USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 2
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He attended two full courses of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania, and then entered the office of his preceptor, enrolling himself as a student under Dr. J. K. Mitchell, professor of medicine in Chapman's Institute. Following the completion of three full courses in the University and in the institute he won his Doctor of Medi- cine degree upon graduation in 1835. Realizing the necessity for careful and thorough prepara- tion for the responsible duties that devolve upon the physician, he would never receive a student without a pledge that he would pursue three full courses of study before he applied for a degree. He seemed in advance of the times in this par- ticular, for long years after that the colleges re- quired only two courses and demanded no special preparation for matriculation. Following his graduation he was appointed physician to the Fifth street dispensary in Philadelphia and at- tended outdoor patients and held clinics. His carefulness, accuracy and capacity for work are illustrated in the complete records he kept of all the cases he treated. He continued this practice throughout his medical life of nearly sixty years, and no one was ever treated whose record will not be found in his voluminous record books. He was a most indefatigable worker, and although he accomplished an amount of labor which would have been utterly impossible to many a man, he enjoyed good health because of the outdoor exer- cise in which he indulged, and his ability to fall asleep almost anywhere, and thus gained the power and renewal of energies which only sleep can bring. He was also methodical in his tasks,
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. GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
and was so regular in his habits that irritability was never noticed in his intercourse with people. He cultivated repose of manner, and maintained a cheerful spirit under all circumstances. As he grew older these peculiarities increased, and his later years mellowed as they came, and made him a most delightful companion.
Following his dispensary experience, Dr. Green returned to Easton in 1836 and entered upon the active practice of his profession in his native city. While the demands for his profes- sional services constantly increased, he yet found time and opportunity not only to continue his own studies, but also to advance learning in his city through the instruction which he gave to private classes. While still a medical student he determined to become a teacher of chemistry, which he designated as "his darling study." Fol- lowing his return to Easton he organized a class of young people whom he instructed in the science, and it was his enthusiasm in this subject that probably attracted the attention of the board of Lafayette College and occasioned his selection by it for the position of professor of chemistry in that institution. In the spring of 1837 the president of the college called upon him, made known the decision of the board, and requested that Dr. Green take up the work the following day, and was met with the characteristic response, "I will." Following his acceptance of the posi- tion, he continued his studies in the natural sciences, as he had determined to do in his boy- hood days. At this time he embraced the oppor- tunity to acquaint himself with minerals, and in the course of years he had a collection of fine specimens which at his death was bequeathed to Lafayette College. Successively he took up the study of geology, zoology and botany, finding on each new page of nature's text-book fields for thought and interest.
In 1841 Dr. Green accepted the call from Mar- shall College, at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to teach the natural sciences. Here medicine was dropped, and his whole time was devoted to the teaching of his favorite subjects, except that he was occasionally called in consultation in difficult cases, and that he lectured to the students on
physiology and hygiene. He remained at Mer- cersburg from 1841 until 1848, returning then to Easton, and the following year he was reap- pointed to the chair of chemistry in Lafayette College. He continued to deliver an annual course of lectures in chemistry, and at the same time en- gaged in the active practice of medicine, and, as he expressed it, "in the flower season, as often as he could, ran out to hold converse in their wild haunts with the sweet gifts of our loving Fa- ther." With all the labor implied in an exten- sive practice and a professorship, he found time for other work. He instructed classes of boys and girls in botany, and it was a rare occasion when he was not giving instruction in one or more of the natural sciences. His interest in Lafayette College never abated, and in speaking of his connection therewith Professor Moore said :
"He gave his time, his money, his influence, not once, but thousands of times. He was not a friend for a year, but for every one of over fifty years. He filled every official position in the col- lege, generally without any, always with insuffi- cient, remuneration. He worked because he loved the cause, and furnished what money will not buy -cheerful, unselfish devotion. He was professor of chemistry, trustee, acting president, chairman of the building committee, a member of the pru- dential committee, dean and general adviser, and always a devoted friend. He gave his profes- sional services to every one connected with the faculty who called him, for absolutely nothing, during all his professional life. He made sacri- fices for the college-the only test of sincerity and devotion. The observatory was his gift, and the gift was an observatory because he felt that astronomy might be among the last subjects to be the recipient of a gift. The building and furnish- ings were given on condition that his name should not be mentioned.
