USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Three > Part 9
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WILLIAM BRADFORD, JR., Aug. 20, 1791 THOMAS SMITH, Jan. 31, 1794 HUGH HENRY BRACKENRIDGE (d. June 25, 1816), Dec. 18, 1800 JOHN BANNISTER GIBSON, June 27, 1816
THOMAS DUNCAN, Mar. 14, 1817
MOULTON C. RODGERS, Apr. 15, 1826; Jan. 1, 1842; Jan. 25, 1842
CHARLES HUSTON, Apr. 17, 1826 HORACE BINNEY ( decl.), May 18, 1827 JOHN TOD (d. Feb. 23, 1830), May 25, 1827
FREDERICK SMITH, Jan. 31, 1828 JOHN Ross, Apr. 9, 1830
JOHN KENNEDY, Nov. 23, 1830 THOMAS SARGEANT, Feb. 3, 1834 THOS. BURNSIDE, Jan. 2, 1845 RICHARD COULTER, Sept. 17, 1846 THOMAS S. BELL, Nov. 10, 1846 GEORGE CHAMBERS, Apr. 10, 1851 ELLIS LEWIS, NOV. 17, 1851 WALTER H. LOWRIE, Nov. 17, 1851 RICHARD COULTER, Nov. 17, 1851 GEO. W. WOODWARD, May 8, 1852 JOHN C. KNOX, May 23, 1853 JEREMIAH S. BLACK, Nov. 13, 1854
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JAMES ARMSTRONG, Apr. 6, 1857 JAMES THOMPSON, Nov. 6, 1857 WILLIAM STRONG, Nov. 6, 1857 WILLIAM A. PORTER, Jan. 20, 1858 GAYLORD CHURCH, Oct. 22, 1858 JOHN M. REED, Nov. 12, 1858 DANIEL AGNEW, Nov. 5, 1863 GEORGE SHARSWOOD, Nov. 6, 1867 HENRY W. WILLIAMS (vice Strong, resd.), Oct. 1, 1868; Dec. 5, 1868; Nov. 19, 1869
ULYSSES MERCUR (d. June 6, '87), Nov. 8, 1872
ISAAC G. GORDON, NOV. 5, 1873
EDWARD M. PAXSON, Dec. 3, 1874
WARREN J. WOODWARD, Dec. 3, 1874 JAMES STERRETT, Feb. 26, 1877
JOHN TRUNKEY (d. June 24, '88), Dec. 6, 1877
JAMES P. STERRETT, Dec. 6, 1878
HENRY GREEN (vice Woodward), Sept. 29, 1879; Dec. 2, 1880 SILAS M. CLARK (d. Nov. 20, '91), Dec. 21, 1882
HENRY W. WILLIAMS (vice Mercur), Aug. 19, 1887; Dec. 22, 1887; d. Jan. 5, 1899
ALFRED HAND (vice Trunkey), July 31, 1888
J. BREWSTER MCCULLOM, Dec. 18, 1888 JAMES T. MITCHELL, Dec. 18, 1888
CHRISTOPHER HYDRICK, Nov. 28, 1891 JOHN DEAN, Dec. 19, 1892
SAMUEL G. THOMPSON, Mar. 3, 1893 D. NEWLIN FELL, Dec. 12, 1893
J. HAY BROWN (vice Williams), Sept. 25, 1899; Dec. 22, 1899
S. LESLIE MESTREZAT, Dec. 22, 1899 WILLIAM P. POTTER, Sept. 25, 1900; Dec. 3, 1901
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JUDGES SUPERIOR COURT
CHARLES E. RICE, president judge, June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895
JAMES A. BEAVER, June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895
HOWARD J. REEDER (d. Dec. 28, 1898), June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895
GEORGE B. ORLADY, June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895
JOHN J. WICKHAM (d. June 18, 1898), June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895
EDWARD N. WILLARD (res. Sept. 1,
1897), June 28, 1895; Dec. 19, 1895 HENRY J. MCCARTHY, June 28, 1895 PETER P. SMITH, Dec. 19, 1895
WILLIAM W. PORTER (vice Willard), Sept. 14, 1897; Dec. 27, 1898
WILLIAM D. PORTER, July 6, 1898; Dec. 27, 1898
DIMNER BEEBER, Jan. 2, 1899 JOHN I. MITCHELL, Dec. 6, 1899
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CHAPTER III.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
T HE earliest colonists of Pennsylvania, who came over before William Penn or with him in 1682, found such wholesome climatic conditions-in spite of changes as noticed then as they are nowadays-that it appears they made few demands upon medical skill, judging from a letter written in 1685 by Charles Gordon of New Jersey, to his brother, a physician, in England, in which he says: "If you desire to come hither yourself, you may come as a Planter, or a Merchant, but as a Doctor of Medicine I can- not advise you ; for I hear of no diseases here to cure but some Agues, and cutted legs and fingers, and there is no want of empirics for these already; I confess you could do more than any yet in America, being versed both in Chirurgery and Pharmacie, for here are abundance of curious herbs, shrubs, and trees, and no doubt medicinal ones for making of drugs, but there is little or no em- ployment in this way." While not long after Gabriel Thomas wrote: "Of Lawyers and Physicians I shall say nothing, because this country is very Peaceable and Healty (sic): long may it so continue and never have occasion for the Tongue of the one, nor the Pen of the other, both equally destructive to Men's Estates and Lives; besides, forsooth, they, Hangman like, have a License to Murder and make Mischief." In New York, in 1758, quacks are said to have abounded like locusts and any man at his pleasure set up for physician, apothecary or chirurgeon.
