USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 34
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But the great discovery of the time was that of Dr. William Harvey-the circulation of the blood, which he announced through his lectures from 1613 to 1619. The results of his researches were not published until 1628, and, because of the intense jealousy in his native England, his work was unable to pass censorship there, but was published in Frank- fort. Germany.
The announcement of this discovery should have appealed at once to the intelligence of every doctor of the land. On the contrary it aroused bitter opposition, and, in fact, it caused a general stupefaction in the medical world. All classes of professional men took part in the discussion, especially naturalists and philosophers. Rene Descartes, one of the
most brilliant men of any age, was the first to declare in favor of Harvey's argument, and Cambridge University accepted it in 1649. Harvey only answered his opponents by new proofs, and .in other ways maintained a digni- fied silence. He lived long enough to see his theory universally adopted.
The discoveries made in surgery in the next century were many and valuable, and surgical instruments were much improved.
Perhaps the most noted of all medical dis- coveries was that of Dr. Edward Jenner, widely known as the "Father of Vaccination." This great discoverer was born in 1749, and, when a medical student, was told by a milk- maid that cow-pox had protective power against variola ; he reported the statement to his preceptor, Dr. John Hunter, in 1770. The young Jenner was told not to spend his time thinking about what had been told him, but "to investigate." The subject never afterward left his mind. Dr. Waterhouse, professor of medicine in Harvard College, made the first vaccinations in the United States, in 1800, upon four of his children.
The medical world is fully conversant with the wonderful work of Virchow, Langenbeck and his pupil, the great Billroth. "Billroth was for many years the surgical sun of Ans- tria-Hungary, and he it was who performed the first resection of the larnyx, and of the stomach." And widely known in America are Dr. Waterhouse, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Dr. George B. Wood, and Dr. John C. Dalton, whose text-book is to-day studied in many colleges. None the less noted is Dr. Austin Flint, of New York, as a teacher and author. "His text-book on Practice is the most popu- lar American work on the subject that has ever appeared, and is still in general use." Nor would we omit the name of the genial "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," Dr.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose "Chambered Nautilus" will ever be a treasure of the human heart. For a third of a century he was pro- fessor of anatomy at Harvard.
Dr. Ephraim McDowell, of Danville, Ken- tucky, threw lustre upon the profession in America by having performed the first "ra- tional and deliberate ovariotomy, in 1809." Names like those of S. D. Gross, J. Marion Sims, and D. Hays Agnew, will ever give a prominence to the medical profession in America equal to that of any other country.
The history of medicine in any country would be incomplete without a reference to the discovery of Dr. William T. G. Morton- viz. : the use of ether in surgery, first proved to the world in October, 1846. On his tomb in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston, is this self-explanatory inscription :
"Inventor and revealer of anaesthetic in- halation, before whom in all time surgery was agony, and by whom pain in surgery was averted and annulled ; since whom science has controlled pain."
The discovery of anti-sepsis is equally im- portant with that of anæsthesia. To Lord Lister is due this great honor, though his work was based upon the researches of Tyndall, Pasteur and Koch. Some antiseptic processes that would avail against putrefaction-in fact, an antiseptic system-had long been yearned for by the surgeons throughout the world. Lord Lister gave this system to the world, and upon its importance it is well here to quote Dr. Roswell Park:
"The writer makes no apology here for having introduced two distinct chapters-one upon the history of antiseptic surgery, the other upon the history of anæsthesia. First of all they are the two grandest medical dis- coveries of all time ; and, secondly, they are of Anglo-Saxon origin-the one British, the
other American. To the introduction of an- æsthetics and antiseptics is due a complete rev- olution of earlier methods, complete reversal of mortuary statistics, and the complete relief of pain during surgical operations; in other words, to these two discoveries the human race owes more of the prolongation of life and relief of suffering than can ever be esti- mated or formulated in words. What an everlasting disgrace it is that, while to the great murderers of mankind, men like Napo- leon in modern times and his counterparts in all times, the world ever does honor, erects im- posing monuments and writes volumes of en- comiums and flattering histories, the men to whom the world is so vastly more indebted for all that pertains to life and comfort are scarcely ever mentioned, save in medical his- tory, while the world at large is even ignorant of their names. For this reason, if for none other, these chapters find an appropriate place in a work of this character."
i In the same class from the point of useful- ness to mankind may be placed the discovery in recent years of the great value of antitoxin by Prof. Von Behring, of Berlin, and the great work of Dr. Carl Schlatter, of Zurich, Switz- erland, who completed the earlier work of the great Billroth, by the successful removal, in 1896, of the entire stomach from his patient, Anna Landis, a silk weaver of Zurich.