"Dr. Cattell, in his usual happy mood, said at the laying of the cornerstone that 'the donor, was too modest to allow his name to be men- tioned, and he felt that he could not violate con- fidence, but he knew that, whoever he was, his name would be green in the memories of all true lovers of Lafayette.' He commenced his lectures in chemistry in the basement of South College- 'the tombs'-where he was compelled to do all the work and furnish the materials himself, and
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
lived to see and preside over the finest chemical laboratory in America. He was always hopeful, and when everything seemed dark at the burning of that magnificent monument, erected through the liberality of Mr. Pardee, he alone seemed to have no fear of the future. As a teacher he was accurate-the first requirement of scholarship; he was thorough-the first requisite of the in- structor ; he was truthful-truth was his highest ambition ; he was inspiring, because he believed what he taught ; he was a good disciplinarian-he never said what he did not mean. His patience was inexhaustible, but when necessary, he could be severe."
In early manhood Dr. Green also entered upon the enjoyments of home life. He was married in 1844 to Miss Harriet Moore, of Morristown, New Jersey, who shared with him in his great love of flowers, and who had been a student in one of his botany classes. Those who knew aught of his home life recognized in him the ideal hus- band and father, who put forth every effort in his power to promote the welfare of his family, and counted no personal sacrifice too great that would enhance the happiness of his wife and children. In his entire life he was a close fol- lower of Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, for Dr. Green throughout the years of an active manhood devoted his life to his fellow men. It seemed his chief object to disseminate knowledge that people might make the best use of their powers and gain the most that life offers in true enjoyment, happiness and character development. He regarded no interest which had bearing upon the welfare of a fellow creature as too unimportant to claim his attention.
As is every broadminded man, he was a pub- lic-spirited citizen, and community affairs claimed his co-operation and profited by his services. He was instrumental in promoting many measures of public progress and reform, and delivered many addresses on these questions which resulted in arousing public thought and action. His lec- tures on the evils of graveyards in crowded places suggested a movement for the establishment of the Easton cemetery, and a charter was secured on the 5th of April, 1849. His name first appears on the list of the charter members, and, becom-
ing president of the board of directors at the time of the establishment of the cemetery, he con- tinued to act in that capacity until his death. There is no instance in his whole life which il- lustrates better his firmness than his resistance of the attempts of the Easton & Northern Rail- road to lay its tracks through the cemetery grounds. His lectures on public lighting and his effective defence of gas lighting had much to do with the successful introduction of gas in Easton, and he was one of the first di- rectors under the charter, chosen May 5, 1851. In his old age he was just as enthusiastic over the successful introduction of electric lighting as he had been years before over the introduction of gas. He was not fearful of a fall in gas stock, but if it came he counted it one of the prices to be paid for every modern improvement. In his lectures on public wells his words were of suf- ficient weight to crystallize an opposition which resulted in their abolition. He became interested in the project of the electric railway system of Easton, although he himself so loved outdoor exercise that he thought the project would prove of financial failure because "the points of interest were so close together-all being within the limits. of a reasonable walk."
