USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 46
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"Col. H. S. Prophett, a Civil war veteran, wounded in battle, and honorably mentioned by his commanding general for 'conspicuous gal- lantry and efficiency in battle,' came to Lima in 1872. He served as city solicitor for four years, and later as prosecuting attorney for the same length of time. He served as a member of the board of education for nineteen years, and was for ten years its president. Jacob C. Rid- enour was one of the best trial lawyers in northwestern Ohio. He was a student always, had a prodigious memory, and was a wonderful math- ematician. He sprang into notice at once. He was prosecuting attor- ney for six years. He was a delegate to the national convention of the democratic party in 1900. Before he reached middle age he died in the height of success. . J. N. Bailey of Spencerville had a large law practice. As attorney, farmer and banker he was very successful.
"From the opening of the first court until now the bar of Allen County is second to none. It has been composed of a clean lot of honorable men. They have now and always have had the respect and confidence of the entire people of the county. The attorneys already mentioned have gone to their reward, some of them many years ago. The follow- ing now doing business as attorneys, many of whom are widely known outside the county (some of them with a national reputation) are worthy representatives of the present Allen County bar: Halfhill, Quail and Kirk, L. E. Ludwig, William L. Parmenter, Mackenzie and Weadock, Cable & Cable, F. N. Downing, Wheeler & Bentley, Stephen A. Arm- strong, Emmet E. Everett, J. H. Goeke, Henderson & Durbin, Lippin- cott & Lippincott, J. W. Kilgore, Klinger & Klinger, W. P. Anderson, M. A. Atmur, Axline & Miller, Becker & Becker, Edwin Blank, E. M. Botkin, C. J. Brotherton, Beryl A. Crites, E. G. Dempster, J. F. Ewans, C. L. Fess, H. D. Grindle, William H. Guyton, T. R. Hamilton, Hersh & Sutton, B. H. Holmes, Walter S. Jackson, Kies & Garling, Leete & Light, Paul T. Landis, I. R. Longsworth, McClain & Gerstenlauer, F. E. Mead, C. H. Neville, J. H. O'Connor, Neil R. Poling, W. J. Richie, Roby & Jackson, Rockey, Rodger & Steiner, L. H. Rogers, W. L. Rogers, Self- ridge & Selfridge, W. W. Sutton and R. R. Trubey. In Delphos Linde- mann & Lindemann are prominent attorneys."
In reminiscent vein, the following good story is an incident that occurred more than seventy-five years ago, and was published in The Delphos Herald while under the editorship of D. H. Tolan : A prominent attorney of Findlay, who attended and participated in all the courts in adjoining counties, including Allen, and well known to all the members
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of the old bench and bar of northwestern Ohio, was supposed to have that besetting sin sometimes discovered among those otherwise good and great, the vice of using to excess spirituous liquors. He was once gently reminded by his younger brother of the bar, the Hon. James M. Coffin- berry, that his truest and best friends considered that he was using stimulants to a degree that might be regarded as excessive. Count Cof- finberry also reminded him that he had a most valued and affectionate family whom he dearly loved and whose love was reciprocated by them, and that they had the highest claim upon him.
Count Coffinberry also reminded the man that he had troops of friends and could have eminent success in the line of his profession, and that the only stumbling block in his pathway was the unfortunate habit referred to, when the attorney under fire replied: "Well, Coffinberry, I have myself often reflected on the matters to which you have called my attention. They have inflicted upon my mind and heart unnumbered pangs, and I have thought that if half a dozen good fellows like your- self, with their families, would arrange to go Iowa or some state where God had not covered the earth with an unconquerable wilderness, and where the surface was two-thirds of the year covered with water, and where in order to practice law you have got to go from county to county and swim the d-d stream endwise, I would quit it. But the situation being as we find it, how in h- can you expect me to change my habits?" And the story serves to illustrate the advantages vouch- safed to such characters by national prohibition.
