USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Memorial history of Syracuse, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
Officers elected for 1877 were Dr. F. H. Butler, President ; Dr. E. S. Mumford, Vice-President ; Dr. J. S. Marshall, Secretary and Treasurer. At the meeting held April 17, of this year, Drs. Metcalf, E. S. Mumford, and J. S. Marshall were elected delegates to the meeting of the Central New York Medical Society. Dr. G. W. Cook read an able and exhaustive paper on the sanitary condition of the city schools at the meeting of May 29, 1877. This paper was the outcome of the thorough investigation of the condition of the school buildings by a committee of physicians. The paper was published and resulted in considerable improvement in the sanitary ar- rangements of several of the schools.
At the meeting of December 15, 1877, the following officers were elected for 1878: Dr. E. S. Mumford, President ; Dr. John Van Duyn, Vice-Pres- ident ; Dr. J. S. Marshall, Secretary and Treasurer.
There are no records of meetings held from April 2, 1878, to February 11, 1879, on which date the following officers were elected : Dr. John Van Duyn, President ; Dr. George E. Metcalf, Vice-President ; Dr. Nathan Jacobson, Secretary and Treasurer. After this date the meetings of the as- sociation were generally held at residences of the members.
The next meeting, according to the records, was held January 21, 1880. Dr. Van Duyn continued as President, and Dr. Jacobson as Secretary and Treasurer. At a meeting held in the following spring, the President con- gratulated the association on the general success and attendance during the preceding winter.
At the meeting of December 21, ISSo, the following officers were elected for 1881 : Dr. George R. Metcalf, President ; Dr. Ely Van de Warker, Vice-President ; Dr. Nathan Jacobson, Secretary and Treasurer. At the meeting of January 4, Dr. Alfred Mercer read an address which had prev- iously been presented to the Common Council, embodying the mortuary statistics of the three preceding years, with tables showing the location of deaths, the favorite months for certain diseases, ages selected, etc. It was shown that twenty per cent. of deaths occur from phthisis. The entire per- centage of deaths was about thirteen per thousand of population.
Dr. Lucius Stevens was elected President of the association in 1882 and Dr. Jacobson continued as Secretary and Treasurer. At the meeting of January 3, the retiring President, Dr. Metcalf, read a paper treating upon the subject of the proper requirements of the society, the demands it should make upon its members, the methods to secure its reformation and elevate it to a high standard.
At the meeting of December 19th, 1882, the following officers were elected for the succeeding year : Dr. A. C. Mercer, President : Dr. Jerome H. Coe, Vice-president : Dr. N. Jacobson, Secretary and Treasurer. Officers for 1884 were : Dr. Jerome H. Coe, President ; Dr. H. L. Elsner, Vice-President ; Dr. W. H. Mills, Secretary and Treasurer.
-
465
ACTION ON THE WATER QUESTION.
At the meeting held on February 26th, 1884, at the residence of Dr. H. D. Didama, Dr. A. C. Mercer read an able paper on " The Theory of Microscopic Vision." Officers elected for 1885 at the meeting of January 20th, were as follows : Dr. H. L. Elsner, President ; and Dr. Heffron, Vice- president. Dr. F. W. Marlow, Secretary and Treasurer. A special meeting was held January 8th, at which action was taken on the death of Dr. M. D. Benedict.
At a meeting held in January, Dr. VanDuyn presented a map of a large portion of the city, with marks showing the location of deaths from 1879 to 1884, inclusive, different kinds of marks indicating the character of the dis- ease causing the death, and accompanied by an explanatory paper. This map, with the text of the paper, was engraved and printed in the Syracuse Herald, and was most favorably received, not only by the physicians of the city, but by the city authorities and the community. 1755110 At the meeting of January 5th, 1886, the following officers were elected : Dr. J. L. Heffron, President ; Dr. D. Totman, Vice-president ; Dr. W. J. Ayling. Secretary and Treasurer. Early in this year the Association opened up a discussion of the question of city water supply, which was participated in by several members and undoubtedly contributed its share towards subse- quent agitation that seems now to have nearly accomplished the object of giving to Syracuse an ample supply of pure water. A special meeting was held on April 24th at the College of Medicine, where this important topic again received a free discussion, and the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That the health of our citizens is jeopardived by offensive and noxious and unflushed sewers and by the use of drinking water drawn from contaminated wells and all wells in crowded cities are likely to be contaminated, by sewage and filtrations from stables and out houses, and believ- ing also that an abundant supply of good water is essential to prevent sickness, to protect property and to promote the prosperity of the city, and believing. furthermore, that Skaneateles lake is the best available source whence such supply can be obtained, the Syracuse Medical Association earnestly advises our citizens to vote on the 4th of June that this Skaneateles lake water, the best for the peo- ple, should be procured by the people and owned by the people of the city.
