and when the war was over made his home here. For many years he did most of the surgery in this region, and though fearless when prompt action was necessary, he always refused to use the knife when it could be avoided. While sometimes abrupt in manner, he was at heart kind, and many younger professional brethren recall with pleasure his courtesies to- ward them when they needed a counsellor.
Ebenezer, one of the older settlements in the county, was fortunate in being the seat of an excellent school, and in the quality of her medical men. Among the older ones we find the names of Dr. George Barrett and Doctor Gray, both of whom are gratefully remembered by many old citizens. The Ebenezer field was later occupied by Dr. J. P. Cox, who is now practicing in Springfield. The work at Ebenezer is now mainly in the efficient hands of Doctor Potter. Dr. Thomas Cottrane was one of the older physicians at Cave Spring. After serving in the Union army he began his life work there, which ended only at his death. a few years ago. His son is one of our own well-known attorneys. Doctor Wadlow is also remembered as a faithful worker at Cave Spring. Dr. H. G. Frame is the present standby in that field. In the Fair Grove list of doctors we find some notable men. Among the earlier ones we find Doctors Cole, Colwell, Webster, Ellis and Brooks. Doc- tor Webster is said to have done some good surgical work. Later Dr. W. H.
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Cowden carried the chief burden of that community's ills for many years, assisted during brief periods by Doctors Mayfield and Burton. Doctors W. D. Elwell and M. L. Edmondson now practice there.
The field at Willard is a good one and has been cared for by some able men, several of whom later located in Springfield. The battle against the germs is now being successfully fought by Dr. Columbus J. Pike. Hle is an ex-president of the Southwest Medical Society. The physicians in Walnut Grove, L. E. McClure, J. K. Perry and S. B. Smith, are wide-awake men, but. possibly owing to their distance from the place of meeting have not united with the Greene County Medical Society, and so are missing much that comes from social and professional association.
Dr. Thomas Doolin, of .Ash Grove, has been in the harness since 1879, and has long been a member of the Greene County and Missouri State Medi- cal Societies. The sympathy of all his brethren goes out to him on account of the recent death of his son, Dr. Carl Doolin, who lost his life while at- tempting to board a moving railway train. Though but recently admitted to practice, he had won the esteem and confidence of his community to an unusual degree. Dr. Thomas C. Miller is another standby of .\'sh Grove, who is growing gray in the service of his fellows. He graduated in 1874, and is a member of the Southwest Missouri Medical Society. Dr. Onas Smith, also of Ash Grove, is one of the younger members of the team, but well known. He has been spoken of as a future medical missionary.
STRAWBERRY CULTURE HIS HOBBY.
Republic is the home of the Missouri strawberry, and for twenty-seven years Dr. Edward L. Beal has repaired to his strawberry field for relaxation and comfort when professional cares became too harassing. He was a pupil of Dr. J. E. Tefft. and has made good both as a doctor and as a horticulturist. Dr. O. N. Carter, also at Republic, is one of our most earnest and active young practitioners. He has found the field (not the strawberry field) so laborious that an older brother. Dr. W. C. Carter, has recently joined him in working it.
Returning to Springfield. we find. just at the close of the war. Dr. F. E. Ross, who for many years. until his death, was a prominent figure in medical circles. His father was a noted pioneer preacher of the Gospel, and the doctor evidently inherited a valuable "gift of gab" which he was wont to exercise in our society meetings for the edification of his brethren. He was one of our best read physicians and many of his prescriptions are still refilled for his old patients. A younger brother, Dr. L. C. Ross, after several years of practice in other localities. finally settled in Springfield, where he is sus- taining the family reputation for industry and faithfulness. A son of Dr.
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F. E. Ross, Dr. Justin Ross, after winning a reputation as one of the best students in his college, graduated in medicine and settled in Springfield, but the "cares of this world" or "the deceitfulness of riches" have apparently prevented his taking up active professional work, and he is rarely seen in the councils of the local doctors.
