Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 77

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1048

USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2 > Part 77

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).

The fort was situated on Third street. be- tween Broadway and Ludlow, on a government reservation of 15 acres, up on the second terrace. on a level with Fourth street now, and extended about 60 feet on either side of Third street. It fronted on the river and before it was a smooth space of about 80 feet.

951

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

On the 29th of December, 1789, General Har- mar arrived and was so pleased with the struc- ture that he named it Fort Washington.

General St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, arrived January 1, 1790, and the next day changed the name of the town to Cincin- nati, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati. It was also at this time that the county was named Hamilton, in honor of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the courts established.

The fort was abandoned in 1803 and was razed March 17, 1808.

The fort and its history should be of interest to us, as it was there that some of the first phy- sicians lived and it was to them the people of the town often went for medical aid, which was rendered without remuneration. The first army surgeons were Drs. Richard Allison, John Elliot and John F. Carmichael.

It is also interesting . to note that at times, when no surgeon was at the fort, William Henry Harrison, who came in November, 1791, as an ensign, 18 years of age, gave such medical advice as he could; although not a doctor, he had taken some courses in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania before he decided to enter the army. He later became a lieutenant (1792), then captain (1794), was in command of the fort from 1797 to 1798, and later, in 1840, was elected President of the United States.

The other army surgeons here before 1800 were Phillips, Selman, and Strong. Drs. Allison and Selman resigned from the army, the former in 1798, the latter in 1797, and became citizens of Cincinnati.

The town continued to grow slowly, the in- habitants at times suffering from want of proper food and sickness, including one epidemic of smallpox which carried off nearly one-third of the population, and from the harassment of the Indians.

Cincinnati was incorporated as a village in 1802 by act of the Territorial Legislature and as a city in 1819, Isaac G. Burnet being its first mayor.

It may surprise many to know that the citizens in those days were very ambitious and nothing seemed to deter them from undertaking large enterprises, as evidenced by an act of the Legis- lature authorizing the raising of $6,000 for a Cincinnati University.

The medical history of Cincinnati may be said to date from the time of Dr. John Hole, as he seems to have been the carliest physician of whom we can find any reference, for it is re-

corded that in May, 1789, he received donation lot 227, corner of Front and Race streets.

It is probable that no other physician, unless it be William Burnet, Jr., came here until Dr. Rich- ard Allison, who most likely arrived with Gen- eral Harmar on December 29, 1789; or perhaps not until January 1, 1790, with Governor St. Clair. The army surgeons here up to 1800 were : Richard Allison, John Elliot, John F. Carmichael, Joseph Phillips, Jolm Selman and Joseph Strong.

Richard Allison, born near Goshen, New York, in 1757, had been a surgeon in the Revolution and on the reorganization of the army was appointed surgeon of the regiment of infantry and as such became the ranking medical officer up to the time of his resignation. He was stationed for a while in 1792 at Fort Finney, opposite Louisville, Ken- tucky. He probably settled in Cincinnati in 1794, although he was not retired until 1798. He served in the army as surgeon of infantry regi- ment, September 29. 1789; as surgeon of Ist infantry regiment, 1791 ; as surgeon on the gen- eral staff, April, 1792; and retired from the service, 1798.

Dr. Allison built and lived in a house at the corner of what are now Fourth and Lawrence streets, his place being known as "Peach Grove." Later he removed to his farm "on the East Fork of the Little Miami River," leaving Cincinnati before 1800; returning in 1805, he continued to practice here until his death, March 22, 1816. Dr. Drake speaks of him as the "father of our local profession" and though "not profound in science, he was sagacious, unassuming, amiable, and kind." Dr. Allison owned three lots, prob- ably on Pearl street, cast of Ludlow, as given on an old map now in the possession of the His- torical and Philosophical Society of Ohio.

.John Elliot, of New York, served as sur- geon's mate of infantry regiment, September 20, 1789; as surgeon of Ist infantry regiment, March, 1791 ; disbanded, June 1, 1802. He came to Cincinnati with St. Clair in 1791, and later resided in Dayton, Ohio, dying there in 1809.

