Ohio History Journal

A CHAPTER IN EARLY DENTAL HISTORY

 

 

UNVEILING OF MEMORIAL TABLET AT BAINBRIDGE, OHIO

On Monday afternoon, November 30, 1925, a tablet

was unveiled in Bainbridge, Ohio, in memory of Doc-

tors Chapin A. Harris and James Taylor, pioneer ad-

vocates of professional dentistry and founders of the

first two dental schools in the United States and the

world. The inscription on this tablet sets forth so

clearly and fully its purpose that there is little need of

elaboration in this introductory paragraph.

Dr. C. Stanley Smith of Cincinnati, Ohio, President

of the Ohio State Dental Society, presided. The follow-

ing invocation was offered by Rev. D. Jenkins Williams,

pastor of the Miami Avenue Presbyterian Church, Co-

lumbus, Ohio.

Lord God, our Father, we thank Thee for great lives. We

thank Thee for pioneers who penetrate new frontiers; men of

vision, men of faith. We are assembled here this day to com-

memorate the lives and to celebrate the achievements of two men

who pioneered in a field of science and who, by reason of their

venture, have endeared themselves to the race of men, because they

caught a vision and pursued it. We thank Thee for their faith and

undaunted courage in the day of small things in dental science.

Their faith in their profession and their far vision has made it

one of the greatest assets to health and the alleviation of suffering

known to men.

Enable us, our Father, to pay humble and sincere tribute to

their sacred memory, and make us all truly grateful for the service

they rendered the human race. In their service they honored Thee

and have blessed mankind. Let Thy blessing rest, we beseech

Thee, upon those who follow them in this branch of scientific

knowledge, and may their diligence in serving humanity be re-

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warded in the assurance of the untold blessings they bring to those

who, apart from their service, must suffer. Be pleased to allow

Thy spirit of grace to rest upon us and to guide us in the service

of this hour. Bless, we pray Thee, the State Dental Society of

Ohio under whose auspices we assemble, and wilt Thou especially

bless this community wherein we meet and where these brave

souls, whose memory we commemorate, studied and labored.

These favors we ask in Jesus' name, -- Amen.

Formal presentation of the tablet was made by Dr.

ward C. Mills of Columbus, Ohio, who spoke as fol-

lows:

Mr. Chairman, Citizens of Bainbridge, and; Guests:

At the outset let me express the appreciation of the mem-

bers of the dental profession for the efforts of the citizens of

Bainbridge in perfecting the plans and arrangements for this

occasion.

During the winter of 1886-1887, while I was under the pre-

ceptorship of the late Dr. F. H. Rehwinkel of Chillicothe, he

used to take great pleasure in relating the cordial reception given

him by Dr. Chapin A. Harris when in 1854 he matriculated in

the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.

"Why, you are from Chillicothe, only a few miles from

Bainbridge, my old stamping ground," were the words of Dr.

Harris. This was the first verbal information I had received

connecting Dr. Harris with Bainbridge. A few years later, while

practicing in Chillicothe, one of your citizens, Dr. R. H. McKee,

since deceased, in our conversations frequently alluded to the

fact that Bainbridge was associated with the men who were

founders of dental colleges and intimated that it was a matter

worthy of some consideration on the part of the dental profes-

sion. His information may have been communicated to him by

some of your older residents long since deceased.

This verbal information, substantiated by historical facts

recorded in dental literature which associate Bainbridge with the

early careers of Drs. Harris and Taylor, establishes beyond a

shadow of doubt that this is the place where these men saw the

light, by which dentistry was to advance from a state of em-

piricism to a scientific calling.

But why this tablet with its silent testimony, in regard to

these two men?

From the remotest antiquity we find evidences of memorials.

Nature herself seems to have established a precedent, because

in her geological strata and formations that cause the mind of

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382       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications man to ponder upon them in admiration and amazement, she writes the events in the formation of this planet. There seems to be a human instinct to perpetuate to posterity certain achieve- ments and distinguish certain places where events have occurred, in order that generations yet unborn may be enthused with pa- triotism and spurred to greater endeavor. From the mounds of Nineveh and Babylon are brought to light tablets commemorating the victories and achievements of

their Kings; the obelisks of Egypt, with their strange hiero- glyphics, bore mute records of Egyptian history, until their mes- sages were deciphered by the Rosetta Stone. The Greeks memorialized their national events in inscrip- tions and sculptural art; even celebrated the triumphs of the vic- tors in the Olympian games with monuments that have come down through the centuries as specimens of Greek art, the per- fection of which cannot be equalled. Joshua caused twelve rocks to be set up at Gilgal to com- memorate the passage of the twelve tribes of Israel through the Jordan into the promised land.

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         383

Prehistoric man in our country has left crude markings,

emblems and pictographs in the caves and cliff dwellings which

were once his forced habitation for his meager comfort and his

protection from his enemies and the beasts of the forest.