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But the peaceful settlers had no immunity from the common ills of mankind; and disease and injury early created a need for men trained to combat these misfortunes. Medical men and sur- geons were rare, however, among the first arrivals in this coun- try, and the records of their time furnish but scanty information in regard to the few who practiced here until nearly a century after the Swedes first came. At first the ills of the people were treated by what were known as barbers or barber-surgeons, the first of which was Jan Peterson, who was employed as "barber" on the South river (Delaware river) at ten guilders per month from the first of July, 1638, while later there was Hans Jansche in 1644, Timon Stiddem in 1655, Jan Oosting in 1657, and Peter Tyneman in 1660.
In 1682, when William Penn landed with his colony, he found here John Goodsonn as "Chirurgeon to the Society of Free Traders," who came from London and settled at Upland, and who later removed to Philadelphia, being probably the first practicing physician in the colony of Pennsylvania. With William Penn on the Welcome came Thomas Lloyd, Thomas Wynne and Griffith Owen, medical men of standing and character, trained in Europe, the latter being a preacher in the Society of Friends as well as a practitioner of medicine. These, like the other Welsh and Eng- lishmen who first occupied this part of the colony, were well calcu- lated to secure for it a prominence in material welfare, in scientific standing, and in morality which it soon reached and long main- tained.
Lloyd, leaving a large practice in England, after settling in Pennsylvania came to be deputy governor under Penn, president of council and keeper of the great seal of the Commonwealth ; while Griffith Owen was a member of the assembly, deputy mas- ter of the rolls, and commissioner of property. Wynne was presi- dent of the first assembly which met in the province, and was always a prominent and active citizen, held in high esteem though not without his detractors, to one of whom he made reply in 1679
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in a vigorous and at times pathetic Account of his Early Life, denying aspersions upon his character and professional skill, sown broadcast in England in his absence. Dr. Thomas Graeme, of Scotch origin, of fine education, and of polished manners, who
Constantin Hering
Physician; founder at Philadelphia of the first homeopathic school in the world; author of several medical works; born 1800; died 1880. Engraved especially for this work from a pho- tograph in possession of W. E. Hering
came here in 1717, was naval officer for the port of Philadelphia. Before him-in 17II-came the most influential of all the medical men in this colony, Dr. John Kearsley, distinguished not only for what he did but also for the disciples whom he trained for the great usefulness and distinction they afterward attained. Of these pupils he exacted services beyond those which belonged specifically to their medical studies; for they were required to
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compound his medicines and go his errands and do for him other menial services, emerging from this hard school with a rare fitness for the work they were to do in their rapidly developing country. Kearsley was a man of great prominence as a citizen and inter- ested in various public enterprises, contributing largely to the building of Christ church, one of the most ancient and interesting ecclesiastical structures in this country, and founding Christ Church Hospital for Poor Widows, a charity still vigorous in its beautiful home adjoining Fairmount Park on the west side of the Schuylkill river.
The distinction of Pennsylvania physicians at this time was not unnatural, because this was a time when in other respects this part of the country was distinguished for its position in matters . of science and culture. This was the time when Benjamin Frank- lin was mounting to the zenith of his influence and fame, and when John Bartram was reflecting lustre on his native land by such ac- complishments in the science of botany as led him to be spoken of by Linnæus as "The greatest practical botanist in the world," and to be the honored correspondent of the most distinguished bot- anists of Europe, while he made a contribution to the practical knowledge of botany of peculiar value in that rare botanical gar- den which still exists as a public park on the west bank of the Schuylkill river just below Gray's Ferry, surrounding the old house in which he lived, in a stone over the main door-way of which is carved this pious inscription :
"'Tis God alone, Almyty Lord, The Holy One, by me ador'd. J. B. 1770."
