Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 57

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 57

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Homcopathists are clearly entitled to member- ship in the National Association. They and their friends in all parts of the country will, if necessary, throw their whole influence into this contest, and will continue to do so while necessity calls for action. The old-school fraternity may as well conclude, without unnecessary delay, that, in all public affairs, they must consider homœopathists equal with themselves in every respect, and entitled to the full enjoyment of all the rights, privileges and immunities accorded any portion of the regu- lar medical profession.

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MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.

The following resolutions were unanimously adopted :

WHEREAS, Dr. T. S. Verdi, a graduate in medicine, holding diplomas from various medical colleges, and a practitioner in good and regular standing, has been duly appointed a member of the Board of Health of the District of Columbia by the President, which appointment has been confirmed by the Senate of the United States ; and

WHEREAS, The zeal, energy and success manifested by Dr. Verdi, in the discharge of his duties as a member of the Board of Health, has received the merited respect and con- fidence of the people of Washington ; and

WHEREAS, His Excellency, the Governor of the District of Columbia, duly appreciating the services and integrity of character of Dr. T. S. Verdi, appointed him a special san- itary commissioner to visit European cities ; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Verdi, in the performance of said official functions, has exhibited in his recent mission to European cities unusual ability ; and

WHEREAS, Dr. C. C. Cox, President of the Board of Health of Washington, being an active member of the American Sanitary Association, has proposed the name of Dr. Verdi for membership in the same ; and

WHEREAS, Said association, at its annual convention, held in New York, November 12 to 15, 1873, declined to elect Dr. Verdi a member, for no cause except adherence to homoeopathy in his private medical practice ; and

WHEREAS, Such a course must be considered arbitrary and mischievous ; therefore,

Resolved, That any association, the object of which is the advancement of general public interests, sanitary or otherwise, which circumscribes its boundaries of member- ship within the narrow limits of sects, either religious, medi- cal or political, fails in its mission, and subverts the very principles of its existence ; is contrary to the genius of Amer- ican institutions, being a direct violation of the great prin- ciples which involve the very foundation of free govern- ment, and is guilty of a course of action as pernicious in principle as it is unwise and impolitic in practice.

Resolved, That the American Health Association, in re- fusing membership to two officers of the Board of Health of the District of Columbia, appointed thereto by the Presi- dent and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, as proposed by Dr. Cox, President of said Board of Health, has, by that act, subverted the advancement of sanitary reform for the benefit of the people.

Resolved, That Drs. T. S. Verdi and D. W. Bliss, being both federal officers, exercising their prerogatives of office for the people of the District of Columbia, their proscrip- tion from the Public Health Association is an insult to the President and people of the District of Columbia.

Resolved, That the unanimity of public approval in the removal of Dr. Van Aernam, late Commissioner of Pensions, for having attempted to raise the issue that adherence to a particular creed or belief should constitute a qualification for official position, clearly demonstrated the opposition of the American people to similar acts of proscription.

Resolved, That the American Health Association will not be entitled to receive the respect and moral support of the people of this country, until it shall have removed the pres- ent sectarian barrier to membership.

Resolved, That this society, as a representative of a large and respectable class of scientific medical practitioners, repels

the insult offered to the school of medicine to which it ad- heres, and calls upon all just and fair men to condemn the illiberal course of the American Health Association.

Resolved, That the Homoeopathic Medical Society of Al- bany County tenders thanks to Dr. C. C. Cox for his manly defense of the rights of men before the American Public health Association, and for his scathing denunciation of partisanship and sectarianism.

Resolved, That we respectfully request the members of Congress from this State to approve the legal recognition of the American Health Association, only when convinced that the articles of incorporation embrace a provision prohibiting the exclusion of members on account of adhesion to any preferred theory of medical treatment.