The excavations of the ruins of temples of the Maya Cul-

ture of Yucatan bring to light further evidence of this human

trait to memorialize events and achievements; the archaeological

discoveries in the vicinity of Bainbridge during the past few

months, have brought forth valuable specimens of the handiwork

of the prehistoric races in this beautiful Paint Valley, from which

much can be as clearly deciphered touching their accomplish-

ments, as though it had been recorded on imperishable tablets.

Instances innumerable, all over this great land of ours, are

to be found in monuments and memorials, bearing a silent but dig-

nified testimony to events that have happened, or services that

have been rendered in behalf of our country or for the benefit

of the human race.

One can almost visualize a scene in the office of Dr. John

Harris just one hundred years ago, with the elder Harris, Chapin

A. Harris, and James Taylor, by the aid of candle light poring

over such dental works as were then obtainable, and possibly

discussing the need of some system of dental education. Could

they then, realize the far cry of dentistry, as they knew it, to

dentistry of one hundred years later?

This tablet, which is the occasion of our meeting here to-

day, is not necessary to perpetuate the names of Drs. Chapin

A. Harris and James Taylor. Their services to their profession,

entailing much personal sacrifice, have enrolled their names so

firmly in the dental firmament that they will survive wherever

dental education is known and as long as dentistry is practiced.

This tablet is, however, to commemorate for all time, the

circumstance that here in Bainbridge began the professional

careers of these men whose memory we honor today, and we

trust it may be an inspiration to many who need some cheer

along life's pathway.

Mrs. Newell, my brother Charles and I esteem it a great

honor, on behalf of the Dental Profession, to present, through

you, to the town of Bainbridge, this testimonial of our apprecia-

tion of the life and work of these two eminent men.

The tablet was unveiled by Charles W. Mills, Jr.,

of Chillicothe, Ohio. It was accepted by Mrs. Margue-

rite Foraker-Newell, who spoke as follows:

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384       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

It affords me great pleasure -- on behalf of the citizens of

Bainbridge and this community -- to accept from the donors of

your Society, Edward C. Mills, Doctor of Dental Surgery of

Columbus, Ohio, and Charles W. Mills, Doctor of Dental Sur-

gery of Chillicothe, Ohio, and to extend to them our most heart-

felt and sincere thanks for, the beautiful tablet you have placed

here in the village of Bainbridge, to commemorate the memory

of two of the pioneers in dentistry who attained to eminence

in their day and age -- Drs. Chapin A. Harris and James Taylor.

These two men began the study of medicine and dentistry

in this vicinity almost a century ago. Little did the people in the

community in that day realize, or even think, that some day the

names of these two young men would be written in history and

on the walls of fame.

Dr. Taylor was reared on a farm adjoining this village and

Dr. Harris was of New York birth. It does seem a singular

coincidence that these two young men should be the ones to found

the first dental colleges in the United States; Dr. Harris founded

the one in the East, in Baltimore, and Dr. Taylor the Ohio Den-

tal College in our own Cincinnati of the West.

These two young men built on a better foundation than

they realized, -- for the theories and principles practiced by

them, in their day, are largely the same that the men of the

dental profession are building more elaborately upon today.

Bainbridge also claims one of the dental profession of the

present day -- Dr. C. H. Wisecup. Dr. Wisecup had the honor

of graduating from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cin-

cinnati, the same founded by our own Dr. James Taylor in 1845.

Of Dr. Wisecup's good work, his many friends will bear testi-

mony.

I feel assured that the people of this community do and

will duly appreciate the honor you have conferred upon us, by

placing this memorial in our midst. Furthermore, we note with

pleasure that such a body as your Society is sponsor of this act;

it shows the spirit of doing good to others regardless of recom-

pense; in it you show love, brotherhood and friendship with all

mankind. Further, it proves that you realize that only the Golden

Rule can bring the golden age of man.

This tablet comes to this community as a singular benedic-

tion. I sincerely believe that the children of our schools as they

pass and repass this tablet and read the inscription thereon, will

be given a greater incentive than they ever have had before, to

attain to a higher goal, knowing that

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         385

 

Lives of great men all remind us

We may make our lives sublime

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time."

Again let us thank you.

 

The following dedicatory address was delivered by

Otto U. King, D. D. S., F. A. C. D., Chicago, Ill.:

Every new philanthropy makes its especial appeal and its

particular promise. When men start out with the altruistic mo-

tive of doing something for their fellowmen -- something differ-

ent from anything that has gone before -- they are pioneering in

as full a sense as if they went out in the wilderness, and began

to chop down the virgin forest. And had it not been for the

pioneers in every line of effort, there would have been little prog-

ress in the world. Men get a vision of bigger and better things

than have ever been done before, and brave is the man who

goes boldly out into a new field of effort and extends the help-

ing hand of fellowship, fraternity, or educational advantages to

his countrymen.

All great movements always start in the minds and hearts

of a man or two who remain for a time obscure and unknown,

for all great changes of thought and morals come from the top

-- from the thinkers. We call them radicals and theorists, but

they make the world move, because they compel the world to

think.

