USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Concord > History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century, Volume II > Part 25
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Thompson purchased the house and adjoining grounds, now occu- pied by Benjamin A. Kimball, and established there a Thompsonian infirmary. This house was built in 1825 by Sampson Bullard,-the keystone disclosed by alterations since made giving the date of its erection. It has since been greatly enlarged and changed. It was used as a residence and business office by Mr. Thompson, and was connected with other buildings built by hin by a bridge which formed an arch over the driveway leading into the grounds.
Mr. Thompson appears to have met with immediate success. His infirmary was well patronized, and before a year he was obliged to enlarge his establishment. In September, 1835, the New Hampshire Patriot contained a prospectus of the Concord Botanic Infirmary, as it was then designated. From all that can be learned the description
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
here given of the buildings and grounds is in the same extravagant style as his notice of his introduction of a new theory of medical practice.
The Concord infirmary was fitted up with steam baths; and if the patients presented a more cleanly appearance after being washed in the infirmary, and wondered at the whiteness and delicacy of their skin, they were informed by Thompson that it was due to getting the mercury out of them which the poison doctors had for years been putting into their systems. One good old orthodox minister, who resided in an adjoining town and who had made an exchange with one of his Concord brethren, arrived at the infirmary late one Satur- day night, suffering from a severe cold. He asked Thompson if he could steam the cold out of him so that he would be able to preach the next day, and was somewhat shocked when Thompson, in his profane way, informed him that he could " steam hell and damnation out of him."
Thompsonian Infirmary, with House of Mr. Kimball on Right.
Benjamin Thompson was born about 1790. He was a man of rather prepossessing appearance, and though he had few school ad- vantages he was apt in observation, quick to absorb information, and entirely self-reliant. Possessing a heavy voice and clear articula- tion, he was an impressive personage, especially among the ignorant. He had a passion for gambling, and was throughout life a profes- sional gambler, who frequently won large sums of money which he · dispensed with a lavish hand. At other times he passed a somewhat precarious existence, migrating from place to place with no settled occupation.
The papers of that period contain advertisements of several Thom- sonian infirmaries established in various towns of the state; but the
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Concord infirmary appears to have been the central establishment for New Hampshire. The Thomsonian doctors multiplied in number, for patients were urged to study the system and to go out as disci- ples of the new healing art, the essential qualification of any appli- cant for matriculation being that he should possess " common sense."
It was in vain that the regular physicians warned the public against the methods of these, in most cases, ignorant men. It was not until some of the victims were left too long in the steam-box and were overdone that the popularity of the Thomsonian system began to wane. Whether it was from the decline of his business, or from other causes, or from all combined, Benjamin Thompson disappeared about 1837, and according to all accounts, reached New York, where he soon after died.
In February, 1837, his brother, Charles Thompson, in an adver- tisement in the New Hampshire Patriot, informs the public that he has taken the commodious and finely situated mansion on Main street, recently refitted, enlarged and ornamented by Dr. Benjamin Thompson, and known as the "Concord Botanic Infirmary." From this time it became less an object of public interest. Throughout the state there was a marked falling off of patrons and the infirm- aries ceased to exist as hospitals.
When the practice of Thomsonianism declined in New England it spread to the West and South, finding a foothold in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, and other states. Medical schools were established in Cincinnati, O., and Macon, Ga., where the doctrines of Thom- son were taught; and much medical literature emanated from the professors in these institutions. For a time, these schools gradu- ated many students; but, so far as can be ascertained, they have gone out of existence, the so-called Eclectic system having absorbed them. Doubtless there are still practitioners of the Thomsonian school scattered throughout the country, but as a medical system it has practically disappeared.
About 1842 the Concord infirmary was discontinued. For thirty years the wooden buildings which constituted it, and which stretched from Mr. Kimball's present residence to Concord street, were used as tenements. In 1872 they were destroyed by fire.