Resolutions Advocating Equal Representation of Old-School and Homeopathic Physicians in a State Board of Health. WHEREAS, Strenuous efforts have been made during the past few years to enact a law creating a State Board of Health, so constructed as to provide for the appointment in said board of old-school physicians only ; and

WHEREAS, No good reason exists why the control of all the sanitary affairs of the State should be intrusted to one school of physicians, to the exclusion and detriment of an- other ; and

WHEREAS, Such exclusive control would indirectly estab- lish a sectarian medical monopoly ; therefore,

Resolved, That while we earnestly advocate the enact- ment of such sanitary measures as have for their end the prevention of diseases and lengthening of human life, we earnestly protest against the passage of any health bill, pro- viding for the appointment of medical men, which does not recognize an equal numerical representation by name of the two dominant systems of medical practice.

Resolved, That we cordially assent to, and respectfully request the passage, by the next State Legislature, of a law securing equal representation from both the old-school and homeopathic schools of medicine.

Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be forwarded to State officers, members of the legislature, officers of State and County medical societies and their legislative committees ; also, to the committee on Legislation of the American Institute of Homoeopathy.

IV. - HISTORY OF THE ALBANY CITY HOMOEOPATHIC HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY.

Two public charitable institutions, a hospital and a dispensary, now united and maintained as a single organization, have been opened and suc- cessfully conducted by the homeopathic profession of Albany.

A proposition to open a public homeopathic free dispensary was first made at a meeting of the Albany County Homoeopathic Medical Society, held early in the year 1865. During the following two years various plans were offered and an interest in the sub- ject was sustained, which culminated, in the fall of 1867, in the establishment of a free dispensary, at that time the only public institution in Albany for furnishing gratuitous medical service and medicines to those who choose to avail themselves of its advantages.

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Since the organization of the dispensary, seven- teen years ago, it has gratuitously afforded medical and surgical aid to more than sixty thousand appli- cants. It is, at the present time (1885), in as flourishing a condition as at any period since its es- tablishment, the number of prescriptions ranging from three to five hundred per month.

The dispensary service soon revealed the fact that many of the applicants required hospital accom- modations. With a view, therefore, of enlarging its usefulness, and placing its work and operations upon a permanent foundation, a building was pur- chased in the summer of 1872, and supplied with the requisites for both dispensary and hospital uses. The building at first selected having been found undesirable, in 1875 a larger and more suitable one was provided.

The present hospital and dispensary building is centrally and conveniently located at 123 North Pearl street; is large and complete in its appoint- ments, and is provided with all suitable appliances for accommodating upward of fifty patients.

There are enrolled upon its staff the names of all the resident homoeopathic physicians in Albany, and in addition thereto, two of Albany's ablest old- school surgeons; a fact which clearly indicates the obliteration of sectarian barriers to unrestricted pro- fessional fellowship.

The resources of both the hospital and dispen- sary are derived from sums appropriated by the city goverment and from private sources. Although these institutions are incumbered with a debt of several thousand dollars, the income has been hitherto sufficient to meet all claims for current expenses.

ALBANY CO. ECLECTIC MEDICAL SOCIETY.

In compliance with the act for the incorpora- tion of the Eclectic Medical Society of the State of New York, which was incorporated April 24, 1865, and by the written advice of the honorable secretary of that body, under date of May 19, 1874, and in pursuance of a cordial invitation, the friends of medical reform assembled at the office of Dr. Robert Liston, in the City of Albany, June 1, 1874, to organize a County Eclectic Medical Society, auxiliary to the Eclectic Medical Society of the State of New York. Dr. R. Liston was appointed to the chair, and Dr. John Wilson, secretary. The constitution of the State Eclectic Medical Society was read and approved, and a constitution and by- laws were presented and adopted. After signing

these papers, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year :

President, R. Liston, M. D .; Vice-President, J. T. Johnson, M. D .; Secretary, N. S. Dean; Treasurer, Dr. W. S. Filkins. The secretary was ordered to file in the County Clerk's office a copy of these proceedings, with a list of the 17 corporate members.