The history of a community, nation or profession is recorded

in its literature and its monuments. We are meeting here today

for the purpose of paying just but delayed tribute to two of

your distinguished pioneers. However, I want to remind you

that great achievements are not the product of a moment. A

monument to endure the ravages of time and weather can not be

reared in a few hours. America, for instance, has little that can

be called architecture. We live in a fast age. Solomon's temple

was forty-six years in building. I was amazed when visiting

the great Cathedral at Cologne this summer to learn that it took

624 years to complete this structure which is one of the finest

examples of Gothic architecture in the world today. Likewise

great achievements or outstanding characters in history have not

been produced over night. Great men are not self-made, cus-

tom-made, or hand-me-down. True greatness is the consumma-

tion of a long succession of great accomplishments.

Vol. XXXV--25.

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         387

 

 

DENTAL HISTORY

A few years ago, I became very much interested in the his-

tory of dentistry. It does one good to step back and get a per-

spective of the men who have made dentistry from the time of

Hippocrates to the present time. History is written from the per-

spective. The real historian must get a complete measure of a

life. The trifles and the unimportant points must give way to the

bolder outlines of character. The historian will record the rug-

ged features that make the life dominate, stay and stick, as it

were, on the horizon of historical, clear-cut marks. In stepping

back to get a perspective of the life work of Harris and Taylor,

we marvel at their pioneer spirit, their real foresight and their

altruistic program for the alleviation of human suffering through

advancing a more efficient health service to humanity.

 

MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE

I am persuaded that these two pioneers in our profession had

a great vision and pondered over it until the passion to make

their dreams come true dominated their very life.

The secret of Jeanne d'Arc's success was that she saw the

problem and moved to solve it. Not in her courage nor her vis-

ions, but in her decision, or the rare qualities which go to make

up decision, was her strength.

 

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA

When I study the lives of these two great leaders in den-

tistry, I am convinced that their work was the dawning of a

new era in our profession. Their decision to migrate to larger

fields had an effect on dentistry not unlike that produced in the

field of Christian religion when Saul of Tarsus changed the his-

tory of the world by his famous journey to Damascus.

These services today also remind me of the work of two

distinguished men in medicine for there is a small city in the

northwest that has been made famous for one thing only. It is

the home of two brothers who are among the leading surgeons

of America. Not only do thousands of patients from all over the

land flock to these doctors for treatment and delicate operations,

but hundreds of surgeons also come to watch their wonderful

skill and learn the secrets of their conspicuous success. These

men serve humanity most expertly; therefore they are leaders.

And they pay a high price for this leadership. Long years of

hard study and a patient apprenticeship was only the beginning.

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388       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

They continue to live simply, avoid all dissipation, give up many

social indulgences, guard their diet and their sleep, and safeguard

their nervous energy, in order that when they go to the operat-

ing table in the morning and face the great grim battle with dis-

ease, they may safely take in their hands the issue of life, with

clear thinking brain, undimmed vision, untrembling fingers, and

steady nerves. No wonder their leadership is remarkable; they

have earned it and have gladly paid the cost of it.

The cost of leadership is not to be reckoned merely in the

price of preparation; real leadership also costs a tremendous

sacrifice.

The goal of growth is leadership in some sort of human

service though the cost of leadership is so high that only the

patient, persistent workers attain it. It is out of the reach of

the rest.

What makes a hero anyway? Why do you call the dis-

coverer of the cure for yellow fever a hero? Was it simply be-

cause of his mental ability, by which he worked for years in his

laboratory until he discovered that germ and its antitoxin? Was

it not. rather, because he risked his life, for the sake of hu-

manity, to prove it? After he felt sure he had won his great

quest, he took into his own body the germs of that dread dis-

ease that he might experiment on himself with the remedy in

which he had such great faith. Because of his heroism, not

simply his medical skill, the terrible yellow fever no longer ex-

ists in civilized lands. But in order to make his life great, he

had to renounce self; he had to risk his life to find it. Is not a

hero a person who forgets self and risks his all for a great

cause?

The two apostles that left this community to establish a new

era in a great profession did not receive a cordial welcome any

more than St. Paul was received with open arms in the city of

Damascus. This is well illustrated by excerpts taken from Dr.

Taylor's report to the American Dental Association in 1863 and

in the report of 1865:

"Years ago, the means of obtaining a dental education were

very limited. There were no schools, no journals, no societies,

and but a very few text-books; but there was, instead, a desire

on the part of almost every practitioner to keep his methods and

appliances to himself. Only one other avenue to knowledge

was open and that was through what was misnamed private

pupilage, in which, for a generous consideration, the would-be

dentist took his chances at picking up, in a few weeks, sufficient

accidental crumbs to enable him to begin to practice.

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A Chapter in Early Dental History          389

"The student was at first obliged to depend mainly upon his

own efforts, somewhat assisted by a preceptor whose teachings

(in consequence of other more pressing demands upon his at-

tention) assumed no system, but consisted chiefly in the answer-

ing of questions and the impartation of isolated facts. Taking

into consideration, that at that day the practitioner's knowledge

would compare very unfavorably with his information at the

present time, we can wonder but little that progress was slow

through the agency of such instructions.

