USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume I > Part 34
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The vacancy thereby caused brings us to a man who has made a huge section of the history of the bench and bar of Northampton county. It is Judge William S. Kirkpatrick. Judge Kirkpatrick was educated at Lafayette college. He read law with Judge Henry D. Maxwell and was admitted to the bar of this county October 2, 1865. He was appointed president judge of the district in 1874 at the age of thirty years, thus being the youngest judge to hold that position in this county and probably in any other county in this state. He served until the election of Oliver H. Meyers in 1875. In addition to his exceptional distinction at the bar and on the bench, Judge Kirkpatrick has achieved eminence in many ways. He was the presiding officer of the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1884. He served as attorney general of Pennsylvania from 1887 until 1891, and in 1896 and 1897 was a member of the Fifty-fifth Congress.
Oliver H. Meyers, who followed Judge Kirkpatrick, was a graduate of Lafayette College. In his early years as a lawyer he served as deputy sheriff, borough solicitor of Easton, borough clerk and borough treasurer. In 1856 he was elected district attorney and in 1866 and 1867 was a member of the State Legislature. He sat as judge of our courts from 1875 to 1885. During this term, or to be exact, May 10, 1881, a law was enacted giving to North- ampton county an additional judge. Governor Hoyt promptly appointed Howard J. Reeder of Easton. This brought Judge Meyers with Judge Reeder together as opposing candidates in the election of 1884. A highly spirited campaign ensued, from which Judge Reeder emerged the victor.
Judge Reeder was born at Easton, December II, 1843. He was a student at Princeton University at the outbreak of the Civil War, but withdrew and rendered gallant service as a soldier and officer throughout that conflict. Upon his discharge from the army he entered the law school of Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1865. In 1895 he was appointed by Governor Hastings a member of the newly created Superior Court bench. During the first year of Judge Reeder's incumbency, William W. Schuyler was elevated from an extensive law practice to the bench of the county. Judge Schuyler was a graduate both of Lafayette College and of Williams College. He was admitted to the Northampton county bar in 1854. Five years later he was elected district attorney and was re-elected in 1862, thus being the only district attorney up to the present time who has held the office for two terms. Judge Schuyler served with rare distinction as judge of the courts of this county for twenty years, being re-elected in 1891.
The conclusion of Howard Reeder's term of office in 1895 brought on a titanic struggle between his partisans and those of Henry W. Scott to elect their nominee to the judicial office. In this marvelously close contest Mr. Scott was elected. He was a native of Bucks county. While still in school he joined the First Union League Regiment in Philadelphia at the time of NORTH .- 1-17.
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Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania and saw active service with this regiment for several weeks. He studied at Lafayette College in 1864 and 1865. His record as a lawyer in Northampton county dates from April 29, 1868, and is one of the most brilliant achieved by the four hundred lawyers who have practiced here from 1752 down to the present day. Judge Scott served as judge two terms.
The record of the local bar in periodically furnishing a justice to the appellate courts has not lapsed in modern times. In 1879 Henry Green, a lawyer of extensive and distinguished practice, was elevated to the Supreme Court, of which he became the Chief Justice in 1899. Edward J. Fox, a son of the Edward J. Fox previously mentioned in this sketch, in 1918 also became a member of the State Supreme tribunal.
Following the death of Judge Schuyler in 1906, Russell C. Stewart, who for twenty-six years had been one of the leaders of the bar, was appointed to fill the vacancy, and in the following year was elected for the full term. Judge Stewart was a graduate of Lafayette College in the class of 1878. He read law at the law school of Columbia University and also in the offices of F. W. Edgar of Easton. In 1886 he was elected district attorney of North- ampton county, being the first Republican ever to hold that office.
The vacancy caused by the death of Judge Scott was filled by the appoint- ment of J. Davis Brodhead. Judge Brodhead, before his rise to the bench, had served as district attorney of the county and as a member of the Sixtieth Congress of the United States.
The nineteenth man to hold the office of judge of this county and for the present to close the distinguished file, is William M. McKeen, a graduate of Lafayette College and of the law school of Columbia University. Like many of his predecessors, Judge McKeen served a novitiate as district attorney of this county.
