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162 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY CHAPTER IX PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS TREATMENT OF PREVALENT DISEASES-PHYSICAL LABOR OF GETTING THERE -PIONEER DEATH AND BURIAL-MEDICAL ATTENDANCE OFF-COLOR- -THE COMING OF THE CHILDREN-DR. ANDREW RAPPE-DR. WILLIAM GARDNER-DR. JOHN AND THOMAS S. BONFIELD-JUSTIN SCOTT, PIONEER SURGEON-THE BENEVOLENT DR. THOMAS HARTFORD-A NAPOLEONIC SURGEON-DRS. JAMES JEROW AND JOSEPH SIMMONS-DR. ROBERT E STEP AND DR. JOSEPH E. ESTEP-MASSILLON PHYSICIANS- DR. JOSEPH WATSON-DR. BARAK MICHENER-DR. JOHN SCHERTZER —TWO GERMAN PHYSICIANS OF CANTON-DR. LEVI HALDEMAN, MINERVA-DR. JOHN SCHILLING, LOUISVILLE-DR. L M WHITING, VETERAN CANTON PHYSICIAN-DR. A. W. WHITING-DR. LEWIS SLUSSER-OTHER PRACTITIONERS OF THE '40S-DR. J. P. BARRICKDR. ABRAHAM METZ, OPHTHALMOLOGIST-DR. PERKINS WALLACE - DR. KERSEY THOMAS-DR. A. S. SHEETS AND DR. W. O. BAKER- PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF A LATER PERIOD-DR. T. H. PHILLIPS -MEDICAL SOCIETIES. When the first settlers of Stark County located, their physical troubles commenced to form its history, otherwise the beginning of this chapter never would have been written, as it is about to be. TREATMENT OF PREVALTENT DISEASES The diseases most prevalent in early times were of a malarious character-fever and ague, bilious fever, and dysentery, during the summer, and pneumonia and pleurisy in the winter. The orthodox treatment of the former was by bleeding, emeto-cathartics, and Peruvian bark. Quinine had not then been introduced. The chief domestic remedies were boneset, dogwood, and snakeroot. The treatment of pneumonia and pleurisy was bleeding, blistering, calomel, opium and tartar-emetic. The absurd practice of interdicting cold water in fever and excluding fresh air from the sickroom was religiously observed. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 163 PHYSICAL LABOR OF GETTING THERE The physical labor attending practice at that day was at times very great. The only way of getting over the country was on horseback. The roads were rough, and in the winter very muddy. Often much of the distance to a house was by a bridle-path. But few of the streams were bridged, and in time of high water there was no alternative but to plunge in and swim across. It was not an infrequent occurrence for the physician to be called after night, fifteen or twenty miles away, much of the distance over muddy roads and through dense forests; the place, a log-cabin with only one room, and no resting-spot save the puncheon floor. PIONEER DEATH AND BURIAL John Bowers, the first settler of Nimishillen Township and one of the first to make his home in the county, came from Maryland and in the winter of 1806-07 his young son was taken down with one of those malarial fevers which were so common then and there. The few neighbors proffered their medical advice and practical assistance, but the poor boy lingered and died. He was buried in the woods, and a tree was so cut that it covered the grave and protected the body from the wolves. MEDICAL ATTENDANCE OFF-COLOR Not long after, Philip Smith came to the same township, and while clearing his land was struck by a falling tree and his leg broken in two places. A young son, who was with him at the time, immediately started for help and in a few hours several of the neighbors, who had come from several miles away, reported at the place of accident. A few minutes' consultation decided a plan of action. They straightened the fractured limb, enveloped it with elm bark freshly peeled from a tree, and held the splints in place by wrapping them with withes. He was taken home in a sled, and, as he was addicted to drink, begged for his "dram." That only excited a taste for more, and a creditable friend and witness afterward reported that during the six weeks that Smith was confined to his bed with his broken leg he consumed six gallons of whiskey. At the end of that period, the splints were removed and the leg was found well healed and strong. The surgeons, who furnished first and only aid to the injured were doubtless skillful, and their methods probably would not be criticised by regular members of the profession 164 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY whose means were as limited as theirs, but, from a modern standpoint the medical attendance, with its six gallons of whiskey, was decidedly off-color. THE COMING OF THE CHILDREN In 1806 a boy was born to the wife of Hugh Cunningham, a