USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Volume II > Part 46
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"Dr. Hewson largely contributed to the formation and revision of our National Phar- macopia. in fulfilment of various appointments, made chiefly by the College of Physicians, of Philadelphia. Although the project of forming a National Pharmacopoeia originated with Dr. Lymanı Spalding, who submitted his plan to the New York County Medical Society in 1817, yet it is due to the College of Physicians to recall its earlier, though unsuccessful ef- forts to accomplish the same desirable object. On May I, 1787, Dr. John Morgan proposed to the College to form a Pharmacopoeia for Pennsylvania. The proposition does not appear to have been acted upon until June of the following year, when a committee was appointed to consider it. In April, 1789, a draught of a letter was reported, to be addressed to the 'most respectable practitioners of the United States,' in which the importance of a Na- tional Pharmacopoeia is referred to. This elicited a communication from Dr. James Tilton, of Delaware, addressed to the College, the succeeding year, containing suggestions in rela- tion to the formation of the work. In 1791 Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton was appointed on the Pharmacopoeia Committee, and in November, 1792, this committee made its first report. The subject was allowed to drop until 1794, when Dr. Parke was added to the committee. Nothing appears on the minutes in respect to the committee until April, 1797. when it made its second report; and in the following June, the report being again read, the recommenda- tion of the committee was adopted, 'that an enumeration be made of all medicinal sub- stances and pharmaceutical processes, as shall appear useful and proper to compose the
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intended Pharmacopoeia.' Drs. Griffitts, Barton and James were appointed to make the enumeration, but it does not appear by the minutes of the College that they ever fulfilled the duties of their appointment. Nothing further appears on the minutes of the Col- lege in relation to a Pharmacopœia until February, 1819, when the College acted on the Circular of the Medical Society of the State of New York, setting forth Dr. Spaulding's plan, which by resolution was approved of. This plan contemplated the assembling of four district conventions, severally composed of medical delegates from the Northern, Middle, Southern and Western States, each charged with the duty of compiling a Pharmacopoeia, and of electing one or more delegates to a general convention to meet at Washington City, on January 1, 1820, to which the district Pharmacopoeia were to be referred with authority to form them in a single national work. In this very important enterprise Dr. Hewson took a leading part. He was appointed one of the delegates to the middle district which met in Philadelphia; by this middle district convention was appointed a delegate to the general Convention at Washington; and by the latter body as a member of the Committee of Pub- lication, which assembled in New York. Thus in every stage of its preparation, the first edition of the National Pharmacopoeia received the benefit of Dr. Hewson's efficient services. "The National Medical Convention provided for the revision of the Phar- miacopoia, at the end of ten years, and the college of Physicians of Philadelphia, in April, 1828, appointed Drs. Hewson, Hartshorne and Wood a committee to report amend- ments, corrections and additions to the work, and subsequently Dr. Franklin Bache, the author of the above memoir, was added to the committee, which held more than one hun- dred meetings at Dr. Hewson's house, and in November, 1820, made its final report, fully written out in the form of a Pharmacopoeia, ready for the press. The writer can bear testi- mony to the efficient services, rendered by Dr. Hewson as chairman of this committee."
The college adopted the draught thus prepared by this committee and directed it to be presented to the Washington Convention of 1830 as a contribution towards the revision of the National Pharmacopoeia. It was adopted by the Convention and submitted to a Committee of Revision and Publication, consisting of a chairman and two members from each of the eight principal cities of the Union. Dr. Hewson was named as chairman of this committee, which met in Philadelphia, agreed upon the final amendments and superintended the publication of the work. In May, 1838, when the decimal revision was again approaching, Dr. Hewson was again appointed chairman of the Revision Committee, whose labors continued through twenty months, and the draught of a revised Pharmacopoeia was adopted by the National Conven- tion of 1840 as the basis of the future work.
