USA > Tennessee > Williamson County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > Maury County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > Rutherford County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > Wilson County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > Bedford County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > Marshall County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc. Vol. 1 > Part 34
USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present , together with an historical and a biographical sketch of from twenty-five to thirty counties of east Tennessee, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., etc. V. 1 > Part 34
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A public anniversary meeting took place on the 1st of May, 185S, in Watkin's Grove. An immense procession of old soldiers of the war of 1812, the Creek war, the Mexican war, the officers and cadets of the Western Military Institute, the Shelby Guards, the Nashville Typo-
*Prepared by Anson Nelson, Esq., recording secretary.
tThe Tennessee Antiquarian Society, organized July 1, 1820. Discontinued in August, 1822.
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graphical Union, the Philomathean Society, the teachers and pupils of the Nashville Female Academy, the superintendent, teachers and pupils of the public schools of Nashville, citizens on horseback, in carriages and buggies, and citizens on foot marched from the public square to Watkin's Grove, when a collation was served in excellent style to all present. The Hon. James M. Davidson, of Fayetteville, was the orator of the day. Judge T. T. Smiley read an historical account of the services of the Third Tennessee Regiment in the war with Mexico. Gov. William B. Camp- bell and Rev. Dr. C. D. Elliott delivered eloquent addresses. Bands of music were distributed along the line of the procession, and the whole city made it a holiday occasion to commemorate the organization of the "provisional government" at Robertson's Station, now Nashville, May 1, 1780, and the formation of the society May 1, 1849. At the annual celebration, May 1, 1859, Randal W. McGavock, mayor of Nashville and a grandson of Hon. Felix Grundy, presented a full length portrait of Judge Grundy, painted by Drury. John M. Bright, of Lincoln, delivered an eloquent oration on the life, character and public services of the renowned statesman and jurist. The exercises took place in the hall of the House of Representatives, in the presence of as many people as could obtain admittance.
In September, 1859, a committee, consisting of Hon. Thomas Wash- ington, Col. A. W. Putnam and Rev. Dr. R. B. C. Howell, was appointed to urge the council of the city of Nashville to adopt suitable measures for the removal of the remains of Lieut. Chandler, formerly paymaster in the United States Army, from their place of interment in the Sulphur Spring Bottom, to Mount Olivet Cemetery. The committee accomplished their purpose, and on the 23d of September the remains were exhumed, after having lain in the grave for nearly sixty years. The occasion was marked by appropriate exercises, Hon. E. H. East delivering a patriotic address.
In October, 1859, at the request of the society, Lieut. M. F. Maury, the distinguished scientist, delivered his celebrated lecture on the geog- raphy of the sea. In January, 1860, the society received from Egypt the fine Egyptian mummy now in the Capitol, sent by J. G. Harris of the United States Navy. After the meeting in September, 1860, the society ceased active operations until several years after the war. Many articles were lost during the war, but the small collection of coins was preserved intact.
In 1874 the society reorganized by electing the following officers: Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, president; Dr. R. C. Foster, vice-president; Dr. John H. Currey, treasurer; Gen. G. P. Thurston, corresponding secretary ;
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Anson Nelson, recording secretary, and Mrs. P. Haskell, librarian. On June 16, of that year, the society held a called session at Knoxville, the home of the President, who presided on that interesting occasion. The Recording Secretary exhibited the original commission of Maj. - Gen. Israel Putnam, on parchment, issued June 19, 1775, signed by John Hancock, President, and Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress. The society has also in its possession a vest worn by "Old Put," in the Revolutionary war.
In October, 1874, the society decided to participate in the fourth annual exposition of Nashville, and on the evening of October 6, the anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain, the Rev. T. A. Hoyt deliv- ered an address giving the history of that important battle. The address was also delivered to a large audience in Knoxville. The centennial anniversary of the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independ- ence, May 20, 1775, was celebrated by the society at the Nashville Fair Grounds, Ex-Gov. Niell S. Brown delivering the oration. At the May meeting in 1875, several delegates were appointed to attend the centen- nial of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence in Charlottsville, N. C., only one of whom attended-Hugh L. Davidson, of Shelbyville. At the annual meeting in May, 1876, John M. Lea was elected vice-presi- dent, vice R. C. Foster; and J. B. Lindsley, librarian, vice Mrs. Haskell. The office of treasurer was attached to that of the recording secretary; the other offices remained the same as before.
