USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 44
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Brought up under the old regime, he appeared almost courtly in manner, although among a few well-tried friends he was lively and fond of a good story ; but he was always careful in whose pres- ence he gave play to his fund of humor. Dr. Weeks died at Summit, in May, 1884.
Dr. John A. 'Messinger, a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, but for some time pre- vious to his migration westward a resident of New York, came here in 1836. He came to practice medicine, but there was not population enough to give employment to so many physicians, and the new place was in a notoriously healthy condition. As a result he, too, stifled the voice of his Alma Mater to engage in commercial transac- tions, and he ceased his ministrations to the sick. He became prominent at a later time in a humane endeavor to effect the escape of a fugitive slave. Although a Democrat, he denounced the effort made to spread slavery. On one occasion seeing a slave taken from jail and abused, his sympathies were aroused, and quickly pulling the hunted creature into his carriage he drove rapidly to Waukesha, being pursued part of the way by officers of the so-called law. But the doctor drove a good horse, distanced his pursuers and hid the slave, who afterward escaped to Canada. Thinking over what he had done openly-violated the fugitive slave act, no trifling breach of an unholy law in those days-instead of returning to Milwaukee, he drove to Racine. The excitement attending the drive over, he became very much disturbed about the part he had taken in the mat- ter, so much so that he could not sleep, and his friends noted that he was depressed and anxious. He determined to return to Milwaukee, where ex- citement was high among the sympathizers of the fugitive slave act, who were anxious to bring to "justice" all those who had been in any way con- nected with the affair. Dr. Messinger escaped punishment, but his death, which occurred not long afterward, was believed to have been hastened by the mental distress resulting from the part he had taken in what was, in reality, a humane act. The doctor died in 1854.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
PEN PICTURES OF PROMINENT PHYSICIANS.
BY WALTER KEMPSTER, M. D., AND SOLON MARKS, M. D.
D URING the period between 1836 and 1839 other physicians came and went away, some not remaining long enough to be- come identified with the community. But in the latter year there came a strong character who was destined to take a prominent part in the many changes which followed the development of a crude, western settlement into a large city ; and throughout that period he exercised a potent in- fluence for good in every department to which he devoted his attention. Dr. Erastus B. Wol- cott arrived in Milwaukee in the spring of that year, having been well prepared for frontier life by his previous training; indeed, it may be said of him that he inherited this taste for pioneering through a long ancestral line, dat- ing backward to the year 1630, from which time onward there descended an unbroken chain of loyal and honorable pioneers and patriots, whose influences for good were felt wherever they were known.
Thoroughly equipped for his work by early education and devoted to his profession, life at an army outpost had given him a foretaste of the experiences which were to follow. But he had tired of the routine work of the camp, his ener- getic nature demanding a larger field. After chafing for a time at the limited opportunities afforded in the fort at Mackinac, he resigned his position in the army and came to Milwau- kee. He threw himself into the practice of his profession with the ardor of a devotee, and often wrung successful issues from what at first promised only defeat. He was a physician who was tireless in his attempts to ascertain the cause of disease and-
"No sooner knew the cause than sought the remedy."
After visiting his patients, riding or walking far enough to tire most men, he would take down his rifle and go out for game, rarely returning with- out some evidence of his prowess; but though a great huntsman, the sport was never permitted to
interfere in the slightest manner with what he considered his duty to his patients. His hunting trips were not devoted exclusively to procuring game; he was quite familiar with the indigenous medicinal plants, and sought them for use in his practice, and at one time engaged Indians to pro- cure herbs for him.
In his special department of surgery he mani- fested the greatest interest and early acquired a rep- utation which soon spread to remote settlements. He was a fearless operator, his skill and ingennity aiding him to devise novel methods for the relief of suffering humanity. His most celebrated oper- ation was the removal of a kidney, the patient re- covering; this was the first recorded operation of the kind. His experiences and eventful rides in the days when there were no roads would fill a vol- ume; but no road was too long or too rough, no storm so severe as to stop his progress if human suffering was to be relieved. He possessed an iron will with great personal courage, yet it is said by one who knew him well that "he had a woman's heart, but a hand of steel." He was outspoken in his views, and many-
"He restored with good advice and little medicine."