On August 17, 1820, during the epidemic prevalence of yellow fever in Phil- adelphia, Drs. Hewson and Chapman offered their services to the Board of Health, and the offer was accepted. On August 19 the Board, on their repre- sentation, resolved to open immediately the east wing of the City Hospital at Bush Hill for the reception of patients, and thirty-one cases were treated there before it was closed, October 9. In December following the City Council ad- dressed a number of queries to the College of Physicians in relation to the prop- er measures to be taken to secure the city from the invasion of a malignant fever. Drs. Hewson, Griffitts, and Emlen were appointed a committee to an- swer the queries, and in their report, adopted by the College, they strongly rec- ommended, among other measures, the prosecution of the plan then in contem- plation, "for removing the whole of the buildings from the east side of Front Street, inclusive, to the river, beginning at Vine Street and ending at South Street, according to the original plan of William Penn, the wise and intelligent founder of the city".
In 1822 Dr. Hewson established a private medical school on Library Street, consisting of himself as teacher of anatomy and practice; Dr. Thomas Harris, of surgery; Dr. Meigs, of physiology and midwifery; and Dr. Franklin Bache, of chemistry and materia medica. The school continued with this organization
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for several years, during which period Dr. Hewson gave an annual course of lectures on anatomy.
On July 5, 1832, the Board of Health established a "Cholera Medical Board" composed of twelve physicians from the city and districts, and the port physi- cian. On July 10, Dr. Hewson was appointed a member of this board, and at its first meeting was elected its president. On the organization of the several cholera hospitals and stations he was appointed physician-in-chief, which posi- tion he filled until the dissolution of the Board and the closing of the hospitals on October 30 following. His attention to the responsible duties of the appoint- ment was unremitting. He visited daily the City Hospitals under the immediate care of his assistants, and was ever ready to render his professional aid to the several hospital physicians when requested. His whole intercourse with his colleagues in the Board, and with the several hospital physicians, was marked by dignity and urbanity which commanded their respect, and at the same time attached them to his person. The discretion with which he exercised his au- thority is well described in a letter received by Dr. Bache from a friend-who was one of Dr. Hewson's colleagues: "Though the duties of his station were sufficiently delicate, and required of him on more than one occasion an exercise of authority and a reversal of the decision of the physicians placed under his superintendence, yet not a single angry feeling was excited; and in no instance was there an appeal from his decisions made to the board. So judiciously and kindly was his authority exercised, that the self-esteem of his adjuncts was never wounded."
At the close of his services, the Board of Health made him a handsome pe- cuniary acknowledgment; "not", they remark, "as a compensation for the in- valuable services rendered by him to the suffering poor of the city and county during the prevalence of the recent epidemic; but as an expression, in a pecun- iary form, of their high estimate of his unremitting attention to the duties of a situation, at once onerous and responsible, which he was induced to accept, at their request, at a season of uncommon alarm and excitement."
Dr. Hewson, during the course of his long life, received scientific honors from several societies and institutions. He was elected a member of the Edinburgh Medical Society in 1796; of the American Philosophical Society, and the Col- lege of Physicians, in 1801 ; of the Philadelphia Medical Society in 1804; of the Philadelphia Linnaen Society in 1813; of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia in 1821; and of the Medical Society of Massachusetts, 1836. In 1822 the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon him by the Medical Department of Harvard University. He was a contributor to the Philadelphia Dispensary, served the institution for many years as consulting surgeon, and was one of its managers at the time of his death. For many years he was an active member of the American Philosophical Society and offi- ciated either as one of its secretaries or curators from 1803 to 1822, inclusive. His services in connection with the College of Physicians were innumerable; he filled successively the offices of secretary and censor, with the exception of one year from July, 1802, to April, 1835, when he was chosen vice-president; and in the month of July, 1835, on the death of Dr. James, he was elected its presi- dent, which office he held to the time of his death, embracing a period of more than twelve years. "It is fresh in the memory of all of us", writes Dr. Bache,
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"with what dignity he filled the chair-a chair which had been graced by a Red- man, a Shippen, a Kuhn, a Parke and a James. Dr. Hewson stood high as a practitioner. His professional education in England and Scotland was shaped with a particular view to surgery; but upon his return to Philadelphia in 1800, he entered upon the practice of medicine as well as surgery; following in this respect, the usage of the country of his adoption. In both branches of his pro- fession he soon became eminent, enjoying, to the close of his life, a gratifying share of public confidence. In all that related to the ethics of the profession, he was scrupulously correct. His intercourse with his professional brethren was marked by great suavity of manner. When called to consult with junior practi- tioners, his deportment was always such as to put them at once at their ease. There was no assumption of superiority, no attempt at dictation; but on the contrary, a delicate regard was manifested for their equal professional rights."