THE MAYO BROTHERS
Dr. William W. Mayo of Rochester, Minn., is the father of the two surgeons. He is 86 years old and very active. His sons grew up on a farm near the town and re- ceived a meager education but acquired a natural taste for the medical profession from their father.
Through the Roman Catholic Sisters, Dr. W. W. Mayo persuaded the Mother Supe-
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rior to build a hospital. Because of the skill of these surgeons and the conscientious use which they made of it, they soon established a reputation for St. Mary's Hospital. The death rate of the patients in this hospital was so low as to be incredible to eastern surgeons. Having increased numbers of operations and of such great variety of cases and opportunities to examine, diagnose and treat almost every kind of surgical ailments, they always sought to do a little better than before. Each day on their increasing num- ber of operations, therefore, they won the confidence of patients and surgeons alike. To the profession they have discovered their technical skill. The laity are satisfied in their calmness, assurance, thoroughness and simplicity in all things. They keep in condition for their work.
Rochester, Minn., is a country town of about 4,000 inhabitants. The famous sur- geons of the world are visitors-come to visit these two country doctors! One sees the work of the abdominal surgery, the gynecologist, the orthopedic surgeon, the aural specialist, the nose and throat special- ist, the eye specialist. There is a large hos- pital of about 160 beds where cases go for operation.
In spite of the great demand prices charged are so reasonable that the poorest can obtain help there as low as $1.00 a day, including everything. The Mayo Brothers do not grade their success by dollars and cents; their main motive at the bottom of all the rest is, with sincerity and singleness of purpose to do the best work and that only-they seek truth.
The Mayos engage to help them as col- leagues the best men they can find-pa- thologists, electricians, clinicians, chemists, physiologists and laboratory experts, who
work out and consider all details in connec- tion with the diagnosis of each patient. They do not seek to formulate theories, but to work in accordance with established facts and conditions, seeking only the truth and careful not to be led into error. As soon as a piece of tissue is obtained from a case under treatment, the pathologist furnishes the surgeon with the result of his micro- scopic observation and that is his guide. These surgeons are natural, earnest and not self-seeking-the secret of all success. It is the obliteration of self-the life that is lived for others.
The medical profession in Fairfield County has always held a high rank. Its personnel shows to-day some of the most noted surgeons in Ohio, and a large number of the most suc- cessful practitioners.
"DOCTORS OF TIIE OLD SCHOOL"
We begin the long list of names of men who have practiced medicine in Fairfield Coun- ty, and of those who are practicing to-day, with a list of the grand old men-those who helped to bring order out of chaos, to bridge the stream and to fell the forest-to teach the laws of health and to keep people strong and well.
They did their work nobly and well, and they deserve the honors the people of to-day so willingly bestowed upon them.
MEDICAL HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY
The beginnings of Medical History of Fair- field County start with the Medical Society of the Thirteenth District of Ohio. This Society was composed of physicians who practiced in a district which was composed of Fairfield County, parts of Licking County, Hocking County, and Perry County. "Agree- able to an act of the Legislature passed Feb.
