USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 50
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
system in 1851, features which had been sadly neglected by the original build- ers; grading of the lawns and roadways; setting out of trees on the grounds, and the abandoning of the strong rooms. The work on the grounds, which was begun during Dr. Benedict's time, was carried on under the direction of Mr. Charles A. Downing, of Newburgh, and to his efforts and artistic taste are due the superb trees which to-day make the grounds one of the beauty spots of the city. Most of the planting was done in the years 1853-55. The abandoning of the strong rooms, though occurring during Dr. Benedict's jurisdiction, was really the idea of his assistant, Dr. John P. Gray. Prior to this time strong rooms, padded cells, and all manner of mechanical restraints were considered necessary for the care of the insane. In 1852, however, Dr. Gray, with his superior officer's consent, tried the experiment in the most disturbed men's ward of taking all the patients out of their confinement and allowing them to come to a common dining table. Such good order prevailed and the patients, as as a result of the kindness, were so much quieter, that very soon the strong rooms were unlocked, and, as rapidly as possible, remodeled into ordinary rooms. Since then the strong rooms have never been used, and seclusion is only an ex- ceptional practice instead of a rule. On July 19, 1854, Dr. John P. Gray was appointed to succeed Dr. Benedict.
Dr. John Perdue Gray was born in Half Moon, Pa., in 1825. He received the degree of M. D., from the University of Pennsylvania in 1848, and was at once appointed to the Philadelphia Hospital. In 1850 he was made assistant in the Utica Asylum, and the rest of his life was spent in Utica. In 1854 he was appointed superintendent. Innovations which were instituted in the asylum immediately attracted the attention of psychiatrists to the young superintend- ent. His broad knowledge, keen judgment and legal mind caused Dr. Gray to be received as a man whose opinion was of weight, and before his death he was accepted as one of the first authorities in America on the subject of insanity. He was elected president of the Oneida County Medical Society in 1874; of the New York State Medical Society in 1867; of the New York State Medical Asso- ciation in 1884; of the Association of the Superintendents of American Institu- tions for the Insane, and of the Association of Medical Editors. He was an honorary member of the Psychological Association of Great Britain; the So- ciete de Freniatrica of Italy, and the Medico-Psychologique of Paris. He was also president of the Psychological Section of the Ninth International Medical Congress in Washington in 1887, a duty, however, which he did not live to ful- fill. Dr. Gray may well be said to have been the most noted physician who ever lived and worked in Central New York. He died November 29, 1886.
On July 14, 1857, fire gutted the main building of the institution and al- though fortunately the patients were all removed safely, Dr. Lauren F. Rose and one fireman lost their lives. Two years later the damage had been entirely repaired, many improvements having been made in the process. After the re- pairs had been completed the average daily number of patients rapidly in- creased, and in the year 1860 the number reached 516. During the next decade the overcrowding became extreme, and the facilities for proper care of the patients much diminished in consequence, a condition, however, which was re-
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lieved by the opening of the new Willard Asylum for the chronic cases in 1869, and the Hudson River Hospital in 1872.
In 1878, after many years of effort, a small hospital for the care of physi- cally ill and pregnant women was built, and fulfilled a long felt want. In 1879 day rooms were added for the women patients. In 1880 the shops were much enlarged, and in 1885 new additions were put on for the care of disturbed pa- tients. The same year cracks appeared in the walls at the northwest end of the main building and steadily widened, causing great anxiety as to its safety. Investigation showed that this end of the building was built on quicksand, the foundation of the inner walls being only three feet deep, resting on sand and gravel. The entire end of the building was propped on steel girders, the sand and gravel excavated, and new foundation walls built upon hardpan. In 1886 work on the Assembly Hall was commenced.
Dr. Gray's administration may well be characterized as the period of the introduction of scientific research. In 1861 the work of the institution was or- ganized and systematic recording of the patient's case inaugurated. In 1868 Dr. E. R. Hun was appointed special pathologist, and in 1873 he was suc- ceeded by Mr. Theodore Deeke. From the appointment of Dr. Hun systematic post mortem examinations were made and recorded in the superintendent's an- nual reports. Photography and photomicrography were extensively made use of. In 1869 Dr. Henry D. Noyes of New York made extensive ophthalmoscopic examinations, and instructed the staff in the use of the opthalmoscope. Thor- ough studies of the blood and excreta of patients were made, and in every possible way scientific studies of the physical aspect of insanity were conducted, the reports, appearing in the American Journal of Insanity, attracting wide attention among European psychiatrists.