He was indeed a remarkable man, combining with exceptional professional skill and knowledge, an urbanity of manner and executive ability that made him a leader in his profession, and rendered it possible for him to rise to any occa- sion of supreme effort when humanity called for the exercise of these supreme talents ; as shown by the above record of his services to the community in trying crises. Conservative, yet receptive, he was always one of the first of his pro- fession to appreciate and assimilate into its practice the newer methods of treat- ment, etc., which discoveries in the realm of science placed at the disposal of the enlightened physician ; thus keeping always abreast of the times, while avoid- ing dangerous and injudicious experiments where human life was at stake.
Dr. Hewson was not a voluminous writer. He published no formal work, but made a number of addresses and communications to the different scientific associations to which he belonged, and left a manuscript treatise, on the treat- ment of disease, of much merit. Dr. Bache says of him: "Dr. Hewson's style has the merit of clearness and precision, qualities essential to good medical writing." A list of thirteen communications written by Dr. Hewson and pub- lished in various scientific journals is given by Dr. Bache in his memorial. He further states that the reports made to the College of Physicians on Meteorology and Epidemics were always prepared by Dr. Hewson.
Dr. Hewson suffered for three years prior to his death from a disease of the bladder which gave him much pain. About two weeks before his death he was seized with a severe attack of his disease. "Thirty-six hours before dissolu- tion he became somewhat comatose, but up to that time his intellect had been perfectly unclouded; and though fully aware of the approach of death, he manifested the most perfect calmness and resignation. The fatal event took place on February 17, 1848, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, after an honor- able career or professional exertion of nearly fifty years." Dr. Bache's obituary notice of Dr. Hewson, from which we have given literal quotations above, as well as used the substance of his narrative at other points, concludes as follows : "Such is an imperfect sketch of the life of our late president. He has de- scended to the tomb, and we feel the void occasioned by his absence from amongst us. But he has left us his example of professional excellence and pri- vate worth. Let us emulate his virtues, as the best homage we can pay to his cherished memory."
Dr. Thomas T. Hewson married, November 5, 1812, Emily Banks, second
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daughter of John Banks, Esq., of Washington, D. C., by whom he had twelve children, of whom ten survived him, seven sons and three daughters. Mrs. Hewson died January II, 1837, after a matrimonial union of more than twenty- four years.
ADDINELL HEWSON, M. D., eighth child of Dr. Thomas T. Hewson and his wife Emily (Banks) Hewson, was born in the city of Philadelphia, November 22, 1828. From a biographical sketch of his life read before the College of Phy- sicians by his friend, associate and colleague, J. Cheston Morris, M. D., June 4, 1890, to which, like that of his father, read before the same institution a half century earlier by Dr. Bache, we are indebted for much of the information in reference to the second Dr. Hewson, we quote the following :
"Addinell was reared amid the highest and best professional surroundings, and of a stock which for four successive generations had been productive of men of thought, who made their mark upon the medical science of their times. No one can read the 'Introduction to Hewson's Works' (Sydenham Society edition), by Gulliver, without being struck with the tone and quality of these men, and the sense of how much of our present knowledge we owe to their patient investigations. Each one has honestly and carefully aimed to con- tribute his quota. It may be small-it may be embarrassed and encumbered with false con- ceptions of the truth, or even erroneous views. Yet, from the mass of accurately-observed facts and discordant opinions will he gradually elucidated the Science of the Future.