"The history of dental education, from the time of its in-

fancy, the improvements and discoveries of each succeeding year,

and consequent advanced standard of dental requirements -- re-

sulting in the establishment of colleges, and the conferment of

degrees -- the character of a profession is dependent upon, and

thus regulated by, the nature of the instructions imparted to

students; and is the mould in which our reputation as a body

is cast."

HARRIS

In view of subsequent events, one of the most remarkable

attributes of Dr. Harris was his prophetic vision. At a time

when the dentist was not considered a professional man, when

dentistry had no status, other than that of a skilled trade, this

remarkable man had foreseen a great future and a great impor-

tance to what today is an important branch of the healing, life

preserving and life saving art.

Whether we now believe that it would be best for the pub-

lic (and in all matters dental the service to the public is the

paramount object), that dentistry be closely allied with general

medicine, or whether it could more thoroughly develop and be-

come useful as an independent entity, is immaterial. Harris

allied dentistry closely with medicine and sought to have it a part

of general medicine. While he did not succeed in convincing the

medical men of his day of the importance of this connection, it

can not be denied that the present high standing of the dental

profession is due to the close alliance which it has maintained

with general medicine, and there are many in the profession

today, the leaders and the thinkers, who still maintain the view

expressed by Harris.

It is fully recognized now that dentistry is supported on a

tripod consisting of the college, the society and the literature.

In all of these fields he was an earnest pioneer. It is a won-

derful distinction which belongs to this man, to have been the

prime moving spirit in the establishment of the first in each

of these fields, the first college, the first society and the first

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390       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

journal. He labored indefatigably for the first college, which

(while under a partial change of name) still exists. Those

who know of the vicissitudes and the precarious life of periodical

publications, must marvel at the confidence he had in the im-

portance of literature as a means of advancement. So, too, in

literature, his "Principles and Practice of Dental Surgery" stood

out for a generation as THE textbook for the dental student.

There are many practicing dentistry today who used it as the

source of all information. The work was not confined merely to

the practical phase, but it was the anatomy, the physiology, the

histology of the dental student.

Perhaps in the production of the "Dictionary of Dental

Science" more than in anything else, Harris demonstrated his

farsightedness. In 1849, ten years after he succeeded in estab-

lishing an institution where dentistry could be taught, he pro-

duced this work; recognizing so early in the formative period

of a great profession, the importance of language, the use of

correct terms and expressions to convey thoughts from one to

another. Even this work, until three years ago, was the only

authority of this character. It was indeed not merely a dental

dictionary but in fact an encyclopedia, and we may turn to its

pages today, and find it an interesting history of the pioneers of

dentistry in the United States and a storehouse of useful in-

formation.

As time rolls on, the name of Harris must always stand as

the foremost figure in the formation of dentistry on a profes-

sional basis, to which in a large measure the present status may

be attributed. No honor too great can be bestowed on the mem-

ory of this man.

TAYLOR

Well may this community be proud of having given to the

profession the useful life of James Taylor, who was born here

and who co-incidentally was a friend and resided here for a

time with Harris, whose life work we have just considered.

The great State of Ohio has given many of the noblest men

to our country, statesmen, soldiers, scientists, merchants, men in

all walks of life, and it is gratifying to the dental profession that

it has given us among others now sleeping in its soil James Tay-

lor of Bainbridge. What Harris did in the East, Taylor dupli-

cated in what then was the West, now the great Middle West,

the wonderful Mississippi Valley, the greatest, richest section

of any part of the world, important in the great mass of pros-

perous people, and likewise in dentistry. In creating and organ-

izing in his future home, Cincinnati, the Ohio College of Dental

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A Chapter in Early Dental History          391

 

Surgery, the second dental school in the world, existing and con-

tinuing its usefulness to this day, Taylor stands out as the lead-

ing dental figure of the West.

He, too, like Harris, was one of the founders of the first

dental society and of the first dental journal west of the Alle-

ghanies. The contribution to the development and growth of

the dental profession due to his efforts can hardly be estimated.

Without detracting from the worth of like efforts in other sec-

tions of our great country, it can not be denied that the section

of the country in which his life work was cast is of great im-

portance. More than one-fourth of the dentists practicing in

the United States, could, if it was so desired, reach the college

which he established in the short space of one night's railroad

journey.

His contribution to the dental literature, at a time when

every line written was so eagerly sought, was voluminous, his

influence as the Editor of the "Dental Register of the West",

his facile and interesting pen, forceful, earnest expression, had a

great influence in molding the character of the dental profession

of the West. All honor to such men as these, who could so live

and so act the part of men that their influence for the good of

mankind ever goes marching on.

 

MILLS BROTHERS

Personally and on behalf of the dental profession, I want

also to honor the two distinguished men in dentistry who are with

us today and who have made possible, through their magnani-

mous contribution the establishment of this prominent monu-

ment, which will symbolize for all time to come the cradle of

dental education.

The Mills brothers are recognized as national and inter-

national leaders in the dental field of today as witnessed by the

fact that both of them have been president of the Ohio State

Dental Society and are at the present time officers in the Seventh

International Dental Congress.

When I was invited to make this address, I wrote to Dr.