After the death of Dr. Gray, Dr. G. Alder Blumer, the first assistant, was appointed superintendent on December 14, 1886. With Dr. Blumer's appoint- ment further changes made their appearance in rapid succession. His first act was to remove from the wards every instrument of mechanical restraint, the last "Utica crib" being removed January 18, 1887. This device, which was introduced by Dr. Gray, consisted of an ordinary bed with slatted sides and top, and was used to restrain patients whose physical condition demanded rest, but who, owing to their mental state, refused to remain in bed. Much odium is attached to the name of the "Utica crib," but the wildest stretch of the imagination cannot make of it an instrument of torture. Since 1887, how- ever, no patient has been restrained mechanically in the Utica institution, ex- cept for surgical reason.
Dr. Blumer's second reform was that of changing the institution from an asylum to a hospital. In 1887 the bare wards were carpeted and curtained, the attendants were put into uniforms similar to those of the hospital nurses, and the admission of visitors was interdicted except by card from the managers. In 1888 female nurses were placed upon the male wards, and Dr. Blumer sug- gested that the name be changed to the Utica State Hospital, thus eliminating the unpleasant terms "asylum" and "insane." This latter suggestion was carried out by act of legislature in 1890, since which time the "New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica" has been known as the "Utica State Hospital."
NEW YORK STATE LUNATIC ASYLUM AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT (NOW CALLED STATE HOSPITAL)
APPROACH TO THE NEW YORK STATE HOSPITAL AS IT NOW APPEARS
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The third change which took place at this time was the systematic intro- duction of amusements, especially out-door games for the patients. On the opening of the Assembly Hall in 1887 weekly dances for the patients were in- augurated, and were greatly enjoyed by all who were able to attend. The first athletic field day was held on April 29, 1887, and was at once established as an annual event. In 1888 base ball games were held, a pleasure steamboat was procured for trips on the Erie canal, fire works were provided for Independ- ence Day, and a tree at Christmas. All of these proved such sources of pleas- ure and interest that they have become regular parts of the regime. In 1891 a large sleigh was purchased, and since then sleigh rides are almost daily events during the winter months.
The years 1889 and 1890 are marked by two events of prime importance- the establishment of the State Commission of Lunacy and the passage of the State Care Act. The former took most of the power from the hands of the local managers and gave it to a state commission, and the latter provided that all the insane paupers in the state be removed from the jails and poorhouses and be sent to the state hospitals. The result of these two innovations was an era of rigid economy and supervision of the institutions, and at the same time the extreme overcrowding of the hospitals. In 1892 the overcrowding in the local hospital was in part relieved by the opening of the infirmary building for the care of 200 of the helpless and bed-ridden. This enlargement enabled the average population to be increased in 1892 to 811, but the relief was only tem- porary, and in 1895 an average of 1,004 patients were crowded into the hos- pital each day. In 1897 another great innovation was adopted in the leasing of 160 acres of land south of the institutional grounds and the opening of the "farm colony" or "Graycroft." In this twenty male patients were quartered as in an ordinary farm house, and kept working on the farm. The next year "Dixhurst" (named for Dorothea Dix, the reformer to whose labors, more than to those of any other one person is due the improvement in the methods of car- ing for the insane the world over), a similar house for twenty women, was opened, and the Graycroft colony was increased to thirty-seven. Graycroft has continued to the present and proved most successful. Dixhurst, however, was abandoned in 1901, owing to the inability to purchase the land. With the pur- chase of Graycroft and other property in 1900, 230 acres were added to the original estate.
On September 14, 1899, Dr. Blumer resigned to accept the position of super- intendent of the Butler Hospital in Providence, R. I. During his incumbency many changes had occurred. To those already mentioned may be added the increase in capacity of the institution from 600 in 1885 to over 1,100 in 1899, and the increase in percentage of patients employed in useful and pleasant occu. pations from 35 to over 60 per cent.
Dr. Harold L. Palmer succeeded Dr. Blumer, having received his appoint- ment in November, 1899. During his term of office the policies of Dr. Blumer have been continued and extended, and the institution has been greatly enlarged and improved. In 1903 a new kitchen was built, and in 1904 a contagious pa- vilion for 34 patients was opened. In 1905 separate houses for the superintendent and the medical staff were completed, and the next year alterations in the old
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staff quarters allowed space for 76 extra patients. The completion of the nurse's home in 1908 for 200 attendants increased the capacity by 100 more, while in January, 1909, the much needed acute hospital was opened, supplying proper means of caring for acute cases of insanity by all the modern hydro- therapeutic methods, and also giving the hospital a thoroughly up to date operat- ing room. The average daily number of patients for the year 1911 was 1,491.