The County Society presented a petition to the State Society at its meeting, October 22, 1874, for recognition as an Auxiliary Society, signed by R. Liston, M. D., S. J. Birch, M. D., J. F. Neef, M. D., which was granted on the same day.

The regular meetings now are four in each year, on the first Thursdays in January, April, July, October. Membership now is 23. Of these, the following practice and reside in Albany County :

A. Cullen, West Troy.

James Douglass, West Troy. Morgan L. Filkins, Albany. Welcome L. Filkins, Albany. Isaac Finch, Rensselaerville.

Jacob F. Neef, Albany.

Gustave B. Schill, Albany.

John H. Wilbur, Cohoes. John Wilson, Albany.

FEMALE PHYSICIANS.

The practice of medicine in Albany by females properly educated dates in 1873, only 12 years ago. Up to about that time, the prejudice, not only of most male physicians, but of the people generally, was very strong against them. But the few who have settled in practice have come so well prepared, and have pursued their work so courageously, and yet so modestly and skillfully, that they have disarmed prejudice and taken respectable rank in the profession and in society.

Dr. Mary DuBois was born in the State of New York. She was reared in affluence and in the en- joyment of educational advantages of the highest order. In 1870, she received her degree of M. D. at the Woman's College in Philadelphia. The two years following she spent in a Boston hospital as house physician. She came to this city in 1873, where she has ever since been actively engaged in an extensive practice.

Dr. Catherine E. Goewey came soon after, and has secured a valuable practice in the homeopathic school by her skill and energy. She is a native of this State, and graduated from the Woman's Homoeopathic College in New York City.

DR. Boulware

JETHA A. BOULWARE, M. D.

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Dr. Harriet A. Woodward is of English descent, sprung, as it were, from a family of doctors, her grandfather and three uncles having been educated in medicine at Oxford University, Old England. The doctor was born in 1840, in Hector, N. Y., and early received a thorough training in the usual English branches and some of the higher branches, with Latin. She has always cultivated a fondness for history and natural science. In 1868 she began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. A. B. Smith, of the Hygienic Institute, Geneva, N. Y. In 1872 she entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at the Syracuse University, where she graduated in 1875, with honors. She came to Albany the same year; was admitted to member- ship in the County Medical Society; also to the Academy of Medicine, where she held office for two terms, first as secretary, then as treasurer; was also one of the Board of Censors in the County Society, and delegate to the American Medical Asso- ciation. She stills holds her membership in the society, and is in active and successful practice in her chosen profession.

Dr. Laurentine Rouchel was born in France, in 1846; came to the United States with her parents when very young ; received her early edu- cation in the district schools and in the Lowville Academy. Tuition in the French and German she received from private native teachers, and speaks both languages fluently. She began the study of pharmacy and medicine in 1879, in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Utica, N. Y., under the direction of Dr. Edwin Hutchinson, surgeon in charge of the in- stitution ; continued her studies under the direc- tion of Dr. John F. Oakes, of Rochester ; then graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Buffalo. She began the practice of medicine in Croghan, Lewis County, and has continued the same in this city since 1881.

Dr. Anna Goewey practiced here some five years ago ; then went to New York. Mrs. Carr is now in practice here as a homeopathist.

JEPTHA RICHARD BOULWARE.

JEPTHA RICHARD BOULWARE, a distinguished physician and surgeon of Albany, was born in Franklin County, Kentucky. His parents, whose ancestors came from Scotland, were both natives of Virginia. His father, the Rev. Theodrick Boulware, was a Baptist clergyman, well known in the churches of his denomination in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. He was an earnest and consistant Christian and a devoted pastor, appre- ciating fully the dignity of his office, and causing

it to be respected by those with whom he asso- ciated. He was for a time the settled pastor of a church, and for many years a circuit preacher in the three States mentioned above, performing the varied duties of a clergyman with a hearty willing- ness and an intelligent discretion that savored rather of the apostolic age than of the nineteenth century. During these years of earnest work, he never received-it being inconsistent with his principles to receive-a single cent for his clerical labors. He was a man of strong and original mind and an earnest character, forcible in the ex- pression of his ideas and fond of theological con- troversy. He led a life of almost puritanic sim- plicity, combining religious fervor with practical sagacity, having a wise care for the things of this world, as well as of the next. He accumulated a handsome property, and died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, loved and respected by all who knew him.