CHAPTER XXII
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
The first resident physician in Northampton county was Dr. John Adolph Meyer, who located in 1742-1744 at Bethlehem. The records show that two brothers, Doctors John Fred and John Matthew Otto, were also early physi- cians at Bethlehem. Easton's earliest resident physician was Dr. Frederick Ricker, who practiced medicine as early as 1752, and was followed by Dr. Andrew Ledlie. The latter took an active interest in the affairs of the then struggling village; the Council of Safety appointed him surgeon of the Twelfth Pennsylvania Regiment at the time of the Revolution. As far as ascertainable, Doctor Ledlie seems to be the only medical practitioner at Easton during this period, until November, 1794, when Dr. John Cooper became a resident of the village. The last-named gentleman was born at Long Hill, Morris county, New Jersey. He completed his medical course with Doctors Richard Ballay and Wright Post of New York City, and was licensed to practice November 6, 1787. Seven years afterwards he came to Easton, where he spent the remainder of his life in the pursuit of his calling. He gained such a reputation for skill in his profession that a large proportion of the most difficult cases were visited by him in consultation with others. He was for more than half a century the family physician of the greater part. of the people of Easton and its neighborhood.
There was no medical society in Northampton county previous to 1849, and every physician was a law unto himself. There was no common principle of action among the medical fraternity. At the instance of Dr. Traill Green, in June, 1849, a call was published in the newspapers of Easton to the physicians of the county to meet on July 10th in Easton for the purpose of forming a medical society for the county. Twenty-two physicians responded to the call, of whrm twelve were from Easton. A medical society was formed, constitution and by-laws adopted, and Dr. R. E. James of Upper Mount Bethel was chosen president, Dr. S. E. Cook, vice-president, and Dr. Traill Green, secretary. This society was one of the first auxiliaries of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society.
The society kept growing in interest and membership; regular meetings were held, interesting and valuable papers read, and discussions were held upon medical topics until 1854. From the latter year there appears to have been but little activity in the society ; irregular meetings were held, and its membership was reduced by deaths, resignations and by military service dur- ing the Civil War. The society was reorganized in 1863, and Dr. A. L. Haebener was elected president; new members were added, and the society soon gained its former standing.
Homeopathy gained a foothold in Northampton county as early as 1834, when a few disciples of the Hahnemannian doctrine held a meeting at Beth- lehem and there conceived the idea of founding a school of homeopathic medical instruction. They were Drs. William Wesselhoeft of Bath, and
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Eberhard Freytag of Bethlehem, Henry Detwiller of Hellertown, and John Romig of Allentown. These parties frequently had met previous to this in social and professional council. At one of these meetings Dr. Wesselhoeft informed his associates that he had received from his father and Dr. Stapf of Germany some books on homeopathy, and a box of medicines, and requested Dr. Detwiller to examine with him the merits of the new system, which he did by studying a case then on hand, and administered a prescrip- tion July 28, 1828, which was the first homeopathic dose given in Penn- sylvania.
This was the beginning that led to the foundation eight years later, on April 10, 1835, the eightieth anniversary of the birth of Hahnemann, the founder of the new system, of the Allentown Academy, which was the first school of homeopathic medical instruction in the world. The institution was granted a charter June 17, 1836, by the legislature with the title of the American Academy of Homeopathic Healing Art, and was the conception of the Homeopathic Society of Northampton and adjoining counties, which was organized August 23, 1834, with twelve members. The educational standard of the Allentown Academy was of the highest order; the courses of instruction were given in German. It was not a sectarian institution other than homeopathic, although it was such in fact, and therefore students who had no understanding of German were not attracted to it. In 1836 Dr. Det- willer visited Europe in the interest of the academy, and, while he was cordially received and hospitably entertained, little was forthcoming except kindly advice and moral support. The academy needed financial help more than encouragement, but the actual cause of its downfall within six years of its foundation was the failure of an Allentown bank, in which its funds were deposited. As the result, its assets were swept away and the school in 1843 was sold to satisfy a mortgage of nine thousand dollars. Two years after the close of the academy the American Institute of Homeopathy was organized.