The National Centennial was duly celebrated by the society in the hall of the House of Representatives, Dr. John H. Callender, reading the Declaration of Independence. An elegant historical centennial address, written by Dr. Ramsey, president of the society, was read by Rev. T. A. Hoyt. Other exercises appropriate to the occasion were rendered.
In 1878 the society commenced agitating the subject of celebrating the centennial of Nashville, and appointed a committee on that subject, who afterward reported a program for the exercises. Subsequently the idea expanded, and finally the society appointed a committee to wait upon the mayor and urge him to request the city council to call a public meeting to take action in the matter, This was done, and an enthusiastic interest was aroused. Various committees were appointed, an exposition was inaugurated, the orators chosen by the Historical Society were ap- proved, a grand civic procession for the 24th of April provided for, and many other matters arranged to give eclat to the occasion. All of this was most successfully carried out, and the most sanguine expectations of the Historical Society were more than realized, On April 11, 1884, Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, the distinguished president of the society, died at his
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home in Knoxville. A delegation of members, numbering eleven, went from Nashville to be present at the funeral obsequies which took place on the 13th, and were attended by a very large number of the citizens of Knoxville and the surrounding country. At the next annual meeting in May Hon. John M. Lea was elected to the office made vacant by the death of Dr. Ramsey,
The society is indebted to the trustees of Watkins' Institute for the use of a large and elegant room in that building, for the exhibition of its books, manuscripts and relics, of which it has a great number.
Among the most interesting relics may be mentioned the musket of Daniel Boone, the veritable "Old Betsey;" the sword of Gov. John Se- vier, and one of the pistols presented to him by the State of North Caro- lina; the sword of Col. Dupuyser, of the British Army, taken from him at the battle of King's Mountain; the red silk sash worn by Gen. Ferguson, when he was killed at King's Mountain; one of the chairs used by Gen. Nathaniel Greene; also one used by President Fillmore; the sword, coat and epaulette of Capt. Samuel Pricc, worn in the battle of Frenchtown, Raisin River, Mich .; the pitcher used at the treaty of Hopewell; three canes formerly belonging to President Polk, one in the form of a ser- pent, one bearing the electoral vote cast for him for President, the other a hickory cane from the Hermitage; the first greenback $5 note issued by the United States; the portfolio used by Henry Clay in the United States Senate; over thirty battle-flags used by Tennessee soldiers in different wars from 1812 to 1865.
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Among the manuscripts of the society are an old book in an excellent state of preservation, kept in Nashville by a merchant in 1795; the jour- nals of Gov. William Blount from 1790 to 1796; the proceedings of the courts martial during Jackson's campaign in 1813, kept by Col. William White, acting judge-advocate; journal of Capt. John Donelson and com- panions while on their voyage from Holston River down the Tennessee, up the Ohio and Cumberland to what is now Nashville in 1779-80.
The society also possesses portraits of Prof. Priestly, Dr. Gerard Troost, Dr. Phillip Lindsley; Hon. Felix Grundy, Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, Anson Nelson, Dr. Felix Robertson and his parents, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett and many others, besides portraits of all the governors of the State with the exception of two, Roane and McMinn.
Among the old and rare books are a copy of the Polydori Vergil II, in Latin, bound in vellum, printed in 1644; a copy of Cicero's "Discourse ou old age," printed by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1744; "Dioscoridis Mat. Med.," bound in parchment, printed in 1552; copies of the Bible printed in 1678 and 1757, respectively.
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The present officers of the society are Hon. John M. Lea, president; Ex-Gov. James D. Porter, first vice-president; Capt. Albert T. McNeal, second vice-president; Joseph S. Carels, treasurer; James A. Cart- wright, corresponding secretary: Anson Nelson, recording secretary; Robert T. Quarles, librarian.