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27, 1824 to incorporate Medical Societies." Physicians and surgeons residing in the Thir- teenth District, convened on the 25th day of March, 1824, at Lancaster, Ohio, for the pur- pose of organization. The physicians at that meeting were as follows: Doctors Allen, Mc- Neill, Clark, White, Pardee, Wait, Harris, Whipple, Minor, Kemper, Talbot and Shaug. The organization was effected and the follow- ing officers chosen by ballot: President, Dr. Allen; vice president, Dr. McNeill; secretary, Dr. White; treasurer, Dr. Clark; censors, Drs. McNeill, White, Pardee, Harris, and Clark. After the election of officers the so- ciety adjourned until the following day and in the interim its members banqueted at the Gottleib Steinman Tavern, a famous tavern of early Lancaster. The following day the by-laws governing the society were adopted. Some of the articles of these by-laws are very interesting reading to the medical man of to- day. Article second provided that it was the duty of the censors to examine candidates for the benefit of a license to practice medicine. Immediately after the adjournment of a meeting of the society, the censors would ex- amine the candidate for license. He was ex- amined in the "several branches of medical science" and if found "capable" was admitted to practice. '
Reuben Culver was the first licentiate of the society. Article 8 of the by-laws provided that the candidate for license must be 21 years of age and pay ten dollars into the treasury before the license was granted. The causes for expulsion of a member from the society were gross immoral conduct, penitentiary of- fences, malpractice, and habitual intemper- ance.
The seal of the society was the square and the compass, and enclosed within this motto ; "The Medical Society of the Thirteenth Dis-
trict of Ohio." This society was in existence from the date of its organization until 1840 when interest lagged and its work ceased for a while at least. The Old Thirteenth District Society was one of the leading societies in the State and we find its members reading papers at gatherings of the Medical Profession in different parts of this state at that time. The Roll of Honor-men of this society from its early organization until 1840-were such noted doctors as Drs. Allen, White, MeNeill, Minor, Kreider, Hyde, Awl, Goliegan, Har- ris, Pardee, Whipple, Switland, Turner, Griggs, Culver, Powzade, Talbot and Shaug. These were men of the family physician type -a type which has almost passed away in these days of specialism. They did their work well and never flinched where duty called them. Their patients honored them as they did their priest or minister. They were the men who fought the scourging epidemics of small-pox, black diphtheria, chills and fever and typhoid that were so prevalent at that time in this county. They did it the best they could with the means at their command. Their financial reward was insignificant but to know that they were victorious in their fight against these scourging epidemics was reward enough for them. It stamps them as men of honor and ability and showed their loyalty to the noble profession of which they were members.
In the early fifties the medical fraternity was again aroused to action and did valiant service for a period of twenty years. The meetings of the society were irregular and held at various places through the county, sometimes at Pleasantville other times at Rushville but most frequently at Lancaster, O. During this period we have such leaders of the profession as Doctor George Boerstler. Sr., Dr. Paul Carpenter, Dr. Davis, Dr. David
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N. Kinsman, Dr. Wagenhals, Dr. Effinger, Dr. membership in the American Medical Asso- Flowers and Dr. Lewis. Of this coterie of ciation. physicians Dr. George Boerstler Sr. was many times delegate to the state society and twice its honored president. It was during this pe- riod that the great cholera scare occurred in Fairfield County. To read the discussions of this dread disease by these able men is to know that they were men of great learning and knowledge.
In the early '70's the Fairfield County So- ciety again took on new life and a great deal of scientific work was done. Here again we find men who are leaders in their profession working hard for the upbuilding of the society and the profession of the county. Some of this Old Guard are still on the firing line but the most of them are gone or retired from ac- tive business. The leading doctors of this pe- riod are Dr. George W. Boerstler Jr., Dr. J. H. Goss, Dr. G. A. Harmon, Dr. Nourse, Dr. George Courtright, Dr. J. T. Hufford, Dr. H. C. Brison, Dr. B. A. Thomas, Dr. Peter Hewetson, Dr. Lewis Jackson and Dr. Turner. Their place of meeting was the old market house on the public square. The last meeting was attended by only one member Dr. J. H. Goss, who was still willing to keep alive that spark of medical fraternalism that was burning very low at this time.
