USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 71
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The story of the daily ride, extending far, into the night, oftentimes with fog above and mud below, the weariness of body and limb, the loss of sleep, the bur- den of thought-all this now sounds like exaggeration, but to them who underwent it all it is a well remembered and now wondered at reality. Their contemporary physicians were equally hard pressed.
In the season of which this is written, in the cabins visited, which meant some- times every cabin on the road travelled, it was very exceptional to find but one of a family sick. To find two, three and four was commonly the case. Not infre quently the whole family were patients, and this with no outside help, sometimes not procurable even in times of dire ne- cessity.
While extreme cases could not be given fairly, as the general experience, yet this class, after all, constituted a large propor- tion of the whole. An enumeration would include cases of scanty house-room; of lack of supplies; of distance from neigh- bors; of remoteness from physicians; of absence of help; of the number down in a family; of neglected ones; of work un- done; of fields, such as they were, un- prepared for seed. These, in their varied
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forms, composed a large list. In mak- ing their rounds one day, he whose circuit included a cabin to be visited, which had recently been erected in a small clearing-a half acre or so-in a dense woods south of where Hessville now stands, and reached by passing through David Beery's lane and then along a path, which led to the opening, found upon en- tering the man of the house lying upon a bed in one corner of the room in a burn- ing fever; the woman in another part of the room sitting upon the edge of an ex- temporized bed, with a face flushed with fever, and wild with excitement, leaning over a cradle in which lay their little child in spasms, it too having the fever. Quickly enquiring of the woman for the water- bucket, he was told it was empty, that their well had just been dug, and was un- walled and uncovered; the only way they had to get water was to climb down a ladder that stood in the well and dip it up, which neither had been able to do that day, and no one coming to the house, they had had no water. Procuring water from the well, he remained until the child was relieved of the spasms, when, having dispensed the medicines necessary, he departed, telling them to expect some one in soon, as the result of his effort to send somebody, if possible, from the first house he reached on his way.
The fevers of the country had peculiar- ities which for years have ceased to be observed, and which were conditions ex- citing anxiety in the mind of the doctor as well in the friends of the sick.
Intermittent fever, one of the forms very common, was sometimes with chills, sometimes without, as now, and was manageable enough unless, as not unfre- quently was the case, it assumed a malignant type, known in the books as congestive chill, or pernicious intermit- tent. With the best that could be done,
they were often fatal; many times for want of care at the critical period.
But more marked was the condition which attended the latter stage of bilious remittent fever, the other form of miasmatic fever generally prevalent in the latter part summer and in the autumn months. Whether it run a short or long course, whether of a high or low grade, it usually terminated with a sweat and extreme ex- haustion. A "sinking spell," as it was commonly called, was frequently its dreaded sequence, and the danger to life at the time imminent. A failure on the part of the attendents then to keep up the circulation by rubbing the surface, by applying warmth to the extremities, by spreading plenty of cover over the bed, and by administering stimulants freely, with liberal doses of quinine-was sure to seal the fate of the patient.
Many died in this way. A representa- tive case occurred in a small frame house of two rooms, which stood on what was then open common, but now the corner of Croghan and Wood streets, occupied by a man and his family of the name of Tyler, strangers-no relatives of the Tyler family resident here. He was a stone-mason, and came to work on the court-house, the building of which had just been com- menced. He and his wife were taken sick with the fever. No one could be found to take the constant charge of them. The neighbors, sparsely settled then in that part of the town, as they could be spared from home, went in, one now and another then, and did what they could, but withal the case was far from what their condition required. The fever of the husband yielded first-instructions having been left as to what was to be done when the crisis came, which during the day gave signs of its near approach. The doctors both having reached their office on their return from the country at the same time
58
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-- about 12 o'clock at night-upon be- ing informed that a messenger had just been down for them from the Tylers, went to the house to find the patient cold and pulseless-no appliances, no stimulants having been used as directed-and he died. They had the wife removed to a neighbor's house. When the crisis came to her-the breaking up of the fever in the manner described,-she had the neces- sary care, and lived.
And here it should be remarked that whatever allusions may have been made in this or any other sketch of years ago, to hardship suffered for want of help in times of sickness it was never refused, when it could be given. To the extent of their ability to give it, no neighbor ever withheld it. The brotherly spirit displayed at such times made itself proverbial, and could the deeds to which it prompted be written, they would form a grand chapter in the history of Sandusky county.