resident of Plain Township, which was the first birth in the county. Regular physicians or midwives there were none, but when Mrs. Cunningham's (PICTURE) A GOOD PIONEER MOTHER time came Mrs. Jacob Loutzenheiser, mother of the judge, officiated. The result was satisfactory to all concerned. Regarding this large field for medical and surgical services, it has been said that "for many years after the settlement of the county, and long after physicians were within reach, it was the custom to employ females in cases of this nature. It was a rare case that a physician was called in. And so far as results are known of success in the management of labor in former years, as compared with later times, it is believed by those who have investigated HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 165 the subject that the showing is in favor of 'ye olden times.' This may be accounted for either in the habits of pioneer life being more favorable to developing and strengthening the system, or because there was less interference with the efforts of nature." DR. ANDREW RAPPE The first physician who located in Stark County was Andrew Rappe. He was born in Paris, France, 1779. Having lost both his parents when quite young, he was left to the care of an aunt, residing near the border of Germany. His medical education was obtained in Frankfort-on-the-Rhine. After serving several years as surgeon in the army, he emigrated to America, sailing from Hamburg, September 11, 1804, and landing at Baltimore, May 5, 1805, the voyage occupying over seven months. He remained in Baltimore about one year, then came to Steubenville, where he resided until 1808. The same year he changed his location to Canton, where he remained the rest of his life. His practice extended over a wide range of country—beyond the Tuscarawas River and east of Sandy. The difficulty of obtaining foreign drugs at that early day, compelled him in many instances to rely upon indigenous plants. To prepare them for use involved much time and labor, and he was often compelled to work late at night after a day spent in visiting distant patients. On one occasion, while manipulating with an acid, an explosion took place, throwing some of the ingredients into his eye whereby it was destroyed. He was very exacting in his treatment of patients, insisting upon every direction being carefully observed. He was proprietor of an eye salve, known as "Dr. Rappe's Invaluable Eye Salve," selling large quantities and gaining for it considerable local reputation. He obtained the formula from a French physician aboard the vessel in which he sailed to America. During the voyage, this physician was taken seriously ill, and Doctor Rappe gave him special attention. On his recovery, feeling grateful for the services rendered him, he said to Doctor Rappe that money he had none, but he had the recipe for an "invaluable eye salve" which he would give him, with the request that he would never part with it—and he never did, it being kept in the family to this day. Doctor Rappe was married in Steubenville to Mary Shorb, daughter of John Shorb. They had seven children, only three, however, lived through infancy. These were John S. Rappe, afterward of Upper Sandusky, Ohio; the late Mrs. Henry H. Myers, and the late Mrs. Louisa Faber Kimball. The doctor died February 5, 1842, of pleurisy, after a short illness, leaving property of considerable value, acquired by professional industry. 166 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY DR. WILLIAM GARDNER William Gardner came from Albany, New York, and located in Kendal (now the Fourth Ward of Massillon) in 1813. He was married in 1816 to Sarah B. Earl, daughter of the hotel proprietor with whom he boarded. The year following he removed to Norwalk, Huron County, where he continued in active practice until 1825, when he returned to Stark County and settled in Canton. Here he remained until his death in 1833. Doctor Gardner was heavy set, broad shouldered and quick in action, and highly esteemed for integrity. He was regarded a man of more than ordinary ability, and had an extensive practice. FIRST MALPRACTICE CASE Independent in thought, Doctor Gardner did not hesitate to express his opinions, though in opposition to the popular current. His lawsuit with Nicholas Lichley is a case in point. A daughter of Lichley had sonic trouble of the eyes and was brought to Gardner for treatment. Instead of improving, under various applications, her sight became worse, and finally she became totally blind. Lichley, being