The Water Cure, as a method of treating infirmity and disease, was introduced in Concord in 1850 by Dr. Timothy Haynes. He had associated with him Dr. George H. Taylor, who for five years previous had made hydropathy a study. They purchased the com- modious house of Porter Blanchard at the northwest corner of Main and Centre streets, and fitted it up for the accommodation of patients. The building is now used as a hotel known as the Commercial
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
House, and in recent years it has been enlarged by an additional story. For several years this Water Cure establishment was widely known, and the merits and demerits of the system of treatment were the subject of much discussion. For a time it was quite well patronized. Hydropathy was generally scouted by regular physi- cians, and Dr. Haynes was severely disciplined by the New Hamp- shire Medical society, of which he was a member, for his connection with this establishment. Whether from this cause, or because the institution was not sufficiently supported, after two years he and his partner, Mr. Taylor, disposed of their interest to Di. William T. Vail, of New York, who appears to have received and treated patients for about three years, when, in 1855, notice of his removal to Franklin appears in Concord newspapers. His stay at Franklin was brief, for he soon after appeared at Hill, where the institution , had its remaining life. The Water Cure, like the Thomsonian sys- tem of steam baths and the Botanic methods of treatment of diseases, was a protest against the regular school of practice, as the following from an advertisement of Dr. Vail will show :
Treatment is by water of varied temperature, from as hot as well can be borne, to the cold spring water. We also bring all of the hygienic agencies to bear in curing the sick, such as pure air, exer- cise and a proper diet, which important aids are but too generally neglected or poorly insisted upon by drug practitioners. The major- ity of cases treated at Water Cure establishments are such as have been subjected to all the appliances of poisonous drugs from one to ten years or more in vain ; yet the most of them are entirely cured, and the remainder benefited.
Dr. Taylor, who with Dr. Haynes started the Water Cure establish- ment at Concord, returned to New York, where in 1854 he became the projector of the " Movement Cure " or "Mechanical Massage," as it was afterwards called ; and "The Improved Movement Cure Insti- tute of New York City," with its mechanical appliances for treating disease, is the outgrowth of his methods. He wrote several books which are still published by the New York institute.
Advertising by physicians, although it was discountenanced by the New Hampshire Medical society, was more prevalent among regular school physicians in those days than now. If a physician had a specialty, he made use of the newspapers to call attention to 'it ; and frequently there are to be found advertisements of patent or proprietary medicines, with a list of regular physicians who endorsed them.
In 1842 Dr. Timothy Haynes opened an "eye, ear, and club-foot infirmary," for the treatment of disease and deformities of those
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
members of the body. People were invited "to call and examine the preparations in the museum showing the work of operating and the importance of so doing in cases of strabismus, squint-eye, or club-foot." Two years later, Drs. Chadbourne and Buck advertised their infirmary at the corner of Main and School streets for the treatment of hernia, diseases of the eye, ear, club-foot, and other distortions of the joints.
That the dying hours of a patient were not entirely free from the contention of physician and clergyman as to which had priority of claim upon him, and that there was dispute as to whether the admin- istration should be calomel or spiritual advice, are attested by the resolutions adopted in 1852, when both the New Hampshire Medical society and the ministerial conference of Congregational and Presby- terian ministers met. in Concord. The Rev. Mr. Cummings of Hills- borough addressed the medical society at its meeting that year con- cerning the relations of the clergyman and physician in the sick- room, and at the conclusion of his address the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That it is the true conviction of this society that kind and intimate relations should exist between clergymen and physicians ; but that while we will not interfere with the spiritual direction of the patient, unless his life is thereby endangered, we claim the same non- interference on the part of the clergy toward physicians, so far as their peculiar duties are concerned.
Next year the medical society acknowledged receipt of reciprocal resolutions from the ministerial convention held in Concord in 1852; and the presumption is that from this time forward the patient was given the opportunity of saying which he preferred to see,-his spir- itual or his medical adviser, and whether he would be relieved of physical or mental distress.