Other medical men who are remembered by our older citizens are: Doctor Means, Doctor Van Hoose, Doctor Flanner and Doctor Ullman. Most of these have relatives now living in this community. They were all among the first members of the Springfield Medical Society.
THE PIONEER SPECIALIST.
Dr. W. A. Camp is probably the pioneer specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. He is known far and wide, both for the good work he has done and for his geniality and good fellowship. Dr. J. R. Bartlett has worked and grown fat. His health has compelled him to go south several times, but he is still in the harness. Dr. C. C. Clements, who died several years ago, was prized for his straightforward sincerity as well as for his ability. He had little use for new fads, and was slow to accept the germ theory of disease. Doctor Dunklin practiced in Springfield for a short time in the early nineties. He was a man of ability, but of unhappy disposition. Doctor Herbert S. Hill came here from Minnesota about 1884. He has, for several years, been the efficient secretary of the Southwest Missouri Medical Society. Hard work and exposure have so impaired his health that he is at present. April. 1915, confined to his bed. with little hope of returning to duty. Dr. W. C. James was another of our hard workers who has passed away. His services were so freely given and payment for them so little urged that probably he was loved more, and, in proportion to the work he did, paid less than any other doctor in the community. After his death his brother. Dr. Edwin F. James, came from Marshfield and assumed his practice. As a member of the legislative committee of the Greene County Medical Society and as city health commissioner, he is a terror to quacks and to all unsanitary things.
To Dr. Dexter B. Farnsworth, on account of his uniform courtesy and fairness, belongs the title, "The Beloved Physician." After ten years of general practice, he took up the special treatment of eye, ear. nose and throat. Close confinement to his office for twenty-five years so impaired his health that he was compelled to give up work for several months. At the present time he is able to come down town for a short time each day. Dr. John Nixon came here about 1890 from the East. His professional ability won the respect of his brethren : his refined manners and elegant dress won the
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admiration of the fair sex and his "spit curls" were the joy of all beholders, but after a few years he departed as lie came-a bachelor.
Dr. W. P. Camp was a prominent figure in medical circles in the nineties, but infirmities have compelled his retirement and he is rarely seen on the streets. About the same time Dr. J. E. Warden began practice in Spring- field, and for several years was one of our promising young surgeons. His untimely death brought sadness to hundreds who had hoped much from his early promise. Dr. J. W. Weir was a diamond in the rough-a true South- ern gentleman. He was faithful and sincere. He called whiskey "Old Line Democracy." Dr. George W. Barnes is a "Son of Consolation." He ori- ginated somewhere about Pleasant Hope and has dwelt ever since in the "Land of Good Will." His cheery way has been a powerful aid to his pills and powders. Long may he smile! Dr. H. P. Mellinger was another young man whose early promise of great usefulness was destroyed by influences for which the community is responsible. He became the victim of a form of dementia and was taken east by friends. Dr. W. P. Patterson is one whom his fellow citizens delight to honor. About twenty-five years ago he came from his father's home, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and practiced about three years in Brookline, then removed to Springfield, where he has won the confidence of the community. He is doing good work as medical mem- ber of the school board. Dr. C. S. McLain has been one of our active practi- tioners, and at the same time his rural tastes have at times taken him to the country. He is now enjoying the delights of suburban life near Springfield.
BACK TO RURAL SCENES.
Dr. I. R. Lane was at the same time an orchardist at Mountain Grove and a practitioner in Springfield, but after a few years' active work here his interests at Mountain Grove compelled his return to that place, where he died a few years ago. Dr. E. H. McBride gave the people of this com- munity several years of good service, even while he himself was fighting the grim destroyer. When he finally yielded he left many warm friends to mourn his loss.