Officers elected for ISS7 at a meeting held December 21st, ISS6, were as follows : Dr. D. Totman, President ; Dr. F. H. Stevenson, Vice-president ; Dr. W. J. Ayling, Secretary and Treasurer. The retiring president read an address on " Choleslithiases."
The officers elected for 1888 were : Dr. D. Totman, re-elected President ; Dr. F. H. Stevenson, Vice-president ; Dr. L. P. Deming, Secretary and Treasurer.
Early in the year the care of the insane occupied the attention of the society and the subject was fully discussed in all of its features, particularly the proposed legislation by the State. In connection with the subject the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That our Representatives in the Legislature be requested to secure, if possible, to Onondaga county the option for three years, to provide for its own indigent and pauper insane and 59
466
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
be exempt from the provision of the proposed legislation in regard to district insane asylums in the State.
During the period covered by the foregoing records there occurred the deaths of Drs. N. C. Powers, Arthur S. Hall, Sumner Rhoades, Lucius Stevens, M. D. Benedict, W. W. Porter, A. B. Shipman, James Foran, R. W. Pease, Henry Crouse, J. W. Lawton, Horace F. Hatch, (of small pox in 1875) D. Terry, Elisha T. George, J. F. Trowbridge. Brief sketches of the professional careers of some of these will be found a little further on.
Among the important papers read before this Society, by its members, were the following: "New Remedies," by Dr. Mumford, January 25, 1876. "Code of Medical Ethics," by Dr. Plant, April 4, 1876. " Cases of Puer- peral Convulsions," Dr. Alfred Mercer, May 18, 1876. "Typhoid Fever," Dr. Didama, May 21, 1876. " Diphtheria," Dr. VanDuyn, December 12, 1876. "Thrombosis," Dr. Alfred Mercer, December 26, 1876. " Pathology of Uterine Flexions,". Dr. Van de Warker, January 23, 1877. " Shoulder and other mal transverse Presentations," Dr. A. Mercer, February 6, 1877. "Digitalis in Heart and Kidney Diseases," Dr. Didama, March 20, 1877. " Hygienic and Sanitary condition of our schools," Dr. G. W. Cook. May 29, 1877. " Quinine as an Antiseptic," D. Metcalf, November 27, 1877. "Diphtheria," Dr. Maxson, December 15, 1877, and " Paralysis," January 21, 1880. "The Sulphate of Copper in Croup," Dr. Cook, January 15, 1878. " The Teeth of the present Generation," Dr. J. S. Marshall, March 19, 1878. "Pure and impure waters," Dr. Englehardt, March 11, 1879. " Enlarged Tonsils," Dr. Coe, January 18, 1881. "Myxodema," Dr. A. C. Mercer, February 15, 1881. " Ergot in Labor," Dr. Alfred Mercer, Decem- ber 19, 1882. " Prevention of the Spread of Disease," Dr. Didama, Febru- ary 13, 1883. " A Fatal Case of Mastoid Abscess," Dr. U. H. Brown, March 6, 1883. " Mental Therapeutics in General Practice," Dr. Coe, Nov- ember 25, 1884. "Tonsilitis," Dr. N. Jacobson. "Hysteric Paralysis," Dr. Elsner, January 19, 1886. " Infantile Diarrhoea," Dr. Mills, October 19, 1886. "Pathology of Diabetes," Dr. Stephenson, November 2, 1886. "Prophylaxis of Typhoid Fever," Dr. Roberts, November 23, 1886. " An- tiseptic Surgery," Dr. Totman, December 7, 1886. "The Artificial Drum- head," Dr. U. H. Brown, February 1, 1887. "Care of the Insane," Dr. A. C. Benedict, February 21, 1888. "Intestinal Obstruction," Dr. Mills, March 20, 1888. "Spasmodic Asthma," Dr. Babcock, November 20, 1888. " Cat- aract Operation without Iridectomy," Dr. Brown, October 22, 1889.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
DR. JEIIIEL STEARNS was born in Rockingham, Vt., February 6th 1790. He graduated from the Medical College at Dartmouth in 1811 with
467
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
high honors and was a surgeon in the army in the war of 1812. He re- moved to Pompey in 1815, and in the following year became a member of the Onondaga County Medical Society, in which he was often called to official positions. He became particularly distinguished as a surgeon and performed many of the most difficult operations. "He was thoroughly up- right in his profession, scorning all tricks and sham and pretence, which never secure distinction, though it might obtain notoriety." He died Octo- ber 8th, 1879.