During the year 1911 the growth of the city has made it necessary to en- croach upon the grounds of the Utica State Hospital by extending Hickory street through its grounds. The bill allowing this passed the legislature early in July, and culminated a fight between the city and state which had its incep- tion in 1890. Such objection was raised to this division of the property that it has been deemed wise to move the hospital outside of the city, and on July 24, 1911, a bill passed the legislature authorizing the lunacy commission to pro- cure a site of 1,000 acres near the city of Utica, on which a new state hospital may be built. The managers of the Utica State Hospital for the year 1911 are Mr. George E. Dunham, president; Rev. Edward H. Coley, secretary; Mr. Thomas F. Baker, Miss Mary Isabel Doolittle, Mrs. Lizzie E. Constable, Mr. John D. Kernan and Lieut. William G. Mayer.
The resident officers since the founding of the institution have been: Drs. Amariah Brigham, 1842-1849; H. A. Buttolph, 1843-47; D. T. Brown, 1846-47; J. E. Lee, 1847-48; C. H. Nichols, 1847-49; G. Cook, 1848-52; N. D. Benedict, 1849-54; M. G. Porter, 1849-51; John P. Gray, 1850-86; W. S. Headley, 1852- 54; E. H. VanDeusen, 1853-58; H. S. Swift, 1854-54; J. B. Chapin, 1854-57; L. A. Tourtellot, 1855-62 and 1867-68; J. M. Cleaveland, 1857-67; F. Nash, 1856-59; F. M. Wright, 1859-62; A. O. Kellogg, 1862-71; W. N. Whiteside, 1863-63; S. E. Shantz 1863-66; J. A. Emmerton, 1866-67; J. B. Andrews, 1867- 80; W. Kempster, 1868-73; D. H. Kitchen, 1871-74; W. S. Whitwell, 1873-73; W. E. Ford, 1873-79; A. T. Livingston, 1873-78; E. E. Smith, 1874-76; T. G. Kendrick, 1876-79; E. N. Brush, 1876-85; W. Hailes, 1879-80; S. A. Russell, 1879-82; E. E. Josselyn, 1880-84; G. Alder Blumer, 1880-99; C. W. Pilgrim, 1882-90; O. Backus, 1884-87; C. G. Wagner, 1885-92; W. Mabon, 1887-95; C. E. Atwood, 1888-92; R. R. Daly, 1890-93; Clara Smith, 1891 -; Harold L. Palmer, 1892 -; W. Steele, 1892-94; W. C. Gibson, 1894-99; J. N. Teeter, 1894-97; E. C. Gibney, 1895-97; F. H. Cook, 1896-96; G. H. Torney, 1896 -; H. L. K. Shaw, 1897-98; E. G. Stout, 1898 -; W. Moffatt, 1898-99 ; F. E. Van der Veer, 1900-1900; J. E. Haight, 1900 -; C. J. Slocum, 1900-02; T. I. Townsend, 1902-06; W. H. Montgomery, 1902-03; A. M. Phillips, 1903-04; A. C. Matthews, 1904-05; A. L. Smith, 1905-08; R. McC. Chapman, 1906-07; H. D. L. Spencer, 1908-09; T. J. Collison, 1909-09; S. W. Hamilton, 1909 -; W. Leavitt, 1909 -; C. Fletcher, 1910- 10; R. E. Clogher, 1910 -.
THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INSANITY-In 1844, one year subsequent to the opening of the New York State Lunatic Asylum, Dr. Brigham, the superintend- ent, announced in a private letter to a friend that he was about to start the American Journal of Insanity to be published quarterly in octavo form. It was to be edited by the officers of the asylum, and its contents were intended for the general reader as well as for the medical profession. Dr. Brigham possessed
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considerable literary ability and was a facile writer, who had already written several works of a semi-medical character. His purpose in starting the Journal was to popularize the study of insanity, and to interest physicians, lawyers and laymen in the idea of insanity as a disease of the brain, to be prevented and gen- erally cured by early treatment. The Journal was the first periodical in any language upon the subject of insanity, and deserves recognition as the pioneer in the field. Dr. Brigham lived to conduct the journal at great pecuniary sac- rifice and much arduous labor until his death in 1849. The contents, while under his charge, were an interesting combination of historical, literary and clinical studies, varying from description of buildings, rules of administration and methods of treatment of his own institution, to clinical notes, medico legal cases, statistical tables of all the institutions for the insane in America, and even in- cluded an article on insanity as presented in the writings of Cowper, Byron, Samuel Johnson, Shakespeare, Scott and others. The benefits which came from the journal in this early period can hardly be estimated.