In politics he became a stanch Republican. He regarded it the duty as well as the privilege of every American citizen to support the prin- ciples which he believed contained the best ele- ments of good government. Political honors and emoluments had no attraction for him, but. he labored untiringly to advance many interests af- fecting the welfare and advancement of his com- monwealth. He did not believe in the ring rule of any party, but in the organized efforts of the best men to promote the best measures. His fel- low citizens honored him by putting him where they knew his knowledge of educational matters would benefit the community most. He was a member of the board of control from August 15, 1856, until April 3, 1866, when he voluntarily re- tired, and he was president of the board from March 26, 1858, until his retirement. Here he again made his impress. In those early times the public school system of Easton was molded by-
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
men of known worth and ability. Men like the Hon. Washington McCartney, Rev. John Van- derveer, Edward F. Stewart, Esq., Dr. Samuel Sandt, Dr. Traill Green, an 1 others, were willing to serve the people. The excellent public school system is a living monument of their intelligence and foresight. The state used him in positions where his special knowledge was of value. He was trustee of the Insane Hospital at Harrisburg for twenty-four years, having received the ap- pointment from Governors Geary, Hartranft, Hoyt, Beaver and Pattison. In 1868 the legis- lature appointed him one of the commissioners to build a new insane hospital at Danville. His last public service was rendered in 1892, when he was chosen as a presidential elector.
Dr. Green stood for high standards and ideals in the medical profession, and his labors became an active factor in promoting the best interests of the medical fraternity of Pennsylvania. He early recognized the value of an interchange of thought, experience and ideas between representa- tives of the profession, and felt that through or- ganization the most desirable results along this line might be obtained. Accordingly, in 1848, after discussing the question with some of his col- leagues, he called a meeting which resulted in the formation of the Medical Society of North- ampton County. In the memorial exercises held in honor of Dr. Green, Dr. Amos Seip, of Easton, Pennsylvania, his colaborer in the organization of the Northampton County Medical Society, said :
"The memory of Dr. Green needs no memo- rial or marble or granite to perpetuate his fame! His important services rendered to the people ; his great professional eminence as a physician and scientist ; his discriminating tact, clearness of perception and solid judgment ; his generous and disinterested spirit ; his purity of character, free from tainted thought or whatever partook of the disingenuous, mean, or sordid ; his admirable ex- ample of all that was beautiful or good; are yet fresh in our recollection, and are engraved upon the hearts of the people, which will live and will be remembered by generations yet to come. Not- withstanding his arduous labors with an extensive practice, which for thirty-five years was almost
entirely done on foot, extending from Cooper's furnace to Glendon, and from South Easton to Chestnut Hill, with the outlying and intervening districts, his indomitable industry and systematic arrangement of time enabled him to accomplish much. He was always able to meet his engage- ments, public or private, for matters in which his presence was required. With his strong moral perception, and gentle, sympathizing heart, his firm conviction of duty, he could not contemplate with indifference the moral degradation or suf- fering of his fellow-mortal, and conscientiously believing that one of the most prolific sources of poverty, misery and crime is the fruit of unlimited indulgence in intoxicating beverages, he became a zealous and ardent advocate of temperance, and opposed the indiscriminate use of alcoholic stimu- lants in the practice of medicine. In later years he noticed with regret that so many young men were entering the medical professsion without previous training in the regular colleges. He thought that the preparation for the study of medicine could not be too complete, either for the physician or his future patients. Hence, in 1876, with others, he launched the American Academy of Medicine, entrance to which could only be obtained by those who had taken a degree in col- lege. It was not an institution for the formation of a medical aristocracy, but an organization to prevent the practice of medicine from degenerat- ing into a mere trade. He was the first president, and continued to be active during the remainder of his life. The academy has wrought a great work. The colleges have been influenced to adapt their curricula to the needs of the medi- cal student, and the student has taken advantage of what they have provided. The time has at last come when the medical student has an oppor- tunity to pursue a course which, while it has the same elements of utility for drill as the displaced one, prepares in a measure for future medical studies. His desire to promote the more general knowledge of science is illustrated in his being one of the first members of the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, whose birth is coincident with his membership (1851). He continued a member and fellow until his death, taking an active. interest in its proceedings."