an impulsive man, and rather a free talker, did not hesitate to charge Gardner with maltreating the case whenever the subject was introduced in his presence. This talk became very annoying to Doctor Gardner and for the purpose of vindicating himself he brought suit for slander, laying his damages at $2,000. His attorneys were Harris & Belden. Lichley employed Starkweather & Jarvis. They were the two strongest firms at the Stark County bar. The case excited a widespread interest, and the courthouse was crowded during the progress of the trial. Stark weather was then in the zenith of his reputation as a jury lawyer. He had the blind girl seated in front of the jury while he addressed them, and whenever he made an appeal in behalf of his client the poor girl would turn up her sightless -orbs, imploring, as it were, sympathy for her father. The defense claimed that the blindness was caused by culpable carelessness— introducing into the eyes something different from what was intended— and this theory was sustained by the testimony of Doctor Bennett, a well known reputable physician of Bolivar. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant ; thereupon Lichley brought suit against Gardner for malpractice, laying his damages at $10,000. Before the trial was reached Gardner died and the case was withdrawn. This was the first malpractice suit in the county. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 167 DRS. JOHN AND THOMAS S. BONFIELD The two Bonfields, John and Thomas S., brothers, settled in Canton soon after the War of 1812. They were from Baltimore. and both graduates of the medical school of that city. John was an assistant surgeon of the army at the time of the attack upon Fort McHenry. He was a strange genius, and many thought too much learning had disturbed his balance. He was slovenly in dress, wore his hair long and straggling, and would often appear with a red bandana as a necktie. He was slow of speech, and kept his horse so poor that the boys would "caw" after him on the streets. Many reposed great faith in his medical skill, particularly in the treatment of fevers. He had an itching for office and was repeatedly a candidate, though never successful. He came within one in a race of half a dozen for the county treasurer 's office. He married a daughter of William Cunningham, by whom he had several children. Several years after her death he return to Baltimore, where he died in 1835. Thomas S. was very unlike his brother John. He was a tidy, dapper young man, a fluent talker, quick in his movements and prompt to respond to calls. He was a fast rider, stood in his stirrups, projecting his body forward, apparently going faster than his horse. He was popular as a physician, and had an extensive practice. He died in 1855, leaving a large landed estate which became very valuable. JUSTIN SCOTT, PIONEER SURGEON Justin Scott, a surgeon in the War of 1812, located in Kendal about the year 1815. From what can be learned of him he was regarded by the community as a well qualified physician and a skillful surgeon. He remained in Kendal several years, then removed to Burton, Geauga County, Ohio. THE BENEVOLENT DR. THOMAS HARTFORD The physicians who located in Stark County previous to 1840 would fall well within a score. Among the first to appear after the Doctors Rappe, Gardner and Bonfield was Dr. Thomas Hartford, a Connecticut gentleman who located in Canton during 1818 and was long remembered not only for his skill but for his kindness to the poor. He was in the habit of advertising in the local press that he would treat the indigent free of charge. Although he practiced in Canton but ten years, afterward engaged in business and moved to Pittsburgh, his will provided for generous bequests designed to assist the poor of that city. 168 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY A NAPOLEONIC SURGEON In 1819 Dr. George Breysacher, a German, settled in Canton and became well known as a surgeon, a horseman and a hunter. He claimed to have practiced- his profession under Napoleon the Great—at least in one of his armies. He died in 1844. One of his sons, Dr. Augustus L. Breysacher, was a surgeon in the Confederate army, being medical director of Hardee's corps. DRS. JAMES JEROW AND JOSEPH SIMMONS In 1820 two physicians settled in Canton, both able but eccentric: Drs. James Jerow and Joseph Simmons. Doctor Jerow was a Yankee, well educated, but so positive that he was right in everything, and that those who differed from him were all wrong, that he failed to work up