USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 54
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SAMUEL L. SMEDLEY.
SAMUEL LIGHTFOOT SMEDLEY, Chief Engi- neer, and, ex-officio, a Park Commissioner of the city of Philadelphia, was born at Edgmont, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1832. He is descended in the seventh generation from George Smedley, a native of Derbyshire, England, who emigrated to America in 1682 with other followers of William Penn, and settled at Middletown, Penn- sylvania, buying land there, lying just west of the present town of Media, which is still owned, occu- pied and cultivated by his descendants. The father of the subject of this sketch, Samuel L. Smedley, Sr., was born and reared on this farm. More than ordinarily endowed mentally, he acquired an educa- tion quite unusual in his locality and, although he never wholly abandoned agricultural pursuits, he carried on an extensive business as surveyor and conveyancer, and in addition taught school in the season for many years. He was a mathematician of marked ability, whose attainments were known and respected by all his neighbors, many of whom had obtained their early education under liis effi- cieut instruction. Samuel L. Smedley, Sr., died at the early age of thirty-six years, leaving a wife, Hannah Pennell, a daughter of Joseph Pennell, of Middletown, and three sons, of whom the subject of this sketch, who was but two years old at the time of his father's death, was the youngest. He
a boy at school was noted for his application to study and general aptness as a pupil. At the age of thirteen he left the select school at which he had spent the preceding years and became a pupil at the Friends' Academy or Boarding School at West Town, Pennsylvania, where he passed the ensuing eighteen months, at the close of which he stood at the head of the senior class. With the intention of entering college he then took a higher course in the classics at a well-known school in Germantown, where he remained until the close of his sixteenth year, when failing health compelled him to abandon systematic study temporarily. The ensuing four or five years were spent at the homestead with excel -. lent results upon his health. Believing that an out- door life was necessary for the maintenance of his restored health, he decided upon adopting the pro- fession of surveying and engineering, and, in 1853, went to Philadelphia and placed himself under the instruction of Joseph Fox, a uoted city surveyor. Finding the work congenial in many ways, he very soon became an expert draughtsman, and being a good mathematician, he had little difficulty in mak- ing rapid headway. At the close of three years he took his place among the proficient surveyors of the city. In 1856 he was engaged by the Commissioners of Blockley to lay out the streets in that district. Soon after this he published a complete atlas of Philadelphia, which was accepted by professionals as a standard and became the authority among con- veyancers. In 1858 he was elected a member of the Board of City Surveyors and was subsequently re- elected by the people of his district for three suc- cessive terms of five years each. For purposes of study and recreation Mr. Smedley visited Europe in 1865 and made a tour of the large cities, gathering much valuable information, which he afterwards. employed in a professional way to the advantage of Philadelphia. The beautiful parks for which most of the foreign cities are distinguished particularly impressed him and he realized that American cities were far behind the times in this important matter of providing available recreation grounds for the people. With highly commendable public spirit, with others he entered into the agitation of this subject upon his return to Philadelphia, urging upon the citizens that they should lose no time in availing themselves of their exceptional advantages for establishing a grand park. One of the immedi- ate results of this agitation was the purchase from its English owners of the one hundred and fifty acre tract of land lying along the Schuylkill River known as " Lansdowne," which was made the nu- cleus of a public park. Its beauty and great value
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for public purposes were so apparent that the peo- ple hastened to remedy their neglect by taking steps to create a city park commensurate with the public need. Shortly after the institution of the Board of Park Commissioners, Mr. Smedley was directed to make the original surveys of the terri- tory embraced in the park under the Legislative enactment of 1857-'58, a total of twenty-nine hun- dred acres,-and many of the walks and drives therein were designed and laid out by him. His interest in this magnificent pleasure ground has continued unabated, and since 1872 as a member, ex-officio, of the Park Board, he has been active in securing many desirable improvements in the prop- erty under the control of the Board. As early as 1870 he devised a novel plan for cheap and delight- ful conveyance through the park by means of an inclined plane and gravity railway, by which the cars, without a visible motive power, descending by the natural contours of the hills, would run the greater part of the distance, from the commanding summits along the crests to the low ground, taking in a continuous succession of views of great gran- deur and beauty. Since that time he has presented various modifications of the plans and different pro- posals for its construction to the Park Commis- sioners, and although generally regarded with pop- ular favor, as a necessity for furnishing ready access to distant parts of this vast pleasure ground, the difficulty in making leases that would be free from objections in the future, and the fear of some that it would not harmonize with the landscape, have prevented its consummation until the present year. The greatest vigilance having been exercised in the location, with careful study to protect the landscape and avoid grade crossings of all walks and drives, has removed many of the objections, and a proposition from a company of enterprising citizens to construct thirteen miles of road within the park limits, and carry passengers for a very low fare, has been accepted. His favorite scheme, which he has persistently contended is destined to add vastly to the enjoyment of citizens and visitors from other places, seems likely to be accomplished at an early day. At the State Republican Convention in 1871 Mr. Smedley's name was brought forward as that of a candidate for the office of Surveyor- General of Pennsylvania. His candidacy was warmly approved on the ground that he was a pro- fessional surveyor and had rendered valuable ser- vices to the city of Philadelphia. Following estab- lished precedent, however, the policy, pursued since the war, of naming a soldier for the position prevailed. In the following year Mr. Smedley was chosen by the City Councils of Philadelphia to the |