Dr. Green's interest in the young was ever one of his salient characteristics, and the boys and girls of younger age as well as the students who came under his instruction as a college pro- fessor recognized his deep sympathy and his
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
earnest and sincere appreciation for all they were doing in the line of intellectual progress and character development. Boys always delighted to do him honor by making him an honorary member of their societies, and this was often done. It made no difference how humble the call, he was always gentleman enough and interested enough to acknowledge his thankfulness for their consideration, and to offer his services if he could assist them in any way. All this took time from an extensive practice. Among these societies were the Philomathean, of the Lawrenceville High School, the Calliopean, of the same school, the Natural History Society of Lafayette Col- lege, the Natural History Society of Rutgers College, December 18, 1883, the Buffalo Society of Natural History, 1864, the Troy Scientific So- ciety, September 18, 1871, the Lancaster Lin- naean Society, January 30, 1864, the Scientific Society of the University of Pennsylvania, De- cember 18, 1883, and doubtless others which are now unknown.
Dr. Green was a champion of education for women as well as men, and was aggressive in the improvement of opportunities for their higher education. The idea that sex was a subject for discussion in the case of education was to him a self-evident absurdity, and he instructed many classes of girls in various branches of natural sciences. He was the advocate of more study for women in the line of medical instruction, and of association with their brethren of the fraternity in different medical organizations. He cham- pioned the admission of women students into the clinics of the hospitals of Philadelphia and in ac- tive membership relation with the County Medi- cal Society, the State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He felt that his work in this direction, however, was not com- plete even when his efforts in these fields were crowned with success. His study of the condi- tions of the state insane hospitals led him to the firm belief that it was an absolute wrong to the women patients to have the wards in which they were confined presided over by men. He felt that women physicians should be placed in charge, and introduced the subject to the state legislature.
Again and again he met defeat in his efforts to have a bill presenting his ideas passed by the general assembly, and he never gave over his effort until it was attended by successful comple- tion. He held a most chivalric feeling for women, and possessed for them the greatest sympathy, and this quality in his nature made his presence in the sick room like a ray of sunshine. His labors as a physician also brought to him an intimate knowledge of the horrors of the liquor habit such as few men possess, and he put forth every effort in his power to suppress intemperance, and to arouse public sentiment concerning the evils of intoxicants. He was a leader in the temperance movements in his county, and long served as the president of the organized temperance movement there. Dr. Green's fight was against alcohol as a beverage just as his fight against opium was against its abuse. He recognized both drugs as God-given, and prescribed them when he thought the occasion demanded them. He was thoroughly consistent in his beliefs and in his practice.
Dr. Green's loyalty in citizenship was mani- fested in particular measure by his co-operation in behalf of the Union cause at the time of the Civil war. His utterances, his writings, his means and his time, were given to uphold the government at Washington and to promote the cause of humanity. In the early days of the war almost every physician offered his services as a . surgeon in the state troops, but it was found that evil results from this course followed. Many men untrained and untried in the practice of med- icine volunteered, and threatened a danger to the soldiers often greater than that of the bullets of the enemy. It became necessary to establish a board to examine all surgeons who ministered to the Pennsylvania troops, examinations being held in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Washington, and Dr. Green was made a member of the state med- ical board in 1861 and again in 1862.
