USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 2 > Part 6
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before the General Assembly resulting in the continuance of the modified law and the placing in charge of a committee of the society the tabulation and publication of statistics. Of this latter committee Dr. Mauran was chairman many years. The first registration report included the results for the year ending May 31, 1853. When the State Board of Health was established the duty of preparing these statistics and reports was conferred upon that board, beginning with the year 1878.
The movement which resulted in the examination and registration of druggists began with a resolution offered by Dr. Ariel Ballou, and adopted in December, 1869, as follows :
"Resolved, That it is the deliberate sense of this Association that it is the duty of the legislature to protect the profession of medicine and the public from the accidents resulting from the ignorance of that class of citizens engaged in the vending of medicines, by a proper examination and license from competent commissioners."
Again a committee of Fellows appeared before the Judiciary Committee of the General Assembly, and as a result the law was passed establishing the State Board of Pharmacy. This board made its first annual report in 1871. Under its regulations the standard of qualifications of pharmacists and their assistants has been greatly elevated and the public correspondingly protected. Other laws for which the society must be given most of the credit are those relating to the award of suitable compensation for expert testimony by court witnesses ; reform in the coroner system of the State; for increasing the efficiency of the State Board of Health, etc.
At the first annual meeting of the society Dr. William C. Bowen was elected librarian and cabinet keeper. The nucleus of a library was formed by a donation of books from the late Dr. Caleb Fiske, of Scituate, made in 1824. These with specimens of interest to physi- cians gradually accumulated, and in 1868 many of them which, through the advancement of medical education, had become substan- tially useless in the society, were presented to the Rhode Island Hospital. In 1879 a new interest was created in the library through the appointment of the first library committee, consisting of Drs. T. Newell, W. E. Anthony, O. C. Wiggin, H. G. Miller, and George D. Hersey. Their active efforts resulted in immediate improvement in the character and number of books, and since that time the growth has been regular and rapid, as shown by the following figures giving the annual increase in the number of volumes: In 1879-80, 60 volumes ; 1880-81, 993 volumes ; 1881-82, 501 volumes; 1882-83, 409 volumes ;
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1883-84; 1,083 volumes; 1884-85, 1,007 volumes; 1885-86, 1,037 volumes ; 1886-87, 1,014 volumes; 1887-88, 556 volumes; 1888-89, 500 volumes ; 1889-90, 713 volumes ; 1890-91, 611 volumes; 1891-92, 396 volumes ; 1892-93, 604 volumes ; 1893-94, 332 volumes; 1894-95, 350 volumes ; 1895-96, 499 volumes; 1896-97, 328 volumes; 1897-98, 471 volumes. The total number of volumes at the present time is about 12,000, with a vast number of pamphlets.
The Rhode Island Medical Society has profited in at least an in- tellectual direction, through the beneficence of the late Dr. Caleb Fiske, of Scituate. In a letter addressed to "the Fellows of the Rhode Island Medical Society", dated June 30, 1824, which accompanied a gift of "Seventy-two Volumes containing Thirty Thousand Seven Hundred and ninety-two pages", to the library of the Society, Dr. Fiske wrote in a postscript, the following :
"P. S. If the Books meet a friendly Reception by the Society and be so disposed of as to become useful to its members, it is my Intention to provide a Fund ; the annual income whereof will furnish the means of exciting Competition in the Investigation of such medical subjects as the Society may from Time to Time propose for discussion ; and also for printing the same so as to give each Member a Copy an- nually."
Thus was established the Fiske Fund, which has stimulated much original work, and has produced many valuable essays, which have been published by the means thus afforded. The foundation of the fund consisted of bank shares of the value of $2,000, the income of which has ever been devoted by paying premiums for the best treatises on subjects selected annually by officers of the society.
In the year 1892 this fund amounted, with additions from its income, to about $8,000. At that time, owing to the liquidation of the Union Bank of Providence, the Rhode Island Supreme Court made a decree in the case of William H. Palmer, president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, against the bank, which confirmed the validity of the Caleb Fiske bequest of shares in that bank, and ordered the fund, after payment of certain costs, to be deposited with the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, in the name of the Caleb Fiske Fund; and that the president and two vice-presidents of the medical society be trustees of the fund and all accumulations thereof.