The Fairfield County Medical Society of the present day was organized in June. 1902. Its organization is on the plan adopted by the American Medical Association, that is that the County Society is the unit of organiza- tion. It is a component part of the Ohio State Medical Association and also of the Amer- ican Medical Association. Any member of the Fairfield County Medical Society in good standing is a member of the Ohio State Med- ical Association, and is likewise eligible for
The first president of the organization in 1902, was Dr. J. H. Goss; the secretary was Dr. George O. Beery. The Fairfield County Medical Society of the present is a very active organization, since its organization in 1902 it has endeavored to enlist all the eligible mem- bers of the profession of the county to be- come members. In this it has succeeded until at the present time nearly eighty per cent of the physicians of the county are members of this society. This society stands for every- thing that is progressive in the way of med- icine and surgery. It has fostered a spirit of fellowship and friendship among its members that can hardly be equaled in any other county of the state. The scientific work done by the members of this society is far above the aver- age, its programnes are interesting and well discussed by the members attending. Mem- bers of this society have read papers before the State Society. Men of national reputa- tion have appeared on the programme of this society. In 1905, the Fairfield County Medical Society entertained the Tenth District Medi- cal Association which is the largest district so- ciety in the State. Over two hundred mem- bers were present at that meeting and Dr. W. S. Samson of Lancaster, O., was chosen the president for the ensuing year.
Our society has also developed the social side of its work and our annual outings at Buckeye Lake, Crystal Springs, and Mt. Pleasant have been the most pleasant inci- (lents in the history of this society. At these gatherings physicians bring their wives and families and for the day forget their work and enjoy a good old fashioned holiday.
The future of this society looks bright and we are now planning a campaign of work in
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which the public will be greatly interested. meetings, before which bodies he frequently We are planning public meetings at least presented themes of the day. twice yearly when men of national reputation Dr. Goss was born in 1837 and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in 1860. In that year he began the practice of medicine in New Salem, Ohio. He entered military service as assistant sur- geon in 1863 and was honorably released May 16, 1865. Upon his return he resumed practice at Lancaster, where he continued to enjoy a very large share of medical patronage until 1909, when he was compelled by an ac- cident to retire from active practice. Return- ing from an urgent call, his carriage was struck by a street car and he was thrown out, sustaining a severe injury to his spine. Among the students who read medicine with Dr. Goss and afterwards became successful practitioners, were Dr. O. P. Driver, the tal- ented poet, who practiced in Basil and Bre- men ; Dr. Millard Welsh, son of Supt. George WV. Welsh, and Dr. J. M. Kells. will discuss such topics as Tuberculosis, Vac- cination, Medical Inspection of Schools, Water Supply, The Milk Supply, Prevention of Blindness, and the organization of a Na- tional bureau of Health. The work of this society has been felt in the community and the health of the public has been so guarded that the census of 1910 ranked Lancaster the third city of the United States of its size as having the lowest death rate per thousand. Fairfield County is an ideal county in which to live and the Fairfield County Medical So- ciety is doing its part to guard the health of its citizens and prevent the ravage of infec- tious diseases, so that in the future epidemic of Typhoid, Small-pox, Diphtheria and Ma- laria will be impossible. In this brief medical history of Fairfield County it will be seen that from the early organization of the society in 1824 until the present time there has been no Dr. Goss had a keen insight into human nature and a loving, kindly spirit. His char- ity work run up into thousands of dollars, yet he was glad to be of service to his fellow Inan. disbanding of the organization. We are proud to say that with one exception the Fair- field County Medical Society is the oldest continuous medical organization in the State of Ohio.
H. M. HAZELTON, M. D.
Dr. J. H. Goss-One of the most active, energetic and successful physicians and sur- geons Fairfield County ever produced was Dr. J. H. Goss. His name for more than a quar- ter of a century was a household word in Lan- caster and the county of Fairfield. But his name and fame did not end there. He was frequently called in consultation and to take charge of difficult cases in other counties. His was a familiar face at all medical associa- tions held in the county and at State medical
Dr. Goss worked hard all his life, knowing full well that the good things-the great things-of life are not to be had for the ask- ing. They come as a result of close study and intense application, and are often best learned in the school of adversity. The following lines from Holland's "Better Sweet" express in poetic numbers the object for which he lived and worked.
"Thus is it over all the earth ! That which we call the fairest,
And prize for its surpassing worth, Is always rarest.
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"Iron is heaped in mountain piles, And gluts the laggard forges ; But gold flakes gleam in dim defiles And lonely gorges.
