History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 65

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490

USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 65

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).

ANDREW W. MCCORMICK was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He came to Ma- rietta and published the Marietta Republican for some years preceding the fall of 1861. when he entered the military service, became captain in the 77th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., was wounded and twice taken prisoner during the war.

In 1867 he was admitted to the bar in Washington County. In 1869 he was elected Probate judge of the county, and was re- elected in 1872. He practiced law in Marietta from 1876 until 1878, when he removed to Cincinnati.

JOHN W. MCCORMICK WAS born at Brownsville, Monroe County, Ohio, December 25, 1850. In 1860 he came with his parents

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to Washington County, and at Marietta pur- sued a course of preparatory studies, In 1875 he was graduated at Marietta College.

commenced the practice of law at Marietta.

Ile was prosecuting attorney of this coun- ty from 1884 to 1892. Ile died at Marietta, June 18, 1895.

He commenced the study of law with Messrs. Loomis & Alban, and completed the same with M. D. Follett, and in 1878 was ad- mitted to the bar. In the spring of 1870 he "of this volume devoted to biographies.

Sketches of other prominent members of the bench and bar may be found in another part

CHAPTER XX.

PHYSICIANS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.

ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE-THE TWELFTH MEDICAL SOCIETY- PERSONAL SKETCHES.

ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.

For a time the Legislature of Ohio, largely through the influence of Dr. S. P. Hildreth, attempted to control the practice of medicine and to prescribe definite rules which should prevent unqualified persons from professing to be physicians. The following notices of differ- ent dates will show the workings of this law. After a time the Legislature found that in the warring schools of medicine it was as difficult to establish a school of one particular kind and exclude all others as it has already been found to establish a church of one particular faith and exclude all other sects, hence the well- meant laws for regulating the practice of medi- cine were repealed.

1818 .-

MEDICAL NOTICE.

Candidates for the practice of medicine and sur- gery are to be examined in Marietta, Nov. 5th, by the following Censors: Drs. C. F. Perkins, J. B. Regnier, S. P. Hildreth, J. Safford. J. Cotton, and C. Bierce.

A few weeks later it was announced that li- censes had been granted to Giles B. Ilemp- stead, Ebenezer Bowen, Charles Ulmer, and Alexander McMillan.

THE TWELFTH MEDICAL SOCIETY.

1821 .--

A law was passed at the last session of the General Assembly ( 1823-4) to incorpor-

ate medical societies. The members from Washington County to the Twelfth Medical District ( Washington, Athens, Gallia, and Meigs counties ) were Drs. John Cotton and S. P. Hildreth.

The Twelfth Medical Society of Ohio, which included Washington, Athens, Gallia, and Meigs counties, of which Dr. John Cotton was president, imposed these conditions upon the candidates in medicine, who were to present themselves at Reno's Tavern, No- vember 30, 1824.

Ist. The Candidate shall have such an acquaintance with the Latin and Greek languages as is necessary for a Medical or Surgical education.

2d. He shall have studied three full years under the direction, and have attended the practice of some respectable Physician or Physicians, Surgeon or Sur- geons, as the case may be, during which time he shall have studied attentively the most approved authors in Anatomy, Chemistry, Materia Medica, Surgery, Obstet- ries, and the Theory & Practice of Medicine, provided. however, that if such Candidate shall have received a degree from any regular Collegiate Institution, within the United States, or elsewhere, he shall be required to study only two years.

3d. He shall, previous to his examination, produce to the Censors of the said society a satisfactory cer- tificate of his being duly qualified in the manner before mentioned, as also of his moral character.

After examination, a Dissertation or Thesis on some medical subject will be required of the Candidate to be read before the society.

COLUMBUS BIERCE, Sec'y.

November Ist, 1824.

"MEDICO CHIRURGICAL."

Waterford, Ohio, June 1, 1827 .-

"At the Fourth Annual Meeting of the 12th Medical Society of Ohio, holden in Ches-

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ter, in the county of Meigs. on Tuesday, 29th May, 1827. the following business was trans- acted, viz :

"Elected officers for the year ensuing, viz :

Doctor John Cotton, President. Columbus Bierce, Vice-president, Ebenezer Bowen, Secretary. S. P. Hildreth, Treasurer,

Censors.

Ebenezer Bowen, S. P. Ilildreth, George N. Gilbert. Columbus Bierce. Eli Seigler.