DR. JOHN B. RICE was born in Lower Sandusky, June 23, 1832. He enjoyed such educational advantages as the village afforded during his boyhood. He entered the office of the Sandusky County Dem- ocrat, and worked at the printing trade three years, after which he spent two years at school. He studied medicine, graduating at Ann Arbor in the spring of 1857, and soon after associated himself with his father, Dr. Robert S. Rice, and made a beginning in practice. In 1859 he further prosecuted his medical studies at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and Belle- vue Hospital, New York. On returning home he resumed practice. On the break- ing out of the rebellion he was appointed assistant surgeon of the Tenth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, and served with his regi- ment, under the gallant Colonel Lytle, in Virginia. November 25, 1861, he was promoted to surgeon, and assigned to the Seventy-second Ohio, and served with
this regiment over three years in the im- portant campaigns in which it took part. During the war Dr. Rice was on different occasions assigned to duty as surgeon-in- chief-of Lauman's and Tuttle's divisions of the Fifteenth Army Corps, and of the District of Memphis, when commanded by General Buckland.
Dr. Rice was married, December 12, 1861, to Miss Sarah E., daughter of Dr. J. W. Willson, of Fremont. They have two children-Lizzie, born September 18, 1865, and Willie, born July 2, 1875.
Since the close of the war Dr. Rice has been associated with his brother, Dr. Robert H. Rice. He has had a large surgical practice, and there are few capital operations in surgery that he has not per- formed many times. His consultation practice extends to adjoining counties. He is a member of the Sandusky County and Ohio State medical societies. For several years he delivered courses of lec- tures in the Charity Hospital Medical College, and medical department of the University of Wooster, at Cleveland. His topics were military surgery, obstetrics, etc.
In July, 1880, Dr. Rice received, with- out solicitation, the nomination for Con gress, by the Republican party of the Tenth District. The most gratifying in- cident attending his election the following October, was the circumstance that he re- ceived a majority of votes in Sandusky county, although the opposite political party is largely in the ascendency. He had, however, never engaged actively in politics, and does not expect to be again a candidate.
DR. LOUIS S. J. GESSNER was born September 25, 1830, in Thun, Switzerland, and emigrated to America with his parents during childhood. He studied medicine with his father, and returning to Europe graduated in Heidelberg, in 1858. He
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has practiced in Fremont since 1858. He served as assistant surgeon of the Thirty- seventh regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in Virginia, and as a contract surgeon at Brown hospital, Louisville, Kentucky, and hospital number two, Nashville, Tennessee.
DR. J. W. FAILING is a native of Wayne county, New York, and was born in 1833. He was educated in the common schools of New York, and at an early age was employed in a drug store where he be- came proficient in pharmacy. After six years experience handling and compound- ing drugs, Mr. Failing began the study of medicine in Norwalk, Ohio. He graduat- ed at the Cleveland Homeopathic college and came to Fremont to practice in 1854, being then but twenty-two years old.
Dr. Failing was for many years well re- ceived and had the foundation of a suc- cessful professional career. A great many people felt self-interested regret when he became practically disabled for active practice.
JOHN M. COREY was born at Austin- town, Trumbull county, Ohio, January 2I, 1837. He was reared on a farm and at- tended the district school. £ He com- pleted his preliminary course at Western Reserve seminary, at West Farmington, Trumbull county, passing through the junior year. He began to read medicine in Warren, in 1854, in the office of Daniel B. Woods. He attended medical lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he received the de- gree of M. D. in the spring of 1859. He entered the office of H. A. Ackey, in Warren, but remained there only three months. He came to Fremont in Decem- ber, 1859, and began the practice of his profession here. When the Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized, in August, 1861, Dr. Corey enlisted as hospital steward. In April, 1862, after passing an examination before a board
of surgeons, he was assigned to the posi- tion of acting assistant surgeon in the United States army. After serving in several hospitals in the South, he returned to Fremont, in September, 1864. In the winter of 1864-65 he attended lectures at the Charity Hospital Medical College, at Cleveland. At the end of the course he was awarded the Salisbury prize (a gold medal), for the best examination and ob- servations in physiology. He was also awarded, by G. C. Weber, as a prize for the best Latin prescription, Piper's Illustrat- ed Treatise on Surgery. After completing this course he again entered the army service, being made assistant surgeon at Camp Chase, and afterwards at Cincin- nati, and was finally appointed major-sur- geon of volunteers, with headquarters at Sandusky.
