HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY - 219 CHAPTER V (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) THE PROFESSIONS - COURT AND JUDGE POWELL - SOME LATER LAWYERS THE - PRESENT BAR - THE MEDICAL PROFESSION - THOMPSONIAN SYSTEM - HOMEOPATHY - EARLY PRACTITIONERS - MODERN DOCTORS - DELAWARE MEDICAL SOCIETY. ."When lawyers take what they would give, When doctors give what they would take - " Till then let Cumming blaze away, And Miller's saints blow up the globe ; But when you see that blessed day, Then order your ascension robe."- Holmes. THE court and the Bar of Delaware County have increased in power and magnitude since that day, when Judge Belt organized the first session of court in the little log tavern of Joseph Barber. and sent out his juries to perform their allotted duties in the shade of a wild cherry and black-jack. that stood conveniently near this hastily improvised temple of justice. Without going into a detailed history however of the changes made since that time, we will give place to the following able sketch of the legal profession and of the courts by the Hon. Thoms W. Powell , which although the Judge writes now with great difficulty, owing to his failing sight, will be found highly interesting to the present members of the Delaware bar: The county having been organized early in the spring of 1808, the first court-the Common Plea. - was held on the 3rd day of June of that year, in a temporary log building near the sulphur spring. The court-room and all its accommodations were hastily extemporized from the rude material at hand, for the use of the court and bar; all of whom were from abroad-from the neighboring counties south and east-the country to the 220 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY north and west of the place being still in the condition of an untouched wilderness. It being the first session of the court, there were no cases, of course, prepared for trial. The court was organized with Hon. Levin Belt, of Ross County, as President Judge. His Associate Judges, as stated in the preceding chapter, were Thomas Brown, Moses Byxbe, and Josiah McKinney, who were well-known residents of the county. Moses Byxbe, Jr., was appointed Clerk of the Court. The journal of the court for some few years after its organization, has been, at a more recent period, burned by an incendiary, who burglariously entered the Clerk's office and destroyed many of the court papers. The record of the decision of the cases still remaining with traditionary information, enables us to collect considerable facts in relation to the court in those early times. The next session of the court was not held until 1809, and a number of law cases were disposed oŁ The bar was attended by several able lawyers from the adjoining counties. For the first two years there was no resident lawyer in the county. The first to settle in Delaware was Leonard H. Cowles, who came from Connecticut about 1810. He was a good scholar, a graduate of Yale College, and a college-mate of .John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. He is said to have been one of the most thorough-read lawyers of his age. Soon after he came here, he married the daughter of Col. Byxbe. which introduced him into a family whose wealth then was very large, and so engaged the attention and business capacities of the young lawyer, that for the residue of his life his law profession became to him a secondary object. The war of 1812, with Great Britain, came on soon after, and so damaged all the business of the county, and that of the court, in a beat measure, with it, that Mr. Cowles remained the only resident lawyer of the county until 1818, when Milo D. Pettibone became also a resident lawyer. From this time, the bar of Delaware County began to assume an attitude of interest to the county, and the general business of the surrounding country, entirely unlike the first ten years. That period was principally occupied with the first settlement of the county, its pioneers, and the war, and no very great interest or attention was given to the court, beyond the ordinary business of the new county. The Supreme Court for the County was then held by two of the four Judges of the Supreme Court for the State, once a year, and the Court of Common Pleas, after the first year or two, three terms annually. In considering the Delaware County bar, no distinction between two periods can be so strikingly made as that previous to 1830, and that which transpired from that date to the present time ; the first period. being a lapse of twenty years ; that of the latter, fifty years; the first witnessed its infancy and growth ; the latter its maturity. During the first period, the majority of the lawyers who were engaged in transacting the business of the court were largely non-residents ; those after that time were almost exclusively resident lawyers. Their numbers during the first period did not exceed five, at any one time; but in the second, their numbers increased before the close of the first decade to eighteen, and continued about that number until 1870. During the war of the rebellion; the Union received the patriotic service of a number, and among all of them there was not a rebel. That war, between 1861-65, caused so severe a demand upon our people in the support of the Union, and so many of the business men and lawyers engaged themselves as officers and soldiers in the army, the business of the court was so reduced or continued that, in the mean time, very little was accomplished or done. It was a kind of hibernation of the court. Three of the marked lawyers of the first period continued to add their number to that of the second, viz., L. H. Cowles, M. D. Pettibone and Henry Brush. These included the whole of the bar in its earlier period, except Justin Cook and Richard Murray, and two or three others who resided here for a limited time, but who, from their temporary connection with the bar, added nothing of interest to its history. But to this, young Cook; was an exception. Toward the close of the period he excited great hopes in the minds of his friends and connections of a brilliant professional career. In this. however. by a dispensation of Providence, they were disappointed by his lamented death, which took place about 1828. Richard Murray had also commenced the practice of the law here, in the midst of numerous friends, a few years previous to 1830, with flattering hopes of a successful professional life. But in that year he was stricken with consumption, and felt himself compelled to seek a warmer climate in the hope of thereby prolonging his life. He went with his family to the neighborhood of New Orleans, on the east side of Lake Pontchartrain, where he thought he had found a healthful locality, HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 221 but. he soon died, and was buried there ; leaving a. young family to return to their friends in Delaware. Of those who constituted the bar after 1830, we must begin in chronological order with those who had previously become members. Leonard H. Cowles, whose advent. has already been noticed, was a member of the bar from 1810 to the time of his death. He commenced his career with the reputation of a good classical scholar, and being remarkably well informed in his profession for one of his age. As a lawyer, he did not acquire a greater reputation in his subsequent life, for he had the misfortune to marry an heiress, and her fortune subsequently attracted more of his attention than the dry principles of the law, or writs for his clients. The large estate of Mr. By Byxbe, his father-in-law, occupied more of his time and his attention than was devoted to his professional business. He was a person of a good. commanding presence. a well proportioned figure, always well dressed, and gentlemanly in his appearance and behavior. He was social, find of jovial company and his friends. Thus he lived. taking the world easy, devoting himself to no very arduous occupation, though always a member of the bar the whole of his life. and for a time was a member of the Legislature. Toward the close of his life, however. Mr Cowles fortunes became impaired. The wealth of his father-in-law rapidly disappeared in the hands of his children, as it ceased to be managed by the old man who made it.. At the close of his life, Mr. Cowles had but little left of the fortune he had received from Col. Byxbe, and of worldly goods he hardly possessed what was adequate to a person who had enjoyed his rank in life. Thus he lived for many years in the county, and raised a large family, none of whom. it is believed, are now living. Milo D. Pettibone, like Mr. Cowles, was a native of Connecticut, and it is believed that he was also a graduate of Yale. He came to Delaware in 1818, was a good scholar, and soon became a sound and trustworthy lawyer, occupying a highly responsible position at the bar to the time of his death, in 1819. He devoted considerable time to speculation in land, which, in the early period of the county, was frequently changing hands, and. during his life, underwent great changes in its market value, which he judiciously turned to his favor and advantage. Mr. Pettibone was every way a most estimable man. He was social, honest, and most exemplarily moral. He readily engaged in all the proposed improvements of his day, social, moral and religious. His most decided conviction and action on any of these questions was on the abolition of slavery, which he looked upon as the most wicked and nefarious institution of the world; he prided himself upon being considered one of the EMANCIPATORS. But he did not live to see slavery in its worst. aspect that of the rebellion. He was enterprising and liberal toward public improvements and the interest of his town, at the same time taking good care of his individual interest. At the time of his death he had a large family of sons and daughters, to whom he left considerable real estate-property that has since greatly increased in value. [The following sketch of Hon. Thomas W. Powell was written by Hon. James R. Hubbell, who was a student of Mr. Powell's and who still entertains for his old friend and preceptor the warmest feelings of friendship. Mr. Hubbell says:] In a sketch of the bench and bar of Delaware County, foremost, as well as first in chronological order, is the Hon. Thomas W. Powell. An octogenarian, and already past the period allotted by the Psalmist for man's active life, to those who have known him longest, and who know him best. his mind and memory seem to have lost but little of their maximum strength. The weight of years and bodily infirmities have greatly impaired his once robust and vigorous constitution. Some thirty years ago, by a severe accident, a limb was broken, inflicting an injury, still felt to some extent. Several year; later. another accident put out an eye, and at the date of the present writing (1880 ) he is entirely. for the want of sight, unable to read printed matter. and writes with great labor. A lawyer, legislator and author, he is widely known to the brethren of the bar and in literary circles. It is now