The Medical Society of Tennessee* was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, passed January 9, 1830, one hundred and fifty-four physicians from the various counties of the State being named in the charter. Certain powers and privileges were granted, among which was the power to appoint boards of censors, for the three divisions of the State, . to grant licenses to applicants to practice medicine within its limits. The first meeting of the society was held in Nashville May 3, 1830, and its organization completed by adopting a constitution, by-laws and a code of medical ethics, and by electing officers for two years. These were James Roane, of Nashville, president; James King, of Knoxville, vice-prsident; James M. Walker, of Nashville, recording secretary; L. P. Yandell, of Rutherford County, corresponding secretary, and Boyd McNair, of Nash. ville, treasurer. Prof. Charles Caldwell, of Transylvania University, being in town at the time, was elected an honorary member of the society, and a committee was appointed to extend him an invitation to visit the meeting. The censors appointed for Middle Tennessee were Drs. Doug- lass, Stith, Hogg and Estill; for East Tennessee, Drs. Mckinney and Temple; and for the western division of the State, Drs. Young and Wil- son. The code of ethics was the same as that adopted by the Central Medical Society of Georgia in 1828. After adopting a resolution con- demning the habitual use of ardent spirits and recommending total ab- stinence, except when prescribed as a medicine, the society adjourned.
The second assembling of the society took place in Nashville May 2, 1861. Sixty members responded at roll-call, and fifty-four were added. during the session, constituting the largest meeting ever held. Dr. John H. Kain, of Shelbyville, the first orator appointed, delivered the anni- versary discourse before the society on "Medical Emulation." Dr. Yandell having been called to a professorship in the Transylvania Uni- versity, resigned his office in the society, and delivered an address which was ordered to be published. He was subsequently elected an honorary member, and though he became a citizen of another State, no one ever served the society more faithfully, or contributed more to advance its in- terests. A premium of $50 was offered at this meeting for the best essay on "The use and abuse of calomel," which two years later was awarded to James Overton, M. D. of Nashville. Dr. James G. M.
*Condensed from its history, furnished by Paul F. Eve, M. D., in 1872.
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Ramsey, of Knoxville, sent his essay on the topography of East Ten- nessee, and Dr. Becton read his own on the topography of Rutherford County. This session was one of the most enthusiastic and interesting ever held. By invitation of the governor, the society visited the peni- tentiary, then just erected. The third convocation of this body took place in Nashville, where it continued to meet until 1851, when it con- vened at Murfreesboro. Many of these sessions were very interesting, and several valuable contributions were added to medical literature. The limited facilities for travel, however, rendered it impossible for members from distant parts of the State to attend without losing a large amount of time and experiencing considerable inconvenience; consequently the number in attendance was frequently very small.
At the third session a committee was appointed to ask the Legisla- ture to repeal the law making it a penitentiary offense to exhume a human body for the purpose of dissection, but this, as was the case with several other petitions presented by the society, the Legislature refused to grant. .
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At the meeting in 1843 the society decided to establish a museum at Nashville for the mutual improvement of its members. Subsequently a committee was appointed to solicit from the Legislature a donation for the museum and a library, but the request was not granted. Upon the establishment of the medical department of the University of Nashville the museum was transferred to that institution.
At the session of the society held in Murfreesboro, in 1851, the code of ethics adopted by the American Medical Association in 1847 was substituted for the one heretofore governing this body. .
The society met at Murfreesboro again in 1852, but the following year convened at Nashville. The complete catalog of the membership of the society up to that time was 307. In 1857 twenty-five delegates were appointed to the American Medical Association, which assembled in Nashville the following year. The thirty-second annual meeting of the Tennessee Medical Society was held in the Masonic Hall at Murfreesboro April 2, 1861. The attendance was small. only eleven members being present at roll-call. Owing to the unsettled condition of the country no more meetings were held until April 20, 1866, when seven members as- sembled at Nashville. Dr. Robert Martin was elected president, and Dr. Nichol re-elected vice-president. But little business was transacted, and after the appointment of several committees preparatory to the next meet- ing, the society adjourned. From that time until the present, meetings have been held annually. In 1871 the society convened at Pulaski; in 1874 at Chattanooga; and in 1878 at Memphis. In 1872 a committee of
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nine, three for each grand division of the State, was appointed for the purpose of forming and encouraging local societies. Two years later Drs. J. B. Lindsey, J. J. Abernethy and P. D. Sims were constituted a committee to examine the workings of the various State medical societies and report, at the next annual meeting, such amendments and by-laws as might tend to strengthen the society. This was accordingly done, and at the next meeting the constitution as revised by the committee was adopted after a full and free discussion. Since 1874 delegates have been appointed to each annual meeting of the American Medical Association, and in 1876 Drs. Paul F. Eve, Van S. Lindsley, D. C. Gordon, W. P. Jones, J. H. Van Deman, W. C. Cook, Thomas Menees, F. Bogart, J. B. Buist, S. S. Mayfield, H. J. Warmouth and A. Blitz were appointed delegates to the International Medical Congress.