Dr. Green was for many years a member of the church, and it is perhaps in his Christian life and faith that we find the true secret of his kind- liness, his sympathy and his usefulness in the world. Rev. Mr. Haines at the funeral services said :
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
"We are very thankful that those who best knew and loved Dr. Green, who truly appreciated the lofty type of his character, did not wait until after his departure to give worthy and deserved praise for all that he was and accomplished among us. It is a source of great gratification to his many friends that on more than one memora- ble occasion, when he was the honored center of interest, there was laid before him very sincere tributes of respect and affection. Who of us shall ever forget the celebration of the eightieth birthday, four years ago, on the 25th of May, 1893. All the flowers of love have not been kept to spread upon his grave ; all praise has not remained unspoken until after he left us. It has well been said since his translation, 'With the death of Dr. Green there ends one of the most useful careers of any man who has made Easton his home.' We can not improve on such a fitting and just statement as this. He always thought life worth the living; yes, he made his life to be worth the living. He delighted in life, in its joys, in its sunshine, in its friendships, in its work, and in its demands upon him. 'It is good to be alive,' was the language of his life. He enjoyed young life ; he easily made friends with the young, and kept them as friends until the end. Thus he kept his own heart young. He did not separate his life as a physician from his life as a Christian. He lived as the Christian physician before us ; his Christianity was not hid ; his Chris- tian character was manifest to all. He always sought to arrange his duties as a physician so that they would not interfere with his duties as a member of his church. I know of no physician with a practice so large and demanding who has been more faithful in attending divine worship on Sundays and at mid-week services than was Dr. Green. He believed in all good causes ; he gave much strength and attention to the work of the American Bible Society, to the American Tract Society, to Sabbath observance, and to temper- ance reform at a time when temperance reform was far from popular in this place. In every movement that had for its purpose the promotion of the good of the world, he was interested, and bore no insignificant part. Often, as the chairman of a meeting, called to advance the moral well- being of the community, was his voice heard; and always did his words carry weight with them, as he sought to further some good cause. He took delight in good people ; he welcomed to his home many a person who came there for the pur- pose of advancing some form of beneficent en- deavor. He believed in and practiced Christian hospitality in a very cordial and hearty way."
To sum up: Dr. Green stood for high ideals and lofty purposes and his life was devoted to the intellectual and spiritual advancement of those with whom he came in contact. His state largely reaped the benefit of his services, and yet his in- fluence has spread abroad throughout the land wherever his students have gone, for no one ever came in contact with Traill Green upon whom he did not leave the impress of his individuality for good.
LAFAYETTE COLLEGE. - INTERESTING POINTS IN ITS HISTORY .- Location and Scenery .- Easton Educational Enterprises .- Plan to Establish a College .- A Good Pres- ident Found .- An Energetic Board of Trus- tees .- Eminence of the Early Students .- College Classes Organised 1834 .- Eminent Professors Chosen .- The First Decade of the College .- The Present Location Selected .- The Early Cost of Tuition .- Busy Bees in Their Early Hive .- High Standard of Sehol- arship .- An Endowment Sought .- The Bril- liant Presidency of Dr. W. C. Cattell .- School of Technology Established .- Donations and New Buildings Erected. - Pardee Hall Erected .- Dr. Warfield Chosen President .- The Curriculum Modified and Extended .- Athletics, Social Life, and Fraternities .- What the College Has Accomplished .- Pres- ent Status of the College.
BY SELDON J. COFFIN.
The beautiful scenery about Easton has been described by many writers, for it has always at- tracted the attention of tourists. So wrote Pro- fessor Silliman of Yale, a century ago; and Wil- liam Cullen Bryant, some years later, with his poetic tastes saw here those elements of natural beauty that he depicted in graphic detail for an editorial in the New York Evening Post. Rivers, canals and roads winding through hills and bluffs have originated scenery so variegated as to be not often rivaled elsewhere. Early in the history of the city, Margaret Junkin, who was known later as Margaret Junkin Preston, the poetess of the south, gave the names of Mount Ida and
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
Mount Parnassus to the two hills just south of the town, the latter, on the eastern side of the Delaware; to Mount Jefferson in its center, and named the forest on the eastern border of the Bushkill, Paradise; appellations that still prevail. Marble Hill, to the north, and Morgan's Hill stretching loftily to the south, beside all the other points named, stand prominent to the eye of the visitor who ascends the lofty limestone ledge just north of the Bushkill, whereon is situ- ated Lafayette College. Its ample grounds face the city to the extent of several squares. Few localities on this continent or any other have
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