sixty years since he was admitted to the bar as an attorney and counselor of law, and is probably in commission the oldest lawyer living in Ohio, and has but few seniors in years in America. Thomas Watkins Powell, the subject of this sketch, was born in the latter part of the year 179 7 , in South Wales. In the early part of the year 1801; his father, with his young family, immigrated to America, and settled in Utica, in the State of New York, situated in the upper part of the Mohawk Valley. At that time, Utica was a small village compared with its present magnificence and grandeur, and the country around it 222 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. was new, and population sparse; and. as a matter of course, the means for the education of the youth and young men of that day were limited. Young Thomas sought and obtained such an education as the opportunities afforded. During the last war with Great Britain, then a mere youth, he drove his father's team. With the baggage of a regiment to Sacket's Harbor, in the spring of 1813 and entered the place at the close of that battle. In September 1814 he was appointed by the, military authorities to a post of great trust and responsibility the bearer of dispatches to Plattsburg, and at the close of that battle entered the town with dispatches to Gen. McCombs. Thirst for knowledge was the ruling ambition of his life, and after the war, for about two years. he was favored with the privilege of, attending the academy where he studied and mastered such branches as are taught at small institutions, including the higher branches of, mathematics for which he had a taste and a genius to excel. It was ever with him a subject of regret. that his opportunities in early life to obtain a more thorough education were so limited, but Providence ordered it otherwise. Had he been indulged in the natural bent of his mind, he would have excelled in literature as an author. After he left the academy he went into the law office of Charles M. Lee. Esq., in Utica. when about the age of twenty. and in the year 1819 he came to Ohio, and passed his quarantine as a law student in the office of Hon. James W. Lathrop at Canton. In the year 1820, he was duly licensed. by the Supreme Court on the Circuit at Wooster. to practice in the several courts of record of the State and immediately located in Perrysburg, on the Maumee, in the practice of the law; but. the country being new, and business in his profession insufficient to occupy his time, he accepted successively the offices of Prosecuting Attorney and County Auditor of Wood County. In the discharge of his official duties he was noted for his probity and industry as well as his abilities. In the year 1830, the Maumee Valley not growing in population, and not meeting with that commercial and business success that was anticipated by the first settlers in order to obtain a wider field for the practice of his profession he removed to Delaware where for a period of fifty years, he has resided. He immediately commenced practice and his business in importance proved commensurate with his abilities and integrity and for a period of more than thirty years, he was regarded by the profession in Delaware, and throughout the. counties in Central Ohio, as a strong and successful lawyer. In special pleading and equity to which he devoted particular attention, he excelled. His industry seemed untiring, both in his profession and as a student. Law; history and literature received constant attention, when not occupied with the cares and duties of his business and professional engagements. He was ever noted for his zeal for his clients' interests and welfare, in both civil and commercial cases. Polite and intelligent, his society was courted by his brethren of the bar. and. in whatever circle he entered. his presence was always welcome. Probably no lawyer did more in assisting young men to the bar, or had more law students than Mr. Powell. Among the lawyers who acquired notoriety in professional or political life or both we can name among his students, the Hon. C. Sweetser. who was a successful law lawyer and a member of Congress from 1849 until l853: subsequently Edward .Jones. Esq., who died young and who at the time of his death was Prosecuting Attorney He had acquired so much reputation as a lawyer and public speaker, that it was thought that if he had lived he would have reached the very highest round in the, ladder of fame. His brother, the Hon. Thomas C. Jones: Hon. Royal T. Wheeler, Chief Justice of Texas: Gen. J. S. Jones, a member of the Forty-fifth Congress, and others, making in all a long roll, were among the number of his law students. To his industry in his profession and in letters. Mr. Powell added great enterprise in all matters of interest to the public. He projected and prosecuted to completion the improvements at the sulphur springs known as the "Mansion House," which in its early history was famous as a fashionable resort and which subsequently secured to Delaware the Ohio Wesleyan University. He built the flax-mills at Delaware. He had an exquisite taste for the arts, for horticulture and architecture especially, and his knowledge of these arts by study and cultivation is of' a high order Mr. Powell. although he took a lively interest in public affairs was never a partisan. A Democrat in his sympathy for suffering humanity, he is believer in the brotherhood of man and ever sympathized with the, afflicted either in mind body, or estate: whether it is the white man or the black man, the virtuous or degraded. His whole life has been signalized by acts of charity, and he was never kown "to turn the poor away unalmsed." He never was a seeker of place, nor an office-seeker. The offices he filled set well were forced HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 223 upon him, and were accepted, seemingly, against his will. He filled many offices of trust- Prosecuting Attorney after as well as before, he moved to Delaware. He was elected Representative and Senator in the State Legislature, and. for many years, was County Judge. He has given to the profession of his choice, and in which he was an ornament, two works which were much needed, and are highly prized by the courts and bar viz.: "Powell's Analysis of American Law." and a work on "Appellate Jurisdiction." He has written and has ready for the press, the manuscript "History of the Ancient Britons," and is at present engaged upon a work entitled "What is Knowledge?" which bids fair to be one of his best productions. [We resume now Mr. Powell's sketch of the court and bar:] Charles Sweetser. immediately upon the writer's settling in Delaware, became his student in the study of the law, to which had previously devoted considerable attention. He was then about twenty-five years of age, was a native of Vermont. and came with his father's family to Delaware, about 1817. His father was a highly respectable man - farmer - who purchased and settled on a valuable farm immediately north of the town where he lived and died about ten years after his arrival here. The son a few years before he commenced his studies. Had been engaged in mercantile business in which he had developed a capacity for business and was a fascinating and successful salesman. He was admitted to the bar in 1832 and immediately commenced an active practice, distinguished more by his activity and sprightliness, and tact in the use of his own conceptions and common understanding, than by any sound knowledge of the law or study of its more abstruse principles. His education was limited to that of common schools and his activity never permitted him by industry and perseverance to overcome its defects. He disliked discipline, study and technicality. and boasted that genius and original common sense were the vantage ground for him: and the, crudities of the code often found an advocate in him. He was captious and capricious and was often the cause of violent squabbles, if nothing more, at the bar. These he often made up with great facility by his fascinating and conciliatory ways, when he chose to exercise them. With all these irregularities, he was remarkably successful, both in the law and in politics. He was twice elected to Congress under the most adverse circumstances; principally by his tact and activity. He continued his professional practice until within a year of his death, when he was compelled to abandon it in consequence of a severe sickness; he died in 1864. He was twice married; first to an amiable and well educated lady from Connecticut, and secondly, to Mrs. Pettibone, a lady of great distinction and of fine personal appearance. By both of these he had a family of children, all of whom died before passing the years of maturity, except one, daughter by his last wife, the only one left to honor his memory. He left to his family a considerable estate and always manifested in his dealings an acute and shrewd regard for his personal interest. He was often very liberal in matters that told and showed well for himself', but in matters that merely concerned the public, his liberality was sure to be confined to those interests which were certain to be largely connected with his own. This tact and ingenuity told in politics as well as in the practice of his profession. He always distinguished himself by the taste and elegance of his equipment. For a long time he kept an elegant carriage and a span of cream - colored horses. while canvassing for his election to Congress. Upon one occasion in addressing a large Democratic audience, he said that some of his friends advised that he should, while a Democratic candidate. dispose of his carriage and his cream-colored horses: "But," said he. "I will do no such thing, for I think that a good Democrat has as good a right to a fine carriage and horses as anybody else." And this sentiment was most vociferously applauded. Sherman Finch settled in Delaware as a lawyer in 1832. He had recently been admitted to the bar, was a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale. He was a good scholar, and had been engaged a few years as Professor of Latin in Kenyon College. He was a man of strong intellectual powers, and a good logician. He soon became a distinguished lawyer: more distinguished for his knowledge of the principles of law and equity than as a jury lawyer. After being engaged in the practice here for twenty years, Mr. Finch was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In the midst of his official term, he moved to Mount Vernon ; and at the end of the term moved to St. Paul, Minn., where he lived about ten years, and died in 1873. David T. Fuller settled in Delaware as a lawyer soon after Mr. Finch. They were brother-in-law, having married sisters, the only daughters of Mrs. 224 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. Shepherd, who, it was said, was an English lady, but who had spent most of her life as a planter's wife in the island of Jamaica. Mr. Fuller was a native of Vermont, the son of a clergyman, and, it is believed, was a graduate of Williams College. He was a good scholar; well versed in literature, history