This was also the time when David Rittenhouse reflected equal credit upon his native land by his work in astronomy and mathematics. Early distinguished for his remarkable grasp of abstruse calculations, he was only thirty-five when he constructed the orrery afterwards purchased by Princeton College, and during his whole life he belonged to the most cultivated and scientific cir- cle in Philadelphia, in learning and skill the equal of any astron-
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The Medical Profession
omer in the world, a man of whom Thomas Jefferson said : "Genius, science, modesty, purity of morals, simplicity of man- ners, marked him one of Nature's best samples of the Perfection she can cover under the human form."
A half century of Pennsylvania's history had not passed before the medical men of the colony took the first steps toward medical education in this country. The beginning of public teaching of this sort was that series of dissections and demonstrations in anatomy, undertaken about the year 1730 by Dr. Thomas Cad- walader, "for the instruction of the elder Doctor Shippen, and some others who had not been abroad." "This," the chronicler says, "probably was the first business of the kind ever done in Pennsylvania." Dr. Cadwalader was the author of one of the first medical publications in this country, a small book entitled "An Essay on the West-India Dry Gripes," the preface of which was dated Trenton, and which was "Printed and sold by B. Frank- lin" in 1745. In this book he records a post-mortem in 1742, which was one of the first done in the American colonies : prob- ably second only to the autopsy on the body of Governor Slough- ter, who died in 1691 under circumstances that led to the suspicion that he had been poisoned.
About this time the deep interest in educational, scientific and humanitarian matters which existed in Philadelphia was mani- fested in the inauguration of a number of movements which were of the greatest importance. The first of these was the establish- ment of the Library Company of Philadelphia-the first subscrip- tion library in North America-in July, 1731. Another was the founding, in 1743, of the American Philosophical Society, a nat- ural development of the famous Junto or Leather Apron Club, formed in 1728 by Franklin and a few associates ; another was the establishment, in 1749, at the suggestion of Dr. Phineas Bond to Benjamin Franklin, of the Academy of Philadelphia, which, pass- ing through different stages of development, has grown into that magnificent institution, the University of Pennsylvania. Another
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was the foundation, in 1751, of the Pennsylvania hospital, greatly helped by the influence of Benjamin Franklin, but prompted by the suggestion and urging of another medical man, Dr. Thomas Bond. Another was the founding, in 1786, of the Philadelphia dispensary, the pioneer of such benevolent institutions in this country ; another was the founding, in 1789, of the College of Physicians, then, as now, probably the most dignified medical so- ciety in this country, and owing its great prestige to the fact that it was largely composed of the very men whose force and breadth was shown by the fact that they were sufficient to include in the sphere of their activities in many cases not one, but several of these important bodies, for the roll of the College of Physicians included the names of many of the men of greatest influence in shaping the destinies of the colony and afterwards of the nation when Philadelphia was the center of its government. Of these the Academy of Philadelphia was the result of a project of Benjamin Franklin, formulated in a pamphlet entitled "Pro- posal Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania." It began its existence in 1749 with the organization of a board of trustees, which established the Academy of Philadelphia, and on February 1, 1750, purchased a building, then incomplete and in- tended for a place of worship, where the celebrated revivalist, Whitefield, and other evangelists might preach, and which bound itself by the terms of purchase to establish a charity school, a plan which had been a part of the project of those who had started the "new building," but which had never been carried into actual operation.
The founders of this institution were naturally the most dis- tinguished men of the town. James Logan, a man of eminent classical attainments and fine scholarship, had shown his interest in the subject of medicine by permitting Dr. Cadwalader, at a time when the prejudice against anatomy was very great, to use for his demonstrations a building belonging to him, situated on Second street above Walnut, on the site afterward occupied by the Bank
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David Hayes Agnew
Physician; educator; author; established Phil- adelphia school of operative surgery and the pathological museum of the Philadelphia Hos- pital; born 1818; died 1892. Reproduced for this work from colored photograph in the Mc- Alister collection.
