Ohio History Journal

Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.         241

 

 

THE PIONEER PHYSICIANS OF THE MUSKINGUM

VALLEY.

 

BY EDMUND CONE BRUSH, A. M., M. D.

 

A Paper Read at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Society, in the Hall of

the House of Representatives, at Columbus, March 6, 1890.

Generation after generation of pioneers have gradually car-

ried the star of empire westward, until it would seem as if the

work of the pioneer was nearly done. As these hardy and

adventurous men and women have gradually opened up the new

world to civilization, they have been closely followed or accom-

panied by members of the medical profession. These physicians

have shared the hardships and privations of the early settlers,

joined them in their joys and sorrows, helped them to build

their rude homes and to defend them against the natives of the

forest. To the loyal Buckeye, and especially to the descendants

of the Ohio pioneers, Marietta is a hallowed spot. Branching

out from Marietta, the pioneers followed the two great water

courses uniting there, and dotted their banks with settlements.

In these early settlements the members of the medical profes-

sion took a modest but important part. Forty years ago the

late Dr. Samuel Hildreth, of Marietta, wrote a series of bio-

graphical sketches of the early physicians of that place. These

sketches have a short preface, in which occurs the following:

"As a class, no order of men have done more to promote

the good of mankind and develop the resources and natural his-

tory of our country than the physicians, and wherever the well-

educated in that profession are found, they are uniformly seen

on the side of order, morality, science and religion."

What is here given in regard to the Marietta physicians is

obtained almost entirely from Dr. Hildreth's sketches and from

his " Pioneer History."

Doctor Thomas Farley, the son of a revolutionary officer,

emigrated to Marietta in 1788 from Ipswich, Massachusetts. He

went with the little colony in the spring (April 20) of 1789 to

make the settlement some twenty miles up the river, where Bev-

 

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erly and Waterford now stand. In 1790 he was back in Mari-

etta, helping Doctor True attend smallpox cases. Six died of

the disease "who took it by infection," and out of over one

hundred inoculated by the doctors, two died. In 1791 he was

back at Waterford and one of the inmates of Fort Frye. Col.

Joseph L. Barker, one of the early settlers, said of him: " He

was a modest, amiable young man, always ready to obey the

calls of humanity, and had the good will and confidence of all

who knew him." Dr. Hildreth says: " The country being

new, and but a few people in the settlements, he became dis-

couraged, and returned to his former home in the autumn of

1790." This date must be a mistake or a misprint, as Dr. Hil-

dreth in his history, and Horace Nye in his "Reminiscences,"

both speak of Dr. Farley as being in Fort Frye, and Fort

Frye was built in 1791. He probably went back in that year.

During his short stay he nobly fought one of the most loathsome

of diseases, and shared the hardships of an Indian war. The

date of his birth and death is not known.

Dr. Solomon Drown was a native of Rhode Island and came

out to Marietta in the summer of 1788 as one of the proprietors

and agents of the Ohio Land Company. It does not appear that

he intended to settle in the place as a physician, although he

attended General Varnum as consulting physician in the sickness

(consumption) of which he died in January, 1789. Dr. Drown

was educated at Brown University, Rhode Island, and was a

man "of literature and classic elegance as a writer." The

directors of the Ohio Company selected him to pronounce the

eulogy at the funeral of General Varnum. He also delivered

the first anniversary (April 7, 1789) address commemorative of

the landing of the pioneers. At the breaking out of the Indian

war, Dr. Drown returned to Rhode Island, and was appointed

professor of botany and natural history in Brown University.

Dr. Jabez True, the first physician to make the territory his

life-long home, was born in Hampstead, New Hampshire, in

1760. His father was a minister, and in the French war served

as chaplain of a colonial regiment. He was the father of ten

children, and in addition to his pastoral duties prepared young

men for college. Among his students was his son Jabez. The

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.        243

 

latter received his medical education under the preceptorship of

Dr. Flagg, of Hampstead, and having completed his course in

medicine before the end of the revolutionary war, at once en-

tered the service of his country as surgeon on a privateer. The

ship was wrecked on the coast of Holland and the crew was

taken in and kindly cared for by the Hollanders. Dr. True re-

mained in Holland until the close of the war, when he returned

and settled in Gilmantown, New Hampshire. Staying in that

place but a few years, he came to the then far western country,

and early in the summer of 1788 landed at Marietta. The set-

tlement was only a few months old, very small, and the country

was one vast forest. Dr. True seems to have been of the same

sturdy stuff as those who came before him. He built himself a

log cabin to be used as an office and settled himself to business.