Of his three daughters, the eldest married Joseph Hansbrough, a bold and successful merchant of Independence, Missouri. The second daughter was not married; she died soon after arriving at tlie age of womanhood. The youngest daughter married Joseph S. Rogers, a wealthy and enter- prising farmer and stock-breeder in the "blue- grass region " of Kentucky.

Of his six sons, three were enthusiastic farmers who earnestly devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits and stock raising.

The second son became a physician, practicing his profession in New Orleans, La. He soon ac- quired a lucrative practice, but died while a com- paratively young man. The sixth and youngest son is a distinguished lawyer, still living in Mis- souri, noted for his eloquence and persuasive power with a jury.

The fourth son was Jeptha R. Boulware, the subject of this sketch, who, with the restless spirit of many young men, left his comfortable home and the easy life of a school boy, and wandered forth without any very definite aim, excepting to see the world and make a place for himself in it. He had received a liberal education so far as the schools of his neighborhood afforded, besides careful instruction from his father. For a boy of his years he was intelligent and well informed, but he soon found a marked difference between a life in a home of plenty and an existence dependent for its continuance upon his own labor. Young in years and slight in form, without a trade, unused to severe labor, he had to accept such various em- ployments as he chanced to find and was capable of performing.

For a short time he worked as a farm laborer, but ultimately attended the Rock Spring Seminary, in Illinois, and soon taught school, in which pur- suit he was so successful that in four years after leaving his father's house he returned to it in a reasonably prosperous condition.

After remaining home a year, devoting his time to study, he again went forth and resumed the oc- cupation of a school teacher. While teaching, he became interested in phrenology, and carefully

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perused the works of Combe, Spurzheim and other writers upon that subject. His interest in this science led him to a thorough study of the anatom- ical structure of the human brain, and eventually led to his becoming a physician. Though suc- cessful as a teacher, he again returned home, at the solicitation of his father, who gave him " a farm and hands," letting him take his choice out of half a dozen farms. He then married and settled down, applying himself to agricultural pursuits for a few years. He married Miss Sarah J. Kidd, the eldest daughter of Mrs. Hannah Kidd, at Nashville, Washington County, Illinois. Seldom has wedded life proved more satisfactory than in this instance. Dr. Boulware has often said that the success, both professional and financial, which he attained in after life, was due to the patient, inspiring and cheerful influence which he received from his wife. She was his support and helpmeet in adversity and a patient, loyal companion in prosperity. Their union was blessed with two children, Theodrick K. Boulware and Hannah J. Boulware. Theodrick, on completing his general education, began the study of law in the office of Rufus W. Peckham and Lyman Tremain, both eminent lawyers of Albany. The former was for many years one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and afterward a Judge of the Court of Ap- peals. The latter declining judicial honors, was Attorney-General of the State, and among the most distinguished advocates of the country. Theodrick also, studied in the Albany Law School, and was admitted to practice on graduation, after examina- tion by the professors in that institution; but, de- clining to enter the profession in that way only, he presented himself before the committee appointed by the Supreme Court of the State, and after examination was admitted to practice. He was a young man of sterling character, modest and unassuming. His mental characteristics, his good habits and earnest application, made it apparent that he would distinguish himself in his chosen pro- fession. But soon declining health made it evident that his own and his parents' hopes were to be blighted. He accepted the inevitable with charac- teristic calmness, and after lingering a few years, died, respected and beloved by all.

Hannah married John A. Richardson, a manu- facturer. Her husband's health gradually became impaired, a result of his exposure as a Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion, as well as by his persistent devotion to business. After a few years he retired from business, and has since re- sided most of the time at the South, seeking to regain his health.