DR. LAKE I. TEFFT was born in Greenwich, Washington county, N. Y., on the 16th day of March, 1797. He gained his education and his medi- cal diploma in his native town and in 1823 located in Marcellus, where he continued in the active practice of his profession until about 1850. At this time he gave up his profession to a large degree, and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, for which he possessed an ardent taste and broad knowledge. In 1876 he was a delegate to the International Medical Con- vention during the centennial and actively participated in its work. Re- turning to Syracuse, which had been his home since 1863, his health began to fail and gradually declined until his decease. Dr. Tefft was often honored with positions of trust and responsibility unsought by himself ; he was elected to the Assembly in 1845, and enjoyed the confidence of his colleagues. He died at the home of his son-in-law, Hon. George N. Kennedy, in May, 1880.
DR. DARWIN E. HURD was born in Sharon, Conn., in 1813 and was the son of an eminent physician, with whom he studied his profession. He graduated at Pittsfield, Mass., in 1834 and settled in Canastota, where he practiced several years. About the year 1850 he removed to Fayetteville and there spent the remainder of his life. He was a successful physician and became quite prominent in local politics ; but always refused to accept office. As a citizen and a friend Dr. Hurd is spoken of as one of the best. He died on the 24th of October, 1873.
DR. JAMES FORAN was born in the County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1807, where he received a good education and began business life in the calling of a merchant. But his natural taste for the healing art soon attracted him to the medical profession. He came to America in 1825, full of his purpose to become a physician, and reached Albany where he had a distant relative and other friends. He there found a position as teacher in a female semi- nary, giving up all his leisure to his now favorite study, under the guidance of Dr. Hinckley. At the end of three years he removed to Canastota, where he continued teaching and studied under Dr. Spencer. In 1833 he came to Salina and gave up two more full years to patient study before as- suming the responsibilities of active practice. In 1834 he received a license
468
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
from the State Medical Society and opened an office in Salina. In 1837 he became a member of the County Medical Society and was its president in 1859. In 1844 he removed to Syracuse, where he remained to the time of his death. He was terribly injured in the gunpowder explosion of 1841, but finally recovered. About six years before his death, he was poisoned while treating a patient, by a discharge reaching the blood through an abra- sion on his hand, which soon affected his brain and wrecked his mental powers. During one of his frequent periods of insanity, on the Ioth of December, 1873, he was drowned in Onondaga creek. It has been written of Dr. Foran that "in the practice of obstetrics he was recognized as sec- ond to none in Central New York. Many of our city's best physicians gratefully acknowledge his many valuable and practical suggestions."
DR. W. W. PORTER was born in Fayston, Washington county, July 24, 1826. At the age of 22 he entered the office of Dr. G. M. Brigham, of Waitsfield, Vt., and studied medicine summers and taught school winters about two years, when he entered the Medical College at Woodstock, Vt. He continued there one term and followed it with two terms in the College at Castleton, Vt., graduating in the fall of 1851. In that year he came to Syracuse and entered the office of Dr. Hiram Hoyt.
In May, 1852, he accepted the position of principal teacher of the Ged- des school, remaining one year. He then opened an office there and began practice, which he continued with increasing success during his life. In 1875 he opened an office in Syracuse and occupied it in connection with his Geddes office. On the opening of the Medical College in connection with the University, in 1872, Dr. Porter was called Clinical Professor of Obstet- rics and Gynecology, and one year later was given the chair of that pro- fessorship. Dr. Porter was a man of remarkable perseverance and untiring industry which, with his capacity for labor and his laudable ambition, en- abled him to succeed in his profession and secure the confidence of the community.
DR. JOHN F. TROWBRIDGE was born in Columbia county July 21, 1791. His education was obtained in common schools and at Hudson and Kinder- hook, N. Y., and when about fifteen years old he worked for three years in a store in Johnstown. At eighteen he entered the office of Dr. Prigsley, of Ghent, N. Y., and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1812. In the spring of 1813 he went to New Hartford, N. Y., where Gen. Jacob Brown offered him a position as surgeon in the army, but which he was forced to decline on account of the political prejudices of relatives. In 1813 he began practice in Bridgewater, Oneida county, where he contin- ued thirty years. In 1830 and 1839 he was elected to the Assembly, and in 1836 was nominated for Congress, but declined and soon afterward re-
469
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
nounced politics. In 1843 he came to Syracuse where he enjoyed a consid- erable practice and the confidence and respect of the community until his death. He was stricken with paralysis in October, 1871, and died on the 18th of February, 1872.