When the Indian war broke out in 1791, Dr. True was ap-

pointed surgeon's mate to the troops employed by the Ohio Com-

pany's directors, with a salary of $22.00 per month. Dr. Hil-

dreth says: "This salary was a welcome and timely aid during

the years of privation which attended the war, and sorely tried

the resources of the most able among the inhabitants." This

appointment was held until the close of the war. " During the

most gloomy and disheartening periods schools were kept up by

the inhabitants." Dr. True taught school a part of the time in

a large lower room of one of the block houses in the garrison at

"the point."

In 1790 smallpox broke out in the settlement at Marietta.

In 1793 this same disease invaded the Farmers' Castle at Belpre,

twelve miles below Marietta, on the Ohio. "A meeting of the

inhabitants was at once called, and it was voted (as there was no

chance of escaping it, cooped up as they were in the narrow

walls of a garrison), to send to Marietta for Dr. True to come

down and inoculate them in their own dwellings. The doctor ac-

cepted the invitation, and Farmers' Castle became one great hos-

pital, containing beneath each roof more or less persons sick with

this loathsome disease. The treatment of Dr. True was very suc-

cessful and, out of nearly a hundred cases, not one died. There

being no roads or bridges at this time, Dr. True's visits to the

different settlements were made in a canoe. In making trips

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down the Ohio, by keeping in the middle of the stream there

was comparative safety, but when returning it was necessary to

keep near the shore and take the chances of a bullet from an In-

dian rifle. Dr. True made several narrow escapes, but a kind

providence seemed to have protected him and saved him to ad-

minister to the relief of his fellow men. After the war was

over Dr. True took a step up in the world, and built himself a

frame house and office, and began clearing and cultivating a

small farm on the Ohio, a short distance above Marietta. In

1796 he united with the Congregational Church and for many

years was a deacon. In 1806 he married Mrs. Sarah Mills,

widow of Captain Charles Mills. " She was a cheerful, humble

and sincere Christian, with a lively, benevolent temperament,

ever ready to aid the doctor in his works of charity." They had

no children, but the children of Mrs. True were treated with all

the love and tenderness he could have bestowed upon his own."

By this time the settlers had increased in numbers, and

spread out over the country. Dr. True, being the leading phy-

sician, his visits extended twenty or thirty miles through the

forest. He followed the Indian trails marked by "blazes"

on the trees, and swam his horse across the streams.

One of Dr. True's strongest characteristics was charity; and

these long, lonesome rides were made to the poor with the same

willingness as to those who were able to pay. He gave freely

of what he had, often depriving himself. During the last year

of his life he was county treasurer. This office gave him addi-

tional means with which to help on charitable and religious

work. His house was the stopping place for Congregational and

Presbyterian ministers who visited the town. Samuel J. Mills,

the projector of foreign missions, spent two weeks with Dr.

True during the year 1812, and instituted the Washington

County Bible Society, which is still in existence. Dr. True was

tall and spare, with simple, but not ungraceful manners. His

eyes were gray and small, one being destroyed by a disease of

the optic nerve; with full, projecting brows; nose large and ac-

quiline; forehead rather low, but face mild and expressive of

benevolence. He was a man of whom no enemy could say hard

things, and whom everybody loved and respected. He died in

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.        245

 

1823, of the prevailing epidemic fever, aged sixty-three years.

"His memory is still cherished by the descendants of the early

pioneers for his universal charity, simplicity of manners and sin-

cere piety." The man's name seems to have been emblematic

of the man, and his life seems to have been one of steadfast

duty to those around him and to his God. Although occupying

an humble position in the settlement of the great Northwest ter-

ritory, Dr. True filled that position to the best of his physical

and mental strength. He fell with his face to the foe, and while

trying to alleviate the sufferings of others. What man can do

more?

The late Dr. S. P. Hildreth, began the practice of medicine

in Hempstead, New Hampshire, and boarded in the family of

John True, a brother of the doctor. Through Mr. True, Dr.

Hildreth learned that there was a good opening for a young phy-

sician in Marietta and came to that place in 1806. Drs. True

and Hart were the only physicians in practice when Dr. Hildreth

arrived. Thus it was that the man who has done more than any

other to make us acquainted with pioneer history came to Ohio.

Drs. Farley, Drown and True all came to Marietta during

the summer of 1788. It is not known which one arrived first.

Dr. Nathan McIntosh was born in Needham, Massachusetts,

in 1768. He was educated at Cambridge and came to Marietta

in 1789. His journey west was prolonged by an attack of small-

pox that laid him up at Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 1791, Dr.