and theology. He had also been a Professor in Kenyon College. He was for a few years a partner of the writer in the practice of the law. After that he was elected Auditor of the County, and subsequently Probate Judge. He died in 1854. Edward Jones, the elder brother of T. C. Jones, came to the bar at an early period about 1837. These brothers were natives of Wales, their father and family having immigrated to the eounty some ten or fifteen years previous. The family consisted of the parents, four brothers and two sisters, who were eminently distinguished for their talents ; but Edward was the most eminent and promising He lived but a few years after his admission, to enjoy the high expectation of his friends ; for he rapidly ascended in his profession, and was gaining great distinction at the bar. He died in 1838 at the early age of twenty-four years. Edward Jones was a thorough Democrat in his partisan predilections, contrary to the usual characters of those of his nationality in this country. Before his death he had raised the highest expectations of his party, who were forward in the expression of their admiration of his talents, holding up to him the hopes of the highest position in the State. In 1836, at a large political convention held at Franklinton, Franklin County, which had been addressed in an able and distinguished manner by Alfred Kelley, young Jones was brought forward by his party to make a reply, which he did in a manner highly gratifying to his partisans and greatly admired and commended by all who heard him. His decease was greatly lamented by the whole community as a premature departure of one who promised to be a great man. T. C. Jones was admitted to the bar in 1841. He spent a few years in the practice at Delaware, and then removed to Circleville, where he continued his practice with success. After a few years. circumstances again induced him to return to Delaware, and again to establish himself in the practice of his profession, but at the same time he zealously engaged in farming and in raising: fine cattle. He kept up his interest in the law, however, and in 1859 was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which position he held for two terms. He still lives-retired from the bar, and in the possession of good property, which he enjoys in a highly creditable manner to himself and family. Cooper K. Watson came to Delaware as a member of the bar in 1834, having studied the law, and been admitted to the profession very recently, at Newark, Ohio. He continued the practice at this place but a few years, when he removed to the counties north of this; to Marion, then to Seneca, and finally settled at Norwalk, in Huron County, where he now resides, and is the Judge of the Common Pleas of that circuit. He has been also a member of Congress from those counties. He became very eminent in his profession as an advocate and jury lawyer. While at Delaware, Watson gave full assurance of his future eminence by his capacity for public speaking, the strength of his ability as a lawyer, and :is a good writer, when occasion called for it ; but he particularly distinguished himself as an amateur actor in the Thespian Society, which then flourished here. This so tempted him that he thought strongly of abandoning his law profession for that of the stage. James M. Barnes came to Delaware as a member of the bar, recently admitted, from Newark, about 1839. He soon became a partner of Mr. Sweetser, and continued the practice until 1850. when he went overland to California with a company of gold-seekers. He returned in about two years, with some success, and again commenced the praetice of law, and, though capable of making a good lawyer, he did not fancy the profession as well as he did the making of money by business and financiering, in which he has succeeded. For a number of years, he has been engaged in manufacturing linseed oil, and now has a very fine oil-mill in Delaware. Isaac Ranney was adinitted to the bar in 1842, having studied law under the tuition of Messrs. Sweetser & Barnes. He possessed the necessary talents to constitute a respectable lawyer, and many qualities which rendered him an excellent wait. He was elected as Prosecuting Attorney for the county, and in 1857, went overland to California. In about two years he returned, and again entered upon the practice of his profession. At the commencement of the great rebellion, he was appointed Collector of the District; filled the office with credit for a time, and then resigned. He had in various vocations acquired a respectable fortune, which was to some extent reduced by his frequent change of residence to Washington City, Delaware, and other places. He finally settled upon a farm he had PAGE 225 - PICTURE OF R. HILLS PAGE 226 - BLANK HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 227 purchased in the valley of the Potomac, a few miles west of Georgetown, and died there. His death was a great bereavement to his family and friends. William P. Reid was admitted to the bar in 1849. He came to his profession with very slender opportunities of acquiring a fine education ; but, by a good share of common sense, perseverance, and industry, he gradually rose to distinction in the law. He never assumed to be any great master of the law, but that in practice he was able more than to make up, by his tact, industry, and management of the jury, the witnesses, and the facts. It was his good fortune to be employed in a number of cases for injuries against the railroads at an early day after their construction, in which he received most ample damages. This, at the time of his death, gave him the reputation as a jury lawyer unequaled in the State. During the rebellion he went into the army of the Union. as Colonel of the One. Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served with credit to himself, and was greatly commended by his men for his kindness to them. and attention to every demand of humanity. After the termination of this service. which was by his resignation, he again returned to his professional vocation with his usual success ; and so continued until his death, in March, 1879, which was greatly lamented by the whole community, but especially by his family, to whom it was an irretrievable calamity and to whom he had ever been remarkably kind and attentive. In politics, he was always distinguished as a Democrat and as it partisan. Leander J. Critchfield, the late Reporter of the Supreme Court of Ohio, was for a number of years a member of the Delaware bar. He was a native of Ohio it is believed, and a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan University at this place. in the year 1849. He became a law student of Judge Finch, and was admitted to the bar soon after and then became the partner of Mr. Finch in the business the profession. He was a successful practitioner at the Delaware bar until after his appointment. by the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State, to be their Reporter. His first volume of the reports entitled "The Ohio State Reports," being the fifth volume of it new series was published in 1858 commencing with the decisions of the court in the term of December 1855. He continued to be Reporter of' the Court until 1872, when he published the last volume of' his reports, being the twenty-first volume of' the new series. His duties as Reporter were ably and faithfully performed, and these reports remain as an honorable monument to his professional abilities and industry. In the mean time, he continued his practice in the courts at Delaware, as well as in all the courts at Columbus, where he established his residence soon after his appointment as Reporter of the Supreme Court, and where he still continues the practice of his profession. He therefore, at the present time, is more a representative of the Columbus bar than that of Delaware. Henry J. Eaton is a member of the Delaware bar, and came of one of the oldest and most respectable families. He soon acquired the confidence of the citizens as an honest and faithful lawyer, and in his profession gaining reputation; when he became a partner of Mr. Reid, with whom he continued several years, and then retired from practice for a time, but has returned to it, and holds his position in the entire confidence of his fellow citizens. Israel E. Buck was admitted to the bar in 1842. He had lived in the county from his infancy, if he was not a native of it. His opportunities for education were limited, such as the country then afforded, but were pursued by him with unusual vigor and diligence. He was distinguished for a strong, robust intellect, which he had cultivated with great assiduity and effect, so that he was ranked among the best informed and intelligent men. As a lawyer, he was more distinguished for his knowledge of the law, and for his common sense and good judgment, than for eloquence or other captivating display in trials at the bar. He was Mayor of the city at the time that Kossuth visited Delaware, and at a public reception of that distinguished Hungarian, he delivered an address to him which was much admired and complimented. He was for many years a partner of the writer; was fast rising at the bar, and on account of diligence, learning, and sound judgment, gave hopes to his friends that when an occasion occurred he would he promoted to the judiciary. But Providence otherwise ordained; for at an early age he died of a disease of the lungs, much lamented by friends and those who knew him. Having sketched the lives and characters of the prominent members of the bar who are deceased, or have retired from the profession, those who still remain in the practice and active pursuit of their profession, and have not yet finished their course, and have yet their faine and character to attain or complete. we leave to some future writer to record. 228 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. The present bar of the county to which Judge Powell refers, is composed, at present, of about twenty members, and as to seniority they may be named and numbered as follows: H. M. Carper is a native of Licking County, Ohio; studied law at Lancaster. and was admitted to the bar in 1851. C. H. McElroy, born in Knox County. Ohio; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. John D. Van Deman is a native of Delaware studied law in the office of Powell & Buck. and wits admitted in 1854. H. C. Godman, son of J. W. Godman, of the Fourth Ohio Infantry; born in Marion County. and was admitted to the bar about 1856. Gen. J. S. Jones, born in Champaign County. Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. E. F. Poppletion, studied law in Lorain County, Ohio; was admitted to the bar about 1856, and has served in Congress. J. J. Glover studied law in Belmont County and was admitted to the bar in 1860. Jackson Hipple born in Washington County Penn., and was admitted to the bar in 1861. Thomas E. Powell is a native of Delaware studied law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in 1865. H. G. Sheldon, born in Huron County, Ohio and was admitted to the bar in 1865. F. M. Joy, born in Delaware County, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. A. Lybrand, born in Piqua County, Ohio. ant was admitted to the bar in 1871. J. R. Lytle. born in Fairfield County, Ohio. and was admitted to the bar in 1872. William Hall, born in Delaware County, and was admitted to the bar in 1873. F. M. Marriott born in Licking County, Ohio and was admitted to the bar in 1874. G. G. Banker, born in Cardington, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. O. C. Cowgill, born in Logan County, Ohio and was admitted to the bar in 1875. H. S. Culver, born in Delaware County, Ohio and was admitted to the bar in 1875. J. S. Gill, born in Union County. Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. Eugene D. Hamilton, born in Delaware County and was admitted to the bar in 1879. The following excellent sketch of the medical profession is by Dr. S. W. Fowler, and is compiled from the most reliable sources, expressly for the present history of Delaware County It has been stated, and very truly too, that, in the settlement of new countries, there is no one who holdsa more important place than the doctor. The pioneer settlements of fifty or a hundred years ago were usually made by a single family, or sometimes by two or three families, but rarely by large colonies, as is often the case now in the settlement of the. distant Territories of the West. And, in those pioneer settlements it was not very common to find ministers and teachers, while lawyers were still "rarer productions." and scarcely ever met with, unless it was for other reasons than the practice of their profession. Their several vocation, are not considered so essential, and they become a necessity only at a later period, when growth and development are greater (and people more civilized and, therefore. worse). One of the first queries of the emigrant is, Biblically speaking, "Is there balm in Gilead ? is there a physician there? '' or, in other words, Is there a doctor within reach? And a sense of security is only felt when the question can be affirmatively answered. It was thus with the pioneers in this section of the country. "Within reach" sometimes meant a long distance: and a one, two or even three days' ride was not uncommon for one of these early practitioners of the healing art. Inquiries for allopatbic, homeopathic, hydropathic, or for "men doctor" or "women doctors" were never heard in those early days, but the people, in the simplicity of their hearts, if not of their wisdom, had the fullest faith in the orthodoxy of medicine. Few, if any, of the modern isms or pathies existed. They were long in creeping into the frontier settlements even after their advent in the older portions of the country. All had faith in the doctor. He was considered an oracle in all matters pertaining to his profession, as well as in many that did not belong to it. And then, too, he combined all the branches of the profession : he did the work of the dentist and the druggist, as well as that of the surgeon and physician. He was, also, the oracle in all scientific matters;. Being a doctor, he must be the embodiment of learning generally, and, therefore, all questions of chemistry, botany, geology, etc., must be referred to his wisdom. But the monopoly held by the doctor, of complete confidence and consideration, did not last always. With the increase of population. these important gentlemen were compelled to share their honors HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 229 with new-comers in the other branches of the learned professions. The most marked change, however, was in the advent of new lights in the medical profession. These new lights gradually trade their appearance, with innovations in practice that won over to their views a portion of the community. In slow succession came first the root doctors, then Indian doctors, and, after them, water doctors. steam doctors and electric doctors. In the regular order came the advocates of Hahnemann, the homeopathic doctors ; and last, but not least, the lady doctors, and to these all are compelled to offer the right hand of fellowship, for they are decidedly irrepressible, and will have their own way. One would naturally suppose that these were doctors enough for any respectable community, but to this host may be added the specialist, the cancer doctor. the consumption doctor. the chronic-disease doctor, the eye and ear doctor. the corn doctor, to say nothing of the clairvoyant, the wizard. the spiritualist, and the periodical or traveling doctor ; and lastly, the most to be despised and which should be wiped out by law, if not by public opinion, the hosts of private-disease doctors. whose foul display of advertisements contaminate nearly every newspaper and periodical in the land and are sowing the seeds of vice and immorality in the young to an alarming extent. The apathy of the moral world on this subject must soon give way, and the disclosures that will then be made will be simply astounding. The true character and tendency of this pernicious system needs but to be brought to light. to awake thinking: persons from their present indifference to its evil effects. One of the most distinguished men of the profession and one who has spent many years in charitable and reformatory institutions, says: "All the reformatory institutions of the country fall far short of effecting the same amount of good that would be done by the suppression of these advertisers and their foul publications." But to return to our subject: The variety and changes that have arisen in the medical world have taken place within the memory of the present generation. The doctors of middle life only know by tradition of the good old times enjoyed by their predecessors, who were frontiersmen in the profession. There are those still living who tell of many good times in their own day, and of somewhat similar experience to the old forefathers. But let the ancient landmarks silently enjoy the early period of professional glory and of professional honors. If the whole truth was known, however, they would have to acknowledge that their position was not always maintained without some drawbacks. They had to share with others the many hardships, privations and dangers of border life. These were numerous, but there were many to which the doctor was alone exposed-the danger of lonely rides, the exposure by night to wild beasts and to savage men, traveling through dark woods with only a trace, or a blaze upon the trees, and their knowledge of the cardinal points, to guide them. No bridges then spanned the narrow but dangerous streams which could only be crossed by swimming, and over the marshy places stretched the well - known corduroy. One of the old practitioners who became widely known in the profession in this country, and one of the foremost in the State, says: "When I began practice, nearly fifty years ago, a few of the leading roads only were what is termed `cut-outs,' that is, the trees were cut down to a certain width along a line, on which the road had been laid out. The greater number meandered through the timbered land in a general, but not a very straight, direction, as circumstances most favored, and which were very difficult to travel on dark nights. And with the lonely roads there were other troubles, such as getting lost, which was a common occurrence, sometimes to the most experienced backwoodsman." This distinguished father, who has gone to his rest, relates the following experience: "In 1832, I attempted to make a trip one cloudy, drizzly day, over this route to Bellepoint, to visit a patient who lived near that village. Soon after striking the dark path or road in the woods, I lost my way, and discovered that my faithful old horse and myself were traveling in a charmed circle, and, notwithstanding the best efforts I could make, I repeated the trip around the circle several times, when at last I broke the charm by undertaking to travel the circle instead of the bee-line. By reversing the order, I was brought to a point several miles from my patient, but from which I started and reached home, hungry, cold, wet and weary. I had traveled from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M. without being more than four or five miles from my place of starting." He relates an interesting story of old Dr. Reuben Lamb, who was summoned to attend a patient several miles distant. Both the messenger and doctor lost their way, and were compelled to lie down in the forest with their saddles for pillows, until the morning light. The scream of the panther and the howling of the wolves were often 230 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. the unwelcome sounds to greet these early physicians. On one occasion, old Dr. James Hills was traveling from Worthington to Alum Creek, in this county. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and, as he rode along through the dense woods, he was suddenly aroused by the snorting of his horse and the rustling of the leaves and bushes. The panther, for such it was, followed him until he emerged from the woods into the open country, when, with liberal rise of whip and spur; he succeeded in escaping. In those times; the necessity of swimming the streams was quite common. When the late Dr. Ralph Hills came to Delaware, over fifty years age, there was but one bridge in the county, and that was over Alum Creek on the road from Delaware to Berkshire. This was an important line of communication, and the steep banks, probably more than the depth of the .stream, compelled the early construction of a bridge. The Scioto, Whetstone and other streams had none. Swimming streams on horseback was so often required that many persons became experts and quite fearless in the practice. Dr. Hill says the first horse he ever owned was lost from swimming the Whetstone one cold March day, after a dashing ride of five miles. The horse fell sick soon after, and finally died from consumption. The owner held a post-mortem examination on him, after which they sang as a requiem the song. "Poor old horse, let him die." About this time the physicians found a rival in the female doctor, a class of practitioners whose only diploma was the consent of the people. In a few years. every neighborhood had one of these doctors, who was a great blessing (!), and had an extensive practice. As the country became more thickly settled and regular physicians increased in number, the female doctors were driven from the field. They had made their advent into the country about 1808-10, and for twenty or thirty years they increased in numbers but then began to die out. A short time after them another class, known as the root doctors, put in an appearance. Their remedies were of the simplest, herbs and root teas. These were given in the; most dignified manner and they slowly gained a few customers when the the doctor was conferred by their patients. They never became very numerous and generally combined farming with their practice. About the same time. the Indian doctors made their appearance, and were closely allied to the herbists. They were nomadic in their habits and professed to obtain their skill and medicine from