responsible office of Chief Engineer and Surveyor of the city, the term of office being five years. By re-clection he has been retained in that office ever since, and is now serving his fourth term. Mr. Smedley's official duties embrace "the establish- ment of lines and grades of streets and wharf lines on the rivers; the planning and building of bridges; the systematic designing and construction of sewers, with the hydraulic and sanitary questions contin- gent thereto; the difficult problem of providing for the public safety in modern rapid transit, by the proper adjustment of railroad and street grades ; and the numerous other things which in a rapidly growing city, embracing within its corporate limits the large area of one hundred and twenty-nine square miles, intersected by two rivers and many lines of steam railroads, involve a great amount of vigilance and labor, and require a comprehensive knowledge of varied branches of civil engineering rarely demanded in other cities." The improve- ments and constructions prosecuted by Mr. Smed- ley since he has assumed office have cost many millions of dollars, and comprise many of the nota- ble engineering works undertaken in Philadelphia during the present generation, including the build- ing of the Penrose Ferry Bridge, the new iron canti- lever bridge at Market Street, the Fairmount Bridge, the Girard Avenue Bridge (of iron, one thousand feet in length and one hundred in width, costing $1,500,000), all crossing the Schuylkill River, and a number of other bridges crossing the numerous smaller streams, canals, and railroads within the boundaries of the city. During his long experience as a member of the Board of City Sur- veyors, covering the unusual period of thirty-two years, Mr. Smedley has had abundant opportunities of noting the disadvantages to the city arising from the mistaken or narrow ideas prevailing in past generations regarding public works. Recognizing the irremediable character of many of these, he has sedulously guarded against everything which would be likely to entail similar evils upon generations to come, aiming to make his plans so thorough as to provide for future possibilities. To his wise judg- ment and persistent efforts is due the raising of the grade of Market Street on the west side of the Schuylkill River, which obliterates a valley with steep ascents and descents, thereby practically bringing a large part of West Philadelphia nearer to the center of the city. The project, first proposed about the middle of the century, had been aban- doned by other engineers, and was forgotten by many, when at an opportune moment the change was accomplished. Recently efforts were made by one of the trunk lines of railroads to enter the
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city, crossing many streets at grade. Mr. Smedley vigorously opposed the plans of this corporation and set himself the task of devising a more rational method. This was found in bridging the principal streets and depressing the railroad at the main en- trance to Fairmount Park. By these means the great dangers which threatened the city from this increase in steam traffic have been successfully averted for all time and the grandeur and safety of the eastern park approach have been maintained. It is no disparagement to his other engineering works to class this as his greatest achievement, "for it presents the example of a great railroad passing through a city without injury to existing highways and in no wise impeding future metro- politan development." Having contributed to an enterprise, he unexpectedly became the principal proprietor of a manufacturing establishment, which has grown within a few years so that it ranks among the large works of this class for which Phil- adelphia is noted. Mr. Smedley's labors have been widely understood and appreciated and have made his name known in engineering circles over the United States. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia. He has been a member of the His- torical Society of Pennsylvania since 1857, and was its Recording Secretary for fourteen years. He is also a member of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, of the Philadelphia Acad- emy of Natural Sciences, of the Franklin Institute, of the West Philadelphia Institute, of which he was for many years a Director and Secretary; of the Delaware County Institute of Science, of the Amer- ican Public Health Association, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is likewise a member of the Union League and other social and political clubs of prominence. His polit- ical affiliations have always been with the Republi- can party. Following the example of his ancestors for upwards of two centuries, he is an orthodox member of the Society of Friends. He is a bachelor and resides in West Philadelphia, a section of the city with which he has been prominently identified for many years. He is still a diligent student of science and his library is rich in works on the sub- jects of which he has made specialties. He also possesses many valuable historical works and a large number of family records of an exceedingly interesting character. As a public officer he has maintained the honor and dignity of his position by a blameless record of fidelity, probity and trust- worthiness. His interest in everything of a public character stamps him as a most useful and ener- getic citizen.