The forty-seventh annual meeting was held at Knoxville, beginning April 6, 1880. The local attendance was quite large, and a number of delegates from Middle Tennessee were present, but the western division of the State was not so largely represented. Among the notable features of this meeting was the election of the first female doctor to membership, she being regularly delegated from the Knox County Medical Society, of which she was an accepted member. The lady was Mary T. Davis.
In 1881 two meetings were held. At the date of the regular meeting on April 5, the society was convened in the supreme court room of the capitol, and the committee on arrangements reported that acting under the authority of the president, and at the request of a number of physi- cians of Knoxville, notices of an adjourned meeting had been sent out. Therefore, after having received the governor's signature to the bill, which had just passed the Legislature, requiring the registration of the births, deaths, and marriages* in the State, the society adjourned to meet on May 10, 1881. At that time the continental exposition was in prog- ress, and the meeting was well attended.
The next year the society assembled at Casino Hall, in Memphis, on May 9. The attendance was not large, but the session proved an inter- esting one. Among its social features was a very pleasant excursion on the steamer " Benner," given by Dr. R. W. Mitchell, of the National Board of Health. The fiftieth annual meeting was held in Nashville, be- ginning April 10, 1583. One of the pleasing incidents of the session was an address by Gov. Bate. On April S, 1854, the society again con- vened at Chattanooga just two years after its former meeting in that city. The session was in every respect one of the most successful ever held. Several amendments to the constitution were adopted, one of which abol-
*This law was repealed by the next Legislature.
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ished the boards of censors, and established in lieu a judicial council composed of the ex-presidents of the society. Fifty dollars was appropri- ated to assist in the erection of a monument to the memory of Dr. J. Marion Sims. The fifty-second annual meeting was held in the hall of Representatives in the State Capitol, April 14 to 16, 1885. Several inter- esting papers were read, and considerable business of importance was transacted.
The last meeting of the society was held in Memphis, on the first Tuesday in April, 1SS6. The present officers are Thomas L. Mad- din, M. D., of Nashville, president; Drs. S. T. Hardison, J. E. Black and G. W. Drake, vice-presidents, for Middle, West and East Tennessee, respectively; Dr. C. C. Fite, secretary and Dr. Deering J. Roberts, treasurer
The subject of preventive medicine has been for several years attract- ing more and greater attention, especially from the occurrence of fre- quent epidemics throughout the Union. The necessity of some organ- ized and co-operative efforts* on the part of persons clothed with au- thority to take such steps as may be deemed sufficient to protect the country from the rapid spread of epidemics, became so apparent that many of the States organized State Boards of Health, and such powers were delegated to them as were thought proper to effect the purpose of their creation.
This idea reached material development in this State in 1866, when the first board of health in Tennessee was organized at Nashville. Soon after a similar organization was formed for the city of Memphis, since which time local boards of health have been established in all of the larger towns and most of the smaller ones in the State. All are pro- ducing good fruit by developing an intelligent public sentiment and a growing interest in regard to the value and importance of sanitary science as applied not only to communities, but also to individuals, households and persons. In April, 1874, a committee was appointed by the State Medical Society to prepare and to present to the State Legisla- . ture at its next session a bill providing for the establishment of a State Board of Health. This bill passed the House but was lost in the Sen- ate. Two years later another bill was presented, which, after much ex- planation, finally passed with the section of the bill providing for an ap- propriation of funds stricken out, thus securing the organization simply of the "State Board of Health of the State of Tennessee," without any executive power or means with which to carry out any of the more practical objects for which it was established; consequently they were compelled to
*From the Reports of 1880 and 1884.
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content themselves with acting as an advisory body only, notwithstanding the western and southern portions of the State as far east as Chattanooga were, during the summer of 1878, swept by a most disastrous epidemic of yellow fever. They issued advisory circulars through the secular press upon the lesser epidemics, such as scarlet fever and diphtheria, which appeared in different localities through the State, and otherwise gave timely counsel to the people, and created, as opportunity afforded, an interest in the subject of public hygiene. Two years subsequently the Legislature passed an amendatory. act, which was approved by the gov- ernor, March, 1879, giving the board additional powers and making a small appropriation of money, which enabled them to obtain an office and pay their secretary a salary.