Ed. C. Mills and asked him about the conception of the plans

for this historical event and while I do not want to embarrass

the Mills brothers, I feel that it is my duty to present excerpts

from various letters I have received from them so that I may

visualize to you the motive back of this day's program.

Dr. Ed. Mills in a letter dated October 18, says:

"Some two or three years ago, when spending Sunday with

Charlie, we were discussing the places that had been marked and

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one of us mentioned the fact that Bainbridge was probably of

greater historical interest to us, as dentists, than any other place

in the county. Some months later, in discussing the subject, we

conceived the idea of presenting the matter of a memorial tablet

to the village officials, commemorating the fact that Harris and

Taylor began their dental careers there; also that the tablet was

to be donated by us. The village trustees were favorable to the

proposition. We are both natives of Ross County, our father

before us and grandfather one of the early settlers, therefore we

feel a personal pride in the fact that our native county has within

its confines a village from which went forth two such men as

Harris and Taylor. We both love our profession and the many

dear friends we have in it have meant to us very much in our

lives and we felt from the inception of the idea this would be

an unique opportunity to show our loyalty."

 

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE PIONEER DENTISTS

When we think of the names of Harris and Taylor, we un-

erringly think of pioneer dentists, and when we think of pioneer

dentists we try to picture something of the conditions which ex-

isted before Taylor and Harris inaugurated the idea of dental

education as we see it today. In the light of our present atti-

tude toward educational matters and dental society effort, the

conditions existing in those days are unbelievable. A private

operating room was private indeed, and no other dentist was

permitted to enter. A laboratory was a sealed book -- a sanctum

sanctorium--the door was locked against the intrusion of a fellow

practitioner. All processes and methods of practice were kept as

secret as possible, and if perchance a practitioner opened his gen-

erous heart sufficiently to teach someone else his methods, it was

only on the basis of a very substantial financial consideration.

Knowledge was hoarded as if it were personal property, and it

was literally every man for himself. There was no scientific or

formulated information available for the student of dentistry

-- no literature to which he could turn for instruction, no dental

societies which he could attend and enlighten himself.

And this was largely the state of affairs when such men as

Harris and Taylor came on the professional stage, and inaugu-

rated a new order of things.

For the first time in dental history access was had to the

fountain head of knowledge. They opened the doors of edu-

cational institutions where men in groups might come in and

receive instruction, and in establishing colleges for the teaching

of purely dental subjects they probably unwittingly introduced

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a revolutionary idea into the world of professional education.

Whether or not we of today judge it a misfortune or a bless-

ing that the medical colleges of that period refused to estab-

lish dental departments in their institutions, and thus forced in

a way the organization of dental schools, it is the general con-

sensus of opinion that dentistry in itself has advanced in a way

far beyond anything that could have been achieved if it had

grown up under the wing of medicine. Thus in this one re-

spect the contribution of these pioneers has been the one out-

standing thing in the history of dentistry in this country.

Not only this but when these pioneers organized dental so-

cieties and opened the doors of knowledge to all who wished

to enter, and further, when they began the publication of dental

journals and thus carried the current thought of the science and

art of dentistry to the very doors of practitioners, they with

these two movements at one blow broke down the barriers of ex-

clusiveness and banished selfishness from the hearts of profes-

sional men, never to permit it to return again with its blight upon

scientific progress.

The men and women coming into the profession today can

never know the privileges they enjoy without a study of the

conditions in vogue in the early days before men of the type of

those we are honoring on this occasion came into the arena of

professional progress. In those days, as has just been inti-

mated, every scrap of knowledge obtained by a practitioner was

guarded as a profound secret; today the moment a dentist gets

a new idea he rushes in the shortest way possible to pass that

idea on to his fellows.

It was not only that dental schools were organized or dental

magazines started, but that the entire trend of dental thought

was changed and the attitude of one practitioner toward another

was entirely transformed. And this was the great outstanding

contribution which with one revolutionary movement took dentis-

try out of the category of a trade and at once established it with

the status of a profession. Instead of the itinerant tinker going

around from place to place with a crude kit in a bag, we have

today the cultivated and cultured professional man working mira-

cles in the mouths of his patients, and performing a service that

could never have been dreamed of in the days of the pioneers.

 

THE WORLD BELONGS TO THE DISSATISFIED

There is a Turkish proverb to the effect that the world be-

longs to the dissatisfied. I believe in this saying absolutely, for

to me the one great underlying principle of all human progress

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394       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

is that "divine discontent" which makes men strive for better con-

ditions and improved methods.

The men who have made dental history are the men like

Harris and Taylor, who were dissatisfied with conditions as they

found them.

The outstanding original work of these two illustrious pio-

neers has been beautifully visualized by the poet:

"The many will follow the beaten track

With guideposts on the way,

They live and have lived for ages back

With a chart for every day.

A few strike out, without map or chart

Where never a man has been,

From the beaten paths they draw apart

To see what no man has seen.

There are deeds they hunger alone to do;

Though battered and bruised and sore,

They blaze the path for the many, who

Do nothing not done before."