"The snowy marble flecks the land With heaped and rounded ledges, But diamonds hide within the sand Their starry edges."
Dr. George W. Boerstler came to Lancas- ter in the year 1835 from Hagerstown, Md. He was born at Funkstown, Md., in the year 1792. He received a good education, his parents being anxious that he should enter the ministry of the Lutheran Church. His tastes were different, however, and he pre- vailed upon his father to permit him to study medicine; that being the profession of his father, he was not long in obtaining his con- sent. He therefore entered upon the study of medicine in his father's office. He was a dil- igent student and in the year 1820 graduated a Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He married Elizabeth Sinks and settled at Boonsborough, Md., and practiced his profession. Later he moved to Hagerstown, Md. In the year 1835, with his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Tom O. Ed- wards, he moved to Lancaster, Ohio. It was an opportune time, for Dr. Robt. McNeill. the most eminent physician of Lancaster, had just died, leaving a large practice. He form- ed the partnership with Dr. Edwards which continued for many years. The practice of Dr. McNeill rapidly fell into their hands and they made it their own. Their business in- creased rapidly and it was not long until the firm of Boerstler and Edwards was the most widely known of Lancaster.
In the year 1838 his wife died, and in due time he married again, Miss Elizabeth Schur becoming his second wife. Dr. Boerstler was
throughout his life a medical student, always watching the progress of his profession; and his professional brethren considered him an expert in the diagnosis of diseases. His repu- tation was that of a learned and experienced physician and he was always in demand when a consultation was necessary. Dr. Loving, a distinguished physician of Columbus, in a paper written after his death spoke of him as an able and learned physician and wise in counsel. As a citizen he was respected by all classes, and no one stood higher in the esti- mation of the public as an honorable, upright man than Dr. George W. Boerstler. He took great interest in political affairs and was a Whig as long as there was a Whig party. His office was the headquarters of the leaders of the Whig party in 1840 and they called it the "Coon Box."
Dr. Boerstler was a pro-slavery man and did not endorse the anti-slavery tendencies of the Republican party, and in 1857 made Dem- ocratic speeches. In 1845 he made a patriotic address to the Fairfield County Militia, an- ticipating the Mexican War. In 1845 he was chief marshal of the day set apart for the funeral obsequies of General Andrew Jack- son. He made an address in German on the occasion of the reception to Kossuth in Cin- cinnati in 1852. Dr. Boerstler was a member of the Fairfield County Medical Society, of the Ohio State Medical Society, and in 1850 became a member of the American Medical Association. He died at his home in Lancas- ter, October, 1871.
Dr. Tom O. Edwards was born in the State of Maryland and came with his father-in-law Dr. Boerstler, to Lancaster in the year 1835. He became a partner of Dr. Boerstler and en- tered upon a large and lucrative practice. He was a student of politics and as early as 1840 was a stump speaker for the Whig party. He
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was a very popular man, social, polite, and en- and Lincoln were members of the committee tertaining, and few men, if any, were better that escorted the body to Quincy, Mass. Dr. Edwards occupied a very respectable position in congress. He introduced a bill in the in- terest of pure drugs and this bill and his speech in support of it gave him some reputa- tion. At this period Dr. Edwards was a very popular Whig politician of Lancaster. He made good speeches, was wide awake and alert. He was a good conversationalist, well informed and floated upon the wave of popu- lar favor. But politics brought him no money and ruined his professional prospects. known in Lancaster than Tom Edwards. He served two years in congress from this dis- trict in 1848 and 1849. He also was active and influential, more than usually so for a new member. After the close of his term in congress he was induced by a Boston firm to take charge of a drug store to be established in Cincinnati. He accordingly moved his family to Cincinnati. He became quite prom- inent in local affairs, was elected to the city council and by the council made its president. He was also a professor in the Ohio Medical College. He did not remain in Cincinnati more than four or five years. He moved from there to Madison, Wisconsin, and from there to Dubuque, Iowa. In a few years he re- turned to Lancaster and entered again upon the practice of medicine. But old age began to tell upon him and he finally abandoned the practice and followed his son Thomas to Wheeling, W. Va., where he died a few years since.
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