"Dr. John Cotton was elected a Delegate to represent said Society in the General Repre- sentative Convention, to be holden in the town of Columbus, on the 2nd Monday of Decem- ber, 1827.

"Dr. Abel J. Phelps was examined, ap- proved of. and licensed to practice Physic and Surgery, in conformity to law within this State.

"William Thompson, of Alexander, in the county of Athens, was elected to receive gratu- itous instruction at the Medical College of Ohio, at the ensuing session.

"The regular Physicians and Surgeons, au- thorized by law within this district, to prac- tice, are Doctors John Cotton, S. P. Hildreth. Morris German, Ebenezer Bowen, Seth Hart, and George N. Gilbert. in Washington County. "Drs. Chauncey F. Perkins, Columbus Bierce, Lewis Wolfley, Allen V. Medbery, and Bildad Curtis, of Athens County.

"Doctors James S. Hibbard. Fenn Robin- son, Eli Seigler, and Abel J. Phelps of Meigs County, and

"Doctors Nathan A. McIntosh, Zatu Cush- ing, and Felix Regnier, of Gallia County, and "Eliphaz Perkins, Ezra Walker. Ethan Stone, and Fuller Elliott, honorary members. " Attest,

"EBENEZER BOWEN, "Secretary."

Personal Sketches.

born in Hampstead, New Hampshire, in 1790. It was the practice of the time for clergy- men to instruct the youth and prepare young men for college. Rev. Mr. True had a class of this kind under his instruction. Flis Son, Jabez, acquired sufficient knowledge of the languages to enable him to pursue a course of medicine with advantage. He read medicine in his native town, and completed his course near the close of the Revolution. He volun- teered his services as surgeon of a privateer and sailed for Europe. Soon after commenc- ing the cruise. the vessel was wrecked on the coast of Holland, and the marines thrown on the mercy of the Hollanders. Dr. True re- mained in Europe until the cessation of hostil- ities, when he returned to America and be- gan to practice his profession in New Ilampshire.

Dr. True became a member of the Ohio Company in 1787, and came to Marietta in the spring of 1788. He built a small log office on Muskingum street. The new country did not afford a lucrative practice, but it was a fortunate circumstance that skilled physicians were present. He was employed at the opening of the Indian war as surgeon's mate for the troops and rangers, at a salary of $22 per month. During this time he also taught school a part of the time in one of the block-houses of the garrison at "the Point."

Smallpox and scarlet fever broke out in 1790 and made it necessary for the doctors to visit the settlements, which, during the Indian war, could only be done by water, as none but trained rangers trusted themselves to enter thic roadless forest ; visits at that time even by water were extremely hazardous, but the sick required. attention and Dr. True frequently risked his life to respond to the calls of duty.

Dr. True was celebrated for his kindness and sympathy. So far as it was possible he patronized the prejudices of his patient and never resorted to radical remedies, except in cases of absolute necessity. "The result of his calin, deliberative judgment was generally cor rect, and his treatment of diseases remarkably

JABEZ TRUE, son of Rev. Henry True, was ! successful, which was doubtless owing to its

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simplicity, for it is a lamentable fact that too many die from too many and improper reme- (lies as well as from disease itself."

After the close of the Indian war, he im- proved a farm on the Ohio about a mile from Marietta, and took an interest in agricultural pursuits. His practice extended over a large area of territory. sometimes requiring him to ride 20 miles through forests and over bridgeless streams.

The practice of medicine at that time was by no means lucrative. The general poverty of the people necessitated low charges and in many cases no charges at all, neither for medi- cines nor professional services.

Dr. True's devotion to the church can- not be omitted from any sketch of his life, however brief. He joined the Congregational Church at an early period of its organiza- tion and was for many years a deacon. FIis house was a home for itinerant preachers, and his purse always open to needy charities. Dr. True, for several of the last years of his life, served as county treasurer, a position which afforded him ease and a moderate in- come.

In 1806 Dr. True married Mrs. Mills, the widow of Capt. Charles Mills, an amiable and excellent women. He had no children, but the children of his wife were treated with all the love and affection of a real father. He died during the epidemic of 1823.

DR. SOLOMON DROWN is known rather as a scholar and a man of letters than as a phy- sician. Ile came to Marietta in the summer of 1788, and attended on General Varmtm, as counsel during his sickness. He was se- lected to pronounce the eulogy at his funeral, which was published at the time in New Eng- land. He also delivered the address at the first "Seventh of April" celebration. About 1791 he was elected professor of botany and natural history in Brown University, of which he was a graduate. He filled the position for many years.