John F. Carmichael, of New Jersey, served as surgeon's mate of infantry regiment, September 20, 1789; discharged June 2, 1790, on account of the reduction in the number of medical of- ficers; served as surgeon's mate of 2nd infan- try regiment, March, 1791; as surgeon of 3rd sub-legion, March, 1792; as surgeon of 4th in- fantry regiment, November, 1796; as post sur- geon, March. 1799: retained in 3rd infantry regiment, February, 1801 ; as garrison surgeon,

952

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

March, 1802; resigned, June 27 1804. The time of his residence here is not known.

Joseph Phillips, of New Jersey, came with Wayne's army in 1793 and returned in 1795; he died about 1846, aged 80 years. He served as surgeon's mate, Patterson's battalion of levies, 1791 ; as surgeon's mate, Ist sub-legion, April 2, 1792 ; as surgeon of 3rd sub-legion, June, 1796; as surgeon of 3rd infantry regiment, November, 1796; disbanded June 1, 1802.

John Selman, of Annapolis, Maryland, was born in 1764, and died in 1827. He served as garrison surgeon's mate April 11, 1792, arriv- ing here in 1793 with Wayne and resigning July, 1797, to become a citizen of Cincinnati, where he practiced for about 20 years, living on Front street between Broadway and Sycamore.

Joseph Strong, of Connecticut, came with Gen- eral Wayne in the spring of 1793, and returned East about 1795, settling in Philadelphia, where he died in April, 1812, aged 43 years. He served as surgeon's mate of the 2nd sub-legion, May 4, 1792, and resigned in 1796. Mrs. Colonel Bond, of Cincinnati, his daughter, gave Dr. Drake two of his manuscripts, one dated "Fort St. Clair, 22 Aug. 1793," on the professional and moral duties of the physician, the first medical literature of this section.

The physicians not in the army who were here before 1800 were:

John Hole ( 1789), William Burnet, Jr. (1789), John Adams ( 1790), Calvin Morrel (1790), Robert McClure, John Cranmer ( 1798).

It seems to be the general impression that the armny surgeons were the first physicians in Cin- cinnati but from what sources we have been able to consult Dr. John Hole, a civilian, was the first, as he was one of those who received a lot at the second donation of lots in May, 1789. However, Drs. William Burnet, Jr., and John Adams must have been here almost as soon. It is uncertain whether they were here before Dr. Allison or not.

But little is known of Dr. Hole; Dr. Drake tells us that he lived here for five years, prac- ticing inoculation for smallpox in the winter F of 1792-93 here and at Columbia, and left about 1794. He must, however, have returned later, as his name is included in a list of physicians paying a special tax in 1827.

Dr. William Burnet, Jr., of New Jersey, son of Dr. William Burnet, a surgeon in the Revo- lution, Dr. Drake says, arrived in 1789, "bring- ing with him books and medicines." In the spring of 1791 he returned to New Jersey, but

the death of his father prevented his return here.

Drs. Adams and Morrel are recorded as hav- ing bought lots some time during 1789-90. They were not here in 1800, neither was McClure. Dr. Drake says Dr. Adams was among the first of the army surgeons; but he is not registered as such in "The Medical Department of the U. S. Army from 1775 to 1873" published by the government.

Dr. Robert McClure came from Pennsylvania about 1792. While here he resided on Syca- more street between Third and Fourth streets.

Dr. John Cranmer, of Pittsburg, arrived in 1798, lived on the north side of Second street, between Main and Walnut, and was a man of some reputation. He died of cholera in 1832.

Dr. Drake in telling of the early physicians says : "But truth and gallantry alike demand, that in this enumeration, I should not omit the first sage femme of the infant village, which in its first year began to be a village of infants,"- Mrs. McKnight. (See statement of Dr. Drake quoted in a previous chapter.)

LATER ARRIVALS.