The publication of a medical journal, issued monthly, was begun in Concord in 1850. Its first editor and publisher was Dr. Edward H. Parker of Concord, a scholarly physician, who continued to con- duct it until October, 1853, when he retired to accept the professor- ship of physiology and pathology in the New York Medical college, to which he had been appointed. The name of this medical publica- tion was The New Hampshire Journal of Medicine, and it was a very creditable magazine for those days. It contained contributions from New Hampshire physicians, and treatises on various diseases by emi- nent physicians of the United States and foreign countries repub- lished from other medical journals, besides editorial comment on topics of interest to the profession. It had the endorsement of the New Hampshire Medical society ; but its circulation being limited
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
and the subscription price small, it ceased to be published after 1858. Dr. Parker was succeeded as editor by Dr. G. H. Hubbard of Wash- ington, N. H., who in 1855 associated with him Dr. Charles Bell of Concord, a native of Chester and half brother of Senator James Bell and Judge Samuel D. Bell. Dr. Bell had just come to Concord. He was a physician of unusual promise, and his death at the early age of twenty-three, in 1856, was cause of general sorrow to the community. Dr. Hubbard appears to have continued the publication of The New Hampshire Medical Journal until its demise. In July, 1856, the place of publication was transferred to Manchester, where the last copy was issued.
The practice of homeopathy appears to have been introduced to Concord early in the fall of 1843 by Dr. Augustus Frank, a German, whose advertisement indicated his connection with German univer- sities and the Massachusetts Medical society. The first notice of his coming is among the business cards of the Patriot, September 7, 1843 ; but a more extended account is given in the Patriot of April 18, 1844, when after announcing that he has been in practice in Concord for several months, he offers his professional services to the people of the town and vicinity in the treatment of disease according to principles quite different from those in vogue among physicians in the usual method of practice. "Experience," he says, " has estab- lished that this mode of practice, particularly in chronic diseases of all kinds, is the most beneficial and successful in effecting permanent cures. Dr. Frank will furnish for physicians and families homeo- pathic medicines done up in boxes, with directions for their use in families, with prices ranging according to quantity from five to twenty dollars." In a later advertisement he announces that he " will give advice gratis." Ilis office for several months was at the Eagle Coffee House, but later he occupied one in the Mechanicks bank building. His advertisement continues into the year 1845, and then disappears, and he probably left Concord soon after. Those who enjoyed his personal acquaintance say that he was an intelligent and scholarly man.
September 2, 1847, a card in the Patriot announced the location of Dr. Moses Atwood, a homeopathic physician, at the residence of Perkins Gale on State street; and in December appears the card of Dr. Alpheus Morrill, homeopathic physician, having an office oppo- site the South church. In 1853 Dr. H. J. M. Cate, a homeopathic physician, opened an office in the house owned by Samuel Butter- field and until then occupied by William Butterfield, a few doors north of the Free Bridge road. Dr. Cate announces that, "having spent the preceding winter at the Philadelphia homeopathie college,
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
the headquarters of the reform practice in this country," he has "made it a special endeavor to master those diseases which have proved so destructive in this region, with a view to establishing him- self in this city." His office is given as at his residence on Main street near Ivory Hall's ; and he advertises that medicines are "care- fully prepared and put up for domestie purposes." Dr. Cate in a year or two removed to Northampton, Mass., and in 1855 the. Con- cord newspapers contained a brief account of his appointment as a surgeon in the Russian army, a position he had not then " decided to decline."
Two years later, in December, 1855, Dr. Ferd Gustave Oehme, a homeopathic physician, came here. He appears to have remained for about ten years. In 1859 he had printed a work called " The Do- mestic Physician," containing plain instructions for curing diseases by homeopathic remedies. The book was published by Edson C. East- man, and had a very large sale.