CHAPTER XXXV
MATERIA MEDICA IN ALLEN COUNTY
The history of medicine is as old as civilization itself. While the fathers and mothers in the log cabin days in Allen County history, when there were only scattered clearings in the wilderness, always "worked it off" when they were "under the weather," there was always a bottle of quinine on the shelf along with their copy of Doctor Gunn, and some- times there was something in a jug that never failed to relieve them. Thus they understood materia medica in their day and generation. The history of medicine is the story of man in his most vital relations. It leads to the study of the laws of nature as applied to and governing his physical well-being and someone has said : "The proper study of mankind is man ; higher than this there is none, and the study of medicine involves the philosophical truth many centuries old: "Know thyself," the inscrip- tion written on the Delphic oracles.
One hundred years in history is not so long a time, and the centenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale-May 12, 1920-just exactly three months after the first centenary in Allen County, February 12, 1920, shows that extraordinary strides have been made in all lines of advance- ment, and the nursing and medical profession have kept pace with the rest of the world. Florence Nightingale is the patron saint of the hos- pital and the handmaiden of the medical doctor. While the career of the Allen County Medical Society has been checkered, and the present secretary does not have the record of its organization, an item in The Lima Weekly Gazette in 1867 mentions it, listing Doctors Cunningham, McHenry, Sanford, Ashton, Neff, Thrift, Baxter and Hiner as members. Other doctors of the period were: Harper, Kendall, Kincaid and Curtis. The 1920 organization shows as president, Dr. Charles D. Gamble; sec- retary, Dr. E. C. Yingling, but the official roster is changed frequently, thereby shifting the responsibility for the success of the meetings.
The Allen County Medical Society is an adjunct to the State and American Medical Associations. Any medical doctor in good standing in the Allen County Medical Society is eligible to membership in the greater associations. While there has long been a more or less active Allen County Medical Society, sometimes questions have arisen that created a difference of opinion, and lack of harmony and interest resulted in the cessation of regular meetings. The service fee has always been one source of disagreement, physicians in the larger centers rating their services higher than the country doctors. When there were fewer people in the community there were fewer ailments and consequently fewer physicians, but today there is a capable group of medical men holding membership in the Allen County Medical Society. Doctor Ying- ling reports a membership of seventy-five, with only reputable physicians admitted, and there are monthly meetings.
There is a code of ethics in the- society and advertising is not allow- able under any circumstances. While a physician may use personal cards he must not quote prices nor promise cures. Malpractice disqualifies a physician from membership, and while there are specialists there is always room at the top of the medical profession. While in modern surgery tonsilitis is described as tonsil-out-is, the Allen County physi- cians and surgeons are spoken of as a conscientious body of professional men-capable practitioners who have fitted themselves for it. There is
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the requisite professional courtesy, and instead of jealousy controlling then, groups of physicians have their offices together. Many Allen County physicians are postgraduates and the doctor who does not review his studies and keep abreast soon finds himself losing patronage. While many Lima physicians came in from the smaller communities, they hold their rural patronage. An office practice with established office hours is different from a country practice with calls at all hours. There are signs reading : "Office business strictly cash," and thus there are no collections or bad accounts. The' service rendered one family is not charged to another considered better able to pay for it.
Before he is admitted to membership in the Allen County Medical Society, a doctor must be registered and live one year in the county ; his qualifications, a diploma from any recognized, reputable school of medicine. There are allopath, homeopath and eclectic physicians in the Allen County Medical Society. The medical doctor must have a good literary education before beginning the study of medicine, the standards having been raised recently. The early day country doctor knew little about anatomy and physiology, although he was often successful in combating diseases. Science has always been the great enemy of dis- ease, and a sound mind in a sound body is the ideal for which scien- tific research is striving. For every weapon which chance has revealed in fighting the spread of disease, there are many discovered by science.