The Medical Profession
of Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin himself need only be named; Dr. William Shippen was the grandson of Edward Ship- pen, the first mayor of the city of Philadelphia under the charter of 1701, his father being Joseph Shippen, a member of the cele- brated Junto. He himself was a founder of the College of New Jersey at Princeton, and one of its first trustees. He was a mem- ber of the continental congress and otherwise a most distinguished citizen, while his son, William Shippen, jr., became so distin- guished that the father was usually spoken of, not by his proper name, but as William Shippen, senior: Of others might be men- tioned Dr. Lloyd Zachary, Philip Syng, Charles Willing, Dr. Phineas Bond, Richard Peters, Dr. Thomas Bond, and Thomas Hopkinson.
The trustees of the academy spent a whole year in completing the plan for a well ordered institution of learning, and, on Decem- ber II, 1750, gave notice "that the Trustees of the Academy of Philadelphia, intend (God willing) to open the same on the first Monday of January next," and on that day the school was opened, ' although the rooms in the "New Building" were not yet quite "completely fitted for the reception of the scholars." In conse- quence, the latter were summoned to meet and receive their in- structions in the "large House of Mr. Allen's on Second street."
Soon after this the academy occupied what was called the New Building, at the southwest corner of Fourth and Mulberry (now Arch) streets. The academy was divided into three schools "as they were called," the Latin, the English and the Mathematical, with Dr. Francis Alison as rector of the academy and master of the Latin school, David James Dove as master of the English school, and Theophilus Grew as master of the Mathematical school, to which was added, in May, 1754, a school of philosophy covering "Logick, Rhetorick, Ethicks and Natural Philosophy," which latter probably included something of physics and what was then called chymistry. Thus at the outset was demonstrated the broad conception of its founders, and it is not surprising that
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within a few years it became, in name as well as in fact, the first university in North America and well deserved the encomiums of the great English traveller, Burnaby, who said it was "by far the best school for learning throughout America."
In such surroundings the academy was chartered in 1753 and in 1755 the charter was altered so that the name was made "The College, Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia," with power to admit to the "usual University degrees." At this time the learned Rev. William Smith (later D. D.) became its first provost, and thereafter labored here and in England with unfail- ing zeal in its behalf until political animosities-and it should be admitted, some lack of discretion on his part-brought upon his head and then upon his college, the malignant attacks of those who controlled the legislative body in 1779. The persecution of Dr. Smith began when, after the defeat of Braddock, he trans- lated into German, for the use of the German inhabitants of Penn- sylvania, a pamphlet, written by Judge William Moore, which bitterly denounced the Quakers, who at that time controlled the provincial assembly and to whose opinions on the un- lawfulness of war he ascribed the defeat of the Germans and the absence of preparations to avert the danger. He soon found that, although the Quakers opposed war, they were not devoid of the combative spirit nor without a disposition to show their animosity in a very effective manner. On a charge of contempt to the legislature Mr. Smith was committed to jail; where he received this flattering evidence of the devotion of his pupils, that they gathered in the street while he delivered his lec- tures to them from the jail window. At this time the College of Philadelphia was easily the leading educational institution in the country, decidedly surpassing the older colleges; William and Mary in Virginia, Harvard and Yale in New England. It was thronged with students from all the colonies and from the adjacent islands, being of such distinction that in 1754 the Maryland Ga- zette stated as a matter of pride that there were at least one hun-
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dred Maryland students in the Academy at Philadelphia, and it may be safely affirmed that in 1756 no such comprehensive scheme of education existed in any college in the American col- onies.
Thus advancing, in 1765, Dr. John Morgan, a native of Phil- adelphia, a graduate of the first class in the College of Philadel- phia, a man of extraordinary personal qualities and scientific cul- tivation, who had received the most flattering evidences of appre- ciation from learned men and learned societies while he was com- pleting his studies in Europe, returned to this country with a plan for the foundation here of a medical school, which was adopted by the trustees of the college and the work begun by electing him, on May 3, 1765, professor of the theory and practice of physic. On September 23, 1765, Dr. William Shippen, jr., a graduate of the College of New Jersey, who had also finished his medical studies in Europe and there secured the approval of distinguished teachers, and who had been a successful lecturer on anatomy in his native city, was made professor of anatomy and surgery. In connection with these lecturers Dr. Thomas Bond, one of the phy- sicians to the Pennsylvania hospital, began, on December 3, 1766, a regular course of lectures on clinical medicine there, which, although he had no official connection with the teaching at the College of Philadelphia, became an essential part of medical edu- cation in this city and attendance upon them was, in 1767, made obligatory upon the students of the medical school. In 1768 the medical faculty was enlarged by the addition to it of Dr. Adam Kuhn, in 1769 by that of Dr. Benjamin Rush, whose abilities and reputation attracted to the young institution constantly growing classes of students. Both of these men were well fitted to occupy a conspicuous place in he public eye. Kuhn was a botanist known to those who cultivated this science all over the world, and used his knowledge in this department of science in the teaching of materia medica and botany for twenty-one years. Rush was so great a man, and so long occupied the highest position in the prac-
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tice and teaching of medicine in this country, that it is hard to con- ceive of him as occupying a professorial chair in the College of Philadelphia-the first chair of chemistry established in North America-when only twenty-four years old; but like his col- leagues he brought to his work the ardor of youth and a judg- ment worthy of more mature years.