The unveiling of this tablet in your city, which will here-

after be known to the dental profession as the "Cradle of Dental

Education", will symbolize to generations yet to come that in

this community your forefathers produced great men. There-

fore, I want to leave this challenge with this community and

state: will the road to tomorrow erect as many monuments to

illustrious sons born in this age as we find on the road of yes-

terday? I congratulate you on your past history.

Dr. Earl W. Swinehart of Baltimore, Maryland,

then spoke as follows on "Chapin A. Harris, Pioneer of

Dentistry":

It gives me much pleasure to have the opportunity of join-

ing with you, the members of my former Associations, in your

tribute to the memory of two great men of our profession, Chapin

A. Harris and James Taylor. I rejoice with you that it has

been made possible by the loyalty and generosity of two members

of the dental profession to erect this shrine of dentistry which

other generations will reverently visit. I am personally glad to

hereby express my gratitude to these two men who have meant

so much in my life.

As the representative of the Dental Department of the Uni-

versity of Maryland and of the Baltimore College of Dental

Surgery, and by implication, the Maryland State Dental Asso-

ciation, the sponsor of these two schools, I bring to you their

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         395

good will and grateful understanding of what you are doing to-

day.* Steeped as they are in the history of dentistry in Amer-

ica, they are familiar with the achievements of these men and

glad to look upon a testimonial of honor to them. Particularly

is this true of their own beloved Chapin A. Harris, who to them

is not merely an outstanding figure of dental history, but a liv-

ing memory. Though born, reared, and educated elsewhere, it was

in Baltimore that he spent the twenty-five most fruitful years of

his life and raised to himself a monument that, instead of being

destroyed by time and experience, is more clearly revealed in

its magnificence by the passing years. Among dentists in Balti-

more he is revered as the scientist, the man of letters, and the

public-spirited citizen. He was the moving spirit in the foun-

dation of one of Baltimore's best known institutions of learning.

In the archives of that institution are preserved his letters and

published writings; its museum holds the instruments which he

handled, the specimens which he gathered and from which he

taught. His likeness, both in oil and in bronze, will be found on

the walls of that institution. On one of the most prominent

corners of the city, there stands a splendid monument of granite

and bronze to Chapin A. Harris. Even the school children are

made acquainted with the crowning achievement of his life, the

founding of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Balti-

more is justly proud of this man who fulfilled the highest duties

of citizenship at home, carried her fame abroad, and was the

friend of such famous men as Rufus Choate, Edward Everett,

James Russell Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Henry

Clay. With all of these men, he carried on an active corre-

spondence for years.

Arriving in Baltimore in his early manhood, richly endowed

with a fine and cultivated mind, abundant energy, with a genius for

organization, he soon met Dr. Horace H. Hayden, a man of

great intelligence, refined by years of experience in teaching and

study of the dental problem -- a man of vision. They became

inseparable companions, constantly studying and planning for

the good of their profession. They saw its degradation and the

cause. They also recognized its possibilities. A perusal of their

writings indicates that they saw even beyond the day where we

now stand, proud though we are of the advances that have been

made. They understood further that the solution lay in a cam-

paign of education so designed that it would meet, not only the

* Acknowledgment is hereby made to Simons "History of the Balti-

more College of Dental Surgery," for much of historical data contained

herein.

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396       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

needs of their time, but would perpetuate itself to equal the de-

mands of dentistry throughout its course as a profession; that

this campaign should be carried on along these lines:

First -- The formation of the reputable men engaged in

the work, into societies wherein there could be interchange of

thought.

Second -- The establishment of periodical journals which

would be educational in character and make for unity.

Third -- Foundation of schools in which men desiring to

enter the profession could be trained to meet the requirements

of scientific work.

It is significent that these three agencies were put into opera-

tion almost simultaneously in 1839 and 1840, i. e., within five

years of the time that Chapin A. Harris came to Baltimore.

The American Society of Dental Surgeons was formed. He

drafted its constitution, became its corresponding secretary, and

later, its president -- positions in which he wielded much influ-

ence. The American Journal of Dental Science was started and

he soon became one of its editors; later, its editor in chief and

owner. Chapin A. Harris and Horace H. Hayden stood alone

among dentists in founding the Baltimore College of Dental

Surgery and together originated the title of "Doctor of Dental

Surgery". While it is not desired to minimize the part played

by the learned Hayden, it is a fact that it was the energetic

young executive, Harris, who wrote to the University of Mary-

land asking that its medical school give dental instruction and

received the refusal on the ground that,* "the subject of dentistry

was of little importance and thus justified their unfavorable

action." It was he who secured the names to the petition for

a charter for an independent school, who pushed it through the

Legislature, organized the faculty, advertised its advantages,

formed the board of visitors, became its first dean, was one of

its most important professors and, later, its president. His Prin-

ciples and Practice of Dentistry was the first dental textbook.

He also compiled the first Dental Dictionary. His address at

the opening session to the five students who enrolled to take

!he course, was a masterpiece. It could be delivered today in the

most advanced dental school in the country with great profit to

its hearers. That the school was a success from the start and

continued to widen its circle of influence, was largely due to his

tact, ability, and untiring industry.