DR. THOMAS FARLEY came to Marietta in the summer of 1788 as the attending physician of General Varnum, who died of consumption

in January, 1789. He was a son of General Farley. of Ipswich, Massachusetts, and studied medicine at Salen, under Dr. Holyoke, in 1782. Colonel Barker says of him): "He was a modest, amiable young man, always ready to obey the calls of humanity, and had the good will and confidence of all who knew him." He soon became discouraged with the new coun- try and returned in the fall of 1790 to Massa- chusetts.

DR. WILLIAM PITT PUTNAM, fourth son of Col. William Pitt Putnam, and grandson of Gen. Israel Putnam, was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, in 1770. He attended the schools of the neighborhood in the winter and worked on a farm in the summer. He was placed under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Whitney at the age of 16, and pursued a course in Latin and other studies preliminary to reading medicine. At the age of 18 he entered the office of Dr: Waldo, of Pomfret, the distinguished surgeon of the Revolution. He attended a course of lectures at Cambridge in 1791, and in 1792 came to Marietta. He spent a portion of his time at Belpre, where his brother lived, but the Indian war made general practice danger- ous and unprofitable. In 1794 Dr. Putnam re- turned to Connecticut, when he married Ber- thia G. Glysson, and in company with his father's family, came to Marietta in 1795. In 1797 he purchased the lot on the corner of Fifth and Putnam streets, on which his broth- er David afterward built the Mansion house, now occupied by W. W .. Mills.

Dr. Putnam in 1799, having become dis- couraged, although he was highly esteemed and had a fair share of patronage, determined to give up practice and turn his attention to farming. He purchased 200 acres on the Ohio River, eight miles above Marietta, and with characteristic energy, plied his hand in the clearing. The fatigue and exposure of forest life brought on bilious fever, of which he died, October 8, 1800, leaving no children to inherit his name or his fortune. His widow subse- quently married Gen. Edward Tupper.

DR. JOSIAH HART .- A venerable physi- cian during the early period of Marietta's ex-

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istence was Josiah Hart, who was born in Ber- lin. Connectient, in 1738. He attended Yale College for the purpose of preparing for the ministry, but after graduating in 1762 changed his intention and entered on a course of medi- cine. His first wife died in 1777, leaving seven children, two of whom settled in Ohio. He married, for his second wife, Mrs. Abigail Harris, a blood relative of the celebrated Miles Standish, whom Longfellow has immortalized.

Dr. Hart came to Marietta in 1706, and was in active practice until 1811, when he re- moved to his farm, where he died from spotted fever in 1812. His wife died a few hours after and both were buried the same day.

Dr. Ilart was one of the first deacons of the Congregational Church and was a consist- ent, pious Christian. lle had a strong love for science and was a regular attendant at the meetings of a chemical society, composed of physicians and others. This society met two or three evenings in a week, where ex- periments were exhibited and lectures given. The seal of this society has been preserved by Dr. George (). Hildreth.

DR. WILLIAM B. LEONARD was born in England. in 1737, and was bied a surgeon. He was an associate of AApothecaries' Hall. London, and in the prime of life served as a surgeon in the British Army. In 1794 he de- termined to engage in wholen manufacture in America, and as machinery was at that time prohibited from being transported out of Eng- land. Dr. Leonard determined to clandestinely bring it on the vessel on which he had engaged passage, but was detected and imprisoned. Having been discharged, he came to America in 1797. and engaged in medical practice in Massachusetts until 1801, when he came to Marietta. Here he married Lydia Moulton, daughter of William Moulton, a highly re- spectable pioneer. .

DR. JOHN BAPTISTE REGNIER .-. All the old citizens of the Duck Creek and Muskingum valleys and of Marietta remember John Bap- tiste Regnier, and most of them cherish his memory as a personal friend. Medicine exerts a greater personal influence over its patients

than any other profession. The patient who recovers from a serions malady is likely to re- tain feelings of the profoundest gratitude to- ward the man who has rescued him from pain of death.

Dr. Regnier was born in Paris in 1700. His mother kept a small store for fancy goods and is said to have been a very. handsome and stylish woman.