The foregoing were the pioneers in homeopathy in Concord, of whom Dr. Morrill continued in practice many years, until his death. The coming of the homeopath was not welcome to the old school physician. The homeopathists were looked upon with disfavor, and professional relations with them were discouraged. Later, this pre- judice disappeared ; but early antipathies were pronounced, and now in view of the better understanding between schools they are inter- esting and sometimes amusing. Consultations with the homeopathic physician were forbidden ; and, as the bars were gradually let down, these lapses of the members of the regular school were vigorously denounced by professional brethren who were greater sticklers for eti- quette. The following from an editorial of the New Hampshire Med- ical Journal of August, 1858, shows both the extreme prejudice of that date and also the conduct of the more liberal physicians of the regular school. Speaking of consultations with homeopathic physi- cians the Journal says :
The question of consultation with homeopaths is well settled so far as physicians are concerned,-it is universally regarded as too ridiculous to be proposed by a homeopath of common sense; but sur- geons have claimed the right, and talked of it as their duty, to meet homeopaths in surgical cases. Some of these make no secret of their delinquency, and meet these impostors on all occasions. Others talk of humanity, and say that they only do what is necessary in cases of emergency. . It is surprising to us that any intelligent physician or surgeon ean sec cause to justify him in aiding in any way a homeopathist or other professional impostor. The plea that " humanity demands it " is a weak and groundless subterfuge. If a sick person or his friends insist upon employing a quack, let them
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
suffer the consequences. If they ask our aid, plainly tell them on what conditions we can assist them; and let no mawkish sensibility move us from an honorable course which is alike demanded by our own interests and our duty to our profession, which must both suffer by any weak delinquency on our part. We claim that in this country no surgeon has a right to aid a homeopathist in any case. If the physician has only a surgical call, he should treat that alone ; and if there are constitutional complications which need treatment, he must be a base coward who will silently allow a case in which he is inter- ested to be tampered with by a homeopathist.
This prejudice continued strong for more than a quarter of a cen- tury, and as late as 1874 the homeopathic physicians were retaliating in kind. At the annual meeting of their society in Concord that year the following was one of a series of resolutions adopted :
Resolved, That the recent official examination into the mortality lists of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Newark, and Brooklyn, fur- nish fresh evidence of the vast superiority of the homeopathic over the other systems of medical practice. This investigation extended over the treatment of eighty thousand nine hundred and eighteen cases in private practice and revealed the startling fact that while the average allopathic physician in those cities annually lost by death more than seventeen of his patients, the average homeopathic physi- cian loses only ten. Hence, had all of these cases been treated hom- eopathically, upwards of thirty-two thousand lives might have been saved.
All this seems strange in our day when the two schools fraternize with freedom and work together for the uplifting of their profession.
Dr. Alpheus Morrill may be regarded as the father of homeopathy in Concord; for, although he was preceded by Drs. Frank, Atwood, and Oehme in locating here, his skill as a physician and his long res- idence at the capital made his name a household word. Dr. Morrill was born in the neighboring town of Canterbury, studied with Dr. Abbott of Loudon, and graduated from Dartmouth Medical college. He went to Ohio on account of his health, and after a few years' practice returned to New Hampshire and settled in Concord.
The homeopathic school of physicians had become so numerous in the state that at the legislative session of 1853 a charter was obtained for the "New Hampshire Homeopathic Medical Society," and Alpheus Morrill and H. J. M. Cate of Concord were named therein as charter members. Unfortunately the records of the society prior to 1882 · were destroyed by fire, and the details of the early work of the society are known only by tradition. But the society strengthened the members in their standing in the community, and ultimately did much to soften the asperities of the contention which existed between this school of physicians and the regulars. Gradually the sharp line of
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
demarkation was obliterated, and homeopaths and allopaths met on friendly professional terms. In our day they have co-operated to secure legislation for the examination of all new physicians admitted to practice, and now consult on equal terms.
In the early fifties physicians of the state were seriously alarmed at the many and vexatious suits brought against them for alleged malpractice. Few of the reputable physicians of New Hampshire of that period but had their experience in court as defendants in one or more of these suits. The ablest counsel were employed both in the prosecution and defense of such suits, and prominent physicians of this and adjoining states were called to testify as experts. Some large verdicts were recovered, and frequently several trials of the same suit were required before final judgment could be secured for either party. For a decade or more following 1850 physicians re- ceived calls, if for surgical aid, with no small amount of trepidation ; for if the carelessness of a patient or his failure to obey instructions resulted in a stiff leg or arm, or some other deformity of the members, the physician was reasonably sure to be brought into court to answer to a suit for damages.