The latest fund created in aid of the society is known as the Chase Wiggin Fund, which consists of a bequest of $4,000 made by Dr. Chase Wiggin, amounting, in 1900, to more than $5,000. The bequest directed that one-quarter of the income should be added annually to
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the principal forever; one-half of the remainder should be expended for improving and increasing the library; the remainder to be paid each year for the best popular essay upon certain designated subjects.
The presidents of the Rhode Island Medical Society from its organization to the present time have been as follows: Amos Throop, 1812-14; William Bowen, 1814-15; Pardon Bowen, 1815-23; Caleb Fiske, 1823-24; Levi Wheaton, 1824-29; David King, 1829-34; Charles Eldredge, 1834-37; Usher Parsons, 1837-40; Richmond Brownell, 1840-43; Theophilus C. Dunn, 1843-46; Lewis L. Miller, 1846-47; Joseph Mauran, 1847-48; David King, 1848-49; S. Augustus Arnold, 1849-50; George Capron, 1850-51; Hiram Allen, 1851-52; Joseph Mauran, 1852-55; Ariel Ballou, 1855-56; Isaac Ray, 1856-58; James H. Eldredge, 1858-60; Charles W. Parsons, 1860-62; Henry E. Turner, 1862-64; Sylvanus Clapp, 1864-66; Otis Bullock, 1866-68; James W. C. Ely, 1868-70; George L. Collins, 1870-72; Lloyd Morton, 1872-74; Fenner H. Peckham, 1874-75; George W. Jencks, 1875-76; Charles H. Fisher, 1876-77; E. T. Caswell, 1877-79; Charles O'Leary, 1880-82; Job Kenyon, 1882-83; Oliver C. Wiggin, 1883-85; Horace G. Miller, 1885-88; John W. Mitchell, 1888-90; William H. Palmer, 1890-92; Robert F. Noyes, 1892-95; Elisha P. Clarke, 1895-97; Wil- liam A. Gorton, 1897-99 ; George D. Hersey, 1899-1900.
The Providence Medical Association was organized in 1848 and incorporated in 1887. Its constitution declared its purposes to be : 1st, The separation of regular and irregular practitioners. 2d, The association of the profession proper, for the purposes of mutual recognition and fellowship. 3d, The promotion of the character, in- terests, and honor of the fraternity, by maintaining the union and harmony of the regular profession of the city, and aiming to elevate the standard of medical education. 4th, The cultivation and advance- ment of the science, by our united exertions for mutual improvement and our contributions to medical literature.
A physician to be eligible to membership in this association was · required to "be a regular practitioner of medicine or surgery, in the city of Providence and vicinity, and a Fellow of the Rhode Island Medical Society". The association holds monthly meetings, supports a reading room, and on January 1, 1900, began the publication of The Providence Medical Journal, a quarterly, of which Dr. George D. Hersey is editor. The membership has always included nearly all of the Fellows of the State society who have resided in or near Provi- dence, and its officers have numbered many of the leading physicians.
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Many valuable papers have been read and discussed in the meetings and a spirit of mutual professional harmony maintained.
The Newport Medical Society was organized in 1882 and incor- porated in 1883. While it has been animated in its membership by the same spirit that is found among the best class of physicians, its membership has not been large and the monthly meetings have been held in the residences of its members.
After two unsuccessful attempts the Washington County Medical Society was organized in 1883. In that year Drs. Edwin R. Lewis, J. H. Morgan, George V. Foster, and F. T. Rogers met at the residence of one of the number, and after consultation determined to found a Clinical Club. A little later and after further consideration it was decided to make the organization open to any physician in the county, and on January 1, 1884, the first regular meeting of the Washington County Medical Society was held, with eight members present. A committee previously appointed presented a constitution and by-laws, which were adopted, and the following officers were elected: Presi- dent, Edwin R. Lewis; vice-president, A. B. Briggs; secretary, F. T. Rogers. Dr. Rogers was secretary and treasurer until 1889, when he moved to Providence. Professional interest in the society increased and at the first annual meeting, which was held in Westerly, January 15, 1885, the proceedings were especially gratifying to the members, which then numbercd fifteen. The membership gradually increased and at the present time it numbers fourteen. The society was incor- porated by an act of the General Assembly, passed April 13, 1886. Very few medical socicties including within their jurisdiction terri- tory of a similar character to that of Washington county, and with no larger number of members, have shown so deep and active interest in the progress of their organizations, or in efforts for mutual improve- ment. A very large number of valuable papers have been read by members of the society during its comparatively short existence, dis- cussion of their subjects has been free, and in every work in the county and State upon which medical science had a bearing, the society has been active. The list of presidents is as follows : 1884, Dr. Edwin R. Lewis, of Westerly ; 1885, Dr. Alexander B. Briggs, of Ashaway ; 1886, Dr. J. Howard Morgan, of Westerly; 1887, Dr. Amos R. Collins, of Westerly ; 1888, Dr. E. P. Clark, of Hope Valley; 1889, Dr. H. J. Pomroy, of Westerly; 1890, Dr. A. A. Saunders, of Carolina; 1891, Dr. Philip K. Taylor, of Wakefield; 1892, Dr. John Champlin, of Westerly; 1893, Dr. E. E. Kenyon, of Usquepaug; 1894, Dr. Wm. James, of Westerly ; 1895, Dr. H. Russell Dunne, of Westerly ; 1896,
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Dr. Henry K. Gardiner, of Wakefield; 1897, Dr. James N. Lewis, of Ashaway ; 1898, Dr. Russell B. Smith, of Westerly; 1899, Dr. Harold Metcalf, of Wickford; 1900, Dr. H. Vernon Weaver, of Carolina.