JOHN V. SHOEMAKER.
JOHN VEITCH SHOEMAKER, A.M., M.D., of Philadelphia, was born in the town of Chambers- burg, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1852. On arriving at the proper age he entered Dickinson College, an in- stitution of learning widely and deservedly known for the thoroughiness of its teaching, situated in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1872 he graduated with the degree of A.B., and three years later received the degree of A. M. from his alma mater. Resolved to lead a professional life, he was for a time undeci- ded which of the learned professions he would choose. He did not remain long in doubt, and after due consideration determined upon the study of medicine. With Dr. Shoemaker to resolve is to act, and this has always been a distinguishing mark of his career from the beginning. The better to carry out his purpose, he removed to Philadelphia. Shortly after leaving college and in the same year, 1872, he became a member of the class of the Jeffer- son Medical College, and received his diploma in March, 1874. The same year he was elected one of the Demonstrators of Anatomy in the anatomical rooms of the Jefferson Medical College, and for six years delivered lectures to large classes of students, besides teaching separate classes in other branches. At the same time he organized the Jefferson Quiz Association, and was its Quiz Master on Materia Medica and Therapeutics for the same number of years. This organization became very strong, prob- ably the largest private course that had ever had an existence in Philadelphia. On the occasion of his retirement from it in 1880, he delivered the vale- dictory address, entitled, "A History of the Origin and Growth of the Jefferson Quiz Association, to- gether with a condensed account of six years ex- perience in Medical Teaching," before a class of over two hundred students. By a resolution of the Association, the address was shortly afterwards published. From 1876 to 1878 Dr. Shoemaker was Lecturer on Anatomy as well as on Diseases of the Skin, in the Philadelphia School of Anatomy, and delivered the valedictory address to the class at the close of the session in the winter of 1877, and at the same time was presented with a high compli- mentary testimonial, to which was appended the signatures of all the students. In 1878, on his re- tirement, he chose as his theme, "Baths and their Use in the Treatinent of Skin Diseases." In 1875 Dr. Shoemaker was elected a member of the Phila- delphia County Medical Society, and the Patholog- cal Society, also Physician to the Foster Home, a benevolent institution. The same year he estab- lished a dispensary for diseases of the skin, in
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John . r. Svensken
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which institution he taught physicians and students. Its success was soon assured, and in 1880 hospital accommodations were added, and the Philadelphia Hospital for Skin Diseases was the result ; the only one of this kind at that time in America. The es- tablishment of this hospital and its usefulness have been very gratifying to Dr. Shoemaker, as it not only affords him the opportunity of instructing large numbers of physicians and students, but also gives him the means of alleviating a vast amount of suf- fering. It is here, also, that his lectures on derma- tology are delivered to the students of the various medical colleges. In 1877 he attended as a delegate the meetings of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania and the American Medical Association, and took an active part in their proceedings, and was unanimously elected Secretary of the Section of the Practice of Medicine by the latter body. Up to the present time he has been a constant attendant at their annual gatherings, and has read many papers upon original investigations. The titles of a few of these are here given : the address on " Prac- tice of Medicine " before the Medical Society of Pennsylvania, at their annual meeting at Williams- port in 1887; " Discorea Villosa or Wild Yam ; " Notes on "Hong-nan in the Treatment of Diseases of the Skin ; " " Medicated Plasters in the Treat- ment of Diseases of the Skin ; " " Lanolin as a basis for Ointments ; " "The Treatment of Disease by Hypodermic Injection of Oil ; " "The Therapeutic Action of Potassium Chlorate ; " "Naphthol, its Medical Uses and Value ; " "The Treatment of Sy- philis with Subcutaneons Sublimate Injection ; " "Chlorinated Oil in the Treatment of Scabies ; " " The Treatment of Scrofulous Diseases of the Skin ;" "Inflammation of the Hair Follicles ; " "The