Dr. Lee Cox was a student under Doctor Barrett, and is now one of the pillars of the profession. His companion passed away a few years ago, leaving a young daughter, who is to her father as the apple of his eye. Dr. J. L. Ormsbec, while keeping abreast with the times in his medical studies, has given the most of his time to the management of his drug store. His recent marriage to "That old sweetheart of mine" has fulfilled the good wishes of a host of friends, and doubtless ended the fond dream of more than one fair maiden. Dr. R. A. Delzell was one of the early physicians of Bois D'Arc. He afterward removed to St. Louis, where he died some years
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ago. His brother, Dr. W. D. Delzell, began practice in Greene and Webster counties in 1874 and continued until about 1900. His son, Dr. W. A. Del- zell, is one of our most energetic and studious young doctors.
THE SMITH FAMILY.
Dr. William M. Smith says he came to Springfield from Sterling, Illi- nois, by way of South Dakota. He helped settle that territory (as it then was) in 1882, and stayed long enough to teach his boys to hold a plow and drive oxen, and at the same time in trying to support a farm, he lost about all the worldly goods he had previously accumulated. He began practice in Springfield in 1888, and apparently has had enough to eat. He has given up the heavier professional work, and his chief ambition is to see the brethren dwell (and work) together in unity. His oldest son, Dr. W. F. Smith, after graduating at Drury College and Beaumont Hospital Medical College, spent several years in the hospitals of St. Louis and the Frisco hospital at Spring- field. He is now division surgeon of all the Iron Mountain Railway lines in Arkansas and Oklahoma, with headquarters at Little Rock. He has lately been elected a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His brother, Dr. Wilbur Smith, also graduated at Drury College and Beaumont Hospital Medical School, and after leaving the hospitals began his career as a surgeon in a large mining camp in Macon county, Missouri. After eight years of work there he settled in Springfield, where he served for a time as deputy state pure food inspector, and later as city health commissioner. He is en- gaged in general practice and surgery, and is doing good work.
Dr. G. B. Dorrell was a pupil of Doctor Ross and after graduating prac- ticed for several years in Republic. Since coming to Springfield many of his old Republic patients seem inclined to follow him. He has become one of the standbys. Dr. James Spohn appeared in Springfield about 1893. He was a man of some means, and while not engaging very actively in practice he did much for the interests of the community. He later removed to St. Louis. Dr. William Reinhoff graduated in medicine in his native land, Germany, but he has never ceased his studies. He has achieved an enviable position in social and professional circles, and those who meet him soon learn that he is conscious of and proud of the fact that he was "made in Germany." Dr. Charles E. Woody is a product of Dade county, Missouri, where he began his public career as county surveyor. He came to Springfield about 1893, and, in addition to his professional work, has taken an active interest in politics, having held several county offices and served as pension examiner for sixteen years.
Dr. C. E. Fulton, since 1893, has been one of our most prominent physi- cians and surgeons. He has lately invested in a suburban farm and became
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an "agriculturist," inasmuch as he says his farm so far costs more than it yields. On the other hand. Dr. R. L. Pipkin, who came to Springfield from Brookline, is a "farmer," as he raises potatoes and pumpkins on his little suburban tract and makes it pay.
MANY DOCTORS WILLIAMS.
We have Doctors Williams galore! Dr. J. W. Williams, before landing 111 Springfield, spent some time in New Mexico, in a successful attempt to dry up and blow away a flock of bacilli which had invaded his physical do- main. The hard work he has done here in the past twenty years attests the success of his fight. Then comes Dr. N. C. Williams, "Old King Cole was a jolly old soul," alinost as broad as Dr. J. W. is long, and that is "right sinart." Ile is sincere and outspoken, a good friend. And where is our brother, Dr. William J. Williams? "Fatty," as we affectionately called him. Ile came here from Strafford about 1890, and after several years of good work disappeared. The last the writer saw of him he was sitting at ease reading a book under an apple tree about four miles northwest of town. His good wife was in a hammock under another apple tree. Requiesat in Pace! The youngest and liveliest of the quartette of Williamses is Dr. Rob- ert FF., lately city physician till a cruel twist of politics put the other fellow in; but Robert is not dependent upon anybody's office for his livelihood.
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