While Dr. Daniel Drake's monumental treatise "The Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America" was about the first thing on materia medica written by an Ohioan-Dr. Drake, a Cincinnatian-there is no lack of concerted action in combating disease. While it is said "The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind, the lawyer all the wicked- ness and the theologian all the stupidity," nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action. Error of opinion may be tolerated when reason is left free to combat it, and a complimentary news item was lately given to the world, "Lima is the fifth city in Ohio in efficiency of method taken to combat venereal diseases," the rating disclosed in a survey of 444 of the largest cities in the country. Dayton, Portsmouth, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Lima-and while that is foreign to malaria, a pestilence which since the memory of man has made life in great regions of the globe almost unbearable-malaria has been conquered by a study of the cause of the disease and the manner of spreading it. The very name "mal-ari-a" is suggestive of bad air, all indicative of the early attitude toward the disease.
Years ago everything was bilious fever, black measles, black diph- theria-malignant disorders with phthysic and flux thrown in for good measure and typhoid fever was prevalent-but there is not much conta- gion today because science has reduced it. In the Garden of Eden under the old apple tree man became wise about many things, and today the human family knows something about diseases and their prevention, an ounce of the latter being worth all of the cures in the world. Bacteria, germs-why, the shortest poem in the English language, "Adam Had 'Em"-was written on the subject of germs. Doctor Plain-diet has always been regarded as an exemplary citizen, and there are consci- entious doctors who recommend sanitary measures sometimes rather than prescribe antidotes. That story is in contradistinction to the one of an Allen County woman who administered a stimulant to her husband before showing him her millinery bill, but she realized that he would need it. There is another stock story that fits anywhere, so it may be reproduced as an Allen County episode. A man wrote the doctor that he had itch because he could not spell rheumatism. Because the doctor
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could not diagnose the case according to the patient's conception of it, he caused the man to have fits, saying he was an expert in handling them. Fits were his specialty; he was strong on fits. Another query: Was it an Allen County physician who suggested vaccinating a little girl on her tongue because the mother had no idea what styles would prevail when the child had attained to womanhood and might wish to conceal the scar? Emergencies usually disclose the necessary qualities.
The pioneer mothers-and their name is legion-were always first at the bedside of the sick and in the absence of the doctor they ministered to their needs. They concocted their own remedies from barks and herbs-used hoarhound tea, calomel, jalap and other simple remedies, and neither the blasts of winter nor the heat of summer interfered with their mission when chills and fevers were so prevalent-the chills and ague now diseases of yesterday. Drainage has worked the transforma- tion; science has rescued the community. It is said that dispensary physicians prevail again. Only a few write prescriptions, thus dividing the legitimate drug store patronage. Someone writing of old-time home remedies, says: "They fed us on tonics from bottles and glasses and begged us to try one more plateful of greens," and while the Ottawa River as Hog Creek has been regarded as a reproach to the community, the Allen County medical fraternity has never attributed any epidemic directly to the classic Swinonia, chemical conditions seeming to neutral- ize the danger, and while sanitary measures seem imperative, people are healthy in face of the stench arising from the water.
The annals of the community mention Dr. William McHenry, who came to Allen County in 1834, as Lima's first surgeon. For many years he had all the' surgical business within a radius of twenty miles, and he was watchful of the community welfare. When the canal was being con- structed at Delphos the contractor wanted reliable medical advice and they paid Doctor McHenry $20 a trip to come twice a week and look after their men. They were disposed to keep them well rather than doctor them when they were sick. Some families have that policy today. When the roads were muddy it was a wearisome trip twice a week for Doctor McHenry and he almost succumbed to disease himself at times. He knew what it meant to combat stagnant water, pools, ponds, drift- wood, decaying vegetation and the consequent malaria. He was the advance guard of present-day health conditions in Allen County. An old account says of Dr. William Cunningham, who was Lima's earliest physician, and whose practice extended over a large territory, his pro- fessional visits leading him through unbroken forests when there were only bridle paths through the mud and water. He was always ready to relieve distress with or without remuneration for his services. He would ride night and day and he always encountered myriads of mos- quitoes.