The family was loyal to the government and to the king, and as a consequence were sufferers from the convulsions which revolu- tionized France. John had acquired a good education and special attainments in architec- ture and drawing, which he intended to follow as a profession. Like all the better class of French students, he had also attended scientific lectures, and had paid particular attention to the department of medicine. In 1790, when the young men were all called upon to enter the ranks of the revolutionists, the Regnier brothers, who were loyalists, decided upon leaving the county. John B., who was 20 years old, and Modeste, who was 14, joined the company of emigrants who had purchased land from Joel Barlow, and came to the United States. They reached Marietta Octo- ber 16, 1790. After a few days they em- barked on boats, and proceeded to lands pur- chased from the Scioto Land Company, and were among the founders of Gallipolis. Ilav- ing lost their fortune, and dreading the In- dians, to whom they were unaccustomed, the two brothers left their forest home and went to New York. On their way up the Ohio their boat was upset and all their effects thrown out. Among them was a curiously wrought octagonal cylinder, which was after- ward found in a sand-bar below, and exhibited : in an Eastern museum as a legacy of pre- historic art.

For the next eight or 10 years Dr. Regnier suffered varying but cruel fortime. But those years of uncertainty and hardship threw him into the profession for which nature had in- tended him. In the year 1802 he entered the office of Dr. Lemoine, his French medical friend at Washington, Pennsylvania, and in

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1803 came to Marietta for the purpose of en- tering the practice. Monsieur Thiery, a French baker, sold him a lot in Fearing township, onto which he moved and made improvements. It soon became known that he was a "French doctor," and from that time on his practice grew, and his purse was filled. There was an unusual amount of bilious fever, in the treat- ment of which he was remarkably successful. He also proved himself a skilled surgeon. One case particularly extended his reputation. . 1 man had become caught in the branches of a falling tree and was bruised from head to foot. The pulsations of his heart had ceased and the body was already cokl when the doctor arrived. He ordered the attendants to kill a sheep and bring him the warm pelt as quickly as possible. The steaming skin was wrapped around the bruised and naked body, and a cure, which seemed almost miraculous, was accomplished.

In 1808, Dir. Regnier removed to Marietta, where he had frequently been called as counsel, and attending physician. His practice was ex- tended over a wide range of territory, and drew heavily on his physical powers. In Ma- rietta he became a great social as well as pro- fessional favorite. He was a cheerful and interesting talker, was full of sympathy and al- ways ready to give assistance.

He purchased a six-acre lot and laid out the finest garden in the city. "It was a model from which divers individuals improved their own and ultimately implanted a permanent taste for this refining art to the citizens of Marietta."

He was one of the original members of the State Medical Society, organized in 1812. In 1818 he was elected County Commission- er. In 1819 he sold his property in Marietta, to Dr. John Cotton, and purchased 320 acres of land on Duck Creek. He built a flouring and saw-mill and a brick dwelling house. Up to that time the country was unimproved, but in a few years a prosperous settlement had grown up. He left Marietta with the inten- tion of freeing himself of his laborions prac- tice, but found it impossible. He was still

called upon by his old patrons, in serious cases, and his strong humanity did not permit him to refuse. Broken down by overwork. he died of bilious remittent fever in August, 1821. Dr. Hildreth, his contemporary and friend, has said of him:

"Close discrimination and accurate ob- sevation of all phases and shades of disease gave him wonderful tact in prognosis, the base of all successful practice, while his knowl- edge of the proper remedies rendered him very successful in their application. His col- loquial powers were unrivaled, and at the bed- side his cheerful conversation, aided by the (leep interest he actually felt in the sick, with lis kind, delicate manner of imparting his in- structions, always left his patients better than he found them, and formed a lasting attach- ment to his person in all who fell under his care. His death was lamented as a serious calamity, and no physician in this region of the country has since fully filled the place he oc- cupied in the public estimation."

DR. NATHAN MCINTOSHI .- The subject of this sketch possessed the characteristic ener- gy of his family. He was the son of Col. William McIntosh, of Needham, Massachu- setts, and born in 1762. His father was a man of considerable local note, having com- manded a company in the Continental Army, and subsequently served as colonel of militia. He was one of the delegates in the convention in Boston, in 1788, on the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.

Nathan McIntosh, after receiving a suitable education, studied medicine in Boston, and was admitted to practice in 1786. In 1788 he decided on going west, and started for Mari- etta on horseback. When he reached Mead- ville, Pennsylvania, he was attacked with smallpox, and suffered severely from that loathsome disease. He practiced for a short time at Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, and Clarks- burgh, ( West) Virginia, and then came to Marietta in 1790. He received the appoint- ment of surgeon's mate at the Waterford gar- rison at the salary of $22 a month. He mar- ried, in 1792, Rhoda Shepard, daughter of

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Col. Enoch Shepard, of Marietta, and grand- daughter of General Shepard, of Massachi- setts.