The city of Pawtucket has a young but very active organization of physicians. The Pawtucket Medical Association was organized on March 2, 1895, with a membership of thirty-eight. The first officers were as follows: President, Dr. Julian A. Chase; vice-president, Dr. Frank B. Fuller; secretary, Dr. Francis M. Harrington; treasurer, Dr. Charles A. Stearns; librarian, Dr. Asa H. Nickerson. A standing committee was appointed consisting of the following: Drs. Augustine A. Mann, John P. Corrigan, George H. Stanley, Herbert O. True, Asa H. Nickerson. The association meets on the third Thursday even- ing of each month, with the exception of July and August, the annual meeting being held on the third Thursday evening in March. The membership remains just the same in 1900 as at the time of organiza- tion, through deaths, removals, and the acceptance of new members. The presidents of the association succeeding Dr. Julian A. Chase have been Drs. Frank B. Fuller, Augustine A. Mann, Charles A. Stearns, and the present incumbent, Dr. John P. Corrigan.
Among the many good deeds of the late Nicholas Brown was one which formed the stepping-stone to the establishment of that noble institution, the Butler Hospital for the Insane. Prior to the opening of this asylum, many of the insane of the State were confined with the poor, each town caring for its own unfortunates. The care of paupers and in some instances of insane persons was let at auction to the lowest bidder, a custom that was followed in many parts of the country and one that was pernicious in the extreme. "Men and women, innocent of crime, were chained in dens, and caves, and cells, and there left for years, shut from the light of day, without clothes or fire to shield or warm them".1 Upon the opening of the Butler Hospital nearly all the insane of the State were promptly placed under its protecting care, and the same report from which a quotation has just been made, states that at that date there were only sixteen persons in the whole State who ought to be sent to it.
The bequest of Mr. Brown was the sum of $30,000 which was left for the establishment of a hospital "where the unhappy portion of our fellow beings who are by the visitation of Providence deprived of their reason, may find a safe retreat, and may be provided with whatever may be conducive to their comfort and to their restoration to a sound state of mind". Mr. Brown died in 1841 and a charter for
1Report on Poor and Insane in R. I., by F. R. Hazard, 1851.
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the institution was obtained in 1844. Soon after this a committee of the incorporators composed of Thomas Burgess, Amasa Manton, Moses B. Ives, and Alexander Duncan, addressed a letter to Cyrus Butler soliciting his aid in the undertaking, and a plan of proposed buildings was also submitted to him. His generous reply made a gift of $40,000, provided an equal sum was raised by subscription; another condition of his gift was that, if the buildings should cost more than $60,000, the additional cost should also be raised by subscription, so that $50,000 might be left for an endowment fund for the institution. These con- ditions were all met, and on November 8, 1844, the trustees unani- mously voted to give the asylum its present name in Mr. Butler's honor. At the same meeting was reported the purchase of what was known as the Grotto farm, of 114 acres, lying on the Seekonk River, northcast of the city. A building two hundred and ninety feet in length, consisting of a main structure and east and west wings, two stories in height, was erected, with accommodations for one hundred patients. It was opened on December 1, 1847. Dr. Isaac Ray was chosen for superintendent of the institution and during about twenty years gave his great skill and energies to the care of the unfortunates in the asylum. He was succeeded by Dr. John W. Sawyer in 1867, who remained until his deatlı in December, 1885; during his adminis- tration many new buildings were added and other improvements made. Dr. William B. Goldsmith followed in 1886, and was succeeded about two years later by Dr. William A. Gorton. The present superin- tendent is Dr. G. Adler Blumer.