Dr. Corey was mustered out of the army service in September, 1865, and at once returned to Fremont. He was in uninterrupted practice from this time until 1873, when he attended a course of lec- tures at Bellevue Medical College, New York, receiving from that institution, in 1874, the ad eundem degree of M. D. Since that time he has been in reg- ular practice in Fremont. Dr. Corey's practice is of a general character, but his liking is for surgery, which he has made a special study.
DR. ROBERT H. RICE was born in Lower Sandusky, December 20, 1837. In his boyhood he was for several years employed as a clerk in the store of O. L. Nims. He afterwards attended school at Oberlin college about two years, then be- gan the study of medicine with his father and brother John; attended medical lec- tures at the Medical Department of the University of Michigan, and graduated from that institution in March, 1863. He then returned to Fremont and began the practice of medicine with his father, Dr.
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Robert S. Rice, Dr. John being at that time in the army.
May 14, 1865, he married Miss Cynthia J. Fry, a daughter of Henry Fry, of Ball- ville township. They have three children: Henry C., born July 11, 1867; Anna, born November 30, 1869; and Ada, born May 6, 1874.
Dr. Rice soon acquired a very extensive practice, which (associated with his brother Dr. John B. Rice,) he has ever since prosecuted with untiring zeal,and in which he has been eminently successful.
In 1872-73 Dr. Rice spent a year in Europe, during which time he travelled extensively over the continent and Great Britain and Ireland, devoting some time in the medical schools of Paris and Ber_ lin to the study of his profession. His knowledge of the German and French languages, which he acquired by his own efforts, and for which he has a great fond. ness, enabled him to derive unusual pleasure and advantage from his travels abroad.
The Doctor has many excellent quali- ties of head and heart, which peculiarly fit him for the practice of his profession, being of a kind, sympathetic and generous nature, agreeable and affable in his man. ners, bestowing on all alike the same re- spectful consideration, he has won a high place in the esteem of those with whom his professional relations have brought him in contact. He aided in the organi- zation of the Sandusky County Medical society, was chosen its secretary, and still holds that office.
For some years past Dr. Kice has taken considerable interest in agricultural pur- suits, having a large farm near Fremont which he has greatly improved. Few things at present afford him more pleas- ure than regarding his growing stock and waving fields.
SARDIS B. TAYLOR, M. D., born in Fre-
mont, March 19, 1843, was educated in our public schools with the exception of nine months at Hudson, Ohio, Western Reserve College. He commenced the prac- tice of medicine in 1864, at Fremont, Ohio. He served as volunteer assistant sur- geon of the One Hundred and Sixty- ninth regiment Ohio National Guards, at Washington, District of Columbia, summer of 1865. Graduated at Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, Feb- ruary 22, 1875. He is the oldest son of Austin B. Taylor, and is now in active practice. His standing as a physician has always been creditable.
DR. GEORGE E. SMITH, born June 27, 1832, at Lyme, Huron county, Ohio, prepared for college at Lyme and Milan, and graduated from Western Reserve Col- lege in 1855. He taught school in Tennes- see from 1855 to 1857; and as principal of Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary from 1857 to 1860. Received the degree of A. M. from Western Reserve College in 1858. Attended medical lectures at Cleveland Medical College in the winter of 1858-59, and at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the winter of 1859-60. Taught as princi- pal of a boys' grammar school, at Circleville, Ohio, from September, 1860, until the spring of 1862. Attended a course of lec- tures at Ohio Medical College in the spring of 1862, and graduated with the degree of M. D., at the close of the ses- sion.
He was married to Sarah Brinkerhoff in September, 1862, and commenced the practice of medicine at Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, in the fall of the same year. He was appointed assistant-sur- geon of the Seventy-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, December 23, 1862, and joined the regiment January 14, 1863, at Ar- kansas Post, Arkansas. Resigned on ac- count of sickness, June 4, 1863. Went to Hillsdale, Michigan, July, 1863; was
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surgeon of the post and to examine re- cruits, from January, 1864, until April of the same year. Left Hillsdale in the spring of 1875, and came to Fremont, Ohio, where he has been engaged in the practice of medicine since that time.