Courteous and affable in manner and of most dig- nified bearing, he possessed the rare quality of imparting to others the spirit that actuated him- self. Tall and straight as an arrow, with clothes of dark gray, fitting tightly from shoulder to ankle, he was the personification of strength and dignity; while on horseback, and he was a con- stant rider, his carriage was faultless. To one who was not fairly well acquainted with Dr. Wolcott he appeared somewhat exclusive, but on approaching him his whole manner changed, he at once became animated and interested; with the old time courtly bearing there was a personal charm which was irresistible. He entered at once into the spirit of the occasion and drew upon his store of information to contribute his share, often no small one, to any matter
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under discussion. His personal courage was often called into requisition in those early days, and at no time more markedly than during what is known as the Leahy riot, when an ex- priest was endeavoring to speak in a church, filled and surrounded by a mob clamoring for the man's life. Dr. Wolcott inquired into the matter and found that the right of free speech was being denied Leahy. He pushed his way into the church in the face of the determined opposition of the crowd, and with the assistance of Dr. W. W. Lake, fearlessly took Leahy out of the church to the United States Hotel, pursued by the rioters who attacked that house, smashing the windows and doing other damage. Leahy was ordered by the proprietor to leave, and Abner Kirby hearing of this said, " Bring him to my house," and thither they went still surrounded by the mob. Dr. Wol- cott subsequently called a " law and order meet- ing," to be held at the church from which they took Leahy, at which the doctor was chairman. The ex-priest made his address and was afterward escorted to the hotel by Drs. Wolcott and Lake, and it is said that the only demonstrations were cheers for Dr. Wolcott, law and order. The brav- ery of these men doubtless saved the city from more disgraceful scenes .*
Dr. Wolcott was absolutely fearless when he believed he was doing right and would lend not only his influence, but his personal assistance to those whom he believed to be wrongfully assailed or accused.
The best evidence of the estimation in which he was held by his fellow citizens, and the greatest tribute ever paid to him by devoted friends, was the deserved compliment of naming the Grand Army Post in Milwaukee in his honor, the E. B. Wolcott Post, No. 1, G. A. R.
After this period, physicians moved into the place more rapidly. Milwaukee was more than a name, and attracted general attention. As in all new places, some came to look over the field, stay a while and resume their journeyings. Occasion- ally one would come with a fixed determination of creating a home, cutting loose from all other ties. Such an one was Dr. John K. Bartlett ; born in 1816, a graduate of Yale College, class of 1838, and of the New Haven Medical School, class of 1841, he came to Milwaukee shortly after gradn-
ation, and when the city had a population of about one thousand eight hundred. Fitted by nature and education for his life work, he entered upon its duties with a spirit and determination which characterized him throughout his life He first formed a partnership with Dr. Proudfit, which was terminated by the death of the latter. He never forgot the dignity which he believed should clothe the members of the profession, and his standard would have been considered high even in old established communities. He would rather forfeit his right to the treatment of a patient, than yield to what he believed to be an infringement upon the in-elastic " Code of Ethics." He was always interested in maintaining profes- sional etiquette, and to this end was a firm believer in the establishment of, and active membership in, medical associations, local, county, state and na- tional ; and during his career he attested the sin- cerity of his convictions by the work he did in each. Several of the societies which flourished for a time in this city owed their origin mainly to his personal energy in the matter. He was a man of slight build, of very dignified bearing, deliberate in action and speech ; his voice was soft, but good enunciation with a scholarly manner made it effective. In his dress he was as particular as in his speech ; always scrupulously neat, he paid little or no attention to prevailing styles ; black, almost skin-tight trousers, a waist coat displaying a large, and immaculate shirt front, sack coat and soft felt hat always poised in the same style upon his head, which was covered with abundant flow- ing hair, neatly kept. He was a great smoker, and almost always had a lighted cigar with him while walking. His walk was one of exceeding deliberation, which it did not seem as though he could hasten; with head bent forward in deep thought, his hands often carried behind his back, his slow, measured pace as he walked along made him a conspicuous figure amid the hurry and bustle of the rapidly growing place. He was a great reader and constant student, zealous and earnest for the welfare of the profession, deeply interested in promoting its several branches, and a thorough advocate of a good, preliminary edu- cation for students desirous of obtaining an entrance into the profession. In the sick-room he maintained the same composure and dignity; it was part of the man. He used great caution in the selection of remedies; early in his practice
* " Old Settlers' Records," and personal recollections of old settlers in Milwaukee.