The first meeting of the board was held April 3, 1877, in the office of the Secretary of State, the following members appointed by the governor being present: Drs. J. D. Plunket, T. A. Atchison, James M. Safford, of Middle Tennessee; E. M. Wight, of East Tennessee, and R. B. Maury, of West Tennessee. Dr. J. D. Plunket, to whose exertion the board largely owed its existence, was chosen president, and Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley was appointed secretary pro tem. Committees were appointed on vital statistics, hygiene of schools, prisons, geological and topographical features of Tennessee in relation to disease, and epidemic, endemic and contagious diseases.
The first annual meeting of the board was held in Memphis, April, 1878, concurrently with the meeting of the State Medical Society. Lit- - tle business of importance was transacted. The office of vice-president was created, and Dr. J. M. Safford was elected to that position. Follow- ing this meeting came the epidemic of yellow fever of 1878, yet the board was powerless to do aught to stay its dreadful ravages. A reign of terror existed, and, though badly needed, there was no guide, no head of power. The experience of that terrible season taught even the law- makers that a State Board of Health with enlarged powers and increased facilities was a necessity. Therefore March 26, 1879, an amendatory act was passed giving the board power to declare and enforce quaran- tine, and to prescribe rules and regulations to prevent the introduction of yellow fever and other epidemic diseases. The act also required the governor to appoint two additional members of the board connected with the commerce and transportation of the country, and appropriated $3,000 to defray expenses. Hon. John Johnson, ex-mayor of Memphis, and Col. E. W. Cole, of Nashville, were chosen as the new members of the board. At the second annual meeting Dr. Lindsley. resigned his posi- tion as secretary, and Dr. W. M. Clark was elected to fill out the unex-
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pired term. In anticipation of the reappearance of the yellow fever in 1879, the board issued 10,000 copies of an address urging the people of the State to organize local boards of health to co-operate with the State Board. In consequence of this action many local boards were formed, and the State Board was thus enabled to carry on, with but little diffi- culty, its plans for staying the progress of the epidemic which followed. Since that time no widespread epidemic has visited the State, and the work of the board has been directed to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the jails, penitentiaries, etc., the education of the people in sanitary science, and the collection of valuable vital statistics. The board as constituted at the present time is as follows: J. D. Plunket, president; James M. Safford, vice-president; J. B. Lindsley, secretary ; G. B. Thornton, P. D. Sims, Daniel F. Wright, David P. Hadden and E .. W. Cole.
As early as 1834 or 1835 the Tennessee Agricultural and Horticul- tural Society was organized, and annual fairs were held for a few years. The officers elected at the meeting held October 13, 1835, were Dr. Phil- lip Lindsley, president; Drs. John Shelby and Felix Robertson, vice- presidents; H. Petway, treasurer, and Joseph T. Dwyer, secretary. In 1840 the society established a paper called the Tennessee State Agricul- turalist, of which Tolbert Fanning was installed as editor. Drs. Girard Troust and John Shelby were liberal contributors to its columns. In 1842 the Tennessee State Agricultural Society, including members from most of the counties of Middle Tennessee, was incorporated with an auth- orized capital stock of $100,000.
December 18, 1851, several of the leading agriculturalists of the State, prominent among whom were Mark R. Cockrill, W. G. Harding, Wil- loughby Williams and Tolbert Fanning, secured the re-incorporation of the society, with authority to organize two auxiliary societies, one for each of the other two divisions of the State. These societies served to create an interest in improved methods of agriculture, and during the session of 1853-54 the subject was presented to the Legislature. The result was the organization of the Tennessee State Agricultural Bureau, consisting of the governor, ex-officio president, one member from each grand division of the State, five members from Davidson County, and one member from each of the county societies organized. It was made the duty of the bureau to investigate all such subjects relating to the improvement of agriculture as it might think proper, and to encourage the establishment of county agricultural societies. For the support of the bureau, it was provided that when $1,000 had been raised by contri- butions of individuals and placed out at interest, the bureau should be
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