a large practice. He died in 1825 of a malignant fever. Doctor Simmons was from Pennsylvania, a man of fine appearance and careful attire, but so aristocratic and haughty in his hearing as to freeze and repel all who approached him. After a decade he moved to Cincinnati. DR. ROBERT ESTEP AND DR. JOSEPH E. ESTEP Dr. Robert Estep, a native of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, was a silversmith by trade, but a natural surgeon. After reading medicine for eighteen months, in 1824 he was licensed to practice in Paris, and despite his lack of a professional degree soon acquired a wide reputation. He was the first in Stark County to attempt the Caesarean operation, and he twice performed it successfully, besides removing cataracts, gall stones and accomplishing such marked results that in 1835 Ohio Medical College conferred upon him the honorary degree of M. D. He had moved during the previous year to Canton, where he enjoyed an extensive practice until his death in 1852, at the age of fifty-nine. His son, Dr. Joseph H. Estep, was a graduate of Cleveland Medical College, attained a good standing at Waynesburg, went to California during the gold excitement and served in the California Legislature. Dr. Estep afterwards located in Canton, where he had an extensive practice for many years. MASSILLON PHYSICIANS Massillon had a number of physicians, well known in the '20s and '30s. Dr. Beriah Brooks located in Kendal, but moved over to Massillon as soon as he could, and died there in 1831. Dr. Gale abandoned his practice for a canal contract and Dr. Shaw dropped out of sight after HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 169 a time. The brothers, Drs. Thomas and John Townsend, moved from Wooster to Massillon about 1828, and remained in practice for several years. DR. JOSEPH WATSON Dr. Joseph Watson, for nearly forty-five years either a medical practitioner or a druggist at Massillon, was of Quaker descent, and first came West into Belmont County when he was twenty-four years of age and after he had been studying medicine for about a year. He continued his studies for some time longer before locating at Dover (now Dalton), Wayne County. Ten years of country practice in the wilds of that western country decided him to move to Massillon, in the fall of 1833. At that time it was, even more than now, one of the rising towns of the state. While in practice at Massillon for about ten years Dr. Watson had several partners, including Dr. Michener and Dr. Bowen, both of high professional reputation. In 1843 he engaged in the drug business, in which he was very successful and continued until his retirement in 1877. DR. BARAK MICHENER Dr. Barak Michener was also a Pennsylvanian, and when a youth engaged in teaching near Kendal. He afterward followed that profession at Canton, where he commenced to read medicine under Dr. William Gardner, with whom, also, he entered practice. In 1834 he moved to Massillon, and for several years, as stated, was in partnership with Dr. Watson. It was about that time that Asiatic cholera made its appearance as an epidemic in the neighborhood and spread with alarming rapidity and fatality. In the treatment of that disease Dr. Michener met with marked success. But in 1839 he moved to a farm near West Brookfield, where he continued country practice for ten years. Subsequently, he migrated westward into Illinois and Iowa, and died on his farm in the latter state in 1878. DR. JOHN SCHERTZER Dr. John Schertzer, a Pennsylvanian, obtained his professional degree from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, before he ventured beyond the mountains. In 1835 he located at Massillon, where he continued in active practice until President Lincoln appointed him postmaster of that city, which office he held nine years. He was elected 170 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY state senator in 1850, serving one term. He died in 1880. A son, Dr. Jeremiah V. Schertzer, began practice with his father in 1844, having also graduated from Jefferson Medical College. TWO GERMAN PHYSICIANS OF CANTON Drs. F. D. H. Dallwick and Carl F. Brackebush were well known German physicians of Canton. Dr. Dallwick first settled in Greentown when he came to Stark County. He was the first physician appointed to the County Infirmary. From Canton he moved to Canal Fulton, where he died in 1849. Dr. Brackebush resided in Osnaburg for a short time before locating in Canton, where he also died in 1849. DR, LEV1 HALDEMAN, MINERVA Dr. Levi Haldeman, a native