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
departing from the then almost universal custom of giving enormous doses of nauseous agents, and indiscriminate bleeding, as necessary preliminaries in the treatment of disease, and his success was the best evidence of the wisdom of his methods.
He was president of several local medical or- ganizations and was honored by having the "Clinical Club " named after him. In 1877 the Wisconsin State Medical Society elected him its president, and he held office in the National Med- ical Association, being a member of the Judicial Council for some years. His professional career began and ended in Milwaukee; and although chiefly interested in medical work, he took an active part in the advancement of public sanitary improvements, in the extension of common school education, and in the establishment of the Public Library. It is not more than just to speak of Doctor Bartlett as one of the most learned phy- sicians Milwaukee has ever had. Failing health caused him to seek a less rigorous climate, and his last years were spent in California, where he died in November, 1889.
Up to this date Milwaukee had been largely pop- ulated by settlers from the Eastern states, and it was distinctively a community of Americans. The political troubles in Germany at this time exiled many persons and there was a large immigration to what was then called the Far West, hundreds of German immigrants locating in Milwaukee. With one colony which came in 1842 was Dr. Francis Huebschmann, who had been educated in Jena ; he was the first German physician to settle here. He was an energetic man of pronounced opinions, and felt very keenly the treatment which had forced so many from the "Fatherland." He entered zeal- ously upon the work which his hands found to do, soon becoming a leader among his people. The op- portunities for political preferment did not escape him and he was infatuated with its excitement. He was school commissioner in 1843, one year after arriving in this country, holding that position until 1851. He became a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846, being very active in behalf of the provision granting to foreigners the same rights and privileges enjoyed by Americans. In 1848 he was a presidential elector, and later held a place in either the Common Council or in the County Board of Supervisors from 1848 to 1867. He was State Senator in 1851-52 and again in the years 1862-71-72. In 1853 President Pierce appointed
him Superintendent of Indian Affairs which posi- tion he held until 1857. When the civil war broke out in 1861 he became an applicant for a medical office, and in 1862 he received a commission as Surgeon of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. At the battle of Gettysburg the enemy held him a prisoner of war for three days but he escaped and sh ,rtly thereafter his regiment was transferred to the western army. At the battle of Chattanooga he had charge of medical affairs at the Corps Hospital, and remained in charge during January and February of 1864, but resigned his position in September of that year. After the close of the war he was connected with the mili- tary hospital established for a time in Milwaukee. He with others founded the German newspaper " Banner und Volksfreund," and was always very much interested in the welfare of German im- migrants. His close affiliation with political matters led him away from his work as a physi- cian, and he was better known as an active poli- tician than as a medical man. He died in 1879.
In the year 1843 three more physicians made Milwaukee their home, one of whom was Dr. Walker Linsley Bean. He had received a classi- cal education and took his degree of M. D. from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and settled in the city of Charles- ton, South Carolina, where he practiced for sev- eral years. He was induced to come to Milwau- kee by a brother then in business here, shortly after arriving forming a partnership with Dr. J. K. Bartlett, which continued until his own death. He is described as a man full of nervous energy, prompt and with the courtliness of manner so marked a feature of the southern gentlemen. He was a skillful physician, having great success in the treatment of the diseases of children. At a time when large doses of medicine were used in almost all illnesses, one feature of his practice commends itself; he acted upon the idea that the stomach of a child was generally at fault when sickness came, and that the organ needed rest; therefore quiet, and a limited dietry he considered essentials-a plan of treatment somewhat novel then, but now universal. He insisted that his patients should follow instructions implicitly, and his high-spirited but courteous manner easily brought about this end. The doctor liked good horses and was a superb horseman, often driving great distances into the surrounding country. It
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PEN PICTURES OF PROMINENT PHYSICIANS
was a drive to Waukesha, where he visited a his medical degree at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, patient ill of pneumonia, which brought this disease upon himself, and of which he died, after a residence of two years in Milwaukee. During the first small-pox epidemic he had charge of the Iso- lation Hospital, conjointly, with Dr. Bartlett.