The Lehigh Valley Homeopathic Medical Society was organized in 1881, with Dr. F. E. Boericke of Philadelphia as president, and Dr. F. J. Slough of Allentown secretary. On the death of Dr. Boericke, he was succeeded by Dr. Slough as president, who filled this position until his death in 1914. The annual convention of the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of Penn- sylvania was held at Easton, September 20-22, 1904. To Dr. Henry Detwiller is due the honor of having given the first homeopathic prescription in Pennsylvania. He was born in Langenbruch, Canton Basil, Landschaft, Switzerland, December 13, 1795. He prepared for matriculation and was admitted in the spring of 1814 to the medical department of the University of Freiburg in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany. He studied for five consecutive semesters, having barely reached his majority at the time of his graduation. He was interested in natural sciences, and felt a strong desire to investigate and explore the regions of America. So he left his natal home in the spring of 1817, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the last of July in that year, and, abandoning his original idea, he decided to establish him- self as a physician in a locality where the German language was chiefly spoken. Therefore, on September 2, 1817, he came to Allentown, Pennsyl-
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vania, and became an assistant in the office of Dr. Charles H. Martin. In the fall and winter of 1817-1818 there appeared in Northampton and the adjoining counties a disease, attacking whole families with more or less fatal results. The physicians diagnosed the disease as bilious colic, and one of its most prominent symptoms was abdominal or intestinal pain, with very obstinate costiveness and vomiting. Their treatment had been with opium and calomel in very large doses, in connection with powerful laxatives. Dr. Detwiller was able to discover that the real cause of the prevalent disease was lead poisoning, produced from the glazing with litharge of earthen pots, in which apple butter, often rather sour, had been kept. This discovery and his successful antidotal treatment gained for the young doctor a great reputa- tion, and he was urged to settle in many different localities, finally selecting Hellerstown, where he removed in April, 1818. Here he opened an office, and in December married Elizabeth Appel, who died in 1835, leaving three sons and four daughters. He removed to Easton in 1852, where he continued to practice till his death, April 21, 1887, at the age of ninety-two years, having been a practicing physician for seventy-two years.
Another practitioner of Northampton county who gained a world repu- tation was Dr. Traill Green. He was a descendant from the Scotch, English and German races, and bore certain strong traits of each nationality. He was born in Easton, May 25, 1813, early in youth developed a studious disposition, and was a lover of nature. After attending Easton Union Academy he studied under the teachings of Rev. John Vanderveer ; finally becoming convinced that the study of medicine would afford him special advantages to aid him in his researches of natural sciences, he attended courses of lectures at the University of Pennsylvania. He then became a student under Dr. J. K. Mitchell, professor of medicine, in Chapman's Institute, from which he graduated in 1835. Following his graduation he engaged in dispensary work in Philadelphia, and in 1836 entered upon active practice at Easton. While the demands for his professional services constantly increased, he found time not only to continue his own studies but to give instruction to private classes in chemistry, which he had adopted, as he designated "his darling study." It was his enthusiasm on this subject that attracted the attention of the board of trustees of Lafayette College, and occasioned his selection for the position of professor of chemistry in that institution. He successively took up the study of geology, zoology and botany, finding on each new page of nature's textbook field for thought and interest. In 1841 he accepted a call from Marshall College at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to teach natural science. Here he remained until 1843, when he returned to Easton, and the following year was reappointed to the chair of chemistry in Lafayette College. He continued to deliver the annual course of lectures in chemistry, and at the same time engaged in the active practice of medicine. He died April 29, 1897.