William Goforth, John Selman and John Cranmer "constituted the whole Faculty of Cin- cinnati in the first year of this century.".

We thus find a new arrival,-Dr. William Goforth, born in 1766, a native of New York City. He practiced for 11 years at Maysville, Kentucky, from June 10, 1788; went to Colum- bia in 1799, and arrived in Cincinnati in 1800, living here until 1807, when he removed to Lou- isiana ; but remained there only nine years, re- turning here and resuming the practice of his profession. It was only shortly after his re- turn that he died, in the spring of 1817. He was the first in the West to introduce the use of the "Jennerian lymph," on February 20, 1801. He at one time with Dr. Drake lived in Fort Wash- ington after its abandonment by the army and for a time at Dr. Allison's former home, "Peach Grove." Dr. Goforth is known principally from the fact that he was the preceptor of Daniel Drake, the first medical student in the West. He was the successor of Dr. Allison and immedi- ately acquired an extensive practice. Dr. Drake says he had "the most winning manners of any physician he ever knew."

The next arrival was Dr. John Stites, of New York, in 1802; but he removed in less than a year .to Kentucky, where he died in 1827, aged 27. Ile was a partner of Dr. Goforth and pre- ceptor of Drake.

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

953

The most important and also the most interest- ing figure in the early medical history of Cin- cinnati was Danicl Drake, "the first student in the West to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine; the earliest of our medical writers and teachers; and professionally and socially the most influential physician who has ever lived in our eity." For a period of 52 years after his arrival in Cincinnati, on December 18, 1800, he was certainly a leader in nearly every enter- prise of whatever nature,-medieal, seientific, ed- ucational or literary. Any one who familiarizes himself with the history of Cincinnati during the first half of this century cannot but be impressed with the breadth of Dr. Drake's character and his wonderful energy. He was but 15 years of age when he began the study of medieine with Dr. Goforth, and after three years was taken into partnership and one year later received from his preceptor an autograph diploma, "the first medical diploma ever granted in the interior val- ley of North America."

In the winter of 1805-06 he attended leetures at the University of Pennsylvania, returning to Cincinnati in April. For a short time he prac- ticed at Maysliek, Kentucky, but on April 10, 1807, he settled here permanently, succeeding Dr. Goforth. He was married this same year. Again in 1815-16 he attended the University of Penn- sylvania and received his degree, the first ever conferred on a citizen of Cincinnati. The fol- lowing fall he became a member of the faculty of Transylvania University at Lexington, Ken- tucky, but remained only one session; and the next fall, in association with Dr. Coleman Rogers, made arrangements for the accommodation and instruction of medical students. On May 27, 1818, he issued a notice of a course of lectures on various branches of medieine (from November 10, 1818, to March 10, 1819). There were as- sociated with him Dr. Coleman Rogers and Dr. Elijah Slack. This was the first medical course given in this city. After much opposition he secured from the Legislature, on January 19, 1819, the charter of the Medical College of Ohio. He was four times professor in the Medi- cal College of Ohio, twice in Transylvania Uni- versity, once in Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphia, once in the Medical Department of the Cincinnati College, which he organized, and once in the Louisville School. He was editor of the Western Medical and Physical Journal and was a ready writer. His great work is a "Treat- ise on the Principal Diseases of the Interior Val- ley of North America." "His life was in many

respects a stormy one; his antagonisms and his antagonists were many. But with it all, his genius, his industry, his high moral principles, and his devotion to duty earned him, what he will always have, the respect, esteem, and kind remembrance of those familiar with our medi- cal history during the first half of the century." He died in 1852. He lived in 1805 in a single frame tenement on Broadway between Second and Third streets.

Another of Dr. Goforth's students was Edward Y. Kemper, the son of the Presbyterian minister. He lived here until his death on June 10, 1863.

After him arrived in 1805, Dr. John Black- burn, of Pennsylvania, born in 1778. He re- moved to Kentucky in 1809, thenee to Indiana, where he died in 1835. Dr. Samuel Ramsay, of Pennsylvania, came in 1808, and was a part- ner of Dr. Allison, to whose practice he suc- ceeded after his death. He died here in 1831, aged 50.