Ole- ates in Skin Diseases; " "Soap, and especially Medicated, in Diseases of the Skin; " "Some new Remedies in the Local Treatment of Skin Diseases;" " Jequirity, its nse in Diseases of the Skin;" "Me- chanical Remedies in the Treatment of Skin Disea- ses ; " "The Hair, its Use and its Care ; " "Some Important Topical Remedies and their Use in the Treatment of Skin Diseases," etc. From the fore- going it will be seen that Dr. Shoemaker's labors were not light in the few years that have passed since his graduation, and that he believed in work to obtain success. However, he was not yet satis- fied with what he had done; so in 1879 he deter- mined to enter the field of journalism. In order the more effectually to carry out this new idea, lie associated with himself Drs. Henry Leffmann and J. T. Eskridge, as editors and publishers, and estab- lished The Medical Bulletin. The first year of its existence was not a very promising one, and Dr.
Shoemaker's associates withdrew, leaving him sole editor and publisher. At this critical moment he resolved that the journal should succeed, and de- spite the many discouragements that he encoun- tered, energetically proceeded to his self-imposed task. The tax on his strength was now indeed great. His private practice had grown to large proportions, and was constantly increasing. There was no di- minution in his public dnties. His clinics were thronged. All must be attended to, but with all he was determined that The Bulletin should thrive. It became his ambition to make it one of the leading medical magazines. The commanding position it now occupies proves the great results the journal has attained. The most gratifying evidence of ap- preciation of his efforts as an editor, that he received from any one, was from that distinguished surgeon, the late Professor Samuel D. Gross. On the conclu- sion of the first volume that appeared under Dr. Shoemaker's sole editorship, Professor Gross ad- dressed him a highly complimentary note, congrat- ulating him on the ability he had displayed as an editor and saying among other things: "Each number proves superior to its predecessor. I read The Bulletin with much pleasure and profit." High praise from a high source. Dr. Shoemaker has now the pleasure of seeing his journal enjoying a large and increasing subscription list ; his contributors are gentlemen of standing in medical and literary circles ; and his magazine is extremely popular throughout the land. It was by an untiring effort only that he was thus able to accomplish this end. In 1881 he entrusted the publication and business interests to Mr. F. A. Davis, now the publisher, in order that he might still more closely devote him- self to his editorial dnties, without encroaching upon the demands of his time. This arrangement has afforded him some relief. In addition to his work on his own journal, he has contributed many original communications to medical periodicals, both in this country and in Europe, among which may be named the following : "The Treatment of Syphilis by Hypodermic Injections of Mercuric Bi-chloride ; " "Sulphuric Acid in Chronic Urti- caria ;" " Eczema, with some Special Remarks on its Local Treatment ; " "Syphilitic Skin Eruptions;" " On a Natural Soap and its Use in the Treatment of Skin Diseases ; " "Lupus Vulgaris ; " "Oil of Ergot in Seborrhœa; " "Iodoform in Skin Diseas- es ; " " The Treatment of Ringworm ; " "Loss of Hair; " "Eczema Capitis ; " " Herpes Zoster ; " " Cromphytopsis ; " "Chronic Urticaria ; " " The Treatment of Psoriasis ; " Report of a Case of Lep- rosy in Philadelphia ; " "A Remarkable Case of Sycosis ; " "The Treatment of Vegetable Parasitic
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Diseases ; " " The Therapeutic Uses of Electricity ;" " Electricity in Skin and Venercal Diseases ; " "Gal- vanism as a Laxative; " "Further Observations upon Beta-Naphthol ; " "Notes on Hong-nan ; " " Geranium Maculatum ; " " Diet in the Treatment of Discases of the Skin; " "The Case of Dr. Brown- Scquard ; " " Hygiene of the Skin in Health and Disease ; " " The Beta-naphthol vs. Hydro-naphthol contention ; " " Hydriodic Acid ; " " Hamamelis in Diseases of the Skin." In 1881 Dr. Shoemaker was eleeted Secretary of the Association of American Editors, which position he held until 1884, when at the annual meeting he was elected President. In 1883 he was appointed Lecturer on Diseases of the Skin in Jefferson Medical College, and at the con- clusion of the spring term the class presented him with a testimonial as an appreciation of his instruct- ive efforts. This same year, at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, he