There were in the nineteenth century two surgeons who gained a national reputation, one of whom was a native of Northampton county, the other practiced his profession for nearly half a century at Easton. Samuel David Gross was born near Easton, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1805. He studied medicine, was graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 1828, and began practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, employing his leisure in translating
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medical works from the French. He returned to Easton the following year and was a member of the first faculty of Lafayette. College. He was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati in 1853, and professor of pathological anatomy in the same institution two years later. Here he delivered the first systematic course of lectures on morbid anatomy ever given in the United States. Five years later he became professor of surgery in the University of Louisville, Kentucky, where he remained until 1856, with the exception of one year at the University of New York. He was one of the founders and early presidents of the Ken- tucky State Medical Society. He became professor of surgery in the Jeffer- son Medical College of Philadelphia in 1856, which post he occupied until within two years of his death, when he resigned on account of advanced years. He died at Philadelphia May 6, 1884.
Dr. Gross was made in 1862 a member of the Royal Medical Society of Vienna, Austria, and in 1868 of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society of Lon- don, England, and of the British Medical Association. The University of Oxford, at its one thousandth commemoration, conferred on him the hono- rary degree of D.C.L., and that of LL.D. was given him by the University of Cambridge. He was a member of numerous medical and surgical associa- tions at home and abroad. He was in 1867 president of the American Medical Association, and in 1876 president of the International Medical Congress, which met in Philadelphia in September, 1876.
Dr. Gross made many original contributions to surgery. He experi- mented on rabbits in 1833 with a view to throw light on manual strangula- tions. He was the first to suggest the suturing of divided nerves and tendons, wiring the end of bones in certain dislocations, laporatomy in rup- ture of the bladder, and many other operations, and was the inventor of numerous instruments, including a tourniquet and instrument for extracting foreign bodies from ear or nose, and an apparatus for the transfusion of the blood. His original investigations were varied though often carried on with insufficient means and amid adverse surroundings. Prominent among his contributions to medical literature are his "History of American Medicine Literature," and with others, "A Century of American Medicine."
Cridland Crocker Field was born February 18, 1817, of English parents on board the American ship Ann, commanded by Captain Crocker of New Bedford, Massachusetts, when she had just arrived from England within the bounds of Queens county, New York. The captain's name was incorporated with that of the newcomer, Cridland being derived from his mother's side. The family settled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whence after a short sojourn they removed to Plainfield, Northampton county, later returned to the Quaker city, and there the lad was the recipient of an excellent education. His father, as well as his grandfather, were both physicians and surgeons. The former was graduated at the University of London and was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Upon completing his studies the subject of this narra- tive entered the office of Dr. William E. Horner, at one time professor of botany in the University of Pennsylvania, and well known in medical circles as the author of "Horner's Anatomy." After being under the tutelage of this preceptor, young Field entered the University of Pennsylvania, where he
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graduated with honors in 1837. The next year he came to Northampton county, and in that year married in Bethlehem, Susannah Freeman, daughter of Jacob and Susannah Freeman. Shortly after this he settled in Easton, where he practiced his profession uninterruptedly for almost half a century. Through his long connection with the history of Easton he witnessed its wonderful development and rapid growth, in which he was an active and important factor.
By natural qualifications and training he was admirably adapted for his chosen profession. A man of keen insight and shrewd discernment, he was equally skilled in the diagnosis of different diseases and their treatment. Especially in the field of surgery did he gain an enviable reputation, and was often called for consultation, therefore becoming widely known throughout the State. As he advanced in years he retained the energy and youthful spirit that had characterized him in life's prime; business or social pleasures did not take him from his studies, and he was a thoughtful and intelligent reader of the foremost medical journals of his day, to which he often con- tributed articles. He performed many notable and difficult operations, a large number of which were performed in the neck, and several times removed tumors that had entirely encompassed the carotid artery.
Dr. Field was a man of genial presence and courteous manner. His death occurred December 3, 1886, and he was buried with Masonic honors.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE POETS OF THE FORKS OF THE DELAWARE
That those imbued by the muse of poetry should be inspired by a residence or as transient visitors to the Forks of the Delaware, is not remark- able. The lavish scenery which has been bestowed by nature with romantic surroundings is enough to inspire the poetical genius. Far to the north the Blue Mountains mingle their peaks with the clouds. To the northeast these mountains are cut in twain by the historic Delaware; towards the northwest the Lehigh, formerly known as the west branch of the Delaware, bursts through the mountains, meadering its way first to the south and then to the east, uniting in the south and passing beyond.