The number of physicians here increased but slowly. In 1810 there were 26; in 1819 there were 22, as follows : John Selman, Daniel Drake, John Cranmer, Coleman Rogers, Daniel Dyer, William Barnes, Oliver B. Baldwin, Thomas Morehead, Daniel Slayback, John A. Hallam, Josiah Whitman, Isaac Hough, Edward Y. Kemper, John Douglass, Ithiel Smead, John Woolley, Trueman Bishop, Ebenezer H. Pier- son, Samuel Ramsay, Jonathan Easton, Charles V. Barbour, Vincent C. Marshall. (Directory of 1819.)

In 1825 there were 26, only 10 of whom (the first 10 named beiow ) were here in 1819:

"John Selman, Lic., John Cranmer, Wm. Barnes, Josiah Whitman, Saml. Ramsay, Lie., Isaac Hough, John Woolley, Trueman Bishop, Ebenezer H. Pierson, Lic., Vincent C. Marshall, John E. Bush, Lic., Jedediah Cobb, Addison Dashiell, Geo. W. Dashiell, Oliver Fairchild, Lic., Lorenzo Lawrence, Jas. M. Ludlum, John Moorhead, Saml. Nixon, Geo. T. Ratrie, Abel Slayback, Lic., Jesse Smith, Ed. H. Stall, Michael Wolf, Guy W. Wright, Danl. P. Robbins." ( Di- rectory of 1825.)

In 1827 there were 26, five of whom were here in 1810; in 1831 there were 58 (47 in the med- ical society ).

The first physician to die in Cincinnati was Dr. Allison, in 1816; the next, Dr. Goforth, in 1817.

None of the earliest physicians had graduated and some had not even attended a course of lec- tures.

954

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

During the carly times a trip to Columbia con- sumed half a day; and when Newport asked for aid, the physician was ferried over the river in a canoe or skiff, to clamber up steep, icy, or deep mud banks. "Every physician was then a country practitioner, and often rode twelve or fifteen miles." The ordinary change was 25 cents a mile, one-half being deducted, and the other paid in provender for his horse, or produce for his family. For the first 15 years every physician was his own apothecary, about five months being required to bring drugs from the East. The fees were: "for bleeding, 25 cts. ; for sitting up all night, $1 ; and for a visit, from 25 cts. to 50 cts."

Very few of the practitioners, prior to 1840, were of foreign birth and education. Dr. John Moorhead was born in Ireland and was a gradu- ate of Edinburgh, as was his brother Robert, who settled here in 1830 and died February 9, 1845. A third brother, Thomas, was for a time a prac- ticing physician, but later became an attorney- at-law. Drs. Bonner ( Hugh and Stephen) were also natives of Ireland, but came to America as boys, and received their medical degrees at Tran- sylvania, the one in 1825, the other in 1834. The earliest physician here of German birth and edu- cation was Dr. Mundhenk, who came in 1815 and left a few years later. Following him was Dr. F. J. C. Oberdorf, who settled here in 1819, at the age of 43. After 37 years' residence in Cincinnati, he removed to Kentucky, where he died November 21, 1860, in the 84th year of his age. In 1827 Dr. Frederick Bunte, who had been educated at Marburg and Würzburg, came to Cincinnati. In a few years he began teach- ing. From 1830 to 1840 there settled here Drs. Schneider, T. A. Tellkampf. Huber, Paul, Topp, Wilhelm, Emmert and Homberg. (Dr. Conner.)

Sanitary regulations were instituted in 1802 and in 1813 it was required that each death should be properly certified and such record filed. The position of health officer was created May 10, 1821, and a Board of Health, April 26, 1826. It was in 1816 that it was made the duty of the mayor to prepare a "pest house."

MEDICAL SOCIETIES.

The first medical society, authorized by the Legislature on February 8, 1812, was called the First District Medical Society, and included the counties of Hamilton, Clermont, Butler, War- ren and Clinton. It met first in June, 1813.