McIntosh was appointed surgeon's mate to Fort Frye at Water-

ford. At first he was employed by the Ohio Company and after-

ward by the government. He remained at Fort Frye about two

years, and during this time-May 23, 1792-he was married to

Rhoda, the daughter of Deacon Enoch Shepherd, of Marietta.

In July, 1793, the people of Clarksburg, Virginia, were in need

of a physician and sent to Marietta for Dr. McIntosh. The re-

quest was accompanied by a company of soldiers to escort the

doctor to that place. Mrs. McIntosh, with a baby six weeks

old and a sister, went with the doctor. There were no roads or

public houses on the way, so that when night came they camped

out. In order to keep the baby from crying and thus attract the

Indians, it was dosed with paregoric and a handkerchief used to

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suppress its cries. This baby grew to be Colonel Enoch Shep-

herd McIntosh, one of the most respected and best known citi-

zens of the Muskingum valley. He died not long since in his

ninety-sixth year. Think of the bravery of that young mother

and her sister! Imagine if you can a journey on horseback

eighty miles through the forests, in constant danger from In-

dians! Imagine camping out at night with the sky for a cover-

ing and a six-weeks-old baby to care for! No truer, nobler, or

more heroic women ever lived than those who helped to settle

the great Northwest territory. Their many good qualities are

reflected in the younger generations of Buckeye women.

Dr. McIntosh came back to Marietta in two years and re-

mained there until he died, September 5, 1823. He was among

the victims of the fever epidemic of that year. When first mar-

ried the doctor and his wife were members of the Presbyterian

church. Afterward he joined the "Methodist Society;" finally,

he came to believe in the universal salvation and held that belief

until the end. He lectured and wrote a great deal on religious

subjects, and published a book on "Scripture Correspondencies."

He was violently opposed to secret societies and slavery. Dr.

McIntosh was socially inclined and fond of society. His rich

and fashionable dress and gentlemanly manners greatly promoted

his favor with the community.   He excelled in surgery and

made quite a reputation in that line. During the latter years of

his life Dr. McIntosh devoted himself to brick-making and con-

tracting. One of the doctor's last acts was to ride to Macksburg

to be at the death-bed of his oldest daughter. Three weeks

more and the doctor, too, had gone to his reward.

Dr. William Pitt Putnam, a grand-son of General Israel

Putnam, was born in Brooklyne, Connecticut, December 11,

1770, and came to Marietta in 1792. He spent part of his time

with a brother in Belpre, and in 1794 went back to his eastern

home. In 1795 he married Bertha Glyssan and came back to

the new territory during that year. In 1799 he purchased a tract

of land eight miles above Marietta, on the Ohio river, and turned

his attention to clearing and cultivating it. In 1800 he died of

bilious fever.

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.       247

 

"In person, Dr. Putnam was tall and commanding, with a

cheerful, lively countenance and genteel address."

Dr. Josiah Hart was born in Berlin, Connecticut, about

1738, and graduated at Yale in 1762. He had entertained the

idea of studying for the ministry, but gave it up and studied

medicine under Dr. Potter, of Wallingford, Connecticut. "In

1765 he married Miss Abigail Sherman, of Stonington, and com-

menced the practice of medicine in Wethersfield." He served

as a regimental surgeon during the revolution. In 1778, his first

wife having died, he married Mrs. Abigail Harris. This made

his second Abigail. The doctor "represented his town in the

legislature, and often filled the more important town offices, as

well as that of deacon in the church." In 1796 his second wife

died and he came to Marietta. Here he married Anna Moulton.

He was one of the first deacons of the Congregational church at

Marietta. "In 1811, having become too aged to practice, he

moved to a farm ten miles from Marietta. He died in August,

1812, of spotted fever, aged seventy-four years. His wife died

a few hours after, and they were both buried the same day. In

person, Dr. Hart was below the medium size, but well formed;

countenance mild, pleasing and intelligent. In manners very

gentlemanly, and kind, exhibiting a true Christian spirit in his

intercourse with his fellow men."

Dr. William B. Leonard was born in London in the year

1737. "When in the prime of life he served as a surgeon in the

British navy. About the year 1794, having lost his wife, he de-

cided on removing to the United States to be concerned in a

woolen factory. For this purpose he secretly packed up the

machinery and put it on board the vessel in which he had en-

gaged his passage. Before he sailed it was discovered by the

officers of the customs, and being a contraband article prohibited

by the laws of England to be transported out of the realm, he

was arrested and confined for some time in prison. Being finally

discharged he came to America about the year 1797."

The following year he was practicing his profession in New-

buryport, Messachusetts, where he again married, but his wife

dying soon after, he moved to Marietta in 1801, and boarded in

the family of Mr. William Moulton. Here he again renewed

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the practice of medicine, and in 1802 married Lydia Moulton,

the maiden daughter of his landlord and sister to the wife of Dr.