While there were many poems that appeared in the newspapers of the day, with their authors incognito, the earliest of the poets to treat local subjects in verse was William Moore Smith. He was the son of Rev. Wil- liam Smith, the first provost of the University of Pennsylvania. He was born in 1759, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1775, and after leaving college located at Easton, where he read law. He resided at Easton for some time, when he went to England, he having received the agncy for the settlement of British claims in America. Upon his return to America he retired to a country residence near Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1821.
Mr. Smith was a man of remarkable retentive memory; his mind was a rich treasury of learning. He published in London, in 1786, "Poems on Several Occasions, Written in Pennsylvania."
The best known of Easton's poets was Margaret Junkin Preston, daugh- ter of Rev. George Junkin, the first president of Lafayette College. She was born at Milton, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1820. Her life during girlhood days was relieved somewhat of burden and drudgery, brightened with opportuni- ties of sightseeing, and sweetened by ties of kindred and family affections. When Doctor Junkin removed to Easton, Margaret was twelve years old; here the child grew to womanhood; sixteen years passed ; her home studies were widened by private lessons from the college professors and tutors. Her application was intense; though her domestic duties at times were a great strain upon her, she nevertheless contributed to the press many poems of real value and worth.
Her father's removal to Lexington, Virginia, changed the course of her life. Here she met Major J. T. L. Preston, a widower and professor of Latin in the Virginia Military School. He was a typical Virginian, a university graduate of Washington College, University of Virginia and Yale College. She became his wife. Her sister Eleanor married Thomas J. Jackson, better known as the Confederate general, Stonewall Jackson.
In her southern home she wrote many poems, among which was her "Old Dominion," the first stanza of which is as follows:
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"Ho! gallant old Dominion! I hail thee as the state, Of a thirteen our thirty commonwealths most proudly consecrate. My pulse beats quicker as I feel my feet upon the sod,
Which nurtured men of giant mind, which true born heroes trod.
Where mid primeval forests rich in hue of varied green,
The noble Raleigh planted first, the standard of his queen."
Her husband, during the Civil War, cast his fortunes with the Confeder- acy. He died at his home in Lexington, Virginia, in 1890, and in the last weeks of 1892, Mrs. Preston journeyed to Baltimore, Maryland, and was domesticated in the family of her eldest son, Dr. George J. Preston. She died in that city March 28, 1897.
Jane Lewers Gray was the daughter of William Lewers of Castle Blarney, Ireland, where she was born August 2, 1796. She was educated at the Moravian seminary of Grace Hill, near Belfast, Ireland, and at an early age married Rev. John Gray of County Monaghan, Ireland. She embarked with her husband in 1820 for America; they located for eighteen months in the province of New Brunswick, then removed to the city of New York. Her husband in 1822 was called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton, Pennsylvania, which position he occupied for forty-five years, his death occurring January 12, 1868. Four years later, on November 18, 1871, Mrs. Gray passed away.
Mrs. Gray was known as a truthful and pleasing writer, and gained honorable distinction among the female poets of this country. Her poetry is not studied, nor labored, most of it is of a religious character and of serious cast. The following is an excerpt from her poem entitled "Morn":
"Morn is the time to awake- The eyelids to unclose- Spring from the arms of sleep and break The fetters af repose; Walk at the dewy dawn abroad, And hold sweet fellowship with God."
Elizabeth Shewell Lorraine Swift was born in Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, in 1795, the daughter of John and Lydia (Shewell) Lorraine, the former a prominent merchant of Philadelphia. She was married to Joseph Kimmersley Swift, a well known physician of Easton. She died at Easton in May, 1872, Dr. Swift having died the year previous.
Mrs. Swift for many years was a contributor to the local press, and her poems were frequently found in the literary journals of the day. There was dignity of thought in all her poems; her thoughts were noble, elevated; her language pure, at times gay, but always dignified. The following is one of her sonnets :
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