of Columbiana County, commenced practice at Minerva in 1839. He thus continued with professional success for about twenty-one years, when he commenced to speculate in oil and, strange to relate, made several large fortunes—which implies, also, that he lost a number. DR. JOHN SCHILLING, LOUISVILLE Dr. John Schilling, a practitioner of the early '40s, was a popular physician at Louisville. He was a native of Germany, with a thorough education both in the classics and medicine when he came to the United States in 1837. He practiced first at Bolivar, Ohio, and later, at Louisville and Osnaburg. In 1852 he opened a drugstore at Crestline, but within the succeeding two years returned to Louisville and again began practice, only ceasing active work in 1876, four or five years before his death. DR. L. M. WHITING, VETERAN CANTON PHYSICIAN Dr. Lorenzo M. Whiting, a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut, with a degree from Williams College, located in Canton for the practice of his profession. He continued active and progressive for more than fifty-four years, and his career is believed to be unique in Stark County. His attainments were various, as he was versed in literature and science, as well as in professional matters. Besides attending to a constantly broadening practice, he served as a trustee of the Northern Ohio Lunatic Asylum (1856) ; during the Civil war as a member of HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 171 the Board of Examiners of Surgeons to Ohio Regiments and examining surgeon for Stark County, and as pension surgeon from 1862 to 1880. He was stricken with paralysis in the summer of 1879, which compelled him to abandon active practice. He died on the 30th of June, 1884, at the age of seventy-three. Dr. Whiting was widely known outside of his profession, his mind being well informed and clear regarding all public questions, and his personality especially pleasing and striking. He was six feet in height, dignified in bearing and with a mild, but strong face. He was an earnest, positive whig and republican, was one of the organizers of the latter party in Ohio, active in its cause, a warm friend of William McKinley and a delegate to one of the conventions which nominated him for Congress. His genial personality and distinguished attainments attracted the friendship of many other prominent men, among whom may be mentioned Samuel P. Chase, Horace Greeley and Theodore Parker. DR. LEWIS SLUSSER Dr. Slusser's grandfather came to Stark County with a large family in 1805, and he was born in 1820 on the family homestead, now within the city limits of Canton. His boyhood was spent at the county seat, but he was educated in Pennsylvania, Georgia, the District of Columbia and Ohio. His professional education was acquired through the National Medical College in Washington, and the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati. After being graduated from the latter in 1848 he began practice at Canal Fulton, where he continued until 1861. In that year he was appointed surgeon of the Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and subsequently became medical director both of the brigade and the division of which that regiment was a part. After his regiment was mustered out, he accepted a commission as surgeon of the Twenty-sixth Ohio Infantry, which was sent to the Mexican border, where he remained until 1865. He then located in Canton, and continued the practice until his appointment, in 1873, as medical superintendent of the Hospital for the Insane at Cleveland. That position he resigned in 1876 to resume his practice at Canton. Dr. Slusser served for a number of terms in the State Legislature, from 1858 to 1861, and two terms from 1885. For ten years he was surgeon of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad and about 1889 was appointed a member of the Board of Pensions. In 1889 his health became greatly impaired and he devoted much time to the writing of historical reminiscences of Stark County, from which the author 172 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY of this history has sometimes drawn, with thanks. The Doctor, whose life was of such varied and broad usefulness, passed away, after a short illness, in December, 1892. OTHER PRACTITIONERS OF THE '40s At a later date, but still in the '40s, Dr. Frederick T, Hurxthal, a native of Maryland with a New York education, who located at Massillon in 1847, served as surgeon of the Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer infantry and died in