the Indians. The uroscopic doctors were next in order, and the same remarks will apply to them. They never obtained a footing in the country or disturbed the equanimity of the regular doctor. The Thompsonian or steam system was a great innovation in the medical profession. It originated in 1824-25, and took its name from the inventor. Thompson, who lived in the East. He patented his book and his medicine, but forgot his theory. He thought. "Heat was life, and cold was death." His medicines were all rated No. 1, No. 2, etc.; his No. 6 being a strong compound of hot stimulants and was the only one that survived any length of time. He would steam the patient outside, and stimulate him with No. 6 inside. His book of instructions, and a right to practice in one's own family or neighborhood. was sold for $20. Delaware County was not slow in its patronage of this system of medicine. Its popularity and success were due, no doubt. to the influence of Mr. Horton Howard. who held the patent for Ohio, several Southern States and the whole West, and who lived in Delaware. He soon moved to Columbus, however, where he printed his pamphlet of instructions, and started a pharmacy for the medicine and also began the practice. It soon became a great power in the land, and in 1832, Mr. Howard succeeded in having the medical laws of Ohio repealed by the Legislature. This was the means of disorganizing all the medical societies in the State and in a few years, the system having had its run. went into a decline which neither No. 6 nor heat could revive. In the year 1830-31, the people were startled by the establishment of a medical college at Worthington. This was another new system, or rather a root and heel; practice or system, that was free to denounce the use of the lancet and minerals. The students, on entering the college. were given a diploma in the "Reformed Medical Society of the United States," as an honorary member. This was opened December 6, 1830; with Dr. J. J. Steels as President and J. C. Jones. Dean. It continued in operation for several years and being contiguous to Delaware; exercised considerable influence in the county, especially in the southern portion. The college, after a few years was moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and became the Eclectic Medical College. The character of homeopathic medicine is well known and the system still has its representatives in the county. It first made its appearance about HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 231 18-, and is increasing, perhaps, at the present day throughout the country. Quite a large class of people believe in this method of practice. But we will not enter into a discussion of its merits or demerits in this connection. The principal diseases known to the early settler were the malarial, or the summer and autumn intermittents, remittents and various other diseases, such as scarlet fever, typhoid fever, measles, etc. Consumption was a rare disease in our early history. In addition to the above the "milk sickness" usually made its appearance in September every year. About 1806-08, there appeared in New England what was termed the "cold plague," which, in course of time, reached this Western country. From 1815 to 1822-23, it raged severely and fatally to a considerable extent. not only in Delaware County, but all over Ohio. It was during these years that some of our best citizens died with it. The Rev. J. S. Hughes, the first Presbyterian minister of Delaware, was a victim, and the father of President Hayes, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Sweetzer, father of the late Hon. Charles Sweetzer, and many others. Having taken a hasty glance at the early history of medicine, the various systems and their advent into the country; also, a brief sketch of the diseases most prevalent. it will now be in order to say something of the early practitioners as fathered from those who personally knew them. Much of our information has been obtained from one whose knowledge extended back professionally over a period of nearly fifty years, and who knew, perhaps, every physician or surgeon personally that practiced in the county. Others have corroborated his information. as well as furnished additional fact: of historical interest. For the first five years after settlements were made in the county we have been unable to ascertain who was the medical adviser, if indeed the early settlers were so fortunate (or unfortunate) as to have one. But in 1806, Mr. Reuben Lamb came to the county. He read medicine in New York, his native State, and was on his way down the Mississippi River. But, on arriving at Pittsburg, he fell in with Col. Moses. Byxbe, and was persuaded to join his party at Berkshire. in Berkshire Township. At that time, there was no village in the county. and none nearer than Worthington, Franklin County. After a brief sojourn with this emigrant party, he decided to move to Worthington. as it was without a physician. In 1806, he married there, and his oldest child, long a resident of Delaware, was born in 1807. In the spring of 1808, the Doctor again joined his old friend, Col. Byxbe, and together they laid out the town of Delaware. Dr. Lamb aided in organizing the county, and in starting various enterprises. He was the first County Recorder, as well as the first physician in the county and in the town. His residence and office were in a log-cabin, built by Col. Byxbe, and stood in the front yard (or what is now the front yard) of Hon. J. C. Evans. He soon built himself a palatial cabin in the rear of where Martin Millers residence now stands, and on the banks of the Delaware Run. He was about thirty-three years old when he began practice in the county, and remained in active practice until 1822, when he moved to Missouri. But losing his wife, he returned to Delaware in less than a year. From physical disability he gave up general practice on his return to this county, but confined himself to the sale of medicines, consultations and office business. He was a well-read physician, but. whether a graduate or not, is not known. It is quite conclusive, however, that the office of some good physician in New York was his alma mater. Coming to the Western country, his best lessons were culled from his own experience at the bedside of his patients, as the type of diseases here differed from those he had met in the East. He was a very successful physician, and in the days of the so-called bilious forms of trouble. he usually had his hand, full to attend the calls made upon him. A good story was often told of his early practice: "About 1820, a Mr. Shippy was taken sick at Col. Sidney Moore's. When the crisis of the disease came, two watchers had been engaged, but one failed to put in an appearance. The Doctor made his last visit for the night. gave full instructions, and left. The nurse seated himself comfortably before the fire awaiting the arrival of his assistant. But weary from a hard day 's work, he soon forgot all his cares in a heavy, undisturbed sleep. When he awoke, the bright sunshine was streaming into the room. Fearing from his neglect that the man must be dead, he went to the bed when the patient turned over, rubbed his eyes, and seemed surprised that it was morning. He spoke of having had a good night's rest; and that he felt much better (so did the nurse ). The Doctor soon came, pronounced the man out of danger, highly complimented the good nursing, and remarked that in future, he would know who to call on to watch his patients." Although Dr. Lamb disliked surgery, he had the only case of instruments in the county at that 232 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. time, and freely loaned them to those who had occasion to use them. He was a man of few words; was a kind-hearted, generous, sympathetic, affectionate man, but being professionally and socially quiet, was often taken to be cold and distant. He was married four times leaving a widow at his death, which occurred in 1850 at the age of seventy-six. Dr. Noah Spalding a was a native of New Hampshire, and graduated in literature and medicine at Dartmouth College. He possessed a mind well stored with knowledge, but was slow in expression was amiable, sociable and temperate in all his habits, and succeeded in gaining a good practice. An old physician said, "It was the. Doctor's delight to be seated with his feet higher than his head entertaining his listeners with pleasing stories." Dr. Spalding first located in Berkshire Township, about 1809. He afterward came to Delaware, where he practiced his profession until his death, in 1832. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, an exemplary Christian, and, as early as 1818. assisted in organizing_the first Sabbath school in the county. While a member of the Board of County Examiners for teachers, he made a pleasant impression on the late Dr. R. Hills, which was never forgotten. He came before the honorable Board for examination, and for credentials to teach school. His trepidation was soon dispelled by the genial examiner occupying the first Half-hour with some anecdotes of school teaching, and the qualifications of soine who had been before him for examination. Suddenly he turned, and said, "Ralph, what is the difference between six dozen dozen and a Half-dozen dozen ?'' The answer being promptly given. the Doctor turned to his associates and said: "You may as well write out his certificate. He is one of Dr Hill's sons, and we know what he is." Another joke is told of the Doctor which is too good to be lost. It seems he had not the most implicit confidence in his own professional judgment. One day he met Dr. Lamb on the street and said "Doctor, I have given my wife some blue pills, and they have not. acted as they should, see what you think of them," showing him some he had in his hand. Dr. Lamb placed one in his teeth, then quietly remarked. "You see they are buckshot, and made of lead." Dr. N. Hawley so near as can be ascertained, was the third physician in the county and located in Berkshire (the point of attraction to doctors) about 1810-12. He was an energetic practitioner; shrewd and skillful and full of anecdotes and laughable stories. He died about 1822, at quite an advanced age, as he was called "Old Dr. Hawley" when he came to the county. Dr. Silas C. McClary wars probably the fourth doctor to immigrate to Delaware County, and, like those who preceded him, he settled at Berkshire. He located there about 1813, and remained a resident of that place for a period of nearly twenty years, when he removed to Delaware, and soon after to Radnor Township, where he died. At one time he was very successful in business, but in later years, through misfortunes, he was left destitute, and died poor and uncared for. Some traits in his character unnecessary to mention in this connection, always prevented him from becoming a favorite with members of the profession or of being much sought after by them. Dr. Samuel Moulton located in Delaware in 1819, thus giving Berkshire a rest from new doctors. He came from Vermont; was educated in Rutland, in that State, and was a graduate of