DR. JOS. W. BREWSTER was born at Lebanon, Conn., February 23, 1764, and died at Onondaga Valley September 4, 1849, in the 86th year of his age. He gained his early education in the common schools and under private instruction from a clergymen of his parish. At the age of about sixteen he joined the revolutionary army and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis, October 19, 1781. After this event he returned home and soon began the study of medicine with his brother, Oliver Brewster, then practicing in Becket, Mass. Concluding his studies he removed to Blan- ford and began practicing at the age of 21 years. In 1805 he removed to Chatham, Columbia county, N. Y., where he met with excellent success. In the spring of 1818 he came to Onondaga Valley, where he gained not only a large measure of professional success, but the confidence and esteem of the community. It is the verdict of those who should know, that Dr. Brewster's studious habits, his natural ability and fitness for his calling, and his industry, entitled him to high rank among his brethren.
DR. MATHER WILLIAMS was born in Canaan, Columbia county, N. Y., February 3, 1799. He attended the district and select schools for his early education, and later gave a year or two to the Collegiate Institute at Great Barrington, Mass. When about nineteen years of age he entered the office of Dr. Robert G. Frary, of Canaan. Dr. Frary soon removed to Hudson and was accompanied by his student who remained with him until his stud- ies were completed, excepting the time devoted to lectures in New York. He practiced less than a year in the eastern part of Massachusetts, but found that the place was "too old for a young man without much means and no friends." He started westward on the canal in the summer of 1825, and went as far as Buffalo, but returned to Syracuse as a more promising place and remained here until his death. He at first opened his office over General Granger's store and boarded with him. Later he was on East Gen- esee street, near the Syracuse . House. Dr. Williams found work to do, for the little village was notoriously unhealthful, and he soon acquired a large practice. He also dealt some in real estate and in drugs and by the exer- cise of his unusual financial judgment, became quite wealthy. For many years he enjoyed a large practice, much of which was among the more aris- tocratic people of the place. It was stated by his biographer that "he was not, strictly speaking, a book doctor." He said that he could gain more real practical knowledge by treating one case of disease to a successful is- sue, than by reading half a dozen treatises on the subject. "He was a
--- ---
----
-
-- ----
470
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
close observer of the ethics of his profession, and while very stately, if not even pompous, in his demeanor, was still courteous and gentlemanly at all times." His first wife was the second daughter of Judge Forman. Dr. Williams died in 1869.
DR. ISAAC NEWTON VANSLYKE was born in Genesee county, N. Y., in 1819, and died in Burlington, N. J., April 15, 1869. He acquired the foundation of a good education in the common schools by hard study, and followed teaching a portion of several years. When 22 years old he began the study of medicine and graduated at Pittsfield, Mass., three years later. He began practice in Mottville, this county, and afterwards removed to Cicero. His health showing signs of failing he removed in 1858 to the pine forests of Wisconsin and in that State remained several years, attaining an honorable standing. But his lungs were weak and finally after he had re- moved to Burlington, N. J., in quest of a milder climate, gave way to the ravages of consumption. Dr. VanSlyke was only for a short period a resi- dent of Syracuse, but was closely identified with the County Medical Soci- ety. "He possessed a mind peculiariy adapted to his profession * * his rare judgment rendered him a successful practitioner and counselor."
DR. AZARIAH B. SHIPMAN, son of Daniel Shipman, an intelligent farmer of Saybrook, Conn., was born in Roxbury, Conn., on the 22d of March, 1803. He was one of five brothers, all of whom were physicians. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Pitcher, Chenango county, N. Y. The boy enjoyed only meager district school advantages during winter months, until after his father's death in November, 1820. The young man was de- termined to fit himself for a profession and to that end labored at whatever he could in summers, taught school winters and studied all the time when- ever he found a spare hour. In 1822, when nineteen years old he went to Delphi and began studying medicine in his elder brother's office. He made rapid progress and in the winter of 1825 attended a course of lectures at Castleton, Vt. In the fall of 1826 he married Emily Clark, step-daughter of Richard Taylor. In September, 1829, he removed to Fayetteville, Onondaga county, and soon enjoyed a large practice, and was more than ordinarily successful in treating disease. During the cholera epi- demic of 1832 he attended many cases and made a special study of the scourge. In the winter of 1832-3 he attended lectures at the University of Pennsylvania and also the anatomical demonstrations at the Jefferson Med- ical College, thus laying the foundation for his later reputation as a surgeon. In the spring of 1833 he located in Cortland, N. Y., and here in a few years attained more than local celebrity, especially in difficult surgical operations. His biographer says of him : " Popular as a surgeon, he was scarcely less so as a physician." Indeed, he came to be generally regarded as a fortu-
471
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
nate practitioner, and so great was the confidence reposed in him that an ap- peal was rarely made from his judgment. Nor was he without many warm friends in the profession.