On the death of Dr. Brigham the managers of the asylum assumed the finan- cial responsibility of the Journal, and prevailed upon Dr. T. Romeyn Beck, of Albany, an author and scholar of recognized ability, to become editor. In 1855 he was succeeded by Dr. John P. Gray. During his thirty years as editor Dr. Gray, assisted by such able psychiatrists as Drs. E. H. VanDeusen, J. B. Chapin, J. M. Cleaveland, N. O. Kellogg, J. B. Andrews, D. H. Kitchen, E. M. Brush and G. A. Blumer, pushed the design of its founder with characteristic energy and greatly enlarged and enriched the literature of the subject. During this time especial stress was laid upon medico-legal cases and methods of treatment. Upon Dr. Gray's death in 1886, Dr. G. Alder Blumer assumed the charge, and under his excellent editorship the scope of the Journal was much enlarged and connections were established with specialists in other countries.
In 1895, the managers of the Utica State Hospital, fearful lest the change in their powers, in consequence of the appointment of the Lunacy Commission, might destroy the independence and character of the Journal, sold it to theAmeri- can Medico-Psychological Association. The office of the Journal was established in Chicago, and for three years it was edited by Dr. Richard Dewey. Owing, however, to a great pressure of private duties, he was compelled to resign the editorship, to the regret of all. The office was removed to Baltimore in 1898, and its publication put in the hands of the Johns Hopkins Press, with the follow- ing board of editors: Drs. G. Alder Blumer of Providence, E. N. Brush of Baltimore, Charles K. Clarke of Toronto, J. Montgomery Mosher of Toronto, and Henry M. Hurd of Baltimore. It is to the kindness of the last named gen- tleman that the facts concerning the history of this journal were obtained,- facts worthy of preservation in a history of Oneida county, as the Journal, for over half a century, was edited and published within the confines of the county, and went from here to all parts of the world to be the mouth-piece of the leaders of the scientific study of insanity. The Journal is now in its sixty- seventh volume.
DR. CHARLES BROADHEAD COVENTRY-Among the many physicians who be- gan practice in the county during the second quarter of the nineteenth century,
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none is more worthy of notice than Dr. Charles Broadhead Coventry. Born in Deerfield in 1801, he studied medicine in the offices of his father, Dr. Alex- ander Coventry and Dr. John McCall, and graduated from the Fairfield Med- ical School in 1825. After serving as lecturer on materia medica in the Berk- shire Medical College for three years he went to New York, but on the death of his father returned to his native home and formed a partnership with Dr. McCall. For forty years Dr. Coventry was one of the leading physicians of this part of the state. In 1839 he was made professor of materia medica and obstetrics in the newly formed Geneva Medical College, and in 1846 he be- came professor of physiology and jurisprudence in the Buffalo Medical College. The first one to advocate the organization of an asylum for the insane, he was appointed a manager of the State Asylum. He was president of St. Luke's Hospital. His interest in the work of the medical societies was unceasing. For many years he was treasurer and librarian of the Oneida County Medical Society, and was the president in 1841, 1842 and 1864, while in 1854 he was elected president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Though never robust, and occasionally subject to pulmonary hemorrhages, Dr. Coven- try lived to practice just fifty years, and died a most highly honored man in 1875. In 1832 Dr. Coventry was sent by the city of Utica to several of the large eastern cities to study the methods of preventing cholera, which was then becoming epidemic; and again in 1848, while in Europe for his health, he made a deep study of this much dreaded disease. His son, Dr. Walter B. Coventry, after practicing in Utica for a few years, during which he acted as librarian, secretary and vice president of the Oneida County Medical Society, died in 1865, his health having been shattered during his service as surgeon in the Union army.