medicine. Soon after his removal to Delaware, he began to rise in his profession, and to grow in public esteem. He was a well-read, skillful physician, and made very few mistakes. His useful career was cut short by that fell disease, consumption and he died in 1821, at the age of twenty-nine years. Dr. Lamb esteemed him highly, and often sought his counsel. For many years after Moulton's death. Dr. Lamb kept his name familiar among the people of Delaware by making, and using in his practice, "Moulton's Cathartic Pills.' Dr. Eleazer Copeland was also a native of Vermont, and came to the county about the same time as Dr. Moulton, locating in Galena or Zoar, as the place was then called. He was wholly a self-made man; was a shoemaker by trade, and obtained much of his education while at work at his bench In this way he committed Murray's English Gram roar in two weeks and likewise prepared himself for a teacher. While teaching school, be began the study of Greek; and Latin, which he mastered without an instructor, and became a good translator of both languages. He took up the study of medicine in the same manner, and was an excellent and skillful physician. He was highly esteemed by all his professional brethren. and for several years held the position of Censor, first of the Sixth and then of the Eleventh Medical District of Ohio; the latter district comprising the counties of Franklin, Delaware, Marion, and Crawford. He met his death in 1834, from accidental drowning, in Big Walnut Creek, near Galena. As counselor, phy- HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 233 sician, scholar, and citizen, his loss was deeply felt in all circles. Dr. Royal N. Powers was the next. doctor in the field, and came to the county about 1820. He settled in the town of Delaware, but, owing to conduct that was unappreciated by a majority of the people, he was, it is said, compelled to leave somewhat unceremoniously. A number of the citizens accompanied him a short distance on the way, and presented him with a "ride on a rail" as a token of their remembrance. Dr. Alpheus Bigelow, who located in Galena in an early day, was a brother of the celebrated Russell Bigelow, the well-known evangelist of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is said that he, like his brother, was self-educated, and was a plain, unpolished man. He possessed energy of character, as well as a strong intellect and excellent judgment, and became a skillful practitioner. Not being a regular graduate, he evinced little disposition to cultivate an intimacy with "Regulars," but was nevertheless respected by all. He died in 1850, having been longer in practice; in one place, than any other physician in the county. Dr. James Harvey Hills was a native of Connecticut, and was educated at Yale College. He studied medicine with his brother-in-law, Dr. Eli Todd, and began the practice of his profession in his native place, but, soon determined to emigrate to the West. He located at Worthington, Franklin County in 1808, and. in 1822, removed to Delaware, where he remained until his death, in 1830, aged forty-nine years. It was universally conceded that he had a thorough professional education. He was a clear thinker, possessed strong. perceptive faculties. an excellent judgement, and was successful as a physician. Surgery he did not like, but never shrank from it as connected with common practice. A brother physician who knew him well, says: "As a physician, he was extensively serviceable to suffering humanity, and when he died was greatly missed." Dr. Jonathan N. Burr read iiiedicine and graduated in Columbus, and came to Delaware in 1823. Here he entered into a partnership with, Dr. James Hills, which continued until 1825, when Dr. Burr withdrew, and removed to Mount Vernon and is still living therein the enjoyment of all his faculties. During his sojourn in Delaware, he made a host of friends. He was, and is still, quite a jovial man; literally bubbling over with jokes and fun. For more than half a century he has been practicing his profession. and, though advanced in years, he still practices to some extent. May his last years be his best. Dr. George M. Smith came to Delaware in 1826, and was taken into partnership with Dr. James Hills, a partnership that continued as long as he remained in the county. He was a fine anatomist, the knowledge of which had been gained in the hospitals of the East. For some little affair, in the way of exhuming a body "for the cause of science," he was forced to leave his native State (New Hampshire), and seek a secluded retreat in the height of his success here, his abode was discovered, and again it became necessary for him to seek safety in flight. He went to Mississippi, where he married a rich wife, and became famous. Some years after his marriage, he made a visit North, and while here died with the cholera. The first quinine ever brought to Delaware was at his suggestion, in 1826, and the invoice consisted of one drachm. Dr. W. M. Miller removed from Worthington, a favorite resort of doctors, to Delaware, and opened an office. He was a Virginian, and a graduate of some one of the colleges in that State. When he settled in Delaware he was in middle life; and, not succeeding well in establishing a practice, although an excellent physician, after two or three years he sold out and removed to Columbus, and afterward to Missouri. He is said to have been a brother-in-law to ex-PresidentJohn Tyler. Dr. Charles H. Pickett was born and educated in the city of New York. He was a graduate of medicine (a rare thing in those early days). and came from an educated and influential family. His father and brothers conducted a female seminary in New York, and were the authors of some popular school books. Dr. Pickett's abilities as a physician were universally conceded, even by himself, it is said. He first located in Worthington, but, in 1831, moved to Delaware. where he died in 1855, at the age of sixty years. His son. Dr. Albert Pickett. studied medicine with his father, but, after a few years' practice, died suddenly. Dr. Christopher C. Rausburg studied medicine in Columbus, and came to Delaware the same year as Dr. Pickett, and formed a partnership with Dr. Pickett. In a few years his health failed, and he was forced to retire from professional work. Dr. James Langworthy was from Albany, N. Y . He came to Delaware in 1835, and engaged in the drug business. In the winter of 1836-37, he began the practice of medicine, but had been in practice before coming to Delaware. 234 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. Upon the return of Dr. Ralph Hills, who resumed his business as a physician, Dr. Langworthy retired from professional work, and from Delaware. Dr. Ralph Hills was a son of Dr. James H. Hills, and came with his father's family from Worthington to Delaware, when he was but twelve years of age. He commenced the study of medicine with his father, in 1827, at the age of seventeen. and continued it until the death of his father, when he was himself licensed to practice. He at once entered on duty and took upon himself the most of his father's business. But. after a few years, at the request of his uncle. Dr. Eli Todd, who was in charge of a large hospital for the insane, in Hartford. Conn., he went to Hartford, and took a position in the hospital; the instruction there received was of the utmost benefit to him in the active and useful life he afterward lived. He then returned to Delaware and commenced a practice which he followed uninterruptedly for twenty years. In 1830, he received an honorary certificate from the college at Cincinnati, to practice medicine. This took the place of a diploma as his father's death called him home before he had completed his medical course, and hence, he had never graduated from a medical college. His reputation grew rapidly, and his fame as a physician extended beyond his own county. He was employed to deliver lectures on astronomy, and to travel with Russell's Great Planetarium for a year or two (about 1836-37 ), and his fine talents were recognized both at home and abroad. He was an able thinker on other subjects than medicine. As a writer, none questioned his ability. His productions on medical and other subjects were of the highest standard of merit. His judgment and calculations upon matters of business were almost unerring. It was in his parlor that the idea originated which developed into the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, an educational institution of high reputation. Of his great inventive genius; appropriate mention will be made in another chapter. In 1854, he established the Counsellor, the first medical weekly journal published in the West. He filled the position of editor of this journal for two years, when he was called to take charge of the Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum; at Columbus. For eight years, he satisfactorily filled the office of Superintendent, and then accepted a position to plan and superintend the erection of the largest State Asylum in the United States that located at Weston, W. Va. When he finished his labors there, in 1870. he returned to Delaware and retired from active life. But he was not created to be idle, and, after a short rest. was prevailed on to accept the superintendency of the Girls' Industrial Home, a position he held at the time of his death, which occurred in October 1879, at the age of sixty-eight years. Dr. Elijah Carney was from Kentucky, and settled in Berkshire in 1835, commencing his professional career about the same time as Dr. Ralph Hills. For one so well known as was Dr. Carney, his personal history has been very difficult to obtain. He, soon after coming to the county, succeeded in winning, the confidence of the people, and, for many years, was the sole practitioner, almost, of a large scope of country. He was a graduate of the Cleveland Medical College, and a man of industrious habits, attentive to his patients, always showing a kind interest and much sympathy for them in their suffering. He died in 1869, but has numerous relatives still living in this and in Morrow County. Dr. Kingsley Ray came from Western New York and located in Worthington at an early day. and, in 1837, removed to Delaware. He graduated at Berkshire, Mass. As a physician. he had the entire confidence of the community and is said to have been well read, but, from some cause, he never achieved a very great success In 1848, he went to Circleville. Ohio, where he still lived at the last known of him. Dr. H. Lathrop also came from Worthington to Delaware about 1837-38, but never actually located in the city of Delaware. He stopped in Liberty Township, where he operated some mills and practiced the profession a little at times, but never very extensively. In it few years he removed to Columbus, where he at length died. Dr. M. Gerhard was born near Easton, Penn. and in early life came to Wooster, Ohio, where he clerked in a bank. It was while thus employed that he read medicine and attended one course of lectures at Philadelphia. In 1840, im mediately after finishing his first course of