Dr. Boulware, a few years after his marriage, removed to Albany, N. Y., which place has since been his home, and where he now stands in the front rank of the medical profession, both as a physician and a surgeon. By teaching school and by working at various mechanical employments, in which he was successful, although he never served any apprenticeship, he secured sufficient funds to support his family and to systematically pursue the study of medicine.

He was graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1859. His earnest and intelligent in- terest in medicine secured for him, early in his student life, a warm friend in Professor Howard Townsend, M. D., who encouraged him by per- sonal attention and advice, and gave him free ac- cess to his large professional library, of which great use was made by him to his manifest profit, at a time when his pecuniary circumstances did not allow him to purchase the rarer and more expen- sive medical works. During two winters he also pursued the practical study of analytical chemistry in the laboratory, under the instruction of Pro- fessor Charles H. Porter, M. D. The late Hon. William Cassidy, LL. D., was another distin- guished and influential friend who took an active interest in the young physician's success, and, upon his recommendation, Dr. Boulware was ap- pointed to several medico-political offices, that not only supplied him with some money, but also gave him, what he regarded as more important, oppor- tunities for increasing his professional knowledge.

For several years in his student and early pro- fessional life Dr. Boulware was in charge of the Albany County Hospital for the Sick and Insane. He made its great clinical resources yield him a rich harvest of positive knowledge by the thorough system of careful observation which he at once adopted and diligently pursued.

It was his custom in each case under his care to write down the diagnosis, with a minute record of all the symptoms observed, and when a death oc- curred he made a careful autopsy, comparing the pathological conditions with his previous notes. In this institution, and during his earlier profes- sional life, he made for himself and others, and for legal purposes, over four hundred elaborate post- mortem examinations, and carefully dissected several hundred human brains. His unwearied attention to his business, his sagacity and common sense, and his thorough theoretical and practical knowledge of his profession, early gained him, not only a large and lucrative practice, but also the sin- cere respect and esteem of his fellow practitioners. He soon became prominent as a surgeon as well as a physician. For many years he was the sur- geon of the principal hospitals in Albany, and was called to fill other positions of trust and honor. He successfully performed many capital operations, such as excision of the hip joint, lithotomy and the operation for strangulated hernia. He successfully treated several cases of femoral and popliteal an- eurism by compression, using for the purpose an ingenious instrument of his own construction. Dr. Boulware has very frequently been called upon as an expert in medico-legal cases. His sound surgical and medical knowledge, and his practical sagacity and tact, have always secured from the most unwilling counsel a fair presentation of his views, and very frequently the public com- mendation of the presiding judge, for the clearness, learning and skill displayed in his testimony. He has long been a prominent member of the Medical Society of the County of Albany, and has held most of the responsible offices of that organization, rep-

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resenting it for several years as a delegate to the Medical Society of the State of New York, of which latter society he has also been a permanent member since 1868. Dr. Boulware has presented numerous reports of cases and pathological speci- mens occurring in his practice to the County Medical Society, and a number of papers on medical and surgical subjects to the State Medical Society, which have been published in their Trans- actions.

In the war of the Rebellion Dr. Boulware served as assistant surgeon in the 177th Regi- ment of the New York Volunteers during its continuance in the field. He was universally respected by the soldiers for his attention and kind- ness to them during the war, and to this day the same respect is shown him by soldiers who were in the field.

He was afterward Surgeon of the Tenth Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, and for a long period was Brigade Surgeon of the Ninth Brigade of the National Guard of the State of New York.

He is unusually liberal in his views of medicine, and kindly charitable to all practitioners, as the records of the Medical Society of the County of Albany abundantly show.

At the annual meeting of the Medical Society of the County of Albany, held at Albany, November 14, 1876, Dr. J. R. Boulware offered the following :

Whereas, There is a decided difference of opinion among members of this society regarding certain points re- lating to Medical Ethics, and in order that the society may definitely express itself upon them, for the guidance of its members, the following resolutions are offered for its consid- eration :

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 57

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452