In these days of rapid transit, when the family calling the doctor by telephone asks whether or not he has a self-starter on his auto- mobile, it is of interest to follow Doctor Cunningham on his professional rounds. After a hard day through bad roads the doctor had a night call five miles in the country. With a wornout horse he was slow about starting, when the messenger cried out: "Doctor, you must ride like the devil; she is awfully sick," and his reply was: "I do not know his gait, but you try it; old Caesar and I will try and imitate you." And one who does not understand should read James Whitcomb Riley's "Rubiayat of Old Doc Sifers." It is said that in the 70s Dr. J. W. Hunt, a Delphos druggist, created a mammoth business in slippery elm bark by com- pounding a remedy that attained popularity. Hundreds of cords of elm
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were cut in the adjacent swamps, and the printers got the elm while the people got the beverage made from the bark-a proprietary remedy that benefited the whole community. Perhaps the Hoosier poet received the inspiration for his Rubiayat while associated with the Townsend Medicine Company in Lima, worm lozenges being one of the products.
In addition to his high professional standing, Dr. Edwin Ashton is spoken of as an Englishman who dressed well and carried a cane. He was always seen wearing a plug hat, but such stories do not detract from his professional standing. People like to see a professional man seem prosperous, and Doctor Ashton was very positive. When he said a thing was so he meant it. There is reference to him in the temperance and military chapters. Dr. Samuel A. Baxter, who has written much local lore, and who has been identified so intimately with community business development, had a military medical practice in the Civil war. He gained much notoriety because of his experience with smallpox when there was a scourge in Lima. He cared for the living and buried the dead, and it was the tide in his affairs that led on to affluence. He was able to combine experience thus obtained with business ability.
There was cholera in Lima and in Delphos in 1845, and while many went away to escape it, many died from it. It is said that a man named Linn, who kept a store in the old log courthouse, went to Cincinnati for goods and he brought it to Lima. In June, 1851, it broke out again. By some it was called the Bubonic plague. In 1854 cholera swept the com- munity again. Along in the '70s came the Wabash scratches. Allen County has been in line for everything. It is said the county could not have been settled without whisky and quinine. In the days of "snake- bite" the air was so poisoned with malarial effluvia from the swamps and marshes that not only human beings but dogs suffered from fever and ague. There was milk fever and all the varieties of ague. There was quinine on the shelf long after Section Ten became Delphos, and the Black Swamp had been lowered and drainage finally solved the problem. When "Flu" struck Allen County in 1918 it became epidemic and there was consequent loss of life, although sanitary measures had long been inaugurated in Allen County. There is sanitary plumbing in the towns, and in the country there is sufficient range for safety. Since people do not throw dishwater at the kitchen door there are fewer diph- theria cultures in the community.
There have been mothers who threw their slops from the back door and wondered why their children had all the diseases. Now and then a pioneer mother understood the theory of balanced rations, and served such varied menus of well-cooked foodstuffs that her family escaped many of the ills of the flesh. Before drainage removed the swampy ren- dezvous of the mosquitoes, and the sanitary commission objected to the accumulation of effete matter where flies secured filth that caused dis- ease, people were the victims of their own ignorance. "Baby bye, here's a fly ; let us watch him, you and I," but the foolish mother has learned better and today she "swats" him. Along in the centennial year some inventive genius constructed the screen door, and when flies and mos- quitoes stopped outside of the house there was relief from some of the infections. In another direction science has become an enemy of dis- ease. A knowledge of the human body's mechanism, both in health and disease, has enabled science to overcome many things. Now that men understand the fundamental law of digestion, nutrition and combustion, unnecessary troubles are obviated and some of the mechanical devices which have yielded most and which still will render the impossible pos-
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sible are as simple and as commonplace as the wire screen in the pre- vention of malaria.
In connection with this germ study it is said that Bluffton has given to the world Dr. Robert Murray, whose study of yellow fever conditions made him famous. He became chief surgeon in the marine service of the United States Army years ago, and his discovery overcame the yel- low fever difficulty. There are county and city health doctors and now they designate certain cleanup days in every community. While it is a sanitary requirement it adds to the appearance of the town, and where there are diphtheria and typhoid fever contagions there is usually impure water. There are families who employ physicians to keep them well rather than to cure them of illness. An old account says: "At the time when the people were exterminating bears, panthers, and the vast forests, there was no time to make war on such small and ubiquitous things as mosquitoes," but they do not buzz quite so serenely today. When the swamps attracted millions of them, neither the doctor nor his patients suspected their deadly mission as disease spreaders. When the house- wives used peach tree limbs and peacock tails to "mind the flies," they did not think of them as deadly enemies at all. When the fly had been barred, the American people had the advantages arising from it. When the barn yards were cleaned up and his breeding places were removed, many of the diseases he used to impart to the family were no longer prevalent.