Hart. He appears to have been a skilled surgeon, but was

rough and coarse in his manners and language, retaining the

habits acquired in his naval service. He retained and kept up

the fashion of the showy dress, such as prevailed in the days of

Queen Elizabeth, which in the backwoods of Ohio excited the

curiosity of a people accustomed to the most simple attire. His

favorite costume was a blue broadcloth coat, trimmed in gold

lace, and enormous gilt buttons, a waistcoat of crimson velvet,

with large pocket flaps, and small clothes of the same material, a

pair of silk or worsted stockings drawn over his slender legs,

with large silver buckles at the knees and in his shoes. On his

head he wore a full flowing periwig (of which he had six or eight

varieties), crowned with a three-cornered or cocked beaver hat.

Over the whole, when he appeared on the street, unless the

weather was very hot, he wore a large scarlet colored cloak.

This dress, with his gold-headed cane, always called forth the

admiration and wonder of the boys, who followed close in his

train, and were often threatened with his displeasure in not very

civil language. When traveling on horseback to visit his pa-

tients, he road a coal black steed with long flowing mane and

tail, the saddle and trappings of which were as antiquated and

showy as his own dress." He died of consumption in 1806, aged

sixty-nine years.

On a copper plate prepared before his death, he had the fol-

lowing engraved:

 

"Friend: for Jesus' sake forbear

To touch the dust enclosed here;

Blest is the man that spares this urn,

And he's a knave that moves my bones."

 

Which epitaph will be recognized as the one Shakespeare wrote

for his own tomb, but slightly changed by Dr. Leonard.

Dr. John Baptiste Regnier was born in Paris in the year

1769. He received a good education, but studied chiefly archi-

tecture and drawing. He also attended a course of lectures on

scientific subjects, including medicine. His father was a loyalist,

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.         249

 

and when his sons were called upon to enroll themselves in the

ranks of the reformers, he collected all the money he could and

sent them out of the country. The doctor was in his twentieth

year, and with his brother, Modeste, aged fourteen years, joined

a company of emigrants and embarked for the United States.

In May, 1790, these brothers landed at Alexandria, and finally

reached Marietta in October following, with a number of their

companions. In a few days they all started down the Ohio river

to settle on a tract of land purchased before leaving France.

Landing at what they supposed to be their purchase, they at once

erected houses. The next summer they spent in clearing land,

only to find their title was not good and they were in a wilder-

ness without a home. About this time the Indian war broke

out, and the emigrants abandoned their homes and moved to

other towns. Little Modeste had imbibed such a dread of the

Indians, that he did not cease to importune his older brother,

whom he looked upon as a father, until he decided on leaving

the place and going to New York. Toward the last of February,

1792, they embarked in a large perogue, with a small party who

had joined them, and proceeded up stream for Pittsburg. Near

the head of Buffington's island, in passing around a fallen tree

top, their vessel upset. They lost all their provisions and cloth-

ing, while they barely escaped with their lives to the shore.

Among the other effects of the unfortunate Regnier then lost in

the Ohio, was a curiously wrought octagonal cylinder of black

marble, made with mathematical accuracy, eight or ten inches

long and one in diameter. Several years after this curious stone

was found on the head of a sand bar some distance below, and

presented to an eastern museum as a relic of that singular but

unknown race who built the mounds and earth-works in the val-

ley of the Ohio. The spot where they were wrecked was many

miles from any settlement, and the rest of their journey was

made on foot. They suffered much for food and were made sick

by eating the seeds of decayed pawpaws. They finally reached

Pittsburg, and after resting a few days proceeded on to New York.

Not finding employment here, the young Regniers went to New-

foundland, where there was a French settlement. In 1794 they

returned to New York. For three years, in a land of strangers,

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with an imperfect knowledge of their language, destitute of all

things but his head and his hands wherewith to procure a sup-

port for himself and brother, he was many times tempted to give

up in despair and cease any further struggle for existence. But

his buoyant French heart enabled him to resist such thoughts

and kept him afloat in the wide sea of life.

After returning to New York he seems to have prospered

and in 1796 he married Miss Content Chamberlain, the daughter

of a tavern keeper in Unadilla, New York. Regnier had met

her on his journeys. In 1800, unfortunate investments made

him again a bankrupt and left him as destitute as when upset in

the Ohio, eight years before. He now had a wife and two chil-

dren to provide for and must make one more effort for a living.