DR. THEODORE DIMON was born at Fairfield, Conn., September 19, 1816. He graduated from Yale College in 1835, and received the degree of M. D., from the University of Pennsylvania in 1838. After one year's practice in Stockbridge, Mass., he came to Utica in 1839. A few years later he moved to Auburn, and in 1849 went to California, where he became the first presi- dent of the first medical society organized in that state. In 1862 he became surgeon of the 19th New York Regiment, afterwards converted into the 3d N. Y. Artillery. He served for two years, and was later appointed agent by Governor Seymour to care for the sick and wounded New York soldiers. While serving in this capacity at Gettysburg he first suggested using the battlefield as a cemetery. Returning to Auburn in 1865, he was appointed surgeon to the State's Prison, and later superintendent of the State Asylum for Insane Crimi- nals. He died in Auburn, July 22, 1889, and was buried at Utica.
DR. MOSES M. BAGG was born in Utica in 1816. After attending Hamilton College and graduating from Yale, he studied medicine with Dr. Charles B. Coventry, and received his degree from the Geneva Medical College. After extensive study in Europe he opened an office in Utica in 1845, and for many years was one of the city's leading physicians. At various times he held the position of president, vice president, secretary and librarian of the County
Dr. Samuel Wolcott, Utica
Dr. Robert Frazier, Camden
Dr. R. E. Sutton, Rome
Dr. S. O. Scudder, Rome
Dr. Claude Wilson, Waterville
PROMINENT PHYSICIANS OF THE COUNTY
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Society. Prominent as Dr. Bagg was as a physician, he will be known to posterity more as a literary man and historian than as a doctor. Dr. Bagg had a passion for historical research, and his three chief works, "The Pioneers of Utica," 1877, "The Memorial History of Utica," 1892, and "The Founders of the Oneida County Medical Society" are monuments to his painstaking study and collaboration. Dr. Bagg died in Utica, May 3, 1900. The facts concerning the pioneer physician of this county presented in this history have been drawn largely from Dr. Bagg's writings, to which the author makes grateful acknow- ledgement.
DR. DANIEL P. BISSELL was prominent in Utica both professionally and polit- ically. He was a graduate of the Yale Medical School in 1826. After prac- ticing for some years in Livingstone county he came to Utica, where he was so highly respected that in 1852 he was elected president of the County Society, and in 1862 and 1863 vice president, and president of the State Medical Society.
DR. GEORGE W. CLEVELAND of Waterville was born in Westmoreland in 1808, graduated from the Fairfield Medical School in 1831, and began practice in Waterville in 1836. He continued as a prominent figure in his section of the county until his death, December 4, 1884. In 1870 he was made vice presi- dent, and in 1879, president of the County Medical Society.
DR. NICHOLL HAVENS DERING was born in Shelter Island, January 1, 1794, a member of a family which held a position of eminence in Colonial America. He graduated from Yale College in 1813, studied medicine under Dr. John Osborn of New York City, and received his doctorate from the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons in 1817. Almost immediately Dr. Dering stepped into a prominent position among the medical men of New York City. In 1818 Gov- ernor Clinton appointed him Health Commissioner of the port of New York, and ex officio member of the Board of Health of the city of New York, posi- tions which he held for two years. From 1823 to 1825 he was secretary of the Medical Society of the County of New York, and in 1827 he was elected to the responsible position of Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons; at about the same time he was made a trustee of the same institution, and in 1844 received the title of Fellow. His arduous labors, however, undermined Dr. Dering's health, and in 1842 he was forced to resign his position in New York and moved to Rome. In 1847 he removed to Utica, where he remained until his death December 19, 1867. Dr. Dering's cultivation, dignity, knowl- edge and innate refinement quickly won for him recognition in his new home, and during his twenty-five years in Oneida county he held the highest position as physician, scholar and gentleman. In 1856 his ability was officially recog- nized by his election to the presidency of the Medical Society of the County of Oneida.
DR. DANIEL G. THOMAS was a native of Dutchess county and was of Quaker origin. He was born in the year 1806. He received his education at Fairfield and Philadelphia, and after graduation practiced successively in Norwich, New
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Hartford and Whitestown. In 1848 he removed to Utica, and became a part- ner of Dr. Charles Coventry. After many years of successful practice he died in Utica, March 26, 1880. He was elected secretary of the Oneida County Medi- cal Society in 1839, president in 1850, and treasurer from 1852 to 1865.
DR. WILLIAM RUSSELL was born in Glasgow, Scotland, June 5, 1821, and came to Oneida county with his father in 1832. He graduated from the Berk- shire Medical College in 1848, and, after taking a post graduate course in New York began practice in Utica in 1849, where he remained until his death, June 27, 1890. Dr. Russell was for ten years secretary, in 1869 vice president, and in 1871 president of the Oneida County Medical Society. His son, Dr. Charles P. Russell, was also a successful practitioner in Utica for many years.
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