lectures, he came to Delaware County, and located on Scioto River, at John Detwiler's. After about two years' practice, he went to Philadelphia, attended another course of lectures and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College. Upon graduating he returned to Delaware County and resumed practice. He was a thorough scholar, a well-read physician, and possessed the full confidence of his patients. He married a granddaughter of Dr. Lamb; he died in I868, leaving a wife and HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 235 family. His widow and son are still living in Delaware, the latter engaged in the lumber business. Dr. William Johnston came from Crawford County, and settled in Norton, where he practiced medicine for several years, and in 1842 removed to Delaware. In later years, he was a great sufferer and finally died from cancer. Dr. Abraham Blymyer has been in the county so long that his name has become a standard of perfection for the true physician, in the minds of all medical students. For more than forty years this favorite old Doctor has been going in and out before the people of Delaware County. Through the midnight darkness and the noonday sun, through the storms of winter and the heat. of summer, has he gone on his way and administered in his kind manner to the poor and needy. These long years of faithful practice and broken rest have made but little impression upon his iron constitution. Although he has been a practicing physician for a half-century or more, he rivals in activity many of his younger brethren, who number but months of practice where he counts years of hard work. Dr. Blymyer was born in Pennsylvania in 1804. His father was a man of education and followed school teaching. It was under his instruction that the son received his early education. He commenced the study of inedicine in 1824, and. some two years later fell heir to a fortune of several thousand dollars, with which he entered into the mercantile business. This venture proved successful, but a large "Iron Company." with which he was connected, failed. and his entire fortune. amounting to some $17,000, , was swallowed up in the crash. He then returned to the study of medicine, and. after reading two years longer took a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He also attended two terms at Barten's Medical Institute in the same city, where he received a diploma. Soon after graduating. He came West, and located at Mansfield, Ohio. where he commenced the practice of his profession. He remained there some ten years, during, which time the Willoughby Medical College. near Cleveland conferred on him the degree of M. D. as a token of merit. In 1840, he removed to Galion but did not remain long (one year), and then came to Delaware. Here he soon won a large practice, and became an enterprising citizen. He took an active part in building up a county medical society, and found time to attend the meetings of the State Medical and State Central Societies of both of which he is at present a member. Twice he has been elected one of the Vice Presidents of the State Medical Society, and several times President and Vice President of the county society. And further than this, he has been the private instructor of over thirty medical students, some of whom have attained the head of the profession, and to others, who were unable to make a start in life without help, he furnished money, a horse, medicine and influence. A few years ago, he partially retired from active professional work, but, through some bad investments, he again saw his goods taken by hungry creditors, and he was left with nothing but a strong old body and an active brain. Again he resumed practice, and is doing good work, with a fair prospect of many years of professional life still before him. We come now to a more modern date in the history of the medical profession. Dr. Henry Gregg, it is said, read medicine at Eden in 1845, and graduated at Columbus. After that, he located in Liberty Township. A few years later he removed to Indiana, where he now lives. Dr. Klapp settled in Berlin the same year Dr. Gregg located in Liberty Township. He was professionally well educated and a successful practitioner. He remained here until about 1863, when he retired from practice. Dr. D. W. Howell came to the county, and settled in Eden in 1845. He remained in Eden three years. then removed to Stratford, near Delaware and. in 1856. removed to Circleville, Ohio, where he afterward died. Dr. William Hendren located in Delaware about 1846-47 , and was a graduate of Starling Medical College. He remained here but a short time and then went away, since which period but little has been learned of him, beyond the fact that he is dead. Dr. H. C. Mann came from Butler County, Ohio, and settled in Delaware in 1846. Some three years later he joined a party going to California. where he died. He was a man of intelligence, and well educated. His wife accompanied him to the Golden State, but after his death, returned to Ohio. The people of Delaware. are indebted to Dr. Mann for the best sketch of the county that has been written to the present time. It may be found in "Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio." pages 567-574 of the Addenda. Dr. James Carothers began the study of medicine with Dr. Blymyer, while the latter was a resident of Galion, before his removal to Delaware. 236 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. When he came to Delaware, Carothers accompanied him and finished his studies, after which he attended the Cleveland Medical College, and graduated in 1846. He then located in Eden, where he remained until 1851, when he came to Delaware and entered into partnership with Dr. Blymyer. A few years later he went to California, but, after a short stay, returned to Delaware, and renewed his old partnership with Dr. Blymyer. In 1855. he again went to California, and settled in Costa County, where he still lived the last. heard from him. Dr. Thomas B. Williams was born in South Wales in 1819, and came to the. United States with his parents when but an infant. His father first located in Gallia County, Ohio. and, in 1824, came to Delaware County, where he soon after died. leaving his wife to care for and raise eight children. The subject of this sketch. Thomas B. though but a lad of six years of age at his father's death. showed marked ability and, as he grew up, determined to learn the shoemaker's trade, which he soon mastered. A few years later he was called upon to nurse an individual through a serious illness, at the American House. It was in this experience that his qualities as a nurse and his interest in medicine were discovered and his friends advised him to turn his attention to medicine. He commenced reading medicine in the office of Dr. Ralph Hills. and, after a thorough course of study of five years. He graduated at the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, in the winter of 1848-49, after which he returned to Delaware. and was taken into partnership by his preceptor. When the late war broke out he entered the army as a volunteer surgeon in the One. Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteers. His course through the war is best given in the language of those who shared the toil and danger of army life with him. Says one who knows whereof he speaks: "In September 1862, he laid down an extensive practice. bade farewell to home and family, and enrolled himself with the patriots under Col. William P. Reid. For more than three years he rendered the Union Army invaluable services as a surgeon. After the battle of Perryville, he was promoted to Brigade Surgeon of the Second Brigade commanded by Gen. John G. Mitchell of Columbus. His energy, indefatigable industry, his care of wounded soldiers, the cleanliness, efficiency and excellent arrangement of his hospitals, won still higher promotion that of Division Surgeon in the Fourteenth Army Corps under command of Gen. Jeff C. Davis. His bravery and self-possession never forsook him in the most extreme fortunes of war." Says Maj. Henderson: "I have never known a man so admirably constituted for extreme emergencies." At Chattanooga, his commanding officer, Gen. Steedman, said to him: "Doctor, we are completely shut in, and I do not see how we can escape being cut to pieces." "Well;" quickly replied the Doctor, "I must arrange my hospitals on a more permanent and efficient plan, and be ready for all misfortunes that may befall our troops." Mr. H. M. Carper thus speaks of him: "The mind of Dr. Williams was of a peculiar type, which usually acted with singular promptness, clearness and good judgment on occasions of peril involving important, if not vital interests. If the unwritten history of the war could only be written. the career of no surgeon could be shown to be store brilliant than that of Dr. Williams." "It was my fortune." said Gen. Mitchell. "to he intimately associated with Dr. Williams for three years in the field, and I have often thought over an intercourse which covered the most trying period of the war.'' Says Rev. Dr. McCabe : "He was one of the noblest men I ever knew and the simple statement of his virtues a monument more enduring than marble or brass. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and in all the battles of that period. He was present at Bentonville, the closing battle of the war. Dr. Williams was widely known and universally beloved as a physician and his noble qualities were the admiration of all. For many years he was elected a member of the school Board. In 1873, he was chosen to represent his county in the Sixty-First General Assembly of the State, but declined the nomination. He was an honored member of the State Medical Society, and several times chosen one of its Vice Presidents. He was also a member of the State Central Society, and one of its Vice Presidents and was one of the most active workers in the Delaware County Medical Society. He was elected President of the society, and served one term, but declined further honors. saying the honor must go to others. He was married, about 1855, to Miss Nannie Ritchie, daughter of the Hon. John Ritchie, of Perry County, Ohio. She was a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan Female College. They have but one child a daughter, who graduated at the same college as did her mother. In 1859 Dr. Williams became a member of the Williams Street Methodist Episcopal Church and remained one of its faithful and exemplary members until the time HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 237 of his death. He died in 1879, at the age of 60 years. Dr. John A. Little is a native of Delaware, and was born December 7, 1825. He was the second child and the first son of the old pioneer, William Little, who is frequently mentioned in other portions of this history. In 1840, when fifteen years old, he entered the Preparatory Department of Kenyon College, at Gambier, Ohio. It was here that he again met his old play fellow, President R. B. Hayes, and became his room-mate for two years. Dr. Little graduated in 1845. While in college, none stood higher