The noblest single institution in this State with which the medical profession is directly connected and in which the whole State is deeply interested, is the Rhode Island Hospital, situated in the city of Provi- dence. During many years previous to the founding of this institu- tion every hamlet and village in the State, and especially Providence and other large communities, felt the necessity of better hospital ac- commodations, of a place wherein suffering humanity of whatever degrec and with or without means, could find a temporary home and skillful medical and surgical treatment. At the formal opening of a new pavilion in this hospital in May, 1900, Dr. J. W. C. Ely, of Providence, the only surviving member of the medical staff appointed in 1868, was asked to give a brief account of the inception and early history of the institution. For the purposes of this work a large part of his paper is here quoted :
"At the January session of the legislature for 1863 a petition was presented by twelve physicians of the city of Providence praying for
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the granting of a charter for a hospital. The physicians were Drs: Usher Parsons, Joseph Mauran, L. L. Miller, Richmond Brownell, Samuel B. Tobey, George Capron, S. Aug. Arnold, Hervey Armington, Charles W. Fabyan, George L. Collins, J. W. C. Ely, and W. O. Brown.
"Prior to this date Dr. Parsons and others, at the meetings of the city medical association, and also at the meetings of the State Medical Society, urged the pressing need and importance of a hospital in a city of the size of Providenee : but it resulted only in talk.
"If my recollection serves me right, during the years 1855, 1856 and 1857, Mr. Thomas Poynton Ives was a student of medicine in my
OLD MARINE HOSPITAL, PROVIDENCE.
This building formerly stood on the site of the Rhode Island Hospital, from which it was removed when the present hospital building was commenced. During a portion of the Civil War many wounded and sick soldiers were here cared for. It has been considerably altered since its use as a hospital.
office, attended leetures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, completed a full course, but did not take the degree, as he did not wish to be called 'Doctor' and thus place himself in a false position. He studied medicine for the love of the study and his interest in the science. His father, Moses Brown Ives, died during the summer of 1857. Before this the son induced his father to make a
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bequest in his will to a hospital whenever it should be built in Provi- dence. This bequest was $40,000. This I know to be true, as he re- quested the medical attendant of his father to urge upon him the great necessity of a hospital in the city, and also the duty of those possessed of wealth to establish it. Whether Dr. L. L. Miller acted upon this request I know not. I certainly did not, as I was many years his junior and thought any suggestion of this kind from me would rightly be considered impertinent.
"In 1861, upon the breaking out of the war between the North and South, Mr. Thomas P. Ives gave to the government his yacht, Hope, for a gun boat and received a commission as lieutenant-com- mander and served through the war. Late in the year 1862, being at home on a furlough, he called at the office and desired me to get the signatures of the physicians above mentioned to the petition for the hospital charter, which I did. It was his intention to obtain the names of all the Providence physicians to this paper, but that was over-ruled by his uncle, Robert H. Ives, as not necessary. At the close of the war he returned home broken in health, went to Europe to recuperate, but died suddenly at Havre, France, November 17, 1865, aged thirty-one years. Though death came to him in early manhood, he had lived long enough to prove his love for his country and his deep interest for the well-being of all who may want the kindly care of a hospital in his native city.
"After the granting of the act of incorporation the citizens of the State and city were invited to subscribe the necessary funds to build the hospital. Captain Ives was one of the first to pledge $10,000. He was one of eight men to purchase and present to the hospital a parcel of land containing 89,424 (89 by 100) feet, on which (if I am not greatly mistaken) this very building stands. The land to the east to Eddy street was given to the hospital by the city. On it stood a long, low, two-story wooden building, used by the city for contagious diseases, especially ship fever and small-pox. During the fifteen and one-half years of service as city physician, I gained most of what clinical knowledge I have of small-pox and typhus fever in that building.
"Before going to Europe Captain Ives made a will and gave the hospital $50,000. Until a quite recent date he was by far the largest contributor to the funds. To Capt. Thomas Poynton Ives the city of Providence is more indebted for the building of the Rhode Island Hospital than to any other one man. One other has given more in money, but Captain Ives set the ball in motion and kept it rolling until the object was accomplished.