DAVID H. BINKERHOFF, M. D., was born December 5, 1823, in the township of Owasea, Cayuga county, New York. In the year 1837 his father, Henry R. Binkerhoff, removed to New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, and the son attended school at Aurora academy, New York, and at Au- burn academy, in the same State, during the years 1839, 1840, and 1841. He com- menced the reading of medicine with Drs. Benschoter and Bevier, at Plymouth, Ohio, in the year 1843. During the years 1844, 1845, and 1846 he contin- ued the reading of medicine in the office of Dr. Thomas Johnson, at New Haven. He attended the medical department of the Willoughby University of Lake Erie, at Willoughby, Ohio, during the session of 1846-47, and again attended medical lec- tures at the Cincinnati College of Medi- cine and Surgery, at Cincinnati, graduating therefrom at the session of 1856-57. He entered the service of the United States in the year 1862 as assistant surgeon, and was promoted to surgeon-major in 1864. He served on the staff of General Scho- field from the time of the capture of Atlanta, Georgia, until the close of the Rebellion. He was mustered out with his regiment, the One Hundred and Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 1865, at Ra- leigh, North Carolina. He has been en- gaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery since the year 1847, and for the past twelve years at Fremont, Ohio. He has a large practice.
DR. JOHN W. GROAT studied medicine in the office of Dr. Sampsell, of Elyria, and graduated at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College; he afterwards attended
lectures at Cleveland Medical College. He began practice at Port Clinton, from which place he removed to Fremont in 1866. In 1877 he went to Illinois, and is now practicing in Aurora. Dr. Groat was possessed of remarkable mechanical abil- ities. The attention he bestowed upon mechanical science somewhat impaired his usefulness as a practitioner. He is, how- ever, a man of good mind and training.
DR. H. F. BAKER, present editor and proprietor of the Bellevue Local News, practiced in this city from 1865 until 1868. He had previously been located in Fulton county, and removed from here to Belle- vue.
DR. GEORGE LEE practiced in Fremont about three years, removing to Washing- ton, District of Columbia, in 1880, where he is now in practice. He is a graduate of Western Reserve College, and of Lane Theological Seminary. He edited a paper for some time in Minneapolis, and then studied medicine and graduated at Cleve- land Homeopathic Medical College in 1877. His first location was in Fremont.
DR. J. D. BEMIS is a native of Lorain county, Ohio. At an early age he was re- ceived into the office and family of his uncle, Dr. L. D. Griswold, of Elyria. While attending the public schools of the city, he devoted considerable time in his uncle's medical library. After about three years spent in this way, Dr. Griswold was appointed superintendent of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, at Xenia. Mr. Bemus continued his residence in the family, and completed the full course of instruction of the schools of the Home. The study of medicine, as when at Elyria, consumed the odd hours of his time. In 1871 Mr. Bemus was appointed bill-room messenger for the Ohio Senate by Lieutenant-Governor J. C. Lee, and served in that capacity two vears. During the State Constitutional
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convention of 1873-74 he served as first assistant sergeant-at-arms, having been ap- pointed to that position by M. R. Waite, president of the convention, now chief justice of the United States. During the school year 1874-75 Mr. Bemus attended Baldwin University. In January, 1876, he resumed the study of medicine in the office of E. C. Perry, of Elyria. His win- ters were spent in attendance upon lectures' and summers in the office at Elyria, unti February, 1879, when he graduated at. Cincinnati. He opened an office in Fre_ mont in June, 1879, and now has a full and successful practice.
DR. W. CALDWELL, son of Judge William Caldwell, of Ottawa county, a short sketch of whom will be found elsewhere, attended the public schools of his neighborhood and Oberlin College. During the winter of 1860-61 he attended medical lectures at Ann Arbor, and in 1861 enlisted as hos. pital steward in the Seventy-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to assistant surgeon in April, 1863, and mus- tered out of service January 4, 1865. After the war he located in Michigan for the practice of his profession. He gradu- ated from Cleveland Medical College in the class of 1869. During the winter of 1879-80 he took a special course in New York. In June, 1880, he located at Fre- mont, where he has since been meeting with flattering success.