The next established was the Cincinnati Med- ical Society in 1819: President, Elijah Slack ;

vice-president, O. B. Baldwin; secretary, John Woolley; and treasurer, William Barnes. This did not last a year, and on .January 3, 1820, a new Cincinnati Medical Society was formed.

In 1824 the First District Medical Society, in- cluding Hamilton and Clermont counties, was re- vived: President, John Selman; vice-president, Samuel Ramsay ; secretary, Jesse Smith, and treasurer, Ebenezer H. Pierson. The Directory of 1825 says: "This Society has already made arrangements for commencing a medical library, and it is hoped it may do much for the im- provement of the profession and discouragement of quackery. Every individual not a member of this society who shall attempt to practice medi- cine or surgery is subject to a pecuniary penalty besides being disabled from collecting by law, either directly or indirectly, any thing for his pretended services." This society lasted for about IO years. Another was organized in 1831, the Cincinnati Medical Society, the third of this name, which was incorporated in the winter of 1832-33 and lasted until 1858, when most of the members joined the recently established Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati. The officers of the Cincinnati Medical Society in 1832 were: Presi- dent, Landon C. Rives; Ist vice-president, John F. Henry; 2nd vice-president, Charles Wood- ward; secretary, C. Hatch; treasurer, John T. Shotwell; and librarian, J .: S. Dodge.

In 1832 the Ohio Medical Lyceum was found- ed; in 1834 its officers were: President, John Eberle; vice-presidents, S. D. Gross and Isaac Colby. It met in the Medical College of Ohio building.

In 1837 the Hamilton County Medical Asso- ciation was organized and in 1850 the Hamilton County Branch of the Ohio State Medical So- ciety, neither of which continued long in active existence.

The Miami Medical Society, including the counties of Hamilton, Clermont and Warren, was established in 1853 and on March 3, 1857. the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati.

In 1874 the Cincinnati Medical Society was founded, the fourth of this name.

MEDICAL SCHOOLS.

The first attempt at medical instruction in Cincinnati was in the fall of 1817, when Dr. Daniel Drake and Dr. Coleman Rogers under- took to instruct students and the following year conducted a course of lectures. The year fol- lowing the Medical College of Ohio was found- ed by Dr. Drake, the Legislature passing the bill January 19, 1819. This was the roth medical

955

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

college established in this country and the second west of the Alleghanies, the first being Transyl- vania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1816. The faculty as originally projected con- sisted of Samuel Brown, Elijah Slack, Coleman Rogers, and Daniel Drake. Dr. Brown never accepted and late in 1819 Dr. Rogers was ex- pelled. The faculty at the first session in 1820- 21 was constituted as follows: Daniel Drake, professor of the institutes and practice of medi- cine, including obstetrics and the diseases of women and children; Jesse Smith, professor of anatomy and surgery; Elijah Slack, professor of chemistry. The class numbered 25 and the grad- uates in 1821, seven. After the close of the second session, Dr. Drake was expelled; and from this time for many years there was so much dissension that the school failed to grow.

The first building occupied by the College was erected by State aid in 1826 on Sixth street between Vine and Race. In 1851 a new build- ing on the same site was erected and occupied until the fall of 1896, when the College became a department of the University of Cincinnati, and moved to the former University building on Mc- Micken avenue. There have been in its faculties men of "great ability and repute," among them being R. D. Mussey, John Moorhead, John Locke, M. B. Wright, Kirtland, Harrison, Oli- ver, and J. T. Shotwell. In 1857 the Miami Medical College was united with the Ohio, but in 1860 this consolidation ceased.

Miami University, of Oxford, Ohio, in 1831 established a medical department here, but no lectures were ever delivered, although the school was advertised in the Directory of 1831 to open in the fall, the faculty being: Daniel Drake, dean of the faculty and professor of the insti- tutes and practice of medicine; George McClel- lan, professor of anatomy and physiology ; John Eberle, professor of materia medica and botany ; James M. Staughton, professor of surgery ; John F. Henry, professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children; Thomas D. Mitchell, professor of chemistry and pharmacy ; and Jo- seplı N. McDowell, adjunct professor of anatomy and physiology.