was elected Chairman of the Section of Practical Medicine, Materia Medica and Physiology, and at their next assemblage at the Capital of the United States, Washington, D. C., in May, 1884, he delivered the annual address on Practical Medicine, etc., presid- ing at the same time over the Section. It was an eventful session, probably one of the largest and most successful of its kind. The papers read before it were of great scientific value, and the discussions elicited were marked by the prominence of the speakers and the interest displayed. On the ad- journment of the Section Dr. Shoemaker was warm- ly congratulated by the members for his ability as a presiding officer. At this time he was appointed a delegate by the American Medical Association at the meetings for that year of the different Medical Societies of Europe. In 1884 Dr. Shoemaker was appointed Instructor in Dermatology in the Post- graduate Course of Jefferson Medical College, and at the organization of the course was elected its Sec- retary and Treasurer. A pleasant episode now hap- pened in his career. In the summer of 1884 he went abroad for the purpose of attending to his duties as a Representative of the American Medical Associa- tion. His object was to obtain a much-needed rest, and to gather further knowledge by visiting the medical centers of learning. He has often spoken in grateful terms of his reception by the profession- al brethren, who though foreign by birth were akin by nature, and who gave him every opportunity of studying their methods of practice in their hospi- tals, and their mode of teaching in their schools. At the meeting of the British Medical Association, held at Belfast, Ireland, he read a paper on " The Oleates," the precursor to a diseussion in the Sec- tion of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. His re-
ception was cordial, and the attention shown him was all that could be desired. While attending the International Medical Congress, held at Copenhagen, Denmark, he read a paper on " The Treatment of Diseases of the Skin by Novel Mcans and Methods," which was well received. As in the United King- (lom so on the Continent, Dr. Shoemaker's sojourn was delightful. The time spent was uscfully occu- pied, and since then the knowledge gaincd has been profitably employed in his professional and journal- istic works. Dr. Shoemaker, on his return from Europe in 1884, was elected member of the British Medical Association, and chosen a Fellow of the London Medical Society ; he is also a member of the American Academy of Medicine, and of numer- ous other medical societies in his own country- marks of distinction which he prizes highly. As an author he has written a book on "The Oleates " and " Ointments in Diseases of the Skin," which has reached its second edition ; "Charts on Skin Diseases ; " " Materia Medica and Poisons and their Antidotes." He is also author of "A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Skin," which is used as a text-book on this important specialty. Dr. Shoe- maker, in connection with Dr. Aulde, has just given the profession a valuable work on "A Treatise on Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeu- tics." He is likewise a contributor to Wood's Prac- tice of Medicine. In 1886 he was elected Professor of Skin and Venereal Diseases in the Medico-Chi- rurgical College of Philadelphia. He was also named Dermatologist to the Medico-Chirurgical Hospital. In 1887 he was elected a Trustee of the Medico-Chirurgical College, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Medico-Chirurgical Hospi- tal, and Treasurer also of the latter institution. In February, 1887, he began the publication of a week- ly medical journal in Philadelphia, known as the Medical Register. He was elected by the American Medical Association a member of the Committee on Organization of the Ninth International Medical Congress, held in Washington, D. C., in 1887, and on the first meeting of the committee he was made Secretary of it. He was one of the active members of the Congress ; was Vice-President of the Section of Dermatology and Syphilis, and read a paper on "Collonsonia Canadensis" before the Section of Therapeutics, and one on "Rectal Alimentation and Medication in Diseases of the Skin," in the first named Section. In 1888 Dr. Shoemaker was again named as a delegate by the American Medical As- sociation, to all foreign societies, and during his absence in Europe, again visited the annual meet- ings of the different medical societies in England and on the Continent. In the spring of 1889 the
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