A lingering desire to see once more the beautiful shores of the

Ohio, on which he had labored and suffered so much, still con-

tinued to haunt his imagination; and most especially his brother

Modeste, now arriving at manhood, never ceased to importune

him to return. Finally, determining to perfect himself to the

healing art, he left his family with his wife's people and went to

Washington, Pennsylvania, to be under Dr. Lamoine. After a

year's study he went back for his family, and they started for

the Ohio. In November, 1803, they landed at Marietta. A

Frenchman living there offered the doctor 100 acres of land

situated on Duck creek, nine miles from town. This the doctor

bought on credit. By the aid of neighbors, the Regniers soon

had a log cabin built and were settled on their farm. It was

soon spread through the country that the new settler was "a

French doctor," and as there was no one of his calling within a

circuit of twenty or thirty miles, except in Marietta, he was

soon employed by the sick in every direction. For several

months he visited his patients, who were within six or eight

miles distance, on foot. He did this until able to purchase a

horse. There was a good deal of sickness during the early

years of the settlement on the creek, and also many cases of

surgery, such as fractured limbs and wounds from axes. These

he dressed in the neatest and most rapid manner. One singular

case is worth reporting here. A man was thought to be mortal-

ly wounded by being injured from a fallen tree, which caught

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.         251

 

him under its extreme branches, bruising the flesh all over his

body as if whipped with a thousand rods. So many blows para-

lyzed the heart and rendered him as cold as if dead. The doc-

tor immediately ordered a large sheep to be killed and the skin

stripped hastily off, wrapping the naked body of the man in the

hot, moist covering of the animal. The effect was like a charm

on the patient, removing all the bruises and the soreness in a

few hours. In 1807, his brother Francis came out to Ohio and

proposed to enter into partnership with him in a store at Mari-

etta, Ohio. In order to afford educational advantages to his

children, he decided to accept the proposition, and in February,

1808, left the farm. Before moving he went to Wheeling to

select goods for the store. While away, Modeste was taken

with fever and died a few days after the doctor returned. The

shock of his death quite overwhelmed the doctor, especially as

he thought that had he been home he could have saved him.

No telegraph or fast trains in those days to bring him home in a

few days. His brother Francis becoming dissatisfied moved

away, taking the store with him. Soon after this the doctor pur-

chased a drug store. Success now attended all his endeavors, and

his wealth increased in full ratio with his family, which consist-

ed of six sons and one daughter. About 1814 he enlarged his

town possession by buying a square, which he improved by

planting fruit trees and laying out a large flower garden orna-

mented with arbors and walks. It was a model for others and

ultimately implanted a permanent taste for this refining art

among the citizens of Marietta. He was an original member of

the first incorporated medical society of Ohio in 1812. In 1818

he was elected county commissioner and assisted in drafting the

model for the court house now remodeled. In May, 1819, he

sold his property in town to Dr. Cotton and purchased three

hundred and twenty acres of land on Duck creek, twenty-two

miles from Marietta. Here he removed with his family having

in view the establishing of his sons as farmers.

Dr. Regnier died in 1821, aged 52 years. His death was a

severe loss to the community. Two of his sons became physi-

cians.

Dr. Increase Mathews was born in New Braintree, Massa-

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chusetts, December 22, 1772. He was the son of General Rufus

Putnam's older sister, Hulda, and Daniel Mathews.   John

Mathews, who came out to Ohio with the original forty-eight,

was a brother. In 1798, Dr. Mathews came to Marietta on a

prospecting tour, and to visit relatives. His diary of this jour-

ney is in the possession of his descendants, and is a very inter-

esting document. Under date of August 13, 1798, 1 p. M., is

found the following note: "Went with Mr. Edward Tupper to

call on Mr. Blennerhasset and his lady, by whom we were

politely received. Met Miss Sallie London there on a visit. She

is on the whole an amiable girl, and possessed of many of those

qualities which make a good companion; kind, obliging, ever in

good spirits and free from affectation." The young doctor seems

to have been impressed, and human nature seems to have been

the same then as now. Under date of August 31, 1798, is the

following: "Attended a ball at Colonel Putnam's in Belpre.