In Bible times there were hogwallows and as long as there are sows they will continue to return to them unless their owners use some pre- caution about such conditions. Instead of the lullaby about watching the fly, "Swat the fly" means more to motherhood today. It has been demonstrated that disease is caused by gases generated from decaying vegetation. While the results may not be immediate, and in the war period there has been less flagrant waste, it only requires sufficient time for incubation before the people are seized with fevers, etc., and all that may be obviated by removing the offending substances. When cellars are cleaned regularly there is little decaying vegetation. Yes, "cleanliness is next to godliness," and home sanitation has had much to do with changed health conditions. While the pioneers were not insan- itary, they had not studied drainage and other questions that have revo- lutionized social conditions.
While there was no filth within the cabin walls, and some of the grandmothers were scrupulously clean housekeepers, there was stag- nant water and the mosquitoes and files had their own way about every- thing. There are systems of house ventilation today, while the cracks in the floor and the open fireplace were about all the ventilation known to the settlers. There are bath tubs and shower baths available, while many of the pioneers never had a bath only in running water when the weather was warm-when they "went in swimmin'. Years ago a young woman said it was time a year to take a bath again. There used to be "sickly seasons," and if there was anything in suggestion, the settlers had the benefit. The doctors were disposed to mystify their patients by saying the trouble was resultant from "vegeto-animalcular" causes, mean- ing that the people were infected by organisms bred in decaying vege- tation, and with that view of the situation home sanitation is largely responsible for better conditions. One account of a "terribly sickly season" says: "The fever was so continuous and so frightful were its effects that it is remarkable the settlers were heroic enough to remain in the new country. They stayed partly through grim determination, partly through natural indisposition to move backward, partly through love of
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the beautiful country, and partly through that hope springing eternally in the breasts of the pioneers to cheer them in their toil and suffering," but time has drawn the curtain and only for the recent visitations of influenza it had cut off the memory of such things.
Chills and fevers-who has them or thinks of them today? Flu is a twentieth century visitation that has given many people a compre- hensive understanding of the chills and fevers of the pioneers. While writing the line one feels the symptoms, but here's hoping the reader escapes it. Rudyard Kipling exclaims: "Lest we forget, Lord, lest we forget," and the Flu epidemic has been sufficient reminder to all. When the chills were prevalent sometimes not a cabin escaped the visitation and there would not be a well person in the community. Many families had that experience in the Flu epidemics for two winters. In the early morning before the "shakes" came on, the water buckets would be filled by the most ablebodied ones and placed in reach of all, and when the fever would rise again each one could help himself. Many times the settlers wished themselves back in their old homes when the fever was highest, but when they were better they would remain and try it again. There were always some so sick their relatives could not leave them and each year brought new neighbors and changed conditions, until finally no one wanted to leave the community.
In 1872 there was epizootic among horses that crippled all indus- tries requiring their use, and it left diseased and imperfect animals. Many got rid of them as an economic measure. The effects of Spanish Influenza have been almost as serious among human beings. Some per- sons have not regained their normal strength since having the Flu. While there are frequent epidemics of measles, whopping cough, chicken pox, nettle rash, lagrippe and-say it softly-the seven-year itch-some of the people having it as many as three times-bathing and home sani- tation have reduced the awful effects of them. Along with chills and agues there were dental troubles, and when the settlers used to twist out the teeth for each other they suffered untold agony. Many men and women of today have never seen the instrument of torture-the turnkey used by the settlers in twisting out their molars and incisors. Knocking out teeth for horses cannot be more barbarous than was this twisting process with the turnkey.
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