So logically did these men build that they who have and

will come after, need to follow only the architectural plan laid

* Medical Annals of Maryland." Page 105.

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         397

 

down by them. Whatever is good for dentistry may be added

to the super-structure without fear for the foundation. Since

the death of Dr. Harris, the college has carried on under the

students of Hayden and Harris and their followers, and has

done its share in advancing dentistry to its high plane today. In

I923, when, under the stress of circumstances not felt by similar

institutions more fortunately endowed by state and other funds,

it seemed that the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery must

cease to exist, the University of Maryland, the institution which

had first repulsed the founders and later founded a school of

dentistry, which became a bitter rival, extended the hand of fel-

lowship and saved it from extinction. The University did not

ask that it close its doors but agreed that it should continue un-

der its own name and original charter; that the state aid and re-

sources be shared; that the name should be, "The Dental De-

partment of the University of Maryland and the Baltimore Col-

lege of Dental Surgery."

You who have come here to honor the memory of Chapin

A. Harris will be glad to be assured that the institution to which

he gave his great abilities with such unselfishness as to impose

extreme poverty upon himself during his declining years but

through which he contributed untold wealth to the human race,

is being carried on with the same high motives and sound prin-

ciples as during his lifetime. It is now making rapid strides for-

ward and its future is bright. The Maryland State Dental Asso-

ciation is virtually in control and is contributing of its funds,

counsel, and personnel to the cause. Its members are justly

proud that Baltimore is known throughout the world as the

"Birthplace of Dentistry", but they also realize that, in con-

ferring that honor, Dr. Harris and Dr. Hayden placed upon them

a sacred trust -- that it is their duty beyond that of others, to

see that the principles for which they stood and the school which

they founded, shall be carried on for the benefit of humanity

for whom they gave their great lives. I predict that success will

crown their efforts and that the college will continue its career

of usefulness for many years. I believe that hope will strike

a responsive chord in the hearts of dentists wherever they may

be, for all must realize that whatever of love and reverence we

may feel for our own Alma Mater, still, we owe allegiance to the

old Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, the mother of them. all.

Dr. Henry T. Smith, Dean of the Ohio College of

Dental Surgery, Cincinnati, Ohio, delivered the conclud-

ing address.

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398       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: --

For the Ohio College of Dental Surgery: I wish to say

that it was established in Cincinnati in 1845, largely through

the efforts of Dr. James Taylor. I am reminded of the fact

that the efforts of Chapin A. Harris and James Taylor and

their discouragements were very similar. Their efforts to estab--

lish a dental college, as a professional school, met with great

opposition, and for that reason, there occurred the original break

from the profession of Medicine. As Dr. King so well told you,

fortunate as it was, in establishing Dentistry as an associate pro-

fession, the discouragements had given to dentistry an inde-

pendent thinking body, which has been very much to its credit,

and it brought forth wonderful results. From now on, how-

ever, Dentistry must take its place with Medicine, as an asso-

ciate profession, though giving at present to its graduates, a

separate degree -- that of Doctor of Dental Surgery.

The early history of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery at

Cincinnati shows a faculty of which Dr. Taylor was the domi-

nating factor. He had associated with him, however, men of

very great force, and they succeeded him as executive officers.

There were Dr. Jonathan Taft of Cincinnati, and Dr. George

Watt of Xenia, and Dr. George Keely of Oxford, Ohio. As

successive executives after 1845, there were Taylor, Taft, my

father, and myself, covering a period of eighty years.  You

would hardly believe, if I told you, that in the life of two gen-

erations -- my father and myself -- we covered a practice of

almost ninety years.

There are many instances that might be told of the strug-

gles of Taylor as an itinerant dentist, with a practice in those

days, not sufficient in the place where he lived; he found it neces-

sary to travel in his buggy or on horseback to visit the neigh-

boring towns, taking work back to his home, finishing it, and

returning to his patients at a subsequent time. So these pioneers

struggled with the methods which they had found successful,

preserving within themselves oftentimes the knowledge they had

acquired and accumulated, and keeping it, if possible, from their

fellow practitioners.

Today, the reverse is true -- eager to publish our new meth-

ods of work and our discoveries, we cannot give these too quickly

to brother practitioners, so that they may have the advantage of

any treatment that may help their patients.

We like to think of Cincinnati as the cradle of dentistry in

the West. It was the first school established west of the Alle-

ghanies and many of its graduates were men who went to Chi-

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A Chapter in Early Dental History         399

cago, New Orleans, St. Louis, -- more particularly those larger

cities, and established colleges there. I believe it is true, that in

certain primitive communities, the first Americans who settled

there were dentists. That is true of towns in Alaska; and the

graduates of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery are scattered

now in all parts of the world, drawing their knowledge and in-

spiration from Cincinnati.

The first dental journal -- The American Journal of Dental

Science -- was established to cooperate with the dental schools.

This was established in Baltimore and I have here, its final bill

of sale to myself. The journal, after many changes has finally

come to Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, also, another journal, almost

as old, The Dental Register of the West, was established, with

Dr. James Taylor as editor and chief contributor.