Canton, as the result of an accident, in 1865 ; Dr. J. L. Leeper, a West Virginian, who practiced in Navarre from 1847 to 1867, and Dr. Levi L. Lamborn, who commenced practice at Mount Union in 1849 and in Alliance from 1863 to 1866, when he engaged in banking and became quite a public character. DR. J. P. BARRICK Dr. J. P. Barrick practiced medicine at Massillon from 1842 to 1879, or until his death there. He was a man who had made the most of rather limited opportunities, and was prominent locally, outside of his profession. He received the honorary degree of M. D. from the Cleveland Medical College in 1866. DR. ABRAHAM METZ, OPHTHALMOLOGIST Dr. Abraham Metz, another native of Stark County, son of one of its pioneers, also made a wide reputation as an ophthalmologist. He began the study of medicine in Columbiana County, but at the age of twenty enlisted in the Third Ohio Regiment and served in the Mexican war as hospital steward and assistant surgeon. At his return he resumed his medical studies and in 1848 graduated from the Cleveland Medical College. After practicing at various points in Ohio, in 1854 he finally located at Massillon, and soon after confined his work to diseases of the eye and general surgery. He was one of the founders of the Charity Hospital Medical College (now the Medical Department of Wooster University, Cleveland), of which he was one of the original faculty. He held the chair of ophthalmology, which he occupied at the time of his death in February, 1876. He was the author of a work entitled "Histology of the Eye," which was a text book in many medical colleges some years ago. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 173 DR. PERKINS WALLACE Dr. Perkins Wallace was a Massillon physician of the early times. He came from Akron, practiced at Massillon until about 1850 and spent his last years previous to his death in 1868, at Canton. DR. KERSEY THOMAS Then there were Dr. Kersey Thomas, a Quaker, who came to Salem with his parents when quite young and studied medicine with Dr. Benjamin Stanton and under various practitioners in Philadelphia. In 1857 he located for practice at Alliance. He served as surgeon of the One Hundredth and Fourth Ohio Infantry for a time, during the Civil war ; was a surgeon of two railroads and stood well. He died in 1869. DR. A. S. SHEETS AND DR. W. O. BAKER Dr. A. S. Sheets, a Columbiana County man, was well known to the people of Harrisburg, where he .settled for practice in 1857, and Dr. W. O. Baker, a student at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, commenced practice at Louisville in the late '50s and earned local honor. Dr. Baker though quite advanced in years, yet does professional work, and is highly respected as a man and as a physician. He is probably the oldest member of his profession in Stark County at this time. PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF A LATER PERIOD Of a still later period may be mentioned such members of the profession as Dr. Thomas H. Phillips, a Canton physician, who commenced practice in the late '60s and was connected with the County Infirmary ; Dr. James F. Gardner, an Englishman, who received a portion of his education at Mount Union College, received his degree in Cleveland, served professionally in the Civil war and afterward practiced at Canal Fulton and West Brookfield; Dr. Thomas J. Reed, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, an army surgeon and a Massillon physician for many years after the war; Dr. William H. Kirkland, a graduate of the Cleveland Homeopathic College, a private in the War of the Rebellion and subsequently a practitioner at both Canal Dover and Massillon; Mrs. Sarah C. Heaton, one of the first of the female physicians, who graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania before her marriage to Dr. J. G. Heaton, practiced with her husband 174 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY for a few months until his death, and continued thereafter to follow her profession; Dr. R. P. Johnson, a Stark County man, a graduate of the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, an army surgeon and after the war a well known practitioner at Alliance and Canton; Dr. Marcus M. Catlin, a Civil war veteran and the first homeopathic physician to establish himself in Stark County, locating first at Massillon in 1871 and at Canton in 1875; Dr. W. E. Rukenbrod, who commenced his professional career at Canton during the same year ; Dr. Henry C. Royer, another homeopath who located at Massillon in 1876 and