We had a large collection of ladies, some from Marietta and the

Island, who made a brilliant appearance. Spent the evening

very agreeably." The ladies from the Island were, no doubt,

Mrs. Blennerhasset and her guest, Miss London. After a pleas-

ant visit, Dr. Mathews went back east and married (April 25,

1799) Abigail Willis, of Oakham, Massachusetts. In the fall of

1800, with his wife and baby, he again came to Marietta, arriv-

ing there October 4. The winter was spent in Marietta, and the

other half of the house in which they lived, was occupied by the

father of the late Governor Brough. In the spring of 1801 the

Mathews family moved to Zanesville, Ohio. This same year

General Rufus Putnam, his nephew, Dr. Mathews and Levi

Whipple purchased the land now composing the Seventh and

Ninth wards in that city, and laid it out into a town, which they

called Springfield, afterward Putnam. Dr. Mathews, after about

one year's stay in Zanesville, moved across the river to the newly

laid out town, and lived there the remainder of his life. He

was the first physician to permanently settle on the Muskingum

river above Marietta. In 1802 (June 14) the doctor's wife died,

and in 1803 (March 23) he married for his second wife Betsy,

daughter of Captain John Leavens. They were married in

Marietta at Major Lincoln's, who had married Betsy's sister,

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.        253

 

Fannie. Possessing large landed interests, and having a taste

for agriculture, Dr. Mathews retired from practice as other phy-

sians settled around him. He was a man of many accomplish-

ments, with more than the usual amount of energy and push so

characteristic of the pioneers. He established the first drug

store and was one of the five original members of the first

church organized in Muskingum county. Dr. Mathews sent to

Spain for the first full-blooded Merino sheep brought to Ohio.

These sheep were delivered in Washington, D. C., and hauled in

a wagon through to Putnam, Ohio, by a man sent to Washing-

ton for that purpose.

In 1801, when Dr. Mathews went to Marietta to buy the

land above mentioned, he had part of the way as his companion,

John McIntire. These young men rode together, camped to-

gether the night out on the road, but neither mentioned his bus-

iness. When they arrived at Marietta, Dr. Mathews turned up

Washington street to go to his uncle (General Putnam's) office,

whilst John McIntire went on to the tavern. The next day the

two men found themselves bidding against each other on the

same tract of land. John McIntire already owned a large tract

where Zanesville proper now stands, but Dr. Mathews bid in the

tract in question at four dollars and five cents an acre. Many

years after it became blended with McIntire's tract in the City

of Natural Advantages. The doctor enjoyed telling his grand-

children that the earliest distinct recollection of his childhood

was the ringing of the bells to celebrate the declaration of inde-

pendence. He was a cultivated gentleman of the old school

and a man whose energy and character were felt in his day, and

are still exemplified in his descendants. He was an accom-

plished performer on the violincello, an entertaining and in-

structive conversationalist. His life was characterized by its

simplicity and purity. He died June 6, 1856, full of years and

with the high esteem of all his fellow townsmen, in the eighty-

fourth year of his age, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery,

which was part of his original purchase from the government in

1801.

In 1796, Dr. Jenner's great discovery of vaccination was an-

nounced to the medical world. When smallpox broke out in

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254      Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 3

 

Putnam in the fall of 1809. Dr. Mathews procured vaccine virus

and vaccinated himself and family. People in general had no

confidence in it and would not consent to it. In order to prove

its efficacy Dr. Mathews took his two little daughters, Abigail

and Sarah, aged six and seven years, who had been vaccinated,

into a house and up to the bedside of a patient very ill with vir-

ulent smallpox. The children did not take the disease and the

doctor triumphantly proclaimed the protecting powers of vacci-

nation.  The rest of the villagers were inoculated, but Dr.

Mathews' family was the only one that depended upon vaccina-

tion. So far as can be learned the doctor's family was among

the first, if not the first in Ohio, to be vaccinated.

Dr. Jesse Chandler was the second physician to settle in

Putnam. He was born in Vermont in 1764, and studied medi-

cine in his native state. After practicing a few years he came

with his family to Ohio and located in the village of Putnam,

across the river from Zanesville, and now, as has been stated, a

part of that city. At that time there was but little difference in

the population of the two rival villages, both being quite small.

But in the year 1814 Zanesville was made the permanent county

seat with a fair prospect of being made the state capital, and

took the lead. In order to look after his land, Doctor Mathews

gladly relinquished his practice upon the arrival of Dr. Chand-

ler. No other physician settled in Putnam while Dr. Chandler

lived. His practice, like Dr. Mathews', extended over all the

western part of the county and into the adjoining counties.

Traveling was, of course, done on horseback, and in the earlier

years without roads. Trails, or bridle-paths, led from house to

house, or from neighborhood to neighborhood. Dr. Chandler

spent a large part of his time in the saddle, but possessing an

unusually robust constitution, he was always ready to respond

to calls. The fees in those days were very much out of propor-

tion to the time and labor expended. There being no pharma-

cists, every physician furnished his own medicines. The doc-

tor's books were a curiosity. He would often ride a dozen miles,

furnish the medicine needed, and charge one dollar. Visits in

the village were fifty cents. When many of his people came to

settle, the credit side would read, by so much corn, or oats, or

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.        255

 

potatoes, or cash, as the case might be, and by discount for the

balance. Frequently the "by discount" was the larger part of

the credit. Dr. Chandler did not become wealthy.