In 1844, his reputation as a surgeon and his frequent contributions to medical literature having made him generally known to the public, Dr. Shipman was, without solicitation on his own part, appointed Professor of Anatomy in the medical department of the University of Laporte, Ind.
In the following year he was appointed to the chair of surgery and re- mained there five years. In 1849 he came to Syracuse, in quest of a wider field of work, and "at once took a high rank among his professional breth- ren." His biographer says of his labors here : "I believe I am justified in saying, that during the last fifteen years, he performed as great a number and variety of operations as any surgeon in Western New York."
Dr. Shipman entered the army early in the last war as surgeon of the 17th regiment New York volunteers. In March, 1862, he was promoted to brigade surgeon and placed in charge of a hospital at Newport News. In the winter of 1863 he resigned and returned to Syracuse. He, however, accepted the appointment on the list of reserve surgeons, and was soon or- dered back to the service where he remained until failing health prompted his return. "Ruined in health and depressed in spirits, he came home to terminate his career just at that period of life which usually marks the full vigor of ripened manhood." He gradually declined practice until the spring of 1868, when, on the 23d of March, he sailed for Europe with his wife. After considerable travel on the continent, he returned to Paris, and was soon confined to his room, and on the 15th of September, 1868, he passed from earth.
Dr. Shipman is further quite enthusiastically eulogized by his biogra- pher. He was for many years a member of the New York State Medical Society, having several times represented the Onondaga County Society in that body, and was four times a delegate to the American Medical Associ- ation. He was also an honorary member of several scientific and historical societies. Though almost exclusively devoted to his practice, he was a fre- quent contributor to the principal medical journals.
DR. JOHN O. SHIPMAN was born in Roxbury, Conn., in 1805, and died in Syracuse September 24th, 1866, of cholera. He belonged to a family in which were five sons, all of whom became physicians, and some of them very eminent. When the subject of this notice was three years old, his" father removed to Chenango county, N. Y., where the boy received a com- mon school education and afterwards studied medicine with his elder brother, P. G. Shipman. He also studied in the offices and under the teachings of several other practitioners, and in 1828 was licensed by the Onondaga County Medical Society. He began practice in Manlius, where he was very
472
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF SYRACUSE.
successful, his eminent brother, Dr. A. B. Shipman, being at the same time in Fayetteville. When the latter removed, Dr. John O. Shipman went to that village, where his reputation was already established. From there he soon afterward went to Georgia as physician of a large company who were to build a railroad in that State. He remained there six or seven years and then returned to Fayetteville, where he continued to practice until 1855, when he came to Syracuse and entered the office of his brother, Dr. A. B. Shipman.
A brother physician has written of Dr. Shipman as follows : "From what I know of him, I should say he was not what would be called a very learned physician, but drew largely for his success on his good strong com- mon sense, and his close powers of observation, connected with his peculiar tact of gleaning from every source, practical knowledge, and appropriating it to his use."
DR. SAMUEL HEALY was a native of Washington county, N. Y., and was born about the year 1786. As usual with the young at that time he was limited to the district school as a source of education. He, however, so improved his opportunities that he was employed as a school teacher, which honored calling he followed several years. While thus engaged in Balston, N. Y., he made the acquaintance of Dr. John H. Steel, of Saratoga Springs, and upon his advice and that of a brother-in-law, who was a phy- sician in Rochester, Dr. Healy began the study of medicine, dividing his time for a few years between those two physicians. Almost destitute of means at the close of his legal term of study, he started for New York, de- termined in some way to attend a course of lectures in the New York Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons. This would have proved an impossible ambition, but for aid extended to him by his friend, Dr. Steel, who then held a position in Fort Gansevoort on the medical staff. Dr. Steel for- tunately secured a position for his young friend, which yielded him support while he attended lectures. In the following spring, Dr. Steel being called elsewhere, Dr. Healy returned to Saratoga and was licensed to practice by the County Medical Society. In 1815, he, in company with Dr. Mann, came to Onondaga Hill, where they began practice in partnership. Dr. Mann soon withdrew and Dr. Healy continued alone. It has been written by one of his professional brethren, that from a date soon after this, for twenty years, probably no man in the profession ever enjoyed a more de- cidedly popular position in the county. His opinion in difficult cases was sought far and near. In 1834-5 he began to decline general practice. He subsequently made a tour in Europe and suffered from a dangerous attack of typhoid fever while in London. He died on the 16th of April, 1854. This tribute has been paid to him by one of his brethren :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.