* * * we need not but refer to the catalogue of the Fellows of this College and that period and to recall the names of the professors of Jefferson Medical College and the character of their work and mode of thought, to realize something of the atmosphere which surrounded his boyhood.
"Addinell Hewson attended the grammar school of the University of Pennsylvania, then the most flourishing school in Philadelphia, the principal of which was Rev. Samuel Wylie Crawford, D. D., 'a man distinguished for his rigid views of discipline, right, honor, truth and manliness-a good scholar and painstaking teacher, who well deserved the esteem in which he was held, although tempered as it was in the views of his pupils with a whole- some awe of the rod, which it must be owned he at one time wielded with old-fashioned severity.' From this school young Hewson went to the University proper, where he grad- uated from the Department of Arts in the class of 1848, only a few months after the death of his father. His mother died when Addinell was but eight years of age, but the tender and loving care of au elder sister supplied as far as possible that severe loss. Immediately on his graduation from the Department of Arts at the University, Addinell Hewson began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Joseph Pancoast. He was, however, regarded by his late father's colleagues as to some extent their protégé, and they all vied with each other in efforts for his success. He entered Jefferson Medical College, and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from that institution in 1850, his graduation thesis being on the "Prostate Gland.' Soon after receiving his degree he went to Europe on a sailing vessel as surgeon, and became a student under Sir William Wilde, at St. Mark's Hospital, also attending lectures at the Totunda Hospital in Dublin. His relations with Sir William Wilde were very pleasant, and he subsequently edited at his request Sir William's 'Aural Surgery', published by Lindsay & Blakiston, Philadelphia. He went to London with letters to Sir William Lawrence, who received him most cordially and offered to take him into partnership if he would live in London. It was on this occasion that he was presented with the engraving containing the likeness of his grandfather, William Hewson, referred to in the early part of this sketch.
"Returning to Philadelphia in 1851, Dr. Addinell Hewson became one of the resident physicians of the Pensylvania Hospital. At the end of his term there in September, 1852, he entered upon the practice of his profession on Tenth street, below Walnut, removing soon after to 1005 Walnut street, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to the northeast corner of Fifteenth and Walnut, where his practice was large and succesful. In 1875 he removed to the southeast corner of Twenty-first and Walnut, where he lived until 1881, when he again moved, this time to the southeast corner of Fifteenth and Spruce streets, where he continued to reside until the time of his death.
"Dr Addinell Hewson was elected assistant surgeon of the Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1853, and surgeon in 1854, and served there most acceptably until 1855, when he resigned. He succeeded Dr. J. H. B. McClellan at the summer school on College avenue in 1855, retaining that position for several years. In the same year he was appointed surgeon of Wills Hospital for Diseases of the Eye, and continued to fill that position until 1864. He succeeded Dr. Ellerslie Wallace as physician of the House of Refuge, and was surgeon of the St. George's Society from 1858 to his death. He was elected surgeon of the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1861, remaining on the staff of this insti- tution until 1877. During the Civil War he was engaged as contract surgeon, on duty at
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the Cherry Street Hospital. He became a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1853, and in the same year a member of the Philadelphia County Medical Society and the Academy of Natural Sciences; a member of the Pathalogical Society in 1857; of the American Medi- cal Association in 1855, and of the International Medical Association in 1887. When the Phila- delphia Academy of Surgery was organized, in the office of Prof. S. D. Gross, April 21, 1879, Dr. Hewson acted as chairman of its first meeting. He took an active part in the debates and proceedings in all these bodies, and contributed largely the results of his obser- vations. He also lectured from 1855 for several successive years in the summer school of Jefferson Medical College, on surgery.