DR. C. B. WHITE received his prelim- inary education in West Virginia, in which State he also studied medicine. He at- tended lectures at the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, and was graduated from that institution in 1878. He had previously practiced several years in West Virginia and Ohio. He began practice in West Virginia in 1871. Dr. White located in Fremont in 1879.
DR. A. J. HAMMER was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1853. He
graduated at Pulte Medical College, of Cincinnati, in the class of 1880, and com- menced practice at Fremont in September following.
DR. S. P. ECKI was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1854. After attending the common schools of his neighborhood he pursued a course in Northwestern col- lege, Illinois. He studied medicine in Mansfield under J. C. Anderson, and at- tended lectures at the New York Homeo- pathic Medical college, from which insti- tution he graduated in 1881. He selected Fremont as the field of his practice, and opened an office there in June.
SANDUSKY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
As an auxiliary to the State Medical so- ciety, the Sandusky County Medical socie- ty was organized November 6, 1879, with the following members: James W. Wilson, Thomas Stilwell, Robert H. Rice, Lewis S. T. Gessner, Sardis B. Taylor, John B. Rice, John M. Corey, George E. Smith, M. Stamm, Gustavus A. Gessner.
James W. Wilson was chosen president ; Thomas Stilwell, vice-president ; Robert H. Rice, secretary; L. S. T. Gessner, treasurer; and Sardis B. Taylor, librarian. The officers have been annually re-elected, and have served without change to the present time.
Members have been added since the time of organization as follows: Cyrus E. Harnden, Clyde; John C. Tomson, Rol- lersville; R. S. Hittell, Gibsonburg; D. G. Hart, Gibsonburg; W. T. Gillette, Millersville; William C. Caldwell, Fre- mont; A. D. Shipley, Helena; R. S. Ship- ley, Lindsey; LaQ. Rawson, Fremont ; George Lanterman, Bellevue, and U. B. Irwin, Gibsonburg. The membership of this society embraces physicians only of the regular school of practice. Meetings are held once a month, or oftener, at which there is a free interchange of expe- riences and opinions.
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The society is accumulating a fine libra- ry, and already has a valuable collection of books and periodicals, which are pro- cured by annual subscriptions of the mem-
bers and by donations, Space in Birch- ard library has been allotted to the soci- ety where this collection is kept for the convenience of its members.
CHAPTER XXVIII. FREMONT-IMPROVEMENTS.
Building of the City Hall-Laying of the Corner-store-Birchard Library-City Parks-Fire Department- Street Paving.
THE stranger is given a favorable im- pression of this city's public spirit and enterprise while passing from the depot to the centre of business. He rides over a Medina paved street, thickly shaded on both sides by thrifty maples. He passes between a quiet park and large, substan- tial public school buildings and a moment later is in presence of another park on which is located a very fine library building, and an elegant stone front three- story structure for public uses. An old cannon mounted in the centre of this park is a reminder of historic associations. Front street, the main business thorough- fare, presents the appearance of activity and thrift. The good opinion formed is slightly marred, however, by the very noticeable absence of plate-glass store- fronts. Commercial blocks are generally large and in other respects present a good appearance. But it is the mission of his- tory not to comment on what is nor to suggest what ought to be, but only to nar- rate what has been and to reproduce the story of the growth of what is.
This chapter comprehends so many distinct topics that it is not convenient, nor would it be desirable to preserve any-
thing like chronological arrangement. The subject which naturally comes first to mind is public buildings.
THE CITY HALL.
It is rather a remarkable fact that prior to 1878 this city did not own a public hall. Union hall, Birchard hall, and Opera hall had all been open to the public for meet- ings, entertainments, etc., but were and are controlled by individuals. The press- ing need of a building for the accommoda- tion of the fire department, city offi- cers, and public meetings of a general character was long felt, but no ac- tion looking towards the consumma- tion of such an improvement was taken until in 1877, when the city purchased of its individual owners the square formerly included in the old fort. The terms of this purchase are given elsewhere. On June 7, 1877, the city council, consisting of Colonel William E. Haynes, W. B. Sheldon, C. R. McCulloch, James Park, jr., J. B. Dickinson, and A. Young; Mayor J. S. VanNess, and Clerk W. W. Stine, unanimously
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