In the fall of 1809 a bad case of smallpox developed in the

town. As might be expected there was a scare. Vaccination

was not yet relied upon, and the doctor had not seen it suffi-

ciently tried to be entirely satisfied with its protecting qualities.

Some of the older people had been inoculated with smallpox,

but the children, and many of the adults, had no protection.

So all were made ready by the perscribed dieting, and a general

inoculation took place. The inoculated cases all got along nice-

ly, no deaths and no disfigurements. There were in the town a

dozen or more transient persons, mostly young men, without

friends. The doctor turned his house into a hospital, took these

young men in, "without money or price," and carried them

safely through. In the winter of 1813-14 an heretofore un-

known epidemic broke out in Putnam, which for the want of a

better name, was called "the cold plague." The attack came

on with a congestive chill, unconsciousness soon followed, and

death resulted in two or three days. Some recovered, but

among the victims was Dr. Jesse Chandler. A true, self-sacrific-

ing physician and man, he was ready for the summons and faced

death as he had disease, without a tremor. His age was fifty

years.

Dr. Daniel Bliss, son of Deacon Isaac Bliss, was born in

Warren, Mass., April 10, 1761. He was educated in medicine

in Springfield, Mass., and June 6, 1789, married Prudence, a sis-

ter of Dr. Jesse Chandler. They came out to Ohio in 1804 with

(or about the same time as) Doctor Chandler. Doctor Bliss

settled in Waterford (on the side of the river where Beverly

now stands) but continued sickness led him to seek another loca-

tion, and he removed to Chandler's salt works (now Chandlers-

ville) a place twelve miles east of Zanesville. Settling on a

farm the doctor intended retiring from practice, but there being

no other physician in that section, the inhabitants kept him

busy. For over twenty years he was the first and only physician

in the settlement and his practice extended into what are now

Guernsey, Noble and Morgan counties. The doctor kept his

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256       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 3

 

farm well stocked with good horses. He always rode horseback,

and traveled fast. It was a good horse and rider that could

keep up with him on his rounds. As a physician, Doctor Bliss

was successful and popular. He was a man of strong opinions,

and fearless in expressing them. He dared to do right, and take

the consequences. In religious belief he was a Congregational-

ist. Doctor Bliss died March 17, 1842, age eighty-one years.

At a ripe age he surrendered to a great reaper, and with a heavy

credit on the Lamb's book of life he went to his reward.

Doctor Robert Mitchell was born in Westmoreland county,

Pennsylvania, in 1778. He studied medicine there, and in 1808

married Catharine McCulloch, For a wedding trip the young

couple came to Zanesville, Ohio, on horseback. When they

settled in that place there were but twelve shingle roofed houses

in it. The Indians were still there, but friendly, and would

come to the doctor's house to see the white papooses. Dr.

Mitchell served in the war 1812, and was afterward a general in

the Ohio militia. In 1833 he was elected to Congress, but in

1835 was defeated for re-election by his Whig opponent. It is

said that the rejoicing of the Whigs over their success, caused

more drunkenness in Zanesville than ever was known there in

one night. Doctor Mitchell died November 13, 1848.

Doctor Ziba Adams was, so far as can be learned, the first

physician to settle in what is now Morgan county. Doctor

Daniel Rusk, of Malta, made an earnest effort to find something

of this physician. Just when Doctor Adams arrived, and just

when he left, could not be ascertained. That he first settled

some four miles above Malta, on the river, and afterward in

Malta, is known. Taking the dates of other events as a cri-

terion, the probabilities are that Doctor Adams came to the

Muskingum Valley about 1815 or 1816 and left three or four

years after. What little is known of him is to his credit; and he,

no doubt, was of the same character as his colleagues in the

valley.

Dr. Samuel Augustus Barker was probably the second phy-

sician to settle in Morgan county, and was certainly the first one

to make it his permanent home. He settled in McConnelsville

in 1818, one year after the place was laid out. Dr. Barker was

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.        257

 

born in Dutchess, County, N. Y. He received a thorough edu-

cation, and graduated in medicine in time to serve in the war of

1812. Coming west soon after the war, the doctor first stopped

at Williamsport, W. Va., a town across the Ohio from Marietta,

where he taught school until he removed to McConnelsville. In

the latter place he also taught school until his professional duties

demanded all of his attention. In 1822 he was married to Eliza

B. Shugert. Dr. Barker was the first county auditor and the

first clerk of the court of Morgan county. He was the first

postmaster in McConnelsville. He was sheriff four years and

represented his county in the legislature for two terms. He ran

for congress in 1843, but was defeated by his Whig opponent.