In 1853, at a meeting of the New Hampshire Medical society, this was one of the most important subjects under consideration, and Dr. Abraham H. Robinson, of Concord, and two other members of the society, were instructed to prepare a resolution expressing the policy of the society and the agreement of its members in dealing with these suits. They reported as follows :
Resolved, That, hereafter, we, the members of the New Hampshire Medical society, agree and hereby proclaim that we will not set, dress, or treat any fracture or dislocation, or perform any operation iu sur- gery, until the person or persons so requiring such surgical assistance, by himself, parent or guardian, shall make public declaration or give good and sufficient bond that they will accept such service at their own risk, and shall in any event or termination of the case be satis- fied with the result.
After discussion, this resolution was referred to another committee to report at the next annual meeting, with liberty to publish so much of their deliberations as might seem advisable. Whether or not this committee met does not appear from subsequent records; and the newspapers of that time contained no notice of the contemplated action of the society. The resolution was never formally adopted, and no reference was thereafter made to it.
Malpractice suits were quite common for several years to come, and perhaps as famous a case as any in the state was that brought by Richard M. Ordway against Dr. Timothy Haynes, both residents of
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
this city. Mr. Ordway had a fractured leg which Dr. Haynes was called upon to set, and for some reason Mr. Ordway had a shortened limb. The suit was entered at the October term, 1864, and tried at the October term two years later. A verdict for two thousand and ninety-one dollars and thirty-six cents was recorded at this first trial against Dr. Haynes. Judgment for that amount was entered against the doctor, and paid by him. In November following he sued ont a writ of review, and this was tried at the April term of 1869. The jury in this case brought in a verdict for Ordway for eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents. Upon exceptions taken at the trial, the case was carried to the full bench and the verdict set aside. The next trial took place in the April term of 1871, with the result of a verdict for Dr. Haynes. After Mr. Ordway brought his suit for malpractice, Dr. Haynes brought suit against Ordway to recover for his professional services, and finally obtained judgment. The ablest counsel of Concord were employed in this case, and it was several times carried up to the supreme court on exceptions.
On January 1, 1867, the physicians of Concord adopted a fee- table, a copy of which is here given. It was signed by G. P. Conn, Timothy Haynes, S. C. Morrill, A. A. Moulton, James M. Moore, A. Morrill, William H. Smart, Ezra Carter, Charles A. Lockerby, M. W. Russell, C. P. Gage, S. L. F. Simpson, A. H. Crosby, J. H. Gallinger, E. G. Moore, B. S. Warren, A. H. Robinson, B. S. Good- win and J. Fellows, being all the physicians then in practice in the city proper with one exception, and all of whom are dead except Drs. Conn, S. C. Morrill, and Gallinger. The rate of charges agreed upon was as follows:
Advice and medicine at office $1.00
Visit by day (within one mile of office) 1.50
Visits, two the same day
2.50
Visit at night (between 10 p. m. and sunrise) 3.00
Consultation visit 3.00
For every additional patient in same house .50
Vaccination at office 1.00
Obstetric case, uncomplicated
10.00
Obstetric case, consultation 5.00
Obstetric case, instrumental .
20.00
Introducing catheter 3.00
Hydrocele (radical cure)
15.00 to 30.00
Examination for life insurance
2.00
Fracture of arm
. 20.00
Fracture of clavicle
. 20.00
Fracture of leg
. 35.00
Fracture of thigh
75.00
(These fees for fractures include the setting of the limb and two subsequent dressings.)
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Minimum fee for removal of a tumor .
. $5.00
Amputation of breast
· 30.00 to 50.00
Amputation of leg or arm
30.00 to 50.00
Amputation of shoulder or thigh 50.00 to 75.00
Amputation of finger or toe 10.00 to 15.00
Amputation of tonsils
10.00
Dressing wounds .
3.00 to 10.00
Consultation (surgical)
5.00 to 10.00
Tapping (abdomen)
10.00 to 15.00
Tapping (chest) .
20.00
Hernia (operation fee)
25.00 to 50.00
Cupping
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