In 1793 Dr. McIntosh decided to accept an invitation extended by leading citizens of Clarksburgh to locate at that place, and re- moved his family there in July, under escort of 15 sokliers. He was soon in possession of a large practice, but being full of adventure suffered a serious financial misfortune. He contracted to build a bridge across the Monon- gahela River at Clarksburgh, and warranted it to stand a certain length of time. But soon after its completion, the whole structure was swept away during a freshet.

Dr. McIntosh returned to Marietta in 1795 and resumed practice. His courteous and obliging manner and skill as a surgeon won him a large practice.

Jacob Young, the great itinerent Metho- dist, in his autobiography, commends the kind- ness of Dr. MeIntosh in the most feeling terms. In 1805 the pioneer Methodist was stricken down by an attack of fever at a house where the surroundings were by no means pleasant. D. McIntosh took him to his house and not only doctored but nursed him during a long term of sickness.

In religion Dr. McIntosh was a Halcyon. a sect embracing nearly the same doctrines propounded by the Second Adventists. He had previously been a Methodist. He wrote and lectured on religious and moral topics, being particularly severe on the secret societies. He published a volume on the subject of "Scripture Correspondences."

Dr. McIntosh, about 1806, turned his at- tention to the manufacture of bricks and build- ing brick houses, working diligently in the brickyard and on walls. He died of fever September 5, 1823, during the prevailing epi- dentic. Ilis family consisted of four sons, and two daughters. The children were: Enoch S .; Rhoda, wife of J. M. Chamberlain : William Whiting : Nathan Henry : Samuel Dooey : and Lucy Hulda, wife of Samuel Maxon, of Gallia County.

DR. ROBERT WALLACE came from Penn-

sylvania to Marietta probably soon after the Indian war. He was here in 1801. Dr. Reg- nier speaks of him as "a very intelligent drug- gist." A society of physicians and young men of scientific tastes was formed in the carly part of the century. Experiments were 'per- formed under Dr. Wallace's direction, and he also occasionally delivered scientific lectures. His oldlest son, Matthew Wallace, was a Pres- byterian clergyman. His second son, David. was a physician. The family removed to Cin- cinnati probably about 1809. Dr. David Wal- lace was one of the parties to the first and perhaps only duel in the history of the county. In the spring of 1801, a difficulty arose which resulted in Dr. Wallace challenging John Woodbridge to a duel. The island opposite Marietta was the place selected, and pistols were the weapons chosen. The parties ac- cordingly met, but Wallace's courage failed and he was willing to ask pardon. Wood- bridge was not thus easily satisfied. He cut a stick and gave Wallace a good dressing. They were both present at the "Seventh of April" celebration, which occurred soon after. The song composed for and sung upon that oc- casion closed with the stanza :

Here population lift- her hand And scatters round her jewels. And must honor take its island. Producing bloodless duels ?

DR. SAMUEL P. HILDRETHI .- No preface is necessary in an outline of the life of Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth. The reader already knows him, but an index to the labors of his busy and youthful life will be of interest and value.

Ile was born in Methuen, Essex County. Massachusetts, September 30, 1783. He wis a son of Dr. Samuel Hildreth, and a descend !- amt of Richard Hildreth, whose name is found amengst a company of 20 from the towns of Woburn and Concord, who, in 1652, petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts Bay for a tract of land on the west side of Concord. or Musketaquid River, where they say "they do find a very comfortable place to accommo-

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date a company of God's people upon." Sam- uel Prescott Hildreth was of the sixth genera tion from Richard. Until he was 15 years old he labored upon the farm, there acquiring in- dustrions habits and the power of physical en- durance. A social library in the town afforded access to books, and a taste for reading was acquired at an early age, and until his death he was a devourer of books. After finishing the course of the common schools, he spent four seasons in the Phillips Academy in An- dover, and at Franklin Academy, which pre- pared him for entering college. In place, how- ever, of completing a college course, he en- tered the office of Dr. Kittridge at Andover, and began the study of medicine. He re- ceived a diploma in 1805, from the Medical So- ciety of Massachusetts, having attended lec- tures at Cambridge University.

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History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 65

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1490

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490