Dr. E. S. Marsh arrived here in June, 1843, from Rochester, New York. A well-educated and able physician, he took especial interest in main- taining a high standard of professional ethics. He was active in promoting all matters pertaining to the advancement of medical knowledge, and as- sisted in organizing the first permanent medical society. He was unmarried, and devoted consid- erable attention to social affairs, thus becoming popular with the people. He too, was a disciple of Nimrod, and, with Dr. E. B. Wolcott, spent some time in the proper season hunting and fishing. Old settlers say that when Drs. Wolcott and Marsh had passed over a piece of territory looking for game it was useless for any one else to go there. Both gentlemen having lively dispositions, they became attached to each other, and being good story tellers, they enjoyed relating the spir- ited tales of pioneer days. Dr. Marsh was inter- ested in all that concerned the growth of the city, but took no active part in political matters. At the time of the gold excitement he went to Cali- fornia, and is believed to have acquired some wealth. On his way back to Milwaukee he took passage on a steamboat at New Orleans, and had just entered his stateroom when the boiler ex- ploded, killing him instantly; this occurred in the autumn of 1849 .*
Dr. F. Kalckhoff came in November, 1843, and after practicing some years, opened a druggist's es- tablishment ; he remained here until his death, an honored and respected member of the profession.+
The next year, 1844, was made memorable in the annals of Milwaukee by the arrival of two men who became especially eminent as physicians, Dr. James Johnson and Dr. John B. Dousman.
Dr. Johnson was a native of Ireland, where he laid the foundation for his medical education, having been apprenticed to a physician, and while pursuing bis studies be was for a time stationed in a government hospital during one of the epi- demics of cholera, receiving there the first lessons in the management of that disease. He obtained
coming to Milwaukee in 1844. He soon became an active and influential man, not only in his pro- fession, in which he was a tireless student and excellent practitioner, but also in other matters. In disposition he was genial, and having the true Irish gentleman's appreciation of wit, with fine literary attainments and excellent conversa- tional ability, he was a most agreeable companion. Early in his career in this city a secret political cabal-the Knownothings-sought prominence. This organization he believed to be inimical to the best interests of the country, and by his public and private utterances he completely routed the local champions of the clique. He possessed an independent spirit, and at one time, disgusted with the course pursued by some aldermen in regulat- ing municipal matters, he announced himself an independent candidate and was elected; but while exerting a great influence for good within that body, he was not altogether successful in bring- ing about the change he desired in city affairs, a task almost as hopeless in those days as it has been later.
While an earnest advocate of whatever meas- ures he supported, he was moderate in his views, but demanded the enforcement of the laws. Although a devoted Catholic, he was tolerant of the religious opinions of others, and at the time of the Leahy riot he signed a pro- test remonstrating against the misbehavior of those who tried to prevent the ex-priest from speaking, by mob violence. He was a good ora- tor, his remarks being full of dry humor, which enabled him to carry his andience while he turned his shafts of wit against those whom he opposed in debate. It is said that he was largely instru- mental in defeating a so-called " land limitation bill," which restricted ownership of real estate to two lots in a city, and three hundred and twenty acres of land in the country, and that his wit and sarcasm not only killed the bill, but the political aspirations of its author." In 1846 he was appointed a member of the first Board of School Commissioners, becoming a zealous promoter of the extension and perfection of the free-school system.
In 1867 the legislature of the state authorized the appointment of a Board of Health, Dr.
* Unpublished manuscript of Dr. J. K. Bartlett.
+ Ibidem.