In this same year there was a summer school of lectures and recitations called the Academy of Medicine, in which the instructors were: James M. Staughton, institutes of surgery ; Isaac Hough, operative surgery ; Joseph N. McDowell, anatomy ; Wolcott Richards, physiology ; Landon C. Rives, institutes of medicine and medical jur- isprudence ; Daniel Drake, practice of physic and

materia medica; John F. Henry, obstetrics; and Thomas D. Mitchell, chemistry and pharmacy.

The next school, also organized by Dr. Drake, in 1835, was the Medical Department of the Cincinnati College, the only department of which still in existence is the Cincinnati Law School. Those associated with Dr. Drake were S. D. Gross, Joseph N. McDowell, Horatio G. Jame- son, Landon C. Rives, John P. Harrison, and James B. Rogers. After the first year Dr. Will- ard Parker succeeded Dr. Jameson, and in 1839 the school was abandoned for want of funds and because Dr. Parker returned to New York and Dr. Drake went to Louisville.

The Eclectic Medical Institute was the next school in Cincinnati. The Worthington Medical College, established at Worthington, Ohio, in 1832, was removed here and in 1845 it was given its present name. Some of the most eminent Ec- lectic physicians in the West have been connected with it: Drs. Morrow, King, Newton, Cleve- land, Cox, Hill, Buchanan, and Howe.

We now come to the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, organized in 1851 by Dr. A. H. Baker. Its sessions were held for many years at the corner of Longworth street and Central avenue, and then for many years on George street near John, and then at the present location on Vine street near Liberty.

The Miami Medical College was the next or- ganized. Its first session opened November 1, 1852, and five were graduated in 1853. The first session was held in the building, still stand- ing, on the northwest corner of Fifth street and Central avenue. The faculty consisted of: R. D. Mussey, professor of descriptive and op- erative surgery; Jesse P. Judkins, dean and pro- fessor of surgical anatomy and surgical patholo- gy; Charles L. Avery, professor of anatomy ; John Davis, adjunct professor of anatomy ; John F. White, professor of the theory and practice of medicine; George Mendenhall, professor of obstetrics and the diseases of women and chil- dren ; John Alexander Murphy, professor of materia medica, therapeutics and medical juris- prudence; C. G. Comegys, professor of the in- stitutes of medicine: and John Locke, Jr., pro- fessor of chemistry.

After five sessions the school was united with the Medical College of Ohio, but in 1865 was reorganized with Profs. Mendenhall, Judkins and Murphy of the original faculty again among its corps, the faculty being: George Mendenhall, dean and professor of obstetrics: B. F. Rich- ardson, professor of the diseases of women and

956

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

children; John Alexander Murphy, professor of the theory and practice of medicine; Henry E. Foote, professor of anatomy; William H. Mussey, professor of operative surgery and surg- ical pathology; Jesse P. Judkins, professor of special pathology; William Clendenin, professor of military surgery, surgical anatomy, and prin- ciples of surgery: E. Williams, professor of ophthalmology and aural surgery; Chandler B. Chapman, professor of chemistry, toxicology and medical jurisprudence ; Edward B. Stevens, pro- fessor of materia medica and therapeutics; and William H. Taylor, professor of physiology, pathology and morbid anatomy. This session was held in the Dental College building on College street and the following year (1866) the school occupied a new building of its own on 12th street, between Elm and Plum, where it still is. In 1855 Dr. E. Williams opened an eye clinic, the first of the kind west of New York. Among its teachers of note have been R. D. Mussey, William H. Mussey, William Clendenin, C. G. Comegys, E. Williams, and George Menden- hall. The College museum contains the very fine collection of pathological bone specimens - of Drs. Mussey and Shotwell.

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.

Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2, Part 77

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1048

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1048