As a matter of history, it is perhaps well for you to know

that the difficulties in recognition of dentistry as a profession in

the early years were almost duplicated by the difficulties that

women in the practice of dentistry encountered when they ap-

plied at the doors of dental schools. The first woman graduate

in dentistry was Lucy Hobbs, who had applied to various schools

and was refused admission as a woman student. She was re-

ceived at the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, and graduated in

1865, under the name of Mrs. Lucy Hobbs-Taylor. It might

be well enough for you to know also, that the first class in a

Dental Nurse and Assistants course was established at the Ohio

College.

The Ohio College of Dental Surgery has recently become the

Dental Department of the University of Cincinnati, and ac-

quires this in addition to its old name.

Bainbridge has come to recognize today that it fostered the

early efforts of two such remarkable men as Harris and Taylor,

and this Memorial, which will live for hundreds of years, con-

spicuous on your village street, will be a source of pride and in-

spiration to your boys and girls.

Too much credit cannot be given to the Mills brothers, those

indefatigable workers in dental history, in presenting this tablet

to you and the Profession of Dentistry.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES

The following additional information is supplied by

Dr. Edward Mills, largely, as he states, from Koch's

History of Dentistry:

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400       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Previous to 1823, Dr. John Harris had located in Madison,

Ohio, in the practice of medicine. About this time his brothers,

Chapin A. and James Harris, sons of John Harris of Pompey,

New York, located there also. James Harris became a minister,

and Chapin A. read medicine in his brother's office and obtained

a license to practice.

In 1826, Dr. John Harris was practicing medicine in Bain-

bridge, Ohio, and Chapin A. Harris had located in Greenfield,

also engaged in medical practice. Up to this time, the dentists

of any note came from the Atlantic seaboard or from foreign

shores. However, John Harris turned his attention to the study

and practice of dentistry while in Bainbridge.

James Taylor, who was born in 1809 at Cedar Grove Farm

near Bainbridge, was a son of Joseph Taylor, who, with his

father, came from New Jersey and settled in Ross County about

1801. James Taylor was reading medicine with John Harris

about the time he became interested in dentistry and he likewise

took up this study. Chapin A. Harris at Greenfield was also per-

suaded by them to take up dentistry, and procuring such works

as Koecker, Bell, Fitch and Hunter, the best obtainable authors

at that time, these men pursued their studies while engaged in

practicing medicine.

About 1828 Dr. John Harris located permanently in Chilli-

cothe. Chapin A. Harris began practicing dentistry and medi-

cine in Greenfield in 1828, later, a short time in Bloomfield, and

then traveled South as an itinerant -- as was the custom in those

days -- but later he located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where

he practiced dentistry exclusively. In 1835 he located perma-

nently in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1839 he published his first

book, The Dental Art, a Practical Treatise on Dental Surgery.

This book, under the title of "Harris'Principles and Practices

of Dental Surgery," passed through thirteen editions, the last in

1896, thirty-six years after his death, and was edited by Prof.

F. J. S. Gorgas of Baltimore, Md. His "Dictionary of Dental

Science," the first dental dictionary, was published in 1849;

it went through several editions, the last in 1898. He became

Editor and established the American Journal of Dental Science

in 1837 and continued as editor for twenty years.

In 1840, after much opposition, Dr. Harris established the

Baltimore College of Dental Surgery,--the first dental college in

the world. His early associate, Dr. James Taylor, who was then

practicing in Cincinnati, was invited to a Chair in the college,

but declined, as he was at that time considering the establish-

ment of a dental college in the West.

• 21
 

A Chapter in Early Dental History         401 Dr. Harris was perhaps the most voluminous contributor to dental literature during his time. He was prominent in dental organization work, and was president of the American Dental Convention in 1857. Dr. Harris was born at Pompey, Onondaga County, New York, May 6, 1806, died September 29, 1860, in Baltimore, Maryland, and was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Dr. James Taylor went to Hillsboro, when Dr. John Harris moved to Chillicothe, and placed himself under the tutorship of a Dr. Kirby, a noted physician, supporting himself meanwhile by practicing dentistry. Later he received his medical degree in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1834 he gave up the practice of medi- cine and devoted himself entirely to dentistry. After several years as an itinerant in the South during the winter and the North in the summer, he located permanently in Cincinnati, in 1842. In 1843 Dr. Taylor received an Honorary Dental Degree from the Baltimore College of Dentistry, previously founded by his old associate, Chapin A. Harris. In 1844 he advocated the necessity of a dental college in Cincinnati, and in 1845 founded the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, the second dental college in the world. He became editor of the Dental Register of the Wset, the second dental journal established.  He contributed extensively to current dental literature and was active in organization work; was charter member of the American Society of Dental Surgeons organized in 1839; president of the Mississippi Valley Association of Dental Surgeons in 1849, and elected president of American Dental Convention in 1856 at its meeting in Boston. His brothers, Joseph, Irwin, Edward and nephew James, also practiced dentistry. Dr. James Taylor died June 12, 1881, and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Vol. XXXV --26.

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