Dr. Barker was an honest, upright gentlemen, and filled many

positions of trust without a blemish on his character. His many

social qualities made him universally popular. He died May 12,

1852.

Dr. Samuel Martin was born in Trowbridge, England, in

1796, and died in Zanesville, Ohio, May 25, 1873. When a

young man, Dr. Martin attended school at Bath, and, living

twenty miles from that place, he walked home every Saturday

night. Sunday nights he would walk back in order to be on

hand for school on Monday. He was apprenticed to a physician

for a term of seven years, and received his medical education in

London. He was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons,

and an accomplished Latin, Greek and French scholar. In 1819

Dr. Martin came to McConnelsville, Ohio, and went into part-

nership with Dr. Barker. This partnership was soon dissolved

by Dr. Martin moving into Bloom township. (He was the first

physician in it.) He married Sarah Montgomery, a daughter of

one of the early settlers. Dr. Martin would not send his chil-

dren to school, but educated them himself, not only in the com-

mon school branches, but in Latin, Greek and French. He re-

tired from practice early in life, and moved to Zanesville in 1856.

He and many of his family were Deists. The doctor's belief

was characterized by its sincerity, and he had his feelings sorely

wounded once while serving on a jury. The judge took occasion

in delivering a charge to say "that a man who did not believe in

the Revelations- was not fit to be a juror." Dr. Martin was a

Vol. III-17

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258      Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 3

 

scholarly gentleman, a man of fine instincts and refined sensi-

bilities.

Dr. Martin, in his younger days, was quite a pedestrian.

Upon arriving in this country he landed at Philadelphia. From

there he walked across the State of Pennsylvania to Olean, in

western New York. Here he and his companion took a canoe

and journeyed down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers to Louis-

ville, Kentucky. Leaving the canoe here, Dr. Martin walked to

Nashville, Tennessee. From this place he tramped through

Kentucky to the Wabash river, opposite Shawneetown, Illinois;

then on to East St. Louis, and from there through Illinois and

Indiana to Zanesville, Ohio. Hearing of the newly developed

salt industry down the Muskingum, Dr. Martin walked to Bloom

township, Morgan county, and stopped at "Squire" Montgom-

ery's, where he met his future wife. He soon moved into Mc-

Connelsville and began the practice of medicine.

That journey on foot covered many hundreds of miles and

part of it was made alone. Many nights were spent by the road

side, as in parts of the country gone over settlements in those

days were far between. Probably the first castor oil mill estab-

lished west of the Allegheny mountains was built at Dresden by

Drs. Nathan Webb, senior and junior. They came to the shores

of the Waukatomiky in 1821 and cultivated the castor oil bean.

Their mill was located on the "Little Prairie." Two lodges of

Shawanese Indians were still there and interested spectators of

this symptom of civilization. The doctors were not learned in

their profession, but were the pioneer physicians of Dresden and

evidently had confidence in castor oil. From whence they came

or where they went I am not able to state.

It is impossible for us to fully appreciate the primitive man-

ner in which these men practiced medicine. They had to be, in

a degree, pharmacists and practical botanists. Roots and herbs

were an important part of their armamentarium. Infusions and

decoctions were the order of the day. The sugar-coated pill

was then unknown. In fact the life of the modern physician is

sugar-coated when compared with that of the pioneers. These

men were obliged to be fertile in resources, apt in expedients,

and ingenious in improvising. Compare, if you can, the log

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Minutes of Fifth Annual Meeting.           259

 

cabin office of one hundred years ago with the physician's office

of to-day. Think of the progress made in medical science since

the days of these men. Chloroform, cocaine, the hypodermic

syringe, the fever thermometer, and hundreds of other things

were unknown to them. Notwithstanding all the new ideas and

inventions the rate of mortality, from the ordinary aches and ills

of life, was about the same then as now.

In looking over the lives of these men we find general char-

acteristics that are worthy of thought. They were interested

and active in educational and religious matters.  They were

energetic and progressive beyond their times. They took an ac-

tive part in politics and questions of State. If they were alive

now they would probably let politics alone. They were brave

men, for on their lonely travels in the earlier years they had to

face the treachery of the Indian and the hunger of the wolves.

The more the lives of these men are held up to view, the more

sterling qualities we find to admire.

There were one or two more of the very early physicians

about Marietta, Waterford and Zanesville of whom the writer

could learn nothing, only that they had once lived in these

places. Their descendants either could not be found, or when

found could give no information.

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