"His practice was large and for some time very lucrative. But he never spared him- self. He was constant and faithful to all who confided themselves to his care, whether young or old, rich or poor, white or black -- they found in him a sympathising friend, a wise counsellor, a skilful attendant. *
: * * But all this was not accomplished without toil early and late. Out early in the morning to visit ill patients; hurrying through break- fast to be in his consulting room from 9 to II A. M .; then practicing till 2 P. M .; taking a hasty dinner to be in the office till 4, then out again until 8 P. M .; his evenings occupied with meetings of societies, or writing some of his numerous publications-what wonder that even his naturally fine constitution gave way under the long continued strain? The first seizures of the fatal malady which finally carried him off were in 1868, and may probably be attributed to an accident that he met with in May, 1868, when driving in a Bos- ton gig; his horse, frightened by children leaving school, ran away and threw him against an iron bar of the gig; though he seemed perfectly well for six months afterwards, his first seizure being in October, 1868, after which about two months passed without any re- turn, after that they came more frequently. For a long time these seizures occurred in such a form as only to be known to a very few, and strong hopes were entertained that treat- ment would eradicate their cause. In 1872 he went abroad to recuperate his shattered health, and refresh himself by contact with the leading medical men of thought on the other side of the Atlantic. Among others, he recalled afterwards with pleasure his meet- ing with Sir Henry Thompson. While there he was summoned to Mentone to treat Dr. R. H. Storer, of Newport, R. I., who was suffering from a tibial abscess, and was much relieved by Dr. Hewson's 'dry earth' treatment.
"Of an ardent temperament and fine physique, handsome features and pleasant ad- dress, earnest in advocating what he believed to be the truth, yet always willing to accord the same sincerity to an honest opponent which he felt himself, while scorning any mean subterfuge or trickery, constantly ready to place himself in the van of those using new or supposed improved methods of treatment when they commended themselves to his judgment as likely to be useful, he found himself from time to time in conflict with the opinions and practice of those around him or associated with him. That he was sanguine, and sometimes thought he saw better results from such experimental methods than others saw, is only to say he was human. His colleagues can however bear testimony to the kind and Christian spirit in which he met such opposition to some of his views when they came into intercourse in their professional lives.
"He early took up the administration of electricity in the forms of primary and sec- ondary current and with good results, as in the employment of Hackley's chain, for granu- lar conjunctives in 1854. He performed amputation of the thigh at the Pennsylvania Hos- pital in 1865, using torsion instead of ligatures, and invented a torsion forceps. He took up earth treatment for wounds, contusions, chronic and acute inflammations, tumors, and for surgical dressings generally in 1867 or 1868. He was a pioneer in dry dressings and con- stantly advocated them in season and out of season. He communicated the results of his observations freely to all the societies of which he was a member * * * In 1853, he edited (as before stated) Sir William Wilde's American edition of 'Wilde on Aural Sur- gery,' and in 1855, Mackenzie's treatise on 'Diseases of the Eye.' In both these depart- ments of surgery he was very successful. In 1886 he added the employment of sulpheretted hydrogen gas to his earth treatment for tumors and inflammations. * * *
"He was a devout, sincere, but unostentatious Christian-one of those who show their belief by their works rather than by words, yet always ready when asked, to give a reason for the faith that is in them and is held as a priceless and sacred treasure.
"His malady ran a somewhat varying course; at times longer intervals held out hopes of a cure, but finally a severe attack seized him on September II, 1889, as he was going from his office to his chamber at the request of his wife, whose solicitude detected signs of some indisposition ; he fell on the stairs, and though almost instantly cared for, passed away in about an hour without recovering consciousness."
As a matter of sequence we here insert the opening paragraph, and follow with the closing one of Dr. Morris's biographical sketch :
"Prominent among the names of those, who, in our midst, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, have, by their own efforts and talents attained fame and position, has long stood and will continue to stand that of the subject of this skech. Earnest and enthusiastic in his devotion to the duties of his profession, constant in season and out of
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season in his advocacy of what he believed to be true, ever ready to seize upon and utilize the latest advances of science for the benefit of suffering humanity, yet tempering his zeal with discretion, and ready to allow for the differing opinions of others, formed from dif- ferent points of observation, he has passed from amongst us while many of the subjects which engaged his best powers of thought and investigation are still burning questions. Others have been settled by the logic of experience; but all of us who knew him well can but feebly express our sense of personal loss in his removal by death, and unite cordially in this tribute to his worth as a friend, a fellow-counsellor, and practitioner.
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