in their classes, or graduated with more honors. It is said that he was admired by both faculty and students. After completing his studies at Kenyon College, he entered the office of Drs. Jones & Case, in Columbus. Dr. Little was a thorough student of medicine, and especially of botany, in which he had few superiors. He attended his first course of lectures at the Medical Department of the Transylvania University, at Louisville, Ky., and while there was a member of the family of the distinguished Dr. Drake. In 1847-48, he attended his second course of lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and where he received the degree of M. D. He first located at Sandusky City, but was soon called to Columbus, when he became a partner of his preceptor, Dr. Case. Dr. Jones retiring. After about three years, Dr. Case retired from practice, and Dr. Jones became a partner of his former student, but died some three years later, when Dr. Little was left alone. His popularity and scholarly attainments had already introduced him into a lucrative practice. Through the influence of friends, in 1865, he removed to Delaware, where he soon grew into a large business. Dr. Dening said Dr. Little was a "born physician; he was an ambidexter, possessed almost intuitive knowledge of both diseases and remedies." His bearing in the sick-room was ever calm, reposed and cheerful, and inspired his patients with confidence and hope. To a student of his profession he was an invaluable instructor ever imparting the most important teachings. To the voting physicians he extended a kind word and friendly hand, and to the older members gave advice and counsel of the ablest character. His opinions and advice were sought by all classes. He was loved and esteemed by all who knew him, and especially the poor, who always found in him "a friend in time of need." He was a member of the Ohio State Medical Society, and in 1873 read one of the most valuable and able papers on the antidotal properties of belladonna in opium poisoning, ever read before it. He was a member of the State Central Medical Society, and one of the organizers of the Second Delaware County Medical Society, and a member of Agassiz Scientific Association of Delaware. He was the proof-reader of Dr. J. G. Jones' American Eclectic Practice of Medicine. He was married to the youngest, daughter of the late Judge Hosea Williams in 1850, and had one son and four daughters. He died January 13, 1877, of acute catarrhal phthisis, at the age of fifty-two years. Dr. P. A. Willis was a native of Delaware County. After attending the district school he spent two years at the Ohio Wesleyan university. He read medicine with Dr. Hamilton, at Columbus, and graduated in Starling Medical College in 1862. Soon after he graduated, he entered the army as Contract Surgeon ; and in a short time was promoted to Assistant Surgeon of the Forty-eighth Regiment, and in the spring of 1863, to full Surgeon. At the close of the war, he was made Medical Director of an army corps under Gen. Andrews. After leaving the army, he engaged in farming and the practice of his profession. He died in March, 1876. at his home near Bellepoint. Dr. B. F. Loofbourrow was one of the best of the root and herb doctors. He was widely known and universally esteemed. He first lived on the township road in Berlin Township, but afterward removed to Alum Creek and, some time later, to Cheshire. He finally removed to the West, where he died. Dr. Barbour moved into the county in 1840. He was from Richland County, and soon grew into a large practice, but lost it again in a short time, and moved away. Dr. Daniel Skeels came to Sunbury in an early day. He was a root and herb doctor, and soon gained a large practice. He died in 1824, at the age of seventy-nine years. Drs. Skinner and Leach settled at Millville about the same time that Dr. Barbour came to the county. Dr. Leach took up homoeopathy, and removed to Cincinnati, and afterward to Middletown, where he now lives. Dr. William H. Davis settled at Bellepoint, in 1850. He is said to have been a well-educated man. and an industrious practitioner. In 1856, he went to South America, where he became Governor, or held some high position in one of the small states. He at length returned to the United States, and settled in Iowa, and was a Surgeon in the Union Army during the late war, but has since 238 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. died. Drs. Dening and Brown settled in the village of Galena at an early day. But of them little is known. Dr. Granger was a student from Worthington Botanical School, but afterward graduated at the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati. He located in Westfield in 1837, where he died in 1863. Dr. Lewis was a student of Dr. Loofbourrow, and was strictly a root and herb doctor. He settled in Cheshire and gained a large practice. He died there a few years ago. Dr. Messe was a uroscopic doctor, and settled in Delaware in 1838. For many years he made open war on quinine, and used as a substitute a blue powder made from quinine and prussiate of iron. He retired from the field in 1845. Dr. William House was of the Thompsonian Steam School, and located in Galena. He finally turned his steaming into merchandising which he found more profitable. Dr. Erastus Field began the practice of medicine at Bellepoint, in 1844 where he remained until 1852, when he located in Ostrander. He is one of the oldest resident doctors in the county and the oldest in Scioto Township, and has been a member of the State Medical Society since its organization in 1851. He has retired from active practice. His son. Dr. John H. Field graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in 1870. Since that time he has been practicing in Ostrander and vicinity, where he has taken much of his father's business. Dr. D. M. Kensell read medicine with Dr. Blymyer, and after graduating in the regular school adopted the practice of homoeopathy, and, in 1856, removed to Columbus. where he soon grew into a large practice. From a poor boy he has become one of the wealthiest men in the city of his adoption. Dr. D. C. Fay is a native of Union County. He read medicine and attended his first course of lecture at Starling Medical College, and in 1866, grad uated at the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati, after which he located in the village of Ostrander where he is still in practice. Dr. E. Jones was son-in-law and student of Dr. Blymyer. He went West, where he died some years later. The following physicians have been practitioners of the county, but of them we have not been able to learn much: Dr. Joseph Cox. of Radnor; Drs Morehead, Mount, Black, of Scioto Township, Drs. McCrary, Maine, Starnburg, Wigdons, of Delhi; Dr. Longwell at one time located in Eden but died in the army, where he held the position of Surgeon; Drs. Robinson, Bill, Dennison, Eaton of Delaware; Dr. Mills now of Trenton Township; Drs. Lewis, White, Pencoast, Doty, Wilson, of Ashley; Drs. Van Deman, D. C. Peterson, Rowels, Benton, Skinner, Leach, were residents, at different times, of Millville. The profession in the county is thus represented at the present time, many of whom are noticed in the biographical department of this work. We give the year in which they came to the county or the year they commenced practice. Dr. H. N. Comer, 1852, Ashley; Dr. Erastus Field 1852, Ostrander; Dr. William McIntire, 1850. Millville; Dr. James M. Cherry, 1850, Delaware: Dr. J. M. Snodgrass, 1842, Delaware County: Dr. Calvin Welch, 1853, Delaware ; Dr. Lewis Barnes, 1856, Delaware: Dr. James H. White, 1856. Delaware: Dr. N. S. Samsell, 1855, Delaware: Dr. A. E. Westbrook, 1865, Ashley; Dr. W. H. Pulford, 1873, Ashley : Dr. D. C. Fay, 1866, Ostrander: Dr. W. E. Rowels, 1879, Millville ; Dr. F. W. Morrison. 1870, Delaware; Dr. Joseph McCann. Sr., 1869. Delaware: Dr. A. W. Dumm, 1879, Delaware: Dr. W. F. Crickard. 1877 Delaware: Dr. W. B. Hedges, 1879, Delaware ; Dr. J. O. McDowell 1877, Delaware; Dr. John W. Vogt, 1876, Delaware ; Dr. James H. Hughes, 1879, Delaware: Dr. William Goldrisk, 1865, Delaware: Dr. W. T. Constant 1868, Delaware: Dr. S. P. Cummings, 1869. Delaware; Dr. Henry Besse, 1864, Delaware: Dr. John H. Field 1870. Ostrander; Dr. E. H. Hyatt,* 1855, Delaware: Dr. John W. Neil, 1871, Delaware. Dr. Samuel White (colored) 1838, Delaware County: Dr. S. W. Fowler, 1871. Delaware: Dr. Lyman Potter, 1850, Delaware Comity: Dr. J. H. Smith, 1874. Eden : Dr. J C. Wintermute, 1875, Lewis Center : Dr. W. C. Mercer, 1851. Lewis Center: Dr. F. E. Eckelberry, 1877, Bellepoint ; Dr. J. Edwards. 1879, Delhi: Dr. J. McCann Jr., 1879, Delhi: Dr. V. H. Goesling, 1877, Delhi : Dr. G. F. Foster, l870, Olive Greene : Dr. S. C. Dumm, 1873, Cheshire: Dr. W. T. Clute, 1879, Delaware: Dr. A P. Taylor, 1871, Sunbury: Dr. F. B, Mosher 1873, Sunbury: Dr. J. D. Williams. 1870, Sunbury. It has been said that "associated action constitutes the main-spring-the controlling motive power of society." When one looks over the present aspect and tendency of civilization, he will concede the truth of this saying. Thus it was that the early practitioners of the county saw the * Dr. Hyatt was elected Professor of Therapeutics in the Columbus Medical College in 1875, a chair that be still occupies. HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY . - 239 great need of associated action, and set about forming a society. In or about 1848, Drs. Ralph Hills, Blymyer, Cherry, Gerhard, and a few others met in the room now occupied as the Mayor's office, and formed the first medical society of the county, known as the Delaware County Society. Dr Hills was elected President, and Dr. Blymyer, Vice President. At this meeting Dr. Blymyer read his famous paper on "Milk Sickness." After a few years. this society went into a trance, in which condition it remained until 1868, when it was resuscitated by Drs. Blyniyer, Williams. Constant, McIntire, Little, Willis, Hyatt, White, Cherry, Besse, Welch. Carothers. and others. Dr. Blymyer was elected President, Dr. Willis. Vice President, and Dr. Hyatt, Secretary. In 1869, Dr. Blymyer was re-elected, and when his term expired he gave a banquet to his brethren a social custom that has since been kept up by his successors. At the last annual meeting, the society, or as it is now called, the association, had an attendance of thirty-five members. The greatest harmony prevailed throughout the entire meeting. Dr. James H. White was elected President, Dr. S. C. Dumm, Vice President, and Dr. J. C. Wintermute. Secretary. NOTE.-The historian deems it but a matter of justice to mention here that Dr. Fowler (who is too modest to mention it himself) prepared and read before the society, at its meeting, December 11 1877, a paper on "Nervous Debility," which was freely indorsed by some of the ablest physicians in the country, and was published by order of the society, for the benefit of its members. And at the meting in January, 1880, he read a paper on "Scarlet Fever," which received high commendations, and was ordered published. (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)