In appreciating the men of these times it is well to recall just what these times were. This was that era in the history of the country when it was going through the changes which led up to the war of the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, a time when men's feelings were strong and their actions were too conspicuous to escape with small praise or small blame. Thus among the greatest men of the time we find one like Rush, with all his loyalty and devotion to his country exhibiting on one occa- sion an attitude toward Washington which has led to severe criti- cisms, but he and a host of others not only pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the cause of independence, but in some cases actually made sacrifice of all these; some lost their lives; others their fortunes; and in some unhappy cases others lay for a time under an undeserved stigma of dishonor. Here in Philadelphia Morgan-a noble spirit to be so sorely tried -suffered an unwarranted humiliation and received too late the vindication of an impartial congress.
The greatness and fame of the medical school of the College of Philadelphia, from which the first graduates in medicine in North America were given their degree June 21, 1768, increased from year to year. While its earliest rival, the department of Medicine, King's College, New York, founded in 1768, led a weak and precarious existence, which practically ceased during the war of the Revolution, the medical school of the College of Philadel- phia suffered only an interruption during the time-September 26, 1777, to June 18, 1788-when the city of Philadelphia was occupied by British troops, when some of its teachers and many of its students were engaged with the patriotic army, and when
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its buildings were seized and turned to military use by the sol- diers under General Howe. As soon as this ended, teaching was renewed and continued with the varying fortunes of the college itself, until, in 1779, the activities of the latter were iniquitously suspended by the legislature of the State of Pennsylvania, and its charter was declared void; while, to assert its authority and show its power, the legislature forfeited the property of the college to an institution which it incorporated under the title of the Univer- sity of the State of Pennsylvania. After this institution had vainly struggled for a time to profit by its possession of its elder brother's birthright, the natural difficulty of the situation was fur- ther enhanced in 1789, when a new legislature restored the rights of the College of Philadelphia and declared the doings of its pre- decessor to have been "repugnant to justice, a violation of the con- stitution of this Commonwealth, and dangerous in their precedent to all incorporated bodies." Two years later, in 1791, under wise counsels, the new university and the college were united un- der the title of the "University of Pennsylvania ;" which continued the career of usefulness of the college, and developed to what it is at this day. About this time its halls were graced with a most distinguished faculty ; Morgan in broken health had retired from the field, but Shippen, with remarkable ability, still taught anatomy, illustrating his lectures with his own preparations and the beautiful models he had brought to the Pennsylvania hospital as a present from Dr. Fothergill of England; Adam Kuhn, a pupil and friend and honored correspondent of Linnaeus, was at first professor of materia medica and botany and afterwards of the practice of medicine; Benjamin Rush, whose position was so high that he was spoken of as the Sydenham of America, taught the institutes of medicine; James Hutchinson had succeeded Rush in the chair of chemistry; Samuel P. Griffiths taught materia medica and pharmacy ; and Benjamin Smith Barton taught bot- any and natural history ; while not long after, the chair of sur- gery was created for its first occupant, Philip Syng Physick, the
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"Father of American Surgery," with whom for a long time there was no man comparable in the country. Shippen, as early as 1765, by his personal conduct and a series of lectures that he gave, did much to rescue from its unworthy position that department of practice which has to do with the introduction into the world of those who are to continue its activities. This branch of prac- tice had before been relegated almost entirely to ignorant women ; and, although in Europe it had been for some time associated with the practice of surgery, this was only in extreme and dangerous emergencies ; and it was a genuine service to womankind when it was shown to be worthy the attention of well-trained medical men. The first professorship of this branch in North America was established in 1810, when Thomas Chalkley James was made professor of midwifery in the University of Pennsylvania.
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