"After the hospital was started Dr. Usher Parsons did more than talk; he gave $1,000; Dr. Tobey, $2,000; Dr. Lewis L. Miller, $500. Many other physicians according to their means, from $100 to $400.
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"Dr. Ezekiel Fowler, a physician of Woonsocket, gave the hos- pital his library of 400 volumes. Dr. George L. Collins gave 200 volumes, and also several very fine examples of anatomical dissection. Dr. Lewis L. Miller gave the library of his son, Nathaniel, a very promising young surgeon who died in the early years of his profes- sional career. This library consisted mostly of French medical works, which he had gathered during his years of study in Paris. I gave about 150 volumes. These medical works had served their purpose, as have many published since ; but I fear they are of little practical use save to fill empty book shelves or to serve as a browsing field for some medical antiquary.
"Many of the physicians were supplied with subscription books to induce their sick patients to contribute to the hospital, and to my knowledge some thousands of dollars were thus obtained that would not have been by any other solicitor. One old gentleman, worth more than a million, was induced to give three thousand, whereas at first he thought one thousand was a most liberal subscription. Another in the country was induced to give a thousand to the doctor, who would not have been reached by others."
The first board of trustees of the hospital (1864) were Robert H. Ives, president, Amos N. Beckwith, Thomas Brown, Alexis Caswell, Thomas P. I. Goddard, Stephen Harris, Thomas P. Ives, Henry L. Crandall, Thomas P. Shepard, Amasa Sprague, Samuel B. Tobey ; Amos D. Smith, treasurer ; John F. Tobey, secretary.
The total of subscriptions at the time of the first annual report of the trustees was $305,035. The hospital was opened October 1, 1868, and the first patient was received on the 6th of the same month. The main building, as originally erected, comprised a central part con- nected by corridors with two wings, each of which is surmounted by a tower. In these wings are the hospital wards and rooms for paying patients, while the central part contains the rooms of the superintend- ent, operating and instrument rooms, museum of anatomy, library, chapel, etc. The structure is of brick, and is well adapted to its pur- pose.
At the opening of the hospital it was provided with nineteen permanent free beds and ten annual free beds. The first medical staff were as follows: Admitting physician, Dr. C. W. Fabyan; visiting physician and surgeon, first term of three months, Dr. George L. Collins, physician ; Dr. G. E. Mason, surgeon ; second term, Dr. J. W. C. Ely, physician ; Dr. E. T. Caswell, surgeon; third term, Dr. Charles W. Parsons, physician; Dr. Robert Millar, surgeon; fourth term, Dr. S. S. Keene, physician; Dr. G. W. Carr, surgeon. An eye and ear department was organized and opened of which Dr. Horace G. Miller
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had charge many years. Pathologist and librarian, Dr. William P. Bullock ; house surgcon, Dr. R. C. Greenleaf, jr., and a board of four- teen consulting physicians and surgeons.
From the opening of the hospital its growth in every direction has been remarkable and fully cqual to the proportionate growth of population in Providence and the State. The number of free beds and of out-patients rapidly increased, and at the same time the ex- penses were annually exceeding the income, causing a deficiency which the benevolently inclined have guaranteed cach year. The north wing of the building was not completed until 1871, in which year a com- mittee was appointed to solicit funds for this purpose. In 1873 three friends of the institution contributed $35,000 to finish the wing, and it was opened for the reception of patients. Up to the year 1874 it was reported that $110,000 had been expended for construction, equip- ment, and maintenance in excess of the sums contributed for those purposes. Robert H. Ives was succeeded as president in 1874 by Amos D. Smith, who resigned in 1875, and was followed by Alexis Caswell. At the same time Dr. C. W. Fabyan, admitting physician, was succeeded by Dr. Charles H. Leonard.
A statement of the land owned by the hospital in 1875 was as follows: The original tract given by the city, 408,000 feet; the so- called Manchester purchase, 291,508 feet; the Hill purchase, 14,037 feet; or a little over sixteen acres in all.
In September, 1876, Dr. William T. Thurston succeeded Rev. Charles Nason in the office of superintendent. In 1877, George I. Chace was elected president, and in the next year the offices of admit- ting physician and superintendent were combined and Dr. Thurston filled the place. By the year 1877, the number of out-patients had increased from 1,709 in 1870 to 4,039.
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