associated himself for a time with Dr. W. H. Kirkland, and Dr. James Fraunfelter, a graduate of two medical colleges, who moved from Canal Fulton to Canton in 1881. Dr. James Fraunfelter is a native of Ashland County, Ohio. He educated himself after he was eighteen years of age, and pursued his medical studies under Dr. T. S. Hunt of Ashland. In 1870-72 he graduated from the Cincinnati _Medical College, the Long Island College Hospital of New York and Jefferson College, Philadelphia, immediately commencing practice at Canal Fulton, where he remained until 1881. During that period he established a large and profitable practice and invested in real estate as well, but his professional circuit was so extended that the labor connected with it came to exceed his strength, and he located at Canton that his activities might be more centered. Doctor Fraunfelter has, therefore, practiced in Canton for thirty-four years. DR. T. H. PHILLIPS Thomas Hanson Phillips was born on a farm near Cannonsburg, Pa., March 25, 1839. He entered Jefferson College in 1854 and continued the regular course for four years. In his sophomore year he withdrew for some months to teach in a country school, and in 1859 entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1864. In the meantime he spent part of three years as a contract surgeon in the Civil war. After the battle of Gettysburg he remained six weeks upon the field ministering to sick and wounded. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea. At the time of his graduation from medical college Drs. Agnew & Goss urged him to settle in Philadelphia, but the West was calling the young men of the day and he decided to make his home in Clinton, Iowa. Upon a visit to his home in Pennsylvania, he met Irene May Lindsey of West Middletown and in 1868 she became his wife. On their way to Clinton they stopped to visit relatives in Ohio and decided to locate in Canton. Major and Mrs. McKinley were a bride and groom at that time and the two couples lived at the old St. Cloud Hotel. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 175 Dr. Phillips became the family physician to the McKinleys and was a life-long friend to both. One of his last professional calls was made upon Mrs. McKinley. He died August 30, 1902. There was no more prominent physician in Canton for many years before his death. After the '80s the incursion of physicians was so rapid that it would be impossible, within a reasonable space, to even mention them by name; but it would be inexcusable not to note the fact that for many years such names as Drs. J, F. Marchand, E. O. Portman, E. J. March, H. M. Schuffell, George F. Zinninger, E. O. Morrow, E. P. Morrow, H. P. Pomerene and A. C. Brant have stood for honorable service in the trying and humane fields of medicine and surgery in Stark County. MEDICAL SOCIETIES The physicians of the county and the county seat have fraternized for many years in a way which does credit to the profession. As early as 1836 a medical society was formed of the leading physicians and surgeons in the county. They continued to meet regularly semi-annually and for a time quarterly, until internal dissensions arose, created by the introduction of personal quarrels, based on alleged violations of the medical code of ethics. For a time the society would be dissolved and again convoked under a new regime, flourish temporarily and again wane. Most of the members belonged to the Union Medical Association of Northeastern Ohio, which met quarterly and had a representation from a number of counties. The Stark County Medical Society was reorganized, under a state charter, January 22, 1889, as the Stark County Academy of Medicine. Its first officers were Dr. T. H. Phillips, president, and Dr. J. F. Marchand, secretary, both of Canton. The present officers are : Dr. W. C. Steele, of New Berlin, president ; L. A. Buchman, secretary and treasurer, and Dr. D. C. Goudy, corresponding secretary. The Stark County Academy of Medicine has a membership of about 125. Among those who have been long connected with it may be mentioned Drs. James Fraunfelter, T. Clark Miller and A. B. Walker. The Canton Medical Society was organized in January, 1901, with Dr. E. O. Morrow as president ; Dr. J. P. Dewitt, recording secretary ; Dr. F. W. Gavin, corresponding secretary, and Dr. Frank Dahinden, treasurer. It now has a membership of sixty, with the following officers : Dr. C. A. Crane, president ; Dr. D. C. Goudy, recording secretary and treasurer ; Dr. I. B. Smock, corresponding secretary. |