* Personal recollections of old settlers, and Buck's History of Milwaukee.
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
Johnson being selected its president and Health Commissioner, which position he held until 1877. In 1874 he visited Europe for the purpose of look- ing into sanitary matters; after his return he made strenuous efforts to cause the introduction of improved methods of sanitation ; among them a better supply of pure water for the city ; the extension of sewers, which at that time were inadequate; and for the construction of an abattoir. Steady, hard work made inroads upon his health, and in 1880 he went to Denver, Colo- rado, hoping to recuperate, but he did not find the expected relief; he afterwards spent some time in Mobile, Alabama, and died in 1882 .*
Dr. John B. Dousman came to Milwaukee from Prairieville, now Waukesha, Wisconsin, in the autumn of 1844. He made a deep and lasting impression, not only upon the medical profession, but on the community at large. He was a well-educated, thoughtful man, who gave himself zealously to his work, his quiet, devoted interest in the welfare of his patients winning their confidence. He was an earnest supporter of professional ethics, and an uncom- promising, honest opponent of homœopathy, a subject then agitating the medical men in the community ; he would not countenance it or its followers in any manner. Strong in his opinions, he was never more pronounced than in expressing his dislike of the disciples of Hahnemann, and it was almost a cardinal principle with him to oppose it actively, everywhere and at all times, and he was in this respect simply implacable. It is re- lated of him that upon one occasion he was sent for to visit a sick person living in Waukesha, and drove there to see the patient ; reaching that place after a long and tedious ride he learned that a homœopathic physician was in attendance, where- upon, without waiting to see the patient, he turned his horses and drove back to Milwaukee. He believed that to countenance the doctrine of homœopathy or its followers in any way was de- grading to what he considered a high professional standard. He is affectionately spoken of by old settlers, who knew him well as a straightforward, honorable gentleman ; one said in speaking about him, " There was no blemish upon him." He was an enthusiastic supporter of medical associations, assisted in organizing several local societies, and was president of the State Medical Society in 1848
* Unpublished manuscript of Doctor J. K. Bartlett.
and 1849. He cared little for social matters, pre- ferring a quiet chat with a few friends, being especially fond of talking with the early settlers about the progress of affairs. He was never in a hurry, always cool and collected ; what spare time he had was devoted to his farm situated just be- yond Layton Park, which he kept with character- istic order. He was interested in political questions, but was not a politician, and never sought polit- ical office; he was for a time examining surgeon in the provost marshal's office for this district. He received his preliminary education in New Hampshire, and while in the academy was a class- mate of Franklin Pierce, afterward President of the United States. It seems that he had no very exalted opinion of his former class-mate's ability, and after he became prominent as a presi- dential candidate Dr. Dousman often spoke of him as one whom he had known intimately for years, and that he did not possess the qualifica- tions necessary for a county attorney. When the Whigs ceased to maintain a party organization, he affiliated with the Republicans, and remained a firm believer in the principles of the party until his death, which occurred in February, 1868.
Dr. J. Bristol was one who arrived here in May, 1844, but his stay was short; he left in 1846. In 1845 three more physicians came here, Drs. James P. Greves, Jeremiah B. Selby, Jr., and F. M. Wilcox. Dr. Greves came from Michigan, and was soon interested in real estate speculation, by which he acquired some means. During the con- troversy concerning the merits of homœopathy he apostatized, and became a follower of Hahnemann in 1848 or 1849, and in 1857 he left the city.
Dr. Selby came originally from Wayne county, New York, arriving in Milwaukee in 1842; in 1843 and 1844 he studied medicine in the office of Drs. Bartlett and Bean, being the first medical student in the city; he also pursued his study in Wil- loughby College, Ohio, finally graduating from the medical department of the University of New York, where Drs. Mott and Martyn Paine then taught. He began the practice of his profession in Milwaukee in 1845. Dr. Selby was appointed a member of the first Board of School Commis- sioners in 1846, and this board organized a school system for the city. While a student of medicine during the first small-pox epidemic in 1843, which was very severe, he took charge of the Isolation Hospital, then called the pest house, a rude affair,
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